and i'm meteorologist chad myers, taking a look at hurricane bill, category 4, 135 miles per hour. going to turn right eventually, we hope. and nothing says marry me like a police helicopter, and a phony raid. the uproar is real, and a maryland lawmaker and husband-to-be is paying the price. hello, everyone, i'm kyra phillips, live at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. you're live in the "cnn you're live in the "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com go it alone or risk not going at all? an emerging, potentially explosive scenario for democrats in a make-or-break month for health care. we're pushing forward now on the prospect of partisan reform as rock-solid republican opposition shows no signs of cracking. the white house briefing comes

up at the bottom of the hour. you'll see it live right here in the "cnn newsroom." and later, if you think reform doesn't have a prayer? well, you may be wrong. president obama is joining hands by phone with religious leaders in a group called faith in public life. cnn's elaine quijano joins me live from the white house now. elaine, a top adviser told cnn, quote, a win is a win, no one is going to remember how messy it was. on the other hand, there's this poll by quinnipiac university showing 6 in 10 americans don't support health care reform that doesn't have some type of republican support. so, where does that leave the president? >> reporter: it's interesting, kyra, the comment to the top adviser was to my own colleague, ed henry. and it was put in the context if we have to go highway head and try this without republicans, essentially people aren't going to remember how messy the process was, what they'll remember the substance of it, that health care reform got done. that said, no final decisions have been made on this. however, top democrats that are close to the white house are saying, look, officials are

actively considering this possibility, because of the fact that obviously republicans have been -- most republicans -- have been really resistant to this point. now, on the record, white house press secretary, robert gibbs, said in the off-camera gaggle this morning that the white house has not given up on this idea of bipartisan reform, that, in fact, the white house remains hopeful that it can still work with some republicans, it feels, are trying to be constructive in this process. and gibbs mentioned specifically on the senate finance committee. at the same time, he also noted that there are also other republicans who aren't being so constructive, and some of the comments that they are making are leading them to believe that -- that those republicans don't have any interest in being a part of health care reform, kyra? >> all right, so what about this evening's conference call with the faith groups? >> robert gibbs said yesterday, don't expect to hear anything new necessarily from the president on this, but obviously this is part of his push to try and garner support. it's not just republican resistance that they're

encountering, keep in mind. there are some skeptics on the democratic side as well. we know that some conservative democrats in particular are a little bit wary. they're asking the same kind of questions about how this is going to be paid for. and in the end, is this really going to be the best way to go about health care reform? namely, the public option. the president's message is going to be consistent, according to robert gibbs, that he's going to talk about the need to make sure that millions of americans who don't have health insurance, that they get health insurance. kyra? >> elaine quijano from the white house. thanks, elaine. health care isn't a religious issue, or at least it doesn't have to be, but faith can play a role, and not only preaching for against reform. the health insurance co-ops that you have heard about take many different forums and help many different groups. cnn's kate bolduan met with true believers. >> reporter: as the health care debate rages on in washington, we decided to get outside the beltway. we're heading to philadelphia to take a look at one alternative people are turning to. it's called bill sharing.

in this case, a large group of christians pool their money to cover each others' medical costs. it's not conventional insurance, and it's not regulated. christian activist shane clayborn is a member of one. ohio-based christian health care ministry. >> one of the things i like about it is it's relational and i can see exactly where my money's going. >> reporter: last time we saw clayborn he was touring the country promoting his book "jesus for president." he moved into this rough philadelphia neighborhood to clean it up, like this former drug den that he took us into. >> we talk about practicing resurrection, this is part of it, we take abandoned places to life and make ugly beautiful. >> reporter: it is rough work. clayborn was jumped a few years ago and landed in a hospital with a concussion and a broken jaw. that's where his health care stepped in. >> you get this bill for $10,000 or $12,000 and we ended up paying $6,000 of it, and because, you know, i had

thousands of thousands of people carrying that bill with me, i was -- i was able to just write -- you know, we just wrote a check for it. >> reporter: the ministry negotiated directly with his doctors to lower the bill. executive director, howard russell, says the core of their success is the 20,000 members who have met conditions that include not smoking and being a practicing christian. >> with everybody in america had the provisions that our members have, there wouldn't be a health care crisis. >> reporter: it's like a health care cooperative, a community-based, nonprofit organization owned by its members, a group that uses its strength in numbers to negotiate competitive rates with health care providers. and that's an idea gaining traction on capitol hill. robert burns, a professor of health care management at the university of pennsylvania, said the key to co-ops is size. 20,000 to 50,000 enrolles minimum needed. >> if they're not big enough, then they won't be able to do either of those two things, hold down the administrative costs

internally or negotiate good rates externally. >> reporter: even then it may not be enough. do you see health care co-ops as the silver bullet to this debate? >> no. as i told my class last night, it's part of the silver buckshot. >> reporter: so, one of many that needs to be done for health care reform. he agrees, it may not suit everyone's health care needs, but he's at least hoping that it will force americans to think outside the box. >> once again, that was our kate bolduan. now, on the town hall front, lawmakers still going wall to wall and sometimes head to head with angry voters. the voters in the 4th district of massachusetts, if you come against barney frank, well, you better come prepared. >> why do you continue to support the policy as obama has, expressly supported the policy? why are you supporting it? >> let me -- let me -- all right, i will -- >> a real slugs? >> when you ask me that question, i am going to revert to my ethnic heritage and answer

your question with a question. on what planet do you spend most of your time? >> well, do you want to hear more? cnn's jim acosta was there. >> congressman barney frank. >> thank you. >> reporter: it didn't take long for the shouting to start. >> somebody said i'm a liar. what's the lie? >> hey, hey, enough. >> which one of you wants to yell first? >> reporter: and before the first question was asked, massachusetts democrat barney frank was swinging back at opponents of health care reform. >> disruption never helped your cause. it makes it look like you're afraid to have rational discussion. you just drive people away. i'm not here -- this is the council on aging, not kindergarten. >> reporter: frank tried to dispel some of the bogus claims about the bill in the house. >> illegal aliens are specifically excluded from getting any assistance in the bill. section -- >> reporter: to that, some in

the crowd shouted "read the bill." so he did and found the section where illegal immigrants are excluded. >> it's right in the bill. i will be glad to go to it. >> reporter: but even that didn't satisfy everyone. >> it is a little odd to be accused of not having read the bill by people who object when i do. >> reporter: several audience members insisted reform would bust the budget. >> we're going to pay more taxes because of you, sir! >> this bill would practically bankrupt the economy of the united states government. >> reporter: time and again, frank took that grenade and threw it back. >> and i do worry about the deficit. that's one of the reasons, not the only one, that i voted against the single most wasteful expenditure in the history of america -- the iraq war. >> reporter: the chairman of the house financial services committee took only a few questions on reforming wall street. instead, frank talked at length about his support for the public option. >> i am not voting for any bill that forces anybody into

anything. it will have a public option. >> reporter: and tried to reassure seniors there were no death panels in the bill. >> this notion that something in this bill would require people who are elderly or sick to be denied medical care and killed is the single stupidiest argument i have ever heard in all my years in political. >> reporter: it's something that mary was happy to see put to rest. can i tell you, though, that i know for a fact that they are not going to pull the plug on grandma? >> they're not going to pull it on me, i tell you, because i'll fight to the death. >> that was our jim acosta. now, if you want to know more about the health care debate and how reform could affect you and your family, check out the special health care in america website on cnn.com. you can get the latest from town hall debates and fact checks and i-reports. you can even read the bills. just go to cnn.com/healthcare. man's best friend? not this time. a pack of wild dogs meets a georgia husband and wife with gruesome consequences.

