november issue. and i'm sure he'll pop up someone else. >> i guess he was intrigued by the noise the camera was making as it was clicking down for that self-portrait and came up, oh, what's in there? got some peanuts in there? continue the conversation on today's stories. boy, it's been very fiery on our blog this morning and on e-mail as well. go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. that's going to wrap it up for us. thanks so much for joining us on this "american morning." here's newsroom with heidi collins. >> president obama reaching out to congress and to the rest of us on health care reform. will it make a difference? this hour, what lawmakers and you are saying about his speech. snapshot of a ponzi schemer in his prime. bernie madoff coaches colleagues on fooling regulators. you'll hear the just-released tape. yale university police looking for help in their search for a missing graduate student. she was last seen tuesday. she's reportedly supposed to get married this weekend. plus, our dr. sanjay gupta

airborne with an elite medevac unit on a mission to save lives on the front lines. good morning, everybody. i'm heidi collins in new york today. it is thursday, september 10th, and you are in the "cnn newsroom." >> the time for bickering is over. the time for games is past. now is the season for action. now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the american people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. now is the time to deliver on health care. >> the president speaks, the nation listens. a snap poll shows the prime-time address achieved its goal and boosted public support. >> there are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. this, too, is false. the reforms -- the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to

those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> that's not true. >> an extraordinary outburst on capitol hill. a republican congressman calls the president a liar and ignites a firestorm. so here's what we know at this hour. south carolina congressman joe wilson has apologized for shouting "you lie" to the president. in a statement, he said, i let my emotions get the best of me. democrats and republicans are denouncing the extraordinary outburst. among the public, the reaction is a bit more mixed. both critics and supporters flood the internet, as you may imagine, in order to weigh in on their opinions. so on this morning after the president's speech, how does he push ahead on his top domestic issue now? cnn's elaine quijano is at the white house for us this morning with the very latest. elaine, what is on the president's agenda today? and i have to ask, what is the fallout now this morning after we know there's been an apology late night? >> reporter: we haven't heard

anything more on the apology. it will be interesting to hear what robert gibbs has to say later today at the white house briefing this afternoon. but the president today is actually going to be making more remarks on health care reform. that's coming up in the next hour. he's also going to be meeting with members of his cabinet and reporters will be allowed in at the very end of that meeting. but what we're really going to be keeping a close eye on, what we're really going to be watching here, at some point today, the president is expected to sit down with a group of more than a dozen centrist senate democrats. this was something that our ed henry reported last night, that senior officials say the president wants to get key fence sitters into the room together and try to start working them, basically. now, chief of staff rahm emanuel apparently has already met with these senators who did that yesterday. among them, senator evan bayh and senator ben nelson. but, heidi, this is going to be really interesting to see what m cos out of th comes out of this meeting and how much the white house, how much these lawmakers will have to say coming out of it. we don't have a time on that, but we're trying to find out.

>> you keep us posted and let us know. in the meantime, he's also taking his sales pitch on the road again. tell us a little bit more about that. >> reporter: that's right. the president is actually going to be heading to minneapolis, minnesota, on saturday. and that's where he's going to be holding a public rally to talk about health care reform. this is going to be interesting. it could very well be a sizable crowd. we don't know exactly the capacity of the venue that he'll be holding this public rally, but it's going to be open to the public. meaning, there won't be any tickets required. and the white house says the president is really going to take this opportunity to talk about what is at stake for the american people when it comes to this health care debate. heidi? >> very good. elaine quijano, thanks so much, from the white house this morning. there are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. this, too, is false. the reforms -- the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> it's not true.

>> a pretty stunning outburst and a swift backlash too. last night's heckling by a republican congressman shows just how impassioned this debate has become. let's get the very latest now from capitol hill and cnn congressional correspondent, brianna keilar. brianna, good morning to you. i imagine this incident certainly had other members of congress talking. what was the reaction from them? >> reporter: they, basically, said it was bad manners, from both sides of the aisle, we heard this. and congressman wilson called the white house shortly after putting out that paper statement saying he was out of line, he called the white house to apologize to president obama. he talked to the president's chief of staff, rahm emanuel, to issue his apology. but as i said, there was a lot of criticism and it wasn't just coming from democrats, it was coming from republicans as well. listen to this. >> totally disrespectful. no place for it in that setting

or any other and he should apologize immediately. >> having a spirited debate is one thing. exercising bad manners is another. that was beyond the pail. >> reporter: that was the number three democrat in the house. and we spoke with him off-camera last night. he told us there are rules about how you behave on the house floor and actually democrats are looking into whether congressman wilson may have broken one of those rules. and if so, what type of sanctions there may be against him. we don't know what the answer is to that question at this hour, heidi. but what we do know is that this has been a windfall for rob miller, who you probably didn't know, really, who he was before, but he is the challenger to congressman joe wilson, coming up here in the next election, 2010 midterm elections. and miller's campaign manager, his last tweet on twitter last night, which was, i think, about 2 1/2 hours after this speech ended, said that since the end of the speech, miller had raised

$55,000 and a source today with the democratic congressional campaign committee tells me that eight hours after the end of that speech, that number hit almost $100,000 in donations. so it's certainly been a windfall for congressman wilson's opponent. >> boy, oh, boy, how quickly things move in that direction of fund-raising. brianna keilar, certainly do appreciate that live from capitol hill this morning. thank you. so what did lawmakers from both sides of the aisle think of president obama's health care pitch? well, we'll hear from a republican and democrat coming up at the bottom of the hour. so stick around for that. and it looks like president obama's speech gave his health care reform plan a bump. a cnn opinion research poll of people who watched the speech found two-thirds favoring the plan. that compares with just over 50% before the speech. most of those watching the speech seemed confident congress will support the president on health care. three quarters of those questioned said they think congress will pass most of the president's proposals. now, once again, the poll just

reflects the opinions of those who watched the speech and the audience for the speech appear to be more democratic than the country as a whole. meanwhile, we want to know what you think, of course. do you believe the president was successful in making his pitch for health care reform or not? go to our blog, if you would, cnn.com/heidi and post your comments there. or you can always call the hotline to heidi, the number is 1-877-742-5760. love to hear from you. convicted swindler bernard madoff caught on tape coaching a potential witness on how to outsmart federal regulators. hear it for yourself coming up. and i'm rob marciano in the cnn severe weather center. hurricane fred last night became somewhat historical. i'll tell you where he is going. plus, a slow-moving storm off the east coast means wet weather is coming.

this country definitely needs to focus on other ways to get energy. we should be looking closer to home. there are places off the continental shelf. natural gas can be a part of the solution. i think we need to work on wind resources. they ought to be carefully mapping every conceivable alternative. there is an endless opportunity right here.

congress is reopening its investigation today into the s.e.c. failure to detect bernie madoff's multibillion dollar fraud scheme. this comes as an embarrassing audiotape and transcript are released. we're going to have more on that from cnn's christine romans right now. so, wow, this is pretty

explosive. >> this is released by the secretary of state's office in massachusetts. essentially, this is part of their investigation into what went wrong here and they have this audiotape of bernie madoff. it sounds like he's coaching someone who's about to sit down with the s.e.c. and answer some questions about mr. madoff's, what we now know, is a big ponzi scheme. and what we know here is that bernie madoff, at least in this 2005 phone call, did not hold s.e.c. examiners to a very high regard. >> you know, be casual, don't tell them anything that they're not asking about.

