i'm joined by my colleague suzanne pratt. suzanne, bank of america confirmed today it's planning a massive cost-cutting effort, including big layoffs. >> susie: tom, b. of a. c.e.o. brian moynihan said today that he's trying to reshape the nation's largest bank after a series of missteps. the restructuring plan is called "project new b.a.c." it will slash 30,000 jobs from its consumer banking businesses. the goal is save $5 billion a year by the end of 2013. >> tom: is this the right medicine for ailing b. of a.? and what will it mean for the bank's competitors? erika miller reports >> reporter: whether it's the number of kids in a classroom or the amount of calories in a meal, bigger is not always better. bank of america believes the same rule applies to banking. the firm plans to trim operations in order to become more focused and more efficient. it's a smart strategy, says analyst moshe orenbuch, whose firm does business with bank of america. >> absolutely! it is! what they are trying to do is get out of things that aren't

meanwhile our suzanne malveaux in afghanistan. i remember when you were there eight to nine years ago. >> it was a different anniversary. now she is in afghanistan marking the ten-year anniversary for the start of the afghanistan war. >> and things have changed. >> certainly has. >> have a great weekend. live from studio 7 i'm in for suzanne malveaux. let's get you up to speed this friday, september 9th. police are on alert in response to a possible terror plot coinciding with the 9/11 anniversary. officials say that they have received, quote, specific, credible, but unconfirmed information. it's believed to involve three people and a possible car or truck bomb. officials say the focus seems to be on new york and washington but law enforcement around the country is on alert. we asked cnn national security contributor fran townsend how concerned we should be. >> most concerning to me we heard from commissioner kelly this morning the three individuals at least one of which is a u.s. citizen officials tell us they haven't identified.

no question, suzanne.t the president was in new york, of course, he's in new york today for the u.n. but last night he attended a campaign event for the democratic national committee and he took to critics head-on. those are the critics who are angry at him when he has proposed raising taxes on the wealthy to get out of this economic mess. let's take a quick look at what he had to say last night at this campaign event with the dnc. he said "now you're already hearing the republicans in congress dusting off the old talking points. you can write their press releases. class warfare, they say. you know what? if asking a billionaire to pay the same rate as a plumber or a teacher makes me a warrior for the middle class, i wear that charge as a badge of honor." you know, suzanne, he went on to say to the folks in the room that he is ready to fight and he asked them, are they ready to fight? no question about it. we are full throttle in the re-election campaign of president obama. >> oh, absolutely. using words li

suzanne, what are you seeing?p people understand what is happening on ground, the taliban insurgents, they attack, they attack troops, they attack civilians, and essentially it is the u.s. troops, it's the nato troops and it is the afghan army. they go in and basically clear the area. but it is the afghan police. they are the ones that have to stay. they're the ones that live in the communities, the ones who go home to their wives and their children. they're the ones who really have to make sure that the peace is maintained on the street and that is why their success is critical to whether or not this country will be safe in the future. this is the scenario -- a suicide bomb strapped to a child. a police officer must disarm the explosive and save the boy. the terrorist is taken into custody using tough but measured force. down the street an angry mob. these exercises are meant to simulate real-life crisis situations that the police recruits will find themselves in. they are considered critical because the police i

suzanne?> ted, we just noticed youment pointed to out janet jackson there janet and randy entering the court house. have we seen any emotion from them, all of this has started to unfold? >> reporter: oh absolutely. any time something comes up that comes -- that talk about the specific death of michael jackson, you can feel the emotion in the courtroom and specifically with the family and then the children. yesterday, we heard dramatic testimony from the first staff person to see michael jackson unresponsive and he testified that paris jackson, michael jackson's little girl, came into the room and was screaming "daddy. daddy." when that testimony happened, the photos of these kids come up, every time, the family noticeably react, as you would expect. >> all right, ted, thank you very much. we will be taking portions of that live as that starts to unfold within the hour. so thank you, ted. >>> well this year marks the fifth anniversary of cnn heroes honoring every day folks who are changing the

