give a statement. saying to the taliban, prove it. show us some proof. in this day in age with technology the way it is, it should not be hard for mehsud to make a statement. regardless of who was killed in these air strikes, when you speak to officials here on the ground, they tell you the amount of air strikes in such a short period of time has the taliban on the run. the group is literally disintegrating from within and these air strikes that is keeping this group on the run and unable to carry out attacks. the taliban has only two choices, surrender or death. cal perry, cnn, islamabad. i'm heidi collins, thanks for watching, everybody. "cnn newsroom" continues now with tony harris. >> and you want to be led out of here, you're welcome to go. now, wait a minute, wait a minute. now, wait a minute. wait a minute!

wait a minute. >> to stuff in your pocket so that you can cheat the citizens of this country. my goodness. health care it is the hot issue of the summer and august is a make or break month in the debate. good morning, everyone, i'm tony harris and you're in the "cnn newsroom." a lot going on in the next couple hours on health care reform and you'll see the latest developments right here in "newsroom." we will take you to that town hall meeting. we will preview president obama's town hall in portmouth, new hampshire. aides say he is prepared for a vigorous debate. ali velshi takes in from tennessee and ted rowlands reports from a clinic in pennsylvania providing free health care for the uninsured. first to lebanon, pennsylvania, where we have been watching a tense town hall meeting. it has been tense inside the

hall, outside the hall. national political correspondent jessica yellin joins us live now from lebanon, pennsylvania. jessica, i hope you can hear me. for folks who are just joining us, will you tell everyone what has transpired there in lebanon, pennsylvania, this morning. >> hi, tony. it's been a very, very engaged crowd is the way to put it polightly. it's tough to estimate numbers, but entire city blocks fill would people, both pro and con and an event that holds only about 250 people inside. now, there were a number of folks who got here early, went inside and were able to ask questions of senator specter and then became very angry because they found out that there were cards handed out with numbers and only the people given those numbered cards were allowed to speak. this led to something of a protest inside during the event.

let's listen to one moment of some of the anger that took place. >> i reviewed 3200 the best i could. to me, it's obviously written with the assumption that government has the right to control our lives from prebirth to death. for that reason, it's not worth considering, it's not worth modifying, it's not worth amending. it needs to be dumped. >> okay, well, that was a sound bite of a protester or a critic upset about some of the proposals in the bill. tony, to just give you an overview, those upset about the various pieces of legislation are convinced it will lead to plans in the end and worry that the government will make health care decisions and illegals will recover. on the other side, they insist no one is being well informed about the bill and they say the

uninsured need to be covered and they feel reform has to happen fast for a good change to take place and, finally, tony, the one observation that i would make personally is that it is fascinating to me that no matter what side of this debate people fall on, they do not feel heard and no matter how loud they're speaking or how much tv time they're getting, they feel their point of view is not being well represented. tony? >> that is very interesting. i'm trying to think of where to take that point, but a point well taken. jessica, thank you. coming up, we will talk health care reform with republican congressman tom price of georgia. he is a doctor and helped write the republican study's proposal. while the health care debate rages on, health care volunteers are pressing on with their effort to help the uninsured and underinsured. ted rowlands is live in engelwood, california, near los angeles. ted, in the past we've seen

thousands line-up for this kind of event. how would you describe the turn out this morning? >> well, again, sold out, if you will. 1,500 people showed up in the wee hours in the morning. we're at the forum, the 18,000-seat arena that the los angeles lakers used to play in. the old dental chair here. this woman is getting a filling. basically, the deal is, people can come here and get absolutely free medical care, dental care, vision care and they showed up in droves, as you mentioned. they came early on. a lot of people spent the night. one of the people that spent the night was this young man here, ryan. he is hoping to get a couple root canals and fillings. you have novocain in your mouth, you can't speak. doesn't have insurance right now, unemployed. hasn't seen the dentist in five years. taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity to get free dental care. he is hoping to get the root canals, but there is a root

canal section to this arena and that is just jammed, 1,500 people waiting. takes an average of two to three hours to do. may have to come back tomorrow. a vision area, where people cannot only get their vision checked but they mill glasses. people can come in here and get their eyes checked and leave with a pair of glasses. stan barak started this and now he's made it his life's work to provide free medical care for people who need it. when you look at what you're doing, what in your mind does it say about the medical situation in the united states? >> well, i think the first thing to realize and understand is that this is not anything to do at all with the economic downturn. i've been in this country many, many decades and this situation has prevailed ever since i came to this country and i'm sure long, long, long before that. >> specifically dental and vision are the two key things.

>> well, one has it be careful about saying that because, actually, by the end of the week, we probably will have seen at least as many people in general medical as we will see in denttry and vision. the dental is very, very visible out here on the floor and the examinations are also very visible where the medical part is behind closed doors. >> 1,500 people here today, hay had to be turned away within hours. have you seen it more recently than maybe ten years ago in terms of the need and the willingness of people to spend the night just to get their teeth cleaned? >> no, no. i would argue that it's been like this for many, many years. people simply cannot afford the health care system in this country unless you're either very well to do or very well insured. after the age of 18, because up until that time you're protected by some type of federal and state health care facilities.

after that, you're like the rest of us, you're on your own and dental, yes, you've got a mouth full of bad teeth, hard to function -- >> painful. >> very painful, you want to get it fixed. >> people aren't alone that are here. stan's organization is helping them out this week. tony, they'll be here all week long. thousands of people will get some much-needed help for their dental and vision issues and basic stuff, medical stuff, the screenings, et cetera. real busy day here in l.a. and a lot of happy people. >> ted rowlands with us, thank you. we want to hear from you. here's the question. is health care a fundamental american right regardless of a person's ability to pay? think about the question for a moment. no knee jerk reactions here, if you don't mind. just really take a moment to consider the question and then respond, if you would. just go to my blog, cnn.com/tony

and have your say. we will share your vote and your comments later in the newsroom. and where's the quick vote tally? 75% so far say yes. health care is a fundamental american right regardless of a person's ability to pay. we will follow the quick vote throughout the morning right here in "newsroom." president obama steps back into the town hall meeting today. aides say the president is prepared for a vigorous debate. how vigorous? cnn's jim acosta live from portsmouth, new hampshire, with a preview. maybe that is the question. is the president, in your mind, going to get a taste of some of these edgier town hall meetings? >> well, tony, it's gotten pretty vigorous out there. over these last several days and vigorous is one word to describe it. the president is expecting to have that vigorous debate, as you called it as white house

officials are calling it later today. but, you know, the white house is trying to shift strategies here away from concentrating on all those millions of americans who are underinsured and uninsured. so, we're expecting to hear the president talk about a little bit of that later today, but having said all that, having seen these town hall meetings over the last several days, white house officials are being pressed about whether or not the president might actually get shouted down by a protester later today and the white house response, as you prut it earlier, tony, they're expecting a vigorous debate. >> opponents of democratic plans for health care reform aren't just sounding off at congressional town hall meetings. in new hampshire last week, protesters descended on staff members of democratic senator jean in the middle of a meeting. it wasn't a town hall forum and the senator wasn't even there. the protesters recorded the

