ted rowlands, cnn, los angeles. the new gm emerges. next hour, we dig deeper into what's ahead for the automaker. for now, i'm heidi collins and "cnn newsroom" continues right now with tony harris. it is friday, july 10th, beatles day 2009 in liverpool, england. here is the story. driving the headlines today in the cnn newsroom, ceo rich henderson aunveiled the new gm the debts are gone but what about the doubts? michael jackson. new allegations that the superstar was taking a mind boggling number of pills for sleep. a cnn's hero nominee. she is tackling childhood obesity, one pound at a time. good morning, everyone, i'm tony harris and you're in the "cnn newsroom."

the new gm driving forward with the commitment to customers, cars and culture. that message a short time ago from ceo fritz henderson as his company exits bankruptcy. >> at the new gm, we need to make the customer the center of everything and we'll be obsessed with this because if we don't get this right, nothing else is going to work. it's that simple. with the quality gap, substantially eliminated, one of the new frontiers in the auto industry, we think, is going to be customer service. true customer service which makes it that much more important that we make the customer the center of oour universe. we're committed to hearing our customers and responding to market trend and powering the people of general motors who are closest to the customer to make decisions and seek opportunities every day for direct communication between our customers and employees at every level, starting with me. >> all right, joining me to

examine the new gm, cnn's stephanie elam live at the new york stock exchange. good to see you. automotive analyst, we have to turn your microphone up a little bit, laura with us from buffalo. and let's start with you, stephanie, if you would, break down the nuts and bolts of what we heard from fritz henderson this morning. >> sure, tony. let's start with the basics. gm has exited bankruptcy protection and this comes after a speedy six-week journfry the automaker through that process. it is now leaner and virtually debt free and it's about 61% owned by the government. as we heard fritz henderson saying the company has three priorities now. customers, cars and culture. really focusing on making the customer the center of the brand and also making cars that people want and growing a culture that people want to be a brand of. chevy, cadillac, buic and gmc and 4,100 of its 3,600

dealerships will stale and mr. henderson saying there is a lot of talk of working with remaining dealers to improve customer service, but more job losses ahead. gm is closing 16 u.s. plants. that means the company will ax more jobs in the u.s. that's really a big ax that they're making there, tony. >> how will the new gm, lauren, i'll ask you this in a second, as well. how will the new gm differ, stephanie, from the old one? >> it will be about the customer here. doesn't matter if you make a great product if no one wants to buy it. you have to get people in there and go ahead and change that perception that many people have that american cars are not built as well as other cars in the world. that's one thing they're working on there. henderson saying they're going to launch a tell fritz website that he will respond to every day and he plans to hit the road

next month to listen to customers' questions and concerns and global operations that he will be doing this for and also about going back to what gm is great at and what he called exciting customers. overseas sales, for example, if you look at china. very strong there and they're saying they want to bring that back to the u.s. and, also, selling cars on ebay they're trying that out in california. no word yet if there will be free shipping involved. >> you know what, just stop it. stephanie, appreciate it. thank you. let's bring in lauren and neal is joining us. wall street journal bureau chief. good to see you and talk to you. fritz henderson announcing that gm is emerging from banks raeps. we get that. let me start with you, neal, did you hear anything in the plan that you believe will lead the new gm to profitability? >> well, no. at this level where the market is now, we're selling at a rate

of about 10 million cars a year, really nobody in the united states is making money. so, no, that is not going to do it. what gm needs to make money, for the economy to come back and for the auto market to get from 10 million up to closer to 12, 13 and maybe even above $13 million to make money. henderson is talking about a cultural change and that is a very, very important move for the company. >> what's his argument? what's that cultural change that he was talking about this morning? >> well, you know, if you go back to the '50s and '60s, gm was a really hot company. they were the largest company in the world. at one time were the most profitable and people looked at gm the way people look at toyota or microsoft or google today and they were risk takers. remember, this is the company that invented tail fins and came up with the v-8 and took a lot of chances. henderson wants to get back to that and in the last ten years gm became a very conservative, very risk adverse company and he wants them to be more daring in

the way they run the company. >> lauren, weigh in here. what did you hear this morning anything encouraging from fritz henderson and how soon, did he articulate a plan to you that will lead the company back to profitability? >> i think it will be a big challenge. you're looking at $48 billion in debt, which they claim they want to pay back in the next few years. that's a lot of money. they're talking about ten new models to come out in the u.s. and 17 additional will be worldwide. so, some additional product. i'm curious if the product is going to be and i'm concerned about the government being involved even though they claim they're not going to be involved. they are saying green cars and better fuel economy, but the cost of gas continues to drop and jobs being cut. another 4,000 jobs, salary jobs cut at general motors. you start adding that up and that gets to be a lot. these are things that consumers won't buy cars if they don't have money and then even with the cash for clunkers, it's still not going to help

consumers necessarily buy gm cars. >> i want to get to cash for clunkers. lauren, let me start with you and neal i'll come to you with the same question. fritz henderson, is he the man for the new gm? look, my understanding is he is a career gm executive with virtually the identical career path and trajectory as rick wagoner who's gone now, the right guy for the new gm? >> that's an interesting question, you have to have somebody involved with automotive and any company that brings in a bunch of outsiders and that includes mr. whittaker who is coming in, very smart man. if you don't know the auto industry, very hard to operate in the auto industry and this is traditionally happened. i can think of three or four companies where they brought in outsiders and they've cleaned house, and cleaned out everyone and brought in their little

people and staff and it hasn't worked. you need someone who with automobile experience to say this is what we've done in the past and it hasn't worked and he's the man. >> i want to remind folks of what they're seeing in the lower right-hand portion of the screen. this is president obama meeting with pope benedict xvi. the president wraps up his visit to rome to italy for the g-8 summit and then makes his way to ghana. neal, to you now, is fritz henderson the man to run the new gm? >> i think it's important to note while he is a gm lifer, he is a very different person than rick wagoner who is the ceo who led gm to this point and the big key is the board. the board is being reconstituted. ed whittaker former at&t executive is now the chairman and several other board members appointed by the u.s. government and others and the board is the key. in the past, the gm board was

very passive, rarely challenged executives and rarely took a skeptical view. this new board is going to be very tough on fritz henderson. if he comes out with a projection that they will keep 20% market share, the board will challenge it and prove it. what happens if it goes below 20%. that kind of challenging from the board was not happening before. >> i heard people say that, you know, the government in all of this. the government didn't save gm. the government didn't build or sell a car, the government didn't save a car. what is your take on that, that the government didn't save gm? >> i think it turned out to be a lot more than president obama and the automotive task force even planned. their initial thought, too big to fail. how many people lost their jobs and the amount of people that are unemployed in detroit and across michigan state and across the country that are being affected by this, everybody is being affected by it and it sounds to me like they could

have had other plans and i don't think that getting the government to own 60% of a company where they don't build cars and they haven't built a product in their entire life scares the heck out of me. >> neal, last one to you, is the new cash for clunkers plan, is this a buy american plan and, secondly, could it be that the hidden stimulus that saves the u.s. auto industry? >> it's not a buy american plan. you can turn in a clunker, an old car and buy a new toyota or honda. >> isn't it clear this administration wants you to buy something from gm and chrysler and from ford, well maybe not so much chrysler. >> well, you can buy american or you can buy foreign, as well. honda is available and all those foreign vehicles that meet the fuel economy requirements are available for the plan. it's not specifically targeted for detroit alone and whether it will save the auto industry, i think it will ease the pain, but the real big question is that

