let's get to brianna keilar. rianna was in the room as the house speaker nancy pelosi took questions from the media. it's what she does every week and, brianna, i take it, i heard one question, but i suspect there were a couple questions about this letter that democrats have sent to the director, leon panetta, accusing penetta telling congress one thing. this all goes back to the house speaker's contentious news conference. it feels like a couple months ago where she essentially made the same claims against the cia that the agency held back details about harsh interrogation techniques. how does she handle the one, maybe two questions she took on this topic? >> i asked her if she'd had this briefing from cia director panetta that democratic members of the house intelligence committee who sent that letter said they had. they say that leon panetta told them that the cia was withholding information or misleading congress about certain things of the cia since 2001 for the last eight years. she said she has not had that

brianna keilar following it all for us on capitol hill with the help of dana bash and a host of othersyou. >>> what would be willing to give up to pay for health care reform? it's a question posted on our newsroom blog, this is terrific. thank you very much. you flooded the blog with responses, 800, 900, i don't know where we are. >>> the question also came up during debate on the house floor -- >> i'm just wondering which one of you members is going to give up your navy doctors downstairs to take care of you? which one of you are going to give up your federal health care plan which insures all the members of your family? which one of you are going to give up medicare for all of your constituents? which one of you are going to give up the veterans' care and the veterans clinic ins drure ict? whi in your district? which one of you is going to take away the military tricare program? yeah, government's involved in health care. sure is, that's what our country is surviving and living on. let's make this work and stop attacking each other. >> wow, here's how some of you responded to our blo

so let's get to our congressional correspondent, brianna keilar. she's on clim capitol hill for us. brianna, it sounds like the work continues in the house until the very end. that's not a bad signal to send to the people you representative. >> no. that is the signal that democrats are trying to send, tony. i want to tell you about a meeting that's going on right now that we just learned about. house democrats at this moment are meeting with president obama's top adviser, david asterod as well as the president's top health care adviser. what are they talking about? they're talking about their message aes they are about to head out the door here for august recess. they're facing tremendous pressure from republicans who oppose them on health care reform and this is actually a document, a memorandum that was sent out to all house democratic members. we obtained this from a democratic aid talking about what they'll be doing over the august recess. countering the republican takeover message by saying things like they're holding the insurance companies accountable, there aren't going to be

let's check in first with brianna keilar on capitol hill. hi, brianna. >> reporter: hi, hidy. in just a few hours here, the members will make a beeline for the airport getting out of washington for their august recess. i'll tell you where health care stands at the top of the hour. >>> i'm rob marciano. the space shuttle is scheduled to land in a little less than an hour and we will have the weather for you. >> guys, thanks so much. we'll be watching for all of that.. >>> we will have more on our special focus this morning on the new gi bill and how it will help troops injured or trauma advertised by war. this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars... and 889 safety patents. this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is the 9th generation e-class. this is mercedes-benz. >>> on our blog this morning, we've been asking you to tell us about your experience as a veteran or if you have a loved one who is a veteran tell us about them. we've been getting a lot of stories, ranging from a hear

forgive me, it doesn't look like we have brianna keilar in that three-shot. susan lisovicz, let's start with you. >> the market's not looking so good, but you know what is looking good or better, heidi, the housing market. for the second day in a row, we're digesting a report that shows the housing market is finally, finally stabilizing. yesterday, it was home sales and today home prices. i'll all have the numbers, heidi, in the next hour. >> i'm christine romans in new york. a story for you about the cost of calories. it costs more than just your waistline or buying a new pair of jeans. why calories and what we weigh figure into the debate over reforming health care. i'll have that at the top of the hour. >> i'm arwa damon in baghdad. secretary of defense gates is in iraq on an unannounced visit, specifically to look at the new dynamics between u.s. and iraqi soldiers. we'll have that story coming up next hour. >> all right, thanks so much, ladies. appreciate that. brianna keilar is on capitol hill talking about health care and what the next plan may be. >>>

b brianna keilar on capitol hill, thanks, brianna. >> thank you. >>> she became the symbol of a protest movement in iran. she was shot dead 40 days ago. today, the situation is tense, once again. as thousands of people have gathered to remember her with riot police pushing back. reza say ah is following the democrats over at our iran desk and we're getting more video in and all these people, something like 3,000, i think, we have been hearing have gotten together to remember neda. >> an estimated 3,000 people showed up at her grave site, sources in tehran telling cnn that security forces are firing into the air and using tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd. this during more clashes this morning in tehran between security forces and opposition supporters. new video coming into the iran desk over the past hour. this is tehran's main cemetery where opposition supporters had gathered to mourn neda, the 26-year-old who was killed on june 20th, along with several other people eight days after the disputed elections. the opposition had asked permission from the government to hold a mou

