>> new this morning, a bombshell book reveals some deep divisions among the president's war council. plus, the cia's secret army. and what leader is battling depression. bedbug wars. new tools in the battle against the pests, as the problem now spreads nationwide. and breaking news overseas. one country sends paris hilton packing. good morning. and thanks for being with us. we begin this morning with those explosive, new revelations about how the obama administration is managing the war in afghanistan. >> they are contained in a soon-to-be-released book, by long-time "washington post" journalist, bob woodward. and suffice to say they do not present a flattering picture. >> emily schmidt is in washington with details. >> reporter: rob, vinita, good morning to you.

woodward's newest book outlines a series of explosive, internal conflicts about the war in afghanistan. according to "the new york times", which says obtained a copy of this book. it expresses serious doubts about the u.s. strategy by a number of officials. one goes so far as to say it just can't work. that strategy involves the president sending another 30,000 americans into the fight last winter. mr. obama is said to have been uncomfortable with attempts of military commanders to force him into the decision to send those troops before he wanted to do so. the pentagon's top officials are right in the middle of it all. joint chiefs admiral mike mullen is said to believe his deputy went behind his back on some matters. and defense secretary robert gates reportedly fumed about possible moves among mr. obama's national security staff, which he calls a disaster. the current commander in afghanistan, general david petraeus is quoted as telling an aide he doesn't like talking to

the president's senior adviser david axelrod. petraeus, in the book, dismisses axelrod as, quote, a complete spin doctor. and it talks about a cia 3,000-man covert army operating in afghanistan. and it says it has intelligence that afghan president, hamid karzai, suffers from manic depression. it also says that president obama also takes politics into account, as he sets that withdrawal deadline for next july. he says in the book, a deadline is needed because, quote, he can't lose the whole democratic party. this is all based on "new york times" reporting on that advanced copy of the book. all this, just breaking this morning. so far, no comment from the white house. rob and vinita? >> certainly some interesting details. emily schmidt in washington this morning. thank you. and more shakeup at the white house. president obama's top economic adviser is now stepping down. larry summers plans to leave the

white house and return to harvard at the end of the year. summers is the third high-profile economic adviser to leave in recent months. his departure gives the president an opportunity to reshape the economic team, which has been under fire for its handling of the economic recovery. and that turmoil over at the white house and a critical elections now just weeks away, the big guns are being called in. former president bill clinton and michelle obama are now hitting the campaign trail. the first lady will stump for candidates in a number of states including wisconsin, washington and california. polls show, she is one of the most popular democrats in the country right now. >> i think she wi make a forceful and ite case for what this administration has done >> as for the republicans, sarah palin has put out a slick, new web video that portrays her as the national leader of the tea party movement. but she never mentions the word republican. and at least one gop candidate says he does not want palin campaigning for him.

massachusetts state rep jeffrey perry dismissed palin as, quote, an entertainer. the law banning gays from openly serving in the military remains in place, at least for now. senate republicans blocked repealing the don't ask, don't tell bill. but the issue isn't going away for long. democratic leaders are promising to bring the issue back up after november's elections. they hope to move repeal efforts forward before losing any supporters who may feel defeated. the man at the center of a massive recall of eggs linked to salmonella is expected to apologize today. this morning's "des moines register" reports that jack decoster will say he's sorry to all those who got sick. the report also says the iowa company will not resume selling fresh eggs until its farms are free of disease. the apology is expected today during hearings on capitol hill. and that woman, theresa lewis, is set to become the first female executed in virginia in nearly a century. she was convicted of hiring two men to kill her husband and stepson back in 2002. the supreme court is refusing to block the lethal injection she

is set to receive tomorrow. lewis' attorney argued she should be spared because she is borderline mentally retarded. two, key components of the health care overhaul are set to take effect tomorrow. this morning's "l.a. times" reports some major insurance companies are going to stop selling policies for children, rather than comply with the new provision in the law. with more on the other aspects, here is karen travers. >> reporter: starting tomorrow, young adults will be able to stay on their parents' insurance plans until they turn 26. insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children based on pre-existing conditions. insurers must provide preventive services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies without requiring co-pays. and insurance companies can no longer drop people when they get sick. the only reason to rescind coverage is in cases of fraud. support for the overhaul has declined since march. the obama's administration maintains that the public's negative opinion of the law is the result of misinformation. >> i think the more people

