watch, it's difficult to put an exact number on the exact killed. the indication is in the hundreds. thank you for joining us. cnn "newsroom" continues with tony harris. good morning, everyone. it's monday morning, the 17th of august. all quiet and then boom. great for you at the supermarket but these are sour days at the dairy farm. a disturbing report from a human rights watch group. good morning, everyone. i'm tony harris and you are in the cnn "newsroom." okay. here comes the storms. one storm will make landfall overnight and two more on the

ho horizon. we have not seen this kind of event since 1984. claudette could bring much-needed rain and make landfall towards the beach with 50 mile-an-hour winds. the tropical storm downgraded towards a depression. parts of alabama and the panhandle in mississippi could be getting as much as four inches today and tomorrow. some of the areas suffering through drought. so all of this rain is not necessarily a bad thing. reynold's wolf is here with us. reynolds a lot to get at here. we certainly want to talk about claudette but let's get started with bill, because as you were mentioning, this has a potential to be pretty serious? >> that's the national service at the category 3 or higher. what's interesting is that it's the strongest storm in the atlantic basin. let's take the south over here

and show everybody at home. it's kind of hard to miss this. take a look at it. we're going to have it on the screen for you. currently winds of 90 miles an hour. winds, again, gusting a little bit stronger, as you can imagine, 115 miles per hour. a couple of things in favor of the storms to form. if you look at it and slice it, in the top upper right, the left-hand quadrant, it's very well formed and very little to rip the storm apart in terms of upper level winds. and then in the 80s, the sea surface temperature also help it to get like rocket fuel. the big concern is where, is this thing headed? the latest path, you'll notice the storm will make its way to the west and more of a northwesterly projectory. to give you your bearings here, this is the island of bermuda here and the eastern seaboard. it does appear, at least according to this forecast, this storm will pass right between those two markers.

but, remember, i can't say this enough. this is not a kind of thing that moves from point to point. this is a wobbling system. this is a rotating storm on a spinning planet. there's a lot that could happen out there in terms of the water temperatures. stronger winds up ahead. winds are going from 120 to 125 and then back to 120. it's very hard for the storms to maintain that kind of strength for very long. we're going to see a lot of changes no doubt over the days to come. what's interesting is where it's going to head. towards haiti, through the higher elevations, it's going to cause a storm that draws quite a bit of rain. over a foot of rain is possible. the big concern is what will happen when the storm pops out into the gulf of mexico, possibly popping out into the

gulf of mexico as we get into thursday. it does make it, it goes through all of these loops and back into the gulf, it's going to move back into an area where you have very warm waters and minimal sheer. it's something that we need to watch very carefully. that's between now, tomorrow, and the next couple of days. california wildfires are working over time at both ends of the state. they are making progress around the santa cruz city of bonnie doon. it's now 50% contained. officials are allowing hundreds of people to return home. the danger is still very real.

it's now about 64% contained. the obama administration here's what the president said at a town hall meeting over the weekend. >> the public option, whether we have it or don't have it. is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it, one aspect of t and, by the way, it's both the right and the left that have become so fixated on this that they forget everything else. >> talk about significance of the president's comments and the apparent retreat from the

public. joining us from phoenix, ed, you know, this is not the first time we've heard the suggestion from the president that he is opened to options on the pun lick plan. what is different this time around? >> you're right. for months we were at least weeks, a couple of months we've heard the president sort of indicating, well, maybe co-ops would be a good idea. but, again, never really spoken out loud until that town hall. your ears kind of perk up when he says it out loud if there's not a public option, and is this in or out? she said something to the effect of, this is not the essential element of the plan. you now hear the health reform

without the government-run option because you can't cover too many of the uninsured without having to, in other words f. their words, keeping the insurance company honest. now, this has mostly been a democrat versus republican fight charged with socialized government and yes, no, back and forth. now it may be a democrat versus democrat fight. and the big question is, does this split to the democratic party and does the president, if it goes in this direction, it's indicating that it may go there. does he convince liberals in its own party? and no bill at all just because of the public option. >> and i'm wondering what your thoughts are -- give us a bit of an analysis on what you think we have prompted this. is it the tough some of the

reactions from the reaction from the town hall meet sngs. >> mostly it's the senate. the negotiation of the senate financing committee. ken ron rad a. very powerful democrat on that committee, people -- the key is, and or someone like can't support the public option. they are sending the smoke signals to bring ben nelson in because right now it's solved. >> yeah. and let me try one moral on you, ed. there's no question i can ask that you can't answer. but the other option as being

floated here from senator conrad is this idea of health co-ops. i'm wondering if we may come back to take a really close look alt the co-op. it's not been the real serious one on the table. and kent conrad has been the one pushing it, saying, this is working with credit unions and the like and then maybe this could work with health care. but it's never really been tried with something you have this scope because dealing with credit unions is one thing. one-sixth of the health care system is a whole other matter. you're right. people may look at it and say, that's not work blg. this may leave us where we are right now. >> exactly. >> but i think the white house is trying to try different things to move this forward.

and and live pictures now from florida where a democratic congressman alan boyd is holding a town hall meeting. let's bring in jessica yellin and. jessica, as word gets out, that the obama administration is bidding on the public option, i'm wonder fg that might change the tone of some of the town hall meetings. well, it's just getting out. auto will and, in fact, you see them holding up the bill up live. marked in several places and quoting it from it, explaining parts that you cannot support the public option, let's listen to what he had to say earlier in the town hall and we'll get back to explaining more in a minute.