brianna keilar joins us now and now comes the vote. when is the vote, brianna? >> we're expecting a vote by the senate judiciary committee on tuesday then. we're expecting a vote by the full senate before congress goes on its recess in august. so, the expectation is that sonia sotomayor will be in place as a supreme court justice well before, actually, the court begins its new session this fall. >> we were watching these hearings closely over the past several days. of course, but, after sonia sotomayor was done with her part. some of the most interesting testimony, some might say, were from some of the witnesses that came, including some of the new haven firefighters that were part of that case, of course, that new haven 20. so, tell us what was the point first of all in having those firefighters there and what did they have to say? >> this was pretty compelling testimony. republicans invited these firefighters to testify and they were part of this case where they claimed discrimination after the city threw out a firefighter exam after no african-american firefi

candy crowley and brianna keilar. candy, let me begin with you, judge sotomayor didn't meltdown.hot white house be confident she will be confirmed on tuesday. >> the white house can plan the party, yes, absolutely. look, she went into these hearings with 60 votes, 58 democrats. and 2 independents. the real mystery now is how many republicans will vote for her? i suspect you will be surprised by the number. a couple of them have already come out, so yes, handily. the republicans already said they weren't going to filibuster this. they can plan the brianna, on e parties were very civil. how much did capitol hill need it to be such? >> i think hearings like this are pretty civil. we were expecting going into this, remember when she was announced, there was a huge outcry from conservative pundits some of whom called her a bigot and you saw republican senators pulling back on that we saw a continuation of that during this hearings. they treated her with respect but also asked tough questions at the same time, but was the feeling that the capitol hill and senate judiciary committee had

brianna keilar on capitol hill, thanks, brianna. >>> health care reform certainly a hot topic for cnn's ed henry. on his radio show today ed is talking on the phone now with republican congressman, let me just double check that. he is, he's not on the phone yet. but we believe any moment that he is going to be speaking with republican congressman eric canter, the house minority whip. when we get word that that conversation is actually taking place, we will get back to ed henry and a little later i will actually talk to our senior white house correspondent after he wraps that interview, we'll check in with him in about 30 minutes or so. >>> you know, when it comes to health care reform, we've been asking this question all week, what are you willing to give up? the responses have been absolutely huge. can't thank you enough for participating. if you would, keep the comments coming. just go to our blog. this is our show blog, just go to cnn.com/tony and leave a comment and we will share some of your comments or responses your thoughts, your views, your opinions a little later in the progra

cnn's congressional correspondent brianna keilar joins us now live from capitol hill this morning. brianna, what are we going to see today? >> well, heidi, we're going to be seeing some more questions. you'll probably recall on monday, senator lindsey graham, a republican critic of sonia sotomayor, he says he may vote for her. he says unless she has a "healthdown," she will be confirmed. a meltdown. so far no meltdown. she seems really within the lines with her deliberate answers to these senators' questions. as sonia sotomayor took the hot seat prepared to answer republican questions about her controversial off-the-bench remarks, democrats launched a preemptive strike. >> here's your chance. you tell us what's going on here, judge. >> reporter: judiciary chairman patrick leahy gave her a friendly audience as she explained her comment about a wise latina reaching a better conclusion than a white male. she says it was a misunderstanding, that she was trying to inspire hispanic students. >> i want to state up front, unequivocally, and without doubt, i do not believe that any ethnic r

brianna keilar is keeping watch on capitol hill. the only real question here is whether any republicans will back the judge today. >> we are expecting there will be one republican who will back the judge. lindsay gram said he will vote for her. he is a republican, of course, from south carolina. he said that elections have consequences so, in short, predz obama will get his pick. otherwise, tony, we expect this to be a party line vote. democrats on this committee support her and every republican aside from senator graham has said that they're going to vote against her. listen to what the chairman of the committee, democrat patrick leahy said just a short time ago as well as the top republican, jeff sessions from alabama. here's what they both said just a short while ago. >> as set forth by the constituti constitution. as a prosecutor, as a judge, she has administered justice without favoring one group of persons over another. >> based on her record as a judge and her statements, i am not able to support this nomination. i don't beli

cnn's brianna keilar breaks it down for us this morning. >> reporter: here's what democrats say theirnsurance overhaul would do for you, insurance companies cannot deny you coverage for pre-existing condition, and you would be required to purchase health insurance, or pay a fine. can't afford insurance? the government would chip in. and in most cases, so would your employer. how much would you pay? house democrats say they will cap your health care costs. >> there will be an annual limit on out-of-pocket expenses and no life-time limits on care. there will be no more co-pays or deductibles for preventive care that can catch devastating illnesses in time. >> reporter: if you don't get insurance through your employer, some in congress want to change how you buy it on the individual market by creating a simple clearinghouse. it's also called a gateway or an exchange where you can buy insurance after come parg different plans. many democrats in the house and senate want a government-run insurance plan included among those options, insisting private insurers won't lower their prices withou

brianna keilar will be joining us in a couple of minutes. >>> it's 57 minutes past the hour.elcome back to the most news in the morning. here are new developments in the brutal murders of a married couple known for their giving nature. known for adopting special needs children. authorities in florida now say the investigation is turning out to be, quote, something bigger than anyone first thought. here's cnn's david mattingly. >> reporter: two men, leonard gonzalez jr. and wayne coldiron are the first to be arrest and accused in the brutal double murders of bird and melanie billings. authorities say expect more. >> we are looking for multiple suspects. >> reporter: escambia county sheriff david morgan will not discuss a possible motive. why anyone would want to kill the billings. known for their adoption of a dozen children, many with special needs, the couple was shot to death in what authorities still call a home invasion. but now it appears to be much more. >> we are very anxious to share this story with the citizens of escambia county and with the nation if you will. it's

brianna keilar sets the stage.

