in a moment, republicans plan to take her to task on two fronts. >> the cabin loses pressure at 30,000 feet. then you're told there's a hole in the fuselage the size of a football. you can look through the plane and see on the outside. the southwest jet landed safely bah lot of questions this morning. more on that. >> an exclusive view or someone you love is dying. there's no cure then one doctor offers hope. experimental treatments at a steep price. stem cell therapies, a doctor who sells them, and one patient who swears by them. we begin in three hours at 9:30, members of the senate judiciary committee will begin questioning sonia sotomayor. >> the question a lot of people are asking is how aggressive republicans are prepared to get

when it comes to questioning judge sonya sotomayor today. for the most part, they have the vote to get her confirmed. >> this gives the republicans pretty tough questions. and it's put out with opening statements with opening statements. they're going to be asking some uncomfortable language. strongly worded for the republicans, they were scripted. today the script goes out the window. with republicans questioning the background and personal experience will trump the letter of the law, sonia sotomayor confronted them head-on. >> in the last month, many senators have asked about my judicial philosophy. simple -- fidelity to the law. the task of the judge is not to make law, it is to apply the law. >> republicans will focus on one of sotomayor's rulings against an appellate judge against white

firefighters who cham they were victims of discrimination. the supreme court reversed the decision, an indication sotomayor showed bias for minority firefighters. >> empathy for one group of firefighters turned out to be prejudice against another. >> reporter: republicans will question the statements she's made off of the bench in years past, including this one -- >> just bothers me when someone wearing a robe takes the robe off and says that their experience makes them better than someone else. i think your experience can add a lot to the court but it doesn't make you better than anyone else. >> it's exactly that. her experience in the courtroom that makes her qualified to sit b the supreme court. and there's nothing wrong with bringing life experience to the bench. >> is remarkable.

completely appropriate. after all, our own committee members demonstrate the value that comes from members of different backgrounds and perspective. now here's how today will work. each senator on the judiciary committee will question sotomayor for 30 minutes. this will be a delicate dance. they will prod her, republicans in particular, with politically charged questions and tote mayor will walk a narrow line essentially trying to reveal as little as possible. >> these hearings get set in 3 1/2 hours. so much more on that this morning. later we'll be speaking the two senators who get a chance to question judge sotomayor today. 7:10, chuck schumer join us. then orrin hatch of utah. of the 158 supreme court nominees who have preceded judge sotomayor, she's the fourth woman and the first hispanic nominee. but not the first outspoken nominee.

jim acosta live in washington with that part of the story. good morning, jim. >> good morning, john. wise latina women. they have focused on those words to see if she'll play favorites from the court. as history shows, sotomayor is hardly the first supreme court hopeful who's outspoken on the subject of race. a puerto rican who grew up in a bronx housing project, jose sciorra know is scheduled to testify on behalf of sotomayor. he sees sotomayor as a thurgood marshall for hispanics. >> people are using her more than anyone else as an example of what can happen if you work hard. >> senator patrick lahey reminded his colleagues that marshall, a civil rights

segregati segregation, who fought segregation had to answer questions on race. >> questions such as are you prejudice against the white people of the south. i hope that's a time for a past. >> reporter: it was a preemptive strike aimed at republican jeff sessions who went on to challenge sotomayor on her remark of being a wise latina woman. >> i will not vote for and no senator should vote for an individual nominated by any president that is not fully committed by fairness and impartiality toward every person who appears before them. >> in truth, sotomayor is nowhere near as outspoken as marshall. >> i do not think that presidentizen hour has done anywhere near what he could have done. >> more than a half century ago, marshall sat down with a cigarette smoking mike wallace for "night beat" on a no holds barred interview on civil rights.

>> been a plague on both your houses, your parties, as far as an attitude towards race relations. >> i think in congress today, the only bipartisan action is against civil rights and negro rights. >> in those days, that was radical. >> thurgood marshall challenged the american justice system for decades before he went on the supreme court. sonia sotomayor worked very much within that system and did not challenge it nearly as much. >> after weeks of silence, tote mayor tried to turn down the heat. >> in the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. simple -- fidelity to the law. >> she'll have to hope that one gets repaid over and over. she mentioned her puerto rican her tang in her opening i can't recollects, sotomayor did not address her wise latina comments. john? >> to see thurgood marshall and

to see how outspoken it was. >> he was a radical before reaching the high court. those word were spoken by thurgood marshall more than a decade before he was put on the high court. >> jim acosta in washington, thanks so much. we want to know what you think about sonia sotomayor's hearings. go to our blog. and you can watch judge sotomayor's live hearings live on questioning day here on cnn. it begins at 9:30 eastern on cnn and cnn.com. major scare at 30,000 feet. southwest airlines flight headed from baltimore to national. had to make an emergency landing after the cabin lost pressure? why? because of a football-sized hole in the fuselage appeared. still don't know what caused it. passengers say they could look through it and see the sky. no one was hurt. and, again, they don't know exactly what caused it.

but, all 181 of southwest's 737s were inspected overnight. good news/bad news. fewer americans are driving drunk. in a survey conduct in 2007, just 2.2% had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit compared to 7.5% when the first survey was taken back in 1973. but the survey did find one in six drivers randomly pulled over on weekend nights did test positive for drugs. nasa is going to try once again to launch "endeavour". this is the fifth time the mission had to be delayed. when "endeavour" takes off, the crew will conduct a technical mission to construct a front court. it's 8 1/2 minutes past the hour. i think i'll go with the preferred package.

good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. welcome back to the most news in the morning. 11 minutes after the hour right now. a look at the stories this morning. a group of black and hispanic kids were asked to leave a private swim club outside of philadelphia. the attorneys for the largely minority day care said they plan to sue the swim club in the next if uh days. the valley swim club insists the kids were turned away because of overcrowding, not their race. >> bernie madoff is a far cry from the manhattan cell.

according to a website, he's been transferred to medium security prison in atlanta. still not known if that's where he'll live out his days in prison. it will be easier for his wife to come and visit. this morning, president obama's pick for surgeon general preparing for her senate nomination. dr. regina benjamin nominated who spent much of her career working with tour and in alabam this morning, democrats are demanding an investigation into charges dick chai nye broke the law. he's accused of ordering the cia in the dark about a terrorist program that never got off of the ground. some accuse democrats to talk about politics. she's a member of the house intelligence committee calling for an investigation of these charges. congresswoman, why do you want to call an investigation?

>> i think number one, we don't know the facts. what we do know according to the director of the cia who briefed the house intelligence committee on june 24, that there was a program that was put in to place in 2001 and that he stopped it on june 23 of this year. >> mm-hmm. >> and so we need to establish the facts. we do know that there was an order to conceal the program from the congress, which i believe flies in the face of the national security act of 1947. so i think that we need to investigate. we need to establish the facts, follow them, know exactly what happens, who gave the order, why, where did it go, where did the money come from. and i think that that's the way to go. >> you're getting some pushback on this from your republican colleagues in congress, particularly on the house intelligence committee who is saying this program is never

fully operational, why did congress need to be briefed? we understand from certain reports this was a program that was supposed to send teams in the areas. try to have al qaeda members. plans were vague. never carried out. he would not judge the agency harshly in the case of the program that's not fully operational. if the program was not fully operational, does congress need to be informed. what are the rules regarding that? >> the national security act calls on the executive branch to fully and completely inform the congress through the intelligence committee. now these are all reports. i read all of the open source material. i can't confirm that. the cia director didn't go to detail and say the things that mr. hoekstra is saying. so i've read what you've said, but i don't know whether that's the case or not.

i think that this is serious. and in listening to the program before this one, i love the words of judge sotomayor and that is fidelity to the law. we are a nation of laws. and the cia has laws they must comply with. there's a good reason for that. a balance between the executives and the legislative branch and it goes straight to the heart of the responsibility that we hav , as the house intelligence committee, as members of cob to investiga investigate. >> on that point, congresswoman -- fidelity. >> all about national security. >> on that point about fidelity to the law, do you believe that the former vice president broke the law if indeed he ordered the cia to keep the secret from congress? oh we have to establish the facts. we have to know exactly what

happened. the cia director gave some indication of who was involved. but it was brief. it was a briefing. we by no means went in to great detail on june 24. >> what's your sense of it? if the vice president did say to the cia director at the time, do not tell -- do not inform the intelligence committees, the relevant people in congress about this program. would that be a violation of the law? >> oh in my view, it is, in reading the national security act. this is not whether an agency feels like informing the congress. >> mm-hmm. >> there's the law. the law is very clear. it's explicit. and that directive regardless of what administration it is and who is in the congress, this is not about parties, it's about the law. >> you're also looking for clarification.

panetta you and six others have sent a letter to him asking him to correct a statement made on june 15 when she was talking to nancy pelosi that she was misled by the cia against water boarding, you want him to amend that statement, why? >> the words do not stand. the words were, the cia does not mislead the congress. this does not stand any longer in fact, the program was concealed from him as well. he was briefed on the 23rd of june. and he was seated as the director of the cia of at least four months before that. >> however, congresswoman, you said at the beginning of this you have not established the facts here. so is it premature to send that letter? >> i don't believe so, no. because the -- the cia director informed the committee that the

information was concealed and it was ordered to be concealed. >> congresswoman anna hes shoe. we appreciate you coming in. >> thank you. thank you. a former doctor is charging seriously ill patients tens of thousands of dollars for experimental stem cell treatments overseas. meet the doctor who says the treatments work. the patient who swears by them, and those who believe he's preying on people with no place left to turn. 18 minutes after the hour. i'm peter jacobsen, and i've lost 31 pounds on nutrisystem.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. a cnn exclusive now, a florida doctor opens a clinic in the dominican republic and claims to be saving lives by stem cell injuries. >> cnn reporting on americans getting the treatments overseas get a lot of attention. drew griffin found a woman who swears the therapy saved her life. now in atlanta, this is quite a story. we saw your last report where one of the people you interviewed said 80% or 90% of the time you're getting scammed. >> that's exactly right. and experts say what you're

about to see is impossible. it should not work. the science is not there yet. and, yet, a florida woman who paid $54,000, she believes stem cells have improved her life. her program before a wii doesn't look like much unless you see where she was a year ago. >> have was limited in what i could do. >> reporter: she has copd, a lung disease that should kill her. instead of dying, she's getting better using oxygen at night now. she believes stem cells from her own body are helping her improve. barbara mckeon is a patient of this american doctor working through this hospital in the dominican republic. he's a doctor who runs a company called regenocyte they are

putters. what he's doing cannot be done in the u.s. >> they work. it's substantiated by the data we're collecting. >> draw a patient's own blood, send it off to a lab in israel where it's transformed to regenocyte. it rebuilds blood in the body. >> we end up with 80 million stem cells and they activate them and educate them to want to become the end organ of whatever tissue we're looking to regenerate. >> reporter: if that sounds impossible because those at the forefront of stem cell research say it is. >> there is no such cell. there's no cell called a regenocyte. >> reporter: the president-elect of the international society for stem cell research.

