the koran have unfortunately already the koran and burning the koran and doing other acts like that it only exasperate anti-christian anti western sentiment and if we really want to stand against the problem britain fish to the water just like westboro or anywhere else need to stop their burning burning the koran sessions and they need to add a priority for it is this and they need to see peace but surely surely let me ask you this do you care if the fact if you burn korans and then people die because of it if that's what's american lives at risk of perhaps you know that as civilians in afghanistan then die because of it do you care do you feel like your job then that idea or there won't be any soldiers on our hands there is not going to be any repercussions will we burn that qur'an god's arm is not. i surely a lot of the glee here saying you know what do you think that there will be representations if if there if this qur'an is burned on saturday. absolutely i mean just just for that for the viewers to know that the for muslims the qur'an is not even acceptable to put on the ground of

on -- the korans. he takes this agreement, backs down, but in new york, a spokesman for the developer aranda imam behind the cultural center tell us they did not know anything at all. mass confusion on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. >> we will talk more about that in a moment. have we had any reaction from the white house and the pastor has made this decision? >> president obama is going to be giving a press conference tomorrow. this is the first one he has done in months. you can bet your bottom dollar the press conference is going to be dominated by questions about this. >> you mentioned discussions about the area near ground zero. donald trump has offered to buy out a major investor in the realistic partnership that controls the site near ground zero. this move by donald trump, should we read more into this, other than being skeptical that this is a publicity stunt? >> donald trump has said one of the reasons he is doing this is because you want to diffuse the situation. he wants to

on september 11 -- wants to burn the koran. i am heartened by this disrespectful, a disgraceful act. then it comes from american religious leaders of all faiths, from evangelical christians to jewish rabbis, as well as secular u.s. leaders. >> unequivocal condemnation there from hillary clinton. steve, is there any word on whether this church is going to drop its plans to burn the koran? paston terry says he still plans to go ahead. he knows the risks that his actions carry. he says it is important to send the message to radical is lummox islamists that pose a danger to the united states. from the top of the government down to local law enforcement in florida, and he is under pressure to back down, to cancel this event. he says he is korea, thinking about it, and, perhaps, god will eventually tell him to cancel it -- he says he is praying. >> calling for a laying down of arms forever. a country's democratic political parties are disappointed about disarmament. julia gillard is the australian prime minister after two weeks. tw w

he said late today he realizes now this is not the time to burn a koran. while initially this was reported to be part of a deal that would also include moving the location of that controversial planned islamic community center near ground zero in lower manhattan in new york, well, that part of this is being denied tonight. we'll sort this all out. we have it covered beginning in florida where the announcement was made this afternoon. we want to begin with nbc's kerry sanders, who's been covering this story in gainesville, florida. kerry, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, good evening, brian. yes, nbc news has confirmed that secretary of defense robert gates late this afternoon phoned pastor jones. then a short time later, pastor jones came out here with all the world's eyes looking at this field in rural florida. they heard the pastor announce that he no longer plans to build a bonfire with more than 200 korans. pastor terry jones says he no longer plans to burn the koran. >> we have been in very much thought and prayer over this whole period. a lot

recall that president bush put the first koran in the white house. all of this burning of the koran incident would have undercut those efforts. juan-- you have the president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, appealing to this preacher of a congregation of 30-some congregates who has threatened to do this one act. how would you characterize all this? >> well, i think it was unprecedented, but it demonstrates the seriousness and the danger of this potential act. they took this very seriously, and secretary gates thought he had to act to stop this. >> smith: saturday's 9/11 anniversary will be a day of freedom for one of three american hikers jailed in iran for more than a year. iran says it will release 31- year-old sure to mark the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan. shourd has said she has been suffering from serious medical problems. it was the u.s. marines to the rescue in the gulf of eaden today where pirates had taken control of a german flag cargo ship between yemen and somalia. using helicopters as a diversion, the marines

