and days ♪ ♪ charles in charge of all of the rays, and that is it, i want charles in charge of me ♪ that's it. that is all i could do. >> jimmy fallon, thank you so much. >> it is a pleasure and congrats on this gig. you are awesome, man. from the cnn center, this is cnn "sunday morning" it's august 21st. good morning, thanks for joining us. t.j. holmes is off this morning. gunfire and explosions rocked tripoli, taking over parts of libya's capital. government officials say these claim, lies.

i'll get a live update from tripoli. in china, vice president joe biden says the u.s. will never default on its debt. i'll have more on what he's saying about the u.s. economy just ahead. and for many members. u.s. military, returning home is just not complete. well, until they get a hero's welcome from man's best friend. their dog. a very special welcome to all the servicemen and women who are watching us right now on the armed forces network. let's get right to it. we begin with libya where moammar gadhafi's government and rebels are offering very different takes on hats goi s w in that country. opposition leaders say they've taken they are revolution in tripoli. one of gadhafi sons say they are losing every battle. cnn personnel say it seems like some of the most intense yet. before taking the fight into libya's capital, the rebels pushed government forces out of

the key city, the oil refinery city of zawiya, about 30 miles from tripoli. cnn filealed this report and we warn you. some of the video is graphic. >> reporter: rebels shout in jubilation of the claim of a strategic city of zawiya, 30 miles from tripoli. the battle over this city and its large oil refinery ended with gadhafi's army being pushed back several kilometers towards tripoli on saturday, but not without claiming lives. had we arrived two dead bodies lay in the square in the city's center. others died in hospitals or suffered terrible wounds in a fight that lasted about ten day. to give you an idea of how hard-fought this battle was if you look around the square, every single building has massive damage to it. certainly can you see what appears to be bombing from the sky. there is collapsed buildings. there's also this hotel and

several other buildings in this area that have taken heavy artillery fire, but the rebels say there is been able to push out gadhafi forces and for that they have nato to thank. some of this damage, it's from nato? >> yes. and this here. >> reporter: nato bombed the city center? >> bombed, yeah. because snipers here and we lost a lot of people. a lot of rebels in this place, in this street. what we can do, but now we win. >> reporter: by late afternoon, rockets from beyond the eastern gate continued to land in the city, though less and less frequently. still, rebel fighters were itching to speed towards the retreating army down the coastal road that connects this town with tripoli. they say their ready to bring the fight to the capital and stake their claim just as they did here.

for cnn, zawiya, libya. all this while international pressure on moammar gadhafi appears to be intensifying. libya's western neighbor, tunisia, joined other countries in recognizing the rebels' transitional national council as libya's legitimate government. tunisia had been neutral until now. u.s. faciofficials say if gadha make as final stand,s it could involve an offensive against civilians. now to syria where embattled president bashar al assad goes on television today to talk about his country's future. and this is a look at some of the violence friday in damascus. yesterday syrian security forces fired on protesters in the city of palms. the news agency says bashar is expected to address "continuous

steps ever the reform process." southern israel is under fire again today from another barrage of rockets and mortars. the military is reporting at least 17 attacks so far today. defense officials say at least one person died in an attack yesterday. these image, from saturday's attacks. israel launched two retaliatory air strikes on targets in gaza. egyptian state television reports a number of rockets fired from gaza landed in ed ie today newer the gaza border. more with the hour. game over in northern mexico pap soccer match was halted yesterday when gunfire from outside the stadium sent players and fans scrambling for cover. watch. mexican president felipe calderon says no one was killed.

he made the announcement, by the way, on twitter. the area like others in northern mexico has been dealing with a lot of drug cartel violence. reuters news agency reports the shooting began after three vehicles with armed man failed to stop at a military checkpoint. president obama trying to keep a low profile during his working vacation on martha's vineyard pap senior administration official says the president and his top advisers are making progress on a jobs plan with an expected rollout early next month. as for the job of ambassador to the world's newest nation, the president nominated susan page to be america's ambassador to south sudan. her nomination still has to be approved by congress. meanwhile, vice president biden is wrapping up his five-day visit to china where he spent much of his time trying to reassure america's biggest

creditor that the u.s. would never default on its financial obligations and never will. chinese hold roughly $900 billion in u.s. securities. biden telling china that the money and their relationship are safe. >> america's focus on this critical region will only grow in the years to come, as asia plays an even greater role in the global economy in international affairs. >> biden stops in mongolia and japan before returning home to washington. the 9/11 foundation is marking the upcoming anniversary of the september 11th attacks with a memorial motorcycle ride. it started already in somerset, pennsylvania, where participants passed the flight 93 crash site. yesterday riders started at the pentagon and rode into new york. today they will ride to the world trade center where they'll lay a wreath to remember the people who died. the 9/11 foundation supports

first responders and their families through a college scholarship program. they don't call them man's best friend for nothing. home video of soldiers being reunited with their dogs are getting plenty of clicks on youtube. take a look at this one. going to show you some real "tail-biters" if you will. jeanne moos's story. can't wait. first, our frost. >> watching irene. hard to keep track. tropics are alive. one may be getting close to the caribbean. possibly getting a little too close for comfort, to a few other spots. it is definitely hurricane season. we'll deal with the storms through november 30th. time to get prepared. we'll tell you what you need coming up and the latest of what's happening in terms of severe weather around the country. it's a mouthful. more on that coming up. [ vending man ] hi there!

