he messed with texa u don't want to do that. so now this ex-prophet, current child rapist who is going to get sentenced, is going to get hammered by this jury. the tape recordings that were played to this jury were devastating. it was not a complex case, joe. it was a streamlined prosecution. other prosecutors should learn from this, orlando. anyway, it was a streamlined prosecution, joe. and the jury just ate it up. it was a horrific case. and avery is right. he put on no defense. he sat there like a lunatic. he fired all of his attorneys. now during the sentencing phase, he stands up in court and tells a judge, remove me from the court. i can't see my religion persecuted like this. so the judge says fine. you're out. put in one of his old attorneys to represent him. it's brutal. and now the testimony that is coming in is devastating, joe. this jury is not going to tolerate it. he is facing 90 years on the 12-year-old, and 22 on the

15-year-old. he is going to get it all. >> you can catch our legal guys every saturday at noon eastern. topping the news at this hour, 30 u.s. troops killed yesterday in afghanistan, 22 of them navy s.e.a.l.s. they were on a mission to rescue an army ranger unit on a anti-terrorism mission. new details now from our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> the navy s.e.a.l.s were brought in to try and help another unit pinned down on the ground. they were already in the middle of a firefight. they needed help. they called for it. and the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s came. we now know that the unit that was pinned down were u.s. army rangers, members of the army 76 ranger regiment out of ft. benning, georgia. they have been deployed in afghanistan for some time. part of this country's special operations forces that are

conducting these anti-terrorism raids across eastern afghanistan. they needed help. the s.e.a.l.s came. and all indications continue to be we are cold that that helicopter was brought down by enemy fire. >> one of those killed was 30-year-old navy s.e.a.l. aaron carson vaughn. we're learning the names and hometowns of those casualties as the defense department goes through the agonizing process of notifying 30 separate families of their loss. cnn's brian todd is in one of the nation's s.e.a.l. communities today, virginia beach, virginia. >> reporter: kimberly vaughn describes that horrible moment when uniformed officers came to her door and told her about her husband. >> and i just fell to my knees. >> reporter: arson carson vaughn was one of 22 navy s.e.a.l.s killed in the helicopter crash in afghanistan. kimberly is now left to care for 2-month-old daughter chamberlin and son reagan who turns two

next month. >> i want to the tell the world that he was an amazing man, that he was a wonderful husband and a fabulous father to two wonderful children. and he was a warrior for our country. and he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> reporter: on the boardwalk, in the diners of the vaughn's newly adopted town of virginia beach, a community grieves for nearly two dozen young men who were in their midst but who they never really got to know. mary's restaurant is a hangout for some of the s.e.a.l.s based near virginia beach. >> you feel like you're at rock bottom again. you just feel like you're not succeeding at what needs to be done. and you have to ask is it worth it. is another life worth it? >> it's a grave loss, and we're very sad. very sad day. roar these were secretive, elite commandos who never could reveal what they did though to these neighbors. still, people here feel a close bond with the s.e.a.l.s. and in only about 13 weeks, this community has gone from the triumph of the killing of osama

bin laden to what now appears to be the biggest single loss of life in s.e.a.l. history. virginia beach mayor wanted to throw a parade for the s.e.a.l.s after the bin laden raid, but knew he couldn't. now he has to help an entire city grieve for a group of young men whose names they may be hearing for the first time. >> it hurts. but it's a shared pain, which means that everyone thinks so highly of them. >> reporter: john mcguire knows all about that shared pain. he was a s.e.a.l. for ten years, stationed near virginia beach. there any survivor guilt among current or former s.e.a.l.s when something like this happened? >> i think former s.e.a.l.s like myself and all s.e.a.l.s go through all the emotions. but we are at war and freedom isn't free. these guys, every one of them, if they had a chance would do it all again. >> reporter: now the focus turns toward helping the families. current and former navy s.e.a.l.s and their commanders are going to be trying to raise money for the navy s.e.a.l. foundation. that's a group dedicated to raising money, giving financial help to those left behind. joe?

