the state. health care reform a big issue. iowa, senator chuck grassley held his own townhall meeting earlier this week where he was asked just how many people don't have health insurance in the country. here is the senator in winterset, iowa. >> get a couple of comments. number one, the 47 million figure that you hear bandied about, from bureau of the census, my understanding is part of the 47 million figure are 12.4 million illegals as part of that. if you take the 18 to 35-year-old age group, there are 25 million in that group that don't really want insurance, especially if they have to pay for it. i remember when i was there, it has been a long time. i remember i didn't have insurance either. i watched what i was doing. if you take the numbers out of those that don't want it, according to the heritage found dags you get down to about 8 million. that's really the problem. and couldn't we go down to that number and try to find a solution for that. second question, before you get to that, senator. second one. second one. i have go

some states there in the red, you can see iowa and michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate in the entire country of more than 15%. really it's hard to see, but up in the corner here, you see rhode island and south carolina. now, in gray are those states where the unemployment rate is within 2% either way of the national unemployment rate. somewhere between 7.4% and 11.4% n. green, and this is a pattern we've seen for a long time, those states which have an unemployment rate of two percentage points or lower than the national average. 7.4% or lower. those middle states, those mountain states, and we've seen this for a while. virginia also enjoying that trend. now, what does this mean for you if you're a job seeker if you're an investor or looking to make decisions about how to spend your money or go to school in this economy? he's the managing director, and he's a great friend of the show. you've been saying for sometime, the larger picture here is that this recession is ending right under us right now probably. >> absolutely. the information we're seeing this week on jobs i

as he reminded everyone, the big crop in massachusetts are cranberries, and he didn't think that the iowa corn farmers could identify with that. last night at the memorial service, showing the senator sailing his beloved wooden mya, giving orders to his grandchildren and kids on board. senator john culver, former senator from the state of iowa, football teammate at harvard of ted kennedy's gave a hilarious account of participating in a race with ted kennedy when john culver who, as he pointed out, came from iowa and only knew about barges on the mississippi river and nothing about sailing. it was a long and cold, and stormy night, and a long and cold following day in nantucket with an extra crewman they picked up off the beach who finally dragged home at 11:00 at night, senator culver said he really never learned much about sailing, but was always invited by his friend, ted kennedy, to go with him, greek islands, mediterranean, the caribbean, hyannisport and concluded to his friend, happy sailing, ted. happy sailing. we're told the motorcade is literally moments away on south capitol abou

remember, the iowa republican party, they in the 1988 iowa caucuses, they voted for pat robertson. that's how conservative iowa republicans are. so i think the odds of senator grassley supporting any bill are very small and the only reason that he is still in this process is that the chairman of this committee max baucus has a lot of respect for him, worked closely together. it's important to both of them that they continue to have a good working relationship and that is the only thing that's keeping grassley in the equation. >> and both grassley and baucus occasionally interface with the democrats. the story in "the wall street journal" today, do we buy into this? is this some sort of secondary set of negotiations or we're going -- there will be a simple let's increase the number of people in insurance bill and then the republicans might actually vote for so they don't look like they're trying to kill this and then is there a separate bill. anything to this idea of splitting the difference? >> i think there is something to it but not necessarily for republican votes except for per

the latest one was chuck grassley's. he was in iowa. they are typically very polite and very cordial. brian: chuck grassley is the one who is probably the most vital and probably a point of concern for a lot of republicans. he is in the senate committee that is negotiating. a lot of people were concerned that maybe senator chuck grassley was getting duped into a dream was something. steve: here is senator chuck grassley yesterday in iowa. >> i am a conservative. we expected to vie for us. [applause] stand up. do not give an inch. i want to thank god for glen beck and sarah palin. stand up and fight [applause] we will vote you out. steve: we will blow you out -- we will vote you out. steve: batman personified a lot of frustration people across the country are feeling -- at man personified a lot of frustration people are across the country are feeling. yesterday, and one of the town hall meetings, somebody said read the bill. the guy snapped back, how do you know i have not? another question from a young man in maryland at senator cardin's

the u.s. senate in iowa. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, rachel. >> honestly, i am not in the habit of bringing on politicians' competitors to assess how those politicians are doing because there is not enough suspense about what you will say but i wanted to ask you tonight about winterset, iowa where senator grassley this morning made these comments that people ought to be afraid, that health care really is a plot to kill old people. he thinks that line will help him there in winterset, iowa. do you understand why he thinks that? >> well, it's outrageous that he said it, first of all. but i think what senator grassley is doing is he's creating a strategy to walk away from the negotiations. he realizes that there is no compromise and that he has played this string for as long as he can. he's destabilizing his own base, even though he is not giving away anything in terms of those negotiations. he has to walk back to his own base and so he sees this group of people mouthing fairly outrageous th

