>> okay. >> and ted will be following the developments throughout the afternoon. time for us to go. we're pushing forward now with the next hour of "cnn newsroom" with kyra phillips! >> all right, tony, thank you so much. too much, too soon, or too important to wait? two sides of the fight over health care in america. a fight that's raging in private, in public, in congress, the white house. maybe even your house. we're pushing forward to a prime-time pitch from the president. these kids have always been on the receiving end of aid. they've never been on the giving end of service. i think that's going to open up their world. >> a journey for change frork from the mean streets of brooklyn to the shantytowns of south africa. it's all part of "black in america 2" and cnn's soledad o'brien joins me live. you can't find a desert war without water. that's more of a survival tip than a secret. our ivan watson shows and tells in afghanistan. hello, everyone, i'm kyra phillips live in the cnn headquarters in atlanta. and you're live in the "cnn and you're live in the "cnn newsroom."

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com so, how often does congress do something that affects the well-being, physical and financial, of every person in america? almost never. but that's what's happening as lawmakers try to make health care available to everybody while reining in costs. it hasn't been happening as quickly or as smoothly as president obama would like, so tonight he'll do what ordinary lobbyists can't and hold a prime-time, nationally televised news conference. you'll see it live right here on cnn. but before that you'll see the problems, the possibilities, through the eyes of a family doctor. a doctor who turned down his own employer's insurance coverage. he'll tell us what he has learned as a health care consumer. the president's not the only one doing news conferences, but the real work is taking place far out of siting of the cameras, and that's the focus of our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash.

dana, i understand there's been a big development. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that's right, kyra. we have been standing in front of this room here, this is the office of senator max baucus, because that's where a group of bipartisan negotiators who hold the president's fate in their hand, they have been talking. the development is that one of three republicans in that room has pulled out of the talks. that republican is orrin hatch of utah. he told our congressional producer, ted barrett, that he actually informed the chairman, max baucus, just within the last hour that he has decided that philosophically he just doesn't agree with the way things are heading behind those closed doors. specifics, he said he doesn't really agree with the idea of having an employer mandate -- effectively mandating employers have coverage for their employees or an individual mandate, making it clear to every american you must have coverage or else or we're going to penalize you. he also doesn't like the idea of expanding the medicaid program which is something they've been talking about behind these closed doors.

now, having said all of that. orrin hatch is a conservative republican and many people were maybe surprised that he was even negotiating with democrats, but he was, and he has been for the past several months. so, that just gives you a sense the fact that he has decided to pull out, leaving just two republicans in these bipartisan talks, gives you a sense of the fact that maybe they are making more progress, but also the rubber is meeting the road and you have some, you know, republicans who are looking that and saying, you know, it just isn't going to work for me, and certainly in the case of orrin hatch, who has been a negotiator, that's what he said. >> all right, dana bash. thank you so much. we'll continue to follow-up with you, of course, as things develop behind the closed doors there. now, less than half the country now approves of president obama's handling of his signature issue, make that one of his signature issues, but supporters still slightly outnumber the critics. in our latest poll of polls 47% say he is doing well, 44% disagree.

the overall approval rating is higher, 56% in the latest poll of polls but that's down from 61% in late june. >> stop me if you've heard this, but you've got a stake in what congress and the president decides here. cnn's senior medical correspondent joins me now, elizabeth cohen, with the real-world impact of health care reform. you are trying to explain it in the eyes of three make-believe insured, uninsured individuals. >> make-believe, but they have real parallels in the real-world universe. we wanted to answer the question, what does health care reform mean to you and me. because we are all stakeholders. what health care reform means to me, depends on who "me" is. we have two "mes" we're going to talk about. first i'll introduce you to mary. mary is 23 years old. you can tell from the cute little cap on her head, she just graduated from college and she is looking for a job. would health care reform help her? well, let's take a look. under the senate plan, it would

help her, because it would allow her to stay on her parents' insurance until she's 26 years old. so, she's got another three years to be with mom and dad, but under the health plan, it says kids can day with mom and dad only 22 years. she would do better under the senate plan than the house plan. >> parents would say, that's a good thing. i'm more for the house plan. that pushes them to be more responsible for themselves. that's a whole nother issue. let's talk about something more complicated, that is if someone has a pre-existing condition. we've interviewed a lot of people who are struggling with cancer and other, you know, fatal diseases and they've had a really hard time getting insurance to take care of them. they're concerned about this obviously as well. >> right. it's just awful. i mean, these are folks that need insurance the most and they can't get it because they have a pre-existing condition. so, let me introduce you to john. you can see that john has a bad back. he's a sad guy. he's self-employed and he cannot

get health insurance, so the question here is will health care reform help him? and the answer, according to really pretty much everyone, is yes. it will help him. because no matter how you look at it, with all the various plans, all of them have some -- in some way, shape, or form will help people with pre-existing conditions. it can't get much worse, right? even a bad back, even a really bad back, a lot of insurance companies will just say, no, don't want to insure you. you're just too expensive. >> all right, in the next hour you are going to hit our third individual. something we've been talking a lot about. >> right. and that is, what if you're happy? what if you like your insurance? what will health care reform -- >> you don't want anything to change. >> you don't want anything to change. what will happen there? this is really the mother of all controversies, because most americans get their insurance through their employer. so, trying to tell them, oh, don't worry, be happy, you'll be fine, that's a little tricky and that may be part of why the president's approval rating on this ishyou've has gone down. >> all right, we'll talk more about it very soon.

thanks, elizabeth. >> thanks. why would anyone turn down a health insurance plan? we'll talk about it live. and tonight a presidential news conference, 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 pacific. watch it with wolf blitzer and anderson cooper and the best political team on television. only on cnn. moments ago the senate narrowly rejected the carrying of concealed weapons across state lines. the defeated measure would have given people with concealed weapons permits the right to carry firearms into other states with similar gun laws. now, the vote was 58-39, in favor of the provision, but it needed 60 votes to pass. it was offered as an amendment to a defense spending bill and marked the first significant defeat for the gun lobby this year. now, still a p.o.w., still in the hands of the taliban, but we still aren't sure just where army pfcbowe bergdahl is being health. possibly in neighboring

pakistan. the taliban released this video sunday. defense secretary, robert gates, vows to do everything possible to get him back. and friends back in his hometown of idaho 20 bowe as a tough, caring kid that do anything to help others. cnn's ed lavandera spoke to some of them. >> reporter: this is bowe bergdahl on a high seas adventure. that's him in the green jacket. before joining the military, he found a job fishing for salmon off the alaska coast, it was on this adventure that dillon bulmer met his hometown buddy. >> he's a good kid. strong as an ox. >> reporter: he said bergdahl dreamed of biding his bike around the world, hopping on boats, carrying only the bare necessities. he's stilling you about wanting to bicycle around the world. what do you think of that? >> this kid is crazy, you know? there's no land all the way around the world. then he explained the whole boat process. but i just -- biking around the