the overall economy, cash for clunkers may help companies get through this tough period, but it's not going to bring anybody back to life like gm or chrysler. >> does fiet own chrysler now? >> 20%. >> 20%. okay. i guess you would take this money and you'd buy chrysler cars, as well. what are your thoughts on it? is it a stimulus plan that could potentially save the auto industry? >> i'm not a huge fan of the cash for clunkers plan. for a multitude of reasons. those people eliminated from this plan are the people who lease cars are not eligible. those people who say i will buy a hybrid and take good care of my car, you're not eligible. and the thing is, then there are those people who are unemployed who aren't eligible because they can't afford to finance another car and then have higher insurance payments, which is how we got here in the first place. and then what it also does, it kills the used car market because if i have an older car and i want to trade it in on a

newer car and i could have an old piece of junk and trade it in towards a nissan skyline and that does qualify or go buy a kia, either way. you take a used car market that has to be destroyed and less cars in that market which causes the used car market to rise. those used car prices are going to go up. that doesn't help them eether. >> let's wrap it there and leave it there. i want to get to some of these pictures from the vatican. let's get to these pictures. get to the aig story in a moment. obviously, the president in rome at the vatican. where he and the first lady, can we take them full? we'll have an audience with pope benedict, the president, the pontiff expected to discuss global warming, some social issues such as abortion, but we understand that they may also discuss the financial crisis. that meeting taking place maybe

about 25 minutes or so ago. as you know, the pope made a strong statement this week saying that the u.s. should take the lead on regulation, particularly on the financial markets and the pope also blaming the global financial crisis and there it is. pictures of the vatican. just give you a look at some of those pictures. we will, of course, be following this story and the rest of the president's trip. he leaves italy later today and makes his way to ghana. the insurance giant that got to $180 billion of your tax dollars is reportedly preparing to pay its top execs millions more in bonuses. just four months since aig paid out multi-million dollar bonuses and this time they say aig wants to protect itself by getting approval by the administration compensation czar. he hopes aig does not get the nod.

>> i think basically what aig is trying to do is know back to the way things were preunited states government owning 79% of the company. and i'm hoping that mr. feinberg, who is the pay czar, the compensation czar that president obama appointed, i'm hoping that as aig goes to him that he will say how dare you. >> okay. one point point here. aig doesn't really need approval from feinberg, the compensation czar because the bonuses are linked to contracts from last year before it received bailout money. smelling a blog question here. we want to know what you think about this round of aig bonuses, if you would. go to cnn.com/tony. we give you a bit of a longer set up to the question on the blog. i rip on it a little bit, couldn't help myself.

send us your thoughts. disturbing details continue to emerge where hundreds of bodies were dug up and moved in an alleged plan to resell plots. families are arriving in droves wanting to know where their wanting to know where their relatives are.

welcome back to "cnn newsroom." give you an idea what's happening around the country. case in point, the rough stuff we're seeing moving towards chicago, heavy storms that are developing some near cedar rapids right along parts of the interstate just north of des moines and back over towards burlington. that is rough stuff and we could see through part of the afternoon and the reason for that, that p's pretty similar t what we've seen over the last few days. this western half of the great lakes these things will continue to move their way off to the east and affecting places like detroit, cincinnati before the

day is out. what you're going to be seeing underneath the clouds, obviously, some rain and cooler temperatures. i know from parts of texas they'd love to have a cool down and 104 expected in dallas and 97 in houston and take a look at what they had yesterday. austin with 104 and mcallen, texas, take a look at this. they had six days in a row of record temperatures in that part of the world. so, hopefully, they'll get a break as they move into the weekend. what we're seeing no break in the action from the scattered showers and shuttle launch expected for tomorrow evening. i wouldn't say it is all that but a chance of rain in the forecast, only 40% chance of a liftoff. here is a 100% chance that you'll see tony harris coming up in a few minutes on "cnn newsroom."

moments ago sheriff tom dart, he is the cook county, illinois, sheriff held a news conference giving us the very latest information on this horrible scheme to resell burial plots. here's what he had to say just moments ago. >> i don't know what to say about the families. they are amazing people and gone through horrific grief and they're hanging in there and doing the best they can and our heart goes out to them having to go through this again. i can't tell you how difficult this has been on everyone involved with this. there is an area now that is coordened off with the crime

scene where the fbi is actively doing work and we're blocking off from everybody and families that try to work with them, as well. thankfully a minimal amount of grave sites on that location, but, otherwise, we're still trying to allow business to be conducted here. i won't say as usual, but conducted here. >> can you imagine for just a moment family members looking for deceased relatives who were supposed to be resting in peace. cheryl jackson. >> reporter: what has happened in this historic african-american cemetery is causing sadness and outrage. famous african-americans like emmett till and jazz singer diana washington are buried here, their graves are undisturbed but others are heart broken by what they found. >> my brother, this is where he's supposed to be. what do you do when you can't find your family members? >> reporter: what do you do. brenda ray is asking the same question. at least 300 bodies were ripped from their graves and many

crushed into piles with the cement vaults they were buried in so their graves could be resold. >> he is supposed to be at 102, row 29, grave 2. there's nothing over there. not even no tombstones or nothing, not even no flowers. like they just recut grass. >> reporter: four employees of the burr oak cemetery have been charged. >> we presented formal charges against four individuals. >> reporter: facing those charges are office manager carolyn towns and grave diggers maurice dailey, keith nicks and terrence nicks and the careless treatment of the people who were supposed to be resting here in peace on sacred ground. >> i came across parts of skulls and parts of legs or arms and they're just, they're laying in different places around here. there's piles that have been dumped here. >> still not human to me.

they're not human. >> reporter: dora montgomery has more than a dozen family members buried here. >> my grandfather, sister, my brother. my mother, my father. my sister. to me, they don't have no hearts. >> reporter: the sheriff says fbi from all over the country will be involved in this investigation and that forensic people from all over the world will be involved in this investigation that is expected to take several months. we know that the suspects are still in the cook county jail and we don't know whether or not they have attorneys, but we know two of them are cooperating with police. cheryl jackson for cnn, alsip, illinois. >> did you hear that, 2,000 families visited burr oak cemetery yesterday just to check on their loved ones. 2,000 families. can you imagine? if you have money in savings, is there a better place for you to put it? our personal finance editor gerri willis has that answer and much more, still ahead. @@@@@@@@@

gerri, good friday to you. it's friday, the weekend's here! >> i know. >> good stuff. cory has our first question. >> get to it. >> i have $8,000 saved, but it is just sitting in a savings account earning almost no interest. is there something better i can put my money into that is safe, gerri? >> well, cory, great question. this is a real problem for a lot of people. they're afraid to invest their money. some products are riskier than

others. bank accounts, cd yields may give you up to 2% on your money and it doesn't get safer than that, but keep in mind inflation may get into those returns and if it rises you may lose the l value of your money. think about putting some of your money towards your 401(k) or ira and if you have a long-term you can reap compound interest otherwise look at an inexpensive mutual fund. t.rowe price or vanguard. you have to spread that money around to make money. >> second question here from mary in arizona, my son has a mortgage that is more than the value of the mortgage, this is being upside down. he is able to just make the payments what are the options to reduce his mortgage payment and principal reduction and et cetera, what are your thoughts on this, gerri? >> get on the phone with your lender and ask for some help, especially if there is a chance he will miss a payment.

they could offer him a lower schedule and they released a program that could help homeowners, particularly if you're upside down in your mortgage, as you're inict deing your son is. go to the government's website called makinghomeaffordable.gov. there is a hope line, but there is some help out there. >> very good. fran seen is in north carolina and writes we have two sons in medical school and both have medical school loans, how can they get help paying back this loan? gerri? >> well, francine, a number of student loans forgiveness programs in health care. the national health service corps is an example of forgiveness program for doctors and nurses who practice for a number of year. otherwise look at the american medical association of medical colleges and they have a database of state and other loan repayment programs for other

school students. and, of course, if you have any other questions, send them to us at gerri@cnn.com and we'd love to hear from you and answer those questions just as we did every friday. >> thank you, gerri, have a great weekend. >> all right, you, too. >> gerri and the money team are the absolute best. poppy harlow, christine romans, ali velshi, stephanie elam get the expert analssis by logging on to cnnmoney.com. health care reform, who pays? we'll hear some of your ideas next in the "newsroom." er... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day.