i don't know if you've ever been to the iowa state fair, it is the granddaddy of all state fairs. it's just incredible. there's all sorts of -- health care being the focus is distracting today given there's more fried food here than i've ever encountered in my entire life. we are trying to give it a money focus, we went and won this bear covered in bills. >> did you get it manufacture me? >> reporter: i had you in mind but i didn't win anything. ian won this, he's making it clear it's not mine to give away. >> that's quite a little money shirt there. >> reporter: it is very nice. i'll have to eat it after all the fried food i'm eating. that said, there is a lot of concern, health care has been the topic all week. while people are here having a good time at the fair, we are able to talk to people and get some sense of what they're thinking about these health care proposals and these town halls. through the course of the week, we've been on the cnn express. we started on monday in atlanta, drove through georgia, tennessee, kentucky, southern illinois, missouri, kansas and now in iow

the pulse. hi, ali. >> we're here in des moines, io iowa, at the iowa state fair. so busy eating that i country do it, but i'll be with you. >> also. josh levs he is our truth seeker in chief. you can add that to your resume. we'll be looking at questions from our blogs, facebook and twitter and angie holland as well with politico fact inch checking.com. not aligned with any side in this discussion. thanks for your time as well. let just get to all of the questions right now. so, josh, we have heard this week at one of the health care forums about the so-called death panels. this was something that came up actually on a facebook page just about a week, week and a half ago. it was a pesting on former alaska governor's sarah palin's web sincht right. well, she used the term death panel, but we heard many at these town halls give ideas that the government would create groups of people who ultimately decide who's going to live or die, who is deserving of medical care or who is not. the truth squad is back. we tackled t here's our verdict, folks. let's get straight to i

for the first time since the iowa causes, he is actually taking a vacation. it is his last chance to keep alive for a health-care bill this year. >>> lifeguards in new york are issuing riptide warnings. forecasters say that hurricane bill is causing dangerous waves and l.i.. the coast guard is warning that it could cause 50 foot swells. the high current risk will continue in the sunday. there is a heads up if you're out on the water, it is women or in a boat. >> is going to be hot, too. >>> we will look for scattered showers and thunderstorms because of a cold front that will stall across the area. look outside right now. there is a blue sky out there, but earlier, there was a line of thunderstorms. it has now been cancelled. it is where we also have a huve trenderstorm warning at this time. there have been located well to the west of the sea. -- of the sea. they're moving north northwest at about 15 miles an hour, capable of producing wind gusts of 60 miles an hour. as the storm had move, -- as the storm had this move, - -heads move,. tover 1.5 inches of rai

we are live at the iowa state fair. corn dogs on a stick, anything you want on a stick. et reaction from a heart -- from the heartland. and a police officer takes down an 84-year-old woman. heart attack, but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself. are more than words here. it's personal. i have diabetes. rodney's kid too. so we're so proud to manufacture... the accu-chek® aviva meters and test strips... here in the u.s.a. plus, we've proven you'll waste 50% fewer strips... when you use our meter, which means greater savings... for people with diabetes, like me. now that's a true american value. accu-chek® aviva. born in the u.s.a. gregg: one of the great jazz guitarists, les paul, has died at 84. he had a huge number of hits over the years. he was an inventor of the electric guitar in so many innovative ways. les paul has died at the age of 94. jane: video shows a female officer taking down

the u.s. senate for three decades, been around iowa a lot longer. he's a farmer here, native of iowa. he says he's been to -- hosted about 2,800 town hall meetings over the course of his senate career. so he's seen a lot and he's seen a lot of heated debates. he said last night he was talking on a local tv station that he's not worried that he actually sort of enjoys the give-and-take. he is a bit of a target simply because he is part of that small group in the senate finance committee, he is the ranking republican in senate finance that's trying to come up with a plan for the senate side. it is the last committee that has yet to pass out anything. so he's really in the thick of it. so we expect that he will get some very pointed questions. but also some friendly questions because after three decades, they pretty much like him. >> they know who he is, definitely. grassley has taken some criticism already for his work on health care reform. republicans say it could cause him to face a primary in 2010. what do you think about that? >> well, it's certainly possible. because that's the pro

prohibits funding of a $250,000 earmark with the iowa vitality center at iowa state university. earmark is a textbook example of how difficult it is to stop funding for an earmark once it starts. according to the web site of the earmark's sponsor, since fiscal year 2001, the iowa vitality center has received $2.5 million. and for what? what is so vital about the iowa vitality center that it has acquired over $2.5 million of scarce taxpayer funds? well, according to their own web site -- quote -- "the purpose of the iowa community vitality center is to serve as a catalyst in fostering collaborative public-private partnerships among nonmetro community interests to stimulate vitality and address barriers to growth." i'm not making that up. i'm not making it up. that's what the web site says. let me repeat. we spent $2.5 million -- quote -- "the purpose of the iowa community vitality center is to serve as a catalyst in fostering collaborative public-private partnerships among nonmetro community interests to stimulate vitality and address barriers to growth." is there anyone who has