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welcome back. it's nine after the hour. irene, pete erg out. harvey starting up? >> sounds like a bad sitcom, like 1964. >> hi, reynolds wolf. good morning. >> good morning. harvey moving off, beginning to die, possibly the next several hours. however, irene we're keeping a focus on, and with good reason. the magic wall. what's happening with this particular storm. it is a strom one as we speak. only 15 miles per hour. chucking off to the west a decent raid. 20 miles per hour. in terms of the systems, plenty of, actually, minimal shear for the time being. it may strengthen moving to the west and the latest forecast path we have from the national hurricane center is pretty interesting. and what we mean why in, it has the possibility of moving, if you look at this forecast, right

past puerto rico, perhaps over through the jamaican republic into haiti. notice we extetend out to five days by early thursday morning, very close to the florida keys and in the cone of uncertainty it goes very close to miami. one thing to know. takes a little time when it comes to these systems. this system to remain strong has to be in place of minimal stare. it can stair the systems apart. at the same time, important to stay away from land. notice, follow the path. this thing will be hopscotching near puerto rico, right in port-au-prince. close to haiti, possibly cuba. i would say the odds of this thing staying together, intact, all the wait through these islands and moving to miami or towards the florida keys is minimal for the time being. if you have open sea without any interaction with land whatsoever, the odds are pretty favorable. looks remote for the time being, still, we have to keep you informed and something else to

remember, we're moving towards the peak of the tropical season, in terms of the tropics in the atlantic for all kinds of weather systems to develop. namely the depressions. this is the time to stock up on key things. water, batteries. talking about all the non-perishable goods you need during hurricane season. keep it in mind. something else around the rest of the nation. a chance of thunderstorms across parts of the northeast. a nice day in the northeast. today different, especially afternoon. thundershowers possible in the northeast. high temperatureses going into the triple digits against in dallas. 105. 91 in denver, 9 8 in portland. a quick snapshot of the forecast. right back to you. >> reynolds, every time i come down to atlanta i ask you this question on the sunday i return to new york. am i going to have d.c. lays toda delays today? >> you might have delays.

maybe a few more days. >> really? >> maybe a few hours. >> we'll go tout dinner. check back later. true heroes. soldiers coming home from deployments to their dogs. the reunions caught on video and, of course, they are youtube gold. jeanne moos has some of the best. >> reporter: you know all of those heartwarming two-legged reunions? the military ones that end in -- >> love you. >> reporter: them, this is the four-legged version. >> do you not recognize me? >> emmitt thunder paws is the great dane's name and for this senior airman arriving back from afghanistan. >> it was the second best reunion i've had since getting back. >> reporter: the best being the one with his wife whitney. >> i think he remembers you. >> he didn't get out of this for about week. >> reporter: from humongous dogs to tiny ones, these two dachshunds, canine reunions are

running rampant on youtube. >> hi, hi! >> reporter: from beetles to crying over her air force pilot. >> reporter: they can be turn into a baby-talking softy. >> reporter: fathers talk to their dogs like adults. >> i miss ud so bad, honey. i'm so sorry i went away. >> you were so small. >> ah, you're going to make me cry. >> reporter: soldiers locked in a canine embrace. >> he wanted direct eye contact to make sure that i was here. >> reporter: the doggy reunion can even eclipse the human one. no lady of the house handed her man the camera to show off her welcome home ensembles. >> lovely outfit. >> yes. >> the dog kept stealing the

show. >> wonderful. it's so -- >> i'm looking so old. i'm sorry, but i need to be the center of attention, so -- >> reporter: of course, dogs have a pretty short attention span, so after 45 seconds of intense petting and a little chasing around. >> and we're done. >> reporter: for those who think the joy pets bring is just hot air -- it's the next best thing to a reunion. yes. won't you just oncen happy to see me. >> happy. >> reporter: happy even when outnumbered. at least a soldier can say things to his dog he probably shouldn't say to his wife. >> that's your butt. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> those dogs are taller than me on two leg. all right. coming up, decades in the making. coming up next, we'll take you on a virtual tour of the amazing martin luther king jr. memorial.

a full week before its dedication. that's next. [ woman ] jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage 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®.

get a face-lift. a week from today the martin luther king jr. memorial will be dedicated, but we're going to give you a sneak peek now. josh levs is with us. >> the countdown begins right now. right now. one week from this morning that the memorial is at last

dedicated, years and years in the making. there's going to be events all week. let me show you a couple of pictures. these are renderings of what it's going to look like. let's do this. jump into the virtual tour. ♪ >> reporter: i'll tell you more about it, invoked for the memory and spiritual presence of dr. king. the wall you're seeing along the left is 450 feet long. with inscriptions all over it carrying more than a dozen quotes from dr. king. some of his most famous quotes and sermons, parts of sermons in there. and the organizers says focused on four themes, democracy, justice, hope and love. behind me, interactive, showing you right where it is. jump to this one. this is the sculpture of dr.

