search for hash tag 1023. that's all the time we have today. if you missed any part of the show, check out my podcast. remember, this is the place for answers to all of your medical questions. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. more news on cnn starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia, this is cnn saturday morning for the first day of august. >> thank you for starting with us. we are working this story. want to get you up on this happening at the laguardia airport. live pictures coming in, or pictures coming in, lot of people just hanging out and waiting because the central terminal was evacuated about an

hour and a half ago. >> and we are finding out that yes, one person is in custody and their bag is being looked at by authorities. the new york police, the port authority, also the bomb squad involved here, but don't know exactly what the suspicion of the person or bag, but one person is in custody. this is the primary terminal at laguardia airport, a very busy place. certainly on a weekend and a saturday morning. this is again, up to some 72 gates. at least 40. everybody is having to get out. there are several concourses in this particular terminal as well, but all of them, everything, the entire central terminal being evacuated. you see people outside collecting, they're being kept a certain number of feet away for their safety.

again, this could be a situation where it might turn out to be nothing, but they take these things seriously. you know they had to take it seriously to a point that it was important enough for them to evacuate this entire terminal. don't know again anything about this man we're told is in custody. some word that he was possibly uncooperative with tsa. he did arouse some suspicious. no word of anybody being ininjuried. no word of anything other than this man just being suspicious. and now, we are waiting to hear when these people might be let back in. if you're flying into, out of new york today, you need to look online because that entire terminal, this is the central

terminal that carries air tran, continental, northwest. all those main airlines. we are trying to get more, but that is the news right now and a mez of the morning to start the saturday in new york today. we're also taking a look this morning, president obama, can you believe? it's been a second set of 100 days now. his cabinet meeting today to take stock of their first half year in office. the president's agenda has been dominated by the economy with a healthy dose of health care thrown in. elaine joins us from the white house. having a saturday morning meeting? >> it is day two of the obama administration's six month retreat. it's a chance for officials to assess how they have done so far. all 22 cabinet ranking members have been invited and they are

attending. it's going to be an opportunity for them to discuss their goals moving forward. today's session is happening here at the white house. yesterday's took place across the street at the presidential guest house. joe biden for today is going to be kicking off the session and health care and the economy are expected to be items of discussion at today's session. >> health care is on the mind's of everybody. our 9:00 hour, we'll dedicate our half hour to it. >> there has been some movement by congress on health care, but there is still a long way to go before a bill come to a vote. >> big step late yesterday, key house committee passed their version and it included major concessions. that will be combined with two others to produce the final

version of the house bill, which won't be voted on until at least september. congress on recess right now. then, there's a senate version of this health care bill to talk about. they don't have one to come out of committee just yet. they'll get back to that after the recess. what's on tap for the president? he is taking a break today. heading to camp david. monday, president obama will be attending an event celebrating the new gi bill. on wednesday, the president will be heading to the midwest where he's expected to talk economy. he'll be in indiana. i'll have the president's second hundred days been better than the first? starting tomorrow, you can vote. and tune in thursday night to see the president's fanl grades,

you being the grader. it is part of cnn's national report card. we've been talking about the cash for clunkers program and how it's running out of money. the house has stepped in with $2 billion in new stimulus funds, but still need the senate to step up. here's kate bolduan with the story. >> reporter: the deal they couldn't and wouldn't pass up. what was the reaction when this program really started moving? >> when we saw the people coming in, they were actually ready to buy. it was very exciting. i mean, we had a huge weekend. >> reporter: alex says they have sold 290 cars at their 16 locations thanks to the program. and they've seen a 40% jump in sales compared to the same time last year. but then reports the $1 billion program was already running out of cash, leaving dealers as well

as members of congress scrambling. >> to help our auto industry, consumers, our economy. i think it's a perfect message for us to take home. >> this is the god send for the auto dealers in our district. don't stall what's working. let's get this back on the road. >> reporter: the house quickly passed a $2 billion extension for the program. the white house is also piling on the pressure. >> so we're now working with congress on a bipartisan solution to ensure the program can continue for everyone out there looking to make a trade. >> reporter: but the back and forth, the threats of stop and go, have some nervous and searching for direction. >> you're still so scared. you're not sure what to do or what's going to happen. >> so kate bolduan joins us now from the dealership in maryland.

you talk about these dealerships being hold hostage. >> reporter: they're kind of nervous. they didn't know what was going to be coming. they were all hearing reports they were running out of money. but now, they are assured that they will process the certificates, push out this money, offer the rebates through this weekend. we're here at fitzgerald auto mall in maryland and we'll see how much activity they have. it's a beautiful day, so if it's any day to go car shopping, today's the day. >> are they excited about it? it could be a busy weekend. are they looking forward to it? >> reporter: we're wait tog talk to the general manager right now, but the dealership that i have spoken to, he said you know what, there are few frustrations with this program. paperwork being one.

