never would have given jackson that amount of the drug, the amount that was found in his body. the prosecution, on the other hand, is saying, hey, he was the doctor taking care of him in the house. michael jackson died under his care. he needs to be held accountable. >> all right. ted rowlands, the l.a. courthouse. we'll be following the trial. thanks. here's some other stories making news later today. 11:30 a.m. eastern today, senate republicans focus on jobs, making remarks ahead of the president's speech late they are evening. president obama reveals his jobs plan to a joint session of congress at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we will have live coverage that begins at 6:00. post-speech analysis at roughly 8:00 eastern. then the 2011 nfl season kicks off with the green bay packers hosting the new orleans staaint. >> wow. who are you going for? those are both your towns. >> i know. i don't know what to do. everybody has been sending me e-mails, as you can imagine.

how about you? >> oh, i'm a bears fan. >> she's a chicago boy. i'll give you the highlights. >> there you go. >> okay, drew. >> thanks a lot. drew griffin here in studio 7 for suzanne malveaux, who's over in afghanistan. let's get you up to speed. new numbers out today provide more evidence of a very weak job market. the number of americans filing first-time claims rose. it was up to 414,000 last week. why is that important? economists say the number needs to fall below 400,000 to reduce the unemployment rate, which is stuck at 9.1%. president obama lays out his jobs plan tonight. our special coverage, obvious, beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern. republican front runner rick perry made his debate debut last night. quickly, it became clear that he and former massachusetts

governor mitt romney were willing to slug it out. >> we created more jobs in the last three months in texas than he created in four yeast in massachusetts. >> it's is a great state. texas has zero income texas. governor perry doesn't believe that he created those things. if he tried to stay that, it would be like al gore saying he invented the internet. >> michael ducaucaus created jobs three times faster than you. >> george bush created jobs at a faster rate than you did. >> they did spar back and forth, but most of them directed their attention to president obama, criticizing his policies on energy and health care reform. >> we'll suspend until the disturbance is taken care of. >> want to tell you what you're looking at. this just happened up in washington, d.c.

this was the first meeting of that super committee. the committee that's trying to cut the deficit. people were chanting "jobs, jobs, jobs" as they tried to meet for the first time in their effort to reduce the nation's debt. this is already going to be tough with a panel of six democrats and six republicans trying to come up with $1.5 trillion in savings. add some protesters to that, it's going to get even worse. if they can't do it or congress doesn't pass their plan, remember this. the automatic spending cuts are going to kick in. their deadline is thanksgiving. >> our task to achieve $1.5 trillion of bipartisan deficit reduction will not be easy, but it is essential. >> german police today arrest two men they suspect of plotting a bomb attack. both in their 20s. one is a german of lebanese decent. the other is from gaza. police say they came under

suspicion after buying chemicals. officers are searching an islamic cultural institution. meanwhile, libyan fighters advancing on one of moammar gadhafi's last strongholds have come under fire from gadhafi loyalists. a spokesman for the new government tells cnn the former dictator is surrounded within a 40-mile radius with no way to escape. but he's not saying where. meanwhile, a man purporting to be gadhafi prepares he has fled. his audio message was aired on a syrian television station. up to 125,000 people in central pennsylvania are being ordered to leave their homes. what is left of this former tropical storm lee is triggering dangerous flooding in the central part of that state. three people have died. the river near wilksbury is already near flood stage and it's rising fast. in texas, the opposite problem.

wild fires burning continuously now for almost 300 days. four people have died. in the bastrop county fire alone, almost 1400 homes are gone. thousands have been forced out of their homes. don't know when they're going to find when they're going to return. >> not knowing what the end result is going to be, i'm pretty convinced in my mind that it's not going to be good. but, you know, trying to figure out where we go from here. >> a sad reality for so many people there. one hour from now, jury selection begins in los angeles for the man accused of causing michael jackson's death, dr. conrad murray charged with voluntary manslaughter. he's accused of administering powerful anesthetic to jackson to help jackson fall asleep then failing to properly monitor him. you ready for some football? the nfl season kicks off tonight with a terrific matchup. green bay between the last two champs. the packers and the saints.

also tonight, the big speech on jobs from president obama. with unemployment stuck above 9% and the economy stalled, the president lays out his plan to stimulate job growth and strengthen the economy. he'll do it before a joint session of congress in a live address to the nation. white house correspondent brianna keilar joins us with a preview. we know some of the elements of the plan. now we're hearing new estimates about the price tag of that plan. what is it? >> reporter: that's right, drew. the new price tag, $400 billion. that's a working number, i should tell you, according to democratic sources familiar with the speech. a couple big chunks of it in terms of cost. one is something we have talked about before, that payroll tax extension. a lot of americans getting that tax cut on the payroll taxes they normally pay. the president has voiced a desire to extend that and also give it to themployers as well.

the other thing, according to these sources, $100 billion in infrastructure spending. we knew that was going to be a priority in the speech. also, expect the president to talk about aid to states to help them do things like hire teachers that they've had to lay off as well as incentives to hire those who are chronically unemployed, more so than the national average like the elderly and like veterans. you mentioned football, drew. i think pregame starts at 7:30. the president is going to be addressing a joint session of congress tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >> all right. brianna keilar, we'll be watching along with you. cnn's live coverage of the president's speech begins with a special preview on "the situation room." the speech at 7:00. stay tuned for insight and analysis at 8:00 right here all on cnn.

here's your chance to talk back. one of the big stories of the day. today's question, will you watch the president's speech? why or why not? carol costello joining us from new york. >> reporter: hi, drew. talk about pressure. the president will ask a joint session of congress to listen to his idea for a bipartisan jobs bill. could luck with that. they may sit in the same room together, but they are bitterly divided. i mean, unless you've become numb to it all, you've heard it loud and clear. the vicious partisan attacks coming from both parties. >> he's the most effective food stamp president in american history. >> tea party can go straight to hell. >> what we have witnessed since friday, obama-geddon. >> let's take these son of a bitches out and give america back to america where we belong. >> reporter: so why bother with a bipartisan speech? as new york times columnist writes, what will republicans

agree to? that's easy. nothing. they will oppose anything mr. obama proposes. still, republican leaders john boehner and eric cantor say they want to work with president obama on areas of common ground. they will be listening tonight, but not republicans will. congressman joe walsh is skipping the president's speech because, quote, i don't see the point in being a prop for another speech. and louisiana republican senator won't be there either. he's hosting an nfl football party. what about you? i know. it's crazy. the talk back question today, will you watch the president's speech? tell us why or why not. facebook.com/carolcnn. >> carol, what about you. i've seen this game before. i think i've heard this speech before. i don't know what to do. it sounds like two reruns. >> reporter: well, there is

