florida without any sort of protection. we know how her story ends but we walked away in some ways more inspired than possible. we looked at this place of havana, cuba, looked at the building the throwback feeling you get when you're here, the cars from the 1960s and 1970s. this seems like a place that's really stuck in time. we looked at their health care system, to try to figure out what works and what we could learn, also what's what still needs to be done. hope you've enjoyed it as i've enjoyed my time here in havana. time to get you to the cnn newsroom. from cnn center this is "cnn saturday morning." 8:00 a.m. on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. out west. good morning, everybody. i'm alina cho. t.j. holmes is off this morning. coming up, mounting pressure on dictator moammar gadhafi to resign. the libyan leader denies reports he is looking for refuge for his

family. take a look at this just released video. are london rioters firing at police helicopters. a live report in just a moment. severe storms strike the northeast, unleashing deadly flash floods and it's not over yet. the ohio valley could be next. but we start with the sputtering economy. president obama says there are steps we can take to spark the economy. watch. >> there are things we can do right now that will mean more customers for businesses and more jobs across the country. we can cut payroll taxes again so families have an extra thousand dollars to spend. we can pass a road construction bill so construction crews who are now sitting idle, can head back to the work site, rebuilding roads and bridges and airports. >> that's when the president's weekly address. ohio governor john kasich gave this morning's republican weekly address. the rebuttal, if you will.

he says the real problem is leadership. white house correspondent dan lothian joins us now in martha's vin-yard where the first family is vacationing. the market has lost more than 1300 points in the first three weeks of august, nearly 11%. how is the president dealing with all the gop criticism that now is not the time to be taking a vacation? >> well, look, the white house has been pushing back on that now for quite some time. in fact, there were calls before the president left, for him to stay home, to call members of congress back to washington in order to deal with the issue at hand, which is fixing the economy, which is focusing on job creation, but the white house saying that the president needs to be able to get away on a vacation and that even though he's away from the white house, he is never away from his job. while the president is here, advisers telling us he's busy working on that speech he will deliver some time after returning from his vacation back to washington. also, he's working on putting

together this jobs plan, along with his top aides. we don't know the details of that yet. we're told that that's still a work in progress. and in addition to that, the president will be getting frequent updates on the economic situation. one of his top economic advisers will be coming here next week we're told for regular updates. again, the president finding some time to get out and have a little fun here on the island but also very much focused on the broad problem that's ailing the nation and that is the ailing economy. >> and speaking of fun, dan, not a bad assignment, if you can get it. >> that's right. >> i may say so. >> can't complain. >> do we know at all what the president will be doing today? >> we don't know. i mean, usually it's one of those things where we get a little head's up that the president is moving and then we find out when he gets there what he is doing. yesterday he did get a chance to go out, not far from where i am here, went to a local book store

with his two daughters, bought some books and later the president went to a golf course and played some golf. we weren't allowed to get any shots of that, although some people were able to sneak through the trees and get shots of the president driving around. >> not you. >> not me. and then later in the evening, he did go out for dinner with the first lady. so, you know, his first full day on the island he did get a chance to get out. people were very excited to see him, lining the roads and streets here. >> i can only imagine, sure. >> shouting to him as well. right. quite a bit of buzz when the president comes to downtown vineyard haven. >> i read a great article this morning that said cell service on the vineyard is really spotty but they know the president is about to come when the cell service suddenly gets a lot better. i guess it's great on martha's vineyard right now, good for you and everybody covering the president's vacation. dan lothian, thank you very much. >> that's right. out on the campaign trail, a busy day for the crowded gop presidential field.

the latest entry, texas governor rick perry, campaigns in south carolina early today. then it's back to texas for a meeting with backers in austin. businessman herman cain spending the day crisscrossing new hampshire. making his case to several new hampshire cities. >> newt gingrich, remember him? he's in hawaii where he'll meet with gop supporters on maui later today. turning overseas to syria, a government opposition spokesman says 29 people were killed yesterday when security forces fired on protesters in several locations. watch. the european union's political security committee is calling for an embargo on syrian crude oil. on thursday, washington imposed its own economic sanctions on syria, and called for president bashar al assad to step down. oil and gas, by the way, make up about a quarter of syria's

economy. meanwhile, the u.n. is apparently sending a humanitarian mission to syria. disturbing view of this month's riots in england. take a look at this video, captured by closed circuit cameras in a section of birmingham, england. you see the armed rioters taking shots at police. british authorities are usually hesitant about releasing video like this but say the level of violence makes a change in its policy necessary. cnn's dan rivers joins us by phone from london with more. so, is this the first time, dan, that we're seeing this? >> it's certainly the first time that we're seeing armed rioters apparently shooting at the police. a very disturbing set of pictures and images that you can see there. the chief constable of the area, west midland's chris simms, said this was seemingly coordinated criminal behavior with no regard

for people's lives, whether through setting a fire, shooting at armed officers or shooting at the police helicopter. he goes on to say this investigation is being treated as attempted murder and arson and only thankful that this is not a murder inquiry. imagine what would have happened if they had hit the police helicopter. this could have been really very serious, indeed. >> dan, i have to ask you, i mean this has been going on for weeks and it's only gotten worse. what is it going to take and i'm sure you've spoken to people on the streets there, what is it going to take for this to stop? >> well, i mean, at the moment, things have called down. this video was actually from the 9th of august, only just released today. but, for the last few days, there has been a complete calm here. they have surged the number of police officers in london and other big cities, completely flooded the streets with high visibility officers on horses and just, you know, lots of officers on foot as well.

