first time last week. and here's some perspective on the big picture. econts say that the recovery won't really take hold until claims slip below 400,000. now, let's turn to the tax cuts. president obama's facing growing opposition of his own party. 31 democrats in the house demanding the bush era tax cuts be extended for all americans including the wealthy. the president said that the cuts should only be for those making less than $250,000 a year. >> right now, we could decide to extend tax relief for the middle class. right now, we could decide that every american household would receive a tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. once again, leader across the aisle are saying no. they want to hold these middle class tax cuts hostage until they get an additional tax cut

for the wealthiest 2% of americans. >> all right. break down how those numbers add up politically and economically. josh levs with a closer look. >> the 31 number is a big chunk of the democrats' lead in congress in the first place and keep in mind just because 31 people signed this doesn't mean only 31 democrats opposing it an enpart of the challenge now for the president an enothers on his side who are in supportive of his plan. look at a few numbers quickly. 31 democrats signing this letter asking the president to keep in place the tax cuts including for those wealthier americans. take a look at the overall break down in the house. you have 255 democrats in the house. 178 republicans. so right there, if you think about 31, a big chunk of the lead. up to and including half of the lead that the democrats have there in the house of representatives. over in the senate, this is the break down there. 57 democrats, 41 republicans and 2 independents. and it would take the 60 in order to continue to pass what the president is asking for here. so that is a challenge. now, this letter that we are

hearing about signed by four lawmakers. i think we have a picture of they are. four representatives today. jim matheson, jim beam and gary peters and heard from him earlier on "american morning." >> folks in the higher income brackets account for spending, 0% of the economy is consumer spending. demand is very soft on the consumer side. we want to make sure they're spending, creating demand. >> now, folks, i'll tell you you hear about the battles in congress and hard to figure out how it's going to apply to your life and i'll give you examples 0 of what we have done going to the tax policy center website. it's from the urban institute and brookings institution. plug in a bunch of information. this is what we found. if you have a couple; friendly neighborhood avatar couple to revisit from time to time.

if they have $57,000 and paying this much in taxes currently, $3,400. well, if the tax cuts expire, the ones you shou s under the b administration, they would be paying $2,000 more in taxes every year. there's a big chunk of change for this couple. we're hearing about the wealthy, those making more than $250,000. we jump way up. suddenly the couple making a heck of a lot of money, give them an income level near $400,000. if their current taxes at $100,000. see them go up about $6,000. so that's just a couple of examples there of how this could affect you and since we have time, toss in one more. one of the buzz words of this debate about your taxes, when's happening with this nation's economy right now and about this specifically, the president and his plan, millionaires. so i'm making this company millionaires as a last example here. with an income of $1.75 million, rolling in dough right now, taxes high, $573,000.

look at what would happen if the cuts expire, it goes up about $70,000. that right there is a good example of this kind of debate hearing about on both sides. some people saying leave that money in the private sector. they'll spend it or invest it. others say we have to do something. we have the debt. need to come back in somewhere. this is what you're hearing about and the whole debate, kyra, of tax cuts and the future of our economy. >> yeah. it affects all of us. that's for sure. josh, thanks. >> thanks. now let's fast forward to a couple events today. president obama's expected to talk more about the economy and jobs later this hour delivering remarks at the export council meeting at the white house at 9:45 eastern time. at the top of the hour, the government releases the annual poverty report. this year's numbers are expected to be a grim reflection of our lousy economy. the findings due to be announced about 10:00 eastern. we'll bring them to you. california's governor wants the white house to declare san

bruno a disaster after the horrific gas explosion and fire a week ago today. three people are still missing. four people were killed. and more than three dozen homes were completely destroyed. the feds are looking at the ruptured pipe to see what went wrong. but a consumer watchdog group has an idea of what we went wrong claiming that the utility pg&e planned to replace a section of the that pipeline about three years ago and raised rates on customers to pay for it but it didn't happen. the watchdog's lawyer told cnn's dan simon that the money was spent elsewhere. >> the money is spent on what they call higher priority work. >> reporter: what was that? >> well, you can't track the dollars one by one but we do know that they spent $62 million more on management incentive bonuses than they had forecasted

in 2009. >> and they're looking for another rate hike to replace that pipe in 2013. here's the utility's response to this. in this particular case, pg & e did feed if i this line section as being a high priority project. following that filing, pg & e performed an assessment and based on the assurance we rescheduled the project accordingly. we spent more on the gas transmission capital program than authorized for the period 2008-2009. dallas police seeking charges against three of their own officers because of a beating. it's started as a high-speed chase. you see the officers in hot pursuit of a motorcycle speeding through city streets. the blis car bumper taps the motorcycle. police chief brown says second later the video shows an officer

hitting the suspect with a baton. another uses the fists and knees. and that's just the part that we can see. a second dash cam reportedly turned away during the incident. the fbi's also conducting a civil rights investigation. the chase suspect is black. the accused officers are white. but the police chief say he doesn't believe that the officers were motivated by race. pope benedict 16 admits failings. now he is in the uk on a state visit. a trip that parked outrage because of the scandal. we are live there right after the break. hi.

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perhaps the strongest admission yet, pope benedict says that the catholic church not vigilant enough or fast enough in dealing with the priest/child sex abuse scandal. catholic news service says the pope made those remarks enroute to britain. the pope apparently facing head-on one of the biggest controversies surrounding his visit to the uk. he arrives today and was greeted by prince phillip and sat down for a meeting with the queen before traveling for an open air

mass. that's where we find our phil black now. phil, talk about the significance of the comments. >> reporter: yeah, well, kyra, this issue easily the greatest source of anger among those who oppose to pope's visit or the full state honors that he's been receiving since his arrival here today and spoking about this before and the comments among the strongest, the strongest language that he's ever used describing the sadness that the church says it feels over the allegations and interesting to see to what extent it diminishes or diffuses the rage, the unhappiness felt by many people here. there will be protests against the pope on this issue particularly in london. it's just a question of how big the protests will be. >> he's met with sex abuse victims before. do we know if he meets with them this time around? would it be made public? >> well, there's no official confirmation of this yet.

