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Milestone Approaches for President Obama; More People Owing More than Home; More Details on Fitness Club Shooter from Police; Pricey New Planes for Congress? Freed Journalists Readjusting to Home; Grand Jury Meets on John Edwards Case; New Jobless Claims Numbers Dropped; Former Congressman Found Guilty in Bribery Case; Deadly Roadside Bombing in Afghanistan; Afghanistan Elections Approaching; More Cash for Clunkers; Fallen Hero of Korean War Back in Missouri

Aired August 06, 2009 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Inside the mind of a killer. Before he opened fire inside a Pennsylvania gym, he shared his rage in an online diary -- his chilling thoughts in his own words.

And freedom on fallout -- two journalists are back home and likely to face the lingering trauma of their ordeal in North Korea. Hear how other former captives struggled to resume their lives.

And peddling himself -- in Afghanistan, a presidential candidate says he is the vehicle of change.

Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Today is Thursday, August 6th, and you are in the "CNN Newsroom."

This morning, we begin with the Obama presidency. It's 199 days now and counting. In fact, as we get closer to tomorrow's milestone, a lot of people are really wanting to take stock. How is the administration doing with its top priorities, and then how is it doing in the public eye, as well?

Also, White House correspondent Dan Lothian, who you see there, is going to be talk about the health care battle. It affects all of us, of course, but it could define President Obama.

And finally, CNN's Christine Romans of our money team is going to be looking at the economy, another hot button issue. Is the president doing enough to protect your livelihood and, of course, your life savings?

Let's begin our coverage this morning, though, with CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian.

Dan, good morning to you. What is the president doing today along the lines of health care?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, again, focusing on health care, meeting with the six bipartisan negotiators from the Senate Finance Committee, the so-called gang of six who've been working on a bipartisan health care reform bill. As you know, a health care reform is a big priority for this administration. The president referring to it now as health insurance reform because he believes this is not important -- not only important for the health care of Americans, but also important for the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In order to lead in the global economy and ensure that our businesses can grow and innovate, we also have to pass health insurance reform that brings down costs.

(APPLAUSE)

Reform that brings down costs and provides more security for folks who have insurance and affordable options for those who don't. I promise you, we will pass reform by the end of this year because the American people need it. The American people need some relief. Now we're going to have to make it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Of course, Heidi, what you see happening now is the president focusing on end of the year to pass insurance reform as he calls it. This administration suffered somewhat of a setback in the second 100 days.

The president had put this self-imposed deadline of trying to get something from the Senate and the House a bill on health care reform before the August recess, but when they could not come to any kind of consensus, it became clear that this would not happen. So the administration now really pushing, hoping to get health care reform by the end of the year, Heidi.

COLLINS: So, Dan, has the president all but abandoned this push for a bipartisan health care reform then? And then when you look at history...

LOTHIAN: Right.

COLLINS: ... how successful are bills that are not bipartisan especially when they're this big?

LOTHIAN: That's right. Well, you know, the administration publicly will say listen, we want to do everything possible to work not only with the Republicans, but with Democrats. And as you know, this has not just been the Republicans and Democrats alone.

COLLINS: Yes.

LOTHIAN: Within the Democratic Party, conservative Democrats, fiscally conservative Democrats, have had a hard time thinking that this health care reform bill, way too expensive, how will they be able to pay for it all?

But the president sort of signaling that he's willing to go it alone. He still wants to reach out to Republicans but he wants to make sure that he can get some of these things in that reform bill that he's been really pushing for and that's people with preexisting conditions that they won't lose their health insurance, that they can move from job to job and not be left without insurance.

There's some critical things, the foundation, if you will, of health care reform that the president says he won't give in on. So, you know, he wants to work with Republicans, but he just wants to get this done right.

COLLINS: All right. Dan Lothian, we sure do appreciate that. From the White House there this morning. Thank you.

LOTHIAN: OK.

COLLINS: So on this eve of the president's 200th day in office, what does the public think? According to our latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, just over half of Americans believe the Obama administration has been a success so far, 37 percent say it is a failure.

President Obama's positive rating actually falls short of where George W. Bush did six months in. In 2001, 56 percent of Americans said the Bush administration was a success.

