1:00 p.m. eastern, sundays at 3:00. log on at cnnmoney.com. nice to see you in the tv. have a great weekend, everyone. new u.s. deaths in afghanistan as the offensive continues in helmand province down south. words of encouragement from president obama as judge sonia sotomayor gets readied for her supreme court hearings. and did dick cheney hide a secret counterintelligence program from congress when he was the vice president? some democrats are demanding an investigation. hello, i'm tom foreman in for fredricks whitfield and you are in the cnn newsroom. that u.s. offensive in afghanistan is coming a at a price this weekend. bombs killed two americans in

helmand province. that brings this year's death toll to 104. cnn's correspondent has details. >> reporter: two u.s. marines were killed in a action yesterday in southern afghanistan by two separate ieds. those are roadside bombs. this is an area of afghanistan that thousands of u.s. marines flooded into and started operation punjar, operation strike of the sword. working with coalition troops, their main aim is to clear and hold areas that coalition troops were not able to in the past because they just didn't have that manpower there are two operations going on at the same time in helmand province and one is also by the british forces, led by the british troops themselves, and they, too, have been experiencing very drastic casualties this past week. and in ten days alone they lost 15 of their men. also losing one of theirest ranking commanders killed in action since the falken war in 1982. they do expect more resistance

to come up. they have not been facing much resistance at the moment but they do expect the taliban to retaliate because of frustration, that they might be feeling at the fact that these coalition troops have taken districts that they were not able to before. cnn, kabul. in iraq, a series of church bombings has rocked baghdad, six in 24 hours, getting reports of some deaths, many injuries, go right to cnn a's michael ware in the capital city. michael what a do you know? >> reporter: tom, before we come to the series of church bombings, let me just tell you we have just received some breaking news. a road side explosion detonated this afternoon near the convoy of the u.s. ambassador, christopher hill. u.s. embassy spokesperson have confirmed that an explosion did detonate near the ambassador's convoy in southern iraq. i can tell you that from information we are receiving, it was in the southern province of

dikar, which has traditionally been controlled by irani iranian-backed militias. the u.s. embassy say no, sir embassy officials were hurt, however, an investigation is now under way. now, that happened some time today. but as you said, tom, this evening, we have had five bombings at different churches here in baghdad, alwain five ho space of three hours. 32 were killed and others wounded. >> what do you know about the story at the top there michael? near the convoy? do we know how near and hot has that region been up to this point? >> a very good question, tom. personally, we don't know any further details than that. we just literally received the confirmation from the u.s. embassy just moments before went to air. however, i can tell you about that province. a southern province that by and

large, except for particular shia uprisings, mainly by the meddy army, has been an area that has been relatively quiet for the u.s. military throughout the course of the war. it certainly hasn't been as unrest as al qaeda controlled and certainly not like diyala, to the north of baghdad. it's a province, but much of the south, that militarily in terms of attacks on coalition forces, was relatively stable, largely because unlike in the west and to the north, al qaeda has not been able to operate with freedom of movement because it's a an area that has essentially been monopolized by iranian-backed militias. so the fact that an explosion has detonated near the u.s. ambassador's convoy in an area like that poses some open-ended questions, to say the least. tom? >> all right, michael. we will check back in with you throughout the hour to see what

is going on over there. you will be all over it thanks so much, michael. a heroic home coming in tehran today for five iranians who were detained by iranians in iraq for two and a half years. officials accuse the men of aiding islamic insurgents but iran described them as diplomats kidnapped by u.s. forces. the men were released thursday under pressure from the iraqi government. elsewhere in the world, new fighting in somalia today, heavy fire north of the capital city, mogadishu. islamic insurgents are battling their way toward the presidential palace. dozens of people have been killed. african union peacekeepers have finally intervened to support the government forces for the first time. the united nations says civilians are being targeted in all of this, women and children suffering the most. and back here in the states, senate confirmation hearings

begin tomorrow for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. president obama nominated her to fill the seat of retiring justice dave vi individual souter and the talk ever since a 55-year-old new yorker, puerto rican decent. graduated from yale and worked as an assistant district attorney in new york for five years. she has been a federal judge since 1992 and on the u.s. circuit court of appeals since '98. over the past few days, the debate over judge sotomayor has been heating up a great deal. president obama called her this morning answered wish herd good luck as it all starts off. cnn's kate bolduan has a preview of what might be coming up. >> thank you, mr. president, for the most humbling honor of my life. >> reporter: a journey that began at the white house now heads to capitol hill for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor as she enters a week of intense scrutiny during senate confirmation hearing. >> i hope that as the senate and

