high school football player who collapsed on the football field. prosecutors say his brutal practice led to the 15-year-old's death. we're look at how the case is playing out in court. the lifestyle of bernie madoff. pictures of the homes and boats seized by the feds. his apt manyment where he spent his last days as a free man. what could be one of the most monumental days for the white house. president obama is going to try to sell health care reform. he goes before both houses of congress to make his pitch. president clinton used the stage in 1993, but his bill died a year later. will president obama have better luck and will lawmakers come to an agreement before tonight's

speech? we have a team of reporters ready to go, even though it's barely 6:00. let's start at the white house. what can we expect to hear from the president? >> reporter: he's still fine tuning the speech, but it's expected to last 35 minutes or so. he's going to encourage congress to act swiftly and reassure the american people. if you are happy with your insurance, you won't lose it. white house aids believe he's going to still talk about the public option to private health care and competitive way to reform the system overall. it's not going to be a make or break deal breaker, if you will. i had a chance with back and forth e-mail to talk about specifics tried to squeeze specifics out of him. he said when the president is

done, everyone who listens everyone will understand. bring affordable coverage to those who don't. it will bring reforms to unsustainable growth of health care that's doubled in the last decade. >> he's having problems not just with republicans, but democrats as well. what about the democrats waivering on health care? >> reporter: you can imagine there's arm twisting taking place. rom emanuel has been in this situation before when it comes to health care reform. he's pressing democrats making the case, look, we understand. remember what happens when clinton tried to push forward. the senate, majority and democrats don't want it to happen. they think they could lose 10 to 30 seats next go round in the election next year. they are looking to put forward

something. there's more momentum and movement. >> thanks. of course you can see the president's speech live on cnn and cnn.com. stick around, in 25 minutes we're going to talk to john podesta and andrew card. what's at stake for president obama tonight? the president has been the most vocal, congress, when you boil it down, they have to agree on a plan. here is where things stand now. four of the five congressional committees considering health care legislation passed billed. the senate finance committee could have something later today. meantime, the plans passed have many of the same features. each require all americans to have insurance and prevent insurance companies from blocking people with

pre-existing conditions. the one big sticking point is the public option or insurance program run by the government. jim tells us the debate with what to do on that is still red hot. >> reporter: the president is not just taking heat from liberals in the party, they say health care reform without the public option is not change they can believe in. one democratic leader says it might be time to cut a deal. former staffers of president obama's campaign rallied in front of the white house, umbrellas in hand in case it rains on their parade with the public option giving them the choice. >> compromise some public option. has he let you down? >> i think if he compromised, he'd let down my entire generation.

>> it may be we need to check a half load rather than a full load and get the full load three years down the road. >> reporter: james clyburn says it's time to find middle ground. one way is test the public option. >> let's do that now. then, three years down the road, some say four or five, then let's take a look to see what works and whether or not we will mandate going forward as to what it will look like. >> reporter: some members of your party in the house won't settle for anything short of a public option. what do you think? he's got a trigger to mandate a public option down the road. >> well, the fact of the matter is, a trigger would include a public option. >> reporter: the white house is signaling the president hasn't given up on the option. he's expected to make the case the option won't impact those

who get their insurance from their employers and medicare. >> what the public option isn't and what it is in terms of bringing choices. >> as he campaigned as a changed candidate on health care, he said he was also a deal makers. >> all the good plans in the world won't mean anything, if we can't get it passed. >> reporter: james clyburn is reminding people the civil rights laws weren't all passed at once. it happened over a decade and may be required with a health care program. >> thanks. the health care debate is going to hit the halls and back rooms of capitol hill this morning. pretty remarkable how far apart congressional leaders are on the public option.

>> reporter: you can hear the number three democrat. maybe we need a public option, some call it weakening a public option. the number two as well as the top democratic leader said yesterday. >> i'm not one of those that says you don't have a public option, it's not a good deal. i think it's a very good deal. a public option makes it better. >> in order to pass a bill in the house, we will have a public option. >> back to back there, at the same mike phone, saying essentially different things, pressed by cnn producer, she pressed nancy pelosi about what appears to be the divide among the democrats in the house. she said there is not one, but they are dealing with a kaz m.

they say they will not vote for health care overhaul without a public option to conservative democrats like lou dobbs who says he will not vote for a bill without one. >> we have other things to talk about with you as well. >> it's interesting. whether or not they will get with or without one. they are trying to get it out of finance committee and he needs to help republicans to get it to happen. what about that? >> reporter: this is a whole other ball game the negotiations going on with them. we have learned about the proposal they are considering. the chairman of the committee put it before them. the health cooperative, instead of the public option, it's the only bill in congress or would be the only bill in congress,

there's no mandate that says employers have to provide insurance to employees. there are penalties for some bigger companies. there's a mandate for individuals to get insurance. if they don't, they pay a penalty. for a family of four, households making $66,000 a year, up to a $3800 fine. there are exceptions where you can't get affordable health insurance compared to what you are pulling in each year. senator charles grassley told me and democratic sources confirm, they are keyed in to trying to reach an agreement today, before the president's health care speech and there are some republicans in the gang of six who say they are not sure it's possible. >> interesting. we'll continue to follow up with you on capitol hill.

we know you have questions on this. when you get to work, check it out at cnn.com/health care. we have other things to tell you about. in boston, the late ted kennedy's wish to temporarily fill his senate seat for the special election held in january. massachusetts law called for special elections when members of congress stepped down or passed away. in a letter, kennedy wrote the state and asked for an interim appointee. he wanted one to conserve the two votes in massachusetts. a newspaper reporting stephen ferrell was rescued when the room was stormed saturday afternoon. he was captured in northern afghanistan. until now, it's been kept quiet

out of concern for his safety according to "the new york times." he was kidnapped once before back in 2004. the space shuttle "discovery" on its way home from the space station. they spent eight days there. they delivered fresh water and more than 18,000 pounds of equipment including a treadmill named for stephen colbert. the father of the high school player that died during practice in 94 degree heat is going to testify. it's the first time a football coach is facing homicide charges for a player dying in practice. we'll have more on what the father of the young boy has to say.

(announcer) we understand. you need to save money.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. testimony will resume with the trial of the former football coach. jason stinson is charged with reckless homicide. prosecutors say the brutal practice led to the death of a 15-year-old. yesterday, jurors heard from his father. we are following all the details in court. >> reporter: this is a case that could have reaching implications and could be the first of its time. tuesday, prosecutors called some of their key witnesses. jeff described the afternoon in august, 2008 when his 15-year-old son max collapsed on

the football field. he died three days later. the coach is responsible for running what they call a barbaric practice. jeff recalled getting to his son's practice late that day. it was hot. he saw players in full equipment. >> did you see your son throw up on the field that day? >> yes, i did. as well as other players. he wasn't the only one. >> reporter: prosecutors questioned a team member that played with him. his identity is shielded because he's a minor. he says he saw them try to get water. >> what did the coach say to the players? >> get back here. >> reporter: when he collapsed he and others tried to cool him down. stinson was not with them as they called 911. >> reporter: he says at first he didn't see anything wrong with

the practice. he changed his mind after hearing from others. initially, he didn't blame coaches. >> do you recall -- >> yes. >> his son took a drug used to treat attention deficit disorder and a supplement used to stimulate muscle growth. they are trying to say other factors played a role in the teens death. >> this has been nothing but a which hunt by these people. >> reporter: he pled not giuilt to reckless homicide. he faces up to ten years in prison if found guilty. with his training, he should have known not to subject the players to that. >> winning his first game as a head football coach was put

ahead of safety. >> reporter: the death was a tragic accident. coaching organizations across the country have been contributing to a defense fund for him. >> thanks. it's amazing. there's no doubt a tragedy happened. there's a lot of different opinions on whether or not it was the coach's fault. >> so many players practice in heat like that. the coach puts them through drills to toughen them up. when is too much, too much? difficult to know. >> we're going to continue to follow that story. meanwhile, the lifestyles of the rich and famous. a look inside the manhattan penthouse. this house, boats and a beach house on sale now.

♪ our house, in the middle of our street ♪ >> it's not our house, it's bernie madoff's house. all of his assets going up on the auction block. this is in the middle of what street? >> 64th and lexington.

they call it the park avenue apartment. it's 4,000 square feet. it's a penthouse. that's what the people who like penthouse apartments, it's where they like to live. listen to the marshalls. they are turning into real estate agents trying to drum up business for the investors. listen to the u.s. marshall discussing this home. >> we're here on the 11th floor of the penthouse. this is the lower level. this is bernard madoff's study. we are surrounded by cherry wood from the walls to the molding. his desk, this is where he did most of his work. it's where he spent the last few days of his free life. >> i just love this guy. i love that guy. i love him because he's the marshall. he's arresting people. >> he's going to be doing the real estate show on home

shopping network. >> it's two floors. i felt's listed as a three-bedroom. it's only one because they took two bedrooms and turned them into a his and hers study. all the art and chandeliers is going to be auctioned off. >> this is selling as the same price as the monotag property, right? >> we're going to show you one more when we talk about the rich and felonious. it's a place in palm beach. >> we haven't gotten to the boat tours, yet. >> what i love is the bowl theme, everywhere.

in the boats, homes, art. the representation of the bull is large in this man's life. >> he's been doing some trading. >> exactly. a bull is a symbol of being positive. it represents something else when talking about bernie madoff. bull, you can fill in the blank. what is the president going to say to congress. we'll talk to john podesta coming up. 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. i was blown away. i'm blown away. only verizon wireless has small-business specialists in every store to help you do business better. we should get you a hat. now buy any blackberry, like the new tour, at our lowest prices ever,

(announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. we're not ceos making millions. we don't have golden parachutes or option plans. what we have is our hands, our hearts, and our work ethic, we are america's workforce. the men and women, who keep our economy going. all we ask for, is a level playing field. the employee free choice act will let workers choose to form a union to get better pay, bi health benefits and job security. the employee free choice act. it's time the economy worked for everyone again. ♪ ♪ which one's me - for a cool convertible or an suv? ♪ ♪ too bad i didn't know my credit was whack ♪ ♪ '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. ♪ announcer: you could buy 750 bottles of water or just one brita faucet filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment ♪

welcome back. while many folks in america flock to tanning salons to get the golden glow, across india, the demand for skin whiteners is soaring. guys are looking for the fair skin women spoon over. we have the story this morning from new delhi. >> reporter: this television commercial is sending out a not so settle message to men in asian. it eem unlucky because of the color of my face. he throws him a skin whitening cream. you get her just like that, refer i referring to the girl they were stairing at. after putting on the cream, he does, in the ad, anyway. skin whiteners mostly targeted to women in india are being targeted to men. a marketing study found sales

jumped more than 100% in india. he says he knows why. he runs 140 unisex salons in india. >> we have a complex for white skin. >> reporter: indians gained more disposable income than before. guys are not shy about spending it on their looks. men used to be embarrassed. >> not anymore. they are conscious to look nicer. >> everybody wants to look good. everybody wants to look handsome, beautiful. >> reporter: in a country where most people have brown skin, the message sent by the skin whitening has some outraged. >> i think it's completely racist. >> reporter: she's a member of

india's parliament. >> reporter: skin care company that sells in pakistan said they are giving the public what it wants. still, critics argue these commercials are stereo typing what india should be trying to shed, not encourage. to give you an idea of how pervasive it is, all you have to do is pick up the sunday paper, check out the groom and bride wanted ads. this one is a woman describe in her physical attributes. she's beautiful, extremely tall and fair skinned. that means lighter skin. if you look at the ads, both male and fe mail, fair is a wanted attribute. >> it's interesting, so many people here want to get darker and there it's opposite.

everybody is looking for something different. thanks so much. >> it's amazing. we're coming up on half past the hour. time to check the top stories. investigators are saying a bone fragment found next to phillip g gur ree doe's home. he took care of the property, noting it's not unusual to find native american remains in the area. when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, three great white sharks spotted off cape cod. they are between ten and 15 feet long. five are electronically tagged. they were first spotted off the massachusetts coast last week. well, a health alert.

horld the green onions. two companies holding thousands of scalons tested positive for salmonella. no reports of anyone getting sick from the outbreak. tonight, president obama makes his most important speech yet for health care. as he prepares, two men with knowledge of what goes into getting ready for a national address join me now. we have john podesta, thanks for being here, john and andy card, former chief of staff under george h.w. bush. great to have you as well, andy. >> thank you. big moments like this, if you were in the oval office, what would you give as advice to president obama as he gets ready for the address? >> he has to reinvigorate the debate on health care. we have a summer where it's been drifting. it's a chance for him to talk

directly to the american people. remind them what's it in. they can get security of health care at a reasonable price. he has to talk to the members of congress and let them know where he sees the deal. he's got to be specific about what, how to bring it home. >> andy, john talked about being specific. there's a new cbs poll out that echoes polls from august. six out of ten americans believe he has not explained what's in it for them. what does he need to do for those who have health care and those who have not as to why it's better for the country. >> he needs to live up to the expectation of more specific information. he hasn't done that in the past. he needs to calm the american public that this is a debate we should be having. he has to describe what we should do.

members of congress, are the most important audience. they are the ones that are paranoid because of the angst the american people have. the american people want to know more, but members of congress need to see the way to go. this is a time we should be talking about competition to make things better rather than a pubic option. if he doesn't allow for it in the health care debate, it's going to be an up hill battle for him. >> we're talking act the speech stont. john, i'm interested to find out from you, in the end, he's talking to the american people, but in the end doesn't it lie in the walls of congress whether or not there can be an agreement saying public option is a must and others saying i can't go for that and if there's a consensus between the two houses? >> what the president needs to

do is channel the debate and talk about why he thinks a public option does provide the competition andy was talking about, but sort of set the range of where the debate goes. we have had the full blown version in the house, the so-called trigger option senator snowe put together. he has to channel the debate so people understand this is a way of providing quality coverage when you need it. say there's a range of options congress should come together and fix it, fix an approach. we have had a lot of drifts in the month of august. he needs to show the leadership that he's capable of saying this is the direction we need to go in. get to work on the specific details. leave a little room for conversation. >> do you think they are overplaying the notion it's the democrats against the democrats in the house that liberals are

not going to say yes to a bill without a public option or they can't sign on to one that does contain it? >> i think the real problem in the house is between the democrats. the problem in the senate is to find more republicans. it's an interesting balance. president obama will also have to acknowledge the cost. what is he going to do to keep costs down? we can't afford to keep spending, spending, spending. it's not just the ten-year window, it's a 50-year window. what is he going to do to keep cost down. insurance is a good way to get health care and not through the public option only. >> as you look at the debate and see where it ended up for the clinton administration in 1993 and '94, what do you think could be the turn around that could get any health care reform passed? >> i think a couple things.

first of all, the costs of health care skyrocketed for families and businesses. there's much more business support to get something done to control those costs. you see, i think a lot of opponents of health care reform that came to the table, doctors, the hospitals, the pharmaceutical companies who say yes, we know something needs to be done and we are willing to participate in the conversation. it's a big change from '93. >> they haven't rallied the legislative push. one you didn't mention is insurance companies. that's what they have said is the biggest problem here. what is their incentive to try to lower prices? >> well, you know, i think they were obviously a big opponent of what happened in '93. right now, they are kind of, some of them are against it. some are open to at least discussing what's going forward.

i think, ultimately, congress is going to have to sum up the will to say we have to regulate the insurance industry more so they can't deny you coverage for pre-existing conditions, can't discriminate against women. i think there's bipartisan consensus on. >> the interesting thing, we are talking about the chairman of the finance committee in the senate. he's looking to come up with an agreement in the committee. they are talking about the pe penalty on families, $3800 it could be if you do not purchase it. how is that going to play out once people see your own household could be fined if you choose not to insure your family. >> when you talk about increasing the cost on a middle class family, you are in trouble. some of the options are too expensive for america and reduce the level of care people have. they threaten the insurance

people have and they are comfortable. we have to find a better way to get a solution to the process. maybe president obama will rise to the challenge. i'm skeptical it will work. >> i'll be watching. great to have insight from both of you this morning. thanks. he revolutionized the way people see airports. what is segway up to these days? we'll show you. (woman) dear cat.

your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. he's made wheelchairs climb stairs, now a world famous inventor with hundreds of inventions including the segway personal transporter turned to water purification.

we have more on the edge of discovery. >> reporter: water. it's the most abundant resource on the planet. every year, millions of people die because they don't have access to clean water. he took on a machine called the slingshot. >> the world needs a slingshot to take care of this problem. >> reporter: it takes dirty river water and turns it into clean drinking water. >> in goes the bad. as you can see, out comes the good. that is pure water. >> reporter: the machine is smaller than other water purifying systems making it portable. >> it's to go to under developed places in the world.

>> reporter: until he finds partners and distributors to keep the costs down, it won't be available to the people who need it most. >> we have to find strategies to deal with this invaluable resource called water that we all take for granted. >> it's amazing. unbelievable. >> the guy is an incredible invent inventor. the segway, remember when it rolled out? didn't know how big it was going to be. this has application so much bigger. it's just a matter of getting the cost down. hurricane fred churning in the atlantic. we talked aboutal nino, right. it kept hurricanes away and made their strength lower than we have seen. what about fred?

(voice 2) how bad is it? (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again. when you're sick, you go to the doctor for answers.s. and when you hear scary rumors about health insurance reform being a big government takeover... doctors have the answer again. according to the american medical association,

"the health reform plans being debated in congress ensure that health care decisions will be made by you and your doctor--no one else." you choose your own doctor, make your own decisions and you can't be dropped if you get sick, or denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. that's a long way from a government takeover. and what about the claims that health reform will cut medicare benefits? "false" says the non-partisan factcheck.org... health reform maintains and even expands benefits for seniors and focuses on preventing illness before it strikes. our health care is too important for scare tactics, you deserve the truth. learn more at the factsaboutreform.org

stay any 2, 3, or 4 nights between september 13th and november 22nd, and you can earn double, triple, or even quadruple points when you pay with your mastercard card. triple-a members can get even more. better values, best western. for details, visit bestwestern.com. ♪ welcome back. it's 66 degrees in atlanta, going up to 85. it's going to be mostly sunny. we're going to fast forward through the stories making news later today. chris dodd about to announce he's staying on. at 10:30 eastern, there's a memorial service that will be

held for walter cronkite taking place at new york city's lincoln center. president obama is expected to attend and speak. some of cronkite's colleagues will show up. apple is at it. 1:00 eastern, the company is unveiling the latest gadget. a new line of ipods and the beatles finally making their way on to itunes. people looking forward to that. >> originally, i think they were transferred in '87. it will be interesting to hear how it sounds. that was originally recorded on eight tracks. check this out, new pictures into us. extreme flooding in turkey. the governor says rising water killed at least 20 people. close to two dozen others have been injured. heavy rains expected to continue

through the rest of the week. rob is at the weather center in atlanta. he's tracking to weather around the country and hurricane fred is getting strength. >> it's doubled in intensity since we last spoke yesterday. it was winds of 50 miles per hour, now it's 105 miles per hour. it's a big player in the atlantic. what's going on with this thing? west northwest at 13 miles per hour. as far as the forecast, you have an area of high pressure that shoots everything due west. it's shooting so far east, it may get weakness. the forecast continues to bring it more north and west. it brings into a major storm, a category three and up to the north and fizzling out a little bit. what it does after that, we have to wait and see. at this point, we're looking good as far as it not becoming

too big of a player. what is a big player, the system to the east. it's going to bring heavy rain to the northeast over the next day or two. places like new york, south of philly as well. new york is seeing rainfall from this. i think the rain will increase, not so much today, but tomorrow. area of low pressure down here and moving slowly. you get the cool, east wind. at times it's damp. you are looking at temperatures a little below normal. 70 degrees the high temperature. 77 in chicago. back to you. >> thanks so much for that. taking the tennis world by storm. she ranks 70th and is knocking off, as she calls it the russians one by one. >> she's 5'6". she's proving to be every bit as versatile as justine was. she was rank number one. is this woman headed on the same

track? >> we're talking about melanie. we're going to have more from her coach later. >> that picture tells the story. she has grip. sfx: coin drop, can shaking when you own a business, saving sounds good. so hear this: regions makes it simple to save money and time with lifegreen checking and savings for business, free convenient e-services and regions quick deposit, so you can deposit checks right from your desk. so switch to regions and start saving. plus, get a business financial review through a regions cashcor analysis.

it's how business gets into the rhythm of saving. regions - it's time to expect more.

