looks like another member of the heene family may be admitting their balloon boy stunt was a hoax. what court papers say the mother told authorities. one pilot from the plane that over shot the airport by 150 miles is speaking up. what he says about the speculation that the crew fell asleep in midair. i say relax, relax, i give you the money, and i hold the gun and i push lightly. >> in the blink of an eye the quick-thinking convenient store clerk goes from victim to hero,

and why authorities say you should never try what he did. i am natasha curry, and thank you for spending your day with us. and when authorities scramble to find a boy trapped in the balloon, the mother told investigators it was a hoax. she told investigators she knew her son, falcon, was hiding the whole time. they told their children to lie to the authorities and the media about it. >> i really do hope that cooler heads prevail. it does seem like the misdemeanor of making a false police report. i think it's a bad thing to tell your children to lie to the authorities, to tell your children to die to meredith vieira and wolf blitzer, but i also think it's a very big deal in the country to take children

away from their parents, and based on what i have seen this does not rise to that level. >> heene supposedly took two weeks to put the plan together. they should be charged sometime next week. regulators say more than 100 american banks failed this year. regulators announced seven new bank closures yesterday, including a bank in naples, p . florida. that is more than four times the number that closed last year, and the highest tally since 1992. yesterday's bank shutdowns are expected to cost the federal department insurance fund more than $356 million. we are getting reports of two missiles that hit a village in afghanistan killing 16 people. it's not clear if the people

were militants are civilians. a militant hideout was hit and the u.s. does not comment on the suspected drone attacks that causes friction with pakistan. a proposed bill to fight global warming would cost you about $100 more a year. that's what the environmental protection agency is saying. it looked into how much the bill would bump up an average home's energy bill. they said the increase could be as much as $3,000. the bill is promoting energy, and not made from fossil fuels to cut greenhouse gases. last night neighborhoods held another vigil of the 7-year-old florida girl that was killed. somer thompson's mother and neighborhoods sang her favorite song, "you are my sunshine."

police have not made an arrest yet, and they ruled out all 161 sex offenders that live near her home. they have not revealed how she died. the ntsb is getting information off a cockpit voice recorder from the plane that over shot its destination by 150 miles. northbound flight 188 flu from san diego to minneapolis, but instead of landing in minneapolis, it kept going. now, one pilot is responding to speculation that he fell asleep. tom foreman reports. >> reporter: from the time it passed over denver, flight 188 had air traffic troelers in the dark. for an hour and 18 minutes not one response to the plane or calls from the ground. the pilot says nobody was asleep. >> no arguments took place. >> reporter: that leaves plenty

of troubling questions. first, even with the plane traveling out of contact more than 500 miles an hour for more than an hour, military officials have now confirmed to cnn that they were not contacted by the faa until the plane had passed over the city of minneapolis. at that time, the military scrambled to launch at least four fully armed f-16 fighters, but that was so late they never got off the ground before the airliner was finally contacter. >> reporter: passengers say throughout the process the cockpit and cabin crew gave them no hint of any trouble. >> if any of us had known that was going on the entire flight would have been in a complete state of panic. i am glad they were trying to look out for us, because i don't think the pilots were. >> indeed, she says, for 45

minutes as they shot past their arrival time, passengers were told nothing at all. when the captain finally spoke up again, he said they were just waiting to land. >> we were just, you know, completely under the impression that it was just air traffic, and that minneapolis airport was not giving us clearance to land and that basically we were just going to fly around until they allowed us to do so. that's what we all believed. >> air-traffic controllers were not sure what they believed. authorities say when they at last re-contacted the pilots, the pilots answers were so fact they were ordered to take the plane under maneuvers to prove they were in control and not hijacked. the flight recorder only holds conversation from the last 30 minutes of flight. and they were questioning the pilots. they both voluntarily took and passed breathalyzer tests, but the central question remains,

what happened on flight 188? some people save add driver from a burning pick up just before the truck exploded. take a look at this. somebody recorded the fire with their cell camera. the truck flipped over and catches fire during rush hour. several people ran to get the driver out, and shortly after that the truck blew up. and the driver got out without any major injuries. the swine flu vaccine is in short supply, and the demand for it is causing long lines for it around the country. but there is plenty of the seasonal flu vaccine to go around. more americans have gotten their seasonal flu shots than ever before. 46 states now have widespread flu activity, and more than 1,000 deaths are being blamed

for the swine flu. look at the health section of the page on cnn.com to find out more. and check out the surveillance video from the gas station here in new york. two men armed with a shotgun try to rob the convenient store clerk only to have him grab the gun away from them. >> i get the gun,and the first thing you know they shot. and i said, i shoot you now. >> he said he had been robbed twice before and was not going to be a victim again. going to be a soggy weekend for some of you. the wet weather is moving east. let's check in with our meteorologist, bonnie snyder. >> we are looking at a lot of weather that hit the midwest and sliding to the east. it's part of the front advancing to the east. we are going to see the possibility of heavy downpours,

and we have a big baseball game tonight with the yankees and ange angels. highs today will be very warm in and around phoenix. 90 degrees today. as you head further off more towards chicago, it's cooler at 48 degrees, and then as we head further to the east, also still looking comfortable, 60, actually a cooler spot in atlanta. notice the front does not work its way across florida, and we have mild temperatures there, quite warm, in tampa, 86 degrees and miami at 86. eventually you will see the air work its way to the east. meantime, it's hard to find a cool spot in the almost last weekend in october, and halloween will be next weekend, and that's when we will start getting colder. if you are looking for great places to see fall foilage. have a great weekend.

people are still talking about the guy that held up a loan office, and then dropped to his knees and prayed with his victim. >> me and her was in there for a reason and i am trying to figure out what that reason is. >> he is now talking about what drove him to commit the crime.

first lady michelle obama was on the jay leno show last night. leno peppered her with questions about her husband, specifically what she finds most annoying about him. her answer? he is always beating her at tennis. and there is also a question about his beloved baseball team, the chicago white sox. >> your husband just won the nobel peace prize, and would he rather have world peace or have the white sox win the world

series? >> that's a tough one. i think if you would ask him, he would say he probably would prefer world peace, but he wouldn't mind the world series bit, too. but i think he would choose world peace. >> the first lady also refused to divulge her daughter's halloween costumes saying leno would need a security clearance for that. the man says he was desperate when he held up a loan office. he dropped to his knees as his victim preyed for him and hugged him. he said he was desperate from keeping his family from being evicted from their home and has been unable to find a job for more than a year. >> a lot of people had the thought go through their head and i was dumb enough to react and try to do it. if you talk to anybody that knows me, they will tell you this is not me at all.

>> police say this is not smith's first offense. they say he admitted to robbing another loan office and was on probation for auto theft. smith says he is ready to face the consequences for his actions. you can't blame players for the university of connecticut's football team if they are distracted today. it's yukon's first game since the team's star was killed? >> yeah, you know they want to honor jasper howard today. the letters will be on their helmet, and one player said they wanted to win it for jazz, and that was his nickname. the company insists it's raising money for howard's family but officials say they never registered as a fund-raiser. and the yukon police tell the

school newspaper, witnesses that may have seen him stabs are receiving online threats of violence if they tell people what they saw. and texas christian is undefeated, and even though it's a small conference team, it could crash the bcs party if it keeps winning. if you want a college football playoff, root for chaos and these kinds of teams to keep winning. and then ocho cinco has done it again. he has to wear $10,000 for wearing a black chin strap in the game, and the rules say it has to be white. michael jordon's son is causing a $3 million headache for his school. he plays basketball at the university of central florida, and the school has a multimillion dollar contract with adidas, and there is no way

marcus is wearing anything but nikies, and the school is trying to figure out a way to let him wear the nikes. the threat of rain could pose more health problems already affected by a fire in puerto rico. i am robin meade. a long awaited visit is coming up for the family of christopher foley, a sergeant, and the husband and father of three is coming home from afghanistan for r and r, and his mom wants him to know how proud she is of him. >> caller: good morning, robin. i want to send out a salute to my son, i want to tell him how much i love and miss him and i wanted to say how proud i am of

him. >> if you have somebody in the service and you want to absolute them go to cnn.com/robin, and watch for the absolute every morning from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. eastern.

a raging fire in puerto rico has been burning for 24 hours shows no signs of slowing down. a powerful explosion shook a fuel storage complex yesterday with the force of a 2.8 earthquake. look at the video, though. rain is expected today and that could mix with the smoke and cause acid rain. officials are urging people to stay home right now and one person was hospitalized and at least 350 people were evacuated. look at the video. this is what i was telling you about. the governor says puerto rico has enough gas to last 24 days. officials don't know what caused the explosion, but the fbi is investigating graffiti that it found that referred to the fire.

and the u.s. asked switzerland to hand over polanski, and he was wanted for having sex with a 13-year-old girl back in 1977, and could serve up to two years in prison. the 76-year-old oscar-winning director has been in custody since his arrest last month. legal experts say he stands little chance of avoiding extradition after 31 years as a fugitive, but his lawyer plans to fight it. some banks are letting their customers spend as much as they want, but there is a catch to it all. money expert, clark howard, tells us it will cost more than you are willing to pay. >> a lot of people have switched to debit cards, and wrps it has a visa or master card logo on it, but when you use it it takes money from your checking

account. most banks will allow to you use your debit card even when it will cause you to overdraw your account? why? because they want you to overdraw so they can hit you with massive overage charges. you can ask your bank to not allow that. and the other thing, if you cannot track your balance, do everything with cash instead. i am clark howard, and for more ways for you to keep your wallet ship shape, go to cnn.clarkhoward. >> in these times clark will save you more and help you spend less and avoid getting ripped off. >> a city in guatemala is the cradle of civilization. 

nobody was asleep in the cockpit, and no arguments took place. other than that, i cannot tell you anything that went on because we're having hearings this weekends and having hearings on tuesday. all that information will come out then. >> the first officer of a northwest airlines flight over shot the destination about 150 miles spoke out there. neither he or the pilot was sleeping and he said there was a lot of misinterpretation going on about what happened.