american people learn more about me that they will see that i am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. >> reporter: senate democrats, who have the votes to confirm sotomayor, are expected to highlight her personal story to win favor, growing up poor in bronx public housing, then going on to an ivy league education and now possibly the first latina supreme court justice. a smart approach for sotomayor as well says former reagan chief of staff, who has advised several high court nominees. >> given a awful lot of your personal life and your values, how you got to where you are, what your history is, but also your impartiality and you judge them as you see them coming. >> reporter: conservatives have a difficult task ahead,

challenging sotomayor's record without coming across as attacking her. republicans are expected to ask tough questions about sotomayor's views on gun rights, abortion and affirmative action. but republicans think they have a better chance taking on her off-the-bench statements, like this 2005 comment at a duke university. >> court of appeals is where policy is made and i know -- and i know is on tape and i should never say that because we don't he make law, i know. >> reporter: republicans are also sure to press sotomayor on her past statements that a wise latino woman would reach a better conclusion than a white male. senator jeff sessions is the senior republican on the senate judiciary committee. >> she had advocated a view that suggests that your personal experiences, even prejudices, she uses that word, expected they would influence the decision you make, which is a blow, i think tell, very ideal of american justice. >> reporter: democrats, including the committee's chair, will no doubt come quickly to

sotomayor's defense. >> the fact is, her answers are ultimately and completely a lot of controls and she has the experience and the cases to be a mainstream judge. anything else is knit picking. >> reporter: sources working closely with judge sotomayor tell cnn they have intensified sotomayor's press sessions in the past week, trying to make sure she is ready. president obama has said he wants her confirmed before congress leaves for its august recess. kate bolduan, cnn, washington. >> many thanks, kate. the big question is what are the judge's greatest vulnerabilities in all of this? we will look at that with a reporter from the "washington post" who specializes in this. and you can see the confirmation hearings here on cnn. follow all the backgrounds of rulings, controversial comments and speeches, we will have it live, all week, right here a.

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the first family is back in washington. he met with leaders of the world's largest economy in italy. the last stop, a 17th century castle in ghana that held africans to be sold in the slave trade. back to domestic business for president obama. on monday and tuesday, he will return his focus to health care

reform. on thursday, he will speak at the naacp convention in new york that group is marking its 100-year anniversary and the president will visit new jersey on thursday, where he will appear at a re-election rally for governor jon corzine. a schedule like that you can understand why our anderson cooper went overseas to catch up with the president during his trip. he was there when the president visited that slave port in ghana. listen. >> 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. 10:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn on "ac360." of course, the biggest item in the president's agenda is the confirmation hearing, starting monday, for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor n a new cnn poll, almost half of americans say judge sotomayor should be confirmed. 40% say no. 13% are still unsure. eva rodriguez is an editorial writer with the "washington post." she is joining me now from d.c. eva, thanks for being here.

let me start with the real basic question here. what do you think the biggest challenge, the number one challenge is, for the judge as she sits down to begin the confirmation process? >> i think the number one challenge is going to be proving that she is not the judicial activist that her critics claim she is. in other words, proving that she doesn't have a political agenda that she plays out through her legal rulings. the white firefighters' case that was decided earlier this year is going to be a huge issue for judge sotomayor, as are her speeches, the ones that you highlighted previously. >> talk to me a little bit about the firefighters' case. you have written that she has been unfairly a attacked on this, yet there are real issues involved. there are real issues involved and i think she has been unfairly attacked on this i mean, the case in a nutshell was one in which the city of new haven threw out these promotions tests for the fire department because no african-american or

minority candidate passed the test for promotion. well, on its face, you're thinking, how in the world could that be fair? and it is a fair question, but when you look at the civil rights law, the civil rights law says that even if you think you have a fair process, if the results are so skewed and appear discriminator to against minorities, you the employer, in this care the city of new haven, have to take a second look and so when new haven took a second look, threw out the results, the white firefighters who won promotion sued. and in the legal process, judge sotomayor and two other judges looked at what the city did and said, look, ultimately, the city complied with civil rights law, so, now, judge sotomayor would be justice sotomayor is coming under attack by folks who say, see, she is a white latina, didn't like the results of the firefighter test. she would have been okay if all

