>> i'm not sure -- >> well, there was the one republican and then the guy at the end with his hands up. >> i did read in a few leads yesterday afternoon that the president addressed skeptics of his health care plan. but maybe that was -- >> okay. maybe it was 100% great. i don't know, it seemed stacked to me. >> but i'm pointing out at least yesterday afternoon the perception among many of the stories i read was that the president had addressed some skeptics. >> he was asking the audience, who's a skeptic, he seemed to be soliciting tougher questions. >> right. >> to the extent that there weren't as many people there as we've seen in other town halls, people with legitimate concerns, is there anything you guys can do going forward in approaching the town halls to get an audience that is more representative of the bigger dispute, for example -- >> i don't have any question that the president took eight, i don't know how many we'd say were people that were -- at least the last two, because he

took those from that. i don't remember, i guess the republican was one of those two, right? the guy who said he didn't know why he was there. i think the gentleman, the third question wash i was sitting on the left-hand side, the question about medicaid and lipitor, again, i don't -- that's at least three of the eight questions as not being -- that were in some ways skeptical. what i'm saying is i don't -- i'm not assuming that the audience wasn't in some ways representative. again, i sense disappointment that he didn't get yelled at. but i think there were a number of people in there that had concerns and wanted to ask the president directly. i think we're going to continue to pick people randomly to come to a town hall meeting, and, you know, they'll raise their hand. the president will answer.

>> the smaller faction of the audience was -- >> and that sets up the top of the hour. you've got the president on one side of the health care debate. on the other side? some pretty furious americans. in the middle, lawmakers getting an earful from both sides. at least seven town halls nationwide today. we're watching them all. will they look like democracy or the "jerry springer show"? we're pushing forward the debate and pinning down the facts. lots of urban legends out there. what should you believe? plus, a tv show host accused of doing anything to jack up his ratings, and i mean anything. hello, everyone, i'm kyra phillips, live at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. you're live in the "cnn you're live in the "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com can't you tell? this make-or-break month for health care reform in america. look at all these town hall meetings going on just today. and some of them happening right

now. florida, pennsylvania, senator specter again, montana, and nebraska, also hagerstown, maryland, and that's where senator ben cardin hosts a meeting this hour. we're keeping a close eye on this one. cardin actually got booed and jeered monday at his town hall in towson. and in new jersey, congressman steve rosman hosting that one. and there's a bunch of town halls in iowa. republican senator chuck grassley is hosting four of them today. the second one is wrapping up this hour. the president praised grassley yesterday as a republican that is honestly coming up with a health care reform both parties can live with. he's one of the group of six senators from both parties heavily involved in the negotiations. this event earlier in winterset was pretty civil, but the crowd of 3000-plus wasn't giving the senators any softballs either, take a listen. >> like i said, i'm a dumb, southern iowa red neck, and i see nowhere in the constitution where health care is a right. >> we would have a bill through

the united states senate. probably not one i would have voted for, but -- so if anybody is criticizing me for negotiating, you've got six weeks to look at a bill that you wouldn't otherwise have, and i don't think that you would have -- i'd have 150 people at my town meeting or maybe 300 people here at my town meeting. our chief business correspondent, ali velshi, is working his way toward iowa. all this week he's been out on the bus talking health care with people. nothing canned, just fresh feedback, concerns and opinions. he's on the bus and heading to missouri. ali, talk to me. >> kyra, we're just showing up, we're going to different towns on the way from atlanta, we went through tennessee and kentucky and now we're in southern illinois, heading to missouri are in probably another hour or so. we're just outside of st. louis right now and then we're going to head into iowa. but we're just showing up and talking to people, and we're getting a pretty good cross-section, not necessarily representative, but people coming up to us and having a discussion about health care.

last night we pulled in to paducah, kentucky, and it was just remarkable, the number of people who showed up. so, what we did, we asked the restaurant across the road to give us some chairs. we sat down under -- 20 feet from the bus, got our cameras fired up, and we had our own town hall meeting. here's just a taste of what we heard. we're here in paducah, kentucky. we are hearing different things from people wherever we're going, but i haven't found too many people around here who are opposed to reforming health care. >> i'm for the idea, but i don't think that congress and the president has done a good job of disseminating the information. i'm just hearing a lot of flak and not a lot of meat and potatoes. >> reporter: what about you? >> i think right now we have a lack of choice. i mean, health care's expensive. i mean, the average costs of the coverage i found more often than not are more expensive than the actual care. i would think any choice, any viable choice, would be better than what we've got now. >> reporter: what do you think? >> my understanding, there is a about 48 million people that's not covered.

those people need to be covered. >> well, my husband and i are two of that 47 million plus that aren't -- don't have health care. and i'm not talking insurance. of course, we don't have insurance, but i want health care. my husband has diabetes and he just had a bout with cancer. what insurance company's going to cover us? there aren't any. if i get sick today, where do you think i'm going? i'm going to the emergency room. who's that costing? that's costing us, the taxpayers. so, if it's going to cost my bottom line if they have to tax me in order to get health care. tax me. tax me, tax me, tax me. i am willing to pay. >> reporter: let's talk the 46 million, 47 million, whatever number you want to use, not insured in this country. talk about it. >> i would really love to drive a hummer, they're cool cars. but i don't drive one. i drive what i can afford. >> oh, my god, i can't believe you're saying that people don't deserve health care if they can't afford it. >> where did i say that, heather? >> that's what i hear you saying. >> then you're not listening. >> reporter: you did say you would like to drive a hummer but

you can't afford it. so, you're saying if you can't afford the hummer, you don't drive it. if you can't afford health care, you shouldn't get it? >> no, no, no. i'm saying you have the basic stuff. you're in a catastrophic illness a car accident, something like that. of course, you get coverage for that. >> reporter: and, kyra, i said that's just a flavor of what we got. we sat around and talked to the people for more than 20 minutes. we are having that conversation. we're stopping in towns. people are coming up to the bus, and they're telling us on both sides of the issue what their concerns are. but it is civil. it is not yelling. and we're getting some real questions asked and answered about health care. kyra? >> so, what stood out you to, ali? i mean, you've been stopping through a number of these towns, some small, some bigger. what do you think the main issue? is it confusion or the fact that they're finally happy that something's happening on a nationwide scale that's going to

provide for them? >> reporter: you know, we started the tour on monday, and i'll tell you, it's almost changed a little bit. what we're feeling is that people are getting a little angry by the tenor of the conversation, the fact that it's become entirely political, when most people don't know what's in the plan. so, it is confusion. a lot of valid questions about it. and i am struck by the civility of the discussion. because if we only saw it through the eyes of these town hall meetings, you would think that everybody in america is screaming at each other about that. >> yeah. >> reporter: we're not getting that. you saw in that story, that town hall that we did in paducah, there was disagreement. it got a little heated. but it wasn't disrespectful. there was no yelling. people want to discuss with other people from their perspective what needs to be fixed. i'm finding it's civil. i'm finding it's intelligent and we're getting great questions from people and great testimonials about people's own struggles with health care. i am finding that more people that i'm talking to seem to think that health care needs to be reformed than the other way

around, kyra. >> they are civil in front of you. i'd like to see them inn't front of their congressman or congresswoman and get into a debate that way. ali, appreciate it. angry crowds and pushing and shoving and shouting at health care town halls. ali just mentioned that. what are people so mad about? we're taking a look at what's fact and fiction about the health care plans being considered on capitol hill. here to talk about it senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen, and josh levs. the cnn's truth squad. let's go ahead and start with you, elizabeth. one of the big questions, of course, is will my employer go for the public option and stop paying for the insurance that i currently have? before you answer that, here's what the president had to say, and then i want to get your reaction. >> i think private insurers should be able to compete. they do it all the time. i mean, if you think about -- if you think about it, you know, ups and fedex are doing just fine, right? no, they are. it's the post office that's always having problems.