. >> a church had planneto burn korans strains christian and muslim relations. i am wendy griffith. >> and i am georgethomas. international condemtion has come down on a tiny florida church. >> numbers are small, just 50 members. it is on again, off again to burn copies of koran, dale herd has more. >> reporter: as pastor terry jones plans for the 9/11 anniversarbecomes public, in pakistan they burned the u.s. flag, the indonesia, the presidenwarns of an interfaith bklash. >> what is being planned by reverend terry jones and followers in florida, the united states of america, before the publics burn the holy koran, not only with the feelings of the islamic but i am also certain the feelings of the followers of other faiths can threaten peace and security. >> in the gaza strip, the hamas prime minister vowed allegiance to the koran and called pastor jones a criminal liar. in the u.s. clergy were quic to condemn the plans as well. >> i say shame on you. >> bearingwitness against your neighbor is against the koran and bibles. we have to be here. >> even president o

burn the koran. pastor terry jones says he has more than 200 koran and he claims a message from god to pile them up and burn them saturday. >> it is by no means a stunt. we have thought this out. we have prayed this through. we believe that this type of message is right now very, very necessary in america before it's too late. >> reporter: the church's associate pastor -- >> it's a smith & wesson .40 caliber. >> reporter: -- says he's now armed after hundreds of e-mails from around the world flooded the church's in-box. messages like, swear by almighty god, i will slay the church pastor terry jones in front of the church's door. the dove world outreach center sits outside a cow pasture in rural gainesville, florida. the congregation here numbers less than 50. while this afternoon their leader said he is undeterred -- >> we have no intention of cancelling. >> reporter: -- pastor jones admits he's never read the koran but takes no responsibility if burning it leads to an attack on a u.s. soldier. >> of

could also -- burning the koran could harm u.s. troops. the event was planned for saturday on the nine of -- anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. terry jones is getting criticism from the white house and fbi, but around the world there have already been protests. >> the president was forced to spend a rare news conference making an appeal for tolerance, saying muslims were neighbors and friends. the trouble is it looks as though he is getting more publicity to a group on the fringe. pastor jones is the leader of a church with a congregation of 50. he believes is what is the work of the devil and the threat and to burn korans. he said if forced muslims to abandon a plan to build a center on ground zero. >> we are still very hopeful that we will meet with the imam. >> it seems the koran burning will not happen. >> we are not at war against islam. we are at war against terrorist organizations. they have distorted islam or falsely used the banner of islam to engage in their destructive acts. >> and afghanistan, at the president's word has

the american pastor may have called off plans to bernie koran, but has not stopped -- burn the koran. this was jalal above earlier today. -- jalalabad earlier today. three demonstrators were shot by afghan security guards when they besieged the premier in the north of the country. in kabul, president karzai spoke out with a new warning to terry jones, that he should not think of carrying out his threat. >> any a front against the koran was a humiliation to muslims everywhere. , >> this prompted a new intervention on american television from general petraeus. >> there has been some damage done. you have heard of demonstrations here in afghanistan. they are already images implanted in the minds. >> this afternoon president obama weighed in again with more strong words, making clear he thinks this crisis is not about a french preacher but a matter of national security. >> the idea that we would burn the sacred texts of someone else's religion is contrary to what this country stands for. it is contrary to what this nation was founded on. and my hope is this individual praise on it and ref

in the koran -- i read it in my own eyes -- in the koran you can tell nonbelievers. jesus christ never taught that. please, please. this is not about hate. it is not. it is about the fear of a muslim country coming in and taking my rights away. host: here is some other news. here is "the financial times." castro voices doubt on cuban model. this is an "the financial times" this morning. also one of the lead stories in "the miami herald." "the washington post" -- she goes on to name names, potential replacements at the end of the article. that is an "the washington post" this morning. lancaster, south carolina. mike, independent line. caller: good morning. i am commenting on that feet -- preacher down in florida down there. can you hear me? don't you know that he is listening to you all this morning on the tv, like i am? but i have a suggestion. why don't the peter tried to sell the books for a couple of thousand dollars a piece and then i am sure he could sell them. and then he can burn the money. but wait a minute? it is against the law to burn money. thank you for