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going on right now a hearing between before two house committees on the staggering $600 trillion derivatives market. do you know what a derivative is? timothy geithner among the witnesses. president obama wants to regulate over-the-counter

derivatives and a derivative is essentially a financial contract that is derived from an asset. something like a stock option offered by a company. pushing for centralized system to monitor prices who deals much like a stock exchange and gets really complicated. the aim is to make sure those business deals go through and don't lead us into another financial crisis. cnn's fareed zakaria talks with the show this weekend and fareed asked him about shoring up the nation's economy. >> your growth forecast for 2010 is 3.2% economic growth for the united states. the imf just came out with its forecast which is 0.8%. if -- >> i haven't looked that forecast, but economists, i think fair to say that economists think it's likely to be lower than 3.2%. if that happens, my question to you is the deficit as a

percentage of gdp becomes much higher. are you willing to do whatever it takes to keep the deficit as a percentage within the range that the president has suggested? >> he understands deeply the importance of making sure that we put in place a stronger foundation for a recovery as a whole and part of that will be a return to living within our means as a country. >> that may mean higher taxes. only two ways to close it. >> as a country, and there's no mystery in this, we'll bring our resources and our commitments closer into balance. that is a necessary thing for us to do. >> you can hear the rest of fareed's interview with the treasury secretary sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. president obama is heading to africa after just wrapping up a visit with pope benedict at the vatican. let's go live now to our paula newton. she is in rome. and, paula, what do the two men talk about? do we have any idea? >> tony, just moments ago the president left the vatican.

the first lady was also there for part of the meeting in the end. in half an hour the pope will have spoken to president obama about the summit before the summit the pope saying quite forcefully that, look, we're expecting the richest countries in the world to show leadership because the pope saying, look, the financial crisis is biting and it's a struggal for the world's poor. and i'm sure the pope will have known that he wants to be heard on these issues. from one of the reports i have it says that president obama did say upon leaving that he was sure he was going to have good relations with the pope going forward. i should say, as i just mentioned, mu shoichelle obama the obama girls with the pope just before. no official pictures of that. but what happens is the pope gives them a special blessing and gives the entire first family a special blessing even though they will not be in the official pictures. >> wow, how good is that. that's interesting because the pope made a pretty strong

statement earlier in the week asking the u.s. to take the lead on regulating the financial markets and also blaming the global financial crisis, in part, on greed. what is on the president's agend frau the rest of the day, paula? >> right now he's taking off to ghana and we all know that that's going to be an important speech. first one in africa and a black majority country in africa and he will be talking about what the united states hopes they can achieve. mainly, tony, as we were discussing before, no maer handouts. they want to give more money to produce food in africa and obama going there with $5 billion extra dollars on the table that he was able to get from the rest of the country here at this summit, but, as we've been telling you, very hotly anticipated in ghana, very honored to have the president there for the first time. >> paula, appreciate it. thank you. president was asked about reforming health care in italy

and he admits getting it done won't be easy. >> my job is to make sure that i've set some clear parameters in terms of what i want to achieve. we have to bend the cost curve on health care and there are some very specific ways of doing that. game changers that incents have quality as oppose to quality that emphasize prevention. there are a whole host of things that i put on the table that i want to see included. i've said that it's got to be budget neutral, be deficit neutral and, so, whatever bill's produced has to be paid for and that created some difficulties because people would like to get the good stuff without paying for it. and, so, there's going to be some tough negotiations in the days and weeks to come. but, i'm confident that we're going to get it done. >> all right, we want to hear

from you. we need to hear from you on this issue. we talked about it a lot yesterday and we asked for your opinion about how to pay for health care reform. here's some of that. >> i'm for taxing all the bad things that are bad for your health like soda pop, cakes, cookies, cigarettes, all those chips, whatever. >> i feel like if we can't afford to pay for it without taxing people, we don't need it. >> and many of you answered on our blog and john says all this debate over taxes when we're talking about $1,000 a year. i'll gladly pay $1,000 more per year. and this from bill who writes, it seem s me the money the drug companies use on advertising could be better used to reduce prescription costs. go to our blog at cnn.com/tony and what's the phone number? i don't know the phone number.

i'll get that in my head here. you can leave us a note on the blog page and we'll get the phone number up at some point here and maybe next hour and you can call 877-742-5760. that's funny how that works. and we'll get your responses on the air. confidential documents surfacing about michael jackson's estate that he may have taken more than ten xanax pills a night to sleep. and they detail the lengths he and they detail the lengths he went to get those pills.

for the first time publicly, the los angeles police chief is suggesting michael jackson's death may be ruled a homicide. cnn has learned jackson was at least one time taking an astounding number of pills to sleep. two reports now, first, cnn's randi kaye in los angeles. >> reporter: i have right here a confidential document from 2004 from the santa barbara county sheriff department here in california and it contains confidential interviews that were done with two of michael jackson's former security guards. these interviews were done in preparation for the child molestation case of which michael jackson was acquitted of that. but it really paints a dark picture of his apparent drug habit. we are not naming security guards who are mentioned in this document, but according to it, one of them told investigators that jackson was taking "ten

plus xanax pills a night." when he expressed concerns about that to another one of jackson's employees he was told "jackson was doing better because he was down from 30 to 40 xanax pills a night." this is information coming directly from his security guards at that time. one of the guards told investigators that he would get the xanax prescriptions at pharmacies under a fictatious names including the security guards own names and the other security guard backed that up. he was doing the same thing and they named at least three other employees that were doing this, as well. now, we're not going to name the doctors that were mentioned in this confidential document, but one of the security guards did name five doctors who he said were writing prescriptions for michael jackson, not all of them, again, in his name. the security guard said in several states across the country including california, new york and florida, he personally drove michael jackson

to different doctor's offices which really paints a picture of doctor shopping, as it's called. that is really in line with what our source close to the investigation has been telling us that investigators want to speak to every doctor that michael jackson has ever come into contact with. one of the security guards we also want to note described jackson as sharp and "in tune" before these doctor visits. but when he would come out of the doctor's office this guard said he was "out of it and sedated." that same guard said he talked to one of the doctors and that this doctor apparently said "jackson was addicted to demoral but giving him a placeberal to wean him off of it. this security guard that provided most of the information here he told investigators that he quit his job after "jackson fell on his face in a hotel room and hurt himself." this employee told investigators that he said to michael jackson

