leanne gregg reports. >> reporter: the nation's love affair with sugar is not so sweet when considering its potentially impact on health. >> obesity is practically an epidemic and obesity is almost root and cause for a lot of the diseases. especially heart disease. >> reporter: on average, americans consumed 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. 335 calories. that equals two cans of soda and a chocolate bar. the american heart association says that's too muc and recommends a dramatic decrease in sugar intake. for women six teaspoons or 100 calories a day and for men, nine teaspoons or 150 calories. >> there's a lot of excess sugar that's out there in our diet that's going to be very difficult for us to eliminate. >> reporter: sugar andth er sweeteners are added not only to treats like these but to frozen dishes and energy drinks and cereal and a list of other foods many may think is good for you. >> if we are already getting sugar we need from our fruits and our vegetables and our

leanne gregg has the latest. >> reporter: key to america's recovery, the house market. numbers from the commerce department shows new home sales numbers closed down close 240% from the same time last year. new construction of ltifamiliar line its like apartment buildings dropped more than 13% in july. largely because of tight credit. sile family home construction, the worst hit part of the housing market, rose close to 2%. the fifth monthly increase in a row. >> the important thing is the shift in momentum. at the bottom, not a big bounce-up. >> reporter: a first-time home buying tax credit had an impact and foreclosures made home buying in even the most unaffordable markets like california doable, skewing the housing numbers. >> we are now hearing stories of bidding wars between first-time buyers and speculators going after foreclosed homes that are now 50% off their peaks or even more. >> reporter: the u.s. economy can't rebound without consumer spending and many economists say the consumer can't start spending until the housing market and employment stabilize. that's

as nbc's leanne gregg reports, drivers still have until next monday to take advantage. >> reporter: not much time left for those wanting to cash in on their clunker. the program that some are calling one of the government's most successful economic plans ends monday. cash for clunkers offers rebates up to $4,500 to car buyers trading in old gas guzzlers. it's been so popular, the initial $1 billion in funding ran out in less than two weeks, prompting congress to scramble and add another 2 billion. >> dealers have sold cars like they haven't sold them in quite some time. manufacturers are producing cars like they haven't in quite some time. >> reporter: but there are complaints. car dealers who reported delays in government reimbursements, unprocessed applications and others that must be resubmitted because the forms were filled out incorrectly. >> we're now slightly victims of success because the thing happened so quick. there was so much more demand than anybody expected that dealers were overwhelmed with applications. >> reporter: some say it's hard to complain about thousands of cars

. >> leann in mississippi, hi, leann. >> caller: hi, nancy. god bless you and your family. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> caller: they are beautiful. >> they are two little miracle babies. lucy was a little over two pounds when she came into this world. i'm happy to say she's over 30 pounds now, and she can say "daddy" and "mommy" in her own way. so can john david. he has been saying it a really long time. what's your question, love? >> caller: i'm a little confused as to how this video got on to youtube, and is she going to get a hotshot defense attorney to say they're setting her up? >> you know it, leann. >> caller: try to get her off. >> that's exactly where this is headed. you hear burris and lake lining it up. how did the video get on youtube, chief immler? >> well, florida has a very open public records law. >> that's right, that's right. florida. >> yeah, for instance, as soon as the suspect is booked, the probable cause affidavit becomes public record, and because of that, we try and be accommodating to the media. obviously, th

leanne gregg has those details. >> can a retan p woman get a flu shot if she's only one or two months pregnant? >> reporter: this interactive webcast is one of the health and human services department's margest multimedia campaigns ever. the subject, education and prevention of swine flu. >> the information that we deal with is going to be as important as the vaccine. >> reporter: becau a children and young adults are most at risk for swine flu, the government is distributing information on facebook, youtube, twitter and other platforms to make it easily accessible for a wide range of age groups. >> we need to come up with products and interesting information that people can get any time of the day and anywhere that they are. lots of doctors offices -- >> reporter: these webcasts are called know what to do about the flu. this one targets pregnant women. >> you have to wash your hands. >> reporter: it covers everything from how to avoid the flu to the new vaccine available by mid-october. health experts say all pregnant women should be among the first vaccinated, along with young peopl

leanne gregg, nbc news. coming up, if you are search for a new job, there are tips you may not have thought of. unconventional methods employers are using to spring candidates. if you are planning a vacation, there is something you should pick up before you even pack your suitcase. cash for clunkers has come to an end but soon you may able to cash in when picking up new appliances.>> looking for people the day special in the early morninak you know someone like that, amail their story alongith clear close-up picture or video to rningperson@nbcwhington.com. we may tell this person's story on the air. nb0 >>> warm one today. a warmup for tomorrow, you say. >> right. another 90-degree day coming up tomorrow. as far as today goes we have clouds with no rain out there. no rain at all. tad has been comfortable, wouldn't you say? >> yeah. >> bearable. >> yeah. bearable, yeah, indeed. no high humidity for the area. temperatures outside in the mid 80s. that's close to average. and 86 degrees, reagan national airport.

