it is wednesday, july 22nd. in the news this morning, democratic discord. has president obama's health care reform plans on the ropes? he'll make his case in primetime tonight. speaking out. the daughter of that murdered florida couple takes on a lifetime challenge. while the accused make somearstg startling revelations. and asian eclipse. millions watch as the sun is blocked out of the sky. there won't be another one like blocked out of the sky. there won't be another one like this for nearly 25 years. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. thanks for joining us on this wednesday. for the tenth day in a row. president obama is putting the spotlight on his health care reform plan. tonight, he takes his case directly to the american public. >> despite the president's push, it now looks less likely that the democrats will get a bill to

the table anytime soon. abc's diana alvear is joining us from chicago with th latest. >> reporter: good morning. getting any health care reform passed by the end of the summer is starting to feel like a pipe dream, considering even members of the president's own party are not playing ball. with health care reform hanging in the balance, president obama takes his case to the american people tonight, with much the same message he presented tuesday in the rose garden. >> we are closer than ever before to the reform that the american people need. and we're going to get the job done. >> repter: both the democrats' bills in the house and senate, would reform insurance rules, to, for example, prohibit denying coverage for those with pre-existing medical conditions. offer a government-run plan to compete with private insurance to lower costs. and emphasize prevention and wellness programs. the president has dispatched his staff to go on the offensive and bring democrats on board.

>> barack obama is the quarterback. he has been calling the plays. i think it's so important that the person who is calling the plays continue -- continues letting the american people know how important he feels this is. >> reporter: despite their efforts, some conservative democrats are still unwilling to support the plan. in particular, the tax increases. >> there's about ten issues that we're concerned with. obviously cust-cutting is first on that list. >> reporter: the discord among democrats is allowing republicans to deflect blame. >> if the bill fails it will be because of disagreement among the democrats. >> reporter: some democrats are beginning to doubt that any bill will reach the president's desk by the august recess. that's what the president is hoping to change tonight through his primetime news conference. vinita? >> all right. diana alvear rorting from chicago, this morning. thank you.

and abc news will have live coverage of the president's news conference tonight. our coverage begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern. robert byrd has made his return to the senate. byrd was brought on to the senate floor in a wheelchair, after being absent for more than two months because of illness. in his first vote, byrd ended up on the losing side. his senate colleagues voted to kill funding for the f-22 jet fighter. the plane were popular in the congressional district where they were built. alaska governor, sarah palin, is in hot water again. an inspect investigator says she may have violated ethics laws by accepting money to fight other ethics violations. in alaska, officials are not allowed to do that. palin has faced at least 19 ethics complaints. most have been dismissed. but they contributed to her decision to design. court documents are shedding through light into the murders of bed and melanie billings, the

parents of nine special needs children. one suspect has been named the ring leader and the murderer. meanwhile, the billings' oldest daughter, ashley markham, is raising the children. while also fielding rumors about why her parents were killed. she spoke with abc's jeffrey kofman. >> reporter: in court document, it alleges there was a lone shooter. leonard patrick gonzalez jr. he has maintained his innocence. but it's not clear why. why did the perpetrators plan 30 days for a lightning-fast home invasion, to leave two parents dead and nine children orphans. >> i think i've had my personal time. there's a lot more to worry about right now than stopping and grieving. >> reporter: you haven't had a chance yet? >> i really haven't. i have to keep going for the children. >> reporter: and there are a lot of them. bud and melanie billings had a staggering 17 children. all but four adopted.

the nine still living at home have down syndrome, autism, and feet alcohol syndrome. until this week, ashley was running the car dealership that her father started. but billings also owned a strip club that he sold years ago. that has fueled rumor and speculation, that he was involved in having unsavory that made him a target. what's it like for you to hear these things said abt your parents? >> there's not much anything could say that would break down anperception i have of them. i know who they were. >> reporter: can i throw some of them at you and let you dismiss them? is that okay? >> sure. >> reporter: drugs? >> my parents didn't even drink. i would never, never think that drugs would ever be involved. >> reporter: money laundering? >> it's public record. you know? if there were -- if there were problems, government could have

stepped in, i believe. >> reporter: do you feel the need to know why your parents were killed? >> i need to know. there's parts of it i want to know. and there's parts that i don't ever need to know. but why? why somebody would do thi to these children. and to know that these children were there. and to put these children through this for the rest of their lives. i need to know why somebody did that. >> reporter: ashley markham, her husband, and the nine children, are expected to move back into the family home by the end of the month. jeffrey kofman, abc news, pensacola. overseas, now, in iran, new protests over last month's presidential election. witnesses say that riot police and plains clothes forces clashed with hundreds of demonstrators on tuesday. these amateur videos show protesters on foot and motor

