the controversy over his departure and what jones did before he got to the white house that ultimately came back to haunt him. what would a labor day be without a trip to the beach? our rob marcianmarciano, in coc beach. >> is that rob? >> what is that? first, americans enjoy the holiday weekend, and president obama is back at the white house gearing up for a make or break week on health care reform. first thing he will do this morning, he'll hit the road to address the afc/cio, a key ally, that's insisting on the so-called public option and then wednesday night he will address a joint session of congress. more from kanow. >> reporter: the american public is looking for more detail from the american public and this

week's speech about selling health care reform may be about pitching the message, let's take what we can get now. president obama returned from vacation to face a crucial week ahead in the health care debate. top white house aides said he'll spell out specifics for reform on wednesday. >> they'll leave that speech knowing exactly where the president stands. >> reporter: at the same time, cnn has learned the white house is quietly talking about drafting its own health care bill, a kind of contingency legislation and is leaning toward a plan that would trigger a public insurance option, only if health care reform failed to meet certain goals. white house officials dodged questions sunday about whether the president would sign a bill that doesn't include a public option. >> he believes the public option is a good tool. it shouldn't define the whole health care rebate, however. >> reporter: utt a contentious issue that has the president

squeezed from the right and the left. >> we need credible confirmation, universal health care and a public option now. >> if the democrats embrace the public option, even in the form of the trigger, they'll shoot themselves in the foot. >> reporter: and there's a lot riding on the president's short visit this week to capitol hill. >> he can talk to various alternatives and ideas. but at the end of the speech, folks on capitol hill and around the country, have to have a much better idea of what kind of bill he wants to sign. >> reporter: the president may have some hard work ahead there. according to a poll, a majority of americans feel more secure under the current health care system than with the president's proposal. john, kiran. >> kate, thanks so much. here is more on the president's speech in this "a.m. extra." unlike the regularly scheduled

state of the union address, there have only been 13 of these joint sessions since 1981. wednesday's remarks come 16 years to the month after president clinton went before the joint session to introduce his health care reform plan. a reminder, cnn is the place to watch the speech to congress this week. we'll have full coverage with the best political team on television. wednesday night, starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. now to a setback for the obama administration. the resignation of van jones. jones has been under fire from the right for some extreme comments that he made before joining the administration. at the center of the controversy, a petition that jones signed that questioned whether the bush administration had a role in the september 11th terror attacks. >> reporter: van jones, special adviser for green jobs, was thrust to the forefront over

questions surrounding this 2004 petition he signed on the 9/11truth.org website. calling for an immediate unquiry into evidence that suggests that high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the september 11th attacks to occur. he is listed as signing number 46. asking why he signed it, he said it's not that he read it carefully. jones was asked about his name appearing on the petition, saying it's not something that the president agreed with. and jones has gained attention for dmencomments he made when talking about the republicans. >> how are the republicans able to push things through when they had less than 60 members of congress when we can't? >> well, the answer to that is

there's [ bleep ]ing animals. that's a technical, political kind of term. and -- and barack obama is not an [ bleep ] hole. >> reporter: he said by august i was a communist when explaining his radicalization after the acquittal of rodney king. he said if i have offended anyone, i apologize. he came under skrut snow by some conservatives, including tv show host glenn beck.

beck was fosupposedly targeted because jones was part of a group that tried to get advertisers to boycott beck. and back in may, jones even won the praise of former ebay ceo meg whitman, a candidate for governor in california. on friday, whitman says she did not know jones well and distanced herself, saying it's clear that he holds views that i entirely reject. new this morning, mahmoud ahmadinejad says he's ready to talk face to face with world leaders. he says there is no deadline, but he's prepared to present a package of proposals to the united nations security council, plus germany. iran has the end of the month to

face talks or future sanctions. the wildfire near los angeles is 51% contained. the price tag so far, $50 million. destroyed 78 homes, burned nearly 276,000 miles of national forest so far. there is a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and convictions of the arsonist responsible for starting it. the new head of the national mall in washington, d.c. says we'll see visible improvements to america's front yard over the next year. it is stipulated by dead crass, crumbling sidewalks and green, foul smelling water in the run con memorial reflecting pool. it will cost nearly $50 million. that will come under the federal stimulus package. a beautiful beach day in many parts of the country in the unofficial last day of summer and rob marciano has his road show in cocoa beach, florida, at

one of the largest surf festivals in the country. no point asking how you scored that gig. i saw you in the water, how was it? >> water was warm. quite lovely actually. that's all i can say about my surfing skills. we're at the pro-am surfing festival. they have been doing this for 24 years, amateurs and professionals alike competing for the prize, all to go to a good cause. national kidney foundation. they have raised between $4 million and $5 million for this event. i've nerve sur i've never surfed before in my entire life. here is a sneak peek at the lesson i had yesterday. i have never, ever surfed in my life. but ryan is going to try to get me up on a board what is the first order of business? >> first order of business is

get on the board. keep your hands next to the rails and get a nice rhythm like this. and from there it's a simple pushup and bring your knees to your chest, get your feet one foot in front of another. you want your feet shoulder witt apart with your knees nice and bent and through your arms like this, pop them up like this, or go down like this, whatever you want. >> it only gotting y uglier fro there. i was told a cow can surf on the side size of the board that i was on. some pressure there. >> you looked great on the sand. >> it's all about style points on terra firma. >> watching out for the little kids in the water too, right? >> yeah.

the lawyers will be called, no doubt. i want to give you a quick peek at the forecast. folks will be headed to the beach. nasty rip current in some spots. a storm near cape hatteras. waves will be up, though. showers and thunderstorms across the eastern third of the country. the northeast looks to be very nice, but a bit chilly for folks headed to the beach across parts of long island and cape cod. we'll see you in a half hour or so, give you a little more of the highlight reel, which won't win me any espies, i can guarantee you that. >> you gave it a shot. i saw you apologize to the little kid you hit. so all's well that end's well. >> rob all wet this morning. a homecoming parade for

jaycee lee did yugard, that sto coming up. ) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life.

welcome back to the most news in the morning on this labor day. the weekend marks the end of the summer driving season and gas prices are down a bit. yes, they are aaa reports the average price of a gallon, $2.58 per gallon this morning. more than 2,000 students at washington state university have reported symptoms of swine flu. no quarantine program in place. the university handing out free flu kits to students. and shawne merriman is challenging claims that he

attacked his girlfriend, reality tv star tila tequila. she starred in "a shot at love." he is accused of choking tequila on sunday morning. he said he was only trying to protect his girlfriend, ho had been drinking. they won't comment specifically on reports that he was trying to keep tequila from driving drunk. >> too much alcohol in there for me. a big celebration for jaycee lee dugard. a lot of old friends and neighbors from south lake tahoe, california, held a parade to celebrate freedom. dugards don't live there anymore, but many people's lives were changed forever when jaycee vanished. >> reporter: this small mountain community was devastated when the little girl it described as

sweet and quiet disappeared. during the nearly two decades that followed, they never gave up hope, and sunday they celebrated jaycee dugard's return to her family. a sea of pink, girls walking arm in arm. a hometown telling jaycee dugard they love her. it's all so familiar. >> very overwhelming. a good overwhelming. >> this childhood friend, amelia edwards, walked the route on the 10th anniversary of jaycee's appearance. now, this community is walking it backward, symbolizing that they've come full circle, that jaycee has come home. in the years since jaycee vanished, this community has held its children tighter. >> i'm constantly trying to find out where she is and reach out for her friend. >> reporter: the week before dugard disappeared, edwards told

her parent a car with a man and woman inside followed her home from the bus stop. >> i remember hearing the tire tracks pull on the dirt road behind me and it freaked me out and i remember walking faster and hearing the tires go faster and that made me even more scared. so then i ran home. >> we just thought it was a 10-year-old being overly dramatic and didn't really believe her actually. >> reporter: edwards said at the time, she immediately recognized sketches of the car and woman suspected of involvement suspected in jaycee dugard's disappearance. >> it was my worst nightmare coming true. it was the bogeyman coming to life. >> reporter: edwards needed to do something. she started what became a massive pink ribbon campaign. pink was jaycee's favorite color. 18 years later -- >> we're getting lost in a sea of pink. it's the most beautiful thing i think i've ever seen.

>> reporter: jaycee dugard is not here with them. but somewhere that missing girl, now a free woman, may see and feel their joy. jaycee is healing with her family, out of the public eye. the dugards moved away years ago, but the community never lost their connection with jaycee. kiran, john. >> kara finnstrom, thank you so much. >> what an amazing outpouring of support. >> missing 18 years. in plain sight all along. >> it makes you crazy to think about it, really. how about this one? great white sharks tagged for the first time in the atlantic ocean. swimming off the waters of cape cod. oh, goodness. >> don't forget, "jaws" was filmed in martha's vineyard. >> what are they doing now that they've identified at least two? jason carol heads into the

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that's from "ferris buehler's day off." >> it's nice. but in person it looks like it's perhaps made out of fish scales or perhaps sharks' fins. >> i'm not sure what it is. >> i like the fashion feedback on a monday morning. >> most news in the morning. christine romans minding your business this morning. and the president wants to help us save more. >> americans have not saved enough for retirement. our nest eggs are fragile, too small. that was true even before this recession hit, so the white house, the president on saturday outlining some things that they are going to do immediately to try and get us -- help us save more. make it easier to save more. among the plans, automatic enrollment retirement plans. this is already becoming much

more standard for big companies. putting you right into the 401(k) automatically, and you can opt out. new rules make it easier for smaller and mid sized employers clearing up delays to make sure are you automatically enrolled in 401(k) plan. this would happen in 2010, and your new 2010 tax return, a little box you could check that you could turn your refund into a savings bond. take magnificent money and immediately saving anything you get back from uncle sam on your taxes. and the third plan would turn sick days and vacation time into 401(k) money. employers and employees do it automatically. take that unused bank of sick time and vacation time and turn it into actual retirement cash. some companies have something, use it or lose it policies. month money for to us cash out for unused vacation or sick time. it wouldn't help a company like

that. the idea is to make it easier. and other big companies are like that too. the idea is to help people on the margins find new ways to save money. 26,578. kiran got a sneak peek. she can give a hint. >> the hint issith not enough. $2,578. the median retirement balance. >> what did you say? . >> it's down 16% and more than half of americans have nothing but social security for retirement. >> it won't last very long. >> andest federal personally e sick it will last a week. >> many people saw a big chunk of their 401(k) go away. >> the number has been falling. even before the recession, it was too small, and timothy

gheitner says nearly half of the workforce have little or nothing to get by on other than social security. >> even if you have 40% -- >>ith not enough. we have to start saving. these are plans that are supposed to get us moving in that direction. >> christine, thanks so much. >> thank you. see you in a few. meantime, talking about the health care debate, there are independent voices out there, perhaps maybe not partisan. perhaps doing things different than what they think their party want to do. we want to introduce you to a few of them, still ahead.