>> i'm disappointed and shocked that somebody would prey on a family that has an untreatable disease with the promise of a therapy with no scientific basis. >> dr. greco said he's not conducting trials. trials are conducted before treating patients. too expensive. he will apply with the fda within the year. >> you think the head of stanford medical centers biology stem cell department is just behind the times? >> i think that they need to be more educated. >> reporter: greco who conducts seminars in florida's retirement community says in the last 18 months he treated 100 people with various illnesses and

claims 80% responded to treatment. he talked about hopes and possibility, careful not to promise results. >> treating them, not scamming them. >> no, we're treating them. >> reporter: it's yet to be proven safe or even effective in humans. but that is all science. what's harder to explain is the experience of barbara mckeon, who said the moment she felt her own stem cells inject in her body, she felt healing. >> i'm sitting out in the humidity talking to you. i didn't even step out on this porch before i got my stem cells. couldn't do it. >> john, kiran, we verified with her own doctor that it is true, barbara mckeon is somehow improved and is feeling much better. that testimonial minus any scientific explanation why so many in the u.s. like her are seeking these treatments

overseas. >> how do the experts explain her turnaround if not the stem cell therapy? >> they say there's a placebo effect. you spend all of this money and you hope yourself better. but barbara's personal physician says what happened to her has gone beyond that. she's got copd, it's not recovering. she's just feeling better. nobody can really understand why. >> it's amazing. people can read more about this on cnn..com/amfix. >> the placebo can be powerful. if you think it works, it probably does. keep fall heing the story.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. president obama can't catch a break when it comes to the teleprompter at times. technical malfunctions happen to the best of us. see what happened with the stimulus action? >> we took swift and aggressive action to pull our economy -- well, sorry about that, guys. >> there you go. it just fell to the floor with quite a clatter. those are the fancy teleprompter so you don't even look like you're talking on a teleprompter. >> the two square things on the stands on either side of the podium, we have teleprompters but they're larger and attached to the camera. they don't sit on the sticks. we never fall off, but sometimes we have problems with them.

>> there's a look at our teleprompter right there. we're such a long show, three hours, it doesn't reboot. and so. >> now you're giving away company secrets. two minnesota men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for recruiting somali immigrants to fight with islamic rebels against the somali government. they are charged with conspiracy. they're part of a group that's connected to al qaeda. more arrests for expected. >> the national average for a gallon is $2.51 a gallon. down a penny overnight. this is the 23rd consecutive drop. >> that's good news. >> mmm-hmmm-hmm. >> sarah palin may be leaving office, but she's bringing in big money. her political action committee raised $733,000. that's before she announced she was stepping down.

according to the spokeswoman since she announced she was stepping down, palin raised another $200,000. when president obama picked hillary clinton to be secretary of state, some call it a bold move. there's some question of if that star power is being kept under wraps. the editor in chief of the daily beast..com. she writes it's time for barack obama to let hillary clinton take off her burqa. take off hurt burqa? what do you mean by that >> i'd like to see a little bit more of hillary being allowed to be her own person in the state department. she's obviously having to represent the administration. she's doing it. she's got immense discipline of knocking herself back in the spotlight. she didn't appear on a talk show until june because the president's control team controlled very carefully who gets the limelight.

it's about obama getting the limelight. she has the first big foreign policy address. she welcomes. i think it's time we saw more of her. >> you call it the ultimate check mate in terms of the president putting her in that position and the effect it had on former president bill clinton. explain that. >> turned out really the disappointment that people didn't quite get when it first happened, the brilliant check mate. because in this position, it's really important that the secretary of state does not let any daylight that we saw between her and the president as we saw when colin powell wasn't feeling part of the bush team. it hurt him. >> the inner circle. >> so in hillary's case, she can't let that happen. if she distances herself from obama, she hurts herself. bill clinton, of course, wants to support his wife. he's really aware in the campaign at times he made gaffes. he's been such a good boy, bill clinton. he kept himself in a box.

e's not ready to do it for the clinton initiative because of anything that might conflict. he's made a special envoy to haiti which is hardly one of the world's most charming. in a sense, he's being very skillfully kind of curtailed. >> the question is, do you think this is part of a conspiracy almost thinking as a chess match on the part of obama? so questioned by the clintons he wanted to put them in a box. >> it played to his calculations. he wants smart people around him. what he's seen with hillary is she's an incredibly smart executive. she's the first choice for secretary of state which he gets her brain and star power when he needs it. and on the other hand, just making sure clintons could never be troublesome for him. it's an double win for obama. >> not getting in between your role of one of the marquis

cabinet position. she made some interesting comments that maybe show a little bit of frustration. let's listen. >> the process -- the clearing and vetting process is a nightmare. and it takes far longer than any of us would want to see. it's frustrating beyond words. >> she went on to say -- she was complaining some posts have not been filled yet. she said the vetting process of the obama administration is incredible. >> it's frustrating for her. it's frustrating for them. key positions in the treasury not filled. hard to find someone whose nanny wasn't illegal or the issue with the tax season not going to support things. she has the double frustration. it's viewed with that much more rigor because of the sense, again, they do not want a team to reassemble as the clinton

team. she wanted deputy secretary of state richard holbrooke. but she was overruled by the obama administration and insisted that he had james steinberg and she lost the ability to appoint ambassadorships which is usually the secretary of state prerequisi prerequisite. she wanted someone else in the japanese post and she was upset with an obama fundraiser. between the curtailment, she's feeling as if she's been boxed out. >> is she happy she took the job? >> it's hard to say. i would say another six months will answer that question. i think she's finding the job immensely interesting. she loves to chew on that foreign policy. she adores it. but i think she's a big leader herself and she has really taken a position where i call her obama's other wife. she's playing backup to him. i think she might find that frustrating. >> always nice to at a to youk

from the dailybeast.com. if you want to look at her bl,

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♪ how many times can i break my status ♪ ♪ over the line welcome back to the most news in the morning. a check of the am rundown. the stories that will be coming up in the next couple of minutes. the storms on the move that could affect your travel plans. latoya jackson said her brother, michael, was murdered. her explosive allegations and a possible custody deal in the works about jackson's children. also, the costs of college education. it's becoming more and more expensive. for many out of reach, president obama says he has a plan to save you money. tell you all about it. a few hours ago before sonia sotomayor answers some questions about qualifications. she gets set to go through the question and answer portion of the senate confirmation hearings today. >> it will be interesting. the speeches were okay yesterday. we're not encouraging drinking games this morning. if you're looking for a theme, there's only one to consider.

carol costello live in washington this morning. all set up and ready to go. what are you waiting snr. >> we're waiting for the e-word, empathy. every time you hear empathy today, you can stock the confirmation hearings with empathy. it was used to attack or compliment sotomayor. republicans say it's a judicial no-no. democrats say it's a judicial imperative. who's right? or does it boil down to whose side you're on? oh, that word! >> empathy. >> this empathy. >> empathy standard. >> empathy. >> empathy. >> it's the new litmus test for judicial nominees even though it's been used to describe nominees before. >> it's a delightful, warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor. >> republican president george

h.w. bush using the e-word to describe his nominee, clarence thomas. but today, republicans say the e-word is not a quality a justice ought to possess. >> this empathy standard is troubling to me. >> reporter: but why? what does it mean? does senate brassley think our justices should be dispassionate? like say len in "dancing with the stars". >> i have to look at the footwork. put my foot on the heel, not on the ball. >> don't worry, you're sweetness and light and quick as a picture. >> a good judge brings some empathy to the bench, but in the end, most of it is based on the strict application of the law. >> that's how the nominee described her judicial style on monday. but republicans suspect sotomayor is more bruno than len because she said in the past latina women sometimes reach better conclusions than white

men. >> if judges start to rule on the basis of their personal feelings, the entire legitimacy of the judicial system would be justified. >> there's concern that sotomayor described herself as an affirmative action baby may be more inclined to rule in favor of minorities because of her past. legal scholars say there's no pattern to prove that, but firms say the idea that empathy may play a part in some of her decisions is actually a good thing. >> we want people to become judges, who not only are learning, not only are scholarly, but not only are smart but also experienced in the profession and most of all in life. >> the most famous example in 1954 when an empathetic supreme court overturned state laws in brown versus board of education on the grounds segregation violated the constitution. >> the law sometimes is not crystal clear. the judges have the facts in

front of them. they have to use something else to decide which way to rule on the political front because everything is political in washington. some say that word, empathy, has become code for activist judge -- you know, a judge who will rule in favor of many of those things republicans are against like affirmative action or gun control or abortion rights. so, it should be interesting. john, kiran? >> one note, it doesn't have to be an alcoholic beverage every time you hear empathy, you can drink coffee or take a sip of water. >> so responsible of you. >> just say -- >> just saying, carol. >> just saying. >> sprite. >> could be anything. should judges use your feelings in court? tell us what you think? log on to cnn.com/amfix. >> up with thing it shouldn't be is red bull. >> well, i -- it depends on if you want to stay away for hours or not. 44 minutes after the hour.

♪ it's amazing ♪ when the blink of an eye you finally feel alive ♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. a live look at hampton beach on the coast of new hampshire this morning where it's 54 right now. a little cool to wake up. a high of 74. but it will be mostly sunny there today. it has not been the best of summers in new england so far. but it should be good there

today. >> sweatshirt weather. >> for the moment. jacqui jeras is in atlanta. we're watching storms in the midwest as well. hey, jackie. >> hey, guys. a lot of people may be waking up early as the thunderstorms move on through. it's early in the day too get started with strong thunderstorms. right now, we're not looking at any warnings on them. however, some gusty winds, some real heavy downpours will limit the visibility as you're driving in to work. also a lot of lightning, look at the storms as they move to st. joseph, down to kansas city. give yourself 30 minute ifs you can before you work your way out of work. the greatest threat of severe weather today will stay across parts of the upper midwest. here from the dakotas, kansas city, maybe squeaking to the st. louis area late tonight. high pressure with gorgeous conditions from new york city down to philadelphia in to detroit looking for sunshine and comfortable conditions for this time of the year. wish we could say the same for

the folks in the southern plains here. windy conditions combined with the hot weather means we're going to have a threat for fire conditions there. highs will be in the triple digits once again. finally, guys, a break from the heat. going to wait a couple of days. come friday, we should be breaking the triple digits. >> looking forward to that. thank you so much for that. 48 minutes after the hour. how much is custody of a child worth? well, michael jackson's children would run in to the millions and millions of dollars. randi kaye is taking a look at that and the charges from la toy yeah jackson his death may be due to foul play. stay with us.

