one of the most wanted terrorists in pakistan believed killed by a u.s. air strike. his death could ripple across the region. and the school bell rings, the health alarm sounds. this morning, a top-level gathering on the potential outbreak of swine flu. and then -- >> get off of me. >> everybody back up. >> the health care debate turns ugly, overflowing crowds, outraged citizens at more and more town hall meetings. it calls for reform. good morning, everybody, i'm heidi collins, it is friday, august 7th, and you are in the "cnn newsroom."

this morning, we are also keeping an eye on your wallet. cnn personal finance ed or the gerri willis is actually with us about new unemployment numbers that we've just learned. he'll talk to us a little bit about what this tells us on the recession. also the economy in focus at the white house this morning, that's where we find our dan lothian, a little bit about what the president will be talking about later on today. and also this, how about that cash for clunkers program? the senate signs off and americans cash in. wall street was sure this morning's unemployment numbers would be ugly. well, those fears were wrong, despite all of the predictions, national unemployment has fallen 1/10 of a percentage point. that puts the new rate at 9.4%. it's the smallest monthly loss of jobs we've seen in a year. eqed a sign that the recession may be winding down. cnn personal finance ed or the gerri willis joining us now to explain. this is not as bad as some people were expecting, so that's good, right?

>> that is good. however, 9.4% even isn't something to write home to mom about. this isn't a reason for celebration. but here's why these numbers are so important. the unemployment number is a lagging number. it comes way in the rearview mirror as the economy tends to turn around and as you said, of course, we saw a big surprise in the positives, here 9.4%, payrolls shrinking 247,000, and let me put that number in perspective for you just a bit here, heidi. the expectations we would lose 325,000 jobs in the previous month we lost 467,000 jobs, almost 500,000. this is a real shrinkage in the number of jobs going away. but let me give you a little more on that number. the labor department also tracked something they called discouraged workers. these are workers who can't find a job, haven't been able to find a job and have stopped looking. there are some 335,000 people

over the last 12 months who are in that situation right now. that is an increase, and that is down for the first time in a year. we were talking about how this number is lagging. managers, hiring managers when they go out to hire new employees, that is a big risk they're taking. they're really signing up for more than just what your paycheck every week they have to provide you with health insurance coverage, a number of other benefits, and they're very reluctant to do that unless they feel very confident in the economy. and what they've been doing over the last year is not just laying people off, but also reducing people's hours, people are working shorter hours, they're working giving back vacation time, all kinds of things. you're going to be seeing those people who, you know, maybe they only came in four days a week. those people will get more work as the economy improves before the hiring even starts. so you're probably not going to see the kind of numbers we would expect would be part of a healthy economy for several

quarters, frankly, but today's numbers just to put them in perspective, it's good to hear, good to hear that number looking a little bit better and i know the markets are already reacting here. we've seen them turn around. heidi? >> as long as we keep it all in perspective and context, we sure do appreciate that. gerri willis this morning, thank you, gerri. president obama due to talk about the economy a little bit later on. dan, i'm not sure if the president will be talking about these numbers, but for him, that is certainly good timing. >> reporter: it really is, and as gerri is pointing out, we're not talking about stellar numbers, but better than expected. good news because all morning we've been talking about the potential of these numbers eventually reaching into the double digits. the white house, the president himself has been talking about how these unemployment numbers would eventually hit the double digits. no doubt good news, and we expect to hear from the white house later this morning on those numbers. what the white house will continue to say is that they believe that the stimulus

package, the plan, is beginning to work, the jobs are being saved and jobs are being created. but that americans really need to be patient because this is all going to take some time. >> yeah, certainly. well, the cnn national report card last night gave americans the chance to sort of grade the administration. how's the white house grading itself, do you think? >> no, i think they gave a c, i guess from the outside. but the white house giving itself a b, at least according to robert gibbs, the white house spokesman. and here's how he came at that grade. first of all pointed out that the economy has been pulled back from the brink of collapse and disaster because some of the tools that the economic team here has been able to employ. they also believe that the financial markets have stabilized. and there has been some recovery, as well, in the housing market. they see it as improving. so no one here in the administration is by any means saying that the recovery has happened, but they do believe that the trend lines, at least, are moving in a positive

direction. >> all right. dan lothian, thank you, and in fact, we will have live coverage of president obama's remarks on the economy. his comments are now scheduled for 1:15 eastern. and just about 40 minutes from now, we're going to be talking with labor secretary, of course looking beyond the numbers with us. meanwhile to this story now, a strike in pakistan, officials there now saying a powerful taliban leader is dead, killed in a u.s. drone attack. cnn's cal perry joining us live with more on this. what is the latest report of mehsud's death? >> reporter: well, what we're hearing from the governments is they want 110% confirm maation is, in fact, dead. there was a u.s. air strike of some kind targeting mehsud who is the head of the taliban across the entire country. we're not talking about a tribal

region, talking about the entire country. if true, and all reports seem to indicate he was killed, we talked to sources that there was a funeral within three hours of hi death on wednesday. if he has been killed, it would be a huge blow to the taliban here in pakistan because mehsud was responsible some say for up to 90% of the suicide bombing attacks across the country. heidi? >> yeah, in fact, as you say that, i know his claim to fame, if you will actually took place just a couple of years ago. so how much will this actually weaken the insurgency across the border in afghanistan? maybe that's what we should be talking about here. >> i think that's a key point and definitely in 2007 the benazir bhutto assassination changed this country forever. and now you land at the benazir bhutto airport. and it reshaped pakistan forever. many said he ordered that strike. afghanistan, that is key, the u.s. military wants to draw down in iraq, they want to draw up in

afghanistan. and mehsud was carrying out and said so in 2008, said he had suicide bombers ready to strike u.s. targets in afghanistan. and if he's as powerful on the ground, that should have an affect on the war in afghanistan. >> cal perry for us. we sure do appreciate that. keep us posted if we need to come back to you. meanwhile, taking the health care debate from capitol hill to cities and towns around the country. it's getting ugly out there. >> get off of me! >> we'll take a look at more of these here in tampa. and we've got a major hurricane that continues to roar in parts of the pacific. that plus wildfires out west and an extreme heat wave for parts of the nation. the latest coming up in a few moments.

a green light for car shoppers wanting to take advantage of the cash for clunkers program. the senate joined the house in approving another $2 billion for the car rebate program. president obama is expected to sign the bill, extending the program into labor day.

the administration officials estimate there will be another half million any cards sold. buyers can get up to $4,500 in government rebates for trading in their old gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. and judge sonia sotomayor is heading for the nation's highest court. senators confirmed her supreme court nomination yesterday. she becomes the third woman and the first hispanic justice on the high court. president obama calls it a wonderful day for america. judge sotomayor is set to be sworn in tomorrow. reynolds wolf standing by now in the severe weather center, so we have a lot more to talk about. somebody by the name of felicia is kicking it up near hawaii, right? >> yeah, nice name, bad storm, good and bad news with that. bad news that we're talking about a major hurricane moving toward hawaii. that is the bad news. good news, we do expect it's going to weaken considerably, but still bring beneficial

rainfall to parts of the big island. here's what we have right now. let's take the image, we're going to enlarge this for you. as i mentioned the category three is a big -- we do have a couple of things going. one would be an area of cold water, right in the way of this storm, the second thing we're dealing with are strong upper level winds, sheer, so it's going to be the combination of that cold water and strong upper level winds that is going to cause the storm to weaken. as we fast forward into monday, winds around 40 miles an hour, and possibly just a depression as it passes south of the big island. that is right where it is -- the path takes it from the national hurricane center. there is a chance it could move a little bit more to to the south, perhaps to the south, still expenot expected to be a factor in the hawaiian islands. they've been battling blazes in california. we've got video from winchester, california, where over 225 acres have been just scorched.

