jerusalem. beautiful play. if you haven't, you should go. women praying during ramadan. they're in the dome of the mosque which is one of the holiest places of all of israel. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malveaux. focusing on the economy. plus, new pictures from mars. but first, a tennessee mosque that opponents have tried to keep closed is opening for the first time today. the islamic center in murfreesboro has endured two years of court challenges, protests, even a bomb threat and arson attack. opponents claim mosque leaders are trying to spread radical islam. the leaders deny that and say they're ready to put the battle behind them.

>> from now on, we're going to look for a brighter fuehrer. we're going to look for a united community, a prosperous community, and the negativity over the last two years will go away in no time. in afghanistan today, three american service members were killed by a gunman wearing an afghan military uniform. it happened here in the unstable helmand province. we heard a few details and about a couple of attacks on coalition forces this week alone. chris lawrence is at the pentagon. chris, what happened today in the helmand province? >> we're told the soldier was part of a coalition force working on stability in the helmand province. they were going to meet some of their local afghan contacts when they were shot and killed. right now the isaf, the u.s. military is looking for the gunman, the man who shot and killed these troops.

the taliban claims that the troops were lured in by an afghan police commander under the ruse of having dinner and being friendly when he turned on them, killed them, and then went on the run and joined the insurgency. fred? >> so, chris, is there some acknowledgement that it appears that there are more so-called green-on-blue attacks? what are the commanders there saying about how they can continue to handle this? >> well, in just the last hour or so, white house spokesman jay carney said that although he doesn't know at this point if this is part of some stepped up offensive by the taliban, he did say that the military commanders believed that this won't have any operational effect on overall missions there. but you can't deny that the green-on-blue attacks have draft it is lick -- drastically increased. this is the third one. in fact, we had more this year

than all of last year, and we're just now about halfway through the summer oop. so it has a really tough effect on the morale of american troops. even commanders have admitted that. even though they don't occur very much, when they do occur, they have a disproportion e pop effect. >> it seems like it's one thing after another. on wednesday, killing u.s. troops, land mines killing troops and today. is there an escalation behind this spike in violence right now? >> not to be flip, but it is the season. in afghanistan, you have what's called a fighting season. in the wintertime when a lot of the taliban are holed up in areas that are inaccessible because of the mountain ranges and the snow, it becomes much harder to fight. and then you've about got the time that they plant a lot of

the poppy, the drugs that fuel the insurgency. so you've got window and we're smack dab in the middle, fredricka. >> who are the attackers? >> what did you say? >> who are the attackers, do they know? >> taliban is claiming responsibility. isaf says 50% of the time when you have these green-on-blue attacks it is the taliban infiltrators. the other times it's afghan forces with personal beefs against the americans or perhaps an afghan who got caught up in debt and was paid off to do something. >> chris lawrence at the pentagon. thanks so much. >> yep. relatives and members of the community are coming together in oak creek, wisconsin, today to remember the six people killed in the sikh temple shooting. sikh temple members broke with tradition to hold a public wake and memorial service. they say they wanted to give the community a chance to share in their grief. just moments ago attorney general eric holder spoke at

that service. ♪ we're going to try to bring you the comments of attorney general eric holder later our ted rowlands got an exclusive look inside as workers worked to reclaim the temple and change it from a crime scene to a place of worship again. >> reporter: a bullet hole is still in the door of the main prayer room inside the oak tree temple. the plan is not to fix it but to keep it forever as a reminder of what happened. everything else was quickly cleaned by volunteers who showed up almost immediately after the crime scene was cleared. >> it takes its toll when you

think of the lives are lost and that our temple is never going to be the same again. >> reporter: of the four people killed inside, the only female died here in the prayer room. the three others were all shot and killed in the room down this hall, whereas you can see the carpet has been replaced. this teeny pantry just off the kitchen area is where more than 15 women and children hid for more than 15 hours, some of them injured, none of them knowing if the gunman would return to kill them. several of the victims' family members were there to help clean and pray. some of them joined reverend jesse jackson on the floor. >> simply put, our families, his mother who left behind two beautiful boys and was the only mother -- imagine losing your

mother -- the victims, the police officer who did his job, they are hero. they're living the american dream. the other person was a coward. and at the end of the day, he should always be remembered as a coward. >> reporter: the hope here is that these six lives will be remembered as a reason to change the way people treat each other. >> i think that's really what this message is. we're all god's creation no matter where we come from, no matter what we believe. we're all joined together. >> and ted rowlands joining us live now from oak creek, wisconsin. ted, you know, eric holder speaking moments ago right there at the temple. offering his words of comfort. this is what he had to say. >> we've been brought together by an unspeakable and devastating tragedy. we are bound together by much more. we are united today not only by a shared sense of loss but also by a common belief in the

healing power of faith. >> ted, so how impactful, how important was it for eric holder to be there to speak one on one with people? >> reporter: i think it was very important, fredricka, because one of the things the sikh community wants to do is break down barriers between them and the country, and having someone from the u.s. government here does help. one of the questions they've asked in the wake of the shootings is what's being done about these hate groups? are they really being monitored? is the federal government really taking things seriously? and i think this was a good gesture by the united states to send him. and i do think their overall goal of having this event here, which is complete break from sikh tradition is making an impact. we've seen thousands of people from around the world descend on this tiny town in wisconsin, and people were very, very moved inside throughout the day. >> and now what about the

followers of this temple? how are they sealing them coming together as a community? how are they seeing the healing process unfolding? >> reporter: well, they think that if this is going to be a situation where these lives weren't lost in vain, then there does need to be a barrier change because they do feel discriminated against and they do feel that they were targeted by someone who had so much hate in him, so they're hoping that these lives will will help people see that the sikh people are who they are and they want to share their religion, they want to share who they are with the rest of the united states and the world. anyone who's willing to listen, they're more than happy to engage them and they're hoping the one thing that is positive out of this is that barriers will be broken down. >> all right. in oak creek, wisconsin, ted rowlands. thanks so much. bond has been set for the man accused of taking weapons to a theater in northern ohio. authorities believe scott smith was planning a copycat movie massacre on saturday night.

