all. the fact he changed his mind shows, whether he did or not, he took time to research and find out more about it. >> love you, 20 seconds. >> really quick, we're talking about the colorado wildfires. they're prevalent, they're rampant. they've affected hundreds of thousands of people. if you know somebody who has been affected by the fire, you wonder what you can do, here is what you can do. get them a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or really nice restaurant because they're eating at shelters right now. to be able to go out and dine on really nice steak, send them a fift certificate for their favorite restaurant. that's the best thing you can do. >> thank you so much. thank you. and thank you for watching. let's go to carol costello, "cnn newsroom" begins right now. happening right now in the newsroom, sweltering heat. nearly 2 million people still don't have power and 16 states are under heat advisories or warnings. when will things start to cool down and when will the power come back on? plus, cover-up. cnn has seen e-mails from top brass to suggest a cover-up on

jerry sandusky's child rape accusations. one from the university's president says dealing with the sex abuse within the school was, quote, humane. it's a cnn exclusive. plus -- return to power. the political party that ruled mexico for 70 years is back. you're looking at mexico's projected new president, pena nieto. on his agenda reduce the violence from drug cartels that seem to rule the country, but can he do it? a rematch is on or is it? this photo finish was too close to call so these two runners are duking it out tonight fighting for that olympic dream but now reports suggest one of them might not run. "newsroom" begins right now. and good morning to you. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us on this hot monday. we do begin this hour with the brutal heat smothering millions of americans. for many of you, it is downright

dangerous. a massive weekend storm toppled power lines from indiana to maryland. this morning nearly 2 million people still have no way to keep cool and it could be days before power is restored. >> i hate it. it's horrible. we came -- all our phones are dead right now. in case of an emergency we can't make a call or anything. >> throughout much of the country it will be another miserable day. already the scorching temperatures have set records nearly 2,000 times in the past week. 2,000 records broken. many of us witnessed the highest temperatures in our entire lifetime. the weekend storm was so big, powerful and fast, it's a phenomenon that has its own name derecho. it only happens in the d.c. area once every four years and this derecho was a doozy that spanned from northern illinois all the way to the delmarva peninsula, wind gusts of up to 90 miles an hour slammed into parts of

indiana and ohio killing at least 16 people and that derecho's aftermath is causing problems today. brian todd is along the d.c. beltway in montgomery county, maryland. and better you than me, brian. >> reporter: a lot of frayed nerves on the road as we knew there would be. last night we could see this coming, a nightmarish commute. here in montgomery county 250 traffic lights out. we're at the corner of a very busy intersection. my photojournalist brian and i will show you up randolph road about 250 yards. there is a light out over there where the buses are coming through. some of these intersections they have police waving people. you have to treat it like a fourway start. down here about a quarter mile that way another light out. they did get this one up a couple hours ago but you can get

a sense here that the commute is a real nightmare. 250 lights out here in montgomery county. some 70 out in the district. here comes an ambulance down the street. just kind of a sense that this is just one of those days that people are going to have to slug lou the commute. temperatures, as you mentioned breaking all sorts of records. here in the d.c. area, supposed to get up to about 97 degrees today. it's about in the low 80s right now. and people are advised to stay home if you can or go to cooling centers. in virginia as of yesterday they had about three dozen cooling centers set up where people could go, libraries, some other public venues where people could go to cool off if they didn't have power but, again, there are some 640,000 customers in the maryland, are d.c., virginia area still without power. dominion has said they restore power to about two-thirds but still about 160,000 customers without power there.

they're slugging through. it's a slow process and with this pretty heavy morning commute it's complicated even more and possibly, possibly thunderstorms later today may complicate things more later, carol. >> brian todd reporting live in montgomery county, maryland. in south dakota a military air tanker has crashed while fighting a wildfire. this morning we still don't know the fate of the three-member crew. it is the second crash of an air tanker since june and concerns about the aging fleet of firefighting aircraft. in the meantime crews have managed to gain the upper happened on the wildfire in colorado springs, colorado. but the toll is staggering. at least two confirmed it dead. 350 homes lost and today more than 36,000 evacuees are returning home after flames swallowed entire neighborhoods. listen to this heartwrenching i-report from a woman who was forced to abandon her home and almost all of her belongings.

>> i'm leaving my house. there's smoke in the air so bad. see what is on fire just a second ago. there's flames. [ bleep ] oh, my god. oh, my god. oh, my god. oh, my god. >> as i said, some entire subdivisions are just gone. let's get the latest on the wildfires. meteorologist rob marciano is in colorado springs. i know you were hanging out with firefighters and forest rangers to see how they -- i don't know, how much of this fire is controlled right now, rob? >> pretty good containment. 55% contained and a number of evacuees have been allowed back in. the number now stands at 3,000 down from well over 30,000. there's many, many people that

have no homes to go back to. so it's been an emotional week and this past weekend those who had burned homes were allowed to go back and see whafts left of their homes. this was a monster fire, a mega fire of sorts and the question lies why do we have these huge, huge fires that damage not only forests but communities alike. and part of the answer to that is the mismanagement of our forests over the decades. we always would suppress fires as soon as they would light up, we would put them out. we didn't thin them out with logging. so we need to do that. and a couple of weeks ago went down to florida to see exactly what the solution is where down there they're fighting fire with fire. wildfires can be frightening. >> all right, casey, go ahead and light it up. >> but when used properly the nature conservative says it can be a good thing. >> keep it at a high diversity, the plants and animals species

and just as importantly you need that fire to reduce the fuels to keep our families, our houses and our communities safe. >> to do that they're prescribing fire, intentionally setting a blaze, a portion of florida's apalachicola preserve. >> burn unit five -- >> planning a burn is a methodical ocess. weather conditions need to be perfect. fire boundaries must be established and maintained. >> so what do you call this a drift torch? >> a drift torch. >> quick dos and don'ts and we start dropping the line. it's amazing to me this is a tool that we use to fight against fire. literally fighting fire with fire. >> that's exactly right. fighting fire with fire. this area will not be able to burn with the wildfire for at least a year. >> an atv closes up the line and that's when the flames really accelerate. luckily this is a controlled burn not a wildfire.

winds here are blowing less than ten mimes an hour and this is moving incredibly fast. i can't imagine what it would do if the wind is blowing 20, 30, 40 and just this close it's incredibly hot. but how do we put this thing out? >> we're not. we're going to let the fire go through the pine community here. it will go into the hardwood community just downslope and it will go out on its own. >> but some controlled burns can get out of control. >> the percentage of prescribed fires that go bad is minuscule, 1% to 2% nationwide. we really don't have a choice. these woods are going to burn. we can burn them now or they'll burn when mother nature wants to and we have no expectation of being able to control it. >> there are some challenges controlling burns in florida. the state fire manager says it's much more difficult in western states. >> the relative humidities are much lower out there. they have steeper terrain out west which does make it more difficult to plan trolled burns.