so, right now, you've got private insurers who are out there competing effectively, even though a lot of people get their care through medicare or medicaid or va. so, there's nothing inevitable about this somehow destroying the private marketplace, as long as -- and this is a legitimate point that you're raising -- that it's not set up where the government is basically being subsidized by the taxpayers. >> so, elizabeth, is that true? >> well, kyra, i feel the need to sort of explain a little bit what this debate's about, because i don't think it is entirely clear. for some people this is the nightmare scenario, the government comes out with a health care program, kind of like for medicare but for younger people, and employers will say, oh, my goodness, this plan is 10% to 20% cheaper than the private insurance i have now, i'm going to jump on this bandwagon and get rid of my private insurance. well, a lot of people will tell you that this nightmare may or

may not come to pass. let's look at the "may come to pass." sure, it's possible that employers will want something that's cheaper. but look at the situation now, employers now can go with the cheapest plans on the market, and they don't always do that. there's a fair amount of competition and they go with the one with the price and the services that they like. so, there's no reason to just assume that employers would want to go with the government plan or that the government plan would necessarily be such a terrible thing. but it is certainly something to think about. >> so, will all employers be allowed to use the government-sponsored plan? >> kyra, that's an excellent point. according to the plans that are out there, all employers will not be able to use the government-sponsored plan. in the beginning for some of these plans, you'd have to be a small employer in order to use the government plan, and only later might bigger employers be allowed to use this. so, that's something else to remember. >> elizabeth, thanks. well, at the town hall meetings, we often hear all sorts of claims from people in the crowd, including some assertions that seem to be popping up more and more

frequently. our josh levs with the cnn truth squad is following one that some voters have been bringing up quite often, josh? >> yeah, kyra, this is interesting. it happened a few times yesterday. one thing we're hearing from some voters at these events they're saying that they're concerned that the government might ultimately have access to your bank account. let's take a look at an example from yesterday. >> on page 58 and 59 of this bill, which gives the government access to private individual bank accounts at their free will. i do not think the government has the right to do that. i would think -- i would have to brush up on my constitution, but i would think that's unconstitutional. i know definitely it's un-american so -- >> all right, well at the truth squad we've been taking a look at that. let me show you where this all comes from. we'll start off with the key point i got on the graphic for you. basically this is from a 1,000-page version of the bill that's before the house right now. this house bill calls on the government to set rules for

electronic transactions. but the purpose of it -- we'll show you on the next screen here -- is not kind of what you're hearing. the purpose is to set up standardized payment systems between insurers and doctors. it's not to look into an individual's account, it's to streamline the process and hopefully save costs overall by setting up these systems, payment systems, between insurers and the offices of doctors. see, we have our ruling from the cnn truth squad which is back. it's that the provision is for companies for medical billing and not individuals, therefore, we went with false. and i'll tell you something, kyra, the truth squad has a lot ahead of us right now. you can read more details all times on the cnn political ticker, and this is what i was bringing to you. and cnnpolitics.com will have all of the health care truth squad fact checks in the coming days and weeks as long as this battle rages on. >> all right, sounds good, josh. it will be a long battle, that's for sure. president obama pitches health care reform later this week. he'll hold a town hall in

bozeman, montana, on friday, and he'll do the same on saturday in grand junction, colorado. a long-standing ovation greet the supreme court's newest member. at a white house reception with the president by his side, justice sonia sotomayor made her first public comments since saturday's swearing-in, she credited her families and friends and the founding fathers for making it all possible. >> it is this nation's fate in a more perfect union that allows a puerto rican girl from the bronx to stand here now. >> well, justice sotomayor asked all americans to wish her divine guidance and wisdom as she starts her new job. they may look like two ordinary men in suits, walking into a jewelry store, but buying wasn't on their minds. their heist, one of the biggest ever in britain. plus, we're going to be dipping in live to the health care town hall that senator ben cardin is holding in maryland right now. you can see him at the mike. we're tracking it.

the white house not too happy because of these ads. are they crossing the line and intruding on the privacy of the first daughters? my doctor told me something i never knew.

as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones.

california prison turned battle zone. that's what happened at the prison in chino over the weekend after inmates went on a rampage. these are actually new pictures of the aftermath, 250 inmates were injured, 55 hospitalized with serious stab wounds and head trauma. seven housing units were destroyed, including one gutted by fire. for the most part, the fighting was between blacks and hispanics. more than 1,100 inmates have now been transferred to other facilities. 50 suits and ties, bmws and mercedes and a taste for very expensive jewelry. that's the m.o. for two robbers who walked into an exclusive london jewelry store and made off with $65 million in loot. authorities announced the heist today, and say they arrested one chap for robbery on monday. he's already back on the street pending further investigation. as for the getaway, well, the robbers just walked out of the shop, hopped into a blue bmw,

stopped a short distance away and switched to a silver mercedes and later a black ford or vw. cops still looking for them now. take you live to a town hall meeting now on health care reform. we're keeping an eye on several of these, by the way, across the country. this one is at hagerstown community college in maryland. and your host, senator ben cardin. >> the main reason, i've said it up front, the first reason why we're taking up health care reform is to get the costs of health care reduced in this country. our children and grandchildren cannot afford to have a growing part of our economy spent in health care. there's other needs out there. we need to be able to give them a higher standard of living, but if they spend more and more on health care, it affects our economy growth. so, the first goal is to keep health care costs to reduce the rate of growth, and i'm going to repeat what i said at earlier town meetings. i'm not going to support a bill that doesn't bring down the

growth rate of health care, and i'm not going to support a bill that's not totally paid for. so, in both respects we're going to make sure there's no addition to the deficit. >> thank you, senator. ingrid from smithburg has this statement to make. question and statement. why does the government want to rush into the bill when many don't want it? please take the time to get it right. okay. to end the statement, please take the time to get it right. this is too big a bill to do haphazardly. >> well, first of all, i agree that we got to get it right, and we've got to take as much time as we need to make sure we get it right. but i want -- i just want to underscore this point. the problems are going to continue to grow. it's not going to get easier to come up with solutions. there's a lot of interest groups that have an impact on health

care reform. our goal is to make sure that we maintain the highest quality care, that it's affordable and available to all the people in this country, and we do it in a fair manner. now, i agree, i'm willing to take as much time as we need to make sure we get that right, but we need to move forward. the status quo is unacceptable. >> all right. let's bring in our national correspondent, jessica yellin. you were there for the arlen specter fireworks yesterday in lebanon, pennsylvania, jessica. just about 100 miles from this event in western maryland. you think the attitudes are going to pretty much be the same? >> well, they're handling the questioning a little bit differently, so that could reduce the amount of confrontation. but, yes, in the sense, kyra, that both of them are districts that went for john mccain. they're republican districts, where there tends to be a little bit more anxiety, lack of faith in this administration and how they'll execute this reform program. and already you've heard the big concerns are why are you rushing

