yesterday he sat down with wolf blitzer. >> mr.dential race, and i think that everybody who runs for president probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or congress. you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. but i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it it for a few days now. >> throughout the hour we'll hear more of wolf blitzer's interview with the president. in just about 15 minutes, president obama will talk jobs and the economy as we heard from breanna keelor. we'll take that as well. >>> pretty interesting new information in the case of that american woman missing in aruba. the suspect, gary giordano, 0 apparently took out travel insurance on her. >> reporter: this is something investigators are looking into very, very carefully because it would come down to motivation possibly, if their impact has been a crime has taken place. that is the question that gary gee dawn it know may have taken out an insurance policy.

i want to get back to wolf blitzer in washington.olf, there's still a lot of politics to work out and a lot of dotting the "is" and crossing the "ts" in washington. >> they always say the devil is in the details. certainly it will be in the details when the senate members of the house look at the language. kate bolduan, up on capitol hill, what are you seeing up there now, kate? >> hey, there, wolf. well just a little bit of information on kind of the path forward. obviously members of both parties want their members to actually see the legislation, they need to discuss that. but on the path forward there's always this question of the procedure, is there enough time actually to get any piece of legislation, any prom economize through the house and through the senate, just procedurally in time. i've got a little reporting probably some good news for people watching this this evening from the top senate democratic aide. they say the senate is going to go first in this procedure. they're going to take up the compromise measure first and

wolf blitzer.us tour the president is now on, folks are lining the roads to see him. and here's that beast, or it's referred to as a beastly bus he's riding on. we're going to try to do something we don't do very often. bree jana keeler is going to take us behind the scenes for what is a pretty big production there, working and traling along with the president. watch this. >> this is our work space here, the event the president is having in iowa. and this is just for television. up in front of us here, you can see the transition pool operating. this is where they're sending out feeds of all of the live events where you can see all of the different camera angles from this event that the president is doing today. he's watching every movement on television monitors over there. you have live locations. this is with respect different networks can do their shots. you see all of the silos. it definitely gives you the sense that we're in iowa. this is actually an education building. it's used for act cultu

teddy, nice to meet you here live on television, and let's go town to wolf blitzer, who certainly has been watching the numbers today as well. what a day. >> we'll be all over the story. fareeda kariya, he's really smart on these issues, erin burnett, she spent a lot of time watching wall street, she's going to be joining us. we also have a lot of news on the other breaking news that we're following, an apparent deal on the faa work stoppage, if you will. ray lahood will be here in the situation room. but this 500-plus point drop in the stock market, that's a huge story. it affects so 78 people out there. remember, this is not just today. it's been going on for 8 of the last 9 sessions on wall street, dropped more than 1,000 points, 10%, that's huge. >> wolf blitzer, we'll see you in a couple minutes. >>> in the meantime i've got two more people i want to talk to, we've got to get a break in. don't move. we'll be right back. what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment process

our colleague wolf blitzer sat down with him. plus, he's run for president himself and could run for the white house again, rudy giuliani and one of president obama's most trusted moguls and a man with strong opinions who likes nothing better than a good argument, magic man and atheist penn gillette. when you see this economy so badly tanking. >> will you come to praying again? >> praying does help. at least i have a prayer. >> do more. do more. if it helps, do more. you can tell these people are not praying enough. that's what's wrong. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." >> good evening, president obama is out on the trails today blasting republican rivals and urging americans to send a message to congress. he sat down with wolf blitzer for a one-on-one interview. wolf joins me now. wolf, congratulations on your scoop interview. what was the most striking part of it from your point of view? >> at one point we started talking about the tenth anniversary of 9/11. and i'm very worried, piers, i don't know about you, but i'm very wor

wolf blitzer, we will be talking a lot more.>> how about the remarkable return of gabby giffords? a mere six months after a horrific gunshot wound to the head, look at this. applause. cheers. all of it nonpartisan. giffords voted in favor of the debt ceiling deal, by the way. her first vote since being shot january 8th while meeting with consit wens. >> i went on the chamber of the house and saved some seats to make sure they were by the exit by putting my purse and ipad and folder on three seats so we could keep her one seat in in case it was too much for the mob that we knew would happen. but she went right to the last seat, the seat on the end so she could have the easiest access to all of the members. her whole delegation, arizona, came over. republicans, democrats. we had a very tough few weeks leading up to this fight and this final compromise, and gabby melted everybody's heart last night. >> an aide to the congresswoman says her staff was pretty thrilled to see her in the house again. >> it was a very emotional moment. i

now it's wolf blitzer back in washington.