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hurricane bill's now a very powerful storm. where is it heading and will the u.s. get hit? let's head to chad myers, who is tracking all of it. chad? >> i think it will be a storm that misses probably all landmasses except for atlantic, canada. does it brush atlanta, canada, with 100-mile-per-hour storm? how close does it get to bermuda and how close does it get to new england as well? all of those coming up. i'll answer all those questions.

a giant among the pioneers of broadcast news, that was don hewitt, the creator of cbs' "60 minutes." he died today of cancer at his home. he joined cbs in television's early days in 1948, and then in 1960 he produced the first tv presidential debate between kennedy and nixon. his crowning achievement came when cbs agreed to try hewitt's idea of a one-hour broadcast mixed with hard stories and feature stories. "60 minutes" was born in 1968 when the "60 minutes" stopwatch began. cnn's jon klein worked with hewitt and remembers him as a

brilliant invonator. >> the innovation that don hewitt has, the graphics on the bottom of the screen, the subject matter and that don hewitt has died, those are called supers, right? don invented supers. he said, do you know what, on the screen we need another way to convey information to viewers. maybe we can superimpose them, and he figured out technically a way to do it. he was a director, which is a technical job, in television, and he figured that out. >> don hewitt died at the age of 86. the deadliest day in iraq since u.s. combat troops pulled out of cities and towns nearly two months ago. a wave of bombings in baghdad killed at least 95 people today, wounding more than 500. the horrendous noise and destruction was also caught on tape. among the half dozen targets of the coordinated attacks, the

rashid hotel, which you see right here. also targeted, the foreign ministry building and the finance ministry. cnn's arwa damon has been at the scene with some of these attacks. she joins us now live. arwa, you watch that clip of when the explosion took place and it's so typical to see an iraqi barely react and keep on going with the news conference. how many times have we witnessed that? >> reporter: kyra, we've unfortunately witnessed it countless times. this is a country that is very used to violence, but today's attacks and the fact it is the deadliest day since the iraqis took over, really resonates with the people. because even though many of them would say that they hope that the worst was over, they all knew and had this fear in the back of their heads that it wasn't. and we saw that today, where in the span of just an hour, six bombings, two of them truck bombings, one, as wru saying earlier, targeting the ministry of finance, and the other in front of the ministry of foreign

affairs which is just outside the heavily fortified green zone which is meant to be one of the safer areas in the capital. the blast there, to give you an idea, was so powerful that it not just blew through the ministry facade, breaking its windows, it also sent a number of vehicles flying into the air and reduced others to burnt hulks of metal, and it demolished a number of residential homes in this area. one iraqi that we spoke to is saying how is it if such an explosion can take place in an area teeming with iraqi security forces, are how are they going to secure the rest of the country? when they can't even secure a place like this? kyra? >> which is exactly the remaining question, as if the iraqis can -- can actually take over and keep iraq secure. arwa damon, live from baghdad. thanks. well, it may not make a direct hit, but hurricane bill's got a lot of folks on the u.s. east coast pretty worried. chad myers rack itracking the b

storm for us. how's it looking? >> big. 130 miles an hour, gusting to 60. these are the british virgin islands and back out towards the spanish virgin islands or puerto rico. it will miss the islands and the passage. but we move up here, where is it moving now? it's not moving to miami or north carolina. it will skirt in between bermuda and the u.s. east coast. how close does it get to the left or how far does it move to the right, that's still a few days out. one, two, three, four days out, even before it gets to bermuda. so, there are still some unanswered questions. what i think we need to learn about here is that the models that try to tell us where it's going to go still don't have it hitting the east coast, thank goodness, because this would still be a very big storm, if it would. 110 miles per hour here. right there, that's cape cod, you see how close this one model gets. and i'm not saying that that one model has any more importance than all of the rest of them that are out here to the east

that are not taking it to the u.s. east coast, but it just doesn't have any really any sign of losing any strength. and why is that? well, here's a map of the u.s. i'm going to try to draw where we are. the storm is right about here somewhere. there's puerto rico. there are the rest of the islands and such. here's north carolina. here's florida. the storm is going to travel up on here and on to around here. so, if you notice, this is still about 83, 84 miles -- or degrees, the cold water doesn't even happen until it gets way up here into canada. so, this is a map of the water temperatures across the atlantic. and then you see how warm it is here in the gulf. temperatures here are just another 3 to 4 degrees warmer than here. that's why i was so worried about what could happen to ana, but ana just never really developed. it didn't do anything in the overnight hours. so, at least that's some of the good news. we'll continue to watch what is bill. it's a large and intense hurricane. it will make large waves along the east coast. not yet today, but i suspect we'll have significant -- i know this is going to be the last couple weeks, weekends before

school's out, for some of the kids in the northeast, even though here in the southeast, in some spots, we've already gone back to school. if you are on the florida beaches, the carolina beaches, the rip currents with this storm, even though it doesn't get close to the wrus are the rip currents will be deadly. you need to keep those kids out of the water when you see that, kyra? >> thanks, chad. the sounds of a police chopper and armed cops on a raid, just what every girl dreams of for her marriage proposal, right? well, it actually happened. the guy who popped the question, he's in some deep trouble. but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself. s that make every day special. fancy feast introduces an entirely new way to celebrate any moment. fancy feast appetizers. simple high quality ingredients like wild alaskan salmon, white meat chicken,

or seabass and shrimp in a delicate broth, prepared without by-products or fillers. new fancy feast appetizers. celebrate the moment. we've all heard about the trouble in the housing industry. the fact is, with all the talk of a national real estate market, your town, your neighborhood, your home, or the home you'd like to buy, are each unique. the national conversation may not apply at all. if you've been worrying about what your property may be worth, or wondering if your dream home may finally be affordable, ask a re/max agent or go to remax.com. nobody sells more real estate than re/max.

our top stories now. they're getting ready to mark their ballots in kabul and kandahar and places in between.

