for today's health minute, i'm susan hendricks. >>> listen, if you work for the state, you want to knowry move the governor is making with his eraser. the governor is talking cuts. administration officials already found about half of the cuts, and the governor hopes to identify the rest after meeting with staffers. so the governor's not talking specifics, but he said the reductions will be painful. that message drew the reaction from union leaders. >> we don't agree with furloughs. we don't think they're the long-term answer to the solution. they're a band aid measure. >> i am here today to ask that governor o'mally commit to making all state youth centers, state hospitals, and all understaffed and overwhelmed state facilities his top priority as he makes his budget decision. >> the board of public works is scheduled to take up the cuts at its meeting next wednesday. >>> in hartford county, you're getting a break. david craig signed the homestead credit percentage bill into law. it will ultimately provide property tax relief for thousands of property owners. the bill which was introduce

i'm susan hendricks. >>> new video of an american soldier who has been missing for nearly a month. the taliban just posted a video of the soldier online. the defense department hasn't released his name yet. the u.s. military believes he was taken prisoner when he walked off his base in eastern afghanistan. >> i have my girlfriend, who i was hoping to marry. i have my grandma and grandpa. i have a very, very good family that i love back home in america, and i miss them every day, when i'm gone, i miss them, and i'm afraid that i might never see them again, and that i'll never be able to tell them that i love them again, i'll never be able to hug them. >> so devastating to listen to. a taliban spokesman says militants haven't set any conditions for his release yet. >>> a 30-year-old man is linked to the killings of six people in two states. jacob schaeffer was arrested yesterday. five people were found dead in two homes in fayetteville, tennessee, also a sixth body was found at a business about 30 miles awa

if you or your children fall into this category, reporter susan hendricks actually has good news for you. >> reporter: if you or someone you know suffer from chronic headaches, you're not alone. according to the national headache foundation, up to 5% of the population gets persistent headaches on a daily or almost daily basis. chronic daily headaches can disable their victims, including children. now a new study released online by the journal neurology says there is hope for children with the condition. taiwan's researchers say for some kids with chronic headaches, it may be just a phase. scientists examined middle school students ages 12 to 14 with recurring head pain. the researchers found that 60% of the sample outgrew chronic headaches within a year. 75% were rid of the condition after two years. and 88% no longer suffered chronic headaches after eight years. that's not to say that kids were headache-free. 75% of them still had occasional migraines or likely migraines. but the key conclusion of the study is encouraging. over time, most of the children got better. for today's heal

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you updated now. the president is on an official visit to the african nation of gaun nachlt his arrival last night touched off celebrations in the streets of the country's capital accra. today, he has a full slate of events ahead including addressing the country's parliament. before his arrival president obama explained why he chose ghana for his first trip to africa as president. >> part of the reason that we're traveling to ghana is because you've got there a functioning democracy, a president who's serious about reducing corruption and you've seen significant economic growth. >> later this afternoon, president obama will leave ghana and travel back to the u.s. >>> families may have to wait days to visit loved ones buried at an illinois cemetery because the grounds have been declare ad crime scene. hundreds of bodies at the cemetery allegedly were dug up and dumped in a scheme to re-sell burial plots. cook county sheriff tom dart says he has received thousands of comp

i'm susan hendricks. glad you're with us.resident obama made a surprise cameo yesterday during a white house briefing all part of abevident to calm the controversy over comments he made following the arrest of harvard professor henry lewis gates. here is dan lothian. >> reporter: it wasn't quite an apology but president obama tried to put out a wild fire that was burning out of control, placing a five-minute phone call to sergeant james crowley. >> i obviously helped to contribute to ratcheting it up. i want to make clear that in my choice of words i think i, unfortunately, gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically. and i could have calibrated those words differently. >> reporter: words the president uttered at his press conference. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> reporter: in his first sit-down television interview crowley said he never wanted to take such drastic actio

great to see you, i'm susan hendricks. our top story today, walter cronkite has died after a long illness. he was 92. once known as the most trusted man in america, cronkite's 70-year career in journalism covered most of the 20 st century and even part of the 21st. he covered world war ii's battle of the bulge, jfk's assassination and man landing on the moon. he was also coined during the 1952 political convention. he is survived by three children and four grandchildren. his wife betsy died in 2005. >>> a superb reporter, honorable man and fine friend, that is how cbs correspondent mike wallace describes walter cronkite. others are remembering him as humble, an icon of american journalism and the consummate tv newsman. here is what president barack obama said about walter cronkite's passing. >> he was the first to share the devastating news of john f. kennedy's assassination, crystallizing the grief of a nation while fighting back tears of his own. he cheered with every american when we went to the moon, boldly exploring a

