let's turn to carol costello for that. i thought you were a vodka girl. i know you throw back a few brews every now and then. >> i must confess i do. i'm almost ashamed to talk about it after what ed henry said. >> shame on us. but what the heck. >> some say it's no accident that the president chose beer to serve at a shindig, because as he has said in the past, he's never turn down a beer. and, secondly, beer has become quite the political tool, because it levels the playing field, really. >> reporter: it's a strategy that spawned more than a few clever headlines, like this one in the "huffington post." obama names thursday drink a beer day with splun who arrested you day. or this one in "politics daily." beer and loathing at the white house. it's tough to say if mr. obama's beer diplomacy will heal the wounds, but some say at the very least his choice of beverage will level the playing field between president, professor, and police officer. it's a tried-and-true political tactic. >> let's commit ourselves, just everyday american people, joe six-pack. >>

carol costello for us this morning. carol, thanks so much. it's good to see you.sotomayor, and here's a few this morning from our blog at cnn.com/amfix. it bothers me that the democrats say they will not ask sotomayor so many tough questions. republicans in so many words have said they will. i think both parties should stop the games. we can't have two parties playing politics with a lifetime appointment. >> jim writes, i've heard her call a lot of things with latina being the most prevalent, i've never heard her called an american. we're getting a lot of comments in our blog this morning. >> that's right. we continue to hope that you'll weigh in for us. we'd like to read all of those e-mails. >> in all this week, the confirmation hearings of the supreme court nominee sotomayor will be on our air. she could make history as the first hispanic justice. third woman to sit on the first highest court. follow it all on cnn and cnn.com all this week. >> and as we said cnn.com/amfix and we'll see you back here tomorrow. >> now here's "cnn newsroom" with heidi collins. >>>

." >>> still ahead, carol costello runs numbers on the health care proposal. what it will end up costing and who pays? 26 minutes past the hour. free credit report dot com! tell your friends, tell your dad, tell your mom! never mind, they've been singing our songs since we first showed up with our pirate hats on! if you're not into fake sword fights pointy slippers and green wool tights take a tip from a knight who knows free credit report dot com, let's go! vo: offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage. >>> welcome back. it is 29 minutes past the hour this morning. a look at washington, d.c. it's cloudy right now. 72 degrees. going up to a high of 83. and a chance of storms out there. welcome back to the most news in the morning. president obama says critics of his health care overhaul plan are engaging in the politics of delay. republicans aren't the only ones questioning the fine print of health care reform there are democratic reforms about the taxes it will take to get it done as well. carol costello is looking into that this morning and we have t

carol costello is standing by. ♪ (announcer) introducing new tums dual action.rs. all day or night. new tums dual action. bring it on. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. >>> in our look at broken government, he served his country but did his country serve him? why would an american soldier be sent back to the battlefield with an injured brain. it happened not once, not twice but several times. we are bringing you the story because he may not be the only one who received this kind of treatment. for him, it had the worst of consequences. here is cnn's pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. >> reporter: heart broken family and friends gather for the funeral of soldier ray revis. the 53-year-old soldier had dedicated his career to rebuilding war-torn countries but war tore his own life apart. earlier this year, ray made a difficult journey to capitol hill. >> i didn't choose to get blown up. >> reporter: remember those words. ray had served several tours of duty mainly in iraq an

if you look at the good -- >> marion barry speaking with our carol costello earlier.our strategy session also. the nation's first african-american president will be speaking to the oldest civil rights organization later tonight. we'll discuss that. president obama giving a speech to the naacp. will he speak mostly in positive terms, or will he practice from so-called tough love? come on in. you're invited to the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. because the price on the tag is the price you pay. you'll find low straightforward pricing on remaining '08 and '09 models. including eight that offer an epa-estimated 30 miles per gallon highway or better. now get an '09 cobalt xfe with an epa estimated 37 mpg hwy for under 15 thousand after all offers. go to chevy.com/openhouse for more details. hi, may i help you? yeah, i'm looking for car insurance that isn't going to break the bank. you're in the right place. only progressive gives you the option to name your price. here. a price gun? mm-hmm. so, i tell you what i want to pay. and we build a policy to