he allegedly had a loaded 9 millimeter semiautomatic handgun, two loaded magazine clipse and three knives in a bag he carried to the theater where the latest batman movie was showing. smith pleaded not guilty to 21 counts, including carrying a concealed weapon and having weapons under disability. he says he has been carrying the weapons for protection. a judge set bond at $250,000 and ordered scott to stay away from the regal cinemas. a preliminary hearing is scheduled next week. and here's what we're working on for this hour. despite some recent good news on the economy, more americans think things are getting worse. is that perception or reality? we have a fact check. a photographer in philadelphia doesn't think people know the full extent of how homicides are hurting communities, so he started a project to show us. >> i want them to see what i'm seeing every night in this city, the children watching crime scene investigations.

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the presidential election just 88 days away. of course, the economy is the number one issue on americans' minds. a new poll could spell trouble for president barack obama. paul steinhauser joining us from washington. they say the polls had been rising but what's changed. >> exactly. take a look at the numbers. this is our cnn/orc poll. we did on tuesday and wednesday. we asked how are things going on in the country. a number of people said it's 43%. now down to 36%. on the on sid side right there at the bottom, 63% say things are going poorly in the country today. that's a 6-point gain since april. how does that play on the presidential campaign? go to the next screen. this is interesting. will the economy get better if

barack obama getwins? 31%. they say things will not get better if either guy wins in november, fred. >> big concern for either camp? >> a big concern for the president. it's the top issue on the minds of the americans. who gets blamed for the economy? the guy in the oval office. that is the way its. that's the concern for the president. you see the unemployment levels creep up over the last couple of months. that may be one of the reasons why you're seeing the perceptions of the economy, at least our poll, go that way. that may be a concern for the p president. mitt romney needs to say i can do better. that's not happening right now. we have three months to go right now. anything can happen. >> that's true. anything can happen. you look at the poll numbers and you wonder whether, you know, the voting elect rat thinks

differently. >> yeah. and sometimes they're not in sync, right. and the president and his campaign pointing to that number. the overall level has been creeping up, regardless of the reason it creeps up and people see that. while the national numbers are important, it's also important to look at the state numbers. this is a battle. it's a battle for the states and the elective votes so it's important to look at the battleground states and how those numbers are doing. >> very good. 88 days. it's right around the corner. it ooh going go just like that. paul steinhauser in washington. despite the pessimistic views about the economy, we receive some encouraging signs late lately, but the economy struggling still to take hold. alison kosik with a reality check. what are some of the positive developments that everyone can agree on? >> okay, fredricka. so, yeah, the economy has certainly been sending a lot of mixed signals. let's start with sort of a temperature check on key readings. for one, housing, it is one of

the biggest cornerstones of the economic recovery. it is what drove us into the recession in the first place. many say it's really what we need for a true comeback to take hold. and believe it or not, it's been one of the few bright spots recently. foreclosures have been slowing and home prices are slowly rising. it's more of a mixed picture. on the plus side, employers did add 163,000 positions in july that rebounded from a few weak months but the unemployment rate went up and the sectors at added positions were lower paid areas and this was a problem because you really want to see job gains in these more higher paying areas, so those people can really go out and pump more money in the economy. fredricka? we have seen this before. the economy seems to be gaining some traction, but then it hits a rough patch. so what are some of the factors which will determine which way things ultimately do go? >> yeah. there are two big wild cards in

the mix. one for sure is europe. there's still a lot of issues out there. the european central bank isn't meeting again until september. investors are hoping they will take some concrete action to get the debt crisis under control in a meaningful way. you know, issues overseas can have a huge ripple effect just as our recession drove others down. the reverse can hold true because the european union is our trading artner. the other, the fiscal cliff. that's when tax increases and spending cuts go into effect on january 1st. congress needs to figure out how it's going to keep us from falling off this so-called cliff. here's the thing. nothing's likely to be done until after the election. it leave as small window for congress to get off its you-know-what and do something about it. meantime we're also getting new pictures of the martian

surface from nasa, and we'll show you some of them.

the rover curiosity on the surface of mars, day five, nasa scientists just spoke to reporter john zarrella who's

staying on top of e everything at the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena. so, john, they talked about the seven moments of terror, so to speak. why are they going over that again. >> yeah, fredricka. we hadn't heard about the landing and descent. they're still talking at this briefing because they're still all jazzed up by how well everything went and how well their calculations worked. in fact, they started off the press briefing by saying, you know what, we traveled more than 350 million miles to get to mars and we missed the entry target by less than one mile. that's pretty phenomenal when you think about it. they were, for all intents and purposes, right on track. then they began ticking off all of the different time lines throughout that descent and they actually brought up an enhanced

image that was taken from the mars reconnaissance orbiter shown on the end of the parachute and they talk about how the parachute deployment took place right within the time line when they thought it would take place, how the parachute slowed them to just exactly what they thought it would slow their speed to, how the heat shield deployed and how they showed new enhanced imagery from the heat sensor camera. they continued on ticking off all of the different events during the course of that seven-minutes of terror th took place right within the windows of the times that they thought they would take place, which ultimately led to the incredible safe landing of curiosity on the surface. now, one thing we did not see yet today and probably won't now is that full resolution color panorama of the surface of mars. they're doing a lot of data now, getting a lot of data dumps.