world, that's one heck of a feat right there. >> reporter: those who know bergdahl talk of his adventurous spirit. he worked for sue martin at this coffee shop where get bowe back signs hang in the window. >> he captures you. he's not somebody in the corner. he captures you. you engage and he engages very well. >> reporter: he's a renaissance man in the making. he learned ballet at this dance studio, took up the sport of fencing and a avid-outs doormans, he learned to sail, went on an expedition that took from the atlantic to the pacific all by the age of 23. it seemed like he was fascinated by the world out there. >> wanted to go see it. >> reporter: he waited tables and worked construction jobs to pay for the adventures which sometimes took the form of long, rustic bike rides through the idaho wilderness. >> bowe never owned a car. he doesn't like them. >> reporter: his parents live a quiet road on the outskirts of

haley, idaho. he was home schooled growing up. but what sue martin says she loves most about bergdahl is the man who displayed quiet chivalry. >> i'd go out to my car after a long day and a big snow fall and bowe would have swept the snow off my car. i walk out and it's just, bowe's been here. and he'd never say anything. >> reporter: that's the bowe bergdahl the people in his hometown can't wait to welcome home. and, kyra, friends and family here in haley, idaho, are planning a large candlelight vigil tonight here at this coffee shop, which has essentially become the point of information on anything having to dough with bowe bergdahl, and the sheriff is urging people to show up on their bicycles, because that's what bowe would do if he were here. >> let's hope it's a great homecoming. ed lavandera, thanks. dead, disturbed, and dumped, the living, worried.

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from the streets of brooklyn to the shanties of south africa. kids with little meeting folks even less. meet the activist on the journey to change as we look ahead to cnn's "black in america 2."

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cook county has filed one and commissioners want cemetery owners to pony up the cost for the investigation, more than 300 grand. burr oak is the place where four workers are accused of digging up hundreds of graves, dumping remains and reselling the plots. thousands of people are wondering if their departed loved ones are resting in the right places right now. now, a look at some of tomorrow's leaders in the african-american community. we're hours away from the debut of "black in america 2," cnn's follow-up to last year's groundbreaking support. soledad o'brien is leading the coverage. she joins us from new york. you've been working on this for more than a year. >> i'm about to deliver the baby. >> that's right. that's the longest carrying of a child you've ever had. >> yes, yes, it is. these projects take a long time, but utterly worth it, this time around, our second installation of black in america, "black in america 2." we want told focus on success, and the anatomy of success, what

makes certain programs work. we wanted to take a look at people making a difference really in their own communities. we had the story from a bunch of kids from brooklyn who got a chance to take a trip of a lifetime to south africa, but what they were there to learn was more about themselves than the other people they met in south africa. take a look. ♪ >> and we're walking. my name is la toya. and this is my hood. i have friends that live here, you know, and partying and stuff. we're going to bush league. >> everyone, my name is jeremy baker. 15 years old. this is where i hang out. come over here. i will take you to the basketball court. >> reporter: la toya and jeremy live around here, bushwick, brooklyn, just five subway stops

from manhattan. bushwick weathered lootings in the '70s, then crack in the '80s. the neighborhood is improving, but wrong choices still litter the streets. a lure to many teens. >> this is bushwick right here. >> reporter: one right choice is the bushwick salvation army. >> do you want to get in? >> reporter: it's where activists, who is the wife of comedian chris rock, has come with a big, bold plan. >> cheese! >> reporter: she's going to select 30 kids, age 12 to 15, and take them to south africa. she calls it journey for change. why did you focus on bushwick? i mean, it's kind of in a way a classic inner city neighborhood. has crime. has drugs, entrenched poverty. >> 50% high school graduation rate. >> reporter: is that why? >> no. these kids come from the bushwick salvation army

community center, and it is a community center that my husband attended as a child. and he really always talked about it, being an amazing place and what if he didn't have it. >> reporter: malaak believes that the children on these streets limit their dreams and their futures. she wants to expand their horizons, not by exposing them to a better life, but exactly the opposite. the plan, two weeks of volunteer work, in south africa's shantytowns, where the poorest of the poor, the country's aids orphans, survive. these kids have always been on the receiving end of aids. they've never been on the giving end of service. i think that's going to open up their world. >> i also feel that travel just gives you a sense of confidence, you know? i mean, some of our kids haven't left bushwick. >> reporter: what's your goal for them? >> our dream, our goal, is to come back and these kids will be our next leaders, our next civic leaders. >> the goal for malaak is also

to make sure that these kids, whatever change they experience in south africa can stick, by taking them 8,000 miles away from the comfort zone they're able to grow and see a potential for what they could be one day. >> we're definitely looking forward to part two, because it goes off in the different angles you didn't get a chance to tackle last time around, soledad. if you don't mind, while i have you here, i just want to ask you about skip gates, you know, our beloved harvard professor that you and i have interviewed a number of times, you know, arrested for disorderly conduct. you know, the charges were dropped, on tuesday, but you look at this picture of him in cuffs, is you're thinking, okay, what is wrong with this picture, this harvard scholar, award-winner, tremendous author, and then you have these conflicting details from gates, from the police officer. bottom line, was it racial profiling? i mean, you went to harvard, you have an interesting perspective of having the diversity factor,

going to this prestigious school? what's your take on this? >> i think the things in conversations is about the questions of expectations. you have to ask yourself if it had been a police officer who went to a white professor's home, what would have happened? i mean, that's the only way to look at it. and i think when you read the police report, there is a point in the police report where the police officer says, hey, i'll read it to you. he says, he appear ed ed to be resident, but very uncooperative. so, he's no longer investigating a breaking an entering. he recognizes professor gates as the homeowner. and what this comes down to to me is there an expectation that this guy couldn't be in this home. this is where he lives, by the way, beautiful neighborhood, beautiful home, cambridge is the home to many harvard professors. is there an expectation that professor gates couldn't have been the guy who owned the home? later on in the police report, this is the police officer's own words, he talks about how he's now looked at his harvard

university i.d. and goes on to call the harvard university police department to come in. he was arrested for not breaking an entering, but disorderly conduct, you have to come outside. there are a lot of questions. the feedback i've gotten from people, been there, my brother, been there. you know, been there, because there is an expectation that it couldn't be driving that nice car. expectation, couldn't be your house. expectation, if there was a crime, must have been you. i think that resonates with people. harvard students, the harvard black students who i spoke to a couple months back, told me about how they were out in the -- one of the yards, the harvard -- one of the harvard yards, and they were all i.d.'d, asked to show their i.d. because they didn't belong at the school. they were gathering together. >> already judgment was made, could you be a black student at harvard? >> an expectation that it couldn't be there school. i think that's a distressing, humiliating, horrifhorrifying, upsetting thing to happen.