Turning now to the economy, 44 percent of those polls say President Obama's policies have made the economy better. Just over half say they made the economy worse. Some optimism, 58 percent of Americans believe economic conditions will be good one year from now, 40 percent say they will be poor.

The Obama administration has said the economy is improving, but Deutsche Bank is predicting big trouble in the housing market.

CNN's Christine Romans is here to explain. So how does this affect everybody?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know in the economy, Heidi, that many people think the free fall is over. But this report from Deutsche Bank shows you that the value of your biggest asset, your house, is still a very big question mark.

This report shows the number of homes that it expects will be under water, the number of homeowners under water on their mortgage by the time there is a recovery. Right now they say there are about 14 million homeowners are under water in their loans, that means they actually owe more on the house than it's worth.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROMANS: Fourteen million homes. By the first quarter of 2011, they say that'll be 25 million. That'll be almost half of all mortgage holders, Heidi, will owe more on their homes than it's worth. It's a huge...

COLLINS: So it's not getting any better? ROMANS: No, and the thing here is there seems to be the intractable problem, the number of foreclosures, people are losing their jobs, and that feeds into the foreclosure crisis.

The fact that home prices keep falling and have just now recently shown a little glimmer of stabilization, what this report suggests is that that recent sign of strength should be taken with a bit of a grain of salt, quite frankly, because we have more tough sledding in the housing market ahead.

Now the implications for the economy of a housing market where almost half of the homeowners owe more on the house than it's actually worth are pretty troubling because those are homeowners who aren't going to be maybe buying a new car, those are people who are not going to be able to move, perhaps, to find a new job.

COLLINS: Of course, yes.

ROMANS: Those are people who are going to have more trouble sending their kids to college because they don't have a home equity line, a credit they're going to be able to tap into.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROMANS: To try to get some money out of the equity in their house. So it just shows you the difficulty of this administration facing over the next year or so as the housing market which started this whole problem continues to show this malaise.

COLLINS: Yes. And of course, the massive domino effect of all of it. All right.

ROMANS: Sure.

COLLINS: Christine Romans watching all of it for us. Appreciate that.

ROMANS: Sure.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, evidence that companies are cutting back on the number of people they're laying off. First-time claims for unemployment benefits are down, just released Labor Department figures show 550,000 people filed for unemployment last week. That's 30,000 less than expected.

On the flip side, though, the number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits is up to 6.3 million.

At the bottom of the hour, we're going to be looking at the Obama presidency by the numbers. We'll be adding up some of the events from his busy schedule and then next hour, a different measure of his administration. Guests from opposite sides of the political spectrum will weigh in.

So, have the second 100 days of the Obama administration been days of change or days of frustration? Let your voice be heard. You can cast your vote now at CNN.com/reportcard and then get the results from CNN's "National Report Card" tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Police say the man who opened fire at a Pennsylvania health club, quote, "just had a lot of hatred in him." Today we're learning more chilling details about George Sodini.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti is live in Bridgeville, that's outside of Pittsburgh, this morning.

Susan, what are we hearing this morning?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, we're getting a picture for the very first time, a look at the gunman in this case, George Sodini. We haven't seen him walking and talking before, and now we do, by way of some homemade videos that we found posted to YouTube.

Now, in the very first of these, it was shot in February of last year. He's giving a tour of his house, and you see him pointing out things like his couch and his chair and how they will match and how they could possibly impress women.

Remember, we've heard so much about his hatred of women and how he was failing to have any relationship with them over many, many years. He points out his bedroom and he says, look how clean it is, she'll be impressed. We even see a punching bag in the background of one part of his house.

Now in the second homemade video made by him in June of last year, he looks into the camera and talks about his loneliness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE SODINI, FITNESS CLUB SHOOTER: It is easy for me to hide from my emotions for one more day. Take a long drive in the car, listen to some music, daydream, or just do some mundane task around the house that really doesn't need to be done that's not too important. And there you go, one more day, and one more day turns into one more year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Heidi, and we're getting some additional information, as well. Remember that blog that we showed you yesterday and excerpts from it?

