hey there, everybody from the cnn center this is cnn saturday morning for september the 19th. here we are in atlanta. good morning to you, betty. >> good morning to you. >> you are awake and raring to go. >> i feel well rested for a change. >> for a change, it's difficult for this shift. thanks sofrp for being with us, the beginning of the new year for those in the jewish community. let's get to it.

denver, 23-year-old najibullah zazi, he's accused of planning attacks and increased security has turned up as a result of this investigation. homeland security note went out to transit authorities to be vigilant. dhs and fbi have no information on any specific targets. when it comes to this investigation, we are learning he has admitted ties to al qaeda and a lot of questions still surrounding it. >> this whole thing started september 11th in new york, homes were raided and they call them real deal terrorists, is the phrase authorities are using. we'll get in depth with the story it later this morning. are america's kids really -- >> it's an eye opener. >> do they not know some of the simplest things. we have a result of a survey of

high school students in a particular state but maybe this is a bigger problem. didn't know who the first president was. how many could name -- 77% of the kids surveyed weren't able to -- >> that means only 30% knew. >> 90% didn't know how many justices sat on the supreme court. we'll get into this survey. >> these are answers or questions a lot of people going through immigration in the u.s., 90% pass it. and these are kids in the u.s. in high school not able to answer it. we want to hear from you this morning. go to our facebook and twitter pages and give us a shout out. you can find us on our blog as well. facebook, twitter, cnn blog. we'll be reading your comments on the air. let's get to this right now. a lot at our top stories this

morning. >> lots of chanting there, competing rallies in iran's capital city of tehran thousands protested against mahmoud ahmadinejad. the anti-government demonstrators are upset over iran's highly protested presidential election. police investigating the disappearance of ha leigh cummings they are draining a pond in florida. standing by to bring us any news. she was being watched from a baby sitter when taken from her mobile home. ahead of next weekend's national election and following a threat on the internet by al qaeda. according to security officials, internet video warns about

attacks on german soil if they don't in a party that supports pulling troops out of afghanistan. we have new developments in the alleged terror plot we found out about. >> intelligence officials found video of new york's grand central station with the main suspect who is an afghan national living in colorado. homeland security correspondent has been taking a look at this investigation. >> reporter: for days he denied he had any link to al qaeda. an administration official says zazi has now admitted ties to al qaeda. the government is exploring what kind of charges it might be able to bring against him and a plea agreement is a possibility down the road. we do not know what kind of information he is sharing, but on friday night, a homeland security note went out to transit authorities and law ens force. . we don't know the specifics but a statement said in part, while

dhs and the fbi have no information regarding the timing, location or target of any planned attack, we believe it is prudent to remind transit authorities to remain vigilant. for days law enforcement officials have been saying they felt it was the real deal. genuine terrorist plot. cnn, denver. >> i also spoke with a former fbi agent who's now a member of new york's joint terrorism task force and asked her about why the main suspect has still not been arrested. >> when do we keep investigating and disrupt the plan? before 9/11 they may have gone longer and kept investigating. post 9/11 the cheer marching orders are disruption, disruption, disruption. we cannot take a chance. if they suspect something they would rather disrupt it then let

it go on and have some americans or citizens in the u.s. get injured. this may be a disruption angle. may still be continuing their investigation interviewing and collecting other pieces of information and seeing where it leads them. >> zazi is supposed to continue talking to police for a fourth day. about 8:30 this morning we'll continue to follow the story. we want to know what you think about the top stories, e-mail us. weekends at cnn.com. we have a blog at cnn.com/betty or t.j. we'll be reading the responses on the air. a lot happening weatherwise this weekend. it's supposed to be wet a hot of places, including here in atlanta. >> i have a feeling i know where reynolds is, it may be an auburn football game. >> do you think? >> want to show you the mess we

have right now, we have an area of low pressure situated way back here with lots of the moisture coming up tapping the gulf moisture. this has been in place for three or four days now and really hasn't moved. that's why the ground is so saturated. out of the memphis, tennessee area, that doesn't look so bad. but they were saying in some places it was two feet thick. overpasses we saw the worst situation there. neighborhoods are really struggling with the rainfall. in nashville, you're about to pick up more here. that i have seen almost eight inches of rainfall for the month. what would be typical would be 2.5 inches of rain. let's show you what we and as we go into the next 48 hours. that heaviest precipitation will be situated right across north central alabama where they also have picked up very significant rainfall. and in our forecast doesn't move a whole lot, but very hot

weather across the northern plains. we'll be back in 30 minutes or so. >> as the debate over health care reform continues in washington, one amputee is fighting to get his prosthetics paid for. >> he lost his legs when he was 16 in a boating accident. now in an uphill fight to get his legs full hi covered by insurance. we'll be talking to him again here coming up and see about his new crusade. >> did you see this? are you smarter than our very own wolf blitzer? >> wolf? >> who is andy warhol. >> on the board with $400. >> didn't get much more than the 400. >> we'll show highlights. >> things don't go so well. canopy egyptian cotton sheets are designed