♪ yes, she sure s. welcome back to the most news in the morning. she's the little tennis prothat could. melanie from marietta, georgia. she's making a splash. she's beating one ranked player after another. tonight, she's going to play her quarterfinal match against another teenager.

she's trying to keep the dream alive. larry smith has more on the cinderella story. >> reporter: serena and venus williams may be -- the 17-year-old from marietta, georgia started hitting balls by age 7. by 7th grade, she wanted to be home schooled. >> it was to play more and not get in trouble for missing so many days of school to play tournaments. i had to start home schooling. the amount of improvement i got was unbelievable. >> reporter: her focus on tennis improved her game. it didn't come without sacrif e sacrifice. she misses hanging out with friends and the bond with her twin sister. >> we have always been close since we were little, now, we definitely drifted apart because

i'm gone a lot. she's got different friends than i do and different interests, but we are happy for each other. >> she turned prolast year. on monday, at the racket club where she trains, her friends and fans watched her advance to the quarterfinals. >> she's as nice as she can be. she's the best sport and she's a champion. >> it's a close notch. but, every time she pulls it off. we see her here every day, dedicated and working out. >> reporter: her coach of eight years is intent on keeping her humble. >> this weekend, we were doing yard work. i made her come do it. i make her do everything the other kids do.

she's no prima donna. >>reporter: if she wins, she might be able to slide on eating one of her favorite things. >> i love ice cream and can't eat it very much when i'm playing. >> are you count iing down the days until your first ice cream cone. >> if i win, i'm sure my coach will let me have an ice cream. >> i'm sure, too. wow, good for her. >> she's doing amazingly well. you can imagine her first protournament was april of last year. it's a stratospheric stride in the world of tennis. >> you know what happens when people pay so much attention when she's young. don't worry about it. >> there are things that haven't panned out before. good luck to her. >> later on, we're going to talk to her coach. what's the secret.

the snapshot of the taliban. all week, we are reporting from the war zone. the latest assignment took a terrifying turn. look at this. >> you all right? >> a roadside bomb going off ahead of his convoy. the full story, just ahead. e every day special. fancy feast introduces an entirely new way to celebrate any moment.

fancy feast appetizers. simple high quality ingredients like wild alaskan salmon, white meat chicken, or seabass and shrimp in a delicate broth, prepared without by-products or fillers. new fancy feast appetizers. celebrate the moment.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. free speech versus money in politics. the 90 minute documentry that attacked hillary clinton when she was running for president in the spring. sonia sotomayer's first case could change politics as we know it. >> reporter: it's a complicated

issue, but it boils down to the supreme court that could do away with the ban on direct corporate campaign spending. >> who is hillary clinton. >> reporter: it started small during last year's presidential primaries, a federal court said campaign finance laws banned this ad for a movie by an advocate group, a nonprofit corporation. >> if you thought you knew everything about hillary clinton, wait until you see the movie. >> reporter: now, the supreme court could make a change in how money influences politics, deciding, in the name of free speech whether there should be limits at all on corporate campaign spending. >> allowing corporations to flood our elections and use campaign expenditures to buy influence would fundamentally undermine our democracy.

>> reporter: he warns overturning a century of precedence shuts average citizens out of the political process. >> the little guy has no role. the dominant force in politics and the dominant force becomes politicians. >> reporter: anyone pooling unions, health industry, advocate si groups have free speech rights. >> i went out and looked for this fight. i don't believe the government's position. i don't believe the government should have the right to impede the process. it's what they are trying to do, squelch our first amendment rights. >> reporter: they agree. the final decision is expected in a couple months and legal observers say conservatives

could hold the key to declare much of finance law unconstitutional. coming up in a half hour's time, expert analysis on the huge supreme court case. we'll ask george washington which way the case is likely to go. it brings us to the top of the hour. it's 7:00 eastern on wednesday, 9/9/09. so are calling it the high noon moon of his presidency. tonight, president obama puts him in the middle of the health care debate. lawmakers are back from recess. we're live on capitol hill with a look at what's at stake. as close as you can get to the fight against the taliban.

>> you lrtd? >> the dead of night when a roadside bomb explodes a split second too early sparing his and his people he's with lives. you'll see the gunfight that follows and why he's lucky to be alive. a yacht with a fitting name, bull -- you fill in the blank. no, it's just bull. whether we have buyers for all of bernie madoff's things. china is buying a lot of this country, but do you know how much they are stealing from our space program to academic labs to symbols of military dominance. how many secrets aren't so secret anymore. we are hours away from president obama's make or break health care speech. after an august recess where it was dominated by angry town hall

protests. the president will regain control of the goal. the original plan for a public health insurance option is a step toward health care. many middle of the road democrats say they will vote against it if it includes a public option. the only bipartisan proposal being considered is the plan in the hands of the so-called gang of 6. instead of a public option, there's a system of privately owned cooperatives. it's going on in the senate finance committee you. we will find out if republicans like it as well. some liberal democrats are saying it would be dead on arrival. first, from the house, it seems right now, when you listen to their leader, nancy pelosi, she's confident a bill coming out of the house would include a so-called public option. >> caller: not all leaders

agree. they are not speaking with one voice. when you listen to the number three in the house, jim clyburn, he's saying i support a government option, but maybe we need to tweak it to find a compromise here. he's suggesting pilot programs that state regions put into them. it doesn't go across the board. listen to what the number two democrat in the house and house speaker nancy pelosi said yesterday. >> i'm not one of those that says if you don't have a public option it's not a good bill. i think it's a very good bill. i think the public option makes it better. >> i believe in order to pass a bill in the house, we will have a public option. this is the legislative process. >> caller: one microphone, two different things. no public option not a deal

breaker. nancy pelosi still firm. >> there's the house. let's head to the senate side. a 10:00 a.m. deadline he's encouraging for the people he's working with. what is going on with that? >> caller: the pressure is really on here. chuck grassley says he will likely decide today whether this bipartisan group of six can come to some sort of consensus or whether the months and months of discussions they have been having really are not going to yield any sort of agreement. he put out a proposal over the weekend. we know more today, not only does it include the nonprofit health cooperative we were talking act yesterday, also, no mandate for employers. they would not be mandated to provide health insurance for employees. there would be penalties for bigger companies if they don't.

individuals would be mandated to get health insurance. if they don't, they would pay a penalty for a pfamily of four. a household bringing in $66,000 a year, up to $3800 annual fine there. what the senator did yesterday was said to the republicans and democrats in the small group, if you have counter proposals or revisions i want to see them by 10:00 a.m. we're going to pay a lot of attention. this group will meet at 2:30 p.m. and we'll be waiting to see if anything comes from that because some republicans say this time line is too tight for them. >> some of them, like olympia snowe wanted to see what the president said before making a decision. thanks so much. coming up in ten minutes, we're going to hear from white house press secretary, robert gibbs. how can the president convince the american public we need

this. new this morning, a fierce gun battle ends with the rescue of a new york times journalist today. they stormed a room where this man was being held captive. his afghan translator was killed in bullets. the kidnapping had been kept quiet by cnn, "the new york times" out of concern for his safety. the rescue underscores it dangers in afghanistan. right now, as the violence intensifies, cnn is the only bringing you reports in the war zone. all this week, we are live from the battle zone. just how dangerous is it to be on night patrol with the afghan police deep in taliban country?

watch what happens when we field the danger firsthand. >> reporter: one night, one police patrol. a hidden ied is about to hit this afghan police gun truck. cameraman and i are riding in it. some fir >> caller: it detonated a half feet too soon, otherwise, we would all be dead. >> are you all right? >> reporter: then comes the shooting. police firing to aim off further attack. but, this is the true front line against the taliban. it's where president obama's war will ultimately be won or lost. on that front line is my old friend, afghan police commander. i've been away for six years

reporting in iraq. it's a relief just to see he's still alive. it takes a certain kind of man to survive so long on the front. a man like him. as a police commander, he's been killing taliban since december, 2001. for the taliban, that means he's been a target for eight years. i have no idea how he survived. i protect myself, he says. god has a date for everyone's death. when that day comes -- my day has not come. they have the backdoor to kandahar. fully controlled by the taliban. through that mountain pass just beyond his check point, it's all taliban.

as for north patrol -- it's very hard to see me, where we are now. we are using as little light as possible. these are afghan police patrolling kandahar. this is the birthplace of the taliban. let's get moving and back in the truck. these men do this every night. where we are right now, is a taliban held neighborhood. the commander said there would be attacks. in the vehicle, he warns me we could be heading into trouble. >> getting inside that now. this is the most dangerous place. >> reporter: really? >> yeah. >> reporter: this is where they have a lot of contact with the insurgencies. there's a curfew in place here

for 10:00 p.m. anyone on the streets after 10:00 prime minister is deemed suspicious. here we are in the middle of the night moving through the neighborhood, watching the police at work. we arrive at an intersection controlled by taliban fighters. the commander says every night 20 or 30 talibans gather here to share information. a check point, not far from here, he's managed the taliban to move to another area. the police gun truck and cameraman -- the taliban bomb is hidden ahead of us. it seems victory is still a long way off.