>> that's from the student perspective. listen to this exchange from the cop's perspective. this was on "american morning." i want to get your reaction to this clip. >> the question here that is a lot of people want to know if henry louis gates was a white harvard professor, would he have been treated in the same way? >> you know, i actually would submit to you, john, that he probably would have been treated the same way. the real profiling, the real race profiling, in this country, is not against african-american men, that's the age of mr. gates. it's actually african-american young men, between the ages of 18 and 28 years old, which mr. gates doesn't fall into that category. now, was this a case of racial profiling? base on the information that we know at this point, i would say no. in this case, you're talking about an officer that was experienced on the job, an officer who was responding to an actual call from a complaint. so, i think, based on the training and the experience of this officer, it appears right now, as if the officer did act appropriately. but i can understand, as an african-american male myself, i can clearly understand the

feeling that professor gates had, although i must tell you, from being a police officer, no one really understands the position of that officer unless they're really on the scene of that incident. >> no. >> i can only go back to the police report, kyra, which is -- >> i wanted to add, i'm sorry, soledad, i want to say that he's also a police officer, the gentleman we just heard from. >> right, right. >> so, that's what made it an interesting clip. >> clearly he's knowledgeable. i understand. but i think to pose the question which is would a white professor have been treated the same way? would there have been an expectation that a white professor when he said, hey, listen, my door is jammed, i came in. lots of people have pointed out to me, people don't usually break in through the front door. here you have this man whose dressed in -- you saw what he was arrested this, slacks and a polo shirt, with glasses. he walks with a cane. once he showed his harvard i.d. it wasn't, oh, excuse me, sir, i am so sorry, i'm in your home, i got to go. it was more of a question of let me call the harvard police. that's not my words, that's the

words from the police report. so, i think the questions raised touches a nerve, clearly, because if it can happen to professor skip gates. you pointed out his kcredential, this man is probably the most produce found african-american professor. he's the top of the tier there. he has a burger named at him at a restaurant in harvard square. he covers a lot of grounds. if it can happen to skip gates, it can happen to anybody i think is a lot of the feedback i'm getting. >> just a little side note, gates extended an unusual offer to the officer. we were reading an exchange for an apology. he's offering personal tutoring sessions on the history of racism in america to the cop. we'll follow-up, soledad, we'll see if indeed -- >> and maybe a lawsuit, too, i would not be surprised. maybe lawsuit, too. >> and maybe a book. thanks, soledad. we'll see you next hour. our special programming does premiere tonight at 7:00 eastern, starting with the live show, "moment of truth" with the cnn exclusive, just what we were

talking about, professor henry louis gates, the first television interview since his arrest that we were just talking about. and at 8:00 eastern we'll carry president obama's news conference, and join us at 9:00 eastern for the first night of an all-new "black in america" event. more than two years after the massacre at virginia tech, a major clue turns up. could it change the way we look at the killer? and do you have questions about health care reform? e-mail us at mail to the chief@cnn.com or twitter us at kyracnn. we'll have linda douglass and phil fing ggingy.

it's a pretty rare and incredible sight in asia, a total solar eclipse could be seen across much of the continent and parts of the pacific. chad myers joins us now from the cnn severe weather center. chad, it was supposed to somehow be disturbed by weather. did it turn out to be okay?

>> in shanghai they did have cloud cover. >> got it. >> they did. but a lot of the other places that people wanted to see it, it was completely clear. and it was a big swath across india, across china, and down into the south pacific. did you know that solar eclipses can only happen on on a new moon? that's because the moon has to be here and the sun has to be out there behind it. so, when the sun tries to shine its light onto the earth, it actually gets a shadow, and that's the moon's shadow right there at the total eclipse, so that's why it happened yesterday. here's some video. i have a couple of clips. i'm not sure which one we'll play first. first, here's all of the people looking up in the sky, look iin at it. and hopefully you have your protection goggles on there. i'm not sure if this borders on fun or cruelty, but at the zoo, the seal wanted to see it, too! >> come on, he's just curious. those are ray-bans from 1986.

>> i hope they were strong enough. because you're supposed to put like welding glasses on in order to see this. anyway, a little bit of fun there at the zoo there in japan. a couple of showers across parts of north america today. good thing we're not trying to see any sunshine here, because it is right here, right through the middle part of tennessee and all the way through kentucky as well. highs are nice. memphis, 80, kansas city, 82. you can't argue with weather like this in the middle of summertime. some people were commenting, is this global cooling? because i haven't felt summer in some parts across the northeast, cloud cover across cincinnati and parts of ohio as well. not going with global cooling but nice cool in the east, hot in the west, somewhere in the middle. >> thanks, chad. >> you bet. he's fresh out of med school and beginning his family medical practice, so why did a doctor in minnesota turn down his own hospital's health insurance plan? we're going to talk to him live, and he's going to explain. some lunch.

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starving themselves for solidarity. iranians here in the u.s. are on a hunger strike outside of the

united nations in new york. they're showing their support for iranians thrown in jail after the historic protests in tehran over the country's presidential election. cnn's reza sayah is there. reza, what do you think about the turnout? >> reporter: yeah, kyra, the crowd has been growing ever since 8:00 a.m. here at this street corner in new york city, right in front of the u.n. stars and celebrities are going on strike. now, you may not recognize many of these stars and celebrities, but if you're iranian or of iranian descent, you definitely will. these are a lot of iranian movie stars, singers, song writers, authors, who gathered here for this three-day hunger strike in support of the opposition movement in iran, and they're also calling for the release of these individuals. these names that you see here are detainees who were arrested after the controversial elections on june 12th. these celebrities have gathered here to put pressure on the u.n., to pet pressure on the obama administration to do something to help these

detainees. so, a lot of big names here, none bigger than legendary iranian singer gogoo. she arrived here a couple hours ago, she was mobbed here by her fans here, and this is what she had to say -- >> i hope that the world can hear us and united nations do something for our people and for our young generation and women. >> reporter: a lot of people wearing -- a lot of people wearing green here, that has become the official color of the opposition movement. and pictures of neda soultan, this is the picture of the 26-year-old who was killed during the protests. this is one way, kyra, they want to let the opposition movement back in iran know that people here across the world are watching.

one way to give some energy to the movement out there, so it will continue, kyra. >> yeah. i've been reading about it. and apparently it's encouraging other people to do the same around the country. we'll follow the effects of this and see what happens. reza sayah, thank you so much. right house, wrong safe. cnn has learned that a murdered florida couple had a second safe in their home with a jackpot inside, 100 grand, but their attackers couldn't get it for whatever reason. they were in the house for about five minutes -- or four minutes, rather. long enough to kill byrd and melanie billings and haul out a smaller safe with jewelry, prescription meds and family documents. seven men are charged with murder. melanie billings' biological daughter has told cnn she's about to move in and care for billings' adopted special-needs kids. nine were home during that attack. a long-lost clue in the virginia tech shootings now found. we're talking about the mental health records of the shooter seung-hui cho. they finally turned up and a former worker at the school's counseling center had them. the records should offer more