>> painful story there, brian todd in virginia beach, virginia. thank you so much for that. among those killed in the helicopter crash, nebraska national guardsman patrick hamburger, the 30-year-old sergeant was deployed to afghanistan just a week ago. military officials with knowledge of the operation say hamburger's mission was to deliver u.s. commandos targeting a taliban commander. his brother says he always put others before himself. >> pat, you know, was always -- he was the guy that was always looking out for everyone around him. and i've got a twin brother too. and he was always taking care of us and getting himself into bad situations to make sure that he had taken care of us. and he just -- he was selfless. he didn't worry about him half as much as he worried about everyone else. and you could have been a complete stranger and if he could help you, he would have done it.

>> the sergeant's stepfather says hamburger joined the guard when he was 18, and planned to propose to the mother of his 2-year-old daughter when he returned to the u.s. treasury secretary tim geithner joins a conference call with representatives of other g-7 countries tonight to discuss the fallout from the u.s. credit downgrade. despite mounting criticism of geithner, the white house says he will stay on the job. cnn's athena jones joins us from the white house. athena, let's start with geithner. the president has pretty much put in a vote of confidence for him now, hasn't he? >> well, i think it's fair to say the answer is yes. we heard from white house press secretary jay carney earlier today. he said the president had asked treasury secretary geithner to stay on at treasury, and he welcomes his decision to stay. >> now what is geithner hoping to accomplish during tonight's conference call? >> well, it's not surprising officials aren't saying too much about this call. but we can expect that geithner is going to want to share the

u.s.'s point of view on all of this. we know that the administration is angry about this decision the s&p has made. they believe there was a rush to judgment on the agency's part. and ever since the announcement was made on friday, they've been stressing the point of this $2 trillion mistake they say the s&p has made, and that the s&p has acknowledged making in calculating future u.s. deficits. it's a mistake that one of the president's own economic advisers, gene sperling said showed the agency's amateurism. it's not surprising the s&p has responded to this. let's listen to what their managing director had to say about this on an earlier interview today. >> when we made the modifications that we did after a conversation with the treasury. it doesn't change the fact that in our estimation, that even with the agreement of congress and the administration this past week, that the underlying debt burden of the u.s. government is rising and will continue to

rise, most likely over the next decade. >> and so this $2 trillion mistake issue is likely to come up in discussions that the officials here are having with officials in europe, in asia as they look to these markets opening, joe. >> pushing forward to tomorrow, has the white house said anything at all what they expect to happen on wall street? >> well, in the briefing we got on friday after this, this announcement, with sources familiar with it, no one wanted to guess or forecast what would happen with the markets. some of the points they made were that the information that the s&p used to make this downgrade decision was already in the public domain. so it's not something that should surprise other investors in the markets. they pointed out that the other two ratings agencies, fitch and moody's have maintained the u.s.'s aaa status. so they say in a collective way, the market still sees the u.s. as a good risk, a good investment. but of course we've already seen some indications of what could happen in the markets.

in the middle east we saw markets in dubai and israel closed down. so there is no way to really know what is going to happen, and whether the turmoil we saw last weekend in europe that riled all the markets will continue as marks open in asia and europe, now that you have this new wrench thrown into it all. >> a fascinating story. and there are a lot of predictions out there that people are going to be taking a much closer look at s&p and the other credit rating agencies and how they do business. thank you so much for that reporting. athena jones at the white house. >> thanks, joe. when wall street opens for business tomorrow, it may take a cue from what has been happening on the global markets. middle east markets were open today and asian markets will open soon. alison kosik keeping an eye on that. let's start with the middle east. what happened there, alison? >> it was rough session, joe, in the mideast. markets in israel, they plunged, their worst plunge in 11 years. if you look there, the marks were down 6%. dubai fell more than 3%.

saudi arabia actually rose about 0.1%, but that's actually after it fell in the previous session about 5.5%. joe? >> how long in terms of hours do you expect to start hearing from the asian markets? >> asian markets begin trading at 8:00. they're up next. actually, futures markets, the futures for u.s. stocks opened about ten minutes ago. right now they're indicating a flat to positive open. so i'm talking about the dow, the s&p and the nasdaq. that's good news, because we are talking about how each of the these -- how each of these markets, how each of these indices feed off of each other. so this could be a good sign, at least in the short-term. but it doesn't necessarily indicate how thing will open. one of the good things to remember, though, joe is that investors here in the u.s. who are going to be trading on wall street, you know, they've had the weekend to really digest, really process this downgrade. so it's not really coming as a shock. it's also not coming as a shock because wall street has kind of been expecting this for the past two weeks. we've seen the dow actually

