it's friday, july 31st. this morning, running on empty. the nation's week-old plan to get older cars off the road runs low on funds. is it a victim of its own success? the meeting between the professor and thes after officer who arrested him. the beer was frosty. but what about the discussion on race? and recession reality. one family's lonely life as the only residents of a 32-story one family's lonely life as the only residents of a 32-story high-rise. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. thanks for being with us on this friday. well, the government's billion

dollar cash for clunkers program is so popular, it's already out of gas. >> so, now, the white house is scrambling to come up with more money. and to reassure dealers and buyers that all deals will be honored. >> emily schmidt is in washington with the latest on this. >> reporter: good morning. cash for clunkers was funded until november, or until that $1 billion in government funding ran out. whichever came first. now, it seems they may be out of cash three months before expected. car lots across america tell the story. plenty of just traded in clunkers reflect a program that may have run out of cash. >> there's a feeding frenzy out there. >> reporter: the deal kicked off one week ago. trade in a gas guzzler from 1984 or later, buy something more fuel-efficient, get up to $4,500 from the government. >> we made a decision within -- really 12 hours. >> reporter: so did thousands of others. >> there's no doubt about it. there's an increase in floor traffic in itself, just translates into -- at least the

20% increase in sales. >> reporter: the government had hoped the financial incentive program would lure buyers to 16,000 dealers nationwide. it did. much faster than expected. by late thursday, $850 million of the program had been used. paperwork jams make it hard to track how many more vehicles had been sold. >> i just got my first one submitted today, which took me about five hours. >> reporter: after talk of suspending the program, the white house says it will keep cash for clunkers in place while it assesses the situation. white house press secretary robert gibbs should say dealers and buyers know that all sales up to this point will be honored. here's one way to gauge, how quickly the cars are flying off the lots. every dealership in the country would have to sell more than a dozen vehicles to reach that $1 billion government spending limit. jeremy and vinita? >> emily schmidt this morning reporting from washington. thanks. it was the highest profile happy hour in house history.

president obama sharing beers with police sergeant james crowley and harvard professor henry louis gates. the meeting ended amicably. but without an apology on either side. >> reporter: the drinks with the president and vice president did not appear chumy. then, professor gates said sergeant crowley profiled him. and crowley says he did nothing wrong. after their meeting, sergeant crowley said no one had apologized. but called it a frank and private conversation, that was cordial and had no tension. >> this is a positive step forward, as opposed to reliving the events of the past couple of weeks. in an effort to move not just the city of cambridge or two individuals past this event. but the whole country. to move beyond this and have meaningful discussions in the future. >> reporter: president obama said he was, quote, fascinated

about the fascination about his drinks with gates and crowley. the president said instead of anger and hyperbole, he hoped tonight would bring self-reflection. a fact lost amidst the hype. >> you lose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself. all of whom are imperfect. >> reporter: with their families, gates and crowley flew from massachusetts to washington, d.c. gates has said he wants an apology. and crowley? >> what do you hope to accomplish today at your meeting at the white house? >> hoping to move on and get back to work. >> reporter: jake tapper, abc news, the white house. >> professor gates say he and sergeant crowley hit it off well. saying, when he's not arresting you, quote, sergeant crowley is really a nice guy. there will be a working weekend for the president and his cabinet. they're meeting tonight and tomorrow across the street from the white house, fora bonding session, and to look at the agenda going forward. every administration since the 1950s has done the same.

turning overseas to iran, where police and military forces are on alert against renewed anti-government protests. that comes a day after police went after protesters in a cemetery. they were mourning those killed in the violence that flared, following last month's presidential election. afterward, the violence became more widespread, as government forces cracked down across iran's capital, tehran. in iraq, a top army adviser says the u.s. should, quote, declare victory and go home next here. colonel timothy reese says iraqi forces are good enough to defend their government. reese says u.s. troops should be out of iraq next august, 16 months earlier than scheduled. by the way, in month is on track to be the least deadly for american forces since the war began. a massachusetts woman accused of stealing a pregnant woman's baby from her womb is being held on $2 million bail this morning.