♪ i want to rock with you ♪ all night ♪ dance you in to day ♪ top of the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. explosive allegations this morning from la toya. she says her brother was murdered and she knows who did it. there's word of a blockbuster deal that determines who gets custody of michael jackson's children. a source close to the family tells us katherine jackson's attorney is looking to broker a deal regarding custody. we're told the family wants debbie rowe, michael jackson's ex-wife, to give up any notion of custody or contact with the two children she had with michael jackson. she's seeking a nondisclosure agreement and they may tell her she can no longer speak to the

media. as far as the money goes, it seems there's a large payoff in the works. our source tells us that rowe stands to be paid, quote, many millions of dollars if she agrees to give up custody or any contact with the two children she had with michael jackson. also in an interview, la toya jackson gave to london's daily mail newspaper which we have confirmed she has paid for. the paper makes strong statements. la toya told a reporter, quote, i believe michael was murdered. she did use the word, "murder." she blamed a shadowy entourage and said his handlers saw him as a cash cow. jackson was not found in his bedroom as widely reported but in a nearby bedroom, the one belonging to his personal physician dr. conrad murray. he's been interviewed by investigators at least twice. in response to la toya jackson's

comments, quote, that is just not true. dr. murray administered cpr on michael jackson in jackson's room. i'm not sure where la toya is getting that. she wasn't even there. that's a direct quote. the attorney for dr. murray refused to comment about la toya jackson's comments to the newspaper about seeing intra venous drip stains and also oxygen tanks lining the wall. >> randi kaye joining us this morning. thank you so much. difficult to explain is why diprivan is found in his house. only used for one thing -- >> sedation. >> yeah. another story they're wondering about this morning is how the heck did a football-sized hole end up in a fuselage of a plane 30,000 feet in the air. everyone is okay. but they're trying to figure out why this happened, forcing an emergency landing. look at the hole in that plane. you can see that from 30,000 feet up.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. in today's economy, the staggering cost of a four-year education is putting this kind of education out of reach for many families. president obama is unveiling an ambitious new plan to unveil $12 billion in the next decade of america's community colleges. the administration said the two-year schools could play a key role in boosting the ailing economy for years to come. we're live at the white house with more on this initiative this morning. hey, elaine. good morning to you, kiran. president obama will be heading to warren, michigan to unveil the plan for community colleges across the nation. now, what are some of the specifics? first, this plan will give

grants to underfunded colleges and build business partnerships. it would also provide performance-based scholarships and give colleges the tools that i need to design more programs around work schedules. it would also help modernize colleges by providing $2.5 billion in order to renovate facilities and it would create more on-line courses, a tool that some say could really be more effective than just classroom instruction alone. now, across the nation, some 6 million americans at ten community colleges. today, kiran, the president is expected to announce an ambition goal of having an additional $5 million community college graduates by the year 2020. kiran? >> there may be an announcement regarding the nation's color coded terror alert system. what can you tell us about that? >> that's a system implemented after the september 11 attacks in 2001. this is something that the associated press is reporting that janet in a pnapolitano is

expected to appoint a team to re-evaluate the color system. five-tiered system, five levels of a risk of a terrorist attack in this country. the colors are too vague to deliver any real useful information. so this is the news today that an associated press is reporting homeland security secretary janet napolitano expected to appoint a panel to take care of that. >> we'll see if it continues in this administration. thanks so much. we're coming up on the top of the hour. tuesday, 14th of july, bastille day. it's a birthday here today. >> do we dare say? 21? >> 21 forever. here's what's on the ajeppe da, the stories we're breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes, the most news in the morning. in just a few hours, judge sown ya sotomayor is heading back to

the hill. she's pledging fidelity to the law. the remarks on race are expected to give sotomayor a grilling today. our candy growley is looking at what we can expect. with 134 people onboard, at 34,000 feet, a hole the size of a football rips through the fuselage of a southwest airlines jet. that plane made an emergency la landing. it's leaving officials with more questions than answers. we'll look at that. a florida couple shot to death while nine of the adoptive children were inside the house. they expect to make more arrests and they admit they don't think robbery was the motive in this crime. first of all, the judge makes her case, supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor takes her seat in front of 19 lawmakers with lots of questions. day two of confirmation hearings for the judge. a good idea of what lawmakers may ask her from the opening

statements on day one. republicans want to know if the woman tried to be the first hispanic in the high court will think too much about race? senior correspondent candy crowley is covering the confirmation hearings. she's live in washington for us. good morning, candy. >> good morning, john. we expect to see a second day. but a lot more give and take this time as sonia sotomayor sits before 19 members of the senate and tries to ease the concerns mostly of the republicans. >> her turn -- >> i do. >> reporter: sonya mayor on soelt mayor. >> many seniors have asked about my philosophy. simple. fidelity to the law. the task of a judge is not to make law, it is to apply the law. >> reporter: it is the crux of the matter. how does the judge judge? >> i think less than our liberty is at stake. a judges set aside or judges

consider their personal feelings in deciding cases is judicial impartiality a duty or an option? >> i want to make -- >> reporter: the legal and political framework for the week was set from the get-go. republicans, suspicious that a nominee who seize a wise latina woman can make better judgments than a wise white man is a judicial activist who will factor race and gender in her decision. >> call it empathy, prejudice, sympathy, whatever it is, it's not law. in truth, it's more akin to politics. >> reporter: democrats intend on defending a judge with heavy credentials and what they see as main stream. >> there's not one lock or color or another, there's only one law. >> reporter: democrats solicitous of her background and potential. the republicans tough but polite. she took it in with her best poker face judge look and laid the groundwork for tuesday.

>> my personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand with the law always commanding the results in every case. >> all in all, a fairly high-minded discourse on judicial philosophy. the 19 lawmakers on the panel all feel the strong undertow of politics. that includes the newly minted senator from minnesota who appears to have lost his standup comic team. >> their definition of an activist judge is one that votes differently than they would like. >> politics, philosophy, and one more thing, reality. >> unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed. and i don't think you will. >> reporter: she has lasted through 17 years on the court. and yesterday 3 1/2 hours in listening to senators, more of that today. so it seems unlikely, john, that we'll see a meltdown from the nominee. >> no, no. i wouldn't think so. but it's a foregone conclusion. so what really is the strategy

for republicans? are they trying to set up doubts about this nominee or are they laying down markers for future nominees? oh. >> i think there is -- part of that, not so much markers but a real understanding that putting sotomayor on the court doesn't change what basically has been a 5-4 balance mostly of the conservative side. so this is not a go-to willf the-mat kind of nominee. but i think there's other balances going on. one is if you look inside the poll numbers of the approval ratings and those who want to see sotomayor confirmed, you will see much to the opposition comes from conservative republicans. and so many of them also sit on this -- on this panel. so what they want to do is obviously voice those questions and those concerns. on the other hand, we all know that the fastest-growing part of the electorate is hispanic. you don't want to go so hard that you look like you're

picking on her. so you're seeing a balance of people who want to make a point without going over the line and being nasty about it. >> watch how they engage in that today. always so great to see you. thanks. >> thanks, john. >> coming up in the next 20 minutes, two of the senators who will question sotomayor today. chuck schumer of new york joins us. and at 7:30, republican senator orrin hatch of utah. do you support judge sotomayor's nomination? tell us what you think at cnn.com/amfix. the hole the size of a football. it forced a southwest airlines jet to make an emergency landing last night. this happened out of nowhere at 34,000 feet, no one onboard was hurt. but the most terrifying thing may be that this morning, no one knows why it happened. once southwest flight 2294 landed safely in charleston, west virginia, this is what officials at the airport found. on the top of the plane near the

tail fin, a hole through the fuselage. from the inside, you could see light coming in from outside. right now officials have no idea what caused the damage. the plane had been airborne for about 30 minutes and was climbing through 34,000 feet, and then -- >> there's a loud pop. no one really knew what it was. looking up at the ceiling, if you will, that's when we noticed one of the ceiling tiles was being sucked into, if you will, or against the fuselage. >> the cabin lost pressure, the oxygen masks dropped. no one was hurt. it took off from nashville on the way to bwi airport in baltimore. instead, the plane, carrying 126 passengers and five crew members dwef diverted to charleston, west virginia. once on the ground, a local pizzeria gave passengers food while they found another plane to take them to baltimore. southwest issued a statement

saying there's no responsible way to speculate as to a cause at this point. we have safety procedures in place and they were followed in this instance to get all passengers and crew safely on the ground. our pilots and flight attendants did a great job of getting the aircraft on the ground safely. federal investigators will try to figure out what happened to the plane and keep it from happening again. right now southwest is finishing an inspection of all 181 of its boeing 737300 jets. the airline says as a precaution, they don't expect any delays or cancelled flights today because of it. stay with us, we'll be talking more about this with a former investigator with the national transportation safety board and a former airline pilot coming up at 8:30 eastern here at the most news of the morning. one of the things that you talked about in the meeting this morning, back in the late '80s, this happened. >> '85. >> looked like the top was stripped off. >> it was on maui the day it landed there at the airport.

it was just -- it was unbelievable to see that plane. >> people were still strapped to their seats but no top to the plane. >> yeah. one of the flight atip can'ts got sucked out of the plaeb too. a terrible tragedy. new this morning, hold your breath. here it comes. the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever. and the treasury says it could grow to $2 trillion by the fall. the soaring deficit is intensifying fears of higher interest rates and inflation in the strength of the dollar. president obama said the u.s. is committed to bringing down the deficit once the economy and financial sector recover. the biggest wall street swindler in history has a new home according to a government website. bernard madoff has been transferred to medium-security prison in atlanta. madoff's new home once housed charles ponzii, the name for the scheme that madoff perfected. how's that for irony. >> chuck schumer called

sotomayor's story a great new york story. but should race and class play a part of her work in the bench? we'll ask the senator when he comes up live next.

