i'm fredricka whitfield. "your money" starts after this. hey america, even though slisa rinna is wearing the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too. is the only yogurt brand endorsed by weight watchers and your taste buds have always endorsed us. so, you know what this means... this is a real win win! yoplait, it is so good.

i'm susan hendricks for today fredricka whitfield. the eighth highest mountain in the world had a deadly avalanche. at least 11 people are dead and a desperate search for more people is happening right now. a whole camp may have been swept away by that avalanche. it happened at 5:00 a.m. this morning. there are some survivors that have been airlifted to local hospitals. we are told over 204 mountaineers broke up into teams of 25. they were apparently attempting to climb the mountain. at least 38 people are believed to be still missing. we're going to follow that, of course. >>> libya's militias have 48 hours to leave tripoli or else. that is the warning from the army. the military says it will use force if needed to push those militants out of bases, public buildings or property belonging to the former regime. the threat follows passionate anti-militia protests like this one in benghazi. libyans who are determined to show they are not standing for the violence that left four americans dead. >>> pakistan is condemning the bounty for th

i'm fredricka whitfield. stay with cnn. "your money" starts right after this. see life in the best light. oun. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. receiving a transitions lenses certificate of authenticity is your only guarantee that you're getting the world's #1 recommended photochromic lens. ask for it and register your lenses online today.

. >>> hello, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield with a check of our top stories. intense negotiations are happening right now to avoid a strike at the third largest school system in america. chicago teachers are threatening to walk off the job tomorrow if school offials don't agree to raise increases and better work conditions. both sides say they made some progress during yesterday's talks but union reps say there are still major sticking pounds to wo points to work out. >>> moments ago novak djokovic won the u.s. men's semi-finals and now he moves on to his third final in a row. bad weather forced the umpire to stop their match in its first set yesterday. women's finals will also go on. it, too, was delayed yesterday because of bad weather. later on today serena williams will be takiplaying. >>> coming up in 30 minutes, she also played at the u.s. open. get used to looking at her. she's a champ on the rise. we'll interview upand coming women's tennis star, 19-year-old sloane stephens in less than 30 minutes. now back to the next list with sanjay gupta. >>> you g

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> tomorrow may not be a school day in the third largest public school system in the country. chicago teachers are threatening to go on strike in the morning if the school system doesn't agree to better pay and improved work conditions. the walkout could affect 400,000 students at 700 schools and involves 29,000 unionized teachers. let's go live now to cnn's ted rowlands who is outside one of the schools that could be closed tomorrow. ted, how are negotiations going? is there still a slight chance that school might be on tomorrow? >> reporter: yeah. they're at it right now at this hour, fredricka. and yesterday they worked into the evening and after that session, both sides seemed cautiously optimistic. that said, they are going forward with plans, are the teachers, they're picking up signs today and red t-shirts and the plan is to start striking at 6:30 local here. they are going to continue to, as i said, negotiate into the night and the hope is that they can avert this strike. there's also been a little bit of a backlash from the community. people are asking

i'm fredricka whitfield. i'll see you in 30 minutes with the latest news. up next, elena cho with fashion week backstage pass. >>> hi, everybody. welcome to fashion backstage pass. i'm alina cho at lincoln center, the home and heart of new york fashion week. this season we're taking you behind the scenes for an exclusive inside look at the spring collections for 2013. new york fashion week is one of the biggest events of the year. it's where big name and emerging designers show off six months of painstaking work like marc jacobs, who showed a sleek collection of stripes and suits that won rave reviews. >> after last season's romance and all of the paisley and sort of twirly patterns, we wanted something crisp and sexy. >> it's where fashion meets politics, tracy reese dress eed michelle obama for her speech at the dnc. >> i felt honored to be a part of this amazing moment. she just glowed in it, made it come to life. >> at the rnc, ann romney wore oscar de la renta. >> fashion is unbelievable. just ladies did unbelievable work. >> and come spring, the looks