how secretary dog said it during a visit that the state of iowa in cedar rapids are models for officially utilizing the funds for disaster recovery. i am proud of that decision by to have to wonder why at this point the federal government is still looking for models of efficiency. i know it has of an easy journey from my district and the journey is far from over but as city rapids and i want to provide examples of best practices for the future, then i look for to working with secretary john evans to all of you on this committee to those who are about to testify to mr. huang administrator fugate and so we can deal more offensively and more officially with these issues when they arrive in a catastrophic disaster is. and perhaps i think maybe we should be and with a simple assumption, that we are going to be faced with catastrophes in the future. of we have to simply accept that fact. i know that in the past we said that we knew that but i think all of us who have been through these catastrophes or other it in france we really believe there are going to happen again because we need to be bet

the democrats. he got an earful yesterday. iowa people have taken that level of political information and brought it into the health care debate. it divides the state fair into three parts. those who wanted, those who do not, and those who make the case there's no legislation yet. shepard: that is exactly right. carl cameron, have a good time. the president will hold two town hall meetings tomorrow in colorado and montana. he has trouble to win over opponents, but that does not seem to be hurting his popularity. according to a brand new fox news opinion dynamic poll, 53% of registered voters say they approve of the president's job performance tree that is a new low. 40% say they disapprove. shannon bream is in washington, d.c. it is interesting to watch the president at these town hall meetings. >> he is so charismatic and he is such a good communicator that during the campaign, thousands of people showed up. now when he goes to the town hall meetings, he is meeting different crowd to have tough questions for him. they want him to

the mih. akins boyd is from mississippi. david miller, va.. ms. dana however some from iowa. i think we covered all the aspects of you want to cover on autism on these two panels. first we will open up. as with all of the people testifying this morning, your statements will be made a part of the record in its entirety. we will ask you to go ahead and proceed as you so desire. >> i am honored to be here the other panelists. i know this is a very busy time for you and your colleagues. we appreciate your taking time here in the middle of the summer to hear about the latest research and the latest challenges with autism. the brief is to get you -- you a quick update on the research as we last met which is a little more than two years ago. this has been an extraordinary. with a lot of exciting progress. we are going to try to review the. the testimony i hope will be submitted to the record. rather than reading that, i thought i would take you very quickly through three questions. what we know at this time? what we need? what do we doing? we will try to summarize this very quickly.

now, in 2004 the iowa corn crop looked like fresh laid carpet. it was consistent from -- across the field. it was consistent from field to field. there were a few holes in that 2004 crop but not many. and certainly not as many as we've got in the 2009 corn crop. pushing all the way two 185 is going to take a record ear count which usda says we are going to see. but also take a good solid finish for this crop because we are behind on development. another number illinois at 175- bushels per acre just off four bushes per acre from last year something from the start of the season when we were planting corn in early june or even mid- june nobody thought we were going to be able to get to 175- bushels per acre. >>> chip and his team will conduct the pro-farmer midwest crop from ohio to nebraska will step out to gauge this year's corn crops. the official estimates right here next week on u.s. farm report. >>> nine governors from big pork producing have asked the usda to help the struggling industry. buildup they say the fund is running dry. last week the

high and the chairperson of the iowa autism council. i am the parent of a child with autism. i spent over seven years trying to better the lives of individuals and families affected by autism through insurance and education reforms. when i was last in front of this distinguished committee, spoke of the successful and cost- efficient service is my son received. these services were provided in my home in iowa from professionals in florida through the celeste foundations federally sponsored national research project. we are one of 15 families that participated in this demonstration across the nation. in this model, after a brief phase of on-site, face-to-face training, which is crucial to build up their peake relationship, we were linked by an interactive video system that allow consultation and support directly into our home, when and where we needed. for this model, we receive professional support in teaching our son language, life skills, and overall improving its quality of life. one of the main components of the study was the reduction in our family stressed for empowering

what if the iowa caucus was not the first event? throughout 2007 senator clinton was cruising in the national poll doing well and performing well in debates compared to obama and buy all measures to she was the inevitable nominee an barack obama was struggling but yet in iowa it was a totally different story. hillary clinton always struggled and iowa her husband never campaigned there when he ran in 1992 there were irrelevant because harkin was running and i had no network she began with a iowa skeptical of her, they did not feel they knew per, iowa was always the most troubling state for the campaign had the race started and new hampshire we may have a different outcome that is where the clintons became the comeback kid is what revived her after iowa in this campaign if that was reversed we may see a different outcome. if obama won the south carolina primary by only nine points rather than 29 points we may have a different race. south carolina was a supercharged battle that involved bill clinton, the issue of race became injected i