that seems to have kept a lid on the trouble for now. i mean, a big debate here in the u.k. is, the underlying causes. is this being driven by social deprivation, just opportunistic criminality, was there an element of copycat in all this, people seeing this on twitter and on social media and deciding to do the same thing. so there's a big debate about what caused it. thankfully at the moment it seems to be contained for now. >> that is very good news and let's hope that the rioting stops there in london. thank you for following this for us. cnn's dan rivers joining us live from london. in india likened to the late ghandi and now that social activist anna hazare is out of jail the indian government is reacting as his hunger strike against public corruption enters a fifth day. today's india's prime minister says his government is open to a citizen om busman that hazare has been calling for but

anti-corruption activists say the current proposal is too weak to tackle the nation's long entrenched history of bribery. meanwhile a rare sight of kim jong-il outside of his secretive state. today north korea's long-time leader took a train trip to russia's siberia region and he's slated to meet russian president dmitri medvedev. russia donated 50,000 tons of wheat to north korea to combat the country's food shortage. libyan officials are denying that moammar gadhafi and his family are looking to leave tripoli. that comes as rebel leaders say they are closing in on the libyan leader's tripoli stronghold. cnn's matthew chance is in tripoli for us. matthew, what's going on where you are now? >> pretty quiet at the moment, i have to say. there have been a number of air strikes overnight. the government minders said they may take us out to see some of those strike sites later on. but yes, general mood of being

under siege. there are big rebel advances as we've been hearing from our reporter in the west in the town of zawiya where rebels control much of that strategically important town. but there is still fighting going on in the east of the city between rebels and gadhafi loyalists. the battle isn't done yet. it's also, there's a lot of kind of reports going around that the rebels are advancing on tripoli. it gives the impression they're sort of at the gates of the capital. that's not the case. they're still battling in various areas, you know, 30, 50 kilometers away from tripoli itself. and so, you know, when the time comes, if the time comes for an actual advance on the capital, that's a very different proposition. it's very well armed here. there are big brigades of gadhafi loyalists with sophisticated weapons. all the civilians have been armed by gadhafi as well. he sees this very much as a stronghold of his own popularity, and so if there is an assault from -- assault on

tripoli it's likely to be very bloody, indeed. >> matthew, i have to ask you, gadhafi, obviously, has had a firm grip on power for 42 years, but there are some signs, at least according to some, that his hold is slipping. so, what are his options? if the state department says he will leave, it's just a matter of time, what are gadhafi's options then? >> well, what he says he's going to do is he's going to stay in tripoli and he's going to fight. he's called on his thousands of supporters here to do the same and to be ready for a possible you know push by the rebels, he calls racks, into the libyan capital. so that's his public position. but of course there are all sorts of rumors about backdoor talks taking place that could, you know, see the libyan leader and his family move to another arab country, move to south america, move to south africa or some of the rumors that have been spread around. none of them have been vary

fide, these rumors and all been denied by the regime officials we've been speaking to here in tripoli. at the moment, i think what we have to go with is what we see, which is that colonel gadhafi remains, you know, at the head of his loyalists here in tripoli and is striking every time he speaks, a very characteristically defiant tone. >> all right. matthew chance, thank you so much for that update, live for us from tripoli. in libya with the situation there. meteorologist reynolds wolf looking at the weekend forecast. how is it looking? you a lot to watch. >> we are watching quite a few things. the chance of severe weather across the nation's mid-section into the ohio valley and mid-missy valley could have storms develop especially by late afternoon into the evening. some heavy rain forming right now other thing we we're going follow the tropics, one named storm, harvey, moving into central america, but more potential development in parts of the mid-atlantic. more on that coming up in a few

moments. >> thank you. coming up during a police program's forensic class this summer, young jessica maple was paying attention. >> the investigator, he came and he was like oh, my gosh, how did you find all this stuff here? i was coming here. and i was like, i did your job again. >> we're going to tell you how this 12-year-old may have put one georgia county police department to shame. and your eyes are not deceiving you. take a look closely. this woman riding in the back of a pick-up truck holding on to a stroller, with a baby inside of the stroller. we're going to tell you what she said in her defense after the break. st crab for red lobster we can find. [ male announcer ] hurry into crabfest at red lobster and savor 3 crab entrees under $20 like our crab and seafood bake... or our snow crab and crab butter shrimp. my name's jon forsythe and i sea food differently. ♪ we were skipping stones ♪ and letting go ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ ♪ she was waiting up around the bend ♪ ♪ smile at me and then you take my hand ♪

[ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, where delicious ingredients like toasted oats, with rich dark chocolate, sweet golden honey, or creamy peanut butter come together in the most perfect combinations. ♪ i was thinking that i hope this never ends ♪ ♪ yeah, i was just thinking ♪ i hope this will never end discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. here's a look at stories making headlines across the country. three men convicted when teens of killing three young boys in west memphis, arkansas, have been set free. the so-called west memphis three spent nearly two decades behind

bars. jason baldwin, damien echols and jesse misskelley jr. say they're innocent of the murders of three second graders. they were freed after reaching a deal, they had to plead guilty but still maintain their innocence. >> in the beginning we told nothing but the truth that we were innocent. they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives. we had to come here and the only thing the state would do for us, would say we'll let you go only if you admit guilt. and that's not justice, no matter how you look at it. >> i'm just tired. this has been going on for over 18 years, and it's been an absolute living hell. >> even when you're in prison it goes on every day, you to worry about your own safety. it doesn't matter what the crime it is. you still got to worry about your safety regardless. >> 911 operators in daytona beach, florida, flooded with calls after drivers saw this. a woman riding in the back of a pick-up truck holding on to a

stroller. and there's a baby inside of the stroller. key yoen na davis is the woman, says she was hanging on to that stroller, didn't realize how dangerous it was. really? she was arrested and charged with child neglect. reality star kim kardashian marrying nba player cyst humphries at that location in month seeto, california. it's a private in quotes, ceremony. kardashian's wedding will be featured in a four-hour television special in october. of course it is. a 12-year-old girl in atlanta is a real-life nancy drew. after just attending a summer forensics class, she cracked a burglary case before police u using clues they apparently missed. jeff door from wsb has her story. >> reporter: before she turned this into real crime fighting it started out as a kid's summer program at the fulton county district attorney's office. junior district attorneys learn to argue cases in the real state

supreme court. they meet former prosecutor nancy grace, and the key to this story, learn about investigating crimes. among the junior district attorneys was jessica maple. just after the forensics class, someone burglarized the home of jessica's late great grandmother in fit sger rald, georgia. jessica investigated and found where the burglars broke in. the police had missed it. then, she and her mom investigated a local pawn shop and found her great grandmother's property. >> we called the police station and then the guy who -- the investigator, he came and he was like, oh, my gosh. how did you find all this stuff here? i was coming here. and i was like, i did your job again. >> reporter: they also learned the pawn shop owner had copies of the i.d.s of the guys who sold the stuff and she and her mom drove to the guy's house and confronted him. >> he confessed to you that he did it. >> he confessed.