take a look at that. we're talking about super flames. we're talking about some fires that have been, again, had some flames going in excess of 70 to even 100 feet in height. they've got plenty of dry brush and it's been going up like a tinderbox. today they have a much better handle on things. people evacuated yesterday and today will be allowed back to their homes. what's not good are the warm conditions we're experiencing in central and southern plains. kansas city as far as south as dallas. highs in the triple digits today. a chance of rough weather in the central plains. now back in atlanta, we're expecting relatively dry conditions for a good part of the day. can't rule out a chance of a few showers here and there. and a lot out of atlanta, pretty good for the time being. the clouds expected into the afternoon hours, but for the time being, just a little bit of haze. that is the latest on your forecast, of course. we're going to give you more details coming up throughout the morning. heidi, we'll pitch it back to

you. >> you should stick around, reynolds, check out this picture. what's wrong with this? we're here working, marciano out there shrugging it out a little bit -- >> you talking to me? >> yeah, i'm talking to you. right in the middle of the world's longest yard sale. any good deals you've found along the way? and really how much of it have you seen? >> reporter: well, you know, this thing is so long that i just get carried away and i get out of range where i can actually hear you, but i think this is a good spot for us. it's 654 miles long. >> okay. >> it starts off the middle of alabama, dips into georgia briefly, up through tennessee, kentucky, and makes its way all the way to the ohio-michigan border and they've been doing this for 22 years, and people like -- this is what they do. they prepare for this all yearlong. check out this stuff. the next couple of shots, i sat

on this, every man should have one, back from the 2000 super bowl. >> does it go in the pool? it's a blow-up? >> reporter: come on, you've never seen one of these? >> you squish it -- >> i figured matt would have one. it's a blow-up football chair in a pinch. it's a modern day bean bag. >> yeah. >> reporter: i showed this last hour because i know you like turkey, that's ea real turkey tail. >> you've got to be more original than this. >> reporter: what we're finding, heidi, the deals will probably come later in the weekend. like any garage sale, they start high, the pickings are good, pickings get slimmer toward the weekend, but that's when you can get them down to a good price. we saw some things across the way like old coke signs, old coke machines, coca-cola machines that didn't even work, likely, for $350. so you've got your vintage angle

and then your plain old junk and then you've got people who come out to enjoy the people. >> yeah, we want to see -- >> reporter: do you have any requests? i've got a laundry list of things to bring back. and i'm not -- >> i don't. i don't. i don't have any requests. i want to keep the pressure on you low. but we do want to see more stuff that's out there. but my understanding is a lot of these people come back year after year after year. as you said 22 years, they come and put their wares out for people to check out. any elvis stuff? there's got to be good elvis stuff out there, right? >> reporter: i haven't seen any elvis stuff, barbie seems to be a big player. there she is in the purple heart. i was corrected by kiran earlier with this particular -- >> aurora. >> reporter: -- life size --

who's that? aurora? i misspoke and thought that was cinderella. anyway, lamps, this one will run you $5. >> cool, we're going to check in a little bit later on with you because we want to see more goods. >> let's get our technical issues worked out because -- >> you can't hearing anything i'm saying. >> reporter: that's not necessarily a bad thing. i'm kidding. i'm kidding. >> we'll check back later on, yeah, yeah, yeah, me too. we want to bring this up with our viewers, we want to know more from you this morning. has the economy actually turned you into one of these weekend yard sale shoppers if that's the case, what do you buy? and how has it helped you to save money? if you were looking for that game table to put down in your basement, are you going to the store? or are you going out to some of these yard sales? here's your question, has the economy turned you into a weekend yard sale shopper, go to

cnn.com/heidi and you can respond to it there or call us. the hot line to heidi, the phone number 1-877-742-5760. we'll bring that up later today. it's a friday after all, right? you hear the word hypothermia and immediately think this cannot be good. well, not necessarily. doctors are discovering it can actually help save lives.

wash your hands, sneeze into your sleeve, avoid contacts with sick people, those are the key personal guidelines for avoiding the h1n1 flu otherwise known as swine flu. but right now, top government health and education officials are in washington. you see health and human service secretary kathleen sebelius unveiling updated guidelines for schools. along with health and human services, again, and education. flu season just around the corner. many schools closed during the initial spread this spring, but that may not be the recommendation anymore. we will have much more on those proposed guidelines later on with elizabeth cohen. stick around for that. also, hypothermia sometimes happens to people who fall through the ice or spend nights

out in the cold. why would doctors deliberately cause that condition? dr. sanjay gupta takes a look. >> it is incredibly exciting and i've been looking into this idea of hypothermia for quite some time. this idea of cooling somebody to try to improve the outcome after a cardiac arrest. a lot of studying showing it works, but so many hospitals still not uses it. he is back from the dead. nearly five minutes without a heartbeat after a sudden cardiac arrest. but three years later, he's alive and well. >> i feel stronger, i feel better. >> reporter: part of his treatment at the new york presbyterian hospital was therapeutic hypothermia. >> imagine a chemical burn injury in the brain triggered by 20 minutes of not enough oxygen, hypothermia's like throwing water on the fire. it just puts out the fire.

>> reporter: the method is simple. you run chilled saline through an iv and wrap the limbs in pads filled with cold solutions. as far as back as 2002, studies in europe showed it sharply improving the outcome from cardiac arrest. and a new study says it's just as cost effectively as many standard therapies. but here's the thing, it's never quite caught on here. the university of chicago survey found that only around 230 hospitals out of some 6,000 in the country actually have this equipment. >> there's a treatment that was shown to be effective in two clinical trials in the new england journal of medicine, the premiere medical journal in the world, yet today you could easily be taken to a hospital and not be given that treatment. >> reporter: it meant a chance to cheat death, another chance to smell the summer air. so there you have it, it is a

pretty remarkable thing, and there are about 300,000 or so people affected by a cardiac arrest every single year. the problem is, the second line there, 90% plus die, so there's a lot of research to figure out how to improve stats and hypothermia might be a way to do that. a lot of hospitals simply not doing this. it's part of the american heart association guidelines right now, but so many hospitals simply don't have the equipment. it's low tech, you haven't seen any big advertising campaigns, but that doesn't mean it works. there are some potential side effects. it could lead to irregular heartbeats, thinning of the blood, and that has been something that the critics have been concerned about. by still, considering the numbers, the likelihood of dying of cardiac arrest, simply cooling the body can make a huge difference. back to you. >>om the front lines of emergency care in an hour long special "another day cheating death" coming your way in october right here on cnn.

john hughes is dead, he suffered a heart attack while jogging in new york. if the name doesn't necessarily ring a bell, i'm sure you remember some of his movies. ♪ well, shake it up baby now ♪ twist and shout ♪ come on, come on, come on baby now ♪ >> that, of course from "ferris beuler's day off." >> what in god's name is going on in here? what was that? >> what? >> i heard a ruckus. >> could you describe it, sir? >> watch your tongue young man, watch it. >> john hughes was also a prolific screen writer, writing all three "home alone" movies

and the "beethoven" movies, and brought us the griswolds. he was 59 years old.

