it will be a big night. >> yes, that means we have to stay up late. we are usually in bed early. >> we have to know what we are talking about, eight? >> we'll do it together with a little extra coffee. >> thank you. live from studio 7 i'm suzanne malveaux. it is tuesday, october 18th. a huge crowd gets loose in gaza city after israel freed more than 470 palestinian prisoners today. israel is supposed to release another 500 soon. so what are you watch? raw emotion at the border crossing with mothers reuniting with their sons locked up for years. israel gave up the palestinian prisonerer ins to get back one soldier. hamas militants held gilad shalit for more than five years. they turned him over to egypt today. the young soldier is now back with his family in israel.

>> translator: i hope that this deal with help to achieve peace between the palestinian and israeli sides. and this would support the corporation between the two sides. >> you are looking at live pictures from that reid's hometown in israel. there's a crowd gathering there to welcome him home after five years in captivity. secretary of state hillary clinton is the first cabinet official from the united states to visit the new libya. clinton sat down with the new political leadership called the national transitional council. she made a stop in tripoli. now she brought ideas on the transition to democracy as well as an aid package. less than 300 miles away there's proof that libya's civil

war is not over. battles continue in sirte. this is moammar gadhafi's hometown, the last battleground for his ousted regime. well, engineers near the crippled nuclear reactors in fukushima, japan, could be cool enough for a complete shut down in december. that's a month earlier than predicted. three of the plant's four reactors melted down after you recall that earthquake and tsunami hit japan back in march. well, there's a cargo ship that grounded off new zealand too weeks ago. it is now breaking apart in heavy swells. if that happens it could send an estimated 1400 tons of crude into the ocean. 350 tons of fuel have already been leaked. some of that oil has stained new zealand's beaches. we got an update on that horrific story about the four mentally disabled adults who were allegedly held captive in a

dank philadelphia basement. police said they found dozens of ids when they arrested the suspects. so detectives think that those ids could lead them to other victims. the people who have just been freed say they were chained to a radiator, given little to eat and also hit on the head. >> he hit me with a bat on the back of the head. >> that was real dirty of you. that was wrong. >> reporter: did you guys willingly give her your information? >> no, she took it. >> reporter: such a sad story. philadelphia police are holding three suspects and they say one of them, linda weston, served eight years in prison for killing a man. and that the man was locked in a closet and literally starved to death. well, there are a lot of u.s. marines who are angry today because they are being told that they can't wear bracelets bearing the names of fallen marines. marine corps regulations

prohibit jewelry except for rings and watches. well, the corps made an exception for a prisoner of war and missing in action bracelets in the 1970s. marines want a similar exception for the killed in action bracelets as well. president obama is about to hammer republicans on jobs. he's going to to speak at a community college in jamestown, north carolina. republican lawmakers blocked the president's jobs bill, but the president now chopped the package into bite-sized pieces. he wants lawmakers to vote on a $35 billion package this week that's supposed to save the jobs of teachers, police and firefighters. this is day two of his three-day bus tour to promote the jobs bill. uh-oh, for the white house, that's right, a tv station in richmond, virginia, is saying that a truck carrying the president's teleprompter, podium and other equipment was stolen on monday. police found the truck in a

parking lot at a holiday inn express. no word on the presidential equipment. an official will only say that nothing classified or sensitive was stolen. the president speaks in chesterfield, virginia, tomorrow. let's go to live pictures now out of israel. this is shalit's hometown where he's been greeted by a throng of supporters waving flags. you can see the israeli flag there as the caravan white vans travel through the city there. you can see even cameras from on high catching the route here of gilad shalit on his way home. you can see the security in the front there, the front seat. those are official vehicles it looks like from the looks of it to be the flashing lights as they proceed through his hometown. as you may recall, this was an israeli soldier freed after more

than five years in the custody of hamas in exchange for 1,000, at least 1,000 palestinian prisoners. and you can see they are snaking their way through. it looks like they are putting their blinkers on. they may be stopping soon. you can see security on both sides who are running to make sure that everything is okay there. they are getting out of the vehicles now. there's a very heavy security presence. you can hear the cheers of the crowd. i think we are able to catch him. a little wave there. you see him there walking rather quickly. i think we just lost visual of him, but he got out of the vehicle. you can see just -- let's listen in for a minute.

>> yes, gilad shalit has finally arrived. [ cheers ] [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> i think we may be looking at perhaps the home or certainly the location where they have brought gilad shalit returning to his hometown. you can see that aerial shot there of that building. that's where they brought him in just moments ago. it looked like people were

celebrating, cheering, hugging, holding on to each other. a lot of emotion there. they have been waiting for him. this has been a very contentious issue on both sides. the negotiations have gone on and failed for years. just this break through happening in the last week in exchange for gilad shalit, more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners who were also released or are being in the process of being released here. this is a moment of israelis and palestinians celebrating a breakthrough. what you are seeing now are pictures of a celebration that is taking place in the hometown of gilad shalit for a lot of people here as this is a move forward. many or practically all the family have members in the military. they serve to protect and to

bring back those who have been captured. he was taken into custody, held by hamas, for more than five years. it has been a point of contention between the israeli government and the palestinian authority in terms of his release. that release has happened. so you see the celebration that is now taking place on the streets as well as the heavy security presence there as well and media from around the world who are capturing, really, a very important moment for both sides. this was a deal that was negotiated with the help of the egyptian government, the new egyptian government, as well as the german government. a real breakthrough for the egyptian government in terms of its new place in the middle east and what it means for its own e merging power after the arab overthrowing of hosni mubarak.

we are just learning information that gilad shalit is in his home, in his house now. this taking place after more than five years in prison. i want to go to some live pictures out of gaza, if we can. and we are looking there at people who have gathered. they are waiting for palestinian prisoners who have been released. about 500 who have already been released, we expect another 500 to be released shortly. you can see there are signs they are holding up of some of the vims vims, there are palestinian flags, those are the colors that you night them. as they wait for this historic moment, this grand bargain was made between the palestinians and israelis, but specifically hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by u.s.

officials and some of the united states allies. those prisoners being released in exchange for gilad shalit. let's listen in. >> it looked like a moment of thanks, perhaps a moment of prayer, as that individual kneeled and was on the ground. then you can see the support, the music, the raised hands and the celebrations on the palestinian side as they welcome those who have been in prison under israel. we'll have more of this breaking news story, a rell historic moment between the israelis and the palestinians and a move forward, hopefully in the peace

process, and a lot of negotiating parties are trying to make sure that the israeli soldier was released and that the palestinian prisoners will be released as well. we'll take a quick break and get back to this in a moment. 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. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. your core competency is...competency. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] as you wish, business pro.

