hurricane in the atlantic this morning. hurricane bill is gaining strength. now a category two storm. where the storm is headed and how strong it's predicted to come. we begin with growing questions for the white house and where it really stands on creating a government-run health insurance program. for month, the president has said that a so-called public option was a must for any health care reform bill. this weekend right here on cnn secretary of health and human services kathleen see beil yus hinted that the administration may be stepping back from that. this morning, the white house is saying that's not the case. already, members of the president's own party are sounding a warning. >> i would love to be one of the big supporters of the obama plan, but i've got to know that it includes a public option. walking away from the public option seems to me a sure fire way of walking away from passing something in the house. >> a deal breaker because the whole idea, the kind behind

health care reform is to bring down the costs. we cannot bring down the costs unless there's a public option that will create competition. we cannot turn this over to the same people who have been, you know, making the costs of health care go off of the scales. >> suzanne malveaux is the only reporter live at the white house this early. and suzanne, what are you hearing from your sources about this back and forth about whether the public option is a must for this administration. >> they had criticism yesterday. obviously they went to overdrive to try to push back on all of this. e-mails went to reporters yesterday. we spoke to spokesman robert gibbs saying the administration is consistent on this. there were talking points. two things they want the american people to know. they don't want them to get jittery, upset, scared that there won't be a public option. this is not something that the white house says they're

abandoning, necessarily. two things they wan to emphasize. one is that they want to slow down the costs of health care, the increases. secondly provide some sort of competition, two private insurance companies and their plans. so if they can achieve that, that essentially is what health care reform is all about. but you know, a lot of people are quite worried when they heard the word from secretary sebelius and others who seemed to be downplaying the idea that such an option is on the table, kiran. >> the president himself, the town hall and the help in colorado is a tiny fraction, a sliver of the overall change they want to see. we're hearing the debate go across party lines, across the country. what's happening behind closed doors at the white house today. >> the president didn't have any public events on his schedule. that worries us. what happens here at the white house, the press conference,

something. the president is sitting down with the staff and very quietly going on with all of the options with health care reform. we didn't have the senate supporting the public option. they waned to bring in more republicans, the blue dog democrats, as well as assure people that the insurance companies -- the private insurance companies that believe they're going to go out of business, that public health care reform is'a bad idea. what else circulates. what's out there -- perhaps the idea of a co-op. you see the back and forth. one is de-emphasized, another pops up. this is about give us something, guys. what's going to stick here? hopefully the health care legislation believes he's going to sign to law is'going to look the way it looks today, yesterday. we're trying to get a balance, if you will, to see what is the formula to get the most support.

>> interesting to see what else percolates out there. a little later at 7:10, speak with congressman weiner we saw in your piece about what he said. he says a public option, if it's off the table, it means losing dozens of house members, democrats in the house. suzanne malveaux, thank you. president obama taking a break from pitching his plans for health care reform. he was silent on the issue while traveling in arizona yesterday. but as the president steps back from the fray, his supporters are stepping in. carol costello live in washington this morning. carol, some of the health care rallies taking the tone of the campaign a bit. you would think you're in an election here. >> the health care reform protest has taken on a "i know you are but what am i" kind of quality. democrats are going to outshout republicans at town hall meetings. get ready for some noise. >> reporter: a good old-fashioned duel, on one side,

those opposed. armed with sharp words. >> stop obama now! >> reporter: and signs that cut right to the chase. but this time, obama supporters roused themselves and fought back. but they didn't exactly throw stones. and at this protest, they didn't carry signs calling the other side controversial names. >> they're staying respectful. we're out for the first time i feel like it's a real turning point for us. folks have been focusing on the other side. we've outnumbered them at least three to one today. if not more. >> reporter: the pro-obama crowd is organizing for the network, the same network that worked so hard for him in the 2008 campaign. it's one weapon the democrats are using lately to combat combative town hall meetings. >> why is congressman boehner taking the side of the health

care companies in the health care debate? >> reporter: that's the strategy too. it all comes way too late. >> a lot of democrats would say it's about time or past time. the democrats lost control of the message on health care. once the president loses control, it's difficult to get it back. >> reporter: president obama didn't control the message because he didn't leave it up to his own plan, leaving it open to lawmakers who crafted several plans. all open to interpretation and rumor. like the death panel -- once something like -- they want to kill grandma -- is out there it's tough to fight. >> what's truly risky is if we do nothing. >> his supporters are trying to do something more. >> even if they don't succeed in drowning out the conceding noise. but analysts say scary seems to

be working. although the president denies it, the president left wiggle room in one democratic idea, the public health insurance option. reports private insurance companies compete with a government-run insurance company, so to speak. and presumably that competition would lower insurance costs. sab doe said if that idea goes to the wayside, expect a president to pass a plan but one that's been seriously scaled back. see but this debate is on going. just in the middle of it. carol costello, thanks so much. all sorts of claims, including talk of death panels. what's true about end of life counseling? lori jacobs, she deals with end of life care on a regular basis. hurricane bill is gaining strength in the atlantic. the good news is it's far from land. but the category two storm with winds of 100 miles per hour

could grow and turn into a major hurricane in the next day or two. it's on track to graze bermuda by the end of the week. michael jackson's mother is said to be considering wrongful death lawsuit against aeg live. aeg had a, quote, very, very active role in michael's life in the last six months, including paying for dr. conrad murray and the house that jackson was staying in. meantime, the three-city exhibition is in limbo. katherine jackson's attorney, the executors of his estate of concert owner aeg have been unable to reach an agreement on the exhibition worth about $5 million. scaling back how many dosages of swine flu vaccine they'll have ready for the fall. it's when it's set to begin. 45 million doses will be ready by october instead of the anticipated 120 million.

they're saying it's not a short annual. clinical trials and the swine flu are now under way. consider the fact you're just getting up and maybe didn't have a great night's sleep. your opinion may be skewed. if you had to choose between a good night's sleep or great sex, which one would you take? well? >> you're asking me. >> the western hotel chain in the national sleep foundation asked 12,000 travellers and a dozen countries that question. the rules might surprise you. >> maybe not, depending. but 51% of you said -- >> whether you're a man or a woman. >> 51% of people -- they didn't break it down yet -- said they'd rather have a perfect night's sleep over sex. 49% of people chose sex, right? canadian travelers. they're the ones that are much more likely to face sex. >> fun bunch of people. other revelations of the study, 42% of people said they would rather find a sleeping pill under their pillow instead of

the usual chocolate. and 60% say their blackberry is often in the way of a good nigh's sleep. >> you'd rather have a sleeping pill than chocolate? >> we're all after a good nigh's sleep. >> i guess so. >> absolutely. >> another study out that said a woman would rather have $50 in cold hard cash than great sex. blame it on the economy. >> how is that surprising? >> we're going to get reaction to the bollywood star. huge backlash now in india. people say this is totally outrageous. but some are saying perhaps it's a bit cynical, but was some of this drummed up to promote his new documentary? so what do you think?

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and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. welcome back to the most news in the morning. milwaukee's mayor is home from the hospital this morning. tom barrett was admitted over the weekend after being attacked at the state fair by a length of steel pipe. it happened when the mayor came to the aid of a woman screaming for help. he suffered a fractured hand along with cuts and bruises. the wife of south carolina governor mark sanford is opening up in the latest issue of "vogue." she's willing to forgive her husband after he confessed with an extra-marital affair with an argentinian woman but the ball is in his court if he wants to save her marriage. she never thought her husband

would do anything like that because the person she married was, quote, centered on a core of morals. she went on to say that her husband has issues to work on about happiness and what it means. a lot of men get to this point in life and ask questions they should have asked a few months ago. jenny and the four sons moved out of the mansion this month. walter cronkite memorial will be a star-studded affair. president obama will speak at the service. bill clinton, andy rooney, buzz aldrin, bob schieffer and tom brokaw. the most trusted man in america died last month at the age of 82. the cronkite memorial will take place december 9. the house hold name in india. the biggest star in bollywood right now. they're directing the anger at the u.s. after the movie star was stopped and questioned at immigration officials at a u.s. airport in newark.

mary snow is following developments for us. john, kiran, some describe him as india's brad pitt and tom cruise all in one. that's how big he is. but it's his last name that caught the attention of the u.s. immigration officials and it kicked off a firestorm he's now trying to quell. he's an icon in india. he's known for his dance moves starred in 700 bollywood movies like this one in new york. but the star status when he arrived at newark, new jersey friday, immigration officials questioned him for roughly an hour. >> because your name is khan. i was too polite to ask common to what? so it's a bit of an issue. >> as khan posed for pictures with fans sunday in houston, indians were outraged that he

was detained. protesters took to the street, some burned an american flag when government officials said it's subjected americans to the same type of treatment when they visit india. the anger isn't so much about racial profiling. >> it's more about how dare you, america, stop a very well-known muslim actor and insult him. >> the u.s. ambassador to india weighed in over the weekend noting khan is a global icon and a very welcome guest in the united states. u.s. customs and border protection denies khan was detained. khan was selected for secondary inspection which he called routine. he would not say why khan was singled out the, citing privacy issues. british airways said the flight got lost. the issue lasted longer than usual. in a statement -- u.s. customs and border protection strives to

treat all travelers with respect and with a professional matter while maintaining the focus of our mission to protect all citizens of the united states. khan said he understands the need for security but add -- >> the attitude is better to be safe than sorry. but in that, maybe you do tend to elongate the regular people who want to be -- if not welcome, at least feel not unwelcome when they come to your company. >> khan finished a movie dealing with the issues of racial profiling after 9/11. it's called, "my name is khan." he's getting plenty of support, there's questioning on blogs questioning it's publicity. >> questioning if not questioning. >> especially on racial profiling. public option for health insurance and whether or not it will fly or something. something that would be better

is a co-op. how would it work and apply to the health insurance industry? tom foreman is going to break it down for us. esn't cover flood" "a few inches of water caused all this?" "but i don't even live near the water." what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you. including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $119 a year. for an agent, call the number on your screen.