. >>> and welcome back to the news room, i'm fredricka whitfield. today, protesters took to the streets in australia. hundreds of people demonstrated there outside the u.s. consulate in sidney. it turn -- volt when they pushed them back. authorities used tear gas and police dogs to stop the demonstrators who threw bottles, four people were hurt. >>> and this was the scene in india, there were protests in tunisia and afghanistan, today. >>> and to the man who made the controversial muslim movie, the film-maker surfaced publicly for the first time during an overnight visit to his probation officer in los angeles. more from los angeles, miguel what impact has all of this had on the coptic christian community, since he professed to be a coptic christian? >>. >> reporter: yes, they're lying low here, i spoke to people who know him, go to the church he goes to. they are distancing themselves from the movie, that coptic christians don't go to. this is the work of one man, a collection of individuals who have done it. they don't have anything to do with it.

. >> all right, that will do it for me, i'm fredricka whitfield. keep it right here, for sanjay gupta, live from sunny california. >>> hello from the west coast, well, the race is here. i'm in california to race the nautica malibu triathlon, along with seven cnn viewers. they have been training all year long, right along with me. i can tell you that the sport of triathlon is growing, in fact the number has increased ten-fold in the last ten years. one of the all-time greats will be along to share tips about keeping your head in the game. they will explain something you will love. how anyone can get more fit, lose more weight, while in fact working out less. before we get to all of that, there is a big story we have been following along for sometime out of new york. you may have heard about this. mayor michael bloomberg launched the crusade to ban sugary drinks, including sodas in city restaurants and delis. and thursday, he got what he wanted on the large drink, 16 ounces or more. i spoke with mayor bloomberg earlier from new york. all right, mr. m

me, i'm fredricka whitfield, susan is in for don lemon. and should you spank your kids? is it child abuse? share your thoughts with susan right now by tweeting her. and hear the discussion in the cnn news room at the top of the hour. right now, keep it here for sanjay gupta, md. >>> hello, thank you for joining us, today amazing progress in the war on cancer. there are real cures being developed but they also come with a staggerering cost. >>> also, i hope you have a strong stomach, we found this in the play area. and what we talk a lot about here, cell phones. now the government is talking about updates, we'll explain. >> but first, progress in medical care. >>> you know, this week we're going to see the first debate between mitt romney and president obama. health care is a key issue, one of the biggest, in fact. and it is back in the spotlight after romney said people without insurance can always just go to an emergency room. now, with barely a month ago before the election, i want to zero in on what is at stake here. since president obama's health care law was enacted

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> in boulder, colorado, huge crowds are forming and people even camped out overnight. not for a rock star but for the president of the united states. president barack obama is campaigning there today as part of his road to charlotte. athena jones is traveling with the president. will the focus be much different from the looking forward kind of concept that he delivered in iowa on saturday? >> reporter: we expect the focus to be much the same responding to some extent to what we heard from the republicans at their convention last week. but as you mentioned, this is day two of the road to charlotte tour that the campaign is calling it. you can see the crowd behind me. they've lined up since early this morning, they are still making their way in. the president is expected to take the stage in about 30 minutes. this is an important battleground states. it only has nine electoral votes. but when you try to get to the magic number of 270, every little bit counts. it is going to be important to their calculus here. i should mention that the president has been to co

i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn newsroom continues at the top of the hour and right now keep it right here for sanjay gupta, md. >>> hello there. hope you're enjoying your labor day weekend. today we'll hear about an exercise danger in the water that is very unique in that very fit people are

i'm fredricka whitfield. don lemon up next in about 30 minutes with more from the "newsroom." >>> hello. thanks for being with us. lots to get to. this woman here, tiffany, agreed to be a surrogate mother for her sister-in-law natalie. we're calling it the new modern family. now it's time for the six-month checkup. i can tell you things are starting to get a little strained. also, texting behind the wel. we talk about this a lot. in terms of safety it is no different than driving with your eyes closed for five seconds. i'll tell you important news on how to break that habit. but first, football under the microscope. as you likely know the nfl season kied off this week and while i love football i couldn't help but cringe when i see these big helmet-to-helmet collisions during games. there's mounting evidence about the long-term impact of those hits. we talk about this quite a bit on the show. just this week a new study found that nfl players may have triple the risk of death due to brain diseases like alzheime