♪ walking on broken glass ♪ walking on broken glass >> well ccome back to the most s in the morning. the president of the united states is nicknamed potus for short. then there's totus, the teleprompter of the united states. and this potus loves his totus. so what do you do when potus is smack in the middle of pulling our economy back from the brink and totus topples over it? >> we took swift and aggressive action in the first months of my administration to pull our economy. oh -- sorry about that, guys. >> ah, yes. not to worry, though, there's another teleprompter, a backup totus if you will. wow. >> it's still running, you know? takes a licking but keeps on ticking. >> it does.

they have the television sets on the floor and that's like a one-way mirror or two-way mirror. it reflects it. >> so's ours. >> same thing, a little different configuration. ours, thankfully, has not been known to fall off. >> firmly glued to the cameras. supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor is headed back to capitol hill. it's day two of the confirmation hearings. she's almost confirmed to the high court but not before a tough round of questions from the republicans. chuck schumer got a little emotional. check it out. >> in 2009, there are many more role models for a young student to choose from. with judge sotomayor foremost among them. >> and senator schumer joins us live from capitol hill. great to have you with us this morning, senator. tell us what got you so

emotional in yesterday's hearing. >> the beginning was when she went to cardinal spellman high school, one of the few people from the housing projects, her idol was nancy drew. there were no women, no hispanics for a young hispanic lady to -- or girl -- to model herself on. now she's become the role model of one generation and the theme of my little remark was what a great country america is. you know? they called us when we started, when they wrote the constitution, "god's mobile experience." you look at her story and you see where god's mobile experiment is today. >> one of my friends went to cardinal spellman. a great school. something for new york to be proud of. we know the nomination will happen today. but one of the things your colleague said, jeff sessions said i will not vote, no governor should vote for any president who believes it's

acceptable to allow a judge to let their perm background, gender, prejudices, or sympathies to sway their decision. one of the things the wise latina comment. what does she knee to say today when they comes up to convince those who are listening that she will be impartial? >> these are such stretched charges against her. when judge aleto talked about his italian background influencing him. when justice thomas talked about how prejudice had affected him and would affect him, they didn't raise a peep. of course everyone's background affects them. how can we not? we don't want nine justices with ice water running through her veins. she has a record for 17 years. we can see if she chooses her own sefrp thinks over the law when the law dick tames going in a different direction. she never has.

in 80% of all cases involving immigrants, she decided against the immigrant because the law wasn't on their side. in cases involving discrimination, she decided against the party claiming discrimination even though she was a victim of it because the law wasn't on their side. the record is so clear. the best way to judge a nominee is by the judicial record. she has an extensive one. she's careful and puts rule of law first above all else. >> one of the things they'll focus on, especially critics, is the new haven firefighters case ruling against the two firefighters claiming reverse discrimination. this went to the supreme court and overturned. do you agree with the first decision? >> our friends on the right can't have it both ways. she was following the set precedence of the second circuit. there were two cases before her

that were directly relevant. they said you had to side with new haven. now all of a sudden now, the same people who are saying they don't want an activist judge don't like the outcome in the case and they say she should have ruled the other way. the supreme court changed the ruling but not when judge sotomayor was ruling in the circuit judge. if she were on the second circuit, she'd have to rule the other way. if you want a judge who follows the rule of law, you can't say she should do it in this case because i like the outcome and not in this case because i don't like the outcome. >> as a democratic senator, you want somebody on that court who's going to balance out the more conservative judges on the court. >> we want somebody who's going to follow rule of law above all. what happens on this court, when justice roberts came before us, he said he'd follow rule of law. according to justice breyer, he changed the law nine times in a more significant way in two

years than anyone else. we just want somebody who is going to follow the rule of law and we think it will work out best for america. we don't want someone with a radical vision to change america. >> the interesting thing is what does it say about the confirmation hearings. justice roberts by all accounts did well. he enjoyed bipartisan support. he talked about the fact that he wanted to call strikes involved as you saw him, sort of being an umpire. you said that's not what happ happened how do you know they're going to follow through? >> if justice roberts is any indication what people say and do is not always a correct predictor. the best way to predict someone's record, proven over the years, is not at the hears but their judicial record. her judicial record doesn't have a blemish on it. they can't find a single case where she is going to put her own views ahead of the law. she's going to do very, very well. careful, thoughtful, moderate.

she's not too far right or left. business week said she's a moderate on business issues. anyone who thinks she's a liberal ought to have seen her as a prosecutor. she's thoughtful, moderate, rule of law person. with an amazing story, it will be hard for anyone at the end of the day to vote against her unless they come in with a predisposition. >> you said she might get 78 votes. see how it turns out. thank you for your point of view. great to have you on the show. >> nice to talk to you. >> one of the republicans who will question sotomayor today. orrin hatch joins us in 15 minutes. all of the talk about empathy, impartiality, whether or not she'll use her background to make a decision. republican-nominated judges have said the same thing. see how it goes. 18 minutes after the hour. we know why we're here.

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♪ please louise ♪ >> the windmills are cranking over. cloudy, 70 degrees in des moines, iowa. 83 with strong, strong thunderstorms. so be aware of that if you have a weather radio, make sure you have it on. who knows what might happen. checking news across the nation. it's apparently -- the reason we're playing "footloose," illegal to dance in public after 2:00 in the morning if you live in des moines or just visiting like the movie "foot loose" all over again. a late night dance and they were told, no way. city officials are working to have that law repealed. >> nasa is hoping that the sixth time will be a charm. the launch of shuttle endeavour rescheduled yet again. tomorrow is the fifth delay. endeavour is trying to deliver the last part of a clr 1 billion space lab to the international

space station as well as food and supplies. >> they're trying to put the front pornl out there with the shotgun and the rocking chair. on the southern end of the las vegas strip, tourists found red graffiti across the "weg come to fabulous las vegas" sign. the mayor said, this deserves, "off with their head." a red marker and not spray paint was used. maybe that will come off. christine romans joins us now minding your business this morning. big small business lender in trouble. small businesses are so fietal to creating jobs. >> going to hear a lot about c.i.t. group. a lot of you are going to think it's a big new york finance company. you care because for nine years running, this company has been the biggest issuer of loans for small businesses in mid sized companies in this country. this is the source for funding and a lot of entrepreneurs,

restaurants, dunkin' donuts, family run restaurants, construction companies, a lot of different kinds of companies. they're in advance talks with the government about what kind of aid, if any, they are due and should get. the financial situation has been declining for sometime. it's taken $2 billion in taxpayer aid. $10 billion in debt due to the end of 2010. it's not been allowed to get to the fdic-backed program to issue the debt. it would like to but not allowed yet. we're going to see what happens. it matters because this is the bridge between wall street and main street. this is one of the big finance companies who helped the guy with the idea in des moines to come up with the money that he can or she can get the business off of the ground so far that bridge almost all of the lanes have been closed in the financial crisis. >> small business very, very difficult. >> very rows numeral today.

it's 34. >> 34 has to do with small business. you guys have -- i'm captivated by small business stories. it's where so much of the energy of the entrepreneurship of the american economy comes from. generates the bull bulk of the jobs. 34 is the number of jobs traded for every $1 million lent to small business franchises. 34 jobs created with a $1 million loan just like that. $3.6 billion pumped into the economy like that. that's why people like this matter. that's why the credit crunch has hurt people up and down. not just big new york banks but it hurts down on the level of the people craving the jobs and running the town, really, the business owners. >> all right, christine romans, "minding your business." good to have you back. >> 24 minutes after the hour, orrin hatch will be questioning judge sonia sotomayor a little later today. we'll talk to him about the

concerns he has amend whether or not he might vote for her confirmation.

now a developing story this morning. a disturbing home invasion and killing of a couple known for adopting special needs children. nine of the children involved were at home at the time. ed lavandera live with new information about this case. good morning, ed. >> reporter: good morning, kiran. what remains baffling in this case is that authorities are saying that a robbery is perhaps one of the motives. but piecing together why this family was targeted is still a mystery. surveillance cameras showed two groups of men dressed like ninjas bursting into the home. two men come from the wooded area behind the house, and three

men rush in from the front door. a few minutes later, bird and melanie billings were shot to death while nine of their adoptive children were in the house. >> it leaves me to believe it was a well planned and methodical operation. >> reporter: monday night, authorities announce the arrest of a fourth suspect, gary lamont sumner was pulled over in a routine traffic stop two miles away she was one of the men on the left buying dark clothing in a walmart store days before the killings. he's charged with murder. three others were charged with murder. patrick gonzalez senior was the getaway driver in the red van. cold iron and gonzalez senior had done odd jobs. both worked as day laborers in the pensacola area. they haven't determined what drove them to murder the

billings' couple. >> a motive is robbery. but there are other motives we believe will develop. >> the sheriff says he expects to arrest a fifth suspect on thursday and that there are three other persons of interest that the authorities want to question. the billings' home is filled with surveillance cameras that the family uses to monitor the adoptive children throughout the house. federal authorities have been enhancing that video image to learn what happened in the four minutes that five men broke in to their home. now, several of the suspects have made their first initial court appearances. we have not heard any pleas on their behalf. so they're just in the process of being appointed attorneys or finding attorneys in these cases. as for the billings' adoptive children, we're told they are being kept with family in a secret place and are being counseled and helped through family members close to them right now. kiran? >> very upsetting. the other thing as well, is that that sheriff said that we believe there are other motives that will develop.

any indication of what he could be talking about? >> well, that's really what has so many people confused about what is going on here. there are many people who don't believe this is a random crime. so the -- the appearance of it, the daytime intrusion like this in a camera in a house of heavily fortified with a security system and cameras, there is reason to believe they were targeted for whatever reasons that might have been, we don't know yet. and the authorities aren't saying much if they've been able to discover what that might have been at this point. >> 16 kids without their parents. it's a tragic story and one that's captured a lot of attention. ed lavandera this morning. thanks. half past the hour now. here are the other top stories. judge sonia sotomayor will be back on capitol hill. the second day of her supreme court nomination hearings and republicans are likely to take her to task over comments she made about race to tell us what

to expect, we're talking to senate judiciary committee member orrin hatch. learning about a bush-era cia program some members of congress say vice president dick cheney kept secrets, reports out this morning say for eight years the top spy agency was working to take out al qaeda leaders with specially trained assassins. authorities say the plans were vague and never executed. >> a football-sized hole rips through a jet at 31,000 feet. all people onboard are safe. making an emergency landing in west virginia. investigators are working to figure out why this happened. southwest is inspecting all 181 of the boeing 737 jets as a precaution. well, with day two of judge sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearings begin in a couple of hours, senators will start questioning her on what she means when she says her goal is "fidelity to the law." the next guest, orrin hatch said on monday's opening statement

that, quote, there must be a vigorous debate about the kind of judge america needs because nothing less of our liberty is at stake. is judicial impartiality a duty or an option? senator, thank you for being with us. great to be with us. >> nice to be with you. >> a judge's job is, quote, not to make law but it is to apply the law. does that put your mind at ease over concerns you might have? >> that's fine. that's not the way she's acted from time to time nor is that the way she's spoken from time to time. so, we need to get in to that and make sure that that's not just a slogan but something that literally she believes in. when she made that comment at duke university, well, you know, judges can make law, that was -- and joked about it. i -- i can understand that. i think she's going to have to distinguish that. but it was a serious comment that shouldn't have been made by any circuit court of appeals judge.

