reference to. do witches wear underwear? ♪ witch craft >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> that does it for us. thanks for joining us. i'll see you back here tomorrow morning. brooke bad dwin in for tony harry today. the big stories for tuesday, september 21st starting with bp's spilled oil seeping under the beautiful white sand beaches there in florida but apparently nobody's allowed to dig it up. >> i can't build a sand castle. >> what are you digging for? >> i'm digging in the sand. >> are you digging for oil product? we followed his heart-tugging journey for a year. a florida teen set on fire finishing his long and painful burn treatments today. >> it feels good. i'm free. hart today, president obama awards the medal of honor to an

air force tech who died on a top secret mission to laos. >> i live it every day. it haunts me. >> and, good morning, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin in for tony harris. those stories and your comments right here right now in the cnn newsroom. want to begin this hour with a question for you. what if the gulf oil spill saturated florida's beaches? i'm talking getting deep, deep down in there, but the law wouldn't allow anyone to clean it up? in fact, federal rules may be limiting the cleanup process by limbing crews from digging deeper than six inches. a reporter who went digging for oil on one of those florida beaches was told, get out of here. it's illegal. here is the story from dan thomas from wear in pensacola. >> reporter: we came out here to the national park to show you

what exactly is in the sand lower than six inches, and we wanted to use the shovel and give you a look but apparently that's illegal. bp has machines ready to go to dig down 18 inches. a quick look at the manuel operation, you can see oil below the six-inch limit but that's about all we can show you because in the midst of doing this story, this happened. >> you don't have a permit to do this. >> reporter: a man claiming to be with the fish and wildlife service stopped us to say it's illegal to dig in the sand. >> reporter: i can't build a sand castle. >> what are you digging for? are you digging for oil product? >> reporter: not necessarily. i want to see what's there. >> reporter: if you are not going to cooperate with me, i will get a national park service guy out here to talk to you. >> reporter: he said it would be okay if we moved down the beach, so we did. but about the time i put the shovel in the sand, this happened. a park service police officer

asked to see my papers. >> do you have documents, press pass? >> reporter: i have a press pass. do you want to see that? >> yeah. >> reporter: he says it's illegal to film in a national park unless i can prove i'm with the media. after showing him my press pass, he then told me what i was and was not allowed to do. he said we had to leave. so we left. he said, come to a public beach, which is right here, right? >> yeah, but you can't dig. >> reporter: i can't dig? >> no, you can can't. >> reporter: okay, why is that? >> you can't dig in a national park. >> reporter: okay. even though it's a public beach open to the public, it's a national sea shore. >> reporter: no sand castles. apparently only bp workers are allowed to dig and only down to six inches. the national park service is looking to change that rule and possibly allowing them to dig as low as 18 inches but they won't make a decision on that for a few weeks.

so that reporter couldn't dig, but apparently local authorities have been, and they're trying to figure out which agency is behind this six-inch rule on the beach cleanup. buck lee is the executive director of the santa rosa island authority in florida. he joins me from pensacola. buck i know you were born and raised, so i imagine this sish near and dear to you. i want to get to the crux of this issue. the question is this, why can't these oil spill workers dig deeper than six inches on the beach? do you have an answer for that? >> yes, unfortunately, the federal government thinks that we might hit a sunken ship or an arrowhead. >> what do you mean by that? >> well, it's my understanding that one of the federal agencies, and i believe it's the department of interior has an archaeological department, and if you go more than six inches, what could we hit of value to

the history of our great nation, and they're happens thinking it could be a sunken ship and if it is, it's the uss phantom, probably or that on are arrowhead. >> so ultimately, it sounds to me that it's the department of interior who is putting the brakes on this digging deeper than six inches issue, and it makes sense to ask, if they're concerned about finding something archaeological beyond that six-inch mark, how can you prove there isn't? >> because we have done in the last two years what we call beach nourishment where we pump sand about three miles out of the gulf and have an engineered of beach, cost about $100,000, and we have a coastal engineer company that comes in and does markers on our beach. we have 8 1/2 miles wedged between gulf isles national sea shore on the east and west, so basically our coastal engineer company that we pay $100,000 a

year for has done these coastal research studies and there is no sunken ship. >> if you have done the studies and you know there is nothing culture rally, historically, archaeologically underneath that sand, when can you dig? >> as soon as the federal government issues the permit, is it the epa, department of the interior, i would like to thank senator bill nelson's office. they're trying to help but the bureaucracy i faced over the last three months is unbelieval. >> we reached out to senator nelson's office, and they indeed said they heard from you, they're trying to get permits to clean the beaches more adequately because, buck, the crux of the issue is that you are concerned with what lies beneath, right? what lies beneath this superficial six-inch mark. possibly the tar balls. we saw what appeared to be oil

under the sand because you're worried what could happen with that oil. >> well, the main thing is we have 8 1/2 miles of beach. we know 18 inches down it's not matted beneath the sand. we need to sift the sand before bp pulls out everybody and leaves northwest florida, and perdido beach and into alabama and mississippi. they are going to be facing the same struggles we're facing. we have a mash called a sand shark that can go down 18 inches, brings the sand up on a conveyor belt is sifts, and if there are tar balls, it takes it and tut puts it in the hopper. the oil could then slip back into the gulf and god knows where it goes. >> buck, another chapter in this

whole bp oil disaster issue. i know bp is aware. senator bill nelson is aware, and department of interior is as well. as soon as you hear from the federal government as to when you goat dig, let us know. >> i will call the lady that called me this morning. >> buck, i thank you, and, by the way, my colleague josh levs has been making some phone calls as well to figure out where this six-inch rule came from. we were sitting around the editorial meeting saying, where did they get it? >> you can't get a beach umbrella to stay in the ground in less than six inches. they are saying this person is wrong, the superintendent of the national park that beach reports to is now saying that the beach was wrong in having any official come forward and say that you can not go ahead for six inches. they're walking that back. we can see where that came from and why that came out. we contacted so many agencies,

beaches and coastal systems of the state of florida. they said there are no state limits on anything like this. they said check the department of interior, and we checked them because we saw an article that pushed to them. they don't know anything about it. we spoke to a bunch of agencies in the department of interior, nothing of them knew anything about it. we went to the joint information center in mobile and that person was quoted as saying the same thing, you can not dig deeper than six inches without a permit, but they couldn't point to any rule. we are waiting to hear back if there is anything specific they have. long and short of it, it does not appear there is any rule about this. i was even searching on line to see if there's anything on line anywhere about digging six inches. the only thing i could find in our entire universe of rules in this country is this thing that says a digging permit is required for all excavations

greater than six inches in depth. this is just something about the department of energy talking about ex-carve vagus and making sure you stay safe, nothing to do with protecting beaches. so basically when we look at this, the only actual rule we know of is right here. possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing removing, digging or disturbing from its natural state is prohibited. you can't deface public property or destroy it or do some massive dig. there are federal regulations that do say it, straight from our legal system. this stuff about you can't dig six inches on a beach, no law anywhere at all to back it up. >> something we found very curious, hopefully someone, fraps the federal government is watching, and somebody from the department of interior can pick up the phone and give us a call. i appreciate you making the phone calls. a coalition helicopter went down, more u.s. troops are

killed. more on that, and bonnie schneider tracking more -- more tropical weather? >> that's right. the 12th named storm of the season. i'm talking about lisa. way out in the eastern atlantic but the storm is likely to intensify. winds at 45 miles per hour. that's not the only tropical system we are watching. plus fire danger out west.