(voice 2) how bad is it? (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again.

all right. quickly to wall street now because we are a few seconds away from the opening bell on this friday, last day of the week, everybody hopes to end on a positive note. as you know, but yesterday the

dow jones industrial averages were down a bit, just 25 points or so ending yesterday at 9,256. we'll see what happens this morning. may numbers we're looking at and have already talked to you about is when the job market, 247,000 more people lost their jobs with the percentage resting now at 9.4%. so, of course, we'll continue o follow those numbers and get you to wall street here throughout the day to watch the numbers. meanwhile, i want to get you back to this story because as we told you a little bit earlier, there are some updated guidelines that are being laid out right now for how schools are supposed to be dealing with h1n1 or swine flu this fall. not very far off from school down here, it starts on monday. so the government's top health officials as well as the secretaries of education, homeland security are taking part and our cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here. i know you've been watching and

listening in to what's happening, what is the cdc saying? should we be doing something different than what we've been doing? >> it is going to be a little different than it was in the spring. if you remember in the spring, heidi, what was going on, the cdc was encouraging may be too strong a word, but the cdc was saying that's good, we think you should close down. however, now they are going to announce this morning that basically closures are really up to the schools. they're not giving schools any guidelines. as a matter of fact, a senior federal official told me the whole tone is going to be schools should stay open even when they do have children who have swine flu or staff members. so let's go over the -- sort of what's going on here with the update and we'll talk about some of these weirdnesses as heidi just said. schools will get to decide when they close and also that kids can return to school 24 hours after their fever ends and the schools will emphasize teaching respiratory etiquette,which is a

new word, cough or sneeze into your leave, wash your hands often, but they're not going to be telling schools, you got a case of swine flu, even if half the school has swine flu, they're not going to -- >> that's so bizarre because they said clearly it seems kind of drastic when we are getting these cases that yes, in fact, we have swine flu in our school to shut the entire school down, it's totally overreacting, but it's working. that's what they said before and now -- >> and there was a study in the landscape that showed that school closures were working. the way it was explained to me was that in the spring they weren't quite sure what they were dealing with. we didn't know if it was going to be like the flu in 1918, we didn't know if it was going to kill people right and left, but now when they look at swine flu, what they see is basically in some ways something very similar to seasonal flu. yes, it kills people, but most people do just fine with swine flu. they have a couple of days where they're ill, but they recover. so i think that they've sort of

tempered. now that they know more about the virus, they've tempered that advice and leaving it up to schools. schools are still free to close at any time, but the cdc is not encouraging them to close. >> what about the contagiousness. it says they can go back 24 hours after the fever ends. >> right. and i talked so tom infectious disease folks about this and they said this gets a little tricky, you're still contagious even 24 hours after the fever ends, so your fever ends on monday, you go back to school tuesday or wednesday, you're still shedding that virus. you're still possibly contagious. and so some people are saying, gee, is that really the best advice to give people? >> no. i'm sorry, i'm not the medical expert, but i'm thinking, no. >> but do you want a healthy kid staying out of school for ten days? if you have a child whose fever has ended, they're perfectly healthy, you tell them to stay out of school for almost two weeks? no. >> but 48 hours as opposed to 24, i don't know.

what about the vaccine, because obviously that's the next step here. everybody's waiting for this vaccine to come around and then we may not have to have these conversations. >> right. health officials are hoping that this vaccine will be out in the middle of october, but they also say that that is a best-case scenario. it may not be out in the middle of october. but when it does come out, and some groups are going to get priority. and those are pregnant women because it has been shown they die at a higher rate than people who aren't pregnant from swine flu. everyone from 6 months to 24 years old is going to be recommended they get swine flu shot and parents and care takers of babies under the age of 6 months also supposed to get the shots, emergency and health care workers and anyone who is 25 to 64 years old with health problems. you can see this list is long, it's a little bit complicated, it's really going to be up to doctors and public health folks to try to explain some people need to be first in line, other people need to wait their turn. >> yeah.

yeah. all right, well, we are watching all of this very closely, obviously, we appreciate it. let us know what else develops. elizabeth cohen. >> thank you. we asked you to grade president obama as he wraps up his second 100 days in office. the results are in. tom foerman shows us at the magic wall. we told you how to vote yesterday and here are the results for the general handling of the economy, a c minus almost all across the country is not looking very good. we're going to circle an area here and i want you to pay attention because this area really matters. i'll tell you why in a minute, but first, let's look at what happened that made such a big difference in all of this. and on a particular date. if we go up here to the 17th, listen to what the president was saying about health care reformal. >> so this is what health insurance reform will mean for the average american. it will mean lower costs, more choices, and coverage you can count on. >> he has been trying to sell that message over and over and over again. but if you go back here to 167,

this is part of the problem. here's joe biden talking about the overall economy. >> there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited. now, that doesn't -- i'm not saying this -- it's now our responsibility. so the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the recovery act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? >> so those were the messages that were coming out of the white house, but this was the result, they got hammered on the economy and, look at this, on health care they really got hit and they got hit by this part of the country. why? that's part of the older part of the country. more people here are older than elsewhere. these are people who gave them much better ratings earlier on when the question was how did you handle swine flu? they liked that. the combination of health care and overall economy really beat them up quite badly and when you move down the line here to the

overall ranking of president obama, you see what happens. he winds up with a c minus even in his home state of hawaii down here. the best he can do is a c plus, not the kind of ratings he wants especially when you look back 100 days and see back then, much, much, much higher ratings all the way around. heated debates across the country in what could be a make or break month for health care reform. democratic lawmakers are spending their august recess trying to drum up support for the president's plan. but some town hall meetings are turning into shouting matches. how things got out of control last night in tampa. >> reporter: hundreds lined up and at 6:00, it started off as a town hall meeting about an important issue. >> when it comes to your health care. >> reporter: but before congresswoman kathy kaster could even begin getting through opening remarks, the protests began.

and things quickly turned violent. >> reporter: mark bish shop was among those roughed up. >> that's the most violent someone has ever gotten towards me. it's surprising to say the least. >> outside, hundreds more were locked out as the children's board building quickly filled to capacity. people banged on windows and doors. and became so loud the congresswoman was eventually escorted out. some argue it was mainly health care reform supporters allowed inside the building. >> everyone's voice should have the right to be heard and

tonight was not a good example of that. there were a lot of people that were shut out of tonight's meeting. >> reporter: but others who attended say many were so outspoken it became impossible to have a discussion at all. >> they think they're exercising their right to free speech, but they're only exercising their right to disrupt civil discourse. >> unfortunately i feel like a lot probably wasn't accomplished. no one got heard. >> reporter: in the end, there were only minor injuries reported. police did their best to allow free speech but eventually were forced to call the meeting short ordering everyone go home. cbs news, tampa. u.s. troops in war zones, sometimes their lives can hang by a thread. these flame-resistant uniforms are essential on the front lines. in fact, we'll tell you why they're under fire in washington. taking its rightful place

in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz.

