he has one today and our kate bolduan is live in virginia where the next one's going to take place, and, kate, what has he been hearing? >> reporter: hey there, drew. they're expecting about up to 100 people 59 this town hall. we're in alberta, virginia, you mentioned, at a community college here, about 2.5 hours away from washington. we're waiting to see congressman tom perryellis, on his way. this 14th of now we hear 21 total town hall meetings he'll hold during this recess. quite a list. he says he really want to hear from his constituents. right now he remains a no vote ho he wants to become a yes vote for whatever final legislation does take shape. us a mentioned, he 15 freshman democrat. this is a conservative district. he won the district by just 0.2% of 1 percentage point. very close election and likely a republican target in the 2010 election and says throughout the

cnn's kate bolduan live from the white house with details. and, kate, first of all, i want to get to the question you asked in the daily briefing a moment ago, because that was good. but, first, talk about this conference, this conversation the president had with former senator tom daschle. >> reporter: well, the latest we have from press secretary, robert gibbs, in the briefing that i just jumped out, the meeting started a little bit late, and we're still waiting for a read-out on that. but as we talked about this morning, tony, he's the former senate majority leader, senator tom daschle, he was obama's first choice to head up the department of health and human services and sois as an informal adviser to the president. and gibbs said he does listen to what daschle has to say on the issue. so, we're hoping to get a little more of a read-out a little later today, tony. >> kate, as i asked a moment ago, i thought you asked a really good question of robert gibbs during the daily briefing, you wanted to know if the president has learned anything d

kate bolduan is watching it unfold. what are you finding out about the actual money? >> wolf, this weekend the spotlight is definitely on the country's national parks, and we're taking a look at the $750 million in stimulus money heading their way. we visited one park just outside washington that's getting about $5.5 million for things like road repair and rehab on some historic cabins. other projects include millions for repairs like the lincoln memorial reflecting pool and millions more for solar power installation and trail improvements. 800 projects in all nationwide. we also had the chance today to talk to the acting director of the national park service. how is money for the national parks helping? >> it's stimulus because we're putting people to work. we're putting people to work for the next two years. it's also stimulus because we are creating a better place, increasing the visitor experience, we're bringing tourism back to these places

kate bolduan, cnn, washington. >>> honda is recalling an additional 440,000 cars because of a potentially deadly airbag defect. the company says this affects honda accords, civics, acuras made in the early 2000. the driver's side airbag can overpressurize and rupture and blast pieces of metal around. honda said one person died an six others were injured. if you're car is affected you'll get a recall notice in the mail. honda had a similar recall in november. >>> a new g.i. bill goes into effect today. it's been touted as the most comprehensive education benefit to be offered since world war ii. $78 billion is expected to be paid out over the next decade. under the bill many veterans who served after 9/11 are eligible for full tuition and fee for four years at a state university. a monthly housing stipend as well and up to $1,000 a year for books. president obama will mark the occasion at a rally in fairfax,

cnn's kate bolduan met with true believers. >> reporter: as the health care debate rages on in washington, we decided to get outside the beltway. we're heading to philadelphia to take a look at one alternative people are turning to. it's called bill sharing. in this case, a large group of christians pool their money to cover each others' medical costs. it's not conventional insurance, and it's not regulated. christian activist shane clayborn is a member of one. ohio-based christian health care ministry. >> one of the things i like about it is it's relational and i can see exactly where my money's going. >> reporter: last time we saw clayborn he was touring the country promoting his book "jesus for president." he moved into this rough philadelphia neighborhood to clean it up, like this former drug den that he took us into. >> we talk about practicing resurrection, this is part of it, we take abandoned places to life and make ugly beautiful. >> reporter: it is rough work. clayborn was jumped a few years

for the week, our kate bolduan is at the white house. te, some are saying the end of the recession is near. even the president has been celebrating some nice signs of a nearing of an end. >> hi there, fredricka. the president's top economic advisers, they say the economy is at least no longer on the brink of collapse and they are pointing to some encouraging signs of recovery. his top economic advisers really hit the sunday talk shows this morning, touting this week's positive economic news as evidence that their recovery efforts, the obama administration's recovery efforts, are really taking hold and turning around the economy. the gdp for one in the second quarter falling more slowly than anticipated. but the administration at the very same time is also being very careful, trying to manage expectations here on saying that the country is not out of the woods yet. secretary of -- treasury secretary timothy geithner says that americans have some tough choices ahead in trying to reduce the exploding federal deficit that we face, and he says