king. it's 30 feet tall. questions yesterday, what's he facing? looking out towards the horizon. organizers say this signifies the idea he's looking towards a future that he imagined and believed in. look at inscription on the side. out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope pap quote from his "i have a dream" speech. look how this whole thing is designed. this sculpture of him is the stone of hope that's being pulled out of, or coming out of, this over here. the mountain of despair. they're literalizing that metaphor. i want you to see specifically where this is located. i'm putting a triangle so you can see. across the tight tidal basin, the lincoln memorial, on the other side. zoom in a little. how central it will be in washington. the washington monument in the best known spot in washington. the lincoln memorial is where dr. king delivered his "i have a

dream" speech right there on the steps you're looking at. zoom around to the lincoln memorial, you'll see the new dr. luther king jr., right there, just along the water. so while you're at lincoln memorial, you will be able to see, dr. king would have been able to see, that day, in a exact spot where the memorial to him will now be. everything i've just shown you is online and a lot more from our special section on cnn.com. cnn.com/josh, on facebook and twitter, @joshlev @joshlevscnn. you were one of the first to join twitter. i thank everybody following me on twitter as a result of me talking about it endlessly on the show yesterday. >> go to cnn and join up.

>> thanks, josh. we remind you to join us next weekend for the dedication of the mlk memorial. our t.j. holmes will be back from his well-deserved vacation live for the ceremony in washington. and ecuador, one of the most biodiverse places on earth. look at that. it's also a haven for oil. we're going to show you why actress bo derek is getting involved ed id in save the are. she is asking for your help and you'll hear from her. plus the dow, s&p and nasdaq all took a pounding this week. the dow alone lost 1,300 points in the first week. we'll look ahead has to expect. but my data is doubling. my servers are maxed out. i need to think about something else when i run. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his company's technology spend

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welcome back. guys, get out your tissues.

kim kardashian is officially off the market. the happy bride married basketball player kris humphries in a lavish ceremony in a lavish estate in california yesterday. we are still waiting for the pictures. more than 400 guest was there. "people" magazine shelled out big bucks for the exclusive photo rights of her fairy tale wedding. stay tuned. the issue hits newsstands on monday. and saving the national park in ecuador. take a look. one of the most biodiverse places on earth. home and sanctuary to dozens of threatened species. the ecuadorian government partnering with the united nations is asking the world for $3.6 billion to keep it unspoiled. $100 million by december. i recently spoke to legendary actress bo derek, appointed by the ecuadorian government. here's part of our conversation. >> this is weren't of the last places of amazon rain forest

that's completely untouched and pristine. so many of our conservation programs are trying to put back what we've already spoiled. this is unspoiled. there are two indigenous tribes living there in voluntary isolation. if were you to go there as a tourist, you couldn't even go by motorboat. you have to go two hours by canoe to get to the heart of this park. it's -- it's so beautiful. so spectacular. and this is -- the way it comes across, it sounds as though ecuador is looking for dollars and to sell this, in a sense, but what they've done is put this in trust at the united nations, this project, and by asking for $3.6 billion from the world, to keep this oil in the ground forever, they are contributing $5 million in income that they will never see, by presenting this project. >> bo, you're hoping to raise in

partnership with the united nations $100 million just by december. how much have you raised? how much more is there to go? so what are you doing to raise that money? >> you know, various countries have already contributed and pledged to contribute for the next 13 years. the project is just now being open to the private sector, to foundations, to the ngos, and i think this $100 million by the end of the year is a sign of good faith and intent from the rest of the world, that they value this idea and this historic project. >> wonderful person. wonderful effort. ecuador, by the way, needs the money to prevent drilling in the oil-soaked region. bo made reference to that. they could make billions off of this land and incredibly are choosing not to for what they feel is a great are cause. quite a sacrifice, if you think about it, for a struggling, developing nation. i want to look at markets. have you had enough of those

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welcome back, and good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm alina cho sitting in today for t.j. holmes. it's 30 minutes past the hour. top stories now, it's back to work form tore some 45,000 unionized workers at verizon communications, on the picket lines the past two weeks fighting the company over diminished holidays, health and retirement benefits. although both sides haven't agreed to a contract just yet, they have agreed to continue to negotiate. in iran, the attorney representing two u.s. hikers found guilty of spying says he hopes the holy month of ramadan might help lighten their prison sentences. both josh fattal and his friend slapped with jail sentences. their lawyer will appeal the sentences hoping the court shows leniency citing the spirit of ramadan. a sense of jubilation with

each victory over dictator moammar gadhafi's military, and the rebels say the capital of tripoli is next after securing the town of zawiya about 30 miles away, but gadhafi loyalists paint a far different picture saying the rebels are fighting and losing each battle. i want to find out what's happening right now in the libyan capital. matthew chance has been in tripoli for about two weeks now. matthew joins us by phone. matthew, i know your movements are controlled by libyan authorities, but has the fighting intensified from where you sit? >> reporter: well, since last night, it's become much less intensive. last night we saw, witnessed, a very ferocious gun battle in the streets of tripoli. we could hear them from the hotel. last night they couldn't hide from us the fact there were these ferocious gun battles in various area ace cross tripoli. indeed a government spokesperson

