>> we could be just hours away from a long awaited vote on health care reform. what president obama is saying. we are learning more about the victims of the ft. hood shooting. what family and friends are saying about the loss. the sound of a baby crying might get on your nerves sometimes but listen closely. you might hear something you do all day every day. you are watching hln. we start with the shooting trj di at ft. hood texas. an investigator says that nidal

hasan seemed almost incoherent. he never expressed anger towards the army but said something didn't seem right. he fired more than 100 rounds from two handguns. 13 people were killed and two dozen of the 38 wounded are still in the hospital. many are in intensive car. hasan who was shot four times by a police officer has been taken to brooke army medical senter in san antonio. he is in stable condition and under heavy guard. one civilian killed thursday and others were flown to delaware last night for autopsies. all across america, flags are flig at half-staff at government facilities in memory of those who died in the rampage. several communities held candle light vigils. it can be easy behind the numbeo

we want to share details. michael peerson wanted to study music. sergeant amy krueger was a high school basketball and softball player. she was one of the best people you could ever meet. and specialist jason hunt was recently married and about to he to iraq for the second time. his sister says hunt wanted to serve other people and live for something greater than himself. she was proud of her brother's bravery. >> you can expect someone who goes in the army, goes to iraq,

you are hard rned for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i want to say that because it didn't happen overseas or in a combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero. my brother was the kind of person to jump in front of a bullet for somebody. i don't know the details but i know my brother and he was very brave in this situation. president obama says people should be patient and not jump to conclusions about what promplted the attack at ft. hood. he said with the veterans' day holiday next week the country should take time to remember exactly who makes up the armed forces. >> they are americans of ever race, faith, and station. christians, muslims, jewss and non-believers. they are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves.

what they share is a patriotism like no other. what they sha is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. they share the same unflinching courage, uncommon comradery that soldiers and civiliants showed america and the world. >> the training designed to keep u.s. forces safe prevented further deaths during the ram pain. the suspect in a shooting at an orlando office tower made his first appearance in court today. in a brief hearing a judge found probably cause for the arrest. rodriguez was held without bond and he is charged with first degree murder. he shot and killed one person and wounded five others at an engineering firm. he was fired two years ago. he blamed the firm for having trouble getting unemployment benefits.

one of our i reporters has a unique perspective on the orlando shooting. from the balcony of her apartment, she was right there. heath heather, thank you for joining us. you look out and see all this of this. >> i had no idea what was going on. i adjust woken up and i opened the blinds, and there was 50, 100 rescue teams and it was very scary when i did not know what was going on. when i found out later what was going on, i was not that scared. i was actually probably more protected than anybody else. i was surrounded by s.w.a.t. team and secret service. >> and you found out by watching tv? you were watching outside and watching the television?

>> caller: i opened the blinds and saw all of the policemen and i turned on the tv and i was watching the live interviews that were being conducted five stories below me. i was standing on my balcony watching it all. >> did you know anyone who was there who was involved who worked there? >> caller: i didn't. i honest lly didn't know that company existed. there are a bunch of companies in that one building. i have never been in the building but i look at it every single day. >> so that's a story that hits right home with you. and how long did you -- were you in your apartment for a long time? were you able to get in and out? >> caller: i was on lock down. i woke up at 12:15 and i was already on lock down. i think everybody started happening maybe 15, 0 minutes before i woke up. when i woke up i was on lock

down and i was on lock down for about two more hours after that. late last night, 9:00 i got home from the store there were still policemen out there, reporters, big tv towers. so it just -- it did not end. >> already. thank you so much for sharing with us your experience of you from right there right near the shooting. thank you. >> thank you. if you have got pictures or video of breaking news or maybe just a great story from your part of the world, send them to us and share them. click the upload link and you will find everything you need to know to send in your stories. the u.s.s. new york is commissioned today. it has not sailed its first mission but it already has a piece of history on board that pays tribute to the 9/11 victims.

a special shelter in mexico is providing care for low income children who have cancer and it is giving them a lot more than just medical help. we have today's vital signs. >> reporter: this is a house of friendship to mexico's youngest cancer patients. this woman has volunteered here for over 15 years. it provides housing and help for families with cancer stricken children. the children and their families are invited to stay free of charge for as long as they need

treatment at nearby hospitals. volunteers help the time go by, meeting and playing with the children as they wait for their treatments but the home is involved many more than just facilitating treatment. daily life and a sense of normalcy is protected as much as possible. >> for more on this and other exciting advances in medicine, just go to our website, cnn.com/vitalsigns. president obama went to capitol hill today to lobby for the health care bill. a vote could comb as early as today. the president wants democrats to keep the ball rolling. he has won the support of some congressional democrats who say the health care situation is a problem that must be fixed soon. >> no bill could ever containering that everybody wants or please everybody in every district. that is impossible. but what is possible, what is in our grasp right now is the

chance to prevent a future where every day 14,000 americans continue to lose their health insurance and every year 18,000 americans die because they don't have it. the gop is sharpening attacks in a last ditch effort to derail it. republicans are so far standing you nighted in their opposition. >> not only does the pelosi health care plan increase taxes but it will grow the federal government taking more and more of our freedoms away. this proposes the creation of 110 new brew rockcies, boards and more. in the gop's weekly aggress, the plan is called to be with drawn and reworked. barbara says if it passes it will clobber small businesses

and hurt job growth. the navy commissioned its newest battle ship. the bow was forged from steel made from the world trade center. secretary of state hillary clinton and david paterson unveiled a memorial. it is al made of steel from the trade center. the firefighter who suggested the idea, using the steel to make the battleship says he got emotional the first time he saw it. >> i was driving through the yard, we were going go to the krissening and it was just -- the hair was up on the back of my head and i was shaking. to actually see that ship and know how much it meant to me and the nation. it is finally some of what we lost returned. it is very, hopefully for the family members and every that lost and the rescue crew douns there sit a healing. finally some of what we lost returns. i hope they all feel the same

way. >> scott helped the september 11 rescue efforts. he runs an online tribute to the new battleship. it was a dirty job but a 33-year-old mystery has been solved. >> he said i think i have something that belongs to you and immediately it flashed through my mind. >> the long lost treasure found by a little boy.

one of the cops credited with taking down the ft. hood gunman is becoming a hero on twitter. kim munley had just a few followers on the twitter site but in the last days hundreds of people have signed up to follow her. she is in stable condition and many people are leaving her tweets to say thank you and wishing her a fast recovery. the u.s. army says it has seen flood of support after the

tragedy. people are adding messages like such a terrible thing to happen. keep the families in your prayers tonight before you lay your head to rest in the comfort of your own home. and i am a mother of a soldier in the u.s. army and i want to say my heart goes out to all the victims and their families. and u.s. troops have long used the essential networking site to check in with loved ones. >> one of the things we have seen is that deployed soldiers and airmen and sailors are using tools like facebook to stay connected so there is a natural use to stay connected with loved ones when they are overseas and now being used in the same way here at home. >> if you want to add in your voice, say a prayer, add your own comment, go facebook.com/usarmy or twitter.

police shot and wounded a man. a police spokesman say officers went to check a car that looked similar to one that was seen after the killing. when they approached the man, he pulled a gun. he was critically injured and had surgery last night. thousands attended the memorial for the late officers. a new jersey jury convicted a man who said he was too fat to kill. his lawyers claim he was too fat to run up a flight of stairs. he weighed 280 pounds at the time. he was in a custody battle. ates plans to appeal the conviction. and a ferocious fire in massachusetts tour through a paper mill. exploding chemicals, shot debris

in the air. homeless people sometimes camp inside the building. no word on what caused the fire and no reports of any injuries. >> trr the number of u.s. banks that failed this year just climbed to 120. five more failed yesterday. if you are a customer, you can keep using your checks and debit cards. should be very smooth. they were based in california, michigan, minnesota, georgia, and missouri. this is the highest number of bank failures since 1992. the fdic said their funds are running low but that your money will be kept safe. a computer error nearly wiped out the bank accounts of 60,000 retired teachers. 189 million dollars was with drawn from retirement funds by

mistake. many retired teachers are worried about their scheduled payments, how they will get through the weekend with no money. most of the money will be returned by today and the rest should be back in teachers' accounts by monday. a price war is on. this time it's dvds just in time for the holidays. online retailers are slashing prices. walmart got the ball roling saying they would sell new dvds online for just 10 bucks. then amazon slashed and target followed suit. and walmart cut prices again to $9.98. walmart started a similar price war in books last month. so you hear a crying baby or you think you hear a crying baby. scientists hear the language of the babies' parents. new research suggests that newborns tend to cry in the same speech patterns as their

parents' native tongue. so the crying of german babies mimics german and french mimics french? the first is a german, the second a french. >> you can hear it right? the german newborn cries in falling melodies and french babies cry rises in pitch just like their respective languages t it is suggested that infants start picking up on the elements of language in the womb. you know what it's like in the job market. unemployment lines are stretching longer than ever and the government has been throwing around a lot of numbers. what do they all mean? see how a youtube star found a fun way to sort it all out.

a local muslim leader talk ed the suspect makes his first court appearance. we will talk to someone who witnessed the chaos from her apartment balcony. and the u.s.s. new york commissioned today. it has already got a piece of history on board that pays tribute to the 9/11 victims. we start with the shooting tragedy at ft. hood, texas.

