a final meal before they have to fast for the rest ever the day. it is also very much one of the five pillars of islam. and why this is very much intended to be a time of peace, for once not only abstain from food and drink, also emotion trying to control anger, envy, bad thoughts about other people. unfortunately, over the last few years in places like here in iraq it is also become a period of increased violence, because those fundamentalists extremist ideals believe that carrying out attacks, suicide attacks, at a time like this gives them even more credibility in the eyes of their god and in fact it is quite the opposite. back to you guys in the studio.

welcome everybody. from the cnn center, you are in the "newsroom," saturday, august 22, 2009. i'm t.j. holmes. >> and i'm betty nguyen. right to it. first thing we're talking about is hurricane bill. see it right there. looking at the pretty graphic and the video, let's take a listen to the wind and surf. this is new video from bermuda as hurricane bill roars past it today. >> this is coming through from an i-reporter by the name of andy penny. he and his wife moved to bermuda from st. louis and this is their first encounter with a hurricane. might not be the last. >> big, bad bill is swirling towards the massachusetts shore and along the eastern seaboard, they're on alert for dangerous

surf and rip currents. >> a good thing, reynolds, saying the storm would not hit, would not make mainland in the u.s. everybody felt great, but still you can't just breathe a sif relief here. still things to watch out for. >> absolutely. look at big picture, you're right. this is really a good thing. the storm actually, at least appears, it's going to miss mainland. mainland usa. show you the big picture for a moment and give you up to date details. the storm weakened since the last update. rite now, 100 miles per hour. gusts up to 120. and this part of the screen, the storm's actually leaving bermuda. still having heavy surf action. the storm making its way up towards the canadian maritime expected to veer off to the north and northeast. look at this. latest path, the national hurricane center bricks it farther north. o'8:00 p.m. saturday, and sunday morning and afternoon, evening, veering off to the northeast and

the as it does so affecting the canadian maritimes. currently we have tropical storm watching in effect for parts of nova scotia, possibly making landfall as a storm or hurricane into sunday and monday. as you talked about, issues, though, in parts of the eastern seaboard. namely, we have dangerous surf that will spill over from saturday into sunday. same time, rip currents a real possibility. the reason, this storm, although it is weakening and moving a bit to the north, still pushing a great deal of water from maine southward to the florida keys. a volume of water pushed up against the coast. that waite recreeds and the rip currents can pull people out to the sea. in fact, over 100 people according to noaa die in rip current situations every year in the u.s. coming up, a better idea what the storms are, how to break free of them and other signs to

watch out for. one last thing i want to leave you with, a live shot we have. our friend mark is stationed -- one of his camera guises along the beach. with that you can see wave action coming in. water coming right up to the very base you see of these pilings and, of course, near this building. a few people here and here just watching the action. again, one of the strangest things about situations like this, those conditions can be great along your part of the world, the carolina coast. looks fine in the skies above. in the water, underneath, this current to watch out for. talking more about those coming up in a few. >> looking closely. thank you. >> thanks. rock, shattered, buildings destroyed last night during a five-hour prison riot. this happened at the northpoint training center in kentucky there. immediate security lockup. just south of lexington. officials say prisoners set fires to the building. the riot police threw tear gas.

officials say they're back into control and prisoners were taken to other facilities while they investigate what sparked this disturban disturbance. >> right noi we're happy to report that you that the facility is secure, the inmates are accounted for, minimal injury, still being assessed, to the inmates and as far as we know right now, minimal, if any, injuries at all to any staff or department of corrections personnel. well, president obama is hitting back at health care reform critics today saying people who talk about death panels and mandatory public coverage of guilty of outright distortion. >> never been easy moving this nation forward. there are always those who oppose it, and those who use fear to block change. but what has always distinguished america is that when all the arguments have been heard and all the concerns have been voiced and the time comes

to do what must be done, we rise above our differences. we grasp each other's hands and march forward as one nation and one people. some of us democrats, some of us republicans, all of us americans. >> okay. so rising up and marching forward, let's talk to elaine quijano about that. what is the obama team doing for the americans marching in reform? >> reporter: trying to hit back. the administration says about health care reform. in his weekly address the president said illegal immigrants would not be covered under a health care bill and taxpayer dollars would not go to fund abortionses and he addressed fear eck ode at heated town hall meetings across the country saying this administration, betty, is not planning a government takeover of the health care system. betty? >> all right. that's what they're saying, but what are republicans saying about all this? >> reporter: interesting. republicans in their weekly

