it's thursday, august 13th. this morning, recovery or ruin? new signs that the economy may be improving as the federal deficit hits an all-tile high. with no slowing down. town hall tension. concern about health care fills more meetings, including this one at a baseball stadium. and one city's struggle. one at a baseball stadium. and one city's struggle. captured in pictures. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morningand thanks for joining us.

there are new signs this morning that as the economy takes once step forward it takes two steps back. >> first, the housing market. new numbers released overnight show more americans on the verjs of losing their homes. foreclosure filings were up 7% in july compared to june, that is a 32% increase from the same period last year. one in every 355 homes received a foreclosure-related notice, the highest monthly level since realty trac published the numbers. nevada leads the nation in foreclosure. >> oneig step forward came yesterday with a meeting by the federal reserve, which decided to keep the key interest rate at the lowest level in history and hinted rates would remain low for a while and more positive news, the fid saying that current economic information quote, suggests that economic activity is leving out. a possible translation, the recession has hit bottom. >> of courses government spe spending billions trying to help the economy out of recession and

billions adding up quickly. >> so far this year the government racked up the biggest federal deficit ever and concerns about that are spilling into the debate about health care reform. >> emmy schmidt again tracking town hall tensions. >> reporter: hard to believe all across the country the hottest ticket around is a chance to talk about health care. standing room only inside, more crowds gathered outside. members of congress are getting plenty to bring back here to washington. there is an irony about overflowing health care crowds. >> your government has lost the faith and trust of the american people. >> reporter: all these people going to members of congress, telling congress to stay away from them. >> i want government to stay out of my doctor's office. i want government to stay as far out of my life as i can get them. >> reporter: wh-- >> what we stant for is our government won't take over our health care system. >> reporter: in everett, washington a forum drew such a

crowd it moved from an auditorium to a baseball stadium, more room, more angry debate. >> i wish both sides had better sets manner. >> reporter: highest annual federal deficit ever, $1.27 trillion. that's more than $4,000 for every person in the country. >> who is going to pay for this bill? my children and my grandchildren are going to pay for this bill. >> reporter: health care reform critics argue the country can't afoerd change. bill supporters say reform will pay off. >> health care reform that brings down the growth rate of health care costs will help our children and grandchildren in affording health care and having less debt. >> reporter: president obama has said he won't sign a bill that adds to the deficit. some hope there's no bill to sign at all. >> people hear what we got to say. >> reporter: look for more of the debate today as more members of congress plan more of these forecomes across the country.

little progress is being reported as hundreds of u.s. marines fight taliban militants in a key town in southern afghanistan. the offensive is part of an effort to increase security ahead of next week's afghan presidential elections. the marines say taliban fighters were well-prepared for the assault, making them believe someone may have found out that they were coming. no marine casualties have been reported so far. secretary of state clinton in liberia today, during a speech in nigeria yesterday secretary clinton was talking about that country's problems with corruption and rigged elections. then she made a comparison to a certain election he in the u.s. >> our democracy is still evolving. we had all kinds of problems in some of our past elections, as you might remember. in 2000, our presidential election came down to one state where the brother of the man running for president was the governor of state, so we have our problems, too.

>> aides say she was simply making a point about how candidates should accept election results even if the vote is flawed. second clinton's husband, the former president told reporters yesterday he hadn't seen individual offhis wife's infamous outburst at an early stop in congo. when pressed about the incident, he said his wife was having a great trip. closing the guantanamo bay will be on the minds of obama administration officials as they vis the maximum state security prisen in standish, michigan, among the facilities considered for housing the 229 inmates still at guantanamo but administration says no final decisions about where to move the detainees have been made. seven suspect douse dew in court in the killings of bid and melanie billings. a pensacola grand jury handed out indictments, two counts each of first dege murder. they could get the death penalty. the billings, well known for

adopted special needs children were shot to death last week. kennedy members kept a low profile, only arnold schwarzenegger seen m public. shriver who found the special olympics died tuesday, several athletes expected at the cake today. the private funeral is tomorrow. >>. >> firefighters in northern california battling major blaze this morning. fire burned more than 1,000 acres and is spreading quickly in an area south of san francisco. about 300 homes were ordered evacuated. the blaze can be seen from 100 miles away. north carolina may not get a chance to dry out today after getting deluged by aheavy downpour. a flound of thunderstorms is expected after more than eight inches of rain fell in some places there yesterday. it triggered severe flooding that stranded drivers and left thousands without power. and now for this morning's weather from arounded nation. stormy in new england to florida

and heavy rain could cause flooding in new york, philly, d.c. and charltsen to. much-needed rain in parts of texas. widely scatter thunderstorms from arizona to wyoming and showers in the pacific northwest. >> 67 in seattle, 72 in portland, while salt lake city hits 96. 80s for chicago and detroit and below normal in the northeast, 71 for boston, 78 in new york and it's 92 in new orleans and 96 in dallas. up next this morning, what the new economic numbers are doing to overseas stocks. plus, dick cheney, the author. already revealing what's in his tell-all, including new details about his rocky relationship with president bush. and brand-new flat screenings for less than $10? the deal that has one major chain in hot water with customers. 71

recapping the morning's top business stories, more americans are in danger of losing their homes than ever before. numbers out this morning show more than 360,000 homes received foreclosure notice it is last month, up 32% from a year ago. the federal deficit jumped $180 billi last month, soaring to a record $1.27 trillion. that works out to more than $4,000 for every man, woman and child. the federal reserve says it sees sign the economy is leveling out and that the recession is almost over.