>> reporter: last word, police still haven't made an arrest. >> police haven't arrested him? >> no. i don't know what's taking them so long. >> reporter: paul howard started the junior d.a. program 13 years ago and this is a first. >> we're hoping that she will take that lesson with her through life, the things that she's leshds here as a junior d.a. >> jessica says she may eventually decide on a career in law, that would be a good choice, but she has other ambitions. an african-american icon is being memorialized in washington. coming um next, we'll take you on a virtual tour of the martin luther king jr. memorial. a full week before it's unveiled to the public. next. where do you go to find a super business? you know, the ones who do such a super job, they're backed by the superguarantee®? only superpages®. wherever you are, wherever you're going, you'll find the super business you need. so next time, let the good guys save the day.

get the superguarantee®, only at superpages®. in the book ... on your phone or online. we'll never stop sharing our or getting lost in a good book. we'll always cook dinner, and cheer for our favorite team. we'll still go to meetings, make home movies, and learn new things. but how we do all this, will never be the same. [ martin luther king jr. ] i still have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! [ male announcer ] chevrolet is honored to celebrate

the unveiling of the washington, d.c., martin luther king jr. memorial. take your seat at the table on august 28th. the face of washington is about to change. the martin luther king jr. memorial will have ets dedication ceremony next week. we can take you already on a virtual tour of the site right now. that's because we have our josh levs with us and he can show us. >> alina, good morning to you. and folks, take a look at these beautiful pictures. these are some of the earliest renderings of the imagery, including the actual statute itself and in addition to these pictures, i have this virtual tour. take a look. ♪ let's keep watching and i'll tell you about it. this is on a four acre site. organizers say the whole thing is designed to evoke the memory

and the spiritual presence of dr. king. it is a series of separate sections that include some of his most famous quotes, excerpts of his sermons and the centerpiece will be the statute of the civil rights leader dr. king himself which i have on my screen right here. this is a panoramic live view i can control on my screen and this is it right here, the statute of him. what i want to do is zoom way in here so you can see the words that are on the side, out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. one of his many famous quotes. he delivered that one in the "i have a dream" speech. check it out, this is a stone of hope that is emerging from the mountain of despair. that's the centerpiece of this entire monument. let's go to google earth. i want you to understand the significance of where it is physically. we're starting off with an aerial view. we put a triangle for you there. you see the washington monument, lincoln and jefferson memorials. the mlk is between the lincoln

and jefferson memorials on the other side of the tidal basin. we're going from the washington monument to the lincoln. when at the lincoln memorial, that is where he delivered his "i have a dream" speech on those steps right there. we're going to zoom around from the back, right alongside that reflecting pool where the crowd was for that speech and now to the right of your screen, that is where the mlk monument will be. a critical site in the google earth will get updated when the monument is officially out there. now, there's a lot of reasons it's so significant and makes a statement for america. take a look at what one of the organizers said. >> when future generations visit washington, they will see a mall that is more closely reflecting the diversity of our great nation. >> the administrations come and go but this will be a permanent statement for our country. i have a bunch of links for you at my pages. let's show everyone, i want you to see the interactive tour and our cnn special section on dr. king, my facebook and twitter

are there, @joshlevscnn. by the way, when you're getting on-line, don't forget to follow alina cho on twitter. >> thank you. i really appreciate it. i'm a johnny come lately to twitter but i'm enjoying it i have to say. >> i knew we would lasso you in. >> how much did this memorial cost and how long did it take to build it? it's extraordinary to me that it took this long to get an mlk memorial, frankly. >> a lot of people agree with you. i'll tell you both of those things. $120 million is the figure they're saying and they say more than $114 million has been raised. you can trace back decades for people wanting a memorial. the first congressional action toward making this moment happen took place in 1996. so by that standard, you're looking at a 15-year effort. since then, to make this happen. but there were people pushing for this going back to the '70s. you can certainly say it's taken a long time for this moment to come to the u.s.p.

>> why does 1996 seem like yesterday to me? i'm getting old. >> i hear you. feel the same way. >> thank you. @at alinacho cnn twitter follow me. for the unveiling of the mem yam, our t.j. holmes will be live from washington for the ceremony. coming up later, new york yankee alex rodriguez hits back against allegations he took part in high-stakes, underground poker games in beverly hills. you'll hear from him. also ahead, when it comes to conquering the rubik's cube, few people are in the same class as this guy. he's 20-year-old row hessler. look at him. he's a back-to-back national speed cube champ. he can do it in seconds, not minutes. he went for a third title just last weekend. we've got your speed cubing 101. he's done already. that's coming up next. ♪ [ dr. ling ] i need to get the results from the m.r.i.

see if the blood work is ready. review ms. cooper's history. and i want to see katie before she goes home. [ male announcer ] with integrated healthcare solutions from dell, every patient file is where dr. ling needs it. now she can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork. ♪ dell. the power to do more. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief

from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. enough plastic water bottles to stretch around the earth over 190 times. each brita filter can take up to 300 of those bottles out of the equation.

welcome back. ro hessler has the fastest hands on the cube. we're talking about the rubik's cube. the 20-year-old from new york has built a solid reputation in the world of rubick's speed

cubing as it's called. his hands and mind work so fast he once conquered a cube in less than seven seconds. he's won the national championships twice and competed last week for a threepiece. row joins me live from new york. row, i know you've been cubing for about six years now. when did you first master the cube and how long did it take you to get it? >> um, well i started in 2005. it took me about three days to get it my first time. >> three days? q. so, you know, can i see you do it? because it's pretty extraordinary. it's almost like you're not looking at it. what is the trick to solving the cube? can you tell me? >> well, it just takes a lot of practice. it's hard to explain. in the short of amount of time. but pretty much i start off by getting these four pieces here. >> okay. >> and from there i just -- >> which four pieces? >> i see the colors. these. like an x. >> got it.

across there. got it. after that the you work fr-- yo from there. >> the best i've done is two sides. i was so thrilled when i got two sides. thought it was a huge accomplishment. >> it is a big accomplishment. >> tell me, you know, you are a bit of a youtube sensation, right? you've solved cubes big and small, one is two by two by two or something like that and you did it in how many seconds? >> .96. >> less than a second. >> it wasn't a full second. >> less than a second. i understand that you can also solve the cube with one hand and blindfolded as well. i mean, that to me is mind boggling. explain how you solve a rubik's cube blindfolded? >> well, it's really not as hard as you think. if you think the cube -- if you think of it as pieces instead of stickers it's only 20 pieces and you just memorize the path of the pieces on the cube and you

learn the different algorithms to solve it, you can do it. >> how competitive is the competitions there? i know that the national championship is about 200 participants, right? i mean how -- do you know a lot of your fellow cubers? are you friends? i mean, is it cut throat out there? what's it like? >> honestly, it's more of just like a convention, like hanging out with friends in a competition. like, of course, when it comes time to compete i'm a little more serious, but really, at the end of the day it's about having fun. >> there you have it. roe hessler speed cubing champion. you placed fourth this last time but won it twice, but good for you. congratulations. >> thank you. >> i could watch you cube all day. >> thank you very much. also ahead, we're watching the severe weather. a sudden thunderstorm traps several cars, claims the lives of three people in pittsburgh. we're going to have a wrap-up of the severe weather and your weekend forecast coming up next. where do you go to find a super business?

