i am ali velshi from the iowa state fair, des moines, iowa. this is townhall raw. august is make or break month for health care for president obama's efforts to reform health care. for the next hour we will bring you the best of the townhalls that have been happening all week. president, members of congress going back to their districts and hearing from their constituents about health care. now some of the meetings were raucous. but they got questions on medicare, abortion, the so-called death panels. we'll straighten that out as well. there was yelling. there was booing. there was applause. listen to some of it for yourself. >> one day god is going to stand before you and he is going to judge you and the rest of your damn cronies up on the hill! and then you'll get your just dessert. >> this is no less than liberty versus terny and there is no middle ground with whom you choose to stand. >> i don't understand this rudeness. what is this? i don't get it? i honestly don't get it? do you all think you are persuading people when you shout out like that? beg your pardon

by the time we get to des moines, the iowa state fair has a butter sculpture of some sort. >> the iowa state fair every year has a spectacular full-sized butter cow like we're talking full-size cow made out of butter, and this year the extra butter statue is going to be of neil armstrong commemorating his walk on the moon. >> all right. in addition to the fun we're going to have, and i'm looking forward to it and i'm salivating thinking about the food, we're going out there and in between meals we'll talk to americans about the economy, about health care. you've been on that bus a lot more than i have. i've had a few runs on it. what's the benefit of doing it that way over the way we get to cover news particularly from officials and politicians? >> well, i get about 60,000 miles over the course of the election. i'm based in d.c. but i traveled all over the country during those two years in the run-up to the election and the election. you just get out there and just talk to people, real people. you get off the east coast and get out of new york and out of d.c. you get into the middle of

the most famous food here at the iowa state fair, jumbo corn dogs. eta is here. people for the dean of tasty animals. [laughter] my favorites -- there's an early bird special. i want to have much of the fried ice cream for breakfast. i have to order it now or i will lose my opportunity to have ice cream for breakfast. brian: you should travel with paddles. >> friday doughnuts -- fried donuts and deep fried coca-cola. we will have a more scientific study after nine courses. steve: carl cameron on the road at the iowa state fair. brian: i do not see him giving any money. just 1eating. alisyn: this woman was in the middle of telling a story about battling cancer at a town hall meeting. all the sudden, a phone rang and look what happened. that is for local congresswoman on the phone. the town hall woman talks was next. brian: refusaif you saw a lion,u would probably run. not this guy. >> hey, cut it out. that is enough. that is enough out of you. get out of youhere. [laughter] brian: he will join us in the studio with that lion. generally awesome. and you

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

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 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

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 secr

first, carl cameron at the iowa state fair. >> they are dancing in the streets. he says he is a believer. just a short while ago, he was singing the health care blues. the latest fox news opinion dynamic polls shows in august, we now have 34% of american people favor in health care reform. 49% of post. -- 9% oppos 49% opposed. 14% said the quality of health care would worsen. 11% say they do not trust government. 10% said it will raise the cost. 8% said it would raise the deficit. president obama said that would not happen. shepard: iowa senator was there today. how the docket? -- how did that go? >> he was in and out. senator chuck grassley debating and negotiating with 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 tomorr

the state fair in 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

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

. >>> we hope you will join us next week as we feature the iowa state fair.d out what it takes to craft a cow from butter. >>> a family comes together to protect and preserve a very personal legacy. >> enter at simple and true challenge.com for a chance to win a one year leafs a verse tile tractor. simple, reliable, easy to maintain. plan last week we were proud to launch "the legacy project" >> last week we were proud to launch the legacy project here. you met the dells of westminster, maryland, a family fueled bit desire to build a solid foundation for the future of their operation. this weekend we're headed to illinois to meet another family with that same goal in mind. >> farming in illinois river bottom, one might think that the biggest decision on this rich fertile ground would be corn or beans. but the entrepreneurial spirit also grows here. chester, along with his sons, farms about 4300 acres. the quality of the soils in close proximity to the river has helped the operation thrive over the years. along with that came other success stories, a small con

koernts ali velshi on board, rolling through kentucky and illinois before the final destination, the iowa stateair. 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 me see