they left interest ralts at historic lose. >>. >> boosting stocks indiana rot world, tokyo's nikkei average ros rose.0.8%. the ftse opened higher. wall street starts with dow at 3 9361 after climbing 120 yesterday, the nasdaq closed at 1998. swiss banking giant ubs reached a deal with the justice department to disclose the names of some americans with secret bank accounts. it's unclear how many of the banks roughly 52,000 american clients will be named. the bank has been charged with helping those wealthy clients evade taxes on nearly $15 billion. jet blue is serving up flights buffet style. the airline is offering an all-you-can-fly bass pas for one month, customers can get unlimited travel to the international and domestic destinations. the pass costs $599 and is good between september 8th and

october 8th. customers won't collect frequent flyer points for all of the miles they travel. speaking of good deals, looked like black friday at some best buy stories on wednesday but bargain basement price that drew people was like santa claus, too good to be true. the chain's website listed 52-inch flat screen tv for $9.99. as you might imagine, that turned out to be a typo. the tv really sells for $1800. best buy says it will not honor the price. unfortunately for all those folks. remember for up to minute business news 24 hours a day check out abcnews.com. coming up on this thursday, a coach lost in a sex scandal as he tries to save his job. eerie images, detroit's decline caught in pictures.

welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news. 400 u.s. marines are battling stiff taliban resistance in a new offensive in southern afghanistan. they are trying to increase security for next week's afghan presidential election. >> health care reform meetings, at a baseball stadium. many voters are concerned with the owing deficit. >> a public wake is bying held on cape cod i don't remember eunice kennedy sliefrs. thousand are expected to attend. university of louisville men's basketball coach rick pitino wakes up amid scannedality stemming from an fair he had six years ago and the legal fallout that's been coming to light. >> reporter: celebrated college basketball coach rick pitino is fighting for his reputation. >> when you have a problem, if you tell the truth, your problem becomes part of your past.

if you lie, it becomes part of your future. >> reporter: police records reveal he admitted having sex with karen sypher in 2003 at porcini's a louisville restaurant and told them sypher called him two weeks later to tell him she was pregnant and she wanted an abortion. pitino told police he gave her $3,000. sypher's account confirms of sex but she claims it was rape. and the pitino raped her a second time at the home of an acquaintance. prosecutors declined to charge pitino because of inconsist enis? sypher's story. >> this isn't about me anymore, that's why i will fight to the bitter end and the truth will come out. >> reporter: sigh dper came forward with her accusations after she was arrested on federal charges of lying to fbi and extortion. so far, university officials have come out in support of pitino. university president james ramsey released a statement saying he had knowabout the alleged extortion attempt for some time. i've now been informed there may

be other details which, if true i found surprise. my thoughts were coach pitino and his family while his contract contains a more always clause, so far there have been no official calls for the coach to step down. diana alvear, abc news, chicago. the national enquirer is reporting the dna test prove john edwards father aid child with his one-time girlfriend. the tabloid says rielle hunter demand the test so she could ensure a sound financial future for her daughter. edwards ad midded the affair but denied having a child. the enquirer was first to break the story of this their affair. >> if former vice president dick chin an's memoir apirnly shaping up to be atell-all. "the washington post" says cheney believes president bush gradually turned away from his advice during his second term in osts and report ld bush turned out to be more like an ordinary politician. the book is due in 2011 and cover cheney's kreer starting

with his chief of staff job under president ford. the problems of city of detroit are well documented, demise of the car industry and raging unemployment. on a recent trip there i met a photographer who's capturing the city's downfall one frame and one house at the time. kevin bowman is a professional photographer, his subject, old houses, his studio? the forgotten streets of detroit. where home after lifeless, collapsing home, he's documenting what he calls the downfall of his once-great hometown. >> i think it kind of shows what can happen to a society if you don't look towards the future, see what's coming down the road and make changes as necessary. >> reporter: ten years ago he started photographering what had been grand houses in wealthy, thriving neighborhoods but decades of bad luck and lost opportunity have driven out half this city's population. nearly a million people since the 1950s. these are the stark symbols of

what was left behind. >> the people here are great, they're hard working. they want to make a difference and they managed to make it through almost everything but individuals can only do some much. >> reporter: for its part, the ty is trying to do something about the urban decay. they've plied for federal funds to help tear down some 2300 of these abandoned homes but it wouldn't make a dent. entire neighborhoods here have fallen victim to arsonists and time and neglect. >> compared to other cities, other major cities, there's just, there really isn't a comparison. nothing else compares to detroit in the level of abandonment and decay. >> reporter: and sadly, there is no shortage of subjects for kevin to shoot. by some counts, there are 12,000 abandoned, dilapidated homes in detroit lean and he's only photographed a little more than 100. he sells photos of the 100 homes on his website and people from all over the world have been buying prints. everywhere, that is, except here in kroitdetroit.

