they are and how they may have strayed into iranian territory from iraq. henry louis gates jr. talking about his new friend sergeant james crowley. the two hit it off at the white house. guess what? they are planning to meet again. we're going to hear the harvard professor's first public comments after the two sat down for a beer at the white house. >> he joked about getting his kids into harvard. is the white house looking for raise tacks to foot the bill for health care and slow a ballooning federal deficit. it's something two of the top money men were asked this weekend and neither one of them ruled it out. >> we have to do what's necessary. the critical thing is people understand when we have recovery established, led by the private sector, we have to bring these deficits down very dramatically. we have to bring them down to a

level where we're stable, at a reasonable level. that's going to require hard choices. we have to try to do that in a way that does not add unfairly to the burdens the average american already faces. >> there's a lot that could happen over time, but the priority right now, it's never a good idea to absolutely rule things out no matter what. >> so if the administration does green light a tax increase, how big an about face would that be, try 180 degrees considering what the president himself said during the campaign last year. >> if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime. not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax. no tax. >> henry is the only reporter live at the white house this early. ed, what are you hearing here?

geithner is out greasing the wheels for a tax hike? >> seems so. if it had been one, it could have been a mistake, a gaffe to suggest, it could be a trial balloon. who is going to get hit here? the president made a bold campaign promise, anyone making under $250,000 a year will not be taxed. i guarantee you today's daily briefing with robert gibbs is going to get quite interesting to pin him down, exactly how does the administration define middle class. anticipate how to push back. he's going to point out, look, it's not just about the president trying to deal with a debt and deficit he put together, he inherited about $9 trillion in debt from former president bush. nevertheless, the idea of taxes being increased is going to play right into the republican line of attack that had president is

spending too much money. >> the idea taxes will increase on people under $250,000, how much of an impact is that going to have during the august recess for the president's health plan, $240 billion -- numbers so big, $240 billion to the deficit. >> that's the key question. you put your finger on it. how will people in middle america react in the month of august as these members of congress fan out across the country and start doing town hall. what i could tell you, it could have a devastating impact on the health plan. look, my plan is going to lower costs. if, instead, in some of these reports suggest, costs will balloon in the early years to pay for it, now the administration is opening the door to raise taxes for those costs, that could really blow up in the face of a lot of members

of congress across the country. that's why the key is going to be, is it going to hit people under $250,000 or not? they are not specific enough. the president has been pretty vague about the details of this health plan. on wednesday, another town hall, the president is going to be in indiana. is he going to start spelling out more details now that the door is open to tax increases, a lot of people will demand more answers. >> keep watching more closely, billion, trillion, billion here, billion there, pretty soon it's really money. >> it is. $800 bucks is real money to most people. >> either way, lots of zeros. when you talk about the economy, cities and towns across the country, is the worst behind us? former chairman alan greenspan thinks it is. >> i'm pretty sure we've seen the bottom. if you look at weekly production

figures from various industries, it's clear we've turned perhaps in the middle of last month, the middle of july. >> christine romans minding your business, do you believe it? >> maybe he's right. if he's right, is the obama administration in a tough position. jobs numbers showing people off the jobs, unemployment higher even next year. even if you've got all the smartest people in the room, by the way, that one in particular who didn't think the housing market would crash, even if the smartest in the room think the worst is behind us, still have what people are feeling on main street. it will be tough next year. great, a recovery may be coming. what's it going to feel like? it's still going to hurt. that's the political problem for the white house. >> larry summers spoke out over the weekend on cbs saying never good to rule things out meaning hiking taxes on the middle class. what's that about? >> the bottom line is we're spending so much money, a lot of

people want to know how we're going to reel that back in when the economy starts to grow again, when this whole period is behind us and you have economic growth, will the economy grow fast enough and sharply enough you won't have to have dramatic increases for everyone. frankly people think tax increases is the only way out of this. you have to cut spending dramatically which we know our legislators don't like to do or cut taxes. a lot of people who study tax structure say you can't just tax the top people in the country forever until you raise enough money. we're talking about an $11 trillion national debt. as one of my colleagues said, we can't afford ourselves. somehow we have to pay for it. sooner or later how we're going to pay for it. >> probably used that over the week, millions and millions unemployed collecting unemployment benefits and those benefits may soon run out leaving them with no source of income at all.

the government is looking -- >> taxes are not ruling out some sort of extension of benefits, try to work with congress to extend again jobless benefits. "new york times" say $1.5 million are facing jobless benefits running out. when there are six jobs for every opening, this is a way to put food on the table. again, we have to pay for that we have to borrow money to pay for that. that means somehow we pay it back down the road. >> christine romans, minding your business. thanks so much. following developing news this morning, american officials trying to learn more about the status of three americans held in iran. they apparently strayed spoke iranian territory while hiking in the mountains near the border with iraq. this morning we're learning more about the trio. susan is following that story for us.

>> reporter: john and elena, good morning. kurdish officials have identified the three americans detained as joshua fattal soon on his facebook as well as sarah shourd and josh. they were seen in a motel before setting off into the mountains in ahmed awa. despite warnings to be careful they strayed into an iranian territory across an unmarked border. a friend stayed behind in a hotel because he was ill said he last heard from them friday. he called to say they were surrounded by iranian soldiers during the hike. the mother confirms captivity but is declining requests for on camera interviews. she spoke with cnn radio by phone. >> my husband and i are eager for the best welfare and

conditions for our son josh and the other two companions he's with. that is our only concern. his welfare and best conditions for him. >> josh is a very curious person. he is interested in the world. he wants to -- wants to eat the world whole. >> friends say the three have spent time or lived in western europe and the mideast and are seasoned travelers. it appears on a website that mentions travel. she's also named on shane bauer's website. the american who stayed behind because he's ill is now at the u.s. embassy in baghdad according to his grandmother. meckfessel is a grad student at the university of washington. the u.s. itself has no

diplomatic relations with iran. >> it's a very sensitive situation especially given the strange relations between the u.s. and iran. john and elena. >> susan, thank you. other stories new, harvard professor louis gates jr. who arrested him is a nice guy. at a book signing on martha's vineyard -- after sitting down for a beer at the white house. they hit it off in washington and look forward to their next meeting. >> you know what, i liked crowley. i thought we would like each other and that -- you know, i don't know what we'll talk about. but i asked him if he would have lunch one-on-one, a red sox game together, maybe a celtics game together and maybe dinner with

our families. why not? i offered to get his kids into harvard. >> sense of humor, too. on a more serious note, gates says he has received numerous death threats and the university has actually encouraged him to move. in just a few hours' time the legal battle over michael jackson estate will play out in a courtroom. michael's mother katherine says she's kept in the dark by the two men who have control and there's a custody agreement for the children coming up this hour. a soft summer week for the box office. "funny people" debuted at number one with $3.5 million. harry potter came in second. last week's top movie g force cain third. this gives a new meaning to a class action lawsuit. no job? sue your college.

a new grad from monroe college wants the $70,000 she spent on tuition back. she said the business school did not do enough to help her find a job. thompson earned her bachelor's degree in april. they said they help graduates find jobs and is finding the lawsuit completely without merit. that's an interesting way to deal with it. >> try to sue your parents, you raised me and i couldn't get a job. $70,000 in today's numbers not a lot to pay for tuition. >> a lot of universities frankly people who graduate in the '70s and '80s going back to alumni hall and finding help. a lot of people like her trying to get a job. >> the abdication is stunning. how do you feel about it? >> how about a $9 airfare

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. the obama administration is rolling out the big guns to show that africa is a foreign policy priority. secretary of state hillary clinton leads her seven-nation tour, first stop kenya, the birth place of obama's father. she'll talk about trade, meet with somalia's government,

barely clinging to power. clinton is putting a high-tech spin on diplomacy. going up for the 13th straight day, it will cost you more this morning for a gallon of gas. aaa, the national average is $2.55. that's up more than a penny overnight. it does pay to follow twitter. right now two airlines are offering twitter-only specials. jetblue posted a $9 one-way trip from new york city to nantucket. united airlines offered twares. twitter fares. have to act fast, sometimes the deal is one to two hours. >> trying to get a ticket to a hot concert. you're not going to be able. >> who knows how many tickets they have. >> nine bucks one way. a mystery from the iraq war

has been solved. remains found in the desert are those of speicher. pentagon correspondent. >> reporter: capitaler speicher's children were toddlers the day he disappeared. now his remains are coming home to college students. a near 20-year history. was he captured? tortured? all this time the answer was buried in the iraqi sand and solved by a single tip. >> it's a bittersweet ending. it's great we finally accomplish an ending but it is bittersweet. >> last month an iraqi troop told about the crash site. one iraqi said he was there when bedo wins found him already dead. military investigators compared

dental records with the recovered jawbone, it was him. >> the whole family is just so grateful that the navy stayed on this. >> but the military made mistakes, starting hours after speicher was shot down when the pentagon declared him dead. >> the total u.s. losses are one aircraft and one individual. >> the pentagon has identified a united states navy pilot as apparently the first u.s. serviceman missing in action in the persian gulf war. >> some military thought speicher ejected and might still be alive. in 1994 they had a secret mission. chairman of the join chiefs scrubbed the plan. it said, quote, i do not want to have to write the parents and tell them their son or daughter died looking for old bones. in 2001 the pentagon changed his status to missing in action. there were accusations he would being held captive by saddam

hussein after the invasion of iraq. some found speicher's initials scratched into a wall of an iraqi prison. investigators excavated a site in baghdad but it was not him. now the vigils can end. but one fact remains. >> we walked away from a downed pilot. it was done by mistakenly declaring him dead and then they didn't go and search for him. and that was a mistake. that is very important that we never repeat that mistake again. >> captain speicher's family says they appreciate all the troops who never gave up and kept searching all these years. they got me wondering is there any chance he survived that crash? would an immediate search and rescue made any difference. john, elena. >> tough for the family but at least there's closure now. >> they have been worrying and wondering all those years, 18 years long. 20 minutes after the hour,

cash for clunkers, one of the post successful programs ever. who knew? last week the house voted in $2 million to keep the program going, may have tougher sledding in the senate. we'll take a look after this.

the administration's clash for clunkers program is a huge success. so much it might be extended.