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

. ♪ 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

julie: the construction crew among 23 citizens receiving the 2009 governor's life-saving cord at the iowa stateana: cheering a bet made good. governor bobby jindal getting a tasty treat from the lone star state. texas governor, rick perry, we did a bbq feast at the texas longhorns would beat the lsu tigers in the college world series, but lsu he got the win and governor perry paid up. governor general for -- full of barbecue and pride in a california: tell if -- catching women sitting on top of the world. the association of amputee surfers began its annual operation this they teach men and women to learn to surf. we understand many lost their lives to disease or accidents. one of them injured while serving in iraq or it expands encouraging an active lifestyle. >> and has given me couraged to try new things. i never thought i would surf. me in a wetsuit? the event was fully done it -- fully funded by donations. that's a fox walked across america. >> following up on that brazen jewelry heist we told you about, the whole thing was actually caught on tape as armed robbers got away with a staggering

. >> the butter cow going on display at the iowa state fair, all 600 pounds of her. f 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 and for the united states of americ

look forward to more great stuff from you this weekend at the iowa state fair. my home state.lso, congratulations to our executive producer, michael cane and wife jen, forwell cupping their very first child.

look forward to more great stuff from you this weekend at the iowa state fair, my home state.lso, congratulations to our executive producer, michael cane and his wife, jen, for welcoming their very first child. there he is, aiden jarrett cane, 6 pound, 15 ounces. he was 19 inches long. best of health, congratulations to all of you. fantastic stuff.

are flooding in iowa was to a 500 year flood, 85 of the 99 counties were presidentially declared disaster areas and represented 85% of the entire state. to some of the hardest-hit areas in my district cedar rapids, iowa city, all built, carl bildt, estimated that cedar rapids alone has nearly $5.6 billion in recovery knees, one city of 120,000 in iowa, $5.6 billion in recovery means. with this in mind and consider that about 3 billion has been allocated to the entire state of disaster recovery which includes a large amount of states funds even though damage statewide was estimated at about $10 billion. when considering what constitutes a catastrophic disaster one indicator was maybe useful to consider it would be the damage relative to income is your state budgets in this city by what had receipts for f509 of $6.9 billion. compared to the estimated 10 billion is a wide damage. in the city of cedar rapids have a budget for at y09 of nearly 380 million in keep that in mind and think about the high price $6 billion in needs. that further bring the magnitude of this disaster in perspective and calculating as with a damaged cruise be that

midwest, you have had a run of some gorgeous weather and it's into the great-looking day for you, couple big state fairs kicking off today, the iowa state fair and the missouri state fair. weather couldn't be nicer. the east coast from about new haven to new york, philadelphia, all the way down right through florida, looks like you'll have some gray skies overhead, and that will lead to scattered showers and storms. on the backside, the tennessee valley looks >>> all right, everybody. wherever you are today, make it a great day. harry, my stage manager told me not very thorough with our new york city city weather today. >> hopefully better than iowa. that state fair -- >> yes. >> -- and it's huge and the competitions there. >> there you go. >> the pie, the butter. >> and you've been in there with those butter sculptures. >> it's a huge deal. >> big controversy this year whether or not to have a butter sculpture. >> this is true. it's true. >> of michael jackson. >> i think they decided not to do it. >> i think they did. >> exactly. >>> still to come, what does the obama health care plan really mean for you and your family? we'll b