insight in to the man who killed 32 people and then himself. virginia's governor says that the records will go public asap and lawyers for the families of the two victims actually found the records. they're suing the school and several others, claiming gross negligence in preventing the killings. back to capitol. major surgery under way on the health care in america. you wonder why the democratic president is struggling with a democratic congress over what is generally a democratic issue, you should meet the blue dogs. it's washington-speak for a fiscally conservative democrat from a conservative state. brianna keilar is watching the howling, who are the blue dogs and why are they powerful especially right now? >> reporter: they are not really blue and they're not really dogs, but they are conservative democrats. when they lost the majority? the house, there was a group of yellow dog democrats, basically southern democrats, who said

they felt choked blue by the far left and the far right. this is the story that they'll tell you, kyra, and so they call themselves blue dog democrats. now, as democrats have taken over some of these seats in typically republican-leaning districts, the blue dogs have seen their coalition grow. they're now up to 52 members at this point in time, and they're pretty powerful because of the numbers they have. so, on health care they've got many demands, but couple of key ones they want to see include cost savings and revamping incentives. cost savings, what they want to see is the money to pay for health care come out of squeezing the fraud and the inefficiencies out of health care before you go on and start talking about taxing americans to pay for it. and on revamping incentives, what they want to see is doctors and health care systems that are rewarded for quality of care and not for quantity of care. so, there in particular are seven blue dog democrats who have actually stood up to house democratic leaders, they've said, hey, we are not in love

with this health care proposal that's going through the house right now. we're not going to allow to it come out of a key committee for a full vote on the house floor until you start incorporating some of the ideas and the changes we want to make. that's why, kyra, they've gotten so much attention, you see mike ross, head of the blue dogs, why he was at the white house with other fiscally conservative democrats talking to president obama. we should say they reached a key breakthrough on one point on cost savings but we heard congressman ross say that's only about one of ten demands they want included, kyra. >> brianna, thanks so much. here's an interesting twist and story to health care in america. a family doctor says no to his company's health care plan. dr. will nicholson, turned down his hospital's plan for a very special reason, though. he said he wants to learn more about the different health care options and how to become a more informed consumer. he joins us now live from minneapolis to tell us about this so-called experiment that he's doing. now, will, a lot of people would

say, are you crazy? what if something catastrophic happens to you? what will you do? you're out of med school. you've got a great job. you're young. you don't want to do this to yourself. >> like i said, i'm doing what everyone else does. i'm not going without health insurance. i got to make it clear, the hospital i work for, st. john's hospital, in minnesota, has fantastic health benefits, it's just my patients aren't quite as lucky. the idea is to have to confront the exact questions you're asking me as a physician and as a patient and hopefully gain some insight in to how to better improve the system. >> okay, so you're saying that you do have minimal insurance. like, do you have in case something catastrophic happens? is that what you signed up for? >> yes, i signed up for a high deductible plan which is a common product that a lot of the patients who don't get health insurance either through their employer or government use. it's one i don't know a lot about. i'm under one of those right now. it's not something i would

suggest for most people are endorse at all. >> but you want to see the challenges that i guess you would will take on by having this type of insurance so you can understand what your patients are going through. let me ask you, so far it's only been, what, three weeks since you've been doing this? >> yeah, three weeks. >> any surprises? anything that you've learned thus far? i mean, what has struck you? >> i'm surprised at how complicated it is. you know, the idea is to become a health care consumer. we hear a lot about empowering the health care consumer to make good decisions. right now comparing all the plans that are out there, it's been very difficult for me to decide had is the best plan, what's the best value, what covers the services i think are important as a family doctor and a patient. a lot of times i feel like i'm purchasing airline tickets, where very similar products have very different costs, and it's hard to determine why. >> now, you just finished your residency, and i'm curious, did you learn anything in residency about the monetary side of insurance plans or anything

about the insurance angle? >> yeah. i went to residency and medical school through the university of minnesota. and they have a big chunk of their curriculum is devoted to sort of bigger-picture health care issues. social issues, health insurance issues, health disparity. and it's through that kind of instruction that i've started to think about health insurance issues as something relevant to a physician, more than just paying attention to clinical medicine. >> so, if you could spend five minutes with president obama or a member of congress about health care, as we get ready to watch this speech tonight, as all this back-and-forth is taking place on what kind of health care plan we should have, what would you say? >> i'd only need 30 seconds, and i would say, put patients first. do what i do. every day in the clinic, or at least try to do. put the patient first. when you're making the new health care policies that are going to come out this year, don't put the lobbyists first. don't put the campaign donation

first. don't put re-election first. put the health and safety of your constituents and my patients first. >> so, has a patient come to you that's not insured and said, doc, what do i do? >> on a daily basis. >> okay. what do you tell them? >> i tell them that they have a right to be disappointed in the system. and fortunately in minnesota, we have some pretty good programs, sliding-scale clinics, and i'm fortunate enough to have been working with organizations that do those types of things. but it's terrible every time i have to see a person faced with a tragic illness and a financial tragedy to follow it. >> final thought -- how are you going to keep this compassion? so many doctors get caught up in the money that they get from insurance companies and, you know, aren't as ethical, i guess we could say, as you are trying to be here? how are you going to maintain that? >> with all due respect, i think that doctors are, by and large, ethical and idealistic.

unfortunately our profession organizations may not have portrayed us that way all the time. most doctors are on the front lines, fighting the fight, advocating for the patients. the problem is that we spend so much time doing that, i think we lose track of the bigger-picture stuff. we're not active lobbying, and we really need to focus our energies on the big picture and making sure that everyone in america can participate in the health care system. >> i tell you what, will, we'll keep focusing on you, because we want to get your insights in to other types of insurance. sound like a good deal? >> i appreciate that. >> thank you, dr. nicholson. watch it with wolf blitzer and anderson cooper and the best political team on television, only one place for that, that's right here on cnn. wall street, dancing in the streets over the numbers on the big board. well, that might be a little stretch. but now may be the time to do something you've probably been really afraid to do, and that's actually open up the folder and take a look at your 401(k).

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rugged mountains, vast desert, boiling temperatures,

nature has made afghanistan one of the most unforgiving places on earth to fight a war. american troops have come up with some cool ways to cope. >> reporter: take a look here. we are spread out in this desert here in southern afghanistan. i have some great news. we have gotten through the hardest part of the day when the heat goes up to 130 degrees fahrenheit. i don't know what that is in sellsus. it is really, really brutal, because we don't really have a break from the sun. we are out in the sand here. take a look at our office. this is cameraman, joe duran. this is his studio and desk that he works at. i am sure it is really good for his back. take a look at where i am going to sleep tonight, in this little bug net right here in the dirt between the two armored vehicles. now, dinner, of course, is important and here we've got

lance corporal kyle chapel by to tuck into food. that is food in a bag. >> what are you having tonight? >> beef stew. >> are you psyched? the fifth time i have had it. >> are you putting any seasonings in? >> not yet. mom hasn't sent any seasons. >> send some seasons, mom. the trick to survival is what the marines call sock water. this is a sock. inside this wet sock is a bottle of water. it may sound gross but believe it or not, if you put a sock in here and you run water down it and then the wind blows over it, it cools the water. it is natural refrigeration. it makes water bearable and not hot to the touch when you are out in these 130-degree temperatures. take a look at this.