>> i want to make sure that we get this straight right now. we can do better. we can make it better. >> now, of course, that's one of five bills. i want to let he now some of the things that he's been asked about. this is a blue dog democrat with conservative constituents putting pressure on him. they are convinced that illegal alien also be covered in the health plan and worried about abortions being paid for. a lot of frustration that they are going to end up paying higher taxes and cover people who aren't going to be sacrificing enough themselves. so he's been able to keep cool. the audience has been much

calmer than we've seen for a while. there have been flash point areas and obviously he's under a lot of pressure by his own democrats. >> and, jessica, as we monitor this town hall meetings and the others throughout the day, maybe we can get a sense as to whether or not, for example, the representative will talk about a co-op and some of his views on that as an alternative. jessica yellin for us. thank you. and of course we're doing all we can to cut through a lot of the receipt for are rick and the rumors to address your real concerns, the future of your health care and where this is leading our country. do you fear a takeover? the question is what? tell us what you think. send us your friends and questions at cnn.com/tony. and to get you answer, we'll pull together the smart and informed people in our shop from

elizabeth cohen to dr. sanjay gupta and white house correspondents and beyond. most of your question also take time to research. so we'll be able to -- won't be able to get to you right away. we'll do this right here, an example, elizabeth cohen is joining me in the next hour to examine health insurance co-op. they are emerging a possible alternative. elizabeth will explain what they are and how they work. that's in the noon hour. and for more on the health care debate and how reforms could affect you and your family, check out your special health care in america website at cnn.com. you'll find the latest from the town hall meetings and other health care news g to cnn.com/healthcare. the stimulus plan, six months later, are you feeling it? a surprising number of americans say no.

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let's look at this. it is a difficult day and then some. the dow is down 1 # 1 points. the nasdaq, guy, give me the latest number on nasdaq. down 42. so really down today. investors are worried after the data came out on friday indicating they are still nervous about the economy. you know, we're going to check in with susan lisovicz in just a couple of minutes. you know what? we're going to talk to christine romans, too, and we'll ask her what the heck is going on with the markets. the $187 billion stimulus plan, most americans think it hasn't even dented the recession.

christine romans has the poll numbers. has it dented? i don't get these polls sometimes. i just don't. and i don't trust them. we have a he had leading economist on this program cited in newspaper articles last week saying that the recession has bottomed out. i guess that a lot of people don't feel badnessly in their personal life but for most americans to believe that it hasn't been dented? help me. i don't get that at all. >> you said the magic word. you said the word trust and it sounds to me like the american people don't have a lot of trust in what they are hearing coming out of washington and what they have been told about the first troubled asset relief program. and now all of this stuff around the health care debate, i think that these numbers reflect a lack of trust overall from

people still sitting there at home and looking at foreclosures and job losses and saying, how is this possible? look at the numbers and people can decide where they fall in this. a majority says stimulus had no affect on the economy or worse. currently, 57% longer term and 60% said that the stimulus would have no affect or work on the economy. how about the personal situation? right now short-term, my personal finances, 18% said that the stimulus had made things better for them. 68% said it had no affect. 13% said worse and 1% had no opinion. i think people are at home and hearinging that the economy is going to be on the mend and the majority of the economists think that things have turned around

and they are like, what turn around? >> well, 200 billion have been allocated but less than that has actually been spent. and a time release is meant to go out later. you may not notice it either. it's going out the door but i think, tony, there's an image problem for the stimulus. go to recovery dot gov. some people say that sounds silly and it feeds into the whole idea that this might be wasteful in some way. but, remember, it's very big and there's a lot of different projects in there, a lot of very different kinds of projects.

>> and isn't it true that a lot of the stimulus money is being used to fill state budget short falls and in many cases they can't run a deficit? >> sure. i went down to florida and talked to a bunch of teachers that cut their jobs because of it. the community may not think that they are helping them. one thing people are concerned about the waste, tony, and the guy overseas drk who overseas this whole thing, he says that you've got to figure 7% is the rule of thumb for government projects for waste. 7% waste. that's 55 billion. the american people have no patience for waste right now when they see how much money that we are spending that we don't have. there's not a lot of tolerance in the american public for waste and sha nan gans, frankly. >> well, i'll tell you, it's an amazing poll and it made me wonder where folks are getting their information but then it made me distrust the polling even more. you make a lot of great points.

i appreciate it, as always. and a new supreme court ruling could prevent a condemned inmate from being executed. the high court is ordering a judge to determine whether there is evidence that proves troy davis did not kill a police officer in 1991. supporters have argued about a new trial after witnesses took back their testimony. supporters include former president carter and pope benedict. washington's top enjoy talking about the latest taliban tactics in an exclusive with israel lamb ma bad. that is in a few minutes from right now. 90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause pu're taking a ride ♪

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there is a second presidential election and bringing stability to the war in the nation. and with the election count, joining us now, what is this, i'm wondering and engaging in this part of the world in the

middle east and to the taliban, and low level commanders say that they are willing to lay down their arms and we are willing -- >> do you think the taliban has been booted out of there? >> i don't think there's any question that the operation has been a success and combined with the removal, the worst of the worst of the pakistani and taliban from the scene. i think we've seen a great improvement in the security situation, at the same time, we don't know yet whether this is the destruction of the taliban it will take a while to figure

that out. >> the pakistan army has to decide for itself when and where. there isn't any question of the direct threat to both american threats to the troops in afghanistan. they have to figure out what kind of resources they have. we're going to encourage them but it's their decision. >> do you believe that the taliban has been decapitated, that he's dead and do you think that they are sort of disintegrating? >> i think he's still dead, yes. but they are not admitting it or announcing it because they are having a power struggle with who is going to succeed him. the reason it's clear that he is dead, if he wasn't, he would be giving tv and radio interviews to prove that he's not dead. as you well know, he gave press conferences. and the succession price is going on and the chaos benefits us and it doesn't mean that this thing is over. >> now, holbrooke is obviously

