i don't know what she was saying but it didn't look nice. she did apologize. >> i know what she was saying. >> i'm playing dumb. she apologized in some way sort of kind of in a way. >> are we going to play? we have her at the press conference and everything, too, making a couple different apologies. i'm sure that she apologized to the line judge herself. a lot of drama at the u.s. open. certainly kim clijsters winning the whole thing a year half after having a baby and taking time off and mommy wins. >> you should have been there for the finals. they wouldn't say these things if you were in their presence. they would have felt pressure to behave. nice to have you back. >> thanks for watching. i'm heidi collins. "cnn newsroom" continues with tony harris. >> here are the faces of stories driving the headlines today in the "cnn newsroom." president obama talking to ohio autoworkers this morning. gm says they got their jobs back

thanks to cash for clunkers. south carolina congressman joe wilson facing rebuke by the house of representatives today for heckling the president. democratic senator max baucus promising a health care bill this week with or without republican support. i'm tony harris. you're in the "cnn newsroom." let's quickly get you caught up on the day's hot headlines and take the time to break down the big issues to find out why they really matter. leading the way this hour, the economy making a comeback. that's the message minutes from now from president obama. he's in hard hit ohio visiting a general motors plant that had been shut down for nine weeks. the plant is rehiring now thanks in part to the cash for clunkers program. the president's remarks to workers there set to begin in ten minutes. we'll be bringing you those remarks live right here in the

"cnn newsroom." who was that nut that hollered out "you lie?" those words straight from the mouth of congressman joe wilson's own wife after president obama's speech last week. wilson apologized to the president for the outburst but congressional democrats want more demandsing wilson apologize to the full house. he says he won't do that. later today wilson will face a drumming from his colleagues when they are expected to vote on a reprimand. police in new haven, connecticut, are questioning several people about the death of yale student annie le. her body found stuffed inside a wall in a building on the yale campus. a limited number of people had access to that particular area. le's roommate at a vigil last night. >> she was as good a human being as you would ever hope to meet. this horrible tragedy happened at all is incomprehensible but that it happened to her i think

is more so. it seems completely senseless. >> somalia says a senior al qaeda figure has been killed in a u.s. strike south of mogadishu. u.s. officials say special forces attacked his car from a helicopter. nabhan has been linked to u.s. embassy bombings in east africa. argentina's player is a force to be reckoned with in tennis. he did something no one habl to do in five years at the sunshine open. that's beat the world's top ranked player, roger federer. the brilliant federer lost his cool a bit when a challenge of a line call didn't go his way.

>> the point is the challenge did come too late. that's our look at the day's big stories. now, let's go in depth. in the "cnn newsroom." our focus issue number one, the economy. consumers went on a shopping spree in august. retail sales surged almost 3% last month. auto sales helped fuel the gains. they jumped 10.5% largely due to cash for clunkers program. that's a big number. the inflation rate shot up in august fueled by rising energy costs. the producer price index rose 1.7% double the increase analysts expected. wholesale prices for the year have fallen. consumer spending critical to any recovery since it accounts for 70% of all economic activity. let's talk about that with cnn's susan lisovicz at the new york

stock exchange this morning. susan, retail sales up almost 3% last month. if the consumer comes back into the game, this recovery will begin to really feel like something here. >> no question about it. it's encouraging to see what we saw in august even if you take out cash for clunkers, which was huge as you mentioned. 10.5%. the biggest jump in eight years. if you take out autos and higher prices that we paid for gas, sales were still higher. we saw sales increases for electronics, appliances, clothing stores, sporting goods. discretionary items that a lot of us stayed away from in the scarier months of this year. you know, tony, we talk about rising unemployment rate. the fact is most americans who can work are working full time. but when we spend money, it's psychological. when things are scary, we pull

back. was it a one-month wonder with august? it's an important month. back to school. we can't say. what we can say is that even if you take out cash for clunkers, the gains were broad based. more modest than autos but broad based. that's encouraging. no one wants us to go back to what we were when we were spending beyond our means. the fact that we are buying things will help the economy no question about it. >> as we said often here, it looks like this recovery will be slow. it will be uneven. it will be a bit choppy from time to time, correct? >> no question about it. i don't think anybody is saying that retailers are out of the woods. case in point, toys "r" us are opening 350 temporary stores. they're called pop-up stores. why is that? just for the holiday season so that it can try to get as opportunity from where kb toys

was. went bankrupt and out of business. what toys "r" us is saying is if you look at the companies that made their fortunes during the great depression, tony, they were the ones that moved in when everyone was pulling back. we're still hearing these references to the great depression but we are unlike some of the references that we made earlier this year, we're seeing companies make money. we're seeing consumers buying things that they don't have to have. things outside of food and health care items. that's encouraging. >> yeah, it is. appreciate it. thank you. president obama talking up the economy. some of the numbers we've just mentioned. we're just minutes away from the president's remarks at a gm plant in ohio where workers are back on the job thanks in part to the cash for clunkers program. the president's remarks set to begin any minute now. watch it here live in the "cnn newsroom." looking for answers to your questions about the economy? e-mail us your questions at

mailed mai mailtothechief.com. chief economic adviser to vice president joe biden will answer your questions right here in the "cnn newsroom." republican members of congress say it's time to get back to work and stop the petty politics especially those revolving around joe wilson. >> our economy is struggling. families are hurting. and yet this congress is poised to demand an apology from a man who has already apologized. it's a disappointment to millions of americans. ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪

welcome back. i'm rob marciano.

window into the west coast world. haze in l.a. good morning, los angeles. temps upper 60s. you'll get up into the upper 70s maybe touch 80 degrees. that's not so bad. a little bit of light rain falling in parts of central california. some record breaking stuff. very little. bakersfield, modesto, those folks just enough to break some records because it's not quite the rainy season yet. dry weather expected again today for most parts of california. around the southeast, this is the big weather story. this guy really starting to spread its rain shield. picking up moisture from the gulf of mexico. there will be some showers that will be rather heavy at times and we've got flash flood watches posted for northeastern texas, parts of alabama and mississippi and also southern arkansas where some of these will be pretty rough as far as rainfall is concerned. two to four inches of rainfall there. that will all be slowly moving to the east. that's the latest from the weather department.

"cnn newsroom" with tony harris is coming right back. but 5 minutes ago i took symbicort and symbicort is already helping significantly improve my lung function. so today, i've noticed a significant difference in my breathing. and i'm doing more of what i want to do. so we're clear, it doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. my doctor said symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. my copd often meant i had to wait to do what i wanted to do. now i take symbicort and it significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort has made a significant difference in my breathing... now more of my want to's are can do's. ask your doctor about symbicort today. i got my first prescription free. call or go online to learn more. (announcer) if you cannot afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

president obama in warren, ohio. the gm lord's town plant there. i think that is what i just heard. okay. the president of the united states entering the hall at the plant there in lords town, ohio. we're just moments away from the

president making comments. let's see here. do we have time to get to a little bit of additional business before the president starts? we're going try because we know the president will step to the podium and thank a number of people and then we'll get back to the speech. congressman joe wilson says he's done apologizing for shouting "you lie" during president obama's speech last week. but house democrats say he didn't apologize to his colleagues. and because of that he will face an official rebuke. congressional correspondent brianna keilar is on capitol hill for us this morning. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: house democratic leaders met last night. they decided to go ahead with this, what's called a vote on a resolution of disapproval for congressman joe wilson heckling president obama last wednesday night. this is really a slap on the wrist. a public rebuke of his behavior but republicans are saying even though they don't support his conduct, they say that democrats are trying to score political points and here's what john boehner, the top republican in the house said a short time ago.

