. >>> cnn's athena jones is at the march in washington. athena, it is coinciding with the sentiment of the occupy wall street protest. this is a separate march from that, right? >> reporter: it is. this was planned some time ago. it was supposed to coincide with august 28th, the original date of the dedication of the martin luther king memorial. that would have been the 48th anniversary of the march on washington and his famous "i have a dream" speech. in march had been planned to take place the day before that. so it shifted along with the shifting back of the dedication of the memorial. so the idea today was to honor dr. king's legacy, because we know he was not just about civil rights but also the fight for economic justice. you heard a lot of the speakers today. martin luther king, iii, his son spoke to the crowd along with reverend al sharpton and many union representatives, all talking about the need to bring down the unemployment rate and push for congress to act on jobs. let's listen to what the reverend al sharpton had to say. >> w

athena jones spoke with one woman about her experi. experience.ssith is a prrud veteran. she spent 14 years in the navy and worked as a logistics and supply officer in iraq.i love the navy. if you split me open, i'm blue and gold. smith left the military in 2009 and is sttll struggliig to find work. i didn't really know how to do a resume. i never had to do one. a divorced other of two with two masters degrees, smith lost hhe home to foreccosure in september and now lives in unemployment rate for recent veterans is higher than the nattonal average -- as many face uniiue challenges getting hired, sometimes after multippe deployments.while civilians have been going to interrieww, these folks have been getting shot at in iraq and afghanistan. // sometimms convert theirrresumes from to - civilian space and they need tactical training like interview training.with veterans haae fared wwrse thann their male counterparts.some care, to dealing withha va- system that ii unaccustomed to female veterans. a lot of people in the country donnt women are in comba

athena jones was there. >> reporter: it's meant to coincide with the dedication of the martin lutherg memorial and honor dr. king's legacy, not just as a fighter for civil rights, but a fighter against economic injustice. organizers here want to see members of congress and the white house work together to do something to bring down the nation's unemployment rate. let's listen to what reverend al sharpton had to say when he took the stage. >> we come today because this country has ignored the plight of unemployed and people that are chronically unemployed on monday in this the capital. they had the audacity to turn down a jobs bill. so if you won't get the jobs bill done, then we will get the jobs bill down in the street. >> reporter: and so that's the point of the march and rally, to keep the pressure on the members of congress to do something to pass measures that would bring down the nation's high unemployment rate. back to you, fred. >> thank you so much. >>> martin luther king iii is also at the d.c. rally. i spoke with him and his sister reverend bernice king this week. and they

athena jones has been on the mall all day long. let me throw out that general question. 28th. you had people who had to reorganize, rearrange their plans. they still came. there's a big group who came from tennessee state university. it's been a big celebration here, a festive atmosphere, lots of gospel singing, lots of applause. everyone here is practically wearing these white hats that tommy hilfiger handed out that have an instripgs talking about today. it's been a positive atmosphere here. one thing you brought up that's been interesting is just how much politics have been a part of many of the speeches here, not just by king's daughter, bernice king, and by civil rights leaders like an dry young, who made a reference to the next election and the need to re-elect the president. and al sharpton. the president himself was pretty political today as you heard, candy. >> he certainly was. did you get a sense -- because i know you've been talking to folks down there very early, talking to folks all day long -- was this an opportunity to come out and see history being made?

athena jones, cnn, the white house. >>> now, the lengthening economic slump is driving families arounde world into poverty. coming up we'll take a look where thousands in the uk, wealthy economy, are turning for basic food. as the downturn makes it tougher to secure own the basic necessities of life. i was worried i was headed to a nursing home. my family and i, we had some tough choices to make... well, i'm staying in my own me now, because we chose hoveround! hi, i'm tom kruse. for nearly 20 years, hoveround has been the right choice for helping people stay in their own homes. hoveround's compact round design makes it easier for you to maneuver through the tight spaces in your home. hoveround easily glides through the door better than other power wheelchairs. the hoveround allows me the freedom to live on my own and not depend on somebody else. and best of all, 9 out of 10 people pay little or nothing for their hoveround, so call now and you can be the next to pay... zero...i paid nothing for the unit at all. and now only from hoveround, every power chair includes two exciting new fe