cnn congressional correspondent brianna keilar live with more on this. you got a copy of that letter from house democrats. how does it read? >> reporter: yeah, this is the letter right here, heidi. now, what we've learned here is that two weeks ago, cia director panetta came before congress, he test -- came before members of the house intelligence committee, and he testified before them. what did he say? it is revealed in this letter and it says in part, this is a letter sent to panetta. it says in part, recently you testified that you have determined the top cia officials have concealed significant actions from congress from 2001 to this week. meaning late in june. i spoke with congresswoman whose website this was posted on. here's what she said. >> the executive branch had the responsibility to keep the congress fully informed and in a timely fashion. so this is, this is very, very serious. to have withheld information. we cannot have secret operations going on without being informed. >> reporter: so democrats here raising the question, who is holding

brianna keilar, cnn, capitol hill. >>> okay. so, gun control providing lots of ammunition on our blog this morning. that question, once again. should people be allowed to carry their concealed weapons across the state lines. just go to cnn.com/heidi, click on that page and you can put your comments there. also, want to remind you that we have this new thing, check it out. hotline to heidi. call in and tell us what you think. leave your message, 1-877-742-5760. we will read or hear some of your responses a little bit later in the show. >>> no job, no health care and diagnosed with cancer. we're taking a look at the uninsured in america. >>> the fight for health care reform rages on in washington with the president gearing up for major push tonight. watching closely, the millions who are sick right now with no insurance. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is joining us now to talk more about this. hi, elizabeth. >> many of us are following the health care reform debate, but if you don't insurance, i bet you're following

>>> and also, our congressional correspondent brianna keilar, you see her there, her eye on the deadline to pass the whole thing, no matter how you look at it, the clock is ticking. >>> first, to the white house, central command in this health care battle. the president is not backing down from the fight even though he's got plenty of opposition. white house correspondent suzanne malveaux looks at his demand to overhaul the system. >> absolutely it's my job. i'm the president, and i think this has to get done. >> mr. obama threw down the gauntlet. >> i'm not going to sign a bill that, for example, adds to our deficit. i won't sign a bill that doesn't reduce health care inflation. >> reporter: but he did say he supported limiting tax deduction for wealthy americans and imposing a surtax for those making more than $1 million a year, efforts to raise money to cover america's uninsured. >> the plan that has been -- that i've put forward and that what we're seeing in congress would cover the estimates are at least 97% to 98% of americans. >> reporter: he also praised republicans for their ide

cnn's brianna keilar is watching and waiting. brianna, is the house vote still on track for today? >> reporter: were, it is on track today as far as we know, kyra. that's expected to come here in about the next hour or so. meantime, this is the scene, before the house of representatives leaves for its august recess. these doors over here, members here in the next hour or so are going to stream out of them. they're going to stream down these stairs over here, and they're going to head home to their home districts without ever having voted on health care. and that means that this august recess is all about trying to win the fight over the debate on health care and who is going to win. what you have is some democrats and conservative democrats, kyra, who are very vulnerable during this time. they're going to go back. they're going to listen to their constituents, and they are certainly going to face big attacks from republicans who are against the democrats' health care reform plan that is being pushed in the house of representatives right now. so, what you -- what you see with democr

>> you're right, but i was spending a lot of time on reviewing cases. >> and brianna keilar is joining us live from capitol hill on what we can expect. obviously, we're going to hear more about the new haven firefighters case. >> we expect to hear more about that, the wise latina comments. we're going to see sonia sotomayor answering questions for another few hours. the senators are on their second round of questions, then we're going to hear testimony against her. that's going to include two of those firefighters. they're the ones who claimed discrimination when the city threw out a promotional exam that no african-american firefighters passed. this of course, went up the chain. when it came to sotomayor's three-judge appeals panel, they upheld a court ruling and ultimately, those supreme court overturned that decision. republicans say this shows perhaps that sonia sotomayor will show bias in some of her decisions. it's going to be interesting to hear from the people. frank ricci and ben vargas, two of the firefighters behind this. >> is there any word yet, brianna? i think there had