he was not comfortable getting preskripg prescriptions for him and left his job. one other final note, we spoke with an international dealmaker, if you will, he said he knew michael jackson for ten years and he was one of the people who were bringing him to las vegas to get his show started and give his career a jump start back in 2006. he told us that jackson offered appeared "drugged up and incoherent." he also told me that he was sometimes so weak, that's a direct quote, so is this, so thin that michael jackson actually had to use a wheelchair to get around las vegas. eventually, the stage show and the comeback, he said, was canceled because of michael jackson's condition. that is the very latest on the jackson investigation from here in los angeles. randi kaye, cnn, los angeles. it was 2007, that was two years after michael jackson's trial for child molestation in california. the jury acquitting him, but he

was scarred. he all but disappeared, first going to bahrain for a self-imposed exile and then briefly to ireland. we're told he was happier, but that his career was going no where. this was a period when he rarely saw his family. sources tell us that michael jackson became fixated with music superstar celine dion and that permanent show she was starring in in las vegas. he thought that might be his path back to show business, he moved to vegas. in early 2007 he was believed to live in this large, rented home. two sources close to the family say janet jackson who had seen little of her brother in recent years visited him there and was shocked. it was creepy looking, according to one source. but it was the site of an extremely thin, disshelved michael jackson that frightened janet and that brings us up to the nba all-star weekend in february of las vegas.

jackson there with two of her brothers and she asked those brothers to go with her to jackson's house trying to convince michael to get help. michael ordered his new security guards not to let them in. we also learned that michael jackson, at that time, was refusing to take calls from his own mother, katherine jackson, who had been repeatedly pleading with her son to get help. now, all through this time, the family had been concerned and, according to both our sources, michael jackson would simply refuse to see anybody who tried to stop him from using drugs. one source saying that if you tried to deal with him, he would shut you out. we just wouldn't hear from him for long periods of time. another source was telling us the family that the concern for a long time, but it was janet now who tried to force the issue two years ago. we must tell you that back in 2007, people magazine did report about an alleged jackson family intervention. the jackson family denied it, releasing this statement saying

"in part we categorically deny participating in or having knowledge of any kind of intervention whatsoever." now, that statement was signed by members of the jackson family, but not signed by janet jackson. >> all right, as far as we know, michael jackson's body has not been laid to rest. a california state official tells cnn the family has inquired about burial at jackson's neverland ranch. that would require special permission from santa barbara county, which says no request has been filed. all they wanted to do was swim, but the swim club said no, now, accusations of racial discrimination and a full investigation. decisions, decisions. which beneful prepared meal tonight?

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so, here's the skinny. americans have gotten fatter over the years. advocacy groups say two-thirds of americans are either overweight or obese. adult obesity rates now exceed 25% in 31 states. perhaps most alarming, childhood obesity rates in the u.s. have more than tripled since 1980. 8 of the 10 states with the highest rates of overweight

children are in the south. and this week's cnn hero is attacking this had epidemic in one of those states, georgia. >> not that great. we would carry around this weight. i wanted to get healthy and fit. >> where did we go wrong as a country where pe in schools is no longer a priority or children's health is no longer a priority? something had to be done, and i just decided to be the one to do it. my name is pamela green-jackson and my organization is a physical fitness and nutritional program for elementary and middle schools in my community. my brother bernard died at 43 at a weight of 427 pounds. he didn't have to die, so i promised myself that i would do whatever i could to make sure another child didn't suffer like he did.

>> got about another ten seconds. >> so what we've done is converted vacant classrooms and turned them into health clubs. this is a free program. we have personal trainers. we've got dieticians that work with them. we allow each individual child to set their own goals. >> pamela is my hero, because she is always helping me to do things that i never thought i can do. >> we instill the habits in them early. then they will grow up and become healthier adults. that's really what this is all about is saving the lives of children. >> and you can find out more about. mel la's work and nominate a cnn hero of your own on our web vite at cnn/heroes. if you know a hero, don't wait

to tell us about it, go to cnn.com/heros and do that right now. and here's what's coming up in the next hour of "cnn newsroom." what new role could pakistan play in the fight against the taliban in afghan? our michael ware takes us behind the scenes. should sonia sotomayor become a supreme court justice? we will take a look at the fight over her nomination and the latest polling numbers on what you think. and general motors pushes the reset button as it offici officially emerges from bankruptcy. poppy harlow has the breakdown. ♪ who's born to care this life was protected... ♪ seems you've always been right there ♪ this life was saved... ♪ soothing sadness ♪ healing pain and this life was made easier...

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all you have to do is be yourself. and, if you have any questions about medicare, call today and get your free copy of "medicare made clear," by unitedhealth educational publishing group. it will help you better understand all your choices. so don't wait. call today for your free guide. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. pennsylvania officials say they will investigate accusations of racial discrimination at a suburban philadelphia swimming pool. our susan candiotti has that story. >> reporter: swimming once a week at the spacious huntington valley club near philadelphia. it sounded ideal for 65 kids described as black and hispanic

at creative steps day care summer camp. >> i was excited. the parents and children were excited. >> reporter: but when the youngsters showed up at the pool june 29th after the day camp signed and paid a $1,900 contract, this happened -- >> the children came running down the hill saying, miss wright, miss wright, those people up there are saying what are those black kids doing in the pool? "washington post" 12-year-old marcus allen who is her son said he was sitting outside the pool and heard white adults say this -- >> it was like, oh, why are these black kids here? oh, they said, i'm afraid they might do something to my children. they might try to steal some of our stuff. they might like try to harm my children. i was, like, amazed they were saying something like this, because we're just like you. i mean, we're just like your kids. >> not enough room? >> reporter: mrs. wright said the swim club's director told her he was embare raced and held an emergency board meeting and called her back the next day and say they could not come back.

>> he said, the membership said, let the chips fall where they may. >> reporter: i see tears coming down your face. why does this make you cry? >> because, this is kind of, like, sad that, um, white people are still thinking like -- thinking like this. i felt like these days were over. >> this is 2009. children should not be subjected to that. >> reporter: the swim club's director as quoted by local media saying the day camp kids changed the, quote, atmosphere and complexion of the club. a club member reacted. >> i'll be asking for the president of the club's resignation today, because i think the comment that he made, although taken out of context, was probably one of the stupidest comments i ever heard. >> reporter: he claims the club was simply overcrowded, not racist. he said two other unidentified day camps, both nonminority also got the boot. >> reporte

now, the valley club has issued a written statement only denying race had anything to do with its decision. the statement reads in part, quote, we underestimated the capacity of our facilities, our valley club deplores discrimination in any form, so in essence, tony, they are saying this was about space, not race. i also spoke at length with the wife of this -- of a gentleman who negotiated the contract, and she said if there's one point i want you to make, she insisted, my husband is a kind man. she said in her view, this is not a story. this was a matter of overcrowding. they just couldn't handle it, and others were discouraged to end their contract. their contracts were canceled also. clearly, this is a group that feels it would simply go away. the investigation by the human rights commission, i don't think it's going to. >> susan, we can barely hear you. what's going on with all the construction around? is that on purpose, or was that

just a coincidence? >> reporter: it's a very busy street, tony. >> all right. thank you, maybe i'm just a little sensitive. susan, appreciate it. thank you. gm is officially reborn today. the troubled automaker, now leaner after exiting bankruptcy. in just sick weekses. under the terms, the company sheds tens of billions in debt and retains four brands, chevy, cadill cadillac, gmc, and buick. what's troubling to many the government now owns 61% of the new gm. ceo fritz henderson vows to make the company great again. >> we deeply appreciate the support we've received. during this historic transformation. and we'll work hard to repay the trust, and the money, that so many have invested in gm. the last 100 days has shown everyone, including ourselves, that a company not known for quick action can, in fact, and indeed move very fast. starting today, we want to take that intensity, the decisiveness, and the speed of these last several weeks and

then transfer it from the battlefield triage of the bankruptcy process to the day-to-day operation of the new company. and this will be the new norm at general motors. so, you know that gm is out of bankruptcy, the hard work really begins. can the automaker really reinvent itself? cnnmoney.com's poppy harlow has the breakdown from new york for us. good to see you, poppy. >> good to see you, tony. what a day for the u.s. auto industry. a rebirth of sorts for general motors. and fritz henderson, the ceo, still thinks they can rebuild themselves. here's how they're going to do it. let's break it down. first all, they'll be much smaller than they once were. they are shedding dealerships. the goal, to cut down dealerships from 3,600 to 6,000 from where it stands today. they are closing 16 plants across the country. that means they will cut 20,000 u.s. workers. that's when the remaining