the big is all saw nice bumps. iowa alone, cash rent is $180 an acre. correction like this shouldn't come as a surprise. >> we know from our own polling and looking at results that we have seen more weakness and the primary weakness was seen in the january, february, march period. but then the market got a little firmer and some buyers returned to the market this spring. along with a little firmer corn market. and we have seen that the demand for a top quality land firm up a little bit. we may have even seen a floor put in under the top quality land already, at least in some markets. as we look ahead, we're looking for prices to be stable. farmers have their financial house in order. it all depends on the proper margin for grains and soy beans. but it looks like farmers have their margins in order as well. if the proper margins hold up and we could see this market hold itself and be stable for a few more years yet. >> in other news this week, the sign-up deadline for acre, the crop election program is drawing near. eligible producers have until august 14

carl cameron getting reaction from the folks at the state fair in iowa. shannon bream right across from the capitol tonight. shannon, when the president was still campaigning, he was really connecting with people. now maybe not as much. >> absolutely. you know, he was billed as a very gifted communicator. he did make those connections. he likes the campaign format. we see that as he heads out to town halls. he is meeting with a lot of resistance. 84% of americans with health insurance say they rate it as good or excellent. that is a very tough awfd yens to convince. shep, it's going to take a lot more than a great speech. shepard: we have been reading reports that the white house had some sort of agreement with the pharmaceutical lobby to lower drug prices in exchange for certain rules that would help that industry. both sides have denied it but it's come up again today. >> they have. a memo has surfaced that allegedly outlines this so-called back room deal between the house and pharmaceutical companies. today, at the white house press briefing press secre

to raise questions about the democratic versions of healthcare reform. senator chuck grassley of iowas a key negotiator on the senate. he got confronted this week for even coming to the table with democrats, but he says if you're not at the table you are on the menu. other republicans are questioning the value of the town hall format. tonight you will attract vehement supporters of the bill, the amount supporters of the bill. people sit home and say i want to be part of that political circus that will not help to inform me. >> on the democratic side he appeared divided on the importance of the government-run public option. senator arlen specter intended it at several contentious town hall meeting sisley. liberals are upset that operate and conservative democrats appear willing to drop the public option to reach a deal. some liberals think they can win the fight without any public in support. >> in the end i think we will get almost every democratic senator, almost every one because there won't be any republicans, they would be interested in forming the bill there for the democratic ca

. >> the curious culinary combination the rave at the iowa state fair. a des moines chef named shawn valderamma grabs hershey's chocolate syrup, flips it over the top, drizzleles it over and flips it again. more than 5,000 strips have been sold. >>> a look at our exclusive weathernet and then we'll start the 6:00 news. stay with us. "good morning maryland" continues now. carol! denise! you've lost weight! it's just all these giant things make me look small. (chuckle) i hate dieting. me too. that's why 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. i am adding this to my list. here it is. (announcer) go to fiberoneyogurt.com for valuable coupons. >>> welcome. i'm jamie costello. it's tuesday, august 18th. we'll look at weather and traffic in a moment. >>> first the headlines. she said yes but that is not the problem facing a man who makes laws for a living. why a man's question is being questioned this morning. >>> and we'll have th

made it to the end of the road for you, iowa state fair in des moines. you haven't been driving the cnn express, you are not certified? >> you are very astute. i think you are the first person in 1,000 miles and six day whose made a comment that graphic does make it look like i am a driver. we have a driver. dale, pop in for a quick second. say hello. the men who has driven the cnn express for more than 100 miles. every state in america. he takes care of us. and does the driving. i do a lot of eating. in honor of the health care coverage. i am eating something that isn't fried for once. a piece of steak that, that the place we are standing next to. iowa's top choice gave me one. a big -- did i get the right name. >> steer and stein. the name of the place. if you are hear. this is really good. but, this has been a tour into the heartland. been a trip talking to people on main streets. weave have been stopping wherever we have been going. talking to people. we do get the work done. we have enjoyed great food. then to some of the state fairs. not here for th

. >> especially every time senator grassley opens his mouth, the iowa republican now directly challenging the president to give up the public option as a condition of republican involvement. telling "the washington post" it was "pretty important if you're really interested in a bipartisan bill." but, wait, there's more. senator grassley pointing at town hall anger the reason why the scope needs to be scaled back. "people are signaling that we ought to slow up and find out where we are and don't spend so much money and don't get us so far into debt." if you can consider health industry employees a sort of right-wing michele ya members but only foe they hate the president but yet you consider them regular people. a message today from senator ted kennedy it is time to start planning for a future without him in it. 15 months into his battle with brain cancer he is urging governor patrick of massachusetts and state legislators to change the state law that requires a senate seat which has been vacated to remain empty for five months before anything can be done to fill it. time now to turn to ou