athena jones is following that story for us today from washington. athena, why is this third man's name familiar with anti-terrorism circles? >> certainly ibrahim al asiri is a known bombmaker. he was behind the thwarted christmas day bombing of the plane going into detroit in 2009, the so-called underwear bomber. he was also behind a plot to put explosives into printer cartridges, and send them in cargo planes to the united states. so it would certainly be a big deal if he is, in fact, dead. we spoke with a u.s. official this morning who said there were indications that asiri was on the scene, but this official didn't know if he was killed. i spoke with an official later who said it's not entirely clear yet. this is in line from what we heard from a yemeni official who said the other operatives killed in the strike have not yet been identified and that right now the idea that asiri is dead is a rumor. >> what about this global travel warning being issued by the u.s. state department. are they talking about americans traveling to a specific region of

cnn's athena jones is at the king memorial dedication site. , you know, athena, president obama, king's children, aretha franklin, stevie wonder, some of the more prominent people there at the ceremony. who else was there? >> a lot of civil rights leaders. you heard from congressman jou john lewis who knew king, civil rights icon on his own. andrew young also spoke, jesse jackson spoke, king's children as you mentioned, ber niece king and martin luther king iii and some of the people behind the monument of people who made it happen, the foundation that raised this money. it's a monument costing $120 million. we heard poetry from nicky giovanni and gospel songs from singers. you see behind me there's a concert going on. of course the president left some time ago, but there's still performing a concert for the people who came out, many of them traveling from far away, for this event. we've heard james taylor sing, sheryl crow, and so it's been a big day of celebration here. one thing that i should mention that's been it interesting in the speeche

here's cnn's athena jones. >> reporter: years ago as a young single mother, california congresswomaned on food stamps. >> i thank my country for giving me that helping hand when i needed it, a bridge over troubled water. >> reporter: now she's taking part in a week-long food stamp challenge organized by religious groups nationwide. >> what i'm trying to do is develop a balanced meal or a balanced three meals for today for $4.50. >> reporter: the challenge is meant to highlight the importance of continued funding for the government's food stamp program, also known as s.n.a.p., even as lawmakers try to rein in the deficit. lee is one of a dozen democrats in congressman taking part in the challenge. more than 45 million people received food stamps from the government in july. the average recipient gets $133 a month. that means buying this tin of spam and this can of vegetables would put them over their budget for the day. it's hard to shop as washington, d.c. delegate eleanor holmes norton discovered on a trip to the grocery store with one of her constituents. >> what i'm really learnin

athena jones is live in washington. the rally taking place before many thousands come to washington for the dedication of the memorial of martin luther king jr. what's taking place here? how are they separating or maybe even combining the two? >> well, these are supposed to be attached, fred. the whole idea of this rally, they were going to have it a day before the dedication back in august. of course the dedication had to be pushed off because of hurricane irene. the idea here is to honor dr. king's legacy. he was partly about, of course, fighting for economic justice. this is about keeping pressure on congress and on the white house to do something on jobs. we've seen the crowd grow quite a bit in the last hour or so. we've heard from a lot of the unions here, other organizations, like naacp, aclu, national organization of women and other groups. we haven't yet heard from the reverend al sharpton expected to take the stage in a little while. i spoke with him earlier today and asked him about his message for today. let

athena jones joins me from the white house. this is news a lot of people had been waiting to hear and are happy to hear. >> absolute lit. democrats are saying this is a victory for our troops, a victory for taxpayers. our polls have shown that the opposition to the war in iraq has grown dramatically since 2003 when it all began. as far as the white house and the president are concerned, this is a promise kept. the president ran on his opposition to the war in iraq. back in 2002, he called it a dumb war, a rash war. and he believed it was taking our eyes off the ball in afghanistan. from his remarks yesterday in the briefing room, he talked about having pledged as a candidate to bring the war in iraq tour responsible and he made references to that promise, to keeping that commitment a few times. so did his aides. let's listen to what he had to say today in his weekly draets. >> in iraq, we succeeded in our strategy to end the war. last year, i announced tend of our combat mission in iraq. we've removed troops and iraq forces hav