. >>> a preacher's plan to burn the koran sparking protest against america. and this nation's best-known active duty four-star general right there in the middle of it. >>> the war next door that most americans may not know about but should because of the threat to the united states. >>> and at risk, questions about something dentists use, especially on young patients. >>> also tonight, making a difference on the home front, >>> also tonight, making a difference on the home front, "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. it's always been the american ideal, part of the american way, pushing ahead, always getting better, always improving, a future always brighter than our past. but tonight in the new nbc news polling numbers debuting today, americans are losing hope in the future of their country in greater numbers now. our new numbers contain bad news for the president and bad news for his party. a lot of it because the economy is beyond bad and it's been that way for quite a while. and we begin tonight with ou

it's against god. >> reporter: the book, of course, is the koran. the holy book of the world's 1.3 billion muslims, believed by the faithful to be the word of god revealed through his prophet. >> we are sending a clear message -- >> reporter: and pastor terry jones says he will burn it on september 11th. >> we feel that their radical message is necessary. we also want to send a message to the moderate muslim to stay peaceful and moderate. we expect the muslims that are here in america to respect, honor, obey, submit to our constitution. >> reporter: and with that theologic theological bridge rans, pastor jones has led his little flock to the brink of a global confrontation and he's drawn harsh criticism from secretary of state hillary clinton tonight. >> i am heartened by the clear condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act. >> reporter: to religious leaders, from the vatican, to southern baptists, to his fellow evangelical preachers, and now in a sign of just how serious this has all become, from general david petraeus in afghanistan, who

." >> international condemnation for the american pastor who planned to burn the koran. president obama calls it a recruitment bonanza for al qaeda. a hostage rescue. did police shoot some of the victims? paying less for the daily bread. they hope of food subsidies to prevent violence. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast around the globe. coming up later for you, a new band of brothers as the u.s. troops surge in afghanistan peaks. those in the final deployment talk of their hopes and fears. r weast -- are we finally saying goodbye to the super-skinny model? hello to you. american citizens are being warned by the government to avoid a controversy. a church in florida plans to publicly burned the koran. there's a risk of terrorist response. the burning is planned to commemorate the september 11 attacks. president obama called it a stunt that would be a recruitment bonanza for al qaeda. indonesia's's president says images of the koran in flames could threaten world peace and damage relations between islam and the west. in india, and where the population of 130 million m

we believe that he has not given himself a chance to read and reflect on the koran. however, we believe in freedom of expression but also with that comes responsibility. we are very concerned that this may lead to hate crimes against muslims. >> suarez: an imam from the islamic society of central florida spoke alongside jones at the press conference today. >> i have conveyed my deep concerns to pastor jones and the gravity of the situation. and because he does not like to see anyone get hurt because of an action being taken here and because i, like many americans-- muslims and non-- feel that the placement of a mosque near the ground zero location is unnecessary. >> suarez: the imam said he would accompany jones to the new york meeting this week end to discuss relocating the mosque. for more on this story, we're joined by mohammed hafez, an associate professor in the department of national security affairs at the naval postgraduate school. and brian fishman, a counterterrorism research fellow at the new america foundation. both have written extensively on islamic mov

as for his plan to burn the koran, that's off, as jones' son made clear. >> there will be no koran burning tomorrow. i don't know -- do we have to repeat that over and over and over again? >> reporter: if it all seems to have degraded into something like comedy here in gainesville -- >> i'm here as a mediator, a peace peacemaker. >> reporter: it is already deadly serious around the world. protests erupted in five cities across afghanistan, where crowds chanted, "death to america." and three people were shot. and there were smaller, more peaceful protests in pakistan, jerusalem and london. general david petraeus told abc's martha raddatz in afghanistan today that pastor jones has hurt u.s. interests abroad. >> there has been some damage done. you've seen it. there are already, in a sense, images, if you will, implanted in minds, albeit not with photos, of something as inflammatory as the burning of a koran. >> reporter: and in washington, president obama spoke as commander in chief for the troops in the field. >> this is a way of endangering our troops, our sons and daughters. you don't pla

