the marine corps cared about the marine corps. it was an important early listen for this innocent child of privilege. i found colonel aplington's letter when i was part way through writing the book. the overriding of the book took about six years and i came upon this about midway when i was coming to terms with my own experience and seeing how all fit into my life and it snapped me in a way that it never could before. i can remember reading it and basically not having a clue what he was talking about. but in retrospect, it was exceptionally persian to look into this extraordinary experience and the thanks to the requirement of publishers and editors i had to run down his kids who are now well grown but little squirts that used to visit at the lake back then and it was just an extraordinary one of a thousand extraordinarily rewarding evin to find these two kids who now have families and whose father is deceased about ten years ago and to know and to be able to publish this letter which was so extraordinary and ensure has given such

marine that made history at the white house. our "person of the week." captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> good evening. the deadly explosions at the jw marriott and ritz-carlton low items in jakarta occurred just two minutes apart. just before eight in the morning, the lobbies were crowded with foreign fotourists having breakfast. nine people were killed, and dozens more were injured, including nine americans. the attacks ended four years of relative calm in indonesia, which has the world's largest muslim population. president obama, who has lived in indonesia, called the attacks outrageous. clarissa ward is in jakarta tonight. >> reporter: elizabeth, police here now believe the suspected bombers were actually guests in this hotel, and they detonated their bombings using home maid explosives that police found in their room, number 1808. the marriott surveillance camera captured the final moments leading to the deadly attack. a man pulling his suitcase before a blinding blast sent guests running for cover. >>> was in my room, in the jw marriott, on the 17

mariners end the inning. what a job by olson as the birds fail to score. >> top of the 9th. o's down. and they have the bases loaded with no outs again.

mike boettcher is imbedded with the marines in helmand province. >> reporter: marines expected a tough fight in afghanistan's volatile bread basket, the helmand river valley. two weeks into the operation, they have one. bullets, mortars and rockets fill the no-man's land between fighters and the marine group. the taliban has set an ambush for the marines leading the advance. and this time, unlike past ambushes, the taliban do not attack and hide. they stay and fight. carlos boettcher videotaped the battle. >> nothing dissuaded them from attacking us. no amount of gun fire. >> reporter: as marines head forward, they tread cautiously. in this area, there is good reason for caution. >> my assessment down there. >> reporter: thousands of feet of copper wire are buried throughout the small farming village. just like american cities are wired for cable, this afghan village is wired for bombs. in the center of the village, a warning is posted near the mosque. do not help the americans or you will die. but the marines in this offensive deliver their own warning to the taliban. they are here to

the marines are pushed south into territory the taliban call home. their mission, secure villages controlled by the taliban and disrupt their supply lines. in the operation's final push, marines press on deep into southern helmand province to capture a main taliban supply point. a formerly untouched insurgent stronghold called lakari bazaar. the expected heavy resistance. each locked door was blown open. but the taliban fled before the advancing marines, retreating so quickly that they left behind bomb-making materials, booby traps and 5,000 pounds of poppy seed. if planted, its opium byproduct would net millions for the taliban's war effort. they even left behind receipts. >> when the taliban tax the locals they hand out receipts. >> the enemy, they're never going to be in the open waiting for you to come in. it's a cat and mouse game. >> reporter: the lakari bazaar remained deserted hours after the attack. the villagers did not come, the taliban did not attack. but the question now is, where is the taliban? a question answered late in the afternoon

it means i'm a marine. we support anybody regardless of your party, so we're here to kind of support our country and do our job, and it's been a -- it's been a real pleasure. >> and i know you've got to keep your conversations and obviously your relationships with the presidents on the down-low and very low key. i know you've been extremely respectful in that regard. but i also get the sense that these two presidents that have daughters saw you maybe in a different light and gave you a sense of respect on a number of levels, because they're raising girls, and they want them to be just like you. >> yes, ma'am. and i felt that was pretty evident yesterday, when president obama said good-bye, and every time i've talked to him -- and the same with former president bush -- they always came in and they were always very -- very respectful to me, as i'm sure they are with most marines, but i kind of felt that hopefully i am opening the way for their daughters in the future. and i felt that both president bush and p

the vote to cut ten marine corps helicopters is at a time the marines are conducting a major offensive in the mountains of afghanistan where the high altitude and hot weather require the best capabilities that congress can provide them including the huey's and in recent statements from the joint staff, it is clear how urgently marines need the enhanced capability of the huey on the battlefield. speaking before th the armed services committee the vice chairman of the joint chiefs, general cartwright said to the members of the committee -- and i quote -- "those helicopters are, in fact, critical," and he continues "the helicopter for the marines is one of the most lethal weapons, the most effective on the battlefield particularly in the counterinsurgency arena and built up urban areas and in compounds because they can be discreet and the values of those helicopters is significant." the day after general cartwright appeared i receive a letter from the commandant of the marine corps, general james conway and i ask unanimous consent the letter be included in the record. the presiding office

