hello, everybody, from the c cnn center in atlanta. this is sunday morning. look at the park in downtown atlanta. it us august 16, and we do appreciate you being with us this morning. good morning, everybody. >> mornings are supposed to bright and early, not dark and early. it's also 6:00 a.m. in florida where they may have a few

troubles days. our reynolds wolf all over that. what we just witnessed here a few minutes ago. >> virginia senator jim web held a conference. really the headline is he secured the release of an american who was sentenced to seven years for violated municipal laws and other laws as he when to pro-democracy leader aung sung suu kyi's house. again, the american has been released and jim webb has secured his release. the president's going to be waking up in phoenix this morning. good morning, mr. president. he's talking about health care reform on a bit of a family vacation. he was in colorado. had a visit in yellowstone with the family. we'll talk more about that and he's going to be pushing back

home to d.c. >> a little bit of business and pleasure. let's get to our top stories. this is what happened overnight. a 7 magnitude quake off the coast of indonesia, sumatra, to be exact. there's no immediate tsunami warning and no word on damages and injuries. >> we've been keeping an eye on this in the past week. a lot of much needed foreign aid need in villages that has been cut off by mudslides. it triggered the worst weather disaster in some 50 years. storms blamed for killing at least 123 people, however, the numbers are expected to possibly go o up to at least 500. thousands of others have been displaced. they're in shelters right now. several countries, including the u.s. are offering to help. >> the governor of california urging everyone to evacuate.

this is called the lockheed fire. this is the largest fire. it's burned some 7,000 acres in the santa cruz mountains and forced nearly 3,000 people to evacuate. firefighters say it's about 30% contained, but today's temperature changes, that could pose new challenges. and the story we've been talking about this morning, american john yettaw free today in thailand. >> he was in a press conference about 30 minutes ago. there he is walking in. we thought, maybe, we might see mr. yettaw, but, of course, we've been talking he's not in the best of shape, best of health. he was being checked out by medical staff. but webb has secured the release of yettaw. webb is the first congressman to visit in myanmar in over a decade. he had been on a private visit

in 2001. he e had gone himself. this is him addressing reporters. listen to what he said just a short time ago. >> we are fortunate that the government honored my request to allow him to come back here to thailand with me. he was on the aircraft with me. he's not a well man. he had a medical emergency this morning. he's now undergoing a thorough medical review here in the hospital and soon he'll be able to return to his family. >> all right. so a lot more to come on that story. a lot more details to get. but, again, the headline is there. a lot of details you can get mixed up in. it was a confusing story at the time. it's a confusing story now. but the man is going to be coming home soon. apparently a pretty tough medical condition he's in

apparently. >> absolutely. like we said, we thought we were going to see him but he had a medical emergency arise. he's with doctor. we'll see when he does indeed arrive back in the u.s. no doubt his family is looking forward to seeing him. but a lot of people looking forward to what is happening weatherwise, especially if you have travel plans out there. we're talking about two tropical storms. >> ana and bill, they make a cute little couple. which do you want to start with? ana or bill? >> how about a microphone. >> ana, bill, and reynolds. that makes a bit of a trio. >> can you hear us? we'll get that worked out. let's move on to health care. congress is back home and getting an earful.

today you might compare the debates -- compare it to the grand canyon. both are rocky, huge divide. >> that's a good point. president obama has a visit planned for the grand canyon. our ed henry is following the president's trip. >> reporter: family time at yellowstone national park. the first family expressing joy at the sight of old faithful. but a sharply different emotion from the president at a health care event in colorado. for the first time he invoked last year's death of his own grandmother to conservatives like sarah palin who has accused him of you than asia. >> i just lost my grandmother. i know what it's like to watch somebody you love who's aging, deteriorating. so the notion that somehow i ran

for public office or members of congress are in this so that they can go around pulling the plug on grandma? i mean when you start making arguments like that, that's simply dishonest. >> reporter: the only really pointed exchange -- >> i'd love to have a debate, all out, any time, oxford-like. >> reporter: college student zack lane wondering if it's going to wipe out insurance companies. >> how in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with an entity that does not have to worry about making a profit, does not at have to pay local property taxeses, they're not subject to local regulations. how can a company compete with that? >> it's good to see a young person who's very engaged and confident challenging a president to an oxfordoxford-st

debate. i think this is good. this is goodell you know. i like that. you've got to have a little hutzpah. >> reporter: the president said the details are not final. >> ups and fedex are doing a lot better than the post office. >> reporter: in a sign of just how engaged the public is right now, lane told me he drove four hours to get here. he express ed disappointment th president did not have more details but was satisfied in one way. >> i found that the town halls were very genuine. that's something i was very happy with. i was afraid the people called on for questions were going to be plants. if he knew my question, he might not have wanted to call on me, but he called on me not knowing anything about me and that's one thing i do respect.