and memorial services are going on today for a priest that was found dead yesterday at the church. police are investigating the death as a homicide. with that, the stock market ended the week on a down note. the dow jones industrial average fell 109 points yesterday while all of the broader markets saw declines. the losses come after two weeks of gains and multimonth advances. and that's a check of your saturday morning headlines. welcome back to hln. i am natasha kerrie. health officials are urging women to get the h1n1 vaccine, and many are skeptical. some talked about what their fears are. >> reporter: deciding whether or not to get the h1n1 vaccine before her first child is due has not been easy. >> i am leaning towards getting it but i am definitely nervous

for my new baby and me. >> what are your reservations? >> the main reservations are there is not a lot of study done on the effects of the vaccine on the baby, so that worries me. >> reporter: and it worries this lady, who said she has been advised to get the vaccine but is not sold. >> i wanted to wait until hundreds of people have gotten the shot to see if there is any reaction and at that point i will make a decision. >> and it's that kind of delay officials want to overcome. >> it's the same vaccine that has been used for more than 100 million doses. it has an excellent safety records. >> reporter: health officials are appealing to doctors to urge

their pregnant patients to get vaccinated against h1n1, something the director of gynecology is trying to do. >> for some reason this strain of the flu seems to be deadly, and i can use that term in pregnant women. >> the risk of dying from h1n1 is six times higher if you are pregnant. while the doctor is convincing his pregnant patients to get the h1n1 vaccine -- >> the problem is, i don't have any. and the government, the cdc, the department of health here in new york has been telling me any day, and any day has been going on for sometime now. the level of freustration is starting to rise. >> we asked about that. and they said there is a shortage of vaccine and the

focus is now on at-risk groups with the pregnant women at the top of the list. >> we had 1.4 million requests for influenza vaccine. >> if the supply of vaccines remains tight, laura says she will not have to decide whether or not to get the vaccine since her baby is due by then. just two days after police and military scrambles to look for a boy trapped in a balloon, the boy's mother apparently told authorities the whole thing was a hoax. court documents yesterday show they knew their 6-year-old son, falcon, was hiding the entire time. the documents say the heenes told their children to lie to the authorities and the media about it. the heenes supposedly took two weeks to put the whole plan together, and they could be charged sometime next week.

regulators say more than 100 american banks failed this year. regulators announce seven new bank closures yesterday, including a bank in naples, florida. and that is more than four times the number that closed last year. and it's the highest tally since 1992. yesterday's bank shutdowns are expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund more than $356 million. there are regional banks that did not receive help from the federal government. a bill to fight global warming would cost you $100 more a year. that's what the environmental protection agency is saying. now, some industry studies said the increase could be as much as $3,000. the bill is promoting energy, not made from fossil fuels to cut greenhouse gases. senate hearings on the bill

could begin next week. last night neighbors hit another vigil of the 7-year-old florida girl that was killed. somer's thompson's mother and neighborhoods sang her favorite song, "you are my sunshine." police have not made an arrest yet, and they have ruled out all 161 sex offenders that live near her home. they have not revealed how she died. >> some people saved a driver from a burning pickup just before the struck exploweded. take a look at this. the missouri highway patrol says the truck flipped over -- look at this, catches fire during rush hour yesterday. several people ran to get the diver out. shortly after that, the truck blew up. the driver got out without any major injuries. there are things that you should never try to do and police in new york say this is one of those things. check out this surveillance video from a gas station here in new york. two men armed with a shotgun try

to rob the convenience store clerk only to have him grab the gun away from them. >> i get the gun, and the first thing you know, they shot, and i said you shoot me and i shoot you now. and he running, bolt. and i run, too. >> the clerk says he had been robbed twice before and was not going to be a victim again. it's going to be a soggy weekend for some of you. wet weather is moving east. let's check in with meteorologist, bonnie snyder. >> we are looking at a lot of wet weather that hit the midwest yesterday all sliding to the east. it's part of the front that is advancing to the east. so we are going to see the possibility of heavy downpours. unfortunately in and around new york where we have a big baseball game later tonight where we have the yankees and the angels. highs today will be very warm in and around phoenix. 90 degrees today. and then as you head further

towards more chicago it's cooler at 48 degrees, and then further to the east, also still looking comfortable, 60, actually a cooler spot in atlanta. notice the front does not work its way across florida, so we have mild temperatures there and warm in tampa at 86 degrees and also in miami at 86. so eventually you will start to see some of the cooler air work its way to the east. in the meantime, it's hard to find a cool spot in the almost last weekend in october, and halloween will be next weekend and that's when we will get color. across the northeast and the great lakes,they are almost in peak color. and is that a look at your forecast for hln, have a great weekend. many of you are trying to cut your power bills with new energy-saving appliances, but you may not save as much money as the manufactures actually

claim. money expert jen westhoven is looking out for you. >> the energy star label is supposed to mean it helps you to save money, right. there are reports that many of the appliances, they are not living up to their promises, and maybe should not even qualify for the stricker at all. here is consumer reports talking to cnn's mary snow. >> in our labs, we found it used a lot more energy. >> can a manufacture just put on an energy star sticker. >> well, they are supposed to have these products tested and they do, but they themselves test it. >> they are supposed to test it, so the question is can we trust companies to do their own testing, and give us not the best case scenario but the real case scenario on the sticker.

in the meantime, be careful about paying top dollar for any energy star appliance. it may not save you so much money after all. you can get great money advice from jen westhoven on each week day from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. eastern. people are still talking about the guy who held up a loan office, and then dropped to his knees and prayed with his victim. >> me and her was in that situation for a reason. and i am just trying to figure out what that reason is. >> the so-called praying robber is talking about what drove him to commit the crime.

first lady michelle obama was on the jay leno show last night and appeared via satellite from the white house. leno peppered her with questions about her husband, specifically about what she finds most annoying about him, and her answer? he always beats her in tennis. >> question number six, your husband just won the nobel peace prize, and would he rather have world peace or have the white sox win the world series? >> well, that's a tough one. i think if you would ask him, he would say he probably would prefer world peace, but he would not mind, the world series bit, too. but i think he would choose world peace. >> the first lady also refused to divulge her children's

halloween costumes, saying leno would need a security clearance for that. and hawaii has approved a plan for a company to farm tuna in the waters off the state's big island. the project will be the world's first big i tuna farm. and critics worry the farm could release diseased tuna into the wild. the man known as the praying robber says he was desperate when he held up a loan office. he is caught on camera dropping to his knees as his victim prayed for him and hugged him. he said he was desperate to keep his family from being evicted from their home, and has not been able to find a job for more than a year. >> a lot of people had it go through their head, too, but i was dumb enough to react on it

and go through with it. >> police say they say he admitted to robbing another loan office and was on probation for auto theft. smith says he is ready to face the consequences for his actions. there is a huge baseball game tonight, maybe. jeff is here with sports. and they do not feel like waiting. >> yeah, not so great as to wart off the weather gods. forecast tonight is showers, and lots of them. the yanks are hoping to clinch it tonight. andy pettitte is the starting pitcher. he would be the winningness pitcher ever in mlb history. and a charge much pulling a knife and threatening the player, and then the coach told players, don't try me today. thankfully that's as far as it went and nobody got hurt.

and big ben, roger says he wants to put a team in london. and the short term goal, the good game tomorrow when there is a game there. and lamar said something he did not like, and then odom ready to go. and don't bring up the pre-nup. and the nuggets won the game. golf? beck, a veteran player. so smooth, and style and grace. reminds me of the old commercial, i have fallen and can't get up. he would get up. he is a solid guy. huge black clouds of smoke are filling the skies over puerto rico, a day after a

powerful explosion. and the threat of rain could pose more health problems for people already affected by the fire.

a raging fire inportrico that has been burning for 24 hours shows no signs of slowing down. a powerful explosion shook a fuel storage complex yesterday with the force of a 2.8 earthquake. look at the video, though. rain is expected today. that could mix with smoke and cause acid rain. officials are urging people to stay home now. one person was hospitalized. at least 350 people were evacuated. look at this video. this is what i was telling you about. the governor says puerto rico has enough gas to last 24 days. officials don't know what caused the explosion, but the fbi is investigating graffiti that it found that referred to the fire. the u.s. formerly asked

switzerland to hand over roland polanski. he is wanted in l.a. for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 and can serve up to two years in prison. the oscar-winning he's been in swiss custody since his arrest. they caught him as he arrived. he stands little chance avoiding extradition after 13 years of extradition. his lawyer plans to stop it. he says classical music changed his life and can inspire thousands of other minority students as well. here is our new series, "leaders with heart." ♪ >> erin remembers playing the violin before he could read. it's what got him through the tough times. >> i have no doubt that the

violin saved my life. i was adepted when i was 2 weeks old. the violin was my outlet. >> while studying music at the university of michigan, he saw the need to make music more accessible to minority students. >> my whole life, i didn't know there were any minority composers. i said what can i do about it. >> 12 students in ann arbor, michigan. it's a movement that touched 85,000 american students. through programs and scholarships, professional opportunities like the sphinx competition and free violins for at-risk youth in michigan. no one can express it. it's what i have to do. it's my life's work.

>> a city in guatemala ma la is the cradle of civilization. now, they are unearthing they shall sure that is could rewrite mayan history.

looks like another member of the heene family may be admitting their balloon boy stunt was a hoax. what court papers say the mother told authorities. a pilot that overshot the airport by 150 miles is speaking up. what he's saying about speculation of the crew falling asleep in the air. >> relax. relax. i give you money, relax. then i push lightly. >> a quick thinking convenient store clerk goes from victim to

hero. why you should never try what he did. you're watching hln. thanks for spending part of your weekend with us. two days after police and military scramble to look for a boy trapped in a balloon, the boy's mother told authorities the whole thing was a hoax. court documents say that mayumi heene and her husband knew their son falcon was hiding the entire time. they told their children to lie to authorities and the media about it. >> i really do hope that cooler heads prevail. this really does seem like the misdemeanor of making a false police report. i certainly think it's a bad thing to tell your children to lie to authorities, to tell your children to lie to meredith vee area and wolf blitzer. >> is that a crime?

