unicef.org. live from studio 7, at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta it is thursday, september 23rd, and it's the first full day of autumn. a wave of new health care rules and regulations kick in today, and we're going to outline the measures and look at how they might impact you. the gop rolls out its agenda for governing in a republican-controlled house. for starters, repeal the health care law. iraqi security on the water and on the job protecting the strategic heart of baghdad. good morning, everyone, i'm don lemmon. tony is off today. those stories and your comments right here right now in the cnn newsroom. here's where we begin. cnn equals politics, of course, and that's where we begin today. this one is not a contract. not a contract. no, this time, the republicans are out with a pledge to america. it lays out a broad blueprint to

create jobs, cut spending and extend cut tacks. the gop hopes these bullet points will restore it to power to the house. weekly votes on spending cuts. cut the budget on congress. hiring freeze on nonsecurity federal workers, and a vote on every regulation costing more than $100 million. what does all that mean, anything, our senior political editor, mr. mark preston is in washington this morning. do you remember the contract with america back in 1994, newt gingrich's big plan? how is this different? is this contract with america 2.0? >> in many ways it,don. this is a campaign document. back in 1994, republicans used the contract with america to take back control of the house of representatives swells take back the senate. what we have seen this morning is house republicans are

unveiling this pledge with america, but the bottom line is what they're trying to do is tell voters voss the country, look, we are going to reform washington. we lost our way for the past eight years or so, but we are going to help you out. what democrats have done over the past couple of years is not enough. >> are all republicans on board with this pledge? >> well, you know, mixed reviews. national review, a very well respected weekly magazine says that we'll take the pledge. they say -- they compare it to the contract with america. they say the inevitable question is -- is the pledge as bold as the contract? their answer, the pledge is bolder, but we are hearing a different theme from red state, a very nunsial blogging site. they say when aamerica needs a bold, simple fresh plan to put america on the path to

constitutional insanity, we get an 8,000 word term paper of inside the beltway regurgitation of what the american people are dying for, leadership. mixed reviews in conservative circles. >> mark preston, thank you very much. checking other big stories right now, and this one has been really the talk of the nation. this was supposed to be the day that bishop eddie long broke his silence. instead, he has backed out of an interview and also a news conference today, and there are new allegations against him. a third young sman now suing the leader of the 25,000 new birth missionary baptist church, claiming as a teenager he was coerced into having sex with bishop long. long's attorney spoke on the radio just this morning. >> i have been through storms, and my faith has always sustained me. i am anxious to respond directly to these false allegation, and i

will do so, however my lawyers counselled patience at this time. let me be clear, the charges against me and new birth are false. i have devoted my life to helping others, and these false allegations hurt me deeply. but my faith is strong and the truth will emerge. >> that was attorney craig gillen speaking on behalf of bishop eddie long on the radio this morning and says long will talk for the first time about the allegations from the pulpit at his church this coming sunday. the attorney for the young men says other young men have come forward with similar stories and she is looking into that. stay with us, because one of bish bishop's good friends joins us at noon to talk about his friends, the allegations and the reaction to this story. in the meantime, president obama calls on other nations to rally behind the middle east peace process. he spoke last hour at the united nations general assembly and

says pursuing peace is essential to israel and the dignity of palestinians. >> we should draw upon the teachings of tolerance that lie at the heart of three great religions that see jerusalem soil as sacred. it's time we should reach for what's best within ourselves. if we do, when we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the united states, an independent, sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel. >> well, just the presence of iran's president at the u.n. has set off protests. president mahmoud ahmadinejad addresses a general assembly later today. stay tuned to cnn for that. i have an important recall to tell you about, involving similar baby formula. abbott laboratories recalled it after a beetle was found in the

formula. you can find specifics here at similar.com/recall10. "forbes" magazine says the 400 wealthiest americans are worth $1.5 trillion. bill gates is the richest of the rich at 54 billion, followed lie warren buffett. that's 45 billion, and facebook founder mark zuckerberg found his surge 245% to almost $7 billion. i see the heads shaking across america. health reform and you. new provisions take effect today, and elizabeth cohen is going to join us with a look at what's new, and rob marciano is tracking your weather for you. rob, what's going on? >> the first full day of fall, but you wouldn't know that with the temperatures. hot today, and also things heating up in the tropics, and

heavy rain across the midwest. some evacuations because of flash flooding happening in wisconsin. weather coming up in a little bit. ♪ i had just turned 17 ♪ a harmonica and a box guitar ♪ ♪ in a canvas-covered wagon stuffed... ♪ [ male announcer ] while the world's been waiting on the electric car, maybe the whole time, the electric car has been waiting for this... the wattstation from ge. it's going to change the way we get to where we all want to go. ♪ i didn't think much of it till i took it apart ♪ we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable.

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all of these things are designed not have government more involved in health care. they're designed to make sure that you have basic protections in your interactions with your insurance company, that you're getting what you paid for. that you have some basic measures of protection in interacting with the health care system which means you're not going to go bankrupt. you're not going to lose your house, if, heaven forbid, you happen to have an accident and you get the quality care you need. president obama says changes from health care reform will help individuals and government deal with rising medical expenses. the first provision goes into effect today. six months after the president signed that legislation. the number of uninsured people has increased. will the provisions of that

legislation that goes into effect today make a difference and for whom? our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us now. elizabeth who will today's changes impact? >> let's start by talking about who they won't impact. 50 million americans need to have insurance in this country. they don't have it, and it's not going to help all 50 million. for example, if you're an adult with a pre-existing condition and having trouble getting insurance, this isn't going to help you today, but there are several groups who will, hopefully, find some relief in the provisions that go into effect today. >> give us some specific examples of the changes because people want to know. >> we brought back our avatars to explain who gets help. let's look at young ivan, 26 years old and does not have insurance because he's still studying, and so let's see what happens. right now under these new provisions, he can stay on his parents' insurance until he turns 27.

now, currently in many states, that's not the case. you have to get off your parents' insurance at a much younger age. now, ivan is studying, but this would pertain to anyone, working at a job without insurance and stay on your parents' insurance. however there is an exception. if you are a young person who is at a job with insurance, you have to take that insurance. you can't stay on your parents' insurance. we have healthy helen. all helen is interested in is preventive kind of services. starting today, insurance will have to pay for her to get her blood pressure checked, breast cancer checks, like mammograms starting at a certain age, cervical cancer checks, depression. there's a whole long list of things that insurance companies are supposed to start paying for for preventive care. you can get the entire list at cnn dot k cnn.com health. there are links that will spell

out what you should be getting right now. >> there are many more examples, and you will get into the specifics later on, jit. >> right. we have more coming. >> make sure you check out elizabeth's special coming up october 2nd and 3rd right here on cnn. republicans pledge to repeal the new health care law if they win control of congress. we'll look at the possibilities. (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again.