>> right now this area is charred but in a few weeks that will change dramatically. so this is an area that was burned just a month ago. >> one month ago. >> that's incredible how green it is. >> yes, it is. it's a little bit counter intuitive that you think fire is harmful but as you can see everything is greened up. it's really a big rejuvenator of the landscape. >> and a protector we too often see today. the fire that burned through here in colorado springs a week ago was not prescribed and it was far from controlled at that point, torching these homes in the neighborhood and scarring the landscape. you can see the black, how that fire just came pouring down that canyon up and over the ridge top. this is incredibly dry out here. and on top of that, the terrain is very, very rugged and steep. so it's not nearly as easy to prescribe burns out here in the west. the first thing they need to do 0 is go in and thin it manually,

cut the younger trees down and then start to do prescribed burns. the brush is so dry and so hot, you do it at other times of the year. they're not doing any prescribes burns here in colorado right now that's for sure. it's part of the grand solution of managing our forests better and try to avoid these monster fires that do so much damage to not only our forests but our communities. >> rob marciano reporting live from colorado springs, colorado, this morning. just days after legendary new york congressman charlie rangel appeared to win his toughest challenge in decades, ballot complaints could threaten that victory. today new york's supreme court is set to hold a hearing on the outstanding ballots that have been counted after rangel was declared the winner of tuesday's primary. those votes show the race now in a virtual dead heat with more ballots to be counted. a former governor and husband of a soap opera star poised to become mexico's next president. pena nieto is the projected winner in the election.

he's part of mexico's old guard. his party ruled the country for some 70 years but is facing serious questions about corruption accusations from within. he says he's look iing forward t back. rafael romo is in mexico city with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. he has done it. the polls said that he was 10 to 20 percentage points ahead. pena nieto said that he is confident that in the end when all the votes are counted he will be the next president of mexico. he is the projected winner, and he is governor of the most populous state here in mexico, the state of mexico next to mexico city where i am today. now there's a little bit of a rover here because the second is place candidate by the name of manuel has not conceded yet and so that creates a bit of a pre. he was the candidate back in

2006. he protest ed and marched. he paralyzed mexico city for 48 days. the fact pena nieto may become the next mexican president means it may open up a little bit. he's talked about that. also, a big focus is what he's going to do in terms of security. one of the messages that he gave last night in his victory speech is that he is not going to make any pacts with organized crime. as you know, carol, his party has been accused of doing precisely that in the past. back to you. >> rafael romo reporting live for us this morning. the abortion battle in mississippi is at fever pitch. the governor very close to shutting down the only women's clinic in the state that performs abortions.

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16 minutes after the hour. much of the country will endure another day of hot temperatures and stifling humidity. record temperatures have been broken or tied in nearly 2,000 cities and states across the land. thousands still sweltering without air conditioning after storms knocked out power from indiana to maryland. iran says it will test fire short, medium, and long-range missiles during war games that are now under way. the announcement comes on the

same day the european union imposes what could be a crippling embargo on iranian oil. in money news you can put your vacation on layaway. just go to searsvacations.com. a new full service travel website. put down 10% and pay it off in full before you take your rip. warehouse club costco offers trips you can pay off at a later time. in the end marathon swimmer penny gave up her quest to swim unassisted from cuba to florida. the shark infested waters made it impossible for her to continue. she wanted to be the first to make the 103-mile swim without a shark cage, wet suit or snorkel. the only women's clinic in mississippi that performs abortions is still in business for now. a federal judge blocked the new state law which would have forced the clinic to close. women's groups call it a victory but the governor says he will fight to enforce the law. george howe is in jackson. morning, george.

>> reporter: carol, good morning. this women's clinic here behind me will stay open under a temporary restraining order it received from a federal judge. it will stay open at least until july 11th, and that is when a hearing will happen on this case to decide what happens next with it. again, it protects the clinic from this new state law that the governor has been very direct in saying would be a first step towards ending abortion here in the state of mississippi. the law basically does two things. first of all it makes sure that any doctor performing an abortion here in the state of mississippi is a board certified ob/gym and, secondly, it enforces that any physician must have privileges, permissions, with the local hospital to admit patients. now the director of this clinic joins me. diane, first of all, i want to ask you, and good morning to you, your reaction to this that you're open today. >> pure relief. the women of mississippi will continue being served through this week and hopefully beyond

the 11th. >> reporter: and talk to me about this temporary restraining order. the hearing is on the 11th. what do you expect to happen next? >> well, i think that what you're going to see on the 11th are both sides presenting their beliefs on why they believe the law is just and why they believe the law is not just. we are asking for a constitutional challenge here. whether or not they have exceeded themselves because the state has been very clear the only reason in passing this legislation is to close this clinic. >> reporter: diane, thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: and on the other side of this we are also getting a statement from governor phil bryant, a statement from his spokesperson saying, quote, governor bryant believes house bill 1390 is an important step in strengthening abortion regulations and protecting the health and safety of women. he goes on it to say the federal judges' decision is disappointing and governor bryant plans to work with state leaders to ensure this legislation takes effect as soon as possible. keep in mind had this clinic not

received the temporary restraining order and had it been open for business today, the physicians, the nurses, the management here, they could all face criminal and even civil penalties, carol, even fines of up to $2,000 per day. ejust. >> just to make it clear, it wants them to be gynecologists and what's wrong with that and why should it shut down the clinic? >> reporter: the problem is this. the director of the clinic and the owner of the clinic both tell me they have been trying to get those permissions, carol, since april when the law was first signed, trying to get permissions of local hospitals but have been unable to do so and they believe that perhaps some of these hospitals may have had a lot of pressure, political pressure, from people who want to see the clinic close and who do not want these hospitals to help out with that. again, in a very socially and religiously conservative state, a lot of people want to see this clinic closed.

the politicians here in the state want to is he is it closed. today it will remain open under this temporary restraining order. >> not only do you have to be a gynecologist you have to be connected to a local hospital and the local hospitals are balking, right? is that it? >> reporter: and that is the problem. and, again, the director and the president both have been trying to get those permissions for several is weeks, now several months, carol, but to no avail. so they hope that under this temporary restraining order they can continue that process. the president of the clinic says it takes time to get those permissions. she hopes to do so obviously before the hearing but on that day of the hearing on july 11th, this is when a judge will hear the case and can he side whether it will be protected further. >> george howell reporting live. coming up, a mexican town has long time stars to the united states, including a harlem pizza place. times are changing and with it the direction of migrants.

we'll look at their difficult homecoming.

mao is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, the question for you this morning, is the health care mandate a tax or a penalty? on the health care law we're caught in a heated battle over the 26 word versus the "p" word, tax or penalty. yes, the president promised not to raise taxes on middle class americans but critics of the health care law say with the individual mandate the requirement that most americans buy health inslurns or face a penalty, the president will be doing just that, taxing middle class americans. after all the administration used that argument in part to persuade chief justice roberts.

>> the broken promises and hypocrisy are becoming breathtaking from the president who says one thing to get this past congress and then another thing to get it past the supreme court. if this was brought to the public as a tax, there's no way it law would have passed in the first place. >> to the white house it's a penalty, though, not a tax. and one that will affect very few people. >> and we're happy to have a debate because this administration has cut taxes for the middle class. $3,600. this health care law cuts taxes for middle class people $4,000. 1% who choose not to buy health insurance who can afford it will pay this penalty. it's what we call fair. >> yeah, that "p" word just kind of jumped out at you, didn't it? the talk back question for you, what do you think? is it a tax or a penalty? facebook.com/carolcnn. we'll read your comments later this hour. the corner post office, it is a fixture in many

communities, and this week many americans could see their local post office go away forever. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now.