came out later on in the evening and said, yes, there have been, what he called, small armed gangs, but they've been essentially brought under control and now the situation is stable in tripoli. that's according to the government, but the situation outside the hotel, from what we can hear, is still very volatile, there is still sporadic, even this morning under way, between various groups. clearly, alina, what we're witnessing here is some kind of uprising. that the government said essentially has been quashed, but we're still hearing sporadic gunfire indicating the situation isn't totally under control of the gadhafi loyalists. >> since we last talks 24 hours ago, i'm trying to get a sense whether there's any sense from where you sit that gadhafi is losing his grip on power anymore so today than yesterday? >> reporter: i think so, because at this time yesterday when we spoke last, as to the word

ferocious, in tripoli, appeared very quiet in several months. very stable. we've been talking about the fighting taking place between the rebels and gadhafi forces. 30 miles or 50 kilometers to the west of tripoli. that fighting appears to have subsided somewhat as the rebels consolidate their hold on that strategically important town. and almost virtually as some went down, the fighting broke out last night inside tripoli itself. and that, as i say, highly unusual. we haven't seen these kinds of clashes since this crisis in libya began. earlier on in the crisis, there were protesters, anti-gadhafi protesters, in the capital, but they were cracked down by the authorities and since then it's been very quiet in the capital up until now. even now i can hear quite heavy machinegun fire crackling in the

streets outside the hotel. >> even one rebel leader told the "new york times" if you call any mobile number in tripoli you will hear in the background the beautiful sounds of bullets of freedom. clearly, as you say, the fighting has intensified. a senior international correspondent matthew chance, thank you, as always. we wuturn to the markets. three straight weeks of losses. more than 1300 points down on the dow in just the first three weeks in august. this probably won't catch you by surprise. the s&p, the nasdaq, the dow, all down. the managing director of morgan stanley smith barney is with me now. i asked you before the break, should re fasten our seat belts and be in for another rocky week? >> this has been one of the most volatile in a long time. no one knows what's going to happen overseas and in the

united states. there's fear. with fear is always opportunity. >> what is the key of what's driving that fear? >> global gdp has been lower. 3.2 to 2.9 gdp. the markets and slower growth. >> key indicators we're looking for next week? >> you'd like to see housing numbers better. that would help. the housing sector hurt our economy in the united states more so than in europe. seeing that would be good. we'd like to see employment numbers get better. down to 125,000 job as month in our estimate. >> morgan stanley says about the u.s. markets, it ain't great, but it ain't 2008. is that true? are we not in for another double-dip recession? or what's your view on this? >> i think we get close to recession but we don't think we're going to have one. 2008 was a little different. a lot more leverage on the battle sheets. right now there's $1 upon 5 trillion in corporations, in

cash coffers. they can weather the storm better than ever before. and the balance sheets in banks, now they're 10-1 leverage. we're better prepared. >> the bailouts worked, do you think? >> well, to some degree, probably, by infusing liquidity into the system but also pared back their risk. 20-1 leverage you have to do things to get back to tinder lines. they pared back balance sheets as well i. saw in the "new york times" talking about the luxury of retail markets being quite strong. seems there's a real disconnect, or is there, just between the haves and have nots? >> a bifurcation. there's different times in which things do well. the high-end, european buying in the united states. go to new york, i don't how much time you spend in new york. >> people are bringing suitcases to do buying. >> exactly. the amazing thing about the economy, you may know, the

dollar's weak, take advantage. strengthens it. it's self-correcting at times. >> for people, all of my friends when i speak to them, i'm not even going to look at my 401(k). is that the right approach? i spoke to somebody that said, stay put. don't make any big changes. what's your advice on this? >> when the market's down 8%, historically, the next year it's not. people tend to overreact what's just happened. nervous about positions, sell back positions to which you can sleep at night and listen to your adviser. what's your age, what your expectations are and reallocate based on that. >> even though you think you might be a smart mind, find a smarter mind to help you? >> indeed. especially in this area. >> thank you so much for your insight. coming up, do you know what a mancany is? what about jeggings? a few new words in the concise

english dictionary. the definitions for these words and much more and a look at some of the new one, too, right after this. i want to look at the

now at 39 minutes after the hour. too early to say whether tropical storm irene will intensify to hurricane status. certainly our reynolds wolf is watching it very closely. where are we at? too soon to tell, right ask. >> in the very, very early stages. this would be the opening crevice, if you're watching a movie. don't even have the popcorn and drink yet if there were a movie. we're talking about irene. fairly strong. winds 50 miles per hour moving to the west at 20 miles per hour. the situation of the storm is

interesting. it does have the possibility of moving a bit to the west. in fact, the national hurricane center is forecasting it to strengthen with winds of 70 miles per hour, as you get into monday. still a strong tropical storm then possibly again nuk chfluct into power, 60 to 70 moving over the island. i don't have a lot of confidence in the forecast at the time being. notice this, very close to florida, in fact into the keys. i'm not confident. this is simple. these tropical systems are kind of like, think of, like, a wagon wheel you would have on a wagon in the old west. the rim of the wheel then the spokes. the way these tropical systems work, when they interact with anything that disrupts its circulation pattern. like, say, strong upper level winds, shear, any kind of land formation, like these islands, what happens, these spokes tend to get knocked out, compromises the overall structure of the storm and it tends to fall apart. shear is one thing. the other, land.