the deadliest year for operation enduring freedom gets even deadlier. nine u.s. service members were killed today. their helicopter going down in one of afghanistan's most volatile areas. cnn's ivan watson is live for us in the capital of the country be kabul. ivan, any idea what happened? >> reporter: we don't. military spokesman here in kabul saying the cause of the crash is under investigation. afghan provincial officials telling us the weather was good, and western military officials saying there was no sign of any

kind of insurgent attack, but, a western defense source telling our office that nine american service men died aboard this helicopter. in addition, two other nato troops were wounded. an afghan soldier wounded, and an american civilian was also wounded. this makes this the deadliest year yet in this nine-year war for not only u.s. troops on the ground but also for the nato coalition which has grown to 150,000 this year. >> ivan, what kind of impact -- i know you are on the ground and been in and out of the country for something like nine years. you're on the ground. you're talking to people. what are the people saying to you and what kind of impact does this have on the country as a whole? >> reporter: i think without a doubt, the number one priority for afghans is security, and what they've seen is this war get worse and worse incrementally year after year. if you look just at the u.s.

casualties, they've gone up steadily since 2003. if you ask american military commanders, they say there are more troops on the ground, more balances, and as a result more casualties and also as a result more civilians caught in the cross fire. take a lift ton what one kabul based analyst said, particularly in response to the obama administration talking about adding 30,000 forces. >> the violence in this country has risen exponentially and it's affected afghans in the biggest way. obviously there's been a lot of casualties on the u.s. and nato side, but you have thousands this time of it civilian cash walts, and it keeps going up, some 30% increase in violence in this last little while, and that's really significant. >> reporter: just as an example, brooke, we had at least 12

civilians killed in afghanistan's parliamentary elections, that's debt spite hundreds of thousands of u.s., coalition and afghan forces trying to stop the insurgents. >> this year has been the deadliest year in operation enduring freedom, and looking at the numbers before today's deadly crash, 507 coalition forces were killed in the nine years since operation began. that grim toll is now 926 troops, 350 of them american. we have been following his story for just about a year now. miker brewer, ring a bell? he was set on fire, i think it was last october, and today he's looking good, feeling great. his story here in the cnn newsroom. of beef tenderloin, don't you? you inspired a very special dog food. [ female announcer ] chef michael's canine creations. chef inspired. dog desired.

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if your kidneys are not working well or if you take certain medicines. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extra help. extra control. you may be eligible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. it was a tough story to tell about a year ago. he was nearly burned to death and now just about a year later, a south florida teen completes his last, final treatment at this burn center. rosh lowe met up with michael brewer who says in his own words, he's free. >> reporter: this is the last day that you have to go through this treatment. >> feels good. i'll be free. >> reporter: free? how has your life been? >> good. >> reporter: mom, what's it like for you coming to this hospital?

you have been through so much at this hospital, to see your son finally going through his last treatment here? >> it's incredible. it's been an incredible journey. we learned so much about ourselves and our son and about the world. >> reporter: michael brewer wears black socks to cover his scars. it was october the 12th. he was dowsed with a flammable liquid and set on fire. the road to recovery has not been easy. these pictures taken while michael was in rehabilitation. you can see the pain on his face. how did he get through this? how did he get to this point? prayers, believing, and just family, i guess. >> reporter: i see you're emotional today? >> oh, yes. >> reporter: you don't have to come back here again. mom, you're smiling. >> oh, yes. it's a wonderful day. >> reporter: this monday is such an important day in the life of michael. he completes his last treatment at the burn center. >> today is michael's last burn

clinic. it is a very important day. we're proud of michael. he worked very hard to get to this point. we want to thank the doctors and nurses here at the hospital. >> reporter: did you ever think this day would become a reality? >> not really. i really don't know. >> god is wonderful. prayer is wonderful. >> reporter: how are the burns on the legs? >> the scarring is bad but he's got full range of motion. >> reporter: how is his walking? can i see you walk. >> it's great. >> reporter: there was a time when michael's life was hanging in the balance, and mike. >> caller: didn't know if he'd make it. after hard work, after prayer, michael is able to walk and smile, mom and dad by his side. the scars are still there, but the heart which you can see was strong enough to overcome the odds. >> well, that is michael brewer now. what about the five teenage boys

arrested in keck with the attack? a 13-year-old and 16-year-old were released without charges being filed. there are three others. they remain in jail on attempted murder charges. they were all 15 at the time of the attack. we made phone calls this morning. still no court date has been set. checking your top stories now. nine u.s. service members killed in southern afghanistan. their helicopter crashed in an area where nato forces are fighting the taliban, but the military reportedly has ruled out enemy involvement. in colombia, an air strike has killed a high-ranking rebel commander, one of more than two dozen guerillas killed sunday. the u.s. had been offering up $2.5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. the dea, u.s. drug enforcement agency, wants you to raid your medicine cabinet. they want to you grab all of those unused prescription

bottles, take them to a dropoff site this saturday to safely dispose of them. log onto the dea website for the site and location closest to you. a big vote today that could lead to ending don't ask, don't tell. lady ga ga, there she was in portland, maine yesterday, urging republican senators not to stand in the way of the law's repeal. nd fold with one hand. you could switch for up to 600 highway miles on a single tank of gas. or the hundred-thousand mile powertrain warranty. over a thousand people a day are switching to chevy. they're not just trading in, they're trading up. get 1.9% apr financing for 60 months on a 2011 traverse or choose $1,500 cash back.

