for links and information. try the fareed challenge, our weekly world affairs quiz. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a bloody weekend. bombs kill two u.s. marines in what -- sectarian violence again. one 24-hour period, four baghdad churches attacked. is she ready for her close-up? senate hearings start tomorrow for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. you are in the cnn nrm nrm. u.s. troops are dying in afghanistan at a record pace. bombs killed two americans this

weekend in heldmand province. that brings this year's death toll to 104. what do you know? >> reporter: well, thomas, two u.s. marines were killed in action yesterday in southern afghanistan. those happened in two separate roadside bombs, ieds, a tactic being used by the taliban and insurgency. it's been a very effective tactic. operation strike of the swort. it has been an effective operation. they say they have met little resistance but they are experiencing casualties. and the u.s. forces are not alone. british troops lost 15 of their men in a span of ten days. british troops losing 184 service members in afghanistan,

surpassing their death toll in iraq. >> atia, let me ask you a question about all of this. you're correct, since the military said up front they felt like the insurgents, taliban were retreating to the country side here. this is a pattern we've seen before. you try to seize the main cities, they retreat and then they attack from the outside and turn it to their advantage. the country side much harder to control, isn't it? >> reporter: absolutely, tom. this is a tactic that we've seen in the past. sometimes we've seen areas that have been cleared out and what the taliban do is they go to different provinces and different villages, wait out the coalition troops and come back in. and right now they expect that to happen in helmand. they've seen coalition forces come to these districts, come to these villages, but they've never had the manpower to stay. right now when we spoke to the u.s. marines wp we spoke to commanding general larry nicholson, he told us they have that manpower now and they won't

leave. they're there to build institutions, cooperation with the afghan people to show them they're the better choice, not the talibans. afghan villagers themselves are skeptical. they know if they go towards the u.s. forces, coalition troops, and the taliban come back they will be punished. >> one more question i want to ask. earlier this week we had a general say they must have more support from actual afghan troops. they must join the effort. because if they join the effort, that will bring those locals around a little bit more because obviously they're more keen on having their own troops there than on having outsiders. how long are we looking at a timetable here for more afghan troops to be ready and willing to join this effort? >> reporter: well, tom, there can be any timetable set to have afghan forces come and have that afghan national army, the afghan national police. but the problem is, is when they don't have that national pride, you're looking at a country that

has been broken apart for the past 30 years. you can't ingrain that nationalism into people who join the army, who join the police force. that's going to take time. they're not like the u.s. forces. they're not like a u.s. official in the army. they're not like the u.s. marines. right now they don't have pride when they look at the afghan pl flag. that's going to take time to build. that's what coalition forces hope to do. at the same time, they need that nationalistic pride. and that will take many years. >> thanks. reporting for us there. it's important to remember, always, these are largely tribal lands outside of kabul. many people there have just as much allegiance to their local group as any central government. almost two weeks after u.s. troops withdrew from iraqi cities sectarian violence seems to be increasing. four baghdad churches were bombed this weekend injurying eight civilians. in a separate incident today, gunmen assassinated a provincial

official official. the victim was krchristian. with senate confirmation hearings scheduled to start tomorrow, the debate over supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor is heating up. president obama called her this morning to wish her good luck. he nominated sotomayor to fill the seat of retiring justice david souter. she worked as an assistant district attorney in new york for five years. a federal judge since 1992 and been on the u.s. circuit court of appeals since 1998. what does the public think about sotomayor? they don't get a real vote in this. but cnn deputy political director paul stein hauzer has been looking at the numbers nonetheless. >> that's right, tom. our cnn opinion research corporation national poll, we broke it down by party. take a look at this. our poll suggests a major

partisan split over the nomination. you can see from these numbers democrats overwhelmingly, nearly seven in ten think they think she should be confirmed by the support. independents, they're pretty much split over whether the senate should confirm sotomayor. republicans, one in four feel she should be confirmed. the number of in the lower right, 65% of republicans indicating in our survey that sonia sotomayor should not be confirmed. our polling director tells me that number is higher than the number of republicans who opposed the confirmation of john ginsburg back in the '90s and higher than the number of democrats who opposed the nomination of alito and roberts four years ago. take a look at this. this is also interesting. you can see right here if sotomayor is qualified, should senators still vote against her because of her stance on the issues? you can see americans are pretty much split on that answer. that's a big difference from the old days. back in the day it used to be public opinion was pretty much