engage in the conversation, the more that they understand we're getting serious about fraud. and we're going to take the trust fund very seriously and protect those taxpayer dollars, the more enthusiastic they get. >> reporter: republican leaders have pledged to do all they can to chip away at the health care law. but they acknowledge, even if they take back the majority in congress, a full repeal is next to impossible. karen travers, abc news, washington. a vietnam war veteran has been awarded the highest honor posthumously. president obama presented the medal of honor to the family of chief master sergeant richard etchberger in a white house ceremony, saying it's never too late to do the right thing. etchberger was a radar technician that died in loas. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. hail and gusty winds in omaha, sioux falls and des moines. up to six inches of rain and flash flooding in the dakotas and minnesota. showers from indianapolis to

new england. heavy downpours in the four corners of the southwest. and some showers and thunderstorms across texas. >> highs in the 90s from dallas to miami. 80s in boston, baltimore and new york. 74 in chicago. 86 in kansas city. and 67 in minneapolis. just 60 in billings. 70 in portland. and 80 in colorado springs. phoenix still warm at 91. sacramento, 77. your money news is next, including desperate times for one, major brewery, now giving beer away for free. >> sounds like a good plan. plus, america's war on bedbugs. the best and newest ways to keep all those critters away from you. and the un

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the federal reserve is growing more concerned about the pace of the nation's recovery. the fed on tuesday did signal that it is ready to act, hinting that it will pump more money into the economy if necessary. the fed is now more concerned about prices falling than rising, which could lead to a drop both in wages and in the value of homes. the fed's announcement is not having a huge impact on stocks, though. overseas markets are pretty mixed this morning. tokyo's nikkei average fell 0.4%. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. on wall street, the dow added seven points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq slipped six points. twitter says it has fixed a flaw that caused havoc on its site for hours on tuesday. hackers unleashed an attack that spammed followers with garbled messages and caused pop-up

windows to open, even if users did not click on malicious messages. twitter says it doesn't believe user information was compromised. it seems apple can do no wrong. the company computers received the highest score on a customer satisfaction survey for the seventh year in a row. apple sold 3.7 million macs last quarter. dell, hewlett-packard and acor tied for second place. anheuser-busch is launching a new promotion to jump-start sales of budweiser. beginning monday, it will give the beer away for free, at trendy bars and restaurants. it's part of the company's biggest free sample campaign ever, all aimed at younger drinkers. bud sales are down sharply the past two years. free beer seems likes a good strategy. coming up next on this wednesday, the bedbug summit. plus, sex abuse allegations against the pastor of one of the nation's largest churches. and the secret to making it to 114 years old. the world's oldest man offers up some advice.

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now, a look ahead at your morning road conditions. flooding on i-94 from the twin cities to fargo. and on i-80 from omaha to des moines. flooded roads of the four corners of the southwest. and wet on i-34 and i-10, across texas. >> and if you're flying today, you can expect airport delays in salt lake city, phoenix, denver, houston, kansas city, minneapolis, chicago and detroit. a major decision from japan overnight. that nation is refusing to roll out the red carpet for paris hilton. japanese immigration officials denied the 29-year-old celebrity entrance into the country. and sent her back to the u.s. because of the recent drug charge. hilton had arrived in tokyo to promote her fashion and fragrance lines. she was sentenced earlier this week to one year probation, after pleading guilty to a drug

charge in las vegas. it was a small-town scandal that triggered nationwide outrage. city leaders in bell, california, who paid themselves huge salaries. now, those officials will appear in court this morning, charged with bilking taxpayers out of more than $5 million. residents cheered in the streets once word of the arrests spread. >> i'm ecstatic. it's about time they caught them. >> these officials thought they could get away with it. and they did get away with it for a number of years. and now, finally, people are looking at it and saying, enough is enough. >> authorities saying robert rizzo, the former city manager, made $4.3 million, by paying himself through different employment contracts that were not approved by the city council. a prominent religious leader in atlanta is denying allegations of sexual abuse. bishop eddie long is accused of ausing his church authority to coerce two, young men into having sex. the young men claimed they were given lavish trips, cars and cash. long is the pastor at one of the

nation's biggest baptist churches. as bedbugs continue to sweep across the country, experts are now struggling to come up with the best battle plan to take them on. hundreds of people gathered for a bedbug summit outside of chicago yesterday, armed with some new ideas to squash the problem for good. abc's barbara pinto was there. >> reporter: the war on bedbugs has come to this. a first-ever national convention, showcasing the latest weapons. dogs trained to detect the tiny insects. and devices that kill them. so, basically, this is how they hitch a ride? >> right. bedbugs will hitch a ride in your stuff. in your belongings. >> reporter: this heater bakes suitcases at 120 degrees, killing any stowaway. if they infest your furniture, this trailer-sized version is big enough for mattresses. lorne chasnick goes to the other extreme -- freezing the bugs. >> it will kill them on contact. >> reporter: so, this makes

