think when we go down to florida for the tea party debate, it's going to be a bare-knuckle brawl. there could be some blood that's left on the floor. >> oh, my goodness, man. kids and families are going to be watching that debate. blood is going to be on the floor. all right. brooke, what's gotten into this guy? >> i don't know if i want to go there. >> talking about the debate. if you missed it last night you have another chance to see the candidates go at it. join us here at cnn hosting the tea party express and several other tea party groups, doing this here from tampa, florida. the 2012 republican national convention will be in tampa. monday night, 8:00 p.m. eastern and 5:00 pacific. >> mr. preston, we'll follow up and see what he's talking. >> it's all yours. >> t.j. holmes, thanks so much. hello to all of you. i'm brooke baldwin. it is finally here. hours from now president obama will address congress and the nation and unveil his highly anticipated jobs plan.

both democrats and republicans are waiting to hear his proposal, and, of course, so are you. millions of americans out of a job and looking for work. in a matter of minutes, one of the people closest to the president who advised him on this very plan will join me live, with you, first, i want to begin with a fast-moving situation right now. in pennsylvania, really across much of the northeast, the floodwater is rising. people have to get out. more than 100,000 ordered to evacuate. i want to show you this first picture. this is going to be bethlehem, pennsylvania. what is left of tropical storm lee. we've been talking about lee for a couple of days now. pouring rain on top of the already saturated land. you know, that's a bad equation. it's triggered near historic flooding there. the susquehanna river already 12 feet above flood stage and rising. at least three people in pennsylvania have died, including a 71-year-old man who was crushed when his basement walls simply collapsed on him as he was trying to bail out water.

wilkes-barre, pennsylvania, right along the susquehanna river also getting some of the worst of it. cnn's mary snow actually had to evacuate the area. she was perched i guess precariously close to that river and is now on the phone. mary, i know you and the crew have been moved to higher ground. that tells me that's not a good sign. >> reporter: yeah, brooke, you know, city officials really had everybody clear out of the area. in wilkes-barre about half of the city has been asked it evacuate, and they have about another hour. city officials and county officials moved up the time line so that people must leave by 4:00, and that's because the susquehanna river is expected to crest between 8:00 and midnight. and where we were standing, that levee can really hold up to about 41 feet, and that is what the river is expected to crest at, and, you know, that was, say officials, too close for comfort. that levee, by the way, was built because of a devastating hurricane back in 1972,

hurricane agnes. >> yeah. >> reporter: and there were thousands and thousands of homes damaged and that levee came into play and really what officials are telling us is that this is the first big test for that levee. >> i know you were talking to the mayor, and you were asking him, you know, has this been tested before this levee? had a was his response? how worried is he? >> reporter: he is worried. you know, the officials that i talked to say that they are confident that this levee will hold. if the forecasts remain on track, as i said, the level of the river is about 41 feet which is what the levee can handle. you know, they are watching this very carefully though because if that fluctuates at all, you know, obviously it is problematic, but because of their concern, that's why we had to move as well, and police had been patrolling, you know, the area along the river, really

asking everybody to head for higher ground. >> i have chad myers standing by, and i know you know this area very well. your parents were born in this area. >> in plymouth, right downriver. >> yes. we'll talk about exactly more about the cresting of the river, but, mary, i have onemore for you, because if you follow the susquehanna river northward, you know, you lack at places like binghamton and johnson city and upstate new york, do we know how much higher the river there is expected to rise? . >> reporter: exactly, and they are seeing the runoff from upstate new york. one of the good things, the rain has pretty much stopped here. it's not really raining that hard right now. that was one sign that officials were happy to see, but, yeah, they are very concerned about that runoff from upstate new yo york. >> want to jump in? >> mary, i don't know what the officials are telling you,

watching the xwaujs of the susquehanna, binghamton where the floodwater is going over the flood walls but that won't flood the city proper but in one area where the flood was supposed to stop at 43.3, it's now 43.7. it's over what the forecast was, and i believe that's probably why the officials moved you out of the way. it's not an exact science on how high this river is going to go. >> reporter: absolutely. >> just because it's supposed to be three inches over the top of the wall, doesn't mean it couldn't be four inches. >> reporter: absolutely. >> mary, you were saying? >> reporter: what you were saying this can fluctuate, and this isn't an exact science, that's what has made them concerned. you know, at the beginning of the day, the river was expected to crest later in the evening and then that changed throughout the day, and that's why they moved up that evacuation deadline to 4:00 p.m., so, yeah, any fluctuation, you know, obviously they are concerned about. they said that this levee can hold between 41 and 43 feet.

>> here's my question then. if i'm living there along the river and i know that obviously you have some fears of flooding, but did they get any kinds of heads up? did they know rains like this would be seen? did they know that the ground was already saturated, but did they get enough time to say, okay, packing my bags and i'm leaving? >> reporter: well, you know, they have been watching this closely and some areas here, along with some areas of concern, were evacuated two days ago because of rising waters when the tropical storm rains had come in. so, yeah, they have been watching this very quickly. they wanted that four-hour buffer zone, they said, because they were afraid people might not take them seriously. some of them, the mayor included, has memories of 1972 weighing on them so they really don't want to take any chances. >> okay. mary snow, thank you very much. we're going to check back in with you next hour. hopefully we'll establish a picture now that the crew will be able to get to higher grown.

chad, go ahead? >> this is important, because we're talking about the levee protecting wilkes-barre. >> yeah. >> that's one city all the way from piston, through edwards vul and sawyersville and plymouth where my parents are from down to areas that are not protected. those areas are absolutely going to flood. the water went from 15 feet to 43 feet in almost 24 hours. >> wow. >> you take a river that goes up 28 feet in 24 hours, people cannot be ready for that. those people from kingston all the way down to the river, all the way down to somewheresville and maneco, the waters are going to flood and there's nothing they can do about it because there's no wall for them. >> yikes. as you're watching those levels rise for people along that river. >> yes. >> there's a whole other occasion that is nate. where is nate? >> nate is in the gump of mexico, bay of campeche, not that far from the peninsula from can koon. it could put more rain on top of

places that have already had enough rainfall. if nate does not do as forecast, which is forecast right now to move into mexico and rain here, some of the new computer models, and i think we'll have a much better chance of where it's going to go tomorrow, but here are the computer models that i'm worried about. in the only do these computer models bring it up into a very warm gulf of mexico, at this point in time that warm water will make nate a very big hurricane. now, if it does move into mexico, it won't have a lot of time in the water. probably won't get that big, but if it does this and makes a run at new orleans or somewhere here where these models are still undecided, this could be a much bigger problem than we're seeing right now. here's the official forecast. not moving to the u.s., but an 80-mile-per-hour storm nonetheless. nate could be something we have to watch. also, maria has not decided that it's not going to hit land yet, and maria could be a big storm, even towards south florida. these things are all five days away, but i'm giving you worst case scenarios so that you can

plan for that. if i give you best case scenario, you can't make plans. >> nate, maria, watching the susquehanna. check in with you, chad, in just a little while. she's making history. danica patrick about to join the nascar circuit full-time as she spearheads this campaign in memory of her grandmother. that's coming up. and hours from now, president obama will announce his plan for giving people jobs in america and will he give something tonight that changes employment tomorrow and what's his sticker price? his domestic policy adviser is standing by and she joins me next. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

