charles wrangle leads the committee that overseize the irs tax code but some gop lawmakers accuse him of not paying taxes. now he's defending himself on ethics charges. we'll tell what you he says. undercover video puts gun show dealers in the cross hairs. more than 70% in one investigation sold guns illeg illegally. but the nra says that a mayor behind the investigation should do more doing and less news conferencing. then, kidnapping suspects break out a cement saw to cut a grave in the bedroom floor

wanting to bury their victim alive but a window saves him. it's thursday, may 8. all that hour on "morning express." first, we're hearing from people who survived a deadly bombing that ripped through crowded streets just as people were getting to work. afghanistan officials say at least 13 people died in kabul. the talliban claimed responsibility for this. the bomber tried to get through the embassy gates. the bombing did most of its damage to nearby restaurants and cars. >> translator: there was an explosion. we were just sitting inside having tea when the explosion broke our windows. it was in the neighborhood of the interior ministry. thanks to god's grace, no one in the store was injured. it was just our windows and goods that broke. thank god no one was hurt in our store. >> translator: if they would have wanted to fix it, they would have fixed it in the last seven years. what they've done in these last seven years, it's gone from bad

to worse. it hasn't gotten better. >> well, the man you just heard from was referring to the u.s.-led war against the taliban there which had its eighth anniversary yesterday. now to this house republicans are keeping a spotlight on the ethics problems facing powerful democrat charles rangel. they tried for a third time yesterday to get him booted from his post as the chairman of the committee that writes new tax laws. now just like the other two times, they failed, though. on our sister network cnn last night, anderson cooper spoke with the head of a group that dug up some of the allegations against rangel. take a listen. >> he's a serial offender. he has two bank accounts with between $250,000 and a half million dollars in them. he's got stock holdings. he's got land. and somehow he says he just forgot to put these things on the form. >> that form that he's talking about is a congressional financial disclosure form. rangel is also accused of not paying taxes on assets that he

has. he says he will not step down because chairman usually keep their post during ethics investigations. >> yes, i can. the way it works in the house is that when allegations are made and referred to the ethics committee, what is normally done is members wait until the ethics committee completes its investigation and its report. that's what i'm hoping happens with the republicans. >> rangel called the allegations a smear campaign so far. let's move to. this authorities say new undercover video that you see right here shows just how easy it is to buy a gun illegally in the united states. new york's mayor sent investigators to seven gun shows in three states and they found about two-thirds of private unlicensed sellers sold guns illegally to people. here's why it was illegal. in most states, unlicensed dealers can sell guns without doing background checks. that's okay. but if there's reason to think the buyer could not pass a background check, they're not supposed to make the deal.

well, here's one case were alto ignored. >> private collection, no tax, no paperwork. >> and then it happened. criminal who's buy those guns and other states bring them back to his city and he wants a federal law to require background checks for all gun sales as a result. >> closing the gun show loophole and cracking down on sellers that violate the law has nothing to do with the stekd amendment. it's about basic law enforcement. plain and simple. >> the national rifle association says bloomberg should go after people breaking the law rather than holding news conferences saying

>> mayor bloomberg is not planning to file lawsuits on any private dealers on the tapes. this just in, rescuers saved a woman who was trapped inside this car you see here. this is a little south of los angeles. the woman appeared to be alert when they took her out. our affiliate ktla reporting that the car lost control and crashed into someone's house into their kitchen, actually. these are live pictures right now. 7:00 a.m. and they're working on getting the car out. agents say they broke up a major id theft ring. 100 u.s. and egyptian suspects were indicted yesterday and 50 have already been arrested. now they're accused of collecting personal information by getting people to respond to phoney e-mails. the fbi says the suspects had stolen more than $2 million. a u.s. soldier told his dad that he knew the taliban would be waiting for him when he returned to afrghanistan.

the specialist was one of eight men killed during a 12-hour standoff with the taliban on saturday. >> that's why they died. >> he's a hero. >> he's always been ours. he's always been our hero. >> it creates a horrible vacuum in our lives and it always will. because he was -- he was so important. >> now some military analysts say saturday's attack shows that u.s. troops are outnumbered there. sources told cnn the u.s. believes about 200 insurgents planned this attack. boy, talk about trum blers. four major earth quicks hit the south pacific. tsunami warnings were issued. they were called off quickly. the quake's rattled here and people ran for high ground in some areas. several other relatively large after shocks have also hit.

bob can talk about the big storm making its way across the country. it's now thursday and pretty much done. but we have flooding concerns and flooding rain? >> we do. it's going to be here for a day or day and a half, richard. tremendous amounts of rainfall is what we're going to find. that's going to stretch from texas through to the ohio valley. here's the way it goes. here's the cold front. a slow mover coming out of indianapolis. cold enough to produce light snow for northern nebraska and southern parts of south dakota, too. you channel into the rain. it's heavy at times. we see the yellows and reds popping up on the radar, that's an indication of extremely heavy rain right now. that's right around eastern kansas through missouri, stretching in towards illinois and in towards indiana and now edging towards ohio. so it's all spreading to the northeast at a slow clip. and since it's moving so slowly, you see tremendous amounts of rainfall continue to pile up. rain out of amarillo has been basically loosening up a bit. then it picks up in intensity around kansas city and down to the south. more heavy rain down i-70. you can see the flashing lightning going on here.

that particular rain squall, that thunderstorm squall line has been here and just training due eastward over the last few hours. lots of rain right there. so flash flood watches, warnings. they're all posted around that region. look at the rain shield extending into indianapolis. pull the picture out, get a bigger picture. headed towards chicago later to day. lighter showers. the rain eventually gets in towards detroit. but south of that boundary, it's going to be warm to hot. let me take you live to atlanta. keep this in mind, driving to atlanta or the southeast today, it's going to be dry. but it's going to be warm to hot. 80 today. 85 tomorrow in atlanta with rain again for the weekend. more on that coming up, richard, in just a bit. >> whatever. >> that's your favorite line, right? >> yeah. >> this has to do with a story that's next. of course it's not whatever for bob, but what words do people use that really annoy you? whatever? that was named the most annoying word in a new poll. >> i agree. >> yeah. whatever. 47% did not like it. also on the list, you know, anyway, it is what it is and at

the end of the day. >> at the end of the day, that really gets under my finger nails. >> i hate the -- let's all get on the same page here. i hate that. just say let's make sure we're doing the same thing, all right? boom. none of the phrasing. >> exactly. none of that stuff. you know? >> somebody has a case of the mondays. just like the office space. >> you've been studying all the annoying phrases. >> i hear them all the time. not on this job. in my prior job. >> only from 10:00 to 11:00 eastern. thanks, bob. we want to know which words or phrases you think are most annoying. i know, right? where did this originate? ask shari. >> go to cnn.com/robin and click on the link for that annoying phrase. we're getting a scary

picture of just how many people can no longer afford the roofs over their heads. you have to look at these pictures here. thousands of people lining up for a chance at a check from the government and most will not get it a dime.

thousands of people lined up for a chance at federal money meant to keep a roof over their heads. you have to look at the lines to see the urgency and desperation, too. the city handed out 50,000 applications for only 3,500 housing assistant checks. fear and anger, as you imagine, set in when people realized how many people would leave empty handed. police had to step in to stop people from pushing. >> there's people all over the place. this is getting crazy out here. we need help here. >> my concern is that everybody is down here and they've been down here all night. might not get a chance to get the application and it's very sad. >> several people had to be treated for fainting and

exhaustion. the most applicants can qualify for is $3,000. computers are supposed to be online by the end of next year for faa. they're updating world wore ii area are a technology to a satellite based one that's on there right now. target is making a major move to get you spending again. it is slashing prices on your kids' favorite little thingies. we have good news in a bad economy. how low are they going? how cheap? >> thanks, richard. 50% at target. we chose because i know there are so many families right now who are, you know, budgets are really tight.

barbie, $5, gi go, $15. walmart started the price wars last week. they've been doing that every year. but this year analysts say there's going to be a lot of competition. and that could help you. remember the okkaybee stores closed. now sears is filling in the gaps. barnes & noble and boreders are carrying more toys. so that is all good news for you. more competition can mean lower prices out there. >> jen, it's also good. a lot of families are saying home for entertainment. >> that's exactly right. now new this morning, sizable drop, the line got shorter at the unemployment office. look, it is still a loaning line. but this is big help. the number of first-time filers, 521,000 says the labor department. look, that's the lowest number we've seen here since january. it wasn't that long ago we were looking at 700,000 numbers. it's 33,000 fewer people than last week. so a solid signal that job markets, it is healing. it's just that it's happening

very slowly and very gradually. let's take a live look at pictures from the house financial services committee in washington. that is chairman barney frank. what they're looking at today, really can affect your wallet every time you pay for something with a credit or debit card. what they're talking about today is these interchange fees. it means every time you swipe your card, the business why you're buying, they have to pay the credit card company about 2%. look that, really adds up, especially if you're a small company. also, grocery stores, right, big companies that don't make big margins, so they're looking at that one very close today. althou although, richard, wall street is betting nothing is going to change. back to you. >> we hope it does. >> you could. i mean it could theoretically mean lower prices. or at least the local stores make a little bit more money. >> all right. thanks, jen. jen will be back in 20 with more for us. thank you. police pulled over a car and found a 9-year-old behind the wheel. a 9-year-old! get this, it's not her first joy ride.

welcome back. a 9-year-old girl who is autistic drove off with her family's car, again.