we told you republicans are out this morning way strategy to take backed house and an agenda to governor, among other things, a pledge to america would roll back the six-month old health care reform law. what are the chances? we asked jim acosta to look at that. >> i would fight to repeal the bill. >> reporter: it's a gop battle cry for the midterm elections. >> the american people will be heard and we'll repeal and replace. >> i have pledged as my first act of legislation to put in a repeal obama-care law. >> reporter: if republicans win a majority of seats in congress, one of the first things they promise to do is repeal president obama's significant achievement, health care reform. under a new gop-controlled house, texas congressman joe

barden would likely become chairman of a committee overseeing health care and says hearings would begin as soon as january to dismantle the law. >> we will try to repeal it and replace it with something that makes sense. >> reporter: right away? >> the sooner the better. >> reporter: that threat comes as new portions of the law go into effect this week. stopping insurance from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions and dropping those who get sick. still, recent polls show the law remains unpopular. >> i voted against the health care bill. >> reporter: even some democrats are running against it. health and human services secretary kath 13 sebelius says people will come around. >> reporter: why is the law unpopular? >> i think it's more confusing than unpopular. >> reporter: you would grant it's unpopular? not as popular as you would like? >> that's accurate.

i think it's based, though, a lot on people believing that the law contains elements that it doesn't have, death panels. >> reporter: you're ready to have this debate all over again? >> i am indeed. >> reporter: so is the president who points to parts of the bill that are popular. >> if young people don't have health insurance through their employer, that they can stay on their parents' health insurance up to the age of 26. >> reporter: parts congressman barton wants to keep. are their portions that should be kept? >> i think coverage of pre-existing conditions, the ability to keep your insurance and not have it revoked. unless you committed fraud. >> reporter: other republicans say scrap the whole thing. conservative activist alex cortez says the solution is to starve the law of money. >> one of our only options is defunding. we will not let kathleen

sebelius implement this law. >> reporter: tinkering his health care would not be easy. republicans have no chance of picking up enough seats in the midterms to override that veto, but republicans say just because they may not have the votes doesn't mean they won't try. >> thank you very much for that, jim. dana bash talks with a man who would be speaker, republican leader john boehner. what's this option? that's new.

personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. time to check your top stories on cnn. prominent pastor, bishop eddie long, faces a third lawsuit that

he groomed young men into having sex with him. he cancelled a news conference and radio show interview set for today. his lawyers read a written statement by the evangelist on the radio saying the charges are false. 5 million cans of sim mi lack is recalling formula. a florida appeals court struck down a state law banning gay men and lesbians from adoption. the court upheld a ruling that the ban wassen constitutional.

>> and meteorologist rob marciano here with his eye on the midwest and a disturbance in the caribbean? >> yes. what's going on in the midwest, don, is of pretty importance right now. from southern minnesota up through wisconsin, you've got heavy rain falling in this area, and some has been falling for quite some time. these are the rainfall tallies out of parts of minnesota the past day or so. nine inches in amboy, and maple ton seeing six inches. more rain right there, south of minneapolis, and working its way across the river. as a matter of fact, in arcadia, wisconsin, there are evacuations going on now. there's a river going through town, and it's getting flooded right in downtown. they have sirens going off in the fire department and trying to get people to higher ground

there in arcadia, wisconsin with more rain expected. we have flash flooding and watches in southern minnesota and western parts of wisconsin, could see another three to four or five inches of rainfall on top of what they have already endured. that's the situation there. it's all kind of working its way around what is pretty warm air. we'll also see some severe weather south of this area, and the warm area towards the east coast, pretty toasty, louisville, kentucky, 99, memphis, tennessee seeing 96 degrees, and similar numbers today. a lot of the red on the map. today is the first full day of fall. 92 expected in st. louis and 91 in washington, d.c. after the warmest summer they've seen since records have been taken. central caribbean, we have an aircraft in here. hurricane hunters are investigating this. it's starting to take shape here on the satellite picture.

eye wouldn't be surprise fundamental they say this is a tropical depression or storm and it so, it's name would be matthew, and the forecast for this, roughly is to get into this area over the next few days, and what it does after that, there are indications it could get to the gulf of mexico. that's why this area is of grave concern, for folks living on the gulf coast. all year, we have been introducing you to some truly remarkable people. we call them cnn heroes, everyday folks changing the world. at 1:00 eastern, anderson cooper will announce the top ten cnn heroes. you are sure to logon and vote for the cnn hero that sin spires you the most. house republicans put it in writing, and we're detailing their governing strategy they call a pledge to america. you love the aroma of beef tenderloin, don't you? you inspired a very special dog food. [ female announcer ] chef michael's canine creations.

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another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. [ female 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.

tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. i'm don lemon. tony is off today. let's focus on crime and consequence. georgia authorities say the remains of a missing 911 dispatcher have been found almost 3 1/2 years after her disappearance. theresa parker was last seen leaving her sister's house in march of 2007. a farmer discovered a jaw bone on monday that helped the police uncover the rest of the remains. >> it's difficult to report, but

it's also a day, i think, that the family can somehow receive and get some closure. >> sam parker is the victim's husband and a former police sergeant. she in jail for that murder. he was convicted last year even though a body was not found. jersey's triple murder home invasion trial are hearing from the medical examiner today. steven hayes is the first of the two suspects to be tried. he is charged with several charges in the deaths of a woman and her two daughters. the officer who interviewed hayes after the july 2007 killings testified yesterday that hayes said he was desperate for money. i want to bring in our legal analyst here at cnn, sunny hostin, with "ensession" from our sister network. let's start with the case that

you're covering there. what has been the most damning testimony so far against hayes? >> don, there has just been so much damaging evidence for this defendant. i mean, it's cumulative. if you look at it, there has been evidence that he ran out of the home with one of the girl's baseball caps on. there's been evidence of almost a confession where he explained his motive that he needed the money and really admitted to doing all of these things. has been evidence from the medical examiner, as you mentioned, yesterday and earlier today. there really is just so much overwhelming evidence against this defendant. i haven't seen anything like this in a long, long time in terms of the strength of the prosecution's case. >> sunny, what about the defense? let's talk about that. >> i've got to tell you. i don't know what the defense is going to do in this case again, because it is so significant be substantial, the case that the

prosecution has built against this defendant. right now, the defense is doing all that it can in terms of just putting the prosecution to its proof. making sure that the prosecution bearing the burden of proof. but the cross-examination of the state's witnesses has been very, very short, very brief, and i think they're just saving their big guns, if this defendant is convicted, to try to save his life because this is a death penalty case. >> let's continue to follow that but let's move on to another murder case. this one is in kentucky where woody will smith is on trial for strangling his wife to death. his lawyers are using caffeine intoxication as a defense. this a new one. >> very unusual. the caffeine made me do it is what this defense is. the defense is saying he strangled his wife because he was intoxicated by caffeine. the defense was saying he was taken all of these caffeine-laden diet pills and downing those with energy

drinks. they have two arguments here, either he just wasn't responsible for doing this. he didn't know what he was doing because of the caffeine or that he gave a false confession because he was so hopped up on caffeine. but what is really interesting, don is this is not the first time that this caffeine intoxication defense has been imposed and worked. in 2009, man was charged with running over two people after drinking two large cups of coffee and he was cleared on those charges based on this defense. unusual but not unheard of, and theman psychiatric association says that if you drink three cups of coffee, you can have a caffeine overdose. so, just think, this defendant had about 400 milligrams of caffeine in his blood. who knows, this defense may work. >> could havety and energy drinks. is this viable? apparently it is. you said it has happened before. the caffeine defense, the caffeine defense. >> that's right, that's right.

