back playing in the afternoon. excedrin back and body has two ingredients to block and relieve the pain. doesn't your whole body deserve excedrin strength relief? excedrin. what ache? well, you heard the president's pep talk to american students. now we're pushing forward on the state of america's schools. from coast to coast, the three "rs" struggle to survive against the big "r," recession. plus, we're pushing forward to the war zone. >> it's nighttime now here in kandahar. see what's going on here. >> dr. sanjay gupta goes inside a hospital at the heart of the afghan war. the stories and pictures will take your breath away. and so will this -- from a moment of deepest, heartbreak, promise of new hope and new life. a dead child's fondest wish

finally fulfilled. hello, everyone, i'm kyra phillips, live at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. you're live in the "cnn you're live in the "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com no excuses. no giving up or holding back, no shortcuts to a good education. president obama calls on the nation's elementary and high school students to put the summer behind them and make the most of school. right now. the president traveled to a high school in arlington, virginia, for a speech the white house hoped would be seen in classrooms nationwide. he said teachers, parents, government officials, all have important roles in a child's education. >> but at the end of the day we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world, and none of it will make a difference. none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. unless you show up to those

schools. unless you pay attention to those teachers. unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. >> but, what about those teachers? what about those schools? nice, motivational speech. however, everywhere we look, resources are being cut. classes are getting bigger, or both. and everywhere money is the reason. reality check, public schools in pennsylvania are starting the year more than $1 billion in arrears because the state hasn't passed a budget. in detroit, 29 schools have been closed, and 1,700 teachers laid off. in arizona, some classes now have as many as 50 students, 20,000 teachers have been laid off in california. and just south of columbus, ohio, the southwestern city school district can't afford any after-school activities. it's scrapped them all. so, what's the answer? jeanie allen has some ideas. she's president of the

nonpartisan is center for education reform. she joins me live from baltimore. as we were looking through that speech, yes, it was very motivational, but when you really sit around the table -- this is what we did, various different education and parents and brothers and sisters and knowing the educational system, bottom line, school districts are suffering everywhere right now. >> not only the school districts suffering, kyra, but our kids are actually suffering. the 5,000 failing schools across america -- hello! i mean, all the stuff that you guys just described about budgets being cut and teachers being furloughed. the other thing that we're not talking about is that no matter how hard these kids work -- and, look, the president did parenting 101 commonsense stuff today. this is not controversial. but we need a huge wake-up call. we should be saying to the teachers, if you're really not the best you can be, you need to look in the mirror. we need to be saying to school district officials, how can you tolerate failing schools year after year? we're getting the pants beat off

of us by other industrialized countries in math and science. the reality check really is, what can we do to get our schools fixed now so that those kids working hard, that we let out the door this morning, really do have a chance at success. >> and it's interesting, i was passing one of our television sets in the newsroom, and i stopped, and i was watching this psa, and it -- it was so interesting the way it was put together, i wanted to know the message behind it. and it leads to our discussion. take a little -- take a look at a piece of this psa. >> did you know that many states use third-grade reading exams to predict future prison growth? >> and that more than 1 million kids drop out of school before high school each year? >> and that these kids are eight times more likely to end up in prison? >> it's true. 60% of america's prison inmates never finished high school. and now many states are spending more money on prisons. and less on public education. >> and correct me if i'm wrong -- i know you shake your head -- isn't there more money

going into public education today and fewer students than five years ago -- i think i was reading that in a -- in an article that we got in our research? >> than ever before, about $10,000 per student and roughly half is actually making it to instructional people, our teachers and our principals on the front lines who need control over that money aren't getting it. it's being peeled off in school districts. we have bus routes -- i just saw one this morning. six kids got on as about to go half a mile. i mean, this happens every day in america. so, it's not how much we have, it's how we're spending it. money can really help. we know that. we have to pay for schools. but we have to pay for schools that are working. as long as we're tolerating failure -- look, we have a huge debate going in this country. parents need options, while we are figuring out how to fix our schools, they should have real choices, there should be real accountability that allows people to leave or have better options of schools. we should be firing people that

don't do a great job and pouring money on people who do. that's performance pay. this was an opportunity for the president to give us all a wake-up call to say, look, we've got to adopt real policies no matter had adults it hurts so that these kids' hard work does really matter at the end of the day. >> you know, you mentioned performance pay and you talked about higher standards. what about what some of the superintendents are doing? i think in chicago, in d.c., they're actually letting these teachers contracts totally go, right, in the failing schools? and then they turn them over to organizations and people that can run them better, is that a new trend -- would that be fruitful if more superintendents took this on? >> i'll tell you, it's one of the most promising things, but they are fighting tooth and nail to get this done. in washington, d.c., the chancellor has been trying -- a mayoral-controlled district that's been doing better and bitter every year because of these kind of reforms. she's been trying to get ahold of teacher union contracts so she can actually evaluate people for whether or not they really do help kids achieve.

and she's been fought by the unions. in chicago, the same thing. l.a., just asked for control over being able to turn over failing schools to private managers. we're seeing promising results from this kind of decentralization or sit zpen control of schools in philadelphia. charter schools, hybrid schools, entrepreneurs helping take over our schools. we're a smart country. we need to invite more people in than just the regular folks because we've got a national problem. we've got to solve it with a national solution. >> i tell you what, it's not just the kids that will have to work harder. i appreciate your time. >> thanks, kyra. after years of warfare, another reminder of how dangerous afghanistan and iraq are for american military. just today alone, four u.s. troops were killed in at battle in eastern afghanistan, and in iraq, four troops were killed in a string of roadside bombings. it's the deadliest day in more than two months and august was the deadliest month ever for the u.s. troops in afghanistan.

for the troops' family and wives and husbands and fellow soldiers and commanding officers, the deaths are never just numbers. we want to show you a moment that you don't often see. >> our deepest gratitude goes out to the families, friends, loved ones and employers of these patriots and professionals. our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of those who have given the last full measure. both americans and iraqis can be proud of the fine job their sons and daughters are doing. >> wow. cnn's michael ware live in kabul, afghanistan. you know, michael, that's just a p reminder there from our troops that this place is still home to the taliban, and it's eight years later, and the military is -- is putting up the same fight. you wonder where is there progress.

