a u.n. visit for president obama. he'll lay out america's stand on the world financial crisis, terrorism and nuclear weapons. the gop agenda. in their pledge to america, republicans call for repealing health care reform and blocking tax hikes for the wealthy. >> i am sorry for those failings. and apology, the owner of the iowa egg factory tells congress, he's sorry -- now. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, september 23rd, 2010. good morning, everyone on a thursday.

good to see you, i'm terrell brown for betty nguyen this morning. president obama takes the podium later on at the u.n. for his second address to the general assembly. randall pinkston is at the united nations with details. randall, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. how are you? yes, indeed, president obama will be here at the united nations in just a few hours. with problems at home and flagging poll numbers, the president's address at the u.n. sure to give him awn opportunity to focus on his foreign policy accomplishments and his vision for the future. president obama's expected to use today's u.n. speech to remind the world and americans how far his administration has come. in front of nearly 200 global leaders, he will highlight america's progress in iraq and afghanistan and promote u.s. efforts to kick-start the world economy. the president will defend his attempt to jump-start mid east peace talks after more than two

years. also high on the agenda, slowing the spread of nuclear weapons. >> i think he's going to try to keep the world on board to make sure that both iran and north korea are shunned for their defiance of the non-proliferation treaty. >> reporter: but the president is not expected to just talk about his administration's achievements. he will also likely expand on the wider goals of his administration. >> put simply, the united states is changing the way we do business. >> reporter: at a u.n. anti-poverty summit wednesday, the president unveiled new rules for foreign aid. he vowed to help poorer nations help themselves, rather than just spending money on short-term relief. >> now, let me be clear. the united states of america has been and will remain the global leader in providing assistance. we will not abandon those who depend on us for life-saving help. >> reporter: but with america's own poverty rate at an all-time high, he is still under intense pressure to keep america's

chick economic problems his priority. but this week the emphasis is on foreign policy and this morning the white house is getting some support from russia on its policy from iran. moscow deciding not to send a sophisticated weapons system to iran. terrell? >> randall pinkston at the united nations this morning, randall, thank you. now, to campaign 2010. republicans are rolling out their pledge to america today it vows to roll back of the obama agenda and put the government on a balanced path when it comes to budgeting. let's get more now from tara mergener in washington. tara, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. this latest republican agenda comes less than six weeks before midterm elections. now, this is a no-holds-barred campaign aimed at dissatisfied voters, one the gop hopes the lead to the majority in congress. congressional republicans got their first full look at the pledge to america yesterday. it's a wide ranging proposal

emphasizing tax cuts and taking aim at president obama's health care reform law and proposes scaling back federal spending to 2008 levels. the republicans want to repeal the obama health care law, roll back spending, establish strict budget caps and reform federal mortgage lending. the plan also calls for tougher border security and a ban on federal funding of abortions. the gop hopes to tap into an angry electorate by coming down hard on the obama administration it describes as an arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issue mandates and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many. and the plan is not unlike the contract with america that republicans used back in 1994 to win back control of the house. and the white house has responded to the pledge saying that, quote, it's a plan to take back the same failed economic spolz that caused the recession.

this plan will be formally unveiled today at a hardware store in virginia. terrell, back to you. >> the battle goes on. >> indeed. >> thank you so much. the republican pledge six months after health care reform was passed by congress. today the first real benefits of the new law kick in, including free immunizations for children, free preventive care like mammograms and cholesterol screenings barring insurers from canceling coverage with people get sick and allowing young adults to stay on the family plans until age 26. as we reported this morning, president obama is in new york. he spoke last night at a democratic fund-raiser but he wasn't the only one with something to say. >> tonight, i want to talk a little bit about our efforts here at home -- >> president obama -- >> -- where this country -- >> the hecklers demanded more funding for aids program and action to allow gays to serve openly in the military. in congress, the house committee investigating the summer's salmonella outbreak got an apology from the owner of the

iowa egg factory where it started but lawmakers got a little more than that, as joel brown reports this morning. >> reporter: it was the first public apology from the owner of an iowa farm whose eggs sent hundreds of people to the hospital sick with salmonella. >> we apologize to everyone who may have been sickened by eating our eggs. i have prayed several times each day for all of these people. >> reporter: but this wasn't a first offense. austin "jack" decoster has paid millions dollars in fines for health and safety violations over the last 20 years. >> you are a habitual violator of basic safety standards. >> reporter: lawmakers displayed photos of filthy conditions at wright county egg. >> this isn't something that just happened overnight. that manure pile is about seven to eight feet tall seeping through cracks. you've got dead mice, dead chickens, you've got maggots. that stuff just didn't happen. >> reporter: and the company apparently knew it had a