the marines brought in a piece of shrapnel from an air strike earlier today, 1,000-pound bombs landed on the ground. our electricity does not come from a wall socket. it comes from this armored vehicle right here. they are kindly sharing their electricity and running their engines so we don't run the battery down. another look at how these guys, who really are hosts out here, are keeping us alive with food and water. everything is brought in by helicopter and relaxing in the shade here. you see another example of the sock water. see, everybody is doing it. this is what you do to get rid of garbage when you are camping out here like this. we are not in a five-star hotel. you end up burning your garbage. as for other amenities, bathrooms, showers, well, i haven't washed this shird in a couple of days.

the bathroom is the great outdoors here. that's a little taste of what it is like operating with the second light armored reconnaissance sa reconnaissance battalion here in southern afghanistan. wall street dancing in the streets over the numbers on the big board. that's a bit of a stretch. it might be a good time for you to do what you haven't done in a long time, go ahead and take a look at that 401(k). it might not be as bad as you think. 90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause pu're taking a ride ♪

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if the recession has got you down, here is a little inspiration. bull markets often foretell the end of receipt session. there is definitely a bull market on the way in wall street. susan lisovicz has been watching the bulls run for several months. are you sure, susan, it is okay to open up and take a peek at

the 401(k) statements? >> it is no longer a 201 k. this is why warren buffet said, be greedy were others are fearful. you may remember, early march, the dow closed under 5600. so, what happened? we started getting those first green shoots. the first sign that things were bottoming out or stabilizing or even improving. since then, the blue ships are up 2,400 points or 36%. the nasdaq and s&p 500 doing better. the latest win streak has been spurred by corporate earnings. depending on how you look at, it they are better than expected or not as bad as expecting. the dow has been riding a win

streak right now. the nasdaq could make it 12 for 12. we haven't seen that since 1997 when the unemployment went down to -- the unemployment rate, kyra, went down to 4.7% in 1997. that's considered full employment. things were a lot different then. >> that's good news. susan lisovicz, we'll keep checking in. thanks so much. >> you are welcome. we're pushing forward now on the issue of a lifetime, all of our lifetimes. health care, is it a right, a responsibility, a privilege, a choice? how pays and how much? those are some of the questions that are keeping members of congress from meeting the president's deadline for reform. though, he will keep push forg action in a prime time news conference six hours from now. j joining me this hour are senior medical correspondent, elizabeth

cohen and in washington, senior political analyst, gloria borger. let's start with elizabeth. last hour she showed us how life might change according to what your situation is insurancewise. where do you want to begin? >> let's talk about the 50% of americans who have insurance through their employer. that's a lot of people. these are people who have insurance. i am going to introduce you to somebody named suzy. look at her. look at that big smile on her face, kyra. do you see that? i will put an arrow to make it clear. >> she has good insurance and a nifty clip board. he sh is doi she is doing great. she is happy with her insurance. will health care reform change things for her? will she stay happy, the democrats say, yes. absolutely. it won't change a thing for her. the republicans say, oh, no, suzy, who represents a huge chunk of america will be very

unhappy. she will not be happy with what health care reform offers her. >> why is there disagreement on this point? the democrats say, look, we are only changing things for people who are in trouble, people who don't have insurance, can't get insurance. people who have insurance, things won't change for them. they will stick with their plan. the president has been very clear on that. republicans say, hold on a minute there. the democrats plan on having this public option, a government-sponsored health insurance plan that people could opt to join. here is the scenario that they paint. the republicans say, look, if an employer sees that there is this public option that is 10%, 20% cheaper than the private option, they will tell suzy, we know we have been giving you a private health insurance plan all these years but we are going to switch you to the government-sponsored one, because it is 20% cheaper. so we are going to do that. >> if she did go with that

public option, is there anything wrong with that? >> this is the interesting question. everybody will say, anything done by the government has to be worse than what the private sector has to offer. people have to think about this for a minute. a lot of employees complain about this insurance, it is expensive, doesn't cover what it says it will cover. people complain all the time about their insurance. it is possible that a public option could give as good or better service for less money. that is a possibility. it is in the eyes of the beholder. >> before we get back to the politics, i would like to share what may be the quote of the week. democratic senator, kent conrad, referring to the finance committees efforts to work out a bipartisan compromise. this is hard. i don't think anybody would take issue with that comment. gloria? >> we haven't done this in 16

years. we failed the last time we try today do it. if it were easy, it would be done, right, kyra? >> that is true. you are right. this is politics. this is our health care. so, as you can imagine, we've gotten phone calls, e-mails, tweets. i am going to get right to it, gloria. linda finch says, may i point out that people are fools to spend the same amount of time typing out a blog as it takes to call their representative, basically, saying, why not just call your congressman, your congresswoman, whoever it is that represents you and give your opinion. will they really listen to the constituents or is this too political at this point? >> i think they will listen to their constituents. this is an issue that has been around for a very long time. this is a huge issue in the presidential campaign. it was clearly one of now president obama's priorities. the fact that we are doing health care in the congress means that president obama has listened to the voters who said

that they wanted health care. now, having said that, it's a very complex issue. voters are all over the lot on these kinds of things and most voters are asking if you and elizabeth just pointed out, how will this affect me? aim going to have to pay higher taxes when i already have insurance? am i going to pay for the uninsured? why should i have to do that? what about the quality of my health care? will that change? these are questions that are really personal to all of us and we want to make sure it comes out right. so i would say, call your representative. >> all right. this says, why the august deadline? i understand a deadline. a few weeks isn't enough time to work everything out. >> i think, from watching congress for a really long time, i can tell you that deadlines matter. it is the only way they get things done around there. if you give them a deadline, it is right before they go home for

a recess, they want to get their work done. now, having said that, there are five congressional committees working this through. three of them have reported measures, two have not. i think that the president, we're seeing a little crack in the cement here. the president beginning to say that i am not going to let a week or so stand in the way of getting some health care legislation. i can tell you what the white house wants and i just got off the phone with the senior adviser. what they want are those bills out of committee and at least out of committee so that at some point soon, something can get passed on the floor of each house and then those two bills can be reconciled and that's when they say the president is going to get very involved in telling people what he will accept and what he won't accept. >> something i want to ask you about, because there was a news

conference held this morning by a couple of republican congressmen, talking about one of the versions of the health care reform bill will mean that taxpayer dollars will be paying for abortions. can you set the story straight on that? we keep getting conflicting comments on this. >> the truth of the matter is, we don't know the answer to that question. there is no mention of taxpayer funding of abortion in any of these house bills. these advocates are saying the fact that it is not mentioned means that it will be paid for. what they are asking for is a specific exclusion in legislation. now, i asked the white house about that this morning. someone over there said to me, look, this is an issue that we understand we are going to have to take up down the road. right now, it is not something they are focusing on, because they want to just get this legislation through. >> gloria borger, well be talking a lot tomorrow. thank you. so much has changed in 15

