>> i know you will be talking to mayor bloomberg. >> in our second hour, and the third hour, we'll take to you ground zero. here are the big stories we are breaking down in the next 15 minutes. economic rescue, the obama administration claims its $787 million stimulus package has claimed 1 million jobs.krchrist reality check. a few ready to drop demans for a government-run insurance option as part of an overall reform bill. >> they have been called the forgotten victims of 9/11. hundreds of first responders have died from health problems caused by the toxic air that existed for months at ground zero. eight years after, hundreds more are still getting sick. we're digging deeper on that. we begin with president

obama. even as health care is priority one, the white house keeping america's economic recovery front and center. telling america what the administration has done to bring the economy, they say, back from the brink. republicans aren't standing by quietly, saying the white house is using smoke and mirrors to mask how the stimulus has actually failed. the white house claiming that the stimulus has created or saved about 1 million jobs, and treasury secretary tim geithner talked of the recovery at a town hall last night. >> for the first time, most economists think we're growing, the world is now growing too. but because as a country we borrowed too much, built up too much leverage, really had too long of a period of living beyond our means, it's going to be a slow recovery. it's going to take a while to fix this. are you likely to see

unemployment stay unacceptably high for a longer period of time because of that, because of this transition we need to go through to get to a more stable, strong er economy. >> and we have a reality check with christine romans and elaine. the treasury secretary in a town hall meeting talking about the economy, elaine. >> yeah, absolutely. you know, president obama still very much focused on health care. at the same time, he wants to continue sending the message that his administration is on top of the nation's economic recovery. on monday, exactly one year after the collapse of lehman brothers, the institution that helped spark the financial crisis, the president is heading to wall street to deliver a speech highlighting what the administration has done and is doing to try and get the economy back on track. now, his speech is coming on the heels of the claim that you

mentioned by the head -- this claim yesterday by the head of council of economic advisers, christina romer. she says because of the administration's actions when it comes to the economic stimulus, 1 million jobs have either been created or saved since february. well, as you can imagine, that prompted some strong and immediate reaction from republicans. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell lost noted that the country has lost 2.5 million jobs in that same period. and he says -- nevertheless, despite that kind of criticism, the president his administration deserves credit for starting to get the economy to turn around. a full and vibrant recovery is still many months away, but thanks to the bold and decisive action we've taken since

january, i can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink. >> so that's one of the themes we're expecting to hear from president obama on monday when we head to wall street to deliver what the white house is doing as a major speech on the financial crisis. >> elaine, thanks. >> so who is right, the democrats or republicans, or is it someplace in the middle? >> they are both right that there have been a lot of jobs lost since the beginning of the recession, beginning of the year, and the white house is probably right they have saved or created jobs. quite frankly, i have met some people whose jobs have been saved, teachers, firefighters, thousands and thousands of jobs. but these numbers are "subject to considerable uncertainty" these are estimates. you can give the round number of 1 million, but these are estimates. i had never be able to give you a list of what the jobs are,

what the titles are, when they started and who holds those jobs. we can't do that. these are economic estimates. we do know when you look at how many jobs have been lost, many have been lost -- the treasury secretary says the unemployment rate will stay unacceptableably high. and the white house says the stimulus is saving jobs. both of those things can be true. we will never know if it's 1 million jobs. that's important for people to know. when people support the white house and maybe they are a teacher who has kept their job, they say, look, it's working. people look at those numbers and if they have lost their job, say how can they say that? when the recession began, you had hires, something like 3.7%. look at what's happening. this is people getting hired in the labor market. still ticking down, still

ticking down. so people are always being hired and fired. but the percentage of people being hired is much, much smaller. >> it all depends on your perspective. >> it really does and these are estimates. brand-new trouble for a.c.o.r.n. this morning. two employees fired after they were caught on tape allegedly giving advice to a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute. the tape was actually made by a conservative filmmaker. on the tape, the a.c.o.r.n. employee says how they can cheat on their taxes, set up the brothel and says the woman should list her occupation as a performance artist.

a spokesman at a.c.o.r.n. says it's "gotcha journalism." >> performing artist? >> i guess she's right unbelievable. >> some kind of performance. 7 minutes after the hour. more calls for south carolina's embattled governor to quit. 31 out of 46 top republicans have agreed to send a letter to mark sandford, asking for his resignation them are upset after he admitted to a year-long affair. sanford says he'll use legal action, if necessary to block the release of ethics while traveling in office. the space shuttle "discovery" waiting to return home. two landings scrubbed because of stormy weather. nasa will try again tonight to bring the shuttle and its seven members home. it may be diverted to edwards

air force base in california. >> general motors putting its money where its mouth is. starting on monday, if you buy one of its cars and you don't like it -- this is like buying an appliance or something, bring it back in 60 days for a full refund. no questions asked. the deal runs through november. gm hopes it will reverse its sinking market share. >> you have to do something to prove your product is good. they have enough faith. >> it's like shoes. you have 60 days to bring them back, as long as you don't wear them. >> can't drive the car. >> apparently you can drive the car which is really incredible. may not be tough to rattle off some clunkers in the 193 0z -- 1980s and 1990s rather. the pontiac aztec.

the car design, consumers calling it ugly. that would be calling it lightly. number nine. anything by dai wu. >> the cadillac ka terra. maybe you remember. it was built as the caddy that zigged. only it zagged in the wrong direction and failed to buy younger buyers to general motors. number three, the jeep compass, it disappoints offroad lovers at every turn. >> number one. the smart car. oh. the poor little smart car. it looks really cute. but a lot of questions about safety. >> no kidding. >> and if you're claustrofof cl or need to pick up a few bags of groceries, you won't be able to do so. i worked with a guy who loved the pontiac aztec.

>> does he still have it? >> no, he would rent it. >> he would rent it? >> yeah, you would think if you had a choice, you wouldn't rent that, but he did. did the president win over democrats on his talk the other night. 10 minutes after the hour. ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage.

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.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. are you taking a live look at ground zero in morning. eight years ago, the worst terrorist attacks happened on u.s. soils. 9/11 memorials happened in new

york, washington and shanksville, peaceful. here in new york, at 8:46 eastern, a moment of silence at ground zero to mark the time the first plane crashed into the world trade center. coming up at 7:10, michael bloomberg will join us live. we'll ask him if the city is safer today than eight years ago. president obama will take place on memorials. but he remains focused on the make or break issue of health care reform. moderate democrats are being pressed for their support. and there are signs that there is backing off on the so-called public insurance option. >> reporter: here on capitol hill, we're starting to see and hear new signals that some democrats that have slowed the differences on the health care reform is climbing out of trenches. >> all the stars are aligned.

if we can't do this now, when will we be able to do it? >> reporter: jim mcgovern describes himself him this way. >> a proud liberal government. >> reporter: the president's address helped stress to him that he needed to be willing to compromise. >> we need meaningful health care insurance. i may not be everything we want. if it moves the ball forward, i think it's worth supporting. >> reporter: some liberal democrats are firmly entrenched. >> we don't have health care reform, unless we have a public option. >> reporter: but the house speaker even softened her stance. >> there is no bill i can pass a bill in the house of representatives without a public option. >> reporter: notably absent. >> this about is about a goal of

affordability, quality, and acceptability, we'll go forward. >> reporter: liberal democrats are more accepting of this reality. any health care bill must be conservative enough to pass the much more moderate senate. pelosi signalled the house will not act until it's clear what the senate finance committee will produce. their proposal has no public option. and on other issues, democratic chairman boasted the president's new man tracks with their theirs. >> very close to being in sync. >> reporter: and the president's health care plan depends on what a large group of moderate senate democrats can accept. that's why the president invited 17 of them to the white house. we caught up with them as they returned back to the senate by bus and one democratic senator says he pushed the president on the idea of a so-called trigger. a public plan would only take effect and in several years, on & only if other insurance forms

don't work. the president made abundantly clear he's willing to negotiate. john and carroll. >> dana bash, thank you so much. the presses has his health care plan out there, will cost about 9$900 billion, says it won't add a penny to the deficit it will be found from eliminating waste from medicare and medicaid. >> a lot of people skeptical. >> we'll talk with one, coming up. stay with us. 16 after the hour. the great taste of splenda® no calorie sweetener and added a little fiber? sweet! sweet! (together) sweet! (announcer) now for the first time, a gram of healthy fiber in every packet. sweet! (announcer) splenda® with fiber.

progress... it starts with more models than toyota or honda with an epa estimated 30 miles per gallon highway or better. next, it's a lineup of hybrids that fit the way you live, and one day, chevy volt, a car that can go up to 40 miles before it uses any gas at all. that's an american revolution.

welcome back to the boast most news in the morning. president obama keeps pushing for a health care bill, some criticism is focused on the $900 billion price tag and who will pick up the tag. who to help us break is down is executive direct for for deloit health care solutions and we have jill schlesinger of cbsmoneywatch.com is here. people asking where the money is going to come from. let's listen to what the

president said. >> we've estimated that most of the plan can be paying for by combined savings within the existing health care system. a system that is currently full of waste and abuse. right now, too much of the hard-earned savings and tax dollars we spend on health care don't make us any healthier. >> the president says by squeezing waste and efficiencies from medicare and medicaid he can pay for most of it. do numbers add up? >> not quite, john. the past, from the gao and other studies, suggest that you can take $10 billion to $15 billion out a year on fraud, but beyond that, what he's really describing are really some very significant cuts, and he also alludes, without being specific, to changing what's covered when he refers to things that are overused, tests, surgeries,

things that are done, that's what the town hall has focused on in potentially the government intruding in decisions made between the doctor and patient. >> the money just isn't there. who is going to pick up the tab? and one would wonder if there is waste and inefficiency in the system, why are we waiting until now? >> where is he going to get the money? he's going to tax people. and that's the wealthy, or the rich. he wants to draw the line in the sand at the $2,000 income level. the original house plan said if you make more than $280,000 as an individual. $350,000 as a family. we're going to charge you a sur tax. based on income up to over 5% that will hopefully driver a bunch of money. but republicans are saying we're not into that. we don't like taxing people who are making a lot of money, because we're nervous they will stop spending as much money. the other plan to raise money is

charge the employers who don't offer insurance. again, a little bit of a squeeze on the small business person. so have you a small company. if you don't offer insurance, maybe up to an 8% penalty on your payroll. >> here is the question, though. can you get the money you need by taxing the rich? >> my fear is given everything else, the $9 trillion projected deficit over the next ten years, you come back from that and say it's not just that $900 billion in the health care debate, it's everything. i come to the conclusion that everyone's taxes is going to have to go up. but otherwise we'll have the massive deficit. the best way to prepare for that is to accept it i don't see a way out of it. >> one other thing we talked about too when we talk about overall health care. you have to get cost out of the general system. people point to outfits like the cleveland clinic, mayo clinic, smaller hospitals, doctors on