>> joe wilson apologized to the president. the president accepted his apology. and the fact is they want to change the subject. they don't want to talk about health care because the american people are finding it very unpopular. >> reporter: republicans saying that democrats are just trying to distract and use this as a distraction. house speaker nancy pelosi initially said the day after congressman wilson had this outburst, she said let's talk about health care. time for move on. time to apologize. what happened was a number of democrats said, we're not ready to move on including jim clyburn from south carolina as is congressman wilson. number three democrat in the house pushing for some sort of reprimand here and some sort of acknowledgement that that wasn't the right thing to do and aides saying to us that looking the other way and allowing this to go on without addressing it is setting a precedent for what acceptable behavior is. >> how serious is this?

>> reporter: this is a public rebuke. this is a public slap on the wrist. the house of representatives has at its disposal a menu of different rep rrimands that the can do. this doesn't fall on that menu. normally that menu of options is for much more serious offenses. this is really a public slap on the wrist. >> got to run. the president is speaking now. we'll take everybody back to warren, ohio, for the president's comments at the gm plant there. [ applause ] >> plant manager john donahue is in the house. [ applause ] uaw servicing agent john mohahn

is in the house. president of the uaw local 1112, jim graham, is in the house. president of local 1714 david green is in the house. chair person of 1112 ben strickland and chair person of local 1714 will adams. [ applause ] well, listen, i just finished having a productive discussion with some of your workers about the challenges your facing both here and in your communities and how we can meet them. we talked about the economic troubles that you have been weathering here since long before our current crisis. if you have chairs, feel free to

sit down. you don't have to stand this whole time. [ applause ] let's face it. we've been going through some crises since before this economic chrrisiscrisis, this f crisis hit. over the years you have seen factories close. you have seen friends and neighbors and relatives laid off. your daughter and sons have had to move away in search of jobs and opportunity. i know it was painful around here earlier this year when three shifts at this plant were cut down to one. today the local unemployment rate is unacceptably high in this region. second highest in ohio. so i know at times it seems like this community has been on the

brink over and over and over again. there are some who see this pain and suggest that somehow it is inevitable. the only way for america to get ahead is for communities like yours to be left behind. but i know better. we know better. we know that our success as a nation depends on the success of communities just like this one. we know -- [ applause ] we know that the battle for america's future is not just going to be won in the big cities, not just on the coasts, but in towns like elkardt, indiana, and warren and youngstown. that's what we're fighting for.

that's why i'm proud to be here with all of you. you work hard. you meet your responsibilities. you deserve better. you deserve better than the attitude that's prevailed in washington and wall street and sometimes in detroit for far too long. an attitude that valued wealth over work and selfishness over sacrifice. and greed over responsibility. that's why i want you to know that every day that i step into the oval office, i am thinking about you and your families. i am fighting for you and your families and i'll keep on doing it as long as i'm president of the united states. [ applause ]

now, sometimes that involves making tough decisions that have been put off for too long. that's my job making tough decisions. if it's an easy decision, it doesn't get to my desk. as i've said before, i didn't run for president to manage auto companies. it wasn't something on my to-do list. it wasn't even something on my want to do list. i like driving cars. sometimes, you know, i can change a spark plug or change a tire but i don't know so much about cars that i wanted to be deeply involved in the car industry. but here's what i knew. i wasn't going to put anymore

tax dollars on the line if it meant bad business decisions that got us to the point of the car industry being in crisis. for me to have just let the auto industry collapse, to banish, would have caused unbelievable damage to our economy not just here in lawrencetown but all across the country. we intervened for one simple and compelling reason. your survival and the success of our economy depended on making sure that we got the u.s. auto industry back on its feet. there were some people that said you can't do it. our belief was that if gm retooled and reinvented itself for the 21st century, it would be good for american workers, it would be good for american manufacturing, it would be good

for america's economy and i'm pleased to report that that's exactly what has begun to happen at plants like this and others across the country. [ applause ] so i know that some of those decisions may not have been popular, i will tell you what, i will double down on the american people and the american worker and all of you any day of the week. one of the other efforts we undertook was cash for clunkers program. folks said that wouldn't work either. that program was good for automakers, good for consumers and by the way it was good for our environment. you know what? the chevy cobalt that you build here was one of gm's most sought after cars under that program.

[ applause ] dealers across the country started running out. you need to build more. one other thing for too long our auto industries faced uncertain and conflicting fuel economy standards and that made it difficult for you to plan down the road. that's why today we are launching for the first time in history a new national standard aimed at increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all cars and trucks sold in america. creates an even playing field. it's an action that's long overdue. it will give our auto companies clarity and stability and predictability. in the past an agreement like this would have been impossible. this time it was different because automakers, the uaw, environmental advocates, democrats, republicans, states all across the country, all of

them came together pledging to set aside the quarrels of the past for the sake of the future. because of the steps we have taken, this plant is about to shift into high gear. [ applause ] 150 of your co-workers came back to work yesterday. [ applause ] more than 1,000 will be coming back to work in less than three weeks as production of the cobalt ramps up. that's worth standing for. [ applause ]

next year this plant will begin production of the chevy cruise. a new car that will get more than 40 miles per gallon. i just sat in the car. i asked for the keys and they wouldn't give me the keys. i was going to take it for a little spin. but it was nice sitting in there. it was a roomy car. 40 miles per gallon. if you picked up a copy of the youngstown vindicateor back in january, you would have seen a headline that read worries mount in wake of layoffs. a couple weeks ago you would have read a different story. good news at lawrence town is good news for all. today you made more good news. the 1 millionth cobalt rolled off the assembly line late last

night. [ applause ] so i don't want to just congratulate you, i want to thank you. you're doing your part to move is forwa us forward making sure the well engineered and full efficient and safe cars of the future will be built where they have always been built, right across ohio, right across the midwest, right here in the united states of america. [ applause ] now, even though you're proving that american automakers are getting back in the game, i think everybody understands our economic troubles are far from over. i don't want to overpromise here. we still have a lot of work to do. we got in a deep hole over a course of years. it will take some years to get back out of this hole.

we have a lot of work to do not just to get this community moving again and this economy moving again, but we've got to build a stronger foundation for economic growth into the future. there's some people in washington that have already forgotten just what it was that we talked into eight months ago. let me just go through -- let me go through the facts here real quick in case you all have forgotten. a financial system near collapse. 700,000 workers losing their jobs every single month. a sudden decline in credit that made it difficult to take out a mortgage or a student loan or a small business loan or an auto loan. you couldn't get an auto loan. it was so bad that experts of all political persuasions feared a second coming of the great depression. we took bold, swift action to make sure that didn't happen. we moved to keep responsible homeowners in their homes.

we moved to jump-start lending. we passed a sweeping recovery act without the usual washington earmarks or pork barrel spending by putting people back to work and that plan is now working. i want you to know what's happened here. one-third of our recovery act went to tax relief. we cut your taxes. 95% of america's working families. 4.5 million families right here in ohio. we cut your taxes. we cut taxes for small businesses on investments that they make. that was a third of our recovery act. that gave everyone more money in their pockets to spend which helped boost the economy. then what we did was we put another third into emergency relief. all those americans who were laid off, we extended unemployment benefits. that's made a difference for 12 million americans including 570,000 right here in ohio.