talking about the pakistani taliban, which is different than what you find in afghanistan. what i find is amazing is when i talk about strategy, afghanistan versus strategy, the u.s. has boots on the ground, which gives holbrooke more to work with. that's why he can engage the power and the sway. here in pakistan, he really has to defer to the pakistani military. he's walking a fine line. he has to defer to their strategy. he gives two options, either death or coming to the taliban. >> sounds like it. in pakistan, appreciate it. thank you. at least 19 people are dead. seven people are dead after a suicide truck bomber attacked a police station in russia.

it is feared that more people may be trapped under the rubble. as he ran into the police station, the president is blaming the israel lamb mist groups in that region. >> two jets making dramatic maneuvers crashed into nearby homes. there you can see the aftermath setting those homes on fire. one of the three pilots was killed and at least one bystander was seriously injured. more on wall street and around the world, stocks are selling off. investors are slamming on the breaks because of concerns about, well, you, the american consumer. susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange with the details. susan, walk us through these reali reali realities. >> in march things were

stabilizing. we were ripe for a pullback. but another thing that happened last week is that we've been talking for weeks about corporate earnings. they were coming in better than expected. but at the end of it, we heard from most sectors, retailers started reporting and they are as close to consumer spending as anyone. we sold walmart's 800 gorilla and they have done very well in this recession. we got a drop in consumer sentiments. so there are these concerns about us, the consumer, and why we dropped. we also today are having trouble paying our bills. and rose in july, 5% of the out

outstanding loans. it rose in july. so capital one shares are getting hit right now, down 1.5%. and the major averages are really getting whacked. they are down 17%. so we were due and we're seeing it worldwide today, tony. >> so job, a concern about job, everybody pulling back a bit and probably no increases in personal income to talk about. but, you know, we've gotten signs here, particularly last week, of the economy sort of stabilizing. you've landed a few more of those signs. but is the recovery just going to be kind of a halting thing in bits and starts? >> well, there's been a lot of debate as to what kind of shape the recovery will be. but i think that -- i do think that most economists agree that it won't be a rapid recovery. we've seen a stabilization in housing and consumer spending is

the engine of growth generally. if we can't pay our bills, we're not likely to spend more. also a concern, something that happened this weekend, five banks failed. >> right. >> including colonial which was then bought and brings the total number of bang failures to 77. all of last year, 25 banks failed. this is put into perspective real quick during the s&l crisis, over 1,000 banks ultimately failed. that was over many years, but over 1,000. so we're not there yet. i don't believe we ever will be. >> that's a good perspective. maybe we've had too many banks to begin with. susan, see you next hour. thank you. >> you got it. >> it was a quiet hurricane season for the atlantic. look out. now three storms have popped all named within 24 hours. how big will they get? where are they headed? my name is chef michael.

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knocked over. lightning starting three fires but those homes only had moderate damage. no injuries reported because of the severe weather. let's go to reynolds wolf. you had the machine. >> we're prepared here. this is what we do here at cnn. >> it was great. tell us the story that is developing here. >> we're juggling three storms. mostly to give you guys at home, give you an idea of what is happening, claudette is basically your big rain maker. the second one is ana. this is the storm that has the best possibility of becoming a major hurricane. here's the reason why. you have very little in its path in terms of land. these temperatures are running

80 degrees and it has every reason to get stronger. and notice you'll see a number, it's going from category three to category 3 and higher, notice some of the numbers here for you. 120 and 125 and then still a category 3 storm, very tough to maintain the power. now, most important here you have bermuda and current forecast brings it right between those two spots. there's a chance a storm could deviate from its path and moving a bit more, say, to the east and maybe going back towards the

west. and the storms will follow throughout the day and chad myers will be here with the severe weather outlook. >> i love these generational moments. so many around here for so young. did tony just make that up? >> it works for me. >> you know what you're talking about. >> >> mine from the good old days. i hear you and i feel you. >> those storms that turning on hurricane camille top-sustained winds estimated at 200 miles an hour as it slams into the mississippi gulf coast killing 256 people. taiwan torrential rain and

raging rivers. certainly slowing in some areas. digging out and cleaning up now counting the cost of the most severe flooding. a nearby dyke was reached within 30 minutes the town was under water. at no time could they get out. everywhere there is mud and dumptrucks. the street has become a muddy stream. take a look at the mud and debris coming from inside the

building. and the locals say that the mud was about 5 feet deep and inundated the shops and restaurants and office building and inside there is very little left to say. and they would like help now for moving. spending days cleaning out the small restaurant, look what is destroyed, he says. what could we do? still, the people hearsay that they are lucky. dispute all of the damage and the massive cleanup, everyone insists that they will survive. john wolf, cnn, taiwan. have you heard this story? a big-city mayor comes to the

aid of one of the citizens and ends up in the hospital. thththth

police arrested a 208-year-old man accused of attacking a mayor with a metal pipe. the mayor is being treated for a broken hand and cuts to his face. he was attacked after he ran to the rescue of a grandmother screaming for help. >> he stepped up and did the right thing. he called 911 and tried to calm the situation tom's efforts pro protected the women and the child and protected members of our family as well. we're extremely proud of his selflessness and courage. >> the woman and granddaughter were injured, they were not. the man was drunk and had threatened to kill himself and others over child custody

issues. peace, love, and rock and roll, our i-reporters, looking back on what is done 40 years after the summer of love. the cnn dot calm take us back in time. sony, how are you doing? and who are there, 40 years ago. and what you're looking at right now is rarely seen photos from a gentleman named mark. he was just 22 and fresh from vietnam when he got a backstage pass and got really terrific

performance and another one, i love it. great performance photograph. the one thing that stands out after all of these year, no cell phones. we've been hearing so much how the conditions are, check out these photos from john. john was 23 at the time when he convinced his boss, who thought he was crazy, by the way, who let him leave early. like many, john slept on the ground. what he remembers 40 years later is the kindness from others. the concert goers and baiting and drinking. john is now teaching online foeting to grafgraphy. great photograph 40 years ago.