marines are being put in. they're out there walking around trying to engage with the local population, trying to convince them that they're here more for the safety of afghan people than they are%y to go after and pursue the taliban. the hope among commanders out there is that by trying to win over the local population they'll effectively create a wedge between the people and the taliban. >> so are you saying that there really has not been much heavy fighting? >> there really hasn't been, surprisingly. you know, i went down there expecting to see, you know, an awful lot of fire fights, of raids, you know, the stuff that u.s. marines do best. instead it's been fairly quiet. it appears that the taliban fighters in the area, there were quite a few fighters there just a few weeks ago according to intelligence estimates and according to conversations i've had with local people. a lot of those fighters seem to have packed up and left on orders of senior could panders just because there have been so many marines tha

marine has died in this combat.lves some 4,000 troops ready to fight and enduring heat that one said feels like sticking your head into a roaring oven. cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is here in washington and senior international correspondent nic robertson is in islamabad. nic, i want to start with you. give aus sense what this new mission is about. >> about going into helmand province, one of the most taliban-ridden, poppy-ridden provinces in afghanistan now. we were with marines there last summer. this time of year it is incredibly lot, incredibly tough to fight in those conditions. marines got into a month-long firefight to take an area of helmand province. they couldn't push further because they didn't have the troops to do it. these marines have gone in and they're pushing forward from those areas and that is important because the local pop litigation of the time were telling us they have to go further, the troops have to go further because that's where the taliban are hiding and that's what's happe

the marine band will perform.te house staff and their families have also been invited to watch fireworks on the south lawn. he will deliver brief remarks, which will be pooled press. as you all know, on sunday night, the first family will department washington d.c. for moscow. they will arrive monday afternoon and remain in moscow until wednesday afternoon where the president will depart in -- will depart for rahm to participate in g8 activities until friday. the president will depart italy on friday night for ghana, and remain in ghana until saturday night when he returns to washington dc. just as an fyi, when the president leaves for camp david, they will go on marine one from a different location because they are setting up for activities here for the fourth of july. >> the president told the ap interview that he may never get comfortable with prolonged detention. what would be the alternative to dealing with terrorism suspects? >> i think the question was z how one might go about doing this, his perspective on

so here we have the marines. they just lost one of their comrades and two other marines from this very same company killed last week, heidi, in a deadly roadside bomb and they're still going ahead with this very difficult mission of trying to help set up a fledgling provenshal government here. >> it's so obvious that they have their hand full. even to the point, ivan, where it seems they are doing everything they can to ward off the insurgents when one of the missions in afghanistan was also to be training afghan troops, afghan police. can you give us an update on how that part of the mission is going right now? >> well, this has been a process, heidi, that has been going on for nearly eight years, not only the u.s. military has been involved in it, but other coalition partners here have been trying to train the afghan national police and the afghan national army and from what we can see here, it is still the u.s. military that is the point of the spirit here trying to take back territory from taliban insurgents

sending in marines in this area is a big step. i was also reading today and struck by this, the pakistani army is putting soldiers along its border with afghanistan. some of those taliban do not fully from the fighting there, which has been a huge problem in the past this is the first sign i have seen. the obama administration has said they want to look at these two countries together. you cannot solve one without the other. there is clearly some coordination here that is going on. they have launched this operation. the pakistanis are preparing to keep those taliban militants there. it is good to hear that they are making the effort. host: this is a sidebar story with this headline, "no limit in place for pending request for troops in afghanistan." the nation's top military officer said yesterday that no limits have been placed on the number or types of troops the new u.s. commander in afghanistan can request as he seeks to carry out a counterinsurgency strategy there. let's go to another call. good morning, rick. caller: good mor

marine commanders call this the summer of decision.hing's decided yet. >> investigators in indonesia have discovered important new cls in last week's deadly bombing of two luxury hotels in jakarta. they say explosive materials found at the blast were identical in explosives used in bombings at two bally night cls in 2002. an another indication one of the world's most wanted terrorists was behind the attack. >> hillary clinton is meeting with top indian leaders in new dehli. she's expected to announce a wider partnership between the two countries including agreements on agricuure, education and woman's rights. she expected to sign an agreement allowing u.s. company to sell nuclear reactors to india. >> president obama has a primetime news conference scheduled for wednesday. abc news poll poll shows weak support forehealth care reform. 59% of approve of his job this he's doing. that is down from 69% in april. >> senator ted kennedy is using his own life experience, including his battle with brain cancer to make an appeal for health care

