tuesday august 4th and now bring you the faces that are driving the headlines today. two of those faces, euna lee and laura ling. another face and another name to the mix in north korea hoping to win the freedom for those two american journalists. also, sonia sotomayor the full senate takes up the judge's nomination to the u.s. supreme court today. also, pakistan's lost boy. they say the taliban stole him from their families and forced them to train for terror. hello to you all, glad you could be here. i'm t.j. holmes sitting in for my good friend tony harris. you are in the "cnn newsroom."

the former president clinton hopes to bring two jailed journalists home with him. elaine quijano is on the story with us at the white house and jill doherty joining us, as well. elaine, i want to start with you here. we've been hearing a lot coming out of there and a lot of this information, we can't confirm since our reporters aren't necessarily traveling and a lot of people didn't know about this trip. president clinton was carrying a message from the current president obama. what are you hearing from the white house on that? not the case. >> yeah, t.j., the white house flatly denies that. last hour at the press gaggle, basically, and secretary robert gibbs office he was asked about this. was there a message that former president clinton, because of this report, was there was a message that he was delivering

to kim jong-il on behalf of president obama, what about that report. he said "that's not true." we should tell you that secretary gibbs wouldn't confirm or deny that president clinton was, in fact, even sitting down with kim jong-il he basically said, look, it is a very sensitive situation now. he wouldn't go beyond his statement from this morning. this is a solely private mission and the statement went on to say that they don't want to jeopardize the success of what he called former president clinton's mission. interesting choice of language there as, obviously, this is a critical period of time sensitive and delicate are of the hour, t.j. the white house being very tight lipped and the only evidence is this denial by robert gibbs of this report that somehow there was a message that former president clinton was delivering to kim jong-il on behalf of president oobalm sglau i know

they are being careful of what they say, do we have any indication? it is a private trip by the former president, but did the obama administration, were they aware of the trip ahead of time and how closely are they monitoring and are they in contact with the former president? >> i wish i had the answer for you on the last question, especially, i think it's safe to say the white house must have been aware. you have, after all, a former u.s. president who is married to the current secretary of state going oversea s in this very delicate situation here at a time when the united states, frankly, has been trying to get north korea to back off its nuclear ambitions. separate issues the u.s. has tried to say all along. the detention of these journalists and the nuclear issue. nevertheless, the white house really isn't saying anything about the extent of the president's involvement in all of this. i asked robert gibbs at the gaggle, in fact, look, will we know more perhaps when the journalists are safe? could we perhaps find out just

how deeply involved president obama was in all of this and he said, look, this is sensitive. we'll hopefully have some more for you later on. >> elaine quijano, we appreciate you. thank you so much. i want to turn now to jill doherty. jill, i would like to get some of your first impressions and your perspective. why him on the ground? a lot of people on the scene and why him in significance of president clinton being the one on the ground? >> well, the north koreans wanted somebody who was really, you know, a heavy hitting in diplomacy. somebody who would represent the united states. now, they didn't get a formal official representative of the united states in that sense. but they got a former president of the united states and no matter what they say, this is not, this is a private trip, et cetera. once you have a former president of the united states shaking hands with the head, the dear

leader of north korea, that is pretty big. that's what the north wants. it wants a personal, i should say one-on-one relationship with the united states. they are not particularly interested in the six-party talks in other countries. they want that. let's say legit muization by the united states. and they have it here. you know, look at these photographs that we've been showing of the president, former president and kim jong-il across the table. these are very formal-looking pictures. that is what the leader wants. now, is bill clinton there to negotiate about nuclear issues? no. he is there to get those journalists out. that is one of the reasons that you are getting this clamp down on information. loose lips sink ships, as they used to say. and one false word in a highly, highly emotional situation could really, you know, destroy this. think just back a week ago you had a volley of invective coming

in the direction of hillary clinton the secretary of state calling her not very bright and she looks like a pensioner one day and a school girl the next. that's hot stuff. one word could make it very bad. but the mission is to get them out. >> get them out. jill doherty, we appreciate you. i want to turn now to mike crinow covered asia for more than two decades and now at the international council joins me on the phone from beijing. mike, a lot to talk about here. how will, first of all, north korea play this up? you heard jill talking about how how it -- how will they take advantage of this? >> clearly the north koreans want legitimacy and recognition of their system and their leadership from the united

states. they want respect. and by a person of former president clinton stature going to north korea, kim jong-il is getting that respect. it's clear that the north koreans are very happy with this. but beyond the issue of the two journalists, i think there is a big, there is a broader question that's hugely important. what did clinton and kim jong-il talk about whether or not he was carrying a letter, president obama or a message of some sort. we'll have to wait to find out. but i think it is almost certain that he will have told kim jong-il in broad terms that there is a possibility of a better relationship with the united states, if north korea abandons its nuclear ambitions and probably told him that if they don't abandon their nuclear ambitions that's going to be difficult to achieve. i think another important thing and one critical thing to keep in mind here, north korean

system works. you have one guy at the top that callalize the shots. for him to hear that. from senior american figure is very important. and he's the guy who makes the decision. in turn, it will give the united states, through bill clinton, a chance to assess kim jong-il's health and there are no guarantees after it is over even if clinton brings the women back that the broader issues can be solved. >> mike, one more thing here before we let you go. you mentioned there is no doubt there are other things they'll talk about, even though the main folksis to try to get these two women out. what is the danger for president clinton himself, on a personal level, because this is supposed to be a private trip. what is the danger for him and maybe a greater danger for the united states if he does not come back with these two women

and this maybe is seen to be a failure? >> if he doesn't come back with the women, i think it will be seen as a failure. i can't imagine he would agree to make this trip unless the north koreans given clear assurances that the women would be released. i think it's very likely that he will bring them out. there will certainly be critics who say this is to a dictator and so on, but i think it's very important way to both communicate to the people, to the guy who makes the decisions in north korea where what the u.s. sees things and to snuff out what shape he's in and whether there's anything that the two sides can move forward on because the history of the last eight or nine years have showed that sanctions and pressure and coercion had the opposite effect and do we really probe at the highest level there's what they want and what might be possible, it won't be, we won't be able to say whether negotiations will lead anywhere. this is a very potentially useful step forward for the

obama administration and as long as he comes back with the women, i don't think there's a downside to it. >> appreciate your expertise. thanks for hopping on the phone with us. we'll see you on the phone again soon. let's turn to washington, d.c. and the senate. debates on the judge sonia soto mayer to the supreme court. another republican comes out. congressional correspondent brianna keilar joins us live from capitol hill. good morning to you. who is this other republican that has come out? >> the person we heard this morning, t.j., was mitch mcconnell, the top republican in the senate who got on the senate floor, despite the fact that official debate hasn't begun and this is really what we have been seeing. members of the senate talking about whether they're going to support sonia sotomayor or whether they're not going to support her and here is just a preview of what will come later this afternoon.