COLLINS: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Well, we found another additional blog that was part of that and it was unpublished. Now we're not sure of the timing of this particular posting, it might have come on the day of the shooting. But he talks about meeting a woman at the gym and possibly a friend and even possibly calling off the shooting.

And it says in part, quote, "To get a friend like her and for night action, I would cancel the plan or put on hold at least for a while." But again, is this evidence that he was playing with us, trying to bring attention to himself or simply more evidence of a twisted mind? Heidi?

COLLINS: Wow, unbelievable every time we look at those entries there. All right. Susan Candiotti for us this morning. Thanks, Susan.

Riding in style. Congress opens the purse strings for new planes to fly them around. Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on something nobody ever asked for.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN Severe Weather Center. Today the hurricane headquarters in the Pacific, some action, two storms, one a category four storm heading in the direction of Hawaii.

Complete forecast coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

COLLINS: Congress may have some explaining to do. House committee added three new Gulf Stream jets to the Defense Appropriations Bill, replacements for some older planes. The cost $200 million. But here's the thing, the Pentagon only asked for one new plane. Apparently that price $65 million.

The long-range jets are used to ferry VIPs around, including members of Congress. Now remember, this is the same Congress that blasted auto executives for flying their corporate jets to Washington. Talking about taxpayer dollars here.

So we do want to hear from you. What do you think about the House approving nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three Gulf Stream jets for top government officials and members of Congress to use?

Give us your feedback at CNN.com/heidi, or you can always give us a call into the "Hot Line for Heidi," that number is 1-877-742-5760. Look forward to your comments.

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, still trying to dry out after Tuesday's flooding. The mayor says he has no idea of how much damage was done when all that rain fell in such a short amount of time, but he plans to ask for federal aid.

Now part of the Kentucky Derby museum was flooded so were a number of stables. The horses are OK, though, and despite all of the mud everywhere, no serious injuries have been reported.

We do want to go over and talk to Rob Marciano, though, about all of this. Hey there, Rob, good morning to you. They are still, obviously, trying to get things mopped up, if you will.

MARCIANO: Yes, and it seems like the last couple of years the -- when they ran for the roses, it was a pretty wet then.

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: Obviously not as wet as it is now. And the good news with that kind of flooding is it comes and goes in a hurry. Unfortunately when it does that, it catches a lot of people off guard. So the waters have receded, but the clean-up efforts will be ongoing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: OK. Very good. I do like the spritzing comment. Spritzing in New York.

MARCIANO: It's refreshing in the hot summer afternoon as well.

COLLINS: Indeed. Indeed. All right, Rob. We'll check back later. Thank you.

MARCIANO: OK. See you.

COLLINS: The nightmare is over. Now getting back to normal. Experts say the American journalists held captive in North Korea will likely face some challenges.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A developing story right now to tell you about out of Raleigh, North Carolina this morning involving former U.S. senator and presidential candidate John Edwards.

CNN producer Mike Ahlers is joining us now by phone with a little bit more information on this.

All right, so, Mike, we know that there's a grand jury meeting going on. But what does the rest of this entail here?

MIKE AHLERS, CNN PRODUCER: Heidi, a woman we believe to be Riel Hunter was seen entering this U.S. courthouse here in Raleigh just a short while ago. You may be seeing video of it now.

This is the courthouse where a grand jury is meeting to discuss the John Edwards matter. You'll probably remember that Riel Hunter was the campaign worker who is alleged to have an affair with John Edwards. He has acknowledged having an affair.

And a little earlier today a government vehicle entered the gated side entrance to the courthouse, evidently avoiding court cameras at the front. But -- and when the car stopped, three gentlemen in suits got out, a woman in a suit, and this woman who we believed to be Riel Hunter, she was carrying a baby who was wearing a floppy at and they walked along the loading dock to the back entrance to the building. COLLINS: Yes. It seems kind of strange that she would be bringing the baby to this grand jury meeting, does it not?

AHLERS: Yes, we've heard that her accommodations, a lot of times with grand jury witnesses arrive here, we understand they go into the front doors, but because of the expectation of cameras, perhaps -- perhaps that's why they went in this gated back entrance.

Also there was a woman accompanying them, perhaps to take care of the baby while she's testifying. We also -- we shouted questions to her. She did not acknowledge our presence. We also spoke to Robin Zier, the spokeswoman with the U.S. attorney's office here. She declined to comment whether Miss Hunter was in the building.