something different though. the president says that he has a plan written out in the form of legislation. he is going to give to lawmakers so they can consider it and maybe vote on it right away. so he's done what the republicans have asked him to do. he's put it naall in writing. he says there's stuff both sides should be able to agree to easily. we'll see. >> and the two teams are going to play the same game they played last year. i'll go with the president. >> reporter: the president needs a hail mary pass. i was going to do it all in football metaphors, but i thought that was too cliche. >> all right. thanks, carol. here's a look at what's on the rundown here. eight candidates go into the latest republican presidential debate. we'll give you the highlights. also, an act of road rage caught on camera. police want to find this guy in rhode island. you will too when you hear what he did. plus, people trying to gain the tax system are getting r inting.

so is the irs. and cnn going in depth on president obama's jobs plan. what it might do for out of work americans. finally, nasa tries again to launch its latest moon mission. we'll take a look at what the space agency wants to do once it gets back up to the moon. [ male announcer ] it's a fact: your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge!

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in california. the two front runners seemed to steal the show. rick perry and mitt romney taking aim at each other and president obama. jim acosta has the recap for us. >> reporter: rick perry and mitt romney stood side by side at the reagan debate. close enough for the fur to fly. first, on the question of which governor created more jobs. >> we created more jobs in the last three months in texas than recreated in four years in massachusetts. >> texas is a great state. texas has zero income tax. texas has ha right to work state. but governor perry doesn't believe he created those things. if he try to say that, it would be like al gore saying he invented the internet. >> michael ducaucus created jobs three times faster tl eer than . >> reporter: jumping into the mix was a newly aggressive john huntsman. >> i hate to rain on the parade of the lonestar governor, but as governor utah, we were the murm

one creator. >> reporter: the debate soon switched to the romney health care plan in massachusetts. what some republicans now call obomney care. >> the massachusetts example was a great opportunity for the rest of the country. no? >> no. >> it was a great opportunity for us as a people to see what will not work. that is an individual mandate in this country. >> reporter: ron paul later noted perry was once a democrat who showed some of his own support for government health care. >> the governor of texas criticized the governor of massachusetts for romney care, but he wrote a really fancy letter supporting hillary care. >> speaking of letters, i was more interested in the one you wrote to ronald reagan and said i'm going to quit the party because of things you believe in. >> reporter: newt gingrich tried to bring the republican rumble to a halt. >> i, for run, and all-my friends up here are going to repudiate every effort of the news media to try to get republicans to fight each other to protect barack obama.

whoever the nominee is, we are all for defeating barack obama. >> reporter: contrast that roaring applause with the crickets that followed paul's comment. >> any time you think of a fence keeping bad people out, think about those fences keeping us in. >> reporter: but it was perry who was on the defense. take his anti-washington book, fed up, as he refers to social security as a ponzi scheme. >> it is a monstrous lie it is a ponzi scheme to tell our kids today you're paying into a program that's going to be there. >> reporter: romney couldn't resist. >> you can't say by any measure that social security is a failure. you can't say that to tens of millions of americans who live on it. >> jim acosta out in los angeles right now. jim, we're talking about romney and perry, perry and romney. no votes have been cast in this primary yet.

is this already a two-person race? do the other six have a chance or somebody else? >> reporter: well, you know, you can look at how both of those candidates prepared for last night's debate. if anybody out there thinks for a moment that mitt romney had that george w. bush like, you know, sort of on the tip of his tongue just as soon as he thought of it, that that wasn't rehearsed well in advance, that rick perry's line was rehearsed well in advance, you have another thing coming to you. both of these campaigns prepared to go after each other. as soon as the opportunity presented itself, that's what they did. moments after that, the romney campaign was firing off e-mails, calling rick perry a career politici politician. so these two campaigns are ready to go toe to toe. they're shields are up, and they're ready to rumble. these two campaigns, unlike all the others in this race, seem tosh ready for a two-man race. >> we heard from both of those candidates about job creation. anybody else have interesting things to say about how they

would or could or have created jobs? >> reporter: well, you heard john huntsman talk about it there. if there was anybody who kind of got an edge over the rest of the field, it might have been john huntsman. he was quick to point out that when he was governor in utah, his state was first in the country in job creation. he just released an economic plan that was endorsed by "the wall street journal." huntsman had a chance last night to improve on his performance at the last debate, which was a little spotty and look a little sharper. he also went after the republicans on the debate stage for questioning climate change, saying that, look, we can't run against science here, guys. so, you know, he is presenting himself sort of as the un-perry. if romney won't work for those establishment republicans out there, perhaps huntsman might. i think his campaign was happy with his performance. >> all right. jim acosta in los angeles. thank, jim. don't forget, monday, cnn with

the tea party express along with other groups will host a debate in tampa, florida. tune in for the cnn tea party republican debate monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. time to go cross country for stories our affiliates are covering. in lincoln, rhode island, a security camera records a road rage attack. police say this man followed an elderly driver into a parking lot after they were involved in some kind of traffic incident. he punched, pulls, and kicks the side mirrors before getting back in his own car where a young child is waiting. police are trying to finds the guy. here's a happy reunion. this woman is thanking two missouri state western football players for saving her grandson. she accidently locked him in a car on a very hot day. the players started banging on a win zoe with a hammer. >> the lady came before we could

help. she said there's a baby stuck in the car. >> he took one swoop or hit with a hammer and it busted. in california, the newest star on hollywood's walk of fame is unveiled for rock and roll pioneer buddy holly. he would have been 75 yesterday. "that'll be the day" was a number one hit for him. he was only 22 when he died in that plane crash. kasey, kasey! kasey, what about the new edge drew you to it? the look of it. i love the sleek design. i like the rounded edges. what does the technology in your edge make you think of ford? it just makes me think that ford is in it to win it. ford is trying to get to the next level. you really have to make yourself stand out, and i think ford has done that. looking over there, how does your car look? is this my car? (laugh) (laugh)