address said the president was not being straightforward about his proposal. congressman tom price of georgia said the president is playing "fast and loose" with the facts. >> his opposition to the democrats' government-run plan is mounting. the president has said he'd like to stamp out some of the misinformation floats around out there. the problem is the president himself plays fast and loose with the facts. >> reporter: now, congressman price has a physician himself says based on his experience trying to navigate federal health care programs, pe leaves washington isn't capable of processing the personal and unique circumstances that patients and doctors face every day. >> pretty big divide. elaine quijano, thank you for that. as you well know from watching video, emotions are running high at many town hall meetings nationwide. today we are live with health care reform uninterrupted. talking abouted town hall

meetings. you'll hear from people on all sides of the face in their own words. 9 questions and answers on town hall wall at 2:00 p.m. eastern today only on cnn. a live lation today about harsh interrogation techniques during the bush administration. threatening one pair of suspects with a gun and a power drill. the man who's accused in the bombing of the "uss cole" was also allege think waterboarded. the information was contained in a federal report. the federal judge ordered it released next week. and being praised as fair and mostly free. a terrible side to the story. the taliban finding violent ways to get back at some voters. in kabul with the story, and even though it doesn't seem to be widespread, some of the details are just horrific. >> reporter: it is horrific, t.j. hoar rick, the week leading up

to the elections and now we're hearing about two voters in kand har. used to be the capital for the taliban when they had their regime in afghanistan. hearing two voters fingers were chopped off because they voted. index fingers. here in afghanistan when a voter goes to the polls they must dip their finger in ink so they cannot come again and vote again to prevent fraud. unfortunately, the taliban made good on the threats and did chop those index fingers off and at the same time, the afghan people did not have a large turnout this year. 2004's president's elections and 2005 parliament tear elections saw a larger turnout. many deciding not to go to the polls thursday. a, afraid and b, didn't think it would make much difference in their lives. at the same time, through violence, fear and intimidation, millions of afghans still made it out. t.j.? >> again, some of those details of what we've seen and still

waiting for election results as well. appreciate it so much. iraq's foreign minister warns a bigger and mohr 30uerful attack in baghdad's future saying wednesday's blast that killed 101 people may be a sign of things to come, if the government does not shore up its security lapses. he says the security situation has been deteriorating since american troops withdrew and said the attackers may have had inside help. 11 high pranking officials from the iraqi army and police have been detained for investigation. muslims around the world are sell britting ramadan. the month-long period of casting and reflection. this is modesty and self-restraint. president obama taped the noefg the 1.5 billion muz rimm whose observe this month. >> on behalf of the american people including muslim communities 24 all 50 states, i want to extend best wishes to muslims in america and around

the world. ramadan kareem. >> take a look here. caught on tape. a string of heists. police say the robbers have in common and why the story yous may shopping in on high alert again.

trilipix. there's more to cholesterol. get the picture. all right. so a well-known department store chain is on high alert after a string of daring robberierobber >> police in three states are comparing notes and examining surveillance video hoping to are

a break. our sean callebs has the latest on this. >> reporter: two masked men caught on surveillance video brazenly breaking into a department store. they're holding 2 x 4s they used to smash open the jewelry counters and garbage bags filled with loot. then they escape out fire doors and into the night. police say the burglars got into the store climbing on to the roof, cutting a hole in the ceiling and roping down inside, "mission impossible" style. >> incredibly sophisticated. >> reporter: investigators say they knew where they were going and how to disable the alarm. >> over $1.5 million retail items in our parish alone. multiple stores in the same fashion. >> reporter: five stores hit this summer all with the same m.o.'s in june it was a store in indianapolis. in july, two in texas, sunday, covington, louisiana and wednesday in lafayette, louisiana. >> a pretty brazen attempt by a group of guys that are not

bounded by a jurisdictional border. >> reporter: one possibility is that the burglary ring is getting flep a former employee or someone on the inside. >> looking at the security. looking at management, looking at the sales people and outside. you know, we're not leaving anything unturned. >> reporter: police say they have one lead from the heist in indianapolis. dna evidence from a flashlight one of the criminals apparently held in his mouth and also that indianapolis operation had its problems opinion the first hole in the creels was lined up incorrectly and they had to cut a second hole and apparently the crooks ducked out so quickly they left behind a bag of jewels. sean callebs, cnn, new orleans. all right. if you are looking to save some cash on your next car, of course you are, here's my advice. move quickly. not before our newscast ends, of course, but afterwards. the government's response to cash for clunkers program is going to expire soon. officially ends monday night,