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♪ dance to the left dance to the right and you're the only girl in town ♪ ♪ >> jason just said what is this music? u.s. ith a jimmy buffet classic. we need to get something for his ipod. >> let me tell you, my ipod is hooked up. >> obviously it doesn't have any jimmy buffet on it. >> what about jay-z? >> i need that new song. please, we'll trade. meanwhile, there may not be another creature in the world feared as the great white shark. >> except jason's ipod.

>> jason joining us for more abuse. we'll sic the shark on you. >> we're used to seeing these beasts in the indian ocean, pacific ocean, but not in our waters. despite what you may have seen in the movies, sharks are common off the coast of cape water, but great kwhits are rare off the coast of new england. researchers spotted not one, but two. and were able to tag the predators. they estimate each one weighed 1,000 pounds. and this is the first time a great white has been tagged in the atlantic ocean. it all happened on saturday when researchers and local fishermen made a little history at sea. >> as soon as the shark comes to the surface, i raise the tar pop and take aim and as soon as he gets within range, i throw the pole into the fish that puts the

tag into the fish and as soon as it hits him, he takes right off, the tag is in place. >> i tried to go out and find great whites over the last 27 years. and couldn't find any. and, boom, one day, two animals. that puts it in perspective. >> they were tagged with high-tech devices programmed to stay on the sharks until 2016. trying to focus data will help them learn more about migratory patterns and a note, swimmers should be on the lookout for sharks on this particular weekend. a lot of swimmers staying out of the water. they spotted these sharks in about ten feet of water. about ten feet. >> you are scaring me. ever since i have seen "jaws" i have been petrified. they have been looking for years

and then they found two. what does that mean? >> it makes you wonder how many are out there and we just haven't seen them. >> i think we need a bigger boat. jack straw admits to including the name of the lockerbie bombing in a 2007 prosecutor transfer agreement between his country and libya. it included a $900 million oil deal between libya and british petroleum had a lot to do it. al megrhai's release on compassionate grounds is causing a lot of questions. and the bay bridge is closed after a crack was found. the crack is significant enough to keep it closed, and they are

not sure when it will reopen. what a traffic newt mayightmare. and new allegations of election fraud in the bitterly contested afghan presidential race. loyalists to karzai set up hundreds of fake polling sites. they never oped but reported hundreds of thousands of votes for karzai. opponents are usaccused of maki up accusations. and anderson cooper is there to find out what is going on. and meantime, after a summer of town halls, a lot of partisan fighting. the time for talk appears to be over. congress getting back too work this week, and all this week, we're focusing on independent voices. they may be leaders in congress, maybe leaders in their local community that may help you unite, rather than did i side to

get things accomplished. joining me is a columnist from the dailybeast.com. we have been talking about how things have gotten really ugly over this health care debate some of who are the people out there that are willing to put politics aside and do something to-to-make a difference? >> there aren't enough of them. that's part of the problem. we're experiencing growing pains. the far left and far right hate to give up power. and the problem is the moderate majority of americans aren't in the habit of fighting back. if you look at local leaders, young leaders, who are transcending these things, they deserve -- they are profiles in courage and they are practicing the politics of problem solving. >> a member of the republican party that you like to highlight. >> st. petersburg mayor rick baker, mayor of a democratic

city. won re-election in 2005 with nearly 90% of the african-american vote. ten years after that city was divided by riots and this guy was a local campaign manager for jeb bush. he is conservative in many respects, but he's practiced positive outreach that has led to his city's resurgence and was able to reunite the city. that's a model for national republicans who face the deep diversity deficit. >> it really is amazing when you take a look. "the christian science monitor" profiled mayor baker. what they wrote, the most fertile ground of republicans the growing ranks of independent and effort to rebrand the party from the inside are prompting a stir within a generation of young politicians" this seems like welcome news. they risk becoming a party with

dwindling national presence. >> they do. partisan registration has flat lined or declined. utt a matter of simple math. they need to find common cause with independents to have a fighting chance in many states. >> democrats now. who did you decide to profile for your independent voice on the left. >> newark, new jersey, mayor cory booker. he really bucks the partisan litmus test on a lot of issues. he has backed tort reform, and he has worked with prisoner re-entry issues. this guy says old politics is a matter of the last generation's approach to politics. we need to focus on problem solving. he gave an interview to "meet the press" where he really articulated this. let's take a listen. >> i have endorsed mayor bloomberg. he's republican.

he's been a leader in bringing america together on gun issues, on lowering the carbon footprint this is the way we need to move forward. i'm proud to sit here with a republican, because that's the only way our nation will forward, left and right working together. >> you really are applauding these types of effort. easier said than done whether it comes to congress, because there is so much partisanship and you really are pressured from both sides to vote with your party. >> that's exactly right. people in the beltway have blinders on. they don't see what's going on in the larger picture. they don't feel the american people, the moderate majority want them to work together to get things done. everything in washington reinforces the old partisanship. and that's why putting life to the new voices will help reshift the debate. they want to play to the debate. we have to give them props and say good work pro files in encourage guys. >> we'll put these on our website and we'll continue to have you on and to tell us about

some other independent voices out there that you think are cutting through the noise. great to see you. >> good to see you. japan's birth rates way down. how do you entice people to have more children? the government of japan has a unique program. we'll tell you what it is and how it might increase the birth rate. 36 minutes after the hour. this is my small-business specialist, tara. i know landscaping, but i didn't know how wireless could help my business. i just don't know how wireless can help my business. tara showed me how i could keep track of my employees in the field and get more jobs done faster.

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♪ go on take the money and run 39 muinutes past the hour. cash for clunkers may be history. now there is cash for kids. >> the idea of a new political party in japan, and the strategy isn't needed to stimulate the economy. ith the birth rate that they are trying to boost. here is more from tokyo. >> reporter: at this tokyo parking politics pushing these parents to ponder pro creation. jin is an only child. but his mom is thinking about giving him a brother or sister. it would help us with a second child says the woman. she is talking about being paid for having kids. it's a campaign pledge by the new political party that stormed

into power this week in japan. the dpj promises to pay parents the equivalent of $3,400 every year per child until high school. the goal of these payouts to parents? boost japan's birth rate. among the low nest the world. the declining birth rate is a major drag on japan's economy, compounding by a rapidly aging population. about a quarter of the country's population is over the age of 65. by 2050, that's expected to be 40%. far more crippling than the recession, but the cash for kids idea isn't being cheered on by some economists. this economist wonders why twhee the money will come from. we have to make it normal for a woman to raise a child and have a career. something that today is not seen as a norm. the payouts, while attractive as

a campaign pledge, doesn't fix the significant problem for working families. the lack of daycare. japan's government says 40,000 families are on waiting lists waiting to get into centers just like this one. mothers like this one have to quit their jobs to take care of their children. going back to work would be tough, she says, since there are so few daycare centers. some money would be nice, she says it doesn't make that problem disappear. cnn, tokyo. there you have it. getting paid like what, $3,000, $4,000. the cost of raising a kid on average from 18 is -- >> a quarter of a million dollars. >> and that's before you get to the college education. >> and don't we know how expensive is that is? you don't know yet, but you will soon enough. rob marciano in cocoa beach

for the surf championship. there he goes. up again. >> too many people near him. >> one more time. and he's got it. look at that. three times and he's in. 42 minutes after the hour. we'll check in with rob in a second. this is humiliating. stand still so we can get an accurate reading. okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool.

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welcome back for most of the news in the morning. for many of you, labor day means one final trip to the beach. that's exactly where rob marciano is, in cocoa beach, florida. hi, rob. >> well, john, hi, kiran. have you been having fun with some of the shots we took yesterday. >> yes, we've been having fun with it. you were terrorizing the children on the beach. the surf board got away from you. aren't you supposed to have the strap? >> i had the strap, but it's pretty crowded. a lot of small kids, and i almost took a couple of them out yesterday, all in an effort to bring you some television on this holiday of me looking real bad and that was a grand success. here are some of the highlight. we had a lesson. never been on a surf board in my life. a bit of a landlubber, and it certainly showed. three tries before i even

remotely made it up. that nose dive really embarrassing that one, you know, frontward is never that interesting. and here -- there is the nose dive again. taking out a couple kids. i think this is the shot where you'll see the board go out -- there it is. and i heard something -- i heard some small child scream, anyway, cnn lawyers, you definitely want to get by the phone and go to work here. and the fourth time -- >> and they have great white sharks off the coast of cape cod and rob in florida. >>ith not safe anywhere. >> did you see the size of that wave? i was ripping right through the tube. that was sick! >> it remind me of the place north of maui that they call jaws when the storms come in. rob, you were busting it there. way to go. >> you could have ridden right into the tunnel. >> chilling it. >> i want to give you a little

space. couldn't you go on a beach where it wasn't packed with people who were just trying to enjoy the gentle surf and there you are plowing through with your board? >> as you can imagine, just trying to get the paparazzi away when i broke out the surf board. i mean, people were clamoring to get a sight of this exposition, exhibit of fine surfing skulls. so crowd control. >> you know, you don't surf in a t-shirt. you should have ripped that thing off. >> i appreciate that suggestion, but, once again, probably a bad career move. i wanted to introduce to you my friend, greg taylor, retired surfer, been announcing this thing for years. and he gave me an idea of not necessarily what judges will be looking for in me, but the professionals. take a listen. >> the waves have been about waist high to chest high, but

judges are looking for the surf err that executes the strong, critical maneuvers and the critical section of the wave. when they do the big pow every turns and slide out the tails and do the aerial reverses and stuff like that and raid away from it and hit it again real fast that scores well with the judges. >> power turns, aerials. these are all maneuvers that you didn't get to see because the camera ran out of battery. an angry ocean behind me on cocoa beach. won't be waves like california or hawaii, but we're having fun, raising money for the national kidney foundation. a good event, guys and i'm here to do my part in bringing that not so award winning television. >> cnn's most larry hamilton. >> it will win some awards. maybe not the ones you are looking for. all right, rob. hang ten. >> see you. first, we're talking about tracking great whites in the

atlantic ocean. and now we're talking about tracking black bears. is anywhere safe? (announcer) we understand. you need to save money.