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coast, the search begins for an unbiassed juror. 12 of them, to hear the case against michael jackson's

personal physician conrad murray. he's charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of the pop star. our ted rowlands looks at the process that attorneys will follow during this jury selection phase. >> reporter: what's your opinion of michael jackson? what's your opinion of dr. conrad murray, the man accused of his death? those are the questions jurors will be asked on a lengthy questionnaire today as the case kicks off. legal experts say the questionnaire alone won't be the only way that prospective jurors will get screened. >> you make an effort to find out whatever information you can about jurors. >> reporter: that may conjure up images like these from the movie "runaway jury" when a consultant does background checks on jurors, including surveillance. >> she's a carried carrying member of the sierra club and a registered democrat. >> i think it's safe to say that

was a little bit of hollywood embellishment. >> reporter: this hollywood attorney says jurors in a major of cases are pulled from voter rolls. that's where he starts his screening process. >> i personally make it a practice to know what the voter registration is of every juror who's on a case i may try. republicans tend to be more law and order and favor prosecution. >> reporter: this jury consultant has been advising attorneys for 25 years with cases like o.j. simpson and casey anthony under his belt. he says screening jurors today is easier because of how much people share on the internet. >> unfaceboon facebook, do a go search, a twitter account. it can give you more about how they interact with the rest of the world and not just a formalized courtroom setting. that's helpful. >> reporter: more important, attorneys can find out if prospective jurors have already

posted opinions. >> i have no doubt that both sides will hire competent people to explore every aspect of social media to try and find out whatever they can about these jurors. >> reporter: especially to uncover the so-called stealth jurors, who seem to provide all the right answers at courthouse but have a hidden agenda, which might include trying to grab the spotlight for themselves after a verdict. >> reporter: and today, we're going to see the first of three batches of about 180 prospective jurors come in. they'll fifth fill out a questionnaire. opening statements start in a few weeks, september 27th. you can see outside the courtroom, the circus members are starting to assemble already. michael jackson fans and the media here in force. the entire trial will be live throughout from start to finish.

drew. >> boy, ted, the site of to many circuses. well, here are today's choices for choose the news. first, the japanese energy crisis. blackouts so common after the fukushima nuclear accident that it's forcing everyone there to use less energy, to workers are ditching jackets, ties, turning up the temperature in the office and changing workdays. second, rhino rescue. there are only seven northern white rhinos left in the world, but science may help save the animals from extinction. stem cell research offering help there. or third, gumby robber. big, green, and bendable. now wanted for attempted robbery. a guy dressed as gumby tries to knock off a convenience store. well, you can vote by texting 22360. one for the japan energy crisis. two for the rhino rescue. or three for gumby robber. the winning story airs next

hour. right now, let's get a check of the markets. for that, we turn to alison kosik from the new york stock exchange. >> reporter: hi, drew. we've got stocks up across the board. the dow, nasdaq, s&p all higher right now. we had mixed economic reports. first time claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected. our exports rose. it suggests that the u.s. has more room to grow. i think what you're seeing is wall street really waiting for 7:00. that's when the president's going to be speaking about his big jobs plan. drew. >> alison, let me ask you about this report. more americans trying to cheat uncle sam on their taxes. >> reporter: oh, yes. they're getting very, very creative about it. case in point, there's a woman in l.a. who claimed she had 20 kids, born all on the same day. go figure. guess what? she even got a $300,000 tax refund, but the feds caught on to her real fast. now she's going to be serving some prison time. she was hit with a $750,000

fine. you know what? it's really no big surprise that these tax cheats are getting creative. we're in tough economic times. you usually see tax cheats really try to bilk the system during hard times. we saw this happen during the home buyer tax credit as well. you know, don't be surprised that the government is going to go after you. in fact, irs fraud investigations rose 14% just last year. you know, the irs getting faster at investigating. they're getting smarter too because they're getting extra training. guess what? there are no free rides when it comes to paying your taxes. drew. >> alison, thanks. interesting. president obama's jobs plan already under fire from republicans opposed to any new spending. we're going to talk in depth with a former labor secretary who says the president should go bigger. and the old man stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another score 'cause they break it down to one simple number that you can use

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here's what's ahead on the rundown. next, cnn goes in depth of president obama's job plan. we'll take an interactive look at how it might help people who are out of work. then, lee just won't let up. as many as 125,000 people in central pennsylvania are told to leave their homes for higher

ground. this is still going on. nasa presses the reset button on its next moon mission. they're going to try to launch again tomorrow. we are going to get details on what they want to do up there. let's go in depth now on the jobs plan that president obama is going to outline tonight. it's designed to stimulate new job growth and jump start a stalled economy. for a look at what the plan would do and who it would help the most, let's bring in cnn's karen kaifa in washington. walk us through what the president is expected to propose. >> reporter: right now, we are looking at a $400 billion package that the president is expected to talk about when he speaks to a joint session of congress tonight. let's look at some highlights. $120 billion for a payroll extension. $100 billion for infrastructure improvements, improving roads and bridges which would put people back to work. $50 billion for unemployment benefits for those who have been

suffering in this labor market for a while now. those are just some of the major highlights. the white house says that once it is all unveiled, there should be something for everybody. >> there will be a variety of proposals, reforms within these baskets that will be new. we believe we'll have broad, bipab bipartisan support in congress and the community. >> reporter: let's look at why we need this in the first place. a lot of americans who have been suffering, looking for work for a while probably don't need to look at the numbers. they know this already. we're certainly not losing jobs, but the problem is we're still not adding any. what that report came out on friday, zero jobs added during the month of august. right now, the unemployment rate at 9.1%. that amounts to 14 million american who is are out of work. who could benefit the most from the president's plan tonight? hopefully it will be those who have been hit the hardest.

if you look at this chart right here, this red and yellow represents african-american workers. latino workers have been suffering for a while now. another area that looks for improvement from tonight's speech, young workers. young workers ages 16 to 24. this is a key demographic for the president, of course, in his re-election efforts. they have suffered during this unemployment crisis. this was the worst summer on record for teenagers looking for jobs. right now, the teenage unemployment rate stands at about 25%. one number i want to leave you with before we go, that number is 16.2%, drew. what that number is is what's called the real unemployment rate. when you take that 9.1% number and you add in all the part-time workers who would like to be working full time or people who have simply stopped looking for work. you get that 16% real unemployment number, which is about 25 million americans. that audience tonight will extend well beyond the capital,

drew. >> karen, thanks for that. very interesting. we'll see what the president has to say tonight and if he can get it passed. next, we're going to talk in depth with a former labor secretary who says the president should spend even more to create jobs. even though i'm a great driver, and he's... not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. [sighs] amazing. it's like an extra bonus savings. [ cackling ] he's my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real from we who believe we know just how you feel. haagen-dazs.