police say this time they brought along her 1-year-old sister for the ride. she kept it under 15 miles an hour last time. safer. no one was hurt in this. police say child services officials are investigating this. david letterman who makes fun of everyone else's sex life gets caught cheating on his partner of 23 years with young women who work for him and his ratings go up, up, up. in fact, on monday night, he beat every show on nbc prime time. and being embroiled in a sex scandal doesn't hurt in politics either. i remember when bill clinton was doing the nasty with monica lewinsky, his approval ratings were even higher than when he

was just "doing" his job. the people of south carolina are rallying around mark sanford, their christian governor who mistook an argentinian woman's [ beep ] for the appalachian trail. how fabulous is that? next time if sanford wants to win in a landslide, maybe he should have an affair with a swede and tell his wife he's snow boarding in minsk. let's face it, sex sells. sex scandals may ruin marriages, upset families and become national embarrassments but so what? the main thing here is that americans are transfixed. they don't want to miss one little celatious detail. it's a ratings bonanza. you know what? hey, this is a new show. and i could use a little leg up, you know? maybe it's time for me to have a daly of my own here at work. you know, this studio is crawling with men. you know? hank, i don't mean too much offense, but there's no friggin' way, okay? even i have standards. but that's just me.

joy, joy, joy. can you catch the "joy behar show" here on hln at 9:00. >> for this show, you need to have a sex scandal. >> get the ratings up here a little bit. >> if we showed a woman in this studio, you could be in trouble. >> you can see who is back. we have rafer back from a little vaca. you can going to tell us how the most expensive team faced off the most exhausted team. >> the new york yankees with the $200 payroll taking on the minnesota twins who didn't even get to their new york hotel until 4:00 a.m. well, why? they were celebrating. just getting to i playoffs after detroit. a little champagne and beer. perhaps premature. then it was time to show up. kate hudson and jay z. and derek jeter made history with a very first postseason home run in the new park. however, whoever catch that's ball will be worth a lot of money. yankees win 7-2. easy.

game two is on friday. get this, a little ride nay cost a college football player millions. des bryant, a top nfl prospect was suspended for lying about meeting with deion sanders. now you know deion. he met with the former nfl star. when they asked him about it, he lird and said he didn't meet him. lying is a violation. he was expected to be drafted high next year. so now playing will likely derail. that however, he could come back for his senior year. >> why lie? >> i don't know. >> you thought it was a violation what he did. and this is a bit of a violation. i'm kidding. these kids -- these people are fantastic. it's the miami heat auditions for the golden oldies dance team. two dozen seniors over 60, the most popular dance groups in the nba. that's a look at sports. >> my friend can outshake us both. maybe not you. they can outshake me. >> they're awesome. >> thanks a lot, rafer. police say a man was kidnapped and held for ransom. but they say when no ransom

money came, his accused kidnappers threatened to bury him alive. you want to hear next. that's new in the next 30 minutes. plus women might not recognize their favorite fashion magazine next year. that is because they will have a better shot at landing on the cover than runway models. 

thnchts just in, the senate finance committee will vote on the health care bill next tuesday. yedz we found out the bill will cost $70 billion less than they expected. analysts are taking -- are talking here, $829 billion over the ten years the plan would expand coverage. so that 94% of all eligible folks across the country have health insurance. and get ready to see more flight delays. a brookings institution report

says lodelays are twice as like today. flight delays are going to get yet worse. it says about 10% of flights arrive at least two hours late. and a former brazilian state legislator and tv crime show host is now considered a criminal fugitive. police say that wallace suza was involved in drug trafficking. they say he would have his criminal rivals killed then have the camera crews arrive first on the scene which drove up his show's ratings. those are some of the stories we're following for you on this thursday. hoping you are having a good one. smnchts kids in chicago are overcoming odds most people have trouble even comprehending. that's from the nation's education secretary. yesterday arnie duncan met with students from the same schools as a teenager who was beaten to death in the street just last month. duncan and attorney general eric holder also met with chicago's mayor. holder says incidents like that beating should concern everyone. >> youth violence is not a

chicago problem. any more than it is a black problem, a white problem, or a hispanic problem. it is something that affects communities big and small and people of all races and all colors. it is an american problem. >> darion albert's death was captured on cell phone video. it was not an isolated incident. last night on our sister network, cnn one father said his son was killed in a similar fashion just 18 months ago. >> we're doing a lot of things to help. but we need help in the community with these community leaders. they say they are doing things. they haven't stepped up and done nothing yet. the mayor, none of the aldermans, nothing. >> well, last year more than 30 young people suffered violent deaths in chicago. attorney general holder saying the obama administration is asking for $25 million in year's budget. let's turn it over to new york city's mayor who is urging

congress to stop illegal sales at gun shows. he spent more than a million dollars on an undercover investigation to highlight the problems. this is some of the video that they got in their investigation. and they released tape yesterday of private unlicensed dealers can sell guns without doing a background checks. >> this is real. this translates into people getting killed. children, adults, police officers, civilians. >> the sting operations targeted licensed dealers. 16 of 17 guns to straw purchasers. that's when someone has a clean record buys a gun for someone who does not. in this case, the pis or investigators would pick out a gun then tell the deal he were they are going to have someone else fill out the paperwork right in front of the seller. again, only one of those dealers

refused to make the deal. those were licensed dealers. olympic hopeful was told he can not sell sex to pay his way into the games. here's rafer with more on that. you cannot do that. that is not good. >> yeah. what's thiss this world coming to? tai kwan do competitor from new zealand sell up a brothel money to get to the 2012 games. prostitution is technically legal in new zealand. he advertises his olympic dreams to the clients. the new zealand committee threatened legal action if he continues using the olympic connection to promote his business. now the ncoz -- or oc isn't commenting. ut appears as long as this guy, campbell, does not connect the olympics with his "business," he's fine. but he's threatening legal action against the nzoc. just really wants to tie the two together, richard.

we'll have more sports in a little bit. >> funny story, nevertheless, my friend. thank you, rafer. new information showing most of the world's muslims do not live in the middle east. depending on the pugh form, nearly two out of three muslims live in countries like indonesia, pakistan and india. the middle east and naorth afria are home to 20% of muslims. this is important here because to focus on u.s. policy on muslim outreach, now they can get a understanding wrf they're at. the national organization for women is slamming david letterman for his affairs with staffers. the group says letterman promoted a hostile work environment. it says -- >> now letterman apologized for the affairs on his show so far. we got one airline that's trying to lighten the load, shall we say, by asking people to go to the bathroom before

flights. i guess litening the load, too. japan's nippon airways says getting rid of the extra weight would cut back on carbon dioxide emissions because planes would use less fuel because planes are lighter. it's part of an environmental experiment that also includes using recycled paper clips and plastic bottles instead of glass. >> you know that every gallon of liquid has a lot of weight. >> realistically, though -- realistically, i'm thinking only the day after thanksgiving would that have any effect at all. >> you're thinking nonliquids. >> i'm thinking everything. i hope it works. >> let's talk more liquids and rain. >> let me show what you is happening. we're seeing a lot of rain. we're zeroing in on the area getting hit the heaviest. kansas and st. louisment and that steady stream of rate has been here for the last six hours now. we're watching it slowly move over towards the east towards indianapolis, getting in towards louisville. going to get into the rest of kentucky and the ohio valley later this afternoon. so heavy rain is out there.

and it's really going to be a factor for you starting to day through tonight through tomorrow. flash flood watches, warnings. the warnings are all the light shaded green including just outside of kansas city and the dark shaded greens are all flash flood watches. look at how much rain we're calling for today. three to five inches of rain just today aloevenlt over the next 48 hours that, can almost double in some spots. this is one thing we're watching with pretty much major concerns. 4.1 inches of rain. that's what the computer mod rlz thinking for st. louis. a little bit less in tulsa. still jut over # inch2 inches o for dallas and more for austin. you don't want it to all come down at one time. hopefully it comes down a little slower around texas. not case if you're under one of the thunderstorm. this area i put in red, slight chances of severe thunderstorms. main thing today, main concern, gusty winds. more tow dee tails tomorrow morning, richard. lots of heavy rain the next two days. then for the weekend, gets to the southeast. >> a real mixed blessing. >> going to be tough. >> thanks, bob. >> you got it. >> a big time fashion magazine

in germany is not going to just ditch the super thin, picture perfect models for real women. starting in january, they will highlight women with different lives, jobs, and body types each month. that means no more models on the cover or inside. now the mad zig and chief editor says nearly everyone can be a trendsetter these days and many readers seem to like the idea so far. a man says kidnappers were threatening to bury him alive when they didn't get the ransom money they wanted. so when he heard them digging at this house in the bedroom, he made a run for it.

a german author won the nobel prize in literature. he'll get a 1.4 more award for her stories and poetry. she was born in romania but had to flee after speaking out against the then communist government. a phoenix man said he was held captive for a week with a ransom demand of $100,000. when no ransom came, police say his alleged abductors planned to bury him alive in the bedroom in the house. when he heard them digging and using a concrete cutting machine, the man was convinced their threats were real. that's when he managed to get out a bedroom window and then escape. >> he was crying. he was shaking like he was like obviously scared and he was pretty freaked out. he had tape all over his arms. and he was screaming in spanish saying help him out! >> police surrounded the home and arrested two men inside the home. they found a six foot deep hole, three by five and bagged of concrete. a neighbor's quick thinking helped save two toddlers from a burning house. a man in knoxville, tennessee,

woke up to his house on fire. flames stopping him from reaching his sons on the second floor. his neighbor got a ladder and the faernl was able to get the boys down. >> they call you a hero? >> yeah. i think that's overstatement. it just happened in a flash. it was very, very fast and very scary. >> all right. the family is okay in that incident. working moms say they are busy but they're happy, too. and that's a conclusion of a new poll. jen westhoven is here. good to know. >> nearly everybody did in the survey which is good. what was interesting is that the working moms said they were happier than the stay-at-home moms. the stay-at-home moms are pretty happy, too. 80%. 85% of working moms rate themselves at happy. some say they would be happier if they could work less and spend time at home. the dads are happy to stay at the office, though. most of them said they preferred working full time.