julie corey was arraigned yesterday in new hampshire, where police say she fled with the baby girl. the four-pound infant is in good condition and is expected to survive. she is in the custody of child protective services. and a custody deal between michael jackson's mother and his ex-wife means katherine jackson will raise the singer's children. the agreement means jackson's 79-year-old mother and debbie rowe, the mother of his two oldest children, will not fight over the youngsters. no money is involved. rowe will be avowed to visit the kids under supervision of a child psychologist. authorities in central texas are monitoring the air after a chemical plant fire forced the evacuation of an entire city. the el dorado chemical warehouse in bryan went up in flames yesterday. as residents fled, an 89-year-old woman was left behind, trapped in her home next to the plant for six hours. >> it started bothering you, the smoke? >> because i didn't know what

was going on. i was just there. >> more than 30 people were taken to the hospital, mainly for smoke inhalation. by last night, most of the residents were allowed to return home. it seems tornado alley isn't seeing as much action this year. experts say it's been an unusually mild season, from texas to minnesota. there were 26 confirmed twisters through june. that's about 100 fewer than the 3 previous years. and in the height of the season, no tornado watches for issues anywhere in the country. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. thunderstorms from new england to tennessee, with a chance of hail and gusty winds in new york, philadelphia, cincinnati and nashville. severe weather from north texas to nebraska. and scattered showers from montana to michigan. >> cooling down a bit in the northwest. but still hot. the high in seattle dips below 90 for the first time since sunday. it's 92 in portland. and 96 in boise. low 80s in chicago, detroit and st. louis.

80s also for much of the east coast. 91 in dallas and new orleans. coming up this morning, the stock market on a roll. about to have the best july in decades. and steroid admission. rocking one of baseball's most famous franchises. plus, florida's condo crisis, turning one family's dream inside-out. they are the only residents in a 300-unit high-rise. we're shopping for car insurance, and our friends said we should start here. good friends -- we compare our progressive direct rates, apples to apples, against other top companies, to help you get the best price. with a touch of this button. can i try that? [ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

having to go in the iddle of traffic, and just starting nd stopping. having to go in the "middle of a ballgame and then not being able !to go once i got there., and going at night. i thought i had a goin problem. my doctor said i had a growing problem. it wasn't my bladder. my prostate was growing. i had an enlarging prostate that was causing my rinary symptoms., my doctor presribed avodart., (announcer) ver time, avodart actually, shrinks the prostate and improves urinary symptoms. so i can go more easily wheni need to go, and go less often. (announcer) ! avodart is for men only. due to risk of a specific birth defect. do not donate blood until 6 months after stopping avodart. tell your doctor if you haveliver disease. rarely sexual .side effects, swelling or tenderness of .the breasts can occur. only your health care provider can tell if symptoms are from an enlarged prostate and not a ore serious condition like prostate cancer. so have regular exams. call your doctor today. avodart. help take care .of your growing problem

♪ there's only ne word for this ♪ ♪ it's bliss ♪ only one word describes choclate this creamy, this rich, this indulgent. bliss. hershey's bliss chocolate. it's not jut chocolate. it's bliss.,

wall street is looking for more evidence today that the economy is no longer in a freefall. a report out this morning is expected to show second-quarter gdp shrink 1.5%. a huge improvement from the previous six months. the stabilizing economy has helped stocks. bearing any major surprises, wall street is set to close its best july in 20 years. it closed up 83 points to close at 9154. the rally on wall street is boosting asian markets this morning. tokyo's nikkei average surged nearly 2% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. a new report seems to find no real link between wall street earnings and bonuses. nine banks that received some of the biggest taxpayer bailouts handed out nearly $33 billion in bonuses last year, despite losing a combined $81 billion. nearly 5,000 workers at firms, including goldman sachs and citigroup, took home more than