action in the house, late last week. >> transferring funds to fund another $2 billion for cash for clunkers. this is what a successful stimulus looks like. this is proof the american consumer is not dead just very, very savvy and price conscious and will make a big purchase if you give them something. i went to listen to somebody in san francisco, who decided it was time to turn in the old clunker. >> traded in a car, got $4500 for a car i paid $4,000 that had 220,000 miles on it. i think i made a great deal. >> dealers reported they were jammed all weekend. some of them extending hours, trying to stay open later, trying to let everyone get in. ford is going to report car sales. ford saying july was a good month. in fact, july may have been the best month they have seen in a year. that's all relative. the best month in a year is one of those things you really have

to qualify. so a lot of people out there doing this. the national american deerls association, automobile dealers association said the most in july, a huge demand because of this deal. now, the people on the other side will say, come on. this is just -- no one has been buying a car for the past year. they have just been afraid. another $2 billion. >> republicans are quick to point out a billion, now $2 billion, $3 billion program, who is going to pay for it. >> we borrow money to pay for it as i like to point out always. in wisconsin and new hampshire i want to point out until now you had to prove you have insurance on this vehicle for the last year. have you don't have to have insurance in wisconsin and new hampshire. that was a problem for people who wanted cash for clunkers. now it's okay. you can go take your clunker in if you don't have proof of insurance. >> if it's monday, it's roman

numeral day. 200,000 is the numeral today. 200,000. what do you think? >> the number of cars sold in the month of july. >> the number of cars cash for clunker will do in the first billion. if you have another $2 billion think how many cars will move off the lot. if it's as successful as the first billion. >> rare to see white house and congress so quickly jumping to make sure this will continue. >> right before the august recess. >> we'll see if the senate follows soot. christine, minding your business. thanks so much. breaking news to tell you right after the break. a continental airlines flight from rio de janeiro to houston had to be diverted to miami after severe turbulence, 10 to 15 injured in that flight. you can see blanes at miami international airport. there's the plane courtesy of our affiliate wplg. the latest coming up. also the truth-o-meter. this morning special edition, health care fact check, only

health care this morning. make sure you stick around for that. 26 minutes after the hour.

breaking news to tell you about this morning.

continental airlines flight, flight 128 from rio de janeiro to houston apparently encountered severe turbulence shaking the passengers up. there are 10 to 15 people according to reports that were injured. the plane diverted, made an emergency landing at miami international airport. this courtesy of wplg. >> it looked like they were carrying somebody out on a stretcher. he wasn't walking out. not sure how severe the injuries. >> looks like they are taking a passenger off there. that's the catering truck there that comes and brings the drinks, food, whatnot. they do appear to be using it to take people off the plane. just to the right of that in the picture, just outside of the picture, there are a number of ambulances pulled up on the plane. apparently a dozen ambulances and police vehicles are up by the plane. looks like a 777. can't quite tell.

again, that's continental airlines flight from rio de janeiro to houston, emergency landing in miami after encountering some severe turbulence. we'll keep watching the story this morning and get you the latest information as soon as we can. >> we're not sure. obviously looks like it's pretty clear in miami. not sure if weather was a factor in the moments before it landed. originally from rio headed to houston, continental flight 128, 10 to 15 injuries a little odd as you mentioned they were taking passengers out on what appears to be the catering truck and now lowering that down. obviously they are letting the passengers off one by one. we're watching this story very, very closely right here on cnn. again, continental flight 128 bound from rio de janeiro to houston making an emergency landing at miami international airport due to severe

turbulence. coming up in a half hour, a town in china has been quarantined after an outbreak of pneumonic plague. a dozen died and others infected. it can be transmitted directly from one person who another. left untreated can kill within 24 hours. >> more help may be on the way to a million laid off americans. christina rommer, who leads the white house advisors says the obama administration is working with congress right now to extend their unemployment benefits. the government has already extended unemployment benefits beyond the standard 26 weeks to as many as 79 weeks. >> and so much for laying low. a week after resigning, former governor sarah palin spoke at a arrival event in anchorage. john mccain has his former running mate back. telling the state of the union he's sattened by the vicious

attacks on palin and expects she will continue to be a political force. so much information about health care, it's easy to get confused. this morning fact checking in a special health care edition of the truth-o-meter. in washington for us, bill, good to see you. >> good morning. >> august recess almost upon us, members back to local districts and going to hear a lot from people on the hegs plans in congress. there's a number them. what do you expect the rhetoric to go. intensify or die down a little bit? >> i think it's going to intensify. august is supposed to be the dog days here in washington and around the country. but i think what it's going to do is give both sides a month, five weeks before congress comes back to really mobilize. i think things are just going to ratchet up. >> let's run through the truth-o-meter, some of the statements out there. not just statements politicians have made but a lot of what's out there on the internet as well. there's so many people getting

e-mail chains that say health care is going to do this. health care won't do that. let's run some of these through the truth-o-meter. here is the first claim that comes in an e-mail chain that says, quote, all non-u.s. citizens illegal or not will be provided with free health care services. what did the truth-o-meter say about that? >> we gave that one our lowest rating, pants on fire. this chain e-mail has really circulated widely. we've heard -- gotten copies of it from many readers and heard from congressional offices getting lots of inquiries about it. there's no such thing in the bill. they are making that up. >> a lot of things made up. let's run this through the truth-o-meter to find if it's made up or is, in fact, fact. complaint about how the government will affect private health care plans. all private health care plans must confirm to government rules to participate in a health care exchange. what did you find? >> that gets a true on the truth-o-meter.

that's one of the few claims in this chain e-mail that's actually correct. the health care exchange is actually sort of the heart of the president's plan and congressional democrats plan that provides for a way that people without coverage would get it. that one gets a truth. third statement about who makes decisions regarding your health care. we've heard this one a lot, heard this from politicians, out there in e-mail chains. quote, in the health care bill, the health choices commissioner will decide health benefits for you. you will have no choice. none. what does the truth-o-meter say about that one, bill? >> that one also gets a pants on fire. >> two pants on fires this morning. >> that one is ridiculously false. if you read the bill, congress will set minimum benefits for people who are covered under this plan, which is really what's happening now under the coverage that you get from your employer, there are certain minimum standards usually that employers have to meet in those

plans. the commissioner they talk about here will just enforce those rules. so the commissioner doesn't decide when you get coverage and when you don't. >> let's find smithsonian something the president has been saying about health care and run that through the truth-o-meter. he's talking here about whether or not americans will lose their health insurance if no reform is enacted. let's listen to what he says. >> if we don't act 14,000 americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. >> if we don't act 14,000 americans will lose their health insurance every single day. what did the truth-o-meter say about that one, bill? >> we gave that one a mostly true on our truth-o-meter. we were kind of skeptical about that one, 14,000 every day. but we found the source of the numbers was a scholar from the urban institute, well regarded, solid. mostly true because some people

will continue to get coverage under a stimulus bill under a conray provision, the thing that allows you to keep getting coverage. we took that down to mostly true. >> is that mostly a fact of people losing their jobs? >> exactly. when you lose your job, you lose health care coverage. under the stimulus bill you have subsidized continuous coverage. that's why we took it to mostly true. >> bill, thanks for clearing this up. it's fascinating to see what's true and what's pants on fire. >> it's a great time to be in the fact checking business. >> we appreciate it. read bill adair's full political scorecard at cnn.com/amfix. a custody deal involving michael jackson's three children, details ahead. 35 minutes after the hour.

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back to most news in the morning. michael jackson's family moving quickly to sort out his affairs including who gets custody of his three children. now it appears the issue of custody is settled out of court.

jason carroll here with that. debbie rowe, biological mother, appears she might fight for custody but there's a deal now. >> deal definitely done. there's still a fight going on katherine jackson still basically saying she's being kept in the dark on how the money is allocated on jackson's estate. we'll get to that in a moment. for now katherine jackson and debbie rowe have been working behind the scenes to come to an arrangement for custody of the two eldest children, prince and paris with debbie rowe. now word of a deal. at this point in the agreement katherine jackson will have custody of the children. debbie rowe will get visitation as recommended by a psychologist. there will be no financial payments made to rowe except for the continuation of spousal support payments which michael jackson personally agreed to after his divorce from rowe. katherine jackson's lawyer saying we were all united in our

goal to do what's best for michael's children and debbie and mrs. jackson were on the exact same page. another statement that came through from rowe attorney commenting on the deal saying the parties engaged in a dignified discussion that resulted in a dignified outcome. the sole consideration between the parties was the best interest of the children. rowe's attorney also commenting on the deal, as i said. tank now will turn to jackson's estate. a judge will consider hole have permanent control for now. john bracka, jackson's longtime personal attorney and a music executive and long time will have control. they want them to answer questions under oath if they are fit and able to administer the estate. senior analyst says katherine jackson walking a very fine

line. >> i don't think she has any right. if michael jackson had wanted her to be his executor, he could have named her. he didn't. this i think is not a legally defensible action. she is not yet contesting. she's asking for documents, for certain information. but she's no dummy. >> definitely no dummy, he's right about that. lawyers expected to seek access for documents pertaining to her son's estate. she wants a say in how the vast fortune is spent. such measures won't be necessary if mrs. jackson's is appointed co-executor of the estate. we'll have to see if that happens. katherine jackson's attorney saying jackson's estimated worth now is at about $2 billion. that's a lot of money. >> seems to be a factor of ten separating the low from the

high. jason, thanks so much. breaking news, continental airlines flight 128 from rio de janeiro to houston, a boeing 747, had to be diverted after severe tesh liens and a number of people injured. there you see the plane on the ground at miami international airport. we're going to be talking with somebody from the miami-dade fire rescue after the break. stay with us. 42 minutes after the hour. now, i know the catering business but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah". woah ! only verizon wireless has small business specialists in every store to help you do business better. you're like my secret ingredient. come in today and connect up to five devices on one 3g connection. now only $99.99 i hate my phone. what do i do? ( shouting ) this is crazy. you.