the pastor doesn't burn the korans and they won't build the mosque. they both said last night the protests will go on as planned. nothing has changed. >> thank you very much, mike. now here's amy. >> carl, thanks. >>> new york city mayor michael bloomberg also joins us this morning from the world trade center site. mr. mayor, good morning. >> good morning. >> and you were a fairly new mayor on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. now we're here commemorating the ninth anniversary. how has this day changed for you and for new yorkers? >> well, for the families maybe in some senses it hasn't changed because their loved ones never come back. for the rest of us we have reflected and we're rebuilding, and that's the balance that we have to have. we have to make sure that we don't forget and help those who have had big losses and family members recover and get back. for the rest of us it's more an economic thing, and something where we've got to make sure we teach our children the less ob of 9/11, which i think is that there were people around the wor

they chanted, down with america in response to the plan to burn the koran. it's a scene this man wants to see repeated across the globe. the hard-line former leader of a banned islamist group in britain has called on muslims to make 9/11 burn the stars and stripes day and set fires to american flags outside embassies around the world. >> the americans are really digging their own grave. >> reporter: the american embassy here in london is just one target of those planned demonstrations on saturday. the u.s. state department has issued a warning to u.s. embassies around the world to brace for the possibility of a violent anti-american backlash. in paris, a british muslim member of the european parliament urged restraint if the threat to burn the koran is carried out. >> muslims know through this koran burning this man will achieve nothing. >> reporter: muslim countries have called on president obama to forbid the bonfire in florida from happening. on a visit to pakistan, actress angelina jolie said she was appalled by the idea of burning the koran. >> i have h

the internet. >> dude, you have no koran. >> reporter: jeanne moos -- >> dude, you have no koran. >> reporter: cnn, new york. >>> remember, you can always follow what's going on behind the scenes here in "the situation room." i'm on twitter. you can get my tweets at twitter.com/wolfblitzercnn. @wolfblitzercnn. remember, all one word. or

he said, i am glad he has decided not to burn any more korans. he says, i am surprised by their announcement. we are not going to toy with their religion nor any other. we are here to extend our hand to provide peace and harmony. we will bring you up-to-date with more soon. in afghanistan, a surge of american troops is now at its peak. the final american deployment was the airborne division. for some, it is their first tour of duty in the nine-year war. what is their position, and what is the moves? >> there on the move. -- they are on the move. they said their goodbyes at fort campbell, ky. they are the last of 30,000 american troops arriving here and hope to end the 9-year-long war. these infantrymen say they are undaunted. >> i realize we are in a hostile environment. i trust them. i trust their judgment. >> it does take into weeks to get this far. how have you filled the time? >> thinking and praying, trying to make the best of it. we do not have a lot of down time. >> older hands from the regiment were already on the front line. they have be

the koran is islam's holiest text and many are concerned that burning the koran would prompt threats to safety around the world. jones has some other on stackles. the city of gainesville denied him a burn permit and the web provider of his website cuts off access to it. >> that is an indirect violation of our freedom of expression, freedom of speech, because they are trying to shut us down. >> these are people in gainesville that held their own interfaith service yesterday against the koran burning actually last night. organizers say that their turnout outnumbered the 50 members of jones' church. >>> the future of california's furlough fridays is in the hands of the state supreme court. yesterday, attorneys for the governor and union workers delivered their arguments before the justices in san francisco. the court has to decide whether governor schwarzenegger has the authority to furlough more than 200,000 state workers to save money. there are currently three furlough days each month, which amounts to a 14% pay cut for each state employee. >> the governor's authority to furlough sta