wolf blitzer, i know you listen to the president a lot. so do i. these are the same three things he's talked about for weeks, just talked about them in holland, michigan. when will we hear something new? >> caller: the white house aides are saying probably in september. he's got a whole list and he reiterated those in the town hall meeting in minnesota earlier this morning. similar list what he put out last we last week creating, infrastructure, extending the payroll tax cut. he's got a whole list of ideas passing free trade area agreements. but he's going to have more substance, we're told, probably in september. they're going to come up with some other job creating ideas. look, there's a limit though what he can do. he can come up with bold initiatives. giving the makeup of the republican majority in the house of representatives, it's unlikely he'll get that passed, especially if it means a lot of spending with the republicans are not going to go forward with. so it's -- he'll stakeout the differences between himself and the republicans. the ques

he sat down with wolf blitzer for a one-on-one interview. wolf joins me now. wolf, congratulations on your scoop interview. what was the most striking part of it from your point of view? >> at one point we started talking about the tenth anniversary of 9/11. and i'm very worried, piers, i don't know about you, but i'm very worried having studied terrorism in the middle east for a long time that al qaeda elements, whatever is left of al qaeda or sympathizers, will seek to do something spectacular on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. i was wondering how concerned the president was. and he's very concerned. and he specifically is concerned about what he called the lone wolf terrorist emerging, someone along the line of what happened in nor way. he is worried about, you know, other potentially more significant kinds of terror attack. but he says that they're going to step up their precautions and it was sort of stark to me that, you know, the enormous responsibility he has as commander in chief on this tenth anniversary, you know that there are al qaeda element who's

i'm wolf blitzer. we want to welcome those in the united states and around the world welcome to the "countdown to debt crisis". >> i'm don lemon at the cnn world head quarters in atlanta where we are tracking developments in washington and around the world. >> we do have breaking news coming in from nation's capital right here in washington. president obama now says an agreement is in place to raise the nation's debt ceiling, averting a potential default on the united states financial obligations. >> we have complete coverage on every angle of the story. what's in the deal, how it came about and how all the various players in this debate are reacting. we are keeping an eye on where traders are reacting to news of a deal. we need to get to jessica yellen our chief white house concerned correspondent the president came out a short time ago and said it appears a deal is in the works. not the perfect deal but one that will keep america from going into default. >> that's right, don. i have more information

. >>> i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues on cnn. >>> good evening, everyone, tonight president obama on jobs sending troops off to war and the republicans who want his job. what does he make, for example, of texas governor rick perry's suggestion the men and women of america's armed forces don't respect their commander in chief. >> i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> perry for his part isn't so diplomatic. he blows kisses at his rivals and uses words like treasonous to criticize the chairman of the federal reserve. >> i don't know what you all would do to them in iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly in texas. >> the texas talk is stirring the presidential race but might some scare voters away? on the trail michele bachmann leads a tribute. >> before we get started, let's all say happy birthday toley to. happy birthday. >> sweet, right? except elvis was born in january. he died on this day on august 16th, 1977. >>> plus, check this out. the group swarms into a maryland c

we have the president's exclusive cnn interview with wolf blitzer. >> i'm carol costello. out of the mouths of candidates, michele bachmann tried to lead a happy birthday tribute to the king of rock and roll but her elvis facts are all shook up, on this "american morning." >>> good morning. it is wednesday, august 17th. welcome to "american morning." gosh, the election is just months away. >> i know. >> feels like it? it's a year and months away. but the amount that's going on right now, you would think we have an election -- we have some in november but we have a presidential election. >> the caucuses aren't until it's winter, until snow on the ground. >> at least it's been entertaining. >>> up first texas governor rick perry on the attack in new hampshire. hit the ground running and hitting president obama hard calling his handling of the economy a disaster. he's not backing down from his verbal assault in iowa this week on fed chairman ben bernanke. here's what governor perry said. >> if this guy prints more money, between now and the election, i don't know what you all