>> the last thing i want to share comes from with three rolls of film and saved the final roll, a sunday morning performance. it was all about the music and not a war protest. he said despite the came later, the feeling of togetherness has never been duplicated and many years later he realizes it was only years later that he realized itted the significance of being there. you know, tony, so many of our i-reporters who are at woodstock shared many great stories. we put a lot of them together at cnn.com. >> wonderful. >> and we invite our viewers to go to cnn.com/ireport. check out these stories and share your own if you have one. we'd love to hear from you. >> we appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. still to come, milk prices down while production costs

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i e've got to tell you. we had a lovely viewing party yesterday to celebrate tiger woods' pga win. then they started to play the final round, and what happens? i tell you a lot of chips and dip went to waste. the tiger is tamed. solve korean golfer y.e. yang

made the big shot down the stretch, and the pga championship -- tiger woods decided to use his son's putter. we have the details. >> reporter: a dream come true not just for this 37-year-old but also his country. the final putt that's inspired the nation and given them the kind of publicity money can't buy. >> translator: when i first heard someone had won, i thould it without be k.j. but i felt really proud knowing it was yang and that he's the first asian to get such an achievement. >> translator: i think to come outed on top against tiger woods is the strength korea has. no other country but korea can do it. >> reporter: avid followers of the game woke up at 4:00 a.m. to

waffle it but still many didn't expect the win. >> translator: i think most korean golf fans still can't believe it. yang's name is getting the most hits on the internet right now. people want to know who this person is, and even those who aren't into golf are talking about the sport. >> reporter: it comes at a time when they could do with the shot in the arm. perhaps it will take the sting out of the economic slump. >> translator: at times like this when the economy is still on recovery, yang has done something huge, which they say is korea's greatest achievement. >> reporter: yang's win brings the winning firmly into the sports mainstream. perhaps it was just a bad day for tiger, though there was little doubt. he may have taken the game up at

19, a late start after the sport, but he's proven humble dreams can take you anywhere. cnn is your hurricane headquarters, and we're continuing to watch the three named storms that have popped up in the last 24 hour. also coming up what if the price of health care is based on your income? new reports say homosexuals in iraq are being targeted by security force.

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well, plummeting milk prices are threatening the existence of some dairy farms. >> reporter: every morning bright and early you'll find

allen and his two sons milking the cows at their farm in vermont. >> i've been doing it for 34 years. to be able to have a weekend would be awful nice. but i cannot pay a man to work two or three extra hours a week to afford that luxury. >> you're the chief executive offer. >> yep, yep, chief of everything. >> reporter: the debts are soaring. >> that's right. 4 to $6,000. >> reporter: every month. >> every month. >> reporter: demand last year was high and milk sold at a record $19 for 200 pound. that has plunged to $11, less than what it actually costs dairy farmers to produce. >> this is the worst crisis that the dairy farmers have ever seen. >> right now farmers are in a position where they're paying to go to work every day.

>> reporter: last month they took the unusual step of raising support prices by about 15% for dairy products throughout october. >> hopefully these actions will suffice and get a lot of dairy producers over, you know, this rough patch they're going through. >> reporter: maybe, maybe not. while the cost of going down, the cost of everything else to run a farm is going up. >> actually my fertilizer cost was roughly $20,000. this year it's $25,000. i have done nothing different, except i've got $5,000 more. >> reporter: like other farmers, borbeau is trying to cut the costs. his sons justin and eric know every cow and every inch of land. what they don't know is whether there's a future here. obviously this future is in your blood. are there days you think about giving it up? >> yeah, more often than before.

>> reporter: still, the borbeaus think think things around. some kids in albuquerque may now have new clothes in. we could see, you know 200 kids, and if we're not continuing to get donations in, we'll be empty or we'll have very scattered sizes. >> well, last year the clothing bank helped nearly 3,500 students, and more are expected to need help this year. the public option is not the only option in health care reform. that is the message coming from president obama in this make-or-break month for reform. this represents really a significant shift in the health

care break. jim acosta. he's in washington. >> reporter: he may be willing to give some ground on one of the most contentious issues in the fight over health care reform, the public option. this week the white house seems to be saying there may be other options. >> now wait a minute. now, wait a minute. >> reporter: after weeks of congressional town halls gone wild, the obama administration is now keeping its options open on health care reform, specifically on the crucial question of whether americans should have the option of joining a pgovernment-run plan. e-mail convinced at the end of the day the plan will have both but that's not the essential element. >> reporter: there were no lines drawn in the sand by the president himself in colorado. >> this is a legitimate debate to have. all i'm saying is, though, the