years. cell phones are smaller, the internet is everywhere, harry and louise have done a 180 on health care. the happy health care couple from the tv ads that helped defeat reform in 1984. they are back, same faces, same voices, totally different pitches. coming up later. busted for aiding the inmies. a man has been charged with providing the terrorists about information about the transit system and conspired to kill one or more american military personnel serving abroad and cuesed of trying to fire rockets on a base lasts the year. president obama meeting with nuri al maliki behind closed doors. the top issue, what the u.s. sees in stemming ethnic and sectarian violence in iraq. they believe that the key is for

al maliki and the allies to give a bigger role to the sunnis. we will bring you that live. pfc remains in the hands of the taliban. his family and friends in his home town in idaho are not giving up hope. they describe bo as a caring kid who would do anything to help others. he worked on a fishing body and dreamed of riding his motorcycle around the world. one of the worst fears of combat soldiers, to be captured by the enemies. >> reporter: no one knows how much private first class bowe bergdal was under when he spoke. >> my fellow soldiers and my

friends that i fight with, they all agree when i say, this is a waste. we should not be here. >> when a u.s. soldier is captured, he is required to give his name, rank, service number and date of birth. i will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. i will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country. bergdahl, like all soldiers, is taught the code. how prepared would he have really been for captivity. bergdahl, they believe, is dooth best he can. >> the evidence i see he is resisting is that the fact he will not directly engage the camera with his eyes, that he tends to look down and look away. >> reporter: every since p.o.w.s were tortured in vietnam, the military has improved survival training. the most intensive is reserved for troops at the highest risk,

a crews and special operations units. they learn to survive interrogation and even torture. junior troop, bowe bergdahl are at minimum risk for capture, get lectures on the code of conduct by little other training. >> he does not know how to survive outside of his own wits and he is very familiar with what he shouldn't do as far as the code of conduct goes. outside of that, he is on his own. >> statements made under the duress of captivity are usually forgiven but the question still remains, how is it that private first class wowe bowe bergdahl was on his own and captured in the first place? >> you have been e-mailing us and tweeting, so we are about to go to the people who have some answers for you. linda douglass from the white house and republican

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competing plans, dozens of proposals and a lot of politics, the head-spinning prospect of health care reform leaves us with a lot of prospects. you have told us what you want answers for, no the a political debate. so we have picked four of your questions to ask someone from the white house and a congressional republican. republican phil gingrich's turn to answer some of the questions as we wait for linda douglass at the white house. congressman gingry is from georgia. he joins me live from capitol hill. good to see you. if you don't mind, i want to get right to our questions from

viewers. >> sure. >> this one is a tweet in maureen mauer, why not combine medicare, medicaid, chip and veterans' care into the public option? there is the 1/3 savings we need to get it done. >> the reason not to do that is that's exactly what we are opposed to. those of us on the republican side of the aisle, conservatives across this country, that fear a one-size fits all government program that is essentially, as you point out in doing that gradele to grave medicare, medicare for all, when you include medicaid, schip and the democratic majority is saying they don't want that either. we fear that this plan that they have with the government option is taking two steps to get to that point.

that's what we fear so much. >> let's get straight to a caller. david cross, right here. >> david cross from blacksburg, virginia. they say they don't want to ruin the private sector. there must be something in these proposals that block employers from switch together public option. what are those blocks, fines, tax hikes, they must be doing something? >> congressman? >> david, thank you for that question. it's a good one. there is no question about it. i guess you are a small employer. you employ people. you would like to continue to offer your employees a health insurance plan if you can, if you can afford to do that. yet, if this bill passes in its present form, by the year 2013, you will no longer be able to do that. you will no longer be able to do that. they will have to end up going into the exchange and getting their plan from either the government plan or a private insurance plan. the government plan is also the referee. they will set all the prices,

set the mandates. they are going to say maybe you even have to include coverage for abortion. you may have an employee group that is totally pro life. these are the kind of things that are totally burdensome on the american people. they don't want it. they are speaking out loud and clear they don't want that. >> this e-mail coming from brian. what would you do to ensure that all americans with pre-existing illnesses are able to obtain health care insurance for medical treatment and prescription drugs at reasonable rates? as we know, that is a tremendous part of this. folks want to know how it will break down when it comes to cost. >> bryan, that's the whole point of this thing, of course. the idea of trying to make health insurance more affordable, more accessible, more available to all of our citizens. if you've got 47 million, i don't think there is that many that are without health insurance. many of those actually are eligible for one of our safety net programs. even if there are 10 million

that don't have it, they don't have it because of what you point out, pre-existing conditions and unensure ability. the members of my side of the aisle and those speaking out against this one size fits all government plan, we want to help those folks as well. we can do it through insurance reform. we can do it through guarantees for equal treatment under the tax law, people who are buying insurance individually or small group employer can take the same tax deduction as those people that are working for a large employer. we can also create high-risk pools in each state and help them both federally and with state funds, subsidize those who cannot afford, make sure that the premiums that insurance companies charge in this high-risk pool are, let's say, no more than 150% to 200% of the

standard rate. many things we can do. this bill, listen, it will cost too much, $1.5 trillion. it is not paid for. it is going to increase the deficit by at least $250 billion. it does not improve the quality of care. it leads to rationing. it leads to tax increases not just for those making more than $250,000, but for all americans. what about that formula can anybody find to like? >> do me a favor. give me that number again. you said it is going to increase the deficit by how much, congressman? >> at this point, as the democrats search desperately for pay-fors, there are about $250 billion to $300 billion to pay for the $1.5 trillion over ten years. that doesn't say what the cost will be in the out years. it just grows and grows and grows. right now, we have a $35

trillion unfunded liability for medicare. >> if you don't mind, one more phone call coming from new jersey. >> gladly. >> why can't we get the same health care as our congressman, our senators, our municipal workers, our state workers, our city employees? everyone that works for the government gets it free. why can't i? >> you are absolutely right. if you ask my good friend from new jersey, skocott garrett, th will tell you that we all agree you should be able to get the same thing that any member of congress, indeed, even the leadership, the speaker of the house shall the chairman of these three committees and the house that have jurisdiction over this government-run health plan and finally, last but not least, the president of the

united states. they ought to be willing, as every member of congress should be willing, to sign up if the government default plan is so darn good. let's all get all of them in the plan as well and, yes, let's let you sign up for the federal health plan that every person that works for the federal government has. you deserve that. >> phil gingrey, appreciate your time. >> thank you very much. i am glad to be with you. we are joined by linda d douglass, a director for health care reform. we just wanted to take viewers' calls, questions, e-mails and tweets and put them to both of you. i want to get you to respond, since the congressman threw out some pretty good numbers. we thd e-mail from bryan saying, what will you do to ensure all americans are able to obtain health care for those who have

pre-existing conditions? the congressman said they are going to increase the deficit by billions of dollars. i want your reaction. >> the president has made it very clear that the health care legislation which he signs which will do everything the caller wants done, it will lower costs and make affordable options for health insurance now that are not available to tens of millions of americans and it will be deficit neutral. he has been absolutely clear that heel not sign legislation, he said, that is not deficit neutral. it has to lower costs. it cannot add a penny to the deficit. by the way, for the last many years, the congress has been passing health reform plans such as the medicare prescription drug plan and other proposals which were not funded, not paid for. this president is insisting that it be paid for. >> so deficit neutral. the definition of that is this will by no way, shape, or form increase the deficit. is that what that means? >> yes. over a ten-year period, this is a ten-year plan.