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(laughing) yeah. get $100 rebate when you buy four tires. 100 bucks! only at your ford dealer. 3 million tires. 11 major brands, fiona's kind-of-nice. i don't know why you're not here. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. secretary of state hillary clinton is visiting libya. she arrived in tripoli a few hours ago. clinton is the first member of president obama's cabinet to visit libya since moammar gadhafi was ousted. i want to go to jill dougherty traveling with the secretary and joining us by phone. jill, tell us about the minutes, who did secretary clinton meet with in libya and what was the purpose of the meeting? >> reporter: well, she's had a

couple meetings now with the leadership of the national transitional council. what she has been doing is -- first she has been patting them on the back -- >> i think we have lost jill dougherty with secretary clinton. she's meeting with the new government in libya to offer some aid, some financial aid as well as some other kind of support from the united states. and there is still fighting that is continuing in certain parts of that country. we know sirte, the hometown of moammar gadhafi is seeing firefights continuing. well, tonight, fight night in vegas politically speaking. seven of the republican candidates for president are meeting in a debate co-sponsored by cnn. the stakes couldn't be higher. top issues facing the country

are playing out in nevada. you are talking about the jobs, the economy, foreclosures, illegal immigration, all of that. paul steinhouser is joining us from vegas, we know it is all about the odds in vegas. we have new poll numbers to show which republican has the best odds of beating president obama, what do we snow in. >> reporter: yeah, brand new cnn numbers out just coming in a couple hours ago. this debate will take place in a little over nine hours. republicans and independents are leading to the gop, which candidate has the best chance to beat barack obama in 2012? rid mitt romney is at the top with 41%. that's 17 points ahead of herman cain. we also asked republicans who they think will win the nomination. you can see right there more than half the republicans we questioned say mitt romney is the guy with the best chance to beat president obama and winning the nomination. >> what do the polls tell us about herman cain's recent

surge? >> reporter: yeah, this poll really tells us the secret to his success. he's jumped in the polls and is dead even with mitt romney in the most recent poll. here's why, we asked who is the most likable candidate among the republicans? there at the top is herman cain. we also asked who has the best plan to fix the economy. once again, herman cain. a lot has to do with the 9-9-9 tax plan he's been touting quite often. >> paul, his rise makes him obviously, i would imagine, a big target tonight. is he ready? >> reporter: oh, yeah. so true, so true. when you rise in the polls, more scrutiny. we saw that this weekend with a pretty tough weekend with comments he made on the border, possibly electrifying the fence and comments on his tax plan are getting push back from the other candidates. expect more of that tonight. in fact, ron paul on "american

morning" is critical of the 9-9-9 plan. expect ron paul and others to come out swinging at cain and mitt romney. >> is this a make or break night for ron paul? or rick perry? >> reporter: he has dropped a lot because of his debate performances. i think he really needs a good performance tonight to standout and shine. he says debates are not his strong suit. he needs to change that tonight. >> all right. paul, thank you. you can see the western presidential republican debate tonight on cnn at 8:00. it is part of our coverage of america's choice 2012. well, you have banks inching back now into dangerous territory. a report finds that once again they are targeting borrowers with questionable credit history. it is the risky business that got the economy in trouble.

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north carolina is trying to drum up public support with president obama there speaking. last week the senate rejected the $447 million proposal. now he's pushing for congress to take up the measure piece by piece. this is the second day of his three-day bus tour of north carolina and virginia. some republicans are accusing the president of campaigning on the taxpayers' dime. the white house says this is not a political event. banks once again are learning dangerously. they have been issuing millions of credit cards to folks with weak or limited credit history.

alison kosik is here to explain this. what does this mean about the economy if the banks are willing again to take that kind of risk? >> reporter: well, you know what this shows? according to analysts it is a good sign that banks are extending credit more because it shows banks are happening -- rather they were confident and more willing to extend this credit. they say delinquencies are falling, meaning people are paying bills on time, so banks are willing to take on more risk. proof of that is showing that credit cards issued to subprime borrowers are on the rise. >> does that mean again that the banks are more willing to lend, do we think that's going to happen or are they being pretty careful? >> reporter: it is really questionable whether they are being careful. it is good that overall lending is picking up. we are not seeing it at the

pre-recession levels, but credit is still tight. banks are charging higher interest rates to cover themselves in that way. >> and do we think they have learned their lesson here, i mean, doesn't it seem like groundhog dees day is dangerous territory? that got us into the mess in the first place. >> you are right. it is really questionable whether they see it that way, but this is dangerous territory because subprime boor wroters borrowers on the riskiest. if they default the bank is left holding the bag. that's what started the whole mortgage mess, but subprime borrowers pay the most, they pay highest interest rates. so this is a big opportunity for banks to make more money, but i think what you really need to see here is there needs to be a balance here. but the borrower clearly is responsible as well. you know, don't go ahead and sign on to a credit card and spend money that you just don't have. >> alison, talk about the

markets here with the steep sell-off, do we think investors are nervous still today? >> reporter: i think you are definitely seeing the nerves today. stocks are pretty much sitting on the fence today. we have investors shrugging off goldman sachs posting the first quarterly loss since the recession. the ibm shares are down 4%. but remember the dow fell almost 250 points today, so we saw a little bit of buying today and a little bit of bargain hunting, but investors don't really know which way to turn today. >> alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. thank you. we have disturbing developments on a story we told you about yesterday. four mentally disabled patients, people, were changed in a basement for their social security checks. the victims are speaking out now and police say that the people who locked them up there may have been running a scam for some time. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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up next, three mentally disabled people describe being shackled inside a basement. we'll take to one of our reporters who went inside the so-called dungeon to get the latest from philadelphia's police commissioner. then everything goes dark in

a texas city as a massive dust storm rolls in and it turns out the lights. and later one of the three 9's in herman cain's tax plan is a sales tax similar to what they use in europe, but will it work here? we'll compare them in a few minutes. we are now hearing from three of the four mentally disabled people who were found in chains inside a basement in philadelphia. and their accounts are horrific. police say there's now more cause for alarm. clues suggesting that one of the suspects may have at least 50 victims in three states. our affiliate of kwy has the details. >> reporter: three of the four victims here held captive inside a northeast philadelphia home spoke about the horrible way they were treated by 50-year-old linda weston, a convicted master's degreer, who has been arrested for kidnapping and