suzanne malveaux still in afghanistan. boy, did she have a day today, drew. >> she was stopped come back today. i think she's stuck with the network because of the attacks. we'll is more in the next hour. >>> live from studio 7, i'm drew griffin in for suzanne, who's on assignment in dangerous conditions in afghanistan. let's get you up to data on this tuesday, september 13. taliban fighters attacking the u.s. embassy with rocket-propelled grenades and guns. u.s. troops trying to flush these guys out. they're in an abandoned building where the attack was launched. fewer than ten taliban are believed to be involved. >>> republic saying two americans could be released in days. that is if the men's families pay bail of $1 billion. josh fattal and shane bauer have been in custody since they went on that hike in 2009. iran sentenced them to eight years for spying and illegal entry. the americans say they were just hiking in iraq, accidently straying into iran. >>> texas governor rick perry may feel like he is a punching bag thi

suzanne?> alison, thank very much. >>> it is a fight over the holy land, and this week the palestinian government is expected to demand recognition as an independent state. well, that's putting the halt to the middle east peace process and the deal in harm's way. we're going to explain how. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. >>> it's a decision that could change the face and the future of the middle east. this week the palestinian liberation organization will push to have palestine recognized as an independent country by the united nations. now, a lot of other countries including

suzanne? >> we hope. thank you. we can only hope. thanks. >>> president obama tells black lawmakers, take off the bedroom shoes, put on marching shoes. we're going to get reaction to his fired up speech before the congressional black caucus. >>> congresswoman max xine wate is going to join us live. ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪ ♪ co-signed her credit card -- "buy books, not beer!" ♪ but the second that she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. [ male announcer ] tom's discovesee? that living he's taking his vitamins. new one a day vitacraves plus omega-3 dha is a complete multivitamin for adults. plus an excellent source of omega-3 dha in a great tasting gummy. one a

suzanne craft and her team gave volunteers a daily dose of a special insulin nasal spray or a placebo. >> relax your leg. >> reporter: the 104 participants had alzheimer's or, like john martin, pre-alzheimer's memory problems. >> tell the story back to me. >> reporter: after four months, three-quarters of people getting the insulin spray did better on memory tests. >> children saw lions -- >> reporter: and on scans showing brain changes that signal memory loss. >> we were surprised by how many of the participants benefitted. >> reporter: why insulin? recent studies show a strong connection between insulin resistance typical of type 2 diabetes and many symptoms of alzheimer's disease. insulin helps the body use sugar. if that doesn't happen properly in the brain it can lead to memory loss. in this experiment the scientists used a special device that gets the insulin into the upper sinuses where it travels along nerves into the brain. >> it reaches the brain very rapidly, likely within a 15 to 30-minute time frame. >> reporter: the experts strongly warn that patients or their caregivers

>>> live from the studio 7 i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed for friday, september 23rd. it is the first day of fall. there's high drama at the united nations that is happening soon. we expect the palestinian leader at the podium, that in the nebs hour. mahmoud abbas is set to ask the u.n. to recognize palestine as a sovereign country. israel and the u.s., they oppose that pof. they want palestinians to achieve statehood through peace talks with israel so they can have a greater say in the outcome. if abbas puts the measure before the security council, the u.s. says it's going to block it. >>> all this playing out on the streets as well. young palestinians who want statehood threw rocks and bottles at israeli border guards. that happened today. the israelis responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades. president abbas has called for protesters to keep things peaceful. israel has put additional forces along the border in case things get out of hand. >>> and pakistan absolutely furious over accusations by the chair

suzanne pratt takes a closer look at the fed's decision and how it's being viewed on wall street. >> reporter: the federal reserve is not in the business of disappointing this place, but here at the new york stock exchange today, investors weren't happy with the latest gifts from the central bank. that's because the expected twist came with a twist. traders like alan valdes say the problem was that ben bernanke and company were particularly negative in their latest assessment of the u.s. economy. the statement that came along with the decision read, "there are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets." >> "significantly" wasn't in the last three meetings. he put that in this time, and that, i think, had a little trepidation to traders' minds when they saw that. we knew the economy was weak, but now it's getting significantly weaker going forward. that was a key word. >> reporter: some experts also noted that investors were upset about the division among fed members. and, traders also said the extra bit of stimulus from the fed,

>> reporter: well, suzanne, it's a couple of things.y a way to mark libya's reentry into the international community. and they are walking through that meeting and really a powerful moment that shows libyans can be in charge now. they will hear what they are going to need in terms of reconstruction and moving the country forward and they want to make sure they are paying attention to human rights, and no retribution against gadhafi loyalists. they will talk right now, and secretary clinton should be speaking momentarily about a u.n. mission, how can the u.n. get on the ground as soon as possible and help move the country towards elections, and help with economic recovery, as we have been reporting, the economy is really devastated. there is so many services needed. they are hoping the united states could serve as an international coordinator for that aid, suzanne. >> at least a man claiming to be moammar gadhafi urged libyans to keep fighting and not surrender to rebel forces. it's an audio and did not give an answer to the question of

suzanne, hello and how do they plan on marking this day?en kind of a quiet day for many soldiers. many of them have