a investigator who had a conversation with nidal hasan. he never expressed anger towards the army but something didn't seem right about him. 13 people were killed, two dozen of the 38 people wound rd still in the hospital. many are in intensive care. hasan who was shot four times by a police officer has been take on the brooke army medical center in san antonio. he is in critical but stable condition and under heavy guard. the flag draped remains of those killed yesterday were flown to delaware last night. autopsies are being done there. flags are flying at half staff at government facilities across america. several held candle light

vigils. we hope to provide a little glim. 21-year-old francheska velez was pregnant. private kham xiong was 23. he was the father of three and very loving. john gaffaney was an army reservist, helping elderly victims of abuse and neglect. he really felt he could make a difference. micha michael loved his job so much he couldn't stand to be aware way. >> i got the call that he was dead but they didn't know any particulars. and then about 40 minutes later, my little sister becky called

and said he had been shot and he is gone. >> while it's not clear whether religion played in part, muslim leaders are speaking up and they are among the harshest critics ofny a dal hasan. many say they are okay with having more extensive background checks of muslim in the military. >> i don't take offense. that is a challenge. i need to fix this problem. it is better to find that out at this stage rather than to discover it when a person becomes a major and kills 13 brave soldiers. >> muslims say they faith is being hijacked by fanatics and something must be done. president obama went to capitol hill today to personally lobby for the health care bill. a vote could come as early as today in the house. president obama wants house democrats to keep the ball

rolling on one of his key domestic priorities. he has won the support of key democrats. >> no bill could ever contain everything that everybody wants or please everybody in every district. that is impossible. but what is possible, what is in our graps right now is the chance to prevent a future where every day 14,000 americans continue to lose their health insurance and every year 18,000 americans die because they don't have it. >> the gop is sharpening attacks on the president's plans in a last ditch effort to derail it. so far americans are standing united in their opposition. >> not only does it raise taxes and increase spending, it will vastly grow the size and power of the federal government, taking more and more of our freedoms away. the pelosi health care plan proposes the creation of 110 new

boards or programs. more taxes, more spending, and more government is not the plan for reform that the people support. >> mississippi governor called for the president's plan to be with drawn and reworked. if it passes, the bill would clobber small businesses and hurt job growth. the number of u.s. banks that failed this year just climbed to 120. five more went under yesterday. they have all been taken over by other banks. the five were based in california, michigan, minnesota, georgia, and missouri. this is the highest number of u.s. bank failures in a year since 199. the fdic says its fund that protects depos its in banks is running low but that your money will be kept safe. one of the busiest travel

days is just around the corner. >> this year the outlook will be different. prices will be lower this year than last which is great news for consumers. >> in order to get a cheaper flight, travel on an offday like thanks giving day. >> you can sign up for things like fare alerts which will e-mail you when the price of a flight to your dst nation goes down. using tools like alternate airport search can be very effective. it allows you to see air fares into several airports rather than just one. >> and know how much to spend. >> about $300 is a price point to keep in mind. if you see something in that price range, particularly on peak travel days you are doing well.

the suspect in a shooting at the oral tower made his first appearance today. rodriguez was held without bond. he is charged with first degree murder. witnesses say he shot and killed one person and wounded five others. he worked there until he was fired for poor performance. police say he blamed the girm for having trouble getting unemployment benefits. one of our i reporters had a unique perspective on the shooting from the balcony in her apartment high above the incident. heather, thank you for joining us. what was that like for you? you see all these police and emergency vehicles. where you scared? what was it like? >> caller: at first i was really scared because i had no idea what was going on.

i had just woken up and there were 50 to 100 rescue personnel. it was very scarey when i did not know what was going on. when i found out what was going on, i was not scared, i was probably more protected than anybody else. there were s.w.a.t. and secret service. >> you found out by watching tv? you were watching outside and the television at the same time? >> caller: i opened the blinds and saw all the policemen and i turned on the tv. as i was calling my bouie and i was watching the live interviews that were being connected. i was standing on my balcony watching the live report on tv as well as the live coverage on the ground. >> did you know anyone who was there, involved, who worked there? >> i didn't. i didn't know that company

existed. there is a bunch of different companies in that one building. i have never been in the building. i look at it every single day. >> wow. so that's a story that is really right home with you. and i mean, how long did you -- were you in your apartment for a long time? were you able to get in and out? >> i was on lock down. i wok up about 12:15. i was all right on lock down. i think everything started happening maybe 15, 20 minutes before i woke up. so, when i woke up i was on lock down and i was on lock down for about two more hours after that. late last night, 9:00 i got home from the store and there was still policemen out there, reporters, tv towers. so, it just -- it did not end. >> all right. thank you so much for sharing with us your experience of you right there near the orlando

shooting. thank you, heather. >> caller: thank you. >> if you have pictures or video of breaking news, send them to us and share them. click the upload link at ireport.com and you will find everything you need to know to send in your stories. a new jersey jury has convicted a man who said he was too fat to kill. he weighed 284 pounds at the time. he was in a custody badle. ates plans to appeal the murder conviction. take a look at these pictures. a firer to through an abandoned paper mill last night. caused the roof to kaef in. made things very tough for the fire crews. the building's maintenance man says homeless people sometimes camp inside the building. no word on what caused the fire and no reports of any injuries.

our beyond the surface report takes you to a topic that you usually want to avoid -- bad breath. a big concern among patients, obviously, is bad breath. it is really the bacteria that causes in part the bad breath. gum disease is the real culprit for really bad breath. you are smelling the bacteria. perhaps the crown is looss. i have gotten many concerned parents ask me well my child's breath is awful. if you see two big golf balls, t the tonsils harbor bacteria. peroxide usually diluted 50/50

with water is a good mouth rinse. also brush your tongue. any areas that may harbor bacteria.

the navy commissioned its newest battleship today. the bow on the u.s.s. new york was forged from steel from the world trade center. the memorial is also made of steel from the trade center. the firefighter who suggested the idea using steel from the twin towers to make the battleship says he got emotional the first time he saw it. >> i was driving through the ya yard. the hair was up on the back of my head. i was shaking and just to actually see that hip, not only to me, but to the nation.

it is finally some of what we lost returned. and it's very hopefully for the family members and everybody that lost and the rescue crews down there it is a healing. finally some of what we lost returned. >> scott helped the september 11 rescue efforts. he runs the website uss new york.com. >> one of the cops credited with taking down the ft. hood gunman is a hero. as the news came out about her role in stopping the massacre, hundreds of people signed up to follow her on twitter. many people are leaving her tweets to say thank you and wishing her a fast recovery. the u.s. army has seen a flood of support after the ft. hood tragedy. people are adding messages like

such a tragedy. keep the families in your prayers tonight before you lay your head to rest in the comfort of your own home. and i am a mother of a soldier in the u.s. army and my heart goes out to all the victims. my prayers are with you all. and u.s. troops have long used the social networking site to check in with loved ones. >> one of the things we have seen through the wars in after zban and iraq is that deployed solars are using tools like facebook to stay connected so there is a natural use of facebook in the military to stay connected with loved ones when they are overseas. now being used in the same way here at home. >> if you want to add in your voice, say a prayer, go facebook.com/army or twitter.com/forthood. a computer error nearly

wiped out the bank accounts of retired new york city teachers. $189 million was with drawn from retirement funds by mistake. many retired teachers are worried about their scheduled payments. how will they get through the weekend? a spokesman says most of the money will be returned by today and the rest will be back in teachers' accounts. a price war is on. and it is just in time for the holidays. walmart said they would sell new dvds online for just 10 bucks. amazon slashed to $9.99 and target followed suit. then walmart cut prices again to $9.98. walmart started a similar war on books last month. so you hear a crying baby or

you think you hear a crying baby. scientists hear the voice of the babies' parents. babies tend to cry in the same speech wom s mimics the german babies. the first baby crying is a german baby, the second a french baby. the german newborn cry rises and falls. scientists suggests that infants start picking up on some of the elements of language even in the womb. a stolen vw van was found amount

it only took 35 years. the company shipping the blue van didn't know it was stolen. it was taken from an auto shop in spokane, washington in 1974. a customs official says it was probably worth a few money dread bucks back then. now it's worth about $27,000. you know what it's like in the job market, unemployment lines are stretching longer than ever and the government's been throwing around a lot of numbers, what do they all mean? see how a youtube star found a fun way to try and sort it all out.

some stories we'll be covering for you in the next few days. monday marks 21 years since the fall of the berlin wall. hillary clinton will attend a celebration in berlin.

we could be just hours away from a long-awaited vote on health care reform. what president obama is saying after a last-minute meeting with house democrats. we're learning more about the victims of the ft. hood shooting, what family and trends say about the loss of some pretty remarkable people. the sound of a baby crying might get on your nerves sometimes. but listen closely. you might hear something you do all day every day. you're watching hln. we start with the shooting tragedy at ft. hood, texas. here's what we know. a local muslim leader says in a recent conversation with suspect

major nadal hasan. he seemed incorps hent. he said something didn't seem right about him. investigators say hasan fired more than 100 rounds from two handguns yesterday. 13 people were killed. two dozen of the 38 people wounded are still in the hospital, many are in intensive care, hasan who was shot four times by a police officer has been taken to brook army medical center in san antonio, he's in critical but stable condition and is under heavy guard. the flag draped caskets of the soldiers killed were flown to dover air force base and autopsies aring the bone there. all across america flags are being flown at half staff. several texas communities held candle light vigils. it can be easy to lose sight of people behind the numbers when the death toll is so high.

we want to share some details about some of the lives lost. 21-year-old private michael pierson wanted to study music theory. his brother said pierson was truly living life when he played his get card. sergeant amy krueger joined the military after the 9/11 attacks. her friends say she was one of the best people you could ever meet. his family says he was excited to be deploying to afghanistan in january. and specialist jason hunt was recently married and about to head to iraq for the second time. hiss sister says hunt, 22 wanted to serve other people and live for something greater than himself. she told larry king on cnn that she was proud of his brother's

bravery. >> larry: okay you're hardened for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i just want to say that because it didn't happen overseas or it didn't happen in a combat situation didn't make him any less than a hero. because my brother was the kind of person to jump in a front of a bullet for somebody, i don't know the details, but i know my brother and he was very brave in this situation. >> president obama says people should be patient and not jump to conclusions about what prompted the attack at ft. hood. with the veterans day holiday next week, the country should remember exactly who makes up the armed forces. >> they are minnesotas of ever race, faith and station. they are descend wants of immigrants and immigrants themselves. they reflect the diversity that makes this america.