the incumbent hamid karzai faces 40 challengers including two women. and there's a lesson for americans that don't vote, afghans will be going to the polls in spite of huge security concerns. now, remember this awful crash? in new york, a woman killed herself and seven other people. but how do you charge a dead woman? prosecutors now say they won't file charges in the diane schuler case. she was drunk and highway on man when she drove the wrong way on a new york thruway. she killed her daughter and three men in the other car. average test scores held steady for this year's graduating high school seniors. that's a sign of modest progress, and more of them ache the a.c.t. in the words of one of the testers, we've got more in the pool. now we need to get better swimmers. it's only august, but the holidays are looking a little brighter for some gm workers. the company is recalling more than 1,300 to help boost

production by 60,000 vehicles for the rest of the year. another 10,000 will be eligible for extra hours or overtime. >> i'm excited! >> it shows that, you know, people are out there buying our product, and the economy's picking up. >> well, it's good news for us, that we're working overtime. and cars are starting to come in, and people are getting -- buying cars again. >> gm's increased production is the result of the cash for clunkers program that has reduced inventories at dealerships across the country. now, all this week our richard quest has been filling us in on the economy recovery that's beginning to sweep through asia. he's back with us today from hong kong, a place that in better times had some of the most expensive real estate in the world. well, guess what, hong kong's property market is making a comeback. richard, we know that prices nearly reached rock bottom last year. why the rebound -- why the rebound right now? >> reporter: well, you may well ask, for anyone coming from

europe or the united states, where we are still seeing prices going down, or maybe not as fast, actually, i was gon gob-smacked as they say, to discover that at all levels, both at what they call the mass market, the sort of place that i'd be getting, right the way up to the luxury levels, maybe more in your category, left, right, and center, property prices, yep, they did take a slight downturn earlier this year. but they're back where they were. have a watch. have a listen. would you pay this much for this apartment? the town of hong kong, from the crowded blocks just feet from each other, to the high point of the luxury peak district. after september last year, prices dropped by around 25% across the board. buying and selling slowed to a crawl. now deals are being done again. and at the luxury end, agents say prices are back to where they were. >> actually this apartment is

actually on the market for sale at $8 million. >> reporter: $8 million? >> yes, that's right. >> reporter: two years ago this two-bedroom apartment was sold for a similar amount. it's back on the market after a brief decline in value. the price, fully restored. if i wanted to rent this place, how much would it cost me to rent it? per month. >> per month? well, i would say between 18,000 u.s. to about 20,000 non-u.s.. >> reporter: a month? >> a month. >> reporter: mad! rickie has been selling property for 15 years. even he's surprised that property rebounded so fast. >> considering this one actually the location in the peak, and also supply are very thin, very limited, and also we have fantastic view. >> reporter: now, i know $18,000 u.s. a month is an extraordinary amount of money, $8 million is a lot. kyra, it was a nice apartment. it had a great view.

but it was only two bedrooms, and, frankly, seems a lot of money. but what i'm hearing is right across this city, prices are virtually back at the top end where they were. >> when you mentioned $18,000, i thought you were talking about the new suit that you're wearing, mr. quest. >> reporter: ah. hong kong, the city of the day's suit, i mean by that, they make it in a day. yesterday, as you may see, i was fitted for this suit. we taught them measurements. they even cut the suit. i went and had a look at it. and this, indeed, it was quite a rare event to actually get as opposed to the sweat rooms where they make these things. but now look at it. what do you think? and just where you were waiting for a little surprise, you know, show a bit of -- show a -- >> show me a little lining. show me a little lining, mr. quest. ha! >> reporter: show you a little lining. you know, women -- women always love the fact that a man's suit

has a colorful lining. i always think it's a bit of a cheap option! >> actually, you're colorful enough, we really don't need a lovely haven dar lining. what's the deal with all the lights behind you? >> reporter: yes. talking about colorful. talking about colorful. last night it was quite dark back here, so we got one of our assistant producers on the phone to beg, borrow, and steal so they'd leave some lights on for you. you wouldn't have thought we were offering virtual free advertising. one person -- one company actually wanted us to pay to have -- come along to switch the light on so we could advertise their product! >> you're so clever. i just hope you're not getting any profit from that, richard quest. >> reporter: no. absolutely not. and by tomorrow, i'm going to try -- no promises here, with my new suit -- my new threads looking so sharp, i'll have a few more lights up. >> fabulous. richard quest, it's always a

pleasure. from one humble man to another, milwaukee's mayor proves to be a pretty humble hero, in his first appearance since a violent weekend assault. what he remembers and how he's doing.

we're waiting for the president's press secretary to come out and talk about health care. specifically the prospect of democrats giving up on attempts to win republican support for reform. that briefing due to start any minute now. you'll see it live right here in the "cnn newsroom." creative marriage proposals can be fun or romantic or whack i, even embarrassi ining or you punk your intended by scaring the bejesus out of her. that's what a maryland state law make opted for and now he's in trouble. kerry owen of our fe yale hat has more. >> reporter: he said he wanted to make his fiancee's night perfect. the plan to propose to her on a boat august 7th. but having a baltimore police helicopter hover overhead as marine police pretended to search the boat.

no one is saying how it was arranged, but the police commissioner has ordered an investigation. he wants to know if it was more than a case of bad judgment. >> i don't know, though, that this is much beyond the scope of a couple officers who used poor judgment. and i'm going to reserve much more comment until i know more of the facts. >> reporter: the commissioner also wants to know why he's only hearing about it now. even though state employees have been talking about it for a while. apparently it was the talk of last week's maco convention in ocean city. the commish obviously frustrated that this is happening at a time when budget cuts threaten the mounted and marine units. bealefed is hopeful that people know that the police department is doing everything they can to stop waste. >> i think that people will put it in context, and i think that they will understand bad judgment or human error differently than they would

understand systemic waste. >> reporter: delegate cardin is already contacted the department about reimbursing the city for its cost. >> he has contacted me and he offered an apology for putting the baltimore police department in, you know, this kind of predicament and spotlight. >> the controversy's actually spotlighted on cardin's state website, right there on the home page. a big banner "on my marriage proposal." then underneath some of an explanation of the raid or what he calls "the fuss." cardin admits that he should have used better judgment. and, oh, by the way, you're probably all wondering, she did say yes. man's best friend? not this time. a pack of wild dogs mauls a georgia husband and wife. aaaa

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indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® works fast, hands and home, kind of the mantra of today's multsty agency news conference on swine flu. the secretaries of commerce, homeland security and health and human services teamed up with guidelines from employers on handling h1n1 this flu season. for bosses, it boils down to this. number one, clean hands at work and sick workers at home. have your sanitizer available. make sure that employees wash hands frequently and don't give them a hard time if they need to call out sick. number two, have a plan for the sick-outs. know what you'll do if a bunch

of people get hit at once. and, number three, encourage employees to get the regular fall flu shot and the swine flu vaccine once it's available. top stories now. a big reminder of the dangers of iraq. even as america starts to draw down its troop strength. half a dozen bombings within an hour today in baghdad. almost 100 people killed. it's the deadliest day since u.s. troops pulled out of iraqi cities and towns june 30th. >> just yesterday the top commander in iraq, said some of the u.s. troops might need to be in some of the country's hot spots once again. killer dogs, put to death, part of an attack that killed an elderly couple in georgia. the woman was killed first while she was walking on a country home near her home. her husband was attacked when he went looking for her. and swiss bank accounts just aren't what they used to be. if you're an american trying to avoid taxes why hiding your

money in switzerland, ubs says it will now give the irs information how about 5,000 accounts. they're believed to hold undeclared assets by american customers. we're going to take a quick break.