this. that's something i heard on the street yesterday a lot. there's a sense it's being too rushed. and they frankly don't believe us when we do our fact checks. when we report that there's not one bill, there are multiple bills, nothing's done yet, they just think we're not telling the truth. and so that's among those protesters. and so i think that's what these congress people are having a difficult time confronting. it's hard to dispel myths when your audience doesn't even believe you to begin with. >> i know everybody seems to be pointing the finger and trying to blame the media, blame the politicians, blame the rowdy crowds, but bottom line is, we are definitely seeing things pick up here. we're seeing a momentum. we're seeing more town hall meetings where more people are showing up and getting more fired up. so, what do you make of that? why do you think that's happening now? and you think -- can we pinpoint a reason why? >> well, you know, it's just sort of in process. but my sense is, remember, it

wasn't that long ago when we were seeing similar passions on the campaign trail. there was a huge movement built on both sides that got people very engaged in the political process. and it seems it's much of that same energy. it's finding voice again in the health care reform debate. some of the people i talked to say they haven't been involved in protests and political movements before. but a lot of the people that are turning out have said that they did get engaged in this last presidential election, and in a -- in a sense even though it's fiery and sometimes very heated, it is democracy in action. so, you know, good for people to speak up and have their voices heard. >> great tv for us, too. we love to follow it. thanks, jessica. well, you've heard of made-for-tv movies, how about made-for-tv murders, when they beat police to the scene, something just ain't right.

all eyes on a couple of tropical depressions that could create some pretty nasty weather in both the atlantic and the pacific. chad myers tracking it for us. hey, chad. >> still looking at felicia out there making some rainfall for hawaii, especially on the eastern side. but now a brand new tropical

depression, tropical depression number 2. this is -- we had 1 earlier. this is the number 2. number 1 never got to a storm, so it didn't get a name. this one will probably be ana, if it holds together. the last couple of frames we're losing a little bit of color. also, look how symmetric it was for a while, and now we're losing just a little bit of what i call definition to this thing. i'll take you to a weather website called stormpulse.com. there's tropical depression number 2. if i touch on miami, it's 4,097 miles away. but i think maybe the big thing you might want to watch is this number 3 out here. here's 2. here's 3. it's just coming off the african coast. it seems, at least for now, much larger and probably a little bit more viable of a storm. so, we're going to continue to watch that. what's going to go on with 2? because we'll just kind of keep them in order as we go. it does appear that 2 will become a storm and it will be very close to the u.s. virgin

islands and the british virgin islands, sunday night or monday or at least the forecast is for it to turn away from the u.s. coast. we've been lucky this season because we're not on to a storm's name, but maybe it will change the end of this month, kyra. a u.s. senator to a nobel peace prize winner who helps the poor. and just about an hour and a half president obama will be giving them the highest honor. senator edward kennedy, actor sidney poitier and sandra day o'connor. and rick sanchez will bring you live coverage of that awards ceremony. cash for clunkers, it just keeps clunking along. have you seen some of these new car lots lately? well, they're short on wheels and long on empty spaces. if youn personal tour of paris,

there's an app for that. or, you'd like to figure out the metro, there's an app for that. or you'd like to send a postcard home, there's an app for that too, because there's an app for just about anything. only on the iphone. so what do you think?

i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. continuing to monitor the town halls across the country. discussing health care. leaders within the u.s. taking questions and trying to have "q" and "a," actually, with it looks like pretty calm crowds right now. two of these going on, one in

inged woodcliffs, new jersey, with congressman steve rosman, and as you saw a few minutes ago we're following one with senator ben cardin there in haguerstown, maryland. so, we're tracking those for you. if they start get exciting, which you can kind of hear some excitement there, we'll take it live. as americans wrestle with their own concerns about new health care legislation, we thought it would be good to have something to compare it to. all month long we're taking a look at how other countries take care of their citizens. john vause talks about a new experiment with health care insurance in rural china. >> reporter: he is bedridden, broke, and dying. "to get treatment, we need money. i don't have money for hospital," he says. a year ago he was healthy. then his kidneys began failing. within a month hospital bills wiped out the family's life savings, almost 7,000 u.s. dollars, so he borrowed from his parents. when their money ran out, joe says the hospital sent him home. his wife jin works double shifts

a at beijing juice factory. her wages barely cover the cost of joe's medication. "this is for his kidneys. this is a hormone and on and on. over 150 u.s. dollars each month. we eat noodles and buns and eating well to fill our stomach is the same thing." the story is common in a country where hundreds of millions can't afford even basic health care. but not here in the small village here in northwest china. under a trial program, the doctor charges patients just one yuan, that's 15 u.s. cents. villagers like lee sung whose son has a fever pay an annual insurance premium about three u.s. dollars and the government covers the rest. the treatment of 30 mild illnesses like colds and coughs, prescriptions are limited to 74 types of medications.

"here if you have a small problem, we'll treat it first and hopefully it will improve and not become serious," the doctor says. most families in china earn less than 1,000 u.s. dollars a year, so for lee, 15 cents is affordable health care. but she still worries. "we can't afford to treat major illnesses," she says. "we're afraid if it's serious, we'll have to spend a lot of money." but health care reform is also important to this economy. the chinese have an incredibly high personal saving rate. apparently that's a hedge against high medical bills should they fall sick. the government is hoping a better public health care system will mean they save less and spend more, and that will be good for economic growth. to do that, the communist party has promised universal health coverage by 2020. welcome news for most chinese. but too late, though, to help joe and so many others just like him.

john vause, cnn, china. so, how's that cash for clunkers thing going? well, what does this car lot tell? lots of empty space. take a look at this. it's the zimmerman ford in cedar rapids, iowa, could be any number of dealerships across the country, actually. the government voucher ham has the new fords flying off the lot. normally this place has about 150 new cars sitting out there. but in this summer of the clunkers, that number's actually down to about 30. >> i have never seen such a sudden increase in impulse of business in my career. >> is the recession over? well, that's just what "the wall street journal" asked 52 economists, 47 responded. of those, 27 say the recession, which began in december of 2007, has ended. 11 of the economists say that they see things starting to turn around this month or in september.

and there's one thing that the economists are nearly unanimous on, president obama should reappoint ben bernanke as fed chair when his current term expires in january. only one group, the national bureau of economic research, can officially declare the beginning and end of recessions, and despite "the journal" survey, many of you probably don't feel like the recession is over. so, how does cnn's richard quest feel about the state of the recession? why don't we find out. richard quest joins me live in london. good day, sir. >> and a good day to you! if only it were that simple. you see, these pesky economists, these tricky devils, who turn round and say the recession is over, the problem is they are technically right, or at least they will be very soon. one very, very senior economist told me yesterday that probably the u.s. was now out of recession, but the bad news is that it will feel grim, awful,

and slow for a long time to come. and that, kyra, is the reality. and on my program and elsewhere, and you've been seeing people, people like you're going to be introduced to now, people like jason young, who have been out of work for many months, who have had to drag themselves to new cities, new places to find jobs. forget the recession being over. in "job quest" you start to learn it's really about people finding work. >> what i needed to do was, like, all the average monthly bills, i can kind of assess now. >> reporter: it's part of all of it. >> did you get everything you have? >> yeah, everything's packed. i just got to load up the car. >> it's definitely going to be tough to be away. but at the same time i know i'm working to get us together as quickly as possible and provide for us financially, which is important to me. >> i'll walk you out. love you. >> love you so much.