snow? >> yes it does. i'll show you. >> reporter: scott linde, an exterminator, came all the way to chicago from new jersey. >> ten out of ten calls a day we get are just on bedbugs. >> reporter: that's because the blood-sucking insects have grown more resistance to pesticides. the state of ohio was so desperate, it petitioned the epa to use a banned chemical to fight them. killing these tiny bugs costs big money. almost $1,000 for an average home. thousands more for businesses and apartment buildings. and none of it is covered by insurance. that's what scares adam garden. he works for the housing authority in bloomington, illinois. >> i could have a building with 1 apartment having bedbugs to having 100 apartments. >> reporter: urban areas are the hardest hit. the most infested cities stretch from coast to coast. at the top? new york, where bedbugs have invaded movie theaters, retail stores. even the empire state building. >> we actually use new york city as a barometer for what we think

is going to happen across the country in the next five to ten years. >> reporter: that may be enough to keep you up at night. barbara pinto, abc news, rosemont, illinois. >> and you can get more information about battling bedbugs on our website. check out abcnews.com. anyone who commutes in and around the nation's big cities knows lots of urban roads are crumbling. and a new study shows just how ad those roads really are. it says nearly a quarter of major highways are in substandard condition. that's a slight improvement from three years ago. the repair costs to the average most rist motorist, because of those poor conditions, $402 a year. as for the drive to baseball's postseason, one team has already arrived at its destination. details, now, from will selva, at espn news. >> good morning. the last two years, the a.l. central wasn't decided until game number 163. this season, that wasn't the case. bottom second, no outs. twins trailing 1-0. jim thome, cracking his 589th

career home run. he became the ninth player with 14-plus seasons and 25-plus homers. twins tie the game up at 1-1. bottom of the eight, game tied at 4-4. two on, two out for denard span. opposite field. danny valencia, come on down. a four-run eighth for minnesota. for a win and a loss by the white sox in oakland, the a.l. central is minnesota's. paul konerko, two outs, top of the ninth. he grounds out meekly to second base. that said, the white sox end up losing, 7-2. so, the a.l. central belongs to those twins. who had the champagne at the ready, from target field. they won the a.l. central six times in the last nine years. ron gardenhire gets his 800th win. the quickest to 800 wins as manager since davie johnson. that will do it for this espn news update. now, back to new york and "america this morning."

well, after months of anticipation, the curtain call came early for the hoff. >> actor david hasselhoff became the first celebrity to get the boot from this season's "dancing with the stars." hasselhoff called the experience a great ride and great fun. he'll be on "good morning america" later this morning. >> to defend what people are calling the arthritic cha-cha. >> that's harsh. now, to a man who is still kicking after living in three centuries. >> walter breuning is the world's oldest man. he just celebrated his 114th birthday at a nursing home in montana. born september 21st, 1896, breuning recalled living without electricity, without running water, and even without an inside bathroom. and he also had lots of advice for the crowd. >> he only eats two meals a day. so, he advises to watch your diet. he tells you to work as long as you possibly can. he attributes hard work to his longevity. >> breuning is obviously a

shining example of what she said. he worked at the railroad for 50 years. and served as manager and secretary for the local shriners club until he was 99 years old. >> age is a state of mind, they say. right? wow. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today. so, don't go far. that's why froot loops, apple jacks and corn pops have 3 grams of fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love and the fiber their tummies love... which makes for a whole lotta happy. froot loops, apple jacks and corn pops, an oh-so-good source of fiber. kellogg's® makes fiber fun. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly to activate sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals fast

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among president obama's top military and civilian advisers. for his part, the president arrives here in new york today, where he will address a development conference at the united nations. the president makes his remarks to the u.n.'s general assembly tomorrow. and we could learn about the newest terror threats against the u.s. today during a hearing on capitol hill. janet napolitano and fbi director, robert mueller, are expected to testify. the business owner at the center of a massive egg recall is expected to testify today. jack decosta will appear on capitol hill today. expected to apologize today. eight officials from the city of bell, california, are expected to be arraigned today on corruption charges. they're accused of bilking taxpayers out of $5 million in inflated salaries. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america

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>> this is the first day of autumn. >> absolutely. >> i don't think it is going to change though. >> let's watch justin. any change in the leaves?

>> no, not yet. >> turning blue? >> i'll hold my breath and it will turn blue maybe. >> we may actually add to the tally of 90-degree days, or close to that mark. maybe not this afternoon, but the rest of the week. let's check it out. aberdeen 68 degrees. the hour by hour forecast we have an expectation that we will be dropping a few notches before sun rise, and then we will go to an 87-degree high. we will have more on the forecast and the heat building in just a moment, but right now, let's get the check on traffic. >> thank