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coming up on 45 minutes after the hour. live look at washington this morning. a rainy day there yesterday. 72 degrees right now, going up to a high of 88. lots of sun in the forecast for today, though. will be pretty muggy. let's fast forward to stories making news later. lawmakers making hurdles on health care. senate financing committee will meet all week even though a vote is not expected before the august recess. this morning at 1k a.m. eastern we could learn more about who hid money from the irs in swiss bank accounts. in court documents between switzerland banking giant and u.s. justice department, the 52,000 offshore accounts held around $14.8 billion. later this afternoon president obama will honor jimmie johnson in the white house. the chevy will also make the

trip to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. we've been telling you about breaking news that had to make an emergency landing on the way to rio de janeiro to houston. you have some more information for us. >> headed from rio to houston made an emergency landing at miami international airport. those are live pictures there. those courtesy of our associate wplg. the plane, we're told, experienced severe turbulence. we're not sure of exactly wrchlt we have word of 26 injuries, four of them serious. joining us on the phone right now, lieutenant sierra with miami-dade rescue. good morning, lieutenant. so glad you're with us. tell us to the best of your knowledge what happened. i understand you got the call at 5:08 a.m., the plane landed at 6:00 a.m. >> correct. the airport contacted our fire station here with a heads up of about 48 minutes more or less to

make us aware of the injuries on board. apparently we had 15 injuries, 26 total, 22 stable, multiple injuries, bumps and bruiseses to neck pain, back pain. four considered serious, not critical, they are treated as well. the airline will decide whether or not to leave the uninjured passengers on the aircraft and continue the flight or disembark the entire aircraft. so far we're treating 26 patients. >> we're looking at the emergency vehicles there on the scene. what was your response to the situation this morning. >> we prepare for these incidents by calling extra equipment. we're using the back boards for the back injuries to transfer patients who may have worse injuries upon examination in the er. we have multiple paramedics, on

board assessing patients, treating patients, ascertaining what they need. >> it appears you were using, employing some unusual techniques to get the passengers out of the plane. it and as though some of the passengers were being taken out on stretchers and onto what looked like a catering truck. is that true? >> transporting multiple patients stable. we have units providing advanced care for more serious cases or traumatic injuries. the walking wounded, if you will, we will i don't a big vehicle, in this case a catering truck to a public bus that we use for the incident. >> elkin sierra from the miami fire and rescue, we thank you, lieutenant. >> you're welcome. according to miami fire rescue, the plane encountered

tesh liens an hour before it was to land. speaking to rob marciano tracking weather in the area. somewhere around jamaica, coast of cuba, guantanamo bay when it hit turbulence. what was going on at that time? >> they had a flairup. you may remember during air france we talked about this intertropical turbulence zone. that would be around this area, northern south america. the caribbean for the most part clear. again, as you mention, right around jamaica there was a flairup of thunderstorms there. north of there into the gulf we didn't see much of anything. as far as what the national weather service puts out for turbulence advisories across the lower 48, there weren't advisories anywhere north of cuba. if they were to hit it, there would be that flairup around jamaica. what we show you on the satellite doesn't translate to what they are feeling in the air. one more lesson when the pilot puts on the seat belt sign to sit down, when this happens,

might want to take his advice. >> it's true. you can have turbulence in thunderstorm but also get clear air turbulence as well. right, rob? >> sometimes that's the worst kind. >> rob marciano for us this morning. rob marciano, thanks so much. he'll be with us a little later on. tracking all the weather across the country today, tell you what you're in for. secretary of state clinton embraces new media. how is she using high-tech to sell diplomacy? you know, the guys who do a super job. introducing the superguarantee. go to superpages.com to find a business with the superguarantee. we're so confident in these super businesses we stand behind their services. what you'll get the job done right or we'll step in and help to make it right. sign up for free at superpages.com the new superguarantee making the good guys easy to find.

back with most news in the morning. secretary of state clinton is about to embark on a seven-nation tour of africa. since she's been on the job she put her stamp on the state department, new meaning. looking at clinton's high-tech spin. >> enables anyone with a cell phone to send me a question, which i hope you'll do. >> youtube, facebook, twitter, flickr, welcome to hillary clinton's digital diplomacy.

>> what we're now able to do is connect government to people, people to people, and people to government. >> you can even text the secretary and send her a question. let's ask her what she thinks is the most important issue she's dealing with right now. secretary clinton is using a variety of new media. text messaging to raise money for pakistani refugees. >> americans can text the word "swat" s-w-a-t, 20222 and make a $5 contribution. >> she sends a team of ceos from technology giants like google and twitter to baghdad to jump-start iraqi's online revolution. >> we are connected online. >> she held digital town halls like this one in the dominican republic where citizens can watch online and participate. secretary clinton had an interactive map where you can track her travel. on her latest trip she started out in mumbai, then flew to new

delhi, now thailand. the information guru says it's not just the medium it's the message. >> technology in itself is not what's interesting and important pt what's interesting and important are the goals technology can help produce. >> during iran's recent street protest, the state department intervened to keep twitter up and running for demonstrators to communicate. >> we communicate literally at the speed of light. >> the state department said since inauguration facebook friends have increased 50%, youtube views up 418% and twitter up more than 600%. jill dougherty, cnn washington. well, can health care really get better and cheaper? one health care group says yes, yes, it can. we'll see how they are doing it just ahead. 54 and a half minutes after the hour.

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good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. welcome back to the most news in the morning. better health care and cheaper cost, is that combo possible? that's the goal with president obama's health care reform. one health care group says we can do both at the same time. our jessica shows us how they are doing it. >> reporter: cardiologist is looking inside a patient's heart

and is being graded on his work. >> we're in the heart and taking pictures. >> reporter: the grade is based not just on the success of this procedure but on the overall care the patient receives sometimes up to months later. >> everybody that's involved in the care is focused on the outcome, not their piece of the action. >> part of a radical medicine that has made him a poster child for reform. he's cut cost and improved quality by standardizing how procedures are done, develop ag team approach and exercising preventive and follow-up care. >> all of those things are thought or have been proven or related to the probability of you having a perfect outcome. >> reporter: some of in innovati innovations, checklists? the medical team follows steps to make sure there are no mistakes like making sure the right patient is on the table.

another innovation, a warranty. instead of charging for each test or procedure, patients can pay a flat fee for treating their heart condition. if there are any complicationsish the patient gets follow-up care for free. >> this warranty system just provides additional incentive for us to do the right thing. >> a third innovation, patients partnering. a nurse is assigned a patient with a chronic condition and checks in regularly. nurses can get a readout of a patient's weight every day. if he gains weight. >> dan is going to be on the phone the next morning looking for an explanation. >> partnering has led to a huge decrease in hospitalization. dr. berger says these innovations have helped make his patients healthier. in some instances they saved up to 7% a year. can this be duplicated on a national scale? doctors say some parts more

easily than others. for example, it should be easier to expand the use of electronic medical records but harder to get primary care physicians, nurses and special is to collaborate and change the way they approach medical care. >> jessica yellin for us. just crossing top of the hour, 7:00 a.m. on the east coast. i'm elena cho, welcome to "american morning." >> i'm john roberts. thanks for being with us. we're following several stories we'll be breaking down including news about your money. encouraging signs the recession could be easing. plus a big question for the white house, is the president thinking about going back on a campaign promise and raising your taxes? >> plus the state department is doing everything it can to find out where iran is holding three americans. they were arrested after apparently wandering into western iran while hiking next door in iraq. we're live from baghdad with the latest. >> henry louis gates jr. is talking about his new friend.

that new friend being cambridge police sergeant james crowley. he said the two of them hit it off at the white house. we'll hear the harvard professor's first public comment since the two sat down for beers in washington on thursday. >> we begin this monday morning with two questions and two answers that have lots of middle class americans wondering if the white house is planning to increase their taxes. over the week treasury secretary tim geithner and larry summers were asked about a possible tax hike and neither of them would rule it out. >> we have to do what's necessary. it's critical thing people understand when we have recover established led by the private sector, we have to bring down deficits dramatically. we have to bring them down to a level where we're not borrowing from the world but are stable. that's going to require hard choices. we're going to have to do that in a way that does not add unfairly to burdens the average american already faces. >> there's a lot that could

happen over time. but the priority right now, it's never a good idea to absolutely rule things out no matter what. >> all right. so if the administration okays a tax increase, how big an about face would that be. considering what the president himself said during the campaign last year, it's about as big as you can get. >> if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime. not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains tax, no tax. >> all right. henry, live at the white house this morning. what are you hearing about this. were geithner and summers out this weekend setting the stage for a tax hike? >> good morning, elena, if it had been one official leaving the door open it might have been a mistake, a gaffe, but the two top money men that suggests the

trial balloon they are trying to test out how this would fly with the american people of the key is exactly what you pointed ow. would a tax increase affect people making under $250,000 a year. that is the line in the sand the president laid out in the campaign a few weeks ago. robert gates left the door open to changing that. the president himself insisted the american people in the context of health care reform he's not going to break that campaign promise. interest today at the daily briefing to see how robert gibbs squares all of this. one thing they will sure point out is the fact they inherited trillion dollars in debt from president bush. all will feed into the republican argument the president is spending too much money. >> as you know, the president had a lot on his plate, the cash for clunkers program, about to expire unless the senate approved $2 billion, health care reform obviously the president taking that on the road trying to sell that plan. how much does all of this

complicate the president's effort to sell that health care plan? >> big time. the president has been the key argument for health care reform, bring down cost, bring down the deficit as well. they are saying, look, in the short-term costs could explode in terms of trying to pay for all this reform. if now the american people see, look, tax increases will be what pays for health care reform in the first few years, conform indicate the argument, give republicans more fodder, give conservative democrats, who are the key, even more on the defensive. >> henry live at the white house. thank you. stick around, there's a lot to talk about this morning about the economy, the recession and is the worst behind us. we have a couple of great economic minds in the studio. we'll get their take coming up. state department trying to figure out where they are holding three americans. they were arrested after crossing an unmarked border.

they were hiking in the kurdish region when they apparently took a wrong turn. they are collecting information through switzerland's embassy in tehran. live in baghdad this morning, what's the latest you're hearing about the group's possible where bouts. >> reporter: well, john, the u.s. embassy here as you can imagine is being tight-lipped about any part of intelligence they may have. we do know from kurdish officials that these three are at the border post where they were detained. kurdish officials did send patrols in that area. they did recover what they believe to be one of the backpacks with the hikers. they are trying to get in touch with the iranian council but it's very difficult for everybody involved to get any sort of accurate information. john. >> any idea what they were doing in the area. they say they were backpacking. this a popular tourist spot to

go backpacking between kurdish, iraqi territory and that part of iran? >> well, john, i mean i'm sure it seems rather bizarre people would consider coming to iraq given in the news more often than not, violence and iraqi blood shed but this part of the north is completely different than the rest of the company. it is relatively safe. it hasn't been plagued by violence. it is considered to be a great business opportunity. this specific area they were going to ahmed awa is a popular tourist destination. stunningly beautiful, rugged mountains, waterfalls. at the same time they were warned by local police they are to be very careful because of the proximity in iran because the border isn't defined. they were told watch out. you're not iraquis, your americans. >> good to see you. thanks so much. we are continuing to follow breaking news out of miami.

at least 26 people are injured, four seriously after a continental airline jet had to make an emergency landing in miami. officials say the 767 hit severe turbulence while climbing to 38,000 feet. it was headed from rio de janeiro to houston. we are working our sources and will bring you more information as we get it. harvard professor henry gates jr. said the sergeant that arrested him is a nice guy. his first public comments since sitting down for beers at the white house thursday. he said he and sergeant crowley hit it off in washington and he looks forward to their next meeting. >> you know what, i liked crowley. i thought we would like each other. i don't know what we'll talk

about. but i asked him if he would have lunch one-on-one, a red sox game together, maybe a celtics game together and maybe dinner with our families. why not? i offered to get his kids into harvard. >> get his kids into harvard with the caveat he has to stop arresting him. on a more serious note, gates says he has received numerous death threats and the university has actually encouraged him to move. runaway hit rebate plan cash for clunkers could get a start. the senate votes on a $2 billion bill to keep the bill afloat. customers have been flocking to car dealers to get $4500 back to trade in gas guzzlers for fuel efficient cars. live on capitol hill with the very latest. >> we know it's monday and you're trying to clear the cobwebs out of the brain. to make you feel a little better today, you're almost guaranteed to have a better day monday than this demolition team did in turkey over the weekend.

they were trying to make it collapse in on itself. you've seen implosions. instead it decided to take a somersault. we can feel free to laugh this morning because there were no injuries. apparently, no, the thing stopped rolling just a few feet from the building next door. how not to implode a building. >> miraculous no one was injured, so close to another building. that's something you don't see every day. >> a tribute to construction at least in turkey. >> there's a silver lining. >> that puppy just rolled over completely intact. wow. between the stock market and housing market, the economy is beginning to show, dare we say it, signs of life. does that money the recession is over? we've got experts with answers coming up next. nine minutes after the hour. one suggestion is to make your shipping more efficient with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service.

