foreign affairs. you can grade the president on his second 100 days in office. cast your vote now at cnn.com/reportcard and get the results from cnn national report card tonight. "cnn newsroom" continues right now with mr. don lemon. >> always a pleasure to see you. you look very nice, by the way. >> thank you. it is thursday, the 6th of august. here are the top stories. what if the mail carrier didn't show up on saturday? the postal service looks for way to stop bleeding billions of dollars. democracy at work or is it mob rule? angry protesters disrupt health care town hall but the rnc chairman says don't blame republicans. the protests are genuine. stop using the boogie man. the policies that this administration is putting out is what's scaring america. also, impact your world. heading off an easily preventable eye disease that leads to blindness for millions

of people. good morning, everyone i'm don lemon, tony harris is off. you are in the "cnn newsroom." we begin this hour with issue number one, of course, it is your money. lately there have been signs that the economy is stabilizing and home sales are rising, manufacturing is picking up and some analysts expect the economy to grow this quarter. but, today, we have new jobless numbers that show just how fragile the situation is. felicia taylor is at the new york stock exchange with the details on the jobless numbers. hi, felicia. >> once again, we have this mixed number in the jobless claims. today we saw that jobless claims fell to 550,000, that is still a high number. however, it's down from 40,000 the week before. that's not so bad. the pace of layoffs is beginning to slow down, that's what we're hoping to see. however, we saw a number of

those filing for first-time benefits for a week or mow increase to 6.3 million. that's not so good. it means that people are really having a tough time finding work. that's the good news/bad news in that. of course, the big mother of labor reports comes tomorrow and that is the monthly report from the labor department. we're expecting to see that the number will go down to 330,000 job cuts and that will be down from the month of june, that will hopefully be good news there. but, of course, the same story. if we don't see things begin to slow down, the pace of job cuts slowdowns. fewer jobs and that means no paychecks and nobody spending that retail outlets and stores across the country. we're already seeing that today. costco says its sales fell 7% in july thanks to lower gas prices and a stronger dollar and that stock has been trading to the down side today. right at the oep oon, we did see a slight uptick after a loss yesterday of almost 40 points, but today, right now, the dow is off about 14 points. that's a loss of about 1%.

the nasdaq composite is off 0.5% and the s&p is off a third of 1%. the markets today are having a tough time holding on ahead of the footing. >> i'm sure you'll have details on that. felicia taylor from the new york stock exchange. neither rain nor sleet could stop the u.s. postal service. how about the internet or the recession? two reasons why the service is losing billions of dollars in revenue. shutting down hundreds of post offices all across the country is one solution. jeff potter addressed the situation earlier this morning on capitol hill. take a listen. >> restructuring of the legislative and regulatory framework but postal service is required. at stake is the future of what has been since this nation's founding, the right of every american to send and receive mail. the postal service exists as a governmental entity whose

mission is university service to all. that mission is a direct reflection of the values on which this country was founded. >> well, the service expects to lose $7 billion for the fiscal year ending in september. do you use the postal service? we want to hear from you. would you mind if deliveries were cut to just five days a week? leave us a comment, cnn.com/newsroom. as president obama nears the 200th day mark in office, the economy continues to be one of the major issues shaping his presidency and it may be that way for quite some time to come. in a new cnn research corporation poll 58% suspect economic conditions to be good a year from now and 40% say conditions will be poor. christine romans joins us live from new york. >> hi, don. >> the president took over in the middle of a severe crisis. we know that. there has been some progress, though, where have we seen the

improvements? >> this is where the progress has been. look, the freefall by all estimations here, the freefall part of this is over. the financial system is at least stabilized here. you have two of the three american automakers who have been navigated through the bankruptcy process and have emerged from bankruptcy. think about it, a year ago that would have been considered impossible and you have stimulus starting to work in some places like the cash for clunkers. that's the things that the administration can rightly point to are the things that have happened under their watch. remember, all of this began under the bush administration and the financial stabilization and just as the president said he inherited this mess, he also inherited the beginning of the process of trying to stop the financial system from completely falling apart and now six, seven, eight months later we are seeing the fruits of that. indeed, the financial system, the financial system is at least stable here. those are things when you step back and look at it, those are the places where progress has been made, progress that it is, don.

>> what are the sticking points? what have been the major headaches and problems that are not budging here? >> here are a couple things that are problem for this administration. our job and our house. these are the things where there are some concerns. we are trying to figure out how to get this fixed. in some cases it might take more time. 6.3 million people are continuing to get unemployment benefits. this jobless claims number that you were just talking about. 550,000 people filed for unemployment benefits. a lot of people lining up for the first time for unemployment benefits and a private survey shows that 31%, there was a jump in job cuts in july. i mean, people are still laying people off and small businesses, frankly are starting to lay a lot of people off because they have been waiting and waiting for a turn around and for the small businesses, they don't have any more time they can wait. then you look at the housing part of it, don. an analysis by deutch bank.

think of that, that's almost half of american homeowners will owe more on their home than it's worth. house prices, according to case schiller, reason you're under water is because house prices are down 33% from the peak. the value of your largest asset. where you live, the thing you're living in, the biggest thing you're ever going to buy and your job, the thing that helps you feed your family, the two sticking points that have been intractable and that is the concern for the obama administration going forward. >> that used to be americans biggest investment, their home. >> now it's their biggest pain and their biggest liability, quite frankly. >> thank you very much for that. christine romans in new york. president obama's economic team making the argument that the $787 billion stimulus plan is working. the director of the white house council on economic advisors gave her assessment this morning. chris teama romer said it is helping slow the decline of the economy and she says it's well managed. >> the first thing to say is that the money is absolutely

going out the door quickly, as of the end of june, more than $100 billion has been spent. those numbers are rising each week and we are on track to have spent 70% of the total by the end of next fiscal year. and i know that some believe that the government can never do things well, but the program really is a model of efficiency and transparency. the recovery.gov website provides a thorough and honest accounting of what's getting done. >> here's what romer also says. she also rejects the criticism that rising unemployment is proof the stimulus is not working. president obama's approval rating is down 7 points during his second 100 days in office and that new cnn research poll, 56% approved, that is a drop of o7 points since april and 40% disapprove of his.

>> the administration, you know, they downplay the first 100 days, virtually ignoring the second 100 days and a lot of polls out there that are kind of giving a grade for the last six months and one i want to point to is the issue of the president juggling so many, sort of this ambitious agenda. the two wars going on overseas. ask you health care, you have the stimulus plan, you have education. so, one of the questions that president obama has been asked from early in his administration is whether he is doing too much. in the most recent polling, the cnn opinion research poll when americans were asked if he was taking on more issues than he should have. 65% said yes and 30% said no. if you compare that back to march, if you ask the administration to these numbers, they typically tell you we're not following the polls, both

the president and his spokesman always say that they didn't inherit or they didn't choose, they can't sit back and choose what it is that they want to deal with or not. these are all pressing issues that need to be addressed right now. the president saying that you can't delay any longer on health care and he as the to deal with health care and has to deal with iraq. that's the way the president looks at this. he needs to juggle all these issues because it's very important. one other interesting thing coming out of the poll oing that we saw, don. americans seem to be separating what the president is doing as president and then what they feel about him as a person. in terms of his favorability rating. it still remains relatively high in the latest poll favorability at 64% favorable, americans view him. unfavorable, 34%. now, it's not quite as high right before he came into office in january with 78% favorable and 17% unfavorable, but, still, showing a little drop there, but

still quite favorable as a president. people still like him as a person, but, you know, his approval rating, as you pointed out. >> dan lothian at the white house, dan, appreciate it. you have a chance to grade the president on his second 100 days. go to cnn.com/reportcard and then get the results tonight. watch cnn's national report card at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. a federal grand jursy investigating john edwards' campaign finances. this morning his former mistress and her baby showed up to testify.