this will not add to the deficit. one of the most important points to make here is that what the president is calling for is funding health care reform, most of the money coming from money that is already in the system, saving through getting waste and fraud out of medicare and medicaid. he has proposed that more than two-thirds of this come from savings of health care money that is already in the system, reallocating that money to lower costs and improve quality. >> let's get to this tweet. why not combine medicare, medicaid, chip, children's health insurance program, and even veterans' care into the public option? there is the 1/3 savings that we need to get it done. >> what the president wants to do is build upon the system we have now. americans all around the country who have health insurance from their employers, nothing is going to change for you. you can keep what you have. what we are talking about here is establishing an insurance, change, a place where all the people who are trying to buy money on the individual market, 70% of those people said last year they couldn't find

affordable insurance. people who are buying insurance as individuals, people who are frozen out of the system because the health insurance companies say you have a pre-existing medical condition, you are not allowed in. people who are in small businesses which are charged exorbitant rates right now to get health insurance, those people will get affordable options that they don't have today. that's one of the key goals of health reform. >> one of our callers checking in from virginia, linda, please respond to this. >> they say they don't want to ruin the private sector, so there must be something in these proposals that block employers from switching to the public option. what are those blocks? are those fines, tax hikes? they must be doing something. just in all fairness, i want you to be able to respond. the congressman did make mention that a version of this thelt care reform bill would mean that taxpayer dollars would be paying for o abortions. i want to give you a chance to respond to that. >> first of all, let me answer that question. this is setting up another straw

man. nothing is in any bill and no one is talking about mandating coverage for abortion. there is, first of all, a federal law which prohibits the use of federal funds, the hide amendment, for abortion. the administration believes that these kind of decisions should be determined by independent medical experts. nobody is talking about mandating the coverage of abortion. now, with respect to i'm trying to remember what the second question was. >> he was asking about there has to be some blocks in there, whether it is fines, tax hikes, doing something the caller said? >> right. several of the bills are -- look at this in a different way. there are definitely incentives in each of the bills that are coming to the different committees that would discourage employers from dropping coverage for their employees. the goal is to build on the system that we have for people that like their employer-sponsored insurance. we want it to stay that way. employers want it to stay that

way. there will be disincentives for employers to drop coverage. that's the point, to bolster up the system we have now, lower costs and improve quality. >> final phone call from new jersey. >> why can't we get the same health care as our congressmen, our senators, our municipal workers, our state workers, our city employees? everyone that works for the government gets it free. why can't i? >> that's coming from terry pair rs. >> i don't know if it is quite free if you are a government worker. what you do have as a government worker is you have amen u of options. you can have a gold-plated option if you want to pay for it. you can have a very generous series of benefits. you can have fewer benefits. it depends on what you need for your family. what the insurance exchange is going to do is essentially replicate that concept. there will be a series of

affordable options available to people who currently cannot find affordable health insurance anywhere in the individual and small group market. the concept of creating more choices is at the heart of health reform. >> appreciate you, linda, and representative phil gingrey in joining us. 8:00 eastern tonight, president obama's news conference with wolf blitzer and anderson cooper will be all over it. inside analysis, right here on cnn. okay, australia, don't look now but the kiwis are coming. australia and new zealand are closer to each other now literally and we are going to find out why.

there has always been a lot of competition between the aussies and the kiwis and our correspondents, like michael ware and michael holmes. an quake is aemt it go to bring them closer. >> a 7.7 earthquake on the

western tip of new zealand brought it 30 centimeters closer. >> let's put that in perspective. >> let's put a 3 and a 0 right there. >> valley butlerie butler went the local antique store and got this ruler from when she was in the second grade. >> i remember this. a smack in the hand is what i got with the foot-long ruler. really, put it in perspective. >> they are not lowering the airfare, because it is 30 centimeters closer. there was a big quake right there and the whole southern island shifted 30 centimeters closer to the big island. >> that's pretty cool stuff. it only took, what, a few seconds for the island to move. >> big shake. eight days ago. >> cool stuff. you want the ruler? >> sure. >> you might give that to your son. you had to see this one coming about a mile away. cemetery owners now defendants. see what happens.

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the president, when he steps up his pr blitz for health care reform, that will be on prime time live. lawmakers from both parties and both houses are scrambling for votes and common ground. dana bash joins me with the state of the debate. she has been looking in every keyhole possible. have you been able to get anything? >> i have to tell you something that just happened. we can't get into that room. it is not because we are not trying, where the bipartisan senators are meeting. when you stand here long enough, you do pick up a little nugget and one more sort of interesting piece of col are o.

when the senate finance chairman, max baucus was walking by here, i tried to talk to him. his phone rang and it was the mouse majority leader, sten death nie who ie death -- they are working incredibly hard behind those doors. is that having any effect on what's going on inside that room? i just talked to the lead republican on this critical committee, charles grassley of iowa. here is his answer. >> the president can push all he wants to. we are committed to doing it right. restructuring our health care system, restructuring one-sixth

of the economy needs time. he needs to be realistic. he was a member of the united states senate. he knows nothing gets done in the united states senate quickly. in the case of the messages i am getting from the grass roots of america, including my own state of iowa is that you need to do it right and you shouldn't rush it just for the sake of rushing it. >> reporter: i can tell you that reallies really is a bipartisan sentiment. they understand the president is doing what he has to do but the reason why it is taking so long for them to try to figure out the way to do health care reform, to kraft this health care reform legislation, it is so complicated, so hard. at least the folks in hearsay they are determined to, quote, do it right. i can just tell you before we leave that they did lose a member of this negotiating team earlier today because of our in trep i had reporting from our

congressional producer, ted barrett, he caught up with senator orrin hatch, who had been working for a while with these senators. he decided he is not going to work anymore. he said the way that they are crafting this health care bill, he said, it costs too much and it is too much that he doesn't agree with philosophically. there are bipartisan talks but they lost one republican today. >> if you are not having a healthy case of deja vu, this will help. a tv ad campaign that ran during the last health care brouhaha in '94, harry and loo weuis. >> reporter: president obama is urging americans to tune out the forces against health care reform. >> there are those that openly declare their intention to block reform. the familiar washington script

that we have seen many times before. >> the paper says congress is moving ahead. >> reporter: one part of that script has changed as in the pages marked harry and louise. the fictional couple appeared in tv ads famously opposing president clinton's plan for health care reform. >> they say you choose. >> reporter: flash forward 15 years. >> well, it looks like we may finally get health care reform. >> it is about time. >> reporter: harry and louise are back, this time in favor of democratic proposals to overhaul the system. turning the kitchen table on the issue. >> a little more cooperation, a little less politics and we can get the job done this time. >> so you got the old band back together. >> yes. >> but they are singing a different tune this time? >> it's different lyrics. the lyrics now make it clear that it is very important for our nation to actually get health care reform and to get it this year.