the united states. at the centers of disease control, there are efforts underway to increase the number of doses available. trace: james rosen in washington, d.c. now to the iowa agriculture secretary believes there are tens of millions of dollars of profit opportunities in cap and trade. that is the house klein and bill. the senate does not have a version. farmers are slow to buy into that argument. there are a number of farm groups who believe cap and trade will only increase the cost of them doing business, which will either increase food prices and or a lot more farmers not doing business. trace: that is brand new information. jamie: this is a fox news alert. we are hearing from milwaukee mayor tom barrett for the first time since he was viciously beaten on saturday night. he was attacked at a state fair. he heard a woman crying for help. she was with her baby granddaughter. they were getting a salted. the mayor says he is no hero. >> what i want to stress is -- i have been in situations in this community my whole life. i cannot think of a situation like this where people would not have responded the way i did. when someone says col 911, you call 911. that

first up, we have carl cameron at the iowa state fair, where people are making their views known on thehealth care reform. things are happening in iowa. >> with all these town halls, there was this criticism that people were coming with their minds already made up. these are just regular folks, so we decided to take a look. who wants to talk about healthcare? what do you think? should we change the health care system? nobody wants to talk about it. should we change? how? >> free health care that the state has should be changed. myself, i have to go to the dentist. if they cannot to get me, i have to drive to iowa city, and i cannot afford to do that. >> what are you making in here? >> anything that you want fried. >> this is completely unprepared, by the way. who is watching health care? do you know what they're talking about? >> not really. >> when we do these types of interviews, we are not going to pre-interview them. when they say they do not care, that is part of what is happening. all of this yelling is happening in the town hall meetings, but people out here are not really paying

state of the union much like you're having at home. senator baroso, dr. baroso, i want to go to you first in the state of iowa.r republican colleague which you can grassley is on this video, and i want your thoughts here. let's listen. >> if plans like these are going to drastically increase the number of people on plans who result in paying the whole medicare reimbursement we get here in iowa, how are you going to keep future doctors like me and thousands of doctors across the state in iowa? >> senator baroso, the question being if you have a public option, will the rates be low in medicare and medicaid, as that student's opinion and simply doctors opt out? >> i had that same question in wyoming and washington just this last friday. students are concerned because the government is the biggest deadbeat. they don't pay the fair price. they don't even pay the ambulances enough to get the patient to the hospital, so there is this dramatic cost shifting that happens in america. what i heard from people in wyoming is they're afraid with this new plan the president is proposing that they'll end up paying more and en

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 about to make the turn into that side of the capitol, the supreme court is on this end of the picture, obviously and that's where the staffers are gathered, and many other people have lined the streets of washington, d.c., to be part of this to

the mend right now, it might be a bit of a stretch. wolf? >> ali, thank you. he's making his way this weekend to iowa and the state fair there. we'll check in with ali tomorrow and see what is going on across the country. we want you to

the changes are not going to be pleasant either. an ag state researcher outlined how budget cuts will decrease personnel and be even worse next year. unfortunately, iowa is in relatively good shape compared to states like california and illinois levels get started with the news and al pell. >> thanks, john. good morning, everybody. for generations, corncobs in stover simply blew out of the combine to get pild tild into the soil. now the federal government may pay you to collect it for renewable energy. biomass like corncobs is part of the next wave of biofuel production. some companies are already using plant material other than grain to make ethanol. this week, the ag department announced the biass crop assistant pro -- assistance program called b-cap. they say conversion facilities can now register for the program which includes biomass waste from farms and forestry. producers get -- what producers get paid will be matched dollar for dollar up to $45 a ton. for detaild tails on b-cap, contact your local fssa office. >>> meanwhile, signup deadline is drawing near for another usda program. you probably heard about the average crop revenue election or

state of the union," much like you're having at home. senator barrasso, dr. barrasso, i want to go to you first. i want to go to the state of iowa. i want to play for you a question that came up at a town hall for your republican colleague, chuck grassley. i want to hear your thoughts. >> i'm a second-year medical student. if plans like these are going to drastically increase the number of people on plans who result in paying the low medicare reimbursement that we get here in iowa, how are you going to keep future doctors like me and thousands of doctors across the state in iowa? >> senator barrasso, the question, essentially being, in the context of, if you have a public option, will the reimbursement rates be low, like in medicare and medicaid, in that student's opinion, so the doctors, like we've seen in many states, opt out? >> i had that same question just this past friday. physicians are very concerned, because in the past, medicare payers, government's the biggest deadbeat. they don't even pay the ambulance enough to get the patient to the hospital. so there's this dramatic cost shifting that happens in america. but what i