confirmation and put it on youtube. >> one constituent that was there wound up in tears where our staff person had to be escorted out with a police escort. >> have you ever seen anything like this in all your years of public service? >> never where people have been encouraged to be disrespectful. >> reporter: democrats charge the people shouting health care questions at members of congress these days are being encouraged by the likes of rush limbaugh, whose website compares reform supporters to nazis. but a conservative group that's backing the protest insists the anti-reform movement is real. how do you respond to the charge that this is all orchestrated and artificial if it's coming from talk show host and websites? >> then you wont see the massive turnouts that you're seeing at each and every event. the average person is at work when rush limbaugh is on the radio. >> reporter: a bystander listening in came right up to us

and say, ditto. >> you happen to agree with this gentleman? >> i do. >> reporter: democrats are also flexing their grassroots. these former obama volunteers were back in campaign mode. >> i think you have some folks who are very anxious about change who really love to play the fear card. >> reporter: cory says it's about facts, not fear. but time and again, he falsely compared democratic health care proposals to a canadian-style american system. the ones coming out of the house are not canadian style -- >> it's a bad notion in any way, shape or form. >> reporter: very quickly here, what is the white house doing to fend off some of the attacks from opponents of health care reform? >> one thing they're starting to do, tony, we all picked up on this, they have this new link on the white house website, the official white house website called reality check where they are trying to back down these

erroneous claims being made by some of the opponents of reform. one of them being what you just heard at the end of that piece that this is some sort of canadian-style health care system. president tried to say again yesterday this is not what we're talking about here and even more outrageous claims that are talked about here that go beyond that. the white house has its hand full over the next several days and particularly today. there's going to be 1,800 people at this event later today, tony. that's just the people that got ticketed to go to the event. hundreds more, we're hearing, outside of this event trying to get their voices heard. >> this has not been a dull or boring summer to be sure. jim acosta for us in new hampshire, just ahead. >> vigorous. >> just ahead, word of a warning just ahead of the president's town hall meeting. we will, of course o, bring you live coverage of president obama's town hall meeting from portsmouth, new hampshire, that is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. eastern time.

if you want to know what is in the republican proposal for health care reform, just ask the man who helped write it. congressman tom price joins us live in just a couple minutes right here in the "newsroom." firsh, here is the latest on wall street. the dow at last check, down 102 points. just moments ago it was down just 96 and we're in negative territory. triple digits now and the nasdaq down 26. we will be following the numbers from the big board in the "cnn from the big board in the "cnn newsroom."

and you are looking at video right now out of hawaii of the huge waves being generated by what now is a tropical

depression. tropical depression felicia is still off shore at this time and even though it's been weakening, we're still expecting to see some 15 footers in this area for today, along with heavy rain, torrential downpours and the threat of some flash flooding. the latest on felicia now continues to weaken the storm, 35-mile-per-hour winds heading westward and should be making its way towards maui overnight for tonight. we also have other tropical weather to talk about. a new tropical depression has formed in the atlantic. here you can see it, this is tropical depression number two. very weak storm with wind of 30 miles per hour and it could be our first named storm. tropical storm anna, possibly, over the next few days. we will have the rest of the nation's forecast coming up later in the "newsroom." largest airline. of the world's and it's the only credit card... that earns miles on delta.

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you know, a lot to discuss in this make or break month for health care reform. joining me live now congressman tom price of georgia, he has been a doctor for more than 25 years and helped write the proposal for health care reform. doctor, representative, good to see you, thanks for your time. >> thanks, tony. >> i spent some time on youtube this morning just trying to get a better handle on your view, your position and it's clear to me that you believe the current system is unsustainable, but you clearly also have some real issues and concerns about the public option as it's been

discussed now and being shaped. i want to give you an opportunity to tell all of us what your concerns are because we're hearing some of this reflected through the town hall meeting. >> the status quo is unacceptable for patients and doctors and for the entire system it's unacceptable. we need a government-centered system, but a patient-centered system. a public plan will inevitably skew the playing field so that tens of millions, if not over 100 million americans will be forced from their personal, private health insurance plan on to the public plan. >> do you believe that? >> it's happened in every instance. the medicare part b program which is the physician component of medicare is a public option. it has a 97% market share, crowds everybody else out of the market so that everybody ends up on the government plan. >> do private insurers really want to be in that business? >> the government skews the

playing field. i would suggest that private insurers, personal insurers could create greater interivation but instead what we have is a government-run system. that's what a public option looks like in the united states health care system. >> a public option is not an option for everyone. as we sit here today at this moment, neither of us would qualify for the public option under any of the proposals being talked about now, correct? >> you wouldn't today, but you might in five years when cnn has a health insurance program and policy that doesn't necessarily comply with every single component that's defined in the house bill right now. you would be forced on to a public option plan. and that's why we have great concerns about it. now, there's a better way. there's a way to make it so patients are in control, not government or insurance companies. that's what we put together in our bill, hr-3400. >> what is the center of that proposal? is it deductions, tax credits, what is it? >> one, everyone has got to get

insured. you have to make it financially feasible for folks to get insured. >> you've been consistent on that point. you have been consistent that everyone has to get some kind of access to the system, right? >> absolutely. you do that through tax deductions or tax credits. >> can i stop you there for a moment? >> sure. >> isn't that essentially the plan that john mccain ran for president on in the health care debate portion of the broader discussion? >> he talked about tax credits and that's one component of it. we differ that there ought to be a hybrid system and make it financially attractive for every single american to have health care insurance. for some it's credits and for some it's refundable or advanceable credits so they're not paying enough in taxes to have a credit make any sense and they can purchase health insurance. >> is it true under your proposal there would be a significant government involvement in health care reform, even under what you're talking about?

>> just construct of the system, but patients would be in charge. we need to make it so there's portability in the system and you lose your job or you change jobs that you can keep your health insurance. it goes with you. one of the big concerns folks have today. quality in health care is defined by physicians and patients and not by a federal bureaucrat which is a huge concern of many folks. we need to address the lawsuit issue with something the bills on the other side of the aisle don't do at all. we need to do it without raising taxes. hr-3400 does every one of those things. >> this make or break summer for health care reform that real subsative conversations like what we're trying to have here are being drowned out by a lot of the, you know, frankly, the yelling and screaming and some of the stuff we saw at senator specter's town hall at the top of the hour. >> comes from both sides. >> i would agree. >> i would suggest that the yelling that you're hearing is a symptom of the process that we've been through over the last

six months and that is a process that has shutout so many people in this debate and this system. concerned about people not reading the stimulus bill and passing things in the dead of night that nobody read and concerned if that happeneds with health care they'll be thrown in a system that does not happen for them. >> i can speak for these two hours and we have been trying like crazy to get every voice, every stakeholder to have those voices heard and to the extent that you could, could you help us? >> be happy to, any time. >> representative price, thanks for being here. >> good to see you, thank you. we will bring you live coverage of president obama's town hall meeting from portsmouth, new hampshire, set to begin at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. look for a hot deal on a new car, well, if you're looking for one, try ebay. what? gm is changing the way it does business. we'll talk about that, next, right here in the "cnn newsroom."