>> reporter: the first family's tour continues on sunday and therch he wraps his swing on monday before heading back to washington as his fight for health reform o reaches a critical stach. ed henry, cnn, colorado. >> fight for support for his health care reform. i wonder how much of an event you found last night in atlanta. not much. the heat, hot atlanta heat, couldn't keep health care opponents out of centennial park. >> speakers included dik ed di and radio talk show hosts but some of the people we talked to say this is more republicans versus democrats. >> it started with all the bailout money. it just balloons from there. they keep spending money, spending money, spending money.

it's going to come to an end. the best thing to do is to nip it right now and let's go back to the constitution, and let's think america first. >> reporter: so you say it started with the bailout money. so for you it's not partisan because it was introduced during the bush administration. >> it's not partisan. >> it's not partisan. i did not agree with george bush on it at all. >> that's what capitalism is all about. let's let the market -- let the free market take care of it. if we keep baling out and baling out and baling out, where does it end? it just keeps going on and on. >> okay. they're vent we said pretty civil. people let their minds be knownful no real back and forth. everyone in the crowd was like-minded. they were all on the same page. >> that's key if you don't want to have a contentious debate. but it hasn't gone so easy for many, especially democrats.

would it actually sway the health care debate at all? let's look at new poll numbers with cnn deputy director paul steinhauser. >> one question comes to mind off the bat. the average americans aren't going to the town halls. well, are they paying attention. >> take a look at the poll here. almost 7 to 10% of the americans are saying, yeah, they're paying very close attention to the town halls. only 18% say they're not watching them closely at all. only 13% says theyer not watching at all. i get the next question is are the protests at the town halls having an effect. >> you know, most of the protesters are against the president and democrats in congress against their health care proposals. so check out these numbers from the exact same poll that was con dugged this week and you can see

that 34% say that watching these protests make them a little more sympathetic to the protesters use, which are against the president's health care reform proposal. only one in five say that watching these protests make them less sympathetic toward the protesters and 36% say that the protests that the town halls are having are having no difference whatsoever when it comes to health care reform. the next question is are the town halls having an effect on the president's numbers. two polls were con dugged this week. both indicate, you know what, it seems the protests are not have that much on an effect. the president's overall approval rate aings are in the mid-50s. that's where they were when they started. on the health care reform, americans continue to be split. they were split before the town halls, and they seem to be split now. we're going to continue to monitor these polls and surveys as they come in this month, as you can assume, the town halls

continue and the protests. we'll be better able to gauge this month. that's where we assistant right now. betty, t.j.? yes, indeed it is our hurricane headquarters. so far no hurricane but they're getting close with the tropical storms, reynolds. >> absolutely. >> glad to hear you. >> no question. we've already been talking about ana and bill. what we might be seeing is claudette. take a look at this for a moment. here's the latest tropical depression. not number 1, 2, 3, but tropical depression number 4. you can notice a little bit of rotation on it west of tampa. if you happen to look off the coast, to your back you have the sun coming up on one side torque the west, skaerted showers. we're going to take a look at the storm pact. again, a depression for the time being, but as we look at this very carefully, on sunday it will be just to the south of

there, possibly coming onshore around midnight and moving to alabama. we have bill, we also have ana. you can see both the storms right there, to give you app idea where they will be heading, first and foremost we're going to see ana stay about the same, not expected to reach hurricane strength. as it duh so into monday, tuesday, wednesday, it's expected to weaken. as we go very quickly to our next storm, next storm, of course, will be bill. bill, expected to strengthen. going from a tropical storm to a tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday. winds -- by the time we get to friday, maximum winds, over 100 miles an hour. take a look at that cone of probability. there's a chance the storm could veer a little bit to the south, possibly a bit more to the north. there's a lot of unknowns right now. we're going to watch carefully. you're tuned in to the right

place. let's head back to these guys. >> you're the right guy. >> all right, reynolds. thanks. >> a lot of people have questions for fan tash ya. she disappeared. there was another question i had. you'll probably want the answer to as well. take a look. is it tougher to be up on the stage or stand up on the stage by yourself with a microphone looking at simon cowell. >> that's a good one. >> what would it be? >> i think it would be simon cowell. >> he can be brutal. >> right. >> you'll hear a lot more. my interview with fan tay shah. limb: dude that was sick!

i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off that windshield of yours. oh, what you're looking for an apology? well, toss another coin in the wishing well, pal. it's not happenin'. limb: hey, what's up, donnie? how you been? anncr: accidents are bad. anncr:but geico's good ding! with onsite windshield replacement. this is my verizon small business specialist, tom. now, i know the catering business but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah". woah ! only verizon wireless has small business specialists

in every store to help you do business better. you're like my secret ingredient. come in today and connect up to five devices on one 3g connection. now only $99.99 ♪ that's fantasia there, doing what she does best, singing on stage. never been a problem for her. she's been doing it since she was 4. it helped her win "american idol." i believe that was the third station. she's still singing on stage, however, she's mixing in a little acting on her songs. her first run started in '07, ended in early '08 after she missed over 50 performneances wh

no real explanation. she explains why she's ready to come back. >> i think the first week it was like, oh, my god, it ain't no joke. i think that, you know, doing it then, i had so much baggage of my own that it was hard for me. >> as we say now, you are back. everybody wondered where did you go. >> there was a lot going on. actually i had tumors, i had surgeries, and i was just tired. i didn't understand why i was so tired. i would go from "the color purple" to get ivs because i was dehydrated. that wasn't it. i had tumors. >> for fantasia, given tumors, they were in her throat.

her success has been solely based on her ability to sing. >> it was a trying time for me, i will say that, because after i had the surgery i couldn't speak for six weeks. so i'm like everything at the time was going wrong. i can't even speak, talk, work for six weeks. and i work because i have to pay my bills, and i have to take care of my whole family. >> are you fully recovered now? >> fully recovered. the only thing that i have to do is i have to get somebody to work with me because my talking, they say, is worse than my singing. i never heard that before. but i don't know. everybody's do you really talk like this? but the doctor says i talk in a voice different from my singing. >> while the speaking voice may need some work, the singing voice, judge for yourself. fantasia's health scare prompted her to get a backup plan, an

education. you want to go back and get your diploma. >> mm-hmm. >> how's it going? >> it's hard. it's been a long time. i jumped out of school in the ninth grade but i do it because i have an #-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old brother. i'm so hard on them about school. i'm so hard. i'm like this. watch your sister go. i'm getting my diploma, and i'm still cool that and to answer the question, she has to play before 2,500, 3,000 people every night on stage. "the color purple." is that worse than being in front of sigh mop? >> right. i said simon. >> she said no doubt because for her she's a singer. she can stand up in front of any crowd, anywhere, any tough krit irk, no problem, but she says she never looks out into the crowd, she never makes eye contact when performing "the color purple."