chip flory was struck by the nation's top two corn producing states. >> iowa had 185-bushels per acre, four bushels better than the 181 that the state saw in 2004. 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 b

iowa. the participants travel through a portion of the state to learn more about iowa's businesses, agriculturen ralston, iowa, this morning with more on this story. jane, is it like fish out of water? >> reporter: a bit, a bit. but, you know, a lot of these people come from eg rare yan country so it's not that difficult. if your diplomat from croatia, nepal and korea and you score a job in the u.s. and you think, i'll take a junket to hawaii but, no, by the plane load they come to iowa. >> welcome to iowa. >> thanks from engineer mane. >> thank you for coming. >> you've got a great country. >> reporter: hosting these bi-annual junkets to iowa, paid for by private sponsors. diplomats meet countries their countries might do business with and then local families host them in their homes for the week for some good old-fashioned midwestern hospitality. >> what i want to get out of it is jobs created in iowa from international trade because jobs, number one, it's a job. number two, export-related jobs are very much higher paying jobs. probably 15% above the national average. >> we've actually since

. >> well, ali's tour winds up at the iowa state fair in des moines.ng for president obama's health care town hall to begin. we are going to bring it to you live as soon as it begins and then, we'll hand it off to rick sanchez on the other side of this break. have a great weekend! quality and reliability... 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. >>> hello, everybody. i'm rick sanchez. kyra is joining us over here. >> maybe i should give you my mike. i will kind of help stretch as we like to say here in television. >> as you wind up this shot, you will find someone down here. go ahead. get that shot. you will see someone. how are we doing with the mike? >> i'm glad he just found the mike. that's all i have t

. >> ali wraps up his road trip at the iowa state fair in des moines. >>> if you're looking for more t cnn.com/healthcare. you can even find out about the closest town hall meeting to you, the key players in the debate, the different plans and, of course, the controversial sticking points to those plans. >>> and how about this? wouldn't you like to know what the former surgeon general of the united states thinks about health care reform? well, how about that? we have him. he missed his mark. put him on his mark. we have him here. we'll talk to him next. dr. david satcher, in the "cnn newsroom." ies who need assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... great news. your

iowa on the weekend? >> that's right. by friday night we'll get to des moines, we'll be at the iowa state fair all day on saturday. because they aren't the healthiest of things. we know you have good health care but we want you to stay healthy. ali velshi on the road in paducah, kentucky this morning. leave a comment on our show blog what you think about health care reform. or call the show hotline, 1-877- 1-877-my-amfix. >>> there is a look at the swastika on this sign. it happened after a contentious debate about health care. >>> welcome back to the most news in the morning. you saw it here on "american morning," a georgia congressman in a heated back-and-forth over health care reform, then he finds a swastika painted on the sign outside his office in atlanta. congressman david scott says he believes it happened because of the health care debate. he joins us live from atlanta this morning to talk more about this. thanks for being with us. i'm sure it was a very disturbing sight. when did you first see it and when was your reaction? >> well, i saw it when i got to my office, my staff woke me up in the morning and

our flood in iowa was truly a 500-year flood, 85 of the 99 counties were presidentially declared disaster areas, and it represented about 85 percent of the state. 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.