all right. just moments ago president obama deplaning marine one at andrews air force base. he will hop aboard air force one in just a moment. we will see the president in just moments here for his trip to portsmouth, new hampshire, for his town hall debate. really his town hall meeting. it will probably turn into a debate a little bit more. scheduled for 1:00 p.m. eastern time and trying to hang on here just to see the president climb off of marine one. all right. but, once again, that is scheduled to happen the town hall meeting at 1:00 p.m. eastern time right here in the "newsroom." the health care debate is, it does seem to divide families who can't seem to agree. cnn's john roberts talked with the woodhouse brothers today on "american morning." >> tens of millions of people will lose their health insurance and be forced into a government

plan where does it say that in any of the plans? >> we can look at a piece of legislation and look at what the consequences of what that legislation can do. it wasn't written in the fema legislation for them to bundle getting watter to thirsty people. the reality is this plan will incents have private companies for dropping their insurance. i would ask my brother three questions, can he guarantee that no company in america will drop private insurance, can he guarantee it won't increase the deficit and can he guarantee it won't put the government in control of rationing health care? >> let's answer those three questions. >> i ask answer all three of those questions. the president's plan will eliminate the type of rationing the insurance companies are doing now. the nrns company can deny people for prexrising conditions and the president's plan will say no more of that. second of all, the cbo osaid that the president's plan would

not result in insurance companies -- >> after he put the muzzle on him at the white house. >> i'm answering this with the public option. so, you're pedaling more falsehoods here. >> what about the creasing the deficits? >> the president said this has to be, he said he won't sign a bill that's not deficit neutral over the next, over the next ten years. so, he'll depend on the cbo to score whatever the final bill is and he said he will not sign it if it's not deficit neutral. i think i answered all your questions. >> we will bring you live coverage of president obama's health care town hall meeting from portsmouth, new hampshire. again, set to begin at 1:00 p.m. eastern time and see it right here in the "cnn newsroom." detroit automaker began selling shevies and buicks on ebay today. stephanie is in new york right

now. can i haggle there at ebay? >> you, tony, like to haggle? i can't imagine that. if you're into haggling, you want to do that. basically a trial period they're running with. four-week trial period and working with 225 dealership throughout california. just in the golden state right now. if you're outside of that area, it's not for you. they're working with ebay with a new website called gm.ebay.com. and you can look at the website and say i'm looking for this kind of car. that basically means you can look at chevrolet, gmc, buick and pontiac. find one and say this is what i'm looking for. there's the website. type in your zip code and see what comes up in the area and look around and say i want to pay more for this, less for this, what works for you. if you want, just go ahead and buy it now. just pay whatever the monthly advertised price is for the car that you're looking at. the program does begin today. for people who are interested in

it, this is something that they have until september 8th to take advantage of. in fact, we have fritz henderson speaking about what makes this program tick. let's take a listen to that. >> customers will buy actual vehicles just like they do on ebay. by determining the option or by negotiating online. you can do all your research and price negotiation online in the comfort of your own home. >> a lot of people like the idea of being able to do that at home. john roberts brought this up earlier. you may want to go to a dealership and check out the car first and then come back and buy it because, you know, it might be nice to find out you don't like where the cup holder is. a network of 25,000 vehicles to pick from. >> did you say you may not like where the cup holder is? >> yeah. i was being funny. maybe it's the fuel economy. you have it keep it light every now and then, tony. >> stephanie, appreciate it. thank you.

we want to check out our special report "america's money crisis." here in atlanta, long lines right now outside the georgia world congress center where major lenders are gathered to help homeowners lower their monthly payments. this last day was organized by the non-profit corporation of america. we saw these pictures pop up maybe about an hour ago and just couldn't believe it. we're told about 15,000 people attended yesterday and even more are expected today. while lawmakers are in their communities holding town hall meetings on health care, we have our own representative check the pulse on this issue. cnn's ali velshi is on the roads making stops. just to talk to you and he joins us in just a couple minutes. good to see you, doctor. plus, she was the sister of a president. but eunice kennedy shriver last her own impact on the world and

touched countless lives.

and here are the faces of the stories behind the headlines today in the "cnn newsroom." eunice kennedy shriver dies. a sister of a president and

founder of the special olympics. we go live to a free clinic in los angeles to get opinions on health care reform. on the road listening to your concerns about health care reform and other issues, ali velshi and a cnn express traveling through tennessee today. the latest top on a six-state tour and aali joins us live from manchester, tennessee. good to see you. what are you finding? >> listen, we're finding that there is a lot of confusion and a lot of opinions about health care where we are, but not the same heat that we've been seeing in some of those town hall meetings, particularly the one i was following this morning with senator specter. basically, tony, breaks down to three areas. people are concerned about the cost of their health care. that seems to be the primary concern. will this new proposal cost people who are already getting health care more money? will it affect the quality of their health care? that's the second concern and the third one which really fits

into this whole political discussion that we've been having is will it affect their choice? will their options be taken away? listen to what we heard in chattanooga, tennessee, from some people we talked to. take a listen to what they said. >> i want to be able to afford the best care that i can for myself and my children. >> i would like to pick my own doctors and everything else, instead of having been assigned one. >> if we could just take care of that, i would be pretty happy. >> i want my health care to be affordable at a reasonable cost. >> i'm not going to go to the emergency room every time i get a cough or a cold. i'm worried about the big illnesses that could bankrupt the family. >> i don't want to settal for less than the best. if our life is at stake. >> so, tony, that's the kind of response to be getting. again, very measured bought lot of people who think their options are being taken away.

what i haven't heard from a lot of people, even if you're insured, you don't have options to see every doctor or hospital you like, you pay extra for that. there is a sense that this health care reform bill that is before us or being proposed is one that is going to impose restrictions on the choices that you can make. >> hey, ali, i've heard the sentiment expressed by a couple folks and a number of times already this morning and throughout this debate, are we just not doing a very good job or enough of a job in explaining where we are in the process right now? i mean, we don't have sort of a merged bill right now to discuss and that leaves a void of information that maybe is being filled with misinformation. but are we just not doing enough to explain what is being discussed and how it will impact you? >> well, you know, i suppose in this business it's really clear. when people don't seem to know enough about what's going on, then it is our job to do.

that's part of the reason, tony, you know, we decided to take the express. we can hear from people what their concerns are. part of the problem, of course, is what is happening at some of these town hall meetings there seem to be presump zns of what is going to happen based on legislation that is not even proposed yet. people are running with this before they entirely know what it is. let's keep on doing a better job and i keep on telling you what people are concerned about and let's keep on doing a better job with it. >> ali, appreciate it. thank you. >> wow, 81%, it was 75%, maybe 15 minutes or so ago. 81% of you responding to our quick vote question believe that health care is a fundamental american right regardless of a person's ability to pay.

all right, go to cnn.com/tony and have your say. we will share your vote and your comments later in the "newsroom." the kennedy family in mourning today. eunice kennedy shriver, sister to president and two senators. her husband, sargent shriver and her five children were with her at a cape cod hospital. >> reporter: rosemary was retarded and she called for a national campaign to bring people like her sister into the main stream of american light. after the assassinations of her brothers, john and bobby, eunice's campaign continued.