assaulting four mentally disabled adults. >> she hit me with a bat in the back of the head. all this was bleeding and everything. >> that was real dirty of you. that was wrong. >> reporter: they say they were manipulated by weston who they claim took their social security information to collect their checks. did you guys willingly give her your information? >> no, she asked for hit. >> she took it. >> reporter: this 40-year-old originally from north carolina said he met weston through an online dating website. it was not long before he realized weston didn't care about him. >> i escaped one time to one of the houses that we used to live in of hers and i didn't get away so they got me. >> reporter: police found the victims saturday morning in the subbasement of this apartment building. this man was chained to a biler

boiler. so you were afraid of her? >> i was. >> reporter: did she hit you, too? >> no, mr. greg hit me. >> i am very much surprised to know these things are still going on today. >> reporter: and hugh robinson is the head administrator at the personal care facility contracted by the state where the four adults are currently staying. >> they get the proper meals, properly seen by the doctor and nurses so they can come back to regular life. >> our sarah hoye is joining us live from philadelphia. this is so unbelievably disturbing when you hear this and see this. you were allowed in the basement to see the living conditions for yourself. can you give us a sense of what it was like? what did you see? >> reporter: yes, i was. last night myself and a handful of reporters were allowed to go into the tiny room in the

subbasement of this seven-unit apartment building. it was nighters it was dark, we stepped in, the room was tiny, it was cramped, and police are saying it was about 10 by 6. so if you can imagine what type of a cramped quarter that was, also the smell, susan, there was a pungent smell of ammonia from urine it stung by nostrils as well as there was a metal mop bucket where there was human waste in it. this floor was kind of falling apart, where these people were was somewhat of a perch, almost a horseshoe shape around a boiler where one of the victims was chained by the leg to the bottom of it. it was erie, there was a very ominous feeling in that room, and i had actually asked detectives and the police commissioner to turn off the light and close the metal door,

which they did. now being in there for five minutes, i felt claustrophobic and wanted out, so i can only imagine what it would be like to be there for days, a week even. >> sarah, was there any light that came into that room when they closed the door and it was dark, could you see anything? could you tell where you were? >> reporter: no. it was pitch black. i knew i was in a corner by a door because i had been standing there and knew that position. there was just a hair of light, and when i said something to the detective, he corrected me and said, no, remember all the light bulbs in this basement had been removed. there were some cracks on the wall facing the outside, which light may have gotten through, but it was very, very little. it was pitch black in that room. >> sarah, just a final question there, you were inside the room with other people. could you -- were you bumping into each other? was it very crowded? how many people could

comfortably fit into that space? >> reporter: oh, absolutely. first of all, there shouldn't have been people there in the first place. there were three adults, myself and two men, one including the police officer and another reporter and it was cramped. we were next to each other shoulder to shoulder, kind of perched on one side. because if you took a wrong step, you could have fallen. so to see where four people could have fit, it blows your mind. you couldn't imagine people would be in there, especially four people laying on the ground, dirty clothes on the ground, soiled blankets, soiled pillows, it was a sight to be seen for sure. >> sarah, thank you so much. it is just awful. i want to get more details on this story from the philadelphia police department. the police commissioner charles ramsey is joining us by phone. if you would, please help us understand how big we think this case is here. we know about four victims, might there be others? >> yeah, we believe it is a

strong possibility there are others. we don't know how long this has been taking place. it could go back as far as the late '90s she's been involved this this activity. we did find about 50 pieces of identification from various people, social security cards, court documents giving power of attorney, those kinds of things. we have to track all those down to find out whether or not, one, these people are still living, where they are located, what happened to them, to see whether or not they were victims. we don't know whether there are more people involved as offenders or as victims. >> but you're talking about as many as 50, is that right? >> yeah, at a minimum. it could grow from that. it just happened to be what was in her position on the night she was arrested. we don't know the extent of this, but we know it goes beyond the borders of pennsylvania. at least texas, florida and virginia. and we suspect other locations as well. >> so one of these suspects

here, the alleged ring leader, linda weston, she's been convicted of keeping a 25-year-old man in the closet, right, of her own nifl philadelphia apartment back in 1981. how was she able to get out of prison and do this again? >> that's a good question. our legal system is what it is, but someone that committed a horrific crime like that should still be in jail, but she was not. she was not fully rehabilitated either because her conduct is very similar to what she did in the early 1980s keeping people locked in closets and in basements, things of this nature. we don't know the full extent of this yet. i have an entire team of detectives, our northeastern detective unit is working on this. they will probably have to put together a task force for a long-term investigation. this is one that's not going to end very quickly. >> commissioner ramsey, thank you very much. just hard to believe something like this in this day and age still happens, but we really

appreciate your time. obviously, if you have any more information about how this unfolds and how many people were involved in this, we'll be getting back to you shortly. the economy may be crippled but one industry, believe it or not, is growing. we'll tell you which one coming up next. d so tasty noodles. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. ♪ and the flowers and the trees ♪ ♪ all laugh when you walk by ♪ and the neighbors' kids run and hide ♪ deep inside you, there's a person who refuses to be kept deep inside you.

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well, despite the lousezy lousy economy there's a big growing. hair salons. here's a look at the thriving hair industry. >> reporter: here at fabulocks, a natural hair salon in maryland, business is booming. >> but see, i didn't do that, dear. >> reporter: the owner says she didn't feel the effects of the recession and hasn't seen a drop in her clientele during the slow economic recovery. >> every year business is better

and better. this is the business to be in. it is consistent and it is growing. >> reporter: in fact, she had to move to a larger space two years ago to accommodate the growing number of stylists looking to rent a booth here. despite the sluggish economy, barbershops and hair salons are growing nationwide. as customers place a high priority on looking put together. >> it's a necessity because i do want to keep my hair looking like it is well maintained. >> i don't buy as many shoes anymore. i do get the hair done. >> reporter: the number of barbershops in maryland rose nearly 11% between 2007 and 2009. and the number of beauty salons jumped more than 17%. nationwide there were 18.6% more barbershops and 14.4% more beauty salons in 2009 than in 2007. and in one sign of the effect the recession has had even on educated workers, seven of the nine stylists here at fabulocks

have college degrees and spent years working in other fields. tarsa scott was a real estate agent before the recession. when the housing market tumbled she got a job at a foundation and decided to train as a hairstylist. she now plans to quit her office job to style full-time. >> i'm an entrepreneur at heart. i love having my own business. >> reporter: her sister has a master's degree in education but lost her job at a nonprofit two years ago. >> contracts kind of dried up a lot more for many of us and just couldn't sustain myself doing it anymore. >> reporter: now she trains people who want to become stylists. it is an industry that can't be outsourced. >> it is a community-type based industry. and in every community you have a barbershop. >> reporter: derek davis is vice president of the national association of barber boards of america. he has a barbershop that's been in his family since 1968.