>> it's a big deal in this country to take children away from their parents. this does not rise to that level. >> they took two weeks to put the plan together. they could be charged sometime next week. >> regulators say more than 100 american banks fail ed this yea. they announced seven new bank closures including a bank in naples, florida. the total is 106 banks. it's more than four times it nu number that closed last year and the highest tally since 1992. yesterday's bank shutdowns are expected to cost more than $356 million. they did not receive help from the federal government. >> we are getting word about a u.s. drone attack in pakistan. two missiles hit a village near pakistan's border killing 16

people. it isn't clear if they were militants or civilians. they say a militant hideout was hit. the u.s. does not comment on suspects drone attacks that caused friction with pakistan. the u.s. is the only country in the region known to fire missiles from remote controlled drones. a bill to fight global warming would cost you $100 more a year. that's what the environmental protection agency is saying. that's how much it would bump up your energy bill. it could be as much as $3,000. it's promoting energy not made from fossil fuels to cut greenhouse gases. last night, neighbors held another vigil for the 7-year-old florida girl who was killed. somer thompson's mother and neighbors sang her favorite song. they found her body in a georgia

landfill wednesday. she was missing since monday. they have ruled out 161 sex offenders who live near her home. they haven't revealed how she died. the ntsb is getting nrvegs off a cockpit voice recorder from the plane that overshot its destination by 150 miles. northwest flight 188 flew from san diego to minneapolis. instead of landing in minneapolis, it kept going. one pilot is responding to speculation he fell asleep. tom foreman reports. >> reporter: from the time it passed other denver, flight 188 had air traffic controllers in the dark for 1:18. there was not one radio control from the plane or response from the ground. they were not asleep. >> nobody was asleep in the c b cockpit. no arguments took place.

that leaves plenty of troubling questions. first, even with this plane traveling out of contact for than 500 miles per hour for more than an hour, military officials confirmed to cnn they were not contacted by the faa until the plane passed over the city of minneapolis. at that time, the military scramb scrambled to launch four fully armed f-16 fighters. it was so late, they never got off the ground before the airliner was contacted. passengers say throughout the process, the cockpit and cabin crew gave them no hint of any trouble, another curious revelation. >> if any of us knew it was going on, the entire flight would have been in a complete state of panic. it's better we didn't know. i'm glad they were trying to look out for us because i don't think the pilots were. >> reporter: for 45 minutes, as

they shot past their arrival time, passengers were told nothing at all. when the captain finally spoke up, he said they were waiting to land. >> we were just under the impression it was just air traffic and that minneapolis airport was not giving us clearance to land and that basically, we were going to fly around until they allowed us to do so. that's what we all believed. >> reporter: air traffic controllers aren't sure what they believe. the pilots answers were sew vague, they were ordered to take the plane through a series of unnecessary maneuvers to prove it was under their control, not hijacked. investigators seized the cockpit voice recorder even though they believe it holds conversation only from the last 30 minutes of the flight. they are questioning the pilots. they took and passed breathalyzer tests. the central question remains. what happened on flight 188?

some people saved a driver from a burning pick-up before the truck exploded. take a look at this. somebody recorded the fire with their camera. the truck flipped over, look at this, catches fire during rush hour. several people ran to get the driver out. shortly after that, the truck blew up. the driver got out without major injuries. >> the swine flu vaccine is in short supply. the demand for it is causing long lines. there's plenty of the seasonal flu vaccine to go around. more americans got their seasonal flu shots than ever before. at least 60 million people, so far. 46 states now have widespread flu activity. so far, more than 1,000 deaths are blamed on the swine flu. you can find more information about h1n1, who is most at risk

and the vaccine at cnn.com. look on the health section of the page. the swine flu vaccine is in short supply and demand for it is causing long lines at health clinics around the country. there's plenty of the seasonal vaccine to go around. more americans have gotten their seasonal flu shots than ever before. at least 60 million people, so far. the agency says that 46 states now have widespread flu activity and so far, more than 1,000 deaths are being blamed on the swine flu. you know, there are things you should never try to do. police in new york say this is one of those things. check out this video from a gas station in new york. two men, armed with a shotgun tried to rob the convenience store clerk to have him grab the gun away from them. >> i get the gun. i shoot you now.

he's running, both and i'm running, too. >> the clerk said he was robbed twice before and wasn't going to be a victim, again. going to be a soggy weekend for some of you. wet weather is moving east. let's check in with bonnie. >> you are right. we have a lot of wet weather that hit the midwest yesterday, all sliding to the east. it's part of the front. we are going to see the possibility of heavy downpours, in and around new york where we have a baseball game later tonight with the yankees and angels. let's look at temperatures. we are looking at changes in the forecast. highs today will be warm in and around phoenix. 90 degrees today. as you head further off, toward chicago, it's cooler at 28 degrees. further to the east, looking comfortable, 60, a cooler spot in atlanta. notice the front doesn't work across florida. we have mild temperatures, quite

warm. tampa, 86 degrees and miami at 86. you'll see the cooler air work to the east. in the meantime, it's hard to find a cool spot in this almost to last weekend in october. halloween will be next weekends. i think it's when we will get colder. if you are looking for great places to see fall foliage, we are almost in peak color and in the mountains and appalachians as well. have a great weekend. people are still talking about the guy who held up a loan office, dropped to his knees and prayed with his victim. >> i was in that situation for a reason. i'm just trying to figure out what that reason is. >> the praying robber is talking about what drove him to commit the crime.

first lady, michelle obama

was on the jay leno show last night and appears via satellite from the white house. leno peppered her with questions about her husband, specifically what she finds most annoying about her. the answer, he beats her at tennis. >> question six. your husband won the nobel peace prize. would he rather have world peace or have the white sox win the world series? >> that's a tough one. i think, if you would ask him, he'd say he probably would prefer world peace, but he wouldn't mind the world series bit, too. but i think he would choose world peace. >> the first lady refuse divulge her girls halloween costumes.

>> your sue shi may be made from farm raised fish. hawaii is allowing a company to farm tuna. they are overfished in the wild. they are worried it could release diseased tuna into the wild. >> the man known as the praying robber was desperate. he dropped to his knees as his victim prayed for him and hugged him. he said he was desperate to keep his family from being evicted from their home and has been unable to find a job for more than a year. >> a lot of people have had the thought go through their head to do. it's just, i was dumb enough to react and actually try to do it. if you talk to anybody that know me, they will tell you, this is not me at all. >> police say it's not smith's first offense. they say he admitted to robbing

another loan office and was on probation for auto theft. he's ready to face the consequences for his actions. you can't blame players for the university of connecticut's football team if they are distracted. jeff is here with sports. it's yukon's first game since one of the stars was killed. >> that's right. they want to honor j.h. we have to focus and rally for jazz, that was his nickname. they will honor him by wearing the number 6 on their heldlets. they told a teacher company to stop selling this memorial t-shirt. the company insists it's raise ing money for his family, but officials say they have never registered as a fund-raiser. yukon campus police say witnesses that may have seen him stabbed are receiving online threats of violence if they tell

police what they saw. a shocker. two programs flying under the radar. why is this so big? texas christian is undefeated. it would crash the party, if it keeps coming. byu has a shot. if you want a college playoff, root for chaos. the human magnet, chad ochocinco has to pay $10,000 for wearing a black chin stripe. it has to be white. shame on you. a headache for his school. money, it's got to be the shoes. he plays basketball at the university of florida. they have a shoe contract with a adidas. the school is trying to work something out with adidas so he

can wear the nike's. huge black smoke filling the skies over puerto rico a day after a powerful explosion. the threat of rain could pose more problems for people affected by the fire.

a raging fire in puerto rico that's been burning for 24 hours shows no signs of slowing down. a powerful explosion shook a complex with a 2.8 earthquake. look at the video. rain is expected and it could mix with the smoke and cause acid rain. officials are urging people to stay home. one person was hospitalized. at least 350 people were evacuated. the governor says puerto rico has enough gas to last 24 days. officials don't know what caused the explosion, but the fbi is investigating graffiti found that referred to the fire.

>> the u.s. has formerly asked switzerland to hand over roland polanski. he could serve up to 2 years in prison. the oscar-winning director has been in swiss custody since his arrest ft thigh caught him when he arrived to attend a film fest cal value. he spent 31 years as a fugitive. his lawyer plans to fight it. some banks are letting their customers spend as much as they want. there is a catch to it all. hln money expert clark howard says it will cost you more than you are willing to pay. >> a lot of people, because they have been burned by credit cards switched to debit cards, where it has a visa or mastercard logo, but it takes money directly from your checking

account. do you know most banks will allow you to use your debit card, even when it will cause you to overdraw your account? why would they do that? they want you to overdraw so they can hit you with massive overage charges. what should you do? ask your bank or credit union not to permit overages so you can't get hit with it. if you can't track your balance, do everything with cash, instead. i'm clark howard for more ways for you to keep your wallet shipshape. go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> you can get more advice at noon eastern time. clark is going to save you more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. a city in guatemala is known as the cradle of mayan civilization. archaeologists are unearthing

treasures that could rewrite mayan history.

nobody was asleep in the cockpit. no arguments took place. other than that, i cannot tell you anything that went on because we are having hearings this weekend and on tuesday. all that information will come out then. >> the first officer of a northwest airlines flight that overshot its destination by 150 miles spoke out about the incident there. he said neither he nor the other pilot was asleep. there's a lot of misinformation

going on about it. >> memorial services are going on for reverended hines. police are investigating his death as a homicide. with that, the stock markets ended the week on a down note. the dow jones industrial average fell 109 points while the broader markets saw declines. that's a check on your saturday morning headlines. welcome back to hln. i'm natasha curry. health officials are warning pregnant women to get the h1n1 vaccine. they are worried about what it will do to their babies. >> reporter: deciding whether or not to get the h1n1 vaccine before her first child is due

hasn't been easy. i'm leaning toward getting it, but i'm nervous about gelting it s.. >> what are your main reservations? >> from the research i have done, there's not a lot of study done of the effect of the vaccine on the baby. that worries me. >> reporter: it worries colleen who says she's been advised to get the h1n1 vaccine, but isn't sold. >> i'm going to wait until a few people, hundreds of people have gotten the shot to see if there's any reaction. at that point, i'll make a decision. >> reporter: that's that hesitancy health officials are trying to overcome. the head of center for disease control stresses it's manufactured just as the seasonal flu shot would be. >> the same safeguards as the seasonal flu vaccine that's been used for over 100 million doses each yore and has an excellent safety record.