. ♪ i got the healthcare blues ♪ >> the iowa state fair. rd breaking boars, award winning cows, and also the heated healthcare debate. whether it's the gobble contest or dinosaur-sized drumsticks, there is no shortage of people who think democratic healthcare reform proposals are a turkey. >> i don't think we should be socialized. i think we a republic, not a communist nation. >> the latest poll shows 69% have closely paid attention to town halls nation white. 34% say they are more sympathetic to the protestors an 21 say the protests make them less sympathetic. opposition is rising. the midway menu falls a bit short of heart healthy. someone to wash it down with, a raging red bull smoothie. love it. >> talk about creating a pre-existing equal be it temporary condition. here is to red bull smoothies! >> scooters everywhere. senator claire mccaskill claim too many are paid for by medicare. >> there may be a few people that need scooters but a lot of people that are given scooters ought to take a walk. >> reform backers want to put a buzz saw t

the first panel is dr. thomas insel. va.. ms. dana however some from iowa. i think we covered all the aspects of you want to cover on autism on these two panels. first we will open up. as with all of the people testifying this morning, your statements will be made a part of the record in its entirety. we will ask you to go ahead and proceed as you so desire. >> i am honored to be here the other panelists. i know this is a very busy time for you and your colleagues. we appreciate your taking time here in the middle of the summer to hear about the latest research and the latest challenges with autism. the brief is to get you -- you a quick update on the research as we last met which is a little more than two years ago. this has been an extraordinary. with a lot of exciting progress. we are going to try to review the. the testimony i hope will be submitted to the record. rather than reading that, i thought i would take you very quickly through three questions. what we know at this time? what we need? what do we doing? we will try to summarize this very quickly.

showers in the pacific northwest, nebraska, iowa and minnesota. >> 91 in the twin city, 93 in fargo,n the 80s for chicago, indianapolis and detroit, below normal in the northeast with 71 in boston, 78 in new york city. that's welcome news. out west just 67 in seattle, 85 in boise and 90 for sacramento. >> well, they are whipping up a fresh batch of creativity to go with an old west tradition. >> they're churning it even. >> i should say midwest. >> the butter cow going on display at the iowa state fair, all 600 pounds of her. the chief butter sculptor. >> there's something about these that make me want some popcorn. >> the pieces take two weeks to build and the butter cow, in case you were wondering, that alone could butter 19,000 slices of toast. >> that sounds good. >> we'll be right back. ♪ cuts like a knife, yeah, but it feels so right ♪ >> the public will have a chance to pay respects to eunice kennedy shriver today at a public memorial in centerville, massachusetts. shriver was president john f. kennedy's sister and founded the special olympics. shy died this week on cape cod a

>> it sounds to me like an iowa politician playing to the crowd. iowa, in terms of the age of its population is one of the oldest states of the union, and one of the highest percentages of people who live in care facilities. seniors, 65 and over is the one age group that barack obama did not carry. one reason is it's the most resistant group to change, which is obama's central message. people out there have their medicare and they're worried about anything changes that. we're only a few days from the 20th anniversary of the famous senior citizen riot in chicago, where danny rostokowski was chased down the streets by senior citizens, because he was trying to raise the cost for an added benefit that they didn't want. it didn't go through. it's very easy to scare seniors. chuck grassley doesn't need to do it to get reelected next year. >> roger, we're going to have to leave it there. thank you. join us again tomorrow night at 5:00 and 7:00 eastern for more "hardball." right now it's teem for "the ed show." >>> i'm ed schultz, this is "the ed show. good

some of the hardest hits in my district were cedar rapids, iowa city, coralville. it's estimated that cedar rapids alone has nearly $5.6 billion in recoifer needs -- recovery needs. with this in mind then, consider that about 3 billion has been allocated to the entire state of iowa for disaster recovery which includes a large amount of state funds even though damage statewide early on was estimated at about $10 billion. when considering what constitutes a catastrophic disaster, one indicator would be the damages relative to community or state budgets and resources. the state of iowa had receipts for ny-'09 of around 6.9 billion compared to the estimated 10 billion in statewide technology, and the city of cedar rapids had a become of year hi -- budget of nearly 380 million. and then to further bring the magnitude of this disaster in perspective, when calculating estimated damage through fema's public assistance program, the iowa floods alone rank as the fifth largest disaster in u.s. history. and if you take away nothing from my testimony besides the largesse, the si

we were at the missouri state fair yesterday, iowa state fair today. over my left shoulder, we're got fried dwirchgis and oreos and over my right shoulder, it's a cigarette booth, so an ironic setting to be talking about health care. but the same thing here in and missouri, tennessee, kentucky, illinois, georgia, people are talking about this. this is clearly the thing that has aroused emotions in america and as ed just said to you, we're getting mixed response, we're getting those who say it's overdue. they're so behind the administration and the president about getting this done and getting it done fast. and others who saying overwhelmingly, slow down, what's the rush and how are we going to pay for this. the president yesterday an perhaps today again will discuss his plan to pay for it. there's a lot of concern out there that's the biggest unanswered question, costs. there are other issues, like quality, accessibility, choice of doctor and hospital, but ultimately it's about costs. because if we all had the money to pay for this, it would be a moot i