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the president's jobs speech tonight before the joint session of congress, unusually early, 7:00 p.m. joining us from the white house the president's policy adviser melody barnes. let me just begin with is the speech ready to go, and what kind of tone will be the president be setting tonight? >> great. thanks so much for having me, brooke, and the speech is absolutely ready to go, and the president is ready to go. he's ready to go to the hill and to talk to the american public and also to talk to congress, to sell them that he'll be sending the american jobs act with him next week and wants to work with them and act immediately so that we can put americans back to work. that's the objective of the speech but more importantly that's the objective of what we're trying to get done. >> okay, melody, help set us straight is this purely a legislative package, you know,

subject to congressional approval, or will the president give us something, special next that will start creating jobs like tomorrow? >> well, the president is going to send legislation forward to congress next week. he's been all over the country for the past several months, listening to the american public, but also talking to business leaders, talking to experts about the best ways that we can move forward and create and to save jobs, to meet the needs that are out there. we want teachers in classrooms. we want fire fighters and policemen out in communities. we want to build our roads, our bridges, all those needs that have to be met. >> will he do anything unilaterally? >> well, the president is always looking for ways that we can act more immediately to get things done, so that's always something that he -- he's looking to do and wants to do and will do, but in this instance he's specifically sending the american jobs act to congress and asking congress to stand up

and take it and do its job and move immediately and to pass this legislation so that we can create those jobs in the way that -- that the act calls for. >> when you look back, you look at the stimulus package, and that was $787 billion. the president promised to save or create 3.5 million jobs. that didn't happen. what is -- what is the sticker price on this one, and how many jobs will you be able to create? >> well, first, i want to correct that. the american recovery act created, saved, 3 million jobs, at least 3 million jobs. it made a very tough recession, a recession we didn't know was as bad as it was, it made it a little bit easier, but obviously that's not enough and that's not meaningful for people who don't have jobs today. so what we're sending forward is a package that will be completely paid for, will not add a dime to the deficit but it's going to require the president and congress to work together to get this done, and we are willing to do our part.

>> but how many jobs will this specific plan create? >> mm-hmm. we are confident that it will create a substantial number of jobs, and we are also confident that independent analysts, not those working at the white house, but independent analysts will substantiate that. >> can you be more specific beyond substantial? is there a special nick number? >> after the president announces his package this evening and sends this forward, we will be able to talk more specifically. i'm not going to get out ahead of him with the kinds of specifics that your question would require me to answer right now. >> okay. >> but i can say that it will be subs stangs and independent analysts will be supportive of that. >> we won't get new trouble with your boss at the moment. >> thanks, i appreciate that, brooke. >> i do want to listen to house speaker john boehner speaking today and he was asked why his republicans won't be giving, you know, an official response to the president's speech tonight. here's the speaker. >> listen, this is not a state of the union address.

the american people shouldn't be forced to watch some politician they don't want to listen to, and frankly most of them would rather watch the football game. >> so, melody, like it or not. >> yes. >> the speaker is probably on to something there. you're not directly up against the game tonight, but you're practically begging the pundits to characterize this as pre-game entertainment, and this is a major address before a joint session of congress. how -- how did -- how did the white house let this happen? >> well, i think the white house and the president are being responsive to the needs and the desires of the american people. obviously people are interested in the football game, but most importantly people are interested in how they are going to go to work. they are interested in bring aglipay check home and sending their kids to college and paying their bills, and that is what the president, who is the commander in chief and the leader of this country will do tonight when he goes to corporation and i believe the american people will be very

interested in what he has to say and the fact that he is going to say the time for dithering and the time for partisanship and the tame for all of the back and forth is over. this is the time to move forward, for congress to act and to pass this bill and get this done so i think there will be a lot of interest in it tonight. >> one more. we're more than two and a half years of the president sift most of the time was focused on passing health care reform. did the white house, did it err by not going full bore on jobs from the get, and had you done that, might we not be in the fix that we're in right now? i know you know the numbers, 9.1 unemployment rate and 14 million americans out of work? >> everything that the president has done from day one has been about getting this economy back in shape. we passed the recovery act, as i said, created, saved, over 3 million jobs. we also passed a health care bill, something that both business leaders and individuals have been calling for because it was necessary to address the issue of cost for individual families but also the costs on businesses, so businesses could

be more competitive. all of these things fit hand in glove. this isn't either/or proposition. this is looking at our economy comprehensively, and in addition to that health care is one of the fastest growing job sectors today. that's an area where we are creating jobs. so all of these are important factors to get our economy going, and the president will continue to do the work that he started over two years ago, and tonight sending that american jobs act forward, asking congress to act, that's another important step forward. >> melody barnes live for us at the white house, melody, thank you very much. again, a quick reminder to all of you. we will be getting the best political team on television set for you at 6:00 tonight eastern time, and then, of course, the president's address to the joint session of congress 7:00 eastern. now this. >> if i had just gotten here i would have been surprised but having been here for six month it's not. this is pretty muff the stone ages where we are. >> we're learning what some american soldiers already know, that some people around the world don't even know what happened on 9/11.

coming up, what happened when a journalist shared the pictures of the september 11th terrorist attacks in remote parts of afghanistan, also homeland security says chatter is starting to build ahead of the weekend's anniversary. what they are doing to keep americans safe. wherever, whenever you want.is one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you.

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as the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 approaches, homeland security secretary janetno tells reporters there was no information about a specific threat, but she did say intelligence agencies are monitoring what she's calling, quote, a lot of chatter. her agency is taking the chatter very seer carousely.

it's not unusual to see major chatter before an event like this. also, german police may have stopped a bomb plot. they arrested two men, one of lebanese descent and the other from gaza. the two tried to buy chemicals to make a bomb. law enforcement had been monitoring these men for months. police do not think they have any ties to international terrorist organizations, and if they had a specific target in mind, investigators say they are not aware of it. and messages allegedly from member mom himself claim he is still in libya. syrian television airing several messages supposedly from the ousted libyan leader. the man claiming to be gadhafi says he's still in libya and will not leave. he says, quote, they claimed i left to niger so they can weaken you and destroy your morale, and he calls these reports lies. gadhafi has not been seen in public in months, and his whereabouts not known. more headaches from that crane that collapsed there at the washington national cathedr cathedral. this 500-ton crane toppled on to cars yesterday during work to

try to fix some of the damage caused by last month's earthquake and then also from ireap. now, all 9/11 commemorative events scheduled there at the cathedral, including the president's speech sunday, will have to move to other various locations, including the kennedy center. coming up next, as president obama gets ready to announce his jobs plan in just a matter of hours, there's a program he's apparently studying, one that's drawn praise from both democrats and republicans, and it involves tryouts, kind of like auditions. i'll talk to the man who launched the program, and he says it became victim of its own popularity. what does that mean? stay right there. boy, i'm glad we got aflac huh.

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back to the jobs story. in terms of creating new jobs, we now know that washington is watching the different states to see whether what they have got going on might actually work on the federal lev. here with me now, michael fuhrman, the former georgia labor commission. his georgia works program has earned a shout-out from the president and also from the "wall street journal." thanks for coming in studio to talk to me about this specific program. first, just essentially how does it work? >> it's what you said. it's a trial, a win-win proposition where job-seekers can audition their skills, receive new training and employers provide the training at no cost, and we've had a 60% success rate over the past seven years. >> so essentially the prospective employees, they go work. >> for up to 24 hours a week, for up to eight weeks.