leanne gregg reports. >> can a pregnant woman get a fl iytnl o only one, two months pregnant withoutarming the fetus? >> reporter: interactive webcast is part of one of the u.s. health and services department's largest multimedia campaign ever. the subject, education and prevention of swine flu. >> the information that we deal with is going to be as important as the vaccine. >> reporter: because children and young adults are most at risk for swine flu, the government is distributing information on facebook. youtube, twitter and other platforms to make it easily accessible for a wide range of age groups. >> you need to come up with products and interesting information that people can get any time of the day and anywhere they are. >> lots of doctors offices. >> reporter: webcasts are called know what to do about the flu. this one targets preparing in an women. >> you have to wash your hands. >> reporter: covers everything from how to avoid the flu to the new vaccine available by mid october. health experts say all pregnant women should be among the first vaccinated along with young peo

leanne gregg has the latest. >> sales of new homes were up 9.6% in july. it is the fourth monthly increase in a row. >> we like -- we saw this morning. >> more positive news durable goods. orders rose last month by close to 5%. the largest am in two years. fueled mostly by sales of airplanes and along with reopening of some chrysler and general motors assembly plants close to bankruptcy. >> this is a clear sign the recession over. >> others say not so fast. the bottom may linger if we are even there. >> i believe we have gotten very, very positive one-time effect. i think we will see abdouble dipdown in the fourth quarter. >> reporter: those one-time dips include the government's cash for clunkers rebound program that stimulated the auto industry by taking gas guzzlers off the roads replacing them with more fuel efficient cars. and first-time home buyers' federal tax credit that expires the end of november. >> the recession is going to fade but the financial crisis will not end until forecasts peak, home prices stop falling, and banks begin lending again.

leanne gregg has details. >> reporter: sales of new homes were up 9.6% in july. the fourth monthly increase in a row. >> we like -- we saw it this morning. >> reporter: more positive news durable goods. orders rose last month by closing to 5%. largest am in two years. fueled mostly by sales of airplanes and along with the reopening of some chrysler and general motors assembly plants. bankruptcy. >> this is a clear sign the recession is over. >> reporter: others say not so fast. bottom may linger if we are there. >> i believe we have gotten positive one-time effects. i think we will see it dip down in the fourth quarter. >> reporter: those one-time include the government's cash for clunkers rebate program that stimulated the auto industry by keeping gas guzzlers off the ad. first-time home buyers, federal tax credit that expires the end of november. >> the recession is going to fade but the financial crisis will not end until foreclosures peak and home prices stop falling and banks begin lending again. there's still a good amount of risk in front of us. >> reporte

leanne gregg, nbc news. >> let's get a final check of the forecast with bob ryan.>> bob? >> hi, eun and jim. things are quieter now than they were earlier in st. mary's county. picture from lisa black around leonardtown. this was the picture around compton, and st. mary's county. there were reports of golf ball sized hail and it is psible -- pictures, these could be the hail bouncing back up. wild, wild day down into st. mary's county. for us overnight tonight we are going to continue to see some showers and dissipate tomorrow and on into the weekend. we may be seeing a few more. right now on doppler that last ferocious storm moving into the lower part of the eastern shore, back to you. >> thanks, bob. >>> jennifer stringer is the mother of three children in lombard, illinois. she is a woman that does not spend a lot of time in labor. stringer's husband is rick tressel. he helped her deliver their most recent baby monday at home on the living room floor. he was still on the phone with the 911 operator when the ambulance arrived. got quite a check when the first paramedic

leanne gregg, nbc news. >> that should make a difference. china, our clocks were backwards. australia, too. this time we are in sync. >> be able to -- fun to watch it. as soon as it happens. while it happens live. >> coming up next, new evidence that the message to kids about the dangers of tobacco may be sinking in. >> and big change in the age of women that are becoming mothers for the first time. >>> we have breaking news from montgomery county. chopper 4 is live above the scene of a serious accident at ridge road near morning star drive in damascus. the accident there involves two vehicles. one child is reported injured. no word on the child's condition. rescue crews have just airlifted the vtim to a local hospital. again,tureic fmture p fromro scdama us.da >>> despite the recession, every once in a while we hear about a business success is cess story, entrepreneur who is defying the odds in the economic crisis. nbc's jenna wolfe found one such company and it is helping men stay stylish without ever setting foot inside of a store. >> need something for the party saturday