fireproof uniforms for u.s. troops, they may be as essential as bullet proof vests. no one argues they are a critical way of protecting

american lives in the war zone, yet they may be taken away. chris lawrence now tells us why. >> reporter: an ied explodes, and the only thing protecting american troops from the blazing heat is a special fiber in their uniforms. >> they have a three to five second delay before it's penetrated which gives you time to put the fire out, reduce the burn to the soldiers. >> reporter: but this fireproof uniform is not made in america and may have to be removed over the few years. there's a fight over who gets to make these uniforms, a job worth hundreds of millions of dollars. >> some companies, like dupont, for example, have already lost hundreds of jobs. >> reporter: we traveled to north carolina state university where the army commission tests on fabrics from two dozen companies. >> whether or not it ignites, if it ignites, how long it continues to burn, the after flame. >> reporter: the heat and flame

simulate fires on the battlefield. >> in ordinary clothing, a person would be burned in a fraction of a second. >> reporter: and sensors record how much of that heat hits the mannequin's skin. the fire's so intense, you can feel it through the protective glass outside the chamber. the army says the best fabric, quote they have consistently exceeded our expectations, this has proven to be a valuable fabric and well received by our soldiers. they make the uniforms in georgia, but imports the fiber from austria. for all kinds of environmental reasons, that special rayon is not made in america. >> it breathes, it is fire resistant, and it is not matched by any american product. >> reporter: so congress passed a special waiver allowing the pentagon to import outside materials for the uniforms. that waiver expires in a few years and congress is debating an amendment to extend it indefinitely. it was just defeated in the senate with one opponent calling

it. >> an exception that favors former suppliers of rayon over our own american companies. >> reporter: some lawmakers believe american companies will develop a similar fabric by the time the waiver runs out in 2013. >> the efforts are being made in virginia and south carolina to produce this product here domestically. >> this will allow american industry to come in with a whole spectrum of ideas and alternate materials. >> reporter: an american uniform with all american materials. >> and i understand that from a business standpoint, but from the safety of our troops, if you don't have a superior product, it shouldn't be what our troops -- our troops should have the very best. >> and our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is joining us right now. chris, i don't get it, government contracts are obviously huge, they can be very, very lucrative, but if the fabric, the chemical is not made in the u.s., isn't the most important thing just making sure that our troops are protected to the absolute best protection they could be?

>> i think everybody here involved wants the best protection for the troops. the thing is, by law, the defense department is not supposed to import materials to make uniforms, that's a law. there's an amendment that will allow them to -- >> right, the waiver. >> right the waiver that allows them to do so. but the bottom line here is about jobs. you know, some of these american companies, some of these companies want to be able to compete. they're saying bottom line. if the waiver goes away, these companies have about three years to come up with a uniform that is just as good. the problem is if they can't. >> exactly. >> at that point you wouldn't be able to import anymore special rayon. >> where are the troops at that point? it seems they should come up with it first and then discuss the contracts. but i'm not in charge, am i? >> no, you're not, but maybe you should be. >> chris lawrence, thank you, appreciate it. new jobless numbers to tell you about and new clues to the

economy, perhaps, we'll search for the bottom line with labor secretary in just a moment. when this hotel added aflac to compliment their benefits package aflac! it made a big splash with the employees yeaaaahhhh! find out more at aflac!... ...forbusiness.com (laughter) a snapshot on the economy. now just last hour, those new jobless figures we shared with you showed that employers are pulling back on layoffs a bit.

but could this really mean the recession is finally winding down? can you make that leap. joining us to discuss more on this, u.s. labor secretary hi a hildasoliz. unemployment at 9.4%, a loss of 247,000 jobs in july. i feel like when we say that these reports are coming out, they kind of dread it because they just don't know what to expect, and they know the situation is not good. what is your reaction to these numbers? >> well, i think you're absolutely right. this is a very high number of people that are still unemployed, but you also have to recall when we inherited this recession, we came in with well over 700,000 people who had lost their jobs, now it's been almost cut in half, but that's still not good enough. the president and i are not satisfied with seeing one job lost. >> 19 consecutive months of job losses, in fact, 14.5 million people now out of work.

for all of those people who are out of work, i just picture them sitting at home and getting more of this news. what do you say to them? >> well, i would hope that first of all they would not give up hope in looking for jobs and would encourage them to go to their local one-stops to inquire about what job opportunities may be available or also look into training opportunities. you know, through our expansion of unemployment insurance, we're also allowing for people to use some of that funding to be able to get into job training programs. here's an opportune time to look for the areas that will grow like in the health care arena and renewable energy. >> i think there was a term we learned right after these numbers came out from our personal finance editor gerri willis talking about the number you also look at here, which is a discouraged workers who are the ones who have actually lost a bit of hope here. >> right. and we want to continue to keep them motivated and that's why i think it's important we talk also about some of the rescue and rebuild efforts we've

focussed on and part of it is making sure those people get their unemployment insurance and also provide them with health care coverage, 65% is paid for by the federal government through the plan. so there's a lot of different so there's a lot of different elements going on. the stimulus money has actually gone out. we still have two-thirds of that money going out for infrastructure development and new technologies and a whole other source of employment opportunities that will be coming. >> okay, so, your words are encouraging to the people at home? i mean, i guess what i'm hearing you say is there are jobs that are going to be created and that's still what the goal of the stimulus plan was. but you may have to change careers. i mean, what if you're not a person who works in the industry as infrastructure, if you will. >> here's an opportunity to look in health careers and i.t. and those other emerging industries. we're starting to see some uptick in allied health care

careers and also i.t. and also renewable energy. you have to think about those people that lost their jobs and may not be coming back here but could come in to face solar energy types of positions and also any renewable energy type of job that could help provide them with the lasting income and one that will hopefully bring them up anywhere from 10% to 20% in their earnings. that is something that is realistic and president just this week issued $2.4 billion in the creation of lithium batteries, so, we are putting money towards the research and development and there will be job creation. >> is the government going to pay for training for people to switch industries? >> we are paying for it. in fact $500 million for green jobs. and also $220 million for health care also opportunities, job development there. >> all right, we appreciate your insight on these numbers as we continue to watch them very, very closely along with all our viewers at home. thanks. >> thank you. a big name in the war on terror.

apparently taken out by a u.s. drone attack. how his death could affect the insrnlshancy.

an awful lot going on in the cnn newsroom. our crews always in place to bring it to you. let's get a preview from our correspondents out there in the field. ivan, good morning. >> good morning, heidi. the top u.s. military commander in afghanistan gave us an exclusive interview. he described his theories for battling the taliban insurgency and invited pakistani military observers to join u.s. troops on this side of the border. i'll have that for you, heidi, at the top of the hour. >> and the senate approves another $2 billion to help you unload your clunker. i'll tell you what you need to know at the top of the hour. >> and i'm rob marciano not in the severe weather center and donelap, tennessee, where you can get stuff that's old, that's

new or just pickled like green tomatoes. a live report coming up in the next hour. heidi, back over to you. >> it feels like a friday to me. rob and everybody, we sure do appreciate it. also, healing bodies and minds. how american families are making a huge difference in the lives of some afghan children. and learning from them, as well.

now a refreshing break from all those reports of unemployment. meet john engelson. an employee at the grand hotel in minneapolis, minnesota. he managed to hold on to his job for 50 years. he began working as a banquet captain at 17. and then in 1999 he became the hotel doorman. >> during the winter, it's not so fun. but i don't mind it, you know. the worst thing is getting sloshed by the buses. >> yeah, definitely winter not so fun there. he's opened doors for many a celebrity over the years, but don't ask him to name names.

