making news on this thursday, september 16th. >> tough times. new polls show trouble for the president's party. but today, he fights back, with new plans for economic relief. the pope and the queen. pope benedict arrives in britain for a visit that's already being overshadowed by controversial comments from the vatican. up close and personal. the biggest animals return to the coast of california, after decades away. good morning. as the campaign season is kicking into high gear, we have some new evidence of just how

tough november's elections could be for the democrats. >> a number of new polls out this morning demonstrate the growing discontinue tent among voters. one finds 57% of americans believe the country's headed in the wrong direction. just 40% say it's actually going the right way. >> and off the heels of tea party candidate victories on tuesday, democrats clearly have a lot to do. vice president biden was on tv last night, staying positive. >> we are going to retain control of the house. we're going to retain control of the senate. because when the american people focus on the alternative, it's going to be absolutely clear to them, there is no alternative. >> biden also accused the republicans of being a party which has no room for moderates. and he says, with that tone amongst the gop, it makes it difficult to get anything done. of course, that's a huge problem when it comes to fixing the economy, which is the number one issue, by far, among american voters. >> for where that battle stands, we're joined now from washington

by emily schmidt. good morning, emily. >> reporter: good morning to you. voters say the economy is what they're most focused on going into the november elections. today, trying to fix the economy will be a major focus in washington. and it will also be a major sticking point. today, the senate could pass a small business bill, something president obama has long wanted. he says if they can agree there, they can agree on how to extend bush-era tax cuts, set to expire at the end of the year. >> the american people didn't send us here to just think about our jobs. they sent us here to think about theirs. >> reporter: the president wants families making less than $250,000 a year to keep those tax cuts. those making more, to lose them. republican leaders say everyone needs the break. >> extend all of the current tax rates because raising taxes on anyone, especially small businesses, is the wrong prescription for an ailing economy. >> reporter: the unemployment rate stands at 9.6%, including hundreds of steelworkers in

ohio, who just found out their plants will remain idle through at least the end of the year. >> most of the men are scared. they're worried about their jobs. >> reporter: new foreclosures out this morning from realitytrack, showed last year lenders took more than any homes since the mortgage crisis. even some democrats say this isn't the same for change. >> my position is, given the fragility of the economy, all the bush tax cuts should be extended temporarily. >> reporter: 31 house democrats sent their leadership a letter asking for the same thing. a universal tax cut extension for everyone. president obama said the country simply can't afford to wait on this issue. rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt live in washington this morning. thank you. in other news now, pope benedict is beginning a four-day state visit to britain today. like many foreign trips he has taken, this one, too, is joined by controversy. lama hasan joins us from london

with a preview. good morning, lama. >> reporter: the british prime minister, david cameron, said this will be an important and historic trip. not since 1982, has a pope visited the united kingdom. this will be pope benedict xvi, the first state visit to reenergize the catholic church here in britain. and it's an expensive trip. the cost is estimated at $18 million, plus $2 million for security. the pontiff has a packed schedule. he's being welcomed by the queen and other members of the royal family at the royal palace in edinboro. and he is said to be meeting with abuse victims, his fifth meeting since becoming leader of the catholic church. later today, the pope will host an open-air mass in glasgow. at this mass, susan boyle will become singing what has become her signature song, "i have a dream."

she says, it's always been her dream to sing in front of the pope. rob? >> and we're hearing that recent comments by a cardinal could overshadow the visit a bit. >> reporter: this is what everyone is talk about. a senior aide said rooifing at heathrow airport was like landing in, quote, a third world country. he reportedly told a german magazine that the u.k. was gripped by a new achism. he said his comments will be damaging and overshadowed the pope's trip. back to you. >> lama hasan, live in london. thanks, lama. the latest round of middle east peace talks has ended with no agreement. israeli and palestinian leaders are far apart on major issues, like jewish settlements on the west bank. secretary of state clinton meets with president abbas and then the king of jordan. tony hayward is defending the oil giant's role in the gulf spill.

hayward acknowledged that bp had failed to top the spill and to plan adequately for an accident of that spill. but he said his company has a strong safety record and is not solely to blame for the disaster. the obama administration wants tighter oversight of gas and oil pipelines, following several major accidents. just last week, 40 homes were destroyed and at least 4 people killed in a san francisco suburb. the new plan sent to congress, would increase fines for safety violation and provide more money for inspectors. firefighters are hunkering down against a fire burning in the sierra nevada 100 miles north of los angeles. hundreds have been evacuated from the small towns that dat the area. one home has been destroyed. we are keeping our eye on three, named storms this morning. tropical storm karl is getting stronger in the gulf of mexico, bound for central mexico. hurricane igor is a category 4 storm, making a bull's eye for