african-americans or all hispanics had passed but she was okay with throwing out the test, if only white firefighters passed. >> let me ask you asking about that. i read the decision from -- the opinion from the court and they ruled on this they went through -- this is city went through an an enormous amount of expense and effort it seemed to make this test fair it seems the issue here for a judge is to say, was that a reasonable amount of effort they already put in and then should they have take than other step and saying we are going to three it out anyway? it seemed like the court ultimately said is she was wrong in her judgment, not just her but all of them who ruled against it, they were wrong in their judgment, he they simply said let's just stamp this and say, well, because these are the results. i think frankly, that's what excites so many voters out there, her concern about this, because they say the city did a lot to try to make this fair. if, in the end, some candidates didn't qualify, that's their problem, not the city's problem. >> right. but what also became -- and i

think everything you said is absolutely fair, but what then also became the city's problem is that civil rights law says even if you have jumped through every hoop and hurdle, even if you think you created a process that's fair, if you have results that suggest, raise questions about the fairness, in other words why did no african-americans pass the test? why did only two hispanics pass the test? you, as a city, as an employer, have to take a second look. >> let's move to the last part of this how does she overcome that? because, you're right, that impression is out there. >> yep. >> what does she need to say this week to put those fears to rest, not just for people who were in the room but for the voters who would put pressure for the people in the room? >> i can't speak for judge sotomayor, but i can tell you after reviewing dozens and dozens of her decisions and after having read many of her speeches, i think what she says in her speeches is profoundly more provocative than what she

says in her decisions? her speeches, when she is sort of shooting off the hip or talking about her judicial philosophy, she talks about the wise latina, she talks about how courts of appeals are where law is made. now, you would expect someone who espouses that kind of philosophy to use it in their professional role as a judge to come out with results that the law can't justify. you know what, she doesn't do that i was surprised, honestly, i was surprised. but what she has done consistently over the course of 20 years on the bench is follow the law. where she has had some discretion, where the law isn't clear and that's where judges do have discretion, she is clearly to the left of center. you may like that you may not, but she is still well within the law, so she is not, as a judge, wearing her robes, the activist that you see giving speeches in front of colleges and universities. >> and with that eva, wither going to wrap it up. eva rodriguez with the "washington post." thanks for joining us. i know you will be watching the

hearings and so will we here. you can watch them right here on cnn, every minute of it. follow the pointed questions her background, all of these rulings and controversies and debate about it all, live on cnn all this week. you will want to check it out. storms in the midsection of the country, extreme heat in the southern plains, fire dangers out in the west. meteorologist jacqui jeras will break it all down live from the cnn weather center. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models.

less than three hours and counting down, will live pictures from the launch site there. space shuttle "endeavour" ready to lift off. yesterday's launch was delayed after a lightning storm. no damage was found. the 16-day mission is to install the final piece of japan's science lab named "kibo" japanese for home. when the scientists get to the international space station, it will be a full house, there will be six people up there, so the biggest crowd ever in orbit. the shuttle launch, again, depends on the weather. so we turn to cnn's jackqui je s

jeras, a look at a it. the last grateful dead concert. >> what ever you say, tom. we are watching for that threat of showers and thunderstorms here. nasa puts their official forecast out, too, and says there is a 30% chance that weather would inhibit the launch. you can see there are thunderstorms developing but it is inland, you know, just west of the i-95 corridor. of course, stale couple of hours to go before launch. and things, right now, overall, looking pretty good. so we will continue to cross our fingers in hopes that everything is going to be a-okay weather-wise. most of the storms throughout western parts of florida throughout the weekend. now, we have got some other storms we have been watching. look at this huge complex of thunderstorms. this thing has been going all day long, started over in western missouri, brought in flash flooding, kansas city area, plowed through the st. louis area, brought down a bunch of trees, blocking highways and some scattered problems because of that and look at this thing, still going near the boot heel and pushing on over toward parts of illinois as well. not a lot of severe weather with