gooseman, as he calls himself, dressed up at the iowa state fair this week, parading around to the delights. he's named them the puddle jumpers. he said years ago he had serious health problems and decided to walk his way to good health. he's now 200 pounds lighter and able to walk a mile and a half with the geese. steve: i wonder how the geese feel about that? brian: they look thrilled. at least they have a direction. gretchen: good for you for losing all of that weight, by the way. brian: and special thanks to gretchen. my twitter alerts still come to my e-mail. i have to change that. but you blessed my twitter account. gretchen: staying in the religious theme? brian: yes. if you don't mind. you never know when you're going to have a teleconference with 4,000 religious leaders. now everyone's following me, too. gretchen: i also blessed steve's account. you both owe me. brian: i'm closing in on steve, i have a sense. if you would only compete with me, it would be more fun. steve: i'm trying. gretchen: he's about ready to go on vacation. he's not competing. steve: i'm just not a big twitte

now we'll turn to michael m the lahill, graduate of iowa state university, the foremost university in the entire universe. after graduation worked as a golf course superintendent for 13 years. for the next 28 years worked for a turf equipment distributor designing and selling golf course irrigation systems. mr. mulvehill is the victim of a faulty medical device and will speak to that experience. thank you for being here. >> i had a medtronics fib regulator implanted in march 2006. arrythmia was my problem. june 30th, 2007, i had a very painful, life-changing episode. my wife and i were driving to see our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren in haddenfield, new jersey. on that saturday morning i was driving east of springfield, ohio, on i-70, in a construction zone, when the device went off. first thought we hit road debris but could not understand what the blue flash was that i'd seen. i tried to navigate the car toward the shoulder of the road. the device shocked me again and again. mary, my wife, was calling 911. i don't remember how many times that device went off. all i recall i

atlanta, we're in chattanooga right now on the tennessee river, we're going to head into kentucky today, into southern illinois, missouri, and into iowa for the iowa statele looking for houses, he's actually seeing more people signing deals. the other thing, of course, is health care, a big deal. we're talking to people about how their impressions of health care are formed. how the media coverage is forming opinions or if they're doing their research. i'm going to be asking that question today. pulling out in a few minutes and

inches of rain overnight and anticipate another 1 to 1.5 inches, especially from chicago towards the iowa stateowers and thunderstorms falling apart. then in dallas, a nice shield of rain in ft. worth stretching towards dallas as well. let me show you the tower cam right now. if you are doing any traveling today, the rain showers in ft. worth. this is dallas. that's a reunion tower. watch for thunderstorms to develop this afternoon and this will slow you down at the airport, probably an hour or more. i'll have the airport delays coming up in detail in 20 minutes. >> you can get great views of the storms in reunion tower, for sure. >> so before you pack the bag for your next trip, wait until you hear how much it's going to cost you to check it. another reason you will want to travel light. >>> here are some stories to watch out today for in your morning express planner. in less than an hour we expect a report on first time jobless claims for the week. >>> the man accused of attacking a mayor with a pipe is scheduled tore in court. >>> at 3:00 p.m., nasa scientists will testfire a new type of moo

that was actually the senior senator from the state of iowa, the senior republican on the committee considering health reform in the senate. that was republican senator chuck grassley of iowa. and this isn't the first time that senator grassley has shown real class with a "k" on the issue of health care. >> i've been told that the brain tumor that senator kennedy has because he's 77 years old would not be treated the way it's treated in the united states. in other words, he would not get the care that he gets here because of his age. >> i've been told that. so i'm repeating it. haven't looked into checking it out. for example by reading the bill that i'm responsible for passing or not. but i've been told, little birdie told me, here you go. here's what the bird said. yesterday's presidential town hall in new hampshire, president obama praised senator grassley as one of his, quote, republican friends on capitol hill who is sincerely trying to figure out if they can find a health care bill that works. republican sincere friends like charles grassley. who do you think president obama counts as his

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 throughout the day. i have more with an update on hurrica