>> will you be asking her about that today? >> i think -- i think what will be covered here today by in large will be questions about, you know, affirmative action. questions about the second amendment. the question about property rights in our society today. at least that's what are the main areas. there'll be a lot of questions about what the word empathy means and whether it means she's going to allow her sympathy for people to override what really ought to be done. actually, her cases don't seem to do that. so -- but, you know, some of her statements indicated that maybe she will. >> yeah, let me ask you about that. that does promise to be a big issue today, particularly since the ranking republican on the committee, jeff sessions, said call it empathy, call it prejudice, call it sympathy. whatever it is. it is not law. where do you come down on this whole issue of empathy? >> the whole of the judge's pick is to be impartial and not allow empathy or emotions or anything else get in the way of the law.

now, at the end of her opening remarks, she said that she would apply that particular standard. but, in her speeches around the country and in some of the cases that she's written, there's some indication it may be -- that maybe she has not done that in the past. so, this is something that nationally has to be gone in to. and, you know, when we get judges, look, we don't expect president obama to appoint a conservative judge or a moderate judge. we expect him to appoint someone who's pretty liberal. she is. but the fact of the matter is, we expect that judge to be fair. we expect her to be a person who will apply the law, not make the law. we expect her to not allow her own personal sympathy or empathy or her approaches towards life to color decisions in ways that are not really just or right. and so those are the issues that come up. you take the ritchie case -- >> mm-hmm. >> there are some really interesting facts there. for instance, if she and her

other two judges issued what was called a summary order, that's an order that doesn't have to be shared with the rest of the people in that circuit. the only way that it was found out about was when judge jose cabranos read it in the newspaper. he asked to look at that case and realized, my gosh, this is a case of first impression. this ought to have an opinion written about it. it shouldn't be swept aside like there's nothing to it. >> we should point out that it's the firefighters case in new haven. >> yes, it's the case involving reverse discrimination. we shouldn't have discrimination against anybody. that includes these firefighters who paid the price and and took the test and did real well and should have had the job but were stopped from getting the job because they and others were afraid they would be what you call despair tif. >> let me go back to the issue of empathy. it's impossible for a judge to use empathy in influencing a case when it comes down on one

side or the other, if i could paraphrase you -- i hope i have it correct there. but back in his 2006 conversation, judge sam aleto said, quote, when i get a case about discrimination, i have to think about the people in my own family who suffered kis krim nation because of religion or gender. i take that in to account. justice thomas during his confirmation said that he thought he could walk in the shoes of the people who are affected by what the court does. those are both republican presidential nominees. they were voted on by republicans. they were confirmed to the bench. republicans seem to be pretty comfortable that they wouldn't use their background or their empathy to unfairly judge a case. why do you think judge sotomayor would? >> they both made it very career they were not going to allow perm empathy or personal sympathy to tell their opinions with regard to various cases in the law. i suspect that judge sotomayor will distinguish that herself and say, look, i will have

empathy. i can't get rid of the fact that i feel deeply about people. and i don't think she should. but if she allows her empathy to turn cases that should be decided otherwise in to case for reasons that are not applicable in the law, that's what we're concerned about. in the case of aleto and thomas, they haven't done that. >> you voted for her confirmation to the second court of appeals in 1998. do you expect in the end you'll vote for her confirmation here as well? >> i lean toward voting for and supporting the president's nominees. i think the presidents deserve that. that's what we get when we get a president. like i say, president obama is not going to appoint somebody who isn't liberal. so we've got to expect that. is we need to at least try to give every opportunity we can to his nominees. but she's going to have to answer some of these questions and if she doesn't -- if she doesn't answer them in an

appropriate way, yeah, i could vote against her. but frankly, you know, i do lean in favor of supporting the president and her. i hike her. she's got a wonderful life story. and, you know, her cases, though liberal in many respects, are still well written and i think plausible decision making. ao. >> senator orrin hatch of utah. great to talk to you. thanks for stopping by. we look forward to the hearings later on this morning. >> thank you. >> good to talk to you. you can watch judge sotomayor's confirmation hearings live this morning. it begins on cnn and cnn.com. 38 1/2 minutes after the hour. ♪ you're the one

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shot of the mississippi river this morning. good morning, minneapolis. overcast, 69. later on, bad, bad, bad weather moving in. strong thunderstorms. a high of 76 degrees. not too much different than des moin moines, iowa. >> you can dance there. >> you can dance if you want to in des moines. you can dance a lot --

>> ignore that 2:00 a.m. rule. >> lucky you didn't end up in jail. >> it seems like the kid just got out of school, right? already the back-to-school ads are out. but it's always that way. but this year, there's something different about the back-to-school shopping and the back-to-school spending. the economy has parents looking sharply at that annual end of summer splurge. a study out today says spending is expected to drop 8% for elementary school kids and 4% for college kids. our christine romans is minding your business. she's with us now with more on not just what we're buying but what we're choosing to buy in these tougher economic times. >> we're changing -- we're changing what we buy. you can call it recession consumerism. the economy is changing the way you spend your money, feed your family, even the way you're raising your family. listen to this. >> no question, you're spending less, shopping smart and hitting the discounters. >> i'm a good shopper.

i'm an educated consumer. i don't have to have the best of everything. >> cutting down on everything. >> more conscious of getting what i need>> consumers are scared about their homes. they're scared about the future and they've slammed the wallet shut. >> slammed them shut for high end baby products, cameras, and bottled water. believe it or not, americans may be toilet training their toddlers a little earlier. disposable diaper sales are down 4% from last year. what you are spending your money on may surprise you. when the going gets tough, the tough buy lipstick. >> we're hitting the discounters for the basics. call it vanity, call it escapism, retail tracker confirms high-end cosmetic sales are up. we're also buying iphones,

specialty pet supplies, romance novels, vitamins, insect repel lanlt, and vegetable seed. >> people are looking at experience to give them an experience. you purchase those seeds, raise the tomatoes and share them with somebody else. that's a different experience. >> is the shift in shopping here to stay in retail watchers say conspicuous consumption is now seen as bad manners. >> what do we need for many of us in the baby-boomer generation, we could live the rest of our lives on fruit, vegetables, pasta, wine, olive oil, doses of socks and underwear and maybe a little chocolate. >> what can we afford. that's the new shopping reality. we have some numbers. sells of canning and freezing supplies are up. baking supplies, varnish, and shellac too. a lot of do it yourself items. the shoppers are boying the

products for experience but also to save cash in the long run. it's interesting, some of the studies are showing people are putting off elective surgeries for a couple of reasons. the output of money -- have to have insurance for the co-pay and the deductibles so they don't want to be out of work. interesting some of the trends you're seeing people not choosing money. but canning -- deciding not to buy the expensive pullups. you know what? you want to potty train the 3-year-old because you can't afford to shell out $10 every three days for a box of diapers. >> everybody is tight anything their belt in different ways. so, what's the problem? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service.

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jacqui jeras in atlanta watching the extreme weather. most of it across the midsection for the day.

in des moines and minneapolis, they're expecting heavy stuff today. >> they are. that will happen later in the day. we're seeing the nasty forms focus especially across the state of missouri. kansas city getting hit hard with strong thunderstorms. they're not at severe levels but we could see between 40 and 50 mile-per-hour wind gusts. travel plans along i-35. be aware of that. also, a lot of lightning and very heavy downpours. the main severe weather threat as we go out today. des moines, minneapolis, that will likely spread to western parts of wisconsin to western parts of illinois. otherwise, dealing with a lot of heat across parts of the south here. south of the system, a big bubble up of the temperatures, heat advisories in effect from kansas city to dallas. 105 and 110 at times this afternoon. dangerous conditions here as a result of that. the good news is finally after weeks, really, we're going to get a break come friday.

hang in there for a couple of days. if you're traveling today, we have airport delays. 15-minute delays at washington dulles airport at this time. we can see delays in atlanta due to haze, winds in memphis and minneapolis due to those thunderstorms. pack a good book with you. >> not going to be an ideal day to fly at all. jacqui jeras for us. thanks so much. 49 after the hour.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. and now to a story that you'll see only here on cnn. cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is on a special assignment.

he's uncovered a real heart breaker. little children being forced to live the harshest life imaginable. and this morning, we're paging dr. gupta to find out what these kids are going through. >> john and kiran, i am reporting to you from haiti. as many people know, haiti is the poorest and least developed country in the western hemisphere. while there are some beautiful spots in this country, much of the country looks something like this. what you're looking at here is a slum market where a lot of people buy and trade and sell their goods. this is what life is like for so many people that live in these slum areas. there is a bleak irony here, as well, as we were doing investigating. we found that haiti, a country that was essentially formed out of a slave revolution still has a modern day form of slavery in haiti today. you have children, child laborers. some say they are child slaves.

for example, a girl here, dina, a girl forced to carry these five gallon tubs of water straight up into the mountainside as you see here. she does this over seven times a day. on her hands and knees, mopping floors, and that's her side job, that's when her owner lends her out and she does some of these same duties over and over again. all of this under the possible threat of mental and physical abuse. she told me she had never received a hug until the age of 14. as far as the physical abuse goes, it seems to be a way of life here. come to a marketplace, you'll see a whip like this. they tell me this one is used for small children, made out of cow hyde. but they sell the largest whips designed to inflict pain, leave markets, and discipline. it is awful to hear the stories they tell us about. there is some hope here in haiti, people trying to fix the situation.

much more on that later on this week. back to you. >> it's heart breaking to listen to. again, sanjay's special reporting and the possibility of some hope for that situation. you can read more about it on dr. gupta's blog from haiti cnn.com/amfix. how would you like to be flying about 34,000 feet and hear a big pop and the air pressure goes out of the plane and you find out there's a football-sized hole in the top of the plane. how did it happen? and can other planes be at risk? a former investigator with the transportation safety board coming up. it can be tough living with copd... but i try not to let it slow me down. i go down to the pool for a swim... get out and dance... even play a little hide-n-seek. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily

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this morning, growing outrage from many democrats over the bush administration's war on terror. triggered by reports that former vice president dick cheney ordered the cia not to tell congress about a secret counter terror program. earlier this morning i spoke with ana eshue about why she is calling for a full-scale investigation. zbling this is serious. and in listening to the program before this one, i loved the words of judge sotomayor. and that is fidelity to the law. we are a nation of laws.