>> and they get paid -- if they are getting unemployment benefits, they get their unemployment benefits in addition to the stipend. >> and the stipend is to offset the cost of child care and transportation and other non-related costs. >> who are the employers who you have working on the employers? >> we have over 16,000 georgia employers who provided training. more than 32,000 georgia job-seekers have signed up. 23,000 have completed the training, and, as i said, six out of ten found a job within 90 days. >> are we talking health? are we talking law, manufacturing? what kind of jobs? >> all of the above. it runs the gamut from white collar, blue collar, no collar. it allows the employers of reducing the costs of hiring trainees and in a difficult environment such as this. employees have to watch every dime, and so now they can make better choices about who is there, what are their skill sets and whether or not they will fit into the company.

>> i want to give credit to stateline.org for pointing this out. they are reporting, i see you nodding, they are reporting that george works peaked last december with 4,700 participants. take a look at graphics. it goes up and then it goes down, the nosedive. the graphic kind of tells it all. mr. thurmond, what happened? >> well, it's an indication of the seriousness of georgia's job mart. we opened it up not just to uninsurance claimants but those georgians and americans who have been out of work who don't qualify for unemployment benefits. 50% of the unemployed americans either did qualify or resulted in benefit, so i opened it up because they are in more desperate straits than those receiving benefits, and we had an overwhelming response. >> so the number of people looking for jobs, totally overwhelmed the number of people that could have provided them. >> yes. the money that we had set aside. actually it was a positive thing, pause you hear so much and people say the folks run employed, they don't want to work.

this demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that americans are ready and willing to get back to work >> i know there have been criticisms that the stipend ultimately was doubled at one point in time. let me get the number. georgia ended up paying $2.2 million in stir penned checks. i know some states like new hampshire are offering programs like this, minus the stipend because everybody, like you mentioned, they are watching their pennies, nickels and dimes and the administrative costs, to make sure some of the companies are in it for the right reasons? >> right, yes, yes. >> but given all of that, would it work at the federal level? >> i think it will work if we allow states to be creative. we don't need a big new federal bureaucracy. what states need is really what the president did two weeks ago, provide leadership, direction, inspiration and allow states the opportunity to be creative and innovative and create programs. new hampshire implemented the georgia works strategy but a little different from georgia, and that's why i think it's successful in new hampshire as well as here in georgia.

>> allowing the states to be creative and put their people back to work. >> let employers and job-seekers make that magic where hiring takes place. >> we need magic anywhere we can get it. michael thurmond, thank you so much. >> thank you, brooke. >> now, listen to this. >> amazingly, in a country where for ten years a war has been fought with 9/11 as its root cause and justification it turns out not only were the villages oblivious to 9/11, but so were the afghan police. >> coming up next, this stunning report about what afghans actually know about 9/11, and perhaps most importantly what they do not. find out what they said when a journalist showed them images of the 9/11 attacks, the twin towers. also, who they think the bad guys really r.i'll talk live with a man who found out firsthand. that's next. as luxury s.u.v.s, it helps to have the quality and craftsmanship of your leather interior test better than the lexus rx 350. it's also helpful

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in our commitment to cover the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we came across this story that really stopped us in our tracks. the story comes from a journalist who traveled all the way to afghanistan with a handful of photos, photos just like this. i know, i don't even have to ask you what this picture is of, but

that's a question that pletz asked villagers, police, elders in afghanistan, and we wanted you to hear their answers. >> reporter: 9/11 was one of those rare events that most people can remember exactly where they were when they first saw, it so perhaps we take it for granted that everybody knows what it is, but would at least recognize it, but is that really the case? especially in some of the places that have been most affected by its consequences. helmand in southern afghanistan is the province that has borne the brunt of the fighting between the taliban and coalition forces. will on patrol with the marines i get an opportunity to ask a couple of young afghan men what they know about 9/11. >> no, they never heard about this. >> reporter: can you show them a few more, and can you ask them if they know where it is, even? >> we don't know, sir. we never heard about anything in

the world. >> coming through. >> reporter: the two young men clearly never heard of 9/11. but maybe the elders would have more to say. >> no. >> they are saying that they can just see the smoke from the building and that's it. >> when you guys showed us the picture -- >> if i had just gotten here i would be surprised. having been here for six months, i'm not. this is pretty much the stone age. >> reporter: what did you think about the reaction? >> the guy that says it was kabul, have never been to kabul which shows you how isolated they are, even in their own country. >> how did america and afghanistan come to the point and get the airplane here to attack in the united states. they don't have that much power. >> it was nice to go from iraq to then here, a lot easier to

understand, you know, why you're here, and you have that picture. can always have the picture to remind yourself that's why we're here. >> americans are saying we're going to help you. destroy one building and destroy how many buildings and they say we're going to help you. where is the help? >> i do sympathize what some are saying, yeah, your buildings were knocked down. how many of our build having been knocked down. >> reporter: amazingly in a country where a war has been fought with 9/11 as its root justifications, turns out the villagers and afghan police and some of the translators working with the u.s. military. >> you don't know the history of that? >> no, i have no idea about certain things. >> reporter: have you ever seen these pictures before? >> no somewhat in fact, after showing the images to dozens of afghans, i only found one person who clearly recognized them and could connect them to the u.s.' initial reason for coming to afghanistan, and that was the police district chief in marjah.

>> he said the touristserrorist attacked the building and destroyed most of this building so that's why the americans were forced to come into afghanistan. >> reporter: a survey taken in 2010 by the international council on security and development found that 92% of afghan men in helmand and other afghan provinces had no idea what 9/11 was. >> and adam pletz out of afghanistan, joining me now from beirut. adam, i have a number of questions for, but my first one really is how did you come up with this idea? >> reporter: well, i was embedded with the marines in helmand in the same place that this story was made, and they -- they told me an anecdote about how they had been in one of the villages on the day when the moon was out during broad daylight, and they -- they told the villagers through their

translator that america had put a man on the moon which the villagers found absolutely hysterical and called all their friends around and thought it was ridiculous that you could put a man on the moon so the marines left pretty much the laughing stock of that village, and so i got to thinking, well, if they don't know that, you know, that man has walked on the moon, what else aren't they aware of and it was in this context of afghanistan, the most obvious thing that springs to mind is 9/11, which we all think of as the root cause. >> that's stunning. you showed all the people you showed the images to on camera, but off camera how many people did you show the photos of 9/11, to and how many people recognized it? was it really just that one police chief? >> reporter: there were about 80 people actually filmed on camera and then obviously you see the edit of this particular, and out of those 80, about ten had some

recognition. a couple said new york and recognized it straight away, but the only person who could connection very definitely with what the images were and put them into context of 9/11 and the sequence of events that led u.s. and international forces being there was the police chief in marjah, as you saw, and the overwhelming majority were just totally confused, but i just add i think it would be very different if you were to go to the big cities, more people would know, and if you walked around kabul university asking the same question, you'd probably find that everybody knows, just like in the outside world. >> that's what i wondered. i know you spent 18 months in kabul so if you're saying if you were in a more educated pocket of the country they would have an inkling as to what happened. what about the marines, adam? how do the marines act, in afghanistan risking their lives trying to further the future of these afghans who don't even know why they are there? >> reporter: yeah. well, they were quite interested, i mean.