athena jones. >>> we're hours away from a historic day.ntil tomorrow when the global population is expected to hit a new high. >>> plus, trick-or-treat. first family style. find out what goodies the obamas passed out for halloween. so if i didn't know better i'd say you're having some sort of big tire sale. yes we are. yeah. how many tires does ford buy every year? over 3 million. you say you can beat any advertised price on tires? correct. anywhere? yes. like this price? yes. riously? yes what about this one? i'll beat it. this one? s we will. right, i only have one more question for you...this one? (laughing) yeah. get $100 rebate when you buy four tires. 100 bucks! only at your ford dealer. 3 million tires. 11 major brands, fiona's kind-of-nice. i don't know why you're not here. >>> the world's 7 billionth baby will be born tomorrow. our population tipped to 6 billion just a decade ago. here's an interesting website that shows the world's numbers as they change. you can put if your birth date, see what number you were at populati popula

athena jones standing by at the white house. tell us more about whether the white house is releasing any information about the immediacy of this troop withdrawal in iraq first. >> hi, fred. you know, the withdrawal is going on right now. there's still 39,000 more troops to come out over the next couple of months. they have withdrawn 1.6 million pieces of equipment. there's another 800,000 or so pieces of equipment to go. we're talking about a massive operation. we don't have a list of exactly the infantry divisions that are expected home on what date but i can tell you what's going on right now and most people are supposed to be out by the end of the year. >> so athena, is the white house torn at all between responding to what americans want versus iraq's stability and if this is the best time and thing to do. >> reporter: it's sbng you say that, fredricka. on the one hand the president sees this as making a promise during the campaign. he ran on the idea we need to wind down on the war in iraq to focus more on the war effort in

cnn's athena jones joins us live outside the high courts. this health care challenge make it all the way to the u.s. supreme court? >> reporter: hi, fred. this law has been being challenged ever since the president signed it into law in march of 2010. right now you have 28 states and numerous, dozens of groups and individuals who have brought lawsuits, challenging this law. and at issue is the whole idea of the mandate. whether or not the federal government can require people to purchase health insurance. that mandate isn't set to go into effect until 2014. that's really the issue here. it's a central key provision of that health care law. with all the different states laying down different arguments in this case and different results, people believe the supreme court is going to take it up. >> the expectation is the supreme court will review it. however, this case is not even on the docket. what's that mean? >> reporter: well, that's right. the supreme court right now has 49 cases that are already on the schedule. but it's expected as many

cnn athena jones is following that for us today. what more do we know? >> reporter: first, we just got from the state department they issued a worldwide travel alert so that people are aware there could be some retaliation or groups could try to retaliate revenge for the attack the drone strike that killed anwar al awlaki and samir khan. it could provide motivation for anti-american attacks worldwide. as for al asiri, we're told there are indications that this bomb-maker was there, was on the scene but they don't know for sure if he was killed. i spoke with another official just a little while ago who said it's not clear yet. they are looking into it. this matches up with what we heard from a yemeni official who said the other operatives who have been killed have not yet been identified. the idea that al asiri is dead is just a rumor. the reason this is important is because of his technical skill. he was drobd a top bomb-maker for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he was behind the thwarted christmas day bombing attempt in detroit the underwear bomber a

cnn's athena jones joins us live now. outside the high courts. so athena, how full is the docket right now? >> reporter: it's shaping up to be a really busy term for the supreme court. with decisions expected on several big and politically important issues. monday kicks off a new term for the supreme court. and health care tops the lists of big issues the nine justices could take on. the obama administration has asked the nation's highest court to rule on the constitutionality of the patient protection and affordable care act. the health care overhaul signed into law last year. lawsuits brought by 28 states and dozens of individuals and groups have challenged the federal government's right to require people to purchase health insurance. the key provision in the law. analysts say the court will almost certainly address this hot button issue this term. with a decision coming just months before the presidential election. >> the law, itself, is obviously really important whether you like it or not. it has tremendous consequences for president obama's

i feel optimistic that it's going to continue to improve. >> athena jones joining us now from d.c.al job seekers? >> reporter: according to challenger, gray and christmas, people looking for seasonal work might want to look at big discounters like target and walmart. these are the places that people who are pinching their pennies are going to be going to shop. it's important to remember these stores aren't just going to be looking for sales clerks. they're also going to need more people on the floor to help customers find the items they're looking for. also people to work in their shipping facilities and people to stock the shelves at a lot of overnight shelf-stocking positions. a lot of these jobs will be part-time but they could be jumping-off points for a full-time position for some retail workers. >> what about holiday sales? we're in such a bad economy right now. are they supposed to increase this year? >> reporter: this 2.8% over last year doesn't sound very big when you compare it to last year's increase. in 2010, holiday sales rose 5.2% over the previous year but that was o