these guys are just going to have to five years turn around and go to work at a hedge fund. they're part-timers at the s.e.c., really. don't worry about it. and as we know, bernie madoff, heidi, essentially, 1992 was the very first time that there was a red flag about this guy at the s.e.c. and his scam went on until 2008. >> unbelievable. for such a big scheme, though, obviously, there have been few prosecutions. >> that's right. >> so what does all that mean? >> a lot of people say this guy couldn't have done this alone, you know. could there be more people? we know that his accountant has been arrested. we don't know if this is the end of the prosecution, you're absolutely right, but what these tapes tend to show us is that he was out there kind of coaching people along the way about what not to tell or how to deal with the s.e.c.. >> which is pretty good. legal advice if you're not bernie madoff. >> yeah, exactly. >> interesting. we'll continue to follow sthory. cnn's christine romans along with me on the set. thank you, christine. later this morning, we'll expect to hear the call go out

again for south carolina governor mark sanford to resign. cnn has learned a group of state republicans is expected to seek a party resolution during a conference call set up for 5:00 today. now, the governor says he's staying. all of this follows sanford's admission in june of an extramarital affair with an argentinian woman. let's get you over to the hurricane headquarters now. rob marciano joining us to give us the very latest with what is going on, swirling and whirling. what's the latest, rob? good morning. >> let's talk, fred, heidi. hurricane fred yesterday became a major storm, the second one of the season. and also became the first -- the strongest storm ever recorded that far east and that far south in the atlantic basin. so a historic storm. you know, those kind of records kind of go back towards, figure around 1960, because before that we didn't have satellites.

west of the cape verdes, it has weakened to a category 2 storm. it's expected to head north and hang out in this area. probably dies as it runs into colder waters and drier air. but what it does after that, we still don't know. can't completely write fred off, but at the moment, you don't have to worry about fred anytime soon. we'll keep you up to date as to what that guy's doing. of more immediate note is this area of low pressure, very weak but very slow moving, and it's actually going to be heading back west towards the jersey shoreline. as it does so, it will continue to spread in east winds, so a cool, wet wind for the new york city area, for philadelphia and points north and westward. heavy rain here over the next day or two, especially through tomorrow. down to the south, the florida peninsula seeing a couple of showers, especially off the cape canaveral coastline. that is an area of concern, because we're trying to land a space shuttle tonight at about 7:05. about a 50/50 shot of seeing showers and thunderstorms around the cape. how close they'll be, will they be close enough to actually cancel or postpone that landing,

we'll have to wait and see. they make that decision almost minutes before they try to land that thing. all right, heavy rain expected parts of the south. south texas, as a matter of fact, and that's good news for places like san antonio. knns, thanks for the shot there. looks a little bit hazy, any sort of rainfall here over the next few days across south texas will be welcome, welcome, news. heidi? >> all right, rob. check back a little bit later on. thank you. they're putting their lives on the line to save other lives. we go inside the 24/7 operations of an elite medevac unit operating in afghanistan. an aarp medicare supplement insurance ca,e too. one simple call... gave me the chance to talk... with a personal health insurance advisor... who answered all my questions... about medicare supplement plans. so i could understand it all... after i called... i was able to choose the plan that was right for me.

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this search is on in new haven, connecticut, for a missing yale university graduate student. campus police say 24-year-old annie lee disappeared tuesday. family, coworkers, and friends haven't seen or heard from her since then. lee is described as an asian woman with brown hair, brown eyes, who stands 4'11" tall. lee is planning to get married on sunday. a man authorities say hijacked an aeromexico jet liner claims he did it because of the date, 9/9/09. officials say the 44-year-old man took the -- hijacked the plane in mexico city because 9/9/9 held some significance for him. the hijacker threatened to blow up the plane unless he was allowed to speak with mexico's president. police arrested the hijacker when the plane landed in mexico

city. no one was hurt. a nato commando operation to rescue a kidnapped "new york times" reporter has angered some local journalists. taliban militants kidnapped steven ferrell in kundus province last week. the afghan journalist was shot to death during the mission and his body left behind. the media club of afghanistan called nato's actions, quote, reckless. cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has been reporting from afghanistan all week as part of our focus on the war going on there. in today's report, he flies with an elite medevac unit on a mission to save lives. here now is sanjay from helmand province. >> reporter: one hour, that's it. minutes began ticking down when word came that two men, both civilians, about 40 miles from here, were critically wounded. without help, they could bleed

out and die. >> if they're an urgent patient, we have time lines where we need to be moving extremely fast. i mean, within minutes. we don't mess around. when that bell rings, we run and we get out here, we get all geared up and we take off. >> reporter: right now we're in a medevac blackhawk helicopter traveling at least 1,200 feet off the ground. we know there are two patients who have been stabbed. that's all we know. we don't know how bad off they are. it's what these guys do. i'm with an elite medical dustoff crew. the name goes back to vietnam. it was the radio emergency call signal to chopper in the combat flight medics. they are a go team, 24/7, they steal moments of time to save lives. >> our job is to get people up and out of here in those seconds. because seconds count. >> reporter: for nate dadny and his team, most missions are about rescuing american military.

>> they're leaving this gate every day on foot and in vehicles, knowing what's out there. and if they can do that, i'll do anything to make sure they get out all right. >> reporter: but today the call came to save afghan locals. it's a critical part of the u.s. strategy to win the hearts and minds of afghan civilians. we are now into the golden hour. most trauma patients who die of blood loss die within an hour unless we can stabilize them. so we have 20 minutes to fly. 20 minutes to get the patient on the chopper. 20 minutes to get the patient to a hospital. it's one golden hour. >> when i got in the aircraft, my mind-set is airway, oxygen, stabilization of the chest. fine-tuning this down to the very last second is the most important thing. >> reporter: but with the dustoff teams, the challenge is not just getting to the patients, but about getting out of there safely. >> this is probably the most dangerous place in afghanistan. couldn't see any security out yet, and here we are coming into

this area, you know, you can see it when we're going, there's six-foot-high cornfields and water and mud everywhere, not very many ways for us to get out of there real quick if we had to. so i was worried. >> reporter: for so many reasons, that fear is always looming. datdny surprised me when he pulled out these pictures. these are his three boys. >> i've discussed it with my wife, written a letter for her to read to them. when it comes to that kind of thing, you hope that they're proud of you. one of those things you try not to think about. >> i can imagine. must have been a tough letter to write. >> it was. it was a real -- it probably took me about -- being a dad is probably the most privileged and most important job you could ever have, no matter what you do. i mean, you know this. but at the same time, showing

them what being a man's really about, fighting for your country, sacrificing for your country. things that are more important than, you know, staying home and avoiding this kind of thing. >> reporter: as for today's mission, dadny and his dust-off crew cheated the clock again. it's now clear the two men they flew in to save will survive their terrible wounds. and nate dadny is expected to be here until the beginning of next year. incredible work. often very busy as well. they can do up to nine to ten of those medevac missions in sanl day. i also wanted to give you a quick update on the little boy malik we've been covering all week. it's been a little bit of a roller coaster for him over the last few days. he had a fever, which can happen after an operation like this, and it really did slow him down a little bit, can made the next day all the more impressive. there you see him walking, placing weight on that left leg, showing some strength.

a lot of people were concerned he wouldn't be able to do that, but there he is walking with just a little bit of help from his father. we'll have a very special report about malik tomorrow, uncovering some details about him that we have not yet shared. certainly stay tuned for that. heidi, back to you. >> very good, sanjay. thanks so much. you can see more of sanjay's behind the scenes reports from afghanistan all week long on "a.c. 360." a critical moment for the region. now, the afghanistan elections, taliban resurgence, and mounting american casualties. anderson cooper takes you inside afghanistan live from the battle zone all this week coming your way 10:00 eastern. the president's prime-time message to congress, how did it play in congress? we'll talk to a republican and a democrat.