♪ >> people are still finding it hard to get a loan these days. christine romans with more on that. good morning. a new survey shows what you've all been telling us again and again every morning that it's difficult to get a loan. the banks are reluctant to lend. here's why. here's what we know from the senior loan officer surveyed from the fed. they say demand weakened for new loans. the recession meant people are not coming in to get new loans to dproe the business, expand the business. but also the loan officers said the credit worthiness of loan applicants has worsened. two years in a difficult recession. a lot of people are coming in and think they need loans frankly don't have the credit to do so. the credit limits are lower. the banks are lowering the credit limit. half of the banks surveyed lower credit limits. they're also raising the standards for credit card applicants. better background, better

standards for your credit card applicants. lending standards in general tighter for the banks expect it to continue into next year. the fewer banks are saying they're tightening their standards. but overall, the standards remain very, very tight. what that means is what you're all telling us. harder to get a loan. >> in some cases, this is what they're hammered for for not making sure people could pay them back. for not making sure people would have the ability to back up what they were trying to borrow. >> the position where the banks are. people are screaming. the public screaming for banks to make them available. there's stimulus money for loans. tarp money. give the money to the people. and the same time, the banks are told, don't make loans that aren't going to be paid back. people are defaulting on their loans at record rate. >> you have a numeral? >> i do. 133. this has to do with the money people are starting to get. this is 133 emergency stimulus

loans every week. $35,000 or more. the emergency loans are written every week. just getting started. six months after the stimulus. emergency loans for small businesses available. the rules are written out there. they're called arc loans. you can go to the website. there are emergency loans being written for small businesses. to get this, you must have been profitable one of the last two years. so keep that in mind. keep them profitable one of the last two years. you need the emergency money, there is the money available. >> this is for businesses, not individuals. >> small businesses. that's right. >> christine romans, minding your business. thanks so much. provisions in the house bill, health care that's going through congress right now about end of life care. and sarah palin called it death panels. but what is end of life care? we're going to have a doctor here to tell us what end of life care issues are all about.

this is something you want to learn about. k, what's in it for me? i'm not looking for a bailout, 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.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. 26 minutes past the hour now. in the make or break debate over health care reform, the white house is trying to clarify the position on a key piece of the plan after officials seemed to suggest the president could do without it. we're talking about the so-called public insurance optionment. so what does it mean and what would happen if it was taken off of the table. cnn's tom foreman is breaking it down for us. john, kiran, if you want to understand what really happened with this whole health reform debate, think of the insurance

business as a big shopping mall. a bunch of private stores that sell insurance? the supporters of reform say they don't compete a whole lot with each other. they let the prices get higher and higher and there are people like this who don't go anywhere and they don't fit in to insurance reform. so the goal of reformers, many of them, is to say let's have a government insurance office in the middle of this mall. they will be heavily funded. they will give a place for these people to go so they will have some kind of place where they can have insurance and they're offering a lower cost alternative because they're not out to make a profit. they will force the other places to lower their prices and have the sale that will benefit everyone. now critics of this program say it's not what's going to happen. they say instead of a sale, they're going to have people who are driven out of business. they will simply be not enough business once all the people will be attracted to the more

cost-less expensive government insurance. so the bottom line is, this is the fear of those who say this is a bad idea. so, if this does not happen, then what do you look at? well, one other option is an insurance cooperative system. what is that? well, insurance cooperative basically would take people all across the country who can't afford insurance no matter where they are and it would connect all of these people to each other. by connecting them, it would make it possible for these people to share the costs of their medical expenses with each other. they would form a small private insurance company that they would run with their own board of directors with the nonprofit. it would also create competition for existing insurance companies but possibly push the prices down. this is the theory. it will show what it will work. what it will involve and what

the benefits might or might not be. >> read more about the health care debate and get answers to your questions, go to cnn.com/health care. coming up to the half hour now. checking top stories. former president bill clinton returns to the white house today. he'll meet with president obama this afternoon on the agenda. president clinton's trip to north korea where he helped to win the release of euna lee and laura ling. it's the first face-to-face discussion with the two men. the bureaucratic backlog in cash for clunkers, payments to the dealers, the car dealers. it's tripling the number of workers to reverse the dealers. $2500 per car. it's hoping to have 1100 workers processing them by the end of the week. that's up from 350 of those processing them last week. if you're opening up your wallet, you are carrying an illegal drug -- well, trace

amounts of it, anyway. 90% of all paper money -- 90% of all paper money in this country is contaminated with cocaine. researchers say the bills could become contaminated by drug deals in other bills or currency counting machines. 90%. unbelievable. make or break health care reform in america. there are lots of urban legends out there including the phrase with the grave name. it addresses a serious issue. end of life care. joining me to talk about this is lori jacobs. she's the chairman of the department of medicine at the albert einstein college of medicine. it's great to talk to you, doctor. end of life care, the provision in the house bill is described most pejoratively as death panels. plenty of information in no, way, shape, or form death panels. what's your thought on the provision? >> provisions to have

conversations on their patients and the patients' family and about care, what they would like at the end of life. the illness, the prognosis. what they expect and to elicit for patients what their values are so you can manage together the end of care. >> these are death panels in the health care bill in 2003. bush department of health and human services didn't recommend federal funding for it. what takes place? >> talk with patients all the time about their prognosis and their disease and what to expect. what you want to elicit is what the patient's view of the illnesses. what are their values, what do you want for themselves. what is their view of the illness. it brings in information to the conversation and the patient brings in information to the conversation. you can alter the conversation to become more detailed and make

some decisions together. >> how do the consultations aid the patient and the families as well? >> it gives the opportunity for patients to say what they think. many times they're afraid to approach physicians. they're afraid of what happens to them. this is an opportunity for a physician to elicit those fears. to reassure them they'll be there to the end and there are treatments that they can offer all the way along the way. in addition, the patients can identify someone to help them make decisions. something called a health care proxy. and for families and that proxy, it's really important for them to know what the patient wants for themselves. should they have to make decisions for them, they have an idea of what's important. >> president obama has been talking about this during many of the town hall meetings he's holding in colorado. pushing back the idea he's going to pull the plug on grandma in this legislation. he talked about that and he talked about his own situation

with his own grandmother. listen to what he had to say. >> i know what it's like to watch somebody you love who's aging, deteriorating, and have to struggle with that. >> the president says he's got his own experience with this. he knows what it's all about. this is not pulling the plug on grandma. sometimes you get to the end of life issues, you do have some difficult decisions to make? >> there are difficult decisions. some are ready to make them, others are not. there's no provision that forces them to make any decision. the point of this is we should have conversations about what they want for themselves by what physicians have to offer -- comfort, information about prognosis, and they'll be there for them and listen to them all the way along. >> we talk about the difficult decision, pointing to the issues of living wills, do not resuscitate orders, things like that. >> those are some of the decisions. at the end of life, do not

resuscitate orders may be put in place or not depending on the patient's wishes. there are decisions all along the way. where they would like to be cared for. who they would like to have care for them. what treatments they want, aggressive, not aggressive. the physician's role is to provide information about what their options are, and to give them a sense that they're going to care for them and provide symptom relief. >> i mentioned a couple of moments ago in 2003, the bush administration recommended end of life counseling for patients and their doctors but did not suggest paying for it. why is there federal dollars to aid in these conversations. >> these conversations are often with primary care physicians. primary care physicians are spending a great deal of time talking about prevention and illness. by highlighting end of life care, by funding it, it raises importance. this is a critical issue for

americans as they age and wanting to have a say about what might happen to them in the future. >> thank you for coming in this morning. i know you've got a tremendous amount of experience with this. we appreciate you sharing your expertise. >> thank you, john. >> we have a series running this week called "the war at home." it's dealing with the issues that returning veterans coming from the wars in iraq and afghanistan. psychiatric issues. posttraumatic stress disorder. dr. sanjay gupta looks at how the soldiers are trying to cope and the degree of which the illnesses force them to cope coming up in a few moments. co. you just love the aromas of beef tenderloin... and, ooh, rotisserie chicken. yes, you do. [ barks ] yeah. you're so special, you deserve a very special dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. the deliciously different way to serve up your love at mealtime. chef-inspired. dog-desired. chef michael's canine creations.

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38 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. the u.s. army is reportedly planning to put all of the soldiers, we're talking more than 1 million soldiers through intensive mental stress training. the "new york times" says the training is the first of its kind in the military and meant to improve combat performance but also to prevent depression,

posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide. it will affect some of the soldiers coming back from war. in the second part of the series -- "the war at home," the psychological soldiers coming home from the battlefield are dealing with. dr. sanjay gupta has our report. >> there's blood everywhere. difficult to talk about sometimes. >> reporter: it's been a tough transition from fallujah back to small town america for marine veteran matthew brown. >> constantly on alert, is that a mcdonald's bag on the side of the road? a bomb or a bag. is someone trying to get me? different paranoia factors that wear on you after a while. >> reporter: just 24 years old, he joins it one in five iraq war

veterans returning from combat with post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd. >> people knew i wasn't right in the head anymore. i wasn't the same person. then i couldn't explain to them that there's no way i could be the same person after the things i've done and seen is happening to me. >> his mistake -- abusing prescription painkillers and alcohol. at his worst, he said he was drinking a fifth of liquor a day. >> the pain will never go away. it's more than i was prescribed to and drinking on top of it i guess indirectly just trying to end it -- end the pain for a brief moment or forever. >> reporter: brown is not alone. alcohol is easily accessible and excessive and quickly becoming the drug of choice for veterans of iraq and the afghanistan conflict. the study published last year in the american combat soldiers under the age of 30 were seven

times more likely to bing drink. >> nobody comes back from war unchanged. so it will take time to come back to normal society, to deal with the sort of media onslaught we have in this country, the sort of sensory overload and the support system we have set up in the military in the va are stressed to capacity that veterans are falling through the cracks. >> groups like iran and afghanistan veterans of america are addressing congress to fight the psychological injuries of this war. they launched a free on-line community for veterans like brown who need help. >> the people who understand it are the people who have it. life is a constant battle but it's a lot better now. i try to live for the people -- i'm trying to live up to what the people that died could have been. >> oh! >> cnn, pennsylvania.

>> there you go. and there's such a difficult transition coming home, not only for the soldiers who are deployed but also their families. tomorrow, we'll continue the war at home series. sat down for two teenage girls. both are sent to afghanistan through the national guard. they came one the own solution to isolation and loneliness. they're going to travel around the country helping others who are going through the same thing. >> people coming back suffering of difficult problems. are there resources. a lot of people stepping up to the plate. more needs to be done. 42 after the hour. so far, we've had a pretty, i guess, quiet hurricane season. but there's something out there. hurricane bill looks like it may be coming precariously close to the northeast. rob marciano is monitoring, giving you the information you need to know. you'll be along in a couple of minutes.