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send your love to the rescue. donate to shriners hospitals, today. the u.s. postal service has been in trouble for a very long time, and it will begin seriously shrinking operations as early as this week. allison kossic is at the new york exchange. >> reporter: pour the u.s. postal service the most extreme is moving this over two phases so they are going to look to consolidate 48 over the next couple of months and in the next

phase they'll look to consolidate almost 100 and that will happen more toward early next year. now when you think of these plants, they're not the individual neighborhood offices but are the big facilities where all the mail is sorted. american postal workers union on friday had had asked the regulatory commission to stop these consolidations but regulators said, no way, let's move forward with this. now the union wants to appeal the plan which will affect 5,000 employees. now we did talk with the postal service this morning. they said some of these consolidations are going to begin as early as this week. most of it will come in august and this time around they're going to see changes in illinois, pennsylvania, and california. >> we hear the bell ringing and i guess walmart must be celebrating what? i don't know what this means. >> reporter: they are, yes, listed here at the new york stock exchange. they are ringing the bell a really long time which is really strange because they usually only do it about 30 seconds but they may take the liberty to go a whole minute. that's why it's ringing and ringing.

>> back to to the mail service because it's the story of the day, what does this mean for daily mail service? >> reporter: and that is really the money question, isn't it? what the usps says you shouldn't expect any slowdown during the first phases but in the next consolidation that begins in 1 2014, that is ultimately when you will see slower delivery of first class mail which most of us use so it may give a new name to that snail mail that we all love to hate. carol? >> exactly. the bell finally stopped ringing. >> reporter: i know. it took forever. think how i feel sitting here. >> but you hung in there, alison. that's why we like you. alison kosik. and good morning to you. i'm carol costello, stories we're watching now in the newsroom, another day of summer swelter for millions of you. this morning heat advisories and warnings are up in at least 16 states from missouri to south carolina.

temperatures are expected to soar into the triple digits. in colorado springs, colorado, exhausted fire crews have finally gained the upper hand. the waldo canyon fire now 55% contained but only after a terrible toll. two people killed, 350 homes lost, dozens and dozens more homes damaged. enrique pena nieto is the projected winner of the presidential election. it would return the center left eri party to power after losing the presidential vote in 2000. the second place finisher in yesterday's election has not conceded. an individual vote count xwins on wednesday. once we get past the july fourth holiday the candidates for president here in the united states will be on the move again. mr. obama's campaign will break out the bus. it will take the president and his camp to northern ohio and pennsylvania. and you can betem mitt romney wl be traveling just as much. most times cities hand over the

bill to the campaigns. sometimes cities pay the security bills themselves. it just depend. but at times when we can see the candidates on tv, on our computers, our iphones, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, how important is it that these candidates travel to individual states anyway? here to discuss democratic strategist and cnn contributor and the presidential campaign adviser who served for rick perry and newt gingrich. good morning to both of you. >> good morning, carol. good to be here. >> good morning. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. i want to start with you because you worked a lot on newt gingrich's campaign and his campaign was more of a national campaign. it didn't exactly -- i mean, he didn't exactly get support by traveling state to state but more he got support on a national level by appearing on television. is that fair? >> it is fair and i think marie and i will agree on most of this segment. these people running for the

highest office in the land, exposure is important being in local communities and one thing i watched extremely successful when president obama came through south carolina campaigning against hillary clinton was he talked to the daily newspapers, the local outlets, and that really does a tremendous job in getting your message out. it's fair to say it's important to be in these battleground states. it's important to have a lot of security. these people are certainly very important to the political process, and i applaud both sides for doing as much retail politics as possible. >> yeah, but how much is too much? president obama has visited ohio a lot. i think since the beginning of the year a couple dozen times. >> sure. and that, of course, is because ohio is going to be a critically important state in this election. we all have heard about the swing states and so we're going to see these candidates in all of these swing states a lot, carol. but i agree with katon.

i don't think we'll be in a lot of disagreement in this segment because it is important for these candidates to go out and to talk to real people and to listen to what their concerns are and that they can also talk directly to these folks and get their message out. how many times have we heard people, carol, say, oh, i remember when i met president kennedy on the line and it changed my life. it's a life changing experience for many of these folks who never get to be in the same room let alone in the same city or in the same rope line with a lot of these candidates and i do think it makes a difference. >> yeah, but now that each campaign they're sending hecklers out to these campaign events and really how helpful is that to deciding if you want to meet the guy or not or take some of his message home, katon? >> well, that's campaigning in elections. it's what we do. it's the visual whether it's with romney or pinocchio with the president.

at the end of the day these guys have a message to put out. i think one thing to note that will be different this time is there's a republican governor in pennsylvania, in new jersey, a republican governor in virginia. i think the landscape is has changed. so the president is going to have to spend a lot of time in places that have this 2010 rewarded republicans with seats. so i think you're going to see him on the ground a lot. air force one will be pretty -- have a hectic travel schedule and right now this is a sporty race for the presidency. >> okay. and let's just talk about the cost for just a second, maria. how does that work? you set it up with local officials and local officials say, okay, we'll send you a bill down the line sometime? how does that work? it who pays for the local security for these candidates' visits? >> that's a great question, car carol, and that's sort of a subject of, you know, within the element of sausage making which is something that is not discussed a whole lot, the unsexy side of campaigning.

but it's reality. and the fact of the matter is, and i worked at the dnc and have seen a lot of this. they go into these towns and into these cities and they actually negotiate what is it going to cost to protect the candidate, to protect the sitting president and they understand what the costs are up front. normally the cities do pay for this, carol. and i think a lot of times it can be negotiated or as we've seen in some of the stories a lot of times private individuals step up and say i will foot this bill, but normally that is something that the cities take care of. they understand the cost at the front end. and if they decide that they can't either foot the bill or don't want their taxpayers paying for it, then the campaigns simply won't go there. but normally it is something that is negotiated beforehand. we obviously will see stories when there's a it dispute about it. but at the end of the day it is not just a good thing for the campaigns but it is a good thing for these cities and towns as well. >> i was going to ask katon

that. is it a good idea, katon? >> absolutely. and i'm the one who has written checks before as chairman of a party when we had george bush as president we certainly would wire the money to the national republican committee to pay for part of the expenses. it's a part of the process that taxpayers -- whether it's barack obama or george bush or bill clinton or the first ladies, security is something that's important. they're our leaders. they were elected. elections have consequences. so i think people can pick and choose what they want, but it is really important not only economically but for the campaigns to see regular people at cafeterias and bus stops. it's tough for a president of the united states to get a real feel once he becomes president of what people are thinking. and i very seldom have ever had any complaints from my democratic friends when president bush would come to

south carolina. >> those were the days. >> president obama has never been back since they awarded him a win, yes, they are complaining. and they would like for him to come back because you do raise money when a president comes to your state. maria knows that. she's done it. >> that's right. >> i've got to end it there. thanks so much. >> thanks, carol. alec baldwin ties the knot and he didn't even punch anyone. he speaks a weird language. [ gargling ] [ gargling ] he drinks green stuff. he says he's from albuquerque. i'm not buying it. i mean, just look at him. and one more thing -- he has a spaceship. [ whirring ] the evidence doesn't lie. my dad's an alien. [ male announcer ] the highly advanced audi a6. named to car and driver's 10 best. ♪

alec baldwin married to his yoga instructor bride. we could say it was a beautiful ceremony but no one really saw it. >> reporter: no, that's true. i love that you get a little chuckle out of it. it's a good way to start our monday morning with love, carol. that's what we're doing. alec baldwin does have a new bride. he and his yoga invuk tore hilaria thomas i'd the knot on saturday. they were married in a traditional ceremony. we're told at st. patrick's old cathedral in little italy. his "30 rock" co-star tina fey was there, robert f. kennedy jr. and his daughter were there. alec's rep tells us hilaria is taking his last name, wore a gown that had capped sleeves, had a keyhole back, neckline

extend extended with crystal buttons. i hope you're getting a good mental picture because, yes, we don't have a lot of video of it. alec wore a suit designed by tom ford. now he's 54. she is 28. they started dating about a year ago. this is her first marriage, his second. you know what, even though they got hitched, they didn't go on a honeymoon right away because on sunday they were all over new york city, carol. you could have seen them then shopping and dining and had a couple of run-ins with the paparazzi. of course that is alec baldwin. >> i think he does that on purpose now. >> reporter: i think so, too. >> i'm still getting over tomcat because i'm stunned by that. maybe we can talk about that -- >> reporter: let's do. >> we'll talk about that next hour. we're also going to talk about this, whitney houston's mother gives an emotional performance at the b.e.t. awards. nischelle will be back with that and tomcat. check out our new mobile app. now you can use your phone to scan your car's vin or take a picture of your license. it's an easy way to start a quote.