>> gladiators went into the arena with these words on their l lips. let me win, if i cannot win, let me have the attempt. >> reporter: she founded the special olympics, the first games held in chicago lasted two days. operating with what some have called a high octane furber she helped develop init into a global enterprise in which more than 1 million athletes participate. in 1984, president ronald reagan presented her with the president's medal of freedom. >> for decency and goodness that touched the lives of many and eunice kennedy shriver deserves america's praise and love. >> reporter: in 1998, another president and first lady paid tribute to shriver. >> anyone just steps back for a

minute and watches eunice in action, it's exhausting. a lifetime to public service and she's been a personal inspiration to me and to so many others. >> reporter: shriver was married since 1953 to sargent shriver, the first director of the peace corps and the democratic nominee for vice president in 1972. they had five children, including the first lady of california and broadcast journalist, maria shriver schwarzenegger. exuberant, restless, deeply religious, eunice shriver changed the way the world views the developmentally disabled. "when the full judgment of the kennedy legacy is made, the changes broad by eunice kennedy shriver may be seen as the most consequenceal." >> a statement from the shriver family, she taught us by example and with passion what it means

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in taiwan, a massive search is under way for hundreds of people missing after powerful typhoon buried a village in mud. look at these images. this happening during the worst flooding in 50 years. cnn's john vause has a look at the damage. >> reporter: typhoon morakot has swept through taiwan and has left behind what is likely to be an escalating death toll. there are fears hundreds of people may have been buried alive, trapped under a massive m mudslide. it's been like this since sunday night. roads buried and a bridge washed away so the military is flying in on helicopters. dozens have been rescued, taken to makeshift medical camps. my father and mother had been

washed awhy by the flood, says this man. morakot has been slow moving and lasted for days. that means it has dumped huge amounts of rain. 80 inches in some places in just 48 hours. as it heads north through eastern china, more mudslides. state media here reports that six low-rise apartment buildings were crushed. all stood together at the foot of the mounten and rescuers pulled six survivors from the debris, but two later died. heard a sound across the street and at about one second the whole building came crashing down says this resident who lives nearby. across the storm's path, reservoirs are overflowing and residents have been sandbags and almost a million and have a people have been forced to evacuate. many taking refuge in emergency shelters and morakot is losing strength, officials say it has left damage well over $1 billion u.s.

>> boy, those pictures are just so devastating. jacqui, good to see you. i know you'll focus a bit on the tropics and is there some news on felicia, right? >> yeah. we got a couple changes, actually. felicia has been downgraded and now a tropical depression. great news to see those winds to continue to be reduced. 35 miles per hour maximum sustained. this isn't going to be a wind storm for hawaii, it is going to be a wave storm. we could see heavy rainfall in this area. that's what's going on in the pacific and we're also dealing with a new stystem in the atlantic. this is tropical depression number two. there you can see it, still way out in the middle of the ocean. cape verde islands there and it could strengthen a little bit and become our first tropical storm of the atlantic season and we're starting that game a little bit late. it's august, so, to start seeing storms like that, we expect things to get more active in the

upcoming weeks. now, back here at home, let's talk about some of the extreme weather we have been having. this have video from louisville, kentucky, where the second time in two weeks they've had torrential downpours and there you can see the flooded streets. things drying up a little bit in kentucky for today. we do have some stormy weather across parts of the south, especially into lower mississippi river valley and into parts of arkansas and then also into the northeast we've been seeing some occasional showers and thunderstorms and the heat is on here, too, by the way, tony. heat advisory for new york city feeling like mid-90s, that is hot in the concrete jungle. >> my mom called me this morning and said i have the ac cranked up and i still can't sleep. she's in baltimore. that mid-atlantic and the northeast, sweltering. good to see you, jacqui. you ask ask hillary clinton

almost anything you want, just leave bill out of it. you want but you asked my opinion, i will tell you my opinion. i'm not going to be channelling my husband. >> you want to throw-down, we'll throw-down. plus, comparing america's health care system with other countries.

question for you. what if you were required by law to buy health insurance? that's how it works in the netherlands. cnn's kitty pilgrim tells us the government regulates it to help make it fair for everyone. >> reporter: the dutch reformed their health care system in 2006, and now every person is required by law to purchase health insurance. from one of a dozen or so companies. david helms of a nonprofit health policy and research center has studied health systems in the neth arelands, the uk and germany. >> they clearly have put in place a structure that permits competition among providers. they're opening up a system that was more controlled by government to more competition

among the providers. >> reporter: the dutch government makes sure that industry is regulated and fair. professor allen entoven of stanford offered the managed competition model the dutch have embraced. >> one of the things the dutch do that we should do is have standardized coverage contracts so there's no tricky exclusion, no confusion. >> reporter: although the system is based on private insurers, the government makes sure that no one is refused coverage based on age, gender or pre-existing conditions. university of texas professor pauline rosenow has written extensively on the dutch health care system. >> it's all part of what's outlined as the basic health insurance policy that the government, first of all, has an entire department that tells the insurance companies what they have to cover and sees to it and checks up that they are covering those things. >> reporter: 6.5% of income goes to health insurance in the netherlands. those who cannot afford that have their insurance costs subsidized by the government. the government through an insurance pool also compensates insurance companies for signing

up people with poor health records or pre-existing conditions. all of this costs less than u.s. health care. the dutch spend $3,527 per person on health care while the u.s. spend's $7,90. it's 9% of gdp versus 16% in the u.s. there are more doctors per capita in the netherlands, 1 for 256, versus 1 for 416 in the united states. the family doctors are deem familiar with their patients. the commonwealth fund reports in a recent survey said 100% in the people in the netherlands have a regular doctor. the selling point, the average dutch life expectancies is 80 years versus 78 in the united states. tensions in portsmouth. the president is in new hampshire today for a town hall on health care reform, so are his critics. we'll have a live report next

hour. the lines are incredible. hundreds are waiting near los angeles today. their stories and how the doctors are willing to help. how about this, a car that gets 2 30 miles per gallon in the city? it's gm's big announcement, but will it mean big sales? ( crack of bat, cheering )

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you know, the tabloids and blogs are going wild with their headlines. hillary snaps. hillary goes nuts. hillary cracks at hubby question. the secretary of state on a tour of africa flashed her temper when a student asked the president's stand on an issue. that was the question. the problem was, the translator apparently said president clinton, not obama.

>> translator: what does mr. clinton think through the mouth of mrs. clinton, and what does mr. motomo think on this situation? thank you very much. >> wait. you want me to tell you you what my husband thinks? my husband is not the secretary of state. i am. so, you asked my opinion, i will tell you my opinion. i'm not going to be channeling my husband. >> the translator kind of fouled up the question. so, after the event, mrs. clinton and the student shook hands and seemed to make nice. next up on the african tour, nigeria, liberia and cape verde. a vigorous debate on health care. that's what aides say president

obama is prepared for today. the president holds a town hall meeting next hour in new hampshire. white house correspondent, dan lothian, we haven't spoken with dan in a while. live from portsmouth, new hampshire, live with a preview. dan, look this the wake of some of these more raucous congressional town halls, what is the white house expecting at this point? >> reporter: will, white house spokesman, robert gibbs, says he hopes that the debate will be just like it's been at some of the other town hall meetings that the president has hosted across the country, where you have some people in the audience that agree with the president but also disagree with him, but they do so in a very civil manner. we've seen what's happened across the country at the congressional town hall meetings. they don't believe that's something that will happen today. outside it's been quite lively. a few hundreds protesters, some supporting health care reform, others saying they don't want government health care out here. even a group of drummers. so, it's been quite interesting outside. but they do expect it to be calm

inside where the president will continue to push his health care reform, health insurance reform message, a message so far that has not been getting through to everyone. president obama knows what health care reform should look like. but as the architects on capitol hill struggle with the blueprints of a bill, some say it's time for mr. obama to get tougher on congress. >> now, this is what i want. here's a line in the sand. i am not going to sign any bill that doesn't have it. >> reporter: meanwhile americans are still trying to understand what a public option, which mr. obama is pushing, would look like. >> what are you going to do differently? >> reporter: since june the president has held a half dozen town hall meetings across the country. health care reform 101. >> if you like what you've got, we'll not make you change. first of all, nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. you won't have to worry about pre-existing conditions. >> reporter: and in this health care marketing push, there's a constant theme. >> if we do nothing, i can almost guarantee you, your premiums will double over the next ten years.