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and s&p 500 went up yesterday to their highest levels of the year. but we're expecting some caution today, as we hear the opening bell right now. susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange with details. good morning to you, susan. >> good morning, heidi. and welcome to new york. we'd like to make it five in a row for you as you are from uptown. downtown, we can tell you, investors were encouraged by a federal reserve report yesterday, showing the economy is stabilizing. that report said challenges remain, especially in the job market, and today we have a new report showing 550,000 americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits. that's down from the previous week. meanwhile, just over 6 million americans have been applied for benefits for one week or more. that's also a decline, but let's face it, it's still an awfully high number. monsanto, the latest company to announce job cuts, the world's biggest seed maker and the maker of roundup weed killer says it

now plans to reduce its staff by 8% or about 1,700 jobs. that's double the number that was originally projected. nearly 50,000 general motors workers in europe will soon learn their fate. gm will recommend selling its german opel brand to canada's meghna international. chancellor angela america kl and opel workers support the meghna bid. and speaking the early numbers, the nasdaq, s&p, and dow all showing a little bit of red early in the day. >> it's early. >> we'll be back. >> susan, talk with you in just a little while. president obama made his case for health care reform before a rare joint session of congress last night. and the president outlined his plan in a prime-time speech. he commended congressional leaders for their work to overhaul health care. >> we've seen many in this chamber work tirelessly for the better part of this year to offer thoughtful ideas about how to achieve reform.

of the five committees asked to develop bills, four have completed their work and the senate finance committee announced today that it will move forward next week. that has never happened before. our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses, hospitals, seniors groups, and even drug companies. many of whom opposed reform in the past. and there is agreement in this chamber on about 80% of what needs to be done, putting us closer to the goal of reform than we have ever been. >> all right. let's go ahead and get some reaction to the president's speech now from two lawmakers who were there, listening to it. joining us from capitol hill, republican congressman john shaddick of arizona, and democratic congresswoman, edie bernice johnson of texas. welcome to the both of you. first off, we want to know how

you think the president did last night. and i'll begin with you, representative johnson. what did you think? >> well, i thought the president did very well in explaining and hopefully dismissed many misconceptions and misquotations and misunderstandings. i think it's very clear now where we're trying to go. i'm not sure that any of members or some other people might have been convinced, but i think that it's certainly clear enough for me. i really understand it. >> okay. that being said, what would be your headline, then, for maybe some of the areas that were fuzzy before the speech. what really stands out to you now, where you can say, here's what's going to happen on this particular issue in health care reform? >> well, you know, i am a health professional and i didn't have any real questions about what we're anticipating. there were a couple of phrases that i needed a clearer definition for. that is, the exchanges and i

understood the public option and primarily, because, these people that need an avenue of that sort are not being covered by insurance companies and so if they don't cover them, then we must find another way for them to have -- pay their premiums so they can get health care. >> okay. representative shaddick, what about you? what did you think of the president's job last night and what really stood out to you if you were to name a headline? >> i think he was eloquent, as we always is, but i think the headline would be he fails to assuage the concerns of americans who see this as the government standing between them and their doctor. there are points of agreement, as i think congresswoman johnson said. we do need to cover pre-existing conditions and we agree with the president on that. we do need to cover every american and we agree with the president on that. but on the issue of controlling costs, he didn't address the concern at least of my

constituents at my town halls who see this bill, because it is so massive and creates so many mandates and dictates and puts the federal government so deeply into the insurance industry, regulating everything and not giving them anymore individual control, i don't think he addressed their concerns. and maybe that wasn't his goal. >> let's go ahead and put on the screen, if we could, "the wall street journal" this past saturday. there was a quote in there, and it says this -- "the president and congressional democrats say we should create a new government-run plan, outlaw the health coverage americans enjoy today and let federal bureaucrats control the content and price of health plans. their bill, hr-3200, is nothing short of a complete takeover of the entire health care system by washington politicians." so, you wrote that. your feeling today has not changed? >> i don't think he's backed off of that at all. i think what republicans want is, let's empower individuals. i agree that the insurance industry is abusing us.

now, why is it abusing us as individuals? it's because the system lets it abuse us. our employer buys the plan, we don't get to pick the plan and we don't have any say in it until after he's bought it and then we have almost no say. the plan then picks your doctor, you're stuck with the doctor. if you and i as individuals, and the president talked about people who have insurance, have insurance. we have it through our employer, and we have no control over it. we can't fire it, if it abuses us. we can't buy a new one if it charges us too much. let's put people back in control. and as congresswoman johnson said, let's give them the financial assistance for those who can't afford their own coverage, so that every american can pick a plan of their choosing and they can be in charge of it. >> understood. i want to make sure i give equal time here. congressman johnson, as you mentioned, you were a health care worker, you were a nurse, in fact. you said you would not support this reform unless there was a public option, but we did not specifically hear those words from the president last night. does that concern you? >> it does not. it does not concern me, because

i think that he covered that extremely well. it's so interesting that the things that my colleagues said need to be done, that's exactly what the bill is doing. it is putting it back in the hands of the people for choice and giving them a choice. right now, the insurance companies are really in charge and they're holding everyone hostage to their power. we have tried to change this system now 35 or 40 years and we've not achieved that. i hope this is the time. >> okay. so, representative shaddeg, is there any truth to that? could there be any agreement whatsoever on whatever the president decides to call it? maybe it won't be called the public option. >> well, i don't think the issue is a public option. i think it is a very small part of the plan. the issue is, do we empower government and government bureaucrats, which is what this bill does, or do we empower people? i agree with the congresswoman that we've been trying to reform this system -- i got elected in 1995 and i have written health care reform bills every year

since i've been here. we need to take the power away from the insurance companies, but not give it to the government, we need to give it to individual people, which we can do. we need to have them join a group of their choosing, not have the government tell the insurance industry how to run. >> very quickly, i would be remiss if i did not ask the both of you to react very quickly for me about the outburst from joe wilson. go ahead and tell me what you think, representative johnson, you first. >> well, i thought it was very inappropriate. you know, i hear lots of things that i don't agree, but i do have enough respect for my colleagues and, as most especially, for the president, not to act in that fashion. i'm not certain there is a place here for that kind of behavior. >> i couldn't agree more. couldn't agree more. >> we've heard the apology, the apology was accepted by rahm emanuel, but you agree, representative shaddeg? >> absolutely. there is no place for that and it's regrettable that it

happened. it simply cannot be tolerated. we need to have a discussion and debate and i compliment the president for bringing health care to the fore. i want health care reform desperately. we're arguing about details and i'm in favor of personal control, but i applaud him for bringing this issue to the american people. we need reform and i think the comment of mr. wilson was inexcusable or regrettable. >> emotions are running high on all sides, obviously. >> they are. >> hey, we really appreciate it. a great discussion from the both of you. thanks so very much. representative john shaddeg of arizona and edie bernice johnson of texas. the president's speech, big claims and strong accusations, it sounds like a job for the truth squad. good morning, josh levs. >> good morning, heidi. we know all about that scream, "you lie," but who was telling the truth? the truth squad has the answers. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount!