$1 million each. southwest airlines has entered the bidding for frontier airlines. the low-cost carrier has submitted a bid for the bankrupt frontier. a deal would strengthen southwest in denver and help it move into other markets. at least one airline has made an offer for frontier. continental airlines is hoping to attract more customers by offering live tv on its flights. the carrier has installed directv on 18 planes already, with plans to expand to about 220 in 2 years. it costs $6 in coach. it is free for first class passengers. a summer slump for the video game business should leave savings for shoppers. nintendo and sony reported on thursday that console sales are dropping. and last week microsoft said its x-box division lost money last quarter. that could force the companies to cut the prices on their consoles or add extras. here's one example of how

bad the condo crisis has gotten in south florida. there's just 1 family living in this 32-story luxury high-rise in ft. myers. the garbage service is spotty. the power has been shut off to all of the other floors. the owners say they're actually worried about their safety after recent break-ins. but their mortgage lender will not let them move. and the building's owner says there's nothing they can do about it. >> unbelievable. >> got to get pretty lonely in there. >> like a ghost town. coming up next on this friday morning, smoothing over racial tension. what americans are saying about the events that led to last night's white house happy hour. and reunited. the cast behind one of tv's most successful shows plans a new project together. two medium cappuccinos, you're ready for the mid-morning rush thanks #to a good breakfast. one coffee with room, ne large mocha latte. medium macchiato, light hot chocolate .hold the whip, and two espressos. make one a double. she's fiber focused!

i have two cappuccinos, one cofee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate, hold the whip, and two espressos, one with a double shot. gonna take more thn coffee to stay ths focused., stay full and focused through the morning... with a breakfast of kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats®cereal; an excellent source of fiber that helps you avoid... the distraction of mid-morning hunger. no thanks, i'm good. it's much easier to find money at esurance. great auto insurance rates and lots of discounts! got insurance already? save more with esurance's "switch & save (tm) discount"! it also pays to shop online. you get esurance's "fast 5 (tm) discount" just for getting an instant online quote. - thanks, professor. - don't forget the good student discount. and there's even more discounts! it's no "secret" that you can save hundreds with esurance. make it your "mission" to click or call esurance today.

introducing listerine® tota care. everything you need to strengthen teeth, help prevent cavities, and kill germs. introducing 6 in 1 listerine® ttal care. the most complete mouthwash. and to complete your oral care routine add superior plaque removal in places that are hard to reach with reach® toothbrush #and floss. get the complete routine, reach® andlisterine total care. welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news.

the cash for clunkers program is so popular, it is out of cash, after less than a week. the white house is now scrambling to come up with more money. a u.s. army adviser says american troops should be out of iraq by next august. 16 months ahead of schedule because iraqi forces are now capable of defending their government. and the anticipated happy hour at the white house has ended on a cordial note. police sergeant crowley and harvard professor gates agree to meet again for lunch. that meeting will take place far away from the media spotlight, which has burned brightly since the story began two weeks ago. >> it begs the question, did last night's get together lead to the teachable moment president obama hoped for. it depends on who you ask. >> reporter: on talk radio in boston, some callers refused to accept there's some takeaway, some national lesson on race, that came from the arrest of professor gates.

>> the teachable moment was lost when the professor's mother didn't teach him the lesson that every responsible parent teaches their kid. and that is, if you have an issue with a cap, it's yes, sir, no, sir. and you keep your damn mouth shut. >> exactly. >> reporter: at this black barbershop in atlanta, there was a different take. >> the man who has the badge, has the power. that's the big lesson. >> the lesson learned is, just do what the officer is asking you to do. you know, you live to see another day. >> reporter: both the president and the attorney general have suggested the country could use more conversations about race. and the gates incident brings that. >> this i think presents us with that opportunity. and i hope the nation takes advantage of it. >> reporter: but the dialogue hasn't always been polite or pretty. in boston, the police officer took sides in an e-mail. >> black folks and white folks in america can look at the same incident and come away with entirely different impressions. >> reporter: on television, host

glenn beck said the president only sided with the black professor because of his deep-seeded hatred of white americans. >> this guy is, i believe, a racist. >> reporter: there was little agreement on whether the incident was truly a national lesson. >> i don't think there was as much of a teachable moment in what happened in cambridge. i think there's a teachable moment in how we all reacted to it. >> americans of all colors wanted to avoid talking about race after barack obama won. maybe we've moved beyond race. but it's still there. >> reporter: but the meeting at the white house certainly had a lot more meeting than a few guys sharing a beer. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. well, the president has announced his first lists of medal of freedom recipients. among the 16 people receiving the award is massachusetts senator ted kennedy, who is fighting brain cancer. sandra day o'connor, the supreme court's first female justice is also on the list. also is civil rights leader, joseph lowery. mr. obama said the recipients