beauty of the deep blue sea, it's hard to capture in photos. most of the time you've just got to be there. but not anymore, cnn's gary tuchman shows us a camera ombin of camera and scuba diving mask on today's "edge of discovery." >> reporter: the images you see here didn't come from a bulky, underwater camera. they came from this. >> the camera has the picture-taking ability as well as video-taking ability. >> reporter: just strap on this $250 liquid image scuba mask and what you see is what you shoot. users can toggle between still camera and high-definition video camera and film up to two hours

worth of footage from a single charge. it even has lights to illuminate murky waters and can go as deep as 115 feet. with this mask, anyone can feel like jacques cousteau. >> we have children who love it in the pool. and we have professional divers who love to go down there and just capture experience of being underwater. >> reporter: and pearson said the mask is also being used by the military and scientists. >> in thailand they're using the camera mask to do research on a reef. >> reporter: there is one catch, however, for fishermen who like to embellish tales of hooking the big one. >> it will be a little bit more difficult for people to say it was that big. but you can always put a wide angle on it to make the fish look bigger. >> reporter: gary tuchman, cnn. ) we've detected an anomaly... (voice 2) how bad is it? (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets...

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bashed in. milwaukee's hero mayor speaking out about a weekend that left him hospitalized. mayor tom barrett said he heard a woman screaming and a baby in trouble and he just reacted. >> overall what i want to stress is just how i've been in situations in this community my whole life, and i can't think of a situation like this where people would not have responded the way i did. when someone says "call 911," you call 911. it's that straightforward. and that's exactly what happened here. it was only at that point where the response was so bizarre that things took off in the wrong direction. meantime, the guy arrested for attacking mayor barrett is getting some free defense from his mom. we'll take you to the white house now. robert gibbs about to begin and take questions from reporters there.

>> shoddy one at best, chuck. don't go changing for me. yes, sir? take us away. >> ooh. valerie jarrett on the weekend was talking to liberal bloggers, and she said about the administration's overall, i believe, legislative agenda, it's an uphill battle, and it won't happen unless we energize our base. what are you folks doing right now to energize that base? which seems fairly quiet in relation to what one hears daily from -- from those who are opposed, for example, to health care. >> well, again, i -- i think i would dispute the beginning characterization. i think, again, particularly at the events that you saw the president do, i don't -- i don't think you noticed a lack of

support for providing health care reform among those that were outside of the president's event. i think the president will just continue to do just as we promised to do in the campaign. i think that's what's important for the american people to know, and that's what's important for the people that sent us to washington for them. that we're committed to -- we're committed to getting our economy back on track, laying a foundation for long-term economic growth, addressing the urgent needs for energy independence, reforming our health care system, making our schools the very best, and making this country and our homeland safer by changing our foreign policy. i think all of those things are exactly what the president promised to do and what he's

busy doing in washington. >> so, you're satisfied with what you're hearing from whatever this base is, especially on health care? >> well, look, yes. i think we're -- i think there are millions of people out there that know, that are on -- that are, quite frankly, part of our political base and others that are independents and republicans that believe it's time that the health care system change, that we need reform, and we can't continue to do what we're doing now. i think that's precisely it. yes, sir? >> there are others inside and outside of your base that think you've lost control of the argument and wonder whether the president has the political muscle to see this through. >> stay tuned. >> well, what do you -- i mean, would you -- how do you respond to the suggestion that you've lost control of the argument? >> i -- this is -- the argument's on the over in.

the discussion's not over. the debate's not over. the legislative process isn't over. >> do you expect to have this back-and-forth within the party about the public option? >> again, contrived almost entirely by you guys. yes, sir? [ inaudible question ] again, because i said that this morning, the notion of changing the position on the public health care plan -- or the public option was -- >> absolutely wrong? >> -- was not something that any of you all picked up on saturday when the president said it. we did this this morning. none of you did that story. >> do you say flatly right now that it's all right? >> get your pen ready? >> yes. >> what do you mean? >> right here. >> the president for the first time in public said "or not." >> i missed yours. >> a lot of people did this story. >> i'll be happy to look that up. nobody volunteered that this morning. >> he's not going to cave at all? >> i'll reiterate what the president has said all along, helen, the president believes we

have to have choice and competition. in a private insurance market where people are entering, they have to have the ability to choose among insurers. it will drive down their costs and improve their quality. his preference is for a public option. if there are others that have ideas about how we can institute choice and competition, he's happy to look at those. >> will he fight for the public option? >> if -- we will fight for whatever is best that brings about that choice and competition. that's what the president always maintained, and that's what we've continued to say. yes, sir? >> before we dig in any further on health care, just a quick question on iraq. there were nearly 100 people that have died in the latest bombings in iraq. it's the bloodiest day in a year. it comes just weeks after u.s. combat troops pulled out of the urban centers. what, if anything, does it say about iraqi security forces ready to take over responsibility? and is there any sense that the

pullout of american troops from those city was premature? >> no, i don't think -- this was determined by iraqis as part of agreements that were look, i think it shows you the degree to which extremists will always go to wreak half vot through senseless violence that har harms innocent, human lives. i think the president talked about this in his speech in cairo. not only is the violence, the shock can violence certainly different venues, not only is that shocking but when you factor in the fact that it's muslim on muslim violence. the degree to which that underscores the deplorable and

shocking nature, that, i would point out, that the number of attacks is at or near and all-time low. there will always be those that believe they can or should be heard only through this type of violence. it's obvious the vast number of iraqis believe and want to live in peace and security. we will continue to assist the iraqis in securing their country until it is time for us to go. >> any concern that the iraqis security forces -- >> no. i think the -- i think you've heard general odierno talk about this in the past. i don't believe it has changed. yes. >> i was wondering if you can address president obama's comment that health care

legislation must include a health care exchange with a public plan as part of that exchange. are we all wrong in assuming that the word must also applies to public plan or did it only apply to the exchange? >> i would have to go back and look at the exact phrasing. >> you haven't looked at the exact phrasing of that phrase? it's one of the most cited quotes in terms of people saying, this is why people think that president obama is backing off a public plan? >> i haven't looked at it in the last few days. >> we've all got it cued up and ready to go? >> i will pop popcorn and watch your newscast. again, jake, we can quibble about whether he phrased it one way that time. we can quibble about the way he phrased it when he sat here in front of you all in june and talked about not drawing lines in the sand.