she never looks out there because it freaks her out. >> we're different because we have cameras out there. we would ham it up, wouldn't we? >> it would be like a town hall? and a contentious one. >> for more, you can go to our blog, cnn.com/tj. look at that. >> that's a lot better than the ones in the past. >> some of you are sending your comments on facebook and twitter. >> kudos to the graphics department. august could be the make-or-break month when it comes to health care. one of the questions we're asking is will college students get help. josh, good morning to you. >> one in five college students is uninsured. president obama says his plan will change that. will it, though? the truth squad has a verdict. t, plus a touch of garden greens

make it irresistible. indoor delights. feed the senses. hello? (woman) in here... well, this is new... i'm working on my digestive health. whatcha eatin'? yoplus. it's a yogurt for digestive health. it's delicious. here... blackberry pomegranate. honey, i can't find my hand. (announcer) yoplus has the special combination of... fiber plus... special cultures... plus the delicious taste of yoplait. so metlife removed the guesswork. cop,ining two essential insurances, term life and disability in one surprisingly affordable package.

strengthen your safety net and find out how affordable it can be at metlife.com.

all right. so we've been hearing a lot of promises about what health care reform will do for america. >> yeah. one of those things we've been hearing is uninsured college students will be helped. is that the case?

josh with us again this morning. good morning. >> good morning to you guys. i like the example. it gets at what we're doing. we're watching the town halls and the lawmakers, seeing what they're saying. this truth squad comes from you. take a look here. i'm going to show you the example. this is a question from david more miss. he says, i'd like to know for students under 25 and can't be on their parents' insurance, can they be covered? hecht's go to the graphic. i want to get straight to the facts. about 20% of college students in this country are uninsured. now, there are various reasons for that. it's not just age, but that's one reason. and in this economy you have more and more young people going back to school, and some of them can't because they'll lose insurance. this is a big issue for a lot of people. we looked into it. this is the first point we can make about president obama's plan. what he has put forward -- again, we don't know what will ultimately make it through congress, but his plan would

indeed help those who are too old for their parents' insurance. his plan would allow kids or young people, whatever you want to call those who are 26, 27, 28, would allow them to stay on their parents insurance as long as they are students. take a look at our truth squad. the verdict is true. keep the questions coming, because we're going to tackle them. check out all of the truth squads. it's the main page of our health care coverage. you click on the fact check area. it will bring you to a long list of all the fact checks we're doing. if you want to know more about the health care debate and how o they could affect you go to cnn.com/healthcare. this is going to be updated literally every day, sometimes over the weekend too. guys, we have gotten -- i was looking at the blog before. in one section alone, we're up to about 600 posts. people's biggest concerns about

health care, we're looking at them and we'll have more in coming days. >> that shows you people are concerned and there are a whole lot of questions out there and questions continue as this debate continues. protesters during the civil rightsary rah may soon get a clean slate. i'll talk about the mayor who's going to pardon those. >> and one woman who says her arrest is a badge of honor. vitamin d, and exercise,alc, i still got osteoporosis. i never thought i could do more than stop my bone loss. then my doctor told me i could, with once-monthly boniva. boniva works with your body to help stop and reverse bone loss. studies show, after one year on boniva, nine out of ten women stopped and reversed their bone loss. i know i did. (announcer) don't take boniva if you have low blood calcium, severe kidney disease or can't sit or stand for at least one hour. follow dosing instructions carefully. stop taking boniva and tell your doctor if you have difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain or severe or continuing heartburn,

as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems. if jaw problems or severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain develop, tell your doctor. i've got this one body, and this one life, so i wanted to stop my bone loss. but i did more. i reversed it with boniva. ask your doctor if boniva can help you stop losing, and start reversing. (announcer) for a free trial offer, call 1-800-4-boniva. in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz.

welcome to "cnn sunday morning." i'm t.j. holmes. >> good morning, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. u.s. senator jim webb just held a news conference about john yettaw, who's the american that webb helped free. here's senator webb and what he had to say in a news conference just a short time ago. >> it's something over which i have no control. there are a lot of -- prosecution, also some things i doan want to comment on right now. you know, it's better to --

better to hope than not to hope. >> all right. much more to come on that story and many more details to come. we'll continue to follow that here. a few other top stories we're working on. take a look at this. this is u.s. marines storming a fortified compound where insurgents have reportedly been spotted firing rockets. >> inside they say they found marijuana plants and parts to make roadside bombs. now, this predawn read is part of an offensive to regain the area. a fire killing 41 women and children. it happened in a tribal area west of the capitol. officials say it only took three minutes for the fire to consume the wedding tent. at least 76 others were injured and some of them seriously. now, the cause of it is still under investigation.