that picture just has to take a back seat to some of the science now. fredricka? >> i wonder with all that's taken place, you know, did all of these things kind of meet expectations, with what nasa thought might happen? or did they observe or learn anything new? was there the unexpected? >> well, thing what they're learning, at least right now, is that they were able to pull this off quite successfully beyond their expectations and all the scientists and engineers that i've about had the opportunity to speak with the last five or six days here has said the same thing. curiosity has performed well beyond our expectations. everything worked perfectly. and, of course, that sets the bar very high for down the road and the rest of the mission once they get going, start dog the science, which is going to be a couple of weeks. but they could not be happier. they are tickled pink at how things have worked so far. >> okay.

what's next for curiosity? >> well, what's next is they're going to take a couple of days to upload some new software to the new vehicle. so we probably won't see any more new pictures for at least a few days, a couple of days. and once they get through with that, they're going to continue the checking out of the systems, and then after all that is done, it will be another week or two, then they'll actually start to perform the real science and curiosity will start moving out across the landscape, and they will start looking for the signs of water, looking for the signs of carbon, all ofthose things that could be the building blocks of life which is the mission of curiosity. but as one scientist told me, fredricka, this is not a sprint. this is a marathon. it's a two-year mission, so we're taking our time. >> okay. patience is a virtue. john zarrella, thank you so much.

appreciate that. >> reporter: sure. we're heading into the final week of competitions aet the olympic games in london. we're going to reflect on some of your favorite moments and my favorite moments, especially since i got to tag along with that gentleman. his name happened to be whitfield, mal whitfield. just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery, the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself. well, almost. the sweet reward, making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. i'll give you money for gas. [ laughing ] not necessary. take the money. i'm not taking your money. besides i get great gas mileage. what's that? it's eassist. helps the engine run really efficiently. it captures energy that assists the engine...

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all right. besides medals being won, this olympic games have had other historical significance. it becomes 64 years after they hosted the other games. many made the trip including that man, my dad, malwhitfield. there we are getting a chance to enjoy it as a family in the

stands. being with him while walking jamaican usain bolt win the 100-meter race win along with my brother lonny and long jumper herb douglas there. you've been there from day one reporting on the giant scope of the olympic games. alex, do you have a favorite moment or two as we head into this final weekend there of competition? >> well, fredricka, i can't compete with an olympic dad. you got me on that one. but i do like the family connections can really enliven the olympic experience. and, you know, they carry the olympic torch on the tour of the uk before they lit the flame during the opening ceremony and it came within a ten-minute walk of where i live in west london. my wife dragged me out. i was a bit reluctant. it was quite fun. >> dragged you? >> yes, she did drag me. i was like, hey, i've got to

work it for two weeks. the road tour was right down the road. i got to take my 13-month-old daughter to see that. she'll never remember but i've got photos. cycling is one of the high points for britain and team gb and you worry about the host making a good impression. the people i've spoken to have had a very positive experience. you think about sir chris hoyt winning out again. i don't know that we have a cam are cutaway. >> they call it the pringle because it look like a pringle potato chip. i like that. >> yeah. i think it's a bit harsh. >> you do? >> i don't know if it's a compliment or criticism. if it's a compliment, we'll take that. usain bolt as well. it's all about the star performances, michael phelps.

we've seen other names emerge as well but those two have been outstanding yet again and for all the criticisms and douses to see such a flamboyant jamaican thrill us all again with the first double-double olympic golds in those events in olympic history, it's great to say i was here when history was made. >> that's guest part. you never know what's going to happen. you can go into it thinking you can pinpoint where the medals are going to be won, but that is the beauty and the curse by some points of views of the olympic games. lots of surprises. i love that stadium behind you. to me it looks like a crown which is so fitting for great britain. was that the intend or was that just me coming up with it? >> i was in beijing too and i thought bird sta's net stadium better. >> no one can compete with the bird's nest. i like the look of it, kind of

crown-like. beautiful venues, beautiful memories, and you've done a great job along the way, bri bringing us the most mediacy of these olympic games, alex. >> thanks, fred recontact. it's very sweet of you to say so. i think that's what's been the key thing this time. >> so, so true. well, thanks so much for sharing your great memories and listening to mine. all right, alex. from the olympic stars of the past to one of today's luminaries, low low jones may have finished without clinching one of the med also but she is still one of the best known athletes at the games. her athleticism, her great looks and big personality have brought her endorsements and fame, but like other athletes she feels pressure from coaches, other olympians and even herself. i asked her today where the toughest pressure comes from. >> the corporate sponsors that invest in you, you know, and they actually make the dream

financially possible because without them, mine you can't train, you can't travel. so you have a lot of pressure to help make sure that you're making their effort into you worth it all and your family -- seeing my family afterward, they're going too say they were proud regardless but i feel like i just let them down. and then also just everybody, even people you don't know, like you're representing a country, and i represented team usa and i just felt like i let them down when i didn't get the medal but i was pleased because my other two teammates both got second and third. it's a team effort but at the same time it was like, i don't know. i feel like i didn't do my part. it's a total effect. >> and we talked more about the heartbreak that she felt there on the track, and we also talked about the influences and with the advent of social media, how that's offered a whole new set of pressures that come with being an olympian at that level. more of my entire intervee with

loll lolo jones tomorrow afternoon on cnn newsroom weekend. philadelphia mayor is tired of it all. >> we will track you down like the dog that you are. >> all right. one man's unusual way to stop gun violence, by actually taking pictures at crime scenes. with the spark cash card from capital one, sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work?