from mitch mcconnell and also from harry reid, the top democrat on the senate. >> a long ten weeks ago president obama made history when he nominated the nation's first hispanic to be a justs to the united states supreme court. only the third women. this week the senate will make history when we confirm her. judge sonia sotomayor is an american of tremendous qualifications with her academic record and cuveer experience are really second to none. >> judge sotomayor is certainly a fine person with an impressive story and a distinguished background, but a judge must be able to check his or her personal or political agenda at the courtroom door and do justice even handedly as the judicial oath requires. this is the most fundamental test, it's a test that judge sotomayor does not pass. >> so, expect republicans to keep questioning throughout this

debate whether sonia sotomayor can remain neutral, as you heard mitch mcconnell say there by his office, their count right now is that 27 republicans have said that they are not going to vote for sonia sotomayor and i also spoke with a leadership aide who thinks they're going to get 64 or 65 votes for sotomayor. but bottom line here, t.j., she is expected to be confirmed, although it is expected to be on a relatively party line vote and that we expect to happen on thursday. >> brianna keilar on top of things for us on capitol hill. stay here, we'll tell you about a tough situation that police have where they try to find victims of child pornography without knowing what these victims look like. stick around for a really disturbing story. also, give you the latest numbers on the dow right now. you can see it there. about ten points up. we'll take it. you can now expect from broadview security -

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video coming in to cnn newsroom out of louisville, kentucky. severe weather rolling through that area in the last couple hours and right now dumping torrential rain to that area. street flooding there and reports of up to two feet of water around the churchill downs area. take a look at the radarscope in the cnn severe weather center. champaign, illinois, reporting winds at over 50 miles per hour. a cluster right here and one heading through indianapolis and into the covington area that also got hit with thunderstorms early this morning and here's the round that moved through louisville and now heading into eastern parts of kentucky. so, about three pieces of energy that i could continue to persist

here over the next few days or hours and some of these could develop more so to and the flooding rains we've already seen and potentially some hail and isolated tornadoes. out to the southwest we go where it continues to be hot. record breaking heat for july for phoenix. temperatures expected to get to at least 110 degrees. san francisco will be cool and 93 degrees in atlanta and 89 degrees very summer-like in the northeast. the tropical season begins to ramp up. two named storms out here. this is felicia and enrique. winds gusting to 60 miles per hour and only 45 miles away from enrique and we're watching one area out in the atlantic that has several hundred miles develop before we have to deal with it. we'll keep you posted on it. los angeles cool and cloudy.

quick check on the weather.

that cash for clunkers program you have been hearing about, picking up support from two reluctant lawmakers whether to improve an extension of this popular program before it runs out of money. dianne feinstein and susan collins say they will support the extension and you may be wondering what is happening to the clunkers that people are getting cash for.

jason carroll explains. >> reporter: major automakers reporting a boost in sales, thanks to the government's cash for clunkers program, consumers giving thanks, too. >> i got $4,500 for this vehicle. >> reporter: official numbers not in yet, but already tens of thousands of owners have dumped their old cars for new ones. what happens to the old ones? a fluid put into the engines at the dealerships make them unusable. what's next? >> this is the next step. >> reporter: most end up at salvage yards like this one. >> definitely helped our business out. >> reporter: dan took us on a step-by-step process of declunking the clunker. step one, evaluation. >> these cars came in right from the dealership in teterboro right over the bridge. >> this is an example of some of the clunkers for cash that you're getting. these three. >> basically on this. normally if it wasn't a

clinker's car, i could save the doors the airbags, sell them. >> reporter: the government program doesn't allow every car part to be recycled because they don't want certain parts back out on the road. >> what's the next step? >> step two, when any car comes to our facility, we put it on this rack here. >> reporter: draining. >> rebrake fluids. >> reporter: next step is to recycle theitems allowed. the tires, battery, radiator and condenser. these are the only items that the program allows to be recycled. the next step, it has to be crushed. once it resembles a metal pancake, it's done. ready for its final step. shredding. >> little pieces about that big and then it gets exported to any

metal al recyclers. relationship with the dealers out there and also helps us to get every little bit you can out of a car. >> all right, jason carroll joins us now live from new york. i assume they didn't let you hit the button to crunch some of these cars. >> i wanted to. >> i know you did. is there a boon in business even for some of these junk dealers? all these cars are coming in and scrap cars, somebody is making some money, right? >> these junk dealers and salvage yards are reporting an increase in profits as a result of this program. that's why they're hoping so desperately that the program is allowed to continue. so, they're hoping the senate is listening and seeing that they're making money out there and they say they have better relationships with the dealerships and also hearing from some consumers saying everyone seems to be making a little bit of money and everyone is waiting to see how long it

will last. >> you're in new york, you probably don't own a car, do you? >> i don't. but i'm originally from california, so i remember. >> you remember what it's like to drive. jason carroll, good to see you, buddy. talk to you again soon. stay with us here, we have a disturbing, really disturbing story to tell you about. a couple arrested for child porn in one city. police say their victims could be in other places, as well.

a florida deputy sheriff finds himself on the wrong side of the law this morning. broward deputy county jonathan bleiweiss was expected to go before a judge today. they believe he forced young, illegal immigrants into sex acts while he was on duty. he's charged with 14 counts of

sexual battery, false imprisonment and stalking and the business owner says alleged victims were weary of authorities. >> they're not going to tell anybody because they know that they don't have any legal support for this type of situation. and i think it's a shame of the police department. >> and police believe there were multiple victims. >> reporter: to another story now where police in maryland asking for the public's help in locating young victims. they charged a man and a woman, both emts with sexually abusing children and taping the acts. police say they found several videotapes in the engaged couple's home in the baltimore suburb of middle river. affiliate wmar with the details. >> reporter: this scooter parked in front of this house in essex looks like a sign of children at play, but what happened inside this home was far from innocent fun. the couple living inside, john

nicklas and shannon honea was taping acts for use of child porn. >> anybody in this type of business, we see a lot of sick things and this is sickening. >> reporter: the abuse involved kids as young as 2 and as old as 13. court documents show the couple have backgrounds as paramedices and that detectives found a vast amount of prescription bottles in the basement bedroom of this home. one victim abused there was unconscious during the assault. >> i was pretty much disgusted about it. >> reporter: neighbors said they were astounded by the news, which had cops seizing cds, dvds and computer equipment from the house. it's evidence that led to more questions. >> we know that we have three very young victims and we don't know who they are. >> reporter: that's why baltimore county police are asking parents to take a good look, if there's a chance your

kids or someone you know have spent time with them, they want you to call. >> what's paramount is first to identify these victims and then make sure that justice is served with these people. >> all right, now john nicklas being held without bail and shannon hornea is being held on $5 million bond. finding these alleged victims is difficult here. some could be outside maryland and we'll be joined by corporate mike hill of the baltimore county police. corporal hill, you have a challenge here. well, i guess, is there any reason to think, i mean, did they do something in their careers or anything else that would just constantly put them in contact with children? >> well, that is something that our detectives are certainly looking into and that's where we really need the public's help, neighbors, friends, family to contact us. now, we are conducting a lot of interviews to try to put that together. but, unfortunately, you know, knowing that there's a lot of children in that neighborhood,