salaries, a lot of vertical and horizontal integration in their facilities, electronic recordkeeping and they are models for efficiency in delivering health care. but can you get everybody out there to change the culture? it's just a handful of institutions that are doing this and so many out there that aren't. >> john, you're exactly right. in my view, the discussion of health insurance reform without the discussion of delivery system reform is really not a complete discussion of health reform. our deloit surveys indicate that people think 52% of the population, fully half of what's done in health care is wasteful. they just don't know which half. we have a long way to go. you can't change the culture overnight. the system we're in today is a system that's about 90 years old. so it's not going to turn overnight. it's certainly not going to turn with an election cycle. >> jill, i want to switch gears

a little. tim geithner held this town hall meeting yesterday. and he said 1.1 million jobs have been created, banks are getting healthier, they'll be able to pay back a lot of money and some of the rescue programs that the government instituted a year ago monday, which marks the collapse of lehman brothers, are no longer necessary. but at the same time, republicans are saying, wait a minute, 1.1 million jobs created. what about the 2 million lost? what do you make of what geithner is saying? >> as christine said earlier in the program there, s, there is truth on the same side. when you throw $3 million at a problem, it's not just stimulus money, t.a.r.p., throwing $2 trillion at a problem will help. it's amazing how that works. on the other side, we were in

the deepest recession we have seen since the great depression. job loss will continue. is he right. new job loss is tapering off. that's good for the economy. but getting back to why do people still feel so rotten? it is really hard to get a job still. if you look at the unemployment rate for all of those people who don't have jobs, looking for jobs, disgruntled, part time, we're talking nearly 17%. a staggering number. we're still in the -- in an economic down turn. we're starting to bottom out. but for real people who are watching they are saying no, wonder i feel so lousy. it's still not great yet. >> great to catch up with you this morning. good to see you, have a great weekend. carol. the eighth anniversary of 9/11 and in my segment, remember the unity we all felt in the months and years after 9/11? remember that? how you couldn't do enough for your fellow american? what happened to that, and will we ever get that back?

we'll explore that issue, next. 25 minutes past the hour.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. today marks eight years since the september 11th terrorist attacks. we remember the fear, and we remember the sadness. but we should also remember how 9/11 drew us together as a country. as americans, we were unified. so just say it. what happened? it's not that we've forgotten what happened on that day. the lingering pain makes that impossible. >> double the size of that building. that's how big that one tower was. >> reporter: but some visiting the memorial this week, wondered

if we remembered enough. >> this was a terrible time in our lives, and we need to step back and remember and teach everyone what we thought. >> reporter: not just the pain, but what we shared. >> right after everyone had flown their american flag. their cars were plastered with the american flag, and it's a shame that has passed. >> from 9/11, it brought everyone together and this health care thing has everything tore apart. >> reporter: even in this place, the tone of the health care debate hurts. >> we can't just let our differences and opinions in what's going on in the government tear us apart. >> nazi policy. >> on what planet do you spend most of your time. >> i'm sick of the lies. >> mob. >> i'm not a dense person. >> just saying, is unity still possible? >> i think at the end of the

day, there is a lot of uncertainty and a lot about their own lives they don't control. >> reporter: it has a chilling effect on compromise and civility. if you don't agree with me, you're unpatriotic. the president, as the nation's moral authority, needs to step up according to this man. >> his approach is when someone is uncivil, he's been quiet. and that's not leadership. that's actually failure of leadership. >> reporter: westin says mr. obama lost an opportunity to lead during his speech to congress by not addressing representative joe wilson's heckling on the spot. >> the president lost a real opportunity on wednesday night. he could have said to the american people, this is an exact example of what i'm talking about. this isn't how we solve our nation's problems. >> reporter: others say disunity is temporary. how will we know if we don't

unify in the next great disaster? >> if we ever lose that, in a time of great challenge that we no longer regard the humanity of our fellow citizens, we're in serious trouble. >> wouldn't you hate to think it will take a next big disaster to unify us auts americans again? >> when you look at how things are going and how divided we are, the level of rancor between the two sides, it's really concerning. >> some say we've become more partisan than ever and that's saying something. what do you think? is unity possible in america? what can be done to restore the love of your fellow american? and who should be the moral authority? who should return the civility to the country? what do you have to say. we want to hear what you think. comment on the story by heading to our blog, cnn.com/amfix. post your comments and we'll

read them throughout the show. encouraging news against h1n1 virus. new research shows a single low dose of the vaccine may be enough to protect adults from the virus. there were concerns three shots would be needed, one for regular flu and two for swine flu and side effects were no worse than those for seasonal flew vaccine. vaccine expected to be available by late october. a game-changing play for the government's efforts to restore the chesapeake bay. the environmental protection agency has claimed a clampdown on pollution from farms, cities, and suburbs. states need to be held accountable. chemicals, sewage, and farm waste have made the largest estuary deadly. and speaking out. joe wilson told a south carolina

radio station about what sparked the shout heard round the world. wilson did apologize to the white house, saying the president accepted that apology. deep wounds heal slowly. today, eight years since the terrorist attacks on september 11th. looking at live pictures of ground zero, where a 9/11 memorial will take place this morning. the annual remembrance. many first responders and residents near ground zero have had health problems. eight years later, people are still getting sick. doctors say as many as 200 a month. we have that part of the story. >> reporter: john, carol, nearly 2,800 people died on 9/11.

since then, 800 others, many of them first responders, have also died. and many more are getting sick every day. new york city police detective james zadroga, a first responder, died in 2006 at age 34 of complications from a respiratory illness. how much time did he spend at the site? >> approximately 400 hours. >> reporter: he joined thousands of others in the weeks after the towers fell, searching for bodies amidst burning asbestos, lead and other cancer-causing agents. >> when he died, he had lungs of a 97-year-old man. >> reporter: doctors continue to see new patients. 200 every month. and not only respiratory diseases. at new york city's mt. sinai medical center, there's an emerging pattern. >> we found there are a number of younger folks developed a cancer that is normally associated with older age groups.

>> reporter: by a show of hands, who here has a family history of the disease with which they are now affected? none of you. these men in their late 30s, early 40s, served with the nypd. all worked the notorious pile. detective john walcott, for seven months. >> we all sucked in the same air, and i think whether it's emotional or something, everybody walked away with some sort of problem. >> reporter: all are sick and getting sicker. like detective ron richards who seemed fine until a routine checkup two years ago. >> that's when my nightmare started. i was in kidney failure and that turned out to be a multiple my eloma, stage three. >> and this detective has lymphoma. >> reporter: is this just you four? >> no. no. many people out there. >> reporter: where is the money coming from to treat all these people? 9,000 first responders and volunteers are suing new york

city and building contractors. asking for $1 billion for medical testing and treatment. the city says it's not at fault and supports a pending senate bill that would potentially reopen the victim's compensation fund to provide for those too sick to work. but for these men, the fight has taken a toll. how many of you feel that you've been a little bit abandoned? >> if we're sick and not being taken care of, what message does this send to next responders? >> reporter: as they wrestle with disease that will almost certain cut short their lives, they worry about those left behind. >> we worry about our families. will our families be taken care of? >> reporter: fund willing run out in 2010. they fear that they won't fully understand the ultimate death toll. john, carol. coming up, 7:10 eastern, new

york city mayor michael bloomberg will join us. and the health compensation act that deb was referring to, and plans for the museum and memorial and what's happening with the freedom tower. they have it above ground. about 115, 150 feet above ground. >> even controversy over calling it the freedom tower. >> for a lot of people it will always be a freedom tower, despite sensitivity to overseas hours. 38 minutes after the hour.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. fridays are usually reserved for our weekly wingnuts on both sides of the political aisle. this morning, something completely different. we're profiling two independent voices, leaders trying to unite rather than divide us. john avlon from the dailybeast.com and writer for independent nation. and he joins us now. i think this is a terrific idea. we concentrate on extremes from the liberal and conservative sides, but never talk about people in the middle. >> this is a day to do that.

a day to give out profile in courage awards. >> it is the day to do that it's the anniversary of 9/11. and you wrote a terrific column on how we should remember 9/11 and the elevens from it. >> that's rig . >> and i think there's some amnesia creeping into the debate. what should always unite us, has become divisive in the second term. we need to keep our eye on the ball on the wider war on terror. there was a common-sense notion in american politics that partisan politics ought to end at the water's edge. >> and there ought to be compromise. i think what people have forgotten what that means. or if it's even achievable. give us our first candidate on the right. >> secretary of defense robert gates. butch's second secretary of

defense. reappointed by president obama. it sends the message we are a nation at war and our obligations are so much bigger than partisan politics, to the member and women fighting on the ground. we are still at war. this may be eight years later, but we're still at war against the taliban in afghanistan. osama bin laden is still uncaptured. this conflict goes on. secretary gates' reappointment has sent a great message. >> what is it in his personality that he's able to bridge this divide between democrats and republicans? how will it help us go forward? >> largely, because he is not ideological. he is a problem solver. he is actually a registered independent and served six presidents in both parties and has a degree of bipartisan credibility when it comes to that. when he comes to the table,

people feel like he's keeping an eye out for the national interests, not the special interests. that's what he's done, and that's an important thing to do at a time when we are at war, whether some of the supporters for afghanistan is slipping, his support and leadership helps bridge the partisan divide. >> candidate for independent voice on the left i think is pretty controversial. because democrats are really angry at this candidate. >> they are, and that's a sign of how hyperpartisan times are. joe liberman i think deserves this award more than anyone else. he was the original 9/11 democrat. that was the term that was going to change politics this decade. national security hawks that took the lessons of 9/11 to heart. joe lieberman did. he was a steadfast supporter of the wider war on terrorism, even when it was unpopular. and he lost to ned lamont. he disagreed with his support to

the war in iraq. joe liberman persevered and a lot of democrats thought party politics mattered more. and he put his campaign forward as an independent and he won. he had the guts to support john mccain in 2008. he has taken a lot of profile in courage, tough positions and continued to be a 9/11 democrat and that is worthy of a great deal of respect on a day like today. >> is he still in there supporting republicans more politically than perhaps democrats? what is he doing in the health care reform debate? where is he in that? >> he's the homeland security chair, as he was before. he is a democrat. an old-school, john f. kennedy, new frontier democrat. and when he came from campaigning hard for john mccain which was a matter of personal conviction for him, president obama sent a very important signal to democrats who wanted to punish him by stripping him

of his homeland security committee chairmanship, said let's not do that. and joe liberman was reappointed as head. that's the kind of message we need to be heeding. what unites us rather than divides us. >> hopefully there are more centrists you can nominate. thank you. 45 minutes past the hour. 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.