you know, the ones who do such a super job, they're backed by the superguarantee®? only superpages®. wherever you are, wherever you're going, you'll find the super business you need. so next time, let the good guys save the day. get the superguarantee®, only at superpages®. in the book ... on your phone or online. crisp, clear, untouched. that's why there's brita, to make the water we drink, taste a little more, perfect. reduce lead and other impurities with the advanced filtration system of brita. discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers.

then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. you don't have the app store. so you don't have the world's largest selection of apps, that are this easy to find.. and this easy to download right to your phone. so it can be almost anything.. like a boarding pass. or do almost anything.. like pay for your coffee. the app store. just one more thing that makes an iphone an iphone. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas.

33 minutes past the hour. t.j. holmes has the morning off.

thanks for starting your day with us. friday was a deadly day for severe weather in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. a mother and her two children died after flash flooding hit there. authorities are still looking for another woman who hasn't been found after yesterday afternoon's torrential storms. and in wisconsin a man died yesterday as strong storms rolled through the area there. the national weather service will try to determine if it was a tornado. the state's emergency management officials think it may have been. time for a check of the weather with meteorologist reynolds wolf. what do you think, has there been any confirmation yet? >> no confirmation. later on today the national weather service will go by, take an aerial reconnaissance and look on the ground for tell-tale signs that might indicate whether it was or was not a tornado. the destruction is there, the damage is there, and certainly heartbreaking. also heartbreaking what happened in pennsylvania just yesterday. let's hop over to the weather wall as we do so, we'll take you back in time and show you how the scenario unfolded in terms of the flash flooding. here is how it was late yesterday afternoon. you see one area shaded by this

yellow line where we had the severe thunderstorm watch. we put into motion, zoom into pittsburgh and here's where you see the cells moving through the area. roughly three inches of rain that fell at a very, very quick rate. when that happens you tend to have flash flooding. that was the scenario yesterday. today's set upwill be very interesting. it looks like we might see that develop back in across the midwest into the mid-mississippi valley. already some fairly strong storms west of springfield, now also just west of st. louis. if you happen to be in st. louis and you look out the window, you see the clouds coming, the wind will pick up and within minutes you're going to have some of the heavy rain that will move through, possibly lightning, certainly delays at the airport. i would expect more of that to form later into the afternoon hours. some of the severe storms possibly in spots like chicago, maybe even into springfield, illinois. and even into portions of the southeast, there is a chance you might have some thunderstorms, especially along the i-4 corridor in florida. out west, for the four corners, some of the high base thunderstorms will be possible.

and a mix of sun and clouds across the rockies. now in terms of your high temperatures the heat is still back in texas. i mean it has been ridiculous. 107 will be height for the day. in el paso, 96, 82 in kansas city, 80 in minneapolis, for boston, new york, you have some 80s and then that stops pretty quickly as you get to the nation's capital with a high of 92. 92 in tampa, wrapping it up in salt lake city with 94, 66 in san francisco. all right. alina, you're up to speed. >> 94 in portland, wow. that's my hometown. that's hot for portland, oregon. thank you. coming up, the basketball brawl in beijing. chaos during a basketball game between china's national team and the georgetown hoyas. but they're kissing an making up. we'll have that story. in india, bling in your eyes. i'm talking about gold and diamond contact lenses. what would i look like in them? we'll show you in our morning passport, that's next.

nadia bilchik joins me for our morning passport. bestill my beating heard, christian lieu by tan is trying to copy rite a color. first i want to hear about the gold and diamond colored contact lenses. >> extraordinary. an optometrist in india. his wife came back from cosmetic dentistry and had diamonds in her teeth. what a good idea. what you're seeing is gold and diamond contact lenses inspired by the optometrist's wife. they're rather extraordinary because the kind of contact lens they're using is usually ursed if you have a problem with your eyes. >> that guy looks a little freaky. >> some say it looks a little freaky but it adds bling. it's going to be interesting to see. there are around $15,000.

it will be interesting to see who can afford them. >> these aren't disposable. >> these are not disposable. there's controversy around them, saying do you want to use something medicinal for cosmetic purposes. remember the colored contact lens phase. >> sure. >> so now you really have a sparkle in your eye. so alina, i thought it would be interesting to see what alina cho would look like with sparkling eyes. let's see if our graphics department, there we are. >> i kind of look the same. that was about ten hair styles ago, but i look -- i think i look -- >> you do look okay. >> little vampire-ish the two of us. we've managed to do it. much less expense. >> kudos to our graphics department, by the way. >> you have to say. there we are with the diamond eyes. to your favorite story, christian lieu by tan. yves saint laurent had red seoul

shoes, lieu by tan was furious, saying we trademarked our soles and you can't have them. christian lieu by tan lost, friday they went back to court. right. >> and christian lieu by tan is saying we'll do everything to hold on to our trade marc, eves st. laurent is saying we want it dissolved completely so anybody can do red seooles to their sho. >> the fight goes on. >> miss kim kardashian getting married this afternoon, is having a custom pair. >> of course she is. >> of lieu batons. >> wrote a song about it, called how bow tins. they are iconic, whether they can trademark we'll see. >> i love the idea of walking into target and just getting a pair of red soles without having to pay thousands of dollars, right? >> that's a good proposition, yeah. that would be not a bad thing. >> all right. nadya, thank you very much. and coming up, in the next hour --

>> it means everything. i have put everything into this house, all these years. >> toting a bible and fighting like hell to keep her home of 42 years. we'll introduce you to a determined great grandmother. and next from protests to looting and robbery, social media is being used to organize crowds like in london. so how are police responding? i'll talk to a social media expert who works closely with law enforcement about what techniques they are using.