>> let's talk about another crime. let's move away from rhyme and talk about a ruling in florida in the courts there. it's on gay adoption. a judge there struck down the state's ban on gay parents adopts children. is this going to set a precedent in other states? >> what's interesting is it's been recorded and i've done research. pla is the only state that still has this expansive ban against gay and lesbian parents adopting. so this may be the last state that has this sorted of ban, and i will say that the governor of florida has indicated he is reviewing this decision, the decision finding that bannan constitutional and he may actually drop this case. i think though -- and i will say also that they're saying that the state has 30 days to appeal and they will not enforce the ban for the next 30 days. what is troubling, though, is if he does drop this case, then the ban will not be in this

particular area of florida, but it won't apply to all of the other areas in florida. so if it goes to the supreme court and the supreme court finds the ban is unconstitutional, then that will become the law of florida. so for those proponents of the ban, it would be a win almost, if he drops it. >> you know, there's this de facto thing in a lot of states that single parents can't at dopt children. i wonder if this will have any effect and will other places watch this closely because there are many places where single parents can't adopt kids. >> absolutely, and i think people are watching this case very closely all across the country, and what most people are saying, don, is these adoptions should be determined on a case by case basis and has nothing to do with whether or not you are heterosexual or homosexual. it depends on the family, the prospective parents. >> sunny hostin, appreciate it. >> thanks.

>> you are going to hear from one of the gay foster parents who sued to change florida's adoption laws next hour. i will interview martin gill in about 45 minutes. in the meantime, iraqis themselves securing iraq. we're along for the river pat trots on once very dangerous waters.

house republicans are out this morning with a governing strategy they call a pledge to america. the document echoes the gop's 199 had contract with america. remember that? focusing on jobs, faxes and spending. here are some of the specifics. weekly votes on spending cuts, cut the budget of congress, hiring freeze on nonsecurity federal works, and vote, vote, on every regulation costing more than $100 million. take a look. >> we are calling on speak are pelosi and majority leader reid to implement these proposals before congress leaves this fall. we pledge to you that we will create jobs and economic uncertainty and make america more competitive.

we will cut washington wasteful spending and reduce the size of government and we will reform congress and restore your trust in government. >> and there you see her right there in the big monitor, our senior congressional correspondent dana bash live in sterling, virginia, where the gop unveiled its pledge last hour. dana, what are you hearing? >> you just heard kevin mccarthy. they are talking not only about a legislative agenda but a restoration of trust in government. if you look at the specifics of what they're trying to say, that definitely seems to be part of the goal of these republicans in announcing what they call this pledge to america today. i just had an exclusive interview with the man who is trying to be the speak of the house should the republicans be successful and that is john boehner. as you probably know, he is somebody who has had questions, and certainly democrats, the president included, are raising

questions about whether or not he is somebody who is too cozy to lobbyists, and i asked him about that and whether he is willing to say he's going to have more restrictions on lobbyists and do something else to assure people that the perception would change. lift ton what he said. >> i'm a small business guy who stumbled boo this political arena, and when people talk about my roup with the business community, i'm sorry. i am the business community. that's who i am, the heart and soul of me. when i see government, like i did as small employer, choke the goose that's laid the golden egg, that's what drove me here to fight for a government that allows the private sector to be the engine are opportunity tore all americans. >> reporter: so no apologies for any relationship that he might have with lobbies, but to look at this in a bigger picture way, don, what they are also trying to do is convince voters out

there, particularly those very angry tea party voters they are trying to harness and get them to the polls for republicans, convince them that they are actually listening, and cutting spending and doing the things they are demanding. trying to get specifics from mr. boehner, they are saying they want to reduce spending to the levels of 2008 before the stimulus bill and bailout bill. when you try to bet specifics, they talk about getting back some of the unspent money but beyond that, it still seems to be pretty hard to get a line by line. a quick piece of color. while we were waiting for this to start, there was a voter out here, a voter who said he was independent, registered in a swing district in florida and went on line and red the document last night. he said he wants to support the republicans and said to me, where's the beef. that may be something the

republicans are. >> where are the specifics? where's the beef? thank you, dana bash, sterling, virginia. checking top stories, president obama addresses the u.n. general assembly in new york and last hour, he toll the annual gathering, that the united states and the international community are looking for resolution to differencesry iran. >> we cannot demonstrate the peaceful intentions of its nuclear program and those actions have consequences. through u.n. security council resolution 1929, we made it clear that international law is not an empty promise. now, let me be clear once more. the united states and the international community seek a resolution to our differences with iran, and the door remains open to diplomacy should they choose to walk through it. atlanta based mega church pastor eddie long responds to

three lawsuits allegeding he used his position to coerce young men in his church into sex. long released a statement through his attorney denying those allegations. by just learned that radio host frank ski has cancelled his interview her next hour. he's been told not to talk. why is everyone so quiet here? why is the bishop who is usually so vocal so quiet. that's what we want to learn. people are asking that same question to me on line. where is the bishop? bishop, where are you? with so many to choose from it's hard to see the difference. but this is the way most dent. fact is, more dentists brush with an oral-b toothbrush than any other brush. ♪ if you could see what your dentist sees, you'd reach for an oral-b toothbrush too. oral-b.