plea from muslims, that christian minister in florida is going ahead with plans to burn copies of the koran. i'm katie couric. also tonight, its oil spread through the gulf. now b.p. is spreading the blame in a report on what caused the disaster. the grizzlies of yellowstone. they may be cute, but they're also hungry and dangerous. ♪ goes to show you never can tell... ♪ >> couric: what are women looking for in a dance partner? what arthur murray never told us. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. he's heard the complaints, the outrage in church groups, the military, even world leaders. but today florida pastor terry jones insisted he will go ahead with plans to burn copies of the koran on saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. in response, the state department ordered u.s. around the world to assess their security and brace for possible protests. general david petraeus, the top u.s. commander in afghanistan, met today with afghan president hamid

the koran is islam's holy text and many are concerned a koran burning could prompt threats around the world. jones has some obstacles ahead. the city of gainesville denied him a burn permit. he also says the provider of his church's website has cut off his access to it. >> we feel that is an indirect, of course, violation of our freedom of expression, freedom of speech, because they are trying to shut us down. >> some people in gainesville held their own interfaith service last night. organizers say their turnout outnumbered the 50 members of the jones' church. >>> 75 of the most influential people in silicon valley are urging major league baseball to let oakland as move to san jose. ceos from cisco systems, ebay, yahoo, sun power and other companies signed a two-page letter of solidarity. it urges baseball commissioner bud selig to let as and the city move forward with the downtown ballpark near hp pavilion. baseball officials have spent more than a year on this issue and have yet to make a decision on territorial rights. the san francisco giants are trying to use that to prevent san

we have not burnt the koran. we have not done anything at all, but even though we have not done anything, there has already been riots andnd threats around the world to us. ththat already confirms that ou missio at least part of our mission has been accomplished to bring a greater awareness toto america and to the world that islam is possibly much more dangerous and much more violent than we thought. >> reporteter: so, maybe you brought your message to the world and you don't have to go ahead and burn any korans? >> that's very possible. >> so, that is where things stand now. be sure to watch "good morning america" tomorrow morning for the latest on this story. >>> and d when we come back, we move to grnd zero o self here in manhattan, where we're going to take a top to bottom tour of the 9/11 memorial, the underground museum and thehe rising towers. (announcer) chug that coffee, bolt that burrito. no matter what life throws at you, yoyou n take the heat. until it turns into... heartburn. good thing you've got wh

. >> ifill: we examine the firestorm surrounding a plan to burn the koran at a church in florida, as general david petraeus warns it could incite violence against american troops. >> lehrer: judy woodruff looks at the web site craigslist and the changes in its adult service's section. >> ifill: and we have an encore profile of one of the most renowned figures in modern dance, judith jamison, who was honored with a tribute at the white house today. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> lehrer: two new polls released today show democrats in deep trouble with november's midterm elections less than two months away. newshour correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. >> reporter: the polls paint a grim picture for the president and congressional democrats. according to an abc news/"washingto

that florida pastor now says he he koran, because the ground zero mosque will be moved. but we have an exclusive interview with the imam of the mosque who says it's all a surprise to him. a story that has everyone from donald trump to the white house weighing in. >>> e-mail mayhem. why people from california to nasa and abc were cursing out their computers today. homeland security analyzing the avalanche of spam. >>> taxpayer alert. another financially hit california city revealing that local officials were hiring limos in paris. >>> and, an apple ever? how many vegetables do you think your fellow americans eat on an average week? >>> good evening from los angeles, and the news has been breaking a mile a minute today. on the story that has so many people confounded and taking sides. the florida pastor, terry jones, faced the cameras today to say he will not burn the koran in o6 two days on the 9/11 anniversary. but he also said that he had worked out a deal that the mosque planned near ground zero would be moved. but the imam of the mosque told abc news he knows nothing

pastor to burn the koran. carey johnson who leads a protestant church with about 30 members says he will press ahead despite international condemnation and an appeal from the white house. >> so far, reverend terry jones is insisting the koran burning will go ahead. barack obama wants him to rethink. he said it would be a recruitment bonanza for al qaeda. >> i just hope he understands what he is proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as americans, that this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance. >> there have been a protest against the plans in many muslim countries. in eastern pakistan, some demonstrators threatened revenge and attacks on christian priests. >> 48 hours from now, european parliaments have added their voice to the debate and are calling on moslems to remain calm. >> muslims globally must know that through this koran burning, this pastor will achieve nothing. he has been isolated in his country and his religion. it is only through a react