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the flooding in new york is really getting bad. in fact, we expect to hear from the governor there sometime in the next probably half hour or so. we wanted to get to robb marciano to explain what is happening. i can't believe lee is still hanging around. >> it is. it's sitting and spinning and interacting with a front that's up there. the last time we saw this kind of flooding was another tropical system back in 1972. the radar has been showing this the past couple hours, just how intense the rainfall has been right over that flood area. but it has begun to weaken just a little bit. that's good news. the amount of rainfall they've had -- and this is the area that's suspect. from binghamton new yo, new yor

through scranton. you can get flooding in a hurry, especially when you get 15 inches of rain. over ten inches in binghamton. i want to show you beyond the flood warnings what's going on with the rivers themselves. we're at record stage right now. we'll rise another few feet and begin to recede slowly. right now is certainly a critical time. further downstream towards wilksbury and hershey, pennsylvania, we're approaching record stage. this forecast is actually gone up in the last couple hours because of all the heavy rainfall that we've seen there. obviously, flash flood watches and warnings have been posted for this area. all right. we have a couple other systems we want to talk about. katia, that's still a hurricane.

it's right now between -- it's just abreast of cape hatteras. it's going to go out to sea. mar maria, that's something we might have to deal with come next week. it's way out there. nate, on the other hand, that's something we may have to deal with earlier than that as this system makes its way towards -- well, not close to anywhere right now. here's the latest forecast from the national hurricane center. we're looking at this thing potentially now drifting a little farther to the north. that may be good for texas, if it goes north toward louisiana. then it will be bad for everybody else. this could become a hurricane over the weekend. we'll have to watch it carefully. the waters continue to rise across the northeast. it's been a crazy last couple weeks. >> all right, rob. thanks a lot. again, we're waiting for the governor of new york. right now, we go to the former labor secretary, robert reich, who is now a public policy professor at uc berkeley. he says that the president

should go bigger. a $500 billion jobs package. in fact, in a recent cnn interview, this is what you said, sir. i want his jobs plan to be big and bold enough and congressmen surt with the size of the jobs crisis we now have. brianna keilar was just on capitol hill saying it's up to $400 billion. mr. secretary, from what you've seen and what we know the president is going to say tonight, is it enough in your view? >> look, the jobs crisis is so large that we have to have probably at least $500 billion. you see, extension of the unemployment insurance and extension of the social security tax break that both are now being experienced by most people. they're now part of the economy. they don't really count.

they don't add to aggregate demand. aggregate demand is exactly what it is right now. it is not enough to get new jobs, to get new employment, to get the economy going. so you need, on to have of an extension of unemployment ben fi benefits and on top of social security tax breaks, you need more. that more has got to be given the shortfall we have in consumer spending and in private investment. that more is probably going to have to be about $500 billion this year. >> mr. secretary, i want you to listen to this interview that the president gave to nbc news. if we could just roll that right now, guys. >> we anticipated that the recovery was slowing. the economy is still growing, but it's not growing as fast as it needs to. i've got things right now before congress that we should move immediately. i've said so before i went on vacation. i'll keep on saying it now that i'm back. we should be passing legislation

that helps small businesses get credit, that eliminates capital gains taxes so they have more incentive to invest right now. there are a whole host of measures we could take. no single element of which is a magic bullet, but cumulatively, can start building momentum for the recovery. >> mr. reich, that interview was done august 29, 2010. that was last year. as the former labor secretary, i'm going to ask you, what can we expect from the president to do to create jobs? are we expecting too much from him? is the answer not found in washington? >> look, consumer spending is 70% of the economy. consumers are pulling back because they don't have jobs. they're worried about not having jobs. their wages are going down. they have a huge mortgage debt overhang. they are worried about the future. so consumers are pulling back.

businesses are not going to spend and not going to invest and not going to create new jobs unless they have consumers. so the private sector is not doing it. who is the spender of last resort? where is the spender of last resort? regardless of your ideology, regardless of whether you like government or don't like government, it has got to be government. this is economics 101. this is just common sense. so government has got to help right now generate enough demand to get people back into jobs. >> let me ask you real quick. is what the president proposing tonight going to be enough to do much of anything? >> well, if the net additional proposed spending, that is above what we are doing right now with regard to extended unemployment benefits and extended social security tax cuts, if that net additional spending is not up to about $500 billion this year and $500 billion next year, i don't think it's enough. it doesn't close the gap between

what the private sector is able and willing to spend to create jobs and what we need in terms of a full employment or near full employment economy. >> mr. reich, thank you for joining us. former labor secretary robert reich from iowa today. thank you, sir. appreciate it. >> thanks very much. >> you can watch president obama's speech here on cnn. our live coverage of the address begins with a special preview on "the situation room" at 6:00 eastern. at 7:00, you'll hear the speech. insight and analysis on "ac 360" right after. each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree will see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll need to enjoy every one of their days. ♪ prudential. bring your challenges.

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♪ just fix it. ♪ okay. the top republican candidates

debated last night, but it's not what they said that has comedians talking. >> it's hard to keep track of what all these candidates stand for, even for them. there are a lot of them right now. look at this. >> tonight from the ronald reagan library, a republican presidential debate. michele bachmann, newt gingrich, this guy, there he is, yes. he might be one. and mitt romney. >> a rudy giuliani, not there. he didn't exactly dominate the field the last time he tried running for president. but apparently he's not ruling it out in 2012. sort of. paul, america's mayor still has it if the republicans want it, right?

>> yeah, it's pretty much just talking. he's been flirting with it all year, but earlier this week right here in washington, d.c., he said you know what, they'd have to be desperate to have me. he was on piers morgan last night, drew. he said that if he thinks the other guys and ladies who are already in the race couldn't beat president obama, he'd jump in. you know what? he thinks maybe he could do well. take a listen, drew. >> do you think you could beat barack obama? >> who knows. barack obama could be very dampbt year from now. he could be much more popular. he could be much more unpopular. it could go either direction. if barack obama remained where he roughly is now, sure, i think i could beat him. >> listen, anything could happen in politics, right? let's not say never. i'm not putting any money on rudy giuliani jumping in. >> that's not a stirring endorsement. if you're desperate, call me.

hey, michele bachmann, you know, what a difference a couple weeks makes. she was the leader, the big press. in the debate last night, not much at all. >> yeah, in fact, there wasn't a question to her for the first 14 minutes. she didn't get a lot of air time last night. but she may get a lot of air time tonight. we have learned bachmann's office says the congresswoman from minnesota will hold a news conference after the president's address. she'll do it up on capitol hill. she'll speak to reporters and give her reaction to the president's speech on jobs. she's a tea party favorite. she doesn't like what the president's done on jobs. we'll see bachmann again monday night as well at our debate. 8:00 eastern. that's the cnn tea party express debate. the that's the cnn tea party express debate, and that's the republican party tea party debates. we'll see her again then. e are you going to give her a question within the first 14 minutes? >> i think that could happen, yeah. >> thanks, paul.