. >>> i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed for labor day, september 5th. >> oh, my god! a war zone! oh, my god! total devastation. >> unbelievable. those pictures there, houses on fire, shells of burned out homes and the remains of a neighborhood in ruins. an up-close look of the des structu destruction of the wildfires in texas. this now stretches across a 16-mile area. winds whipped up flames again today. a separate fire in eastern texas killed a mother and her 18-month-old child. >>> tropical depression lee slogging its way north today after dumping as much of a foot of rain in parts of louisiana. pumps in new orleans helped prevent any major problem there. that was good. but the storm caused flooding in other towns and cities along the gulf. in alabama, lee spun off portable tornadoes and strong winds damaged at least 20 homes in thewn the television say, tornado warning, and about that time, we had an ungodly clap of lightning and the hard ligwind by. >> lights went out, came back on and everyt

i'm suzanne malveaux. two hours ago georgia's board of pardons and paroled denied clemency for troy davis with no legal appeals left it appears the state will execute davis tomorrow for killing a police officer back in 1989. well, celebrities, politicians, including form president carter, pope benedict xvi urged clemency. that is because seven prosecution witnesses contradicted their testimony. no dna evidence links davis to the murder. amnesty international calls the decision by the board unconscionable. it is a momentous day for libya leader mustafa abdel-jalil. he is representing libya at the 65th u.n. general assembly. he has been meeting with president obama the last hour as well as ban ki moon. in a few minutes, president obama will sit down with afghan president happened karzai. this is their first meeting since the u.s. spelled out a plan to leave afghanistan by the end of 2014. today, for the first time, gays and lesbians can openly serve in the united states military. the law known as don't ask,

>> it's a hot topic today, suzanne.idential contender herman cain certainly hit a nerve. >> why is the republican party basically poisoned for so many african-americans? >> because many african-americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view. i have received some of that same vitriol simply because i am running for the republican nomination as a conservative. so it's just brainwashing and people not being open-minded. >> it does make you wonder, are white working class voters brainwashed because they vote republican? just saying. that's how one political analyst put it. roland martin, a cnn political analyst, went one step farther. he called cain's remarks stupid. it's not that african-americans reject republican outdeals outright -- many african-americans are socially conservative. but martin says there hasn't been any real effort on the part of this year's republican candidates to actually reach out to the black community. as for why historically african-am

i am suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed.ek after hurricane irene hit the east coast and six years after hurricane katrina, the central gulf coast now getting ready for a storm with flooding rains. warnings are now in place, and bob bobby jen dell already calling for a state of emergency. >> what we do know is that there is high wind and a lot of rain and it's going slow. that's not a good prescription for the city of new orleans. >>> texas and oklahoma could really use some of the rains from the tropical system, but that doesn't look like it's happening. 14 big wildfires are now burning in texas, and there are several more in oklahoma. firefighters are making progress against a big fire that is west of dallas. they have it about half contained. >>> the monthly jobs report is out, and it's worst than economists expected. it shows employers added no jobs during august, zero. the unemployment rate is unchanged at 9.1%. last hour i talked with christine romans about what this report means. >> we can't be talking about numbers th

we'll be checking in with suzanne malveaux in a bit. >>> let's get up to speed. air force one is about to land here in just a bit at raleigh-durham national airport, north carolina. an important battleground state, as you know, in the 2012 election. president obama is going to visit a small business. one that the white house says will benefit from his new jobs bill. after that, the president will press congress once again to pass his plan and pass it immediately when he delivers a speech at north carolina state university. also republicans picking up a new york congressional seat that's been in democratic hands. get this -- since 1923. queens businessman and political newbie bob turney handily beat his democratic opponent. he says the victory shows president obama is in trouble. >> been asked by the people of this district to send a message to washington, and i hope they hear it loud and clear. [ applause ] >> we have been told this is a referendum, and we're ready to see, mr. president, we are on the wrong track. [ applause ] >> that new york congressional seat