judge sotomayor, thank you, god speed. >> brianna keilar joining us now live from capitol hill.so the time line here, brianna, for a vote on sotomayor's confirmation? is that the next step we're talking about? >> reporter: a voting committee and a vote before the full senate. and this could be a done deal here in the next few weeks, heidi. you may recall before this hearing, some republicans felt this confirmation process was just going too fast. well, we heard yesterday, they said they're not going to try to delay or block it. what we're expecting now is that voting committee to come tuesday and then a full vote of the senate before congress breaks for its month-long august recess and that would put sotomayor on the supreme court in time for its new fall session. >> okay. all right. very good, well, we appreciate it. live from capitol hill this morning. thanks. >>> african-americans have the highest rate of obesity of any ethnic group. our dr. sanjay gupta looks at this new research and what needs to be done to get those dangerous rates down. if we don't act, medical bills will

brianna keilar, thank you. >>> we want to hear from you.we want you to weigh in on had health care discussion because obviously reform will require changes, look, from all of us. so, do this for you, if you wouldn't mind. just go to our blog page at cnn.com/tony and tell us what you think. what are you willing to give up to help? be sure to include your name and the city where you live. we want to start to track responses by regions here. just to see what we find out. and we'll read some of your comments on the program a little later this hour. >>> cnn, of course, will bring you live coverage of president obama's news conference tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, that's 5:00 pacific. >>> what is the message president obama wants you to take away from tonighted news conference? i'm going to ask a member of the president's communications team that very question. multivitamin. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. that's a great call. one a day men's. >>> we knew this would be

brianna keilar on capitol hill. brianna, appreciate it.tout at an apartment in jersey city, new jersey, the pictures are amazing here. eight police officers are hurt, one critically. look at this. two suspects are dead. a police official says one of the wanted men, quoting here, came ready to do war with us. five of the officers were shot, the other three were injured during the shootout. >> the entry was attempted to be gained to the apartment, and the people inside just started firing through the door and through the wall. one of our jersey city officers was hit in the neck and the chest. he had a bullet-proof vest on. he went down, he's been operated on. and things look good for him right now. another one of our officers, that was immediately behind him, was also hit in the face. he was in very, very bad shape, life-threatening situation. >> wow. the mayor later said the condition of the officer shot in the face has improved. so, some good news there. >>> more amazing video to show you. take a look at this. this is hazel park, michigan,

brianna keilar reports now from capitol hill. >> reporter: with president obama overseas, vice president joe biden stepped in to push the administration's top priority -- health care reform. >> folks, reform is coming. it is on track, it is coming. we have tried for decades -- for decades -- to fix a broken system, and we have never in my entire tenure in public life been this close. >> reporter: biden touted a deal with the hospital industry. hospitals will give up $155 billion in medicare and medicaid payments over the next ten years. money that would help pay for health care reform. but the top republican in the house, john boehner, blasted the announcement, accusing the administration of cutting back-room deals to fund a government takeover of health care. democrats are divided on the issue of how to pay for health care reform's $1 trillion price tag. max baucus is chairman of the senate's tax writing committee. a key proposal to tax employer-provided health benefits once seen as a likely way to raise hundreds of billions of dollars may be dead. democrats aware that recent polls show

. >> cnn's brianna keilar joins me now to push the nomination forward. brianna, why was graham the only republican to vote for sotomayor? >> reporter: well, you heard him say there, kyra, he wouldn't have chosen her, but he's been saying all along, elections have consequences. now, what does that mean? well, he's saying that president obama won the presidential election, he gets to appoint whom he wants to the u.s. supreme court. but the other republicans, kyra, said they weren't convinced that sonia sotomayor isn't going to incorporate her personal feelings and opinions to the supreme court bench. boil it all down, and they are convinced when it comes to the ambiguous cases on the hot-button issues that he will come down on the side of abortion rights and against gun rights and so on. so, six of them opposed her nomination. democrats, for their part, as you can imagine, kyra, saying that's not how she will be. if you look at her record, it's very much in the mainstream, but this is certainly almost a total party-line vote, kyra. >> well, what's the next

brianna keilar reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: to hear democrats tell it, the cia has been keeping congress in the dark for the last eight years. >> what does this mean? >> it means that something very serious broke down. >> reporter: anna eshoo and six other democrats on the house intelligence committee say cia director leon panetta himself revealed that the cia misled members of congress. in a letter to panetta they say, you determined that top cia officials have concealed significant actions from all members of conditioning and misled members for a number of years. >> he informed us that there was an operation that was in place from 2001 until the day before he came to notify us. >> reporter: but pete hoekstra, the committee's top republican, downplayed the significance of panetta's briefing. >> i heard about a concept and a plan and some preparation on a program. a program that was never implemented. >> democrats and republicans wouldn't give specifics, because they say the information is classified. but house speaker nancy pelosi, who's already weathered republican criticism f

brianna keilar reports from washington. >> reporter: president obama is telling congress the clock is ticking on health care reform. >> i never believe anything is do or die. but i really want to get it done by the august recess. >> reporter: a tall order for congressional democrats who have missed self-imposed deadlines. in the house, 40 fiscally conservative democrats, including arkansas' mike ross, sent a letters to leaders, concerned congress isn't doing enough to cut ballooning health care costs. would you vote for the house health care bill as it stands right now? >> no. this is the biggest domestic issue that we will tackle this -- this century. and so we think we need to slow it down a little bit and do it right. >> reporter: so far, there are two prevailing ideas, one cause for a government-run health insurance plan favored by house speaker nancy pelosi. >> the only debate on that is what it will be called, a patient option, write in your suggestions. >> reporter: the other is a nonprofit health cooperative, with less government involvement. but after hours and hours of negot