some high-profile cases of crowd violence have raised big concerns and questions about how social media is being used by

those in the crowd and by police. take this, for example, in london violent riots, the prime minister talked about putting restrictions on social media because some of the rioters used twitter, facebook and blackberries. text messaging to organize their protests. in san francisco, the bay area rapid transit authority known as b.a.r.t. shut down cell service in some of its stations in advance of a planned protest. the demonstrators were angry over the shooting death of a homeless man by a b.a. rnchgts t. officer. the protests never happened but they shut down the cell service for safety reasons because protest organizers were expected to rely on smartphones to organize the rally. civil liberty activists, no surprise here, strongly against the decision to cut off the cell phone technology. some say it's unconstitutional. lori stevens a social media expert and creator of laws, communication, she consults with law enforcement agencies about the use of social media. lori, i think we need to remind

our viewers with traditional protests, you know, there are permits and the like that need to be gotten and so police often have advanced notice, able to organize. but with these flash mobs as they're called, being organized through twitter, facebook and text messaging, there's no advanced notice. what are police doing to fight this? >> well, you know, it really depends on the agency. often times they're findings themselves, the agencies thrust into these positions are -- they don't understand how the social networks work to begin with, so then all of a sudden they're in a position where they're having to, you know, being thrust into having to gain intelligence on platforms they don't understand. there are tools to do that. there are tools to monitor them, to automate it, business tools available, tools made especially for law enforcement to do that and they're learning to use those tools. but i think the ones that are really the law enforcement agencies who are in there using

the tools already, are also on twitter monitoring twitter and using it to dispel the rumor, for example, in west midlands and the uk. looking at twitter, looking at what types of things are being said that aren't true. they're using it to dispel those rumors, reassuring their citizens that everything is okay and they're using it effectively in some cases. >> you know, i think we need to remind people as well that this whole notion of a flash mob, started innocently enough. remember the -- thousand -- hundred people rather who danced to michael jackson in times square and there have been other incidents but we have these high-profile incidents of violence and so, tell me, in your estimation, just how bad is it? is it just that we're reporting on these few isolated incidents or is it more widespread than that? >> well, you know, alina, that's a great question. i think it's really important here not to overstate the role that social media is playing.

you know, these social networks that exist, exist in real life too. i recall speaking with sergeant at chicago p.d. back in about the may time frame when they were first experiencing some flash robs and he didn't deny that he felt that maybe twitter was involved there, but he said you know, we're arresting these kids and they're coming from the same two or three high schools. these things are being organized over lunch. it's just that all of this is so new to all of us. the law enforcement community is learning it. we're all learning how to use these tools. and so, it's making the news, i think, because it's just really new as well. >> what about, you know, obviously with this situation in san francisco where the b.a.r.t., the transit authority there decided to shut down cell service at some of the stations, caused a big fuss, people were upset about it, so, you know, are there other ways that law enforcement can fight this

without taking that one extra step? >> yeah. you know, i really think that the single biggest thing law enforcement needs to do is learn to use the tools in the first place. they need to build that foundation. they need to build relationships with their citizens. there are, you know, other opportunities to use these tools in a positive way, rather than making decisions like what we know the law enforcement commanders made in san francisco. i don't like to be in a position to second guess any law enforcement commander. they had a potentially very serious situation there, potential flash mob on a train platform during rush hour. so who am i to arm share quarterback that. i think the best thing they can do is learn to use the tools in the first place. >> good advice. lori stevens, social media expert, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. coming up a friendly basketball game between an american college team and china's national team, turns into this. take a look. a full-scale, all-out brawl.

are you watching this? we're going to tell you what started the madness and now there's word that the two teams may have kissed and made up. your sports is next. store. so you don't have the world's largest selection of apps, that are this easy to find.. and this easy to download right to your phone. so it can be almost anything. like a boarding pass. or do almost anything.. like pay for your coffee. the app store. just one more thing that makes an iphone an iphone. ♪ we were skipping stones ♪ and letting go ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ ♪ she was waiting up around the bend ♪ ♪ smile at me and then you take my hand ♪ [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, where delicious ingredients like toasted oats, with rich dark chocolate, sweet golden honey, or creamy peanut butter come together in the most perfect combinations.

♪ i was thinking that i hope this never ends ♪ ♪ yeah, i was just thinking ♪ i hope this will never end yeah. 24 bucks later. that hurts. it's not like i really had a choice. snack on this. progressive's "name your price" tool showed me a range of coverages and i picked the one that worked for me. i saved hundreds. wow, that's dinner and a movie. [ dramatic soundtrack plays ] this picture stars you and savings. but mostly savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive.

we share. shop from anywhere. and are always connected. we live in a social world. isn't it time we had a social currency to match? membership rewards points from american express. use them to get the things you love from amazon.com, ticketmaster.com, and more unexpected places. they're a social currency with endless possibilities. joe carter from hln sports joining me this morning for a look at the sports highlights. joe, i want to talk ability this basketball game in beijing

between china's national team and georgetown. huge brawl ensued and now they're kissing and making up, perhaps? is that the case? >> exactly. they've called a truce. no word, there's conflicting reports on how the thing started. it was an aggressive game, throughout the game, tensions built throughout the quarter the and then the game ended with a bench-clearing brawl essentially. they have called a truce. georgetown is headed to shanghai to play more basketball. they were at the airport and decided to meet with some of the members of the team and the guys basically came together, apologized, snapped a few pr photos, exchanged a few souvenirs. >> my goodness. >> georgetown in china for a couple weeks promoting goodwill through sports. the video was from thursday. obviously there was bottles thrown, chairs thrown, punches thrown. it got completely out of control. really, nobody knows -- >> really? never would have noticed. >> exactly. no one knows if it was caused by cultural misunderstanding or overaggressiveness. but the ncaa has said that the appeal with college basketball in china is not going away.