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philadelphia's already seen at least 210 murder this year. some photo journalists are hoping to reverse the trend. they're taking aim with cameras. >> reporter: his police cam crackles just before midnight. moments later kaz as his friend's call him is rushing to a scene that's gone bad along

with photo journalist. the victim has been take top the hospital with a gunshot wound to the back. the police take away two. they founded guncrisis.org. it's supposed to be the city of broe brotherly love. >> i want to put it out there. i want people to see what i'm seeing, the children seeing crime scenes night after night, day after day, anything to disrupt this. marginally disrupt it, i would consider it a success. >> reporter: so far this year more than 210 murders, a rate approaching 2007 when the city saw more than a murder a day and earned its nickname killadelphia. >> turning around the gun violence epidemic is a tall order but our city is full of

heroes. we've done it before. we can do it again. it's not going to go on forever and the harder we work, the sooner we'll bring an end to the violence. >> reporter: they want to shake things up by chronic ling gunfire. another radio call. on this residential block man was shot at least 12 times. police rushood time the hospital where he died moments later. the crime lab is documenting the evidence. at least four people were shot in separate incidents in just two hours. >> this is a project that i believe in. the city gives us no break. there's an abundance of opportunities to report unfortunately. >> reporter: philadelphia had 324 homicides last year with blacks making up 85% of the victims. >> is costin all of us, whether it's immediately in front of your face or it's veral miles away in another community. we are all connected and it's

affectingall of us and it's costing all of us. >> reporter: cash rewarding for tips and more police on the tips, mayhem didn't slow down. mayor michael nutter more than frustrated. >> you want to act like an idiot, if you want to be a [ bleep ], if you want to be a low life in this town, we will track you down like the dog that you are. >> reporter: mcmillan who works with the city officials say they are committed because lives depend on finding a solution. >> what happens next? we elevate the discourse. we bring people together. we build a movement. we stop the killing. >> reporter: a major challenge for a city where murder has become routine. sara hoye, cnn, philadelphia. >> you can see more of the dramatic photos at cnn.com or go directly to guncrisis.org and check out their website. a man who plotted to kill soldiers at ft. hood has been sentenced to two life terms.

the u.s. attorney's office in texas says nasir jason an dough was sentenced today. he was arrested last july after authorities found bomb-making materials in his hotel room. the base was the scene of a shooting rampage back in 2009 as you recall and that left 13 soldiers dead. if you're doing a little grocery shopping this weekend, the prices may look higher and, guess what, you can blame the drought for that. is they're on hidden camera, and all the clothes are actually from walmart. let's see what happens. they feel really soft. i like it. i feel like i could wear this with almost anything. we love the material. so far all the material is phenomenal. these clothes are all from walmart. what? wow! i've never bought kids' clothes at walmart. [ earl ] would you now? yes! walmart has great brands that make great looks. you'll love them, or your money back, guaranteed. see for yourself. ♪

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america is worst drought in over 50 years is devastating crops across the country. a report released "today" shows just how bad it is and how much worse it's going get. alison kosik joins me now. alyson, we're seeing the pictures, we know the state of the u.s. corn and soybean crops really isn't any good. how severe is it? >> it's pretty darn severe. you know what the usda is saying. expect the corn harvest this year to be the worst in 17 years, and, in fact, it's forecasting that corn prices are going to hit a record high this season. for you and me, what does that mean? it means higher prices at the checkout. the united nations released a report yesterday showing food prices jumped 6% last month and those prices are going to continue to climb as the drought continues on. where are you going to see it the most? you're going to see it in the meat aisle since corn is the key ingredient fed to chicken and

cattle. it's going to be more expensive to feed them, more expensive to bring what they given us to market. it's not just corn being affected. soybean crops. they're used in mar jar rinne, cooking oil, and peanut butter. fredricka? >> let's switch news. it's cited that neither goldman sachs or others will be cited. >> this is coming after a two-year-long investigation. goldman sachs, they say, made huge market bathed. while at the same time betting against them. so it was essentially alleged to have played both sides of the fence to make sure both firms wouldn't lose money. we know now the sub prime mortgages were not safe. in fact, we're at the core of the housing collapse that drove the u.s. economy into a recession. the justice didn't found that there wasn't enough evidence to

charge goldman, but the doj did add that if any other information coming out, it doesn't prevent the department from making a different determination. so, fredricka, the department could go ahead and visit this at some other point. >> and the dow snapped its four-day winning streak. how are things looking today? >> pretty flat. mostly because of issues outside our borders. investors are disappointed with some export numbers that came out of china. it's raising worries of a global slowdown. also there are new concerns that spain is going to need a full government bailout. the dow is only down about ten points right now. we've got a few hours to go before the end of the day. fred? >> alison kosik, thanks so much for the update. down in the bayou, there's a giant, i mean giant -- that's huge -- sinkhole, and it's actually swallowing up cypress trees. we'll take you to this 50-foot hole in the ground. you feel that? no. the eassist is working. right now. that's spandau ballet, man.

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west nile virus. in one part of texas officials have declared an official emergency. it's a county that includes dallas county. 175 people have been diagnosed with the virus which is spreadly mosquitos. there's been nine deaths. here is something that you don't see every day. a huge sink hole. officials want to know if an underground salt cavern is responsible. it's located in a bayou. it measured 324 feet in diameter and is 50 feet deep. in one corner it goes down even deeper than that, 420 feet. that's astounding. things are not looking good in the atlantic. predictions for this hurricane

season have been revived upwards. chad meyers is here to break down the numbers. right now we're at f. >> we've already had florence. >> it's a faster pace of most summers. >> september is the peak. we're a month away from the peak. that's the reason why they raise the number. basically, if we're already on florence, florence died an ugly death after a big dry dust storm rolled off africa. hurricanes don't like dry air. a big dust storm rolled off africa and smashed florence to bits. we have still had ernesto in making a lot of flooding in mexico. the next storm coming up would already be in the water. 12 to 17 named storms. average per name storms is 12. that's the minimum right there would be the normal season. they are predicting an above normal season. we had chris, debbie, ernesto

and florence. moving you ahead to the number of hurricanes we're expecting. the number of hurricanes about normal to above normal. two so far. chris and also ernesto were hurricanes. five to eight hurricanes that is above the normal. thing to three majors is about where we should be the 111 miles per hour or more. that become a very big storm. >> oh, my goodness. that's something else. we'll keep an eye on things and you'll be keeping us posted. music hitting high notes around the world. re created and. gonna need more wool! demand is instantly recognized and securely acted on across the company. around the world. turning a new trend, into a global phenomenon. it's the at&t network --