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 >>> tom is here to tell us what we can expect from the weather. tom? >> well, headline, hurecneedasby just a little bit. let's take a look at what's been happening outthe.er howe, it is still a very powerful hurricane. thankfully now just passing to the northeast of puerto rico. still has winds near 130, gusts to 155.e. th's only dn by about 7 mi hles our. ill continue to pass to the f bermuda, it appears, this morning. gotew f srs fweho southwest of e fredericksburg. they may roll into the southern surbs in a couple of hours. forecast for today coming up in just a couple of minutes. stay tuned. >> thank you very much. >> let's go to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic

the entire population in 17 more states, it's 50% or more. so when people say, oh, no, the government's going to take away choice and competition, right now in a lot of states including iowalitan areas in the country, they each have at least eight insurance companies operating in the top 40 metropolitan areas in the country. >> in those same metropolitan areas, people express they like medicare more than they like their private insurance companies and medicare is government run. in any case, matt and david, we appreciate you both coming on today. monica, tomorrow president obama is going to sit down with radio host michael summer con nish to talk about health care. it's an exclusive interview. if you want to e-mail any questions, any of our viewers want to e-mail questions, you can do it by logging on to tv.msnbc.com. and that should be quite an interview tomorrow. >> we'll be watching and have it covered. up next, some things we thought you should know. >> that's right. orly, remember her? she may run for office. and meghan mccain talks about sex and the gop? and then on "hardball," chris matthews will look at whether president obama needs to call in the clintons to help

the test of grass-roots public opinion in america, remember, this is a democracy. we shouldn't be doing them anyway. so i'm going to have 20 of these meetings throughout the state of iowai invite ioans come in and i want to listen to their opinions. i want to answer their questions and it's mawe're talking about doing. and i'm against the pelosi bill. i'm against the kennedy bill. i hope i can be for a bipartisan bill. i won't know until we get it developed. but if i can't defend that, then we shouldn't be doing it, or any plan, the pelosi plan or the kennedy plan or the obama plan. >> woodruff: senator charles grassley, we appreciate your answering our questions. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> ifill: finally tonight, the problems created by trash floating in the pacific ocean. here's an encore of a spencer michels science unit report. >> former owner of the a furniture repair business in long beach, california, and an amateur scientist, surprised the scientific world with the discovery he made in the middle of the pacific ocean. while sailing his research vessel back from hawaii in 1997, he ran into what he calls a vast garbage patch in a calm part of the sea. >>

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 evening americans, live from 30 rock in new york, it's "the ed show." what would jesus do while ame

the country. we'll start with ali velshi. what have you got for us? >> missouri state fair in missouri. we're very close. we're going to the des moines, iowa, state fair tomorrow. i was told i couldn't wear this hat on tv too much. we're talking to people about health care, the economy and dollar day corn dogs. as you can see, rick, my day is pretty much set up. >> ali, has a great life, he gets to wear that hat and gets to have those conch dogs. i have something to help you out if you're one of the 150,000 americans who had to line up for the first time unemployment benefits last week. gets very complicated, rick, we'll break it down for you. everything you need to know at the top of the hour. >>> i'm elizabeth cohen in atlanta. ki parent bring their kids to thepedia titian and some parents are just saying no to the vaccine the government recommends. at the top of the hour, i'll tell you which one. >>> we'll see you shortly. turning people away from free health care clinics. what's going on? we'll ask the woman in charge of one clinic that's faced with that decision every single day. her story. >>> welcome back. checking stories happening

across the country and what they discovered is that in some high treatment states, like new jersey, medicare was spending 20% more per patient than the average. and in other low treatment states, like iowa, medicare was spending 25% less than average. they tended to focus in on what happened to patients during their final two years of life. so in that way you're comparing apples to apples, pretty sick patients, and they began looking at sick patients who had the same disease, etcetera, finding these enormous differences in what medicare spent. some people said, "well maybe patients in new jersey are simply more demanding than the stoic citizens of iowa." but, in fact, very few people demand a chance to spend more days in the hospital during their final two years of life. very few people cry out for a chance to die in an i.c.u. or to have that fourth procedure or to be poked and prodded by 11 or 12 specialists during your final six months of life. in the states where medicare spends more, these are the things that happen to people. they're getting more aggressive, intensive, and expensive care. and here's the stunner: the outcomes are no better. often they are worse on average in states