the church doesn't talk about that in advance and done it on every other recent international visit and broadly expected to do this and the church probably confirm it afterwards as another gesture of respect or sadness and contrition from the head of the catholic church but some abuse victims here have been clear in saying they're not interested in hearing more talk from the pope but they want sanction, action to bring perpetrators to justice and show greatest support and understanding to the victims of child abuse and institutions run by the church around the world. >> we'll definitely follow the visit. phil black, thanks so much. the cases of priest sex abuse against children stretches back decades all over the world. the pain and suffering is immeasurable. itn's penny marshal has the story of a british man looking for justice and an apology. >> no, it was the first time i've been back in 38, 39 years. >> reporter: graham is returning to the place where his childhood

and he believes his life was ruined. >> i feel emotional. something i have to do. i want the people in the world to know how we suffered at the hands of the abusers. >> reporter: those abusers were running a catholic children's home here and when gram here in 1970, he was a 14-year-old able-bodied schoolboy in their care. >> i have memories of this place will haunt me until i die. i had to come back here today not just for me but for all the other damaged children. all right graham's one of 155 men now suing the church for the trauma and the cruelty they suffered in the largest civil case of this kind in england. graham believes the abusers ruined not just his own life but that of hundreds of other boys.

now 52 and seriously ill, graham wants retribution. he and the fellow survivors have been fighting this case for six years and never had an apology. >> in my book, the catholic church are the most dishonest organization that i've ever come across in my life. they're making the suffering of these children tenfold more than if they recognize the damage they have done. this is him. james call ger. so smart. so sophisticated. and yet, the biggest abuser of children all right james is now in jail for multiple rape. the children's home he ran st. williams catered for particularly vulnerable boys. >> a little bay but look at the wheelchair. look at the push chair. >> reporter: boys like graham abandoned by his mother a few days old, a teenager in the care of the church, a church that failed him then and never said sorry. >> i do not believe they were

ever accept responsibility. and that's a message for the pope, as long as i live, i will haunt you. because we are haunted by a system which abused us, tortured us and annihilated all ethos of life. >> reporter: graham's past is full of sadness. his present is consumed by this fight for justice. his only hope for the future is an apology. >> we are still waiting to hear if and when pope ben did it will hold private meetings with the victims of sexual abuse. as phil black told us, the vat ran believed to be arranging the meetings and so far it hasn't happened. during its first year, the humpback calf and its mother

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. checking top stories now. 31 house democrats are defying their leadership over a plan to let tax cuts for the wealthy expire at the end of the year. president obama and party leaders only want to extend middle class cuts. california governor arnold schwarzenegger requesting a federal disaster declaration to cover costs in san bruno. four people were killed in the gas pipeline explosion and fire. the iowa egg farm at the center of the massive recall had previous problems. congressional investigators say hundreds of kays of salmonella contamination were found in a two-year period. sex for sale online. our own amber lyon has documented it. craigslist is promising lawmakers it will clean up the act. we are taking a look at what's being done now and whether it take makes a difference in the underworld of online sex trafficking.

pass pass

anti-human trafficking group calls craigslist the walmart of the online sex trade and now the website is going clean. the controversial adult services section is gone for good. and that's according to a craigslist official speaking at a house hearing. cnn's amber lyon was there. >> reporter: though they were invited to the hearing craigslist ceo and founder did not attend but sent a representative to testify before congress and he said craigslist has no intentions of reopening the adult services section. now, house members wanted to make sure that this was a permanent decision and they drilled this guy about it.

>> no amount of money will cause craigslist to reinstitute in another name in kind of site? >> i can't answer that directly because i'm not directly involved with the decision making process for that. >> i have already given you compliments for being a standard bearer for change but now i'm hearing that it might come back again. >> no, no. what i'm saying is we don't have any intention to bring that category back and that money is not a consideration. >> reporter: lawmaker and advocates say craigslist is more active in fighting sex traffic on the sites than other ads where the ads are now. they focused on craigslist because that sight was, quote, the 800-pound gorilla with the issue and going to expand the focus and go after the other sites, as well. amber lyon, cnn, washington. all right. check this out. severe hailstorm caught on tape in south central kansas.

brandon ivey had the camera rolling as hail pelted the windshield and then tornadoes nearby and toppled a tree and utility pole. blew trash into the highway. no injuries reported. here's someone out there with a camera to capture the crazy events. >> money to be made in that, you know? a nice piece of video and farm it out to various media outlets. >> make bucks for being dangerous. >> exactly. listen. that storm system, kyra, heading to the east a little bit now and seeing that comma shape. this is a fairly potent low for this time of year and folks who live in louisville, columbus, you may see more active weather throughout the day today. i think some of the storms refire through the afternoon as the cool front passes down to the south and east. this cool front back here, bringing some even cooler weather and starting to see the changes of the season and temperatures will start to feel a little bit more like -- well,

like fall. fall is also hurricane season. and this is when's going on with karl. tropical storm karl 65 miles an hour are the winds right now and with that it's moving off to the west at about 8 or 9 miles per hour. cruised through the yucatan as you can see and now into the bay of campeche and with this we expect it to strengthen to hurricane status and maybe even get to, you know, stron stronge a 1. they're thinking category 1 at the shoreline of northern mexico tomorrow night. they'll feel the affects tomorrow afternoon and then cruising through northern mexico. probably won't see an effect in south texas. you don't need the rain but right now not thinking to affect you too much. meanwhile, igor is still a category 4 storm. julia, a category 2. here's a 4. here's a 2. julia's not going to be a problem at all but igor is a bit of an issue, i think. i think we'll see it towards

bermuda and a small island. you know? if this thing tracks either side of it by 50 or 100 miles, that will be a lifesaver and we hope that happens but right now most of the computer models are tracking bermuda or tracking igor to get to bermuda in the day on sunday as a potentially still a category 2 storm so that's -- >> coming over to my world over here. >> i hear you have fun video with a favorite sport. >> you are a baseball fan. >> absolutely. >> do you have peanuts? >> absolutely. >> what about a peanut free zone? >> like a smoke free zone? >> exactly. >> who's instituting that? >> allergies, serious thing with kids. what do you think? peanut free zone. that's actually what the cleveland indians will try out. do you think it's fair? >> well, why not? i mean -- >> that's true. >> take care of the kids. serious stuff. >> allergies doubled between '97

and 2002 a. ten smell could cause a violent reaction. >> plus, you know, what do you do with the shells? throw them on the grund. >> good point. >> you throw them back into the nonpeanut free zone. >> i select it as far as it's relatively small. >> obnoxious fan free zone. wait. you would be in trouble. >> nobody would go to the game. >> you love screaming at the players. we'll see if it works and anybody complains. got to have peanuts at the ball game. >> pennant races in full bloom. god time to be a fn. >> talk to you in a little bit. thanks. >> you bet. today's focus is what on photographer earnest withers said. we'll look into reports that the trusted member of mlk's inner circle was actually a fbi informant. [ male announcer ] marie callender's invites you back to lunch,

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wall street investors digging into the latest numbers on weekly jobless claims.