and knowing that they have been through several states leads us to a lot of concern. we have partnerred up with the federal bureau of investigation, assisting us in this. because we do believe we do have victims in other states. >> corporal hill, how old, do you have a good time stamp for how long ago these videos were made? >> well, unfortunately, we don't. we are trying to look into that a little bit further. it could have been just a few weeks ago and canned have been months, could have been years. >> what were they doing with these videos? >> well, what they were doing was soliciting these children either into their home or into other areas or other places. and, basically, engaging in some instances in sex acts with them while they were filming this. turning it into child porn and promoting it and then sending it through the internet. >> sir, do these two, as far as you know, have any kind of history or any kind of criminal history of anything like this? >> it's an ongoing investigation

and that's not something i could disclose by maryland law. >> sir, again, we got the number at three. you believe at least on these videos that you had reason to suspect that there possibly could be more. >> we do believe that, especially from the sense that they've been to other states, not even just locally. so, we're reaching out to the public, even in these other states that if you've seen these two or had any contact or children around these two without their supervision, that they contact us our department. >> what have these two told you all as far as the investigation goes? >> they i can't go into a whole lot because it is an ongoing investigation and that is evdenshiary. but they are not being as cooperative as we would hope. >> one last thing here, how far along are you in this investigation? >> this investigation started in mid-july and they have been working really hard on it, since last night we put it on the

media in local balltimore area and we have some phone calls coming in and they're looking to verify and gain credibility to some of the information we're getting. >> names are john nicklas and shannon hornea. trying to reach out to people across this area. the corporal is asking if your kids have come into contact with these two, you might need to get a hold of the police there in corporal county. sir, i appreciate you taking the time on this. i know it's a tough investigation to move forward on o, but, sir, good luck to you. hopefully following up with you. >> thank you very much, sir. >> all right. we'll turn to the stock market for a bit here. and things may be looking a little up for some people in their 401(k)s. our cnn money team bringing that our cnn money team bringing that to you next. essure medicines

president obama just minutes away from a working lunch with democratic senators and among the items on the agenda, what would you guess, the economy, of course. elaine quijano at the white house. hello to you, again.

the past couple days, little glimmers of hope with the stock market and also with the ford reporting that sales were up. but some important things like job numbers and also, we're talking about personal income fell 1.3% in june, which was worse than economists exepected. those are what matter to a lot of people. what is the reaction from the oval office? >> those are things, t.j., you're right, will be a part of the conversation when 57 of the democratic senators will meet here at the white house. we are told that three will not senators byrd, kennedy, as well as senator mukolsky. a chance to sit down and talk about those issues and the president's priorities going forward. his biggest domestic priority, in addition to the overall economy, health care reform. the senate leaves on its recess coming up here at the end of the week and the president very much wants it make sure he drives home this message that he wants to see health care reform done by the end of the year. other business, as you noted,

the economy. also the wildly popular cash for clunkers program, we're told. white house press secretary robert gibbs told reporters earlier today this meeting is a chance for the president to reiterate that the president wants to go ahead and extend the cash for clunkers program and they think it is good for the economy and good for the environment. they want to see it continue. a lot on the agenda when the senators meet here in half an hour. t.j.? >> who got the invite to this lunch? >> all 60 senators. >> all of them. >> 60 democratic senators. three for health reasons not coming. mukolski suffered a broken ankle. she will not be making it. the president marked his 200th day in office this week. now is your chance to grade the job he's doing so far. you can logon to cnn.com/reportcard and see the results from cnn's national report card that's thursday night at 8:00 eastern.

well, your 401(k) may be looking a little better lately. but you probably already knew that. probably not back to the prerecession levels just yet, but stocks are rebounding from last year's crash and christine romans taking stock of the recovery. >> t.j., let's step back and assess your stock market investments. anything tied to the major stock market averages are clawing back from the crash of '08. stocks have now finished the best five months since 1938. let's look at the s&p 500. it represents the stocks of 500 different companies. it's considered the benchmark. it is now up 11% this year as of oyesterday's close. back to levels not seen since last november, you can see on this chart, a collapse all the way to 12-year lows in march and then a sharp rebound. the s&p 500, as of yesterday, up 48% from that march low. so, what does that mean for you? it means if you're still invested in the market, the

stock portion of your portfolio is recovering. why? because the stock market is anticipating the economy will turn around. the economy is still very weak. but, auto sales, housing, manufacturing, construction and earnings are showing signs of stabilizing. as one economist put it, the freefall of the sky dive is over, the chute has been pulled and the economy is still falling, but now floating down. skeptics see caution ahead, the jobless rate expected to rise to 10%, perhaps higher. foreclosures continue. american consumers are spending less and paying down their debt. that's good for their personal finances, but it's bebehavior that could slow a recovery. no doubt this spring and summer rally has been powerful. you will notice it in your 401(k) statements and you haven't made all your money back. the s&p 500 price is still down 19% versus a year ago. that's got a long way to go, t.j. >> a long way to go, are we getting there? susan lisovicz joining us now

from the floor of the new york stock exchange. how are things today? >> the bulls are taking a little bit of a breather. understandable, t.j., given the summer sizzler that we enjoyed in recent weeks. but, you know, christine set the table for us very nicely. the market rally has been, you know, because of these daily signs that things are getting better. case in point, a new report that we got just this morning on pending home sales, which rose for the fifth straight month. now, we haven't seen something like that since the summer of 2003. that's great. but we also got another report that showed personal income dropped by 1.3%. that is a big amount, that is a one-month drop and that is not something you want to see and it really speaks to why no economists i've spoken to is popping the champagne cork just yet. this is going to be a long coming out of this recession. why is that? we feel that we're under pressure with the jobless rate

rising and the average workweek shrinking, the personal income did drop a month before in may and rose by a similar amount because of all the stimulus. the fact is, we are still suffering what we do with our income generates activity, most of the economic activity in the u.s. and, so, i think there's a little bit of caution you're seeing on wall street today. the dow right now on the plus side, just marginally. kind of a see saw session, t.j. the nasdaq, right now has turned positive, too. we've been seeing for most of the morning, we've been seeing a selloff. just a little bit of caution in the air. that's not a bad thing. in fact, that's even a healthy thing after the gains we've seen recently. t.j. >> you talk about the job numbers and personal income. those are things that people really, really feel. those are things we'll keep an eye on. >> we have a big job's report on friday and that is probably the biggest headline of the week, t.j. >> we know you are on top of

things. susan lisovicz, thank you so much. we'll talk to you again soon. >> follow all the stock market news of the day, go to cnnmoney.com. limb: dude that was sick! i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off that windshield of yours. oh, what you're looking for an apology? well, toss another coin in the wishing well, pal. it's not happenin'. limb: hey, what's up, donnie? how you been?