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wow, we are rocking out to head games by foreigner today. >> obviously vienna is back from vacation. >> speaking of head games, our wolf blitzer controlled the situation room, on jeopardy, a little bit of a different story. didn't go so well. take a look. >> since 1990 he's covered every major story for cnn, including the 1991 gulf war and hurricane

katrina. here's the host of "the situation room" jourmist wolf blitzer. >> king david and jesus both hailed from this town? >> what is jerusalem? >> no. >> ab an accused person in court along with his counsel. >> what is a defendant? >> no. >> what is exserpted. >> what is a crash? >> no. >> that is so wrong. we gave only the low lights. wolf did answer several questions, he was playing for charity. the american cancer society. ended with a negative 4,600, which means he's probably writing his own personal check. despite his performance -- charity gets $25,000. wolf blitzer, it can be tough. it's "jeopardy".

>> it sounds like one thing. i'm not giving him a hard time. con grat lagss. good thing it was only for charity. >> different situation apparently. just teasing, wolf. we love you. >> we're going to stay with our team. we've been talking a lot about the make or break time we're in with health care. on wednesday this week, the big health story max bacchus. >> everyone had been waiting. on the same day there was another health care story happening of vital importance to some 2 million americans, to drop caps on prosthetics. here's the face on this issue. >> t.j., betty, good morning, we're talking about men and women, young and old who have come to washington wanting change when it comes to health care. and they say arms and legs are not a luxury.

>> good to see you, sir. >> reporter: as the debate over health care reform rages on in washington. >> charles just let you off -- >> come up to washington. >> fighting for a cause close to home. jordan is a bilaterally amputee, lost his legs in a boating accident when he was 16. >> my dad jumped in the water immediately and held me afloat. i remember looking up and saying, dad, my feet are gone. >> reporter: jordan met children who couldn't afford expensive prosthetics. my legs are $24,000 and a lot of companies put caps and touf pay the rest. >> reporter: the then 16-year-old started the jordan thomas foundation to help disadvantaged kids like know wa get the prosthetics they need. >> you like the knee? >> yeah, how does it work? >> just like that. and you can do this -- watch.

>> reporter: taking noah's story to the next level. >> you're pounding down the doors? >> trying to get a hold of some of them and raising awareness. that's the thing about the amputee deal. it's not a red state or blue state deal, it's an ethical deal. >> reporter: jordan is taking the hard-hitting questions -- >> what do you do to ensure the amputees have access to the best possible people -- >> reporter: hoping lawmakers will listen and follow through. >> there is an awareness level that is hugely raised when someone like him is here. >> reporter: taking their message to the u.s. senate, the same day that senator max bacchus released the road map to health care reform. >> we want legislation that will eliminate the cap so that amputees across the united states have access to the types of devices that allow them to function every day.

>> there are 2 million amputees nationwide, jordan is simply one of them taking on congress, step by step. >> it's a no brainer. >> amputees nationwide have to wait and see if there's any kind of language in the proposed hegd care bill that will include full coverage for people with pros nettics. in the meantime they are hoping it will raise awareness. >> i talked with former majority leader tom daschle what he thinks of health care plans. he is advising the president and first choice for health and human services secretary. this is an issue he knows inside and out. you'll see the interview in 30 minutes. >> what would do you if someone tried to rob the bank you were in? well surveillance video captured a customer at a bank fighting off a would-be robber. >> it's the end of ramadan and

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♪ all right, school year just starting up. got a bit of a test. you should know all of the answers to the questions we'll be asking here. these questions were given to a thousand public high school students in oklahoma. this was a study that was commissioned by this oklahoma council on public affairs. the questions they pulled are from the citizenship test people have to take. the results from students that lived their entire lives here, a little scary. >> not nearly as high as results from immigrants that took the citizenship test. >> take a look here some of the questions and the percent of students that got the answers right. folks. numbers of supreme court justices, just a few knew the answer. the writers of the declaration of independence, didn't get that one right either. over 100 kids got these

questions right. you see them there, the two parts of congress, as much as we talk about this in the news. >> there's no passing amount here, percentage point when it comes to students. the largest i've seen is the 61% right here and that is what ocean is on the east coast of the united states. they seem to get in a. at atlantic ocean. only 23% knew the first president was george washington. abraham lincoln and thomas jefferson did pretty well there. >> not -- none of students got all ten of answers right. the best score we're told is seven out of ten. only six students did that. >> six. >> it appears some kids and kids will be kids sometimes, didn't take this too seriously. 5% said that barack obama was the first president. maybe they didn't hear it right. >> maybe they read the question wrong. >> 7% said that barack obama wrote the declaration of independence. >> no way! that's crazy. >> not taking it seriously.

and 2% said it was written by michael jackson. who knows if this is a good way -- if this is a good way to test -- maybe it doesn't mean something. we'll talk about this later with steve perry, you know the name and face and know his voice as well. a big part of our black in america 2 series, take no junk principle, he's going to be here to talk about it a little later. >> we've got a lot coming up, including some of your top stories as well. >> take a look at some of knows. investigators uncovered another bone in phillip garrido's property. they rs released photos of the inside of the garrido home, which they have condemned as being unsafe. garrido and his wife are in jail charged with 29 felony counts in connection with the 1991 kidnapping of jaycee dugard.