>> kate bolduan, like in gaithersburg, thank you. kate mentioned talking to folks in the market for a car, we will be talking again to kate in the half hour. talking to a car owner trying to take advantage of the cash clunker program. >>> health care. millions of people without it, of course. reform legislation hanging in the balance. maybe not the best time for congress to take a month off, but they have, they are. the house did accomplish something before they got out of there last night. the third and final negotiating committee approved a version of the bill. now it has to be merged with the version passed by other panel there's in the house. the full chamber expected to get the final version sometime in september. the senate probably won't reach a deal before it goes on recess next friday. >>> president obama sees health care reform as key to fixing the economy. yesterday second quarter report from the gross domestic product seems to show the recession easing up a bit. while that's encouraging, the president says there's still a

our kate bolduan is at the white house, where the president returned earlier today from his weekend trip to camp david. kate? >> reporter: hi there frederica. administration officials say they are confident the economy is no longer on the brink of collapse but we are not out of the woods yet. president obama returns from wand at camp david, his administration touting the week's positive economic news as evidence their efforts are succeeding in turning around the economy. >> most private forecasters think real gdp growth will turn positive before the end of the year. >> people are talking about whether the recession is going to turn into a depression, they are talking about when it's gonna end that is the real accomplishment -- a real accomplishment. >> reporter: while republicans agree the economic signs are encouraging, many say it's no thanks to the obama administration or the stimulus package. >> but i really believe it is in spite of the prescriptions of washington, d.c. i think what we are seeing in the economy now is the inherent resilience of the american economy and the american

a recovery and very premature to be confident about a robust recovery by early next year. >>> kate bolduan joins us from the white house. republicans and democrats are at odds about the economy, is there any common ground that they agree upon today? >> reporter: well, following reports that more than a million americans could lose their benefits by the end of the year, administration officials say they're carefully extending those benefits further, working with congress, and today republicans today seemed to signaling their report. so there's one point of agreement. >> that's a last resort for a lot of people. thank you, kate. >>> more on politics and the economy at the bottom of the hour poppy harlow and bill schneider will join me to talk about washington as response to this recession and where we go from here and if we're in a turnaround as the administration has been saying. we'll have the second 100 days of the obama administration been days of change or frustration? cast your vote at cnn.com/reportcard, and get the results at thursday night. >>> the man who allegedly sparked a bomb s

he said, we are, we welcome this business. >> kate bolduan for us at the dealership. good luck finding you a new car. we cut her off. >>> got another story we're keeping an eye on. >> latest development of that awful killing, the murders of the florida couple last month might have been contract killings. a source familiar with a investigation say the state attorney's office were only there to rob the couple, but the alleged organizer, leonard gonzalez jr. and others might have been planning this hit all along. the state attorney's office says he can't comment on that specifically. >>> also, new information this morning. evidence in the michael jackson case that suggests the pop star shopped around for a doctor who would give him propofol. the brand name is diprivan. that is the drug that sources say dr. conrad murray is suspected of giving jackson hours before he died. the latest piece of information coming from a search warrant which names another doctor here who says he denied jackson's request for the drug. >>> we have a happy ending to a story we were following he

kate bolduan, prince william park. >>> the more the nation battles over health care, and health care reform, the more claims we hear, especially from people attending the town hall meetings from coast to coast. josh levs with the cnn truth squad is checking the facts. josh, i know one question a lot of people have is about coverage. who will be covered under this health care reform. will it include illegal immigrants? >> exactly. we're hearing that more and more and heard it at one town hall. take a look. >> why is it fair for an illegal immigrant to be eligible for health care over an older american that has paid taxes their whole life? >> that was just one example. we're seeing it more and more. one point off a graphic here, there are various bills working their way through congress. but the one i keep looking at is this house bill that's 1,000 pages long. the house bill restricts coverage to citizens and legal residents. in fact, i want to show you the bill itself. let's zoom in here on the screen. this is the bill and you can see keywords here. no federal payment for undocumented