surprise, surprise. he said we'll take that headache compared to the alternative, which is not a lot of business. he said, we are, we welcome this business. >> kate bolduan for us at the dealership. good luck finding you a new car. we cut her off. got another story we're keeping an eye on. >> latest development of that awful killing, the murders of the florida couple last month might have been contract killings. a source familiar with a investigation say the state attorney's office were only there to rob the couple, but the alleged organizer, leonard gonzalez jr. and others might have been planning this hit all along. the state attorney's office says he can't comment on that specifically. also, new information this

morning. evidence in the michael jackson case that suggests the pop star shopped around for a doctor who would give him propofol. the brand name is diprivan. that is the drug that sources say dr. conrad murray is suspected of giving jackson hours before he died. the latest piece of information coming from a search warrant which names another doctor here who says he denied jackson's request for the drug. we have a happy ending to a story we were following here that really didn't start the right way. it was the saddest thing to see these kids out of philadelphia, went to a swim club. predominantly african-american students. that's the group. you see those faces there. they were turned away from a country club that they could go swim at. told they couldn't swim there. some of the kids say they overheard people making racist comments about black students not being able to swim there. well, the kids got to play

somewhere else. >> they did. they got to meet mickey, minnie mouse. that's tyler perry. >> rich guy. >> he. >> dave niehaus: -- took them down to disney world, so he did a pretty nice favor for these kids. looks like they had a ton of fun. >> found a better place to play that pool. laguardia, the main terminal has been evacuated. these are new pictures coming in, a mess on a saturday morning. some people are probably taking off for weekend trips, but also vacations this morning. well, people aren't going anywhere this morning because the central terminal has been shut down because of a suspicious bag being carried by

a man. we're devoting an entire half hour devoted to health care reform. >> thos coming up in our 9:00 hour. also, what the yahoo! microsoft merger means. >> and e-mail us, weekend, cnn.com. the white cleanses. the gold moisturizes and has a touch of mineral shimmer to enhance skin's tone. olay tone enriching body wash. for skin that shimmers. this is humiliating. stand still so we can get an accurate reading. okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds.

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iranian news agencies are reporting trials today for protesters detained after the presidential elections in june. charges include destruction of property. >> thousands of prisoners were pardoned by the sprum leader. turning to our forces i should say this morning, from the front lines to the need for care. >> right now, a major upgrade for the military in the classroom. the new gi bill, which goes into affect today. it will give veterans new opportunities for better lives after the military. >> reporter: an historic change in the gi bill now gives new incentives for troops serving on the front lines in iraq and afghanistan. after they're done serving our

country, their opportunities for education will be different. many have used the bills to pay for college since world war ii. but a lot has changed since then, so the gi bill is adapting for today's military. >> you could have two individuals for example, patrolling the streets of baghdad. one being on active duty and one being on active guard duty. now under this program, because it's based on active service, those individuals can receive the same benefits. >> reporter: the new bill will allow veterans who severed at least ten years to pass unused veterans on to their families. >> my daughter who is 16, will get her first two years of college paid for on this program. my daughter who's 10 will get it. i'll be able to let them use the

bill. >> reporter: then there's joe. he severed in the army in world war ii and used the benefits to learn a lifelong trade, which he's still using now at 82. >> a lot of veterans, in all fields of endeavor benefitted from the gi bill. >> reporter: back then, veterans got only $500 a year at the most to further their education. today, the bill has a cap of about $16,000 a year. the new bill can only be used toward a college or university education, but it kicks the amount of money way up. matching the costs of some of the most expensive state schools in the country. overall, the changes will make it easier to get new recruits and keep experienced troops longer. we've been talking severe

weather, but i can't get over the numbers in the pacific northwest. >> and today, there are parts mainly into the central and eastern half of the state, washington, oregon, where high temperatures could climb from 100 to 107. some video yesterday from the oldest city in north america. at least one, where you had a couple of incredible lightening strikes here. this is the few miles from the old fort and wax museum. you're going to see a chance of those thunder boomers maybe into ft. walton beach, hopefully not of the magnitude from yesterday. severe is one of the big stories today in your forecast. severe weather and the warm-up. we've got a slow-moving frontal

boundary driving from the west to the east so places like kansas city have had heavy rainfall this morning. we've got a chance of seeing more of that rough weather in st. louis, memphis, even little rock before the day the over. certainly dallas, you might want to be ready for a wait in the airport. and the chance that rough weather, we may be dealing with into the early evening and could see that tomorrow as well. back to the west, hot conditions. high temperatures, going to be cooler in places like seattle and portland. the dry areas on the lee of the mountains where you could have the temperatures really warm up. triple digits also for las vegas and phoenix. 89 degrees in dallas, 78 in kansas city. 91 in washington and we finish up where we started off in parts

of florida, tampa and miami in the 90s. if you're headed to miami and you're trying to get a great get away -- that is this weekend's get away. >> reporter: a unique destination in florida's upper keys, the waters here are home to some of the world's most coveted sports fish. >> every fish that swims here can be daugt. >> reporter: it's a chance to catch a glimpse of the past. >> there are these old european ruins. >> reporter: or rent a kayak or canoe and explore on your own. the accommodations range from old world style to

budget-friendly prices. to secluded luxury. >> it's a great place. still ahead, honda is exp d expanding a recall of vehicles with a potentially faulty air bag. and google might be getting some competition. >> you've probably heard of the new search engine. google is fighting back the way you search on line. may be about to change. (mom) he needed everything for college:

