us. thanks for joining us. we'll see you back here again bright and early tomorrow. >> the news continues, cnn newsroom now with heidi collins. >> developments in the case of a graduate student's killing. police take a yale employee into custody and then release him. does racism play a role? former president jimmy carter says many attacks against president obama are based on his skin color. allegations of cemetery desecration. an ex-worker tells us how he broke burial vaults to make room for new ones. good morning. i'm heidi column linls. it's september 16, wednesday, and you are in the "cnn newsroom." a lot to get to. the battle over health care reform. a new development in the stalemate. next hour a long-awaited version of health care reform, a senator is going to talk more about what's inside that. so we'll have it for you. also cnn's brianna keilar is taking an early look at what it

does have and doesn't. so we'll clear that up for you. and mary snow is going to have the latest on the yale murder case that we've been talking about for a couple of days. police are narrowing their focus and search for evidence. here is a look first at the newest health reform bill about to be unveiled. it is the long-awaited version from senator max baucus, comes after months of negotiations in the gang of six. so far has not brought together the parties. the three republicans reportedly are not happy with some parts of the bill even before its release. the proposed bill faces opposition from some liberal democrats. the measure drops the government option, and instead calls for co-opts to com beat private insurance companies. what does that mean? right to brianna keilar. good morning to you. when are we going to see the bill and what's inside it? >> reporter: we're going to see the bill at 10:00 a.m., the bill put forth by senator baucus, the

head of the senate finance committee and at this point the republicans in the gang of six heidi, as you mentioned, not on board yet. so, that is key. we're expecting at noon he's going to be having a news conference, we expect him to be alone, not with the members of the gang of six. and then after that, his staff is going to be briefing reporters like myself. so we have a whole hunt on the hill. hang in there with us. right now already we know some of what is in it. there's of course the hallmark, the health cooperative plan governed by patients. also this includes expanding medicaid so that more low income americans are covered by that. how do you pay for this, foot the bill? there is a tax on the cadillac plans, the high end insurance plans that insurance companies are supposed to pay. and there are also billions of dollars in fees on the health care industry, for instance

insurers, medical device makers, that sort of thing. but the broad details causing issues from both the left and the right. for instance, liberal democrats, heidi, they of course don't like that there is no public option in this because this health co-opt is not a public option, not a government run insurance plan. they are afraid it's not big enough to really help some of those low income and middle class americans aid forward insurance without straining their budgets. then on the flip side you talk to someone like chuck grassley, senator from iowa, top republican on the finance committee, he has a concern that this package is too big. he would like to pare it down. so at this point heidi, it's getting the squeeze from both sides. we have yet to see if there is bipartisan support. >> i hear what you're saying. if the bill's going to be out in an hour i got to wonder how members are negotiating this. >> reporter: they say this is not the do or die day. senator baucus putting out this

bill so the member who is want to propose changes which is what we're going to see votes on in the committee next week so they can do that, but really today not the do or die moment. they are saying we expect will be at the end of the committee process next week when they have a vote on the final bill after it's gone through that amendment process. >> well, either way, you are going to have a busy day ahead of you. appreciate it on capitol hill this morning. a lot of people i think wonder what is the gang of six? you saw the picture there. it's made up of three democrats and three republicans. from the senate finance committee, all considered moderates in their parties. and most have reputations for skill to compromise. republican senators are olympia snoe, charges grassley and mark end zony. and the democrats are max baucus, jeff bingamman and jeff

conrad. stay with us and this latee plan we're going to hear about, sure to stir up debate. we'll keep our eye on it. the congressman who heckled president obama and said he was lying about health care reform has been formally scolded by fellow lawmakers. the house admonished joe wilson for the outburst during president obama's address last week. wilson shouted "you lie." wilson later apologied to the president but refused to apologize to congress. the vote was mostly along party lines. former president jimmy carter says racism is playing a role not only in the health care debate but the criticism of the obama presidency. >> feeling among many in this country that african-american out not to be president and ought not to be given the same respect as if he were white. and this has permeated politics

ever since i've been involved in it back in the 1960s. you wouldn't hear one of those members of the british parliament saying that about head of state. in our country it's different. the president is also the head of state. no matter who he is or how much you disagree with the policies, he ought to be treated with respect in an official forum like a joint session of the u.s. congress. i think it was a dastardly thing to do, it was so bad that it should be corrected by overwhelming majority of democrats and republicans. >> the man behind the group tea party express brushed off the comments, mark williams said it was another stupid comment from the former president. new developments surrounding the killing of a yale university graduate student. overnight, police released a yale employee who had been in custody. mary snow is joining us with

more on this. good morning to you. what's the latest at this point? >> reporter: well, good morning, heidi. his name is ray monday clark, 24 years old. he is a lab technician at yale university and police are being very careful calling him a person of interest, not a suspect. and he was taken into custody last night. this as police say they took physical evidence from him, dna samples, things like swabs from saliva, samples of hair, finger nails. as they did that, police also executed a search warrant at raymond clark's home in middletown, connecticut and there searched his apartment. he was expected to be released last night as he was, if he cooperated with authorities. police are saying what they are trying to do now is take those samples, see if they match any of the evidence they have already seized. they say that they have seized 150 pieces of evidence. and they say by the end of the

week they will be able to determine whether or not he will be arrested or he will be cleared. they are also saying that they are continuing this investigation, that they don't want to have tunnel vision in their words, that they are continuing to look to see if there are any other potential suspects. >> okay. curious, do we have any idea why they targeted him specifically? >> reporter: they would not elaborate on his connection with annie le but we know that he worked in the same building where annie le's body was found. it was restricted access to that building. and they did say that he has been under surveillance for several days. >> wow. mary snow covering that story for us. thanks so much. to this now. rising gas prices fuel inflation last month. new numbers last hour, and we'll break them down for you and what they mean to you. another day of rain in the south, plus there's a supertyphoon in the pacific.

we'll show you those in a minute. bicycle, i've missed you.

