. >> reporter: mr. obamatin had one foot in the old ways of doing business, stuck to that assessment today. >> he is somebody who knows the pains and hardships and difficulties of the russian past and that is still -- informs some of his views. i found him to be very smart and i found him to have a practical bent. >> reporter: that practical bent that mr. obama hopes to appeal to on issues like iran. >> i am persuaded that they do not want to see iran psess a nuclear weapon. can we provide a door for iran to walk through where they say that we are not going to develop a nuclear weapon? >> bottom line, the president acknowledged the russians still need more convincing when it comes to iran. >> we definitely have some diplomatic work to do, because understanding the situation is serious doesn't automatically translate into the kind of action that leads to the results that we would look to see. >> reporter: just ahead of the summit of industrial nations in italy, mr. obama addressed criticism leveled by his own

mr. obama's next stop was the vatican. major garrett is traveling with the president. >> every presidential audience with the pope is a head of state affair, but this president has also portrayed it as a personal pilgrimage inspired by catholicism's call for social justice. the pope placed that issue in fresh relief with his church document on social and economic justice. in it, pope benedict notes a, quote, urgent need of a true world political authority, unquote, to tame globalization. it calls for global labor rights and income redistribution, profit, it says, must be rooted in ethics and morality. quote, once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty. senior advisors tell fox mr. obama read the the encyclical while attending meetings and said some postwar organizations, including maybe the g8, should go. >> we need to update, refresh and renew the international insti

mr. obamas to reset that relationship and his outreach to dimitri medvedev is bearing fruit. this week both sides will officially announce that russia has allowed to let american troops headed to after gab stan to fly over russian territory. the u.s. and russia are hoping to announce major cuts in nuclear arms on both sides. mr. obama is driving a edge between medvedev and putin. >> the old cold war is outdated. i think medvedev understands that. i think putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new. >> mr. obama is lobbying for russian cooperation in iran's nuclear cooperation. a topic in italy for the g-8 summit. other major issues will be the financial crisis, climate change and evidents to wipe out global poverty. he will have an appearance with pope benedict, sure to garner national attention. ed henry, cnn, washington. >>> the coast guard rescued a kayaker who is making a trip around the world. a chopper picked the man up from the coast of alaska. the french

and mr. obamae going to see one of those place where is slaves were kept before they were shipped away, and of course many of them died on these ships and were just tossed into the ocean. he's also going to be going to a local hospital, and he's going to be meeting also former presidents. we know he'll be meeting a former president of ghana and also president carfur. i asked him whether he's going to be appealing for money or anything, and he said no. he's just going to congratulate mr. obama for his achievement and he's not going to be asking for anything. but, of course, two former u.s. presidents have been here have brought money to those countries, and there are expectations on the streets that mr. obama will also be pledging more money to the countries. wolf? >> there is a limit to how much money the united states has given the economic condition here, as you know, not as much as it used to have. there you see the limousine that will drive the president and the first lady and two daughters to

mr. obama's mission to repair a tattered u.s.-russian relationship. chief white house kornlt chuck todd sets the scene for us from moscow tonight. >> reporter: president obama arrives in moscow tomorrow morning to begin his fourth major trip overseas, but inlike his previous european stops, there aren't going to be throngs of people in the streets to greet the president. there are no posters, banners or flag denoting this visit by the maerp president, and the local media has barely made mention of the president's pending arrival. since taging office, the obama administration has sent not so subtle signals it wants to reset america's relationship with its one time cold ar enemy russia. secretary of state hillary clinton with her russian counterpart in march. >> i wanted to present you with a little gift. we want to reset our relationship. we worked hard to get the right russian word. do you think we got it? >> you got it wrong. >> you got it wrong. >> reporter: america's once good relationship w

