candidate for president and the founder of forbes media conglomerate and olympic bronze medal boxer marlen esparza, so hope to be cheering for her during the olympics and hurdler lolo jones will be with us. kirk cameron will be with us. we'll talk to him as well. all that and much more ahead. we'll see you tomorrow morning on "starting point" and we have to toss it to "cnn newsroom" with carol costello who is back from her vaca. >> i feel refreshed. good morning to all of you. happening in the newsroom, outrage from akin's comments that legitimate rape victims don't get pregnant. romney and ryan trying to distance themselves this morning but we found paul ryan has partnered with akin in the past. bad behavior, allegations of skinny dipping at a christian holy site. several lawmakers allegedly drinking and taking a late night dip in the sea of galilee.

actually about one and a half. i have a great polaroid of it. and a legend remembered -- the man who brought us maverick and goose from "top gun" taking his own life, jumping from 180-foot-tall bridge. this morning a look back at an extraordinary career. the perfect home, the perfect life, the perfect town. "money" magazine went coast to coast, town to town, and has the best places to live. the unveiling live this hour. "newsroom" begins right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com and good morning to you. i'm carol costello. thank you for being with us this morning. we begin with a mini scandal and the holy sea of galilee. it involved a late night swim, drinking, and one nude republ

republican member of congress, and he would be yoder from kansas. yoder wasn't the only rowdy member of the american delegation to jump into the sea, although the others were at least partially clothed. also involved congressman steve southerland and his daughter, congressman reid of new york, ben quayle of arizona, and welcome. >> thank you. >> first off, can you describe the night in question for us? >> reporter: there was an 8:45 p.m. dinner in a seaside town and after the dinner where sources told us there was drinking, members of congress and several aides jumped into the ocean and mr. yoder removed his clothes. later when they got back, the fbi began questioning folks and asking what happened, if anything inappropriate went on.

and that's kind of where we left it. this was one year ago, actually almost one year ago to the day. but this is just coming to light right now. >> why is this just coming to light now? >> reporter: i'm not -- unclear to me. a lot of people we spoke to were surprised it lasted this long, that it didn't get out before this. this was known inside circles in washington but never really got out until recently. >> you mentioned the fbi was looking into this. why? >> reporter: it's still not completely clear to us, but they were asking folks whether anything inappropriate happened in the water. obviously when a member of congress, mr. yoder of kansas, is nude in a foreign body of water, that would raise some eyebrows in some quarters, one would think. it's not a terribly usual thing to hear about in d.c. that an elected official while overseas, especially in israel, a holy site to many religions, would jump into the water naked. that's not totally something that we have seen in the past. >> plus the fact he's totally nude in front of other

colleagues and at least one colleague's daughter. part of the reason these politicians were in israel was to gain credibility. the sea of galilee is where jesus walked on water. does this just destroy all credibility or will this blow over, do you think? >> reporter: it's unclear. these things take on a life of themselves sometimes and mr. yoder has made statements. he's on the front page of "the kansas city star" today in his home. so this is something that might have legs. and mr. yoder has spoken on the record about it. it's unclear whether he will have to again. these trips have long been a staple of washington and have been criticized in the past. so it might change the dynamic on some of these trips. obviously israel is a place that's important to a lot of members of congress. it's raising eyebrows. >> jake sherman with politico, thank you for being with us this morning. >> reporter: thank you. now to one congressman's statement that has stirred so

much outrage even the gop's presidential ticket has had to weigh in and step way back. the well known conservative candidate who is hoping to win a big senate seatrom the democrats was asked about his staunch opposition to abortion. >> in the case of rape, should it be legal? >> well, you know, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, well, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down, but let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something, you know, i think there should be some punishment but it ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child. >> i don't probably need to explain how wrong his statement was and, by the way, he may be acting like he's back tracking but he didn't say he was wrong. all he said was he now is acknowledging that someone can become pregnant when they've

been raped. but what he said in his statement was that it was rare and that there was something in the woman's abouted that could shut down a pregnancy because if it was a legitimate rape, i mean, he hasn't said that's a wrong statement. he hasn't apologized for that statement. >> claire mccaskill would be congressman akin's opponent when it comes to that race in missouri. joining us now is cnn political editor paul steinhauser. let's start with the senate race. akin sayse misspoke. he's apologized. he's ahead of claire mccaskill just a little bit. will this affect things? >> reporter: i think it will definitely affect things and it was very quick for senator mccaskill to jump on the airwaves and to put out a statement. this is a seat the republicans think they can win back from the democrats. mccaskill face as tough re-election. this is a seat the republicans want to win back. this may not be the candidate that will do that especially after this incident. but, carol, you mentioned we're feeling the effects of this on

the presidential campaign trail as well. look at the statement put out quickly last night by the romney campaign and it says governor romney and congressman ryan disagree with mr. akin's statement, and a romney/ryan administration would not oppose abortion in the instance of rape. that's from a campaign spokesperson. paul ryan, the running mate of mitt romney, the only exception for him on abortion is not rape, it's when the life of the mother is endangered. i reached out to a campaign aide and asked about that. they said that is his personal statement but the statement from the campaign is the position of the ticket, which translation means it's the number one not the number two who dictates the policy, carol. >> and republicans were quick to respond to congressman akin's comments because there's a big gender gap when it comes to the republicans to try and close that gap, and this certainly doesn't help. >> reporter: it doesn't help. you're right. you look at any poll and it indicates the president has an

advantage over mitt romney when it comes to female voters and this won't help at all and is probably why they quickly reacted. you may hear more about this later today. they're in new hampshire campaigning together for the first time in a week. they sit down with the cnn affiliate for an interview. democrats were quick to criticize. you play the mccaskill sound, debbie wasserman schultz. congressman ryan has partnered on akin about making their own health care decisions. i can't sit by and watch as these out of touch republicans continue to roll back women's rights. of course debbie wasserman schultz used that e-mail to fundraise. one other thing to look at, if any statements come from groups to see if they're upset with the exception for rape that is in the statement from the romney and ryan campaign. >> we'll see. you mention ed that in new hampshire where romney and ryan

are going to appear, we'll be covering that event live. paul steinhauser live from washington, thanks so much. ouch 0. talk about a paper cut. president obama on the cover and under attack in the latest issue of "newsweek." the cover tells him to hit the road and makes the case why we need a new president. but the magazine hasn't been so enthralled with his challenger. it called mitt romney a wimp and it asked if he was just too insecure to be president. romney laughed it off and pointed out that a "newsweek" cover used the same wimp label for president george h.w. bush and, guess what, he won. big shock in the world of entertainment. hollywood director tony scott apparently committed suicide by jumping off a bridge last night. he left a note, but police have not released it. so we're left to wonder why. n movies you think of "top gun." >> you are instructed it to land, to land immediately. >> scott became a hollywood