>> reporter: they are trying to urge their pregnant patients to get vaccinated. something the director of gynecology is trying to do. >> for some reason, this strain of the flu seems to be very deadly. i can use that word, in pregnant women. >> reporter: the cdc reports the risk of dying from h1n1 is higher when you are pregnant. the doctor is convinced to give his patients the vaccine -- >> the problem is, i don't have any. the government, the cdc has been telling me any day. any day has been going on for a long time now. the level of frustration is starting to rise. >> reporter: we asked new york state's health commissioner about that. they rescinded a mandatory h1n1 vaccine for health care workers because there's a shortage of vaccine. the focus now, is on at risk

groups with pregnant women topping the list. >> by the end of we understand, we received 1 hadn't 4 million requests. we were looking at only 140,000 doses to distribute. >> reporter: if the supply remains tight, laura says she won't have to decide whether to get the vaccine since her baby is due by then. just two days after police and military scramble to look for a boy thought to be trapped in a balloon, the boy's mother apparently told authorities the whole thing was a hoax. court documents show mayumi heene told investigators she and her husband richard knew their 6-year-old son falcon was hiding the entire time. they say the heene's told their children to lie to authorities and the media about it. they took two weeks to put the plan together. they could be charged sometime

next week. regulators say more than 100 american banks failed this year. they announced seven new bank closur closures. it brought the total to 106 banks. it's more than four times it number that closed loost year. it's the highest tally since 1992. yesterday's bank shut downs are expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund more than $356 million. they are all regional bank that is didn't get help from the government. cost you about $100 more a year. it looked into how much the bill would bump up an average home's energy bill. it could be as much as $3,000. it's promoting energy not made from fossil fuels to cut greenhouse gases.

hearings could begin next week. last night, neighbors held another vigil for the 7-year-old girl who was killed. somer thompson's neighbors sang her favorite song, "you are my sunshine." they found her body in a landfill wednesday. she was missing since monday. they ruled out all 161 sex offender that is live near her home. they haven't revealed how she died. some people saved a burning pick up just before it exploded. somebody recorded the fire with their cell phone camera. the truck flipped over, catches fire yesterday. several people ran to get the driver out. shortly after that, the truck blew up. the driver got out without major injuries. the swine flu vaccine is in short supply and demand is causing long lines in health clinics around the country. there's plenty of the seasonal

flu vaccine to go around. as a result, the gompbment says more americans got their seasonal flu shots than ever before. at least 60 million people so far. 46 states now have widespread flu activity. so far, more than 1,000 deaths are blamed on the swine flu. you can find out more about h1n1, who is more at risk and about the vaccine at cnn.com. look at the health section of the page. >> people are talking about the guy who held up the loan office, then dropped to his knees and prayed with his victim. >> i was in that situation for a reason. i'm just trying to figure out what that reason is. >> the so-called praying robber is talking about what drove him to commit the crime.

the most typical proceed your are orthopedic surgeries, cardiac, cancer treatments and dental and kcosmetic. >> there are risks. >> there are doctors abroad that are using medical instruments and devices and techniques that are invented in america, but not available in america because they are waiting for fda approval. >> for those looking abroad, do your homework and communicate clearly with your doctors. they recommend researching the doctor before making the commitment and know the cost up front. >> they will treat it as an out of network benefit. >> understand the international legal issues if something goes wrong.

first lady, michelle obama, was on the jay leno show last night. leno peppered her with questions about her husband, specifically, what she finds most annoying about him. her answer, he's always beating her at tennis. there's a question about his beloved baseball team, the white sox. >> question six. your husband won the nobel peace price. would he rather that world peace or have them win the world series. >> that's a tough one. i think, if you would ask him, he'd say he probably would prefer world peace, but he

wouldn't mind world series bit, too. but i think he would choose world peace. >> the first lady refused to tell her daughters halloween costumes saying leno would need a security clearance for that. there's a chance your spicy tuna sushi may be from farmed fish. they have approved farm iing tu. it will be the first b ituna farm. they worry the farm could release diseased tuna into the wild. >> the man known as the praying robber was desperate when he held up a loan office. he dropped to his knees as his victim prayed for him and hugged him. he said he was desperate from keeping their family from being evicted from their home and was

unable to find a job. >> a lot of people had the thought go through their head. i was dumb enough to react and do it. if you talk to anybody who know me, they will tell you this is not me at all. >> police say this is not smith's first offense. he admitted to robbing another loan office and was on probation for auto theft. he's red dou face the consequences for his actions. there's a huge baseball game tonight -- maybe. jeff is here with sports. fans don't feel like waiting. >> no way. the series has been great. not so great to ward off the weather gods. showers, lots of them. the yanks are hoping to clinch it tonight. they have the right man for the job. andy pettitte is the pitcher. he would be the winningest pitcher. what were you thinking?

a high school football coach pulled a knife on a player in practice, then told players don't try me today. that's as far as it went and no one got hurt. big ben, not roth lesburger. but the clock. they want to put a team in london. a more immediate goal to play. good game tomorrow. the patriots play tomorrow. the lakers and nuggets haven't forgot. i don't like the cut of your jib or something cool like that that young kids say. again, ode em ready to go. don't bring up the prenup. the nuggets won the game, 119-105. golf. oh so smooth, his style, grace, oh. it reminds me of the commercial,

i've fallen and i can't get up. he did get up. that's all for sports. huge black clouds of smoke are filling the skies over puerto rico after a powerful explosion. the threat of rain could pose more health problems for people already affected by the fire.

a raging fire in puerto rico that's been burning for 24 hours shows no signs of slowing down. a powerful explosion shook a field storage complex with the force of a 2. earthquake. rain is expected and it could mix with the smoke and cause acid rain. officials are encouraging people to stay home. one person was hospitalized. at least 350 people were evacuated. look at the video. puerto rico has enough gas to last 24 days. officials don't know what caused the explosion. the fbi is investigating graffiti that it found that

referred to the fire. the u.s. has formerly asked switzerland to hand over roland polanski. he could serve up to two years in prison. the 76-year-old director has been in swiss custody since his arrest last month. legal experts say he stands little chance avoiding extradition after 31 years as a fugitive. his lawyer plans to fight it. south korea is a known lead leader in invasion and technology. one of the areas it's focusing attention on is the environment. seoul is pushing for the country to turn over a green leaf in the coming years. we show you how in this week's

ecosolutions. >> reporter: seoul south korea, fast, teched out, the most wired city on earth. take a closer look. closer. even closer and you are seeing the country's green future. l.e.d. lights are part of the so-called green deal. it was based on grow alt any cost. thee yan president pledged the u.n. that a green based economy is the nation's ticket to prosperity. >> translator: the strategy is the way to assess global climate change and overcome the economic crisis. >> in a comprehensive overhaul of its economy, the government says 2% of the gross domestic product will go toward the green sector. traditional greening like a nationwide bike network. solar and wind energy. lowering oil depend dense. backing daylight savings so

workers go home earlier and office buildings go dark sooner. e solutions is where korea sees the biggest potential. they plan to build a nationwide internet ten times traditional broad band so user use less energy. samsung's low carbon green memory and a mobile phone, remember the l.e.d. bulbs, asking companies to produce more of them, from the tv screen to the laptop to the bulbs lighting up the indoors. >> these lights don't look very different but they are. this entire office is lit by the l.e.d. by the end of this year, every single government office in korea will be lit by l.e.d.s. >> it's not a plan b. it's just a plan a. we contribute to the community by action, not talk. >> reporter: but talk is exactly

what the environmental justice is what they call a plan. it calls for too much money into construction on the four rivers in seoul. the green river is the same construction used to revive the economy is the '60s and '70s and it's only dipped in green, not truly green. only 20% of the budget goes towards water way construction based on the green sector. it's a big plan for a kmal yet ambitious country that says as quickly as seoul became the most wired, it can also become the greenest. >> for more on south korea's effort to go green, go to our website, cnn.com/eco solutions. a city in guatemala is already known as the city of may yan civilization.

there are treasurers that could rewrite mayan's history. ñññ they said it would never last.

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go, it's all the rage. people are asking me, should i buy it? should i have it? well, i'm going to give you my advice about that and other ways that you can make more out of your dough. you give me this next half hour, and you're going to smile all the way to the bank. ever since i can remember, i've been fascinated by money, making it, saving it, studying it. by the time i was 31, i'd earned enough to retire. so i embarked on a new mission, helping you take care of your money. so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. now from his radio studio, your money expert, clark howard.

>> the new stats on the housing market were absolutely atrocious. did you hear about this? for the third quarter of this year, foreclosures hit an all-time record. but wait, it gets worse, if you look in the pipeline of what's coming in terms of people who are already delinquent on their homes -- wow. we're going to have a really, really rough time wlt housing market in 2010. and it's really democratizing. because of it being lower-priced homes, it's homes of all price levels. now, there is a good side to this. you know what that is? there is great, great opportunity for you as a buyer

and it's only going to get better, especially through the winter. >> so i'm looking forward to seeing this first one, it looks really nice from the curb. wow, these people beat the daylights out of this place. like right here. where this formica is damaged. it makes a bad impression. but so inexpensive to repair. >> small dining room, but we built so much more than what we need. >> what do you think people were doing here, taking containers of grease and pouring it on the carpets. >> carpets will need to be replaced. >> i think we've got some water damage. sheetrock not well repaired. i think an inspection would be really important. >> i give this one an a. i don't know what, what would you grade it? >> i think it's a great price point, especially for a first time home buyer, take advantage of the tax credit. get moved in, not have to do a lot of the work and most of the work that needs to be done is user-friendly.

>> right, this is not a real -- handyman special. this one is a good buy. >> this is a nice house, i can tell right from the curb. and in this indication, the bank is doing a good job taking care of the property. i bet the family that was here spent all their time right in this area right here. right here with my big-screen tv watching the nfl. you know, when i lived in the north i had a bedroom that was the size of this closet here.

this house is in great shape, now, if you hit other distressed sales in the neighborhood, it's priced about right. but compared to nondistressed sales? this one's a deal. >> good things can happen to bad neighborhoods. this neighborhood behind me, very well maintained. this foreclosure, on the other hand, well -- it's not looking so hot. if you look right here, it looks like termite damage here. over here, this bay window? look at this. this is either termites, water damage or a combination of the two. well, actually, it's not as bad inside so far. as it was outside. well, that play set is not looking so good back there, wow. i don't think you'd have a better representation of the heartbreak that the mortgage meltdown has, than seeing that. that bathroom is -- not looking so good. let's go upstairs, see what we

got. uh-oh, uh-oh, danger will robinson. we got some serious water damage here. there's been real water damage here and the tiles are just trying to cover it up. and then -- more water damage up above my head. this would be one that you would want to watch and wait for. and you have to be willing to use a lot of elbow grease to get this house in shape. oh, this was somebody's self-help job, doing this.

if this was smell-a-vision, what you'd be experiencing right now is the absolute mold smell. in fact, my nose is itching from the mold of the dampness down here. hide the children. no! no! no! what were they doing? what in the world is this? oh, look at the mold. see, i was telling the truth. this is something that -- would tell me -- this house is more trouble than i could handle. so as you've seen on my video tour, there's both tricks and treats. you really got though think through when is something a real deal versus fair market value in a neighborhood. and the cost that it will take you to do the repairs that that

it's 2.2 and $300,000 worth of gold. >> oh, wow. that's a huge amount of gold to own.