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need to turn to rob mar seopo immediately. we have a tornado warning, is that right? >> three squall lines moving through the u.s. and this one particular squall line has gotten pretty nasty. i haven't read one like this

that says it is a severe squall line capable of producing damaging straight-line winds, and that's what we're talking about and briefly maybe a rain wrapped tornado. meaning if a tornado does swirl up and that can happen, particularly on the small side, but they're rain wrapped so you can't see them. this is the area where we think this tornado is. again, radar indicated and this is all moving to the south at about 30 miles an hour. so, moving fairly quickly and then these orange watch boxes are where there are severe thunderstorm warnings and, again, a tornado warning in effect until 11:00 a.m. central time and 11:15 a.m. for the next half an hour and we have seen 83 lightning strikes in the past hour. a lot of lightning with this, as well. champaign reported 53-mile-per-hour winds and some of these rain squalls have really dumped a ton of rain in through indianapolis where we had reports of 6 to 12 inches of

rain on the roadways in downtown and also louisville. check out some of these pictures. we have been getting taped stuff in and live aerials. you see them as we see them coming into the "cnn newsroom." in some cases, completely stranded and a foot and a half of rain or at least water on the roadways there and churchill downs and that area reporting two feet of water on the roads. so, nearly impossible to get around in the louisville area and the rain continues to come down. lexington seeing some rainfall, as well. this is all driving to the south and east. that's the situation with the rainfall. on the back side of this, extreme heat protects, arizona and new mexico, no rainfall today and the heat will build into parts of oklahoma with temperatures in tulsa and 93 degrees in atlanta and 89 in new york city and more typical weather through that and if you are traveling indianapolis groundstops because of that heavy rain and san francisco still seeing the fog and delays

because of the fog and low clouds there with 45-minute delays. all right, there, t.j. >> ground stoppage in indianapolis, that's not fun. rob, you still with me? >> are we still showing the -- show the picture of the shuttle? >> we're showing a picture of the shuttle. we'll get to that now. this isn't live any more, this is taped. but as fast as this thing goes, rob. this is the most fascinating part of its journey. it has to go from the hanger, where it's kept, it has to make this 3 1/2 mile journey down to the launch pad and even though people are looking at it and looks like it is just sitting there, it is moving. >> one of the cases where the tape would be just as exciting as the live. because it's moving so slowly. those cobalt blue skies there just developing that contrast. oh, even some sun rays. >> it's moving, we're told it goes a mile an hour.

how fast it goes from one spot to the other. takes six, seven hours to do this thing but it is going slower because they have had bad weather and it's actually moving. it has made it to its destination, the launch pad, i think somewhere around august 25th, it will take off. it will go faster at that point. we appreciate you, as always. we'll catch up with you shortly. if people can't watch, they can still track the weather online. of course, you want to see rob live do the weather, but if you can't, you can see it online. so many storms have the potential to wreak havoc today. go to cnn.com/newsroom and see where the weather is severe and you need to stay safe and alert.

police in melbourne, australia, say they've interrupted a major terror plot. four men are accused and in custody today, accused of planning a suicide attack. peter morris talked with cnn

about today's operation. >> well, certainly, the security level on the information that we got out of these raids was kept at a high level. there were very few people outside of the australian federal police and state police knew it was something that was going to happen. and it was something that unfolded very rapidly in the early morning hours where 400 officers turned out in melbourne and throughout the state. the warrants were served on homes mainly in the northern suburbs. and a fifth person is now in custody and charged over this alleged plot. but certainly when the detail of the allegations came out today, certainly a surprise to all of us here. and i guess that's why the prime minister and senior police officers have moved to reassure the public that they are handling this situation. but when you hear the detail of what has happened, you alluded to it earlier, where the plan, the alleged plan, was to use

semiautomatic weapons to try to get rid of or kill as many people as possible within the army barracks in sydney and the assailants to take their own lives, a shocking notion to think that something like that could be planned. and those allegations, i guess, will be tested in our court system as of this afternoon. the suspects have begun appearing as of a short time ago. >> police say the suspects are all young australian citizens of somali or lebanese descent. they say the suspects are tied to sill mants in somalia. next hour, we'll tell you why some say this month could be the most critical for reform. also, we have the latest on three americans being held in iran. who they are, and why they were hiking in that region.

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boys as young as 13 years old, brainwashed and trained to kill. pakistan says it's rescued about a dozen of them from the taliban, but as cnn's dan grant reports from angora, pakistan, these boys are anything but free. >> reporter: look into the eyes of these boys. pakistan's military says these are the lost souls of the taliban's terror. the boys tell me they were stolen from their families, abused, beaten, and brainwashed by the taliban. "the first day they beat us. then they made us exercise. they made us run and told us, you will wage jihad." "they told us that the army is against the koran, it is against islam. they said wage jihad against them." the pakistan military gave cnn limited access to these boys.

the army says they rescued them during heavy fighting with the taliban in pakistan's swat valley. their faces are covered. their identities protected because of the possibility of retribution. the youngest is only 13. we can't independently verify their stories, but doctors say they have no doubt about their trauma. the boys themselves, each tell me how they were kidnapped by the taliban. "i was coming from the shop to my house. i had some stuff with me. they said, put your stuff in the car. they said, should we drop you in the village or in the square? when we reached the village, i said, i want to get off here. but they blindfolded me and put a hand on my mouth." other boys say they were snatched working in the fields. in militant camps they say they were being trained to be suicide bombers, to do the talibans killing. would you kill for god?

"yes," he says. "in the right circumstances or the wrong circumstances would they kill?" >> they would kill them and they wouldn't feel it. >> reporter: they wouldn't feel it? >> they probably wouldn't have an empathetic response to what happened. >> reporter: the boys have been so severely damaged, it's difficult to know how they are feeling. the doctors say some are psychotic and some are psychopathic and some pose a very real risk. >> his statement to the army was if he had a jacket, that he would have committed suicide jacket. >> reporter: the doctor tells army chiefs they are just the tip of the iceberg. after talking to the boys, she believes there are possibly hundreds of others just like them. are the boys brainwashed? >> yes, of course. they're brainwashed against you and me. >> reporter: the army hopes the

boys will one day be able to be rehabilitated and returned to their families, but the doctor says they should be under closure valence at least for the next decade. >> these children, except for two, don't certainly give me any indication that they can be rehabilitated. so, if they're going to gauge their future on the perspective of today or where they are, that future doesn't look very rosy. >> reporter: but the doctor doesn't blame the boys. they are the innocent victims, she says. all they are left with, they told me, are the voices in their head. voices of the taliban commanding them to kill. stan grant, cnn, mengora, pakistan. we're coming up on noon now on the east coast. and first this hour, bill clinton's surprise mission to north korea. the president asked kim jong-il to free two jailed americans. cnn's elaine quijano watching

this unfold for us at the white house. a good morning to you. the key here to a lot of people, is this a mission on behalf of the obama administration? and that is not the case at all. >> reporter: if you take a look at what white house spokesman robert gibbs said, in a written statement, you have to conclude the answer is no. a complicated story to be sure. let's take a look at the statement. he said, quote, while this solely private mission to secure the release of two americans is on the ground, we will have no comment. we do not want to jeopardize the success of former president clinton's mission. interesting choice of language there. solely private mission. now, i can tell you, t.j., i was in the gaggle with robert gibbs in his office with other or theers here today, the white house is being tightlipped and cautious about all of this. robert gibbs said point-blank, look, i'm not going to be going beyond the written statement. he was asked why not. he said it was an extreme ly

