it's thursday, august 20th. this morning, fragile democracy. the polls are open in afghanistan, with bombers trying to disrupt the process. severe storms. an uneasy night in the midwest. powerful winds rip apart homes and businesses, with more storms in the forecast. and kennedy's concern. in his own words, a wish from the ailing leader, as he looks in his own words, a wish from the ailing leader, as he looks ahead to a senate without him. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. and thanks for being with us. well, it is election day in afghanistan. a big test of that nation's progress, with millions of voters choosing their next president. >> plus, security is a major concern today, as tiban threated to disrupt the

process. nick schifrin joins us from kabul this morning, where thousands have already voted. how's it going so far, nick? >> reporter: jeremy, thousands are voting. thousands will continue to vote for the next few hours, until the polls are closed. but as you said, not without a few incidents. there was a major shootout between police and three taliban suicide bombers on the streets of kabul this morning. luckily, the police were able to kill two of those suicide bombers. the third escaped. police are still looking for them. they've actually since confiscated the cameras of some of the journalists who have gone to that scene. so, clearly, police are really concerned about the violence, concerned about reporting on that violence. the big concern about the violence and fears of promised violence across the country by the taliban, is that nobody will come and vote. and the key there is that this election will be legitimate, only if the turnout is high enough. and so, u.s. and afghan officials are hoping that the election stays quiet enough. and mostly, it has, except for a few incidents.

so that thousands of afghans, indeed millions of afghans, as many as 17 million, come out and te today. >> and election results not as speedy in afghanistan as here in the u.s. it could be weeks before an outcome is announced why is that? >> reporter: yeah. what the independent electoral commission says here, it will take them until about september 3rd, in order to release provisional results. and i'm sure we'll get leaks before then. the reason it takes so long, is afghanistan is one of the most isolated countries on the planet. we shot some video a couple of days ago, of delivering ballots by donkeys. some of these villages are so isolated, that no cars or no trucks can arrive. some of the security in some of these villages that only army helicopters could reach these villages. of course, if the ballots are hard to get to, they're hard to bring out. the same don dishgs same helicopters will have to take out the ballots. and we don't know the winner -- the final results.

we don't know the winner for at least a month. >> makes sense when you put it that way. abc's nick schifrin, reporting from afghanistan. thank you. security forces are also being individual lint in iraq this morning. two, huge truck bombs were detonated outside government buildings in bag dad yesterday, killing at least 95 people and wounding more than 400. other government sites were hit by rocket and mortar fire. officials blamed al qaeda in iraq and saddam hussein loyalists. u.s. forces who left iraqi cities by the end of june, could do little but stand by. here at home, we're following aeveling story this morning. severe storms leaving a huge cleanup job across the midwest. there's been 18 tornadoes reported in several states. and with the details, now, here's emily schmidt. >> reporter: in minnesota, the storms arrived with little warning. and left behind remarkable damage. >> i could see the cloud spinning. and there's cars ahead of me that were pulled over. i could tell that something was hitting. >> i just seen anything flying

up in the air. everything. and it was like, dark. >> reporter: storm watchers spotted at least three funnel clouds around minneapolis wednesy afternoon. the sudden, strong winds picked a woman upff the street, toppled trees in an instant. >> like a domino effect. they kept falling. and a huge piece of somebody's roof just hit the car. and it was like -- >> reporter: skies looked similar across neighbors states. iowa's fayette county spotted this tornado, that did nearby damage. in stanley, iowa, a tornado flew through this farm. >> i headed to the basement. went to the porch. and come out here. what a mess. >> reporter: storms in central illinois sent at least six people to the hospital with injuries. and left thoughts thousands more without power. >> i watched the roof go across the street. into the other house. and it was pretty wild.

>> reporter: the midwest expects more severe weather today, while the east coast focuses on hurricane bill. the category 4 hurricane is now in the atlantic and could cause large swells and beach rip currents by the weekend. >> being in the summertime season, and people wants to go out and enjoy the beach weather, the waters are going to start getting dangerous. >> reporter: bill could pick up steam as it moves north. but here's the catch, forecasters still don't know how close this hurricane is actually going to get to land. jeremy? >> abc's emily schmidt. thanks, emily. ted kennedy is clearly thinking about who will sit in his senate seat next, even as he battles brain cancer. the massachusetts democrat has written a letter to his state's governor. the paper says that kennedy asked thatassachusetts senate succession law be changed, in order to avoid a long absence when his seat becomes vie cant. kennedy seeks to have his successor appointed to have maximum support for a health care reform bill.