♪ in a big country dreams stay with you like a lover's voice ♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. and a group of scientists in florida is tracking black bears to learn more about how the bears live and feed. the goal is to protect the animals, improve their quality's life and keep them out of backyards. john zarrella reports, it involves high-tech gps dollars and low-tech desserts. >> reporter: for researchers, trapping bears is about appealing to their sweet tooth. >> they didn't get into the

pastries. >> reporter: more often than not, they do. the bear gets the goodies, while at the same time managing not to get caught in one of the elaborate traps or snares. >> since this project has been going on for five years now, we have -- we have several bears with advance degrees of tracking. >> reporter: for three days -- >> they didn't touch the pastries here. >> reporter: we watched as the men checked traps baited with doughnuts and other sweets. >> you have to be smarter than the average bear. >> i knew you were going to say that. >> reporter: this bear hunt ends empty handed. >> this looks like a young one. >> reporter: weeks later another try. a young bear was caught in a snare. >> you will usually see a little abrasion where it rubs the fur off or maybe a cut. it climbs a pine tree trying to escape. researchers wait for the bear to

come down. the tran kwi lieser is attached to the end of a long pole. >> okay. we got him. back off. >> reporter: the university of kentucky scientists are studying the movement of florida's black bears, how they get from place to place. the corridors they travel that need to be set aside. >> it's wonderful. the bears tell us what habitat we need to protect. >> reporter: the bears are fitted with a collar that every 15 minutes sends text messages back to the university, telling researchers back where the bears are. this female is too young. when they pass the reader over the back of her neck, a microchip is detected. >> this is a bear we've captured before. >> reporter: as wilderness dwindles, bears simply trying to get from one place to another, run into humans. a 300-pound male captured in a

community west of ft. laud every dale, another dumpster diving in ft. meyers. our bear is awake now. she takes off into the forest. her home. john zarrella, cnn, florida. >> look at that. poor bear, caught in a snare. >> i feel bad for him. declining scores in schools, education reform what to do about it. how to keep america's student in a world class level. a lot of different ideas. how about just doing away with summer vacation? a controversial idea gaining traction. 54 minutes after the hour. this is one way of getting vitamins and minerals.

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total, a truly delicious way to get vitamins and minerals. how are you getting 100%? visit totalcereal.com and get a free sample. welcome back to the most news in the morning. a controversy over president obama's speech to school kids could lose steam as the white house posts the text of the speech online to give parent the

chance to read it. meanwhile, arne duncan didn't mince words, calling the controversy, hooplah, drama, and "just silly." here's what led up to that. >>ith amazing to me, the last time a president spoke to the nation's children was 1991. the real question i have is why has it been 18 years since the president addressed our nation's youth? schools can do it, not do it. children can watch it home with their families. a month from now. they could never watch it it's purely voluntary. so i think all the drama, hooplah, to the end of the day, the president motivates one "c" student to become a "b" student, or one student that's thinking about dropping out to take their education seriously, it's all worth it. president george h.w. bush talked to students, and he drew criticism for making the event

into a campaign commercial. and there's another school idea that's causing quite a stir this morning. sending kids to school all year long. labor day wouldn't be the end of summer or the start of a new school year. it would be just another day. our kate bolduan shows us which towns are doing it and whether it's working. >> reporter: john, kiran, one of the obama administration's top priorities is education reform. one idea gaining traction may be one thing students don't want to hear. more time at school. while most students were off enjoying summer vacation, schools like bar croft elementary in arlington, virginia, were open and bustling with activity. >> we would like to think about our calendndars being the 21st century calendar. >> reporter: instead of a long summer break, bar croft keeps students in class year round with shorter breaks throughout.

offering 20 das 0 additional sc days. >> it gives them learning experiences they might not be able to get over the summertime. >> reporter:ith a strategy school districts across the country are smerexperimenting w. the most closely watched is in massachusetts. the idea has even won the endorsement of both president obama and his education chief. >> we have a significantly shorter school year, 20, 25, 30 days, versus india, china. our students are at a competitive disadvantage. >> reporter: the major argument for extending learning time is school learning loss. students can learn a month's wort of achievement during summer break. >> it's specifically true for low-income students. >> reporter: more time is no silver bullet for reform. miami-dade county schools used an extended day program for three years, but dropped it because they didn't see improvement in test scores.

critics say it disrupts family life and is expensive. the miami/dade program cost more than $100 million. >> the teachers were fatigued, and the students were fatigued and unmotivated. >> reporter: it's not just extra time, but the quality of extra time. >> one of the risks is that you have more time in schools that aren't working well. >> reporter: student have not yet shown great improvement, but the principal is confident it's worth it. it's not just about test scores, but about helping the whole child. john, kiran. >> that brings us to the top of the hour. monday, september 7th. the last day of the summer holiday season. labor day. thank you for being with us. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. after months of passionate debate, the president is about to say something we haven't heard before, and that is

exactly what he would like to see in health care reform what experts say the plan will and will not include now. and a cnn exclusive. one-on-one with treasury secretary tim geithner what he says about the stimulus, economic recovery, and why he says we're back from the edge of abyss now. and how many added airline charges are you willing to take? in the first three months, american airlines have taken in over a half million on checked bag fees. and several white sharks spotted off a beach. we're not reading the script of "jaw." two tagged for the first time ever in the atlantic ocean, just by cape cod. why the beaches could be quiet this labor day in new england. we begin with president obama's make or break push on health care reform. at a speech on wednesday, the president's inner circle was out in full force heading the sunday

talk show circuit, but they were tightlipped on whether the president's machine will include a so-called public option. months of debate and deadlock on capitol hill and weeks of hostile crowds and plenty of shouting at town hall meetings, president obama's plan for health care reform continued to include a government insurance plan to complete with the private one, known as the public option. his inner circle won't say yes or no. >> he believes the public option is a good tool. it shouldn't define the whole health care rebatdebate, howeve. >> the president believes we need an option like this to provide choice and competition. we will have markets as big as the state of alabama. >> but is it essential? is it essential to health care reform? >> the president believes u.s. a

valuable tool. >> reporter: along with the answer to will he or won't he on the public option, the adviser says after wednesday night's speech, the house, senate, and nation will know exactly where his boss stands on details of the plan. and why he thinks reform is an absolute must. >> i think they will come away with a clearer sense of what it is and what it's not. what it, it's a plan that will give more security and stability to people who have insurance today and it will make it easier for those who don't. >> and while there is talk of compromise. other lawmakers seem miles apart. >> the american people don't want another speech. they want to know the plan, but they don't want a government-run plan that will send us on a pathway towards socialized medicine and over $800 billion in higher taxes. >> our speaker, nancy pelosi has made it very clear that we will have public option in any bill that goes off on the house side. the president is going to have

to use his muscle on the senate side. >> there you see it. even after talking about how hopefully they are trying to come together, you see how different the opinions are about the public option many for reaction from the west wing, let's bring in ed henry. bottom line for us, exactly how important is the public option to the point where we didn't get a straight answer from the sunday shows about whether or not it has to be in any bill. >> you're absolutely right. and the way you read the tea leaves, when you hear robert gibbs ask that is it essential? no, it's valuable. and when david axelrod says that the public option shouldn't be the entirety of health reform. it's important, but not enough to spike a deal. the president is in talks with top aides. they say give insurance

companies a couple of years to reform themselves. if they don't do it, a public option triggers. they don't want that. they don't think that's pure enough. the bottom line question for the president is will liberals revolt if he doesn't go for a full public option? he's going to have to on wednesday show the good fight there, but in the end, if he wants to get a deal, he probably has to pull it back. >> the president has so many things going on. afghanistan, g-20 coming up. and nagging issues like the van jones resignation. education speech tomorrow that's getting a lot of heat. he can focus enough to get what he wants on health care? >> inside the west wing, they don't think he's spread too thip. they think health care reform is not just critical for reforming the system, but for dealing with the economy, dealing with thoughts long term. the rising health care costs are the critical piece of the whole situation, about the you're right. he's going to continue to face

criticism, especially if this fight drags on through almost the end of the year. he has set a deadline. all kinds of deadlines have been missed. the latest is get something done by the end of the year this keeps dragging on and pushing out other issues, dealing with afghanistan, climate change. he'll start hearing much more criticism that he's spending too much time on this. >> ed henry at the white house, thank you so much. over at the senate, the man who heads the committee who holds the purse strings drafting his own blueprint for reform. let's bring in brianna keilar. senator max back us is ready to mark ahead. >> the chairman of the senate finance committee, heading up the bipartisan talks, told the other members of the so-called gang of six he will be coming to them with a proposal. sources tell cnf, if not today, then tomorrow after congress reconvenes after the month-long

break. we hope to see this group of six with a best chance for bipartisan compromise. but the window of opportunities for the senators to have an impact is starting to have an impact. he is obviously prepared to forge ahead whether the key committee's proposal is on the table. >> ben nelson from nebraska was on "state of the union ""this weekend and said he could support the trigger option for the public option, if insurance companies could not bring people under, that the trigger mechanism could start a public option. let's listen to what he told john. >> people in nebraska already concerned that we've been rushing things through, and if we went to some sort of a

parliamentary shortcut, they would be more alarmed than they are right now. that's what i heard during the town hall meetings. >> how much does this undercut fellow democrats who want the public option? >> if it undercuts democrats, he wouldn't be the only one. he's been talking about the budget maneuver to pass health care with 51 votes in the senate. there are many luke him who are uncomfortable with the idea. talked about something else. senator nelson said that was particularly interesting. he said he wants to hear president obama signal on wednesday that he's open to this idea of a public option with a trigger. yes, some liberals in the house. many of them will have a critical mass number have an issue. but it's particularly interesting. he is signaling an area where there could be a compromise. and ed referenced olympia snow, a republican from maine has been

talking to the white house this is an area we're concentrating on to see if there are enough members of senate to get on board here. >> brianna, thank you so much. and as president obama steps up to the podium on wednesday night to take his health care plan to a joint session of congress, cnn is the only place to be. the best political team on television will be here to break it down starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. wednesday night, only on cnn. marine biologists and scientists are thrilled. maybe if you're swimming you won't be. great white sharks spotted in the waters off cape cod. they have beaches closed in the area. giant sharks, ten feet long, in some cases weighing as much as 1,000 pounds, are rare in new england waters. two of them, electronically tagged for monitoring for the first time ever in the atlantic ocean. swimmers at nearby beaches should be on the lookout for the possibility of more great whites.

a whole bunch of things the president has on his plate. the health care speech on wednesday, education speech tomorrow, van jones, his green jobs czar resigned. a lot of people say he was forced out. we'll kick that off with the political panel, coming up. grow. the algae are very beautiful. they come in blue or red, golden, green. algae could be converted into biofuels... that we could someday run our cars on. in using algae to form biofuels, we're not competing with the food supply. and they absorb co2, so they help solve the greenhouse problem, as well. we're making a big commitment to finding out... just how much algae can help to meet... the fuel demands of the world. man: it seems, only a minute ago, we were kids

with little responsibility, zero accountability. our parents telling us what to do... how to behave. now, all of a sudden, we're there, in that role, at that time in our lives where everyone and everything is depending on us. it's a scary feeling, but it's also a good one. especially when i'm confident someone's there for me.