announcer: some people buy a car based on the deal they get. - others buy the car of their dreams. - ( beeps ) during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. it's an opportunity today. it's a lexus forever. special lease offers now available on th. welcome back to queelt cnn newsroom." time to check what's going on, interestingly, in alaska, look at this waterspout. my goodness dorothy was taking this shot as she took off about 1,000 feet in the air. rare sight in alaska. this is in the bearing sea where they do that deadliest catch. nasty weather up there. these things usually happen in

the tropics or at least in the gulf states, sometimes in the pacific northwest. that, my friends, is rare. here's what's going on weatherwise, showers and thunderstorms across theinter mountain west and showers across the del marva. newark 55-minute delays if you're doing travel there. ground delays in the order of 40 minutes in san francisco and 30 in charlotte and 30 minutes in teterboro. showers starting to pile up here on the radarscope. on the west coast, they're looking good for that because it's been deving statingly hot there and there is your rain just south of long island. don't think new york city will see much out of this rain system. 82 degrees in chicago and check out this shot. gorgeous day in chicago, actually. there's the magnificent mile, blue skies, temps will get into the lower 80s at best and enjoy that because as the weekend comes along, we will heat up.

that's a quick check on weather, "cnn newsroom" is coming right back. these legs. poor leg circulation. doctor says it's p.a.d. peripheral artery disease? hmmm. more than doubles your risk for a heart attack or stroke. so i hear. better ask your doctor about plavix. plavix can help protect you from a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots, the cause of most heart attacks and strokes. my cousin the m.d. call your doctor about plavix. (male announcer) if you have a stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. when taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin, the risk of bleeding may increase so tell your doctor before planning surgery. and, always talk to your doctor before taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. if you develop fever, unexplained weakness or confusion, tell your doctor promptly as these may be signs of a rare but potentially life-threatening condition called ttp, which has been reported rarely,

sometimes in less than two weeks after starting therapy. other rare but serious side effects may occur. sometimes in less than two weeks after starting therapy. grill: holy moly!!! what just hap...whoa! grill: i mean...wow! hey! that looks great. grill: and there's no need to discuss it further. in fact, you can buff most of that out. just give it a once-over with a wet paper towel...hee, hee grill: ok, good talking to you... anncr: accidents are bad. anncr: but geico's good. ding! with 24-hour claims service. john edwards his former mistress is apparently testifying today before a federal grand jury. fbi agents escorted hunter and her baby girl into the courthouse this morning.

edwards acknowledges his campaign finances are under investigation. cnn producer mike is at the courthouse in raul wae the latest. what's going on, mike? >> she was seen entering the courthouse about 8:30 this morning and she is still inside. hunter is the woman at the middle of this investigation of john edwards and his possible misuse of campaign funds. edwards has acknowledged that he's under investigation and denied that he's done anything wrong and also admitted having an affair with hunter, but denies fathering hunter's child. interestingly, hunter arrived that courthouse with her baby this morning. she and her entourage arrived in a black suv and they went into a side gated entrance to the courthouse complex. when they got out of the car, she was with several people, two of three of whom appear to be federal agents and her attorney

was with her and a woman carrying a diaper bag was with her. when reporters shouted questions at her, she didn't acknowledge us. a spokeswoman for the u.s. attorney's office here would not say whether hunter's in the building, citing the secrecy of grand jury meetings. but as i said, don, we saw her enter the building and we haven't seen her leave and we have every reason to believe that she's testifying right now in the john edwards matter. >> you have a federal grand jury like that, no one is allowed in except for all the parties. so mike ahler following the very latest there. as soon as he gets more information, he'll bring it to us. crime and corruption undermining a democracy. secretary of state hillary clinton has direct comments for one african nation.

the cash for clunkers program has been running on empty with the obama administration warning that the program could go broke by tomorrow, but the senate may get a vote together in time to save the program. felicia taylor is at the new york stock exchange with details. hi, felicia. no, felicia? we'll check in a little bit with felicia taylor at the new york stock exchange. let's move on and talk about the secretary of state, hillary clinton. s she is holding court in nairobi this morning. united states has a stake in africa's future, but many of its leaders need to step up. >> the fact is that kenya has not fulfilled its economic promise and i believe in part because it hasn't yet realized fully what it means to have a functioning dynamic democracy

and a free press and an independent judiciary and a sense of future gains from present day sacrifice. among the people who have run the country. >> let's go now to david mckenzie who joins us now from nairobi. tough words first from the president and now from the secretary of state, david. >> that's right, don. the way hillary clinton secretary of state put it, it was tough work s but given with love, steve. in fact, barack obama's, she said that those same statements he made hold true today. that the reforms need to be made in kenya and pushing through to end corruption just hasn't happened, according to the u.s. government. very strong words and a very vibrant discussion here in kenya where certainly people are

getting into the swing of things and a lot of people pretty happy with those strong words coming from the secretary of state. don? >> thank you, david mckenzie in nairobi, we apologize for that satellite hit, dave sudfar away and we had a bit of a problem there. fareed zakaria interviewed the secretary of state about her trip to africa and you can watch it this sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. loud, boisterous, out of control. people disrupting town hall meetings. who are they and why are they doing it? a great deal gets even better. let us recycle your older vehicle and you could qualify for an additional $3500 or $4500 cash back on a new, more fuel-efficient chevy. your chevy dealer has more eligible models to choose from. more than ford, toyota, or honda. now get an '09 silverado for under twenty eight-five after all offers. and get it for even less if you qualify for cash for clunkers program. go to chevy.com for details.

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good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. when we talk about cash for clunkers, shall we? that program has been running on empty with the obama administration warning that the program could be broke by tomorrow. but the senate may get to vote together in time to save the program. our felicia taylor is at the new york stock exchange with details on that. you don't typically say, how much cash is left in the cash for clunkers program? i have been hearing reporters say that. >> the senate is expected to vote today and there could be good news. it would add about $2 billion to extend the program through labor

day. they expect it would pass and then go to president obama for his sig nuxhr and that would ensure no break in the program. so far, it has been a pretty successful program. 184,000 clunkers have been turned in already, so, clearly, it's working. >> 84,000. >> 184,000. >> that's even more cars! >> i know. >> so what are people buying, do you know? >> this is really interesting, too. a big shift, not just of the more fuel efficient, but also to smaller cars. let's face it, people in america are pretty much enjoyed the bigger, full-size pickup trucks, which they're now turning in for compact cars. go figure, right? critics feared some would actually use the money to buy another truck, but that's not what's happening. toyota corolla, ford focus and honda civic. only one suv on the top ten list and that's the ford escape. the top ones to be traded in so far right now are the ford

explorer and ford f-150 pickup and the jeep grand cherokee. personal favorite of mine. new vehicles averaging 25 miles per gallon and that compares to 15 miles per gallon for the trade-in. huge difference on that one. do you drive a car? >> yeah, i do. >> do you want to tell us what it is? >> i do have a 1984 sedan deville, no kidding. >> really? >> it gets about a half a mile to the gallon. >> i want to know the back story to that one. >> i'll tell you off camera. it's a cool car. >> absolutely. but that's what you sort of leave parked in the parking lot for show. >> let's check the markets. >> wall street is stuck in neutral amid this mixed job report. we oepened to the upside at the opening bell, but then pretty much were stuck in negative territory but the dow just barely up 1.5 points a fraction of 1%. the nasdaq is still stuck down about a third of 1% and s&p

still off fractionally. tomorrow that big job's report from the labor department. don? >> felicia taylor, thank you so much. barack obama is sitting down with six key senators in the oval office about now and the central players behind the bipartisan health care bill that is emerging from the senate finance committee. analysts say the best hope for a bipartisan bill is in the hands of these senators. three democrats, three republicans. president obama's meeting today appears to telegraph his support for a compromise bill, but the president suggests if no compromise materializes in september, he and democrats will go it alone on health care. critics of health care reform stir up a ruckus at a little rock town hall meeting. it was hosted by two arkansas congressman, both of them democrats. one mike ross. he leads a fiscally conservative group known as the blue dog democrats. at one point, ross sat with his head in his hands while protesters shouted at him. seems like that had played out time and time again in recent