if this works, every marine special ops unit will have a fluent fellow marine on their team. and that's something that could become a model for a lot more of the military. i've got to tell you, i tried just a few phrases, i cannot believe where they are in six weeks. these are really, really tough languages to learn. >> yeah. and the training is very, very intense, i imagine. all right, chris lawrence, keep trying, we appreciate it. our pentagon correspondent this morning. >>> let's talk now about saving money. got your attention, right? we'll show you three ways to cut your energy costs during the dog days of summer. ou need? where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of the most powerful names in the industry. introducing morgan stanley smith barney. here to rethink wealth management. here to answer... your questions. morgan stanley smith barney. a new wealth management firm with over 130 years of experience. right now, 1.5 million people are on a conference

you can see specifically in this area of garmsir is where the marines are engaged. what cuts through this is the river, the helmand river, the river valley. this is the most concentrated area for opium growing and we expect, we expect significant combat challenges with respect to the taliban who have been there and we haven't been able to both defeat them and then clear the area. it's this extra footprint of marines that i think will allow us not just to secure the area for the afghan people but also hold it so we can develop it and start to move in the right direction economically and from a governance perspective. >> in terms of resistance that the marines have faced in the early days, is it what you expected or are you concerned that the taliban are melting into the country side and hiding because they know you're there. >> generally it's what we've expected. there's been some of that. some tough fighting. all of that ties into the expectations that we had. this has been a taliban stronghold for a significant period of time. it's grown over the last two or three

she was marine one's commander. another female marine will take over tomorrow morning. . >> get this. a motorcycle driver loses control of the bike, slides down the interstate as he flips over several times. it was all caught on tape by the oregon state police. amazingly, the driver only had minor injuries. he later pleaded guilty to careless driving. >> it is not unusual to see an occasional overdraft on your bank account. it can happen to anyone. but in new hampshire, a man shocked to see a $23 quadrillion overdraft. josh had bought a pack of cigarettes at a gas station earlier in the day, when he checked the account he saw a lot of zeros. >> i thought my card was compromised. i thought somebody bought europe with my credit card. it was very concerning. >> but he says the store and the bank did not know what happened. but 24 hours later the huge charge was reversed. >> it is a story worthy of a soap opera at the san francisco zoo. and pinguins are the main characters. harry and pepper, two male pinguins a couple f

marine cog.o bying to push this taliban o of hell man provinces, long a strong hold of theirs and a -- and what they use to fund their insurgency across afghanistan and pakistan. >> jaom e: what are you learnin about the kidnapped u.n. de-mining unit. >> omb. nfarom w: aou whanistaning a is one of the m brit heavily mined countries in the world. not the m brit heare ily minen counwo by in the wovoln country in the world and 16his . workers were in eastern afghanistan and were stopped by armed gunmen and we're not sure if they were tal suran or arse linals but they were kidnapped and are being held for ransom. and lgo,al police chief in the area, in the province on the afghanistan-pakistan border, ac9,ally tried to blame this mor wel workers for not notifyi the police they were in the area, and a double edged walorn because of the corruption, in the afghan government, if you tell the police yoclomight be putting yourself at more risk and often westerners don't ac9,ally check in with this localprao

marines arbeing put in. they're outherealking around tryingo engage with the local population, trying to connce th tat they're here more for the safe of afghan people than they are%y to go after and puue the taliban. the hope among commaers out there ishat by tryi to win over t local population they'll effectively create a wedge between the pele and the taliban. >> sore you saying that there really has not been much heavy fighting? >> there reall hasn't been, surprisingly. u know, i went down tere expecting to s, you know, an awful lot of fire fights, raids, you know, the stuff th u.s. rines do best. inste it's been fairly quiet. it appears that th taliban fighters in the area, there were quite a few fighters there jst afew weeksgo accding to intelligence estimates andccording to conversations i've d with cal people. lot of those fighters seem to have pked upnd left on ordersof senior could panrs just because there have been so many marines that flood mood that area. nobody pects those peop just to sort of

