weekend. rob marciano is in the extreme weather center tracking danny for us. >> an american in myanmar talking about the surprise visit to the detained pro democracy leader and how his intrusion did her more harm than good. >> he says he believes he ultimately saved her life. it's a very interesting interview. a salute to an american legend. in a few hours, family and friends of ted kennedy will gather in cape cod. the kennedy clan including his niece, california first lady maria shriver arrive there had last night. they will celebrate mass at noon eastern and send kennedy to a public procession to boston. that will be an opportunity for the people who put him in office and the people who loved him to say good-bye. as john kerry put it, the people and the politics were truly what ted kennedy cherished. >> he loved people. he loved the give and take of

politics. he had respect for everybody. and, you know, despite all of the things that were thrown at him, he always talked about the humanity and morality. the good question for a lot of people in politics to learn. >> also this morning, the tributes continue. the early look at some of the covers of "time" and "newsweek." all putting out special ed digs this week. we talk to deb king in boston. deb feyerick is live outside of hyannis port. wasting no time to get out the schedule of events and finding ways to privately mourn and for the public to remember ted kennedy. >> it's a day he'll continue to be honored. it was a very long night for family members, the kennedy children for whom ted kennedy was such a pivotal role in their lives, 29 cousins.

ted kennedy the central figure in all of that. we spoke to a kennedy insider who was really trying to express just what they lost as they prepare to say good-bye. >> senator edward kennedy's final journey begins. a somber motorcade carrying him away from hyannis port, away from the boat and the ocean he loved so much, and endless days of family, past and present. >> we should celebrate his life, not be sad about it. but he did a lot of things. >> since kennedy's death late tuesday, patrick and teddy jr. have been among family and cousins, family members say, keeping round the clock watch over uncle teddy, larger in life, even in death. >> my dad died in such a peaceful way. i was afraid of what it would be like, it was wonderful. >> reporter: the trip from cape

cod to boston expected to take less than two hours. the senator's body will lie in repose at the library he built for his older brother, president john kennedy transforming it to a forum of exchange and public service. memorial service to be held friday at 7:00 in the evening. a private mass nearby as one of kennedy's favorite churches before he's flown to arlington national cemetery to be buried near his brothers. over the next 60 days, kennedy's staff will archive the materials and close his office. the secretary of the senate saying they cannot continue any legislative or other work under way before he died. senior senator john kerry is hoping to fight to have kennedy's seat temporarily filled. >> he's asking simply for a temporary ability to appoint someone who will not run, will not get in the way of other people who want to run, who will be there for a moment only. >> interesting thing.

when we spoke to senator kerry yesterday, he said really, a part of what's going on right now is making sure the legacy, the issues that are important to ted kennedy continue to survive. also with senator kerry was his wife, teresa heinz kerry. she's close with the senator's widow, vicky reggie. she said that -- she said the widow was holding up. they did feel that they had a good year together. they were able to do those things and tie up loose ends. kiran? >> hopefully it will offer some solace to her. thanks so much. the kennedy family will hold a private mass at noon today in hyannis port. at 1:00 p.m., the motorcade will leave cape cod and go to boston. they'll make several stops. among them, the open greenway named after rose. they'll pass the massachusetts state house, the federal building on bowden street where

kennedy had an office and historic thanier hall. he'll arrive at the presidential libra library, three miles south-southeast of downtown boston. the scene set for an impressive irish wake there in the state of massachusetts. >> they want this to be an irish wake. it's a time to mourn, reflect, and also a time to celebrate. we've seen him in so many of these over the years. the patriarch of the family not only had to bury his brothers but bury jackie kennedy onassis. he's been the central figure in so many. he will be now remembered in a way that the family says should be reflection and celebration. 12 hours carved out here at the kennedy library, a building he loved so much, a shrine to the presidency, the brief presidency. the public will have 12 hours to visit over two days starting at 6:00 this evening. private invitation only

ceremonies here. the funeral is invitation only. the drive around the city of boston. hyannis port is what we identify with the kennedys. the pictures and the three brothers in their youth. rose kennedy grew up here. her father was the legendary mayor of the city of boston. sprinkled around the city are places so critical to the legacies of the kennedy family both personally and politically. the family says he planned this in his final days that he wanted to as he came to the tribute of the kennedy library take one last tour of the city he love sod much. >> deb feyerick mentioned this. and saying if he gets legislation that would provide for an interim appointment that he would sign it. what's the status of that legislation? >> the status is the legislature is out at the summer recess like the united states congress is. the leaders of the legislature and the governor's staff will take an informal survey.

they dominate the legislature here. but the republicans will have go along as well. see if there's a sense if they come back after labor day, could they pass the legislation, could they get it done temporarily. someone who does not seek the seat, massachusetts law says you hold a special election in five months. he would love to honor ted kennedy's last wish for his home state but it will take a week or two to sort out if there are any objections in the legislature to derail that process, john. >> thanks so much. by the way, governor patrick will be joining us in the next hour here on "american morning," and a reminder, the country says good-bye to senator kennedy today, tomorrow, and beyond, we'll cover it on-line and on air on cnn.com. 7.5 minutes past the hour. first bill, now danny. tropical storm danny following a similar path on the eastern seaboard. danny is gaining strength over

the atlantic and forecasters say it could impact the east coast from the carolinas up to new england this weekend. rob marciano is tracking danny from the extreme weather center this morning. southwest airlines under federal investigation for having unauthorized parts installed. the faa says there's no immediate safety threat that gave southwest ten days to replace the suspect parts with those approved by boeing. southwest paid a $7.5 million fine for flying jets that had not been inspected for cracks in the aircraft's skin. it's one type of art not tolerated. model kathleen neil arrested yesterday for posing naked. the model arrived fully clothed, did a quick strip, while the photographer known for shooting naked models in public places is whisked away. it's so ironic -- a museum full

of feunudes. >> but a real one -- >> you're in trouble. >> he slipped across a lake in myanmar to see aung sung tsu-chi. you talked to him a couple of days ago. >> he has a fascinating story about visions, about feeling he was saving this prodemocracy leader from assassination. he joins us to tell his side of this complicated story.

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watching this morning from the tropical storm to the kennedy rye brar and beyond. welcome back to the most news in the morning. an american made headlines back in may swimming to the home of aung sun suu-kyi and sneaking in to see her. he got hard labor and aung sun suu-kyi extra time in house arrest. >> i talked to john yettaw and asked him why he would leave his wife, children, and travel halfway around the world to risk his own life to visit suu-kyi. >> she listens to bbc daily. her situation from what i had read about her is slightly different from what i witness in the home. she lives in a mansion, well taken care of. highly educated.

and i shared with her that i had had a vision or dream that they were going to murder her. >> did she think you were crazy? >> no. >> was she happy to see you? >> absolutely. >> reporter: it was only after he left suu-kyi's house that he was captured by police. he didn't realize the effect his visit would have on the woman he'd come to save. >> little did i know they were going to arrest her and put her on trial. i wept every day, i suffered every day. it's not about her or some unfit fella going through the water, it's about stopping the killings. and that's what it was from day one because my message was, why isn't anyone stopping the killings? and this has been her message of peace. >> and what was it like when you realized that your actions, as benevolent as you thought the visit was ended up causing her to face more trouble? >> on the one hand, heart

breaking. on the other hand, grateful she's alive. grateful that the entire world is watching and there's no way the generals are ever going to try to assassinate her. >> yettaw said he had a premonition of all of this happening and that his motives were purely humanitarian. but there are many asking if he's crazy. >> do you understand why people may think you're mentally ill? >> i can tell you one thing, they never talked to me. based on the media frenzy, sure, i can imagine they think a lot of things. >> senator jim webb of virginia helped to security yettaw's release after he was sentenced to seven years' hard labor. he thinks in the end yettaw's trip did more harm than good. >> i regret what he did. he may have been well intentioned but he hurt a lot of people, including the very woman he was thinking he was going to help. >> but yettaw stands by his action, insisting to my that he really believes he saved

suu-kyi's life and the experience has given him a greater appreciation for his own country. >> so grateful that we live in a country where we have freedom of speech. over there, they speak the truth, they are killed or imprisoned. i want you to know that even on the worst day to live in the united states, the united states is one of the greatest nations on earth -- on our worth day. >> he's a fascinating man. >> he seems to believe -- he believes -- >> he has a lot of passion about it. >> he told them he would carry the message to -- to the rest of the world who doesn't know what's going on in myanmar, formerly known as burma. and he said he discussed it with his wife. and he said i had a vision, a premonition that i need to prevent an assassination. she as well as their children said go do what you got to do. >> his heart seems to be in the right place in terms of stopping the killings and what's going on there in myanmar. but as senator webb said, maybe

the execution is a bit misguided. >> how did he do it? this is a heavily protected area. the home is on the lake. armed guards are coming up in the entire thing. coming up, how he was able to pull this off and what it was like when he was in xap tcaptiv. it's been four years now since hurricane katrina and parts of new orleans have come back, others haven't. but for the public school system, could the destruction of hurricane katrina be a blessing in disguise? could it be a rebirth? there are some people who say yes. tell you what they had to say coming up. now, i know the catering business but when i walked in here i wasn't sure what i needed. i'm not sure what i need. tom showed me how to use mifi to get my whole team working online, on location. i was like, "woah". woah ! only verizon wireless has small business specialists in every store to help you do business better. you're like my secret ingredient.

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sun coming up over long island sound here. we begin another morning here in america. 9 1/2 minutes after the hour. the insurance corporation is the

organization that insures your assets in banks. they say we have enough money if the banks fail. the funds are under stress. >> they are because so many are failing. you have the funds depleted by the day as more of the banks go south. this is the way it is. many of the banking analysts expect you'll see more bank failures. look at what the bank failures look like. three in 2007, 25 in 2008, 81 just so far this year. so you can see the banks are under stress from the loans they made for bad mortgages and the like and falling to that level. now commercial loans as well. the fdic insures you -- i want to be clear, you're insured up to $250,000 in your bank account if your bank goes south. there's a big fund to make sure that's paid out. it's down to $13 million right now. the fdic says they have $28 billion set aside for further

bank losses over the next six months or so. we're going to hear more about what the fed, the fdic expects to do to make sure they have enough money. they have a checkbook any time it needs to from the u.s. government. it's not ever going to actually run dry. be clear about that. >> the money has to come from somewhere. >> it has to come from somewhere. they could assess higher fees on some of the banks to participate. >> which we've seen recently. >> every hour, christine gives us a numeral. the romans numeral. a number driving the story about your money. what's the numeral this hour? >> 305. >> how many banks have failed this year? >> no, 81 failed this year. >> the watchlist. the fdic has a watchlist. they're going to update the watchlist. it will be a quarterly report from the fdic. they're going to give us a better look at how dangerous the banking industry is right now. 305 on the problem banks list.

>> she's one of the most powerful women in the world. >> number two. >> that's right. thank you so much. you're a vet. you come back for more, you came back from the gulf war, iraq, afghanistan. go to the mail. gave a letter from the veteran's affairs department. the system says we hear you have lou gehrig's disease which is a fatal disease. what do you do? one such vet got that letter coming up. know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice... what i didn't expect... was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love.