if a nominee were qualified, the senate should vote for that nominee. that the issues or his stance on the issues really should not be part of the problem or equation. obviously this is a much more partisan time than in the olden days. one things it seems americans agree on according to our poll is this. check out these numbers. six in ten say they think the confirmation hearings this week are going to be a major fight between the parties. a little less than four in ten think there'll be some bipartisan agreement among the senators. they think it'll be a kumbaya moment. that's what our poll spells out days before sonia sotomayor goes before the senate for her confirmation hearing. >> we will have, of course, complete coverage of the confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor this week, follow the pointed questions about her background, rulings, controversial comments and speeches live on cnn starting tomorrow at 10:00. the first family is back in washington.

the family's last stop a 17th century castle in ghana that held africans to be sold in the slave trade. our anderson cooper had exclusive access to mr. obama on his trip. >> do you think what happened here still has resonance in america? that the slave experience still is something that should be talked about and should be remembered and should be present in every day life? >> well, you know, i think that the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things you don't forget about. i think it's important that the way we think about it and the way it's taught is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer and that's the end of the story. i think the way it has to be

thought about, the reason it's relevant is because whether it's what's happening in darfur or what's happening in the congo or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists. >> you can see more of anderson's interview with the president tomorrow night. anderson will share his exclusive access on his historic journey to africa. it's monday night. make sure you join us. 10:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn on "ac360." a terrific show. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius says she's open to all options when it comes to funding a massive health care overall and that includes representative charlie rangel's proposal for a new tax on the wealthiest americans. sebelius appears on cnn state of the union this morning saying all this. >> the bottom line is it's got to be paid for and that we all have a shared responsibility, that we all need to play a role.

the house and senate version also have employers included and individuals included. what's been remarkable, wolf, is the stake holders in the early '90s were the most vocal opponents of anything changing in the health care system. are really at the table with their own suggestions of how to pay for -- >> just to be precise you're open to charlie rangel's proposal? >> well, i think everything is on the table. >> as politicians debate, the best way to reform health care, they're looking for models everywhere. all over the world. in different states. one county in maryland has come to light as providing one example. our kate bolduan was there. she spoke with a woman who says the county's plan saved her life. >> reporter: you can't tell now, but they have gone through a tough few years. in 1999, 63-year-old henriette

fought and suhr virvived cancer. >> reporter: it was neil's heart that almost killed her. she discovered she needed triple bypass surgery just one month after finding affordable health care insurance. she got it through a program called healthy howard in maryland. do you think it saved your life? >> yes. most definitely. without question. without second thought. yes. because had they not been there for me, again, i wouldn't have gone to the hospital. >> reporter: because you were afraid you couldn't pay? >> yes. exactly. >> reporter: neil showed us her only bill from surgery. >> you saw it. $100. >> reporter: how? healthy howard is an experiment of sorts. as the national health care debate rages on, howard county decided to go it alone. using a combination of public and private funds and pro bono doctor care, the county is

trying to offer affordable insurance to every resident. the average premium is between $50 and $85 a month. >> there's no other program in the country that provide primary and preventive care, specialty care, prescription coverage, hospital and emergency room care and health coaching. that's why our program was unique. >> reporter: patients are also assigned a coach like maureen pike to guide each individual health plan. >> the biggest thing is just trying to shift the focus from playing catchup once people are already sick to increasing their well being and trying to prevent some of these risk factors from turning into disease later on. >> reporter: the approach may not work everywhere. howard is one of the wealthiest counties in one of the country's wealthiest states. but officials think they're at least setting an example. 300 participants so far. and they've found about 2,500 more who are eligible for existing insurance programs but didn't know it. as for neil, she's feeling

better than ever. and hopes both the uninsured and the policymakers are paying attention. what do you think washington and lawmakers can learn from your experience and what you've gone through? >> that there is a lot of henriette's out there. >> reporter: kate bolduan, cnn, columbia, maryland. california lawmakers are rolling up their sleeves for another intense day of closed door budget gloerkss. there's growing optimism they could reach a deal on the state's $26.3 billion budget gap this week. major sticking points include govern eor schwarzenegger's socl service reform proposal. while they work it out, california continues to pay its bills with ious. michael ware will join us live from baghdad in just a few moments with the latest on those church bombings over there. and a new fight for the u.s. military. and this one is over smoking.