>> they're remembering those lost in typhoon morakomorakot. many families have been holding roadside memorials since saturday to honor the dead. thousands of villagers are also displaced because of mudslides and flooding. we turn to the president now. he'll be visiting the grand canyon a bit later today, and he's staying in arizona to start off the week. tomorrow he addresses the national convention for veterans of o foreign wars, vfw. that's tuesday. then he'll visit the egyptian president to the white house. then wednesday he'll have a ceremony for jimmy johnson, the 2008 sprint car champion for nascar, if you didn't know. and then the obama town hall health care tour stopped in grand junction last night. trying to calm a lot of fears with statements like this one. >> i just lost my grandmother last year. i know what it's like to watch

somebody you love aging, deteriorating, and have to struggle with that. so the notion that somehow i ran for public office or members of congress are in this so that they can go around pulling the plug on grandma? i mean when you start making arguments like that, that's simply dishonest. >> all right. well, let's get some honesty now from cnn's deputy director paul steinhauser. good morning to you, kind sir. good to see you. we've been talking about seeing all these town halls, and the tone of them stands out. what has been the tone of some of the president's own town halls? >> i guess they're a little more

civil than those we receive on tv with the lawmakers. maybe that's the secret service being in attendance. you also had air force one parked right outside. so there are some tough questions at these town halls. we saw the one yesterday. you saw in ed henry's piece from the college student. but mostly these are more supportive crowds for the president, t.j. >> you mentioned the college student. how a private company could compete with the government. the government not trying to make a profit necessarily. the president's theme suggesting, hey, we don't mow if that's going to be in there but that was a cornerstone of his plan. does the president seem like he's willing to give on some aspects of the plan that he did want? >> that is a good point. ed henry made that point as well last night when he was watching the event. yeah, the president said that maybe, maybe not 100% sure that a public option will be in there. of course, many on the left want

the public option. many republicans are dead set against the public option. that's a sticking point. the president maybe, maybe signaling yesterday that public option may not be in there. the other thing you've seen the president do the last couple of weeks is focus on more of the vast majority of the public who has insurance and likes their insurance. now he's calling this health insurance reform. earlier in the process when it started, he was talking about insuring the 46 million who don't have it. that's still part of the plan, but maybe not emphasizing that as much as he was. >> he had a question about that. a guy got up and said when did you decide to turn this debate as an attack on the insurance companies. one more question before you go. there was a debate about who these people were this the town halls. he wasn't getting tough questions. of coursing like you said, secret service is around. a guy standing there with a machine gun and an ear piece, you might not be as nazty as you

would a local congressman. who are the people in the crowds? are they being hand picked? >> no, they're not being hand picked. tuesday and yesterday, those tickets were given away via the white house website. you can go to their website or call a number and ask for tickets and you'd be in a lottery. they weren't hand slikted. the ones in montana on friday night, they were given away in montana in the local area, so they don't select only supporters of the president, and if you're an opponent of the president, we've seen a couple of them who don't agree with his plans on health care reform, you can get into these forums as well. >> don't think you can get in his face. paul steinhauser, we'll see you again. with the president going to yellowstone and the grand con on, our national park are in the spotlight but they need a face lift.

here's how stimulus money is helping out. education is more important than others but at some black colleges the money crunch can put dreams of higher education in jeopardy. mbers. but how close are you to your goals? there may be more you can do. only caduet combines two proven medicines... in a single pill to significantly lower... high blood pressure and high cholesterol. in a clinical study of patients... with slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, caduet helped 48% reach both goals in just 4 weeks. caduet is one of many treatment options, in addition to diet and exercise... that you can discuss with your doctor. caduet is not for everyone. it's not for people with liver problems... and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. to check for liver problems, you need simple blood tests. tell your doctor about any heart problems... and all other medications you are taking... or if you experience muscle pain or weakness, as they may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. how close are you to where you want to be?

ask your doctor if caduet can help you go... for both your goals. this is my verizon small business specialist, tom. now, i know the catering business but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah". woah ! only verizon wireless has small business specialists in every store to help you do business better. you're like my secret ingredient.

come in today and connect up to five devices on one 3g connection. now only $99.99 well, stranded villagers in taiwan are getting some much needed foreign aid. several countries including united states have offered taiwan help, and some of it already arriving by helicopter. cnn international correspondent john joins us live with the

latest from the ground. hey, there, john. >> reporter: you know, i sat down a little earlier today with the president and i asked him straight out how does he respond to all that criticism we've been hearing from so many people here they're essentially his government -- the response simply was too late and too little. >> i will take full responsibility. after all, i'm the president of this country. >> reporter: now, in recent days the president has been touring the region. he's been apologizing to people. as far as we know, this is the first time he takes responsibility. i asked him what does that actually mean. he says it's now his responsibility to investigate what went wrong, to find out where there were mistakes and to fix those mistakes because there

are other typhoons coming in the coming months. he also said he'll find the official whose basically screwed it up and they will be punished. now, despite all of this, president ma remains deeply disliked. he opened a baseball game. they were booing and heckling him. he doesn't plan to step down. he was still defending the rescue operation. one of the biggest effect us was the weather. the helicopters were grounded for the first four days. he says now that the weather has been mostly cleared, almost 8,000 people have been flown to safety and that's the biggest air lift in taiwan's history. also good news to report. the usa has reported to at least part of it. 15,000 pounds of plastic sheeting and they're expecting helicopters soon as well. the plastic sheeting would be

useful. they would use it to make temporary accommodations. about 7,000 people are looking for some place to live. president ma says in the next couple of months they'll get into the prefab homes and that's where they'll live most likely for the next year or so. >> john vause joining us live from taiwan. john vause works hard. if he gets our names confused. >> i do look a little bit like tony, don't i? >> that's a scary thought. the recession squeeze. some college students right out of the classroom. we have today's "money & main street. >> reporter: this sophomore found a perfect fit at college. >> this place was meant for me. >> reporter: but when the tough

economy hit her and her family hard, she packed her bags ready to drop out. >> i wasn't able to get loans. neither were my parents. >> reporter: it's a familiar story at colleges across the country, especiallily at historically black colleges and universities where in some cases 75% of the students rely on financial aid to fund their education. president obama has moved to increase the financial aid with stimulus and bublt funds but still black colleges expect enrollment rates to keep shrinking as families and students struggle in the economic downturn. >> many students want to come. will they be able to come. >> reporter: since 2004 money was ear marked for historically black colleges and in those years those institutions also benefitted from an extra $85 million each year under the college cost reduction act which ends in may of 2010. so those institutions may feel the squeeze even more.

