here's "cnn newsroom" with heidi collins. inside the mind of a killer. before he opened fire inside a pennsylvania gym, he shared his rage in an online diary. his chilling thoughts in his own words. and freedom on fallout, two journalists are back home and likely to face the lingering trauma of their ordeal in north korea. hear how other former captives struggled to resume their lives. and peddling himself, a presidential candidate says he is the vehicle of change. good morning, everybody, i'm heidi collins, today is thursday, august 6th, and you are in the "cnn newsroom." this morning, we begin with the obama presidency. it's 199 days now and counting. as we get closer to tomorrow's milestone, a lot of people are really wanting to take stock, how is the administration doing with its top priorities? and how is it doing in the public eye, as well? also, white house correspondent dan lothian who you see there is going to be talk about the

health care battle. it affects all of us, but it could define president obama. and finally, cnn's christine romans is going to be looking at the economy, another hot button issue. is the president doing enough to protect your livelihood and, of course, your life savings? let's begin our coverage this morning, though, with cnn white house correspondent dan lothian. what is the president doing today along the lines of health care? >> reporter: yes, again, focusing on health care, meeting with bipartisan negotiators with the senate finance committee, the gang of six who have been working on a bipartisan health care reform bill. as you know, health care reform is a big priority for this administration. the president referring to now as health insurance reform because he believes this is not important not only important for the health care of americans, but also important for the economy. >> in order to lead in the global economy and ensure our businesses can grow and innovate, we also have to pass

health insurance reform that brings down costs. reform that brings down costs and provides more security for folks who have insurance and affordable options for those who don't. i promise you, we will pass reform by the end of this year because the american people need it. the american people need some relief. now, we're going to have to make it happen. >> reporter: of course, heidi, the president focusing on the end of the year to pass insurance reform as he calls it. this administration suffered somewhat of a setback in the second 100 days. the president had put this self-imposed deadline of trying to get something from the senate and house bill on health care reform before the august recess, but when they could not come to any kind of consensus, it became

clear this would not happen. the administration pushing, hoping to get health care reform by the end of the year, heidi. >> has the president all but abandoned this push for a bipartisan health care reform then? when you look at history, how successful are bills that are not bipartisan? especially when they're this big? >> reporter: well, the administration publicly will say we want to do everything possible to work not only with the republicans, but the democrats. this has not just been the republicans and democrats, but fiscally conservative democrats have had a hard time thinking this health care reform bill, too expensive, how will they be able to pay for it all? but the president signalling he's ready to go it alone. he wants to make sure he can get some of these things in that reform bill he's been pushing for and that's people with preexisting conditions that they won't lose their health insurance, that they can move from job to job and not be left without insurance. there's some critical things, the foundation of health care

reform that the president says he won't give in on. so, you know, he wants to work with republicans, but wants to get this done right. >> we sure do appreciate that. thank you. >> okay. so on this eve of the president's 200th day in office, what does the public think? according to our latest cnn research corporation poll, just over half of americans believe the obama administration has been a success so far, 37% say it is a failure. president obama's positive rating actually falls short of where george w. bush did six months in. in 2001, 66% of americans said the bush administration was a success. turning to the economy, 44% of those polls say president obama's policies have made the economy better. just over half say they made the economy worse. some optimism, 58% of americans believe economic conditions will be good one year from now, 40% say they will be poor. the obama administration has

said the economy is improving, but deutsche bank is predicting by trouble in the housing market. cnn's christine romans is here to explain. how does this affect everybody? >> we know in the economy, many people think the free fall is over. but this shows you the house is still a very big question mark. this report shows the number of homes that it expects will be under water, the number of homeowners under water on their mortgage by the time there is a recovery. right now they say there are about 14 million homeowners are under water in their loans, that means they actually owe more on the house than it's worth. by the first quarter of 2011, they say that'll be $25 million. that'll be almost half of all mortgage holders, heidi, will owe more than it's worth. >> so it's not getting any better. >> no, and it seems to be the problem, the number of foreclosures, people are losing their jobs, and that feeds into

the foreclosure crisis. the fact that home prices keep falling and just now recently shown a little glimmer of stabilization, what this report suggests is that recent sign of strength should be taken with a bit of a grain of salt, quite frankly because we have more tough in the housing market ahead. the implications of an economy where the housing market almost half of the homeowners owe more on the house than it's worth are troubling because those are homeowners who aren't going to be buying a new car, people who aren't going to be able to move, perhaps, to find a new job. more trouble sending their kids to college because they won't have credit to tap into to get money out of the equity out of their house. it shows you the difficulty over the next year or so as the housing market continues to show this malaise. >> and the massive domino effect of all of it. christine romans watching all of it for us. meanwhile, evidence

companies are cutting back on the number of people they're laying off. benefits are down, just released figures show 550,000 people filed for unemployment last week, that's 30,000 less than expected. on the flip side, though, the number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits is up to 6.3 million. at the bottom of the hour, we'll be looking at the obama presidency by the numbers, adding up some of the events from his busy schedule and then next hour, a different measure of his administration, guests from opposite sides of the political spectrum will weigh in. so, have the second 100 days of the obama administration been days of change or days of frustration? let your voice be heard. you can cast your vote now at cnn.com/report card and then get the results from cnn national report card tonight at 8:00 eastern. police say the man who opened fire on a pennsylvania health club quote just had a lot of hatred in him. today learning more chilling

details about george sodini. live in bridgeville, outside of pittsburgh this morning. susan, what are we hearing this morning? >> reporter: good morning, heidi. well, we're getting a picture for the very first time, a look at the gunman in this case, george sodini, we haven't seen him walking and talking before, and now we do, by way of some homemade videos we found posted to youtube. now, in the very first of these, it was shot in february of last year, he's giving a tour of his house, and you see him pointing out things like his couch and his chair and how they will match and how they could possibly impress women. remember, we've heard so much about his hatred of women and how he was failing to have any relationship with them over many, many years. he points out his bedroom and says look how clean it is, she'll be impressed. we even see a punching bag in the background of one part of his house. in the second homemade video of june of last year, he looks into

the camera and talks about his loneline loneliness. >> it is easy for me to hide from my emotions one more day. take a long drive in the car, listen to some music, daydream, or just do some mundane task around the house that really doesn't need to be done that's not too important. and there you go, one more day, and one more day turns into one more year. >> reporter: heidi, and we're getting additional information, as well. remember that blog we showed you yesterday, and excerpts from it? well, we found another additional blog that was part of that and it was unpublished. we're not sure of the timing of this particular posting, it might have come on the day of the shooting. but he talks about meeting a woman at the gym and possibly a friend and even possibly calling off the shooting. and it says in part "to get a friend like her and for night

action, i would cancel the plan or put on hold at least for a while." but again, is this evidence he was playing with us, trying to bring attention to himself or simply more evidence of a twisted mind? heidi? >> wow, unbelievable every time we look at those entries there. susan candiotti for us there, thanks, susan. riding in style, congress opens the pursestrings for new planes to fly them around, tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on something nobody ever asked for. i'm rob marciano. today the hurricane headquarters in the pacific, some action, two storms, one a category four storm heading in the direction of hawaii. complete forecast coming up when the "cnn newsroom" comes right back. most people try to get rid of algae, and we're trying to grow it. the algae are very beautiful. they come in blue or red, golden, green. algae could be converted into biofuels... that we could someday run our cars on. in using algae to form biofuels, we're not competing with the food supply.