blitzer today, 5:00 p.m.>>> british lawmakers say it's likely james murdoch will be called again to testify before parliament. lawmakers are trying to determine if the younger murdoch mislead them last month about news hacking at "news of the world". >> reporter: he is saying that he's likely to be recalled sometime around october to face more questions from a parliamentary committee looking into the phone hacking scandal at "news of the world." at the heart of this is who knew what and when about the phone hacking and was james murdoch aware of the extent of what was going on? they want to ask him more questions. one mp says this it, his evidence has been convitradicte by evidence we had have from others. so it could continue to escalate here at the heart this also, they're talking about e-mails where james murdoch said in one instance that he wasn't aware this was going on, but there are others that are proving there is other documentation and e-mails that contradict what he says. and a whole bunch of other

wolf blitzer in "the situation room" starts now. >> brooke, thanks very much happening. president obama signs a bill to avoid the economic debt crisis for now. all sides are bracing for the next round of this ugly battle and many americans are simply fed up. plus, the crisis that members of congress fail to prevent before leaving town. airline regulators are mired in a financial mess that's expected to cost -- get this -- $25 million a day, and thousands of jobs. and a new explosion of violence in syria at the start of the muslim holy month. stand day for the shocking images of an massacre and conflicting reports about who's to blame. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." >>> we begin with the breaking news. stock prices take a nose dive today. the dow jones industrials closing down more than 265 points an hour ago. this losing streak now continuing in its eighth day, continuing even after the federal government avoided default on its debt. let's go to the new york stock exchange, cnn's alison kosick standing by with the latest. a lot of people thought onc

let's check in with wolf blitzer. he's joining us out of washington for a preview. >> we'll be taking a look at some brand new cnn poll numbers that are just coming in. these poll numbers fascinating especially one question, an intriguing question. we'll get the answers once we come to the top of the hour. the question is this, have elected officials here in washington dealt with the debt ceiling crisis more like responsible adults or spoiled children? the numbers when we come back. >> okay, good tease. also next hour a story we've been talking a lot about, gabrielle giffords surprising her colleagues as she walked on to the floor last night. seven months after a bullet entered her brain. we'll talk about her recovery with the intern who helped safe her life. (telephone ring. pick up) usa prime credit. my name ...peggy. you got problem? peggy? third time i've called, it's time i speak with a supervisor. supervisor is genius...i transfer. transfer! transfer! transfer! transfer! transfer! hello...my name is... peggy? co

wolf blitzer, tgif. >> tgif, indeed.ntially significant setback for president obama and the democrats and the health care reform law that they worked so hard to implement the 11th circuit court of appeals in atlanta where you are, today ruled unconstitutional. a 2-1 vote. the individual mandate of it. not necessarily the whole law, but the individual mandate that requires everyone, almost everyone to purchase health insurance by 2014. that is up constitutional according to these judges. exceeds congress' power and unconstitutional. the chief judge said this economic mandate represents a holy novel and unbounded assertion of congressional authority and the ability to compel americans to purchase expensive health product and make them repurchase that insurance product every month for their entire lives. now, a separate ruling in cincinnati not that long ago had the opposite conclusion saying that individual mandate provision was, in fact, constitutional. yet another court in richmond, virginia, is about to make a decision.

let's go to cnn's wolf blitzer for our special coverage of the senate vote. wolf? >> it will wrap up a really tumultoous few weeks. the senate getting ready to do what the house did and pass this debt ceiling bill in the next few minutes. we're standing by to hear from the republican leader. there's mitch mcconnell right now. let's listen in to hear what he says and harry reid, the majority leader, will wrap things up before the vote. >> the push and pull americans saw in washington these past few weeks was not gridlock. it was the will of the people working itself out in a political system that was never meant to be pretty. you see, one reason america isn't already facing the kind of crisis we see in europe is that presidents and majority parties here can't just bring about change on a dime. as much as they might like to from time to time. that's what checks and balances is all about. that's the kind of balance americans voted for in november. the american people sent a wave of new lawmakers to congress in last november's election with a very clear mandate, to put

wolf blitzer, you write on your blog that folks need to read between the lines. we hear entitlements or tax reform, dot, dot, dot. what we hear is, go ahead and fill in the blanks. >> reporter: those are polite words when you talk about entitlement reform, what effect they are saying are cuts in spending for medicare and medicaid, social security. let's not beat around the bush. when they talk about tax reform, in effect what they are saying are tax increases. you speak to democrats, especially over at the white house, that would be tax increases from the current level for the wealthiest americans, the big corporations and corporate jet owners and the millionaires and billionaires as they like to say in the white house and the democrats like to say but, in effect, it will mean increased taxes for those individuals making more than $200,000 a year, families making more than $250,000 a year. so the debate is going to continue, kyra. the debate right now, may be ending with the senate passage and i think the senate will pass it in a few hours. the president will sig