bob is with us. bob, how are you doing? >> caller: doing fine, clark, how about yourself? >> great, thank you, i understand you want to buy some gold? >> caller: i'm thinking about it. i'll give you a brief outline. i'm 78 years old. i own five pieces of real estate. three of them are rental housesth and i have eight cds at $100,000 each. i'm considering the best cd rate i can find is 2.2. i'm considering buying $300,000

worth of gold. >> wow, that's a huge amount of gold to own. generally, when people want to own gold or precious metals, owning somewhere 5% to 10% of your assets in gold is fine. but i mean like at a max, based on what you just told me, owning somewhere like $80,000 in gold would be appropriate. but owning $300,000 in gold -- would be too much of your assets tied up in something that's very volatile. and has significant risk over time. >> caller: all right. >> but if you're going to buy gold, i would like you to buy something that's kind of like a mutual fund of gold. known as an etf. exchange-traded fund is the kind of gold you should buy. research this term -- gold etf fund. because gold etf allows you to own the underlying gold without you having to handle it, store

it, or without you paying big fees to buy and sell it. but i would be careful taking too much of that low-earning cd money and throwing it into gold. because that would ultimately prove to be very risky. michael is with us, hello, michael. >>. >> caller: hi, clark, how are you? >> great, thank you. i understand that you were ill recently. are you okay now? >> caller: much better, thanks for asking. last month i had to go to an emergency room locally for flu symptoms.

and saw the doctor for a few moments, paid the bill, left, everything was fine. then i get about a month later, i receive another bill for doctor services. and i, is this normal? because i asked when i left the hospital -- what my total was. and they gave me a total amount, i paid it. and now i've received another bill. i didn't have any lab work or anything like that. it was basically just a doctor visit. >> so if you got a bill from the hospital and then the bill from the doctor, your surprises should be over. do you have insurance?

>> i didn't at the time. because i just started a new job. >> so when the hospital bills you, initially they bill you at full retail and then the attending physician bills you at full retail as well. did you know those charges are negotiable? >> caller: no, i didn't. >> give me a for instance, like what is this doctor's bill that you were charged? >> caller: $245. and initially i paid $200 at the hospital. >> all right. the $245 is a full retail list price. and nobody pays full retail list. what you should do is you should contact the doctor, and see you have insurance now. say, what would my doctor charge have been under your plan. and whatever that is, that would be a reasonable amount for you to pay. >> by now, i hope everybody in america has a toyota oar a lexus made between 2004 and 2010, has

checked to see if your vehicle is one of the ones affected by one of the oddest recalls of all time. four million vehicles approximately recalled us the driver floormat could cause you to be in an accident and possibly even cause a fatal wreck. it's weird, isn't it? the remedy, so simple. you pull out your floor mat on the driver's side and let your car get dirty there. the shocker is that most of the time even when there's a recall involving serious safety stuff, people don't respond, don't take their cars and trucks to the dealer. i want you to take care of it, especially if it's steering, braking, something like that. there's a website you can learn what's going on with your car, autosafety.org, check it out. next on "clark howard" -- >> is it a credit card that you already had? or is it a brand-new one out of the blue that you heard from that somebody was pretending to be you? >> caller: it's about ten of them so far. >> no, really?

>> caller: really. catch that and more this sunday at 4:00 p.m. on "clark howard."

do you have a question for me? it's so easy to ask, just go to my website, cnn.com/clarkhoward. you could be like ashley. asking a question of me. >> hi, i'm ashley and i need a money coach. my biggest concern relating to finances would be that i'm ill-prepared for the future. and the future meaning tomorrow. and the next day. and i'm just afraid i'll keep making mistakes and continue on this cycle of destruction as far

as finances go. i like to start saving for retirement. and saving for other big expenses. i've got a retirement account now. it only exists because i worked for a big company in my last job. and i automatically contributed to. since then, which was about five years ago, i haven't contributed anything. my question is, as a single 30-year-old, how do i start preparing for the future for things like family and retirement? >> ashley, ashley, ashley -- five years you haven't been saving any money? don't break my heart that way. you got to get cooking with this. now, because you're self-employed, you have available to you a wonderful retirement plan, very simple to set up. known as a sep. it's very flexible how much money you contribute to it. very easy to do. you can do it with many companies that are no-commission

companies and that will take care of one-half of what you need to do. the other thing was more ill-defined. saving for a family. for that, simple savings will do. every month, i want you to automatically deposit money into a savings account to start building up a cushion for whatever near-term needs you might have for dough. now, as for you, it's always a juggling act. trying to figure out what to do with limited resources, where your money should go. your first dollar of savings should go into tax-advantaged plans. you work at an employer with a 401(k) or something equivalent? that's where you start saving. next thing, you do the roth account. and then after that, you save for other things like well, a kids' college education. danielle, how are you doing? >> i'm good, how are you? >> good. danielle, when did you get this duplicate personality? >> caller: i found out about it this week. >> so what we're talking about

here is somebody has flattered you in a way that nobody wants to be flattered. >> caller: that is correct. >> they have become your clone. >> caller: they have. >> is it a credit card that you already had or is it a brand-new one out of the blue that you heard somebody was pretending to be you. >> caller: it's about ten of them so far. >> no, really? >>. >> caller: really. and they've gotten my social security number and my birth and all that information and are opening up credit cards under my person. >> so this individual has been a human wrecking crew. >> caller: right. >> they have already -- think about all the effects here, they've opened ten credit cards as if they're you. they've trashed your credit score.

because suddenly you have all these new lines of credit that have been opened everywhere that you have nothing to do with. what solves the problem -- and you're even allowed to do this up front in all 50 states to prevent what happened to you, is to freeze your credit file. the second you freeze your credit. which you can go online and you can freeze all three of your credit files -- bam! from that second forward, nobody will be able to apply for credit as if they're you. you stop them cold, 100% in their tracks. you have as an identity theft victim. you have access to copies of your credit reports for free. where normally people would be allowed only a single free copy of each report a year. so you have extra rights. because you've already been wronged. and in most states, when you actually need legitimate access

to credit, you'll be able to temporarily thaw your credit for free as well. >> caller: okay. >> so it is -- it gives you the piece of mind that you are not going to have right now, until you do freeze your credit. >> next on "clark howard" -- >> have you ever been to australia before? >> caller: i have not, no. >> are you going to drive? i don't mean to there, i mean once you get there. @@@@@@@

today on the "clark howard" show, you're going to learn how to stay out of harm's way from identity theft. that's just one way you're going to learn how to fatten your wallet. you give me this next half hour and i'm going to show you how to be your own boss. ever since i can remember, i've been fascinated by money, making it, saving it, studying it. by the time i was 31, i had earned enough to retire. so i embarked on a new mission -- helping you take care of your money.

so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. >> now from his radio studio, your money expert, clark howard. >> i'm not from the fbi, but i'm here to help you. there is a new warning from the fbi about a hot, hot scam working, where you get an email that pretends to be either from the fbi or the department of homeland security, with a claim that there's information there that you might be interested in. what kind of information? there are several versions. one of them says it's a confidential fbi report on new patterns in al qaeda financing. another one says -- weapons of mass destruction directorate. it just gives you an example of what kind of things are floating out there. and what happens if you open one of these emails? will you end up loading viruses on your computer? and what are the criminals going to do with that? they're going to try to take over your bank accounts. they'll have access to all your passwords and all the rest. these are known as trojan and

keylogger programs. the key thing for you is to know the fbi isn't sending these, you got to be smart about any email you receive and ever opening any attachment. now how can i help you stay out of harm's way? what's your question for me? erin is with us, erin, hi, how are you? >> caller: hey, i'm hoping you can keep my sanity, clark, and then i'll be okay. >> tell me how i can be of service. >> caller: my husband and i are one of those unfortunate people who are upside-down in the value of our home. and through listening to your show and advice from friends, we learned earlier in the year, of possibly refiing through our mortgage company or doing a loan modification. in april we started a process with our then-mortgage company. we got approved and two days later, a new mortgage company called and said, we bought your loan. and we thought, okay. it's coincidence. so immediately we restarted the process over. faxed in all the 60 pages of paperwork. three weeks ago we got approved

and literally the very next day, again, mortgage company called and said, we can't continue with the loan modification, even though you've been approved, because we're selling your loan as of november 1st. >> are you fannie or freddie? is it owned by fannie mae or freddie mac? >> no, sir. >> you're not. so your loan as a modification is done or a refi is done, it's up to the individual bank, if you're not fannie or freddie, to say if they'll do it or not. and amazingly, twice -- this is amazing story you're telling me. that twice you've been approved, and then each time the rug gets pulled out from under you. >> caller: yes, sir. >> erin, i want you to go to the website, nfcc.org. let me repeat that. nfcc.org. and you're going to put in your zip code. and then it will take you to the closest national foundation for credit counseling office. where you will be able to make an appointment with a housing counselor. and with their help, hopefully, you'll be able to get this thing

moving for you and your family. so that you can keep your home. steve, you are headed to retirement. congratulations to you. >> caller: well, if things go right, clark, i appreciate that. i'm just weighing it out right now. i guess my question is i've -- let me back up. either i don't if it's once a year or twice a year. social security sends you a statement and says you have so many credits, it shows your income over the years and says,

if you retire at 62, it will be approximately this. if it's 65 rks it's full retirement. first of all, do you know or have any idea how accurate those numbers are. >> very. those are very accurate. because especially as you get close to retirement. they are almost right on the money. >> well that's, i'm pleasantly surprised. >> caller: so that's not something to worry about. and by the way, your social security check is going to be fine if you're getting close to that stage. >> february, i turn 62. >> caller: you're going to be fine. >> caller: the trick is trying to figure out of the check, if i keep working, versus if i take something part-time. my wife works part-time.

i could get by on part-time -- >> do it. do it. that's not -- now i talk and sometimes i talk in absolute. sometimes i hem and haw. i will tell you that you will smile for so long through your retirement years, if you defer taking that social security check at 62, keep working part-time. build up more credits and then ultimately take your social security benefit. you're perfectly capable of working now. it will generate a much larger check from social security, the longer you wait to take it. and you will have earned money when you're capable, rather than what happens to so many people that get older and they won't be able to work, but they need the money. next on "clark howard" -- >> when i logged in, the website asked for my bank name first, my routing number and then my user i.d. and password to my bank account. and that's where i immediately stopped. >> if she knows about the money, and she turns out not to be responsible? >> caller: i hope not.