under the circumstances, the kids would have been home with us. but jennifer's mom offered to keep them for us last night, and that's why they're at her parents' house. so, i'm going to drive down there and see them. before i leave, because normally they would be there, and, oh, man, if they would have been there, i would have been so emotional. how are you? >> good. >> hey! hi! hi! hi, can i have a hug? mommy really needs your help. >> yes, daddy. >> i need you to be a big boy for mommy. >> yes. >> will you be nice? >> yes. >> will you not argue? >> yes. >> will you do what she asks you to do the first time? >> yes. >> yes? okay. one more hug. one more smooch.

i'm going to go. i love you. i love you so much. oh, that was tough. that was very emotional and very heart-wrenching. they just were very -- they're wonderful and full of energy and clingy to me, and so that was difficult to have to pull away, because we've been together for so much lately, because i've been unemployed, we've been together constantly, which has been fabulous, a time that i will cherish for the rest of my life. >> jason young, just one of the people who have had to go to such extreme measures to find work. and, kyra, here in the uk today, unemployment rose to a 14-year high. and the most disturbing thing about that, it is the young and the graduates, those coming out of university, those 18 to 24, that are bearing the brunt. this is a global recession, kyra. >> well, and we've been monitoring that on a global level.

i mean, you're monitoring these individuals that we see suffering every single day. but i understand you're going to be hitting the road and actually digging a little into these big financial institutions that we used to be very happy with when we looked at our 401(k)s and our investments, and, well, that's not been such a great thing lit lately. >> it was years ago since lehman brothers and since the entire banking crisis, all ground to a halt in september. so, this was a good time. it's called nylon-kong. new york, london, hong kong. we'll do it because of the time differences. i'm going to hong kong for a week. i'll be talking to you every day from hong kong next week. then it's new york. i'll be talking to you from there. and then it's london. we're going to be getting to the differences, then and now. financial industry, how it's changed. people's lives, what's different, and crucially, news

that you need to know for the road to recovery. >> well, we can't wait to see you. richard quest, thanks so much. so, are you the glass is half full type? and we're going to look at how you can actually help yourself live a little longer. plus, we're going to be dipping in live to the health care town hall that senator ben cardin is holding in maryland this hour. we're monitoring it for you to see how heated it gets.

gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ .

well, you want to live a long and healthy life? well, then lighten up and stop being so negative. a new study from the university of pittsburgh said that optimistic people are less likely to die from a heart attack. in fact, being optimistic reduces your risk of heart disease or dying from any cause. that study followed more than 97,000 women for 15 years. it's believed to be the largest to ever look at the effects of personality and temperament on your heart. well, we know aspirin can help fight heart attacks and strokes, but turns out it can also help battle cancer. a new study in the "journal of the american medical association" found that colon cancer patients that took aspirin increased their survival rate. they cut their risk of dying by nearly 30%. the tv host lands on tv news, accused of made-for-tv

murders. it's a "law & order" episode in the making. sharing the road these days, you'll find some form of gps on the roads. do you know who updates those maps? well, our gary tuchman does in our today's "edge of discovery" segment. >> reporter: you can thank the strange-looking vehicle the next time you don't get lost. this tele-atlas mobile mapping van using cameras, gps and even lasers to digitally record the road and everything near it. >> so, the driver's really responsible for making sure the images coming from the camera are actually of high enough quality to be used on our production floor. >> reporter: it's one of a handful of companies providing information with vans and satellite imagery and maps from local governments. they sell the maps to partners and customers, like google, mapquest and portable navigation

company tomtom. >> our ultimate goal, yes, would be to map the entire world. >> reporter: now you can help out, too. >> the user can take this device and say i want to make a correction. it might be a small village, a small town where someone sees a new round-about a new one-way street going in, they quickly provide that information to us, we update the map and it's updated. >> reporter: what's next for digital maps even cooler. keep an eye out for 3d. >> it's a virtual reality for the customer. as they go around, the buildings and the roads match and the entire experience matches what they would find in the real world. >> reporter: gary tuchman, cnn. - ( wind blowing ) - some people a car based on the deal they get. others buy the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event,

you can do both. introducing our best offers of the year on the vehicles intellichoice calls "the best overall value of all luxury brands." it's an opportunity today. it's a lexus forever.

well, we got breaking news

on the jobs front. it actually popped owp the pr news wire that we were looking at today. apparently it's a pretty big announcement. the release that caught our eye reads in part, david announces his availability as a candidate for a company ready to embrace the creative economy. now, i have to admit the truth. this news flash was a very creative way for one savvy, unemployed man to actually find a job. so we had to bring in david hicks for a 30-second pitch. that's the first time we saw that move. >> i was a little proud of that. >> how did you come up with that idea? >> throughout my career, i had used pr for announcing events and products and looking for a job, i went to a number of companies that would announce the hire for some division. i decided you could turn it around and announce you were looking for that. >> it's good, david. you get lots of faxes over

there. yours stood out. tell me what kind of work you were doing and how did you find out you were going to lose your job? >> well, i actually as an entrepreneur actually started my own company. so it's more of a question of the market not being right for what i was doing. >> what exactly was the type of work? a software company, a web-based software company that analyzes real time data and different aspects of companies where the logistics and manufacturing information tries to make them useful to them as quickly as possible so that they can improve what they are doing, cut their costs. >> your other full-time job was caring for your son, ben, with autism. so you were going through a tough time? >> that's correct. i spent about a year i knew i was going to start a company but we found out that my son was diagnosed with autism, so i spent quite a bit of time with my wife learning how to work with him, how to make him whole

and so that came first. >> this pitch will be for the whole family. as we look at ben. he is adorable. what's your daughter's name? >> grace. >> grace and ben. they are cutety pies. look into camera one and give us your resume pitch. you ready? >> i'm david hicks. i was a electrical engine nearby trade but cut my teeth with a start shall up company that manufactures computerized cameras for the manufacturing industry. i was business development director. i created a distribution network that grew the company from incue bay tore stage to a $150 million acquisition. i then started a cloud-based software company that analyzes real time data. if you are a technology company and you are looking for someone that can induce your sales force -- >> you are the man. >> he is the man.

the e-mail once again, dhicks256 and dhicks256@g mail.com. when tv folks say they will kill for good ratings, most of the time they are joking. the host of a popular brazilian crime show is under investigation suspected of having people murdered so they could get exclusives. his crew beat police. this host is a disgraced ex-cop and current lawmaker. imagine that. guys, i just want to say, i would never kill anyone for ratings. i might rough them up a little bit but that's about it. check out this ad. does it introduce or intrude on the privacy of the first daughters. take a hint. the white house is not too happy

with it. we're shopping for car insurance, and our friends said we should start here.