to the comical, mr. obama was late for a group photo today. when he showed up, the other world leaders applauded. it is unclear whether it was relief or sarcasm. all right, brian, while the white house will say the hand wringing over the president's focus and the domestic agenda is just more of this summer overspeculating from the peanut gallery. we shall see. tomorrow, by the way, the entire first family gets an audience with the pope. >>> chuck todd in rome for us tonight. chuck, thanks. we'll look for you tomorrow evening. >>> one more note on politics, illinois senator rolland burris, you will recall was appointed to senar obama's vacant senate seat by disgraced governor rod blagojevich. will announce tomorrow he will not run for a full term in 2010. burris has reportedly raised very little money to mount an election effort and fund-raising reports will be released next week. >>> when our broadcast continues along the way on a thursday night, so much crazy weather and so many places this summer. does el nino perhaps have something to do wi

after they toured with mrs. obamais daughters, president obama shared his thoughts firsthand. >> it is reminiscent of the trip i took to buchenwald. because it remind us of the capacity of human beings to commit great evil. one of the most striking thing that i heard was that right above the dungeons in which male captors were kept was a church. and that reminds us that sometimes we can tolerate and stand by great evil, even as we think we're doing good. i think it was particularly important for my daughters who are growing up in such a blessed way to be reminded that a history can take very cruel turns. and hopefully, one of the thing that was imparted to them during this trip is their sense of obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears. and that any group of people who are degrading another group of people have to be fought against. with whatever tool we have available to us. so obviously it is a moving moment. we want to thank those who arranged for the tour, to gauna for preserving this history

in the second hour, mr. obama talked about iran's nuclear ambitions, alternative energy and climate change. senior u.s. officials described putin's tone as cordial. this contrasts with khrushchev's hectoring in vienna of a young president john kennedy. after his session with putin, fox asked if the president still believes as he said five days ago that putin still has one foot stuck in the cold war. >> i think that he would admit that his formative years were shaped in the cold war, and that some of his continued grievances with respect to the west are still dated in some of the suspicions that came out of that period. i found him to be tough, smart, shrewd, very unsentimental, very pragmatic. >> and who wields more power? >> the prime minister, who i just met today, obviously still has enormous influence. interestingly, nothing putin said contradicted anything that dimitry medvedev has said. it was consistent. >> translation, mr. obama would not and could not take to the bank what he heard yesterday from presiden

mr. obama chose to say anything. as he traveled the next thing, aides said mr. obama wasn't calling the police officer stupid, but the cooler head should have prevailed once it was clear gates wasn't a burglar. late today, cambridge police dropped a bombshell. someone else had tried to get into gates' home while he was away. >> we understand there was a risk to his home. >> the disorderly conduct charge was dropped. he was quoted as saying this isn't about me. this is about the vulnerability of black men in america, but the arresting officer, police sergeant james crowley is, an unlikely profiler. in fact, he teaches a class on racial profiling at the police academy and says he won't apologize for the arrest. >> there is no apology. >> comedian bill cosby says nobody has to apologize but suggests calm and understanding would be good. >> because this, racially, is something that need not take off and look and feel the way it is beginning to look and feel. >> i think what we have witnessed is the

mr. obama didn't mention an august deadline. i am steve handlesman, news 4, capitol hill. >>> metro's general manager says work continues on faulty circuits, reiterated there is not a widespread problem. twice daily tests of track circuits are still showing some irregularities on four lines. the transit agency has found that some sensors are failing to recognize that a train is on a section of track for a second or more. faulty circuits are fixed or replaced. metro continues to operate all trains manually. a woman out for a morning jog f ng anhabieadm ch bf ngbiham anea bch drives. and a lot of women feeling unnerves tonight. this took place on the section of the park that is very popular. the attack happened 7:00 a.m. the victim taken a morning jog. south of bingham drive, near an area. >> grabbed and assaulted. she passed the suspect. >> unshaven and smelled a bit of alcohol. prior to this assault. victim or witness observed the same subject tal inissph.an in spanish. vm described her attacker inbeisg h 3ng0s, between 5'7", d