linking garrido to dispaerpss of two other girls. >> repairs to a high school track field, three schools evacuated yesterday after students began complaining of nausea and headache and foul odor. it was caused by a substance that was put on the artificial turf and say the fumes are not toxic. >> this is a customer near milwaukee takes down a suspected bank robber. >> oh, my. >> take a look at how this is going down. you see the robber trying to walk up to the front there. and the guy apparently didn't want his money stolen that day. first video we're seeing of this. the suspect did not make it out with any cash. after the man jumped on him his wife and other customers helped hold him down until police got there. >> it's kind of nice to know somebody like that would take the time or put themself in harm's way to at least protect

everybody's interest here. >> especially his wife. >> definitely a hero for somebody to do that. today's day and age, you never know what's going to happen. >> it takes a hero to do that. and it takes a lot of guts. >> you see him. he scaled the ropes -- >> and obviously the police would not recommend that you do this. things worked out here. this is a case where your money in the bank is ensured. whatever he steals, you're going to get it back. >> fdic insured. you're good. >> the guy didn't get away. if convicted the suspect could get 40 years in prison. >> that is quite a sight. let's talk about this for a second, the jewish holiday of rosh hashanah is underway as we speak. >> josh tells us what it's been and how it's celebrated. >> this is fun, a little rosh hashanah 101. you can see the words there.

rosh hashanah, it means the beginning of the year. this is the date on which in the jewish lunar calendar you advance to the next year. check out this website, it points out what year it is. this will begin 5770. a couple more facts for you here, it's known as the day of judgment. and this begins the ten days of pen tans which end yom kippur. around the world there are 14 million jews according to the latest estimates, and according to the cia world fact book, just under a quarter of 1% of the world's population. you can see happy new year. it is a happy holiday or try it in hebrew. shana tovah. one tradition is dipping apples in honey. we have video of a family doing

that, celebrating rosh hashanah. >> a lot of information here. back to you. >> thank you, josh. president obama may be on tv more than your favorite talk show host this weekend. a look at his whirlwind of interviews this weekend. >> including one with our very own john king and the president has interesting comments on race. you don't want to miss that. about which pain reliever ns is right for your body. tylenol 8 hour works with your body, with one layer that dissolves quickly... ...one layer that lasts all day ...and no layers that irritate your stomach the way that ibuprofen can. it's tough on your body pain. not on your body. to get out of those tubs? when we want. when we're in the mood. it's our choice. announcer: today, guys with erectile dysfunction can be ready with another dosing option from cialis.

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hello and welcome back everybody to cnn saturday morning show. >> hello to you all, i'm t.j. hoemsz. >> federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the purchase of merrill lynch. that's according to a north carolina newspaper. you'll remember that lynch was bought by bank of america around this time last year.

a spokesman declined to comment and cnn has not been able to confirm that investigation is indeed under way. the colorado man at the center of an alleged terror plot had video of new york's central terminal in his possession. they also say that the afghan national who's name is najibullah zazi admitted to having ties to al qaeda. he has not yet been arrested but is expected to speak sometime later this morning. we're learning more about the suspect in the killing of yale university graduate student annie le. ray clark was the prime suspect even before le's body was found. he was arrested thursday and being held on a $3 million bond. her body was found sunday, the day she was to be married she had been strangled and her body stuffed behind the basement wall of an off campus laboratory. if you think you're seeing president obama in the media a

lot? get ready, you'll be seeing more of him. >> a lot this weekend, the president determined to get out and sell his health care reform. >> reporter: betty, t.j., a think we're hering this week is barack obama talking too much when it comes to health care reform? it was just a month ago some people were criticizing the president for not talking enough, laying low on vacation while the town halls got tons of coverages in the media. mr. obama has been everywhere. it started with a prime time address in front of the nation to a joint session of congress. add to that two town hall health care rallies, and an appearance on "60 minutes", a speech at the largest union organization. there's more. tomorrow the president goes on five of the sunday talk shows and monday he joins david letterman. he's dave's only guest that

night. asked if the president was being overexposed? >> i think gone are the days where one outlet is where everyone gets their news or one medium is where everyone gets their news. i think this is just an attempt by the president to speak to as many different people as he can on an issue as important as something like health care reform or on afghanistan. >> reporter: where does mr. obama stand in the eyes of the public. 55% of the americans approve of how he's doing as president. now that 55% figure is higher than the approval rating for the president's health care plans. it seems mr. obama's personally more popular than his proposals.

