it's tuesday, july 21st. in the news, is president obama losing ground on health care? his reform effort is battling time, special interests and an invigorated republican party. dramatic rescue in milwaukee. >> there's a baby in there. >> seconds make the difference, as flames close in. we'll hear from one of the heroes. and a long outing at the international space station. there is word of an important repair inside, as well. good morning. and thanks for being with us.

president obama is in full campaign mode. and is in to overhaul the nation's health care system. >> but our new poll finds that less than half of americans approve of how mr. obama is handling the issue. and the president is bushing a dangerous and reckless plan, according to republicans. >> we talked this plan to death, year after year. but unless we act and act now, this won't change. >> reporter: the setting for president obama's speech provided the urgency behind his words. nine years ago, d.c.'s medical center, had 52,000 visits to its emergency room. that number has skyrocketed, as more families are forced into the e.r. for primary care. but the president may be losing ground on what's become a signature issue. the latest abc news/"washington post" poll shows, his overall approval rating has dropped.

eight points down when it comes to health care. smelling blood in the water, many republicans have rallied to derail the president's plan. >> if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo. it will break him. >> reporter: other republicans work putting together a bipartisan plan. >> i'm confident we'll get an agreement. it's fair there will be a bill on the president's desk, that he will sign. >> reporter: as for when that bill reaches his desk, the president told jim lairer, there's no time to waste. >> reporter: and is president is taking his argument to primetime. tomorrow night, he'll hold a news conference, in which he'll plead his case for health care reform, directly to the american people. diana alvear, abc news. also hitting some snags is the president's plan to close the prison at guantanamo bay by january. two task forces have been work r

working on longterm detention plans for gitmo detainees. today was the deadline for outlines completed. one group has been given a two-month extension. the other has received sikts months to finish its work. an official says the administration is on pace to meet the january closure deadline. in afghanistan this morning, the u.s. military a's taliban militants have launched an attack in the eastern afghan cities. as for u.s. troops, july has become the deadliest month of the war so far. 30 americans have died. there are 58 coalition forces killed this month. and troops are sparing no effort in the search for fooifd berdall. robert gates has announced a temporary expansion of the army. for three years, the service would be increased by 22,000 soldiers, bringing the total force to 569,000. gates said the move would help offset the strains from the wars in afghanistan and iraq, and

would give soldiers more time at home between deployments. secretary of state hillary clinton arrives in thailand this morning where she will attend a regional security summit this week. in india, she signed defense and economic agreements. among them, a deal for u.s. companies to build twoe nuclear power plants in india. and sell them sophisticated american weapons. but indian officials rebuffed clinton's efforts to get them to agree to limit carbon emissions. 30 settlers went on a rampage against targets on the west bank. the latest violence over settlements will no doubt complicate efforts by the u.s. to get the peace process restarted. simon mcgregor-wood has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: a demrap dated building in east jerusalem, on land once owned by a famous palestinian leader. it's now at the center of another row, between the obama administration, and the

government of benjamin netanyahu, over settlements. the israelis want to build settlements here. washington says that won't help the peace process, once it's stopped. netanyahu has come out fighting. unified jerusalem is the capital of the jewish people and the capital of the state of israel, he said. our sovereignty is nonnegotiatible. that means residents of jerusalem can buy apartments in any part of the city. but the palestinians want east jerusalem for the capital of their long fought state. a division of the city they believe is one of the final key status issues. >> the efforts being exerted in this process. this undermines the credibility of those involved in making the peace process continue. >> reporter: by picking a fight over this particular settlement project, netanyahu is telling the u.s. administration, we can discuss limiting settlement construction in the west bank. but not here in jerusalem. they say, another new settlement

will only make that more difficult. the obama administration wants a settlement freeze in the west bank and in jerusalem, as well, it seems. all part of kick-starting the peace process, and getting both the palestinians and the arab world to take part. special envoy, george mitchell, along with ehud barak, are trying to cut a deal on settlements. the latest dispute over the shepherd motel will only make in a task more complicated. simon mcgregor-wood, east jerusalem. a key vote on the nomination of sonia sotomayor appears headed for delay. republicans on the senate judiciary committee are expected to ask that today's vote be delayed until next week. the full senate is still expected to consider the nomination early next month. substitutele "endeavour" astronauts marked the 40th an verse oi of man's first trip to the moon, with a spacewalk of their own. entering parts to the international space station. and there's good news for all 13