>> reporter: well, that certainly is something i and ordinary afghans are constantly wondering here on the ground in afghanistan. as you say, eight years on, and the what is there to show for it? intensified combat. that's one thing to show. a more resilient, a stronger taliban than ever. another thing to show for it. i've just returned from the southern capital of kandahar, which is the birthplace of the taliban. now, that just neighbors the area of helmand, the next-door province, or state, where this massive u.s. military offensive is under way. and i can tell you, what everyone in the region there is telling me, police commanders, local warlords, tribal leaders, even the afghan president's brother, is that the fighting by the americans might be killing taliban foot soldiers, but it's doing nothing to break the back of the taliban war machine. and we see that the taliban, in its pockets of resistance, has the capital of the south,

kandahar, this city of almost 1 million people, virtually surrounded. and the taliban are able to strike almost at will. so, i can tell you, this mission is certainly in crisis. this nation is in a political limbo. they don't even know the outcome of last month's presidential election, because there's been so many allegations of corruption. >> so, michael -- >> reporter: and the entire u.s. war plan is currently under revision, kyra? >> so, bottom line, you know, basically i'm listening to you and it sounds pretty darn depressing. so, i guess as an american here in the u.s., i'm wondering, if the taliban is that strong, do i need to worry about another 9/11? >> reporter: no. i really don't think you do. not -- certainly not coming from afghanistan. now, let's keep this in mind. why did america go to war in afghanistan? because it saw a national security threat directly posed to american interests. and that was coming from al qaeda.

al qaeda, osama bin laden, the zawahiri are not here in afghanistan. the bulk of this war, the vast majority of the shootings, the killings, the bombings, are being cached by afghan taliban or afghan fighters. they have never once launched a terrorist attack outside of afghanistan. so, the men who america is fighting right now are fighting to get america out of their country. they're not fighting to set up terrorist bases to launch another 9/11, kyra? >> michael ware, live from kabul, michael, thank you very much. michael is not the only part of our cnn team there in afghanistan, a few days before the anniversary of 9/11. trauma teams and medics working around the clock to treat the wounded soldiers and civilians involved in this war. the workplace? kandahar roll three, a hospital

in the middle of the war zone, and that's where cnn's chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta, takes us. >> reporter: i'm reporting to you from the dusty desert tent in the middle of afghanistan, specifically the helmand province, which is one of the most dangerous areas here. this is actually an operating room, and they need it to take care of patients as soon as they come off the front lines. there's a lot to battlefield medicine, something 2005 been investigating all week long. take a look. early morning. kandahar. >> one? >> reporter: we've been here just a few minutes. we're already getting an idea of just how busy this hospital is. out there's the busiest airstrip supposedly in the world. flights landing all the time. all to get patients like this into the hospital. we hear this is an urgent case. a patient with lots of bleeding. possible double leg amputation. >> let's stay out of the blocks, please. >> he does have very weak radial pulses. carotid pulse is all right.

the tourniquets were put on 45 minutes ago. bilateral tourniquets. >> two on the left above the knee. >> reporter: dr. hayes is communicating with the patient, translating, trying to figure out exactly what happened to him. we don't know much. middle-aged, afghan national. but here's something -- only a quarter of the patients brought here are u.s. or coalition forces. the rest are locals. >> okay, we'll go ahead and give him some more pain medicine. yes, please, 50 again. he can handle it. his pressures are good. >> reporter: this is one of the keys here. you have no idea the severity of injuries here, so they got to roll the patient, check his back, check his spine, make sure he has nothing else that they've missed. >> not soaking through. as you can see, the tourniquets are still holding. >> yeah. >> reporter: putting big ivs in here. there's just a couple of tourniquets that are really holding all that blood from coming pouring out of his legs. that's why they've got to take

him to the operating room. 24/7, a battlefield hospital in the middle of a war zone. like this. surgeons working on a young soldier. ied, improvised explosive device attack. as you watch him wheeled out, his face is torn. his left arm terribly damaged, and underneath that blanket, one of his legs is gone. surgeons tell me his mother received the awful call just a short time ago. >> ready? >> no, don't move him yet. >> reporter: it's all hard to watch and to process. they are brothers, friends, neighbors. but here is where it gets worse. that sound you hear is a drill. being used to remove the skull of a child, a 2-year-old afghan boy. he fell down a cliff while playing. his name is malik. and he has a massive brain injury. almost dead.

doctors here are trying to give him a fighting chance. he is one of the cutest boys you'll ever meet. it is nighttime now here in kandahar. see what's going on behind me? a helicopter is about to land. it is very windy. we don't have a lot of information. we just know there are patients on this particular chopper. over there, look over there, two ambulances, all the medics over here. they're starting to run out to the chopper. see what's going on. we just got the all-clear signal. we're going to go with them. 30 seconds later, the patient is inside. >> we got to switch it. >> put him on the -- >> reporter: as you can see, there's a lot of triage going on right now. they are placing ivs, they have the breathing tube checked. a couple things i noticed right away.

he's moving both of his legs, and he's moving both of his arms. very good shine. he has a probable head injury, but a very good sign that he's able to do everything he's doing now. and keep in mind, in the midst of all this, a young boy, malik, his life still hangs in the balance. and the story of malik is something we're going to be covering all week long. he's an amazing little boy. and the way that he was cared for may carry some lessons for all of us. back to you. >> that our dr. sanjay gupta. you can see more from the battle zone tonight on cnn's "anderson cooper 360." all this week, anderson, dr. sanjay gupta, and michael ware will be reporting from afghanistan, that's tonight, 10:00 eastern, only on cnn. it's amazing what a toothbrush can tell you. one toothbrush in milwaukee tells detectives they might have found a serial killer. . - thanks, buddy. - keeping the tip for our ourselves. announcer: with unbeatable prices on digiorno pizza-- game time costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart.

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break's over. we've seen the kind of recess that congress enjoyed over the past month. many lawmakers got an earful about health care reform during town halls across the country. the ball is back in their court now. the president meets with the house speaker and senate majority leader in about an hour to reenergize democrats. and the bipartisan gang of six senators meet to talk about a solution both parties can live with. one of the six? iowa's chuck grassley. he talked to cnn.

>> i've been working the last three or four months with senator baucus one-on-one and then later with the group of six to come up with a bipartisan plan, and it seems to me that the bipartisan approach is the best. and if you look at the president during his campaign, he wanted to be postpartisan, and it seems to me like those statements yesterday were very partisan, contrary to what he promised in the last campaign. senate finance committee chairman max baucus is pushing a $900 billion bipartisan health bill. he hopes to get it out there before the president's speech tomorrow. and you can see that speech right here, live coverage from the best political team on television. starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 pacific, only on cnn. health care reform is the big one, but it's not the only one. also on capitol hill, to-do list there in the senate chamber, clean energy, creating jobs with projects like road and bridge improvements, also keeping wall street honest to protect the economy. on the house side, the financial services committee should be looking at a bill on

protecting you from bad behavior in the financial industry. and the two chambers also have to agree on annual spending bills this month. stark reminder today that we are very much a country at war. four u.s. troops have been killed in the fighting in eastern afghanistan, and in iraq, a spate of roadside bombings killed four more american troops along with a civilian. finally a decade in a decked decades old serial suspect killing. they say they matched 49-year-old walter ellis with dna found on the victims, most of whom were identified as proper prostitutes. we'll talk to the police chief. rush hour resumes across the san francisco/oakland bay bridge, a day ahead schedule. traffic streaming across offer workers fixed a big crack in a steel support beam. they thought it would take until

tomorrow, but they worked nonstop, all night, and they say the bridge is now safe. it's something you don't expect to see at a funeral, a young boy who died in a car crash gets his wish fulfilled. what on earth did he ask for?