>> are you all right? coming up, another dramatic moment from the front line. sanjay gupta reporting from the e.r. suddenly, his surgical skills are needed, again. >> if it would have detonated a half minute earlier or a few feet earlier, he would have been dead. >> there are so many stories like that across afghanistan and iraq as well. you talk with people in the u.s. military, they have had so many close calls. it's like a heart beat can make the difference between life and death. >> amazing reporting. meantime, on a lighter note, we are talking act whether or not people are going to try to cash in on bernie madoff's misfortune. the fact his homes are up on the auction block now. the sheriff's deputies are

trying to get as much money back as possible. we have a look inside some of the posh palaces. a great computer. oh great, um, i'd go with a pc. but i want one that just works without thousands of viruses and a ton of headaches. that's a pc. really? yep. i thought macs were much more stable and secure than pc's? they're not. you can't believe everything you hear! k about it. i'm gonna th just get a pc. man, it never ends. i don't even wanna ask.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. we are hours away from president obama's make or break health care speech. washington is back in action. the nation is waiting for details from the man who put his political clout on the line. here to give a speech, president obama's press secretary robert gibbs. good to see you this morning, thanks for being with us. >> good morning, how are you? >> good. is the president going to outline a plan or a series of ideas? >> he will outline specific ideas that i think will leave people with a couple thoughts. they will know the plan provides safety, security and stability to the millions of people that have health insurance each and every day, but watching their premiums skyrocket and double. secondly, for those who don't have health insurance, but need

affordable coverage, he will lay out a plan for how people can get that as well. he'll talk about the cost on government and why we can't afford to wait longer. we have to act now. >> why not an actual plan. if the president really wants to lead here and bob dole said the other day, why didn't he lay out an entire plan. he did more of what he did in the summer. >> i think people will walk away knowing where the president is. we're not going to send up to congress 1300 pages of legalese. what the president is going to do is refocus the effort and make sure people know what's in health care reform for them. >> you have repeatedly said the public option is a tool for bringing insurance to americans. there's a lot of resistance to it in the house. are they prepared to drop a

public plan to get a deal? >> what you will hear the president do is the importance of providing choice and competition in the health care system. we have a private insurance market that is dominated by one insurance company. a story of a friend of mine in alabama who started a small business in january. he had to go buy health insurance for his family. 89% of the market is dominated by exactly one health insurance company. he was lucky his family is healthy. he has talked to a lot of small business owners who have been denied coverage and they don't have choices. this president will talk about the value of a public option and choice of competition for those on the private insurance plan. >> you have the ability to duck without moving your head. the question was, is he prepared to drop a public option in order

to get a deal? >> the president is excited about outlining the plan. he will talk about the public option and we'll talk about how we can get to where we want to go. john, the one thing i have learned in only a few minutes as white house press secretary, is don't break the news the boss is going to make. >> all right. let me ask you this question, then. malpractice is something that's important for your colleagues on the republican side and very important for doctors. it's not so important for people on the democratic side. is the president prepared to talk about malpractice reform tonight? >> he is. he'll talk about it tonight. i think the is a good example. the president is going to talk about the downside of what many doctors told him, the practicing of defensive medicine. because they are worried about it, they order more and more tests to make sure they don't get sued. it costs our system billions and

billions of dollars a year. >> sure. >> this is a big test. the president is going to outline things it republicans want to hear. the test is to hear the message of millions and millions of americans struggling with the high cost of health insurance. are they ready, willing and able to come to the table and work with the president to get something done or are we going to stand on the sidelines without a plan? that's the challenge tonight for republicans. >> back to the malpractice reform issue. is he prepared to embrace the idea of caps that many republicans and doctors want the president to do? they say their costs are so high because of liability insurance, it's driving up the cost for every patient that walks in the door. >> i'm not going to get in front of the president on this, i will tell you and your viewers he will discuss the subject tonight. >> all right. there's a lot of concern among democrats in congress if they

don't get health care reform passed in the mid-term elections they could lose 20 seats to a high of 40 seats that would change control of the house of representatives. does the president have in mind the potential political consequences as well? >> look, i think the consequences the president is focused on are the consequences for millions of americans struggling with health insurance, struggling to pay for it. what happens to them if we don't act? try ing ing to predict what's g to happen. not an election that's going to happen this year or next year is for very smart people that have a crystal ball that i don't possess. it's like telling me not who's going to win this year's world series, but next year's world series. it's a long way off. the best politics is good policy. we need to get something done

for the american people who watched premiums double over the course of nine years. watch d insurance companies tell them they can't get coverage because they have a pre-existing condition. washington has to demonstrate for the american people, it has the capability of solving the biggest problems we face in this country. it's a challenge for all of us. >> thanks for joining us this morning. >> thanks. 20 minutes after the hour. finally, good news for people with type 2 diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the

clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level. nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today.

23 minutes past the hour. it's interesting, there's so much anger and hate about bernie madoff and people were so irate about the situation. still are. now, in a weird way, we are getting an inside look at what his life was like and it's up for sale. >> you're right. the victims, the people who were the victims will get a piece of

all the property seized. it's put out on display to get interest from real estate brokers. now, we're having breakfast in palm beach. let's look at the estate there. our cameras have been allowed to go through it. first, it's the location. an 80 foot dock. this is what the marshall has to say about where it is. >> you have a great panoramic view of -- from north to south from the dock, from the backyard. a view of downtown palm beach. spectacular view. this would be one of the selling points of this property. it's a western exposure. you're going to have wonderful sunsets in the afternoon. >> yeah, this is really, location here. an 80 foot dock on the water way. the property is a half acre, assessed at $7 million. the house, $778,000.

>> he's spending all the time talking about the view, the house can't be great. >> a house built in '73. five bedrooms, seven bathrooms. in his closet, nine shelves. it's full of bull representatio representations, every kind of artwork of bull breeds, art work of statues of bull, fish. the bull theme, i love. the guy was not trading his victim's money and bull is more asked for. >> the property was assessed at $7 million, the house, $700,000? >> yeah. it's location, location, location. you look at this place, he's a guy who had his -- he was

somebody who -- those are great location real estate pedigree. >> i google earthed his property. >> you can't get that close to the beach anymore. >> get your checkbook, maybe you could get some. >> they had 70 brokers go through. our u.s. marshalls playing real estate agent is getting interest. we are going to get an inside look. we start off our spy series. she's talking chinese spies in america. how are they going undetected?

[ominous music] [screeching] [dejectedly] oh. [screeching] [barks] (man) if you think about it, this is what makes the ladders different from other job-search sites. [screeching] we only work with the big talent. [all coughing] welcome to the ladders-- a premium job site for only $100k-plus jobs and only $100k-plus talent. introducing a breakthrough from tums that can control your heartburn for hours all day or all night. it's called tums dual action, and it's the longest lasting tums ever. tums dual action works two ways to relieve heartburn:

like all tums, it goes to work in seconds. plus, tums dual action has an effective acid reducer that works for hours, all day or all night, to keep heartburn from coming back. rely on tums dual action for fast, long-lasting relief of heartburn. brand power. helping you buy better.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. the fbi ranks china as one of the biggest threats to the u.s. >> some of the most intimate national security details could be at risk. >> we are joined from the washington news room. hello, jean. >> hi. the cold war is over, but spying is not. along with russia, one country runs a comprehensive and successful espionage against the u.s. that country, is china. >> lift off of the space shuttle "discovery." >> the space shuttle, the international space station and the f-15 fighter, some of the most sensitive and valued developed by the united states.

information was given to them by this man, a nationalized u.s. citizen. a search turned up 300,000 documents hidden under his house. letters from his chinese handlers. a medal from the chinese government. he was convicted in july. he was spying for china for more than three decades. he's one player in a complex chinese espionage information. >> what information are they getting from us? >> everything. >> such charges are an old war mentality. >> they want to demonize china. >> the allegations are not true? >> not true. >> they are aiding their military and economic development. since 2006, the u.s. government

prosecutored 60 people for stealing secrets frr china. >> we stopped things. if we hadn't, we would have grievance losses. >> it's difficult to prove, but the government is believed to infiltrated computers. >> the sad joke in the pentagon, if someone lost a document, call the chinese. >> they say they may have left behind code that is triggered to shut down or destroy infrastructure and weapons systems. the pentagon told congress, of all the foreign intelligence operations, china's are the most aggressive. >> it's a damaging thing and it's unprecedented. >> it's continuing? >> it's continuing. we're not mounting a proportionate response at all. >> the u.s. wants to stay on

good terms with the chinese. some say it's made it more difficult for the u.s. to deal effectively and forcefully with chinese espionage. >> thanks so much. tomorrow our spies among us takes a look at the black market for bombs. could terrorists get their hands on the market and smuggle a device into the states. a deadly wildfire burning north of los angeles has grown to more than twice the size of california's capital, sacramento. the station fire is slowing down and is 60% contained. it's the ooigt largest wildfire in years. an award for the ors nist who started it is up to $150,000. two firefighters died fighting the fire. a new chairman for the

safety board said she's raising the bar. a self-described blackberry addict said it's catastrophic. you may remember the fatal train wreck where the train operator was sending and receiving texts up to the moment before the crash. it may take longer to pay off college loans. starting salaries are down more than 1% to under $49,000, if they have a job at all. those who responded said offers are down 20% compared to last year. today, the supreme court is meeting to hear a case that could change future political campaigns. the film about hillary clinton when she was running for president in 2008 that was blocked by the federal election committee. the fec said it looked like a giant campaign ad and that violated the law. now, it's the high court's turn

to weigh in. joining me is jonathan tur lee at george washington university. thanks for being with me this morning. >> good morning. >> citizens united. they challenged the ruling up to the supreme court asking the question, who is entitled to free speech. does it not just cover individuals, but corporations in the large, political group. what is at stake when you look at the case the supreme court is about to consider? >> there's a great deal at stake. it's coming at an important time before the elections. this case, as you know, is being heard a is second time. it's a rare september argument. the justices asked for additional argument on whether the campaign finance restrictions were, indeed, constitutional. it raises, in many people's mind, the possibility the court

could make the impact of the case greater, to strike down part of the campaign finance laws. specifically, there's a case called austin in 1990 where they ruled congress could restrict contributions by corporation. >> let's look at both sides. if they rule in favor of this, corporations do have the same free speech rights as an individual, you speech wouldn't be regulated by campaign finance law. wouldn't it give deep pocketed corporations and groups free will to get a leg up when it comes to campaigns and the candidate they want to see for president? >> that's the fear. it's divided by the civil community and free speech. there's both sides. for many free speech advocates, this is maybe a case of strange bedfello bedfellows, but they agree with citizens united and say, if you start to say these types of

movies are prohibited speech, it could sweep into things like books. indeed, the last argument, the u.s. government said yes, we could restrict books during these election periods. that sent a chill throughout the free speech community. on the other side, people are saying yeah, campaign finance is strangling the democratic process. you have two worthy values and very strong values on both sides. >> as you said, strange bedfellows, things that don't follow the party lines. if they say no, it would have the supreme court ruling that corporations do not have the same free speech right as it relates to the election process, right? >> one of the things argued for citizens united is speech

shouldn't depend on who the speaker is, who is giving the speech to determine whether the government can restrict it or prohibit it. it's a great basic value. here, congress saying, if you are a wealthy corporation, we are going to treat you differently in your speech. it could not be more important. we have changes on the court, not just the appearance of sonia sotomayer, but, also, sam aledo replaced sandra day o'connor. she was one of the critical five votes that upheld campaign financing. there are changes that could threaten campaign finance rules. think of what it means. if they strike down part of the campaign finance laws, it occurs right before the midterm and you would see major amounts of money dumped into the campaign. >> it extends to running for congress as well, congress and the presidency. it could have implications.