again, i think the president has stated his position. >> terms of comments made recently by republicans on the senate finance committee over in negotiations, not necessarily in the finance committee, talking about the public plan, senator grassley, recent comments, it is still the intention and hope of this white house to have a bipartisan bill in the senate? >> absolutely. the president believes strongly in working with republicans and democrats, seeking to reform health care, cost cut, coverage increase, insurance implemented that no longer discriminate against families and individuals. the president strongly believes that we are making progress. he has had conversations with members of the finance committee

friday in montana and others. our preference is to work through this process and hopefully come out with a bill that has agreement among both parties on that. >> are you expecting any republican votes for this bill in the senate or the next? >> i think there are many that would like to see some health care reform. i trust that the three republicans that are working in the senate finance committee are doing so in good faith. i have no reason to believe they are not. >> the question is, how is it that you think you can achieve a bipartisan bill when it seems you are having trouble achieving a partisan bill? the divisions between the democratic party right now, between the blue dogs and the progressives in the house? >> i think that sort of -- there are blue dogs on the energy and commerce committee that voted out a bill on the house side

before we left for recess. i think this notion that there -- it's impossible even to get agreement on our side on what a health care plan looks like belies the notion that this is a piece of legislation that went through not one, not two but three committees on the house side. the notion we can't get something done like that just isn't true. >> i guess i mean more of the divisions between the house and the senate. what can make it through the sen na nat according to some senate democrats? >> that's what we are going to spend the fall doing. i think part of that progress is going to be what progress the sen f senate finance committee can make, working democrats and republicans working together to come up with what we hope is a bipartisan solution. >> this morning, i just wanted

to clarify something that you were asked in response to this question, have there been discussions here, strategically, about going all democratic bh it comes to health care? you said no. >> we are focusing on how to get bipartisan support, how to get members of both parties who want to work on comprehensive health care reform. that's what we are focused on. >> even given some of the comments from republicans, no one is looking at strategically the possibility of having those -- >> we are focused on a process that continues in the senate with both parties. the president again met with senator baucus on friday in montana.

they discussed the progress that was being made among democrats and republicans on the finance committee. that's our focus. >> senator grassley, this morning, asked you a question on cnn talking about projects for health care legislation and said, so far, no one has developed that kind of support, either in congress or at white house. that doesn't mean you should quit. that means we should keep working so we can put something together that gets widespread support. the white house failed to get widespread support? >> no. the white house completely agrees with what senator grassley says there. that's why i said this morning that our preferred option is to go the route of getting all of those involved that are at the table to agree to something that

can be supported by both parties. i can't speak to what republicans will ultimately end up doing. the president doesn't have control over every person's vote on this. he can and will continue to work to try to get agreement on both sides of the aisle on this. the president believes this issue is far too important to not try. to walk away from a perfect opportunity to bring both sides together in order to make progress on an issue that we have seen fail time after time after time. that's why as i said today the president goes at this not eye delogically to different things but how do we get the best reform to people. >> would you say you were just talking about lines in the sand. would you say that $250,000, not

raising taxes on anybody making $250,000 or less as far as health care is concerned is a line in the sand? >> the president reiterated that just other day. >> is the administration's commitment on the public option equally as strong as the commitment by the administration to sign a bill? >> i think i have answered this like 12 times. i will restate it again. >> 13 times. so the answer is, no? >> the president -- i'll go slow. the president believes we should have choice and competition for people entering the private insurance market in order to hold down costs, in order to provide quality of coverage. we have to have choice and competition. his preferred way is the public option. if there are others that have additional view points or other

ideas in policy that institute that choice and competition, he is and we are ready to hear it. >> so is it wrong or is it correct to say then that the president's commitment to not raising taxes on $250,000 or less in his health bill is equally as strong as the public health option? >> i am not going to get into ranking that. >> that's a line in the sand you have drawn. the public option is not a line in the sand? >> the president addressed that in here i many not going to get into ranking different priorities. >> when you say preferred -- >> i am saying that is his preferred option. >> his preference exceeds that of others? >> take it or leave it? >> do you guys accept any responsibility on the fact that

you are having some of these other issues on health care, whether it is on incorrect interpret tatio interpretations of the bill? do you accept any of the responsibility or is it the media's fault? >> i don't think anybody here this is we have pitched a no-hit game or a perfect game. i think we just have to continue to be out there. look, i think it's one of the biggest myths, two weeks ago, was this notion of the government making end of life decisions on behalf of seniors. right? your poll shows that that myth is not actually believed by the american people i think the president has had an impact on people's perception about what the health care bill means for those decisions.

obviously, we have -- >> only at 45% is a small victory? >> 45% is not half the country. if you get 45% in an election, you don't generally get sworn in. but, i think we're hardened that a majority of the country and i think the same number of seniors believe that that is exactly a myth that the president has dealt with. does that mean that the president is going to have to deal with other misconceptions and myths. sure. i don't think there is any doubt. that's why he is talking to faith leaders today. he will do a radio call-inshow tomorrow and continue to try to make progress. >> the issue of abortion to come up. >> i don't know if he didden o one of the earlier calls. i don't know if it will or not. we'll see.

>> robert, when you talk about not to belabor the point too much further but the president has said that anything that will do a number of things, including bring down costs. has he seen anything outside of the public option that will do that? >> we sort of had this question yesterday. i think most people have said that it's hard -- they have not yet seen full details of what a co-op would look like in terms of being able to fully evaluate its effectiveness. >> yes. >> the radio call-inth in that just mentioned, is this the radio call in? >> this is the smerconish show. >> senate democrats have been meeting to figure out what can be done through reconciliation and what can't be done through reconciliation. they feel like they have made a lot of progress on gaming out the parliamentary options here.

are you saying that the white house is not participating in this conversation? >> i can certainly check. not that i'm aware of, no. >> would you check that? they certainly think you have been. >> again, our focus is not on what happens if. our focus is on the here and now. >> do you believe that you can do a significant health care bill with 51 votes? >> that's not our focus. >> the questions on afghanistan, robert. what's your sense of the security situation there just hours leading up to the vote and what are the stakes for the president's statgy in this election? well, i think, as the president has long said, that this is the

presidential and provincial elections are the most important event that will happen in afghanistan this year. we wish the afghans well in their election tomorrow. as i said, i think this is an important event in choosing their own leaders. in terms of the security situation, obviously, the president increased our true commitment to afghanistan based on a belief that the security situation for these elections wa tremendously important. we certainly continue to monitor that. i think this is an important event in that the president's policy is one that he is focused on getting right through a new and comprehensive strategy that he announced.

to defeat, dismantle -- i'm sorry, to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al qaeda and extremist allies. this is important for our national security, our homeland security and the security of the rest of the world. >> what would you like to see changed in the way the afghan government works no matter who wins? >> i don't want to do that before tomorrow. we will have comments about elections when they are completed. >> are you still confident that this will be allege it matt election? >> we hope it is safe and secure. >> could you talk more about the phone call that was made this afternoon. was there some discrete message or targeted message he was trying to get across?