mr. obama has to operate under the assumption on any issue important you to him, the russian archer is vladimir putin. it doesn't mean that this is a waste of time. any position taken by the deathe russian president is also vladimir putin. the president should harbor no illusions that the united states or he in particular can take measures in moscow to empower the russian president. i think this has to do the optics of the meeting. the most important trip will be his discussions with vladimir putin. he is the most important and powerful figure in russia. i see that he has a one hour meeting with putin, then he is leaving to go meet with mr. gorbachev. i would blow off the thing with mr. gorbachev and spent more time with mr. putin. we have to face reality of what is going on in moscow. mr. putin has developed a sense that he can do whatever he wants to do wit. it is also clear that mr. putin has a chip on his shoulder about the size of the rock of gibraltar. mr. putin believes that for now, rus

mr. obama and mr. medvedev, but for some of the really tough issues, for the things that we are more -- that we're deeply concerned about russian behavior and that are very, very high priorities for our interests, got to find a way for mr. obama to convey that to mr. putin. >> on the table, diffusing tension, pursuing a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, and helping with the war in afghanistan. president obama sees russian cooperation in keeping iran's nuclear ambitions in check. but can he get them to agree to possible economic sanctions? a positive sign, russia voting with the u.s. for tough sanctions against north korea after its recent nuclear tests. mr. obama telling european allies -- >> i've reaffirmed our commitment to a more substantive relationship with russia, working with the russian government on issues where we agree and honestly those areas where we disagree. >> heidi, there are also some positive signs already of good will. a new agreement for the u.s. to allow to use russian ai

the president and mrs. obama visited a hospital in accra and spoke to the parliament highlighting ghana as one the few stable democracies in africa. >> here in ghana, you show us a face of africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or a need for charity. the people of ghana have worked hard to put dog crazy on a firmer foot with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. and, by the way, can i say that for that the minority deserves as much credit as the majority. and with improved government and emerging civil society, ghana's economy has shown impressive growth. the progress may lack the drama of 20th century liberation struggle, but make no mistake, you will be ultimately be more -- as it is important to emerge from the control of other nations. it is even more important to biuild a one-goal nation? >> suzanne malveaux is traveling with the president in ghana. she joins us now live. we heard about the president speaking on the issue of democ

mr. obama's health care and economic policies are under increasing fire at hope. republicans are attacking his vice president for saying the administration had misread the severity of the recession. >> now this is the greatest fabrication i have seen since i have been in congress. >> reporter: mr. obama on important business in moscow had to stop and deal with himself in an interview with nbc. >> i would actually rather than say misread, we had incomplete information. >> reporter: biden today tried to calm the walters. >> remember, we are only 140 days into this deal. this is supposed to take 18 months. >> reporter: but the republican national committee continued to fan the flames with a new web video. and reporters in italy noticing the tough headlines on health care in the states questioned whether the president is distracted. >> he has talked fairly regularly with staff back at the white house. we have talked with staff back at the white house. >> reporter: has this overseas trip been a disruption? >> it's too early to say this trip per se is a major set back f

the obama girls are getting what mrs. obama calls camp obama. she thought about sending them to summer camp this year. but decided, instead, that she would take them with the president around the world. it's quite an international education. >> much more thrilling than summer camp. abc's yunji de nies in moscow, thank you. >>> while the president is overseas, there's been a major development in his health care reform efforts. reports say that the nation's hospitals have agreed to contribute $155 billion to help the uninsured get coverage. an announcement on the deal could come as early as tomorrow, from vice president biden. president obama has said he wanted to sign a reform bill by october. >>> alaska governor, sarah palin, is speaking out for the first time since her surprise resignation last week. palin tells our kate snow, she didn't think stepping down would be, quote, such a darn big deal. when asked about her future, palin said she's not going to shut any friends. longtime family friend, kristen kohl, said nothing about her future would