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45 minutes past the hour. welcome back. it is not over for penn state. disturbing e-mails that spell more trouble for penn state officials in the jerry sandusky child sex abuse case. contents of the purported e-mails were made available exclusively to cnn and show officials knew they had a problem with the former assistant coach 11 years ago. they also raised new questions on whether coach joe paterno helped cover up the abuse. here is cnn's national correspondent suzanne candiotti.

>> reporter: cnn has been given four e-mail exchanges from sources with knowledge of the case. raising new request questions about what penn state knew and when they knew it. the e-mails are between penn state president graham spanier, vice president gary schultz, and athletic director tim curley discussing the now infamous 2001 shower incident where assistant mike mcqueary said he saw sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy. the first e-mail is date d february 26th, 2001. that's 16 days after. mcqueary testified he's told athletic director curley and schultz exactly what he saw, a boy with his hands up against a wall with sandusky behind him. the alleged e-mails don't mention sandusky by name, instead calling him the subject

and person. in the first exchange schultz messages curley about a plan to talk with the subject, contacting the charitable organization, second mile, and contacting the department of welfare. that's an agency required by law to investigate suspected abuse. yet the next night curley indicates a change of heart. he allegedly sends an e-mail to penn state's president spanier and refers to a discussion they had two days earlier about sandusky. curley says he wants to talk things over with sandusky and work with him before deciding whether to contact child welf e welfare. he also refers to coach paterno. did something he said change curley's mind? quote, after giving it more thought and talking it over with joe yesterday, i am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. i am having trouble with going to everyone but the person

involved. i would be more comfortable meeting with the person and tell him about the information we received and tell him we are aware of the first situation. the first situation he's referring to is a separate shower incident sandusky had with a boy in 1998. sandusky was not charged at the time. he was convicted of both incidents at trial. curley plans to tell sandusky, quote, we feel there is a problem and offer 0 professional help. and at some point soon inform his organization, sandusky's second mile and, quote, maybe the other one. according to a source with knowledge of the e-mails, he's referring to child can welfare. if sandusky is, quote, cooperative, curley writes, quote, we would work with him. if not, we do not have a choice and will inform the two groups. two hours later penn state's president purportedly responds and agrees with the approach,

quote, i am supportive, spanier writes, and adds this. the only down side for us is if the message isn't heard and acted upon and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it. but that can be assessed down the road. spanier calls the plan humane and a reasonable way to proceed. the next day vp schultz weighs in with an alleged e-mail to president spanier and athletic director curley, quote, this is a more humane and upfront way to handle this, he writes. we will inform his organization with or without his cooperation. we can play it by ear to decide about the other organization. another reference to outside authorities. but that never happened. authorities say records show suspicions about sandusky in 2001 were never reported to any outside agency. victim five was molested by sandusky in a penn state shower

about six months after the mcqueary incident. and sandusky later went on to sexually abuse at least three other boys. years later all testified at rile. trial. >> susan joins me now from new york. so susan, we learned two important things from these alleged e-mails. penn state officials appear to have had a plan on handling the 2001 sandusky shower incident, and they dumped it. someone or something seemed to change their mind. could it have been joe paterno? >> well, that is a key question here, you're right, carol. for the first time these e-mails are indicating that there was more than one conversation, at least they suggest they do, noted in these purported e-mails. we learn, that remember, joe paterno had always said publicly after he talked to mcqueary, that he reported all of this to his boss, and then he left it up to penn state to handle the matter because he trusted them. according to these alleged -- this alleged e-mail, we now

learn that there was a conversation, allegedly, a second one between paterno and his boss and that after that conversation tim curley, the athletic director, changes the plan, no longer going to contact child welfare. so this is something, of course, that investigators will be examining. >> okay. so what's the reaction of these penn state officials? mean, what do curley, schultz and spanier's lawyers have to say about these e-mails? >> first of all, i'll note that joe paterno, the attorney for his family says, joe paterno always told the truth, never was involved in e-mails, and we don't have the full context here. spanier's lawyer didn't return our calls, but we do have this from the lawyers representing gary schultz and tim curley. they say, quote, for curley, schultz, spanier and paterno, the responsible and humane thing to do was like pennsylvania governor's corbett to carefully and responsibly determine the best way to handle vague but troubling allegations.

faces with tough situations, good people try to do their best to make the right decisions. obviously this is something that penn state's own independent investigation being run by former fbi director louis freeh and state prosecutors are pursuing. >> we asked you to talk back on another big story. we asked you is the health care mandate a tax or a penalty? you are responding in droves. we'll read some of those responses next. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning. is the health care mandate a tax or a penalty? this from melissa. what if i opt out of health insurance and need to go to the emergency room? who pays my bill? taxpayers. this from melissa. when you don't pay your taxes, you face penalties. they are part of your taxes and collected by the irs. and this from will. justice roberts called it like he saw it, a tax. now if congress or the president wants you to purchase something, they will call it a tax. please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read more of your responses in the next hour of "newsroom." . ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] why not try coffee-mate? with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor with coffee-mate, from nestle. add your flavor how do you know it's summer time?

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well, took a while but tiger woods, wow, he's back on top. >> yeah. it's been about three years since we've really seen tiger being the best player in the world, and i think we're seeing it again. for the first time, in fact, since september 2009 tiger woods is on top of the points standings for golf. tiger got his third tour victory at the season at the at&t national. typical tiger fashion, outdualing another golfer. tiger's approach on the 18, the 9 iron. puts it on the dance floor. tiger sinks the putt for a win. a two-stroke victory over van pelt and an answer to his critics. >> i remember there was a time

when people were saying that i could never win again. that was i think about six months ago. here we are. >> oh, tiger. getting a little saucy. it's his 74th pga tour win. he passes knack nicklaus for number two on the all-time list. tiger is eight behind sam snead for the record. soccer, euro 2012 title game. spain versus italy. the opening goal. look at davide silva get free. the goal, the header. the spaniards scored three more times blanking italy 4-0. some are calling this team the best ever in soccer history. they have certainly done all they need to do to at least claim the title. michael phelps came from behind to win the 100-meter butterfly last night. he timed the best in the event all year. qualified for five individual events, three relays which means

he could match the 2008 eight gold medals. he could do it again this summer in london. two u.s. swimmers had the choice to settle a tie, flip a coin or have a runoff. the photo finish. they finished the exact same time. tarmoh and felix tied for third. whoever wins today's runoff will go to the olympics, but the race, this morning, tarmoh doesn't want any part of the rematch. she's upset because she thought she won third place originally. we'll see what happens in the next few hours. >> so she's refusing to run the race again because she said initially they declared her the winner so hey. >> exactly. >> keep you posted. thank you, jeff. >> next hour of cnn "newsroom" begins right now. and good morning to you, dare i say happy monday. i'm carol costello. just ahead in the "newsroom," extreme heat watches and warnings. most of the country under the gun over the summer swelter, so why is it so darn hot? i'll ask bill nye, the science