bermuda. it will create dangerous surf along the u.s. east coast tomorrow. but hurricane julia will not threaten land. and now for this morning's weather from around the country. the midwest dries out, after heavy rain and even tornados. but fierce storms strike kentucky and across the great lakes, with strong winds, hail and an isolated twister. showers, meanwhile, in the northwest, montana and north dakota. thunderstorms in west texas. rain in most of florida. >> a bit cooler than normal across the midwest and ohio valley. chicago, 67. hot in the south. atlanta and miami both at 88. phoenix, also above average at 107. seasonal temperatures mostly everywhere else. there is growing concern of what a september 11th memorial event is doing to nature. >> we're talking about the twin beams of light that shine on each anniversary of 9/11. last weekend, thousands of birdses were migrating south and became distracted by the bright lights. >> new yorkers have posted dozens of youtube videos like

this one, showing the birds flying in and out of the huge light beams. the same thing happened in 2004. experts say the confusion can exhaust the birds. but they do believe they have resumed their normal migration. when we come back on this thursday, a change at the starbucks drive-through window starting today. plus, website woes for customers of one megabank, unable to access their account information for days. and visitors from the deep. surfers gets up close to s

the number of americans losing their home to foreclosure has hit a new high. more than 95,000 homes were repossessed last month, up 25% from last year and the most since the start of the mortgage crisis. but the number of homes entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row. the woman credited with the idea for the consumer protection agency will now be tapped to oversee it's creation. president obama will name harvard professor, elizabeth warren, as a special adviser, reporting to him and the treasury department. that means the fierce consumer advocate will not have to be confirmed by the senate. no big moves in the overseas stock markets this morning. tokyo's nikkei average ticked down less than 0.1% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. meanwhile, in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. and on wall street, the dow gained 46 points yesterday. the nasdaq climbed 11 points. many chase customers are realizing their biggest fears about online banking.

a computer problem had prevented millions from accessing their accounts since monday night. access was finally restored wednesday morning. but the site was then overwhelmed by customers rushing to logon. bank officials believe a software error is to blame. and have ruled out an online attack. starbucks is bowing down to customer demands to add the tall back to its drive-through menu. the smaller 12-ounce size we all love will begin reappearing today. it was removed last month to simplify the menu. many thought starbucks was trying to get them to spend more money. ebay billionaire meg whitman has set a new contribution record in her race to be governor of california. she spent more of her own money than any candidate ever. final price tag, 119 million bucks so far. that's $10 million more than what new york's billionaire mayor spent for a third term last year. >> guess it's a chip off the billionaire block, right? >> unbelievable. coming up next on this

thursday, buried in the wrong graves. new developments in the investigation of arlington narnl cemetery. and tens of thousands of fish found dead in louisiana. incredible picture there. could the gulf oil spill be to blame? hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt hat, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm. this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia

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a spectacular sight off the coast of southern california. a pod of blue whales between 10 and 15 of them. bhal watchers said the creatures, the largest on earth, came right up to their boat. one tour operator said it's been many years since a group that size has been seen there. he said this year's colder waters and abundant krill have probably attracted them. time for a look at your morning road conditions. watch out for flooding on i-70, from minneapolis to pittsburgh. and on i-71 from cincinnati to cleveland. and in florida, wet roads on i-95 and i-75. >> and if you're flying today,

expect airport delays in seattle, detroit, boston, philadelphia, new york and miami. michael jackson's mother is suing the promoter of her son's comeback cancers. katherine jackson is claiming that aeg live failed to provide the singer's personal doctor, conrad murray, with equipment, that could have saved her son's life. murray is not named in the suit. katherine jackson is seeking unspecified damages for her family. it was a day of dramatic testimony of a murder trial in connecticut. a doctor lived through the brutal attack, but his wife and doctors did not. richard cantu reports, now, on the very emotional case. >> reporter: the day after dr. william petit testified on the brutal attack on his family, he broke down sobbing in court, as jurors were shown photos of his two daughters. they die aid long with their mother, when their connecticut home was invaded two years ago. petit was beaten and tide to a pole in his basement. with his legs still bound, he

popped and rolled to a neighbor's house for help. surveillance video shows petit's wife, jennifer, at a bank that morning, trying to withdraw $15,000 in cash. >> what's your emergency? >> we have a lady who is in our bank right now who says her husband and children are being held at their house. >> okay. her husband and family. >> yes. they're tied up, she says. they told her they wouldn't hurt anybody, if she got back there with the money. she believes them. >> reporter: the suspect, steven hayes, and his accomplice, took jennifer hawke-petit back home and sexually assaulted her before killing her. they set hire to the house, killing 17-year-old hayley and mikhail la. steven hayes and joshua cam jef ski who is awaiting trial, could get the death penalty. >> the two suspects in the case had offered to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences.