mr. obama would have been looking for reassurances that mr. putin backs the agreements signed on monday. -- mediant looks relaxed. the american president returned to the center of moscow to deliver his big speech, a chance to address the russian people. [applause] >> it included an important statement on the controversial of issue of georgia and ukraine to any nato, which moscow opposes. >> america will never a pose a security arrangement on another country. for any country to become a member of nato, a majority of its people must choose to. they must undertake reforms. they must contribute to the mission. let me be clear. nato should be seeking collaboration with russia, not confrontation. >> the audience of students also heard of the american president stressed that neither country should seek spears of influence in the world. mr. obama also emphasized the importance of democracy and year-old law. >> history shows that governments which serve only their own power do not thrive. governments th

all the more reason that while mr. obama may want to focus on the current russian president, he cannot ignore the powerful prime minister. jeremy and vinita? >> yunji, curious of getting sense what the russian people think of the new american president. >> reporter: it's very interesting because recent polling suggests the majority of russians have a very favorable view of mr. obama but the majority still has an unfavorable view of the u.s. this is, of course, the first time that the president comes here as president. he's got to make a very strong impression. >> abc's yunji de nies reporting from moscow. thank you. >>> alaska governor sarah palin has gone online defending her decision to resign. she told her followers on twitter critics are spinning so hang in there as they feed false info on the right decision i made and vowed to smack lies about her. among those leaders of the republican party who say they are just as puzzled as everyone else. >> it's also unclear what her strategy is. >> if this is geared for her run for

mr. obama's approach may be reaping fruits. s obama and medvedev agreed to cut nuclear weapon stock piles by as much as 30%. mr. obama credited this new tone for helping to gain some progress on ending nuclear threat from iran and north korea, despite recent north korean missile launches. >> on north korea what we saw was very song unanimity around a very strong sanctions regime that two or three years ago might not have been imposed by either china or russia. we're going to have to see whether a country like russia, for example, is willing to work with us to apply pressure on iran. >> reporter: the challenges are daunting but mr. obama hopes his new efforts toin gauge russia will create an important ally out of a country that was an arch enemy. president obama will only be halfway through his trip. he's expected to meet with the pope at the vatican before traveling to africa. >> china's president has cut short his trip to the summit in italy because of the worsening ethnic fight at home. violence broke out in westernhina as sob

one democrat even says mr. obama reform. one democrat even says mr. obama is not helping. captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> good morning. and thanks for being with us. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm john hendren, in for jeremy hubbard. the city of jakarta has been rocked by bomb blasts. >> americans are among those hurt. sonia gallego has the latest. >> two bombs. two bombs. >> reporter: the blasts that ripped through the two, major hotels in jakarta's upscale business district, happened within minutes of each other. at 6:45 a.m. local time, one bomb detonated at the j.w. marriott hotel, followed by an explosion at the ritz carlton. there are indications these were suicide attacks. the indonesian president said these bombings were carried out but an unsuspected terrorist group. these attacks have the hall marks of a tall al qaeda affiliate group. including the 2002 bombings that killed over 200 people. the head bombmaker has been at large and was feared to be planning another major attack. this is not the first time that the marriott hotel there has been the target of terror

mrs. barack obama. one conservative talk show host considers the citizenship issue frivolous. >> we are just right now getting real traction on some of the issues regarding president obama, his expansion of government, his spending, this, this is resonating with the american people. this is a terrible distraction. it makes us look crazy and angry and fringy and irresponsible. >> reporter: similar questions have dged other presidential candidates. john mccain, born in the panama canal zone. barry goldwater born in arizona whent was a territory. and mitt romney's father, george, born in mexico. and in 1881, when chester a. arthur became president, his political opponents questioned whether he was actually born in vermont or somewhat further north in canada. brian. >> so many conspiracy theories, so little time. pete williams in our washington bureau tonight. thank you for that. when our broadcast continues along the way this wednesday night, they're supposed to help smokers quit. but now there is the ques