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congress may have some explaining to do. house committee added three new gulf stream jets to the defense appropriations bill, replacements for older planes. the cost $200 million. here's the thing, the pentagon only asked for one new plane. apparently that price $65 million. the long-range jets are used to

ferry vips around, including members of congress. remember, this is the same congress that blasted auto executives for flying their corporate jets to washington. talking about taxpayer dollars here. we do want to hear from you. what do you think about the house approving nearly $200 million for the air force to buy three gulf stream jets for top government officials and members of congress to use? give us your feedback at cnn.com/heidi, or you can always give us a call into the hot line for heidi, that number is 1-877-742-5760. look forward to your comments. the city of louisville, kentucky, still trying to dry out after tuesday's flooding, the mayor says he has no idea of how much damage was done when all of that rain fell in a short amount of time, but plans to ask for federal aid. now part of the kentucky museum was flooded so were a number of

stables. the horses are okay, and despite all of the mud everywhere, no serious injuries have been reported. we do want to go over and talk to rob marciano, though, about all of this. hey there, rob, good morning to you. they are still, obviously, trying to get things mopped up, if you will. >> and seems like the last couple of years when they ran, it was pretty wet then, not as wet as it is now. and the good news with that kind of flooding, it comes and goes in a hurry. unfortunately when it does that, it catches a lot of people off guard. the waters have receded, but the clean-up will be ongoing. felicia, a couple of storms out here, this is enrique, this is felicia, felicia is the stronger one, you can see the eye there, very strong, as a matter of fact, it's a category four storm with winds of 140 miles an hour. a lot of times, when you get a strong storm like this, it'll suck in the weaker storm. they're only about 400 miles away. it's having some effect. often happens in the pacific

ocean. let's talk about the track of this thing, this is from our friend at stormpulse.com. there's enrique, we expect it to die out, but felicia expected to continue as a major storm, sunday morning, monday morning, tuesday morning, close to hawaii, but by that time the waters here are pretty cool, we do anticipate rapid weakening and by the time it gets toward hawaii, it will probably be a depression or at the very most a tropical storm. all right. here's what's going on around the rest of the country. severe weather potentially across the northwest, some cooler air trying to drive down from canada, and then we're looking at an area of low pressure, a weak one, but causing rainfall across parts of the delmarva and the northeast. here it is on the radar scope, baltimore, to philly, getting a little bit of rainfall. pretty much stopping around long island, you might get a spritz or two across new york city. >> a spritz? >> as far as daytime highs are concerned. 77 degrees in new york, 77, as

well, in d.c., let's check on new york right now. you're looking at cloudy skies, doesn't look all that wet there in central park. not too shabby at that point. that's the latest from here, heidi, send it back over to you. talk more about the heat building, preent decent heat way wave for the eastern 2/3 of the country. >> very good, i like the spritzing comment. >> it's refreshing in the hot summer. >> thank you. the nightmare is over. now getting back to normal. experts say the american journalists held captive in north korea will likely face some challenges. taking its rightful place in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe.

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a developing story right now to tell you about out of raleigh, north carolina this morning involving former u.s. senator and presidential candidate john edwards, cnn producer is joining us now by phone with a little bit more information on this. mike, we know there's a grand jury meeting going on, what does the rest of this entail here? >> heidi, a woman we believe to be riel hunter was entering this

courthouse just a short while ago. you may be seeing video of it now. this is the courthouse where a grand jury is meeting to discuss the john edwards matter. you'll probably remember that she was the campaign worker who is alleged to have an affair with john edwards. he has acknowledged having an affair, and a little earlier today a government vehicle entered the gated side entrance to the courthouse, evidently avoiding court cameras at the front. and when the car stopped, three gentlemen in suits got out, a woman in a suit, and this woman we believed to be riel hunter, she was carrying a baby with a floppy at and they walked along the loading dock to the back entrance. >> seems kind of strange she would be bringing the baby to this grand jury meeting, does it not? >> yes, we heard that her accommodations, a lot of times

with grand jury witnesses arrive here, we understand they go into the front doors, but because of the expectation of cameras, perhaps -- perhaps that's why they went in this gated back entrance. also there was a woman accompanying them, perhaps to take care of the baby while she's testifying. we also shouted questions to her, she did not acknowledge our presence. we also spoke to the spokeswoman for the u.s. attorney's office here, she declined to comment whether ms. hunter was in the building. >> well, mike, any idea when you might have a little more information about what is going to happen inside that grand jury meeting regarding potentially riel hunter here who we continue to watch just so you know the video of her arriving? >> we don't know, grand juries meet in secret, they can't even acknowledge if the grand jury is meeting on this matter. be known other witnesses in the

past weeks have arrived here and spent the day testifying. we'll see what she has to say if anything when she comes out. >> let us know if we need to come back to you, all of this happening in raleigh, north carolina. you may remember that the former u.s. senator and two-time presidential candidate john edwards is under investigation to see whether or not some campaign funds were illegally paid to riel hunter, about $100,000 we're talking about here whether or not his political action committee may have paid her video production firm that sum of money. so, again, we are continuing to follow this and a grand jury meeting that's taken place where she apparently has arrived. we'll stay on top of it with our producers that are there. family reunions and readjustment, it can be difficult after being in captivity. something those american journalists freed from north korea are dealing with now. brian todd has more.

>> reporter: this part's pretty basic, an emotional embrace between euna lee and her 4-year-old daughter and a comment from lee's colleague about what they want to do next. >> we are just so anxious right now to be able to spend some quiet private time getting reacquainted with our families. >> and that experts say is when the difficult work begins, lisa is a psychiatrist who dealt with sensitive family reunions. >> is there a point when it's most difficult when all of the attention ebbs and the days or maybe a week after the reunion when all of the cameras are gone and all the people are gone, when your turn to your spouse or child or both and there's this kind of what now? >> well, yes, because all of the attention when we you come back is a big distraction. once that is pulled out of the picture, you really are faced again, you and the person you

were married to or you have been with all of these years and had children with and now you've got to kind of face the reality of what's -- what do we got going forward? who am i? what is my career? am i going back to my old job? or am i now a person on a mission? have i been transformed by this experience? >> divorce is common among couples in these situations, mark gonslaves was held captive for five years. in the years since their release, gone slaifs and house have gone through divorces. he suffered a physical reaction. >> it was the joy i felt and the rush that i felt to cover so much lost time in such a short amount of time now. it was something that was difficult to deal with. >> reporter: there seems to be

no set formula for readjustment. after being imprisoned for six months, she was home on thursday, back to work on the following monday. >> i had to prove to myself that my jailer did not break my spirit nor my will. i had to prove to myself that it was the old me. >> reporter: lisa says the families of those returning have to be flexible. families who del well in the readjustment period, she says, are those who take their cues from that returning relative and go at their pace. brian todd, cnn, washington. grading the president, how has the obama administration handled its second 100 days in office? we want to hear from you and we'll tell you how to make your voice heard.