plunge -- actually more than 1200 points over the past two weeks. some of that was because of these talks swirling about s&p possibly downgrading the u.s. credit rating. and now that it's happened, wall street is of the thinking, you know what? it's happened. it takes that uncertainty off the table. now we can move on to other things that could be a good thing. a couple of traders i talked to said you know what? there could be a sell-off at the open tomorrow morning. but expectation is that things would stabilize and then move on from there. joe? >> and i can tell you, from all the craziness, even on capitol hill over the past couple of weeks, when i was out there, many, many members of congress said they expected the united states to be downgraded. so you're right. there is not a whole lot of surprise in actually hearing this. other countries, alison, have been downgraded in the past. let's talk a little bit about how their stock markets have done afterwards. >> yeah, and interestingly enough, joe, after these countries have been downgraded, their stock markets really didn't get hurt at all.

you look at canada for one. canada was downgraded in 1993. and in a year after that, its market rose 15%. its bond yields did rise, however, but by less than one percentage point. you look at japan. it was downgraded in 1998. the tokyo stock market rose 25%. i know you can't just compare japan and canada to the u.s. but it really shows you that you really don't know what is going to happen. it really may not be as bad as everything is talking. >> alison kosik, a lot of people in the united states are certainly hope yurg right. thank you so much for that report. >> sure. as night falls in london, there is fear there could be a repeat of last night's fiery riots. and in libya, some incredible pictures of a fierce battle over a key down held by gadhafi forces. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you

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humiliation of iraqi prisoners is a free man. charles graner jr. served six and a half years of his ten-year sentence at the army disciplinary barracks in kansas. he was released early for good behavior. turning to london, where more than 50 people have been arrested after a night of rioting. rioters burned buses and police cars, looted shops, set other vehicles and buildings on fire. let's listen as itn's richard pallet describes how it started. >> reporter: shot in north london on thursday. and about 20 to 30 members of his family and friends marched to the police station in a very peaceful protest. but from there it escalated now. obviously many of the people involved in these incidents are nothing to do with the family and friends and there will be many questions to just who they are. it basically escalated from that. we have police cars torched, an

iconic red double-decker bus burning. a residential house on fire. at one stage i believe there were some people trapped in there. so it's absolute chaos. >> it is nighttime in london now, and police there are braced for more unrest. just over two weeks ago, cnn's africa reporter david mckenzie brought us the first devastating pictures of the famine in the horn of africa. since those pictures first surfaced, we have learned of a human disaster unfolding that threatens the lives of millions. here are some new developments. on wednesday, the united nations widened the famine zones in the horn of africa. it declared three new regions of somalia faced death by starvation. then on saturday the rebel group al shabaab withdrew from the capital city of mogadishu in what the militant islamic group called a change of tactics. and the death toll rise. the u.s. says in just the past 90 days, nearly 30,000 children

have died from famine in somalia alone. cnn's anderson cooper and chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta are on their way to somalia. they'll join our team of david mckenzie for extensive coverage of the famine and devastation. watch anderson cooper tomorrow night at his new time, 8:00 eastern. more violence in syria today. government forces are seen on the street in this youtube video. an opposition network says 29 people were killed in clashes today, and now a human rights group accuses the syrian government of killing premature infants by cutting power to a hospital in hama. the group says it's part of a renewed crackdown on anti-government protests. in libya, rebel fighters launched a new offensive against moammar gadhafi's forces saturday. less than 100 kilometers from the capital city of tripoli.

cnn's michael holmes was there. he and his team captured some incredible images you will only see here on cnn. >> reporter: the rebels were on the move before dawn. hundreds of them sweeping in from the western mountains to the plains below in a well coordinated attack. their target, the town of bir al ghanam, a place that has already seen fighting in recent months, but which the rebels have never held for long. rebel commanders said 1500 men were involved in this assault. they are what some have dubbed a mad max army, a fleet of pickup trucks modified to take heavy weapons, speeding across the desert, splitting up to attack on several fronts. most of these men civilians before this war. you lived in canada. you're aircraft maintenance engineer. and you find yourself here on the front line. that a bit strange? >> not strange. but i have to share this. i have to share where i will be.