>> and cnnpolitics.com. >> today's "talk back" question, are you going to watch the president's speech? michael says not sure i see the point in watching. same old blah blah. neither democrats nor republicans care about anything or anybody. more responses ahead. you name it. i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale

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you have been sounding off on the "talk back" question. carol costello is here with the responses. the last one from michael was kind of depressing sounding? >> yeah, it was depressing in an answer to would you watch the

president's speech tonight. and this is from early, i am going to watch because i want to have my own interpretations of his actual words. and this from michael, another campaign speech, good brief. and jesse says i will watch because i hope he can light a fire in the republicans. and this from dawn, no, it's a little more than a campaign event and i won't support it by watching it. we don't need more speeches from a failed president. and rhonda says a football game, a football party is more important. they are basically saying they don't care about the nations unemployed. keep it up and you will be unemployed, too. i will be back with you in 20 minutes. >> we should point out, carol, it's a pretty good football game? >> but it's coming on after the president's speech. >> yeah, you can read the

speech, too, there are other ways, you don't have to watch it, but if you do watch it, you can watch it right here. i apologize to anybody who i e fended. ecovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge!

still time to choose the news. text 22360. tax "1" for the japanese energy crisis. the energy shortage in japan means companies have to cut back power by 15%. text "2" for rhino rescues. or text "3" for the gumby robber, the crook actually losing money. the story airs next hour. nasa is going to try tomorrow to launch its latest mission to the moon. we explain what the space agency wants to know and how they are going to find out. >> the moon. okay. so we have established it's not really made of green cheese. the apollo astronauts bagged up more than 800 pounds of rock and dirt. what about all that stuff? isn't that what the moon is made of? that's just what is on top.

the fact is we really don't know what is beneath the surface. >> the part of lunar understanding that we don't yet have is what is inside the moon. so to really understand the moon and understand what makes it special, we need to study what is inside? >> to do that, nasa is embarking on a unique mission called grail. the tug on the probes changes over they fly over various features, mountain, valleys or masses hidden below the surface. measuring the change gives scientists in essence a lunar cat scan, and imagine a cat scan of the moon. >> it provides us essentially with a picture of the lunar inferior like a picture of the inside of your body. >> it's their rised it was

formed after a collision between the earth and another giant body. if that's the case that will give scientists a better idea of how they were formed. nasa will create students. middle school students and teachers can go to the moon cam website and request a lunar surface location to be photographed. >> i think once they begin to look at detailed images, when they go out in the backyard and look at the moon, they will look at it in a whole new way, and i think that's priceless. >> the pictures will be posted in a photo gallery on the internet. john zarrella, cnn, at the kennedy space center in florida. top of the hour now. i am drew griffin. we have a developing crisis in pennsylvania.

all because of tropical storm lee, what is left of it is causing dangerous flooding. three people dead. the ses quau hannah river expected to crested. chad meyers we have you over here to tell us what is going on. >> water going over the levels, and it is the other towns in that valley that i am most concerned about. it's nannycook, and bull run, and all the areas up and down u.s. 11 here. from edwardsville to plymouthville, there's a nice berm built for wilkesbury, and some don't have that protection. 20,000 people being evacuated right now because of this, this white area here, more than 10 inches of rainfall west of

wilkesbury, and that's just in the past 48 hours. rivers are still rising. and that's the line that tops the levee. 41 feet. the forecast right now is 40.7. that's too close, and will the levee hold? that's another one. probably, but there is a very big flood. >> stick around for this, chad. take a look. these are wildfires burning continuously for almost 300 days now. four people have died, and in bastrop valley, those don't know what they will find when they return. >> i can see the house was standing, and i said, thank you, jesus, and then i looked over and i saw shawna's and it was gone. it was gone. >> so sad. the white house says there will be some new ideas in the jobs plan that the president will unveil tonight. one democrat familiar with the

plan says it could total $400 billion. we think it will include a more longer holiday tax, and infrastructure spending and aid to stads and incentives to for businesses to hire. last night this happened at the ronald reagan library in california, and it became clear that he and former massachusetts governor, mitt romney, were going to slug it out for this nomination. >> we created more jobs in the last three months in texas than he created in four years in massachusetts. >> texas is a great state. texas has zero income tax. texas has a right to work state. but governor perry doesn't believe he created those things. >> michael ducacus creates jobs three times faster. >> george bush and his predecessor created more jobs

than you did. >> they criticized obama's policies on health care reform. >> will the gentleman suspend until the disturbance is taken care of. >> that happened this morning. a commotion outside the super committee meeting. people chanting jobs, jobs, jobs. the committee meeting for the first time today trying to reduce the nation's debt. this is the panel of six democrats and six republicans. they will try and come up with $1.5 trillion in savings. if they can't do it, congress doesn't pass the plan, and automatic spending cuts would kick in. the deadline is thanksgiving. this video taken in the aftermath of the terror attacks on the world trade center ten

years ago has never been seen before. there was 30 minutes here taped on that day. new defiance in libya. fighters advancing on one of moammar gadhafi's last strong holds that have come under fire from gadhafi loyalists. a spokesman for the new government tells cnn the former dictator is surrounded now in a 40-mile radius with nowhere to escape. a man purporting to be gadhafi aired something too. conrad murray charged with involuntary manslaughter. the doctor failed to properly monitor him.