good friends -- we compare our progressive direct rates, apples to apples, against other top companies, to help you get the best price. how do you do that? with a touch of this button. can i try that? [ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

an ad campaign in washington has drawn oi lot of protests because it mentions president barack obama's children. >> reporter: a health food campaign with a vip critic. dr. neil barnard says it wasn't long until after his group put up these ads in washington's union station advocating a vegetarian lunch option in public schools that they got a call from white house attorneys. >> they contacted us the day after the ads went up and said, you can't talk about the president's children. we pointed out the comparison is really about the schools. >> reporter: the ad shows a florida school is girl names jasmine that says, president obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. why don't i? the d.c. public schools don't

offer vegetarian choices. >> they are quoted as saying, if the white house hates you, it is not going to help your agenda. >> the president would support, i believe, healthy meals for jasmine and every child like jasmine. >> reporter: white house attorneys hinted they might take legal action. barnard says a first amendment attorney has told him he is on solid legal ground. we called one white house lawyer barnard mentioned. she didn't return our calls. first lady, michelle obama's office, referred us to a comment by press secretary, robert gibbs, who said they are trying to protect the girls' privacy. we hope others have been respectful as many in the media have been about not using the girls as a publicity stunt. one journalist who covers presidential politics says that position will garner support. >> it's hard to grow up in the public eye. there ir times when the president's children are unavoidably in the limelight.

there is a sense in up to that you probably should leave them alone. >> reporter: in january, a toy-maker introduced two dolls neighboring sweet sasha and marvelous malia. they changed the names after the white house complained about the girls being used for marketing purposes. >> they are targeting congressional staffers that pass through these he is ka lay tors every day on their way to work. >> reporter: brian todd, cnn, washington. crowds packing more town halls coast to coast. we are pushing forward on health care reform this hour. we are going to start with a story that grabbed our attention this morning. a tough lesson for parents and students in detroit. public school employees accused of embezzlement, stealing from a school system already broker than broke. we are going to actually talk to

the investigator that found out about this corruption live in just a couple minutes. we are nearly two weeks into this make or break month for health care reform. feverish debate making the summer of '09 hotter than normal. lawmakers taking the issue out of d.c. and into the heart of america. a bunch of town hall meetings scheduled today from new jersey to florida to montana. some going on right now. we are following one in hagerstown, maryland. in new jersey, congressman steve rossman is hosting one there. we are monitoring that as well. in iowa, two down, two more to go for republican senator charles grassley. four town halls in one day. the president praised grassley as a republican that is trying to come up with health care reform that both parties can live with. he is one of the bipartisan group of six senators heavily involved in the negotiations.

jessica yellin is monitoring the town hall meeting going on in maryland. senator ben carden is running the show. is he encountering the same kind of fireworks that we have seen. >> reporter: he is. he has sure taken fire this time from both the right and the left. we are hearing voices of mistrust. a lot of contempt for politicians and a sense of fear, panic, loss of control. folks really worried on both sides about whether the government on the one hand can handle taking any involvement in health coverage and handling it well. on the other side, members of the people who are allied with the president deeply concerned that they are not fighting back hard enough. someone on the left said, why aren't you pushing back more aggressively against these critics for health care reform. folks are being shouted down on both sides. let's take a listen to what happened just a few minutes ago. the first sound bite you are going to hear is from someone who supports health care reform. second, from somebody who is

deeply critical of the plan being proposed. >> we have 700,000 marylanders uninsured. 700,000 marylanders uninsured, 47 million in the united states. >> i just want. >> please let this -- please let the individual speak. >> how are you going to look at my children in their eyes and tell them they are going to have a better future with $99 trillion. say it with me. $99 trillion that you and your cohorts up there on capitol hill. how are you going to look at my children? >> senator carden has stayed very calm. he has not gotten into a tussle with any of the members of the audience. they really limited the questions, one minute and then a one-minute response. some of the topics that have come up, whether there will be euthanasia, whether this is a movement to a single-payer plan and how they will keep down

costs and how will you get the extra doctors and providers available if you do cover everyone in the united states. it is still ongoing. >> we will keep track. coming up in a bit, ali meelts america. he is getting great feedback from americans. well be checking in with him soon. fireworks, that's one way to sum up what's been happening at some of these town hall meetings. it's important to remember there is no health care reform bill. congress is considering five competing bills right now. cheryl costello is trying to sift through it all for us. >> kyra, the number one thing to keep in mind before we dive into this, there is no, repeat, no, health care reform bill ready to be voted on by both the house and senate. a key house committee did pass a bill. that's the 1,000 page bill you hear about. that's not final either. that's why lawmakers are holding these town hall meetings that

aren't exactly answering questions. >> we don't want the dirty work. >> reporter: if you are looking for answers about health care reform, good luck. politics, misinformation, noise is about all you seem to hear. time to quiet the noise and to bust the myths or not. let's start with this. death panels, true or false? as sarah palin put it, seniors and even babies with disabilities, quote, will have to stand in front of obama's death panel so his bur krats can decide, quote, whether they are worthy of health care. >> that one is so wrong it has gotten a pants on fire on our tru truthometer. >> reporter: he says false. this rose out of an idea to have medicare pay for counseling for people who want advice for end of life care. >> if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.

if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. true or false? >> reporter: in theory, these things are true but there are valid concerns. >> given that this is going to dramatically change the market place of health insurance, we don't know if any given health insurance is going to be offered the same way in a few years. >> reporter: rationing, true or false? arguably, private insurance health plans ration. they decide what's covered and what is not. pol litty fact.com says there is nothing in the house bill that addresses rationing. someone has to decide what and how much is covered. >> if you like the post office and the department of motor vehicles and you think they are run well, just wait until you see medicare, medicaid and health care done by the government. >> reporter: the government can't run big programs. true or false? critics have gone as far as drawing up a diagram of how much dysfunctional the government

health care program will be. >> if the government can run medicare, what's to say it couldn't run this kind of a program. >> reporter: on the subject of abortion, no federal funds will pay for abortions. on the subject of how to pay for health care reform, that is the big unknown. there are real fears increased taxes will spread to the middle class. will they? the president says no. there are plenty of others who say he will have no choice. kyra? >> carol costello, thanks so much. back to our top story. a tough lesson for parents and students in detroit. public school employees accused of embezzlement stealing from a school system already broker than broke. these aren't the first public school employees accused of corruption. everyone from a teacher's aide to a cafeteria coordinator to a truck driver, not big buck administrators and not tlikely the last to face charges.

joining us is robert boggs and prosecutor from wayne county, kym worthy. kim, we are going to talk to you in just a second. robert, let's start with you. did you get a tep ip or did you know you were on to something? >> we have a confidence hotline for employees to report abuse. the tip line does work very well. >> so how did you take the investigation from that point and what did the tip line tell you? did they say, hey, we've got proof that so-and-so has this money or has these goods somewhere? tell me the process. >> the process is, all one needs to do is call our tip line and it goes directly into the office of the inspector general. our inspector general is a former retired fbi agent who was in charge of all investigations in the state of michigan. our office is populated by

expert -- former fbi investigators as well as investigators from the detroit police department retired. as well as two experts who are in charge of our school police. so those individuals followed the investigations from the tip line and based on their investigations, when they believe that a criminal act has occurred, then that information is turned over to miss worthy's office, our county prosecutor. >> let's talk about what they found, unused equipment, blackberrys, two-way phones, hand-held radios. and there were dead people registered for health benefits. you are even saying those benefits could save the district an immediate $2.1 million. we can talk about the unused equipment, the goods that were purchased but how did this happen, dead people who are registered for health benefits? >> well, we are doing a very