you can tell it's getting later in the season. a month ago it would have been light there now. atlanta, cloudy, 67 degrees. sun hasn't quite come up yet. pretty picture. later on today, stormy and a high of 81 degrees. a lot of storms up and down the east coast today. welcome back to the most news in the morning. the tests are in on caster semenya, whose gender came into question after she won the 800 meter title easily last month. the result won't be out until later. but one report says that she has both male and female sex organs. president obama taking time out to honor the pittsburgh penguins at the white house. the team gave him a number 44 penguins jersey, because he's our 44th president. and the president unknowingly violated a hockey superstition

by lifting the fabled cup without having actually earned it on the ice. >> wait a minute. did he lift it over his head? >> i think he did. >> or did he just hold it? >> i don't know. we'll delve into that further and watch the video. i think he just held it. but you're not supposed to lift it at all. yes before canadian hockey person. >> i've held it. >> did you lift it over your head? >> actually, i did. >> so you're the reason. who is your favorite hockey team? >> toronto maple leafs, of course. that's where i grew up. i'm back in the day. >> because you lifted the cup, they don't have those great players any more. michael jordan, perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time will be inducted into the hall of fame. he led the chicago bulls into six nba titles, he enters with

david robinson and john stockton. rob mars anno checking on weather. >> interesting storm happening across parts of the northeast today this will cause wet weather and just nastiness from d.c. to new york. events happening, a la the 9/11 ceremonies will be a washout. we have a tornado watch. that's how much energy is pinwheeling. tornado watch off the delaware bay until noon time later today. that's pretty rough weather, and special warnings as well. and new york, same area, could see a couple inches of rainfall. be aware of that. a soggy one. quick update on fred. 85 mile an hour winds headed to the north. expected to weaken and drift west.

we're not quite done with fred. certainly, not an immediate threat across the u.s. do want to point out this. we are entering the peak this weekend of hurricane season. so far, so good, on the not having a a major hurricane making landfall in the u.s. 66 in new york, 71 in d.c. bring along rain gear. same deal in atlanta. thunderstorms in the afternoon. 79 degrees up there in chicago. same on you, john, lifting the stanley cup over your head. i think there are different rules, carol, for canadians. >> that explains john's whole personality. >> i'm not sure it explains it all, but maybe gives us a little bit of a window. >> you know, i'm an american now, but i was born in canada, right? and you know how a baby is born in canada? the doctor grabs it by the skates and pulls it out. >> i believe it. i believe it. >> thank you. 50 minutes past the hour.

welcome back to the most news in the morning in in job market, how do you go from being unemployed and living in a walmart parking lot to being a fashion writer for a major magazine? ted rollins has the amazing story of a woman with a dog, a laptop and a lot of guts. >> reporter: most fairy tales start as a nightmare. for 24-year-old brianna carp it began when she lost her job as an exive assistant and ended up living in this los angeles walmart parking lot in a trailer

she inherited from her father whom she barely knew and recently committed suicide. >> i was going to sell this, but then this happened. >> reporter: she had her dog, fez, and an old laptop computer. >> the first night being homeless in the parking lot was the scariest and kind of panicking, and just afraid. >> reporter: for five months, brianna lived in the walmart and used free wi-fi at starbucks to look for jobs and send out resumes, and also started writing a blog. >> i was trying to stay positive and cheerful. i started writing the blog in a tongue and cheek way to laugh about my circumstances. keep them chronicled. i didn't think anybody would actually read it. >> reporter: but people did, including scott barnes who was living in scottsdale. he's now brianna's boyfriend. then out of the blue, an

opportunity. a reality show was looking for executive assistants, top prize? an internship with this woman. advice clunist, e. jean carol. brianna was chosen for an audition, and she bombed. >> i laughed about it, made fun of myself. >> reporter: brianna decided to take a chance and e-mail carol's advice site. >> i'm educated, never done drugs, and currently homeless. >> reporter: she asked for a second interview, and signed it -- >> homeless but not hopeless. >> i said she's so ready to work. >> reporter: the response appeared in the august edition of "elle magazine, saying in part, miss homeless, my dear, you knocked me out with your spirit. she offered her an internship. >> i think she's a new voice, a voice we haven't heard, and i'm excited for her future.

>> reporter: brianna is now living in this trailer on a friend's property outside los angeles. and see her story and realize that with a lost job and a little bad luck, just about anyone can end up living in a walmart parking lot. she's also still looking for a full-time job. cnn, los angeles. just ahead, are democrats beginning soften on the idea of having a public plan in the house version of the bill? there seems to be a little friction between steny hoyer and nancy pelosi earlier this week. but is congressman hoyer looking further down the road? brianna keilar will be on capitol hill with more on the negotiations on the health care bill. 55 minutes past the hour. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool.

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back with the most news in

the morning. this week we have seen the dangers of ieds, impro fized explosive devices, up close. a road side bomb almost blew up a truck carrying our correspondent michael ware. 75% of coalition casualties are caused by devices like this. we saw its effect all too well in iraq and now afghanistan. these insurgents employing it with deadly affect across the country, barbara starr. >> absolutely. the taliban have made ieds the number one threat to u.s. troops. taliban are getting so good at it that u.s. commanders are seeing new tactics by them almost every week. an ied was blocking this road in central afghanistan a few days ago. this time, u.s. troops blew it up before it could cause harm. but stopping roadside bombs is an uphill battle.

>> we're losing people as everybody knows. >> reporter: the statistics are staggering, since 2007, the number of ied" afghanistan has jumped more than 300%. many are found before they detonate. but the number of troops killed is up more than 400%. the number of wounded, up more than 700%. one u.s. military source tells cnn that in just the last year, the taliban's capacity to manufacture bombs, train attackers, and target u.s. troops has grown. on september 8th, near kandahar, troops seized 5 tons o of amoni nitrate, more than twice what was used in the bombing of the federal building in oklahoma city. and c-4 plastic explosives, believed manufactured in iran, were found in herat by afghan troops.

afghanistan's dirt roads make it easy to quickly hide ieds. >> you have disturbed earth all the time. you still probably have junk around, especially close to villages and intersections that makes the seeing and finding much more complicated. >> reporter: other wortactics? detonation wires may run more than a mile so the attacker can remain out of sight. and the taliban know that troops regularly stop ahead of culverts to search for bombs. now, the taliban are placing bombs where the convoys stop instead of in the culverts. that's the military reality on the ground. but here on the morning of 9/11, the political reality in washington, a good deal of opposition now emerging to escalating the war by sending more u.s. troops, speaker nancy

pelosi and the all-powerful democrat carl levin, chairman of the senate armed services committee, both expressing skepticism and possible opposition to the idea of sending a large number of additional u.s. combat forces to the war where the 9/11 attacks began. john. >> barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you so much. that brings us to the top of the hour. thanks for being with us on the most news of the morning. on this friday, september 11th. i'm john roberts. >> and i'm carol costello in for kiran chetry. the president apparently winning over divided democrats in the debate for health care reform. liberals insisting on a public option are now backing off. instead of talking about backing their president, brianna keilar on a party that may be uniting, and what it means for the future of health care. remembering the attacks of 9/11 eight years later.

victims' families will take their first steps on the long-waited memorial plaza in new york city today and mayor michael bloomberg joins us from ground zero to tell whus we'll finally have a new edition to the new york city skyline. >> we haven't seen an attack since, but why? the last administration was slammed for some of the steps it took after 9/11. were those steps successful, or are we just lucky? our ""spies among us" series takes a look. president obama spoke to joint session of congress. liberal democrats are now backing down and vowing to back the president them spoke after the president called the public option a preferred, but nonessential element of overhauling the nation's health care system and urged all sides to come together. >> i am confident a plan that

we've put ford is the right plan for the american people. i continue to be open to suggestions, and ideas from all quarters. house members, senate members, democrats, republicans, outside groups. what we cannot do is stand back. what we can't do is accept a status quo that is bankrupting families, businesses, and our nation. i had not tolerate us continuing to pay more for less in health care. >> reporter: congressional correspondent brianna keilar life on capitol hill this morning. president obama met with moderate democrats last night. tell us about that meeting. how did it go? >> reporter: well, president obama, as well as a number of moderate democrats that took a bus over to the white house and back last night said it was really constructive meeting, and as we see liberal democrats who have been insistent on a public

option, some of them stressing some of them seeming to be lessen trenched on the position. president obama concentrating on conservative democrats at the meeting and cnn was the only camera there, carroll, catching up with senators as they returned from the white house. senator ben nelson, who has had pretty serious reservations about his own party's attempt to overhaul health care said he was happy to hear the president's message that he may be flexible on how to get to the end point of health care reform. >> i think he -- he recognizes that when you have to balance substance and process, that substance has to win out. and so the method of getting everybody covered, having coverage extended, is secondary to the fact that you get it done and that there are more -- there's more than one way to do it. he has his preference, he knows that may or may not hold. and he's prepared to look at something else as well.

>> reporter: so where do we pick up now two days after president obama's address to congress? well, that really critical, potentially critical group, the gang of six. republicans and democrats from the senate finance committee, will be meeting yet again today. 10:00 a.m. it will happen and given these negotiations, given these negotiations new importance, house speaker nancy pelosi, straddling a divide, she seems to have loosened up her language on talking about a public option, how it has to be in a bill that will pass the house. she did signal yesterday that what the house is going to do is really wait and see what comes out of the senate finance committee and all eyes are there and this group, this gang of six, the proposal doesn't include a public option. >> brianna, things seem to be cooking. any word of a timeline for passing some kind of bill? >> reporter: i spoke with

senator kent conrad, and he told me that the senate finance committee is expected to really do its thing, move it's proposal through committee through the end of this month, and the goal is early october, get a bill to the senate floor and actually have a vote before the end of october. so at least right now, perhaps tentatively, that is the time line. we'll have to see if it holds, carol. >> we'll be watching. brianna keilar, live on capitol hill. >> everyone is preoccupied with health care reform, the white house is trying to remind tlus is an economic recovery going on and they would like to get a little credit for it. tim geithner says many programs are no longer needed. and the administration claims it saved or created 1.1 million jobs. not everyone, though, agrees with that. white house correspondent ela e equiano is live. can we refocus on the economy?

and harry truman said he would like to have a one-handed economist. there are varying perspectives on the economy. >> reporter: as you noted, the president has been focusing a lot of attention on the health care reform issue. number one priority. but at the same time he wants to continue to send the message that his administration is on top of the nation's economic recovery. that's why on monday, one year after the collapse of lehman brothers, the institution that really helped spark the financial crisis, the president is going to head to wall street to deliver a speech to highlight what the administration is doing to get the economic back on track. the speech is coming on the heels of a climb by one of the top economic advisers, christina romer, head of the council of economic advisers, and she says because of the administration's actions whether it comes to economic stimulus, that 1 million jobs have been saved or

created since february. as you can imagine, that prompted criticism from democrats. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell noted that the country has lost 2.5 million jobs in that same period. and he says -- neverthele nevertheless, despite criticisms, those kinds of criticisms, the president insists his administration, in fact, deserves credit for at least starting to turn the economy around. take a listen. >> if we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on medicare and medicaid than every other government program combined. our health care program is our deficit problem. nothing else even comes close. >> so what you heard there is the president trying to link the issue of health care reform and

the nation's economic recovery, but the president basically wanting to highlight what the administration has done, as the administration says, pull the economy back from the brink. that speech happening on monday on wall street. >> we'll have full coverage at cnn.com. elaine quijanho. and south carolina republican joe wilson shouted you lie during the president's address. he has apologized to president obama. but the house majority whip is asking wilson to say he's sorry to the entire house. wilson tells a south carolina radio station his outburst was unplanned. simply a product of frustration.