[ applause ] and for all of those people who lost their jobs worried about losing their health care, they were going have to try to get on cobra. you know how much cobra costs. having to pick up your whole health care premium. so what we did was we made health insurance through cobra 65% cheaper for families while they were looking for work. [ applause ] we saved the jobs of tens of thousands of state and local workers including 336 police officers right here in ohio. that was part of our recovery act. now, the last third is investing in your towns and your futures. over in canfield, we awarded a competitive contract to a local company to repair a bridge on route 11. that allowed them to avoid layoffs they were otherwise going make.

that allowed local folks to keep coming to work doing the work america needs done. we've got projects like that all across ohio and all across the country rebuilding roads and bridges laying broadband lines making sure that we're building the win turbines and solar panels driving our energy future. that's what the recovery act has been all about. now, we still have a long way to go. but there is little debate that decisions we made and steps we've taken helped stop our economic free fall. in some places they helped us turn the corner. home sales are up. business investment is starting to stabilize. for the first time in 18 months, we're actually seeing growth in american manufacturing instead of decline. [ applause ] i know that's small consolation when so many people you know are

still out of work. it will take time to achieve a complete recovery but i want you all to know i will not rest until anyone who is looking for a job can find one. i'm not talking about just any job. but good jobs that give every american decent wages and decent benefits and a fair shot at the american dream. [ applause ] that's what i'm fighting for every single day. [ applause ] we're fighting for an america where your children are armed with the schools they need to compete with any worker anywhere in the world. we're making an historic commitment to strengthening and improving education from cradle to a career. i've set a goal by 2020 america will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. there's no reason why we can't have that number one ranking once again. we're fighting for an america

where clean energy generates green jobs that can't be outsourced. that help us free ourselves from our grip of foreign oil. jobs that make sure the cars of the future and the technologies like the but batteries that power them are made right here in the united states of america. [ applause ] and, yes, just in case you were wondering, we're fighting for an america where no american should have to worry about going without health insurance or fearing one ill tness could cos them everything they have. [ applause ] we'll reform the system to provide more security and stability to those of you who have health insurance. we'll offer quality affordable choices to those who don't have health insurance. we'll bring health care costs for our families and our

businesses and our government under control. think about it. if you're a member of the union right now, you're spending all of your time negotiating about health care. you need to be spending time negotiating about wages but you can't do it but i want to make sure that you understand -- you got to understand fritz's position here. he's trying to build this company back up. if health care costs are going up 30% or 20% every year, it's very tough for him. we all have an interest in reforming the health care system so that the cost for employers don't go up. that means the cost for you don't go up and that means you can actually start bringing home a little more take-home pay. that's what this is about if you already have health insurance. [ applause ] so that's what we're fighting for. to bring lordstown and youngstown and warren back to

make sure that our towns and our middle class, a middle class forged just like in plants that you see here. i want them not just to survive today but to thrive tomorrow. i want you to deliver a message to members who couldn't join us today because they're manning the line. if you have an ounce of fight left in you, i have a ton of fight left in me. [ applause ] i've said it before. i'm skinny but i'm tough. as long as i have the privilege of being your president, i'm going to keep fighting for a future brighter for this community and brighter for ohio and brighter for the united states of america. i need your help. give it to me, guys. we'll rebuild right here, right now. we'll make ohio work again. thank you, everybody. god bless you.

[ applause ] >> there you have it. the president at lordstown gm plant. lordstown, warren, ohio. youngstown, ohio. yeah. got to tell you, while the president was speaking to the autoworkers there at the lordstown gm plant, the chairman of the federal reserve was making a bit of news. ben bernanke in washington responding to a question during a speech at the brookings institution said the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over. we'll take up that issue with susan lisovicz in just a couple of minutes. also, the so-called gang of six meets again today trying to iron out a health care reform bill for all americans. we're back in a moment. before i started this job, i admit, i had some doubts. probably a lot like you. but i like what i found. i think you will too.

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the big question everyone wants an answer to these days. when will the recession end? today the highest authorities weighing in on this. none of them more important than ben bernanke. susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange. susan, hang on a second here. this is quite a statement. let me read the verbiage for just a moment here. the recession is very likely over at this point said the fed chief in responding to questions at the brookings institution. really? what is he really saying here? can we expect positive gdp? are we flat? what's going on here, susan? >> in direct reference to the gdp question, many think the

u.s. economy, the biggest one in the world, will actually grow in this the third quarter. we're not out of it yet. a couple weeks. this is coming after four quarters of negative growth. this is the strongest statement the chairman of the federal reserve has said yet in terms of the recovery out of this recession. he's been couching his statements like many economists but there are plenty of economists that say we're actually there now. now, i mean, if you want to use a metaphor, we have fallen into a deep hole and we're taking our first steps difficult as they may be out of that hole. sunlight is far off but we're going upward. that's what this recovery or this growth may feel like. very weak. that's something also that mr. bernanke said is the economy may feel weak. the unemployment rate may

continue to go higher. a lot of expectations are that it will go higher. remember, he's looking at the same things we talk about every day like today retail sales, you know, where you see consumers buying things that they don't have to have. but i think we do have sound from the chairman of the federal reserve. let's go to it. >> if we do in fact see moderate growth but not growth much more than the underlying potential growth rate, then unfortunately unemployment will be slow to come down. it will come down but it may take time. that's obviously a very serious concern. that's one reason why even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point. it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time. >> the recession is very likely over at this point. i think that's your headline right there. >> it really is. okay. appreciate it. thank you.

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more questions than answers today about a possible terrorism related raid in new york city. so far no arrests. no weapons. and no indication an attack was imminent. let's bring in our deborah feyerick following the investigation from new york for us. again, no weapons, no arrests yet. but officials are saying to you that the threat is real. >> they are saying the threat is real and what happened during this raid was really preventive to make sure that nothing possible could happen. federal agents were tracking a man who traveled from the midwest to new york city. he was under surveillance for possible terror links. dozens of heavily armed fbi agents executed search warrants at two locations in flushing queens hours before president obama appeared on wall street. witnesses say they were stunned by the manpower.

>> my friend dropped us off and they had close to 30 suvs double parked on the avenue. we saw one fbi and two fbi and so we came in the building and then we saw 30 camouflage fbi, machine guns, riot gear, everything. we didn't know what was going on. it was safer to stay outside than inside. >> there was no indication a specific plot against the president sources say. he was here to speak on wall street yesterday. there were no bomb making materials that were found although we're told authorities were looking for that. fbi agents did confiscate a few boxes and several people were questioned and released including a new york city taxi driver who was badly shaken by the ordeal saying he works hard seven days a week. sources say authorities reacted out of extreme caution.