secretive mission and that's my extent on the comments at least for the time being. i asked him, at what point might we see and hear how the president was actually involved in all of this, what role he played? might it happen when the journalists are safe on the ground back here in the united states? he said, we will hopefully have more information to provide later on today. now, what secretary gibbs did do is deny a report out of north korea that somehow former president clinton was carrying a message from president obama to kim jong-il. secretary gibbs said, point-blank, that's not true. t.j.? >> all right, elaine quijano for us from the white house. thank you so much. want to turn now to our john vause. he has more on bill clint's visit and the political risk it carries from his vantage point in beijing. >> reporter: the former u.s. president touched down in pyongyang on board a private, unmarked jet and was warmly greeted by two senior government officials and a young girl with

flowers. >> for him, this is an important fulfilling of an unfulfilled mission and for kim jong-il who wanted him to come when he was president it would be the height of rudeness not to receive him. >> reporter: the turning point say analysts is when washington dropped its demand for the journalists, laura ling and uniknee lee uneuna lee to be released. >> they have expressed great remorse for this incident and i think everyone is very sorry that it happened. what we hope for now is these two young women would be granted amnesty through the north korean system and be allowed to return home to their families as soon as possible. >> reporter: analysts say enlisting bill clinton as the high-level envoy is a sign that most of the groundwork for a deal has already been done. in other words, you don't send a

former u.s. president all the way to pyongyang to come home empty-handed. >> i don't think bill clinton is going to sit down and engage in horse-trading with the north koreans over the terms under which these women are going to be freed. >> reporter: it's hoped the former president could be heading back to the united states, with the two women in just a matter of days. john vause, cnn, beijing. all right. north korea's top nuclear negotiator met clinton's plane when it arrived. that's raising some questions about whether or not the nuclear issue is on the agenda as well. jim walsh, an expert on international security at m.i.t., joining us now. jim, good to see you. before we get to the nuclear issue, first of all, do you agree with what a lot of people say that there's no way bill clinton would have taken off and gone that far had he not gotten something already close to a guarantee that he would be bringing these two americans back with him? >> t.j., i agree with that take. mike chinoy explained the logic of it in your last report and i

think it's true. bill clinton may be retired, but he's still a politician. he likes to take risks, but he also like to have everything buttoned down, a little cautious. so, i think it's highly unlikely that he would go there without some signal from the north koreans in advance that this trip was going to be successful. it doesn't mean every little detail is locked down and things could not go wrong, but he wouldn't have gone if there wasn't some chance of success. >> that's the major goal, the first and foremost to get the two american citizens back. okay, if he's successful there, the u.s. gets its people back. what will north korea get out of it? >> i think north korea will get out of it things that they have wanted a long time. they have wanted a visit from a high-ranking official, former or current, for some years now. also remember, they are going through their own political transition, it appears kim jong- jong-il, the current leader will be leaving the scene at some point and will be replaced by his youngest son. just like we've had other

nuclear tests and actions meant to display strength, having a visit from a former president of the united states, a rock star in his own right, brings prestige and brings status and allows the north korean leadership to claim that they are an important country to their own population. >> you talked about them wanting a big leader and high profile from the u.s., but they are getting somebody that can't technically negotiate on behalf of the u.s. that's a big elephant in the room, the nuclear issue, what are the chances that it is brought up? is it just unavoidable that that issue is going to be brought up? but what's going to come of it anyway? >> i do think it's unavoidable, but something might come up of the u.s. and north korea relationsh relationships. and the nuclear issue is a part of this. a former president named jimmy carter went on a private mission, that the clinton administration wasn't pleased with, sort of ironic right now. but jimmy carter went and had

discussions that, then, as it turned out paved the way for a resolution of that first nuclear crisis. i don't think that's likely in this case, but it's possible, because north korea, it's one-man rule, and when you're sitting down in the room across from the one man, then there's a chance that things can change. he can, with the wave of his hand, change the direction of korean policy. do i think it's likely that we'll have a big breakthrough? no. is it possible that something will come out beyond the journalists? yes, it is possible. >> we get the two journalists back here, that's a success, but, still, what risk is president clinton and the u.s. running here? again, if we have a successful trip in that regard, where is there a danger area that north korea tries to turn this and sell this and promote as something that, i don't know, kind of hurts us in the long run? >> well, it's hard to imagine how it will really hurt us. i'm sure you could say president obama will be criticized, some will say we shouldn't reward

them with having sent bill clinton, we shouldn't be talking to them while they're holding the journalists. but the president has to deal with the real world and in the real world, they are being held. and if we want to get them out, it makes sense to talk to them. you can argue academically, and i'm an academic, what the costs of it. but six months from now when the journalists are home with their families, those will be side consequences. >> jim walsh, jim, always good to have you here. >> thank you, t.j. iranian officials confirming that three americans have been detained and charged with illegal entry into iran. for more now on who these hikers are and what they were doing in the area, here now, cnn's dan simon. >> reporter: shane bauer, seen here on his personal website, graduated with honors two years ago from uc berkeley with a

degree in peace and conflict studies. >> all who know them are sit opening the edge of our chairs. >> reporter: sandy close knows bauer. she takes photos and writes articles on middle eastern issues. she said bauer was fluent in arabic and left the san francisco bay area last year for syria. last week she says he pitched a story on elections in iraqi kurdistan. that's apparently why he traveled to that section of iraq, before allegedly crossing over into iran with two others. >> i think this is a very experienced traveler. a backpack kind of traveler, not somebody who would go to the ritz-carlton, somebody who would go to the hostel, who would operate on a shoestring, as many freelancers do. >> reporter: she said bauer was known to be dating sarah shourd, also a berkeley graduate and freelance writer. writing on the website brave new traveler, she described herself

as a teacher/activist/writer from california, currently based in the middle east. it said she loves fresh broksly and anyone who can change her mind. the three detained hiker, berkeley grad joshua fattal, also known for his love of travel and learning. >> fiercely intellectual. voracious reader, and josh and i would have conversations like no one else. >> reporter: the fourth hiker, shon meckfessel stayed behind in iraq. his grandmother says he was sick. three americans known for their sense of adventure, now getting more than they bargained for, because the u.s. has no formal relations with iran, swiss diplomats are now trying to secure their release. dna simon, cnn, san francisco. judge sonia sotomayor may move closer to a seat on the supreme court. we got a preview earlier of the

arguments for or against sotomayor's confirmation. >> judge sotomayor is certainly a fine person, with an impressive story and a distinguished background, but a judge must be able to check his or her personal or political agenda at the courtroom door and do justice evenhandedly as the judicial oath requires. this is the most fundamental test. it's a test that judge sotomayor does not pass. >> a long ten weeks ago president obama made history when he nominated the nation's first hispanic to be a justice of the united states supreme court and only the third woman. this week the senate will make history when we confirm her. judge sonia sotomayor is an american of tremendous qualifications. both her academic record and her court experience are really second to none. >> a final confirmation vote expected on thursday. six republicans say they plan to support the nomination.

and sotomayor is virtually assured of being confirmed as the nation's first hispanic supreme court justice. well, paychecks shrink in june, but individual spending increased. the commerce department says personal income fell 1.3% in june. it rose that same amount back in may. spending by individuals edged up 0.4 of a percent in june. the national association of realtors say pending home sales rose in june by 3 .6%, the sixth straight monthly increase. the last time that happened was back in 2003. stay with us. we'll show you a navy town that is honoring one of their own. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills. just 2 aleve can last all day.