88,000. they'll also cut about 450 white-collar employees of management at gm. they will also be a company with a lot less debt thanks to bankruptcy. and we, the u.s. taxpayer, are supporting gm to the tune of $50 billion for them to restructure. and also they're really going to try to offer more attractive products. fritz henderson, the ceo, saying this morning they're going to launch ten new vehicles in the u.s. and, tony, 17 new vehicles around the world over just the next 18 months. and his goal here, three priorities the ceo outlined this morning, customers, cars and culture. promising to improve, tony, that experience you have when you head to a gm dealership, trying to improve customer service. they'll go from the ground up. >> yeah, i need that. i need a better experience, poppy! all right, will this new gm be able to turn things around. what are you hearing? >> it is so to be seen. >> yeah. >> and can they sell more cars? we want to show you this, their market share which has been dropping for decades and decades. it stands below 20% in the u.s.

this is a company that once held half of the u.s. auto market. toyota the largest automaker in the world, the title away from gm last year. and we have heard president obama's head of the auto task force, steve rattner, say this week, tony, a company can't be truly viable if it continues to lose market share. so, gm needs to really defy the odds here. >> but you know what, am i correct here that gm sells cars like crazy overseas, particularly in china, isn't that true? >> yeah. >> is that few? >> it's true, the chinese love their buicks. >> how will they -- i've been asking this question all day, how will the new gm be different from the old one? >> this is a great point. one of my colleagues brought this up to me. he said, bankruptcy doesn't change culture, so gm may be going through a process, but how are they changing the culture? said they are doing it by expanding the customer experience. the ceo is launching a website,

tellfritz. he's going to answer the e-mails. he's hitting the road, going out to talk to customers to take their questions. we are going to ask him some questions, we have him one-on-one, here in new york, at 2:00 p.m., you'll only see the whole thing on cnnmoney.com. >> poppy, appreciate it, thank you. will gm's new plan result in profits? last hour i put that question to automotive analyst lauren fix and "wall street journal" detroit bureau chief, neil burdett. here is their take on profit potential. >> we are selling at a rate of 10 million cars a year. really nobody in the united states is making money, so, no, that's not going to do it. what gm will need to make money is for the economy to come back and for the auto market to get from $10 million up to closer to $12 million, $13 million, maybe even above $13 million to start to make money. but henderson is talking about a cultural change. that's a very, very important

move for the company. >> wru, what's his argument? what's the cultural change he was talking about this morning? >> well, you know, if you go back to the '50s and '60s, gm was a hot company. they were the largest company in the world. at one time, the most profitable. and people looked at gm the way people look at toyota or microsoft or google today. they were risk takers. they invented tail fins and came up with the small-block v-8. they took a lot of chances. henderson wants to get back to that. in the last ten years or so, gm became a very conservative, very risk-averse company. he wants them to be -- to be more daring in the way they run the company. >> and lauren, weigh in here. what did you hear this morning? anything encouraging from fritz henderson and how soon did he articulate a plan to you that will lead the company back to profitability? >> well, i think it's going to be a big challenge. you're looking at $48 billion in debt with which they claim they want to pay back in the next few

years. >> yeah, yeah. >> that's a lot of money. they are talking about ten new models to be coming out in the u.s. and 17 additional worldwide. so, there should be some additional product. i'm curious what the product will be. i'm really concerned about the government being involved, even though they claim they're not going to be involved. look it, they are saying green cars, we'll have better fuel economy. but the cost of gas continues to drop. jobs are being cut. there is another 4,000 salary jobs cut at gm. that gets to be a lot. consumers won't buy cars if they don't have money. >> makes sense to me. all right, president obama is heading to africa. he is going to ghana. the president left the vatican a short time ago. he met with pope benedict for about 30 minutes. we're told mrs. obama and the girls also met the pope. we won't see pictures of it. but the pontiff blessed the first family during their visit. of course, you know, president obama was in italy for the g-8 summit, which wrapped up today. he says among other things,

world leaders agreed that they're making progress on getting the world through the current financial mess. >> there was widespread consensus that we must all continue our work to restore economic growth and reform our national and international financial regulatory systems. i'm pleased that the united states has taken the lead on this reform at home, with a sweeping overhaul of our regulatory system, a transformation on a scale that we have not seen since the aftermath of the great depression. anderson cooper is with president obama on historic trip to africa, monday night at 10:00 p.m. eastern, don't miss the "ac360" special report as anderson shows his exclusive access with the president on his trip to africa. that's monday night at 10:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. >> derivatives, derivatives, just trying to describe what it is can give you a bit of a headac headache. this morning, treasury secretary, tim geithner, was before a house committee trying to rein in the over-the-counter

derivative market. >> any regulatory reform of this magnitude requires deciding how to strike the right balance between financial innovation and efficiency on the one hand and stability and protection on the other. and we failed to get this balance right in the past, and if we do not achieve sufficient reform, we will leave ourselves weaker as a nation and economy and more vulnerable to future crises. >> blame derivatives for getting us into this financial mess. so, what is it? a derivative is essentially a financial contract that's derived from an asset, something like a stock option offered by a company. the treasury secretary sat down with cnn's fareed zakaria to talk about the nation's financial situation. fareed asked him about the federal reserves role in the crisis. >> we need a good fed chairman, do you have any ideas? >> i think we have a terrific fed chairman. he's doing a good job. i think what he did, subject to

enormous controversy, important for people to look back over time and, you know, evaluate those judgments. but i think what the fed during this period was absolutely essential and helped stave off a much more catastrophic outcome. i think what the fed did was not just essential but extraordinarily helpful in helping contain the risk, help slow the -- reduce the risk of a more catastrophic -- >> that sounds like a vote for the reappointment of ben bernanke? >> like i said, i think the chairman has done an exceptional job and i think he deserves a lot of confidence. >> timothy geithner sits down with fareed zakaria this weekend and you can hear what the treasury secretary has to say about frustrations surrounding the stimulus package sunday, 1:00 p.m. eastern time. the insurance giant -- got to get to this story -- that got $180 billion of your tax dollars, is reporting to pay its top execs millions more in bonuses. it has been, what, four months since aig paid out multimillion

dollar bonuses, sparking widespread outrage. this time "the washington post" says aig wants to protect itself by getting approval from the government. aig doesn't really need that approval, because the bonuses are linked to contracts from last year before it received bailout money. what do you think about a company living on taxpayers' dollars and handing out executive bonuses? is that a loaded-enough question for? that is the question of the day on my blog, cnn.com/tony. go to that page, cnn.com/tony, and have your say. we will try to get a few of your comments on later in the hour. more unrest in iran, with smaller, but seemingly, angrier groups of protesters defying authorities. for the latest, let's go to cnn's iran and reza sayah. i understand we may have new pictures of the protests? >> yeah, we do, tony. this was the first protest we've seen in about 11 days. no where near the numbers we've seen in previous weeks but these