we're taking an in depth look at the jobs plan that the president will outline tonight. with the unemployment rate stuck above 9%, a lot is riding on what the president proposes. christine romans of our money team joins us from new york. we have new numbers and jobs and unemployment and i guess they are not good. >> every week on thursdays we get a read for how many people lined up for the first time for jobless benefits. what it shows you is essentially how long the line was at the unemployment office last week, and this week the number is not good. 414,000 unemployment complaints filed last week. these are 414,000 people who were newly laid off or without a job. you are not going to be reflecting any kind of real signs of life in the labor market until you get that consistently below 400,000. it's showing you you are still

having layoffs and people who have been unemployed for a very long time and then these folks new to the unemployment role every week, drew. >> what if anything the government can do to create jobs, and looking at what germany did. i guess germany really pushed the long-term unemployed people into finding work, and that's part of what the president wants the states to do, the long-term unemployed, find work for them? >> the states have a lot of retraining and unemployment programs. i will be honest with you. some of the retraining programs that the states do, and i have talked to governors talking about how poorly the programs worked. if we are going to do it and do it on a large scale it has to be done correctly. the white house mentioned a georgia program where people in return forgetting their unemployment benefits, their jobless check, they go to work for a local company. that company gets a worker is that not paid for, and also gets to try somebody out.

the worker gets to be renewing some skills and making connections and getting something on the resume, so it's not just unemployment benefits with no retraining or no job attached to it. we will see if the president will make any kinds of comments about retraining and what can be done smartly about retraining to work. i profiled people, drew, over the years who had expensive government retraining programs when the jobs were sent overseas, and it's difficult to train quickly for the right skills in the economy right now. >> let me ask you about the infrastructure improvements. i have been hearing about that for several years now, and the president is going to roll out more money. is that a sector, that construction sector that needs the help? >> you have the unemployment rate in what is called the construction and extraction part of the labor market, and that's the technical term for that group, and it's more than 16%. when you look at pavers and brick masons, and there are some

people you could put to work no question there. the question is, are they going to be shovel ready, some of these projects? last time some of them were not. local communities said there was economic activity, a bridge that was built and nothing happened and we did not see a residual affect? remember, we do have a trillion dollars of infrastructure improvements we need to do in this country, and so it's not money we're throwing away. >> i saw part time work with eternal debt. >> yeah, it's frustrating and they can't make that mistake this time. and the president's speech begins in "the situation room" at 6:00, and then the speech

starts at 7:00, and then stay tuned for "ac 360." the "talk back" question is will you watch the president's speech. why or why not? >> such a simple question. tonight the president will ask a joinl session of congress to listen to his idea for a bipartisan jobs bill. good luck with that. they may sit in the same room together but they are bitterly divided. until you become numb to it all, you heard it all loud and clear. the vision attacks coming from both parties. >> he's the most affective food stamp president in america history. >> the tea party can go straight to hell. >> that's what we witnessed as of friday, obama getting --

>> so why bother with the bipartisan speech? new york times columnist write what will republicans agree to? that's easy. nothing. they will oppose anything mr. obama proposes. still john boehner and eric cantor say they want to work with the president on, quote, areas of common ground. they will be listening tonight, but not all republicans will. congressman joe walsh is skipping the speech because he says i don't see the point in being a prop for another of the president's speeches asking for more failed stimulus spending. and david vitter won't be there either, he is hosting an nfl football party. what about you? the "talk back" question today, will you watch the president's speech? why or why not? face book.com/carolcnn. >> thanks. eight republican presidential candidates tango

over a fiery debate. >> the science was indeed junk science. cnn goes in depth on the jobs plan that president presents to congress tonight. we will talk with mayors of two cities. texas wildfires take homes. finally, we will take a look at the state of the tea party. drive our nation's militarylt are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain.

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try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. here are the choices for today's choose the news. text 22360 for the story you want to see. here are your choices. first, japanese energy crisis.

blackouts common after the nuclear disaster. story number "2," rhino rescue. seven of these guys, northern white rhinos left in the world and science is helping to potentially save them from extension. and "3," the bumby robber, big, green and bendable and now wanted for attempted robbery. a guy dressed as bumby tries to knock off a store. "1" for the energy crisis, and "2" for the rhinos, and "3" for gumby, and winning story airs later this hour. eight republican candidates took to the stage last night to take swings at president obama and each other. this is the first gop debate this year. two candidates in particular

stole the show, mitt romney and rick perry. >> texas is a great state. it is a right to work state. a republican legislature and supreme court, and a lot of oil and gas in the ground. those are wonderful things, but governor perry doesn't create those things, and if he tried to say that it would be like al gore saying he invented the internet. >> we are taking a closer look at last night's showdown with our contributor and news columnist, john avalon. last night, it took bachmann 14 minutes to get a question to her. has rick perry taken her place as the tea party's sweetheart? >> yes, rick perry took the oxygen and enthusiasm that michele bachmann expected after

the ames straw poll. what rick perry has is executive experience, ten years as governor, and a great economic story to tell, and those are things michele bachmann cannot compete with. as a result, he sucked up the oxygen. last night between mitt romney and perry, the gloves were off. >> yeah, and the pundits are talking about perry taking a swipe at social security. are we at a point where you can't say everything that is true? >> no. that's the point team romney trying to make is that for a candidate trying to say social security is a ponzi scheme, that

will be kryptonite in a general election, and rick perry is trying to say, look, i am the truth teller and willing to throw bombs and tell hard truths and it's two different approaches to the nomination. rick perry is appealing to the tea party support that is angry and wants honest tea. romney is trying to say we need to win a general election, and the question is whether the republican party is feeling all that pragmatic right now. >> let me ask you about jobs and switching gear to the president and what he will say tonight. he will outline his plan. are the republicans going to be behind all of it, some of it? how is he going to muscle this through the house? >> recent history would suggest no, you will see a lot of bipartisan rhetoric, and boehner said the american people should not be forced to listen to a

politician they don't want to when they want to be playing football, and that's disrespectful at the least. there has been bipartisan legislation. the president will have an obligation to come forward and find the common ground that exist on economic proposals, and then help build on it. the republicans have really shown a resistance to genuinely reach out. there are going to be some folks stuck in a no obama mode, to de deny him a victory. >> john avalon, thanks a lot. >> thank you. there will be a debate hosted with the republican candidates. this is in tampa. it's the site of the 2012 republican national convention. tune in for the cnn tea party on

monday at 8:00 eastern. rick perry may be the current frontrunner on the national stage, but he is getting a lot of push back about his role in the controversial death penalty case in texas.

rick perry got some big applause last night at the republican debate for refusing to apologize for his stance on the death penalty. >> in the state of texas if you come in our state and kill one of our children or kill a police officer, you are involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the

state of texas. and that is you will be executed. >> what do you make of that? our ed lavendara reports. >> texas governor rick perry signed off on one execution. >> willingham was a monster. >> reporter: just before willingham's death, a natalie known fire expert studying the arson investigation found it flawed that the investigators relied on outdated information. >> we have a system in the state that has followed the procedures, and they found this man guilty every step of the way.