. >> making his way through the questions festering in the iowa countryside, grassly is really in a mind field. why does he sip port cuts in medicare? he doesn't. will he support a plan with a government insurance option? no. and about those so called death panels, they say it will put the government in the ut eat nash sha business. . >> i don't have any problem with things like living wills, but they ought to be done within the family. we should not have a a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> put him down as not on target, the program inserted in the house bill would allow federal reimbursement to doctors who give end of life counseling to medicare patients who want it. critics say the counseling may become coercive. grassly has a reputation as being conservative. he works now trying to come up with a middle ground bill. a capitol hill lawmaker for 35 years, he is up for re-election next year, about which he is reminded daily. >> democrat or republican, for whoever senator, congressman, we will vote you out. >> the senator threads his way bet

yes, sir, in the back. >> first of all, thank you. i've lived in iowa all my life and i wondered who was going to write about the land so i wanted you to talk about -- you wrote about myth but you also hinted about what big agriculture is doing to iowa. i don't know who mayor murphy is. for that context. and i wondered if you had any vision for how we can restore hope for the farmer? >> the question is from a man who lived here all his life, how can we restore hope for the farmer in iowa given some of -- this is my word and maybe not yours, but what i would call the deadgrations of big agriculture. you know, i think that number one people have to talk honestly about what happens when, for instance, a town is financially vulnerable and they have a meat packing plant and the people who buy that meat packing plant come to town and hold a town hall meeting and there's plenty of evidence of this and say, we will buy your packing plant. but if we do, the union will be dissolved immediately. and if it isn't, then we won't your packing meat? what are you going

up 3 points from the week before. 85% of the crop is setting project, not too far behind the average pace. iowa senator chuck is asking the usda to call 8 areas as disaster area. those counties stretch from sioux city. the state has been hit by three different hail storms this summer. jeff toured some of the fields during the crop tour. >> and here is another thing that not happens in a hail storm. you get this bruising. that's how severe this hail storm was. that's where hail stones hit on this ear. just pounded it. just pounded it. and that's -- that's severe bruising. this is -- this was -- it was a nice corn crop up here. it wasn't a great corn crop because we were getting a little dry, but doggone, now they're just trying to get what they can. >> despite the hail damage, the scouts say iowa will still have a big corn crop, assuming they have a normal finish to the season. >>> for wheat growers, the story is different. harvest season for the winter wheat crop is virtually complete. as of last weekend, the ago department reported that 89% of the crop had been harvested. some fields in idaho,

tradition. >> they're churning it even. >> i should say midwest. >> the butter cow going on display at the iowaair, all 600 pounds of her. the chief butter sculptor. >> there's something about these that make me want some popcorn. >> the pieces take two weeks to build and the butter cow, in case you were wondering, that alone could butter 19,000 slices of toast. >> that sounds good. >> we'll be right back. ♪ cuts like a knife, yeah, but it feels so right ♪ >> the public will have a chance to pay respects to eunice kennedy shriver today at a public memorial in centerville, massachusetts. shriver was president john f. kennedy's sister and founded the special olympics. shy died this week on cape cod after a series of strokes. she was 88 years old. shriver's private funeral is scheduled for tomorrow. >> senor ted kennedy, who is fighting cancer and mourning his sister's death, was not in washington yesterday to accept a major award. >> the senator was among 16 trail blazers awarded the presidential medal of freedom, the highest honor for a civilian. here's charlie gibson. >> this is a chance for me

the top three states are texas, iowa and california. >>> those are the headlines for now. let's get the forecast from the meteorologist cindi clawson. >>> thanks, al. as we head through our monday forecast, we'll still see slightly cool temperatures in much of the north central united states and into the great lakes with still a dip in a jet stream there. we're still looking at pretty warm conditions in much of the west. we'll see chance for some showers and thunderstorms though we're not look at a whole lot of moisture with the front moving through parts of the central and eastern corn belt. scattered showers and thunderstorms possible into the southeastern united states. ways get into wednesday, that ridge will start translating to the east and that will mean some more warm weather starting to come into the nation's midsection and we'll start at least to see it just a little bit of relief into parts of the pacific northwest. basically the same thing. showers and thunderstorms possible mainly along the eastern seaboard and a front will trail back into parts of the plains.