guy, yeah. we're going to talk about climate change. plus this. >> i'm leaving my house for probably the last time. there's flames. this is [ bleep ] hard. >> fleeing the flames. colorado this morning still on fire. we're talking with fire fighters about their new strategy to fight those fires. it's a cnn in-depth report. and caught in the middle with little hope. mexican parents forced to leave the united states, their kids american citizens go with them. now they are stuck in a country with no way to get their diplomas or work papers. what's being done to help them? it's a "newsroom" series special. but we begin this hour with the brutal heat smothering millions of americans. for many of you it's downright dangerous amounts of massive weekend storm toppled power lines from indiana to maryland. this morning, some 2 million people have no way to keep cool, and it could be days before power it restored. across much of the country, it will be another miserable day. oh, just look at all those

90-degree temperatures. at least 18 states have heat advisories or warnings. already the scorching temperatures have set records nearly 2,000 times in the past week. that's right. 2,000 times. the weekend storm was so big, so powerful and fast it's a phenomena that has its own name, derecho. and this was a doozy, it spanned from northern illinois all the way to the delmarva peninsula. wind gusts of up to 90 miles per hour slammed into parts of indiana and ohio killing at least 16 people, and it's still creating problems today. cnn's brian todd is along the d.c. beltway in montgomery county, maryland. morning, brian. >> reporter: good morning, carol. the story of the morning commute this morning is just sporadic traffic lights. we have one up here. about 250 yards. these cars are coming from it that was out. no police directing traffic up

there. this light here is on. it was just activated a short time ago but the traffic situation here is not exactly fluid right now. it is stop and go everywhere. you've got to treat intersections like this one up here like this one, and like this one down here about a quarter of a mile, you've got to treat them as four-way stops, so that is really slowing down the morning commute. hundreds of traffic lights here in montgomery county, maryland still without power, so that's a big complication. dozens in northern virginia, dozens of traffic lights in washington, d.c. still out at this hour. also we're being told of the metro rail, the main subway system here in washington. delays on at least three lines this morning again because of the power situation. just got an update from dominion virginia power. 270,000 customers in virginia, the entire state, still without power. less than 150,000 in northern virginia are without power, but some hard-hit neighborhoods still really dealing with that. what we're told is in some

neighborhoods they pretty much have to rebuild entire circuits of power in these transformers, can't just plug a fuse in like that. got to rebuild entire circuits so that's slowing things down so just asking for people to be patient. what we're told by local power companies is as far as maybe the last person to get power, those people may have it by about 11:00 p.m. friday night. that's a far projection. they think that's when the last person, the last customer to get power will receive power, carol. >> so happy fourth of july to you. wow, friday, it's unbelievable. brian todd reporting from montgomery county, maryland. >> let's head out west now, shall we? crews have managed to gain the upper hand on the deadly wildfire in colorado springs, colorado. oh, but the toll is staggering. two people confirmed dead. 350 homes lost. we want to go in-depth now. meteorologist rob marciano is in colorado springs. good morning, rob.

>> reporter: good morning, carol. evacuees were finally allowed to go back in and at least look at their homes yesterday, and the number has decreased from the number out of their homes from 30-something thousand down to 3,000, but it's been an emotional weekend, as you might imagine. for the first time folks who know that their homes were destroyed were allowed back into the neighborhoods. they were allowed to do it in their private vehicles, which is probably a more humane way to do things. we caught up with a couple of families that told us about their experience when they saw what was left of their home. >> it looked like a war zone. it was just -- it was completely caved in. it didn't even look like a house. it was bad, and it -- just the smell. it smelled like smoke, and it was just -- you got down in it and it smelled like ash, and it was awful. >> reporter: you're looking at one of the neighborhoods. one of the many neighborhoods that was completely destroyed here in northwest colorado springs, and then the scarred

landscape just uphill from there. you can vividly see which neighborhoods were -- were not affected and what part of the land was completely torched, blackened, all the way up that ridge line. that's where the fire came barreling down just about a week ago, and now all of that -- all of that forest is destroyed. and unlike other areas of the country, it will take a long time for that forest to -- to come back. 55% containment, carol, so they have a pretty good handle on this fire, but it's one of many, many fires burning in colorado and out west. as you know, we're pretty much just getting into fire season. >> yeah. >> reporter: back to you. >> rob marciano reporting live from colorado springs this morning. an expected health department tour of the only women's clinic in mississippi performing abortions will not happen today. it's still business as usual for now. this follows a federal judge's decision to block a new state law which would have forced the clinic to close. women's groups call it a victory, but the governor says he will continue to fight to

enforce the law. george howell is in jackson to explain it all to us. good morning, george. >> reporter: carol, good morning. this clinic here behind me will remain open today. there was a question as to whether it would open for business, but the clinic received the temporary restraining order under a federal judge to continue operating despite this new state law that would effectively shut it down. the new law, i should say, basically requires two things. first of all, that any doctor performing an abortion in the state of mississippi be a board certified ob-gyn first, and secondly, that that doctor also have special permissions with local hospitals here. now the director of this clinic says that she has been trying to get those permissions since april, since this law was first signed, but has been unable to do so she believes because the hospitals may be under political pressure to drag their feet on this issue. now, i spoke with the director and the owner of this clinic about her thoughts about what would happen if the clinic were to close. take a listen.

what would it mean for mississipians if this clinic were to close? >> absolute tragedy. you know, no one wants to talk about abortion. no one wants to think about abortion until they are there. there's three reasons you have an abortion, rape, incest and mind and i hear that all the time. i don't believe in abortion, but now it's my kid. now it's my kid, now it's my mother, my grandmother. >> reporter: she says today she is jubilant, but on the other side of this a statement from governor bryant's spokesperson who says, quote, governor bryant believes hb 1390 is an important step in strengthening abortion regulations and protecting the health and safety of women. he goes on to say the federal judge's decision is disappointing, and governor bryant plans to work with state leaders to ensure this legislation takes effect as soon as possible. again, carol, we know that the board of health, they will not visit this clinic to inspect as we expected they would today. they will let this clinic

continue to operate business as usual under this temporary restraining order. again, that continues until the 11th of this month. that is when a hearing is set because you'll remember this clinic did sue under this new law. >> george howell reporting live from jackson, mississippi this morning. just days after longtime new york congressman charlie rangel appeared to win his toughest challenge in decades, ballot complaints could threaten that victory. today new york supreme court is set to hold a hearing on the outstanding ballots that have been counted after rangel was declared winner of tuesday's primary. those votes show the race now in a virtual dead heat with more ballots still to be counted. we will keep you posted. a former governor and husband of a soap opera star is poised to become mexico's next president. enrique pena nieto is the apparent winner. he's now facing serious questions about corruption

accusations from within. he says he's looking forward, not back. cnn's rafael romo is in mexico city. good morning. >> reporter: hi, good morning, carol. yes, you are absolutely right. he is the fresh face of an order guard of the pri, the party that governed mexico ending in the years 2000. this morning neieto is the projected winner, all the other candidates have conceded and now he has five months to assemble a new cabinet, create a government plan and also set priorities. when had comes to priorities, as you know, carol, a single large -- the largest single issue here in mexico has been security. we have had about 50,000 people who have died in drug violence in the last five years, and what people here tell me is that they are desperately in need of a

change. they want the situation to stop because they say that has driven away international businesses that could create jobs here, also many towns across the border from texas, from new mexico and arizona have become ghost towns so that's a very important issue for mexicans. last night in the middle of speech pena nieto said he's not going to make any packets with organized crime. there has been accusations for many, many years that his party, the pri, used to do precisely that, so he was -- he just wanted to make it clear that that's not going to be the case. now, it was a very big day for mexicans. about 49 million people participated in the elections, carol. >> rafael romo reporting live for us this morning. nearly 2 million acres scorched this year by wildfires, so what's behind these destructive fires, and what about the extreme hot weather

conditions we're experiencing right now? could it be that climate change is to blame? bill nye the science guy is standing by live. i'll ask him about that just ahead. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and theiramilies is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru.