a-lister after his mega hit "top gun." star tom cruise. scott and his big brother, ridley scott, battled for top billing in the family. ridley had hits like "gladiator." tony scott's death has stunned the industry. >> we use the word shocking all the time when we hear about these deaths. but to think of tony scott, broerp of ridley scott, one of the most prominent and successful directors we have jumping off a bridge is almost impossible to contemplate. >> twitter lit up with comments like this one from fellow director ron howard. no more tony scott movies. tragic day. casey wayans joins us from los angeles. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: hollywood really is struggling to absorb this news that one of its most acclaimed filmmakers has taken his own life. tony scott, the british born director and younger brother of ridley scott jumped to his death

from a bridge in san pedro, california, just yesterday afternoon. he was 68 years old. and the los angeles county coroner's office tells cnm tn t death is being investigated. they also said a witness saw him jump off the bridge. tony scott is best known for directing the film "top gun" which, of course, made a huge star out of tom cruise. the movie about a hotshot young fighter pilot became the biggest hit of that year. interestingly scott was at work on a remake of the film at the time of his death along with a series of other projects. he made a second film with cruise, "days of thunder" in 1990. cruise is not the only major hollywood star he has worked with. scott directed will smith in the action film "enemy of the state" in 1998. of course another major box office 0 hit. his credits included "the last boy scout" with bruce willis and eddie murphy as well as "spy game. "he worked with denzel

washington, most recently on the runaway train movie "unstoppable." "crimson tide." his brother ridley, he formed a highly successful production company which is responsible for the current tv series "the good wife." the company produced the tv show "numbers." he produced films directed by his brother, ridley, including this summer's "prometheus." carol? >> just so sad. casey wian reporting live this morning. another case of some kind of in-flight problem with a passenger. this time on a jetblue flight 677 from new york to l.a. the airline won't say what exactly happened that forced the pilot to divert to denver. they took the passenger into custody. charges are pending. the flight hen continued then c the west coast. a 76-year-old man has become the latest victim of the worst west nile outbreak in years. nearly 700 cases reported over

32 states. at least 26 people have now died. texas has been the state hardest hit. in dallas spraying continued overnight. mayor mike rawlings says they are making progress. >> last night we almost got a quarter of a million acres done. we have four planes up and we were able to cover all the areas we targeted. tonight we go back at it. we have a fifth plane and by that time we should have everybody done this time tomorrow morning twice. >> according to the cdc west nile infections occur from june to september and peak in august. let's talk about something amazing. you have to go to mars to get the latest from curiosity. the rover zapped a fist sized rock about 30 times with its onboard laser delivering more than a million watts of power. it is the first time a laser this powerful has been use d on

another planet. the curiosity's camera recorded the results and that will help nasa scientists identify chemical elements within the rock. that's awesome. giving it another shot, she's already attempted to swim from cuba to floor nr three times before and now diana nyad hopes this go around she will swim her way into history. [ male announcer ] let's say you need to take care of legal matters.

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17 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, in pakistan an 11-year-old christian girl is under arrest on blasphemy charges. the girl, who lives in islamabad, is accused of burning pages from the koran. the girl told them she didn't realize the paper she gathered to light a fire to cook contained text from the muslim holy book. local media reports say the girl has down's syndrome. in syria intense fighting rages on even as muslims mark the second day of a major holiday that marks the end of the holy month of ramadan. the opposition says at least 47 people were killed today including a mother and her two children. baseball hall of famer eddie

murray will pay morehan $350,000 to settle insider trading charges. investigators say murray benefited from an inside tip from a former teammate in 2009. murray pays back profits and interest but admits no wrongdoing. now this is a rare sight. for just the second time in some 130 years old iron side sailed under her own power. this is so cool. the "uss constitution" was commemorating the 200th anniversary of the victory over the british in the war of 1812. it doubles as a museum anchored in the boston harbor. see, she can sail just fine. of course the museum was hoping that attracts tourists to her in the future. if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. no one lives that cliche quite like diana nyad. ♪

yeah, you go, girl. the 62-year-old jumped in saturday in her fourth attempt to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. so far she's gone about 28 miles. here is the distance we're talking about from havana, cuba, to key west, is 103 miles, a trip expected to take nyad 60 hours and that is a long time in the water without a shark cage and jelly fish and all those other weird creatures of the sea. joining me now is cnn producer matt sloan. you have followed nyad's journey closely. you're in contact with her now, though i don't know how that's possible. >> i got off the phone with the boat. they are over 30 miles now so she's making more forward progress. i have to tell you she's doing a lot better, and i say that cautiously, than the last few times because jelly fish were an issue for her. you can see she has a jelly fish suit on now that protects everything but her face. exposure and getting blown off course were an issue but they seem to be doing well on course and, you know, the sharks are

always a concern but they haven't seen any sharks. >> you were saying before it's the little things that get her like the jelly fish bites and she also suffered an asthma attack the last time she was in the water. >> when you think about it, it's not like swimming in a pool for 103 miles. two and a half days in open ocean, anything can happen. it can be the weather, sun exposur exposure, dehydration, malnutrition, hypothermia which you wouldn't think of. it's the middle of august. it's 90 degrees. her body temperature is 98 so if you're submerged in liquid for three days your body temperature comes down, you can get delirious. she calls it never-never land. it's remarkable to see. i have a lot of confidence. i've learned in the last two, three years, don't try to predict anything that will happen with diana. so far so good. >> she has tried three times. this is her fourth. why is this so important to her? >> she tried it when she was 28 years old and she did it for her own reasons. there was actually sexual

molestation in her history and she was swimming out of anger. she set the world record in 1979 from the bahamas to florida and then stopped swimming for 30 years. and then she turned 60 and she started off this crisis and said, you know what, i'm going to swim from cuba it to florida because that's what most 60-year-olds do and decided this is a distance i never accomplished. she accomplished everything else she set her mind to and it stuck over the last 35 years. >> she is very much a baby boomer. you have to prove your mettle even when you're 60. >> and head strong doesn't even begin to describe diana. >> i hope she makes it this time and the jelly fish don't get her. that would hurt. thanks, matt. speaking of swimming and setting a record, get this, a 14-year-old canadian girl has completed the nearly 27-hour, 31-mile, solo swim across lake ontario. she has become the youngest person ever to make the -- it's a lot easier when you're 14. the teenager did her swim for charity hoping to raise $30,000 for a childhood cancer center.