good morning, washington. right now, it's cloudy and 67 degrees. later on today, going to be sunny with a high of 78. sounds like a beautiful day in the nation's capcapital. he was supposed to be president obama's go-to guy to create more green jobs, now he's out of a job. van jones is out of a job because of some comments he made and a petition he signed in 2004 about what the bush administration knew about 9/11. we have our political panel. kevin madden, he works with clients that are involved in the health care industry. on van jones, the left is

infuriated, and the right seemed seems to be embolden. do you expect this is just the first of many inquiries into some of the czars? >> i think that's the main issue here. you see with president obama is the reliance on czars, and many in congress believe that's an end runaround oversight and i think there are probably some corridors of power within the ahead monday station that probably didn't like the idea that you have czars that are encroaching on their policy portfolios. i believe that the pressure on this, though, from president obama will come from congress. you will have many up there that believe czars ought to be confirmed by the senate and since they are not, when they do get into the senate like this, they'll continue to take aim. >> do you think that's true, is pressure going to come from congress or right-wing talk radio and talk tv and other

people who are illuminating the potential problems with van jones for some weeks now? >> i don't think it's an issue of having too many czars. this is something that happens in all administrations. we all have things that we've said in our past, things that we've done in the past that we regret. i think the right-wing talk show hosts and media did focus upon this, and really used it to brung this guy down. i think it's a shame. mr. jones is an ivy-league educated lawyer. an expert in his field. internationally renowned author on the subject, and it's too bad for the administration and country that we're losing his expertise, but he did the right thing. he resigned. he didn't want to us be talking about this. he wants the focus to be on president owe bim why's president obama's agenda. >> did he resign or was he forced out?

>> i think look, at the end of the day, he probably didn't have much choice. he became such a distraction, and i have to disagree that this was right-wing talk radio. this was something the white house did to itself. when you go through a vetting process thdoesn't catch things like having a top white house adviser or a middle white house adviser like van jones that signed a petition that said we ought to investigate 9/11 as an inside job, the white house brought this on themselves that's why they were very quick to accept the resignation and allow van jones to leave the white house. >> what do you think, maria? was he just not thoroughly looked at? >> all white houses have gone through this problem. this is not the first time this happened in this administration and past administrations and won't be the last. in hindsight, could you say, yes, the vetting process needs to be better. that's easily said when you find something that wasn't found before. again, i don't think it's an issue of the vetting process. i don't think it's an issue of

having czars. it's an issue that you have right-wing radio talk show hosts and media in having this administration fail. >> let me switch gears to health care there are many democrats that say the white house can pit lated on van jones and they are also fearing it might can pit late on the public option. david axle rod says the president believes that the public option is a good tool. it shouldn't define the whole health care debate. that prompted headlines that the president was willing to give up the public option. what do you think, maria and kevin? will the white house have to be extraordinarily flexible with the idea of a public option if they want bipartisan support and if the president is laying down new markers for health care on wednesday. does he have to indicate that he might have to move on the public option? >> i'll take this one, john. the biggest problem that white house has faced right now is the conflicting messages on the public option. folks on the left are drawing a

line around that, saying any bill they passed must have a public option. they have become disenchanted with the white house, they have shown too much flexibility. and we have a lot of folks on capitol hill believe that any move toward the public option is a nonstart whenever it comes to finding a bipartisan solution and the white house is stuck in the middle holding nothing. the biggest problem for the white house is that those on the left, they are not sure exactly what it is that this white house will fight for when push comes to shove. no doubt we're at that point right now. >> maria, we saw senator ben nelson of nebraska saying he might be for the idea of a trigger that doesn't you'requir public option, at least immediately. >> john, from the very beginning, this white house has been very clear, and they really have not changed their tune at all. what they have said from the very beginning, including president obama, is that what he

wants in this health plan is security and stability for those americans who currently have health insurance, but who are afraid they could be kicked off tomorrow because they get seriously ill who have high out of pocket expenses and whose copays and premiums have tripled, gone up three times faster than wages. he wants protection for those people. secondly, and incredibly importantly, if he wants choice in competition for the 47 million americans who don't have it and the 14,000 american who's lose it every day. they cannot go out and get affordable health insurance. he said in the beginning, in exchange for what people can go on and figure out the best plan for them and their family. i think small business owners are an incredibly important part of this he says that the public option is an important tool to make sure there is competition, make sure there are choices available, but he has never basically said that is the one all-important thing that needs

to be in this health reform plan. >> we'll see what he has to say on wednesday. we'll hear more about it between now and then. great to see you this morning. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. 19 minutes after the hour.

all right. we see a beautiful shot this morning of cocoa beach, florida. where it's partly cloudy. you can see the clouds back over the water. 75 degrees. a little later, could get storms. 87 for a high on this labor day. we have a question. is our rob marciano working or playing today? clearly he's laboring, but is he working? out there surfing, having a little fun. u.s. a special edition of "rob's road show." at the pro-am in cocoa beach,

florida, today. he's getting a few lessons from the pros. you don't want to miss that. and now timothy geithner sat down for a one-on-one interview, speaking candidly on things like the stimulus, the state of our nation's economy, and the big wig bonuses, the outrage over bank ceos raking in millions while millions are still struggling. >> timothy geithner was in london with the other finance ministers for the g-20. they agreed to keep up stimulus efforts, but in broad brush strokes agreeing to rein in bank every pay. some of us feel like nothing has changed. a lot money still paid out to the ceos of companies that had to take bailout funds. and richard quest asked if they are committed to making sure this doesn't continue. >> there is no risk that we

will -- can afford and will allow, conditions to go back to what they were in the peek of the boom. >> but the speed -- >> haven't gone back yet. ith important it don't happen again. are you going to see reform in competition practice across the finance reform system. we agree on a none framework and commit ourselves that we will apply the standard on an even basis across the countries. >> what will the standard be? will it be a cap on pay or will they be some combination of that and capital rules, meaning if the banks take big risks, risks that could hurt the financial sector, the banks need to put more money aside. we don't know how that will work out just yet.

timothy gutner agreithner worki that. >> 32,613,828,763. that's the money for those that received t.a.r.p. money. the hardball year for the banho. this is just in bonuses. the whole wall street culture is built on bonuses, and they get bonuses for making money quickly and taking risks in the economy. and these are things that the g-20 finance ministers -- >> $32 billion no bonuses. unbelievable. everyone is trying to make money these days. the airlines are trying to up

the bottom line. all of the fees they are charging, is it a way to make money, or gourgei gouging trave? carol costello takes a look.

this is the most news in the morning. if you check your bags when you any, you pay the airlines a half a million dollars for that convenience. it's a convenience that used to be free. but so many things used to be free. that's just the beginning. our carol costello joins us for the latest new fees. i was flying this weekend, and all you could hear through the atlanta airport is if you want to upgrade to first dallas, you can stand by for $75. >> and it's always amazing that people do it. do you want good news or bad

news first? >> give me the bad first. >> let's do the good. >> why did you ask? >> women rule, john. we're going to do the good news first. >> believe me, i get that hammered into me every day. >> story in "the wall street journal" the demand for air travel has bottomed out. no where to go but up. here's the bad news it doesn't matter to one iota to air travelers' wallets. even southwest has gotten into the game. southwest airlines got a little enhancement. that's what the airline is calling its early bird program. if you don't like the airline's no reserve seating policy, the airline will allow to you board early to grab a plum seat if you dole out 10 bucks each way. already some are saying, hmm. >> tired of being knuckle esnu dimed by other programs?

>> reporter: this is nothing more than an extra fee. something southwest prides itself on resisting. southwest insists it's not breaking that promise. early bird it says is an enhancement. >> this is a valuable-added extra that people can decide for themselveses if they want to do it. >> reporter: southwest finds itself in a tough position as one of the few airlines turning a profit again, but not as fat and happy as it once was. ben covers the airlines for "usa today." >> they are feeling some pressure from shareholders, for example, for not adding a checked bag fee, whereas their competitors are making hundreds of millions off these fees. >> reporter: u.s. air carriers charged $566 million in baggage fees in the first quarter alone. more than four times than what they collected in 2008. southwest is trying to cut back on some flights, but it has to find a revenue source so it

doesn't have to raise ticket prices. travelers have mixed feelings. >>ith not the amount. it's the concept that you give me $10. what if i give you $50, can i get in front of him? >> if that's a way to make a profit, then i'm all for it. >> reporter: early bird will turn a profit for southwest. one research analyst says if 25 to 30 passengers buy the service, southwest could rake in $250 million a year. no small change there. they will also put wifi on some flights. so far, it's free, but, of course, that could change. just depends. >> a lot of other airlines are charging $9.95 for what do they call it? go go wireless in the air. they are making some money off

of that. >> and if you want seats -- you want a seat, it's like $50. otherwise you can just crouch. >> i mean, that's where we're heading, right? >> it seems that way. you have to pay for everything extra, like to sit in the emergency row exit on some airlines, you have to pay extra. >> that's true, but if there's an emergency and you have to go into action, do ythey have to py you? just saying. other stories this morning. president obama is warming up for his make or break health care push. he's speaking to both chambers of commerce and the entire nation. he wants to see government-backed health care included in the plan, the so-called public option, but they won't say if he'll veto a plan without it. and you'll be glad to know that the price of gasoline is

heading down. the for a gallon of unleaded, $2.58. down three cents over the past week. afghans loyal to president hamid karzai set up hundreds of fake polling sites according to "the new york times." while no one voted at these bogus stations, hundreds of thousands of votes were still recorded for karzai. a spokesman for the campaign accused opponents of trying to score political points with the accusations. the white house is hoping for political stability in afghanistan as the pentagon gets set to send more troops into the war zone. more troops, more u.s. involvement, that really the solution will? our next guest says no. nicholas krisoff is a new york columnist and wrote "half the sky." it seems like there was a big debate over whether or not we

need aid surge, and we saw the surge yield some positive result. afghanistan, many say it's a different story there. why is sending more troops not necessarily a no-brainer? >> it's different in that in iraq the sunnis were concerned about being attacked by shias, so they welcomed our presence there and we were able to buy them off in afghanistan, it's different and sending more troops into the pashtun areas in the south and east is regarded as something that will undermine security. create more opposition, not less. and so there's a pretty broad consensus that this would be a terrible mistake. >> and the reason why, part of it is mixed feelings about the taliban. not so black and white. they understand and don't like the destabilization elements, they also understand the piety and the purity of their religious feelings. how do you convince them it makes more sense to side with