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and cnn, of course, your hurricane headquarters. we are bidding adieu to hurricane igor, and now we're talking tropical storm lisa. where is she? >> lisa sounds nice. everybody thought igor was the worst because of the name. he's still a hurricane working its way further to the northeast. it will really lose its tropical characteristics shortly. let's talk about the newest one which is right here, the 12th named storm of the 2010 hurricane season. lisa is way out there. the gusts are strong at 60 miles per hour. still not a hurricane.

this storm may become one because it is forecast to intensify. you can see the projected path of lisa. notice by sunday, the winds increase and decrease a little bit. we will watch it closely. so far, most of the models are taking it away from the u.s. it's too early to say where it will go. back to the u.s. mainland, and the big story, of course, fire danger continuing for states like utah where the temperatures are warm, not exceedingly hot but we are looking for a red flag warning across the western area of the country because of low relative humidity and strong gusty winds. we're tracking that across the west. you see the heat continuing across a good portion of the southeast. that's where temperatures are very warm. we're monitoring flooding across parts of texas. today is the last full day of summer. summer begins tomorrow night officially.

look at the record heat that's been hitting the country from arizona to tennessee and alabama. it's been hot here in atlanta. look at the numbers in the triple digits. it feels worse in memphis because of the humidity. >> i feel like before summer goes away, it's like huh huh. >> let's talk web slang. you are hip like that. let's talk about web slang because it's getting instant credibility. part of the lingo making it into the oxford american dictionary. bff. >> best friend forever. >> year's so past that. defriend. defriending someone on facebook. hash tag, pound sign on twitter to get things trending. this one i didn't know, interweb. a funny term for the internet. i didn't know that.

this one, thank goodness i have a cousin in junior high. ttyl. >> talk to you later. >> chill-lax. i like that. that is the oxford dictionary of english. you are officially schooled in hip web language. they put tough questions to president obama. this was yesterday. how did he do? you will hear directly from people who were at the president's town hall meeting. got interesting. [ female announcer ] when you look 10 years younger, you're proud to admit your age.

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don't ask, don't tell. it is a developing story right now on capitol hill. you have senate republicans who look pretty ready to block any rollback of the 1993 law governing gays and lesbians in the military. senior congressional correspondent dana bash is live on the hill with more on this. a lot of people when they hear about don't ask, don't tell, they are confused. this is not a final answer. this is procedural, and as they go through the process this afternoon, how close might this vote be in going either way? >> reporter: it's very close. to button that, to emphasize your point, brooke, it's procedural but the language in this bill simply authorizes the pentagon to go ahead with the

repeal after review that they are doing is complete and after the president and other military leaders sign off on it. the drama of this is really intense, but i got to tell you, earlier it was potentially too close to call whether or not democrats can overcome republicans attempts to block this, now supporters of the repeal i've talked to in the last hour are really pessimistic they can prevail in the vote in the next couple of hours. all eyes had been on susan collins. she is a maine republican, and is actually the only republican who voted for this language in the senate armed services committee but she is saying that she simply tends to agree with her party now, and her party is saying they don't want to go forward with this because they don't think that the democrats are giving them a fair process to actually amend or change this. lift ton what she told cnn in the hallway a little while ago. >> i was the only republican to

vote for that position as a member of the armed services committee. i spoke strongly during the debate on this issue during the committee, but it is simply not fair to block out amendments from people who disagree with my position. >> so, dana, i guess two questions. in hearing that from what i understand, she wants the ability to amend the bill, and in terms of ranking member, senator mitch mcconnell is accusing dems of doing this to play applications. let's roll the sound bite. >> they want to use this week as a political exercise and weigh this bill down with controversy in an attempt to show their special interest groups they haven't forgotten about them ahead of the election. they have called up the bill not to have a vote on it or consider

amendments to help our troops in the field but to put on a show. >> to put on a show, dana bash. does he have a point? >> reporter: look, democrats will say, to put it in layman's terms, give me a break. i got an e-mail from a democratic aide saying we tried to bring this bill up before without some of the aepdmentes they call extraneous in an open fashion, and republicans said no before. this is just part of what the democrats call a pattern of republican obstructionism. on the politics, despite that it is an important bill and authorizes funding for the two wars and a pay increase for troops, democrats privately, brooke, will tell thank you they understand there are some key constituencies, the gay community is one of them, that are upset with democratic leaders because they promised, in this case in particular, to deal with this two years ago, when the president was then a candidate campaigning and now they're very concerned that

we're running up against an election and running up against a potential change in leadership, maybe potentially republican leadership and lose their chance to deal with this. >> a lot of debate here. there was a double box. mccain was up at the podium speaking. stay on it, and let us know what develops there on the floor. the don't ask, don't tell rollback is a teeny, tiny part of the bill the senate considers this afternoon. the main purpose of this legislation is to fund the pentagon for the fiscal year of 2011 to the tune of $725 billion. $159 billion of that amount would be used to pay for the u.s. military presence in iraq and afghanistan. the legislation also gives a 1.4% pay raise to american troops. if republicans block the bill because of don't ask, don't tell, all of these other provisions, they're blocked as well. thus, the large debate.

and, facing some pretty tough questions from real people, president obama got an earful -- we'll call it that -- from some of this strongest supporters in a town hall meeting in washington. >> i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted of defending you and your administration, defending the mantel of change i voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. >> like a lot of people in my generation, i was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message that you brought, and that inspiration is dying away. it feels like the american dream is not attainable to a lot of us. >> so you heard from the people, is after putting their questions to the president, those two people took our questions. velma heart and ted brassfield talked to keernen chetry on cnn's "american morning." have you lost faith in the president or do you think the circumstances we're in, he doesn't necessarily have control

of? >> it is absolutely the latter but i don't know that he doesn't have control of it. i still have great faith in this president. i think that he is an amazing leader. i think he is inspirational, and quite frankly, i thought my question would set the platform for a response that would almost be, oh, i don't know, whim cal, magical, very powerful, on the fact that he does believe that he's made progress. i know he's made progress. the issue for me is that i'm not certain that the progress is being felt deeply enough and that's where i'm looking for the bang for the buck. there's no denying that this president and his administration has made progress in these two years. no denying that at all. i just think that for middle-class america, we thought we'd reap the benefits of that a lot faster. >> ted, you asked whether or not you felt the american dream was still attainable. why did you choose that question? i know that you had a lot on

your mind. you had a lot that you discussed among your friends. why did you ask about the american dream? >> well, it's a real problem that a lot of us who have advanced degrees, and people who are going to college, maybe they don't know why they went to college, but we are facing massive student loans. the entire generation is just often facing six figures, even, when you go to public universities, and you have people like me who had good jobs but went back to school, and it's completely -- we are in an untenable situation where the president and teddy kennedy really did a great job fixing the student loan situation, but you combine that with a sort of lost contract. there was a civil contract between -- that society had said, if you work hard, if you

go to school, we will have good jobs for you, and that's why you're willing to take on a massive amount of debt. and it seems like that's been lost, and it's really hurting a lost my cohorts. >> did you get the answer that you were looking for from the president or any more clarity on it? >> i think, unfortunately, i felt that the president answered very effectively all of the other questions he was asked by the audience, but, like velma, i thought that i had given him a good layup to say, this is why you should still have hope and he didn't say that. he didn't answer it at all. >> for more on that town hall reactions, the president, and any other thing political, you can go to cnnpolitics.com, and we'll have your next political update in a couple of minutes. not big enough salary? too far to drive? just a few reasons unemployed americans apparently turning

down a perfectly good job. that coming up. she felt lost... until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

. let's get you caught up on some of the date's top stories including the nine u.s. sefs members killed in afghanistan after their chopper went down in a taliban dominated part of the

country. reports say it was not brought down by enemy fire. this year has been the deadliest year for coalition troops in afghanistan since the war began. a woman whose face was badly burned after an alleged acid attack is facing theft charges. police are issuing a warrant for her arrest. they threw the acid on herself, and well-wishers sent her donations. >> take a look at this picture. this could be the last time we see the shuttle "discovery" on the launch pad. it is scheduled to blast out the first of november. a question for you. many, many can relate. millions of americans are out of work and very serious about finding another job, right? so why are some job seekers turning down perfectly good offers. we're going to head to the stock exchange and ask that question coming up next.