so far she has raised close to $80,000. did you feel a little squeezed on the last flight? we'll tell you about a growing trend among airlines that's shrinking your leg room even more. [ male announcer ] aggressive styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. the 2012 c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. ♪ join mercedes-benz usa on facebook for the best summer sweepstakes. join mercedes-benz usa on facebook it's something you're born with. and inspires the things you choose to do. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people

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24 minutes past the hour. if you've ever complained about not having enough leg room while flying, get ready to complain more. the ever shrinking leg room on flights. >> reporter: hi, carol, a great way to say it here. i know we've all experienced it lately. two of america's most popular airlines, southwest and jetblue, have been moving the rows closer together and they're doing this for two reasons. first, it makes more available seats per flight which means there's more revenue for them and theoretically cheaper fares for passengers. they are doing it to make more premium seats available. jetblue announce pd in august they would be squeezing the rows closer together to create two morrows of even more room seats which have between 38 to 39 inches of leg room and compare

that to 33 for regular seats. the extra five it to six inches will cost you between $10 and $65. it's relatively inexpensively. carol, american and united charge $100. $100. >> that's insane, though. you know the sad fact is that people will pay it. they will pay it. that's why the airlines do it because people will pay it. >> people will pay it and we had, look, the outrage over let's say the checked bag fees, people pay that so they're holding their grounds and airlines are sticking to that as well. you're still flying, more people are flying. people are paying for the check bags and, you know what, total passengers is up in airlines compared to last year, carol, so there you go. >> the other thing you have to worry about, at some point as the seats get closer and closer together is safety. if there's an emergency and you have to get out of there fast, that would be a tough thing to do. >> reporter: absolutely. the faa also stepped in and said that's one thing they're looking at as well.

safety is did he haefinitely a concern. i still travel with my dog be and we need that extra space. >> cram him under the seat. maribel, thanks so much. have you ever heard after legitimate rape? was it a slip of the tongue or what he truly believes? how the outrageous comment has put him and the rommie/ryan team deep in controversy. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs g of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover.

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with alzheimer's, not a day goes by that you don't have them. questions about treatment where to go for extra help, how to live better with the disease. so many questions, where do you start? alzheimers.gov. the answers start here. it is 30 minutes past the hour. good morning to you. thank you for joining us. i'm carol costello. movie director tony scott committed suicide last night. he jumped from a bridge in los angeles. scott, best known for directing "top gun" left a suicide note

but police have not released it. he was just 68. about an hour from now two russian cosmonauts will take a long space walk at the international space station. they'll spend six and a half hours making repairs and a few upgrades on the orbiting lab. new shields to prevent damage from small meteoroid hits. c th cnn will carry this live. prince philip was suffering from the same problem that forced him to miss some of queen elizabeth's diamond jubilee back in june, a bladder infection. as he left the hospital, he thanked the staff personally. he's 91 years old. legitimate rape, a slip of the tongue, or does missouri congressman todd owe kin, who is running for are a senate seat, believe there's such a thing as illegitimate rape or that a woman's body in the midst of a violent attack can somehow throw up some sort of pregnancy shield? listen. >> it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare.

if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to tray to shut that whole thing down. but let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something, you know, i think there should be some punishment but the punishment ought to be on the rapist not attacking the child. >> congressman akin has apologized but the damage is done. his comments forced the mitt romney/paul ryan team to issue a statement. it reads like this. governor romney and congressman ryan disagree with mr. akin's statement. at the democrats are already tying akin's comments to paul ryan's views on abortion. the dnc chair tweeting, flashback, representative ed to akin legitimate rape claim like paul ryan's support for house resolution 3, redefine rape as only forcible rape. so let's talk about this and bring in will cain and l.z. grand granderson. welcome, gentlemen.

>> good morning. >> morning, carol. >> congressman akin had a chance to beat a democrat for the u.s. senate so, will, is he toast now? >> i'm sorry, was that for me, car carol? >> yes, it was, will. >> i'm sorry. can you repeat again? >> sure, he had a real chance to beat claire mccaskill and win a senate seat. is he toast now in light of these comments? >> oh, toast. toast. absolutely. absolutely. he's done. i can't imagine a scenario he beats claire mccaskill and what we'll see now is an attempt at damage control from this bleeding any further when we see tweets like from debbie wasserman schultz. the answer is clearly no. >> oh, i think l.z. might disagree with you. i say that because the speed at which the romney camp distanced itself was astounding. they did it like that because the gender gap is a real problem for the republicans and the democrats are using akin to

attack ryan. so, l.z., i ask you that question, do you think this has greater implications? >> carol, i have two words to any woman watching this program right now. that's wake up. this isn't just about one person. this isn't just about akin. this isn't a misspeak. this is an agenda, an idea, a theocracy that's embedded in the gop. this is not the first time we've heard something similar come from someone in congress representing the gop. in fact, right here in michigan, a democratic woman was banned, was not allowed to talk. she said the word vagina. she was censored. so this isn't about akin. this is the party and theocracy. women need to wake up. it is so much bigger than this. >> and, will, you can't deny that democrats will argue paul

ryan was in line with that, co-sponsored the bill with akin. >> this is exactly what i'm talking about, what l.z. just said and did. i am friends with l.z. and i'm disappointed in what i see as an irresponsible claim that you're trying to take what one man said that is completely indefensible and incapable of being understood what his legitimate rape, what is this mysterious process that women's bodies have had a suggests they could shut down pregnancy. these simply crazy claims and now extend that to a larger gop mindset that endecrease as theocracy that l.z. said, the height of absurd isty of the things i just heard and the perfe perfe perpetuation. >> are you kidding me? every single time there is a discussion about rape and the

gop, they talk about the role of religion being the main factor abortion should not be legalized in the country. they cite religion. they don't cite science. they cite religion. i'm not overreaching nor am i overstrehing this. this is consist is enter with that. and, oh, by the way, since is you're trying to stretch, what about forcibly raped? if you don't want to talk about the body shutting down, what about paul ryan and forcibly raped? it how do you explain that? >> let me bring some clarity to the conversation. >> there is clarity to the conversation. you're backpedaling. >> go ahead, will. >> i'm halfway into a sentence, l.z. i would appreciate if you would let me talk here. >> go ahead. >> they are opposed to rape in all circumstances, and some who are not in the case of rape and incest has nothing to do with defining what is legitimate rape and, debbie wasserman schultz's link between whatever todd akin meant -- i have no idea what he

meant -- and forcible rape is tenuous. there are other explanations. i don't know what he meant and i don't think there is a legitimate explanation. the concept of abortion is linked to rape or whether or not 0 one life begins and religious implications has nothing to do with someone saying women can shut down pregnancy. you are taking a legitimate debate about abortion and when life begins and when it should be legal and when it should not to one extremely crazy comment about medical processes and redefining what is and is not rape from one man in missouri. yeah, but, will, i will say then how do you explain paul ryan's acceptance or co-sponsorship of this bill that redefined rape as forcible rape? what did he mean by forcible rape? >> i don't know what he meant by that in that bill. >> well, we're going to try to ask -- because there is an event in new hampshire. mitt romney and paul ryan will be there. our jim acosta will be there.