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how safe is your child's gym class? a new study shows over a

ten-year period gym injuries have increased. larger classes, fewer nurses all possible causes. beb fits of a lively phys ed class outweigh the risk but being healthy doesn't have to hurt. for the 13th straight day cost ug more for a gallon of gasoline. the national average $2.55, that's up more than a penny overnight. >> listen to this. right now two airlines are offering very special fares but only on twitter. recently jetblue posted a $9 one-way trip from new york city to nantucket. united airlines also offering what it calls twares. only available for one to two hours. >> $9 to get there, how much to get back. stock market surging, housing picking up, there are signs the recession may come to an end.

here is what the president said about the good news we've been getting? >> the economy has done measurably better than expected. many economists suggest part of this process is directly attributable to the recovery act. >> let's look a little closer at this this morning. is the president right? managing director of the economic research institute, senior editor with business week joining us. first of all, suggestion that the economy is turning around. diane, do you agree? >> certainly i think one person said we've fallen off the cliff but we're in the valley now. clearly we're at a crossroads. the earnings were really good last quarter so the worst is over. when it starts to improve is a good question. >> trice teen romer says she thinks we're yet to hit rock bottom. noted economist doesn't think the turnaround will happen until the end of the year. what do you think? >> i think it's happening right now. it's ending this summer.

i'm saying this based on leading indicators, they are lively for a century now, predate recession. back to the jungle variety recessions we've had and i think we just had one. that doesn't mean it feels good. i think that's what the politicians have to navigate, right. there's an end of recession which means basically you're at the worst point of the business cycle. of course if you're in the neighborhood of the worst point of the business cycle. >> what do you think about the president's point that the stimulus package is at least partly responsible for things better in the first quarter than the first. >> when you talk to ceos they don't refer a lot to stimulus package. it really hasn't created jobs. that seems to be the real issue, what people worry about. they talk about the banks. they really look to the president, to start again. stimulus may have stopped the

worst of it. how responsible for the uptick, i don't know. >> what about the idea this is a jobless recovery. they are floating this idea there's not much in the stimulus to create jobs. may start the business cycle again. companies are leaner, meaner, trimmed staff, found they can get along without the staff. they shed a lot of costs they would like to get rid of. they might not hire these people back. >> wouldn't be that much of a surprise. third time in 20 years we've had a jobless recover. the last two are just like that. i'm not sure it would be a surprise this one would be much different. it is good news, for example, we're seeing gdp coming in significantly less bad. that's a necessary precondition to get to the discussion about jobs growth. you have to have the economy stop contracting and start growing then you can start dealing with the idea of actually needing to hire more people. >> what do you think the economy will look like in the future with all these jobs shipped overseas and companies now finding they can obviously

produce things cheaper in places like china, mexico and india than here in the united states. are we seeing a fundamental shift in the american economy and the american job market? >> americans have lost so much wealth. we've lost $14 trillion of household wealth. one of the big things are we going to be more frugal going forward much like peep out of the depression. that's one question of the other question is what kind of jobs will come back. there's a real question whether the standard of living here is going to drop because a lot of the jobs that have been created they are not paying as much as they did in the past. >> a couple more important issues we want to tackle, extension of unemployment benefits, will middle class be taxed to pay for everything we spend money on. more after the break, stay with us. 16 minutes after the hour. busis but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah".

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. we're talki ing about the econo. we heard the white house is extending unemployment benefits yet again because a lot of people, i think well over a million people, may lose benefits, their already extended benefits may run out. do you think it's a good idea to keep people on unemployment. >> i do. i think they have no choice at this point because people are sitting in houses going down in value. you've got the risk of foreclosure. the reality is employers are not hiring. they are not hiring and until they stop firing the economy won't recover. >> when you were last on and i said do we need a second stimulus, you said no. could this be the second stimulus? >> they legislate the idea of benefits if you lose your job.

the issue is nobody knew when they made the legislation how long each recession would be. here you're in the longest recession in the post-war period so it kind of makes sense. >> would this be a second stimulus? >> no, i don't think it's a second stimulus. even the first stimulusant the reason you're having a recovery here. that's a little surprising i think to a lot of people. there are tax cuts that did go in earlier but the big hunk of government spending wasn't clash for clunkers, that's a tiny fraction of the stimulus program. that seems to be working. you have stimulus reinforcing early stages of recovery. >> i guess cash for clunkers is the first example, they threw another couple billion dollars. borrow that money, have to pay for that. if they extend unemployment benefits have to pay for that as well, which increases the deficit, which increases the debt.

how do you ever make that money back, taxation? new taxation on the way. let's remind folks at home what president obama said during the election campaign about raising taxes on the middle class. >> if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime. not income tax, payroll tax, no tax. >> that's what the president said during the campaign. is he going to hold to that diane or raise taxes in the middle class just to pay for health care reform. he can't keep that pledge now, we're just so far in debt. >> the rhetoric is limited to health care. they shifted we're not going to tax you for health care. there's in question taxes will go up. people don't just look at washington they look at their total tax bill. the states are so hard pressed, they are really in a critical situation. probably state income taxes will go up. i think a lot of people making

less than $250,000 a year are going to be feeling the pain. >> our good friend at columbia university told us a year ago there's no way they can't tax people. when the dust begins to settle on the economic recovery taxes are going to have to go up. do you agree? >> eventually. it's all about when. right now everybody wants to buy u.s. treasuries because interest rates are low. there's a whole bunch of discussions around why that is happening. as long as that is happening, you can kind of get away with deficit spending. at some point that will change. it always does. you're going to have to say where am i getting income to offset the spending. it will become an issue. the hope is that the recovery is durable enough to withstand a rise in taxes. >> can you pay everything back by taxing the rich, if rich people become the new tobacco. you can't tobacco anymore so you only tax rich people. do they contribute much in taxes you can offset everything by taxing them?

>> i don't think so. certainly everybody we talk to says they can't. one of the big issues is taxation on businesses as well. there's fear that may impede the recovery. if there's a clamp down too hard they will stop hiring. everybody will have to feel pain to get over this. >> not over yet. >> taxes haven't always killed the recover. in '33, taxes go from 25 to 60 something percent on the wealthiest americans. the depression ended and you started four years of 10% growth. i don't think high taxes gives you growth either but it's more complicated. >> see where it goes. great to see you all. thanks for stopping by. >> bad economy, dog days of summer, usually a recipe for higher crime. something incredible is happening in many cities across the nation. crime rates are actually dropping. what's going on? we'll explain. 25 minutes after the hour. (announcer) introducing new tums dual action.

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back with the most news in the morning, scott speicher was the first american officer to be shot down in the gulf war. for 18 long years his family and friends never really knew what happened to him. now they are finally getting answers. chris lawrence tracking the story live at the pentagon. bittersweet has been used to describe what the family is going through. i would expect nor bitter than sweet. >> they expect a classified briefing from the military either today or tomorrow. they now know one thing for sure, captain speicher did not die in some iraqi prison. his children were toddlers the day he disappeared. now his remains are coming home to college students. a near 20 year mystery.

was he captured, tortured? >> it's a bittersweet ending. it's great that we have finally accomplished an ending, but it is bittersweet. >> last month an iraqi citizen told american troops about the crash site. when marines arrived another iraqi said he was there when bedoins found his body. when they compared dental records with the jawbone, it was him. >> the whole family is so grateful the navy stayed on this. >> reporter: the military made mistakes starting hours after speicher was shot down when the pentagon declared him dead. >> the total u.s. losses are one aircraft and one individual. >> the pentagon has identified a united states navy pilot as apparently the first u.s.

serviceman missing in action in the gulf war. >> some those speicher ejected and might still be alive. in 1994 they proposed a secret mission to your va the crash site. according to senior defense officials in the room chairman of the joint chiefs scrubbed the plan and said, quote, i do not want to have to write the parents and tell them their son or daughter died looking for old bones. in 2001 the pentagon changed his stat us missing in action. there were accusations he was being held captive by saddam hussein. after the invasion of iraq some thought they found his initials scratched into the wall of an iraqi prison. investigators skra accelerated a site in baghdad but it was not him. now the vigils can end but one fact remains -- >> we walked away from a downed pilot. it was done by mistakenly declaring him dead and then they didn't go and search for him. and that was a mistake. and that is very important that

we never repeat that mistake again. >> captain speicher's family say they appreciate all the troops who never gave up and kept searching all those years. but they have got to be wondering, is there any chance he survived that crash and would an immediate search and rescue have made any difference. john. >> based on reports from the ground, perhaps not. this morning's top stories. in a startling turnaround from what was promised on the campaign trail, white house officials on sunday talk shows refused to rule out tax increases. secretary of treasury tim geithner said reducing the federal government is key to sustaining economic recovery. the top economic adviser larry summers said you can't promise taxes won't go up to pay for health care reform. following a developing story, emergency landing in miami this morning. continental airlines jet from

rio to houston with 168 people on board forced to make that emergency landing due to severe turbulence. officials say at least 26 people are hurt, four of them seriously. for first time in two years, ford says it is on track to post a monthly sales increase, driven by the cash for clunkers program. government rebates have customers rushing to cash in gas guzzlers for more efficient models and getting $4500 back. they vote on adding $2 billion to the pop har program to keep it alive. remember this story, 145 air force photos of what was called scare force one have now been released. that's the photo of that fly by that terrified new yorkers a few months ago. guess what? it also cost taxpayers $300,000. a release of government e-mail shows there were preflight concern about causing panic on the streets. two days before the flight an air force colonel wrote, thanks