days. democrats blamed republicans, republicans say, hey, it's spontaneous. now, hard evidence that somebody is in deep organizing noisy protests at health care town halls and here's cnn's joe johns to tell us about it. >> just say no! >> reporter: the youtube videos keep coming. town hall meetings on health care held by congressional democrats into rowdy shouting sessions and now this. a memo from an organizer to activists in connecticut, spelling out instructions on "rocking the town halls with noisy opposition." it's not rocket science, the memo says protesters should pack the hall with as many fellow activists as possible to challenge the member of congress. and they're sure doing that. at this green bay, wisconsin, event, people who couldn't squeeze in were demanding it be moved outside to the parking lot. >> move it outside! >> reporter: the memo also says the team should spread out

inside the hall but try to get seats in the front half so they'll get called on to speak. protesters should watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the representative's statements early. but don't carry on and make a scene, just short intermittent shoutouts. the purpose is to make him uneasy early on. kathleen sebelius felt the heat in pennsylvania. the memo is all in favor of question time, though. the prepared questions, it says, should nut representative on the defensive and demand a specific answer. >> my question to you is when congress can't stop at the notion of reading legislation because they are confident to understanding, how can we be confident that those congressmen are confident to reengineer the entire health care system? >> i am not a member of congress, have never been one.

yout get the picture, but the democratic national committee is complaining what looked like outrageous political theater manufactured by special interest to kill health care reform. >> angry mobs organized by republicans here in washington, d.c. to derail the president. >> reporter: cnn was not able to confirm or refute the charge that special interests were paying for the protests, but we did get a response from an organizer with one conservative group accused of fuelling the protests. >> clearly these people are doing it on their own and not being paid to do this by anybody. >> reporter: the group says protesters pay their own way and said it never saw the memo until it showed up on a liberal website. some say it's just politics in america. joe johns, cnn, new york. >> all right, joe. rnc chairman michael steele says the american party is not behind the town hall rowdiness. >> i don't know that he is, in fact, the republican. he doesn't work for me.

he's not a member of the rnc and any part of coordinated strategy we have here. you have citizens, republican, independent and otherwise who are concerned here. and i find it the height of arrogance to sit there and think because people want to be smart and coordinated in their strike, because they want to speak out and because they have something to say here that they're being demonized and demagogued as being extremists. when we get to a point in this country where descent is extremism, we've turned, i think, a very dark page in our history and i don't want us to go there. i encourage americans right now to go to these town hall meetings and go to your congressman, the people that you elected and empowered to come to washington. it is make or break month for health care. is your representative holding a town hall meeting? are you going? what would you tell your elected officials? share it with us by blogging or logging. you can do that, too, if you want. cnn.com/newsroom. in a country

people make less than $1,000 a year, getting good health care could be very difficult. now china is experimenting with a plan that covers $3 a year to cover 30 basic illnesses with 74 basic medications. here's cnn's john voss. >> reporter: john is bedridden, broke and dying. to get treatment, we need money and i don't have money for hospital, he says. a year ago he was healthy and then his kidneys began failing. within a month, hospital bills wiped out the family's life savings, almost $7,000 so he borrow oed from his parents. when their money ran out, joe said the hospital sent him home. his wife, gin, works double shifts at a beijing juice factory and her wages barely cover the costs of joe's medkagdz. this is for his kidneys, this is a diuretic and this is a hormone. on and on she goes. total $150 u.s. each month.

we just eat noodles or bones, she says. eating well and eating to fill our stomachs is the same thing. joe's story is common in a country where hundreds of millions can't afford even basic health care. but not here in the small village in northwest china. under a trial program, dr. jing charges patients just 15 u.s. cents. annual insurance premium about $3 u.s. and the government covers the rest. the treatment of 30 mild illnesses like colds and coughs, prescriptions are limited to 74 types of medication. "here is the other small problem, we'll treat it first and hopefully it will improve and not become serious," the doctor says. most families in china earn less than $1,000 u.s. a year. so for lee, 15 cents is

affordable health care. but she's still worried. we can't afford to treat major illnesses, she says. we're afraid if it's serious, we'll have to spend a lot of money. but health care reform is also important to this economy. the chinese have an incredibly high personal saving rate. partly to hedge against my medical bills. the government is hoping a better public health care system will mean they save less and spend more and that will be good for economic growth. to do that, the communist party has promised universal health coverage by 2020. welcome news for most chinese, but too late, though, to help so many others just like him. john vause, cnn, china. well, health care in china, in cuba is universal, but critics charge that conditions in its hospitals are appalling. in the next hour, we'll examine how the system works in cuba.

that's coming up in the next hour. boy, hurricane season. hurricane felicia on the move. people in hawaii are stocking up on supplies before the storm arrives. forecasters say felicia is gathering steam as it barrels across the pacific, but they expect it to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching the island. still, people out there, not taking any chances. >> we have batteries and a weath weatherband radio and masking tape and some back-up flashlights. and emergency booklets. >> well, felicia could reach hawaii by late sunday or monday. hurricane season runs until the end of november. here to tell us about felicia and the rest of the weather, is rob marciano. we don't want to scare people. it will weaken. >> it looks pretty bad on the satellite picture, but when you look at the pacific ocean, you really looking at a wide expanse

of water. a lot of real estate to go from there to there to get to honolulu, you're looking at 1,700 miles and to get to the big island, i don't know 1,300 or 1,400 miles. that's the situation here. my goodness, it is really something. look at the eye on that. category 4 storm, it strengthened overnight. what's going on here, you have this thing which is hurricane felicia and this is tropical storm enrique. that's weakening and kind of getting wrapped up in this thing. they're real close. only 400 miles apart and this typically happens in the western pacific where they'll get two combining and they call it a fancy name, fuji war effect, but that's not happening here. it's pretty darn close. that's interesting. here's the forecast track and the strength of it. 1 140-mile-per-hour winds with gusts to 165. that's certainly impressive. northwesterly movement at ten miles per hour.

there are your coordinants about 1,500 miles towards the islands. decreases in intensity from category one to tropical storm and the national hurricane center has a forecast getting to the island, but as the strength of a tropical depression. so, not even tropical storm strength. worse-case scenario at this point would be tropical storm strength and that wouldn't be too bad. but, you know, intensity forecast, it can often be erroneous. that woman stocking up on supplies, always a smart thing to do ands, as luck would have it today, the national hurricane center or noaa decreased their forecast for the atlantic basin. we haven't had a tropical storm named yet. pretty late in the season for that to happen. only takes one on the atlantic side, for sure. still want to be prepared. >> are you on twitter or facebook -- >> oh, heck, yeah.

tweet me. >> did you try to get on this morning? really, there's an issue with it. so, this is just in to the cnn newsroom. a lot of people have had trouble logging on to twitter and twitter has released a statement saying, here's what's going on. again, this is just in. it says that it was brought down by a denial of service attack on thursday of the popular microblogger currently the target of denial of service and he said in a written statement and, again, he is the co-founder. he says that they are defending against this attack now and will continue to update on their service blog and defend against, they said, defend and later investigate. as we will defend, they will later investigate. here's what a denial of service attack is. when hackers attempt to overwhelm a website by repeatedly accessing it tying up its servers so that no one can get on. so, again, i've been trying to logon now. let's see if i can do it here.

twitter -- yeah, there we go. safari, can't open this page. i've been doing that all morning. little bit of an issue this morning. i don't know if people were trying to get on to facebook, as well. that was a little bit slow. bring the computer back up. since you cannot get on to twitter, you can see us on facebook and also go right there cnn.com/newsroom and you can click on either tony, tony harris' page or me or the rest of my colleague there's in the cnn newsroom. fredricka and betty and we're all there. since you can't get on twitter go to cnn.com/newsroom. we're all trying to save a few extra bucks and some of you do it better than others, believe me. (cop) step aside people, let the man with the real onions in his onion strips through! when a brand new way to snack comes along, people notice. alexia crunchy snacks. a giant leap for snack kind.