>> beauty has always been something that the public has always wanted. everybody wants to look good and they want to feel good. >> reporter: and that's why this woman expects business at her salon to remain strong. athena jones, cnn, capital heights, maryland. >> good for her. well, gop candidates campaigning now online. two presidential hopefuls are out with new web videos. find out who goes positive and who goes on the attack. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia.

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we're working on it. so you're seriously proposing we change our name to sun life valley. do we still get to go skiing? sooner or later, you'll know our name. sun life financial. to the republican presidential candidates are out with web videos today.

the methods could be the same but the message is different peter is in vegas with the site of the republican presidential debate. we'll start with rick perry. what's his web message? >> reporter: rick perry is trying to get his campaign back on track and refocus his message on jobs and job creation and his record of job creation in texas. he put out a web video today previewing some of his messaging we may see later tonight in the debate, focusing on the energy plan he rolled out last friday in pittsburgh. take a look at this video from perry. >> we are standing on top of the next american economic boom. it is the energy underneath this country. and the quickest way to give our economy a is a shot in the arm is to deploy the american enjunety to tap american energy. >> reporter: so you're seeing a

positive message there from perry in the original web video negative going after romney. his web video had the jerry brukhimmer look and feel. he's going back to the positive jobs mess annual message. we'll see if the other candidates let him stay there. >> what about mitt romney? >> reporter: roo romney, we have seen herman cain come up in the polls. the romney campaign views rick perry as the primary opponent in this race and are keeping their foot on his neck with this new web video going after rick perry and trying to poke holes in his record in texas with a negative webb ad out today. listen to this. so no audio there but a very

tough negative ad against rick perry. they don't want rick perry up in the polls. he has $15 million in the bank with a serious candidate. he needs to recover his standing among conservative voters and the romney campaign is trying hard to make sure that doesn't happen. so i think you'll see rick perry on the defensive tonight. >> what's up with the drum beat, huh? you said no audio, no words, but that was quite a drum beat there. i guess that meant it captured people to keep their attention a little bit. >> reporter: yeah. kind spooky. >> thank you, peter. you can see the western presidential republican debate tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn. part of our coverage of america's choice 2012. check this out. a bright sunny day suddenly turning dark as a monster dust storm rolls into town. find out where it hit and why. we're america's natural gas

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check out our stories from our affiliates, first this apartment fire outside of austin, 15 people trapped, including a 6-year-old boy. his grandmother was holding him out of the third floor window when she lost her grip. a firefighter raced over to make the catch. >> i knew she wouldn't be able to hold him forever at that point i got underneath him and said drop him. i was thanking my lucky stars. >> thank goodness he's okay. the boy is okay. 12 other people were hurt, including two firefighters. it's a bit chillier in colorado where it looks and feels more like winter, up to a half foot of snow has fallen in the central and northern mountains in western texas the wind kicked up so much dust it

blocked out the sky in lubbock. that's pretty amazing. chad, what do you make of all of that? >> we've talked for months how dry texas is, right. they've had no rain, very few crops are growing out there at all. then they had a cold front in colorado and it was 70-mile-per-hour winds. they is no chance. take a look at these others. the pictures are truly amazing. if you're driving your car, you literally had to stop. visibility was zero. we have a couple pictures later here from airplanes that you could see this from 30,000 feet. it was just an amazing sight. now you have to go out and get a new air filter for your car because your air filter is choked and your car is not running well. this happens when cold fronts interact with dry air. they call it haboob. it's kind of an arabic term. there's the picture out of the airplane window. you can see streaks of dust and

hangars were damaged by this. trees and power lines down because of this big cold front. there was no rain really with the cold front either as it rolled through lubbock. the winds at 60 to 70 miles per hour more just enough to kick up the dust. as you move around and push this cold air down, we're going to bring in the big cold front from the west. as you push it in, it picks up this dust and kind of pushes it in the air like a tumble weed, it begins to tumble and roll through the plains. we had a couple of these in phoenix and tucson, a couple of them caused significant car crashes as people were slowing down in time and drove right into these here in parts of arizona. this one yesterday not so devious, no one injured or killed. you have to stop your car because you have no visibility once you're in the dust. >> amazing video and amazing pictures. thank god it's not worse. >> right. >> thank you, chad.

herman cain says his 9-9-9 plan is the solution to trouble. we'll see how it's working in europe. white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

herman cain's presidential campaign has surged lately, part of the reason his 9-9-9 taxg plan. people seem to like the simplicity but one of the 9s is a national sales tax and that's the focus of the in depth report. becky anderson looks at how a similar tax is working in europe and what it would mean for things you buy here at home.

>> value added tax is similar to a sales tax but they both cost you about the same amount. it truly rests on the percentage that the government takes. like the sales tax in the united states, which varies from state to state, it also varies from country to country here in the european union. but for us in america, some say it's like alaska, as you know, have no sales tax with the highest state being california with a 7.25% sales tax. over here in europe, the lowest v.a.t. rate is 15% in sigh prus, the highest being sweden with 25% vat rate. although goods like food and baby clothes are v.a.t. exempt. a good way to look at the impact is looking at the good available across the world.