>> you're underresourced. we try to keep our costs as low as possible. that means our margins are always very tight. >> reporter: in the atlanta area alone morehouse college laid off 30 adjunct profferses. clark atlanta university's budget axe fell with staff members let go. president obama's budget calls for a 5% increase in permanent funding for black colleges. >> we say you're moving in the right direction but unfortunately in these tough times not soon enough. >> for zakia williams, help came at the last minute. sandra endo, cnn, atlanta. >> you can catch a new "money & main street" this thursday morning on "america morning" starting at 6:00 a.m. eastern.

i would say convenience is something that the bank of america really has the market cornered on. let me make it easier for you. let me show you how i can make it easier for you. we have the number one rated online banking website. it has an alert system that can text message you, so you're mobile banking, your bank's telling you what your current balance is. it's telling you if a certain check is cleared. customers that use the internet, use online banking. it all kind of falls in with what you're doing, and it's free. you can pay all your bills online, customers can save tons of time. we have great new image atms. it will give you a receipt which has a copy of the check you deposited. deposit cash, any denomination you don't even have to count the cash, just put it in there. let it do the work for you. and they can have those deposits posted to their account the same business day up until 8 o'clock. you're in control of your finances. now when you talk about convenience, you measure us up to everyone else.

well, you'll see we stand ahead of the curve. if your kids can go onward and upward, no matter what. if you get side-lined from work. insuring your family's ifs can be hard to figure out. so metlife removed the guesswork, by combining the most essential insurances, term life and disability, in one surprisingly affordable package. creating a personal safety net that's bursting with guarantees for the if in life. find out how much insurance you need and how affordable it can be at metlife.com

a little ccr for you in the morning. >> yeah. coffee and ccr. rock 'n' roll. we're playing this because just yesterday was the 40th anniversary of woodstock. none of us were obviously there. i don't think we were alive. >> reynolds you were just a little tyke. >> wi i was around in the '70s. >> i was around in a way. let's not go through that. >> let's not get technical. >> that was one of many events we had around the nation. we had a lot of cool things. let's start in seattle. we had the hempfest, one of the largest marijuana festivals. a convection in woodstock.

we had the 40th anniversary. i'm sure you might have been able to partake in some of the goodies in seattle at woodstock. then at the international gift fare you could have cheetos and have your drug test at the american chemical society meeting which happened to be 10,000 scientists expected. you know that was a great time. you see, i -- >> i love how you're wrapping this together. >> and, of course, there's the yo-yo competition. >> probably one of the coolest things we had, the oldest running festivals, the chicago air and water show. take a look at this. just a spectacular thing to see. over 2 million people who make their way to the lakeshore. you see them out there, braving the shore, hearing the sound, seeing the crafts. people going up and down as you see there and of course on the lake below. just an amazing spectacle. you never get tired of watching

that stuff. >> absolutely. we want to get back to woodstock because we have i-reports from people who remember it very well. >> leonard, we got one from this guy in new york. he said he was at woodstock when hendrix played and these are his photo os. he said he went there specifically to see hendrix. the weather was bad and had already left, but those who stayed got to see a legendary show. most famous performance. i found out -- i don't know if you guys knew, he actually played at 9:00 in the morning the next day. the festival was supposed to g three days. it went four. he was the closinging at at 9:00 a.m. that's a heck of a party that ends at 9:00 a.m. >> how about leonard making it just in time. he wasn't going to be there until that morning. he was running late. there you go. you've got hendrix on stage. what a performance. >> we appreciate that. you go to some of those events

with scientists. you say the weather conventions. >> that's right. meteorological stuff. we party hard. we try. >> not on the level of woodstock, of course. >> not a chance. >> thank you, reynolds. >> we're keeping an eye on stories, new developments overnight. that's a big story there. that's senator jim webb that you're looking at. the american being held in myanm myanmar, he's on his way home because of webb. the american was released. ♪ bicycle,

what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® works fast, 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.

that is sir paul mccartney playing last night right here in atlanta, georgia, at piedmont park. in fact, that song is what he started the concert off with. and get this. some 40,000 fans were in attendance. we're getting these pictures kur tell cy of our affiliate wxia. let me tell you, piedmont park was just buzzing but it rained a little bit. >> of the 40,000 you were among them. >> yes, i was out there. i don't have paul mccartney on my ipod but he was jamming. he was rocking out. >> raining? >> yeah. it started out all night, which is kind of odd for atlanta, but midway through, it started pouring. >> a fund raidser, did i hear that right? >> yeah.