as leanne gregg reports, one issue dealt with the sale of products in the singer's image and another involved the more serious questions of how the pop icon died. >> reporter: this attorney, representing the pop star's mother, said she might file a wrongful death lawsuit because of the circumstances surrounding her son's demise. one possible defendant, dr. conrad murray, the singer's personal physician. >> dr. murray's name has been floated because he is under criminal investigation. >> reporter: that investigation focused on the possibility murray may have improperly given jackson a powerful anesthetic, usually only administered in a hospital. police are also looking into actions of other doctors and the role prescription drugs may have played in his death. in a development relating to the estate, a judge on monday approved a deal between the c co-executors of the will and a marketing group in charge of his image. the judge heard objections from katherine jackson's attorney about objections of the exhibit. >> there may be allegations of the money we have lost because of the delay of

leanne gregg, nbc news. >>> a fairly bizarre story o of berlin this morning, where the track & field world championships are taking place right now. an athlete is under investigatn hiand this has nothing to do with dssteroi t. one south african teenager, rter ersemenya, easily won the women's 800-meter ra ce. and now there are concerns whether she qualifies to compete as a woman. some people raised flags because of her muscular buildnd deep voice. and now track & field's governing body csonfirmee that e has undergone a gender test. the erteenagfi's father says it ridiculous and calls her his little girl. it will take weeks for the test results to come back. >>> the time, 11:41. trading has started on wall street. we'll check in with cnbc on what we can expect to see later today. >>> plus, a mission to taste as many foods on a stick as one woman can. hmm. stay en >>> if you've been waiting to take advantage of jetblue's all you can jet promotn, you might have waited too long. the airline has suspended sales of its unlimited flight path because of such great demand. the deal allowed tr

leanne gregg, nbc news. >> you can easily check for added sugar by reading the label. look for ingredients like corn syrup, fructose, evaporated cane juice. those are all sugar. health heart association is not recommending any general limits for added sugar for children. >>> in about 30 minutes now, a health care town hall meeting is set to get under way in reston, virginia. the town halls have turned very heated across the country lately. as people from both sides of the issue turn out in big numbers. jackie bensen is in reston, virginia, with more on this. >> reporter: there are hundreds of people lined up waiting to get into -- in the door. there are dozens of protesters here from a variety of groups and viewpoints. not all of them have to deal with health care reform. as i said, people have been gathered here since 4:00 p.m. doors of the auditorium at south lakes high school didn't even open until 6:00 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. town hall meeting. the meet willing be hosted by virginia congressman jim moran and feature form -- will feature former presidential candidate

leanne niles was on vacation near lake erie in ohio when she saw an eagle flying overhead carrying a fish in its claws. she described it as a beautiful sight at first, but it soon turned into a bit of a daytime nightmare. >> then i realized that something was wiggling, in its claws. i looked again, and next thing i know, i'm saying, oh, my god. down comes the eagle's lunch. >> a new windshield is going t cost niles about $250. she says she's just grateful that she didn't get hurt and probably that the eagle didn't come looking for the fish. wouldn't want that thing flying around the inside of your car. >> can you imagine? wonder why he lost it. they're usually pretty good about -- >> probably short nails. had been chewing on his nails. >> biting his nails. >> yeah, biting his nails. they they will you not to do that. >> what kind of day are we going to have? >> some overnight thundershowers that may have kept you awake a bit, especially to our east. had a heavy downpour in annapolis a couple hours ago but that's dissipated. now looking to the east, to a partly cloudy to mostly cloudy

leanne gregg reports on how the preparations are goi. >> one of the most beautiful cities in the world. >> such a variety of things to do. >> reporter: for the past six years, vancouver has been preparing to host the winter olympic games. the venues are finished. including the city's crowned jewel, the richmond oval. it has been tested by some americans. >> seg home. and i just -- i love the energy that's here. i'm looking forward to competing here. >> reporter: a few miles away the athletes village will be home to more than the 2,000 athletes. a new road to the mountain venues is on target. also completed on time, a brand-new airport to soy center subway system that will help transport more than 100 thousand passengers a kay. with a change in the global economy financing the games has been a challenge. >> none of us, i think, thought we would be talking about budgets and finances and making it work. that's the reality. we are getting it done. >> reporter: so are the athletes. entering their final months after years of preparation for the competition of a lifetime. >> it has been my dr