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documented. but the city's school system was crumbling even before the storm hit. cnn's sean callebs tells us, katrina is actually a new beginning. >> the flood waters washed away so much here. so much lost. but they washed away a crippling problem -- a terrible public school system. >> i'm optimistic. i talk to teachers, especially teachers who are trying to move here. i tell them that i firmly believe that new orleans in five or ten years will be looked to as the model on how you reform an educational system. >> before the storm, he did poorly in a poor public school. he failed fourth grade and says he never thought about his future. >> last week i think the storm was a blessing in disguise. >> the storm forced an education overhaul from the ground up. this man, paul -- who turned around schools in philadelphia and chicago is driving the change. and he's in a hurry. >> in the recovery school district alone, the last two

years we saw an increase in test scores in every subject at every grade level. >> but then i changed my teachers -- my teachers. my teachers -- >> in fact, donnell's new public schoolteachers pushed him so hard, he did so well, he received a scholarship to a $17,000 a year private school. it's a good story. >> it's a winning formula of motivated teachers, renovated schools, and new lap tops. but they're not all good stories here. i say law -- if students don't pass an exit exam by the end of eighth grade, they're not promoted at high school. >> she studies at home because she failed that test and can't study at school. her mom says she has a learning disability, difficulty retaining information. she doesn't want the 15-year-old to attend the eighth grade for a

third time. and says the district isn't providing adequate tutoring and other resources to give her a high school diploma. >> she's fallen in the cracks. she's three grades behind. >> the situation is disappointing. a, no, not every student is succeeding. and the district's long-term goal -- >> who's going to zplenlg. >> we're going to college! >> for families here, that's been an all but unthinkable goal. 7% of new orleans public school kids graduate from college. that's right, just 7%. so some things never change here. once again, it's hurricane season. and thoughts of katrina are always here. but there is now hope because katrina did bring paul and his armmy of new teachers here. and the hope of a brighter future for the kids.

for more on what's going on in new orleans since katrina, check out our blog. flags are flying at half staff as the nation celebrates the life of a political giant, senator ted kennedy. the kennedys will gather for a private mass in hyannis port. a motorcade will send the senator on a farewell to boston procession. he'll lie in repose in the smith center in the john f. kennedy loy brar in boston. pirates holding a hijacked ship off of the coast of somalia fired at the helicopter. no rounds of ammunition hit the chopper. the surveillance flight over a time when he's flagged the vessel called the wind farm. pirates held the crew and the

30-member -- the ship with the 30-member crew inside since april. more pictures surfacing with fidel castro's meeting with venezuelan students over the weekend. the first video we've seen of castro in more than a year. he underwent abdominal surgery back in 2006. a technical dpliglitch is o thing, but imagine opening a letter that says you have lou gehrig's disease. a cruel disorder that robs you of your life before killing you. what do you tell your family and friends? days later, we say, we're sorry. it was a technical glitch. you shouldn't have gotten that letter. that's what happened to hundreds of veterans; including bret casey. he joins us now. set the scene for us here. how did this letter come to your attention? >> thanks, john. i got a phone call from my mother last wednesday afternoon.

and she -- she said she needed to read a letter to me. and she and my father had already read the letter. she stated the letter is from the veterans affairs and states that you've been diagnosed with lou gehrig's disease. >> put up the text of that letter. quote, according to records of the department of veterans affairs, you have a diagnosis. it's a disease that ice invariably fatal. it robs you of your life. you become bound in a wheelchair, you can't swallow, you die a long and lingering death. what was your reaction when your parents read you that letter? >> i was horrified to say the least. i was actually driving when my mother read the letter to me. so i immediately pulled off the road and several minutes before

i could pull myself back together. i asked her to read the letter to me a second time and a third. just horrified. >> did you go through your mind -- wait a minute, this has got to be a mistake. did you have symptoms that might be indicative of that disease? >> i didn't feel i had any symptoms, necessarily. although i do have fine bromyal symptoms and i had a brain scan and a test for diagnosing als. i knew it was possible. >> you're trying to reach out to the veterans affairs organization. were you able to get in touch with them? >> not right away. it was late in the afternoon. but the next morning, i did get up and contact my regional va office. the director's office there at the va.

it was later that afternoon before everything got filtered out and a resolution, an answer for me. >> the veterans affairs administration sent out a letter to you and 600 other people who got the letters by mistake saying we discovered a my take. tried to creep it up. they wanted to express the sincere apologies for the distress caused by this up fortunate and regrettable error. you were told you had a disease that was going to take your life. they sent this letter and they said we're sorry, we made a mistake. >> i've yet to receive this letter. it's on the way i'm sure. the va has been good about following up and getting with other veterans, making the personal phone calls. but still, the purpose of the interview today is to try to get the word out to the rest of the veterans who may not have gotten word yet from the veterans affairs or have gotten this letter. >> have they reached out to you personally yet? >> not yet personally. but i do expect they will.

>> wow. you have this situation. then there was the situation with the dirty colonoscopy equipment that may have exposed a couple thousand vets to hiv. improper doses of radiation therapy given to cancer patients. do you have faith in the system? >> i do, john. the system has been good to me. i do still have faith in the system. things are going to happen. mistakes are going to be made as horrific as this one may have been. but i do have faith the va will step forward and make corrective action as soon as they're -- >> >> but if you could sit down with the secretary of veterans affairs, what would you say to him? >> i don't know. the list would be long. >> maybe he's watching this morning and just heard you. great to talk to you. so sorry about what happened.

good for you to come on and get the word out to other vets who suffered like you did. can you imagen? >> no. he has a very calm attitude. >> he's upset. who wouldn't be. >> understanding of the veterans affairs administration. some people are not going to be that generous. you mentioned a bunch of thing. the big loss of data, the personal information as well. a blunder -- a high-profile blunder that they have since done the best to correct. but a lot of things. >> there are the screwups that keep happening. we're going to switch gears. when we come back, we remember hurricane bill. e kissing the atlantic coast all the way up. but it didn't make a hit on the united states. now we're tracking danny. there you can see it, in the atlantic, moving northward. we could feel the effects early this weekend if not sooner. rob marciano will join us in a

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38 minutes past the hour. we're taking a live look right now at the john f. kennedy library museum in boston where senator kennedy will lie in repose starting today continuing to friday so people can come and mourn the senator. time now to fast forward through the stories that will make news today. the memorial ceremonies for senator ted kennedy. the family will be gathering at the family compound in hyannis port ahead of the senator's final journey to take him to boston, the kennedy library, and then on to arlington national cemetery where he will be buried. cnn will bring you coverage of all of the moments. michael vick returns to the playing field. it will be tonight in

philadelphia. he's expected to see some action in the eagles' third preseason game since jacksonville. the first nfl game since new year's eve, 2006. he's been reinstated since serving time on dog fighting charges. roger goodell made a decision about reinstating him for the zick week of the season. a launch countdown starts up again for the shutting discovery. liftoff is scheduled for midnight friday. 12:22 a.m. eastern is the exact time. nasa had two delays, one to weather and one to valve troubles. they're doing the late-night charge. looking for a break in the weather anyway they can. >> speaking of a break in the weather. launches, 5:00 on friday, people launch to new york city, long island, in boston, they launch toward cape cod, martha's vineyard, nantucket. maybe a bit of a glitch in those

plans too. rob marciano in the weather center in atlanta. we're tracking danny. what's going on with danny, rob? >> danny has strengthened overnight. good morning. the organization of this thing is a little goofy. here it is on the satellite picture. just 800 miles now from cape hatteras. so there's the center. all of the action on the center is to the north and to the east as far as the heaviest winds. that's good news if you look at the track and here at the forecast track of the national hurricane center, as kiran mentioned, everything is furtherer to the west. that has everybody's eyes on this very closely. right now, cape hatteras out, that could change. but eastern new england in the cone of uncertainty. if it were to take this exact track or even a little further to the east, all of the action would be offshore. but obviously if you're in that cone, new englanders, beware. let's talk about weather right now across the lower 48. the rain moving in to the northeast. not until late tomorrow. if you have travel plans tomorrow afternoon to get out of

the northeast, be aware, that could pose some problems. again, the showers and the thunderstorms across the florida peninsula. if they get that problem fixed and fuel the thing up this afternoon and prepare to launch at 12:20 tonight. a 30% chance of a no-go scenario. weather could be an issue even after they get rid of all of the other technical issues. keep your fingers crossed for a nighttime shuttle launch this evening. back to you. >> up early just to watch it, rob. >> all right, guys. >> what the heck, right? >> so, it's one of the -- one of the big -- best hospitals in the world. people come the world over to the cleveland clinic because of their first rate surgeons and health care. but it's also one of the cheapest hospitals to run in the country. how do they do it? we pay a visit to the cleveland clinic coming up in a couple of minutes.

♪ i will try to fix you ♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. 44 minutes past the hour. health care reform. senator kennedy's cause up to the end. the make or break reform is still uncertain as ever. >> one puz until the debate, how to keep the costs of medical care down. earlier, i went to the cleveland clinic that provides top notch health care and they do it at a lower cost than most places. it's among the world's top

hospitals, elite surgeons, cutting edge medicine and hailed as a model to doing health care on the cheap. >> they actually have some of the low estes costs for the best care. >> the forward-looking model has been around for 88 years. based on the simplest of conc t concepts. organize a hospital around the needs of the patient. the ceo of the cleveland clinic. >> we're integrated. the doctors and the hospitals are part of one organization. we're all pulling the same direction. we're a team. >> a big difference here -- the doctors are all on salary. no such thing as fee for service. whether they order one test or 100, they get paid the same. >> we're all on salary. i'm on salary just like everyone else here is. it doesn't matter if i did two, three, four heart operations in the day, what i took home was the same.

it takes the personal impetus to do more out and you're not insented to do more or on the other hand to do less. you're just incented to look after the patient. >> let's be clear. no one is crying poverty. >> what's the range here? the salaries of doctors? >> a couple hundred thousand dollars up to $1 million. >> that may be less than in a traditional fee for service setting, there are other incentives for signing on. >> try to go out in private practice, there's a lot of overhead, you're paying for your offices, your staff, nurses, malpractice insurance. it all adds up. >> cleveland clinic has one of the best health technology systems in the country. >> reporter: the old way of doing things -- paper records for every patient that came in to the cleveland clinic. 2.5 million files in this

basement repository. another 2.5 million in an offside facility. as of may of last year, for almost every patient that walks in the building, the cleveland clinic stopped doing it this way. now, nearly everything is electronic. plugged in to wireless workstations on wheels. >> this is replace the traditional chart you see at the end of the patient's bed. >> don't have to flip through papers anymore. everything that you need is right here. >> clinicians and surgeons can have instant access to the same data. aiding integration, reducing duplication, helping to eliminate ere ros. >> breathe in and out. >> a comfort to keith who travelled from outof state for his heart surgery. >> i wonder what you've experienced here is different from other places. >> a step above what i experienced. i have limited experience, but it doesn't compare. >> electronic records haven't saved money just yet. it's expensive to set up. but overall, the cleveland clinic delivers health care at

lower costs than its competitors. they hope to reduce the numbers further with a focus on wellness, a heart healthy cafeteria, free gym for employees, yoga classes on the roof, and strict rules for anyone who wants to work there. >> is it true you won't hire someone who's a smoker? >> that's right. we want to have a campus where we all walk the talk. and we've decided not to hire smokers. as much as we test people like we test people coming in whether they are using drugs or not, we test them for nicotine. >> reporter: you can shun smokers, but is it possible to legislate a healthy life style? dr. tony cosgrove believes we need to have that discussion and the debate over insurance reform is missing the bigger picture. >> we need to do something about insurance reform, but health care reform, particularly in terms of the basics about keeping people healthier and secondly having a more efficient delivery system.