i'm susan hendricks. >>> we start with a manhunt on both sides of the border. police have arrested four people in connection with the killing of a u.s. agent. police say suspects are part of an immigration smuggling ring. they won't say what evidence they have against them but they do say one of the suspects told them exactly who shot the agent. u.s. investigators say some of his attackers may have been injured in the shooting. they asked the u.s. and mexican hospitals to report people with suspicious injuries. >>> people around the world held rallies against iraq's government. they called on the government to release hundreds arrested after last month's presidential elections. in washington there were rallies near the capital and white house. in new york protesters marched from times square and u.n. they want them to do more about the reported human rights abuses in iraq. >> the militia has been raiding people's homes dragging them out at night. we know there have been beatings, trying to force confessions. >> these are demonstrations in paris. in iran thousan

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you caught up. president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning. their whirlwind tour overseas was full of trips to russian, italy and ended in ghana. the president praised ghana for its democracy and economic progress. he also challenged people on the african continent, to end corruption and conflict. the trip to ghana marks his first trip to africa since being sworn in. a highlight of the trip to ghana, was their visit to cope coast castle. they once used the casting to hold slaves before their transport. anderson cooper asked him what lessons can be learned from it. >> do you think that what happened here is something that should be talked about? and should be present in everyday life? >> well, i think that the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things. i think it's important that the way we think about it, and the way it's taught is not one in which there's simply a victim a

i'm susan hendricks. >>> start off with breaking news. two monorails collided at disney magic kingdom killing one of the drivers. this video just into hln. no other injuries have been reported to sar. a half dozen passengers were reported on the monorail at the time. disney public relations say they will release more information later this morning. we'll bring it to you. >>> it was a special july 4th at the statute of liberty. lady liberty's crown reopened to the public for the first time since the september 11th attacks. the day was wrapped in patriotism, of course, but it also inspired this. this man is proposing to his girlfriend. >> just being able to go in the crown is amazing, being the first group made it especially and being able to propose on such a unique day. >> forth not to have this experience. >> do you have a marriage day yet? july 4th prfr possibly july 4th. >> about 14,500 tickets to the crown have been sold so far. most of the visits through the end of august. >>> president obama spent h

so glad you are, i'm susan hendricks. >>> we start right now this hour in florida where the funeral for byrd and melanie billings was held today in pensacola. the couple was gunned down last week while most of their adopted children were nearby. a hortiffic crime. earlier this week investigators recovered a safe from the billings home. contained only children's prescription drugs and no cash inside. well, michael billings, the 44-year-old son of byrd billings from a previous marriage told a tampa newspaper he is staying away from today's funeral because he doesn't feel safe. and coming up, we'll have a live report on the funeral for byrd and melanie billings, plus, the latest on the investigation really tying up loose ends during the investigation close to being closed. ed lavandera will have a live report. >>> at least six people are dead from bomb blasts that hit two luxury hotels in jakarta, indonesia. video seen from right here inside the jw marriott. an unidentified man seen walking through the hotel lobby, there he is, with the rolling suitcase. then, seconds later, the bomb goes

susan hendricks has this edition of "health minute". >> reporter: learning to swim can be scary says swim instructor lisa vaughn. >> no matter how scared they are, what their fears are we work with them because that's the fear that can cause them to drown. >> reporter: an average of ten people drown in the u.s. every day. the make a splash campaign is offering free or low-cost swimming lessons at pools around the country to try to reduce the risk, especially among african-americans and hispanics. >> if this were a disease it would be an epidemic. >> reporter: john is with u.s. swimming, a sponsor of the free lessons. the group commissioned a study that revealed nearly 60% of african-american and hispanic children can't swim. that's about twice the rate of white kids. >> we see the disproportion of drawnings we see in communities of color because generationally those parents, grandparents, did not have the opportunity or access to a quality swim program. >> reporter: the results, he says, with generations of kids who never learned how to swim. >> keep moving. >> reporter: a trend that