>> reporter: while the battle raged on the outskirts of the town, there was another front engaging a gadhafi military encampment three kilometers to the west. rebels fired dozens of rockets towards loyalist positions along with anti-aircraft fire and mortars. there was return fire too, forcing the rebels to take cover. this latest push comes after other successes last week, when rebels seized seven towns. after what was obviously a very fierce battle lasting several hours here at bir al ghanam, some joyous rebel says they have won this fight. now the importance of this town is that now they have secured it, it's a comparatively straight shot to the coast. the town in their sight there's, azawia, just over 60 kilometers from bir al ghanam, and itself a mere 40 from tripoli. after five hours of fighting, the only shots being fired in

bir al ghanam were from the guns of celebrating rebels. >> translator: it was very, very fierce fight. but there is no time to rest. the next step tripoli. >> reporter: at a field hospital set up in a roadside cafe, doctors said they had treated more than three dozen wounded rebels and reported several deaths. here a fighter from the gadhafi side is brought in. rebels said he was from the african nation of chad. later we saw two more gadhafi fighters, one wounded, one dead on the back of a rebel pickup. the wounded man told cnn he and his dead companion were both also from chad, further backing rebel assertions many of gadhafi's fighters are paid mercenaries from outside libya. civilians long ago fled bir al ghanam and the fight for it, as have residents of many other towns and cities. today just rebels showing off captured weapons and ammunition, things they'll need if they're to secure this place and move

forward. michael holmes, cnn, bir al ghanam, libya. the tuskegee airmen have a legacy of honor and courage. now one of the airplanes the squadron flew during world war ii is headed to the smithsonian. we'll hear from several of the airmen. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots,

and 4g devices like the motorola photon. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorite 4g network. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. 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. a look now at some other stories we're following. if you live in the southeast, don't be surprised to see these faces on digital billboards. the fbi is in an all-out manhunt for a brother, a sister and a half-brother. this trio is wanted for an armed bank robbery in georgia, and the attempted murder of a florida police officer. verizon workers from

massachusetts all the way to the district of columbia have walked off the job. their union contract expired at midnight. workers are upset that the company wants to cut health care benefits and their pensions. union officials say the strike could impact your phone, your internet, your tv service. but verizon says services will not be affected. in new york, the ultimate endurance test for athletes. the new york city triathlon kicked off this morning with more than 3,000 athletes swimming, biking and running. this year's winner is ben collins. some of the participants were cnn ireporters who have been training since january in the fit nation triathlon challenge. i'd like to try that. the tuskegee airmen made history during world war ii. they formed a squadron of african-american fighter pilots during a time when the military was segregated, and many thought they couldn't do the job. history proved the critics wrong. now with one of their restored

vintage training planes heading to the smithsonian, several of the airmen look back. >> what does it mean to be a tuskegee airmen? well, certainly we're a member of a very exclusive group of airmen. we all worked together. we love one another. >> i was doing what i considered one of the most challenging and pleasant careers of my life, and that was flying. >> it was like a fraternity. there was a tremendous amount of brotherhood. because guys were helping each other, you know. a fellow couldn't perform to some degree or couldn't grasp something immediately, his buddies would jump in and try to encourage him and teach him. >> i went overseas with the 99th

pursuit squadron. we were the first black fighter squadron in combat. i flew 77 combat missions, going overseas to fight was doing so as an american, that i felt very proud of being, and was willing to go fight and die for. it had nothing to do with racial status that i had to endure. and it was my love for america, in spite of her imperfections. >> thinking we were making history, a part of history never occurred to us. and we were just doing the best we could. >> we went for many, many years when nobody knew that we existed. right now it's about almost 70 years ago. so it took a long time for them to recognize us.