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talking about the economy now. consumer price numbers we got just last hour show inflation remained mostly in check last month.

christine romans is joining me with more. we start talking about these and some people get a little lost in all of it. so many numbers coming at us, so many economic reports. lay this one out. >> reporter: consumer prices, this is what you and i pay at the restaurant, at the grocery store, at the gas station. these are the prices that matter to our wallet. they were, as you say, in chicago. why? because consumers are being picky about what they buy and that means that retailers and producers can't raise prices easily because won't buy it. they are not raising prices. cpi, .4%. the core cpi, you take out food and energy, only up 0.1%. so that's a very small move there. within these numbers, you saw the prices we pay for cars down 1.3%. that's because of the discounts for the cash for clunkers, this is all for the month of august. so what you're paying for a car went down. what you pay at the gas pump went up. gas prices were up 9% in the month, so all of these different things that you're doing on a

daily basis, they feel differently but overall, consumer prices, you take out food and energy up about 0.1%. >> the fed chief yesterday said the recession is very likely over. what was the reaction to that? >> reporter: he said in the technical sense. that feels good that the recession is probably over. but -- >> i feel like i need to be on the defense. >> reporter: that's why because we're scarred. we're scarred with what's happened over the past year. a lot of people are still out of a job. 9.7% unemployment. if you don't have a job it doesn't feel like it to you. the fed chief said that. that the jobless rate would continue to rise and it would come down slowly. he's acknowledging how we feel might not correspond with what the numbers are going to tell us about the economy. him also saying that the recession is likely over, the stock market, heidi, has been telling us that for sometime, the stock market, we call it a leading indicator. look at this bull run here from

2009. even yesterday stocks hit a new high for the year. up pretty dramatically. what the stock market has been telling us is what ben bernanke told us yesterday, that the worst of the crisis is behind us, the dust has settled. people are starting to make decisions based on facts, not just on panic. one last thing about the cpi numbers. you made an interesting comment sometimes all of these numbers get jumbled up. this cpi is what a social security cost of living increase is tied to. it hasn't been moving up much. seniors should be prepared for very little or no cost of living increase next year in their social security check. they had a good run-up last year because we had rising numbers because of gas prices. but this year inflation has been so tame that means there won't be -- most likely there won't be a bump up for people in the social security cost of living check. >> we appreciate the breakdown. christine romans, thank you.

let's head over to the severe weather center where we find rob marciano. good morning. what are you looking at? >> same thing yesterday. heavy rain across the south, heidi. this area continues to be soggy area. and you know, it's helpful in spots but in most spots like arkansas, check out these. just too much of a good thing. they are under flash flood warnings. record totals yesterday in texarkana, almost five inches in 24 hours. little rock almost four. greenwood, mississippi and monroe, louisiana. so where is the rain going to go today? well, pretty much in the same spots, this area of low pressure is not moving. if anything, it might back up into texas. it taps moisture from the gulf and throws it into the ozarks, and that squeezes all of that goodness out of the clouds but for the folks in this part of the world, it's not so good. two to three more inches expected today. the darker areas flash flood watches and the brighter area

you have warnings. those counties have been expanding over the next -- the last few hours. the forecast does bring in brighter colors again, so two, three, maybe four more inches of rainfall in the next two days, those flood watches are up through tomorrow. they may be extended. you notice this guy doesn't really move all that much. for the northeast, it will be cool. a little taste of fall. frost advisories for the first time this winter -- this season, coming for you folks. super typhoon. check this out. 160 miles an hour is this puppy in the middle of the pacific. not affecting anybody. here is japan and the forecast track is to do that. so i wanted to show you that. this is the strongest tropical cyclone we've seen so far this year in any basin so it is certainly cool to look at. you like these monster when's they are out there and not bothering anybody. a nice eye, great cloud symmetry and structure. you know, you're a weather geek, too.

>> i am at heart. you're right. super typhoons. love it. >> 150 miles an hour or greater. no small feat to be a super typhoon. >> all right, rob. we'll check back later. more allegations of afghan election fraud. now international observers are weighing in with word that well over a million votes could be bogus.

now for a quick check of our top stories. ohio's governor grant add one-week reprieve for a death row inmate because the execution team couldn't find a vein to administration the injection. they tried for two hours. he was convicted of raping and

murdering a 14-year-old girl in 1984. the california man accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard may be linked to two other abduct n abductions. two hours from now investigators plan to begin searching once again phillip garrido's home and property. searchers are looking for possible evidence in the disappearance of two girls in the 1980s. a round of applause in the parliament for japan's new prime minister elected earlier this morning. his party swept to victory on promises to end the country's deep recession. he says he's looking forward to working with president obama. most americans feel news organizations can't get the facts straight. in fact, a new poll taken by the pew research center finds the public's assessment of the accuracy of news stories is at a

two-decade low. 63% of respondents say news stories are often inaccurate, that's up from 53% in 2007 and 34% back in 1985. next hour we're going to talk about this a little deeper into the decline in media trust with howard kurtz of "the washington post" and cnn's reliable sources. before we do that we want to know what you think. we like to pose some of your thoughts to howard. do you trust the news media? go over to my blog and you will see a little bit more about the survey, some of the statistics there, and then our question. do you trust the news media and tell us why or why not. canada's prime minister traveling south today to visit with president obama. topping the agenda, trade and the economy. ahead of this month's g-20 meeting. he'll bring up the so-called buy american clause in the u.s. stimulus plan. it makes sure that american made

products are used for infrastructure projects funded with federal money. some consider that protectionism. be sure to catch state of the union this weekend when president obama is a guest. around a million and a half suspicious vote what is observers are saying about afghanistan's presidential election. atia abawi is joining us. i know you have been following this for sometime. >> reporter: that's right, heidi. the eu election observers mission is the latest to talk about these elections that seem to be on going, the election taking place august 20th but no result. they are saying that massive fraud occurred. they are pointing to 1.5 million suspicious votes. when you dissect the numbers, 1.1 million of the votes went to president karzai, around 300,000 to his main rival. let's listen to what the chief observer has to say because he said that this is up to the afghans, they are just

observing. >> we will not make the choice of your next president but we refuse to be complicit of any attempt of massive fraud. >> reporter: well, heidi, no one wants massive fraud when it comes to the election but it's a little too late for that. president karzai's campaign, learning about this, about the findings and stating that it is partial, it's irresponsible and they say it goes against the afghan constitution and in fact that the eu observers should have been talking to the electoral complaints department because that's in the afghan constitution. obviously president karzai's campaign not very happy, they are in the lead now but 1.1 million votes in question that wants president ha immediate zeid. >> when are we going to see final votes.

whether it be the afghans or the international community, no one knows. we expect the final preliminary results to be announced today but those aren't the final results at all. investigations are still under way. the complaints commission still auditing and recounting votes from polling stations so no matter what happens in the end, many people are questioning is this election process, is it even credible, can the afghan people trust in the system after this? heidi. >> understand. thanks so much. allegations of grave desecration, a former cemetery worker tells us he personally broke oppose crypts and dumped bones on orders from his bosses. it was a perfect fit. find out more at aflac!... ...forbusiness.com

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stocks moved higher yesterday on a gang buster retail sales report and ben

bernanke's view that the recession is over. we have another report for investors as we await the opening bell. susan la so strich is waiting for that bell along with us and has details on how the actual trading day is going to look. what about all of this stuff with ben bernanke saying the recession is most likely over, over? what do you think? >> reporter: well, he said technically the recession is most likely over. but he said it's going to be a weak recovery. in other words, the recession may be over but we may not feel it. that's basically what he was saying. but it was enough, it was a stronger assessment of where we are right now. so heidi, those comments from the fed chief and the retail sales numbers which were actually gang busters sent u.s. and asian stocks to new 2009 highs. and today, we expect to see the rally continue as christine mentioned earlier, new reports show inflation is in check, consumer prices rose under a

half percent largely because of higher gas prices. but over the past year, remember, prices are down by 1.5%. here's the opening bell. we have more news for you, the nation's largest poultry producer has found a buyer. texas-based pilgrim's prize selling to a meat processing company a deal at nearly $3 billion. pilgrim's pride filed for bankruptcy last year. and fierce competition forced block buster video to close nearry 1,000 stores. you can see that one coming. we can also see green arrows in the first seconds of trading. the dow, the nasdaq, the s&p 500 up by at least a fifth of a percent and finally, heidi, did you see who rang the opening bell? >> you know, i missed it today.