problem. a congressional investigation found wright county eggs tested positive for salmonella hundreds of times up to two years before the recall. the fda is urging congress to pass new legislation giving it more power to order recalls and enforce safety standards. some victims of the salmonella outbreak agreed. >> the infection wiped me out to the point where i was unable to function. >> reporter: 77-year-old carol laboto almost died and says if congress does nothing, she's afraid it could happen again. joel brown, cbs news, washington. the defense department confirmed all nine coalition troops killed in a helicopter crash tuesday in afghanistan were americans. they included five soldiers from the 101st air-borne division and four sailors including three navy s.e.a.l.s. no word yet on what caused the crash. the military says it was not enemy fire. new evidence this morning that iraqi dictator saddam hussein was not an ally or supporter of al qaeda from new

declassified notes on the interrogation of a member of saddam's inner circle. tariq aziz told the fbi he delighted in al qaeda bombings of u.s. embassies but did not trust osama bin laden or other islamic militants. just ahead on the morning news, details about a recall of similac baby formula, plus save the whales. a desperate fight to rescue beached whales in new zealand. first, katie couric has a preview of the cbs evening news. he's in charge of our economic recovery. how is it going? tonight, i'll speak with treasury secretary timothy geithner in an exclusive interview only on the "cbs evening news." the "cbs evening news." ing sale prices. download your coupon at sears.com/savings. plus, apparel clearance is up to 80% off. sears. everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? campbell's healthy request can help. low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat,

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it raises good. crestor is also proven to slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. crestor isn't for everyone, like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. you should tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. while you've been building your life, plaque may have been building in your arteries. ask your doctor if crestor can help and go to crestor.com to get a free trial offer. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. in in new zealand volunteers are desperately trying to save pilot whales stranded on a remote beach. only 24 of more than 80 beached whales still survive. volunteers are trying to keep them wet until they can be taken to another beach to be re-floated.

it's the second mass beaching in the region in a month. on the "cbs moneywatch" a quiet day for asian stocks this morning. ashley morrison in new york with more. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. stock markets in japan, china and hong kong were closed for a holiday. this morning, most of the asian benchmarks finished lower yesterday. on wall street there was some profit taking yesterday. the dow dropped 21 points, while the nasdaq shed 14. abbott laboratories is recalling millions of containers of similac infant formula, it may be contaminated with insect parts. abbott says the products may contain a small beetle or larvae which could cause stomachaches and digestion problems. the voluntary recall affects up to five million similac formulas sold in the u.s., puerto rico and the caribbean but does not include any liquid formulas.

more than half of the distressed homeowners who enrolled in the administration's mortgage relief program have dropped out. the number of homes repossessed rose 25% in august from a year ago. just over 50% of the homeowners who applied to get their mortgage payments lowered in august were disqualified. that's up 48% from july. a jolt of coffee for drinkers. starbuck's says it is raising prices on some coffees. the coffee giant said the price of green coffees are close to a 13-year high and lance to raise the price of labor-intensive and larger beverages. for now the price of its most popular beverages including certain espressos remains the same. terrell? >> ashley morrison in new york for us this morning. thank you so much. nine middle school students in washington state were hospitalized after popping prescription pills. the students got sick on tuesday after apparently taking drugs for depression and pain. one student's stomach was pumped. parents and teachers discussed the incident at a meeting last night. one student who did not take the

drugs said it was peer pressure. >> maybe because they thought it would probably be fun, which it's not, and they just wanted to say, yeah, because maybe if they thought they said no they would get made fun of for saying that. >> the nine students were suspended, two may be arrested on drug charges. police believe a student brought the drugs from home. straight ahead, your thursday morning weather. plus in sports, going all out in the battle for first place in the national league west. e for first place in the national league west. until you look at the gumline. the problem is, you could have plaque along your gumline that can lead to gingivitis. in fact, one in two adults actually has gingivitis and might not even know it. fortunately, there's new