>> the cleveland clinic, of course, is taking further steps to integrate medicine. it's grouping similar disciplines together. so that the neurosurgery center, you have neurosurgeons, neurologists, psychiatrists, all in the same place within proximity to each other so they can work closely together. in other models, neurosurgery in one building, neurologists in another building, psychiatrists in the psychiatry. >> some of it is common sense. it's not happening in many places. and as you show in here, it's become a model. but is it a model that others can duplicate or are trying to. >> some are. the mayo clinic works in the same principle. there are smaller hospitals that pay the salaries. 10% of students coming out of medical school now going to private practice or with one other doctor. this idea of a salary structure is growing. but there's still many, many big medical centers that do it the old way. and it takes a long time to change. >> as we said, they're rated

number one for cardiology across the country and world, right? in many fields they're the premier place to go. they're doing it cheaper. >> sometimes the best care is the cheapest care. >> good stuff. all right, still ahead, talk about milwaukee's mayor. you may remember he was beaten with a pipe after coming to the rescue of a woman leaving an affa affair. he's back to work after this beating happened to him. there's a suspect now. what's the latest?

52 1/2 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. the suspect accused of beating the mayor with a pipe is in

court today. the mayor is trying to get back to the business of running the city. jessica gomez has the detasty. tom barrett is back to work here at city hall. his niece, molly, starts school next week. they talk to me about the night they'll never forget. >> the pain is okay right now. i can move these fingers. >> tom barrett on the road to recovery, thanks in part to his niece, molly. >> molly is my hero. she was the one that was there to bail me out. >> molly and her mom was in the wisconsin state fair with the mayor that night. these pictures taken just before the attack. they were on the way to the car when the mayor tried to intervene in a family dispute involving this man, 20-year-old anthony peters before it got violent. >> it was so fast, he was so angry and so out of control there was nothing we could have done. >> it was molly who got police there. >> i said i'm going to open my big mouth and i'm going to start yelling. i was yelling.

i'm going to call 911. i've got a cell phone, i'm going to call. >> my uncle tried to step in. a guy took a stick to him. he's bleeding and we need an ambulance. >> she literally had my back. i didn't know she was behind me. she had my back and distracting him so he would leave. that's why i'm able to talk today. >> talk, even laugh about his first fistfight since the sixth grade. >> not many people have lost teeth in two different parts of the mouth 43 years apart. even professional boxers. that sends a strong message. if you get in a fight with me, i'll lose a tooth. >> this boxer grateful that this time he had a little help. >> give her a hug and say thank you very, very much. >> waiting for my college tuition check and -- >> a family bond now even stronger. >> anthony peter is the man

accused of beating up the mayor is facing multiple charges. john, kiran? senseless. he has a good attitude, but it's senseless. >> so much of violence is senseless. pay ted kennedy over the next couple of days. all of that information coming up. cape cod to washington. 55 minutes after the hour. t we use our points from chase sapphire and take a break? we can't. sure, we can. the points don't expire... ♪ there is nothing for me... ♪ there's no travel restrictions... we could leave tomorrow. we can't use them for a vacation. you can use the points for just about anything. i know... ♪ the way you look tonight ♪ chase what matters.

i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. welcome back to the most news the morning. of all of the issues ted kennedy championed, health care was his baby, his number one cause. can legislators reach across the aisle and get a health care reform bill pass? jessica yellen takes a look. kiran, john, senator kennedy was so beloved and health care was so important to him that many in washington believe his death will inspire his colleagues in congress to come together and pass health care reform.

>> reporter: march, 2009, senator ted kennedy at the white house launching the latest push for health care reform. >> i'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking. and this time we will not fail. >> reporter: he called it the cause of his life. and just last month, renewed his message, writing in "newsweek," "our response to these challenges will define our character as a country." now advocates insist kennedy's colleagues will find a way to pass health care in his honor. >> i have no question that senator kennedy's passing is going to inspire his colleagues to get health care reform done this year. >> one of kennedy's closest democratic allies more measured, but still hopeful. >> my hope is that this will maybe cause people to take a breath, step back, and start talking with each other again in civil tones about what needs to be done. >> one source of optimism -- kennedy was beloved by many

senate republicans who have opposed the reform proposal. among them, senator orrin hatch who wrote this song as a tribute to his good friend. ♪ through the darkness ♪ we can find a pathway >> senator john mccain tells cnn -- >> all of us will not only miss him but perhaps maybe try to carry on his legacy of reaching across the aisle and getting things done for the american people. oo. >> but the battle lines have hardened in the divisive fight over reform, with even many democrats reluctant to compromi compromise. so will affection for a lost colleague be enough to push it over the finish line? >> these are very real substantive and ideological differences. >> there's an outstanding question. how quickly will kennedy's senate seat be fill? and will it happen in time for

democrats to have that crucial 60th vote to pass health care reform? kiran, john? >> jessica yellin this morning. that brings us to the top of the hour. so glad you're here. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. a preview for a funeral of a legend. president obama is preparing to eulogize senator kennedy at a mass in boston. it happened on saturday and he'll be buried near his brothers in arlington national cemetery. john king is coming up live. he'll have more on the order of events to take care of kennedy. tropical storm danny scheduled to slam the east coast on saturday. it could be a problem when it hits land. rob marciano tracking extreme weather for us that could make for a soggy weekend for some people. why would a man leave his wife and family, swim across a lake, risking his life halfway

around the world to visit a prisoner he didn't know. the first television interview since he was released from a prison in myanmar. the man behind that trip talks to me about why he did it. a cnn exclusive coming up. we begin the hour with a family, government, and nation in mourning. that's capitol hill where you can see the american flag at half staff in honor of senator kennedy. the liberal lion as he was called served 45 years making the mark on ground breaking legislation there. and to the kennedy compound in hyannis port, massachusetts now. a live picture of the estate looking over the nantucket sound. and an outpouring of support since america learned it lost another great from the political dynasty. members of the family are on hand for the funeral including the niece, california's first lady maria shriver. the family will be holding several events over the next few days. right now, our deb feyerick

joins us live in hyannis port with more. people are mourning the loss, but at the same time, it will be a celebration, many say, of kennedy's life as we move forward this morning and on in to the weekend. >> absolutely. you know, kiran, even his own son says in the end the senator died peacefully. now, a friend of the family says he was never left alone. the children and the grandchildren, the cousins all signed a book, taking turns, watching over him. even the house was quiet, there was happy sound of children and dogs running in and out. senator edward kennedy's final journey begins, a somber motorcade carrying him away from hyannis port, away from his boat and the ocean he loved so much. endless days for family past and present. >> we should celebrate his life, not be sad about it. but he -- he did a lot of things -- >> since kennedy's death late tuesday, his sons patrick and teddy junior among family and cousins insiders say, keeping

round-the-clock watch over uncle teddy, larger than life even in death. family friend teresa heinz kerry. >> listen to teddy speak, my dad died in such a peaceful way, i was afraid it would be like, it was wonderful. and to hear a child that makes you feel better. >> the trip from boston expected to take more than two hours. he'll lie in repose at the library he built for his older brother, president john f. kennedy lovingly transforming it to a forum for exchange and public service. the memorial to be held at 7:00 in the evening. and on saturday, a mass nearby at one of his favorite churches before he's flown to arlington national cemetery to be buried next to his brothers. kennedy's staff will archive the materials and close his office. the secretary of the senate saying they cannot continue any legislative or other works under way before he died.

new senior senator john kerry is hoping to fight to have kennedy's feet temporarily filled. >> he's asking simply for a temporary ability to apoint someone who will not run, will not get in the way of other people who want to run, who will be there for a moment only. >> a friend of the family says ted kennedy's widow victoria reggie said yesterday that the two of them had a wonderful year. that the senator did everything he wanted to, except pass health care. and that they were lucky to have the time together. kiran? all right, deb feyerick there at the compound in hyannis port. thank you. before senator kennedy lies in repose at the john f. kennedy library in boston, a motorcade will carry him on a farewell to boston procession. the route will highlight several landmarks. the rose kennedy greenway name in honor of the kennedy matriarch. on bowdoin street where he opened his first office as an

assistant district attorney. his brother, john, once live there had. the motorcade will pass faneuil hall. they'll ring the bell 47 times as the procession passes, one for each year that kennedy served in the senate. more about the final arrangements for senator kennedy this morning. more from john king live at the jfk library in boston. we're learning that the president will attend the funeral and this is going to be in the spirit of a grand old irish wake as he makes his way through boston a final time? >> irish sendoff is a celebration of life as you reflect. senator kennedy had time in the final year. he knew this day was coming, not exactly when. he planned it with his wife, vicki, at hyannis port. they spent so much time sailing. they planned it down to every last detail. the farewell procession in boston. mom, rose, grew up in the north end. jack lived near bowdoin street. he'll pass by the massachusetts

state house. this is filled with the political history of the kennedy family. he wanted to take that journey before he comes here to the library he helped build in his brother's honor. the public will have 12 hours over two days to visit him here. private services here. friday night, a service but more of a celebration. stories we're expecting from senator john mccain. other members of the senate will deliver the main eulogy at a mass on thursday another place where senator kennedy made his mark in boston, when his daughter was treated for cancer he went there many, many days to pray and reflect. he built a bond with the church in a gritty area called mission hill in the middle of downtown boston. he wanted to take a tour through the beloved city. >> what about the burial arrangements at arlington national cemetery? >> the funeral mass will be

here. then he'll fly to washington. the casket of senator kennedy, a closed casket throughout the services here in boston. fly to arlington national cemetery. fly to the washington area as well. we're told the military approached the kennedy family saying he thought it was fitting. his brothers, jack and bobby are buried at arlington national cemetery. the family accepted it. the public will be able to see the ceremony itself. >> john king for us inside the kennedy library. thanks so much. stay with us for continuing coverage of the life and death of senator ted kennedy. body will lie in repose at the presidential library in boston until a memorial service tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we'll from inge you that live on cnn and cnn.com/live. and coverage of the processions that makes its way to the burial at arlington national cemetery. continuing to take a look -- not only at the life of ted kennedy but the future of the

kennedy family. the political dynasty. who's next? speaking with ed kline. the kennedy biographer who's written several books and followed this family for decades. and added a little fiber? sweet! sweet! sweet! (announcer)splenda no calorie sweetener with fiber. now for the first time, a gram of healthy fiber in every packet. sweet! (announcer) splenda no calorie sweetener, starts with sugar. tastes like sugar. but it's not sugar. no calories and a little fiber. how's that taste? (together) sweet! sweet! (announcer) splenda with fiber. imagine life sweeter.

look at downtown boston. sunny, 6 1 degrees. later on today, the body of ted kennedy will make its way through boston. a lot of people will come out to watch that procession. this is how the morning papers are reporting the death of the legendary snafrt. the front page of the boston herald. they call him the one and only. this is the boston herald. battle lost. and the end of an american epic. kiran? >> 10 1/2 minutes past the hour. we talk about it being the end of an era for most of -- for almost 50 years, this will be the first time there will not be a kennedy in the united states senate. will someone else within the family step up and carry on the

kennedy torch as it relates to politics? edward kline has written five books on the kennedy family. he knows the story inside and out. he's the author of ted kennedy, the dream that never died. he joins us this morning. thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> there's a mystique created from the kennedy family. growing up, my mother wanted to be jackie kennedy. we've known this for so many years. it's the closest we've come to cam lon. what does this mean the patriarch of the family there to eulogize almost every other person who passed away. he's now gone. >> for the first time since old joe kennedy made his mark, there's no leader of the family. there's nobody who is strong enough or has all of the members of the family or who can impose the will on the family to take the place of teddy. for quite sometime, we're going to see a vacuum in that role.