let's bring in athena jones joining us from washington. how tough a warning was this?> well, it was a pretty tough warning. the secretary of state wants to send the message that even though u.s. troops are pulling out of iraq, it isn't as though the country is going to turn its back on iraq and forget about all the years spent there and the blood and treasure spent there. let's listen to what she had to say this morning to candy crowley. >> no one, most particularly iran, should miscalculate about our continuing commitment to and with the iraqis going forward. iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in training, with nato allies like turkey. >> and so secretary clinton made the point that they're still going to be a large diplomatic presence there in iraq on the ground, some 1700 diplomats and business experts. there's going to be an embassy operating in baghdad and consulating in bass sa ra. and made the point about the fact that the u.s. still has a strong pre

. >> cnn's athena jones joins me now from washington. good morning to you. the point of a march is not necessarily to find a solution to a problem. it's to highlight the problem itself. >> this march from august, the dedication, and so al sharpton is coming out today with other civil rights leaders to join with them. ben jealous of the naacp. a number of the unions, afl-cio, afscme, they're all coming out to try to put pressure on congress to do something about jobs. the event, as the reverend al sharpton said, is to honor martin luther king's legacy. they know that this jobs bill and the package didn't get anywhere in the senate. it was a test vote last week. so they want to put pressure on congress to be heard. they don't think -- they believe that by coming out and marching here, they're planning similar events in 25 other cities. they want congress to pay attention. i spoke with al sharpton before you and he told me -- i asked him what's the most important piece of the legislation that should be passed first? he's focused on infrastructure, funding and f

but athena jones, thank you for that report. we look forward to seeing you a bit later on this morning. earlier i talk to one of the members of king's inner circle, the reverend jesse jackson and i asked him about the moment when dr. king thought about briefly quitting the civil rights movement. watch. >> he was under so much pressure. once he took on the vietnam war, he was so bitterly attacked by the press, by civil rights organizations. before we went to memphis, "i thought about quitting and maybe i should stop. i've done a lot in 13 years." he said, "i thought if i would fast to the point of death my friends would come to my aid and we could regroup our coalition. he said we got to turn the minus into a plus. it was kind of like jesujesus, prayed and slept. he went through the same kind of dramatic rhythm. >> coming up later in the hour, my conversation with one of the first donors to the monument. surprising but true, it is actually designer tommy hilfiger. >>> coming up on "state of the union" with candy crowley, dr. king

athena jones, thank you. cnn will bring you the president's speech tonight live around 7:30 p.m.astern time. >>> all right. imagine having to face a judge because you failed to predict this earthquake that killed hundreds of people. it is happening to a half dozen scientists. that story after the break. also american student amanda knox may learn this monday whether she will be free from a prison in italy. her parents have been waiting for years. it is a murder case that has drawn international attention. ♪ ♪ [ dog barks ] [ birds chirping ] ♪ [ mechanical breathing ] [ engine turns over ] ♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new volkswagen passat. a new force in the midsize category. ♪ ask me. if you think even the best bed can only lie there... ask me what it's like... when my tempur-pedic moves... ...talk to someone who owns an adjustable version of the most highly recommended bed in america... ask me about my tempur advanced ergo. ask me about having all the right moves. these are real tempur-advanced ergo owners! find one for yourself. check out twitter. try your friends on facebook

cnn's athena jones was there. >> the reverend al sharpton held a march and rally for jobs and justice's meant to coincide with the martin luther king memorial and to honor dr. king's legacy, not just as a fighter for civil rights, but also a fighter for economic justice. the organizers here want to see congress and the white house work together on measures that could actually bring down this nation's high unemployment rate. let's listen to what the reverend al sharpton had to say when he took the stage. >> we come today because this country has ignored the plight of unemployed and people that are chronically unemployed on monday in this, the capital. they had the audacity to turn down a jobs bill. so if you won't get the jobs bill done in the suite, then we will get the jobs bill done in the street! >> reporter: and so that's really the point of this march and rally, to keep the pressure on members of congress and on the white house to work together to get something done. the reverend al sharpton said they plan similar events in 25 cities, all meant to keep pressure on members of cong