but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself.

impacting your world. by raising awareness, millions of people across the globe go blind from the disease, even though it is completely curable. colleen tells us how some doctors are opening eyes in ethiopia by educating people aabout the disease. >> reporter: it's called trachoma. it affects 40 million people across the globe. it's cost 10 million people their eyesight and it is absolutely preventable.

paul emerson combats this fly born eye disease on his trips to ethiopia. >> it's clearly a debilitating and miserable condition. now, the eye will be inflamed and the lashes will be pressing against the eye and the cause of the other infections is almost always fussy discharge, flies attracted and the people are miserable and in constant pain and clearly in trouble. >> reporter: the pfizer drug company, the carter center and ethiopia's ministry of health are on a mission to wipe out trachoma by 2020. pfizer is donating the antibiotic to treat trachoma in ethiopia. health officials and volunteers continue to distribute medicine and information about hand

washing and litrene digging to keep flies away. >> people get daunted by the scale. people get daunted of their idea of reaching a whole population. but, the tools are there. we're not waiting for anything, we're not waiting for anything new to be developed. public health, basic hygiene, sanitation, it's inexpensive and nobody needs to live like that. >> reporter: still, advanced trachoma requires more than antibiotics and education. once the lashes began to scratch against the eye, a victim will usually go blind within 18 months. but there is a simple operation that corrects the disease's most damaging effects. this nurse performed 360 of the surgeries last year alone and the benefits are clear.

for cnn international and impact your world, i'm collen mcedwards. >> you can learn more about trachoma and its devastating effects. just how bad is california's state budget crisis? it could put convicted criminals back on the street. i didn't want to believe it. but that night at the bowling alley... where's alice? oh, there she is! she seems a little confused. that's when i knew... i couldn't wait. our doctor told us prescription aricept... is the only treatment proven effective... for all stages of alzheimer's. studies showed aricept slows the progression of symptoms. it improves cognition... and slows the decline of overall function. aricept is well tolerated but not for everyone. people at risk for stomach ulcers... or who take certain other medicines... should tell their doctors... because serious stomach problems... such as bleeding, may get worse.

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all right. i want to update our viewers on something just in to cnn news. a lot of people have been asking us, e-mailing us, what's going on with twitter and the social networking site. we just got a statement from twitter's co-founder. and here's what he is saying. he said they are experiencing what is called a denial of service attack, and that is when he says hackers attempt to overwhelm a website by repeatedly accessing it, tieing up its servers so no one can get on. so, they are trying to work through that. and as soon as they have some information on that, they are going to let us know. again, this is right here on the mac book pro that i have here. twitter.com. let me make the -- twitter.com.

can't open. and then also same thing on the pc. rog, you have the pc back there? you show the pc for twitter doing the exact same thing. can't get in. so, again, they're trying to figure it out. but, if you can't get on there, you can see us on facebook. you can also go to our blog. there's cnn.com/newsroom. our blogs. there's heidi. there's kyra, t.j., tony. you can click on all of our names and faces and you can get right on and leave information and you can leave comments and we can read them the same as we do with twitter. thank you very much. as soon as we get some information on that, we'll bring it right to you here on cnn. convicted former congressman william jefferson could learn today how much money he may have to forfeit. he was convicted of bribery and racketeering and other charges yesterday. today they are considering whether he must forfeit $450,000 in alleged bribe money. jefferson served seven terms in congress but lost his re-election bid last year. he will be sentenced on october 30th.

a panel of federal judges has ordered california to cut its inmate population boy 40,000 inmates. that's created a big problem for california. and our affiliate kesq has the story. >> reporter: california's prison system is broken according to a panel of three federal judge. prisons packed at twice their capacity. there's little rehabilitation to speak of, leading to a revolving door of criminals coming right back in after they serve their time. the judges say the state's failure to give proper medical care leads to one inmate death a month and can be called cruel and unusual punishment, so they are ordering the prison population numbers to 40,000 in three years. that has a local state senator upset. >> the mortality rate for prisoners in california is below the national average, so there's a strong argument that does not exist a problem on the scale that the judges based their decision on to begin with.

>> reporter: 44,000 inmates simply won't be walking out the prison gates at once. the judges say they could change sentencing guidelines or parole prisoners earlier. >> we'll have to provide a program for these guys, so once they're released from behind the bars, they need to have the capability to have second chance in their life. >> i think you have lots of property here in the desert. you could build another prison miles out. what should really help with the population problem. >> reporter: but the state assembly came up with a quick fix, but the bill pressing for additional cells to be built on existing prison grounds is stalled. >> we're getting fighting from the -- from the environmental side that says, wait a minute, we need complete, new, environmental impact report. that takes five years. go ahead and get started before we can build that additional prison facility ind an existing prison. but we need to take every step possible to avoid having to release people of this nature back into the population. and we should not lie down and take a federal court's decision. >> reporter: so, it's stalemate.

california's broke and can barely afford to build new prisons and our police officers cannot afford to release inmates they helped put in prison in the first place. news channel 3 hd, palm desert. looking ahead to the next hour right here in the "cnn newsroom." the recession's toll on the postal service. i'll ask the service's chief financial officer about taking some ugly steps to plug the problem. plus, i'll share some of your thoughts from our blog. we're asking, can you deal with fewer deliveries? and the tough issue of health care reform. president barack obama, meeting right now with a key group of senate democrats and republicans at the heart of the negotiations. we'll get a live look from the white house.

recession-weary americans are learning to stretch their dollars. and we found there's no better place than to do it than at a dollar store. >> reporter: they are searching for bargains at their neighborhood dollar store in new jersey. they say they are constantly surprised how far their dollar goes each and every visit. >> the appealing thing is you get 20 things for $20 as opposed to going to the other store and getting two or three things for $20. >> reporter: in a year of dismal news in the retail industry, thror stores are thriving. they recently reported a delik% jump in quarterly profits. dollar general stores open more than a year soared 13%. business is so strong that major dollar retailers plan to open hundreds of new locations this year even as scores of other change close stores. we're here at a dollar tree

stores, one of the chains that's benefiting as americans try to stretch the paychecks and we decided to see what $20 is going to get us. oh, toothpaste. first things first, the essentials. paper plates definitely. bargain hunting is nothing new for american consumers. but these deep discounters are taking it to a whole nother level. household, especially things like cleaning products, these are the same things, same brands, that are sold in other stores, but they're only $1 here. other must-halves, aluminum foil, $1. kleenex, $1. wolfgang puck soups, $1. some products are sold in smaller sizes than you'd see in the supermarket. even so, savings are substantial and $20 really does go a long way. >> you may find bargains on different things that you may have spent a lot of money for in different places, but i always shop here first before i go to a regular department store. >> reporter: right, to see if they have it --

