this man reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman. he says he's not guilty, but you've got to hear the details that have come out in court. police arrest a man suspected of secretly taping a sports reporter in the nude. and his attempt to sell the videos may have done him in. a 5-year-old boy got trapped in a washing machine. all his horrified mother could do was scream for help, and it came running from the barbershop next door. hey, good morning to you, thanks so much for joining us here on hln this first saturday of october, i'm natasha curry. all those stories are just ahead. but first, our top story

this morning. a newborn baby kidnapped in tennessee was found safe at an alabama home last night. here are the baby's pictures. police arrested the woman suspected of taking the week-old baby and stabbing his mother. arrangements are being made to reunite the baby with his mother. >> i'd just like to say our goal was threefold, to recover the victim, to get the victim safely to his parents, to identify the person responsible and get that person in custody. i'm happy to announce that we were successful in all three. >> he was taken from his family's home on tuesday, just four days after he was born. the suspect also allegedly stabbed the mother before taking off. authorities still don't have a motive for the kidnapping. the man who reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman has pleaded not guilty. robert joe halderman had a court

hearing in new york yesterday. he's facing larceny charge that is could land him in jail for up to 15 years. after the hearing, halderman was released on $200,000 bail. he reportedly demanded $2 million to keep quiet about letterman's affairs with co-workers. letterman admitted on thursday to having sex with female staffers. his production company says he didn't violate their harassment policy. so who is this man, robert joe halderman? his uncle says he's not the kind of man that would blackmail someone. susan candiotti dug deeper and found out more about him. >> reporter: veteran cbs news producer robert joe halderman is making headlines in a tawdry blackmail case. prosecutors say he tried to shake down david letterman for $2 million to keep letterman's sex life quiet. letterman beat him to it. surprising his audience by announcing he had affairs with co-workers and told the grand jury about it. >> the creepy stuff was that i

have had sex with women who work for me on this show. >> reporter: his production company says the affairs happened before letterman's marriage to his long-time companion last spring. prosecutors say halderman gave letterman a rude awakening about 6:00 a.m. three weeks ago, leaving a package in letterman's car outside his manhattan home. the package contained a letter and a one-page screen play idea threatening to reveal letterman's affairs. >> halderman wrote he needed to make "a large chunk of money" by selling letterman a so-called "screen play treatment." the one-page screen play treatment attached to the letter referred to mr. letterman's great professional success and to his "beautiful, loving son." >> reporter: letterman's attorney called the d.a. and they set up a sting. two meetings were recorded between halderman and letterman's attorney at new york's essex house hotel.

wednesday, prosecutors say, halderman took the bait and deposited a dummy check and was arrested outside of cbs thursday. halderman worked for cbs for 27 years and won an emmy for this "48 hours" documentary. he lives in connecticut, divorced with two children and paying $6,800 a month in alimony. a spokesman says halderman's been depressed about being far away from his kids. his lawyer says they'll fight the charges. >> he's doing as well as can be expected. he's not dispirited. there is another side to the story. i'm not telling it today, there is another side to the story. it's not the open and shut case. >> reporter: how halderman knew about letterman's affairs is not clear. we know he had a live-in girlfriend who works for "the late show." was she the source? the d.a. says his investigation isn't over. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. president obama says he is still proud of his hometown even though it will not be hosting the 2016 olympics. yesterday he and the first lady

made personal pitches for having the games in chicago, but the windy city was actually the first of the four finalists to be eliminated for consideration. >> one of the things that i think is most valuable about sports is that you can play a great game and still not win. i do want to congratulate rio de janeiro and the nation of brazil for winning the 2016 olympics. i think this is a truly historic event, as these will be the first olympic games ever to be held in south america. >> thousands of people celebrated at the city's copacabana beach here yesterday. rio beat out chicago, tokyo, and madrid. as many as 4,000 people could be buried under the rubble following last week's devastating earthquakes in indonesia. that's according to the united nations. people are digging with chisels, hammers, even their bare hands searching for survivors and for

belongings. 7.6 magnitude quake hit sumatra wednesday and a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck thursday in this same region. government officials say 535 people were killed in both quakes. yesterday the top u.s. commander in afghanistan and president obama picked up where they left off on wednesday. the president and general stanley mcchrystal's meeting on strategy took place on air force one. the president was on his way back from denmark, and officials say it was a continuation of the three-hour meeting they had at the white house on wednesday. mcchrystal says a significant number of additional combat forces are needed in afghanistan, and sources say it's far more than the 21,000 the president has decided to send. >> there's clearly a sharp division, and it's a rift that could be the sharpest break we've seen in years between a president and his commanding general in the field.

as the "washington post" is reporting, there are at least several people arguing in front of the president on wednesday to not embrace what general mcchrystal wants, a big buildup of troops. they want to fight with drones from afar and take out top al qaeda leadership. >> however, mcchrystal suggests focusing on al qaeda is not enough and the situation in afghanistan is serious and deteriorating. drew petter soon's trial will not be moved to another county. the former illinois police officer has pleaded not guilty in the death of his third wife, and he denies any lige to the disappearance of his fourth wife. peterson's attorney is upset that a judge will also allow a so-called hearsay law. he argues that it denies a suspect's right to confront their accusers. but the will county state attorney says he's going to change the trial's venue if it appears a fair trial won't happen. >> it was very rewarding to finally have a judge declare the statute constitutional on all grounds because, as you guys

know, it's been much maligned in the news media, and the statute is equitable, it's fair, and it will improve our system of justice. >> we can't be anything but disappointed. this law, when you read -- there have been legal commentators and lawyers who have commented on it that think it's a horrible law. i think it's a horrible law. >> possible evidence might include letters peterson's ex-wife wrote claiming that he would kill her to shut her up. she was seeking orders of protection. a rally will be held in washington, d.c., today in support of an american father arrested in japan. christopher savoy was locked up this week when he took his two kids from his japanese ex-wife. now, she reportedly took the kids to japan without telling him, which may have violated custody terms set in the u.s. his lawyer says savoie was afraid he was not be able to see his children again. the rally will include a candlelight vigil in front of

the white house tonight. the national guard was called in to help provide security at some d.c. public schools. guardsmen were stationed at a high school football game last night along with police officers. the company that used to provide school security suddenly folded. 300 school security guards were pulled out of d.c. schools and that left school administrators scrambling and parents worried. >> i'm real concerned as a parent because i didn't even let my own child go to school today for his safety. >> a d.c. school spokesman says d.c. police who oversee school security has hired two now security firms to provide security. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a look at your forecast across the nation. you can expect some scattered showers, possibly some thunderstorms in parts of the northeast, but when you head to the southeast, dry and relatively cool. breezy for you in parts of the midwest, including places like the twin cities and back into st. louis. high pressure building into the central plains, relatively dry there. same story over the northern plains, but in the north and central rockies, highest elevations could be dealing with

snof. heavy rain for central and south texas and back into the four corners. relatively dry conditions, a few spotty showers here and there. dry for much of the west until you get to northern california and seattle and portland. now, in terms of high temperatures, 79 degrees in dallas. 78 for memphis. 79 in washington, d.c. 66 in boston. 65 in salt lake city. and speaking of the colors you see on the maps, check out the colors you might be seeing across parts of the country in terms of fall colors. looks like you will see peak colors popping out across parts of the adirondacks, new york, the central and northern rockies. the fall foliage will be just dynamic. you'll have to wait until, say, late october and november for much of the southeastern u.s., including much of the appalachians. that's a look at your forecast. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a family is celebrating a baby girl's homecoming after her life got off to a really rocky start. >> we never expected this day to ever happen. people have prayed for her that

will never know this child, but have parade harder for her than anybody. >> and find out how the baby survived after weighing less than a pound at birth.

an unlicensed 18-year-old driver will spend 15 years to life in prison for the death of a classmate. last year he apparently drank several shots of rum at a party and then crashed his mother's car. his 16-year-old passenger was killed. a judge says that the driver had been warned before about driving without a license. samoa's government is planning a mass burial tuesday for the island's tsunami victims. look at the mess here. 168 people have died there in nearby american samoa and in tonga since a tsunami struck on tuesday. medical teams are giving tetanus shots and antibiotics to survivors. one family buried four

generations after 13 of its members died in the tsunami. they ranged in ages between 9 months and 97 years old. i'm larry smith. the city of rio can boast it is the jewel of south america becoming this continent's first host of an olympics. a selection of city leaders believe it will propel the city into the global mainstream from now into 2016 and beyond. meanwhile, a different scene. disappointment in chicago. >> the city of chicago, having obtained the least number of votes, will not participate in the next round. >> the pin dropping, you could hear it. not just losing the bid, but the first finalist voted out in secret balloting done by the international olympic committee. some are already crying out for the city to make a run at the 2020 games. the fbi has arrested a man suspected of stalking and filming espn reporter erin andrews through a peephole in

her hotel room. michael david barrett allegedly made several video of her in nashville and milwaukee and then posted them on the internet. that oregon runningback who waylaid a taunting player a few weeks ago, he may play again. he could be reinstated by the november 7th game if he achieves a number of goals. if he can do that the school will appeal to the pac-10 con fence to reduce his season-long suspension. did you know a high school fleshman let's the high school championship? alexis thompson is tied with four other players atop the lead board. not to get ahead of ourselves but the record for the youngest winner of an lpga event is 18 years old. that's sports. a 5-year-old florida boy who got trapped in a spinning washing machine was rescued just in time. when an off-duty cop heard a

mother's scream from a laundromat, the child was already covered in water and suds. the officer couldn't even yank open the jammed washer door, so he ripped out the electrical wires to shut off the machine. >> i was thinking maybe that he possibly would drown in the water and thinking about him tumbling and possibly he could break his neck or something, so my thing was to get him out. >> when i seen him in there, my heart just dropped. >> luckily, the boy only got a few bumps and bruises. he reportedly climbed into the washer and his younger brother accidentally locked him in. that automatically started the machine. when burglars broke into the home of a 98-year-old woman, she prayed for help. then she got mad. what happened next may have stunned even the would-be robbers.

a tennessee family is spending its first full day together outside a hospital in more than four months. jocelyn ward was born prematurely in may weighing less than a pound. here she is but she was about as long as a ball point pen. her mother calls jocelyn's

survival a miracle. >> they were optimistic about her from the very beginning knowing that she had a 5% survival rate. people have prayed for her that will never know this child but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> jocelyn now weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces, but she still has some medical conditions as a result of being premature like chronic lung disease. we're learning details about a settlement that director roman polanski made with his sexual assault victim. according to court documents, in 1993 polanski agreed to pay the woman $500,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. court papers don't indicate if polanski ever paid. he pleaded guilty to having sex with the woman when she was 13 years old. polanski left the u.s. in 1978, the night before he was to be sentenced. he was arrested last weekend in switzerland on a fugitive

warrant. a california man accused of having a gang sign tattooed on his 7-year-old son won't face a charge of mayhem, which carries a potential life sentence. he still faces 7 to 10 years for child endangerment along with his friend who inked a dog paw on the boy's hip. the paw is the symbol of the fresno bulldog's gang. the judge agreed with defense lawyers that any damage left by a small tattoo does not amount to permanent and painful disfigurement. the man says he allowed the boy to get the tattoo because he wanted it. if this dog could talk the tales of adventure he would tell. he vanished ten years ago and he was found 1,300 miles from home. an oklahoma family took him in as a stray. the vet found a microchip which revealed the dog's name was brindle and his owners in virginia. when this didn't work the family tracked him down on facebook. dog and family will be reunited soon.