>> there was some rumors that a terrorist act was imminent. that is not true. second, there was some speculation that the raids were related to president obama's visit to new york because they occurred at the same time. that is not true. >> here's where it gets cloudy. two sources later contradicted senator schumer saying that al qaeda central and homegrown terrorist remain a big concern especially here in new york city. you know the saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care and that is what may have happened in this case. >> thank you. appreciate it. vice president joe biden is in iraq. he's meeting with the country's leaders and with u.s. troops on an unannounced visit. it's biden's third visit to the war-torn country and comes less than a year from when the u.s. plans to withdraw all combat troops from iraq. americans appear to be growing weary of the war in

afghanistan. have a look at the numbers. support for the war at 39%. that's a new low. our cnn opinion research corporation poll has been tracking a steady decline since may when overall support was at 50%. republicans still favor the effort in afghanistan, those numbers are also eroding. gop support fell eight points in the past two weeks alone. few people are more aware of the growing skepticism than the country's top military officer, mike mullen. chairman of joint chiefs is in front of an armed services committee. it's a reappointment hearing and he's under pressure to explain why more troops are needed in afghanistan. >> the president has given us a clear mission. disrupt, dismantle and defeat al qaeda and its extremist alleys and prevent afghanistan from becoming a safe haven again. you can't do that from offshore. you can't do that by just killing the bad guys.

you have to be there where the people are, when they need you there and until they can provide for their own security. >> mullen said the debate over the right mix of forces and other resources will be held in the coming weeks. premiering september 27th, a new weekly series that will get people talking. christiane amanpour and analysis of global analysis that matter to you. believe in the power of the interview. every sunday it premieres september 27th here on cnn. children too young to have babies actually dying during child birth in yemen. the tradition of child brides persists.

how's that for a staggering statistic? 48% of girls in yemen forced into marriage. this is according to a human rights group that gives us that figure. often the marriages lead to teen pregnancy and sometimes death. like in this next story from cnn's paula newton. >> reporter: it sometimes takes the case of just one to shed the

light on the suffering of so many. a childs' rights group said a yemeni child bride labored for three days before dying, along with her baby, on friday. she was just 12. and was married at 11. the practice all too common in the tribal region of western yemen where she's from, and a continuing problem throughout the poorest country in the middle east. with every labored breath these vulnerable newborns are one step closer to survival by receiving the specialized care that's all too rare in yemen. these compromised young lives are many times the offspring of children. the bed size throughout the maternity ward in yemen's capital sana, there are stories of girls too young to have children, who die trying. this man tells us of a girl he found in the middle of the road in his village, desperate and in labor.

>> translator: she died. and after she died, the baby died. she was walking a long way, and she died on the road, without making it to hospital. >> he says his own young wife married at just 15 had four children, but also four mi miscarriages. "i suffered a lot," she says. jr" "i bled a lot. i was scared for myself and regretted marrying so young." sue with oxfam said the country has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the middle east. >> if they survive, they face complications during pregnancies and most of the girls have problem during delivery. their children are low weight. they have anemia, low hemogloben, because the girl herself, her body is not ready

to bare a child. and malnutrition among the mothers and the children. >> reporter: the cycle of maternal death is carried on many times by the cultural tradition of child brides. the u.n. says more than half of all married women in yemen are under 18. it's the fate that this woman fought so hard to escape. she was just 10 years old when her family married her off to a man more than three times her age. in a highly publicized case, she demanded and received a divorce. she is now back with her family. hers is just one of a handful of similar cases. most child brides stay married and often begin having children of their own immediately. human rights campaigners say the legacy of child brides not only deprives young women of their childhood, but often condemns them, and their babies, to an

early death. paula newton, cnn, london. and here's what we're working on for the next hour of "cnn newsroom" -- health care disparities. why some say race plays a role in the quality of care you receive. plus, new developments in the murder of a yale graduate student. our mary snow joins us with the latest. earth. so why should you be penalized for talking to someone, just because they're on another network. shouldn't you be able to call any mobile... on any network, at any time? it's a free country. knock yourself out. announcer: introducing the revolutionary. now on the sprint network yoe to call 250 million mobie without worrying about t. only from sprint. the now . deaf, hard of hearie with speech disabilities acc.

boy, oh, boy, tributes for patrick swayze, "dirty dancing" co-star, baby, jennifer grey, calls him a combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace. ♪

look at these two dance. swayze and cynthia rhodes. that's good stuff. "dirty dancing" was swayze's breakout film. in 1987 he went on to star in "ghost" with demi moore. he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008. he continued acting even through chemotherapy. so, what's your favorite patrick swayze moment? the women on the show team mentioned the pottery scene from "ghost." send me your ideas. anything with cynthia rhodes works for me. just go to cnn.com/tony. all right, time for your midday reset. i'm tony harris in the "cnn newsroom." it is noon in ohio and pennsylvania, where president obama is addressing big labor today. it is noon in washington, where key senators are struggling to write a health care reform bill acceptable to both democrats and republicans. it is high noon in new york

where a terror task force is planning its next move after a raid on an apartment building turns up no explosives, no arrests. let's get started. president obama on the road, talking the economy and health care. he spoke just last hour at a gm plant in ohio that is rehiring, thanks in part to the cash for clunkers program. the president cautions a long way to go before the economic recovery is in full swing. but he says his administration's efforts are beginning to take hold. >> now, even though you're proving that american automakers are getting back in the game, i think everybody understands our economic troubles are far from over. i don't want to -- i don't want to overpromise here. we've still got a lot of work to do. we got in a deep hole over the course of years. it's going to take some years to get back out of this hole. we have a lot of work to do, not just to get this community moving again and this economy moving again, but we've got to

build a stronger foundation for economic growth into the future. all right, don't miss president obama taking questions from cnn's john king on "state of the union," sunday morning, 9:00 eastern, that's 6:00 pacific, right here on cnn. a compromise health care bill is expected to be unveiled tomorrow. senate finance committee chairman, max baucus, is one of the so-called gang of six senators working on the plan. baucus said the goal is to reduce costs. we will bring you a live report from capitol hill in just a couple of minutes here. while, some say senators hold the key to reform with the compromise bill, some house democratic leaders are still pushing for a public option. speaker, nancy pelosi, this morning -- >> we also have a moral responsibility to pass health insurance reform, and we will do so this year. it is a moral imperative. it's a health issue. it is an economic issue. i believe that we can do so best by increasing competition, and

by increasing competition, we will, again, improve quality, lower cost, expand coverage and maintain choice. i believe that a public option is the best way to do that. >> house republicans call it piling on, but house democratic leaders are moving ahead with a vote today to rebuke congressman joe wilson. the south carolina republican shouted out "you lie" during president obama's speech to congress last week. wilson has apologized to the president, but house leaders want an apology as well. wilson says that is not going to happen. we are learning more about the raids on three new york city apartments as part of an ongoing terrorism investigation. new york representative, peter king, says agents were searching for a suspected al qaeda associate, who visited the city over the weekend and then left. no arrests were made, and a search for explosives material didn't pan out. >> the fbi, obviously, keeps