but what they share is a patriotism like no other. what they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. what they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion and uncommon comradery that soldiers and civilians showed america and showed the world. >> he also said that the training designed to keepist forces safe during active duty prevented further deaths during the rampage. the suspect in a shooting in an orlando jason rodriguez was held without bond. witnesses say he shot and killed one person and wounded five others at an engineering firm. the company says he worked there until he was fired for poor performance two years ago. police say he blamed the firm for having trouble getting unemployment benefits.

one of our ireporters had a unique perspective on the orlando shooting from the balcony of her apartment high above the shooting. what was that like for you? you're looking out, you see all these police, you see all these emergency vehicles, were you scared? what was it like. >> caller: at first i was really scared, because i had no idea what was going on. i had just woken up and i opened the blinds and there were 50 or 100 rescue teams. it was very scary when i did not know what was going on, when i found out later what was going on, i wasn't that scared. i was more protected than anybody else, i was surrounded by the s.w.a.t. team and the secret service and everybody else. >> so you were watching it

outside and out the -- >> i turned on the tv, as i was calling my boyfriend and i was watching the live interviews that were being conducted five stories below me on tv, i was standing out on my balcony watching the live report on tv as well as the live broadcast on the ground. >> did you know anyone who was there who was involved who works there? >> caller: i honestly even know that company existed. there's a bunch of different companies in that one building and i have never even been in the building but i look at it every single day. >> so that's the stair that's really right home with you. and, i mean how long did you -- were you in your apartment for a long time? were you able to get in and out? >> i was in lockdown, i woke up about 12:15 and i was already on lockdown, i think everything started happening maybe 15, 20 minutes before i woke up. so when i woke up, i was on

lockdown and i was on lockdown for about two more hours after that, and even late last night, 9:00 i got home from the store, there was still policemen out there, reporters, the big tv towers, so it just -- it did not end. >> all right, heather palot, thank you so much for sharing your experience from right near that orlando shooting. thank you, heather. the u.s. "new york" is commissioned today. it hasn't sailed it's first mission yet. hear the firefighter who started this very moving project.

president obama went to capitol hill today to personally lobby for the health care bill a vote could come as early as today in the house. the white house says president obama wants to keep the ball rolling on one of his key

domestic priorities. some democrats say the health care situation is a problem that must be fixed soon. >> no bill could ever contain everything that everybody wants or please every constituency in every district. that's an impossible task. but what is possible, what's in our grasp right now is the chance to prevent a future where every day 14,000 americans continue to lose their health insurance and every year 18,000 americans die because they don't have it. >> meanwhile, the gop is sharpening it's attacks on the president's attack in a last-ditch effort to derail it. so far republicans are standing united in their opposition. >> not only does the pelosi health care plan raise taxes an increase spending, it will vastly grow the size and power of the federal government taking more and more of our freedoms away. the pelosi health care plan proposes the creation of more than 110 new bureaucracies,

boards, and programs. this is not the plan for reform the people support. >> in the gop's weekly address, mississippi governor haley basher called for the plan to be redrawn and reworked, he says it will clobber small businesses and hurt job growth. the bow on the "uss new york" was forged from steel from the new york trade center. the memorial is to the heroes of september is 1. the memorial is also made from steel from the trade center. the firefighter who suggested the idea of using steel to make the battleship says he got emotional the first time he saw it. >> we were going to go to the christening and it was just -- the hair was up on the back of my head and i was shaking just

to actually see that ship and know how much it meant not only to me but to the nation. it's finally some of what we lost returns and it's very hopefully for the family members and everybody that lost and the rescue crews down there, it's a healing, finally some of what we lost returns, i hope they all feel the same way i do. >> scott koen helped coordinate the 9/11 rescue efforts. today in shanksville they are breaking ground on the permanent 9/11 memorial. flight 93 was the plane that crashed in a shankville field on september 11. organizers plan to officially open the memorial on the 10th anniversary of the memorial in 2011. a special shelter in mexico

is providing care for low income children who have cancer and it's giving them a lot more than just medical help. dr. sanjay gupta has today's vital signs. [ speaking spanish ] >> it's name translates as a house of friendship to mexico's youngest cancer patients. hessy has volunteered here for over 12 years. the center provides housing and medicine to low income children. the children and their families are invited to stay at friendship house free of charge for as long as they need treatment at nearby mexico city hospitals. reading and playing with the children as they wait for their chemotherapy treatments. but the home is involved in more than just facilitating the medical treatment for its youngsters. daily life and a sense of normalcy is protected as much as possible.

>> for more on this and other exciting advances in medicine, just go to our website, cnn.com/vitalsigns.

one of the cops credited with taking down the ft. hood gunman is becoming a hero on twitter. early yesterday sergeant kim munley had just a few followers on the site, but as the news came out about her role in stopping the ft. hood mass chur, hundreds of people signed up to follow her on twitter. many are leaving her tweets to say thank you and wishing her a fast recovery. the u.s. army says it's even a flood of support on social network sites after the ft. hood tragedy. people are adding messages like such a terrible thing to happen to our brothers and sisters in the armed forces.

keep the families in your prayers tonight before you lay your head to rest in the comfort of your own home. and i'm a mother of a member of the u.s. army. and my prayers are with you all. an associated editor of facebook says the u.s. troops have long used the social net working site to check in with loved ones. >> one of the things that we have seen is that deployed soldiers and airmen and sailors are using things like facebook to stay connected so there's already a natural use of facebook in the military to stay connected with their loved ones overseas. >> if you want to add in your voice, say a prayer, add your own comment, go to face book.com/u.s. army, or twitter.com/forthood. jurors rejected his lawyer's claims that he was too fat to run up a flight of stairs and

shoot his former son-in-law. edward ates. take a look at these pictures, a ferocious fire in massachusetts tore through an abandoned paper mill last night. it made things very tough for the fire crews. the building's maintenance man said homeless people sometimes camp inside the building and at this time no reports of any injuries. some stories we'll be covering for you in the next few days. monday marks 20 years since the fall of the berlin wall. secretary of state hillary clinton will represent the u.s. at an elaborate ceremony in germany. washington, d.c. sniper john allen mohammad is scheduled to be executed on tuesday. ten people died during a series of shootings in 2002. and on tuesday, david letterman's accused extortionist

will be in court. j the number of u.s. banks that failed this year just climb to is 20. -- 120. five more banks failed yesterday, but they were taken over by other banks. the fife banks were based in california, michigan, minnesota, georgia and m missouri. this is the highest number of bank failures in a year since 1992. the fdic says it's fund that protects deposits in banks says it's running low, and that it will likely be in the red until 2012. online retailers are slashing prices, walmart got the ball rolling, it said it would sell new dvds on line for just

$10. then amazon slashed it's dvd prices to just 9$9.99 then walmart followed suit. so you hear a crying baby or you think you hear a crying baby. scientists hear the language of the baby's parents. new research suggests that newborns tend to cry in the same speech patterns as their parents native tongue. so the crying of germany babies mimics the german lang, the crying of french babies mimics the french language. you can kind of hear the german newborn cries in falling mellow dids, the french babes cry rises in pitch just like their

respective languages. infants start picking up on some of the elements of language even in the womb. the details of the research are in the november issue of the journal current biology. a stolen vw van, a volkswagen was finally found and it only took 35 years. customs found it in a shipping container the port of california last month. it was taken from an auto shop in spokane, washington in 1974. a customs official says it was probably worth a few hundred bucks back then, now it's worth about $27,000. it was a dirty job, but a 33-year-old mystery has been solved. she said i think i have something that belongs to you. and you know, immediately it flashed through my mind that's what it was. i couldn't believe it. >> a long lost treasure found by a little boy digging in his backyard. c they said it would never last.

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it's the longest-lasting plugins ever. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. hello, i'm gerri willis, and this is a special edition of your bottom line. could your spending limits be cut because of where you shop? and who's watching you? we'll take a peek inside your background file. and what in the world is a fusion center? answers to all those questions and more, the show that saves you money starts right now. let's begin with your credit. indispensable when it comes to getting a home, a loan or even a job. credit card issuers used to look

just at your credit scores to determine your risk, not anymore. companies will scour your spending habits and if they don't like -- kevin johnson is an entrepreneur, candidate for office. and according to american express, a credit risk, coming home from his honeymoon last year, he was shocked to find amex had cut his credit limit from over $10,000 to just $3,800. >> not a very good job of being responsible and making sure that i pay my bills on time. >> even more surprising one of the four reasons amex gave for the decision, other customers that have used their cards at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with american express. >> with more than 10% of credit

card customers defaulting on their debt, credit card issuers are trying to weed out the risky ones, how? by looking at changing in the way we shop. >> if you're shopping at a middle or upper tier retail store and suddenly it shows a purchase at a dollar store, some form of downshifting, suddenly shopping at walmart. >> those red flags could lead to a deeper look at your behavior. >> and if you suddenly started exhibiting new consumer behavior and then you've made three or four purchases in a row at a local bar that would raise some flags that maybe there's some impending financial crisis. >> for its part, amex says we don't look and never have looked at where someone shops to make a line reduction. the primary factor is someone's overall debt level. banking industry sources sacred scores are still the most important tool in predicting

