captions paid for by abc, inc. it's wednesday, august 12 glt. scare tactics, that's what the president calls heated rhetoric concerng health care. has it all but killed his reform plan? criminal mind. bernard madoff's number two admits in court he knew all along investors were losing billions. charged up h new makes electric cars about to hit the market. ismaker's automotive love affair about to change? good morning, thanks for

getting up with us on this wednesday. democratic lawmakers face another day of jeers and taunts at het care town hauls. >> one hosted his over the phone rather than face a rowdy crowd, others are hiring extra skurlt. >> so far crowds showing up to see president obama have been calm but haes two more major event this is week. emily smid is tracking the story from washington. >> good morning and more than a thousand pages in health care plan but town hall meeting had a whole new chapter. the debate is loud, passions are clear. >> you don't trust me? >> a it wit town hall meetings, leading to hurt feelings. >> i don't understand this rudeness. i don't get it. i honestly don't get hist do you think you're persuading people when you shout out like that? >> democrats trying to explain the push for health care overhaul are getting push back from pennsylvania -- >> one day god's going to stand

before you and he's going to judge you. >> we just had a democraten administration of democracy. okay? >> to oklahoma. >> for 34 yes! >> reporter: where one man who voiced support for reform was booed by the crowd. >> thank you. >> reporter: one of the few people getting positive public feedback to health care change is the president. he took his plan to new hampshire yesterday, though protesters gathered outside, inside he face aid supportive crowd. >> insurance companies will be pro hib itted from denying coverage because of a person's medical history. period. they will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. >> reporter: some democrats accuse conservative groups of orchestrating the fury. president obama calls the demonstrations democracy in action. whatever the case, the debate continues across the country while health care reform waits in washington. and president obama does have two more of these town hall

meetings planned for later this week. mine wheel, some first tv ads critical of the health care plan begin airing today across 20 states. >> emily schmidt, thank you. on abcnews.com you can get your answers to questions about health care reform. our experts weigh in plus you can watch our fact check report. newly released white house e maims show former adviser karl rove was detectly involve for the firing of attorneys for political reasons. they show extensive conversation between him and white house counsel hair yet miers. rove said he simply acted as a conduit. >> funeral services set for friday in massachusetts for eunice kennedy shriver. family members began gathering for a private wake last night at the kennedy compound in high is in port. among those arriving were shriver's kneniece caroline keny and her brother, ted.

many remember her work as founder of the special olympics. >> she was a great american citizen and she stood by herself as as a citizen, a grut humanitarian. >> hundreds are expected to pay their respects at a public wake tomorrow. eunice shriver was 88. because of his sister's death and his own health problems senator kennedy will not be at the white house to receive hess med alf ceremony. among 15 others given the high honor civil rights pioneer reverend lowery and former supreme court justice sandra dey o'connor. >> the newest justice sonya soert mire will be honored at the white house this morning, 200 specially selected gets will get the chance to congratulate the court's first latina justice. she wasworn in last weekend. investors looking into the death of michael jackson raided a pharmacy. a among the evidence they seized was documentation th jackson's

doctor, conrad murray bought the drug appropriate fol at the pharmacy. he said he administereded drug to jacksonn the hours before his death. investors are looking into jackson's relationship with at least six other doctors. the fbi is starting to get an inside view of bernard madoff's multibillion dollar ponzi scheme from his former chief financial officer frank i did pass cali. me . he pleaded guilty. >> for an investment firm that claimed $65 blion in saets frank dipascali was an unlikely choice as chief financial officer, no college or pvious financial experience. but what he admit nod court he did have was a criminal mind. in pleading guilty to the ten felony counts, dipascali deskrieed his role in carrying out madoff ponzi scheme for at least two deblg aids. he said the transactions he recorded were fake. quote, it was all fictitious.

it was wrong and i knew it was wrong at the time." zbliev frank knew as much as bernie did and as time went on, i noticed that they spent more and more time together in the office and frank was always intertwined with bernie, he would call me to check his calendars to see who was coming in. >> reporter: paid $3 million to help madoff carry out the crime. he had a sprawling estate in suburban new jersey, a huge yacht with a captain, paid for by the captain and corporate american express platinum card in which he charged thousands of dollars in personal item, including plane trips to bahamas for his son and clenl friends. as he lived the good life, he admitted it was his job to help madoff outwit federal investigators and keep the scam running, destroying thousand of lives. he apositionized to his victims and head sed his fault was

following madoff too loyally since 1975. as their new star witness, federal prosecutors had been willing to let him post bail and remain free while awaiting sentencing the but federal judges ordered hip jailed immediately saying he was too much of a flight risk. police across britain on look lookout for jewel thieves. they spent two minutes in the tony jewelry store and made off with 43 pieces worth $56 million. after tlest the store, they fired two shots and drove off. they switched cars three times in under half a mile. this morning the manhunt continues. and now for this weather from the nation, stormy from the gulf coast to new england today, showers and thunderstorms in boston, new york, d.c., nashville and new orleans. it could get severe with gusty winlds and hail from virginia to alabama.