mr. obama's most powerful czar. stead, the president named a secret health secretary and separate czar. some of the czars like the intelligence czar and drug czar are mandated by congress. some of the czars president obama created like his chief performance officer are new jobs added to existing positions. >> instead of having that become a white house staffperson, his dual hat with someone who is already confirmed. >> even if the individual czars don't have more power, critics say the increasing number of them adds to the power of the executive branch, and that's something candidate obama criticized president bush for. >> the biggest problem that we're facing right now has to do with george bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through congress at all. >> mr. obama's complaints were usually about congress being excluded from national security and civil liberty matters. republicans are afraid his czars will shut them out of healthcare and environmental concerns. czars work bett

mr. obama tried to remain focus on and drum up support for health care reform. the president appeared to shake off the setback he received from senate democrats regarding his health care timetable. >> there will be no vote on health care reform before the august recess. that deadline that you were insisting on. that deadline's gone now. >> yeah. >> how much of a setback is that? >> you know, given the progress that i'm seeing made, as long as everybody is working steadily, as fast as they can. and particularly the senate finance committee, which i think is the committee that a lot of folks are waiting for. if they gets done before the august recess, i feel pretty good. >> but they blew your deadline, the first deadline. and i wonder if you feel, as you look at the polls, that things are slipping away. it seems that the more people focus on your health care plans, the less they like them. >> well, you know, terry, i don't think that's accurate. >> that's what the polls are showing. >> the polls

and also, mr. obama could become president obama 48 years.n from washington, d.c., chris kofinis. thanks for coming on. >> thanks, david. >> this citizenship stuff is not idle chatter in the gop. what does it say about the intellectual integrity or the lack thereof in the gop when so many republicans believe this canard. >> it suggests that there are a lot of republicans out there with some disturbing beliefs and too many have gotten in the car and driving fast to crazytown. what's interesting about these conspiracy theorys, there are conspiracy theorys out there that say we never landed on the moon. there are conspiracy theorys out there that say elvis is still alive. there are conspiracy theorys, and this is my personal favorite, that the royal family are also reptillian. animals from the planet draco. that may be true, i don't know. but the notion here is that you have republicans basically falling into these kind of crazy conspiracy theorys. i just didn't know that so many conspiracy theorys apparently registered republican. but here's wh

air force landed in rome where mr. obamameet with the italian president before flying by helicopter to the summit site. let's get more from susan roberts in washington. >> reporter: good morning to you. we don't know what was said behind closed doors at the kremlin, but publicly president obama's ambitious i should say summit hopping trip has gotten off to a good start in russia. the president left moscow after a tightly scheduled summit that he characterized as a bid to reset relations that soured in years. >> we think there is an excellent opportunity to put u.s./russian relations on a much stronger foot. >> reporter: he held private meetings with both and signed an agreement to commit both fashions to reduce their arsenals by a third. he calls that leading by example. >> once you do that then you've got an international community that is collectively focused on the issue so that when we approach north korea or iran, it is as a united front. >> reporter: north korea continues to issue threats and test-fire missiles and cbs

mr. obama's job approval has dipped below 50%.unemployment in ohio is well above the national average at 10.8%, and that appears to be having an impact on people here. >> early in the election period, people were very excited about the prospect of dramatic change, and i think they were destined for something different, but now that we're in the midst, i think they are starting to realize it is a little more scary than they were ready for, and i sense a notable shift in one of my friends and co-workers' opinions on president obama. >> others suggest the administration's actions don't match its words. >> seeing a lot of words come out, you know a lot of promises, and i'm trying to do, this and trying to do, that but i'm not actually seeing it happen. >> but some voters aren't ready to give up on the president just yet. >> maybe in two, three years, who knows it could happen. people are rim patient. >> i will just keep plugging away. it's my job. i have to, because there's nobody out here going to do it for me. >> still, there are vu

mr. obama stopped short of a public apology and defended himself against criticism that he should not have stepped into a local issue, saying race is, quote, still a troubling aspect of our society. >> these are risch shoes that are still very -- these are issues that are still very sensitive here in america, and so to the extent that my choice of words didn't illuminate but rather contributed to more media frenzy, i think that was unfortunate. >> mr. obama admitted the political reality which is this controversy shifted the focus away from his domestic priority. >> nobody has been paying much attention to healthcare. i don't know if you noticed. >> a leader involved in race relations said this was a slipup by mr. obama. >> he stumbled over the facts, as it were, got some stuff wrong, and i think in the process insulted not only the cambridge police, but police agencies all across this country, because he did tar the police arena of activity with this issue of racial profiling. >> and hicks say