take a look. this has the possibility of basically interacting with land across the virgin islands, across puerto rico. right across the dominican republic into haiti and then cuba. the odds of it still maintaining any structure and moving all the way to the bahamas, perhaps into florida, the best thing we can do, keep eyes on it. that's what we'll do here at cnn, we're your hurricane headquarters. a sharp eye on the forecast. scattered showers and storms across much of the northeast. west, dry conditions and warm in the pacific northwest. a few key places, namely like both in portland and into seattle, you'll be into the 80s. close to 90 degrees in portland with 89. 95 in salt lake city. 86 in kansas city. 84 new york and boston with 85. a wrap on the forecast. alina, back over to you. >> one of my favorite stories of the day. >> oh, boy. >> they come out with a dictionary every year with special words and everything. the concise oxford english dictionary is adding new words.

400 of them, to be exact. take a look at some of the ones that cat our eye. cyberbullying, denialist, jeggings. you know the definitions of some. mankini. refweet, sexting and woot. i mentioned some of these definitions are obvious. not so obvious for some of the other ones. so, you know what cyberbullying is, obviously. what about woot? do you know what that is? >> not too sure. >> woo, ochlwoot i didn't know. an explanation especially in electronic communication used to express elation, triumph. it's woot! jeggings. you know what they are? you have a couple pairs yourself. right xwa. >> fill me on. what are jegging? >> jeggings? >> i'm way, way behind on this. >> come on. e are tight-fitting stretch trousers for women, resembling jean. you know, they're like jeans but

they're tight jeans. >> okay, okay. >> tight fitting, like leggings and jeans combined. >> okay. unbelievable. okay. the more you know. interesting. hmm. >> i wore them when i interviewed justin bieber last year and thought i was really cool. denialist. that's kind of self-explanatory. a person who refuses to admit the truth of a concept or proposition supported by the majority of scientific or historical evidence. you're never a denialist, reynolds wolf. i know that. a mankini. this is something you wear in the summer. >> unbelievable. yeah. >> it's a brief one-piece bathing garment for men with a t-back. >> do you know what time it is? time to apply what we've learned. use them in a sense. i had to woot when i tried my jeggings. my friends thought i was a denialist when i tried a mankini. >> you are good. >> coming up on our next break, you'll get to see me wearing a

mankini while doing the weather. >> jim wore one, as joke. we'll put your head on that. >> whatever it takes. >> reynolds, thank you. >> see you. >> great mind there. all right. coming up, for a fresh start in life, thousands are lining up at a temple in thailand. but listen to this -- just an extraordinary ritual. the monks there are offering the promise of re-birth and rejuvenation to the faithful by burying the person they used to be. that's right. you have to lie in a coffin to get blessed. we'll explain, next. 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.

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[ 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 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. joining me again for our "morning passport." nadya, unusual ceremony in thailand. >> this is frefting. it's the temple, about 66 miles northeast of bangkok, and here what you have is people who

literally have mock funerals as a way of erasing bad luck. getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. so you're seeing them beginning the ceremony. they lie with a bnunch of flowes about 90 seconds. look what's happening. they take the sheet, with the sheet going that way, we pull out all the bad luck and then they bring in all the good luck. and people pay around $6 to do this, and this is what it gets them. they pay to do it. it gets them notice. now they're bringing back, and in all the good luck. what they're paying for is the chanting of the buddhist priests. so, begin, it's a death chant, and then it's a birth chant. what's interesting, in thai tthe two things determine your fate. one your name, the other your birthdate. if you're having bad luck, change your birth date and have

a new birth date. >> ah, now it's making sense to me a little bit. >> right. and the concept of beginning again, today is the first day of the rft of your life, some essence of revival is certainly not new one? >> that this been going on a long time? >> it has been going on a long time in respect was a horror movie "the coffin" based on this ritual. some do it several time as year, revive and renew and refresh. some people only do it, say, once a year. it's certainly become increasingly popular. what you get for around your $6, is the chanting, the bunch of flowers's in a merit bags, and in there, toothpaste, toothbrush and a little food to get you through. >> a little gift bag when you leave? like going to a charity dinner? >> exactly. as you say, but what is wonderful is that you have a psychological sense and a lot of psychotherapists and psychologists and

psychiatrists -- >> is this popular? >> very popular. they've weighed in on the concept of saying, let us have an opportunity to start again. >> well that part i can wrap my head around. all right. nadya, thank very much with our "morning passport." coming up, high priced and high tech. low on performance. which aircraft is the u.s. military thinking about grounding over sky-high costs? we'll tell you. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. ♪ we were skipping stones ♪ and letting go ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ ♪ she was waiting up around the bend ♪