COLLINS: OK. Well, Mike, any idea when you might have a little more information about what is going to happen inside that grand jury meeting regarding potentially Riel Hunter here who we continue to watch just so you know the video of her arriving? Yes.

AHLERS: We don't know. Grand juries, you know, meet in secret. They can't even acknowledge if the grand jury is meeting on this matter. We know that other witnesses in the past weeks have arrived here and spent the whole day testifying.

COLLINS: Yes.

AHLERS: That this could be a brief appearance or -- but we'll be here to stake it out and see what she has to say, if anything, when she comes out.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Well, let us know, Mike, if we need to come back to you. Again, all of this happening in Raleigh, North Carolina. And just a quick reminder. You may remember that the former U.S. senator and two-time presidential candidate John Edwards is under investigation to see whether or not some campaign funds were illegally paid to Riel Hunter, it was about $100,000 that we're talking about here whether or not his political action committee, they have paid Riel Hunter's video production firm that sum of money.

So, again, we are continuing to follow this and the grand jury meeting that is taking place where now she apparently has arrived. We'll stay on top of it with all of our producers who are there.

Family reunions and readjustment. It can be difficult after an extended period in captivity. Something those American journalists freed from North Korea are dealing with now.

CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This part's pretty basic. An emotional embrace between Euna Lee and her four-year-old daughter and a comment from Lee's colleague about what they want to do next. LAURA LING, FREED JOURNALIST: We are just so anxious right now to be able to spend some quiet, private time getting reacquainted with our families.

TODD: And that, experts say, is when the difficult work begins. Lise Van Susteren is a psychiatrist who dealt with sensitive family reunions.

(On camera): Is there a point when it's most difficult when all the attention ebbs in the days or maybe a week after the reunion when all the cameras are gone and all the people are gone, when your turn to your spouse or your child or both and this kind of what now?

DR. LISE VAN SUSTEREN, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, yes, because all of the attention when we you come back is a big distraction. So once that is pulled out of the picture, you really are faced again, you and the person you were married to or you have been with all these years and had children with, and now you've got to kind of face the reality of what's -- what do we got going forward?

Who am I? What is my career? Am I going back to my old job? Or am I now a person on a mission? Have I been transformed by this experience? And my spouse, he hasn't been transformed.

TODD (voice-over): Divorce, Van Susteren says, is common among couples in these situations. Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Tom Howes were held captive for 5 1/2 years by rebels in the Colombian jungle. In the years since their release, Gonsalves and Howes have gone through divorces. Gonsalves says he also suffered an initial physical reaction after his first family encounter a meeting with his father, he had a migraine.

MARC GONSALVES, FORMER HOSTAGE IN COLOMBIA: It was just the emotional joy that I felt and the rush that I felt to cover so much lost time in such a short amount of time now. It was something that was difficult to deal with.

TODD: There seems to be no set formula for readjustment. After being imprisoned for eight months in Iran, scholar Haleh Esfandiari arrived home on a Thursday, returned to work the following Monday.

HALEH ESFANDIARI, AUTHOR, "MY PRISON, MY HOME": I had to prove to myself that my jailer did not break my spirit nor my will. I had to prove to myself that it was the old me.

TODD (on camera): Lisa Van Susteren says the families of those who are returning have to be flexible. Families who do well in the readjustment period, she says, are those who take their cues from that returning relative and go at their pace.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Grading the president. How has the Obama administration handled its second 100 days in office? We want to hear from you and we'll tell you how to make your voice heard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly to Wall Street now waiting on the opening bell. The Dow snapped the four-day winning streak yesterday. So what's in store for us today? That depends, of course, on a new reading on the labor markets and the state of the American consumer.

I want to get the very latest from Felicia Taylor who's standing by at the New York Stock Exchange.

Good morning to you, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. That's right. We are expecting a slightly higher open today. Thanks to that big drop in jobless claims, 550,000 Americans applied for first-time unemployment benefits last week. Now that's nearly 40,000 fewer than the week before, even though the number does sound high.