marsy wrote into the face book page -- that echoed a lot of the other comments. others said they needed to work to have adult talk. here is steven, he said working moms say one thing, i miss my kids. is that happier? i think not. let us know more. go to our facebook page. there is a link to facebook. richard, for your money, stock market going higher and gold at or near record highs fl we'll keep an eye on that for news that affects your wallet. >> higher gold, good or bad, i guess? i don't know. >> you know, it's like the economist. >> right. >> if can you only make them have one hand. >> right. thank you, jen, so much. moving now to president obama's national security team which will begin discussing the number of troops needed in afghanistan as early as friday. aides say that general stanley mcchrystal, the top commander in afghanistan called for 40,000 more troops. now our chuck roberts is here with more on that.

there's a lot of debate on whom should the president listen to at this moment. that's for your show coming up at noon. you share some of the views of what folks are thinking. >> exactly. 90 minutes or, so we had a long meeting today. we wanted to know what would animate our viewers. it animated us in the meeting. we decided on the question, what should obama do? and who should he listen to? should the president listen to the field commander? he says the war can't be won without them? or should he listen to really his own political power base that says, no, no. we don't need a larger footprint. what we need is to focus on the real enemy, the real enemy is across the border in pakistan. let's go after them. and, you know, his work jouts -- we're seeing a picture of this right now is also divided. the one school of thought says, yes, we need to keep the taliban out of power. >> right. >> the other school of thous said, you know, it's not so much the taliban because they're not going to have al qaeda back. that's how they lost power in 2001. so he's boxed in. >> and he's also got his own right-hand man, the vice president, having his opinion on this, too. >> exactly, vice president biden

says let's do this with drones. let's go after them with unmanned aircraft and other assets that can be brought to bear against the real enemy, al qaeda. >> all right. so, folks views is what you're asking. >> "your views," it begins at noonz and runs until 5:00. we have lots of portals. the old fashion ld calling, 877-835-5456. we hope to hear from you and we'll see you soon. >> old fashioned. but, you know, pick up the phone. >> chuck roberts at noon. that comes up in an hour and 15, right? thank you so much. a skier gets caught in an avalanche and gets buried under a pile of snow. you'll see the amazing video from his point of view and the race to save his life.

nasa has a new plan to see if there is water on the moon. here's the deal. nasa is going to crash a used rocket into the moon's south pole early tomorrow morning. it will then kick up lunar dust. then a satellite will fly

through the dust cloud, looking for ice. it will send back live color pictures then crash into the moon itself. a lot of crashing there. we want you to -- want to show you some amazing video of an ax lanch rescue. we got this on youtube. this man was wearing a helmet cam and he was caught in an avalanche. denlt even break a bone. let's talk about a 27-year-old iraq veteran and former nfl player died unexpectedly. rafer with that story. a tragic story, richard. this guy, tony fein is his name, only 27 years old. nobly served 2 1/2 years in iraq. he was a standout linebacker at ole miss. for him, he was cut by the baltimore ravens last month. even more unfortunately, fein

died of unexplained causes after collapsing at a friend's house. his agent calls it an accidental situation. now authorities say he was unconscious, barely breathing and vomiting and died on the way to the hospital. police are investigating. he was set to appear in a baltimore court for allegedly assaulting a police officer. he's out of prison, back in the nfl and now convicted dog fighter michael vick is getting his own tv show. the "l.a. times" reports vick has partnered with bet for a new eight-part documentary series, docuseries scheduled to air next year. it is being called "the michael vick project" and chronicle his controversial come back and troubled past. you know, richard, you know, if people can learn from his mistakes, that's a good thing. the question a lot of people have is whether he should profit from that. which he may be doing with this show. no wore word on the compensation. and most of you probably think becoming a master in karate takes a lifetime. this is the youngest black belt in the world. 5-year-old varsha vinod from india started learning the sport

when she was only 2. she took it up after watching her father. dads out there, know that your kids look at you and try to cappie what you're to be worried about being beaten up by a 5-year-old. >> he said he wanted to teach his daughters how to do it so she can fend off the boys and not him. hln host jane velez-mitchell has a new book titled "i want." it's about her battle with addictions. she dropped by and talked about it with robin meade this morning. take a listen to this. >> i think the hardest thing to write about was how everything changed once i got sober. once i got sober, i had to deal, why was i self-medicating? what was i running away from? and when you can't hide behind that bottle of chardonnay anymore, things come up. and one of the things that came up was my sexuality, and i finally did acknowledge that i'm gay. >> and are you fearful or welcoming any reaction that you might get from all kinds of admissions that you make in the

book? >> no, in fact, every time i make an admission, i realize one thing, the sky doesn't fall down on my head, life goes on, and nobody cares. nobody really cares because they're concerned with themselves. >> well, jane's show, "issues," airs at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. and she's got a new book we were talking about right there. you've got to hear a controversial report about children and violence. the justice department says more than 60% of u.s. kids were exposed to violence last year, directly or indirectly. but at least one criminologist says the report is inaccurate and that's because it includes kids who heard about violence against someone or a possible threat to their school or home. an iowa man trying to save an entire tree species from extinction one seed at a time. professor mark weederlekner helps hand pick seeds from ash trees so new ones can be

prevented. beetles have killed millions of ash trees across 13 states. they are a major source of timber. a woman stopped on the highway, thinking she's about to pick up someone she knows. it turned out to be a stranger. not long ago, this man had limited mobility.

last month, this woman wasn't even able to get around inside of her own home. they chose mobility. and they chose the scooter store! if you or a loved one live with limited mobility call the scooter store! no other company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to guarantee your complete satisfaction. if we pre-qualify you for a new power chair or scooter and your claim isn't approved, the scooter store will give you your power chair or scooter free. that's our guarantee. they were so helpful and nice. they filed all the paperwork, and medicare and my insurance covered the cost. we can work directly with medicare or with your insurance company. we can even help with financing. if there's a way, we'll find it! so don't wait any longer, call the scooter store today.

right now on "showbiz tonight," women at war over david letterman's shocking sex scandal. tonight, why are some of hollywood's most powerful women defending dave? >> it's not at all disturbing to me. but, you know, member are men. >> reporter: tonight, the great debate. should women be supporting dave? >> tonight, tun believable two faces of jon and kate.

>> kate cries poverty, but then says she's buying an diamond ring. jon says he despises kate, but then says something completely different. tonight, are jon and kate the bigge biggest hypocrites ever? tonight's crime and punishment. why is mel gibson now officially off the hook for his anti-semitic drunk driving rant. and the naked burglary caught on tape. hey, buddy, put on some clothes. tv's first most provocative entertainment news show starts right now. hello, i'm a.j. hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from new york city. and tonight, ladies for letterm letterman. yes, i said ladies for letterman. tonight, there's a remarkable explosion of public support for

david letterman coming from some of the biggest women stars on tv and in the movies, despite his confessions about having sexual affairs with women who worked for him. and it made for big news breaking today. martha stewart today, the latest to come out in support of letterman. you have got to hear this brand-new interview with martha, including why she's saying men will be men. also in dave's corner, tonight, barbara walters. why she's defending dave. and "showbiz tonight" is also talking with stars in hollywood who say the same thing. but hold on just a second, because today the national organization for women took a powerful shot at letterman. what they're saying it's going to get women on both sides of this debate all riled up. joining me tonight in new york, the very riled up midwin charles, an attorney with the launch midwin charles and associates. in hollywood, the always-riled up pat lalama, an investigative journalist. so out of all the support that dave's been getting, the one that really surprised me today

is martha stewart and the way she's defending dave. i want you to listen carefully, because to me it sounds like she's actually condoning dave's behavior with her justification. watch this. >> not at all disturbing to me. unless there was force involved, which knowing dave, he's not very forceful, by the way. he's very attractive man. very appealing. great sense of humor, obviously. and i think all this was done when he was still not married. although it's probably still harmful to his wife of six months or however long they've been married. she probably didn't know maybe all the details. but, you know, men are men. i've put up with it all. god. >> pat lalama, let me begin with you and your theory tonight. you heard martha. she said, men are men. does that make it okay? >> no, it doesn't make it okay, but i think in hollywood, a.j., there's this attitude that prevails, that these are the

evolved artistes, that we have a certain entitlement that others don't, that we can do what we do because we're rich and famous and we're over 21 and we're free and we can make this choice and it's nobody's business. but i have to tell you something. i really think a lot of people are afraid to say what they truly think, because i think there'll be a certain blacklist if you talk against david letterman. i think people feel, if i'm the one that comes out and says, oh, my gosh, he's a heinous, horrific creature, something might happen to my career. now, martha stewart clearly doesn't have to worry so much about that, but, still, i think there's this sort of quiet fear that we can't be the ones that come out and say how we really feel about what david letterman's done. >> i have to tell you, i think you're making a terrific point, especially as it comes to martha, because they are friends, to a degree, and i think she, perhaps, wanted to support him, maybe didn't choose her words very carefully. midwin, let me throw this to you. you would think that all women would be nearly unanimous in trashing dave over there. but they're not. why do you think that is? >> well, i think a lot of it has

to do with delivery, right? what david letterman did, when he did that monologue, he delivered the truth. and i think in this day and age, when so many people are being lied to by politicians, their employers, and everyone down the chain, the way david letterman came out and told the truth, i think it was refreshing for people. and i think that's one of the reasons why so many people aren't really up in arms against him. did he do something wrong? clearly. having sex with women who are beneath you and what have you, lists all types of problems in terms of sexual harassment and those kinds of things. but the fact that he just came right out, told the truth, didn't dance around it and was just straight forward, i think people kind of respect that. >> well, i think that also kind of fogged it shall for a lot of people. >> it sure did. it sure did. >> and martha, for one, has plenty of company in her support for david letterman. in fact, "showbiz tonight" was right there at the premiere for chris rock's new movie "good hair." it was here in new york city. and one of my favorite stars, "curb your enthusiasm" star,