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we have been telling you about avandia. we have breaking news just announced here. here's what they're saying. this is for the usfda, announced it will significantly restrict the use of this diabetes drug. only patients with type two diabetes who cannot control her diabetes with our medications use avandia. they are the only ones who should use avandia. these restrictions are in response to data that suggests an elevated risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. elizabeth cohen will join us in about 30 minutes.

she's working on it and will bring you the latest on the breaking story with the diabetes drug avandia. stay tuned. we all know cnn equals politics. our deputy political director, mr. paul steinhauser joins us live from washington, d.c. tell us what's crossing the ticker now. >> let's talk about the battle for control of the senate. iffed republicans win ten senate seats, they take control of the chamber. one place it could happen, colorado. our brand new cnn poll of likely voters in colorado, and the numbers suggest that right now the republican challenger there, ken buck, backed by a lot of people in the tea party movement has a five-point advantage over michael bennett, the man appointed u.s. senator there earlier last year when the senator stepped down to become interior secretary. a lot of great battleground

polls, all on kcnn.com/ticker. maybe hillary clinton's seat may be up for grabs. a new poll in new york state by quinnipiac suggests that the current senator there, kiften jill brand only has a six point advantage over the republican challenger there, a guy called joseph deguardia, the father of cara deguardia, the former judge on american idol. that's our brand new look for the ticker. last thing i want to talk about also on the ticker from our chief national correspondent john king. let's talk about david axelrod. he is saying that he may be gone from the west wing next spring. he's a senior adviser to barack

obama, to the president, but he was e-mailing with a bunch of reporters, including john king and he said he would remain at the white house through the mid determines and into next spring. where is he going to go? barack obama's election for 2012 is not that far away, and you would think that's what he will be doing. >> your next political update in one hour. go cnnpolitics.com. [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ]

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sticks. for me that was really moving. the kids definitely have the smarts to do anything. they just don't have, necessarily, the equipment. and that's why we offer schools to provide kids who have a dream and want to do better. >> join the movement. my father brought me up to give back to society... felicia jackson promised her late sister that she would take care of her children. but she needed help. i used my american express open card to get half a million points to buy building materials to help build the jackson family a new home. well, i know if my dad was still around, he would have told me, with no doubt... he would have told me it's a no brainer and i knew that from the start. it was an honor. booming is moving forward by giving back.

let's talk about the number one issue in the country, issue number one, of course, your money. why don't we check the markets and check what's on cnnmoney.com. get all the information you need to know about the economy and your money. here's what's at the top of the page, interesting, john boehner and the president of the united states agreeing on something. they agree that on one thing and that's extending the tax cuts for the middle class. you can check out the whole story at cnnmoney.com. nasdaq is up 15. the dow is up 13. there you go, you see the numbers right there. of course, it's still trading, the market is still trading above 10,000 here. we learned this morning that unemployment lines grew last week 465,000 people signed up for benefits. the good news, the good news here? we're getting into the holiday hiring season.

allison is at the new york stock exchange. >> things are looking up if you're look for that seasonal employment. retailers are looking to hire up to 600,000 people to fill these seasonal jobs. challenger gray and christmas shows how we've made progress over the last few years. check out 2008. we were in the middle of the recession and we hit rock bottom, the seasonal workers, we hired less than 400,000 of them. hiring began to grow in 2009 and it's expected to pick up this year. we're moving in the right direction but we're also seeing caution from retailers. retail sales are expected to pick up but not by that much. so retailers are a little hess tan the to hire all these people all at once. it could be a while before we get to the prerecession levels of that kind of seasonal hiring that we saw before the recession. don? >> alison, where are these jobs?

>> very good question. two good places to look at are walmart and target. the big discounters are doing really well. a lost consumers are shopping and lookinging for the great deals. target had a good is, xssecond quarter. macy's will be looking for 65,000 people to work during the holiday season. toys "r" us also hiring 10,000 people for the holiday season. you know, the best thing to do, don, what analysts say, walk around the mall, take a look at where the hiring signs are in those store fronts. also the seasonal positions that i'm talking about, you're really going to find those in the seasonal store fronts like toys "r" us, those kind of seasonal stores are opening up across the country. >> i've done that before. christmas jobs or holiday relief, what have you, people going on vacation. >> exactly. >> sometimes the jobs become permanent. >> you never know. yes. >> mega church pastor eddie long releases a statement through his

attorney denying allegations he coerced young men in his church into sex. now, we're going to talk with our correspondent ed lavandera, not only about this third lawsuit being filed but why is everyone so quiet? why is everyone been -- they put the clamp on everyone here. what's going on with that? is it a good pr move for the bishop? we'll talk about it. really good books, were they digital or analogue? we're talking about the future of e-books with an author known to walk around with a paperback book shoved in his jean pockets. ♪ ♪ feed the senses.

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homeland security secretary janet napolitano says terrorism threats against the u.s. have increased and evolved. >> recent events of intelligence show a trend towards, as you mentioned, senator collins, smaller, faster developing plots rather than larger, longer-term plots like 9/11. these plots may include the use of ieds or teams who use small arms and explosives, both forms of attack that have been used abroad. the results of these changing tactics are fewer opportunities to detect and disrupt plots. >> napolitano, fbi director robert muller and other top security officials tell the senate homeland security committee al qaeda remains a major international threat. they also note an increase in groups that affiliate with al qaeda and self-radicalized americans. with the u.s. combat mission in iraq now over we're seeing more evidence of iraqi forces stepping up to control their own

country. cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman reports on one important patrol. >> reporter: they patrol on a river running through a city that has seen some very bad times. baghdad's river patrol keeps an eye on a strategic stretch of the tigris, running by the heavily fortified green zone, headquarters to see iraqi ministries and the apartment and home to british and u.s. embassies. in the darkest days of the violence here in baghdad, one of the main jobs of the river patrol was to fish dead bodies out of the water. on this day, the body they pulled out was alive and well. this was merely a demonstration put on by the river patrol, part of a graduation ceremony for 40 policemen who had just finished a training course. with the death squads lying low, the patrol is rescuing more live people than dead from the waters.

though this, too, was just a show. the patrols colonel insists things are much better. "thank god," he says quarterback "now there's stability, the security forces have the situation under control and it's getting better day by day." this is one of those occasions where iraqis and americans like to stress their solidarity. the americans eager to show iraqis taking charge and in the lead. it's all part of the new phase in u.s. involvement here, focusing on training and advising before the planned total american withdrawal at the end of next year. americans helped in the training course but much of the funding for the river patrol is iraqi. lieutenant general michael bkea.