it wind is going to be the big concern. you certainly don't want to be outside, those storms continue to push on through. now, we are expecting to see the chance of severe weather tomorrow, a little farther to the south here across maybe the lower part of the mississippi river valley into the deep south and then also severe weather, the new system makes its way across parts of the west and looking for that threat from the dakotas extending into parts of colorado. really windy back behind the system, too, we will be watching the fire threat here over the next couple of days. the heat is on. oh, yeah, you know it has been steaming hot here across parts of texas and also into the deep south. as we take a look at some of the heat advisories that we have been dealing with, this is the same old sad song, i know you folks are so sick of this heat, unfortunately, stick around for at least another two-plus days, where we will be in the category where we've got the advisory still issued here. so watching that from parts of kansas all the way down toward the houston area and the advisory further east, too, by the way, little rock in on the action now, heat could reach

110, 115 degrees, so drink lots of water, yeah, water, not anything else. the best thing for you. phoenix still has the advisories and one of the biggest things we are dealing with here, despites the triple digit highs, low temperatures, look at that 87 tonight, that is 87. that is like no cooloff whatsoever unfortunately. tomorrow's high temperatures really seem very warm all across the southern tier. not so bad for you in chicago, 78 degrees. hey what you been doing this weekend? i have got some i reports what people have been doing across town. respect these cool? i love this watch the space shuttle. hey, watch the blue angels, too, thanks to our ireporter, james. pensacola beach area, look how close they were. there are the contrails, he asked me, are those contrails? yes, contrails, short for condensation trails. >> you know what i'm doing in this weekend when i'm not here? >> i'm competing in the tour de france. i came in 69.

i'm really tired. >> good luck with that. out of office but in the thick of controversy, former vice president dick cheney, did he tell the cia to keep secrets from congress? havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. 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. so what do you think?

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we are following breaking news out of baghdad this afternoon a roadside bomb targeted the convoy of u.s. ambassador christopher hill. it happened just south of baghdad today. no one in the ambassador's convoy was hurt. no other details were released on the incident. it is under investigation at this time. we are also getting details from afghanistan on the deaths of more american as. two u.s. marines killed in separate roadside bomb attacks this weekend. there is word that another u.s. military member has died from wounds received last month. confirmation hearings back home begin tomorrow for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. this morning, president obama calls her to wish her luck and reiterates his confidence in her but some lawmakers are openly

questioning her impartiality f confirmed, sotomayor would become the first hispanic supreme court justice of hispanic descent. a faceoff maybe brewing between president obama and eric holder, the attorney general. the i shall suit legality of post-9/11 interrogation technique during the bush administration and adding to that equation, another voice has joined the growing chorus saying former vice president dick cheney silenced the cia on a covert counterterrorism program. cnn correspondent elaine quijano has the latest. >> reporter: democrats blasted former vice president dick cheney on the heels of the revolution that cia director leon panetta told lawmakers cheney ordered the cia to keep congress in the dark for eight years about a still-secret counterterrorism program.

>> to have a massive program concealed is not only inappropriate it could be illegal. >> reporter: she learned of the vice president's order during a recent closed door meeting by panetta and expressed outrage. >> that is something that should never, ever happen again. >> reporter: with some democrats calling for an investigation, some republicans are accusing them of play politics. >> i believe vice president cheney served his country with as much fidelity as he could give to t. >> reporter: as another distraction emerges that could pull attention away from the president's domestic agenda a source familiar with the situation tells cnn that attorney general eric holder is leaping toward appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the bush administration's interrogation policy. >> if he does that he needs to go all the way back to 1995 and investigate the clinton administration renditions which might have led to interrogations in other countries. >> reporter: if holder does move ahead, the decision would put the justice department at odds

with what president obama himself has signalled in the past. >> generally speaking, i'm more interested in looking forward than i am in looking backwards. >> reporter: now, a justice department official says a decision could come in the next few weeks. this official insists if the attorney general does proceed it will be a very narrowly tailored look, only at those who might have gone beyond the legal guidance at the time in conducting interrogations. tomorrow? >> many thanks, elaine. i know we will hear a lot more about it as time goes on. of course, the number one big issue for the president continues to be the economy back here. we have heard so many stories about communities crumbling after major employers like a major automaker may pull out but this weekend, we are looking closely at a town celebrating because it is defying the odds, not far from here. cnn's alina cho has more where money and main street intersect in kiaville, also known as west