brianna keilar with our report. >> reporter: in vermont a 16-year-old can carry a loaded concealed weaponut a permit. but when a vermonter crosses into neighboring new york, home to some of the strictest gun laws in the country, that right evaporates. senator john thune, a republican from south dakota wants to change that. he's pushing an amendment to allow people with concealed weapon permits from their home states to carry their guns to other states that allow concealed weapons. >> reliable research shows that states can concealed carry lows enjoy significantly lower crime rates than those states that do not. >> reporter: new york's chuck schumer and other democratic senators representing states with large urban areas say changing the law will put americans in danger. >> if this amendment is adopted this hypothetical vermonter would be free to stroll through central park or times square with a backpack of loaded guns. >> reporter: many democrats support gun rights. including senate majority leader harry reid, who has said he will vote for the amendment. like many democrats who will vote

that's where we find our own brianna keilar. brianna, what can we expect today?e left of sonya sotomayor on senator john cornyn, republican from texas. he has a large constituency of hispanics and he's in the situation where he has to come down with some hard questions on likely the first hispanic supreme court justice. now he wears another hat as the chairman of the republican senatorial campaign committee. he's in charge of getting more republicans into the senate. confirmation hearings are opportunities to fund raise and score political points for the opposition so he's wearing a couple of opposing hats here. to sonya sotomayor's right, keep an eye on al franken. he is of course only in the senate, been in the senate now for a little over a week. former saturday night live comedian. this is really going to give us the first chance to see him really publicly and unscripted perform his duties as a senator, john. >> looking forward to that. do they still have that high-tech footstool underneath the desk for her? >> they do and i've been told not to fool with it.

brianna keilar with the flow charts there. thanks so much. what did the poor post office do to get drag under to that mess? i have a letter, i mail it, two days later it gets there. >> they're losing a lot of money. that may have something to do with it. >>> the new information on the train crash that killed nine and injured 70 in washington, d.c.s, last month. the train's signaling system was faulty for a year and a half before the collision. the deadliest crash in d.c. metro history. it may have led to the crash near the m near the maryland state line. >>> sunday is the farewell picnic taking place in fairbanks, alaska, for governor sarah palin as she officially steps down from office. she will prepare for the next stage of her career. >>> minimum wages go up today. the third time in three years. could the increase cost more jobs? our christine romans is here to explain, coming right up. explain, coming right up. it's 12 minutes after the hour. r all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better al

cnn's brianna keilar on the hill. what can you tell us, brianna? >> reporter: some developing information here, kyra. addre as you said, it's democrat versus democrat in the house. there is some holdup. they haven't decided exactly on key points for moving ahead on health care. and what we're now learning that democratic leaders may consider bypassing some of their concerns and moving this whole health care reform bill to the floor. this is the -- the person we're talking about is henry waxman. he is the chairman of the energy and commerce committee. and, kyra, the way it works, you have three committees in the house that took up this bill, and they were supposed to pass it out of their committees and then go to the house floor. well, two of these committees were able to pass this bill through. but the third, it got hung up because of a group called the blue dog democrats. some fiscally conservative democrats who have major concerns, in a nutshell, about the costs of this and how you're going to pay for it, how the democrats' plan pays for this. in

brianna keilar, cnn, washington. >>> we have a look for you weatherwise out there. with meteorologist reynolds wolf. >> hey, susan. in summertime we fear the heat. in texas it has been brutal and today should be the same deal. dallas 101 degrees. houston with the high humidity will feel warmer. tampa and miami and we can expect a few scattered showers across the sunshine state due to the stationary front. for the shuttle launch that is expected to take or scheduled to take place tonight, i think there is a good chance it may get canceled due to the chance of scattered showers. chance of severe storms expected across the great lakes into the parts of the ohio valley, and back into portions of the central and northern plains could see severe storms. very warm for you in parts of the desert southwest and california looking cool. scattered showers in the great lakes, looks like it might be a rainy time for detroit a good part of the day. that is a look at your forecast. i'm reynolds wolf for hln. >>> when it comes to buying a house, one person's eye sore can be another

all right, brianna keilar, thanks for staying on top of the story. appreciate it. >>> back to the story we first told you about yesterday in the show. dozens under arrest in new jersey. federal agents taking several new jersey mayors and religious leaders into custody. they are charged with a range of oillegal activities like taking bribes and international money laundering scheme. cnn's deborah feyerick has the story. >> reporter: it began as an investigation into international money laundering, allegedly by a handful of prominent new jersey rabbis with ties to israel. it turn ed into a probe of far-reaching as nearly 30 politicians, democrats and republicans, were rounded up in what prosecutors called the largest sweep of its kind. >> this case is not about politics and certainly not about religion and it is about crime, corruption and about arrogance and about a shocking betrayal of the public trust. >> reporter: the two cases are linked by a single cooperating witness posing as a real estate developer, but, in fact, working for the government say