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checking our top stories now. firefighters taking advantage of better weather to help shore up the fire lines in southern california. today, they're clearing brush that's been fueling those flames in the angeles national forest. the arson-caused blaze has been burning for 15 days now and it is more than 60% contained. still in california, a

lawmaker's racy comments about sexual conquest has cost him his job. mike duvall, a self-described family values politician resigned yesterday after he was caught on tape bragging abo ing spanking fetish and his apparent ability to carry on two extramarital affairs at once. the comments were caught by an open mike. in some of his comments, he was apparently talking about a l liaison with a lobbyist. to afghanistan. the u.n.-backed commission investigating fraud in last month's elections has issued orders to completely exclude some ballots from the final tally. the commission says all ballots from 83 polling stations with strong support for hamid karzai should be thrown out. partial results so far say karzai passing the 50% threshold needed in order to avoid a recount.

but if the ballots are voided, it could change those final results. four bombings and more than two dozen people dead in iraq. dozens of other people wounded. cnn's cal perry is joining us now from the iraqi capital of baghdad. cal, if you can, tell us a little bit more about what we know on these attacks. >> well, heidi, it's a little bit like going back in time. another tragic day in baghdad. this day resembling what we saw in 2007 and 2008. five bombs, a new one's just come into us here at cnn. at least 26 people are dead, over 80 wounded. the biggest one, a suicide truck bombing just south of the northern city of mosul. what we're talking about here is at least 20 people killed, over 30 others wounded. this is of serious concern when you speak to u.s. military commanders here on the ground. all this is doing is inflaming tensions between the arab community in the north and the kurdish community in the north. commanders on the ground think

al qaeda is setting off these large-scale attacks to reinflame already tensions. add to that, attack south of baghdad, two roadside bombs going off in quick succession. in hilla, also south of baghdad, a roadside bomb has killed two people. and in central baghdad, we had a roadside bomb wounding at least five civilians. all told, as i said, heidi, 26 dead and over 80 people wounded today alone. >> wow. and what is the main reason, at least, your best guess, on the uptick in violence? are we talking about ramadan here? >> reporter: we're talking exactly about ramadan. we know that the insurgency believes they'll get more attention if they carry out these attacks on ramadan and we know that these religious extremists believe it's somehow a greater duty to carry out these suicide attacks during ramadan. and when you look at this week, you can see clearly what the

insurgency is doing. on monday they targeted both security forces and pilgrims, shia pilgrims in ramadi, a security target. in baquba, it was shia pilgrims as they left a mosque. on tuesday, four u.s. soldiers killed in two separate incidents of roadside bombings, one in the north, one in the south. and on wednesday, we had, basically, an entire family wiped out by a car bomb in kirkuk. and again today, 26 dead and 80 wounded. that brings the total to this week, at least 50 people killed and well over 100 wounded, heidi. >> wow. all right, cal perry, we'll stay in touch with you and obviously, let us know what more develops if you would. appreciate that. live from baghdad this morning. a teenager's amazing ride at the u.s. open comes to an end last night. you'll hear what melanie oudin is saying this morning. as you age, you may experience some hearing loss and many other things, but there are some things you can do while you're still young to keep your ears in their best possible shape. take a look at this now from

cnn's reggie aqui. >> reporter: glen robinson doesn't know the cause of the pressure in her right ear or what's making it hard for her to hear. >> sometimes i have to have people repeat what they say to me. >> i understand you've been having some trouble with your hearing. >> yes. >> reporter: robinson, who has suffered from allergies her entire life suspected congestion may be part of the problem, but she also wondered if time was taking its toll on her hearing. >> i was a little concerned about, possibly, it might be ageing related. >> reporter: and robinson's not alone. >> say the word "outside." >> reporter: turns out, many of us gradually do experience hearing loss as we age. but like most things, the way you treat your hearing in your younger years affects its function in your golden years. in your 30s and 40s, nerve hearing loss usually isn't an issue. but dr. paul atwater suggests if things seem muted, get to the doctor to see if the problem is wax buildup. >> preventative care for earwax

buildup is necessary for some people who tend to build up a lot of wax. >> reporter: and don't use a cotton swab to clean out your ears. it's dangerous and only pushes the wax further inside. don't smoke. also, turn down the volume. >> noise exposure is the most common cause of hearing loss in a younger person. >> reporter: and that noise, along with your family history, can contribute to hearing loss as you get older. >> you may inherit the tendency towards losing your hearing as you get in your late 50s and beyond. >> reporter: what happens here is the tiny hairs inside your ear become damaged or die, most often because of changes in the inner ear that happen as you grow older. along with family history and loud music, certain medical conditions can also play a role. if the symptoms are causing communication problems, as in robinson's case, it's time to see a specialist. >> oftentimes, family members will bring the patient in when they get tired of having to have the patient say "what, i didn't

hear you, please repeat." >> reporter: as for robinson, it doesn't appear that she has hearing loss due to age. she is trying medications to see if the pressure and her hearing problem are symptoms of her allergies, hoping to find some relief. for today's 30/40/50, i'm reggie aq3. you like your health coverage, but worry what happens... if you get sick, or change jobs. eight ways reform matters to you. a cap on deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. no annual or lifetime limits on coverage. preventive care. covered. pre-existing conditions. covered. no higher rates due to genlér. extended coverage for young adults.

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want to get to breaking news out to you right now. we just learned about the discovery of a stockpile of iranian made weapons in afghanistan. they include roadside bombs. cnn's barbara starr has been working the story for us joining us live from washington on what

this find could mean for the region. barbara, any idea how big of a stockpile we're talking about just yet? >> reporter: a senior u.s. military official says they don't know exactly how many but that afghan national police a few days ago did capture a st k stockpile of iranian made weapons in western afghanistan. let's go right to the map. that will show everyone why this is so critical. the weapons were discovered in the city of herat up against the iranian border. it could be a signal of additional iranian involvement in the war in afghanistan. what did they find? they found rockets and explos e explosively formed weapons. roadside bombs that are particularly made in iran particularly designed to destroy the kind of armored vehicles that u.s. troops use in the war zone and they found c-4 plastic explosives made in iran with

iranian markings and the type of explosives that could be used in future suicide bombs against u.s. troops. heidi? >> in the past obviously there had been many other iranian weapons found but not quite a stockpile like this with such evidence that points towards iran. probably need to be talking about these ieds and what a growing threat they're becoming in afghanistan? >> reporter: exactly right. ieds the number one threat of course against u.s. troops. the number of ieds of roadside bombs that the taliban are putting out there is just skyrocketing week by week. now, the u.s. is having some success in finding them and getting to them but the taliban are still outpacing them laying hundreds of bombs out on the roads every month. heidi? >> all right. our pentagon correspondent watching the story for us closely. barbara starr, thank you. the outburst that has people

talking today. a republican congressman calls the president a liar. the reason, president obama in his speech last night said health care reforms would not cover illegal immigrants. we talked about the issue on our show here. who's right? let's call in the truth squad and cnn's josh levs. good morning, josh. >> good morning. interesting to see that happen last night. what i want to do is talk to you through the basics that everyone is talking about right now. this is a reality checking website. they say that joe wilson was wrong and give him a false on their ruling. we've looked at the issue in the past as well. what i need to do is dig into the weeds with you. keep in mind there's no final bill. i can't say that enough. a lot of people concerned about this issue are pointing to this bill in the house. i want everyone to see what it says right here. it talks about subsidies to help people buy health insurance and nothing here should allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf

of individuals not lawfully present in the united states. it says illegal immigrants cannot get that. here's something on the other side. check this out. the congressional research service, which is nonpartisan, they did their own study and said, wait a second, this bill does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens participating in the exchange, whether here legally or illegally. i want everyone to understand what i'm talking about here. we have a simple graphic. the health insurance exchange is part of what president obama suggesting. it would be there for consumers to look at different plans and choose one. illegal immigrants, the congressional research service is saying, would be able to buy a plan under that exchange. however, millions already do. millions of illegal immigrants buy plans out there, heidi. what we're not talking about is the government coming along and insuring them. put that together. you have president obama correct when he says the package of reforms that he's putting out there are not designed to apply to illegal immigrants.