people were determined and aggressive and they came out. let's show you some pictures and video that's been coming to the iran desk this morning and during the overnight hours. about 3,000 people, that's how many people turned up in revolution square, according to our eyewitnesss. many of them women, as you can see there in revolution square. they were met with security forces carrying batons. security forces were successful in getting them out of revolution square. but these protesters didn't quit. according to our eyewitnesss in pictures, they moved on to surrounding neighborhoods. and let's go ahead and show you some video of those surrounding neighborhoods where protesters went to. some very poignant and aggressive chants. first of all, what you're hearing right now is the chant that we've been hearing over and over again. it's scary out there, going into these streets, going head-on with these security forces, that chant translated is "don't be scared, don't be scared, we're

all together." also we heard chants of "death to ayatollah khamenei," the supreme leader. those that didn't disperse were tear gassed by security forces. the picture may be graphic, so turn away if you are disturbed by scenes like this. we spoke with this man this morning, who went to protect and rescue some women who were being beat up and this is what happened to him. he said security forces came up with batons and gave him a few shots in the back and in the head. and, again, he said he was watching some women being beat up. he went to their rescue. so, a lot of people like this man paid for the fact that they went out there. these were, safe to say, the hardco hardcore, some say the courageous elements of the opposition groups went out there. nowhere near the numbers that we've seen in the past but they wanted to go out and show the government that this thing is not over. but it's important to know the government has said all along, it is over, do not come out.

these election results will not be annulled. leaving the opposition leaders with very little legal recourse, tony. >> reza, can you explain, i have been amazed at the role women have played in the post-election demonstrations and what you're describing today. explain to me, what should we know about the role women play in that society and the role they have taken, the courage they have shown -- >> yeah. >> -- in these weeks of protests and demonstrations. >> what you should know is many of them have led this movement. >> wow. >> they've been absolutely determined. >> yeah, yeah. >> and really remarkable to watch. when i was there, and during some of these protests, when these security forces rushed some of these groups, it's the women -- >> yeah. >> -- who stayed. it's the women who didn't run away. and many are giving the women credit for keeping these movements going, as you saw in this video. there was a lot of women out there. >> that's right. >> and some of them are paying the price. these security forces are

beating up women with these batons. they're not holding back. and some of them continue to come back for more and more. now, it remains to be seen when the next protest is going to be. a lot of people are pointing to mahmoud ahmadinejad, the re-elected president, swearing-in ceremony that could happen in late july or sometime in early august. many are saying look for that occasion to be the next time the protesters will take to the streets. and you can be sure that these past four weeks have been any indication -- >> yeah. >> -- that more women will be on the van guard of any protests that are to come, tony. >> reza, good stuff. reza sayah for us at our iran desk. reza, thank you. appreciate it. is pakistan ready to do more in the u.s. fight against the taliban? we have a report from the region. i just want fewer pills and relief that lasts all day. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills.

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authorities in suburban chicago are finding more graves dug up at that historic african-american cemetery, and word this morning they found emmett till's original casket. in a garage at the cemetery. till's death 50 years ago helped spark the civil rights movement. the sheriff says people are coming in droves to check on the remains of their loved ones. >> with the over 2,000 families that we've had so far, we've had at least 30 or so cases already that have newly come to us, where another crime scene has been -- is obvious now. it's apparent. people have gone to grave sites where the head stones are gone,

people have gone to the grave site where a different person is there now. people have gone to grave sites where it's clear that something has been removed. >> four people, an office worker, and three grave diggers, are accused of digging up the graves and disposing of the corpses the plots could be resold. a moderate earthquake has caused extensive in southwest china. hundreds are injured in yunnan province. thursday's magnitude 1 6.0 quake destroyed more than 18,000 homes, state media reports another 75,000 home damaged. tent cities are being built to house the people who evacuated the area. president obama has staked much on winning the war in afghanistan. now he may have an opportunity for a breakthrough that could help end the conflict. cnn's michael ware files this exclusive report from the afghan border with pakistan.

>> reporter: i came to these mountains to learn how the taliban in afghanistan are based from here across the border in pakistan. in these remote mountain valleys of pakistan's northwest frontier province, the taliban can hide, train, smuggle weapons, and launch military strikes against u.s. forces in afghanistan. for generations, the border here has been little more than a vague blur among the peaks, and that is what is crippling the american effort in afghanistan. to put it simply, america cannot win the war in afghanistan. certainly can't win it with bombs and bullets and it can't win it in afghanistan alone. but part of the answer lies here, where i'm standing, in these mountain valleys in pakistan on the afghan border, because this is al qaeda and taliban territory. right now, there's as many as 100 taliban on that mountaintop,

between the snow-capped peaks and amid those trees. they are currently under siege from local villagers who are driving them from their bunkers. but at the end of the day, it's the pakistani military who tolerates the presence of groups like the taliban, and it's not until america can start cutting deals with these people that there's any hope of the attacks on american troops coming to an end. the key leader the u.s. may have to deal with is this man, mullah mohammed omar. the one-eyed cleric who actually created the taliban and led its regime. the man who, after the 9/11 attacks, sheltered osama bin laden, choosing war with the u.s. rather than surrender bin laden. even with a $10 million reward on his head, mullah omar has defied all american attempts to capture or kill him. he still commands the afghan taliban, as they continue killing u.s. and nato troops. he and other top commanders do

all of this, according to u.s. intelligence, from sanctuaries here in pakistan. it was the pakistan military who helped create the taliban. when the cia was funding many of these same afghan groups in the 1980s, in their war against the soviets, it was the pakistan military that delivered the money, expertise, and weapons like stinger missiles. now, for the first time in this cnn interview, the pakistan military concedes it still maintains contact with the taliban. at the military headquarters, we met maj general abbas who concedes the army's links with the taliban were turned down after 9/11 but -- >> but having said that, if more intelligence organization in the world shuts its last door on any other organization. >> reporter: and more than talking to the taliban, the general says, the pakistan

military can actually get the taliban to sit down with the united states and broker a cease-fire. and that's where pakistan can perhaps provide valuable assistance to the american mission. >> i think, yes, that can be worked out. that's possible. >> reporter: and this is one of the men who says he can help work that deal. >> people like me, who served the cause of the freedom of afghanistan? >> reporter: former cia ally, general hamid gul, one of the head of the equivalent of the cia, known as the isi, he is famed as the godfather of the taliban. >> guarantees can be given, no problem. >> reporter: in terms of american national interest, who does american need to deal with? >> mullah omar. >> reporter: mullah omar, the most important taliban leader, but to get him and the other taliban to the table, pakistan wants something in return. it wants the united states to use its influence to rein in

pakistan's number one military rival, india. india's close association with the u.s.-backed government in afghanistan worries the pakistanis, and the pakistanis accuse india of supporting armed separatists in one of pakistan's provinces. and senior u.s. officials tell cnn, the obama administration is willing to raise those concerns with india. and the u.s. is willing to talk with mullah omar and other taliban commanders. michael ware, cnn. that's amazing. okay, we will take you along with the u.s. military as they try to push out the taliban and create stability in southern afghanistan and find out what impact all this is having on those who live there. so what do you think?