well, another name joins the season's list of tropical storms. >> yeah. >> fred now brewing in the atlantic, right, chad? >> four more and we're done! >> only four. >> well, we're up to six. usually there's ten. and here it is. fred, f-r-e-d. now, remember, hurricanes are not male and female, so you shouldn't ever hear us say she's just come off the coast or he's just come off the coast. they are all its. they are just its.

they're all pat. here's africa, middle of the atlantic ocean, you can't find the united states on the map. typically these storms are travel a long distance and get a lot of strength and possibly strike the united states. and they can get high pressure and move on up to the north and slide away. that's the good news. kyra? >> all right, well, that is good news. >> yep. >> now, stay with me for a second. do you remember these pictures? there was the elusive beast apparently in -- caught on camera? >> oh, sure. >> do you remember that? >> yeah, yeah, of course. >> here in georgia. >> uh-huh. >> as we know that turned out to be a fake. >> a hoax, yes. >> then there's another one, the possible footprint from sasquatch, but apparently a new picture might have you believing in -- maybe i should ask you, do you believe in big foot? >> no. >> no? okay. >> i think -- i think we would have better -- with all the people out there, i think we would have better evidence if he really existed. but maybe -- i -- >> all right, well --

>> it's a 10% chance. i'll go with partly cloudy on that one. >> offshore winds, whatever. elizabeth donatelli at louisville, at one of our affiliates, found another sightings, check it out. >> there's a lot of wildlife and territory. >> reporter: terry mahoney has lived in southern jefferson county his whole life. he knows the people and the land. >> you sook the track no problem >> reporter: and certainly the animals. which makes it odd his garden wasn't growing the way they were supposed to. >> i was growing 14 rows of green beans and they smashed them over. no details of tracks. >> reporter: kenny was determined to catch the culprit. >> i set the cameras up and they tell me what wildlife is in the area and what time they come through. >> reporter: you can clearly make out the animals in most of the pictures. >> a rabbit right there. the raccoon, see? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: except for this one. >> that's roughly 50, 55 yards from the camera to the -- where

the object was. >> reporter: a big, black figure in the distance of one of his photos. >> 5'11", i'm thinking this is, well, probably five foot tall. and like i said, when we look at the picture later, you know, you can see the thing is about this tall and looks like it's about this wide. i didn't expect to track -- catch big foot on the camera. >> reporter: do you think big foot's a vegetarian? >> i hope so. >> reporter: but what else could it be? some have guessed a bear or an ape. but have you ever heard of either in jefferson county? maybe a trash blag blowing in the wind, or perhaps there's some truth to the tall tales after all. >> every once in a while, i think something is impossible and they catch a prehistoric fish every once in a while or something. i don't ever rule anything out, but i'd say it's a real long shot for big foot to be living in the backyard here. >> reporter: elizabeth donatelli -- >> there's some ugly men around here that might pass for big foot. >> reporter: -- 3 news. >> all right, chad.

what do you think? >> all my relatives are in kentucky. >> what do you think? >> i don't know. i didn't want to have to go there. we looked at our google earth a number of times, but if i zoom in all the way and keep going and keep going. do you see the face there? do you see the eyes and the nose and the mouth? >> right. >> really, it's just a couple of bushes. and i can go over and over in many other places here. i'll take you to one more. as we zoom into places this is oklahoma city, so we're going to fly in toward altus. if you keep going, can you see spongebob? it's right there. there he is right there with the tentacles and everything. anyway, i'm in the sure i believe it, but there have been -- if you go to big footencounters.com -- >> i saw that. sightings all across the united states. you can click on every state and there are all these sightings. all right. we'll investigate, thanks, chad. >> you're welcome. >> smong bpongebob, that was interesting. right after the break, have you seen a picture of this guy yet? well, i'll tell you what, police

in milwaukee think that they have possibly linked him to a number of murders. and, get this, murders that have taken place over 21 years. they might have cracked the case. lf 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.

out of the shadows, into the spotlight. milwaukee detectives say that they might have flushed out the city's so-called north side strangler. so far, 49-year-old walter ellis is charged in two deaths. but that might be just the beginning. ellis has been linked to some nine killings over a span of 21 years. cases that went stone cold are suddenly red hot. we're going to talk to the police chief in just a minute. but right now, let's get some more details from charles benson of milwaukee's wtmj. >> reporter: chief lynn says a lot of hard work went in to bringing a conclusions to several cases that were cold, but not forgotten. >> good police work and good police science have led us to walter ellis. >> reporter: the nine victims were all women, many with a history of of drug and prostitution. they were strangled or stabbed to death. dna found on the victims linked them to a single suspect, but not to a known name. the missing link was a dna matched with ellis.

that came from a toothbrush from ellis during a search warrant. >> we offer our condolences to surviving family members, with the hope that today's news gives them confidence there will be justice. >> reporter: carron kilpatrick's family hopes so. she died three weeks after giving birth to her fifth child in 1994. her sister does not want to be seen on tv. >> this is the best news ever. >> reporter: police recently came by to talk to her about the cold case and a possible suspect, but she says she never thought this day would come. >> bring closure to me, do you know what i'm saying? as to know what happened, you know, to my sister. >> once again, that was charles benson from milwaukee's wtmj. the police chief, as you shaw, who was part of that report, we want to talk a little bit more with chief flynn to push this case forward, wherever it might lead. chief, just to give -- there's

been a little discrepancy to the numbers that you might be linking your suspect to. is it eight deaths? nine deaths? can you bring us up to date on that and clarify the numbers? >> initially it was seven. >> okay. >> and subsequently it became nine just early last week. we got two additional hits that brought the total of linkages between this suspect and the murder victims to nine. >> all right. got it. all right, tell me, you've been in law enforcement a long time, and you've worked for various agencies. how did he get by for 21 years, living probably right there in the same community? >> well, it's keep in mind, too, as we try to discern patterns going backwards, they're easier to see in retrospect rather than going forward. there were nine homicides spread out over a 20-year period. over that period, milwaukee experienced 2,000 homicides, over 20 alone in the vicinity where these bodies were found. so, to some extent i think it