>> i feel that recognition has finally come around. i simply hope that our young men and women of america will look at this experience and the story of these tuskegee airmen, and from it make themselves a committee of one so that we can perpetuate the legacy these airmen have. >> this week's cnn hero gives hope to women as they fight for their lives. that story after the break.

more than a quarter of a million women across the u.s.

have been diagnosed with breast cancer before their 41est birthdays. many don't have the emotional and financial support they need during their treatment. that's where debbie cantwell steps in, a cnn hero who knows all too well the devastating toll the disease can take. >> when i was diagnosed with breast cancer, my kids were really young. and i was working full-time. we were struggling. when you start adding hospital bills and medication costs, it throws your world upside down. my husband took care of me, took care of the kids. my parents and my friends did everything for me. but through treatment, i was meeting women that just didn't have it as easy as me. all these people were there for me. and i couldn't possibly pay everybody back. so i decided i was going to pay it forward. my name is debbie cantwell, and i provide care and comfort to young women fighting breast cancer. >> you get two $25 subways. >> we send out gas cards, and house cleaning service and

grocery cards. >> i was really bottoming out emotionally. and then all of the sudden i can buy diapers. and i can get food. >> a card. look at that. >> it's so much more than just tangible things. it's hope. >> i help young women that can't wait for a cure. these women are sick right now, and they need help today. >> hi, rachel. how you? did your groceries come? >> they did. i just got them. i appreciate it. it's such a huge help. >> they're my sisters. and i honestly would do anything to help them out. i take it really personally. it's hard when i lose somebody. but it's just part of the job. i'll probably die of breast cancer some day. but i want to really make the most of the time i have by doing some good in the world, and being the best i can for whatever time i have left. >> if you know someone who deserves special recognition,

just go to cnn.com/heroes. remember pop star david cassidy? his face was all over the place in the 1970s, from board games to lunch boxes. >> i was told by my manager i received a check for $5,000. and i never heard another word. >> now it's almost 40 years later, cassidy claims he is owed a fortune for all this merchandising. a cnn exclusive, coming up next. what do you got? restrained driver... sir, can you hear me? just hold the bag. we need a portable x-ray, please! [ nurse ] i'm a nurse. i believe in the power of science and medicine.

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checking top stories. treasury secretary tim geithner will join a conference call tonight with other representatives of the g-7 countries. they will be talking about the impact of the u.s. credit downgrade. in just a short while, asian markets will open for the first time since standard & poor's announced the downgrade. what happens in asia will set the stage for what happens on wall street when u.s. markets open tomorrow. president obama is offering his condolences to the families of the navy s.e.a.l.s killed in afghanistan. he returned to the white house from camp david today. the president says the deaths of

the 30 troops, including the 22 s.e.a.l.s killed in the chopper crash are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families. no word from iran today on the fate of two american hikers accused of spying. tehran announced last sunday that the trial had concluded and a verdict would be announced within seven days. today is the seventh day, and it's already nightfall in iran. amanda knox's appeal hearing resumes on labor day. in the meantime, the american student sits in an italian jail, convicted of killing her british roommate, merideth kercher in 2007. journalist nina bury lee book "the fatal gift of beauty" joins us live from new york. what did you learn from the investigation while you were covering the trial?

what is your impression now that you have sort of gotten into all the evidence? >> well, joe, i went over there assuming that she was probably guilty as charged. i've been a journalist for a long time. i've covered a lot of crime stories, and i've been reading about it in the american press and the british press before i went over. within about a month, i guess, after interviewing the prosecutor, interviewing the -- looking at the investigative record, especially the transcripts of the interviews that they did, that the police did with her, and with the witnesses, i realized that a lot of the things i had been reading about here simply weren't even true. they didn't even exist in the record. things like these students were googling bleach the day after the murder so that they could clean up the scene. not true. that there was mixed dna blood in the house, mixing amanda's blood with meredith kercher's

blood. not true. and so there were a lot of memes that have been put out there. my book is about a lot of things. it's about italian journalism. >> why do you think we got these misperceptions here in the united states? why it is that the information was so bad? >> well, i think we are all, all of news the media much more fascinated with the occasional female alleged diabolical killer than we are with the more common run of the mill mundane domestic abuser or sexually violent male. and i think that's what is going on here. the british tabloids had a lot to do with it. they pay witnesses for information. they pay sources for interviews. and so people are sort of telling stories that aren't backed up by the record. and then you the judicial system in italy, which is much different than ours. it didn't have a public face.