wolf blitzer was on air earlier asking the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., susan rice, about the 35 journalists or so, including our matthew chance, that are trapped in that hotel. >> nothing the u.s. can do. >> no. she said of course they're concerned just like the rest of us. we're all concerned. yesterday we spoke with him on this show and he was saying that they were running out of water, there were a lot of people there to try and feed and keep hydrated and they were at that point, they didn't have electricity. it's a very concerning situation. >> it is concerning. like i say, i know at least hfl a dozen of the people in that hotel at the moment, having seen them in various field situations. it's a very experienced crew there. our producer there has spent more time in baghdad over the years than just about anyone else. these are guys who know what they're doing. in fact, we've had viewers calling in concerned for the safety of our people as well, including sarah there outside the gadhafi compound and others. of course, precaution

and now, wolf blitzer has a big two hours ahead of him. "sit room" starts right now. >>> thanks very much, brooke. the house raising the debt limit on an historic bill to raise the debt ceiling. the obama campaign is trying to put the best spin on the best deal and the president's role in it. i'll ask about red hot democrats. stay here and hear how it plays out. i'm wolf blitzer here in "the situation room." >>> we've been expecting the house to vote on raising the debt limit. but it has not happened yet. the debt deadline is looming larger than ever. the deal would raise the debt limit $900 billion in the short term and green light spending cuts of roughly the same amount over ten years. offset dollar for dollar by more spending cuts. there's a lot of huge ifs involved in making all of that happen. let's go to capitol hill. kate baldwin is standing by. what are we toll about when it will take place? of. >> the timing is very fluid, wolf. the question is, will this compromise bill pass the house? speaker john boehner in a press conference

this afternoon wolf blitzer spoke one-on-one with mr. obama much he said why wait until september for a new big push on jobs? mr. obama pointed to initiatives already pend brg congreing befo. >> you got something much more ambitious in mind for the september. there's been reports you want to create new department of jobs, something along those lines. is that true? >> you know, that is not true. but what is true is that i think we missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious, balanced way that would have avoided these huge ji ragss in the business markets. washington had the fiscal house in order. and included in that, because of the savings that we would be getting over the next 10, 20 years, more efforts on the front end to spur job creation. >> that does not really create jobs. economists both agree on that. another white house initiative such as the tapayroll tax has bn cut. the least productive house session on record. there are bills putting the budget, abolishing health care refo

. >>> coming up before her, wolf blitzer.e's got all the days big political news in your cnn political ticker. [ thomas ] my sophomore year, i was pretty confused, didn't really know what i wanted to do. didn't like high school. and then i met my teacher, mr. mccooey, and that click happened. i would never have even thought about going into the engineering field if it wasn't for these ap classes, these teachers and them helping me realize that this is a major calling in my life. ♪ i didn't always know that i would like math, but now i think it'll change my life. >>> okay, real quickly before i get to wolf blitzer. thank you to all of you who tweet me during the show. a lot of you tweeting about ininterview i just did with the edfer in chief with marvel comics. go to my blog, we'll pop that interview up. a lot of you still tweeting me about willie nelson yesterday. >>> wolf blitzer with our cnn equals politics update here. wolf, let's begin with a big day for the president tomorrow. the big a-0. . >> he is going to be 50 years

wolf blitzer let's begin with the new cnn/opinion research poll.blican candidat candidates, who is on top of that? >> rick perry on top of the national poll with sarah palin and rudy giuliani in the contest even though neither announced they would run. if you take out giuliani and sarah palin from the equation, perry does better, at 32%, romney 18%, bachmann 12%, gingrich 7%, ron paul 6%, herman caine 3%, everybody else 2%. bottom line nationally among republicans in our new poll and other polls we've seen, romney is clearly the front-runner right now, doesn't necessarily mean, brooke, he's going to get the nomination, doesn't necessarily mean he will win the caucuses in iowa, win the new hampshire primary, south carolina. it shows nationally at this moment he's the front-runner right now, it's only been a few weeks as you know since he announced he's running for president so presumably this will help him get some fund-raising going and also put a little bull's eye on him as well because the other republican candidates might be more assertive in go