some of the marines, one of the officers i was with would stop their patrols specifically so i could show the pictures. took an interest in it and quite surprised themselves, because the contrast of your assumptions, and even though you're there and you can see that there's very little education, there's very little infrastructure, there's no media and illiteracy is really high, there's good reasons they don't know. you can't say they are ignorant but even though you see all these things it's surprising that this knowledge isn't there. i was in touch with one of them who sent me an e-mail, the guy you saw on the story, and he said that he'll remember that day for the rest of his life, so it obviously made an impact to him. i guess it's that contrast. >> so why do they think we're there? >> reporter: that's a very good question, and, you know, i didn't go as for as pushing for answers for this partly because there's always a danger that things in afghanistan are going to be lost in translation, but i think it's important to note that the taliban is kind of used

as an umbrella to them so when you hear about the taliban, sometimes, most of the time, insurgent groups are acting independently or in line with other groups and these guys will talk about the bad guys generically and that's what you hear in conversations between the marines and the bad guys. why they are seen as the bad guys and why foreign military forces came in the first place, that connection isn't there. >> an eye-opening piece, adam pletts, thanks so much for herring it with us. >> reporter: thank you. coming up, her grandmother's death inspired her to join a cause, and this country weekend this country will see danica patrick doing most what she dozen most, driving. the latest lady driver to hit the nascar track joins me live next.

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coming to an oval track in your neck of the woods, full time this season, danica patrick, indy car fame. hello, datena, he will o', talladega and hello, bristol, tennessee. danica patrick made the switch to nascar. made the announcement late last month and joins us live now from richmond, virginia. danika, nice to see you and meet you here. let me just begin with why -- why the switch, why go from indy car to nascar? >> i just have fun driving those cars. i have fun racing stock cars. there's a lot that happens in the race. there's lots of things that change, and i love the fact that if you can be on the lead lap at the end of the race with the yellow flag all bunches up that anything can happen, and there's lots of passing, and, oh, yeah,

those fenders are kind of fun, too. >> i was about to say, the rubbing, the fighting, you're okay with that? >> you know, i'm sure everybody shares a little bit of that feeling of driving down the road and wishing you could just like bump someone a little bit, and i've definitely felt like that in indy car, but since the wheels are all exposed it's kind of dangerous so it's nice to be able to exercise that aggression and, i don't just do it randomly, but when it's appropriate. >> well, i'll ask you about the real road here in a minute, but everyone knows you're the first female to win an indy race. you've got the responseors. you have lots of attention, but other drivers and fans kind of want to know can you, miss patrick, can you bring it? >> what is it? i guess everybody has a different idea of what it is. >> being competitive? >> i can only do my best. if that's the case, then hopefully they have already seen that on a good weekend i can be

and hopefully that becomes just a regular thing and i'm very early in my stock car career, still not even completed what would be a full season of a nationwide series so lots to learn still for sure. >> in a male-dominated sport, can you just describe a moment you've had where you thought, you know what? this wouldn't be happening to me if i weren't a woman? >> well, i -- i do feel very lucky to be a female and to receive the attention that i do, and it allow meese to have opportunities outside of the car, as well as inside of the car, that maybe a regular guy might not have. i have great partners. i have great sponsor. doing an awareness campaign for copd. i'm aware of doing such great things that maybe some people wouldn't get the opportunity to do. >> here's what i want to know. when you go out on a date with your hubby, who drives, you or him?

>> whoever's car is being driven, i have to say, or, you know, i'm very responsible, so if, you know, if i feel like letting loose a little bit, i'm a passenger for sure, so it depends on whose car it is most of the time. >> i was reading your tweets the last couple of weeks and you were tweeting you and betty white have something in common. what is, that and how does it manifest itself? >> i was reading a magazine, and there was some little tidbit in some kind of gossip magazine that said that betty white has road rage, and i just thought oh, my gosh, my poor husband is going to hear me have road rage forever. i thought as you get road rage, you might dissipate, i'd be more calm and betty white is pretty old and if she has that going on, i know i tend to have more than most regular people, so poor guy is going to be so annoyed with my dictation of everything happening on the road. >> are you working on keeping the -- the road rage in checking

danica? >> i try. i really do. i know most people probably don't think that's true, especially the people that ride with me, but i do try. i do try a little bi. i try and be very responsible, especially in neighborhoods or by kids or animals or people walking on the street. i try to be very respectful, but when it comes to the highways and speed, i -- i try and be like about the fastest driver, but maybe the cop would pick someone else. >> how about this? did you see the amount or kind of attention receive change after all the super bowl ads the last couple of years and the attention you've been receiving? >> one thing that's definitely happened in my career, and i'm very fortunate for it, but, and it's due to things like those super bowl ads with go daddy and other things that i do, but i continue to get a little more popular and recognized all the time, which is still in a really good place. i feel lucky.

i'm not hounded. i don't have photographers chasing me. i don't have people bombarding me, but, you know, i kind of get that perfect amount of, yes, we have a seat for you at our restaurant, and here's a free dessert. i mean, it's kind of -- kind of a really nice balance right now, but i'm really fortunate. i'm able to continue to do what i'm doing as well as getting to do some other fun stuff. i love photo shoots and commercials and doing magazine shoots so i'm enjoying it all. >> the new health campaign while i have you, tell me about drive for copd. >> we started the campaign last february at daytona. it was the drive for the copd 300 which was my first nationwide race. from then we just hit the ground running. we did a commercial that airs and is very successful, and we -- we, you know, tour around getting people screened at races. we're racing at richmond this weekend, and there will be a screener truck at the ration that can get people screened. it's just about awareness, you

know, the fourth leading cause of death in the country. >> your grandmother. >> yeah, my grandmother had it and that's what really tripped me into doing it and making something that was a real negative into a positive and honoring her really through the awareness. but it kills more people than breast cancer and diabetes combine. when you hear that, you're like wow. >> wow. >> we're all so aware of those diseases and with october coming up and breast cancer awareness month but november is copd awareness. my dream is that people will wear the ribbon in october and then wear the orange and navy pinwheel in november. >> danica patrick, best of luck to you this weekend at richmond. go kick some tail. >> thank you. >> thanks so much. keeping it kick sol tail. >> thank you, very very much. at the top of the hour, nasa is set to test a new rocket motor. this booster is different from all the rest. it could send humans to a place they've never been before.

next. ♪ or the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪

>> if none of that works, look into bankruptcy. >> last resort. it stays on your record. >> to you, stacy, paul wrote in about his son. his son got his master's degree and the family still has about $15,000 in their 3529 savings account. they want to know if they can change the beneficiary to the younger brother, to the other son without getting hit by the gift tax. >> yes. they don't have to worry about any gift tax. not only can they change it to the other son, they can use it themselves or give it to other family members. grandparents, nieces, nephews. there's a lot to do. kudos that they didn't use the whole 529 plan. >> so saving for education. obviously it passes on to family members. >> it does. >> great to know. if you have a question you want answered, send an e-mail to cnnhelp desdesk@cnn.com. hey can i play with the toys ?

sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do. [ male announcer ] 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. you know i love space. you'll understand why the next story is just cool. in a desert in utah, nasa and a private company are minutes away from testing a solid rocket motor. this rocket motor could be a key component in what could finally launch people into deep space. that's, my friends, cool and worth watching. john zarrella covers all things space. he joins me on the phone. we know looking at the clock, about 20 minutes away from this test. i was reading this mode tore is like half a football field in length. what are we watching for? >> what you're going to see,

it's interesting. an enormous motor. it's bigger than a shuttle rocket motor. if nasa ever settles on what the design of that vehicle will be that will take humans into deep space, this motor could be one of the boosters that's used. what they're going to do today is they have a giant building that it's housed in that rolls back. they heated that building to 90 degrees. there's about 900 sensors on the vehicle. you asked why did they heat it to 90 degrees. they wanted to test how the motor would react if it's launched in florida in the summer. the ambient temperature is 90. when the flame comes out of that nozzle and burns for two minutes, brooke, it's going to be burning at 5,000 degrees. this is a very important test for nasa. >> maybe to an astroid, maybe to mars. john zarrella, thanks for

hopping on the phone. we'll carry the test live from this desert in utah in about 15 minutes from now. stay tuned. if you have an animal person, you have to stick around for this. even if you're not an animal person, this is a pretty amazing story. kept in captivity for more than 30 years, these chimps are finally seeing daylight for the very first time ever. more on that ahead in our next hour. plus last night they were side by side. but who got a boos from the the american voters? romney or perry? wolf blitzer has your political ticker next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com now, combine the all-star edition discount with other offers for a total value of $6,000 or qualified buyers can get 0% apr for 60 months plus a thousand dollars cash allowance on all silverado models. get to your chevy dealer and get that truck today.

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now to washington we go with news fresh off the political ticker. i want to begin talking about the debate in california. things heating up between mitt romney and governor rick perry over social security. perry's book plaintiff fed up." >> who would have thought these two republican presidential candidates would have a huge fight over social security which is an issue almost all americans appreciate, deeply respect and so many seniors, of course, rely on. people getting ready retire, certainly rely on it as well. listen to this little exchange that rick perry and mitt romney had on social security at the debate at the nixon library last night. >> it is a monstrous lie. it is a ponzi scheme. >> our nominee has to be someone who isn't committed to abolishing social security, but

committed to saving social security. >> i suspect mitt romney loves having this debate with rick perry. social security is very popular. you take a look at the early contests, whether iowa or florida, a lot of elderly people live in those states. they vote in big numbers. older people by and large vote in a much bigger percentage than younger people do in elections, especially in caucus cusses or primary elections. it takes a little extra work to go out and vote. social security, look at the recent poll done by the pew research center back in june. has social security been good or bad for the country? 87% think it's either been very good or good for the country. only a tiny number, 8% think it's been bad. 3% very bad. social security is very, very popular. people are concerned about the long time health of social security. they understand there are going to have to be some changes, some reforms. by and large, people deeply

appreciate social security. mitt romney's got an issue he thinks he can play with going against rick perry who is arguably the front runner. if rick perry were to get the republican nomination, you got to believe that the president of the united states would salivate thinking he'll have an issue like social security to go after rick perry on in a general election down the road. this may have been a setback for rick perry, a, in his bid for the republican nomination, and b, if he does get the republican nomination, in a general election. he'll have a chance to fix the image he left last night and the image he left in his book monday night. the debate in tampa, florida, i'll be hon touring that debate 8:00 p.m. eastern, the republican candidates will face off once again. we'll have good questions for them then. >> wolf blitzer, thank you very much. here we go. let's roll into hour two.

watch this. it's the four letter word that could make or break the president presidency, jobs. we're three hours away from the big reveal on capitol hill. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. >> we can't stop it. >> get out now. that is the urgent warning to thousands across the northeast as rivers rise and floods threaten. >> sometimes it's overwhelming. >> we'll take you to a place where 65,000 people are being forced to leave by tonight. >> did texas execute an innocent man? >> willingham was a monster. >> a closer look at one case reveals serious flaws. >> go look at the facts and you will find this was an incredibly bad man who murdered his kids. >> cnn investigates. plus perhaps the most powerful group in washington right now begins work. the so-called super committee will soon decide what gets cut and who gets spared.

and for 30 years these chimps were locked in cages used for medical testing. this is the very first time they've ever seen daylight. kristen bower is defending chimps on capitol hill. she joins me live. i'm brooke baldwin. check your clocks here. three hours away from the president's jobs address. mr. obama addressing a joint session of congress. of course you, the american people, let me take you quickly back to his speech on monday in detroit. >> you say you're the party of tax cuts. prove you'll fight as hard for middle class families as you do for oil companies and the most affluent americans. show us what you got. joining us now from washington, chief political

analyst gloria borger. would it surprise you tonight if we see the president guns blazing, marching to capitol hill picking a fight with republicans who control the chamber he'll be speaking from? >> i think what we'll see tonight, brooke is more of a challenge from the president to the republican party. he's going to say where really -- we have problems in this country with the economy. here with my solutions to get people back to work. some of them you republicans have signed on to before. so why not join me now this time because we need to fix this and get the job numbers better. so he's going to lay down the gauntlet and try to be the reasonable person in the room. i don't think he's going to collide them as much as saying, guys, the ball is in your court -- i talked to a senior white house adviser who said to me, once we put the ball in their court, if they don't want to take it, they have to go to the american people and explain

why. >> if he's putting the ball in their court, who is he speaking to chiefly? is he speaking to members of congress or the american people? house speaker boehner suggested today a lot of americans just want their football tonight. >> they probably do want their football. that's why this is early. i think he's speaking to both audiences. ronald reagan was the president who really perfected this, speaking to congress ostensibly. but really going over the heads of congress directly to the american people. there's nothing that really focuses the conversation like an address to a joint session of congress. so people are going to be watching. however, i might say this also does raise the stakes for the president. if people watch this speech out in the country and they say this is the same old, same sold, why am i not hearing any new ideas, that could backfire for him. a high-stakes speech for him. >> you make a point in your column that even as the

presidencies his approval ratings slip, congress is off the charts unpopular. looks at the numbers. you know them. approval rating down to 13% in that nbc-"wall street journal" poll, 14% conducted by cnn and opinion research corporation. i know you keep using the word challenge. does that give the president the license to get up and wag his finger? >> yeah, he thinks it does, at least politically. the first rule of politics is if you're going to pick on someone, pick on someone who is not doing as well as you are, pick on someone who is vulnerable. the president understands, look, his popularity, by the way, is down, too, in the low 40% range. everybody got hurt by that debt ceiling fight. he's going to pull a harry truman here. he's going to say, okay, folks, i told you what i want to do to create jobs in this country. if you don't agree with me, then

you tell me what you want to do. and if you don't have anything to suggest, then i'm going to run against the do-nothing congress. that's harry truman. >> what does it tell you, looking beyond tonight's speech. what does it tell you that the president is doing? the number one stop he's making is in home turf of house majority leader eric cantor? >> gee, what do you think about that? >> what do you think about that? >> i think the game is on, brooke. i think this is the election. i think it started. i think president obama is using the bully pulpit. we'll see how it works for him in addressing a joint session of congress. i think you're going to see a lot more of this president outside of washington rather than trapped inside washington. he's going to take his case to the american public because, guess what? he's running for re-election and it's really starting tonight.