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their costs -- sky high. critics say their performance, well, a bit too down to earth. two of the military's most expensive jets are growing closer to the congressional chopping block. barbara star has the latest. good morning, barbara. >> reporter: defense secretary leon panetta knows full well he has got to cut pentagon spending. these expensive aircraft programs might just be the place he starts. it's the most expensive weapons program ever, says the pentagon. $384 billion earmarked for some 3,000 f-35 stealth fighter jets.

testing is resuming after a two-week halt when electrical problems emerged. then there's the f-22 air force stealth fighter at more than $140 million per plane. the nearly 200-plane fleet has been grounded since may after oxygen to the pilots kept cutting off. one pilot died. with a half trillion dollar price tag for both aircraft -- >> the question is, are you really getting the kind of combat capability that justifies that cost? >> we cannot afford aircraft that double and tripping the estimated cost. >> we have to be very careful. >> reporter: the f- 2 impact. the f-35, may go the same way. both planes have serious limitations. >> these aircraft are relatively short range, which means they have to be based fairly close to the area of conflict. what we've seen in recent years, countries like china, countries like iran, building ballistic

missile forces that can easily target the forward air bases. >> reporter: winslow wheeler, a pentagon spending critics, says the planes are too expensive and not stealthy enough. >> against some radars, it's detectable as soon as it comes over the radar horizon, and some of the radars that are best as doing that are quite edicuated. >> reporter: this is certainly likely to be in the cross hairs when congress begins debating this fall. ailelin alina. and serenading with cool music to beat the heat wave. take a listen and watch what his instrument of choice is.

[ playing "let me call you sweetheart" ] >> yes, he's playing a song. one of our cnn producers found him as free concert. we're going to show you where you have to go to see him. my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

just before the top of the the hour, in today's "crosscountry" we taking to michigan where they found a great way to spend a hot summer day. cnn producer karen and a photo journalist take you to beautiful lake huron. >> on behalf of the rotary club we'd like to thank you for coming out tonight. tonight we have the sunshine string band all the way from midland county. >> i bought a regal mandolin when i came home from korea. and a buddy sat on it, we were out drinking and playing. so i saved the neck out of it and then i rebuilt the body for it. well, that was back, 45 years ago. i rebuilt it.

so it's one of the playingist instruments i've ever had and mandolin, so i'm 83. playing harmonica and accordion. whatever's left over, i try to play. ♪ >> you've got to watch it. it's a very dangerous instrument. it's cut off three legs already. [ playing "let me call you sweetheart" ] from cnn center, this is "cnn sunday morning." it's august 21st. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm alina cho. t.j. holmes is off this morning.

rebels in libya celebrate gains they say they're making in tripoli. government officials say the rebel claims are all lies. i'll get a live update from inside the country. and two u.s. hikers face eight-year prison sentences in iran for spying and trespassing. i'll have the latest on u.s. reaction. let's get right to the fighting for control of libya, and new reports this morning about sporadic gunfire in tripoli, the capital. matthew chance has been inside the country for weeks now. he joins us by phone from tripoli, and matthew, you told us about a half hour ago about hearing some gunfire outside of your hotel. is that still happening right now? >> reporter: yes. sporadic clashes taking place in various parts around tripoli. we're also hearing some explosions every now and again. it's not clear what they are. but they're certainly not the pair strikes from the nato warplanes that we've become so accustomed to hearing over the past week or so. these are different. these are grenades, much smaller

explosions. obviously indicating that there are still clashes under way between these various groups. the armed forces of moammar gadhafi and the rebels who are staging what is, really, an uprising in tripoli. the question is, to what extent the gadhafi loyalists still have control? certainly government spokespeople we've got access to here in tripoli say that the situation is under control. they say we're just talking about few armed groups that essentially infiltrated various parts of the city, but they've been dealt with, in the words of the government spokesperson here. still, gunfire, we can hear outside the hotel every few minutes or so, anymow. >> you did say in the last half hour there appears to be somewhat of a shift in terms of gadhafi and his grip on power? >> reporter: well, i was making a comparison between what the

situation is now and 24 hours ago when we last spoke. when tripoli was very quiet. violence taking place in distant locations, 50 miles, kilometers or so away from the city. what changed is that violence, that fighting that uprising has come to the capital that's long been considered a source of stability for the gadhafi regime. it's where many of his forces are concentrated. it's believed that he's got a lot of supporter es. his concentration of issupporte in the capital as well. quite surprising that so quickly these rebels gained from other parts of the country, that the violence changed. the pressure is building on gadhafi's regime here, shown by the fact opposed to colonel gadhafi has taken this opportunity to rise up. the question is, will they

manage to fog through this uprising or crushed by the libyan armed forces. >> matthew chance live from tripoli. as always, thank you very much. now to syria where embattled press bashar al assad goes on television today to talk about his country's future. [ speaking in foreign language ] that was sniper fire in homs, organizers report several deaths from syrian security force there's. the syrian arab news agency says al assad is expected to address "continuous steps of the reform process." just last week the u.s. called on al assad to step down. southern israel now. again under fire today from another barrage of rockets and mortars. the military is now reporting 20 attacks so far just today. defense officials say at least one person died in an attack yesterday. these images are from saturday's