was investigators for discern the geographic pattern. the other challenge was the state of dna evidence. the sophistication of our analytical techniques in 2009 far exceeds that of 1986 or 1995 or even 2002. so and it was only this year that we, as we continually resubmit evidence from cold cases -- that's what our cold case unit does. it was only this year that the science was of a level of sophistication to reveal the linkages between the nine with the same dna pattern. >> so, tell me how the link was made. tell me what your cold case unit did that, boom, this is it? >> well, i mean, i wish it could be just, boom, this was it, quite honestly. >> maybe after a little bit of time, then all of a sudden you have the smoking gun. >> it takes a little bit more time, a little bit more time than "csi" and "law & order." frankly first we have to discern the pattern and develop the

linkages bases based on dna. he was not in the database. >> how did he avoid this? because he had a rap sheet, chief. >> he did. the wisconsin law that mandated the collection of dna from all convicted felons was passed in 2000. he was released from prison in 2001, and it appears he was able to get released without getting his dna taken, so we did not have anyone to match our dna profile against until we were able to get that toothbrush. >> yeah. and how did that go down? you were talking about -- and i was just reading through here, all the names that the were contained and the investigations you went through over 23 years, and all the prostitution-related cases. so, finally, you -- you -- the name surfaced within all these tips, and how did you go about getting a warrant and going for the toothbrush? >> well, it's, you know, to say that detective work in a case like this is painstaking is an understatement. it's mind-numbingly painstaking.

the number of names and cases that they had to go through and review and look for geographic patterns, look for name linkages, look for connect-ups. and what happened over the course of these last five months is that we discerned a few names that came up with more than a little bit of frequency. we took a number of these names and submitted them to the fbi for a search of their databases. and our suspect came up on two of their database searches. when we combined that with the fact that we noted him in a few of the more recently discovered homicides, we began to focus our efforts on him. and it was based on that evidence, you know, the search we'd done, the data search we'd done, the results of our analysis, that enabled us to get the d.a. to successfully with us apply for a search warrant that was granted by judge, and that got us the crucial bit of evidence that was probative. >> well, hopefully this man will never walk the streets again and

you'll be able to crack more cases. chief edward flynn, appreciate your time. >> thank you. to another case today unfolding at the u.s. supreme court. the ceremony for sonia sotomayor will be welcomed to the event next hour. these pictures of the new justice and her family this morning. sotomayor is already an official member of the court. after her confirmation by the senate last month she was sworn in so he could start work with the high court's 111th court. and the investiture is the formal installation of someone in public office. the ceremony is also performed for judges in many other countries and it's also performed for new college presidents and chancellor. she wrote the word "believe" on her shoes. now, melanie oudin is making believers of tennis fans everywhere. (woman) dear cat.

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are allowed, they will decide which runoff is needed. the space shuttle "discovery" heading home, they are getting buckled into their seats and it will pull away from the international space station in a few hours. they are using buzz lightyear, they are using his antics for kids. capitol hill is looking like a ghost town. members of congress have returned to washington after their august recess and they're rolling up their sleeves for serious work ahead trying to pass a version of the health care reform bill that everyone can agree on. looks like washington state university dodged a bullet for now as far as swine flu is concerned. cases of the h1n1 virus may be tapering off. more than 2,000 wsu -- wsu students got sick in the first few weeks of school, but most reported mild symptoms and felt better after a couple of days. none needed hospitalization by the way. but other schools reporting a spike in cases as dorms fill up. scientists are excited about

the discovery of new genes linked to alzheimer's. the findings outlined in the journal "nature" could put researchers on the fast track for the brain robbing disease. it's caused by a plague on the brain. researchers say eliminating the three new genes could 20% of the at-risk population from getting the sickness. the meteoric rise in melanie oudin. if you don't follow tennis, you may think melanie, who? but think about this, venus, and even billie jean king were unknown when they hit the big time and now it's melanie's turn. the 17-year-old phenom from the atlanta suburbs wowed them at wimbledon is blazing a trail at the u.s. open. cnn's larry smith actually caught up with her at one of the practice sessions before she left georgia. >> reporter: it's no surprise that serena and venus williams are considered among the world's best tennis players sitting second and third in the wta rankings, but to find the

third-best american, you have to go all the way down to number 67 and 17-year-old melanie oudin. >> it was my goal from last year's u.s. open for this year u.s. open to be top 100 so i would be in the brain draw. >> reporter: melanie burst onto the scene at wimbledon where he advanced to the round of 16 and defeated the sixth-ranked player in the world, elena yankovic along the way. >> the first set realizing that she was no better than me and i was right there, whether i won or lost the match at that moment i knew that i was right there with her and i can compete with her. >> i think there's a little pressure on her now, and we have to maintain that, i mean, i've seen so many kids come and go and have a great tournament. and then you never hear from them again. fire from the hips. come on, come on, come on! no, no, do that shot again. make that. that's sloppy. make it. and again. make it.

very good. >> reporter: brian has coached melanie for eight years and has a theory as to why there aren't more american players in the world tennis rankings. >> they're too soft over here. there are too many escape clauses as i can go to college. a lot of them come from affluent families and they basically have never had to really work for something for themselves, and the minute the going gets tough, they bail. >> reporter: at the u.s. open, melanie will be looking to dispute that notion, and make her first taste of success as a pro a lasting one. >> i'm still the underdog, again, you know, i'm not going to be seated or anything. there's going to be some pressure, but i'm just going to go out there and play my game and hope i can play like i did at wimbledon. >> hit the line again. extend. that's better. right. >> once again, that was our larry smith. melanie is in the quarterfinals at flushing meadows, and she's the youngest player to go that

far since serena williams in 1999 and serena went on to win. they jumped in their fire truck to respond to an emergency, and then an emergency happened to them. but, first, not sure how the burger king dude fits into all this, but, hey, who doesn't love a good whopper? something you might have missed over the labor day weekend. dragonconn, the annual science fiction fantasy palooza, that made atlanta like the bar in "star wars," with the few hogwarts mixed in. they tried to set a record for the most people dancing to "thriller" in one line. not sure if they got it. they sent to it "guinness" in the meantime tell the king his stormtroopers need wd-40. bad!

a new survey shows the u.s.