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quickly to wall street now. the dow snapped the four-day winning streak yesterday. what's in store for today? a new reading on the labor markets and the state of the american consumer.

i want to get the very latest from felicia taylor standing by at the new york stock exchange. good morning to you, felicia. >> we are expecting a slightly higher open today. thanks to that big drop in jobless claims, 550,000 americans applied for first-time unemployment benefits last week, that's nearly 40,000 fewer than the week before, even though the number does sound high. however, the number of people continuing to draw benefits rose to 6.3 million. the numbers seemed to indicate that the pace of layoffs is easing down, but of course, people are still having trouble actually finding work and when people don't have jobs or worry about actually keeping the jobs they do have, they, of course, watch their wallets. no surprise, retailers today like jc penney, target, macy's, costco, and a longer list of others are posting big sales declines for the month of july. mall-based stores are weak, a sign of the all important back to school season is off to a rough start so far. on the earnings front, cisco systems saying its quarterly

profit tumbled nearly 50%. but the company's ceo says the last quarter could have been a tipping point and that month-to-month sales numbers are beginning to return to more normal patterns. let's take a look at the early numbers. we were expecting a slightly higher open and indeed we've got that, up just about 14 points, the nasdaq up about .25%. heidi, back to you. >> nice to see you. keep our eyes on the numbers. the obama white house on the eve of a significant milestone tomorrow, marks the president's 200th day in office. let's review where the administration stands now. some key issues. as far as public opinion, support has been sliding. a new poll finds president obama's approval rating has dropped seven points in the last 100 days. now, during that time, the administration's focus has been largely dominated by two major issues, fixing the economy and pushing through health care reform. so we want to know, and we want

to hear your thoughts on all of this. what grade do you give the president? we have a really terrific site all set up for you c, nn.com, of course, cnn.com/reportcard. you can go in and weigh your thoughts on all of this. let's take you over to the heidi mac now. of course, what you do is go in here and check all of the different issues. as we mentioned two of the largest are, of course, the economy. which ends up question number one, question number two regarding health care reform. there's ten questions here, ten different issues. you go through, read a synopsis about what the issue is, we're on the economy, question number one here, you'll see the synopsis and several other chunks of information for you to understand and then there is even a little area here where you can share your reaction and sound off if you will to some of these different issues. at the end of each segment, of course, you go on up here and give a grade. select the grade for the president that you give and then

you go on to the next question right over here where it says next and take you on down the line here. really, really interesting site, we encourage you to check it out, and of course, we will continue to follow that and how everyone responds. in fact, just a reminder, have the second 100 days of the obama administration been days of change for you? or have they been frustrating in let your voice be heard. cast your vote at cnn.com/reportcard and then you'll get the results from cnn's national report card tonight coming your way 8:00 eastern. the obama presidency by the numbers. here's the break down of how he's kept busy. since taking the oath, he's visited 18 states and traveled to 14 countries, met the leaders of at least 39 countries and as president, he's held four prime time news conferences and delivered one nationally televised prime time presidential address. he has signed 21 executive orders and signed 42 bills into law. there will be a test on all these numbers later on.

a vote is expected today on the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. we've had two days of debate so far in the senate. sotomayor would become the first latina and just the third female justice. she could be sworn in as early as tomorrow. a quick programming note, coming this october, cnn will present latino in america, how latinos are changing america, reshaping politics, business, schools, and neighborhoods. latino in america this october on cnn. a guilty verdict for the former congressman who hid $90,000 in his freezer. william jefferson was convicted on 11 corruption charges including bribery and money laundering, the money found in his freezer came from an fbi informant. >> the citizens need to have confidence in their government and when someone sells their office, it replaces that

confidence in their public officials with cynicism. $90,000 in a freezer is not a gray area, it's a violation. he sold his office for the least common denominator about what public service is about and that's personal wealth and greed. >> jefferson faces as much as 150 years in prison when he is sentenced in october. his attorney says he will appeal. bringing in rob marciano now from the severe weather center to take a look at this with me to water spout. love these, right? but it was from the air, you can tell you see a little bit of the aircraft. dorothy was in a small private plane there in alaska. >> that is a shocking part. >> yeah. she had her video camera handy, which is cool, she grew up in that area and says she's actually never seen one there before. so tell us more, rob, oh

insightful man. >> it doesn't surprise me that she's never seen one in alaska. you typically get them down across the gulf states near florida in the warm weather, more tropical climate. >> this is the strait, right? >> it's not just the gulf of alaska, this is like where the deadliest catch is. nasty weather there. you can get water spouts in the pacific northwest when there are thunderstorms around and convective stuff, but this is certainly rare. usually happen close to shore, the shoreline will often make the winds do funny things, get them twisted up in a bunch there and that is certainly cool weather video, and we thank you, dorothy. >> sure do. >> oh, you better believe it. >> we're talking specific. as you know, heidi for your particular show. >> that's right, just waking up, good morning. >> 6:30 over there, 3:30 hawaii time. but you know what, they have a good time out there and i'm sure there's some folks watching on

their way home. this is hurricane felicia, a major storm, category four storm heading into the general vicinity of hawaii and it's wrapping in this storm a little bit, tropical storm enrique, which refuses to weaken. they are both heading into cooler waters so they both will weaken, it looks like felicia will get to work to hawaii by probably monday at some point, but by that time the forecast and certainly our hopes is for it to continue to weaken and maybe be a tropical storm by the time that happens. still, impressive storm nonetheless. we've got storms developing across parts of the northern inner mountain region. this is good news for the pacific northwest, which is finally beginning to cool down. but the storms will continue to fire up and that may cause more in the way of lightning fire danger because of dry lightning. that's not always a good thing. little bit of rainfall across parts of the northeast. but it shouldn't be all that

bad. 81 in boston, 82 degrees in chicago, and 91 degrees in atlanta. >> very good. rob, thank you. we'll check back later. elections are fast approaching in afghanistan. one candidate for the job is going door to door. you see him there, nice little bell, stumping for votes on his bike.

most of us have experienced before, heart burn, and as we go through our 30s, 40s, and 50s, likely to notice other problems. dr. sanjay gupta takes another look. >> reporter: until recently, chuck o'connell would've never touched pepperoni pizza, too

greasy, too spicy, for years he suffered from chronic heart burn, and as he got older, his symptoms got worse. >> it would get so gripping at times, you know, trying to just get a breath while coughing was very difficult. >> reporter: in fact, he began to black out and eventually fell down the stairs. that's when he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a diagnosis that becomes more common in our 30s. the lines in our esophagus and stomach become thin as the muscle between relaxes, the contents of the stomach splashes back into the esophagus causing chest pain and coughing. >> you can't go out to eat when you want to, you have to sleep upright in bed, it interferes with your exercise. >> reporter: in chuck's case, his gurd with was so advanced, he needed surgery. but things like chocolate,

caffeine, and alcohol are no-nos because they relax the muscles even more. in our 40s, a different problem can crop up, ulcers, one reason as we get older people generally start taking more medication. >> the medicines that one takes for arthritic pains, some of the vitamin preparations, other things cause ulcers. >> reporter: plus a condition can develop if there's too much acid in the upper gi system. that damage can lead to cancer. in our 50s, problems with the lower gi tract, like the intestines are more common, especially in women. >> we'll see particularly in our women patients more trouble with diarrh diarrhea, constipation and bloating. they're a little bit lazier -- >> reporter: plus poll ups.