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imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how. . time for your cnn equals politics update. joining me now, paul steinhauser with, of course, the best political team on tv, live if d.c. mr. steinhauser, good to see you. what do you have going on? >> i have brand new stuff on the

cnn political ticker. tea party patriots, one of the major national tea party organizations. they announced they got an anonymous $1 million donation. you know what they say? they're going to get that money out immediately by october 4th to local tea party groups across. country. let's talk more about campaign cash, kyra, because it's so important. obviously big bucks pays for commercials and get out the vote efforts. i wrote this a few moments ago. do democrats have the upper hand in the fund-raising battle? we got a lot of the big bucks numbers from the democratic national committee. the democrats outraised the republicans by $3 million last month, and their party committees also outraised the republicans as well. you would think that would give the democrats the upper hand. there's more. there's a lot of outside groups.

we were talking about the tea party and other independent groups spending major coin on republican candidates this year. finally, right next door to washington, d.c., the state of maryland. there's a governor's race there, a nasty rematch between martin o'malley, the democrat, and ehrlich, ousted by o'malley four years ago. o'malley has more money than ehrlich, but the republican governors association is going to help out ehrlich in the go against o'malley. this rematch in maryland is getting a heck of a lot more interesting, kyra. >> brooke, actually, but i'll take it as a compliment. the next kplol update in an hour. you you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com. it was a real shock. i remember being at the hospital thinking, "i should have done more to take care of myself." you should've. that's why i'm exercising more now.

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always get your best business and money headlines going to cnnmoney.com. i caught this breaking news. stocks opened flat ahead the fed comments later this afternoon, which explains, walk with me, numbers are down on the new york stock exchange. nasdaq down, dow down, sitting

at 6,737. look at numbers, we have to talk jobs. right? if you're out there looking for work, we all know odds of stacked against you. 15 million americans are unemployed and the government says there are actually only 3 million open jobs. not good odds at all. believe it or not, some people are turning down job offers. alison kosik on the floor of the new york stock exchange with details. the first obvious question is what kind of jobs are being turned down here? >> reporter: well, brooke, you've been a job seeker as i've been and can relate to this. a lot to consider before actually taking a job. people these days seem to be taking their time to find a job that's actually the right fit. in fact, there's a company that tracks this sort of thing called career builder and personified that finds 17% of unemployed american whose were offered a job since they lost their jobs, but of that group, 92% turned down those job offers. now, before you call them crazy,

because of this tough environment and the economy, i want to show you why they turned down these jobs. the number one reason. job pay. made more sense not to take the job rather than taking a lower salary. other reasons. a long commute. they had to take a lower title than maybe in their previous job. maybe the position was outside of their field and they just weren't interested in taking this new position. also, no room for career advancement. you know, it could mean workers are getting, or perspective workers are getting more optimistic, more confident in the job market. you know, brooke, those that only turn down an offer when you know there's another firm offer waiting in the wings for you. got to have plan b ready. >> exactly. and i know people say, look, these days jobs don't pay what they used to. let's also talk about the argument on capitol hill when it comes to unemployment benefits. the argument, you get unemployment, a perfectly good reason not to work. how do we know that for sure? some would say, absolutely i

want a job? >> reporter: some would say that. there's no reason to tell for sure, and you admit they're not going to take a job because they'd rather sit on their couch and collect unemployment. two arguments to either side. senator max baucus saying people don't have a choice, because there aren't many job openings then senator jon kyl saying continuing to pay for unemployment benefits is a disincentive to get the people to look for work. no doubt, a debate that will come up after the midterm elections in november, because another extension of jobless benefits expires. we're hear both arguments again. >> alison kosik in new york, thank you very much. also this. this just in. here's what we're hearing. grammy award-winning haitian artist wyclef jeane has officially withdrawn his candidacy for president. "not an easy conclusion to reach but it was one that was thoughtfully made taking into

account many, many competing factors and weighing the course that will best advance the healing of the country and help it find the quickest path to recovery." no presidency ahead, at least no presidential run for wyclef jean in haiti. "cnn newsroom," back in a moment. led flavor and goodness to savor ♪ ♪ friskies grillers blend. ♪ feed the senses.

time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. in just over an hour at the white house the ceremony begins for a war hero. talking about 42-year-old air force chief master sergeant richard l. edgeberger who died on a mountain in lao, but not before saving three comrades. this afternoon he will be honored with a military's highest award for bravery. homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve has the story. >> reporter: air force chief

master sergeant richard etchberger died in 1968. >> so this is where your grandfather is buried. >> reporter: cory etchberger was in third grade when he was told his father had died in a helicopter accident in southeast asia. only at age 29, when the air force declassified his father's story did he learn the truth i. was stunned that in fact he wasn't killed in a helicopter accident. the first time i knew of anything of his heroic deeds. >> reporter: during the vietnam war the u.s. military wasn't supposed to be in laos. it was a neutral country. so some shed uniforms and posed as civilians to run a super secret radar installation on a lay ocean mountaintop. in 1967 and '68, guided u.s. bombing of north vietnam. in march of '68, north vietnamese soldiers scaled the

tall cliff and attacked. the technicians tracked. etchberger picked up an m-16. >> it's foggy. weapons are going off all around him. he's got comrades next to him. two of whom are shot and killed and fall off the cliff in front of him, and yet he continues to defend his men. his people. >> reporter: one of them was stanley. >> i got hit in both legs, and everybody was screaming and hollering, but they weren't able to get close, because of etch firing out. >> reporter: john daniels still has the shrapnel wounds he got that day. >> he was the only one that did not get injured in the far site. they kept throwing grenades and shooting, and we would pick up hand grenades and throw them back at them or kick them over the side of the mountain. >> reporter: when an american helicopter came to evacuate, etchberger braved enemy fire to get wounded comrades onboard

first. >> if it was not for him i would not be alive today. >> reporter: but etchberger didn't survive, as the chopper pulled away, gunfire from it ground. >> etch had been sitting on the jump seat right above my head, and that bullet went right through him, killed him instantly. i live with it every day. live with it every day. it haunts me. >> reporter: etchberger was posthumously, secretly, awarded the air force cross for his heroism, but it was feared giving him the medal of honor would expose the u.s. military presence in laos. since his story became public, his hometown erected a memorial. his name displayed proudly on the town's sign, but only now 42 years after his death will he get the military's highest award for bravery. a tribute many feel he is due. jeanne meserve, cnn, washington. by the way, you can watch that medal of honor ceremony live. it will be happening at the

white house. watch that right here on cnn, 1:15 eastern today. hi, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin in nfor tony harris today. first, the leader of iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad makes an appearance before the u.n. what have protesters planned for his big speech later in the week? and when there isn't much hope, turning to doctor detectives. >> i bet she has -- it will threaten her life. essentially that's the issue. we're rating against time. you're online, so are we. josh is following what's hot. >> hey, brooke. a major security bug hit twitter causing potentially dangerous consent to appear on computer screens all over the world. details for you at cnn.com.