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just about 15 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now. after a week of grim news, many of those forced out by the huge wildfire in colorado springs are going back to, well, what's left of their homes. fire fighters are slowly gaining control of the fire which has now scorched 27 square miles, destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least two people. it's now 55% contained. iran says it will test fire short, medium and long-range missiles during war games that are now under way. the announcement coming on the

same day the european union imposes what could be a crippling embargo on iranian oil. in money news, you can now put your vacation on layaway. go to searsvacations.com. a new full-service travel website. put down 10%, pay it off in full before you take your trip. warehouse club costco also offers vacation packages that you can pay off at a later time. she endured scorching heat and jelly fish stings but in the end marian palfrey gave up her chance to swim across the 103-mile swim without a shark cage, flippers, wet suit or snorkel. if you are hoping for some relief from sauna-like temperatures outside you'll have to wait. forecasters say the mercury will remain above 100 degrees from missouri to south carolina

today. though some states are cooling off a bit, relatively speaking, with highs just in the 90s or above that. a little bit above that. at least 18 states are under heat advisories or warnings, but the situation is even more complicated in states like maryland, ohio and virginia. nearly 2 million are still without power. after some powerful weekend storms rolled through killing at least 16 people. we want to talk more about the weather. it, like everything else, has become incredibly politicized. that's right. we're going to talk about climate change. in today's "washington post" there's a study conducted by ecosphere, a peer-reviewed journal of ecologists. it projected most of north america will recognize a jump in the frequency of wildfires by the end of century, mostly because of increasing temperatures, but this study was done by ecologists. scientists and will likely be looked at skeptically. bill nye the science guy is here to explain the science behind our weather extremes.

good morning. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the political aspect of this, because if you google your name, bill nye, you're the kooky guy who doesn't know what you're talking about. you're not a climatologist. you want to defend yourself? >> sure. can i read graphs, and this -- there's a couple things you can't really dispute. 16 of the last 17 years have been the hottest years on record. that's just how it is. now, i appreciate that we want to show two sides of the story, and this is a tradition in journalism that goes back quite a ways, i guess, but the two sides aren't equal here. you have tens of thousands of scientists who are very concerned, and have you a few people who are in the business of equating or drawing attention to the idea that uncertainty is the same as doubt. when you have a plus or minus percentage, that's not the same as not believing the whole thing at all.

and by the way, everybody. we have record high temperatures. we have enormous fires in colorado. we had tornadoes in michigan and brooklyn. we had a 30-degree temperature drop in maryland and virginia this weekend in just a half an hour. these are consistent -- >> let me ask you this -- >> with climate models. >> there are experts who say part of the problems with the wildfires is that it's mismanagement of our forests. there hasn't been forest cleared of brush, for example, and that's why these wildfires have really spread so quickly, not necessarily because of the heat. >> well, i've got to disagree. it is because of the heat ultimately. just two years ago it was wet in colorado, and there was a lot of growth in forests, and then you can say, well, responsibly you should have cleared that growth. it's a difficult thing, so then two years later when it's especially dry and the forest floor gets especially dry and then there's a lightning strike, the fire is that much more intense than it would have been.

now, since this -- you brought it up as politics, to us it's science, this is a deep concern, and wouldn't you want the united states, i grew up here, i don't know any better, wouldn't you want the united states to be the world leader in addressing climate change and innovating and energy distribution and storage? wouldn't you want that. >> but the people who are politicizing this issue they seem to be winning because not much is being done on the issue of climate change even though president barack obama promised that, you know, back in the day, 2008. >> well, i think you're going to have to way. i mean, i'm not -- i think you're going to have to wait until after the election. by the way, if you're a voter, consider taking the -- the environment into account as well as the economy. consider including environment. i think the two candidates running for president right now have very different views about the validity, for example, of science and the importance of it and what you would do about climate change in the coming

years. you know, other countries are addressing climate change, but the united states is the world's largest economy, and by long tradition, whether it's an iphone or methods of growing food to feed a lot of people, the united states has been the world leader in this sort of innovative technology. >> so what will it take -- >> do you want to keep that up or not? >> what will it take for america to be on the same page? mean, what will it take? >> well, we in the science education community chip away at this problem all the time. we have an enormous population of people in the united states who don't believe in evolution, the fundamental idea in all of life science. it would like saying i don't believe in earthquakes or something. i mean, the analogies are disturbing, but, in other words, science is a process, and we -- we want everybody to understand it and then include science in the way you do your thinking about how you're going to vote and how you're going to conduct your life, so you -- you can

attack me -- people can attack me personally, but it is -- this is the, as i say, 16 warmest years on record of the last 17. 1996 was not one of the warmest because there was a big el nino, but that aside everybody i think has a sense that the world in the united states anyway, the world is getting warmer. the storms are being -- are stronger than ever, and our ability to respond to them is not especially good to combine all of these ideas. >> bill nye -- >> so the wildfires in colorado are probably another symptom of the subtle slow change that's happening around the world. >> you threw that probably word in which is why people are confused. >> what are you going to do? you can't prove every weather event, but sooner or later everybody let's change the world. let's work together and make life for future generations as good as it was, for example, mine. really, everybody.

>> thank you. >> probably doesn't mean it's all wrong, really. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for joining us. bill nye, the science guy. let's talk about health care. another non-controversial topic. it's now a battle between the "t" word and the "p" word. the talk back question. is the health care mandate a tax or a penalty?

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this

morning. is the health care mandate a tax or penalty? on the health care law we're now caught in a heated battle over the "t" word versus the "p" word, tax versus penalty. the president promised not to raise taxs on middle class americans but critics say with the mandate the requirement is people buy insurance or face a penalty, the president will be doing just, that taxing middle class americans. after all, the president used that argument in part to persuade chief justice roberts. >> the broken promises and hypocrisy are becoming breathtaking from the president who says one thing to get this past congress and then past the supreme court. if this was brought to the public as a tax, there's no way this would have passed into the first place. >> to the white house it's a penalty, not a tax and one that would affect very few people. >> we're happy to have a debate on tax policy because this

administration has cut taxes for the middle class $3,600, and this health care law cuts taxes $4,000. only 1% of people will pay this penalty. it's what we call fair. >> that "p" word just kind of jumped out at you, didn't it? so the talk back question for you today s.health care mandate a tax or penalty? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later on in the next hour. president obama might have crossed a fine line campaigning aboard air force one. "the daily beast" is reporting a rambling conference call where mr. obama pleads with donors to send more money. great shot.