>> get one done, because that will tell you what the risk you have. >> reporter: since his operation, chuck o'connell is enjoying food again. he never thought heart burn would be such an issue in his life. but has learned to check out his health problems earlier rather than later. for 30, 40, 50, i'm dr. sanjay gupta. having the right tools is crucial to being able to manage your diabetes properly. it's very important for me to uh check my blood sugar before i go on stage. being on when i'm feeling low can be like a rollercoaster. it does at times feel like my body is telling me to do one thing... and, my mind, my heart is telling me to do something else. managing my highs and lows is super important. with my contour meter i can personalize my high/lo settings so it really does micromanage where my blood sugar needs to be. i'm nick jonas and never slowing down is my simple win.

a deadly explosion in southern afghanistan. a bomb intended for u.s. and afghan forces. but stead, goes off at a wedding party. live from kabul with the latest on this. what do we know at this point about the attack?

>> reporter: good morning, heidi. well, the information that we're getting is that 21 civilians were killed when a day of celebration turned into a day of tragedy when their tractor actually hit a road side bomb as you said probably intended for coalition troops. this happened in the district of helmand province, the same area where thousands of u.s. marines have poured in since last month and an operation to secure and hold former taliban strongholds. the casualties are the key here, and either winning or losing the war in afghanistan for both the coalition troops and for the taliban, and this is obviously a loss for the taliban, seeing that 21 people may have died. we are hearing a report that that number may be too high and that the actual death toll might be less than 21. >> either way, horrible story. people trying to celebrate a wedding there. also need to talk about this, what can you tell us about the death of another american service member?

>> reporter: well, what i can tell you, heidi, is that seven u.s. troops have been killed in august. 44, at least 44 killed last month in july, that is the highest death toll for u.s. troops in afghanistan since the war on terror began here in 2001, and let's also remember that about 30 coalition troops were also killed in july. that puts the death toll of coalition troops together over 70 -- for that one month in julyiojul july, and we do expect more deaths to come as the year progresses and the violence increases. heidi? >> we sure do appreciate that update, thank you. two weeks until election day, in fact, in afghanistan, president karzai facing criticism, some of it coming from a guy on a bike. cnn's ivan watson takes a look. >> reporter: every morning, he says good-bye to his wife. he 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 post 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 back room 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 a commando style of

campaigning, riding on a bicycle, putting up his own posters. does he stand a chance of winning? probably not, but the people here seem to like him. >> reporter: 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 oppresses 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. >> there are 41 candidates running for president of afghanistan, including karzai. polls will be opening august 20th at about 7,000 election centers around the country, according to the associated press. officials will use thousands of donkeys to deliver ballots to remote areas in the country. so the final tally could, of course, take some time. top marks for west pointe. the u.s. military academy topping the annual forbes list of best american colleges. beating out the ivy leagues and other traditional top schools. so here's the rest of the list. princeton is number two, followed by the california

institute of technology in pasadena, williams college and harvard round out the top five, the colleges were ranked on the quality of education and the experience for students. he went off to war almost six decades ago. until recently his family had no idea what happened to him. the story of a fallen hero home at last.

it looks like cash for clunkers will be getting a refill. the senate is expected to vote today to pump another $2 billion into the rebate program. it works like this, participating car dealerships give customers rebates up to $4,500 for trading in old gas guzzling clunkers for somewhat more fuel-efficient models and then file paperwork to be reimbursed. the program was so popular it almost ran out of money in less than a week. some dealerships suspended it and, in fact, one texas woman said the dealership told her to return her brand-new car. >> i'm driving it around for a week, you know, you kind of get

attached to it and then, boom, bring the car back. i blame it on the bureaucracy at the federal government. to me, it seems like a relatively simple program and, you know, they should have known that it was going to be very popular. >> if the senate approves the extra cash, it will keep the plan running until labor day. well, a whole lot going on this morning and our cnn crews are in place to bring it all to you. you see them there. let's get a preview now beginning with christine romans. hi, christine. >> hi, heidi. i'm taking a look at the progress and the challenges for this administration on the economy. two things that are most important to you and i our job and our home. what work needs to be done there? i'll have it at the top of the hour. i'm elizabeth cohen in atlanta. my empowered patient segment today is about hospitals. they could be dangerous places to be, so we asked nurses, what did you do to survive a stay at the hospital when you were a patient.

i'm rob marciano. quiet hurricane season on the at lant but pacific is heating up. hurricane felicia heading towards hawaii. complete forecast coming up in the next hour. heidi? >> appreciate it. auto executives got a tongue lashing when they did it and now some lawmakers want to fly in style at taxpayer expense.

a homecoming almost 60 years in the making. army sergeant charles leo wilson left missouri in 1950 to fight in the korean war. surviving family members only now are able to say good-bye. reporter paul shankman with affiliate ktvi has the story. >> reporter: when words are too small to express the magnitude of the moment, there is the salute. >> anybody that will sacrifice their life for our freedom deserves to be honored. >> reporter: sergeant charles leo wilson has come home. he was killed during the first insurgency of the korean war on or about august 27, 1950.

>> he has been unaccounted for for almost 60 years. they accounted for him. he's coming home to his family. they're going to have some closure. every man should come home. >> reporter: sergeant wilson's remains were found in 2000 by a north korean farmer, but they were not identified by the sergeant until the sergeant's niece started asking questions. although she barely remembers him, she always remembered the story. >> my mother always wondered what had happened. you know, she always kept a picture of uncle leo and she kept alive as kids and she always wondered what happened and, you know, she just for years she just knew he'd come home. >> reporter: it did not end here. his remains are being escorted across the state to ava, missouri, by members of the patriot guard. 243-mile trip they say is an

honor to make. >> his family now. we're representing his family and it's personal. >> when i started all this, i didn't realize, well, i never even thought about how big a thing it was going to be. all i was thinking about was getting him home. >> mission accomplished. happening now, word of a new witness in the disappearance of a 3-year-old british girl. a spokesman for the family of madeleine mccann told investigators he talked with a woman who offered clues about the case. the witness describes the suspicious woman as a victoria beckham lookalike with an australian accent. she vanished from her family's holiday villa in may of 2007. dramatic pictures out of south korea. brought in to end a strike at an outy plant. a deal has been reached, but some of the strikers are still

refusing to give up. they're upset over hundreds of proposed layoffs. back to work for a south carolina governor mark sanford. he returns today after a european vacation with his family. republican governor reportedly been focusing on his wife and children after admitting an affair with an argentine woman. it led to widespread calls for his resignation. top of the hour now, we begin with the obama presidency. 199 days and counting as we approach tomorrow's milestone. we want to take stock. how has the administration done in facing the toughest challenge. let's get some perspective now from cnn's christine romans from our money team. >> good morning, heidi. the freefall is over in the economy. that part is pretty clear. the banking system is at least stabilized here, that began under the bush administration but continued under this administration and the auto industry is seeing a little bit of a pop because of the stimulus