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quick heads-up if you're driving a honda. honda's recalling 440,000 more

vehicles because of a problem with the driver's side air bag. this is in addition to a recall announced in november. the cars suspected are 2001 and 2002 accords, civics and acura tl's made in 2001 and 2003. in rare cases, the air bags rupture causing injuries and at least one death. microsoft and yahoo! joining forces to create a bigger and better search engine. >> josh levs has details on what this means. >> this combination trying to challenge the dominance of google, will this change the way you search online? steven is joining us to talk about it. do microsoft and yahoo! really

have the shot as the ultimate way to search? >> i think it's a real long shot. even in long-term, this combination is more like ying. they really can't plant google long-term because google has a lock on web search. 75% in the u.s., even more, 92% in western europe. microsoft is now a strong number two. >> why even go for it? >> first of all, there's money to be made by being a strong number two. they can inch up their share, particularly if they buy their way into it. the second thing is google doesn't have permanence everywhere. there's different ways search is going to go into people's lives. microsoft puts itself in a

strong position to be a competitor in the future. >> is there a place, a lot of people saying, i like google, but it does this thing wrong. where it google weak? >> microsoft tried to identify a few places so they concentrated on health and travel. it's difficult to scale these things. right now, the difficulty is going to be delivering more varied multimedia results. >> for most people out there who search for information, are they likely to see any kind of change in the next couple of years? >> i think they're going to see improvement. it's good for the consumer. google has a lot of competition and it's going to be focused where it belongs and then we'll see search companies like facebook and twitter, in terms

of realtime search. so i think the consumers, they may not see like a big bang, but they're going to see improvemen improvements. >> thanks so much. all right guys, back to you. this is not the way to start the saturday morning. we've been telling you about laguardia. the central terminal there shut down. but listen to this now. there is not a flight taking off or landing at this time at laguardia airport. that is the information we have now. that no flight is being allowed to land or take off. this is going to cause not just a headache for the people there, but it will reverberate across this country because that is such a hub, such a busy airport. new york's laguardia airport, you can't get in and if you're there, you can't get out. this is because of a suspicious bag they found and now, a man in

custody. >> this man's in custody. they're looking into his bag, but beyond that, we are seeing video coming in. we want to show you video from an i-reporter. this came in about 6:00 a.m. and police, what did they do? turned him right back around. said he called the airport, got no information. the information we're getting now, if you are headed on a flight out of laguardia, call ahead because they are putting a hold on every flight coming and going. what a mess. take a look at all the people. imagine, this is your saturday morning, just sort of milling about. we don't know how long this is going to continue, but a lot of people just sitting and waiting with bags in hand, no sure of the next step. >> it is one of the most delayed airports in the world. more new video we can show you,

but laguardia, this starts earlier this morning, sounds like from one man and one bag has really caused a mess across this country today. >> may turn out to be nothing. >> absolutely may and we hope it does, but the police took it seriously enough to take this action. this is the main terminal, it has the most gates, so this is the one that is most used. a busy airport for business travelers day in and day out. there are so many shuttles that go in and out. atlanta to new york, d.c. to new york. on the weekends, you know, as well. a lot of these people, it's summertime. they are taking vacations. this is a major airport if you're trying to get down to the islands, all over the place. you know that's the situation for a lot of these people today. they are stuck here, folks. it is not just some delay, this is going to cause a problem for

people all over this country today. we'll start to see delay times across the country. >> it is not fun. >> at this point. shut down. we're keeping an eye on that story. here's to see what comes of that man and that bag. >> and when it will end. a billion dollars in stimulus money to put more police officers on the streets. some cities got it, some didn't. we'll talk to a mayor who's receiving funds. >> some are saying their city can't afford to accept money. that sounds crazy, but they can't afford to accept it. also, find out what it's like to be in the gang. >> i managed to get this interview with a current gang member. we will ride along some scary

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$1 billion of your stimulus money put to work. this time to make sure enough police officers are paid to maintain order. it's called a community oriented policing services program. but while some small departments are enjoying the flow, some big cities are feeling shortchanged here. some got rejected. joe biden says the money went to cities with the most problems. one city that is getting stimulus money, tulsa, oklahoma. joining us this morning, the mayor of tulsa. kathy taylor. thank you for being here. you're getting some money, but it's not that easy. let's get into what wrour going

to do with this money. >> $3.5 million will allow us to hire 18 police officers and we have all 4,000 city employees taking eight furlough days this year. that's taking more than 18 police officers off the streets for us, so it will barely, without retirement, enable us to stay even, but public safety's a core service for us. >> it's counterintuitive for people to hear this, but you might not be able to afford, some are saying, so accept the money. it comes with a few catches, including in three years, you have to fund them for the fourth year and you have to pay for equipment for the officers out of your own budget. some say you can't afford to do that. >> i just don't agree. we would hire 18 offers if we had the money to do it. we'll lose between 24 and 30