in-depth health care dependent audit. we gave 13,000 plus of our employees two weeks to take ineligible dependants off of our health care plan. in that two-week period, 517 came off of that the plan at a savings of $2.8 million. now, the moratorium is over. the phones are ringing off the hooks, unfortunately. we will require employees with ineligible dependants to repay the health care benefit, as well as the benefits we have paid for those persons. then, that information will be turned over further to our inspector general's office for potential further prosecution, as it may. >> so, kim, what's the strongest piece of evidence here? as a prosecutor, why do you feel so confident that you are going to be able to hold these people accountable. >> because not only is my office familiar with the investigators

that have been involved in these investigations from working in the past. we have people in our office that are experiencing these kind of cases in my public integrity unit and we have gone back through this evidence and reprocessed it and we are sure we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. the investigation is some i had. it is tight. what they have given us is something we can work with and we are clear that we can go on and prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt in court. >> what about the folks, kim, that apparently are still actively working in the school system? is it possible that these folks that may be busted real soon will actually be going back to these schools and getting a paycheck? >> the ones that we have charged have already been dismissed by mr. bob and his staff and the inspector general. the ones that mr. bob is talking about that have been on the rolls or dummy employees, so to speak, we're still awaiting the completion of their investigation. we will look at that and determine if we can issue

charges. i am sure that he and his staff will dismiss them if he determines that those charges would be forwarded on to my office. >> so, robert, how do you make sure this doesn't happen again? it is great to capture these people and hold them accountable and get them out of that system, especially when you are in an area ta that's struggling because of the economy. how do you make sure this doesn't happen again? >> we have already implemented a very strong monitoring system, not only through the auditor general's office but also through the office of our inspector general. we have very tight procedures in place. now, individuals who are determined to bilk the system, they will. >> at least you'll be watching them. >> absolutely. >> let me ask you this too before i let you go. just looking at all the loot here. 160 blackberrys, 11 motorcycles, 97 two-way phones, 50 hand held radios. can you sell all this loot and

put the money back into the school system? >> we are going to sell all of those items we found. that was just in one department. we still have a warehouse of equipment to be sold as well. >> so it's just gun, i guess. i'll tell you what, great job. robert, bob, with this investigation? >> kym worthy, you definitely have a lot of work ahead of you. it's nice to see how you are staying strong. you are going to hold these people accountable. we know how that school system has been suffering. this broke our hearts to hear that now folks within the system have been acting on such criminal levels. we'll be following up on investigation. >> they keep us busy with everything we have to do but it will be for the greater good of the children in the end. >> you are going to have a paycheck coming in, kym, with all the work you have ahead of you. unfortunately, detroit's issues don't stop with the school system. the city's economy has been

devastated. there aren't even any big supermarket chains left in town. folks have had to get crafty and literally plant the seeds for a solution themselves. urban farming in detroit. we will have those details just ahead in a few minutes. we are still monitoring the town halls across the country. this one in hagerstown, maryland. from what we understand, it has remained civil but has gotten heated. a lot of questions to senator cardin. we are following this and a number of for rums, including this one as well in new jersey. you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day.

wellbeing. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nuture it in your cat... with a full family of excellent nutrition... and helpful resources. ♪ purina cat chow. share a better life.

let's track down our roving business correspondent, ali velshi. he is moving his way northwest towards the mississippi river

now. you got that cb radio working, ali? >> we do, actually. we are just crossing the mississippi as we speak right now. we're running a little behind schedule. we thought we would be on the other side. we are crossing from southern illinois into missouri, right at st. louis. every time we stop, people come up to talk with us. we are having a fantastic discussion with americans about health care. we had a bit of the discussion last night in kentucky, in paducah. let's listen. we just started up. by chance. >> i want health care. my husband has diabetes and he just had a bout with cancer. what insurance is going to cover us? if i get sick today, where am i

going? to the emergency room. whose that costing? the taxpayers. if they have to tax me in order to get health care, tax me, tax me, tax me. i'm willing to pay. >> let's talk about the 46, 47, 50 million, whatever number you want to use, the people that are not insured in this country. >> i would like to drive a hummer. they are cool cars. i can't afford to drive one. i drive what i afford. >> i can't believe you are saying people don't deserve health care if they can't afford it. >> where did i say that? >> that's what i hear you saying. >> you said you would like to buy a hummer and you can't afford a hummer. if you are saying you can't afford the hummer, you don't drive it. if you can't afford health care, you shouldn't get it. no, no, no. i'm saying, you have the basic stuff. you get a catastrophic illness, you are in a car crash, an accident, something looic that happens, of course, you get coverage for that. >> reporter: kyra, we are hearing that discussion wherever

we are going. it is civil, enlightened, not necessarily people who agree. the response we have had to this clip, which you can see more of on cnnmoney.com. we are getting responses on there that it felt more civil. that's the kind of conversation that so many americans are hungry for. we are going to try to replicate that as much as we can. clearly, that's going on across the country. real discussion. people wanting real information about health care, getting tired of seeing what they see as political bickering and yelling and screaming. they want to know what's in it for them, what it's going to cost them and how it is going to affect the quality of their health care and the options they have for health care provisions. >> one thing we are hearing all these reports. a lot of people still debate that. what's the sense that you are gathering from the people that you've already spoken with? >> well, we've been asking that sort of question as well, talking to people about how they are feeling about the economy.

we have had a few people, one restaurant owner saying, business is great. we had a real estate agent in tennessee saying he is signing more people to contracts to buy houses, more foot traffic. largely werks are still talking to people who are suffering in terms of the job market. their home values are so much lower than they were before the recession. to a lot of people, it's an academic discussion. they are happy a bunch of economists are saying they think the recession is ending. they don't disbelieve it. the roo he at will be when jobs and housing starts to come back. neither of those are being felt fully just yet, kyra. >> okay. we'll keep checking in with you. have fun, ali. getting word that the federal reserve has just issued it's late testify assessment on the state of the economy. deciding to show a key interest rate at a record low. stephanie elam at the new york stock exchange. the fed is saying, okay, we are going to keep it where it is? >> reporter: indeed, they are. that was widely expected that

the fed would go ahead and leave things as they have been since december. that's the last time they changed it, dropping it down to the range where we are now, near zero. it is starting to level out. those are the words they have used and that conditions in the financial markets have gun to show signs of improving in recent weeks. we have seen that with the dow being up about 1,000 points since june 24th, which is the last time that they met and had this decision day. obviously, while they point out that things are starting to look better, they are still saying it remains constrained as far as the stabilization. household spending not going back out there. that's not helping as much right now. they said that is weak. because of that, economic activity will remain weak for the for seeable future. no hint on when they will make any changes to the interest rate and start lifting it higher.

they did say they are going to start slowing down the purchase of treasuries as far as their plan to help out the economy. they are saying they are slowing that part of what they are doing down at this point. when they look at it over the extended time, they still think it is really important for them to not do anything with the rates and make sure that the economy can fully recover before they start making changes. this is in line, kyra, with what we have been seeing with the economic data coming out. we have seen median home prices up. new home sales have been higher. also, used homes are -- existing homes have also been on the up side. we have started to see that things are starting to get better here. they are echoing that here but not giving us idea of when they think everything will be back on their feet. that's important to point out after we have heard so much about, is the recession over? they are saying we still have work to do. job loss rs still high. >> some people have called detroit a food desert where it is easier to buy liquor than

lettuce. could urban farming be the answer? cnnmoney.com poppy harlow has the breakout. we have covered everything in detroit, the corruption in the detroit public schools, the fact it might have to file bankruptcy. you have been talking about all the foreclosures. now, all the major grocery stores gone? >> they are gone. it is an unbelievable thing that's happening. the big chains aren't making a lot of money in detroit, so they are pulling out. what are people going to do? you are talking about a city that is 140 square miles, huge. population has fallen from 2 million in the 1950s to 830,000. he have tons of abandon land. what do you do with it? more and more are talking about urban farming, these big community gardens where folks grow their own food. we spent time at this one, about two acres. they produce about 7,000 pounds of food a year. access to healthy, local food, that's a major issue in detroit.