8:00 p.m. eastern. they'll stop handing out rebates so paperwork can be processed before the deadline. >> some say they're even going to stop on saturday, today, this evening, so they can get the paperwork done sunday and monday for the deadline. get in there to get your car because time is running out. we're going to talk about this, because four more u.s. banks went belly up this weekend, including texas based guarantee bank making it the third largest bank failure of the year. the fdic says the second largest bank will buy guaranty and the first time acquired a failed american bank this year and also shutting its doors alabama based california south bank and in georgia regulators seized first how we'd da and atlanta based ebank. closure, bringing it's total of failed banks to a whopping 81. a hiker's ordeal in the wilderness ends way dramatic chopper rescue. you have to see this video. what rescuers actually had to do

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and among our top stories this hour a fiery riot.

seriously damping a number of prison buildings in lexington, kentucky. none of the staff was hurt. ap few prisoners were, however. police used tear gas to lee store order in the five-hour uprising. also, hurricane bill. turns westward in the atlantic. minor damage reported in bermuda after the storm swiped that island. category 2 hurricane posing a potential threat to northeastern parts of the united states. tropical storm warnings are in effect for the massachusetts coast. and also here, an exclusive interview with cnn. former british prime minister tony blair denies deals were played for release of the lockerbie bomber. reports out of libya, police were tied to a libyan oil contract. another check of the top stories coming your way in about 20 minutes. show you this. a frightening sight under the frit nid lights. pilot and female passenger unfortunately killed when this biplane here crashed near a high school in harrison, ohio, near

cincinnati. parents in the parents bleachers looked on in horror as the plane came down not far from where their kids were holding a scrimmage on the football field. look at that. crashed minutes after takeoff last night. the national transportation safety board is investigating. so from that to this story, which has a much happier ending, thank goodness. >> still a scary sight. scary pictures. >> difficult to understand the precision necessary to land a helicopter on that little plateau there. >> yeah. this is -- this is in southern utah. a rescue there. see what had to happen. how close she has to actually come, the pilot there, to those rocks. park rangers used this helicopter to get to a ledge, rappel down to an injured hiker. a 49-year-old guy apparently fell off a ledge top a narrow canyon in the red mountain area. >> the fall actually knocked out most of his teeth. he broke his nose. hey, it's a good thing he's

alive. a lot went into the efforts to rescue him and in fact rescue crewed hoisted him to safety. a lot of team efforts but he's alive and the rest can be fixed. >> yes. the teeth, all that stuff. this individual yore, watching it, don't know what's going on. looks like almost a stunt, almost. how could you, ever dare to get that close? it looks like it may be perts further away than is really is. >> who was shooting the video in that? i'm not saying it's stamped but almost looks like, well, why wasn't this person helping in the rescue. >> and a perfect vantage point to actually get the video. i'm shire we'll get more on this story later. amazing pictures, nonetheless. we turn to another story having to doi with helicopters, quite frankly. and medevac choppers getting to life saving treatment can be a costly service for many cities forced to pass the charges on to the patients.

>> always gets passed on one way or the other. and the chopper program doesn't send out a bill. d.c. photo journalist shows us how it works. >> reporter: in 1970, the maryland state police aviation command performed the first civilian medevac ever transporting over 300,000 patients on our helicopters in the past 30 years. >> my name is dick elfman i was involved in head-on collision, person coming in the other direction. apparently fell asleep or was otherwise distracted and crossed the center line. >> about 8,000 missions a year. of those 8,000 missions about 5,000 are medevac. we can get to a patient with 25 minutes we have over 90% chance of getting that patient to the trauma center with what we call the golden hour.

>> i wouldn't be here right now if i hadn't been flown out. >> roger that. >> this is an emergency medical resource spernt the hub of our communications. we're called to come to when a helicopter is requested. >> en route. information only -- 44-year-old female. >> copy. >> maryland has the best medevac system in the world. there are people who come from other countries to see what maryland has done. >> never got a bill. it's an amazing thing. >> in our system, we don't charge anything to transport. it's paid for by a surcharge on vehicle registration. >> we have a system that works opinion we have choppers that take people no matter where -- >> not a question of who is injured not a question whether the person's a child, an adult, a bad guy, good guy, a cop, a crook. it's not that kind of a question. it's a question of here's a

person in need. we've got to get them care. >> reporter: that's what society ought to be doing. >> as we know, summer is rapping up. one of the last weekends will. the east coast ripping up rip currents. >> what to watch for and how you can actually save yourself, should you get caught in one of those rip currents.