this is the ipod classic. the store in new york, that would set you back $271. but that same ipod here in the u.k. would cost $312 and in sweden, you see here because of the v.a.t. rate it would cost you $390. now v.a.t. is controversial, some people argue it hurts the poorest because you pay the same regardless of how much you earn but it is useful as a political lever because it can be reduced quickly to try and encourage consumers to spends. and it can be much easier to change than is to adjust a progressive tax like an income tax, i'm becky anderson paying 20% v.a.t. at cnn's london bureau. top of the hour, i'm suzanne malveaux, i want to get you up to speed. a helicopter brought a young

israeli soldier to his hometown today ending a long hostage drama. he was held for more than five years. israel released 477 palestinian prisoners to get him back. and it's supposed to release several hundred more soon. he hopes his ordeal can move israelis and palestinians towards peace. >> i hope that this deal would help to achieve peace between the palestinian and israeli sides and this would support the cooperation between the two sides. >> polls show that most israelis supported the prisoner swap, even though the palestinians got four more people out of that deal. secretary of state hillary clinton is in libya today. she brought a new american aid package and pledge of support to libya's new rulers as a move the country towards democracy. clinton is the highest left cabinet official to meet with

members of the national transitional council in tripoli. president obama keeps on pounding the republicans who killed his jobs bill. he spoke just a short time ago at a community college in jamestown, north carolina. and the president urged congress to take up a $35 billion component of the jobs bill this week. it would help save the jobs of teachers, police officers and firefighters. >> it will take time to rebuild in america where we restore security and opportunity for folks who are in the middle class or trying to get into the middle class. it's going to take time to rebuild an economy that's built to last and built to compete and economy that works for everybody, not just for folks at the top. >> president is on a three-day bus tour across north carolina and virginia to promote his jobs bill. who is actually getting better press? is it the president or republicans who want his job? a study says that negative

stories about president obama dominate his coverage 4-1. among the republican candidates, rick perry had the most positive coverage but it is growing more negative over time. pu reviewed news stories from 5700 news outlets to come up with the findings. a new cnn/orc poll has mitt romney and herman cain in a dead heat. rick perry and ron paul lag pretty far beyond there. when you ask who do you think is most likely to win the nomination? romney is the clear favorite. 51% to 18% over cain. three of the adults heltd captive in a philadelphia basement are speaking out about their horrific ordeal.

they think kidnappers held the four to steal the social security checks. the victims say they were chained to a radiator and given little to eat and hit on the head. >> hit the back of my head and this was all bleeding and everything. >> it was real dirty of you, that was wrong. >> did you guys willingly give her your information? >> no, she asked for it. >> she took it. >> philadelphia police are holding three suspects, they say that one, linda weston served eight years in prison for killing a man. that man was locked in a closet and literally starved to death. police say they found dozens of i.d.s when they arrested the suspects and detectives think that those i.d.s could lead them to more victims. shocking security camera video has china and the rest of the world quite frankly outraged. a toddler run over by a van and then later buy a small truck.

now the first driver stops and looks then drives off. 18 people pass by over the next ten minutes. nobody does anything to help the girl. these are pictures of the child shot today. she is in critical condition and doctor reportedly believe that she will survive. the child's distraught mother was so grateful to the stranger who finally helped her little girl she bowed to her. chinese media say both drivers who ran over the toddler have been jailed. >> we sadly found out that i have early stages of breast cancer so -- and it's been a shock. >> fans are sending love and support to rancic, the host from the cable channel e revealed she has breast cancer on the "today" show. rancic said she went public to encourage women to get mammograms. doctors say they caught the cancer early but rancic will have surgery and radiation

treatments. we wish her all the best. eight hours to go now before most of the republican hopefuls face off again their latest debate taking place now in las v vegas, with many americans pinching pennies, there are not as many people coming out to visit and t.j. holmes discovered this is affecting all of us. >> reporter: welcome to las vegas, underneath the glittering lights and entertainment, a city that's struggle in a down economy. just ask the cab drivers. >> you think people don't get it? >> they don't. you know, the strip will be busy to them. we know it's not. >> people are coming but hesitant to spend money. >> reporter: he runs the ven eegs and says business is picking up but not enough. >> they don't have the confidence to go out and start buying homes and making money. >> reporter: construction the engine of the vegas boom has come to a stand still, the unemployment rate at 14.2%.

the foreclosure rate is higher here than anywhere else in the country. one of few places that bustling, vet serve, provides meals for veterans who can't afford them. >> the economy is closing down business and losing jobs. >> reporter: one idea to help them rebound to put the focus back on the people who live here. >> this is free mont street, the original strip. >> reporter: zach works for the premiere shoe shopping site, zappos, they are moving to old vegas, the heart of an economically depressed area. >> for us the community and locals are first. if we happen to decree atd something cool as a community and they want to visit, that is a awesome. i think we need to focus on creating the elements that serve the community and not fall into

the trap that the strip has fallen into for all of right reasons, we need to serve the tourist community and make sure it works for them first and locals seconds. >> t.j. joins us from vegas. good to see you, you've been there about a week and talked to a lot of folks. tell us why this is so important where you are now. >> reporter: we think vegas and you think about the adult playground, think about the las vegas strip and these hotels. people come for the entertainment and gambling and blowing money in a lot of ways. you think it is a wash in cash but the reality is there's no better place for the candidates for us to be to be holding this debate and talk about the economy than right here. because when people are hit hard by a recession, you can't afford to travel, you can't afford that flight or hotel but you certainly can afford all of that and come and expect to just blow money at a casino floor. this is the place to talk about the economy.

the highest unemployment rate in the country of any metro area is right here in las vegas and the number one -- highest unemployment rate for any country is in nevada. this is the perfect backdrop but it is the perfect backdrop to be talking about the economy tonight at the debate. >> it is also the home state of reid, the leading democrat. do we see republicans going all out there trying to drum up their own support? >> reporter: they are going all out and know this is a big night for them and to have these candidates here during the nevada caucuses, one of those early voting states is a big deal but that comes with controversy now because nevada moving up its caucus to january 14th, put them in battle with new hampshire about that date. some of these candidates talking about boycotting nevada. five candidates say they won't participate in the caucuses if nevada keeps that day. that could work against the state which needs these candidates and national

attention to talk about and highlight the issues they are having here so that could back fire on them. a lot of people you talk to on the street are not happy about that. many people in the gop not happy about that. this is a time to show case their state and also to highlight the problems here. so we talked to the state gop here and chairwoman and she said they are not moving that date at all. it's setting up a battle that could in the end really hurt the people of nevada who a lot of people suzanne will tell you already hurting pretty bad. >> all right, t.j., we'll be watching tonight, thank you. you can catch every moment of the republican debate right here on cnn. it is tonight 8:00 eastern from las vegas, anderson cooper will be moderating. here's a rundown on stories for the next hour. first, celebrations from gaza to israel as people react to a prisoner swap. we're live from gaza city. we'll talk to michigan's former governor jennifer granholm about her state's recovery and lessons

learned in years in office. why some marines are fighting the military to where killed in action bracelets. top pediatricians say something in your baby's crib could actually kill the baby. later, a new battle in the war between smartphone makers blackberrys and apple. ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪ ♪ co-signed her credit card -- "buy books, not beer!" ♪ but the second that she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪

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tell shalit prisoner for five years. let's bring in matthew chance who joins us live from gaza city. i understand first of all that you are standing on a building that's overlooking the palestinian celebrations in gaza city. tell us what you're hearing from your vantage point. >> reporter: that's right, we're standing on this building just a short distance away from where tens of thousands of people gathered in the center of gaza city to celebrate the release of these 1,027 palestinians in change for the israeli soldier shalit, the prisoners have been released in the first batch are standing on the stage right over there, the prime minister of gaza has been making speeches and making a speech right now, saying these people are heroes

and things like that. saying this was a day given to us by god. it's all being received absolutely like a carnival atmosphere. there's no concerns about -- like we're hearing from israel, of course and the divided opinions on whether it should have been done or not. here the atmosphere is like a carnival. this is seen as a major victories by palestinians against israeli. >> who are the palestinian prisoners? are they political prisoners and people convicted of serious crimes? >> reporter: well, i think they will say they are political prisoners but the fact is the vast majority have been convicted of serious crimes indeed in israeli courts. i spoke to one man today convicted of a sentence to six life sentences for handling explosives and organizing terror

attacks, murder, organization of illegal organizations like membership of illegal organizations like hamas. there are terrorism owe offenses carrying extremely long sentences. i met another guy in for 23 years on a murder conviction after an attack inside israel. these are people with blood on their hands. they said they wouldn't release these kinds of people but they have. >> why have they? help us understand why it is they would let go a thousand palestinian prisoners for one israeli soldier. >> reporter: i think benjamin netanyahu made clear this is very painful decision. they took it on basis that that's what they had to do to secure the release of shalit, he

had been held captive inside gaza for the past five years by hamas. the price they wanted for his release was the exchange of the prisoners they named inside israeli jails and the people they value most here in gaza, the hamas values most, are the people that they see as their heroes. the people that have carried out attacks against israelis. so that's why they had to come to a deal. they came to and it left a bad taste in the mouths of many israe israelis. >> was it a classic bystandser effect or something more sinister? it's hard to understand why a wounded little girl would be left lying on a street in china after she was run over twice. we'll get answers right after the break. [ male announcer ] humana and p

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we want to go straight to live piktsz, you are seeing the father of gilad shalit who was just released from prison. >> translator: a long, exhausting journey which began in july of 2006 and has come to an end four years and four months later in october, 2011. gilad has come home. after an exhausting and long struggle, as i've said quite

often, we were told that we were tilting at wind mills, exhausting and it was ar duous. but ultimately we've managed too bring him home. he came home and walked up the steps that he left and has come home, went through the door that he left so many days ago, 1,192 days ago. gilad feels good. he's suffering from a number of small injuries that have remained with him because he wasn't treated properly from shrapnel, shrapnel wounds. and also the results of lack of

sun light he's had extensive medical checks and he will get the appropriate treatment from the israeli defense forces. gilad is very happy to be home and of course it's difficult for him to just expose himself to so many people because he's been in isolation, really in isolation for so many days and so many years. he was unable to communicate with people of course in his own language and the only thing he was able to do was to communicate with his doctors and his guards. he will undergo a process of

rehabilitation. we hope that this process will be as fast as possible. as a result of the contribution of idf medical services and we hope that he'll be able to get back to normal life. today really we can say that we have experienced the rebirth of a son. >> you've been listening to noam shalit, the father of gilad shalit, who was released from exchange for 1,000 prisoners. this is perhaps a jumping off point where both sides can more forward with the israeli palestinian peace process.

you're looking at pictures of gilad shalit who is now free, his father saying 1,492 days in captivity that he now feels good. we have a heartbreaking story of a hit-and-run. a little girl run over twice, her motionless body left for dead and people carry on with business just as usual. here's more on the story from china. >> reporter: a security camera in southern china captured 2-year-old wondering into the alley outside her father's hardware store. but what happens next is too disturbing to show you. a white van barrels into the toddler, running her over not once but twice. a few minutes later, a truck approaches and drives over her motionless body. the video outraged the public when it hit the internet here. equally shocking to citizens, the reaction of passers by, pedestrians cyclists and

drivers, more than a dozen of them who didn't stop to help. millions of weighing in on what they see as a decline of morality on china's version of twitter. this user writes, we once believed in a world filled with love and were taught by the government own maintaining high moral standards but the cold reality keeps flying in the face of our belief. some observers argue the country's education system has failed to cultivate a respect for human life as $1.3 billion compete to climb up the economic and social ladder. there have also been several cases of elderly, people who collapsed or injured themselves in public places who later sue the people who have tried to help them. many people in china are concerned that they could get into trouble themselves for being a good samaritan. >> this is sort of classic bystandser effect, where people have a dif fusion of

responsibility. do i have to stop? there are other people who might see this. this is rush hour. when people hurry and having to meet a deadline, they are less em pathetic and less passionate and less likely to stop. >> after ten minutes, someone did stop, a 58-year-old woman who collects trash for a living. she moved wong to safety. >> i didn't understand why no one else carried her from the street. >> her mother expressed her gratitude for the kindness. both drivers have been detained and the little girl is now in the hospital where she remains in critical condition. >> such a disturbing story. she was the first female governor of michigan and she took office during a financial crisis. i'm going to talk with jennifer granholm about the lessons she's learned and whether they can help the country's economy. ( phone ringing )