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: play along with me. a group from ukraine. ♪ >> guess the title of that song. it translates into crazy spring. the pop duo has numerous number one hits throughout yukraine an russia. free money advice from the cnn helpdesk. >> we're talking about student loans. doug, this question is for you. >> with my student loan debt, if it's better to pay the minimum balance every month and spread it out over ten years or if it's

more beneficial to pay off as much as possible as soon as possible. >> something a lot of us can relate to. what do you think? >> the big important issue is whether orot you have a good cash reserve in place. three to six months i would go with six months. if you do, you want to pay down debt as quickly as you can. if it's a lower interest debt and you don't have enough cash saved up, the last thing you want to have happen is you lose your job and you can't make any student loan payments. if you have a good cash reserve, you want to pay it down as quickly as you can. >> what's considered a good cash reserve? >> at different points in like that can change. after you meet your monthly expenses you want to put a little something away each month. if you can achieve three months that's a great starting point for a young adult. >> trying to pay down everything all at once when you're at that age, you shouldn't try to do that.

everything all at once, it seem like a big burden. >> it is. you have other goals. you don't want to put everything down on your student loans at a low rate wln you can save and invest for other goals. it's a good idea to pay down debt. we want to do that but not at the extense of not being able to do anythin else. >> if you want an issue you want our experts to tackle upload a 30-second video. we got much more of "cnn newsroom" straight ahead. good to see you back. brooke is off. eric holder calls the shooting at the sikh temple domestic terrorism. we're getting reports a syrian regime has thwarted an attack by the rebels. all that's coming up. first, t youlose. yo you were bting tha

mitt rney woulnas nning mate this week. shoving off on a four state bus tour. potential running mates reside in three of the states that he's going to visit. i'm talking about virginia's bob mcdonald. ohio's rob portman and florida's marco rubio. whatever he is thinking he's keeping it really close to his vest. he's been a top advisor to a number of presidents and presidential candidates, republican, democrats alike. what are the chances that romney knows who his running mate is light now and what are the chances that it's house budget committee paul ryan? a name that seems to be gaining a whole lot of momentum now. >> i think that romney does know

who he would like to have on there. many times right in the closing days of something like this, you hit a snag. something you weren't sure about and you pause. you got a let's wait and see until the last minute. we don't know what's happening behind the scenes. they have tightened this up very well. my own hunch is while he's under a lot of pressure on paul ryan, paul ryan is a rising star, i doubt at's where mitt romney is going to go. >> really. everyone has been saying, if you've been reading the articles and if you've been watching television, listening today radio and all the political pundits, everyone is saying the momentum is building toward ryan over the last couple of weeks or so. >> it has been building. there's been a number of comm t commentators who is spoked that fire.

he is a cautious player. i think he's going to go for extremely cautious or a cautious bold choice or a bold cautious choice. he may go in the bolder direction and ryan would be that but he may not want to buy into the medicare fight that would be ahead if he embraces ryan as his running mate. he may prefer someone like marco rubio who shows up wells in the polls. i think he might well go with chris christie. it would be a bold choice but more vetted. has executive experience and may not carry the kind of danger that romney may feel if he makes the future of this campaign revolve around medicare. >> more on marco rubio and the like. i want to bring in this new poll that shows by very large margin republicans want romney to choose a running mate who could step right into the presidency. you're thinking who among fits

the bill the best here? >> i think that's a clear choice or a clear answer. that's rob portman of ohio. he's by far the best prepared. many would argue he's the best prepared person to become president since george bush sr. was on the reagan ticket in 1980. he's been a budget director for a while under george w. that's a plus and a minus. he's now in the senate. he's man of enormous, he's got a good temperament for this job. he's thoughtful. he's laid back. i think if the choice had been made a month ago, it would be portman. i think there's a push to liven up the ticket.

>> you're hedging there. i've heard him address rob portman. they're addressing another boring white guy question. he's been asked that directly. they said i've made my career on being pretty dull and boring. that's what critics are saying about you. is that necessarily a bad thing? >> i think rob portman would be an excellent vice president. the country would be in safe hands if something happened to a president. he's in some danger that president obama is starting to open this up a bit. the obama lead has widened in a way in the last two weeks in a way that needs to send alarm signals. i think there's a push now across the board to go bolder. i'm just not sure he wants to go

as bold as ryan. i think he probably would feel more comfortable with christie. >> i don't understand why the ryan is so bold. he has an idea whether you agree with it or not on how the budget should be handled but more to the point when you were talking about marco rubio and someone who can step into the presidency on the first day. i'm wondering if the last go around, that experience with sarah palin in 2008, did it dim the project for some of the first termers out there. >> i think it dims the prospects for niki haley and martinez. marco rubio is no sarah palin. he's in the senate. he's serving out a term.

he's seen as a rising star within republican ranks just like ryan is. the issue for rubio is whether he's ready or not. that's something that romney would need to sit down and have a conversation with. they need to vet that. is there anything else in his background or all sorts of rumors that fly around. you need to know if somebody's going to blow up the day after you name somebody. these people get enormous scrutiny as soon as they get named. romney has so much hinging on this. i think he's done a good jop. now he's got to follow through with somebody. everybody says what was that all about. that's not helping his campaign. >> we have to run because we have some breaking news. i think the ryan thing, he

suffers from what people think you're like 20 years younger than you are. he has a lot more experience than people thinks. >> it was great to talk to you. >> thank you. we had to rush a bit with david because of breaking news. what do we have a tornado warning? >> yes. for suffolk county. this is on long island. you need to be taking cover. here is new york city. well east of new york city. not quite out to the hamptons but eastern and central part of suffolk county. if it keeps rotating and maybe get on the ground we'll break back in. if you're on eastern parts of long island you need to be

taking cover. >> chad will keep an eye on that. more news unfolding right now. heartbreaking in a moments in wisconsin as a community says good-bye to the victims of the sikh temple shootings. a bin laden style raid on a mansion. find out who was inside and how it ended. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ [ female announcer ] and try aleve

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i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing. curiosity living up to its name as it prepares to explore the surface of mars. scientists have the jet propulsion watching every move. controllers are saying the rover has performed flawlessly so far. i love talking to you every day john. i haven't seen you this excited ever. controllers are holding a briefing right now to give updated. what are they saying today?