>> okay. obviously there's another hot button issue that the president touched on, too. you know what i'm talking about. he mentioned abortion. >> yes. i'll show you this one real quickly. interesting what's going on here. this is what he said. >> under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. >> i want to zoom in on the screen. there's something from factcheck.org on their main page right now. they said despite what obama said, the house will would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally subsidized plans. this came out before yesterday talking about the same issue. i have again for you something real simple here. let's go to this graphic. i want everyone to see the basic idea here. they say the way these bills are written currently and they can change, there is no requirement that these plans have to pay for abortion but they say that the way they're written, it ultimately could allow the public plan to cover them and in fact they say subsidies could

help people purchase private plans which in turn could help cover abortions. this is a wrinkle. a lot of people out there on different sides of the debate. we're keeping a close eye on it here at the truth squad. >> some calling it much larger than the wrinkle. it was a basis for some of the town halls that got really heated was that very issue and that question. >> absolutely. >> thank you for the breakdown. appreciate that. ahead, a fascinating look at health care. one doctor against the reforms and one who is for them and one man who says the current system killed his father. their viewpoints coming up next hour.

>> i'm not the first president to take up this cause but i am determined to be the last. >> the president speaks, the nation listens. a snap poll showed the prime time addressed achieved the goal and boosted public support but is it enough to push ahead on his top domestic priority? cnn's elaine quijano takes a closer look at health care. >> thank you. thank you. >> reporter: trying to retake control of the runaway health

care debate, president obama asserted -- >> the time for bickering is over. the time for games has passed. now is the season for action. >> reporter: on the controversial public option staunchly supported by liberals but decried as a government health care takeover by conservatives, the president against tried to carefully thread the needle saying he prefers a bill include an option for government run care but added -- >> it is only one part of my plan and shouldn't be used as a handy excuse for the usual washington ideological battles. >> reporter: without mentioning republicans by name, the president blasted what he called scare tactics by opponents calling the notion of a bureaucrat death panel a lie and he insisted illegal immigrants would not be covered prompting an outburst from south carolina gop congressman joe wilson. >> you lie! >> reporter: wilson later called the white house to apologize.

as for specifics, the president did mention what he supports though much of it he's mentioned before including a ban on denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, limits on out-of-pocket expenses and a new insurance exchange meant to allow individuals and small businesses to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. missing were new details on how exactly to pay for the president's $900 billion plan aside from what he's already said before. finding money by cutting waste and inefficiency in medicare and medicaid. >> while there remains some significant details to be ironed out, i believe a broad consensus exists for the aspects of the plan i just outlined. >> reporter: it was an emotional appeal as well. as the widow of the late senator edward kennedy looked on, president obama recounted kennedy's thoughts on health

care in a letter delivered to obama after kennedy's death. >> what we face, he wrote, is above all a moral issue. at stake are not just the details of policy but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country. >> let's bring in elaine quijano in front of the white house this morning. tell us about the next step after last night for the president? >> reporter: we'll see the president continuing to make his case before the public. in fact, shortly here we're expecting the president to make some remarks on health care reform here on the white house campus. but behind the scenes as well the president is also expected to sit down with a group of about a dozen or so senate democrats and that's where he's going to try to roll up his sleeves and pull some of these democrats along here but, again, on the public side of things,

he'll use that bully pulpit in minneapolis, minnesota, on saturday. >> we'll be watching. thank you so much. return our focus now to the s n stunning outburst from a republican last night. you'll hear joe wilson heckle the president. >> there are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. this, too, is also. the reforms -- the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> it's not true. >> wilson's outburst in which he shouted "you lie" has drawn swift criticism from both parties. he has since apologized in his statement he said this --?

>> his heckling has a lot of people talking and there's quite a backlash. it shows just how impassioned this debate has become. i'll get the latest from capitol hill now and our cnn correspondent brianna keilar. my question would be how much is this sort of outburst, if you will, overshadowing what the president's message was about last night? is all of it able to come through to the people at home about their own health care? >> reporter: some of it is coming through. this is a distraction on one hand for democrats it's a distraction because what they want to talk about is moving forward and being energized by the president's speech and for republicans it's embarrassing. you have an aspect that it's a double edge sword when you talk about who it is really affecting here. we do know that it's a windfall for congressman wilson's opponent, rob miller.

he challenged congressman wilson in 2008 and lost a 54-46 margin. this is a man named rob miller. you see him there. he's challenging him again in 2010 during these midterm elections and miller's campaign manager last night said since the end of the speech in a course of two to three hours, miller had raised $55,000 in donations obviously a great increase that he's not used to seeing in the wake of congressman wilson's outburst and then this morning, heidi, i talked with a source from the democratic congressional campaign committee who said that number hit around $100,000 after eight hours after the speech. so at the very least it is bringing out some personalities that maybe you didn't know about before and were really focusing on this race. >> absolutely. all right. very interesting side bar to all of it certainly. brianna keilar, our

congressional correspondent this morning. thank you. we do want to hear from you on this. do you think the president was successful in making his pitch for health care reform last night? go to our blog, tell us what you think. cnn.com/heidi and post comments there or you can always call the hotline to heidi. that number is 1-877-742-5760. we've asked some of you what you think about the president's health care pitch. we have some new poll numbers to tell you about. we'll hear from some people who work in the actual health care industry on the front lines of this fight. we'll talk to them in a moment. new efforts today to force south carolina governor mark sanford out of office. cnn has learned a group of state republicans is expected to seek a party resolution now calling for the embattled governor to resign. yesterday a majority of house republicans wrote to sanford demanding he step down. the governor says i'm staying. all of this follows sanford's

admission in june of an extra marital affair with an argentine woman. unbeknownst to him, it was all caught on tape. >> reporter: this is mike duval. a conservative republican and self-described family values politician caught in a very embarrassing conversation here in the california state assem y assembly. the lawmaker was unaware he was being recorded on an in-house channel at the state capital repeatedly boasting about sexual exploits to a fellow committee member before a meeting. the 54 year old was talking about a liaison with a lobbyist who works for a firm that represents a utility company. duv duvall served as vice chairman

of the committee in congress. he was heard bragging about a second woman and when the recording was made public, he issued an apology. after being removed from two committees, he decided to resign. >> we have such huge issues before the legislature and to have this become a distraction, felt his responsibility was to step aside and to resign and to go home. >> reporter: duvall was awarded the ethics in america award by chapman university in 2000. he received a 100% grade from a family values group and he has been an outspoken foe of guy marriage. >> what finished mike duvall's career is not the fact that he's unfaithful to his spouse. plenty have survived that. what killed his career is he talked about it in front of an open microphone. >> reporter: an episode that closed the door on his service in the california assembly. thelma gutierrez, cnn, los

angeles. from that storm to this. rob marciano standing by in our hurricane headquarters now to give us an update on all of the activity. what should we be thinking about first here? >> let's talk fred and then we'll get into what may be affecting other folks of more immediate concern. this thing is not affecting anybody but some fish and maybe some -- not even shipping channels yet. it has grown to a category 3 status yesterday. at that point that's the strongest they have ever seen this kind of storm this far south and east of the atlantic basin. it weakened a bit now down to a category 2. the path made a turn to the north and the forecast is for even more of a turn to the north and then kind of hanging out in this area. cooler waters, dry air, it's going to weaken but does it completely die off? can we just write it off? the not ready to say that it.