and cash for clunkers and two of the three auto american companies have been steered through the bankruptcy process, something that would have been unheard of, even last year. so, these are some of the successes and progress of this administration. two very important things here that are going to remain a headache for this administration and the first one of those things is jobs. jobs trouble. tomorrow we're going to get an unemployment report that is likely to show maybe 9.6% unemployment. today we had a jobless claims number for people who are filing first-time unemployment benefits and a record 6.3 million people are continuing to get jobless claims and a private sector and also showed a jump of job cuts in july of 31%. the job issue is something so central to every american's family pocketbook and personal budget and that is something that is pretty intractable here. and then you have the housing lows. deutch bank showed that almost half of all loans will be under

water by the year 2011, by the first quarter of 2011. meaning the people will owe more on the home than the home is worth. it's hard to see a meaningful housing recovery when so many people are underwater on their loans. house prices are down 33% nationwide from the peak. down 33%. so, a lot of people who had what we used to call the wealth effect and the ability to tap their home for some income and make up for stagnant wages and not really getting ahead very much on their jobs, now they don't have that to draw from. these are two things. your house and your job that are central to every american family's ability to feel like they're living the american dream and feel like they have the american standard of living and both of those things are still, still, they're still under the weather here, quite frankly. those are the real challenges going forward for this administration. >> they sure are. christine romans, thanks for that. on the president's 200th day

in office, what does the public think? according to our latest, just over half of americans believe the obama administration has been a success. 37% say it is a failure. president obama's positive rating falls short over george w. bush, 56% of americans said the bush administration was a success. turning now to the economy. 44% of those polls say president obama's policies have made the economy better, just over half said they made the economy worse. some optimism, though, 58% of americans think economic conditions will be good one year from now. 40% say the economy will still be poor. president obama marking his 200th day in office tomorrow. so, now is your chance to grade the job he's done so far. just logon to cnn.com/reportcard. see the results from cnn's national report card tonight at 8:00 eastern.

some evidence companies are cutting back on the number of people they're laying off. first-time claims for unemployment benefits are down, just released labor department figures show 550,000 people filed for unemployment last week. that's 30,000 less than expected. on the flip side, the number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits is actually up to 6.3 million. take a look at some other numbers right now. dow jones industrial average right now. the big board down slightly by about 16 points right now. still resting at 9264. we'll keep our eye on that for you throughout the morning right here in "newsroom." following a developing story now out of north carolina. the former mistress of john edwards is in federal court in raleigh this hour. no immediate word on why hunter is there. edwards acknowledged he is under federal investigation to hunter's production company but denies any wrongdoing.

edwards admitted having an fair with hunter while he was running for the democratic nomination for president. the senate wrapping up debate on judge sonia sotomayor. a confirmation vote is expected today. if the first two days of debate are any indication. the two more republicans are now publicly stating their support for sotomayor. she would be the first latina and just the first female justice that could be sworn in as early as tomorrow. a quick programming note for you now, cnn will present "latino in america." a look at how latinos are changing america, reshaping politics, business, schools, churches and neighborhoods. latino in america this october on cnn. a judge in north carolina is refusing to allow six terror suspects out of jail before their trial. he says they are all flight risk

because of their ties outside the united states. at least one of them trained at terrorist camps both in pakistan and afghanistan. the men are accused of planning murders overseas. part of the violent holy war. a seventh suspect has his hearing coming up next week. a chilling self-portrait. the man who killed three people at a pennsylvania fitness club revealed his plan on the internet. cnn's jeanne meserve with the story. >> reporter: george sodini was silent when he opened fire at his pittsburgh-area health club killing three women before taking his own life. but in his online diary, the 48-year-old spoke volumes about the carnage he was to inflict. why do this to young girls, the journal begins. just read below. i kept a running log that includes my thoughts and actions. indeed, he did. he called his killing spree his project and it began months ago. on november 5th, 2008, he wrote, plan to do this in the summer,

but figured to stick around to see the election outcome and in an entry from december 22nd, an apparent reference to the plot and the women at his gym. time is moving along. plan to have this done already. many of the young girls here look so beautiful as to not be human. very edible. the journal also revealed his desperation and lonelinesloneli. from christmas eve, no girlfriend since 1984, who knows why. i am not ugly or too weird. no sex since july 1990 either. in may, more despair. i made many big changes in the past two years, he wrote, but everything is still the same. life is over. this is from august 3rd. i took off today, monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well-polished. i need to work out every detail. there is only one shot. tomorrow is the big day. hours later, sodini wearing shorts and carrying a bag loaded with guns entered an aerobics class, turned the lights off and

fulfilled his death wish. >> i was right beside the room where it all took place. i'd seen everybody running. >> reporter: but they did. committed by a man, who at the top of his journal, typed his name, age, date of birth and listed his date of death as august 4th, 2009. jeanne meserve, cnn, bridgeville, pennsylvania. hawaii could be in for a whole lot of rain, maybe even a brush with a hurricane. there's actually one in the vicinity and rob marciano is keeping a close eye on it. already hardware and grocery stores, people are stalkistocki. lots of bottled water and batteries, i would imagine. >> it's still on the shelves. i was watching this video. there is that one person checking out and buying a flashlight. >> they're the only one not afraid of the camera.

>> we still have several days before this thing gets close to hawaii. hawaii does get hit with hurricanes but fairly rare because we're talking about a tiny target and also the waters that the hurricanes have to get through to get to hawaii are typically not all that toasty. so we have that hurdle to deal with. here is hawaii, here is our hurricane. actually, here is a tropical storm, as well. that's enrique. re re50-mile-per-hour winds getting wrapped up, one stealing the strength from the other and swirling it around like this. we don't expect enrique to do a whole lot, but felicia has winds of 140 miles per hour. but this is the forecast track that is expected to decrease in intensity and as it heads this way, again, temperatures are cooler in those water. there you see the decrease intensity to about tropical

depression status before it gets to hawaii. that's the good news there, but, you know, forecasting intensity is not a slam dunk business and it may hold on to its strength before it gets there. we'll keep you posted on that front. looking at these storms that are heading across, well, mostly across the northwest, but some will fire up across the southeast and then the heat's going to build across the midsection of the country and eventually the east coast over the weekend and get kind of toasty for saturday and sunday of lakes and beaches, i think, will be busy. high heidi, back over to you. congress dealing with a massive deficit, but not bad enough to stop a shopping spree. taxpayers on the hook for private transportation.