just to retirement alone. we have a study that says we need 67 additional officers. we can't afford not to take this money. and the one-time money needed for capital, we have a trust authority that deals with ref in our city. we gave them $20 million about ten years ago and are asking for a little less than a million back to pay for those expenses. >> the city council does have to give the okay. you've been given the grant, but still, the city council has to approve. and some of those council members don't think you can pay for it. are you sure you have the votes? do you still have some negotiating to do? >> we certainly want to make sure the city council is fully informed, but i think a few are playing politics with this money and public safety is no place to play politics. >> do you find that there are,

does it tie your hands a bit? you're making adjustments, but do you find the money comes with restrictions that puts a strain? >> we're getting design programs like summer youth employment program that is fit this city's needs, much better than former programs we've had to deal with. >> well, we are going to be keeping an eye on it. sounds like you have a plan and we'll see if you can get some of those council members to come around. good luck to you there. >> thank you. >> we're going to be talking health care coming up. what it means for you. you want to stick around for this. we're going to take a half hour to break this down for you. we're not going to be breaking down michael vick in health care, just yet. we're going to be talking about health care. what's on the table. we're going to simplify this

thing. also, we'll talk vick. michael vick. is he good for a second chance and if so, which team?

keeping an eye on our breaking nus and a situation in new york, that being the central shutdown of laguardia airport. busy airport any day of the week, especially saturday morning. you can see how this is going, but had to be evacuated. the central terminal, the main terminal because authorities found a suspect package and now they have a man in custody. they are checking out that bag. we have no idea what's in it. what initially sparked in. no planes are landing. no planes are taking off from laguardia airport. this has been going on for the past maybe two plus hours. it is essentially shut down. the terminal was evacuated. >> we've got a couple of folks on the phone. first, ross, he's one of our

producers in new york. where are you and what do you see? >> i'm outside of the terminal and i'm seeing people with bags in hands on the overpass. some have been here for as many as two hours waiting to get back into the terminal. a representative pulled up and told the people they would be back in the terminal within a har hour. meanwhile, i've been watching employees stream back into the building, which tells me whatever situation it was here is starting to clear up and so we've seen a steady stream of those airport employees heading back into the main terminal, the american airlines terminal, but folks who have been waiting all morning, still are out in the hot sun watching and waiting and all with cell phones up to their ears and bags at their feet and

just waiting to get back into this terminal and get on with their trips. >> telling their loved ones to hang on. since this is live tv, i'm going to put you on the spot and see if you have anyone on next to you, any passengers who have been delayed. want to know where they're headed, how long they've been waiting. is there anyone around to chat with? >> yes, christina. where with you heading? >> i've been waiting since about 7:00 this morning. >> what time is your flight supposed to leave? >> 10:15 and arrive at chicago then i'm supposed to fly to cleveland. >> how long have you be out here? >> almost an hour and 45 minutes. >> what's going through your mind right now? >> well, i'm pretty calm, actually, i just kind of want to get home. >> were you inside the terminal

when it was evacuated? >> no, i actually, the cab driver had to drop me off down the block because all the roads are closed. all the exits on the freeway are closed, so i had to walk quite a bit to where i'm standing. >> so there you have it. people waiting, hoping to get back in and get on with their trip. >> what a mess over this bag that who knows what may or may not be inside and this individual who's been detained there. rob, we appreciate it. thank chris ta na as well. >> she sounded like she was in good spirits. let's see how jose is doing. we'll get him on the line in a second, another passenger. these are some of the pictures from this morning. you see that overpass there. again, people don't have anywhere to go. they're stuck at the airport. where do you go at this point

and ta a lot of people, they just, essentially, their travel day is done. it's not going to happen. a lot of them have already missed flights. and once everybody is allowed back in, it's not like planes are going to be back on schedule. like you were saying, this is the good point. over a bag which may or may not have anything in it. may have something suspect in it or this could have been just a misunderstanding that is going to mess up people's plans. jose, i have him on the line. jose, we're looking at some of your pictures. were you in the central terminal when it was evacuated? >> hi, t.j. i was actually on the plane when the evacuation happened. >> what announcement did they make to you on that plane? >> no announcement other than you need to evacuate. i thought it was a stan ard

procedure, but once we got out, they kept pushing us back and back, out of the actual airport, past the actual parking garages. >> i have to ask you this question. just out of curiosity, how close were you to taking off? was the door closed? >> we were minutes away. >> tell me where you are physically now and what you see around you at this point? >> i'm at terminal b laguardia airport. police are holding us back. they have let a few people in. once we're in, we probably have to wait a few hours. >> you said they're starting to let people in. we had one report they were just letting employees in, but do you see them letting general population back into the airport? >> they let an upper tier of people go to the departing. they're starting to, they're controlling the flow.