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it has been called the forgotten war. now, the u.s. is shifting its focus and much of its military might to battling militants in afghanistan. cnn's atia abowa is on the ground with the latest coalition offensive in helmand province. >> reporter: flying with the u.s. marines into an area of helmand province that was once considered taliban land, just five days after "operation strike of the sword" began, the governor of helmand stepped into a district that he could not before because it was too dangerous. raising the afghan flag over this district, a symbol of new governance and change. it was a moment that was likened to iwo jima by marine brigadier general larry nicholson, a moment that they hope will symbolize a turn in the war here. this castle was built in the 1900s during the time of king

durani, the father of afghanistan. this castle in this district was occupied by the taliban. but today the u.s. marines and the coalition forces gave it back to the government and the people of helmand province. for the past three years, this was under strict taliban control. now, this district of around 2,000 waits to see what its future holds. some hopeful, but many skeptical. they have seen this all before. coalition forces coming in and quickly leaving. and the taliban always making their way back. but this time, the troops and the government promise to stay and build institutions, and most importantly, trust. >> translator: i tried to reassure the people until our own afghan forces can stand on their own two feet, the international forces will help us. >> reporter: although the people believe the governor is a kind man, this village elder points the finger at him. still distrustful of the intentions of the afghan government.

villagers in helmand, like the ones here, have in the past turned to the taliban for protection. feeling at times it was their only choice. but the forces hope to show these men that there is an alternative to their current, less-than-rudimentary existence. >> translator: you can see with your own camera what terrorism is and what al qaeda is. you can see a deficient school, a deficient clinic, deficient district, deficient roads. people don't have the matter or means of living. >> reporter: and lo troops haven't met much resistance yet, general nicholson warns this is only a week into the operation. and like the villagers, the taliban have their own expectations. >> so perhaps the taliban is also expecting us to leave. and i think once they understand that we're not leaving, i think in some cases they will -- they will test us. they will come back at us, and they will try to get back to the population. >> reporter: and it's the population who will have to choose. a decision that will determine the country's future. >> cnn's atia abawi reporting.

senators put the judge on the spot. will they put her on the bench? we're back in just a moment.

so, we love the sight, we love the page and the work our people do there. check out cnnmoney.com for the latest financial news and analysis. our "money" team is the best in the business. we're talking about gerri willis, jeanne sahadi, poppy harlow, christine romans, our senior business correspondent, ali velshi, again, for the latest financial news and analysis, cnnmoney.com. let's swing you to the new york stock exchange for a look at how stocks are trading today, just three hours into the trading day. you can see stocks are in negative territory. i'm not sure if these are new lows or if we're off session lows, but the dow is down 68 points. the nasdaq is down 5. we are following these numbers throughout the day for you with stephanie elam right here in the "cnn newsroom." tightening california's financial squeeze. today, several big banks say they will stop accepting the

state's ious, that adds pressure on lawmakers to close the state's $way billion budget gap. they failed on ways to fix the budget last week and began handing out the ious to creditors. the state's controller satisfies without the iou california would run out of cash by month's end. confirmation hearings start monday morning for supreme court nominee judge sonia saturday mayor. you will watch live coverage when you watch cnn and the best political team on television. that's a given. before monday rolls around, we thought it would be a good idea to reintroduce the judge. here's senior political correspondent, candy crowley. >> those principles -- >> reporter: the first hispanic supreme court nominee, tapped by the first african-american president, history picks history. >> that i am an ordinary person, who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. >> reporter: sonia sotomayor's

experience began in a housing project in the south bronx where dreams can be big, but possibilities can seem small. >> so find out, you know, somebody's actually made it out here is exciting. >> reporter: she was a first-generation american, the daughter of puerto rican immigrants, a father with a third-grade education who worked in a factory, a mother who worked as a nurse. sotomayor read nancy drew and wanted to be a homicide detective, but she was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 8 and told that meant she could not be a cop. a year after the diagnosis, her father died. left alone to raise two children, sotomayor's mother worked six days a week. >> i have often said that i am all i am because of her. >> reporter: if police work was out, she found an alternative, watching "perry mason." >> i'm sorry, your honor, i have no further questions. >> reporter: sonia sotomayor wanted to be a lawyer. she excelled in school,

valedictorian in high school on a scholarship to princeton, she graduated summa cum laude and phi beta capa and then yale law followed by a fearsome career. prosecutor, corporate litigator, appointed by president george h.w. bush to the new york district court in new york, its youngest member. then in 1998, the first latina appointed to the u.s. court of appeals for the second circuit. jenny rivera is a former law clerk. >> had very high expectations of herself and everyone around her, but she is very caring. she's funny. >> reporter: societomayor often stops by her local bakery. they talk to her about the leaky roof and she's big on holidays. >> she does make quite an effort at halloween, it puts us all to shame at christmas with her lights on the balcony. >> thank you again, sir. >> reporter: it's a long way from the projects of the south bronx to the east room of the white house, but not quite as

long as it seemed yesterday. candy crowley, cnn, washington. >> and candy's profile first aired on cnn may 26th, the day president obama announced his nominee. now that americans know a little bit more about judge sotomayor, almost half say she should be confirmed for the supreme court. 40% say no. 13% are still unsure. those findings in a new poll by cnn and opinion research corporation. cnn deputy political director, paul steinhauser, where is paul? there he is. is in washington for us. >> hi, tony. >> good to see you, doctor. let's blast through a few points here. factor in party affiliation for us, what does that tell us about the public's view about the judge in this poll? >> our poll shows there's a partisan divide. take a look at the numbers. this is a national poll, of course. you can see democrats, almost 7 out of 10 democrats, yeah, they feel sotomayor should be confirmed. independents, tony, look at that. pe are kind of divided and

split. republicans, tony, 1 in 4 thinks she should be confirmed. take a look at the 65% number in the lower right, those are the number of republicans in our poll that believe she should not be confirmed. our polling director, tells us that number is higher than the number of republicans who opposed ruth bader ginsburg in the '90s or the number of democrats who opposed alito and roberts just four years ago. >> it's amazing that democrats and republicans seemingly are looking at two different nomi e nominees. >> oh, yeah. >> yeah, a lot of controversy about sotomayor's stands on the issues. what are people saying? >> this is very interesting as well. check out this number. we asked if her qualifications are okay. if she's qualified. senators should they vote against her because of her stand on the issues. as you mentioned, affirmative action, gun rights, controversial issues when it comes to this nominee. you can see americans are divided here. that is a change. back in the old days, pack in the day, tony, if a judge was qualified, senators would most likely vote for that judge. nowadays it's much more

partisan, tony. >> wow! is there -- i don't know, can we get along on anything? can we agree on anything? is there anything in the polls that people actually agree on, paul? >> there is something. it may not be a big thing. 6 in 10 think that next week's confirmation hearings will be a food fight, a major fight between the parties. only 4 in 10, just a little less, think there will be a bipartisan agreement, a kumbaya moment. >> paul steinhauser, thank you. cnn's planned live coverage, of course, as the senate considers sonia sotomayor for the united states supreme court. cnn's wolf blitzer and the best political team on television bring you analysis that you won't find on any other network. >> so, what are you saying -- what are you saying -- about aig's plan to pay bonuses? boy, again, you are lighting up the belong. gecko vo: you see, it's not just telling people geico could save 'em hundreds on car insurance. it's actually doing it. gecko vo: businessmen say "hard work equals success." well, you're looking at, arguably, the world's most successful businessgecko.

gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people.

all right. time to check the buzz on the blog. we asked for your opinion about paying for health care. that was yesterday. andreas there on your left, sumi on your right. moderating, handling all the blog activity. and, boy, you are -- this blog stuff, look, it's coming along. it's pretty good! that was yesterday. we asked you about health care,

how to pay for it and what the obstacles are to health care reform in the country. here's what joshua eckert had to say -- how do we tax the low-income people for health care by stereotyping them as smokers and drinkers? and then saying they would benefit more from the health care reform so they should pay more. here's another answer for reforming the nation's health care system. this from yesterday. >> caller: we as a family pay about $1,000 a month to an insurance company. if we put that money to a government health care, $1,000 a month, would go a long way instead of it going towards the profits. >> okay. and today we asked your opinion about aig planning to pay $2.4 million in executive bonuses next week. jerry writes, i always thought bonuses were paid for a job well done, not for breaking the company. what is aig thinking? ouch! jerry, that was a good one. and from ann, they just don't

get it. jobless numbers are going up. do they really believe that there aren't capable people who can take their places of the millions of unemployed, not all are blue-collar workers. as always, boy, this has been good. over 300, 400 responses yesterday to our health care reform question. over 150 or so so far today on our aig question. and counting. send us your thoughts, cnn.com/tony. and if you'd like to -- if you can't get near your computer and you'd like to call us and talk to us, maybe you're listening to us on the radio in your car, well, i don't want you to do that either. but if you'd like to call us, 1-877-742-5760. let's go to chad myers before i get myself in trouble here. chad -- i'm going to have you stop. >> sitting at a rest area listening to us on sirius, then you can call us. otherwise, don't pick up the phone. >> i don't know what i'm

thinking. >> shut up and drive. >> shut me up and let's talk about the weather. boy jer boy, oh, boy. >> a couple of storms out there. but this isn't a bad weather day. certainly not a bad day for traveling. there may be a few delays through the chicago way and davenport. these are the dollars beginning from st. louis to back down just to about kansas city. this is where the severe weather will be today. and it's the only real area across the country that i'm worried about. there will be heavy showers across florida. really don't need too much more of that. and it will be very, very hot across the desert southwest, how hot did you ask? although, tony, did you ask? >> how hot? >> 104 in dallas. look at the numbers yesterday. i digress. wichita falls, 109, abilene, 106, austin, 104. that was not a dry heat. it was a mess across there. 111 in phoenix today. 112 tomorrow, and it could be 113 on sunday. now, the monsoon season has not -- the monsoon winds have not shifted into the valley just

yet. and that's good, because the dew point right now is 44 degrees, making relative humidity like 20%, 30%. when that monsoon wind comes in, you get up to 110, it feels dreadfully hotter than that, tony. >> okay, so you're really hot, you're driving along, i want you to stop right now and call us. call us, what the heck am i -- you know. >> it's okay. >> you're with me every day, chad, sometimes just the tony train drifts off the track and sometimes it hurtles. >> we call that the tangent. sometimes we go that way. sometimes we go that way. >> chad, appreciate it. >> talk to you in an hour. the naacp celebrating its 100th anniversary. what does the group's president say about the past century? if you love sweet things, sweet! you'll really love them when they're made... with splenda® no calorie sweetener. sweet! splenda®. imagine life sweeter®.

and turning now to our "what matters" segment in partnership with "essence" magazine, we start with a controversial story featured in the august issue hitting newsstands today. a report leaked on the internet by a special police intelligence

unit singles out black and christian colleges in virginia as breeding grounds for terrorism. police say the report was meant to help them identify potential threats and could be misinterpreted by outsiders. virginia governor, tim kaine, says the report is, quoting now, misleading and improperly implicates these fine academic institutions. kaine launched an investigation and should have results by mid-august. when it comes to retirement, too many minorities are headed for trouble. a study out this week shows black and hispanic workers save far less in their 401(k)s than whites and asians. they are also more likely to borrow from their plans. at 50 large companies surveyed, two-thirds of black and hispanic employees had a 401(k) compared to three-fourths of whites and asians. the study warns unless changes are made, some minority groups could retire into poverty. the naacp is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. the civil rights organization

kicks off its centennial in new york. ben jealous spoke with cnn's don lemon saying he recognizes the progress african-americans have made, but there's still a long way to go. >> well, it's a time to dream bold dreams again. and 100 years ago our big, bold dream was to end lynch-mob justice, followed quickly by a dream to end segregation and jim crow. at this point we have to take stock of exactly where we are. and you look at the fact that, you know, our generation, our generation was told, you know, you're the children of the dream. we've -- we've ended segregation, just work hard and you'll get rich and everything will work out just fine. and we come of age just to find ourselves the most murdered generation of the country and the most incarcerated generation on the planet and our dreams at this moment have to be based on that reality. we have to focus on the high rate of black children not

finishing high school and not coming out of high school prepared for college. we have to focus on the high rate of black unemployment and -- and within that, the lack of quality employment. the fact that, you know, on the one hand we have children who are neglected because the parents don't have a job. and on the other hand, we have children who are neglected because the parents have to have too many jobs, right? and we have to deal with, you know, the high incarceration rate and the culture of violence within our communities. >> keynote speakers at the six-day event include president obama, new york city mayor michael bloomberg, and former secretary of state, colin powell. no matter how careful you are, a scammer may be able to figure out our social security number in just a few quick steps. find out how. welcome to our mcdonald's. yours? really? it's been our dream since we were kids. uh, that long, huh? why not? mcdonald's really supports entrepreneurs.

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you know, social security is meant to protect the economic security of workers, retirees and their families, but the way card numbers are assigned, it may be put your identity at risk. here's cnn's brian todd. >> reporter: a 36-year-old professor from italy opens a new battlefront against identity theft, by exposing the predictability of how we currently get assigned our social security numbers. the professor says all he needs to get started in finding your social security number is your date of birth and the state where you were born. information that millions of americans freely give out, by registering to vote or putting it on their facebook or myspace pages. we're going to try to at least get into the ballpark of my

social security. i was born in virginia, and okay, bleep out the date here, october [ bleep ] 19 [ bleep ]. okay, how would you at least come upon the first couple of digits, first maybe three, four, five digits. >> so, we will know from publicly available information that your ssn should be likely between -- the first two digits, 223 and 231. >> reporter: that's right. those are the area code numbers based on the state where you were born. the last six numbers are given in chronological order. to find the next numbers, they used statistical techniques and they mined publicly available data from the social security administration's death master file. that shows the patterns in which people who are deceased got their numbers. he says it's much easier to narrow down numbers for people born after 1988, when most americans started getting assigned social security numbers at birth. >> if you consider the entire nine digits, we can predict with fewer than 1,000 attempts 85.5%

of all ssn issued after 1988. >> reporter: and it's even easier to track people born in less populated states. his point in all this? >> the bottom line is that social security numbers are very bad passwords. they were not designed to be used the way they are using them now. >> reporter: so, the professor and the social security administration have been cautioning people to stop using them as passwords at the bank and other places. officials from the social security administration didn't respond to our request for an on-camera interview, but in a statement the spokesman said the suggestion that he was cracked a code for predicting an ssn is a dramatic exaggeration. but he said for reasons unrepresented to the report, they'll start randomly assigning social security numbers next year, brian todd, cnn, washington. it is go time. we are pushing forward with the next hour of "cnn newsroom" with the man! ali velshi! >> tony, have