>> the democratic challenger has collected more than 14,000 contributions, totaling more than half a million dollars since wednesday's incident with wilson. those figures from the democratic house campaign committee. also new this morning, in south carolina, more calls for the state's embattled governor to quit. 31 out of 46 top republican leaders agreed to send a letter to governor mark sanford, asking him to step down. they are upset with the governor after he disappeared to see his mistress in argentina. the governor refuses to budge, vowing to fight back with "every

tool in the toolbox" against what he calls a kangaroo court. two employees from the nonprofit housing group a.c.o.r.n. after caught on tape giving advice to a couple possessiposing as a pimp and prostitute. they were told how to cheat on their taxes and how to set up a brothel involving more than a dozen underage girls. they even suggest that the woman should not call herself a prostitute, but a performing artist. a spokesman at a.c.o.r.n. says this is got you journalism. starting monday, gm will give new car buyers a chance to

return new wheels, no questions asked a radical marketing move to pick up sales so they can pay back billions they owe the government. the deal lasts through november. there are major restrictions. check the fine print carefully, like don't go over 4,000 miles if you're not sure. >> oh. mayor michael bloomberg of new york coming up as we mark the eighth anniversary on the attacks of 9/11. he'll talk with us about what's being done in terms of the memorial. about 15 minutes away from speaking with mayor bloomberg. there was a time i wouldn't step out of the house

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(announcer) we understand. you need to save money. christine romans, minding your business this morning. we're going to talk about something really depressing. >> it's important. and there are angles. we're talking about poverty and income statistics. president obama said the economy has stepped back from the brink and some people say, no, it feels like the financial system has stepped back from the brink, but for those of us in the economy it feels like we are

still on the brink, especially where you don't have a job and you've slipped to poverty. for 2008, the first full year of recession, this is what the picture looked like. median income for a household, a family, fell about $1,860. are you feeling that. that's a significant amount. $50,303 is the median income. poverty in america. the first significant increase since 2004. 39.8 million people in poverty. a family of four, about $22,025 is what you're living on. people without health insurance. an important statistic. this is not americans without health insurance. to be very clear. people in the country without health insurance, 46.3 million, up up 600,000. so many people falling off the rolls of their job-based

insurance. >> how many people in that job are illegal immigrants? the number varies widely from a low of 8 million to a high of 15. >> the president said 30 million. >> we don't know how many. the census bureau covers citizens and noncitizens. it doesn't cover legal status. when you're talking about covering the uninsured. if you are excluding illegal aliens, you're not really covering the uninsured. i want to be clear with that. >> and that's where the controversy comes in. have you a roman numeral? >> i do. it's 4.4 million. it shows the growing role of the government in health care insurance. the government is taking the -- >> this is the number of children -- >> this is the number of people covered by government health insurance. the rate of children being covered by government insurance is already going up.

some things are already happening. you have the government taking a much bigger role in health insurance than we've ever seen before. >> christine romans, thank you so much. eight years now since we've had a major terrorist attack on u.s. soil. is it vigilance, policies put in place by the bush administration, or just blind luck? jason carol takes a look, coming up. 17 minutes after the hour. 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.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. it is september 11th. and, again, america's security spot is in the spotlight. >> remember how afraid we were after 9/11? we were told another attack is inevitable, but there haven't been one on u.s. soil in eight years. today in "spies among us," jason carroll takes a look at why from ground zero this morning.

tell us, jason, why? >> reporter: honestly, there hasn't been one specific reason. talk to intelligence experts and they tell you better intelligence, better communication between various agencies. what we did, carol, we went to top experts in the field to talk to them about what's been done to secure the country, post 9/11. in the months and years following 9/11, came the warnings. >> thousands of dangerous killers are now spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs. set to go off. >> reporter: president obama weighing in this year. >> al qaeda is actively planning attacks on the united states homeland. >> reporter: security experts say while osama bin laden's whereabouts are unknown, al qaeda is still plotting and planning. >> strategic thinkers, they are patient. they don't set their wrist watches like you and i do. >> reporter: tom ridge says the department's creation in 20012

was key to better secure the country. >> right after 9/11, somebody said nobody connected the dots. today there, are more dots with a lot more intelligence coming in. >> reporter: there is improved communication between agencies, and reports between albana. he was stop ahead chicago's o'hare airport. a customs agent, armed with guidelines, deported him for a visa violation. a year and a half later, he blew himself up outside baghdad, killing 166 people. ridge says their hard work had paid off. >> some say it's been a bit of luck. >> i think that's fair. look, i'm convinced that the threat is real. >> reporter: terrorism expert ryan jenkins says al qaeda has not taken hold in the united states to date, partly due to improved intelligence, but

because american muslims seem resistant to the radical ideology. >> the difference between a band of amateurs, being able to do nothing, and a small group being able to carry out a dangerous terrorist attack is having one determined technically competent leader. >> reporter: a point new york city police commissioner ray kelly knows well. >> it's important to know we've had eight plots against new york city since september 11th. >> reporter: those plots centered on so-called soft targets, considered more vulnerable because they have less security. last year, new york city spent more than $3 billion on a joint terrorism task force. >> we need money to help us continue the significant efforts that we've made in this city to

protect it. >> jason carroll reporting. and the federal government has declared the entire month of september national preparedness month and arguably no mayor deals with the terrorist threat as much as new york mayor michael bloomberg. he joins us today from ground zero this is the first year that people can actually walk all the way out on the memorial plaza some progress after so many years. let me ask you to reflect on what jason carroll told us in that pace. arguments as to whether or not america is safer now than we were in the years pre9/11. what do you think? >> well, new york city is certainly safer. we have 1,000 police officers dedicated to intelligence and counterterrorism. we've added a lot of technology. trained people and you heard from ray kelly a little while ago. we're doing everything we can with our people and our technology to keep the city safe and safer than its ever been. what we really have to focus on

is around the world, we have young men and women fighting and dieing to protect us and two, on the streets of this country, we have police officers fighting and dying too as they try to get guns out of the fans of crimiha criminals. and unless you do something about the vast number of guns, you won't get the murder rate much lower than it is today. that's the first and most pressing security issue. al qaeda is something certainly serious and we're certainly focusing on that, but it's easy to change your focus to that than worrying about the number of people getting killed every single day. we have a virginia tech virtually every day in this country, and nobody focuses on that. >> sadly, we do have one of those almost -- yeah, it seems with stunning regularity. a recent study says soft targets

will get -- >> you have to speak louder. we can't hear you. we have a real wind problem. >> the weather there is terrible. let me preface the question again. >> go ahead. >> a recent study by the stratford group suggests terrorists will go more and more after soft targets. we've seen a lot of that overseas. is it inevitable that it will come here? do you worry about smaller, more targeted attacks against the so-called soft targets or the grand attack we saw eight years ago? >> i don't know that anything is inevitable. we have to keep our focus, invest our money in a good police department and good army and technology and intelligence operations and stop sitting around and trying to strategize, but actually do something. that it's easy to have a bunch of talking heads saying we have a threat here and a threat there, but i come back to you've got to really go out, see where the threats are and do something

about it, and the threats are on the streets of this city. those are the soft targets most people have to worry about. leave it to professionals to worry about the terrorist organizations. in new york city, i can't guarantee we'll always be safe, but we're doing everything we possibly can, and the people of new york city feel safe. we have a population that's growing here downtown. we have double the number of people living downtown than we did eight years ago and after 9/11, everybody said nobody would live in this city it would be an armed camp. that's not what america is about. america is about a spirit and a can-do attitude and a willi willingness to stand up to those who want to take away our freedom. >> the construction of the plaza is under way. people will be able to walk out on the plaza as opposed to being in the depth of the pit. it will include hundreds of hours of graphic video and will

take a look at the hijackers' protective. one display will have translated statements by the hijackers. and joe daniels say people need to see that. do you agree? >> well, you have to tell the story. i don't know why you would -- this is america. we have -- we want to know what goes on and have to be able to make our own decisions. that is exactly what the terrorists were trying to take away from us, the kind of censorship that is implying we shouldn't look at everything. the terrorists were despicable people that tried to take away our freedoms. but to say that we're not going to listen to what they said and use them as an example of what is bad, just to me is ridiculous. this is the freedom to investigate and to show all sides, is exactly what we should

be doing. >> mr. mayor, one more question before you blow away in the wind, is the museum and memorial going to meet the completion date of september 11, 2011, and how important is it from a psychological level to hit that completion date? >> ten years from now, we'll look back and won't remember the angst and the political process to get agreements and solve lots of complicated problems. the most important thing when we're building here is, number one, do it safely. i do not want to lose one life. no building is worth losing a life. i don't care how long it takes. number two, i want to make sure people look back and say we built the right thing and built it well so it lasts. that's more important than any schedule and third, way down the list, it would be nice if we get things done quickly and low cost, but nobody remembers all of the problems it took to build

central parking but new york without central park wouldn't be new york. nobody remembers how long it took to get everybody together, to build the empire state building, but it's a symbol of new york. we are to do things safely and right. i do think you'll be able to walk out on the plaza see the trees, look at the waterfalls going down. read the names, think about what happened. bring your kids and explain why people were trying to take away our freedoms and why america was stronger than that. that we didn't cave that we are willing to investigate and have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and that part will be done by 9/11/11. >> mayor, thank you for being with us and braving the terrible weather down there. >> you're welcome. any time. and because this year september 11th, s tth is a natiy of remembrance, see how you can

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we're checking top stories this friday morning. one sorry may not be enough for president obama's wednesday night heckler. joe wilson apologized to the president after shouting you lie during his health care address in congress. now jim clyburn, also from south carolina, wants an apology to the entire house of representatives, and joe wilson telling a south carolina radio station that the outburst was not planned, it just happened. on his website, he says he's not going to be muzzled on the debate for health care reform. and his democrat ic contender hs

raised a considerable amount of money since it happened. and one year after the collapse of lehman brothers, the white house says that the president will discuss the steps his administration has taken to stabilize the economy and his commitment to reducing the government's role in the financial world. and talk about a test drive. this is more than just around the block. general motors is offering new car buyers a full -- get that, full refund within 60 days if they don't like their gm car for any reason, no questions asked. the only stipulation, you have to keep it under 4,000 miles and you can't wreck it either. gm sales down 35% so far this year. >> i that i would kill the deal. whether it's an olive branch to republicans or a change of heart, president obama has put medical malpractice reform on the table in the health care debate.