>> josh levs, thank you. our lead story. at first this hour, giving the tea party's new superstar, new darling a chance to clear the air. questions mounting about the way christine o'donnell, republican senatorial candidate of delaware, spent some of her campaign cash. here's the deal. a complaint filed with the federal election commission andalities with the d.a.'s office in delaware over a handful of checks written in 2009 after her run in 2008 for senate was over. christine o'donnell was speaking at a campaign forum in delaware just last night. here she was, and our very own correspondent gary tuchman went right up to the candidate, gave her a chance to respond to these questions over her finances. here is her response. >> we have been ethical. we have not -- i personally have not misused the campaign funds. we have our fcc, a great attorney, answering those charges if it ever goes

anywhere. >> let me go on. the o'donnell camp is calling these accusation, allegations, "frivolous." more records are coming out, like another check. here's a picture of it. this is a check written back in march of 2009. if you can see in the highlighted portion, for $750 written to a landlord, by the way, a former boyfriend of o'donnell's. now, gary tuchman caught up with the candidate later for a response to this check. here's what happened. >> reporter: one question you promised you'd answer. >> i did answer it. >> no. about the rental last year. why were you paying rent -- >> sorry. not tonight. not happening. >> reporter: the one question i had. >> i answered it. >> reporter: no, you didn't answer it. >> gary tuchman tried. not decided that christine o'donnell is dodging during her spectacular rise here in politics. here's cnn's brian todd in wellington, delaware with more. >> reporter: christine o'donnell and her tightly knit staff scrambling to show they're ready for primetime in delaware and beyond.

this non-distribute townhouse outside wilmington, not the place you'd expect to find a hot campaign that's already beaten one political machine and is taking on another. inside the o'donnell campaign headquarters now. looks like a small operation right now but it's getting booted up fast. about eight people are inside here now. we're told some of them not only work here but live here. five people live in this townhouse as well. >> reporter: it's here we're looking for answers to questions about o'donnell's finances and her personal past. like this comment in 1999 on bill maher old show "politically incorrect." >> i dabbled in witchcraft, hundred around people doing these things. >> reporter: o'donnell's not he to answer questions about that. they say that episode was a moment of soul searching in her youth. the campaign provides us this clip of her defense at a public event sunday. >> i was in high school. how many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school? but, no.

there's been no witchcraft since. >> reporter: but o'donnell's team also has serious questions to answer about her finances. citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington, a campaign watchdog group, wants federal and state officials to look into one persistent accusation. >> what we're most concerned about is that ms. o'donnell appears to have committed numerous crimes by misusing her campaign funds for personal use. >> reporter: a charge leveled by her opponents and a past official of one of her campaigns. slicker, more established operations works have issued a statement or had their candidate out with prepared talking points. this campaign is scrambling to bring on more staff, including people to handle press questions. campaign manager matt moran is at first reluctant to go on camera but then agrees. >> the broader charges from several quarters she's misused campaign money for her own personal responses. what's your response? >> different quarters would qualify it as a lot of the establishment, and then for the bipartisan organizations that

are -- brought forth this suit, i'm very confident that it will be dismissed as frivolous, and for the charges that need to be articulated fully, we have some lawyers that will be looking at that and addressing those concerns. >> and now brian joins me live from wilmington. an interesting look inside that townhouse/campaign headquarters/living arrangement. let me talk to you about the allegations with regard to misusing campaign funds. are these allegations throwing any water on her momentum or are they pretty confident? >> reporter: they're very confident right now, but the fact remain, brooke, she hasn't given specific answers at least in public to gary tuchman or myself in that event you mentioned earlier and hasn't just really come out and taken on these accusations head-on yet. we hope to get that later. we're actually going to speak to her attorney who's looking into this later today. it has not taken away from her

momentum. her campaign raised more than $2 million in just one week since she won that primary. they're heading full steam ahead. they hired a bunch of people yesterday, we were told. a scheduler, pollster, advance people. they're hiring people, ramping up and raising a lot of money. they seem to be charging full steam ahead and not letting themselves get too bothered by this, at this point. >> brian todd, appreciate it, from wilmington, delaware. thank you. also, happening now at u.n. headquarters in new york, government leaders and heads of state are discussing these millennium goals set a decade ago to fight poverty, hunger and disease. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is among the world leaders addressing today be session. behind the scene, though, iran's human rights rcord and controversial nuclear program are likely being discussed. protesters, by the way, throngs of protesters, planning several demonstrations against this hard-line leader. the iranian president really on this p.r. offensive, if you

will, in new york right now. cnn foreign affairs correspondent bill dort lay doh more on this highly controversial visit. >> reporter: antioch irans are him out of office. >> people come to streets and demand it. for his execution. >> reporter: organizer, planning a demonstration against president ahmadinejad that's taking place on thursday at the united nations, just about a block down from here, and it would be taking place at the very time that president ahmadinejad addresses the united nations general assembly.