as i said, no major chain grocery stores there anymore. take a listen to just how dire the situation is. >> detroit has a huge public health issue in terms of healthy food access affecting our communities in a lot of way, higher rates of diabetes and obesity and things like that. having healthy, fresh food access being more widespread in the city is important. >> it is really important. the recession is making things worse in detroit. this also services agencies. they are telling us they seen a big stik in the food stamp allocations. no surprise there. more and more people going to the food banks. they are having a hard time supplying enough. urban farming might be the answer. >> is it enough to feed the whole city? >> no, no way but it could help. there are positive signs. we want to bring you the positive stories as well. earthworks, other farms donating to soup kitchens. the kids we talk to, they take the food home and cook the

vegetables with the family for dinner and they are are learning at the same time. >> i have my own garden at home from what i learn here. >> once we had this and we made pancakes. >> kyra, it is interesting, they were telling us they preferred that over the fast food chains. they said, poppy, there is too much salt. you should only eat it once a year. i'm not kidding. great lessons they are learning. >> i am very impressed. i would rather them have the beet pancakes than the fast food, that's true. it is a great way to build your confidence and learn how to be innovative as well. thanks, poppy. if you are not feeling well right now, this news absolutely will turn your stomach. a study on just how much money is being wasted on health care. we are talking about a fortune that doesn't even need to be spent. new chevy equinox.

watch closely. the white specs are part of the immediate yor shower. it happens every year as the

earth orbit crosses path with the swiss tuttle. you can see it in the skies. an hour in the skies over the northern hemisphere. this year, twitter is playing a roll. they say they have sent so many tweets that they have displaced disney's hannah montana star, mily cyrus, as the top star on twitter. chad myers is following that for us as well. >> pretty cool stuff. >> the peek is going on right now. the only problem is, it's daylight in america. if you are watching cnn or cnn international from around the other side of the globe. you better look up. you might see something. it is still going to go on tonight. i want you to look to the northeast sky and look for percia. that will be where all of these

meteors emanate from. look to the northeast and see if you can see something. if you get away from the city lights, you might have a shot of seeing something. tropical depression probably will become anna. it was a little more organized earlier. it is forecast to become a 50, 60-mile-an-hour storm and then head out into the atlantic. there is the u.s. this is still days and days away. it may seem like days and days before you get out of the airports today, newark, boston, philadelphia, laguardia, jfk, i can go on and on. all you have to do is look at the sign above you and see how delayed your flight is, kyra. old enough to die for his country. an 18-year-old in the u.s. army now facing charges that he was a turn man in a paid hit on a mexican drug cartel member. ( car door closes ) ooooch! hot seat!

hot! hot! hot! time to check your air conditioning? come to meineke now and get a free ac system check. at meineke, you're always the driver.

a young soldier in the u.s. army, now accused of being the triggerman in the murder of a drug cartel member. cnn's ed lavandera. >> reporter: 18-year-old michael jackson apodaca still wearing his military uniform in handcuffs charged with capital murder. they say he fired the shots that killed this man three months ago outside his home in an upscale el paso neighborhood. the shooting victim was a mid-level member of the juarez drug cartel but also an informant for american federal agents. >> we do feel that this was retribution for the fact that the debt of the deceased person had pretty much gotten the person in trouble in juarez. he was arrested by the federal that is rights over there. consequently, this was the retribution for that arrest. >> according to court documents, apodaca was hired to carry out

the hit and paid but rubin rodriguez. they say he ordered it because they discovered the victim was talking to american authorities. >> i want to stress that this was a payback situation and not an jn ongoing battle like you s in mexico. >> reporter: according to officials at for the bliss and el paso, michael apodaca joined the army about a year ago working as a crew member that launches patriot missiles. his family says they don't believe the charges against him. >> he was in the top of his class. he talked to all his sergeants. he is a good soldier. now, before he went in, he was in with a bad crowd. >> once again, ed lavandera reporting to are us. one more time, we want to take you to our magic board.

it was a map that was put together by "the new york times." we want to keep going back to it, because it really puts into perspective how the mexican drug cartel has infiltrated the united states. if you look at this map, "the new york times" did a fabulous job of putting together -- see all these red dots from up in here to port an gel less, washington. eugene, oregon, idaho, all the way. big cities, middle-size cities, small cities. missouri, illinois, ohio, west virginia, north carolina. look at all these red dots. we are talking about marijuana, cocaine, meth am fed min and cocaine. just in 2007, the flow from mexico with regard to marijuana has remained high despite the recent crackdown. cartels are producing more marijuana here in the western united states than ever before. the same for cocaine. 90% of the cocaine entering the u.s. from south america comes

through mexico. also, methamphetamine and heroin. a huge production rise in mexico. that funneling in to the united states. take a look at this and see if your small town or your medium-sized town or even the big cities. you can find that obvious. you can look at this map on "the new york times" website and see where the drug car tells are active there across the u.s. quite a reception for the supreme court's newest member at a white house ceremony escorted by president obama. just as sonia sotomayor entered to a long-standing ovation. the president calling her an inspiration for future generations routed in generations past. >> her rise from humble beginnings to the height of achievement is yet another symbol of that faith, faith that the american dream still endures, faith that equal justice under the law is not just an inscription in march bell but an ideal of or

democracy. faith that in this great nation,all things are still possible for all people. >> it is this nation's faith in a more perfect union that allows a puerto rican girl from the bronx to stand here now. in just a few minutes, 16 amazing people will get america's highest civilian honor, they range from a preacher to afycy si fycy sift. they were selected for their relentless break of barriers and set a standard for which we all should strive for. rick sanchez will have live coverage from the white house as president obama awards those 16 medals of freedom. plenty of americans are happy

with their health care. there are those people faced with a system they just can't make work like the family that photo journalist tim hart found in california. >> i started as an agent in 1957 at the age of 23. i was an insurance agent for 35 years. i loved the business because it rewarded you for the effort. over the years of my career, i saw the coverage get more expensive but you got less. here is my tax return from 2002. our medical expense that year, a month, was $960. now, i go to 2007, the cost came out to $1,990 a month. that's almost $24,000 that year. because we could no longer afford that kind of cost, we did the unthinkable. we dropped our insurance. >> it is a little scary not to

go to the doctors when you think i should have this checked. >> we finally got her coverage. it was around $500 a month, not a very good plan. >> still, today, with changing my deductibles, the cost goes up and up. >> it took a huge chung of our income. >> we have cut back on most of all our expenses. we don't do the things we used to do. not knowing and not knowing you could lose everything if something happened, that's what was scary. >> i feel nervous and uneasy about that and i shouldn't. i shupt have to feel that way. >> we had planned so many years for our retirement and to be able to do things and travel and spend time with our grandchildren as an american citizen, i know i have a right to an education. if i get in trouble with the law, i have a right to an attorney. why don't i have a right to health insurance, affordable health insurance? there is something wrong with

that picture. >> more than half of our health care spending in the u.s. wasted, unneeded. we're talking more than $1 trillion, flushed away, how do we stop the bleeding, so to speak. 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. smart. so smart. ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care

as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on.

dog, cat, bunny or horse, a pet is a pet and in many cases a member of the family. just imagine the trauma if your pet disappeared and turned up butchered, sold for food. an incredibly disturbing report from cnn's john zarrella. >> reporter: the dirt road leads away from the ten-acre pasture where yvonne rodriguez last saw her horse alive. back in here, nobody would ever have seen them. at the end of a road next to a palm tree is where geronimo was found, what was left of him. rodriguez got the call from her dad. >> he said, don't come, because it's not very nice. >> geronimo had been slaughtered. >> not only was my horse stolen shall he was butchered. he was tied to a palm try.