>> reporter: president obama promises audiences that cost cuts and wealthy americans will help pay for reform without adding to the deficit. >> we've already identified hundreds of billions of dollars worth of savings in our budgets. >> reporter: the americans still have doubts. the white house blames a kamg pain of misinformation. >> every time you try to do something with health care, the special interests try to scare people in to thinking it will be worse for them. these are the people that want to preserve the status quo. >> reporter: so, tony, one of the ways the white house is fighting back is that they have this new website. it's their version of myth busters. it's a way for them to address all of these things that are essentially gone viral out on the internet or at these town hall meetings were for them to give the facts, separate the facts from the fiction, tony? >> and, dan, they're really focusing more it seems recently, it sounds like it certainly is on the agenda today, on more than just the uninsured, is that correct? >> reporter: that is true, tony. i mean, for so long this debate

has been framed in, you know, the health care reform, to insure those 45 million uninsured americans. but what the white house really wants to push in this message, it's not the people that don't have insurance, yes, we want to give them covered as well. but it's important, everyone can benefit from this. even if you have insurance, you can benefit from health care reform. you'll hear more of that in the push of the message today, tony. >> white house correspondent, dan lothian. good to see you. tensions inside, an overflow crowd inside. that was the scene of a town hall meeting hosted today by pennsylvania senator arlen specter. national political correspondent jessica yellin was there, and, jess, we will talk to you in just a minute or so. but let's first have everyone listen to one of the more pointed exchanges from the town hall. >> i don't believe this is just about health care. it's not about t.a.r.p. it's not about left and right. this is about the systematic of

the dismantling of this country. i'm only 35 years old. i've never been interested in politics. you have awakened sleeping giants. we are tired of this. this is why everybody in this room is so ticked off. i don't want this country turning into russia, turning into a socialized country. my question for you is -- what are you going to do to restore this country back to what our founders created according to the constitution? >> i get a fairly firm message from the support you have, young lady. when you ask me to defend the constitution, that's what i've been doing.

>> wow. so much there that we could take on, jessica, but let's talk about it. i'm sort of curious as to what the mood was when the town hall ended. was it tense? how would you describe it? >> reporter: it was tense. there is a great deal of intensity of emotion around this issue in general, but especially here, tony, when the senator drove away, a crowd gathered outside to boo him as he left. so, as you can see, there's a lot of hostility on the one side, but we shouldn't understate the fact that there were a great number of people who were also here in support of health care reform, and both sides using very, very strong language like, we're being denied our liberty. we need to be able to express our voice. why are you taking away our democracy? those kind of accusations were coming from both sides of the debate. mostly inside the event we heard from the people who oppose the health care plan, but out here i was able to talk to folks on

both sides and they started getting into a bunch of screaming matches. but then they back off of it and say, look, it's democracy in action, i just think their version of democracy is wrong, tony. >> jessica, stay there for a moment and listen to this exchange. guys, let me know when we can cue up this exchange again, because it was one of the most confrontational, heated exchanges of the town hall with senator specter. just give me a heads up when we can run this particular chunk here. okay, let's sort of listen in. >> i got news for you, that you and your cronies in the government, do this kind of -- >> just about health care. it's not about t.a.r.p. it's not about left and right. this is about the systematic dismantling of this country. i'm only 35 years old. i have never been interested in -- >> and, jessica, i wanted to play that secotion, because not everyone that attended this town hall today was there to talk about health care reform, right? >> reporter: right.

right. and, you know, tony, i covered the campaign, and a lot of the themes we're hearing, broadly speaking, are the same themes that people expressed during the campaign. fear on the one side that president obama, then candidate, would bring socialism and a dismantling of how folks have known government. and on those -- the side of people who supported him and the people who support health care here, a sense that, okay, we can expand government programs to embrace forms of change and cover more people. i think there is one man i spoke to out here, who expressed sort of the most open sense of confusion that i think underlies this whole debate. i think we have that sound. let's listen to him. he was out here. he did get into a fight afterwards. let's listen. >> the thousand pages of government nonsense, what am i supposed to make of it? am i going to have a job after this thing passes? i'd like to know. >> reporter: he went on to say he works at a car dealership.

and he went on to say he's already in trouble, and after the thought -- it plays out a little bit more, but he said i just want to know what my senator thinks. what am i doing? i don't understand the bill. can someone help me understand it. so, there's a lot of frustration that is so hard to get your hands around. >> i think you made the point last hour, folks are just confused that their voices are really not being heard. this is the moment, and you know this from your time as our congressional correspondent, that we are still in the shaping and molding of the legislation here. so, part of what people need to understand, it seems to me, is that this is an opportunity for folks to not only hear about what's on the table, but have a -- play a role in shaping what's on the table, correct? >> reporter: right. exactly. this is a snapshot and a moment in time, and all of this fervent and opinion and debate will play a role in helping to shape the

eventual results if there is a bill, we're not done with it. >> yes. >> reporter: we'll have to see what comes, but there's not a lot of understanding here. people are quite convinced that there's a finished product. that message has not conveyed yet that successfully. they do think there's a final bill that's just ready to be voted on with some small changes. >> thank you for making that point. thank you for making that point. because that is exactly what i'm hearing, but you said it perfectly. people seem to be responding to a bill, and there really is no finished bill at this point. make the point again, jessica, because i think it's an important one. >> reporter: okay. there is no single, final health care bill that's ready for both houses to vote on. there are versions of bills. there are more final and less final in different stages, but there is no final health care bill completed yet. so, there's still time for discussion, debate and change. and that's what we're witnessing here. >> perfect. perfect. jessica yellin for us. jessica, appreciate it, thank

you. and while the health care debate rages on, health care volunteers are pressing on with their effort to help the uninsured and underinsured. our ted rowlands is live in inglewo inglewood, california, that's near los angeles. ted, the free clinics, normally, we've seen a lot in more rural communities, in appalachia, suburban los angeles is quite a different place. why is this organization set up there? >> reporter: well, yeah. the name, remote area medical, typically they go into remote areas and they provide dental and medical care and vision care for people that are in areas that don't typically have access to those things. but now they are moving -- this is their first actually the first venture into an urban area. we're in the great western forum in inglewood in the los angeles area, an 18,000-seat stadium where the lakers used to play. they've basically taken over the entire floor. there are vision stations and

also some rooms where people are getting basic medical screening. all free for the people who have shown up here. but they do have to put in their time. people basically waited all night long and everybody here basically has a different story. you go up and down the line and you talk to people. this is rafael here, he works two jobs. he's a waiter. he also does tax preparation. but he has no health insurance, so he stayed the night and he's going to get himself a teeth cleaning and he's also got a root canal. this guy here, ryan, we talked to him earlier. he's all novocained up, so we won't talk to him. he's getting two root canals. he was at 11:00 last night and spent the night in the parking lot at the forum but he's getting medical attention that's much needed. one of the issues that has come up today talking to organizers, they don't have enough doctors and they don't have enough optometrists specifically. if you look on the other side, there are 50 stations for eye