it looks like cash for clunkers will get a refill. the senate is expected today to pump another $2 billion into the rebate plan extending it until labor day. that gives car shoppers another month to trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient cars and get as much as $4,500 of a government rebate. the pentagon getting more than it asks for. it seems some members of congress want some new planes to fly the vips around the world, like members of congress. guess who's paying for it? cnn's lisa sylvester has more. >> reporter: remember this? the ceo os of the big three automakers exchanged jets for

cars after they were attacked for using company planes to get to congressional hearings in washington. lawmakers said it didn't look good that they were flying in style asking for bailout money. >> couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jetpooled or something to get here. it would have sent a message that you do get it. >> reporter: good question. a question congress might ask itself as it faces a rising budget deficit. they sign off to spend nearly $200 million to buy three new gulf stream jets as part of the defense bill. those private planes will be assigned to the air force units that about 20% of the time shuttle congressional members around the country and the world. taxpayer watchdog thinks it's ridiculous. >> apparently congress has created its own cash for clunkers program. turn it in your old jets and

taxpayers will buy you new ones. >> reporter: a congressional staffer familiar with the situation defended the decision by the house appropriations committee, saying that the squadron passenger airlift planes are outdated. "they have to replace a bunch of them, five to six of them. the decision was made to replace three this year instead of spacing them out." but pentagon officials didn't ask for three gulf streams, they asked for only one. >> we make it a point of asking for those things we need and nothing more. >> reporter: the pentagon frowns upon congress adding to their inventory above what they asked for because congress just considers the price of the plane, but not the operational cost of the crews, maintenance and service. in addition to the three gulf stream planes, congressional house appropriateators also five new c-40s. the pentagon wanted only three. lisa sylvester, cnn, washington.

$200 million of your money. should it be spent on gulf stream jets for the government? at the bottom of the hour we'll talk about taxpayer if those were justified. what do you think about the house approving nearly $200 million for the air force to buy three gulfstream jets for top government officials and members of congress? 877-742-5760. is your hospital safe? some people aren't so sure. vigilant parents protecting their children from hospital error.

despite the summer heat, thousands of activists turned out on capitol hill to rally for health care reform. in today's health care in focus jeremy morehead gives us an inside look at the determination of volunteers hoping to make a difference. >> here we are for health care for america. >> this is a huge undertaking. right now we are in upper senate

park in front of -- i'm the marshals captain, i'm julie. we will position you folks throughout this upper senate park. it will be a great rally we've got many, many groups who are volunteering their folks. the main responsibility will be to keep the sidewalks clear. why am i doing this? i support health care for all. i think health care is a right and i think this is a pivotal time in our history to make sure we guarantee that. we have almost 65 buses that are coming in the next two to three hours. i think that people coming as far as hawaii. >> three bus loads from west virginia. >> some going to town halls to meet with senators. there is going to be a lot of people. >> health care now! ♪ we want, we want health care >> what a movement is about. >> when you go to europe, you

get health care from cradle to grave and here in america, the richest country in the world and you've got millions of people who don't have health care. if you lose your job, they lose their health care. if they lose their job, they lose their health care. why can't we have health care? >> we need to work together to pass universal health care. there is no option but a public option. thank you. thank you. >> look for more stories from cnn photo journalists as we continue our series. you can also find more information at health careinfocus.com. hospital mistakes and how to avoid them. a new study shows most parents feel they need to be vigilant when their child is in the hospital to make sure the hospital doesn't make mistakes. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here to

explain. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i thought hospitals were supposed to make you feel better, but i think a lot of us have seen quite a few of these reports that come out oabout errors that definitely take place. so, when you're a parent of a child, your child is ill, i feel like people are really wanting to know more and be very focused on the care that their kids are getting. >> the survey says that people get it. two-thirds of parents say they get it that they need to be vigilant when their child is in the hospital to make sure that the hospital doesn't make some kind of error that could make their child sick. th studies have shown that 1 out of 15 children in the hospital, excuse me, is harmed by a medication error. that's 1 out of 15 kids. that's a pretty high rate. for all of us, take a look at these statistics. there are up to 98,000 deaths in hospitals due to errors. not because you're sick, but because of an error that made you sicker and also 99,000 deaths from infections that

people get in the hospital. in other words, heidi, they come into the hospital without an infection and get the infection in the hospital. >> that number from the institute of medicine, i'm not sure when that was done, but i remember that number being out there for quite some time. i would love to see a newer number. >> yeah, over the years, people have looked and they sort of argue back and forth, but the numbers are definitely huge, there are no questions. >> it's really scary. for your empowered patient column this week, you went and you asked nurses a little bit more about what types of errors they have seen in hospitals and very interesting because you got dramatic responses here. talks about the culture, too, doesn't it? >> being quiet and not talk about what's going on. nurses more than other groups are coming out and saying, you know what, we're seeing things happening that shouldn't be happening. susan gonzalez said that she was with her father, rather, who was in the hospital, she was visiting with him and the nurse

came to hang a medicine to give to her father an iv medicine and he the nurse said, oh, it's for your father. she said my dad is allergic. it could have killed him and the nurse said, oh, my goodness, you're right. that's terrible. we heard many stories like that of nurses noticing these kind of errors in hospitals. >> it's something you have to stay on top of. the hospital lists or advocates. do the nurses suggest a way that you can feel safer or for your loved one protect them even better? >> they are tips you for things you can try to do to protect your loved one or yourself while you're in the hospital. let's look at these tips. first of all, ask about every drug, as we saw with that situation there. ask about every drug. what is it, what is the dosage and am i supposed to get it at this time? >> buy a pdr, a physicians desk

reference. >> you should know. if they say this is drug x and you know you're not supposed to get drug x, speak up. tell doctors and nurses to wash their hands. i was just in the hospital with a family member and i had to ask them to wash their hands. they were not happy. i was like i would rather make you unhappy than rather you touch my loved one with a dirty hand. don't back down. which speaks to what we were just talking about. when i got those dirty looks from people who didn't want to wash their hands, i didn't back down. i'm sure you did it right before you walked in the room, i am sorry to bug you, but could you wash your hands in front of me so i could see you. go to cnn.com/health and you can see my column. >> we could talk about this issue all day long and we also want to know about empower me friday. >> tomorrow you have any questions for me, e-mail me at

empoweredpatient@cnn.com. send me any questions about health care. we answer one person's question every friday. >> very good. elizabeth, nice to see you. thanks so much. the obama presidency as he approaches a milestone, we take stock. how has he done so far? ♪ [ female announcer ] arthritis targets your body where it's weak. where it's vulnerable. ♪ tylenol arthritis works with your body to block the pain, without interfering with certain high blood pressure medicines like aleve sometimes can. ♪ so you don't just feel better, you feel better knowing doctors recommend tylenol more than any other brand of pain reliever. ♪

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hot! hot! hot! time to check your air conditioning? come to meineke now and get a free ac system check. at meineke, you're always the driver. president obama tomorrow marking his 200th day in office, so, how has he performed so far on two of the biggest issues? the economy and health care reform. let's put that question to our guest on both sides of the political spectrum.