tabs and eyes on potential problems, and i would characterize the raids as preventive. >> meanwhile, counterterrorism officials are warning police departments around the country to be on the lookout for materials that could be used to make explosives. color coding the nation's terror level, a task force system, needs to be changed and is recommending fewer colors. right now there are five. red is the highest, indicating a severe terror threat. and green is the lowest. the country hasn't been at level orange since 2006, and it's never been below yellow since the system was started after the september 11th attacks. the task force and former homeland security secretary, michael chertoff, think the lower levels are unlikely to be reached anytime soon, so they're recommending only using three, red, orange, and yellow. now, for more on our top health care story, it is down to

the wire in the make-or-break debate. a long-awaited bipartisan bill from the senate so called gang of six is expected tomorrow. live now to cnn's senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, on capitol hill. and, dana, where do things stand right now? >> reporter: where things stand right now, we'll have what may be the final meeting this afternoon, later this afternoon, with that so-called gang of six. three republicans, three democrats, who have been working for months on this bi -- the potential for a bipartisan health care plan. now, the man who is in charge of that key committee, the senate finance chairman, max baucus, we caught up with him just a little while in the hallway and he is trying to sound incredibly optimistic and confident about the fact that he believes it is possible that they are within reach of a bipartisan plan. listen to what he said -- >> they're not deal breakers. this is -- i've said many times, most of the provisions we discuss are generally agreed to.

discussions are around, you know, how do they work, how the "is" are dotted and the "ts" on crossed, et cetera. there are no deal breakers here. it's a question, really, of political will. >> reporter: question of political will. that certainly is an interesting statement. >> yeah. >> reporter: but one that we've heard from many other democrats, particularly at the white house and inside the democratic leadership about the fact that one of the reasons why they have been so pessimistic about these republicans really signing on is because they know there is intense pressure from republican leaders not to do that. and what you just heard max baucus do there is try to frame this as something he has been working on very hard -- which is true, all of them have -- in terms of trying to find the common ground. but the reality is, tony, we know from talking to republican sources and aides to these three senators that there are some pretty controversial outstanding issues they're trying to work on. for example, this afternoon, one of the things they'll be doing is talking by conference call with governors thousand do the medicare -- medicaid, rather, expansion -- >> right. >> reporter: -- to make sure the

federal government foots the bill, not just the states, nor doing that. >> i've got a couple of questions for you. let's start with this one. are you hearing from democrats on this whole issue of affordability? >> reporter: yes. and this is one of the most interesting things that we have heard in the past 24 hours or so, from the broader set of democrats who sit on this very important senate finance committee. this is what they are grappling with, one of the toughest things, they say, that they are dealing with. because what's the ultimate goal here? it is, of course, to expand insurance for more americans and also make sure that that insurance is actually affordable. but when you do that, that means it will cost the federal government more money especially to subsidize for the people that can't afford it. i talked to bill nelson, who sits on this committee, and he sums up the problem with the issue, and all the senators are having, with the issue. >> if you don't give them enough, they simply cannot afford the health insurance that you want them to do, because they're uninsured now.

but to give them an adequate amount is an exceptionally costly item. and so that is what i think is holding the balance of this whole delicate health care reform bill right now, teetering on the brink. >> reporter: teetering on the brink. and that certainly is where things stand with this incredibly critical commit te. and again we should remind our viewers the reason why the work of this committee is so important and critical, is because it has that mix of conservatives -- >> yes. >> reporter: -- both ot democratic side and moderates on the republican side that really could be, and expected to be, somewhat of a template that could ultimately be the health care plan that could go to the president. >> got to ask you one more here. >> reporter: sure. >> you mentioned in your report the pressure that the republican gang of six are under right now. can you -- what is the pressure here? is it to squash what is being worked on now, but is likely to be passed out even if the republicans aren't on board, or

to continue fighting for more republican ideas to what is being worked on now, understanding that something is going to be passed out? >> reporter: that's a great question. look, the reality is that we have heard that republican leadership in the senate and the house, they've made it abundantly clear that there's virtually nothing that these negotiators would do that would make the republicans leaders sign on to this. i know talking to many of the republicans that what they are looking for in terms of trying to counter the pressure they're getting from republicans is something that may be unattainable, and that is, assurances that once they negotiate this delicate negotiation they're doing, will ultimately what the bill is, will ultimately see the light of day, that's number one. and number two, something that they negotiate will ultimately draw in more republicans than just, say, one or two or three. they want to have -- this is something that senator charles grassley of iowa has said many times, he wants to have really a good number of republicans before he can sign on to this. that will be something that will be incredibly, incredibly

difficult in this climate, and the question is whether or not he feels comfortable enough with the hours -- hundreds of hours -- he's spent negotiating this. >> that's right. >> reporter: negotiating this or if he feels politically he needs a few more republicans before he can officially sign on. >> that is great analysis. our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, for us. thank you. the hunt for those behind a possible terror plot. we'll get more on the investigation that led to yesterday's raids.

boy, we have had some spirited discussions in our morning meeting preparing for this show on this very question. how big a role, if any, does race play in the anger being expressed about president obama's reform efforts? the man behind the t.e.a. party express addresses that question next. w the store would go and check my credit score ♪ ♪ now all they let me have is this dinosaur ♪ ♪ hello hello hello can anybody hear me? ♪

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a cnn security alert now. more questions than answers today about a possible terrorism-related raid in new york city. so far, no arrests and no weapons. but officials say the threat is real. deborah feyerick is following the investigation for us in new york. and, deb, what are you learning about this investigation? >> well, tony, we can tell you that this raid certainly got the attention of a lot of residents in the queens, new york, neighborhood, many who were observing ramadan and were -- were awoken late at night with

banging on doors, as fbi agents raided one particular apartment. now, it does appear that fbi agents were tracking a man under surveillance for possible terror links. he had traveled from the midwest to new york city. now, he was not found in any of the apartments that were searched. however, dozens of heavily armed fbi agents from the joint terrorism task force executed search warrants at two known locations in flushing, queens, hours before president obama arrived in manhattan to give this speech on wall street. and eyewitnesss really say they were simply stunned by all the people who showed up. >> when my friend dropped us off, they had, like, close to, about, 30 suvs and impalas double-parked on the avenue, on 41st avenue. we saw one fbi suit. we saw two fbis. so we came in the building. and then we saw, like, 30

camouflage, fbi, machine guns, riot gear, everything, and then we went back outside, because we didn't know what was going on. so, it was safer to stay outside than inside. >> now, there was no indication of a specific plot against the president, sources say. and no bomb-making materials were found, although that is one of the things that we're told was listed in the search warrant. fbi agents did confiscate a few boxes, and several people were questioned. but shortly released. one of them, a new york city taxi driver who appeared badly shaken by this whole ordeal, saying he really works hard seven days a week. authorities say they reacted out of extreme caution. >> okay. >> there were some rumors that the terrorist act was imminent. that is not true. second, there was some speculation that the raids were related to president obama's visit to new york, because they occurred at the same time. that is not true. >> now, two sources later

contradicted senator schumer saying, yes, it was the president's visit that did play a role. and, of course, everyone is concerned about al qaeda central, homegrown terrorism especially here in the city. so, right now, all of this as to why it happened, when it happened. what's interesting is that usually many agencies will take credit for a successful raid, and right now all the attention from every agency we've spoken to is being directed squarely on the new york fbi. so, tony, that's where we stand. >> okay, deb, appreciate it so much. let's go to the two shot here, because drew griffin is here from our investigations unit. and, drew, wile tee it up just a little bit. you have been working on the story, pretty hard over the past few days. >> deb's been out there, and a lot of people are working on the story trying to get to the bottom of this. >> and you developed some new information on this story. we will take a quick break, and we will come back, and we will talk to you about what you're learning.