i'm robin meade. we salute the troops every week day on "morning express". andrew mills' girlfriend says he deployed to afghanistan a little over a month ago and he's missed an loved. >> good morning robin, i'm linda and i would like to salute my boyfriend and my best friend army sergeant andrew mills. i want him to know that while he may be absent in our lives this next year, he is ever present in our hearts. >> i would like to dedicate a poem to drew by emily dickinson. to wait an hour is long, it's love be just beyond. to wait eternity is short, if love reward begins. i love you and i miss you. >> linda, thank you so much. what a heartfelt message. if you have somebody in the service and you want to salute them go to cnn.com/robin. watch for the salutes every

morning on "morning express with robin meade." they say you're never too old to start a business. well, for a texas girl, it seems you're never too young. check out how this 9-year-old entrepreneur is racking up profits.

this man reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman. he says he's not guilty, but you've got to hear the details that have come out in court. police have arrested a man accused of secretly taping a sports reporter in the nude and his attempt to sell the videos may have done him in. a 5-year-old boy got trapped in a washing machine. all his horrified mother could do was scream for help, and it came running from the barbershop next door. hey, good morning to you, thanks for joining us here on hln this first saturday of october. i'm natasha curry. all those stories are just ahead. but first, our top story this morning.

a newborn baby kidnapped in tennessee was found safe at an alabama home last night. here are the baby's pictures. police arrested the woman suspected of taking the week-old baby and stabbing his mother. arrangements are being made to reunite the baby with his mother. >> i'd just like to say our goal was threefold, to recover the victim, to get the victim safely to his parents, to identify the person responsible and get that person in custody. i'm happy to announce that we were successful in all three. >> he was taken from his family's home on tuesday, just four days after he was born. the suspect also allegedly stabbed the mother before taking off. authorities still don't have a motive for the kidnapping. the man who reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman has pleaded not guilty. robert joe halderman had a court hearing in new york yesterday.

he's facing larceny charges that could land him in jail for 15 years. after the hearing, halderman was released on $200,000 bail. he reportedly demanded $2 million to keep quiet about letterman's affairs with co-workers. letterman admitted on thursday to having sex with female staffers. his production company says he didn't violate their harassment policy. so who is this man, robert joe halderman? his uncle says he's not the kind of guy that would blackmail people. susan candiotti dug deeper and found out more about him. >> reporter: veteran cbs news producer robert joe halderman is now making headlines in a tawdry blackmail case. prosecutors say he tried to shakedown light nate talk show host david letterman for $2 million to keep letterman's sex life quiet. but letterman beat him to it. surprising his audience by announcing he had affairs with co-workers and told the grand jury about it. >> the creepy stuff was that i

have had sex with women who work for me on this show. >> reporter: his production company says the affairs happened before letterman's marriage to his long-time companion last spring. prosecutors say halderman gave letterman a rude awakening about 6:00 a.m. three weeks ago, leaving a package in letterman's car outside his manhattan home. the package contained a letter and a one-page screenplay idea threatening to reveal letterman's affairs. >> halderman wrote he needed to make "a large chunk of money" by selling letterman a so-called "screenplay treatment." the one-page screenplay treatment attached to the letter referred to mr. letterman's great professional success and to his "beautiful, loving son." >> reporter: letterman's attorney called the d.a. and they set up a sting. two meetings were recorded between halderman and letterman's attorney at new york's essex house hotel. wednesday, prosecutors say,

halderman took the bait and deposited a dumb ni check. he was arrested outside cbs on thursday. halderman worked for cbs for 27 years and won an emmy for this "48 hours" documentary. he lives in connecticut, he's divorced with two children and is paying $6,800 a month in alimony. a family spokesman says halderman's been depressed about being far away from his kids. his lawyer says they'll fight the charges. >> he's doing as well as can be expected. he's not dispirited. there is another side to the story. i'm not telling it today. there is another side to the story. it's not the open and shut case. >> reporter: how halderman knew about letterman's affairs is not clear. we know he had a live-in girlfriend who works for "the late show." was she the source? the d.a. says his investigation isn't over. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. president obama says he is still proud of his hometown even though it will not be hosting the 2016 olympics.

yesterday he and the first lady made personal pitches for having the games in chicago, but the windy city was actually the first of the four finalists to be eliminated for consideration. >> one of the things that i think is most valuable about sports is that you can play a great game and still not win. i do want to congratulate rio de janeiro and the nation of brazil for winning the 2016 olympics. i think this is a truly historic event, as these will be the first olympic games ever to be held in south america. >> thousands of people celebrated at the city's copacabana beach here yesterday. look at this crowd. rio beat out chicago, tokyo, and madrid. as many as 4,000 people could be buried under the rubble following last week's devastating earthquakes in indonesia. that's according to the united nations. people are digging with chisels, hammers, even their bare hands searching for survivors and for belongings.

7.6 magnitude quake hit sumatra wednesday and a 6.6 magnitude quake struck thursday in the same region. government officials say 535 people were killed in both quakes. yesterday the top u.s. commander in afghanistan and president obama picked up where they left off on wednesday. the president and general stanley mcchrystal's meeting on strategy took place on air force one. the president was on his way back from denmark, and officials say it was a continuation of the three-hour meeting they had at the white house on wednesday. mcchrystal says a significant number of additional combat forces are needed in afghanistan, and sources say it's far more than the 21,000 the president has decided to send. >> there's clearly a sharp division, and it's a rift that could be the sharpest break we've seen in years between a president and his commanding general in the field. as the "washington post" is

reporting, there are at least several people arguing in front of the president on wednesday to not embrace what general mcchrystal wants, a big buildup in troops. they want to fight with drones from afar and take out top al qaeda leadership. >> however, mcchrystal suggests focusing on al qaeda is not enough and the situation in afghanistan is serious and deteriorating. drew peterson's trial will not be moved to another county. the former illinois police officer has pleaded not guilty in the death of his third wife, and he denies any link to the disappearance of his fourth wife. peterson's attorney is upset that a judge will also allow a so-called hearsay law. he argues that it denies a suspect's right to confront their accusers. but the will county state attorney says he's going to change the trial's venue if it appears a fair trial won't happen. >> it was very rewarding to finally have a judge declare the statute constitutional on all grounds because, as you guys

know, it's been much maligned in the news media, and the statute is equitable, it's fair, and it will improve our system of justice. >> we can't be anything but disappointed. this law, when you read -- there have been legal commentators and lawyers who have commented on it that think it's a horrible law. i think it's a horrible law. >> possible evidence might include letters peterson's ex-wife wrote claiming that he would kill her to shut her up. she was seeking orders of protection. a rally will be held in washington, d.c., today in support of an american father arrested in japan. christopher savoie was locked up this week when he took his two kids from his japanese ex-wife. now, she reportedly took the kids to japan without telling him, which may have violated custody terms set in the u.s. his lawyer says savoie was afraid he would not be able to see his children again. the rally will include a candlelight vigil in front of the white house tonight.

the national guard was called in to help provide security at some d.c. public schools. guardsmen were stationed at a high school football game last night along with police officers. the company that used to provide school security suddenly folded. 300 school security guards were pulled out of d.c. schools, and that left school administrators scrambling and parents worried. >> i'm real concerned as a parent because i didn't even let my own child go to school today for his safety. >> a d.c. school spokesman says d.c. police who oversee school security has hired two new security firms to provide security. a monster typhoon is clobbering some people who were hit by another storm just last week. typhoon parma landed in the philippines today here with more than 90-mile-per-hour winds. however, the biggest threat is not the wind, but rain. another typhoon deluged some areas last week including the capital, manila. today's typhoon is expected to ring up to 20 more inches of

rain. the government evacuated people in front of the typhoon's path. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a look at your forecast across the nation. you can expect some scattered showers, possibly some thunderstorms in parts of the northeast, but when you head to the southeast, dry and relatively cool. breezy for you in parts of the midwest, including places like the twin cities and back into st. louis. high pressure building into the central plains, relatively dry there. same story over the northern plains, but in the north and central rockies, highest elevations could be dealing with some snowfall. heavy rain for central and south texas and back into the four corners relatively dry conditions. a few spotty showers here and there. dry for much of the west until you get to northern california and back into seattle and into portland. now, in terms of high temperatures, 79 degrees in dallas. 78 for memphis. 79 in washington, d.c. 66 in boston. 65 in salt lake city. and speaking of the colors you see on the maps, check out the colors you might be seeing across parts of the country in terms of your fall colors. looks like you will see peak colors really beginning to pop out across parts of the

adirondacks, back into new york, even into the central and northern rockies. the fall foliage will be just dynamic. you'll have to wait until, say, late october and november for much of the southeastern u.s., including much of the appalachians. that's a look at your forecast. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a family is celebrating a baby girl's homecoming after her life got off to a really rocky start. >> we never expected this day to ever happen. people have prayed for her that will never know this child, but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> and find out how the baby survived after weighing less than a pound at birth.

an unlicensed 18-year-old driver will spend 15 years to life in prison for the death of a classmate. last year he apparently drank several shots of rum at a party and then crashed his mother's car. his 16-year-old passenger was killed. a judge says that the driver had been warned before about driving

without a license. samoa's government is planning a mass burial tuesday for the island's tsunami victims. look at the mess here. 168 people have died there in nearby american samoa and in tonga since a tsunami struck on tuesday. medical teams are giving tetanus shots and antibiotics to survivors. one family buried four generations after 13 of its members died in the tsunami. they ranged in ages between 9 months and 97 years old. i'm larry smith. the city of rio can boast it is the jewel of south america becoming that continent's first host of an olympics. a selection of city leaders believe it will propel the city into the global mainstream from now until 2016 and beyond. >> that announcement made in friday on denmark. meanwhile, a different scene. disappointment in chicago. >> the city of chicago, having obtained the least number of votes, will not participate in the next round.