>> as we look to that, he dedicated his life to serving in the senate, the third longest serving in the senate. is there pressure within the family that somebody needs to step up. maybe wasn't what they thought for themselves but for the sake of the legacy of the family they would make a run for the senate? >> this is a very ambitious, very competitive family. it always has been. so we have to assume that some of the members of the family will catch up. bobby kennedy's oldest son, joseph kennedy ii who used to be a congressman will emerge as the leading candidate to replace his uncle. there's talk that ted's wife vicki may want to run. she says she doesn't. i don't think she has the backing of the family. as a step mother, she's not very popular. she's impose add lot of discipline which they didn't

like, on the family. joe kennedy ii is likely to -- >> let's talk a little bit about him. the former congressman. what has he been doing in the last few years and what's he been like? >> he's -- two things -- he's been running something called citizens energy, giving away cheap oil to poor people in massachusetts. he runs advertisements and commercials all the time on television in boston and throughout massachusetts. he's well known for that philanthropic work. by the way, the oil comes from venezuela and hugo chavez of all people. the second thing is, he's a bull in a china shop. he wears cowboy boots and imposes himself on people. he's not a very smooth character. in the senate, getting along and being collaborative is very important. >> gentleman's chamber, right? >> yeah. >> talk a little bit about -- you talked about victoria reggie kennedy who made a profound impact on his life after they

marry in 1992. she straightened him up. she gave a purpose again. she was shrewd and wise. a lot of the same attributes people give to the stronger kennedy family members. >> she was very much like ted's mother, rose. comes from a political family. is very outspoken. well educated. she's a lawyer. vicky. she was his chief advisor about who he could trust, who he couldn't trust. i think she made an enormous impact positively on his life and gave him the stability and discipline that he needed. as a result, ted buckled down and became a great senator thanks in part to vicky. >> talk about his son, congressman patrick kennedy who we know has dealt with some challenges, dealt with some issues surrounding addiction and substance abuse. he admitted he was facing mental problems for a while. he's a congressman right now. is he somebody that could make a run for the other chamber?

>> i don't think so. he -- all his life, he's had to be near a hospital because he has chronic asthma and has had severe asthma attacks. he has prescription drug problems and as you say, some psychological problems. i think he's a little too -- what shall we say, vulnerable to put himself in to the position of head of the family. >> all right, we'll have to see how it goes. as we said, this is a family that every move has been watched for decades. so people are watching to see, will there be another kennedy? especially in the senate. edward kline, always great to talk to you. the dream that never died. thank you so much. 15 1/2 minutes after the hour. it seems like the flurry of studies that we got that one day coffee was good for you, the next day it was bad for you, next day it's good for you. like the economy, looking good, bad, looking good again. christine romans has the latest turn in the economy. looks like it's on the upswing

again. she'll tell us what's going on.

♪ money money money money money ♪ money ♪ >> welcome back to the most news in the morning. christine romans here minding your business today. we're looking good. don't hold your breath. tomorrow we'll look better. >> it will be a complicated few months of economic numbers that i predict will be contradictory. i want to tell you a lot of people are trying to calm the turn here. they're saying we're seeing -- >> you call it every day. bound to be right. >> exactly. exactly. calling it so many times. calling the turn, taking a look at the numbers to say the economy is on the mend. we've turned this thing around. doesn't mean everything is great. but it means we've turned from this free fall. this is what we know this week. consumer confidence -- it show -- this number caught a lot of people by surprise. consumer durable goods rose by 45%. aircraft is part of that. but people are buying big ticket

items. new home sells up 9.6%. that's not the whole market, but that's new homes but that means builders are starting to sell new homes to people with the tax credit. people are starting to take advantage of that. mortgage applications rose 7.5%. people are out there asking about refinancing, asking about a mortgage. you're seeing the little -- i hate to say it -- green shoots! >> green shoots! >> here and there. >> little green -- >> a little green shoot. >> the green shoot. >> i heard an economist saying we're going to display normal recovery patterns. normal recovery patterns are all of the little things that are starting to come up at the same time. here are the yellow caution flags. consumers spending is restrained, saving more money. maybe they feel better -- the confidence number is good because they feel better we're saving money. i'm not doing impulsive buying. not good for the economy but good for you. unemployment not likely to fall

anytime soon. >> getting the numbers at 8:30. >> the jobless numbers. one thing about unemployment, not going to fall for some time, we're seeing hiring in temporary workers. the first little sign. >> just hope that unlike other times nobody takes a big can of roundup and -- >> it felt good after bear stearns failed, wow, i can't believe we lived through that. >> get to the romans numeral. >> 19. 19%. it's something to do with the economy. cash for clunkers. 19% is the number. >> the increase in auto sales? >> i think i was hoping it would increase more than 19%. the toyota cash for clunkers sale. i wanted to let you know who won the top list. toyota. >> sharpen the nice and slice the bread thinly here. how are we supposed to guess that. >> you guessed four days in a row. >> you guessed right four days in a row. i guessed wrong, i'm 0 for 2 this morning. >> helping me out here. gm did not make the top ten of the number of cars you bought

with your cash for clunkers rebate. there were only two on there. the rest are foreign automakers. >> christine romans, minding your business. thanks so much. part two of the exclusive interview i did with john yettow. he's the american who flew halfway around the world and swam to the home of pro democracy leader in myanmar who's under house arrest. aung sun suu kyi. how he did it. the harrowing details of why he did it and why he would risk his life.

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it's actually easier than you think it might be. that was really good. thanks. i had awesome results and i've kept it off for three years. for a limited time, get an extra three weeks of meals free. that's right, you can get an extra 21 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and snacks. that's 105 meals free. that's what guys like. "tell me, 'do this,' i do it, i lose weight." with prices as low as $12 a day, you'll save hundreds over other weight-loss programs. order now and get an extra three weeks of fantastic meals. that's right, 105 meals absolutely free. call or click now. welcome back to the most news in the morning. 24 minutes past the hour right now. you may remember john yettow. he made headlines around the world when he was arrested in myanmar or burma after swimming

across a lake to visit detained pro-democracy leader aung sun suu kyi. jim webb was able to secure yettaw's freedom. he said we can't ignore myanmar. the regime has threatened the lives and the stability of southeast asia leading to the killing of many people. for yettaw, what would drive a man to flyhalfway around the world to meet with a woman most americans have never heard of. we sat down with him. how does the story begin? how did it happen? >> i was in thailand. i had seen her photograph for the first time. and i instantly had a premonition or a vision that i was -- i saw myself going through a lake and over a fence in the -- and was at the back door of a house. and then googled from there and realized she lived next to the lake. and i got a passport or a visa, rather to get in. and i thought, since this has been presented to me, i'm going

to make it happen. >> motivated by vision, the retired bus driver and vietnam vet wanted to do something to bring attention to the plight of the myanmar people. but the plan met with objections from his family. >> what did your wife say? >> i had a premonition. i'm going to free a political prisoner in burma. that's all i told her. when i told my wife what i had seen in the water, she said you're not going back. >> despite the risk, yettaw was determined to contact suu kyi. he managed to swim across the lake and leave some scriptures from the book of mormon for her. then, when he had a vision that she would be assassinated, he said he decided to make a second trip to the heavily guarded compound. in may of 2009, he travelled from missouri to rangoon. but this time, the lake crossing did not go as smoothly. >> explain physically how you got there. >> the second time i came was

the same route, in through the sewer tunnel in through the water. but this time of year, the water level was lower and i had two bags filled with a lot of stuff. so i had to crawl with the two bags and i got caught. two soldiers spotted me. and fortunately by the time they got close to me, i rolled over in to the water with my bags which were tied together and i was literally walking through the water and they were frightened. i don't think they saw me, they saw the bag moving through the water and moving at a consistent rate and they started throwing rocks at it. inside, i prayed, what do i do? and the only response i felt or inspiration was keep walking. that's what i did. >> you were taken by the police at that point. how were you treated? what was your situation like there? >> i spent 2 1/2 weeks with basically 24/7 interga -- inter. i was arm guarded. >> when you were going through this, the interrogation, being held prisoner, did you fear for

your life? >> i didn't show any fear. >> there you go. and, so, eventually, he -- he said he didn't have any fear. but at the same time, he said he wrote a letter every day and had it facted. they warned them, talked to them, telling them what was going to happen and how they were going to be brought down. in the end, you would think that would lead to him being held longer and the release was secured ultimately. >> there's no premonition. it's easy to talk about premonitions after the fact that he wrote this stuff down anywhere? >> he said it's all written down. he had reams and reams of cds. he had pictures. it will be interesting. he says this is just the beginning of the story and that more will come out. >> writing a book about this? >> he is. and he believes that if he hasn't taken these actions as crazy and received so much criticism, but also a lot of support, if he didn't take these actions, he believes they would have tried to assassinate her,

suu kyi and make it look like an accident. >> we'll see how it is when the book comes out. fascinating stuff. south carolina governor mark sanford is refusing to step down despite a call for him to resign from the state's lieutenant governor after admitting he had an affair with the woman in argentina. quitting now would be wrong because he could do important things for the state in the final 16 months in office. cuba is airing more video of fidel castro. this was shot last weekend when a fit-looking castro was meeting with a group of venezuelan students. cuba aired seven minutes of footage on sunday and released another 24 minutes yesterday because of the worldwide interest. these are the first televised pictures we've seen of fidel castro in more than a year. southwest airlines is under federal investigation for installing unauthorized parts on more than 40 of the jets. the federal aviation administration says southwest was forced to delay dozens of