all right. hurricane bill is not going to hit the mainland u.s. that's the good news, but the bad news is, if you're vacationing along the eastern seaboard, bell you may not want to get in the water. >> right. think of it, millions of people heading to the coast because they have this weekend and next, really, before schools begin nationwide. going out there to take advantage of the great waters. and when it comes to rip currents, a lot of times they're affected by giant storms. fairly with 1,000 miles of the

coastline, pushes a lot of water against the coast. that water tries to evacuate and go back into deeper areas, it creating rip currents. very dangerous opinion another weird thing, hard to see them. mostly sunny skies, a different story. >> reporter: here in florida, the east coast, conditions couldn't be better. partly cloudy skies. people out here enjoying t 1200

on the screen behind me, a foundation, a nonprofit group, studied it, looked at the study sag, most of the uninshurpd really need it and are here legally. you have a huge spread in the numbers. we had to lands on this.

this is what we got after all that. i know it's not the same as we like. landing on dispute. the reason, it's significant that you're hearing all the numbers. no one has it definitively. no one has it solidly. you'll keep hearing the spread. get more specifically, we would. for now we have to say anytime you hear specific figures thrown out, take it with grain of salt and the understand most are going through this, in the end, betty, t.j., great dilemma and dispute. >> a bit of a moving target, too. the recession and -- >> more people losing insurance now. >> josh, thank you. >> talk about hair this morning. and talking about hair. using a comedic stand, also using a new movie to educate. also he's reminding us that he's had a few bad hair days himself. >> there's lots of movies of me with a gerry curl that exists.

that was a choice. >> by choice. >> gerry curl as a choice. >> who has that in "new jack city." >> a new movie taking on the hot topic of black hair. but i try not to let it slow me down. i go down to the pool for a swim... get out and dance... even play a little hide-n-seek. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd... which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it every day. it keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announcer: spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, or have vision changes or eye pain. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate, as these may worsen with spiriva.

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the latest on our top story, calm returns to a central kentucky prison where inmates set bimdings on fire in a five-hour uprising last night. they gained control near lexington by tear gassing rioting prisoners. we're learning eight inmates and eight staffers were lurt in that riot. no deal. in an exclusive interview with cnn former prime minister tony blair des the lockiby bomber was traded in a deal. that's what moammar gadhafi claimed yesterday. and hurricane bill is back in the atlantic and churning northward picking up dangerous surever and rip currents all along the east coast. tropical storm warnings are in effect for the massachusetts shore.

[ sirens ] he ran off with his secretary! she's 23 years old! - oh, come on. - enough! you get half and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. and people love hanes underwear. ♪ i like to shake my boo-tay keep your family comfortable with no ride-up underwear at an unbeatable price. save money. live bet@ur. walmart.

well, good hair. what is that exactly? if you don't have it you want it. if you do have it, chances are you paid for it. relaxer, wigs, weaves, you name it. black people and especially black women, a $9 billion industry with what some call a hair obsession. very serious business. and chris rock is involved. a new comedy out, also it looks like a documentary. really learning a lot about hair in this thing. i caught up with him and one of the people featured in his movie at the hair show here in atlanta. >> reporter: what's your definition of good hair? >> relaxed. >> your hair's relaxed. people look relaxed. nappy, they're not happy. >> tell me first, you all just

kill me bp why would you not want good hair? not the movie, actual hair. what is good hair? >> all hair is good. >> there you go. >> all hair. >> as long as it's behaving. >> as long as it's not attacking you. not flesh-eating hair. >> reporter: some people needs words to get it to behavior. would you agree? >> anything good takes time. >> yeah. >> products. >> a little tlc. >> reporter: how much work for both ever you, how much work entails that -- >> no. >> reporter: i'm not going to say it like that. >> this takes a lot less -- >> this actually took, this morning -- >> 20 minutes as an architect.

>> reporter: just yesterday came into the house and said, daddy, how come i i don't have good hair? i wonder how she came up with that idea? >> being in the black community, if you have good hair you're prettier or better than, the lighteder the brighter the better. >> so many impressions. >> julia. >> black hair is a big issue. what's more beautiful, straight? straight hair or curly hair? it's been a huge issue with the community and i think you look at sort of the journey of black women and their hair, you try to relate to the images of white women, whose hair has been straighter or blond, lighter, and this is a great -- simply because it creates awareness. it's really a conversationational piece, this film and your hair, but ultimately if you're okay with who you are on the inside and okay with sort of your own sense of self, then it really doesn't matter what you think.