>> the pin dropping, you could hear it. not just losing the bid, but the first finalist voted out in secret balloting done by the international olympic committee. some are already crying out for the city to make a run at the 2020 games. the fbi has arrested a man suspected of stalking and filming espn reporter erin andrews through a peephole in her hotel room. michael david barrett allegedly made several videos of andrews in nashville and milwaukee and then posted them on the internet. that oregon running back who waylaid a taunting boise state player a few weeks ago, he may play again. he could be reinstated by the november 7th game versus stanford if he achieveses a number of goals. if he can do that the school will appeal to the pac-10 conference to reduce his season-long suspension. did you know a high school freshman leads the high school championship? 14-year-old alexis thompson is

tied with four other players atop the leaderboard. not to get ahead of ourselves but the record for the youngest winner of an lpga event is 18 years old. that's sports. a 5-year-old florida boy who got trapped in a spinning washing machine was rescued just in time. when an off-duty cop heard a mother's screams from a laundromat, the child was already covered in water and suds. the officer couldn't even yank open the jammed washer door, so he ripped out the electrical wires to shut off the machine. >> i was thinking maybe that he possibly would drown in the water and thinking about him tumbling and possibly he could break his neck or something, so my thing was to get him out. >> when i seen him in there, my heart just dropped. >> luckily, the boy only got a few bumps and bruises. he reportedly climbed into the washer and his younger brother accidentally locked him in. that automatically started the machine.

when burglars broke into the home of a 98-year-old woman, she prayed for help. then she got mad. what happened next may have stunned even the would-be robbers.

a tennessee family is spending its first full day together outside a hospital in more than four months. jocelyn ward was born prematurely in may weighing less than a pound. here she is but she was about as long as a ball point pen. her mother calls josslyn's survival a miracle. >> they were optimistic about her from the very beginning knowing that she had a 5% survival rate. people have prayed for her that will never know this child but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> josslyn now weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces, but she still has some medical conditions as a result of being premature like chronic lung disease. we're learning details about a settlement that director roman polanski made with his sexual assault victim. according to court documents, in

1993 polanski agreed to pay the woman $500,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. court papers don't indicate if polanski ever paid. he pleaded guilty to having sex with the woman when she was 13 years old. sex with the woman when she was 13 years peld. he left the u.s. in 1978, the night before he was to be sentenced. he was arrested last week and n. switzerland on a fugitive warrant. something new for you this weekend. we call it "my city, my secret" a look at hidden places in all town ace cross the country. we start with an insider tour of cincinnati. >> what's going on? this is dhani jones from the cincinnati bengals. this is my city and these are some of my best kept secrets. you're at the mount adams bar and grill. i come here because everybody knows my name.

they have good music. bartenders are cool. the food is absolutely fantastic. we are in downtown cincinnati at the aronoff center. it's art central, whether it be musicals, gallery showings. it's a premier place where people can come and express themselves. we're in eden park, a place to bring your family and friends or be by yourself. what's great about eden park, it's in the city, nek to the river, and it has these magnificent lakes. i might wander down with one of my model airplanes. sometimes i'll run my radio control cars. other times i'll set off rockets. i sort of live in my whole world but i take advantage of the space. the tour is over. sorry i have to go. but i hope you enjoyed some of the best-kept secrets of the great town of cincinnati. they say you're never too old to start a business. for a texas girl, it seems you're never too young. check out how this 9-year-old entrepreneur is wracking up

profits. !d!d!d!d!d!d!d!d!d!d!d!d

this man reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman. he says he's not guilty, but you've got to hear the details that have come out in court. police have arrested a man accused of secretly taping a sports reporter in the nude and his attempt to sell the videos may have done him in. a 5-year-old boy got trapped in a washing machine. all his horrified mother could do was scream for help, and it came running from the barbershop next door. hey, good morning to you, thanks for joining us here on hln this first saturday of october. i'm natasha curry. all those stories are just ahead. but first, our top story this morning. a newborn baby kidnapped in

tennessee was found safe at an alabama home last night. here are the baby's pictures. police arrested the woman suspected of taking the week-old baby and stabbing his mother. arrangements are being made to reunite the baby with his mother. >> i'd just like to say our goal was threefold, to recover the victim, to get the victim safely to his parents, to identify the person responsible and get that person in custody. i'm happy to announce that we were successful in all three. >> he was taken from his family's home on tuesday, just four days after he was born. the suspect also allegedly stabbed the mother before taking off. authorities still don't have a motive for the kidnapping. the man who reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman has pleaded not guilty. robert joe halderman had a court hearing in new york yesterday. he's facing larceny charges that

could land him in jail for up to 15 years. after the hearing, halderman was released on $200,000 bail. he reportedly demanded $2 million to keep quiet about letterman's affairs with co-workers. letterman admitted on thursday to having sex with female staffers. his production company says he didn't violate their harassment policy. so who is this man, robert joe halderman? his uncle says he's not the kind of guy who would blackmail people. susan candiotti dug deeper and found out more about him. >> reporter: veteran cbs news producer robert joe halderman is now making headlines in a tawdry blackmail case. prosecutors say he tried to shakedown light night talk show host david letterman for $2 million to keep letterman's sex life quiet. but letterman beat him to it. surprising his audience by announcing he had affairs with co-workers and told the grand jury about it. >> the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work

for me on this show. >> reporter: his production company says the affairs happened before letterman's marriage to his long-time companion last spring. prosecutors say halderman gave letterman a rude awakening about 6:00 a.m. three weeks ago, leaving a package in letterman's car outside his manhattan home. the package contained a letter and a one-page screenplay idea threatening to reveal letterman's affairs. >> halderman wrote that he needed to make "a large chunk of money" by selling letterman a so-called "screenplay treatment." the one-page screenplay treatment attached to the letter referred to mr. letterman's great professional success and to his "beautiful, loving son." >> reporter: letterman's attorney called the d.a. and they set up a sting. two meetings were recorded between halderman and letterman's attorney at new york's essex house hotel. wednesday, prosecutors say, halderman took the bait and

deposited a dummy check. he was arrested outside cbs on thursday. halderman worked for cbs for 27 years and won an emmy for this "48 hours" documentary. he lives in connecticut. he's divorced with two children and is paying $6,800 a month in alimony. a family spokesman says halderman's been depressed about being far away from his kids. his lawyer says they'll fight the charges. >> he's doing as well as can be expected. he's not dispirited. there is another side to the story. i'm not telling it today. there is another side to the story. it's not the open and shut case. >> reporter: how halderman knew about letterman's affairs is not clear. we know he had a live-in girlfriend who works for "the late show." was she the source? the d.a. says his investigation isn't over. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. president obama says he is still proud of his hometown even though it will not be hosting the 2016 olympics.

yesterday he and the first lady made personal pitches for having the games in chicago, but the windy city was actually the first of the four finalists to be eliminated for consideration. >> one of the things that i think is most valuable about sports is that you can play a great game and still not win. i do want to congratulate rio de janeiro and the nation of brazil for winning the 2016 olympics. i think this is a truly historic event, as these will be the first olympic games ever to be held in south america. >> thousands of people celebrated at the city's copacabana beach here yesterday. look at this crowd. rio beat out chicago, tokyo, and madrid. as many as 4,000 people could be buried under the rubble following last week's devastating earthquakes in indonesia. that's according to the united nations. people are digging with chisels, hammers, even their bare hands searching for survivors and for belongings.

7.6 magnitude quake hit the city of sumatra wednesday and a 6.6 magnitude quake struck thursday in the same region. government officials say 535 people were killed in both quakes. yesterday the top u.s. commander in afghanistan and president obama picked up where they left off on wednesday. the president and general stanley mcchrystal's meeting on strategy took place on air force one. the president was on his way back from denmark, and officials say it was a continuation of the three-hour meeting they had at the white house on wednesday. mcchrystal says a significant number of additional combat forces are needed in afghanistan, and sources say it's far more than the 21,000 the president has decided to send. >> there's clearly a sharp division, and it's a rift that could be the sharpest break we've seen in years between a president and his commanding general in the field. as the "washington post" is

reporting, there are at least several people arguing in front of the president on wednesday to not embrace what general mcchrystal wants, a big buildup in troops. they want to fight with drones from afar and take out top al qaeda leadership. >> however, mcchrystal suggests that focusing on al qaeda is not enough, and the situation in afghanistan is serious and deteriorating. drew peterson's trial will not be moved to another county. the former illinois police officer has pleaded not guilty in the death of his third wife, and he denies any link to the disappearance of his fourth wife. peterson's attorney is upset that a judge will also allow a so-called hearsay law. he argues that it denies a suspect's right to confront their accusers. but the will county state attorney says he's going to change the trial's venue if it appears a fair trial won't happen. >> it was very rewarding to finally have a judge declare the statute constitutional on all grounds because, as you guys

know, it's been much maligned in the news media. and the statute is equitable, it's fair, and it will improve our system of justice. >> we can't be anything but disappointed. this law is -- when you read -- there have been legal commentators and lawyers who have commented on it that think it's a horrible law. i think it's a horrible law. >> possible evidence might include letters peterson's ex-wife wrote claiming that he would kill her to shut her up. she was seeking orders of protection. a rally will be held in washington, d.c., today in support of an american father arrested in japan. christopher savoie was locked up this week when he took his two kids from his japanese ex-wife. now, she reportedly took the kids to japan without telling him, which may have violated custody terms set in the u.s. his lawyer says savoie was afraid that he would not be able to see his children again. the rally will include a candlelight vigil in front of the white house tonight. the national guard was

called in to help provide security at some d.c. public schools. guardsmen were stationed at a high school football game last night, along with police officers. the company that used to provide school security suddenly folded. 300 school security guards were pulled out of d.c. schools, and that left school administrators scrambling and parents worried. >> i'm real concerned as a parent because i didn't even let my own child go to school today for his safety. >> a d.c. school spokesman says d.c. police who oversee school security has hired two new security firms to provide security. a monster typhoon is clobbering some people who were hit by another storm just last week. typhoon parma landed in the philippines today here with more than 90-mile-per-hour winds. however, the biggest threat is not the wind, but rain. another typhoon deluged some areas last week, including the capital, manila. today's typhoon is expected to ring up to 20 more inches of rain.

the government evacuated tens of thousand of people who were in the typhoon's path. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a look at your forecast across the nation. you can expect some scattered showers, possibly some thunderstorms in parts of the northeast, but when you head to the southeast, dry and relatively cool. breezy for you in parts of the midwest, including places like the twin cities and back into st. louis. high pressure building into the central plains, relatively dry there. same story over the northern plains, but in the north and central rockies, highest elevations could be dealing with some snowfall. heavy rain for central and south texas and back into the four corners, relatively dry conditions. a few spotty showers here and there. dry for much of the westcoast until you get to northern california and back into seattle and into portland. now, in terms of high temperatures, 79 degrees in dallas. 78 for memphis. 79 in washington, d.c. 66 in boston. 65 in salt lake city. and speaking of the colors you see on the maps, check out the colors you might be seeing across parts of the country in terms of your fall colors. looks like you will see your peak colors really beginning to pop out across parts of the

adirondacks, back into new york, even into the central and northern rockies. the fall foliage will be just dynamic. you'll have to wait until, say, late october and november for much of the southeastern u.s., including much of the appalachians. that's a look at your forecast. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a family is celebrating a baby girl's homecoming after her life got off to a really rocky start. >> we never expected this day to ever happen. people have prayed for her that will never know this child, but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> and find out how the baby survived after weighing less than a pound at birth.

an unlicensed 18-year-old driver will spend 15 years to life in prison for the death of a classmate. last year he apparently drank several shots of rum at a party and then crashed his mother's car. his 16-year-old passenger was killed.

a judge says that the driver had been warned before about driving without a license. samoa's government is planning a mass burial tuesday for the island's tsunami victims. look at the mess here. 168 people have died there in nearby american samoa and in tonga since a tsunami struck on tuesday. medical teams are giving tetanus shots and antibiotics to survivors. one family buried four generations after 13 of its members died in the tsunami. they ranged in ages between 9 months and 97 years old. i'm larry smith. the city of rio can boast it is the jewel of south america becoming that continent's first host of an olympics. a selection of city leaders believe it will propel the city into the global mainstream from now until 2016 and beyond. that announcement made in friday on denmark. meanwhile, a different scene. disappointment in chicago. >> the city of chicago, having obtained the least number of votes, will not participate in the next round.