people on the outpost. the toilet that broke on sunday, is back up and running. it was out of commission for 24 hours before the crew was able to fix it. a new nasa image as revealed a new spot on the largest planet. jupiter was apparently hit by an object that left a scar near its south pole. astran myrrhs say it may have been a comet. it won't be the first time pieces of a comet bombarded jupiter, about 15 years ago. it's time, now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. showers and thunderstorms from the carolinas to new england, with the heaviest downpours between long island, new york, and portland, maine. flooding, heavy rain and severe weather in arkansas, and missouri. isolated thousanders, thunder and lightning in the southwest. >> a blistering 109 degrees in phoenix. 100 in boise. 95 in salt lake city. 80 for chicago. and highs in the 70s for most of the midwest. cooler-than-normal in the east. boston gets up to 71. new york, 79. and atlanta, 85.

and when we come back, a massive loss for the nation's largest pension fund. that's in your business news, straight ahead. as we mentioned, we're off to the private's hometown, to see where those who knew him and know him are dealing with this captivity. one four star hotel. two identical rooms. so why does this one cost so much less on hotwire.com? because when four star hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them, than any other travel site. guaranteed. travelocity price $195. on hotwire just $98. the same great room, just less than other travel sites. hotwire.com. four star hotels. two star prices. h-o-t-w-i-r-e, hotwire.com save big on car rentals too. from $13.95 a day.

my daughter was with me. i took a bayer aspirin out of my purse and chewed it. my doctor said the bayer aspirin !saved my life. please talk to your doctor about aspirin ad your heart. i'm going to be grandma or a long time.

with special savings on "select fabrics on all frames you choose the fabric we custom make it it's more affordable than you think. ethan allen offer ends july 31st. and it is time for a check of market activity, starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average soared nearly 3% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london, the ftse opened higher.

wall street starts the day with the dow in the black for the year. the benchmark jumped 104 points yesterday to close at 8848. the nasdaq extepided its winning streak to 9 days, adding 22 points to close at 1909. investors will be watching washington closely today. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke, begins two days of congressional testimony on the state of the economy. bernanke will likely be grilled about the stimulus plan, the bank bailout and the foreclosure crisis. wall street will be listening for clues that the fed is ready to dial back some of its extraordinary measures to keep inflation in check. kra c appears to have solved its budget crisis. but now has another major problem on its hands. its public employees pension fund, the largest in the nation. the retirement system lost nearly $57 billion in its last fiscal year. that's nearly one-quarter of its value. "the boston globe" has won

concessions from its largest union. they have approved $10 million in pay and ben get cuts. the union rejected a similar offer last month. the newspaper is projected to lose $80 million this year. gas prices dropped another 7 cents in the last week to an average of $2.46 a gallon. that's almost 40% lower than this time last year. a hotel that will forever be linked to president richard nixon could find a new owner today. washington's watergate hotel goes on the auction bloc. it has stood empty since 2007. and needs about $100 million in renovations. starbucks is offering a sweet deal this morning. free pastries. the coffee chain is giving away muffins, skoens and other pastries with the purchase of any drink. the offer is good until 10:30, or until all the pastries are gone.

you'll need a coupon, which is available on the company's website. >> there's one across the street. and remember, you can get the latest business news anytime on our website, abcnews.com. when we come back, bergdahl is being held by the taliban. his idaho hometown has not forgotten him. and rescue in milwaukee. it didn't matter that some firefighters were off duty at the time. the classic flavors of tuscany inspiration for...

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fancy feast elegant medleys tuscany entrées restaurant inspired dishes with ong grain rice, and garden greens is it love? or is it fancy feast? welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news. president obama has scheduled a primetime news conference for tomorrow night, to press his call for health care reform. but opponents of the plan are pushing back just as hard. two administration task forces working on what to do with guantanamo detainees have been granted months-long extensions. the white house says it's still on pace to close gitmo by january. and secretary of state

clinton tells our martha raddatz that the u.s. is shifting its treatment of north korea. denying that the attention it seeks with provocation with acts like missile launches. as we mentioned earlier, july is the deadliest month for u.s. forces in afghanistan, since the war began in 2001. the pentagon is promising to do everything it can to find private bowe bergdahl. laura marquez reports from his hometown in haley, idaho. >> reporter: along main street, the tied yellow ribbons. the residents of this small town, searching for a way to support bowe bergdahl and his family. >> we want him to get back home. >> reporter: the town is reeling from the images of one of their own in captivity. >> scared i won't be able to go home. and it's very unnerving to be a prisoner. >> reporter: the defense department says the 23-year-old american soldier left his base june 30th. how or why is unclear.