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controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. ♪ american girl welcome back to the most news in the morning. a live look at atlanta right now. currently, 72 degrees and cloudy. going up to 88 degrees today. keep the raincoat handy because thunderstorms are in the forecast. that sky looks threatening this morning. >> yeah. >> 45 1/2 minutes after the hour. rob marciano monitoring the extreme weather here in new york. not particularly from new york, but from new york. hurricane bill out there. the big question is, how much recurve will that hurricane experience -- will it take it

away from the northeast or toward it? >> the big question is, until it makes that turn -- >> let's check out the satellite imagery. looks fairly impressive. strengthens overnight. the leeward islands. 110 miles from that spot. a well-defined eye. the winds are 100 miles per hour. gusting at 120. movement at west-northwest at 17. until it makes that turn, we're not going to rest easy. not talk about the projected path of this thing. hurricane models up in force. a handful of them up here. give you an idea of where most of them are tracking toward bermuda. a lot of them shoot the gap. bring them close to the united states. the hurricane center showed the code of uncertainty will be close to the eastern seaboard as we get to day five. also notice it will be a category 3, a dangerous storm for sure. we see that recurvature and get it out, we can't rest.

folks in the northeast, keep it right here. speaking of the northeast, you're finally in a full-fledged heat wave. temperatures in the 90s. also, air quality control. air quality alert in effect. thinking of cutting that, doing the yard work. you have the excuse to put it off. but the folks working the roadways and are outside working for a living, they have a little bit more of a tougher go with it. >> try to stay cool. >> yeah. for sure. >> road show. >> you ove been getting suggestion. >> we have. >> go to the world yo-yo championships and the longest yardsale in the world. >> every friday -- john was jealous of me being at the yardsale. here's some of the suggestions that we've gotten on the website. first off, and these probably aren't going to make the official list -- but -- >> don't -- >> the kansas barbed wire museum at lacrosse, kansas.

the largest barbed wire collection in the world? >> does it just sort of sit there? we want action here. >> pick the coon dog cemetery. >> that will be next. because what people do at the coon dog cemetery, they sit around and telltal coon dog tales. here's the action. >> going to show people how to do it? oh. >> the flip cup tournament. and you're -- your lipstick is smeared. >> do it. >> a little -- used to a larger cup. you get the idea. that's happening. so far that's the front-runner. i don't think we're going to send me there. if you have an idea, send it to cnn.com/amfix and every friday until we basically run out of money. >> or you get let go. >> or we go to the barbed wire museum and i get hurt really bad. that would be the action, jon.

>> a climbing wall there? >> maybe so. thank you for your suggestions. >> i have one -- dancing with the stars. maybe rob could try out for "dancing with the stars". >> i'm as good at that as i am flip cup. >> michael irvin, former dallas cowboys' player. kathy ireland. you remember, the beautiful swim suit model. how about this one? tom delay -- former congressman and former majority leader of the house. how do you think his dance moves are? >> i've never seen him dance. he knew how to bob and we've certainly when he was in congress, but does that help you dance. i'm not sure. >> if they're as good as hillary clinton, he may have a shot. >> maybe getting lessons from her. this is going to be a bipartisan effort. still ahead, more of what's going on with tom delay.

♪ just dance going to be okay ♪ ♪ just dance eight minutes to the top of the hour right now. back in the day when he was house gop leader, tom delay's preferred move was the strong arm. nicknamed the hammer there in congress. now he'll be show casing his footwork. >> dancing with the stars. cnn's jeanne moos takes a look at the congressman's tv two step. >> reporter: not since conservative commentator tucker carlson good naturedly made a spectacle of himself, as the political establishment had so much anticipation. >> 16 new stars will take center stage. tom delay. >> former republican house

majority leader known as the hammer, no relation to this hammer. ♪ go hammer >> reporter: the other hammer tweeted he'd be dancing with the stars and set up a website -- dancing with delay. the daughter told "the washington post" he lost 12 pounds working out. in anticipation -- >> it's quayle ♪ oh. >> we bring you "dancing with the politicos." >> i can't believe he hasn't hurt himself yet. >> up and down ready to hop. >> reporter: from karl rove's rap to the first couple's slow dance. we let the people -- for instance, former secretary of state madeleine albright giving macarena questions. >> a brilliant show of international dance diplomacy. >> reporter: or sarah palin on ""saturday night live"". >> i say an 11.

>> she bites her lip off. dirty girl. >> reporter: one of the lowest scores went to a legendary clip of president bush. the question is, can tom delay disprove the republicans can't dance notion? >> what happens with the republicans is it's. ♪ bad bad leroy brown >> barack obama's moves were blown away by michelle's. >> oh, nice, very nice. the moves. serious moves. >> reporter: or perfect 10. >> are those the hips of the first lady? >> hand over mouth reaction was reserved for cnn's very own wolf blitzer. >> he kind of reminded me of a bobble head doll. and i like the way they move. >> reporter: cnn commentator roland martin got the highest markets. >> 10,108 for roland martin. >> sitting down he dances better

than all the others. >> reporter: when all else fails, let your partner sit on you. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> i can't wait to see it. he may surprise us all. >> tom delay? do they have to do a -- he always used to wear cowboy boots. what kind of dancing can you do in a cowboy boot except for the two step. >> tango and other quite difficult ones. we'll see. there's more misinformation about health care out there, such as under the new proposals, you can't get eye care until you go blind. debunking that one. bringing out the truth squad. is if you run into a friend and you want to share a photo with a flick, there's an app for that. if you want to share contact info with a bump, there's an app for that. or if you just want to share some downtime, well, there's an app for that too.

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laptops designed for college and thousands of people eager to help. best buy. buyer be happy. welcome back to the most news in the morning. a make or break month for health care reform. more town hall meetings on tap today. we're going beyond the talking

points coming from both sides and giving you some of the facts that you need. our alina cho is back on the truth squad. we're hearing about this claim when it comes to eye care. what's covered in that. there seems to be scary stuff floating around. >> it is floating around. and like many rumors out there, it is being floated on the internet. good morning, guys. good morning, everybody. it is a shocking one. much of what we're seeing is flooding around over chain mails. this is the case here. we even got a question from a viewer about this. florence from north carolina who wrote -- quote, i have a disturbing e-mail that said the new health bill would not help a person with macular degeneration until they lost the vision in one eye first. is this true? first, let me tell you what macular degeneration is. it's an eye disease that can gradually destroy your vision. it's more common the older you get. it's the leading cause of blindness for people 65 or older affecting some 10 million americans. that's a big problem. that's fine.

but the question is, is it in the health care bill? well, to be clear, there's no final bill. many people know that. we have pored over the thousand pages of the house version and the senate bill and we found no sign of macular degeneration. no word macular or degeneration. where is this claim coming from? here's what we found. in a commentary about the stimulus bill -- stimulus bill published by bloomberg news back in february, betsy mccoy said, quote, in 2006, the uk health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait before they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. mccoy was arguing the stimulus bill, not the health care bill would be rationing. it appears her words were taken

out of context. pretty clear, false. >> nothing waiting for the sound effect. >> wanted a sound effect. no such rule governing macular degeneration or eye health or any version of the health care bills that congress is currently considering. the truth squads on the campaign. have to work on those sound effects. >> yeah. >> nonetheless -- >> but we'll be bringing -- >> i think people will find it as well. a lot of it on the site. >> a whole truth squad team looking at every aspect of health legislation. a lot of people they care about. president obama is running an on-ed piece over the weekend to get the message out there. we're watching it too. >> thank you so much. if you have a question, if you're not really sure if you're getting the full story out there or if you've heard a claim about health care reform that maybe doesn't sound right, give us a call, tell us about it. we'll get to the bottom of it.

go to our special website, cnn.com/health care. 7:00 on the nose. thanks for being with us this morning. tuesday, august 18. i'm kiran chetry. >> i'm john roberts. here are the big stories that we're breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. is the white house waivering? is president obama considering reform this morning without a government-backed public option. breaking through the politics and getting the real answers for you this morning. >> the possibility of no public option has liberal members of congress steaming this morning. nancy pelosi says a government-backed plan will be part of any bill considered in her chamber of congress. ahead, we'll talk to congressman anthony weiner who said it must be part of any bill. prosecutors are calling it the largest case of computer crime and identity theft ever. a man in jail accused of stealistea stealing 130 million credit card

and debit card numbers. he's not just your average hacker. the details read like a tom clancy novel. is your information in one of the chapters of this book? the cnn money team has all of the details ahead. the x files released. thousands of pages of documents detailing all kinds of alleged ufo sighting. but people go ail alien crazy when hollywood does. are these real close encounters or are we buying to the hype. is the administration waivering on a critical part of the health care plan, a government-backed health care option. the make or break reform the so-called public option was the only way to drive down health care costs for you and your family. mixed messages coming from the inner circle. suzanne malveaux is working her sources. live at the white house this morning. what's the story? what are you hearing about the back and forth over the public

option. are they dialing back or committed to it as they were? well, you know, they got slammed yesterday. a lot of critics coming out saying, look, you know, the suggestion that the public option is an option is just not fathom nabl. a lot of people say it's -- they think this is very important. what white house officials yesterday did was essentially tried to push back on this. essentially e-mails. reporters, talking points that were sent to democratic leaders saying this is still on the table. this has not been taken off of the table. robert gibbs tried to say the language was consistent. but they are trying to make a point here, john. they're saying there are two things that have to happen that are not an option. and that is that the reforms, whatever way this reform looks, has to slow down the rate of increase in health care costs and it also essentially has to provide competition to these private insurance companies. that could take another form. they're trying to show a little bit of flexibility here.

a trial balloon, if you will, john. they clearly got the message from some folks that they want that public option. >> so this health care debate is playing out across the country, what's happening behind closed doors there at the white house? >> last week, the day the president didn't have anything on the schedule. that makes journalists like us, what's going on in the white house? behind the scenes, meeting with top aides on health care reform. they didn't have the vote they need in the senate for the public option. how do we get more republicans? how do we get the fiscally conservative democrats onboard? how do we reassure from the public insurance companies they're not put out of business. de-emphasize the public option and see what percolates. that's what they try to do. show some flexibility there. what do you have for us. what can we work for that everybody, or at least a lot of folks can agree on.

that's what you're seeing played out now, jon. >> one idea being floated -- the idea of co-ops to buy health insurance. we'll talk to senator conrad here in the next hour. suzanne malveaux, thanks so much. liberal members of congress are making it clear this morning that they think any reform has to include a public option. democrats who lost ground in the health care debate are trying to pull off a late-inning rally. is it too late. carol costello is tracking that side of the story for us this morning. hey, carol. >> hi, kiran. the health care protest has taken on a sort of "i know you are but what am i" kind of quality. democrats are going to outshout republicans at town hall meetings. get ready for some noise. >> reporter: like a good old-fashioned duel, on one side, those opposed, armed with sharp words. >> stop obama now. >> reporter: and signs that cut right to the chase.

but this time, obama supporters roused themselves and fought back. but they didn't throw stones. >> health care! >> reporter: and at this protest, they didn't carry signs calling the other side controversial names. >> we're being respectful. out for the first time, it's a real turning point for us. folks have been focusing on the other side. now we've outnumbered them three to one today. >> the pro-obama crowd is organizing for the grassroots network. the same network that worked so hard for him in the 2008 campaign. it's one weapon they've been using to combat combatic town hall meetings. >> why is congressman boehner taking the side of insurance companies in the debate. >> reporter: some analysts say, it all comes way too late. >> a lot of democrats would say it's about time or past time.