consumer behavior. but those scores don't reflect sudden life changes like job loss or divorce. >> all they can do is look at the actual volumes of transactions that are coming in and see changes in that pattern. >> for kevin johnson, the experience has motivated him to get involved and perhaps change the way that banks work. >> no one should be penalized for the actions of others. >> so kevin, like many others this year, he's not alone when it comes to dealing with questionable credit card practices so what is your credit card company looking at and how can they best protect your bottom line. robert manning is the author of "credit card nation" and evan hendrix, . how much info are these companies looking at? >> the first problem is that we don't know. we know they're doing it and one of the ironies in trying to protect your privacy is the first thing you need

transparency so you do know exactly what they're looking at. we know about this american express case and we know about another subprime credit card company that was lowering limits because people were going to marriage counselors and personal counselors and places to get their tires retread. >> robert, i wanted to turn to you now, millions of us have credit cards, we make hundreds of purchases every year, how can these companies possibly keep up? >> well, the key is that the companies have been refining their cognitive behavior analysis for a long time. but the key issue was okay when we were planning to take a summer cruise. but when chargeoffs whent from 5% to 10% t same executives that didn't anticipate the recession,

sudsly panicked and looked for new tools. these tools are misapplied. they're very inaccurate. >> we were talking about merchant codes where they put numbers on certain types of purchases. help me understand that. >> in other words when you make a transaction, the consumer actually sees a statement at the end of the month of what you purchaseded. you don't understand that there's actually a code associated from the merchant you purchased it from. so if you went to a pawnshop and bought a necklace, you would see a necklace as maybe the charge, you wouldn't recognize that the code is from a pawnshop. >> can you fight back. >> well, you should not be shy about communicating with your credit card company because most of us have a choice of credit cards, like robert said, they're in panic mode right now anyway

and you can remind them that you're a good customer and that you want to know what their policies are and by the way you need to lower my interest rates because they're too high. there's a company that's doing this in denver or behalf of their customers and they're having great success.

if you're like most of us, you probably haven't given much thought to the data broker business. they track everything from past due loans to police records to determine whether their hiring decisions are sound. it sounds simple but as one georgia family found out, the

information isn't always right. >> with all the good stuff. >> a job offer with good benefits, a dream for this woman's husband that suddenly turned into a nightmare. >> he did the drug test and of course that was fine and all we needed was the background check and that was supposed to turn out fine. >> but his background check revealed two felony convictions and like that the job offer was gone. she wants her identity hidden to avoid further problems for her husband. >> we were in shock. >> in shock because the records belonged to another man with the same name and same birthday as her husband. >> how did they put these two together? how could they miss this? >> the report came from choice point, one of the nation's largest commercial data brokers, part of a multimillion dollar industry that sells your public information to public records, employers and law enforcement. most people have no clue what's in these databases that can

include incorrect or outdated information. >> let's say it was an arrest that was based on faulty information and it was resolved and there was no trial, no conviction, they still have that original arrest record that may be in the database somewhere that's being passed long repeatedly to people outside of your knowledge. >> i guess most people don't know how exposed we are. >> patrick leahy has proposed legislation to make those databases more accessible and more secure. >> i want to know what's in my records. >> choicepoint says that under the fair credit reporting acts, individuals may obtain copies of previously prepared reports about them as well as public record information used for such reports and correct such information as appropriate. the company says those corrections typically take two weeks, time, this woman says her husband didn't have. >> i called the department of justice and the fbi.

>> and her congressman who was able to get choicepoint to quickly correct the mistake. her husband got the job, but she's still concerned. >> because this will happen again, if my husband ever has to have a background check for if he ever changes jobs, that record is out there. >> so if you're trying to get that job, how can you be sure your record is accurate? joining us now is the lily coney from the private information center and back with us is evan hendrix. welcome back to you both. good to see you. evan i want to start with this, how much is this info wrong? you see that story, you see the consternation going on with that family. how often do they just have stuff that's not right. >> we don't have the research to give us really strong numbers on that, but we know it has to be pretty bad because with credit reports which is much more standardized and much more advanced than the evolution, we have a 25% to 30% error rate, with these background checks,

these companies, like choicepoint, they're not the only ones, there's a whole bunch of them. they're knuckle draggers, they'll produce a record based on a name and a date of birth match, they won't go in to see do they have the same social security number or do they live in the same state? people have been pinned with felonies because choicepoint and these background check companies are in such a hurry to sell this information that they can't bother to check to make sure the information is accurate. >> it seems like i should be able to get this report and check it in advance. >> you want to tee is report that they mail to a business. evan is absolutely right using only a birthday and a name, you're going to pull-up a lot of errors. there is an application process that choicepoint has established for it's own record system where

individuals can submit the additional information to the company and it's more information than just your name and birthday. they ask for social security and current address and they even ask if you have filed for bankruptcy or any contact with the criminal justice system. which creates another opportunity for the company if it's not using proper policies regarding privacy to take that information and add it into their records system. but it's important to see the information in order to begin the process of protecting yourself. >> can you get this info corrected? is it hard? >> you have a right to get it corrected. but choicepoint says some of the records are beyond the reach of the law. and that's why a company i'm working with and others like it are actually providing services to make it easy for people for a fee to get all these records together so they review them before they go in for that

employment application. >> coming up, you may not know what a fusion center is, but chances are your personal information is already a part of it. we'll tell you everything you need to know.

it's no secret that the government holds a lot of information on your perm life. and in the wake of 9/11 fusion centers were set up to track terrorists bringing together information from local, state and federal law enforcement. but critics say these centers

are really domestic surveillance agencies watching all of us even if we haven't violated the law. it was the morning of connecticut governor jody rels inaugural parade. >> i pulled out my camera and i just shoot about 20 shots. >> moments later he was stopped by hartford police officers, arrested and jailed. local police had been on the lookout for him after state police gave out a security bulletin with his note toe on it. officials wouldn't comment pending a civil lawsuit, but court documents reveal state police were alarmed by his blog post. who's going to protest the inaugural ball with me? and no need to make nice. >> why do i have to be nice to a political figure simply because she's been elected. >> they learn he had been a green party campaign director,

had protested a gubernatorial debate and had once been convicted for civil disobedience, he had no history of violence. a law professor says police aren't supposed to gather information on citizens who aren't suspected of a crime. >> if we're interested in someone because they're an advocate for a green party can dad and we think they're suspicious because they want to get other people to protest someone's idea but not because we think there's a true threat to their lives i think that's just troubling. >> today's law enforcement collects for information about people than ever. and much of it goes on to the state intelligence centers called fusion centers. fusion centers were -- the homeland security says they are a critical tool in keeping the nation save. >> in a typical fusion center, an fbi agent might be sitting next to a state highway patrol

officer. they didn't merely share space, they share databases and techniques. >> but what's going into those databases has critics worried. there's evidence that some fusion centers have targeted muslim groups and peace activists for surveillance. >> collecting information about people who have no rel vajsz to whether or not they are breaking the law. >> the director of new jersey's fusion center says law enforcement works hard to balance national security with individual privacy. >> we in law enforcement and certainly in fusion centers are very attuned to the bill of rights. we are not in the business of investigating first amendment or constitutionally protected rights. >> but ken thinks police in his town crossed the line. >> the police did not determine the difference between who was dangerous and who was merely expressing protected constitutional -- their constitutionally protected viewpoints. >> well, you don't have to be a

political activist to be watched these days. whether you're a blogger or just a member of a social net working si site. welcome to you both. danielle, you've spent a ton of time with fusion centers, i know people out there are wondering, oh, my gosh, should i be concerned about this? how concerning is it to the average american? >> i think it's concerning to all of us, and we're not going to know what fusion centers are going to have on each and every one of us because their practices are not transparent. and they also have very little oversight. >> i want to talk about employers, friends, social net working sites. you've got a list of do's and don'ts when it comes to social net working. tell me what i should do and what i should avoid. >> if you wouldn't say it in an

auditorium, don't say it online. don't share company information. don't overshare. >> there are also employers who are of people are asking me, it's not their right to look on my social networking site, but they do it anyway. >> they absolutely legally can. there's nothing prohibiting them to and in a sense it's smart for them to to make sure their employees aren't want -- they want people their clients want to look at and see online. as a business perspective, it makes sense for them to be looking at this information. nearly 50% of all employers readily admit that they're looking on your social network activity in assessing your employment application. >> all right,ly. i want to turn to you. it's not so simple. it's not just what i post. other people talk about you online, on the web, blog posts. there's stuff other people share about you that you seem to have no control over.

how do you take care of that to put your best face forward maybe to an employer, maybe to the federal government. >> the first thing, google yourself. see what comes up when people search on your name and clean up anything on any pages that you control -- your social networking profiles. take off any provocative photos, inappropriate comments. and any of the pages your friend control, ask them to take it down, too. you can't completely clean up your past but you can be mindful of what you post. >> all right, guys. danielle, liz. don't move. the daily assaults on your personal privacy continue. what you can do about it next. yn they said it would never last.

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gold, 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 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. 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 with the housing market in 2010. and it's really democratizing, because instead 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, great opportunity for you as a buyer. and it's only get 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. it looks awful, but this would be so inexpensive to repair. >> small dining room, small living room. but we build so much more than most of us really need. so what do you think was going on here? people were taking containers of grease and just pouring them on the carpets? >> the carpets will probably need to be replaced.

>> ooh, i think we got some water damage. sheetrock not well repaired. i think an inspection would be real important. >> absolutely. >> i give this one an "a." how 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. in this case, 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. i'd be right here with my

big screen tv sitting there 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 look at other distress 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.

that playset's not looking so good back there. wow. i don't think you can have a better representation of the heartbreak that the mortgage meltdown has than seeing that. ew, 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, let me see. yeah, 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 to 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 house requires. and are you up to those repairs? i can tell you i'm not. next on "clark howard." >> i'd like to learn a lot of things from the money coach. but the bottom line is responsibility. i want to learn how to be smart with my money. how to make it work for me. >> caller: 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.