>> so all these are blood stains here. >> yeah. from up here to down there, geronimo is the type of horse that, my goodness, if you had an apple in your hand, he was your best friend. >> the meat had been carved from his bones. >> reporter: this is part of his mane? >> yep, it is. >>. >> reporter: say it is port of a growing black market for horse meat in florida. he examines the remains of another slaughtered horse. >> i found a puncture wound under the chin. the horse bled out. probably took a while for the horse to die. in most cases than not, the horses are actually butchered alive. >> reporter: since the first of the year, 17 horses have been found butchered in miami-dade county. two more in broward county. police say they have seen cases of horses slaughtered for meat

in the past but nothing to this level. while police can't confirm a black market exists, they are pretty sure these horse killings were motivated by profit. >> it appears as though the offender's main goal was not the killing of the animal but that their main goal was whatever activity they were engaged in postmortem. >> it's illegal in the united states to buy or sell horse meat. a delicacy in some caribbean and latin-american nations. he says, it brings up to $40 a pound. buddy says, the buyers are paying a lot for meat that can make them sick. >> these animals and horses see veterinarians on a monthly basis. they are being pumped with all types of drugs, antibiotics, steroids, tranquilizers. >> reporter: the horse he examined had been led from its stall and killed a few feet away.

it's foe its foal in the next stall was left unharmed. this is part of the tarp they covered him with? >> yes and god help them when they find him. >> reporter: the illegal buying and selling of horse meat has gone on for years in south florida. no one has figured out why the sudden uptick. they call it south florida's dirt little secret. it is a secret no more. my next guest is helping investigate florida's dirty little see kred. this is very personal for him. this is his pet horse, freedom who actually was rescued from a slaughterhouse. he is taking ex kra precautions to protect him now. richard kudo joins me live from miami. what do you think is causing this uptick? >> it is not. the black market horse meat issue in south florida is alive

and well. this horse meat is being sold for anywhere from $7 up to $40 per pound. i and any one in america can go to their local grocery store and buy chicken or certain type of beef for a few bucs a pound. we believe it is culturally driven. >> i was reading that on average it would sell for $7 a pound but now as many as $40 a pound. so what has happened culturally that is driving this up? >> what that's telling me in the south florida spca, that the demand is increasing. whether the population is increasing that eat horse meat in the south florida area, i'm not sure. over the past year, since january 1st, there have been 19 horse slaughters. these are pets being stolen out

of their barns, walked a few blocks away and being slaughtered. at times they are being slaughtered in their stalls and pat yurs. >> explain to me the cultural aspects. i know it's a delicacy in france. are we talking about more french people moving to an area? i have read it is popular within the asia culture. is it a growing asian community? >> south florida is a melting pot. we have everyone from certain countries in europe, asia, south central america, some of the islands off the coast of florida, cuba, certain areas in the caribbean that are used to eating horse meat. it is in their culture, part of their everyday lives and country. >> correct me if i'm wrong. isn't there a belief that it actually cures ailments like makes chemotherapy not as painful? i've even read that some people believe it cures aids?

>> there are people with physical ailments that are eating this meat whether they think it will cure their blood disorder or help with chemotherapy from cancer or aids patients. there are people eating this meat for medical purposes, yes. >> it is heartbreaking to hear how these animals are really being tortured and for such a sad reason. i want to plug your website, helpthehorses.com. you are saying, anybody with information, jump on your website and let them know. >> they can go to our website. we have a reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest of these butchers. they can get further information and make a donation on our website, correct? >> got it. richard cuoto.

tired of the same old vacations. we know of one resort offering arch intense experience. the question is, can you survive the survivor package?

my health is important to me. i cannot be one of the 61 million americans who do not refill their prescriptions on time. readyfill at cvs pharmacy automatically refills my prescriptions and reminds me to pick them up. you mean, reminds me to pick them up. [ chuckles ] stop by your local cvs pharmacy to ask if readyfill is right for you,

and get a $25 coupon book. readyfill, only at cvs pharmacy. k toe y me ca tion (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.

a ritzy california resort has a special deal. they have created a new meaning to byob, b, as in beds. it is slashing prices and what other amenities that guests think they can do without. $19 will get you a room with a tent. >> it started kind of easy stuff, towels and sheets an pillows. a little savings and discount from there. more and more carried away. someone said, what about the air-conditioning and the water? we came down to, let's take

everything out, including the bed. >> if a bed is non-negotiable, you are in luck. the survivor package is kind of like an a la carte scenario. if you sleep late and don't need break fast, that's $199. no breakfast and no air conditions, $159. no food, a.c., no lights, $89. no lights. that sounds like fun. you should book your honeymoon now. rick sanchez standing right here. he is all excited about the good deal. >> my kind of deal. >> his kind of deal.

you all want to run your businesses more efficiently, so we've brought in a team of experts to help. one suggestion is to make your shipping more efficient with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. call or go online for a free supply and up to $160 in offers from authorized postage vendors. shipping's a hassle! weighing every box... actually, with flat rate boxes you don't need to weigh anything under 70 pounds. if it fits, it ships for a low flat rate. ok, but i ship all over the country. you can ship anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. ship international, too. yes, but i ship hundreds of things, in all sizes. great, because flat rate boxes come in four sizes. call now and we'll send a free supply, plus up to $160 in offers. when you're ready to ship, we'll even pick them up for free, no matter how many you have. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. call or go online now to get started.

a new study puts a dollar amount on the money we waste on health care each year. here is cnn's tom foreman. >> reporter: this study which price water house coop percent identifies what it calls three key areas of massive waste. the first is us. medical problems related to obesity, such as heart disease and high blood pressure cost our medical care system $200 billion

a year. problems related to smoking over here cost us $191 billion a year. if we just took better care of ourselves, this study suggestion we could save as much as a half trillion dollars that our government and we are currently spending on our problems. the second big area of waste is clinical problems. doctors and nurses sometimes prescribe the wrong medicine. they overmedicaid and patients use emergency rooms for problems like sore throats that should be handled by their regular doctors. the cost of that, more than $90 billion. in addition, this study found that sometimes doctors charge because they can make more money from it. sometimes they are so afraid of malpractice lawsuits, they order many tests and procedures to protect against accusations that they overlooked something. the cost of that, $210 billion a year. that's why sor