betty, t.j.? >> it's a bit of a battle trying to get that pushed through. >> among all those interviews he's doing, i can't believe he's not stopping by our show. >> you would think. >> if you want to get your message out, this is where you come. >> isn't that something? >> you have an open invitation any time you want. >> he is doing some cnn, doing this other show we have. >> john king, state of the union comes on around sunday, 9:00ish. >> john pretaped an interview and asked the president if racism is playing a role in the criticism leveled against him. >> in recent weeks people have raised some pretty serious questions, the big rally talking about afro socialism, you lie shouted at you and former president carter says he sees racism in some of this. do you? >> you know, as i've said in the

past you know, are there people out there who don't like me because of race? i'm sure there are. that's not the overriding issue here. i think there are people who are anti-government. i think there are -- there's been a longstanding debate in this country that is usually that much more fierce during times of transition. when presidents are trying to bring abit big changes. the things said about fdr similar to what is being said about me. things about ronald reagan when he was trying to reverse some of the new deal programs were pretty vicious as well. >> well, that interview airs tomorrow morning on state of the union with john king at 9:00 a.m. eastern. we want to know what you think about our top stories, you can

e-mail us or go to the facebook and twitter pages. we have a blog at cnn.com/newsroom, we'll read your replies on the air. >> weather to tell you about. look at that water that is not weather related. what you're seeing here -- this is in maryland, a shot of a water main break. 72-inch pipe that burst at a baltimore suburb and just flooded the streets. you can see how this is going for the residents there. not a weather related issue. what you're seeing here now is a live picture. they are working throughout the night trying to get this thing dop. it first burst yesterday afternoon. people have been told to stay in your homes for the time being. they are trying to get this mess cleaned up. it's one thing when it's

weather-relate zbld there were no injuries but people were trapped in their homes. no injuries, no medical emergencies but they did rescue a couple of people. you can imagine that part of a road washed out. >> just a mess. >> let's take the live shot again, we can look at or maybe the pictures from the area. there are about 800 homes that were reportedly without power overnight because of these severe main break that we did see. speaking of severe weather, take a look at atlanta, we've got this live picture. boy, love to be on top of the cnn center taking a picture of that long exposure shot with the fog and low visibility. we have a tropical air mass in place that that's wreaked a lot of havoc and so has this button. but nonetheless, we're seeing quite a few flash flood watches all the way from nashville towards memphis, including the

metro-atlanta area where days and days of wet weather. memphis, by the way over the last couple of days, has seen about three or four inches of rain. nashville for the month almost eight inches of rainfall. and the temperatures are exceptionally cool. i want to point out what's happening across the northern tier. billings montana, love those beautiful places across the west. they are going to be hot today. temperatures upper 80s, low 90s. want to mention also for california starting tomorrow, there's going to be a strong offshore flow. so the fire danger is going to be great there again as we look into the forecast. until nen the heavy rain across the deep south and for auburn football, looks like it could be on the soggy side. >> texas and texas tech. >> there you go. >> we'll see how that goes down. >> okay.

she is a pioneer in the military taking charge of the army's order barking drill sergeant and her story is coming up. another story about michael jackson and his estate, his mother could possibly contest the estate. new information coming out and new information we just got about how much she is getting per month to take care of his three children. et congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. to dry a third faster than ordinary towels. so they spend less time in the dryer and more time where you really want them. canopy home furnishings. available at walmart.

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♪ all right, well the lady you're about to meet, not backing down at all. she's a new leader of the army's drill sergeant and she is a female. command sergeant major theresa king takes over at the school there in fort jackson, south carolina on tuesday. >> a 48-year-old north carolina native. one of 12 children, credits shir share cropper father's strong discipline for her to work hard and take no short cuts. she's completed one masters degree in business management and working on another inolo

theology. correcting them in a matter that they are wanting to please her and do the right thing. >> here's top stories, we're learning from court documents that michael jackson's estate will provide his moermg caring for his three children an allowance of $86,000 a month. that's a lot of change right there. 13,000 of that for each child's monthly entertainment in related expenses. 13,000? that's a lot of movies. 3500 a month for clothing for katherine jackson. mrs. jackson was granted custody of the three kids since after his death and control of the estate's assets have been given to a lawyer and former music executive. she can challenge the men who can control the estate if she liked. she has the option to challenge the estate. so maybe this whole thing is not over just yet.

and her late son's estate not quite settled like we thought it might be after the judge did rule about the kids and custody. >> i have a feeling the saga will continue for a little while. seven former cia directors calling on president obama to stop the criminal investigation of people involved in the ci a's harsh interrogation of suspected terrorists. eric holder decided to reopen the investigation following the 9/11 attacks and the former cia chief said the investigation qd in continuous jeopardy and may keep other governments from cooperating with the u.s. >> a north carolina man can breathe a whole lot easier today after doctors remove a piece of plastic from his left lung. there it is. came from where -- wendies fast food spoon. he thinks he accidentally inhaled it while eating too quickly. he claims he was sick for two years before doctors figured out