we'll be watching this. they take it up today. thanks for putting it in plain english for us. thanks. >> my pleasure. andy faced a deadline to pay back $24 million or lose her work.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. we were just saying, somebody out there has money, who is it? >> oh, yeah. it's the lobbying for health care reform. this is the most expensive lobbying reform in the history of the united states. $375 million spent so far from lobbying to campaign contributions. you have drug companies, hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, health professionals, health insurers, lawyers, these are all the money spent so far, $279 million. then $75 million for television ads. $23 million to 2010 campaign war chests. it's a big expensive battle.

it's interesting. look at all the different groups, spending it cross purpose to one another. clearly, a lot of money being spent here. it's a power machine that's happening now on capitol hill. >> so much at stake. >> yeah, yeah. >> this is a number christine gives us. what is the numeral today? >> it's six and has to do with lobbying. it is the number of lobbyists per lawmaker. six to one. think of it. your elected officials are bombarded. six to one on health care reform. hopefully your voice is being heard there. she had until midnight to pay back a loan or risk losing

every photo she's ever taken. we'll find out if she made good on the loan. her attorney says they are in talks to solve the dispute and it's pushed back to october 1. fred is now a powerful category 2 storm. we are tracking it this morning. >> this thing doubled in intensity since we talked yesterday. almost a category 3 storm. where is fred headed? bicycle, i've missed you.

gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ .

all right. it's 45 minutes past the hour. we are heading to the weather center in atlanta where we are tracking fred.

fred has double d in size since it was brought up yesterday. what's going on. >> over the last 24 hours, winds of 105 miles per hour. very impressive. very distinct eye is beginning to form. it's definitely on the move. it's moving west-northwest at 13 miles per hour. it's pretty far away. it's out off the coast of africa. here is the forecast track from the national hurricane center bringing it to category 3 status today or tonight and weakening. notice the quick turn to the north. it's making a northward turn before it has a chance to the ridge that shoots it to the west. one of the reasons may be because it got its act together so close to africa. a little closer to home. what's going on? you are in for a bit of a wet

pattern. many of the major, metro poll tan areas. era ya of high pressure isp moving up the coastline. it will keep things cool and moist for folks who live in new york city. beaware of that. on the moist side, parts of texas will be cool out west. temperatures will be cool in new york. 66 in boston. 77 in chicago. heat is starting to rebuild in parts of dallas. it will be in the lower 90s. shuttle coming home tomorrow night. hopefully, we'll have a smooth landing in cape canaveral. >> thanks. when dr. sanjay gupta was in iraq, there was an emergency. he had to scrub in for an operation. he's in afghanistan and it happened again. hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪

i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice... what i didn't expect... was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love. 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.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. our doctor, sanjay gupta has been reporting in afghanistan all week. we have a happy announcement. a 2-year-old was rushed in with a massive brain injury. he fell down a hill. doctor gupta saw him and he's showing surprisingly good progress. this morning, we're paging dr. gupta where he's reporting from inside an afghan e.r. while covering a story about a doctor from his hometown, that asked him to scrub in because

they were one surgeon short. >> one, two, three. >> u.s. army major, is the only vascular surgeon an antipersonn mine that he stepped on. it basically amputated his legs. his feet were gone. and we completed the amputati amputations. >> brown is 43, a long way from home. the same hometown as mine which makes this all the more personal. >> the deal was when they need you for whatever they need you, go. that's it. >> reporter: the go call came january 29 and there has been no rest for this battlefield surgeon. we're in one of the trauma bays. it's an unusually quiet moment but i wanted to give you an idea of the numbers which give you a reflection of what's happening here in kandahar, in afghanistan. they usually see 80 patients a month. by april 100, and look at august, roughly 230 patients.

they think by fall the numbers will increase. >> they only had three. this is what happen when's they have a hospital as busy as this. one of your children was born while you were deployed. how do you deal with that? >> it is a sacrifice to my family, but it's a privilege. >> when you had to say good-bye to your wife and many kids, you have lots of kids like i do, tell me about that conversation. >> it was hardest for my son. and the oldest, 6 years old. that's always hard. there's no silver lining on that. he gave me a good luck charm. it's a little stuffed dog. the promise was as long as i keep it on. >> reporter: dr. brown is a reservist. they spend about 90 days, then

asked do they want to stay longer. dr. brown was asked that and decided he wanted to stay a year. also i want to show you video that boosted the morale, this is malik. as you remember there was concern that he wouldn't survive the operation. he is surviving and starting to make progress with the strength on the left side of his body. we'll continue to have updates on him all week long. back to you. >> good news from dr. gupta. you can see more from sanjay on ac 360 live from the battle zone all this week at 10:00 p.m. eastern, 7:00 pacific. eight minutes to the top of the hour. (announcer) time brings new wisdom new aches and pains, ...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

the way that ibuprofen can. it's tough on your body pain. not on your body. i'm finally going to get a flat panel for my home theater. - ( cheering ) - ( laughs ) thank you. what should i get? uh, you. you should check out our new leds. the picture's better than life. okay, but i don't want to pay too much. don't worry about it. we'll match those other stores' prices. and we'll deliver and hook it up for free.

okay. last question. if you guys are here, who's in the stores? the latest home theater technology and thousands of people eager to help. best buy. buyer be happy.

five minutes before the top of the hour. welcome back. a lot of people in the u.s. flock to tanning salons to get a golden glow to make skin darker. across india the demand for whiteners is soaring. it's not just women, guys, too, looking for fair skin that advertisers say that women swoon over. sarah has the story from new delhi. >> reporter: this television commercial is sending out a not so subtle message to men in asia. one actor says i'm unlucky because of my face. not because of your face,

because of the color of your face the other says. then he throws him a skin whitening cream. you get her just like that, referring to the girl and indeed after putting on the cream he does, in the ad anyway. skin whiteners once mostly targeted to women in india are advertised to men from some of the best known cosmetic brands. a marketing study found sales have jumped more than 100% in rural india. this man says he knows why. he runs 140 salons in india and around the world. >> we have a complex with the white skin, toward the foreign skin or foreign hair. >> reporter: in recent years indians have more income than ever and guys are not shy about spending it on their looks. >> they are trying everything. >> reporter: men used to be embarrassed about this. >> i don't think so. now they are very conscious to

look nicer. >> why not. everybody wants to look good. everybody wants to look handsome, beautiful. why not me. >> reporter: in a country where most people have brown skin the message sent has some outraged. >> basically, it's i mean, i think it's completely racist and highly objection aable. >> reporter: brenda complained about the ads to authorities. we contacts three producers. skin care company which sells in pakistan did saying they are giving the public what it wants. still, critics argue these commercials are simply reinforcing a stereotype that india should be trying to shed, not encourage. >> reporter: one of the advertisers wrote us a few moments ago and basically they said look, in our part of the world meaning asia, people want fair skin and that is their

right. i guess it depends on what you think looks good request. >> very interesting. as we said so interesting that here in the u.s. and the states people are trying to be tan, they want to be golden brown. and there it's the opposite. >> the grass is always greener. >> sarah, thanks. >> or lighter. or darker as the case may be. >> exactly. good morning to you again. it's wednesday, it's september 9th. so it's 09-09-2009. >> does that mean anything? 8-8-08 meant something, like good luck. >> it means something too. we'll tell you. >> we'll find out. meantime, here's what's on the agenda. stories we'll be breaking down for you. in about 12 hours time potential make or break moment for the president addressing a rare joint meeting of congress spelling out what he means by health care reform. we'll look at what it means for you. >> lifestyles of the rich and fa

lonious. christine gives us a tour of the ponzi schemer's prize possessions. >> and eight years after the september 11 attacks a report says terrorists are aiming if for easier to hit targets like hotels. the report says al qaeda has changed its franchising out. coming up, fran townsend on whether we're adjusting the way terrorists are doing business. everybody's outsourcing these days. we begin with what could abcrucial day for the white house. president obama deliver as make or break speech and after a summer of wild attacks and mud slinging the president is hoping to hit the reset button. i spoke with robert gibbs about tonight's address. >> so what's the president going to do tonight? is he going to outline an actual plan or a series of ideas? >> look, he will outline very specific ideas that i think will leave people with a couple of

thoughts when they walk away from the speech. one, they'll know that this plan provides safety, security and stability to the millions of people that have health insurance each and every day but are watching their premiums sky rocket and double. secondly, for those that don't have health insurance, but need affordable coverage, he'll lay out a plan how people can get that as well. he will'll talk about the crippling cost of health care on government, and why we just can't afford to wait any longer. we have to act now. >> slightly vague specifics there. our suzanne malvo is in the white house. what are you learning about the president's speech? i asked the secretary gibbs if the president was prepared to drop the public plan, he wouldn't go that far and also whether he was for caps on malpractice lawsuits, he wouldn't go there either. what do we know? >> vague specifics, a great way to put it. this is the thinking here. when it comes to the public option. the president is going to talk