flights on saturday after the possible violation was discovered. the faa says there's not an immediate safety threat but the airline has been given a chance to replace the parts with the ones that are approved. the results of the investigation will not be finalized for another few weeks. but we're hearing charges of voter intimidation, ballot rigging, and fraud. is it true. what will happen on the ground? the senior fellow of the foreign policy of the brookings institution. he just returned from monitoring the investigation. before we get to the actual election. let me ask you something about what the chairman joint chiefs of staff mike mullen said. what did you witness on the ground. and is he correct in making that statement? >> john, i think he's mostly right. i think the situation has been deterioratin deteriorating, undoubtedly. i would have chosen different words from what little i was able to ascertain in the military situation. i don't want to claim firsthand

knowledge. i don't have much time to look into it. we're seeing pockets of success in the places we've deployed forces this spring and summer. 30,000 u.s. troops have gone in to afghanistan. the strategy is starting to make sense in the limited number of places where they have put boots on the ground. the problem is, we don't have enough of them and we haven't had enough time to build up the economy and the government in place where is they've gone. so whatever progress we've had is fragile. the admiral has to be carolful here. he's fatalistic. if the americans think that 30,000 more troops makes no difference, it's going to be hard to sustain public support. >> already sentiment to the war is changing. but you seem to suggest that the idea of bringing more troops in, that general stanley mcchrystal is toying with might be a good idea. >> we have to see where the forces are deployed and where there are gaps. the idea is to cover the major highways, cities, the mayor river valleys so that the economy can start to work and so that the population is

protected. not trying to fight in the mountains anymore. not trying to fight in the desert. the idea is to protect the core population, arteries, and centers. it will take some analysis to know i think we'll see in the next few weeks what general mcchrystal might want. >> you were there monitoring the situation, hamid karzai and his supporters have said in recent days say there's no reason to worry, looks like we're going to win with the majority big enough from 70%. that it won't require a runoff. but, what's he basing that claim on? is there any evidence to back that up? >> he might have evidence. it's hard enough -- what happened on the day of the elections is after we monitored the vote -- by the way, turnout was a little disappointing and not as strong as it should have been. people are afraid of the taliban, afraid to vote. but nonetheless, the elections were well run. then there was counting each of the 25,000 stations where people voted that very evening. so, in a sense, all of the votes have been counted once. but, they haven't been formally counted because the independent

election commission has to go through and verify that there were ballot -- that were fraudulent and otherwise don't belong there. and so there's no way to know the final results. but karzai could be aware of the initial counts in the 25,000 polling stations, or, it could be just making things up. and frankly, i don't know. >> given the tenuous situation there in afghanistan, if these elections fail to -- to -- to emerge with a strong unifying leader, what could the potential fallout be. >> a good question. though i don't think the elections could do that much good, frankly. help a little. an important impressive event in some ways. frankly, if president karzai is not re-elected now or in a runoff in october that could be needed, he's going to have to push aside some of the extreme war lords and corrupt leaders who are helping him in his government. otherwise, i don't believe the place can really rebound. because in any kind of a nation-building or counterinsurgency effort, you've got to have full partnership with the host government or it can't work. that's going to be more

important than the election himself. >> we talk about the extremes. on one side, the extreme war lords. on the other hand, taliban members that the government of afghanistan would like to bring in to the process. but these are people who are cutting the fingers off of women in kandahar so they couldn't vote. can you trust them? >> no. i think -- it's a good question. the right way to think about it is from a friend of mine david killcullen, the great theorist on counterinsurgency. he talks about the accidental guerrilla. people who are fighting with them that aren't committed,tal banal, who might be just economically motivated, angry. those are the people you try to woo. get it one-by-one at the local level. you have aspirations with a big deal with mullah omar, you're deluding yourself. >> thanks for coming in and sharing your experiences. appreciate it. >> thank you, john. all right, still ahead, we're going to be talking about a town hall meeting that got a little contentious.

jim acosta will be following that for us coming up live. bicycle, i've missed you. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ .

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>> good morning, oklahoma. where it's rainy and 69 degrees. later on today, storms, 88 degrees. going to go to oklahoma city by the way in the next hour in american morning to talk about how an old method of creating crystal meth is gaining favor again. the shake and bake method of doing it. wait until you see this story. pretty incredible. >> a clampdown on some of the ingredients of the ephedrine and the nasal decon jes tant. you have to get a license to take out small quantities. >> now do it a small batch at a time. the meth problem is increasing as a result of this. 38 minutes after the hour right now. what we've been following in the last couple of weeks in the senate and the house. the health care debate back in session soon. a make or break debate going on. it's not letting up. the biggest problem is looking to uncle sam for a solution. "america morning's" jim acosta is live with that story this morning.

good morning, jim. senator tom coburn is not just one of the more conservative members of the u.s. senate, he's a practicing physician that says washington is guilty of malpractice when it comes to health care reform. >> reporter: at this oklahoma city megachurch, republican senator tom coburn was preaching to a conservative choir ol health care reform. >> most of us would like to see you and sarah palin in the white house. >> that's not going to happen. >> one woman didn't like coburn's response to her question on prescription drugs. >> i'm not a dumb person. i'm a minority in oklahoma, i'm a democrat. >> some of the crowds were shouting and they weren't saying amen. >> wait a minute, guys. wait a minute. i want to make a point here. the one -- one of the things that's wrong with our country is we don't allow real legitimate debate. >> reporter: coburn, a practicing physician, took questions only a doctor could answer.

in a town hall earlier this week, a woman pleaded for help. >> my husband has traumatic brain injuries and his health insurance would not cover him to eat and drink. and what i need to know is how are you going to help him? >> yeah, first of all, yeah, we'll help. the first thing we'll do is see what we can do individually to help you. >> coburn told us his office is getting her help in her community, as it should be, he says. >> we've had several people call us and say they're willing to help her since then. the question is -- >> you do that with millions of uninsured people in this country? >> well, yeah. >> in the same boat? >> they're not in the same boat. don't exaggerate. >> reporter: there are millions of people -- >> you're going to ask me a question, let me answer it. >> reporter: you hear the personal stories, does it change your position on this issue? >> no. >> he too are sick of the insurance companies. >> as a practicing physician

who's experienced the discrimination of insurance companies based not on medical facts, never putting a hand on a patient, telling me what i can and cannot do to a patient, there's something wrong with that. >> reporter: the doctor is a firm believer a government insurance program or public option is the wrong. >> if the president drops it public option, could you support it? >> it depends on what's in it. >> reporter: that wasn't a no. and even as the current democratic proposals stand now, you can count the doctor as a no. dr. coburn may not change the position at this point. but what is not known is whether democrats or republicans will once again hammer out an agreement on health care as a tribute to senator kennedy. kiran? >> quite a town hall meeting, though. we'll follow that more. >> 1,000 people there. most of them in support of dr. coburn. but, you can tell these town halls, even though they've been going on for weeks, they're attracting lots and lots of people. what will be interesting to find out is what the tone of the town halls will be after the death of senator kennedy.

kiran? >> you're right. jim acosta for us. thanks. here's what's on the a.m. rundown. tropical storm dan nir gaining strength in the atlantic as it moves toward land. it could be a problem for the east coast this weekend. cape cod could be in its sights. rob marciano tracking the extreme weather for us. candy crowley tells us how with keptdy's passing, camelot could come to a throw. close. could they be inspired to reach across the aisle and get a health care reform bill passed? jessica yellin takes a look.

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♪ a beautiful day ♪ let it get away >> here it is. virginia this morning. clear, 76 degrees. a little later, it's going to be sunny and 89. but, it might not be the case over the next couple of days. we're looking at danny right now. a storm churning in the atlantic. rob marciano is tracking the extreme weather for us. and danny, a similar path to bill. turned into a hurricane, stayed offshore. but we felt it along the east coast. >> did. a difference between bill and danny is that danny is going to be closer, but danny is going to be much, much weaker. so, kind of a bit of a wash there. i don't think we'll see as big of wave action as we did with bill. but nonetheless, this thing is going to get closer. here it is, right along about

800 miles south-southeast of cape hatteras. but you notice something here, that all of the action with this -- all of the cloudiness, the infrared picture there shows that the winds, the rain, most all of it is north and east of the center. that's good. in that when this thing makes the track up the eastern seaboard, the bad weather, the worst weather will be offshore. the forecast track in the national hurricane center. 5:00 a.m. forecast to be a category 1 hurricane passing 200 miles give or take offshore of cape hatteras early saturday morning. making a run at eastern new england and cape cod saturday night in to sunday morning as a category one storm. some waves will be the issue there. and some rain as well. also slow-moving system in through the midsection of the country. that will be making its way to the northeast, kind of giving bill a nudge. but it will mean wet weather beginning tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow night for a good chunk of the northeast. saturday looks to be soggy regardless of which way danny goes. back to you guys in new york. >> rob marciano for you in the

forecast. every friday, it's rob's road show. we had the longest yardsale, a yo-yo championship. one heck of a traffic pull. and he's headed to connecticut for the mystic sea port dog days of summer to check out canine lifesavers here with the most news in the morning. >> rob and his dog. >> how rob hangs his head out of the window as he's driving? aaaaa

live picture this morning of

the jfk library about three miles outside of downtown boston where senator edward kennedy's body will repose for the next couple of days. and this morning, tributes to the senator continue. here's a look at the commemorative editions of "time" and "newsweek" magazine. the last brother, and time kept it simple with this compelling close-up photo on its cover, just the face of a political legend. >> and you know, for years the kennedy name has symbolized political royalty for many. but with the death of the last three famous kennedy brothers, that era comes to a close. the big shoes that he had to fill and the legacy he leaves behind. >> reporter: he had a name that rang down through generations. >> are you kennedy? >> i'm kennedy. >> reporter: it was a guilded

name in politics, but his life was a kaleidoscope of outstanding public service, astonishing personal failures and the heavy burden of the unfulfilled legacy and promise of three older brothers, joseph, jack, bobby. >> it reminds me of a great quote, everybody is broken by life, but after wards are stronger. >> reporter: at 36, teddy, the youngest of the kennedys became a patriarch when bobby was assassinated. >> those of us loved him and will take him to his rest today pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others would some day come to pass for all of the world. >> reporter: in the four decades since that day, the kennedy legacy was teddy's to fulfill, his to write. it's an imperfect story of an often reckless young man who

lived hard and as a u.s. senator drove a car off a bridge after a party killing a young campaign aide. he would never be president, the dream of camelot as jackie kennedy described her husband's brief presidency was over the night he conceded the presidencies to jimmy carter. >> for all of those whose care has been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. >> reporter: so kennedy returned to the senate and there over the next 30 years he grew older, wiser, and greatly admired in the senate was redemption, in senate, the dream came alive, in the senate early in the morning, late at night ted kennedy fought and cut deals for minimum wage increases, health care, education, immigration reform, help for the poor. the elderly and the sick. >> and millions of people counted on this guy every day to

stand up for them. and for decades to come, history will talk about his legislative accomplishments and the difference he made in public policy. >> reporter: even before kenn y kennedy's death, they -- >> this is the toughest time, we're in too many camps, hard to reach across the aisle, and senator kennedy made it reach across the aisle. >> reporter: eventually someone will fill the senate seat of edward moore kennedy, but there's agreement nobody family or friend can take his place. a man has passed taking with him a time and an era. the kennedy legacy is written. candy crowley, cnn, washington. >> all right, there you go. told as only candy can do. and meanwhile, we'll be speaking with duvall patrick, the governor of massachusetts. he has a big decision to make as it comes to filling this senate