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 houses. 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. 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's 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. 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 you will have -- in your case, they didn't do any culture or anything to try to confirm that you have this, that or the other? >> no, they just asked me for my symptoms. she wrote a prescription and i left. >> okay. 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. >> all right. 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? >> no, i didn't. >> all right. give me a, 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 who has a toyota or 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 because

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 the floormat on the driver's side and you let your carpet get dirty. but most recalls aren't so simple. the shocker, though, 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 or trucks to the dealer. i want to you 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? >> it's about ten of them so far. >> no, really? >> caller: really.

do you have a question for me? well, it's so easy to ask. just go to my website, cnn.com/clarkhoward. and click to do a video submission of your question. and who knows, you could be like ashley asking your 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'd 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 s.e.p., simplified employee pension. 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. that will take care of one-half of what you need to do. the other thing was more ill-defined. saving for a family. well, 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 advantage plans. you work for 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 kid's college education. danielle, how are you doing? >> caller: i'm good, how are you? >> good. now, 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. zblshg. >> caller: that is correct. >> they have become your clone. >> caller: they have. >> is it a credit card 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. and they've gotten my social security number and my birth, all that information and are opening up credit cards under my, my person. >> so this individual has been a human wrecking crew. >> caller: right. >> in that they have already -- think about all the effects here. they've opened ten credit cards as if they're you. they have trashed your credit score. because suddenly you have all of these new lines of credit that have been opened everywhere that you had 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 files. the second you freeze your

credit file. 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 gives you the peace 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. >> it's a fun, fun trip. are you going to drive?

i don't mean to there, i mean once you get there. they said it would never last.

but it's been two months, and you're still going strong. glade lasting impressions. two fragrances alternate to keep things... fresh and exciting day after day. - and not just for 30 days. - ( inhales deeply, sighs ) but for 60.

it's the longest-lasting plugins ever. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. today on the clark howard show, you're going to learn how to stay out of harm's way of identity theft. 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 e-mail that pretends to be either from the fbi or the department of homeland security with a claim that there is information there that you might be interested in. what kind of information? well, there are several versions. one of them says that it's a confidential fbi report on new patterns in al qaeda financing. another one says weapons of mass destruction directory. just to give you an example of what kind of things are floating out there. and what happens if you open one of these e-mails? will you end up loading viruses on your computer? 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 key-logger programs. and the key thing for you to

know is the fbi isn't sending these. you have to be smart about any e-mail 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 help me 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 on the value of our home now. and through listening to your show and advice from friends, we learned earlier in the year about possibly refi'ing through our mortgage company or doing a loan modification through our mortgage company. so 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. we thought, okay, it's coincidence. so immediately we restarted the

process over. faxed in all the 60 pages of paperwork. about three weeks ago, we got approved and literally the very next day, again, the 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 effective november 1st. >> are you fannie or freddie? is your loan -- behind the scenes, is it owned by fannie mae or freddie mac? >> caller: no, sir. >> 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. amazingly, twice -- this is an amazing story you're telling me -- twice you've been approved and each time the rug gets pulled out from under you. >> caller: yes, sir. >> here's what you do. i want to you go to the website nfcc.org. let me repeat that. nfcc.org. 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, i had things go right, clark. i appreciate that. i'm just laying it out right now. i guess my question is, i've been -- let me back up. i don't know if it's once a year or twice a year, you know, the social security sends you a statement saying you have so many credits and based on -- shows your income over the years and says if you retire at 62, it will be approximately this or at 65 full retirement. first of all i was wondering if

you have any idea how accurate those numbers are. >> very. >> caller: okay. >> those are very accurate, because especially as you get close to retirement, they are almost right on the money. >> caller: that's good. i'm pleasantly surprised. >> so that's not something to worry about. by the way, your social security check is going to be fine if you're getting close to that stage. >> caller: in february i turn 62. >> yep, you're going to be fine. >> caller: the trick is trying to figure out, of that 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. >> caller: but i'm just trying to figure out -- >> do it. now, i talk -- sometimes i talk in absolutes. and 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 credit, 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 -- >> caller: 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. so kind of keep it quiet this money is there.

do you have a question for me? welt, 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 and i need a money coach. i want help doing 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 either on the clark howard show or in the paper. mint.com is a free website that you can go to to prepare a personal gujt. of course you log in, create a password, user i.d. and when i logged in, it asked for my bank name, my routing number and then it asked for my user i.d. and password to my bank account. that's where i immediately stopped and, oh, can't do this. my question is, is mint.com a safe website to use when creating 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 is a problem. but they do, in fact, give you alerts that let you know later, hey, there is 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 were trying to track your dough, i want you to know i love mint.com. i love their competitor wesabi.com because with these sites, you can track all your income, all your outgoing, 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. thanks so much for taking my call. >> yes, ma'am. how can i be of service? >> caller: yes, please. i was calling to get advice from you. my 9-year-old daughter had an accident in 2006. >> oh, is she okay? >> caller: yes, she is. thank you. we just had a court settlement and 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. it's just that it has to be for her. >> and how old is she now? >> caller: she's 9. >> 9. what would you like the purpose of this money to be? >> caller: to save it for her in an account where she could use it for school or maybe later in life for her first home or something like that. it's a flexible -- >> so pretty far down the road. >> caller: yes, yes, yes. >> and the total amount after taxes?

>> caller: it's $17,250. >> most often what happens when someone gets a settlement like this is the lawyer who negotiated it for you will try to hook you up with an insurance person, who would then sell an annuity for your daughter. and what i prefer instead is that because your daughter is only 9 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 is 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 this money into a mix of stocks and bonds, and there will be no tax that she will owe in the years up till 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 sit, the tax that she would owe is tiny, tiny, tiny, if any, at the time she would need access to the money. >> caller: okay. >> next on clark howard -- >> caller: we're looking at these self-directed i.r.a.'s that 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 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.

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 i.r.a.'s. my wife and i have accumulated a little bit of money in regular i.r.a.'s, not roths.

we've had them in cds, and as you know, they're not paying much right now. >> the money in the i.r.a.'s, is it money you'll need in the next few years or never? >> caller: yes, we want to live off the income from the i.r.a. >> starting how soon? >> caller: we're starting to eat into the principal right now because of the low interest rate. we're looking at these self-directed i.r.a.'s 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? >> caller: yeah, buying a condo in a resort area that you can rent out. >> owning an investment property inside an i.r.a. 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 i.r.a. -- 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. i mean, 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 i.r.a., 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 i.r.a. and rodha is with us. hello, how are you? >> caller: very good, clark. how are you? >> wonderful. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. 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

manufacturer has incentives going on right now. either you get cash back or you get 0% for 36 months. 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 the 0% 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 got preapproved for a loan for under 4%. >> okay. well, you're already in the right territory. 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 at under 4%, you'll usually do better taking the $2,000 off and taking out the low cost loan. did you know you're a genius? >> caller: i am? >> yes. >> caller: why? >> for taking out a three-year loan. >> caller: oh, thank you. >> if you went back 40 years ago, the only loans people ever took out were three-year car loans. 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. 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 are just absolutely fit to be tied by the notices they're getting from their credit card companies. credit card companies are racing to beat 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 is 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 a 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.

you want to avoid airline junk fees? you want to know the best deal on insurance? how about whether or not you should blow your cash on bottled water? i guess i gave that one away, didn't i? you can go to the best of clark howard at cnn.com/clark howard and watch my video tips for you to pack a punch in your wallet. are you having trouble making ends meet in your household? well, one of the biggest expense categories where you can shrink your budget by a huge amount is what you pay for groceries. you can save money in this area easier than almost any other thing in your life without

sacrificing convenience, without sacrificing quality. you know what the simplest answer is? coupons. a lot of people know it because the use of coupons is way up in the recession versus how many people were actually clipping coupons before. and here's a trick on the coupons. do you know there is entire strategies about how to use them and get the most value from them? there is a very user friendly website called coupon mom.com that if you go to coupon mom.com, she will teach you how to buy groceries far more affordably than you ever have and walk out with basketfuls for almost nothing. how are you? >> caller: i'm doing good. how about yourself? >> great. you are into descriptions on food menus. >> caller: yes. i'm going to be starting college and -- >> and share what you want to study. >> reporter: it's culinary arts.

>> you know, for me, hamburger, cheeseburger, pizza. those are my food groups. how can i be of service to you with that? certainly i can't be any help on the food side. >> caller: yeah, they were telling me for the books it's like $2,055. >> for the books it's $2,000? >> caller: for the books and fees, yes. >> oh, okay. >> caller: and with the uniforms and all, the knives and everything. and he said that whenever i was going to start i'd have to pay $254 a month right, the books, and get a federal loan and i didn't know whether it would be better to go ahead and get the federal loan. >> yes. if you qualify for a federal student loan, the borrowing you want to do is under the federal student loan program. you do not want private loans if there's any way for you to completely avoid ever going to the private student loan market.

you want to avoid it. do your entire education with whatever cash you can come up with plus the federal student loans. >> she was saying that the federal loan, that i would be deferred for six months after i graduated. >> oh, yeah. that's the kind that i want you in. and that's the only kind. and if you start to run short of cash, and you're out of your federal student loan money that's available to you, even if it means you have to delay finishing school for a while until you saved up money, pay with cash. do not under any conditions take out private student loans because they are the most miserable experience. you should hear the calls i get, shawn, from people who have taken out the private student loans. keep it clean and simple. your own money and federal loans and that's it. good luck at school.