organizers say they hope to bring 20,000 people into the streets. this week in new york, auk mid ja ahmadinejad is giving interviews trying to prove he's not the monster critics make him out to be. telling abc news, after he helped free american hiker sarah shourd there should be some payback from president obama. >> so i believe it would not be misplaced to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians who were illegally arrested. >> reporter: the u.s. says those cases have nothing to do with each other. for the obama administration, the real showdown here is over iran's nuclear program. president obama told a cnbc town hall he's hoping tough sanctions will work mr. israel takes

matters into its own han. >> we don't think that a war between israel and iran or military options would be the ideal way to solve this problem. but we are keeping all of our options on the table. >> reporter: but between hanging tough on nukes and his brutal crackdown on the opposition since last year's election, ahmadinejad has few friends left at home or abroad. >> he certainly has an increasingly small circle of people he himself seems to trust and that are willing to support him. >> reporter: but he can count on some world leaders here this week, willing to hear him out. such as venezuela's hugo chavez and the leaders of turkey and brazil. two growing powers trying to mediate his standoff with the west. and jill dougherty now joining me from our new york newsroom. still can't wrap my head around the figure, 20,000 protesters on thursday pap huge piece of the story. right? the other piece, though, is the

fact that mahmoud auk min jaud, does he have plans to meet with any of our u.s. leaders? >> reporter: probably not on the table, brooke, but you've got a lot of balls in the air right now, because the relationship as we know, pretty bad at this point, but do you have perhaps ahmadinejad wants an improving relationship. he said as much. he said they are willing to talk in some fashion. he did intervene to help get sarah shourd, the hiker, released. granted, who knows what's going to happen with the other two hikers, but there are these hints he wants a better relationship. you know, brooke, every time that he comes here, and he's been here many times, everyone kind of is waiting for the other shoe to drop. will he say something very, very critical? you know, over the line about the united states? we had -- more mild than you might have expected on these

millennium development goals on economic development and social development in the world. and it was pretty moderate, other than saying that, you know, capitalism is dead. capitalism has to restore the world economy and we need a new system. that's par for the course, from what we heard from him, but more moderate. we're going to look on thursday to see what he says in a bigger speech, and that is where it could be, in a sense, a test. would he be moderating his comments even as people on the streets are bringing out you know, full force, as many people as they can to criticize him, not only on nuclear issues but on human rights as well. >> we know in the past people have gotten right up out of their chairs and walked out of the u.n. as ahmadinejad has spoken. we will wait and watch as you will on thursday to see what he says and how people respond. jill dougherty, thank you for that. moving on here. a tragic day for u.s. forces in afghanistan.

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grim news from afghanistan today. a helicopter that's gone down. nine u.s. service members killed. look at the map. this happened in the southern part of afghanistan where coalition and afghan troops have been battling the taliban nine years. this year, by the way, the deadliest for coalition troops. 526 reported killed. 350 of them american. coalition commanders say part of the reason is more boots on the ground. combat troops pull out of iraq, more u.s. troops going into afghanistan. chris lawrence was there a couple of months ago. really getting a taste of what

troops are facing over eseas. he is now back with us at the pentagon. chris, i think that was april. correct knee i'm wrong. april, when you were over there. >> reporter: yep. >> i'm curious, given the news this helicopter crash, and so much else coming out of afghanistan, you keep in touch with the troops who you met when you were over there? how is morale today compared to what it was in april? >> reporter: well, you know, brooke, there's this one young marine. i actually met him back in december at camp lejeune. his unit was going to be one of the first to go to afghanistan as part of president obama's surge. then a few months later, just by coincidence, i ended up embedding with his unit at a remote base. spent a couple weeks there, living together, eating together, going out on patrols with these guys and i remember when we were with him in april, every day those units would go out. they were getting hit by the iuds. no big injurieinjuries. a lot of the mraps taking the brunt of it, but then i saw him

just about a month ago here at the pentagon. he was part of the wounded warrior tore. he had lost his leg, and we have been e-mailing back and forth. he told me, he had questions about what happened about me, he had gone into a building. was the second guy in. the bomb blew up and he said he almost blacked out, and he looked down and he said i knew my leg was gone. but it just really kind of reinforced -- heaven though you hear about these nine death, even sometimes here in the pentagon we -- you get glazed over with some of the numbers. when you start to put faces and families to it, it really brings it home. brooke? >> it brings it home. i was at walter reed last month and met a young man who lost both of his legs from an iud. it's tough to hear the stories of these young people coming back if they are coming back, and yet at the same time, chris, i saw a recent cnn poll which gives a different perspective.

americans reached an all-time high with unpopularity with the war in afghanistan. so it's like you have a juxtaposition of men and women with a duty to perform overseas yet many people here at home sort of -- >> reporter: there's a disconnect between the american people of afghanistan and the actual troops on the ground. official views may be one thing. there's a lot of problems, at the official level with the things that are happening in afghanistan. a lot of military officials you are dissatisfied with, say, the progress in president karzai's regime and sort of, you know, negotiating with the taliban, or taking steps to reform corruption with their government. but when you talk to the actual troops on the ground, the sergeants, the captains, the men and women who are really doing the bulk of the fighting, they still are very upbeat about their mission. you've got to remember, they each have speck, smaller missions. they're not looking at the big

picture. how is the entire country doing? they're looking at, are we making a change in this small area where we are? and i think for the most part, even when you're seeing higher levels of violence, you can still see the troops very committed to what they're doing there. >> so tough to hear the numbers. especially nine dead from this helicopter crash. chris lawrence i remember your reporting from afghanistan. it was excellent. thanks for talking to me today about all of this. appreciate it. two hours from now, the senate plans a procedural vote on ending the don't ask, don't tell policy for gays in the military. this is to cut off debate on this defense spending bill. republicans need all 60 gop votes to filibuster. along the same lines here, lady gaga joined the passionate debate. she rallied in portland, maine, monday. susan collins says she favors a repeal of don't ask, don't tell,

but she will vote to filibuster today, because she doesn't like the tactics currently used by the democrats. >> i was the only republican to vote for that position as a member of the armed services committee. i spoke strongly during the debate on this issue during the committee, but it's simply not fair to block out amendments from people who disagree with my position. >> then you also have senator joe lieberman. point out independent senator joe lieberman who caucuses with the democrats an commented a short time ago. here's his comment. >> it's one last time to repeal this policy which is unjust, unamerican and extremely hurtful to the effectiveness of our military. i want to say that, just put an exclamation point after what dick durbin said. the act on which the repeal of

don't ask, don't tell, of which it's a part, is a critically important piece of legislation. the fact that our colleagues would be having on the senate floor this debate about whether to vote to proceed, to take up the national defense authorization act, to me is unbelievable. >> we are keeping a close eye, a close ear, on the debate going on right now on the senate floor on don't ask, don't tell. you can see more of the vote around 2:30 eastern today. stay right there. you're in the "cnn newsroom." it contains the same nutrients naturally found in healthy skin. skin absorbs it better and it lasts for 24 hours. later gator. lubriderm. your moisture matched. the more you spend, the bigger the bonus, up to $250 to use on your next purchase. start earning with as little as $75 spent, including great sale prices. hurry, sears bonus days are on!