the coalition than the taliban? >> i think you're exactly right. there's a deep ambivalence on part of the pashtun. and we have this idea that people are either taliban or anti-taliban. most pashtuns are somewhere in between. they are nervous about the taliban argument that the americans are there not as liberators but as infidel who's want to occupy afganistan. the heavier military footprint we have there, the more it maze the taliban argument and tends to increase support for the taliban, which is exactly counterproductive. >> but on the other side, where do you go then? we're eight years into the situation, more u.s. troops killed. this was the deadliest month since we've entered the country and what is the endgame? what are we hoping to achieve, if not to provide some stability that clearly the afghan army is not able to do on their own? >> yeah, of course. we're not providing that. additional $21,000 troops did nt

provide that. i think we should continue with a lighter footprint. i think we should emphasize investments in education, infrastructure, ways that give afghans tangible benefits from our presence. it's going to be hard. >> but have you nato and european countries saying let's leave more of that to the afghans, but as we've seen there, has been trouble, of them being able to actually carry that out and secure the population. >> it would be much easier to work out an agreement with the europeans if it were for a lighter footprint, if we were to defend the city of kandahar and not think of all of kandahar province secure. >> we're missing the main point. pakistan harbors al qaeda and the mountainous region we don't have necessarily control over is where the biggest amount of problems are. what's the solution to that? >> one of the problems sending more troops into afghanistan, it

radicalizes pakistan. even if people are in favor of more troops are correct and there is benefit in afghanistan, we undermine security in pakistan and increase the risk there. at the end of the day, we have to get pakistan to worry about not just about the pakistan taliban, but the afghan taliban. >> a big challenge ahead for the administration. >> i think sending more troops would be a defining moment for the obama administration in my view, in a very bad way. >> read the rest of the article. posted yesterday, nicholas krisoff for "the new york times." thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure. anderson cooper has been in afghanistan this week to find out exactly first hand what's going on and why we're seeing a spike in u.s. casualties. starting at 10:00 eastern, only on cnn. 37 past the hour. achoo!

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. how far would you go to get good health insurance? one man who lost his job and medical benefits reenlittled in the army to get his family covered and then he paid the ultimate price this is a story you'll see only here on cnn. jim acosta joins us from washington for the heart-wrenching report. it's unbelievable story, jim. >> it is. the story of greg is not just about a soldier's sacrifice in the intensifying war in afghanistan. it's also about a father's sacrifice to his family, when that family has no health insurance. army specialist greg missman was only on the ground in afghanistan for one month. in july, his father jim got that knock on the door. >> a chaplain and a master sergeant showed up, so it was --

it was not a pleasant day. >> reporter: it was an abrupt end to what was actually missman's second stint in the army. left the service 11 years ago, but last year, he lost his job as a computer consultant. he lost his job? >> um-hum. >> reporter: became unemployed. >> lost his health insurance. >> reporter: missman says his son reenlisted to see to it his family had health insurance. he was full of confidence on the day he left for afghanistan. >> so he said, you know, i'm going to go back in the army and make sure jack has -- his son jack would have health insurance. that was really the motivating thing to have him go back in. >> reporter: greg missman grew up in a community that's already lost two of its sons in the war of iraq. greg made it three, only in afghanistan.

keith's son matt is one of the other fallen soldiers. do you think we'll see more cases like greg missman? >> no doubt about it. we probably will. you know, i was going to say hope it ain't from here, but i hope it ain't from anywhere. >> reporter: jim looks at the letter he has creceived from th president and other leaders and worries about other parents. >> i'm a gold star parent because of my sacrifice, and i would rather not see any other goltd star parents. >> reporter: but he doesn't have the answer on how to fix the health care system. >> he made quite a sacrifice. health care is ---- it's going be a tough one. >> reporter: he remembers a man who sacrificed from country and to family. and there's no way to account how many soldiers joined armed

services to get health care wen fits. greg missman will receive insurance so this soldier's sacrifice will live on. >> what a shame. what a story. jim, thanks so much. 43 minutes after the hour. there was a time i wouldn't step out of the house without my makeup. now, it's no problem. (announcer) neutroténa tone correcting night serum with high performance soy to even skin tone and active retinol to speed cell turn over. clinically shown to visibly fade

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♪ surfing usa ♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. 46 minutes past the hour right now. and he's great at the weather. we know that. maybe not so great with the surf board. hey, it's his first time. rob's road show brought him to cocoa beach, florida. and you hopped on board. we have a chance to see some of it. not too shabby, your first shot out of the bag. >> i appreciate that. you're being extremely generous.

it was pretty -- it was pretty bad actually. and we'll show you more highlights as we get into this. great surfing weather. great water temperatures here off the coast. let's take a look at the surf forecast. you have to catch a wave along the southeast coast. waves shouldn't be too bad. a bit of a disturbance near the carolina coastline. water temps in the mid 80s. that's not the least that can be running out of the water. national forecast, cool across the northeast and a couple of showers from the ohio valley into the central appalachians. one other note there, is a hypoterrible for seeing a tropical storm develop way off the african coastline. save to say that's not producing the big swells we need down here in cocoa beach. sun coming up on the coast. surf competitions, finals get going in ten minutes. you see some of the guys at the end of the practice. we could use bigger swells, no doubt about that these guys know

what they are doing. to give you flavor, i took a surf lesson. never been on a surf board. a bit of a landlubber. took me three times to get up. almost took some kids out. there could be some legal issues. nobody got seriously hurt, at least that i know of and all in all, a successful day of me looking exceedingly bad. this is all of the benefit for the national kidney foup addition of florida. they have raised between $4 million and $5 million and helped hundreds of thousands who have had kidney transplants. the guy who started this is a retire surfer who had three kidney transplants. a greet eveat event to be out o beach and also to raise some money. i don't know which part of the video you saw, but there was this one spot where this monster wave was just ripping right over the top of my head, dude, j.r.,

would you have been so proud of me. curling through the tube, hanging ten, splashing off the top. >> it was amazing. we saw that part. >> the monitor is so far away, did they show that part? >> the fabulous kick out over the top. a thing of beauty. >> in the corner, we could see there was a shark also riding the wave with you. undeterred. pretty amazing. sorry we couldn't bring that to viewers. we lost that tape. >> we'll try to dig that up. >> we have you almost beaming an 8-year-old. >> i'm more afraid of the 8-year-old than the shark. >> rob out at the water. ali velshi out on the cnn express talking about health care reform. we'll bring you that, next. 49 1/2 minutes after the hour.

♪ on the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again ♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. the white house says president obama will lay out the details to his health care reform plan in his prime-time speech that's coming up on wednesday. >> meantime, our ali velshi has been riding the cnn express across the country and today he is in kansas. he found out that when it comes to reform, people still have a lot of unanswered questions. >> reporter: what's your view on this? >> i think it's too fast. i think time needs to be taken out to educate everyone, as many people in america. maybe there needs to be a forum held to educate people as far as what this whole thing is about. >> reporter: isn't that what those town halls were supposed to be? >> supposed to. >> reporter: what was your general impression about how that went down? >> one of the fundamental

problems to the town halls was they were highly politicized. there was an agenda. whether you're a democrat or republican, libertarian, whatever your affiliation you want to claim, there was a polarization to those town halls. this was marketing. it was blatantly so. and in my estimation, there was a lack of value because it wasn't informative, it was politicized. >> because it was so much marketing or what appeared to be marketing to me, made people tune it out. and then we still leave ourselves unknowledgeable about what's really happening. so this is probably a much better representation of how this should be handled, just maybe in larger numbers, throughout the united states. >> and it shows you how passionate people are about health care, and that this is a huge issue and to rush through this bill is not the answer at all. >> reporter: we should be happy that people are passionate about these things, they're prepared to come out, they're not bored and lackadaisical.

>> it's about my children. not about me, but about my children. the changes we'll make for the united states that are long standing. that's paramount in this situation. >> reporter: what type of things you look back at and go, it made or broke us, flat out? this is one of those turning points where everything could change for the better or the worse. >> and the only place to watch the president's speech with the best political team on television issing rig inright h. our prime-time coverage of president obama's health care speech starts at 8:00 p.m. wednesday. ♪

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>> right, i must not have really had fun, huh? >> i guess not. >> there may not be any creature in the world as feared at the great white shark. >> unless it's the great hairy tarantula. the awesome predators, the sharks we're talking about, not the tarantulas. our jason carroll joins us now. we mentioned tarantulas because like the story your grandfather tells you about walking four miles to the school in snow in flip-flops, jason had to walk past tarantulas every morning on his way to school. he's used to dealing with these predators. >> then you had to swim through mayco alley and after that, you finally made it to school. >> yeah. eventually, i got there. >> the man can handle tramparan hill, he can handle great whites. >> as long as i'm watching them in a movie. some species of sharks are common in cape waters off the coast of massachusetts, but despite what you may have seen in the movies, great white

sharks are relatively rare in new england, so imagine the surprise of researchers who spotted not one, but two and were able to tag the giant predators near chatham beach. they estimate each one weighed 1,000 pounds. it all happened on saturday when researchers and local fishermen made a little bit of history at sea. >> well, as soon as the shark does come to the surface, i raised the harpoon and get ready to take aim. as soon as we gets within range, i just throw the pole into the fish that puts the tag into the fish and he takes -- as soon as it hits him, he takes right off, the tag is in place. >> i've tried to go out and find white sharks over the last 27 years, i can't find them. that's a lot of time, a lot of commitments and in one day, boom, two animals. that kind of puts it in perspective. >> well, the great whites were tagged with high-tech devices designed to stay on the sharks

until january 15th and the devices should pop off, float to the surface, and transmit data back to the scientists. they hope the data will lead to better conservation efforts. and an important note, state officials are warning swimmers to be on the lookout for sharks. several beaches in the area has been closed as a precaution. >> don't forget, they filmed "jaws" not too far away from there in martha's vineyard. >> you want to know, if they tagged too, how many are out there. >> and jason's got this story over tarantula hill and he actually stepped on a tarantula. >> it sounded like a styrofoam cup, it popped. disgusting. >> imagine what you would sound like if you got in the jaws of one of those great white sharks. >> traumatized. >> i think we have a good psychological plan in the health plan. get you some help there. >> thanks, jason. and thank you al for being with us on this labor day month.