condemnations from around the world over a small independent florida church's threatened plan to burn the koran. secretary of state hillary clinton called the plan disrespectful and disgraceful. and general david petraeus, the top u.s. and nato commander in afghanistan and defense secretary robert gates said the act could endanger american troops. the debate came on top of another controversy over plans to build an islamic cultural center near the site of ground zero in new york. at a news conference on friday, president obama called for religious tolerance. >> we have to make sure that we don't start turning on each other, and i will do everything that i can as long as i'm president of the united states to remind the american people that we are one nation under god and we may call that god different names. but we remain one nation. >> this week, dozens of christian, jewish and muslim leaders held what they called an emergency summit in washington, d.c. to address the tensions. the group released a statement denouncing anti-muslim bigotry and urging respect for america's tradition of religious

>>> koran controversy. despite widespread condemnation, a defiant florida preacher says he will go ahead with his plan to burn copies of the muslim holy book. >>> security scare. a bomb threat found on a flight from thailand to los angeles. >>> and state of emergency. no relief in sight as a wildfire rages out of control in colorado, destroying dozens of homes. >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 8, 20 10. >>> good morning, everybody. good to see you. it is wednesday morning. you tend to forget when you move through the week like this. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen. that florida preacher who plans to burn copies of the koran, the muslim holy book, will not back down. everyone is condemning the plan by reverend terry jones, but jones says he's trying to send a message to radical islam. tara mergener is in washington with the latest on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. jones believes radical islam could take over america and says burning the koran is a warni

there will be no korans burned at all. so the worldwide attention on this church and this field in rural central florida ends. pastor jones says he may not even be here himself tomorrow. he's planning on going to new york city where he hopes to meet with imam faisal abdul rauf who hopes to build the muslim cultural center near ground zero. pastor zones wants to tell him he wants that mosque moved. tonight he s says he has no plans to meet with pastor jones and he has no plans to move the mosque. brian? >> all right. kerry, thanks. >>> we have an update on one of the american hikers who has been imprisoned in tehran. last night we reported the iranian government announced that sarah shourd would be freed in honor of the end of ramadan. tehran's prosecutor says tomorrow's release has been cancelled because the legal process there is not complete. >>> the president of the united states has informed an active duty member of the u.s. army that he will be receiving the medal of honor for his actions in the korengal valley in afg

it's time for my unplugged moment tonight and it has to deal with burn the koran day see pastor terry jones plans to hold international burn a koran days he's calling it this saturday september eleventh we've spoken about it at length on this show we've spoken to pastor terry jones himself and the move has obviously drawn our from the white house from the pentagon from religious leaders in america all the way over to the pope and general david petraeus who's leading u.s. troops in afghanistan says that this qur'an burning will only profit the cause of radical islam and put the lives of american troops in danger now over the weekend massive protests were held across afghanistan where as the g.'s a pastor jones were burned along with american flags you see just the talk of burning the koran led to these protests can you imagine what will happen if this actually takes place and here's the really scary part even pamela geller who's been interviewed on this show numerous times about her opposition to the so-called ground zero mosque even she says that burning the koran is wrong but here's

that's true. >> 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., three hours of koran burning. christians sometimes ask, what would jesus do? do you really think that jesus christ, if he were here today, would say, pastor, go burn that holy book? >> absolutely. >> jesus christ would say that? >> absolutely. if you look at jesus' life, most of the time jesus was as people imagine him. he was very nice, very patient, very loving. but there was also times that jesus did radical things. so i think jesus would not run around burning books, but i think he would burn this one. >> what do you say to people who say you're crazy? you are on the lunatic fringe of christianity? >> well, i agree that the burning of the koran is pretty radical. >> reporter: it's an act of war, really. an act of holy war. a sign of the times. and some, like terry jones, are ready for the fight. you're prepared to do this and prepared and ready to incite violence? >> we are definitely prepared to do this. we are definitely prepared to give our lives for this particular message and cause, yes. >> will you be ar