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having to go in the middle of traffic and just starting and stopping. having to go in the middle of a ballgame and then not being able to go once i got there. and going at night. i thought i had a going problem. my doctor said i had a growing problem. it wasn't my bladder. my prostate was growing. i had an enlarging prostate that was causing my urinary symptoms. my doctor prescribed avodart. (announcer) over time, avodart actually shrinks the prostate and improves urinary symptoms.

so i can go more easily when i need to go and go less often. (announcer) avodart is for men only. women should not take or handle avodart due to risk of a specific birth defect. do not donate blood until 6 months after stopping avodart. tell your doctor if you have liver disease. rarely sexual side effects, swelling or tenderness of the breasts can occur. only your health care provider can tell if symptoms are from an enlarged prostate and not a more serious condition like prostate cancer. so have regular exams. call your doctor today. avodart. help take care of your growing problem we are turning now to iran. could leaders there be getting ready to talk with the west? that's the big question this weekend. iran's state-run news agency says high-level preparations for such talks are under way. the report quotes iran's foreign minister who says iran's

president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, is working on guidelines for potential discussions with the west. that would be quite a change. meanwhile, words of warning to protesters from a top iranian general. the chief of iran's joint armed forces says government troops are ready to ak fis their own lives rather than back down in the face of protests. no doubt that will be a sticking point of any talks that might be proposed. this shown live on iranian tv earlier today. the return of five iranians held in iraq for two years by u.s. troops. u.s. officials say they're still concerned that the release of these fellows could prevent a security threat to american troops in iraq. but, they say, a u.s. security agreement obligated them to release the iranians after all this time. a story developing out of iraq at this hour. the bombing of six churches in a 24-hour period. cnn's michael ware is in baghdad. what can you tell us about this?

we have a little difficulty with michael not being able to hear our signal. i'll check back with him. smoke them if you've got them could soon be a thing of the past in the armed forces. a new study by the pentagon and veteran affairs program is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the military. that means no smoking by anyone in uniform. not even combat troops in the thick of battle. pentagon's top doctors are studying the report. they'll pass along recommendations through defense secretary robert gates and the pentagon policy team soon. we'll see what happens. after three straight delays back hear at home, the space shuttle "endeavour" is on the pad fueled up and ready to go. will a fourth launch attempt be the charm? the car listens. you say call nina, you get nina. you say play puccini, 12 sony speakers... play puccini.

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we're physical lowing the news out of iraq about the bombings of six churches in a 24-hour period. as promised, we are back in baghdad with cnn's michael ware. what can you tell us about all this? >> reporter: what i can tell you is in the last three hours or so there's been five targeted bombings of christian churches

here in the capital, baghdad. roughly around the time of sunday evening services. there was also an addition alboming late last night at st. joseph's church in iraq. because of the late hour no one was there. the tragic news, tom, is that in this evening's five bombings at least four people have been reported killed and 32 wounded. now, we're seeing continued spasms of violence here in iraq. al qaeda and its allies maintain their bombing campaigns. this evening this is very clearly targeted at what little remains of iraq's christian community. attacks on the christians have been under way since at least 2004. while no one has an exact figure, it's believed of iraq's estimated original 1 million christians, most have fled the

country in the wake of the violence targeting their communities. indeed, just october last year in the northern city of mosul, it's believed as many as 1,000 christian families had to flee for their lives across iraq's borders after muslim extremists threatened them with death or conversion to islam. so in a nutshell, six more bombings of christian churches in the last 24 hours here in the capital. four people killed. and the onslaught against the christian community here in iraq clearly continues. tom? >> michael, you and i have been talking for years now about the notion that when troops pulled out, there might be a realigning, people pushing for power to make sure certain groups don't get any power. is this what we've been talking about, or is this a simple continuation of what's going on? >> reporter: the bombings themselves are a continuation of