you remember wolf blitzer, the rudiman holings fight in the '80s.990s. it goes on all the time. they will try to move the fight. there are those who say spending should 9/11 go above a certain level. it's usually a percentage of gdp or something. then on the other side you will have keynesians saying we need to repair what's wrong, do something about unemployment in this country. and the fight will continue. >> thank you very much. good discussion. don, you know what? i think around the end of november, thanksgiving, we'll do this again. >> i e think we'll do it after that because this conversation continues to come up. as i said, 40 years we looked back on the exact same talking points when it comes to this issue. financial markets around the world are reacting to the news that a deal was reached in the debt limit crisis, wolf. we'll talk about it right afb. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. som

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." president obama on a bus tour through the united states midwest. he's been reaching out to rural voters. but he took some time today to sit down with me for a wide-ranging one-on-one interview. we talked about the political gridlock in washington, the field of republican challengers trying to oust him from the white house, and the terror threat a decade after 9/11. but we began with what may be the most pressing issue facing the country right now. here's part one of my interview with the president of the united states. >> mr. president, thanks very much for joining us. >> great to be here. >> let's talk about jobs, jobs, jobs. issue number one. you're going to release a major new jobs program, you say, in september. here's the taken so long? >> truth is everything we've done has been related to jobs, starting back with the recovery act. but what's happened is that number one, you've seen a lot of layoffs at state and local government, and that has been an impediment to the kind of rob

this afternoon cnn's wolf blitzer spoke with mr. obama. he asked him why wait until september? he pointed to initiatives already pending before congress. then he asked if the president may be planning something much bigger. >> there's been reports you want to create a new department of jobs, something along those lines. is that true? >> you know, that is not true. but what is true is that i think we missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious, balanced way that would have avoided these huge gyrations in the financial markets, given businesses a lot of confidence that washington had its fiscal house in order, and included in that, because of the savings that we'd be getting over the next 10, 20 years, more efforts on the front end to spur job creation. >> but dealing with the debt at least short term does not really create jobs. economists in the left and right both agree on that. another white house initiatives such as extending jobless benefits and payroll tax cuts are being blocked especially in the gop house. as for what

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room". >>> president obama on a bus tour through the united states midwest he's been reaching out to rural voters but he took some time today to sit down with me for a wide-ranging one-on-one interview. we talked about the political gridlock in washington, the field of republican challengers trying to oust him from the white house, and the terror threat a decade after 9/11. but we began with what may be the most pressing issue facing the country right now. here's part one of my interview with the president of the united states. >> mr. president, thanks very much for joining us. >> great to be here. >> let's talk about jobs jobs jobs. issue number one. you're going to release a major new jobs program you say in september. here's the question. what's taking so long? >> well, the truth is everything we've done has been related to jobs. starting back with the recovery act. and that's the reason why we've seen over 2 million jobs created over the last 17 months in

this afternoon cnn's wolf blitzer spoke one-on-one with mr. obama. he asked why wait until september for a new push on jobs? he pointed to initiatives already pending before congress. then he asked if the president may be planning something much bigger. >> you have something more ambitious for september. there's been reports that you want to create a new department of jobs, something along those lines. is that true? >> you know, that is not true. but what is true is that i think we missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious balanced way that would have avoided these huge gyrations in the financial markets, given businesses a lot of confidence that washington had its fiscal house in order, and included in that, because of the savings that we'd be getting over the next 10, 20 years, more efforts on the front end to spur job creation. >> but dealing with the debt at least short term does not really create jobs. economists in the left and right both agree on that. another white house initiatives such

. >>> make sure you join wolf blitzer and i at 9:00 p.m. eastern, one hour, where we'll have a special report on the debt crisis. we will see you then. >>> tonight on "cnn presents" -- addicted at birth. >> what's she going through because she's just a little baby? and she can't talk and she can't tell me how she feels. >> america's pain pill epidemic. it is the youngest generation. >> we're seeing more babies being born addicted to drugs. "beasts of war." >> next thing you know, i was staring a porpoise right in the face. oh, just got me again. >>> a once top-secret military program that's enlisting animals to protect the country. >>> but first, inside a polygamous sect. >> we're dealing with the exploitation of children of young girls for sexual purposes. >> reporter: gary tuchman takes you where most people never go -- exposing polygamy's dirty secrets. >> reporter: the scenery is spectacular and the polygamist families who live here along the uft-arizona border have been able to live their lives with little interference from the outside