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it is just about 30 minutes past the hour. good monday morning to you. i'm carol cosell osh. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. another day of summer swelter from millions of you. this morning heat advisories and warnings up in at least 18 states from missouri to south carolina. temperatures are expected to soar into the triple digits again. in colorado springs, colorado, exhausted fire crews have finally gained the upper hand. the waldo canyon fire is now 55% contained but only after a terrible toll. two people killed. 350 homes lost and dozens more homes damaged. enrique pena neato is the projected winner of mexico's election which would send the pri party to power after losing the race in 2000. an individual vote count begins on wednesday. while president obama continues his weekend break at

camp david, mitt romney continues his vacation in new hampshire. both campaigns sprang into fund-raising mode following the supreme court's health care decision last thursday blasting text messages, sending owe mails and tweeting supporters, not unusual. what may seem unusual is a report from "the daily beast." they are reporting, quote, a rambling conference call by the president made from air force one begging donors for money. the president said, quote, the majority on this call maxed out to my campaign last time. i really need you to do the same this time, end quote. the president went on to say, quote, i'm asking you to meet or exceed what you did in 2008, and the american people, the nice thing is they agree with our message when they hear it. we just can't be drowned out. a few billionaires can't drown out millions of voices, end quote. cnn does not have that recording. we have not heard it. daniel stone has. he's the white house correspondent for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." he joins us now.

good morning, daniel. >> hi, carol. well, first, i'm curious who gave you this 18-minute phone call, because was it the president's supporters, and if so, why would he do this or she? >> well, this was a call with several, many of the donors. we don't know exactly how many people were on the call, but people who have been hit up for money from this campaign several times at least. we know they were hit up in 2008. many of them gave the maximum amount you can to a campaign back then, and this time the president very anxious about these fund-raising deadlines coming up is asking for that same amount of commitment this time as well. >> so your report describes the president as sounding weary and maybe a tad bit worried. what did he say that made you think that? >> well, a lot of it was tone, and, remember, this is the president coming back from colorado on friday. he had had a very long day. i don't think we can read into a major theme about what he was feeling, but certainly he had had a long day, and remember, this campaign fund-raising races are very much what drives the

narrative throughout the entire season, from now throughout the summer, into the fall. whoever is raising the most money, so the president knows that even though he was handed a win by the supreme court last week on thursday that the narrative this week will be driven by who won the fund-raising race in june. he wants it to be him. over the past couple months it has been mr. romney. >> i know that romney came right out and said, hey, we raised $4.2 million after the supreme court's decision, but the obama campaign didn't release any number. what do you make of that in light of this call? >> well, it's fairly obvious what you can read into it. the obama campaign says they never release fund-raising data except when they are required to by law, but think about it. if you see the supreme court decision on thursday, that galvanized republicans, it really energized them, and it forced about 47,000 donors to donate to mr. romney within 24 hours. obama to the contrary, you didn't see that type of energizing among democrats and

the liberal base the same way, so i think we can say that they did not raise as forcefully. of course, they don't want to admit it until they are forced to by law which will be later this week. >> okay. so a lot of people are probably wondering can the president legally make a call from air force one to his donors? can he do that? >> it's a question that's asked often. the short answer is yes. he's always the president, whether or not he's working on official business or campaign business. there are some outlets, including a special telephone, an area that the president can work on campaign matters on the plane as well as in the white house, but think about it. he never gets pretty far from the white house or his campaign limo or his presidential limo or certainly air force one, so they need to make those options accessible to him where ever had he is. >> okay. so if anyone wants to listen to this recording, can they hear it anywhere? are you guys releasing it? >> one of the -- one of the ways we got this recording was by agreeing that we would not release the recording. remember, this was a recording with people that were very loyal

to the president, conceivably are very loyal to the president so we can't release the recording, but the campaign has not denied what's in the tape, so we do know that it's -- it's real. >> daniel stone, white house correspondent for "newsweek" and "the daily beast," thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you, carol. would you waste time if you worked from home? if you're watching me that does not count. i'll tell you what people say -- i'll tell you what people say they are really doing when they say they are working at home. the postal service is critical to our economy, delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year

from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer.

checking our top stories now. in kenya four refugee aid workers abducted from a camp near somalia last week are finally free. kenya's defence force worked with somali troops to go after the kidnappers. during a shootout one of the kidnappers was killed. two others escaped. >> if you have outdoor plans today, you might want to check the temperature before you head out. 18 states are under excess f-heat advisories, watches or warnings. triple digit temperatures are this store after many states hit record highs over the weekend. a survey by wakefield research reveals what people really do when they are allowed to work from home. 43% watch tv or a movie. 35% do chores around the house. 28% make dinner. 26% nap. 24% drink and 20% play video games and then all that other time that they work. facebook's stock may be tanking, but designer claire

pedabon's business has exploded. zuckerberg's wife wore a wedding dress designed by pedabon in may. she expects her business to double this year. four months away from the presidential election and a new cnn poll of polls shows it's still virtually tied. 46% of the people said they would vote for president obama while 43% of people chose mitt romney. the road to the white house could turn on these seven states. there they are. cnn considers the states in yellow as tossup states right now. our joe johns is in one of those tossup states. that would be iowa. so joe, let's talk about the strategies for both candidates as they try to win these states. >> reporter: well, carol, i guess you can say they have been heavy on the ads. everybody knows that if they are watching tv right now. also heavy on the trips to the battleground states. mitt romney has been to battleground states about 20

times, barack obama about 12 times just since april. this week we're going to see another sign that have with the president taking a little bus tour through ohio and all-important pennsylvania and mitt romney just happens to be hanging out in new hampshire which is one of the places he has a home. he's been there before, but, of course, it's a battleground state, too, so all the focus is on these states that could make the big difference in november. >> okay, and then i would assume that both candidates will be talking about jobs, jobs, jobs? >> reporter: yeah, yeah. obviously jobs, jobs, jobs, probably the number one issue, but if you look at what they have been doing in some of these states. you see there's a little bit of micro targeting going on here in the state of iowa, for example. there's been a little bit more of a focus on the deficit. we're going to go over to ohio tomorrow in that state. we've seen some ads that have -- that have focused, you know, on a number of different things, so you have immigration that comes up as things people are interested in, and so that's

what they are doing. they are micro targeting. a word we try not to use on television, but it certainly is happening more than ever this election cycle. >> joe johns reporting live for us from iowa in a special cnn series. we'll take you on a tour of some of the rest belt states. we'll see how many autoworkers are struggling with the economy. some lost their jobs, and many say there will be a political price to pay as a result. ♪ hello...rings ♪ what the... what the... what the... ♪ ♪ are you seein' this? ♪ uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh... ♪ ♪ it kinda makes me miss the days when we ♪ ♪ used to rock the microphone

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let's head out to los angeles and check out with nischelle turner for the b.e.t. awards and i heard there were some emotional moments. >> there were. of course, hollywood was still stunned on the news on friday that katie holmes filed for a divorce from tom cruise. way is out there covering the b.e.t. awards last night, and the breakup of one of industry's a-list couples was still rippling across the red carpet. now usually, you know, jamie foxx, he's got a lot to say. when i asked how his co-star in "collateral" was here's what he had to say. any words for tom cruise that's going through a hard time? >> oh, he'll be all right, man. he'll be all right.