>> i talked to enough doctors, and they say medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs. so -- so, i'm proposing we move forward on a range of ideas on how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine. >> many believe restricting malpractice lawsuits could make health insurance a lot cheaper for all of us. attorney phillip k. howard joins us now. chair of common good, a nonpartisan legal reform group and the author of "the death of common sense." welcome. >> good morning. >> is the president serious, or throwing a bone to republicans? >> i think it's an important commitment. he's put on the table he's going to do what it takes to eliminate the incentives of defensive medicine. it may require more than certain democrats want, but he's made that a commitment, just like he made a commitment that this is revenue neutral health care reform. it's important.

>> i know your group did a study and showed 83% of the nation's electorate wants congress to address medical malpractice system. the bigger question is how much will this really save us if you're able to do this? >> first, the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of legal reform for health care. if they go to the doctor, they see defensive medicine at work. the doctor being cautious, not being open, ordering extra tests that the doctor and patient know really aren't needed. how much will it save? hard to calculate exactly. you can't create a culture of sufficient health care without it. the doctors have incentives to do more, you'll never save money. >> you heard a lot of different figures. >> it's a lot of money. more than enough money to pay for this -- for this universal health care. >> democrats and republicans have different ideas on how to tackle this republicans want to

put a cap on jury awards. democrats want to control it in other ways. which is the best way? >> the best way is not -- i think limits on damages don't by themselves eliminate defensive medicine. you can still be liable if you did nothing wrong. so what we're advocating in a broad coalition including consumer groups and safety groups is a reliable system of special health courts. like we have special health courts for bankruptcy and tax and such. health care has gotten really complicated. we need a court system that everybody can trust to be reliable case to case. that's what bradley came out for recently in an op-ed in "the new york times," david brooks calls for it in today's "the new york times." it's almost a growing -- a growing level of support. >> president obama has mentioned it as well. there's another interesting statistic that points to the state of lawyers and what people think about them in this country.

43% of americans have confidence that a lawsuit without merit would be resolved in their favor. only 30% have confidence that it would be resolved quickly and efficiently. in other words, they think lawyers are taking most of the money when they win malpractice suits. >> that's true. 60 cents of the dollar goes to lawyer's fees and administrative costs. it's not effective for patients who are injured and not reliable for doctors who try hard to take care of people all day long. >> politically, this is a tough issue for the president. gets a lot of support from trial lawyers and they probably don't want to change the system very much, right? >> that's right. and it's very hard for congressional leader who's have their hand on that spigot from the trial lawyers to do any significant reform. but, i mean who are you going to go with? 83% of the american public want legal reform with the health care reform, or a few thousands trial lawyers? >> i know lobbyists are very strong and most americans know

that. they have a lot of money and influence. maybe more money and certainly more money and maybe more influence than the american electorate has. >> well, we'll see. i think that the commitment by the president is important. there is a growing group of people on the right and left, consumer groups and business who are looking not just for tort reform limits, but for something that's reliable. and that's what health care needs. >> thank you for joining us this morning. >> so what do you say to critics of malpractice reform who say you have to have tough penalties in place. a lot of bad doctors out there. and people are practicing bad medicine and hurt people? >> doctors who are not -- they ought to have their licenses pulled. and the accountability mechanisms are not good. but the medical malpractice system, it's not good. it has an error rate of about 25%. so it's like playing russian

ro roulette. that creates an atmosphere of defensiveness and we have to get back to a system of trust if you're a bad doctor, you will be accountable and if you're a good doctor, you will be protected. >> a lot changes to the system. >> thank you. 20 minutes to the top of the hour. an amazing story out of ohio. a muslim teen converts to christianity, runs away to florida to link up with a pastor of a church and his wife. she's now living in foster care. says she can't go home, because she's afraid her father will kill her. we have that story coming up. stay with us for most news in the morning. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast. so you can stop headaches... and feel better fast.

a developing story for you now. a tearful runaway teenager making a stunning claim. she says her parents want to kill her from converting from islam to christianity. >> her family is telling an entirely different story and now the whole thing has become a huge custody battle, with even the governor of florida weighing in on it. susan candiotti joins us now. this is america we're talking about here. honor killings? >> you know, this started off as

a private family matter, but now it has morphed. this is a political and moral tug of war. the governor, charlie crist, says the girl's safety is the first and only priority for his administration. a spokesman for the ohio governor, where the girl lives, says there's no reason she can't be safe under its watchful eye. is she in danger? if there's one thing all side as free on -- >> i'm fighting for my life. you guys don't understand. they don't understand. >> reporter: it's that ohio teen runaway rifka barry appears to be one frightened girl. she says her parents want to kill her from converting from islam to christianity. your daughter says at one point you held up a laptop and says i'm going to kill up. >> it's not at all true. it's not at all true. i've never hit my child.

>> reporter: her parents say the 17-year-old first talked about being a christian at age 14 to get babysitting jobs. >> there's no fight about this. she just asked and that's it. >> reporter: a couple of years later, she joined internet christian prayer groups, including this one on facebook. >> she shared with me her testimony about how she became a christian. >> reporter: brian williams says he sometimes met the student at a prayer group and baptized her at her request. rifk a's parents say she's free to be a christian and she even allowed her to be a cheerleader. an anti-muslim extreme group says rifka story he can serves all the attention it can get. >> she wants the story out. so the positive benefits

outweigh the negative possibilities of a sudden jihad syndrome. jihady running around trying to kill her. >> reporter: at the family's ohio mosque, supporters insist they don't advocate honor killing and say it's not in the car koran. >> i fear that the more hooplah, the more difficult it will be for her to reconcile with her family in the future. >> i want to say to my daughter, i love you, i want you to come back home. nobody will harm you. >> reporter: a florida juvenile court judge sealed a long investigative report looking into the alleged threat, and instaet of scheduling a trial, he ordered both sides to meet with a mediator to try and work things out if they don't, we have this from a spokesman from governor charlie crist, he said the girl could move to sever ties with her parents, and evident until florily in florido

that at age 17. >> the overall story, there was an honor killing that happened in canada, a man strangled his daughter because she refused to wear a head scarf. there's no indication that anything like in this in this case. are you surprised to see the governor weighing in? >> to hear his language, saying this is his top priority, pretty amazing, and, yet, people who support him of a religious bend think he's not doing enough in this case. but you have to look at both sides. >> reporter: taken out of family's hands and put into a politician's hands. is there any way for you to determine which side is truthful? >> it is so difficult. the family absolutely says the -- this is their daughter, they love her, want her to come home. we've raised her. why in the world would we kill

our own daughter? it makes no sense and they say it's not in the koran. and on the other side, they say this girl is terrified. >> she certainly appears to be terrified. >> she does, but look what the judge has done now. he said, okay, we're not ordering trial right away. can we sit down and work things out. let's see what happens. >> makes you wonder what the judge has seen in the investigative papers. great story, thank you for bringing it to us. up next, dr. sanjay gupta in afghanistan on assignment. remember the little boy, malik? tumbled down a hill, hit his head very hard, they thought he was going to die. take a look at him there. seems to be doing okay.

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good morning, chicago. one of the places in this country where the sun appears to be shining. fair and 66 right now. later on today, going to be sunny with a high of 80 degrees. wish a little bit of that weather would come our way here to new york. i was watching the nadal/gonzalez match and called because of rain partway through. >> it feels like fall already here. this morning, a cold rain was falling, rob. >> you saw mayor bloomberg, he was almost blowing away in the interview. >> a good guy to stick with us. >> rob marciano in the weather center in atlanta.

they going to be able to play any matches at the u.s. open today? >> i don't know, it's going to be tough. they postponed or cut short nadal's match yesterday. try to get that under way today. meantime, serious delays happening in philly. this is going to begin to lengthen as far as how many delays are going to come on board later on today. 2 hours and 40 minutes for philadelphia. you can expect a little bit more than that -- hi, gis, settle down there, magic board -- later on today. heavy rain scooting across the northeast. this is going to sit and spin for several hours. as a matter of fact, there's a tornado watch in effect for much of the southern jersey shorelines this morning until noon and winds could easily gust 30, 40, 50 miles an hour. we could see some trees and power lines taken down with this particular system. good news for texas, looking at heavier rain there and they could certainly use the rain. scheduled second attempt or third attempt at landing this shuttle today at 5:00. still a good chance of seeing thunderstorms there. we'll cross our fingers and get that puppy home.

back to you guys in new york. >> rob, thanks so much. we'll try. remember malik, the little boy in afghanistan? he was once near death, terrible head injury, but thanks to american surgeons, he's going to be okay. we'll have a an update, coming up. 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.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. our dr. sanjay gupta is in -- is in an afghanistan er. he sees a 2-year-old rushed in with massive head trauma. even dr. gupta, a brain surgeon, thought the toddler might not make it.