for the heads up on sensitivities in the new york area. afterwards one top pentagon spokeswoman wrote, we all look like a bunch of bafoons. unemployment is high, two factors historically are a prescription for trouble. what's going on? commissioner of the philadelphia police department and miami police leader, also executive of a research forum that looks at these types of trends. good morning to both of you. chief, i want to start with you. as i just said, we're dealing with bad economy, dog days of summer, usually a recipe for higher crime. crime rates are falling in major cities across america. what exactly is going on in your estmation. >> i think it's a myth there's a correlation between bad economy and crime. all you have to do is look at

the great depression. crime rates did not skyrocket. similarly here over the last year and a half we've monitored closely. the assumption is crime is down. a truckdriver one day loses his jobs and commits robberies the next day is simply not true. over the last year and a half over com stat crime meetings, we're looking at the same people, frequent flyers, guys with 15, 20 arrests. if the economy had a direct impact we'd be arresting people for the first time and that's simply not happening. >> commissioner ramsey, i want to get to you. you surnl had philadelphia police department but our viewers know you for heading the d.c. sniper investigation in 2002. i certainly remember that quite well. homicide is down in philadelphia 11%. that's astounding. what do you think is happening? what is your department doing differently? >> we're actually 25% down over

the last year flaand a half. when i first took office in '08. we've been making progress. one of the factors, our homicide investigators have been clearing cases and put in strategy. if there's a violent act taking place, we look toward retaliation, and deploy more realtime than we were before using technology and keeping track of what's going on to get people in the right spots at the right time. >> you touched on that. i want to get to that in a moment. you mentioned technology a lot of police work has gone high-tech, officers using mobile phones and the like. that's helped a tremendous amount, has it not? >> it has helped. it gets down to good basic police work. in philadelphia, for example, we're a bit behind in technology. a lot of big cities are because it's so expensive to get some of these systems.

if you use what you have, use it wisely, make good critical decisions early on, you can avoid some of the problems. >> chief, i want to move onto the henry louis gates case, the harvard professor arrested in his home. you wrote an op-ed in "the miami herald" saying it's a shame both sides reacted to quickly and the case might be triggered by misconceptions. >> people right away, seemed like jumped to conclusion read things into the situation that weren't there. for example, the officer went there strictly as a result of a racial description when, in fact, the 911 caller never described race. there were other things. some had to do with stereotypes, preconceived notions.

the whole thing is situation is ripe to be volatile. break down unfortunately along racial lines. even on television, people colleagues of friends breaking down along racial lines. seems when you look at the facts, the cold hearted facts, you can find fault on either side. it's not as bad or as inflammatory as initially it was charged the early days. >> commissioner ramsey, let me ask you this. yes, that is true. some people have suggested as unfortunate as it was this has opened up a discussion on race, is that a bad thing. i'm curious to know if you have done anything differently, planning to do anything differently with race relations inside your department? >> it does open up a larger discussion which i do think is a good thing. i think everyone needs to take a deep breath when these things take place.

i agree with john, we're too quick to jump to conclusions. i've heard racism thrown around more in the last week or two than the 1960s and '70s. it's a dangerous thing. people need to really stop and take a look. i think you've got two people, both of whom if they had it to do over again might have done things slightly differently. it wasn't a racist act, wasn't anything that had to do with anything like that it's unfortunate where you had a police officer and citizen that didn't see eye to eye, things got out of hand and we end up talking about it on the program. >> they all shared a beer in the end. all right. charles ramsey, philadelphia police department, chief john timmoney, good work to both of you. thanks for joining us. tomorrow at 7:30 eastern, if you would like to save a few bucks for downloading music from less than legal websites, you

might want to pay itunes the 99 cents. we'll talk to joel tannen balm, a court is ordering him to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading 30 songs. that averages $22,000 for each song. he'll be here at 7:30 eastern tomorrow on the most news in the morning. >> our miami-based correspondent, either a lot of great assignments, he does a lot of stories on animals. >> he does all things. anything that slithers in the night or throughout everglades, john is on top of it. i think 38 minutes after the hour. 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.

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good morning, miami. we've got scattered clouds and

81 degrees later today. partly cloudy skies with a high of 92. we should say miami, the focus of breaking news this morning, a continental airlines flight from rio de janeiro to houston had to divert after experiencing severe tesh liens north of dominican republic -- turbulence north of the dominican republic. >> they are expected to depart miami. welcome back to the most news in the morning. imagine it's your job to track and trap some of the largest snakes in the world. they can grow over 20 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds. >> well, now think about doing that in the high grasses of the florida everglades at night for free. snakes are threatening the park's ecosystem, someone has to do it. our john went along for the road. >> reporter: rides along a narrow stretch of road in the everglades. night is coming on quickly. he's looking for snakes, one in

particular. >> the next ten miles seems to be the hot spot for burmese bytons. >> he's sanctioned by the state to hunt down and rid the glades of pythons. an extraordinary move to what scientists believe is a rapidly growing threat to the ecosystem. >> it's a large predator and they are eating basically everything in sight. that's the problem. >> reporter: twenty years ago there were none here. today perhaps 100,000. no one is quite sure. night is the best time to catch these non-venomous snakes. that's when they are on the move. he spots something. he jumps from the truck, runs to it. >> this is not a python, a banded water snake. >> banded water snake. >> do you want to pick him up? >> do i. >> he'll bite you. >> driving back and forth across the road, no pythons, at least

not alive. there's a small one. several small snakes. a baby alligator. >> oh, man. it got hit by a car. >> two hours into the hunt, suddenly he's on it. he sees one. >> yeah, baby. hey. look at the size of this one. >> reporter: skillfully he grabs it around the head and it coils around his arm. he'll lock it in a crate and take it to be destroyed. first he has to detangle it from his arm. >> that's a good ten feet at least, twelve. >> he doesn't get paid. it's voluntary. while he knows they have to be eliminated, he's got a soft spot for the reptiles. >> guess what, it's not this snake's fault. he didn't mean to be here. >> reporter: some are believed to have gotten here when reptile breeding facilities were destroyed during hurricane andrew. >> why don't you take this side.

>> no. you take the head, i've got the back end. >> others from pet owners who disposed of them when they got too big, they can grow up to 200 pounds. but this one is no longer a problem. >> one down, 100,000 more attack. >> cnn, florida everglades. >> what is it about snakes that creeps people out? >> i have a major snake phobia. you couldn't pay me enough. >> you were on the desk. >> i'm scared of them. >> this way if it's going to be anywhere it's under the desk not on top. >> ten feet long. >> they are pretty impressive down there, aren't they? >> yes, they are. >> well fed. >> here is what's on the a.m. rundown in the next 15 minutes. millions of kids and teens aren't getting enough of a key vitamin. are your children at risk? 7:50 elizabeth cohen has answers. 55 past, cuban president is

ready for talks with havana. live in havana with raul castro's warning to the white house. at the top of the hour, will president obama's health care reform mean higher taxes for you. ed henry live at the white house to break it down. 45 minutes after the hour. we'll be right back.

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>> shouldn't be looking at that, should be looking at a shot of john dancing, but we digress. 48 minutes after the hour. good morning atlanta. look at that fog there. overcast and 72. but the forecast says it's going to be sunny and 90 degrees later. >> won't be a lick of humidity in the air either. >> exactly. there's a reason why they call it hotlanta. >> rob marciano in atlanta tracking extreme weather across the country. not only on shore but offshore. because as we would say we had the continental airlines plane went through severe turbulence off the southeastern united states, had to make an emergency landing. what do we know about that? >> here is flight explorer software, things in motion. boeing 767. keep an eye on this, intercontinental where it's supposed to be flying. this the speed at 480 knots. just as it crosses puerto rico,

hispaniola, will start to climb presumably to find more clear air, more tranquil air, them goes from intercontinental eventually changing to miami. that's when the flight was diverted and started to go down. miami at some point. climbing 38,000 feet and traveling south to miami. all right. what have we got there, a little tropical wave. really not creating a whole lot of turbulence. as far as more convection is concerned across the southeast, severe thunderstorms expected across parts of the western great lakes. these could be rough. slowing down travel potentially in the chicago area, temperatures today will be 90 in atlanta, 81 expected in new york city. a lot of rain over the weekend. today should be a little drier. john, back to you. >> rob, thanks so much. in that area around the dominican republic, we think there was thunderstorms or heavy air there? >> there wasn't a whole lot of thunderstorm activity but there was a tropical wave so that

certainly would create a little up and down motion. >> rob, thanks so much. see you soon for another chat on the forecast. everyone telling you to put on your kids to get burn. but now there's new evidence that it may actually not be good for your kids in a totally different way. elizabeth cohen's got the news coming up. 10 minutes now to the top of the hour.

well, if you're like millions of parents in this country, you rub sunscreen all over your kids before they head out the door, but experts are saying, you might want to wait because a new study says millions of children and teens are not getting enough vitamin

d. 7 out of 10, in fact, and there's more to this, as well. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us with that. why are so many low on vitamin d? >> it's this one, two punch. kids aren't getting enough in foods like milk and fish and also kids are spending more time inside than ever before. and then when they go outside, they're often slatherred in sunscreen as you mentioned. let's take a look at the result of those two going on at the same time. what you have is you have 7.6 million with vitamin d deficiency, that's about 9% of the population and you have nearly 60 million children who are vitamin d insufficient, which isn't quite as bad as being deficient. so we're talking about 61% of the population being vitamin d insufficient. and that's why the american academy of pediatrics has said that kids need to be taking vitamin d supplements. it's gotten so bad that even cases of rickets is on the rise,

and it's a disease that doctors thought was long gone. >> so we should just clarify for people that a great source of vitamin d is sunlight. you want to protect your kids against cancer and you want to use those heavy sunscreens to cut out uvb and uva rays and uvc rays and you want to protect them going out, but at the same time, you want them to get enough sun to get some vitamin d. what's a parent to do? >> well, i'll tell you, this is very tricky and pediatricians don't even agree with each other about what to do. here's what one expert told us. if you're going out to the beach, let's say from 10:00 till 2:00, you want to make sure they are slatherred in sunscreen, but if you're going out for 15 or 20 minutes, maybe they don't need sunscreen in the park or the playground. maybe you don't need sunscreen on them at every moment. what some folks are recommending is, look, let them go for it's a short amount of time, vitamin d, 15 or 20 minutes can do a lot towards getting your kid higher in vitamin d levels.

and of course, the real thing is you need to get your kids out of the house. that's what's important here too. >> so a little bit of exposure gives you enough vitamin d for the day? 15 or 20 minutes? >> not necessarily enough, but it's a great start. if you can get your kid out 15 or 20 minutes a day, you also want to make sure you're not burning their skin. parents have to keep an eye on this. >> parents are going what do i do now? >> it's a tough one. cuba signalling it may be ready to start talking again with washington, but there's a big caveat. we're live in havana with the latest, 55 minutes after the hour. i've been growing algae for 35 years. most people try to get rid of algae, and we're trying to grow it. the algae are very beautiful.