what's been going on. if you remember, as i said, the christians have been targeted for years. under america's watch, hundreds of thousands of christians had to leave iraq for fear of their lives. minority groups, minority religious groups have been targeted. the most devastating attack of all was against a minority second where as many as 500 people were killed in one coordinated attack alone. so to some degree, this does not reflect the handover from american to iraqi command. they're jockeying for power. they're positioning. the maneuvering, that, nonetheless, continues unabated. so far we've not seen that translate to violence on the streets. one would hope that we won't see it do so, tom, at least until next year's election. and we test how the losers of that ballot will respond to whatever defeats they may suffer. tom? >> what about the bigger picture

right now? it's been almost two weeks now since the u.s. troops moved out of the citying. is that going well? is that going poorly? what do you think? >> reporter: well, the withdrawal itself has been under way for six months. it began in january last year. the military maneuvers, the military redeployments, it was on its face entirely successful. the troops were withdrawn in an orderly manner. the violence, nonetheless, was happening in the days of the american-led phase and the violence continues in the beginning days of the iraqi-led phase of the war. the world forgets two things. there are still 131,000 american troops in iraq. even though they're not actively engaged in combat operations at the moment. secondly, there's still a war going on, tom. >> all right. many thanks, michael. six church bombings in the past 24 hours. the latest news out of there. thanks for keeping us up to date. nasa has finished fuelling the space shuttle "endeavour's" expersonal fuel tank.

it's sitting on the pad poised for leftofiftoff. yesterday's launch was delayed while managers checked for damage after 11 lightning strikes less than half mile a way. last month liquid hydrogen leaks forced two launch attempts to be strubed. "endeavour's" mission is to install the final piece of japan's science lab. excessive heat warning for the phoenix area. jacqui jar rk qui jaras is join. >> that includes the phoenix area. the biggest problem is 113 isn't that unusual in the desert. but take a look at what our overnight low temperature is going to be here. 87 degrees. so when you're, you know, starting your day at 87, which is an uncomfortable temperature

for many, there's just no recovery in here. that's why we're going to have such a problem in that area. excessive heat warnings extend into monday. also extreme heat across parts of texas through all of the state of oklahoma. eastward into little rock, slee shreveport and into houston. index feeling like 100 to 115 degrees today. 103 in dallas. 98 in houston. even memphis really starting to heat up now with a high temperature tomorrow around 90 degree. the other thing we're dealing, stormy conditions. take a look at these pictures that we have. this is out of pike county, ohio, from yesterday evening. it was likely a twister that touched down and moved through this area damaging multiple mobile homes, at least five people were injured in this storm. now, we are looking at potential for thunderstorms for the shuttle launch again for today. there you can see those sea breeze thunderstorms moving in along the west coast of florida.

right now things look good here. the launch pad site, there's about a 30% chance we will see a delay as a result of the weather. now, severe weather this afternoon will be a little bit more widespread across the plain states. the areas that we'll be watching here really from south dakota stretching through the st. louis area and on into tennessee. if things continue to develop this afternoon, we will keep you up to date. tom? >> many thanks, jacqui. all the best weather comes from south dakota. >> is that so? do the best anchors also come from south dakota, i'm guessing? >> brokaw's from south dakota. but i lived there, too. details about a secret counterterrorism program withheld from congress. now the cia says former vice president dick cheney was responsible. folks from all across the country. howdy! of all shapes and sizes. saving time by comparing our progressive directories to those of other top companies. and saving money with our discounts and customized policies.