>> the pin dropping, you could hear it. not just losing the bid, but the first finalist voted out in secret balloting done by the international olympic committee. some are already crying out for the city to make a run at the 2020 games. the fbi has arrested a man suspected of stalking and filming espn reporter erin andrews through a peephole in her hotel room. michael david barrett allegedly made several videos of andrews in nashville and milwaukee and then posted them on the internet. that oregon running back who waylaid a taunting boise state player a few weeks ago, he may play again. oregon coach said blount could be reinstated by the november 7th game versus stan ford if he achieves a number of goals. if he can do that the school will appeal to the pac-10 conference to reduce his season-long suspension. did you know a high school freshman leads the lpga in the high school championship?

14-year-old alexis thompson is tied with four other players atop the leaderboard. not to get ahead of ourselves, but the record for the youngest winner of an lpga event is 18 years old. that's sports. a 5-year-old florida boy who got trapped in a spinning washing machine was rescued just in time. when an off-duty cop heard a mother's screams from a laundromat, the child was already covered in water and suds. the officer couldn't even yank open the jammed washer door, so he ripped out the electrical wires to shut off the machine. >> i was thinking maybe that he possibly would drown in the water and thinking about him tumbling and possibly he could break his neck or something, so my thing was to get him out. >> when i seen him in there, my heart just dropped. >> luckily, the boy only got a few bumps and bruises. he reportedly climbed into the washer and his younger brother accidentally locked him in. that automatically started the machine. when burglars broke into the

home of a 98-year-old woman, she prayed for help. then, she got mad. what happened next may have stunned even the would-be robbers.

a tennessee family is spending its first full day together outside a hospital in more than four months. jocelyn ward was born prematurely in may weighing less than a pound. here she is but she was about as long as a ball point pen. her mother calls josslyn's

survival a miracle. >> they were optimistic about her from the very beginning knowing that she had a 5% survival rate. people have prayed for her that will never know this child, but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> josslyn now weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces, but she still has some medical conditions as a result of being premature, like chronic lung disease. we're learning details about a settlement that director roman polanski made with his sexual assault victim. according to court documents, in 1993 polanski agreed to pay the woman $500,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. court papers don't indicate if polanski ever paid. he pleaded guilty to having sex with the woman when she was 13 years old. polanski left the u.s. in 1978, the night before he was to be sentenced.

he was arrested last weekend in switzerland on a fugitive warrant. a california man accused of having a gang sign tattooed on his 7-year-old son won't face a charge of mayhem, which carries a potential life sentence. he still faces seven to ten years for child endangerment along with his friend who inked a dog paw on the boy's hip. the paw is the symbol of the fresno bulldog's gang. the judge agreed with defense lawyers that any damage left by a small tattoo does not amount to permanent and painful disfigurement. the man says he allowed the boy to get the tattoo because he wanted it. if this dog could talk, oh, the tales of adventure he could tell. he vanished ten years ago and he was found 1,300 miles from home. an oklahoma family took him in as a stray. their vet found a microchip which revealed the dog's name was brindle and also his owners' phone number in virginia. when this didn't work the family tracked him down on facebook. dog and family will be reunited

soon. i'm robin meade. we salute the troops every week day on "morning express". today's salute is to army sergeant andrew mills. his girlfriend says he deployed to afghanistan a little over a month ago and he's missed and very much loved. >> good morning, robin, i'm linda and i would like to salute my boyfriend and my best friend army sergeant andrew mills. i want him to know that while he may be absent in our lives this next year, he is ever present in our hearts. >> i would like to dedicate a poem to drew by emily dickinson. to wait an hour is long, it's love be just beyond. to wait eternity is short, if love reward begins. i love you and i miss you. >> linda, thank you so much. what a heartfelt message. if you have somebody in the service and you want to salute them go to cnn.com/robin. watch for the salutes every morning on "morning express with

robin meade." they say you're never too old to start a business. well, for a texas girl, it seems you're never too young. check out how this 9-year-old entrepreneur is racking up profits.            

this man reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman. he says he's not guilty, but you've got to hear the details that have come out in court. police have arrested a man accused of secretly taping a sports reporter in the nude and his attempt to sell the videos may have done him in. a 5-year-old boy got trapped in a washing machine. all his horrified mother could do was scream for help, and it came running from the barbershop next door. hey, good morning to you. thanks for joining us here on hln this first saturday of october. i'm natasha curry. all those stories are just ahead. but first, our top story this morning. a newborn baby kidnapped in

tennessee was found safe at an alabama home last night. here are the baby's pictures. police arrested the woman suspected of taking the week-old baby and stabbing his mother. arrangements are being made to reunite the baby with his mother. >> i'd just like to say our goal was threefold, to recover the victim, to get the victim safely to his parents, to identify the person responsible and get that person in custody. i'm happy to announce that we were successful in all three. >> he was taken from his family's home on tuesday, just four days after he was born. the suspect also allegedly stabbed the mother before taking off. authorities still don't have a motive for the kidnapping. the man who reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman has pleaded not guilty. robert joe halderman had a court hearing in new york yesterday.

he's facing larceny charges that could land him in jail for up to 15 years. after the hearing, halderman was released on $200,000 bail. he reportedly demanded $2 million to keep quiet about letterman's affairs with co-workers. letterman admitted on thursday to having sex with female staffers. his production company says he didn't violate their harassment policy. so who is this man, robert joe halderman? his uncle says he's not the kind of guy who would blackmail people. susan candiotti dug deeper and found out more about him. >> reporter: veteran cbs news producer robert joe halderman is now making headlines in a tawdry blackmail case. prosecutors say he tried to shakedown light night talk show host david letterman for $2 million to keep letterman's sex life quiet. but letterman beat him to it. surprising his audience by announcing he had affairs with co-workers and told the grand jury about it. >> the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work

for me on this show. >> reporter: his production company says the affairs happened before letterman's marriage to his long-time companion last spring. prosecutors say halderman gave letterman a rude awakening about 6:00 a.m. three weeks ago, leaving a package in letterman's car outside his manhattan home. the package contained a letter and a one-page screenplay idea threatening to reveal letterman's affairs. >> halderman wrote that he needed to make "a large chunk of money" by selling letterman a so-called "screenplay treatment." the one-page screenplay treatment attached to the letter referred to mr. letterman's great professional success and to his "beautiful, loving son." >> reporter: letterman's attorney called the d.a. and they set up a sting. two meetings were recorded between halderman and letterman's attorney at new york's essex house hotel. wednesday, prosecutors say, halderman took the bait and

deposited a dummy check. he was arrested outside cbs on thursday. halderman worked for cbs for 27 years and won an emmy for this "48 hours" documentary. he lives in connecticut. he's divorced with two children and is paying $6,800 a month in alimony. a family spokesman says halderman's been depressed about being far away from his kids. his lawyer says they'll fight the charges. >> he's doing as well as can be expected. he's not dispirited. there is another side to the story. i'm not telling it today. there is another side to the story. it's not the open and shut case. >> reporter: how halderman knew about letterman's affairs is not clear. we know he had a live-in girlfriend who works for "the late show." was she the source? the d.a. says his investigation isn't over. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. president obama says he is still proud of his hometown even though it will not be hosting the 2016 olympics.

yesterday he and the first lady made personal pitches for having the games in chicago, but the windy city was actually the first of the four finalists to be eliminated for consideration. >> one of the things that i think is most valuable about sports is that you can play a great game and still not win. i do want to congratulate rio de janeiro and the nation of brazil for winning the 2016 olympics. i think this is a truly historic event, as these will be the first olympic games ever to be held in south america. >> thousands of people celebrated at the city's copacabana beach here yesterday. look at this crowd. rio beat out chicago, tokyo, and madrid. as many as 4,000 people could be buried under the rubble following last week's devastating earthquakes in indonesia. that's according to the united nations. people are digging with chisels, hammers, even their bare hands searching for survivors and for

belongings. 7.6 magnitude quake hit the city of sumatra wednesday and a 6.6 magnitude quake struck thursday in the same region. government officials say 535 people were killed in both quakes. drew peterson's trial will not be moved to another county. the former illinois police officer has pleaded not guilty in the death of his third wife, and he denies any link to the disappearance of his fourth wife. peterson's attorney is upset that a judge will also allow a so-called hearsay law. he argues that it denies a suspect's right to confront their accusers. but the will county state attorney says he's going to change the trial's venue if it appears a fair trial won't happen. >> it was very rewarding to finally have a judge declare the statute constitutional on all grounds because, as you guys know, it's been much maligned in the news media. and the statute is equitable, it's fair, and it will improve our system of justice. >> we can't be anything but

disappointed. this law is -- when you read -- there have been legal commentators and lawyers who have commented on it that think it's a horrible law. i think it's a horrible law. >> possible evidence might include letters peterson's ex-wife wrote, claiming that he would kill her to shut her up. she was seeking orders of protection. a rally will be held in washington, d.c., today in support of an american father arrested in japan. christopher savoie was locked up this week when he took his two kids from his japanese ex-wife. now, she reportedly took the kids to japan without telling him, which may have violated custody terms set in the u.s. his lawyer says savoie was afraid that he would not be able to see his children again. the rally will include a candlelight vigil in front of the white house tonight. the national guard was called in to help provide security at some d.c. public schools. guardsmen were stationed at a high school football game last night, along with police officers. the company that used to provide

school security suddenly folded. 300 school security guards were pulled out of d.c. schools, and that left school administrators scrambling and parents worried. >> i'm real concerned as a parent because i didn't even let my own child go to school today for his safety. >> a d.c. school spokesman says d.c. police who oversee school security has hired two new security firms to provide security. a family is celebrating a baby girl's homecoming after her life got off to a really rocky start. >> we never expected this day to ever happen. people have prayed for her that will never know this child, but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> and find out how the baby survived after weighing less than a pound at birth.

a fabulous vacation may fit in your budget this fall. >> you'll find the lowest prices during the first two weeks of november and then during first two weeks of december. >> mexico's one destination that's cheaper to visit this year. >> fares are down about 30% to resorts like port to virt a and cancun. >> there are also bargains in europe. >> in amsterdam you can get a package deal for 33% less than you paid last fall. london, always a big favorite, is down 32%. and rome is down 26%. >> but know how much to spend. >> people in most major cities should be able to fly to mexico during the fall for $400 or less than that now, to get to europe from the east coast during the fall, you'll pay as little as $400 to $600 round trip and from the west coast, $500 to $700.

an unlicensed 18-year-old driver will spend 15 years to life in prison for the death of a classmate. last year he apparently drank several shots of rum at a party and then crashed his mother's car. his 16-year-old passenger was killed. a judge says that the driver had been warned before about driving without a license. number of failed banks in the u.s. is creeping closer to the 100 mark. it brings the total number for the year to 98. an average of ten banks have failed per month in 2009. that's nearly four times the number that failed last year. i'm larry smith.