he checked on him every day. and today, we're paging dr. gupta from the other side of the world for the condition of this seriously injured boy. and now little malik, the miracle, is going home. >> reporter: john and carol, we now know where malik's story began. began in the hills behind me, where his parents walked 50 kilometers by foot to get their son some care. here's what happened. this was going to end well, but when we met malik, he looked like this. bandaged and broken and desperate, a toddler from a remote high mountain village, malik had fallen down a cliff like this when a u.s. special forces unit found him. >> he ended up falling off the roof and landed on his head, causing a fracture and he started to get a hematoma, which was causing the problems he was seriously having. >> reporter: army special forces. this is them at work. these guys are the elite, the invisible warriors, and this exclusive video shows how they

got malik out of the mountains. by cover of night, they would chopper him to a military surgical hospital. it was the boy's only hope. these guys are special forces, hard core. they've never been filmed before. they wouldn't even tell me their real names. but they made saving malik part of their mission. >> didn't appear to see anything, wouldn't track with his eyes, couldn't get much of a response from his pupils. it was a pretty simple case when we first came on him. he obviously needed high pressure. >> reporter: the special forces brought malik here several days ago, he was paralyzed on the left side of his body, in dire straits. we have seen him improve over the last several days, but now the mission is to get him home. here at this kandahar military surgical hospital, a neurosurgeon and his team operated to relieve pressure on the boy's injured pain. in time, they knew, the swelling would go down and his senses could return. i visited every day as he slowly

recovered. he was paralyzed on his left side, but he was gradually coming back. and finally, with a little aid from his father pb he was on his feet, again. now, after a week of treatment, he is well enough for the journey back to his village. malik is now in the back of a helicopter. this is the way patients are transported near the war zone and his father has him wrapped in this blanket, he's headed home. i had expected a real homecoming, but afghanistan is too dangerous and his village too high and isolated to fly him all the way. instead, we brought him here, to a primitive clinic. we were greeted by afghan police, who kept a close eye on us the entire time. as for the toddler, malik slept most of the way. my first impression, we're a long way from that gleaming army hospital. here, water pumps instead of faucets, dirty floors, no bed

sheets, but malik is on his way home. >> one final examine on malik. he's got his candy, still no smile, though. can you push? push. pretty good. some resistance there. can you kick it? kick. he still needs months to fully recover. his prognosis is bright. here's the thing, malik's village is high up there, no place to land a helicopter, so his father and their new friends in special forces will walk through these mountains to carry the boy home. well, john and carol, we never really got the smile i was hoping to see, but nonetheless, malik is doing quite well. he'll stay in this hospital for a few days and eventually he'll be transported back home with constant check-ins from those medics you just met. >> our sanjay gupta in

afghanistan. that's great. he would have died. in fact, they thought he was going to die when he came into the hospital and they saved his life. >> what a happy ending. >> it's handy to have sanjay around at exactly the right time. >> it is. he tends to be handy that way. here we are, eight years after the attacks of 9/11. the question that many people ask is where is osama bin laden and what about the hunt to find him? achoo! (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack?

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crossing the top of the hour now. thanks for joining us for the most news in the morning on this friday, the 11th of september. i'm john roberts. >> and i'm carol costello in for kiran chetry this morning. here's what's on tap, on our agenda. the stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. today, a nation remembers and promises never to forget, eight years after the attacks on september 11th. and this morning, the hunt for the man behind the moment that changed all of us continues. in a moment, we'll take you live to pakistan for the latest on the efforts to bring osama bin laden to justice. 1 million jobs created or saved by the economic stimulus. really? well, that's what the white house is saying. but republicans, surprise, surprise, aren't buying that. we'll give you the political counterpoint this morning. they're angry and they're protesting and they're heading for washington. tea party express group is on their way for a three-day march at the capitol. they're mad about health reform, big government and many things obama, but right now they are in pennsylvania where our ali

velshi is on the cnn express. it's like an instant town hall on wheels. we'll catch up with ali on the bus. >> it's like anywhere ali goes, it's an instant something. we begin with lower manhattan this morning, the pentagon and shanksville, pennsylvania. thoughts are on those three sites as survivors and family members come together to grieve and reflect eight years after 9/11. today is the first year that 9/11 will be recognized as a national day of service and showing some progress too at ground zero. this is the first time that family members of the victim will be allowed out on the plaza that will form the base of the museum and memorial scheduled to be completed two years from today. president bush's mission rooting out al qaeda and capturing terror mastermind osama bin laden. but eight years later, bin laden is still out there.

our reza sayah is live in islamabad, pakistan this morning. what's the latest on the search? are they still actively looking for bin laden? >> reporter: john, the short answer is, no, they haven't come closer to capturing osama bin laden. of course, u.s. government officials have said over and over again that osama bin laden is probably here in pakistan, somewhere in the mostly ungoverned tribal region along the afghan border. they put tremendous pressure on the pakistani government to go after him, but here's the problem. it has been a long time since washington has offered any solid evidence, hard proof that he is here. and that's why a lot of pakistani government officials don't believe he's here. they're not convinced. i spoke to military officials today. he told us that he believes he's dead. that's what pakistani president zardari is also saying. so here you have two very important allies in the fight against militancy who are not on the same page when it comes to the search for osama bin laden. pakistan says if you believe

that he's here, show us the proof, we'll go after him. that hasn't happened yet. >> so pakistani officials have said on more than one occasion that they thought that he was dead, but there was that recent videotape that would seem to suggest otherwise. what exactly is being done to try to hunt him down? >> reporter: well, the pakistani government says they're not going to go after bin laden haphazardly. if there's evidence of an extremist, they're going to go after them. so, specifically, they say they're not doing anything. but to give them credit, they have made some progress against the pakistani taliban, militants here in pakistan in the swat region and along the afghan border in the tribal area. but when it comes to al qaeda specifically, what's been most effective is these u.s. missile strikes, these unmanned drones. we've had more than 30 during the obama administration. compare that to ten the same time last year. one of those missile strikes took out, in july, osama bin laden's son, but osama bin laden, still no sign of him here

in pakistan. >> raza sayah in islamabad, the capital of pakistan. and stay with us here on cnn. at 8:30 eastern, we're talking to art keller who spent time tracking al qaeda leaders. we'll ask him why the most powerful military in the world cannot track down osama bin laden. >> and why they're calling out retired cia agents to go help in pakistan. divided democrats may be finding common ground on health care reform since president obama's speech to a joint session of congress on wednesday night, the party may be uniting. liberal democrats and blue dog democrats who have been bristling about costs, apparently embracing the president's call to compromise. >> i am confident the plan we put forward is the right plan for the american people. i continue to be open to suggestions and ideas from all quarters. house members, senate members,

democrats, republicans, outside groups. what we cannot do is stand pat. what we can't do is accept a status quo that is bankrupting families, businesses, and our nation. i will not tolerate us continuing to pay more for less in health care. >> congressional correspondent brianna keilar live on capitol hill this morning. brianna, president obama, he met with moderate democrats last night, so how'd the meeting go? >> reporter: carol, both the white house and these moderate democrats saying it was a constructive meeting. they say that president obama seemed to reiterate what he was talking about in his speech, that there's this need to be open to other ideas, besides just the public option, the government-run insurance plan for overhauling health care. so actually, more than a dozen senators, democratic senators, went to the white house. they went on a bus, came back on a bus, and cnn was the only network there to catch up with them to see how this meeting

went. now, we spoke, in particular, with senator ben nelson, a democrat who has some pretty serious reservations about his own party's plan to overhaul health care and he said he was really pleased that the president seems to be more concerned on the end point, of getting health care reform and not how you get to that point. >> i think he recognizes that when you have to balance substance and process that substance has to win out. so the method of getting everybody covered, having the coverage extended, is secondary to the fact that you get it done and that there are more -- there's more than one way to do it. he has his preference, he knows that that may or may not hold. and he's prepared to look at something else as well. >> reporter: so where do we go here from two days after the president's speech, his attempt to reset the debate on health care? well, more meetings among those bipartisan negotiators in the senate, the gang of six from the senate finance committee.

they're going to be meeting this morning at 10:00 a.m., continuing to try to reach a compromise to see if they can do that. and giving even more importance to what they are doing, house speaker nancy pelosi has signaled that the house is not going to go and move ahead until they see what comes out of the senate finance committee. and of course, carol, right now, the proposal before the senate finance committee, and this certainly isn't expected to change, does not include a public option. it is that nonprofit health co-op system, carol. >> let's talk about a time line. has anyone set some kind of date for some kind of bill to pass? >> reporter: senator kent conrad told me the plan is for the committee, the senate finance committee to move ahead here in the next couple of weeks and actually to get a bill to the senate floor by early august and then work on the floor with the bill for up to three to four weeks, he said, but ultimately, he thinks they can pass a bill by the end of october. we're hearing some democratic

leaders echo that. but we're going to be watching, carol, because as you know, a lot of deadlines have been set and missed along this process. >> and the end of october isn't far away. >> reporter: no. >> brianna keilar, live on capitol hill this morning. so what's going to be happening with the health care debate now that the president has addressed a joint session of congress? there seems to be some division -- >> you heard brianna, they'll have a bill passed by the end of october. >> like we were saying, so what's going to happen with the democrats? we'll be talking to the house majority leader, congressman steny hoyer coming up next. - ( classical music playing throughout ) - wireless can bring

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♪ good morning, washington. we've got light rain and 61 degrees right there now. later today, showers and 68. because of the weather there, the moment of silence at the white house in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks will occur inside the east room as opposed to the south lawn where it's traditionally been.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. and the battle over health care reform, president obama pushing his agenda hard this week, but still a lot of questions about what that final bill is going to look like. our next guest might be able to shed a little bit of light on that. house majority leader steny hoyer of maryland joins us now from the capital. congressman, thanks for joining us. good to be with you. >> good to be with you. >> i want to start off by playing a moment that occurred earlier this week. you and the speaker of the house, congresswoman pelosi. let's take a look and i want to ask you about that. >> 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 much better. >> and i do believe that in order to pass a bill in the house, we will have a public option. this is the legislative process. >> so you said that a public option may not exactly be necessary. the speaker of the house came forward and said she really wanted to have it. what do you think. in the end here, if you get a bill out of the house, even if it has a public option, one out

of the senate that doesn't, in the conference committee, are you prepared to drop this idea of a public option? >> look, there's no difference between the speaker and myself, number one. we're both for the public option and we want to see the public option in a bill passed from the house. we want to see a public option coming out of the conference committee. what i have said is there's a lot in this bill that is very good, in addition to the public option, and we ought not to just focus on that. however, our objective is to have, as the president indicated in his state of the union, an option that will bring down costs, will give people an option that they might not otherwise have to make sure that they have affordable quality health care accessible to them. so there's no difference and that is the objective. but this is the legislative process and we're going to have to talk back and forth, as the president indicated, on exactly how to get to that objective. >> but if push comes to shove, are you prepared to drop the public option to get a broader health care reform bill? >> i'm prepared to pass a health care reform bill that provides

millions access to affordable, quality, health care. we think the public option is an important component of that. but obviously, you're going to have to have 218 votes in the house and you're going to have to have at least a majority in the senate to do that. we'll have to see how that legislative process goes. the public option is a priority for us, it's our objective, and we think that in some form, a public option will be available. >> all right. the other big question that people have is how is this all going to be paid for? the president said his plan would be about $900 billion. wants to make sure it doesn't add a penny to the deficit. he talked about cost savings and medicare and medicaid, fees on insurance companies and drug companies, but we had our health care economist paul kekly on earlier this morning, congressman, who said that the numbers just don't add up. that there's just not the money there to wring out of the system. >> let me say this. the president made it emphatically clear that he would not sign a bill that was not

paid for. i want to make it equally clear that i'm not going to vote for a bill that's not paid for. so we'll work towards the objective of making sure that whatever additional costs are included in the bill are, in fact, offset by savings and by researches from the system. so that the commitment of the president is clear, our commitment is clear. the speaker and i both agree, this bill will be paid for. we're not going to add to the debt. >> so on the revenue side of the equation there, does that mean that a tax increase is inevitable. and if there is going to be a tax increase, who's going to pay for it? who's picking up the tab? >> well, of course, as you know, there are different proposals that have been made. the president talked about the one that the senate finance committee is talking about, which is a tax on insurance companies for policies of -- over a certain amount. that amount hasn't been set. there are other options that have been discussed as well. but the bottom line is, as we work through this over the next