this low will drift toward the jersey coastline bringing a cool and wet pattern to not only jersey but the new york city area. here's a live shot from central park. there you go. clouds rolling in. we'll see a couple showers this afternoon but it won't be nearly as sustained or heavy as it will be tomorrow afternoon. that will be your day of wet weather. all right. let's talk about good news as far as wet weather is concerned. and that's across parts of south texas. we haven't seen this on the radar scope for quite some time and with rainfall from san antonio to austin south to corpus christi, this is all great news. i'll point this out, heidi. as we go on through time, this little disturbance over the next day or two will get into the gulf of mexico and our computer models are doing some funny things in this area. maybe developing a low that could become tropical. this is a time of year where we're in prime time tropical storm and hurricane time. next two days is really the

peak. and anything can flare-up in the gulf of mexico within a matter of hours if not half a day. keep an eye on what's cooking here as well. good to see you. >> thanks, man. we'll talk to you in a little while. thank you. the bank bailout. $700 billion of your money. a new watchdog is demanding to know how the money is being spent. the algae are very beautiful. they come in blue or red, golden, green. algae could be converted into biofuels... that we could someday run our cars on. in using algae to form biofuels, we're not competing with the food supply. and they absorb co2, so they help solve the greenhouse problem, as well. we're making a big commitment to finding out... just how much algae can help to meet... the fuel demands of the world.

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there are some encouraging numbers from the job market to talk about this morning. new government figures show first-time claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week. the new number, 550,000 compared to 576,000 the week before. the decline shows companies are laying off fewer workers as the economy slightly improves. another encouraging sign, the number of people continuing to receive benefits fell about 6.1 million. fell to about 6.1 million. that's the lowest level since early april. one of the key elements of the recession has been the housing crisis as you know and today we have a progress report on that for you. according to the real estate company, realtytrack, the sale of homes fell 13% last month. experts are not sure whether it means the government aid programs are paying off or if banks are delaying those repossessions. one in every 357 homes received

a foreclosure filing last month. that's a decline of half a percentage point from the month before. this hour on capitol hill, lawmakers take a closer look at how your tax money is being spent specifically focusing on the $787 billion in the stimulus package. remember that? members of the senate homeland and governmental affairs committee want to know how much of the money has actually been spent and where. many experts say the economy is just now feeling the first benefits of the spending. treasury secretary timothy geithner on capitol hill today but he's not testifying before congress. instead, he'll be talking to the woman in charge of tracking billions in t.a.r.p. money. before she talks to geithner, she spoke with cnnmoney.com's poppy harlow as it should be. poppy is joining us now. >> we spoke with elizabeth

warren yesterday. she chairs the panel created last year which is an independent panel that oversees t.a.r.p. she's a harvard professor and she'll be grilling geithner this afternoon. she really wants some answers. here's what she would like to know. >> i would still like to know where the money is gone. i also want to look forward on what his plans are and what his strategies are for getting out of support not just in the auto industry but in the financial services industry. how long is our money going hang out there? >> how long is all of that money going to go unanswered for? that's the question. getting answers, that's going to be tough. the treasury department does not require the banks to disclose exactly how they use t.a.r.p. money. they say, listen, it's like pouring water into the ocean. it diffuses so quickly it can't really be tracked. warren does say that things are getting better. she's getting some more answers from treasury but not as many as

she would like. >> what's this about a request for confidential documents in the panel's latest report? >> you have to dig through it. it's on page 120 the report that came out yesterday. they want copies of confidential documents from the fed and treasury about investments they made. she community teuldn't tell me what she's looking for but they may be a subject of a future report so they want more details on the hundreds of billions that went to bank of america and citigroup. she also said greater transparency is here to stay. take a listen. >> the days when treasury, when the federal reserve, when the fdic can go off in secret and do their business, those days are over. they are over when this much money, american taxpayer money, is at stake. >> quickly on that request for those confidential memos, the

panel heard back from geithner and not from fed chief ben bernanke as of yesterday. you can see more of her interview with us. we'll watch that hearing that starts at 1:00 eastern time today on capitol hill. >> thanks very much. poppy harlow, we'll be watching. appreciate that. a texas school district decided not to show president obama's live address to school kids but is now planning to bus students to an event where president former bush will be speaking. just because they're on another network. shouldn't you be able to call any mobile... on any network, at any time? it's a free country. knock yourself out. announcer: introducing the revolutionary. now on the sprint network yoe to call 250 million mobie without worrying about t. only from sprint. the now . deaf, hard of hearie with speech disabilities acc.

want to get you straight to the president right now. we are watching some live pictures of him making his way to the executive office building. he is going to be speaking about health care once again today but

this time specifically on health insurance reform. clearly that was part of his address last night to the joint session of congress so we'll hear a little bit more on that very topic this morning. it was originally for 10:15 but as we see him make his way into the building we of course will take that live just as soon as he gets up to the podium there. live shot for you. we'll keep our eye on it. meanwhile, the search is on in new haven, connecticut, for missing graduate student. annie lee disappeared on tuesday. family, co-workers and friends have not seen from her since thursday. she's described as an asian woman with brown hair and brown eyes to stands 4'11" and weighs 90 pounds. she was last seen at a campus laboratory. lee is planning to get married on sunday. a man authorities say

hijacked a jetliner claims he did it because of the date 9/9/09. the 44-year-old man told them he hijacked the plane in mexico city because 9/9/09 held special significance for him. he threatened to blow up the plane unless he was allowed to speak with mexico's president. police arrested the hijacker when the plane landed in mexico city. no one was hurt. a nato commando operation to rescue a kidnapped "the new york times" reporter has angered some local journalists. taliban militants kidnapped steven ferrell last week along with an afghan reporter. nato forces rescued ferrell during a pre-dawn raid yesterday but the afghan journalist was shot to death during the mission. his body left behind. the media club of afghanistan called nato's actions "reckless." some parents in texas are crying foul. they accuse the arlington independent school district of

having double standards. they want to know where arlington chose not to show president obama's live address to students on tuesday when officials are planning to bus students to an event where former president george bush will speak. more on that now from our affiliate wffa in dallas. >> i was just baffled when i learned that. >> reporter: it describes an amazing opportunity. speeches by both former president george w. bush and former first lady laura bush. a select group will be bussed to hear the speech at cowboys stadium as part of the education program kickoff that includes players and other speakers. >> we actually have a scheduled field trip that was scheduled several months ago. >> reporter: the district spokesperson tells us they learned of president obama's speech last week after lesson plans were already in place.

the pastor is not buying it. >> it's such an inconsistency. it's so obvious that there is favoritism in how the situation is being handled. >> reporter: we contacted school members about the decision. sometimes we go to the zoo, sometimes we go to the aquarium and sometimes we get a unique opportunity to go to. students should hear the bushes speak. >> to deny that opportunity would be equally as wrong as the opportunity of barack obama. two wrongs wouldn't make it right. i don't know how you can make it right. >> the arlington independent school district said they made president obama's speech available on their website allowing teachers to use it in their lesson plans later. we have new numbers this morning on the number of

americans living without health care insurance. according to the census bureau, 46 million americans were not insured in 2008. that's compared to 45.7 million the year before. the reason experts say is the erosion of employer provided coverage. some health care officials respond to the president ahead in our snapshot across america. we're back in a moment. ♪ bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® works fast, so i can love the air™.