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t adwiwiout food al t taking a look at some of your top stories. new home construction stpiked t a four-month high. analysts are cautious saying construction rates are still hovering around all-time lows. and the validity of afghanistan parliamentary elections is in question. taliban violence, electoral locations and voter fraud is in question. reportedly they saw ballot stuffing, repeat voting and fake vote cards. new anti-distracted driving regulations are in place for truck and bus drivers and also rail operators. more than 550 u.s. companies committed to enacting the policies in the coming 12

months. that's a look at some of your top stories. stay right there. "cnn newsroom" will be right back. -$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$$

home schooling. across the country and for several reasons. carol costello spoke with families changes the way their kids are learning. >> isabella, you're next. what card -- >> reporter: it's not your normal classroom. >> okay. >> reporter: and if you ask these parents, that's a good thing. >> when your kids are saying, i want to do this, and it's some

kind of lesson, you smile. because you're like, yes. they like learning. >> reporter: in stillwater, oklahoma, home schooling her kids and they love it. do you like being taught by your mom. >> yes. >> reporter: why? >> because i get to be with my family. >> reporter: how does your mom make it fun to learn? >> she does activities, cool activities. >> reporter: it seems parker's not alone. according to the u.s. department of education, 1.5 million kids are taught by mom and dad. that's up 74% since 1999. >> reporter: what do you think the biggest misconception people have of home schoolers? >> besides wearing a hair in a bun and jumpers -- we're just like everybody else. we're not super moms. it's a decision just like public school, private school. >> what can you tell me about green ware? >> reporter: a lingering miss

conception, the main reason they home school, for religious reasons. that's not quite true anymore. 36% of parents do home school primarily to teach their children religious and moral values but 38% home school because they don't like the school environment or the way teachers teach. >> flexibility. >> reporter: just ask this family. their home schooling five children. >> just you're taught. you have to go to, you know, a, b and c, and if you're not excelling here, you must have something wrong with you. >> we've learned now, fitting 20 children in a room, learning with one teacher on the same schedule, the exact same material and in the same way is actually quite unnatural. >> reporter: what is natural for these parents, home schooling communities. in effect, shadow schools where their kids can socialize and parents can share learning techniques. >> there's more resources available today. you don't have to be a scholar, you know, to teach your

children. there's tons of resources out there to help you. >> reporter: like nonprofit groups that provide an overall curriculum. for-profit groups that provide weekly lesson plans for groups of parents. still that doesn't mean it's a cinch. laura brody wrote "love in a time of home schooling" after home schooling her daughter for one year. >> we had a very good experience. a lot of successes. also a lot of fights and pourp power struggling and i didn't find books. talked about advantages of home schooling but not so much about the bad days. >> reporter: and the fact home schooling is a 24/7 job. >> educational, 365 day as year. of course we take breaks, have fun, do watch cartoons. we don't just have a time when we turn learning on and learning off. >> do you know where we get volcanic ash? >> reporter: for a growing number of parents, the best

place to raise well-rounded kids who dk well-rounded adults and good people. they don't require parents training to teach their children. parents who home school wouldn't be happy about the government interfering with the way they're raising and teaching their children. brooke? >> hmm. carol costello, thank you. you know all of that talk, back and forth on tv what about this double dip recession? apparently now we can forget about it. it can't happen now. we'll explain when we look at the finer points of economic lingo. that's coming up. i love my curves.

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my money. my choice. my meineke. let's talk economics. before we do, let me point out the greatest highlights and headlines when it comes to business news and squeeze in over here, just quickly the dow obviously down 14 points. sitting at about 10,739. falling flat a little because of the big fed announcement coming this afternoon. also, though, now you know. right? breaking news from yesterday. you heard the great recession officially ended 15 months ago. though many american families are thinking, it doesn't feel like we're out of a recession. now everyone wants to know whether the economy will keep growing. cnnmoney.com's paul la monica is live in new york and, paul, let's get straight to the poll. you have the lovely pie chart to

your left. you and cnnmoney.com posed this question to 31 economists asking essentially will the u.s. slip back into a recession and their answer was -- what? >> their answer, it's not likely. the good news. the bad news is that they think the chances of it are still higher now than it was just six months ago. the average estimate from the economists we surveyed about 25% chance the economy will slip into another recession. only a 15% chance six months ago. obviously up and disturbing. >> lem make sure i'm hearing you right. not likely. the majority of the pie saying not likely we'll hit another recession. if we do, a small chance that we do. is that what i'm hearing? >> yeah. basically, most economists still don't think that the economy will slip into a recession again. however, the economists are saying that they think there's a greater chance now than they had thought just a few months ago.

even though they still don't rule it as the most likely outcome, it's more possible now than a few months ago, just because of all the deterioration we've had in the economy. we've had swelling growth over the past few months, continued concerns about the job market struggling, housing woes. a lot of problems that still face many consumers in the u.s. >> paul, what about the talk, po pontificating about the possible recession. there cannot be a double dip. if there's another recession it's a separate entity. it's like if you look at the lingo and you think, people at home are like, i don't care if it's a double dip or another recession. i'm not feeling it. >> great point. you have to cut through the econobabble that many economists toss out there. for many people it's still a recession. the economy is in very rough shape by any measure that you would look at it. so even though a group of economists say that the recession technically ended in

june of last year, and then if there's another recession it's not a double dip, it's a new recession -- many people still think it is a recession and that matters most. unemployment as high as it is, many people stuck in houses they can't sell. that feels like a recession, even if you don't want to call it that. >> at least some of the hope, you mentioned, some hope coming in some positive home numbers. we're out of time. i'm going to tease the viewer and say hop on to cnnmoney.com and read the article. positive news in this slogging, sluggish recovery. paul la monica, appreciate it, thank you. medicine's own a team. our dr. sanjay gupta interviews to you an elite team of doctors, researchers, specialists. their mission, pick up the file after every other person has tried and failed. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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a team of the most brilliant minds in medicine. few actually know about the job they do, or where they work. as we go inside this medical facility built to solve the nation's most mysterious illnesses and who went there? of course, dr. sanjay gupta. he introduces us to a unique group of doctor detectives.

>> reporter: bethesda, maryland. deep inside this sprawling complex, this doctor leads an elite team of doctors, specialists and researchers. they are the best in the world. together they focus their vast expertise to try to save patients lives. they are detectives in search of clues to solve mysteries no other doctors could solve. >> you're talking about patient whose have been seen by some of the best in the country here. they're very good clinicians and diagnostic doctors everywhere. so you're taking the hardest of the most challenging cases of all? >> we expect failure. a high failure rate. we expect a success rate of perhaps 10%, 15% or so. >> reporter: but 10% or 15% is a bright ray of hope for some patients. >> how much more do you think physically you can see -- >> yes. >> reporter: sally had all but

given up. take a look at her back. it was as if muscle mass was consuming her body. sally was transforming into the incredible hulk. >> so this is sally's mri of the brain. priddy incredible. >> even the muscles that govern the movements of the eye, really small muscles, are huge. the neuroradiologist saw this and went wild over this. look at the size of this. three to four times bigger. >> never seen anything quite like this? >> right. no way to make those muscles big by moving your eyes a lot. it's not like lifting weights. wipe would they be that big? >> reporter: it was a mystery. no doctors, no specialists, no one could diagnose what was happening to sally. which is why she was selected to come here. it's called the udp. the undiagnosed diseases program. it's a medical mystery ward.