we want to get you the very latest information now on a -- the investigation of a possible terrorism-related raid in new york city. drew griffin is here, and as i mentioned ahead of the break, you've been spending a lot of time on this investigation. what are you learning, drew? >> what we are learning, tony, is the target was a terror cell composed of afghan nationals. they all attended or circulated at a new york-area mosque. a source with direct knowledge of the investigation is telling cnn that the joint terrorism task force raided several locations, and they were searching for explosive devices or components intended to be used at targets in the new york

area. the source says none were found. now, it's believed publicity and the searches themselves may have spooked those in the cell, or those connected to the cell. the source adding, tony, this is the first time anyone can recall that afghan nationals would be involved in a plot to attack the u.s. >> this is very interesting. and i know you continue to work your sources on this story. drew, appreciate it. thanks for that update. >> you bet. okay. let's get you caught up with other top stories today. vice president joe biden is in iraq. he is meeting with the country's leaders and with u.s. troops on an unannounced visit. it is biden's third trip to the war-attorn war-torn country and it comes less than a year when the u.s. plans to withdraw all combat troops from iraq. the iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former president bush said he fears for his life. he was released from prison today after serving nine months. during that time he says he was beaten by iraqi security forces and now worries u.s. intelligent

agents want to kill him. >> somalia says a senior al qaeda figure has been killed in a u.s. strike south of mogadishu. he is identified as salei ali saleh nabhan. nabhan, a kenyan, has been linked to u.s. embassy bombings in east africa. another check of our top stories in 20 minutes. republican lawmakers are circling the wagons right now, calling attempts to censure congressman joe wilson a petty distraction and accusing democrats of piling on. our congressional correspondent, brianna keilar, is on capitol hill. what is the latest on this story? >> reporter: we're expecting a vote for a resolution of disapproval for congressman joe wilson for heckling president obama wednesday night. we expect that sometime later this afternoon. we don't know the exact time. this is one of the things right now that democrats are talking about in a caucus meeting where all of the democrats in the house have gotten together to

talk during their regular weekly meeting. republicans are saying that this is just democrats trying to score political points. they are planning on raising questions when there is some debate ahead of this vote, questions about why is congress wasting time on a vote like this when they should be talking about health care, and democrats charge back, tony, that health care is on the top of their minds, but they don't want to let a precedent stand that it's okay on the house floor for a member of congress to shout at the president, tony. >> yeah, and, brianna, this idea of a rebuke, a censure, how serious is it, really? >> reporter: this is -- it's essentially a public slap on the wrist. the house of representatives has at its disposal really a menu of options for disciplining members of the house. among them, expulsion, censure, reprimand, things like fines as well as other actions. now, none of these is what is being discussed today. this is a resolution of disapproval. it's what we call in hill

parlance here, it's a form of what we call on hill parlance, a privilege resolution. this is where any member of the house can kind of bring up an issue they have for discussion on the floor, a privilege resolution, and it takes a different shape sometimes. for instance, you may recall somewhat recently here in the last couple of months, house speaker, nancy pelosi, republicans brought up a privilege resolution to do with her saying -- her charge that the cia had lied to her about the interrogation, the enhanced interrogation, techniques of terrorist suspects. that actually did not succeed. it sometimes that's do with a beef that one member has with another, as that case with speaker pelosi. but in the past, house speaker, nancy pelosi, when president bush was president, had a privilege resolution that she raised on the issue of iraq. so, you can see, it's not totally uncommon. >> yeah. >> reporter: it tends to take different forms. and in this -- in this case it's a vote on a resolution of disapproval of someone's behavior. >> going to get something out of it. >> reporter: exactly. >> brianna keilar for us, thank

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cnnmoney.com, we love the

website. we love the people who do the work there. boy, they are really, really good. and if you want the latest financial news, if you want expert analysis, that's the place to go, cnnmoney.com. let's get you to the new york stock exchange, just about three hours into the trading day, let's take a look at where we are with stocks. as you can see, stocks are up. a little buying. a little trading. a little buying going on right now. up in positive territory, about 17 points. nasdaq, joe, i forgot, nasdaq is up five. we're following the numbers with susan lisovicz all day. you know what, let's spend a little time with susan right now. you know, it's been called the worst recession since the 1930s, but lately we've been getting some upbeat signs on the economy, and now even the fed chief himself is growing a little bit more optimistic. there she is. susan lisovicz joining us from the new york stock exchange about what ben bernanke is saying. comments earlier this morning, susan, at the brookings institute. what did he have to say? >> well, he basically says what a lot of economists has been

saying, which is that the recession may be over. you know, keep in mind that federal reserve chairmen are typically very cautious in these kinds of assessments, but ben bernanke gave his most positive assessment yet on the current state of the economy. >> if we do, in fact, see moderate growth, but not growth much more than the underlying potential growth rate, then, unfortunately, unemployment will be slow -- slow to come down. it will come down, but it may take some time. obviously that's a very serious concern, and that's one reason why, even though, from a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point, it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time. >> and that view, tony, was echoed by another federal reserve official today, who said she expects economic recovery to be tepid and slow, but, remember, the "r" word we're

talking about is "recovery." >> yeah. >> not recession. we've had four consecutive quarters in which the u.s. any shrank. many economists expect the economy to start growing this quarter. why is that? well, we've seen improvements in housing. >> yeah. >> manufacturing, corporate profit. and finally some consumer spending. but just one caveat. ben bernanke is a smart man. he is an influential man. but he is not the official arbiter in declaring the end of recession. that belongs to the national bureau of economic research that typically makes these type of announcements months after we're out of it. >> yeah. >> it's basically usually an after -- it's a no-news event because it's -- >> right. >> we know it to be over. >> susan, when did that same body that you just mentioned, declare the official start of it? was it december of -- >> december '07 was when the nber said the recession began.