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jrks. let's get you straight to president obama talking about health care insurance. >> nurses, again, it is great to be with becky. i want to acknowledge -- i want to make sure i get them in order. natay, this is linda and that is sonya, right? i got it right? and i want to thank all of them for appearing with us today and i want to also acknowledge dr. mary wakefield, our health resources and service administrator. our highest ranking nurse in the administration. you know, thank you, becky, for your leadership on behalf of nurses. i want to thank you for leading an extraordinary organization. the american nurses association. i was mentioning to becky the

first time we met when i was in the state legislature i was chairman of health and human services committee and one of my strongest allies in springfield, illinois, in the state capitol there was the nurses association. we did a lot of work together to make sure that nurses were getting treated properly and getting paid properly and getting overtime they needed and getting time off they needed an ratios they needed and so i have a wonderful history working side by side with all of you to make sure that we have the best health care system in the world. and as a consequence, i want to say thank you for all the support you're providing for health insurance reform for the american people. i am so pleased to be joined by all of you. i have said it before and i'll say it again. i just love nurses. i don't know what it is.

i love nurses. michelle knows about it. it's okay. i'll never forget how compassionate, how professional, and how dedicate d nurses have been to michelle and i when we need them the most. when our daughters were born, one of our best friends was, is, an ob-gyn. truth is we only saw her for ten minutes. that's it. our best friends. the rest of the time we spent with nurses who not only eased nerves of the anxious father but made sure michelle was doing all right and cared for our newborn babies. when our youngest daughter, sasha, was diagnosed with meningitis when she was just 3 months old, one of the scariest moments of my life. we had to have a spinal tap

administered and it was touch and go. we didn't know if she would be permanently affected by it. it was nurses who walked us through what was happening and made sure that sasha was okay. so that continues in joy of birth but also obviously in tougher times when my mother passed away from cancer. when my grandmother passed away. each time nurses were there to provide extraordinary care but also extraordinary support and so i'm thankful for that. as a father, as a son, a grandson, i will forever be in debt to the women and men of your profession and i know that millions of other families feel the same way. you're the bedrock of our medical profession. you're on the front lines --

[ applause ] you're on the front lines of health care and small clinics and in large hospitals and rural towns and big cities all across this country. so few people understand as well as you why today's health care system so badly needs reform. [ applause ] now, one part of the problem is the uninsured and this morning the census bureau released new data showing not only the poverty rate increased last year at the highest rate since the early 1990s, but the number of uninsured rose in 2008. we know for more up to date surveys that since last september, the situation has grown worse. over the last 12 months, it's estimated that ranks of the uninsured swelled by nearly 6 million people. that's 17,000 men and women

every single day. we know that during this period of time the number of adults get their coverage at the workplace has dropped by 8 million people. i don't have to tell you about all of the problems plaguing the health care system. the fact that they don't just affect the uninsured. most americans do have insurance and have never had less security and stability than they do right now because they're subject to t the health insurance companies. if they change jobs or insurance won't cover them when they need it the most. because insurance companies can deny coverage if a person has a pre-existing condition. people fear they won't be covered when they get sick because there's no cap on how much a person can pay in out-of-pocket expenses each year many fear a single illness will

lead them into financial ruin even if they have insurance. every day i get letters from people. i just got a letter two days ago from a woman who had been changing jobs, had just gone to sign up for her new blue cross blue shield policy but in january before she had taken her new job, she had felt a lump and had been referred to do a mammogram and found out unfortunately she had breast cancer. the new insurance policy said this is a pre-existing condition. won't cover it. she's now owes $250,000. this happens all of the time all across the country. you see it every day. it's heartbreaking. it's wrong. and as i said last night, nobody should be treated that way in the united states of america. nobody. [ applause ]

so the reason i need nurses so badly is because now is the time to act and i will not permit reform to be postponed or imperiled by the usual ideological diversions or we don't need more partisan distractions. if there are real concerns about any aspect of my plan, let's address them. if there are real differences, let's resolve them. but we have talked this issue to death. year after year, decade after decade, and the time for talk is winding down. the time for bickering has passed. we're not the first generation to take up this cause but we can and have to be the last. [ applause ] so just in case folks weren't tuned in last night, if they were watching "so you think you

can dance" -- a show michelle likes by the way, let me explain more briefly than i did last night what health insurance reform will mean for ordinary americans. simply put it will mean that as folks go about their every day lives, one thing they won't have to worry about as much is their health care. they will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. it will provide insurance to those who don't and slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. for the hundreds of millions of americans who have health insurance, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. nothing will change for you if you have insurance. nothing in the plan will require any changes. what this plan will do is make

the insurance you have work better for you. it will put in place strong consumer protections that will make it illegal for insurance companies to deny a person coverage on the basis of the pre-existing condition. we will make sure -- [ applause ] we will make sure that we place a limit on how much folks have to pay for out-of-pocket expenses. for the tens of millions of americans who are uninsured, we'll create a new insurance exchange. the marketplace where uninsured americans and small businesses can choose health insurance at competitive prices from a different -- from a number of different options. by pooling the uninsured and small business together as one big group, we give insurance companies an incentive to participate and give consumers leverage to bargain for better prices and quality coverage. and as i've said from the outset and repeated last night, one way to give people a real choice when it comes to their health care and keep insurance

companies honest is by making one of the options available in such a marketplace a not for profit public option. [ applause ] this is the source of the rumor that we're plotting a government takeover of health care. it would be one option among any. no one would be forced to choose it. everyone believes the vast majority of people will get their insurance through private insurance. add it all up and plan on proposing a cost for $900 billion over ten years. $90 billion a year. that's real money. far less than we spent on the iraq and afghanistan wars -- [ applause ] less than tax cuts for the wealthiest few americans that congress passed in the previous administration.

the cost of this plan will not add to our deficit. the middle class will be rewarded with greater security and not higher taxes. and if we're able to slow the growth of health care costs by just a fraction of 1% each year, we'll actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long-term. and by the way, when we stop spending money on things that don't improve quality, then we can start spending money on things that do improve quality, which means, for example, that we can start paying our nursing professors more money to train more nurses so that we can actually have the quality of care that we need. just one example. a random example that i chose. now, amid all of the chatter and noise on radio and tv, with all of the falsehoods promoted by

not just talk show hosts but sometimes prominent politicians, sometimes it can be easy to lose sight of what the debate over reform is all about. it's about stories like the one told by an oncology nurse named theresa brown. a few weeks ago she wrote a blog post about a patient of hers. he was in his 60s. recent grandfather. steelers fan. [ applause ] spent the last three months of his life worrying about mounting medical bills. she wrote "my patient thought he planned well for his health care needs. he just never thought he would wake up one day with a diagnosis of leukemia" but they asks, "which of us does?" that's why we need health care reform. if you continue to do your part,

nurses have a lot of credibility, you touch a lot of people's lives, people trust you. if you're out there saying it's time for us to act, we need to go ahead and make a change. if all of us do our parts, not just here in washington but all across the country, then we will bid farewell to the days when our health care system was a source of worry to families and a drag on our economy and america will join the ranks of every other advanced nation by providing quality affordable health insurance to all of its citizens. that's our goal. we're going to meet it this year with your help. thank you very much, everybody. [ applause ] god bless you. >> all right. there you have the president addressing the american nurses association today prior to him getting to the podium we heard from them say that they will be endorsing or are endorsing health care reform and hope to see that passed this year. once again in front of the american nurses association talking about the specific issue of health insurance. it seems like the perfect time

after the president there to check in across the country on the issue of health care reform. one doctor who is against reform, one who is for it, and one man who says the current system killed his father. we'll get their thoughts right after this.