>> gloria borger, thank you very much. as i mention, you should all be reading gloria's column, go to cnn.com/opinion to read that. still ahead, the fascinating video of chimps seeing daylight for the first time in three decades. they were kept in labs and cages. the experiments they went through makes these moments right there even more heartbreaking. also, large parts of the northeast right now on alert. tens of thousands told to get out, leave their homes as the rivers are rising. up next we'll take you to a place where folks are picking up where they can. tonight they have to be out. mary snow is standing by live in pennsylvania. she is next.

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the susing hannah river is flooding wilkes-barre, pennsylvania right now. statewide about 75 thoi people had to leave their homes, evacuate. it's also inundating places like broom county in new york. the river is forcing people out there as well. 20,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as water is spilling over those flood walls. look how high that is. new york governor andrew cuomo warning people to take this very seriously. >> this is going to get much worse before it gets better. anyone out there looking at the sky and saying it doesn't look so bad, you're mistaken. this will be a flood, i believe, of historic proportion when all is said and done. now back to the worsening situation down river. mary snow had to evacuate, get to higher ground. there she is in front of very muddy waters. mary, i know you're in plymouth

township right now which is one of the areas not protected by a levee, correct? >> we're southwest of where we last were. i want to show you, brook, you can see water as far down, about half a mile. here in plymouth township there had been an evacuation order that went in earlier than other parts of the county. it was in effect last night. let's take a look at this one home right now that is under several feet of water. joining us now is francis federicci, the owner of the home. you said you decided last night to stay here. at what point did you know you had to get out? >> at 8:00 this morning. >> what happened? >> the water started coming down into the road and into the back yard. i got my wife and told her, we have to go. >> you've been here for nine years. have you ever seen it this bad? >> not this bad. we've been flooded before, but not that this bad.

>> you were telling me the fence right behind us is a six-foot fence. >> yes, it is. >> several feet of water. this is only going to be getting worse? >> exactly. >> where are you going now? what happens? >> we're going to stay at one of our children -- we have five children, and one of them has a home for us to go to. >> what are you expecting at this point? the river is not expected to crest until tonight, right? >> right. the worst. >> my condolences to you. thank you for joining us. >> mary, let me jump in. i don't know what that area typically looks like. he said the fence is six feet. is that supposed to be road, is it a creek or a river. >> on normal days, what does

this look like? >> on normal days, we love it here. there's nobody around us. we had a beautiful yard. we were fixing our home up. >> this would be a road right in front of us? >> this would be a road. there's about six feet of water from a couple hundred feet, that's six feet of water. >> right behind me you said was also a road, correct? >> this is a road where this telephone pole is, dehaven street. >> thank you for your time. brooke, we were talking to the county commissioner a while ago. the forecast for the river cresting is now between 12:00 and 2:00 a.m. it was backed up a little bit. again, the worst is yet to come. >> mary, it's chad myers. i assume that's as far as you can go rather than maybe going up towards shawnee or somewhere and going higher on the mountain to get over. have you been able to get down

any place farther into plymouth to see how high the water is? we have another five feet to go yet before it stops going up. >> reporter: right. we haven't been up there yet. i was just talking to the county commissioner. i was asking about reports of flooding. she didn't tell me about anything yet. the county has a capacity of 4100 in their shelter. they're near capacity and looking to open other shelters. >> mary talked to the mayor of wilks bes-bar wilkes-barre. here plymouth township where your parents are from, there is no levee, correct. >> the water is going to right in there, from bull run down into plymouth. it's going to be in west. the water has five feet to go.

it's going five feet from where it is right now. i'm very concerned that the people of wilkes-barre right now believe the leave vooef is going to be high enough, i've been watching the water up river, it's not high enough. that wall will be wet and water will get in -- i'm not going to say it's going to flood wilkes-barre, but water will be spilling over. if they have told you it's your choice to evacuate but we recommend you evacuate, i recommend you evacuate as well. the water is higher-than-expected. it's rising. that boughter has nine hours to go in wilkes-barre, it's going to get wet. >> i can tell you know the area well. hopefully, if you're fearful, get out now. >> there's hills on both sides. everybody has somewhere to go. >> chad, thanks very much. nasa has just tested this rocket motor that could be used to launch humans where they've never gone before. we'll have the video turned

around. up next, chimps being used as science experiments. these particular animals injected with hiv and other diseases. after decades in these lab cages, this new video shows them seeing daylight for the very first time. actress kristen bauer from "true blood," she's speaking out against these types of experiments shechlt has a message for the government. she's next. [ tires squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer

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they have only known this world behind bars, subjected to hundreds of experiments inside

this lab. after more than 30 years of this life, they say daylight for the very first time. watch this. >> these chimpanzees just tasting freedom from an austrian animal sanctuary. they were injected with hiv to test for an aids vaccine. chimps share something like 95% to 9 % of the same dna as humans. but chim s feel and emote as well. here in the u.s. there are about a thousand chimps spending their lives in lance. legislation has been used to phase out research involving apes calling it unethical. kristin bauer is from "true blood." i want to get your visceral reaction to those chimps tasting

fresh air and grass and freedom for the first time. >> it's pretty incredible. it makes me inspired to get the great ape protection and cost savings act passed. i'm working with the physicians committee for responsible medicine because i'd like to see this for all thousand chimps we have in the u.s. we're the last country to still be yielding these experiments that have yielded no advancement for humans. >> i want to ask you a little about these labs an cages. you've been working with the physician's committee for responsible medicine, the legislative fund and also helped along with new mexico governor bill richardson, to save chimps from scientific experimentation. can you describe some of these conditions inside these labs? how big are these cages? >> they're about the size of a kitchen table and they're also in isolation, and they're also injected with so many different diseases and different experiments going on. it's not actually a sound

experiment. i liken it to if you were trying out different cancer treatments with people but you put them in a closet and you didn't let them interact with other people. it wouldn't be a sound experiment. you don't know what they're reacting to from stress and depression because they react much like humans do which ironically is why we use them. but their bodies don't develop proteins and diseases the way that ours do. so it doesn't really work. and it's extremely expensive. other countries, japan, europe, they stopped quite a while ago. we have other methods that are more accurate. >> when you see some of the pictures looking outside for the first time, it looks like some of them are missing patches of hair. perhaps one one of the results. i know they've been in captivity. i was reading details on the jane good all institute. i know chimps can live up to 60 years, reportedly injected with

hiv to find a vaccine. my question then is, what would you tell someone who could have a friend or loved one benefit from this type of research? >> well, you know, i've lost my best friend to aids and my father to cancer, and i have yet to hear of any advancement at all that would have helped my loved ones. and the advancements that we are finding are usually coming from other methods. i think it's around 90% of the drugs and treatments that pass in animal trials fail when they get to the human trial phase. so if it worked we'd have another argument. should one species be used for the benefit of another species to their detriment? we aren't even at that argument. it really hasn't been effective. and i just -- personally i know there's a better way. these chimps are -- have never