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welcome home, man. i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. the cia has told congress former vice president dick cheney ordered intelligence officials to keep lawmakers in

the dark about details of a secret counterterrorism program. that confirmation is coming now from the head of the senate intelligence committee, senator dianne feinstein says ci airks director leon panetta informed lawmaker last month about cheney's role. efforts to contact cheney for reaction have been unsuck esz f deszful. lawmakers voiced their opinion. >> the person who's been undermining the credibility of the cia is the former vice president by his actions if, in fact, this is true. this is very, very serious. and i think it goes beyond even the -- to the credibility of the cia. we all want a strong, effective, credible cia. we have to have that as part of our national security. it's integral to our national security. this really goes to a larger question that we struggled with throughout the bush presidency, which is checks and balances. >> this is a big issue not only

from the standpoint of whether -- what the vice president did, but from the issue of the morale and capacity of the cia to develop information and other intelligence gathering sources. i've sent, i've been here before and you have, too, we're heading back in this atmosphere in this senate and congress, basically people use the cia as a whipping boy. instead of supporting their initiatives and overseas intelligence gathering, they become a symbol of the errors of a prior administration. and it becomes taken on at a level that basically leads to legislation or to just hearings that basically fundamentally undermine the atmosphere and the morale of this agency, which is absolutely critical to us right now. and we saw it happen before. >> attorney general eric holder may pursue a criminal investigation into the bush administration's interrogation practices on suspected terrorism. the associated press reports holder is expected to decide

whether to appoint a special prosecutor within the next few weeks. if holder moves ahead with the criminal probe, it will put him at odds with the white house. president obama has resisted launching an investigation, saying the nation should look forward, not backwards. the justice department says holder will, quote, follow the facts and the law. new developments today in the search for the killers of a florida couple known for adopting special needs kids. police are questioning two persons of interest. our david mattingly is in pensacola with more on the investigation into the death of bird and melanie billings. what do you know? >> reporter: tom, the sheriff yesterday told us very clearly that this investigation wasn't going all that well. they were running into all sorts of roadblocks until about this time yesterday when tips led them to a very large red van. it is a critical piece of evidence. and investigators are combing through it to see what they can find. they believe this is the same

van recorded by a home security camera the night someone broke into the home of bird and melanie billings and shot them dead. >> once we had located the van, developed an address of where the van had been registered to, interviews with associated neighbors and friends and family then led us to two persons of interest. as you know, we are looking for a total of three. >> reporter: three young white men all recorded on family's security system as they broke into the billings' home. investigators won't say if anything was taken from the house or what kind of weapon was used. but the men who did this worked so quickly that authorities believe they had some kind of experience. >> we were surprised with the rapidity of the crime. and that's, you know, about the most i can say about it. >> reporter: investigators will not discuss motive. bird and melanie billings were noun for their kindness. they had adopted a dozen children over the years, many with special needs. eight of the children were at

home at the time of the murders. none was harmed. but why were the billings targeted? was it robbery or was it something else? the sheriff identified this man as one of the persons of interest. he said his appearance matches one of the men seen by security cameras. at the time he was seen by our camera, he had not been named as a suspect and no arrests had been made. and that has not changed at this hour. still just two persons of interest being interviewed, looking for a third. no charges filed as yesterday. tom? >> interesting story, david. tragic, too. thanks for keeping us up to date. grieving and angry families are joining the reverend jesse jackson for a prayer vigil today outside the locked gates of that chicago cemetery where four former workers are accused of reselling and reusing burial plots. the cook county sheriff's office is figuring out how many graves were disturbed. it's proving difficult because hundreds, maybe thousands were unmarked. one official says there are not

even maps for some sections of the 150 acre african-american landmark, including an area specifically for babies there. authorities in chicago continue to wrestle with a terrible year of youth violence. lots of places have problems, of course. so far the windy city has had more than 40 school-age children murdered since the start of the last school year. police and community groups alike are trying to step up their efforts to stop these killings. with the middle of summer coming on fast, we checked in this weekend on their progress. >> it's almost like if it's not happening in my neighborhood, then it's not happening to me. and so there isn't a sense of interconnecttivity. and i think -- what happened? i don't know exactly when it happened. but i know that there has, over the years, there seems to be this kind of -- there's a distance. and there's this great chasm that's growing between the people who really understand and want to get in and solve these

problems, whether you live in these types of neighborhoods or not. the embattled ones. and people who just kind of feel like, you know, i've got so many other things on my plate. the economy's bad. i'm worried about my own house and i don't have time right now. >> what do you think makes the difference in terms of a neighborhood move ace way from youth violence or moving more toward it? what's the key? >> the key is everybody across the nation has to look at violence as a public health issue. because at cease-fire, what we do is pretty much hire credible messengers that can get access to the communities where most of the violence is taking place and make sense out of the madness. what's going on is we have two realties here in america. the working-class people. the subculture, the gangs. the drugs play a key role in the violence. at the same time, you have to have people who can go in there, talk them down. this year alone we -- over 155