the administration lost control of the message on health care. and once the president loses control of the agenda, it is very difficult to get it back. >> reporter: sabado says the president never controlled the message because he didn't come up with his own plan, leaving that to lawmakers who crafted several plans -- all open to interpretation and rumor. like the death panel. once something like "they want to kill grandma" is out there, it's tough to fight, even though the president has tried. >> for all of the scare tactics out there, what is truly risky is if we do nothing. >> the supporters are trying to do something more, even though they only succeed in drowning out the competing noise. but analysts say scary seems to be working right now. the major health care plan was not passed by the senate before the august break. although the president denies it, the administration left wiggle room in the favored

public health insurance option. if that goes by the wayside, expect the president to pass a plan, but one that's been seriously scaled back. kiran. that's what a lot of liberal democrats in the house are trying to avoid. in a couple of minutes, we'll be speaking with congressman anthony weiner about that situation. he is saying that it's make or break that this public option has to be in any bill. so we'll see how it turns out. thanks, carol. >> thanks. >> also in carol's report, you saw that supporters and protesters outside of the president's speech or at the vfw in arizona. in that crowd, there's a man toting not just one but two guns. a handgun, all of it legal. the man said he was exercising his right who are protesting the president's health care reform. >> i'm kpr sizing my right as an american in arizona. i'm absolutely totally against health care -- health care in this way, in this manner, stealing it from people, it's

not appropriate. in america, people have the ability to fight back and to resist. >> the police say about a dozen people in phoenix were armed. you may remember last week, in new hampshire a man stood outside of the president's town hall with a pistol strapped to his leg. it has some political observers asking is this is is it start of a disturbing new trend. others claim that rallies create a chilling effect. the public option in the health care plan? is it a red line that the congress will not give up?

> lovely shot this morning. at the state house in south carolina. sunny, 73 degrees. later on today, mostly sunny. going up to a high of 95.

she had to hear that her husband called his mistress his soul mate. jenny sanford, wife of mark sanford is opening up in the latest issue of "vogue" magazine talking about the husband's affair in argentina saying i feel sorry for the other woman. i'm sure she's a fine person. can't be fun for her, though. can't be fun for her. though i do question her judgment. mrs. sanford says when she and her husband met we weren't madly in love but we were good friends. she says the ball is in her husband's court. kiran. facing a backlash over the possibility that a government-backed health care option will be left out of an overhaul. nancy pelosi said it will be inclouded in any house bill. but why do some democrats feel it's a make or break opposition. here to talk about is anthony weiner, somebody who supports the public option. and you think it's vital, in fact, to actually reforming

health care. what is your sense right now? we had mixed messages over the last couple of days in the white house, where they stand, whether or not the public option needs to be in any final bill. >> i don't know. that's part of the problem over the weekend. it seems like the secretary of hhs is saying it's not that important. i saw the president saying it's not that important. but, you know, look, this is vital for a substantive reason and political reason. the reason is if you don't have the public option, that's why you're leaving the private insurance companies to help reduce costs. they're not going to do that. we know that. for the longest time, we're not going far enough. i think we should do much more to make sure insurance companies are held under wraps. without the public plan, we're not going to hold down costs. if we're not going to hold down costs, i don't know what we're doing here. who is the president negotiating against? i don't see republican friends in congress saying if you make this tweak or change, we'll come

onboard. they're saying no to everything. so we might as well get the best possible bill since they're going to be in opposition anyway. >> they can't get it out of the senate, though. there's a possibility they could bring over a few. a bipartisan committee trying to work up something in the senate. it will stall. >> i'm not sure we don't have 51 senators for a public plan. we don't know that yet. we've been trying to get the bipartisan deal out of the senate finance committee. for the senate, it's like for a child looking at the unicorn. we'd like it to be there but we don't believe that the republicans are interested in doing a deal. if you get rid of the public option, you may buy one or two votes in the senate, you lose 50, 60, 100 votes in the house and the overall rationale of the bill. >> one of your colleagues in the senate said -- let's listen to what ken conrad said on sunday about whether or not it's a pipe dream. >> the fact of the matter is that there are not the votes in the united states senate for the

public option. there never have been. so, to -- to continue to chase that rabbit, i think is just a wasted effort. >> is it a wasted effort? >> you know, our forefathers called the senate the cooling box of our democracy. it's where legislation goes to die. we have to make a passionate strong argument for what's right here. what's right here is having competition and choice for the american people. we know the best public option we have is medicare. we know that seniors like it. we need to fight to protect it. i think we should extend it. if you're going to let private insurance companies hopefully do their best to help us out, we're not going to do anything. senator conrad said he's not going to get a bill in the committee. put it to them and decide whether it should be a public option. we're not going to control costs. keep raying off too many people, keep bankrupting the treasury. just not going to work.

>> some say a co-op system could work and be a decent compromise. they would assemble their own net worth to providers. why do some like you think a co-op is a weakened version of full out public option? >> there's no examples of it working. only the federal government is muscular enough to put together a plan on day one that will be able to compete. a co-op with individual citizens getting together and trying to negotiate lower prices. no sign that it will work. if it does, it will be years out. >> no examples. two -- group health cooperative of washington state. half a million americans. i understand it's on a smaller scale. but they're considered successful. can they be a model with a larger scale -- >> the only problem is one, they took years to get it to any place that they were able to be a market for us. two, they're only a market force

in other time and three with the market force of pressure, we've seen no signs they've been able to hold costs down. the federal government has a national single pay or socialized medicine. not really socialized because we don't control the means but let's use the language of the right. it's been able to reduce the administrative costs of 4%. companies have provided an overhead of 30%. we know that a federal program can compete and compete well. the competition will hold down costs too much. >> they claim it will knock out -- put private insurance out of business and people won't have insurance. >> what i don't understand that -- the logical extension is citizens are going to choose the public plan. >> our their employers will choose it for them and they don't have the choice. >> employees don't have the choice now. employers are choosing now if they'll have a high prize insurance they can't afford. if citizens choose it, that's the marketplace at work. >> realistically, do you think it will get out of the house.

out of the house, do you think the bill is going to pass with the public option? >> i know we have more votes with the public option without. right now, no single plan has the votes, including my plan for medicare for all type of plan. there's no -- we're going to have to tell you something. if the president got up, stopped going back and forth on these things. here's where we're going and here's why, we would be able to muster it. >> congressman weiner, great to get your point of view. good luck. headed to bermuda. so is hurricane bill. hope it works out for you. it's a new record in terms of hacking credit cards. 130 million credit card numbers stolen -- wow. the supreme hacker strikes and christine romans tells you all about it coming up next. @@@@@@

21 minutes after the hour. christine romans here minding your business. previous record for credit card theft got blown away, didn't it, by the latest alleged scam. >> this is 130 million credit and debit cards breached. 130 million. this is a global -- a worldwide scheme to steal your personal financial information from the computer systems of five different companies and then disseminate, sale, who knows what happened with this information. the guy accused of this in brookl brooklyn, a miami native indicted twice for similar cases. but 130 million. the data stolen from 7-eleven. if you used a debit card at

7-eleven, heartland payment systems processes debit and credit card transactions of the big retailers so it connects you with the money, your money with them to get them paid. now, this person is sitting in jail already charged. there's a whole bunch of states that are already, you know, knocking on his door waiting to charge him as well. t.j. max, dave & busters. a whole bunch of companies whose credit card information was breached here. what makes me dra crazy is your information lives in hundreds, if not thousands of places where you have no control over it. >> how do you know? >> most states by law require that the company contact you and say there's been a data breach. we don't know what happened to your information. we know it's been looked at, found, copied. they give you maybe a year of free credit counseling and help you get a copy of your credit reco report.

this is not like you shred your documents and you're safe. your information is at a lot of people. i would check my activity today to make sure there's nothing fishy. >> good tip. >> romance numeral two. 25 -- 25 hours -- how long it takes to fix it once you found out that someone has stolen your identity. takes on average 25 hours. >> on the telephone. >> most of that on hold. >> most of it spewing naughty words going help me, help me. 25 hours. once you're caught up in one of these things and the information is stolen to somebody else, on average of -- >> there's no guarantee it won't come back to haunt you time and time again. >> the credit card is covered up. the debit card, it's a lot harder to go back and get your money back. >> my mother won't buy anything on-line. come on, it's safe. going to the store. maybe she's on to something.

>> maybe instead of going to the store. >> a big gulp at 7-eleven. >> look what happened? >> cold hard cash. releases about ufos meaning does that sort of get to our mind, trigger something? and we think we see the ufos out there? does your mouthwash work in six different ways?

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beautiful shot. sun coming up in dallas, texas. clear, sunny, and hot. 96 degrees for a high. welcome back. in the make or break month for health care reform, a lot of the

town hall meetings have gotten contentious as we've seen. for conservative congressmen in a conservative district, things were easier. ed lavandera was live with more. hey, ed. you can see the building we're working out of in our bureau. here to spend the day with us, joe barton who represents the dallas area and is also in a deeply conservative area. it's easy to see the anger brewing in those areas. it only took a few seconds for congressman joe barton to set the theme of this town hall meeting. >> our president decided to try to cram a national bureaucratic health bill down the throats of the american people. it doesn't look like to me y'all think it's a very good idea. this is the bill. >> when representative barton showed the massive health care

bill, the crowd gasped at its size. most people didn't have questions. they came to vent. >> get the federal government out of our lives. >> my first statement is relative to this health care. it's a farce. >> i'm a little nervous. >> don't worry about it. >>ened'm a little teed off. >> they worry the reform will help illegal immigrants, fund abortions, and drive up the federal deficit. and repeatedly, many suggested the plan is unconstitutional. >> introduced a bill that makes it mandatory for each and every congressman and each and every congressman's staff to take out the constitution and read the dagum thing. >> and before leaving, the congressman was given a heavy dose about small town wisdom about not backing down from the health care bill. >> put a spirit on the american

people. tell these people you can't unscramble an egg, but you can be careful what you do with the next one, okay? i think -- >> that's pretty good. i'll remember that. >> after the meeting, i spoke with congressman barton who clearly was preaching to the choir. >> pretty safe victory. >> i'm very lucky in that i -- i represent a constituency that i agree with and i don't have to try to debate and argue. >> we know one of the things that the congress has done is this flowchart had a prominent position there at the town hall meeting. yesterday he'll continue to use it throughout the week. and this is the flowchart that many republicans have been floating around. they say it's what health care looked like under democrats. democrats say it's full of mistakes but republicans say this is what they've drawn up. congressman barton has several more town hall meetings