you have duke playing there, hawaii playing there right now and they said they're going to keep -- the ncaa is going to keep their presence in china. >> i'm a boston college grad, no surprise this happened -- georgetown team, yeah. exactly. >> okay. okay. >> just kidding, guys. just kidding. let's talk about kobe bryant and the lakers, doing some humanitarian good, right? >> good samaritan. right now the lockout is happening and, you know, several teams have had to lay off several employees. the lakers have just recently fired 20 employees. togging about front office people, scouts, trainers. most of these people will get their jobs back when the lockout ends. two video guys that may not get their jobs back. these two video guys have worked with the team for a combined 16 years. >> wow. >> and this really rubbed the team the wrong way. kobe bryant, derek fisher, kobe bryant, the team's two captains, decided to cast a vote among the team members and decided we're going to take $65,000 worth of

our playoff bonus money and we're going to give it to these two video guys so they can have cash in their pockets as they look for more work. the players when they advance to the playoffs get a bonus. the lakers because they advanced to the first round of the playoffs got $600,000 in bonus money and get to decide, the team gets to decide how they divvy the money. nice gesture on their part. $65,000 to these guys, a drop in the bucket. but it can help a couple video guys who are out of work. >> wish it was a little more, frankly. let's talk about a-rod and what's going on with him. all these allegations about illegal poker playing or something like that. what's he saying? >> again in a sticky mess here, but alex rodriguez has been out for about six, seven weeks now with a knee injury. back with the yankees. he spoke about these allegations that he was involved in several high-stakes illegal underground poker games which happened in 2009. a-rod immediately fired back at the "star" magazine reports calling them extremely inaccurate and totally unfair. he says he's looking forward to

meeting with baseball officials and meeting with commissioner bud selig to clear up this situation and put him -- put it behind him as soon as possible. >> in the meantime he's with cameron diaz vacationing somewhere tropical and warm on a beach. >> he's back to work. in between work he's probably with cameron diaz. >> all right. thank you very much. a message we all need to hear. dr. sanjay gupta speaks with doctors about the latest developments in preventing heart disease and former president bill clinton talks about his own heart scare. >> i was lucky i didn't die. of a heart attack. >> you'll hear from him later on today. rebel leaders meanwhile, in libya, say they are getting close to the capital of tripoli. we will have the latest in a live report from libya next. if you don't have an iphone,

you don't have facetime on your phone, which makes it this easy to talk face-to-face with another iphone. this easy to talk with a mac and this easy to talk with an ipad. facetime. just one more thing that makes an iphone an iphone. but not in my neighborhood. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're throwing away misperceptions about natural gas vehicles. more of the vehicles that fuel our lives

use clean american natural gas today. it costs about 40 percent less than gasoline, so why aren't we using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community.

by the time he felt his first symptoms, former president bill clinton's heart disease had been in the making for decades. but doctors say heart disease is now completely preventable. if you undergo the right testing. here's dr. sanjay gupta. >> for a few months, before this happened, i noticed whenever -- not every time but often when i would do rather strenuous exercise, there are really hilly areas in the town where i climbed the hills and had to stop and take a breath. i didn't take it seriously because every time it happened, i just lowered the exercise level, got my breath back, and it was never painful. it was just tight.

if this isn't good for my heart i don't know what is. >> reporter: by the time he felt the first symptoms that tightness in his chest, president clinton's heart disease was well advanced, it had been decades in the making. >> you don't die with your first plaque. you develop ath throw sclerosises, blockages your whole life for many years before it causes a heart attack or stroke. >> reporter: and what the doctor told me next should ring a bell of hope for just about anyone. who was ever worried about a heart attack. it doesn't have to happen. >> one of the best kept secrets in the country in medicine is that doctors who are practicing aggressive prevention are really seeing heart attacks and strokes disappear from their practices. it's doable. >> you're saying with what we know right now, we don't have to have any more heart attacks in this country. >> i'll never say not any. the great majority, yes. absolutely. >> it's the biggest killer of

men and women, heart disease in this country. >> it's completely preventable. >> for more on your heart health watch sanjay's special this weekend, he talks to doctors on the cutting edge of heart disease prevention, including a former surgeon who has developed a radical diet that he says can make anyone heart attack-proof in just a month. dr. sanjay gupta reports "the last heart attack" this sunday night at 8:00 eastern here on cnn. top stories now, he remains defiant. new indications this morning that libyan dictator moammar gadhafi's 42-year reign may be coming to an end. two u.s. officials say gadhafi may be positioning an exit or possible last stand as rebel forces advance on the capital of tripoli. a former libyan prime minister has joined the opposition. a spokesman for the libyan government denies reports

colonel gadhafi is trying to make accommodations for his family outside of libya. convicted criminals and those who pose the greatest threats to national security and public safety, they are the undocumented immigrants most likely to be deported under a new policy outlined thursday by homeland security chief janet napolita napolitano. $35 billion in damage, that's the running estimate, just so far this year from costs associated with natural disasters. first, more nato air strikes around the libyan capital of tripoli overnight. they come as libyan officials deny reports that moammar gadhafi and his family are looking to leave the city, possibly the country. cnn's matthew chance is live for us in tripoli this morning. so matthew, good morning. what is the latest from there? >> well, we haven't had confirmation first of all of these rumors that have been circulating, alina, about colonel gadhafi attempting to

make contact with other arab countries, attempting to find a secure place for his family to relocate to, possibly for him to flee to, as the rebels consolidate their military gains in various places around the libyan capital tripoli. we've had denials, in fact, to that effect, saying that from the officials we've spoken to here in tripoli, saying that that's not the intention of colonel gadhafi, that despite the rebel gains that they're admitting have been made, particularly in zawiya, the town to the west, colonel gadhafi, they say, is determined to stay where he is in tripoli and he, himself, has been calling on his followers, his supporters here in the libyan capital and it's quite a hotbed of support for the libyan leader. calling on them to resist any push by the rebels towards the capital, alina. >> matthew, as you know, the state department is telling cnn it's not a matter of if, but when, gadhafi will step down.

we'll have to see if that happens. meanwhile, nato certainly is stepping up the pressure, isn't it? >> yes, it is. it's been carrying out much more intensive air strikes in tripoli over the course of the past several days. all along with these rebels making significant military advances in various parts of the country, most notably in zawiya, but also in the south and to the east of the capital as well. they've only managed to do that because they've had such support from french and british war planes that are patrolling the skies as part of the nato mission to enforce the united nations security council resolution 1973. yeah, they've been hitting various locations in tripoli. yesterday we were taken to what we were told was a residential house which had been totally destroyed by multiple missile strikes. a school next door also had been damaged as had a medical store. we didn't see evidence on the ground this was a military facility, although it emerged during the visit that the house

wasn't, in fact, just a house of an ordinary citizen, it was the house of the head of libyan intelligence. so, perhaps, that's the reason why it was targeted in this way by nato war planes. we understand that the libyan intelligence head, his name is abdully sanussi was not killed in the strike but a member of his staff, one of his domestic staff in the house was killed according to officials that took us around that scene. >> the head of intelligence and also the brother-in-law, incidentally, of moammar gadhafi himself. matthew chance live in tripoli for us with that update. as always, thank you. in the united states we want to get back to that sputtering economy. the dow was down again yesterday, and, of course, the dow has been taking a beating. all of the markets have. president obama meanwhile says there are steps that we can take to spark this economy. watch. >> there are things we can do right now that will mean more customers for businesses and more jobs across the country.