cnn's carol costello looks at how big a bite that can be. >> reporter: on the subject of health care reform, president obama is fighting back. >> one republican senator said, and i'm quoting him now, if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo, it will break him. >> reporter: but mr. obama and the democratic national committee are not about to be broken, not even by their own party. the dnc launched this ad, aimed at conservative democrats. >> it's time. >> it's time for health care reform. >> reporter: turns out some democratic small business owners who make over $280,000 a year don't want to pay a surcharge on their income to pay for the president's trillion dollar health care program. the democratic house speaker nancy pelosi has come up with an alternative plan. instead of raising taxes on those who make more than $280,000 a year, she wants a proposed surcharge to apply to individuals making over 500 k a year and couples making more than $1 million. pelosi figures you hear $500,000 a year and you think, my god, that's not me. but me does apply to around 1% of tax

our carol costello is standing by in our washington bureau with more on a proposal to make gun permitsmore like driver's licenses and it's certainly not sitting well with everyone, carol. >> it's not. but you know, john, gun rights advocates are having a banner year. congress has already passed a law that allows guns in national parks. washington, d.c.'s attempt at gun control have been thwarted by lawmakers and now, the senate is considering a law that would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines. plenty of people are upset at that. holland godard is a survivor, a student at virginia tech the day sun which cho bub burst in and opened fire. he was shot four times. 33 other students died. goddard is in washington to tell lawmakers even if he had a gun that day it would not have stopped him. >> when i smelled that gun powder that's when i knew what was happening. to be able to effectively respond to someone coming through a door like that, gun blazing, you need milli second response times and even the most trained police officers can't do that. >> reporter: goddar

carol costello joins us now from washington with a look on that one.ess conference, 50 million people watched it. >> but the fourth one he gave, not so much. tv networks were slow to say yes to a prime time news conference and that is your hint the president's popularity is not a given, along with polls that say the same thing. still, the president is using his still strong popularity to talk to you as often as possible, while critics say that is the wrong thing to do. can you say ubiqutitous, the dogs, the kids, the date night and the mom jeans? even some of the president's supporters say enough potis tv. >> you don't have to be on television every minute of everyday, you're a president, not a rerun of "law and order." >> reporter: if you count wednesday's appearance, president obama made remarks on health care nearly every day since june 13th. if the latest cnn poll of polls show only 47% approve of the way mr. obama is handling health care. some say that number is relatively low because the president is talking so much, he's diluting the message. ot

carol costello, cnn, washington. >> call it love facebook style.hey share more than a social network. these love birds share first and last names. meet the future mr. and mrs. kelly hildebrand. >>> topping the bailout program is on the hill today. they need to keep better tabs on how banks spend your tax dollars. alison kosik has our breakdown from new york. hey, alison. >> wouldn't you just love to know where all that bailout money has gone? >> i think it is probably impossible to track every single penny, but that would be nice. >> it would be. neil barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the troubled asset relief program known as t.a.r.p. and he says we should have those answers. he told the house oversight committee that banks should be required to explain how the money is spent. right now the treasury department doesn't collect that information. it argues monitoring t.a.r.p. funds is like pouring water into the ocean. it diffuses so quickly that it can't be tracked. barofsky isn't buying that and neither are several senate democrats

our carol costello will look at whether we really need affirmative action anymore.u're taking 8 extra-strength tylenol... a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. >>> president obama spoke last night at the naacp's annual convention telling them that there is still work to be done to end discrimination in the u.s. >> the pain of discrimination is still felt in american. african-american women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different collar and gender. latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. muslim-americans viewed with suspicion, simply because they kneel down to their god. by our gay brothers and sisters still taunted and attacked and denied their rights. prejudice has no place in the united states of america. >> with an african-american president in the white house and a latino supreme court justice. >> reporter: affirmative actio