>> the iraqi security forces are ready to provide for the internal security of iraq. >> reporter: when they do the job for themselves, some fear, it might not be such smooth sailing. ben wedeman, cnn, baghdad. hello, everyone, i'm don lemon. tony is off today. it's the top of the hour in the "cnn newsroom" where anything can happen. here are some of people behind today's top stories. house republicans are taking the pledge. will it impact who you vote for in november? that's the big question. e-books seem to be the future of publishing. author stephen king tells us why he was one of first to embrace this new technology. you're online, we are, too. josh is following what's happening. >> reporter: a top level guerrilla leader killed in

colombia. the president calling it historic. we'll have the details. this was supposed to be the day that bishop eddie long broke his silence. instead, he has backed out of an interview and news conference and there are new allegations right now against him. a third young man is now suing the leader of a 25,000-member new birth missionary baptist church. cnn's ed lavandera broke the story and he joins me live. this is the first question i have to ask you. this is on twitter, what does that say. >> don lemon, where's the bishop. >> he's so transparent. he's always here when he wants to talk about something, when he wants to promote something, his pr people call us. his church members call us. where is the bishop? >> there's no question. i don't know where he is right now. but we were supposed to hear from him this morning on the tom joyner radio show.

our colleague roland martin was supposed to speak with him this morning. his attorney said he told him, don't do the interview. >> he was supposed to be on the morning show. here's what tom joyner said on this blog. he said joyner said, this was after the interview where long was supposed to attend and the attorney went on. he said he would be immediately, thomas saying i would be immediately making radio appearances to try to clear my name. i would have me to work, joyner said, i would have bonn in my radio studio before i got there, meaning trying to clear his name. >> i've gotten a lot of messages like that over the last couple of days. yesterday within i was asked this question, we were able to say, look, he's planning to do this interview. tom joyner radio show. obviously a relatively friendly venue. he was supposed to also later in the day today come out and make a public statement, just read a statement, not take any questions but appear on camera. we haven't seen him in a couple

of days. this is a man who aseen everywhere. >> we'll get to the third person. we're hearing from b.j. bernstein of radio interviews she did yesterday morning. they are hearing other stories from other young men as well. >> she told us that as well. >> the american people are very forgiving. even if you say -- you know, innocent until proven guilty. if you come out and you're honest and transparent with the american people usually they will forgive you in you've done something wrong. if you haven't you have nothing to worry about. here's what he is losing the opportunity to do the longer he doesn't talk. he's losing the opportunity to say i've already answered those questions and to move on by not coming out an speaking because people are going to be asking and asking and asking until he answers. >> there's no question. real quick, we do know that he's planning on speaking publicly from the pulpit on sunday. >> that's a controlled venue. >> sure. but we'll hear from him in a couple of days.

all we've gotten so far is a statement that his attorney says that he wrote and he talked about that on the tom joyner radio show. we can listen to a little bit of what bishop eddie long's attorney, the statement that he read from the bishop this morning on that radio show. >> i have been through storms and my faith, as always, sustained me. i am anxious to respond directly to these false allegations and i will do so, however, my lawyers counsel patience at this time. let me be clear, the charges against me and new birth are false. i have devoted my life to helping others and these false allegations hurt me deeply. but my faith is strong and the truth will emerge. >> why couldn't the bishop say that? >> that's -- you know, that's -- i think that's a fair question. i mean, it's not one that i can

answer. we're hearing it repeatedly from a lot of people. he has a lot of defenders in his church. i was told the way this statement, when he read it on camera was supposed to happen today was going to include having a lot of supporters behind him. so we need to be clear. he still has a great deal of support, however, there's also a great deal of people who go to this church. we've spoken with him who say, look, i want to believe he's telling truth but i need to see more and i want to hear from him directly. we've heard that from his church members as well. >> these are just allegations but the more you don't talk -- it happened with tiger woods. it happens with everyone. the longer you sort of hide as people think, then they think you have something to hide. like what's going on? >> roland martin started off the interview this morning on the radio show with that very point. if these guys were saying this about about me, roland said i'd be on top of a mountain top screaming my head off if it wasn't true. >> it's easy when it's not happening to you, it's easier to say. >> of course. >> things are said about you

that aren't true, there's no way to defend them and sometimes when you talk about them, saying this just to be honest, you give them more play than they deserve. >> i also want to pass along, too, his attorneys said if you want to blame somebody, blame me. i'm the one that kept him off the radio show. >> what people are saying this morning, there were two interviews, one on the tom joyner radio show and another one we had booked. his attorney is, by going on those shows and saying that, it doesn't look good. he didn't know what time the church service was on sunday. why didn't they press him harder? that's what i mean, going to a journalist who is going to ask the tough questions and not doing the cliche thing and say you're going to go somewhere with the softball interview and it will be over. deal with it, move on and get it behind you. >> sorry. i'm on my high horse here. >> on the hot seat. >>en in the until proven guilty. you're doing a great job on this story. we'll see where it goes. again, we're hearing from b.j.

bernstein. she's vetting other people and there's a third young man -- >> three as of now. >> filed yesterday. >> we'll keep tabs on that. >> appreciate it. republicans are outlining their plans for governing if they take control of the house in november. a pledge to america, focuses broadly on jobs, spending and taxes. the pledge spells out many of the same themes newt gingrich put in the republicans 1994 contract with america. remember that? that was ahead of the gop's takeover in 1995. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash in sterling, virginia, where gop lawmakers unveiled a pledge today and dana, is there anything new here? you've been speaking to john boehner exclusively today about this very subject. >> reporter: look, a lot of what -- if people look at this, a lot of what they say will not be new to them. big picture, the republicans are saying that they are going to try to cut spending, they're going to try to make the tax cuts permanent. they want to repeal the president's health care plan.

the reason why they say they this, they understand as much as their campaign is against democrats and trying to get the democrats out of power, they understand that the republican brand is damaged as well. so what they're trying to do is give that voter who goes into the voting booth and says be i really don't want the democrat but i'm not so sure about the republicans either, a little bit of a sense that they actually get it, that republicans have changed their ways from back when they were potentially spending too much. the other thing there really is in here, a lot of bones, so to speak to the tea party voters who say too much spending and congress itself needs to be reformed. i want to give you some examples. in this they say they will have weekly votes on spending cuts, cut congress' budget, they'll have a net hiring freeze on nonsecurity federal employees and they pledge to have a vote on every regulation, federal regulation costing more than $100 million. but despite what's in here, we are already hearing from some people that you know what, maybe

it's not really specific enough. they pledge to cut spending, pledge to reduce spending back to the levels before the stimulus plan and before the bailout but they don't say exactly how they're going to do it. wendy speak recently exclusively with john boehner who hopes to be speaker, i asked him that question. you talk about the rebellion out there. part of what those rebellious voters want to know is, they want you to be specific, because as you probably know, as you know, they maybe aren't that enamored of the democrats but they don't trust you as a republican. >> that's why we've outlined clearly in our pledge what we would and would not do. i think when it comes to spending we've been very specific. about common sense steps we can do to get government -- >> give me one example. >> let's stop it and bring it back. how about all the t.a.r.p. funds? in more bailouts, no more using this money for unintended purposes. there's $700 billion right there.

>> he was talking about unspent money he would put back into the treasury. what i was getting at is what he would do to cut spending by the federal government of money that is already gone. didn't get much there. i asked him about the relationship with the president and the fact they don't really have a relationship. he said something interesting. he said, look, we're disagree. i suspect in the coming months we'll have the opportunity to get a lot closer. i asked him if he thinks today, 0 days out if he will be the speaker of the house. he said that's our goal but we have a lot of work to do d. don? >> dana bash at tart lumber, thank you. a popular diabetes drug linked to concerns about heart problems. we'll tell you what the fda decided about avandia. first, though, a random moment in 80 seconds. my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies.