tiny mcpeak is 6, also selectsed to come to the udp. >> she knows she's different, but it doesn't steam to faze her. she's kind of seems like she's just -- like a normal kid. >> reporter: how serious is she? >> well, she's, i would say, real serious. i think that she has a disorder that will threaten her life. it's essentially the issue here. sort of racing against time. >> reporter: the undiagnosis program was launched two years ago at nih and accepts only the rarest of medical patients and it's not only about saving lives. here they are also hoping to discover new diseases and create new science. >> it's really sort of the inspiration that we all have as clinical researchers. >> reporter: in two years, ucht dp has had more than 3,000 inquiries. more than 1,000 applications actually made it to the doctor's desk. >> this is an acceptance letter. >> reporter: but udp accepted

only a little over 300 patients. >> you have to tell a lot of people no. >> you do. >> reporter: seems that would be hard? >> it is hard. it's very hard. and i have to take some solace in the fact that even though we're turning down a lot of people, we're still helping a chosing few. >> reporter: the few with mysterious conditions no one can diagnose. kiley dawn mcpete was born in may of 2004. the picture of a perfect baby girl. she developed like a precocious healthy toddler. >> she was above average on everything. i mean, she could say her a, b, cs at, like, 18 months old. >> reporter: then at 3 1/2, diagnosed with type i diabetes. shortly after that, her mom and dad noticed something wasn't right. it began with a voice tremor.

>> i have to be -- i have to do -- >> reporter: then a seizure. by the time she turned 4, her face started to twitch. >> does your face feel funny? >> no. >> reporter: the first day they realized something wasn't right with her, she was a precocious child. you're a parent, trying to figure out, is this me being overly sensitive i. was told that. i was looking for things that weren't there. it's just really hard. i don't know. >> we actually spent a lot of time videotaping her when we saw the little things that started happening, because no one believed us. >> you know when your birthday is? >> reporter: the twitching soon spread down the entire right side of her body. her head began to tilt right.

eating became a struggle. by then all doctors agreed something was wrong, but what was it? the little girl was deteriorating. >> at this point, i don't know if i should plan for her communion or plan a funeral. >> reporter: the mistress did not begin until later in life for this woman. in her late 40s when her muscles began growing out of control. >> this was referred by endocrinologist at duke. and the endocrinologist said, in my 38 years i have never seen a case like this. okay. that sort of impressed us. what does that mean? well, when you see a picture, then, that's impressive. >> reporter: like all the patients selects for the undiagnosed diseases program, sally and her husband, and kiley and her mom and dad would come to here for a week of exhaustive tests. where a medical strike force

were setting up to solve a mystery and to save their lives. >> i went in there in hopes of them finding an answer. >> our last hope. at the same time, we finally made it to the people that are going it find out what's wrong. >> wow. that seis only part of the stor obviously. watch the second part, tune into a.c. 360, exclusive for dr. gupta's report. the obama factor will examine the president's impact on the upcoming midterm elections. that and more in your cnn equals politics update.

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time for your cnn equals politics update. for that we go to paul steinhauser with the best political team on tv. paul is there. areas in d.c. hey, paul. >> hey, brooke. before i start, off the bat, i apologize for last hour. i was calling you kyra. >> don't appaologizapologize. such a plimt. we're good. >> you and kyra, two of my favorite anchors. take a look. there's kyra. now you know what you look like. very different. wanted to get that out of the way. >> cool complement, kyra phillips. i love her. >> talk politics. about this election, how republicans, referendum on barack obama and what he's done in the white house in the last year and a half. well, do americans think barack obama's done a good job or not?

check this out. cnn poll of polls. the most recent national surveys on the president's approval rating. right now, average them all together, 46% give president obama a thumbs up. 49% disapprove of what he's doing in the white house. an important poll number. we'll update a lot between noi and election day, which, remember, just six weeks from right now. also talk about tonight. john king usa. the show on this network, 7:00 eastern every monday through friday. well, tonight john's going to be busy. he's going to be up in massachusetts moderating a big showdown up there. a debate. the debate in the massachusetts governor's race. you've got three candidates up there. incumbent democrat up there, duval patrick, the republican nominee and a third party candidate, state treasure, tim cahill. fascinating event. john will moderate it, and our national correspondent will be anchoring "jk usa" you'll see john as well during it's show.

finally, brand new on the political ticker. just learn about this and put it up on the tuckerer a couple minutes ago. you're going to see a a parade of presidential hopefuls in new hampshire. just learned tim pawlenty, contender for the next presidential nomination, up there next week helping the republican nominee for governor, john stevens. earlier this saturday, mitt romney. monday, haley barbour doing the same thing. what do they all have in common? may want to make bid for the president's nomination. 2010 politics but also 2012. brooke? >> amazing. you always have so much to fill in in your two minutes and take every second. paul steinhauser, thank you very much. your next political update coming up in one hour. a quick reminder. if you wanted the latest news, political tick sir fantastic. go to cnnpolitics.com. so who let them down during the "dancing with the stars"

premiere? our josh levs has that, next. what's this option? that's new.

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okay. we're geeks and we're dancing. josh levs, speaking of dancing, actually, not a segue, but there you go. "dancing with the stars." >> talking this morning about what's hot. first name you said -- >> panelist, right. pick her out. sheer she is. >> "dancing with the stars." >> watch this. wearing this -- >> right. and boom. >> ba-da-bough! there she goes. >> gave her good marks afterwards. all surprised. right? she did her best without embarrassing her mom. >> he mom wasn't out in the audience. >> was not. >> we understand was not. >> and other things. you know, impressing. impressing the folks there. >> all right, next. one of my favorites of all time.

how can you not love -- >> florence henderson in -- >> you did it for me. >> look at mrs. brady. can she move? >> working it with that slit in that dress. >> they love her. she set it off, not bad for last night. 18 score. high total of 30. unfortunately, i was rooting for, and didn't see until this morning, here it is. didn't work out so well. >> i was wondering about that. too bad. but, at least he wasn't quite at bad as the last one we'll show you now. >> this situation, i think i say it wrong. a situation. >> is that how he says it? >> anyway -- >> both of these guys, from the bottom, 15. "dancing with the stars" kicking off big. i tell you, the magic of it, though. you kind of root for everybody. it's so hard what they're doing.

>> i couldn't do those moves. hello. jennifer grey did really well. >> made people cry. >> "dirty dancing" come on. the lady can shake it. >> all right. >> we'll shake it to break. [ male announcer ] set down your pencils. step away from the internet. schedule no meetings. hold all your phone calls. for the next hour, there will be no agenda. marie callender's invites you back to lunch, with a new line of fresh recipes.

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all right. big, big story on capitol hill today. less than two hours from now the senate plans a procedural vote on ending the