. >> reporter: the head of the national association of black law enforcement officers said mr. obama should have chosen his words better, but his underlying point was crucial. >> the institution of policing is and always has been inherently biased against people of color and low income and you must accept that as a fact. >> reporter: but today, recriminations drowned out any measured discussion of race and justice. >> we need to have racial dialogue in our society and eruptions like this tend to come along because we don't talk about race that much. >> reporter: as henry louis gates said himself just recently, the only people in america who are living in a post-racial america right w may be the members of the obama family, in the white house. charlie? >> all right, dan harris up in the boston area, thanks very much. >>> as mentioned earlier, terry moran spent the day with the president in the midwest, as he continues to drum up support for health care reform. the president's determination is undaunted, even though he now concedes he won't get he wants when he wants it. terry is in cl

only met once with this currents president medvedev in april and now, mr. obamaecretary of state clinton keep talking about hitting the restart button with russia on relations but the russians are still afraid the u.s. policy is based on having a weak country over there. and now other issues to watch, big ones, obama wants russia to get tough on iran, though the two have been partners, and medvedev wants the u.s. to rule out military alliances with the ukraine and georgia. former soviet republics and neither part is giving an inch so far. >> jamie: of course a big trip, and we'll be talking shortly with the former ambassador to the vatican about the meeting with the pope and what else does he have on the i tinary. >> while in italy he'll be at the g8 meeting and big topics there, economy and climate change and meeting with the pope as you said and then, on friday, he heads to ghana an africa to talk about relations with that continue then. >> jamie: following all the details as the president gets ready to depart. thank you. >> eric: a "fox news alert" now, detail

mr. obamamight already be producing results. the white house says both our president and russia's president agreed each to work out to cut nuclear weapon stockpiles as much as 30%. mr. obama also credited the smooth tone for helping to gain progress on ending the nuclear threat from iran and north korea despite recent north korean missile launches. >> on north korea, what we saw was very strongune anymority around very strong sanctions. that in two or three years ago might not have been imposed by either china or russia. we're going to have to see whether a country like russia, for example is willing to work with us to apply pressure on iran. >> reporter: the challenges are daunting but mr. obama hopes his new efforts to engage russia will create an important ally out of a country that was an arch enemy. word out of washington, some government web sites are having problems after a fourth of july cyberattack. the associated press has learned the attack knocked out several sites including those o

mr. obama had a busy day today, including a very serious discussion at the vatican. are chief white house correspondent chip reid is traveling with the president. >> reporter: at the vatican today, a warm greeting for president obama from pope benedict xvi. >> it's a great honor for me. thank you so much. >> reporter: it's a tradition followed by every american president since eisenhower. the pope is known for his eagerness to listen. but he stated in clear terms the church's opposition to abortion the vatican says president obama and-- an abortion rights supporters-- made a commitment to try to reduce the number of abortions in the united states, reaffirm ago pledge he made at notre dame university in may. >> let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. >> reporter: the pope also gave mr. obama a church document condemning research using embryonic stem cells, research the president supports. white house officials say the president asked the pope to pray for his family

mr. obama as accusing his opponents of favoring insurance companies over citizens. >> president obama sets the tone at before walking into a meeting concerning the $1.50 trillion price tax for health care reform. >> we're closer than ever before to the reform that the american people need. we're going to get the job done. >> concerns from progressive and conservative lawmakers say that the goal to pass health care bills before the august recess -- in the senate, a member of the finance committee says negotiations will not be rushed. >> know there is such an interest in this deadline. it is totally not a useful exercise. >> it took as a year-and-a-half to put the medicaid program and the place. we want to fundamentally reorient our economy in two weeks. that makes no logical sense to me. >> on capitol hill, republicans are continuing their pressure, united in their opposition to the present's plan. -- it to the president's plan. >> a bipartisan majority has formed against the current proposal. >