. >> i'm carol costello in for kiran. just one week. a lot of americans are trading in their gas guzzlers for more efficient models. a billion dollars for rebates is just about spent. christine romans on the latest effort to refuel the program. >>> the fallout from the beer summit, sergeant crowley and professor gates having a cold one in a conversation at the white house. where do they go from here? what was the vice president doing here? ed henry joins us live. >>> a blue book is taking big news. the taliban guide book for warriors. it includes guidance for suicide attacks and proper social behavior. what else is inside? first, the clash for clunkers rebate program may be running on empty. after one week, the $1 billion program has burned through $221 million. it' supposed to run through november first or until the money is gone. but yesterday, reports began swirling on capitol hill that the car's program would be suspended. late last night, the white house said, not true. here's their statement. "we are working tonight

i'm carol costello in for kiran this morning. >>> i'm john roberts.ak down for you in the next 15 minutes. >>> a shock out of north carolina. a group of americans is accused of plotting a violent jihad overseas. seven suspects are now in custody. the fbi hunting for yet another. the group's alleged ring leader looks like a regular joe. his wife is talking exclusively with cnn. we'll take you live to raleigh, north carolina this morning. >>> grocery shoppers in bristol, virginia are going to get a lot more than bread and milk today. they'll get the president, too. he's taking his health care debate to a supermarket there. we're also answering your questions about the president's plan and breaking down the politics on capitol hill. >>> and federal agents raided the las vegas home and medical clinic of michael jackson's physician. dr. conrad murray allegedly gave him propofol before the pop star died. >> so the propofol -- >> you're going to get a little sleepy. take in some good, deep breaths. >> take a look at his eyes. >> deep breaths. doing great. ma

the best political team on television is here as well as carol costello, who's in new york. set this discussion up for us a little bit right now. what are sarah palin's intentions? >> reporter: well, sarah palin said ook-oo-de-gaga at a picnic with not so nice words for the media. >> you represent what could and should be a respected, honest profession that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy. democracy depends on you, and that is why, that's why our troops are willing to die for you. so how about in honor of the american soldier, you quit making things up. >> reporter: deja vu all over again, her words echoing richard nixon's in 1972 when he abruptly quit politics after a painful gubernatorial defeat. >> you will now write it, you will interpret it. that's your right. but as i leave you, i want you to know you won't have nixon to kick around anymore. thank you, gentlemen. good day. >> reporter: who could forget that. but oh, how wrong he was. during his alleged hiatus, nixon stumped for fellow republicans, gathering political favors along the way, and there a

carol costello "just saying" this morning. >> all right, guys, thank you so much. >> reporter: if youandrews was, you do now. seems everybody is talking about an uninvited videotaping of the espn reporter. >> erin andrews was the reporter that was secretly taped by a peeping tom in her hotel room. >> no idea there's a perv at the door. >> and nude video ended up on the internet. >> reporter: andrews' attorney is threatening legal action if anyone continues to post the videos online. but a french website persists. andrews, it seems, has lost control over who has the rights to her body. and while her attorney wants whoever took the pictures to be criminally prosecuted, others say many more are guilty. who is to blame? >> i do think we're all complicit in a culture that object mys women. >> reporter: and if you think people aren't interested in that kind of thing, google says searches on erin andrews have gone up 5,000% in the past few days. the blog sites isn't surprised. says for years there's been a national stalking of andrews online for those who turned her into a body. and an espn

our carol costello looks at beer as a political tool. >> reporter: it's a strategy that spawned more clever headlines like this one in the huffington post. obama named thursday, drink a beer with someone who arrested you day. or this one in "politics daily" beer and loathing at the white house. it's tough to say if mr. obama's beer diplomacy will heal the wounds, but some say at the very least his choice of bevenlg will level the playing field between president, professor, and police officers. it's a tried-and-true political tactic. >> let's commit ourselves, just everyday american people, joe six pac. >> reporter: who can forget that. supporters say sarah palin is a master at appealing to the commonsense, average joe, and she used a six pac k to do it. during the democratic primary hillary clinton tried something harder, but mostly stuck with beer, and barack obama played to the beer-drinking crowd, too, enjoying a few brews on the campaign trail. perhaps the only misstep in the president's latest beer diplomacy strategy is not inv e inviting all parties to his white house shindig,