yesterday, the house approved another $2 billion for, but as kate bolduan explains, some dealers are becoming wary. kate is in gaithersburg, maryland, at a car dealership. kate, can you still get cash for clunkers through the weekend? i imagine, right? but after that we're not so sure. >> it it is a question mark, after that, but the obama administration assures through this weekend, clunker deals will be honored, i've talked to a lot of customers coming here to this de dealership throughout the day, all looking for a deal, looking for that up to $4,500 rebate but also wondering how long the deals will last. auto dialers sought as the deal they couldn't and wouldn't pass up. what was the reaction amontsdz you and your employees when it's their program starting moving? >> when we saw the people coming in that were actually ready to buy, it was very exciting. i mean we had a huge weekend. >> reporter: alex perdikis said they have sold 290 cars at 16 locations thanks to the program and they've seen a 40% jump in sales compared to the same time last year. but then reports the $1 billion w

our kate bolduan, a car dealership in gaithersburg, maryland, where people are taking advantage. good morning to you again, kate. >> reporter: they are taking advantage. customer, a couple trying to trade in their car actually talked to a father looking for a good deal for his daughter, who's in college. many people trying to come out and taking advantage with some concerns. people are a little hesitant because of the uncertainty of yesterday. but the administration has assured that deals that go through through this weekend will be honored, and to talk a little more about that, i have here with me scott addison, the general manager of this location. eight locations through pennsylvania, maryland and florida. correct, scott? >> right. >> reporter: so tell me about, what kind of business are you attributed to the cash for clunkers program? how many deals have you done? >> just over 300 deals and a lot of cash for clunkers. >> reporter: what does that kind of number, about 300 deals what does that kind of number mean to you guys, especially in today's economy? >> we don't know how m

cnn's kate bolduan live from the white house. and the administration is appealing to both the left and the right, but is it working? >> reporter: that is a good question, betty. you can see from the white house's perspective, the president and the white house, they are trying, working to regain momentum in this debate. statement, the president is preparing to leave for vacation a little later this afternoon after he does have that meeting with former senate majority leader tom daschle on, of course, you can guess it talking about health care. but yesterday, take a look at yesterday, betty, a perfect example of the fine line that the president, that this administration is trying to walk, trying to appeal to both sides to really keep a coherent message out there. appealing to liberal supporters at a democratic national convention event yesterday afternoon and before that, really taking his message to conservatives. speaking to -- making an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, live at the white house. the host, he did throw

. >> kate bolduan, thank you so much. appreciate that from maryland. >> off course, not everyone is a fan of the cash for clunkers program. seems hard to believe. in ten minutes we'll ask an auto analyst why she thinks this program itself is a clunker. let's talk about in the national matters before we get back to the domestic issues. president obama beefs up u.s. troop strength in afghanistan, america's losses are growing. july was the deadliest month for international forces since the war began. and three more u.s. troops have been killed today. our ivan watson is in kabul. ivan. >> hi, fredericka, yeah, a bloody day here. three american servicemen killed in southern afghanistan. the explosive devices the number one threat to u.s. and nato forces. they're what helped make last month, the deadliest month yet of the eight-year war. in a separate incident, a french soldier was killed. another wounded in a battle with taliban insurgents in a province directly to the north of the afghan capital. one point here. this has been

cnn's kate bolduan is joining us with details. kate?> reporter: wolf, your stimulus dollars at work. highway projects like this one in new york are under way, but some say not nearly fast enough. sealing cracks and replacing concrete slabs on new york's southern state parkway, the first stimulus-funded highway project to break ground on long island. cost, $1.7 million. that should be music to the ears of mark hurt, head hoff the long island contractors association. so, it may surprise you to hear this. >> and here we are in the heart of the construction season and 40% of the workforce here on long island is still not working. we haven't seen construction that low in the workforce in decades. and the stimulus program hasn't put the people back to work at this point. >> reporter: nearly six months after president obama signed the stimulus bill, he complained transportation dollars are only trickling down. generally too much red tape? >> too much red tape. and by the time we get to work and the money flows and gets here, we're going to be

kate bolduan, cnn, silver spring, maryland. >>> now recent numbers.of this morning, cash for clunkers is credited for 625,000 deals, with nearly $2.6 billion in rebate vouchers handed out. if you missed out, here's some consolation. you can still get a $600 tax credit for buying a new car. we are continuing our coverage of the health care systems around the world and what we can actually learn from them. we want to take a look at ireland. ireland ranks 15th in a european survey on quality of health care. the life expectancy in ireland is almost 80 years. almost two years longer than here in the u.s. one of the problems facing ireland, though, shrinking tax revenues that are making it difficult for that country to pay for its own reform plan. here's kitty pilgrim. >> reporter: five years ago, flush with prosperity, ireland started to reform its health care system. it began centralizing health care and offering higher salaries to doctors to switch to the public system of health care and give up their private patients. richard saltman of emory university