and the cia has laws that they must comply with. and there's a very good reason for that. a balance between the executive and the legislative branch, and this goes straight to the heart of the responsibility that we have at the house intelligence committee, as members of congress to investigate. >> that's the democratic side of the argument. republicans accuse democrats of putting politics before national security. the program reportedly never ever got passed the planning stage. and we're about a minute and a half to the top of the hour. thanks for being with us on the most news in the morning. it's tuesday, 14th of july. here's what's on the agenda this morning. 131 passengers and crew all safe this morning, but not before a huge scare mid-flight. a football-sized hole ripped through the fusil lodge, above

30,000 feet when this happened. the plane made an emergency landing in west virginia. investigators are saying they don't know what exactly happened, ahead we'll be speaking to a former ntsb investigator to get answers. in 90 minute's time, judge sonia sotomayor heads back to the hot seat. and in just a moment, we'll take you live to the hearing room where senators will finally get their chance to question the judge and their qualifications. also a cnn exclusive, our special investigations unit examining a florida doctor who treats desperately ill americans using stem cell therapies. he charges tens of thousands of dollars, but some say he's preying on people who lost all other hope. drew griffin's going to confront him and profile one of the patients who swears he saved her life. first, though, the hole the size of a football, forced to make an emergency landing at 34,000 feet. but no one was hurt.

the most terrifying thing, though, may be that this morning no one even knows why it happened. >> reporter: once southwest flight 2294 landed safely in charleston, west virginia, this is what officials at the airport found. on the top of the plane near the tail fin, a hole. from the inside, you can see light coming in from outside. right now, officials have no idea what caused the damage. the plane had been airborne about 30 minutes and was climbing through 34,000 feet. and then -- >> there was a loud pop, no one really knew what it was. looking up because the ceiling, if you will, that's where we noticed one of the ceiling tiles being sucked against the fusil lodge. >> heard this loud noise, turned around, saw skylight. >> reporter: the plane lost cabin pressure, the oxygen masks

dropped no. one was hurt. it took off from nashville on the way to bwi airport in baltimore. instead the plane carrying 126 passengers and five crew members diverted to charleston, west virginia. once on the ground, a local pizzeria gave the passengers food while southwest sent another plane to take them to baltimore. southwest issued a statement saying there is no responsible way to speculate as to a cause at this point. we have safety procedures in place and they were followed in this instance to get all passengers and crew safely on the ground. our pilots and flight attendants did a great job getting the aircraft on the ground safely. federal investigators will try to figure out what happened to the plane and to keep it from happening again. stay with us, at 30 minutes past the hour with ben burrman, a former investigator and a pilot. that's ahead on the most news in

the morning. and in less than 90 minutes, judge sonia sotomayor returns to capitol hill and with opening statements out of the way, now comes the tough questions from 19 senators on the judiciary committee. we spoke to them about their expectations if sotomayor becomes a supreme court justice. >> we don't expect president obama to appoint a conservative judge or a moderate judge, we expect him to appoint somebody who is pretty liberal, and she is. and we expect that judge to be fair. we expect her to be a person who will apply the law, not make the law, and we expect her to not allow her own personal sympathy or empathy or approaches toward life to color decisions in ways that really are not just or right. >> of course everyone's background affects them, how could we not? we don't want nine judges with ice water running through their veins. but she has a record for 17 years. so we can see if she chooses her

own sympathies over the law when the law dictates going in a different direction. she never has. >> what's it like to face the fire of a confirmation? brianna keilar live for this us this morning as she was yesterday ready to show us around from judge sotomayor's perspective. good morning, brianna, that is an incredible vantage point there. >> reporter: i want to give you a sense of what it's like to sit here in this seat. what sonia sotomayor will see as she goes before these 19 members of the senate judiciary committee. this clock right here will tell her how much time she has with each senator, 30 minutes, and it will count down, and here to sonia sotomayor's left, the republicans, seven republicans of this committee. what are we going to hear from them? lindsey gramm, he's going to ask her questions about the top republican on the committee jeff sessions will ask. and that has to do with her off the bench comments. for instance, her wise latina

remark and other remarks she's made about the court of appeals being a place where policy is made. and then to sotomayor's right, the 12 ghkts on the committee. these will be her defenders and according to one aide, their role today will be concentrating on her record, her record, and her record in trying to pull attention away from how much bearing her off the bench remarks should have, john. >> brianna keilar with an inside look at what's ahead. a little less than 90 minutes from now. thanks so much. >> and judge sonia sotomayor is the first hispanic nominee for the high court, but not the first outspoken nominee. jim, hasn't much of the republican criticism focussed on what she said as brianna said, as well, outside of the courtroom? >> reporter: yeah, brianna said it best, off the bench. and we know the words well. "wise latina woman." they have seized on those words to question whether she would use race to play favorites on

the high court. now she'll have a chance to answer that charge. and as history shows, sotomayor's hardly the first supreme court hopeful who was once outspoken on the subject of race. a puerto rican who also grew up in a bronx housing project, jose serano is set to testify on behalf of sotomayor this week. he sees her as a thurgood marshall for hispanics. >> throughout the neighborhood, people are actually using her more than anyone else as an example of what can happen if you apply yourself and work hard. >> reporter: senator patrick leahy, the chairman of the committee holding sotomayor's confirmation hearing reminded his colleagues that marshall, a civil rights attorney who fought segregation also had to answer pointed questions on race. >> questions such as are you prejudice against the white people of the south. i hope that's a time of our past. >> it was a preemptive strike

aimed at jeff sessions who went on to challenge sotomayor about her remark about being a wise latino woman. arguing that she could bring prejudice to the high court. >> i will not vote for and no senator should vote for an individual nominated by any president who is not fully committed to fairness and impartiality toward every person who appears before them. >> reporter: in truth, sotomayor was nowhere near as outspoken as marshall. >> i do not think that president eisenhower has done anywhere near what he could've done. >> reporter: more than half century ago, marshall sat down with a cigarette-smoking mike wallace on the tv program "night beat" for a no holds barred interview on race. >> as far as you're concerned, it's been a plague on both of your houses, both your parties as far as an attitude. >> i think in congress today, the only bipartisan action is against civil rights. >> reporter: in those days, that was radical.

>> thurgood marshall challenged the american justice system for decades before he went on the supreme court. sonia sotomayor worked very much within that system and did not challenge it nearly as much. >> reporter: after weeks of silence, sotomayor tried to turn down the heat. >> in the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. simple, fidelity to the law. >> while she did mention her heritage in her opening remarks, sotomayor did not directly address her wise latina woman comment. those fireworks, as we know, kiran, are still to come probably early into this process today. >> all right. and we'll be watching. gets underway in about an hour and a half. thanks so much. and stay with us here on american morning. in 10 minutes, cnn senior legal analyst and jeffrey toobin will be joining us.

>> jeff got quoted yesterday at the hearings. >> yeah, well, he wrote the wonderful book all about the supreme court. >> yeah, interesting. a firsthand perspective on all of this. a group of black and hispanic kids were asked to leave a private swim club outside of philadelphia. they say they will not go back to the facility. attorneys for the largely minority day care center says they will sue in a few days. the kids were turned away because of overcrowded conditions and not their race. bernard madoff is a far cry from his manhattan cell. according to a government website, he's been transferred to a medium-security prison in atlanta. it's still not known if that's where he'll serve out his 150-year term in this atlanta prison once housed herald ponzi. and it's a classic case of good news bad news. the number of americans driving drunk is down, down

significantly from 7.5% in 1973 to just 2.2% in 2007. but the survey found 16% of people randomly pulled over while driving on weekend nights tested positive, not for alcohol, but for drugs. nine minutes now after the hour.

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order now and get an extra three weeks of fantastic meals. that's right, 105 meals absolutely free. call or click now. guys, you can do this. just pick up the phone and call. you will lose weight. welcome back to -- welcome back to the most news in the morning. this morning, john was saying it was a lovely shot of the white house. i concur. good morning. it's 67 degrees. later on it's going to be 85 and sunny in the nation's capital. well, new this morning, it seems president obama just can't catch a break when it comes to the teleprompter. what happened to one of the president's favorite gadgets when he was defending his stimulus package. take a look. >> we took swift and aggressive

actions in the first months of my administration to poll our country -- oh, goodness. sorry about that, guys. >> there you see it on the floor, smashed. there's another one, though, on the other side, so all is well that ends well. despite it, the president did not skip a beat. john? it's an unforgivable sin. tourists lining up for snapshots read graffiti, welcome to fabulous las vegas, nevada sign. told a local television station says this deserves off with their head. officials say they think the vandal used red marker and not spray paint. it might be easier to take off. call him the $45 million man according to the hollywood reporter, ryan seacrest just signed a contract for $45 million for the next three years. that figure reportedly triples his salary for hosting the show. a post on his twitter page stated that seacrest was very

excited locking in a deal to host this season of "idol" and the following two. >> at that price you could understand he would be quite excited about getting that money for three years. 9:30 this morning, the senate judiciary committee begins questioning supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor, and if monday's session was any indication, the judge will be spending a lot of time explaining this now famous statement. quote, a wise latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life. jeffrey toobin is in washington this morning tracking all of the developments for us. jeff, how long do you think it will be before that issue comes up in the questioning today? >> well, i think, patrick leahy, the democratic chairman of the committee is going to talk judge sotomayor a couple of softballs about it so she can get it out of the way, have her explanation so it doesn't come up in the more combative context that some republicans will be sure to raise it in.