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parking ticket chill. you'll see why i'm doing this in a second. it's our random moment of the day. cambridge, massachusetts hope its newly designed parking tickets are as soothing as a beach sunset. they show yoga positions. the tickets aren't calming some cambridge residents, though. they're freaking people out. one woman says she's more ticked off now about the waste than the parking ticket. your random moment for a thursday.

within the last hour you saw a short time ago i announced

this breaking news here on cnn, the fda says its decision has had its decision on the fate of the diabetes drug avandia. the agency will allow avandia to stay on the market. it will stay on the market but it is imposing tight restrictions on its use. elizabeth cohen joins us. what's the latest on this? strict restrictions, probably for those who can't really control it. >> it's interesting what this means. let me back up for a second. i think a lot of people are unfamiliar with the story. it's been a while. avandia came out 11 years ago. every was excite bdz this wonder drug for diabetes. then studies said it increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. there was concern about it, obviously. the fda says, look, doctors if you want to prescribe this drug, you'll have to document that nothing else works. and for a doctor to do that is a ton of work. and historically when they've done this with other drugs, the sales plummet. doctors will have to document that this is the only drug and

that it's worth of risk of having a heart attack or stroke. let me talk about what gsk has to say. they put out a press release. glaxo smithkline says they believe avanedia is an important treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes. >> they believe it works for some patients? >> the fda had people testifying, patients came to the fda and said please don't take away our avanedia. i talked to many doctors who say, look, if avandia works for them, something else will work for them, too, without that risk. >> what about the alternatives? if you go into a doctor's office and you read about avandia -- >> yeah, maybe not. we he written a whole empowered patient column about this. if you go to cnnhealth.com you'll see it. you can read more about the alternatives there. >> fascinating. thank you so much for coming in to tell us this. elizabeth cohen, something else

we'll be talking, the high cost of health care. even with health care reform, you could see your premiums and co-pays go up. we'll explain that. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] every business day, bank of america lends billions of dollars, to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses. ♪ working to set opportunity in motion.

bank of america. health care reform was supposed to bring costs down but your insurance premiums probably won't be falling anytime soon. why is that? stephanie elam from the new york stock exchange. stephanie, why are costs still rising? >> yeah, this is one that

everyone is going to be paying attention to, don. really what we're talking about are the new providings that go in effect today. they're costing insurance companies more. what's going to happen? most of them are going to pass the increases on to us. let's run through a few of the major changes. for one thing, children are covered for pre-existing conditions. also, no lifetime limits on coverage. and children can be covered on a parents' plan until the age of 2 2, the idea to get them through college and have insurance coverage. the new benefits will cost you. human resources consultant mercer says on average, employers expect health care costs to rise 6% per employee next year. the company surveyed say more than 2% of the latest increases directly tied to the new health care provisions. how much your actual plan goes up will depend on what your coverage was before health reform. in general, mercer says you can expect to see higher co-pays,

higher deductibles and premiums next year if you get insurance through your job like most of us do here in america. if you get it privately, here's the thing, you'll be probably slapped with even higher premium hikes there. we're talking about double digit increases in some states. regulators are watching carefully to make sure insurance companies aren't taking advantage of the change and using the health care reform as an excuse for unjustified rate hikes, don. >> when are we going to see the costs stop skyrocketing? just -- when? >> that's the point. that's what everyone wants. the whole idea behind this is to get our costs in control. a recent government report finds it will be at least five years before health care spending starts to slow down. it predicts we'll see a spike this year through 2014 as most uninsured people have to get access to care. then spending growth will slow slightly from 2015 through 2019. the hope is that long term, a bigger pool of insured customers will help lessen the pressure on

premiums by spreading out that risk. whether that happens remains to be seen. take a listen to this. >> health care reform has provided benefits to some people who are vulnerable. there's no question of that. the real question is, as we implement it over time, is the cost. because if it leads to making it less affordable for other people presently covered we'll have vulnerable people there, too. >> now, according to the obama administration, they're saying health reform is starting to lower costs for some people. for example, they say seniors enrolled in private insurance plans through medicare will see average premiums fall 1%. we saw blue cross blue shield of north carolina refunding $155 million in premiums to some customers as a result of changes from health care reform. as you probably gathered about this one, it's not done being argued and i don't expect it will be done for several years. >> steph elam, thank you very

much. all right, time now for your top stories here on cnn. virginia is preparing to carry out the first execution of a woman inmate in the u.s. in five years. her name is teresa lewis. she's scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection tonight. she admitted paying two men to kill her husband and stepson. abbott labs recalling 5 million cans of similac formula. they say beatles may have gotten into some of the formula. a key part of the president's address this morning, he says the u.s. and allies seek to resolve differences with iran but iran must confirm the peaceful intent of its program. iranian's president is set to address the u.n. in the 3:00 eastern hour. you can catch it all on "rick's list." make sure you tune in. they beat the senate, beat the state of florida in court twice.

gay parents fight to adopt two little boys. have they finally won? we're talking live with one of the men.

charlie crist has ordered the state to stop enforcing a ban on adoption by gay and lesbian parents. a state appeals court has ruled the law unconstitutional. florida is the only state with a blanket ban on adoption by gays and lesbians. martin gill and his partner brought this case. they wanted to adopt their two foster children they have been parenting for five years. martin gill joins me now from miami. thanks for joining us, sir. >> good morning, don.

>> good morning. they have 30 days, the department of children and family services has 30 days to decide on an appeal. does this feel like a victory to you right now or are you waiting to see what's going to happen next? >> absolutely. it's a huge victory. we're still kind of trying to determine exactly what it means. but basically it's a huge step in the right direction. and after careful consultation with our lawyers today and yesterday, we -- they've determined basically that within 15 days any gay or lesbian can potentially adopt children in this state. >> and he said -- the governor said he wasn't going to stop it. if they start the process, one wonders if they start the process within 30 days if that can be reversed. it's sort of the same situation when it came to prop 8 out in california. is that a concern for you? >> well, at this point, i can't

say it's not a concern, because this is florida and having fought this battle for five years, you know, you never really are that comfortable here, i think. but governor charlie crist has reached out to us. he says that he would like to have that discussion with us and after careful consultation with our lawyers, we are going to ask him not to go for a further appeal. and according to our lawyers and even the state's lawyers, at that point, our decision will basically strike down the ban and anybody in any district in florida will be able to adopt. >> how are your kids? >> they're doing great. they're doing great. >> are they old enough to really understand what's going on? >> well, parts of it they do. i think. i certainly tried to explain it to them when we were first going to court, when it first all became public. i was explaining it to them, you know, you're going to take on my

last name and you're going to be forever family and no one can ever take you away. you know, they really never felt at all like they could be taken from our family. we've always given them a lot of reassurance. we've never really spoken to that effect. certainly we've treated them just as we would treat our own biological child. >> martin gill, those are the magic words, forever family. we want to thank you for joining us here on cnn. best of luck. >> all right. thank you. >> thank you. digital or print? sales of e-readers are outselling hard covers on amazon. hear what author stephen king is saying about the threat to the printed page. [ male announcer ] what is performance?