i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn newsroom continues at the top of the hour and right now keep it right here for sanjay gupta, md. >>> hello there. hope you're enjoying your labor day weekend. today we'll hear about an exercise danger in the water that is very unique in that very fit people are the ones that are most at

i'm fredricka whitfield. don lemon up next in about 30 minutes with more from the "newsroom." >>> hello. thanks for being with us. lots to get to. this woman here, tiffany, agreed to be a surrogate mother for her sister-in-law natalie. we're calling it the new modern family. now it's time for the six-month checkup. i can tell you things are starting to get a little strained. also, texting behind the wheel. we talk about this a lot. in terms of safety it is no different than driving with your eyes closed for five seconds. i'll tell you important news on how to break that habit. but first, football under the microscope. as you likely know the nfl season kicked off this week and while i love football i couldn't help but cringe when i see these big helmet-to-helmet collisions during games. there's mounting evidence about the long-term impact of those hits. we talk about this quite a bit on the show. just this week a new study found that nfl players may have triple the risk of death due to brain diseases like alzh

i'm fredricka whitfield in for brooke baldwin. i know you all want to know about what happened today in the search for jimmy hoffa. we have some news on that. and you've seen your food bills, your gas prices, all of that go up. but what is up with the water bill these days? in some places charges have tripled. we have got all that and more. but first, to politics. >>> mitt romney is venturing out of the swing states today. romney this hour is trying to pluck pennsylvania from the grasp of president obama with just 39 days until the election. pennsylvania's one of the states that is leaning toward obama, but not -- so, jim, we have been seeing romney confine his campaign to the nine swing states, why is he taking a shot at a state that has been leaning obama? >> reporter: yeah, fredricka, it did catch a lot of people off guard today to hear mitt romney not only at a fund-raiser earlier this morning but at an event that wrapped up here at a valley forge military academy. he said he'll win the state of pennsylvania and this state has

i'm fredricka whitfield. we start in libya where new fighting in benghazi has left the city in chaos. it's not the libyans who support the u.s. who are under siege. it's the radical islamic group that is tied to the atang that killed the u.s. ambassador and three others ten days ago. hundreds of pro u.s. libyans ma marched and took over the extremist headquarters. arwa damon is on the ground in benghazi and shows us how these citizen militias have gone on the offense and have the radicals on the run. but the battle isn't over yet. >> there was an initial sense of euphoria, people saying that this is the real libya. cleansed of extremists by its own people. but the situation quickly turned sinister. >> boom, boom, boom. >> be careful. >> wait. >> there's gunfire. >> just on the other side of this wall is the second location that we're told is being struck tonight. but contrary to what we witnessed at the first place, here, there seems to be something of a gun battle going ob. we are hearing sporadic gun fire a

fredricka whitfield has the story. >> congratulations on the book. it's so sweet! >> thank you so much. >> so tell me, what inspired you to write this book? >> i wrote this song for him when i was pregnant, and as i was writing the lyrics out into a notebook, it really struck me that i wanted to make it into a children's book and have it illustrated. so a year later, here i am. >> here you are. so was it a difficult thing to do, to kind of extrapolate what you had written, you know, for music and now putting it on the pages? >> i'd like to say it was an arduous process that took a lot of time to craft, but actually it's the exact lyrics from the song, so when i had that done, it's sort of in song form in here. it rhymes, which i like because i want to teach my son rhyming when he gets older. i want to show my son all i would have done because i love him, and i want to give that to other parents as well. >> would you mind reciting a verse or two? >> if i had a sun, i would put yellow in a brush and put you in a portrait you could feel and touch. as darkness came, th