the base that i'm at right now has perhaps a couple hundred british soldiers and marine. now it has 2,000 personnel, a sign that the u.s. and the nato allies are watching up efforts here trying to reach out and extend the afghan government's authority in the very contested ream where drugs are produced in massive quantities and this ahead of the august 20th presidential elections scheduled to be taking place then. >> ivan watson reporting from camp dwyer in afghanistan. 50 coalition troops died this month, the highest of any month since the 2001 invasion. >>> investigators are trying to figure out what caused a train trash in san francisco. dozens of people were injured when a train slammed into another at a boarding plat tomorrow here. three people are hospitalized in serious condition. a transit system spokesman says investigators are looking into mechanical and human errors. one witness says the train operator was not looking where he was going. >> he came barreling in, not slowing down, the driver's head was down, he looked like he was asleep or passed out or -- i cou

marines has begun battle in the helmand province. what's the lathest there. >> the latest is the marines have not encountered much resistance. one of the deadliest days in afghanistan. that's been in other provinces. seven dead as you reported. the marines themselves are not facing a lot of resistance. the taliban are essentially fading away. they may come back but what the civilians want to know in those areas, afghan civilians want to know that the marines are staying. they are very scared that the marines won't stay for beyond few weeks, months. that's what they are trying to do is reassure those people tonight. shepard: jennifer griffin. thanks very much. live tonight at the pentagon. the united states is sending some 20,000 troops in a so-called summer surge. summer in afghanistan. imagine. for many soldiers fighting a dangerous enemy in unstable war zone is only half of the battle. tonight we begin to show you the struggles waged on the home front by service members enjoying their last moments with loved ones before they they a

and coming up next, a breakthrough hand transplant and a marine with a firm grasp on bravery.cacophony of sounds) (announcer) excedrin pm. relieves pain fast. plus a sleep aid to help you fall fast asleep. excedrin. what ache? denise! you've lost weight! it's just all these giant things make me look small. i eat this fiber one yogurt. (mr. mehta) it has five grams of fiber, zero fat, and fifty calories. please, this is too creamy and delicious. it's true, only fifty calories. (announcer) fiber one yogurt. when she started forgetting things, i was hoping it was nothing. grandma! what a nice surprise! mom, it's sunday. that's when i knew i couldn't wait. mom's doctor said these were signs of alzheimer's, a type of dementia, and that prescription aricept could help. he said it's the only treatment proven effective... for all stages of alzheimer's. studies showed aricept slows the progression... of alzheimer's symptoms. it improves cognition... and slows the decline of overall function. aricept is well tolerated but not for everyone. people at risk for stomach ulcers... or who tak

the mariners mariners take a 1- 0 lead. bottom 2, seattle threatening. wieters showing off, gutierrez trying to steal third. bottom 3 now, bergeson with a nasty pitch, gets ronnie cedeno. the mariners just tacked on another run. they started the 6th inning, the o's trailing 2-0. >>> adam jones said he would be interested if pickford the home run derby all star weekend. the national league will be represented by ryan howard, albert pujols, prince fielder and adrian gonzaga, all first basemen. >>> tony is back to work this week. the towson lacrosse coach is running a summer camp for kids ages 6 to 16. some of his towson players are helping coach. seeman is hoping the kids learn something new every day. >> ultimately they're doing something that maybe somebody on their team is note doing right now and not getting better or improving their skills. and hopefully they're going to be a little better in whatever league or level they play at when they walk out of here. >> nice touch there by tony seeman. but i am still having a hard time -- >> steve mcnair. >> it

marine gets a new human hand. will this offer hope to thousands of amputees? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. well, tonight, a few guys are in washington, d.c. having a cold one. they just happen to be a harvard professor, a police officer from cambridge, massachusetts, and the president president of the united states. they're sitting down to try to hash out what happened when professor henry louis gates and sergeant james crowley had an encounter that led to a national debate about race in america. and tonight, the president, who has downplayed the notion of a beer summit, is trying to tap into that. chip reid is at the white house tonight. and, chip, the president said earlier today he preferred to call this a "chat." but will anything substantive come out of it, do you think? >> reporter: you know, katie, we have asked white house officials repeatedly if there is going to be any follow-up to this meeting if there is going to be any effort to make this a teachable moment are as t

marines and even for the police in california. photography has always been tom's first passion. >> well actually, started as a young kid taking photographs as a hobby and continued to do that throughout my career. and so as time went on, i honed those skills to a point where i made a fairly decent living as a photographer. >> reporter: tom now uses his photo skills for the save our seas foundation. it's an organization dedicated to protecting marine life. >> and over the period of the last 45 years, i've seen a tremendous change, a really tremendous change. and it's not something that you can read about and appreciate so much as when you see it. and having been there and seen it, i really am more concerned about what's happening now in the world's oceans. >> reporter: for example, the very serious danger of over-fishing our oceans. >> what is happening is with the use of long lines that can be as long as a hundred miles long, drift nets, which can be a 100 miles long, and they trap everything that swims into them. every hook catch