it's very opaque. and lawyers would walk out of these hearings and just drop rumors and gossip. and reporters over there print this as fact. and they never corrected it. so you had kind of this perfect storm of this attractive photogenic young woman and this salacious story that people couldn't turn away from, that she was the leader of a sex game gone wrong. and these things together. and the way the media handled it, i think it all kind of came together. and there was no turning back. now there is an appeal, of course. >> in the trial. >> before you get to the appeal, do you think the evidence that the original court actually looked at was not handled very well? do you think they came out with a guilty verdict when they shouldn't have? >> i do. i sat through the trial and i felt at the end that there was enormous doubt that these two students that were on trial were

guilty. they had already had a third guy whose dna and fingerprints were all over the room in prison convicted. and they had really nothing connecting these students to the murder room, other than they were on the scene when the body was found the next morning. so it was a very strange trial. it was kind of like watching the inquisition in action, because they were appealing to god at the end, the attorneys. and you had this young attractive woman, again, in the center of it. and there was this inevitability, this sense that she was absolutely going to get convict nod matter what at the trial level from the italian press. and now we're at the appeal level. >> i don't mean to interrupt. you think appeal is a better chance for amanda knox? >> i do, joe, yeah. the appeal, now they have thrown out the dna evidence. and i think kind of in a way the system works definitely than ours in that the appeal level is when the defense actually gets to put on its case and get taken seriously, where as at the trial

level it's much more of an inquisitional system. >> very interesting case. and we all follow it very closely. thanks. be looking for your book too. appreciate that. >> thank you so much. a teen idol from the 1970s tells our poppy harlow all he wants is his fair share. >> if somebody does not pay you and you are entitled to a percentage of the profits and you know they're making profits, is that stealing? >> find out who david cassidy claims ripped him off so many years ago. then they gave us an iihs top safety pick and you... well, you gave us your approval. so we thought, why not give a little back. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. and now, very-well qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a chevy cruze ls for around $169 a month. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up.

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he may have been your teen idol. partridge family star david cassidy was famous around the world, playing keith partridge in a '70s show. but now nearly 40 years after "the partridge family" went off the air, cassidy is mounting a battle to get paid for all that merchandise with his image on it. cnn's poppy harlow has more. ♪ ♪ i think i love you >> reporter: it's 1970, and a 20-year-old named david cassidy is starring in "the partridge family."

♪ >> reporter: not only did the show and sold-out concerts go on to make him a star, but the teen idol's success spawns an avalanche of merchandise. >> this is a dress-upset. remember these? oh, gosh. nice outfit, david. >> would you please put your hands together for the one and only david cassidy! >> reporter: 37 years after "the partridge family" went off the air, cassidy is still performing and producing. and now he is on a personal mission, to get paid for that merchandise from sony, which owns the show. you say you've been robbed for the last few decades. >> how would you call it? if somebody does not pay you, and you are entitled to a percentage of the profits, and you know they're making profits, is that stealing? ♪ >> reporter: cassidy says according to his contract, while the program was on the air, he

was entitled to 15% of net merchandising profits when his image was used, half that if he appeared with other cast members. were you paid for that? >> i was told by my manager i received a check for $5,000. and i never heard another word. >> reporter: cassidy's lawyer sent this letter to sony requesting a prompt and full accounting and payment of proceeds for any merchandise sold using his name, likeness, voice, or other exercise of such merchandising rights. sony responded that it could not locate any merchandising statements, but found letters showing that mr. cassidy's representatives audited such statements. therefore they must have been rendered to him. the company went on to say it was not aware of any new merchandising licenses with his name, voice, and likeness after "the partridge family" went off the air, and said the statute of

limitations had run out on any claims. sony had no other comment to cnn. ♪ >> i don't want to sue you. just be fair. be real. be genuine. don't be greedy. ♪ >> reporter: as for the other cast members, brian forster, who played chris partridge said he did get about $1100 from merchandising back in the 1970s. but the other cast members that we spoke with say they either didn't have a merchandising deal, or they don't remember getting paid for any items. and of course cassidy's battle follows the ongoing fight between cast members of "happy days" and cbs over merchandising money. see our full story on david cassidy on cnn presents. you can see a lot more right here on cnn money. joe? all the major republican presidential candidates are about to face off. find out where the showdown is going to take place, next. horse you could have picked.