we're still stranded down here. >> have they made an announcement, we understand some bull horns were going on. >> no announcement. they're not telling us anything. they say you'll find out later. >> jose, was it fairly orderly for the most part, them shuffling people out? i know a lot of people probably confused and angry, but was it a fairly orderly process? >> on my plane, we were issued gray boarding passes. we were told to leave our stuff and come back to get it later. i left my stuff there. >> are you also being told that your plane is still going to take off? >> i have no idea. i was going to chicago. >> what time was that supposed to take off? >> it was supposed to take off at 6:10 a.m., t.j. >> jose, our hearts go out to you and all the folks at that airport, my goodness. we thank you and appreciate you

sending in those pictures. the situation apparently started before the 6:00 a.m. hour. >> of course. >> the perfect word he used was restless. a lot of people just sitting and waiting and wondering. maybe jose's final destination is chicago, but think of the people connecting. christina was connected. that's a bad domino effect for those folks. ross, what do you have now? who do you have for us? ross, are you with me? >> yes. i'm back with you. large crowd of people now streaming into the terminal. they have been given the all clear and the big crowd of passengers i was staring out and they were standing around, now just streamed past me. we have a few more heading back in. so just a large crowd of people descending on the terminal.

i'm sure there's going to be a big back-up at the gates, but for now, at least they are out of the hot sun and heading back into the terminal. so whatever it was, clearly, authorities have determined that it's safe enough for not just the airport employees to head back in, but for all the passengers to head back in as well. >> we saw video of folks heading back in. if you were there with the crowd heading back in, what kipd of guidance did they receive from authorities? >> they didn't receive any. they were just told, hey, it's clear now, you can go back in. and for most people, they really didn't have too many questions. they just wanted to get back into that terminal. >> following the orders, whatever they may be i guess at this point in time. >> exactly. >> ross leavitt, great job. thank you. >> thank you. >> we also have another person

who's heading to chicago. what we've been watching since at least 6:00 this morning, another passenger was on a plane at 6:00 that was supposed to take off when they were told to evacuate that plane and the entire terminal was evacuated and now, a man is in custody. this has been going on for several hours. that main terminal had to be evacuated. planes were not landing for a short time this morning. now, we're getting word from our people there, our passengers there, our producer on the ground, that in fact, people are starting to flow back into the main terminal, so maybe this situation has been resolved, but still is going to be a big mess for the rest of the day. we have another passenger on the line. >> we have sheree on the line. she was headed to chicago this morning and i don't know if you are part, hopefully, you are of this massive group heading back

into toward your flight, are you walking and talking with me this morning? >> and who am i talking to? >> brooke. >> everyone is slowing going back in. there seems to be this frustration over lack of information. what are police telling you as far as what's happening? >> honestly, i have not been told anything about what's been happening. i've been finding out from others who have been going online and getting it from other news sources. i had a 7:00 a.m. flight, around 5:55, my taxi was about to enter the entrance and it was already sa sealed up by police. we went to the next entrance and that was also blocked. u saw a couple of people walking in, so i thought the roads were

still under construction, so i just followed a bunch of people. as i was about to enter is main departure gates, a police officer stepped out and said nobody's allowed. i asked what's the problem, he said just go there now. so i've been out here ever since 6:00 a.m. i tried calling the new york city police department. they declined to give me information and told me to sit tight and wait until something happens. they didn't give any indication. i even called the 311. so nobody told me what was going on. i was out here for two hours and roughly 40 minutes. >> well, i bet you are not the only one who was dialling 311 and the new york police department trying to get some answers, perhaps all of this was precautionary because they have

detained someone because of a bag they had. we don't even know what was in the bag. you were supposed to head how chicago. what are you being told now? >> i'm still outside like walking in. i still have to go inside and look at the monitor to see what my flight status is. i'm entering the airport now so i'll look at the screen. >> as you're entering the airport, are people rushing in? >> people are just concerned. everyone's like mass crowd. i think the first thing they're headed to are the booths and up the stairs to go check out the screens. so i'm still behind a huge mass of people. it's not panic. some people have been out here much longer than i have. others just came in.

the numbers kept piling up and up. from when i was there from around 100 were outside. it's probably like 300 or 400 people outside by the time they let us in. >> but at least the tone, it's not fearful, just frustration. thank you for calling us and safe travels when ever you are able to finally get on that flight and head to chicago. >> thank you for calling me and take care. >> sure. >> every passenger this morning has been in good spirits and sometimes, air travel is not fun even though you have to deal with things. every flight essentially is delayed there this morning. a lot of flights were not landing because it was closed down for a time, but it sounds like passengers are being let back in. one of our associate producers is on the phone with us as well.