allison kosik with a closer look. hey. >> hi, kyra. good morning to you. we are looking at a weaker start for wall street today. that's despite another small decline in weekly jobless claims and wall street not too thrilled about it as of yet. number of people filing for new unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to 450,000 last week. that's actually the lowest level in two months but, you know, trouble is we've been in that tight range for a while and most here on wall street are saying, call me when we get below 400,000. fed-ex is getting ready to add to the unemployment pain. the company announced it's going to let go of 1,700 workers in an effort to consolidate operations. the company says it's seeing moderate growth and earnings missed estimates saying international shipping is growing and domestic shipments are lagging. investors see the earnings as an

indicator with the variety of businesses that it serves. on the other hand, boeing says the industry is going to need more than a million new workers over the next 20 years. only about 150,000 of those will be north american workers, however. opening bell is just about to ring but let me tell you this, how's this for your economic indicator? fox reportedly sold 90% of the ad time available for this season's super bowl in dallas. the average price for a 30-second ad, about $3 million. recession? what recession, right? that's a lot of money for 30 seconds. >> it is amazing and we talk about it every year. we wait for the super bowl commercials to see how creative or not creative -- >> fun to watch but that's a lot of money. come on. >> heck yeah. people watch them. >> yeah. i guess reaches far. let me tell you the market. we are down across the board, kyra. >> all right. we'll keep watching it.

thanks so much. photographer who was part of the martin luther king's inner circle may have lived a double life spilling secrets to the fbi about the inner workings of the civil rights movement. and if you don't know the name earnest withers you know his photos. he captured bust segregation and strikes and in dr. king's who real room hours after he was assassinated a. memphis commercial appeal calls withers a super informant, within who reportedly spilled delays of rallies, leaders and jotted down license numbers and identified him in documents by the informant number. me-338-r. his daughter rosalyn said she just doesn't buy it. >> we as a family none of us heard anything like that. we don't believe it. i think the whole thing is based on one thing which is a number.

and we know that number was assigned to him. where's the proof of that? you know, it's -- is that number only assigned to an individual or is it assigned to a project? it's just so many speculations. >> a historian and author of several books about spying joining me live from milwaukee. so you have actually studied the documents and you have called this a, quote, an amazing betrayal. why? >> well, because, he was so trusted and he had access to individuals within the civil rights movement and as a photographer he was taking photos and passing the photos on to the fbi. >> well, some would say wasn't this a good thing? wouldn't this be because the fbi wanted to monitor the civil rights movement an possibly keep it safe? >> well, no. i mean, what the bureau was

doing and interested in withers because of his access is understanding the plans and tactics of individuals engaged in political activities or seeking to change public policy. which was legitimate and violated no federal law. >> do you believe that there were intentions to knock down the civil rights movement and that they sort of got withers part of this to help them bring it down? >> well, the bureau did have a formal program in the 1960s and the purpose which was to discredit targeted organizations and what they did is sought information, derogatory personal information and leaked to members of the media or used to sew dissension within the organization as a means of limiting their influence so it was a political containment effort they were engaged in and withers assisted that effort. >> civil rights leader andrew

young that lives here in atlanta was side by side with withers many times through the civil rights movement and he disagrees that this was a betrayal in any way. take a listen to what he told us. >> you have to understand that our movement was designed to be totally transparent. he was our voice to the world. >> if he was that much of a trusted friend why wouldn't you expect him to say, by the way, guys, with a wink and a nod, andy, i'm going to keep doing this and working for the fbi? why wouldn't you expect him to be straight with you and -- dr. king? >> i wasn't that important to us. >> how could it not be important to you? >> i don't know why it needed to be. we were trying to change america. we knew our instructions from our lawyers were for us to inform the fbi and the justice department of everything we did before we did it. we had no secrets. >> we had no secrets. what do you make of that?

was there a point to spying on civil rights leaders? >> yes, it gave advanced information about the plans, individuals who were involved in the activities themselves. and withers also passed on personal information about use of expletives or participation in drugs or elicit sexual activity so it wasn't an innocent ap rigs he was engaged in or the bureau engaged in at the time. >> why do you think withers would have done this? >> well -- be able to answer that conclusively if we had access to the informant file. it would note how much he was paid, the duration for which he was an informant and how it was they convinced him to act as an informant. i suspect if i can offer speculation is that he was concerned about radical influence in the civil rights

movement and concerned that it might have adverse impact on public opinion but that's just speculation. >> maybe could have done it -- he had eight children and could have done it, right, for the money but do you think that maybe the fbi convinced him to do it saying, hey, you will keep mlk alive and make sure that this, you know, goes down safely if you give us information? >> well, not keep mlk alive. in a sense not result in a negative press that would influence the ability of the sclc to change policy. the bureau willing to pay because it compromised them so whether or not he did it for the money, after he received the money or made it hard for him not to continue to assist the bureau. he not only volunteered information but responded to requests for information so he was a valued asset for the bureau. >> do you think he put his life in danger by doing this? >> no. the fbi took safeguards to guard

against identify. what they don't do in the reports is give the name of the informant. they assign informants symbol numbers, a symbol is the acronym of the field office in this case "me" and 338 and "r" was a racial informant so if you obtained a fbi report, you wouldn't know the source of the information. ironically, in this case, if fbi inadvertent gave name and informant number and identified him. >> pretty fascinating revolution. appreciate your joining us and talking to us about this. >> thank you. good talking with you. >> like wise. still ahead, the latest news across the political ticker. embracing gay republicans. why one gop leader ignoring conservative critics and reaching out to a growing force within the party. my car and you'll take care of everything?

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checking top stories. pope benedict expressing sorrow over the church's sex abuse scandal and said it's sad the church didn't respond fast enough to the complaints. president obama plans to announce new steps to increase u.s. exports. the president has a goal to double exports in five years creating several million new jobs. and the head of the national black farmers coming to capitol hill this morning on a tractor. john boyd wants congress to fund a discrimination case settle m. boyd named the tractor justice.