susy esman, told us she thought he handled it perfectly. >> i think he's been handling it brilliant it. it's not such a big deal. he's not like somebody that has been the arbitrator of morality. he's a comedian. he's not a senator or a priest or a minister. he's a comedian. >> okay. i'm hearing that from a lot of people. i totally understand what she's saying. letterman's not a senator or a priest. but, pat, he's still at the end of the day the boss having sex with staff members. is that ever appropriate? >> and the same guy who's made a lot of noise about sarah palin's children, okay, so let's talk a little bit about hypocrisy. but here's the deal, a.j. yes, it's a free world. he's another sleazy guy with power who used that power to have sex with a lot of young women. there's a lot of frat-type guys out there going, whoo-hoo, yeah, go dave. but let me tell you who i'm really mad at here. i'm mad at the women in the

workplace, these young, vulnerable women who still need their validation by the big powerful boss. oh, david letterman thinks i'm hot, wow. what about these young women who didn't seem to care that he was involved in a relationship, who didn't seem to care, it seems, that they themselves were involved in relationships. they're using the workplace to do inappropriate things. i'm mad at these women and i hope that they grow up before they bring young women into this world. >> that's interesting to hear from you, pat. i'm not hearing that from a lot of people. let me move on to another star that's supporting dave. barbara walters seems to be making excuses for his behavior. i want you to watch what she said on "the view" on monday. lisa ling was a guest host on the show and barbara and joy did not see eye to eye on this at all. >> he is a very attractive man, lisa, and as i said, i can give you a list of executives and people in lower levels who have, you know, where do you meet people? in the workplace. >> yeah, but that does not

eliminate the fact that if you're one of the girls who work there is and you're just, you know, doing your job, and suddenly this other chick is getting the air time -- >> maybe you're annoyed today, but that's not necessarily sexual harassment. >> midwin, let me ask you. barbara is a pioneer for women, so it's a little surprising to hear her come out so strongly defending dave. and perhaps, her friendship with letterman is affecting the ability for her to think clearly or communicate clearly, which i can't do, on the subject. >> of course. let's be frank here. friendship will always trump these kinds of situations. and it's -- you have to ask yourself, is barbara or martha stewart going to be unbiased in a situation like this, if they're impede friends with dave? remember, dave is someone who has been in the industry for decades, just like barbara walters and martha stewart as well. so, clearly, if there's a friendship there, they're not going to say anything untoward towards him or anything like that. but the point here is, it does trigger all kinds of sexual harassment things, because if these girls engaged in a relationship with dave because

they felt they had to because he's the boss, there goes the problem. so i'm not necessarily agreeing with pat that these girls were all of a sudden wanting to do this. they could have felt the pressure to do it. >> well, to that point, though -- >> oh, no. >> hold on one second. because i think the national organization for women really made a good point when they got involved with this today. now, blasting letterman, calling for cbs to take action against him because he's a boss in a sex scandal. here's the powerful statement they released today. and i think it is very strong. "he's a multimillion dollar host of one of the most popular late-night shows. in that role, he wields the ultimate authority as to who gets hired, who gets fired, who gets raises, who gets advances and who does entry-level tasks among the "late show" employees. as the boss, he's responsible for setting the tone in the entire workplace and he did that with sex." very quickly, pat, how do you argue with that logic, even if you support dave letterman? >> i don't argue with that logic at all, but i'm also saying, there's two sides of the coin. and these young women in the

workplace need to have the guts to say, you know what, this isn't right, it stinks. there's a lot of other women involved in the same thing with him. i'm not going there. >> pat lalama, and midwin charles, thank you both. let me turn this over to you. here's our "showbiz tonight" question of the day. please sound off on this. david letterman's sex scandal. are you surprised so many women are supporting him? you can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight. you got more to say, here's the e-mail draet, showbiztonight@cnn.com. i'm not surprised of all the people sick of jon and kate talking out of both sides of their mouth. >> i can't sit on the sofa with that woman. i can't sit by someone right now that i despise. >> i want kate and i to mediate, i want to us become friends. >> you saw it right there, jon said he despises indicate and now say something totally different. and you have kate crying boohoo, hoo that she doesn't have any money, but then she's buying a diamond ring. tonight, i have to ask, are these two of the biggest

hypocrites ever? also this unbelievable story. new today, was anna nicole smith actually involved in a murder-for-hire plot? really, was anna nicole trying to kill somebody. also this -- >> reporter: just because you have swine flu doesn't give you the right to act like a pig, marilyn manson. he was videotaped at a concert blowing his nose on his fans. >> that's pretty gross. can you pass me the hand sanitizer, please? you've got to hear about the celebrities that have been hit with the swine flu. and now the "showbiz news ticker," more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.

even hollywood is not immune to the scary, deadly illness. swine flu is catching on with celebrities, whether they want to catch it or not. here's cnn's jeanne moos for

"showbiz tonight" with a revealing look at all of the stars that have been hit with the h1n1 virus. >> reporter: it's the who's who of swine flu. the latest victim, one of the back street boys, brian littrell. >> unfortunately, i was diagnosed with the swine flu. >> reporter: using youtube to apologize to fans for missing appearances. >> and my job right now is to stay away from as many people as i can. >> reporter: is he almost crying? big boys don't cry, not even in boy bands. even harry potter's best friend caught the h1n1 virus. >> it was just like normal flu. >> reporter: news anchors are dropping like flies. >> my family won't talk to me. >> reporter: cbs "early show" anchor harry smith called in sick from his apartment, suspecting swine flu. >> they won't get within ten feet of me. >> reporter: nbc anchor rachel maddow dropped the viral f-bomb.

>> i had the flu. the capital "f" flu. >> which one? swine? >> yeah. >> reporter: when actor tom arnold mentioned swine flu to tmz, he added insult to injury. >> actually, i got the flu that they named after my ex-wife. >> reporter: that's polite compared to this. just because you say you have swine flu doesn't give you the right to act like a pig, marilyn manson. on his myspace page, manson posted, so i have officially been diagnosed by a real doctor with the swine flu. about the same time, he was videotaped at a concert blowing his nose on his fans. there's a name for this, though manson first denied doing it, and then later quibbled with tmz. >> i don't know if -- >> reporter: at least one fan thought it would be an honor to get swine flu from manson. his concert promoter later denied he even had h1n1. cnn's doctor sanjay gupta got it

in afghanistan. anderson cooper also got sick with something. >> i was freezing cold despite being in the desert. are you coughing right now? >> i'm still coughing, just a little bit. >> reporter: how swine flies when you're having fun. >> you have viral infections and you have -- i know you really trust me now. >> reporter: it's the a-list for h1n1. >> that's cnn's jeanne moos for "showbiz tonight." another victim of the swine flu, the entire cast and crew of the tv series "bones." last week, fox announced that shooting would be halted because the star of the show, david boar yanz has come down with a swine flu-type illness. you al wat,ingal,ing washing yo. in a brand-new interview with cnn's campbell brown, the espn reporter's attorney, marshall grossman says, while erin hasn't made up her mind about that yet, nothing is off the table. >> well, right now, erin is

totally focused on assisting the fbi and the u.s. attorney's office in los angeles in pursuing and closing this investigation, successfully. obviously, there's time to think about whatever other actions might be appropriate, but for now, erin is single-mindedly focused on helping the federal authorities bring this case to closure. >> an illinois man named michael david barrett is accused of removing the peepholes of rooms andrews was staying at, altering them with a hacksaw, and using krachb camera to tape her. nice. there's certainly no slowdown of calls cominging into showbiz on call about jon and kate. and we got a call from ginger in arizona. ginger thinks both jon and kate just need to shut their face and stay off tv. >> i think it's totally ridiculous and i think it's outrageous that every time one of them has a problem, how do they end up on the "today" show or one of these new shows?

it's totally ridiculous. i think they should both go away. >> wouldn't that be something? thanks, ginger. we also heard from tammy calling into "showbiz on call" from louisiana. tammy thinks kate should stop whining about not having money. >> caller: she was a nurse before she started the show, they make good money. and i do believe if they get off the air, gets their life together, get them kids off the air where they won't be exploited and grow up to regret this, they can she can make an excellent living as a nurse, not at mcdonald's. i do not feel sorry for kate. she put this on herself. >> i appreciate your call, tammy. you can call us at "showbiz on call" to sound off on or anything that's on your mind. the "showbiz on call" phone lines are open all the time. this is the number, 1-888-sbt-buzz. put it on your speed dial. give us a call so we can play your call here on "showbiz tonight" and post it on our home page, cnn.com/showbiztonight. well, kate gosselin just went on tv and told this whole sob story, claiming that jon

cleaned out their joint bank account and now she can't pay the bills. >> i have a stack of bills in my purse i can't drop in the mail. we've discussed a ring that i might buy. it's -- at some point. it has eight little diamonds and mother of pearl. >> hold on, kate says she can't pay her bills and then in the same breath she says she wants to buy a diamond ring? what are you thinking? and then jon says on one hand he despis despises kate and then says he wants to be friends. are they total hypocrites? and tonight, showbiz crime and justice. is mel gibson really off the hook for his dui bust and his anti-semitic rants? and then there's the bizarre story of the naked burglar. >> the gentleman was right here in my driveway, buck naked. >> hey, buddy, put on some clothes, okay? maybe this guy should have stolen a shirt and some pants. the naked burglar caught on tape. this is "showbiz tonight" on

hln. it is time now for the "showbiz news ticker," these are more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.