>> you can't keep her from taking the money and blowing it. >> caller: okay. >> so kind of keep it quiet that this money is there.

do you have a question for me? well, it's so easy to ask me a question. just go to cnn.com/clarkhoward and post your online video question for me.

if you do so, you could be right here with me on money coach, where you get to ask me your question about your wallet. we're going to meet somebody right now who has a question for me, about whether or not something i've talked about is really safe to do. it's time to meet tasha. >> hi, i'm tasha, i need a money coach. i want to do a budget, because i want to know where money is going. there's not any extra and if we do need extra, it's put on a credit card and that's what i'm trying to get away from. i heard about mint.com on either the clark howard show or in the paper. mint.com is a free website that you can go to to prepare a personal budget. of course, you log in, you create a password, a user i.d. and when i logged in, the website asked for my bank name first. my routing number and then my user i.d. and my password to my bank account and that's where i immediately stopped and you know, can't do this. my question is, is mint.com a safe and secure website to use when preparing a personal budget? >> tasha, you're on to

something. i do use mint.com. but, yes, there is a risk. because you are in fact coughing up your passwords. if you go read their security briefing, they'll tell you, all the things they do to try to make your information safe. but nowhere there does it say if they have a breach that they're going to cough up your dough if there's a problem. but they give you alerts that let you know later, hey, there's a big transaction going on in your account. is this okay? so that you are able over time to monitor what's going on. and speaking of monitoring, for you, if you are trying to track your dough, i want you to know,

i love mint.com. i love their competitor, wasabi.com, because with these sites, you can track all your income, all your outgo and all your assets, so you're able to see where you can trim expenses, where you need to beef up your savings and your retirement dough. collette is with us, i want to welcome you, how are you doing? >> caller: fine, thank you, clark. thank you so much for taking my call. >> yes, ma'am, how can i be of service? >> caller: i'm calling to get advice from you. my 9-year-old daughter had an accident in 2006? >> is she okay? >> caller: yes, she is, thank you. and we just had a court settlement and i just wanted to ask the best way to save this money for her. >> did the court specify a purpose for the money for your daughter? >> caller: no, that it just has to be for her. >> and how old is she now? >> caller: she's nine. >> what would loo like the purpose of this money to be? >> caller: to save it for her in an account which she could use it for school or maybe later in life for her first home or something like that. >> so pretty far down the road? >> caller: yes, yes. >> and the total amount that you have after taxes? >> caller: it's $17,250.

>> most often, what happens when somebody gets a settlement like this, is the lawyer who negotiated it for you will try to hook you up with an insurance person who wednesday sell an annuity for your daughter. and what i prefer instead is that because your daughter is only nine, and the goal is longer-term in nature, is that you look at putting the money into a mutual fund for your daughter. in her case, there's one in particular that i would like you to look at. that is what's known as a tax-managed portfolio. what that will do is put the money into this mix of stocks and bonds. and there will be no tax that she will owe in the years up until the point that she's an adult. and only at the time that she

would sell, would she owe tax. but the way it's set up, the tax that she would owe is tiny, if any, at the time she would need access to the money. next, on "clark howard" -- >> caller: we're looking at these self-directed iras, supposedly you can put real estate in them. >> that is something that just freaks me out. that is such a smart way to handle car-buying, which means that you will never owe more on the car than it's worth and you will own it free and clear without any monthly payment for years and years.

ed is with us. ed, how are you? >> caller: good afternoon, very well. and you? >> wonderful, thank you. >> caller: i need your advice in an area that's a little bit confusing. and that is, self-directed iras. my wife and i have accumulated a little bit of money in regular iras, not roth.

and we've had them in cds and they're not paying much right now. >> the money accumulated, is it money that you're going to need to live on in the next ten years, 20 years, or never? >> we want to live off the income from the ira. >> starting how soon? >> caller: well we're starting to eat into the principal right now because of the low interest rate. we're looking at these self-directed iras, that supposedly you can put real estate in them. >> that is something that -- just freaks me out. >> caller: they are scary. >> what are you thinking of doing in terms of real estate? are you thinking of owning real estate inside that ira? >> buying a condo in a resort area, the kind that you can rent out. >> owning an investment property inside an ira really costs you in so many ways, because real estate is best owned in a taxable way. because there are so many tax

advantages to owning it. you know, in an ira -- and if you have somebody handle the self-directed aspect of you actually owning actively-managed real estate in one, you pay a lot of fees for that. there is a way for you to diversify into real estate without having to actually own and manage. and that is, in your self-directed ira, you can own a real estate mutual fund. if you look at the tax advantages to owning that as a taxable asset, you won't consider any further at all, owning that inside an ira. and hello, how are you? >> caller: good, thanks for taking my call. >> sure. >> caller: i love your show. >> thank you very much.

>> caller: i do have a question. my husband and i are looking at buying a new car. and the money factor has incentives going on right now. either you get cash back or you get zero percent for 36 months. and i'm trying to hear from you what is the better way to go. >> well, there is no one right answer on that. because if you were to get zero percent financing versus what you might be able to get at a credit union. are you a credit union member? >> caller: i'm not, but i'm preapproved for a loan under 4%. >> if you compare and you have to run the numbers on this. you do an amortization schedule where you figure out which is actually going to be the cheaper for you. some of the easiest calculators, you'll find some available for

cars on edmonds.com. and then you'll be able to see exactly which of the two alternatives would be cheaper. normally, on a short loan cycle like that, with you getting such a cheap, cheap rate from whichever lending source you found under 4%, you'll usually do better taking the $2,000 off whichever lending source you found at the under 4%, you'll usually do better taking the $2,000 off and taking out the low cost loan. and did you know you're a genius? >> i am? >> yes. for taking out a three-year loan. >> caller: oh, thank you. >> now, if you went back 40 years ago, the only loans people ever took out were three-year car loans. and we've gotten away from that. but that is such a smart way to handle car buying. because it means that you will never owe more on the car than what it's worth. and it means you will own it free and clear without any monthly payment for years and years and years. good for you.

i've had so many calls from people who were just absolutely fit to be tied by the notices they're getting from their credit card company. credit card companies are racing new legislation that takes full effect in february of next year that restricts when a credit card company can raise interest rates on you and when they can change terms and conditions on you, as well. now, they have to give you longer notices. that's already happened. well, what kind of things are credit card companies doing in advance? well, number one, they're switching how your interest rate is calculated on your credit card, moving from fixed rate offerings to variable rates. why is that significant to you? well, here's the deal. the rate that the variables work off of is something known as the prime rate. prime rate's extra low right now. when the prime rate rises, your interest rate will rise on your credit card, as well. how do you fight back against the changing interest rate.

pay off your balances. then they can't charge you. next, on clark howard. >> even if it means you have to delay finishing school for a while until you've saved up money, pay with cash, do not under any conditions take out private student loans because they are the most miserable experience.

a house emergency becomes a national emergency. president obama steps up the response to the nationwide h1n1 outbreak. the latest assessment on efforts to get enough vaccines to the public. one of the pilots of the flight that overshot its destination by 150 miles is speaking out. what he is saying didn't happen during the flight. what does the number 350 mean to you? if demonstrators have their way, it will mean changes to offset global warming, but some of them will come at a price. how much you could end up paying. hey, there, thanks for joining us, you're watching hln

news and views. the swine flu outbreak is now a national emergency. president obama signed that declaration at the white house last night. that means medical officials can bypass certain federal requirements to fight the pandemic. the cdc said yesterday, 46 states are now facing widespread flu outbreaks. more than 1,000 people have died in the u.s. 16 million doses of h1n1 vaccine are now ready to ship. 11 million doses are available to the public now. but the cdc admits that's not enough. >> we share the frustration of people who have waited online or called the number or checked the website and haven't been able to find a place to get vaccinated. the technology we're using, although it's tried and true, is not well suited for pandemics. >> the cdc says the government has spent more than $2 billion trying to develop a new method of vaccine production. so what really happened on northwest airlines flight 188 when it overshot the airport where it was supposed to land? well, the answer to that

question is even murkier today after the flight's co-pilot has spoken out. the jet left san diego wednesday night, but ended up flying past its minneapolis destination by more than 150 miles. now, along the way, air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilots for about an hour. by the time the pilots responded, the flight was over wisconsin. investigators are looking into whether the pilots were distracted or maybe fell asleep. here's what the flight's co-pilot told our affiliate kgw. >> nobody was asleep in the cockpit. and no arguments took place, but other than that, i cannot tell you anything that went on because we're having hearings this weekend, having hearings on tuesday. all that information will come out then. >> no arguments took place? that's the statement that's out there all over the place. >> there was no arguments at all in the cockpit. that wasn't even an issue. absolutely not. >> co-pilot richard cole says he doesn't really know the other pilot that well. he calls the entire episode a nightmare.

but says passengers were never in any danger. passengers on flight 188 say there was no indication of any trouble. >> we were just, you know, completely under the impression that it was just air traffic and that minneapolis airport was not giving us clearance to land and that basically we were just going to fly around until they allowed us to do so. and that's what we all believed. if any of us had known, i'm sure we would've been in a complete state of panic. i think it's better we didn't know. but i'm glad that they were at least trying to look out for us because i don't think the pilots were. >> at one point, the military scrambled to launch four fully armed f-16 fighters, but before they could get off the ground, contact was made with that plane. 188 carried 144 passengers and a crew of five. 350 is a number you'll be seeing more of in the future. 350.org has made it their

slogan. the group supports climate legislation that would reduce carbon emissions to 350 parts per million. and today, they organized rallies across the world. sidney australia thousands gathered to form a human chain to spell out the number 350. members in taiwan also gathered to make the number 350. last week the country's government backed down from proposals for a new carbon tax. they chanted the slogan as they took part in a massive bike ride in beijing. others featured rallies on a mountain and a dance performance on a glacier in tibet. but not all of the events took place on solid ground, 350 demonstrators got together at australia's great barrier reef to send their message out. experts agree we'll be digging into our pockets to pay for any legislation to reduce greenhouse gases. but how much? turns out the cost could be negligible. it could add about $100 per year

to the cost of an average home energy bill. but some of the studies warn the increase could be as much as $3,000. senate hearings on this bill begin next week. so is there really a solid case to be made that the earth is getting warmer? well, most americans think so, but those numbers are falling. a new study from the two research center finds only 57% of americans think there is solid evidence of global warming. that number is down 20 points from just three years ago. just two days after police and military scramble to look for a boy thought to be trapped in a balloon, the boy's mother apparently told authorities the whole thing was a hoax. court documents released yesterday show mayumi heene told investigators she and her husband knew her 6-year-old son was hiding the entire time and also told their children to lie to authorities and the media about this. >> i really do hope that cooler heads prevail. this really does seem like the misdemeanor of making a false police report.