always a true professional, his lips are sealed. a culinary concoction is creating a lot of buzz at the wisconsin state fair. chocolate covered bacon. yeah. the sheer notion of this unusual snack on a stick may make some of you a little queasy. chocolate bacon is actually a delicious mixture of salty and sweet at the same time. some fair goers refused to act on that recommendation, though, they're opting instead to opt on the fairs cream puffs and good old wisconsin cheese. which i'm sure can come fried, as well. now, for a look at some of the other stories we're following at the moment. new unemployment numbers contain a little bit of good news. the rate actually dropped in july by 0.1%. it's the first decline, though, in more than a year. and a man with business ties to a murdered florida couple is now under arrest, but investigators say he does not face charges in

the killings of byrd and melanie billings. meanwhile, prosecutors say they're going to ask for first degree murder charges against the seven men already accused. that could mean a push for the death penalty. secretary of state hillary clinton in south africa this morning. the latest stop on her seven-nation tour through africa. she's talking to leaders there about supporting government reforms in neighboring zim bobway and we're following two big stories overseas this morning. three coalition soldiers are dead in an attack in southern afghanistan. we're going to be talking with general stanically mcchrystal and also in pakistan. then this morning, top intelligence officials in pakistan say the country's taliban commander is dead. he's the man who aides say was responsible for the assassination of benazir bhutto, reportedly killed in a u.s. drone attack. we'll take you live to pakistan's capital in just a few minutes. but, first, the fight against the taliban in

afghanistan. august already proving to be a deadly month for coalition troops there. the latest attack happened here in the dangerous helmand province. three british paratroopers were killed when they were fired on by taliban militants. their deaths pushed the number of troops killed in afghanistan in the first week of august to 18. the top u.s. and nato commander in afghanistan is general stanley mcchrystal. the fight against the taliban and drafting a detailed plan for victory. cnn's ivan watson got an exclusive interview with general mcchrystal. he joins us live from kabul with more on this. what is the general telling you about the focus of the mission in afghanistan. >> well, heidi, we traveled with general mcchrystal through two of the most turbulent provinces in afghanstep. trying to win support for the local population for the afghan

government, which is often a focus of criticism among afghans who accuse it of corruption and mismanagement. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> the fundamental conflict in any insurgency is fighting for legitimacy with the people and the support of the population. who do they look to as their legitimate government? who do they pay taxes to? who do they look to for rule of law and who do they look for for protection? in the case of this insurgency, we have an afghan government that is trying to establish itself around the country and has problems with corruption and has some problems with predatory behavior. >> and, heidi, one of the problems here is that the taliban is offering services that's trying to compete with the afghan government. for example, one of my sources say just 20 miles east of kabul, the taliban operates shadow governments and actually operates mobile courts where taliban will show up in a

village in a pickup truck and they'll have a judge who will offer to resolve local disputes that, evidently, the afghan government can't resolve like how to get two shepherds who mixed up their herd of sheep. that is one of the challenges right now that general mcchrystal is trying to deal with. >> you have to understand how all of that works. i also wonder, ivan, what mcchrystal had to say about the taliban leadership, some of which is believed to operate out of neighboring pakistan. >> there is a council that's believed to be in the pakistani city and he says that it's difficult, though, he called it, said it was difficult to be an absentee boss and when some of those commanders come into afghanistan, they've been targeted in the past. he's also issued an invitation to us, to pakistan saying that pakistan would be welcome to send military observers to join his troops on this side of the border. let's listen to what he had to say about that, heidi.

>> a number of our headquarters here and just like to create the strongest connections possible. we already have a pretty good partnership, but the stronger it gets, the better we all are. >> any coming over and operating with troops on this side? >> they'll talk about the specifics of where people operate, but i will tell you that we do have growing links with the pakistani military, the afghans and pakistani military and us and i think it's all good. >> so this is a cross border insurgency, a cross border phenomenon, heidi. it definitely needs joint cooperation between afghanistan and pakistan if it's ever going to be defeated. heidi? >> obviously. ivan watson, thanks so much, we appreciate that. need to get to iraq now because a series of bombings shaking the country this morning. at least 20 people are dead in a suicide attack in the northern

city of mosul. dozens more are injured. in baghdad at least six people are dead in three separate explosions. all attacks targeted shiite pilgrims observing a religious holiday. wall street was sure that unemployment numbers were about to jump again, those were wrong. the national unemployment rate has fallen just a bit, 0.10%. that puts the new jobless rate at 9.4%. still, obviously, very high, but it does show maybe a glimmer of optimism. july saw the smallest monthly loss of jobs in a year. that's considered a strong sign, how you look at it, i guess. this recession may be winding down. just minutes ago labor secretary joined us here in "the newsroom." >> they would not give up hope looking for jobs and would encourage them to go to their local one stops to inquire about

what job opportunities may be available and also look into training opportunities. through our expansion of unemployment insurance, we're also lallowing for people to ge into job training programs and here's an opportune time to look at the areas that could grow like in the health care arena and also in renewable energy. >> wall street liking the numbers too, so far. at the bottom of the hour we'll check in with felicia taylor with more on that. in fact, we can show you the big board ourselves right here. dow jones industrial averages are up just a tad there. 93134. so, we will see more as we continue here in the "newsroom" about what those unemployment numbers have done to the market so far today. president obama extends cash for clunkers. car shoppers will get more time to take advantage of the program now. the senate has joined the house in passing the car rebate program and the white house now says that president obama has signed the bill.

cnn personal finance editor gerri willis is here now with some tips for consumers. looks like the president has signed this. >> that didn't take long. fast, fast, fast. there are over 40 million clunkers on the road and the previous cash for clunkers program took off about $250,000. this bill will take up about 0 $5 $500,000. so if you take advantage of this program, you need to think your way through it. first of all, can you really afford a new car? the average car in this country is about $26,000. if you pay for it over four years, even with this incentive, you're still going to face a $500 or maybe more payment each and every month. so, figure out if this really works for your budget. don't delay. i just mentioned how many folks would take advantage of it. that first cash for clunker deal, heidi, took only a week for us to go through that money and not as long to go through the $2 billion.

if you want to participate, you have to get involved. if you think, wow, all this t.a.r.p. money that we talked so much about, i want my piece of the action. this is your piece of the action. this is your personal stimulus bill. so, get involved if you have a clunker. i think you really have to participate in this program and, finally, don't forget to negotiate. i think people see that. $3,500 off, $4,500 off and they get all excited about it but at the end of the day it's time to negotiate your price of the car and get great information and edmonds.com has great details on what to negotiate and what the numbers are you need to know and you really want to think through this purchase because at the end of the day, it's not a small one, one you'll probably pay for for years to come. heidi? >> all right our personal finance editor, gerri willis. president obama is due to talk about the economy later on today. i'm sure he'll mention cash for clunkers, as well as the unemployment numbers. his comments scheduled for 1:15

eastern and we'll carry them live right here on cnn. the united states is getting a new supreme court justice judge sonia sotomayor easily confirmed yesterday by the senate. she becomes the third woman and the first hisfirst. investigators are hoping to confirm the deaths of the country's taliban leader. a man by the name of muhsud was killed in a terrorist bomb attack. cnn's cal perry joining us live from islamabad pakistan with more on this. so, what's the very latest now on these reports, cal? >> well, we're waiting for official confirmation from the pakistani government. they really seem to want 110% confirmation. seems to be preponderance of evidence that he was killed on the early hours of wednesday

morning by a u.s. missile strike and we heard from people here on the ground that there was a funeral. now, this was the head of the taliban for the entire country, we're talking not just about somebody who runs a describal region, but the entire region. certainly if true, this would be a big blow for the taliban in pakistan and a small victory for the u.s. intelligence. heidi? >> i always wonder when there is a potential victory like this by way of knocking down insurgency, who then steps into the role? somebody else waiting right behind to take over for him? >> yeah. that's the big question. what impact this will have on the ground. by some account, 80% of the suicide bombings were carried out by mehsud. i spoke over the phone to the former assistant deputy of defense and he said he worries that americans will overpersonalize the zarqawis and bin ladens and they have

something in place, exactly like you're saying, where they're prepared for their leader to be decapitated. that's something we'll have to wait and see in the coming days. >> cal perry in islamabad, pakistan. thank you. responding to flu fears. the government updating guidelines for schools this morning, trying to slow the spread of the swine flu. upbeat rock ♪ singer:wanted to get myself a new cell phone ♪ ♪ so i could hear myself as a ringtone ♪ ♪ who knew the store would go and check my credit score ♪ ♪ now all they let me have is this dinosaur ♪