i have a stack of bills in my purse i can't drop in the mail. we've discussed a ring that i might buy. it's -- at some point. it has eight little diamonds and mother of pearl. >> now on "showbiz tonight," kate says jon left her dead broke, but she wants a diamond ring. jon says he despises kate. and then he says, he wants to be friends. are they for real? tonight, are jon and kate the biggest hypocrites ever? anna nicole smith involved in a murder for hire plot? tonight, was she really planning to kill someone for money? the camera caught him, buck

naked, with his face, and when he got in my house, he had to see that the system was up. >> you have got to see the naked burglar caught on tape. what was he thinking? and why isn't this guy wearing any clothes? plus, more stories breaking from the "showbiz news ticker," tv's first most provocative entertainment news continues right now. welcome back to "showbiz tonight." it is 30 minutes past the hour. i'm a.j. hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from new york city. tonight, "showbiz tonight" demands to know, are jon and kate gosselin the biggest hypocrites ever? "showbiz tonight" did some serious digging around today and what we uncovered will absolutely astound you. because this "showbiz tonight" investigation made for some big news breaking today.

jon, kate, we're begging you, make up your mind already. why do you got to talk out of both sides of your mouth? jon gosselin's special brand of hypocrisy, frankly, has us scratching our heads. like all his comments really about how he really feels about kate. this guy can't make up his mind. which is it, jon? who can forget when, on september 8th, jon told chris cuomo on prime-time that he despised kate. >> i can't sit on someone right now that i despise. >> despise? >> i despise, because she's not speaking from the heart. >> reporter: "showbiz tonight" wants to know, where's jon speaking from? because less than a month later, in a sudden and dramatic move, jon announces he wants to postpone his divorce with kate and get on better terms. >> i want kate and i to mediate. i want us to become friends. i want us to figure out our marriage. i really didn't mean "despise." i regret saying that word. >> reporter: hey, jon, where'd all that despising go?

and then there's that small matter of the $230,000 kate claims jon took from their joint checking account. last night, tmz caught jon saying this. >> i did not take money. >> reporter: he didn't take the money. but just a few days ago, jon told another entertainment news show something quite different. saying, quote, i have withdrawn roughly $177,000 over the course of a year. all right, jon, whatever you say. and that whole money fiasco with jon had poor kate crying on the "today" show monday about how without that money jon took, she couldn't care for her kids. >> i have a stack of bills in my purse i can't drop in the mail. >> reporter: we all felt so bad for poor kate. until, that is, about an hour later, when she decided to dish about the new ring she's buying. yep, she, too, was talking out of both sides of her mouth. >> we've discussed a ring that i might buy. it's -- at some point. it has eight little diamonds and mother of pearl.

>> reporter: and to top off kate's special brand of hypocrisy, let's listen to all the different versions she's given the media about how she really feels about the father of her eight kids. first, there's the high road kate. >> for the sake of my children, i only speak positive. >> reporter: but we weren't hearing positive on monday when kate went off on jon for supposedly takiing all that mony from their checking account. >> you have left your children and their mother unable to pay for the roof over their head. it's not acceptable. >> reporter: a little tip for jon and kate as they go on tv and blab, blab, blab about their lives, stay consistent. and you know, when you think about this, already, eight mouths to feed and now jon and kate have added two more, on both sides of their mouths. so are jon and kate just the biggest hypocrites ever? joining me tonight in hollywood, there he is, carlo diaz, a correspondent with "extra." also tonight in hollywood, leslie marshall, the talk radio shows of "the leslie marshall show," only speaking from one

side of her mouth tonight. well, "showbiz tonight" did dig deep today. we found more contradictions than should be legal. so carlos, may i ask this of you, after what we just saw, are jon and kate the biggest hypocrites ever? >> anyone who gets divorced is a hypocrite, because you say, until death do us part, and then, nah, not anymore. jon and kate aren't true celebrities, because true celebrities have handlers, managers, assistants who all keep you from saying these things in public. either kate and jon don't have them or are getting bad advice because they're allowed to say these inconsistencies constantly for us to write down, recording them, and feed back to them. >> and it just so happens, i have been writing them down, recording them, and feeding them back. let's go through some of the most hypocritical things "showbiz tonight" dug up on

these two. on the "today" show, in one interview, she says she is all upset. jon wiped out the bank account so she can't pay the bills. but, again, during that same chat, she talks about buying new jewelry. watch this. >> took $230,000 of the $231,000 that we have liquid and i have a stack of bills in my purse i can't drop in the mail. we've discussed a ring that i might buy. it's -- at some point. it has eight little diamonds and mother of pearl. >> leslie, off to you. is that not pure hypocrisy right there? >> not only is it hypocrisy, either these two have got to learn to tell the truth or they've got to learn to lie better. i agree with carlos, they need some handlers to put some spin on this. i'm sorry, i'm not choked up about the little pearls and the diamonds. they may have $200,000 and something liquid in the account to get out with an atm, but she's got over a $1 million home, she's got a book deal, she makes a lot of money per episode

for the television show, so i'm just not buying it. jon is living in an apartment and she's living ing in a big h. and when they first started with show, they got all their strollers and diapers and food free. and the little sparkle in her eye about the jewelry shopping list, i'm just like, oh, please, stop it. stop it! >> diamonds are a girl's best friend. isn't that what they say? and if you think jon is doing any better about talking about the money problems, oh, no. on one hand, in one interview, he said just this week he did take money out of his joint checking account. and this is what he said. i have withdrawn roughly $177,000 over the course of a year. now, that stands in stark contrast to what he said brand-new today. jon caught on tape saying, i didn't take any money. carlos, and i have a theory here, we're trying to figure out how he can say he's taken hundreds of thousands of dollars out in one minute and then have

amnesia the next, maybe he hit his head. >> maybe it's the hair implants. but the fans are like, why did we watch this show? why did we like this story? there's a great story of an nba player ten years ago who was asked about making millions of dollars. he said, yeah, we as nba players make a lot of money, but we also spend a lot of money. this is what i feel like. east going around saying $177,000, $230 hour,000, it's w more money than anyone in this down economy is making and allows us not to be able to relate to you like we once did. >> and we don't relate about how they feel about each other or how they claim to have felt about each other, because that story's changing all the time. i refer you now to jon's interview that he did with chris cuomo. this was on abc's prime-time when he's talking about how he cannot stand sitting on the jon and kate sofa with kate and then he turns around and tells cnn's "larry king live" that he would like to sit down and have a little talk with kate. huh? listen to this.

>> i can't sit on someone right now that i despise. >> despise? >> i despise because she's not speaking from the heart. i want the fodder to stop and i want kate and i to mediate, i want us to become friends. >> leslie marshall, i'm kind of getting the impression, you have to tell me if you're feeling this way also, jon has no idea what he wants. >> well, that's very true. you know, i want to get married, i want to be the dad to these eight kids, do this reality show, no, i don't want any of that. i think that's happened here, guys, it's one of those, the grass is always greener. he goes around, does some dating, maybe he slept around a little bit, and now he's like, i want to come home, mommy. i think he likes the control aspect of their relationship and i think he misses what he had, because the grass was not greener. the guy doesn't know what he wants and i think if he goes back, he might stray again, my prediction. >> quickly off to you, carlos. i know you've got that "showbiz tonight" abacus i sent you over there at the "extra" studios.

have you been able to add it up, who the bigger hypocrite is, jon or kate? >> even though i'm on team kate, i have to go with kate on that one. we saw what kate acted like on the today show. and jon is also brutally overhonest. >> leslie marshall, enough time for just a name, bigger hypocrite? >> kate. >> you win. thanks, guys, appreciate it. all right, tonight we have showbiz crime and justice, the bizarre, ridiculous, and downright shameful brand-new hollywood crime stories that have us totally fired up. so was anna nicole smith really involved in a murder-for-hire plot? this is crazy to me. tonight, we have unbelievable new details about anna nicole's alleged plot to kill the son of her mega-rich husband. could she really have done something like that? also, mel gibson's dui shocker. is mel really off the hook for his anti-semitic drunk driving

rant? we'll also have this, dumbest burglar ever. >> the gentleman was standing right here in my driveway, buck naked. >> a buck naked burglar caught on tape. wait until you hear what he did and when at he took in his nude crime spree. it's time now for the "showbiz news ticker," more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.

the gentleman was right, standing right here in my driveway, buck naked. >> did she say buck naked or butt naked? well, in any event, it was in her driveway. this is nuts. tonight, "showbiz crime and justice" caught on tape. it is the case of the naked burglar. a man breaks into a house in the buff and it's all caught on tape. got to wonder what this guy is thinking. obviously, not much. welcome back to "showbiz tonight." i'm a.j. hammer, in new york. tonight, the "showbiz crime and justice" court is in session. and besides the naked burglar, also on the docket tonight, mel gibson's arrest record wiped clean. i can't believe this. of course, we cannot forget gibson's 2006 drunk driving arrest that was followed by a hateful and no a now-infamous

anti-semitic rant. well, now, after what a judge just did, you can make believe it never happened. but is that fair? also on the "showbiz crime and justice" docket, legendary director roman polanski is denied bail because a judge says he's a flight risk. yeah, ya think? and don't worry, we will be getting to the case of the naked burglar caught on tape and perhaps a candidate for the world's dumbest criminal. joining me tonight in new york, for "showbiz crime and justice," attorney midwin charles. and in hollywood, pat lalama, an investigative journalist and has seen it all. let me begin with mel gibson. his attorney's argued that mel's kept his nose clean for three years, he attended, aa classes, paid his fines and said mel's record should be wiped clean and a judge agreed. all the legal issues aside, it seems really icky to me. is there anything wrong with mel's record being cleaned up

q? >> it feels icky about those insipid and heinous comments he made about jews and women. and there's no way anyone in 2009 can walk free and not have them hanging over his head. but those factors don't play into it. he did his time, lived by the rule of his sentence and it's over. and he is eligible, like anyone else in the state of california, to get it wiped off his record. i know that judge, i've been in his courtroom many times, he doesn't necessarily play favorites. fair is fair. but it's not going to matter anyway. people aren't going to forget what he said. >> yeah, it may be wiped from the record, but what mel did, clearly not wiped from our memory. you've got to watch what joy behar had to say on her hln show, "the joy behar show," about the judge clearing gibson's conviction. take a look. >> let me say this to you, you can run, but you can't hide. you're famous. and not necessarily for being a movie star, i mean, more people saw your mug shot than your last three movies combined. look, i can understand you want