bikes weaving through traffic. and security officers wielding batons. demonstrators called for the president to resign. the white house is considering a plan to pay afghan farmers not to grow heroin poppies. the hope is by paying the farmers in u.s. cash, the farmers wouldn't sell their poppies to the taliban. afghanistan produces about 90% of the world's heroin. immigration from mexico has dropped to its lowest level in a decade. and analysts attribute the decline to the economic downturn. census figures show the number of immigrants entering the u.s. from mexico, fell by nrly 250,000 between march 2008 and 2009. that's a 60% dip from the previous year. thousands of people are still inhe dark after a powerful storm tore through the denver area this week. high winds uprooted an enormous tree. and sent it crashing down on

this old house. the owner was home at the time. but he was not hurt. all right. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. stormy in the great lakes, from the ohio and tennessee valleys. with thunderstorms, drenching rain and flooding in places like detroit, cincinnati and nashville. widely-scattered thunderstorms today from atlanta to new orleans. and rain in the southern rockies and west texas. >> a high of 86 in albuquerque and colorado springs. hot in the northern rockies. and 102 in boise. 80s along much of the east coast. up to 20 degrees cooler than normal in the midwest. just 69 in indianapolis. 76 in chicago. and 79 in st. louis. and when we come back this morning, the federal reserve chairman is back to capitol hill today. he's been speaking very cautiously about what's next for the economy. and racial tension in north texas. some are saying it's because the justice system isn't working there.

is it love? or is it fancy feast?

overseas stock markets are mixed this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.7% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. on wall street, the dow has climbed seven days in a row. the benchmark rose almost 68 points yesterday, to close at 8915. the nasdaq gained nearly 7 points to hit 1916. the index has climbed ten days in a row, its longest winning streak in a dozen years. earnings from a couple of tech giants will help determine if wall street can keep that

rally going. shares of apple are set to surge after the company reported better-than-expected sales and earnings. apple's bottom line was boosted by the new iphone. it sold seven-times more than the same period last year. mac computer sales were also up. it's a different story over attia hao. the stock is set to fall today, after the company reported its sharpest drop in advertising revenue, since the dotcom bust. federal reserve chairman, ben bernanke, is back on capitol hill today. this time, in front of a senate panel. on tuesday, bernanke told a house committee that the central bank sees signs of an economic recovery. although it's predicting the job market will be slow to follow. >> i want to be clear that we have a very long haul here because even though as the economy begins to turn up, in terms of production, unemployment is going to stay high for quite a while. so, it's not going to feel like a really strong economy. >> the fed expects unemployment

to peak at 10% later this year. some of the top fashion magazines are getting skinnier. advertising pages in magazines like "vogue," and "glamer," are down as much as 50% for their september issues. the magazines are hopeful the declines are due to the recession and not a permanent shift. a bargain basement price was not enough to attract a buyer for the famed watergate hotel in washington, d.c. bidding started at $25 million. but there were no takers. the property now goes back to the bank but holds the loan. and remember, you can get the latest business news anytime on our website at abcnews.com. and when we come back, the solar eclipse across asia, that had millions taking a moment to look up in awe. and the case of the harvard professo

welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news. president obama tas his case for health care reform directly to the american people, with a primetime news conference. protesters clashed with riot police in tehran tuesday, as unrest over last month's disputed presidential election continues. during a visit to thailand, secretary of state clinton says the u.s. is concerned about growing military ties between north korea and myanmar. across asia this morning, a once-in-a-a-lifetimepectac. the total solar eclipsef the 21st century. sonia gallego is in london this mornrning. good morning, sonia. >> reporter: as millions of people gather to watch this phenomenon, lot of the continent of asia was plunged into darkness, some for 6 minutes and 39 seconds, making it the longest eclipsese of the blockinghe sun's rays and

casting its shadow, people watched with excitement, and participated in rituals going back centuries. nce the dawn of time, these events have been shrouded in superstition. in india, people gathered at one of india's most sacred places of pilgrimage for hindus. there, people were offering prayers and bathed in the river, because it is dlooefed that doing so will cleanse one's sins. among the throngs, one woman was killed in a stampede. over in china, excited crowds tched as murky skies gradually darkened. and people gathered at beijing's observatory, looking at the sun through special filters, and telescopes to get a safe view of the eclipse. and in thailand, a more somber

mood filled the templs. eclipses are to held times of conflict. so worshipers burnt incense at temples and prayed for peace. amid the awe, fascination and fears, scientists have said that the length of this eclipse have provided them an opportunity to learn more about the sun, especially its corona. a lunar eclipse occurs twice a year. scientists will have to wait until the next century, 2122, until the next one. prosecutors in cambridge, massachusetts, have dropped charges against henry louis gates. the noted scholar was arrested at his home tuesday, after having words with police. he came home from a trip and found his front door was jammed. well, meone mistook him for a burglar and called the police. but his arrest is prompting outrage. >> all the parties have agreed that this was an incident this that was unfortunate and regrettable. hindsight being what it is, i think everyone has viewed this