why pay for it, he says, when they can see it every day? >> he has had interest from places like china and all over the united states from people who find these pictures interesting, artistic and sad all at the same time. >> vert. we>> w. >> whewe come ck, the lastesfrom espnews. ritis pain, not treating is not n option. all prescription nsaid pain relievers, like celebrex, ibuprofen and naproxen, help treat arthritis pain and have some of the same warnings. but since individual results may vary, having options is important. prescription celebrex has een the option for millions of patients for 10 straight years. just one 200-mg celebrex (once aay,) can provide dependable, 24-hur relief for many with arthritis pain, .stiffness and inflammation., based on the available data, the fda stated that " for certain patients celebrex's benefits " outweigh the risks. if you are worried about stomach upset, you should know, in .clinical studies,,

a lower percentage of paients taking celebrex reported stomach discomfort versus prescription ibuprofen and naproxen. and if you are taking low-dose aspirin for your heart and need an nsaid ain reliever, celebrex can be used because it doesn't interfere with the effects of .low-dose aspirin., but when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor ned to balance, the nefits with the risks. the fda requires all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam, to have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors for it such ashi blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, also increase the chane of serious skin reactions or stomach nd intestine problems,, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without " warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly

are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you're allergic to aspirin or sulfonamides. ask your doctor if you could benefit from celebrex. understand the risks. eel the benefits. >> zbla bizarre emergency landing in las vegas. the pilot of a police helicopter forced to bring it down in the ddle of a city street after the engine suddenly failed. amazingly, no one was hurt the chopper missed power lines and light poles. it was fixed and ready to fly again within an hour. it is time now for some sports. golf's final major tournament year, pga championship, begins today in minnesota. but baseball and soccer are in our espnews highlight this is morning. >> good morning, everyone i'm mark morgue wn this update. we begin in mexico city, world

cup equal fire between the united states and mexico in mexico city. first half, 9th minute, landon donovan, beautiful pass forward to davys, he takes it in and scores. 1-0, usa. united states, 0-22-1 in the country of mexico all-time. 19th minute. israel castro ties it at 1. ndnd minutute,ll tied at sabaill fish and how.w. memexixico, up2-1. that is ur final, t eranse againin in n the couny memexixico. > momoving on to basebabal. illi and cububs. pedroarartinezaking h phil d deb at weyfid. phphilillies up 8-1, two on, to. seasonon.thomeun o of e eyo up-1-1, pllllieie u up fox, fly ball t to o left cenr

field. shane victoro,o, , the's bobo. he s catchcheseshehe ll. nice concentration. phillies and pedro with the win. yankees and blue jays at the new stadium. bottom of the 11th, tied at 3. now we're not. deep to right center. a single, walkoff, rodriguez zprors seco scores from home. best record in major league baseball. you might call it a recession-proof propose poesal, no dinner, no dancing, just discounts all round. >> an idaho man got down on his knee and popped the question to his girlfriend and walmart. the couple was planning to look at ring but the saleswoman threw out idea to propose on the spot. the impromptu decision went over well with the bride. you can see from the tears she gladly said yes, sir. >> choreographed it with the salesperson and local news crew

who brought the camera out. >> very good point. >> for some of you, local news is next. >> for everyone else "america this morning" continues after this. i don't always let my bladder problems... or the worry my pipes might leak... compromise what like to do..., like hunting for bargains, not always bathrooms. i take care with vesicare.

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finally this morning, confectionenary cat fight, one of the biggest do nut chains facing off with a new competit r competitor. >> a franchise from north of the border and giving americans yet another choice when it comes to getting their sugar fix. ♪ sugar >> glazed, with sprinkles, jelly-filled, new yorkers know a good do nut. and in this city, there is no shortage of places to satisfy the craving. >> how can i help you? >> a new chain in town, invader from the north, hoping to poke holes in the competition. >> came in here on a friday, it was a dunkin do nuts, came on monday and they changed it. >> canada, tim hortons is the undisputed king, they outnumber mcdonald's and account for a quarter of nearly all fast food sales, now 13 have arrived in the big apple hoping to kreme

and dunk the competition. >>y. >> reporter: after extensive and filling research of my own, i turned to the internet and learned americans have been going gaga for glazed and fanatical over their it frommers for generations. then, i found the man who wrote the book on glazed america. i have to tell you, as soon as i saw i, i thought he'd been fatter. >> maybe a trick that the camera is playing. >> reporter: anthropology professor studies do nut and their role in american culture. in tough economic times the one treat we're not willing to give up. >> easy to give into temptation with a do nut because it will cost us less than a buck. >> reporter: across the u.s., some 500 tim hortons versus about 9,000 dunkin do nuts. the battle for the newcomer won't be easy but already, many new yorkers are sweet on the change. >> can i have another one? >> you got to go back for seconds. ♪ pour a little sugar on me