joining us this morning, dr. ronnie whitfield, a family practice physician who calls himself the hip-hop doc and a doctor who is an anesthesiologist at the new york pr

hospital and a man who says health care killed his father. a lot to talk about here. in the past, you said you support president obama's plans to reform health care. how do you think he did last night? >> thank you. as someone said earlier a home run. he did a great job. he attempted to win liberals back. passionate and emotional. the president got into the speech last night. i think it was a home run as far as winning liberals back and getting his point across about what he's been stating all along. health care coverage for all in a system that's in shambles and needs reform. >> you said the democrats health care plan is a disaster for doctors. how do you think the president did last night? did he change any opinions? >> heidi, i think that the president has some fantastic ideas. they sound fantastic on paper but let's see what happens when they are implemented. the president is also not bringing up the fact there's a

shortage of primary care physicians which he needs to support the millions of new patients that are going to be siphoned into the system. in the medical school system, most medical students choose what are called the road specialities. there has to be a system where primary care is made attractive for medical graduates. that's not happening in his proposal. also, he alluded to tort reform and malpractice insurance reform but with public option how is this going to support the specialists who have to pay $150,000 a year in malpractice insurance and continue to see public option patients? >> all right. david, unlike our other two guests, you are not a doctor but learned a lot about the health care system, hospitals, the way they run when your father was so ill. and eventually died. again our condolences to you on

that experience. i know it was tough for you. it prompted you to really start looking into this issue of health care. how do you think the president did last night? >> heidi, i think the president's goals are completely admirable particularly providing a safety net for all americans. my concern is the problems in the health care system are fundamental. there are a series of poor competition that has produced ever rising prices, negative changes in quality and in service and unless you get at the fundamental problems, the structural problems, we won't afford that safety net or that safety net will not be as secure as the president hopes. >> you can't talk about this issue without talking about costs. i think it's a very fair point. dr. whitfield, what do you think needs to happen in order for reform to pass? do you think it will now after last night? >> yeah. i think he was speaking to the

liberals. i think it shifted in his support. i agree with everyone on the panel that something needs to be done. waiting to postpone this and put it off will cause major problems. we're looking at a huge deficit in our country. if we don't address health care now, what will happen in the futur future? somethings that to be done now. we're not talking about total health care reform. the problem is we're a unhealthy country but we need to address insurance reform now. insurance companies unaffordable for americans and people aren't provided health care. there are children in california that won't be insured as of october 1st so something has to happen now and as far as medical liability reform, it needs to be addressed. it's not a silver bullet but it affects my medical practice insurance that's gone up each year so it's going to impact us

directly so something has to be done now. something needs to be done now. >> we heard the president speaking to the american nursing association talking about the issue of insurance. new census numbers say that more people are without insurance last year went from something like 45 million to 46 million roughly so still seeing a lot more people who don't have insurance. doctor, what's your opinion? what needs to happen to stop the reform from passing because you are not in favor of it. >> well, i am in favor of some form of reform. >> not as it is, right? >> not as it is. you need access to health care. you need access to see a doctor. the question is we already have established system such as medicare and medicaid that are not efficiently run by the government and how do we know that this public option plan is going to be run efficiently.

why don't we revamp what we already have and see if that can be changed and approved and have the insurance -- private insurance companies, work with the government in that aspect. there is something that can be done. we don't need to restructure and create another bureaucracy. >> david, do you have any agreement with these statements that you're hearing or where do you fall in all of this? >> you know, i think as i mentioned, my concerns are more structural. we'll spend close to $2.5 trillion next year on our health care system. i think before we put any patches on the structure, we have got to ask why is 2.5 trillion not enough to cover all of our health care needs and most of our health care wants? >> we should remind everybody in speaking with you before, you really look at this whole issue as a business model. i think that's interesting. >> i think there's a lack of the type of discipline on prices and service in quality of health care that you see in everything else in our economy. health care is obviously different in many ways.

almost one out of every $5 we spent if we can't bring discipline into health care, we won't be able to afford what we need and we can stretch the safety net and control costs from above. we've had 50 years of it not working. we have bigger and bigger holes in the safety net for those who are even fortunate enough to be covered now. there's no reason to believe that by continuing to do what we do, we're going to get different results. >> well, the discussion continues as you might imagine. we certainly appreciate all of your insights. thanks again for being with us today. >> thank you. >> we of course are asking you whether you think the president was successful in making his pitch for health care reform. lots of calls into the hot line to heidi. here's some of what you said. >> caller: i really don't feel like he answered my questions. he doesn't really say why he's doing it or he said why but he doesn't say how he's going to do it and i don't feel any better

about things after his speech. >> i think he was on point with all of the agenda items. he answered the questions. he delivered full disclosure of how he'll pay for it and he asked for unity in getting this passed. >> i think he made the point last night but i have a question about the quality. >> i think it's great that he's doing it. we need a president that can stand up and takeover. we need it so badly. >> tired of searching for power outlets as your lab top slowly fades to black? are you ready to cut the cord? researches say they have unlocked the secrets to get this wireless electricity. josh levs is joining us now with a closer look. what's this all about? >> i love this. i have actually thought about it. some day it will seem outdated

to plug everything in to get power. this is from cnn.com/tech. you can learn a lot more there but i'll show you a piece of video. look at what we've got. >> i'll plug that in. it creates a magnetic field here. it causes one to be created out here. as i said in sort of about ten seconds we should start to see -- >> that tv just came on all by itself because it was in the general area in which this power is being emitted. he does the same thing with a hand held phone. take a look here. >> you'll see as i get close, you're looking at a cell phone powered completely wirelessly. >> of course people are eating that up. they're saying it is possible that within five years that could be the norm for everyone. >> all right. very good. we want to remind everybody this

is sort of a new segment we do here where you can bring us cool techie stuff that's out there. >> yeah. i'll show you how to weigh in. anything you see that's the best new gadget or curious about technology, this is how you get in touch with us. we'll post links to this story that we're showing you here so you can get more information about how all of this can work maybe some day for you. >> very good. thank you. appreciate it. if you love electronics, you may have a couple new must haves to add to your list. yesterday apple unveiled a revamped ipod nano that will include an internal video camera, voice recorder and fm radio than paused live. the ipod touch has undergone big changes. it will come with more flash memory and run 50% faster. nasa managers are looking into whether "discovery" will have to dodge a piece of space

junk as the shuttle makes its way home. this evening's planned landing in florida may have to be pushed back in forecast of thunderstorms hit. the shuttle could stay up until sunday or possibly touch down in california. all right. i'm heidi collins. we continue in just a moment with tony harris. sfx:racking of a taillight. female valve: hahahaha...i am strong like the ox. i crush you like tiny clown car.

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good morning. it is thursday, the 10th day of september, here are faces of the stories driving the headlines for you in the "cnn newsroom" today. joe wilson heckling