agency for international development currently has two offices directly linked with the marines and the operation there. they have been there for over two years. we understand that their highly regarded by their marine colleagues and are some of the most experienced civilian experts we have in afghanistan. in additional, u.s. aid officer will arrive this weekend. three more to follow in the next couple of weeks. when the stabilization experts from our office of transmission as's new development advisers working directly with the marines to assist them with holding. they're going to work alongside our military personnel. the deployments have been and will continue to be closely coordinated in a couple with u.s. forces and afghanistan. with that, i will be happy to take your questions. >> are you planning on sending more to supplement those? do expected to increase? >> as i said, we have two there now, and we have another one who is planning to arrive this weekend. but then, we also have this larger civilian effort over the next few months. >> so there will be something? >> the largest ci

but the mariners decided to but the mariners decided to give the orioles an early gift. whee! happy days are here again. whee! ooh. celebrate summer with giant and enjoy mouthwatering fruits and vegetables at prices you can handle. like sweet cherries, just $1.57 a pound. only at giant. steak, chicken, ribs, and burgers on the grill. people: oh! at giant, you'll find fresh, delicious, quality meats at prices that sizzle. like super g split chicken breast, just 99 cents a pound. only at giant. >> you could say a lot of things about the orioles, but one can't ever say is they quit. the orioles did it again, rallying back from a 3-0 deficit in the ninth to stun it is mariners. brian roberts got the day off because of a cold. first inning, jose lopez smokes one to left. it goes off the foul poll, so it is a fair ball. 2-0 seattle. the orioles threatened in the sixth. garrett olson pitches out of a jam. still 2-06789 but then the mariners blow is in the ninth. bases loaded. jones the grounder, moore scores, 3-1. nicks batser, nick markakis grounds into a double play, united states

mariners end the inning. what a job by olson as the birds fail to score. >> top of the 9th.own. and they have the bases loaded with no outs again. jones has a chopper to third. woodward tries to bare hand it. he cannot do it. everyone safe. mora scores. o's trail. and next batter is mar case kiss, bounces the perfect double play ball to second. and lopez boots it. everybody is safe. and greg zaun scores. o's now trail 3-2 the error by lopez. next batter is wigginton. shoots one up the middle. base hit. they score from third. and then jones. and o's come back to take a 4-3 lead in the 9th. and bottom of the 9th. birds up 5-3. ken griffey jr. is at the plate. and george sherrill gets griffey to ground out to wigginton to end the win. o's win the three game series. >> and after his record setting summer, that saw him win eight gold medals in eight events in the beijing olympics. phelps took time off from swimming. but today, phelps was back in the pool. for the u.s. national swimming championships. and after winning both qualifying heats this morning, the baltimore bullet was t

marines are conducting a major operation in southern helmand province, the u.s. commander says they are encountering more taliban resistance after only sporadic fighting in the first weeks of the operation. one issue for the americans is a shortage of supplies. ann scott tyson of "the washington post" is with the marines in helmand and writes -- "u.s. marines are short of basic equipment and supplies ranging from radios and vehicles to uniforms. critical supplies of food, water and ammunition are being dropped to troops by helicopters ferrying sling-loads to bypass roads implanted with bombs. several marines from one company, for example, ripped their pants during an arduous foot march and are still waiting for replacements, some in boxer shorts." for british forces in afghanistan, the problem is a shortage of helicopters themselves, a problem underscored today in a report by the british parliament, as we hear in this report from james blake of itn. >> reporter: this helicopter has just returned from active service in iraq. it's one of six that's been brought bac

marines in southern afghanistan. thousands o marines have been deployed to the province in recent weeks, launching the largest operation in afghanistan since 2001. military officials say u.s. troops have met little resistance but constantly faced the danger of roadside bombs. more than 100 u.s. troops have been killed in afghanistan this year. two bombs exploded in western baghdad in a church. no one was hurt and so far no one has claimed responsibility. iraqi soldiers cleared debris today and repaired one of the walls of the church. your than 3% of the 26 million people in iraq are christian. tonight could be the night the space shuttle finally heads into orbit. after three delays due to hydrogen gas leaks and lightning strikes, nasa says the space shuttle is ready to go into orbit. it is scheduled to blast off in about half an hour from now. the astronauts will deliver and install the last piece of a japanese laboratory and spy -- five space walks are planned during the message -- during the mission. still ahead, w