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up next, lessons learned from years in office. jennifer granholm is joining me to talk about her new book and

her state's recovery. they wear them to remind themselves of fallen comrades now they are being told to leave the killed in action bracelets behind. bumper pads that could be deadly inside baby cribs. what you need to know to protect your child. you might say it was the best of times and worst of times for jennifer granholm, she was elected as the first female governor of michigan, eighth largest state, home to at the time auto industry with a bigger economy than saudi arabia but also inherited an economic crisis and state in financial trouble. granholm has written about her experience in the book a governor's story and joins us from berkeley, california. first of all, it was a very interesting read. it was very compelling and in your book, you acknowledge the economic crisis that michigan was in and speak openly about some of the mistakes and lessoned learned. first i want you to respond to

your critics. there are some who look at the book and they believe it's a self-serving, the wall street journal says in the op-ed, some politicians give us failure, some give us failure mixed with spectacle. once in a generation a politician gives us failure and misunderstanding so colossal that his or her bad example rises to the level of public service. to this elite few belongs jennifer granholm. how do you respond? >> the wall street journal is an entity that has promoted the old solutions that haven't worked and this book is about what didn't work and what did work. i tried a lot of solutions that the editorial page of the wall street journal would have a governor try. in my first term i cut taxes 99 times, small cuts, big cuts, target, you name it. by the time i left office, michigan was 48th in terms of the size of government. so we shrunk. but that didn't work. and the point of this book is to

say from the laboratory of democracy, the thing that ended up work was the ability to invest in strategic sectors that made michigan competitive. and as a result, in 2010, michigan's unemployment rate dropped six times fast every than the national average. we have a long way to go but i can tell you what worked and didn't work and that's what the book is all about. >> what do you think is the most important lesson you learned over your eight-year tenure? >> the most important lesson and thing i want people to understand is that michigan is the poster child for what is happening to america's economy. it just hit us first. everyone is scratching their head how to create jobs. the reason why it's been so difficult is because the playing field has changed so enormously with trade and with technology, the globalization means that our economic competitors are out there every single day battling for jobs. we as a nation have not adopted a uniquely american development strategy to combat those

competitors. just cutting or less a fair hands off means those competitors like china and mexico and germany are in there every day trying to pull our job providers there. if we don't battle back, we are going to lose. i'm talking about playing offense and defense. we can't be passive at the world trade organization nor can we be passive in trying to recruit international investment into this country. i'm advocating for active government, not big government, but active government that will keep jobs and create jobs for our citizens. >> let's talk about that on the national scale because president obama is out there and he seems to be pretty much in the same place where you were with michigan. he inherited this economic mess and trying various approaches to address it. and he's trying to convince congress to adopt the jobs bill piece by piece. we see him in north carolina and virginia trying to convince folks he's trying to turn things around.

what did does he need to do on a national level? >> he's doing it right now, trying to convince both the citizens and members of congress to vote for the jobs bill. the interesting thing about the jobs bill he's put on, he is -- it's focused on creating jobs in america. if you don't tie tax policy, for example, to job creation in the united states, that tax cut that you may give to business, if it's a multinational business, they will use the money to invest where they can get the biggest return and that's not the united states. if you do tax cuts without requiring job creation in the united states, you may be facilitating the flight of capital and jobs somewhere else. the bottom line is, what the president is doing is out there swinging on behalf of job creation in the u.s., not just public sector jobs. it's private sector jobs as well. that's what his tax credit for job creation is all about. and for those who are on the other side who keep advocating 20th century solutions, solutions that may have worked

in the 20th century but not applicable anymore, this is a real important lesson. globalization has changed the playing field. >> let's talk about the things you were trying to do back in july last year when you were governor. you and i spoke about a new investment in michigan's economy, the battery making business. here's what you said back then. i want you to listen. >> how important is this new industry for your state? >> this is a whole new industry. what you're going to see here is one of 16 battery plants that are coming to michigan or having been built in michigan. those 16 plants wouldn't be here but for the stimulus dollars. those 16 plants are going to create 62,000 jobs here over the next ten years. >> how is that going? >> it's great. in fact, suzanne, you're in the book because i describe that very scene -- >> i didn't realize that. >> where you and i are talking about this. but this is an example of this

cluster that we created because it was strategic for us as a state. we bought car 1.0, we wanted to build car 2.0 and the battery that's the guts of it. we developed a whole strategy to do that. public private partnerships and partnership with the federal government. it is true but for the partnership with the federal government, all of these battery companies and in fact there's 18 now in michigan, they would be largely in asia. they would not be in the united states. we would not be building the electric vehicle to make us energy independent. this is the whole point of this book. the u.s. has to get smart about this. if hu jintao wakes up how can he create jobs for his people and not abiding by the old theories that many of those running for president of the united states are abiding by, he's actively intervening in the economy to create jobs for his people, we've got to wake up and realize we've got to craft our own

strategy. michigan's example in the battery industry is one example of a cluster strategy that was unique to us but in partnership with the federal government and private sector to create jobs. jennifer granholm, i'll make sure i check that chapter. >> it's a good news chapter. >> all right, well, all the best to you. good luck to you as well. >> thank you so much. you've seen people wear rubber bracelets to bring attention to causes like the fight against cancer, but there are also bracelets to remember troops killed in action. marines have had to fight to be allowed to wear the bracelets. find out the outcome of their battle. it's megan. i'm getting new insurance. marjorie, you've had a policy with us for three years. it's been five years. five years. well, progressive gives megan discounts that you guys didn't. paperless, safe driver, and i get great service.

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the names of american troops killed in action are etched on bracelets to remember the fallen. their worn by civilians but also troops who want to keep their comrades in their hearts. the u.s. marines say they don't

allow jewelry and some marines have been fighting the policy to make an exception. marine sergeant megan cav nau joins us by phone from washington. first of all, we have just learned from the marines public information office they are now changing this policy. your reaction first of all? >> i'm very excited about it. i think until now it was never really made an issue and once marines started making an issue and showing that this is important to them, i think it's amazing that the the sergeant major looked into it and they are approving it for wear. i think it's amazing. >> sergeant, tell us, what is the significance of this. obviously it is very important to a lot of marines wearing these killed in action bracelets. >> you know, to me it's important for the marines i've served with, myself. i think marines in combat back here in the states, it's

important because it's the hardest thing in the world is to bury a marine you served with and someone right next to you. these bracelet are memorials. we wear them and they say our friends names on them and when they were killed. it kind of keeps them alive on a day to day basis. it let's other people see that you lost somebody that you may have in common with somebody else. >> do you think the policy makes sense? i know there are -- they ban, forbid jewelry with very few exceptions. do you think that's outdated now that we see the exception is being made for these bracelets as well? >> i think the policy on the jewelry is not outdated. they made the new policy the secretary of the navy came out with a statement years ago for the prisoner of war and missing in action bracelets because at that time they were suffering from a lot of prisoners of war and marines and soldiers going missing in action. i think at that time that was

good for them. it just never -- no one thought to bring it up now in our war that we're having so much killed in action that we would want to wear these. for so long i think it was not ignored but people didn't notice it or didn't think to ask for it to be included into the policy. and once they heard it was an issue and that marines were kind of standing up for it and it was important to us, i think it's great that they are including that into the policy and that they'll be authorized for wear. >> sergeant thank you so much. we appreciate it. again, a development in that story now the marines reversing that policy. moms and dads, there is critical information if you've got a baby. pediatricians want you to toss out the baby bumper. doctors say they are dangerous. but first, here's some free money advice from the cnn help desk. >> time for the help desk where we get answers to your financial questions, joining me lynnette cox, the founder of the