attacks. israel launched two retaliatory air strikes on targets in gaza and israeli authorities arrested dozens of men in surrounding towns. in iran, the attorney for two americans sentenced to eight years in prison is hoping the court will show some leniency to the two. our susan candiotti tells us how we learned of the sentences. >> reporter: news came from an iranian state media website and not announced on iranian tv quoting a judiciary source quoting that they had been sentenced to five years for spying and three years each for illegally crossing the border into iran. now, the state department still has no official confirmation of this andish ued a statement. u.s. state department spokesmen said we are working to confirm these reports and are in contact with the swiss to obtain more information. we have repeatedly called for the release of shane bauer and

josh fattal. the u.s. state department is also working with the swiss ambassador, because she is the liaison between the two countries, since the u.s. has no mission in iran. the families have been silent so far. the families of the hikers. and that's not unusual in a case like this, because often when a major announcement is made, the families get together, wait for official confirmation and then he issue a statement or speak out publicly, and so far the lawyer representing the hikers that was hired by the family tells cnn that he has had no official confirmation from the courts about this sentence. now, courts are closed on saturdays, but they are reopening on sunday. so the hope is from the lawyer that he will hear something at that time. it's interesting to note that last september, when hiker sarah shourd was released on humanitarian grounds and then returned to new york, she met with iran's president, mahmoud

ahmadinejad, who happened to be in new york for a meeting at the u.n. general assembly. at that time shep asked the president for compassion. it would appear now iranian courts have chosen a different path. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. tomorrow marks one month since the terror attacks that rocked norway. a national remembrance ceremony is being held today in oslo for the 77 people killed. it comes just one day after survivors returned to the scene of the crime for the first time since the shooting. that's where the suspect allegedly gunned down 69 of the victims, and the suspect who police say has reportedly confessed to the crime has officially pleaded not guilty in court. it is seven minutes after the hour. harvey and irene, the tropical odd couple, as you will, as harvey loses steam, irene is powering up. we get to reynolds wolf who has

the latest. harvey petered out and irene crept up quickly. didn't it? >> harvey's gone, gone, gone. been gone so long, gone so long. harvey's going. the bad news, irene is sganing strength. maximum sustained winds 50 miles per hour. forecast holds it may increase to 70 over the next, say, 12 hours or so. perhaps faster than that. speaking of speed, it's moving at a pretty decent clip out of the west and moving westerly around 20 miles per hour. the question is, where's this thing going to go? that's the big question we have. possibly the answer from the national hurricane center. those guys are brilliant and the latest forecast they have brings the storm right through the british virgin islands, past the u.s. virgin islands, possibly through puerto rico. the republic of haiti and maybe cuba. you'll get a time frame monday. 70 miles, from 50 to 70. possibly losing strength crossing over land. and dominican republic, staying

about the same, forecast holding and then possibly into the florida keys, bahamas as we get into thursday. that said, if you live in florida, i want you to be on guard and ready for a long hurricane season, which lasts all the way through to november 30th. not to say this specific storm, this specific system will make its way to you. there are a lot of obstructions in its path. one, the chance it will interact with shear. strong winds can tear it apart. the other thing, interact with land. when it moves over land it's away from its primary source. that being it's water. a lot of loops this thing's got to jump through before it gets close to the u.s. as always, waging it carefully. also watching thunderstorms popping up across the landscape. mainly the eastern half of the u.s. south of louisville, north of nashville on 65. northward to louisville today seeing rainfall and if you look up towards parts of the northeast especially east of buffalo now along parts of 81, strong storms. we expect those to intensify

into the afternoon. if you have any flights, alina, going towards any major airports in new york, alina you might have a few delays. be advised. thunderstorms possible on the gulf coast and across parts of the ohio valley. out west, not a problem in terms of rain. warm and sunny as we wrap things up fairly quickly, notice the highs out to the west. check them out. going to 83 in seattle. 89 in portland. 80 for chicago. 92 atlanta and 84 in new york. all right. you are up to speed. come on. there you go. all right. send it back to you. >> reynolds, i believe you're saying, buy a book at the airport? >> not a bad idea. >> or an "us weekly" depending how i'm feeling. thank you. the ripple effects of the recession now spreading to the most vulnerable victims. children. >> i get my boxing gloves on every day for them. >> we'll introduce to you that family that's struggling parents, sometimes forced to go

hungry so they can feed their four children. that story is next. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. experience the summer of audi by september 6th and get over 130 channels of siriusxm satellite radio for 3 months at no charge.

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but i did. they said i couldn't fight above my weight class. but i did. they said i couldn't get elected to congress. but i did. now i'm trying to make it in music. ♪ sometimes when we touch ha ha! millions of hits! [ male announcer ] the new hp touchpad starting at $399.99. ♪ listen to this staggering statistic. one in five children in this country lives below the poverty line. and the recession is only making it worse. athena jones caught up with a couple in washington who have fallen on hard times. now forced to make enormous sacrifices to feed their four children.