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. sunny, 85 in new york. thunderstorms, 88 miami. partly cloudy, sunny in denver, 78. los angeles, partly cloudy and 75. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows a clear sky overhead in the southeast and southwest. the middle of the country has cloud cover as a large storm system takes shape. the northwest has scattered clouds rolling in and of the same in the northeast but it is rolling out. later today severe thunderstorms could be trouble for the midwest and great lakes. late-day thunderstorms will form over portions of florida. heat and humidity on the rise from the east coast from the southeast and the northwest is looking cooling with scattered showers. in sports, san diego first place now in the national league west. the highlights now. padres and dodgers in los angeles. miguel tejada hit his 300th

career home run against the dodgers. san diego managed to hang on, help here from aaron cunningham's diving catch in center field. san diego, 3-1. puts them back in the division lead, up a half game now over san francisco. philadelphia, raul ibanez, two-out double in the eighth, the only run of the game. the phillies shut out the braves 1-0, their tenth straight win, the two-time national league championship number reduced to four. tampa bay used the long ball to tighten things up in the american league east. carl crawford and evan longoria -- back-to-back homers in the seventh inning. the 7-2 victory pulls them within a game and a half of new york for the division lead. and with the score tied in the 12th, jeff francoeur of the rangers scored on this. the rangers' number for winning the american league west down to four. when we come back, another look at the morning's top stories and

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on the "cbs morning news," a look at today's weather. autumn officially here but the southeast will see above-average temperatures and humidity levels. the northeast will feel that, too for a few days and the midwest, looking for a large storm system in the works. here's another look at the top stories on a thursday morning. president obama preparing to deliver his second address to the u.n. general assembly today. his speech will cover a wide range of issues, ranging from terrorism to the economic crisis. also today, republicans will unveil their campaign agenda for the november election. the gop pledge to america calls for repealing health care reform and blocking tax hikes for the wealthiest americans.

a mississippi woman is making a pledge of her own and it's no small task. she's working to help her entire community get in shape and the response has been staggering. >> reporter: one saturday a month just after sunrise in vicksburg, mississippi, linda fondrin gets ready for a walk. and nearly 100 friends, neighbors and perfect strangers tag along. >> thank you for walking with us today. >> reporter: linda is on a mission to slim down her entire home town. >> people want to do better. so, the challenge for them is get out there and do it. you take the lead. you go. >> reporter: linda never struggled with her weight but her sister, mary, did, when she died of cancer linda vowed to help others like her sister lead healthier lives. she began by opening a gym just for women. last fall, she challenged them and the rest of the community of nearly 25,000 to lose weight

together. she began organizing walks and exercise classes. >> you get to come together in an environment where people look like you, have the same problem as you, so you begin to not feel so bad about yourself and you think, there's hope. >> reporter: in the past year, the city of vicksburg has lost a combined 15,000 pounds. and there's no stopping them. angie wilkinson has dropped nearly 30 pounds. she now walks for her brother who died of heart failure in march. >> the day he died, he told me how proud he was because i stuck with it. >> we're going to be an example, from the fattest to the fittest. >> reporter: while this town has already lost thousands of pounds, they've gained a lot more in return. >> you're great for continuing on. >> new research this morning

sup ports growing eft the benefits of mammograms are limited and a study in norway women in their 50s and 60s who got one every other year reduced their risk offing from breast cancer by only 10% compared with those who didn't get the exam. last year the u.s. government task force said women should start getting mammograms at age 50, instead of 40. in new orleans an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer research by creating a record-breaking king cake. you've got to take a look at this. the cake weighed over 4,000 pounds and went all the way around the superdome. yesterday the guinness book of world records named it the world's largest king cake. actor joaquin phoenix explained his hoax to david letterman. he looked scraggely and unkempt making an appearance on the show in 2009. last night, he came on looking alert and clean-shaven to apologize to dave, part of a performance for a new film, which has just been released. this morning on "the early show," puppy-proofing your home

to make sure that your pet is safe in your house. i want one on the set. i'm terrell. that's coming up on "the early show." this is the "cbs morning news." subway has breakfast. and it's a slam dunk. i like my breakfast sandwich with green peppers, onion, banana peppers and mustard. i like eggs with black forest ham on wheat. with everything. i like a little kick. that's a good call. i like mine with egg whites. and... a napkin. [ male announcer ] have you built your better breakfast? now's the time! try our better-for-you western egg white muffin melt or the dee-licious double bacon egg and cheese on toasty flatbread. subway. build your better breakfast. on toasty flatbread. words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims

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bernadette woods is in the weather center. >> it's still early, huh? >> well, we have some storms from last night and some didn't get any at all. we're dealing with clouds and warm air. 67 in baltimore and 74 in d.c.. taking you into annapolis at 70 degrees. as we head into the afternoon, partly cloudy skies. we shall'll see the sunshine taking over eventually. we'll warm up 89 this afternoon. it's going to be muggy and that will continue before we see the

changes. >> in the news, burglaries caught on tape. why is this thief in business clothes. >> a beating at a popular park. what's happening to a man who admitted to a violent hate crime. driving around baltimore is costing you money every year. more news and the first warning weather and the traffic report in a few minutes. ♪

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