a do-over, who doesn't? look, i wished i'd never eaten those first ten ka noknollies, t i can't have them expunged. >> welcome to the criminal justice system. this is how it works. you get a plea deal and part of that plea deal is you have to meet certain conditions. if you meet those conditions, then your record gets expunged. and that's exactly what happened here. it happens and that's just the way it is. >> yeah. i still haven't paid money for a mel gibson movie since that happened, by the way. let's move on to our next "showbiz crime and justice" story. a judge orders roman polanski to stay in that swiss jail until his possible extradition. his lawyers asked if he could be placed under house arrest after a ski chalet. the judge said no, the reason, he's a flight risk. that's exactly why he's in jail,

he fled the u.s. more than 30 years ago after raping a 13-year-old. >> i want to defer to the lawyer on this one, but i've just got to say, from my perspective, there must be some poetry in this, because it doesn't make sense to me. what am i not getting? of course he's a flight risk, duh! >> all right. all of this is well and good, but we have to move on to what is really important tonight. let us move on to the naked burglar, caught on tape in louisiana. yes, a surveillance camera caught this guy breaking into a house naked. he took a shower and he left with a bed sheet. you cannot make this stuff up. you have got to hear directly from the homeowner and i said, enough said. roll that. >> the camera caught him, buck naked. you could see the crack in his butt. you could see the front part of his organ. and then he politely knocked on my window. >> yeah, well, at least he was polite. m midwin charles, this guy was

truly caught with his pants down, hasn't he? >> he was. clearly, this is someone who is not in the right frame of mind, to think he can roll up into someone's house, buck naked, like she said, and think he could get away with it. >> pat lalama, give me the naked truth what this guy is in for now? >> you've heard of getting robbed blind, what about robbed nude. if i was the attorney, he was under the influence, so he thought he was going to his mama's house for dinner, and he wasn't going to steal anything, because where would he have hid it? >> give me some skin. let's move on. right now, anna nicole smith involved in a murder for hire plot? this sounds nuts. this is a story new today. you can definitely file it under the crazy but true category. according to the newly released fbi files, the former playmate was investigated about a plot to kill the son of her wealthy late

husband. now, you remember, anna nicole and e. pierce marshall has been in a nasty battle over his dad's megamillions estate. anna nicole never had the goods to prosecute smith on the alleged murder plot. believe it or not, even though anna nicole and jay marshal's son are both dead, the big bucks case is still not settled. wow. tonight, beyonce is speaking out, and for the very first time about what kanye west did at the mtv video music awards. you haven't forgotten this, right? he swiped the microphone from taylor swift, and pretty much said beyonce should have won. it was wrong on so, so, so many levels. tonight, beyonce is actually standing up for con yeah west. really? you have got to hear what she says. this is "showbiz tonight" on hln. it is time now for the showbiz news ticker. more stories making news right now.

you know, taylor, i'm really happy for you. i'm going to let you finish. but beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. >> who can forget that truly, jaw-dropping moment when kanye west stormed the stage and stole taylor swift's thunder. taylor swift beat out beyonce. but kanye wasn't having it. for theoutrageous outburst, bey

speaking out. she tells oprah magazine, even though she was mortified, she totally understood where kanye was coming from. it was all about art. really, bow i don't know beyonce? >> take a look at this. >> i knew his intentions, and i knew he was standing up for art, you know. and he told me before when they said the nominees, he's like, you have this award. and when they didn't call my name, he was like, you know, completely shocked. and he walked on the stage, i'm like, no, please don't. and he spoke, and i'm, no, no, no, no. but, you know, in the end, it ended up being a great night, and taylor swift did get her

moment. and i didn't have to make an acceptance speech. >> kanye has apologized several times. of he told jay leno he might take some time off to work on his issues. and i for one think that is an excellent idea. tuesday, we asked you to vote on our "showbiz tonight" question of the day. just moments ago, i was handed the final results. i will share them with you now. david letterman's sex scandal. is it being blown out of proportion? 78% said yes. >> 22 mrz said no. we heard from virginia who says what goes around comes around. david letterman has no problem cutting down, criticizing, making fun of people, i.e., sarah palin, so enjoy david. but from illinois, i agree, too much attention is being given to david letter mapp's problems. it's exactly what the bad guy wanted, negative attention for letterman. that is it for "showbiz tonight." thanks for watching. i'm a.j. hammer. you can always catch us on the 11s.

11:00 p.m. eastern pacific and 11:00 a.m. mornings. right here on hln. hi there, i'm brooke baldwin with your news break. the taliban is now officially claiming responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in afghanistan's capital. today's attack, they're outside the embassy killed at least 13 people. the taliban said the attack was carried out by a afghan national in an suv. and an indian official is convinced it was the intended target because the bomber tried to make it through the gates. phoenix police say two suspects were holding a man hostage in this home without food, forcing him to drink out of a toilet, and all the time, digging through the home's foundation to bury this man. how he made it out alive. and how easy is it to buy a gun illegally in the u.s.

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eporr: besiddellg es heardou th west phoene the nborhood quiet. s repte hbors corete cutng inside this home >> y don't al p teion. u know, you might hear it, you know, but -- they're probably going to do a pool or probably going to remove something ofment you never have in your mind they're going to try to bury somebody there. . >> reporter: but that's what police say these two men were trying to do. investigators tell us the 38 and 27-year-old suspects held a man hostage inside the home for seven days without food. armed with shotguns, officers say the suspects forced the man to drink out of the toilet. >> that's horrible. >> reporter: even more horrible, this grave in the bedroom, almost 6 feet deep. >> exactly the size of a human body. >> reporter: police say the suspects used cement cutters, a picks axe and shovels to dig through the foundation. they had bags of concrete ready to cover the victim's body, and the victim knew. >> hearing the machine, these machines make a lot of noise.

>> investigators say at some point, the suspects left the victim alone. he was able to jump through a window, and run for help. he ran to jeffrey sagovi a's house. jeffrey and a friend happened to be outside. >> he was crying. like, he was shaking. like, he was obviously scared and pretty freaked out. he had duct tape all over his arms. and he was screaming in spanish, telling us to help him out. >> reporter: the men called 911 and hid the victim. >> so you're sitting there, and you guys just sat out there? >> reporter: they turned off lights and waited for police. then police say when the suspects ran out looking for the victim, they ran right into the officers who were waiting outside. >> yikes. once again, thank you to our affiliate reporter marissa wingate with ktvk in phoenix. the police say the kidnappers were asking the victim's family for $100,000 in ran some money. this next story may make you think twice about picking up a guy along the side of the road. a woman is telling the story about being beaten up and beaten

by a man. she says she was robbed, beaten, forced to drive until her truck just ran out of gas. >> i had a necklace around my neck, and he had his hand around my neck, and about choked me to death, and he was just shaking me. and he hit me against -- i don't know if he hit me against my steering wheel. anyway, my glasses went through my nose here, and i just blacked out. >> north carolina state troopers found matthews unconscious in her car somewhere along i-95. police are still looking for that attacker. a lot of parents out there don't exactly want their kids to get the h1n1 flu vaccine as it is becoming available. in fact, more than a third, 38% of parents polled by the "associated press" and the research firm gfk are saying they are unlikely to give permission for their kids to be vaccinated at school. many of them are concerned about the side fekds. here's what researchers are saying, no serious complications

turned up in the vaccine testing. a deadly typhoon forced more than 1,100 people to evacuate now. two people were killed, dozens injured after a powerful typhoon slammed japan. it destroyed bridges, toppled large trucks on the highways. look at the water. police say a man was killed as he delivered newspapers when his motor bike hit a downed tree. and five massive earthquakes hit the south pacific within 11 hours time. it's all happening near the solomon islands. after the first big one which hit a preliminary magnitude of we're told a 7.8, a tsunami warning was issued. but it was called off pretty quickly. no reports of damages or injuries. this next video, boy, had a lot of us talking this morning, getting a whole lot of play on cnn.com. what it shows, essentially if you ski, you can appreciate this. it shows the skier wearing his helmet cam, getting buried in an avalanche of snow and ice in

alaska last year. i'll stay quiet. you just watch. >> unbelievable. happy ending, at least to the story. see there, his friends digging him out. the skier was okay. it's important to point out, the video was condensed. he was actually buried for a good four and a half minutes before people there in his group were digging him out. you can almost hear him crying out. fortunately, his right glove came off, just before he came to rest, which was able to get these rescuers get him out to safety. amazing. nasa has a new plan to see whether or not there is water on the moon, and you just might get to watch it happen.

here's the deal. nasa is going to crash a used rocket into the moon south pole sometime early tomorrow morning, and it will kick up some lunar dust, and then a satellite will fly through the dust cloud, looking for ice to thus prove that there was water. it will send back live color pictures and crash into the moon itself. the tempo of violence is increasing in afghanistan. as a war gets increasingly dangerous for u.s. troops. president obama is trying to determine the best way forward. find out what he's considering, coming up on hln "news and views."

at least 13 people are dead, dozens people are hospitalized in the capital of afghanistan. victims of a suicide car bombing there just outside the indian embassy. the taliban issued a statement claiming responsibility for this blast. the afghan government is blaming elements from outside the country. a government spokesman says the bomber tried to drive an suv

full of explosives through one of the embassy's gates. this is the second bombing at the indian embassy since july of last year. afghanistan's government blamed pakistani intelligence services for that attack. and the increasing violence in afghanistan really now a backdrop for president obama's intense review of the war and how to fight it. he is meeting with joe biden and hillary clinton this afternoon to discuss his options. but he's also reviewing a report from the afghanistan commander, general stanley mcchrystal. and what it does is it lays out possible stages of military escalati escalation. we're hearing numbers anywhere between 10 and 40,000 additional troops. mcchrystal strongly recommends the highest number. so we have been asking for your views on this very topic, on afghanistan. who do you think president obama should listen to? want to go straight to the phones. and first let's talk to bob calling from akron, ohio. what do you think about the possibility of adding 10 to

