i'm heidi collins. have a great weekend, everybody. with tony harris. >> it's friday, seper

i'm heidi collins. it is september 7th, monday, labor day, and my husband's birthday. you are in the "cnn newsroom." let's get started right off the top this morning. at the white house this morning, cnn's ed henry. he's going to be talking about how the president is on the road again today, but fighting to stay on his message. and brie yann keeler is looking to capitol hill this morning. of course, congress returns. does that mean the focus on health care reform will do the same? >>> also, atia abowie has a developing story in afghanistan this morning. a charity there says u.s. troops ransacked a hospital. >>> let's begin now with the president's agenda. next hour, the president leaves for a labor day picnic in ohio. he's meeting with the aflcio. and they released transcripts of the president's address to schoolchildren. the administration is trying to quiet critics who say the speech will contain liberal propaganda. on wednesday, he's due to address the nation at a joint session of congress. so we have a lot of ground to cover this morning. let's get right to our sen

three words why retail sales jumped, heidi collins. you got a clue there?solutely. >> cash for clunkers. >> oh, yeah. >> a big reason. along with higher gas prices, electronics, appliance stores and electronic stores all posted gains as well, a sign that maybe shoppers are gaining some confidence. well, it will be a while, probably, before we can confidently say the retail sector has turned around, because we do have best buy posting a 22% drop in quarterly profits on lower sales. toys "r" us, meanwhile, trying desperately to gain market share. it's setting up 350 temporary stores. it will keep those mall-based pop-up stores open, of course, during the holiday shopping season. toys "r" us hoping to catch some of the spending that went to now defunct kb toys. and there are reports that citigroup trying to get the government out of its board room. discussing how to reduce the government's 35% stake in the bank. possibly selling some shares as early as next month. the government pumped $45 billion into citigroup. nice to get some of that back. checking the ear

right now, "cnn newsroom" with heidi collins. >>> breaking news to report this morning. that's right, an arrest has been made in the killing of a yale graduate student. in fact, the man police had been watching and watching closely is now in custody and charged in the death. also, cnn's mary snow, as you can see here, has been covering the story. she's got the details that have come out out of the police news conference that happened just a few minutes ago. we're going to give you the very, very latest. also, we have this story for you as well. an explosion and a big one too, rips through a residential part of kabul. soldiers and civilians are dead. it is thursday, september 17th. hi, everybody. i'm heidi collins. you are in the "cnn newsroom." >>> want to begin with this morni morning. a suicide bomber targeting international soldiers in the capital city. at least 16 people are dead, dozens more are injured. some of the victims are soldiers. atia abawi is joining us now live. >> reporter: heidi, 16 people are dead because of this suicide car bomb in kabul. among the dea

i'm heidi collins in new york today. it is thursday, september 10th, and you are in the "cnn newsroom." >> the time for bickering is over. the time for games is past. now is the season for action. now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the american people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. now is the time to deliver on health care. >> the president speaks, the nation listens. a snap poll shows the prime-time address achieved its goal and boosted public support. >> there are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. this, too, is false. the reforms -- the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> that's not true. >> an extraordinary outburst on capitol hill. a republican congressman calls the president a liar and ignites a firestorm. so here's what we know at this hour. south carolina congressman joe wilson has apologized for shouting "you lie" to the president. in a statement, he said, i let

. >> the news continues, cnn newsroom now with heidi collins. >> developments in the case of a graduate student's killing. police take a yale employee into custody and then release him. >>> does racism play a role? former president jimmy carter says many attacks against president obama are based on his skin color. >>> allegations of cemetery desecration. an ex-worker tells us how he broke burial vaults to make room for new ones. good morning. i'm heidi column linls. it's september 16, wednesday, and you are in the "cnn newsroom." a lot to get to. the battle over health care reform. a new development in the stalemate. next hour a long-awaited version of health care reform, a senator is going to talk more about what's inside that. so we'll have it for you. also cnn's brianna keilar is taking an early look at what it does have and doesn't. so we'll clear that up for you. and mary snow is going to have the latest on the yale murder case that we've been talking about for a couple of days. police are narrowing their focus and search for evidence. >>> here is a look first at the newest health