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get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. americans die because they don't have it. >> meanwhile, the gop is sharpening its attacks on the president's plan in a last-ditch effort to derail it. so far congressional republicans are standing united in their opposition. >> not only does the pelosi health care plan raise taxes and increase spending, it will vastly grow the size and power of the federal government taking more and more of our freedoms away. the pelosi health care plan proposes the creation of more than 110 new bureaucracies, boards, commissions, or programs. more taxes, more spending, and more government is not the plan for reform the people support. >> in the gop's weekly address mississippi governor haley

barbour said if passed the bill would clobber small businesses and hurt job growth. the bow on the uss new york was forged from steel made from the world trade center. just before it was commissioned, secretary of state hillary clinton and new york governor david paterson unveiled a memorial to the heroes of september 11. the memorial is also made of steel from the trade center. the firefighter who suggested the idea using steel from the twin towers to make the battle ship says he got emotional the first time he saw it. >> i was driving through and we were going to the christening and the hair was up on the back of my head. i was shaking and just actually to see that ship and know how much it meant not only to me but to the nation, i mean, it's finally some of what we lost returns and it's very -- hopefully for the family members and everybody that lost and the rescue crews down there, it's a

healing. it's finally some of what we lost returns. i hope they all feel the same way i do. >> scott koen helped the september 11 rescue efforts and runs the website uss new york.com, an online tribute to the new battleship. it's also a day to remember in pennsylvania. today in shanksville they are breaking ground on the permanent 9/11 memorial for the victims of united flight 93. it was the one that crashed in a shanksville field on september 11. 130,000 people visit that site every year. organizers plan to officially open the memorial on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in 2011. health experts say obesity is a major problem in the u.s. but has it also become a legal defense? a man claimed he was too fat to kill his former son-in-law and that was his defense in court for more than a month. well, now the jury finally weighs in.

flags are flying at half-staff at government facilities across america in memory of those who died in the fort hood rampage. in texas several communities held candlelight villanueva ills. some of the victims' families are sharing their grief. jason dean hunt, a 22-year-old specialist from oklahoma was one of the soldiers gunned down. last night his sister spoke to larry king on cnn. >> expect someone goes in the army, goes to iraq. okay. you're hardened for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i just want to say that, you know, because it didn't happen overseas or didn't happen in the combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero because my brother was the kind of foern jump in front of a bullet for somebody and i don't know the details but i know my brother and i know he was very brave in this situation. >> so hard for these families. jason hunt had served a tour of duty in iraq and re-enlisted

during his time overseas. we got a lot of sad stories today. 62-year-old michael grant cahill was the only civilian who died in the rampage. he was a physician's assistant and even though he had suffered a heart attack just about two weeks ago he loved his job so much he was back at work after just a week according to a family member. his sister told one of our affiliates how she heard the news. >> i got the call that he was dead but they didn't know any particulars. and then about 40 minutes later my little sister becky called from oregon and said he had been shot and he is gone. >> his sister says cahill was helping with physicals for soldiers, preparing for deployment at the time of the shooting. police shot and wounded a man as they were investigating the killing of a seattle cop on halloween. a police spokesman says officers went to check a car that looked

similar to the one that was seen right after the killing. when they approached a man, he pulled a gun so detectives shot him. a seattle hospital says he was critically injured and had surgery last night. yesterday thousands of people attended a memorial for the late officer timothy brenton. he was shot in his car after a traffic stop. a new jersey jury has convicted a man who said he was too fat to kill. jurors rejected his lawyer's claims that he was too fat to run up a flight of stairs and shoot his former son-in-law. edward ates weighed 285 pounds at the time. the 40-year-old victim was in a custody battle with ates' daughter. ates' lawyer plans to appeal the conviction. a preliminary autopsy on three college softball players suggests they drowned. their bodies were found tuesday in an suv that went into a pond in southwestern north dakota. the women were believed to have gone on a star gazing trip last sunday night and authorities say they probably drove right into the water in the darkness. it'll be a week or two before a

complete autopsy report including tests for drugs and alcohol is finished. take a look at these pictures. a ferocious fire in massachusetts tore through an abandoned paper mill last night and caused the roof to cave in, exploding chemicals, shot debris into the air, and made things very tough for the fire crews. the building's maintenance man says homeless people sometimes camped inside the building. no word on what caused the fire and at this point no reports of any injuries. it was a dirty job but a 33-year-old mystery has been solved. >> she said i think i have something that belongs to you and, you know, immediately it flashed through my mind that's what it was. i couldn't believe it. >> the long lost treasure found by a little boy digging in his back yard. what do matt dillon and jay leno have in common? they've probably been on the tonight show together. but did you know this? they were born in the same town. a slightly less famous resident takes us on a tour for "my city, my secret."

>> hi. i'm debbie and this is my city. it's known as the queen city of the south and i'm going to show you some of the secret spots around here, and by the way, it's about 30 minutes from new york city. glen island is a place i've been walking at for about 20 years. i haven't lost a pound but i'll be back tomorrow anyway. why? because it's about 104 acres of sheer, gorgeous nature. i'm a girl who likes to eat so one of my favorite restaurants is posto 22. sometimes restauranteurs nail it. joe just knows how to do it right. the ambiance, it just feels good in here, the food is unbelievable. you get more food for the money than any place i've ever been. while we're on the grounds of the college and this is leyland castle. the castle gallery is where

we're going next. an entrepreneur named simeon lal & built the building and used this gigantic castle for his summer residence. today the gallery is filled with exhibits open to the public. i've shown you my city's secrets. time for you to show me yours. go to i-report.com/my city my secret.

one of the cops credited with taking down the fort hood gunman is becoming a hero on twitter. early yesterday sergeant munl had just a few followers on the site but as the news came out about her role in stopping the fort hood massacre hundreds of people signed up to follow her on twitter. she was hurt during the shootout. she is in stable condition and many people are leaving her tweets to say "thank you" and

wishing her a fast recovery. the number of u.s. banks that failed this year just climbed to 120. five more banks went under yesterday. they've all been taken over by other banks. that means if you're a customer you can keep using your checks and debit cards. it should be very smooth. the five banks were based in california, michigan, minnesota, georgia, and missouri. this is the highest number of u.s. bank failures in a year since 1992. the fdic says its fund that protects deposits in banks is running low and it will likely be in the red until 2012 but that your money will be kept safe. a computer error nearly wiped out the bank accounts of 60,000 retired new york city teachers. can you believe that? yesterday morning $189 million was withdrawn from retirement funds by mistake. many retired teachers are worried about their scheduled payments. how will they get through the weekend with no money? a spokesman for the bank of new york says most of the money will be returned by today and the

rest should be back in teachers' accounts by monday. a price war is on. that's good. this time it's dvds and that's just in time for the holidays. online retailers are slashing prices. walmart got the ball rolling. it said it would sell new dvds online for just ten bucks. then amazon slashed its dvd prices to $9.99 and target followed suit. then walmart wanted to get the last word, cut prices again to $9.98. walmart started a similar price war in books last month. a 3-year-old boy solved a mystery with a little digging in his back yard. he found a woman's wedding ring, 33 years after she lost them. >> i was just sitting right there watching the kids play in the dirt like they usually do. ryan walks up to me and says, mommy, i found your ring. oh, ryan, thank you. gave it to me and i was like oh, thanks. i didn't think anything of it. thought it was maybe costume jewelry.

he goes, you want the other one? i'm like, yeah, sure. >> isn't he cute? well, the home's original owner lost the rings while she was gardening. with a little detective work the family tracked downtown retired teacher. she plans to get the rings prepared in time for her 50th wedding anniversary. as for the little digger, he got a $50 reward. so you hear a crying baby or you think you hear a crying baby. scientists hear the language of the baby's parents. new research suggests that newborns tend to cry in the same speech patterns as their parents' native tongue, so the crying of german babies mimics the german language. the crying of french babies mimics the french language. take a listen. the first is a german baby crying. the second a french baby. you can kind of hear it, right? the german newborn cries in

falling mel dis. the french babies cry in rising pitch just like their respective languages. scientists say the research suggests infants start picking up on some of the elements of language even in the womb. the details of the research are in the november issue of "the journal current biology." a stolen volkswagen was finally found and it only took 35 years. customs agents found it in a shipping container in the los angeles port last month. the company shipping the blue van didn't know it was stolen. it was taken from an auto shop in spokane, washington in 1974. a customs official says it was probably worth a few hundred bucks back then. now it's worth about $27,000. you know what it's like in the job market. unemployment lines are stretching longer than ever. the government's been throwing around a lot of numbers. so what do they all mean? well, see how a youtube star found a fun way to try and sort it all out. meeting with

house democrats. we're learning more about the victims of the fort hood shooting. what family and friends say about the loss of some pretty remarkable people. the sound of a baby crying might get on your nerves sometimes but listen closely. you might hear something you do all day every day. you're watching hln. i'm jennifer westhoven. we start with the shooting tragedy at fort hood, texas. a local muslim leader says in a

recent conversation with suspect major nidal hasan he seemed almost incoherent. he said hasan never expressed anger toward the army but said something didn't seem right about him. investigators say hasan fired more than a hundred rounds from two hand guns yesterday. 13 people were killed. two dozen of the 38 people wounded are still in the hospital. many are in intensive care. hasan, who was shot four times by a police officer, has been taken to brook army medical center in san antonio. he's in critical but stable condition and is under heavy guard. the flag-draped remains of the 12 soldiers and one civilian killed thursday were flown to dover airforce base in delaware last night. autopsies are being done there. all across america flags are flying at half-staff at government facilities in memory of those who died in the fort hood rampage. several texas communities held candlelight vigils. it can be easy to lose sight of

the people behind the numbers when the death toll is so high. we want to share some details about some of the lives lost. 21-year-old private michael pearson wanted to study music theory and hoped his military stint would pay for college. his brother said pearson was truly living life when he played his guitar. sergeant amy krueger joined the military after the 9/11 attacks. she was a high school basketball and softball player. a friend says she was one of the best people you could ever meet. private aaron nemelka was 19 and a combat engineer. his family says he was excited to be deploying to afghanistan in january. and specialist jason hunt was recently married and about to head to iraq for the second time. his sister says hunt, 22, wanted to serve other people and live for something greater than himself. she told larry king on our sister network cnn that she was proud of her brother's bravery.