i certainly think it's a bad thing to tell your children to lie to the authorities, to tell your children to lie to meredith vieira and wolf blitzer, that's very much to be discouraged. but i also think, you know, it's a very big deal in this culture -- country to take children away from their parents. and based on what i've seen, this does not rise to that level. >> the heenes supposedly took about two weeks to put the plan together. they could be charged sometime next week. a grieving florida community is not forgetting the little girl whose body was found in a georgia landfill. neighbors held another vigil for the family of 7-year-old somer thompson last night. her mother and neighbors sang her favorite song. "you are my sunshine." investigators found somer's body on wednesday. she'd been missing since monday. police have not made any arrests yet, but they've ruled out all 161 sex offenders who live within five miles of the little girl's suburban jacksonville home. investigators are not revealing how she died.

a strong mid-ocean earthquake hit near indonesia today. this one was centered about 86 miles below the ocean floor. the survey says it had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0. the nearest land is about 140 miles, it's an aland of the south. no tsunami warning was issued. indonesia has been rocked by a series of strong quakes since last month, including a powerful quake that killed more than 1,000 people on the island of sumatra. a newly discovered nuclear facility in iran goes under the microscope starting today. state media reports international inspectors are on a three-day mission to make sure the site is only being used for peaceful purposes. this is coming after iranian officials said they needed more time to decide if they'll agree to a new deal offered by the united nations. the deal would have iran send all of the low enriched uranium sent to other countries for more enrichment and then it could go back to iran for medical uses.

we are getting word about a suspected u.s. drone attack in pakistan. local officials there say two missiles hit a village near pakistan's border with afghanistan killing 25 people. it is not clear if those people were militants or civilians. pakistani military and political officials say that a militant hide out was hit. now, the u.s. doesn't comment on strikes like this, but it is the only country with the presence in the region that is known to be able to fire missiles from remote control drones. the attacks have caused friction with pakistan's government. a driver in a rush hour accident is lucky to be alive today. passing motorists not only stopped just in time to help him, but one caught his truck exploding on camera.

taugs talking about getting there in the nick of time, several drivers raced the pull the driver out just before the truck exploded. someone recorded that fire with a cell phone camera, as you can

see. the accident happened just outside st. louis during rush hour yesterday. the driver got out without any major injuries. a raging fire in puerto rico that's been burning for more than 24 hours shows no signs of slowing down. a powerful explosion shook a fuel storage complex yesterday with a force of a 2.8 earthquake. rain is expected today, but that could mix with the smoke and cause acid rain. officials are urging people to stay home. one person was hospitalized. at least 350 people evacuated. the governor says puerto rico has enough gas to last 24 days. officials don't know yet what caused the explosion, but the fbi is investigating graffiti that referred to a fire. we want to share some amazing pictures sent to us by a cnn i-reporter this week. these came to us by paul farmer. an apartment complex on fire in edmund, oklahoma. now the fire happened earlier this the month. the brand new building still

under construction, no one was living there yet. paul happens to be a freelance photographer, when he heard about the blaze, he went to see the building, he says the fire was so big folks across the city could see it for miles. paul reports that workers left the construction site about 5:00 p.m. and that no one noticed the fire. about an hour later, fire crews arrived and the building was engulfed. he says crews worked through the morning to put that fire out. investigators still trying to find out what started the blaze. now, if you see news happening around you, we invite you to share it at ireport.com, and upload pictures and videos and tell us what's happening. but as always, please never put yourself in harm's way. all registered sex offenders in the city of huntsville, alabama, now have plans for halloween. because the city is hosting a mandatory meeting for them on halloween evening between 5:30 and 9:00 p.m. the meeting is slated e ed to place when the trick-or-treating is going on.

they will review laws. and the paper goes on the meeting is meant to encourage accountability and behavior changes in sex offenders. people are still talking about the man who held up a loan office then dropped to his knees and prayed with his victim. >> i knew i was in that situation for a reason. and i'm just trying to figure out what that reason is. >> the so-called praying robber is talking about what drove him to commit the crime.

police in chat ham, new jersey, say people need to be extra vigilant. the reverend ed hines was found dead in his church's rectory yesterday. his killing is the small town's first violent death in 20 years. the priest was last seen thursday night right after a safety seminar at that church. other than saying he was a victim of a homicide, authorities are saying very little about this crime. >> mainly focussed on part of

his body and some wounds on his back. there was a fight that proceeded it. and again, there's blood spatter in various locations of the kitchen and different areas of the wall and floor inside the location. >> there have been no arrests, but police are questioning witnesses. there are some things you should never try to do. and police in new york say this is one of them. check out the surveillance video from a gas station in new york. two men armed with a shotgun armed, only to have the convenience store clerk grab the gun away from them. >> i get the gun, and next thing you know, i say i shoot you now and he's running and i'm running too. >> the clerk said he'd been robbed twice before and wasn't going to be a victim again. the indianapolis man known as the praying robber is explaining just how he ended up praying with the store's clerk. the clerk he's accused of trying to rob. the whole scene caught on surveillance video.

emily longnecker has more on the suspect who turned himself in. >> i knew i was in that situation for a reason. and i'm just trying to figure out what that reason is. >> reporter: and while he sits behind bars, gregory smith has nothing but time to try and figure out why and how a woman he'd never met was antibiotble g him to his knees and pray. >> i felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders at that point. >> reporter: smith says he was desperate to keep his family from being evicted from their home. >> i would have never resorted to this under any other circumstances. >> reporter: he said he'd been unemployed for over a year, unable to find a job. >> a lot of people have had that thought go through their head too. it's just that i was dumb enough to react on it and actually tried to do it. >> reporter: but police say it wasn't smith's first try. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> just got robbed. >> reporter: you're listening to a 911 call made last thursday

from a loan office. >> he was acting like he was trying to get a loan and pulled a gun and told me to go back to the back. >> reporter: smith says he's admitted to robbing the loan office, it was his 23rd birthday. >> if you talk to anyone who knows me, they would tell you this is not me at all. >> reporter: but smith's criminal record says something else. he was already on probation for auto theft and receiving stolen property last september. >> just asking for forgiveness at this point. >> do you think you deserve forgiveness? >> at this point, i don't know. >> reporter: but smith says he's ready to face the consequences for his actions. >> you a changed man? >> i'm thinking i just got to figure out a way to do what i need to do to get myself back on track. >> reporter: smith says this moment on his knees with angie montez was the first step. channel 13, eyewitness news. you're probably about to ask, what was he thinking? an assistant high school football coach is charged with

pulling a knife on one of his team's players at practice and threatening him. and then investigators say christopher michael campbell told players don't try me today. it happened at a high school in lakeland, florida, according to authorities. campbell has been charged with assault with deadly weapon without intent to kill, plus exhibiting a weapon within 1,000 feet of a school property. no one was hurt. now, to some of the stories we'll be covering for you in the week ahead. it'll be jon and kate plus a divorce judge monday. the reality show stars are scheduled to appear at a hearing in pennsylvania. now, if you text or eat or chat on the phone behind the wheel, you might be interested in what's being said wednesday when congress holds a hearing on distracted driving. then on thursday, former cop drew peterson will be in court in illinois, accused of killing his third wife. his fourth wife is missing. more than 100 american banks have failed this year. regulators announced seven new bank closures yesterday, including in nepals, florida.

that brings a total to 106 banks. this top 12 entries from this month alone. yesterday's bank shutdowns are expected to cost the insurance fund more than $356 million, those are all regional banks that did not receive help from the federal government. this year's bank closures are the highest tally since 1992. it is taking a lot longer for auto recyclers to depose of those trade-ins. the cars are supposed to be crushed or shredded within six months to the date, but recyclers say when it was expanded to sell more cars, congress didn't extend the deadline to get rid of the gas guzzle guzzlers. they say it takes time to remove spare parts such as transmissions, starters, and ignitions. this year's wet weather is making for a late harvest in parts of the corn belt. the agriculture department predicts a record soybean harvest this year and the second

largest corn harvest on record. much of that will come from iowa. but here's the catch, the ground is too wet for the heavy combines used to harvest the grain also making the corn and soybeans too wet to store safely after the harvest. in some areas, farmers are weeks behind schedule. would you be willing to put your heart, your all into a project that might last no longer than a day? well, chalk painters do it for the love of art, street art. what one of them told an i-reporter about that passion.

a health emergency becomes a national emergency as president obama steps up the response to the h1n1 outbreak. in the meantime, health officials get the latest assessment on efforts to get enough vaccines to the public. one of the pilots of the flight that overshot its destination by 150 miles is speaking out. what he is saying didn't happen during the flight. what does the number 350 mean to you? if demonstrators around the world have their way, it will mean changes to offset global warming. but some of them will come at a price. how much you could end up paying. hey there, thanks for joining us, you're watching hln

kn news and views. the swine flu outbreak is a national emergency. president obama signed that declaration at the white house last night. that means medical officials can now bypass certain federal requirements to fight the pandemic. the cdc said yesterday 46 states are now facing widespread flu outbreaks. more than 1,000 people have died in the u.s. 16 million doses of h1n1 vaccine are now ready to ship, 11 million doses are available to the public now. but the cdc admits that's not enough. >> we share the frustration of people who have waited online or called the number or checked the website and haven't been able to find a place to get vaccinated. the technology we're using although it's tried and true is not well suited for pandemics. >> the cdc says the government has spent more than $2 billion trying to develop a new method of vaccine production. the swine flu outbreak is now a national emergency. president obama signed that declaration at the white house last night. that means medical officials can

now bypass certain federal requirements to fight the pandemic. the cdc said yesterday 46 states are now facing widespread flu outbreaks. more than 1,000 people have died in the u.s. 16 million doses of h1n1 vaccine are now ready to ship. 11 million doses are now available to the public. but the cdc admits that's not enough. >> we share the frustration of people who have waited online or called the number or checked the website and haven't been able to find a place to get vaccinated. the technology that we're using, although it's tried and true is not well suited for pandemics. >> the cdc says the government has spent more than $2 billion trying to develop a new method of vaccine production. so what really happened on northwest airlines flight 188 when it overshot the airport where it was supposed to land? well, the answer to that question is even murkier today after the flight's co-pilot has spoken out. the jet left san diego wednesday night but ended up flying past its minneapolis destination by

more than 150 miles. now, along the way, air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilots for about an hour. by the time the pilots responded, the flight was over wisconsin. investigators are looking into whether the pilots were distracted or fell asleep. here's what the flight's co-pilot told our affiliate kgw. >> nobody was asleep in the cockpit and no arguments took place. but other than that, i cannot tell you anything that went on because we're having hearings this weekend, having hearings on tuesday. all that information will come out then. >> no arguments took place? that's the statement that's out there all over the place. >> there was no arguments at all in the cockpit. that wasn't even an issue. absolutely not. >> co-pilot richard cole says he doesn't really know the other pilot that well. he calls the entire episode a nightmare. but says passengers were never in any danger. passengers on flight 188 say there was no indication of any trouble.