seen daylight, have never felt grass under their feet. >> of course, the next question is will lawmakers make time for chimps and apes? we'll wait and see, kristin bauer. thanks so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. we're getting pictures from the utah desert. here it is. take a look. >> t minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fire. >> wow. chad myers we heard the flames described as massive and extraordinary. i think she's right. this is this nasa, this alliant tech systems testing this new solid rocket motor because this could be something that could

get people one day into deep space. >> they've already tested it twice, in colder temperatures, in 40 and about 60 degrees. today they heated it up. they heated it up to a florida summer day. >> 90 degrees. >> can it still run at 90 degrees? can this thing take off in florida? i think the answer is yes. i think that's an affirmative response. that thing is just -- can you imagine just the power it would take to hold that thing to the ground? >> i think i'd have to have ear plugs in the i was standing in the desert in utah. apparently some of the parents intended to serve for the first parts of the constellation, area one. they're trying to use what they can to make this motor and let's just watch it again just because we can. >> three, two, one, fire. >> the camera was so far away, yet it still shook. >> space nerds. >> not an earthquake, a solid rocket motor.

chad myers, thanks form playing along. up next, a man man in texas executed for setting his house on fire with his three children inside. but many are questioning evidence in whether he actually did it. at the center of all this, texas governor rick perry who strongly defended his execution record and this particular case. >> they found this man guilty every step of the way. >> did texas execute an innocent man? cnn investigates. don't miss this. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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in an election year crime makes headlines, especially when the governor of texas talks so bluntly about it. take last night's gop debate. question, governor, do you lose sleep thinking an innocent man might be put to death? >> no, sir, i've never struggled with that at all. the state of texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which, when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens,

they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the supreme court of the united states if that's required. but in the state of texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're 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 -- >> i want you to take a look here at some of the statistics we've pulled. texas has executed more people than any other state. since texas resumed executions back in 1982, that number now stands at 464 even though california and florida have larger death row populations. texas has four executions scheduled this month alone. but there is one execution that could haunt governor perry in this election. here is ed lavandera. >> reporter: cameroned to

willingham was executed seven years ago, convicted of setting his house on fire to kill his three children. his appeals, including to the supreme court, repeatedly denied. texas governor rick perry signed off on the execution. >> willingham was a monster. >> reporter: just before willingham's death, a nationally known fire expert studying the arson investigation found it horribly flawed, that the original investigators had relied on outdated arson science. willingham supporters asked the governor to halt the execution. perry refused. >> we have a system in this 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. the question is, not only did texas execute an innocent man, but did perry use his power to try to shut down a potentially embarrassing investigation into how willingham was convicted? if there was no arson, willingham would not have been

executed. >> if this case went to trial today, i can't see any way that willingham would be convicted. i can't see any way that a prosecutor would bring this course forward today. >> reporter: the innocence projects brought the case to the texas science forensic commission which started looking into whether bad arson investigative techniques were used to convicted willingham. >> the science was indeed junk science. >> reporter: sam basset was head of the commission. he said he was called into a heated meeting with two governors aides and was told the investigation was a waste of state money. >> i couldn't believe they were injecting themselves into the commission business so directly and so confrontationally. >> you got the sense clearly they wanted to influence the outcome i guess? >> yes. that was my sense, that they wanted us to stop the investigation. >> reporter: the commission kept working. more fire experts agreed the investigation relied on junk science. seven months later basset says he was suddenly told he was not being reappointed because the governor wanted to take the commission in a different

direction. >> i've seen kind of an analyst drum beat of strategies and ak sluns to stop this investigation. it's been terribly disappointing. >> reporter: why do you think you were taken off this 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. >> reporter: perry has denied sam basset's removal was politically motivated. the governor remains as unwavering today as he was two years ago in his opinion that willingham deserved to be executed. >> go look at the facts panld you will find this is an incredibly bad man who murdered his kids and the record will stand the scrutiny. >> reporter: more than two years later the willingham investigation is still stalled and nobody can say for sure if texas executed an innocent man. ed lavandera, cnn, austin, texas. >> well, governor perry is campaigning in orange county, california. we'll look at that and see if capital punishment issues

surfaced there as well. first the white house cuts its economic forecast. now another group is doing the same. it's not so pretty. plus twitter revealing some pretty interesting information today about who is tweeting. will it change how we communicate in the future. more than two years after michael jack stop eels death, for the very first time his doctor is facing people who could decide his fate. reporter roulette is next. or onr score 'cause they break it down to one simple number that you can use dot to take a break because the name is kinda long com in honor of the internet that it's on put it all together at the end of the song it gives you freecreditscore-dot-com, and i'm gone... offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com [ doorbell rings ] hello there. i'm here to pick up helen. ah. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks.

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jury selection begins in the case against michael jackson's doctor, and twitter reveals pretty interesting information about who is reading tweets. let's play reporter roulette. first up alison kosik. we know the market closed. it was a down day today. the dow dropping 119 points. but alison, with wall street as a backdrop, we got two more opinions with the economy, the

fact it's weak. what are the story. >> stunning out looks. one from organization for economic develop ration and development. cutting its growth forecast for the rest of the year saying for the u.s. this quarter, it sees the u.s. growing at a 1.1% pace. for the months between october and december of this year the foreca economy s&p forecasted to go at .4%. a few months ago the forecast was for 3% growth. you the federal reserve using words like slow, sluggish. congress, we're throwing the ball in your court to step up. fed chief ben bernanke is warning that corning could put recovery at risk by cutting spending too much too soon. all this is the reason all eyes will be on the president at 7:00 tonight. >> alison, you've been tweeting up a storm about this next story, about twitter fittingly. how big is twitter?

what's the number you're seeing? >> twitter is growing quite well. this is coming from all things d, brooke. the ceo of twitter said that 40% of active users, they don't even create their own tweets. they just read other people's tweets, meaning they creep on other people's tweets. also many people aren't even logged on to twitter.com when they go there. so these are just kind of browsers at this point. as for how many people actually use twitter, 10 million active monthly users. that's how many people are oven twitter. that's a really big number. if you think back to all the news events we had, the ceo said on a recent sunday with hurricane irene, manchester united's win, beyonce's pregnancy announcement, there were a record 800,000 per second. >> it's amazing that we need to

document our every move on twitter, but it's awesome for us to use in the news biz. how about we call the creepers tweepers? >> you tweeted that to me. i love that. >> alison kosik, i'm communicating. i'm not one near or you. jury selection has begun in the trial of michael jackson's doctor. ted, we know dr. ron cad murray faces involuntary man slautr in the death of the pop star. what happened today in court? >> reporter: one thing that happened today, the judge told these prospective jurors don't be tweeting about this case and don't use social networking. don't use research at all. this was the first day of bringing in the masses. about 160 came in today. first they were given a short questionnaire asking if they were able to serve four to six weeks.

those that could, they were given the long questionnaire. this is the beginning of the process, whittling it down to stand and decide the fate of conrad murray. >> what kind of questions are these jurors being asked? >> reporter: well, it's exhaustive, the questionnaire. one of the questions on the other questionnaire that was approved in the spring, and we're told this one is very, very similar, was have you seen "this is it," the michael jackson documentary? if so, what are your thoughts on it? why did you see it? we're told there's a question on this new questionnaire about casey anthony, to what extent did you watch that trial? they want to know as much as they can and then go in and try to pick and choose which one they think will help them out. >> ted rowlands in los angeles. thank you so much. homeland security says chatter ahead of jihadist websites is starting to build ahead of the 9/11 anniversary.

for the first time we're hearing the reaction in realtime that the actual air traffic controllers, the communications they had to the news of the highjacked planes. you'll hear that audio next. 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. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military 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. ♪

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as we mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11 this upcoming weekend, every single one of us remembering back to where we were on that day, what we saw, how we heard that our nation was under attack. today for the very first time, we're also hearing the reaction in realtime of the actual air traffic controllers to the news of those highjacked planes. listen to this rerecording. as controllers watched united 175 descend into world trade. >> if you look out your window right now, can you see about 4,000 feet? it looks like -- >> yeah, i see him. >> is he descending through the building also?