>> reporter: this bud is for you. >> red bridge. >> reporter: well, bud is back on the big board. last year inbev bought anheuser-busch, moved its stock to brussels. look at all of the bud cans go. today the largest brewer will again trade here at the nyse under bud. it will continue to trade in europe under abi. bud share, i don't see anything happening yet. >> we'll -- >> reporter: they're flat. we don't want that to happen. >> got to get off this. susan, thanks so much. we'll check back next hour. to this story. allegations of grave tampering. a new lawsuit claims graves were dug up at a los angeles cemetery with the remains from as many as

500 graves being moved to make room for new customers. this is the same cemetery where groucho marks and lenny bruce are buried. wow, it's reminiscent of the other story in chicago. >> absolutely. and these details that we're learning, allegations are gruesome. this suit alleges that workers at eden memorial park desecrated graves for years, a story that cnn broke. a long time employee is coming forward to reveal what he said he did there. >> reporter: this long time former employee says he was told to break concrete burial vaults to make room for new ones at eden memorial park. he tells cnn just what he would throw away. >> cement pieces, sometime a little piece for the next

person. trash away. >> sometimes skulls? >> yes. >> reporter: garcia explains how a sales man would tell him to break the vaults in secret. >> he go like this and look. say, break this piece. break this piece. i tell not supposed to break. say go ahead. nobody can see. go ahead. do that. >> reporter: using a back hoe he and other workers would break through the vaults. >> just broke one piece for the cement, for the person there. just piece cement, the body inside. we see the person and because we broken. >> reporter: garcia says he would take the remains to a dirt hole at the cemetery where nobody could see what was going on. >> when the peoples go there, families around, you know. we stop. because they always say stop guys when you see somebody coming. no do nothing.

>> reporter: similar allegations are made in a lawsuit filed against eden memorial and its owner service corporation international. they include claims of secretly breaking and opening buried caskets, dumping human remains and selling burial plots without having the space all to make more money. garcia says breaking up the burial plots was common practice for last ten of the 28 years he worked at eden memorial. he was fired in 2008, he says he wasn't given a reason. the service corporation international spokesperson says he was fired for cause but declined to give details. in a statement, the company says allegations against eden memorial park have surfaced as a result of a recently filed class action lawsuit. while very salacious, these allegations are just that, allegations. it says, eden memorial conducts extensive training with its employees and we support that with strict policies and

procedures. garcia says he was only doing what he was told by supervisors. >> no matter what happen in there, bones everything, you guys go ahead and do the job. they pay me, i working. i do anything they told me. >> spokesman for the funeral bureau says the agency will look into the allegations raised in the suit. the cemetery did get a warning letter last year after the state found that five graves had been disturbed but there was no evidence that it was done intentionally. >> i'm stunned. i was stunned when we talked about the illinois case, stunned about this one. really, when we spoke to that particular gentleman, i mean, he just said well, this is what we did and here they were. we've been doing it for a long time. i was following orders. >> it is strange to actually listen to someone who has done something like this. so it's hard to listen to these details. he's able to speak about this so matter of factually he said it was common practice. this is something that they had

done, he wasn't the only one. other workers were given these orders and had done 10 to 15 years. what's next is we continue to see if people come forward. there is this investigation by the state and they are going to look into this. and of course we're going to keep on this. obviously we're getting reaction from this and we'll continue to follow it. >> come back and let us know what happens. a lot of people are curious. thank you. she enlisted in the military to fight for her country but nothing could have prepared a mother in georgia for the vicious beating police say she got in front of her 7-year-old daughter. it happened at a cracker barrel restaurant in morrow, georgia south of atlanta. police say after she asked this man to be more careful while opening the restaurant door he went off, punching and kicking her while yelling racial slurs. >> clearly a shocking incident to where a man that's twice the size of this female beats her down in front of the child. >> that really bothers me she

had to see that so i want justice served. i don't want him to -- i don't want him to do this to anybody else. >> the man is charged with battery and disorderly conduct as well as cruelty to children. there is surveillance video of this aatlantic but it has been handed over to the fbi. not released yet. federal agents break up a drug smuggling ring that was allegedly using airline employees to move cocaine into the united states through puerto rico. nine american airlines employees are among the 23 people arrested. they are accused of bringing in more than 9 tons of drugs over the past ten years. investigators say baggage handlers and members of the ground crew carried suit cases stuffed with drugs. violence along the u.s./mexican border. this year's killings in juarez passed 2008.

troops are patrolling the city to deal with the cartel turf war. juarez is across from el paso, texas. health care. one democratic leader has a plan. how will it affect you? answers in a moment. the interior "positively oozes class," raves "car magazine." "slick and sensuous," boasts "the washington times." "the most striking vw in recent memory," declares-- okay, i get it already. i think we were in a car commercial. ♪ yeah ♪ yeah. imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years

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quickly now we want to take you back to health care reform. a pretty big day. we're getting the first look at senator max baucus' idea for health care reform. brianna keilar has been following this. brianna, my understanding is we have it our first look at the bill. >> reporter: that's right. the bill came out, heidi. this is a summary of it. 17 pages.

this just came out online a few moments ago. the bill is 223 pages. i want to highlight some of the key points in senator baucus's proposal. as expected that health co-opt, the nonprofit health cooperative instead of the government-run insurance option, that is key in here. as well ending discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and health status. and eliminating annual and lifetime limits on the amount of basically coverage you can get for your health insurance plan. and of course another key is expanding medicaid, so that it covers more low income americans. now, this right here, this summary and the bill that this summary is based on, at this point it does not have republican support. this is senator max baucus's and max baucus's alone. it's signature that he doesn't have the buy-in. at the same time the negotiations continue. this is not the do or die day

we've been told by democrats and republicans in the so-called gang of six. if you look at this bill, you will see the discussions that have been going on between democrats and republicans and a lot of the things the republicans have wanted are really written all over this bill. they are -- their influence apparent. 223 pages, we're certainly going to be poring over this to bring you all of the details. >> i printed it out myself here trying to get a look at it as well. i imagine that as you continue to pore through it we'll be able to make it -- make more sense to everybody as we go. so, appreciate that brianna keilarment we'll come back to you. 10:00 is when we'll be talking about this live, i understand, senator max baucus as well. moving forward, how will senator baucus's bill affect you. cnn's gerri willis has been looking into that, joining us from new york. 17-page summary that we have in

front of us. what have you been able to find out? >> that's a lot of pages. some of the elements that affect consumers, first, people will be required to have basic health insurance. those lacking could be fined with a maximum penalty of $3800 for middle class families, it would provide tax credits to lower income families so they could afford to purchase. the plan would create health insurance exchanges so individuals could sign up through their state and increase as brianna said medicaid and put a national standard on medicaid eligibility. that's governed by states. it would drop the public option and allow creation of non-profit health care cooperatives. >> so what are those? people are maybe now trying to get a better handle on what a co-opt is. >> you sort of heard of the idea, agricultural, electrical co-ops, credit unions.