troops to come home. >> all right, athena jones for us at the white house.much. >>> and that reaction we were talking about coming from families and fellow soldiers, you can imagine what some of it sounds like. take a listen now. >> not only does my son come home safe and sound to us as a family, our family is whole again, and i'm very thankful for the job that him and all his fellow soldiers have done for us. >> time to bring our boys home. it's time for them to come home to their families. they shouldn't have to be over there. >> especially coming home around the holiday times, it's going to be great. >> now, some of the reaction to president obama's announcement was quick and predictably partisan from the gop presidential hopefuls. here from mitt romney. he said, quote, president obama's astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of american men and women. goes on to say the unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of

t.j. 37. >> athena jones for us in washington, d.c., thank you, as always. for now, i'll hand it back over to my sincere friend and colleague, alina cho back in atlanta. >> thank you so far. most of you can't make it to the martin luther king jr. memorial dedication ceremony tomorrow. we'll help you feel like you're there, next. gary... he hung up. ...why do we have so many a's in our name? so we're listed first in the phone book. ya know, gives us an edge. you know fedex can, give us an edge. how? well, fedex ships auto parts from factories around the world, they clear em through customs, and that'll help us fix cars faster. great idea. you know you got a bright future here at aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... [ male announcer ] supply chain solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. >>> 21 minutes after the hour, after a hurricane delay for several weeks in a campaign stretching back decades, the martin luther king jr. memor

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. >> athena jones, cnn >> before traveling to philadelphia the 49ers have their hands full.w contract and avoiding the pressure a look at that right there to find clean harbor for the touchdown. a 7-0 early. more coug, vic getting to the 23 lea. the 49ers are down but finally, alex smith wake up in the third quarter. josh at 23-10. now, 23- 17 with 3 minutes if they giving it to frank. playing with a bomb a gulf peace corps. the 49ers somehow come back from 20 points down. they are pumped! 24-23 a huge victory. they are now 3-1. >> the oakland raiders hosting the patriots the second quarter look at this jason campbell was the drawing that to? he gives it to the wrong team. the interception, the raiders lost momentum and the red zone and tom brady. the san mateo kid is now living legend. the raiders down 31-13 in the fourth quarter. more problems. throwing it to the wrong team. and campbell throws at 344 but very costly interceptions. a 31- 19 = loss. to-two two-2 record 2 losses. ♪ with moderate rainfall, towards your recut this is pushing south-east towards the bay area tow

. >> that was athena jones reporting. one important note. the u.s.upreme court takes on about 1 out of the 10 cases it is petitioned to review. justices have not decided whether or not they will takeel the health care overhaul yet. >>> saving catch and clipping coupons turned into a sport at this point. why there's a backlash tonight against some extreme couponers and how it's affecting you. >>> and it's not only amazing for to us watch them high above the ground, hear why the task of repairing the washington monument is a thrill for engineers. >>> and look at this. it's one tall order of nachos. so big, it is one for the record books. how many chips and how muchcheese? we will share the stats when abc2 news continues in 60 seconds. that have earned the keurig brewed seal of approval. the keurig brewed seal is our commitment that the coffee inside will deliver a delicious cup of coffee every time. keurig brewed. look for the only mark of genuine keurig quality. >>> well by this point everyone heard of extreme couponing. it's almost a sport and spawne

athena jones is in washington and joins me. this is a long time coming, isn't it?reporter: it is. tomorrow is the big day. as you know, it was originally scheduled for august 28th last summer, the 48th anniversary of the march on washington an the "i have a dream" speech. and it was postponed because of hurricane irene. it is a big event. lots of stars coming out. you'll hear from civil rights leaders like jesse jackson, andrew young, people that knew king, hear from his children. actresses like sicily tyson, of course president obama will be speaking. and aretha franklin is supposed to sing and will be a big deal down here tomorrow morning, alino. you have seen pictures of the memorial itself. it was more than two decades in the making. it cost $120 million and the center piece is a statue of dr. king emerging from this stone of hope and, of course, on the walls around the site are inscribed lines from dr. king's speeches and sermons. and so, that's what we'll be looking at tomorrow. should be a big day. >> very lucky to be there. i wish i was up there with you. a