public option, whether we have it or we don't have it is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it. >> reporter: the white house is spending less time pushing it and more time talking about it. >> the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the united states senate for the public option. there never have been. so to continue to chase that rabbit, i think, is just a wasted effort. >> reporter: north dakota senator kent conrad is offering one compromise like the rural electoral co-ops. >> land o lakes is a cooperative. ace hardware is a cooperative. >> reporter: the president is stuck. it would anger the republicans

and some democrats in office. >> i still think we should have a bipartisan solution, but what i can't tolerate is a government plan. >> reporter: dumping it would disappoint liberals, you see a surrender on the public option as a defeat. >> if you back away from the public option, is that health care reform? >> it is not. >> reporter: this isn't the last of the public option debate. they're spending tens of millions of dollars on commercials that are slated to air well into the fall. a campaign-style overdose of political advertising not seen since the election. tony? >> jim, appreciate it. i've about got to tell you. with the obama administration softening its decisions --

elizabeth cohen is here with us. what is a co-op? >> senator conrad talked a little bit about them. there are a couple out there, most notably seattle and minneapolis. the patients elect the governing board. you need to have tenses of thousands of members at least to make it work, in order to get that purchasing power that you need. someone would say you need hundreds of,000 of people to make it work. >> all right. tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. but you're talking about 46 million people by some estimates who don't have insurance. does this idea of a co-op get those people covered? >> right. that's a big problem. 46 million uninsured americans. will co-op solve that that? no. that's kie

that's according to two co-ops. said, is this going to help? >> they said, no. we're not charity. you have to spend money, pay premiums, to join our co-ops. and we don't take everyone. we do say no. now, one of them said our prices are middle of the road. our premiums are about what other premiums are. >> then what's the point? >> okay. well, according to the co-ops, the point is that co-ops create good competition. the co-ops manage to deliver high-quality health care at a lower price because they don't have to make the huge profits. they put the money back into the company. what one person told me is, look, we bring down the price of health care in general so more people can afford it. for example, in seattle where they have prominent health care, it is less expensive and more efficient than o'parts of the country and some would say because they have the co-op there. it charnls the landscape but it

doesn't insure them all. there are uninsured in seattle and in minnesota but they have co-ops. >> my understanding is from you that will there are some pretty significant up-front costs. >> there are significant start-up costs, to get executives going and deals and doctors. it's it's estimated it will take 4 to $6 billion. and some people are hoping the government will provide that feed money. >> will it solve that problem for the 46 million people who are not insured. what was the answer again? >> the two people who run the co-op, no. it will help, but it will not solve the problem. >> thank you. >> thank you. got to tell you. there's more to cover. that really seemed to be the centerpiece of the president's

overhaul. let's join cnn white house correspondent ed henry now. possibly not holding completely firm on a public option. is this president having to face some cold hard washington realities here? >> reporter: he is, because we've really known this for weeks now, that he was very unlikely to get 60 votes in the senate to push it through sort of normal procedures and get enough of his own democrats on board board, if he had a public option on there. this handwriting's been on the wall for weeks. the white house is finally coming around and realizing. what's interesting is right behind me in phoenix, there hasn't been much energy on their side. there's a big rally. of course, there's also light rail coming through my shot.

you won't be able to see it but you can hear it, supporters of the president estimate there are 700. i point that out because at recent events that i've been following the president around the country there hasn't been that much energy. not huge crowds. instead the energy has really been on the opposite side of the debate. people shouting socialism and the like. so what's interesting to me is that today as all of this is exploding back in washington, out here on the road i'm seeing some energy in favor of the president, but we're sending camera crews out here to ask some of the same supporters, are you going to be frustrated as it looks like the president is abandoning the public option. it look like he's gets ready to make a move that may upset the democratic party.

>> this is not a town hall meeting the president is holding later today. talk about his agenda for today's meeting. >> reporter: now, we're told he's likely to mention health care at least briefly because he's speaking to veterans of foreign wars, a lot of senior citizens in that group. they're telling me they want to make sure medicare is not harmed by any health care reform. you may see the president ensure them on that. but the real focus is going to be on the missions in iraq and afghanistan, something that's very, very emotional for the veterans. four american vets, two voted for the president, two for jock mccain. they share a brotherhood. a feeling so painful it brings one of these men to tears. >> i know that they are tough. i know they're strong. i have a hard feeling for those

that are over there, but i'm a marine, and i will stand up for our chief of staff and our soldiers everywhere they go. >> reporter: all four said they want to hear more specifics from the president about the days ahead in afternoon in particugh particular. what's interesting is he is concerned the president is sending more troops into a quagmire. >> we lost $ 68,000. we should not lose that many. we lost them in vietnam. >> this gentleman is a mccain voter but gives obama high marks for sending more troops to afghanistan. >> passification never got

anybody anywhere. >> i also don't want to see it turn into a situation where they just pull the troops out. we was winning in vietnam when i left there. the politicians lost that war. >> reporter: but wood says he will support the president now and is inspired that for the first time an african american will represent them. >> you bet you. >> reporter: he voted for mr. obama and h is confident he'll handle both wars well. >> he's my commander in chief, and i'm proud of him. >> reporter: the president is going to talk about important issues and also on health care. you hear the rally behind me. interesting my colleague, cnn producer, went into the crowd. she asked what about the public

option potentially being dioped? >> this person said she would not be angry at the president but she would be very sad. she said this is her cause. she would. n't be upset but is disappointed in her fellow americans. just one person. i pass it along. we'll pass it along as we get them. the white house is banking on the fact if they drop the public option they'll get some supporters saying it's better e to get something than nothing. it remains to be seen whether they'll get a dominant reaction. >> we're getting some of the reactions. you can see the pictures. ed henry with the president in phoenix, arizona. thank you. and president obama speaks to the vfw convention. you'll see it live in the c "cnn