suzanne, we'll let you back to the phones and work this.ed in iran more than two years will be released this week. cnn now confirming iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is prepared to free josh fattal and shane bauer with two days, if each of their families is able to post $500,000 bail. ali? >>> all right, carol. live at florida state fairgrounds right now. last night the tea party had its turn at the gop presidential candidates. texas governor rick perry found out what it is like to be the clear front-runner. jim acosta was watching it very closely for us and joins us now. it really looked like, that the fire power was all focused on him, and it looked at times like he was feeling it. >> it looked like he was feeling it. in the end, showing he can take a punch. this thing started as sort of a heavyweight fight between rick perry and mitt romney, but after some time passed, some of the other contenders in the debate were able to climb into the ring, and it was rick perry who was taking all the abuse. >> ho will you convince senior citiz

thanks, suzanne. we'll be following you, of course.'ll be reporting live from afghanistan all day starting friday through sunday, september 11th. >>> the family of a man killed in a horrific way in mississippi is seeking justice for his death and they're speaking out today. ♪ whoa! hey! [ dog barks, growls ] ♪ whoa, watch out, little man. ♪ [ male announcer ] when you take away the worry, it's easy to enjoy the ride. hey, bud. hey, dad. [ male announcer ] introducing cadillac shield. the most comprehensive suite of owner benefits offered by any luxury auto maker in the world. [ male announcer ] each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree will see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll need to enjoy every one of their days. ♪ prudential. bring your challenges. met an old man at the top asked him if he had a secret and the old man stopped and thought and

suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," hoboken, new jersey. >> susie: for another take on the outlook for housing, we turned today to the c.e.o. of homebuilder toll brothers, doug yearley. as we continue our look at "how to fix the economy," i asked yearley when he thinks the housing market will turn around. >> i wish i had that crystal ball. we're six years into this worst housing depression in decades. right now we're stable. wore at low levels, but stable, ask that's somewhat encouraging considering what's going on on wall street and around the world this summer. but i think until there's a change in administration or at least some clarity as to what's going on in washington. until we see decisions, and confidence with buyers, it could certainly be a little bit more time. >> we know the connection between the unemployment rate and the housing market, and both president obama and speaker boehner have jobs proposals out there. are there -- does either one of them sit well with you in terms of helping your industry if >> i'm not going to comment-which side had the better plan. i think

but, as suzanne pratt reports, there are reasons the u.s. can still avoid one. >> reporter: from wall street to main street, talk of another recession is heating up. many economists now put the risk of a double dip in the coming months at about 50%. while that's bad news, it's still a 50% chance of not having one. so let's cheer ourselves up and consider why recessionland may not be our next stop. economist julia coronado says if we skipped a recession, it would be because consumers still go shopping even though sentiment data shows they're blue. >> sometimes consumers just say they don't feel very positive but they spend anyway. and that's possible that we could see that this time around. >> reporter: likewise, businesses may surprise us and finally start to hire. economist joe davis says that would be because corporate balance sheets are strong and inventories are too lean. >> companies, by and large, have the ability to spend and invest. the question, quite frankly, is the willingness. this is not to lay blame or judgment-- there's a grea

suzanne candiotti is there in new york for us. barbara starr is at the pentagon giving us the latest on the threat. barbara, i will chat with you in a second. it's hard to imagine that they could step up security anymo mo for the anniversary, but that's what they have done. >> that's right. it indeed has been ramped up. as you go around the city today it would be hard to miss, seeing far more police officers and far moran dumb searches set up throughout the city. what goes along with that? traffic jams. you are seeing an increased police presence at bridges and tunnels, and on highways and subways and train stations, and look into bags, and looking inside trucks, this kind of thing. what are they looking for? possibly for bombs. possibly dirty bombs. and they have very interesting equipment. digital license plate readers, and they can read a license plate and look to find out whether it is stolen or has another interest to police officers and get an instant readback on it, so they know whether to pull a car over for example. and t