conflicts in chicago that led to somebody being shot. you can't turn away. you have to appoint credible messengers throughout chicagoland. as a matter of fact, cease-fire is a scientifically proven method now. >> what is a credible messenger in this kind of circumstance? >> okay. people like -- we hired -- we probably got -- professionally trained team of guys that go into these communities and some young ladies. these are people that used to be a part of the subculture. people that used to run in the gangs. people that know what's going on in these particular sticky situations that lead to violence. that's what i'm talking about as a credible messenger. somebody who's been there in these different situations on the street. >> as we've been talking about this this weekend, a lot of you have had thoughts about how to handle youth violence. check out a lot of the responses on our blog. head to cnn.com/fredricka and read what some of the comments

are. electric car. they might just be the wave of the future. john levs found out for now one model has limitations to say the at least. >> reporter: hey, guys. we're about to drive an actual electric car through the streets of atlanta. there's a pretty serious speed limit on this. let's see how this goes. >> we'll see how josh did in his little yellow car. ddddddh

it's not quite a little red corvette. but with all the emphasis on green energy these days, automakers are busy developing new lines of electric cars. some are already on the market. although not all of them will answer all of your driving needs. our josh levs took one out for a spin. >> reporter: we got the anvil here today. tell us what we're looking at. >> it's an lsc, which means a low speed vehicle. it is certainly a lot more creative than what you're accustomed to seeing. wide track technology. a little more addressive. bit automotive wheels. >> it means it's a brad car, wide car. >> gives you more features inside. >> where is the electric gear? underneath it? all packed here in a much smaller unit? >> some of it is. >> reporter: i didn't just break

it? >> no. very durable. drive train in the back. >> reporter: what is the difference between this and a glorified golf cart? >> a golf dart has maybe a 46-inch wheel path. this has 60 inches p we're not going to rub shoulders inside. heated seats. full automotive gauges. more intuitive movement. >> reporter: first of all, you have this. which is forward and reverse instead of a gear shift. >> correct. on the left side, the first button with the t works as a turbo button or boost. ♪ go grease lightning >> reporter: it feels like an average car. it's a little bit harder to speed up. but once it does, it just carries on its own. you don't need to hit the gas or

anything. ♪ shut up and drive >> reporter: we're driving on the kinds of roads that are best for this kind of car. since it only goes up to 25 miles an hour it's best to be on roads that only go up to 35 or only up to 30. ♪ >> reporter: why would someone buy this car when they could spend the same amount of money and get a car that has windows and it's completely covered and has the air-conditioning. >> certainly it's green. it's doing the right thing. it's fun to drive. it doesn't use any fuel. >> if you're a family that has a couple cars, want to save money and gas, get this as a third car? >> absolutely. that's happening every day. americans are driving about 15 billion miles a week. we can make a difference in that

s segment. hopefully the consumer will drive the demand. >> there are a lot of other options in electric car. some of them actually go 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds. very fascinating vehicles. very different from that one. go to cnnmoney.com. you can see some of the models and get some ideas for yourself. a home invasion stopped by an octogenarian. how the unarmed senior chased off a bear that broke into his house. (music plays)

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it can be a frightening scenario. ever hear one of those noises in your house in the middle of the night? i usually go wandering around with a golf club. what good that can do me. a california couple is sharing their story this weekend with a cnn affiliate ktfl. >> reporter: 86-year-old gus isn't sure what got him out of bed at 2:00 in the morning. he just knew something wasn't quite right. >> didn't know what it was. thought is that a burglar? i'm an old man. i can't face any burglar. >> reporter: to his surprise, it wasn't what he initially