i'm fredricka whitfield. we're monitoring severe weather in the northeast section of the country particularly. can you believe it? this is queens, new york. and a tornado proving to be just how severe the weather is. it touched down just a few hours ago. the threat of more tornadoes is still out there. meteorologist alexandra steele is tracking this storm. very treacherous, very dangerous. that's why the u.s. open women's finals has been postponed until tomorrow. >> that's right. the video you just showed of the funnel cloud, that was queens, new york. this is washington, d.c. come and take a

i'm fredricka whitfield. we're monitoring severe weather in the northeast section of the country particularly. can you believe it? this is queens, new york. and a tornado proving to be just how severe the weather is. it touched down just a few hours ago. the threat of more tornadoes is still out there. meteorologist alexandra steele is tracking this storm. very treacherous, very dangerous. that's why the u.s. open women's finals has been postponed until tomorrow. >>

i'm fredricka whitfield with a check of our top stories. two americans, one soldier and a civilian are dead after a fire fight broke out in afghanistan. it happened at a temporary ch k checkpoint operated by coalition troops west of kabul. three also died in the crash that may have been provoked by insurgent fire. >>> syrian forces are leaving a neighborhood as a bomb hit the damascus area. 11 people died today. there is also a serious battle in alepo and several serious fights are being destroyed in the fighting. >>> president obama is headed for the state of nevada for a rally tonight in las vegas. he'll spend two nights in

i'm fredricka whitfield with a check of our top stories. two americans, one soldier and a civilian are dead after a fire fight broke out in afghanistan. it happened at a temporary ch k checkpoint operated by coalition troops west of kabul. three also died in the crash that may have been provoked by insurgent fire. >>> syrian forces are leaving a neighborhood as a bomb hit the damascus area. 11 people died today. there is also a serious battle in alepo and several serious fights are being destroyed in the fighting. >>> president obama is headed for the state of nevada

i'm fredricka whitfield. chicago teachers are threatening to go on strike in the morning if the school system doesn't agree to better pay and improved work conditions. the walk out would effect 400,000 students at 700 schools and involves 29,000 unionized teachers. let's go to ted rowlands. how are negotiations going? are parents optimistic their kids will be in classes tomorrow? >> reporter: i think everybody is cautiously optimistic or keeping their fingers crossed. however everybody has to come up with a plan b because there isn't an agreement as of yet. they are negotiating into this hour. parenthave been put on notice. there have been calls made to parents and also e-mails to parents informing them of the schools that will be open so they can drop their kids are. 144 schools will be open. teachers will not be there. inside will be nonunion staff members from the district just basically baby sitting the kids. they have cray ones and stuff like that for them. that is one of the big concerns a lot of people

fredricka whitfield talked with johnny van zandt and gary rossington and gary medlock and asked them to share stories about their music. >> oh, yeah, but we can't discuss them on this program. yeah, but you know, everything throughout our career has had a story, and that's what we write about. and you know, being able to last so long, i guess people can understand the stories we tell and the songs, and we just try to play for the people, you know, and do our thing for that. >> and people love the ones i just mentioned and so many others. but even when you come in launching your new tour, your new album, new songs, people in the audience are chanting, you know, "free bird"! when are we going to hear that? >> what song is it you want to hear today? >> free bird! >> you got it, baby. >> we always do the old favorites and stuff, you know. we love to do those for the people, but it's fun every once in a while to do a new tune here and there so it keeps it fresh. >> what happens when you look in the audience and you see those who have been growing with you and then they're bringing their k

i'm fredricka whitfield with a chick of our top stories right now. four american troops were killed in southern afghanistan today in what nato officials are calling an inside attack. afghan officials turned their guns on the americans. no further details are known. but we are learning more details about an insurgent attack on a nato base on friday.