about the importance of the public option, he's not going to say it's a make or break situation but try to explain it in ways that we all understand what it means. so, they are going to de-emphasize who the public option helps. for instance, he's going to talk about the fact there are 180 million people who get insurance through private insurance companies, the public option is not going to affect them. people who get insurance covered through medicaid or the va, it's not going to cover them. it's going to cover a small but critical group of people, small business owners who say are in a certain place and are denied coverage of the predominant insurance company there and needs some sort of alternative, and they would turn to this idea of this government public option. so really, john, what it's about is that it's one of many ideas the president is going to talk about but he's going to try to make it more palatable so they get it, understand what the public option is, who it serves, who it doesn't serve so it's not the so-called bogeyman that everybody's been talking about. >> is this going to satisfy

people in his own party who said mr. president we need you to outline something concrete. >> reporter: you know, it's yet to be determined whether or not it really is going to work that way. we do know that the president has been reaching out quietly as well as publicly to folks, we saw nancy pelosi and harry reid. they were talking about the public option. nancy pelosi pushing that. we also know quietly he, the president, talked to senator max baucus, the one who has put forward a detailed plan. he is going to talk to him again before this speech, before congress, to try once again to see if his ideas can marry their ideas. but he's going to talk about the public option as well as many other specifics, at least the white house says specifics, to try to bring members of congress on board. you talked to robert gibbs. he said he's still going to push to make sure they have health care reform by the end of the year. john? >> sounds like your helicopters are arriving to take the president to new york.

suzanne, thanks so much. >> while the president has been the most vocal proponent of health care reform it's congress that has to agree on a plan when all is said and done. that seems to still be quite a long way off. here's where things stand now in this am extra. four of the five congressional committees considering health care legislation have already passed bills. the senate finance committee is the lone holdout that they could have something today. the four plans already passed have many of the same features each would require all americans to have insurance. and also prevent insurance companies from blocking people with pre-existing conditions, or dropping them when they get sick. the one sticking point is the public option, this would be an insurance program run by the government to compete gengs private insurers. the debate on what to do with that is still red hot. >> reporter: the president is not just taking heat from liberals in the party, he's feeling pressure from campaign

flow for president who say it's not change they can believe in. one leader says it may be time to cut a deal. former staffers from president obama's campaign rallied in front of the white house, umbrellas in hand in case he rains on their parade with a public option, the idea of giving a government hell care plan. >> has he let you down? >> i think if the president compromises on public option he hasn't just let me down he let down my generation. >> it may be that we need to take a half loaf rather than a full loaf and get full loaf three years down the road. >> reporter: james clybourn says it's time to find middle ground, one compromise would be to test the public option as a pilot program. >> let's do that now and then three years down the road some people say four or five, then let's take a look at the facts

and see what worked and see whether or not we will then mandate going forward with the public option will look like. >> some members of your party in the house who will settle for nothing short of a public option now. what do you say? >> what i would say to them is this gets us there. >> he is also open to calls for a trigger that would mandate a public option down the road if the insurance industry doesn't improve performance. >> the fact of the matter is a trigger would include a pub lig option. >> the white house is signaling the president hasn't given up on the option. in a speech to congress mr. obama is expected to make the case that the option won't impact americans to get insurance from employers or medicare. >> if the -- the president will discuss both what the public option isn't and what the public option is in terms of bringing choice and competition. >> still, even as he campaigned as a changed candidate on health care mr. obama said he was a dealmaker. >> in the end, all the good plans in the world won't mean

anything if we can't get them passed. >> and the democratic majority whip is reminding some colleagues that the civil rights laws of the 60s were not passed all at once but over the course of a decade. that kind of effort may be necessary on health care reform. john and kiran. >> thanks. >> in a few minutes coming up we're going to talk with two political speechwriters, david frum and robert shrum. coming right up here on the most news in the morning. >> new overnight freedom for a "new york times" journalist kidnapped in afghanistan. the paper reporting that steven farrell was rescued. he was captured saturday while covering a nato airstrike. an afghan journalist who was also taken and worked with farrell was killed during the daring raid. until now the kidnappings have been kept quiet out of concern

for their safety. farrell was kidnapped once before in 2004 when he was covering the war in iraq. the plot thickens. a bone fragment found in the back yard next to sex offender phillip garrido's house is probably human. police say garrido took care of the property but say it's not unusual to find native american remains in the area. garrido and his wife charged with the rape and kidnapping of jaycee dugard 18 years ago. and three more great white sharks spotted off cape cod, that makes five tagged this week. officials say they have all been electronically tagged so experts can track their movements, hopefully learn more why they are there. the shark sightings prompted officials on the cape to actually close the beaches to swimmers over the popular labor day weekend. >> so we've been to montauk, palm beach. what do you say we put on the jacket and go yachting.

>> the trip on the bull, this is bernie madoff, biggest ponzi schemer, now sitting behind bars but that doesn't mean that a lot of his prized possessions aren't up for sale. a yacht anyone?

[screeching] [dejectedly] oh. [screeching] [barks] (man) if you think about it, this is what makes the ladders different from other job-search sites. [screeching] we only work with the big talent. [all coughing] welcome to the ladders-- a premium job site for only $100k-plus jobs and only $100k-plus talent. i'm finally going to get a flat panel for my home theater. - ( cheering ) - ( laughs ) thank you. what should i get? uh, you. you should check out our new leds. the picture's better than life. okay, but i don't want to pay too much. don't worry about it. we'll match those other stores' prices. and we'll deliver and hook it up for free.

okay. last question. if you guys are here, who's in the stores? the latest home theater technology and thousands of people eager to help. best buy. buyer be happy. ♪ pretty shot in new york, the hudson river and the bridge. ours is working. i wonder if san francisco's is. hopefully things are better for them. here, cloudy, 68 degrees, later showers, pretty much the story if you live on the east coast. 71 degrees. christine romans is here,

today you're on bernard madoff prize property patrol. >> say that ten times fast. let's move on to yachts. take a look at the three boats that bernie madoff the famous jailed ponzi schemer had. the u.s. marshals seized these. this one there, the bull, 55 feet, 1969 custom made yacht, has an elevator up to the flying bridge though i can't see, must be a little platform that goes up. almost too much. the engines have 60 hours on them. completely rebuilt. that's it. rebuilt these engines. 60 hours on them. it was shrink wrapped when it was seized. the bull painting. of course. i love the bull references. it was seized affidavit april 1 and shrink wrapped. there are three boats, actually, kept now in ft. lauderdale. a 38-foot runabout.

>> u.s. marshals taking a tour. >> i gave them a rest this hours. and a 23-foot maverick for weekends. so three boats, all at ft. lauderdale. interesting the marble shalls hope that some of the notoriety, the boat buyer circuit might mean there is good demand. imagine if you are a prince you can say look, this is bernie madoff's yacht. i don't know if that works in the boat buying business. >> jfk's old is one thing. >> my personal favorite. my personal favorite not the 55 feet -- it's not the 55 feet of bull, it's the 38-foot shelter island run about. it's like if you can imagine -- 8:12 in the morning. love it. that's it. that's all i got on bernie madoff.

i think we've seen everything. the cars, yes, when i see the cars i'll bring those back. >> christine, thanks so much. don't go to the batabing. so, w? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

good morning washington. we've got light rain and 67 degrees right now. later on today showers continuing. a high of 77. not such a nice day for the president's speech. welcome back to the most news in the morning. so much at stake as president obama makes his case for health

care overhaul. in a speech to the nation and the congress the house chamber will be filled with democrats divided by health care reform and republicans against it. joining us to talk more about this pivotal motion, david frum, and with us here democratic strategist robert shrum. opposite sides of the fence. you write competing editorials. bob, can the president regain the momentum in the health care debate with one appearance before congress albeit a big appearance? >> no. but i don't think he lost momentum. if you look under all of the noise, what's happening is that democrats are continually moving toward agreement. i suspect that you'll have some kind of trigger for a public option instead of a public option. but i think we'll see a health care bill by the time we get to october, early november. >> david frum, you agree that he hasn't lost the momentum? >> he is losing momentum t. momentum is carried in public

polls. the president is facing a public no longer so sure about this idea. opinion seems approximately equally split. and there are interesting polls that show a lot of members of the public are now rating health care as the single most important voting issue for them. his party is not worried about the republicans who are weak, it's frightened of the public. >> bob this morning in "the new york times" maureen dowd says the president shutd have been more forceful earlier. he should have done this in june. you can't combat a term like death panels with public option. you think should he have been out three months ago? >> i don't think death panel in the end convinced people that anything like that's in the bill. obama's had this criticism all along. on this show and other shows, back in february, people were saying the stimulus is in deep trouble, may take months to pass, democrats are in disagreement and he got the sometime lus bill. his great strength is steadiness. i think the big difference you'll see tonight from this and

the town meetings is that he'll be out there connecting a moral and emotional argument to the facts, not many presidents have been able to do that. ronald reagan though people didn't notice it did that. jfk did that. i think he'll do that tonight. >> david, maureen dowd says the president looks vulnerable now, she says quote after signaling that there was nothing he would fall on his sword for after dropping van jones, the president is getting to be seen as an easy mark. if obama didn't have a knife thrower like rahmbo democrats would be convinced that the president would fold in a heartbeat. >> that's not super good advice. the idea that the president would have done well to back a 9/11 truther is not a good idea. obama faces two huge problems with this health care. they are not about presentation on tv. one, he has a public terrified of the accumulating debt. the united states is heading

toward world war ii levels of debt under president obama. nobody believes his glossy assurances that this health care plan won't add another trillion on top of this. that's problem one. debt. problem two is the people who most depend on hk, seniors are worried about the medicare program. to add another obligation on top and to fund that by taking money out of medicare, that frightens america's seniors. they are the group you can see public support dropping. >> i generally have a lot of support for david who had the honesty to say that the republicans are not offering anything on health care. there is no diminution of medicare benefits under this plan. there are a series of savings in terms of the recompense for providers and hospital who is volunteered to make these savings. the real problem here is that the country, by the way the new york times this morning also says the numbers haven't

fundamentally moved on health care over the last month. while we've been covering all of the noise and the town hall meetings, i think the president benefits from all of this stuff about make or break. because i think he's going to make it. i think he's going to give a very good speech and i think he'll get a bill and make history in the process. >> david, one other thing i wanted to ask you, bob mentioned death panels a moment ago. sarah palin is back out with a statement on that on her facebook page. is it any wonder many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the democrats proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by dare i say it death panels. people were scratching their heads saying why is she out with that? >> i think she believes in audacity. you go forward, say the same thing again and again. >> and truth doesn't matter. >> i don't think she is hugely concerned about that. here is why seniors are worried. this is a different thing from the ideal view that i would express. assessing how they feel.