>> reporter: cameron todd willingham's execution still haunts rick perry, and the question is not only did they execute a innocent man, but did perry use his power to shut down an investigation. if there was no arson, willingham would not have been executed. >> if this trial went to case today i cannot see any way willingham would be connected or a prosecutor would bring the case forward today. >> it brought the case to a texas forensic science commission and it started to look into whether bad arson techniques were had. there was a heated meeting with two governor aides and told the investigation was a waste of state money. >> i could not believe they were injecting themselves into the commission business so directly and confrontationally. >> you got the sense they wanted

to influence the out come? >> yes, that was my sense they wanted us to stop the investigation. >> more fire experts agreed it was junk science. and then basset was suddenly told he was not being reappointed because the governor wanted to take it in a different direction. >> i saw a drum beat to stop the investigation. >> why do you think that you were taken off the commission? >> it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this was a situation that the governor's office clearly did not want us to conclude. >> perry has denied sam basset's removal was politically motivated, and he remains as unwavering today as two years ago in his opinion that willingham deserved to be executed. >> look at the facts and you will find this was an incredibly bad man that murdered his kids and the record will stand. >> more than two years later the

willingham investigation is still stalled and nobody can say for sure if texas executed an innocent man. looking ahead to president obama's speech tonight on jobs, i will be talking to the mayors of los angeles, california, and mesa, arizona. we will find out what they want to hear from the president about jobs. [ tires screech ] [ crying ] [ applause ] [ laughs ] [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] your life will have to flash by even faster. autodrive brakes on the cadillac srx activate after rain is detected to help improve braking performance. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs.

we have been telling you about the flooding crisis in new york. the governor speaking in bingington. >> across the state we have been dealing with natural disasters of a near bibical proportion. they provide tremendous manpower, person power, and resources. they can provide transportation, with their equipment they can provide public safety backup for the local police. working in concert with the

state police. they do transport of water, of meals. so they are general utility player of extreme competence capacity. we did an aerial tour of the entire region to see, to see what we are going to be looking at in a few hours. we will be doing another tour now. we are also down to confluance point where the water was coming up already, which is frightening to see. i should -- >> that's governor andrew cuomo. he is talking about the epic weather event. not just the flooding, but they

have been through the hurricane and etc. getting hammered. >> the ground was saturated from irene because there was a lot of rain there. and in the past 48 hours, here is bingonton. he is talking about the rivers, where they come together. that wall was supposed to keep water out at 28 or 27 feet, and that water is going over the top of the wall at some point in time, and it's going over now and filling in parts of the town that were protected by that wall. 20,000 people being moved out of the way. and then a lot of flooding is taking place. i will go to here. this is the sus quau hanna river at bingington. and sometimes the water doesn't go up any more but spills into the towns.

and this is the susquehanna river. this is parts of pennsylvania here where the water is going to go. kingston, and all the way up the river. i know we talked about how the other side, the other side of the river that is not protected. the wall protects half of the riverside, but doesn't protect the other side. here is con flewance point and bingington, and the wall. hurricane agnes, this is what it did in 1972. waters have never been this high in some spots. >> thank you. it's the mother of all texas wildfires. it's 1400 homes burning to the ground. it's 30% contained. we will have a live report from that problem after this.

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want to take you to texas and the developments on the front lines of the massive wildfires keeps getting worse. and jim, you are seeing the worst of the worst right there? >> reporter: yeah, this morning, drew, it was really disheartening for a lot of people when they updated the homes destroyed number from about 500 to almost 1,400. a lot of people who were holding out hope that their home maybe survived even though it was in the fire zone inside the evacuation area, that is dim for a lot of people. they have been releasing specific home addresses of homes destroyed as they get them and posting at the command center, and people when they find out it's heartbreaking. we caught up with a few. take a look. as fires begin to get control of

a deadly texas wildfire just a mile away a makeshift command center becomes the new town square. >> right here. >> reporter: bill ludwig's home is inside the fire zone but doesn't know if it has been destroyed. >> shock, i guess. mostly. not knowing what the end result is going to be. i am pretty convinced in my mind that it's not going to be good. but, you know, and we're trying to figure out where we go from here. >> for a single mom who has been raising her three children here the news came in a form of a picture sent to her iphone. >> reporter: when you see the pictures, it must be just heartbreaking? >> yes, it's extremely heartbreaking. >> reporter: you are home and van gone. >> the house can be replaced but the memories hurt worst, and i think about my babies' pictures and the things they made in

school, and the things i put up to give to their kids, it's gone and it hurts. >> reporter: manny manford found his address on a list of destroyed homes. he decided he won't rebuild. >> no, because it would be very difficult. even if you clean it all away and everything, to sit there and look at black charred monuments in the past. >> reporter: he greets his wife vicky. >> we lost everything. >> i know. >> reporter: grateful, even though their home is gone, they are safe and together. >> reporter: they hope to roll out a reentry plan today and get people back into certain areas today. >> so hard to see the people who lost everything that they did own. many of them had to get out so quickly. they had to leave animals behind. do you have any details on

animals who had been rescued perhaps by some of the firefighters? >> reporter: yeah, drew, there has been people in there looking for pets. some of the ranchers, they make up such a big part of the complexion of this part of the country. we spoke to one rancher yesterday, and literally, less than a half an hour to get out, all he could do was cut open the fence to give the pigs and animals a chance to get out and away for the fire. it will be difficult for them to find out what happened to the animals. can they help them. there are rescue centers set up. will they be able to rebuild. will this part of the country look the same after the fires are cleared as it did before. >> a tough situation in texas. thank you, jim. don't forget to vote for choose the news. your choices are "1" for the japan energy crisis, companies

using less power, and text "2" for rhino rescue. science that may help an endangered species. or text "3" for gumby robber. a guy trying to rob a store. we'll show you that and other strange robbery disguises. the winning story airs later this hour. of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree will see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll need to enjoy every one of their days. ♪ prudential. bring your challenges.