i'm sure he will ask these questions and we'll see what the answer is and, l.z., will is right. we don't know what the answer is just yet. >> we know the answer. if we can look at the evidence that's been laid out over the last couple of years, in 2010 the tea party took over and they were supposedly working on budget and what we've seen has been nearly 100 different laws written into state constitution affecting abortion. this isn't a one off. this isn't about akin. this is about theocracy. it's not absurd as will would like to say it is. it's consistent with what they would like to see happen. >> thanks so much for a spirited conversation on a tough topic. >> thank you. wikileaks founder julian assange is a prisoner in a guilded cage safely tucked inside a foreign embassy but unable to step one foot outside. yet he was still free enough to take some shots at the united states. [ male announcer ] while many automakers are just beginning

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the anger building over wikileaks founder julian assange, made his first public appearance yesterday after spending the last couple of months inside ecuador's embassy in london. british police amassed outside the embassy blocking his travel to the south american country which has offered him asylum. he says he's being persecuted for being a whistleblower and, guess what, he called out the united states. >> as wikileaks stands on the thresh so does freedom of expression and the help of all our society. we must use this moment to articulate the choice that is before the governments of the united states of america. i ask president obama to do the right thing. the united states must renounce its witch-hunt against which n

wikileaks. >> at least for now if assange wants to make his way to ecuador he'll have to resort to cloak and dagger exploits to avoid arrest. he faces extradition to sweden where he faces allegations of sexual assault. cnn's brian todd looks at some of the ways assange could plot an escape. >> reporter: he's reported to be tense and going a bit stir crazy. wikileaks found er julian assane holed up inside the ecuadorian embassy in london. he's been there for about two months. now that ecuador has granted him asylum and britain has refused to honor it, a classic standoff is under way. if assange takes one step outside the embassy -- >> my understanding is the british will arrest him and extradite him to sweden. >> reporter: that's where assange is wanted for questioning over sexual assault claims. with the fugitive inside in what's at the moment considered ecuadorian territory and with british police outside ready to pounce, scenarios are being debated over a possible assange escape. is this an option, getting

smuggled out in the trunk of a diplomatic car? a former british diplomat says the car would be be considered ecuad ecuador an domain. there's a hitch in that plan. the hitch, apparently there's no garage available to the embassy. we're told there's only one entrance to the embassy, right here and obviously that's not an option. the building is completely surrounded by british police. they're in the streets, the alleys, the side streets. if anyone was going to take assange from the building to a waiting car, the police would get him. the police are reportedly monitoring the communal areas of building, the hallways and the elevators reventing him from taking an elevator up to the roof where a helicopter could pick him up. police can monitor the hallways and elevators because the embassy only occupies one floor, the first floor, and not even all of that. it's here right where this window is and assange can barely step into a hallway without risking be a rehennings. if he did somehow get to a car,

there are airports, large and small in every direction. but experts say once he got to one of those he could easily be captured. he could be smuggled 0 out in a crate or a large bag if it's labelled a diplomatic parcel the british police can't open it. but -- >> i think they could delay it, they could hold it, they could keep it in a very cold or very hot place or something like that. >> reporter: but former british ambassador oliver miles doesn't see that happening. one thing that could happen, he says, assange could simply take refuge inside the embassy indefinitely. it's happened before. in 1956 when the sovt union invaded hungary, a top catholic official there, took refuge inside the american embassy in budapest. he was granted asylum and lived inside the embassy for 15 years. brian todd, cnn, washington. wow. you may be living in one of the best cities in america and not even know it. "money" magazine ranked the top 100.

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48 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, a reunion of sorts for the republican presidential ticket. this morning mitt romney and paul ryan are campaigning together in new hampshire after stumping separately there. the men are expected to discuss

plans to reform medicare. 26 people now confirmed dead from the west nile virus. health officials say the mosquito borne illness is in at least 32 states, this is the nation's worst outbreak in at least eight years. the war between apple and google got serious, but google is on the offensive suing apple, accuse i accusing it of ripping off patents. google was vague about which ones but says they involve apple's signature products iphone, ipad and i-touch. there's the noise. furious anti-japanese protests have erupted after a group of japanese landed on an island that both countries claim. protesters overturned japanese cars and burned flags. china accuses japan of undermining its territorial sovereignty. the island has been in dispute for decades. y.

whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone.

100 cities across 35 states make up the best 100 places to live in america, at least according to "money" magazine. here's your top five. "money" rangeses they cities on the quality of life, job growth, income and affordable housing. senior writer for "money" donna rho sata joins us for a preview. hi, donna i want how a you, carol? >> there is a lot of nice cities across american. >> that's right. we look at a lot of criteria that you mentioned, but one of e things we do is sent a team of reporters out to each of these places to find out why they're a great place to live. the number fifth one is mckinney -- i'm sorry, redmond, washington, which a lot of

people know as the home to microsoft. there's a lot more to it. it's close to seattle, the cascade mountains and the recreational opportunities, but people who live in redmond say they don't have to leave town to have a good time. they really enjoy it. >> isn't it expensive? >> redmond is relatively expensive. the most affordable places are in the midwest and the south, and compared to the west coast, it's relative reasonable. boston has done really well during the recession. the unemployment rate in the area and in newton is half the national average, but the real story in newton is education. the town is built around 13 villages. each of them are built around the elementary schools there,

and newton takes advantage of the higher education institutions close by. they partner with m.i.t. and boston college, for example, to develop science and technology curriculum for their public schools. so three on the list is eden prairie, minnesota, which was number one in 2010, number two was mckinney texas, and carmel, indiana, probably a town not much of us have heard of? >> five years ago it was a sleepy suburb of indianapolis, but it's transformed itself as a great place to work and play. it has a good diversion group of industries in the city. they have low taxes, whiches attracted a good xhempl base and they have the highest concentration of office workers in the state except for indianapolis. where you see a lot of attraction here, what makes it a great place is they have built a design center, a in arts and

performing center as well as a new water park. so it attracts a lot of people. they say they love living there. >> and probably a great sports town, too, especially spoke basketball. >> can anyone explain what a hoosier is? i've been trying to figure that out for years. >> i don't know the answer to that one. >> i asked our friends in indiana to facebook us. thanks, donna. appreciate it. do you have any idea what your 401(k) is costing you in fees? in the next room, why employers must now explain those fees. [ male announcer ] let's say you need to take care of legal matters. wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less-expensive option than using a traditional lawyer? well, legalzoom came up with a better way. we took the best of the old and combined it with modern technology. together you get quality services on your terms, with total customer support. legalzoom documents have been accepted in all 50 states, and they're backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