exams and a lot of those stations are unmanned because they just don't have enough doctors. and unfortunately the sad reality, tony, that bureaucracy has hindered their efforts as well. they can't bring in doctors from outside of california. so, they tried to recruit enough dentists and optometrists in california to handle the entire week. they didn't have enough. they tried to get a waiver to bring in outside doctors, but they were unable to do so. so, the bottom line here is there is need in urban areas and remote areas. 1,500 people were here early. they sold out before 5:00 a.m., they'll be here for seven days and they expect every single day they'll be turning people away. people that are hoping to get some care. but on the good side, people like ryan who have been putting off going to the dentist is are getting root canals that they desperately need and hopefully getting some relief. >> ted for us in los angeles, inglewood, california, to be more precise. thanks. is health care a fundamental

american right? regardless of a person's ability to pay? that is our quickvote question. we have results? can we update results? no, not yet. oh, okay. 82% of you believe the answer to that question is yes. if you'd like to weigh in, here's what you do. just go to our blog, cnn.com/tony. have your say. we will share your vote and your comments a little later this hour. an al qaeda plot to attack a u.s. military base in kuwait has been foiled. that's according to authorities in the oil-rich state. we're told security forces have arrested six kuwaitis. some have allegedly confessed to plotting a truck bombing at camp arifjan. it was set to take place during the holy month of ramadan which begins august 31st. 15,000 american troops are stationed in kuwait. help, please! homeowners lined up for what seems like forever looking for advice to save their homes.

find out what you can do to get that same advice. with a flick, there's an app for that. if you want to share contact info with a bump, there's an app for that. or if you just want to share some down time, well, there's an app for that too, because there's an app for just about anything. only on the iphone.

eunice kennedy shriver died today. she founded the special olympics in 1968, inspired by her sister, rosemary's mental disability. president obama called shriver an extraordinary woman. he said, she showed us no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit. hey smart, heard you're getting free nights from hotels.com. how? well, funny you should ask. you see, after i book 10 nights, i get a free one. say i spend 2 nights at a big name hotel, 3 at a boutique, and 5 at a beach resort... and boom! free night. ( dings, monkey chatters ) ( in a baby voice ) aren't you a smart one? ( monkey laughs ) accumulate 10 nights and get a night free. welcomerewards from hotels.com.

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police near paris are hoping for calm after two nights of violent riots sparked after a teenager was killed in a motorcycle crash while fleeing police. early this morning rioters actually torched a bus and more than a half dozen cars. nine people were arrested, but police say tensions seem to be subside. they have ordered an investigation in to the crash. meyanmar opposition leader aung san suu kyi is sentenced to 18 more months house arrest. a military court in the country also known as burma convicted her of violating the terms of her current house arrest by allowing an uninvited american to stay in her home. she has a nobel peace laureate who has spent most of the past 20 years in confinement. the u.s. man who showed up at her home has also been

convicted. john yettaw was sentenced to seven years in prison. let's get a check on weather. chad myers in the severe weather center. where are you starting, the flood in louisville? >> i'm going to show you pictures you haven't seen today. i'll show you what a two-inch hailstone can do to glass houses. don't throw stones, don't throw hailstones also. this is part of the weather sinking a little bit farther to the south. but glass broken out of all of these -- i want to call them greenhouses, but it's hard to tell what they were, because basically they are so completely destroyed. the wind was probably 60, 70 miles per hour when this hail was coming down as well. so, as we get to the video, you're also going to see the windows on sides of houses completely gone as well. >> you're talking about two-inch hail. >> well, picture, if you will, this hailstone and then picture if you will this glass and the glass is broken. >> being driven by 60-mile-an-hour winds. >> there you go.

yeah, 70-mile-an-hour wind gust pushing all that through. that was basically, you know, something that would you grow -- >> look at the cars. >> i have owned cars like that. living in oklahoma, they have drive-through areas, you drive through and get your check and your car keeps going. >> nice. >> i tell you what, and then you just keep driving it and then, you know, eventually it will buy anyway. an '88 grand prix with more dents. there's the house there. this house -- the hail not even coming down straight. coming down sideways at times knocking some of these windows out of the way. a couple more things i want to talk to you about. new york city, heat indock, going to be 95. shelters probably going to be open, again, like they were yesterday. we've talked a lot about the storm, which now it's just a depression, because we knew it was going to die. hard to even find. right about there. will bring rain showers to honolulu and hawaii and hilo. other than that we're in great shape. there's the next story, tropical depression number two, this is

stormpulse.com. guess what, this is the atlantic ocean for a change. a big, big change. i don't think this is going to be anything, but there's another one behind it that could be something for later on past the weekend and into next week. tony, we'll see. >> thanks, chad. >> starting to heat up. >> it is. overdraft fees. a huge windfall for banks. ill will tell you how much they're expected to rake in this year alone. r pills and relief that lasts all day. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills. just 2 aleve can last all day. perfect. choose aleve and you can be taking four times... fewer pills than extra strength tylenol. just 2 aleve have the strength to relieve arthritis pain all day.

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the long lines in atlanta today. we saw these pictures about an hour, hour and a half ago, not far from cnn center right here downtown atlanta. and, man, it doesn't look like the scene -- the crowd certainly isn't getting any smaller. homeowners, queued up, hoping for a chance to have their mortgages refinanced or maybe modified. they're working through a nonprofit group called the neighborhood assistance corporation of america. organizers are going from city to city on what they call the save the dream tour. major lenders are on site, and

if you're interested in the program, just go to the neighborhood assistance corporation website, naca -- do we have it there on the bottom of the screen. naca.com. the save the dream tour heads west next to phoenix in early september. $38.5 billion, that's how much u.s. banks are expected to make this year from the pesky overdraft fees. $38.5 billion, are you kidding me? that is a lot of money, stephanie. >> it's no joke. that's what they're on pace to make this year, tony. $38.5 billion in those fees. and that compares to 2000 when they made just about $20 billion. so, they're making more and more here, this according to mebs services. this is the service, they track this kind of data. the overdraft fee is up to $26 for each time you have this overdraft situation and that's compared to $25 a year ago.

i should explain exactly what an overdraft is. let's say you got $50 in your checking account and you go out to dinner and you spend $70 and you use your atm your debit card and you go over the $20. they'll hit you up and take care of the $20 and they'll pay the restaurant and they'll get their money, but they also hit a fee on to your account, saying you went over and we'll charge you $25 or $30. some of the larger banks charge $35 for this sort of mess-up here. >> wow. >> all of these fees really having an impact. and, questions how many people are -- well, let me put it to you this way. 10% of all of the 90% of the people who do this, it's coming from a subset of just 10% of people. >> really? >> they are the ones who are really, really responsible for this. people that don't get online and check out the balances and making sure they have the money in this, they are the ones doing it. some people saying there should be education out there because it's a huge amount of money. banks are making more off of

this instead of net income, so it's probably not going away. >> there was a time you would go to the grocery store and you would swipe your atm card for the purchase and if you didn't have enough money in your account, you would be declined. >> right. remember that? >> you remember those days? not anymore, so this is another one of these -- >> you save face but you pay more for it. >> but you pay more for it. all right, stephanie, appreciate it. >> thank you. president obama, a town hall event just minutes from now. what can we expect from the crowds on the economy and health care? we'll find out in just minutes. and our own everything else. running a b&b is not a desk job. i have to climb stairs probably 20-30 times a day. announcer: now joint comfort is easier. introducing nature made triple flex liquid softgels. the first liquid softgel joint health supplement formulated to work in as little as 7 days with glucosamine, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin complex. we've never been happier. get a free sample of new triple flex liquid softgels at tripleflex.com. nature made. fuel your greatness.