i'm heidi collins in new york today. you are in the "cnn newsroom." do you remember where you were exactly eight years ago? this morning, the nation pauses to remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks. somber ceremonies are being held right now at the sites of the attacks, including new york's ground zero, as you can see here. as family members and loved ones read the names of the victims that day, we will remember several moments of silence, including when two parkt flew into the buildings of the world trade center, into the pentagon, and also into a field in shanksville, pennsylvania. we'll remember those moments and we'll remember those victims. this morning, already, we watched mayor michael bloomberg escorting in the vice president of the united states, joe biden and his wife jill, they are there for commemoration as well. want to take you out right now to cnn's jason carroll, who is standing by with more of our coverage in new york. jason, if you can hear me, i know you are at the site, overlooking some of the progress and some of the lack of progress

i'm heidi collins. it's september 2nd. a lot going on in the newsroom this morning. we have our crews and our eyes on the california wild fires and also a dangerous hurricane that is nearing landfall. ynn's reynolds wolf is covering the most dangerous of the fires in los angeles county so we'll get to him. we'll also get to jacqui jeras looking at the firefighters. they have a bit of a break yesterday but what could be in store today. that will be important to know. we'll head to the severe weather center. and betty nguyen is on mexico's baja peninsula as hurricane jimena closes in. first we want to get the hard work by thousands of firefighters that are working around the clock. it's certainly paying off this morning. weather has played a big part in knocking down the station fire north of los angeles. it has consumed around 200 square miles. there is some good news for homeowners in the area as well. progress by fire crews has brought the end to evacuation orders for thousands of people. but not everyone. so we'll get you an update. at this hour several communities

i'm heidi collins. "cnn newsroom" continues with tony harris. >> here are the faces of stories driving the headlines today in the "cnn newsroom." president obama talking to ohio autoworkers this morning. gm says they got their jobs back thanks to cash for clunkers. >>> south carolina congressman joe wilson facing rebuke by the house of representatives today for heckling the president. >>> democratic senator max baucus promising a health care bill this week with or without republican support. i'm tony harris. you're in the "cnn newsroom." >>> let's quickly get you caught up on the day's hot headlines and take the time to break down the big issues to find out why they really matter. leading the way this hour, the economy making a comeback. that's the message minutes from now from president obama. he's in hard hit ohio visiting a general motors plant that had been shut down for nine weeks. the plant is rehiring now thanks in part to the cash for clunkers program. the president's remarks to workers there se

i'm heidi collins. cnn "newsroom" continues with tony harris. >> it's tuesday, september 8th, here are the faces of the stories driving the headlines today in the cnn "newsroom." president obama, his welcome back nation to the nation's school children. we've got the address live. >> the american soldier, eight u.s. troops lose their lives today in the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >>> teen tennis player melanie oudin. we told you to look out for this kid last week earlier than anyone. she's on fire in the u.s. open. is she a threat to serena williams? good morning, everyone. i'm tony harris. >>> you are in cnn "newsroom" where we get you caught up on the day's hot headlines and break down the big issues to find out why they really matter leading the way this hour, no politics. just a pep talk from president obama when he delivers his back-to-school speech next hour. the address will be available to students around the country on television and the web. some conservatives blasted the speech as an attempt

. >>> the news continues now with heidi collins in the

>> i was just saying to heidi collins, yesterday we had the president of the united states on wall streetou. >>> it's a call no parent should have to get. being told their son who is fighting overseas is dead. but it turns out, the news was not true. >>> a new york couple got the worse phone call two parents can get. they say someone claiming to be a military liaison called them to say their son was killed in combat in afghanistan. it turns out, though, it was not true. they found out that their son was doing fine after they called the military base. >> he says, jesse jasper is not dead. he says, i don't know why somebody would have called you. he says, usually they'll show up at your door. when i told him, he said, dad, i don't know how that happened. he says, but i will be going to my commanders tomorrow to find out why they called you and told you i was dead. >> because this should not have to devastate another family the way it devastated us. >> our affiliate grz on tacted the military liaison, she said she called the family but never said their son was dead if military says they cont