but, again, that came well into '08, as i recall. >> yeah. yeah, we felt it a lot longer than that. >> it came a year later. my trusty producer tells me that the national bureau of economic research made the declaration that the u.s. economy was in recession one year later. >> one year later? >> uh-huh, yeah. >> geez. okay, susan, thank you. >> kind of slow. >> kind of slow. >> very, very cautious those academics. >> yeah. but good news from ben bernanke. >> uh-huh. >> things turning around. thanks, susan, appreciate it. >> you're welcome. consumers cracked open their wallets a bit in august. retail sales surged almost 3% last month, the biggest since 2006. auto sales helped fuel the gains. they jumped 10.5% largely due to the cash for clunkers rebate. the wholesale inflation rose 1.7%. a lot of numbers here. but little worries about

inflation. wholesale prices for the year have actually fallen. even though ben bernanke says the recession is likely over, a lot of americans are still feeling the pain, to be sure, and some of the administration's efforts to help consumers are slow going. alison kosik is at our "breakdown" desk in new york. good to see you. >> good to see you, tony. if you remember back in june the president proposed creating a consumer financial protection agency. and the what it would essentially do is regulate mortgages and credit cards and other financial products and have the power to ban anything deemed deceptive. but so far, not much has really happened. and there's been a lot of pushback both from the financial industry and from some members of congress. now, the house could vote on a bill later this month, which is also when the senate could release its version of the bill as well. but the health care debate could wind up pushing all of this into next year, tony. >> well, a lot of people say this is essentially a no-brainer, so why is there so

much opposition to a consumer financial products protection agency? >> yeah, well, the industry, tony, is worried that it could stifle innovation in financial products and make credit less available to consumers. some lawmakers also think the government may be overreaching, and others say you can increase consumer protection by just stepping up oversight at existing agencies rather than creating a whole new bureaucracy, tony. >> okay. so, what about the administration's efforts to keep troubled borrowers in their homes? how are those efforts going? >> the pace is picking up, but it's been a slow start to, to say the least. since the president's foreclosure prevention plan began taking applications in april, only 12% of eligible borrowers have their loans modified and the administration is working to improve the program by streamlining applications and developing online tools that let people check the status of their requests, but it says loan servicers really need to ramp up

staffing and improve training, exactly, so, you know, they can reach out to more borrowers. and, tony, we'll watch for progress and we'll get back to you with the latest. >> thank you. >> sure. looking to your answers to questions about the economy. e-mail us your questions at mailtothechief or tweet us at kyracnn in our 2:00 eastern hour. chief economic adviser to vice president joe biden will answer your questions in the "cnn newsroom." the health care debate is fureing intense anger and protests to be sure, sparking a disturbing question, are some of the protesters turning to race-baiting. cnn's elaine quijano takes a look. >> reporter: within the larger t.e.a. party movement that's gained steam across the country, a small, but passionate, minority is also voicing what some see as racist rhetoric, including this doctored image circulating on the internet and even some protesters' signs like this one in brighton, michigan,

portraying president obama as a witch doctor. we took to the streets of washington to get reaction. >> i think it's disrespectful to the office of the president to portray him in this manner. it's race -- it's racist. >> this is appalling. >> reporter: just how prevalent were the protesters carrying racially charged messages? difficult to quantify. cnn all-platform journalist jim spellman spent weeks covering the t.e.a. party demonstrators as a whole. >> only a handful of people seemed to outwardly have racial issues with the president. but the more you talked to people, you could sense it was part of a larger distrust. >> reporter: for their part, t.e.a. party leaders disavow racist views. >> i saw very little overt racism or anger. and those were on the fringes and were marginalized. >> reporter: they want attention focused the role and reach of government into people's lives but say controversial protesters have the right to speak their mind. >> part of america is there are people who are bigoted. and, you know, you're never

going to convince them not to be. you don't have to embrace them, but in this country you can't shut them up either. >> reporter: "chicago tribune" columnist clarence page say some see the obama presidency as allowing people to lash out. >> they're not just mad at president obama, they're mad at people who have nothing to do with obama except they all happen to be black. >> reporter: he said the racial resistance that has emerged is a sign that a post-racial society is only wishful thinking. >> it's only the beginning of the process that we are able to live with leadership that may not look like us, may not come from the same background as us, but is still part of this great, diverse society. >> reporter: mark williams, the t.e.a. party organizer be talked to, notes there's been inflammatory statements at anti-war protests in the past, burning flags and hanging effigies, he said. he's points? like other grassroots movements,

the t.e.a. party protesters are a cross-section of america. elaine quijano, cnn washington. that's t.e.a. party organizer, mark williams, calls president obama a racist-in-chief, and a welfare thug among other things. in an interview with our anderson cooper. they begin by talking about an op-ed piece from columnist murr reen dowd. have a listen. >> she said some people, and i quote, some people just can't believe a black man is president and will never accept it. there is, increasingly you hear from sop liberals and some democrats, particularly african-american democrats in congress who say they believe there is an undercurrent of racism in some of the criticism of the president, in some of vitriol being expressed. when you hear that, it has to probably anger you. how do you respond? >> i dismiss extremists of all

colors especially maureen dowd. i saw three witch doctor signs in 16 days. as for the people on the fringes, they are no part of the mainstream america than are the hippies that wear nipple clips and feather bowas in san francisco streets during peace demonstrations. you saw working-class americans in the streets many of whom were with their families. as you saw across the country, we were traveling fourth of july celebration in the t.e.a. party express. we had picnics and the kids were out. it was a celebration of rights in america. it wasn't a protesting, we were celebrating the country and vowing to protect the constitution. >> what you're saying makes sense to me, and i'm hearing what you say, but i read on your blog, you say -- you call the president an indonesia muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief. >> yeah. >> i mean, that the kind of -- >> that's the way he's behaving. i mean, i mean, if he cares to be -- if he cares to be -- >> do you believe he's indonesian, do you believe he's a welfare thug?

>> he's certainly acting like it. >> you think he's a racist in chief? racist in chief? is that what you call him? a racist in chief? it's unbelievable. >> until he embraces the whole country, what else can i conclude? >> those words from t.e.a. partier organizer mark williams. the latest in the murder of a yale graduate student. police questioned several people in the search.

all right. we're just getting this in. according to the associated press, four mortars have landed near the u.s. embassy in iraq, in baghdad. that is in the heavily guarded, protected green zone. again, four mortars have landed. that according to the associated press. as you know, the vice president is -- okay. we're going to talk to our cal perry in just a couple of minutes. as you know, the vice president, joe biden, is in iraq right now. he is meeting with political leaders. he is also meeting with u.s. military, with troops.

this was an unannounced visit. his third trip to the country. and we're just getting information now that four mortars have landed in the protected green zone in baghdad very near the u.s. embassy. we will continue to follow developments in the story. we will talk to our cal perry in just a couple of moments. another one of our top stories -- we do have cal right now. and is cal on the phone, or is he with us from the -- okay. let's get to cal perry. live with us from our bureau in baghdad. cal, what do you know about this? >> reporter: well, it was just literally about ten minutes ago we heard four separate explosions. the interior ministry is confirming indirect fire. indirect fire can either mortars, it can mean rockets. they are saying that they landed in the international zone. unclear where in the international zone at this point. we have some sources telling us near to a hotel in the green

zone. it's not clear right now how close this could have been possibly to the u.s. embassy. there are agency reports that these rounds did land near the u.s. embassy. obviously joe biden's visit here is being widely reported on local media. not surprising that the insurgency would take the opportunity to try to lob some rounds into that -- into that green zone. >> yeah. and we don't know the exact whereabouts of the vice president. and even if we did know, we wouldn't mention it here. cal, if you get any more developments, any more news on this, just let us know. cal perry, appreciate it. new haven, connecticut, police are questioning several people on the death of yale student annie le. but they say they did not anticipate an arrest today. cnn's mary snow reports the killing has left the yale campus in shock. >> she was always kind, generous, honest. oh, caring and the list just keeps going.