leann gregg, nbc news. >>> taiwan is still reeling this morning because of widespread flooding. found nearly 1,000 people alive near three remote villages that flood waters washed away. still, though, hundreds of missing and feared dead. over the weekend a typhoon dumped 80 inches of rain on taiwan, causing mudslides and destroying homes. >>> one local grocery store is getting ready to slash its prices. >>> an inside look inside the lost and found inside one of the country's busiest >>> oh, hi! welcome back to progressive.com! how's that car insurance? and you just heard progressive offers homeowner's insurance. because progressive already insures your car. yeah, and i like -- one-stop shopping! right. i know! anything else i should know? yes -- make sure you stay away from shag carpeting. getting your auto and home insurance all in one place -- now th's progr.siesve call or click today. >>> passengers stuck on a continental airlines plane for six hours are getting their money back. the jet was bou for minneapolis, but landed in rochester minnesota, due to bad weather. nobody wa

leanne gregg, nbc news. >> and an attorney for dr. conrad murray says it is up to the jackson family to dece whether to proceed with a civil suit. aeg says it would be, "inappropriate to speculate on any potential litigation." >> a housing developer who failed on his promise of the american dream will now spend the next 12 years of his life behind bars. victims of leon coleman's housing scam hugged outside the prince george's county courthouse yesterday. coleman and his wife were both charged with violating construction contracts with home buyers. prosecutors say they took more than $1 million and never built any of the homes they had promised. >> when he realized that he couldn't complete this job, he could have brought us all together and said, look, i'm in trouble here. we need to stop. i need to refund your money. >> seeing him taken away in handcuffs by the security guards, by the bailiffs, by the police officers, iwas just remarkable to see. >> the judge also ordered coleman to pay nearly $1,000 to each of the five victims. >> a

leanne gregg has the story. >> reporter: general motors is teemging up with ebay to make purchasing a vehicle as easy as click and buy. the promotional house buyers to place online bids for more than 200 from california gm dealers through gm.ebay.com. >> from time to time. >> reporter: with new ceo fritz henderson at the helm, it's part of the plan to broaden appeal to young buyers by expanding showrooms from parking lots to laptops. >> we are well on our way to succeed. >> reporter: speaking of out with the old, in with the new, the ebay site will also let customers know if their current vehicle will qualify for the government incentive program to get big gas guzzlers off the roads. >> bye, old girl. >> reporter: last week, the senate voted to give the cash for clunkers program another $2 billion because it's been such a smashing success. >> almost two to one under our survey, people have been buying these more fuel-efficient cars and have been getting the $4,500 voucher. >> reporter: so many trading in their clunkers to buy newer, more fuel-efficient cars that dealers worry they'll

[applause] >> representative, my name is leann. >> hold on once a committee of and my representing your perspective on health care? >> yes, yes. first of all i wanted to thank you for being so accessible. you really are. we appreciate that very much. i am one of those people who has read a good portion of the bill. my eyes have glazed over. there are many things i wanted to talk about, but here is one thing in particular that no one else seems to discuss. i have notes. i am quoting this bill. it is called "the americans affordable health choices act for 2000. ninth" on page 1 it states "the purpose of this bill is to provide affordable, quality health care for all americans and reduce the growth in health-care spending, and for other purposes." my question is "does and for other purposes" carry a big implication? on page 29 they talk about cost- sharing the bulls. then, on page 59 i am quoting "electronic funds transfers in order to allow automated reconciliation with the healthcare payment and a remittance advice." represented mchenry, i never thought i would have to ask this -- when d

[applause] >> representative, my name is leann. >> hold on once a committee of and my representing your first of all i wanted to thank you for being so accessible. you really are. we appreciate that very much. i am one of those people who has read a good portion of the bill. my eyes have glazed over. there are many things i wanted to talk about, but here is one thing in particular that no one else seems to discuss. i have notes. i am quoting this bill. it is called "the americans affordable health choices act for 2000. ninth" on page 1 it states "the purpose of this bill is to provide affordable, quality health care for all americans and reduce the growth in health-care spending, and for other purposes." my question is "does and for other purposes" carry a big implication? on page 29 they talk about cost- sharing the bulls. then, on page 59 i am quoting "electronic funds transfers in order to allow automated reconciliation with the healthcare payment and a remittance advice." represented mchenry, i never thought i would have to ask this -- when did the government thinks they have the ri