. >>> coming up next on this thursday, new opposition to the plan to burn copies of the koran. will the pastor planning the event back down? >>> and the vice president thanks the troops on late-night tv. >>> texans are cleaning up and drying out this morning, after getting slammed by the leftovers from tropical storm hermine. as we have been showing you, several tornadoes touched down in the dallas area, bringing down part of a strip mall. at least two people died in flash floods. and many others had to be rescued from their homes. >>> lingering flooding for the morning commute, from dallas to oklahoma city. i-40 will also be drenched into little rock and memphis. flooding in the northern plains from fargo to billings. wet on i-5 in the pacific northwest. and on i-95 and 90, upstate new york and new england. >> if you are flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, salt lake city, kansas city, memphis and dallas. >>> the outrage over a florida pastor's plans to burn the koran is spreading around the world, across religious and political lines. but so far, the criticism hasn

the muslims do not want us to burn the koran. americans do not want the mosque near the ground zero place. and we made the proposal on the radio, which he heard, that if they were willing to move the mosque from the ground zero location, we would be willing to cancel our event. he came back to me with that proposal. >> he is saying that -- that you're stretching the truth. that you may have misinterpreted or misunderstood what he said. that he never claimed that there was any deal on the table about moving the proposed islamic center and mosque. but that he did say the possibility of you meeting with the imam here in new york. is there any possibility that you could have misunderstood him in any way? >> there is absolutely no possibility. i made it very, very clear. i had witnesses in my office. we repeated it several times. it was very, very clear. i asked him. i said, let me get this perfectly clear. what you are saying is if we cancel our event on saturday, the mosque will be moved from the ground zero location? and he said, y

>>> growing outrage over a florida pastor's plan to burn the koran. is there a chance he'll back down? >>> and reduced to rubble. a detroit firestorm, spreading from house to house to house. >>> good morning. and thanks for being with us. the president hopes to reverse his party's popularity problem today, as he outlines a new, economic plan. >> and that, of course, is a very tall order, with just eight weeks until the midterm elections. but the white house is betting a mix of tax incentives and new spending will do the trick. >> emily schmidt is joining us from washington with details on what the president will say today. good morning, emily. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. the white house says the message you'll hear today is going to be the basic economic message until the election. officials are hoping that the president can convince voters the economy's on the right track. even as recent polls show voters are increasingly worried. today in cleveland, it's round two of a washington election year fight about the economy. president

. >> ifill: we examine the firestorm surrounding a plan to burn the koran at a church in florida, as general david petraeus warns it could incite violence against american troops. >> lehrer: judy woodruff looks at the web site craigslist and the changes in its adult service's section. >> ifill: and we have an encore profile of one of the most renowned figures in modern dance, judith jamison, who was honored with a tribute at the white house today. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> lehrer: two new polls released today show democrats in deep trouble with november's midterm elections less than two months away. newshour correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. >> reporter: the pollsaint a grimicture forhe preside and congressional democrats. according to an abc news/"washington post"

is the koran burning going to take place or not? >> reporter: well, larry, at this point, pastor jones just a little while ago came out and said that he hopes what the imam told him was true. if it's not true, then their plans are right now in limbo and they may have to rethink their position. at this point, the koran burning is not taking place, but that may be contingent upon whether or not jones gets a meeting in new york on saturday with the imam, feisal rauf, to discuss the moving of the islamic learning center, the proposed islamic learning center from near ground zero to another location. but right now, larry, it's up in the air. >> larry: but the imam seems to be saying, he will meet with pastor jones, but at a later date when things have cooled off. is that what you've heard? >> reporter: that's correct. but the imam here who was an intermediary in all of this is saying that he, in fact, believes that they can have a meeting in new york on saturday and that a meeting in new york was somehow agreed to, not by the imam himsel