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everybody is watching closely to figure out what's going to happen with health care reform. well there's one man who knows the issue of health care inside and out and has the ear of the president. he was almost the president's health and human services secretary. didn't work out for him. i got to speak to him on "american morning" yesterday. tom daschle. >> when it comes to how much help there is for the states and middle class as they try to buy insurance, we're probably going to have to address the figures. there's a growing connecticsens have room to address the figures successfully. you'll see the numbers tweaked

over the next few days. >> you say tweaked, that sounds more expensive. how much more expensive are we talking about? >> within the realm of the budget. we've got over several billion dollars to deal with here. most of those resources will go into making insurance more affordable for more people. >> you've been looking. there are five bills out there that are thousands and thousands of pages, we have a general idea of the bills. this particular bill does not have the public option in it. we have some saying a democrat was here with us yesterday saying this one is dead on arrival. how does this bill move us forward if you have a democrat even saying this bill doesn't have a chance in heck if it does not have the public option in? >> the prospects for a public option are different in the house than they are in the senate. a calculation has been made that the votes aren't there today. i think perhaps before the end of the process you'll have some

votes, probably on some form of a public option either in committee or on the senate floor. then we'll now. clearly we've got to move forward and that's what the democrats and some republicans are trying to doxt find what common ground we can. we'll find fought that includes a public option or not. >> you say there will be an up or down vote at some point. is there hope that democrats will then, stake their position and vote together, no matter what the public debate is like, hoping maybe once it does come to the floor that democrats will get together and this might have to be a partisan bill? >> this is a test of governance. we're facing one of biggest challenges domestically with health reform. democrats are in the clear majority and the house and senate. we've got to perform and get the job done. i think you'll see democrats

coalescing around a final version that gives us the unity we need to do the job within the next few weeks. >> before i let go. let me ask you about the president. you have the ear of the president and he has your ear as well. tell us. he has said several things publicly, will the president sign a bill that does not have the public option? >> he'll wait and see until the final product is delivered. he'll look at everything, whether there's a public option, he and i both strongly support. he'll look at the whole package and make a decision at that time. >> he's going to be doing a whole lot of television this weekend. is that good or bad? does the president maybe -- he's playing off his personal popularity but is he running a risk here of overexposing? >> he's our best spokesperson and now is the time. nowreally his best opportunity

to make the case to the american people using the media and talking to members of congress and talking to groups as he did yesterday on a university campus, he's doing everything he can to ensure that we've not left one stone unturned. >> i know i've got to let you go. he talks about my plan. what he has right now, his suggestions, do you think he needs to send a bill that says health care by barack obama instead of leaving it to them to put something together. >> we have three in the house and two in the senate. >> do we need his? >> we'll have his and he's working to make sure it's his by the end of the day. he's going to work with the congress to deliver a bill that's both his and the congress and that's the way it should be. >> well, republicans are launching a new counter attack against the president's push for health care reform. speaking on the gop's weekly radio and web address, congresswoman sue my rick spoke

about her battle with cancer. took six doctors and three mammograms and one ultrasound before her cancer was located. that process took a few weeks but would have taken far longer had she lived in a nation with government-run health care. replacing your current health care with a government run system is not the answer. these so-called health care reform bills have different names, a public option, a co-op, a trigger. make no mistake, these are all gate ways to government-run health care. for small business owners, these proposals mean higher taxes at a time when unemployment is nearing 10%. and analysts are predicting any kind of recovery will be a jobless one. as a former small business owner, i can tell you from experience, this is the worst possible time to be imposing new

job killing taxes. in fact, the nation's largest small business association found the health care tax increases being proposed could lead to the elimination of more than 1.6 million jobs. >> myrick warns the proposals being considered could lead to massive medicare cuts. >> president obama sitting down with john king. you can get the full story on state of the union 9:00 eastern time. >> i have to talk about my dallas cowboys this weekend, they are opening their new home in arlington. more of a football palace than anything. and the price tag? over a billion dollars. but most people want to talk about the texas sized television screen. we'll show it to you next. you've worked all your life.

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♪ >> the theme song from dallas. >> that's my wake up sound in the morning. >> is that right? >> not really. >> why are we playing this music? >> this is a little bit much. the new football stadium. this thing is impressive, no doubt about it. >> for a guy who loves to watch tv to say this screen a little bit much, you would love one of these at your house. >> if you haven't heard about this controversy, a big old screen at texas stadium. >> arlington, texas, they are set to play the first regular season game there this sunday. it wasn't enough to have 72,000 seats and 300 luxury suites, but

ed shows us the center piece we've been talking about, this television screen is causing a bit of a problem on the field. >>. >> reporter: welcome to what's been called jerry's world, jerry jones, the owner of the dallas cowboys, a stadium that cost more than $1.2 billion. it's where hard-nosed football meets swanky high life. even a newspaper columnist and talk show host can't criticize the stadium. >> building a monument to himself. you walk in and go, i mean it is amazing. by the way, that jerry jumbotron is really what touch it's off. >> reporter: talking about the grand daddy of all score boards back to back screens in high definition, 72 feet tall. 160 feet wide. the video board uses 30 million light bulbs and stretches the length of the field.