there are in places like seattle and minneapolis. co-opts are set up as nonprofit organizations, they say they provide better coverage at a lower cost, the profits are put back in the system so money earned is used on patients and costs. now, patients and co-ops run the board. they hold elections, discuss issues, concerns and under this bill taxpayers would contribute up to $6 billion to co-ops for start-up costs. it's estimated that opens could cover 12 million people. heidi. >> how would life change for people in a co-op? not everybody is in favor of this. >> for patients, co-ops work like private insurance. there are premiums and most see doctors in a network. health care would be cheaper than private insurance but not necessarily always less expensive. it depends on the competition in your market. group health cooperative in washington state, that's the last surviving co-op, it's become kind of a prototype for

the senator's plan. while premiums increase at a slower rate compared to competitors you would have to agree 12.3% annual is pretty high. one of the highest hurdles to starting a co-op is creating a large network of doctors so. the doctor you are used to seeing may be not part of the network. if this becomes law most provisions won't take effect until 2014 so lots of time to work out details. >> all right. gerri willis, our first look along with all of us here at this summary of max baucus's plan. we'll continue to read through it. >> thank you. the health care debate and the proposal, we have it in our hands, we're taking a closer look at the new plan and new divisions among the gang of six. mail inspectors never expected to find this. looking at fossils, 100 million years old and worth a lot on the black market. how this played out between the

united states and china coming up.

a raid by chinese security forces may have foil add huge bomb making operation. security forces carried out the

raid in china's xinjiang region. they seized bomb making materials. they say the suspects had begun making bombs after ethnic rioting in the region's capital. the united states handed over precious materials to china, fossils found when they were x-raying moyl. they include the heads of dinosaurs and a saber tooth cat. josh leaves has been following the story and joins us now. >> have you said saber tooth cat on tv? i haven't so i did. i love this stuff. this is interesting. it also does touch as you were mentioning a relationship between the u.s. and china. this is from immigration and customs, pat of homeland security. that right there is the head of a saber tooth cat that they believe is 100 million years old. these things along here, they look like "star trek"y but these

were heads of little dinosaurs and they say about 100 million years old. you have fossils here and these potatoey looking things, eggs t they believe are 60 million years old. we have video. let's go to that. i'll tell you what the deal is here. when you send mail into the united states it gets x-rayed and one thing folks have found is some people are sending in these things. now, it's not quite clear where they get them. there is a whole black market of collecting these. it's a big deal. it's part of china's history. there's been this effort back and forth between the u.s. and china and other nations to try to restore these things back to china. it says something about the history of the land there. we have a story up on cnn.com. i put it together the other day in which we describe what the fossils are and how it happened and in the big ceremony the u.s. handed it over to china. >> i imagine it was a big

ceremony. there may be something else at play here when we talk about u.s./china relations and talk about deficit and buying debt and that good stuff. who knows the undertones there. it's an interesting story. any idea how much this is worth? >> they say the heads over here, this part of the collection, are worth almost $30,000. when you look at the dinosaur fossils, you look -- this is the back of the head. when you look at the dinosaur fossils smaller ones you're looking at $30,000 up to $40,000 in some cases. i just want to see how official this is. these are pictures we have from the ceremony that took place on monday in which they took this and returned it to china. a signing ceremony went along with it. china put out a statement saying this is a sign of broader cooperation between the united states and the chinese government. this is something that's very important to china. in that sense, important to the u.s. and also it does say something about inspections. in addition to mail, some of these dinosaur eggs were found in luggage of a passenger at

dulles airport taking them in through a suitcase. no charges were filed but people who spent money lost every penny they put into it. big business, black market and government wrapped up in this story. >> weird no charges were filed. >> the thing is they can't automatically be sure how someone got it. it's possible the pesh person getting it didn't know it was illegal. ultimately you're not supposed to take these at all unless you have a certificate documenting that you have been given by the government permission to own these things. >> all right. josh levs, interesting fossil story today. thank you. we do have a lot going on this morning. cnn crews are in place to break it down for you. let's check in with our correspondents beginning with steph in new york. >> reporter: a new study says premiums are rising faster than inflation and wages.

more on that. >> reporter: i'm susan lisovicz at the new york stock exchange. stocks are boosted to new highs for the years. this as the biggest nation automaker says it it needs to boost production again. more on that in the next hour. >> i'm rob marciano in the cnn severe weather service. rain in the south. flooding in arkansas plus a super typhoon. we'll show you that in the next hour. >> all right. thanks, guys. we'll also take a moment to put ourselves under the microscope. the news media hits a new low in public trust. we'll look at the study and look for answers.

if you were wondering what the guy from "the da vinci code" is up to, he's been digging up secrets. dan brown's latest novel puts the oldest fraternity in the country in the spotlight. where does fact end and fiction begin? here's elaine quijano. >> reporter: this is the actual room and the ceremonial alter where the startling ritual in the opening scene of dan brown's new book, the lost symbol, takes place. a secret initiation ceremony

inside a building that is called the house of the temple. grand historian says in this case, truth is definitely more boring than fiction. >> he has his candidate drinking wine out of a human skull. >> reporter: that doesn't take place here? >> i have never seen that. >> reporter: this is a formal meeting room where ceremonies do take place but he explained free masonry is not a secret sinister society. >> it's simply the world's oldest and largest fraternity. >> reporter: george washington was wearing the apron when laying the cornerstone of the capitol. in a town where conspiracy theories flourish, the book's arrival was shrouded in mystery. even partnering with a publisher

to market the book and city with this video. >> discover powerful connections as a d.c. insider. plan your trip to the nation's capital at washington.org. >> reporter: elliott ferguson is president of destination d.c. >> it exposes them to the u.s. botanical gardens and temple on 16th street. >> reporter: as for scottish right, so far no harm, no foul. >> as long as people understand that it is a work of fiction, everyone will enjoy it. >> reporter: as for tourism, a local trolley company is now considering a tour based on the book and officials here at the masonic temple which gets thousands of visitors each year say they wouldn't surprised if the number of tourists jumps now that the book is out. elaine quijano, cnn, washington. >> here now some of the other stories happening at the moment. a yale university employee taken