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time to check on sports. in the immortal words of yogi berra, it ain't over til it's

over. that must have been how jim jill johnson felt. his car blew the engine, allowing greg biffl to take the flag an the points lead away from jimmie johnson. more details on mel can cabrera's his associate set up a fake website. apparently the idea was to plame the fabricated product for cabrera's elevated testosterone levels. it didn't work, though. the scam was found out. if you're a savvy fan, when adam dunn's 400th career homer comes sailing over your head, what do you do, you do get it, right? you also get arrested. that's what happened to the royals fan who the devel into the stadium. the royals have a policy against enter the fountain. the fan was also forced to give up the ball.

it's a look at sports. the next hour of "newsroom" starts right now. at any moment we'll hear from mitt romney with his ngman by his side. paul ryan will join him for the first joint appearance in a week. they'll team up on the thorny issue of medicare reforms. your sxloirs has some explaining to do when it comes to the fees as part of your 401(k) program. the employment department is required your employer to explain. a group of attorneys are turning their focus to their next target, teaming up to hold the food industry accountable for what they say are deceptive levels that could be harming your health. also this hour, two russian cosmo knots are embarking on a space walk outside the

international space station, setting aside 6 1/2 urs to installed new debris shields and perform routine maintenance. good morning. thank you so much for joining me. i'm carol costello. top gun and tom cruise leaps to mind, but the man behind the camera, tony scott, has committed suicide. he was 68, and brother of the fellow director ridley scott. >> what you should have done is land your plane. >> "top gun" was scott's biggest success, but his death leaves behend a real hollywood mystery. casey wian is live in los angeles. we know a note was left behind. do we know what it said?

>> we don't. the coroner's office is telling cnn that the death is become investigated as a likely suicide. the lapd received a the 911 call from a passerby from the bridge, about 18 stories above the water, where his body was recovered by los angeles port police later in the afternoon. the coroner has declined to comment on reports that a suicide note was found in scott's office. tony scott is best known for directing the 1986 film "top gun" which made a huge star out of tom cruise, a movie about a hotshot young fighter pilot became the biggest hit of that year. scott was at work on a remake of the film at the time of his death. you can see a list of also some tony scott's most popular movie, including the second film, "days

of thunder," and "enemy of the state" another major box office hit. he worked repeatedly with denzel washington. his brother, ridley scott, they formed scot-free productions, which is responsibility for "the good wife." he is survived by his wife and twin sons. >> have we heard anything from the scott family. >> the family has issued a short statement confirming his death and they of course are asking for privacy at this time. that's all we have heard. >> casey wian, live in los angeles. this morning mitt romney and paul ryan are reuniting in new hampshire. their plans to focus on medicare may take a hit.

todd akin, hoping to win a big missouri senate seat was asked about his staunch opposition to abortion. here's his answer. >> what about in the case of rape? should it be legal or not? >> well, you know, people always want to make that as one of those things, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. first of all, from what i understand, it's really rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that thing down. i think there should be punishment, but it should be on the rapist and not attacking the child. national political correspondent jim acosta is in new hampshire with the rho many in i team. the democrats have already bounced, linking ryan to akin. is the campaign responding?

>> reporter: not only the campaign, but also so are many republicans in the house and the senate, putting out statements basically condemning what todd akin had to say in that tv interview. kelley ayotte is just getting on stage right now. the romney campaign did put out a statement last night, carol, it reads governor romney and congressman ryan disagree with mr. akin ace statement and a romney/ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape. that is not paul ryan's position when he comes to abortion. at the opposes abortion in instances of rape, but because he's on the tickets, his concerns, his opinions are second to the gop nominee or unofficial gop nominee, and that is the statement from the campaign. now, mitt romney and paul ryan will be out here in a few moments. i had a chance to talk just briefly with a senior romney

adviser earlier this morning. it was thought these two would not reuneed before the convince, but this adviser says because of the chemistry they feel these two share and the energy levels and the crowds they have been seeing since think joined forces, they wanted to get them back together on the campaign trail. that's why they are out here today, carol. >> going back to the controversial comment made by congressman akin, that the romney camp responded so quickly, and i mean in an instant, what does that say? does that say they're really worried? i know there's quite a gender gap in place. >> reporter: well, it is a big concern for the romney campaign at multiple levels. obviously there's a gender gap. they know the president enjoys a pretty wide margin of support when it comes to women voters and comments like this are not going to help. yes, it is it is statement made by a republican congressman

running for a senate race in missouri. some may ask what does that have to do with romney and ryan? but it does raise the distinction that is there between paul ryan's views on abortion and mitt romney's views action and to the extent those differences are magnified by this controversy, it's not good for the romney campaign. also, we should know scott brown, who is running for the senate, once against for reelection down in the neighboring state of massachusetts, he put out a very tough tweet just moments ago, sharnly criticizing what todd akin had to say. all of this is sort of a drama that will be unfor thing over the next 24 hours. todd akin has until late tomorrow to pull out of the that rate and give the gop a chance to field another candidate, so this is going to be sort of almost a political deathwatch to see whether or not he jumps out of that race. >> i already know some conservative republicans in missouri have tweeted, you know,

it's time to get out of the race, sorry, but as far as we know, he's staying in, as you said, we'll see in the next 24 hours. jim, thanks. scandal, and the holy sea of galilee. there was a late night swim that involved drinking and skinn dipping. the report says congressman kevin yoder of kansas dipped into the sea without a stitch on. he was nude. this happened during a fast-finding congressional trip to israel. he wasn't the only american, though the others were at least partially othed. also steve sutherland in florida and his daughter. tom reed from new york, ben quayle from arizona, jeff denham of california, and michael grimm of new york. earlier i asked why the fbi was