there's a new report about the conversation that an air traffic controller was having during a deadly collision over the hudson river. one controller jokes about barbecuing a dead cat minutes before the collision. it also shows the controller remaining on the phone until just before the plane collided with the helicopter. nine people died in that crash. the first challenge to california's ban on gay marriage will go to trial early next year. two same-sex couples are challenging proposition 8, which was passed by voters last november. a federal judge set the trial date yesterday. and warned voters against any delaying tactics. it's likely the case will go before the u.s. supreme court. harvard and princeton are sharing the top spot in the latest college rankings by "usa news and world report." the ivy league rivals are followed by yale at number three. and there's a four-way tie for four in the fourth spot.

the ratings are based on s.a.t. scores, selectivity and alumni giving among other factors. well, now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. another stormy day in the midwest. damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes from michigan to oklahoma. off and on showers and thunderstorms with some severe weather along the east coast and gulf coast. hot and nnyre it west. and almost -lfallike in parts of thfamiese t. >> highs only for 60 i fnargo today and the twin cities, today.n 74 in omaha. ise hits 100.bo salt lake city, 93. phoenix, 109. a hazy and humid 91 in new york. 84 for boston. across the south, 90 for new orleans. and 98 in dallas. new credit card rules take affect today. should the cancer-stricken bomber of pan am flight 108 go free? a court could grant that request in a few hours. and milwaukee's

crime-fighting mayor talks about that incident that got him all banged up.

stocks are rising across the board this morning. tokyo's nikkei average jumped 1.8% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened higher. wall street starts the day with the dow at 9279, after gaining 61 points yesterday. the nasdaq added 13 points to close at 1969. well, the first part of a major overhaul to credit card regulations goes into effect

today. credit card companies must now give customers 45 days' notice before changing intere rates or fees. congress passed the legislation last spring, with additional rules scheduled to take effect in february. but many credit card companies have been jacking up rates and other fees ahead of the changes. the government could announce by tomorrow, its plans to wind down the cash for clunkers program. hundreds of car dealers have already stopped offering the rebates. they're concerned they won't be reimbursed. but the transportation department is assuring dealers they will get their money. the popular incentive program is on pace to burn through its $3 billion fund by early next month. thousands of americans suspected of hiding money in secret, swiss bank accounts are now going to pay for it. swiss banking giant, ubs, has reached a deal with the u.s. government, agreeing to name clients believed to be evading taxes. thousands more americans are now expected to voluntarily disclose their holdings to the irs.

jetblue is grounding that popular all-you-can-fly promotion. the deal was so popular, jetblue was concerned it would sell too many tickets. the $600 unlimited pass lets customers fly anywhere they want for one month. no surprise that was popular. >> such a good deal. you can get the latest business news anytime on our website. the address is abcnews.com. coming up on this thursday, should a court show compassion and release the pan am bomber? plus, americans are living longer than

welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news. at least 18 tornadoes are being reported across several american states. there is a lot of damage to clean up. but so far, no fatalities. voters in afghanistan are largely ignoring threats by the taliban, as they vote today for the country's next president.

and senator ted kennedy is acknowledging his frail health. in a letter to the massachusetts governor, he asks for a change in the law to fill his seat quickly when it becomes vacant. there is plenty of interest on both sides of the atlantic right now about the fate of a former libyan intelligence agent. >> aelbasset ali ail me gra hi, has been serving a life seence for the an pam flight that blew up over lockerbie scotland. >> reporter: a decision has been made in the case of 57-year-old abdelbasset al megrahi, the man accused of taking place in the bombing of pan am 103. to release him on compassionate grounds. and that decision will be announced later this morning. receiving from terminal cancer, megrahi has been serving his

sentence in a scottish jail. he could die in three months, allowing him to be released on groupeds of compassion. megrahi was convicted of the pan am attack that killed 259 people on board and those on the ground of lockerbie. he was told he would spent a minimum of 27 years in prison before being considered for parole. now, if this morning's statement from the justice minister, kenny macaskill, could be released in days. only serving two weeks for every person killed in that attack. mr. macaskill faced pressure from the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton expressed opposition to the release. >> i think it is absolutely wrong to release someone who has been in prison based on the

evidence about his involvement in such a horrendous crime. >> reporter: since his conviction, megrahi has attempted to appeal the verdict. an argue that had been a huge miscarriage of justice. but only days ago, he propped the plea to be returned to libya under a prisoner transfer agreement. while he may spend his final days in his country, he will die without having cleared his name. >> sonia gallego, in london. thanks, sonia. the mayor of milwaukee, is on the mend, after being attacked as he tried to intervene in a domestic dispute last weekend. he suffered a shattered hand, last two teeth and had deep cuts to his face in the incident. barrett said he did what any good citizen should have done when he heard a woman screaming. >> things got very, very ugly, very, very quickly. >> the 20-year-old suspect in the case is expected to be charged later today. now, to some truly amazing