>> you're right. you may have to try to help me with an analogy here. the rover traveled 350 million miles going halfway around the sun. they missed the entry point where they hoped to enter by less than one mile. to me that's like a quarterback, if he could throw it, ten football fields and putting it in the center of a tire moving at about 60 miles per hour down the end of that th. >> it's almost a hole in one. >> it's phenomenal. >> a whole in one like across the united states from one end to the other. we had the entry dissent and landing team. they are talking about this remarkable success and how not only were they within a mile of exactly where they wanted the entry point. at every point during that so-called seven minutes of terror, every event happened right within the parameters where they expected them to

happen. the parachute deployed right in the center line where they thought it would deploy. it slowed curiosity to the speed they thought. the heat shield came off at exactly the time they expected it to come off. every one of these sequences had to work and work nearly perfectly or the mission would have been lost did exactly that. in fact, the land site at the end of the day, they landed within a mile and a half of the exact landing. they used some google mars maps to pinpoint where nay landed. they are all ecstatic and the entire entry-dissent landing team getting their kudos for that spectacular job. >> you have been just as excited as well as if you're on the team

for this. that's great. it's catching. you're excitement is catching. i'm sure the audience loves it. i love it. the curiosity sending back panoramic pictures. it's fascinating to look at. what are the scientists hoping to gain from the views? >> we still haven't seen the fuel resolution panoramic that we thought might come out today. we're going to have to wait for that. when they look at these image, the science team is going, look, i like that rock over there. let's get to that rock over there. let's get to the base of mount sharp. they are seeing these targets of interest out there because what they are hoping for is to find the kinds of rocks that would indicate that water once flowed at the base of the crater. they do believe that water flowed at the base of this crater at one point in time. this is a spot where they believe that life very well

could have existed at some point in mars past which was the prime reason why they went to this site. the urse of the next two years, the length of this mission, they'll be looking for the water. they'll be looking for the carbon and rocks that have signs of iron in them or sedimentary rock formed by water. it's going to be an interesting two years ahead for all of them here and for us. >> captain john, thank you. >> certainly. hundreds of mourners pay tribute to the victims gunned down in a wisconsin sikh temple. people sobbed as they passed the six wooden cassetkacaskets to t

memo memorial took place in a high school gym. friends and family talked about the tragedy. >> i would like, i'll plead 245 they should not be angry. do not give the temptation of revenge the remember, this tragedy was caused by one misguided individual. the action don't represent the view. we are all children of god no matter what color or religion. please don't burn the american flags. america is not one person. america is not one race, people of one color. i'm very proud. >> the american flag hung in the gym. scott walker wore an orange head

covering in keeping with sikh tradition. >> no matter what country your ancestors came from, no matter where you worship, no matter what your background, as americans we are one. when you take one of us, you attack all of us. this week our friends and neighbors in the sikh community have shown us the best way to respond is with love. let me be one of the many here in wisconsin, across america and around the world to reflect that love to each of you. >> police officers hugged each other. an officer was wounded in a fire fight with the gunman. earlier, cnn got an exclusive look inside that damaged temple. see a bullet hole. it remains in a metal door frame. members say they won't repair the bullet hole. to syria now.

as the u.s. slaps sanctions on one of the world's most infamous terror groups for its support of bashar assad, we're getting reports they have thwarted an attack in the biggest city. it took a mighty machine, and plain old ingenuity to go where no fifth grader had gone before. ♪ and she flew and she flew, into the sky and beyond. my name is annie and i'm the girl who dreamed she could fly. powered by intel core processors. ♪ throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants

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will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. u.s. government took a tentative step toward further punishing syria. the state department announced sanctions against hezbollah. ivan watson has the latest on the crisis in syria in his post of syria's neighbor turkey. >> reporter: aleppo is still the scene of intense street battles. the rebels have been forced to back out of one key neighborhood sauled salahuddin. it they made a tactical withdrawal under intense aerial and

artillery bombardment. they say that hundreds of families have takin shelter in schools and that many of these families have previously fled from other cities and towns across the country that were previously devastated by the fighting fighting. here in turkey we have seen more than 1700 people in the last hours along. refugees fleeing across the border. more than 52,000 in turkey. those numbers have jumped in the last couple of days. this is likely to be the topic of discussion. one of the topics of discussion between u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton and senior members of the turkish government. > bin laden raid caught on video. we'll tell you who is big guy is and we'll see the drama play out. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: slow ]

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i'm going to miss that music when the olympics are over. u.s. men, 4 by 400 relay team goes for gold because of a heck of an empt by its runners. he broke his leg while running but he still finished. he ran 200 meters, half of happen around the track in pain. this is how we know he is in pain. he said it felt like somebody snapped his leg in half. he actually snapped his fibula. he's going to be replaced for this afternoon's final. we have another quick check on our metal count. team usa cleaning up with 90 metals so far. a couple more days of competition to go. a bin laden style raid goes

down at a mansion of a sought after kingpin. the fbi accuses him of the biggest copyright infringemenin. as far as the raid is concerned, a high court is listening to arguments today on whether new zealand police went too far when they used a special tactic force. i want you to watch this now. >> ground units. gates are open. >> reporter: for the first time we can show you the police assault from the air and moments later how they closed in on the mansion from the ground. >> mr. dot com has been shown the warrant. >> reporter: they were armed with firearms and tazers made their way inside. you hear the moment they found

their argument. >> located target. safe room. >> located target. >> reporter: today police were pushed on whether the decision to use the top police response teams was appropriate. >> we had concerns about security staff and the motivation to resist the police executing the warrant in motivation to protect mr. dot com. >> reporter: the court heard when kim dot com was found in the mansion. police asked him to show his hands but he didn't. it took several officers to push him to the ground, but they deny he was kicked and punched as he claims. >> did one of the officers triek him in the face? >> not to my knowledge. it was no time for that to happen. >> reporter: police say one officer did stand on dot com's hand once they hand him on the ground but said it wasn't intentional. more police officers are expected to give evidence.