i'm fredricka whitfield. straight ahead, the suspected creator of an antimuslim film makes an on camera appearance of his own. they get a look at the chars remains of the u.s. consulate in libya, and not even the threat of legal action is stopping the publication of nude photos of katherine. but first, taliban militants in afghanistan say they attacked a nato base in afghanistan today to retaliate against an internet movie that insults the islam religion. the attack in hellmann province killed two american marines. >> there's serious questions raised amongst u.s. and nato forces as to how the taliban could infiltrate the camp in helmand prov nls in southern afghanistan. 20 taliban members armed with small weapons were able to get through the perimeter, killing two u.s. marines and wounding several others. the taliban says this attack is in response to the inflammatory video that has outraged much of the muslim world. other taliban members say that prince harry was a target. he's based at camp bas cheen, but h

i'm fredricka whitfield. let's go straight to boulder, colorado. the president of the united states stopping. >> tens of millions of americans with preexisting conditioning by repealing reform. he calls it obama care. i like the name. i do care. we thought to pass that law for families like ryan's. we know the heartbreak of a broken health care system. i don't mind if folks think i care, i do care. and i don't know exactly what the other sides' proposing. i guess you can call it romney doesn't care but this law is here to stay. we are not going to refight the battles of the last four years. we are going to implement this law and make the health care system work for families all across america. it is time to move forward. that is the choice in this election. of course, this isn't just the only battle that they want to refight. they want to refight battles we thought were settled in the last century. in november you will have some say as to whether women should be trusted to make their own health care decisions. i think they are. you'll have some say

i'm fredricka whitfield. chicago teachers are threatening to go on strike in the morning if the school system doesn't agree to better pay and improved work conditions. the walk out would effect 400,000 students at 700 schools and involves 29,000 unionized teachers. let's go to ted rowlands. how are negotiations going? are parents optimistic their kids will be in classes tomorrow? >> reporter: i think everybody is cautiously optimistic or keeping their fingers crossed. however everybody has to come up with a plan b because there isn't an agreement as of yet. they are negotiating into this hour. parents have been put on notice. there have been calls made to parents and also e-mails to parents informing them of the schools that will be open so they can drop their kids are. 144 schools will be open. teachers will not be there. inside will be nonunion staff members from the district just basically baby sitting the kids. they have cray ones and stuff like that for them. that is one of the big concerns a lot of peop

i'm fredricka whitfield "your money" starts right now. tlnchlth is a question in this campaign, are you better off today than four years ago. i four years ago this week america and the world marched to the end of the economic abyss.

. >>> and lots more ahead as "cnn newsroom" continues with fredricka whitfield. >> i can't believe it's under 40 days under election day. it went by like this, after all. >> i'm sure a lot of people are happy a about this. >> it's true, too. we'll elaborate on that later, too. good to see you, appreciate it. >>> for now, we'll begin with new information on an investigation into a decade's old mystery, the disappearance of former teamster's boss jimmy hoffa. crews digging under a michigan shed for his possible remains say they did not find any bones, but investigation is not ending there. soil samples will now go under the microscope. cnn's national correspondent susan candiotti has more. >> reporter: could these carefully wrapped tubes of soil carried out among a sea of cameras possibly hold the remains of jimmy hoffa? >> this is kind of like an open wound that won't go away. >> reporter: a wound that just might be partially closed monday when lab results put to rest whether these are human remains, yet alone hoffa's? >> stranger things have happened. >> reporter: the dig inside the she

fredricka whitfield talked with the band members and asked them to share stories about their music. >> oh, yeah. but we can't discuss them on this program. yeah, but, you know, everything throughout our career has been a story. that's what we write about and be able to last so long. people can't understand the stories we tell and the songs. we just try to play for the people. >> and people, you know, love the ones that i just mentioned and so many others. even when you come out and you're launching your new tour, your new album, new songs, people in the audience are chanting, you know, "free bird." when are we going to hear that? >> what song is it you want to hear today? >> free bird! >> you got it, baby. >> we always do the old favorites and stuff. we love to do those for the people. but it's fun every once in a while to do a new tune here and there, keep it fresh. >> what happens when you look in the audience and you see those who have been growing with you and then they're bringing their kids. >> oh, yeah. >> some of the songs, "simple man" and "tuesday's gone," you can see people