>> do you think it's going to be much of an issue? >> i think it will be something she will have to explain. it is a comment that i'm sure she regrets saying the way she did. i think there are ways of explaining it away. but certainly, on its very terms, the idea that a wise latina is always going to do better than a white judge is, i think, a pretty indefensible position. president obama asked about it said she could've chosen her words differently and i suspect she'll say much the same thing. >> a couple of big issues, the issue of impartiality and also the issue of empathy. jeff sessions, the ranking member on the judiciary committee said her empathy for one group of firefighters talking about the new haven case turned out to be prejudice against another. i guess the question is, can you have empathy and impartially apply the law? >> well, those are -- those words are so vague that it's really hard to know how you

could really have a fight about the -- a certain degree of ea empathy is necessary for all of human life, including being a judge. but the issue that senator sessions is talking about is a very serious one and a big one before the support because it really relates to the issue of racial preferences. you know, does the constitution permit a university, a public employer to say we care about diversity in our ranks so we're going to give an advantage to a member of the minority group. that idea is very much undersiege at the supreme court. john roberts doesn't believe in it, david souter does. i think it'll be interesting to see how judge sotomayor deals with it. >> we want to remind folks at home, you are an expert on the supreme court, you wrote the fabulous book called "the nine." and you were quoted yesterday at the hearings.

all this talk from republicans. he quoted you talking about john roberts, an article in the new yorker in which you say in every case, roberts has sided with the prosecution over the defendant, state over the condemned and the corporate defendant over the individual plaintiff. the point he was making was there is activism, potentially on the court, but it's not limited to liberals. >> and the other point he was making is that john roberts in his opening statement famously said he sees himself as an umpire calling balls and strikes. and my point was, there is a lot more discretion in being a supreme court justice than there is in being a baseball umpire. and that umpire metaphor was brought up several times. and i think this is one of the things that nominees always do. and judge sotomayor did it yesterday, and said, well, i just apply the law. i don't have any political views. but you know what? when you're dealing with the

constitution, there is no such thing as just applying the law. the law is too elastic, the law is too political when it comes to the constitution to just apply the law. your values, your philosophy, your politicses inform how you interpret the constitution. >> it's great to have you with us this morning, we look forward to your coverage during the question and answer session today. >> today really should be the most interesting day. >> thanks, jeff. >> okay. >> and you can watch the confirmation hearings live here right on cnn, 9:30 eastern, live on cnn and cnn.com. do you support the confirmation? tell us what you think on cnn.com/amfix. 17 1/2 minutes after the hour.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. we're frantically looking at our blackberries and commuters. we are expected any minute now to know the exact earnings of goldman sachs. you said yesterday that things looked like they were going well for them. >> goldman sachs has managed to make money in a bad economy and a good economy, a bad market and a good market, lost money in the fourth quarter of last year, rare, rare for goldman to lose any money. and a lot of folks are expecting the second quarter earnings to be blockbuster. when you look at the profit rebound for goldman, you can see it had some trouble in 2008. you look at this bar chart, the last two bars are what analysts expect for 2009 and 2010. those are gold green bars for goldman sachs. you know, for people who dislike this company, they say, you know, it's -- that the world is -- there's too much influence

of goldman sachs in central banks and government. they say this company manipulates markets, but for the supporters and the people who watch this company say it is a shrewd manipulator of risk. it does what it does very well, makes money on the downside, up side, uses very sophisticated computerized trading to take risks and to manage risks better than anybody else. and that's why goldman is such a high profile. also because it's -- >> just heard 3.44 billion -- >> $3.44 billion. >> for the second quarter. >> $3.44 billion for the second quarter. we'll find out what it means, they made an awful lot of money. you as a taxpayer loaned this company $10 billion in the bailout. they have paid that money back. they have many of the traders and the people who are close to goldman say it has taken a lot of risks. it's managed to do risks on trading. it's made a lot of money. will goldman's earnings tell us whether the whole banking sector

is better or not? it doesn't look as if some of the other banking giants and investment banks alike have taken the kinds of risks goldman has so they probably won't have this kind of earnings boom. but we're going to be hearing a lot about the bank earnings this week, $3.44 billion net profit in the second quarter. we don't know if this will mean anything for the rest of the banks quite frankly because they are all in the defensive position, except for goldman, which seems to be on the offense. great story in "rolling stone" this week also in "businessweek." people are trying to figure out what makes them so able to manage risk and make money. but they made an awful lot in the quarter. >> thanks. >> sure. president obama takes on a new challenge tonight. he's going to throw out the first pitch in major league baseball's all star game in st. louis and going to join joe buck for a little bit of a play by play. and that has "late night's" david letterman a little nervous.

>> he's going to be working in the broadcast booth during the all star game. everybody says that's cute. let me tell you something, you know the economy is bad -- when the president has to take a second gig. that's not a good sign. >> i think if he's a good pitcher, it'll pay more than his first gig too. 23 minutes after the hour. taking its rightful place in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz.

25 1/2 minutes after the hour. a florida doctor has opened a clinic in the dominican republic where he claims to be saving lives using controversial stem cell therapies. a few weeks ago, cnn's reporting on americans receiving these treatments overseas drew an awful lot of attention. it's not covered by health

insurance, but our drew griffin found a woman who swears the therapy saved her life. and drew joins us from the cnn center in atlanta. this is an amazing story. >> yeah. . it's baffling because experts in the field of stem cell research, i mean cutting edge say what you're about to say is simply impossible. it shouldn't work. the science is just not there yet. and yet for this florida woman who paid $54,000, she believes this non-approved stem cell treatment improved her life. >> reporter: barbara's workout, yoga in front of a wii may not seem like much. until you consider where she was just one year ago. >> i was very limited as to the activities i could do. >> reporter: she has copd, an incurable lung disease that should be killing her. instead of dying, she says she's getting better, using oxygen only at night now, even her

family physician is amazed. she believes stem cells from her own body are helping her improve. barbara is a patient of an american doctor working through this hospital in the dominican republic. he is a florida cardiologist who also runs a company called regenocite therapeutics. what he's doing cannot be done in the u.s. >> these work and it's substantiated by objective data we're collecting. >> reporter: the procedure, draw a patient's own blood, send it off to a lab in israel, where it's transformed into what the company calls regenocite. according to the company, the cells are reinjected into the body to rebuild damaged areas. >> we end up with between 40 to 80 million stem cells, and then they also activate them and educate them to want to become the end organ of whatever tissue that we're looking to

regenerate. >> reporter: if that sounds impossible, it's because those at the forefront of stem cell research say it is. >> there is no such cell. there's no cell called a regenocyte. >> reporter: dr. irving is a president-elect of the stem cell research. >> i'm disappointed and shocked that somebody would prey on a family that has an untreatable disease with the promise of a therapy that has no scientific or medical basis. >> reporter: he says he's not conducting any fda approved clinical trials. such trials are usually conducted before treating patients. too expensive, he says, but he will seek fda approval by the end of the year. he also shrugs off the criticism of non-believers. >> you think that the head of the international stem cell society research society and the head of stanford medical center

biology stem cell department is just behind the times? >> i think that they just need to be more educated. >> reporter: he conducts information seminars in retirement communities says over the past 18 months, he has treated more than 100 people with various illnesses and claims 80% responded to treatment. in his seminars, he talks about hopes and possibilities, careful not to promise results. >> you're treating them, you're not scamming them? >> no. no, we're treating them. >> reporter: the fda has not sanctioned the treatment in the united states because it has yet to be proven safe or even effective in humans. but that is all science. what's harder to explain is the experience of barbara who says the moment she felt her own stem cells injected into her body she felt healing. >> i sit now in the humidity talking to you. i didn't even step out on this porch before i got my stem cells. couldn't do it.

>> john and kiran, this is not a cure. she's not cured, she still has it, she's just feeling better. and according to her own physician is using less oxygen. but it's just that hope of feeling better that is what's attracting so many american citizens to go overseas for, again, this non-approved treatment. >> sanjay gupta talks about this all the time too, drew, there's this mind-body connection, if you think you feel better, you just might. drew, thanks so much. meanwhile, we're half past the hour now. we check our top stories. it was once unimaginable, it had to be a fake number, but now the federal deficit has officially topped $1 trillion. this is the first time ever. the treasury says it could grow to nearly $2 trillion by this fall. the soaring deficit is intensifying fears about higher interest rates, inflation, and the strength of the dollar. president obama says the u.s. is committed to bringing down the deficit once the economy and the financial sector recover.

a rare urgent recommendation from the national transportation safety board after the deadliest subway crash in d.c. metro last month. it would warn operators if train sensors behaved erratically. and the ground was shaking late last night at los angeles international airport. the u.s. geological survey says that l.a.x. was rocked by a 3.2 quake, not a big one, but it was right under the runways. they could not find any damage and there were not any flight delays because of it. speaking of flight delays, this was a terrifying trip for a crew on a southwest airlines flight between nashville and baltimore when a football-sized hole just ripped through the lodge, the cabin lost pressure, and oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. the plane landed safely in west virginia, but officials still say right now they have no idea what caused this hole.

also just in to cnn, some passengers now speaking out about what they experienced on that plane. >> the first thing was that we heard this very loud noise, turned around, and saw a skylight shining through the plane. >> grounds crew, everybody, they were physical abufabulous about us up to date of what was going on. it was long to get a flight back, but you know. >> for more, let's bring in ben berman a former pilot. thanks for being with us this morning. most of us can't imagine what it would be like up there 34,000 feet and then realize there's a hole in the cabin. what did you think when you heard about this? >> well, my first thought was here we go again. and i was thinking back to an incident that occurred back in 1988 when an airlines jet lost the whole top of the fusil lodge. that was a very massive failure.

>> there's the picture of it there. >> sure. >> everybody was left sitting out in the open. that was worse than a skylight. in any case i thought of that and the recent events were a couple years ago southwest airlines was fined for not doing inspections like the aging aircraft inspections of the fusil lodge for cracks that are mandated right now as a result of the airlines. >> and what did they figure out about the airlines plane that may help out in this situation? >> well, they figured out you need a whole focus on airplanes as they get older, because they're being flown much longer than originally anticipated. and that focus has developed throughout the industry, and good inspections and maintenance procedures to keep these flying safely. and i thought, well, this is going to have to be another look at it and see what caused this football-sized hole in the fusil lodge to develop and may require some different inspections or new inspections to see whether the airline was doing the

inspections they should have been doing. >> it's called metal fatigue when those aging aircrafts when that happens. and passengers were saying literally it was ripped through the metal, ripped through everything, they could see sunlight coming through in the plane and in that instance, obviously, it was a lucky situation they were able to land with no one hurt. that could've just -- when you're talking about a depressurized cabin, it seems amazing that no one was hurt. >> well, somewhat lucky but also really how the system is designed to work. the pilots and flight attendant crews are trained to react. they get the airplane down to a breathable altitude around 10,000 feet high as soon as possible and the airplane's also designed to kind of contain cracks that develop through tear strips of heavy metal that are built in. so if it was a one foot-sized hole, that may be what it was design to do. so luck, skill, probably good design, but some other stuff too that needs to be dealt with very

carefully. >> right, and you know, they're saying today they're examining all of their 737-300s. they did these increased expectations overnight. but what would they be looking for as they try to determine whether or not other planes could possibly also end up in this situation with a hole in the fusil lodge? >> well, southwest and maybe other airlines will be looking at that area of the fusil lodge to see if there are any cracks or other problems that are developing. the investigators, the ntsb investigators will be looking very carefully at the metal, you know, they'll cut out the piece of metal that was involved. they'll be looking for signature signs of metal fatigue or over stress. if it was metal fatigue, they'll see some characteristic marks that look like kind of rings of sand on the beach as the tide goes in and out as the airplane pressurized and depressurized with each flight. they probably will be able to develop an idea of exactly what happened here. >> all right.

hopefully they'll be able to figure it out and soon. and the question about those inspections, as well. so ben berman, thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> you're welcome. it is 36 minutes past the hour. the gold delta skymiles credit card... from american express... it's the official card... largest airline. of the world's and it's the only credit card... that earns miles on delta. miles that take you... to more places than ever before. over 350 destinations worldwide. so switch today.