>> suzanne malveaux in kabul. thank you this morning. as we continue our coverage on this tenth anniversary of 9/11, starting to hear bagpipes in the distance. the ceremonies are well under way here. we are seeing a number of them take place already this morning and then at 8:30, that is when the president is expected here. president obama along with former president george w. bush taking part in the 9/11 memorial ceremony here at ground zero. we'll bring you all of those ceremonies throughout the day, here in washington, d.c. as well as in shanksville, pennsylvania. coming up next, we'll join our soledad o'brien once again, talking to one of the survivors of this day ten years ago. stay with us. >>> there is the second tower, the top portion of which is collapsing. good lord. there are no words. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the

suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: this was target in mount vernon new york at 7:45 this morning. everyone there wanted one thing, a piece of sky-high fashion at low prices. customers buzzed through the aisles making a beeline for anything with missoni's signature zigzag pattern. >> oh, my god, it's a fashion steal. are you kidding me? who wouldn't want these at these prices? >> a regular sweater costs about $1,000. >> reporter: there were coveted rain boots, pillows and other bedding, super cute kids' clothes, and yes, that's right, even a missoni neck roll. and i'm still trying to figure out what this is. it's 10:00 a.m., two hours after the store opened, and already most of the women's missoni collection is gone. target managers say they will be replenishing, but they don't know how much or when. target team leader kyle wilhelmy says he wasn't surprised by the missoni madness. >> we've had a lot of designers do well here in the past. so, we anticipated it. we staffed for it and were ready for it. >> reporter: those who chose to shop online were disappointed-- the site crashed e

but, as suzanne pratt reports the surrounding neighborhood is also evolving in some surprising ways. >> reporter: on september 11 2001, lucy preston was living on a different continent. today, she resides just a few blocks from the former world trade center having bought an apartment in lower manhattan in 2008. not only does it come with a stunning rooftop deck, but it's in what she calls an ideal community. >> we've been living here for last six years and there's a real feel of neighborhood redeveloping. there's a lot more shops and bar and restaurants opening here. we've got a whole foods in tribeca, which is fantastic. >> reporter: preston is one of thousands of people who moved to lower manhattan post 9-11. in fact the residential population of the area, also known as the financial district, has more than doubled in the last ten years. in the weeks and months following that tragic day, few might have predicted the neighborhood would come back so strongly, so quickly and be so transformed. sure new buildings are still under construction at what still sometimes called ground zero,

as suzanne pratt reports, investors are looking for ways to scotchguard their portfolios. >> reporter: miami couple janet altman and tim schmand are disciplined savers with well- defined investment goals. first and foremost, they hope to be able to retire as early as in 10 years. still, they're not worried about what a recession might do to their portfolio. they have a financial planner to do the worrying for them. >> it's not our profession to track the trends and where to go next. the advisors are helping us manage our expectations for the future. >> in the last 12 months, she's reviewed my 401k plan 17 times. she hasn't had me change my investment 17 times-- it's been more like five or six. they are definitely actively looking at where we should be and giving us good advice. >> reporter: financial planner ellen siegel is their professional worrier. she says janet and tim are in good shape to weather a recession. what does she tell other clients? >> absolutely have a plan and a strategy for what monies have to be available for what reason and when. and, two, diversify. diversificati

>> well, you're right, suzanne.akes the podium at the u.n. not a lot of heads of state get as much attention as he does when they go to new york every year. us that because he makes a lot of statements that are viewed by the west and washington as provocative and controversial and it is very likely that he's going to make some more of those statements. he's going to be applauded by his supporters and condemned by his opponents. in fact i believe there is a protest right now as we speak outside of the u.n. but if recent years, recent history, is any indication he is not going to say anything that's unexpected or earth shattering. he's probably going to rale against the u.s., u.s. foreign policy, the u.s. occupation of iraq and afghanistan. last year he railed against u.s. western capitalism. he could do that again. he could use this opportunity to once again defend iran's nuclear program, one that is viewed by washington and israel as a cover for a weapons program. but with all the focus this year on the israeli-pale

and, as suzanne pratt explains, americans should not expect the job market to improve much this fall. >> reporter: for new york's mckissack construction company, there is work for the dozen employees on this battery park project, but new jobs are likely to be scarce. v.p. mike kaleeda says he hasn't hired anyone since july. >> it hasn't been this slow on the hiring side since 2006. >> reporter: unfortunately experts say job prospects for the construction industry and many other types of work is not expected to perk up this fall-- that's as the economy is likely to remain stuck in slow motion. business cycle expert laksman achuthan says the string of good months for hiring that came in the spring was probably this year's best stretch. >> that is as good as it was going to get. we're not going back to that kind of jobs growth any time soon. we're going to continue to see weaker and softer jobs growth through the end of this year. we don't see any sustained upturn in sight. >> reporter: just how weak are we talking about? many experts say we'll be lucky to see 100,000 new jobs a month in