rich galin and bill press is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. >> hi, heidi. >> thank you for being with us, bill. gentlemen, president obama's approval rating has been steadily sliding in recent weeks. let's start this out by looking at least one of the polls that we have here. his approval and disapproval. this is a cnn opinion research corporation poll. 56% of people approve of the job he's doing. 40% disapprove. bill, to you first, these numbers are down. what's going on? >> as a president moves in office, his numbers inevitably go down. i would like to point out that is more than double the approval rating that george bush had when he left office. >> it's about the same as george bush had at this time in his administration. so, they're almost equal. >> that's fine. bush was under 20 before he left office. i just think. >> he has 7 1/2 years to go. >> rich, i'd like to finish this

sentence here, okay. i would say, look, inevitably with the president tackling so much and people see that, you know, they're going to say, hey, why haven't you delivered for us yet. i think 56 is a pretty healthy number. go ahead, rich. >> i think these things happen. gravity overtakes the euphoria of a new election and most presidents, i think, other than in times of great crisis war, attack those sorts of things. that the mid-50s is probably the best in this day in age that any president can expect to have. >> all right, well, let's move on to the issues that affect people at home so much and maybe sort of gearing into those approval ratings that we're seeing. obviously, right now, one of the main issues is health care and we also have the economy. let's talk about health care for a minute here. even though the house has been in recess, a lot of anger, confusion, frustration that we have seen from people at these town hall meetings where they're going back and hearing from

their constituents on health care reform. we've got a poll on this one, too. you see it in front of you there. it looks like, let's see, that was not the right one, but they show that 50% of people are in favor and 45% are opposed to obama's health care plan at this point. >> that said 43%. >> 44% of them don't actually think that health care will affect, will help them personally. some of them believe that, yeah, this plan that's out there, at least what they know about it will help other families, but not them. how is the administration, rich, going to really zero in on the individuals and help people to understand how it does affect them? >> i think this is one of those times so far, it's a rare time that ron emanuel chief of staff had a tin ear about how to sell this thing. the problem is, there is no plan to sell. the president hasn't been clear on the basics of what he's trying to get accomplished, what he's done is sort of tossed it over to the congress and that's

always dangerous. as long as we're talking about polls. the npr, not exactly an outpiece for the conservative wing of the republican party, their latest poll shows, i'm sorry, nbc/"wall street journal" has the approval rating of the congress at 24. to bill's point, the congress wishes they had george bush's numbers. what happens is that people don't know what they're for and they don't know what the president is for. governor sebelius said the other day that the senate hasn't been written yet and very difficult to go out and sell a concept without any kind of hard facts. >> well, bill, do you agree with that? bill press, there are people trying to weigh in on this as to how they understand it. in most of the questions, at least the ones i looked at that are eliciting the poll results, the questions are from what you have seen and heard from this bill, what do you think? >> i was slightly a different take. first of all, i have to say that think this is the most important

issue facing the american people today domestically and i think president obama has taken it from no where, not on the agenda to putting it absolutely on the front burner and said this is number one legislative priority, i think there will be legislation pased this year, that's good. here's where the problem is. i think the president has given congress too much running room on this. he has put it in their hands and therefore what people see is the sausage factory and they see these senators who can't decide which direction they're going and the congress is all over the place and i think the president's got to seize this thing, i would say, i'm sorry, rich, stop spending so much time trying to get republican votes. he's got enough democratic votes and tell the american people what he wants and what they're going to do and then just do it the way i'm convinced republicans would do if they're in charge. >> at first you were shaking your head in agreement. >> that's exactly right. i think the president has to have more clarity. they sent these members of congress home with no idea about what they were supposed to be

selling and hearing from their constituents that as your poll shows health care is very personal. you don't need a car particularly on a cash for clunkers. if you have a job, unemployment, sort of somebody else's problem. but as your previous segment pointed out, health care is everybody's issue and they're very concerned that they're not going to turn it over to a bunch of people who may be acting not in their particular interest. >> bill, very quickly, you actually said the economy, as we move over to the other major issue for this administration cannot be fixed without health care reform, really? >> absolutely right. no, the president i think has been very clear on this. health care is 16% of our gdp. health care accounts for 1 out of 6 every american dollar we spent and the fastest growing part of the economy. the costs are out of control, big business, small business, families are being hurt by this, you cannot fix the economy without fixing health care, that's why we got to get it done and also that's why the president couldn't wait, as some

people suggested, fix the economy first and then we'll come back and fix health care. they're one in the same. >> rich, i thought this was all about the economy anyway. the housing problem. >> well, there's a lot of problems still out there for the president to deal with the housing, credit card debt. i mean, a lot of stuff. but to bill's point, one of the things we know in washington is this is the kind of thing that has to get done in the odd numbered year because if it slips over to next january or into the election year, it will never get done. >> totally. >> very quickly from both of you, we have like ten seconds. give me a grade for the first 200 days of president obama. rich? >> "b" on the economy because he hasn't dealt with jobs and incomplete on health care. >> bill? >> "b plus" on health care because he hasn't taken the lead and "d plus" on the economy only because i think he hasn't spent money fast enough. the stimulus money hasn't gotten out the door fast enough. otherwise, good job on both.

>> we appreciate your thoughts. thank you, guys. >> thanks. well, in fact, it is up to you to decide how president obama is doing so far, but, cnnmoney.com writers and editors have their own opinions. poppy harlow is in new york on this. how are your colleagues rating the president's money move. >> they're using basketball analogi analogies. we know president obama likes to shoot slam dunks and air balls. let's start off with the slam dunk and that actually, believe it or not, the auto bankruptcies. if you click on it, you see why. a lot of people, heidi, did not think it was a viable option to have chrysler or gm saying, listen, folks won't buy cars from bankrupt carmakers. pushing on those warntdies and also pushing hard on the creditors and emerging from the bankruptcies and we want to play you a quick video here, a clip of what our team thinks on the president and the auto

bankruptcies. >> in a way it was what nobody predicted. >> i think a lot of doubt to have them in and out of bankruptcy as quick as they were. >> a company that size, the size of general motors to go through a bankruptcy in, what, 40 days? obama pushed it through, he nailed it. >> all right, heidi, you heard it, he nailed it. big slam dunk on that one, heidi. >> cnnmoney.com is rating that a big success but the administration has also thrown out some other questions that are out there. some air balls that you mentioned. >> a number of air balls. i mean, look across here. you have some big misses from the beginning of the year until right now. let's talk about job creation. just click here and take a look. we heard the president say time and time again, we will save or create 3 million jobs. the president said he has done that with 750,000 and you can't dispute the numbers. this economy has shed 3.4

million jobs this year already. so, they're saying that that is just an airball. let's look here at the aig bonus. we are talking about $350 million in bonuses. the president was quiet on it and then ed henry pushed him on it and he came out and talked about it, these contracts have to be honored. two-thirds of the bonuses have been paid out. we want you to judge for yourself, want to read you a quick facebook comment. obama spending policies are wrong, just like george bush. he was right to save gm, i lived in the midwest and it would have been a catastrophe if they went into liquidation. one more comment here from john, john rates it a c minus. i give him a c mines and i feel his first 100 days were very good, the last 100, i think he overspent. let us know what you think. this tool, it's fun, very interaffect and only on cnnmoney. have the second 100 days of the obama administration been

days of change or days of frustration? you can cast your vote now at cnn.com/reportcard. we should say cast your grade and then you can get the results from cnn's national report card tonight at 8:00 eastern. the american dream could be slipping away. fewer people own homes these days and it could stay that way for quite a while. felicia taylor at the new york stock exchange now and to explain more about why. good morning to you, felicia. >> you know, heidi, it's true, people are giving up that american dream, the old house with the white picket fence in favor of renting. we haven't seen that in a while. more than 67% of americans actually own homes. that sounds like a lot and it is and that's down from nearly 70% from back in 2005. so, of course, some baby boomers are downsizing by choice. they don't want the major overhead at this point. in the past, many others that are being forced to lose their homes through foreclosure and other things because they can't make those payments. the sad part is that deutch bank

says this trend can continue. 25 million homeowners will be "under water" by 2011. that's where they owe more on their home than the home is actually worse. that's a huge difference. up from 14 million this year. almost double the number. again, underwater is where you owe more on the home than it is worth and some borrowers walk away from their mortgage and think it's better than selling their home at a loss. heidi? >> because people can't sell their homes they are renting them out and renting for themselves somewhere else. so, it seems to go on and on. we did hear, though, last week that home prices are going up, but it's clearly still a problem. >> well, exactly. this recovery has been anything but steady and we have a long way to go. we're far from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. last week we saw a report that home prices rose in may instead of april. if you look at that number from the year before. prices fell 17%. it's a big problem for people who bought their house at the height of the market.