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( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet. welcome back to the most news in the morning. the latest signs that two warriors from the cold war days may be trying to patch things up. castro said washington is now

less aggressive to the communist island to cuba, but he warned that havana's political system is not on the negotiating table. shasta darlington live in havana for us. what can you tell us about raul castro's speech? >> reporter: good morning, alina, as you said, cuban president raul castro said anything and everything is on the table to discuss with washington, but he warned the political system is not up for negotiation. at a speech to parliament over the weekend, he said anybody expecting political changes once fidel castro and his generation have died is condemned to failure. he also sent a specific message to hillary clinton. he said that she's asked for fundamental changes in the regime in order to start a dialogue. and this is what he said to her. >> translator: they didn't elect me president to restore

capitalism to cuba nor to surrender the revolution, i was elected to defend, maintain, and continue protecting socialism, not to destroy it. >> reporter: but most of the speech was really focussed on the economy. cuba is supposed to stave off this crisis. they're looking toward agriculture and they also want to boost activities that bring in foreign currency like tourism. that wasn't all negative as far as washington is concerned. as you said, president raul castro said things have gotten better under barack obama. but the main block remains, that's the u.s. trade embargo, as far as the obama administration is concerned, the ball is in cuba's court, they've lifted restrictions on cuban-american travel and now what they want are signs of

change from cuba, alina. >> live for us from havana, thank you. good morning. >> good morning. take it away. crossing the top of the hour. it is monday, isn't it? almost 8:00 on the east coast, welcome to "american morning," august 3rd, i'm alina cho. >> thanks for being with us. here are the stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes or so. read their lips. is the president thinking about going back on a campaign promise and raising taxes for the middle class? the president's two top money men are not ruling it out. live at the white house with more. and a push for information as iran detains three american hikers. we're learning more now about who they are and how they may have strayed into iranian territory from iraq. we're following developments with the global resources of cnn. and a judge in los angeles will tackle a number of michael jackson's estate and family issues. katherine jackson is seeking some control of his estate.

meantime, word of a custody agreement between his mother and his ex-wife debbie rowe. we begin with a question that's sure to have millions talking this morning and the tax man licking his chops. is the obama administration about to go back on a campaign promise and raise your taxes? it's something that the white house economic adviser larry summers wouldn't rule out yesterday. >> there's a lot that can happen over time. but the priority right now, so never a good idea to absolutely rule things, rule things out no matter what. >> cnn's ed henry is live at the white house. and ed, we heard from larry summers, but also the treasury secretary on this. sort of a coordinated message there. is this a little to tell them there may be an off in the future. >> reporter: this could complicate the president's case in august as he tries to fan out across the country, including

wednesday in this week in indiana to try to make the case for health reform. a key part of this case is saying, look, this will reduce costs in the long-term. but as you know, in the short-term, critics are saying costs will balloon, government debt is going to increase. who is going to pay for all of that? the administration started to signal yesterday that potentially the middle class is going to face some tax increases. if it was just one person, it might be a gap, might be a mistake, but when you've got two people, it suggests this is a pattern, this is a trial balloon. >> well, we're going to have to look at -- we're going to do what's necessary. the critical thing is when we have recovery established led by the private sector, then we have to bring these deficits down dramatically. what the country needs to do, understand, we're going to have to do what it takes, what is necessary. >> the key is going to be how does the white house define middle class? during the campaign, then senator barack obama was very

blunt in saying that he had a line in the send, in which he would not cross. take a listen to that. >> if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime. not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax, no tax. >> reporter: so that's where the rubber will meet the road because you have critics, some on your show this morning saying look, you're going to run out of tax revenue. at some point to deal with these massive government deficits, you're going to have to start potentially raising taxes below that line. the key is going to be whether or not the president is going to keep his campaign promise or down the road is he going to have to say, look, we're going to have to do some things, some tough choices to deal with this massive spending. >> not yet a read my lips moment, but one pending there. we have a reality check.

christine romans minding your business, she joins us. is it possible for president obama to keep his campaign promise? or is that not going to happen? >> well, you can either spend less or take in more or three things or some combination of those two things. our debts, our deficits are rising so quickly. some point you have to raise that money. how do you raise that money? almost everyone i talked to said taxes have to go up at some point. you won't see them go up by a dime, well, we already are. on the state level, states are really crunched here. you're seeing all kinds of different things, taxes and fees that you pay for on a local level, state level are already going up for middle class americans. he doesn't have control over that, of course, but a lot of people say at some point you run out of ways to raise money. >> they're talking about $1 trillion for health care. >> absolutely. now, he might be able to keep the promise by saying i'm not going to raise middle class taxes for health care reform. but looking bigger picture, we

are running a sea of red ink. at some point we have to pay for it. and you hope that the economy will start to grow very, very quickly. the economy will take care of some of that, but can it take care of all of it? many doubt it. >> and when? >> exactly. >> and how powerful will the recovery be? those are all of the questions. now, look, the debt right now, it's 13% of the economy. that's, world war ii was the last time we saw it like that. how do you dig yourself out from something like that? hopefully on the horizon will be the new next driver. the thing that's going to really spark innovation in this country and make a lot of money for everyone, but we don't know what it is yet. >> we're not strangers to deficit. so is there anything different about what's going on now? >> andy bush, who is a trader and analyst at bank of montreal, he calls this the greatest financial experiment in american history. it is different. >> experiment?

>> it is a huge financial experiment to spend a ton of money. but it can be a good thing. we know this, we've covered this for years, you spend money when times are tough because you're investing and doubling down to get the growth going to come out of it. deficit spending is normal, this, this 13% of the economy, we've only done that a few times, but we did pull out of it. >> christine romans, thanks. new developments this morning concerning three americans now being held captain in iran. the swiss embassy says the diplomats are hoping to meet with the hikers who apparently wandered into iranian territory while they were hiking in iraq and were arrested. this morning learning more about the trio. susan candiotti following that story for us. >> reporter: good morning. so many questions, so much worry about three young americans held against their will in iran. kurdish officials have identified the three americans being detained as joshua fattal

seen here on his face book page, as well as shane bower. they've been staying at a hotel before setting out to a scenic area in the mountains in iraq. despite warnings to be careful, they apparently strayed into iranian territory across an unmarked natural border with northern iraq. a friend who stayed behind at the hotel because he was ill said he last heard from him friday. they called to held him they were surrounded by iranian soldiers during the hike. fattal's mother confirms their captivity but declining requests for on camera interviews. she spoke with cnn radio by phone. >> my husband and i are eager for the best welfare and conditions for our son josh and for the other two companions he's with. and that is our only concern,

his welfare and the best conditions for him. >> josh is a very curious person. and he is interested in the world. he wants to -- wants to eat the world whole. >> reporter: friends say the three have spent time or lived in western europe and live in the east and are seasoned travelers. she's also named on shane bower's website, he's a photographer, the american hiker who stayed behind because he was ill is now at the u.s. embassy in baghdad according to his grandmother. he is a graduate student at the university of washington. the state department says it has asked the swiss consulate in iran to try to make contact with the detained americans because the u.s. itself has no diplomatic relations with iran. >> it's a very sensitive situation, especially given the strained relations between the u.s. and iran.

john and alina? >> susan, thanks so mch. . this morning, the mystery what happened to speicher is solved after 20 years. the pentagon announcing they have positively identified captain speicher's remains in the iraqi desert. he was the first american lost at the start of the iraq war in 1991. his hornet was shot down near baghdad on the first night of the war. president obama says the news is a reminder of the "selfless service that led him to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom." >> you mentioned a bittersweet moment for the family, but probably more bitter than sweet. nine minutes after the hour, now it's the senate's turn to approve money to keep the cash for clunkers rebate going. he hopes the senate will follow the house's lead and approve an extra $2 billion for the program. >> any deal that's been made in the pipeline, any deal where

they filed the paperwork and we're evaluating it and making whatever adjustments, anything that's in the pipeline will be paid. if the senate does not pass the additional $2 billion, the program will be suspended. >> the cash for clunkers program is expected to get credit for solid july car sales figures that are coming out today. in a few hours, the legal battle over michael jackson's estate will play out in a los angeles courtroom. katherine says she's been kept in the dark by the two men who have temporary control over the estate and there is word of a custody agreement regarding jackson's children. jason carroll live on this at the half hour. and tiger woods is back. after missing the cut two weeks ago after the british open, tiger won the buick open in michigan by three strokes. it is his fourth win this season. so you're looking for airfares, right? they're pretty reasonable these days. airlines are trying to attract people to come on board. how about $9 for a cheap

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13 minutes after the hour, we are following developing news out of miami this morning. at least 28 people are hurt, four of them seriously after a continental airlines jet was diverted to miami this morning. officials say the boeing 767 hit severe turbulence at about 38,000 feet while heading from rio to houston. the jet is back in the air and expected to land in houston at 9:30 a.m. eastern time. twitter only specials, jetblue posted a $9 one-way trip from new york city to nantucket off the coast of massachusetts. the united airlines also offering what it calls twares. the deals are available only for one or two hours, though.