clarify the outright lies that are out there about the programs that are being proposed. >> reporter: and day's end, gralsly was in an open air park in iowa for his 75th town hall meeting of the year. >> i've got 16 more town meetings. so i don't want to draw a conclusion from four town meetings. >> reporter: august may not be the cruellest month, but it's going to seem like the longest one. >> so candy, is he standing by those comments about, you know, the government program pulling the plug on grandma? >> softened it just a little when he talked with reporters and he said listen, do i think this provision will do what some fear? not necessarily, no, i don't. but i think it's incumbent we look at it, that he doesn't believe that there should be a program that pays for this, that the federal government should not pay for this counseling. i also talked to a couple of doctors and some nurses who said, well, medicare pays for, you know, office visits, so they weren't really sure why there had to be a separate program, so that also raised their suspicions. certainly he backed it off a little but didn't back off what he said was the central fe

host: the next call is from iowa, ames. ning, -- good morning, there's something about the constitution that i want to respond to been a first off, i do not rely on the supreme court to rely on what the constitution tells me. i read it myself and that makes me a citizen. almost nothing the u.s. does is legal. the constitution is very explicit. allow me, something the irks me is something he said about holding back -- it is the s cam that romney put out. he campaigned as a conservative, family guy. the guy is a liar. he gave money to planned parenthood, told boys scouts they should have gay scout leaders. he bankrupt massachusetts and signed into law a healthcare plan with $50 co-pay for abortion. what did rush limbaugh and others from fox news let this guy go by? why did christian leadership endorsed this guy? guest: it is a great country. you can say anything you want if you do not believe in the laws. the supreme court does not tell me what to do, i believe in it, it is not legal. fine, make a choice. run for yourself, bec

two people were slightly hurt, national weather service said this is what one of the stronger thunderstorms in iowaof the strongest this season. my goodness, old homes there, as well. welcome back to the cnn weather center. we do have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for parts of western kansas, storms rolling through there, and then east of kansas city through missouri also some thunderstorms. we're trying to see some thunderstorms develop across upstate new york. by the way, buffalo got hit hard over the weekend, last night, we're trying to get video in to show you what happened there last night. meanwhile the heat is building in across the east, excessive heat warnings and watches and advisories for the rest of the northeast. this is the first real heat that some of these cities have gotten after a relatively cool start. thunderstorms will fire north along this particular frontal boundary. and temperatures will be in the upper 90s in dallas, 93 degrees in new york, that doesn't include the humidity. with the humidity, those areas will feel like up and over 100 maybe 105. that's the latest f

>> i'm just glad i won't be around for the iowa primary in the next century. think he has an interest in public affairs. where he is on the institute of politics, school of government, harvard, saw him on monday. he is very involved with not only his project in terms hifz magazine, but with those young people. he is interested in issues. he is -- he's -- reads, interested in history. >> america is better because of the leadership of edward kennedy. may he continue to guide us for many years to come. ladies and gentlemen, my uncle, ted kennedy. >> that still exists that togetherness in the kennedys, doesn't go away, right? >> no. one of the great lucky things about being in my family. which sustained. >> larry: that gathering concept, right, it is familial? >> it is. >> larry: a touching family, too. the boys get along. >> uh-huh. >> larry: go for each other kind of family, right? >> absolutely. >> larry: must have started with your grandfather? >> i had heard. i mean, he certainly took a great interest in his. and i think he created that sort of environment an

koernts ali velshi on board, rolling through kentucky and illinois before the final destination, the iowatate fair. talking with real people about health care reform. ali, i bet you have met all kinds of interesting people. >> reporter: it's really important for us in this discussion to hear from the people like the guest you just had, to hear from politicians, to hear from those town hall meetings, but so many -- in fact most americans aren't getting to any of those places, we're taking the cnn election express, along the route you just described and talk to people and understand what their concerns are. what they want from their health care system, what they are concerned about and generally speaking talk to them about the economy. find out what's bothering them and we'll come to you and all of our shows on cnn every day and report back about what we're hearing. we'll get the other side of the equation. i waited until you were on air to kick this off. we're about to leave on the bus. we're headed north to chattanooga, that's our next stop and we'll talk to people along the way. >> let m

and in i was, i don't know how much closer you look at the iowa system, where essentially a computer gets involved and you do try and create competion rather than incumbent protection. >> well, i was not -- iowas is not a perfect system either but we should get to the point where we have nonpartin drawings of the ballot, here we flip a coin and younowf the democrats win, it will favor the democrats, and the republicans win,t will favor the republicans, and for the next decade. you will be stuck with however the coin flip cam out, and we need to get to a point where, you know, i would prefer we get to a opponent where we have proportional representation and then you would have situations that translate into something different,ou know, i want to ju not tie this to the electoral system because, the electoral system translates directly into the substantive issues of what you get to see and hear and debate in our legislatures across the country andongress and look most recently, senator max baucus, had a hearing, where they were going to talk about rorming the health care system. and you