my understanding is that you were on patrol with the marines. explain to us in greater detail what they found. >> tony, i'm with the second light armored reconnaissance battalion. a force of some 4,000 marines that earlier this month launched into taliban-controlled parts of this helmand province considered by some the opium capital of the world. this is one of the largest u.s. military operations since this war began nearly eight years ago. and let's take a look at what we got during an operation last night very close to where i'm standing right now. right now the marines back here are rigging these chemicals with explosives. c-4, plastic explosives. you can see them getting ready for what will be a controlled explosion in a couple of hours. >> now the reason for this. the reason that these c-4 plastic explosives were being placed here is because these chemicals are believed to be used to process heroin. more than 90% of the world's heroin comes from afghanistan, and a bulk of that comes from this very province in southern afghanistan, which ha

marines continued to battle the taliban and afghanistan. 4000 marines poured in to cut the supply lines to insurgents. two americans were killed when taliban militants fired rockets on them. the battle ended when u.s. forces called in air strikes. >>> up next -- >> fourth of july. is overwhelming. >> not the emotional celebration for some of the newest u.s. citizens. -- the emotional celebration for some of the newest u.s. citizens. how was the weather holding up for the fireworks? the forecast coming up. >>> thousands of people are celebrating independence day as american citizens for the first time. more than 100 new citizens were sworn at mount auburn. here is more on what today's ceremony means -- the ceremony was at mount vernon. >> at the home of america's first president, a special ceremony this fourth of july. the 102 people became u.s. citizens. this woman from morocco who has lived in the state's 20 years. >> is home. morocco is home, but this is my home, too. >> the group of new americans comes from 43 countries. each recited the oath of allegiance. >> when they handed me tha

but there are not enough female marines to do that. shepard: all right. thank you, jennifer. we have talked about this sarah palin business, why she is no longer governor, that is next. relief can't come fast enough. introducing new bayer quick release crystals. active crystals dissolve quickly on your tongue. with an extra pain relieving booster, it's ready to go to work faster than caplets or tablets. it's a whole new way from bayer to dissolve pain... fast. new bayer quick release crystals. in a bold citrus taste. expect relief fast. shepard: there is a new poll that might shed light on sarah palin future. -- sarah palin's future. her reasons for stepping down as governor and her plans for the future or not clear. according to a gallup poll, her resignation does not change how people feel about her. 9% said the resignation improve their opinion, 70% said that it did not change, 17% said that it hurt their opinion of her. 39% said that they would like her to go on to be a national figure, including 67% of republicans, 34% of independents, 18% of democrats. she told reporter

marines. we'll talk to him as soon as he becomes available to us. >>> first off, protecting your health. are you willing to pay more to reinvent the nation's health care system? if your answer's no, then who should foot the bill? and later this hour, we'll hear from the head of the republican party. >>> first, though, new signs of compromise in washington. here's suzanne malveaux. >>> facing a tough week ahead, president obama is trying to recapture the spotlight in the health care debate. >> i will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade. >> reporter: this after a devastating announcement on friday by the congressional budget office that the administration's health care bill would raise health care costs and add $239 billion to the deficit over ten years. the white house dispatched their head of health care kathleen sebelius. >> this is a work in progress, the good news is the health and senate are actively working and share the president's goal that over

marines in southern afghanistan in helland province, and right now the marines back here are riggingmicals with explosives, c-4 plastic explosives. you can see them getting ready for what will be a controlled explosion in a couple of hours. now, the reason for this, the reason that these c-4 plastic explosives are being placed here is because these chemicals are believed to be used to process heroin. more than 90% of the world's heroin comes from afghanistan, and the bulk of that comes from this very province in southern afghanistan, which has not really been under the control of the afghan central government in years. part of the reason why this operation over the course of this month is such a big deal is because the marines have moved into areas where the taliban have been able to operate fre y ly, where drug cartels have been able to operate freely, in the fields of this town where we're located right now, you can see miles of poppy fields growing there where the heroin is then later produced using some of these chemicals. in addition to this, the marines have found chemicals use

marines are facing off with taliban fighters. ivan watson is embed would the marines in the treacherous helmand province and he joins us now to talk about what is going on. good morning to you, ivan. >> good morning, heidi. i am in a town within the walls of an old castle, an afghan castle that the marines captured earlier this month and now living out of. i don't know if you can see in the background here, the mud brick walls, it's like we've gone to another century here and this is the place marines are calling home. this is the southern most point that the u.s. military has advanced to, heidi, since they launched an offensive earlier this month. 50 miles left to go to the pakistani border and where i'm located right now, the marines have been exchanging fire with insurgents over the course of this day. the insurgents have lobbed mortars at this location today and in retaliation we've seen the marines firing huge artille artillery, huge canons at those insurgent locations and mortars from here in retaliation for the insurgent i