well, time now for the latest news from the best political team on television. mark preston in washington at the cnn politics.com desk. when's crossing right now, mark? >> well, kyra, you know, the dust finally settled on the 2010 primary elections, right in well, there was a lot of money spent specifically on television. let me give you eye-popping numbers. i saw these numbers a few hours ago and said i can't believe that this much was spent but in all $285 million, kyra, spent on tv ads just in the primary season. to break it down, about $134 million spent by democrats and democratic allies. another $150 million spent by republicans s and their alliesd influenced by the health care debate followed for a year and a half but a huge amount spent so far in the primary. probably only one quarter of what will be spent on the midterm elections. if you haven't seen a political

ad yet, i'm sorry to say you'll see a lot. let's look at this story. despite pressure, gop leader to -- hello? kyra? >> yeah. they weren't supposed to bring up my audio. that was a boo-boo! sorry, mark. >> live television. wouldn't be any fun if -- it wouldn't be any fun. >> talking to myself. >> well, look that the story right here. despite pressure, gop lead tore attend fund-raiser for gay republicans. a little snapshot on this and viewers go to cnnpolitics.com. check it out. this is john cornyn overseeing the campaign efforts of senate th he's been asked not to attend the fund-raiser. cornyn sent a letter back last night to the family research council saying, you know something? thanks for the letter. i'll attend because even though i might not agree with the log cabin republicans on social

issues, i agree with them on fiscal issues and basically we need to be a big tent party. check that story out on cnnpolitics.com and here's a little bit of a teaser on a story i'm writing right now. the last time we spoke yesterday, i was on that fire nancy pelosi bus and spent time talking to michael steele just about everything, politics, midterms, his future and his relationship with president obama. and we've talked a little bit about this in the past over the past couple of years. michael steele, barack obama. could they do something nonpolitical perhaps to help out the african-americans? you know, young blacks. future. to kind of show there could be a great future and michael steele said he is interested in doing that and has a standing invitation to president obama to sit down and talk that. kyra? >> put aside politics? michael steele? are you kidding me? >> well, barack obama, as well. both politicians.

>> that's right. i think we'll hear a lot more in the coming days and months. mark, thanks so much. we're going to have the next political up dmat an hour and reminder for latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. first, flashback. september 16th, 1925. blues legend was born on the mississippi delta. of course, that would be the iconic blues ban b.b. king. the song "the thrill is gone" among the best. the spans 50 years and still performing at 85. happy birthday, b.b. i know, change is hard. you never considered making bluetooth, remote keyless entry and turn-by-turn navigation available in every model. so it must be hard for you to hear autoweek.com say our interior raises the small-car bar. if you want to talk about it, call me... that is you know when you get home...

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oh, it's sad to say but we have to take you back to arlington national cemetery for another story that should have never happened. all summer long we have told you about dumped too many stones, mismarked graves and old maps that misled people locking for fallen loved ones. a senate panel claimed as many as 6,600 graves at arlington

might be marked wrong, not marked at all or mislabeled on the maps. now an ohio couple heard about all of this and wondered if their son were buried in the wrong place in the grave that they would be visiting the rest of their days. so they went to arlington yesterday and had the army actually exhume their son's body. marine private heath warner in was killed in iraq four years ago, only 19 years old. turns out he was in the right place. dad confirmed it when he saw the tattoo on the remains of his son's arm and they have their peace of mind. but what a price to pay. having to revisit that pain and actually see their son's remains. it's an image you got to think will live with them the rest of their lives. tough enough for the troops that survive war with army suicide rates on the rise, ptsd, drug abuse and troubles with va hospitals. the very least the military can do is give the fallen heroes the

respect and peace they and their families deserve. we'll keep our pressure on arlingtoon the promise to keep things right. we have a lot going on. let's check in with pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara? >> reporter: good morning, kyra. pornography at the pentagon? indeed. we'll have details of that coming up coming up at the top of the hour. >> i'm carol costello in washington. right now, it is a crime against the catholic church to ordain womens a priests. one group of women in maryland are creating a shadow church. more on that if the next hour. i'm elizabeth cohen in atlanta. how many americans are living in poverty? how many don't have medical insurance? i'll have the numbers at the top of the hour. >> thanks, ladies. ditch your dialect and land a job. that's the theory behind a new crop of accent reduction classes. retaining your tongue in the name of getting hired has

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our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

the president of the united states right now stepping up to the mike right there at the white house, talking about his new export initiative with the hope, of course, to create new

jobs in this brutal economy. we're monitoring it for you and we'll dip in live as he makes his point. the first living medal of honor recipient says he only did what anyone else would have done but listen to staff sergeant gu ifrmt nta's heroics. he ran tout save a wounded soldier and saw another wounded comrade being dragged away by taliban fighters. he charged after them, killing one, wounding the other and bringing his buddy back to safety. that soldier ultimately died. he will get his medal of honor in an upcoming ceremony and wishes he could share it with his brothers in arms. >> as far as emotions after finding out that i'm going to receive the medal of honor, it's

very -- it's bittersweet because it's such a huge, huge honor, and right now the 173rd's deployed, and they're doing the same thing they did, everything that's asked for them in afghanistan all over again. that's where a lot of my friends are right now. so for me to fully, you know, accept this, i have to have everyone who has been by me every time i needed them. that's my brothers in arms. some are out in the army now and some are in afghanistan now. it's emotional, and it's great. all of this is great, but it does bring back, then, a lot of memories of all of the people that i would love to share this moment with, and i'm just not going to have that opportunity because they're no longer with us, and they gave everything for their country and in doing that, we're not going to be able to

enjoy this together. >> guinta is based in italile. his wife who appeared with him in the interview hopes he doesn't have to deploy to another war zone. p.o.w.s said they worked like dogs, were barely fed and watched executions. those vets have come back to japan and all they want is an apology. >> reporter: the final days of world war ii. japan had surrendered. america's prisoners of war finally free. earl was 17 when captured, held for houms four years in a japanese prison camp, worked nearly to death, weighing only 70 pounds. they made us get out and watch them shoot the six prisoners. i can't forget this things. >> reporter: josef alexander was

just a boy who snuck into the military at 18 and was america's youngest p.o.w. in world war ii. what he wanted all of these decades is a face-to-face apology. >> we want satisfaction. >> reporter: 65 years later, the horrors remain, and what these six american p.o.w.s have come to reconcile in the country that once imprisoned them. the very first world war ii prisoners invited to the government of japan for a peace visit. >> we are between 90 and 92. i'm going on 91. >> reporter: lester was a radio operator when he was captured and survived the batan death march. thousands died at the hands of the military. now, shaking hands with japanese military leaders, tenney gave a message. >> our needs are simple. we never asked for much.

the biggest thing we asked for is recognition that we exist. >> reporter: an apology from japan's foreign minister who called their imprisonment inhuman treatment. this p.o.w. camp now a modern day company, a factory that produces chemicals. the united states and japan close allies for more than 50 years, but after all this time, the american vet verans say wha they need is some sort of official acknowledgement of what they went through as p.o.w.s while in japan. >> i came for a purpose. >> reporter: that purpose here from the management of a company where he was a slave laborer, a meeting that we were not allowed to attend but one jackford says is well overdo. >> if all companies would do the same, it would make a big difference to us, to know that they acknowledge what they did was wrong, and perhaps it would make it easier on everybody.