scheduled for the rest of the week. ed lavandera, thanks so much. 30 minutes past the hour. here are the top stories this morning. president obama will be meeting with egyptian president hosni mubarak today. mr. obama is trying to get the arab-israeli peace process back on track. this will be mubarak's first visit in five years. he was rejected president bush to improve human rights and democracy in this country. michael jackson's mother is said to be pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against aeg live. aeg had a, quote, very, very active role in michael's life in the last six months including paying for dr. conrad murray and the home jackson was staying in. so far from land, but forecasters say the category two storm with winds of 100 miles per hour could grow to be a major hurricane in the next day or two. it's on track to graze bermuda

by the end of the week. >> protest, rallies, television ads. the health care debate is turning a lot of opinions to fact. we want to do a reality check and get expert advice on how to fix the broken health care system. for that, bring in kenneth thorp. dr. thorp, thanks for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. so the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi and a couple of senators are saying that the public option for health insurance is essential to covering the uninsured in this country. is it or can it be done another way? >> i think lit be done another way. we need to go back to the basis of what we're trying to do here. we need to control the growth and health care costs. and, two, we're trying to get everybody with health insurance. those are the two major componentses of health care reform. we're in a tactical discussion about how to achieve those ends. but i hope we don't lose sight of what we're trying to do in

the first place. >> let me ask you this question -- there are varying opinions on this. the congressional budget office says one thing. the group did a study for the heritage foundation, the conservative organization that says quite another. would a public plan drive private insurance out of business. >> the public plan would only be offered to people who are working for small businesses or don't have health insurance. the congressional budget office said basically the cost of that plan would be 10% less of the private insurance plans and they enroll 15 million, 16 million people. obviously, most people would be covered by private health insurance in this country. >> 15 million or 16 million people, would they be people currently who do not have insurance or are they in private plans to choose the public option? what's to stop employers if the public option is cheaper from dumping private insurance. >> the employers who offer insurance today would not be eligible to dump their employees

in to the public option. the public option would be available to smaller businesses and people who doan have access to health insurance today. so what the cbo has said, the congressional budget office, is that most americans would continue to get coverage through private health insurance and, in fact, enrollment in private health insurance would increase. the public option would enroll 15 million to 16 million people. so that balance between the public and private sector would be relatively unchanged. >> you mentioned something of this. i would like to delve into more detail. the idea of cutting costs. a lot of this reform is aimed at cutting costs. the president said we can't get the deficit under control until we controlled health care costs. what's the best way of doing that? a couple of the ideas is dump fee for service, which is the way health care is administered for the most part in favor of what's called whole patient care. you pay a sum of money to the doctor or to a hospital to treat the patient's current disease. the other model being looked at

is the cleveland clinic where doctors are paid salaries as opposed to a fee for service. what's the best way to cut costs in the health care system? >> that's exactly the discussion that we should be having. we've got to go back to the basics. three-quarters of what we spend in health care is linked to patients with chronic diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol. 20% of patients are readmitted to the hospitals in 30 days. we need to rebuild the delivery system in this country to make sure that we're doing a better job of working with patients to keep them out of the hospital, keep them from being readmitted to the hospital in the first place. if we did some simple things in medicare, just cutting readmission rates in after, we could save $100 billion in the next ten years. that's the discussion we need to have on how to control health care costs. we've become offcenter here by an exclusive focus on the public option. it's a good discussion.

but we need to go back to the basics. where do we spend our money? how do we control health care costs and it starts with the people with chronic health care conditions. >> none of the issues are what doctors believe is the issue. the cost of medical malpractice insurance. tort reform is needed. i know a doctor who pays $80,000 a year in premiums. >> for american physicians, it's a major problem. we have to find the way to reduce the frequency of medical malpractice claims that are unwarranted. one of the things that's stunning to me is 70% of what we spent on premiums goes to administering the system. adjudicatin adjudicating, arguing over what's right and wrong, we can do a better job by reducing the cost of administering medical malpractice. >> we heard the buzz word out there. we heard the president mention it -- best practices.

critics of these claims say best practices is a code word for health care rationing. is it possible under this public plan, we could see further health care rationing? >> i want my physician to have the best information available in terms of what works and what doesn't work. if i'm looking at how to manage my diabetes or high blood pressure, i want to have the best clinical evidence of different ways of treating it so he can work with me to make a decision. more information for physicians, more information for consumers. that's all good. >> ken thorp, thank you for talking to me this morning. thank you for giving me your analysis. >> thanks for having me on. we hear about ufo sightings. people have to report them more when space-related or ufo movies are released. 100 potato chips...

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. something many people believe in be think that the government is hiding from us. we're getting a look at the x files. great britain's version of the x files. >> ufo sightings seemed to spike around the time that sci-fi movies hit the theaters. is it coincidence? looking in to it from our london bureau, zain? >> alien abductions, sources, intelligent life may not be a downing street briefings but more ufo files have just been released and britain is funding. a spaceship loaded stories, documenting close encounters and mysterious incidents. the uk national archives has released another batch of the government's x files.

thousands of pages listing more than 800 ufo sightings reported between 1993 and 1996. 1996 was the bumper alien year -- 609 sighting, up five fold from the year before. 1996 was also the year the tv show, "x-files" was at its peak. the same year will smith battled aliens at "independence day," coincidence. the reports grabbing headline. >> they exist -- i can't prove they don't, but they do. >> we have enough problems already without having to worry about aliens or ufos? >> reporter: if you look up in the sky and see anything strange, you can report it at the british ministry of defense website. this person saw a formation of 18 lights. they appeared like a flock of helicopters with lights on. look at this -- the flying

saucer with lights on it that changed from a saucer shape to a star shape and then disappeared. a ministry of defence spokesperson tells cnn that it looked to see if air space may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorized activity. the u.s. spy plane called aurora could be behind a slew of reported sightings in 1993. one official briefing note says there were unusual ufo sightings over britain that matched some of the characteristics of the so-called aurora. the 14 news files debunk some other incidents but they show some sightings are just plain strange and unexplained. >> something is going on. i don't know what the answer is. but the truth really is the x-files wherever the truth is. >> releasing the files over a

period of three years. so we get to learn more about bright lights in the night sky. john, kiran. >> with the new movie, "district 9," likely to be more ufo sightings as well. >> there you go. >> have you seen an ufo? >> i think i have. have you? >> i was on a sailboat 20 years ago. thought some lights flying across the lake. but it was the reflections in my beer glass. >> you can never prove it. 41 past the hour. on the agenda in the next 20 minutes, if health care reform passes, will grandma have to get in line? dr. gupta about rationing health care. is the white house waivering on a key part of the health plan. is it worth passing without the public option? some say it's the case. others say it won't make it through congress with the latest option. the latest curveball from the make or break push. live from the white house.

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♪ chicago, chicago >> cloudy, 70 degrees. >> not chicago. >> what is it? >> atlanta. >> just talking to rob. rob said he's going to atlanta. that is downtown chicago. doesn't look a thing like atlanta. cloudy. sunny and 81 later on today. >> that music and everything, like we're in a time warp. >> frank sinatra told me atlanta was his kind of town as well. makes sense. >> don't associate sinatra with atlanta but -- >> the dreaded effects of sleep deprivation. >> we need a red bull, stat!

rob marciano teasing congressman weaner because he was headed to bermuda. isn't hurricane bill headed to bermuda. >> maybe we should give him some equipment and he can broadcast live. >> he should be an ireporter. >> it would work. i love it. we had three storms happening. this is what happened with claudette. came across the florida panhandle, through southern parts of mississippi and alabama. flooding is the main issue. we do have a bit of beach erosion also. slight wind damage. rainfall was the big number. check out the numbers for storm toe al precipitation. florida -- 4 1/2 inch, 4 1/2. an 3 1/2 with . there's a good satellite signature. 110 miles to the east of the leeward islands but headed west-northwest at 17 miles per hour. that's to the u.s. and that

gives us some concern. that's the forecast expected to develop to a category three storm. major hurricane status with winds up to 130. shooting the gap between bermuda and the carolinas. what it does after that, we don't know. it could get close enough to the u.s. to have a bit of an effect there. meantime, a stifling day across the northeast. this is the full fledged heat wave, finally with temperatures in the u.s. talking about it a couple of minutes ago. health care, best practices. is this really a provision in the health care bill. will they see their health care rationed? dr. sanjay gupta has it rallied. going to want to see this. (announcer) listening to you.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. across the country, lawmakers are hitting more town halls today. the politics, the and flat out giving you the facts. the truth about seniors and health care reform. sanjay? >> i'll tell you, john and kiran, talking about health care reform, a term you hear a lot is rationing. what does that mean? we came here to this icu to try to figure it out and we heard the tale of three sisters. >> reporter: at 78, thelma is the youngest, then there's carolyn who is 80, and helen, who is the oldest, she's 82. >> are you worried with health care reform? a lot of people have been talking. >> i'm concerned with it. >> tell me why. >> i try not to worry. well, i have read some things that says that as you get older, you're liable to wait and wait and wait before you can have

surgery. you're going to wait longer than the younger people. >> reporter: a lot of people think so. a look at the reform bill, there's no mention of that, no mention of rationing, no mention of the government making so-called end of life decisions for seniors. so where is this notion coming from? from a provision in the house health care bill providing for end of life counseling. republican chuck grassley says his senate committee dropped that provision for fear it would be misinterpreted. >> i think people are freaked out because there's a lot of bad information and misinformation being put out there by opponents of health care reform, by saying that we're somehow going to pull the plug on grandma. those are fear mongering out there for opponents of reform. >> reporter: misinformation? yes, and yet that fear is only growing. >> are they saying that the older people aren't as valuable? >> certainly. >> you feel that for real? >> well, i don't personally feel that, but i feel like the government thinks so. >> i'm doing the best i can.

>> reporter: the three sisters have had more than 13 operations over the years costing close to $250,000. i ask carolyn, is it worth it? >> i say if you pay your premiums, you ought to get the same service that the younger person does. >> there's no change in any of these pieces of legislation that would take the power away from the patients and the physician making whatever choice is best for them. >> reporter: helen's doctor. >> should there be a cutoff at some point? say look, this person is too old? >> the cut off needs to be decided based on general health, their ability to rehabilitation after surgery and able to withstand surgery. >> reporter: as much as we talk about the policy of health department, the reform of health, the question being asked is what if this were your mother? what if this were your grandmother? this is the art of medicine. >> doc, thanks so much. well, we're following a

disturbing new trend that seems to be happening at some of these health care rallies. people are bringing guns. of course, they're perfectly legal to carry. they have permits to carry them, but some are questioning whether it's maybe not such a good idea and perhaps it's stifling the base. intimidating people. 53 minutes past the hour. bicycle, i've missed you. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ .

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56 minutes past the hour right now. as we take a look at new york city, sunny, 77, and it is going to be a scorcher today, 93 degrees and sunny for a high. and welcome back to the most news in the morning. there's outrage, charges of racial profiling this morning after india's biggest movie star, the king of bollywood was stopped for questioning by immigration officials at newark airport. authorities say it was simply standard procedure, but some say the uproar smells like a publicity stunt. mary snow is following it all for us. >> reporter: john and kiran, some describe him as india's brad pitt and tom cruise all in one. that's how big he is. but he says it's his muslim last name that caught the attention of u.s. immigration officials and it's kicked off a fire storm he's trying to quell.

he's an icon. known for his energetic dance movies has starred in many bollywood movies, which features scenes in new york. but the star status when he arrived at newark, new jersey's airport, he was questioned for roughly an hour. >> they kept telling me it's because your name is common. and i was too polite to ask common to what? so it's a bit of an issue. >> as khan posed for pictures with fans on sunday in houston, fans in india were outraged at u.s. officials after khan says he was detained. protestors took to the streets, some burned an american flag when government officials suggested subjecting americans to the same kind of treatment when they visited india. a columnist with the mirror says the anger isn't so much about racial profiling. >> it is more about how dare

you, america, stop a very well-known, most famous actor and insult him. >> reporter: the u.s. ambassador noting he's a welcome guest in the united states. u.s. customs and border protection denies khan was detained. a spokesman said he was selected for a secondary inspection that he calls routine. he will not say why he was singled out citing privacy issues. because khan's luggage got lost, the interview lasted longer than usual. as for the anger over the incident, said in a statement, u.s. customs and border protection strives to treat all travelers with respect and a professional manner while maintaining the focus of our mission to protect all citizens and visitors in the united states. khan says he understands the need for security, but adds -- >> the obviously is better to be safe than sorry. but in that, maybe you do that to -- you know, regular people

who want to be if not welcome at least not feel unwelcome when they come to your country. >> reporter: khan just finished filming a movie in the u.s. following 9/11 it's called "my name is khan" and while he's getting plenty of support, there's some questions whether he's seeking publicity. john and kiran? >> mary snow for us, thanks so much. coming up on the top of the hour. good morning, once again, it's tuesday, august 18th. here's the big stories we'll be breaking down for you. is the white house wavering? is president obama considering reform this morning without a government-backed public option? we're breaking through the politics and getting the real answers today. well, the protestors at town hall meetings packing heat. police spot at least a dozen people in arizona legally carrying guns outside of president obama's speech to veterans yesterday.

one man even had an assault rifle. they're not violating any laws, but critics say it's a disturbing trend. we'll explain ahead. and if you're looking at some of your investments this morning, you might be wondering what happened after a five-month rally, stocks pulled back big-time amid concerns consumers aren't spending enough to pull the u.s. out of a recession. christine romans will join us whether to break down whether wall street can bounce back. we begin with the white house walking a fine line. is the administration wavering on a critical part of the health care plan. a government-backed health care option. when the president launched his blitz on reform, that so-called public option was billed as the best way to drive down health care costs for you and your families. now there's mixed messages coming from the president's inner circle. our suzanne malveaux is working her sources at the white house. what are your hearing this morning? >> reporter: well, essentially what aides are saying this morning is this is not considered the only option, the public option, but the best

option. that's what they're trying to emphasize. a lot of pushback because of criticism yesterday, essentially taking it off the table. white house aides are telling us in e-mail form in the gaggle, in the briefings that this is not the case. they're not taking it off the table per se, but what they're trying to do is emphasize that there are two things they want. they want more competition for these private insurance companies and one of those possibilities is, of course, the public option. another possibility is a co-op, particularly something that some republicans are looking at quite favorably. the other thing they say is they want to slow down the rate of growth when it comes to health care costs. they want to slow that down a little bit. those are two things they're emphasizing. they're trying to stress the flexibility because they know if you sign something into law, it's not going to look the way it looks today, it's not going to look the way it did yesterday. come up with something here that they can work with. that is the main message from

the white house this morning. >> what's happening behind closed doors there at the white house? one day we hear the public option isn't so important, the next day we hear, no, it is still important. what are they doing in terms of trying to craft something people can get their hands around? >> you may recall last week, there was a day when the president didn't have any public events on his schedule. that's the kind of day that makes us nervous wondering what's going on. that was the day he was sitting with his senior aides, his health care staff essentially coming to some moments here, some realizations, they didn't have support on the senate side, that they needed to express more flexibility here and that's what you're seeing playing out here. how can they come up with something that more republicans, more fiscally conservative democrats can sign on to? if you de-emphasize one option, perhaps there's another one that percolates to the surface that people will go ahead and sign up on. at the moment, it happens to be that co-op option. that is what you're seeing. them really trying to put it out there.

the perhaps in a bipartisan way to get this thing done in the next couple of months. >> thus far, no agreement on anything. suzanne malveaux, thanks so much. >> well, some people protesting the president's health care reform are also exercising their right to bear arms. police in phoenix say about a dozen people showed up with guns outside where the president was speaking at the annual veterans of foreign wars. one protester in the crowd was toting an assault rifle on his back, a handgun on his waist and explained reporters why he came armed. >> i'm exercising my rise right as an american. i'm against health care in this manner. stealing it from people, i don't think that's appropriate. i think in america people have a an ability to fight back. >> last week in new hampshire a man stood outside president obama's town hall with a pistol strapped to his leg. some political observers are

asking if this is the start of a disturbing trend where critics claim that guns at political rallies could create a chilling effect and inhibit honest communication. president obama is taking a break from publicly pitching his plan for health care reform. no plans to talk about it today. but as the president steps back from the fray, his supporters are stepping in. carol costello live in washington at some of these health care rallies are really now taking on the tone of a campaign event, aren't they? >> they are, despite the guns, the protests were loud. taken on a sort of, i know you are, but what am i quality? democrats are organizing to outshout republicans at town hall meetings. get ready for some noise. it was like a good old-fashioned duel. and signs that cut right to the chase. but this time, obama supporters

roused themselves and fought back. but they didn't exactly throw stones. and at this protest, they didn't carry signs calling the other side controversial names. >> they're staying respectful. we are, you know, out for the first time i feel like it's a real turning point for us. folks have been focusing on the other side and we've outnumbered them at least three to one today, if not more. >> reporter: the pro-obama crowd is part of the president's organizing for america grass roots network, the same network that worked so hard for him during the 2008 campaign. it's just one weapon that democrats have been using lately to combat combative town hall meetings. >> why is congressman boehner taking the side of the insurance companies in the health care debate? >> reporter: these ads are part of the strategy too. some analysts say, it all comes way too late. >> a lot of democrats would say it's about time or it's past

time. the administration lost control of the message on health care. and once the president loses control of the agenda, it is very difficult to get it back. >> reporter: he says the president never did control the message because he didn't come up with his own plan, leaving that to lawmakers who crafted several plans, all open to interpretation and rumor. like the death panel. something like they want to kill grandmas out there, it's tough to fight, even though the president has tried. >> for all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary, what is truly risky is if we do nothing. >> reporter: well, his supporters are now trying to do something more. even if they only succeed in drowning out the competing noise. >> but analysts say scary seems to be working right now. a major health care plan was not passed by the senate before the august break. and although the president denies it, kiran, his administration left them wiggle room in the favored public health insurance option.

sabado says expect the president to pass a plan, but one that's been seriously scaled back. >> carol costello for us, thanks so much. and also, just ahead, what about turning to health care co-op? is that a viable option? something being floated by senator kent conrad, the north dakota democrat, joining us live to talk about that in 25 minutes. the markets didn't have a great day yesterday, what are they going to do today? well, they'll gain back some of what they lost yesterday, but what's behind the market tumble? christine romans will have that for us. seven minutes now after the hour. acho (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. others by the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning in less than 90 minute's time, wall street hopes to pick back up after a rough day yesterday. stocks plunged after the opening bell and never looked back, the dow lost 186 points or 2% of its value. the selloff fuelled by fears the consumer spending, the engine that drives the economy is still weak. christine romans minding your business and are we looking a little better today? >> a little bit better today. it's all about the consumer, how far the market has come over the past few months. the s&p has had a 49% rally in five months after a terrible first quarter of the year since march 9th, the markets have been up. so any kind of sign that the consumer might not be recovering as quickly as they hoped that the global economy isn't recovering as quickly as best hoped, that's going to cause a setback, and that's what we saw down 186 points yesterday. and the big concern here, again, is the consumer. and i want to warn everybody that we're going to get a lot of conflicting data over the next

few months and that's what happens when a recession is ending and a recovery is trying to begin or take root. you get a lot of conflicting information from manufacturing and from the stock market and from the jobs situation and from the consumer. what we do know is that this consumer is spending less and saving more. either because it's a new thrift and they're nervous or frankly because they have to because they don't have the money to spend and they've got to put some money away just to buffer against the future. we know the savings rate now is about 4.6%, that's down a little bit from where it was in the spring. you're still near 13-year highs for the savings rate. >> which is a good thing for your personal economy. >> which is a good thing for your personal economy. >> but that can also blunt the recovery if you've got everyone afraid and holding on to their dollars. that's the real cka none drum here. >> you saw commodities and you saw stocks down pretty sharply and pretty hard with good volume

yesterday, which would suggest that when the selling started, there were a lot of people ready to jump on that bandwagon. two big problems for the consumer in the near term. we talk about it every day, foreclosures and jobs. we heard from lockheed martin laying off 800 people in california. rocket scientists and people who work with rocket scientists losing their jobs. across the spectrum of jobs, we still have that problem and that's one reason people want to hold on to the economy. >> you can't blame people for being anxious about it. christine, thanks. >> chances are you have a bill in your wallet that has cocaine on it. a new study that says almost all money in circulation in this country contains traces of cocaine. 90% in total in some 100% in urban areas. doesn't necessarily mean your money has been used to buy drugs, it spreads easily to other bills in circulation,

sometimes through accounting machines and atms. >> wow. >> anyway, e-mail claims that no eye care will happen until you're actually blind. that's one of the claims out there in this health care reform. this discussion and debate. the truth squad will separate fact from fiction for us, 13 minutes past the hour. sfx: coin drop, can shaking when you own a business, saving sounds good. so hear this: regions makes it simple to save money and time with lifegreen checking and savings for business, free convenient e-services and regions quick deposit,