marine commands call ts th "sumr ofec noins decid yet. bcher, for abc ws, laka, afanistan. >>aln afghanistan, 16 civiliandog ntract work for the military were kied when their helicterrashed shortly after ting ofin utrn afghanistan. it does not appe thatnemy fiught thachpedown. >>there are new cltonigh in thecideombingst those american-owned hots in indonesia at killed nine people investatornow sathey he nked fday's aacks to her bombings, and to nea's most notorio terris. abc's arsa ward i karttonigh >> rorter: secity fces pod on wh a forensic amtoday, tryg to constrthe sered head othe man thelieve to be t first bomber forot wor todentif and th announcedhe expsiveterials unat blast skeeb wi weridentical tohe exosivessed in the bombing of t li nigclubs in 20 hepiece of edenc is man, ortop, i behind these atck the malaysn-bo milantas beenne of innesia's st waedor years. t invtigati stretch intotshi day aleer picte emerged the atcks y havened t. tho hore connect by anunund ssage way fo staff. and sos are telling abws that they suspth aft the rst ast,he sec bomber us this tuelo

game 2 of that series with the mariners. birds have the worst road record. and they went down with barely a whimper. rookie pitcher brad burgson got the start for the orioles. he did start well. but there were probably a few he wished he didn't throw like this one. in the 6th inning. off the wall in left field. o's trail, 2-0. and there was no comeback magic in this know -- in this one. o's were frustrated by jarrod washburn. he throws the game of his life. the lefty allowed one base runner the entire game. it was a nick markakis single back in the fifth. and every other baltimore batter was retiring. a one-hit shutout for jarrod washburn. a 5-0, orioles defeat. >>> i 19, the guy went out. and only gave it the one hit. with one base runner tonight. you took your -- tip your hat to i on -- to a guy like that. >> one of the best in baseball season. i give the guy credit. he was on his game. and boy, he certainly pitched a gem. >> reporter: what washburn did was hand the orioles their fifth shutout this season. birds have lost seven of their last nine games. th

. ♪ we all live in a yellow sub marine, yellow sub marine, yellow sub marine ♪ >> about 400 divers andelers took the plunge for a local radio station's underwater broadcast. the festival paid tribute to the late michael jackson and celebrated the 40th anniversary of the beatles "yellow submarine" album. >>> alexandria is celebrating its 260th birthday today marked by picnics, grilling and a concert followed by fireworks. it took place at or row know kobe park on the potomac river. it bed as the city's independence day celebration. >>> happy birthday. >> what a nice day it was to have fireworks, hmm? >> we were expecting a little rain. >> that's right. >> and the front just fizzled on out. >> so did the people at the concert also. >> we were expecting it really late. so really into the late evening hours and into the nighttime hours. we could still see maybe. >> there's still a chance tonight. >> a shower or thunderstorm but it's going to be very widespread. it's not going to be a big deal. by tomorrow morning, the front is already out of here. we're going to see improving weather tomor

we believe this is the first day for becoming a marine mammal park. we thank the judge for this first major victory on behalf of the people. >> a children's pool has been the focus of court activity for years. people want the seals out of there so people can swim again. >>> there is a serious competition going on here between these kids. it's an annual cardboard boat race held in arkansas. 34 boats were in the competition. they're fighting for trophies and bragging rights. it happened yesterday. among other things, they fought for best design and best sinking titles. >>> i'm larry smith. he was killed last night in atlanta in what police called an attempted carjacking. forest stopped to put air in his jaguar when officials say two men jumped out of a car and attempted to steal the jag. for rest was shot twice in the head. he was going to fight again next week. vernon forrest was 38. >>> the tour de france wraps up this morning with 37-year-old lance armstrong exceeding expectations. the seventh-champion armstrong has been reborne and plans to run agai

marine corps,he just compled a pre miion. pilong the world most famo helicopter. wllhim abadhere tnid states. ife eds us, we absutely the. >> repor morennife grves d r fellowarin lots a there for t presidenofhe united ates because its their ty. thr duty to fly ex- helicoer, ttnown a manene. major grooechs ith to so. it's noally aut bei fema. bout being a minan part oanizionhat is exce >> reporte there arenly fi marine pots fly th idenand himily aany given me. >> of cose, it's ner wrackingo fly the presenof e unit stas. i think my most stful ys are when i fly sasha and maa. >> r b sometimes me dauntihae ssgers is thsoh lawn of the ite hoe, with no rways andust landg dis the mines cal puck >> t pucre very small at weave to land on, i certainlyintimida yohave the camer on you. >> rorr: mare onhabeen landinon theouthawn sin dwht eisenhower had g ck to the ite housin a huy in57. since may 2008 major griev has traveled toev cri to assist the esident. st recently,oital >> i went omforhe g-8. we were thera couple wks anwet directlyo . s so throw o fir pitch at tll-sr game