has fallen from the top of the list. we are now the world's most -- we used to be one of the world's most competitive economies. why are we no longer the most competitive country. >> if you had to boil it down to a single reason, kyra, it would be because of the fragility of the u.s. banking system. we do things in a big way, i think we're number one in that. in terms of a financial crisis, it may be a global recession, a global crisis, but the u.s. is where it all started. thousands of business leaders, and they rated things like the quality of the roads and the telecom system and the availability of talent. but obviously banking is huge, the quality of the banking system and the u.s. ranked 108th on that score, behind tanzania, which is a beautiful country, but certainly is not known for

its banking system. in terms of the quality of its auditing, the u.s. ranked behind jamaica and barbados. so you can really see how the quality or the deterioration more specifically of the banking crisis really led to the u.s. being down a notch, down to number two, but it's still a big demotion. >> i want to know what put switzerland in the number one spot. >> well, switzerland hasn't suffered as much. it's loaned money from one of its biggest banks. ubs is in a position to give that money back, and it's really renowned for its sophistication of the business environment there, for it's close relations between act keeademia and the business world. and of course, finally, which is

to say that if you go there on business, the skiing is great and so is the cheese. so consider that for our next girls' trip, kyra. >> exactly, what about the chocolate? don't forget that. but remember, it's also more expensive, the u.s. dollar taking a real pounding today. >> all right, thanks susan, great to see you. health care reform is one of the city's hottest topics, now the debate is on the hall and on capitol hill. what now, congress, we're pushing that forward next hour, and nothing will bring her husband back from a tragic plane crash, but if she could just bring one thing from the site, she might find a little more peace. okay my god? screams of joy as a motorized

glider crashed. the glider pilot and his son was dropping sponge balls to kids in the crowd which they could redeem in the crowd. not only the man and his son, but six people on the ground had to go to the hospital. two firefighters managed to climb out of the fire's engine windows uninjured after it fell into a sink hole. it happened early this morning when a water main burst in the san fernando valley. that engine was responding to a predawn emergency call. a young boy in new york had always wanted his wish to come true, well it did, at his funeral.

a young boy finally gets his wish at a funeral. a 7-year-old had his life honored with a very special

surprise ceremony and his had his wish fulfilled. >> reporter: the crowd inside the unity-the family of 7-year-old asa hill is amazed by the turnout, some 700 people packed a church that only seats 400. >> i cannot express how much this means to me. i cannot in words, i cannot describe how much this means to me. >> it is because of your love, and your support that i still stand. >> reporter: relatives take turns shares memories of the bright, talented young boy. >> to share his smile and his laugh, especially when he would crack up uncontrollably, his oh, so unique personality, warm hugs, loving kissing.

>> he would always hug me when i go to work and tell me they loved me and he hugged me and he said, grandma, every time i hug you, you always smell good. >> asa had apparently been asking his parents to get married. and to the surprise of nearly everyone -- >> to unit this man and this woman in holy matrimony. >> asa got his wish. >> what could they do, but answer yes to their son when he asked them over and over again. >> reporter: it's unusual, but a wedding in the middle of a funeral seems to fit this celebration of life and love. ♪ asa you're beautiful ♪ to me recess is over, back to the

hill, congress, time to push forward on health care reform. a lot's happened since the house and senate were last in session. tons of town hall meetings across the country, not all of them low key affairs. the health of ted kennedy, debate of the public option is off the table and it's possible that the white house will put its own plan on the table. the house meets with the senate leaders this hour to reenergize democrats. and the bipartisan gang of six senators are meeting to talk about a health care reform plan that both sides can live with. dana bash, how important is the meeting? >> i should mention that i am outside of this place where the meeting is going to take place, it is the office of the finance chairman max baucus. you see a lot of people behind me, there are a group of lobbies to lobby the senator on health care reform. to answer your question, how

important is it, it's absolutely critical. we have been standing here since before congress went to recess for months really, talking about the fact that this bipartisan group had been meeting, while these six senators now for them, really the rubber is meeting the road. because of the president's speech tomorrow night, he is going to make the speech and that means that max baucus knows that his time is up. he needs to get answers which means he will start in about a half an hour, on whether or not he could get on board for a bipartisan approach. this is the proposal that max baucus sent around to members of these bipartisan negotiating team. we have some details in it and i'll give you a couple of very quick examples. >> what's in the plan? >> reporter: i'm glad you asked, this is about 18 pages so it's definitely not electricive language, it's not anywhere near the 1,000-page bill that we have seen that came over from the house, but it does have some

interesting ideas in it, some things that aren't in the house proposal and there is one thing that we want to focus on, and that is that there is a requirement, a requirement for individuals to get health care coverage. and if they don't, we should say, that there are people -- for people who are about at the poverty level and had a little bit of help from the federal government, but if they don't, for example, if there is a family of four making at least $66,000 a year or more, they are going to have to pay a fine of $3,800, and another interesting part of this proposal is how they're trying to pay for it. there are a number of different ways that they're raising revenue to pay for the 900 billion proposal. and one something now, a new $6 billion tax on insurance companies. that's probably going to be the most contentious things that they're going to talk about with republicans, because they simply

don't like that idea to tax insurance companies to pay for that plan. >> public option is a real fighting word. now there's another work working its way into the debate, trigger. cnn jim acosta explains. >> we have never been this close. >> reporter: as the president delivered one more campaign style pitch on health care reform, the question remains whether he will make a play for the public option, the idea of giving americans a choice of getting a government-run insurance plans. >> why do you consider to support a nonpublic policy? >> reporter: that congressional recess, one of the more soft spoken members of the senate, olympia snow was quietly talking

about a compromise that would replace the public option with something called a trigger. unlike the proposal in the house, the trigger would threaten the insurance industry with a public option down the road. the idea is backed by two senate foreign leaders. >> we recommend that after about five years, if the insurance companies don't clean up their act, then there's a trigger where certain things happen. we think that's a step in the right direction. >> reporter: throughout the health care discussion, snow has shied away from the public -- >> people that currently have good health care, insurance plans, they wants to maintain it. we don't want to interfere with that or interfere with the dr.-patient relationship. >> reporter: congressional liberals have said in no uncertain terms, no public option, no deal. >> i say there is no option by a public option.

for those who say we need a trigger, i say be careful, you could be shooting down health care. >> reporter: political analysts wonder whether in the end democrat also shoot themselves. who politicians say in september and what they do in november or december are often two different things because they come to terms with reality. >> reporter: and that reality is the trigger may be the last, best hope of getting a few republicans on board. but after those rowdy town halls, liberal democrats wonder if a bipartisan health care option is out the window. and the trigger just gives the insurance industry another pass. >> as the senate reconvenes, a moment of silence for senator ted kennedy.