wildly scattered thunderstorms in dallas, denver and tucson, scattered showers in the pacific northwest. a wet 37 in seattle and 57 in portland. boise hits 92 and phoenix ishe t hot spot at 10 highs in # 0s for chicago, dloit droit and st. louis. it's 74 in boston and mid 08 frs new york to atlanta. coming up, new tension between the u.s. and iran as three american hikers are detained. can a deal be reached to bring them home. the next generation of electric cars to hit the road.

the federal reserve wraps up its two-day meeting today. ben bernanke and company expected to leave interest rates and record lose and problem lindh kate they'll stay there for a while but most people want to know how much longer the fed will maintain many of the programs it created to prop up the economy. stocks stumbled ahead of the fed's announcement. the dow fell 96 points to close at 9241. the nasdaq lost 22 points to close at 1969. it's a sum lar stories overseas, tokyo's nikkei average dropped nearly 1.5% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower and in london the ftse opened lower. two credit card companies dropping controversial fees for customers who go over tir credit limit, they will eliminate the fees soon, six months before new credit card

regulations take effect. unr the new rules, consumers must agree to pay a fee before they can charge more than their limit. a new report finds we have the highest cell phone bills in the world. americans pay an average of more than $600 a year for cell service. that's compared to about $130 in some european nations where service is the cheapest. one of the main reasons our bills are so much more expensive is that we pay for calls we receive. the financially strapped postal service is rolling out a new collection of commemorative stamps, paying tribute to classic sfloes television's golden age, the early tv memories stamps go on sale today featuring 20 shows that captivated the nation. maybe 40 years from now an "america this morning" stamp. >> hard to believe but i hope so. >> you can get the latest business news any time at our website, abcnews.com. coming up next on this wednesday, a major criminal investigation. did the host of a tv crime show order murders to boost his ra

ratings? a new message from one of the american women brought home from north korea one week ago today.

welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news. president obama is trying to regain the momentum in the health care debate by using town hall meetings to press his case. familyembers have gathered at the kennedy come pond in h n hyannisport, mass to remember eunice kennedy shriver. frank dipascali, former cfo for bernard madoff has pleaded guilty and is being held as a flightrying. allegedly commissioning five murders in an effort to boost his ratings. wallace souza not only the host

he's a state lawmaker but authorities say his show's cameras suspiciously been at drug trafficker's murder scenes before police knew about them. he's also accused of his own drug trafficking activities. he says the charges are absurd and they are being drummed up by his political enemies. the families of three american hikers held in iran released a statement that i saig they're hoping for a quick resolution that will reunite them with their channel. shane bauer and josh fattal graduates of california university at berkeley, hiking on the iraqi side of the border when he accidentally crossed in iran, they've been moved to tehran, not clear what iran might demand for their return. one of the two american journalists held for nearly five months in north korea is expressing hess gratitude. in a new website euna lee wrote when i'm home and i'm with my family think of all individual whose were there at the vigils, who wrote letters to us and the government, knowing that you would not stop until we came

home kept me going day by day in north korea. all of the victims from this weekend's collision between a small plane and a helicopter have now been removed from the hudson river. a huge crane pulled up the doomed aircraft with two bodies still inside yesterday. the piper was found about 60 feet deep in murky water. the total of nine people died in that collision. general motors is out with a new model and a ear catching claim, company says the chevy volt will get 230 miles on a single gallon of gas. >> 230. they say the volt runs on batteries alone for 40 miles and small gas engine kicks in keeping the battery charged. the stick are price, $40,000. >> the volt is one of several electric cars coming to the market, bill weir took some test drives. >> reporter: in the beginning electric cars outsold all others. henry ford's cheaper model t changed that but a century later the electric renaissance is on. from akron, home of the

three-wheeled myers to spokane where they make the tango, perfect for splitting gridlock. of. >> no oil anges, no preventive maintenance. >> reporter: britain has line of electric trucks called smith. warren buffett invested a quarter billion in china's byd and coming soon, norway's think city. the exterior is made of plastic. how safe is a plastic car. >> the safety structure is in the frame and this has a high strength steel frame. >> reporter: next yeert nissan leaf at 30 grand and chevy volt for about 40,000. and whether it's tesla roadster or bmw's mini e you notice the quiet. is it on? the second thing is the instant power. i do love that torque. now that several hundred of these are on the road the so-called pioneers who pay $850 to lease them are discovering the hassle of the charge. >> full of hurdles, full of

hurdles, unless you're on top of it. >> reporter: the best batteries are still expensive and limited to around 100 milesen take 23 hours to fill it up. so farther cars seem years to get than cords and boxes. >> everybody is jumping in the game to show the public tha these cars aren't science fiction, they can be part of their future. >> reporter: when extension cords will replace gas cans and a change enthu yasts say is well worth the growing pains. not bad. coming up for some newlyweds, great debate, should women take their husband's names? we'll have the results from a new survey. and the brawl in beantown a beh-clearer between the tigers and red sox. these days, wouldn't it be great