6 to 12 weeks, we're going to make sure that it is paid for. that's our commitment. that's the necessity in my opinion, given the budget deficit that confronts us, and we're going to do it. >> i mean, can high income earners in this country, this morning, take away from this the idea that they will probably be subject to some sort of surtax to pay for health care reform, should it get passed? >> well, certainly, that's one of the proposals. as you know, that's included in the ways and means committee, which would, frankly, impact very few people in this country. we're talking about $350,000 of taxable income for individuals and over $500,000 for couples, so that we're talking about the highest earners may pay some additional, under one proposal. but there are other proposals as well and that determination has not yet been made. >> congressman steny hoyer, the house majority leader, good to catch up with you this morning. thanks for taking the time. >> john, if you've got a second, i would like to add, congressman

boustanny in his response to the president said we're 80% in agreement. i hope that's the case and we can move forward working on the 20%, perhaps, that we don't agree on. i have interest in talking to congressman boustanny about the 80% upon we do agree. >> we can look forward to the results of that conversation. we know you've got lots of questions about health care reform. we're helping you sort fact if fiction online. head to cnn.com/healthcare. carol? tea party express on its way to washington. the cnn express not far behind. ali velshi on board our bus. he'll talk to tea party members about what message they plan to bring president obama. bicycle, i've missed you.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. and new this morning, the obama administration touting its role in the economic recovery with claims that the stimulus has created or saved 1.1 million jobs. republicans say the white house estimate is all smoke and mirrors and more than 2 million jobs have been lost since president obama signed the stimulus bill in february. treasury secretary timothy geithner says the glass may be half full, but full economic recovery is still a long way off. >> for the first time, most economists think we're actually growing, the world is now growing too. but because, as a country, we borrowed too much, built up too much leverage, really had too long a period of living beyond our means, that it's going to be a slow recovery. it's going to take a while to fix this. you're going to likely see unemployment stay unacceptably high for a longer period of time because of that, because of this transition we have to go through to get to a more stronger, stable foundation.

>> timothy geithner last night. president obama goes to wall street on monday to deliver a speech on the nation's financial crisis. some encouraging news about the vaccination against the swine flu virus. new research says a single low dose of the vaccine may be enough to protect adults from the virus. there were concerns three shots would be needed. the study also found the side effects were no worse than those found with the seasonal flu vaccine. the vaccine is expected to be available by late october. and the test results are in on south african runner caster semenya whose gender came into question after she easily won the 800 meter world title last month. the official results are not going to be released for a couple of weeks. however, one published report claims they show that semenya has both male and female sex characteristics. >> so the controversy is not over. well, they're back. angry, protesting americans. the tea party crowd is up in arms and heading to washington for a three-day march on the capitol. >> and that's where our cnn

express is headed to. think of it as a town hall on wheels. and our ali velshi is with the bus now in pennsylvania. ali, you were just with the tea party. what's going on there? >> reporter: john, we've been traveling for a few weeks on our own route across america. the tea party express has been doing another route, another bus that's been doing that. this is the first day, as you know, we've been reporting in to "american morning" every day, i think this is the first week we've had rain because the gods are sad that this is coming to an end. but we did run into the tea party express, fairly deliberately, yesterday, in scranton, pennsylvania, where they had one of their recall r. it was a smaller rally than some of them that have taken place over the last few weeks, but it was definitely anger. take a listen to this. >> what's the first three words of the constitution? >> we the people! >> an everyday tea partier is an american citizen that is frustrated with the direction the country's going. >> like this last night, that's

all he did, all night with his speeches. >> i'm here to take my country back. >> we want to get back to the basics of the constitution and live in a nation where the power and equity is held by individuals rather than by the government and the corporations. >> we're really happy to be making our way to washington to support y'all. >> i'm tired of obama forming his own secret government and he's surrounding himself with people of his own kind. the communists, the marxist, the self-proclaimed, they're taking ove over. >> kill the bill! kill the bill! >> i've decided the silent majority need to speak out. we're not quiet anymore and we're not going to be quiet anymore. >> reporter: now, at the end, you saw a bit of a tussle, jim spellman from cnn who's been traveling, he's embedded in the tea party express, he's not seen

that at all in the other places. there was a big turnout of pro-health care reform demonstrators at this event and there was a shoving event at the end. but there were some angry posters and directed signs. anti-obama anthems. one speaker said this is the first step not towards socialism, but towards communism. another sign says impeach the muslim ma muslim markist. largely, it was a very anti-obama, anti-democratic administration group. john? >> all right. ali velshi on the road. how many more days on the road, ali? >> reporter: that's it. today's the last day. we go down to d.c. later on today, where we'll cover this rally tomorrow. >> all right. good job. love to see you out there on the road. ali just loves riding on buses. >> he's a people person, that ali. >> he could have been a rock star living on the bus. he could have been. he's that type of guy. >> i don't know about that. no offense to you, ali, but -- i won't say anymore.

>> it's a rock star bus. >> hope he doesn't treat it that way. ali, thanks for joining us. there hasn't been an attack on u.s. soil since 9/11. why is that? is it extreme vigilance or just happenstance? we're asking that question and will try to get you some answers. - ( 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.

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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. just in to cnn, a little bit of videotape. this is vice president joe biden arriving at ground zero, the site of the world trade center there. and now the museum and memorial that's beginning to take shape. this will be the first people that will be allowed to walk out there on the plaza instead of being deep in the pit. the vice president is going to give a reading after 9:03's

moment of silence. that's the moment when the first plane hit the south tower. the ceremony begins at 8:40. that's about 12 minutes from now. bagpipes will open up the ceremony and then a moment of silence at 8:46 when american airlines flight 11 hit the north tower. we're watching all of this for you this morning. >> and it should be a touching scene. many of the 9/11 families feel that 9/11, 2001, has been forgotten. and they're glad that this kind of ceremony is going on and they want the nation to really remember and reflect on what that time was like in our history. >> and it's just in the past year that there has been a lot of progress down there at the site in terms of the construction of this museum and memorial and the construction of, i think, what is probably going to be known as the freedom tower among most people, although that won't be its official name, which has actually now risen aboveground. they've got the infrastructure laid in underneath.

still a lot to do in terms of the transit facility, but that tower beginning to rise out of the ashes of 9/11. >> and there are some incredible displays down there already. if you're coming to new york city and you want to visit, there's a lot to see down there. >> absolutely. it is september 11th and america's security in the spotlight again. back then, we were told that another attack was inevitable. >> but there hasn't been one on u.s. soil in eight years. today in our special series "spies amo"spy s among us," jason carroll takes a look at why. >> reporter: there are a number of reasons that folks are looking at in terms of why the country has been secure post-9/11. some say it has to do with better intelligence. others say it really has to do with better communication between various agencies. we went to some of the top experts out in the field, carol, spoke to them about what has been done to secure the country post-9/11. in the months and years following 9/11 came the warnings. >> thousands of dangerous

killers are now spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs, set to go off. >> reporter: president obama weighing in this year. >> al qaeda is actively planning attacks on the united states homeland. >> reporter: security experts say while osama bin laden's whereabouts are unknown, al qaeda is still plotting and planning. >> strategic thinkers. they're patient. they don't set their wristwatches like you and i do. >> reporter: tom ridge, the first head of the department of homeland security, said the department's creation in 2002 by president bush was key to better securing the country. >> remember right after 9/11, everybody said, nobody connected the dots. well, today i'm here to tell you, there are a lot more dots, because there's a lot more intelligence coming in. >> reporter: ridge says the department has improved communications between agencies. he points to the case of al banna. in 2003, he was stopped entering the country at chicago's o'hare airport. a customs agent, armed with guidelines from homeland security, deported al banna for

a visa violation. a year and a half later, he blew himself up outside baghdad, killing 166 people. ridge says their hard work had paid off. some also say it's been a bit of luck? >> i think that's fair. i think it's really fair. i'm convinced that the threat is real. >> reporter: terrorism expert ryan jenkins says al qaeda really hasn't taken hold in the u.s. to date, partly due to improved intelligence, but also because american muslims seem resistant to al qaeda's radical ideology. jenkins warns a significant threat comes from smaller, home-grown groups. >> the difference between a band of amateurs being able to do nothing and a small group being able to carry out a dangerous terrorist attack is having one determined technically competent leader. >> reporter: a point new york city's police commissioner, ray

kelly, knows well. >> it's important to remember that we've had eight plots against this city since september 11th. >> reporter: those plots centered on places like the brooklyn bridge and subway system, so-called soft targets, considered more vulnerable because typically they have less security. last year, new york city spent $300 million on its joint terrorism task force, receiving only $10 million from the federal government. >> we need money to help us continue the significant efforts we've made in this city, to protect it. >> reporter: now, carol, we also spoke to tom ridge. i asked him if he had any advice, any words for president obama in terms of developing a security policy. ridge told me that he would tell obama in terms of reaching out to security advisers, reach out to the best, regardless of political affiliation. that would be another good way to better secure the country. carol? >> i'm just wondering, you know,

it's 9/11, it's the anniversary, for you to describe what's behind you down at ground zero. >> reporter: well, we are actually about ten stories aboveground zero and here -- maybe what we can do one thing, rod, why don't you see if you can see, this is the freedom tower. you heard john talking about it kind of rising up above the ground zero over here. you can see, i'm going to have my producer move out of the way just a little bit here so we can try to get a quick look at some of the development down here at ground zero, what our viewers are looking at right over here, that is actually the beginnings of what will some day be the freedom tower. so you can see a lot of development that's going on down here. still, obviously, a very, very long way to go in terms of reaching what ultimately, what they want to see down here, but that's what we can see from our vantage point. >> supposedly, a lot of that stuff will be completed by 2011. we'll see. we hope so. >> reporter: we'll see. >> thanks, jason. checking our top stories this morning, one story may not with enough for president

obama's wednesday night heckler. joe wilson apologized to the president after shouting "you lie," but now jim clyburn wants an apology for the entire house. he told a south carolina radio station that his outburst was not planned. >> when it was stated that it wouldn't apply to illegal aliens, i just -- i just -- i just couldn't -- i truly had to speak out. >> the democratic challenger for wilson's house seat, rob miller, a picture of him there, has now raked in more than 14,000 contributions totaling more than $500,000 since the wednesday night innocecident. president obama is coming to wall street on monday to deliver a speech about the nation's financial crisis, i it comes exactly one years after the collapse of lehman brothers. the white house says he'll discuss the steps to stabilizing the country.