the presiding offi@e remembering 47 years of the lion of the senate, a set of flowers there on ted kennedy's seat there. he now rests in peace los angeles side his brothers at jfk national cemetery. later this hour, we're going to hear the most urgent health issues facing african-americans, personally, financially, politically, from the head of the national urban league. tomorrow night, the president makes his most important pitch yet for his health care reform. a back to school to american students happens today. cnn's susan malvo joins me live from the house. let's go ahead and start with

the president's no nonsense advice to school kids. >> reporter: it was a tough love message, but it was -- the president delivered as the white house said really an inspiring message to school children, he talked about the fact, in his own personal humble beginnings, that his father abandoned him when he was 2 years old. they didn't have a lot growing up. he said there were times when he was lonely and he didn't fit n and he said it was a series of second chances that allowed him to be the kind of person to succeed, one who asked questions and wasn't afraid to fail and that was essentially was the message to school children, that they have a responsibility for their own success and despite some misgivings or shortcomings that they can overcome those and they ultimately can make themselves proud as well as their country. >> you can't let your failures

define you, you have to let your failures teach you, you have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. so if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. if you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. no one's born being good at all things. you become good at things through hard work. >> kyra, the president mentioned in a q & a with ninth graders before he gave this speech that he in his own words admitted he was a bit of a goof off before he went to college. but he found something that he was really passionate about, community service and encouraged other students to do the same. at this hour, the president is meeting with the democratic leadership, nancy pelosi and harry reid on the health reform effort and the kind of timetable

they see for actually voting on some of the legislatures, the various bills, the committees that have been involved in this is working on that speech. it's a very important one before the joint session of congress tomorrow. melanie barns said the president is going to be more specific about what he is looking for, but she did not say whether or not he was going to mention that public optiona everybody's talking about, clearly white house aides say it's his presence, but they actually acknowledge, they don't think that's going to happen, at least not on the senate side. >> and tomorrow he'll be taking that health care speech live. and our colleague ali velshi has spent the past few days on the road on the cnn express asking folks to express their opinions on the economy, on health care and the state of their lives in general, and they're not holding back. >> reporter: you're in naperville, illinois with the cnn express. >> what do you think about this debate that's really on the road

on this bus, do you think that this administration is doing the right things to pass this health care reform. >> i think it's going to go on and on and on. it's been in our main consciousness for a dozen years now. >>er if you ask someone, if you vote for world peace, earn's going to raise your hand, right? but then to pay for world peace? >> there isn't going to be a perfect plan where everybody's going to be happy. >> reporter: i was in naperville a few months ago and things have changed, but we were really confuse about where this economy was going and there was a lot more tension around it. that seems to be disappointed a little bit. >> like lisa said, how do we go from here, you know, they're planning for the next step. >> what do the next steps

include? >> a lot -- we need to live within our means and hopefully this is a big wakeup call. >> reporter: do we even know how to do that? >> i think we do. but i think we do a lot less impulse shopping, when i shop, i'm not like i need this and this and this. i'll really think about it before i actually buy it or not. >> reporter: a lot of people are focused on who is the other party going to say and how can i disagree with them in an elephant manner? >> the congress continues to spend, and perhaps just like we are, belt tightening needs to get a little more serious. i just don't know if we can resurface a road is a great investment in our country. >> let's take you to the supreme court, you can see there, the supreme court justice sewonya

sotomayor, this is a photo-op as she gets ready to head into the formal ceremony where she will be installed, that's the technical language, installed in public office formally. we're going to follow it and if we get insight into the ceremony, we'll bring that to you live as well. ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪

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let's take a look at health care -- 94% of african-americans approve of president obama's job performance. only 6% don't. now contrast that with the views of white americans, half of whom now disapprove slightly fewer approve. now a large majority of blacks also like the president's health care plan. 55% of whites say they oppose it. these next figures may have something to do with that. in 2007, more than 20% of african-americans were uninsured. among whites, the number was 10.8%. and while illness doesn't discriminate, some conditions hit african-americans especially hard. here's what they include. heart disease, diabetes, hiv/aides, vitamin d deficiencideficiency, and cancer-lounge, breast, colon

and prostate. mark just looking at that list of everything that african-americans are especially hard hit with, the various diseases the cancers, diabetes, i mean if they are not able to get the right kind of coverage, i mean, the death toll will just rise? >> yeah, it's a compelling case to be made for a comprehensive man that creates access, which means it gives people an opportunity to afford health care. and afford health insurance which in turn gives people an opportunity to participate in an ounce of prevention. right now, what we see for so many uninsured, urban residents, african-americans, latinos, and whites and asians is that they are accessing health care

through the emergency room, i would ask someone to visit the emergency room of an urban or even a suburban hospitals and witness the number of people with who are there without life threatening problems. we are urging now health care for people who access health care through emergency rooms. so a complex plan urging people to afford to pay for their own health care as well as those who may not be able to afford to pay for a health care option for them. i think it's so critical. >> you cannot have the critic option. we talked about the public option, but not the critic option, that is what you support tremendously? and tell me how that will make a difference when it comes to all these issues that african-americans are dealing with including the uninsured issue? >> let me say this, there's been a lot of discussion about the public option. but there's been very little explanation about why it's important. one of the reasons why it's important, kyra is we need more

competition in the health insurance industry. and more competition will lead, we think to lower prices, lower premiums, lower health care costs in the long run. for example, in the state of pennsylvania, i believe two insurers control about 80% of the business. so i think americans who tune in will learn more about what this public option is for. but more importantly, how this plan has to produce more competition, more access, and therefore more affordabilities for americans, for african-americans, the support is there because of the large number of uninsured, the higher death rates, the higher disease rates, it's a problem that needs a solution and i applaud all legislators and the president for working hard on trying to find a solution that works and to do it as quickly as possible. >> and one of the aims of the bill, prevention, and you have mentioned that a number of times

since we have been chatting here, prevention on so many levels can bring down all those staggering numbers when it comes to african-americans and the conditions that they deal with? >> what's interesting is that the focus on prevention means that many preventative tests that people now access would be accessible under the bill without an insurance company being able to charge you a deductible or a co-pay. in effect, it encourages you to get the kind of preventive tests that lead to early detection and therefore in the long run, that's going to not only make us healthier, but also reduce health care costs for all. because it's as we know, it's people with long-term illnesses, it's people with acute health problems, those are the kinds of things. so we need to have a careful, thoughtful civilized discussion as a nation. and we think the comprehensive plan that's been debated is a good plan and i would challenge those that oppose it to come up

with a better plan. the cost of the status quo is much more than the cost of change. >> and i know you're holding a lot of events there on the hill. mark also mentioned the growing latino population in the u.s., it's struggling with health care every single day as well. the national counsel of la raza says that more than one in three latinos is without health care. another concern, equity in access for those who access health care. a quick programming note, in october, cnn will present latino in america, a comprehensive look on how latino in america is reshaping homes, schools and business in america. more worries for afghanistan's troubled presidential election, the

country's election commission has ordered a partial recount of the august 20th vote, several provinces have reported serious allegations of ballot box stuffing and fraud. the recount may take up to three months. and more than a dozen people are dead across northern argentina and brazil after a devastating tornado, dozens more people were injured. that storm also hit part of neighbori neighbori neighboring uruguay. you have seen the stunning pictures for decades. but photographer annie leibovitz put the rights to her pictures up as collateral for a $24 million loan. now it's time to pay the piper, or in this case, blender and she just doesn't have the cash. just in time for the post holiday workweek, the bay bridge back in business. a day early to boot.