i'm kiran chetry. >> i'm john roberts. here are the big stories we'll be breaking down in the next 15 minutes. president obama tried to take control in this critical week for health care reform. we've got new details on exactly what the president wants to see when it comes to health care reform. 9.7% of americans unemployed right now, but as fall approaches, there is hope that the worst may be over. what does that mean for americans looking for work? the secretary of labor will be joining us with her take on the job market. >> and the president's go-to man on the economy talking to cnn. hear what treasury secretary timothy geithner has to say about the economy and what work still needs to be done. we begin, though, with president obama's make-or-break push for health care reform. ahead of his speech wednesday on capitol hill, the president's inner circle is out in full force hitting the sunday talk show circuit. they were noticeably tight-lipped though on whether or not the president's plan must include a public option. >> reporter: after months of

debate and deadlock on capitol hill and weeks of hostile crowds and plenty of shouting at town hall meetings, president obama's plan for health care reform continued to include a government insurance plan to compete with private ones, known as the public option. his inner circle still won't say yes or no. >> he believes the public option is a good tool. now, it shouldn't define the whole health care debate, hover. >> the president strongly believes that we have to have an option like this to provide choice and competition, to provide a check on insurance companies, because without it, again, we're going to have markets as big as the whole state of alabama, almost 90% of which is not even -- >> is it essential? that's the key question. we've known for months the president's for it. >> the president believes it's a valuable tool. >> reporter: along with an answer to the will he or won't he on the public option, the president's senior adviser says after wednesday night's speech to the house, the senate, and

the nation, we'll know exactly where his boss stands on all of the details of the plan. and why he thinks reform is an absolute must. >> well, i think they'll come away with a clearer sense of what it is and what it's not. what it is is a plan that, again, will give more security and stability to people who have insurance today and it will make it easier for those who don't. >> reporter: and while there's been some talk of compromise inside the beltway, other lawmakers on capitol hill still seem miles apart. >> the american people don't want another speech. they want another plan. but they don't want a government-run plan that will send us on a pathway towards socialized medicine and over $800 billion in higher taxes. >> our speaker, nancy pelosi, has made it very clear that we will have public option in any bill that goes off on the house side. the president is going to have to use his muscle on the senate side. >> well, there we go. we're going to head right now to

washington and dig a little bit deeper on this with our own ed henry live at the white house. and we have brianna keilar in our d.c. bureau. ed, bottom line, how important, how hard is the president going to fight for this public option. so many on the left feel is vital to any significant reform. >> reporter: well, top aides to the president, some of his outside advisers are suggesting he will push hard wednesday night on capitol hill for a public option, but not hard enough to spike a deal. the bottom line is that he will push to show liberals that he is with him on this, that he is fighting for it and aides say he does believe it. it's not just political posturing. that he does believe the public option will be the best option in terms of keeping insurance companies honest, but he's not going to let that one issue -- as you heard david axelrod say there a moment ago -- spike an entire deal. he's not going to throw the public option under the bus, but it's sort of taped to the side of the bus, it's hanging on the road, and they'll push it off whenever they need to get a deal. >> a great way of putting it.

and some people on capitol hill say it's the president's chance to make sure that the public option stays on the table. listen to what keith ellison told our john king on "state of the union". >> what if the president said, i need this, i know you don't like it, i know it's not enough, but i need it. politically, i can't afford to pass a health care bill, don't walk away. >> i say he needs to go talk to those people that won't comp rems with him and insist there will be no public option. he can talk to themes as well as he can talk to us. why should the liberals always cave? those folks that are getting all kind of campaign donations and getting lobbied by the insurance industry, why don't they compromise a little bit? >> let's bring in brianna keilar. there's still this core group of democrats saying there has to be a public option, no room for discussion. so really the president is between the proverbial rock and a hard place here. >> reporter: he is, john. there are dozens of rank and file liberal democrats in the house of representatives who

think that health care reform without a public option is not reform. and the trigger to many of them is just a way of setting up a plan with government-run health insurance and never actually putting it into effect. these liberals are balking at doing away with the public option, but the reality is, in the senate, we've known this for some time, passing a public option, next to impossible. because support among not just republicans lacking, but conservative democrats lacking. and so i've spoken with some democratic leader sources in the senate and they say, even if they want a public option, what they really want is a health care bill. and if the public option is going to get in the way of that, they still want a bill, john. >> and back to ed here. if the president does drop his push for a public option, how does he prevent the left from then revolting, which is something that could very well happen. >> the way i'm hearing it, he's going to present this as saying, look, we've come this far. why spike an entire deal over this one issue. and that he may have some sort

of fallback position, like senator olympia snowe has been pushing, like you would have a trigger that would kick in if the insurance companies did not reform themselves. but the bottom line, the president will try to tell liberals, hey, something is better than nothing. we can come back next year and the next year and finish the job. the problem is, there may be some liberals who suggest that nothing is better than something here. >> ed henry this morning along with brianna keilar, thanks so much. a reminder, cnn is the place to watch the president's health care reform speech to a joint session of congress on wednesday. we'll have full coverage with the best political team on television wednesday night starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. and if the president's plate is not full enough, he has now forced the deal with a setback, the resignation of green jobs czar van jones. at the center of the controversy, a petitions that jones signed back in 2004, questioning whether the bush

administration knew that the september 11th attacks were going to take place. also, the massive wildfire burning north of los angeles is now 51% contained. meantime, the price tag so far, $50 million. it's taken the lives of two firefighters, also destroyed 78 homes and burned nearly 276 square miles of national forest so far. california's governor offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and the conviction of the arsonist responsible for starting it. and the new head of the national mall in washington, d.c., says we will see visible improvements to america's front yard over the next year. right now the mall is stained by dead grass, crumbling sidewalks, and green, foul-smelling water in the lincoln memorial reflecting pool. the renovation project will cost nearly $50 million of federal stimulus money. and speaking of federal stimulus money, has the stimulus helped create more jobs, as it was intended to do? we're looking at the unemployment numbers for the

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satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. welcome back to the most news in the morning. new right now, a significant crack has been discovered in san francisco's bay bridge and it's considered serious enough to keep that bridge closed. the bay bridge was shut down on thursday for earthquake retrofitting when the crack was found. about 280,000 vehicles cross that landmark bridge every day, so if they can't get it sorted out very quickly, it's really going to throw a wrench into everybody's commuting plans. >> and it's already a mess anyway. more than 2,000 students at washington state university reporting symptoms of swine flu. that's more than 10% of the entire student body. a nurse at the university says the outbreak started during

sorority and fraternity rush before classes started. right now the university is handing out free flu kits to students. pro-football star shawne merriman is saying he didn't attack his girlfriend tia tequila. police accused him of choking tequila at their home on sunday morning. an attorney for meryman says he was only trying to protect his girlfriend, who police say had been drinking. merriman's attorney would not comment. it's the unofficial end of the summer, and for the 9.9% of americans currently unemployed and probably several thousands more who actually have simply given up looking, there is hope, perhaps, that the worst is behind us, that the job market might pick up. most analysts say a little more patience will be needed as the first part of the recovery is likely to be a jobless one. what does that mean for people who are looking for work? hilda solis is the secretary of labor and joins us this morning

from washington, d.c. secretary solis, thanks so much for being with us on this labor day. >> thank you for having me, and happy labor day. >> to you as well. one of the things we're talking about this morning is the fact that we have seen unemployment, the monthly unemployment at 9.7% right now. upticking a bit higher than it was from the months before. when you take a look at the picture down the road, what advice or insight can you offer people about whether or not we're going to see more jobs created quite soon? >> well, what i would remind people is that we've been in this recession since december of 2007. in january, we saw a job loss of about 700,000 jobs. this last month in august, we saw 216,000. that's not to say that we're satisfied, but we're going to keep moving forward. we've helped to stabilize this a bit. but i would encourage people to go into our one-stop shop centers that we have, that we run through the dol, department of labor. they give free information and help to provide assistance for people looking for jobs, but

also people who may want to get into an education or new training program. a lot of that is offered for our unemployed workers right now and we've done two things. one is to help rescue people who have been dislocated from their jobs. so increasing the amount of unemployment insurance for several weeks, but also $25 additional during that week and also providing assistance for people who need health insurance. they can also apply through our program for some coverage there if they're eligible. but more importantly, got to get ready for the new jobs. that's where we're going to see the uppeak. and i think the recovery act is working, it's slow. but it's like moving a big battle ship around and it's going to take some time and patience. but we're there with the american worker and today we celebrate all the contributions that workers and their families have made to this great country. >> i want to ask you about what you said when it comes to creation of jobs, green jobs, and the stimulus working. what we were talking about before is the stimulus program

billed as a move that would not just save jobs, but help create 3.3 million jobs. since january, 2.8 million jobs have been lost. what do you say to critics that say, that's evidence that the stimulus is actually not working? >> well, i would disagree. i think that alone in my department, we've seen over 225,000 young people work during the course of this summer. and we know that there are many people who kept their jobs, law enforcement officers, teachers, and also clinics stayed open. in fact, we were able to increase the number of people who were seen in health care clinics by about 300,000. so, i mean, things are happening. that may not be as apparent for some people. but i would just encourage people not to be distressed and discouraged. we want to do everything we can. we're not going to stop until we make sure the job loss goes down. >> also left out of the latest unemployment numbers, millions of people who actually simply gave up looking. they actually don't get counted in that 9.7% unemployment because they are not actively

looking, but it doesn't mean that they don't want a job. what hope can you offer them that perhaps down the road we will be turning a corner and that perhaps there are opportunities out there? >> well, there is more financial assistance going out by way of programs like through the department of energy for creation of manufacturing jobs, creating lithium batteries, for example, or new industries that are starting up. i think that you're seeing more credit available. people are buying houses. you know, that is happening. and we did see an up tick in careers, like health careers. there were about 28,000 jobs that were created. and that's been a steady increase. i would encourage people, now's the time to go in. if you need a new job training program you want to get into or new education program, all those opportunities are available right now. and i would encourage people, if they are unemployed, to go into our offices, there are some financial assistance available. the pell grant program that people can apply to, a college

education, now's the time to do that. and i think we're on our steady way to recovery. >> some of our viewers are asking, when i told them i was going to be talking to you, i asked them what they wanted to do and the big question that seems to be coming up is do you have any predictions, or -- you know, of course, you're getting information and your getting some input that perhaps we don't see from advisers and economists about when we will start to see this job market turn around. >> i think that, you know, keep in mind the recovery program is just in like its sixth month right now and it's a two-year project. so we still have more funding opportunities that will go into creating and helping to build our infrastructure, so that will help in construction and manufacturing. we're also going to see these new hybrid technologies created. i think and the money alone that i am providing through our department for job training won't be fully effective until later this year around october and november. so there are, you know, flickers of hope out there and i would

just hope people please, come by and visit our one-shop centers where people can get free information. >> you say that's for the department of labor, people want to check that out online. great to have you talk to us this morning, secretary of labor, hilda solis, thanks for being with us. >> thanks so much. airlines are tacking on all kinds of fees. first it was a second bag, now it's the first back, then golf bags, and if you want to get first in line, airlines charge you a fee for that. is it all just a legitimate way for airlines to make money or is it gouging? carol costello takes a look at that.