>> he already has completed a call this morning with rabbis that he was invited to join as they get ready for their important holidays and the messages that they and their congregants will have. the importance of for faith leaders, the importance of health care and health care coverage for millions of americans but the message isn't any different to them than it is to those that go to a town hall meeting or listen in on a radio call-in show. his principles are the same. his desires to see comprehensive reform cut costs for families and small businesses to make it more manageable for budgets of the federal government, state and local governments and the

important insurance reform he has discussed throughout the west over the past few days. >> the promise in "the new york times" has been saying that republican leadership has made a strategic decision that defeating president obama's health care reform is more important than -- is that his view only? is that the white house view? >> have you made a conclusion about the republican party on this issue? >> i think there are many in the leadership that appear not to support reform that does the very things that i just talked to ed about. i'll go back to a number that's also in the nbc poll. they asked what the approval rating for republicans in congress on health care. i think it was 21 approved, 62

disapproved. it is very important. we've heard this from democrats and republicans. it is important that the american people know something has to be done. they can't continue to watch their premiums double. they can't continue to watch small businesses either have to go out of business or drop the coverage that they want to provide their employees. the federal government can't continue to watch health care costs skyrocket and hope to get on a path of fiscal responsibility. we can't have any more than we can have government bureaucrats in charge of health care. we shouldn't have insurance company bureaucrats in charge of health care. i think the vast number of people in america know we have to do something to get out of this spiral of health care that we are in. >> does the president agree with his chief of staff that the republican leadership has made this strategic decision to oppose that? >> i haven't seen anything that would persuade me otherwise. >> then, if i may be allowed to follow up, what is the utility

from the white house's perspective of continuing to pursue a bipartisan agreement? >> well, because we take very seriously the fact that there are republicans, three of which are on the finance committee, that have said they are committed to and dedicated to health care. we'll believe that until we are told that's not the case. >> so they are defying their leader sh leader shi leadership? >> i haven't read a lot of comments from senator mcconnell to lead me to believe he is supportive of their efforts. >> a survey late in july and august asks, should congress approve a health care overall even if only democrats support it. 59% said no. 36% said they agreed. of those who said no, 63% were

independent. how did this factor in to the white house, this public opinion approach factor in the way you look at this issue and will deal with it going forward? >> it factors in precisely as i have talked about today, that our preference is to move forward, working with democrats and republicans? we think that's important. we believe that those that are working to try to get that agreement are doing so because they think health care is supportive and will continue to try to make progress on those issues. >> if you want to know about the health care debate and even listen there to robert gibbs as he continues the white house briefing, rather, you can check out the special, health care in america website on cnn.com. you can get the latest from the town hall debate and fact check that report. read the bills proposed. go to cnn.com/health care or

cnn.com to watch that live briefing in its entirety. for the people of baghdad, the nightmare days are back. at least 95 people have been killed and 560 been wounded in the deadliest day since our troops pulled out. just one more sign pointing to the question, are iraqis able to take over their country when it comes to security? >> reporter: well, kyra, i think that's the question that every single iraqi wants answered. i think every single iraqi is fearing the answer too, because after a day like today, the answer most certainly would be no. now, this was not just deadliest day in iraq since the u.s. military handed the security over to the iraqi government. it is actually the deadliest day in iraq of this year. six explosions happening in the span of just an hour. two of them truck bombs.

one targeting the iraqi ministry of finance. the other and by far, most devastating, exploding in front of the ministry of foreign affairs. it was a blast so massive it not only blew through the ministry itself. it also sent a number of vehicles in the area flying into the air reducing others to burnt hulks of metal. it utterly destroyed and devastated a number of homes in the region. one young man who was woken up by the blast much the span came falling on top of his head. luckily, he escaped unharmed. how is it possible that this can happen here when it was meant to be one of the safer areas of baghdad. the ministry of foreign affairs is located outside of the green zone. the location where it took place is on the road that leads toward the green zone. there used to be a checkpoint

where every voc was stopped, the passenger's i.d.s were checked. there was bomb detection equipment. the government recently had that removed, part of this notion of return willing to normalcy. they might be a bit premature in that. >> thanks. to our other war zone, afghanistan, a city and entire country on the edge. afghan voters go to the polls in 8 1/2 hours to cast ballots for president. they appear to be carrying out their threat to voters, stay away from the poll ors risk your life. in kabul, police fought back after militants took over a bank. three insurgents killed there. three u.s. soldiers were killed in combat operations today and six election workers died in other attacks. with war comes unbelievable stress. later in the hour, we are pushing forward on the new military program to help soldiers cope with combat. wild dogs, when they are

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hurricane bill now a category 4 and it is getting stronger. chad myers is tracking it for us. >> it looks like such the classic, major event here. i can look at this satellite and picture in my mind, hugo, andrew and all those very dynamic, giant, massive storms that have run right through this same area that have made landfall in the u.s. in the past. the difference between those storms and this storm is a big high pressure that should move away. here are the leeward islands, the spanish virgin islands. this storm will travel there and wa way. it will put some massive waves on the north shore of those islands and get the waves into the east coast of the u.s. there won't be that much of an

impact when it comes to wind. i do believe the wave action along the east coast will be significant with the potential for rip current all weekend long. if you are along the shore, you have to keep the kids out of the wall when you know that is happening or the red flags are there. if you see ten-footers coming over sandbars on the east coast, that's not normal. that's going to get you in trouble as the water begins to move out. every computer model keeps this storm out to sea. there are a few that get very, very close to nantucket and cape cod. this would be the u.s./east coast. so far, bermuda, you get missed as well. off to the west by about 200 miles. that's going to be a big-time forecast change whether that happens or not. it will be a category 4 as it goes by bermuda. take a look at this. it's a nasa shot from 220 miles up, kyra. this is out of the international space station. looking right down smack down into the eye. you are not seeing water down there, because there was just

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top stories now, proof of how dangerous iraq is, as the u.s. military starts to drop down their presence, half a dozen bombings in baghdad within an hour today. near 100 people killed, hundreds more injured. lts the deadliest day since

american troops pulled out nearly two months ago. hours ahead of afghanistan's presidential election. at least seven election workers killed in attacks on eve of the election along with three american soldiers. the ballot will include the president and 40 challenges including two women. remember this crash. a new york woman killed herself and seven other people. prosecutors say they won't file charges in the diane schuler case. she was drunk and high on marijuana when she drove the wrong way on a new york parkway killing herself, her daughters and three nieces and nephews in that suv. thousands of americans have been hiding money in offshore accounts for years. it is not a secret anymore. susan lisovicz with the details. >> this was always the inside joke if you are hiding money, they were in swiss accounts. >> that's right and ubs is a big bank, a big swiss bank. this did not come easily. this came as a result of a lot

of pressure between the swiss government and the irs. ultimately, we are talking about 5,000 names here. why is that? because these americans had money overseas to evade taxes. at least that's the irs belief. this is not your joe six pack. these are wealthy americans. these 5,000 accounts held about $18 billion in assets. the irs has 5,000 additional names, people who confessed on their own under the voluntary disclosure program and believe it or not, there is even more names, because the irs really wanted to get ahold of all of the u.s. accounts held in spitzer land. a total of 52000. the government could use it with all this deficit spending. the irs is eager to get this money. >> are these people facing jail time? >> yes, some of them, it appears they are. the irs website lists half a dozen examples of criminal

charges. they all seem to be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties and up to three to five years in prison. those who turn themselves in under this amnesty program, if you will, they may catch a break. they still have to pay their taxes. the money must have been made legally. if you are selling hash sheesh and evading taxes, you are going to be in a lot of trouble. that voluntary disclosure program runs out next month. >> all right. we will follow it. >> thanks, susan. can you call someone a skank on line and get away with it. a former model doesn't want a name-calling blogger to get away from it. the legal battle, you can write and lead on line. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love.