into custody in the case of a graduate student's killing released to his attorney overnight. police searched raymond clark's home and collected dna samples from him. the body of annie le was found sunday on the day she was to have been married. two men are under arrest for allegedly shining a laser pointer at two commercial flights from a gas station near columbus, ohio. they're also accused of pointing the laser at a police helicopter. one of the suspects is an army helicopter mechanic whose currently on leave. they both face up to eight years in prison. police in kansas issued a silver alert for an older couple missing since friday. they thought they had break in the disappearance of bob and mary lou black when a car was found at the bottom of the missouri river near their home. divers check it out but it was not their car. >> the critical question is do we get bipartisan support at

some time before we vote on the bill? my guess is that we will. >> senator max baucus on the battle over health care reform and a new development in the stalemate. the latest version was unveiled moments ago. it will not be the compromise bill that had raised so many hopes. republican negotiators in the gang of six say they cannot support it and that is important being that we already have now this 17-page summary that will be a much longer bill to wade through and we continue to do that this morning. we want to get to brianna keilar standing by on capitol hill this morning. after first having a look at the summary, very important to point out there's no republican support at this point. >> reporter: there's no republican support. they have not signed on. when we see senator max baucus hold his news conference at noon, we expect he'll be alone. that doesn't mean that republicans have walked from the

table. they say there is still time to put a deal together on this but with senator baucus releasing his bill today, it just hasn't happened yet. obviously it's not a good thing, heidi, for senator baucus that they're not on board but if you look at this bill and if you look at the summary of this bill, you'll see that their influence really is all over this bill. for instance, it includes this health cooperative which we've been talking about for some time. this is not a government run insurance plan. that means that this one bill here, one of the five bills in congress, it is the only one that does not include a government run insurance option. that public option. also, you know, important things for people at home who are really curious about what congress is trying to do to make things better for them for health care, i think some of the things that stick in people's minds, this and om of the other bills ends discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. an insurance company could not turn you away for pre-existing

conditions. also eliminates yearly and lifetime limits on how much -- it institutes limits on how much you would have to pay out of pocket for a year or for lifetime. >> just quickly, when we talk about pre-existing conditions, a lot of people are very curious about that one, does that then mean if this bill makes its way through of course that it would be illegal for insurance companies to ask in your paperwork you fill out trying to get coverage if you had a pre-existing condition, we won't see that question anymore? >> reporter: i don't know if it would be illegal for them to ask. this bill as well as other bills have made a tradeoff with insurance companies which is to say that we want many more people if not everyone to be covered. you're going to have many more people seeking insurance, which is a windfall for insurance companies but to get that you cannot turn people away based on pre-existing conditions. the idea being, yes, it would

not be acceptable and would not be legal for them to turn people away. >> any idea at this point how senator max baucus is feeling now that this is out and people are getting a look at it and reporters get a look at it and we're explaining it on the air. how's he feeling today? >> reporter: he said it was a big day. we ran into him this morning in the hallway. we tracked him through the hallway and he talked about what today meant. >> working on this for many, many weeks. >> they'll become more comfortable with it. we'll see how it can be shaped in a better way for them. it's a very big bill. lots of components. lots of parts. a lot of senators will work to

make the part they have a problem with to be better by offering changes. i expect there will be a very significant support when we do pass this bill. >> this is the bill that you have the full backing of the administration here? >> my bill is very, very similar to the frame work that the president talked about when he gave his address. very similar. >> reporter: the other thing we're looking for is we have asked people questions about what do you think about this proposal that senate finance or gang of six negotiators are talking about. we've asked deputies mocrats on line and they will say we don't know. we haven't seen the language. we can't tell you. what this bill does and i guarantee you there are people all over the capitol waiting to see what is coming out of this senate finance committee. they are printing this out and they are flipping through the language.

when we ask them what do you think about this, they can see what it is and actually answer the question. maybe it's not based on a hypothetical if that makes sense. >> interesting that even the senator himself say it's sort of just the first step and it will be shaped likely in many other ways. we continue to watch as this story develops. brianna keilar, thank you live from capitol hill. a central issue in the battle for health care reform, the rising cost of insurance. stephanie elam is joining us in a while with a new study and new numbers that may actually surprise you. the baucus bill is posted online. you can see it for yourself. our josh levs is here now to walk us through it a little bit. hey, josh. >> we monitored this website throughout the morning. it's on this computer behind me right here. easy to get to. what i've done is opened up the page that shows the legislation and then you click on the top part right there, america's healthy future act bringing you

to chairman's mark. you can see all sorts of information here and the breakdown. also, we made it extra easy for you. it's on our blog right now. we'll get you there right away. you were just talking to brianna about this idea of pre-existing conditions and how that may play out. in the notes is an interesting line that says currently covered individuals must be uninsured for six months before gaining access to this high-risk pool which would allow you to have pre-existing conditions covered. this is an example of how we need more information for it to play out. some would hear that say wait a second, six months of nothing. >> no coverage for a gap of six months. >> we need to pick apart this bill. i'm camped out here and we'll bring you details throughout the day and you can follow it here on tv and online with us at cnn.com/josh. >> i love this. from fossils to the nation's health care. you're good. josh levs, a man of all trades. thanks so much, josh.

congressman who heckled president obama said he was lying about health care reform has been formally scolded by fellow lawmakers. the house admonished joe wilson for the outburst. during president obama's address to congress last week, wilson shouted "you lie." yesterday's vote was mostly along party lines. >> it's political game playing. it's what the president said shouldn't occur. they proceeded to game playing and i believe as i sincerely stated that i apologized immediately to the president. he's been very gracious to accept the apology. the vice president accepted the apology. the president on sunday night during "60 minutes" again accepted the apology. but now it it true is time to work on health insurance reform. >> after the outburst wilson apologized to the president but refused to apologize to

congress. vice president joe biden is meeting with iraqi leaders in baghdad this morning. he was also there in the green zone last night during a rocket attack. u.s. ambassador christopher hill says one rocket may have hit the embassy grounds. two civilians were killed. military sources say u.s. and iraqi forces captured three men suspected of firing into the international zone. biden arrived on tuesday for meetings with u.s. military and diplomatic officials. three u.s. service members are dead victim of a roadside bomb blast in southern afghanistan. nato is not saying the area they were patrolling at the time of the blast. roadside bombs have increasingly become the weapon of choice for taliban militants. the top u.s. military commander in afghanistan is expected to ask for more troops within the next couple of weeks. joint chiefs chairman mullen