40,000 additional troops there? >> well, i believe we should do whatever it takes. i always have believed in staying together, and the troops that are over there right now, they have to definitely feel like they're going to be left out. and we sent them over there, and we're not going to give them the support they need. how do you think they feel? i mean -- and to win this thing, whenever our country stayed together, and went in there and forced, we have never had a problem. >> yep. a lot of people wondering about troop morale. bob, thank you. bob says let's stick to our mission. julie in portland, oregon. julie, do you agree, disagree? >> caller: what i think is that obama is doing what he promised. he's going to listen to everybody. and i believe he's going to do, after he sifts and filters, he's going to be criticized no matter what he does. but i think our best course is to get all of our people on the ground out of afghanistan to

pursue joe biden's suggestion, use drones, use whatever other means there are at hand and pursue al qaeda, where they are. >> yes. a lot of people saying we should be shifting our focus to pakistan. thank you for calling in. want to go to harold calling from greenville, north carolina. harold, what do you think about what is happening in afghanistan and the future moving forward? >> caller: if i were the president, i would listen to the vice president. i'm retired military, myself, with 20 years of service. and i know about the power we have. one we have one of the best trained and best equipped in the world. and when we unleashed on desert storm the 100-day war, the world has seen what we can do and the same can be done in afghanistan. take the cuffs off the soldiers, let them unleash and the taliban anyone that fought against this country release our fire power, and they will know who is who. because we can't win this war unless we uncuff the soldier and

let them do what they know to do. thank you. >> thank you. and thank you for all of you for calling in. again, the question we're asking, talking about afghanistan and also pakistan here, what should president obama listen to over the war in afghanistan. mcchrystal or perhaps biden and clinton. call us. 1-877-tell hln or e-mail us, cnn.com/hln. or text the words views plus your comments and name to hlntv. standard text rates do apply. you can add a traffic ticket to the list of problems facing south carolina governor mark sanford. sanford's car was pulled over for speeding on tuesday. but the state trooper let the governor's driver go without a citation after he saw stanford in the back seat of the car. after reviewing the trooper's dash cam, the state department of public safety director says the driver will, in fact, get a ticket after all. governor sanford is facing calls for his resignation after admitting to an extra marital

affair back in june. first it was politicians. now late night comedian david letterman is at the center of the sex scandal. but it's not all negative for those in the public eye. here is hln's joe behar with her not for nothing commentary. >> david letterman, who makes fun of everyone else's sex life gets caught cheating on his partner with women who work for him. and his ratings go up, up, up. in fact, on monday night, he beat every show on nbc prime time. and being embroiled in a sex scandal doesn't hurt in politics, either. i remember when bill clinton was doing the nasty with monica lewinski. his approval ratings were even higher than when he was just doing his job. the people of south carolina are rallying around mark sanford. their christian governor, who somehow mistook an argentinian woman's [ bleep ] for the appellation trail. how fabulous is that?

next time, if sanford wants to win in a landslide, maybe he should have an affair with a swede and tell his wife he is snowboarding in minsk. let's face it. sex sells. it may ruin marriages, upset families and become national embarrassments. but so what? the main thing here is americans are transfixed. they don't want to miss one salacious detail. it's a ratings bonanza. you know, this is a new show, and i could use a little leg up, you know? maybe it's time for me to have my own the at work here. you know, this studio is crawling with men, you know? hank, i don't mean too much offense, but there is no frigging way, okay? even i have standards. but that's just me. >> you can catch the "joy behar show" k p.m. eastern time here on hln. add your 9:00 to 5:00 job on top, and it could be down right

exhausting. so just how happy are working moms. what a new survey says about them and about the moms who just stay at home.

health care reform has now cleared a major hurdle and is headed for a final vote in the finance committee next tuesday. here's the big surprise. the congressional budget office says the key senate plan being considered would actually cut the federal deficit by $80 billion over the next ten years. the amended legislation would cost somewhere the in the

ballpark of $829 billion. that is apparently $70 billion less than expected. the plan would help extend coverage to 94% of eligible americans. about 25 million, though, would still be uninsured when the plan is phased in, somewhere around 2019ment and if the plan clears the finance committee next tuesday, it will head on to the full house and senate for debate. you know about the gun show "loophole" well new under cover video shows how easy it is to buy a gun illegally here in the u.s. new york's mayor sent private investigators to seven gun shows in three different states and essentially were trying to expose the gun show loophole. in most states, private, unlicensed dealers can sell guns without doing background checks. but if there's reason to believe that the buyer couldn't pass one of the background checks, they're supposed to not sell the gun. but the investigators, well, they tested that out. >> private collection, no tax, no paperwork. >> okay, so no background check.

>> nope. >> okay, good. probably couldn't pass one. one of those things, you know? >> i hear you. >> all right, let's do it. >> good, buddy. >> let's do t you heard him. no surprise that the investigation found 19 of 30 private sellers sold guns to people who said they couldn't pass a background check. mayor bloomberg says criminals are getting the guns and bringing them back to new york city, and he is now calling for federal law to require background checks on all gun sales. >> closing the gun show loophole and cracking down on sellers who violate the law has nothing whatsoever to do with the second amendment. it's about basic law enforcement, plain and simple. >> well, you can bet that the national rifle association is responding here. they say bloomberg should go after people breaking the law rather than hold news conferences. here's their full quote. let's take a look. bloomberg's priorities are clearly media first, justice later. end quote. meanwhile, mayor bloomberg says he's not planning to file suit

against any of the private dealers on the tapes we just saw. well, are you out of work? apparently the number of newly laid off people for unemployment benefits has fallen to the lowest level in ten months' time. the labor department says first time claims dropped to a seasonally adjusted 251,000. that is better than what economists had initially predicted. but analysts expect overall employment to keep rising well into next year. all right. moms working, not working. here's the question. are working moms happier than stay at home moms? the answer? a little bit. according to a survey by the pugh research center, stay-at-home moms are pretty happy, too. 80%. but 85% of working moms rate themselves as happy. most of them, though, they said they would be happier if they could work part time and spend more time with their families. they didn't forget the dads. dads seem happy to stay at work. 80% of working dads say they prefer working full time.

how do you know if the organic food you're buying in the grocery is actually 100% organic? hln money expert clark howard says you need to read between the lines. >> i always roll my eyes when my wife comes home with some groceries, and there will be this organic thing and that organic thing and then the other organic thing. and then when i do the grocery shopping, well, as you might imagine, i buy whatever is cheapest. well, who is right? the thing with organic is a problem. why? because the federal government has been playing fast and loose with what items are allowed to have organic on the label. so you may, in order to protect yourself or do something better for you or your family, spend the money on organic, but the "washington post" reports item after item that you would buy as organic has all kinds of nonorganic stuff in it. and while we're on that topic, what does natural mean?

if you believe that when you see natural on a food label, it means absolutely nothing. there are no standards that enforce what that word means. so before you spend extra money, know what you're buying. i'm clark howard. >> for more ways for you to stretch a buck, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> and you can get great consumer advice from clark every saturday and sunday at noon and 4:00 p.m. eastern time right here on hln "news and views." clark will help you save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. all right. we're talking about texting. come on, we all kind of do it. we eat, turn up the radio. but all at the same time? a lot of us do it while we drive. we take the dangers for granted. >> missing three out of the four red lights was pretty good enough for me to say don't do it. >> drivers ed, real life crash course and what not to do behind the wheel. -d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d

we are talking a whole lot about afghanistan today, because of the increasing violence, it is now really the backdrop for president obama's intense review of the war and how to continue fighting it. he is meeting with vice president joe biden and secretary of state hillary clinton this afternoon it discuss options. he is also reviewing a report from the afghanistan commander, general stanley mcchrystal. and what it does is lays out possible stages of military escalation and could add anywhere between 10 and maybe as much as 40,000 more troops. mcchrystal strongly recommends the highest number. so we want to continue this conversation and see what you think on this very topic. who should president obama be listening to over the war in afghanistan? pick up the phone and call us. toll free, 1-877-tell hln. or grab your cell phone, give us

a text, text the word views, plus your comments and name to hlntv. standard text rates do apply. at least 13 people are dead, and dozens of people are hospitalized in the capital of afghanistan. victims of a suicide car bombing just outside the indian embassy. the taliban issued a statement claiming responsibility for this most recent blast. the afghan government, meanwhile, is blaming elements outside the country. a government spokesman says the bomber tried to drive an suv full of explosives through one of the embassy's gates. this is the second bombing at the same indian embassy since july of last year, and afghanistan's government blamed pakistani intelligence services for that attack. police in phoenix say a man who was kidnapped and held captive for an entire week may have escaped being buried alive. here's what they're saying, that his alleged abductors demanded a ransom of $100,000 from his family. that never came, and the man

told police he heard his captors talking about burying him, because they were sick of waiting for the money. he said he hear them digging, using a concrete cutting machine, and that is what convinced him to make a break for it. he managed to get out of there through a bedroom window, and ran to neighbors for help. >> he was crying. like, he was shaking. like, he was like obviously scared. >> he was pretty freaked out. he it duct tape all over his arms, and he was screaming in spanish, telling us to help him out. >> police surrounded the home and arrested two men inside the home. they found a 6-foot deep hole and bags of concrete. the story doesn't end there, though. they say the man who was kidnapped was apparently involved in illegal activity himself. and now they're investigating him, as well. a north carolina woman telling a dramatic story about being kidnapped and beaten by a man she stopped to simply give a ride. ever done that? kimberly matthews is her name, and she thought she knew the

guy. turned out he was a stranger. she says she was robbed, beaten, forced to drive the truck until it ran out of gas. >> i had a necklace around my neck, he had it around my neck and about choked me to death. he was shaking me, and he hit me against -- i don't know if he hit me against my steering wheel or my head or something. but anyway, my glasses went through my nose here and i blacked out. >> north carolina state troopers found matthews unconscious in her car somewhere along i-95. police are still looking for that male attacker. a lot of parents out there are thinking a lot about this swine flu business, and they apparently don't want to get their kids vaccinated for swine flu as the vaccination is becoming available. more than one-third of parents, 38%, polled by the "associated press" and the firm gfk say they are unlikely to give permission for their kids to be vaccinated at school. many are concerned about the possible side effects. but researchers say no serious complications turned up, at

least in the testing phase of the vaccination. a swine flu, though, definitely including business fashion in japan. listen to this. people there are lining up to buy swine flu suits. there they are. its maker says men who wear the suits are 40% less likely to get infected with h1n1. the suit supposedly uses its titanium dioxide coating and sunlight to kill the virus. doctors, yeah, they're a little sketched out by this. they say people would be better off practicing good old fashioned hygiene and avoiding crowds when they're sick. much nasa has a new plan to see if water is on the moon. they're going to crash a used rocket into the moon or the south pole early tomorrow morning. that will kick up some lunar dust, and then a satellite will be flying through the dust cloud looking for ice. it will send back live color pictures so we can watch and apparently crash it into the moon itself.