looking into this incident? >> they were asking folks whether anything inappropriate happened in the water. obviously when a member of congress, mr. yoder of kansas, is nude in a foreign body of water, that would raise some eyebrow in some quarters, one would think. it's not a terribly usual thing to hear about that an elected officials, especially in israel, a holy site to many religions, would jump into the water naked. >> the sea of galilee is an important religious site for christians, it's the place where the bible says jesus walked on water and fed 5,000 people. the democratic national convince gets under way two weeks from today. we have some of the new names added. the party faithful will hear from rahm emanuel. he served as president obama's chief of staff for the first two years, also u.s. senator john kerry. he was the democrats' president

atnominee eight years ago. the democrats are hoping to give a booth for former governor tim kaine. he is now running for u.s. senate. a 76-year-old man in suburban chicago has become the latest victim of the nation's worst west nile outbreak in eight years. nearly 700 cases have been reported in at least 22 states. texas has been the state hardest hit. cnn's ed lavandera is covering this story. they sprayed again in dallas, right? >> dallas has been described as the epicenter of this entire outbreak. we have seen ten people killed because of this west nile virus. that has led city officials to take on very drastic measures. they have carried out an aerial spraying assaults to kill off millions of mosquitos infected here in the dallas county area.

there have been four planes that went up last night. the mayor says a fifth plane will be going up and they have covered the area twice here by this time tomorrow. all of that has been going on, carol. it's been a controversial move, some people questioning the effectiveness of it, the timing of it, whether or not it will do any good at this point, since so many people have been ineffected, but the mayor of dallas is standing behind the plan to continue the aerial spraying, saying this county desperately needs it to fight this epidemic. >> we listened to the epa, a very conservative organization. the cdc says it's the right way to go. we have got to make sure we get every crack and crevice, so we can't just go in every neighborhood to do a hand to hand combat. i think this is the most

efficient process. >> reporter: the weather has been dicey the last few days, some people have bed with the rains that have happened, if that's washed away invite spraying that's been done. some people are saying these chemicals are quickly absorbed by the plants and everything on the ground. there's a round of testing throughout thday to test how effective this halve the mayor hinted that the results are coming back looking positive. carol? >> ed lavandera, reporting live for us this morning. deceptive food labels are being called out by the same group of attorney that took on big tobacco. now cussed on big names. read it tweet it be surprised be productive. make a sale make some lunch

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(train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. it is:16 past the hour. in pakistan, an 11-year-old christian girl under arrest on blasphemy charges. she lives in islamabad and is accused of burning pages from the koran. people saying she told them the

paper she gathered didn't know were pages from the holy book. the opposition says at least 47 people were killed today, including a mother and two children. baseball hall of famer eddie murray will pay more than $350,000 to settle insider trading charges. investigators say murray benefited from an inside tip from a former teammate in 2009. under the settlement he pays back profits and interests, but admit no wrongdoing. this is a rare side. for the second time in some 130 years, "old ironsides" sailed under her own power, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the victory over a britibrigate.

she went out for a swim, awesome. a new group of lawyers have a new mission. the tobacco suits turned out to be a big payday for some of those lawyers, but also exposed chemicals harmful or even deadly for tobacco users. the same guys and girl are making sure the food you put in your body is the same food they label on packaging. a recent laws against chobani, it claims they have department i've valuing they're accused of renaming ingredients. you know the grill. cnn contributor paul callyn joins me now. >> nice to be with us. i hope you had your bowl of froot loops to get ready. they have been sued, too. >> pam cooking spray, pepsico products, right?

>> you name it. >> you're pretty cynical about this, paul. why? >> i am cynical. well, first of all these class-action lawsuits, a lot of people think they exist for the purpose of raising money for lawyers, because the lawyers collect enormous fees in these cases, but there is a social purpose for a class-action lawsuit. the idea is that you go out and buy your box of frt loops, and maybe pay extra, because you believe it's all natural, one lawsuit said people were buying froot loops, because there was real fruit in it, but that was thrown out of the court. maybe upairing because it's all natural, and you cat bring a lawsuit yourself to get redress, but if they team you up with thousands or millions of other consumers with the same problem, the court will look at that. in the end maybe you get a half box of cereal as a consumer, but the lawyers get millions in

feces. >> john grisham wrote a book about that, called "the litigator." even though these lawyers makes gobs and gobs of money, there is some good that come out of it. >> well, absolutely. that's the flip side. i think that's why the courts recognize the need for class-action lawsuits. you know, the tobacco litigation, classic example, they struggled for years, these lawyers, to bring these suits and convince the courts it was legitimate for somebody to sue, even though they're voluntary smoking the cigarette. in the end, what happened, of course, lawyers made a lot of money, but we see very aggressive educational programs and hopefully fewer people are smoking cigarettes and having their health affected by it. so there is a good side to it as

well. >> so let's say these class-action lawsuits are successful and the case against pam cooking spray, which apparently has been some sort of accelerant that's not really listed on the back of the can, right? >> yes. yes. let's say that suit is successful. does that mean the price of pam will go up? what's the gold here? implgts i found the chobani lawsuit interesting. they have kane evaporated sure area kane. these agencies have said sugar is sugar, so you shouldn't be suggesting that cane evaporated sugar is better than other kinds of sugar. if they are forced to change

their labeling or they get hit by a big verdict, the price of the product is going to go up. >> but doesn't it make you wonder when it comes down to it why our government isn't requiring chobani to say sugar instead of that other thing? >> well, i think that it's very, very tough for the fda to regulate in this area. i'll give you another example. the fda has an informal policy on the use of "natural." haagen-dazs got sued for saying it was a natural ice cream, because they use some kind of preservative i think in the ice cream. the fda came out with this definition that "natural" means that nothing synthetic or artificial goes into the food, but there are a lot of things we use to preserve food that we accept in everyday life that maybe people would consider to be natural. so it's hard to define these terms. so the government just sort of

formally regulates it and then leaves it to the lawyers to bring lawsuits when these things are violated. and that's what's happening now. paul callan, thanks so much. mitt romney, paul ryan in new hampshire. after a break, we'll take you back there to see if they're talking yet. you've been busy for a dead man. after you jumped ship in bangkok, i thought i'd lost you. surfing is my life now. but who's going to .... tell the world that priceline has even faster, easier ways to save you money. . . on hotels, flights & cars? you still have it. i'll always have it. so this is it? we'll see where the waves take me. sayonara, brah! with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on...