says the troops are essential for the mission. jill dougherty has more. >> reporter: the national debate over how not to lose in afghanistan plays out on capitol hill. the chairman of the joint chiefs says more u.s. troops. >> a properly resourced counterinsurgency probably means more forces. >> reporter: a leading republican claims it's a matter of life or death. >> every day we delay in implementing this strategy and increasing the number of troops there, which we all know is vitally needed, puts more and more young americans who are already there lives in danger. >> reporter: the powerful democratic chair of the committee wants to beef up the afghan army and police first. >> i believe these steps should be urgently implemented before we consider a further increase in u.s. ground combat troops. >> reporter: the commanding general in afghanistan stanley mcchrystal is expected to ask president barack obama for more troops, part of his assessment

of what's needed militarily to push back the taliban and al qaeda. aides to secretary of state hillary clinton tell cnn she is open to the idea of putting in more troops but only after the plan to win is more clearly design designd defin defined. >> we're in the midst of the reviewing the strategy and status of our efforts in afghanistan that will continue for some time. >> reporter: admiral mullen says general mcchrystal will make his troop request to the president very soon. meanwhile, on the ground in afghanistan, the pentagon says u.s. troops don't have enough men or equipment to protect themselves against roadside bombs. and defense secretary robert gates is preparing to send more troops to provide that protection. jill dougherty, cnn, the state department. back to the economy now. cautious optimism from federal

reserve chairman ben bernanke. here's what he had to say about the present situation. >> 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 as some people will still find that their job security and their employment status is not what they wish it was. >> mr. bernanke also added the job market's recovery will be slow. solid retail sales report has helped stocks rally. was a georgia mother the victim of a vicious hate crime? the vicious beating she got in front of her 7-year-old daughter coming up. rogaine?

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americans trust for the media is falling every year. look at this. a new survey shows that only 29% of americans feel the media generally gets the facts straight. well, we always want to hear from you. our viewers directly. we put that question to you today. do you trust the media? tell us why or why not. head over to our blog. you know where it is. cnn.com/heidi. you'll see more about that survey that was done and then our question there. do you trust the media? why or why not? we'll bring comments to you.

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closely following new developments in the case of a yale graduate student killed on campus. police took a university technician into custody and then released him overnight. they have searched raymond clark's home and collected dna samples from him. he's not at this time considered a suspect in the death of annie le but police say he has been under surveillance for quite some time. >> we've known where he was at all along. he was exactly where we expected him to be when we serve the search warrants tonight. i don't know where that stuff came about a manhunt. we always have known where he's at. we walked and took him into custody. we've been with him you might say since we took this case over. we've always known where he's at. never an issue of where he's at. we've always known where he's at. >> the body of annie le was found in a lab building sunday on the day she was supposed to have gotten married. across the country, another

search for evidence is going on at the top of the hour investigators from two california police departments will be back on phillip garrido's property. search teams are looking for possible evidence in the disappearance of two girls in the 1980s. garrido and his wife have been charged with the kidnapping of jaycee dugard. the couple kept her captive and phillip garrido fathered two children with her. a woman is badly beaten in front of her 7-year-old daughter. was she the victim of a vicious hate crime? >> she says she remembers when the mom punched mommy. >> reporter: both have a hard time talking about what happened to them at this cracker barrel. >> i was thinking it was my fault. and that i shouldn't have gone

there. >> reporter: this mom and soldier says 6'2", 215 pound man beat her because she said excuse me and because she's black. >> excuse me, sir. watch out. you almost hit my daughter in the face. it was like lighting fire. he said you need to patch your fing daughter. he punched me and kicked on me and he called me vulgar names. he called me a racial slur and then, you know, curse words. >> reporter: police say surveillance video shows west beating her in the restaurant's small entryway. >> it's clearly a shocking incident to where a man that's twice the size of this female beats her down in front of the child. >> reporter: hill says her daughter seeing that hurts her more than bruises and racial slurs. >> it bothers me she had to see that. i want justice served. i don't want him to do this to anybody else. >> the man is charged with

battery and disorderly conduct and cruelty to children. there is surveillance video of the attack but it has been handed over to the fbi. airline baggage handlers on the receiving end accused of helping smuggling millions of dollars of cocaine into the united states.

just about 20 minutes ago, a virginia judge set the date for execution of d.c. sniper john allen muhammad. his attorney says they'll appeal to the u.s. supreme court. the other shooter, lee boyd malvo is serving a life sentence. an explosion of violence along the border. this year's drug related killings have passed 2008 numbers. as a result, troops are patrolling the city to deal with

the cartel turf war. federal agents break up a drug smuggling ring allegedly using airline employees to move cocaine into the united states through puerto rico. nine american airlines employees are among the 23 people arrested. they are accused of bringing in more than nine tons of drugs over the past ten years. investigators say baggage handlers and other members of the ground crew carried suitcases stuffed with drugs. a warning over drugs that may be in your medicine cabinet. the fda sent a letter to byayer concerned that testing in the german branches weren't strong enough. no recalls at this time. bayer says the drugs are safe and it is dealing with the issues. if you are pregnant, will the h1n1 vaccine be safe for you and your baby? we'll meet one woman taking the

risk to find out so you don't have to.

will the h1n1 vaccine be safe for pregnant women? elizabeth cohen tells us how the medical community is finding out. >> heidi, would you volunteer to be a guinea pig to be one of the first people to receive the h1n1 flu vaccine? yesterday i spent the day with a pregnant woman who is one of the first to sign up. amy wolf is off an historic medical mission. she's about to become one of the very first pregnant women ever to receive the new h1n1 flu vaccine. >> my first gut reaction was,

oh, no, what's she up to now? >> reporter: amy's husband isn't the only one with veser vagss about the experimental vaccine. eight months into her pregnancy, amy isn't 100% sure either. she makes her way to the study at vanderbilt university. >> arm pain. feel achy. >> you feel like you're signing your life away. maybe a little nervous. >> reporter: amy signs forms and gets the shots. why did she to it? >> we're in the middle of babies "r" us and he said you're not doing this vaccine because you get paid for it? i don't know if i get paid for it. >> reporter: the $300 she received for joining the study isn't why she did it. she wanted to get the shot because she's scared of swine flu and on sunday she found her

neighbor's son got h1n1 and now he's in the hospital. >> i was scared to death. i started to cry. >> reporter: amy wants to protect herself and her unborn baby. amy just got her h1n1 vaccine. will that vaccine protect her child from h1n1 once he's born? >> what we want to do is vaccinate women early enough in pregnancy to give that antibody to their unborn children. >> reporter: in the end amy got the swine flu vaccine for both of them. >> i hope it's the right thing to do. i'll never forgive myself if it isn't. i think it's the right thing to do. >> reporter: the swine flu vaccine is expected to be available next month. this week four drug companies received permission from the food and drug administration to put their vaccines on the market. >> all right. a lot to talk about with that as we continue to follow that story here. don't believe what you read in the papers or see on tv news.