states suffering the worst so far are places that may not surprise you, but arizona, nevada, ohio, michigan, illinois and wisconsin. and, get this, parts of florida and california are going to see 90% or more of their loans underwater by 2011. that is a scary number. hidesny. >> yeah, definitely is. felicia taylor, thank you. taxpayers fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff. lawmakers want to spend millions of your dollars on private jets.

this morning we told you about a story that is sure to make a lot of taxpayers mad. a house committee added three new gulfstream jets to the

military's shopping list. they're replacing some older planes, apparently, but here's the catch. the pentagon only asked for one. you see the long-range jets are used to fairy vips around, including members of congress. is this really the best use of your $200 million? that's the question. steve ellis is the vice president of tax payers for common sense is joining us from washington this morning. thanks for being here, we appreciate it. what was your reaction when you learned about the house appropriations committee and the fact that they approved only one, at the price of $65 billion per jet, but three in total for the air force. >> well, when i saw that in the bill, i noticed that first off it had specified that these two additional jets go to two particular units that actually just had their squadron named but when you dug into it they were going to andrews air force base and about to smepend $133 million so congress will have

nice gulfstream jets to travel in comfort. >> in fact, there was quite a bit of outrage from this same exact committee with the auto executives. let's listen in to some sound from that. >> couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet pooled or something to get here? it would have at least sent the message that you do get it. >> so, if congress goes through with this, which they have already approved it, isn't this a kind of do as we say, not as we do scenario? >> congress is sending a message, as well, hey, even though the rest of the country is strapped for cash and they're putting off big expenditures. congress is bellying up to the bar and asking for two additional aircrafts so that they can fly in comfort and luxury that they rightfully criticize the big three automaker ceos for doing. >> let's be fair about this, of course, we probably need to

reserve a brain cell for the possibility that congressional members absolutely do need to travel on jets like these. is it some sort of security issue? >> there are security issues and logistic issues both between, you know, this is not just for members of congress and pentagon brass but certainly there are cases and instances where this would make sense, but it isn't like they don't already have jets. >> that's what i was going to say. if the pentagon has done this study, as they do. they are very careful about how they spend their money and they have their own budget and they ask for one, but get three. are they happy about it? >> i don't know if i would say the pentagon is always careful how they spend their money. they always have more than they need. they only ask for one andry placement schedule and congress is essentially accelerating that so that they can get these sooner and not only that, these aren't all located in the d.c. area. these type of aircraft are in various units around the country and so they specified these had

to go to these units so that congress could get the nice aircraft or at least get first dibs on it. >> steve, we sure do appreciate your time here this morning. thank you very much. also according to our reporting, this isn't the only aircraft we're talking about, apparently, the pentagon wanted three 737 type-planes and the house approved five. we will continue to follow this story and try to figure out what's going on here. meanwhile, we very much as always want to hear from you on this. what do you think about congress approving $200 million of taxpayer money for these gulfstream jets? in fact, we have got a lot of responses. let's head over to the heidi mac and take a look at the blog comments. the first one says this. suzanne, i think it's inexcusable and shows the hypocrisy of congressional members and the lack of consideration they have for the citizens they are supposed to represent. and another one, here from kay. no, this is an unneeded waste of taxpayer dollars and money needs to be spent on something that

can benefit the country and the peop people, not for three luxury jets. >> before weighing in on the new gulfstream planes we need to know something about the existing aircraft and how much time is on those engines. they're not replacing old jets, these are all three new aircraft. you can always give us your feedback. we love it right here. or give us a call at the hotline to heidi and that number is 1-877-742-5760. 40 years later, charles manson is still in prison along with members of his so-called family. still hiding secrets about their brutal killing spree.

lynette squeaky fromme getting out of prison. she had a gun but never fired. the now 60-year-old fromme fwets out on parole one week from sunday. squeaky fromme declared himself a member of charles manson family, but she wasn't there. 40 years ago when the manson family burst into the spotlight with brutal murders. four decades later, questions remain. was the family responsible for even more murders? cnn ted rowlands takes a look. >> are you guilty of any murders? >> reporter: speculation has swirled that the nine murders linked to charles manson and his

followers could be just the tip of the iceberg. that more victims, possibly run aways or others who came in contact with the manson family may have been murdered. according to prosecutors, manson family members at one time alluded to as many as 35 victims. if there are other manson victims, the theory is that they could have been buried at one of the manson family hideouts. right now we're at the spawn ranch, this is where the manson family was before the murders. this used to be an old movie set. there were buildings right in here and all wiped out by a fire, but the theory is right over this ridge, there could be grave sites. >> this is where they lived. right on the river bed. >> reporter: kiddy cox is a caretaker at spawn ranch. do you think there are bodies out here? >> i think there could be. >> the other place people believe more manson victims is death valley, the barker ranch where manson was eventually arrested. when we traveled there last year, we met emmett harder, a

gold prospector who met manson and some of his followers include tex watson. one story he is told makes him believe there are bodies here. >> this one girl didn't get along with manson or ross at all and they took her for a walk. and they came back in a short distance and we never saw her again. >> reporter: paul, a former police detective brought his cadaver dog, buster, to both the parker and spawn ranches. buster located potential grave sites in both places. the local sheriff authorized a dig at barker ranch last year but nothing was located. one person who would know is charles tex watson, we wrote to him in prison and received this letter back that says, in part, i was the first family member to go to the desert after the murders and, also, the first to leave. i say this only to let you know that no one was killed while i was in the desert, but i don't

know what took place after i left. over the years, none of the manson family members have ever said anything specific about other victims and they are the only ones who may ever know. ted rowlands, cnn, los angeles. >> make sure you catch anderson cooper 360 tonight for part two of the series on the manson murders 40 years later. "ac 360" comes your way tonight 10:00 p.m. eastern. kelly saunder's nature valley, the place that inspires her to go faster... and slower, elk mountains, colorado. where's yours?

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a kodak moment for former president bill clinton one day after securing the release of american journalist held in north korea, he'll be back home in new york today. the former president and leading drug manufacturers will make an announcement in haralism about hiv and aids. we'll keep you posted on that