>> really quick, too, yeah. he just dropped 800 feet in one sweep. >> that's another situation. what kind of a plane is that? can you tell. >> i don't know. i'll read it out in a minute. >> another one just hit the building. >> wow, wow. it hit it hard. >> another one hit the world trade. >> the whole building just came apart. >> holy smokes. i guess you guys are going to be busy. >> gives you the chills, doesn't it? you can hear more of the air traffic control audio in drew griffin's special report "footnotes of 9/11" this sunday at 9:00 eastern on cnn. if it's interesting and happening right now, rapid fire. we begin with homeland security secretary janet napolitano telling reporters there is no information about a specific threat ahead of this weekend's 9/11 anniversary. the secretary says intelligence agencies are monitoring what she

calls a lot of chatter. she says the agency is taking the chatter seriously. she says it's not uncommon to see increased chatter before a major event like this one. you remember when christian dior fired designer john gill an know over his anti-semitic rant? in case you forgot, here it is >> galiano was found guilty today of making public insults at a bar in paris.

he received a suspended $8,40 fine. the plaintiffs were each eye warded one symbolic euro. that's about a buck 40 apiece. galiano says it's happy it's over an wants to put all this behind him. it's not every day you get to see fire and water look this good. this is too cool. that fireball is actually a pro surfer, 31-year-old bruce irons attached the flare to the back of the surfboard for fun. it turned the tubes into tunnels of life. after it, he said, and i quote, i'm pretty stoked. it could be the most powerful group of lawmakers in washington. these people will be the ones decided what gets cut and who might lose a job. one member of the so-called super committee already threatening to quit. [ crying ] [ applause ] [ laughs ] [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] your life will have to flash by even faster.

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the first meeting the day of this congressional super committee. we've talked about the super committee. it's six senators, six house members evenly split among the democrats and republicans. what they're charged with is finding $1.5 trillion in federal debt reduction. you know why they're there in the first place. because congress and the president couldn't agree to a balance between taxes and spending cuts. they just pushed the job off on the super committee. can they be the adults here, make some cuts. take a listen. >> this committee has the opportunity to show the american people we can still come together, put politics aside and solve a problem that's plaguing our country. we each got into politics for a different reason, but i'm quite certain none of us came here to engage in the kind of petty

bickering dominating the discourse in washington, d.c. recently. >> i approach our task with a profound sense of urgency, high hopes and realistic expectations. our task to achieve $1.5 trillion of bipartisan deficit reduction will not be easy, but it is essential. >> so day one of the super committee and they have a late november deadline. by the way, republican jon kyl in the upper left of the graphic, he is threatening already to quit this committee, says he will quit if they consider further cuts in the military. i'm sure wolf blitzer will be talking about this in "the situation room" coming up. wolf, what do you have? >> a lot coming up, getting ready for the president's major address, 7:00 p.m. eastern, as you know, before a joint session of congress. we'll get a preview from one of the top economic advisors, gene sperling. we'll speak with a key representative from south

carolina very active in the tea party movement, christy nome will be joining us with a very different perspective. i'll get her reaction and see where the tea party supporters stands on some of the specifics the president will unveil. no doubt there's an urgency the president will convey later tonight an urgency to try to get the economy going once again so more jobs can be created. as important, brooke, as the political fallout from all of this is, the economic fallout for real americans, the 14 million who are unemployed, the millions more who are underemployed, have part-time jobs or jobs where they're making a lot less than they used to make or those who have given up even looking for jobs, it's all really, really critical. we'll see if the president can inspire democrats and republicans to work together in the coming weeks and pass this legislation. we'll see what happens. i think it's fair to say, and i'm sure you will agree, the stakes now for the country -- forget about the politics -- are

enormous. >> took the words right out of my mouth. mr. blitzer, thank you very much. still here, how much power does the tea party movement have? it's a question many are asking as republicans duke it out on the campaign trail. do polls indicate the movement may be losing popularity? joe johns has that. he's next. in the worl with us, in spirit, was every great car that we'd ever competed with. the bmw m5. and the mercedes-benz e63. for it was their amazing abilities that pushed us to refine, improve and, ultimately, develop the world's fastest production sedan. the cts-v, from cadillac. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything.

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they are organized, and they're certainly getting a lot of attention. they're the members of the tea party movement. the question is this, how much influence was the group of republicans -- how much does it have on the republicaning running for president or the national agenda. this is part of our "contenders" series. joe johns takes a look. >> reporter: in the republican race for president everyone pants a piece of the tea party. rick perry talks about the a man who is already part of the club. >> i heard people say you tea party types are angry. we're not angry. we're indignant. >> reporter: michele bachmann talks like an insider, too. >> the tea party has been the best antidote to the out of control spending that we've seen. >> reporter: ron paul was tea party before there was a tea party. >> why don't we just obey the constitution once again. that would solve so many of our

problems. >> reporter: while mitt romney sounds more like a guy on the outside trying to get in. >> i've devoted to shrinking the size of government and encouraging the growth of the free economy. i think i get great support from the tea party. >> reporter: this will be the first presidential election to witness the effects of the tea party movement. so far the movement's biggest idea, that the government and its spending need to be scaled back now, have dominated the national political conversation. >> those are the issues that are not just animating the republican primary, i actually think they're defining the concerns of americans right in the middle of the political spectrum today. >> true, but it's mostly about the republican contenders right now and everybody knows it, though tea partiers don't like all of what they see. mitt romney's state-run health care program when he was governor of massachusetts, looks a bit too much like the president's health care plan for many. rick perry's moderate record on immigration is a potential drag

hillary clinton ois tea party support. many mainstream republicans question michele bachmann's ability to pill off a win in a general election. speaking of questions, while the tea party movement has been great for republican energy, it has also produced candidates so unorthodox that voters eventually rejected them. christine o'donnell in delaware, and that's where they get labeled extreme, though they say what's extreme is the result if we don't get the government under control. senator mike lee was elected with strong tea party support. >> it's a reaction to extreme circumstances that exists within our federal government. $15 trillion debt? extreme. increasing debt, accelerating at $1.5 trillion a year? that's extreme. >> joe johns, we know the polls say the tea partiers lost popularity after the bickering, fight on capitol hill over the debt ceiling. what do they say about that? >> everybody did. they also called this the price of leadership because they took some unpopular positionless. now they're going to pay. still it