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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. the government has doled out hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up banks all across the country, but now a watchdog group claims many financial institutions are still in trouble. felicia taylor is at the new york stock exchange for us in new york. is this elizabeth warren's congressional oversight panel? >> yes. basically what we're talking about is the $700 billion

t.a.r.p. money, and as you know, much of the money has been used to boost bank balance sheets to free up money for lending. but some banks still have a lot of toxic assets as we know. so, according to this independent oversight panel, if the economy gets worse, defaults are going to rise. troubled assets are obviously going to be worth less and some banks could possibly even go out of business. tony? >> mo. but the government did stress tests on on many banks, so why is this still happening? >> the problem is the watchdog group sense that the stress tests did actually work. however, they were only performed on 19 of the large banks that were actually tested. so, there are a lot of smaller banks that didn't get tested. so, the concern now centers around those smaller banks. they tend to hold a greater portion of commercial real estate loans. so, delinquency rates on commercial loans have doubled in the past year. we may not see that market hit bottom, though, for another three years, so there's still a lot of time for all this to take place. and if it does happen, we could

see shopping malls, hotels, small office buildings, things like that, actually shut down which also obviously would create cite a crisis for the smaller banks. so, this is a significant problem. the 19 larger banks that were tested are safe havens, but the smaller banks are not. >> yeah. >> today on the market, stocks are pretty much lower. august obviously is typically a quiet month for wall street, but investors are really not that certain that we are out of this recession and things could be getting better that much sooner. so, we've got a long way to go. the dow industrials are down 1% and the nasdaq and s&p are down o as well. let's see the live pictures, portsmouth, new hampshire, we're awaiting the president. this is portsmouth high school right now. the location, the site for the town hall meeting on health care, which is set to get under way at 1:00 p.m. eastern time when you're with kyra phillips right here in the "cnn newsroom." and, of course, we will bring

you live coverage. a make-or-break month for health reform and some heated moments and pointed questions during a town hall meeting today. >> and -- and -- and -- [ inaudible ]? you want to be led out of here, you're welcome to go. now, wait a minute, now, wait a minute, now, wait a minute. now, wait a minute. wait, wait a minute. wait a minute. >> i am leaving. i have every right -- >> wait a minute. >> wow, emotions ran high at the meeting sponsored by pennsylvania senator arlen specter. one man shouted out an unsolicited statement, and you saw it here, was shoved by another prompting a specter to intervene with all the wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, and he tried to address misconceptions about what's

being proposed. >> what it says is, as a 74-year-old man, if you develop cancer, we're pretty much going to write you off, because you're no longer a working citizen who will be paying taxes. what are you going to do about it? you're here because of the plan we have now. >> well, you're just not right. nobody 74's going to be written off because they have cancer. that's a vicious, malicious untrue rumor. >> and last hour, i talked with gop congressman tom price of georgia about the health care reform debate. he's been a doctor for more than 25 years and helped write the republican proposal for reform. he agrees on the need for change, but differs on the approach. >> the status quo is unacceptable. clearly for patients and for doctors and for the entire system it's unacceptable.

but what we believe, what i believe, is that we need a patient-centered system, not an insurance-centered system, or a government-centered tem but a patient system. tens of millions, if not over 100 million americans will be forced from their personal, private health insurance on to the government plan. >> do you really believe that? >> absolutely. it's happened in every other instance. let me give you an example. the medicare part "b" program which is the physician component of medicare is a public option. it has a 97% market share. crowds everybody else out of the market. so that everybody is -- ends up on the government plan. >> representative price says any reform also needs to address malpractice lawsuits. do we have live pictures from inglewood, california, suburb of los angeles? let's take a look at this. we've been showing you these pictures throughout the day and our ted rowlands is on site there. it is a free medical care

clinic, and it is operating there out of the -- boy, it's the former home of the los angeles lakers. and it's being run by remote area medical, r.a.m., and it's comprised of volunteer health care professionals who are doing all of this work that you're watching right here. and they've set up dental stations, medical exam rooms, eye exam stations. and we should tell you that all of the available tickets for this event, they're absolutely gone. no more tickets available for today's event. not sure about the remaining days on the schedule. and the other issue here? not enough doctors on hand to take care of all the need. we just want to share the pictures and remind you of this event going on in inglewood, california. our question for you today is health care a fundamental american right, regardless of a person's ability to pay? and a number of you, thankfully, have responded to the comments at our blog. let's take a look at what some of you are saying. john writes, the answer to your question is no.

the rights of citizens in the united states are clearly defined in the constitution, and the bill of rights. many of the rights people claim to have are not rights but privileges. and heather says, everyone should have access to care. if you saw a bleeding man on the side of the road, would you just pass him without offering him help? by not reforming our health care system, we are ignoring millions of people. and once again, if you'd like to respond to our blog question, just go to cnn.com/tony. on the road, listening to your concerns about health care reform and other issues. ali velshi, and the cnn express traveling through tennessee today. on a six-day tour. there's the buggy. that's a pretty pricey buggy. ali joins us now on the road. he's in tennessee. where are you now? you're on the road from where to where? >> reporter: we just stopped and got some lunch in manchester, tennessee, at a cracker barrel.

and you and i have broken bread before, and you know my affinity for food. we're good for several hours. we're heading north now. we'll go through nashville. we'll probably make our next stop, paducah, kentucky, so about 200 miles. we've got about three hours driving ahead of us. we're talking to people about the economy and health care. i have to tell you, tony, we're getting some great discussion, some great commentary from people, real concern about health care. not as hot as the kind of discussion going on at the town hall meeting, but lots of different opinions. >> it's interesting. i'm wondering, are people viewing this health care debate as essential to the overall debate that we're having about the health of this economy and any potential recovery for this economy? >> reporter: well, you know, it's a good question. i'm trying to get a sense of it. i really do think that most people are seeing it as two different things. we've been talking to people about health care, whether they think, as you said, is it a

right. should it be fixed? is now the time to fix it? is the administration doing it the right way. on the other hand we're having a discussion with people about the economy, saying are you feeling better than a year ago, before the height of the recession? let me tell you what some of the people -- why don't you have a listen to what some of the people that we've been talking to about the economy have been saying. >> oh, great. ♪ >> we're struggling. i've lost $1,400 a month in income. it's not payday to payday, it's running short a little payday to keep up. >> i am unemployed and i have friends that are unemployed and chattanooga is feeling the recession. >> i work in the restaurant business and i know we have more applications than i've seen in a long time. >> i know a lot of smart people that do not have jobs right now and are actively seeking jobs. >> there are a lot of people just taking minimum wage jobs to try to support a family on just to be employed. and i have a 15-year-old who wants to get a job, but as a manager myself, i can't justify hiring a teenager when there are

adults with families to feed. >> reporter: now, tony, i also spoke to a real estate agent back in chattanooga, tennessee, who said, you know, he's starting to see people biting. he's starting to see real sales happen, he thinks they may have in this region hit a bottom in the housing market. again, not a consistent view amongst all the people we're talking to, but i guess that's the point being up here in the fancy buggy as you talk about it, and getting a very unfiltered view about how people feel about the economy and the health care debate. >> do you think the $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers is really going to heat up the housing market? >> reporter: yeah, well, i think it's three things. i think it's the credit for home buyers. it's the fact that interest rates are still in the range of 50-year lows for a 30-year, fixed mortgage, and the fact is a lot of people are buying the foreclosed or distressed homes. prices are low. i think it's the combination of

those three things which is goosing the housing market. i think, you know, in some places that's true, we probably have hit a bottom. >> hey, very quickly before we lose you, again, here before your shot freezes up on us, are you twittering? are you on the facebook, telling folks where you're going to be and where they can see? >> reporter: yep. absolutely. absolutely. we're on facebook at -- we're on the -- official velshi facebook. [ inaudible ] >> all right. we lost ali. we'll get the -- what is it? he's at -- at alivelshi on twitter. great, thanks. still to come in the "newsroom," 230 miles per gallon. did i read that correctly? are you kidding me? we need to crunch some numbers.