they know the medicare program is rickity. if it were governed by the private sector it would be in the hole to probably over $35 trillion. they are worried about this. now there is going to be another obligation and the president is -- and bob i don't think is exactly right when he says the proposed savings will make no difference. the president's idea is to crimp the medicare advantage program in which about a fifth of seniors are currently enrolled. >> they get something instead, david. in fact they save a huge amount of money on prescription drugs. i think the most absurd thing -- >> are going to find they lose something they like. >> but they get something better and save on prescription drugs. the most absurd thing in this discussion have been the seniors who stand up and i know the president has to deal with this, saying i don't want the government touching my health care. what do they think medicare is? >> we got to leave it there. we'll see what the president has to say tonight, where the debate

goes from here. always great to have you on together. famous frum and shrum duo. tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern. still ahead we're talking about the latest terror threats. years and years after 9/11 are buildings safe or terrorists actually heading for softer targets? fred townsend is going to weigh in on that.

welcome wack back.

the fbi ranks china. >> some our most intimate national security details could be at risk. for today's look at the spies among us homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve. >> the cold war is over but spying definitely is not. experts say a long with russia one country runs a particularly comprehensive successful espionage operation against the united states. that is china. >> and liftoff of the space shut "discover." >> the space shuttle, the space station and the f-15 fighter. some of the most sensitive technology developed by the united states. and information about all of them was given to china by this man, dong van chung was an aerospace engineer with a secret clearance. a search turned up 300,000 sensitive documents hidden under

his house. letters with marching orders from his chinese handlers, even a medal from the chinese government. he was convicted in july, had been spying for china more than three decades. experts say chung is just one player in a complex chinese espionage operation. >> what kind of information are they getting from us? >> they're getting pretty much everything. >> the chinese government says such charges reflect an old cold war mentality. >> they want to put out stories to demonize china for their benefit. it's not good. >> so the allegations about espionage are not true. >> not true. >> but there is ample evidence that the chinese are siphoning secrets to aid their military and economic development. since 2006, the u.s. government has prosecuted 60 people for stealing secrets for china. >> we stopped some things from happening that if we've not stopped them would have resulted in grievous losses.

of course you don't know what you don't know. >> chinese cyber capabilities are sophisticated. though difficult to prove the government and its surrogates are believed to infiltrated computers at most u.s. government agencies. >> the sad joke in the pentagon, if you can't find a document, call the chinese. >> hackers may have left code that could be triggered to shut down or destroy critical infrastructure even weapons systems. the pentagon recently told congress of all of the foreign intelligence organizations attempting to penetrate u.s. agencies, china's are the most aggressive. >> it is a damaging thing and it is unprecedented. >> it's continuing. >> and it's continuing. and we're not mounting a proportionate response at all. >> the u.s. wants to stay on good terms with the chinese and some experts say that made it more difficult for the u.s. to deal effectively and forcefully with chinese espionage that some

believe is already jeopardizing the economic and military strength of the united states. john and kiran, back to you. >> jeanne meserve from washington. tomorrow our spies among us series takes a look at the black market for bombs. could terrorists get their hands on nuclear material on the black market and smuggle a device into the united states. two minutes before the bottom of the hour. connecticut senator chris dodd is expected to announce he's keeping his banking committee chairmanship. senator kennedy's death was a blow to the health care reform effort and dodd a close friend of kennedy has been talking up the possibility of vicki kennedy perhaps replacing her husband. at this point she's shown no interest. >> how much radiation does your cell phone emit? this is a long asked question. a new study says radiation levels vary wildly. some giving off more than others. the fcc doesn't require cell phone makers dedivulge levels.

>> for everybody laughing he said long asked question. >> a long other question is one that's often asked in a court room or congress. the iphone is in the middle of the pack, to see where your phone stacks go to cnn.com/am fix. >> meanwhile keep the ziploced bags handy. this is something we're used to. the restrictions on the amount of liquids you can carry, i always forget. darn it. security officials say that 3 ounce maximum rule put into place three years ago after they foiled that plot to down a plane with liquid explosives, that ban is going to stay until more high tech x-ray machines at airports can be installed. that could take at least a year. in two days it will be eight years, astonishingly enough, since the 9/11 attacks, this time of year we ask are we safer

today? are we doing enough to protect ourselves? have we let our guards down? there is a new report out that says while the united states and countries around the world have taken significant steps to protect their visible targets like military bases, government buildings, embassies, that al qaeda is now looking to attack lower profile soft targets like hotels and shopping malls. joining me for more, fred townsend, and a cnn national security adviser as well. thanks for being with us. we talk about eight years since 9/11. we said the new normal things that you wouldn't have thought about before 9/11 have become a way of life for us. we spoke about the ziploc bags, taking our shoes off getting on a flight. looking eight years ahead where do we stand in terms of whether we let our guard down and whether or not we are shielding ourselves properly against the perhaps adaptations of al qaeda? >> well, kiran, there should be no doubt the american people

should take a good deal of confidence we had intelligence reform, we have this new departments of homeland security. we've takenen a lot of step, the fbi has a national security and domestic intelligence capability but al qaeda does adapt. the report you referred to by a private company that does intelligence assessment makes the point that look, as we get better, as the governments get better and harden their own har gets, al qaeda and terrorist groups look to soft targets. look at mumbai, the bally bombing. since about 2003 when we saw attacks against hotels in iraq and in saudi arabia, al qaeda has looked to softer targets. they are much more difficult to protect. we've seen in the eight years since 9/11 an increase in the number of attacks, they doubled against hotels and soft targets and fatalities in those attacks are 6 1/2 times greater. >> this is a growing concern.

>> as you mentioned, you mentioned the mumbai, jakarta, afghanistan, pakistan. as we talk about these smaller groups, right, almost calling them al qaeda franchise, the smaller groups need less money, but they say this report, the reason that hotels have been targeted they are the ultimate small target, soft target rather. there are plenty of people there, at times the security perimeters are easy to penetrate. so is that a united states threat? we talked about all of these cities abroad. but is that something that could happen in the united states? >> you know, kiran, in the run-up to the 2004 presidential election we worried at the political nominating conventions that hotels would be targeted. we haven't seen it here. and i think that really has to do with there are a number of ways that we look for those sorts of threats. there are reporting requirements for large purchases of explosives. after things like the world trade center bombing in '93 we watch closely truck rentals,

things that are unexplained. we look for anomalies. the fbi works with state and local law enforcement. so, we have mechanisms in place to try and detect this before the threat manifests itself because the sorts of things like perimeter security, pushing the perimeter back is very difficult in large urban environments like new york city and washington, d.c. so, we look for other mechanisms to detect it earlier on before the threat is actually at the hotel door. >> interesting. does this study look into whether or not, and is there any type of assessment whether or not look, we can build up our buildings, our security but if the feeling is still there, if the will to commit terror attacks against america is still there with al qaeda, have we made any progress in trying to change that ideology or make us less of a target? >> you know kiran, the problem there is in this horrible sort of hateful ideology of al qaeda you're not -- the true believers you're not going to dissuade.

what you want to do, i think we've seen president obama and before that president bush try to reach out to the muslim world. and talk to -- this is not -- never been a war against islam or the muslim world. it's very much targeted that the ideology. so i think we made some progress, there's much more to be made and really the progress there needs to be made by the moderate muslim community, speaking among themselves, talking about because this is really not -- this hateful ideology is not a symbol of isl islam. islam is peaceful. this is an aberration. that needs to be made clear. >> as we say, the 8-year anniversary of 9/11 coming up friday. and we look at the fact that we have actually not had another attack here on u.s. soil. is that a mix of luck, is it the fact we have made great changes and where do you see us being most vulnerable? >> you know, absolutely. this is not luck. there have been thousands of men and women both in uniform and

not in uniform, placed in dangerous places around the world to detect these threats, to thwart them. we've had tremendous success against the leaders of al qaeda in the federally administrated tribal areas, made great progress at our borders, in our intelligence and law enforcement communities, so it's not luck, kiran. it is a lot of hard work by lots of people, both here and our allies around the world. that doesn't mean -- i mean i think anybody in the counterterrorism community would tell that you al qaeda continues to this day to plan attacks, not only against us but our allies in western europe. we saw yesterday the conviction in the -- in great britain for the 2006 bomb plot which you mentioned resulted in this country in the ban on liquids. those people continue, al qaeda continues in the tribal areas and their affiliates around the world to plot attacks. what the most important piece in stopping the next attack is to

maintain the country's vigilance. >> all right, absolutely. very, very true. we see it every day they are continuing to do that as best they can. great to talk to you. thanks for being with us. >> good to be with you. a big day for a 17-year-old from georgia. she is in the semifinals at the u.s. open. melanie oudin is who we're talking about. we're going to talk with her coach coming up in a little while. will she be able to make it through to the semis. she's wowed the crowd and had a stratospheric improvement to her game. we'll talk to brian coming up about her chances. 36 1/2 minutes after the hour.