cnn's carol costello looks at the debate. >> reporter: affirmative action helped minority students likeia sotomayor get into elite schools like princeton. >> i am a product of affirmative action. i am the perfect affirmative action baby. my test scores were not comparable to that of my colleagues at princeton or yale. >> reporter: keep in mind, back then only 12% of law school students were women and only 7% minorities. today the numbers have changed dramatically. almost half of law school students are women and 23% are minority. and minorities and women overall seem to be acceling. america boasts a black president, a woman secretary of state and the list goes on and on and on. >> i'm just saying. >> reporter: time to say no to affirmative action? >> for us to operate on, under the nomenclature of affirmative action is idyaldic and counterproductive. >> reporter: echoed by clarence thomas who wrote in his memoir of his yale law degree, i graduated from one of america's top law schools, but racial preference had robbed my achievement of its true value. and we found plenty of other americ

. >> i'm carol costello sitting in for kiran. the stories we're breaking down for you.murder of a florida couple with 17 kids. new details on how the cops tracked her down. >> was this the turning point, this morning for the first time ever, we're seeping a different angle of video. the pepsi commercial shoot where michael jackson's hair kaupgt fire. we can guarantee after seeing it, you'll never think of that accident in the same way. ted rowlands looks at whether this set michael jackson on the path to drug dependency and his eventual death. >> would you get sick in the future? do you want to know? there's information on the psychological effects of getting bad news about your health years ahead of time. dr. sanjay gupta has the pros and cons of finding out if you will get sick in the future. >> interesting topic. stick around for that. first, though, the latest on a shocking crime. parents of 17 killed. the police have arrested an eighth suspect, a woman. ed lavandera live in pensacola for us this morning. this is turning out to be a planned crime but not one that wa

who better to document its widespread effects than our carol costello.imes a day are we hearing that 2001 comment? >> so many times. there are amazingly a large number of wise latina women all over the country. at laeft that's what they tell me. they're fans of judge sotomayor and they've watched with interest as the senate judiciary committee made up largely of white men questioned the puerto rican judge about wise latinas and white men. critics watched, too, with a decidedly different take. s sonia sotomayor knew it would be a difficult day. maybe that's why she wear red. i cannot tell you how many women i talked to that commented on her red jacket. >> i love it. i think it is important in washington where we talk about the power of red. >> reporter: alma heads up mana, an organization devoted to empowering latinas. yes, she considered herself a wise latina. >> why is it such a big deal? wise latina. is it partly that people don't usually think of those two words together? could that be part of it? >> reporter: so the organization is watching the heari

i'm carol costello in for kiran chetry this morning. >> john roberts. thursday, the 30th of july. in the morning. here are the stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. the boston cop suspended for calling henry gates jr., quote, a banana-eating jungle monkey. that's what he said. he made the remark in an e-mail to a newspaper reporter. we're in boston this morning. >>> the only doctor they're looking at in the michael jackson case is conrad murray. the doctor's finances are a mess. randi kaye has new details on the money troubles and what jackson's chef witnessed. that's coming up. >> president obama poked fun at the national news magazine yesterday for claiming the recession is over. we'll show you what he said and how the audience reacted. >>> but first, can a couple of cold ones chill some hot temp tempers? henry gates jr. and police sergeant crowley head to the white house to throw one back with the president. the gesture hoping to smooth over what's been a flash point for race relations across america. and just when it looked like the controversy was beg

it's july 17th, i'm carol costello in for kiran this morning. >> and i'm john roberts. the stories we'll be breaking down for you. first to breaking news. two luxury hotels inç indonesi bombed. at least nine people reported dead, more than 50 injured, including three americans. so that number may increase. a live report straight from the scene coming up in a moment. >>> with all this talks of plans to kill al qaeda kept secret. new information from the pentagon on the programs already in place to take the terrorists down. >>> and this morning, rising opposition to president obama's plan for health care reform from some in his own party. in a moment we'll talk with nebraska senator ben nelson, a democrat who is still not sold on the plan. he met with the president yesterday at the white house. so was the president able to change his mind? >>> but we begin with breaking news out of jakarta, indonesia. the attacks at the marriott and the ritz carlton hotels coming minutes apart, nine people killed, 50 injured, including three americans. jakarta police say some of the amer