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you can be part of our special we're grading the president. if you see there, you can go through there and give a grade, "a," "b," "c," did, "e," "fs," hopefully no "fs," but who knows how you grade them. but them get them in to us and watch cnn's "national report card." ♪ ♪

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well, in raleigh, north carolina, a detention hearing is under way right now for seven terror suspects. there you see family members and friends arriving for court. the north carolina men are charged with conspireing to carry out suicide attacks abroad. prosecutors may reveal some of their evidence against the men today. they hope to convince the judge to hold the suspects until trial. authorities have released the names of an eighth suspect who is believed to be in pakistan. he's a 20-year-old high school dropout name of jude mohammed. like the others, he lived in that raleigh area. well, several rockets hit the afghanistan capital before dawn today. no injuries reported. an afghan official said the barrage was most likely an effort to disrupt upcoming elections. the forces are not just battling the taliban but also trying to win the confidence of the afghan people. >> the true center of gravity is not the taliban, but the willing support of the afghan people.

here in r.c. east we're working hard not only to counter the enemy's propaganda and misinformation but to anticipate and expose them. we're doing this by taking a proactive approach to seize-and-retain initiatives by preemptive events and exploiting opportuni opportunities. >> afghanistan holds presidential and provincial council elections on august the 20th. well, the first u.s. soldier, the first u.s. service member, i should say, to die in the 1991 persian gulf war has finally come home. the department of defense revealed over the weekend that the remains of navy captain michael "scott" speicher have been positively identified. our john zarella now reports how the city of miami beach, florida, will never forget. >> reporter: on an overcast monday in jacksonville, florida, people stood solemnly along the road leading from the naval air station, holding american flags, paying their respects as the hearse drove by carrying the remains of a marine corps

private killed in afghanistan. >> we're here to honor this fallen hero. to let the family know that we care. >> reporter: and in jacksonville, they continue caring no matter how many years go by. for 18 years they kept alive the name scott speicher, navy pilot, shot down on the first night of the first gulf war. never knowing whether he was alive or dead. a banner still flies above a fire station. speicher's name is etched on a veterans memorial wall. beneath it a yellow ribbon and a letter to his family. he will always be remembered, it reads in part. these would be the first gulf war. >> right. >> reporter: a retired naval aviate knor knows the family. his widow only talked to a national magazine. there's a reason. >> joanne has focused on her family and her kids and done a wonderful job of taking care of them and raising them as close

to a normal situation as possible. >> reporter: joanne speicher remarried. the children now attend state universities. they were on hand when governor charlie crist signed legislation extending free tuition to children of missing soldiers and p.o.w.s from the gulf wars. for the speichers some questions still have not been answered. >> any information we can learn about what happened, when he ejected and to the point of which he died, we think is beneficial. >> reporter: at arlington national cemetery, there is a headstone with speicher's name on it, where he will be buried has not been made public. but he has, after 18 years, finally come home. john zarella, cnn, jacksonville, florida.

well, you've seen people do it, and you might not admit it, but you probably do it, too, driving and texting. or distracted by the cell phone or whatever else you might be doing in that car. lord knows. now, the nation's transportation secretary says all that needs to stop. ray lahood said his department will convene a summit next month to address the problems of

distracted drivers. the cash for clunkers program gives car buyers money to trade their old gas guzzlers in for more fuel-efficient vehicles. it will run out of cash, the program wrack unless the senate approves a $2 billion extension. but a republican senator from south carolina says cash for clunkers is a bad idea. >> they're trying to micromanage the economy here. they told us, okay, we need a billion dollars. we'd have this program through november. within one week it was broke, now they're back for $2 billion more. we have no idea what the program has done. >> senator demint there says the program is only providing a temporary bump in car sales. well, a lot of these members of congress, they are home for their recess for the summer. the senate's going to be getting out of there a little later today. the house left last week already for their recess. so, what kind of reception are they getting back home on a lot of issues, especially on the issue of health care reform? if you want to know, just go to

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well, we've been talking about the recession now for a year and a half, but lately we're hearing another "r" word, recovery. we like that one a lot better. maybe too soon to make the call, but there are some positive signs out there, including another report on the housing market. susan lisovicz, we are going to switch "r" words pretty soon, are we? are we? >> yes. >> okay. >> and that's one of the reasons why the stock market is recovering even today. because of this report, t.j., on pending home sales, which rose more than 3.5% in june. which marks the fifth straight monthly increase. we haven't seen something like that in six years. now, let's put this in perspective. why are people buying homes when the unemployment rate is rising? because prices are cheap. to buy a house in june, the

average family, t.j., would have had to spend 16% on the principal and interest. compared to three years ago, a family would have had to spend 23% of that on the same home. also helping out, we talk about it all the time, mortgage rates, low, historically low. the first-time home buyer tax credit still helping out, and then, of course, there's plenty of supply. well, there's a lot of distressed sales because of the rising amount of foreclosures, t.j. >> all right. and you were talking about pending home sales, and that is exactly what it sounds like. these are pending, haven't gone through yet. so, in the next month or so when these things do go through, it means that we'll see the home sales, when those numbers actually come out, future home sales will be good as well. >> that's right. and that's what we have been seeing as part of this recovery. we've already seen that existing and new home sales have been increase iine ining pending hom are based on signed contracts. it's a good barometer of what

will happen in the next one or two months. so, it gives us a clue about which way the housing market is going. and we're happy to say that things are improving. of course, some contracts could fall through but the trend is our friend. and that's something we've seen on wall street as well. we started lower. we've certainly had a reason to pull back after all of the gains we saw in july and the first trading day of august, but guess what? right now the dow is up a quarter of a percent, the nasdaq making a move, high erhigher. t.j., back to you. >> all right, susan lisovicz, i'm sorry, i had something in my ear and i couldn't hear you for a second. a thousand apologies, but thank you. we'll talk to you again here real soon. house lawmakers may be on a break. they're not getting a break, however, from the held care debate th debate. they are back home conversing with their constituents. the story from candy crowley. >> reporter: lloyd doggett was

in his district over the weekend talking health care. trying to. listen up to youtube -- also courtesy youtube, pennsylvania snore articenator specter with hhs secretary kathleen sebelius in philadelphia trying to talk health care reform. >> the bill is going very fast and we move about -- >> reporter: suddenly a four-week august recess seems a little too long. most capitol lawmakers will head home with one thing on their mind, health care. actually two things. >> members are always thinking about running again. so, 2010, top of their mind. >> reporter: even those not up for re-election next year feel the heat of an august recess when a hot topic like health care is in limbo on capitol hill. senator kent conrad will do listening sessions across north

dakota. but bet your last dollar that august recess this time will have a lot more to do with talking than listening. >> i think it's also very important that people across the country hear that the course we're on is not sustainable. >> reporter: on the house side, speaker nancy pelosi and republican leader john boehner sent talking points to their members, basically boiling down to two broad themes. >> the insurance companies versus socialized medicine. >> reporter: time is not on the side of democrats. many of whom wanted health care done before recess. the longer the issue hangs out there, the more it becomes a pinata. advantage, the critics. republicans are also ebb countering angry voters, but democrats seem to be getting the worst of it, and they say republican operatives are se sending opposition to their town hall meetings. but poll after poll that americans are divided about obama-style health care reform.