you get that tweet and act right away. the mother of the man accused of bringing a fake bomb into new york's laguardia airport this morning says her son has a psychiatric disorder. he was arrested saturday at a security check point with a device that turned out to be batteries and wire wrapped with tape. the main terminal was evacuated, disrupting air travel across the country. mcgann faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. another tough week ahead for the president, the debate on health care reform moves forward in the senate and new worries about unemployment benefits and paying down debt. the president gathered his top advisers over the weekend to assess what they have done after six months and what's ahead for the next six months. two of the sharpest minds in the country, ron kristi, thanks for joining us this morning, folks. let's take a look at this weekend summit. a lot of things on the table. health care reform, the economy, rising unemployment, what to do

about the deficit and the growing debt. ron, what do you expect the mood was like in that meeting? >> well, i expect a little tense. i think at this point the economy hasn't recovered to the way the president and his advisers have hoped. a lot of concern with the fate of the health care bills in the house and the senate and as energy policy and for having been there for at least the first 100 days of the bush administration, i can tell you when we sat down as a team, we said, what did the president campaign on? what were the promises the president made to the american people? and what sort of calibrations, what sort of corrections do we need to make to make sure the president's on track with his agenda for the american people? >> we talked about this last week, if you look at the approval rating, down 10 points since january. you look at his numbers on the economy, 48% approval rating, health care 43%, both of those down below 50%. if you had to pick three things for the president to work on in the next six months, what would they be? >> yeah, i would say number one, we've really got to draw -- he's got to draw a line in the sand

when it comes to health care reform. i think in many ways, august's going to be as crucial on health care reform or health insurance reform as is september, and in august, we know the rnc and insurance companies are going to spend a lot of money trying to scare the american people, although we know on the other side through ofa and the dnc and a lot of the groups are also mobilizing. but he's got to keep getting out there and get on offense on that narrative about what we're really trying to accomplish here. i think similarly on the economy. look, i think there is a balancing act, and i know this was part of the subject of the discussions over the weekend. on the one hand, we're seeing modest signs of improvement, but it's not -- we can't just say okay, everything's done and we've got a lot more work to do. i think setting expectations and making sure people really understand. you know, again, this is a long-term process, this is not a six-month, ten-month process, it's going to be another year potentially because we've got to see the jobs coming back. really getting out there and

setting those expectations, and i think the third thing really is to continue to do what he's been doing and that is don't let washington change you. there's always this discussion when presidents come to washington, are you going to change washington? or is washington yoing go to change you? unfortunately it doesn't always work out. but i think one of the strongest assets the president has and we talked about this last week in the polls, he still maintains very high degree of support from the american people when it comes to trust and values -- >> his personal numbers are still sky high. let's get ron in here too to talk about this. at the beginning, karen says he needs to get health care done and the republicans are going to go around scaring america. you're not really going to do that are you, ron? >> no. i think it's a very, very serious issue, john. and i think that when you look at the state of the economy where it is, i think americans are concerned about pocketbook issues, and that is, can i get a job, keep a job, and for heaven

sakes, will the government be there to provide a safety net? i think as people will go back to august and get their kids ready for school, they're going to start looking at this health care bill in greater detail and say, is this really everything that the president and the speaker of the house and minority leader and majority leader have been talking about? or is this the democrats trying to push through an agenda? there are people concerned about will i be able to keep the doctor i have, the insurance that i have? it's not a question of scare tactics, it's about education and it's about being very honest that the american people about what the bill will do and what it won't do. >> unfortunately, ron, what we've seen is that already the republicans haven't actually been honest with the american people about what the bill will do and won't do. the president's been very clear from the beginning, if you like what you have, you can keep it. if you don't, there will be a public option available to you. and, when we talk about what's happening in our economy, let's remember that reform of our health care system is linked to what's happening in our economy.

we know that a large percentage of the people who lost their homes due to foreclosure and bankruptcy was because of out of control health care costs. >> let me jump in on the top. another thing being thrown in the mix, yesterday tim geithner and larry summers were out there saying maybe we're going to have to raise taxes and maybe raise taxes on people in the middle class. how is that going to play out over the august recess? >> not very well, at all, john. i think when this president came out campaigning this year he said if you make $250,000 a year or less, we're not going to raise your taxes, we're not going to raise capital gains. >> is he going to have to break that promise, karen? >> the president has been very clear on that -- >> so was george bush sr. >> well, again, the conversations -- the ideas out there about taxes are really focussed on people at the top end, we talked about people who made $1 million more than that. >> there's so many experts are saying you can tax the heck out of them and you still can't pay for everything you need to pay

for -- >> the only thing i would say to that, karen, the only thing i would say for this is the president said very, very clearly that my health care plan is not going to raise one penny to the deficit and the congressional budget office found that claim is not true. when karen talks about the president's been very truthful and the democrats have been very truthful, the devil's in details and the details don't lie. >> the more people that learn the details of the plan, the more they like it. going back to the tax issue, what we heard yesterday was they're not taking anything off the table but didn't say specifically that you should expect a tax increase on middle-income people, i think it's more honest to say at this point in time we have to keep everything on the table while we assess where we are and where we need to go. so the discussions about taxes have been focussed on that high end. and again, i think we ought to look at it from the perspective of fairness. at the top end, those are folks who did very well in the last eight years, it's time to

balance that out for some lower income. >> that's going to have to be the final word. great to see you. appreciate it. so have the second 100 days of the obama administration been days of change or days of frustration? cast your vote now and get the results from cnn's national report card thursday night at 8:00 eastern right here on cnn. the harvard professor arrested at his home in cambridge henry louis gates now says that arresting officer is quote a nice guy and he'll even help his kids get into harvard. what? you're going to hear professor gates in his own words next. ( shouting ) this is crazy. you. let's run a free upgrade check. see if you're due for a new smartphone. don't i need to go to my carrier's store for that? no, you don't have to. we sell phones and plans on all the major networks. ok. well, is time travel possible? yes, i am from the future. announcer: phones, plans, and advice

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well, that's a pretty shot. salt lake city, good morning to you, mostly cloudy it says, that looks like a little sun there. >> that is one of the most beautiful settings in the country with the terrain in the background there and some of the best skiing in the world. >> i've never been. but now i'm going to plan to go. >> you've got to go. park city, deer valley, they're all back in those places. not going to be skiing today, though, it's going to be 100 degrees. welcome back to the most news in the morning. harvard professor henry louis gates says he's now able to joke about his arrest, the one the president got involved in. >> well, professor gates spoke about how he had a cold one at the white house with sergeant james crowley for the first time. he spoke about it yesterday at a book signing in martha's vineyard and says in the wake of this incident he's even gotten death threats.

>> you know what? i like crowley, and i thought that we would like each other. i don't know what we'll talk about, but i asked him if he would have lunch with me one on one, i offered to get his kids into harvard. if he doesn't arrest me ever again. i don't want to, you know, exaggerate it, but lots of people go through far worse things. i was in jail for four hours. not four years or four months or four days. so, you know, i don't want to exaggerate the trauma. but i shut down my public e-mail because on the one hand we were getting thousands of fan letters, but we were also getting many, many crazy wacko death, you should die, you'ree racist, et cetera.

the night i went to the white house, i had a dream i got arrested in the white house. but it was cool, i was okay. >> you know, gates says the two have talked about going out again to eat or catching a ball game. that must have been some beer at the white house. >> well, when you're put into a situation like that, you know, it tends to foster dialogue. and at the end of the dialogue fostered a relationship, maybe that will foster more dialogue and see where it goes. >> we should mention too that you were talking about this earlier when he said he'd help his kids get into harvard, there's a caveat there, as long as he doesn't get arrested again. we have some new developments, as well this morning in the custody battle in michael jackson's kids and the key court hearing will be held today. jason carroll is live next, 27 minutes after the hour.

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning, it is a big day in the michael jackson case, looks like the custody issue of jackson's children has been settled out of court. and surprise, surprise, it did not get ugly. >> good morning to you. katherine jackson says she basically feels like she's being kept in the dark when it comes to financing, but an agreement has been reached in one area, katherine jackson and debbie rowe have been working behind the scenes to come to a custody arrangement for jackson's eldest children. now word of a deal. in the agreement katherine jackson will have custody of the children, debbie rowe will get visitation as recommended by a psychologist. there will be no financial payments made to rowe except for the continuation of spousal support payments that michael jackson agreed to after his divorce from rowe. katherine jackson's lawyer saying we were all united in our

goals to do what's best for michael's wonderful children and both ms. jackson and debbie rowe were on the exact same page. rowe's attorney also commenting on the deal saying their parties engaged in a dignified discussion that resulted in a dignified outcome. it was the best interest of the children. attention now turns to jackson's estate. today a judge will consider who will have permanent control. for now, jackson's long time personal attorney and john maclaine, a music industry executive and long time friend have temporary control. katherine jackson not at all happy about that. she wants them to answer questions under oath if they are fit and able to administer the estate. cnn's senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin says katherine jackson is walking a fine line. >> i don't think she has any right. if michael jackson had wanted her to be his executor, he could've named her, he didn't.

this, i think, is not a legally defensible action she's taking. very carefully she is not contesting, she's asking for documents, she's asking for certain information, but she is not -- you know, she's no dummy. >> and you heard there, jeffrey toobin mentioned some of those documents her lawyers are expected to seek access pertaining to her son's estate. seems she wants a say in how jackson's vast fortune is being met. they would not be necessary if jackson is appointed a co-executor of the estate. not sure if that's going to happen. we'll have to see what happens in los angeles. >> a lot of matters to be talked about today. thanks so much for that. it's now about 31 1/2 minutes after the hour. and checking this morning's top stories, are you going to end up owing the irs money? when he was candidate obama, he promised he wouldn't raise taxes on the middle class, but now that he's president obama and the country's deep in the red,

two of his top money men didn't rule it out on the sunday talk show circuit. and for the 13th day in a row, the price of gas is going up. aaa reports the national average of a gallon of regular unleaded is now $2.55, up more than a penny overnight. plus, where is that ac/dc music? ford back in the black. the only one of the big three not to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy during the second quarter, posted a profit of $2.3 billion. last year during the same quarter, ford posted an $8.7 billion loss. we are tracking two developing stories out of iran this morning on the political front. the country's supreme leader is now endorsing president mahmoud ahmadinejad, comes just at the right time, ahmadinejad is due to be sworn in on wednesday. tehran is also holding three americans arrested after apparently wandering into western iran while hiking in neighboring iraq. what does this mean for the already strained relations

between the u.s. and iran? joining me now reza, the author of the new book "how to win a cosmic war," reza, thank you for joining us, good morning to you. iran is holding those three americans who somehow illegally or so the iranian government says wandered into iran as they were hiking along the iraq border. a couple of things struck me about this. number one, i'm wondering how common it is for americans to be hiking in this area. and also, there's a lot of talk about these americans now being used as bargaining chips. sort of blueprint the iranian strategy going forward on that front. >> well, i will tell you it's not all that common. this is a mountainous area and requires an adventurous spirit for anyone to try to tame it. i think, look, this is a headache that iran just does not need right now. already facing an enormous amount of international isolation, which i think is going to get worse once ahmadinejad becomes officially

inaugurated. especially at a time when its economy is deteriorating, and iran needs to reach out to the international community much more than remain isolated. it would like this problem probably to go away. i don't think you'll see them use the americans as bargaining chips, but probably they will be used as some sort of gesture towards the united states after some time. because i mean, iran does have some reason to feel a bit suspicious. they have claimed, you know, certain american actions in iranian also in the south, they're a little bit suspicious, but they want this to go away. >> i want to get to the political news, ahmadinejad is going to be sworn in as president officially on wednesday. who could forget those massive protests following that june 12th disputed election? so i'm just wondering and we still see protests today, though, but smaller.