you are not alone. a new poll says trust in the media is declining. we'll look at the reasons why coming up. [ woman ] dear cat. gentle cat. your hair mixes with pollen and dust in the air. i get congested. my eyes itch. i have to banish you to the garden. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. i can breathe freer with zyrtec-d®. so, i'll race you to our favorite chair. i might even let you win. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe easier, so i can love the air™. zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

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good choice. only meineke lets you choose the service that's right... for you, your car, and your budget. at meineke, you're always the driver. well, americans are less inclined to take fact what -- take for fact what news outlets are serving them. a poll finds a significant drop now in meeta trust over the last two decades. look at this. 63% of those polled say news articles are often inaccurate. that compares to 34% back in 1985. the poll also found that fewer than three in ten americans believe the media generally gets the facts straight. back in 1985 the majority of

americans believed journalists got their stories straight. joining us now to go beyond the numbers and into the sentiment is howard kurtz. dangerous territory here because obviously we're in the biz. i'm fascinated by this. for a long time we heard jokes about lawyers at the dinner table and now are we hearing jokes about journalists? what's the overall feeling here? >> journalists are the target of mockery these days. it's a vote of no confidence in the news business. this has been going on for a quarter century because of a series of self-inflicted wounds by big news organizations that appear arrogant, slow to correct their errors, sometimes appear to have political agendas and biggest single change i see in these numbers that we'll get to in a moment is how many more democrats now don't trust the press whereas republicans for decades have felt that media are

hostile toward them. >> why? >> part of that is we have a democratic president and democrats who thought it was fine for press to go after the bush white house are not so happy with scrutiny of the obama white house an we saw this during the run-up to the iraq war. liberals now think that the press was not vigilant enough and aggressive enough in exposing what turned out to be the false rationale for war. >> are you saying that this type of sentiment could be cyclical and parallel to the political process? >> no. everyone hates us. it's not cyclical at all. i place most of the blame on journalists. a lot of people who are answering these survey questions look at things through partisan land. if you don't agree with their viewpoint and people in digital world go to places that do reinforce their political viewpoint, you are seen as unfair. if you are an obama fan and there are critical stories about the president, you don't like

it. if you were a george w. bush bush fan, press was seen as hard on the 43rd president and you would think that was unfair. >> more than 1,500 people polled. we talked to them on the telephone and on cell phones and very deeply divided along party lines. there are these organizations out there that track or apparently track stories done on hot button issues. most recently acorn is one of those stories where there are reports that said certain news organizations covered it much more intensely than others and then there's comparison between cables and networks and also the george tiller and late-term abortionist killed as you know. that story, they say, was covered very deeply but then there was an anti-abortionist who was killed and that didn't get much coverage according to these organizations. are those organizations who do the counting -- i don't know how they do it or where they get their tallies, are they legitimate?

>> some have partisan agendas. the mainstream media and big organizations have been slow to report on the story of van jones, a white house official who resigned last weekend after a series of controversial statements. fox news was beating that story very hard. that doesn't mean that it's not valid. it led to a white house resignation. i think we all have to be careful to have an even playing field here as we go after controversy in the obama administration as aggressively as we did in the bush administration otherwise we'll see more of this public perception that we are following -- journalists in general -- are following an agenda. >> as we put these numbers up about news organizations being politically bias, there were numbers on that. 60% say yes. 26% of people say no. does impartial journalism exist anywhere? >> there are journalists who try to be fair. they may have personal feelings about issues. they really try hard to get it

right. the public is not buying that. the public is gravitated toward conservative websites, channels, blogs, twitter accounts, that reinforce what they believe. >> there's a lot of people that would say it is also up to the consumer to go out and get as many news organization opinion if you will as they can as well as four or five different papers. >> consumers have more choices now than ever before and that's a good thing of. >> all right. we do appreciate it. thanks so much. on our blog this morning, we asked you as well because we want to hear what you think whether or not you trust the media and to tell us why or why not. you went to our blog, cnn.com/heidi. we got a whole lot of responses on this one. let's take a look at some of them. sandy says --

we sure do appreciate those responses. and a whole lot more. i wanted to share a few with you. another hot topic this morning, former president jimmy carter says racism is playing a role not only in the health care debate but blistering criticism of the obama presidency.

>> that racism still exists and i think it's bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people, not just in the south but around the country, that african-americans are not qualified to lead this great country. >> just a few moments ago, the republican national committee brushed off those remarks. in fact, we received a statement from rnc chairman michael steele who says -- just a portion of that response from michael steele, rnc chairman. the battle over health care reform and rising cost of keeping your family insured. we have new numbers that will be part of the debate. discover friskies indoor wet cat food.

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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.

republican congressional leaders have launched an all-out campaign to cutoff federal dollars for the liberal organizing group acorn after this fourth video now showing acorn employees alleged hly givg a couple advice about how to run an illegal prostitution ring. republican leaders asked the president to use his executive authority to extend a ban to all funding the group segets. president obama is set to meet with stephen harper and then inviting olympians to an

event promoting chicago's bid for the 2016 olympics. be an hour later there will be a closed door meeting with former secretary of state colin powell. there won't be a runoff in the afghan election. karzai has more than 50% of the vote. the results are not certified. the election complaints commission is still investigating claims of more than a million fraudulent votes. the battle over health care reform at last hour the unveiling of a long awaited version from senator max baucus after months of negotiations within the game of six but so far has not brought together the two parties. negotiators are not happy with some parts of the bill. the bill faces opposition from liberal democrats. eqqt eu

option and calls for co-ops to compete with private insurance companies. as the debate over health care reform ramps up, a new survey is giving fresh ammunition to those fighting for reform. stephanie elam has the breakdown from new york. >> reporter: 160 million americans get their health insurance through their employers and those costs are rising fast. a new kaiser family foundation study finds employer sponsored premiums jumped 5% this year to more than 13,000 for a family as the overall pace of inflation fell. employers pick up most of that tab but as costs grow, more companies pass those increases onto workers by raising premiums, co-pays and other out-of-pocket cost. one example of this, 22% of individuals who get insurance through work have $1,000 dedu deductib deductibles. >> how do numbers play into the health care debate? >> reporter: they play in.

president obama's main argument has been that cost has to be brought under control or they could bankrupt the entire economy. this study underscores that point. it finds employer based premiums for family coverage could top $30,000 by 2019. that's if costs keep growing at the same rate as over the last ten years. the fear is no business or family will be able to afford coverage if that happens. those opposed to democratic versions agree the high cost must be addressed but the real question is how? many democrats favor the republican option but the insurance industry say that will drive private insurers out of business. the baucus plan has a public option but no republican has signed onto his plan yet. no doubt that the debate is not over. it will rage on for a lot longer. >> you're right about that. the government's cash for clunkers is sort of prompting auto companies in many different directions if you will on this one.