candy crowley, cnn, washington. meet health care harry. an eight-foot-tall version of the guy from the old operation game, you remember that? the group, usperrs, uses harry to highlight concerns about health care. the public gets to operate by removing things like endless red tape. well, navigating through the health care system can be a challenge. especially when a loved one suffers a traumatic injury or serious illness. in our "health care in focus" series, we look at a family who needed help and a woman who guided them through a difficult time. >> my oldest son, christopher, was in a car accident on september 6th, 2007. he was driving his car and lost control, and suffered a traumatic brain injury with several broken bones. it was the scariest time of my life. and to see him suffering like that was devastating. and then to also have to worry

about his care, and is he going to get what he needs? will they just send him home because we don't have the financial means? huge things to have to think about. the insurance company sent me letters that chris could have something called a case coordinator. >> my name is pam hoyt. and i'm a nurse care manager at healthnet. debbie is a mom of five children. she was frightened. she didn't know if he was going to live or die. she didn't know what sort of aftermath they would be dealing with. >> there was a sense of relief that this person was actually trying to help me. was not trying to help her company find a way out of all these expenses.

>> i would help her to be in control of his medical life and their family life. >> she seriously is a friend now. i would consider her one of my best friends. she really was genuinely concerned about my son's recovery. the day my son, christopher, came home from the hospital, he was totally different than he is now. i mean, he just couldn't do anything for himself at all. and it was like -- it was like having a big, heavy 19-year-old infant, you know. who's combative. >> so how are you feeling these days? >> fine. >> feeling good? >> yeah. >> at what point did you start, you know, remembering things again? >> yesterday. i remember yesterday. >> if you ask hmm straight-on, chris, do you remember this, he'll say no. but then if you're just talking about something that happened,

he'll start talking about it with you, because the memory is there. >> you've come a long way here. >> a whole long way, yeah. >> i was a vegetable and now i'm me. >> chris? oh, god. you're making me cry! >> don't cry. please don't cry. >> you are not. are you debbie? oh, god. >> there were days where i just needed a shoulder, you know? and i knew i could call her. she's seen me through some of my darkest days, that's for sure, and on to some much better ones. well, bankruptcy was an option for a couple of detroit's big car companies. should bankruptcy also be an option for the city's school system? my daughter was with me. i took a bayer aspirin out of my purse and chewed it. my doctor said the bayer aspirin saved my life. please talk to your doctor about aspirin and your heart. i'm going to be grandma for a long time.

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well, first chrysler, then general motors. you know, they're both up in detroit. they both declared bankruptcy. well, something else in detroit could be going bankrupt. cnnmoney.com's popny harlow has this story for us. we're talking about not a car company this time but a school system.

>> can you believe it? we are talking about what could be a reality for the detroit public school system, folks. they could be the first ever to file for bankruptcy protection. here's why, a lot of problems that they are facing. a deficit of $259 million. a 58% graduation rate in detroit proper, that's compared to a 76% graduation rate when you look at the entire state. there have been a number of corruption issues at this school, the public school system, has been dealing with. and for all of these reasons enrollment in detroit public schools is shrinking. and i spent a day in detroit with a mother and her daughter. take a listen to their concerns. >> my daughter has never attended any detroit public schools, and it's because of this. as a concerned parent, my daughter would never go to a detroit public school as of now. whereas i felt comfortable as a child going to school, i don't feel comfortable to allow her to attend a detroit public school. >> all right. we spoke with them right in front of that building you're

looking at. that is fredricka turner, the mother's old high school. it's closed since 2000. enrollment in detroit public schools has dropped by nearly 44%. take a look at the chart. it's staggering when you look at the population decline in the same amount of time has been roughly 3%, t.j. >> you know, it's a resilient bunch the people up in detroit. >> they are, they are. >> such a hospitable group. i was up there not too long ago, but they always hope that things are going to turn around. but what detroit actually doing? >> they are being very proactive. what they've done is installed an emergency financial manager to cut their costs. his name is robert bobb. what he's done is closed 29 schools, planning to close more. laid off 2,400 people, including a lot of teachers. he's also exploring a bankruptcy option for the school system. and his office told us today they haven't made a final decision on that yet.

but like with gm and like with chrysler, this could be a good thing. this could allow the school system to renegotiate its debt. tear up some of the expensive union contracts and essentially give it somewhat of a fresh start, t.j. but we asked people on facebook what do they think, we asked should detroit public schools file for bankruptcy. i want to read you a couple of quick comments. here's what howard wrote in. i feel that filing for bankruptcy is a waste of time unless you have a plan to reduce costs without reducing benefits to the students. that's a good point. james wrote in and said, no, the city and the state should adequately fund the schools to begin with. and finally keith wrote in, as long as we, the city of detroit, have a declining tax base because of the housing market, our public school systems will struggle for funding. some school systems are even around the country are reducing school days to save money. tell us what you think. it will be interesting to watch, t.j., this would be the first ever for a school system to file

for bankruptcy. >> mr. bobb has his hands full. a lot of things not too happy. poppy harlow, thank you, and nice facebook picture. >> thank you. passengers shaken up by turbulent weather are describing a shaky flight. pictures from inside the plane showed just how violent things got. brian todd with the story for us. >> reporter: this is what violent turbulence looks like inside the cabin. these photographs from a passenger aboard continental flight 128 show the ceiling of the plane split open. two sections you can see in this shot look like casings for several oxygen masks. one witness says this damage may have been done by passengers who were thrown upward. >> all the lighting and all where the masks come down and everything, people that weren't seat belted in flew up and hit the ceiling, so their faces, their heads hit the plastics and broke all the plastics up at the top. >> reporter: the plane with 179 people aboard encountered severe

turbulence on the way from rio de janeiro to houston and diverted to miami. 26 passengers were hurt. some required at least temporary hospitalization. cnn meteorologist chad myers says there was no severe weather in the area at the time. and a continental airlines official now tells cnn this aircraft encountered what's called clear-air turbulence. pilots we spoke to say this is when a plane gets caught between air masses moving swiftly in different directions. as the name indicates, it often happens when the weather looks fine and it comes on virtually with no warning. >> as they are transiting this area, they are not seeing anything on radar or visually to tell them that are getting ready to go through clear-air tu buy lens. >> reporter: passengers not wearing seat belts can get severely injured when "g" forces throw them to the ceiling. they could get injured by being

thrown back down onto seats or the floor. after landing in miami, some passengers were asked whether they got any warning to buckle their seat belts when the heavy turbulence began. >> none, whatsoever. i hit my head on the light above and it broke the light out and was showered in glass. >> reporter: continental set the seat belt sign was illuminated and their procedures is to give a verbal warning when it happens. they are still gathering information about what happened, but he said there's every reason to believe a verbal warning was given. brian todd, cnn, washington. all right, let's head over to chad myers, the colorful screen behind him, and that's usually a bad thing. we've also got pictures to show people, chad, about the flooding in louisville. start where you want to start. >> let's start with the radar. it shows the flooding moving through louisville. it's gone for now. but the radar will try to add it up and see how much rainfall fell. seven inches is what the computer's now saying, the