brianna keilar is live on capitol hill this morning. how did things go in the final day of the confirmation hearings? >> sonia sotomayor kept it cool all week when she answered more questions about the controversial things she said about abortion, same-sex marriage and also about the second amendment. gun rights dominated the discussion as sonia sotomayor spent her last day on the hot seat. >> my constituents in oklahoma understand as do most of americans the right to own guns hangs in the balance, may very well hang in the balance with your seat. >> reporter: as republican senator tom coburn pressed her on the second amendment for the second day in a row asking if americans have a fundamental right to bear arms, she demured. >> senator, would you want to judge a nominee who came in here and said, i agree with you, this is unconstitutional. before i had a case before me, before i had both sides discussing the issue with me, i don't know that that's a justice that i can be. >> reporter: fellow republican lindsay gram said he will vote fo

. >>> brianna keilar up on capitol hill right now outside the long worth house office building. little bit of a scare going on right now, briana. what do we know? >> reporter: yeah, wolf. what we know is this entire office billing has been evacuated for a little over an hour at this point, and we are watching a police motorcade just about to leave. i can tell you what i saw just a few moments ago was united states capitol police in hazardous materials outfits, and they took some sort of suspicious package, which is why this building has been evacuated, and they put it in the back of -- or they put it on the back of a truck in what's called i believe a total containment container, something they've used before for suspected explosive device, although they're only calling this a suspicious package. and they say after some initial tests they did were inconclusive, they decided what is best out of an abundance of caution is just to take this suspicious package down to quantico, virginia, and have the fbi check it out, wolf, to see exactly what it is. but at this point, the building

our congressional correspondent brianna keilar is bring us with more on a reality check. > president obama and democrats have laid a pretty ambitious timeline for overhauling health care and how now some questions about whether they can follow it. president obama is telling congress the clock is ticking on health care reform. >> i never believe anything is do or die, but i really want to get it done by the august recess. >> reporter: a tall order for congressional democrats, who have missed self-imposed deadlines. in the house, democrats including arkansas's mike ross sent a letter to leaders, concerned congress isn't doing enough to cut ballooning health care costs. could you vote for the house health care bill as it stands right now? >> no. this is the biggest domestic issue that we will tackle this century. and so we think we need to slow it down a little bit, and do it right. >> reporter: so far, there are two prevailing ideas. one calls for a government-run health insurance plan favored by house speaker nancy pelosi. >> the only debate what it will cost, the patient o

. >>> brianna keilar is monitoring b$ stories coming into "the situation room" right now.> vice president biden is in iraq. the white house says he arrived in baghdad today and biden is there to undercore the administration's commitment to gradually withdraw u.s. troops from iraq. the vice president will meet with the prime minister and military officials. biden is also expected to give a speech to troops on july 4th. >>> bernard madoff's wife finds herself in the very same situation as some of her husband's victims -- out of a home. ruth madoff had to leave their $7 million manhattan penthouse has u.s. marshals seized it today. this is all part of the asset seizure after bernard madoff's historic financial scam. he was sentenced, of course, to 150 years in prison monday for defrauding investors. >>> and might president and mrs. obama taste anything funny when they eat their broccoli, snap peas, cucumber, zmal the vegetables in the new white house garden are growing in soil that's tested positive for lead. it is not at dangerous levels, containing only about 93 parts per m

brianna keilar is on capitol hill and christine romans is in new york. brianna, let's start with you. what is neil barofsky saying to lawmakers today? >> he is telling them he's not only worried some of the $700 billion might be wasted and we might never know because there aren't these mechanisms in place, but he also said something a little more alarming. he said some of it could be scammed from the government and he thinks there needs to be some fire walls in place to prevent things like insider trading. now, also, he was questioned, tony, about that huge number that made news overnight. that $27.3 trillion. that is a number, you see him right there now. he said this is the total amount of money that has been out there for the federal rescue of the financial system. so every federal dollar that has gone towards this, it is a number that department of treasury officials hit back on saying it was inflated and barofsky responded to that just a short time ago. >> if the numbers weren't inflated, it was us who inflated them. as far as the suggestion that we'

congressional correspondent brianna keilar is following this story and we will get to brianna in justouple of minutes with the latest on this developing story. >>> president obama's former doctor is weighing in now on the health care reform debate and his position may surprise you. the story now from cnn's jim acosta. >> reporter: chicago doctor david shiner has take an hard look at president obama's prescription for health care reform. and sees bad medicine. >> this isn't the kind of health care program that i think is going to work. >> reporter: what makes dr. shiner so special? he was barack obama's personal physician for 22 years. he voted for mr. obama, but the doctor thinks the president's plan doesn't go far enough. >> if i had to say the single one thing, which is the worst part of it, is that private insurance companies continue to be a part of the health scheme. everybody keeps saying we don't want the government getting involved in health care. the government is involved in health care and medicare and it works. >> reporter: shiner would rather see the nation adopt a single