financial advice blog ask the money coach.com and david novak a certified financial planner. thanks for being here. lynnette, this comes from harold in maryland, he filed for bankruptcy a year ago and still making payments on high interest credit cards and wants to know how long it will take to build the good credit again? >> probably not as long as they think. the bankruptcy will stay on the report for ten years but you can rebound by doing things like opening a secured card, check out card ratings.com to get the best one based on your current credit status and how you're spending every single month. you pay the bill on time every month and load money on your secured card and then after that, you start to build a more positive credit rating. >> maybe a little better than he thought. david, this question comes from frank in cheek co-california, he is a 401(k) and annuity, he wants to know when he should draw that down and if he can use

the money to pay down the mortgage and avoid taxes. >> there's a couple of things he needs to be aware of. if it's an annuity, it may have a surrender charges where there may be a percentage of the value that may be taken out up front. if he has a low rate in his mortgage, he may want to keep it for now because he is getting a tax deduction. if he as other assets such as savings, that might be a better place to look at paying mortgage. >> thank you so much. folks, if you have a question you want answered, send an e-mail to cnn help desk at cnn.com. accept it. you can't change the way banking works.

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the nation's top pediatricians say something in your baby's crib could actually kill them. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is joining us. show us what's wrong with this. >> you see the green things here, these are called bumpers. every parent i know has put bumpers in their kids crib. it's kinds of like a rite of passage. pediatricians are saying get them out of the cribs. they could kill your child. >> why? >> let me demonstration with a fake baby. there are several ways this could happen. you have the tie to keep the

bumper on the crib. this could get around the baby's neck and that's actually happened that these ties have been what strangles the baby. here's another thing that happens, sometimes the baby's face goes up against that soft padding and they can suffocate. sometimes the baby's head gets stuck in between the bumper and mattress and rails and the baby can suffocate that way. >> have babies actually died? >> they have, not a huge number but 27 babies over the course of 20 years. not huge but it happens and of course you don't want that to happen to your baby. >> you're still able to buy the cribs in the store? >> the crib is not the issue. >> the issue is the bumpers. >> the padding, exactly. >> i guess some people would be wondering -- >> sit the baby up, she looks sad. >> if you don't have the padding here and the head is hitting against the hard thing, is that a danger? >> that's why parents do it you

want the baby to hit something soft. i asked the american academy of pediatr pediatrics, they say it might be some discomfort but it's not a problem. it might make you sad to see the baby bump their head baby is going to be fine and not worth putting your baby at risk to protect them from a little bump. >> get rid of them all together? >> get rid of them all together. i think it's a big deal because they are sold everywhere. you set up your crib and get the sheet and all of the stuff and you put these bumpers on and parents need to go and get them out according to the american academy of pediatrics. >> thanks. s to not just a phone a anymore. companies are going out all to convince you their smart phone is the one for you. if you drive a car to get around, it's not cheap. on top of gas prices you have insurance, maintenance and tolls and parking. so which u.s. city do residents

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so before the break we asked you, which u.s. city do residents spend the most money to drive a car? number three, north carolina folks there spend an average of $578 a month, plan noe, texas, 662. most expensive, austin, texas, where drivers spend a whopping $764 a month on their cars. all right, so everybody has a smartphone these days and they've become powerful mini computers but there is a war

going on right now to control the market. it's getting ugly. dan simon is joining us from san francisco to tell us what's going on, dan. >> reporter: well, we are at the blackberry developers conference in downtown san francisco. you sort of touched on it. we live in an era where smartphones are important to people. no company person fis the smartphone more than blackberry but it has been a miserable two years for that company. we'll show you what things looked like in august of 2009. take a look at the smartphone market share back then. rim or blackberry, 42% followed by apple 23%, microsoft 20% and google, 2%. now fast forward to august 2011, google with 43%, apple at 27 and rim at just under 20%. it lost nearly half of its market share in two years. so blackberry tried to do

something dramatic today but the first thing the ceo did, he wanted to apologize for the mass e-mail outage we saw last week. take a look at that. >> i want to address some recent news items. first, the worldwide outages we experienced this week were unfortunate. we restored full service as quickly as we could. now we're focused on the root cause analysis, our internal systems audits and making this right for more than 7 million blackberry users around the world. >> reporter: so blackberry trying to do something dramatic to get the users back. one thing it's doing, it's giving $100 to all of its 70 million users to try to download some apps, hopefully at least from their point of view, hopefully that will bring customers back into their tent and keep the blackberry name alive. but it's tough going for this company. one thing they announced today, they have a new operating

system, they are calling it bbx for the next generation of smartphones and tablets. there's a lot of speculation they would get rid of the tablet entirely, a playbook, haven't sold very many of them, they are doubling down on playbooks and want to go after the ipad but it looks tough for rim or blackberry. >> dan simon, thanks. still ahead, a little boy survives a three-story fall from this apartment fire. that amazing story coming up next. welcome to idaho, where they grow america's favorite potatoes.

everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they're good for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart association for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $7.8 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible.

first, this apartment fire outside much boston, 15 people trapped including a 6-year-old boy. his grandmother was holding him out of the third floor window when she lost her grip. a firefighter raced over to make the catch. >> i knew she wouldn't be able to hold him forever, at that point i got underneath him i said go ahead and drop him. i was thanking my lucky stars. >> that boy was okay. 12 other people were hurt including two firefighters. in colorado, looks and feels more like winter. up to half a foot of snow has fallen in the central and northern mountains. in western texas, the wind kicked up so much dust, check it out. it blocked out the sky in lubbock. this is amazing video that you're watching here. knocked out power, uprooted

trees and moved planes around at the airport. very powerful. and president obama urging people to pressure congress to pass his jobs bill. but tonight show host jay leno is a little overwhelmed about the marching orders. here's the punch line. >> he wants us to do this stuff and has hard to keep up with him. >> pass this bill. >> sounding like candidate obama, urged to pressure members of congress. >> i want you to call, e-mail, tweet, i want you to fax. i want you to facebook. send a kourier pigeon. >> i'm trying to help. i'm trying to do my part. >> that was pretty good. cnn newsroom continues right now with joe