>> reporter: they did acknowledge that to you? >> yes. >> reporter: 65 years after the war's end, some small piece for those who paid an initial price. >> war is no good. there's losers on both sides. i think it's time for us to forgive and forget. >> reporter: kyung lah, cnn, tokyo. your job, your money, your concerns. this morning, we're covering stories that affect your bottom line. president obama is unveiling new initiatives to increase the amount of goods that the u.s. sells outside our borders. speaking of jobs, we learned this morning that fewer americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. 450,000 americans filed claims for the first time last week, the second straight weekly drop and lowest level in two months. here's perspective on the big picture. economists say the recovery won't take hold until claims slip below 400,000. a child porn sting led

detectives right into the heart of america's military power. child porn downloaded at the pentagon. defense department stopped looking into the case but now the investigation is back on. barbara starr has the latest. why are they looking into it once again? >> reporter: kyra, according to pentagon officials, what happened was this all came up several years ago and sort have been shuffled aside, if you will. some investigations had been stopped, officials say, simply because they lacked the resources to keep looking into all of this. this was project flicker, part of a child pornography investigation begun by federal authorities many years ago. they are going to reopen, look at about 264 cases one more time to make sure that there's been appropriate disposition of them. if they have to reopen a full-fledged criminal investigation, officials say, they will do that. if they find evidence, and it is

turned over to higher-ups in the pentagon for disciplinary action against employees, they will do that, they say. they want to look at all of this, make sure that everything was done appropriately and come to a final disposition on some of these cases that, indeed, do involve very serious allegations that child pornography was downloaded by pentagon employees onto their computers. kyra. >> barbara, do we know how high up these employees were, what type of employees, what parts of the pentagon? do we have any of those specifics? because we're talking about people with classified access. >> reporter: you know, we don't at this point in terms of the ones they're going back and looking into. that remains to be seen. you know, we don't even know if some of these people still are employed here or if they have moved on and what their jeopardy might be in this situation. the pentagon, as you point out,

is a very wide-ranging organization. these people might have worked anywhere. >> thank you so much. expressions of sadness and fail yew from the pope over the church's sex scandal and perhaps the strongest admission yet. the pope actually says the catholic church was not vigilant enough or fast enough in dealing with the priests who raped and abused children. catholic news service says the pope made those remarks aboard the papal plane on route to the uk today. he met with prince phillip and sat down for a meeting with queen elizabeth before traveling to glass gow for an open air mass. craigslist says it's pulled its adult services section after becoming the walmart for the online sex trade. an official from the online section says there is no plans

to reopen that section. this comes on the heels from a groups of states attorneys general who say sex trafficking was rampant on that site. erotic ads are still up and running on the company's foreign sites. a warning, this beating is graphic. it started with a high speed chase and ended like this. we're going to talk you through what exactly happened. and asked frequent heartburn sufferers, like carl, to put prilosec otc's 24 hour heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. the results? i can concentrate on everything i'm doing, not even think about it anymore. since i've been taking it, i've been heartburn free, which is a big relief for me. [ male announcer ] take your 14-day challenge. ♪ prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on.

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the president is speaking out about those three american hikers in an interview with nbc news. mahmoud ahmadinejad said sarah shourd was released on compassionate grounds but iran's judiciary will decide on the fate of the two americans still in jail. >> translator: i think we should let the judge and the courts decide about the case, and i think this is the greatest help to all of them. >> reporter: one suggestion from

the state department's spokesman on twitter. he tweeted that could you take the two men on your airplane to new york when you go to the united nations. what's your response to that? >> translator: that was good proposal if they had not violated our border, they would have been at their homes for more than a year. >> sarah shourd is now in omen waiting to return to the u.s. dallas police are seeking criminal charges against three of their own officers because of a beating caught on the police dash cam. it started as a high-speed chase. you see them in hot pursuit of a motorcyclist. the police car bumper taps the motorcycle. police chief david brown says seconds later you see one officer hitting the suspect with a baton, and another uses his fist and knee. a second dash cam was reportedly turned away during the incident.

the fbi is also conducting a civil rights investigation. the chase suspect is black, and cnn is trying to reach the officers involved for their side of the story. so far those attempts have been unsuccessful. california's governor wants the white house to declare san bruno a disaster after the horrific gas explosion and fire a week ago. three people are still missing, 4 killed and over a dozen homes destroyed. a consumer watch dog group has an idea of what went wrong. it claims that pg&e had planned to replace a section of that old 1948 gas pipe about three years ago and raised rates on customers to pay for it, but that the new pipe didn't happen. the watch dog's lawyer told cnn's dan simon that money was spent elsewhere. >> the money is spent on what they call higher priority work. >> reporter: what was that?

>> well, you can't track the dollars one by one, but we do know that they spent $62 million more on management incentive bonuses than they had forecasted in 20082009. >> pg&e is looking for another rate hike to replace the pipe in 2013. here's the utility's ponce. >> in this case, pg&e identified this as being a high priority project in its 2008 gas transmission rate case filing. subsequent to that, they performed a direct assessment in 2008, and based on the updated assessment and the assurance it provided us, we rescheduled the project accordingly. pg&e spent more on the gas transmission capital program than authorized for the years 2008-2009.

a massive fish kill, hundreds of thousands of dead fish have been seen around plaquemines parish in louisiana. we are talking about all species of fish. no one knows if the fish kill is connected to the oil disaster or perhaps the dispersants used to clean it up. it's believed it is related to low levels of oxygen. rob marciano in the hurricane headquarters keeping track of triple tropical threat in the atlantic, right, rob? >> i think we're going to have not one, not two, but three atlantic hurricanes in the atlantic basin by the end of today. let's talk about the one that is gathering strength rapidly here. tropical storm karl, centers right about there, down into the bay of campeche and heading to

the west. we don't think it's going to effect texas that much at all, should just get into northern mexico, but as it continues to swirl in the waters in the next day, day and a half, it will easily become a hurricane and may become a category 2 storm. this is the forecast from the national hurricane center. there is the track, hurricane strength of at least category 1, potentially 2, making landfall tomorrow night but they will feel it tomorrow afternoon. we have julia out there in the atlantic. not going to have to worry about her. that's a category 2 storm, and, egor, which is still a category 4 storm, with winds of 145 miles an hour. you know it made that turn to the north a little bit, so we are on this track, but bermuda is just right in the cross hairs of this thing. during the day on sunday, there's a high probably, decent

probably that this makes a direct hit or impact on bermuda. if you have travel plans in that direction, be away of that. may want to put on the brakes if you are planning on being on the island on sunday. it's a small island, so it could miss it but things are lining up to hit it hard. this storm hit kansas yesterday. this a pretty decent storm for this time of year, a little low, thunderstorms through the back side, through chicago. some could be severe, and nonetheless, as this energy rolls to the east coast, it will produce potentially severe weather across the ohio river valley and windy conditions across the northeast, and then a cool front up to the north there. we are getting to the change of seasons, aren't we, kyra? >> it's beautiful, too, seeing the change in the tree colors. >> we will start to feel the cool air, first cool punch of the season in the next few days. ditch your dialect and land

a job. a number of people are saying it's controversial to restrain the tongues for the sake of getting hired. we're going to talk about it at the bottom of the hour.