the white house says there will be new ideas in the jobs plan that president obama unveils tonight. one democrat familiar with the plan says the cost is $400 billion and expected to include

a longer payroll tax holiday, and include infrastructure spending and incentives for businesses to hire workers. we're talking in depth with two mayors, one in los angeles, programs affected by the bad economy include homeland security and help for homeless people and the city's population, more than 3.8 million, and mesa, arizona, the unemployment there is 8.7%, they had to cut hazmat and police and fire education. the population there is 449,000. the mayors are joining us now. scott, what do you want to hear from the president tonight that would help mesa, arizona? >> i think what we all want to

hear is something positive and specifics. i think there has been a lot of talk, platudes and generals thrown around. let's throw the specific proposals out on the table, and i think the different things with all the different plans coming, there's a lot of common themes that i think both sides could agree on. let's focus on those specific ideas and get them in place. >> and mayor, is there one thing you want to see done? if you do, why haven't we seen it already? >> first of all, it's great to be on your show again, drew, and hello to scott. look, scott is a republican mayor and i am a democratic mayor, and we both agree we need specifics. i think president obama -- in fact i know president obama will be sharing specifics about how

to create jobs and put people back to work. i think that he is going to fight for the idea that we can't continue to dither and just talk about the deficit and the debt that we have to do something now, concrete and effectively in a bipartisan way to put people back to work. he will talk about reauthorization of the transportation bill that will create almost 3 million jobs. he will talk about, as you said, cutting the payroll tax, providing tax credits to small businesses, and doing things that historically have been supported by democrats and republicans. it's time for both parties to get off the dime and not just be specific, but be diligent and forthright in moving ahead and stop with the partisanship and the game plan. the idea that people would not be going to the special session tonight is untendable. we want our leaders to work together. >> mayor, let me just jump in.

this is the same question i asked the former labor secretary, and that is what can the president do to create jobs in your city that are not tax supported jobs, but tax revenue plus jobs, private sector jobs? is there something he can do other than just hand out money that would super actual economic and sustainable growth in the city of los angeles? >> absolutely. absolutely. bypassing the reauthorization bill for transportation and the way that the president will propose, we can -- through a program called the transportation loan program, insentfies localities to create private sector jobs, in los angeles and mesa and in cities across the country. 124 mayors have signed on to the expansion of that, and why that is important is the government gets paid back. they are creating jobs, about 1

million jobs, without putting a lot of money forward. and the republican chair of the transportation committee -- >> mayor, just hold on one second. let me ask scott one quick. mayor smith, is that a program you would support and would that help create actual jobs in mesa, arizona? >> well, smart investment and infrastructure creates both short term jobs but creates long-term economic benefits. we are not looking with the infrastructure -- i'm in line with the los angeles mayor with this, and smart investments and infrastructure return many more times the economic benefit than costs, and we can do it in a way that gives short-term benefits that creates instant jobs, and long-term economic drivers that will strengthen our economy in

the long term. yeah, that helps in mesa, arizona, but it has to be a smart investment. we're not looking for make work here. we're looking for smart investments that include all sectors, federal, local, private money. >> i think we had common ground there, even though you are on a couple opposite sides of the spectrum. >> no, we do have common ground. no question about it. >> a lot of common ground. >> you are there on the front lines. that's why we like talking about this with mayors, they really have to get the job done. thank you, guys. cnn's live coverage of the president's speech begin wz a special preview in "the situation room," at 6:00 p.m. eastern, followed by the speech itself at 7:00, and stay tuned for insight and analysis on "ac 360" at 8:00. and are you going to watch the president's speech? i will watch the president's

speech tonight. why in very simple. i am an american. >> here are free advice from the cnn help desk. joining me this hour, the founder of the financial advice blog ask the money coach.com and stacy francis, a certificated financial planner and president of francis financial. and this comes from susan. susan has $40,000 in credit card debt and her house in under water and makes a good living but lives paycheck to paycheck, and is wondering if she should file for bankruptcy? >> bankruptcy should be a last resort. try to negotiate with the kreters and try credit counselor, and then if nothing works then go to bankruptcy as a last report. >> and paul wrote in about his son. he just got his master's degree, and the family has some money in the 529 savings act, and they

want to know if they can transfer that money to a younger son without a gift tax? >> they could use it themselves or give it to other family members, grandparents and nieces and nephews. there's a lot you could do. kud yoes to them that they did not use the whole plan. >> so saving for education, obviously it passes on to family members. >> it does. if you have a question you want answered, send it to cnnhelpdesk at cnn.com. can i have some ice cream, please ? no, it's just for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah, but i'm new, too.

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ten years after the 9/11 terror attacks and the start of the war in afghanistan, what is going on there? well, suzanne malview is there and reporting on the training of the army to see if that army can take over its own security by 2014. >> reporter: in the next four years, they want to double their number. they have afghans and americans per king in a partnership. they hope both of the seats will be occupied by afghans in the years to come, but the real challenge is on the ground because 86% of the afghan recruits who try to join the army cannot read or write. that's the challenge for u.s. and nato to try and get those guys up to speed as quickly as possible so they can protect their own country and u.s.

troops can go home. suzanne malveaux, afghanistan. and we will have more stories, including a story about a woman who is trying to become active as well. you have been sounding off on the "talk back" question. carol costello is here with your answers. carol? >> such a simple question, too. the "talk back" question today, will you watch the president's speech? why or why not? this from mike. reluctantly yes, so frustrating with everybody in the politics right now. as a registered independent it's disappointing to see the direction this country is going. congress is as much to blame as the president at this point.

this from phillip, i watch all of them. if you don't like the guy he's your leader so listen to what he has to say. this from norah. absolutely, the republicans are acting like kids covering their ears and they don't have respect to listen what president has to say. they all need to be put in time out. >> and then no, he has nothing to say. he's been saying the same things since he came into office. i want results. keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn.

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where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? here is the choose the news winners. there are -- on sunday, japan is going to -- oh, we're doing this story. only seven white rhinos left in the world. science may help save the animals from extension. >> reporter: all rhinos are endangered. many of them end up in traditional medicine markets. china has used powdered rhino horn in its medicines for 2,000 years. in indonesia, as few as 40 rhino are believed to exist in the forests. this is motion activated footage

captured by the wildlife fund earlier this year, and they say it's difficult to see them face-to-face. >> our teams see them very, very rarely. the team leader that we have has only seen rhinos three times in the 20 years he has been studying them. >> but a break through in stem cell research could be the key to saving another endangered rhino. northern white rhinos formally ranged over parts of the central africa. there are believed to be only seven left in the entire world, and none in the wild, all of them in captivity, and two of them female. so researchers collaborating with the san diego zoo do something remarkable using human stem cell research. >> skin samples were taken and the cells from that skin sample are cultured and then we add what are programming factors to turn those cells into v