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♪ top videos right now on cnn.com. check out these incredible pictures, out of india, three huge construction cranes collapse at a construction site. and according to our sister network cnn ibn, four people were injured. this picture out of detroit this weekend, an f-18 fighter jet buzzes past an apartment complex. you can even see the guy standing out on his balcony. imagine that shot out of your window. it was all part of a planned flyover demonstration. yes, a really, really close encounter. and there was a hillbilly ho-down at the annual red neck games. the games feature a toilet seat toss, bobbing for pigs feet, and mud hole belly flops. sounds like fun.

>> bobbing for pigs feet. as long as they're not boiling them in oil, i guess it's not bad. the yankees and the red sox duke and north carolina, games that are all about the rivalry. but in iraq, a country at war for the past several years, soccer in particular is helping people put their differences aside. here's michael ware with that story. >> reporter: welcome to international football baghdad style. this is iraq's first time international since 2002 in the lead-up to the u.s.-led invasion. just -- excuse me, guys. iraq is playing the first time game here against palestine, this is an incredible thing. this stadium is filled to capacity with intense security. as the war continues. but it's this game, this that has been the iraqi people's disconnect from the horror around them.

this is what's the only thing that's united the iraqi people. when they won the asian cup, the sectarian violence, the entire war, just a moment as the entire country celebrated. today, we see it again. this truly is one of baghdad's all too few grand days and it's football that's connected everybody together. michael ware, cnn, baghdad. >> you can tell that michael's found his passion. >> he has too, yeah, the great equalizer. >> he used to play australian rules football. so he's very fond of suppoportse that. town & country with r a generous cash allowance, or 0% financing for 60 months. the @%ail rated jeep grand cherokee also comes with a cash allowance or 0% financing for 60 months. or choose a hard working all new dodge ram truck

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it's interesting. this was the shot this morning of detroit, michigan. you can see the beautiful water, you can see the buildings, but close up, looks like there's a spider web on our tower camera and something's caught in it. 65 degrees, a little bit later mostly sunny there and 79. that's where the president's going to be a little later. he's making an announcement in community colleges in the future, $12 billion over the next ten years. it's not going to be pretty in all parts of the country. our jacqui jeras is checking in. some severe weather could be making a mess if you're flying

or living in some of the areas that are getting hit. >> across the nation's midsection is the area we'll be concentrating on here, kiran. and we have some thunderstorms this hour. nothing severe right now, but some gusty winds along with heavy downpours and a lot of lightning. we had a nasty line move through from about kansas city up towards st. joe area now moving, it's going to make its way over towards columbia, we are expecting some redevelopment as we head into the afternoon hours and we'll be watching that as it moves across the state and heads toward st. louis. that all-star game tonight. des moines, minneapolis, over towards wisconsin, we'll have that threat especially into the afternoon hours. in the meantime, you saw that lovely picture from detroit, it was gorgeous, great weather across the great lakes and into the northeast, not so great across parts of the south, unfortunately, due to many of those high temperatures still into the triple digits. and one pretty picture i want to show you here, some wildfires, they are abundant in colorado. pretty pictures here due to all

of the heavy rain. now that things are warming up, the flowers are out. and certainly looking beautiful. makes me want to go for a hike. kiran? >> pretty this morning. thanks so much, jacqui. get ready, this is going to be a bit of a surprise. you're used to seeing christiane am po amanpour in iraq, iran, afghanistan. doesn't mean she can't be glamorous too. and here's the proof in the august issue of "harper's bazaar." there she is. yep, that's our christiane amanpour. she says no one has ever accused me of being stylish, but maybe that will change with this issue. the photos are quite remarkable. >> and there's another cute shot. that's her new dog. he's cute. >> christiane and her little dog too. well, yesterday, president obama unveiled his nominee for

surgeon general. who is regina benjamin and what can she do for you? naing onon ud r.

weotototatatininci on us cars for everybody anont cfidedence ininin o. caususususlendnds s ve a a a t tcks. ququq n . appropriate music this morning for atlanta where it's partly cloudy and 75. it will be a beautiful day today. mostly sunny and a high of 90 degrees. well, first cnn's dr. sanjay

gupta was approached about being the obama administration's new surgeon general. but fortunately for us, he turned it down. now president obama just announced his new choice dr. regina benjamin, a doctor from the gulf coast. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us now on dr. benjamin. so what do we know other than the fact that she really is dedicated to her community? >> she certainly is. she has been serving the underserved and the uninsured in the gulf coast for many years. let's take a look at what we know about the doctor here. first of all, she received her m.d. from the university of alabama. she founded a rural health clinic in alabama, which she had to rebuild several times because of katrina. also the first african-american to be a board member of the american medical association, also the first person under 40 to have that position, and she also was named a mcarthur foundation fellow. it's also interesting, she was the first female and the first african-american to be head of the alabama medical association.

john? >> traditionally the surgeon general hasn't had a big hand in the formation of health care policy. do we think in this administration it might be a little bit different that relationship? might she, in fact, have a hand in health care reform? >> right, we're told this time it will be different and she will actually have a heavy hand in health care reform. it only makes sense, she may be the only person in the room who is actually taking care of a large number of uninsured people. plus she has had some personal experiences that really speak to the need to build prevention into our health care system. >> all right. elizabeth cohen for us this morning, thanks so much for that. nine minutes to the top of the hour. illion people are on a conference call. 750,000 wish they weren't. - ( phones chirping ) - construction workers are making 244,000 nextel direct connect calls. 1 million people are responding to an email. - 151 accidentally hit "reply all." - ( foghorn blows ) that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network

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listening and saving you money is how... ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ people in new york are especially excited about judge sotomayor because she comes from the bronx. isn't that cool? in fact, judge sotomayor famously presided over the new york city case shut up versus no, you shut up.

>> all right. well, we are just about half an hour away from sonia sotomayor answering some questions about her qualifications to be the next supreme court justice. >> now, let's be clear here because we're not encouraging drinking games. but if you are looking for a theme if you had one planned later on today, there is one word to consider. our carol costello live in washington with that word. dare we guess what it is, carol? >> i think you can. if you watched yesterday's confirmation hearings, you could definitely guess what that word is. and it's going to be guessed a lot of times today, the word is empathy. you could sum up the hearing that way. everybody said empathy. i'm going to give you the dictionary definition. the ability to put one's self in another's shoes. that is a judicial no-no, democrats say it's an imperative. who's right? or does it boil down to which side you're on? >> reporter: oh, that word. >> call it empathy, empathy.

>> this empathy, empathy standard. >> empathy. >> it's become the new litmus test for judicial nominees even though it's been used to describe nominees before. >> is it delightful, warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor. >> reporter: that was republican president george h.w. bush using the e. word to describe his nominee, now supreme court justice clarence thomas. but today republicans say the e-word is not a quality that the justice ought to possess. >> this empathy standard is troubling to me. >> reporter: but why? what does that mean? does senator grassley think hour justices should be dispassionate, like say lynn in dancing with the stars. >> i have to look at the footwork. step forward on the heel not on the ball. >> reporter: or should they sometimes let feelings count. >> your sweetness in light and pretty as a picture. >> a good judge brings some empathy to the bench, but most

decision-making is based on strict application of the law. >> reporter: that's exactly how the nominee described her judicial style on monday. but republicans suspect judge sotomayor is more bruno because she said in the past that latina women sometimes reach better conclusions than white men. >> if judges routinely started ruling on the basis of their personal feelings, the entire legitimacy of the judicial system would be jeopardized. >> reporter: in other words, there's concern that judge sotomayor who ten years ago described herself as an affirmative action baby may be more inclined to rule in favor of minorities because of her past. legal scholars say there is no pattern in sotomayor's past rulings to prove that, but some say the idea that empathy may play a part in some of her decisions is actually a good thing. >> we want people who -- to become judges who not only are learned, not only are scholarly, not only are smart, but also experienced in the profession

and most of all in life. >> reporter: the most famous example in 1954 when an empathetic supreme court overturned state laws in brown versus board of education. the segregation violated the u.s. constitution. you see sometimes the law is not crystal clear. you have all of the facts in front of you, but you have to use something else to make the final decision and some that something else is empathy. you know, on the political front because everything's politicized in washington. right, john and kiran? >> no, i've never heard of that. perish the thought. say it's not true. >> empathy, it's become code now for activist judge. the kind of judge who will rule against many of the things that republicans are against like affirmative action or gun control or abortion rights. >> all right. carol costello for us this morning. carol, thanks so much. it's good to see you. we'll see you again tomorrow. >> we've been asking people to weigh in about their comments about judge sotomayor, and here's a few this morning from

our blog at cnn.com/amfix. it bothers me that the democrats say they will not ask sotomayor so many tough questions. republicans in so many words have said they will. i think both parties should stop the games. we can't have two parties playing politics with a lifetime appointment. >> jim writes, i've heard her call a lot of things with latina being the most prevalent, i've never heard her called an american. we're getting a lot of comments in our blog this morning. >> that's right. we continue to hope that you'll weigh in for us. we'd like to read all of those e-mails. >> in all this week, the confirmation hearings of the supreme court nominee sotomayor will be on our air. she could make history as the first hispanic justice. third woman to sit on the first highest court. follow it all on cnn and cnn.com all this week. >> and as we said cnn.com/amfix

and we'll see you back here tomorrow. >> now here's "cnn newsroom" with heidi collins. good morning, everybody, i'm heidi collins, it is tuesday, july 14th, and it is a big day in the "cnn newsroom." beginning this hour, live coverage of the sonia sotomayor supreme court confirmation hearings today the judge answers the senator's question. plus, other news we are following, the u.s. marine push in southern afghanistan suffers casualties. we'll have the latest on the fighting there. and a gaping hole in a plane. a southwest 737 is damaged while flying 34,000 feet in the air. we'll have all of this for you. but first this morning. sonia sotomayor back on capitol hill. finally on the hot seat, in fact, just minutes from now, the next phase of her confirmation hearings gets underway. and senators will have their chance to question her and her qualifications for the highest court in the country. brianna keilar sets the stage.