nothing like a tag line to frame your debate when it comes to health care or anything from pulling the plug on grandma to death panels, the tag lines tossed around are powerful. carl costello is taking a look at the tag line war. >> reporter: there is no doubt about one thing. many americans are confused about exactly how the president wants to reform health care. so, what to do now? well, on wednesday, many analysts say the president must

present a plan. >> i have every right. >> wait a minute. >> reporter: it has been president obama's summer of discontent. his health care message hijacked by extremists on both sides. >> i don't want this country turning into russia. >> reporter: he's been called a traitor by liberals, a socialist, racist, some say the ugliness has turned barack obama into another politician. former republican congresswoman is a lobbyist whose firm deals in health care matters. >> he has seen himself if you will the super man falling to earth. >> reporter: voters we talked with in chicago mr. obama's hometown certainly feel that way. >> feel like he's promising so much but hasn't acted on anything. >> i feel there's a lot of inconsistency. >> they feel mr. obama allowed extreme comments to not only diminish his stature but control his message.

many supporters know president obama's plan doesn't include killing grandma but they want his plan. >> i think he's on the critics fluster him. >> reporter: an independent who writes says that's why the president needs to be frank and firm before congress. >> i think what he needs to do is say i hear you, i heard you. i'm not going to let either extreme dominate the debate. >> reporter: he says he must tell voters he gets their concern about government growth and spending and needs to tell voters why we need reform. and it needs to be said with a bit of the passion the president displayed in ohio on monday. >> security and stability for folks who have health insurance, help for those who don't. coverage they need at a price they can afford. that's reform that's needed. >> reporter: and republicans say mr. obama needs to find a way to convince conservatives of that. >> i think he needs to rise

above the partisan bickering and become the leader of the united states and talk about what are those things that he needs to see in a health care bill and then urge the two parties, republicans and democrats, to get together and make it happen as quickly as possible. >> reporter: the president's decision to address congress instead of a large crowd of people was a gutsy move because the president is much more effective in front of a large group of people. but he says, the president must not only convince the american people, but lawmakers, too. john, kiran. >> carol, thanks so much. what do you want to hear in the president's speech? expect more than tag lines right. sound off and let us know. >> beatlemania is back. they are remastering, redigitizing all of the original songs of the beatles. they are going to release it today. >> is it significant that today is 9-9-09 and revolution number 9. coming back in a new form. >> we're going to find out.

the video game launches today. [ birds squawking ] [ moos ] [ man announcing ] if you think about it, this is what makes theladders different from other job search sites. we only want the big jobs. welcome to theladders. a premium job site for only $100k+ jobs and only $100k+ talent.

you hungry? yeah. me too. (door crashes in) (broadview alarm) (gasp and scream) go! go! go! go! go! go! (phone rings) hello? this is mark with broadview security. is everything okay? no. someone just tried to break in.

i'm sending help right now. thank you. (announcer) brink's home security is now broadview security. call now to install the standard system for just $99. the proven technology of a broadview security system delivers rapid response from highly trained professionals, 24 hours a day. call now to get the $99 installation, plus a second keypad installed free. and, you could save up to 20% on your homeowner's insurance. call now - and get the system installed for just $99. broadview security for yot- home or business - the next generation of brink's home security. call now. welcome back to the most news in the morning. 8:45 and 35 seconds. it's 9-9-09.

we were playing the beatles revolution 9. it's associated with traits like forgiveness, compassion and success. >> here's one more thing to consider. that today is the 252nd day of the year. >> okay. >> 2-5-2. >> adds up to nine. >> this is getting crazy. >> it's a big day for the biggest band in history because on sale today remastered versions of the beatles catalog. it's the closest reproduction of how their music sounded in the studio. also on sale the rock band video game. >> i remember the first album that i ever bought and it was just released, was "help" in 1964 or 1965. >> i remember buying all of the number ones. so should i buy this too? >> depends how much you like the beatles. >> okay. they're great. you know.

rob marciano, he is also great and is following is it hurricane -- what, are you going to buy the remastered one? >> who are the beatles? who are these guys? you know, my buddy, a couple of my friends have 8-8-08 had a birthday last year. next year i guess 10-10-10. so we've got a few more years of this. >> they go to numerology parties. >> a big one tonight. >> i'm waiting for 13-13-13. >> you'll wait a long time. you have patience. let's talk fred, 105-mile-an-hour winds. this exploded last night. moving to the west-northwest about 13 miles an hour. the track of this thing is encouraging. from the national hurricane center, we're looking at it to actually curve to the north rapidly. it will become a category 3, that's the forecast. and then weaken as it heads into cooler waters and hopefully will stay out to sea. closer to home we're looking at showers and thunderstorms,

mainly generic showers across parts of the northeast. very slow moving area of low pressure and it's going to crawl up the coast line. east wind keeping things cool and damp at times across parts of the northeast. really for the next couple of days. 72 for the high in new york. 77 degrees in d.c. and 85 in atlantic. a cool picture in tyler, texas last night. with the space shuttle releasing or dedocking, i guess, from the international space station, the brighter light is the space station, the dimmer path out ahead of the space station is actually the space shuttle itself. so a couple of people able to get a glimpse of that as it got away from the international space station in an effort to try to land successfully hopefully tomorrow night around 7:00 or so at cape canaveral. there will be some who will see a similar sight tonight. go to spaceweather.com and check out that listing for your local

area. >> that's amazing that you can see that. >> excellent tip. >> all right. >> rob, thanks so much. brian is the man behind melanie oudin who is just rocketed at the u.s. open into the semifinals tonight, 7:00. the 17-year-old from nowhere on the edge of greatness. we'll talk to him about her chances coming right up.

welcome back. she missed her junior prom, homecoming too. for 17-year-old melanie oudin it's all good or as she might say awesome. >> she is a teenager from marietta, georgia, the toast of this year's u.s. open here in new york. to reach tonight's quarterfinal she beat four russian players including nadya petrova. take a look. >> this is my dream forever. i worked so hard for this and it's finally happening. i'm in my first quarterfinal of grand slam. it's amazing. >> brian is mill a flee's coach and joins us. great to have you with us. you said you hope she's still sleeping. she has a big day ahead. they called this the cinderella story of the u.s. open.

how do you feel that she's gotten this far? >> i was excited and thrill forward her. she's worked so hard for this. it's taken nine years to get here, so she's excited. we're all excited. i'm hoping she performs well. >> i said going into the break she's in the semifinals, you pointed out it's the quarterfinals. wishful thinking. leaping ahead. in terms of development. she was a wild card. she turned pro, she was a wild card last year's u.s. open. she lost in the first round, made it to the quarters of wimbledon. she's in the quarters this year. what is that the has made the difference between last year and this year? >> i think last year she felt a lot of pressure. the girl she played she knew from the juniors, it was a wild card u.s. open, first time, and she put a lot of pressure on herself. i think coming into it this year she has a little more experience from wimbledon. and just over the year her game is starting to click. she's figuring things out and

playing a lot smarter. >> how do you mentally get her prepared for not only the game but all of the hype surrounding it. now she is a household name, she beat four big seeded russian players and heading into this tonight. what are you telling her about staying mentally prepared? >> look, that's her biggest strength. mentally she is incredibly tough. she doesn't get phased by all of the attention yet. she's well grounded. we have a bunch of friends from the academy here so she's hanging out with buddies, people that she trusts and know that we support her. and i think she'll be fine. like i said that's her big strength. >> my understanding is that just teen hem was really kind of like her role model. and many said that not only are they the same height but the same type of player as well. you get these big russian women, back at the baseline pounding the shots, she has a whole arsenal of interesting shots. she's got good backhand, the

shot from the baseline but a lot of good cut shots, can drop something in short of the net. have you worked on her skills because of the height difference of being a shot maker? >> when i started working with her i knew she wasn't going to be tall and i knew she'd never be a big first strike player. she had to rely on variety, speed, and of course mental toughness. so that's all we work on. >> some say the way she plays is the way tennis should be played. >> that's what i think. i'm old school. so i like to see a lot of slice, a lot of variety, a lot of mixing it up. with the technology and the size of the athletes today i mean the game has changed and you have to deal with what you have, so she's smart about that. >> also just the age factor. she's 17 years old, she's one of the youngest players out there that made it this far. how does she sort of balance that being a teen, she talked about she's home schooled and that made a difference so she could practice and tour as much as she does. how does that factor into all that's happening and being here at the quarterfinals?

>> you know, a lot of the top girls are pretty young as well. there are a couple that are 19. so she's kind of on track with her age. you know, the other thing that's why i brought up some of her friends to keep her more grounded and to have fun with this. >> in winning the matches she has she lost the first set, then come back to win the next two. when you talk to her, when she's out there on the court, she doesn't seem to be afraid to lose and come back. it doesn't phase her. why does it not phase her? >> she believes in herself. she prides herself as being in incredibly good shape and know a match goes the distance the advantage will swing her way. >> what type of relationship do you guys have in terms of you know, how you keep her spirits up, how you guys interact? she joked around that you were going to let her eat ice cream if she got through the round. >> maybe. no, i've been very tough on her over the years, trying to keep her disciplined and grounded and

give her a good work ethic and she has the drive and the passion, so she loves it so she's willing to do it. >> seems to be working. quarterfinals tonight, 7:00. brian, thanks for being with us. congratulations for your part in this which i ( 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. to silence headaches... doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand... of pain reliever. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast. so you can stop headaches... and feel better fast.

it's an idea that makes america strong. it's a fair day's pay for a hard day's work. it's health insurance when you're sick or injured. it's job security to provide for your family. it's the fabric of a sound economy. it built the middle class. and it's what the employee free choice act is all about... letting workers choose to join a union to earn better pay and benefits. the employee free choice act. it's time the economy worked for everyone again. some people like to pretend... a flood could never happen to them... and that their homeowners insurance... protects them. it doesn't. stop pretending.

it can happen to you. protect your home with flood insurance. call the number on your screen... for your free brochure. there is a look at washington, d.c. rain right now. 68 degrees. showers set for some of the day as well. 77. as we talked about, could be rain tonight at the arthur ashe stadium for the u.s. open. >> we were talking to brian about what the effect is and he's saying you want to eat on schedule, you want to practice on schedule, you want to get everything ready to go. if the rain comes in it can throw you off your game. hope the rain holds off. a lot of people are going to want to e