♪

welcome back to the most news in the morning, at 20 minutes after the hour, christine romans is minding your business and joins us now. she's got something with timothy geithner coming up in just a second. but first of all, you were listening to the interview with hilda solis, labor secretary. your take? >> i think people shouldn't be discouraged, she's right, but this is much bigger than being discouraged about the job market. there are 30 million people in this country ready, willing, and able to work a full-time job and this economy is not giving them the opportunities. there are green job hopes, but so far those green jobs aren't giving 30 million americans the opportunities to feed their families and to progress in the biggest economy in the world. i mean, it's a really incredible situation we're in right now. and you just can't tell people to go look at a website, not to be discouraged, and try to get some retraining. and on top of that, they just blew their green jobs czar out the door. >> and the starting salary for the average green job is $12 an hour. you try to feed a family on a

green job. and much of the technology and production is still overseas. we're not there and there are a lot of big challenges here. >> and of course, as we talked about as well, when you talk about the number 9.7%, that doesn't really give you the whole picture. as you said, there are millions and millions of people who right now have given up. they're not considered actively unemployed. >> 14.9 million are unemployed, 9.1 million are underemployed, they're working part-time because they can't get anything else. 2.3 million are marginally attached to the labor market. and in that category, 758,000 are discouraged. they simply can't find a job can consider -- no none of those people are included in the 14.9 million. when you look at the percentage of people that are working, it's 52.9%. that's not good. >> our richard quest talked to the treasury secretary over the weekend. do you have that? >> i do. this is what the treasury secretary had to say about where we are in the economy and what kind of progress we're making. he said, basically, it's still fragile here, the economy, the

job market is too fragile to grow without government help, but we're making progress. >> we have brought the world economy back from the edge of the abyss and you are starting to see the necessary conditions for a recovery, but we don't have recovery yet. we have growth on the way, but we don't yet have a -- the conditions for a self-sustaining recovery led by private demand, which is what we're all committed to achieving. >> so let by private demand. that's what we're looking for. the government has stepped in over the past year to fill in this void so we didn't completely go over the edge of the abyss, but we're still waiting for private demand. that's companies, that's really the economy to start working again on its own. we're still waiting for that. >> i get so fired up about the jobs market. i'm so passionate about the fact that it's such a big economy that there's really something not working here and we haven't figured out how to fix it yet. >> the other thing too, she said it as well, the secretary of labor said, we're only six months into the stimulus, that

it's supposed to go -- we're supposed to see this in two years, but as you said, some of the stimulus jobs are three-day jobs on a construction site. >> and "the new york times" saturday had this amazing piece about these men and women who are working at a factory that joe biden stood in front of them and said, we're going to -- stimulus is going to keep your jobs, create your jobs, and a bunch of these people are out of work now. >> they had to lay off 328 people. >> so stimulus didn't help there. >> christine, keep at it. hopefully things will turn around soon, but we appreciate your reports on that. and meanwhile, as john said, the green energy czar, i guess as he was called, he was supposed to be the adviser for green energy jobs in the administration, van jones, resigning under a lot of pressure. assignment it was a political witch hunt, others say he shouldn't have been there in the first place. david serotta and david frum join us live to debate it. ( whooshing )

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. you know, if you check your bag when you fly, you pay the airlines $500 million for the privilege, if you add it all up, that was the first three months of this year. the convenience that used to be free, and that's just the beginning of conveniences that used to be free that you're now getting charged for. the carol costello joins us live from washington with the latest new fees courtesy of the airlines. >> reporter: yay! there's good news and bad news, so i'll give you the good news first. according to the wall street skwr*ur journal, the demand for air travel as bottomed out. but no, you won't see airline fees going away. even southwest has gotten into the game. >> reporter: southwest airlines just got a little enhancement. that's what the airline is calling its early bird program. if you don't like the airline's no reserve seating policy, the

airline will now allow you to board early to grab a plum seat if you dole out ten bucks each way. already, some are saying, mm. >> tired of being nickelled and dimed by other airlines? >> reporter: the early bird program, they say, is nothing more than an extra fee, something southwest prides itself for resisting. >> we don't charge fees for stuff that should be free. >> reporter: southwest insists, though, it's not breaking that promise. early bird, it says, is an enhancement. >> this is a value-added extra that people can decide for themselves if they want to do it. >> reporter: southwest does find itself in a tough position. it's one of the few airlines turning a profit again, but it's not as fat and happy as it once was. ben covers the airlines for "usa today." >> they're feeling some pressure from shareholders, for example, for not adding a checked bag fee, whereas their competitors are making hundreds of millions of dollars off of these fees. >> reporter: he's not kidding. in the first quarter of 2009

alone, u.s. air carriers charged $566 million in baggage fees. that's more than four times what they collected in 2008. southwest has tried to save money by cutting back on some flights, but says it has to find a revenue source to so it won't have to raise ticket prices. travelers have mixed feelings. >> it's not the amount, it's the concept that you give me $10, well, what if i give you $50, can i get in front of him. >> if that's a way for them to cut a profit and keep my ticket down, i'm all for it. >> reporter: analysts say early bird will turn a profit for southwest. one financial research analyst says if 25 to 30 passengers on each flight buy the service, southwest could rake in $250 million a year. >> and that's not chump change. southwest, by the way, will also put wi-fi on 500 flights come 2010. i asked how much it would

charge. so far, free. but that could change. just depends, kiran. that's what they told me. >> yeah, you never know, right? what, they can get another $15, $20 out of you for it, right? >> yeah, exactly. and don't expect these airline fees to go away, either. because airlines are making so much money off of them and people seem very willing to pay. the baggage fee profits just like, it's astounding. >> is this fuel surcharge still in effect too, because that was there for a while, it was supposed to go away? >> well, i don't think it will go away, because they fear that fuel prices will go up again and they need to cover themselves, so that's why they're keeping some of these fees in place. >> oh, man. all right. get you coming and going, as my grandmother used to say. thank you, carol. here's a look at the top stories right now. president obama is warming up for his make or break health care push to both chambers of commerce and the entire nation. white house officials say the president still wants to see government-backed health care

included in the plan, a so-called public option, but they won't say if he'll veto any bill passed without it. the price of gasoline is still headed down despite the fact that some airlines still have fuel surcharges. aaa says a gallon of regular unleaded, $2.58, down a fraction of a penny since yesterday and three cents since the past week. if you want to buy the cheapest gas, bought some in charleston yesterday, $2.36 a gallon. >> should have brought some back. >> they only let me bring 3.5 ounces on the plane. >> you would have had to pay a surcharge -- all right, one of michael jackson's famous jewel-covered white gloves just sold in australia for more than $48,000. it was nearly twice the asking price. a buyer for the hard rock hotel and casino in vegas was the winning bidder. the auction house says that the first of jackson's gloves sold since his death on june 25th. the president hired van jones to find more green jobs, putting more americans back to work and helping the

environment. now jones is looking for a job himself. he has been under fire for some pointed comments about republicans and a petition that he signed back in 2004 questioning what the bush white house knew about 9/11. he has now resigned. to talk more about that, let's bring in david serotta and david frum. david serotta, let's start with you. you wrote quite a scathing column that appeared on the newleft.org and as well on the huffingtonpost.com, saying you're absolutely outrabged by the way the white house handled this. >> van jones is a national hero for his work on green jobs. he's known as an expert on economic policy. he's somebody who made a mistake, acknowledged that he made a mistake a long time ago and he was tossed out by this white house. and i think what we can learn from what happened is what this white house values and what this white house doesn't value. the white house stuck by tim

geithner as tim geithner was involved, the treasury secretary, in a tax scandal, accept eed gifts from the banki industry, the white house stood by him. the white house has stood by other people, like ben bernanke, who has really been at the heart of our economic problems. and they're basically putting van jones out to pasture because of something that van jones said was a mistake. and i think what's going on here, the white house is listening to the white ringrigh political terrorists, people like glenn jones who have targeted van jones because he is an african-american with progressive movement background, working on behalf of social justice. that's something, unfortunately, that is apparently, according to the right wing, not allowed in this country. >> let's bring in david frum. what do you think about what davidsy rowta just said there and did the president have any choice but to ask for the resignation of van jones? >> denying the truth about not

an intellectual mistake. it's not unlike holocaust denial. and this is not a right or left issue. when president clinton, bill clinton was confronted by such people at an event in 2007, he reacted decently. he said, how dare you. and i think that's the way all americans feel. van jones may have done all these other good things or not. if you are associated with this kind of horrific lie -- and by the way, the only -- he must also have lied to his superiors in the white house in not alerting that he had done such a thing. if you traffic in such a horrific lie, you have no place in american government. >> david sirota, when you signed that petition that questioned whether or not the bush administration knowingly allowed 9/11 to happen, it's known as the 9/11 truthers petition, i mean, he said that he didn't read it all the way through, you put your name to something you didn't read all the way through, was that a big enough mistake

that he couldn't serve in this administration? >> well, john, look, he said it was a mistake. and you know, i think his name was lent to something that he clearly wasn't fully aware of. he said it was a mistake. i don't think anybody -- nobody's debating whether he said it was a mistake or not. my point here is that what are the standards? right. you have a bush administration, for instance, that lied us into war. nobody was fired at all for that. thousands of people have died because of that. you have an economic team that has conflicts of interest with the financial industry that it's regulating. nobody has said a thing about this. what happened here was that van jones was originally targeted because he's an african-american who worked on behalf of social justice issues. remember, he was targeted by the right wing, but the glenn becks of this world right before this 9/11 issue ever came out. he was targeted because of that. >> let's bring in david frum. was this a matter of race, david frum? >> i think that's crazy. and i think david sirota does

his own cause in injustice. his administration did do the right thing here. if glenn beck goes on tv and says all these foolish things, i never like being on the same side of him. it was not glenn beck, however, who discovered this fact that destroyed van jones' political career. that was discovered by -- >> but he was originally targeted -- >> he could have survived, he could have laughed off all those other things, he could have laughed off. he could have laughed off all the empty accusations. but gateway pundit got the goods, he is a 9/11 denyist. it is not a mistake, it is a lie. it is a hurtful lie. it is a terrible lie. it is a lie that completely invalidated -- and by the way, van jones, why would someone that would believe the united states government would murder 3,000 of its own people want to work -- he has no place in government, no place in decent society. >> van jones is gone, not coming back. but david sirota, do you think now that republicans smell blood in the water and they're going

to go after the remaining 30 or so czars that this administration has got left. people who were in prominent positions who didn't have to go through senate confirmation to get their jobs? >> absolutely. i think what the white house has done is said to a right wing lynch mob that they will accept their demands, their politically -- their political terrorism. and what you're going to see is this white house, you cannot appease political terrorists. you cannot appease a right-wing lynch mob. so the next time, the next target of this lynch mob, i think, you're not going to be able to appease them. i think the white house is on the retreat. and i think it's really been a political mistake as much as anything. >> all right. david -- >> van jones appease actual terrorists. that's why he's out. >> that is absolutely ridiculous. van jones -- >> sorry, he endorsed, excused, condoned -- >> -- progressive activist -- >> he endorsed, excused, condoned terrorism. >> it was a witch hunt and a

lynch mob going after this guy. >> he acted as the david irving of al qaeda. >> he said he was sorry. said he made a mistake. >> he shouldn't have done it. >> david sirota and david frum, i hate to jump in here as the referee, but i'm going to have to get in between you here, we're out of time, unfortunately. great discussion, gentleman. thanks for joining us. david sirota on the left, david frum on the right, thanks for joining us. we're all looking for ways that our students can improve, do better, compete with the rest of the world and come out on top. what about doing with a long summer break. too much time to lay around, sit around, forget what you learned. year round school? it's an idea that's picking up some steam. kate balduan takes a look. and pains, new s ...and new questions about which pain reliever is right for your body. tylenol 8 hour works with your body, with one layer that dissolves quickly... ...one layer that lasts all day ...and no layers that irritate your stomach