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new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. flag flying at half staff at the capitol building in honor of senator ted kennedy. welcome back to the most news in the morning. of all of the issues he championed health care reform was truly his baby, number one cause. >> to honor his memory, could lawmakers find the inspiration to reach across the aisle and get health care reform passed? jessica yellin takes a look. >> senator kennedy was so beloved and health care was so important to him that many in washington leave his death will inspire his colleagues in congress to come together and pass health care reform.

march 2009, senator ted kennedy at the white house launching the latest push for health care reform. >> i'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking. and this time, we will not fail. >> reporter: he called it the cause of his life. and just last month renewed his message, writing in newsweek, our response to these challenges will define our character as a country. now advocates insist kennedy's colleagues will find a way to pass health care in his honor. >> i have no question that senator kennedy's passing is going to inspire his colleagues to get health care reform done this year. >> reporter: one of kennedy's closest democratic allies is more measured, but still hopeful. >> my hope is that this will maybe cause people to take a breath, step back, and start talking with each other again and more civil tones about what needs to be done. >> reporter: one source of

optimism, kennedy was beloved by many senate republicans who have opposed the reform proposal. among them orrin hatch who wrote this song as a tribute to his good friend. ♪ through the darkness we can find a pathway ♪ >> reporter: and senator john mccain tells cnn -- >> all of us will not only miss him but perhaps maybe try to carry on his legacy of reaching across the aisle and getting things done for the american people. >> reporter: but the battle lines have hardened in the divisive fight in reform. so will affection for a lost colleague be enough to push it over the finish line? >> these are very real substantive, ideological, and partisan differences, one person's name and memory will not make all of the differences. >> there is another outstanding question, how quickly will kennedy's senate seat be filled?

and will it happen in time for democrats to have the crucial 60th vote to pass health care reform? kiran, john? >> thanks, and that's something we're going to be asking when we speak with duvall patrick coming up, it could be in the hands of his state legislature and ultimately on his desk. and good morning, once again, it is thursday, august 20th, thanks for being with us on this american morning. >> good morning. here's what's on this morning's agenda. the stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. celebrating the life of a political patriarch. the kennedy family will come together to remember senator ted kennedy. we'll take you live to boston for today's order of events. some call it a model for affordable health care in this make or break month, john had a chance to go in the prestigious cleveland clinic and meet staffers revolutionizing the way patients are treated. they call it shake and bake, and it has nothing to do with

chicken. it's a way to make meth amphetamine at home. why meth made easy is making a startling comeback across the country. first, remembering the last son of camelot today. the family will be holding a private mass for senator kennedy. he will then be taken to the jfk memorial, a funeral is scheduled in boston's mission hill. president obama will also deliver the eulogy to his friend and colleague whose endorsement meant so much to his victory. then he will be buried near his brothers in arlington national cemetery in boston. and we start with deb this morning where people are mourning a loss, but at the same time celebrating kennedy's life

this morning. hi, deb. >> reporter: hey there, kiran. this is a man who had a year to finish up, to accomplish those things he left outstanding, the one thing he was not able to do was, of course, get health care passed in due time. although he -- and those around him do expect that will happen. now, the children will say good-bye really with a heavy heart. remember there were 29 cousins, kennedy cousins, and for them ted kennedy was pivotal, essential to their lives. so as they wake up this morning, as the sun comes up here, it will be a very long day, it was a long night already as they all stood vigil. senator edward kennedy's final journey begins. away from his boat and the ocean he loved so much, and endless days of family past and present. >> we should celebrate his life, not, you know, be sad about it. but he did a lot of things.

>> reporter: since kennedy's death late tuesday, his sons patrick and teddy jr. have been among family and cousins keeping round the clock watch over uncle teddy. larger than life even in death. family friend theresa carrie. >> my dad died in such a peaceful way, i was afraid of what it might be like and it was wonderful. when you hear a child say that, you feel better. >> reporter: the trip expected to take less than two hours, the senator's body will lie in repose at the library he built for his older brother, president john kennedy. transforming it into a forum for change and public service. a memorial to be held there friday at 7:00 in the evening. and on saturday, a private mass nearby at one of ted kennedy's favorite churches before he is flown to arlington national cemetery to be buried with his brothers. over the next few days kennedy staff will archive the materials

and close his office. saying they cannot continue any legislative or other work underway before he died. new senior senator john kerry is hoping to fight to have kennedy's seat temporarily filled. >> he's asking simply for a temporary ability to appoint someone who will not run, will not get in the way of other people that want to run, who will be there for a moment only. >> reporter: now, a friend of the family says ted kennedy's widow vikki reggie said of the two of them they had a wonderful year. that senator kennedy was able to do everything he wanted except pass health care and they were lucky to have this time together. so they are celebrating his life, clearly a great deal of sadness as they begin this long trek. because for so many of the family here who have gathered at h , such a pivotal great uncle,

always able to give wisdom, give guidance, get them on their way. now it's really the younger generation, the generation that includes caroline kennedy, maria shriver, all of them, they're the ones stepping up, they're the ones filling the shoes. kiran? >> thanks. as we mentioned, the kennedy family will hold a private mass at noon eastern today. a motorcade will then leave the kennedy compound and head north to boston. it'll pass several places, among them the new rose kennedy greenway named after senator kennedy's mother. the state house, the federal building where kennedy had an office and historic hall, it'll eventually arrive at the presidential library south of boston. that's where john king is this morning, and it'll be a grand celebration of the life of a person who was so important there to so many people there.

>> reporter: it was the passing of the generation. a generational passing in the senate as well. someone who tried even in washington to become so polarized to reach across the aisle. it'll be reflection, morning, also a celebration of the life of senator edward kennedy. you mentioned the drive around the city, places critical to his family's political and personal history. where his brother jack first lived when he was launching his political career here in boston. and here at the library, senator kennedy spent so much time making sure the exhibits were updated, making sure it was a teaching tool, if you will, about his brother's brief presidency. the public will have 12 hours over two days to come visit. and then the private ceremonies, as well, and an irish catholic wake where john mccain and others will come and tell their stories and the family associates are telling us they hope there's a lot of laughter

in the room even as people are sad at the passing, they want to celebrate the richness and good humor that was his life. >> john, many senators become creatures of washington, but senator kennedy always maintained very close ties to his home state. >> reporter: i just had a very funny conversation with the mayor of boston on this very point. he was saying that senator kennedy was like two senators, he was the national liberal figure, the leader in the health care reform fight, in so many big issues. but he said he was also the one if you needed a little more grant money, you called teddy, you wanted to build a community health center, call teddy. he was very much a local politician and a national politician all at once. and that's why he'll be missed. some of the people passing through the grounds came over with their own story, including a woman who said years ago she didn't care much about politics, she had a family crisis and

called his office for getting benefits for someone in the family and said he solved it in a snap and that's why she wants to pay tribute to him. >> no doubt there are tens of thousands of people in massachusetts who have stories like that. john, thanks so much. well, like any kid born in boston, ted kennedy grew up loving the red sox and his hometown team paid tribute to him before last night's game against the chicago white sox. here's a look. >> the playing of taps came after a moment of silence. they all stood their hats in their hands. calling kennedy a member of the red sox family and said the team was honored when he appeared at the season's opening day to throw the first pitch 90 years after his grandfather threw out the first pitch on fenway's opening day in 1912. and stay with cnn for the

continuing coverage of the life and death of senator kennedy. his body will lay in repose in boston until a memorial service tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we will bring you that live right here on cnn and cnn.com/live. and we'd like to hear your comments, as well, weigh in, go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. still ahead, we're going to be speaking with the governor of massachusetts, duvall patrick. he has a big decision as well as other leaders there about appointing a replacement for ted kennedy's seat. he's going to join us to talk more about many of these pressing issues now that the senator's passed. 8 1/2 minutes after the hour. hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice...

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honor and remembrance of ted kennedy. and the death of the senator means there's an open seat in massachusetts for the first time in 25 years. before he died, senator kennedy asked that leaders appoint a temporary seat filler until a special election is held. the special election required by state law and the likely reason is that his seat could prove crucial if democrats want to try to pass health care reform in the senate. so will it happen? for more, i'm joined by massachusetts governor and also a close friend of the late senator, deval patrick. thanks for being with us this morning. >> good morning, kiran. good to be with you. >> a lot to talk about, there are the political ramifications, there's this big health care debate going on at the same time there's personal mourning for a beloved figure. i do want to ask about your personal thoughts. but first, getting to this issue of appointing someone. this would be a temporary appointment, someone that would not then try to seek the senate seat for a full term. where does it stand now? >> well, first of all, i think you put the emphasis in the

right place. it's a temporary appointment. massachusetts needs two voices in the united states senate, particularly at a time when such profoundly important issues are before the congress. what the senator said in his letter is he like i supports the current law that provides for a special election about five months out after a vacancy occurs. and he also made a reasonable request that the governor be permitted to appoint someone to serve for that five-month period until the special election occurs. and as i say, i think that's imminently reasonable. but having said that, kiran, frankly our -- all of our thoughts are on the life and extraordinary achievements of ted kennedy. and prayers for the comfort of his family right now. >> what are your best memories of him? i know you guys were very close. >> you know, he was an extraordinary fellow. extraordinary statesman, of

course, and leader as so many of the broadcasters talked about, but an extraordinary human being with a warmth and whit and sometimes even ee irreverence. i can think of him singing show tunes around the dinner table until the early morning hours or the way he would send these very personal notes when there was some particular trial and diane or my own personal life or a loss of some kind. just a wonderful touch about him. and a kindness as i say. >> and a lot of people, governor patrick, talk about his authenticity and his passion for when he believed in something. and one of the things we know was his lifelong dream was to see universal health care passed. with these passing and the vacant seat you're dealing with, this is really turning into a critical decision. the decision made in the massachusetts legislature could

ultimately, could it not, change whether health care is passed. they're going to need every democratic vote possible. it puts you in the national spotlight. and how do you think this should best be handled? >> well, i think that the legislature and the legislative leaders i know are seriously considering this request and this minor change to make a temporary appointment to the senate. they are focussed not so much on whether it should be done, but how it can be done and how to get it accomplished. and that's not a simple calculation. they've got to work their way through it, and i think they're working their way through it in good faith. you're right about the stakes. both in terms of health care, climate change, frankly the further considerations of how states are assisted through these very, very difficult times and how working people are put back to work. and all of these are critical issues where no time can be lost, and frankly, the persistence of partisanship in

the congress may make this even more urgent. so i'm hoping that the legislature will turn to it and turn to it soon, and if they send me a bill, i will sign it. >> there's been pushback about this situation. the law was changed in 2004 to prevent a republican governor from nominating a republican. if john kerry won the presidency, now some are saying it's hypocrisy. what do you say to some of those criticisms? >> well, i think the hypocrisy that some of the folks making the criticisms are the ones who made this very proposal back in 2004. they thought it was good then, if it was good policy then, then it's still good policy, like saying that the congress of the united states shouldn't have passed the civil rights act because they hadn't done it before, considered it and voted it down before. if it's good policy, let's do it, and let's do it now. >> and one other question a lot of people are asking is who fills the shoes? the kennedy dynasty? as we've said, there's been a kennedy in the senate for more

than 50 years. do you see a kennedy family member, perhaps joseph jr. or somebody else stepping up and running? and would you support that? a kennedy trying to fill that vacant seat for massachusetts in the senate? >> well, you know, kiran, i think these have very, very personal decisions for any kand date. and so i think i -- the best thing is to wait and to see who decides on the basis of both politics and personal reasons to get in the race. we are blessed in massachusetts with a lot of political talent, both in the kennedy family and beyond. and i know there's a lot of interest in this seat. but as i say, our first thoughts today, not just mine, but all of massachusetts are on how to honor this extraordinary life and this body of work and comfort the family. >> absolutely. and i know for the next few days, your focus will be remembering your great friend. governor deval patrick, thanks for being with us this morning.