. >> there will be no koran burning tomorrow. do we have to repeat that over and over again? >> reporter: however, jones is still calling for a meeting to discuss the construction of the islamic center near ground zero. >> we have not heard from the imam. but we are still very, very hopeful that we will meet with him. >> reporter: imam feisal abdul rauf says there's no meeting planned. but he's open to seeing anyone seriously committed to pursuing peace. the islamic center, opposed by a majority of americans and new yorkers, is the focus of dueling demonstrations today. >> my son is dead. he was murdered by muslims. he can't speak anymore. and i'll speak out for him. i think that's the american way. we'll let our voices be heard. >> reporter: and once again, the president weighed in. using his most forceful language yet, to defend the right to build the center. >> we have millions of muslim-americans, our fellow citizens in this country. when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them? >

>>> koran controversy. despite widespread condemnation, a defiant florida preacher says he will go ahead with his plan to burn copies of the muslim holy book. >>> security scare. a bomb threat found on a flight from thailand to los angeles. >>> and state of emergency. no relief in sight as a wildfire rages out of control in colorado, destroying dozens of homes. >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 8, 20 10. >>> good morning, everybody. good to see you. it is wednesday morning. you tend to forget when you move through the week like this. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen. that florida preacher who plans to burn copies of the koran, the muslim holy book, will not back down. everyone is condemning the plan by reverend terry jones, but

officials, pastor terry jones has vowed to go ahead with his koran bonfire. even a neighboring pastor is organizing an effort to stop jones. >> i've called him. i've not gotten any response. tomorrow a group of interfaith clergy, muslim, christian, jewish, will present a petition to him that will have over 6,000 sigalert tours, possibly more, asking him not to burn the koran. >> the florida governor says he will close low monitor pastor terry jones and what happens at the dove world outreach this weekend. >>> a 7-year-old antioch girl is in critical condition after she was hit by a car when she ran into a street chasing a toy. police say at about 6:40 p.m. yesterday the girl darted into west sixth street near c street into the path of an on coming car. the driver tried to stop and swerved but still hit the girl and knocked her to the ground. the girl was flown to the hospital. >>> fire investigators want to know why an oakland apartment complex went up in flames twice. it's a devastating loss for the people who live there. kraig debro reports. >> reporter: an

have been arrested for burning the koran something that definitely would never happen here in america but are there examples where free speech seems to go a little too far we'll speak with georgetown university professor christopher chambers and hilarity and confusion ensued as stephen colbert came to the hill in character today to testify so in this changing media political landscape who is more influential politicians or media figures and is there even a difference anymore our chief correspondent christine for his hour will join us to talk about this emerging hybrid then we'll tell you a story about a sobering new documentary called the other city brings us a new perspective to the shocking hiv aids rates right here in the district of columbia the first some reason nobody wants to talk about so we'll speak with the producer of the film sheila johnson and it's friday so we're going to bring you a mash up of these strangest stories making headlines like katy perry being deemed too busty for sesame street and a new barbie doll that's making a mockery out of broadcast journalism we're g

plans by a florida church to burn the koran sparks protest and a warning about the safety of u.s. troops. >>> and without a net, a daredevil scales a san francisco skyscraper right into the arms of the law. this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, september 7th, this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, september 7th, 2010. captioning funded by cbs >>> and back to work today on this tuesday. good morning, everybody. good to see you. i'm terrell brown. and right now firefighters are battling a wind-driven wildfire in northern colorado. it's unclear what started the fire monday morning. residents of a thousand homes have been forced to evacuate. nearly six square miles have been burned. it's unknown the number of buildings destroyed. sandra hughes has our report. >> reporter: the smoke is so dark and thick it can be seen all the way to denver. fire crews have had to attack the blaze which is ten miles northwest of boulder on the ground because high winds had kept air tankers grounded until late afternoon monday. >> some of the structures lost or destroyed actually belong to fir