incident is one that we wish had not occurred. it wasn't the best moment for anyone involved. and after looking at all the facts and all the circumstances, all of us have come to the decision that the best thing to do is simply get past it at this point. >> the reverend jesse jackson and others say they are not satisfied with the resolution. gates says if the police officer gives him a sincere apology, he is prepared to forgive him. racial tension for a hostile standoff in the streets of the texas town of paris ap a group of african-americans were protesting how the case of a man was decided. white supremacist confronted the marchers. that's when police were called in. two arrests were made. an escaped prisoner is now back behind bars in indiana. convicted rapist, lance battreal, was captured at his mother's home yesterday. one of them was captured the next day. the other, mark booher, is still

on the loose. coming up on "america this morning," the soda machine of the future is being tested. that and sports are on tap, straight ahead. come on in. you're invited to the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. because the price on the tag is the price you pay on .remaining '08 and '09 models., you'll find low, straightforward pricing. it's simple. now get an '09 malibu 1lt with an epa estimated 33 mpg highway. get it now for around 21 thousand after all offers. go to chevy.com/openhouse # for more details. you can walk with a purpose ! to end alzheimer's... by joining us for memory walk.

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plus gas too. dude. we're covered. enjoy the game. pepto guy: pepto-bismol. yup, you're covered. a woman is accusing pittsburgh steelerquarterback, ben roethlisberger of rape. she says the attack happened last summer at the nevada hotel where she works. the woman never went to the police with her story. but has filed a civil lawsuit. roethlisberger's lawyer says he has never sexually assaulted anyone. some of last night's major league action now. here is mark morgan at espn news. good morning, everyone. we begin in philadelphia on tuesday night. the world champion phillies, facing the cubs. jimmy rollins and crew, with a nine-game winning streak. and rollins, bottom of the third. that is gone. his eighth home run of the season. this one hits hard. buehrle, his first home run. phillies up with a score of 1-0.

wee tied at 1-1. off brad lidge's foot. look at the gratuitous bounce to rollins. that is a double-play. reremain tied at 1-1. this goes extra time. bottom of the 13th, tied at 1-1. jayson werth, ball game. a walk-off three run shot. 25th on the season for werth. the phillies are streaking. make it ten wins in a row. reds and dodgers in los angeles. manny ramirez at the dish. bottom of the first, no score. two on. manny down the left field line. that's a fair ball. rafaeler if cal scores. dodgers up 2-0. bottom of the third. lament up 4-1. hits manny on the hand. he would leave the game. x-rays at the hospital were negative. ramirez is day-to-day. and now, let's go back to jeremy and vinita in the studio.

playing dirty in sports is usually a no-no. but it couldn't be avoided at an annual event in finland. >> more than 300 teams turned out for the swamp soccer world championships. who knew there was such a thing? they struggled to score in knee-deep, soggy mud. no surprise, the men's women's top prizes went to teams from finland. >> the sport originated there. it was spawned after cross-country skiers started training in the swamps. >> very inventive. >> looks fun. >> it does. and messy. have you ever found yourself craving a roz berry coke or orange fan to. the company is testing out what it hopes is the soda fountain of the future. >> this is really cool. look at this. the freestyle mixes 100 different flavored drinks on the spot. machines are currently being tested in georgia, california and utah, with plans to have 60 spread around the country by the end of a push? a pulla lift?

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finally from us this morning, hollywood for sale. 93,000 pieces of memorabilia will soon be up for grabs. >> the items appeared in films and tv shows, from cleopatra, to "the golden girls."

the prop house is going out of business. more from abc's alex stone. >> reporter: when an hollywood producer has an urgent need for, say, a life-sized submarine, the gravestone of a private first class, or whatever this is, they >> we're in the middle of a warehouse that's over 200,000 square feet. one of the biggest prop houses in the world. >> reporter: harvey schwartz created this movie prop empire. >> basically, i started in the antique business 40 years ago. and some of the early movies that did a really big job with me would be the lade runner." that's one of the biggest ones. that was 1979. remember it well. that was a good year. >> reporter: but times are changing. in the poor economy and more tv shows and movies giving up on hollywood for other cities, the hollywood prop industry has gone from boom to bust. so, what do you do with movie pieces like this shotup cadillac, used in the 2002 movie

"bandits"? if they cannot find an investor, they will go to auction in the coming weeks. >> i had 20 employees at the beginning of the year. i have seven now. and those employees that are out on the streets, a lot of them haven't found jobs yet. >> reporter: the problem now, nobody knows where to even start with prices on these items. like the morgue from the tv show "the x-files." >> everybody needs a morgue. >> reporter: or more classic memorabilia. >> the really big items will be the howard hughes desk, which was his original hollywood office desk, used in "the aviator." >> reporter: at the end of the month, it looks like these pieces of hollywood history will go to the highest bidder. alex stone, abc news, north hollywood, california. michael jackson's brother