>> reporter: health care reform advocate ron pollack brought the actors back to the studio hoping for some harry and louise magic of his own. the actor playing harry, whose real name is harry johnson, gives his own take on health care. >> hardly anyone can afford to have health care anymore. people are losing health care every day. >> reporter: the original harry and louise spots were so powerful they were spooked by the clintons themselves. >> it says that eventually, we are all going to tie. >> under the clinton health plan. i have never been so frightened in all my life. >> the actors just got a pat on the back from republican party chairman, michael steele, who appeared unaware of the couple's recent role reversal. >> they helped save us from hillary clinton's health care experiments in 1994. this year, harry and louise, have been replaced by another couple, harry reid and nancy pelosi.

>> reporter: nowhere is there a mention of the democratic proposal to give americans the option of joining a government-run health care plan, because a cosponsor says through a spokesperson, it is too early to tell whether it will support the public option. jim acosta, cnn, waugs. a reminder about the presidential news conference at 8:00 p.m. eastern. watch it right here with the best political team on television. new developments in the michael jackson investigation. ted rowlands working that for us. what do you have? >> reporter: pretty dramatic change in this investigation. you have seen the images of that houston clinic being raided by the dea agent exercising a search warrant. that's the clinic of dr. conrad murray. we just got a statement from murray's lawyer and it says, talking about this search, it says that the houston police department is conducting it along with the dea. law enforcement concluded their

search at 12:30. they were looking for documents and other information that they believed, quote, are evidence of the offense of manslaughter. this is the first time we have heard the term manslaughter or a homicide investigation. clearly, there has been a lot of speculation, is this just a death investigation or a homicide investigation? clearly, this is a homicide investigation and authorities are looking at the potential of manslaughter charges against dr. conrad murray? >> we will continue to follow up with all the developments with you, ted. thanks so much. more from the "cnn newsroom" straight ahead. jooishlgs my doctor told me something i never knew. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones.

jock from us job frustration knows no racial boundaries. cnn's follow-up to last year's ground-breaking report. soledad o'brien leading the coverage once again. >> reporter: one of the focuses of people who want to make changes in the black community is to look at the corner office. there have only been 13 black ceos in the history of the fortune 500. that's kind of dismal numbers. how do you change that? number one is to find smart,

young, african-americans and then step two is to put them through a boot camp, challenge them so they can be successful and take some big risks. take a look. >> reporter: by any measure. mia jackson is a success. at 26, she owns a home, a car, and earns $77,000 a year as an engineer. >> i knew that an engineering degree was going to be financially stable when i got out of college. kell c . >> reporter: she is a project manager at a chemical manufacturing company with over half a million dollars in represent knew. >> working at zep, i have had a lot of great opportunities. >> reporter: she has also experienced road blocks and frustration. >> i couldn't see what my next step was. i had no one to help me see it. >> reporter: were you worried? >> i didn't want to get pigeon holed as that engineer.

>> reporter: in taking charge of her own career, she is about to walk away from everything that she has. >> we represent minorities in the nonprofit world. we need to solve that. >> reporter: rice was an executive with the nba but left to serve others in his innovative organization, management, leadership for tomorrow. mlt teach is a series of prescribed steps. step one, know your story. >> introduce yourself, talk to us. who are you? convince this group that you have the juice. >> reporter: step two, articulate your goals and passions. >> i am most passionate about empowering others. >> reporter: and step three, build important relationships. >> we want to get to know you.

>> reporter: that's what mia jackson has been doing for the past 18 months in mlts print program. >> i didn't know the monthly assignments were going to be grueling and repetitive. it is definitely another full-time job. >> reporter: one final challenge for mia's mlt journey ends. four rigorous days in the rain of around-the-clock training, crash courses in consulting, entrepreneurship and investment bank. in the city where mia must quickly digest information she has never studied. >> equity capital markets, price on volume. >> reporter: can she prove she has the right stuff for corporate leadership. >> reporter: kyra, john rice's theory is this, not just about making me ajackson successful. that's fine. the goal is, if you can make mia jackson successful, all these

young people successful, what she does is put that back into her community, the charities she supports, all go to make a community successful. you raise things for everybody just by mia jackson being successful. >> we look ford to the beginning of an extravaganza. we should point out, skip gates going to be giving his first interview to us tonight since his arrest and the disorderly conduct situation that happened at harvard university, correct? >> yes, 7:00 p.m. eastern time. we will start with that. we are calling it moment of truth where he talked to steve harvey, tom joiner and skip gates will be there as well. we are going to hear from him the first time on television that he is talking to professor skip gates and the president speaks at 8:00 and at 9:00 p.m. eastern time werks, we will airk in america 2."

it begins at 7:00 eastern with moment of truth. soledad mentions all the people that will be that including the exclusive chat with howard gates. that's followed by president obama's news conference and join us at 9:00 for the first night of a two-night, all new "black in america 2" event. there may be more you can do. only caduet combines two proven medicines... in a single pill to significantly lower... high blood pressure and high cholesterol. in a clinical study of patients... with slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, caduet helped 48% reach both goals in just 4 weeks. caduet is one of many treatment options, in addition to diet and exercise... that you can discuss with your doctor. caduet is not for everyone. it's not for people with liver problems... and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. to check for liver problems, you need simple blood tests. tell your doctor about any heart problems...

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whiteys are running against mayor bloomberg. i can already see a few problems. he is not clearly naked. does he tell the truth? we will have some trust issues. because you have the hat and the boot, that doesn't necessarily make you a cowboy. we are not sure he is who he claims. number three, if something happens, he will get caught with his pants down. i am just saying. the shadowy thief caught on camera in texas, not a cat burg letter. a very cheeky monkey with a shady owner, the primary suspects in a string of robberies at a garden center. the kriter is seen handing off statues. the owner says she can forgive the monkey business to a point. >> i don't want to hurt this monkey. i would like to hurt the person that trained the monkey. i think they could make this monkey do much worse than what he is doing now. >> reports that a detective ace

ventura broke the case is simply untrue. let's get back to florida where it turns ott a group of attackers had the right house but the wrong safe. %%%%%%%

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i'd like to make an appointment to see the doctor. announcer: to learn more about captioned telephone, call 1-800-552-7724 or go to our website. i'll see you at 3:00! announcer: captioned telephone - enjoy the phone again! a murdered florida couple had a second safe in their home that had a lot more money that the safe they took. the one they got had julie, prescription meds and family documents. the one they couldn't get, the one that you have to think they were after, it had $100,000 inside. the attackers couldn't get it for whatever reason. they were in the house for about four minutes and that's when they took the life of that couple. that does it for us. we will be back here tomorrow.