However, the number of people continuing to draw benefits rose to 6.3 million. The numbers seemed to indicate that the pace of layoffs is easing down, but of course, people are still having trouble actually finding work and when people don't have jobs or worry about actually keeping the jobs that they do have, they, of course, watch their wallets.

But no surprise, retailers today like JCPenney, Target, Macy's, Costco, and a longer list of others are posting big sales declines for the month of July.

Mall-based stores were especially weak, a sign of the all important back to school season is off to a pretty rough start so far. On the earnings front we've had today, CISCO Systems saying its quarterly profit tumbled nearly 50 percent.

But the company's CEO says the last quarter could have been a tipping point, and that month-to-month sales numbers are beginning to return to more normal patterns. Cisco, by the way, is considered a bell weather for the technology industry.

Let's take a look at how the early numbers played out. We were expecting a slightly higher open, and indeed, we've got that on the Dow Industrial, up just about 14 points. The NASDAQ up about .25 percent, as is the S&P so far today.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Felicia, nice to see you. We'll keep our eye on the numbers.

Thank you.

The Obama White House on the eve of a significant milestone tomorrow, marks the president's 200th day in office. So let's review where the administration stands now on some key issues. As far as public opinion, support has been sliding. A new poll finds President Obama's approval rating has dropped seven points in the last 100 days. Now, during that time, the administration's focus has been largely dominated by two major issues, fixing the economy and pushing through health care reform.

So we want to know, and we want to hear your thoughts on all of this. What grade do you give the president? We have a really terrific site all set up for you CNN.com, of course, CNN.com/reportcard.

You can go in and you can weigh your thoughts on all of this. So let's take you on over to the Heidi Mac now. This is the CNN national report card, the second 100 days that we're talking about, of course.

What you do is you go in here and you can check all of the different issues. As we mentioned two of the largest are, of course, are the economy, which ends up being question number one, question number two regarding health care reform.

There's ten questions here. Ten different issues. You go through, read a little synopsis about what the issue is. Again, we're on the economy, one. Question number one here. So you'll see the synopsis there. You'll also see several other chunks of information for you to understand, and then there is even a little area here where you can share your reaction and sound off if you will to some of these different issues.

At the end of each segment, of course, you go on up here and you give a grade. You just select the grade for the president that you give and then you go on to the next question right over here where it says next, and it will take you on down the line here. Really, really interesting site. We encourage you to check it out. And, of course, we will continue to follow that and how everyone responds.

In fact, just a reminder, have the second 100 days of the Obama administration been days of change for you? Or have they actually been frustrating. Let your voice be heard. Cast your vote now, as I just explain how to do it, at cnn.com/reportcard. And then you'll get the results from CNN's "NATIONAL REPORT CARD," tonight, coming your way 8:00 Eastern.

The Obama presidency by the numbers. Here's the break down of how he's kept busy. Since taking the oath, he's visited 18 states and traveled to 14 countries. He's met the leaders of at least 39 countries, and as president, he's held four prime time news conferences and delivered one nationally televised prime time presidential address. He has signed 21 executive orders and signed 42 bills into law. There will be a test on all these numbers a little bit later on.

A vote is expected today on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. We've had two days of debate so far in the Senate. And it looks like President Obama will get his choice confirmed. Sotomayor would become the first Latina, and just the third female justice. She could be sworn in as early as tomorrow. A quick programming note now. Coming this October, CNN will present "LATINO IN AMERICA." A comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing America, reshaping politics, business, schools and neighborhoods. "LATINO IN AMERICA" this October on CNN.

A guilty verdict for the former congressman who hid $90,000 in his freezer. William Jefferson was convicted on 11 corruption charges, including bribery and money laundering. The money found in his freezer came from an FBI informant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BOENTE, U.S. ATTORNEY: The citizens need to have confidence in their government, and when someone sells their office, it replaces that confidence in their public officials with cynicism. $90,000 in a freezer is not a gray area. It's a violation.

JOSEPH PERSICHINI JR., FBI: He sold his office for the least common denominator of what public service is about, and that's personal wealth and greed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Jefferson faces as much as 150 years in prison when he is sentenced in October. His attorney says he will appeal.

Bringing in Rob Marciano now from the severe weather center to take a look at this with me to water spout.