tell me where you are and what you know? >> i'm inside laguardia right now. they let me come in, but my driver had to drop me off about a mile away and i had to walk with all my stuff. i was able to come in and go through security and i'm just sitting at my gait waiting. >> so you have made it through your gate and through security? >> i have. >> how were you able to do that because we've been watch tg pictures of people standing around and it sounds like they had to get all those people back in and they had to be re-screened. how is this working? >> i just walked in and security was really quick, actually. everything seemed somewhat normal. really, one of the gates, people

are just waiting, trying to figure out what's going on. a lot of people are just sitting on top of the baggage claim areas. the news follows me where ever i go, t.j. >> where were you trying to go? were are you headed and is your flight on time? >> i'm headed to d.c., actually. so it's going to be a quick flight, but you know, at this point, i don't know. it says on my at the terminal, it's on time, but we all know that's probably going to change. i'm sorry if it's loud, i'm hearing stuff over the intercom. >> are they making announcements to the passengers about what's happening? >> honestly, i haven't heard anything official. i've asked probably five people, trying to see when everything was going to be back to normal.

nobody seems to have any answers right now. >> well, it's just to d.c. you know you should have taken the train. >> i know. the flight was cheaper than the train. >> yeah, what do you think about that now. good luck getting to where you're going, but thank you for checking in with us. >> let's talk to reynolds wolf. are you tracking these delays? >> absolutely. let's also share, for us, there are a will the of people on the eastern seaboard who know why this is a big deal, but if you're wondering what's the big deal about laguardia, it's a tremendous deal. you'll see three to have big, major airports you have in the new york area. if you're flying into new york,

you're going to jfk, newark or laguardia. at this time in the morning, you would see a lot of activity at these airports. there are planes about to land, but it is a standstill at this time at laguardia. it is the easiest way to get into downtown manhattan. this morning, it is just been a standstill. what we're seeing now is only one big delay. that of course, laguardia. ground stop, 8:45 is the last release they gave us. 8:50 is when this was updated. this is going to spring board to more delays coast to coast. this is a small clog in a huge wheel that's going to cause a lot of frustration. more coming up next hour. you're watching cnn saturday morning. be patient.

all right. hello. yes, you are on this cnn saturday morning. we're coming up on the top of the hour. welcome to you all and welcome back. >> we thank you for staying with us. we're going to continue to follow the story and let you know what's happening at laguardia. people are back inside. the central terminal had shut down because of a suspicious package because of this person who's been detained. as soon as we get more information, we'll pass it on to you. >> we will. again, the key there, even though it's been shut down for a few hours, it's going to cause a mess for flights across the country today. the key there is that people are being let back in, so who knows how long it takes before they get back to normal. we'll continue to update you on that breaking news, but we still want to tell you about this

morning as promised, about health care. we're dedicating this half hour to health care. when it comes to how and how much, do you really know the details of president obama's plan to fix the health care system? over the next half hour, we're going to lay this all out for you. you'll also get some answers about if and when you can expect any changes, whether your health benefits through work could be taxed. also, how thousands of americans aren't waiting for reform. they're getting help now and getting it for free. let's start with what the president wants. here is what the president wants. three scenarios. one is a medicare-like plan. this is the public plan. another something the president wants. wants to impose rules on insurance companies to make health care available to everybody. also, this is something else that has been put on the table

at least. we'll have to see if the president's going to go along with it, but some senate democrats say this may be a only way to get it done. co-ops to compete with private companies. >> and mr. obama has focused more on health care goals and said little about how it will work, but that has changed this week. he decided to promote his plan by dispelling people's worst fears in places like bristol, virginia. >> be specific. we will stop insurance companies from denying you coverage because of your medical history. because you got a preexisting condition. i'll never forget watching my mother on her hospital bed dealing with cancer, trying to argue with health insurance companies, even though she had

been paying h ining her premium. i said then and i continue to believe that that's not right. >> hours earlier, president obama reassured a crowd in raleigh, north carolina, that he is not interested in a government takeover. >> first of all, nobody is talk about some government takeover in health care. i'm tired of hearing that. i have been as clear as i can be under the reform i've proposed, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. these folks need to stop scaring everybody. >> arp town hall meeting, the president reminded seniors the government already has the quichlt of a government-run plan. >> that's what medicare is.

it's a government-run health care plan that people are happy with, but i think we've been so accustomed to hearing those phrases that we can't sort out the myth from reality. >> the president isn't the only one making contradictory statements some would say. the blue dog democrats came to aagreement last night. the committee approved it's version of a health care plan. it was 31-28 in committee. the last piece of business before the month-long august recess. the vote the much needed for the president. this was the energy and commerce committee. they were the last holdout of the committees. two other house committees had already approved their own versions. they're going to have to bring those together in some way and then the house would then vote on it. now over to the senate.

well, got a bill in committee there as well. it's not likely to move that quickly. the senate breaks next week, begging the question of just how many proposals are on the table. according to kaiser foundation, the answer is 11. four of the 11 plans proebt someone from being turned down due to preexisting conditions. the president took a hit in the polls this week. the president's approval rating is now at 54%. public support is also slipping. almost half of the country is not on board. 43% are behind the plan. >> and the president has really pushed for this reform and wants the bill on his desk before year's end. but the question, is that really realistic and how far off are the changes.