you know, a lot of reformists saying the election was rigged. how much power and legitimacy do you think ahmadinejad is really going to have in his second term? >> this is going to be a very difficult process for ahmadinejad. not just suddenly becoming in charge of this mess and figuring out a way to not -- to stabilize iran domestically but also as i said before, to reach out to to the international community for much-needed investment in iran's economy, which is really teetering on the verge of collapse. at the same time, however, he's going to have a very difficult time butting his cabinet together. he's getting increasing pressure from conservatives and hard line in the way he's gone about putting together a team. he's managed to ruffle some feathers, he's had some conflicts, even with the supreme leader about a vice president that he chose. parliament is not very happy with ahmadinejad. and he's going to find it very difficult, i think, to governor, even though the presidency is

not all that strong of an office, its primary job, however, to control the state budget is the one that i think ahmadinejad is going to have the hardest time doing. he will need help from his political allies and enemies and right now people don't seem that happy with him. >> well, experts are speaking to cnn, questioning whether he will be able to finish out his second four-year term. we'll have to wait to see on that one. but i want to get to u.s. policy because president obama as you know said he wants to reengage iran. well, other high-ranking members of the administration like secretary of defense robert gates has said that offer is not going to be on the table forever. so how should the u.s. approach iran now that ahmadinejad is officially going to be sworn in later this week? >> you know, it's funny, the united states for the first time, i think, in many years had a really well consolidated coordinated iran policy based on engagement and diplomacy and also engagement and diplomacy for america's sake, not for

iran's sake, the fact of the matter is most of the things we want to do in the middle east, whether it's peace between the israelis and palestinians or stabilizing iraq, or cutting off the drug supply in afghanistan, we need their help. it's in our own national security interest to reach out to iran, but unfortunately what has happened in iran over the last month makes that almost impossible to do because we don't really know who to speak to on the other side any longer. you said it perfectly, many people, i think, myself included believe it's going to be very difficult for ahmadinejad to actually finish his tenure, let alone be in a position in which he can bargain and negotiate with outside powers, especially the united states. so america's iran policy i have to tell you is really up in the air right now. no one knows what to do going forward. and as you just mentioned, you know, countries like israel are not going to, you know, remain patient forever. i think they want some answer as to when talk is going to start and action will begin.

>> author of the book "how to win a cosmic war" we thank you for joining us today. >> my pleasure. the government's cash for clunkers program, you can take a gas guzzler, trade it in, they'll give you $4,500 towards a new car. >> run away hits. >> the house passed a measure that will give $2 billion more to the program. senate's taking it up this week, will they be able to get it passed? we'll talk about the chances. 38 minutes after the hour. diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no

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the administration's cash for clunkers program is proving to be a huge success. so much so, it might be extended. it only lasted four days. >> i know. >> christine romans minding your business. what's the likelihood they can put more money in this. >> only in america. the likelihood it goes to the senate, we'll find out, but the white house says if the senate doesn't pass this thing and the thing will be suspended by the middle of the week. this is where you bring your gas guzzler to the dealer, the dealer takes it, junks it, and you get $4,500 off a new car. this is what a dealer said about his. >> i got $4,500 for a car i paid $4,000 for four years ago, it had 220 miles on it, so i think i got a good deal. >> it's working so well, it shows the american consumer is not dead. and a viewer this weekend sent

me an ad from a furniture store. a furniture chain in chicago in the illinois area that shows they're doing a sofa for clunkers. you get $250 off an old sofa, bring it in. but i think a lot of different businesses are going to tap into this, if given enough of a push will go and spend some money and that's what the cash for clunkers is certainly showing, although some will say maybe they're robbing from future purchases of cars. looks like ford is going to have the first sales gain in two years because of this. >> i got wild e-mails on this. they say it only benefits the rich, they're the only ones that can afford them in the beginning. and others are saying, what are they doing with the cars they're scrapping? are they sending them to the third world countries? >> well, you get the scrap value minus $50. >> they're scrapping them and if you look, they're spray painting on the hoods, disabling them before you walk off the lot. all of that's there, and also the size of the stimulus, think

about $787 billion, this program if it's added to be $3 billion by the senate, it will be 0.38% of the whole program. you don't know what parts of this stimulus are going to be the thing that works. this one, everyone's saying it's working so far. >> well, yeah. >> that's what a stimulus program looks like that's working, they say. >> christine romans, minding your business. thanks. well, do you want to tweet with hillary clinton? you can. >> i'm not even following her, i should. >> you should. and she's also going on youtube and doing some new things she hasn't done before. we're going to tell you about it with our jill dougherty coming up.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. secretary of state hillary clinton is kicking off a seven-nation tour of africa tomorrow. first she heads to kenya, but the state department's going online to get their message out. there are actual links to four different social networking sites. jill dougherty is looking into this digital diplomacy. >> enables anyone with a cell phone to send me a question, which i hope you'll do. >> reporter: youtube?

facebook? twitter? flickr. welcome to hillary clinton's digital diplomacy. >> what we're now able to do is connect government to people, people to people, and people to government. >> you can even text the secretary and send her a question. let's ask her what she thinks is the most important issue she's dealing with right now. >> reporter: secretary clinton is using a variety of new media. text messaging to raise money for pakistani refugees. >> americans can text the word swat to the number 20222, that's 20222 and make a $5 contribution. >> reporter: she sent a team of ceos from technology giants like google and twitter to baghdad to jump start iraqi's online resolution. she tells digital town hall like this one in the dominican republic where citizens can watch online and participate. secretary clinton even has an interactive map where you can track her travel.

on her latest trip, she started out in mumbai, india, and now in thailand. alex ross, clinton's innovation guru says it's not just the medium, it's the message. >> technology in and of itself is not what's interesting and important. what's interesting and important are the goals that technology can help produce. >> reporter: during iran's recent protest, they intervened to keep twitter up and running to communicate. >> we communicate at the speed of light. >> reporter: since the inauguration, its facebook friends have increased 250%, youtube views are up 418%, and twitter up more than 600%. jill dougherty, cnn, washington. i'm trying to follow that. i'm on twitter right now trying to follow her, but there's so many hillary clintons and i don't think any of them are her. >> will the real one please stand up?

storms forecast in the midwest this morning and this afternoon. we've got some severe weather across the nation. how about the thunderstorms yesterday in new york around noontime. rob has the travel forecast coming up. stay with us.

rob marciano tracking the weather across the country for us. we had that clear air turbulence down there that forced the plane

to come in for an emergency landing. we had thunderstorms up and down the mid-atlantic coast and into new england today. >> well, a bit of a break for new england today, but fairly rapid procession of fronts coming across the u.s. this next one we've highlighted in red across the western great lakes and parts of the corn belt have the potential of seeing some thunderstorms that could be on the nasty side, and already this morning, we're seeing a lit bit of that heading northwest of chicago. and all drifting slowly to the southeast. the problem this time of year, when they do develop, they're typically slow-moving because they don't have the strong jet stream to push them along. we've seen a lot of that especially across parts of the northeast. as far as what you're looking at for travel today, new york affiliate, so the next couple of hours, some delays, chicago and st. louis, ongoing threats for thunderstorms. daytime highs will be a little cooler out west as opposed to

the record-breaking heat last week. 101 in dallas, 91 degrees in memphis and atlanta, and 85 degrees should be a dry day for you folks in new york city. john and alina, hope you had a great weekend. back up to you. >> thanks so much for that. appreciate that. >> you're not scared of snakes are you? >> it all depends on what kind of snake. a cotton mouth, i might be a little scared of or rattlesnake. anyway, john zarrella, he gets those animal assignments quite often being our miami correspondent. take a look at that. he actually went out with python hunters and we're going to have that story after the break. stay with us. my mother made the best toffee in the world. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. robert shapiro: we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams.

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does that the not put you in a good mood for monday morning? 56 minutes after the hour, 84 degrees, it's going up to 92 and partly cloudy. >> that's not bad for this time of year in miami. the difference between 92 and 96 could be -- >> yeah, with high humidity. one man in the middle of the everglades, by the way, in the dark of night trying to capture predator. >> his mission, capturing slithering eco disasters. on patrol with the python hunter. >> reporter: joe drives along a narrow stretch of road that bisects the florida everglades,

night is coming on quickly, he's looking for snakes, one in particular. >> the next ten miles seems to be the hot spot for burmese pythons. >> reporter: a reptile expert is one of a handful of men sanctioned by the state to hunt down and rid the glades of pythons, an extraordinary move in response to what scientists believe is a rapidly growing threat to the delicate eco system. >> it's a large predator. and they're eating, basically everything in sight. that's the problem. >> reporter: 20 years ago, there were none here, today, perhaps 100,000. no one is quite sure. night is the best time to catch these non-venomous snakes, that's when they're on the move. he spots something. he jumps from the truck, runs to it. >> this is not a python, it's a banded water snake. >> banded water snake. >> you want to pick him up? >> reporter: an hour, still no pythons, at least not alive. there's a dead one, and several

more small snakes. a baby alligator too. >> oh, man. and he got hit by a car. >> reporter: two hours into hour hunt, suddenly he is on it. he sees one. >> yeah, baby. >> reporter: look at the size of this one, skillfully he grabs it behind the head, he will lock the snake in the crate and take it to the national park biologist to be studied and destroyed. but first, we've got to untangle it from his arm. >> and this isn't a big one. >> reporter: this is a good 10 feet. >> no. at least 12. >> reporter: he doesn't get paid, it's voluntary. while he knows they've got to be elimina eliminated, he's got a soft spot for the reptile. >> and guess what? it's not this snake's fault. he didn't mean to be here. >> reporter: some are believed to have gotten here when reptile breeding facilities near the everglades were destroyed during

hurricane andrew. >> why don't you take this side? >> you take that side. you take the head end, i'll take the back end. >> reporter: others from pet owners who disposed of them when they got too big. they can grow up to 200 pounds, but this one is no longer a problem. >> one down. 100,000 more. >> reporter: john zarrella, cnn, the florida everglades. >> wise on john's part to let him have the business end of the snake. john zarrella is a smart fella. well, we know it's monday and you're trying to rake the cobwebs out of your brain after the weekend. but you're almost guaranteed to have a better day at work than this demolition team in turkey did. watch this. they were trying to make this flower factory collapse in on itself, but instead it decided to do a little