the taliban claimed they have him. posting this video to the internet. for the u.s. military, finding bergdahl is now a 24-hour-a-day mission. >> our commanders are sparing no effort to find this young soldier. and i also would say my personal reaction was one of disgust at the exploitation of this young man. >> reporter: the military tried to deep bergdahl's identity a secret as long as they could. many in this close-knit community knew, but didn't say a word. that is until his captors broadcast a video of bergdahl to the world. sue martin owns the local coffee shop where bergdahl worked. she says he charmed everyone. is that the bowe that you know in that video? >> not exactly. it's bowe, for sure. but his voice was the most recognizable aspect of what i saw. >> reporter: his family is in

seclusion and asked the sheriff to read their words. >> to see our beloved son, bowe, safely home. >> reporter: those that know bergdahl, says he's smart and strong. and hope those qualities will carry him safely home. laura marquez, abc news, haley, idaho. two brothers off duty from the milwaukee fire department are considered heros this morning, after they rushed to the scene of a burning car with a little boy inside. a bystander started his video camera. >> get in. >> these two wonderful brothers and firefighters, made their way. and you can see by the gauze on their arms, they put themselves in harm's way, as they helped extract the boy from the vehicle. >> there's a baby in there. >> if it wasn't for the citizens that were bashing that window open that gave us access to the child, it would have been different. >> that lady didn't come through

with that garden hose, the burns sustained to that child would have been much more severe. five, ten seconds made a difference between this boy living and this boy dying. it was a tremendous team effort. people put differences aside. you know? everyone came together to perform a miracle. >> the little boy was burned over 30% of his body and is in critical condition after surgery. a harvard professor was arrested at his home after struggling to open his front door, triggering claims of racial profiling. henry lewis gates, one of the nation's most prominent block scholars, returning from a trip to china, when he found his door was jammed. someone called the police. an officer ghanded identification. and ultimately arrested him for disorderly conduct. singer chris brown, has published an apology for his

ordeal with his girlfriend, rihanna. he says he has apologized to rihanna. and is seeking help to make sure it never happens again. coming up on "america this morning," two, young adults who have a lot in common. and we're not just talking about being young and having blonde hair. stay with us. arthritis 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 a day,) 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 benefits 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 ashigh 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. he was born before the turn of the 20th century. and he is still going strong. walter bruining is 112 years old. and he is now the oldest living man in the world. >> winning the heralded title after a 115-year-old british man died over the weekend. he puts on a suit and tie every day, before strolling the halls of his retirement home. >> sure does look good for 112. >> that's right. after the final rest day, it's back on the bikes for riders in the tour de france today. the race ends sunday in paris. as for last night's baseball, here's will selva at

espn news. >> good morning. we begin on the diamond, where we saw a wild game between the a's and the twins. the twins are 2-1, on their current ten-game roadie. justin morneau, had himself a night. clearing the fence. second of the day. 23rd of the season. he had seven rbis. twins up 11-2. but the a's kept chipping away at the lead. down 13-9. bases loaded. matt holliday. the second of the night for him. after a pitching change, next batter. jack punt going up, over and out. number 16 for him. a's up 14-13. now, this is when it gets interesting. top nine. wild pitch. ball goes to the backstop. michael cuddyer, heads from second. suzuki throws. and cuddyer's out at the dish.

cuddyer is livid. one more look. cuddyer got in before the tag. a's win a wild one, 14-13. ted lily and the cubs, visiting the phils. bottom one, no score. raul ibanez. ibanez gets that lily offering. 3-0, phils. 7-0 phillies. one for shane victorino. a alfonso soriano there. want to get away? lou piniella can't believe it. phillies win their ninth-straight. that will do it for this espn news update. back to jeremy and vinita. there's one south florida bride, that won't have to change her name. kelly hildebrand is marrying kelly hildebrand. ei