it was all about being green. they invited people to come on down, but don't drive. take the public rail system. really trying to lower that carbon footprint. >> well, all right, then. that's why you're a little blurry-eyed this morning? >> little tired. we're going to move on. this week the president is putting spotlight on the national parks. >> yeah, the stimulus package earmarks $750 million to the national parks. we asked kate baldwin. show's taking a look at roy's happening to all that money. >> reporter: from shenandoah to the grand canyon, america's national treasures in need of some serious repair? >> as you come around the back of the cabin, you'll see that the siding is all rot add along the ground which means dirt has come in here. >> reporter: rocky schroeder is a park ranger about 30 miles

outside of washington where more than a dozen historic cabins are slated for repair, one of 250 national parks getting spruced up, thanks to the economic stimulus. >> the stimulus will help keep our visitors here, keep them happy, keep them coming back. >> reporter: the park service estimates national parks across the country face a $9 billion backlog of work. it's supposed to contribute $750 million of that. so far about 10% is in the pipeline. >> it's campgrounds, campsites, ampy theaters for evening programs, the bathrooms. it's literally everything we have to make our visits enjoyable. >> reporter: nearly $56 million is going to repair washington landmarks. more than $14.5 million to mesa national park and nearlily $11 million to the grand canyon to name a few. but when it comes to this money, you have to ask -- >> reporter: how is money for a national park a stimulus? >> it is stimulus because a we

are putting people to work. we'll be putting people to work for the next two years. but it's also stimulus because we're creating a better place, increasing the visitor experience. >> reporter: some republican lawmakers aren't buying it. >> clearly we need to improve our national parks but nobody should confuse that with economic stimulus. i mean frankly that's just false advertising. >> reporter: the interior department estimates this stimulus will create about 8,000 jobs over two years. many will be temporary jobs but this park ranger is confident it's a worthwhile investment. >> reporter: the national parks are our past, our history. preserve that. that's where we've come from. it h give us an idea of where we're going. >> reporter: here at this virginia park they're hoping to start putting hammer to nail next month and park officials say they've had overwhelming interest for projects like this. they need to hire about six additional people. they've received nearly 200 applications.

kate baldwin, cnn, prince william forest park. >> we'll have a look at our top stories in a few minutes.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com > hello, everybody. welcome on welcome on this sunday morning. it is august 16. good morning. i'm betty nguyen. >> good morning. i'm t.j. holmes. we're in atlanta. it's 6:00 p.m. in bangkok where we've got some developing news coming out of there. that's where u.s. senator jim webb is, and he made an announcement a short time ago,

but had a press conference talking about the american john yettaw that he helped get released from a prison in myanmar. the man had been sentenced to seven years. a lot of ins and outs. a lot of it having to do with going to an illegal visit to aung sung susuekyi. >> we want to tell you about this. a 7 earthquake has struck. we're going to get the latest on any possible damages or injuries because of this. and pardons are being offered to those who marched those protesters in the civil rights protests back in the '50s and '60s, specifically in balm. pardons being offered. the mayor offering pardons. a lot of people don't want them. we're going to have the mayor from alabama live with us for a

few minutes and aless a woman who says keep the pardon. the stories we're following. about 2,000 firefighters on the scene of this fire you're looking at. it's in the santa cruz mountains. it's one of 11 wildfires in california right now. the lockheed fire has burned nearly 7,000 acres since saturday and forced nearly 3,000 people to evacuate. it's now about 30% contained. tomorrow's commute in san francisco could be a real mess. workers for the commuter system have threatened to go on strike tomorrow. the unionized workers say it adds up to 57% bay pay cut. negotiations between the rail system and the workers, they are resumed today. protests continue in iran. today the supreme leader appointed that guy you're seeing right there on the right. that's the new judiciary team. he's a brother of iran's powerful parliamentarian speaker. this is important because that

means the brothers are now in control of two of the three branches. turning to some health care now. overhauling health care, hosting a middle east ally and getting ready for a martha's vineyard vacation. all of this part of a busy week for the president. paul steinhauser could use a vacation ourselves. he's a friend of our show on saturday and sunday morning. hello to you again, paul. health care reform. are we going to see anything take that away from the top stories and the headlines in the next coming days and weeks? >> probably not, at least when it comes to domestic news. remember there are three weeks left in the congressional recess. so they're gonlt to continue to hold the town halls. i've got five on our list that we're going to be covering torp. not just the ones with protests. we're covering the good, bad, the ugly. we're have our photo journalistists and others out to

as many as we can. >> middle east peace, all right, in the middle of all this is going to get back on the front burner at some point this week. explain why. >> you've got it. the president will be here on tuesday. the two met back -- last met back in june when the president was in cairo, egypt, and he gave the speech to the muslim world. he's had the prime minister back at the white house back in may. yes, on tuesday when the egypt president is at the white house, middle east peace is going to be on top of the agenda. >> he's going to be hitting the national parkings, grand canyon, yellowstone. then another part of his vacation. this suspect walking through and looking at pictures. this is a place you and i don't usually get to hang out, paul. >> martha's vineyard. a week from today. we expect the president to take a week off with the family up in martha's vineyard.

we remember president george w. bush often went to the ranch in crawford. this brings back memories of the clinton administration. back in the '90s, bill clinton often vacationed in martha's vineyard. we think michelle and the grills will head out there a little earlier. >> all right. paul steinhauser, when will you get a vacation in? >> maybe the following week. well, paul may want to let reynolds know where he's going to make sure there's no severe weather. so far we're talking two tropical storms. one may turn into a hurricanesome. >> one may definitely turn into a hurricane but we may have an additional named storm. we've got ana, bill, and claudette would be the next one. two's company, three's a crowd. >> especially when you're trying to take a vacation down there. >> we're also dealing with a 7.0

quake that struck sumatra this morning. no warning was issued which is great new and there's no early reports of damage or injurieses. so this is all good coming out of that part of the world. however, again, as we make our way back, the sun is coming up. things are looking great. the tropics are getting busy. skies are kind of hazy for the time being, but in the coming days we could be dealing with quite a bit more. talking about clouds, talking about heavy rainfall, even some flash flooding. it's all part of the tropical season. let's come back to that in a moment. what we're going to do is show you the first storm, kind of a surprise to us. we woke thup morning with a few scattered showers. they're near tampa. this is tropical depression number 4. later on we're expecting it to make its way a bit new york. if it does so, there's a chance that the storm as it surges and makes its way north toward alabama over the next 24 to 48 hours could be storm claudette. all it has to do is have winds

at 35 miles an hour or higher to be named a tropical storm. first and foremost, we've got ana. this is bill, much better formed. now what we're going to be seeing with both of these storms is movement going off to the west and veering off to the northwest a little bit. first and foremost with ana, it has winds of 40 miles an hour gusting to 50 miles an hour. so far, okay. winds by 2:00 tomorrow. as we move into wednesday it's expected to weaken as it crosses over land. as of right now it looks like that's going to be the game plan. certainly not good news for island and haiti. very quickly, we do expect the storm to strengthen to a category 1 and then 2. by thursday. thursday into friday, winds going up to 115 miles per hour, a category 3 storm friday.