MARCIANO: How about that, though?

COLLINS: You love these, right?

MARCIANO: Yes.

COLLINS: But it was spotted from the air as you can tell. There you see a little bit of the aircraft. Look at this. IReporter Dorothy Ivanoff was in a small little private plane there over Norton Sound in Alaska.

MARCIANO: That is the shocking part.

COLLINS: Yes, yes. Really. OK. So, she had her video camera, handy, which is cool. She grew up in that area, and says she's actually never seen one there before. So tell us more, Rob, oh insightful man.

MARCIANO: Hey, it doesn't surprise me that she's never seen one in Alaska. I would suspect that's extremely rare. You typically get them, you know, down across the Gulf States near Florida in the warm weather, more tropical climate.

COLLINS: It is the Bering Strait, right?

MARCIANO: Exactly. Yes. It's not just the Gulf of Alaska, this is like where they, you know, deadliest catch is. COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE), yes.

MARCIANO: You know, it's pretty nasty weather there. You can't get water spouts in say the Pacific Northwest, when there are thunderstorms around, the convective stuff.

COLLINS: Cool.

MARCIANO: But this certainly is rare. They usually happen close to shore. The shoreline will often make the winds do funny things. Get them, get them all twisted up in a bunch there. And that's certainly help. But that is certainly cool weather video, and we thank you, Dorothy Ivanoff.

COLLINS: Sure do.

MARCIANO: Oh, you better believe it.

All right. You know, why we're talking Pacific. The huge conglomerate of viewers who tune in from the West Coast as you know, Heidi, for your particular show.

COLLINS: That's right. They're just waking up. Good morning.

MARCIANO: 6:30 over there. It's 3:30 Hawaii Time in the morning.

COLLINS: There's the (INAUDIBLE).

MARCIANO: But you know what, they have a good time out there, and I'm sure there's some folks watching on their way home.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right. Very good.

Rob, thank you.

MARCIANO: You're welcome.

COLLINS: We'll check back later.

MARCIANO: OK.

COLLINS: Critical elections are fast approaching in Afghanistan. One candidate for the job is going door-to-door. Yes, you see him there. Nice little bell, stumping for votes on his bike.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Most of us have experienced it before, heart burn. And as we go through our 30s, 40s, and 50s, we sure to notice other GI tract problems.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a closer look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Until recently, Chuck O'Connell would've never touched pepperoni pizza, too greasy, too spicy, for years since he was in his 30s, he suffered from chronic heart burn, and as he got older, his symptoms got worse, including a nasty cough.

CHUCK O'CONNELL, GERD PATIENT: The cough would get so gripping at times, that, you know, trying to just get a breath while coughing was very difficult.

GUPTA: In fact, Chuck began to black out and eventually fell down the stairs. That's when he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with GERD. It's a diagnosis that becomes much more common in our 30s. As we age, the lining and muscles in our esophagus and stomach begin to wear thin. As the muscle between the esophagus and stomach relaxes, the contents of the stomach splashes back into the esophagus causing severe chest pain, heart burn and coughing.

DR. JOEL RICHTER, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY GASTROENTEROLOGIST: You can't go out to eat when you want to. You have to sleep upright in bed. It interferes with your exercise.

GUPTA: In Chuck's case, his GERD was so advanced, he needed surgery. But many patients can handle acid reflux with medication and diet. Things like chocolate, caffeine, alcohol are all no-nos, because they relax the muscles even more.

In our 40s a different gastrointestinal problem can crop up -- ulcers. One reason, as we get older, people generally start taking more medication.

RICHTER: The medicines that one takes for arthritic pains, some of the vitamin preparations, other things cause ulcers.

GUPTA: Plus, a condition known as Barrett's esophagus can develop if there's too much acid in the upper GI system. That damage can lead to cancer.

In our 50s, problems with the lower GI tract, like the intestines are more common, especially in women.

RICHTER: We'll see particularly in our women patients more trouble with diarrhea, constipation and bloating as they get older. The ladies' intestinal tracts are a little bit lazier than men.

GUPTA: Plus, polyps that form in the colon as we age can become cancerous. That's why it's important to get a colonoscopy beginning at age 50.