>> bargains, exactly. >> reporter: retail watchers say it's exactly that kind of behavior that is worrying the competition. >> dollar stores take a bite out of walmart especially if you're in a community where they both live together. the entry price point, i go to the dollar store first and then i fill out when go to walmart. >> reporter: it's estimated that nearly half of u.s. households shop at dollar stores each month. even shoppers that can afford to buy elsewhere and a lot of them are leaving the store satisfied. >> very good. we got everything we needed at a great price. >> reporter: maggie lake, haslett, new jersey. will it be deal or no deal on a bipartisan health care bill right now? president obama is meeting with six democrats and republicans from the senate finance committee. they're seen as the best chance for a best compromise plan. but in a tv interview, the president indicated that the clock is ticking on a bipartisan bill. he said, quote, at some point at some time in september we're just going to have to make an assessment. white house correspondent, dan

lothian, joins us live now. dan, where do things stand? and is the president really running out of patience here? >> reporter: well, you know, where it stands it does appear the so-called gang of six, the bipartisan group of senators, coming here to the white house, inching closer to a bipartisan bill, but, still, nothing on paper yet. what white house press secretary, robert gibbs, said that the president's message will be to them today is to keep working. but, you know, you brought up a good point about patience. the president yesterday in an interview with nbc news talked about that, how down the road, in the fall, he may have to assess the situation in terms of trying to get a bipartisan proposal. the bottom line for this administration is that there is certain things that the president really wants in health care reform. he wants to make sure that people with pre-existing conditions can still have insurance. he wants to make sure that this entire plan is deficit neutral. and so the white house wants to have bipartisanship when it comes to health care reform, but as they point out, they want to do it right. don? >> you know, that there was, you

know, a deadline here in the fall. but when does he want to get it done? >> reporter: well, the latest -- they're trying to stay away from deadlines. what they're saying now essentially is that the president wants to get something on his desk to sign and done by the end of the year. i mean, the white house really believes that when you look at health care reform, it's not only about providing the right kind of health care for all americans, but they believe that if you get health care reform, you'll also help the economy. take a listen. >> in order to lead in the global economy and ensure that our businesses can grow and innovate, we also have to pass health insurance reform that brings down costs -- to a form 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, the white house had wanted to have something from the house and the senate before the august recess. that, of course, did not happen. so, that's why you're hearing now the president saying that he wants to have something by this year. almost guaranteeing essentially that they'll have health care reform by the end of the year. but one thing you've been hearing from this white house now over the past several weeks and really sort of pointing the finger at republicans up on capitol hill and other conservatives across the country, saying that they're putting out a lot of disinformation that is really causing some of the hurdles in moving towards health care reform. don? >> thank you, dan lothian, at the white house. how is he doing? we're talking about president barack obama's latest poll numbers straight ahead. you have a chance to grade the president, go to cnn.com/reportcard. and then you can watch it tonight on "the national report

card" on cnn. judge sonia sotomayor, barring a last-minute ditch, she'll become the first hispanic justice on the u.s. supreme court and just the third woman. cnn's brianna keilar is watching the senate debate. brianna, all democratic senators appear to be on bord here. how many republicans are going to vote for sotomayor? >> reporter: well, our count now is nine, don. because that man you see on your screen, senator george voinovich of ohio, vust announced -- he's a republican -- he just announced that he will be voting for judge sonia sotomayor. so, by our count, she'll get at least 67 votes for her confirmation to the supreme court. but the debate obviously continuing on the senate floor ahead of this vote that we're expecting at about 3:00 p.m. eastern time. and there are 31 republicans, who, like senator orrin hatch of utah, have their concerns about sonia sotomayor and say they will vote against her. many of them concerned about her stance -- or her -- the stance that they assume she has on

issues like gun rights. and a lot of them have said, as we've heard before, that they're concerned that some of her off-the-bench comments that she's made show that she will take her personal opinions and experiences into account and they will color her decisions on the bench of the supreme court. so, listen to what senator hatch said on the floor just a short time ago. and also a bit of a rebuttal from senator patrick leahy, the democratic chairman of the judiciary committee. >> on the supreme court judge sotomayor will take an objective, modest and restrained approach to interpreting and applying written law. i hope that she actively defends her impartiality against subjective influences such as personal sympathies and prejudices. >> she is a judge of unimpeachable character and integrity. these critics have also chosen to ignore her extensive record of judicial modesty and restraint, a record made over 17 years on the federal bench.

instead, they focused on, and mischaracterized, her rulings in just a handful out of her more than 3,600 cases. >> reporter: so, we are expecting that the senate will vote to confirm sonia sotomayor here in a few hours, don. and we're expecting that she will be sworn in in a public ceremony by the week's end, don. >> another thing the senate will take up, the cash for clunkers. when is the senate expected to take action on that? >> reporter: a couple of big votes before the senate leaves for their august recess. we're expecting that to come a few hours after the vote on sotomayor. first we'll see debates and some votes on the proposed changes that the republicans have for the cash for clunkers program. the expectations that the republican attempts to change this bill are going to be rebuffed. they're not going to be successful, and that's really key, don, because if republicans do manage to change -- add some changes to the cash for cluwun

clunkers, they would have to revise the house-passed version. and the house is gone. what would that mean, with the congress gone, basically it's possible that cash for clunkers could expire. it could run out of money before congress gets back in september. so, we'll certainly be watching that vote pretty closely, don. >> all right, brianna keilar, thank you, brianna. this is about jobs and the economy now. the number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell last week. the labor department reports 550,000 initial claims for unemployment, that's lower than analysts expected. however, the government says, continuing claims for benefits rose by 69,000. more than 6.3 million claims were filed during the week ending july 25th. president obama's economic team takes on critics of the $787 billion stimulus plan. today the director of the white house council of economic advisors said the program is helping stabilize the economy. christina romer also rejected

the argument that rising unemployment is proof the stimulus isn't working. >> let me give you an analogy. suppose that you go to your doctor for a strep throat and he or she prescribes an antibiotic. sometime after you get the prescription, and maybe even after you've taken the first pill, your fever spikes. do you decide that the medicine was useless? do you conclude that the antibiotic caused your infection to get worse? surely not. you probably conclude that the illness was more serious than you or your doctor thought and are very glad you saw the doctor and started taking the medicine when you did. well, that was exactly the situation with the economy. >> romer says stimulus money is moving into the economy -- economy quickly, and the pace is increasing. former presidential candidate, john edwards, former mysteries is apparently testifying before a federal grand jury. re rielle hunter were escorted into

the court house in raleigh this morning. the political action committee for the former senator for north carolina paid hunter's video production company $100,000 back in 2006. apparently there's nothing sacred for the cyberhackers out there. the popular site twitter took a hit this morning, experiencing a major blackout. apparently the victim of a massive cyberattack. john joins me right now. we're talking about a denial of service. what exactly is a denial of service? >> a denial of service essentially means a herd of computers are attacking the site, trying to slow it down so much with all that traffic that it eventually stops works. the motives behind this kind of attack could be many things. somebody could be targeting bitter for a specific reason. it could be simply because the site has gotten -- [ inaudible ] enormous and there's some people that say that any site that gets a lot of attention from media and a lot of popularity from the public, you know, is vulnerable to attack.

>> here's the interesting thing, so many people sign on to twitter. i had a response from one of the viewers here. it said -- here it is, the guy, he said, looking at my thumbs, like, what to do now, right? the reason i say that is because so many people are connected and i'm wondering can you get other can it move on? is it something that is viral or ciurc ciurciuitous or they can get information that way? >> there are ways to protect yourself. have different passwords for the different websites that you're a member of and, you know, sort of watch what's happening on your own computer. update your anti-virus that sort of thing. there aren't any signs of that so far. but i think there's something to this idea that we are so connected now online through twitter and facebook that when the services go down, people kind of panic. we got a lot of those messages our tech blog, too. people saying i don't know what to do now. even i when i was writing blog

updates earlier this morning, identify almost went on twitter to repost something about it, oh, i'm writing about that. >> you get used to it. people who, you know, not many people have home phones anymore. >> right. >> it's just the way the world is changing. there's not a town cryer. thank you very much. the postal service also dealing with issues because of the internet. people sending e-mails, not putting letters in the mail anymore. our postal service is getting clobbered by the internet and the recession. i'm going to ask the postal service's chief financial officer who steps are being taken to prevent another american icon from getting stamped out. shopping online can help save. doing it with bank of america can help save a lot more. up to 20% cash back from over 300 online retailers with our add it up program. just sign up and use your bank of america debit or credit card when you shop online. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier.