obama talks one-on-one with cnn's wolf blitzer. you can see that on wolf's show at 5:00 p.m. eastern, 2:00 pacific only on cnn. >>> now to london, where we knew we hadn't heard the last of the phone hacking scandal that doomed a best-selling tabloid and rocked the very pillars of society. today, the parliamentary committee that grilled rupert murdoch and his son james last month released letters suggesting that illegal snooping, hacking, eavesdropping, were a lot more common at the now defunct "news of the world" than the murdochs led on. one such letter is from a reporter named clive goodman who was sacked and jailed for hacking the cell phones of the royal family. he writes to his paper's human resources department, this decision is inconsistent because, here's a name blacked out, and other members of staff were carrying out the same illegal procedures. he says this practice was widely discussed in the daily editorial conference until explicit reference to it was banned by the editor. now james murdoch appears to have some explaining to do. >> highly likely james murdoch wi

let's check in with wolf blitzer. the man who never sleeps.gave us a consumers digest best buy award. then they gave us an iihs top safety pick and you... well, you gave us your approval. so we thought, why not give a little back. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. and now, very-well qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a chevy cruze ls for around $169 a month. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. >>> before we get you to wolf, we heard from house speaker john boehner and our congressional correspondent kate baldwin was in the room and it seems to me had a very important question. her question is, what would the bill do to department of defense spending? here was his answer. >> are you losing republican support because of concerns over defense cut at this point? >> i just met with all the members of our armed services committee. they clearly had some concerns about the defense numbers in this bill. as i told them, this is the best defense number we're going to get. and frankly, if we don't p

kate bold uan, thank you. >>> wolf blitzer is standing by.expect the president will say or should say? >> i think he's going to probably say on camera what he said in the written statement last night. very similar. i don't think he'll go much further than we heard last night, namely, that this is a turning point, obviously it looks like it's the end of gadhafi. gadhafi's regime. the end of his rule in libya. that he should surrender. it's over for gadhafi. i think he's going to note the unified nato stance, how the allies have gotten together. i would be surprised if he goes a lot further than that unless he's going to release some new information that we're not familiar with. i think basically it will be a rewrite of what he said on paper in that written statement last night. but we'll see. we'll know soon enough. it's interesting the way he's doing it. as you know, he's on vacation in martha's vineyard, randi. he's going to go before cameras. we'll get that videotape, all the networks have a pool arrangement. about 20 minutes or so after he

wolf blitzer will continue the breaking news. "the situation room" is now. >>> stock prices in free fall. the dow plummeting more than 500 points as economic fears skyrocket. this hour your vanishing investments, hundreds of billions, maybe more than a trillion in equity loss. a brace in the costly standoff. we're going to tell you what this tentative deal should mean for thousands of furloughed workers and for airline safety. it's all enough to make the president grow a few more gray hairs, on this his 50th birthday. will it hurt the president's chances for reelection? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> let hayes get to the breaking news. when the closing bell rang on wall street an hour ago, all the gains made this year, all those gains wiped out. the worst sell-off since the 2008 financial crisis. the dow jones industrials plunging. the dow has been tanks, though, for two weeks losing more than 10% of its value. the s&p 500 and the nasdaq, also have dropped more than 10% since mid-july. let's go to our chief

in iowa, the president told cnn's wolf blitzer that he didn't create the economic mess but he realizes it's his to fix. >> i'm going to be accountable. i think people understand that a lot of these problems were decades in the making. people understand that this financial crisis was the worst since the great fregs. but ultimately they say, look, he's the president, we think he has good intentions, but we're impatient and we want to see things move faster. and i understands that. i'm sympathetic to it. and we're zwrust going to keep on putting forwarded ideas that will be good for the country. we're going to need a partner from congress. >> in the meantime, mitt romney fired off a quick jab at the new jobs initiative even though the white house hasn't spelled out the fine print. the presidential candidate on the trail in new hampshire today called any plan too little too late. >> we appreciate the fact that he's trying to devote some time to it, not just going to be on the bus tour, not just vacationing in martha's vineyard but giving some thought to the american people. that's what i w