>> thank you for having me, kiran. all the best. in the debate over health care, one institution has been pointed to by president obama and many other people as being a model of how to do first class world quality health care less expensively than many other places. we'll take you behind the scenes for a tour of the cleveland clinic coming up next.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. we're almost at 20 minutes past the hour. health care reform, it was senator ted kennedy's cause right up until the end. but in this make or break month, reform is still as uncertain as

ever. >> one puzzle in the debate, how to keep costs down. earlier this week, i went to the cleveland clinic, which provides topnotch health care at a much lower cost than most other places. >> it's among the world's top hospitals, elite surgeons and cutting edge medicine and being hailed as a model for doing health care on the cheap. >> they actually have some of the lowest costs for the best care. >> reporter: this forward-looking model has actually been around for 88 years and it's based on the simplest of concepts. organize a hospital around the needs of the patient. dr. toby is ceo of the clinic. >> i think the biggest thing about us is we're integrated. the doctors and hospitals are part of one organization, we're all pulling the same direction, it's the main word team. >> reporter: a big difference here? the doctors are all on salary. no such thing as fee for service. whether they order one test or 100, they get paid the same. >> we're all on salary.

i'm on salary just like everybody else here is, and it really doesn't make any difference and when i was a practicing cardiac surgeon whether i did two or three or four heart operations a day, what i took home in my pocket was the same. it takes the idea to do more out of there, it's just the incentive to look after the patient. >> reporter: no one's exactly crying poverty. >> what's the range of salaries? >> well, it could go from a couple hundred thousand up to a million. >> reporter: that could be less than a traditional fear for service setting, there are other incentives for signing on. >> if you go out in private practice, there's a lot of overhead. you're paying for your offices, your staff, your nurses, your malpractice insurance, it all adds up. >> reporter: and it's not just the salary structure that has people talking. >> cleveland clinic has one of

the best health information technology systems in the country. >> reporter: this is the old medicine, the old way of doing things, paper records for every patient who came into the cleveland clinic, there are 2 1/2 million files in this basement repository, another 2 1/2 million in an offsite facility. but as of may of last year, for every patient that walks in the building, they stopped doing it this way. now nearly everything is electronic. plugged into wireless workstations on wheels. >> this has replaced the traditional chart? >> yes. you don't have to flip through papers anymore, everything you need is right here. >> reporter: it means clinicians and surgeons can have instant access to data, reducing duplication, helping to eliminate errors. it's a comfort to keith who traveled from out of state for his heart surgery. >> i'm wondering how your experience here, what you've

observed is different from other places. >> it's a step above of what i've experienced. my limited experience, but it's definitely. >> reporter: it's expensive to set up, but overall, the cleveland clinic delivers health care at lower costs than most of its competitors. they hope to reduce those numbers even further with a heavy focus on wellness, a heart healthy cafeteria, a free gym for employees, yoga classes on the roof, and strict rules for anyone who wants to work there. >> is it true you won't hire somebody who is a smoker? >> that's right. we said, look, we want to have a campus where we all walk the talk and we've decided not to hire smokers and as much as we test people like we test people coming in whether you're using drugs or not, we test them for nicotine. >> reporter: you can shun smokers, but is it possible to legislate a healthy lifestyle? toby believes we need to have that discussion and worries the

debate over insurance reform is missing the bigger picture. >> we need to do something about insurance reform, but also something about health care reform, particularly in terms of the basics about keeping people healthier and secondly having a more efficient delivery system. >> and for all of the healthy benefits and things they have there in terms of -- it's a lovely calf fefetericafeteria, a mcdonald's there. >> really? >> well, mcdonald's doesn't use transfats anymore in terms of making french fries. >> why did you have to bring them up? >> high calorie, high fat, high sodium items there that are quite popular. >> you need to enjoy life every now and then. >> apparently talking to one of the spokesmen of the hospital, they're hoping to phase that part of the system out but have a long contract. >> there's been a lot of talk about the salary issue. how do you make incentives for physicians to work in places

like that? and they can go as high as $1 million and you don't have to worry about office keeping, hiring, nurses, and paying for your staff. >> fewer and fewer people coming out of medical school go into private practice, this salary idea is becoming more popular. some smaller clinics do it, as well. and $1 million is not chump change in anybody's books that's for sure. >> great piece, i'm glad we had a chance to show you guys what it looks like in one of the top, top hospitals. >> it's the most beautiful -- brand new building opened last year. it's the most beautiful hospital i've ever been in and they manage to keep costs fairly low. >> you don't usually hear beautiful and hospital. >> nightmare and hospital sometimes. >> right. we're going back to visit four years after the storm hurricane katrina as we know it changed the face of new orleans, but in some ways may have helped make education better. we'll explain why. 25 minutes after the hour. ( revving, siren blares )

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shot of new orleans this morning where it's cloudy right now, 74 degrees, partly cloudy, going up to a high of 88. and welcome back to the most news in the morning, 28 minutes past the hour. we're looking at how new orleans is bouncing back four years after hurricane katrina nearly wiped the city out. as we know, the devastation has been well-documented. but the city's school system was crumbling even before the storm. and katrina may have actually been a blessing in disguise. cnn's sean callebs is following that. >> reporter: the flood waters washed away so much here, so much lost. but they also washed away a crippling problem, a terrible public school system.

>> i'm very optimistic. when i talk to teachers and families, especially teachers that were trying to convince to move here, i tell them and i firmly believe that new orleans in five or ten years will be looked to as the model of how you reform an educational system. >> reporter: he says before the reform, he did poorly in a poor public school. he failed fourth grade and says he never thought about his future. >> the storm was a blessing in disguise. >> reporter: the storm forced an educational overhaul from the ground up. this man, paul, who turned around schools in philadelphia and chicago is driving the change. and he's in a hurry. >> in recovery school districts alone, the last two years we saw an increase in test scores in every subject at every grade level. >> but then my teachers changed. my teachers were higher, you know, and they expected me to live up to their expectations. >> reporter: and his new public school teachers pushed him so hard and he did so well that he

received a scholarship to a $17,000 a year private school. it's a good story. it's a winning formula of motivated teachers, renovated schools, and new laptops. but they're not all good stories here. by state law if students don't pass an exit exam at the end of eighth grade, they're not promoted to high school. she studies at home because she failed that test. her mom says she has a learning disability. difficulty retaining information, and she doesn't want the 15-year-old to attend the eighth grade for a third time. and says the district isn't providing adequate tutoring and other resources that might give her a chance for a high school diploma. >> i feel she's already fallen through the cracks. she's already three grades behind. >> reporter: the new education czar says the situation is disappointing. and no, not every student is

succeeding. and the district's long-term goal -- >> who's going to college? we're going to college! . >> reporter: for families here, that's been an all but unthinkable goal. only about 7% of the residents graduate from college, that's right, just 7%. so some things never change here. once again, it's hurricane season and thoughts of katrina are always here. but there is now hope because katrina did bring paul vallace and his army of new teachers here and there's hope for the future of the kids. sean callebs, cnn, new orleans. >> and to see any of the stories of our special series, check out our blog cnn.com/amfix. now crossing the half hour and checking our top stories this morning. flags flying at half staff as a nation celebrates the life of ted kennedy. this afternoon, the kennedys will join for a family mass in hyannis port.

and then a farewell boston procession. he will lie in depose at the presidential library and museum in boston. the governor's top aides won't be charged in an investigation in a pay to play investigation. the investigation was that richardson's dealings with a top political donor were said to blown his chances of becoming commerce secretary in the obama administration. cuba is airing more video of former president fidel castro, it was shot last weekend when a fairly fit fidel castro was meeting with a group of students. he aired seven minutes on sunday and released another 24 minutes yesterday because of worldwide interest. these are the first televised pictures of castro in 14 months. when you hear the term shake and bake, you might think of making chicken for dinner, but to drug users, it means something quite different. it's a dangerous way to cook up crystal meth and making a disturbing comeback. the oklahoma bureau of narcotics

joining us now. it's good to have you with us this morning. this method isn't knew, it was around 15 years ago. why has there been a resurgence in this method? >> well, the shake and bake method requires much fewer pseudoephedrine tablets. when this pseudoephedrine recipe really swept across the country, most of your meth cooks wanted to get as much as they could, so they were going to gas stations, dollar stores and buying and shoplifting as many as they could and cooking much larger batches. and so they preferred cooking in large quantities, cooking in one small vessel made no sense to him. >> i was just going to say, without giving away a recipe for making crystal meth on air, we don't want this to be the julia child for the drug world. but how does this stuff work? >> well, essentially it's a recipe around for two decades.