checking top stories. 31 house democrats defying their leadership to let tax cuts expire at the end of the year.

president obama only wants to extend middle-class cuts. arnold schwarzenegger requesting an state of emergency for bruno. the iowa egg controversial has had previous problems. hundreds of cases of salmonella contamination were found in a two-year period. an old soldier is having a tough time on the home front. maybe you can help him out after his 30-second pitch. he has a wife, kids, a resumé to die for and almost through with his ph.d. but he hasn't been able to find steady work in two years. we will talk to jesse in a second.

well, an old soldier having a tough time on the home front. maybe you can help him out once he gives us this 30-second pitch. jesse, a retired army major, a wife, three kids, a fantastic resumé and almost through with his ph.d. disser is station but can't find work. you and your wife natalie are getting close to your 20th anniversary. we'd love to help you celebrate with a new job. >> thank you very much. that would be very helpful. >> let's talk about your military career. are you finding that you and other vets are having a hard time finding work because you dedicated so much time to the military? >> yes, that is true. as we transition from the united

states armed forces, we find ourselves trying to integrate back into society and as society looks upon us, they are looking for ways to find out how our skills that we spent so much time acquiring in the military is actually relatable to the job force today. >> so what did do you in the military, and what do you think some of the strengths are that you carried out in the military that would parlay into a civilian job? >> okay. good question. i served both in the navy -- in the u.s. navy and in the u.s. army. my career spanned from being a hospital corps man and serving with marines all of the way to being an officer serving on nave's ships and an officer with the army. i specialized in logistics and human resource training of personnel. >> i understand you are doing a lot of volunteer work as you're

trying to land a job. you and your family are making a lot of cutbacks. tell me about that. >> one of the community organizes that i participant with is called the national association of human resources managers, and also i part tis pate with the societies of black women with the jewel yet chapter. we talk about community issues affecting youth, children, adults, homeless, and how to provide relief. so i am involved with speaking engagements centered around bringing attention to those issues and how to gather up a team of folks who have the right skill to get things moving in your community. >> you have a great heart and you are doing everything you can to find something. are you ready for your 30-second pitch? >> yes, i am. >> take it away. >> america, i'm jesse maggitt.

i'm an agile and adaptive leader. i am involved in logistics operations and financial management. i have an exceptional ability to train personnel and make organizations perform efficiently. as your ambassador, i have strong communication skills and an expertise in building partnerships. i am trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable. people find me to be a very engaging. i like to talk to people globally, solve problems and help organizations improve. i invite to you contact me at jmaggitt@gentleman who.com. >> jesse, we wish you the best. you let us know what happens, all right, jesse? >> thank you very much for your time. this is a wonderful opportunity. >> well, we thank you for writing in. we appreciate you and what you have done for our country. if you are out of work and

you want to get your name and skills out there, just let us know. send 84 name, resumé and a letter to 30-second pitch.com. if you want to hire people like jesse, go to our blog cnn.com/kyra. their info will be there. these students know english but now they want to know how to speak like an american. enrollment is booming at an accent redkz class. everybody is happy about it, too. capable of moving your soul. ♪ and that's even before you drop your foot on the pedal. ♪ the new 2011 cts coupe from cadillac. the new standard of the world.

aveeno hair shines in real life. new aveeno nourish plus shine with active naturals wheat smooths damaged cuticles for 75% more shine in one use. real shine, for real life. yours. [ female ann i but i justve my 5 employcan't afford it.ance, i have diabetes. i didn't miss a premium payment for 10 years. and i'm worried if i lose my job, i won't be able to afford insurance. when i graduated from college, i lost my health insurance. the minute i got sick, i lost my insurance. not anymore. not anymore. not anymore. america's healthcare reforms change lives for the better. to find out how it can help you, visit us at americasfairhealthcare.org it's not just fair, it's the law. just got this in, a pretty grim picture of life in america. poverty is at its highest level

in decades, and also the number of uninsured also on the rise. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen here with updates on both. this is all just coming in to us. where do you want to start, with uninsured or unbelievable high rates in poverty? >> we'll start with the poverty numbers. it's the highest in decades. the number of americans living in poverty was about 13.2% in 2008 and the numbers we just heard moments ago is that it's now 14.3%, not a gigantic increase but you never want to see an increase in that number. poverty is a family of four earning about $22,000 a year or less. >> this is one more sign of what's happening due to our bad economy. we interviewed another gentleman for our 30-second pitch, the president out trying to create new jobs. these numbers shouldn't come up.

we're america. we help so many people internationally. we have to take care of our own people. >> if you think this number is bad, this number is worse because the jump is bigger. in 2008, there were about 36.3 americans without insurance and now there are 50.7 without insurance. we know not having insurance is one of the major reasons people go into bankruptcy, and it's obviously a terrible situation not to have insurance. so that number -- health care reform, once it starts kicking in, which it will later this month, hopefully that will make a dent in that number and maybe a year from now you and i will be talking and the numbers will have gone down. for the moment that's not a good number. >> the poverty number, more has to be done to create jobs and get people back to work and taking care of our families here at home. elizabeth, we will keep following both. thank you very much. ditch your dialect and land a job. that's the theory behind a new crop of accent reduction

classes, but a lot of people are saying it's controversial to actually refrain your tongue for just the sake of getting hired. we're talking about it next. p.a.d. isn't just poor circulation in your legs causing you pain. it more than doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke. i was going to tell you. if you have p.a.d., plavix can help protect you from a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots, the cause of most heart attacks and strokes. call the doctor about plavix -- please? i will. [ male announcer ] certain genetic factors and some medicines such as prilosec reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery.