and now to wolf blitzer for a quick check on what is coming up. wolf?mayor of new york. >> i absolutely tip my hat. >> i admire him, spanish is not that great and people will understand what he's saying. he's also worth 10 or $15 billion. he's michael bloomberg. i admire you, brooke, for that little spanish rendition. do you speak fluently? >> i studied spanish and lived in mexico city. yes. a little bit. >> very impressive. very nice. >> thank you. >> let me tell what you is coming up at the top of the hour. mitt romney taking off the gloves a little bit. not only going after president obama but indirectly going after rick perry, the -- let's call him the front-runner right now for the republican presidential nomination. we're all over the political stories. what's going on. we have a lot of follow up on what is going on. as far as hurricane irene is concerned. we're watching new development unfolding in libya. we're checking in with all of our correspondence. lots of news happening right now and we'll have it all at the top of the hour. i'll see you i

let's go to wolf blitzer. wolf, give us the names. >> jim clyburn, the highest ranking african-american in the house of representatives, he's one of the democrats that nancy pelosi name. javier becerra, one of the highest ranking hispanic members of congress from california. chris van hollen from maryland, who spent the last for you years working to get democrats to the house of representatives, used to run the democratic congressional campaign committee, so you now have 12 members, i'll call them the gang of 12. six democrats, six republicans, taking a look at the diversity, one woman, patty murray of washington state, one african-american, one hispanic, javier becerra, and nine white men. so it's got a little diverse, not a whole lot, but it will be a powerful panel. if they get a 7-5 vote in favor of more than a trillion in cut, it automatically goes to the floor of the house, no amendments, automatically goes to the floor of the senate, no amendments there, no filibuster allowed, a simple majority in both.

wolf blitzer, appreciate your insight. enjoyed chatting with you here. little bit later on. >>> the 11th hour is quickly approach egg and president obama's debt deal with republicans is our last chance to stop the country from default as we've been telling you. but it is not a done deal. far from it. the newly minted debt ceiling plan is up for debate in congress as we speak. senate republicans are expected to filibuster the plan. and it still has to pass the house. we'll be right back. that one day on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! [ male announcer ] chevrolet is honored to celebrate the unveiling of the washington, d.c., martin luther king jr. memorial. take your seat at the table on august 28th. but afraid you can't afford it? well, look how much insurance many people can get through selectquote for less than a dollar a day. selectquote found, rich, 37, a $500,000 policy for under $18 a month. even though dave,

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> millions of americans on the east coast and beyond heard the ground rumble and felt buildings sway. the earthquake that struck just a few hours ago measured 5.8, the strongest to rock the area in over a century. for this part of the country it's a rare event. many people were dazed and scared as they poured into the streets. some are still feeling emotional aftershocks. the quake was centered almost 90 miles southwest of washington, d.c., and northern virginia. it was felt to some degree as far away as both detroit and atlanta. damage reports are still coming in. no word yet of serious injuries. major airports and national monuments here in washington were closed. the white house, congress and the pentagon were evacuated. look at what we experienced here at cnn's bureau here in washington. we're going to show you a video, the dramatic video and the sound that's coming up. i want to bring in homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve working the

wolf blitzer will sit down with president obama on tuesday.in the gop race for president, texas governor rick perry is in. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is out. and mi minnesota representative michele bachmann topped the iowa straw poll leading the pack with 29% followed by texas represent ron paul. pawlenty came in third with 14%. but he says the ranking wasn't strong enough to keep him going in the race. so with pawlenty out, here's a look at who is in. perry, bachmann and paul are all in. so is mitt romney, newt gingrich, gary johnson, rick santorum, john hunts man, herman cain. the indiana state fair reopened today with a memorial service for the people killed after a stage collapsed during a violent storm over the weekend. as you can see in this video, a wind gust took down the stage saturday night minutes before the band sugar land was set to perform. people in the crowd rushed to the rescue trying to help those trapped under the stage. look at that come down. five people were killed. at least 40 others injured. police say the s

that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. >> i'm wolf blitzer.e stories we're working on for the next hour. rebel troops right now making dramatic advances on the capital. tripoli also, thousands of americans are being declared dead by the social security administration due to clerical errors. and the latest fallout from christine o'donnell's walking out on her interview with cnn's piers morgan. you're in "the situation room." . >>> these members of congress are among the wealthiest lawmakers in washington right now. that may or may not help them politically at a time when so many americans are hurting, but financially they're in great shape. and one of them is suddenly a lot wealthier than he was before. kate baldwin has been looking at a new ranking of the richest members of congress. kate, what are you finding out? >> a pretty interesting list. roll call has put out the 50 richest members of congress and here you can see the top five. let's run through them. at number five, you have senator mark warner. a democratic senator from virginia. his

now wolf blitzer starts now. >> brooke, thanks very much.