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♪ all right. there's a beautiful look at d.c. this morning. it's partly cloudy, 77, a little bit later, we could be looking at isolated thunderstorms in the nation's capital, 94 degrees. and it's 15 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in

the morning. as we've been saying, it's make or break month for health care reform. and there's more town hall meetings on tap today. >> but we're going to go beyond the talking points coming from both sides and giving you the facts you need. our alina cho back on the truth squad. and we're hearing about eye care and the fact you may need to go to sort of extreme disease progression before you get help. >> something floating around on the internet. good morning, everybody. pretty shocking one. we even got a question from a viewer about this from florence in north carolina who wrote, i got a disturbing e-mail that says the new health bill would not help a person with degeneration until they lost the vision with one eye first. first, we want to tell you what macular degeneration is. it can destroy your vision, it is more common the older you get and actually the leading cause of blindness for people 65 and

older. it affects some 10 million americans. fine, it's a pretty big problem, but the question remains, is it in the health care bill? well, we have poured over the 1,000 pages in the house version and the 600 pages in the senate version and found no mention of macular degeneration and no special rules governing eye health. where is this claim coming from? here's what we found on that front. a stimulus bill published by bloomberg news in february, betsy mccoy said in 2006, the uk health board decreed that elderly patients had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. mccoy was arguing that the stimulus bill, the stimulus, not the health care bill would lead to similar problems, so her words apparently taken out of context and well, you know the rest. it's a game of telephone. the verdict on this one, pretty clear, false. there is no such rule that says you have to go blind in one eye

to save the other eye in any version of the health care bills that are currently floating around and that congress is considering. you know how it is. it gets out there on the internet. some people will believe anything. but that's what we're here for. >> thanks so much. >> you are an important part of the political season. >> yes. i'm back, i'm so glad to be back. >> thanks. do you have a question and don't trust the answers out there? or heard a claim that just smells a little fishy to you. give us a call and tell us about it, we'll put it to the truth squad test. 1-877-my-amfix. senator kent conrad floated this idea of health care co-ops. people started going -- now they say, oh, that's a pretty good idea. how would it work? the senator will be joining us to tell us about it. also, the war at home. vets returning and dealing with the psychological toll of war, from binge drinking, to drug

addiction, to behavioral change that affect their families. whether or not more help is out there. it's 19 minutes past the hour. i'm lindy.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. it's the psychological wounds of war that may take the longest to heal. the "new york times" reports the army plans to put all of its soldiers, more than 1 million through intensive mental stress training, meant to improve combat performance, but also to prevent depression, post traumatic stress disorder and in the worst-case scenario, suicide. in the second part of our war at home series, dr. sanjay gupta reports on how soldiers are

coping with life away from the front lines. >> there's blood everywhere. >> a little difficult to talk about sometimes. >> reporter: it's been a tough transition from fallujah back to small town america for marine veteran matthew brown. >> i'm constantly on alert looking around. is that mcdonald's bag on the side of the road a bomb or just a bag? is someone trying to get me? it's just different paranoia factors that wear on you after a while. >> reporter: just 24 years old, he joins the 1 in 5 iraq war veterans returning from combat with post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd. >> people knew i wasn't right in the head anymore, i wasn't the same person. and then i couldn't explain to them there's no way i can be the same person after the things

i've done and seen and has happened to me. >> reporter: his escape, abusing prescription painkillers and alcohol. brown says he was drinking 1/5 of liquor every day. >> the pain will never go away, but i was using way more than i was prescribed to and drinking on top of it. i was just, i guess, indirectly trying to end it and the pain. for a brief moment or forever. >> reporter: brown is not alone, alcohol is easily accessible and expensive and quickly becoming the drug of choice for veterans. in fact, the study published last year in the journal of the american medical association found combat soldiers under the age of 30 were nearly seven times for likely to binge drink. >> nobody comes home from war unchanged. so it's going to take some time to come back into normal society to deal with the sort of media onslaught that we have in this country, the sort of sensory overload, and that the support

systems that we have set up from the military in the v.a. are stressed to capacity that veterans are falling through the cracks. >> reporter: groups like iraq and afghanistan are pressing congress to devote more resources to the psychological injuries of this war. they also launched a free online community for veterans like brown to get help. >> really the only people that understand ptsd are the people that have it. life is still a constant battle with ptsd. but it's a lot better now, i try to live for the people i can. i'm trying to live up to what the people that died could have been. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, pennsylvania. >> all right. and tomorrow, we continue with our war at home series. i sat down with two teenage girls from california. both of their dads were deployed to afghanistan through the national guard. they felt very isolated in their school and came up with their

own solution to their loneliness and now helping other girls dealing with those same challenges. >> look forward to seeing that. coming up now, hurricane bill gaining strength out in the atlantic. the good news, it's still hundreds of miles from land, but the category two storm with winds of about 100 miles an hour could grow to be a major hurricane within a day or two. also on track to graze bermuda by the end of the week, not sure if it'll have an effect on the northeast. the growing anger over taiwan's slow response to a typhoon that dumped 102 inches of rain has cost the foreign minister his job and his resignation comes a week after the storm killed 123 people. they fear the real death toll is more than twice that number. foreign ministry originally refused international aid, but then changed his mind. former president bill clinton returns to the white house today. for the first time since his trip to north korea where he

helped win the release of american journalists euna lee and laura ling. many democrats in the house say their bill will include a public option. one democratic senator says that public option will not pass the senate. instead, kent conrad is floating the idea of health insurance co-ops and it's beginning to get some traction. why does he think that co-ops are a good idea for you? senator conrad joins us live to talk about that. it's great to see you again. when you were with us a couple of months ago on june 16th, we talked about your idea of co-ops, didn't really seem to be catching any fire, but things have changed. what happened? >> what happened is i think people learned more about how cooperatives work and that it is a very successful business model across many different business types in this country. land o'lakes is a $12 billion cooperative. you know, ace hardware is a cooperative. so in addition, i think people

are seeing there is a need for additional not for profit competition for insurance companies. >> all right. so -- >> it's not government-run. it's not government-run, it's not government-controlled, it's membership run. >> you were talking in your initial plan of some seed money from the government to get the co-ops going. we know what land o'lakes is, people who buy butter and margarine, anybody who goes to a ace hardware store knows how that works. but how would health insurance cooperatives work? would they provide the insurance? or almost like an exchange the white house is saying. be a brokerage house for health insurance? >> well, we also know in health insurance there's group health in washington, 600,000 been in existence more than 50 years, doing extremely well. in fact, it's one of the top-rated plans in all of washington state. and how they function is they actually own a hospital, they have doctors that work for them, they actually provide health

care. but there are different models that cooperatives could choose. it would be dependent on what the membership decided. that's how cooperatives are run. >> so what sort of model would you envision here? >> well, i would envision something along the lines of group health out in washington state where hundreds of thousands of people have gotten together and they've decided that they want to provide an option to for profit insurance companies. and if you look at what they've done, they have all of the things that most people are saying are necessary, electronic medical records and medical home and emphasis on prevention. and emphasis on patient-centered care. that's really what the american people want. >> so the plan has drawn its skeptics, though, from your side of the aisle too. people say it would be too difficult to set up a network, negotiate with doctors and hospitals, former dnc chairman howard dean told the huffington

post back in june saying quote these co-ops will be very weak, many won't have the half million members many think is necessary to influence the market. insurance companies will be licking their lips. the argument has been made that this day in age you can't start a co-op to compete against the giants. what do you say to those criticisms? >> we've consulted the best actuaries in the country. people who are most knowledgeable about the industry, they tell us in a reformed insurance market, which the rest of this bill will provide, that co-ops could attract 12 million members, be the third largest insurer in the country, and be a very effective competitor. these are people who are deeply knowledgeable about the insurance industry. >> and what would they do to reduce costs? because that is one of the central issues here of health care reform. >> well, the important thing is they'd provide more competition. in about half the states, john, there is no meaningful competition in health insurance. there's one dominant carrier. and so first thing they could do is provide more competition.

but beyond that, i think it's very important not to overpromise here. the congressional budget office tells us the big levers in terms of affecting cost lie elsewhere. the big levers are reforming the delivery system in this country to move to the kinds of integrated systems like mayo clinic and cleveland clinic that work so well in holding down costs and delivering high quality care and other reforms, the insurance market reforms and changing the tax subsidy to health care. the experts tell us those are the big drivers in terms of altering costs. >> and would co-ops address that? >> no. the thing that co-ops address are really twofold. one, providing additional competition. >> right. and number two, being an entity that is not government-run, government-controlled, but is a not for profit competitor. >> nothing in driving down the cost of service, then?

>> no. if you believe competition helps drive down costs, then they would certainly contribute to holding down costs. >> right. >> but again, the congressional budget office tells us the big levers to pull in terms of containing costs lie elsewhere. and that's true of public option, as well. i know a lot of people have gotten to think that public option is the thing that would make a big difference on cost. that's not what the analysts tell us. >> and where's your -- >> the control costs lie elsewhere. >> where's your sense on where this public option is? is it debt? >> well, there have never been the votes in the united states for a public option. that's just a fact. that's why i was asked to come up with an alternative, something that might bridge the differences here. that's why i came up with the cooperative plan. >> well, we'll see where this goes from here. kent conrad, thanks for joining us, really appreciate it. >> you bet. and we know that you've got lots of questions about health care reform. who wouldn't?

we're trying to sort out fact from fiction here and put together all of the answers for you and doing that online, head to cnn.com/health care. well, she had to hear that her husband called his mistress his soul mate now jenny sanford wife of mark sanford is opening up in the latest issue of "vogue" talking about her husband's affair with a television reporter in argentina saying i feel sorry for the other woman. i'm sure she's a fine person. it can't be fun for her, though i do sometimes question her judgment. mrs. sanford also says when she and her husband met we weren't madly in love but compatible and good friends. she says the ball is in her husband's court. we have a story coming up about iran. there's that lot of issues taking place about talking about nuclear issues. there were three u.s. hikers being held there, iran is accusing them of being spies. we're going to be joined by the

author of "the devil we know" speaking about iran and he's also a former cia operative. it's now 34 minutes past the hour. acho o! (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms.