elaine, we're hearing about recess, which pushing this back a little bit. break down for us what kind of timetable we're talking here. >> t.j. went through it a little bit, but this is president obama's top domestic priority, so he's really been trying to wrach et up the pressure on correct me if i'm wrong and we've seen lawmakers keep this issue on the front burner. last night, the house energy and commerce committee did pass its version which now has to be merged with two other versions out there. it's looking like it will be september or so before the whole house takes up this issue, but the problem is there are some deep divisions on this. that is the house side of things. on the senate side, the finance committee put out a vote, this is a much anticipated vote on a plan now set to take place after the august recess. what we're talking about, is

this the time frame the white house wanted? no. president obama said he wanted to have each house pass its own version before the august recess. that's not happened. does that mean though that there isn't progress? white house officials say things are progressing, but the big question, can this get done before the end of the year? still very much an open question right now. >> all right, elaine, thank you. i know the president take agoin little trip to camp david this weekend. thank you for that. >> and we will continue to update you about what's happening in new york at laguardia airport, where it was shut down because of a suspicious package there this morning that a passenger was carrying. that man now in custody. the airport was shut down, no nights landing or taking off,

for a couple of hours. a mess there in new york. but it appears now people are being let back in and the terminal is reopening. ross leavitt, a producer of ours is on the ground there at laguardia. does it look like everybody's getting back in? >> yes, good morning, t.j. hopefully you can see my camera phone shot right now as i am inside the terminal and folks are starting to line up to head up a skinny escalator. at one point, this room was packed with people, but in a sign as of how things are returning to normal, the line is getting shorter and shorter. i'm going to back up and hopefully be able to show you -- >> and yes, we are seeing your picture. this is a live picture. you show us what you can show us, buddy. >> i'm showing you the board here and you can see, it looks

like a lot of later flights are on time, but as i move over here, you can see some are canceled and delays. hopefully you're seeing that. >> all these people that had to leave, did they have to go back through security? >> absolutely. everyone who has been on the outside and has to get back in will have to go through the entire screening process once again. here you can see a guy giving a lot of the directions as people are just trying to figure out where they're going, how they're going the get there. some are even at the wrong terminal. they've got to figure out how to get around this large airport that was literally shut down completely and is now, only now, starting to return to normal. >> we're looking at these amazing live pictures from your camera phone. you showed us the board and a

lot of those words, canceled. do we know what the airlines will do for the folks whose flights have been canceled? >> we don't know. that's the question a lot of these passengers are asking, too. for the most part, because no one was on those flights, you can assume that those planes are going to have to get refilled and go to where ever their destination is. folk rs just starting to figure out where their gates are. >> we're looking at this guy in a red jacket. what guidance is he giving folks? >> pardon me? >> the gentleman in the red jacket who is looking at you. who is he and what is he asking people to do?

>> he's an airport employee and he's doing a great job of directing people where they need to go. just really helping people out and pointing them in different directions. as you can see, a man is here right now with his ticket out, trying to figure out where he's going. a little bit of a chaotic seen. if i swing back to the shot i had earlier, that long line is pretty much gone. hopefully, getting back to normal for these passengers. >> finally. you've got to hand it to some of the people who are working at the airport. got to have patience on a morning like this with all the frustrated passengers. great pictures inside laguardia. >> that is amazing. like he said, things are starting to get back to normal. amazing to think you can empty

out that terminal and then in a matter of minutes, get everybody back in and get back to normal. we've been through that airport a lot and it is no pretty picnic on a normal day. did you see that employee working hard? >> helping them through. >> we'll continue our coverage here. also of the health care reform debate. we'll leave you going into break here from our producer inside laguardia airport as things are getting back to normal after the terminal had to be shut down this morning. (mom) i'm not going to be able to see her every day. or sit on her bed and talk about her day. but she's ready. thanks to walmart's unbeatable prices,

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what a mess this morning at laguardia airport in new york. busy, busy as people were evacuated from the main terminal because of a gentleman who is detained because of a suspicious package. we're finding out more about the evacuees heading back. want to talk now to ty chandler who is joining us outside laguardia, where hopefully no one is right now. everyone heading back inside. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you know, the airport has reopened, but you couldn't tell my looking out here. this is where cars have been

detoured. no cars allowed in or out of the airport. imagine if you had to take your luggage out of your car and walk nearly a mile to your plane to find out it's not going anywhere. that has been the scene here all morning long. we've seen a lot of people struggle tog carry their bags to make it over this ramp to get to the airport, but now that the terminal has reopened of course, a lot of people are hoping they can get to where they're going to go, but there is been a lot of frustration for travelers. many are saying it's better safe than sorry. >> absolutely. any word on the man detained? is he still in custody? >> reporter: he is still in custody. we have been told that security officials saw him this morning and say he was acting crazy and that made them suspicious of him