newsroom." we're doing all we can as to where this debate is leading our country. do you fear a big government takeover? does the prospect of doing nothing scare you more? most would agree something has to be done. what does seems to be a thought. send your responses to cnn.com/tony, and we'll get your answers. we'll go beyond if we e need to. our expectation is that most of your questions will take a little time to research, so we won't necessarily be able to get back to you right away. once we are able to get to your specific concerns we'll air them in the "cnn newsroom." chad myers is tracking not

one, not two, but three storms seemingly out of nowhere. >> claudette right here. ana, the most underrated player yet. this isn't done yet. this is going to get in the gulf of mexico. no forecast for that. but i'm not convinced. bill, could be a big storm, a category 4 or 5 going to bermuda. turn left, turn right. there's a problem. if you're using other moisturizing body washes, you might as well be. you see, their moisturizer sits on top of skin, almost as if you're wearing it. only new dove deep moisture has nutriummoisture, a breakthrough formula with natural moisturizers... that can nourish deep down. it's the most effective natural nourishment ever. new dove deep moisture with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin.

15 minutes after the hour. welcome, everyone, back to "cnn newsroom." check out our special "hair care in america" website. you can get the latest from town hall debates. let's call them town hall meetings. health checks, i-reports. just a good paying job. that's why i like this clean energy idea. now that works for our whole family.

for the kids, a better environment. for my wife, who commutes, no more gettin' jerked around on gas prices... and for me, well, it wouldn't be so bad if this breadwinner brought home a little more bread. repower america. i hope our senators are listening.

things are popping right now. three storms brewing in the atlantic, one of them a hurricane. let's get you quickly now. there he is. chad myers. what are we going to start with? ana? bill? claudette? where do you want to start with? >> let's start with bill because it's going to be the first major hurricane of the season. a very significant storm. if you're in the island nation, you'd better pay attention to this storm.

that's obviously 120 hours away just from getting to bermuda, so that's five days. obviously things happen. ana, the most underrated player. ana is still going to get, i think, across bermuda, across the haitian area here and could make some flooding across parted of the dominican republic as well and then across into cuba. if ana gets into the gulf of mexico, that's very warm weather. we saw what happened to claudette. how quickly it fired up. it came literally, like you said, almost out of nowhere. here e's bill, one, two, three, big-time weather here. 120, maybe more. and there's the island of bermuda right there. i would say not the time to get on the airplane right now. here's ana. here's the official forecast. just the low here. just a 35-mile-per-hour low. you know, that's great. if that's what happens, it makes

rain across florida and cuba, fine. but if there's more to it than thatting it could get into warm water. that could be a problem for a quick, quick explosion of this weather. there's the rainfall from claudette right now. almost raining all the way into atlanta. i want to sing one bar of o send in the clouds. i know it's "send in the clowns." chad? >> yes. >> i understand we have an i-report that's worth looking at. what do you think of this picture? >> that's why i was going to sing -- ♪ send in the clouds ♪ there ought to be clouds >> that's why i guess you get a good discount on some of the hotel rooms as the hurricanes

come in. take it easy. the clouds and showers will be gone by tomorrow and you'll have the rest of the week. gays in iraq, humiliated, tortured and killed? a disturbing report from a human rights watch.

well, a new law in afghanistan apparently alouse shiite men to starve their wives and withhold money if they refuse sex.

the new law is based on one karzai originally signed and suspended back in march after world leaders labeled it oppr s oppressive. critics basically say it legalized marital rape. gays are being killed and tortured in iraq. we get details from cnn's arwa damon. >> reporter: when this video sprung up on youtube back in january showing iraqi gay men partying, it carbed a terrorizing back slash. the human rights watch warns of spreading torture and murder against the gay iraq community. they always used to hupt us but after the video posted it became much worse, this gay man tells us. he and his three friends brave enough to speak out but too

frightened to have their identities revealed. >> what are some of the atrocities being committed against the gay community that you know of? >> translator: many of my friends were killed and many others wound order harmed the eldest said. many were tortured. they shot glue up our anus. they start add war against us. i was with my boyfriend driving around. i had my head on his shoulder, there man remembers. security forces stopped us, ordered us out of the car. they beat my boyfriend severely and put him in jail. he's been there for four months. part of it warnses if you do not end this shameful behavior, your fate will be death. some gay iraqis have even been killed by their own families, ashamed of the stigma surrounding homosexual.

he was a hair dresser e, his friend tells us. he was killed by the family after the ira can police threatened to kill him. i even heard they wanted to burn him alive or stone him to death. >> some had their hars hacked off. one shows acid poured on a leg, or a wrist slashed. the ira can government says it condemns the murder or abuse of any of its citizens but has done little else to protect the country's homosexuals. those we spoke to say they're left to defend for themselves. according to human rights watch it is difficult to place an exact number on homosexuals killed. indication is in the hundreds.

take a look at these live pictures now from phoenix, a arizona, where the president will be speaking at the vfw later this afternoon, 1:30 eastern time in the cnn news room. you're watching people for and against health care reform. not to be the central topic of conversation in the president's speech this afternoon. you can see wherever he goes, the debate over health care goes with him. this is the scene in arizona right now. we will continue to show you these live pictures. this is pretty robust in phoenix right now. more of these pictures. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills. just 2 aleve can last all day.