point, georgia. >> reporter: in the heart of the south, the face of tiny west point, georgia, is literally changing. the old pizza shut a korean barbecue, the old kfc, young's garden. jobs once scarce are finally returning. >> just like christmastime. like christmas. >> reporter: christmas, in the middle of a recession? in west point? yes. >> we jokingly call it kiaville. >> reporter: kia, the korean car company, is about to open a sprawling manufacturing plant, thanks to $400 million in tax breaks. even in the midst of a recession, the company will hire 2500 new workers, have suppliers and new businesses and the mayor says west point, population 3500, stands to gain 20,000 jobs over the next five years. divine intervention. >> the economic activity here is incredible. the trickle down effect in the local economy has been staggering. >> reporter: remarkable for a city that was slowly becoming a

ghost town. textile mills that once defined west point shut down in the 1990s, leaving many out of work. >> not going to go in. >> reporter: including 52-year-old margaret, laid off last year, now working again at one of kia's suppliers. did you ever think you would be making car parts? >> no not at all. >> not in a million years? >> no. >> reporter: new construction is everywhere, at roger's barbecue, business is booming. >> well, see if we can get them in here one time, we can get them back and they come, they coming back, they enjoy it. >> reporter: malcolm malone's car wash business is up 70% and down the street at irish red pub, ruth ann williams invested her life savings in the business. it is paying off. >> i came here because of kia. i wanted to come to this area because of kia. we have jumped in with both feet and we have not looked back one time. >> reporter: so, how is this tiny rural community adapting to the new asian infusion? dogs west point feel like more

of a melting point now? >> yeah. we got the culture coming in. you don't have to travel to atlanta anymore. >> reporter: from mill town to manufacturing mecca a brit spot in an otherwise gray economy. alina cho, cnn, west point, georgia. >> so, how is kia making in such a tough economy? we asked a car coach from new york. tell me about this, lauren kia and its parent company, hyundai, have managed to do a lot of things others haven't. how has that happened? >> part of what they have done is they have really looked at the united states and our market and figured out a lot of things. part of it is quality. we want cutting-edge design. we want safety and a good point with a great warranty. you look at a company like kia and they have the soul and the f forte, you can see the change in the cars and quality. >> that happened with the hyundai line as well? >> they do is smart, during the

recession, they came one the ten-year 100,000 mile warranty they always had but included the buy back offer in response to the recession, that has been huge. consumers concerned about will i have a job down the road? what will be the situation in they think if i'm working for kia or hyundai, i will buy the cars. may have worked for gm before but now i will help those that help me. >> wasn't that long ago, lauren, that hyundai was the punchline of a joke. it seemed like another thing that happened is the company truly invested in the idea of saying let's make a better car. we can't have cars out there, no matter how well we sell them if they don't work properly. >> kia and hyundai are cousins. what they have done together as a team is utilized sharing of conpon nents. they have decided we have to do what the americans have done, but do it better. they have created nice designs, things that meet our needs, ten-year 100,000-mile warranties which none of the other manufacturers are offering, three year, 36 or four, 48.

not enough for us. >> why is that, lauren? when i first saw the ten-year 100,000 warranty my thought is this is a company really putting its money where its mouth is and surprised others didn't try to do that. >> i'm surprised as well. because what they are really trying to do is they want to be different and with their crash test ratings being really, really great and their jd power rating at the top, the absolute top, with the best of the best, consumers are considering, i never thought about a korean car before, but now building cars here in the u.s., designing them in the u.s. >> i want to point something out while you are saying that, lauren, graphic up here now, showing everybody is losing sales this year, kia is down 11.4%,day is down 6.5%. but importantly, look at this, while everyone is losing, they have been gaining market share. they have actually been moving up while others are losing ground. i'm guessing that is a pretty important thing, lauren? >> that is a huge thing t is really hard to get a footprint in the u.s. part of why fiat bought into