were selected for being agents of change. the medal of freedom is the highest civilian honor. the cast of "seinfeld" will be back together again. enththsm."."ryoyour ee plalace louis-drdrfuf eld, , jujuli louiuis-s-eyfus, jon anmemeoghefoe wi a appear on "c" fifinale >> popo benict t has s gned a cordrd recordrdelelfffficiaia s s i i wiwi a appeaea a wididerer audn, and nonot t jujustst t thosese the e cord w will opop at t the ovemember,r, j jusust inimime f chchrimamas. po w wldld have e a a cocord tha wowoululdrop.. >> i'l'll bebeitill, t too, yey. >>comimingng up,p, a b bull ono osose. itasasn't in spapain. was i iidaho. >> > and sterhohoerer.

a a seball s sererarar. the e lalaststmit tesestiting posisiti fororrug g use. whwhatatf we tookkththt ofof splen nono calalororie sweweetr ? sweeee swsweeeet!t! (a(annnnncerer) splendnd® n no loloie swsweeenererh fibeber.r. now w r ththee .firirstst timim a amam of f healy !! r r eve pacact. sweeeet!t! (announcnc)) .splplda®r no c co, starts w wsusugar. tatastes like sur. but it's's not susua noorories anan a litltle fifiber. how'w's s atatastete

swsweeeet!t! im. wahes sisitsn n totop ofof sk. onlyly n new de haha #nunutrtriummmmoiurure... which h nonourish h deep d d. new w dove b body wawa withthututriummoistutu.. supepe n naturalal nouririsht for yoyo s skiki it's t thehevy opepehous anand now,w, witith the ca for r clunkekeroroam, , a grgreat deal getets enen bt. lelet us recycleour r older icic, anand d yoyou u cocould quaualify f for a an n adad .$350000 or $4$4500 cashac.. o oa new, m me , yoyour chevy deaear r hahas more igibible mododeltohoosos frfrom - -ore than f f toyotata, or h hondad

n now dururg ththe chchevy opopenououse. gogo to o chevy.com fotatas. asonautsts cou be baback o on efeffofort b bluluhtime.e. nana clelearar thehe crew to l t ca c caneral after a ainal check ofofoth the wingng and nosese. the 1616-dayay missionon wasas > rmer b btoton n red sox temates s david orz anannny ramimirez z e at the c cenentere steroioid scscandadallll's th a a p plalayers t thahat t t popove i i20200303accoing to a a orortiisis c confirmrmine e tes. d heheaiaihehe w wasas s sprede lelen about the sultlts. g papipi i is alsoo vowowing g n tririerer t tse r rults.. brbrngng, ththe e d sosowewere w takikingn the e s. orts..highlitsnd thehe otherer >> goomornrning.g. we s stata with, w whahat elses?

rered sox and a's.ontrovovsysy. davivid d orz z f field.. ththers rurumorsrs he t tooook peperforormancnce-enhahaindrugsa in 2 23. warm ovatition from e fans in fenw e e moter r ineft. se jasas b bay m moves to o thi. that wld takake the ldd o on a a provedo bebehe gamame-nner.o on d sosox n n it-5. mamannyy ramirezez ss s he rfrformancnce-enhahancing rurum. s team takining on t cacardinalals. top ten. itit's'st mp two-rbrbi singlele to o leftft. jonanaananroxtxtonon saveses it. es 0 0 for 5 andoers win 5-3.3. >>tiger woods back in aion for the fifirst t timeme aftft g tht t the britishsh open.n.plp. teeee we s sawawf ththat at the

britisisopen. you u sesee u unhappypybobout . sa parar. hohowewever,r,ececovod th grgreen. aftethe ni sdd shot bibirdrdieo ve 2 2ndnder.. bubuonon 15 foforr r. r fifinishshed the firirst rndnd tied f for28th o p puttstsnsnsi hehe cleled d it, ququotote, p l i'i'veve evever hast puttingng exextly great.nsns, , not ininto the beach ittgoes. ststeveve lowery, ththlead at 9 under. jejere andndinitita, back k yoyo >> a a rightht.. itit wasas a littltle like t thg thisis time,t was s in t thehe of i i. > watchut pamamon a a bubullll bro l lsese f fror paure and d wandnderededround a ababout an hououand a lflf.for