0 to 60? or 60 to 0? [ tires screech ] the quarter-mile, or a quarter-century? is performance about the joy of driving? or the importance... of surviving? to us, performance is not about doing one thing well. it is about doing everything well. because in the end... everything matters. the best or nothing. that is what drives us. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers on the c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer words alone aren't enough. 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.

let's check your money right now and check cnnmoney.com. the big story on cnnmoney.com, $700 billion too much but $3 trillion okay? the president and john boehner both agree on something, they agree to extending the tax cuts for the middle class despite the $3 trillion tab. nasdaq up 13 points and the dow is down. at this moment, 151. let's talk about the e-books. i read them on my ipad.

the next generation of video books, it's nearing a release. alana cho talks to awe tore stephen king about the e-book movement. >> reporter: the shining, misery, caring, the mere mention of stephen king's titles evokes fear. do people ever say to you when they meet you, you know, i thought maybe i might be scared of you. all the time, right? >> sure. a lot of people think they're going to be scared of me. i'm civilized. >> right here, please. >> reporter: the best-selling author built his career on fritenning people through the written word. he sees things in ways others don't. so years before most authors even thought about e-books king published a novella online. it shocked the industry and got him a lot of attention. >> i got on the cover of "time" magazine and for once in my life, i got noticed in airports by the guys who wear the suits and ties. they'd come up to me and say how did that work, how did that sell? they were fascinated by the

business aspect. >> reporter: that was a decade ago. today, the e-book industry is on fire. amazon is selling more e-books than hard covers, making up more than 8% of publishing revenue. up from 3% a year ago. on track to hit 50% by 2015. some studies show when people own e-book readers like kindles and ipads they buy more and read more. the future. but does it mean the death of traditional books? the internet in many ways killed the music industry. so why won it the do that to books? >> well, i'm not sure that it won't. the book is not the important part. the book is the delivery system. the important part is the story and the talent. >> reporter: content, pardon the pun, is king. >> i feel like there are twice as many people working here today as there were a month ago. >> there are. >> reporter: jane friedman used to run harper kolings. today she's the ceo of open road

integrated media, a company that publishes, you guessed it, e-books. open road is among those adding video to e-books by authors like pat conroy who wrote the "prince of tides." >> not be afraid of critics, other writers, so write something so bold. >> reporter: hoping to enhance the e-book experience. >> i actually was very involved with starting the aud dough book business. and we had people who said why would i ever listen to a book? i'd like to turn the pages. the e-book is just another format. >> reporter: why king reads both books and e-books. do you go back and read your own books? >> very rarely. i know how they come out. books will always exist. will they be what they are now? absolutely they will not. >> reporter: does that make you sad? >> oh, man, does that make me sad? if i say yes, everybody will understand that. the answer is, the future is

going to be what the future is going to be. >> reporter: with one potential drawback. >> if you drop a book in the toilet you can push it out and dry it off and read it. if you drop your kindle in the toilet, you're done. >> reporter: think e-books are a fad in think again. how about a library with no books? one library at the university of texas at san antonio has no physical books, none at all. its entire collection of 425,000 volumes and 18,000 journal articles is available only 0 online. alina cho, cnn, new york. highly skilled doctor detectives race to save a little girl's life. dr. sanjay gupta is with them as they battle medical mysteries. i was a bookkeeper for 34 years.

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two families struggling to save loved one suffering devastating medical mysteries. 6-year-old kiley has debilitating twitches and tremors. i 6-year-old has a disease that causes her muscles to grow out of control. >> reporter: at 53 years old, sally was fiscally ripped.

>> everybody assumed that i spent a whole lot of time in the gym. >> reporter: sally didn't lift weights. in fact, whatever was causing her body to bulk up uncontrollably was also taking her ability to live her life. >> it was very frustrating. i was losing the ability to do the things i loved to do. it became increasingly difficult just to walk. at some point i knew if it continued it would kill me. >> reporter: she'd seen countless medical specialists. no one had an explanation. and that's why dr. william gull and his team was trying to solve the mystery. >> this is super impressive. >> look at these things. >> you see a cleavage right in the middle of her back because the muscles are so big. >> reporter: dr. william gull is the program's lead investigator. >> when you see these pictures, they are pretty incredible.

did you think steroids? >> sure. we pretty much all thought it except the letter said she's not taking steroids or anything anabolic and she did weight lift a little bit but many years before. there's no possible effect of that. the endokronologist eliminated those. >> reporter: dr. gull and the udp see only the rarest cases. not only do they want to save lives but they also want to advance science, by identifying new diseases. >> bottom line, it's not acromegaly. what could this be. >> reporter: during the week of intense tests, there are scans, blood work, an examination of everything going on inside sally's body. >> this is sally's mri of the brain. that's incredible. >> when the images were found, it was seen that the muscles, even the muscles that govern the movements of the eye, which are

small muscles are huge. the neuroradiologist saw this and sort of went wild over this. look at the size of those. they're three to four times bigger. >> they've probably never seen anything quite like this. >> there's no way to make those muscles big by moving your eyes a lot. it's not like lifting weights. why would they be that big. >> reporter: it's a clue, it suggests something inside the muscle itself. so the udp team took a sample. >> we took muscle from her arm. >> right. this was really one of those judgment decisions. because she had had a muscle biopsy one year before that was read as normal. so we weren't like 99% sure we should do this. we were like 70%, 80% sure. >> reporter: in five days, the tests are complete. sally is sent home to north carolina but no diagnosis, not yet. in fact, gull and his team treat their patients like a crime scene. they collect all the evidence

they can find and then try to make sense of it. >> we do like the sort of detective work. remember, a lot of the detective work take place after the patients have gone. >> reporter: but that decision, to take the sample of muscle tissue from sally's bicep, will in time, prove to be a key part of this puzzle. at midweek, the 5-year-old kiley, her body has only given up a few small clues. but the specialists are eliminating possible causes by finding what is working normally. >> this is the right side of her brain and this is the left side of her brain. it's the right side of her body that's affected. you would expect to see changes on the left side of her brain. >> i think things are structurally pretty normal. it's some sort of wiring problem that's not visible. >> reporter: an eeg shows kiley's brain is symmetrical, which is positive news. but there are these spikes of activity. >> this is very, very asymmetrical.

they could point to a rare brain disorder that affects the brain's motor strip. however, that would only explain kiley's symptoms, not what's causing them. >> we are understanding the phenomena but we don't have an understanding of the underlying mechanisms that brought it on. >> this will help it not hurt. >> reporter: by friday, the tests are complete. now, dr. gull and his team are planning what they're going to tell kiley's parents. waiting in another room, kiley's mom and dad are anxious, hopeful. >> they might have some things back for that. it's exciting and i'm nervous. >> we're going to document that. >> reporter: but the doctors have no diagnosis. >> we're working on all sorts of things that have yet to come back. >> reporter: instead they explain how the results will guide their investigation. >> and we continue to work together on this. >> reporter: for kiley's mom and dad, gina and steven, the emotional toll of the week is just so overwhelming.