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when you join kiera phillips at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. take a look at what's going on here at location in phoenix, arizona. live pictures. bair with us as we get better shots. we're working with our affiliates in phoenix. this is a protest demonstration, we were talking about in favor of/against health care reform as it's being crafted right now. so we've got this back and forth with folks on both sides of the health care reform debate on both sides of the street separated by traffic and partitions and everything else. now, the president is essentially here to give the veterans of foreign wars an update on the wars in iraq, afghanistan, but wherever the president goes, the debate on health care reform goes with him. the president to speak to the vfws at the convention at 1:00

p.m. east coast. so obviously the health care debate heats up again today. it's a key part of reform. we're watching to see if this affects the tone of town hall meetings taking place today. several are being held from philadelphia earlier this morning to florida, virginia, and texas. and one of the lawmakers holding one of the town hall meetings, a member of the so-called blue dog conservative democrats. national correspondent jessica yellin has been following the first of several meetings. what's been happening so far today? good to see you. >> good to see you. he's been taking serious heat from constituent whose are concerned about the health care bills that they've heard about in congress. boy, you mentioned, is one of those blue dog democrats. he started by holding up one

bill we heard so much about from the house and saying i klkt support this. let's start out with thats a groundwork. let's listen to one person who is angry at the blue dog democrats in general. >> i can't say this without calling names. if we let pelosi and people like that direct us, we are doomed. >> amen. >> we are doomed. one more thing. i thought -- i thought for a long time that the blue dogs -- and i still believe in it -- that the blue dogs was up there guarding the henhouse, but that ain't been the case this year. wait, wait. let's give him a chance.

we want allen to go back up there and do a good job for us like we used to do, but you can't do that with that bunch of scoundrels. >> now, the representative gave a very calm response. he says he wants a different version of the health care bill. folks in the audience are concerned about illegal aliens will get kofrm, they're concerned abortions will be paid for in this bill. on the other side it was, look, my insurance is tie high. how are you going to bring it dock. rock and a hard place. >> rock and a hard place. maybe you can help me. mike ross is essentially the leader of the blue dogs, correct? >> yes. >> okay. mike ross's support of the legislation that the congressman was holding up was essential to get that piece of legislation. so congressman boyd is saying i'm not even in the favor of

what was put forth by the blue dogs, correct? >> yes. >> okay. i wanted to clear up that. so clearly the representative is under a loet of pressure. is there any version of health care reform that he will support? >> he did say he believes the co-op is a better option to the public option so it's something he can lead toward. he made it clear in the meeting that it's very important to help bring down costs and cover the uninsured. so he wants bills, just not those bills. >> it gets confusing. senator arlen specter held a town hall meeting earlier in philadelphia. he says is anger at some of the meetings is corrected at partisan meetings.

>> i have favored a public option. i believe that the president has to make the evaluation as a matter of leadership as to what the administration wants to do. there's an alternative to the public option by having co-ops and i think these matters are subject to exploration, but i would not make a determination that the success of health care reform legislation turns on any one item. >> co-ops. you heard the senator mention co-ops. health insurance co-ops. we keep hearing the mention there's a possible ail tern tifb to a public insurance work? >> reporter: as the health care

debate rages on in washington, we decided to get outside the beltway. we're heading to philadelphia to take a look at one alternative people are turning to. it's called bill sharing. in this case a large group of christians pool their money to cover each other's costs. ohio-based christian health care ministry. >> one of the things i like about it is it's relaggal and i ke so where my money is going. >> last time i saw him e e was touring his book. >> we talk a lot about practicing resurrection, so for us this is part of it. we bring abandoned spaces to life and try to make thing beautiful. >> it is rough work. he was jumped a few years ago, landed in the hospital with a

concussion and broken jaw. that's when his health care steps in. >> we ended up paying $6,000 of it. because i had thousands of people carrying that bill with me, we just wrote a check for it. >> the ministry spoke directly with the doctors to lower the bill. the core of their success are the 0,000 member who i clud not make smoking and being in america. >> if every had the health care benefitscy have, they wouldn't have be in a health care crisis. >> a group that yuted its strents to. prove competitive rates. he says the key to co-ops is

size. 20 to 50,000 enrollees minimum needed. >> if they're not big enough, then they won't be able to either do any of those thing. >> reporter: even then it may not be enough. do you see it as a silver bullet to the debate? >> no. it's part of a silver buck shot. >> reporter: claiborne agrees. he's hoping it forces the americans to thing outsood the box. when i was told i had diabetes, i feltloweng boxed in. (announcer) joe uses the contour meter from bayer.

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the latest financial news and analysis will tell you about this site every day because the work being done there is terrific. our cnn money team is just flat out awesome. and i get paid for that -- maybe

not. but again, if you want the best from the best financial team anywhere on television right now, just go to cnnmoney.com for the latest financial news and analysis. let's take you to the new york stock exchange. as you can see the dow is down 163 points. well, at least we're off of session lows for the day. the nasdaq was down 47 -- 48 points. we're following the news throughout the day. japan, the world's second largest economy says it has shaken off the ree seg. japan's economy grew 0.9%. that's almost a 4% growth rate. yeah, that works out. germany and france announced last week they were out of recession. you know, it seems like we're always telling you about

prices going up. stephanie elam has our story. good to see you. >> good to see you. it's leading to a drop in the prices at the whole sale level. first half of the year, demand is down in the power market. that serves 30 states east of the rockies. that sent whole sale prices down 40% in a area. in fact, it's a drop in more than 50 year, tony. >> well, that's the wholesale level you're talking about. when let l we the consumers see our electric bill start to come down. >>? >> that could take some time. changes at the wholesale level they're not going to show up immediately but bills are falling in some places. con ed says electric bills this month are down 30% from a year ago. a lot depend on where you live.