that noise you hear is rio's pride. they landed the biggest prize, named on friday as the host of the 2016 summer limits and bidding out a competitive field of madrid, tokyo and chicago. i'm sure they're still partying down in brazil. major disappointment in the windy city which spent $50 million and projected as a slight favorite to land its first olympic games. some chicago residents were certainly pleased by the result. they had picketted for weeks against hosting the games, saying the money spent on the olympics would be better spent going to other pressing needs in the city. it's a final weekend of the baseball regular season. national league west coming down to the wire. rockies at the dodgers last night. one of the stars in the rockies won the pennant a couple of years ago. home run there, how about manny ramirez striking out for the fourth time in the game. dodgers lead over the rockies is over one game with two games to go. wow. make sure you clear that old

cell phone before you give it away, will you? the reason why, a man bought 25 old phones university of missouri athletic department for $190. he was going to sell the parts for $1,000. he discovered old text messages and contact information still on the phone. some were messages between coaches and the athletic director. now he hopes to sell them to a memorabilia collector for about 3 grand. play of the day. hornets star chris paul off the beam, off the floor, off the board. nothing but net. oh, the things you do during training camp while you've got a downtime. one more look at it. chris paul, here it is. beam, floor, board, net. play of day. that's sports. a 5-year-old florida boy who got trapped in a spinning washing machine was rescued just in time. when an off-duty cop heard a mother's screams from a laundromat, the child was already covered in water and suds. the officer couldn't even yank

open the jammed washer door, so he ripped out the electrical wires to shut off the machine. >> i was thinking maybe that he possibly would drown in the water and thinking about him tumbling and possibly he could break his neck or something, so my thing was to get him out. >> when i seen him in there, my heart just dropped. >> luckily, the boy only got a few bumps and bruises. he reportedly climbed into the washer and his younger brother accidentally locked him in. that automatically started the machine. when burglars broke into the home of a 98-year-old woman, she prayed for help. then, she got mad. what happened next may have stunned even the would-be robbers.

a tennessee family is spending its first full day together outside a hospital in more than four months. josslyn ward was born prematurely in may weighing less than a pound. here she is but she was about as long as a ball point pen.

her mother calls josslyn's survival a miracle. >> they were optimistic about her from the very beginning, knowing that she had a 5% survival rate. people have prayed for her that will never know this child, but have prayed harder for her than anybody. >> josslyn now weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces, but she still has some medical conditions as a result of being premature, like chronic lung disease. we're learning details about a settlement that director roman polanski made with his sexual assault victim. according to court documents, in 1993 polanski agreed to pay the woman $500,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. court papers don't indicate if polanski ever paid. he pleaded guilty to having sex with the woman when she was 13 years old. polanski left the u.s. in 1978, the night before he was to be sentenced.

in a place like iraq, frequent blackouts are a problem. especially when it comes to medical care. correspondent looks at how the u.s. army is helping health clinics in today's "eco solutions." >> reporter: there's new hope for patients in this clinic in baghdad. not because of the medicines inside, but because of equipment installed outside. the medical center is one of only three clinics in all of iraq to use solar technology for power. why is that a big deal? because iraq's power grid is so unreliable and blackouts so frequent, most clinics can only open a few hours a day. >> this is a hot spot. so people here need medical services, especially in the night. >> reporter: for the doctor, the

frequent blackouts meant dropping child vaccinations. without reliable power, the vaccines couldn't be kept cool. that change with the solar panels. >> this means we can give them services and we can give medica services and we can give them for 24 hours. >> a clinic that stays open around the clock is almost unimaginable in iraq. besides the jobs, it brings hope. before the panels were installed, he had to rely on expensive diesel generators like this one. solar technology is cleaner and should be far more cost-effective. there 64 solar panels on the roof. they were installed about four months ago and with great fanfare. the panels are linked to batteries on the ground floor. the equipment runs off the batteries. when one loses a charge, another kicks in. the technology was under written by the military and supported lie the iraqi health ministry.

the latest opened last week. joseph martin on hand o hand for the grand opening said they can concentrate on what they are good at. >> everything operates within this system. air conditioners to refridgerators and medical equipment. everything. they focus on patients instead of what is supporting them in the system. >> not always. before we visited the doctor's clinic, someone tampered with the key circuit board, preventing them from using electricity stored in the batterie batteries. until it's fixed, they are back to using the unreliable diesel generator. >>a for more on solar power in iraq, go on to cnn.com/ecosolutions. >> you are never too old to start a business. for a texas girl, you are never too young. how this 9-year-old enterprise is racking up profits.

. >> there is something i want to you know about me. i am not into depriving myself, but i am cheap. you give me a half hour one after another, i will show you how you can be thrifty and live like a king at the same time. >> ever since i can remember, i have been fascinated by money. i earned enough to retire and i embarked on a new mission, helping you take care of your money so you can save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off.

>> from his radio studio, the money expert, clark howard. >> we as americans can do so much more with less and it's rhetoric we have all heard and maybe even talked at ourselves, but now we are walking the talk and i have proof in several areas. first, you want video entertainment? you can entertain yourself all you want for $1. i can't guarantee the movies will be good, but red box is booming. those are those fancy vending machines popping up all over the place where you can rent the late release movies. you know what? it's $1 per day. don't forget about it because it's $1 every day until you return it. video games? i saw recently the rental of video game as an alternative to buying them is up 30% in the last year. again, another cheap way for you to have entertainment at home.

and third, if you are in college, going to college, or know someone who is, how about renting text books instead of buying them? probably never heard of that. there is a website called chegg.com where you can learn whether the text books you need for school can be rented instead of performurchase ed. think about the money you will save. do you have money saving questions you need to ask? fire away. >> caller: about months ago i closed a credit card because it went over the limit $2 and they were charges me 31% interest even though i closed it. since i closed it, they charged me about $600 in interest. >> wow.

>> caller: they said if i paid the $600 and they would drop the interest to 0% and and i could pay off at $50 a month. i don't know if i should do that. i own a home jointly with a relative and i'm wondering if they can put a lien against my home. >> let me explain how that plays out. you have a credit card that goes into charge off. the credit card company wanted to really eat you up. what they would have to do is they would have to hire a law firm to sue you against the unpaid balance of the credit card, get a judgment against you and then having the judgment, a judgment becomes what lawyers call a license to hunt. they go out and try to figure out what assets you have. at that point is when it's possible that they might try to go after the home that you

jointly own with somebody else. >> caller: okay. >> that are is a lot of ifs getting to the point where that would happen. here's what you do. you can have one more conversation with the credit card company and say no more conversations. you tell them here's my alternative offer. you agree to waive all interest and i will pay you on a payment plan and you will pay off the balance at 0% interest. if they don't accept that and here's the offer you make. you either accept this because i'm offering to pay you 100 cents on the dollar of the principal i owe you, but these are my terms. if you do not accept them, you will get not a single penny from me ever again. >> hello marty. >> caller: hi, clark. the reason i called is i'm finding myself in a mortgage

dilemma that i'm not even sure is a serious dilemma. i'm in 5-1 arm at 5.75% on the primary which is 200,000 and a second of $10,200 at 7%. the worth of my house dropped down to about roughly $235,000. everybody is advising me to get out of this arm and get into a fixed rate while the rates are down. i have been talking to lenders trying to figure out and i find myself choking on adding $11,000 into my note for the closing costs. >> closing costs lately have been off the charts crazy. >> caller: yes, sir. >> they have been really, really up there. you said the value of your home has dropped to? >> caller: around 235.

>> the first is at? >> caller: 200,400. >> equity is 17%. there is enough slack in the economy that i think you are okay to sit tight for a white before you would have to hit any panic button. as far as that arm when we are looking three years out, that arm going crazy on you, 2012 and beyond, how long do you expect you will own this house? >> caller: we have no plans on moving. >> this could be a forever house? >> caller: yes, sir. >> here's your assignment. you said your work is still good and you are making good money as an electrician. you need to pour every dollar you can into paying down principal to create more head room that will give you the opportunity to refi.

the market place took equity away from you. you are now going to have to rebuild that by paying down debt. >> next on clark howard -- >> a collection agency was pretending they were going to put your stepson in jail and talked to you about the ticket? do you know how much they have broken the law? >> i'm with my family in london and we are here why? trips to europe are the cheapest they have been in years because of the economy. that means you can travel really well. hotels extra cheap and airfares extra cheap. in the heart of london, the london eye. on this side of me is big ben. the most famous tourist attraction in london.

>> one of my favorite ways to save shopping in england is go to the 99 p store. everything is 99 pence, roughly $1.65 in today's exchange rates and they have a ton of good stuff in there. lynn is with us. >> caller: how are you doing, clark? >> great except you have a phone call nobody wants. >> caller: sure did. >> me about it. >> caller: my husband and i received a call from a department stating they were calling from a warrant division and looking for my stepson. i said why are you looking for my stepson. they said he oh,s $271 on a traffic fine. come to find out, this was a traffic ticket he received in 2001. that is correct, my stepson about d have a traffic ticket and went to probation and my husband sold his car and paid the ticket off. >> wow! call you will we explained that

to him. we don't have receipts and i did research and called back and called back and it was a collection agency. >> they were pretending they were going to put your stepson in jail and talking to you about the ticket. do you know how much they have broken the law. call you will no,i don't. >> under the fair debt practices act, a collection agency is not allowed to impersonate a member of law enforcement number one. number two, a collection agent is never allowed to talk to someone else about another person's debt. do you have an answering machine that or do you use voice mail? >> i have an answering machine and i have the first call she placed. >> you do? >> caller: yes, i do. >> wow! okay. i want you to call the district

attorney or the solicitor in the jurisdiction where your stepson originally got this ticket years ago and offer to play the tape for the da or solicitor. the collection agency operating on behalf of either the court or the jurisdiction is totally in violation of the law and the district attorney should know that that's going on. how would you like for me to answer your money question? that's easy. all you do is go to cnn.com/clark howard and submit a video question on the home screen. speaking of asking me a money question, carmen has done so about her retirement plan. let's see what's on carmen's mind. >> i'm carmen. >> i'm ray. >> we need a money coach.

my biggest concern related to finances is having enough money for retirement. i currently have a roth ira through my employer and my husband and i each have through the bank. i'm being charged a fee from the bank and then i'm being charged a fee through my employer. it's not a large amount of money, but it's money that i can use to save and contribute to one roth instead of two. my question is, do i really need two roths. >> carmen, i love what you've got. it's a special roth that more and more people will have over the next few years as a choice in a 401(k) plan. you can stay in the 401(k) or make the decision you did and go into the roth 401(k). they are wonderful because you put in after tax dollars that will grow tax-free through the years and they will never be taxed again.

plus you are still eligible for whatever employer match your employer chooses to make. that goes in pretax dollars and that portion will be taxed. yeah, there is a fee embedded in a 401(k) plan and a management fee involved in the roth ira you are doing. you do want to do both because it gives you the double opportunity to save. i think it's great. why am i so hot on the roth 401(k) versus the traditional 401(k)? simple. you know what? you have a regular 401(k) and when you go to spend it in retirement, you have much less money than you thought because it gets shaved away by taxes. you have a dollar in there and that's a dollar you get to spend in retirement. essentially it means when you retire you have about 40% more money that you can spend than you thought you did.