i'm fredricka whitfield. let's get started with what is going on in slidell, louisiana, right now in the after math of what was hurricane isaac. it is about 30 miles northeast of new orleans near the mississippi line. residents are worried about the pearl river and a canal connected to it. both wer swollen by rain from what was hurricane isaac now only remnants continue to turn. let's focus on slidell right now. george howell is there. you got a look at one of the stars of the show, "swamp people." how did that come about? >> reporter: we got a first-hand look and got to see what is happening on the river. right now we are on an offshoot of the pearl river. the water is slowly but surely still rising. we were able to go out and give you a better look at exactly what is happening. no better way to show you what we are talking about than to take you out on the river. what you see here is the pearl river, some eight to nine feet higher than it typically is. you are seeing this river so high because of all of thi

. >>> "cnn newsroom" continues with fredricka whitfield. hi, fred? >> hello to you. thanks, have a great rest of the day, randi. see you again tomorrow morning. >>> in just a few hours, president obama boarding air force one leaving washington and heading to a state that could be key to winning the presidential election, wisconsin. he holds two events today in milwaukee. wisconsin is the home state of republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan. but that hasn't helped mitt romney there. obama leads in wisconsin by nine percentage points. paul ryan is focusing on another swing state today. that would be florida. he's campaigning in miami and orlando. romney is fund-raising today in california. but it is romney's personal finances that are creating quite the buzz this weekend. specifically, how much he makes and how much he pays in taxes. the republican presidential candidate has released more tax records. and cnn's national political correspondent, jim acosta, has that. >> reporter: mitt romney came to las vegas and rolled the dice, releasings new tax information

. >>> hello, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta with a quick look at the top stories. >>> the stage set in charlotte, north carolina. the democratic national convention gets under way on tuesday. but the big question -- can president barack obama re-ignite the spark from four years ago? a top advisor to the president says his message will be a lot more positive than what the republicans focused on last week. >> in tampa we saw nothing but insults and old slogans and tired old ideas. in charlotte, the president's going to focus on a plan to provide the middle class of this country some necessary an needed security by investing in research and innovation and in strengthening the middle class and i think a pathway to moving us forward. >> remember, our live coverage of the dnc starts tuesday, 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> residents of about 1,200 louisiana homes near the mississippi border can return to their homes. they had been told to leave the 12-mile stretch near a canal swollen by rain from hurricane isaac. the canal was threatening to burst through a lock. engineers resolved

. >>> fredricka whitfield will join me with a look at potential legal issues for the nfl, right after this. it, but i knew i was gonna get that opportunity one day, and that's what happened with university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky's the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. >>> cnn newsroom starts at the top of the hour. fredricka is here. >> good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> it's a big football weekend and our legal guy also talk about how one new orleans saint is now cleared to play after that suspension involving the bounty plan, has been lifted, so our legal guys are going to talk about this collective bargaining agreement, how this came to be and what might be next because at l

i'm fredricka whitfield. let's get started with what is going on in slidell, louisiana, right now in the after math of what was hurricane isaac. it is about 30 miles northeast of new orleans near the mississippi line. residents are worried about the pearl river and a canal connected to it. both were swollen by rain from what was hurricane isaac now only remnants continue to turn. let's focus on slidell right now. george howell is there. you got a look at one of the stars of the show, "swamp people." how did that come about? >> reporter: we got a first-hand look and got to see what is happening on the river. right now we are on an offshoot of the pearl river. the water is slowly but surely still rising. we were able to go out and give you a better look at exactly what is happening. no better way to show you what we are talking about than to take you out on the river. what you see here is the pearl river, some eight to nine feet higher than it typically is. you are seeing this river so high because of all of th