this will be like an altar for coach potatoes to fall to their knees and worship on football sundays. >> i can't believe this is like as big -- bigger than life. >> reporter: during one of cowboys preseason game, a punter for the titans kicked the ball in the bottom of the score board. in the time it took for the ball to fall back to earth, the sports world erupted in laughter. how could you not know the ball could hit the score board. >> it is radio gold. newspaper gold. i got five newspaper columns out of it. and about -- two or three days of radio shows out of it. >> reporter: it turns out the cowboys did nothing wrong. nfl rules say the score board must be 85 feet above the field. this screen is 90 feet high. >> we've been in close talks with the nfl throughout the process and determining the heighth. a lot of study went into it. >> reporter: some coaches want the score board raised but it stays put for now.

if the ball hits the screen during the game, they'll have a do-over. >> reporter: it is amazing to take in how massive the score board is dangling in the middle of the stadium. you know somewhere in america there are men sitting around and plotting of ways to get something like this into their garage. cnn, arlington, texas. hello, everybody from the cnn center in atlanta georgia, this is cnn saturday morning, i'm t.j. holmes. >> good morning, how are you doing? >> good morning. we should mention this. it is a nice little get up you have on today. >> thank you, you look pretty daper yourself. >> my tie looks weak to what you have on. >> good morning in your robes perhaps, happy rosh hashanah for those in the jewish community and we do appreciate you

starting the day with us. one of things we'll talk about a lot is this investigation, including a denver man, 24 years old, najibullah zazi, admitted ties to al qaeda. here's what he's been accused of. planting attacks on u.s. transportation systems and because of that a large scale investigation is under way. and the they have called this a real deal. >> when you talk about transit and subways and rail -- that is scary stuff, not the kind of security of going through an airport. >> because of that, some of the transit places across the u.s., mainly in the new york area where this was targeted, have been put on high alert. >> another story, you've been seeing this video, a corn having issues right now. this video we're showing you here because that fake pimp and prostitute went in and did undercover video of being

advised by a.c.o.r.n. workers how they could skirt the law. it could cost you if you're looking for a house. details just ahead. let's get you the top stories. here they are. listen to this. that is the sound of thousands of iranians protesting against mahmoud ahmadinejad, a war of security forces holding them back. thousands more cheered the leader during the annual probe palestinian rally. the anti-government demonstrators are upset over the highly contested presidential election. stop the investigation, that's the message from seven former cia agents to president obama. eric holder decided to reopen the investigation.

the former cia chief says the investigation would put officers in continue jus jeopardy. >> germany beefing up security ahead of the national election that is following a threat on the internet by al qaeda. warns about attacks on german soil if the german people don't vote in a party that supports pulling troops out of afghanistan. we also have new developments to tell you about in the alleged terror plot we first opened with. we've been following it this week out of new york. >> federal officials say they found video of new york's central terminal with the main suspect, who is an afghan national living in colorado. homeland security correspondent taking a closer look at the investigation. >> reporter: t.j. and betty, people around the country can expect to see increased security around transit, the home lapd security department sent out a

memo to be vigilant. they put out a statement which said in part, while dhs and the fbi have no information regarding the timing, location or target of any planned attack, we believe it is prudent to remind transit authorities to remain vigilant. now this notice to transit authorities went out after three days of questioning of zazi, the afghan national from denver who traveled to new york last weekend trigger aid series of raids here in new york and denver and talked of an alleged terror plot. we're told by administration official familiar with the matter that zazi admitted to having ties with al qaeda and the government is now exploring what kinds of charges it might be able to bring against them. there is also the possibility that down the road there could some be some kind of plea agreement. for several days law enforcement officials have been saying they believe zazi and whoever was working with him represented a genuine threat. that this was the real deal in

terms of terrorism alert. the fact he has admitted to having ties to al qaeda would seem to substantiate that claim. >> the rain, it just keeps pouring here in the southeast. i don't know how many days we've seen of constant rain. >> karen, how many days? >> i think there have been five straight days where some precipitation has occurred. t.j. and betty, we were in a drought for five years. now they are seeing drought conditions all across minnesota. they are saying the soybean is turning yellow there because it is so very dry. take a look at the precipitation we're looking at over the next 48 hours or so. and the kind of bulls eye areas of northern alabama and into south central sections of tennessee where some areas have seen an excessive amount of wet weather over the last week or so. in nashville, that i have seen just about eight inches. these pictures are coming out of

memphis, tennessee. take a look at the water up to the hub caps, saying in some places it's two feet deep. they saw 3 or 4 inches of rainfall. the ground is saturated and they really need another round of wet weather like a hole in the head. area of low pressure situated here keeps things soggy. for the west coast, we'll start to see an offshore flow. that ups the fire danger significantly going into sunday and monday. back to you. >> all right. karen. we appreciate you. we'll talk to you again here shortly. a.c.o.r.n., they may soon take a huge financial hit after a series of undercover videos surfaced. you probably have seen some of them. this has caused such a stir, they want to yank federal funding. this is because a guy going in a fake pimp with his fake prostitute got on tape apparently so acorn workers