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not exactly english 101, but enrollment is booping in classes that teach students how to speak like an american. students say minimizing their accent will maximize their job opportunities opinion we sat in as one group of students refrains their tongues. she got a job, guys. >> reporter: an applause in carol's classroom in edison state college in ft. myers. the celebration? one of her student lands a job after three years of looking. her downfall before today, her accent. >> i saw that my problem was my accent that was keeping me out of any position. >> reporter: she's not the only one that feels that way. 11 other students joining the continued education course. you don't get any credit for taking the class, but from what

students say, it is a necessity in this economy. >> there is a lot of people looking for jobs, and it's not only the way you present your resumé or your experience but also the way that you express yourself. >> reporter: so you are in therd why take the class now? >> to continue my education and for people to understand me better. >> reporter: the class titled accent reduction appearing to be an upward trend throughout the nation as working professionals say it is an invest they are willing to make. >> we need more of this. i don't want them to lose the heritage they bring with them, the roots from their native country. you do want to make them marketable. >> people need to sharpen skills and do what they can to get the edge. >> reporter: students who have already taken outside classes to better their speech only wish it would have been offered sooner but feel it's an excellent

opportunity. >> i took it because i wanted to succeed, go forward and get a better job. that's necessary. you want people to understand you. >> the american speak language hearing association says its members spend nearly 6% of their time helping people minimize their accent, up from 3.7% in 2007. whether it's a visit to the speech therapist or enrollment in class, it's booming business. adrian kerr is the director of edison state college. mr. kerr, let me ask you, are these students worried about being, um, judged because of their accent? are they concerned about prejudice? >> we have many different classes at the college, different languages, and we were approached by students and members of the community to put on a class for them which we have done, which allows them to

minimize their accent to help them communicate better and perhaps get a job. >> are they concerned about stereotyping, that they'll be judged, looked at differently because of their accent? >> no. i think their main objective is simply to be able to communicate more clearly with the people they're meeting, whether it be family members or working in the retail business or banks, and it's been a very successful source so far. >> how do you respond to people who say, they should be proud of their heritage, proud of their accent, that this is sort of a -- it's not fair to encourage them to change their culture in a way, in the way they speak? >> it's a good point you raise and we would support the comment. there's no intent to change the culture of these individuals. quite the opposite. their objective, and they came to us to put on the class for them, was simply to help them communicate better, to make sure

that they were understood with their intonation, the flow of their words, the vowel and emphasis, and so on, and as you heard from the clips in the session, they have been very successful in doing that, and it's helped them get jobs. >> how do do you it? sort of take me through the techniques that you use and how you teach these students. >> when we knew there was a need in the community for this type of class, we approached an expert in this field. she's a speech language pathologist and specializes in accent reduction. we have to have a very small class, only 12 students, so it's almost individual. everybody is interviewed personally and their particular needs are identified, and we work with each person and in a group format over the five-week period to help them pick out the areas where they need improvement. often, it's vowels, intonation, and the way the language goes up and down so they feel more

comfortable deing with someone who speaks english as their first language. >> you got a lot of response from students. what about employers? has anyone reached out to you to say, this is interesting. at first i might have judged these students or thought they couldn't have done the job, but we're looking at things differently now because of this? >> there are two parts to the answer there. one is we set the class up to help the students and they range between 25 and 45 years of age simply to improve upon their pronunciation and accent, but since that's happened and it's become of interest in the media, from newspapers, we had interest from the class being extended, to do a more advanced level, and the next class starting in a week or two is already full. it wasn't necessarily the intention for people to uses a a way to get a job but it worked out that way. >> interesting. what type of jobs? where they are communicating via

phone? is it face-to-face? can you give an example of jobs they are getting because of this class? >> it's usually where the person is face to face with a customer, for instance. a good example is in a bank or retail environment where somebody wants to make sure they can get the selling pitch to customer, and the customer feels comfortable they are being understood. >> adrian kerr, the accent reduction course is what it's called and it seems to be doing well. definitely an interesting discussion. thanks for your time today. >> thank you. a family goes to arlington national cemetery to honor their son in a different and painful way. they had to see for themselves that he was actually buried in the right place. you can thank bureaucratic bungling for putting them through it. [ drums playing ]

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sorrow over the catholic church's sex abuse scandal and says it's sad that they were not vigilant or fast enough to respond to the problem. the pope's comments come during a four-day visit great britain. they call it a crime similar to pedophilia, but women are pursuing the calling. carol costello reports. >> reporter: for most catholics, this is curious, women in priestly robes. >> mary is a part of that trinity. >> reporter: preaching from the altar. >> this is the lamb of god. >> reporter: consecrating the bread and wine. gloria considers herself a catholic priest, ordained thanks to an unnamed male bishop. have you met the secret bishop?

>> the secret bishop? >> reporter: inn. >> i have not. >> reporter: because if anyone found out who he was, he would be done. >> it woob tremendous personal risk for this bishop to come oit. >> reporter: according to canon lawyers, he has been excommunicated or banned from participating in the church because he knowingly violated church law, and the vatican made that clear when it reat any time stated recently that ordaining women as priests was a grave offense on the same level as pedophilia. when you saw that, what went through your mind? >> i was horrified. i thought for myself i didn't like that notion of suddenly i'm in the swimming pool with people who had been accused of sexual abuse, crimes against children. >> reporter: father joseph tobin appointed by the vatican to

oversee religious work worldwide said the comparison was wrong the ordination of women is a serious crime. >> the catholic church has traditionally not arrived at a point where it believes that it is the will of god. now, i think i have to accept that. >> the first women bishops to be ordained in the united states! >> reporter: but even the threat of excommunication isn't stopping catholic women from what they consider the peefthood. there are now five bishops, 47 priests, ten deacons, and 16 candidates in formation in the united states, all of them illegitimate in the eyes of the catholic church. >> what many people say to us, why don't you go somewhere elsewhere you're accepted. >> reporter: i was going to ask you that. why stick with catholicism when it isn't supportive of you?

>> it's koth thol sichl that needs us. >> reporter: so they hold mass where they can, in their own homes or non-catholic churches, ministering to small, mostly female congregations who say the traditional catholic church is not meeting their needs. >> reporter: is it up to god? >> it is, and he has said you can be ordained. >> reporter: i asked john allen how important this is. he says look at the numbers. large numbers of catholics support the ordination of women priests but many are not willing to follow these women before the church gives its blessing. carol costello, cnn, washington. i just had the latest news from the best political team on television. [ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curve balls. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done.