and that's what took him into custody and sparked this ev evacuation. >> ty chandler, thank you for your reporting this morning. t.j., send it over to you. we are going to get back to health care. lot of people can't get it. millions of others who are insured, their coverage just to expensive to use. it's time to peel this back, talk with two small business owners struggling with different circumstances. elaine is a cancer survivor and says she can't get insurance. eric is a dentist. it gets a little pricey to get the benefits for all your workers. i will start with you. just how many companies have turned you down? >> at least four. >> what do they come back and tell you each time you try to get that coverage? >> that i don't meet their criteria to be able to have

coverage. i think having a preexisting condition. >> what is it like to get that rejection time after time? it's been four now. >> it's tough because i have not had my checkups that i'm supposed to have with my oncologist that i'm supposed to have. just hoping that a healthy lifestyle will keep me healthy. what to do if something arises, do i go, i'm not sure. >> eric, you have a challenge as a small business owner. what is your challenge? >> the biggest challenge is really trying to come up with an attractive place for them to work. so of course you know, if you want to best people, you want to be able to offer them a competitive salary and benefits so it's a choice between either/or.

>> i know you all have been watching this health care debate. how hopeful are you with all this back and forth, that could help you out? do you have promise and hope in what you are seeing will help you out and which part are you looking forward to most, i guess. >> i guess interestingly enough, i'm sort of hopeful in that things like medicare have worked in the past and that's a government example of how health care is executed by them. and i feel like you know, if they can pull that off, it took a little while to do it, maybe they can pull this off as well. >> i have to wrap this up with you, you're here, you're a cancer survivor, such an example. are you hopeful of what you see happening in washington? are you tired of the debate? >> i'm excited we are talking

about it. that we are raising questions. i am very hopeful. >> very hopeful. all right. again, very hopeful here. elaine, eric, i'm glad you were here to put a face, in a way, on what's happening. they're certainly not alone. almost 25 years ago, one man realized americans needed health care options and he's comp with an answer that's absolutely free. you heard me right. it's free and it's working. stay with us for that. also this morning, we're not going too far away from our breaking news out of laguardia. good news now. the terminal has opened, but the central terminal shut down for a few hours because of a suspicious package. stay with us.

keeping you updated on laguardia airport, shut down this morning because of a suspicious bag carried by passenger. police had to clear that entire terminal, the central terminal

at laguardia airport. everyone had to get out. within the past 20 minutes or so, everybody was allowed back in, but it's going to be a travel headache for those people and people across the country. we are on top of that story out of laguardia. and continuing our health care coverage this morning. how does this sound? free health care. one group has been helping people simply too poor to pay. stan brock founded the company in 1985 and joins us live from knoxville. i know a lot of people recognize you from tv, the movies. i want to talk specifically about this organization. you founded it in 1985. you and thousands of volunteers have been providing this free

health care to folks who can't afford it. so when you hear this talk of action on capitol hill, is this old news to you? >> yes, i mean, this situation with the lack of accessible health care from an economic standpoint has been going on for decades, so it's no different today than 20, 30 years ago. we have this program, remote area medical, that provides the care absolutely free. last weekend in two and a half days, we did 2,715 people giving them all the services that they needed and dentistry, removing bad teeth. >> sure. >> and fixing their eyes and making eyeglasses and of course all the general medical stuff as well. >> you were in a rural area of virginia. put a face on this story. i know you have met thousands of

people in your lifetime, but did you meet any particular individual last weekend who really stands out to you? >> well, we have diagnosed people at all of our clinics that have serious ailments they didn't know about. the people that come to wise, virginia are people that come there every time we're there for their health care. we're sort of once a year because we only go to wise county once a year, doing 30 or 40 of these a year in other parts of the country, so they're depending on us for their care. but i want to say, the greatest impediment to providing this free care, at no cost to the government, is that for some extraordinary reason here in america. a doctor, dentist in one state doing the same exams, dually licensed, is not allowed to

cross from one state to the other except here in tennessee where we changed the law in 1995. >> have you had a chance to look at any of the plans that president obama has talked about when it comes to health care reform? want to know if you're familiar with any of it and if there's anything in particular you want to see pushed forward. i know you talk a lot about dentistry and vision. >> dentistry, before the age of antibiotics, penicillin, dental infections were one of the leading causes of death in the world. so unless the program addresses dental care and vision care, it's going to be deficient. >> you have lived in the amazon and learned firsthand that getting medicare care is difficult and you know how true this battle is on capitol hill to get this health care reform

passed. stan brock, we appreciate you being here with us this morning. >> we'll be in los angeles on august the 18th doing the same thing. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> great service to provide there. >> thousands of thousands of people since 1985. >> that is awesome. we will be talking about health care, a major story. but our other major story this morning out of new york, laguardia airport. it appear that is the laguardia central terminal, the airport essentially now has reopened. this happened within the past half hour after it had to be shut down because of a suspicious bag that was carried by a man who is in custody. it caused them to have to evacuate the entire central terminal. you're seeing the pictures. people hanging around outside about from 6:00 a.m.

this is going to cause travel delays throughout the day. not just at laguardia, but across the country. stay with us.