brianna keilar is watching the howling, who are the blue dogs and why are they powerful especially rightow? >> reporter: they are not really blue and they're not really dogs, but they are conservative democrats. when they lost the majority? the house, there was a group of yellow dog democrats, basically southern democrats, who said they felt choked blue by the far left and the far right. this is the story that they'll tell you, kyra, and so they call themselves blue dog democrats. now, as democrats have taken over some of these seats in typically republican-leaning districts, the blue dogs have seen their coalition grow. they're now up to 52 members at this point in time, and they're pretty powerful because of the numbers they have. so, on health care they've got many demands, but couple of key ones they want to see include cost savings and revamping incentives. cost savings, what they want to see is the money to pay for health care come out of squeezing the fraud and the inefficiencies out of health care before you go on and start talking about taxing americans to pay for it. and on rev

the latest from capitol hill and congressional correspondent brianna keilar. good morning to you. what is the deal here? these are words people don't want to hear, i imagine. >> a lot of people want to hear it, as well. they want to know where this money is going and what happened with this controversial program. we're going to hear from neil, he is the top cop, the big watch dog when it comes to the bank bailout program and he'll talk about a couple things in particular, after filing two reports here in the last few months, we're expecting to hear some very critical words about the department of treasury and we're expecting him to say that he thinks they should do a better job of getting information from these companies, whether auto companies or financial companies that have gotten money from the bank bailout. they should tell the department of treasury where all this money is going. we're also expecting he is going to be talk about how some people illegally benefited from their knowledge of this program through insider trading and he wants there to be some fire walls basically

. >> brianna keilar joining us now live from capitol hill. let's talk for a minute about the differences in strategy for today. the republicans and the democrats are definitely going to go about this differently in their questioning. >> reporter: yeah. republicans, of course, are going to focus a little bit on her record. they may -- they've hinted they're going to talk about that new haven firefighters case where judge sotomayor's an appellate judge ruled against white firefighters. but what they're really going to spend a lot of time on, heidi, is her off the bench remarks. i just ran into senator jeff sessions, the top republican on this committee just a few minutes ago and he said this a particular concern to him because there's a difference in his mind in being a supreme court justice versus an appellate judge. he said when you're on the supreme court, there's this knowledge that no one's going to overrule you. he thinks there's more opportunity for opinion to drive decisions, and that's why he really wants to dissect, especially that wi

brianna keilar is live in capitol hill in the very room where the hearings will get underway in about an hour. set the scene for us. >> reporter: well, heidi, as you can see, still photographers already getting ready here, staking out their spot as sonia sotomayor comes into this hearing room. this is where it's all going to start. this seat here where patrick leahy, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee will give his opening statement. he is, of course, a supporter of sonia sotomayor, but will paying a lot of attention to what the man who sits here says. jeff sessions, top republican on the committee, and he will be laying the ground work for some of the objections that we expect republicans will be raising today and over the next few days. and this right here is the seat, the hot seat where sonia sotomayor today in her opening statement is expected to talk a lot about her own personal story, of course, which began as a child growing up in a housing project in the south bronx and also be talking about, heidi, the type of justice she would be if confirmed to the supreme court

brianna keilar has more. >> reporter: john, this is an idea that's getting a bipartisan look in the senate. the idea is taxing these insurance companies that provide some of these plans that some people say are over the top. but wait just a minute, critics say. this tax could also hit the middle class. >> reporter: they're the best health insurance plans money can buy. in washington, they have a name. >> super gold-plated cadillac plans. >> reporter: what makes them so great? >> no deductible, no co-payments, no co-insurance, unlimited choice of drugs, no restrictions on network. >> reporter: these plans are often marketed to the wealthy. they cost as much as $40,000, far above the national average of $12,000. and critics say they encourage the overuse of doctor visits and procedures. a democratic proposal to tax insurance companies that provide these pricey plans is gaining bipartisan support in the senate as a way to help pay for health care reform and keep costs down. >> tax insurance companies, and that will then put pressure on them to try to make sure that people look for more cost-e

cnn's brianna keilar is on the hill, so when will the house vote on health care?that is the question, kyra. you heard speaker pelosi say she's confident it will pass the house but exactly when, we just don't know at this point and the question is, is it going to pass before the house leaves for recess at the end of the week. well, at this point, we're hearing a lowering of the bar from a lot of democrats here on capitol hill. democratic aides telling us that one of the real goals is just to get health care reform through the last of three house committees that it needs to pass through before it can go to a full vote on the house floor. that committee is the energy and commerce committee, and it is in this committee where we saw the big hang-up on friday. democrats versus democrats, really fiscally conservative blue dog democrats who just are not on board yet. well guess what, they are still not on board. they still have major points of contention with the democratic health care reform proposal that's being pushed through congress, so there's a meeting that's going