as susan hendricks explains in today's health minute, researchers are ready right now to begin testing possible vaccines to make them available in the next couple months. >> reporter: the race is on. that is how the government is describing its efforts to find an effective swine flu vaccine before possible autumn resurgence of the h1n1 virus. both congress and the food and drug administration held meetings on h1n1 thursday morning, and the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases are set to begin testing potential vaccines at its network of medical facilities around the country in the next few weeks. trials will soon be under way in houston, cincinnati, atlanta, seattle, st. louis, iowa city, baltimore, and nashville. the initial studies will try to determine which vaccine works best and what the optimal dosage is. potential vaccines will first be tested on healthy adults and senior citizens. if a vaccine proves safe, researchers will begin trials in healthy children ages 6 months to 17 years. once the fda approves the vaccine, the cdc vaccine advisory committee will decid

i'm susan hendricks in for kristchristi paul. police and federal drug agents are searching the home and office of michael jackson's personal physician. some live pictures for you. the right-hand side, that's of his home. left-hand side, the office. police searched murray's houston office last week. a source with knowledge of the investigation tells cnn that murray gave jackson the anesthetic propofol within 24 hours of his death. a nurse said the singer had insomnia and asked her for the drug. she refused. dr. drew pinsky told anderson cooper propoe follow cfol can b dangerous. >> it requires careful monitoring. there just isn't a protocol for the treatment of insomnia on this planet that includes propo follow and it is specifically a very serious problem for an addict because when it's combined with other things, it's likely to cause breathing problems and it's even been associated with very severe cardiac rhythm disturbances. with he hear story about michael taking other medicines. the combination may be the thing that did him

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you updated now. we are getting new information about michael jackson's alleged addiction to prescription drugs. as randi kaye reports, the claims are coming from someone who new jackson for decades. >> i knew it was something he could not do. he also knew that. >> reporter: leonard roe had known jackson for 30 years. he says jackson hired him to handle the finances for his final tour. but one look at him, and roe had doubts. >> the reason i thought he couldn't handle it, first of all, i saw the shape michael was in physically. michael weighed, looks like to me, 110, 115 pounds. he was 5'10". >> reporter: rowe told me jackson did not want to work that hard. and did not want to go ahead with a grueling concert schedule. he said the singer told him, he agreed to do ten shows. but that the promoter, aeg, sold out 50. he said jackson asked them to figure out a more doable schedule. he says jackson asked aeg to cut back. >> i suggested to him, to do two shows a week. when i went to aeg, randy phillips, spo

i'm susan hendricks. you're watching hln "news and views." we start off today this hour with michael jackson. evidence mounts suggesting he had a very serious drug problem. a confidential court document shows michael jackson had at least a ten-xanax a day habit back in 2004. ten a day. not only that, the document obtained by our sister network, cnn, shows he asked his employees to get the anti-anxiety and sleep aids under their names and that they personally traveled to doctors' offices in other states to get the drug. last night on cnn's "ac 360," sanjay gupta described to erica hill how addictions spiral out of control. here he is. >> reporter: people start off taking a few and they take more and more and they build up tolerance. that's something that people are familiar with. you just eventually get to a point where you're taking more and more. when we were studying addiction, for example, for a cnn special, one of the pain doctors told me he had a patient that took 80 vicodin a day, 80 vicodin a night. you can get to that point. it is ver

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you caught up on this.ls in the shooting death of florida couple byrd and melanie billings who adopted a dozen children with special needs. at a news conference just a short while ago, florida state attorney bill eddins sedan eighth suspect has been arrested and charged with accessory after the fact. investigators now believe that billings were killed last week as part of a home invasion robbery. that was the motive. eddins also said investigators found key evidence in the crime. >> we have located evidence, valuable evidence. we have located this safe. the safe is being processed at this time. we have located several guns in various locations, one of which we believe is the murder weapon. we believe. it has not been processed yet. >> the billings adopted many children with special needs, several were home at the time of the attack and authorities say three of them may have seen the intruders. >>> this just in to hln, the stage for madonna's concert in france collapsed today killing one person, injuring six