>> leila you can expect someone goes in the army, goes to iraq, okay. you harden for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i just want to say that, you know, because it didn't happen overseas or didn't happen in a combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero, because my brother was the kind of person to jump in front of a bullet for somebody and i really feel like, you know, i don't know the details but i know my brother and i know he was very brave in this situation. >> president obama says people should be patient and not jump to conclusions about what prompted the attack at fort hood. in his weekly radio and internet address he said with the veterans day holiday next week the country should take time to remember exactly who makes up the armed forces. >> there are americans of every race, faith, and station. there are christians and muslims, jews and hindus and nonbelievers. there are descendants of

immigrants and immigrants, themselves. they reflect the diversity that makes this america. what they share is a patriotism like no other. what they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. what they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that soldiers and civilians of fort hood showed america and showed the world. >> he also said the training designed to keep u.s. forces safe while on active duty prevented further deaths during the rampage. the suspect in a shooting at an orlando office tower made his first appearance in court today in a brief hearing a judge found probable cause for the arrest of 40-year-old jason rodriguez. rodriguez was ordered held without bond. he's charged with first-degree murder. witnesses say he shot and killed one person and wounded five others at an engineering firm. the company says he worked there until he was fired for poor performance two years ago. police say he blamed the firm for having trouble getting

unemployment benefits. president obama went to capitol hill today to personally lobby for the health care bill. a vote could come as early as today in the house. the white house says president obama wants house democrats to keep the ball rolling on one of his key domestic priorities. he's already won the support of some congressional democrats who say the health care situation is a problem that must be fixed soon. >> no bill can ever contain everything everybody wants or please every constituency in every district. that's an impossible task. but what is possible, what's in our grasp right now, is the chance to prevent a future where every day 14,000 americans continue to lose their health insurance and every year 18,000 americans die because they don't have it. >> meanwhile the gop is sharpening its attacks on the president's plan in a last ditch effort to derail it. so far congressional republicans are standing united in their opposition. >> not only does the pelosi health care plan raise taxes and

increase spending, it will vastly grow the size and power of the federal government, taking more and more of our freedoms away. the pelosi health care plan proposes the creation of more than 110 new bureaucracies, boards, commissions, or programs. more taxes, more spending, and more government is not the plan for reform the people support. >> in the gop's weekly address mississippi governor haley barbour called for the president's plan to be withdrawn and reworked. he said if it passes it would clobber small businesses and hurt job growth. the navy commissioned its newest battleship today. the bow on the uss new york was forged from steel made from the world trade center. just before it was commissioned secretary of state hillary clinton and new york governor david paterson unveiled the memorial to the heroes of september 11. the memorial is also made of steel from the trade center. the firefighter who suggested the idea using steel from the twin towers to make the

battleship says he got emotional the first time he saw it. >> i was driving through northrup grumman's yard. we were going to the christening. the hair was up on the back of my head and i was shaking and just to actually see that ship and know how much it meant not only to me but to the nation, i mean, it's finally some of what we lost returns and it's very, hopefully, for the family members and everybody that lost and the rescue crews down there, it's a healing. it's finally some of what we lost returns. i hope they all feel the same way i do. >> scott koen helped the september 11 rescue efforts. he runs the website uss new york.com, an online tribute to the new battleship. it's also a day to remember in pennsylvania. today in shanksville they are breaking ground on the permanent 9/11 memorial for the victims of united flight 93. you remember flight 93 was the one that crashed in a shanksville field on september

11. 130,000 people visit the site every year. organizers plan to officially open the memorial on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in 2011. a special shelter in mexico is providing care for low income children who have cancer and it's giving them a lot more than just medical help. dr. sanjay gupta has today's "vital signs." [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: the name translates a house of friendship to mexico's youngest cancer patients. essie has volunteered here for over 15 years. the shelter provides free housing and medicine to low income children with cancer. most are from rural areas without access to cancer specialists. the children and their families are invited to stay at friendship house free of charge for as long as they need treatment at nearby mexico city

hospitals. shelter volunteers help the time go by at the hospital, reading and playing with the children, as they wait for their chemotherapy treatments. but the home is involved in more than just facilitating the medical treatment for its youngsters. daily life and a sense of normalcy is protected as much as possible. >> for more on this and other exciting advances in medicine, just go to our website, cnn.com/vital signs.

flags are flying at half-staff at government facilities across america in memory of those who died in the fort hood rampage. in texas several communities held candlelight vigils. some of the victims' families are sharing their grief with us. leila willingham's brother jason dean hunt, j.d., a 22-year-old specialist from tipton, oklahoma was one of the soldiers gunned down. last night she spoke about her brother to larry king on cnn. >> leila you can expect someone

goes in the army, goes to iraq. okay. you harden for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i just want to say that, you know, because it didn't happen overseas or it didn't happen in a combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero, because my brother was the kind of person to jump in front of a bullet for somebody. i really feel like i don't know the details but i know my brother and i know he was very brave in this situation. >> so hard for these families. jason hunt had served a tour of duty in iraq and re-enlisted during his time overseas. we got a lot of sad stories today. 62-year-old michael grant cahill was the only civilian who died in the rampage. he was a physician's assistant and even though he had suffered a heart attack just about two weeks ago he loved his job so much he was back at work after just a week according to a family member. his sister told one of our affiliates how she heard the news.

>> i got the call that he was dead but they didn't know any particulars. and then about 40 minutes later my little sister becky called from oregon and said he had been shot. and he is gone. >> his sister says cahill was helping with physicals for soldiers preparing for deployment at the time of the shooting. police shot and wounded a man as they were investigating the killing of a seattle cop on halloween. a police spokesman says officers went to check a car that looked similar to the one that was seen right after the killing. when they approached a man, he pulled a gun so detectives shot him. a seattle hospital says he was critically injured and had surgery last night. yesterday thousands of people attended a memorial for the late officer timothy brenton. he was shot in his car after a traffic stop. a new jersey jury has convicted a man who said he was too fat to kill. jurors rejected his lawyers'

claims that he was too fat to run up a flight of stairs and shoot his former son-in-law. edward ates weighed 285 pounds at the time. the 40-year-old victim was in a custody battle with ates' daughter. ates' lawyer plans to appeal the murder conviction. a preliminary autopsy on three college softball players suggests they drowned. their bodies were found tuesday in an sufficient u that went into a pond in southwestern north dakota. the women were believed to have gone on a star gazing trip last sunday night. authorities say they probably drove right into the water in the darkness. it'll be a week or two until a complete autopsy report including tests for drugs and alcohol is finished. take a look at these pictures. a ferocious fire in massachusetts tore through an abandoned paper mill last night and caused the roof to cave in, exploding chemicals, shot debris into the air, and made things very tough for the fire crews. the building maintenance man says homeless people sometimes camped inside the building. no word on what caused the fire.

at this point no reports of any injuries. it was a dirty job but a 33-year-old mystery has been solved. >> she said, i think i have something that belongs to you. you know, immediately it flashed through my mind that's what it was. i couldn't believe it. >> the long lost treasure found by a little boy digging in his back yard.

one of the cops credited with taking down the fort hood gunman is becoming a hero on twitter. early yesterday sergeant kim munley had a few followers on the site but as the news came out about her role in stopping the fort hood massacre, hundreds of people signed up to follow her on twitter. she was hurt during the shootout and is in stable condition and many people are leaving her tweets that say "thank you" and wishing her a fast recovery. the number of u.s. banks that failed this year just climbed to 120. five more banks went under yesterday. they've all been taken over by other banks. that means if you're a customer you can keep using your checks and debit cards. it should be very smooth. the five banks were based in california, michigan, minnesota, georgia, and missouri.

this is the highest number of u.s. bank failures in a year since 1992. the fdic says its fund that protects deposits in banks is running low and it'll likely be in the red until 2012 but that your money will be kept safe. a computer error nearly wiped out the bank accounts of 60,000 retired new york city teachers. can you believe that? yesterday morning $189 million was withdrawn from retirement funds by mistake. many retired teachers are worried about their scheduled payments. how will they get through the weekend with no money. a spokesman says most of the money will be returned by today and the rest should be back in teachers' accounts by monday. a price war is on. that's good. this time it's dvds and that's just in time for the holidays. online retailers are slashing prices. walmart got the ball rolling. it said it would sell new dvds online for just ten bucks. then amazon slashed its dvd

prices to $9.99. target followed suit. then walmart wanted to get the last word and cut prices again to $9.98. walmart started a similar price war in books last month. a video game coming out this week could be the blockbuster entertainment of the holiday season. analysts say "modern warfare 2" is going to rake in at least $500 million just in its first week. the game is rated "m" for mature and lets players fight terrorists by shooting their way through a complex series of scenes. the developer says it's like stepping into a movie. you can go it alone or fight one another by connecting online. "call of duty" goes on sale after midnight tuesday for $60. a 3-year-old boy solved a mystery with a little digging in his back yard. he found a woman's wedding rings 33 years after she lost them. >> i was just sitting right

there watching the kids play in the dirt like they usually do. and ryan walks up and says, mommy, i found your ring. ryan, thank you! i was like oh, thanks. didn't think anything of it. thought it was maybe costume jewelry. he goes, you want the other one? i'm like, yeah. sure. >> isn't he cute? the home's original owner lost the rings while gardening. with a little detective work the family tracked down the retired teacher. she plans to get the rings repaired in time for her 50th wedding anniversary. as for the little digger he got a $50 reward. so you hear a crying baby or you think you hear a crying baby. scientists hear the language of the baby's parents. new research suggests that newborns tend to cry in the same speech patterns as their parents' native tongue, so the crying of german babies mimics the german language. the crying of french babies mimics the french language. take a listen.