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mitt romney and paul ryan expected to be behind the podium shortly to talk to all these supporters. they're expected to talk about medicare, but we suspect their conversation might widen to include abortion rights. paul steinhau hauser is in washington. >> that's something they appropriate didn't talk about, they wanted to talk about medicare and the economy. they will a new well fair ad. carol, that's what the romney/ryan campaign wants to talk about, but of course congressman akin, the candidate in missouri changed all that, and, you know, it's something

that the romney and ryan campaign will have to deal with. there's beautiful colleges st. anselm college, do you remember the debate back in june of 2011, this is where we had it. this is a stop for most presidential candidates both in the primaries and general election, carol. >> when they get up and speak, they probably will talk about medicare and stuff like welfare, right? >> yes, you will hear that theme. medicare has become a huge topic on the campaign trail in the last nine dates since romney publicly announced ryan as his running mate, mostly because of ryan's budget plan which has the controversy cal steps to alter medicare. medicare has blossomed grown to

be an issue. i'm covering a ryan event in florida, and of course there are a lot of seniors down there. both sides say, you know what? needs plan will affect anybody over 55, carol. >> but are people generally receptive of medicare reform? >> a lot of people are very upset about medicare reform, because people over 55, of course either those on medicare or those about to join the system, want to make sure they continue to have their medicare throughout their retirement years. so there is a lot of -- a lot of -- both campaigns, carol, this is why both campaigns are really emphasizing this. both sides see an advantage here. the romney campaign says president obama is taking that medicare money and putting it to the national health care law. so both sides see an advantage here and there's a lot of

seniors in crucial battleground ground states. we're going to search for jim acosta. when we find him, we'll come back. stick around. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper. that's why i got a subaru. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

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a little less imperfect. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? it is about awful buy today manchester, new hampshire. that's st. anslem college, all those people awaiting mitt romney and paul ryan to speak to the crowd. they want to hear about medicare reform and how president obama eventually wants to gut -- and yes, we did find jim acosta. hi, jim. the crowd seems pretty excited. >> reporter: yeah, they revving up the music here. i can barely hear what you are say. paulyan and mitt romney will

be out here shortly. just a few moments ago they were playing a video on these big screens behind me, playing some of the paul ryan's comments with impatriotic imaging. it looked almost like a preview of what we would see at the convention. as you've been talking about all morning, the morning has come with some distraction, most notably the comments made by todd akin, who is running for the senate seat, his comments about abortion have really ignited a firestorm, but mitt romney just made comments to "the national review" online this morning, and they're now up across social media. he called the comments inexcusable and frankly wrong. so i think this is some evidence, carol, that the first comment, the first statement that the campaign put out, they may have felt was not

sufficient, they wanted to put out a more forceful statement, and that's what they did earlier. >> i want to play congressman akin's comments in case our viewer haven't heard them yet. >> what about in the case of rape? should it be legal or not? >> people want to make that one of those things, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question? it seems to me first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down, but let's assume maybe that didn't work or something. i there should be pun smmtishment, but punishment on the rapist, not the collide. -- child. paul ryan co-sponsored a

health resolution with congressman akin, in that resolution was the term "forcible rape." that caused controversy, that term was later taken out. democrats are sure to bring that up. >> reporter: they have been bringing it up. debbie wasserman schultz had a strong statement last night ties romney to ryan. the two men are different when it comes to aboorgs. paul ryan believes the only exception should be when a mother's life is endangered. you saw the romney statement there that was put out last night by the campaign, which does allow for that exemption. i spoke to some ryan/romney campaign officials and they said it's the number one on the ticket, not the number two, but you'll see democrats continue to attack. and you'll see people distancing themselves from akin. but what's the politicians here?

you look at almost any poll and president obama has an advantage among women voters, and that is a problem for romney and the republicans. >> and jim -- paul, maybe u can help me with this. mid romney's views on abortion have evolved, so that might make it different for women to determine exactly where mitt romney stands on this issue. >> that was a problem for mitt romney in the primary, his opponents during the primies attacking say he flip flopped on these issues, but it will be interesting to see what some social conservative groups say about this. again all this is happening. carol? >> okay. we found jim again. jim acosta, can you hear me? or is the crowd too loud?

reporter: i think you're talking to me right now. can you confirm that to me? >> yes, i am talking to you. >> reporter: it is so loud here. this may be one of the loudest. they want the energy going here. i talked to a senior romney adviser earlier who said they like this chemistry that exists between mitt romney and paul ryan. it wasn't really in the cards for these two guys to be out on the campaign trail, at least that's what the campaign told us a week ago, but they felt that looking at the crowds that they got together when they were out campaigning together in virginia, north carolina, that they wanted to do this again. that's why they're out here in new hampshire. something very interesting just happened on they jumbo screens. can't show it to you now, but they were playing what sounded like an extended speech from

mitt romney, and over that, they laid over imaging of patriotic imaging, images of mitt romney on the campaign trail. it felt very much a sneak preview of the convention. we'll talk to the campaign about that, but it looked lying something they would be pumping out on the jumbo tron in tampa a week from now. you can tell the campaign is getting its game face on, getting into battle mode with one week to go before the convince. this todd akin controversy/distraction, set that aside for a moment. the campaign is definitely getting things revved up. we're going to take a break. we'll be right back. adjusts your speed when approaching slower traffic. and for the blind spot monitoring that helps remind you that the highway might not be as desolate...

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visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. nothincomplicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping's easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that's not complicated. no. come on. how about... a handshake. alright. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15. only from the postal service. . you're looking at a big campaign rally where mitt romney and paul ryan will appear together on stage to address the crowd. of course, the big distraction for them, congressman todd akin from missouri, and hi comments on abortion, and whether

abortion rights should be put into play if a woman is raped. this is what congressman akin told a local report yesterday. what about in the case of rape? should it be legal or not? >> people always want to try to make one of those things how do you slice this particularly toughe kale -- if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down, but let's assume maybe that didn't work or something. i think there should be punishment, but that should be in the rapist, and not attacking the child. congressman akin is in a tight senate race with democrat clair mccaskill, just a bit ahead of her percentagewise, but she is firing back today, as you might expect. here is what she had to say on msnbc. >> i don't probably need to explain how wrong his statement

was. and, by the way, he may be acting like he's backtracking, but he didn't say he was wrong. all he said is he's now acknowledging that someone can become pregnant when raped. he said it was rare and that there was something in the women's body that could shut down a pregnancy. if it was a legitimate rape, he hasn't said that's a wrong statement. he hasn't apologized for that statement. okay. let's head to washington and check in with paul steinhauser. tell us why this senate race in missouri is so important for republicans. >> this is one of the crucial races, one of the seats they think they can win back. currently the democrats cross the senate. they are defending 23 of the 33 seats up for grabs. you can see mitt romney arrives at the event there. . as i wait, they really think think can win back missouri.