>> we don't consider this to be a final diagnosis. the parents are having sort of a tough time. and this is quite typical of this program. >> there was just, i think, too much for me at that exact moment. >> it scared me, because i didn't want it to be the end. >> reporter: for the next several months, the udp team will chase every clue, hoping it leads them to a prime suspect. what is killing kiley? and how to stop it. >> maybe someday we'll get that phone call, hey, we think we might know what it is. >> that was cnn's dr. sanjay gupta. you know, all year on cnn, we have been introducing you to truly remarkable people. we call them cnn heroes. today in about 40 minutes at 1:00 eastern, anderson cooper

will introduce this year's top ten cnn heroes at cnn.com. be sure you logon and vote for the cnn hero who inspires you the most. donald trump in "the situation room," he tells wolf blitzer president obama is in political quicksand. a cnn political update, moments away. ♪

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joins me now from washington. i'm so excited i could barely get it out, mark. what's crossing right now? i'm sure you're excited, too. >> reporter: these updates on the 45s certainly give you the best of political news. very quickly up in delaware right now, christine o'donnell who seems to be the republican favorite, people love to see what she's doing, what's going to happen to her? we have a new cnn/"time" opinion research corporation poll, doesn't spell good news. shows that she's down 16 points to the democratic nominee chris koons. mike castle would have been up 18 points. moving on, what is the donald saying right now about president obama? well, he doesn't have very good things to say right now, don. he's saying that president obama probably will have a tough re-election, not surprising right now given the state of the economy. this is what he told wolf

blitzer yesterday. i don't know if he's ever going to recover. i look at him as the president that is really in trouble. he goes on to say that he sees a lot of animosity and a level of hatred that he has never ever seen before. i should note that donald trump did endorse john mccain back in the 2008 presidential election. and let's close it out with this right here. stephen colbert, we already know he's coming to washington for the big rally, that march to keep fear alive rally on october 3rd. guess what? he's going to be here tomorrow. he's testifying before a house judiciary subcommittee. he's going to be talking about the issue of immigration. colbert spent a day work as an immigrant farmer up in new york state. not quite sure what he's going to say or if he's going to be in character. we're trying to get those answers from the house judiciary committee. stephen colbert talking about that very thorny issue of immigration. don? >> news on the 45s. politics on the 45s. is that what you said?

you give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world. you give us 45 minutes we'll give you the world. >> give me 45 seconds and i'll give you the world zblf politics. >> of politics. >> thank you. your next political update coming up in an hour here on cnn, on the 45s. "sesame street's" elmo plays dressup with katy perry. parents say no way. josh levs explains what's hot on the internet. start earning with as little as $75 spent, including great sale prices. hurry, sears bonus days are on! sears. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.

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elmo. this is what this is about, right? >> it's about elmo but not a picture like that. this is completely innocent. here's the thing, they pulled this video. before it went on tv, they pulled it. it's katy perry playing around with elmo and you know, i just think it's completely fine. most parents that i've talked to think it's completely fine and have no trouble with it. but apparently there are some parents look at this and said, too much cleavage and he runs around the bottom of her skirt and they thought it got too racy for "sesame street." some people defending it saying, wait a second, have you ever seen the little mermaid or princess jasmine. some people thought that this was too racy. not only do they pull it but we have a statement from sesame street about this. they said we used parodies on celebrity segments to interest adults in the show.

we know a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or caregiver. in light of the feedback we decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of sesame street. as a representative for katy perry said she enjoyed working with sesame street and playing up in this dressup kind of thing and she had a good time anyway. a little controversy there. >> how can you be upset about that? elmo is innocent, totally innocent. it's about kids. i love elmo and cookie monster. i love all the sesame street characters. >> it's still up at katy perry.com. the hot new video from okay go. let's show that. >> these are the guys that pioneered the awesome treadmill video and had the cool video with the giant machine. now it's about the puppy dog. check it out. you can see it on their page. they spent weeks and weeks training the animals. some amazing stunts.

nobody talking about pulling that. >> very interesting. that's what's hot. >> back in a moment on cnn. mary: does this dress make my backside look big? abe: perhaps... save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance?really host: is having a snowball fight with pitching great randy johnson a bad idea? man: yeah, i'm thinking maybe this was a bad idea. we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster. sure, i can download directions for you now. we got it. thank you very much! check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level. i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible.

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found with his throat slashed. a knife was found and recovered at the scene. that's according to the spokes penn. he said it was too early in the investigation to classify the death as a murder or suicide. it's not yet known. the victim was found at his home, on the grand concourse by his driver and they may have been picking him up at the time to take him to a meeting with his delegation which is attending the united nations general assembly. more to come here on cnn. a nicaraguan official found dead with his throat slashed . the 33 chilean miners have been trapped underground since august 3rd. rescuers are working to save them, of course. cnn's karl penhaul shows us how they are helping themselves.

>> reporter: a new dawn breaks, 33 miners face another day trapped half a mile deep. rescue workers say the men never lost their notion of time. >> translator: the miners have cell phones so they had a calendar. they knew perfectly what day it was and what time it was. the only thing they didn't know was what the weather was like. >> reporter: it's 8:00 a.m. on the surface, far underground day shift is starting. they're working to help rescue themselves. there are three shifts, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. to midnight. and midnight till 8:00 a.m. >> translator: they have eight hours of rest, another eight-hour work shift and eight hours to play games, read, write letters, jog or have a walk, because they have access to about 2 1/2 kilometers of tunnels. >> reporter: time is marked by meals sent down in metal tubes

rescuers call carrier pigeons. this nurse is supervising. >> translator: about 7:45 we send them breakfast. at 10:00 a.m. a milk shake, at 12:00, lunch, 4:00 p.m. another milk shake and around 7:00 p.m., their dinner. >> reporter: first job of the day, check air quality. by midday, paramedic johnny barrios has checked the miner's vital sounds and send the results above. >> they do a blood and urine test to see if there's any blood infection. >> reporter: miners help the effort, clearing debris from the drills now boring an escape shaft. at 4:00 p.m., dayshift ends. miners play games, listen to music and workout on the orders of a personal trainer far abov