that's not fear. that's not fear. >> fear factor. trying to separate fact from fiction in the healthcare debate. foreclosure crisis. u.s. home loans failed at a record pace last month. and bomber controversy. reports that the terminally ill lockerbie bomber will be released sparks outrage. captioning funded by cbs good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle guillen. tomorrow president obama makes his pitch for healthcare reform at a town hall meeting in montana. at a bozeman suburb, hundreds

are expected to show up in protest. the healthcare reform has triggered a wave of growing anger in the country. susan roberts is in washington with more. susan, good morning. >> reporter: michelle, good morning to you. the white house is trying to push back against these explosive town hall meetings through its online campaign and the president himself. the administration is trying to quiet the critics of healthcare reform. critics angry over the president's healthcare reform plan are not holding back. >> you listen to us. >> reporter: americans will have another chance to be heard today at town hall meetings across the country. democrats are trying to win over an increasingly skeptical public fed up with the proposed overhaul. >> nobody tells me how to live my life. nobody tells me how long i should live and when i should die. >> reporter: but not everyone is out to crush reform. >> that's not fear. that's not fear. >> reporter: supporters are also speaking out. this woman recently lost her health insurance after getting laid off. >> i have three children that i

have to be around for, and i need healthcare. >> reporter: democratic lawmakers are trying their best to get the public on board, but it's not always easy when you're talking about a bill that's not even finished. in fact, four different versions are floating around capitol hill, and all of the options are providing confusion on a ran of issues, from possible coverage to illegal immigrants. >> that's just false. >> reporter: president obama hopes to set the record straight tomorrow at his own town hall meeting in bozeman, montana. officials expect at least 500 people to rally outside the event. and the administration is speaking out at the town hall meetings against the allegations that they're trying to run hospitals and doctors offices, and that the so-called death panels would decide the end of life for many americans. on the "cbs money watch,"

stock markets in asia rebounded this morning, and u.s. foreclosures hit a new record. claire leka is here in new york with the details. asia was back in rally mode overnight. japan's benchmark nikkei jumped nearly 1%. hong kong stocks soared more than 2%. investors around the world are cheering a better report card about the u.s. economy from the federal reserve. the fed says conditions in financial markets are improving. and 20 months after the economy went into a downturn, it appears to be leveling off. but that has come at a price. government spending to jump start the economy has pushed the federal deficit above $1.25 trillion so far this fiscal year. meanwhile, the fed says it's keeping interest rates right where they are at their record lows near zero. after two straight down sessions, that sent wall street higher. the dow jones industrial average starts the day up 120 points. the tech heavy nasdaq begins up 29.

july retail sales are due before the start of trading, and they are expected to show modest growth as consumers took advantage of the government's cash for clunkers program. sales likely rose .8%, the most in six months. and walmart rolls out its quarterly profits this morning. the number one retailer has been one of the few bright spots in retailing this year, benefitting from shoppers focusing on necessities during the recession. walmart is expected to post a profit of 86 cents a share last quarter. and the number of u.s. households on the verge of losing their homes hit a new record last month, jumping 32% from a year earlier and rising 7% from june to july. this according to realty track. now one in every 355 homes across the country received a foreclosure notice in july despite continued government efforts to put together a safety net for distressed homeowners. nevada had the nation's highest

foreclosure rate for the 31st straight month at six times the national average. michelle? >> claire leka here in new york. claire, thank you. former vice president dick cheney is apparently ready to ache aim at his former boss in a tell-all memoir. "the washington post" reports that cheney believes president bush turned away from his advice during the second term, and now the statute of limitations up. according to his biographer, cheney says, "now we're talking about after i left office. i have strong feelings about what happened, and i don't have any reason not to forthrightly express those views." the scottish government says there's no final decision, but it's reported this morning that the former libyan secret service agent convicted in the lockerbie bombing will p releases. james matthews of britain's sky news reports. >> reporter: another day in jail. for the lockerbie bomber, it could be wup of his last. those inside the scottish government deciding his fate

have concluded he should be sent home. it's news welcomed by british relatives of lockerbie victims but derided by those across the atlantic. >> i've been waiting a number of years to find he's guilty as charged. i find the humanity of the situation to keep him in prison for this long when he's known to be dying and desperate to get back to his family has been inhumane. if scotland repatriates him now, that would be to scotland's credit. >> i would feel absolutely horrible. i think it's something that should not be done. there was no compassion shown for the 270 victims who were murdered. >> reporter: it was four days before christmas, 1988, when a passenger jet was blown up over lockerbie. it killed 270 people. in the wreckage strewn across the town and beyond were the clues that led to the conviction of one man. bits of the london to new york

flight were gradually pieced together. reconstruction showed a suitcase bomb had blown a hole in the luggage hold. 30,000 feet up, passengers hadn't stood a chance. abdelbaset ali al megrahi is the only man convicted of carrying out this atrocity. inquiries into the lockerbie bombing took detectives halfway around the world. ultimately, they came up with an investigative jigsaw that had megrahi as its centerpiece. investigators found a piece of electronic circuit board which had been used to detonate the bomb. it was found tucked inside the collar of the shirt wrapped around the device. the shirt had been bought here at a clothes shop in malta. the shop owner picked out megrahi as the buyer. three years after the bombing, megrahi was indicted with a second libyan. the pair were accused of placing a suitcase bomb on board a plane in malta, which was later