here in the northeast there's lots of natural gas and those prices have fallen more sharply. so you have to kind of take a look at your area to know that one, tony. >> explain this to me. how come some are seeing their bills get more expensive? >> it really depends. they aren't buying it whole sale. we talked to duke energy and it's asking for rate increases of 7% in south carolina and 12% in north carolina. now, what's the reason behind it? they need to upgrade a power plant. al spending money on new smart grid electricity. whether or not it falls depends on the economy. there's a lot you have to factor in to look at your prices, but the updates team. i know you love cnnmoney, and

they're great, but they're great. >> you're a member of the cnnmoney team. >> thank you very much. >> kate bailey hutchison says she can do a better job than governor rick. now she will challenge it. that makes this race pretty interesting. perry is the state's longest running governor. we're live in kabul. that's next. right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. eight are wearing bathrobes. two... less. - 154 people are tracking shipments on a train. - ( train whistles ) 33 are im'ing on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email... - on a vacation. - hmm? ( groans ) that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

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the hurricane headquarters for you. you know what? well, bill could absolutely be a monster, chad, and you're telling us to keep an eye on ana. >> correct. i believe ana is probably the most underrated storm. we're getting some convection today. i'm not worried about where it is now. it's kind of like buying the stock. you don't care where it is now. you're worried about where it is five days from now. ana is going to travel across high mountains, haiti and even into cuba. that will tear it up a little bit. after that it will get into the gulf of mexico, which happened to claudette. this tiny little thing that made all the rainfall in the last cup of days in florida. here is bill, the big bad boy. i is literally a much more serious storm and it's going to be a category three major hurricane convenient here as we go from category 1, 2, 3, 4 -- maybe even 4. we'll see.

here's bermuda. these things obviously can turn left or right, but there's not one model doing this. not one. they're all turning up and around and around and eventually back out to sea. you know how quickly they can change their minds. these models, they're fickle sometimes. we'll see whether that's going to happen or not. think one more thing i wanted to take you to is the rainfall across parts of georgias mississippi, alabama. you need to keep this thing moving at 10 to 15 miles per hour. then you don't get that flood threat. we're trying to get some pictures of that city as welt. very heavy rainfall in the overnight hours and some streets are under water. >> appreciate it. thank you, sir. let's talk about the california fires and the firefighters working overtime to be sure, battling almost a dozen wildfires in both endings of the state. they're making progress around the fires in santa cruz in bonny dune. hundreds are allowed to return

home, good news there. the danger still real. the fire here was ignited by a bird hitting a power lane. here officials say the fire was started by mexico can marijuana growers. affordable health care is -- well, is it for everyone? is it possible? one city in california found a way. it's very important for me to uh check my blood sugar before i go on stage. being on when i'm feeling low can be like a rollercoaster. it does at times feel like my body is telling me to do one thing... and, my mind, my heart is telling me to do something else. managing my highs and lows is super important. with my contour meter i can personalize my high/lo settings so it really does micromanage where my blood sugar needs to be. i'm nick jonas and never slowing down is my simple win.

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good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. in birmingham, alabama, last hour, a blanket pardon for civil rights protesters in the city during the movement's heyday, the late civil rights leader reverend ralph david anner naythy, his son accepted on his behalf. he was arrested to many times to count. the pardon was possible under a recent alabama law designed for civil rights protesters. it's called the civil rights protester act. our t.j. holmes spoke with larry langford as well as a civil rights protester who said no,

thanks, she doesn't want a pardon. >> reporter: do you want a pardon? >> why, that's exactly why i for one and several others i've had an opportunity to speak with and especially a 92-year-old man who said, no, we do not want a pardon. i don't want one. to say give me a pardon or for me to take a pardon, it would say that we as children and others, that we had done something wrong. we did no wrong. now, the pardon should go to those who wronged us, but everything that we did was right, fighting for freedom and going to jail to be able to par miss participate. >> you're offering people a pardon is saying you did something wrong and we're going

to forgive you for it versus the city making a proclamation and saying i'm sorry. do you see the difference there? >> no. i saw the difference when we started, let's be very clear about this. the pardon is more for the city than the people who participated. >> what does that mean? >> 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 who did the injured to say, listen, i was wrong to have done it. >> just to remind you mayor langford is facing modern-day charges. he's named in a 101-count corruption indictment. among the laundry list of charges. so san francisco is the first u.s. city to have a health care program that everyone can afford because the cost is based on how much you make.

photo journalist jeff king and jim castle show us how it works. >> right in here. >> i had my row valve prolapse. i was diagnosed with that about nine years ago. after i lost my insurance about i would have to pay out of pocket for everything, 100%. i would have been really costly, more costly than i could have afforded. possibly eventually i could have died. it was scary. i thought it was very unfair and not right basically that you should allow anybody to die because they cannot get coverage. they can't get help even though they're trying to do the right thing. that's why i sought out the clinics that are here in san francisco. >> healthy san francisco is a coverage motto. it provided health care, pharmaceutic pharmaceutical, laboratory, radiology. for people within san francisco.

any adult who is uninsured in san francisco can qualify. how much people are required to pay depending upon what their income is. >> in my opinion, much more thorough care than i had when i was insured. >> we had ayeared only a minimal amount of start up, $750,000. the rest of the money comes from one of three sources. we receive the state federal grants, we receive money through the employer spending requirements, that requires businesses that haver more than 20 businesses to spend health karpd an to finally participate. we've figured out the confident of the care and use that money for a broader set of people. we're able to sup