>> that's it from jamie but in addition to the sadness about tom and katie, a lot of big stars there anticipating this award she's dramatic moments. they were all looking forward to the long-awaited star-studded whuston tribute led by her mother, cissy houston. she performed "bridge over troubled water" over a graphic of her daughter and them two singing together. i just want you to listen to this. ♪ feeling small when tears are no ♪ >> you know, you see everyone just in tears. beyonce in tears, soldier boy in tears. everyone because, you know, they were feeling this woman's pain, and, you know, she died the day before the grammy telecast, and they did do a tribute to her on that -- on that show, but b.e.t. real he time to put this together and they filled the void. it really was an emotional

moment, carol. it was actually though, even though it was beautiful to see her up there, it was a little haunting because the words of the song really seemed like they felt exactly what she was feeling. >> and just from the little bit -- i know that she's a great singer in her own right, and she sort of sounds like her daughter. >> you know, they have that gospel tone to their voice, and her brother gary houston also sung before cissy houston and sang "i just want to be there where you are," and they all have the strong gospel sound to their voice. it was nice to see, though it was very sad. everyone had that moment and felt it last night. >> nischelle turn err, many thanks. >> sure. want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, check out "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 p.m. eastern on hln. the united nations latest world drug report is out, and the website business insider has gone through the report to find the countries that have the highest percentage of marijuana

smokers, pot smokers. palau tops the list. about one out of every four people aged 15 to 64 smoke marijuana there. the northern mariana islands is second and guam is third. wondering where the u.s. fits into all of this? well, it comes in seventh with just over 14% of people in that age group who smoke pot. now you know. some good news for coffee drinkers. researchers say it can help lower your risk of developing the most common form of skin cancer. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

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this just in to cnn. we have learned airbus plans to build a new $600 million plant in mobile, alabama. construction on the new plant begins next year and would bring 1,000 jobs to that coastal city. workers will be hired to make commercial airliners. company officials plan to make the official announcement in just a few minutes from now at 11:00 a.m. eastern. that's actually ten minutes from now. of course, we'll keep you posted. hot dogs, hamburgers, fireworks, cold beer, all the staples of an american independence day, but it looks like people plan to shell out less on those things this year. allison kocosic is live at the w york stock exchange. >> reporter: maybe it's because

americans are feeling less patriot or don't have the money to spend on it. 21% of the people out there won't be celebrating independence day as all and those that plan to spend quite less. americans spent 216 on everything from food to fireworks. this year that's expected to drop by more than 10% to about $190. people in the midwest and western states are expected to spend the most. northeastern states will be spending the least. that's most likely because fireworks are illegal in a good part of region. carol? >> so i think it's more the state of the economy than anything else, don't you? >> i think you're right. that's what really plays the huge part in this. one financial educator over at visa says being patriotic does not equate with overspending on the fourth and he says that as americans are watching their wallets more closely to. many people it doesn't make sense to spend money on all that stuff that's not considered essential. plus, look when july fourth is. it's in the middle of the week, first of all, so you're not going to be looking at everybody

celebrating in a whole hearty way right before they have to go to work the next day and have a big blowout party and come in hung over. not a good idea. >> i know a few people who actually do that. that's what kind of friends i have. >> yes, you do. >> alison kosik, thanks so much. in today's daily dose, if you like to wake up every morning to a cup of caffeinated coffee here's to you. it could lower your risk of developing the most common form of skin cancer. researchers say out of the more than 113,000 participants studied for more than 20 years, only about 23,000 developed basal cell carcinoma, but they caution this is not an excuse to start drinking more coffee because as always more research is needed. now you can apply sunblock to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens.

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the rustbelt. it's made up of midwestern states that are now suffering after building their economies around manufacturing for generations. the auto industry crisis really hurt. plants closed and many people lost their jobs. in a special cnn "newsroom" series this week poppy harlow toured that's states to see how their lives had changed. we begin with a preview. >> we bled auto. i mean, this town and gm went hand in hand. >> reporter: how many years as

an auto worker? >> 30.7 when the plant closed in jamesville. >> reporter: i first visited jamesville in 2009 right after gm shut its doors here. three years later we found janesville trying to build back. >> a town without an identity, a town with unemployment and more foreclosed homes and more people that want to work that just don't have that option anymore. >> they want jobs, and they want good jobs. >> reporter: is it still a union town? >> that's changed. this is not a union-centered town anymore. >> reporter: when we rolled into kokomo, indiana, it was 93 degrees. few clouds in the sky, reflecting the revival of this rustbelt town. we came to meet cliff pitcher and duane bates at their neighborhood bar, two friends whose blue collar ought ore career who have followed a similar path but whose politics should not? do you agree on who the next president should be? >> no, i'm all over obama.

>> and i'm leaning towards mitt romney. >> reporter: why obama? >> because i have a job today. >> reporter: he credits the auto bailout which romney opposed. you see folks here call kokomo little detroit. >> if it wasn't for obama, i would not have a pension. i would not have insurance. >> reporter: despite that, duane doesn't think president obama deserves another four years. on the outskirts of detroit -- >> i don't see the economy turning around. >> reporter: two auto workers. >> and michigan is on its way back. >> reporter: with similar 9:00 to 5:00s, with you dramatically different views on the economy here, where unemployment is about 8.5%. who do you credit for having a job today? >> i credit president obama totally, 110%. >> reporter: why? >> because when everybody else turned their backs on the auto industry he said that there was no way he was going to let us fail. >> reporter: mitt romney's criticism of the auto bailout doesn't sell well here in michigan. it's home of the big three and also romney's home state.

michigan's leaning towards obama this election, but not all the autoworkers we met here are. >> i think mitt romney will do a much better job managing the economy. the government needs to be out of the economy as much as possible. >> reporter: warren, ohio and lordstown, ohio, two towns 15 minutes apart with two very different stories. does this town really resolve around the gm plant? >> yes. >> reporter: no question? >> no question. >> reporter: we met sherry gaunt in lordstown, longtime auto workser and vice president. >> people might not have a job. >> reporter: and in warren, ohio some of the autoworkers are angry. bruce gump worked at auto supply sports delphi for years, a senior engineer, non-union. what did the auto bailout mean to you? >> the auto bait youl, the

effect on me and my family is a loss of all of my health care insurance, a loss of all of my life insurance, a reduction of my pension by 30% for the rest of my life. >> reporter: he and his fellow delphi retirees think they have been thrown under the bus by the obama administration. >> he didn't protect my pension. i was just road kill and to be kicked to the curb and out of the way. >> fascinating. poppy harlow reporting. tomorrow upony begins her road trip in janesville, wisconsin. please be sure to join us. we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. we asked you is the health care mandate a tax or penalty? you responded in droves. crest christopher says it's only a tax or penalty if you don't have health insurance. there will be multiple options available for everyone. the massachusetts plan where i live is incredibly popular and we have incredibly high coverage rates. >> rita says this is a tax increase. it doesn't concern me. after all i have health

insurance. fortunately i'm oblivious to brainwashing. this from ed. it's a tax. we've been lied to again. the arrogance of the obama administration never ceases to amaze me and lee says it's a penalty for idiots. good news for everyone else. please continue the conversation. facebook.com/carolcnn, and as always thank you for responding. finally this morning, at least for me, an interesting sto story about the u.s. olympic trials. two u.s. sprinters had a choice to settle their tie. flip a coin or have a runoff. they planned to go back to the track. check out this photo finish that led to the rerun, if you will. tarmoh and alleysion felix tied for third in the 100-meter dash in the u.s. olympic trials. they are scheduled to race against each other later today but this morning sources say tarmoh may pull out of the rematch. she had originally been awarded third place in the race and was angry that the spot had been