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rush shower resumes across the san francisco oakland bay bridge a day ahead of schedule. traffic is streaming across after workers fixed a big crack on a steel support beam. they thought it would take until tomorrow, but they worked nonstop all night and they say the bridge is now safe. another name joins the season's list of tropical storms, fred brewing there in the atlantic. chad myers tracking freddie. >> fred, f storm fred. >> and possibly a few more to come. >> fred flintstone or something, i'm not sure. you can't get excited about some of these names, they just can't be big.

it's a pretty strong tropical storm. this is africa, so another 1,000 miles off my screen is the u.s. so we're not really worried about this storm. it's forecast to turn hard to the right and have a slow, cold depth in the middle of the cold atlantic ocean. we are seeing showers today around d.c., this is just onshore flow that's been with us for the last couple of days. we had some flooding in wichita, it has been kind of a slow moving, very heavy rain event across parts of that state just in the past couple of hours. there's your showers across parts of chattanooga, maybe even moving into atlanta, georgia, we will see, we'll pan you up into the northeast. richmond and eastward, all the way into the southern delmarva. and into indiana, some of these showers could be a little bit stronger today. you could kind of get some wind damage, but this is not really a severe weather day by any means. it's not a road that you

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we are three days away from the eighth anniversary of 9/11, the day that changed life as we all know it. it changed families, devastated our economy and sent our sons and daughters to war. eight of them died today. four in fighting in afghanistan and four others in bombings in iraq. one of the top american commanders in iraq, major general richard nash stopped and acknowledged the losses. it was a unique moment. >> every day i'm -- sailors, marines and coast guards mens, they strive daily to help ensure iraq security and improve the quality of life for this emergent democracy.

our deepest gratitude goes out to the families, friends loved ones and employers of these patriots and professionals. our thoughts and prayers continues to be with the family of those who have given the last mission. both americans and iraqis can be proud of the fine job their sons and daughters are doing. i am confident that working together we can overcome any obstacle as we move forward by, with and through our iraqi partners. >> and this is why we have special coverage all this week from afghanistan. eight years after 9/11, the tall bang has not been wiped out and nowhere is that more apparent than along the main road from kabul to kandahar. here's cnn's michael ware who's frequently traveled to dangerous highway. >> reporter: afghanistan is hurting badly. eight years after america's war

began here, the combat continues, with the death tolls among coalition soldiers, afghan security forces ever rising. the final result of last month's presidential election had been stalled by a storm of corruption allegations. but it wasn't meant to be in this way. having turned its back on afghanistan throughout the 1990s, once the serbian army lost it's war here, the united states has spent eight years trying to make good on its past neglect. but true, undeniable success is hard to see. for most ordinary afghans, this perhaps is the simplest, clearest measure of that. this is highway number 1. it's here that kabul ends and 300 miles down that road is

canned ha kandahar and the taliban strong hold. in 2004, american aid money repaved that road cut the drive down to 5 or 6 hours. today that journey is back to 9 or 10 hours. there's at least three taliban checkpoints on this highway. people have been pulled off busses and executed by the taliban. this man runs this taliban road once a week. the road he says is in terrible shape wrecked by explosions. drivers are left completely exposed. it's been blown up by land mines and there is no security on it, he says. a father of three, he has to provide for his children. he takes his life in his hands each time he travels highway 1. i'm compelled, he tells me, how else do we eat? there's simply no alternative.

highway 1 looks like this. it is one of the most vital arteries in afghanistan, rebuilt with almost $300 million in american aid money. it's asphalt rolls out from the capital kabul to the west toward kandahar, the nation's second largest city and a political epicenter. and this is the other end of that road. kandahar is just a short distance down there, kabul, hundreds of miles that way. but this is a city surrounded by pockets of taliban resistance. indeed, just a few miles down that road is a taliban controlled district. a few miles up the highway is the first taliban check point. the fact of the taliban's been able to strangle the life out of this highway is a testament to the fact that it's simply not enough american, british, international or afghan troops to secure it.

what had once been an american project, hailed as a sign of progress has now become a mark of a mission in crisis. michael ware, cnn, kandahar. >> and as battles rage on in southern afghanistan, trauma teams and medics work around the clock to treat civilians. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta took a tour of the complex where most of these being treated are not americans and among them, a young afghan boy fighting for his life. >> reporter: that sound you hear is a drill being used to remove the skull of a child, a 2-year-old afghan boy, he fell down a cliff while playing. his name is malik. and he has a massive brain injury. almost dead. doctors here are trying to give

him a fighting chance. he is one of the cutest boys you'll ever meet. but it's nighttime out here in kandahar, you see what's going on behind me, a helicopter is about to land. we don't have a lot of information, we just know there's patients on this particular chopper. look over there, two ambulances, all the medics are over here, preparing to run out to the chopper and we're going to go with them. >> our sanjay gupta and anderson cooper take you inside afghanistan all this week live from the battle zone tonight, don't miss special coverage, "a.c. 360," 10:00 eastern. a white teen severely beaten in buffalo, new york, now dead, his son was treated like a hate crime. he was so badly injured he has to drink his food through a

straw. milligan thinks his son's race strig triggered that attack. he was allegedly beaten by several african-american teens armed with chunks of concrete. milligan has a black girlfriend and the interracial couple says they have been taunted in the past. >> i think it is a hate crime because why would you approach somebody and yell out don't come back to my neighborhood, don't date our women. >> now buffalo police say they're still investigating the case, but so far it's not been classified as a hate crime. more than 21 years of -- the dna taken from the brush has linked 49-year-old walter ellis to nine killings between 1986 and 2007. ellis is charged in two cases, but more might be in his future. most of the victims of the north side strangler cases were

prostitutes. the family of one victim talked with charles benson of milwaukee's wtmj. he starts his report with police chief edward flynn. >> chief flynn says a lot of hard work went into bringing a conclusion to several cases that were cold, but not forgotten. good police work and good police science have led us to walter ellis. >> the nine victims were all women, many with a history of drug and prostitution, they were strangled or stabbed to death. dna found on the victim linked them to a single suspect, but not to a known name. the missing link was a dna match with ellis. that came from a toothbrush from ellis during a search warrant. >> we offer or condolences to surviving family members with the hope that today's news gives them confidence there will be justice. >> karen kilpatrick's family hopes so, she died three weeks after giving birth to her fifth

child in 2004. her sister does not want to be seen on tv. >> this is the best news ever. >> reporter: the police recently came by to talk to her about the cold case and a possible suspect, but she says she never thought this day would come. >> brings closure to me to know what happened to my sister. >> that was charles benson from milwaukee's wtmj, chief flynn told us the cold case science that made the arrest possible only became available this year. . new information about one of the people killed in a mobile home in coastal georgia. guy heinze jr. recently won a civil lawsuit, the payment $25,000. he had not seen any money yet. the award was under appeal. guy heinze jr. charged with killing his father and several others had a hearing in court today. the cdc is holding a news

conference in atlanta this hour, we're monitoring it for new updates and we'll bring you more developments as they become available. and discovery's crew is one step closer to greeting their loved ones again. they're bringing home a plastic astronaut, buzz lightyear. when warren buffett speaks, wall street listens, now he's betting on electric cars. we'll head to new york to find out why.