hey, you know, there may be something here. we're not sure. but we thought thought you should know about it. gm began selling new cars on ebay today. you don't exactly bid for them. you've got a couple of options here. negotiate with the dealer through the ebay website or purchase a vehicle at a buy it now, no-haggle price. some 225 dealers in california are taking part in the experiment.

you can buy 2008 through 2010 chevys, buicks, gmcs or pontiacs. the website is gm.e bay.com. we have a website? it will be available -- there you go. it will be available through september 8th. if successful, gm may take the program nationwide. general motors is also touting the electric chevy volt and its eye-popping gas mileage. hi, poppy. >> i'm sorry, i was checking my blackberry. >> you were checking your blackberry for the latest information on the chevy volt, right, poppy? >> that's exactly right. they say when you multitask you don't get a lot done. >> there you go. >> it's an eye-popping number, 230 miles per gallon for the chevy volt. we've been waiting for this number. gm says it's been working with the epa for a while now trying to measure the fuel economy on

this new electric car. the epa still yet to confirm that number that you see there on the screen. but 230 miles per gallon. that's for city driving. highway driving, that number hasn't been calculated yet. but gm ceo fritz henderson said he's confident the number on the highway will also be in the high triple digits. that could mean a much, muff-needed marketing boost for the struggling automaker. take a listen to what he said in a press conference just this morning. >> the epa labels are yardsticks for customers to compare the fuel efficiency of different vehicles. having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy we believe can and will be a game changer for us. >> you need a game changer. the question still, tony, are people going to buy this car? a gm rep told me last night the price tag is probably going to be in the high 30s, so pretty close to $40,000. also, where do you charge it? if you don't have a home with a garage if you are in a city like we are in new york city, where do you charge the cars?

they've got to charge overnight, tony. >> whoa, but that number 230 miles per gallon. >> i know, it's stunning. >> that's a bigtime game changer. where does that number come from? >> it's a calculation that is done. this is not just putting a car on the road and seeing how far it will drive on a gallon of gas. it's not that at all. this car works a lot differently than other cars. let's compare it to the prius, because that's a hybrid vehicle that gets 50 miles per gallon. but all of that energy comes from burning gasoline. so, the volt, what you get is 40 miles to start off with, using no gas at all. after that, the gas engine kicks in. so you're not going to get 230 miles per gallon if you're driving long distances. let's say you drive 80 miles in a row. it will be about 200 gallon, if you drive 300 miles, it drops. does this change the game for consumers? will they buy a volt? take a listen or look here,

rather, of what some of the folks wrote in to tell us. some i'll show you this. i can't afford it now. i bought an iphone when it was $600. another person wrote in and said, i'll help the guys in detroit, i'd rather do that than helping the people in saudi or venezuela. they are talking where the oil comes from. a lot of people are writing in and letting us know. >> if you can create a vehicle that in the worst-case scenario you can come up with, you end up with 100 miles per gallon, come on! >> right. >> that feels like -- >> it's not cheap. it's not cheap. so people are trying to do the equation. see what's a better bet for them. >> poppy, appreciate it. >> no problem. cared for by foster parents but left without health care when they reach 18. how one program is helping young adults.

very quickly we want to get you out to inglewood, california. you know, our ted rowlands is there. he's covering the free health care clinic that is going on there. but as you know, ted has been

spending a lot of time on the michael jackson story, the investigation. and, ted, i know you have some breaking news on that investigation. >> reporter: yeah, tony. a fifth search warrant has been issued in the michael jackson death investigation. concentrating on dr. conrad murray. at this hour the dea agents and other agents are -- have served a warrant on a pharmacy close to dr. murray's clinic in las vegas, about a dozen agents showed up at this pharmacy, just after 9:00 pacific time. and according to a source familiar with this investigation, this is a follow-up to a search warrant that was served at murray's clinic about a week and a half ago and at murray's home. the five warrants have all been targeted towards murray. yesterday, we heard from the l.a. county ncoroner's office that they are finished with their investigation. there is a hold because the lapd has asked the coroner's office to hold off until their investigation is over. clearly, this is another sign

that their investigation in to michael jackson's death is still going on. a fifth search warrant in connection with dr. conrad murray, michael jackson's personal physician, is being served at this hour in las vegas at a pharmacy near murray's clinic, tony? >> okay, ted rowlands following the latest developments in the michael jackson death investigation. ted appreciate it, thank you. a live picture now. let's take the picture in the box, let's take it full. portsmouth, new hampshire, portsmouth high school right now, we are just minutes away from the start of the town hall meeting featuring the president of the united states. how edgy will this town hall be? we have seen some raucous town halls over the last few days, well, actually, over the last week or so. this town hall meeting with the president scheduled to begin any moment now. more scheduled to begin at -- in about seven minutes at 1:00 p.m. eastern time, we will, of course, bring it to you, if it starts early, if it starts right on time in kyra's hours. so what do you think?

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brooks and ronnie dunn calling it quits. the announcement was posted on the brooks & dunn website. no reason was given for the split. the duo has sold more than 30 million records. their hits include "boot scooting boogie," and "my maria." a greatest hits album is due out next month. they are expected to tour for the final time next year. we are keeping health care in focus during this make-or-break month for refortunately. for foster children who are turning 18 and transitioning out of the system, there aren't many options for coverage. a maryland program called future bound is helping. ♪ >> my name is jordan, i'm 18. and i'm a college student. football's the most dangerous sport and it's my take in the

world. you set yourself up for injury almost every single minute you're out there. you don't have health care, then what you going to do if you happen to break your leg or break your arm? you won't have any way to pay for you to get -- pay for you to heal up. i entered the foster care system at age 17. growing up, i was a kid who didn't have to worry about much. just went to school. came home, had fun, like any other normal kid. i had some fam -- some family issues, and i thought it best to be to enter the system. the program is future bound independent living program. it's an entity of national center for children and families. i've been in this program for almost six months. they provide you with the means to provide -- to care for yourself. they give you -- they give you a place to stay. they give you -- they give you a

stipend for food and clothes. they require you to be in school and working. so, basically you essentially have no room for error. this type of program should be a priority to call kids and all walks of life, especially kids in the foster care system. make sure you're being healthy. you're staying healthy. they provide you with preventive care. all foster care children should have this available to them. it can't hurt at all to learn how to cook a balanced meal, to make sure that you have health care. without this program, to tell me what i need to do, i don't think i'd be able to make it as sound and rational decisions. >> very nice. that health care in focus report from cnn washington bureau photojournalist chris turner. let's do this. it's go time. we're pushing forward now with the next hour of "cnn newsroom." did you hear her? with kyra phillips! >> it's always go time with you,