let's go to brianna keilar. she's up on capitol hill. brianna?y matters. the closed-door sessions and nothing to and pushed the administration top priority, health care reform. >> folks, it is on track and it's working. we have tried for deck it's a to fix a broken system and we have not ever been this close. hospital also give up $155 billion in medicare and medicaid patients over the next ten years. money that would help pay for health care reform. and max baucus and his task writing committee. a key proposal to tax employer provided health benefits may be dead. democrats aware that recent polls who so you we are and so is main center, olympia snow. >> i believe that we should just move from there and take it off the table and move forward and find other alternatives. >> meanwhile, in the house of representatives, where democrats are putting together their own health care plan, they are considering everything from taxing households to make and jack is here with the cafferty file. >> the actor, alec baldwin, is reportedly eyeing a run for congre

let's go to our congressional correspondent, brianna keilar. she's up on capitol hill. this is causing quite a stir up there. >> reporter: sure is, wolf. the house is set to take up a big intelligence agency bill. since this is an opportunity for republicans to again attack house speaker nancy pelosi for comments she's made about the ci airks, democrats are launching a preempive strike. to hear democrats tell it, the cia has been keeping congress in the dark for the last eight years. what does this mean? >> it means that something very serious broke down. >> reporter: anna eshoo and six other democrats say leon panetta himself revealed the cia mislead members of congress. in a letter to panetta they say recently you testified you have determined top cia officials have concealed significant actions from all members of congress. and misled members for a number of years. >> he informed us that there was an operation that was in place from 2001 until the tday before he came to notify us. >> reporter: the top republican down played it. >> i heard about a concept and a plan a

our brianna keilar live on capitol hill this morning to navigate that one for us. over the top health care plan seen by many as the domain of wall street ceos and others, you would not pay, the insurance company would pay for it, but the middle class could get stuck with the bill, as well. they're the best health insurance plans money can buy. in washington, they have a name. >> super gold plated cadillac plans. >> reporter: what makes them so great? >> no deductible, no co-payments, no co-insurance, unlimited choice of drugs, no restrictions on network. >> reporter: these plans are often marketed to the wealthy. they cost as much as $40,000, far above the national average of $12,000, and critics say they encourage the over use of doctor visits and procedures. a democratic proposal to tax insurance companies that provide these pricey plans is gaining bipartisan support in the senate as a way to help pay for health care reform and keep costs down. >> tax insurance company, that will then put pressure on them to try to make sure that people look for more cost-effectiv

cnn's congressional correspondent, brianna keilar, is joining us.ole lot of laughs. >> reporter: actually, yes, wolf, he was pretty serious. he certainly left the jokes at the door, showed up in a power suit, took a tour of the senate floor, where he's going to be sworn in tomorrow as the second senator from minnesota. and he stressed over and over, it was really the refrain of the day, i'm here to work hard. i am here to do the work of minnesotans. and he really talked about the issues, health care and energy. and there really was not a whole lot of humor about. it was also a bit of a move-in day for him. we were camped out outside of his office, which, oddly, wolf, is the old office of senator norm coleman, who he narrowly defeated. you saw all the new furniture going in, all of the office supplies going in. so he's really just getting started here on capitol hill. >> we'll continue to cover him and his new assignment. >>> let's check in with jack cafferty with the cafferty file. jack? >> question this hour is in light of the ballooning national d

brian brianna keilar, thanks so much. >>> well, the president is at the g-8 summit in italy, his stimulusol hill. republicans tore into the president's deputy budget director over how many jobs have been created and how many haven't. >> how do you justify saying that you're slowing the freefall? >> well, i think that what we would do is look back at the job loss that we saw in the first quarter, which was approaching 700,000 a month, and look at where we are right now, we're not happy with the job loss that we're seeing -- >> we're not happy either. but the projection that the administration put forward in what would happen and not happen if we did or didn't do the stimulus are dramatic. they're unacceptable. >> we believe that the job loss is unacceptable, as well. >> the president's quoted as saying that the stimulus has "done its job." is that true or not true? >> we believe it has had the impact which we predicted, which is job creation. >> and in a brand new cnn research opinion poll, the number of americans who say the president has a clear plan now at 53%, that's down 11% from febr

let's go to our congress correspondent brianna keilar. she has the details for us. >> reporter: this is a must-pass defense bill and republicans know when it comes to guns, they can divide democrats. in he vermont, a 16-year-old can carry a loaded concealed weapon without a permit, but when a vermonter crosses into neighboring new york, home to some of the strictest gun laws in the country, that right evaporates. senator john thune, a republican from south dakota wants to change that he is pushing an amendment that would allow people with concealed weapon permits from their home states to carry their guns into other states that allow concealed weapons. >> reliable, empir ral research shows that states with concealed carry laws enjoy significantly lower violent crime rate than those states that do not. >> reporter: but new york's chuck schumer and other democratic senators representing states with large urban areas say changing the law will put americans in danger. >> tif the thune amendment say don'ted, this hypothetical vermonter would b