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well, this morning the families of three americans

being held in iran are hoping to hear something about their loved ones. they were arrested last month on allegations of entering iran illegally from northern iraq. iraq is -- iran, rather, is now saying that their spies are named shane bauer. robert bear is the author of the devil we know. bob, great to have you with us this morning. thanks. >> morning. >> so we know not much about the condition of the three americans detained in iran. we know that they've been held there for about two weeks now. and we've heard very little about what's happened to them. they're up against courts being run by hard liners. being accused of being spies, how dangerous is this situation for them. >> it's particularly dangerous because iran, as we know, is going through a volatile situation. there's been a virtual military takeover. the regime is insecure, clerics in the holy city have attacked

the regime, and i think we're going to -- they're going to play hardball with these three guys. they're not spies. and so this could be drawn out for a very, very long time. >> we have people, including our secretary of state saying they're calling on the iranian government to live up to their obligations under the vienna convention, allow at least some consular access to these three. how is it affecting u.s.-iranian relations, the fact right now there's this high profile detainment of people who claim they were just hiking in iraq? >> well, the problem is we don't have any true connections to the government in iran. we have to go through the swiss embassy. there's no such a thing as we call a back channel. a french hostage was just released thanks to a back channel from paris. but we don't have one of those. and this entire conservative movement in iran is very anti-american, and it's unlikely that they're going to want to be seen negotiating with the united states at this time.

>> yeah, you mentioned the french situation. there's a 24-year-old woman there charged with spying and she was released from a prison and again, you say that the difficulty and the challenge for us is that we don't have any back channel. what about what we saw play out with north korea and former president bill clinton? is there any hope for something along those lines that doesn't necessarily include, you know, our government's involvement or approval? >> you know, i could see bill clinton, somebody like that flying to tehran, unofficial channel. iran doesn't want to go to war with the united states now. and somebody intermediary like that high profile, they might respond to. again, though, the situation in tehran is so volatile that it's unpredictable, even for the government in iran, what's going to happen next because i'm not sure that they're going to make it very long. we're seeing a true revolt in

the clerics and the establishment. it's a little bit different than north korea where you have one leader and one man in charge. >> you talk about the questions there and the volatility. if they don't last long as you've said, who would step in and repolice station them? what would we see take shape in iran? >> what i'd like to see take shape is the ayatollahs themselves come out and declare the government illegitimate, forcing khamenei to step down and along with him the president. so you could see a revote within the regime and that's the intention of the opposition, mousavi and the other ones who started these demonstrations. this is not a revolution from the outside, but the inside. i think that wouldn't be a bad thing. >> tell us what's going on now. there are these mass trials for the opposition supporters, all of us saw that video and witnessed some of those demonstrations take place, but now they're doing these mass trials. and there's, you know, this post-election protest that went on there. now we're seeing the fallout

from that. is there enough support for people who are now facing, you know, terrible circumstances in iran because they did speak out post election? >> well, they're arresting the sons and daughters of high officials. there is fury in that country against ahmadinejad. he's clearly overstepped his bounds by sending a militia called the basij, so you're seeing a reaction in that country, which i haven't seen since 1981. >> but is that also helping at the same time put down future protests and tamp down the opposition? >> i don't think it's going to ever be tamped down. i think this is going to completely flair up every couple of months and it could -- people on the roofs screaming that khamenei is a dictator and an illegitimate leader, this is unheard of a couple of years

ago, completely unheard of. we're seeing potentially iran is in a pre-revolutionary state. >> very, very interesting to get your insight on this situation. bob baer great to talk to you. thanks so much. after a fairly quiet hurricane season, there's something out there in the atlantic. h hurricane bill, where is bill headed? and will it eventually become a threat to the northeast? rob marciano is monitoring the hurricane track looking at the models. the information coming up after the break.

and good morning, chicago. just kidding. i called chicago atlanta last hour. good morning, atlanta, it's cloudy, 73 degrees. >> now you're confusing everyone. >> a high of 88. it's going to be a stormy day, and rob, you're heading back to atlanta today. >> yeah, atlanta and chicago have a lot of similarities, minus the beautiful water front there in chicago. >> and the temperatures in the winter and stuff like that. >> they're not at all alike. but you guys should come down. john gets down there all the time. >> i'm all for it. >> i do my part, i come here to see you guys. >> but your parents live right around the corner. >> busted me. everything for a free meal. nothing's free, there's always a to do list at the folks' place. to do list on the hurricane front.

hurricane bill, category 2 now. this thing became a hurricane yesterday, the first one of the 2009 season and developing nicely, i say that cautiousliment look at that eye there. right now about 800 miles or so east of the islands. that certainly makes it an item of concern for the east coast, heading in that general direction. what are the items that are going to make this thing go one way or the other? well, we've got high pressure in control, which typically drive these things to the west. as you know it's been hot on the east coast, we have a cold front coming in, and that may very well block bill and shunt it out to sea. there's no guarantee. if the timing doesn't work out that way, the northeast is open for business. we're watching this carefully, no doubt about that. category two now expected to become a category three. so everything's on board for this thing to strengthen into major hurricane status and there's the official track, which keeps bermuda in the cone and potentially later on today and tomorrow, the northeast could be in that cone if it shifts a little bit towards the

west. new york as i mentioned in excessive heat. we've got the heat advisory out for today. temperatures 90 to 95, it will feel hotter than that in spots, 94 the expected high temperature in new york, 88 degrees in atlanta, and 81 degrees in chicago. so that's where some of that cooler air is going to be coming in to the northeast at some point. i know you guys have -- this is your first official heat wave of the year with three days in the 90s. >> took a while. >> and now labor day is right around the corner. well, we've been going on the road and doing weather from odd spots. went to the yo-yo championship last week and we're taking your suggestions. we've got a number of interesting ones on the website. here's a couple just to give you an idea. one suggestion is to go to the kansas barbed wire museum. >> the prison break climbing walls a lot of fun. >> i'm not sure if razor wire is included, not sure we're going to go there. the other one coon dog cemetery in northwest alabama where i'm

told they make daniel boone proud for sure. you remember back in the days in college, the world's largest flip cup tourny. earlier in the program she asked me to show my skills. >> you want to -- >> no, we don't have time. we have time for me to say give us your suggestions at cnn.com/amfix and every friday until someone tells me otherwise -- >> lasts until next year. >> you never know. >> a lot of fall fairs to go to. >> who won that tournament? >> i haven't followed up on that. >> you've got to find out. a lot of good ones. >> japanese were heavily favored. >> did you bring back the yo-yoyo-yo? >> i couldn't pass that through the expense report. come on down to atlanta. >> all right. thanks, rob. still ahead, a new cast of characters for dancing with the stars.

mike irvin, ex-cowboy player, kathy ireland, but one that caught our eye is tom delay, the former house gop leader known as the hammer in the walls of congress. maybe he has dance steps to break out. 49 minutes past the hour. nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level. nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. 52 minutes past the hour now.

it's a break or make month with health care reform. a lot of town halls have been contentio contentious, but not all of them. for one conservative congressman in a conservative district, things were a bit easier. ed lavandera is live in dallas for us this morning. and is this preaching to the choir? or was there any support for the democratic plan? >> we always try to do our best to try to find any kind of voice in these types of meetings. and if there was someone in this meeting we attended yesterday who was in support of this plan, there was no way to find them. >> reporter: it only took a few seconds for congressman joe barton to set the theme of this town hall meeting in texas. >> our president decided to try to cram a massive bureaucratic health bill down the throats of the american people, and it doesn't look to me like you all think that's a very good idea. >> this is the bill. >> reporter: when representative barton showed one of the massive health care bills, the crowd gasped at the size. but during the course of the

hour-long town hall, most people didn't have questions, they came to vent. >> get the federal government out of hour lives. >> my first statement is relative to this health plan, i think it's a farce -- >> i'm a little nervous. >> don't worry about it. >> and a little teed off. >> reporter: the crowd voiced anger and mistrust of the health care proposals. they worried the reform will help illegal immigrants, fund abortions, and drive up the budget deficit and repeatedly many suggested the plan is unconstitutional. >> you need to really introduce a bill on the house that makes it mandatory for each and every congressman and each and every congressman's staff to take out the constitution and read the thing. >> all right. >> reporter: and before leaving, the congressman was given a heavy dose of small town wisdom about not backing down from changing the health care bill. >> can't put a steering wheel on the american people. tell these people you can't

unscramble an egg, but you can be careful what you do with the next one. >> okay. >> that's pretty good. i'll remember that. >> reporter: after the meeting, i spoke with congressman barton who clearly was preaching to the choir. >> pretty safe day for you? >> i'm very lucky in that i represent a constituency that i agree with and i don't have to try to debate and argue. >> indeed, a very safe political day for congressman joe barton who has another four of these town hall meetings scheduled across his district here in northeast texas the rest of the week. kiran? >> very interesting, you're right, a lot of his colleagues in congress envy him a little bit to say the least. thanks, ed. >> can't unscramble an egg. words to live by. remember that. tom delay was the hammer when he was in congress, now he's the latest contestant with "dancing with the stars"?

jeannie moos rings on the possibility. 55 minutes after the hour. they taste fresh... say it again! what? say it like, "mmmm, these healthy choice fresh mixers taste freshh!!" they taste fresh... wait. what are you doing? got it. you're secretly taping me? you were good too! but you know, it wasn't a secret to us, we knew... yes, but it was a secret to me. of course, otherwise i would be sitting like this and completely block his shot. so that's why i was like... didn't you notice this was weird? no. they taste fresh because you make them fresh. healthy choice fresh mixers. in the soup or pasta aisle. ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on.

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♪ back in the day when he was house republican leader tom delay's preferred move was the strong arm. it earned him the nickname the hammer. now delay will be showcasing his footwork on "dancing with the stars." jeannie moos takes a look at the former texas congressman's tv two-step. >> reporter: conservative commentator tucker carlson made a spectacle of himself -- as the political establishment licked its lips in so much anticipation. >> 15 new stars will take center stage. tom delay. >> reporter: a former republican house majority leader, also known as the hammer, no relation to this hammer. the other hammer tweeted the news that he'd "dancing with the

stars" and set up a website dancing with delay. his daughter told the huffington post he's already lost 12 pounds in working out in anticipation. we bring you dancing with the politicos. >> i can't believe he hasn't hurt himself yet. >> reporter: from karl rove's rap, to the first couple's slow dance, we let the people judge. for instance, former secretary of state madeline albright getting macerena lessons. >> a brilliant show of diplomacy. >> reporter: or sarah palin on "saturday night live." >> i say an 11. >> she bites her lip while she's rapping. >> reporter: one of the lowest scores went to an almost legendary quip of president bush.

the question is, can tom delay disprove the republicans can't dance notion? >> what happens, democrats bad, bad leroy brown. >> reporter: perhaps obama's moves were blown away by michelle. >> very nice, the moves. those are some serious moves. >> reporter: or perfect ten? >> are those the hips of the first lady? >> reporter: hand over mouth reaction was reserved for cnn's very own wolf blitzer. >> he kind of reminded me of a bobble head doll and i like the way they move. >> reporter: and roland martin got the highest mark. >> he's sitting down and he's dancing better than the last 12 people we saw. >> reporter: and when all else fails, let your partner sit on you. jeannie moos, cnn, new york. >> continue the conversation on