chrysler, everybody wants to sell cars in the u.s. the only way to do that is to see what we are doing wrong and do it better. that is why we came in with the quality, buy back in recession. i had a worry too if i had a job that was questionable i do, buy a new car? the only way to do that is buy a guarantee, if i'm in trouble, take the car back. that is smart. other people will follow suit and also note there is a change in ford sales, too, just starting to come back around, because they didn't use a government money. >> scrolled through here, other numbers here, showing how some really big names lost tremendous number of sales in june compared to last year, but the one we had before showed the others weren't nearly so far off, kia and hyundai, managing to hold on a lot better than others. quickly before we have to go, lauren is there some intrinsic flaw in this for hyundai and kia or should the others try to find a way to truly get on board with this? >> a really good question. i think part of what they need to do is continue blading the trail, offering the best cars, the best quality and the best prices and building cars in the

u.s., giving americans jobs, they will buy their cars, as long as the money stays in the u.s., helps communities, it helps people get jobs and it will help us get out of a recession. the home that money leaves this country, that is when people are in trouble again, how we got where we are right now. >> certainly seem to be finding a way to get it done. sounds like a commercial. lauren, thanks for joining us. that word on kia. head to cnn.com and click on the link money and main street, we look at how the economic headlines are affecting all sorts of people and you, wherever you are in your community. convincing african-american men to see a doctor, where do you reach out to them? our soledad o'brien finds a program working well at a barber shop. which turned out to be the old-new docs... rather than the new-new docs. then bob dialed in from home and his... dog starts barking. so jen jumped in with her "two cents"... which katy missed because she was buying shoes online. and then i hit mute... to talk timelines with my team. getting lots of dirty looks through the phone in the process.

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i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. call the number on your screen for free information. you might want to stop what you're doing and really pay attention to this next story. it comes to us from soledad o'brien and it is not just about the difficult task of getting black men to the doctor it is about some really creative problem solving that we can all learn from. [ knocking ] >> what's going on?

all right. good. good. deep breath, in and out for me. >> reporter: dr. pete thomas is a black pioneer. >> what sort of medical problems did you have before you got shot? >> reporter: he is committed to the health and well being of black men. life expectancy is eight years less than the national average a. >> we are going to try to really work with your body. okay what is wrong with your leg? stop smoking. >> reporter: dr. thomas found a way to get black men to the doctor. it is called project brotherhood. >> got those that come in and see the doctor, i appreciate you. we know how to get men to the health center and it is not by advertising free colonoscopies. >> you know what i'm saying? try to get everybody to come down there. >> reporter: project brotherhood begins there, in this and many other chicago barber shops. >> just a great thing to be able to share with people.

>> reporter: why barber shops? why are she so critical to you? >> a staple in our community. men feel comfortable coming into the shop and more importantly, they feel comfortable talking about whatever health issues that they may have. >> reporter: whether it's fear of being exploited, going back to the tuskegee experiment, the economics of it all, including a lack of health insurance, or the fact that most doctors don't look like them, black men are notoriously reluctant to go to the doctor. so with clippers in one hand and an hiv testing kit in the other, the barber is project brotherhood's first line of defense against problems that plague the black community like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and hiv. >> it was kind of like gut-wrenching as far as the numbers, hiv, who is infected and all that and therefore, we make an impact in the community,

so it was definitely something that i want to see grow to the next level. >> reporter: barbers, like corey smith, do more than just educates while they cut and trim. >> good to see the doctor to see what is going on. >> reporter: they also recruit, encouraging their clients to go see a doctor. ♪ >> reporter: every thursday, men come to chicago's south side for free haircuts, conversation, classes, medication and, yes, free doctor's visits. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: project brotherhood's goal to treat the whole man. >> like a public health aspect, mental, physical, social, economic, spiritual f one aspect is off in a man's life, he is not going to truly be healthy. >> hello. how are you doing, quincy? >> reporter: their patients run the gamut from those with serious medical issues.

you have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 -- you take 12 medications? >> yes. >> reporter: to others who receive preventive care. >> i want to just check, take a test to make sure everything is kosher, 'cause i haven't been to the hospital in years. >> reporter: this clinic has six doctors, all of them black. a remarkable number, given that blacks make up only four and a half percent of this country's physicians. but it's also critical because black men are more likely to trust a doctor who's black. for dr. pete thomas, the fight is personal, both his father and brother were victims of poor health care. his father died in 1989 after years of unregulated high blood pressure and his younger brother, juan, contracted hiv in the early '90s. the disis sees progressed and he passed away from aids in 2001. >> i thought to myself if i

could choose a career that could help to address these chronic diseases that were affecting both juan and my dad, so, men's health became the most natural thing for me to do. >> if that piqued your interest, here is a must-see cnn event. our correspondent, soledad o'brien, agencies am minute what is it is like to be black in america. "black in america 2" premieres next week july 22nd and 23rd on cnn. you will not want to miss it. why would a mexican drug cartel target polygamist family? we will take you sought of the border where fate and illegal drugs collide. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you.