the first is a german baby crying the second a french baby. >> you can kind of they're right? the german newborn cries in falling melodies. the french babies cry in rising pitch just like their respective languages. scientists say the research suggests infants start picking up on some of the elements of language even in the womb. the details in the research are in the november issue of the journal "current biology." a stolen vw van, a volkswagen, was finally found and it only took 35 years. it was found in a shipping container in a los angeles port last month. the company shipping the blue van didn't know it was stolen. it was taken from an auto shop in spokane, washington in 1974. a customs official says it was probably worth a few hundred bucks back then. now it's worth about $27,000.

you know what it's like in the job market. unemployment lines are stretching longer than ever. the government's running the numbers and what do they all mean? see how a youtube star found a fun way to try and sort it all out. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@

incredible details coming in on baby shanon missing five days then found alive under a bed. locked in a chest for 12 hours. her baby-sitter ends up behind bars. the woman is an ex-con and served prison time for child abuse and now cops say mom and dad are not off the hook. charges could be coming for all three. 11 women victims of an accused serial killer and their families won't go to police, won't help identify their loved ones' remains? apparently they're too afraid to turn over their own dna. plus, we will talk to the grieving mother of one of the

victims. >> controversy, opinion, your point of view. this is "prime news." welcome. i'm mike galanos. a baby girl who was missing for five days found alive and this even brought veteran cops to tears. >> we are the proud papas of a little girl. this is shanon lee dietrich. we found her safe. we do not usually get that happy ending as we have had happen here today. if you want to see a bunch of grown men cry, tonight when we rushed her to the hospital and we was all calling home for our wives to let them know we'd found this baby safe. >> it is a happy ending on that front in florida but it's also frightening. cops say they found baby shanon lying in a 2 x 3 foot cedar box

shoved under a bed stashed there for 12 hours. the baby-sitter/aunt is charged in this. she has a violent criminal past. and now we're hearing that thursday cops filed charges against baby shanon's mom, the one who reported her missing. earlier this week, take a closer look at this case with an investigative journalist and a former criminal prosecutor, also with us robin saks, sex crimes prosecutor. we'll start with you. clear things up for us. we know thankfully little baby shanon is okay. >> thankfully. >> yeah, thankfully. mom and aunt, baby-sitter in on this? tell us about it. >> they were in on this the whole time, mike. this is what i learned from investigators earlier today. apparently there was a meeting that took place on october 30th the night before halloween and they decided, this is shanon's mom and also the step -- actually, it's kind of a little complicated there. i guess susan baker who is also in relation to the family as

well as a half sister so they decided that they were going to pass off not custody but i guess visitation or whatever to be able to take care of this child to susan baker. and then at that point they decided this meeting would take place at 1:30 in the morning. so they met about 1:30 in the morning and according to investigators and shanon's mom then passes the child off to susan baker at that particular time. then she goes and files a police report. so you have a lot of investigators joining forces earlier today i did confirm that about 3500 man hours were put into finding baby shannon. you have susan baker talking out about the case. you have the parents sitting back. you have susan baker sitting back just waiting and watching everything unfold and not coming forward. that is until she let authorities search her home. >> and they found -- then authorities found little baby shannon in the box under a bed? >> she was in a box.

she was underneath the bed for possibly more than ten hours. so what had happened was investigators called susan baker and they said, hey, could you come in for questioning? we need to question you. and they had already decided that she may possibly be involved somehow because susan has a past history. susan actually was involved with a case of paul leonard baker back in march 5th of 1987 and this is a child that was living in her home, her step son, and she was the last person to see this child go missing and we haven't seen him since. so they bring her in for questioning. at that point they say, hey, susan, would you mind if we went inside of your house and just kind of looked around? she says, no. go right ahead. she thought she had covered the baby up enough. when they looked under the bed they found her. >> again, thankfully okay. there is so much here. i want to bring in robin, ex-sex crimes prosecutor. we go back and the fear factor in this just escalates when we find out in 1987 not only was she indicted on the disappearance of a 3-year-old,

charges never came about by the way but the 3-year-old was also never found. she was also convicted in 1987 of assault and battery with intent to kill her 6-year-old daughter who ended up with broken hands, sores on her back, and she was sentenced to ten years. how long was the time served? 80 days. robin, i mean, it's like a broken record. >> it certainly is. it's despicable is what it is. i heard earlier your guest talk about how there are problems with the legislature and there is but the problems really lie within the judges and the prosecutors that allow these sentences to happen. i mean, we need to separate the worst from the worst. stop dealing with the marijuana plants and start dealing with the safety of our children. >> yeah. john, you look at this and let's get back to we're infuriated by '87 this woman would have baby shannon under a bed in a box but we're also finding out baby shannon may have been abused at what, the age of 2 weeks old? >> yeah. these people have a passion. people don't change. and i agree with robin.

but, you know, when the -- because the judges are one of the biggest problems. they are the ones letting these people go. i think it's only going to be solved at the legislature creating a law that requires and mandates judges to certain sentencing guidelines. that's the only way to fix this. otherwise the judges are at will to take a ten-year sentence and exchange it for 80 days. makes no sense. and it absolutely creates more victims. >> all right. let's go back to michelle. again, so much here. >> there is a lot. >> i'm sure baby shannon is in protective custody. what about her father? the biological father? was he in on this? what do we know about that? >> that's something else that investigators are looking into at this time. now, susan's husband was taken into custody last night. he was detained. he was questioned. and he was released. at this particular moment, they don't feel that he's involved. however, the investigators that i spoke to earlier said that that could of course change, you know, as they start to talk to people and start to close in this timeline and so now, mike, as you know, this timeline is

going to expand all the way back to 1987 so i do know there is an investigator from the case in 1987 that is in florida right now meeting with those investigators so they can match up notes and cross timelines to be able to figure out where susan has been, what is going on, and why we are at this point right now. >> okay. let's clear this up. susan baker has a husband. he's under questioning. the mom, there's got to be a biological father. what's his deal? do we know, michelle? >> well, that is something that investigators are looking into as well. we don't know exactly where he stands in all of this. we do know that there is some relation from him to susan baker at this time. and so it's kind of -- it would be very odd if he was in the home maybe at the time that this was going on or at, you know, the time this plan was taking place. and then to be able to maybe know about this meeting, i'm not saying that he did or that he was or anything like that. >> right, right.

>> but, you know, at this point we do have two people charged and this would be shannon's mother and also susan baker. >> okay. well, thankfully baby shannon found alive and well and hopefully taken out of this garbage and maybe have a chance at a decent life.

welcome back to "prime news." we are so thankful 7-month-old little baby shannon dedrick is alive and doing well. the details of how she was taken by her babysitter/aunt just chilling. not only the babysitter/aunt facing charges but her mom as well as they concocted this scheme so she could take over. want to bring you a former criminal investigator. john, one of many disturbing notes in this story is little

baby shannon, there were allegations af bus when s allegations of abuse when she was just 2 weeks old. >> when you look at this woman's background which goes back to 1987 you can see that this is not the first time she has done this. again, this is just too many cases, mike, where the government continues to let us down. the process, judicial system, this woman received ten years in jail and got suspended to 80 days. >> let's get the background on that because michelle when we look at that we're talking, this is a babysitter not the mom, susan elizabeth baker. there are some horrific allegations and charges facing what she did with children in her midst in 1987 and it begins with what was her 3-year-old step son who vanished and we still don't know what happened to him, right? >> no, we don't. and i pulled some information off of -- there is a website called the charlie project and they cover a lot of missing kids and so earlier today when i was looking at it, they have information on paul leonard

baker who is, in fact, susan baker's step son. and back in 1987 she claims that she put him to bed and that he simply vanished. but, unfortunately, investigators were kind of combing through a lot of that information and they were able to find out that he may have possibly been abused atlanta could have been some other things going on inside of that house at the time. when this happened with baby shannon, investigators said that, hey, susan was one of the first people we looked at right away based on her criminal history. >> right. so you've got not only the 3-year-old but then we also have her 6-year-old daughter who was also abused. let me read off some of the charges. this lady was convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill. her 6-year-old dawit heard broken hands, sores on her back. the sentence again, john, ten-year sentence suspended to 80 days? how does that happen? >> it shouldn't happen but it did. this is just a recurring event

in a lot of these cases you're covering, mike. a lot of these cases throughout the united states. i really believe something has to be done at the legislative process where it mandates these judges to do something. tying their hands and having to give these people real sentences. because this goes on, when it goes on for two decades like this and little children continue to become victimized like this in such horrific ways something has to be done. >> exactly. michelle, do we know a lady like this who again we don't know what happened to a 3-year-old, vanished, don't know what happened. we know that she's -- she was convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill a 6-year-old. was she monitored after her 80-day sentence? >> that's one of the questions i have right now and i'm waiting for investigators to call me back on, the ones in south carolina that is, the ones in florida i'm in touch with a lot. i think they're all piecing everything together. i do know there is an investigator that drove down from south carolina and arrived in florida not too long ago to be able to sit down with those investigators and put their notes together to figure out her

timeline, her background, exactly what took place here, and how they are going to move forward as a team. >> okay. we are thankful baby shannon is okay. we want justice against those accused. guys, thanks so much. john, michelle, coming up another story equally infuriating, the alleged serial killer in ohio, anthony sowell. we'll get to the latest on that as other victims, potential victims who survived his attacks are coming forward.