>> thanks very much. in that raid police seized computers, hard drives and phones. everything that can store digital information. the high court rules the search warrants in the raid were invalid. take a look at this video. that's a panic button that dotcom use when he realized someone was barge into his home. it opens the door to this hide out that he calls the red room. >> it still took 13 minutes for the police to find him here. >> it took just under 15 minutes to find him there. on the day of the raid his pregnant wife was inside the home with her three children and other guests. news 3 is reporting that the commotion caused her to have contractions which sent her to the hospital. a 12-year-old boy's dying wish was so close to coming true.

he wanted to meet his nba super star before he passed way before stage four leukemia. he was all in and the center was in the car yesterday headed to the airport to fly out to meet the boy. you saw it all unfold. he got a heartbreaking call that the boy passed away while he was hero was traveling to meet him. he talked to us just hours later. take a listen. >> he's somebody that touched me without meeting him. he lived all the way across the country. i'm heartbroken that i wasn't able to meet him. his strength and i think i dedicate my season to lee and his cause. people register and become a

bone marrow donor, that can help. you can really make a difference. anybody can help. all my other nba athletes to go get swabbed. i want to meet his family. i want to hear stories. i want to hear everything. i want to hear funny stuff about him and what he did. i want to know the kid. he touched my heart. he's affected me. i want to keep his memories. >> he flew to sacramento to be with his family. it's just happened again. men wearing masks attacking a police station as the violence flairs up in egypt. the take lasting hours. we're going live to the ground. that's next.

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i want to give you an idea of what we're talking about when we focus on sinai are gunmen pulled off an attack. let's take a look right hear. th this is map. sinai sits between israel and egypt. the recent attack s occurred in this tiny spot and right here is the border. it's where masked gunmen fired on a police station today. it's the second attack here in less than a week. there was a huge attack yesterday with egyptian helicopters firing rockets. we're going to go there live because ian lee is there. these attacks are new.

is this a test of egypts resolve to keep the peace with israel. are there any arrests? >> reporter: there has been a few arrests. we're hearing from the government that there were six people arrested. we went to the house where the raid took place. the people there said that these were just merchants and the government had -- these weren't the people involved in any of the attacks. what happened last sunday when militants killed the 16 egyptian soldiers was extremely e lly embarrassing for the egyptian government since one of their army personnel was taken into israel. israel was able to take out that apc. this is a very embarrassing moment. egypt is trying to show a tough face. yesterday we saw apc's and

desert fighting vehicles. today we were seeing tanks come in. there's strong military build up. there's also security forces who are going to different areas trying to find people who are suspected of being militants to try to stop this as well as you showed earlier the border crossing. there's tunnels of the whole area that go between gaza and egypt. egyptian military is in the process of trying to shut it down. nobody can go in between the two areas. >> i want you to listen to egypt's new president who had some tough words for the attack. >> translator: the armed forces will assume complete control to secure them. those who carried out the attack will pay a high price. >> those are tough words. he's in a tough spot. it's a power base.

r . >> reporter: definitely. this is a fine line. he does have to show a strong face because the egyptian people demand that he show, he hold someone accountable. there be retaliation for the spriek and right n strike and right now, today, he's having dinner with troops trying to show his support. they haven't had the best relationship. this is the first crisis in his presidency. >> thank you very much. we appreciate your reporting. we see just how bad the drought is.

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ari'm fine.y, babe? ♪ ♪ ♪ with a subaru you can always find a way. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. in new york state, more than 10,000 children grow up with their mothers locked up behind ba bars. this week's cnn hero is helping the mothers keep their families

and start new lives. she says giving them lots of love and hope is the key. >> ai cross our nation there are thousands of mothers behind bars. i've never met a woman inside that said i'm going to go out and really mess up again. what's the lesson you learned here? >> not to come back. >> the debt of her guilt what she's done to this child is sun believable. they want to do everything to make it right. they're always unsure whether it's really going to work. i'm sister tesa fitzgerald and i world with incarcerated mothers to keep their families together and rebuild their lives. when women come out of prison they're so vulnerable. >> what's the hardest part? >> not having money and a b. it feels like there's no way out. >> a home isthe haroft's going to make thei life possible. >> so good to see you. how are you?

you're back home. we give them a lot of love and a lot of support. around her is a community who have seen growth and change. >> once you forgive yourself, it'soing to be all right. >> over time broken bonds have been mended and there can be a wholeness to their life. >> hi, it's kelly from the mentoring program. >> i was a crack head. i gave birth while i was still incarcerated. i didn't know how i was going to change m life. sier tesa didn't just save me, she saved my entire family. >> when i start seeing that take place in the women that i've worked with. >> very proud of you. that makes it all worth while. >> go to cnn to vote for your hero. summer, it sure is hot. summers are always hot. we just suffered through the hottest month on record.