trying to give them advice on how to essentially break the law. more from abby with the cnn special investigations unit. >> reporter: it wasn't even close, by a 345 to 75 vote, the house of representatives voted to kill all federal funding for the community organizing group, a.c.o.r.n. >> trying to claim that they are cleaning up their act. but i think it's too little, too late. >> reporter: it wasn't just republicans, 172 democrats also voted to defund a.c.o.r.n. an indication of the deep wounds inflicted by hidden camera videos. >> your business is a performing artist, which you are. okay, so you're not lying. >> reporter: video that's show workers offering help and advice to conservative activist posing as a pimp and prostitute. the damage control effort has included saying the tapes were doctored and threatened to sue

the film makers and ordered an independent investigation. >> i immediately took swift action and i said, you know what, we're going to look at this. we're going to make a review from top to bottom so this thing never happens again. we worked too hard to have some trumped up thing like this happen. >> reporter: the newest tape shows an acorn worker in national city near san diego advising the undercover film makers how to get underage sex workers over the border from mexico. >> this is confidential, right? >> yeah. >> the worker was just trying to deal with the quote, bizarre and challenging situation. and that he was playing along with o keifer to get information, which according to acorn he passed on to his cousin who is a detective with the national city police department. now this video released by an acorn worker in philadelphia. she says she reported the couple to the police.

>> it appears mr. o kooef lied to get his appointment. not dressed like egs on the internet. when we got suspicious about the questions he was asking, we called the police and filed this report. >> reporter: there are other cases where acorn workers say the videos didn't show the full story. this worker seen on one video claiming to have killed her ex-husband in self-defense. >> then i picked up the gun and said [ bleep ] and i shot him and he died right there. >> reporter: but theresa tells cnn she was just playing games. her ex-husband is just fine. >> he's alive and well. >> reporter: and local police confirm that. >> coming on top of earlier tapes which show acorn workers bending over backwards, questions about whether the tapes were taken legally, doctored or even deliberately misleading seem to have been drown out in the clammer. cnn, atlanta.

the fall out could affect more than just acorn. how the whole mess could come home to you, especially if you're in the market to buy a house. >> you'll hear from the president this morning as he pushes for the reform of the rules that govern financial restorm. (announcer) for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be use more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. we had a great day, grandpa! we sure did.

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i think we were in a car commercial. ♪ yeah ♪ yeah. so federal funding isn't the only thing acorn could lose.

they receive substantial state funding and number of politicians are lining up calling for that to go next. her words seem to be falling on deaf ears. take a look at this. >> i will clean this house. it is being done now. and here's what i would like. i'll come back in three months and you can look at what we've done. >> acorn is trying to claim that they are cleaning up their act, but i think it's too little, too late. >> okay and while acorn takes a hit, over non-profit housing agencies worry they will feel the backlash. how can these other organizations be hurt by all of this essentially? >> you can see acorn is in a tough position right now. they get the federal dollars and there's a lot of other organizations that do similar work. now you're going to be scrutinized to let you know how important the front line is when

you have this type of organization. >> when it comes to homeowners, how does this affect them? >> you have to look at it. an organization like acorn, they have housing counseling for prepurchase as well as post purchase. we've seen what the housing market is doing. what the industry is doing as a whole is so important because a lot of them provide down payment assistance for money to provide homes for people. >> so if these organizations could be hurt by this whole acorn fallout, where do people go who need that kind of assistance then? >> i think there's a lot of organizations out there. we want them to keep their money and make sure they are doing the right thing. hud.gov, you can go there and find out the counseling agency that's provide the type of assistance. >> when you go there, what type of agencies will you finds? what type of benefits will you receive? >> you'll ee organizations like cccs, neighbor works, some of those organizations we talked

about in the past. a lot of the organizations will let you know they provide down payment assistance and housing counseling, all of things you're looking for. they'll tell you by organization where they are located and address and you can find out what they have to help. a lot of organizations give money to help with down payment assistance. >> there's a whole list of these organizations, help us whitle it down. you're our financial expert. which ones do you like? >> i always go to the national organizations, neighbor works provides a lot of help and support in other organizations that fall beneath it. you also have organizations like cccs, always been a favorite of mine,ener a national house and housing counseling and post and pre-home buying counseling and foreclosure piece is so important right now. i would look at the national organization and ask around. a lot of the organizations will then direct you to other organizations that may help you as well. >> as always, we appreciate your time and effort in helping people out there looking to buy

a home. >> always a pleasure. >> we'll be breaking down health care reform with josh levs. >> it's the next big step in the battle over health care. what is in and not in the bacchus health plan? we'll show you. snapping up hotels left and right. her little brother-- not so much. then she did something nice and i pretended not to notice. i knew she'd want it that way. man: roll the dice. girl: family moments cost less at walmart. monopoly championship edition and other hasbro games at unbeatable prices. save money. live better. walmart. at unbeatable prices. now your card comes with a way to plan for what matters to you. introducing blueprint. blueprint is free and only for chase customers. it lets you choose what purchases you want to pay in full to avoid interest...with full pay. and those you split... you decide how to pay over time.