. >>> you're watching hln news and views, i'm susan hendricks. we're getting reports that a gunman has been sighted on the campus of university of south florida in tampa. the school's website is advising students there to stay inside and lock their doors just to be safe as a precaution. the gunman was reportedly seen near the campus' bioscience building inside. no word yet on whether any shots have been fired or whether there are any injuries, but we do know that a gunman has been sighted on the campus of the university of south florida. >>> police groups in and around cambridge, massachusetts, today are responding from criticism from president obama. a representative for cambridge police even asked for an apology from the president saying police acted stupidly when they arrested louis gates. a short time ago all the police group said they stand behind the arresting officer, that is sergeant james crowley and they insist that race was not a factor. >> on behalf of the unions and their members, let me assure everyone that the officers of the cambr

i'm susan hendricks. we take you to los angeles, our top story here.more than 8,700 people will have to travel here. that's the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium. they are there to pick up tickets to michael jackson's memorial. the parking lot right now is divided into about 20 lanes. kind of set up like a drive through. the memorial will be held at the staples center tomorrow. we will carry it live on hln. we're also getting our first indications as to who will be performing at the ceremony. tmz is reporting maria carey will perform "i'll be there." ticket winners will get two wrist bands that will get them inside. a staples center spokesman says wrist bands that have been ripped, taped, or tampered with will be voided. but he admits scalping is a possibility here since winners are allowed to give anyone their second bracelet. police though are not expecting any trouble tomorrow. >> i anticipate the crowd here will be well-behaved. it will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason they're there in mind, but as far as puttin

i'm susan hendricks. want to get you updated on this story.deral agents have arrested a convicted murder for allegedly providing the gun used to kill nfl quarterback steve mcnair. that man has been identified as adrian gilliam, jr. in a criminal complaint it shows he admitted selling the gun to the 20-year-old. >> we think it's important that the partnership between the federal, state and local government to interdict felons with firearms. this is an example of what can happen with a gun getting sold on the street. i'm glad we're able to find prosecution for this guy. >> reporter: police say she shot mcnair at his con do on july 4th and then turned the gun on herself. >>> now to the funeral for byrd and melanie billings held in florida. they were gunned down last week during a home invasion robbery while most of their adopted children were nearby. earlier this week investigators recovered a safe taken from the billings home. there it is. the family says it contained prescription drugs, family photos and no cash inside u of it. the 44-year-old

decide on that, too, good thursday to you, this is hln news and views, so glad you're with us, i'm susan hendricks. we start in new jersey, it's being called the largest public corruption bust in new jersey history. and it's been ten years in the making. 44 people are charged, many of them prominent officials. among those, called at fbi headquarters this morning, the mayors of hoboken and secaucus, a new jersey assemblyman and a deputy mayor of jersey city as well. five rabbis were also arrested in connection with the money laundering part of the investigation. flat-out bribery is at the heart of the case, cash stuffed into envelopes in exchange for political favors. authorities say politicians literally put themselves up for sale. we're quoting there. and even trafficked in human organs. >> in about two years, these defendants laundered over $3 million, just with rcw alone. i must also mention connected to the money laundering, we have one defendant, mr. rosenbaum, who we refer to as our kidney salesman. as set forth in the complaint, his business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidn

i'm susan hendricks. let's get you caught up on the breaking news we've been following regarding the michael jackson investigation. police searched the houston office of michael jackson's personal doctor, that is conrad murray. the drug enforcement administration tells cnn it assisted lapd in executing the search warrant. they confirmed the search saying they were "caught off guard by this" but they're cooperating with investigators. murray has emerged as a central figure into the investigation of michael jackson's death. the doctor was with the singer when he collapsed and died last month at his home. we'll bring you the latest information on this breaking news. >>> we're learning more about the crime scene where a couple was killed. a second safe discovered in melanie and byrd billings home contained $100,000. that source says the suspects knew about it but weren't able to get to it during the carefully planned attack. meanwhile, court documents say one suspect is pointing the finger at another. leonard

i'm susan hendricks in on this monday for chuck roberts. we start with a u.s. soldier who vanished in afghanistan. he's been shown here being held captive on a taliban video being posted online. defense secretary robert good faiths says the military is doing everything it can to try to find private first class bowe bergdahl. >> we are sparing no effort to find this young soldier. i would say my personal reaction was one of disgust at the exploitation of this young man. >> 23-year-old bergdahl was stationed along the afghanistan/pakistan border when he went missing in action. two u.s. officials explained he just walked off with three afghans after a shift. a few days later the taliban claimed he was captured. in the 28-minute video bergdahl says he fears he will never see his family or his girlfriend again. >> my girlfriend, who i was hoping to marry, have my grandma and grandpas. i have a very, very good family that i love back home in america. and i miss them every day. that i'm gone. i miss them. i'm afraid that i might never see them again. never be able to