transferred to pan am flight 103. its impact in the skies over lockerbie was recreated by accident investigators. were the two suspects acting under direct orders from you? >> reporter: for years, libya's leader colonel gadhafi laughed off accusations of his country's involvement. the two suspects remained in libya out of the prosecutors' release. but as gadhafi sought to repair relations with the u.s., the pair were handed over for trial. a pair of judges cleared fima, but found megrahi guilty of murder. megrahi has always maintained his innocence. he's been behind bars for his appeals. the only trip outside was for

his medical test that found he was suffering from prostate cancer. just ahead on the morning news, ratcheting up rescue operations for victims of the typhoons in china. and a bear beats the heat in the pool. first katie couric has a preview of tonight's cbs evening news. >> more than 1 billion people, 1 out of every 6, to not have access to fresh water. now a former nightclub owner is using his talent for promotion to change that one glass of water at a time. with a shared appetizer. s choose two entrees from over 15 chili's favorites, then share a decadent dessert. chili's --

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raging floods that ripped up roads hampering rescuers. military helicopters are bringing day survivors out of the hardest hit areas to relief camps. officially 108 people are known dead and 61 missing, but hundreds remain unaccounted for. back in this country, a wayward bear had an excellent adventure in a southern california town. the good sized bear took a dip in a backyard swimming pool yesterday. with no fish there, he moved on to the garbage cans. then it was bear on the run, leaving police behind by scrambling over fences and wall walk. eventually, he returned home to the nearby angeles national forest. and more animals on the move in california. the four newest penguins at the san francisco zoo were marched out for the cameras yesterday and introduced to their new mates on the zoo's penguin island. there are more than 50 magellanic penguins in the colony, making it the largest in captivity. straight ahead, your

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national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows that skies are cloudy over much of the northeast. and much of the northwest is looking at gray skies. later today thunderstorms will develop over the northern rockies as it begins to turn cooler. it will remain very hot across the dakotas and great plains. and most coastal sections of the eastern sea board will remain cloudy and wet at times. in sports, chicago and the seattle needed 14 innings to score. chica seattle left a man on third. then griffey's pinch-hit rbi gave the mariners a 1-0 win. pedro martinez is back after a long injury layoff. the three-time cy young award winner went five innings last night in his first start for philadelphia. the phillies scored eight runs in the fourth in a 12-5 win over the cubs. two old rivals got angry in san francisco.

the giants' pablo sandoval didn't like this inside pitch by the dodgers' james mcdonald. the benches cleared, but there was no fighting. then in the tenth inning, juan arribe cleared the left field wall to beat l.a. 4-2. in world cup soccer, the u.s. traveled to mexico, where the americans have never won a game. they didn't win this one either. with eight minutes to go, mexico's miguel sabas picked up a loose ball and scored to beat the u.s. #-1. and a stunning apology from louisville basketball coach rick patino who admits he had sex with and paid $3,000 to a woman attempting to extort millions from him. after apologizing publicly yesterday, patino said he has no plans to quit over the affair. >> the love the fans, the players and this university. i don't want to coach anywhere else. so as long as they'll have me,

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on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. it will be another beautiful day across the great plains and midwest. the northern rockies will turn stormy and cooler. here's another look at this morning's top stories. it's reported that the man serving a life sentence for the lockerbie bombing will be released. ali al megrahi is suffering from terminal cancer. the scottish government says no decision has been reached. and "the washington post" reports former vice president dick cheney felt former president george w. bush gradually turned away from his

advice. cheney will tell all in his upcoming memoir. the debate over the healthcare reform sometimes turns into a nasty debate. >> reporter: in hagerstown, maryland, there were so many they couldn't all fit inside. in new jersey, they had to move to a bigger space to accommodate the unusually large crowd. everyone wanted to be heard. >> no one tells me how to live my life. nobody tells me how long i should live and when i should die. >> reporter: some were furious when they weren't called on. >> and i'm very affected by this. i'll guarantee you i'll be one of them to be thrown away. >> i certainly respect your right to express your views. people putting out information that's just totally false. >> reporter: but separating fact from fiction isn't always easy in a healthcare reform bill that's not finished. in fact, four different versions have been approved by

congressional committees. we searched for answers among the three drafts available. on abortion. >> what is your position on taxpayer funded abortion which will increase the death of preborn infants by 30%? >> reporter: would the government pay for abortion? that's unclear. two of the bills don't address the question at all. under one version, abortions would have to be available through at least one insurance plan. but democrats say abortions would be paid for with the patient's premium, not federal money. on illegal immigrants. >> illegal aliens will not be in this bill, period, the end. >> reporter: would millions of illegal immigrants be covered through healthcare reform? it's unclear. the bill does state only individuals lawfully present in the u.s. can qualify. republicans say there's no verification mechanism to ensure that illegal immigrants don't apply. if one family member is eligible for healthcare, then every family member might be. on cost.

>> how are you going to look at my children in their eyes and tell them they're going to have a better future. >> i am not going to vote for any bill that adds to the national debt. >> you already have. >> reporter: would healthcare reform pay for itself? as of now, that's doubtful. the president says cost would be covered through savings and efficiency, but the congressional budget office can't quantify those factors, and its estimated healthcare reform would increase the deficit by $239 billion over ten years. on congress. >> are you willing to drop your preferential congressional healthcare and be stuck with this one? >> reporter: would members of congress participate in the plan? no. just 75 republicans and no democrats have signed a pledge to participate in any government-run healthcare plan they pass. we consulted with a number of political historians and none of them can remember an issue that gotten more people to town hall meetings in modern times.

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