the iowa republican charles grassley is a major -- major player in the reform talks. he said the senate has removed the end of life care from consideration. the provisions are meant to make sure medicare covers the cost of people who want to talk to doctors about living wills or if you have a relative that is terminal. right now, you have to pay for it in many cases. in this circumstance, the government would of paid. not anymore. the senate dropped them because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly. arlen specter says, come on. >> the proposal to give counseling on advanced directives, living wills, is as pure as ivory snow. nobody should decide what kind of medical care they will get in the last few days of their life. shepard: critics that represented and of life counseling as a way to stop caring for of the elderly when it gets expensive. the administration insists that would never happen. they have called it "pulling the plug on grand opera "there's nothing in the legislation to indicate that is what would happen. sarah palin has arg

we're talking about the iowa senator, charles grassley. nt, candy crowley, is joining us now. four town halls today? >> reporter: four town hall meetings today. i tell you, we were talking to the senator after the second of these town hall meetings, and he says he has not seen this sort of passion at town halls since 1989. and he thought aught to know because he holds an awful lot of those meetings. >> if it's okay with you, i'll get started. >> reporter: winterset, iowa. senator chuck grassley holds his 72nd town hall meeting this year. and what a year. >> we're here at a time when i sense that people are scared for our country. >> reporter: the stimulus plan, bailout, government spending and now health care. grassley's been getting two, sometimes three times the crowds he's had in previous years. many people so, many hands in the air. >> where do my children go to get their insurance if they don't want government health care? >> are you saying change so the small businesses can compete? >> reporter: so many crosscurrents. >> i need to kno

the overall price for the hamptons property, a mere 35 million big ones. >>> from who channel 13 in des moines, iowa, one woman is getting the most out of this year's state fair. she's attempting to eat her way through all 54 food on a stick offerings. from hot baloney to chocolate cake on a stick, she's targeting it all. it will not be cheap on the wallet or body, costing $300 and about 1,400 calories. >>> well, i'm christina brown. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> top of this thursday morning to you. we hope your doing well with this act of weather pattern. the more intense storm activity is still to our west. it will not make it through here until sunday morning. we will be tracking this warm, moist tropical air mass. we will see chances of scattered showers and storms each and every afternoon. right now it is 76 degrees downtown. 81 degrees in ocean city. a 7 degrees-92 degrees throughout the day. -- 87 degrees-92 degrees t

host: the next call is from iowa, ames. caller: morning, -- good morning, there's something about the constitution that i want to respond to been a first off, i do not rely on the supreme court to rely on what the constitution tells me. i read it myself and that makes me a citizen. almost nothing the u.s. does is legal. the constitution is very explicit. allow me, something the irks me is something he said about holding back -- it is the s cam that romney put out. he campaigned as a conservative, family guy. the guy is a liar. he gave money to planned parenthood, told boys scouts they should have gay scout leaders. he bankrupt massachusetts and signed into law a healthcare plan with $50 co-pay for abortion. what did rush limbaugh and others from fox news let this guy go by? why did christian leadership endorsed this guy? guest: it is a great country. you can say anything you want if you do not believe in the laws. the supreme court does not tell me what to do, i believe in it, it is not legal. fine, make a choice. run for yo

the next few days. i know, like so many other states -- iowa, like so many other states, has had health care front page news for days now. both senators have heard an earful from their constituencies. at the state fair, it is crowded. the menu is not exactly heart healthy, but everybody is aware of the health-care debate, and it does not take long to find out that it is not just in this town halls where folks have gotten the talking points and had begun to understand both sides of the issue. the opposition in the polls shows it is gaining some ground. this is just the first person we asked what he thought about it. listen to this. >> i think private individuals should have their own health care if they want health care. i do not think we should be socialized. i think we are represented republic, not a communist nation. >> that is obviously the opposition. we talked to two other people, and we got all of 1/3 of the debate. we saw someone who said we have to do something so folks who do not have insurance can get it, and the third prison, perhaps the most knowledgeable, said the house and senate have not

the ball was kicked in iowa. i was really ierested. i really wted to figure out -- i decided the key to this would be her daughters, she had one daughter. e dghter was at the inauguration. the daughter was there throughout her entire career. i wanted to see what she had to say. she was not alive. i talked to her son several times. i was looking for an interview. then one day i find an interview with her accomplice. it was in the file, i drive up and, very exciting, i hope she will describe the scene of the operation, subtleties of her character. fillut the form. actually bringing this folder, th interview had been done by someone who started and gave it up. gave many interviews that she did for the book i get the interview. it is a historian's dream. it turns out she is completely crazy. her father was institutionalized and there may be some -- she did her mother, they called her the dragon lady, and she was enrolled in first grade her moer tol two women who ran her school not to teach her how to read and on and on. it was a disappointm