you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models.

mexican officials say three federal officers and two soldiers have been killed in a series attacks by drug gangs this weekend with. another 18 officers were

wounded. officials say there were coordinated attacks in at least eight cities across mexico yesterday it is believed to be retribution for the arrest of a high-ranking member of a drug cartel. the the associated press is now reporting that the mexican government is willing to deputize members of a polygamist community there that have been terrorized by a reputed cartel in northern mexico. cnn's gary tuchman takes us to the hamlet. >> reporter: what this mother has gone through in the last two months is difficult to comprehend. her son was kidnapped by five members of a mexican drug cartel. eric la barren was released a week after his kidnapping, despite the family not paying $1 million ransom. ramona says it was a miracle. >> i got him back on mother's day. it was the most beautiful mother's day present i have ever had in my life. >> reporter: ramona, her husband and 12 children live in mexico, a 200-mill drive of el paso,

texas, settled by their american ancestors 80 years ago as they were leaving the mormon church when it banned polygamy. they came to mexico to practice polygamy and live in peace and quiet and for most of a century they did then came the kidnapping. and this week, something much worse, another one of ramona's sons and relative were shot to death after being kidnapped from this house by what are suspected to be cartel members. it is believed they are angry her oldest son, benjamin, held street protests against the drug cartel violence and intimidation. this house was full of children when the unimaginable horrors happened here. neighbors say two trucks pulled up in front of the house about 25 come man dose in camouflaged clothing rushed up to the door and see where the windows are still broken they bashed in the door and said they wanted benjamin la barren. one of the commandoes threat tonight rain his wife in front of the children. they pleaded leave me alone my children alone. from that point, benjamin la barren's brother-in-law came

inside to help. they took both men, took them out of the house and put them if a truck and their lifeless bodies were found a short time after. >> i cry. i felt a feeling in me that i can't even explain to you. >> reporter: benjamin and his brother-in-law, luis, were laid to west thursday. security was intense and well-armed mexican police are now all a over town. police have video of the one of the getaway vehicles going through a toll booth but no arrests have been made. eric says his brother praised him for his courage after he was released by the kidnappers. now, eric said this about his brother. >> i will follow his example. >> reporter: the family didn't want to talk to us about whether they practice polygamy another brother says it is a sensitive topic. >> just annoys me that people -- people talk so much about polygamy and talk so much about our town as if we are disgusting people but yet we have politicians in the states that cheat on their wives and have other relationship with other women all the time.

>> reporter: the family is open to talking about their heartache. this must be a painful question, but do you now wish he didn't speak out against the drug cartels? >> that is a tough question. but i am gonna tell you my beliefs. if we are not burn with certain things in our life, we are not born to stand up for righteous principles and the thing wes know is true what good our life? >> reporter: in colonial la barren they believe benjamin gave his life. in mexico, gary tuchman. more grim discoveries and mounting questions in the investigation into a can a chicago area cemetery now declared a crime scene. what's missing that might hamper the investigation if? some lunch.

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more bombings in iraq. according to the u.s. embassy, the u.s. ambassador to iraq, christopher hill, escaped unharmed from a roadside bomb that targeted his convoy south of baghdad today. none of the embassy personnel was hurt in that. and six baghdad churches were bombed in just a 24-hour period this weekend.

four people were killed, 32 wounded. back here closer to home, grieving and angry families are joining the reverend yeahcy jackson for a prayer vigil today outside the locked gates of that chicago area 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 disturbed is difficult because maybe hundreds or thousands are unmarked. there aren't even maps for the landmark, including an area he is spefcy/babies. a slain florida couple's extensive surveillance system may yield vital clues about their killers. police near pensacola are questioning two persons of interest and searching for a third. three suspects were recorded entering the house of byrd and melanie mill billings before they were killed on thursday. police seized a red van in that case that may be linked to the crimes. coming up in just a bit, boston's tough choice, spend money