into a high-tech innovation center. pittsburgh is preparing to host a g-20 summit in about two weeks. some two dozen world leaders are expected to focus on the global economic mess. warren buflt is called the oracle of omaha for a reason. when he makes a bet, wall street takes notice and so should you. he's betting on electric cars. papi harlow has her engine fix from new york.

>> he's putting a lot of money into it. berkshire hathaway put a 10% stake into a company you may never have heard of. it cost him a pretty $230 million and there's talk that he might be upping that stake. this comes from what byd's chairman suggested last week that buffet would put more money into his company. we called him up and asked him if these rumors were true. he said i can't say one way or the other, but we should know that buffet actually wanted to buy a 25% stake in this automaker last year, but they weren't willing to sell him that much, kyra, so it looks like he may be increasing his bet on electricic cars. >> most of us probably haven't heard about byd so what can you tell us about it? >> it standards for build your dream, it was actually one of

the largest cell phone battery makers in the world. then they actually bought out a car company. next year, here in the u.s., they're going to launch an all electric vehicle they claim, kyra, it can get 249 miles on a single charge. and the timing of this is really significant because it's going to hit the market here just around the same time that gm's chevy volt is going to come out and we're going to see electrics from chrysler and so more competition from u.s. and foreign automakers and the price is going to be a lot lower than gm's car. the days of baking a file into a cake are so over. hidden cell phones are the problem now. inmates can make a call from the inside then a witness on the outside is dead. how do you cut that deadly connection to the outside world? . of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day.

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they're using really clever

tricks to get cell phones inside. >> reporter: using dogs and searches, maryland corrections firms ferreted out more than 900 contraband cell phones last year. across the country, inmates have used cell phones in extortions, escapes, drug deals, even murders. in 2007, a maryland prisoner used a cell phone to order a hit on a witness who was about to testify against him in a homicide case. >> we want to use all the technology available to detect, to jam, to discover -- >> jamming is illegal, but some other technologies recently got a tryout at a closed prison in jessup, maryland. one product claims to detect a cell phone whenever a cell phone is used or even turned on. >> they will know exactly where that cell phone is and they can

go and retrieve it. >> and another program will block unauthorized calls. >> basically at&t network and it didn't go through. >> reporter: if legally authorized it can also collect information about calls and even record them. >> if mike is calling john and mi mike -- >> reporter: some say a more effective solution would be to jam all cell phones in and out of prisons. >> maybe that 911 call for somebody who needs urgent help for somebody right now, and that would be tragic if that call was blocked by jamming technology. >> reporter: congress is considering changing the law banning jamming the exception for u.s. prisons. this just in to cnn, this is

coming to us from the associated press. apparently the british military is investigating a suspected bomb that was found at a uk air base. this is what we know. the ministry of defense says it could be an improvised explosives device, an ied that has been discovered at the air force base base in lyneham. the military is going on to say that an explosive ordinance disposal team is on sight, we'll try and bring you more information if we find out if indeed this is an ied, how it got there and how it's affecting the lyneham air base now. >> there's movement on that story we have been telling you about. you know the preacher from phoenix, actually tempe, which is right outside of tempe. >> the one who wants to kill

president obama? >> the one who prays that he dies. >> we're finding out that he's running a business out of the same area where his church is and that's as much a question mark as it is a declarative statement because he would argue that the church is being leased to himself so he can use it. the problem is, there's so many legalities there that he might have to deal with. we're looking into what's going on there, we're going to bring you the facts, and there's this huge altercation between him and a reporter and you're going to see that play out, it gets very heated by the way. and as you know, this might play out during our hour, harry reid, nancy pelosi, they're going to visit the white house, we're going to talk to the president. they may find out before we all find out tomorrow, what the president's going to say. how is he going to sell this to the american people? i think generally speaking, americans are just confused, they have no idea what this health care reform is supposed to look like or who they're supposed to be focused on.

it's the president's job to focus on them. now the follow-up that you have been waiting for. traffic in samoa, we told you about it yesterday, the nation's historic switch from the right side of the road to the left. the first time in decades, any nation anywhere has crossed the centerline. the goal in samoa is to drive by new zealand and australia. that's so they can ship their cars back home. there's a reason countries don't do this sort of thing often. but so far samoians say so good. >> i'm so thankful, i thank god for today. >> it's set to go and the other one is set to stop. >> all right, there is some confusion, but it could have been worse. samoa called a two-day national holiday and actually banned the sale of alcohol for three days. a wallet, a toothbrush, a

tie, personal items recovered from a man killed in a plane crash, but the widow is still seeking one item that would give her some sense of closure. ed assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little or no cost to you. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full.

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it's a bittersweet time for relatives of the victims of colgan air flight 447. they're finally getting a chance to identify the belongings of their loved ones recovered from the crash. for the widow of the victim, one item mattered more than anything else, her husband's wedding ring. our affiliate has our story. >> reporter: a charred wallet, a toothbrush, part of a necktie still knotted. jennifer west has received four boxes of items that were with her husband on colgan air flight 3407. >> my life started when i met him and i never thought i would get married or have kids and when i married him, you know, that's when my life began. >> reporter: now all of 40,000 other items scattered about the scene of the crash have been posted to a website to be identified and claimed by victims families. >> i'm very nervous i'm praying,

praying, that i find the ring. >> reporter: ernie west was living right beside his co-worker and his wedding band has already been returned to his wife robin. >> it's kind of bittersweet because my anniversary was last week, yesterday would have been his birthday. but it is a symbol of what you had. if i don't find anything else of darrin's, i'm okay. >>er so together the two women bonded by tragedy, slowly started scanning through almost 300 pieces of jewelry, desperately searching for that two toned ring. slowly reality started to sink in. >> i don't think it's there. >> reporter: the pain so fresh, so raw once again. >> i mean, i know he's with me, i was just really hoping i could get the ring back because i know it was on his hand, you know, in the last moments.