>> next on clark howard -- >> you want mooey to direct you to a legitimate place to buy gold. you already know how many snakes there in the grass who are out there pretending to sell gold off when you go to buy it.

as you have probably figured

out by now, i am a very opinionated guy and it's all about you taking control of your wallet. if you go to cnn.com/clark howard and go to commentaries, i have a variety for to you see how to take control right now. now we are at the cheap way of seeing the bird's-eye view of london. this is monument tower, 311 steps up from the ground. we have a view of the complete panorama of london. very much like the london at 1/7 the cost. over here is tower bridge and the tower of london. a beautiful view from up here. all you have to do is be fit enough to walk the stairs. every day when i do research for my radio show, i go to cnnmoney.com.

you should too. poppy harlow is here with good money tips for you. poppy? >> trying to keep your small business afloat in these tough times can be a daunting task, but maximizing your company's website is a cheap and easy way to target your customers. here are three tips to help you do just that. focus on the content. consider the top three thing that is a customer would come to your site looking for and highlight those things on your home page. don'tbury the information. give a measure of free advise elevates your reputation and consider your site's design. slick effects and animations are great for making a splash, but most want an easy to navigate web page that they can use easily. you want to check out

cnnmoney.com/small business. a lot of stories and tips right there. back to you. >> hi, andy. how are you? >> caller: not too bad. >> me what you are thinking of doing. >> caller: i want a legitimate place to buy the actual real gold. >> what if i were to answer your question not the way you asked it? >> caller: go ahead and i will see if it will work for me. >> okay. i would much prefer for to you consider instead of buying the actual tangible gold, that you buy what's known as a gold etf, exchange traded fund where you will buy actual ownership of gold that will be stored for you off site, not in your possession, but you will have the value of that actual gold

and with that, what happens is that you buy gold and you buy it with just money. then you buy it from an outfit that stores it for you and when you want to sell your gold, they take your gold and they sell it to somebody else. i know it sounds like i'm talking about a scam or something, but this is completely legit and you don't have to deal with the storing of the gold and the big rip off they charge you to buy the gold and the big rip off when you go to sell it. here's the neat thing. let's say you want to turn that gold back into money, you can do it like that. you can sit down at your computer and in a blink of an eye, you can sell your shares and in a couple of days, you have your money. in u.s. dollars.

do i have great bargain news for you for christmas shopping. if you go back over recent years, the toy market has been really a toy story of two places. you know what they are? wal-mart, the nation's largest toy seller and target. it used to be toys r us was the biggest in the game, but they have faded. toys 'r us is doing something that is great for this time in history. they are going to open hundreds of temporary toy stores around the country. there is plenty of vacant retail space and people they can hire to work the registers and it's going to inject new competition in the toy market that we haven't seen in a long, long time. you as a parent will be smiling because as we move through october into november, there is going to be deal after deal.

>> next on clark howard -- >> they claim the package suggest inadequate for the items and i feel like my own recourse is to go to small claims court. >> you should do that because if you sit on your rights, you should file. that's not all you should do. y8e

everybody's got to eat. sometimes i eat too much. i don't want to you spend too much in the super market. i have advice about a gotcha you have to watch for. that's thing you will learn that will help you stretch every dollar. >> ever since i request remember, i have been fascinated by money. by the time i was 31, i made enough to retire. i embarked on a new mission. helping you take care of your money. so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off.

>> now from his radio studio, your money expert, clark howard. >> i have to tell you about the tale of two people in the household. if my wife gives me the grocery list, i buy whatever the cheapest is in each thing. when she goes grocery shopping, we spend a lot more because we have organic this and organic that and the other. a lot of people really believe in the health claims and maybe they are true. who knows, about organic products. should you believe it? let me tell you something. there is more and more stuff saying organic that truly is not organic. the federal government continually loosened the standards on what can say organ organic. there is something you can look for before you spend huge amounts of money buying organic stuff. make sure it says on the front 100% organic.

don't buy something that said organic or some organic ingredients. if you are going to spend the big bucks, get the real deal. when something says natural, it means nothing. it's a marketing term in most cases. you are throwing your money away. you want my opinion on something other than food? how about your wallet? how are you in. >> just fine, clark. thank you. >> you are in the midst of doing building at your house. >> caller: yes, sir. >> i don't know if i'm supposed to congratulate you or send regrets. >> caller: what we are doing is having a mother-in-law suite built on to our home. my mother-in-law is willing to pay for the room addition so we have something along the lines of a gifting type thing. >> how much money is it going to

cost? call all in the ballpark of $40,000. >> let me tell you how you can do that. there is no gift tax issue at all. >> caller: that's what i was looking for. >> your mother-in-law is allowed to give you and your wife $13,000 each, each year without any tax implications at all. so she can right off the top give you $26,000, done. she has to write two checks, one to you and to your wife. it's important there two separate checks. then for the remainder, it's 40 total? >> caller: about 40. >> she can give you a note for $14,000 with the first interest payment due january 2nd, 2010. on that day she can say oh, i'm gifting you that money. you're done.

actually she would have to do 7 and 7. two different notes. the $40,000 can be transferred from her to you and your wife in a very short period of time completely tax-free. but the notes need to say $7,000 loan until january 2nd, 2010 at an interest rate of 6% or something that would feel like a market interest rate. >> caller: right. >> due and payable at that time & when that time comes, she forgives it and that becomes a gift. john joins us. welcome to the clark howard show. what's going on with your wife? >> caller: what's going on is very simple.

i believe it was in 1994 and 1995, she had a settlement for credit card debt and it was settled and there was a settlement drawn up and all and it was a done deal. in 02 approximately, the same company sent a collection agency on her for the same debt that was settled and i believe that she showed the settlement papers and it was dropped. now just yesterday a subpoena was dropped here for the same company. >> no way. she was served court papers? >> caller: yes. >> this is very important. very important. you ready? >> caller: yes. >> what happened was a collection agency bought what's known as zombie debt. the bank your wife reached a settlement with 15 years ago, they are reporting her still as not having paid this and some zombie collector paid the bank,

a penny or two cents on a dollar on this debt. even if she had no paid it is well outside the statute of limitations to sue. what the zombie collector does is they file suit against your wife, expecting she is not going to show up in court. then they will get a default judgment from the court, an illegal judgment. it is one that will have full force of law that will then be a judgment against her that will stay on her credit in most states for seven years and allow the collector once they have the judgment to garnish your wife's wages or empty her checking account. >> caller: oh, my gosh. >> she must answer the court and must if necessary appear in court. they are trying to take advantage of the fact that the courts are busy and a lot of people will say that's not a problem. i took care of that long ago.

that's too long ago for that to be an issue for me. they sue you against it and failure to defend yourself means you lose even on an illegal action. >> caller: unbelievable. >> it is unbelievable and it is a crying shame that this is going on. >> next on clark howard -- >> we are hoping to get some good advice on how to better manage these larger debts.

it's time for money coach. that's where you pose your money riddle to me and i try to give you the best advice i can for your and your wallet. let's meet ken and lisa. >> i'm ken. >> i'm lisa. we need a money coach! >> our financial situation is pretty stable right now, but the current economy, you never know. we are trying to get a handle on our debts and how we should handle paying those off. our two largest debts right now are our home mortgage and home equity line. one extra thing is the car. it's really old and has a lot of miles and we are going to be needing another car. should we be paying more on the principal on our mortgage or throw as much into home equity

line as possible. >> i love your question, but it's the wrong one. your mortgage, you don't owe very much on it and not that many years left to pay. a tiny amount of money on the home equity is in the threes and even had to that goes up, you owe so little, that's not a priority. any extra cash you have, you should pop into savings. i know, puny amounts of interest you earn on the savings. the purpose is to build up that money so when it comes time to replace that car, you have a substantial amount of money to be able to pay cash for a used car or make a meaningful down payment on a newer used car or brand-new one. this is always a juggling act. do you pay off debt? do you build savings? normally in most circumstances i talk about savings rates at 2% and amount owed on a mortgage is

such that the interest rate is a significant factor. 5 plus%. why would i anybody to put money in savings instead of towards the mortgage. normally i wouldn't. i would say put your extra dough towards the mortgage balance or any other high interest rate debt. we know there is a specific goal here. same for you. if you have a goal you are trying to meet, relatively short-term, pop the money in savings instead of paying down debt. what's happening with you, jennifer? >> caller: my husband and i are performing a recreational vehicle from a private party. the seller owes a little more than he is selling for. our concern is that that we never bought anything where it has been owed more on it and we talked to his bank and they said we could come into the bank and give him the money and he would

pay the remainder at the bank and the bank will sign off the title to him and he would have to be a bliged to send the title to us. we are concerned because not doing this before, what's the best way to protect ourselves? >> what i advised people in the past and what is the normal procedure is that you would pay the portion that you are to pay with the check made out to the individual and to the bank that the money is owed to. what is the most important thing for to you do is the bill of sale needs to be a thoroughly thought out bill of sale. in this case the bill of sale would not only have the vin number of the rv, the brand name, model and year and almost a narrative following the initial things. the bill of sale should have two

copies. the two copies should be signed by both you as the buyer and the seller involved. you can do this face-to-face or no? >> caller: yes. >> what i recommend when you do it face-to-face is that you, the seller, and a bank officer sitting down at the desk doing all this paperwork. at that time. i would put on the bill of sale, seller agrees to forward title by and should you designate a method like fedex or u.p.s. that the seller forward the title within a certain number of days of when the title is received with lien cleared from the bank. i would say within five days is a reasonable period of time. from the seller to get out there and get to a fedex or u.p.s. facility and send that to you.

>> next on clark howard. >> where can we check or try to find out if these coins are worth anything? >> that is not an easy thing to do.

>> you can get tons more money-saving advice from me on the web. all you do is go to cnn.com/clark howard. you got a question about credit cards, checking accounts, cars, houses? you name it, go to cnn.com/clark howard and that's also the address you visit if you might want me to be your money coach. upload a video telling me your story or fill out the e-mail form and maybe you will be a candidate on money coach. you know what else is there? commentaries from me. i've got a website for you that is full of money saving tips. it's cnnmoney.com. here's hopi harlow with new info for you. poppy? >> rising unemployment is creating an interesting new trend. according to the census bureau,

one of eight people between 25 and 34 are moving back in with the parents. so your mom or dad and your kid found their way back into the nest, cnnmoney.com has tips on how to deal with the situation. first of all, don't baby your babies. while your kid is looking for a job, charge them rent and assign responsibilities around the house. recommend job search websites or help them network with your friends and suggest they get a temp job while looking for a permanent one. don't forget the exit strategy. make sure your child put money aside for moving expenses so they can find their own home. you can find more tips at cnnmoney.com all right there in that story. back to you show. >> hello, teresa. how are you doing? >> caller: clark. my brother passed away about 10 years ago and he had old coins in a safety deposit box.

i'm trying to find out what is the best route or where can we possibly check or try to find out if these coins are worth anything? >> that is not an easy thing to do. i'm going to give you how i would do it as a layman. lay person. are you good on the web? >> fairly good, yes. >> there is a website called money.org. it is the website of the coin people and it's like the trade organization for coin dealers. they have some consumer information on it, but not -- that's not really their market. what is available on their website is information on where they are going to be coin shows. i know a lot of people would say why aren't i saying ebay? a lot of people do now sell coins on ebay, but again you don't know what you have.

you don't have a feel for range of value. . >> caller: that is true. >> with a coin show, you can go with the coins you have from your late brother and you can go to coin dealers who are buying and selling at these shows saying okay, you want not for the collection, but per coin, what is this and what's it worth? you are not going to know from a single dealer what you have got. by the great thing about the show is you can go booth to booth to booth and show what you have got and see what value people offer you for it. then you set in place a competitive market place. you can at that point get the cards of the people who seem to be on the up and up and gave you decent offers on your coins and then you can go test the market place on ebay and see what

people will pay you for the coins that have meaningful value. >> in the new credit card bill of rights, guess what was left out? small business owners. a provision gave card companies permission to do anything they want if you have a business card. remember with a business card, you also sign for personal responsibility. the worst of all possible worlds. because of this loophole in the law, what i recommend is that you turn your business cards in for personal cards. you are liable anyway and just pay those personal cards from your business. you can always do that. now it becomes extra smart because then you are protected by the new protections in the credit card law that otherwise you are left high and dry from. do this quickly.