. >> and that was cnn's kate bolduan. >>> it is go time! we're pushing forward with the next hour of "cnn newsroom" with kyra phillips! >> it's friday, tony. >> yeah. >> we are pushing forward. >>> making waves. hurricane bill stirs up the surf around bermuda. the east coast of the u.s. is next. chad myers watching every move. >>> some call it mercy. others a travesty. scotland's release of a libyan bomber was controversial enough. his arrival back home? outrageous. >>> and a former swimsuit model murdered. her ex-husband charged and on the run. we're pushing forward on the manhunt. >>> hello, everyone, i'm kyra phillips, live at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. you're live in the "cnn you're live in the "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> warnings go out as hurricane bill closes in on bermuda. waves are already picking up, as we can see in these pictures from one of our i-reporters and along the u.s. east coast people are being advised to keep a close watch on the big storm. it's not expected to make a direct hi

cnn's kate bolduan hit the road on new york's long island. >> reporter: your stimulus dollars at work. filling cracks and replacing concrete slabs on new york's southern state parkway, the first stimulus-funded highway project to break ground on long island. cost? $1.7 million. that should be music to the ears of mark herbst, head of the long island contractors association. so, it may surprise you to hear this. >> here we are in the heart of the construction season and 40% of the workforce here on long island are not working. we haven't seen construction that low in the workforce in decades. and the stimulus program hasn't put the people back to work at this point. >> reporter: nearly six months after president obama signed the stimulus bill, he complains transportation dollars are only trickling down. generally too much red tape? >> too much red tape. and by the time we go to work and the money flows and gets here, we'll be in the dead of winter. shovel-ready now, we won't be able to put the shovel in the icy ground. >> reporter: he's not alone. sherrie runs a construction company th

kate bolduan explains how it works and whether it could work for you.ports from around the world. you are in "the situation room." >>> the federal reserve hasn't been this enthusiastic about the u.s. economy in more than a year. the fed now declaring that the longest period of decline since the great depression is leveling out. that's why the central bank left interest rates alone today. you need more convincing, look at this. 57% of economists surveyed by the wall street journal say the recession is already over. that's what the experts say. let's get a reality check interest the heartland, our chief business correspondent, ali velshi, is traveling on the cnn express. he is in winsville, missouri right now. what are the folks saying to you, ali, about the economy? >> reporter: well, wolf, as you can imagine, people in the he t heartland, aren't waiting for people to sat recession is over. they believe it is still tough. the fed says it isn't feeling better but it is going to be getting better. let's see what people told me. the economists are saying th

here's cnn's kate bolduan. >> reporter: $1 billion is going to help law enforcement officers across the west virginia, population 275. >> it's one mile from the west -- or the east end to the west end, and we have a variety of everything here. from like i said from petty theft to drugs. >> reporter: after 14 years in law enforcement, he faced certain unemployment because of the economy and a budget shortfall. scottie miller is the town's mayor. >> if you don't have the money, you don't have the money. >> you were supposed to be laid off in july. >> right. >> that must have been rough. >> it was scary, yes, ma'am. >> reporter: the thing is, he represents half the department. jeff dris koe is the police chief. >> we're you're talking about 50% of your department, that's a lot. >> reporter: but then, they say the stimulus came to the rescue. a $156,000 rescue for this rural community. one of more than 1,000 agencies, a fraction of the total grant requests picked for a stimulus boost through the justice department program community-oriented policing services, known as cops. that small town

kate bolduan has the latest. >> reporter: with a fast approaching deadline, customers flock to car dealerships over the weekend, looking, hoping to be one of the last to drive home a deal. >> i came here and was so many people here. >> david is trading in his van with more than 150,000 miles on it for a new toyota. >> thank you. >> thanks to a $3500 cash for clunkers repalt. as of thursday the transportation reported more than 450,000 clunkers deals nationwide. dealers say the paperwork and the the payback is a major concern. >> 15 to 20 documents like this for every deal. she has people r r working around the clock to meet the deadline. they've made 1400 clunker deals so far. fronting as much as $4500 for each rebate. to date they've only been reimbursed for nine. >> coming out of the times we've come out of. then to have the cash flow hanging out there. it's unnerving. it's hard to sleep knowing you have $6 million outstanding. >> reporter: the national automobile dealers association is urging the government to give them an additional week to process the deals they expect in the twilight hou