mr. obama a nuclear iran in private meetings, urging russian leaders to take the threat more seriously. a case he also made regarding north korea which this weekend launched another round of threatening test missile flights. do you worry about the possibility of war with north korea? how close are we? >> i don't think that any war is imminent with north korea. i think they understand that they would be overwhelmed in a serious military conflict with the united states. >> reporter: the centerpiece of this summit is a provisional agreement to reduce the two nation's nuke lear arsenals by as much as a third, signed by president obama and russian president dmitry medvedev. mr. obama calls it leading by example. >> once you do that, then you've got an international community that is collectively focused on the issue so that when we approach north korea or iran, it is as a united front. >> reporter: the president also prodded this government-controlled nation to become more democratic. in a speech to

. >> reporter: as mr. obama weighed in on the arrest of a friend, harvard professor henry louis gates. gates was arrested after breaking into his own home. >> race remains a factor in this society. that doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. i am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made and yet the fact of the matter is is that, you know, this still haunts us. >> reporter: part of america mr. obama hopes to change, along with our health care system. steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> there are den ianing fissures between ahmadinejad and the supreme leader considered his strongest supporter. in a rare show of defiance toward khomeini, president ahmadinejad insisted on preserving his choice for top vice president. it comes from strong opposition from hardline elements who criticized that candidate's moderate stance towards israel. ahmadinejad's choice is also his son-in-law. iranian media is reporting that ahmadinejad is arguing for more time for his choice despite t

mr. obama would want to see progress on that.e would like to see a more consolidated effort on political reconciliation between those outside the government now and even those within the government who are not fully supportive of the democratic process. >> thank you for joining us. six people appeared dead and many more are missing after landslides and floods in western japan. heavy rain swept away houses and bridges. our tokyo correspondent has more. >> this is supposed to be the end of the rainy season in japan, but the southwest of the country has seen torrential downpours. from on passable roads, -- unpassable rhodes, 100 landslides have been reported. one of them hit a home to the elderly, killing all inside. survivors were taken to nearby schools, rescued from the roof by helicopter. >> the japanese government has been collecting local information since last night. >> teams of workers searched for residents of a home that are reported missing. digging through the mud, hoping for signs of life. elsewhere in the region, a wom

today mr. obama had words of praise for sergeant crowley's record but suggested gates should not have been handcuffed and said more broadly that the whole thing is a distraction. >> i think it's a classic example this time when we're struggling about health care, energy, we've got two wars going on, that the issues like this get elevated in ways that probably don't make much sense. >> let's bring in crystal, a white house reporter for t"the washington post" and the white house paper political blog, "the fix," president obama said the post acted stupidly. i wonder if any white person would also be angry at sergeant crowley's behavior or some people might feel less threatened because whites do not have the same history with police. >> let me take a cue at least for the first part of what president obama would say. i can't comment about the racial element of this. not being here. i followed this closely but not being there, i don't want to get in to it. he had it right. i don't know all of the facts her

. >> but proceed that way mr. obama will bring his prime-time news conference tonight is a direct-to-be-public approach. >> we are going to get the job done. >> his cabinet is taking the fight on how best to provide health care around and outside congress. >> the president is committed to offering coverage for all americans and lowering costs for everyone. >> i do think we need to stop the president on this. >> up carolina senator jim demint deflected criticism that he politicize the debate when he said that the plan would be mr. obama's waterloo. >> the president wants to push it through before we are able to take a look at what is really in it. >> tonight is the president's fifth news conference and might be the most contentious since taking office. >> again, the president will address the nation tonight at 8:00. you can watch the health care reform pitch right here on a wbal-tv 11. >>> gov. martin o'malley is expected to announce $280 million in budget cuts today. he is looking to slash about $700 million. a reductio