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that i was able to work full-time, be a mom, and go to school. the opportunits that i had at the university of phoenix, dealing wh profesonals teaching things that they were doing every day, got me to where i am today. i'm mayor cherie wood, i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

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tim pawlenty, herman cain are spending a lot of time in the state in advance of the straw poll. just about all the candidates, even front-runner mitt romney who is not showing up in the straw poll, they all make stops at the iowa state fair. rick perry won't be there, but he is heading to south carolina, the first southern state to vote. the texas governor who appears to be closer and closer to jumping into the race for the white house. he speaks at a major conservative gathering put on by eric erickson. >> recall walker! >> reporter: this past winter's protest over a plan to strip workers of some of their labor rights rocked the state assets capitol. tuesday some of the lawmakers who had a part face reelections. joe? >> for the latest political news, you know where to go, cnn politics.com. i just keep on going back to looks; it's a great looking car.

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this just in, saudi arabia's ambassador to syria is being called back for consultations. in a message brought cast on saudi state tv, king abdullah said there is no justification for the bloodshed in syria, the syrian government has been leading a violent crackdown on

dissidents. one by one they came to the surface from a half mile below ground. remember this? this is the part where we all marvel that it's been a whole year since their ordeal began. 33 men became trapped in a gold and copper mine in chile. they have been guests of honor and toasts of the town everywhere except in their own country. >> reporter: they spent 69 days in the bowels of the earth, n n f knowing if they would survive. the story of the 33 chilean miners trapped at 700 meters and the miraculous rescue made headlines around the world. this week four of the miners traveled to washington, d.c. to commemorate the anniversary by opening an exhibit in their honor at the smithsonian museum. >> translator: in spite of our

painful experience it's important to us that what's being exhibited will show what happened. >> reporter: since all 33 were rescued alive and well last october, they have traveled the world and appeared on multiple tv shows. ♪ >> reporter: they were all invited to disney world for a week during which they served as honorary grand marshals of the main street usa parade. at home in chile, one of them says celebrity has not been what he expected. >> translator: they love us move abroad and congratulate us and want to get a blessing from us. that is not the case in chile. only a few greet us with affection. a few say hi with envy. >> reporter: the miner who worked underground in the darkness ran the new york marathon. the el vision fan was also a guest of honor at graceland in january. >> elvis. >> reporter: a movie and book

about their story are in the works, but at home relations with the chilean government are strained. 31 of the 33 miners filed a lawsuit accusing the agency that oversees mining of failing to ensure safety measures. >> translator: we're not suing the current president. this has been happening for a long time. this happened during the administrations of other presidents. why didn't they take a closer look? >> reporter: chilean government officials say they respect the miners right to sue. >> translator: as any chilean citizen, the miners have the right to file any lawsuit that they wish, the authorities are evaluating the suit. >> reporter: the miners are seeking the equivalent of $60 million in u.s. dollars for the damages. they say their lawsuit isn't about the money, but about raising awareness about the working conditions for miners in the country, which they say have

been neglected for a long time. rafael romo, cnn. we got the heat wave that just won't quit. parts of the country sweating through yet another day of 100 degree plus temperatures. dallas has triple digits every day for over a month. jacqui jeras here with us. the interesting thing is oklahoma, sooner state, just a break that lasted hours? >> yeah. oklahoma city got so lucky today. we had showers that just kind of developed in a line here. it managed to keep you cool enough all day long that you only got up to 87. 87, can you believe it? that's glorious for you folks. i wish i could say it will last. because i think those temperatures will be back up to the triple digits again for much of the rest of the week. you're going back to work what can you expect in the week ahead? more heat expected in the plains, but it will be better in places like kansas city and st.

louis. heat still staying across parts of the southeast as well. showers and thunderstorms have really been causing big problems up and down the eastern seaboard this afternoon. but we are expecting more of that tomorrow, severe weather in the nation's midsection, that's that cooler air coming in. it's kind of butting up with the hot, humid air to the south. that's why things could get nasty with damaging winds and a few isolated tornadoes as well. keep that in mind as you head back to work. >> thank you very much. that will do it for me. "cnn newsroom" continues at the top of the hour with don lemon. have a great week.

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