so, president obama hits the 200-day mark of his time in office tomorrow. and he has had a packed schedule so far. the president has signed 21 executive orders. he has signed 42 bills into law. on the travel front, mr. obama has visited 18 states in his first 200 days. he has also traveled to 14 countries. it's clear the president has been busy. now, let's take a look at how he's doing. cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser has been going over the new poll numbers. he joins us now from washington. thank you, sir. always good to see you. what do americans think about how president obama is handling his job? >> well, that's the standard question, the number one question, don, we asked and other organizations ask as well. so, take a look. as you mentioned, they are brand

new numbers from cnn and the opinion research corporation, a national survey. 56% of americans are gving barack obama a thumbs-up to how he's handling his duties in the white house. 4 in 10 disapprove. that 56% is a pretty good number overall and it's kind of in line with other surveys this month. but look at this. there has been a drop. five points from june. if you go all the way back to late april, a seven-point drop, don. >> so, do americans think that the president is trying to do too much at once? i've heard that criticism and i've heard it through the media. but what about in the polling? >> good question. we asked it. take a look at this, 6 in 10 -- i'm sorry, nearly 2 out of 3, americans say, yes, they think barack obama is handling more issues than he should have right now. he's got a lot on his plate, that's obvious. you just mentioned all the trips and things he's doing. he's got health care, the economy. 3 in 10 say, no, not at all, the president is doing just the right amount. >> how do americans feel about

the economy and how the president's dealing with that? we know that the economy is number one. we've been talking a lot about health care, but economy at the top of the list? >> the economy is still at the top of the list. health care is dominant right now. but overall with americans the economy is still the number one issue on their mind. take a look at how they feel about the economy right now. only about 20%, 21%, say that the economic conditions in the country are good right now. you can see 35% say the economic conditions are very poor. that number, though, has been declining, so that is maybe an indicator that americans feel things are going to be getting better. as to how the president is doing with the economy, check this out, we asked about his economic policies, are they making things better? 44% say that what he's doing as of right now is already helping. another 11% say, well, it's not helping yet, but it will in the future. and 4 in 10, don, say the president's policies when it comes to the economy are not helping, not making it better. >> people want some relief and they want some money in their pockets. paul steinhauser, our deputy political director, thank you, sir. and, you know, you can grade the president.

let's go right here to cnn.com, we can tell you -- i'll put it in. you can't get on the twitter, but you can get on to cnn.com. cnn.com and then -- there you go. okay. /reportcard. sorry, i don't know how i did that. i can't really type here. but cnn.com/reportcard. and you can get it. i want to make sure i get it. /reportcard. i got it. i just want to make sure i get it. there we go. swoir on. go back to the mac. all right, cnn.com/reportcard. and guess what, tonight, 8:00 p.m. eastern, is when you can see how the president is doing. 8:00 p.m. eastern, cnn's "national report card" on the president. look at it there, it's got grades everywhere from an "a" to an "f." let talk about the united states postmaster general. he's saying today that sending and receiving mail is a fundamental right for every single american, but the postal service lost more than $2 billion in revenue just this quarter. $2 billion just this quarter, and expects to lose as much as

$7 billion for the entire year. are we about to louse another american icon? the chief financial officer for the postal service, joseph corbett, joins me right now. it sounds like you may be on the brink of losing the post office. >> hi, don, thank you. absolutely not. losing the post office, we've been around 235 years. and we'll be around for decades to come. we're being hit by, you know, the recession and a couple other things. but it's still a strong organization. and a necessary part of the american fabric. >> okay, so, listen, we've heard about the possibility, you're looking at the possibility of closing, a number of post offices around the country. and when you talk about that, of course, that will probably mean lob josses. what job losses, what do you tell the american people about that and the postal employees, what should they know? >> it's probably a good thing that people are paying attention to this.

it shows how much people rely on the postal service and how vested they are in us being around. so, in a lot of ways it's a good thing. we are looking at 3,200 stations and branches of post offices in major cities around the country. we have narrowed the search down to around 800 now we're still looking at. and there may be some closures or consolidations in there where it makes sense. we're only going to do it in cases where we can continue to meet the demand and make sure that the retail offices are available for the american public. >> okay. so, we talk about snail mail, that's what traditional mail has been dubbed here. the volume of so-called snail mail has dropped by 20 billion pieces this year and expected to drop to 10 billion pieces by 2010. you know, you've got to look at the internet, and mr. corbett, and say there's no turning back. so, then, what does the post office do in order to stay viable to make americans, you know, want to use the post office? what do you do? you're in a predicament.

>> we -- we are in a predicament, but we have been for 15 years. >> yeah. >> the internet's been around. people have been migrating to it. roughly about 3% or 4% of the volume of single-piece, first-class mail, which is only about a fourth of our revenue, has been migrating slowly to electronic diversion. our volumes actually have been quite steady over the last five years, in fact, growing in two of those years. >> uh-huh? >> however, what's happened here is the economy. >> yeah. >> the economy in connection with also migration has caused the numbers to plummet, as you noted, by 20 billion pieces through june 30th. >> the postmaster general said this morning that the agency needs to cut delivery service to five days a week instead of six days a week. do you agree with that? >> absolutely. look at -- we need to be on a level playing field with -- and have a go of it in terms of our finances. we could save up to $3.5 billion

and 66% of americans in a recent poll said that that's the preferred solution over other solutions like raising postage rates. so, i think actually the american public's behind that. and it will cause us to be more economically stable. >> yeah. obviously, like many businesses around the country, i'm sure you have to -- you agree with that, you have to streamline in tough economic times in order to stay afloat here. >> absolutely. and we're doing that. >> all right. thank you very much, chief financial officer for the postal service, john -- joseph, i should say, excuse me, joseph corbett. we appreciate it. have a great afternoon. >> thank you, don. and our "newsroom" blog we asked you to weigh in on the post office's problems. here are some of your responses. larry says i hardly use the post office anymore. i do most of my transactions online. if they can save money, they should go for it. someone else says here, while i pay most of my bills onhein, i still zee pend on the postal service for other purposes like mailing birthday cards. i hope our legislators find a way to keep this american

tradition alive, and that one is from brandi. we appreciate all of your responses. make sure you go to cnn.com/newsroom and you, too, can respond to the subjects on our news here. time to find a new job? well, we've got some tips on how to get free job training, free! a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day.

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new unemployment numbers will be released tomorrow morning. the nation's jobless rate inching toward 10%. if you're holding a pink slip, well, personal finance editor, gerri willis, is here to talk free job training for you. yep, i said free. gerri, where do we start? anything that's free, i'd say is good. >> that's right, don. it's a great place to start. costing you no money at all, and the most obvious place is the job. if you're laid off, look, some severance packages include job training or other benefits. talk to hr about your severance package and find out how you can take advantage of job retraining. don't forget to ask about other positions in the company or at different locations if you work for a big company. don? >> all right. well, can uncle sam help out with this? >> yeah, you bet. the department of labor sets up local one-stop career centers.

and at this offices you can find information about local jobs available, free classes on jab prep, computer training even. there are also a number of specific programs that can help you out. the displaced worker program. this is a program that will help you find work if you are laid off and the industry in that area is in decline. there's also something called the trade adjustment assistance program. you'll be eligible for the job training program if you were laid off because of a shift in trade. let's say your factory was shut down and relocated overseas. and finally, if you're a young adult, under 24, having trouble finding a job, you can take advantage of the youth plan. this program will help you develop a sustainable career path. to find a one-stop career stop center go to servicelocator.org on the web. don? >> gerri, you and i know this, if you can get your foot in the door, do it. what about apprenticeship? >> people don't think about this. if you are considering a new line of work, think about taking on an apprenticeship, it's a combination of job training and classroom education. apprentices get a paycheck and

the potential to earn college credits. check out the department of labor website at dol -- d-o-l- --.gov. you pick out your new vocation and get training while you work. >> where can people find grant opportunities? grants are always good. >> more free money, that's what we're talking about here! a grant is a cash award given out to people who carry out some specific purpose. for example, if you have a novel idea on how to curb foreclosures or stem the tide of high school dropouts, you can apply for a government grant. check out this website. be careful you get this right. grants.gov. there's a lot of pretend esout there. it's grants.gov. this site lists over 1,000 grants in areas of education, health, housing, agriculture. to help find grants that you can help with your tuition bill, go to opportunity.gov. >> gerri willis, your personal finance editor here on cnn. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. thank you, don. cnn's photojournalists have

been bringing us an in-focus series report on health care. this one from jeremy morehead, it looks at the heated lobbying effort on capitol hill. take a look. >> reporter: here we are with health care for america. >> this is a huge undertaking. we are in upper senate park, in front of -- my name is julie. and we'll be positioning you folks throughout the upper center park. it's going to be a great rally. ♪ we want we want health care many groups are volunteering their folks. the main responsibility will be to keep the squaidewalks clear. why am i doing it? i think it's a right and i think it's a pivotal time in our history to make sure we guarantee that. we've got almost 65 buses that are coming in the next two to three hours. we've got people coming from as far as away as hawaii. >> busloads from west virginia. >> some of them will be going to town halls to meet with senators. there will be a lot of people. ♪