we're talking a major hurricane and certainly one we have to watch very carefully. this time of year is when we get busy. we've got a lot more weather to talk about and keep you up to speed on what's happening on the home front. that's all moments away. let's send it back to the news desk that a lot going on there. thanks so much. american john yettaw, he has been freed, in fact, he's in thailand right now. he arrived a little while ago with senator jim webb. jim webb negotiated his release from myanmar yesterday. he was sentenced to seven years before that release and webb is the first congressman to visit myanmar in over a decade, so he addressed reporters that morning at the bangkok airport and let's get you to latest on what he had to say. dan rivers joins us live from bangkok. were you able to learn at all through the news conference how he wu able to secure the release of john yettaw? >> reporter: well, senator webb is being a little circumspect,

betty, because he says he's going to report back to secretary of state hillary clinton first, but clearly, i think the reason they were so keen to allow him in and allow him such incredible access is he has long been a critic of the bush administration's policy of sanctions against this regime of isolation, of punishment. and what he laid out in his press conference was basically it's time for a change. hillary clinton has already announced there's a review of policy going on. it's time we engaged this regime and traded with them and perhaps improve the lives of those living there. that's the philosophical reasoning. that's the reason they gave him access and that's the reason they allowed him to bring home john yettaw. >> i find it interesting he said he ee going to report back to secretary of state clinton first because this was not an official state visit, right? >> that's correct.

he was there as a senator, independent. it's clear he said he'd been having in-depth consultation talks with her for some time now, and clearly i think there is a sub text to all this, which is there is a review of the current policy going on. she's announced that. he's gone in there independently. the united states doesn't even have an ambassador in myanmar, so it's difficult diplomatically to play this. this is one way. rather in a similar way senator clinton went in north korea to free the two journalists. he's gone in to free him. also there's a wide agenda running as well as to what should happen to aung sung suu kyi and what should happen economically and politically in this country. >> and senator webb has asked for the release of aung sung suu kyi. very quickly, dan, i want to ask you. do you think the health

condition of john yettaw was a big factor in myanmar releasing him? >> i think that was a factor. i think he was being used basically as a political pawn in this game of sort of diplomatic chess, if you like. but they have decided to release him in the hopes that perhaps this results in some relaxing of sanctions, some further engagements. clearly he's an ill man. senator webb said he even had a medical episode just this morning as he was being given his orders of release. so he's been taken to a hospital to be checked out, and we understand he'll be put oen a plane very shortly, perhaps even within a few hours. >> all right. dan rivers joining us from bangkok, thailand, this morning. thank you. some arrested during the civil rights movement will have a chance. won woman said her arrest is a badge of honor, keep your pardon. and what to do, democrats

and republicans, when it comes to health care. we're going to look at exactly where they stand. shopping online can help save. doing it with bank of america can help save a lot more. up to 20% cash back from over 300 online retailers with our add it up program. just sign up and use your bank of america debit or credit card when you shop online. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier.

if your kids can go onward and upward, no matter what. if you get side-lined from work. insuring your family's ifs can be hard to figure out. so metlife removed the guesswork, by combining the most essential insurances, term life and disability, in one surprisingly affordable package. creating a personal safety net that's bursting with guarantees for the if in life. find out how much insurance you need and how affordable it can be at metlife.com

♪ all the way from the town well, they braved police dogs, they braved the water coming from fire hoses at such velocity it stripped their clothes off and yet the protests went on. now some 46 years after the fact alabama's mayor offering

non-violent demonstrators of the '60s civil rights movement a pardon. take a listen. >> this city is what it is because a wrong was committed, and we are now writing it. >> now 60 years oil. there she is. joining us from texas this morning. at the age of 14 she was arrested and detained for a week at a fairground for marching without a permit and also joining us this morning larry langford offering some of the pardons. we want to say in full discloser what's going on. mayor langford as many people covering you're facing a federal indictment right now, facing a trial later this month. we're not here to talk about that. if you want to make a comment on the back end, maybe we can talk about that but we're here to talk about the pardons. here we are 46 years after the fact, mayor. why now? i guess what is the point of pardoning these people and some

of these records at this point? >> well, i really wish i could take credit for the idea, but i received a phone call from a reporter with the associated press several days ago asking if the city of alabama had pardoned people, and i checked and they had not. if the united states of america can apologize for slavery, pay reparation for our japanese-american sit zins for the detainees of world war ii, certainly the mayier of birmingham can pardon these people of the civil rights movement and say straight out that a fight for human decency was not a crime. well, a pardon is one thing. an apology is another. a pardon is forgiving someone for something they did wrong. now do you want a pardon? >> well, that's exactly why i for one and several others have

sa i have had an opportunity to speak with, especially a 92-year-old man, no, we do not want a pardon. i don't want one. to say give me a per don or for me to take a per don it would say that we e as children and others, that we had done something wrong. we did no wrong. now the pardon should go to those that wronged us. but everything that we did was right, fighting for fleedom and going to jail to be able to participate and go to places like others. >> now, mr. mayor on that point she just made, and pardon me there, ms. appling, on the point she made you're offering a pardon to people saying you did something wrong, we're going to forgive you for it, versus just saying i'm sorry, versus the city making a proclamation and saying i'm sorry. to you see the difference there? >> i saw the difference when we started, let's be very clear about this.