but prosecutors want the death penalty. the army has revealed that two people were buried in the wrong graves at arlington national cemetery. and officials are warning there could be similar mixups. the details were revealed during an investigation of bookkeeping. they got thousands of calls by worried families after the investigation was announced. a massive fish kill in louisiana was not becaused by the bp oil spill, according to government investigators. after a huge number of dead fish were found friday, local officials demanded an investigation into a possibly oil spill link. but now, it appears the fish suffocated by low oxygen levels. there's officially no winner of the 005 heisman trophy. reggie bush has returned his trophy, amid scandal with his days at usc. the 2005 award will remain

vacant. there's no college football in our update this morning. but there's plenty of baseball. there's anish shroff at espn news. >> good morning, first place in the american league east on the line wednesday night. the yankees, a half-game lead on the rays. derek jeter went to first, after he was hit by a pitch. actually hit the bat. jeter admitted so. goes to first anyway. next batter, curtis granderson, his 18th of the year. a two-run shot. the yankees take a 3-2 lead. bottom seven, tampa responds. dan johnson, his second of the game. he drove in all four tampa bay runs. rays up 4-3. ninth inning, alex rodriguez up. he strikes out the tying one. tampa, now first place in the a.l. east, a half-game in front of new york. padres and rockies. san diego looking to sweep colorado. troy tulowitzki opened play with 9 homers and 20 rbis in september. he would just tack on.

that was just one. he saved one for later. tulowitzki, two homers. a career-high seven rbis. 11 home runs and 20 rbis in september. only halfway through the month. rockies, 2 1/2 games behind the padres in the n.l. west. joe montana watching the giants take on the dodgers. bottom seven. mike fontenot. that's an rbi single. has run support for matt kayne. 1-0, san francisco. and in the ninth, brian wilson, gets him swinging. san fran, just a half-game out of the division lead in the national league west. i'm anish shroff for this espn news update. let's send it back to you in new york. a pet camel in oregon is said to be fine after being stuck in a messy situation. moses, the camel, got stuck in a muddy sink hole tuesday night. it took rescuers nearly 4 hours to get the 1,500-pound animal out. >> they had to dig several feet

down to get safety lines around the animal. when moses was secured, they hoisted him out. now, moses is doing just fine. >> it's been a slow news day here. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today. stay with us. ever seen anything like it? me neither. it's beneful incredibites. uh-huh! it's just the way you like it-- made with wholesome grains, real beef, even carrots and peas. you love the smaller-size, easy-to-chew kibbles, and i love the carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. whoa! wait for me! ha-ha. you only think you're getting spoiled. [ woman announcing ] beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful.

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discuss trade agreements and how best to promote u.s. exports, jobs and growth. with middle east peace talks now stalled, secretary of state clinton meets with palestinian leaders today in ramallah. then, she'll travel to jordan for a working lunch with king abdullah. pope benedict begins a four-day trip to britain today. it's the fourth time a pope has set foot on british soil. in addition to meeting the queen, benedict is expected to meet with alleged priest abuse victims during his visit. malik hassan has a pretrial hearing where his lawyer will argue for reporters to be barred from future hearings, including one next month where survivors are expected to testify. and today, tennessee officials announced an effort to get their state moving. the goal is to make residents healthier within five years. tennessee has one of the highest obesity rates in the nation. now, for some of you, your

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finally, everyone agrees that family is the bedrock of society. but not everyone agrees about what counts as a family. >> so, researchers asked a cross section of american that very question. and actually found some pretty surprising changes. here's john berman. ♪ >> reporter: there's the addams family, the first family, my family and the partridge family. ♪ i think i love you >> reporter: all called family. but what counts as family? >> what we find is that people are moving away from a traditional definition of family. and they're moving towards a modern definition of family. >> reporter: the "modern family," indeed, comes in many combinations. nearly 100% of us agree, a husband, wife and kinds counts as a family. no kids, 92% say that's a family. those kids make a difference.

>> children provide this, quote, guarantee that move you to family status. >> reporter: for instance, an unmarried man and woman living together -- >> hey. >> hi. >> reporter: under 40% say that's a family. give them kids. it jumps to 83%. that's up 5% since 2003. a gay couple? 33% say that's a family. with kids? 64%. a 10% jump in just the last seven years. >> people, right now, are really re-evaluating their views about same-sex couples. >> reporter: what about pets? more than half of us say they're in the family. but two guys living as roommates -- ♪ sorry, felix. just 10% say they're family. in the end, when it comes to defining "family ties," and determining "family matters," you might say it's "all in the family." because 60% of us now say, if you consider yourself a family, you are a fa