good riddance july. get out of here. martin traveled to the banks of the mississippi river to get an idea of how this hot-dry weather is affecting the waterway. >> reporter: captain gene threads barges. >> it's a little shallow. >> reporter: in his 28 years of piloting tow boats he's never seen the mississippi drop so far, so fast. >> what's the biggest thing that worries you? >> running into the bottom. >> up ahead he heard the river is always nine feet deep. >> you're deeper than that the water than that water is deep. how often do you find yourself looking at that depth gauge? >> all the time. >> reporter: over the last two weeks boats and barges have been

running aground every day. >> probably 15 to 20 different small incidents or groundings. >> how does that compare? >> it's probably an increase. >> reporter: there are other problems. the giant american queen has to let passengers off on a levee because the water is too shallow where it normally docks. huge areas of river beds been exposed looking like desert causing one lawmaker to quit that mississippi has more beaches than florida. it would be funny if it wasn't about to cost us all. the mississippi moves grain, oil, coal and steel. >> everybody's having to lighten the loads up. >> reporter: here is the math. you want to raise the average barge one inch in the water, you have to take 17 tons of cargo. to raise it a foot, you're talking 200 tons.

moving cargo by river is $11 a ton cheaper by train or truck. the more that now has to be moved on land, the more the cost go up. >> eventually the consumer will pay that price along the line. >> reporter: i asked him the question on many people's minds. >> they're worried the river would close. what would you say? >> i don't see the river closing. >> reporter: the proactive assistance including building thousands of rock dikes like these. the water comes downstream. during the drought it's redirected, deflected into the center of the river. it makes the channel deeper and it scours out the silt. engineering can only do so much. the rest is up to nature. just how much rain would it take to make the river right? >> 20 inches.

>> that would be on a regular and recuring basis. >> reporter: that's not in the fact. predictions show it dropping another two or three feet. they fear life would be about to hit bottom. >> it just keeps until she quits moving. >> great reporting there. is this the lowest the river has ever been? >> reporter: you'd think that but it's not. 1988 is the lowest the river has been at least in the city of memphis. we're out two to three feet away from that point right now. we're going into fall. fall is drier than the summer months when it comes to rain and the river. it looks like the projections are saying we're going to break the record for the low. i would say '88 is in big jeopardy. in '88 they had to close the river. they're hoping that won't be the case this time. >> stand by. i want to bring in chad meyers.

the mississippi river coming to a halt because of this drought. that's serious stuff. >> something else, if you remember last spring there was a tremendous flood. the casinos literally under water. the flooding moved the sand barges into different places. everything they thought was okay is not okay. they are redredging the places that were already dredged. >> they have to do that in order to get them in and out. >> obviously the drought has en everywre. it wasn'ta drout in apri or y. it jusdidn rain a all. when i didn't rain during owing season things gotea bad ouere. the corn stopped growing. % of the corn is poor to very poor. we're losing yield. we're losing crops weould c sell tother trs.l half of what they would get.

erthns tey getless than >> thank you chad. thanks soar oth grpospe foffling feathers and any new movie no exception. roeyobo ce.sadethe p ce.sadethe p incnghe thultimatexpion wer. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values n some of our newest models. itduring the golden opportunity e? [sirs event, u ous? iri] t allowed to be fvolous. ahay to tomorrow. change my 11am to 2. [siri] ok marty, i scheduled it for today. is that rick? where's rick? [siri] here's rick. oh, no that's not rick. now, how's the traffic headed downtown? [siri] here's the traffic. ah, it's terrible, terrible! driver, driver! cut across, cut across, we'll never make it downtown this way. i like you siri, you're going places.

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movie director spike lee's

new movie "red hook summer" premiers in new york tonight. it's a coming of age story about a boy who goes to new york to spend the summer with his bible thumping grandfather. the movie takes a twist into a chilling subject. we don't want to yun it. you ha you have to see it. film makers spike lee an unapologetic supporter of barack obama talking to me about the president, what the world expected from him and what he thinks of mitt romney. >> you think the expectations were too high? >> on president obama? oh yeah. he was the savior. black jesus. i don't care who it was,

expectations were way too high. what somebody can deliver knowing how politics works and knowing that you have to deal with the congress, in my opinion, a congress that's solidifies whatever you do we're blocking it. we're blocking. every breath we take we're going to do what we can that you don't get a second term. bottom line. if it hurts america in the process, tough business. >> do you think he's lived up to the promises? >> the man's not perfect. who's perfect? my wife and i had a-raiser at our house. we raised over a billion dollars for him. i'm going to do what i can to

help that he gets a second term in office. >> you just took my question. i was going to say does he deserve and you answered it. do you want to talk at all about the other side? what do you think of the competition? >> i don't think i have to do that. number one, it's very obvious. you got this and you got that. it's plain as day. americans are going to have to make a choice. you can go this way or that way. there's no in between. >> we're just beginning here. the entire interview tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. eastern. you don't want to miss that. i asked spike lee if black people are too sensitive when it

comes to race and if he's a racist himself and a race baiter. gunman diskwiezed as afghan security open fire on u.s. troops. a live roeport, next. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. on my driver's seat. this is my car. who are you? i'm the second owner. the what? i will own this car after you. look, i'm not telling you how to drive our car. our car? if you're gonna have a latte in the car, keep a lid on it. it's a cappuccino. still needs a lid. [ male announcer ] the highest-quality cars plus an exceptional certified pre-owned program.

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gunman wearing an afghan security uniform shot and killed three u.s. troops today. they were part of a special operations in addition to stabila mission. the white house says it's too soon to know whether today's attack might be linked to a recent series of attacks on soldiers in afghanistan chris lawrence live now from the pentagon. have they caught the gunman linked to today's attack and what else do you know about this? >> reporter: we know that the gunman escaped, but where he is now is really part of the whole mystery surrounding this. our u.s. sources are only saying that these three marine wrs part

of a special operation's mission to stabilize a village and they had gone out to meet a local afghan contact. the taliban is claiming the man they went to meet is an afghan police commander who lured them in and was playing them and planned to kill them and after they got there and had a meal the taliban claims he shot and killed all three and escaped and joins the insurgency. this is not an isolated incident. it's not