>> reporter: natalie powers speaking out for the first time about her roommate annie le. yale students held a vigil just hours after authorities confirmed their worst fears. the body found sunday lodged inside a basement wall at a yale research facility was le, a 24-year-old ph.d. student who stood at 4'11" and weighed 90 pounds. >> and she was tougher than you'd think by just looking at her. that this horrible tragedy happened at all is incomprehensible. but that it happened to her, i think, is infinitely more so. >> reporter: as one professor put it, there's a sense there's a murderer among us, and yale's president tried to assure students. >> we're doing all that we can to ensure your security across the campus. >> reporter: the president of yale said, there were a limited number of people in the basement that day, and they were known to authorities. to get inside the building, students tell us i.d.s like these need to be swiped. >> obviously this person probably had access to the building, so it makes you very

wary of people that you're around and work with. >> reporter: but annie le herself wrote an article for a university magazine in february on how not to become a crime statistic in new haven. adding to the anxiety on campus, yale officials say the building where le's body is found is a newer one and had top-notch security. more than 70 cameras were trained on the building and its surroundings. officials also say they have images of her as she walked several blocks from another building to the lab where she was killed. but a yale official says there were no cameras in the area where her body was found, and that has shaken some fellow graduate students. >> i think most of us work very hard here. we work here at night, and also the weekends also. so, there are not too many people around. >> all right, cnn's mary snow joining me live now from new haven, connecticut. and, mary, are we expecting to learn anything else today? >> reporter: well, tony, one big question that remains unanswered

is how was annie le murdered. and the medical examiner is expected to announce that. it's releasing the cause of death later this afternoon. >> mary snow for us, thank you. actor patrick swayze dies after a long battle with cancer. before i started this job, i admit, i had some doubts. probably a lot like you. but i like what i found. i think you will too. car for car, when compared to the competition, we win. simple as that. i just know if you get into one of our cars, you're gonna like what you see. so we're putting our money where our mouth is. buy a new chevy, buick, gmc or cadillac and if you are not 100% happy, return it. we'll take it back. that's our new 60-day satisfaction guarantee. and as always you'll get our 100,000-mile, 5-year powertrain warranty on every vehicle. that's how strongly we feel about our cars. and how committed we are to you.

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want to bring you the very latest on a breaking news story we're following for you right here in the "cnn newsroom." cnn has learned that four mortar shells were fired into the international zone in baghdad, also known as the green zone, that very protected area of baghdad. this coming as the vice president, joe biden, is in country. he is visiting baghdad right now. no immediate word of any casualties or damage to the green zone or in any other areas of the capital.

warning sirens sounded in this zone, as you would expect. this is the home to government offices, the u.s. and british embassies, the parliament also located in the international zone, also known as the green zone. the vice president is in country right now on a mission to show that the white house is still very much committed to the effort in iraq. again, no injuries reported at this point. we will continue to follow developments on this story and bring you the very latest as we get it here in the "cnn newsroom." but, quickly, let's get you to chad myers now. a pretty busy so far for chad in the severe weather center. good to see you, chad. >> a flood threat in the southeast where it has been so very dry and now we have flooding. you have to watch what you ask for. >> yes. >> look at the spin right here. the arms of the spin, almost like a hurricane on land. you see, like what would be an outer band over there. more weather coming off the ocean here, the gulf of mexico. that low right there, spinning all of this weather around and around and around. the low is what we call cut off, not moving, not in the jet stream, not going anywhere, so,

therefore, causing flooding. because one cell after another will move on by. i can even open up this map here. there are flood warnings north of atlanta, watches all the way through memphis and warnings all the way back to dallas for rain showers that either happen today, still happening or happened overnight. it's going to continue for a lot of the week. this is going to slide through maybe by saturday, but not before that. it is going to be one couple of wet days, and in fact if you are under one of these cells, tony, you just have to be careful -- not so much during the day, but at night. it's that evening event that you have to be very careful of, because at night you don't know the stream is high. you drive your car into it. we saw those pictures yesterday. >> that's right. >> of those two ladies going to church before sunrise, couldn't see the creek was high, drove the car right in it and got washed away. thankfully saved, but you don't want to be a statistic. >> absolutely. appreciate it. i can tell you, tributes to patrick swayze coming in, "dirty dancing" co-star, baby, jennifer

grey, calls him a combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace. we asked for your thoughts on our "newsroom" blog. here are a few of your comments. i loved patrick in "to wong faa," "thanks for everything." he had a line about always remembering to moisturize. i think of that every time i put on my face lotion. and this from judy who writes that pattry swayze has had many memorable roles, but i can't help think of his "snl" "chippendales" skit. and then beary fun writes i finally got to see "dirty dancing" for the first time. it is as good as all of his movies. it is a sad day. he will be missed. and this from dana in washington. hmm, dana in washington, i wonder who this might be? my favorite was his teaching jennifer grey the "lift" in the water and balance on the fallen tree.

thank you, dana, from washington "dirty dancing" was swayze's breakout film in 1987. and it went on to become a huge box office success. the song "i've had the time of my life" won an academy award, a grammy, a golden globe. swayze continued working after his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer. look at this. look at cynthia rods and patrick swayze. in his final project, it was a series called "the beast" for the a & e cable network. patrick swayze was 57 years old. every head. every bite. every gallon. every shoe. every book. every cereal. well, maybe not every cereal. but every stem. every stitch. every tune. every toy. pretty much everything you buy can help your savings account grow because keep the change from bank of america rounds up every debit card purchase to the next dollar and transfers the difference from your checking to savings account. it's one of the many ways we make saving money

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experience financial crisis tour. the brainchild of former deutsche bank trader, andrew, who lost his job in the financial crisis. >> i think there's a need for understanding wall street, demystifying wall street. >> reporter: there are hundreds of walking tours around new york city, even down here in wall street, what andrew and his team try to do is use this historical setting as a way to try to walk people step by step, what happened during the financial crisis. >> have you ever heard the term toxic assets? that's what these cdos were and they were responsible for bringing down these large financial institutions. now, i'm going to show you a toxic asset, and you can even touch it if you want, but be careful. >> reporter: the wall street experience passes by aig, the new york fed, and it takes in a little history at federal hall, where tourists learn that this financial crisis was far from the first. >> that is the house of morgan. jpmorgan was the most powerful financier in modern times. he was said to be more powerful than the u.s. government,

because twice in 1893 and again in 1907, he bailed out the u.s. government when we were having a similar crisis to today. >> reporter: despite the storied past, today's financial crisis is foremost on the minds of people taking the tour. >> the people missed it, actually, and the question is why, actually. >> reporter: they were getting paid a lot of money at the time. >> yeah, much more than i ever do. >> reporter: andrew welcomes the tough questions, but he's tour avoids placing overall blame on wall street. >> it was more systematic failure where each -- each individual, each group was maximizing their return. i think very few people forecast the extent of the fallout. the overall banking street, financial services industry was rocked. >> reporter: rocked hard, luan says, but on the rebound. >> people will find a way to reinvent themselves. i'm actually surprised at how fast it's coming back. >> reporter: one thing he's not surprised at, people's ongoing fascination with the inner workings owa