speaking of cool video, this next video getting a lot of play on cnn.com. have you seen this? i logged on and watched it myself. it shows a skier wearing a helmet cam, buried in an avalanche of snow and ice in alaska last year. just take a look. you can almost hear him try to scream. it's mufld by the snow. here is the good news of many. the skier is okay. the video you saw was condensed. he was down there four and a half minutes before these people in the group were able to dig him out. how did they find him? apparently his right glove came off, just before the avalanche before he was buried. so they saw the glove and were able to come by and rescue him

and dig him out of there. amazing it was caught on camera. a deadly typhoon has flooded homes and forced people to evacuate. two people were killed, dozens hurt after a powerful typhoon slammed into japan. the storms destroyed bridges and toppled trucks on the highways. police say a man was killed as he delivered newspapers when his motorbike hit a downed tree. and five large earthquakes hit the south pacific within 11 hours' time. it happened near venautu. a tsunami warning was issued, but that was called after pretty quickly. no reports of damage or injuries. and it is easier to buy a gun in some places more than others, but newly released undercover video shows just how easy it can be. we are showing you dealers selling guns out in the open with literally no questions asked. on hln, "news and views.

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health care reform has now cleared a major hurdle and is headed for the senate finance committee next tuesday. here's the big surprise. the congressional budge he office says the key senate plan currently being considered with cut the federal deficit by $80 billion over the next ten years. the amended legislation would cast around $829 billion. that, they say, is $70 billion less than expected. the plan would help extend coverage to 94% of eligible americans, but about 25 million americans would still be uninsured when the plan is fully phased in in 2019. and if that plan, if it clears

the finance committee next tuesday, it will then head on to debate in both the full house and the senate. a new undercover video shows just how easy it is to actually buy a gun illegally, right here in the u.s. new york's mayor sent private investigators to seven different gun shows in three states. and what they were doing was, they were trying to expose what's called the gun show loopho loophole. you've probably heard of this. in most states, private, unlicensed dealers can sell guns without doing background checks. but if there is any kind of reason to believe this buyer couldn't pass that background check, they are not supposed to sell the gun to them. investigators tested that out. >> private collection, no tax, no paperwork. >> okay. so no background check. >> nope. >> all right, good. probably couldn't pass one. [ laughter ] >> one of those things, you know? >> i hear you. >> all right. let's do it. >> okay, buddy. >> it's amazing. the investigation found 19 of 30 private sellers sold guns to people who said they couldn't

pass a background check. mayor bloomberg says criminals are getting the guns and bringing them back to new york city, and he is now calling for a federal law to require background checks on all gun sales. >> closing the gun show loophole and cracking down on sellers who violate the law has nothing whatsoever to do with the second amendment. it's about basic law enforcement. plain and simple. >> now the national rifle association, they're fighting back. they say mayor bloomberg should be going after people breaking the law, rather than holding news conferences. quote, bloomberg's priorities are clearly media first, justice later. mayor bloomberg says he is not planning to file a lawsuit against any of the private dealers we just saw on the tapes. you've got to hear about this. this controversial report on children and violence. >> the justice department coming out now and saying that more than 60% of u.s. kids were exposed to violence last year either directly or indirectly. but at least one criminologist now slamming that report.

he says it's inaccurate, perhaps hyperbole, because it includes kids who heard about vil lens or a possible threat to school or home. this unusual accident really tied up some people's morning commute. look at that car! the suv somehow ended up dangling from an interstate ramp. this was little rock, arkansas yesterday. no word as to how the sug got up there, how it happened or even how the driver is doing. those cars just continuing on past. scary. a firefighter pulled a woman from this car is another car story as it crashed into a laimmediata california home this morning. she lost control of her car, smashed through the white pickett fence, landed in the kitchen and gave a wake-up call to a couple sleep upstairs. fortunately, the car just missed hitting the gas meter. no word on the driver's injuries, but we do know she was taken to the hospital. and you can add a traffic ticket to the list of problems currently facing south carolina

governor mark sanford. yeah, his car, pulled over for speeding tuesday. but the state trooper let the governor's driver go without a citation after he saw sanford in the back seat. but after reviewing the trooper's dash cam, the state's department of public safety says that the driver will get a ticket after all. governor sanford is facing calls for his resignation after admitting an extra marital affair in june. new york is more than bright lights and big city. it also holds some big secrets, as in off the beaten path spots you should check out. i reporter julio ortiz gives us a guided tour in this edition of "my city, my secret." >> hi, i'm julio. we're in new york city. and i want to show you some of my best-kept secrets in new york. we're inside the cathedral church of st. john. this is a hidden gem in new york, because people don't know about the musical programs, the

outreach to the community that the cathedral offers. and just the beauty of it. we're here at the hudson river park's pier 54. it's actually the remains of what's left of magnificent pie . for me, it's the place where i end my bike ride, that little bench there. and it also has a very historical significance, because this is where they brought the survivors of titanic when they came back. welcome to coney island, usa. this is where new york city ends, this is one of the world's most famous amusement parks. what makes this place special, it's stuck in time. the attractions are the same from years ago, the feel of the place is very old fashioned. so those are the secrets from my new york city. i want to see your secrets. go to ireport.com/mycitymysecret. let's see them! >> well, you love your kids,

right? but sometimes taking care of them can be tough and taxing. add to that a 9:00 to 5:00 job, and it can be down right exhausting for a lot of jobs. so just how happy are moms who work? what a new survey is saying, and about stay-at-home moms, too.

i'm jane velez-mitchell, and here's my issue. this week, one of my guests challenged me and told me, uh-uh, there is no war on women. well, yesterday "usa today" had a front-page story on rape reports reaching a 20-year low. so do you want to guess how many rapes were reported last year to reach this historic record low? according to the fbi, 89,000 women reported being raped. 89,000 women! that doesn't even include rapes that go unreported. so do not tell me there is not a war on women. one rape is an outrage.

89,000 rapes is a nationwide emergency! if we have any chance of winning this war on women, we have to stop treating these horrifying statistics as business as usual. i'm jane velez-mitchell, and that's my issue. >> we can find out what else jane has on her mind tonight from the videotape's mop to the vicious random killing on a new small town in new hampshire. the nation is gripped in a teen violence crisis of. watch "issues" every night 7:00 eastern time right here on hln. a neighbor's quick thinking helped save two toddlers from a burning home. here's what happened. a mom in knoxville, tennessee woke up to his house on fire. flames stopped him from going to the second floor and rescuing his son. what did he do? actually, the neighbor got a ladder. the father was able to get the boys down. >> they call you a hero. >> yeah, that's -- i think that's an overstatement.

it happened in a flash. it was very, very fast. and very scary. >> quick thinking. good news is the family is okay. well, you know this. texting while driving, not so smart. it's definitely a dangerous distraction. but now there is this new push to teach teen drivers that lesson. some high schoolers in oklahoma went through this driving course while messaging friends using their phones, even eating. they say it was an eye-opener. >> i couldn't even get my pass ward into my phone. i have a touch screen phone. you have to look at it. i couldn't get my password into my phone to start a text message, because the guy sitting next to me is sitting here going like this over and over again, and playing with my radio. it was -- there was no way. >> 35 miles per hour -- go, go, go! >> oklahoma is considering new laws to make texting while driving illegal. you fly a lot? get ready for more flight delays. long delays are twice as common

as in 1990, and the report says flight1990 and the report says flight delays will get even worst for us. flight delays arrive at least two hours late. short flies between cities and traffic control system may be to blame. moms working, not working, are you happy? a little bit when it comes to working moms, according to a new poll. stay-at-home moms are happy, too. 85% of working moms say that they are happy as well. most say that they will be happier if they could work part time. dads seem happy to stay at work. 80% of working dads say that they prefer working full time. the toy wars are on again. that is good news here in a bad economy. target is cutting prices by 50% a barbie is now 5 bucks. walmart cut prices last week and there is even more competition.

sears is starting to carry toy stores. barnes & noble, borders, they are making more space for toys. analysts say that the big stores are willing to lose money on them so to get you in, you will be spending money on big toy stuff. >> look at this. guys and gals are proving that they are not just getting a good work out. they are auditioning to be dancers for the miami heat. listen to this. they are a dance troop called the golden old dees. they are all at least 60 years of age. this is the 60s. they perform regularly at each home game and a couple of years ago they showed off their moves at the all-star game. good for them. a 10-year-old british boy blowing people away with his

musical talent. he sounds like he's been classically trained but that's not the case.