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well, senator max bacchus unveiled his health care reform plan this week. >> one of the much-awaited documents in washington. it's five different bills out there now. this was the one everybody thought would get bipartisan support. josh takes us through some of the bill's specifics. >> as soon as the bacchus health care plan was posted we immediately started break teenager down for you. right now you can read it and see what was pulled out about some of the key points from the plan. we have some points for you right here on this screen. let's take a look at this. it would cost 8 $56 billion over ten years and would establish mandatory coverage by 2013 there's no public plan but it does establish the non-profit cooperatives instead. there would be under this some new protections involving preexisting conditions.

and that is one of biggest changes a lot of people have been looking for in and of itself. that would be a change in the way health care operates in america if the law is changed, the way insurance companies have to handle preexisting conditions. two major points to look at. some of the most controversial issues, this is about using federal funds for abortion. what it says here is that there would be these funds available for abortions in cases of rape or incest or mother is in danger. it does also say and some people point to this, qualified health plans able to participate in the system under the plan could still provide funds for other types of abortions. abortions in other situations but federal funds would not be used toward those. i want to go to this, illegal immigrants, would not be allowed to buy insurance. they may however buy insurance for their children if the children are here legally or in

fact could be u.s. citizens here. it also says it will require verification of personal data. that's something we hear debated a lot. will the rules be strict enough or not strict enough to keep illegal immigrants out of the system. it's all right here for you to take a look at at cnn.com/healthcare. back to you. more information coming out about the suspect in the killing of yale university graduate annie le. the police chief in new haven, connecticut says ray clark was the prime suspect before le's body was found. clark is being held on a $3 million bond. now, le's body was found sunday, the day she was to be married and she had been strangled and her body stuffed behind the basement wall of an off campus laboratory. a north carolina man can breathe easier today. it's easier when you remove a

piece of plastic from your lung. that's the piece, came from -- where else? but a spoon. wendy's, you know the stuff is so delicious and you can't help yourself. >> so you inhale the spoon. >> -- i've seen you handle challenges here and there. he says he was sick for two years before doctors figured out what was wrong. >> as we pointed out earlier, that is not the part of the spoon that you put in your mouth. that is the handle of the spoon. what went on there while he was eating? >> they got the 99 cent menu, maybe that baked potato. >> he was taking it all in. a good thing they got part of it out. >> this morning the president discussing a need for a consumer financial protection agency. >> this was in his weekly address to the nation. the president stressed the importance of new financial reform rules on wall street. >> to protect our economy and people from another market

meltdown, our government needs to fundamentally reform needs to meet the challenges of the 21st century. we can't allow the thirst for recless extremes that produce executive bonuses to override the security of our entire financial system and leave taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up the mess. as the world's largest economy we must lead not just by word but by example, understanding in the 21st century, financial kris ease no no borders, all of us need to act more responsible by on behalf of a better economic future. >> the president also continued to work with world leaders in pittsburgh, building on the progress to help stop the dmoebal reglobal recession. the values voter summit, today they are discussing president obama's health care plan. coming up in the 8:00 hour of cnn saturday morning, we'll be talking about that. >> the president is working on

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♪ ♪ >> that's really energized us this morning. brass monkey by the beasty boys. >> i can't dance. >> save that for later. >> another animal, outfoxing residents while snatching valuables out of the front yard. it's become tough on one golf fan attic. in steamboat springs. >> steam boat is a great community. >> reporter: and a town well known for one big thing. >> ski town. >> reporter: ask steamboat

residents. >> my love is golf. >> tom is obsessed with golf. >> short. >> so much so that rather than leave the game at the course. >> reporter: he built a green in his front yard. >> it's been his baby all along. >> reporter: every evening he would practice and every night -- he just would leave his golf balls on the green until -- >> we figured out they were getting swiped. >> reporter: by who? >> kind of scratched my head and thought my kids had their buddies would take the balls or something like that. >> reporter: day after day -- and morning after morning. >> then they started coming back every morning, the place would be cleaned out. >> reporter: until the numbers were starting to add up. >> we've probably gone through 70 or 80 golf balls. >> reporter: it was time to get to the bottom of this. one night they watched. >> i was just amazed. i was laughing so hard.

>> reporter: the thief was a hairless fox. >> we couldn't believe it. we thought, well, he's snatching one. >> reporter: a few minutes later turned into two. >> he has a mission going somewhere and taking them and returning quickly. >> reporter: well you start to get the picture of where this is going. >> there's nothing on the green in the morning. >> reporter: no golf balls but one big question, what does one fox do with 80 golf balls. >> i think he's thinking they are going to hatch and he is giving them a little time. >> reporter: in the ski town tom houck isn't the only one in love with golf. >> he has an obsession with golf balls. >> reporter: he might want to start keeping his clubs inside. >> he's a thief. >> reporter: in steamboat springs, 9 news. >> that's one way to clear the course of those golf balls. >> fine looking animal, isn't it? >> a hairless fox, don't think i've ever