>> next on clark howard -- >> we were trying to figure out when she gets to jfk if she should exchange money there. >> no, no, no, no and no. >> if she should -- >> no way! )$)$)$)$)$)$)$)$)$)$)$

after days of frantic searching, a newborn boy is found safe. police got a key break in the case from a parking lot surveillance video. one of the real housewives is facing a real tragedy after a violent beating death outside of an atlanta nightclub. a new energy drink pushes the limits with a controversial marketing campaign. good saturday to you. you are watching hln. so glad you. i'm susan hendricks. those stories are just ahead. first, an update for you. a newborn baby boy kidnapped from his mother has been found. >> seven--day-old g a er anthony

car ril low was found in a home in ardmore, alabama at 10:00 p.m. after investigators located the suspect involved in the tuesday attack. 39-year-old tammy renee tylus is in a alabama jail. there is a sketch of her, accused of taking the baby from his home in tennessee four days after he was born. his mother was stabbed several times during the kidnapping. a key break came after a car tammy renee rented was spotted on a surveillance tape following the mother out of a parking lot. the baby is at a foster home until you can be reunited. authorities still don't have a motive. the fbi has arrested a man who allegedly stalked and took nude videos of sportscaster, erin andrews. michael david barrett is his name, taken into custody as he arrived at chicago's o'hare airport last night. he is facing federal charges of

interstate stalking. he followed her to several hotels and shot the videos through peep holes on doors to adjacent rooms. the fbi says he then tried to sell the videos to the celebrity website tmz. after tmz refused, he allegedly posted the videos on the internet. he thanked the fbi and federal prosecutors for their work on arrest and said she hoped the case would help other people who have been victimized in a similar manner. the former fiancee of one of the real housewives in atlanta has been killed. he died of massive head injuries after a fight in the parking lot of an atlanta strip club. police say they have charged a suspect with volunteer manslaughter. july was engaged to cass member candy burris and appeared frequently on the show. people say he worked at "the body tap club" where the fight occurred. he drove himself to the hospital and later tied.

burris has been tweeting about her fiancee's death. she is the newest member of the hit reality show, an award winning singer and song writer. a monster too foyphoon is clobbering people in the philippines. the biggest threat is not wind but rain. another typhoon slammed some areas last week, including the capital, manila. today's phi fotyphoon is expect bring up to 20 more inches of rain. the government evacuated people in the path of the tie fein. air traffic control officials are working to get trans-atlantic flights from britain back on schedule. a glitch in the air traffic system in scotland caused dozens of flight delays. officials say there was no risk to the safety of the passengers in the backup systems were used while engineers fixed the malfunction. british airways says they

experienced minor delays but that the airline is now back on a normal schedule. a remote area of eastern california has been hit by dozens of quakes since thursday, including several farrell big once. the strongest in the past 24 hours was a magnitude 5.2. several others stronger than 4.5 have also hit the area. the quakes started on thursday with a magnitude 5 quake. they have been centered 180 miles north of los angeles in the sparsely populated owens valley. so far, no substantial damage or injuries are reported. >> more nors gathered for the chicago funeral of 16-year-old derrion albert. the images of his beating by a group of other teens shocked people across the nation. four teens are being held without bail in his death. the reverend jesse jackson will

speak at today's funeral. he says those pictures along with increasing deadly violence in chicago may have cost the city the chance to host the 2016 olympics. you can play a great game and still not win. that is what president obama said after learning that chicago will not host the 2016 olympics. the first lady made personal pitches in denmark for having the games in their home town. chicago was the first of the four finalists to be eliminated, quite a shocker. tokyo and madrid were knocked out, leaving rio de janeiro the big winner. thousands of people celebrated at the beach yesterday. the man who reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman has pleaded not guilty. he had a court hearing in new york yesterday. he is facing larceny charges that could land him in jail for up to 15 years. after the hearing, halderman was released on $200,000 bail. he reportedly demanded $2

million to keep quiet about david letterman's affairs with coworkers. letter man admitted on thursday to having sex with female staffers on a show. his company says he didn't violate their harassment policy. cnn has learned the extortion suspect, joe haldeerman is deep in debt despite having a six-figure salary e was paying close to $7,000 a month in alimony any and child support from a 2003 divorce. he is 51 years old and a long-time employee of cbs. a recent contract put his salary at more than $200,000 a year. president obama is trying to make the case that health reform will be good for job growth. the nation's unemployment rate stands at a whopping 9.8%, the highest since 1983. in his weekly radio address, the president said an overhaul of the country's health care system would help by making it more affordable for small businesses to start up.

we certainly made progress on this front since the period last winter when we were losing an average of 700,000 jobs last month. yesterday's report on september job losses was a sobering job reminder that progress comes in fits and starts. we will need to grind out this recovery step by step. republicans are laying the blame for the sky-high unemployment rate at the feet of president obama and the democrats. in their party's weekly address, congresswoman candice miller said the president's economic bill fell far short. >> we have lost roughly 3 million private sector jobs since president obama's plan became law. people were told the so-called stimulus would create jobs in our state more than 100,000 of them. well, now, local economists say that we are on track to lose 300,000 jobs just this year

alone. and while the american people were promised that the stimulus would prevent unemployment from rising above 8%, it's now teetering on the verge of 10%. miller also called for tax cuts for small businesses to help put the economy back on track. the former first dude of alaska has a change of heart and a change of plans. we will tell you what is new for the former alaska governor's husband, todd palin.

a rally will be held in washington in support of an american father arrested in japan. christopher was locked up this week when he took his two kids from his japanese ex-wife. she took the kids to japan without telling him which may have violated custody terms. his attorney says savoi was afraid he wouldn't be able to see his children ever again. the rally will include a candle

light vigil from flont of the house tonight. sarah palin isn't the only member of her family to quit her job. last month, her husband, todd palin, walked away from his oil field job. his resignation comes nearly two months after his wife stepped down as alaska's governor. palin's personal spokeswoman says todd palin is now spending more time with his family. he made a little more than $34,000 working part time for british petroleum as a production operator and has a job working at his family's commercial fishing business. the national guard was called in to help provide security at some d.c. public schools. guardsman were stationed at a high school football game last night along with police officers. the company that used to provide school security suddenly folded. d.c. schools were suddenly short 300 guards. that left school administrators scrambling and parents pretty worried. >> i'm real concerned as a parent, because i didn't even let my own child go to school today for his safety.

>> a d.c. school spokesman says d.c. school police hired two new security firms to fill in the gap. a california man accused of having a gang sign tattooed on his seven-year-old son will not face a xharg of mayhem which carries a life sentence. he still faces a sentence for a dog paw on the boy's hip. the judge agreed with defense attorneys that any damage left by a small tattoo does not amount to permanent and painful disfigurement. that law is more appropriately applied to injuries from beatings and stabings. the man said he allowed his son to get the tattoo, because the boy wanted it. the tata ttoo is being remoostd. a 42-year-old gorilla has a new outlook on life. the delicate surgery wasn't even the tricky part of the operation.

as many as 4,000 people could be buried under this, the rubble. following this week's devastating earthquakes in indonesia. people are digging with chisels, hammers, even their bear hands looking for survivors. a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit wednesday. a 6.6 magnitude quake struck thursday in the same region. so far, government officials

have confirmed more than 530 deaths. earlier, the united nations estimated more than twice that number were killed. with thousands still listed as missing, the death toll could easily go much higher than that. samoa's government is planning a mass burial tuesday for the island's tsunami victims. medical teams are giving tetnus shots to the survivors. very devastating. survivors of the tsunami say they are trying to cope as best they can with the disaster. >> i had a lady slip through my hand. i couldn't help her anymore. at the time, i was out of the water. >> i don't know. just feel numb. i don't know, to cry.

it's so hopeless right now. all the things i worked for, like gone in like two minutes. that's how long the wake came in. took everything away from me. >> the u.s. coast guard reports that harbors are open and there is no significant pollution in the ports of american samoa. we're learning details about a settlement roman polanski made with his sexual assault victim. in 1993, he agreed to pay the woman $500,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. court papers don't indicate if he ever paid. as of 1993, he still hadn't paid. and owed more than $100,000 more with interest. he pleaded guilty to having sex with a woman when she was just 13 years old. after giving her champagne and part of a qua lewd, he left the u.s. in 1978, the night before he was to be sentence td. he was arrested last weekend in

switzerland. two good samaritans put their lives on the line to rescue people from a burning car. the car hit a tree at more than 100 miles an hour in virginia yesterday. a truck driver pulled over and sprayed the car with a fire extinguisher. another driver jumped in and pulled two people out. >> they lost control. it slid. i mean, rapidly, very rapidly, down the hill. disappeared into the woods, into the embankment. >> one rescuer was slightly injured. the people in the burning car were hospitalized with burns and lacerations. police say someone could have died if the two good samaritans hadn't helped. a 420-pound gorilla who was almost blind should soon see the world more clearly. yesterday, josephine had cataract surgery on both her eyes tichlts a unique procedure for guerillas. that's not why keepers were worried. >> she is a 42-year-old gorilla.

the huge risk is the anesthesia. because of her advanced age, when you keep in mind that gorillas live to be around 50. 42 is an ex traemly advanced age for this animal. >> doctors say the surgery went well and once she heals, her quality of life at the zoo should greatly improve. if this dog could talk, what tales of adventure he would tell. the old lab boxer mix vanished ten years ago. he was just found 1,300 miles from home. an oklahoma family took him in as a stray. their vet found a microchip which revealed the dog's name was brindle and his owner was from virginia. the little girl who found him says it was a happy ending. >> if i didn't, then he would just be sitting there right now with no family, no friends, no nothing. >> isn't she cute? the family tracked down

brindle's owner on facebook. they will soon be reunited. there is no doubt latinos are reshaping america from schools to neighborhoods, businesses and medical care. soledad o'brien takes a special look at what it's like to be latino in america, with the special accomplishments of a california doctor. >> one, two, three. >> reporter: raul ruiz is a busy e.r. doctor. a physician on staff at eisenhower medical center. the cochel la valley's only nonprofit hospital. >> reporter: how old were you when you knew you wanted to be a doctor? >> four years old. >> reporter: not an easy feat for the son of margaret farm workers. >> i used to type all things are possible, all things are possible. >> reporter: he was a good student but a terrible test taker. english wasn't his first language. >> reporter: according to my s.a.t. scores, i should never

have gone to college. >> reporter: what were your scores? >> i would rather not say. >> reporter: the biggest obstacle was money. a family friend paid for him to apply to ucla but it was the community of cochella that helped put him through school tichlts a small, farming down with mostly spanish speaking immigrants. the average family income is less than $25,000 a year. >> i started knocking on doors and saying, i am from this community. he want to become a physician. i'm going to come back. i want to offer you the opportunity to invest in your community. >> reporter: he handed out homemade contracts to sponsors like the owner of the local hardware store. >> i was able to raise about $2000. >> reporter: wow. >> $20, $50, $100 at a time. >> reporter: he was 17 years old. with the money and more importantly the community backing, raul ruiz went off to ucla. after grad warks he went to harvard medical school to become a doctor.