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to reports that if all else fails, democrats may pass health care reform alone. they have the votes if they stick together and especially if they use a special procedure that takes away the possibility of a filibuster. the white house says it wants a bipartisan bill and isn't giving up. >> the president believes strongly in working with republicans and democrats, independents, any that seek to reform health care, that want to see costs cut, coverage increased. insurance reform implemented that no longer discriminates against families and individuals. the president strongly believes in making progress. >> folks on both sides of the health care debate are trying to be heard on line and in town halls, maybe even in the streets of your town. in northern virginia, for instance, some supporters of the public option, rather, are going door to door to discuss it.

our photo journalist, jeremy morehead tags along. >> we are going to load up with voter guides. we are volunteers with the virginia organizing project. we are at least going to take these and go up to the house and knock on the door. the name of registered voters in the neighborhood. we data entry how they feel about health care reform. >> we go to every house, not just the registered voters houses. nobody was home. >> our goal is trying to get people to call our senator, mark warner, and give him supporting public options. >> usually, if we knock on maybe 100 doors, usually about 20 will answer. ten will talk to you. i am just going to see if someone is still living here.

i am atlee weber. one of the issues we are working on is health care reform. how important is that on a scale of one to five? >> four. >> do you know if you support a public health option that would compete with private health insurance plans? >> depending on how it was structured, yes. >> a lot of people are worried about losing their health care insurance and we assure them that they could keep their private insurance if they wanted to but there would be a public option available to people that aren't as fortunate as them. >> a lot of people we talk to think it means canadian style single-payer where the government will provide for everyone. we are ensuring people that it is a public option. you can keep your proo vat insurance if you are happy with it. >> a lot of people have never called their senator before. so that's always really exciting when we get someone to get involved who never was involved before, didn't feel like they could be involved. >> well, if you want to get involved in the health care debate or at least get educated

on the details, check out cnn.com/health care. there is a ton of resources for you, including fact checks and town hall schedules and you can read the bills that congress is arguing about, all 1,600 pages. name-calling, the oldest form of bullying in the book. it is no you part of a lawsuit. gorgeous former vogue model. if you read an anonymous blog, she is called a skank and a ho among other things. she was pretty upset. exhibit b, google, the company behind the internet search engine you learn on line. cohen took google to court. what did she want? the name of the anonymous person who called her names on its site, blogger.com. a judge ruled that gugle did, indeed have to give up information. so google did.

now, ms. cohen says that she is suing the blogger for defamation. on abc's good morning america, diane sawyer asked her, why didn't she just let this go with all the stuff out on the web? >> why should anybody let it go? if somebody attacks somebody on the street, you are not going to let it go. if somebody attacks you personally, your not going to let it go. why should i let it go? why? i couldn't find one reason to ignore it. so i didn't. >> a lawyer for the blogger says that her client has voluntarily taken down the website, which brings us to exhibit c. george washington university law professor joins me. i agree this could be a pretty fascinating case. what do you think? >> it is very interesting. it gets to that difficult question of balancing between the need for an nonimty and free speech and to protect people like this former model.

the grave concern is that it will also sweep into more protected areas, for example, whistle-blowers who use an nonimty to make statements against powerful groups. anonymous critics like the church of signtology. i think they are concerned that this is going to open the door for these individuals to pursue them and strip them of an nonimmyth. >> there is a big difference between exposing somebody who is corrupt and doing something horrible to somebody than just some coward that has an issue with somebody and wants to call her horrible names that have no truth to it? >> that's right. truth is always a defense. he could argue that i could prove she is a skank. >> it is a she, by the way. >> we found out the blogger is a she. she called her up and said, hey, why did you do this?

apparently, according to her, she said the blogger didn't know what she was talking about and said that the two women should not speak to each other, except in the presence of their attorneys. that was it. the next thing you knew, the blog was taken off the web. >> it's interesting, because the courts have dealt with these types of name-calling cases. a well-known case deals with the meaning of slut. which oft we often have to deal with the lowest common dem om nay tore in the law. usually, name-calling is treated like opinions. calling a model a skank is as many poem would view, is like calling a politician corrupt. it is an opinion that is usually corrupted. you cross the line when you make a statement of fact. you don't say a politician is corrupt but you make reference to money in an envelope and then you have something to answer for. what's interesting about these cases, when you look at the

attacks, they are juvenile, vicious, they are generally not the type of thing you see in a major defamation case. >> you know as well as i know, you and i both have had some pretty horrible things said about us. that's why i don't like to read these blogs. at least these people have the guts to put their names on what they say about me. i don't know about you. >> i was recently called exhibit c. >> c stands for charmer. that was nice. these type of things have led to people losing work, getting fired, getting talked about in other circles. we have watched this unfold, even here within our business. do you think that she has something here? now that we have seen a development, could this lead to something bigger and could these anonymous bloggers.

so many of them are making things up. it is not factual. could they be held accountable? >> the question is, what limits there are? what's surprising is that you have a public figure. usually public figures are subject to "new york times" versus solomon, which is basically saying even if something is untrue, it is still not defamation unless the person acted with actual malice. there does seem to be actual malice here. it is surprising to see a public figure respond to such name-calling. there is no sympathy towards this person. the only concern is how far will this swing? to what extent will the next person making claims against a politician or a company find themselves in court having their anonanymorety blown. the internet is an amazing tool

that allows people to participate in politics, to have their voices heard. so there is a concern that cases like this could create a chilling effect. >> there are so many people, as you well know, whether it wickipedia or these blogs, you don't know who they are and they make things up. it is so unfair. >> you are very right. >> we will continue to follow this. it will be interesting to see how it develops. in the meantime, i will only write nice things about you, jonathan. >> thanks, kyra. >> miss cohen will be a live guest with campbell brown tonight. distress on the battlefield and at home. teaching soldiers the skill they need to survive. a new program we are going to tell you about. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops.