>> how would you like to take her out for a test drive? >> and than return her. >> as long as you keep it below 4,000 miles, you're all right. general motors is offering customers a full refund within 60 days if they don't like their new car for any reason. except, you know, i don't like the fact that i smashed it into a lamppost. no questions asked, just don't go more than 4,000 miles. the offer lasts through november. gm sales in the u.s. down more than 30% this year, so they are pulling out all the stops to get people in the showrooms. on september 11th, 2001, america became a very different nation. soon after the first shots were fired in the war on terror. in the eight years since, osama bin laden has ieluded the long reach of our military. joining me now is art keller, a former cia agent who spent six months in the pakistani border reach tracking al qaeda leaders. good morning to you. >> good morning, carol. >> so the government is calling

cia agents back to pakistan, some of whom have retired, to hunt down osama bin laden? >> they've long used retired people in a variety of roles and it really adds tremendous value added. think of bringing back a senior colonel or a brigadier general. these are people who have spent decades doing this work. so they just add tremendous bang for the buck. i'm all for it, personally. >> true, but it's a difficult life, the living conditions are deplorable. i understand the divorce rate is high because they're away from their families for so long, and the frustration level for them must be, it just must be immeasurable, because they can't find this guy. >> it's tough, but there are compensations along the way. it's true that they haven't gotten one and two, but if you're a middle rank al qaeda american, well, the number three role has been vacated repeatedly. it's not a role that you would

want to have. so there are successes along the way. yes, there's a lot of frustration, but there's compensations and they wouldn't be in this line of work unless they were dedicated. >> of course, they're committed to finding him. you say, there have been successes, and you're right about that. there's an interesting article in "the guardian." it says, osama bin laden and al qaeda are in crisis right now. recruitment is way down, core al qaeda is now down to six or eight men. will -- i mean, first of all, do you agree with that? and the second question would be, will this make it easier to track osama bin laden down? >> reporter: measuring numbers is really impossible to do, because as al qaeda, as an entity, shrinks, the taliban and other allied sunni muslim extremist groups kind of grow closer. and they have an ever-more cooperative relationship. the significance of al qaeda is, they're the ones who have been projecting power outside of the afghanistan/pakistan theater to

strike america. none of these other groups have really been participating in that way, so as long as they stay to be a localized threat, then we're ahead of the game. >> "the guardian" article also says al qaeda's influence with the taliban is down, which, i mean, wouldn't that limit al qaeda's power? >> definitely, because they rely on the taliban for sanctuary. so i really, at the end of the day, if we end up getting number one or number two, osama or al zawahiri, it will become because we have denied them sanctuary in a sufficient number of places that they are forced to show themselves. >> last year on the anniversary of september 11th, i went out to ask americans if they feared osama bin laden. 95% of them said, no, we don't even care about osama bin laden anymore. we don't fear him. they believe his influence has fizzled out, frankly. so why is it still important that we find osama bin laden? >> well, for a couple reasons.

one, symbolic. but, two, there's someone on trial right now in britain. there was a major plot that was disrupted a while ago to bomb six airliners en route from britain to the u.s. that was going to be one of their attempted follow-ons to september 11th. so just because we disrupted the plot doesn't mean al qaeda is not still trying. >> what do you think the chances are that we will find osama bin laden this year? >> this year? >> because we have more troops in afghanistan, right? and there's a new leader in pakistan. so things have changed. >> things have changed. and more importantly, public opinion in pakistan has changed. and i think that will also be key in helping to run him to ground. because, before, the pakistani military was having to undertake operations against the will of its own people. and since a few different things

have occurred in pakistan, the militants taking over swat valley, a large bombing in islamabad last year near the marriott, public opinion is really swihifting. >> we'll have to end it there because the memorial service for 9/11 is just about to start and we want to head there live. thank you for joining us this morning, art keller. >> thank you for having me. events to mark the eighth anniversary of the events of 9/11 are about to start. there'll be some preamble, if you. they will bring the american flag, this is the one that was at the world trade center the day of the attacks. there's the fire department of new york pipe and drum band. we're also going to be hearing from brooklyn youth chorus. mayor michael bloomberg will then introduce the moment of silence at 8:46, which is just about 4 1/2 minutes from now. >> there will also be 115 pairs of volunteers who will read all of the names, all of the names of those who died on that day. >> we've got coverage of that coming right up.

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coming up on 8:46, when the first moment of silence will be observed at ground zero. >> this is -- that marks, of

course, the time the first aircraft hit the world trade center. eight years ago, american airlines flight 11. what you're watching right now, on the left side of the screen, is the world trade center, ground zero. on the right side, the white house. moments of silence observed at both of these places. right now this is the fire department of new york pipe and drum band and the presentation of the flag that flew at ground zero at the world trade center the day of the attacks. let's watch. ♪

♪ >> eight years we have come together to commemorate this anniversary, and just as our hearts return to those that we lost, we also remember all those who spontaneously rushed forward to help, however and whomever

they could. their compassion and selfless acts are etched in our city's history, inspired by what they did that day, president obama has designated 9/11 as an annually recognized national day of service and remembrance. and appropriately, the city of new york has been the first to take up that call. from this day forward, we will safeguard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit of service that lit our city with hope and helped keep us strong. at this time, please join us and all new yorkers in a moment of silence. [ bell ringing ]

eight years ago, countless people played a part in history to help another person, probably someone they didn't even know. no one stopped to ask, if i can only do a little, should i bother doing anything at all? each act was a link in a continuous chain that stopped us from falling into cynicism and despair. reflecting on all she had seen in her life and the halls of justice, the recently retired supreme court justice sandra day o'connor said this.

we don't accomplish anything in this world alone, and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that create something. . >> my name is jay winnic. my brother was a partner at the law firm holland and knight, located just a few blocks from where we're standing. he was also a longtime volunteer firefighter and an emt in our hometown of jericho, new york. when the towers were hit, glen's

instinct was to raise from his place of safety towards the south tower, toward the inferno and the people in danger. he died when the south tower collapsed. my little brother is my greatest hero. not just for the way he died, but for the way he lived. with acts large and small, glen always tried to help people, usually people he didn't even know. and like all firefighters, emts and cops, he ran towards those in peril to still their fears, to protect them from harm. glen died as he had lived with purpose to his life, for the joy in connecting to people and the world he lived in. what he did here inspired many of us to create a living legacy in honor of those who perished, an organization we call my good deed, which encourages people to

help others in need, each 9/11. we're honored to play a part in making today a national day of service and remembrance. one of the ancient greeks wrote, what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. glen, we know that the bright light of your life is woven, not only into our memories, but into the lives of countless others, illuminating the world with hope, one person, one good deed at a time. >> it is the sacred duty of the living to carry within us the memories of those we lost. and while there is pain in remembering the loss, there is sweetness in remembering their lives.

today, once again, names of those who died will be read by their families, and this year, they will be joined by those who voluntarily gave their time to help others throughout the year and throughout the city. . they are truly the inheritors of the spirit shown right here eight years ago. gordon m.aam moth, jr. edelmiro abad andrew anthony abate vincent abate laurence abel >> william f. abrahamson. >> richard anthony aceto

>> donald leroy adams. >> stephen george adams. >> shannon lewis adams. >> christy a. a addamo. >> sophia b.addo. >> terence lee adderly. >> thomas afflitto. >> emanuel afuakwah. >> and my uncle. from the family, we love and miss you. >> my fellow marine, sean patrick tallon. you are not forgotten. i am also honored to be here today on behalf of the volunteers of cornian hospital. thank you.

>> joseph agnello. >> david agnes. >> terrance andre aiken. >> godwin ajala. >> gertrude alagero. >> andrew alameno. >> peter craig. >> jacqueline aldridge. >> earnest alikakos.

>> edward l.allegretto. >> eric allen. >> joseph ryan allen. >> richard allen. >> richard l. allen. >> and our own dear son christopher edward allingham. >> ana allison. >> janet m. alonzo. >> antonio javier alvarez. >> victoria alvarez brieto. >> telmo alvear. >> cesar a. alviar >> joseph amatucco. >> christopher charles amoroso

>> calixto anaya jr. >> yvette constance anderson. >> john andreaacchio. >> michael rourke andrews. >> joseph angelino jr. >> joseph angelino sr. >> and my father. joseph. >> mary lynn edwards angel. >> laura ankletta. >> lorraine antigua. >> peter paul apollo. >> faustino apostol jr..

>> frank thomas aquilino. >> patrick michael aranyos. >> david gregory arce. >> michael george arczynski. >> louis arena. >> barbara jean. >> adam p.arias. >> michael armstrong. >> jack charles aron. >> joshua today aron. >> richard avery aronot. >> myra joy aaronson. >> japhetj. aryee. >> carl asao. >> michael asciak. >> and my cousin, jude. we miss you and love you very much. >> and my friend and colleague.

and i'm honored to be here today on behalf of volunteers from new york says thank you. >> thomas j. ashton. >> manuel o. ositimbay. >> greg arthur atlas. >> gerald thomas edward. >> james audiffred. >> frank louis aversano >> ezra aviles. >> samuel ayala. >> arlene t. babakitis. >> use that's bacchus. >> john james. >> andrew j. bailey. >> brett t. bailey. >> garnett edward bailey.

>> tatyana bakalinskaya >> michael s. baksh >> sharon balkcom >> michael andrew bane >> kathy bantis >> gerard jean baptiste >> walter baran >> gerard a. barbara >> and my brother. whether it's eight years or 800 years, you'll never be forgotten. >> i'm honored to be here today on behalf of the volunteers of goldwater cole hospital. >> ivan kirillos. >> victor daniel barbosa >> colleen ann barkow