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40 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. a shot there of the capitol in washington. how far would you go to get good

health insurance? one man who lost his job and medical benefits decided to reenlist in the army to get his family covered and then he paid the ultimate story. jim acosta joins us now from washington for this heart wrenching story. it's just so sad. on so many levels, to think about what he went through. >> reporter: it really is, kiran. the story of craig missman is not just about a soldier's sacrifice in the intensifying war in afghanistan, it's also about a father's sacrifice to his family when that family has no health insurance. army specialist greg missman was only on the ground in afghanistan for one month. >> my son's envoy had been ambushed. >> reporter: and in july his father, gym, got that knock on the door. >> the chaplain and master sergeant showed up, so it was not a pleasant day. >> reporter: it was an abrupt

end to what was actually missman's second stint in the army. he left the service 11 years ago, but last year he lost his job as a computer consultant. >> he lost his job? >> mm-hmm. >> and became unemployed? >> became unemployed, lost his health insurance. >> reporter: missman says he son reenlisted to see to it that his family had health insurance. he was full of confidence on the day he left for afghanistan. >> see you in a year! >> so he said, you know, i'm going to go back in the army and make sure jack has -- his son, jack, would have health insurance. that was really the motivating thing to have him go back in. >> reporter: greg missman grew up in a community that's already lost two of its sons in the war in iraq. greg made it three, only in afghanistan. >> reporter: keith mopman's son, matt, is one of those other fallen soldiers.

do you think we'll be seeing other cases like greg missman? >> no doubt about it. we probably will, i just was going to say hoping it ain't from here, but hoping it ain't from anywhere, but it will happen again. >> reporter: jim missman looks at the letters he's received from the president and military leaders and worries about the future. >> i'm a gold star parent because of my son's sacrifice and i'd rather not see anymore gold star parents. >> reporter: but this gold star parent doesn't have an answer on how to fix the nation's health care system. >> he made quite a sacrifice. health care's going to be a tough one. >> reporter: these days, he's remembering a son who sacrificed to country and family. a pentagon spokesman says there's no way to count how many soldiers have joined the arm forces to get health care benefits. as for his son, he'll continue

to receive military benefits so this soldier's sacrifice will live on. >> a sad story, and as is for every family who has a loved one who's paid the ultimate sacrifice. jim acosta, thanks for bringing it to us this morning. >> you bet. welcome to the now network. right now five coworkers

are working from the road using a mifi-- a mobile hotspot that provides up to five shared wi-fi connections. two are downloading the final final revised final presentation. - one just got an email. - woman: what?! hmph. it's being revised again. the copilot is on mapquest. and tom is streaming meeting psych-up music - from meltedmetal.com. - ( heavy metal music playing ) that's happening now with the new mifi from sprint-- z) the mobile hotspot that fits in your pocket. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearin÷l and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

♪ good morning, miami. look at those big, puffy cumulus clouds out there. thing of beauty. later on today, chance of thunderstorms, but what else is new in miami? always get a thunderstorm in the afternoon. high of 88 degrees. we're back with the most news in the morning. rob's road show is back and rob is in cocoa beach, florida, this morning. remember, what was the famous tv show set in cocoa beach back in the '60s? "i dream of genie." i was going to go with hawaii 50, but it's got to be "i dream of genie." >> rob's on the beach this morning, you getting body slammed? >> reporter: i'm? search of the bottle and i'm talking -- you know which bottle i'm talking about. yeah, this is not major nelson's cocoa beach anymore, at least not this weekend. throngs of people showing up to the 24th anniversary of the

national kidney foundation, surfing festival, at least for florida. you've got them of all shapes and sizes out here. check out some of the surfers. the kids out there, just tearing it up, taking in some gnarly waves, dude. maybe not some gnarly, but we've got some good ground swells rolling in here. all right. but unpopular demand, i've never surfed before in my entire life and you know the bosses said it would please them if i made a fool out of myself. so that's what we did yesterday. one, two, on the fourth try, i finally made it somewhat to shore. on the third try, more importantly, i took out some kids with the board and that was not only embarrassing, but frightening at the same time. i'm sorry if the cnn lawyers get a call today, take it out of my salary. the amount of humility i

swallowed yesterday pales in comparison to the guy who founded this. his name is rich sailic and he has a little bit of history with kidneys. take a listen. >> '74, '68, '99. >> reporter: three kidney transplants? >> yeah, and add on three years of intensive cancer therapy, and there i am. >> reporter: so three kidney transplants plus cancer, the guy has survived it all. and over the past 24 years, they have raised between $4 million and $5 million with this particular event. you know, it's not a bad place to have a labor day road show, don't you think, guys, here at cocoa beach, the home of "i dream of genie" and this particular surfing festival. the water's nice and toasty, by the way, 84 degrees. not a bad weekend to be out here on the beach. did they show that video? got that video of me taking in that ten-footer. >> i thought that the learning curve you displayed on those

20-foot waves was terrific. you were really going well. and if you're going to swallow your pride for anything, that's a great cause to do it. >> rob, in all seriousness, for your first time on a board, you weren't all that bad. you got up. >> reporter: i did get up. but to qualify -- >> you're a snowboarder, aren't you? >> reporter: i have. more of a skier. but to qualify it, when they gave me a board, they said, a cow could get up on this size of a board. i kind of got the hook, i think i want to go surfing now. >> and as you found, a surf board is a great way to meet people, right? >> reporter: it is. a great people at this event. and you get them all shapes and sizes. the kids are out here tearing it up. the kids, no strangers to long hair or blond hair. they want to be west coast at heart. >> rob, good job. thanks for joining us. i've still got room for the internet. with my new netbook from at&t. with its built-in 3g network,

it's fast and small, so it goes places other laptops can't. anything before takeoff mr. kurtis? prime rib, medium rare. i'm bill kurtis, and i've got plenty of room for the internet. and the nation's fastest 3g network. (announcer) sign up today and get a netbook for $199.99 after mail-in rebate. with built-in access to the nation's fastest 3g network. only from at&t.

labor day, he's laboring. welcome back to the most news in the morning. while america debates the president's plan to speak of nation's school kids tomorrow, there's another school idea that's causing quite a stir this morning. it's sending kids to school all day long. labor day wouldn't be the end of summer or the start of a new school year. kate balduan shows us which towns are already doing it and whether or not it's working in our "ing educat"educating ameri.

>> one of the obama administration's top priorities is education reform. and more time at school may be the last thing kids want to hear. while most students were off enjoying summer vacation, schools like barcroft, elementary in arlington, virginia, were open and bustling with activity. >> well, we would like to think about our calendar as being the 21st century calendar. >> reporter: instead of a long summer break, barcroft keeps students in class year round with shorter breaks throughout, offering about 20 additional school days. >> it gives them learning experiences that they may not be able to get over the summertime. >> reporter: it's a strategy school districts across the country are experimenting with. perhaps most closely watched, in massachusetts, which has extended class time for 22 of its low-performing schools. the idea has even won the

endorsement of both president obama and his education chief. >> we have a significantly short shorter school year. our students are at a competitive disadvantage. >> reporter: the major argument for extending school time is summer learning loss. researchers have found students can lose about a month's worth of achievement during the summer break. >> it's particularly true for low-income kids who don't have the opportunities that other kids have during those big breaks. >> reporter: but more time is no silver bullet for reform. miami-dade county schools in florida used an extended day program for three years, but dropped it because they didn't see improvement in test scores. critics say it disrupts family life and is a expensive. the miami-dade program cost more than $100 million. >> the teachers were fatigued at the end of the day, the students were fatigued and unmotivated. >> reporter: which is another criticism. it's not just time, but the quality of the extra time that matters. >> one of the risks, of course,

is that you end up extending time in schools that aren't working well. and it goes without saying, that no one wants to extend bad time. >> reporter: while test scores at barcroft elementary haven't yet shown improvement, the principal says she's confident it's working. she says it's not just about test scores, but helping the whole child. >> there's something to be said for that. as kate pointed out, students do lose a certain amount, particularly in their younger years, over the course of a couple of months of summer vacation. >> families like to plan a lot of different things, you know. >> stop the hate mail! >> i know, i know. but if there's some way you can figure out -- kids have a lot of homework. if they could maybe go to school a couple extra days and maybe have a little bit more family time when you are in school. >> sort of breaks throughout, staggered throughout the year. but they've got to stop getting these kids up -- i'm sorry, my daughter and son did this for four years of high school, getting up at 5:30 in the morning to go to school.

it's just ridiculous. >> and a half-hour bus ride on top of that -- >> i had to walk three miles in the snow in flip-flops -- >> you didn't have to walk through tarantula alley like jason. he ran off with his secretary! she's 23 years old! - oh, come on. - enough! you get half and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. (announcer) we understand. you need to save money.

(announcer) we understand. ♪ yes, you're lovely... ♪ what do you think? hey, why don'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. get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire. our laboring's over. >> pretty much. getting close. >> we wanted to say thanks so much for being with us on this labor day. we'll see you back here tomorrow. >> looking ahead to what you can see this week right here on a.m., a special series, spies among us. >> i'm trying to get us out of here a little bit earlier. sorry. more ahead on thursday. we go global. we're looking into the black market for bombs. how easy would it be to smuggle one into the u.s.?