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> it's an unprecedented move that could have an affect on personal finances. the long-term effect of standard & poor's decision to downgrade aaa to aa plus is not known but there are growing concerns about the potential for serious consequences in washington. indeed, across the nation. christi christine romans has been analyzing the impact. first of all, why did s&p do this? >> because america faces an unknown financial future and there is acrimony in washington and the inability it appears for these problems to be solved in a meaningful way. s&p to go out of its way to point out a hurdle or a roadblock against real reform. s&p would like to see more than $2.5 trillion in cuts. it would like to have seen a bigger deal to get america's debt smaller as a size of the overall economy than it will be here. wolf, clearly it's something that many people have feared. it's a day that ken, a very important economist told me will be in the history books. this ha

i'm wolf blitzer.e situation room." >>> the breaking news out of libya where after 42 years the regime is collapsing. there are still fierce battles raging, but the rebels now control most of the capital. they have captured three of moammar gadhafi's sons, but now we've learned, just learned, one of those sons has actually escaped, and there's no sign of gadhafi himself. the pentagon says it believes he remains inside libya somewhere. regardless of gadhafi's whereabouts, president obama today said the regime is coming to an end. listen to this. >> although it's clear that gadhafi's rule is over, he still has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquishing power to the people of libya as we move forward from this pivotal phase. the opposition should continue to take important steps to bring about a transition that is peaceful, inclusive and just. true justice will not come from reprisals and violence. it will come from reconciliation and a libya that allows its citizens to determ

i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." world report is next.ca, "john king usa" starts right now. >>> good evening. everyone. if the pictures don't lie, then take a look at tonight's

a special report tonight with wolf blitzer and christine romans is coming up here at 7:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. >>> the latest estimate, 29,000 children dead from lack of food and water in the past month alone. coming up, we take you inside the crisis and show you what the u.s. is doing to help. >>> and many of you are seeking information from us through social media, you can reach out to us through twitter and facebook. [ male announcer ] walls can talk. but it's our job to make them say something interesting. so how about this weekend we learn some new tricks of the trade... then break out our doing clothes and get rolling. let's use some paint that helps us get the job done in record time and makes a statement when we're finished. we're lowering the cost of a new favorite color. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. take your painting skills to the next level at one of our free paint workshops. [ martin luther king jr. ] i still have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be a

i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." we want to start with chris lawrence, he's joining us from maryland, the chesapeake beach, right now, chris, this powerful storm is moving in your direction, what are you seeing and what are you feeling? >> reporter: i feel very wet, and i can feel a tremendous amount of wind, that kicked up in the last few hours. where i'm standing now and a lot of the areas right around it, earlier this morning when we were here at 11:00 in the morning or noon, this was sand and very quickly over the past few hours, we have seen the tide start to rise and the winds get more and more intense here. it really says something, when you consider how far we still are from the -- a lot of these homes are built on a cliff and i was speaking with the mayor here a little while ago and he said there was a real chance that because the majority of -- is going to hit this area at got maybe 2:00 in the morning. and 4:00 in the morning is high tide. and he's very, very concerned with the amount of energy and -- stor

wolf blitzer standing by for us in washington, d.c. wolf, i'm sure you'll be talking about this in the situation room later today. >> we certainly will. it's an extraordinary and unusual situation. it hasn't just been in washington. it's been in virginia. it's been in maryland. up in new york, north carolina, ohio, michigan. they felt it all over the eastern part of the united states. the epicenter much closer to richmond, virginia. mineral, virginia. about 87 or so miles outside of washington, d.c. we're following what's going on very closely. i want to bring in trent rawls. he works at the bureau here in washington. you were a block away. that's the train station here in the nation's capitol. what happened? where were you inside, trent? what did you see? >> i was in the food court. as i was ordering my lunch. as i sat down to eat my lunch, i felt a strong shake. so i thought maybe it was the train. then it happened again. it got furious and then maybe seconds after that, the roof started collapsing, towels started falling from the ro