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top stories now. when all else fails, maybe some divine intervention for president obama's health care reform plan. just a few hours from now, mr. obama taking part in a health-care call-inand web cast sponsored by a group of religious leaders, calling for quality, affordable health care for every american family.

in iraq, proof of just how dangerous the country is as the u.s. military starts to draw down their presence there. half a dozen bombings in baghdad, all within an hour. nearly 100 people killed. hundreds more injured. the deadliest day in iraq since american troops pulled out on june 30th. just hours ahead of afghanistan's presidential election, another round of deadly violence. at least seven election workers killed on the eve of the election. three american soldiers. the ballot will include president javi karzai. 40 challengers and two women. how to fight and survive in combat. a new set of skills is being taught to our troops. barbara starr is at the pentagon. finally they are talking about suicide and ptsd and doing something about it. >> reporter: absolutely. not just learning how to fight in war but learning how to come home. with suicide rates, drug use, alcohol use, all on the rise compounded by post-traumatic

stress. the army has gun a new program to teach mental strength to the young troops. now, everybody will attend classes in what they call mental resi resilience, learning how to survive life's problems. life sometimes deals you a rotten hand and you have to go on and learn to live with it. the power of positive thinking. what we found most extraordinary when we set out to do this story is the woman leading the program. her name is brigadier rhonda core number. she was held as a pow, molested, two broken arms, a gunshot wound. talk about being tough, rhonda cornum is one tough, army general. she is trying to teach the rest of the troops to be the same. >> i apologize, barbara. we have to go over to chad. apparently, there is an earthquake that's happened in anchorage.

what can you tell us? >> it is a 5.2 earthquake, only about 30 miles from the center of anchorage itself. it was a farrell deep squak. it was almost 40 miles deep. we did talk to a couple of affiliates in anchorage. for the most part, they did feel about 30 seconds worth of shaking. if the earthquake is right there, we take you across the water. literally 30 miles away, this would be the town or the city, if you will, of anchorage. this shaking happens all the time in alaska. a 5.0 is a pretty strong shake. it may have been up to a 5.2. right now, no reports of damage. that's enough shaking to maybe cause something. we'll keep an eye on that. >> thanks. they may look like your family's pooches but most of these guys are closer to wolves. aggressive wild dogs, a pack of them, ending a couple's life and

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statistics show you are more likely to be killed by lightning than a dog. which makes what happened to a georgia couple all the more grotesque. we are following this story. you couldn't believe it. >> reporter: it's hard to believe. you can't imagine these dogs, especially this pack of dogs is capable of something like this. they definitely are in terms of numbers. a total of 16 dogs have already been put down. one dog is still on the loose today. it happened friday. this elderly couple mauled and killed by a pack of dogs. i talked to someone who said he was working the job for 29 years and never had seen anything like this. describing the hundreds of fresh wounds, in a word, it was traumatic. >> reporter: these are the last pictures of the dogs.

11 adults and 5 puppies have been oout thanized. the pack of dogs mauled a couple to death. sherry had gone out for a walk. when she didn't come home, her husband went looking for her. >> it's a huge shock, a huge shock. >> reporter: the bodies were found saturday morning. the dogs still standing guard above their prey when authorities arrived. >> it appears she was attacked and killed by the dogs and possibly, later on, he came up. we feel sure she was probably attacked first. >> reporter: animal control was called in to capture the dogs. the sheriff described them as aggressive. after the animals attacked two of his deputies, tranquilizers had to be used. the dogs were wild but an 83-year-old man, the only man to

live on this road had been feeding them. while this kind of dog mauling is brutal, the humane society says it is rare. there have been 20 fatal dog attacks nationwide. compare that to 22 in 2008 and 33 the year before. even though this sort of attack is unusual, it's little consul lation for mark sweider who will never see his parents again. >> they were wonderful, deer, kind-hearted people. we miss them. this is just terrible, terrible. >> reporter: again, deputies are out there today. they say there is still one of these wild dogs roaming around in this wooded area. as of last check, no charges have been pressed against this elderly gentlemen who is the only man who lives on this rural road. no charges have been pressed against him as of today. >> so the takeaway here, you said these were wild dogs. bottom line, to prevent this

from happening again. >> spay and neuter your fpet. these dogs had this pack mentality. they were dangerous, hungry. they wanted food. this was survival for them. >> heartbreaking. thanks, brook. he was the man behind cbs's ticking clock. don hewitt died today. we will take a look back at his amazing career. ( whooshing, riders cheering ) that the bank of america really has the market cornered on. let me make it easier for you. let me show you how i can make it easier for you. we have the number one rated online banking website. it has an alert system that can text message you, so you're mobile banking, your bank's telling you what your current balance is. it's telling you if a certain check is cleared. customers that use the internet, use online banking. it all kind of falls in with what you're doing, and it's free.

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don hewitt was a television news pioneer in every sense of the word, a giant in our business. he passed away today. as a former colleague and friend remembers hewitt, he was a remarkable innovator. >> the influence that don has, if you look on the bottom third of the screen, all those graphics, the thing that says my name or the subject matter, don hewitt has died, those are called supers. don invented supers. he said, you knee what, on the screen, we need another way to convey information to viewers. maybe we can superimpose them? he figured out technically a way to do it. he was a director, a technical

job in television. he figured that out. >> here now with a look back at the man and his incredible career. >> reporter: pioneering journalist, don hewitt in the early days of television. he began his career in print journalism. he moved to cbs in 1948 where he stayed for more than 50 years. >> see it now, a document for television. >> reporter: he directed the cbs documentary series, "see it now." the legendary series, "cbs reports." he worked alongside correspondent edward r. morrow and producer, brad friendly. they set the highest standards, virtually inventing the new medium of television journalism. >> coast to coast, douglas edwards reporting. >> reporter: as producer and directory of douglas edwards and

the news, he had a tremendous emphasis on day to day television programming. he headed cbs's early political coverage including the 1960 presidential debate. >> nixon was ill. this guy has been in the hospital. he arrived here looking like the wrath of god. jack kennedy looked like -- >> reporter: 70 million viewers tuned in to that debate, which revealed the awesome power of television. >> people heard it on radio thought that nixon won. all the people that watched on television saw this sort of salo, green, pasty, hesitant richard nixon and decided that kennedy was the winner. >> reporter: don hewitt is bessed known for creating the groundbreaking news broadcast "60 minutes." >> this is 60 minutes, a kind of a magazine for television. >> reporter: "60 minutes" became one of the most successful and

profitable news programs in television history. an impression sieve achievement for the man who dropped out of college after just one year and admitted he was not really an intellectual. his genius came in creating stories in a way that appealed to the average person. >> i go to every screening as a viewer. i sit there and i say to myself, if i were a guy sitting home at 7:00 sunday, would i look at this? does this interest me? can this be told better? >> he did a book about it called "tell me a story." it was a story. it was a story. he took this crowd on stories. >> reporter: he would develop the reputation of a hands-on manager, a person whose fingerprints could be seen on every frame, every line of every story. he was a stickler for perfection. >> he is a kind of idiot sa

vanity of broadcasting careening around the hallways adjacent to his office. >> he developed a reputation as a domineering boss. his handling of "60 minutes" staffer is legendary, sometimes volatile and heavy handed. >> there are oftentimes blood on the floor of that screening room. believe me. >> reporter: over the years, "60 minutes" became appointment television, bringing us some of the most memorable and sometimes touching moments in television history. >> this is a marriage. it is a very different thing. >> reporter: in june, 2004, hewitt stepped aside. some would say he was pushed aside. as executive producer of 60 minutes. he left at age 81 after heading "60 minutes" for 36 years. >> he has been a great boss, a great boss. you can challenge him. you can fight him. the only thing you cannot do is bore him in the scre