deadly artillery duels going on today, between insurgents and the marines, with the marines, we heard them about midday firing out artillery in response to a series of mortar launches that landed just around this very -- this very compound that i'm in right now. and a few hours ago, the marines here, they fired off mortars in the direction of a suspected insurgent, killing one man, they say, is a suspected insurgent. we're hearing from the nato command in kabul that one serviceman has been killed. the identity of -- the national not identified yet, but in southern afghanistan. and i do have to say, kyra, this has been the bloodiest month yet in the eight-year war for the troops in afghanistan. record number of deaths for u.s. forces in afghanistan this month and for the nato forces as well. two american troops killed in the south yesterday by a deadly roadside bomb. the biggest threat to these forces in the country right now. and one british soldier killed here in helmand province yesterday as well by another one of those roadside bombs while he was on foot patrol. and on the road tha

that is the marine corps and the navy as co-equal partners. this legislation is not about changing the responsibilities of the secretary of the department, reallocated resources, or altering missions. general carl mundy, the 30th commandant of the marine corps summed up the need for this change when he said, and i quote, this action will accurately ally the secretary's title with his present day authority and responsibilities as is the title is confusing. it is inconsistent with the status of the four armed services in the department of defense, and it acknowledges only 2/3 of the uniform service members in the department. close quote. over the course of the marine corps history including their present day service around the world, those three words, and marine corps, have been earned through blood and sacrifice. when the department of the navy writes the families of marines who have been killed, their family deserves to receive the letter from the department of the navy and marine corps. madam speaker, the marines are fighting today deserve t

marines taking part in operation strike of the sword. no real resistance met by taliban insurgents, but they did find several ied's. this is all occurring in the helman province. they are taking part in trying to retake areas where the taliban have been operating. not a lot of resistance from the taliban, the marines are doing the best they can. they are doing a great job taking care of what is going on there. there is a new pro-marijuana and stirring controversy in california. the marijuana policy project says it could help solve the state's budget crisis. it has a 30-second ad featuring a retired state worker who advocate legalizing marijuana and taxing it. that is supposed to run on several cable television news and cable outlets. some stations are refusing to run it, saying it sends a bad message. with me now is a spokesperson for the marijuana policy project. with me also is the executive director of the drug free america foundation. welcome to both of you. bruce, the idea is that you can raise more than $1 billion in tax revenue to

one brave marine pulled out the metal detector and went to work. >> when you enlisted you didn't ask for this, did you? >> no. >> reporter: most residents stayed hidden in their homes. the few who ventured out claimed they hafn't seen the taliban. many troops have been here many times for in helmand province. they said this time it's different. this time, they're staying. when the troops carrying out operation liberty were briefed, their commanding general made it clear heants marines engaged with afghans. >> if you're not eating a lot of goat, you're not doing what i want you to do. get out there, wade into the people, get to know the people. because they're the reason we're here. >> reporter: they're staying in this taliban stronghold, which means more clashes and a long war ahead. mike boettcher, for abc news. >>> meantime, north korea today sent a message of defiance to the u.s. on this fourth of july, firing seven short-range missiles into the sea. a violation of u.n. resolutions. the u.s. did not take the bait. the state department issued a statement calling northi ya's not car

it has been said that no oth spot on the planet has more marine life.ial onlytographer cousteau once described it as an untouched piece of art. 260 sites have been nominated as seven wonders of nature. and the finalists will be revealed two weeks from now and the official seven wonders of nature will be announced in 2011. >> i want to go there. >> yes. >> now. >> yes. >>> coming up, the -- we are going to take a look at some of the measures -- let's start again. obama administration is trying to make sure the food americans eat is safe. more on that. >> lindsay, what are you going to have more of? >> lance armstrong, close to putting on that yellow jersey. bruce boudreau talks about the loss of some of the team's veterans. venus williams plays tonight in d.c. she gets to give back to the community as well. "news4 at 6:00" continues.ye (bell ringing) woo-hoo!!!! woo-hoo!!!! woo-hoo!!!! woo-hoo!!!! kobak. mr. miller (announcer) everyone's heading to arby's for the official $5 combo of summer. featuring arby's new bbq bacon cheddar roastburger with curly f