the pardon is more for the city than it is for the people who participated. >> what does that mean? >> you know, sometimes words are a very powerful thing. sometimes you have to say i'm sorry for the injured party to know that what they did was not wrong and for the party that did the injuring to say, listen, i wu wrong to have dub it. >> a couple of people have been supportive of the move. reverend joseph larowry. he said the people, whatty did is a good thing. it vindicates the people who went to jail and says that what they did was a good thing. it shows that the city has grown to recognize the jail-ins as spirlual acts, not criminaling ats. he also says he believes this is maybe a political stunt and has political motives behind it. do you find anything political behind it or do you think

there's an ulterior motive, miss webb-apling? >> what i think is the mayor put the gesture, but everything to a large degree is very political. but as it was in 1963. we cannot allow the political aspect to destroy what we did in 1963 as one individual and so many others, we would not allow it. we went to jail for the right -- not just the right of those in birmingham, but birmingham's movement rocked this whole world, and the whole world recognized that. and for us to say, well, we accept a pardon, it would be like a soldier saying, well, let me give back my purple heart. we can't do that. i refuse to do it. we used to sing a song, we ain't going to let nobody turn us around, and i can't allow anyone to have me to say, well, please forgive me for what i did right.

i cannot and i shall not say that. >> well, mr. mayor, i know you have certainly heard some of the criticism before. you knew some of this was happening. a lot of people take your word that it's a good gesture. i want people to hear a good thing. you've got a question about it being a pmt r. stunt. i want to play what your response was when you got this question. let's take a lesson. >> so many people who are happy being unhappy, so tell them i say -- >> mr. mayor, i'm sure you remember that there. explain that to me and certainly follow up here with some of the criticism you've been hearing that maybe this is kind of a stunt -- >> it wasn't a criticism that i heard. what you just played was an after-the-interview statement about a totally different subject, tlanld are people who are happy being unhappy. as to your previous statement, some people say it

was a political ploy. was it a political ploy when they washed the children down and put dog on them? we can take something good and turn it negative any time we get good and ready. the fact of the matter is i, too, was a child of that era. this is an opportunity for the city to say, you know, the city was wrong, and if the person wants to pardon, it's a blanket pardon and not only are we giving them the pardon but we're going to remit the fines back to the individuals. 99.9% of the individuals don't want the pardon, don't want it expunched from their records but the fact of the mat ser if the nation can apologize, certainly birmingham can. >> very good point. mr. mayor, i want to wrap this up. the people, they don't have to accept the pardon, is that right? that's exactly right. >> i wanted to make sure. ms. webb-appling. i appreciate you being here this morning.

mr. mayor, i appreciate that as well. like miss webb said. >> this could be a make or break-month when it comes to health care and one of the questions we're asking is will uninsured college students actually get some help? josh levs is doing some digging and trying to come up with answers. what have you found? >> we've been taking a look at that this morning. it's one of the fact checks we've got going on on cnn.com/healthcare. one thing i want to point out, there are some key websites that you can go to any time to get the facts and make sure you're not getting the fix. gecko vo: look, geico's been around over 70 years.

and that takes a lot of hard work. not just some cute little gecko waffling on about this, 'n' that. gecko vo: i mean, i am easy on the eyes - but don't let that take away from how geico's always there for you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people. ♪ bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®.

my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® works fast,

we've got new video coming in to cnn. take a look right there. that's john yettaw. he is also the man that was sentenced to seven years in a myanmar prison after traveling over there and illegally swimming to pro-democracy leader aung sung suu kyi's home and stayed there for about two days. senator jim webb has secured the

release of john yettaw. we're told he underwent a medical condition this morning and had to be treated for that. but it is well known that yettaw has been in ill condition during the trial in mean ma'am. he, in fact, had several epileptic seizures, and that's what's been reported. so it's a big question as to whether his health condition is a main factor and why myanmar decided to release him to virginia senator jim webb. again, we want to make sure that it is known that this wu not an official state department visit on the part of senator jim webb, although it's the first time someone of that position has visited myanmar in over a decade. there we are getting a look at john yettaw, the 53-year-old american who has just been released from myanmar. still ahead, what's worse than having your home foreclosed? how about facing fines for it and possibly going to jail? we'll explain what happens when a bank never followed through on

their foreclosure paperwork. you may hear a push for prot obama's health care plan rather than a sermon. faith-based leader all over the country are getting involved in the health care debate. health care in the pulpit. that's coming up in our "faces of hour. uces an entirely new way to celebrate any moment. fancy feast appetizers. simple high quality ingredients like wild alaskan salmon, white meat chicken, or seabass and shrimp in a delicate broth, prepared without by-products or fillers. new fancy feast appetizers. celebrate the moment.

- hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would you guys like? hamburger helper. what?! one pound... one pan... one tasty meal!

this is my verizon small business specialist, tom. now, i know the catering business but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah". woah ! only verizon wireless has small business specialists in every store to help you do business better. you're like my secret ingredient. come in today and connect up to five devices on one 3g connection. now only $99.99 so metlife removed the guesswork. cop,ining two essential insurances, term life and disability in one surprisingly affordable package. strengthen your safety net and find out how affordable it can be at metlife.com. good morning. welcome to "house calls." i'm dr.