radar, is saying for right in downtown louisville. we call this tape turn, because we put it on tape and we turn it as fast as we can. people out of their cars. cars underwater. literally cars were flooding and floating away in some of the pictures that i was looking at. this is from our affiliate w.a.v.e. in louisville. it has been raining and it was raining a lot overnight. it continued all morning. and the commute was absolutely awful. switching our affiliates to whas there, thanks to all of our affiliates there and keeping us up to date and giving us the pictures. the next problem is indianapolis. we have cars and semi trailers off the road. some semis flipped over in indianapolis as this line of weather came screaming from the we west. here it comes. and it blew past indianapolis in the last 30 minutes or so. that's the story going on at this moment in time. let me take you one more place, because i think it's fairly interesting here. we have two tropical storms now

and one with a number, 60 miles per hour. that would be enrique right there and then felicia right there, 70 miles per hour. wind gusts to 80. not very far before that storm gets all the way to become hurricane strength. u.s. that way. not going that way. hawaii, way over here. it's a long drive all the way there. and there goes lana, it's the "l" storm, because it was in the central pacific, so it had a different name. but here's your "e." there's your "f" storm, and we'll keep watching those as the day goes on. but also i kind of want to talk to you about is how much rainfall coming down in other places and how this rainfall is going to affect places that had the wind, the 65, 70-mile-per-hour wind and the flooding event. i have ten or so flash flood warnings going on, because of the heavy rainfall and the rainfall that just continues, continues, to fall in some spots. it is going to be -- let's keep zooming out and you'll be able to see where it is all coming from. yesterday on this map, there wasn't a drop of rain coming

down, now it's all the way from west virginia, raining showers, heavier stuff to the east. but rain showers here to the east of kansas city and a few more down into the ozarks, and it's going to be kind of a rough-and-tumble day. we'll keep watching it for you on cnn. more weather coming up, t.j. >> chad, we appreciate you as always. you know we love watching you on tv. i've long lobbied for a chad channel exclusively. but if you can't watch you or watch chad, you can still track the weather online. >> absolutely. >> so many storms have the potential to wreak havoc, so go to cnn.com/newsroom to see where the weather is severe. stay alert and stay safe. a lot of people want control of michael jackson's estate, including his mother. so, just how much is that is state really worth?

well, it's been dubbed

surrogate scandal. two police chiefs in ohio accused of snooping on the woman who carried twins for actors sara jessica parker and matthew broderick. now one of the officers has been put on paid leave pending the outcome of the case. prosecutors say he and another officer conspired to steal items from the surrogate and sell them to the paparazzi. the man has pleaded not guilty. a los angeles judge has ruled that the two men named as executers of michael jackson's will, will remain in charge, at least for now. there has been a lot of legal wrangling over jackson's estate and cnn's randi kaye explains why. >> reporter: he was $400 million in debt by some estimates, so why the fight over his estate? >> this estate will be worth more dead than alive. >> reporter: he has handled other celebrity estates like marilyn man row and james dean.

he believes that jackson will be the biggest grossing personality of all-time, good news for katherine jackson and his children, who were left 80% of the estate. what is the estate worth? katherine jackson's attorney has said it's worth $2 billion, but a source close to the dealings calls it ridiculous and calls her attorney terribly misformed. that source told me the estate is more likely worth $100 million right now with the potential to be worth a whole lot more. already we've learned deals are in the works that could be bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, including a movie, featuring hours of jackson's final rehearsal footage. our source says the estate will get 90% of the profits. also, jackson's memoir, "moonwalk" will be reriff released in october. that deal is worth about $60 million. >> you're talking about the copyrights. you're talking about the trademarks. you're talking about what you call the right of publicity that's associated with his name

and likeness. >> reporter: one of the men in chrge is john branca, who also helped turn around elvis'. if all goes as planned, jackson may surpass him. since his death, he's outsold every artist in albums and downloads. in fact, he's the highest-selling artist after death since nielsen started tracking this stuff in 1991. the numbers don't lie. from january 1st of this year until the week he died, jackson told 297,000 albums. compare that to 3.73 million 5 weeks later. and in 2009, prior to the week he died, fans downloaded just 1.3 million of his songs. 5 weeks later, it had jumped to 8.5 million. also, he had the top ten albums on the "billboard" chart for two weeks. the first time any artist, alive or dead, has done that.

this senior editor from "forbes" says the time is now for jackson's estate to cash in. >> right now, michael jackson's got his best shot ever, because everyone is looking at it through rhodey-tinted glasses, and the further we get away from his death, the more you'll see the sunglasses taken off. and so the value of his assets will actually go down. >> reporter: no doubt jackson's family and his creditors hope that doesn't happen anytime soon. randi kaye, cnn, los angeles. well, getting elected to any office, never an easy thing to do, especially difficult in afghanistan, and especially if you're trying to do it by riding a bike. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah.

onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models.

well, the shuttle "endeavour" has arrived at the launchpad. this is a pretty difficult journey, it's a slow journey it has to make from its hangar to the launchpad, a 3 1/2-mile journey to the launchpad. and it moves about a mile an hour. the video you're seeing is showing it actually moving. but it moves a mile an hour for the 3.5-mile stretch. it's getting ready for the

launch supposed to happen august the 25th. we'll keep an eye on it to afghanistan now which is gearing up for a presidential election later this month. 40 candidates competing against the incumbent president, hamid karzai. as you can imagine, with all the names, it's tough to keep them all straight. but one man has managed to stand out. cnn's ivan watson reports from kabul. >> reporter: every morning he says good-bye to his wife. gets on his bicycle and sets out alone on a long, bumpy road that he hopes will lead him to the presidency. compared to other far wealthier presidential candidates who travel in helicopters and armed convoys, he is a virtual unknown. a retired army officer, scraping by on an $830 a year government pension. his political campaign is a very humble one. "can i put my poster up here?"

he asks this street vendor. he introduces himself to voters as an independent candidate, saying, please read my biography, then you're welcome to throw it away. i'm honest and i don't make backroom deals, he adds. i'll struggle for the rights of the people. for this cash-strapped candidate, it's a one-man struggle just to get his posters up. this is his commando style of campaigning. riding around on a poke. putting up his own posters. does he really stand a chance of winning? probably not. but the people here seem to like him. "i want him to do well," says this man. "he's a man of the people." his bicycle campaign may look comical, but it comes loaded with very serious criticism of afghanistan's western-backed government, which he accuses of stealing billions of dollars in

international aid. "the international community does not understand that the current afghan government is a government of force, of nepotism and waste," he says. that's a view echoed by many other afghans, frustrated by lack of development and rampant corruption eight years after the overthrow of the taliban. "we don't want the tyrant who opposes the people," this watermelon vendor says. "we want a president who cares about poor people." with his cell phone and mobile office on two wheels, this aspiring politician says he's just the man for the job. ivan watson, cnn, kabul. all right. well, that's one way to do it. we will check in with them with the election coming up in just a couple weeks. that's it for me, t.j. holmes sitting in for tony harris. now time to hand