>> this is the -- >> okay. >> reporter: the ripple effects of the recession can be felt here at the washington home of nathan and kianna wallace. both out of work for more than two years, and their unemployment benefits have run out. the wallaces live in public housing and don't have to pay rent, but have struggled to pay utility bills and recently had their power cut off. >> we did candles. we just -- you know, some days during a six-week period, the kids eat has we eat but we just have to make sacrifices. >> reporter: both of their cars reposed and they'll have to come up with $120 for metro passes for their four children once school starts and once brought in $5,000 a month and say they're determined to get back on track. >> i get up with my boxing gloves on every day for them. >> reporter: according to a study by the neck foundation, a national charity, one in five children live below the poverty line in 2009.

the wallace family receives food stamps each month, but they run out after about three weeks. nathan mows lawns and does other odd jobs and kianna sells snow cones and candy to get by. >> do you go outside here or -- >> i do it on the corner and then with the candies i do it all on the metro, i do it at the subway stations. i do it up and down the street. i do what it takes to make sure we can survive another day. >> reporter: she brings in as much as $145 on a really good day. but that doesn't happen often. 13.9 million people are unemployed in july and nearly half of them are like the wallaces. people who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. advocates for children and families continue to want to see the focus on budget cuts hurt programs for the poor. >> we can't forget about children as we make decisions in the fiscal crisis. we can't cut these programs thinking eventually we might put money back into them, because

childhood is a very short time. >> reporter: kianna's daughter has a lot of plans for her future. >> first, college for designer school. after i graduate from designer school, send in my pictures to be a model. after i'm a model five years open my own store, a clothing store. >> reporter: for cnn, washington. standard & poor's sent the markets into a tizzy this month when they downgraded the nation's credit rating. well, now s&p is under federal investigation for something completely unrelated. some are calling it political backlash. revenge, but the government says the investigation started long before the downgrade. we'll have details from wall street, next. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good.

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s&p is a four-letter word in washington these days, that's after the firm lowered the u.s. credit rating rocking the markets and angering most of capitol hill. now we learned that standard & poor's is under federal investigation for something that apparently dates back to the housing bust three years ago. or does it? cnn's allan chernoff has more. >> reporter: standard & poor's and moody's are targets of federal investigations into mortgage securities that went sour during the financial crisis. according to sources familiar with the inquiries, attorneys from the department of justice and the securities and exchange commission have been digging into the rating agency's methodology. in particular, did executives veto credit analysts' efforts to

downgrade ratings so as not to lose business from the issuers of securities who were paying to be rated. >> but the credit rating agencies failed spectacularly in the years leading up to the financial crisis. >> reporter: the rating companies have been getting slammed in congress, and in depositions given to federal investigators. one former credit analyst told cnn it had two interviews in the past six months with federal agents and had shared evidence of what he described as improper management influence in the ratings process. "they have plenty of ammunition, "said, there are plenty of people who will squeal on them." the sec has been on this issue for some time. a 2008 report quoted one e-mail from a credit analyst saying, let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of card falters. once several days ago a top analyst from moody's had a comment cha charged the going of management is to mold analysts into pliable corporate citizens

who cast their community votes in line with unchanging corporate credo of maximizing earnings. they said it won confirm or deny but added cases rising are among the highest priorities among the enforcement division. the department of justice had no comment. a spokesperson for standard & poor's told cnn s&p has received several requests from different government agencies over the last few years relating to u.s. mortgage-backed securities. s&p has commented with these requests and will continue to cooperate. cnn asked moody's for comment, but did not receive one by deadline. allan chernoff, cnn, new york. former president clinton may have had the most powerful job in the country, the world, really, but he says his touch it job was surviving a heart attack. >> i was lucky i didn't die.

of a heart attack. >> yes, he was. can we really be heart-attack proof? sanjay is next with details. run more smoothly by helping remove deposits and cleaning up intake valves. so when you fill up at an exxon or mobil station, you can rest assured we help your engine run more smoothly while leaving behind cleaner emissions. it's how we make gasoline work harder for you. exxon and mobil. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air.

that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. there's whole grain in every box. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful.

top stories now, the attorney representing two u.s. hikers found guilty of espionage in iran says he hopes that tehran will show his client leniency in the holy month of ramadan. both josh fattal and boyer were slap pd with seven-year sentences. their attorney will appeal. and each victory over colonel moammar gadhafi's military and the rebels say the capital, tripoli, is next, after she secured the town of zawiya. gadhafi loyalists paint a far different picture saying the rebels are fighting and losing each battle. and new this hour, pope

benedict xvi celebrates the final mass of world youth day festival in spain. thousands of young roman catholics from around the world attended the four-day gathering in madrid. the pope urged the young not to be ashamed of their beliefs. by the time he felt his first symptoms, bill clinton's heart disease had been in the making for decades. but doctors say heart disease is now completely, completely preventible, if you undergo the right testing. here's our dr. sanjay gupta. >> for a few months before this happened i noticed whenever -- not every time, but often had i would do rather strenuous exercise, there are really hilly areas in the town where i live. i'm climb those hills and have to stop and take a breath. i didn't take it seriously, because every time it happened i 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. >> 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 arthroxror loesz blockages really your whole life from many, 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's 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. >> reporter: and you're saying we, with what we know right now, we don't have to have anymore heart attacks in this country? >> i'll