there was a primary there, and akin won, but he is the candidate democrats think they can beat in november. they're probably even happier that he's surrounded by this controversy. and stay tuned to see -- let's head back to jim acosta in manchester. as you said, paul, mitt romney and paul ryan have entered the stage. >> reporter: i think i can see them in there somewhere. you have to forgive me, it's different to see through the crowd, but they are heading up on the stage. we saw their motorcade pull up. this is where the campaign said they intended to hold this launch for the romney/ryan ticket, but because of various factors, they decided to go with that virginia launch on saturday morning. so i think this is sort of where

mitt romney feels at home here in new hampshire, a state he definitely wants to win. he knows he's not going to win massachusetts. new hampshire is more of a toss-up state. ryan is a fiscal hawk, and of course the live free or die state here, so that will play well here in new hampshire. we've been talking about that controversy all morning. talking to folks, talking to various republicans, talking to people in the crowd, nobody's rely talking about that controversy. so there is probably going to be push-back i think by some of the republicans party that th is beinging a media fascination story. no do you what congressman akin said was arguably probably one of the worst things you could see. obviously very distracting to the romney campaign.

we're not hearing that out here today. we'll toss it back to you. >> let's listen to mitt romney as he speaks from the middle of the crowd. >> i brought someone with me who i don't think you've met in new hampshire. this will be the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. hey, everybody. great to be back at st. a's. good to see you. wow. look at this. father, how are you? good to see you. the great things about a row of priests, you can sea father, how are you? and they all say hi back. i was here with the sununus a couple years ago, and i serve in congress with very capable, conscientious legislator. thank you for sending paul

gintas to congress. what about charlie bass? that is a man who knows fiscal responsibility, who has fought with us, and your rock star, senator kelly ayotte. you are the best. great to see you, kelly. you know, it's nice to see some family. my cousin francie lives in portsmouth. my cousin mary lives in boston, so it's great to see family here today. friends, we've got a big decision to make. this is no ordinary time. it's no ordinary election. and the choice is basically this. we can stay on the same path we are on -- a nation in dead, a nails -- debt, a nation in dlan, or we can elect real leaders like mitt romney and get this country

back on track. the problem we've been having in washington is that too many politicians like president ob a obama -- just wait, i'm about to make a point -- too many politicians like president obama have been more worried about their next election than they've been worrying about the next generation. that's not leadership. that's politicians. that's politics. we won't do that. we will lead. we want to earn your support. we want to deserve this victory, so that we do this, we have the moral authority and the mandate to fix this country's problems torque reacquaint ourselves with the american idea and get people back to work.

now, let's be very clear and fair. the president inherited the difficult situation, no two ways about that. the problem is he made things worse. that's why the president has run out of ideas. and so his campaign has now been relegated to waging a campaign based on frustration and anger. dividing people, distracting people, to try and win an election by default. of all times, when we need leadership, it is now. it is such an amazing moment in history, because i have rarely seen a moment where the man and the moment meets so well like mitt romney does at this moment in our history. when you think of the challenges we confront, you need a leader.

when you look at this man and his life, the example, it spells leadership. remember the olympics back in the late '90s? all those stories at salt lake about the wasteful spending and the corruption? it sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? who did they call? they called this man, mitt romney. he went to salt lake, dropped what he was doing, saved the olympics, and he made our country proud. look at what he's done in business. for me, i think it's a good thing that we have a leader who actually knows how to create jobs. his success in business is the american dream. it's the american success story, the thing we want to see happen

to our own children. he took small businesses and grew them. he took struggling businesses and turned them around. in 80% success rate. that's astounding. i am proud to stand next to a man who created jobs tens of thousands of which made more prosperity and i'm proud to stand with a man who from experience knows that if you have a small business, you did build that. that's what drives our economy, that's what gives us prosperity. we should be proud of that. it's who we are. we see people take ricks. achie

achieve, it's as if those are the things we want to see. take a look at the remember when the president said, when we came into office he would create jobs. that's unacctable? now, look at the record of this

man, the credit rating was upgraded when he was governor of massachusetts. the credit rating was downgraded understand president obama's failed leadership as president. unemployment went down in massachusetts. household income, family income has dropped by more than $4,000 under the failed leadership. when this man was governor of massachusetts family income went up by more than $5,000. real results with real leadership. well automatic come from states where you have to work with the other party to get things down. >> we're going to put aside childish things.

i have never seen such bitter rhetoric like the kind we have today. he got things done and balanced the budget without raising taxes. now, we've had heard a bit about medicare lately from the president. we want this debate. we are going to win this debate about medicare. >> when i think about medicare, it's not just a program with numbers and words, it's perch security that has been there for my family when we need it.

i have my mom betty with me on saturday. when my grandma moved in with my mom and me when she was suffering from alzheimer's. medicare was there for her. it's there for my mom when she needs it now, and what president obama will tell you, his signature achievement raised $716 billion from medicare to pay for obama care. he pull under the circumstances this new board, which are which clearly lead to denied care for current seniors.

is it an achievement? i don't think so, either. next time you get your paycheck, look at the line about payroll taxes. we pay our payroll for two programs -- social security and medicare. that's the way it's supposed to work. but now because of president obama, it's being siphoned off to fund obama care. that's not an achievement. that's a raid on medicare. we're going to stop that, we're going to restore this program and get the bureaucrats out of the way for standing between our senior citizens and their medicare president medicare should be a guaranty tide promise, and in order to safe

this program. for those already retired and those about to retire, you have to reform it for my generation. by the way, it won't be there for us when we retired. the good news is there are bipartisan solutions to this problem. the it has bipartisan support. for younger american, when they become medicare eligible, let them have a choice, including traditional medicare, that they can select from. just like i do as a member of congress, just like kelly and charlie and all the rest of us, we choose. i think the future is to let 50 million seniors decide how they get their health care. that's the american way, so we can guarantee the promise of medicare for today's seniors.

i won't go into all the things we're proposing to do to give jobs back, because i wanted to leave something for mitt to talk about. the point is we're offer solutions. the president has a failed record. he clearly can't talk talk. he tacks far to the left but we have to talk about our it's aimed at doing just that. . it really comes down to this. are we going to stick with the path we are on? my dad said a lot of things that really stuck with me since i was a kid. he wld always say, son, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.

he was usually saying that to me when i was part of the problem. right, francie? today sadly -- it's just that clear. that's what it is. ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get this back. we're going to turn this economy around. we're going to be truthful to our founding principles. we will not blame others, we will notick the can down the road.