♪ people around this land it's time you listen now ♪ >> here now. ♪ we want we want health care >> there's more of you than we expected. which is what a movement is about. >> you go to europe, you get health care from cradle to grave. and here in america, the richest country in the world, and you got millions of people who don't have health care. if you lose your job, you lose your health care. if they get divorced, they lose their health care. it's basic stuff. 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. >> that was cnn photojournalist jeremy morehead. nice report there. we have been looking at how other countries deal with health care. cuba provides its citizens with universal health care. is it working? is it working? we'll have a report on that in just about 12 minutes from now, right here on cnn. august is shaping up as a

make-or-break month for health care reform. if you had a chance to talk face to face with your congressman or senator, what would you say? tell us at our blog. go to cnn.com/newsroom. facing a cash crunch, in today's "money & main street" report, one woman turns her talent in the kitchen into a financial solution. (announcer) what do people notice about you? people notice my devotion to family. people notice my love for animals. my smile. my passion for teaching. my cool car.

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of course, the economy, number one issue when it comes to americans. so, let's check in now with cnn.com/money. cnnmoney.com. it is your source for all things financial, so take a look at that. you can go to cnnmoney.com and get the very latest on everything you need. now, let's look at the numbers coming from wall street. you can see the dow is down some 32 points there. nasdaq down -- last count it was down 19%. dow down, nasdaq down. so, wait, fast-forward two years. a news analysis paints a brutal picture of the housing market in 2011. and cnn's christine romans is at

the business desk in new york, and, christine, homeowners may need to sit down for this bit of news, especially if you're like me. i didn't buy a house at the top of the market, but pretty darn near close to the top of the market so, you know -- >> i don't know if they have to sit down, because i have a feeling that many of them know this in their hearts. >> they got it already, right? >> if you're looking at your neighborhood and you see when a house sells, it's selling for less money. you see the number of foresale signs and the number of foreclosures on your block. 14 million homes were underwater according to deutsche bank. that means that the homeowner owed more to the bank than the home was even worth. now, flash -- fast-forward to when they think that things we're at the end of this housing recession. first quarter 2011 they say 25 million homes will be underwater. don, that's 48% of all mortgages. think of that. 51 million mortgages in this country, 25 million of them underwater. that's tough. that's tough stuff. and the reason is because home prices have fallen, you know,

nationally according to case-shiller from peak to trough 33%. you look at phoenix, the home prices are down 52% or 54%. you look at other places. here in the new york area, 21% peak to trough. it's because those home prices are falling, people now owe more on the house than it's worth in many cases. and that's going to be -- that's going to be something to contend with over the next year or so. it's going to be something that will make it difficult for you to move if you get a new job somewhere else, if you are lucky enough to do that, there won't be enough money to tap into your home to pay for college and some of the things we've been using the home -- the equity in our home for. so, just a very sobering assessment from deutsche bank about what this housing situation's going to look like for many americans for the next year or so. >> all right, christine romans, thank you very much. >> sure. >> we really appreciate it. a new jersey woman takes the cake when it comes to a creative way to save some money on her home foreclosures. cnn's national correspondent, allan chernoff, has today's "money & main street" report.

check it out. >> reporter: actress angela logan has played many roles to earn a living, worked as a teacher, model, hairdresser and is studying to be a nurse. but when she recently fell into foreclosure on her tea neck, new jersey home, she turned to baking. >> it was a flash of inspiration. wow, we can sell the cakes they're so good. >> reporter: the reason angela fell into a squeeze, two years ago she hired a contractor to renovate her house. he took the money but only did a portion of the work. to save her home, angela set a goal of selling 100 cakes in ten days for $40 each. she asked everyone she knew to buy a cake. >> the hardest part was can you buy a cake, this is my problem. >> reporter: a local hilton hotel offered angela her kitchen so she could bake faster. she's baked 200 cakes, doubling her goal. and by qualifying for the make

affordable program, her monthly mortgage payment is dropping nearly 20%. other americans in a financial bind, she says, can also find creative answers to their cash crunch. >> find your talent. find something that you can do that will help. i can paint fences, you know? who needs one? ♪ >> reporter: almost any talent can generate extra cash. teaching a skill like playing an instrument. home repairs for those who are handy, even dog walking or pet sitting for animal lovers. >> wow, this is incredible. >> reporter: internet retailer bake me a wish got a whiff of the mortgage apple cake and is now leasing pans to mass produce it and share the proceeds with angela. a whole line of angela logan cakes is planned. >> that's it. >> reporter: escaping foreclosure could propel angela logan to a new career as the queen of cakes. but back in her kitchen, she still studies nursing. knowing from experience never to depend on just one role. allan chernoff, cnn, teaneck,

new jersey. >> more "money & main street," tonight, 8:00 p.m. on cnn. campbell brown, more money s"mo main street". we're hearing a lot about socialism in the debate for health care reform. we'll learn more about it cuban style. right here in the "newsroom." i've helped somebody. you know, it makes me feel pretty good. we're offering a solution for a customer that maybe has to choose between paying their credit card or putting food on the table and that's why they call us. our main objective is to reach out to the customers that are falling behind on their payments. a lot of customers are proud and happy that bank of america actually has a solution to help them out with their cards. i listen. that's the first thing i do is listen. you know what, what happened?

what put you in this situation? and everyone's situation is different. we always want to make sure that we're doing what's best for our cardholders. i'll go through some of his monthly expenses, if he has a mortgage payment, if he pays rent. and then i'll use all that information to try and see what kind of a payment he financially can handle. i want to help you. bank of america wants to help you through this difficult time. when they come to you and they say thank you, aj, for helping me with this problem, that's where we get our joy from. that's what motivates us everyday. some people like to pretend... a flood could never happen to them... and that their homeowners insurance... protects them. it doesn't. stop pretending. it can happen to you. protect your home with flood insurance. call the number on your screen... for your free brochure.

aerosmith front man steven tyler is in a south dakota hospital today after he took a tumble. tyler, who is 61, is said to be nursing minor head and neck injuries. he was dancing around during a performance of "love in an elevator." a witness said tyler twirled around and stepped backwards off the stage. it is not clear whether the shows will be canceled. the group is expected to play winnipeg tomorrow night.