we can cut payroll taxes again so families have an extra thousand dollars to spend. we can pass a road construction bill so construction crews who are now sitting idle, can head back to the work site, rebuilding roads and bridges and airports. >> that's from the president's weekly address. meanwhile ohio governor john kasich gave this morning's republican weekly address and he says the real problem is leadership. white house correspondent dan lothian is following the president from his vacation spot in martha's vineyard. dan, as you know, the market lost more than 1300 points in the --? just this month. how is the president dealing with the criticism he shouldn't be taking a vacation right now, he should be back in washington? >> well, you know, the white house will push back on that saying that the president deserves to go on vacation and that even though he's away from the white house, he is not removed from his job. and evidence of that was the first picture that we saw of the

president here on martha's vineyard, was of the president sitting down with his counter terrorism adviser, john brennan. he was getting briefed on a whole host of national security issues. in addition to that, the president, also we are told, received paper briefings from his economic team and then, next week, all of next week, one of his top economic advisers will be here to give the president, we're told, frequent updates on the economic situation. as you know, the big push from the white house is, looking forward to this jobs plan that the president wants to roll out after he returns to washington. he'll deliver a speech and also lay out some details which we are told will be new ideas beyond some of the things that you just heard from the president there in his weekly address. ideas that the white house hopes will be able to spark some job growth and go a long way towards turn this ailing economy around, alina. >> are we getting any sense what those ideas are in terms of creating jobs in this country?

a lot of people are anxious to hear. >> right. and we're still waiting to hear what some -- those details are. we know based on talks with some white house aides that the president is coming up with some ideas along with this advisers. this will be sort of a compilation, if you will, some ideas that the president has answered others that are brought forward by his top advisers. clearly, what it will focus on, though, are issues of infrastructure. you've heard the president talk about that. the idea of finding areas across the u.s. where you can put some of the construction, idle construction workers, back to work. these are just small things, but if you put that together with some other pieces, they believe it could lead to some job creation in areas, especially some states that are hardest hit. >> at 9.1% in july, we certainly need it. dan lothian, live in martha's vineyard, great assignment, good to see you. enjoy the rest of your weekend. >> i'm not complaining.

>> you better not. i'm going to come after you. meanwhile, an 82-year-old woman in brooklyn, new york, is fighting eviction from her home. >> well, it means everything because i have put everything into this house all these years. >> i love this woman. she says she's the victim of predatory lending and she's not going to move without a fight. we'll have her story after the break. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network...

and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. agents, what did we learn here today? that lint balls are extremely flammable... ...that's why it's important to regularly clean and inspect your vents.

correct. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. if you don't have facetimee,e on your phone,. which makes it this easy to talk face-to-face with another iphone. this easy to talk with a mac and this easy to talk with an ipad. facetime. just one more thing that makes an iphone an iphone. [ male ] using clean american fuel is just a pipe dream. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're rolling away misperceptions

about energy independence. did you know that today about a quarter of all new transit buses use clean, american natural gas? we have more natural gas than saudi arabia has oil. so how come we're not using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community. woman in brooklyn, new york,

lived in the same home for 42 years. but soon, she may be getting kicked out. she's a great grandmother and she says she's the victim of predatory lending. just like a tough new yorker, she isn't leaving without a fight. our susan candiotti reports. >> we want justice for our people. >> honk your horn. >> reporter: early friday, supporters rallied outside the home of 82-year-old mary ward. a marshall was due any minute to evict her from the only home she's known since 1969. >> well, it means everything, because i have put everything into this house all these years. >> reporter: ward ran into trouble in the mid 1990s when she refinanced in order to raise cash to fight for custody of her great granddaughter. she was hoping to cash out, $10,000. >> i turned and looked at the check when he handed it to me, i almost passed out.

$1,467.51. >> reporter: far less than the $10,000 she expected. she still has a copy of that check. >> the next day, i went to the district attorney's office because i didn't know what to do. >> reporter: the lender turned out to be shady, but ward could not get the loan rescinded and the house fell into foreclosure. after a long legal battle, her home was sold at an auction three years ago. the new owner wants her out. >> i have no intention of leaving. if they break in, and take me, i won't resist. >> reporter: cnn was inside ward's home mid-morning when her local assembly woman interceded, setting up a meeting with ward and the new owner. >> the marshall will not be taking any action today. >> reporter: after the closed-door meeting, cnn caught up with exclusively with the owner. he told us he's considering a proposal from ward's lawyers to hand the property over to a non-profit that would allow ward

to stay in her home. >> i had a meeting with them. we tried to work out together. >> you couldn't come to a resolution upstairs? why was that not possible? >> i did not get a chance to talk to her. >> this is the first day? >> yes. >> do you think you will be able to come to an agreement. >>? i hope so. >> do you have an intention of letting her stay in her house? >> i'll talk to her again, thank you. >> reporter: ward, the proud granddaughter of a slave, returned home from the meeting to cheers. [ applause ] she's safe from eviction for a few more weeks. after that, her fate depends on whether her lawyers can strike a deal with the owner. >> yes, it will be hard. but justice is going to be done. and, soon. dignity for all. they try to take away our dignity, but they'll never take away my dignity. >> susan candiotti joins us live now from new york.

susan, first of all, i love this woman. i think she is extraordinary. second of all, it's amazing how the community has rallied around her. what's next for miss ward? >> yeah, she really has a small army of supporters ho. she has some money in escrow, if she turns that over to the new owner and the owner turns over this property to a non-profit and take a tax break for himself, perhaps then it would go away and she could continue to live here, the non-profit would let her do that. this is really still very much an open -- up in the air. everyone has to agree to a lot of different moving parts here, so who knows. as we said for now, she's staying put and she has a lot of people backing her up, as you heard, alina. >> i think it's a great story. i think it's great you're following it and you'll keep us up to date on all the developments. susan candiotti live in new york, thank you very much.

tornadoes, flooding and droughts, we've certainly seen our fair share of natural disasters this year. you won't believe the price tag that's come with them. we'll tell you how much next. c? discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. but my data is doubling. and my servers are maxed out. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his technology spend to innovation. so his company runs better, and so does doug. dell. the power to do more. for red lobster we can find. [ male announcer ] hurry into crabfest at red lobster and savor 3 crab entrees under $20 like our crab and seafood bake... or our snow crab and crab butter shrimp. my name's jon forsythe and i sea food differently. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world...