>> we were just, you know, completely under the impression that it was just air traffic and that minneapolis airport was not giving us clearance to land and that basically we were just going to fly around until they allowed us to do so. and that's what we all believed. if any of us had known that was going on, i'm sure the entire flight would have been in a complete state of panic. but i think it's better we didn't know. but i'm glad that they were at least trying to look out for us because i don't think the pilots were. >> at one point the military scrambled to launch four fully armed f-16 fighters. but before they could get off the ground, contact was made with that plane. northwest flight 188 carried 144 passengers and a crew of five. 350 is a number you'll probably be seeing a lot more of in the future. the international environmental group 350.org has made it their slogan. the group supports climate legislation that would reduce carbon emissions to 350 parts per million. and today, they organized rallies across the world.

sidney, australia, thousands gathered at the opera house to form a human chain to spell out the number 350. demonstrators in taiwan also gathered to make the number 350, last week the country's government backed down to proposals for a new carbon tax. cyclists chanted slogans as they took part in a mass bike ride through the streets of beijing. other demonstrations featured a rally on a mountain and a dance performance on a glacier in tibet. but not all the events were on solid ground, 350 demonstrators got together at australia's great barrier reef to send their message out. experts agree we'll be digging into our pockets to pay for any legislation to reduce greenhouse gases. but how much? turns out the cost could be negligible. a new study finds a bill in congress right now would add about $100 a year to the cost of an average home energy bill. but some studies by the energy industry itself warns it could be as much as $3,000. senate hearings on this bill begin next week.

so, is there really a solid case to be made that the earth is getting warmer? well, most americans think so, but those numbers are falling. a new study from the research center finds only 57% of americans think there is solid evidence of global warming. that number is down 20 points from just three years ago. just two days after police and military scramble to look for a boy thought to be trapped in a balloon, the boy's mother apparently told authorities the whole thing was a hoax. court documents released yesterday show mayumi heene told investigators she and her husband knew their 6-year-old son falcon was hiding the entire time. also said the heenes told their children to lie to authorities and the media about this. >> i really do hope that cooler heads prevail. this really does seem like the misdemeanor of making a false police report. i certainly think it's a bad thing to tell your children to lie to the authorities, to tell your children to lie to meredith

vieira and wolf blitzer. but i also think, you know, it's a very big deal in this culture -- country to take children away from their parents. and based on what i've seen, this does not rise to that level. >> the heenes supposedly took about two weeks to put the plan together. they could be charged sometime next week. a grieving florida community is not forgetting the little girl whose body was found in a georgia landfill. neighbors held another vigil for the family of 7-year-old somer thompson last night. her mother and neighbors sang her favorite song, you are my sunshine. investigators found somer's body on wednesday. she'd been missing since monday. police have not made any arrests yet, but they've ruled out all 161 sex offenders who lived within five miles of the little girl's suburban jacksonville home. investigators are not revealing how she died. a strong mid-ocean earthquake hit near indonesia today. this one was centered about 86

miles below the ocean floor. the u.s. geological survey said it had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0. the nearest land is about 140 miles, it's an island to the south. no tsunami warning was issued. indonesia has been rocked since last month, including a powerful quake that killed more than 1,000 people on the island of sumatra. a newly discovered nuclear facility in iran goes under the microscope, starting today. state media reports international inspectors on a three-day mission to make sure the site is only being used for peaceful purposes. this is coming after iranian officials said they needed more time to decide if they'll agree to a new deal offered by the united nations. the deal would have iran send all the low enriched uranium produced in iran to other countries for more enrichment, then it could go back to iran for medical uses. we are getting word about a suspected u.s. drone attack in pakistan. local officials there say two missiles hit a village with

afghanistan killing 25 people. it is not clear if those people were militants or civilians. pakistani military and political officials say a militant hide out was hit. now the u.s. doesn't comment on strikes like this, but it is the only country with the presence in the region that is known to be able to fire the missiles from remote control drones. the attacks have caused friction with pakistan's government. a driver in a rush hour accident is lucky to be alive today. passing motorists, not only stopped just in time to help him, but one caught his truck exploding on camera.

talk about getting there in the nick of time. several drivers who saw a truck hit a guardrail raced to pull the driver out just before the truck exploded. someone recorded that fire with a cell phone camera as you can see, the accident happened just outside st. louis during rush

hour yesterday. the driver got out without any major injuries. a raging fire in puerto rico that's been burning for more than 24 hours shows no signs of slowing down. a powerful explosion shook a fuel storage complex yesterday with a force of a 2.8 earthquake. rain is expected today, but that could mix with the smoke and cause acid rain. officials are urging people to stay home. one person was hospitalized, at least 350 people evacuated. the governor says puerto rico has enough gas to last 24 days. officials don't know yet what caused the explosion, but the fbi is investigating graffiti it found that referred to a fire. we want to share some amazing pictures sent to us by a cnn i-reporter this week. these come to us from paul farmer. and you're looking at an apartment complex on fire in edmond, oklahoma. no one was living there yet. paul happens to be a freelance

photographer. he went to see the building about a mile from his home. said the fire was so big, folks across the city could see it for miles. paul reports that workers left the construction site about 5:00 p.m. and that no one noticed the fire. about an hour later, fire crews arrived and the building was engulfed. he says crews worked through the morning to put that fire out. investigators trying to figure out what started the blaze. now, if you see news happening around you, we invite you to share it with cnn at i-report.com and you can upload pictures and videos and tell us what's happening. but as always, please never put yourself in harm's way. all registered sex offenders in the city of huntsville, alabama, now have plans for halloween. because the city is hosting a mandatory meeting for them on halloween evening between 5:30 and 9:00 p.m. the meeting is slated to take place when most of the city's kids will be trick-or-treating. the educational program will review both state and federal sex offender laws. the paper goes on to say that

the meeting is meant to encourage accountability and behavior changes in sex offenders. people are still talking about the man who held up a loan office, then dropped to his knees and prayed with his victim. >> me and her were in this situation for a reason. and i'm just trying to figure out what that reason is. >> the so-called praying robber is now talking about what drove him to commit the crime.

police in chatham, new jersey, say people need to be extra vigilant as tray track the killer of a reverend. his killing is the small town's first violent death in 20 years. the priest was last seen alive thursday night right after a safety seminar at that church. other than saying he was a victim of a homicide, authorities are saying very little about this crime. >> mainly focussed part of his body and some wounds on the back. there was a fight that proceeded it, but it was in a very

localized area. and again, there's blood spatter in various locations of the kitchen. >> in different areas of the wall and the floor inside the location. >> there have been no arrests, but police are questioning witnesses. the man known as the praying robber says he was desperate when he held up a loan office. gregory smith was caught on security cameras dropping to his knees as his victim prayed for him and even hugged him. he said he was desperate to keep his family from being evicted from their home and has been unable to find a job for more than a year. >> a lot of people have had to go through their head too, though. it's just that i was dumb enough to react on it and actually tried to do it. if you talk to anybody who knows me, they'll tell you that this is not me. >> police say this is not smith's first offense. they say he admitted to robbing another loan office and on probation for auto theft. smith says he's ready to face the consequences for his actions. there are some things you should never try to do. and police in new york say this

is one of them. check out the surveillance video from a gas station in new york. two men armed with a shotgun try to rob a convenience store clerk only to have him grab the gun away from them. >> i get the gun and first thing you know, shock. and i say, you know, i shoot you now, you shoot me, i shoot you. he's running and i'm running too. >> the clerk said he'd been robbed twice before and wasn't going to be a victim again. you're probably about to ask what was he thinking? an assistant high school football coach is charged with pulling a knife on one of his team's players at practice and threatening him and then investigators say christopher michael campbell told players don't try me today. it happened at a high school in lakeland, florida, according to authorities. campbell has been charged with assault of a deadly weapon without intent to kill, plus exhibiting a weapon within 1,000 feet of a school property. no one was hurt. it is taking a lot longer for auto recyclers to dispose of

those trade-ins from the popular cash for clunkers program. the cars are supposed to be crushed or shredded within six months to the date the vehicle leaves the dealership. but when the program was expanded to sell more cars, congress didn't extend the deadline to get rid of the gas guzzlers. they say it takes time to drain the fluids, remove spare parts such as transmissions. they're asking for another six months to get the job done. did you know hurricane katrina devastated new orleans in 2005, lives were lost, families separated, entire neighborhoods destroyed. also victims in that, small businesses. and getting those businesses up and running again has been vital to the recovery of new orleans. rock 'n bowl is one of those businesses. cnn's sean callebs has the story. >> reporter: it's a bowling

alley, restaurant, and a place known for its live music. it's also a beacon of like in new orleans and proof that businesses can return and make it. >> my name is john blancher and this is my turn name is john bl this is my turn-around story. >> reporter: blancher did what he does best. >> i think it was a combination of faith, family, friends, and goodwill from a lot of people that wanted to help me and wanted rock n bowl to not die. >> reporter: so they pitched did and so did this non-profit. >> we were tasked with going through the community, through the streets to find the true change-makers.

the ept ntrepreneurs that reall make an impact. >> i got a $2500 grant. >> the rest of the money came from insurance. $50,000 later and only six weeks after katrina, rock n bowl was back in business. >> that first night, 700 people showed up. >> reporter: the first night john knew his business would make a turn-around. revenue is up 50%. enough to move to this new, more modern location. his hard work has take an toll. >> let me see how you fare. >> this is only the second ball i have thrown here in six months. see if i can stand on my feet.

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