what's the latest there? >> if you take a look at how they're dealing with it, it will be something that a lot of companies will say how do they handle it and in light of their changes it will go through the system but many people say it will take way more wide ranging chan change before anything could happen. >> we want to talk more about this. we've been talking about it for a while the cash for clunkers program. it prompted auto companies to sort of boost production and then rehire laid off workers. that was good. the program has run out but production may be ramped up again. susan lisovicz on the floor of the new york stock he cexchangeh more on that. >> out of all of the challenges that detroit faces, the biggest one is this. make cars that people want to buy. which brings us to this story. gm dealers are reportedly saying boost production. why is that? they are finding that some gm vehicles are selling out within

two days of hitting the dealerships, the showrooms, according to "the wall street journal" that even though we expect auto sales to fall this month compared to last month of course cash for clunkers no longer around, that gm apparently underestimated the demand for some of its new vehicles. what are they, you ask? the chevy crossover. the buick lacrosse. if gm does boost production, that means you'll have new plants and additional workers. very good thing. >> absolutely. hasn't gm learned that there's a danger in producing too many cars? they closed down thousands of dealerships. >> no question about it. these are cars with many parts. these aren't t-shirts. it is really a balancing act. one of the dangers as well is simply not responding to demand. if there is demand there, gm is going to want to ramp up in some

very quick way. we are seeing here on wall street today is demand for stocks again, heidi. dow, nasdaq, s&p 500, 2009 highs. having said that, we're still not even at 10,000 but we are seeing a rally again. >> very good. what about a company that's doing pretty well. facebook. i know she's second in charge, the gal there made "forbes" magazine of 100 most powerful people. this place is doing pretty darn well. >> yes. in fact, facebook is now cash flow positive which means that it is making enough money to pay all of its expenses. this is ahead of time. what happened is that facebook hit 300 million active users so it's doing better ahead of schedule. fastest growing category for facebook, is users over 35.

poppy harlow talked to some at facebook and you can see the interview at cnn.com. facebook is so successful that there is actually a backlash against facebook. i saw a t-shirt over the summer that said no, i'm not on facebook. today in the new york post, there was a quote attributed to george clooney that he would rather have a certain kind of medical procedure, an invasive medical procedure than be on -- performed by someone with cold hands than to be on facebook. he doesn't need facebook. >> we're watching all of the companies closely. that's your job, susan lisovicz. thanks so much. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. bearing it all for a motorcycle ride. ahead, the tale of the nude cyclist.

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two students suspended from school after they were caught on tape beating another boy. they're both african-american. the victim is white. you can see the attack in this school bus surveillance video. the police chief in belleville, illinois, says he was unsure if it was racially motivated. other students on the bus cheered. >> i was, like, oh, my god why did they do that little boy like that?

i told my son, i said why are you laughing? >> i wanted to help but i didn't because if i got in it i would be in trouble. i didn't want to get in trouble. >> the school district is investigating why the bus driver failed to intervene. billionaire melvin simon is dead. you may know him best as the man behind the simon property group. simon and his brother are co-owners of basketball's indiana pacers. melvin simon was 82 years old. rob marciano in the weather center right now. severe weather center more or no? >> most of the severe weather is in the form of some flooding although the printers are ticking off here. that's probably a tropical update. let's talk about what's happening here. this is centered over the arklatex region. arkansas, texas, louisiana. this area of low pressure continues to sit and spin. it is not moving anywhere. it may be even starting to drift

back into texas. you can see the rain shield starting to slide back toward dallas. that had all of the problems with flooding the last couple of days. problems here are not going to go away. flash flood watches and a number of warnings just went into effect mostly north and west of little rock. two to three inches of additional rainfall expected today. this flash flood watch extended through tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening but the brighter colors are warnings. good chunk of central arkansas and now beginning to slide back into texas. again, some of those counties getting some heavy rain. your forecast brighter colors never a good thing with tv weather graphics indicates more in the way of rainfall for those areas. let's talk airport delays. atlanta, you're seeing some delays. ground stop until 11:00. rain in the area. laguardia seeing showers. san francisco 50-minute delays. all right. that's out west. we go further west or east depending on perspective and

this is typhoon choi-wan. stongest tropical cyclone we've seen anywhere in the world. this is a monster. check it out. big old eye. its movement is toward japan. these are the kind of scenarios that we like that it is going to curve away from japan. typhoons going nowhere. >> you can kind of study them and watch how they work and then they don't hurt anybody obviously. >> nobody gets hurt. >> love it. all right. rob marciano, we'll check back later on. don't go anywhere. i have a story that i just know you'll love this. >> is this the hooter -- >> no. >> i think it has something to do with hooters, doesn't it? >> a motorcycle guy in florida. brings a new meaning to riding bare back. police dash cam video. >> don't make me look.

>> naked guy. outside of the jail. police say the suspect was driving along a local highway in the buff. listen to this. >> i asked him what happened to his clothing and he said he lost them. i could see from his feet which were bare all of the way up to his shoulders and he didn't have any clothing on. >> he was just bare from his feet to his shoulders. what's wrong with that? completely he was leaving that particular establishment. here's the shock, rob. the man, identified as jay kraus was jailed on a dui charge. >> that's shocking. he was wearing a helmet so safety comes first. that's good. >> very good. >> who knows what was going down at hooters. he may have tried the whole thing -- they're telling me to stop. okay. >> you're getting it -- >> they're telling me to stop for benefit of my career. it was kind of funny and clean in a way. >> edit yourself and let us

know. rob marciano, appreciate it. he wrote plenty of words for the old administration but now some say he's putting words in a former president's mouth. inside a new tell all by a bush speech writer. 

you might see it on shelves if you're book shopping next week. a new tell all by a former speech writer for president bush. it's not the most flattering portrait. >> reporter: new portrayals of a president taking it to personal levels. matt, speech writer for george w. bush for the last two years of his presidency, writes in a new book that mr. bush made

comments about several major political figures at the time. exerts are posted on "gq" website. after candidate barack obama gave a blistering speech against his administration, president bush fumd thed. another quote -- if bs was currency, joe biden would be a billionaire. we tried several times for responses and got none. no one at president bush's office responded it our repeat the calls and e-mail. a former counselor to president bush tells us that recollections don't ring true to him. >> it's possible he was at meetings with the president i want in. i don't recall that. the fact is president bush has been nothing but gracious toward president obama and vice president biden. >> reporter: president bush wasn't too impressed with the

republican ticket either. after sarah palin was tapped as john mccain's running mate, bush said -- >> the notion he didn't know who sarah palin was flat out is not the case. >> that sentiment oechoed by a former bush aid. he said that latimer was not a significant figure at the white house. we tried to get reaction to that from matt lattimer's representative. she pointed us to some general praise of the book by various pundits and we're told that lattimer would not do interviews until his book is released next week. >> i'm heidi collins. "cnn newsroom" continues with tony harris. >> it's wednesday morning, the 16th day of september, top stories