thought. >> i walk a little farther. and i get to about right here. when it stands up. i said, my god. it's a bear. just on impulse i went, arf, arf, arf. that was it. man, he turned and run. he jumped right through this window right here. that's the way he came in. >> reporter: it all happened so quickly that gus's wife slept through the whole thing. >> i didn't believe it when he woke me up later and told me there was a bear in the house. and i said wake me up this time of morning to tell me that? because he's quite a jokester. >> he would have just tore it to shreds. anything that he can smell food. probably was a she, come to think of it. >> reporter: this former mustang pilot from the war never even got scared. i would be. >> you're a girl. girls are supposed to be that

way. that's why you've got men to protect you. right? >> reporter: you're right. >> that's why god made men stronger and everything else. >> good for him. ever had that problem? >> i've never had that problem. but now i know what to do. bark like a dog. >> you call him. >> or that. >> he'll come over. >> could you imagine that? ever have an animal in your house at night? >> we've got a lot in our house at night. unfortunately they're still there in the morning. >> hot. crazy hot. do you like ice cream? fan of ice cream? >> what's the best in the world? >> mint chocolate chip. >> no, what kind? >> mint chocolate chip. do you like the drumsticks? that's where i was going with this. i actually had a purpose. >> sure. i like the drumstick. >> roll the video.

all right. we've been talking about the heat and just how bad it's been in parts of arizona. in maricopa county out there in tent city, so hot they decided to give them ice cream. drumsticks for the inmates. i guess everybody deserves a treat when it's so hot. temperatures have been way up in the triple digits. 114 yesterday. about 113 today. the big problem is then is that the temperatures in the overnight are not dropping down a whole heck of a lot. and we've been dealing with overnight lows in the mid to upper 80s. and that's why these conditions are just so dangerous out there across much of the area. we've also got a lot of heat across the southern plain states as well. heat advisories which are in effect across parts of oklahoma, also into texas here. so now spreading eastward, too, into arizona. little rock is included in these heat advisories. many of them have been extended at least into tomorrow. 103 in dallas. 98 in houston.

we're sure you'll see that spread into the deep south, too. other weather today, dealing with showers and thunderstorms. some of these could reach severe levels. the st. louis area some very intense thunderstorms have been rumbling through here. no real warnings. i wouldn't be surprised if we saw good wind gusts and very heavy downpours. be aware we could have localized flooding. on the east side of town now moving towards edwardsville area. in the west, weather has been quiet. a new front moving in. not seeing a whole lot of rain with it but we are concerned about dry thunderstorms. those are the types that the rain goes through a dry layer of air and evaporates before it hits the ground. the big problem, we could see lightning spark some fire. a critical area through the weekend and early next week. >> you said my name like the schoolteachers did, like are you paying attention?

>> i can't just call you tom. >> there's a prison like the scene with cool hand luke. a particularly serious illness that hits african-american women harder than anyone else. now a doctor goes on a mission to find out why.

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a michigan doctor is searching for clues in a deadly mystery. why does an addressive form of breast cancer hit african-american women especially hard? soledad o'brien has the story. it's part of cnn's upcoming series, ""black in america." >> reporter: breast cancer is the focus of dr. lisa newman's life for two important reasons. she's waiting for her own biopsy results after a troubling mammogram. and for years she's been tracking a particularly deadly form of the disease called triple negative breast cancer or tnbc. tnbc disproportionately kills black women. and dr. newman wants to know why. her extraordinary commitment leads to an extraordinary journey.

she's taking her search for answers all the way to africa. >> the women that are most likely to be afflicted with the triple negative breast canneses are younger aged women, women in the premenopausal age range and women with african ancestry. >> reporter: these clues have led to her a provocative theory. >> whether or not african ancestry might actually predispose women to a biologically more aggressive form of breast cancer. >> reporter: to test her theory, newman regularly travels to ghana. why ghana? because 60% of the women here

who have breast cancer have triple negative. >> i will give you an injection to your skin so that i don't hurt you with the biopsy proceed rur. it's a little pressure here. you will hear the popping sound in a moment. >> oh, wow. >> yeah. >> reporter: newman takes these samples from african women and compares them to the dna of american women. nearly 200,000 american women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. black women are twice as likely as white women to get tnbc. a little known killer. with black women squarely in its sight. lisa newman knew she had to help. you're doing the kind of work that generations will benefit from. >> i certainly hope so.