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massive wildfire from above as well as on the ground. at least 1500 acres in the los padros national forest have gone up in flag. ranches have been ordered to be ee vac watted. smoke drifted as far away as las vegas. americans a s are apparentl still traditional thinkers about changing names after marriage. >> 70% of americans think brides should take their husband's last niem, 29% think they should keep their own. surprisingly, half went as far to say that government should mandate women to change their names when they marry. >> maybe that is an option. my wife did not change hers, maybe she should listen to this. some sportses now. things got rough last night in boston between the red sox and tigers. >> that and other baseball highlights from espnews. good morning everyone i'm mark morgan with this espnews update. major league baseball on tuesday night at fenway park. tigers and red sox.

tazawa, first career start and he hits miguel cabrera, top of the 1st, he would leave the game in the second inning. 3-0shgs rick porcello, facing martinez, inside. just misses martinez, victor not pleased. bottom of the 2nd, first pitch of the inning. porcello hitting kevin youkilis and it's on. youkilis charges the mound, throws his batting helmet. no pun ofs of thrown, a lot of guys pushing and shoving. both porcello and youkilis ejected. terry franco no and jim deyland the managers t errs talking it . lowell, in for youkilis, deep to left and red sox put a seven spot on win it over the tigers. and matsui hosting the blue jays. at the dish, yankees down 4-3. that is matsui's 17 home run of

the year. tied at 4. next batter, posada, a little flare to right, keeps carrying. that is a home run in the new yankees stadium, right field, again. 7-5, yankees is your final. mean tile, phillies looking to aid four-game slide. francis koshgs top of the 12th, homer time, takes gregg deep for the solo shot, phillies win 4-3. and now let's go back to jeremy and vinita in the studio. a new humanoid robot giving the competition a run for its money. >> this prototype can run faster than honda's robot and it's no pushover. it can remain balanced against an external force like that push you just saw there but it's a work in progress. right now it's still limited to moving over flat surfaces. >> not enough to compete with cars, toyota and honda have to compete with robots. >> pretty good movement. it glides almost.

>> not bad. even withstands the push, as we saw. for some of you, local news is up next. >> for everyone else "america this morning" continues after this. people think that honda is always the most fuel efficient choice. well, this chevy cobalt xfe has better highway mileage than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v.

and chevy malibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can't compete with. it's self-propelled. there's never been more reasons to look at chevy. i felt this deep lingering pain that was a complete mytery to me. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia muscle pain and then he recommnded lyrica., fibromyalgia is thought to be he result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. and with less pain, i can do more uring my day. how sweet is that? lyrica is not for everyone. tell you doctor about any serius allergic reaction, that causes swelling or #affects breathing or skin, or changes eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side efects of lyrica

are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling ofhands n, do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should never drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. if you think you might have fibromyalgia, k asoc doctor about lyrica.

finally, washington, d.c.'s historic ford's theater long attracted tourists but now after a major renovation, it is a museum dedicated to abraham lincoln's presidency h. >> text nolg takes investors back to the 18 huss to remember lincoln's legacy. t.j. winick takes us on tour. >> reporter: ford's theater synonymous with the tragic death of americ abraham lincoln now this historic landmark is trying to capture his life as well. >> we want to put you inside the lincoln presidency. we want to immerse you in the period. >> reporter: presidential historian richard norton smith wrote and helped designed the exhibits at the new ford theater museum. >> space is limited, the story is unlimited, you disstill that to its vy essence. >> reporter: located in building's basement you're greeted by the image of a train that browse lincoln to

washington in 1861 and parallel walls revisit april 14th, 1865. >> we've given the hour by hour, what booth is doing, what lincoln's doing, until they converge at 10:15. >> reporter: you then end up in the recently refurbished theater, the most notorious crime scene in american history. >> the only way you can understand wery that murder mattered so much is to understand abraham lincoln's life and presidency. >> rorter: you can still see treasured artifacts like the suit he wore when he was shot and the door to the box and the pistol used by john wilkes booth. >> it transfofrmd american history. >> reporter: only now, they're no longer randomly displayed, they're framed by history. >> we've taken those dots and d we've told a narrative story. >> reporter: the story of a national heartache that continues to fascinate 144 years later. t.j. winick, abc news,