cuba is as a model for health care reform? well, we'll see. it is a poor country. but it can boast about health care. a system that leads the way in latin america. so, what are they doing right? cnn's morgan neill takes a look at the good, the bad of cuba's health care system. >> reporter: is there a doctor here in cuba? when michael moore's movie "sicko" came out in 2007, the despate it sparked put cuba's health care system under the microscope. they boasted that the poor communist island gave universal health care something the united states doesn't do. critics charge that conditions in cuban hospitals are appalling. and that cubans had to pay bribes to get decent care. how does health care work in cuba? it's not an easy question to answer, but there are some impressive statistics. according to the world health organization, cuba's life expectancy is 78 years. the same as chile and costa rica and the highest in latin

america. and its infant mortality rates are the lowest in the hemisphere, in line with those of canada. this clinic in managua, a community outside havana, is one of the country's newest and best equipped. it serves a population of some 15,000 people. the director tells us under one roof she has dentists, general practitioners, physical therapy, homeopathic medicine and a laboratory that makes vaccines. built just five years ago, this clinic is really a symbol of what cuba wants to do with health care all over the country. you see the machinery is new. the walls, freshly painted. it's an idea of where the country wants to go, the future of its health care. all of it free of charge. how does cuba do it? first of all, the government dictates salaries. doctors earn less than $30 per month, very little compared to doctors elsewhere. and priority's given to avoiding expensive procedures, says gail

reid, who's lived in and worked in cuba for decades. >> they concentrate on prevention. they concentrate on bringing services closer to people's homes, so that the big-ticket items don't really take up, don't sponge up all that small budget they have. >> reporter: but cuba's system certainly has its problems. many hospitals and emergency rooms are decrepit and even unsanitary. equipment is frequently old. and patients often supply their own sheets and food while in the hospital. health officials admit the system isn't perfect. but, they say, no one falls through the cracks. morgan neill, cnn, havana. what do cnnmoney.com writers and editors have to say about the job president barack obama is doing?

well, president barack obama is closing in on a big milestone. 200 days in office. it is up to you to decide how the president is doing so far.

cnnmoney.com writers and editors had their own opinions about it and poppy harlow is in new york. hello, poppy. how are your colleagues at the website rating the president? >> in best of all terms, don. what else do you do with president obama? we know he likes to shoot hoops from time to time. we got some slam dunks and some air balls. this is an interactive tool, it's only on cnnmoney.com. i'm partial, but i'm a fan of this. let's start with some slam dunks. because we've got auto bankruptcies. click on it there. this is slam dunk according to our team, because there were very few people who actually thought it was a viable option to put gm and chrysler through bankruptcy, because they thought people wouldn't buy cars. he pushed hard on the washty guarantar warranty guarantees and the creditors. that is a success. i'm going to play a quick video, you can do it by just pressing that, to show you how they did it. take a look.

>> in a way there was nobody that predicted it. >> there was no doubt that you could have them in and out of bankruptcy as quick as they were. >> really unprecedented for a company that size, the size of general motors to go through a bankruptcy, in, what, 40 days? >> obama pushed it through. he really, he nailed it. >> all right as you hear, they think he nailed it. so, a big slam dunk there. don? >> all right, so cnnmoney.com is rating that it's a big success, at least that part. but the administration has also thrown up some air balls. >> uh-huh. >> right? >> some major air balls. look at them, you've got, according to our team, their editorial prowess on this one, take a look there. those are air balls, according to our team. i want to point at one, job creation. because we've heard the president say time and time again, my administration will save or create 3.5 million jobs. they say they've done that with 750,000, but, don, you can't argue with the numbers that this economy has shed 3.4 million jobs this year alone. a lot of people are asking, how

on earth are we going to create 3.5 million or save that many jobs? that's a big question. some other ones, aig bonus raids. a lot of talk. reforming the rating agencies and executive compensation. we wanted to know what people thought. quick facebook statement. obama's spending policies are wrong, just like george bush in many ways. he was right to save gm, however. i live in the midwest, and it would have been a catastrophe if they went into liquidation. john wrote us, i would give him a "c" minus. i feel his first 100 days were very good. but the last 100 i think he has overspent. just play with it. it's fun. we've got bo the portuguese water dog. very fun. >> i thought it was clever the way you did it. very cool. i would logon, because it's interesting. you make it interesting. instead of words on the screen that you're reading. you made it very cool. >> thank you. >> cnnmoney.com team, as always, poppy harlow, we appreciate it. let's show you the cnnmoney.com website, and also

why don't we go to the cnn daz politics website. cnn.com/reportcard, that's where you can grade the president. at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. we'll have the "national report card." 200 days, second 200 days in office. 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. of course, someone i think always gets an "a" when it comes to the weather, that's meteorologist chad myers. chad? >> "a"? >> yeah! >> well, you never so. >> maybe, ah, what's going on, guy? >> that's what i'm doing the forecast in montreal. which i love that city, by the way. we're talking about felice sha. yesterday we said it rhymes with alicia, like diego's friend. by the way, don, you know the friend you were talking about, dora? dora the explorer. >> someone sent it to me on twitter right after we said it yesterday. >> it's felicia. it's a category 4 storm. and there is hawaii. the good news is, this is going to run into a lot of shear.

because right now it's a 140-mile-per-hour storm. here's the short loop from the -- from noaa, the national weather service. the visible loop. you can clearly see the eye here. they haven't flown into this storm like they would fly into an atlantic storm, simply because it's so very far away from hawaii. days and days away. probably not even making an approach until sometime during the day on monday. possibly even monday night. another thing i'll take you to is this. this is stormpulse.com. it is a very strong storm here. turning to the north and then to the left and getting close to hilo. and this forecast is for it to be a 30 or 40-mile-per-hour storm when it gets there. the problem i think is, if it does make this exact track, even if it's only a 30-mile-per-hour storm, this has such a long history, at 130, 140 miles per hour, as it approaches hawaii,

we very well may fill up this bay that is hilo, if you fill up this bay, you could still get storm surge, depending where it is, into hilo and into that region even though the storm is dying. there could be an awful lot of rain. there could be dozens of inches of rainfall with this thing. so just because it's going to die before it gets to hawaii, don't take yourself off-guard here. the u.s., severe weather across parts of the midwest. the big story is the heat is back. dangerous heat indexes all the way across the midwest. upper 90s up and down the east. so far the airports are doing okay. usually they don't slow down because of heat. about 20 or 30 minutes would be the longest delay i've seen so far today, don? >> ah, that's the biggest sun i've ever seen on your graphics there. dangerous heat. >> i can make it bigger. i can make it giant, sir. >> thank you. talk to you later. thank you very much for that. two journalists trying to reclaim their lives after living as prisoners in north korea. so, how does the iphone make traveling easier?

well, if you'd like your own personal tour of paris, there's an app for that. or, you'd like to figure out the metro, there's an app for that. or you'd like to send a postcard home, there's an app for that too, because there's an app for just about anything. only on the iphone.

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. the two american journalists freed by north korea are back with their families. euna lee and laura ling arrived in the states yesterday after a personal mission by former president bill clinton. but as cnn's brian todd reports,

getting back to normal may take some time. >> 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. >> reporter: and that, experts say, is when the difficult work begins. lisa van sus terern is a ki tryst that deals with family reunions. is there a point when it's difficult when all the attention ebbs, maybe a day or week after the reunion when all the cameras are gone and all the people are gone when you turn to your spouse or your child or both and there's kind of this what now? >> well, yes. because all of the attention when you come back is a big distraction. so, 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 these years and had children with, and now you've got to kind of face the reality of what's -- what have 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? and my spouse hasn't been transformed. >> reporter: divorce she says is common among couples in these situations. mark gonsalves, keith stancil and tom house were held captive for 5 1/2 years by rebels in the colombian jungle. in the year since their release, gonsalves and house have gone through divorces. gonsalves had a physical reaction after a meeting with his father, he had a migraine. >> it was the emotion and joy that i felt, the rush that i felt to cover so much lost time in such a short amount of time now. it was -- it was something that was difficult to deal with.

>> reporter: there seems to be no set formula for readjustment. after being imprisoned for eight months in iran, they came home on the weekend and returned to work the following monday. >> i had to prove that the jailers did not break my spirit nor my will. i had to prove to myself that it was the old me. >> reporter: lisa van sustern says the families of those returning have to be flexible. families who do well in the readjustment period, she says, are those that take their cues from the returning relative and go at their pace. brian todd, cnn, washington. hillary clinton is in africa. at town hall meeting in nairobi today, she said washington has a stake in africa's future, but many of its leaders need to step up. she also met with somalia's new president and vows to continue supporting him in his government's battle against islamic insurgents. cnn's fareed zakaria