RICHTER: Get one done in your middle age. Get one good one done, because that will tell you then what the risk you have.

GUPTA: Since his operation, Chuck O'Connell is enjoying food again. He never thought heart burn would be such an issue in his life. But has learned to check out his health problems earlier rather than later.

For 30, 40, 50, I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A deadly explosion in southern Afghanistan. A bomb intended for U.S. or Afghan forces, but instead, goes off at a wedding party.

CNN's Atia Abawi is joining us now live from Kabul with the latest on this. Atia, good morning to you. What do we know at this point about the attack?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, the information that we're getting is that 21 civilians were killed when a day of celebration turned into a day of tragedy, when their tractor actually hit a road side bomb as you said probably intended for coalition troops. This happened in the Garmsir District of Helmand Province, the same area where thousands of U.S. Marines have poured in since last month and an operation to secure and hold former Taliban strongholds.

But civilian casualties are the key here. And either winning or losing the war in Afghanistan for both the coalition troops and for the Taliban. And this is obviously a loss for the Taliban, seeing that 21 people may have died. We are hearing a report that that number may be too high and that the actual death toll might be less than 21.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Either way, horrible story. People trying to celebrate a wedding there, obviously.

Also need to talk about this, Atia.

What can you tell us about the death of another American service member?

ABAWI: What I can tell you, Heidi, is that seven U.S. troops have been killed in August. 44, at least 44 were killed last month in July. That is the highest death toll for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war on terror began here in 2001. And let's also remember that about 30 coalition troops were also killed in July. That puts the death toll of coalition troops together over 70 for that one month in July, and we do expect more deaths to come as the year progresses and as the violence increases.

Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Atia Abawi, we sure do appreciate that update. Thank you. Two weeks until election day, in fact, in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai facing tough competition and criticism, some of it coming from a guy on a bike. CNN's Ivan Watson takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every morning, Sangin Mohammed Rahmani says good-bye to his wife. Gets on his bicycle, and sets out alone on a long, bumpy road that he hopes will lead him to the presidency.

Compared to other far wealthier presidential candidates who travel in helicopters and armed convoys, Rahmani is a virtual unknown. A retired army officer scraping by on an $830 a year government pension. His political campaign is a very humble one.

"Can I put my poster up here," he asks this street vendor? Rahmani introduces himself to voters as an independent candidate saying, "Please read my biography, then you're welcome to throw it away. I'm honest, and I don't make back room deals," he adds. "I'll struggle for the rights of the people."

For this cash-strapped candidate, it's a one-man struggle just to get his posters up.

(on camera): This is Mr. Rahmani's commando style of campaigning, riding around on a bicycle, putting up his own posters. Does he really stand a chance of winning? Probably not, but the people here seem to like him.

"I want him to do well," says this man. "He's a man of the people."

Rahmani's bicycle campaign may look comical, but it comes loaded with very serious criticism of Afghanistan's Western-backed government, which he accuses of stealing billions of dollars in international aid.

"The international community does not understand that the current Afghan government is a government of force, of nepotism, and waste," he says.

That's a view echoed by many other Afghans frustrated by lack of development and rampant corruption eight years after the overthrow of the Taliban.

"We don't want the tyrant who oppresses the people," this watermelon vendor says. "We want a president who cares about poor people."

With his cell phone and mobile office on two wheels, this aspiring politician says he's just the man for the job.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: There are 41 candidates, in fact, running for president of Afghanistan, including the incumbent Hamid Karzai. Polls will be opening August 20th at about 7,000 election centers around the country according to the Associated Press. Now the AP also reports officials will use thousands of donkeys to deliver ballots to remote areas in the country. So the final tally could, of course, take some time.

Top marks for West Pointe. Look at this. The U.S. Military Academy topping the annual Forbes list of Best American Colleges. Beating out the Ivy Leagues and other traditional top schools.

So here's the rest of the list.

Princeton is number two, followed by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Williams College and Harvard round out the top five.

The colleges were ranked on quality of education and the experience for students. Interesting.