carol costello takes a closer look. >> reporter: some say it's no accident the president chose beer tove at the shindig tonight, one, because as the president has said in the past, he never drinks down a beer, and secondly, beer has become quite the political tool because it levels the playing field. really. it's a strategy that's spawned more than a few cover headlines like this one in "the huffington post." obama names thursday drink of beer with someone who arrested you day. or this one in politics daily. beer and loathing at the white house. it's tough to say if mr. obama's beer diplomacy will heal the wound, but some say at the very least his choice of beverage will level the playing field between president, professor, and police officer. it's a tried-and-true political tact tactic. >> let's commit ourselves, just everyday american people, joe six-pack -- >> who can forget that? supporters say sarah palin is a master at appealing to the commonsense average joe, and she used a six-pack to do it. during the democratic primary, hillary clinton tried something harder but mostly stuck

carol costello has been gauging reaction to the nfl's decision. what's the buzz this morning?ut it. you know teams will pick him up. mid season, the team's losing. >> oakland is going to take him. >> but people are buzzing about it this morning. we asked our viewers about whether michael vick should be reinstated. a good number said, he did his time and can take a shot. the nfl agrees. the commissioner said if a team picks him up, he can participate in practices, he'll be able to play in his club's two preseason games providing a club picks him up. and it is possible that he can play in the regular season game by week six. he'll be suspended for five games and he'll get to play in game six. listen to what the commissioner said. >> one of the most important things that we talked about is that nobody gets through life alone, that you always have to have a mentor, you have to have someone who will give you guy dab guidance, support at critical moments. >> he's going to get it from tony dungy. dungy will be his mentor. he'll have other professionals around michael vick helping him

. >> reporter: carol's chuck wagon express, coming down a street near you. jamie costello2 news. >> and get this. while at the 4-h fair, carol's husband lands a job teaching country line dancing, tomorrow night. so carol and her husband are in the right place at the right time. >>> and now with a look ahead to abc 2 news at 6 tonight, i'm kelly swoope. trash talk. three days after a change in garbage pickup, what our cameras found. >>> and summer is a time for many students to relax. but one local student isn't taking a break. how she is working to help others. >>> now a preview of what is ahead on world news at 6:30. >> coming up on world news, president obama's health care plan is running into headwinds. wal-mart has a new marketing idea that could affect decisions on nearly everything you buy. and nasa releases enhanced video of the first moon landing. crest whitestrips has created a strip so revolutionary... you can use it while you do just about anything. it molds better... it grips better... and seals better. you can even drink water with it on. introducing new crest

. >> jamie costello calls it genius on wheels. we take you inside carol's chuck wagon express to you guessed it, to dine on a dime. we'll have those stories and norm's most accurate forecast, all ahead at 5:30. >> thanks, terry. >>> a look around the nation takes us to a detroit suburb where wreckage continues to smolder after a tanker truck exploded last night. police say a car lost control on interstate 75 and slammed into a fuel tanker, sending flames about 200 feet into the air. the fire was so intense that it collapsed part of the interstate. amazingly, only three people suffered minor injuries. >>> so there is a story worthy of a soap opera at the san francisco zoo. the penguins are the main case. harry and pepper are two male penguins who were a couple for years. the boys even raised as chicks together. but now they have split up over a washington. harry has moved out of the burrow to be with linda, whose previous partner died. the zoo says pepper is just adjusting to being a bachelor, and is enjoying swimming the field. >>> many chicago natives aren

. >> carol costello in for kiran. following several developing stories this friday morning.hem down for you in the next 15 minutes. the picture the world was waiting to see. the president, the professor, and the police officer, kicking back over beers at the white house saying they're ready to move forward. >> it

. >> i'm carol costello sitting in for kiran this morning. following several stories. break them down in a few minutes. terror on the home front, a group in north carolina are vowing to wage jihad overseas. seven suspects are in custody. the fbi is hunting for another one. the wife of the ring leader talking exclusively to cnn. live in raleigh, north carolina with more details for you. >>> no deal. talks on health care reform broke up after six