that's not all. >> i have a master's in public policy from the harvard school of government. i have a master's in public health from the harvard school of public health. >> reporter: three degrees from harvard. the first mexican-american ever to achieve that. >> my efforts are not just mine alone. it's my families and my communities. so we worked hard. >> reporter: he could have practiced anywhere but he came back. >> i promise is a promise. >> reporter: he continues to give back mentoring eight cochella teenagers. >> there is only two obligations, one is that they show up and two that they participate with me in community service. we will see if we can make a difference. >> reporter: to ensure there will be a next generation in cochella, who will also give back. on october 21st, and 22nd, tune in for a comprehensive report on how latinos are

changing america, reshaping politics, businesses, schools, churches and neighborhoods. latino in america, october 21st and 22nd, don't miss it on our sister network, cnn. xwxwxwxwxwxw

after days of frantic searching, a newborn boy is found safe. police got a key break in the case from a parking lot surveillance video. one of the real housewives is facing a real tragedy after a violent beating death outside of an atlanta nightclub. also, a new energy drink pushes the limits with a controversial marketing campaign. how close to a drug can caffeine get? good saturday to you. you are watching hln. so glad you are. i'm susan hendricks. those stories are just ahead. first, an update for you. a newborn baby boy kidnapped from his mother has been found. seven-day-old gair anthony

was found at 10:00 p.m. after they found the suspect. >> tamly renee sylus is in an alabama jail awaiting charges accused of taking the baby just four days after he was born. police say his mother was stabbed several times during the kidnapping. a key break in the case came after a car tammy renee rented was spotted on a surveillance tape following the mother out of a wall mark parking lot. the baby is at a foster home until you can be reunited with his family. authorities still don't have a motive for the kidnapping. the fbi has arrested a man who allegedly stalked and took nude videos of sports cast ter, erin andrews. michael david barrett is his name. taken into custody as he arrived at chicago's o'hare airport last

night. he is facing federal charges of interstate stalking. he followed andrews to several hotels and shot the videos through peep holes to adjacent rooms. he then tried to sell the videos to the celebrity website, tmz. after they refused, he allegedly posted the videos on the internet. she said she hopes the case will help other people who have been victimized in a similar manner. the former fiancee of one of the "real housewives of atlanta" has been killed. police say a.j. jewell died from massive head injuries after a fight in the parking lot of an atlanta strip club. police have charged a suspect with voluntary manslaughter. no word on a motive. jewell was engaged to cass member, kandi burruss, and appeared frequently on the show. police say he worked at the body tap club where the fight occurred. he drove himself to the hospital after last night's fight and

later died. burruss has been tweeting about her fiancee's death. she is an award-winning singer and song writer. a monster typhoon is cl clobbering people hit by another storm last week. typhoon parma landed today. the biggest threat is not wind but rain. another typhoon slammed some areas last week, including the capital, man n nil la. today's typhoon is expected to bring more than 20 inches of rain. the government evacuated people who were in the palth. sg. >> air traffic control officials are working to get trans-atlantic flights from britain back on schedule. a glitch in the air traffic system in scotland caused dozens of flight delays. there was no risk to the safety of the passengers and that backup systems were used while engineers fixed the malfunction.

british airways says they experienced minor delays but now are on a p normal schedule. a remote area of eastern california has been hit by dozens of quakes since thursday. including several farrell big ones since last evening. the strongest in the past 24 hours was a magnitude 5.2. several others stronger than 4.5 have also hit the area. the quake started on thursday with a magnitude 5.0 quake. centered 180 miles north of los angeles in the sparsely populated owens valley. no injuries reported. they gathered today for the funeral of a chicago honor student whose beating death was caught on tape. many civil rights leaders are expected to attend services for 16-year-old derrion albert. the images of his beating shocked people across the nation. four teens are being held without bail in the death of darien albert. the reverend jesse jackson will

speak at today's funeral. he says those pictures along with increasing deadly violence may have cost the is the city the chance to host the olympics. you can play a great game and still not win, that is what president obama said after learning that chicago will not host the 2016 olympics. he and the first lady made personal pitches. chicago was the first of the four finalists to be eliminated. tokyo and madrid were knocked out leaving rio de janeiro the big winner. thousands of people celebrated at city's copa cabana beach yesterday. the man who reportedly tried to extort money from david letterman has pleaded not guilty. joe halderman had an appearance in court, released on $200,000 bail. he reportedly demanded $2

million to keep quiet about david letterman's affairs with coworkers. he admitted on thursday to having sex with female staffers on a show. his production company says he didn't violate their harassment policy. >> cnn has learned that he is deep in debt despite having a six-figure salary. he was paying close to $7,000 a month in alimony and child support. he is 51 years old and a long-time employee of cbs. they have his salary at more than $200,000 a year. president obama is trying to make the case that health care reform will be good for job growth. the nation's unemployment rate stands at a whopping 9.8%. that's the highest it has been since 1983. in his weekly radio address, the president said an overhaul of the country's health care system would help by making it more affordable for small businesses to start up.

>> we've certainly made progress on this front since the period last winter when we were losing an average of 700,000 jobs each month. yesterday's report on september job losses was a sobering reminder that progress comes in fits and starts. we will need to grind out this recovery step by step. republicans are laying the blame for the sky high unemployment rate at the feet of president obama and the democrats. in their party's weekly address, congresswoman candace miller said the president's economic stimulus bill fell far short of the mark. all told, our economy has lost roughly 3,000 private sector jobs since president obama's stimulus plan became law. the people of michigan were told this so-called stimulus would create jobs immediately, more than 100,000 of them. well, now, local economists say we are on track to lose 300,000

jobs just this year alone. while the american people were promised that the stimulus would prevent unemployment from rising above 8%, it's now teetering on the verge of 10%. >> miller also called for tax cuts for small businesses to help put the economy back on track. the former first dude of alaska has a change of heart and a change of plans. we will tell you what is new for the former alaska governor's husband, todd palin.

a rally will be held in washington in support of an american father arrested in japan. christopher savoi was locked up

when he took his two kids from his ex-wife. she took the kids to japan which without telling him. his attorney says he was afraid he wouldn't be able to see his children ever again. the rally will include a candle light vigil in front of the white house tonight. former alaska governor, sarah palin, isn't the only member of her family to quit her job. last month, her husband, todd palin, walked away from his oil field job. his resignation comes nearly two months after his wife stepped down as alaska's governor. palin's personal spokeswoman says todd palin is now spending more time with his family. he made a little more than $34,000 working part time for british petroleum as a production operator. he also has a job working at his family's commercial fishing business. the national guard was called in to help provide security at some d.c. public schools. guardsmen were stationed at a high school football game along with police officers. the company that used to provide

school security suddenly folded. d.c. schools were suddenly short 300 guards. that left school administrators scrambling and administrators pretty worried. a d.c. spokesman says d.c. police hired two new security firms to fill in the gap. a california man accused of having a gang sign tattooed on his 7-year-old son will not face the charge of mayhem which carries a potential life sentence. he still faces 7 to 10 years for child endangerment along with his friend who eveninged a dog paw on the boy's hip, a symbol of the fresno bulldog's gang. the judge agreed any damage left from a small tattoo does not mean permanent or painful disfigurement. the man said he allowed his son to get the tattoo because the boy wanted it.

the tattoo, meanwhile, is being removed. zirks japan is phasing a fiscal squeeze. a section of the population being overlooked, a key to the country's survival. we here we will see the future. this 80 something couple high in the japanese mountains provides a glimpse of what the rest of an aging world might look like in the coming years. at first i was afraid to touch the machine. i was afraid i would break it, she says, a especially designed mouse and minikeyboard allows elderly hands to navigate in a modest house outfitted with business technology. the backbone of a cultural company. almost half of the 2000 residents in the town of cammy

ka soo are 65 years or older. >> for more on this great story, head to our website, cnn.com/vital signs.

as many as 4,000 people could be buried under this, the rubble. people are digging with chisels, hammers, even their bare hands looking for survivors and belongings. a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit sue matt tra wednesday. and a 6.6 magnitude hit in the same reason. they have confirmed more than 530 deaths. earlier, the united nations estimated more than twice that number were killed. the death toll could easily go much higher than that. samoa's government is planning a mass burial tuesday for the island's tsunami victims. nearby american sam mo asince they struck. one family buried 3 generations. they ranged in age from nine months to 97 years old.

very devastating. survivors of the tsunami say they are trying to cope as best they can with the disaster. >> a lady just slipped through my hand. i just couldn't help her anymore. at the time i was under the water. she was hanging on to. >> i don't know. i don't know to cry or to -- it's so hopeless right now. all the things i worked for and they are gone in two minutes. that's how long it came in and took everything away from me. >> the u.s. coast guard reports that harbors are open and there is no significant pollution in the ports of american samoa. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. a look at your forecast as rho the nation. you can expect scattered showers, possibly thunderstorms in parts of the northeast. when you head to the southeast, dry and relatively cool. breezy for you in parts of the midwest. including plays places like the twin cities and back into st.

louis. high pressure building in the central plains, relatively dry there. same story with the northern plains. in the north and central rockies, high elevations could be dealing with snow fall. heavy rain for central and south texas, back in the four corners. a few spotty showers here and there. dry for much of the coast until you get into seattle. 79 degrees in dallas. 78 from memphis. 79 in washington wag. 65, salt lake city. speaking of the colors you see on the maps, check out the colors you might be seeing across parts of the country in terms of your fall colors. you will see your peek collaors pop out. the fall foliage will be dynamic. you will have to wait until late october or november for much of the southeastern u.s. including much of the applachians. that's a look at your forecast. i am reynolds wolf for hln. we are learning details

about a settlement roman polanski made with his sexual assault victim. according to court documents, in 1993, he agreed to pay the woman $500,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. they don't indicate if he ever paid. as of 1993, he still hadn't paid. he owed her more than $100,000 more with interest. he pleaded guilty to having sex with a wo with a woman when she was just 13 years old after giving her champagne and part of a qualude. he left the united states in 1978. the night before he was to be sentenced. he was arrested last weekend in switzerland. archaeologist in britain have found a small prehistoric site near the fabld stone hen nlg. the stones are no longer there but the holes where they were placed still remain. the new site is located a mile from stone henge.

two good samaritans put their lives on the line to rescue people from a burning car. a truck driver pulled over and sprayed the >> lost control. and flee it. i mean, rapidly. very rapidly. down in here, disappeared in the woods into the enbankment. >> one rescuer was slightly injured. the people in the burning car were lacerized with burns and lacerations. police say people could have died if those two samaritans couldn't have helped. a grandmother gorilla going blind has a new outlook on life. the delicate surgery to restore her vision wasn't even the tricky part of her operation.

if the stall could talk, what tales of adventure he would tell. boxer makes vanish ten years ago. ten. he was just found 1,300 miles from home an oklahoma family took him in as a stray. their vet found a microchip, which revealed the dog's name was brindal and also his owner was from virginia. the little girl who found him by the side of the road said it was a happy ending. >> if i didn't, then he would just be sitting there right now with no family, no friends, no nothing. >> isn't she cute? the family tracked down brindley's owner on facebook. they'll soon be reunited. it looks like cocaine, it is

marketed like cocaine and kicks like cocaine but this kind of blow, yes, it is legal. the controversy surrounding a new energy drink.