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let's check in with our cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser in washington. what you got, paul? >> i got brand new stuff on the ticker. let's talk about this. christine o'donnell, one of the new rock stars on the right. she is going to address a major conservative conference on friday. i spoke to one of the organizers, i'm talking about the values voters summit, held here in washington wag. she will be speaking friday afternoon. she'll be in the national spotlight and tonight she's going to be sharing the same stage with her democratic opponent, chris coons. this race we have been covering a lot. let's talk about president obama, the president, on the campaign trail as well today.

he's going to connecticut, the main attraction at a fund-raiser for a democratic senate seat there. chris dodd is not running for re-election this year. the president will be the main attraction for a fund-raiser for the democratic national committee. maybe a million dollars will be brought in at that dinner. mitt romney, the former massachusetts governor endorsing the winner of the primaries in new hampshire on tuesday and contributing about $40,000 from his political action committee. he has a house in new hampshire and has been helpful to the new hampshire republican party. he says this is about helping fellow republicans win in november. he ran for the presidency in 2008. so let's be honest, maybe this has to do with 2012, kyra. >> i think so. your next political update in about an hour. go to our website for all of the political news. mahmoud ahmadinejad says there is no hate between muslims

and americans. he talked about the controversy surrounding a former plan by a florida pastor to burn korans. take a listen. >> translator: we believe that there is a minority in the united states and they are designists. they believe in no religion. >> there are jewish leaders working with muslim leaders to build the culture center in new york city. so there is no elite, what you call zionist groups, in america. your old friend fidel castro criticized you for your comments about israel. >> translator: please allow me to speak. >> excuse me. >> translator: i think you should finish first and then let me explain. >> please. >> translator: what you see in

islamic countries is what people are against, that ugly behavior. they are not against the people of the united states, not against americans. >> well the iranian president told nbc that the trial against the american hikers will go on. sarah shourd is waiting in oman to return to america now. ♪ [ male announcer ] we all need people who will be there for us in life. people who say, "we're with you, no matter what." at wachovia and wells fargo, we're with you, when a house turns into a home... ...when a passion becomes a career... ♪ ...when a relationship turns into a lifetime... and when all the hard work finally pays off.

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national cemetery for yet another story that should never have happened. all summer long we told you about dumped tombstones, mismarked maps that misled people looking for fallen loved ones. a senate panel sayses many as 6600 graves might be mismarked. an ohio couple heard this and wondered if their son was buried in the right place. so they went to arlington yesterday and actually had the army exhume their son's body. marine private heath warner was killed in iraq four years ago. he was only 19 years old. he was in the right place. his dad confirmed it when he saw his son's toot too. what a price to pay, having to revisit that pain and have to see their son's remains. it's an image you have to think

will live with them the rest of their lives. it's tough enough for troops surviving war. the very least the military can do is give our fallen heroes the respect and peace that they will their families deserve. we're going to keep up the pressure on arlington to make good on their promise to make things right.

♪ well, i never thought that this would be the way you'd come back home ♪ time for our daily tribute to the men and women in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan or iraq. we are lifting up ryan andrew

balmer, killed in a roadside bomb attack june 5th, 2007. he was the first combat casualty from his hometown in indiana since the vietnam war. joining us on the phone from great falls, montana, is ryan's wife, danielle balmer. you describe your marriage to your husband as picture perfect. why? >> we were the very best of friends. we never really did ig without each other, and he was my go-to person for everything good, bad, in between and vice versa. >> and he's what is amazing. you were actually approaching your ten-year anniversary. he was killed just three months before your ten-year anniversary, and you said up to that point you still got butterflies when he walked into the room. what was it about him?

what would give you that feeling so many years later? >> he just made me feel like i was the most special woman on the face of the earth, and i loved seeing his face. i loved the feeling that i felt when i was around him. i loved looking at his eyes be seeing him look at me, and that never changed in 11 years. >> well, he sure had a great sense of humor. he even told you at one point, danielle, i'm going to be a pain in your ass until i'm 80. >> he did. he laughed. the night before he left, we had our arms wrapped around each other and kissing each other good night before we got into bed, and i asked him how i was supposed to kiss him good-bye the next day at the airport knowing it may be our last time, and he pushed me back and looked at me and said, no, that's not going to happen. he said, i'm going to be a pain in your ass until i'm 80. i'm coming home.

don't worry. >> i love it. he also sent some letters to family members, and this was heart wrenching when i heard about this but you love the fact that you have got these letters that you can read. tell me about why he did this. >> well, you know, it was more than anything just his personality, and,s to be honor, that was one of my first thoughts after i got the news is i wondered if i did have somewhere hiding, if he would have set a letter aside, saying good-bye, i love you. this is what i want to you do or this is maybe what you should do. when i got his computer back with the rest of his belongings. there was the good-bye letters to the kids and i and his mom and myself. i love that. it's given me so much comfort in so many ways. that was just him. i loved that he did that, and i wasn't surprised at ail. >> i'm seeing a picture of three

kids. i knew about anthony and gabby. do you have three children? >> my husband had a son from his previous marriage and that's joshua. >> how are they remembering their dad? >> you kno we still talk about him every single day all day and more than anything, i just want him to still be a part of our daily lives, and i want the kids to remember him and not remember the sad part. i want them to remember the good parts and what an awesome father he was. >> he had a pretty awesome turnout for his funeral. was that humbling? you said people lined the streets for blocks? >> they did, and that was amazing. that was something that really more than anything touched our family and touched my son. he thought it was amazing that there were so many people out there for his dad that didn't even know him. the entire experience has been humbling. people have been very, very good

to us. >> you're a strong woman. thank you for calling in and lifting up your husband ryan. >> thank you very much. >> go to cnn.com slash home and away and type in your confidence member's name in the upper right hand search field. pull up the profile and send your thoughts and pictures and we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive. ♪ soldier on i got the idea frol mills big g cereals. they put a white check on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they're the right choice... (announcer) general mills makes getting whole grain an easy choice. just look for the white check.

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♪ back in the fight tease up that hair, put on your skinny tie and dig your walkman out of the basement because we're going to have an '80s rock flashback tomorrow. chrissy hawaiian -- chrissy hine will be here. she sounds just as amazing as 1980 chrissy. we will sprinkle in some pretenders stuff because we have the cds and we'll use any excuse to play them. chrissy will tell us about a project she's into off stage. you remember a story a couple of weeks ago about a pastor threatening to burn korans. turns out that could have been

handled by a skateboarder. >> reporter: two words you don't expect to find in the same sentence "dude" and "koran" uttered by a skateboarder. he said something about burning the koran and i said, dude, you have no koran. >> reporter: ran up to his skateboard and took off. now his line has taken off. >> i was like, dude, you have no koran. very now he is being duded to death. dude, you are a hero. you rule, dude. god bless you, dirty hippie. >> they say way to go and make fun of my hair cut. >> reporter: jacob works at a pizza shop and aaspires to host a tv show. he went to the burn a koran event in amarillo, texas, to protest it and demonstrators chanted at the guy threatening to burn it.

jacob pretended he was one of the burners standing behind the leader. >> what if somebody burned the bible? >> reporter: seconds later, he snatched the koran which already was dowsed with lighter fluid. >> it's called a stolen koran. very jacob gave the back to a muslim. he describes himself as agnostic. some describe him as a thief to which he says -- >> somebody is going to purchase all of the materials to make a bomb and i am going to steal it from them before the put the bomb together and blow it up, does that make me a thief. >> reporter: as for the skateboard, guess where that ended up? where else, ebay. we don't know if he uttered the exact words plastered on a t-shirt. sounds more like it's ca