He went off to war almost six decades ago, until recently his family had no idea what happened to him. The story of a fallen hero home at last.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It looks like cash for clunkers will be getting a refill. The Senate is expected today to pump another $2 billion into the rebate program. It works like this. Participating car dealerships give customers rebates up to $4,500 for trading in old gas guzzling clunkers for new somewhat more fuel-efficient models. Then they file paperwork to be reimbursed with federal stimulus money. The program was so popular it almost ran out of money in less than a week. Some dealerships, though, suspended it. And, in fact, one Texas woman said the dealership even told her to return her brand-new car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM KIESCHNICK, CUSTOMER: I'm driving it around for a week, you know. You kind of get attached to it, and then, boom, bring the car back. I blame it on the bureaucracy at the federal government. I mean, to me, it seems like a relatively simple program and, you know, they should have known that it was going to be very popular.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: If the Senate approves the extra cash, it will keep the plan running until Labor Day.

Well, a whole lot going on this morning, and our CNN crews are in place to bring it all to you. You see them there. Let's get a preview now beginning with Christine Romans.

Hey, there, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Heidi. Well, I'm taking a look at the progress and the challenges for this administration on the economy. Two things that are most important to you and I our job and our home. What work needs to be done there? I'll have it at the top of the hour.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. My empowered patient segment today is about hospitals. They could be dangerous places to be, so we asked nurses, what did you do to survive a stay at the hospital when you were a patient. I'll have that at the top of the hour.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN severe weather center. It's been a quiet hurricane season on the Atlantic, but Pacific is heating up. Hurricane Felicia now a strong category four and heading towards Hawaii. Complete forecast coming up in the next hour.

Heidi?

COLLINS: OK. Very good. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

Also, auto executives got a tongue lashing when they did it. Now some lawmakers also want to fly in style at taxpayer expense.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A homecoming almost 60 years in the making. Army Sergeant Charles Leo Wilson left Missouri in 1950 to fight in the Korean war. Surviving family members only now are able to say good- bye.

Reporter Paul Schankman with affiliate KTVI has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL SCHANKMAN, KTVI REPORTER (voice-over): When words are too small to express the magnitude of the moment, there is the salute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody that will sacrifice their life for our freedom deserves to be honored.

SCHANKMAN: Sergeant Charles Leo Wilson has come home. The army believes he was killed during the first insurgency of the Korean war on or about November 27th 1950.

BOB MURPHY, PRESIDENT, VFW 2866: He has been unaccounted for for almost 60 years. They've accounted for him. He's coming home to his family. They're going to have some closure. Every man should come home.

SCHANKMAN: Sergeant Wilson's remains were found in 2000 by a North Korean farmer tilling his field. But they were not identified by the army until the sergeant's niece started asking questions. And though she barely remembers him, she always remembered the story.

LINDA CHAMBERLIAN, SGT. WILSON'S NIECE: My mother always wondered what had happened. I mean, you know, and she always kept a picture of Uncle Leo, and so, she kept him alive as kids. And she always wondered what happened. And, you know, she just -- for years, she just knew he'd come home.

SCHANKMAN (on camera): Sgt. Wilson's home coming did not end here at Lambert Airport. His remains are being escorted across the state to Ava, Missouri, by members of the patriot guard. It's a 243- mile trip they say is an honor to make.

BILL HUNT, PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS: His family now. We're representing his family, and it's personal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I started all this, I didn't realize, well, I never even thought about how big of a thing it was going to be. All I was thinking about was just getting him home.

SCHANKMAN (voice-over): Mission accomplished.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Happening now. There's word of a new witness in the disappearance of a 3-year-old British girl. A spokesman for the family of Madeleine McCann says a witness told investigators he talked with a woman who offered clues about the case. The witness describes the suspicious woman as a Victoria Beckham look-alike with an Australian accent. Madeleine McCann vanished from her family's holiday villa at a Portugese resort in May of 2007.

Here's some dramatic pictures now out of South Korea. Helicopter commandos brought in to end a violence 77-day strike at an auto plant. South Korean media say a deal has been reached, but some of the strikers are still refusing to give up. They're upset over hundreds of proposed layoffs.

Back to work for a South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. He returns today after a European vacation with his family. Republican governor is reportedly been focusing on his wife and children after admitting an affair with an Argentine woman. The scandal led to widespread calls for his resignation.