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preparing for the spread of the h1n1 flu. the government unveiling updated guidelines this morning for schools. you remember, many schools were forced to close during the initial spread of the so-called swine flu this spring. today, they're saying schools should only be closed in extreme situations. but the ultimate decision will be left up to local leaders. >> what we are attempting to do and with this guidance is to allow schools to stay oep on and to want them to send sick students and staff home, specifically ill students and staff should be separated and given protective gear such as a mask until they can leave a school. hand washing and coughing etiquette are essential. these simple steps have an enormous effect on the ability to slow down the transmission of the flu. >> some more of the guidelines

now. kids with the flu should be kept at home and away from school and the mall. that order goes for teachers and other school staff. they should stay home for 24 hours after their fever breaks. school should regularly clean areas that are likely to have a lot of hand contact. also, schools should consider active symptom screening for kids as they arrive at school in an effort to catch illness early. let's head on over to the severe weather center now where we find reynolds wolf because we're still having to talk about hawaii and felicia. >> absolutely. been a pretty quiet season in the atlantic basin and in the pacific it's been crazy. a lot of storms there. the most recent one is felicia. felicia still drawing a beat on the hawaiian islands. as we put this into motion, you notice the storm will get closer and also expected to downgrade from a category 3 storm eventually becoming a tropical storm and then the forecast has it dropping to a depression as we get into tuesday and even

into wednesday. and there's two big reasons why that may happen. the first big reason, it is moving into an area of much colder water. water temperatures of 77 degrees and lower. these storms maintain their strength or lower and 80 degrees fahrenheit or lower. cooler water. second thing the strong upper level winds that will rip the storms apart and we're banking on those two things would happen. a lot can happen between now and the next couple days. what is really great about the storm, it will be providing heavy rainfall for parts of hawaii they could use around the big island and also use heavy rainfall in parts of southern california where they're battling wildfires. take a look at this video we have for you. flames everywhere near parts of southern california and, again, they're getting a better handle on today. this is actually near whittaker, they evacuated. many people last night will be allowed to come back in today. this shot near riverside. one bad thing you have in this

area. those upslope winds and a lot of dry vegetation which, of course, is perfect fuel for these fires and perfect way of life for southern california. let me show you something else that is happening in the desert southwest. a lot of heat and wind forming across parts of the four corners. as you make your way to the northern plains, windy conditions and a chance of severe storms, especially late into the afternoon hours. plenty of moisture that has been feeding in from the gulf of mexico and that combine would the daytime heating and frontal system moving from west to east, it all comes together giving us a chance of rough weather, especially into the late afternoon hours. that is the latest in the forecast, heidi, let's send it back to you. if you think your interstate is crowded, try driving on highway 127 this weekend. that's where you will find the world's, yes, the world's longest yard sale. stretches from ohio to alabama. 654 miles of terrific bargains.

and our rob marciano is there this morning hunting for deals. he actually ft. reynolds to do all the work. we want to hear from you this morning because we're curious about this. has the tough economy turned you into a weekend yard sale shopper? if so, what are you buying? and has it helped you save any money? send us some of your thoughts. you can e-mail us at cnn.com/heidi. we'll look forward to some of your comment there's. also, an amazing rescue to show you this morning from washington. you might say it's a case of witnesses becoming first responders. passersby rushed to the scene of this car crash trying to free the people trapped inside. >> do you worry the car might explode? >> i was and i tried to get her out. >> i wouldn't say that. i just thank god i can be able to help somebody else out. >> when firefighters arrived, they used the jaws of life to cut out the people that the witnesses could not free.

altogether, five people were injured in two separate cars. battling with your insurance company. tips on what to do when your claim is denied. we're answering your questions in today's empowered patient segment. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

well, it's empower me friday and that means we're answering your health care questions. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here to help make you an empowered patient, which is a good thing. >> a good thing, yes. >> this question of the day is from erin. she says this. my boyfriend received lasik surgery a year ago and after the surgery the doctor's office submitted the claim and the insurance company denied the claim. how can we appeal this denial? >> my first question is, find out before you have lasik surgery whether your insurance company covers it, but is it that easy? >> that's what erin said she did. her boyfriend called the doctor's office and the doctor was office said rb it's covered, don't worry about it. i could have saved erin and her boyfriend a lot of trouble. >> and money. >> and money. they should have realized lasik

is almost never covered by insurance, only when you have some specific and unusual medical problems not because you don't like wearing contacts or glasses. this is an occasion where they should have known that lasik isn't covered by insurance. sort of like if you want larger breasts just because you want larger breasts, they're not going to cover it. >> i don't know how this came into the topic of conversation at all. >> cosmetic surgery, that's what i'm trying to get at. if you want a smaller nose or a facelift. >> they consider it, this is not the technical term, but a luxury type of procedure as opposed to a necessary need. >> exactly. i would tell erin and her boyfriend there are certain things that aren't covered, luxuries, lasik cosmetic surgery, that kind of thing. it's most likely not covered. >> i would imagine there are some other situations out there that are less black and white than this. >> there are some gray areas. some policies that will cover other things that other policies

won't. some policies may cover infertility, others won't. alternative medicine, some will cover your acpuncture and cai chiropractic and hearing aids. you need to check with your insurance companies. don't just trust your doctor, check with the insurance company. >> in effort to avoid all the confusion, as the that's the number one thing to do. >> check things out beforehand, not afterward. here's a list of ways to avoid the situation. for erin's boyfriend, thousands of dollars to the doctor. check your policy's general exclusions. here's what we won't pay for. they actually say it in english. it does make sense. the other thing that you want to do, you want to get everything in write figure the insurance woman says to you over the phone we'll pay for that, say y want that in writing. and, as we discussed, don't trust your doctor on insurance questions. if they say insurance will cover, the doctor is not signing that check. get it from the insurance

company. >> after the procedure is done, he'll want payment of some kind. >> erin's boyfriend is facing a $3,000 something dollar bill. >> that stinks. where do people send their questions again? >> empowerpatient@cnn.com. i got this wrong yesterday, too. i don't know what's wrong with me. send me your questions, i answer them every friday. i hope i answer yours next week. >> elizabeth, we appreciate it, thank you. rebuilding bridges, restoring lives. afghan children come to america and discover the friends they never could have had back home. ♪ [ 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