news about the state of the nation's health. amerans can expect to l live lolongerer.. 75 yeaea foror menen. yeaears for wome a ww r repeport ys t there's b agnst ny majoror diseases. thte he drereidav'suiuiavr. > reporter: the n new numbere morehahan j justt remarklele. expectctedo li t to neaearly.. nearlyly aeaear and d a halfono our health..ng more thingngs fo we're gettiningscened d d 'r're bomoming morengngaged wi what wewe nd d tododo. > reporter:r: a b becsese of that, th m mortalility rates ar do, for momore t thann half of 15 leading c causeses ath. heart didiseee deaths, dowown . all seeing declines. doctors credit huge advancements in medicine and patient knowledge. >> 20 years ago, if i told a patient their cholesterol was too high, the first thing they

might have said was what's cholesterol. today, the question back is, do you mean my good cholesterol or my bad cholesterol? >> reporter: the study shows that women still outlive men. but that gap has narrowed to five years. >> men got the message that they should stop smoking. >> reporter: african-american men in particular made big gains. now expected to live to 70. a breakthrough, doctors say, in getting public health messages out. the cdc also studied the number of americans who have died from hiv/aids. more than 11,000 in 2007. that's down 10% from the year before. and the police blotter found fewer deaths, too. homicide deaths down 6.5%. and deaths from accidents, down 5%. >> david muir reporting. up next, nascar takes over >>an fd lottery fever grips the nation. powerball and megamillions both with giant jackpots. ev

a parade of nascar's best driverpreceded predent obama and jimmie johnson on to the white house south lawn. johnson's number 48 car was also there. the event honored johnson's accomplishment. but the president used it to pay tribute to nascar's support of u.s. troops and its record of community service. some baseball highlights now. we get those from j.w. stewart at espn news. >>ood morning. we start with the matchup of division leaders. the cardinals at the dodgers. adam wayne wright going for his 15th win. wayne wright serves it up to casey blake. his 14th homer of the year. wainwrig wainwright. the thousand gets away. pujols moves to third on the year. he would score on matt holliday's sac fly. bottom nine. last chance for l.a. james loney flies out to

holiday. cards win, 3-2. d-backs and phillies. cliff lee is 3-0, since coming over in the trade with cleveland. he had five ks through five innings. got plenty of offensive support. here in the bottom of the fifth, ryan howard, off dan haren. three-run home run. his 31st. cliff lee would go the distance. a two-hitter. he struck out 11. he's 4-0, with the phils. phils take it 8-1. red sox and blue jays. roy halladay on the mound for atlanta. jason bay takes him deep here. a two-run home run in the fifth. team-leading 27th for bay. in the sixth, the blue jayce threatening. they had the bases loaded in two and outs. but encarnacion flies out to end the threat. encarnacion went 0 for 4. batting less than .200. the red sox, lead the a.l. wild

card by one game over the rangers. jeremy and vinita, back to you. there's a lucky winner for one of the biggest lottery prizes in history. >> a single winning ticket for the powerball jackpot was sold in south carolina. the pot, growing since july 1st was back down to $20 million. >> we'll have to wait until tomorrow night, to see if anyone wins megamillions. that prize jumped to a whopping $207 million. >> time to get a ticket. it looked like a giant sugar rush on what's known as the crookedest street in the world. >> san francisco's lombard street was transformed into a larg than life version of candyland. it featured lollipops and kids dressed as game pieces. it was in honor of candyland's 60th anniversary. >> love seeing kids get that excited for anything. for some of you, your local news is up next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues after this. hi help you?

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"60 minutes" will be devoted to its famed producer, don hewitt.

>> his ground-breaking work inspired more than one generation of journalists. charles gibson has a look back. >> reporter: hewitt was producing television news broadcasts before most people owned a television. he was producing before he owned a television. and he is responsible for so many firsts. he was there, when television was first able to broadcast live, coast-to-coast. >> my concerns of don hewitt. will you bring in "to atlantic post." >> reporter: he produced the first presidential debate, kennedy/nixon, 1960. >> we move over here. od? >> good. >> reporter: he produced the first half-hour evenening news broadcast. >> this is "60 minute." >> reporter: and in 1968, he came up with the idea for a television news magazi. >> there's a "life" magazine on every coffee table in america.

>> reporter: it wasn't the idea, that made it a fixture. it's that don hewitt knew a great story and how to tell it. his correspondents didn't always agree. >> this is the story i see every night on tv. >> i understand that, don. you have to know the context of why we're telling the story. why is it so important? >> right. right. >> my competition is the remote. i figure, at every living room in america, everybody watching television has one of these things sitting within easy reach. the minute their mind wanders and they reach for this, you're dead. >> reporter: few people did reach for the remote during a hewitt broadcast. he died, holding the highest respect in all of us in this business he loved. >> that is for sure. a pioneer in the tv news field. and stay with us for "good morning america." and controversy at the world track and field competition, as top finisher in the women's