the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief

from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®.

the drought in texas is just one of many huge and costly natural disasters in the u.s. this year. the total cost according to the national weather service, is more than $35 billion. nine of the disasters cost $1 billion each or more. reynolds wolf is with us now. it's like a walk down memory lane, and a memory we don't want to remember, actually, because a lot of these were so deadly as well. >> no question. but it's interesting when we

think about droughts, droughts are just a prolonged event. we think of a weather disaster being a hurricane or tornado, strikes quickly and affects so many people. a drought takes a very long time and the repercussions can be felt for a very long time also. take a look at what we have, when you measure the drought with other events this year, we've had monstrous situations. first and foremost one of the ones we have to mention the $9 billion and 327 deaths resulted from the southeast ohio valley midwest tornado outbreak. certainly a terrible one from april 25th through 30th, includes the one in tuscaloosa, the tornado outbreak that affected us in may, that is -- includes joplin, missouri, $7 billion, and deaths resulted in 177. take a look also at other ones. of course the $5 billion issue with the droughts across the midwest and then the same time another big one we've had, some of you may have forgotten, years have been flying by, the flooding along parts of the

mississippi river, including tunica, mississippi, $4 billion. certainly just an amazing and costly season we've had so far. keep in mind, hurricane season goes all the way through november 30th although things have not been crazy as of yet there's that potential. we have to be advised. speaking of severe weather we had a dose yesterday in parts of pennsylvania. today there will be a chance of more severe weather. this time across parts of the ohio valley, the mid-mississippi valley. tuning in from st. louis, chicago, you might be dealing with some lisa into the afternoon with strong -- delays into the afternoon. hazy, hot and humid across texas. scattered thunderstorms into the four corners and eastern seaboard. dry until you get into the carolinas. chance of storms there. in terms of highs, 92 degrees in washington, d.c. 92 in atlanta. 92 tampa. 93 new orleans, 107 dallas, 86 denver, 94 portland and 84 degrees expected in seattle on this day. get out of there. there you go. alina, back to you. >> thank you very much. we are watching breaking news out of iran at this hour.

cnn has literally just confirmed that two americans accused of spying there have been sentenced to eight years in prison. they are shane bauer and josh fattal. they were arrested after crossing into iran from iraq during a 2009 hiking trip. a third hiker, sarah shourd, you may recall, also was arrested but was released last fall for medical reasons. she said they did not know they had crossed the border while hiking in iraqi cur disstan. we'll bring you more on this breaking news as we get more information. we are going to go now live, am i hearing this correctly? to shirrzads? i'm sorry. i'm not hearing the name. we're -- okay. we're going to go live now to an iranian journalist who joins us now by phone. tell us these two hikers were

sentenced to eight years in prison. was this a big surprise? >> it was rather a big surprise, especially to their attorney who has been in contact constantly and he was hoping they would be given two years each, which was exactly the amount of time that they had served in prison so they would be eligible for immediate release. but apparently that has not happened. we are not sure whether this report is true or false because the lawyer has not been informed of this court decision. and until he hears officially from the court they have been sentenced to eight years, we cannot go with that. i talked to him a few minutes ago. he was still hoping that these reports were false and not correct and that a sentence of two years would be declared by the court. but we'll have to wait and see a few hours to see what exactly is happening. >> what is the fate of this

third hiker who was released last year for medical reasons? >> well, she was exactly released for that reason because there were some about her health and the iranian statement said that considering the islamic kindness and generosity they've decided to let her go because of her physical condition. >> i see. but i understand she was still a defendant. i wasn't clear about whether there would be some sort of future repercussions as a result. i want to go now to susan candiotti who joins us now by phone. she has been on the phone. we're still trying to get susan candiotti. she has been talking to the family of the hikers. do we have her? she spoke to -- do we have susan candiotti. are you there? all right. shezads is still on the phone with us. give us a little bit of background on this case. i know that a lot of people

have, obviously, heard about these iranian hikers being held for this time and being accused of spying, but give us the background of this story? >> we have a bad line. the background is that just a little over two years ago, the three americans, shane baur, josh fattal and sarah shourd, came to iran, according to iranian authorities, illegally. they were arrested by the border control and brought to tehran and put on trial. the trial took about two years, just a little over two years, and they were apparently now, we can't confirm, convicted of spying and illegal entry. they supposedly had been given five years each for spying and three years each for illegal entry. as i said, the man, the attorney, just told me he has

not been informed of the court's final sentence yet. if this is the case and if they are sentenced to eight years each, they will have 20 years beginning today to appeal the sentence of the court. >> of course, we -- all right. and shizads, we thank you for joining us. you can bet there will be appeals in this case. susan candiotti joins us by phone. she has been following the story closely as well. susan, i understand you have spoken to the families of the hikers in recent days and weeks. what have they told you? >> certainly in recent weeks through their representative. we have not been able it to reach them as yet this day, alina, but from the get-go they have insisted that if their sons and daughter had crossed the border, it was simply by accident. in fact, they've said as time has gone on, that they were drawn over the border while they were on a hike by some iranian

guards. this has been an issue for a long, long time. as you just heard, the families have been following this very closely. they have hoped and prayed, frankly, that this sentence would not come down. or that if they were given a sentence, a guilty sentence, that they would be allowed to be released because of all the time they have served so far, more than two years spent in a jail. the -- they've had a tremendous amount of support since the beginning from people who are following their case on-line that have spoken out on their behalf from world figures who have come to the hikers' defense. remember, alina, it was just last year that sarah shourd was released and she has also been doing her best, going to the united nations, speaking before various groups, asking for help to have them released. so, if this sentence is accurate, if it holds up, this would be devastating to everyone. >> it most certainly will.

susan candiotti joining us live. the headline there, out of iran, is that two out of the three american hikers who have been held in iran, one sarah shourd being released for medical reasons, have been sentenced to eight years in prison. five of them for espionage. we are watching this case very, very closely and we will have much more in the next half hour. in the meantime we do want to check our top stories at the bottom of the hour. rebel leaders in libya say they are days away from moving on the capitol of tripoli. u.s. officials say moammar gadhafi could be preparing for a last stand. libyan officials are disputing rebel claims that gadhafi is seeking refuge for his family. three men who were teens when convicted -- [ no audio ]