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melmartinez, a republican in florida is resigning his senate seat and then the governor, charlie frisk, of course, can appoint his successor. he is also running for his seat. so, once again, that information coming in to us from our rick debela here at cnn that senator mel martinez has actually resigned his seat. i'm just reading off of our news wire right here. bear with me. earlier this year you may remember that martinez actually said he would not run for re-election in 2010, but under florida law, as i've just said, the republican governor there charlie crisp will get a successor until the next general election, of course. new information coming in to us about mel martinez out of florida today. a snapshot of the economy. earlier this morning we learned the unemployment rate has fallen for the first time in 15 months. the many experts say it's a sign the recession may be finally winding down. just minutes ago, president obama signed into law that $2

billion extension of the cash for clunkers program. car sales have boomed as americans cash in old gas guzzlers for federal rebate as much as $4,500. president obama due to talk about the economy a little bit later today. his comments scheduled for 1:30 eastern now. that's 1:30 eastern. we're going to carry those remarks live just as soon as they happen. for more on the jobs report, though, let's go straight to wall street now. felicia taylor is standing by at the new york stock exchange with some details and also the reaction from the stock market to this. we're up, felicia, by about 90 points or so on the big board. >> a great way to begin the weekend. wall street is cheering this job's report, the most important economic report we can get. shows that 247,000 people lost jobs in july. i know that sounds like a big number, but the truth is, we're seeing the pace of layoffs slow dramatically.

january job losses topped 700,000. so you can see, literally, how much the job losses have begun to dwindle down. that is clearly good news for the economy and for the american people. it has been steadily falling and july has the fewest losses in nearly a year and it shows the economy is definitely moving in the right direction. we have some buying on wall street, the dow industrials now better buy about 92 points, about 1% gain on the day and the nasdaq composite is up as is the s&p. heidi? >> i wonder, though, some of the sectors in jobs, though, are, of course, still having trouble. not everything, not everything is to the positive, right? >> you're absolutely right. no question about that. the same areas continue to lose jobs. no surprise there, but the key is that the cuts are getting smaller and this is what we want to continue to see, obviously. we still have losses in manufacturing and construction and professional services, but there are some other encouraging signs. the average workweek edged back

up to more than 33 hours in july. that's after hitting a record low in june. so, if employers can't actually actively hire more people, at least they can boost the hours actually worked. so, that's good news because, obviously, per hour, you're making more money. some reasons to be encouraged by the numbers. we have a long way to go before we're out of the recession blues. >> 14.5 million people still out of work, as we can see. felicia taylor, we appreciate that. but we're watching those numbers. if you plan to hit the stores for to school shopping this is the weekend to save on sales tax in several states. jeannie has our breakdown now from new york. hi, how are you? >> i'm great, heidi, how are you? i tell you, more than a dozen states that are offering tax-free holidays this weekend on clothing and school supplies. ten of those will occur this weekend. today and tomorrow in iowa and louisiana and the other eight states include today, tomorrow and sunday, as well.

now, how much you'll save depends on the state. in virginia, you don't have to pay sales tax on individual clothing items costing less than $100 or school supplies less than $20. in louisiana, you can pretty much buy anything under $2,500 and avoid the state sales tax. now, so, not too shabby. six of these states also have sale tax exemptions on computers. so, if you're in the market for a new pc or laptop, this could be the weekend to buy. heidi? >> i didn't know about that, last weekend it was tax-free weekend and you had to spend $100 or less. know what you're getting before you go to the store. consumers love this, this tax free holiday report. but kind of a mixed blessing for the states. >> without a doubt. states are losing out on a huge chunk of tax revenue and a lot of places are actually rethinking whether or not to offer these temporary tax breaks. florida, massachusetts and maryland decided against august

tax free weekends this year. washington, d.c., was supposed to have one this weekend but it pulled the plug just last week. d.c. said it would have cost the city $146 million in revenue d and. heidi a lot of d.c. residents will head across the river to virginia for tax-free holiday there this weekend. it could really back fire on the city. >> all right, well, we appreciate that. thank you so much. we appreciate it. fascinating to story to tell you about. the manson murders captured the nation's attention 40 years ago and the lure may still be just as strong today. ♪

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40 years later and the fascination hasn't faded. people are still interested in charles manson, his murders, his followers and his crazy jailhouse rantings. cnn ted rowlands has more. >> reporter: do you believe in god, charlie? >> i believe in myself, why wouldn't i? >> reporter: the murders made headlines but it was the mad man behind them who frightened and fascinated the world. 40 years later, charles manson continues to draw attention. when this prison mugshot was released in march, millions viewed it online. helter-skelter remains the number one true story of all-time. written by the prosecutor who put manson away. >> other than jack the ripper, whose identity has not been conclusively established. manson may be the most famous,

notorio notorious, mass murderer ever. >> reporter: some people can't seem to get enough. a perfect example is scott michael's company called dear l departed tours. people go around to different spots that are connected to the manson murders and who goes on these tours? >> the people that take this tour are people that are generally fascinated with this case. >> it's completely fascinating. it's got celebrities, it's got blood, it's got gore. >> reporter: helter-skelter, the made for tv movie came out in 18976, but documentaries about manson are still being made, heeding the fascination over what happened and why. >> meeting charlie for the first time was very exciting. >> reporter: the history channel is premiering manson next month. >> he gave me the feeling that i would be cared for and he took care of everybody.

eventually felt really safe. and protected. we were like his children. >> and then charles manson followers, i never had any followers. >> reporter: back on the bus where it's $50 a ticket for a three-hour tour scott michaels says it's not just about making money, he's also obsess would the manson case. >> i don't think i'm a bad person. i think the people that take my tour aren't bad people. they're just interested in something that is horrific, but it's still history. >> reporter: a piece of history that many people don't want to forget. >> i'm a terrible guy, man. i'm awful. you moved so quick you wouldn't believe it. >> reporter: ted rowlands, cnn, los angeles. >> be sure to tune in to "anderson cooper 360" tonight. a look at charles manson life behind bars.

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our next story about children, children of war, in fact. they're growing up in afghanistan, but they're finding new hope in north carolina. a nonproffic group brings them to the united states and heals their injuries and also fosters friendship among children of

rival tribes and kids who may have otherwise grown up to fight each other. patsy wilson started the group with her husband in 1996 and carol was a host mother for three years and is now the group's medical coordinator. ladies, thanks for being with ush this morning. very interested to hear more about this. i guess, cathy, good for you to tell us the highlights here. what made you come up with the program? >> the idea of the program emerged over the years. we began in '96 bringing children out of the chernobyl affected area, but as that situation improved, we looked for a new focus and afghanistan was the clear choice for us. >> okay. i know that there have been literally hundreds of families that have participated in all this, but they can only take one or two children at a time and there are a lot of them that need help. carol, i would love to hear from you on what the experience has been like as a host mother, a

host family. >> yeah, well, when you decide to become a host parent, there are a lot of emotions that come with that. and a lot of it is you're really scared, you're anxious, you're excited, but the minute those kids come off of the plane, your heart just melts and all of those parent skills just come into play and you're in love with these kids. of course, with us, my husband and myself, it's been three summers that we've been a host parent to zaman and he's like our son. >> yeah, we're looking at some of those great pictures right now. i'm sure very emotional, especially when they have to go back. we'll talk to this in just a moment, but, patsy, how exactly logistically does all this work? you find out that there's a child who's coming over who needs medical help and then needs a bit of recovery time, i would imagine. >> the first thing to remember is there's no exact. >> no rules here. >> exactly. we, we have to be very flexible.