>> has anybody ever tried to steal your hair? >> no. >> if you see black women, you should run the other way. >> my daughters, i just wanted to -- i wanted to document for them. that's what this movie is about, and it's such a rich, rich, rich topic. that's educationally and comedically. and when i say comedically, i'm not making fun of black women at all. i'm not judging anybody. i'm -- there's lots of movies with me way gerry curl, that exist. >> that was by choice bishgs the way. >> by choice. >> gerry curl was a choice. >> hook hey a gerry curl in "new jack city." >> hydroxide will burn through your skin. >> a good perm. >> what do you tell your

daughters? that was part of the reason behind the movie. saw girls' hair and -- versus straight hair? >> yeah. my daughters, like when my wife -- yeah, like -- >> your hair addicted to -- >> creamy crap. >> what's in your hair now. >> this is weave. >> a weave. >> you're going to have extensions. >> like that. >> like that. >> at the end of 9 day, it's fashion. it's -- accessories. >> it's an accessory. and if you're changing it, an accessory, it's great. changing if because want to be somebody else, then that's a problem. >> the business is a $90 billion business. >> $500,000. >> a layaway plan. >> so you can lay away the wig? >> right. >> have you ever put your hands

through a black woman's hair? >> not a black woman's. >> a weave. >> does your wife let you touch her hair? >> all right. well, the movie will be coming out later. and if it's chris rock it's going to be funny, but you learn a lot in the movie, and it goes through that. i mean, a lot of people -- you know, have a stigma about saying whether or not there's a weave in your hair or not. trying to make the point, trying to make the point in the movie, be proud of it. it's not what's really on your hair. >> if you own it it's yours. not just black women wear a weave. women of all colors wear a weave. i have clip-on ones when going out. today, this is not one. this is the real deal. i promise. it's the real deal, but, i mean, it's fun. it's just an accessories, as was said. >> and made the point that it's the quickest and easiest thing to do besides going under the knife. want to go through surgery to

change your appearance, pull it off the shelf. get it put in, but i learned a lot. creamy crack. >> you ever had a gerry curl? >> never. even though i'm from memphis. where the gerry curl originated i think. no, never had that. >> try it sometime. i think you'd look good. you heard it, folks. >> by december. >> by december, gerry curl, right here. >> my goodness. >> waiting for it. meantime, a stretch of the massachusetts coastline is in the spotlight the next few days as they're disbursing family. where the obamas are vacationing and what the localless to say about this.

all right. massachusetts coast, backdrop for another, i should say, presidential revet. >> the first family is renting the blue heron farm, an estate complete with a swimming pool and a basketball court. you know president obama loves to play hoops, but the locals, they're not making much of a fuss. our dan lothian reports they're used to the spotlight. >> reporter: it's easy to see why martha's vineyard is such a big draw. the beaches. the boats. the vintage carousel. but before you attach the label, enclave of the rich and famous, longtime summer residents and harvard professor charles ogletree says take a look around. >> it really is one ever these rare places where you see people who are unemployed and ceos. you see people who are wealthy

and poor. and there's no pretensions here. people here are comfortable. >> reporter: even if sitting presidents keep dropping in. first, ulysses s. grant then the clintons. now president obama and hits family are preparing to stretch out on this 28 1/2 acre blue heron farm in chillmar. >> very flattering, president obama and his family are coming. >> reporter: island historians say mr. obama's presence carries more weight because the african-american heritage on martha's vineyard. >> african-americans have been on the island since at least the 18th century. i think in terms of this first family coming to the island, it's important. this shot a quite telling. >> reporter: the pictures are in black and wiest at the local museum. some were slaves, when freed, made a home here. later other blacks came in search of good jobs. >> to get on a ship, a whaling ship, and in the 19th century you had multiethnic and

multiracial sailing vessels. >> reporter: african-americans began to settle in oak blufr, about early resort community that didn't shut the door. >> the color white only signs up much of the 20th search vi. this was the place that didn't have the signs. didn't have the barriers to integration. >> reporter: it's a history largely hidden behind the island's pristine beauty and high-profile presidential visits, but historians are trying to change that. this woman co-founded the african-american heritage trail that marks 22 cites honoring people of color on the island. >> the uncovered headstones and things, you can put your hands on it and see it. it's just a feeling you can't describe. just want them to know that we were here. >> reporter: while the president may be hoping to simply spend quiet time relaxing with his family and friend, his visit is also seen as another chapter in this island's deep history. dan lothian, cnn, martha's