they use a number of different chemicals to convert pseudoephedrine common cold pills into meth. but in this method, they essentially take all of those ingredients in smaller quantities and place them in a single bottle like this, some of the chemicals will create their own heat and reaction, so all they do is shake it to start activating the cooking in -- and so it all cooks in one simple bottle like this instead of just rooms full of jars and other products. >> this is something you could do in your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, basement, anywhere. >> literally sitting on a couch watching tv, sitting in a passenger seat of a car while driving down the road. >> we hear sometimes meth labs are discovered when they blow up. is this as dangerous as that particular method? >> in many cases more dangerous, because the way they shake it is such an inexact science, if they're not careful, some of the heat starts melting this bottle among the items in this item are

flammable chemicals like ether and when that leaks out of the bottle, it will ignite, but not only fires, but very severe burns because it's in close proximity to the person who is cooking it. it's usually in their hands or right next to them. >> in oklahoma you've got a lie where a person can only buy 300 tablets of pseudoephedrine in the course of a month. is this why this has become it's so popular? because you can fly under the radar even with those laws in oklahoma? >> that's exactly what it was. when people could get endless quantities without restrictions, they would buy and shoplift all they could. since they are limited, this allows you to cook one small batch with just one box and buying one box is not going to raise any red flags or stop you with these restrictions so they can buy a box, won't allow them to make very much, but all they need is one hit to get their fix. >> you don't need that much. oregon passed a law in 2006

requiring a prescription any time someone wanted to buy a product with pseudoephedrine in it. is that a system many should adopt? >> we are going to be meeting next month to bring the experts together at the state capitol and that is one of the proposals. it's potentially making pseudoephedrine in a tablet form a schedule four, requiring a prescription. it has proven successful in other states like oregon and that may be the next step here. oklahoma still seeing about a 90% drop in meth labs, we're getting close to 300. if we can get even further down by placing it as a schedule four, that may be something we're going to do. >> and this shake and bake method, this home method of making crystal meth, does that make it more difficult for you? to find out who's involved? >> we have a tracking program, that helps alert us when people are purchasing large quantities

to possibly manufacture meth. they're just buying a box or two. number two, these are so small that literally this can all be put in a grocery sack and carried into a hotel room and apartment and not raise any attention with neighbors and it doesn't have the odors associated with much larger labs which often tip off neighbors to generate calls or local law enforcement. >> still just as dangerous and the effects of meth amphetamine still just as debilitating. thanks for joining us, appreciate it. >> my pleasure. last week we were dealing with hurricane bill, never actually came to shore, but you could feel his effects. now it's danny, a tropical storm on a similar path moving slowly through the atlantic right now. will it affect us this weekend? 37 minutes past the hour.

40 minutes past the hour. a florida cigar factory closes and leaves nearly 500 people out of work. sounds like a tough situation for everyone, right?

well, in this money in main street report, john zarrella shows us what one factory worker did when he lost his job to help his co-workers survive. give this man a cigar. >> they'll still be there on the shelves of convenience stores. cigars, but they won't be coming from the city in the name. after a century of production, it's over. operations consolidated, moved to puerto rico. 495 people out of work. >> i was thinking, here's a place i can retire from. >> reporter: ron russell was a machinist at the factory for 3 1/2 years. >> i thought i was safe in 100-year-old company. >> reporter: russell didn't cry or start pounding the pavement looking for another job, nope, he did something very different. >> we thank those of you who have come to offer us hope in an hour of need. >> reporter: he started a website, on the name, contact information, and skills of former employees who want to be listed.

one stop shopping, russell says for companies looking for workers. >> so if i need an engineer. >> if you need engineer, highlight engineer, click search. and we have mr. harvey morris. >> reporter: morris says you won't find better than those on the site. >> what kind of person can i expect to find on that website if i'm an employer? >> simply put quality. >> reporter: so far russell says the site has led to 30 jobs. at one time there was some 200 cigar factories in tampa, only the jc newman company is left. a new federal tax dramatically increased the price of their cigars and reduced consumption. >> this is a company that's given people tremendous livelihoods and it's all gone. >> reporter: dave is known as cigar dave on his syndicated radio talk show. >> it is an absolute tragedy, total preventable tragedy. there's no other product that is

taxed at 53% in this nation. >> reporter: the tax was leveed to help fund a federal health insurance program for children from low income families. ironically, ron russell says his child now qualifies for the insurance. >> what about looking out for number one? >> number one will get his turn when it's time. >> reporter: but now's the time, russell says, to find work for the others. john zarrella, cnn, tampa. >> more stories like this. people finding ways to thrive in a tough economy. watch for more money in main street reports tonight 8:00 eastern right here on cnn. also if you'd like tips for finding work for yourself and others, go to cnn.com/moneyinmainstreet. you plug in your age and your salary and how much you're saving and spending and you get a chance to see how you score. maybe you don't want to look, maybe you do. >> i never liked looking. oh, danny, tropical storm danny making its way up to the

west coast, expecting to become a hurricane. could it be a washout for the weekend for some parts of the northeast? the very latest coming up. 44 minutes after the hour. i would say convenience is something that the bank of america really has the market cornered on. let me make it easier for you. let me show you how i can make it easier for you. we have the number one rated online banking website. it has an alert system that can text message you, so you're mobile banking, your bank's telling you what your current balance is. it's telling you if a certain check is cleared. customers that use the internet, use online banking. it all kind of falls in with what you're doing, and it's free. you can pay all your bills online, customers can save tons of time. we have great new image atms. it will give you a receipt which has a copy

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...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on. 46 1/2 minutes after the hour. and time to fast forward to stories making news later on today. at noon, the kennedy family gathers in hyannis port for a private mass, and then the final journey, a motorcade through boston to the kennedy library. cnn will bring you coverage of all of the public moments. michael vick returns to the nfl tonight for the first time

in three years, he's going to make his pre-season debut with the philadelphia eagles, before that a judge in virginia could rule on vick's new plan to pay back his creditors and emerge from bankruptcy. and at 8:57 a.m. eastern, nasa will resume the countdown for the space shuttle discovery scheduled to lift off at 12:22 a.m. eastern time for friday morning. so far, the weather has not cooperated. our rob marciano tracking all of the extreme weather, from what's going on there in florida to a tropical storm about to make its way up the east coast. how is it looking for the shuttle? >> the same deal. got word from nasa that the problem they had on tuesday, that's checked out. so they'll have another meeting at noon and hopefully begin to fuel those tanks up. will the weather shape up? we have showers and thunderstorms surrounding the peninsula, same deal from earlier in the week. and the same forecast for tonight, about a 30% probability that weather will make this thing a no-go due to showers and

thunderstorms in the vicinity. we also have an area of low pressure that's going to move into the northeast. that will bring them some rainfall, which we could have it out west. the number of wildfires. a couple of fires burning near some of the mountainous suburbs of los angeles. word is, they're burning away from those suburbs at the moment. but another day of record-breaking heat expected today. all right. let's talk about danny, tropical storm now, but it has strengthened, winds at 60 miles an hour. general direction is towards the northwest at about 10 miles an hour, that brings it about 550 miles from cape hatteras and heading in that direction. here is the forecast track from the national hurricane center. bringing it to hurricane strength just off the coastline by 150 to 200 miles early saturday morning, and then skimming the coastline of new england. but eastern new england in that cone of uncertainty saturday night, sunday morning, so watch this forecast very closely. next update coming up shortly

before 11:00 eastern time. john and kiran, back up to you. >> thanks, rob. and don't forget, every friday rob leaves the office for something new called rob's road show. tomorrow he's heading to connecticut for a dog days celebration. demonstrations by water rescue dogs. and if you've got an idea for his next trip, shoot us an e-mail at cnn.com/amfix. >> before we had the picture of rob and his dog. >> now we've just got him with his head out the window like a dog. he likes to have his ears flap in the wind. >> yeah sure. meanwhile, senator tom coburn held a town hall health care meeting about reform. and boy did he get an earful. our jim acosta had a chance to talk to him afterwards. he's going to tell us what's going on as this debate gets more and more critical.

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just coming up on 53 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. nearly two more weeks before the house and senate are back in the session. and make or break debate raging over health care reform. one prominent gop senator says the biggest problem is looking to uncle sam for a solution. jim acosta live with that story from our washington bureau this morning. you had a chance to sit in on that meeting, that town hall that tom coburn had and also talked to him afterward and things got pretty wild in his meeting. >> they got heated and it's not the first time this has happened. john mccain had another town hall yesterday in arizona where he got into a bit of an exchange with a woman there. we are still seeing the sparks fly at these town halls and senator tom coburn is not just one of the more conservative members of the u.s. senate, also a practicing physician who says washington is guilty of malpractice when it comes to

health care reform. at this oklahoma city megachurch, tom coburn was preaching to a conservative choir on health care reform. >> i think most of us would like to see you and sarah palin in the white house. >> reporter: but when one woman didn't like his response on prescription drugs. >> i'm not a dumb person, i am a minority in oklahoma, i'm a democrat. >> reporter: some in the crowd started shouting and they weren't saying amen. >> wait a minute, guys. wait a minute. i want to make a point here. the one of the things that's wrong with our country is we don't allow real legitimate debate. >> reporter: coburn took questions only a doctor could answer at a town hall earlier this week a woman pleaded for his help. >> my husband has traumatic brain injury, and his health insurance will not cover him to eat and drink.

and what i need to know is are you going to help him? >> first of all, yeah, we'll help. the first thing we'll do is see what we can do individually to help you. >> reporter: he told us his office is getting her help in her community as it should be, he says. >> we've had several people call us and say they're willing to help her, citizens. so the question is -- >> can you do that with millions of uninsured people in this country? >> well, yeah. >> reporter: who are in the same boat? >> no, they're not in the same boat, don't exaggerate. you going to ask me a question, let me answer it. >> and does it at all change your position on this issue? >> no. >> reporter: coburn says he too is sick of the insurance companies. >> as a practicing physician who has experienced the discrimination of insurance companies based not on medical facts, never putting their hand on a patient, telling me what i can and cannot do to a patient, there's something wrong with that. >> reporter: but the doctor's a

firm believer a government insurance program or public option is the wrong medicine. >> if the president drops the public option, could you support him? >> well, it depends on what's in it. >> and as the current democratic proposals stand now, count the doctor as a no. even though dr. coburn may not change his position, what is not known is whether democrats or republicans will try to find common ground on health care reform as a tribute to senator kennedy. keene? kiran? we want to let you know if you have questions about health care reform, we're helping you sort fact from fiction and putting answers together on a great web page, go to cnn.com/health care. it's 57 minutes after the hour. he needs to, you know, write papers and go online. budget was definitely a concern. she was like, "help me." so i'm thinking: new cool thing is the netbook. two pounds, three pounds, 160 gigabyte hard drive. really great battery life. we get the netbook. i said, "bring him back into the store. let him pick out his bag." she introduced him to me. and it was like, "you're the guy who got me the netbook."

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live picture in boston at the john f. kennedy memorial and museum where ted kennedy's body will lie in repose today and tomorrow, as well. and we're learning today that

all four living presidents will be attending funeral services for the late senator on saturday. and we will bring you as much as the public events as we can over the next three days. stay with cnn for continuing coverage at the life and death for senator ted kennedy because all of that information coming your way and all of the events, the ones, at least, that are public over the next three days. >> that's right. the presidential library in boston and of course the memorial service tomorrow 7:00 p.m. eastern, and live right here on cnn. also cnn.com/live. we also want to hear your comments, what do you think about the life and death of senator kennedy? weigh in, post your memories, or some of your thoughts, we'd love to hear them. >> go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. that's going to do it for us. >> here's "cnn newsroom" with heidi collins. good morning, everybody, i'm heidi collins, it is thursday, august 27th, and you are in the "cnn newsroom." today mourning and remembering senator ted kennedy.