we do have lots of people on the ground in afghanistan that help us. we're hoping even some of our troops on the ground might recognize children that would benefit from a program like this and contact us with that information. but, we're looking for children whose medical needs can be taken care of within primarily a six-week period of time. we do have special cases where they stay longer than that. and then we work with an ngo on the ground in afghanistan to do the legal paperwork of all of those sorts of things. we arrange the travel and willingly open our arms for them in the united states. >> well, it's, again, so great to be able to look at some of these pictures. carol, in fact, you have a really interesting story about how you got involved because it was actually your son who said that you should help. why should we know about what your son wanted you to do? >> well, we were -- our church

is one of the many churches in help solace finding families and my son saw that and he kind of poked me in church and said, don't you think this would be so cool if we did this? and we ended up talking to the the head table set up at church and we talked to them and next thing you know it, we were signed up to be a host family. it's been one of the most rewarding experiences we ever had. >> very cool. how old is your son? >> he's 17 now. he was 15 when we started this. >> what about the language? is that a problem? >> the language for us, personally, was not bad because he came to us with a little bit of english, but most of the children do speak farci or some dialect from afghanistan, depending on what region they're

from. it is, it's a little hard at first, but, really, within 24 hours the child is comfortable and you're comfortable and those barriers come down. >> very good. hey, patsy, who pays for all this, you get any help? >> we must have help. we gather funds to bring the children from grants, from individual donations, from our churches help us a great deal. but you may want to help us with this. our website allows for donations and it really, it really is a grassroots organization. we look for funding large and small from anyone who will see this need and recognize it and help us. >> absolutely. >> all right, well, carol, i just got to ask you the hard part before we let you know-how did this feel? how tough is it to say good-bye to one of these kids after they've been with you? >> it's real hard.

it's real hard. they have -- these kids just become so much a part of you and it is so hard to put them back on that plane knowing they're going back to afghanistan where the war is right in their backyard and you're afraid for them. they're anxious to go back, they miss their families, but at the same time, they're leaving a part of themselves here with us and they'll always be our children. >> yeah, i hear a little lump in your throat there, too. all right, ladies, we appreciate all that you're doing. i want to put out the website one more time. s solaceforthechildren.org. patsy wilson and carol mckay, thanks, again. appreciate it. get over to reynolds wolf standing by now to update us on the severe weather, more specifically, felicia. >> you know, we've been talking,

heidi, about this storm and the possibility of weakening and that's basically what was happening since the last update. you look at this projected path and lowering from a category 3 to a category 2 storm and the forecast does have the continuing to weaken as we get sunday into monday and becoming a tropical storm and then a depression as it hits the hawaiian islands and still a chance to move to the north or to the south but one thing it will bring to the island heavy rainfall. speaking of heavy rain back here in the u.s. what we're seeing is heavy rainfall that is falling in parts of the midwest and parts of the western great lakes and, you know, we've seen the rain in hawaii and we'll see it there and the lower 48 and see heavier rainfall especially in places like chicago before the day is out and there's another benefit that you have with all the showers and the storms. here the benefit is cooler temperatures. for example, 73 degrees in chicago and back half of the system temperatures check into the 60s and little bit farther to the north this area of low pressure and high temperatures into the 60s.

let me show you something else, just to give you a contrast. back in the central and southern plains heat indexes going up 105 to 110 degrees. now, in atlanta, we could deal with high temperatures going up in the 90s here with the hazy skies. certainly something you want to watch out for, not as hot in texas or the central plains, but still hot enough out there. you want to take it easy. speaking of taking it easy and speaking of the sunshine and the heat and the warm conditions. rob marciano happens to be in parts of tennessee smiling, as he always is, i'm sure having a great time with, what is it, the world's largest yard sale. something like that. >> such an excellent transition from you there, reynolds. >> he's always with it. >> in fact, i think we have a little bit of a google earth image to show how long this is. rob, if you can hear us, it is, indeed, the world's longest yard sale. take it away. >> it is.

654 miles from alabama to the ohio/michigan border. the longest yard sale in the world and i'm standing amongst probably four, five, half a dozen of the longest tables i've ever seen and they've all, they got a lot of stuff. some would call it junk and others would call it treasure. everything on these tables. >> oh, my gosh, you just broke it. >> only cost 3 bucks or less. >> you break it, you buy it, buddy. >> i'll just expense that. hey, listen, this thing you use to stoke the coals, get them going. i have a cb radio here. a hard hat, more comfortable wearing that thing. any sort of china you like. all shapes and sizes all ages these are my new friends will and jared. show off your yankee gear. who is your favorite player? >> alex rodriguez. >> alex rodriguez. i tell you what, if you can find

me a rookie year sparky lyle baseball card i'll give you that broken piece of glass. who is your favorite player? >> i don't know. >> it's all right. boys keep going. go a-rod, go, yankees. i didn't go to yard sales when i was a kid, these kids are out here shopping with their parents. you can get just about everything. how about a roller, heidi? >> yeah. that's great. >> this is $14 marked down to 3. the sales are already starting here and you can get yourself a good deal. thousands of dollars exchanges hands throughout the next four days. i talked to some vendors that make $8,000, $9,000, $10,000 just from this weekend alone. come on in and bring your junk craving sales out here and pick up some stuff. i'll sneak out before they catch me. >> it still feels like friday. i'll take that a-rod card if you find it for riley. if you fwind it.

rob marciano, thank you so much. also, in fact, we kind of wanted to know, we've been asking all morning long for your feedback about this yard sale because we want to know if the tough economy has actually turned you into one of those people that goes to the garage sales and yard sales on the weekend. saturday is a big day for that. heading over to the heidi mac now and take a look at what some people have been saying. god only knows what we're going to find. karen from aurora, colorado, i have always been a weekend yard shopper. i go even more now, i also use craigslist and shop at goodwill and other thrift stores. okay, then, from linda. no. if anything, the economy has made me look at what i have in my home and use the space more efficiency. the easiest things are the things i bought at garage and yard sales in my youngest days since the investment was low. this one then, i held a yard

sale this last fall to make room for a tenant to rent out my house, but i was pleasantly surprised in taking in 2,500 bucks to pay for my health insurance, cobra, that is, for five months. touching on another hot button issue right now. and i absolutely love yard sale shopping, heidi. regardless of the state of the economy, i would still do it because of the sheer savings that are available. i think that has something to do with the hunt, too. i don't know. i have to ask my uncle who is an avid yard sale shopper. if you'd like to us your comments, head to cnn.com/heidi and check out our blog. from american express... it's the official card... largest airline. of the world's and it's the only credit card... that earns miles on delta. miles that take you... to more places than ever before. over 350 destinations worldwide. so switch today. get up to 25,000 bonus miles--

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>> reporter: it's urban farming in engelwood. a sight many have never seen or thought would be possible. but like they say here at the city's first organic production farm, it is not only growing food, but people. gibbs grew up in engelwood and wasn't working and felt helpless. now he is taking these skills to his own backyard, starting a garden and feeling more confident. >> i learn of different types of fruit and how to communicate with people. >> reporter: 30 people work here part-time, a training ground in

farming and life. they're growing 10,000 pounds of vegetables a year, selling them out front and at local farmers markets. >> people have no idea what it is until they come here and see it. we have a farm -- oh, it's a this garden. >> fresh vegetables. you know, fresh tomatoes and then it's within walking distance and we want to get people out of the houses. we want that old community back. >> reporter: it started as an idea to train the homeless and jobless in urban farming, but now gives this neighborhood a place to shop when other grocery stores packed up and moved away. cliff richardson came to check out the vegetables. he's a believer. knowing this was once vacant land. >> this has been vacant for over 20 years, so, it's nice. i think they should, i think this is where we should get most of our vegetables from. >> reporter: gave growing home grants and donated this land. they're hoping to open several urban farms thug