he needs to turn something around. >> cokie roberts, thanks as always. >> good to be with you. >>> latest on alleged david letterman shakedown and ensuing sex scandal. a cbs news producer charged with threatening to expose network's stars affairs with staffers unless letterman gave him $2 million. linsey davis hays been following the test developments. >> good morning. a bizarre twist of late-night host and crime show producer make reality tv. in a story about blackmail, a phony $2 million payoff. >> if you came here tonight for sex with the talk show host, you got the wrong studio. sorry. >> reporter: sex scandals and blackmail sure to create headlines in any scenario, becoming fodder tore late tight 1tighnight tv. >> a book with reasons were women have sex and letterman knows the top ten. >> reporter: now, one comedian is the target of the punchlines. >> the creepy stuff was that i have, had sex with women who work for me on this show. >> reporter: uncomfortable and poke fun at himself, david letterman revealed thursday he was alleged blackmail for $2 million by robert halderman a veter

robert, thanks for getting up. we appreciate your time. we understand you have three boys. one is a seventh grader. he's the one you're keeping out to avoid this speech. why? >> it's not so much about the speech as it was about the lesson plan that was dictad by the administration aides to the department of education. and that changed the tone from it being focused solely on education to being focused on doing what president obama says. now, whether you agree or disagree with what he says, it still shouldn't be something that children are steered in that direction for. i think it's great that the president wants to take an active role in education. certainly, steps need to be made to decrease the dropout rate. you know, promote the importance of a quality education. but again, it was the tone struck by those menu of activities. >> some of the other activities on the list, what do you think the president does? what would you do if you were president? what would you tell the country if you were giving a speech? it seems to be that sort of thing. and i wonder how different it

>> it was made by robert gibbs, the white house press secretary. a lot more fun to make that call than the one that came last week from copenhagen, to say the olympics weren't going to chicago. the president was surprised. but as yunji said, humbled by the honor. this really did catch them blindside, the white house. i talked to two key white house aides who got the word earlier this morning. both thought they were being punk'd. it's not april 1st is it? there will likely be a paper statement from the president, emphasizing how much work there is going forward. but on a serious note, white house aides do believe this will strengthen the president's hand, both at home and abroad. >> and i want to ask about that. a lot of key decisions being made ahead. it was -- specifically, what do you think the calculation. how does this factor in around the world, when you make a decision on the middle east? on afghanistan? >> it's almost as if this was an act of encouragement by the nobel prize committee. and there will be a lot of criticism for the committee f

i'm robin roberts. good morning, diane. >> good morning across the continent to you, robin and also coming up, we have seen the governor of south carolina talk and talk about his affair. we have also seen something else, though. we've seen his wife exhibit extraordinary self-respect during all of this and this morning mrs. sanford's closest friends will tell us how the first lady has set a new standard for grace in the glare. >>> also, with more and more americans at younger and younger ages losing hearing because of loud music among other things. we're going to show you a tiny little hearing aid that goes all the way inside the ear. it is invisible from the outside and we'll demonstrate how it works. something new this morning. but, robin, back to you. >> it looks ally tiny especially here from los angeles. i'm trying to get a peek. teeny tiny. all right, diane. >>> thank you. >>> we begin this half hour with the brewing custody battle over michael jackson's children. as you may know in jackson's will

there's robin roberts. robin roberts. crowd surfing this morning, apparently. chris, third eye blind, great concert. a lot going on. >> great concert. >>> we have a lot of news. let's get right back to the studio with deborah roberts. deborah? >> hi, chris. good morning, again, everyone. we begin with breaking news out of indonesia. deadly back-to-back bombings at two american-owned luxury hotels in jakarta. at least nine people are dead and dozens injured in the first major attack there in nearly four years. more, now, from our senior foreign correspondent, jim sciutto, who is in london this morning. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning. those blasts took place just minutes apart, at two, american hotels, the j.w. marriott, and the ritz-carlton. about 100 yards apart. the first blast at the marriott, was caught on a security camera. dramatic picture. they took place early in the morning, just before 8:00 a.m., when the hotel lobbies were crowded with guests. eyewitnesss told abc news, that the hotels quickly emptied. there was no order to do so. nearby

chris cuomo, robin roberts. diane is off on this day. >> i don't know how you made it almost a wheel hour without begging for someone to tweet you. >> to what? >> tweet you. >> tweet me? >> you waited almost an hour. >>> coming up, it's a difficult to bring up. it's a difficult conversation to have. your parents are getting older. you want to ask if all their legal matters are in order. it's a tough conversation. but one that could cost you if you don't have it. mellody hobson is going to be here. she's going to show us a little bit about how we can bring up that conversation and have that very important conversation with our parents. >> it's advice we all need. it's great to have mellody doing it. >>> a little bit of a troubling story. but very sweet. dan harris brings it to us from africa. there's a woman that is trying to save the cheetah. you grow up. the first animal you love. big movement to save these animals. >> quickly disappearancing. i didn't realize that. >>> a lot of headlines. let's get up to david

deborah roberts is upstairs. >> good morning, chris and sam and diane. good morning to you, everyone. the gunman who killed thre women at a health club near pittsburgh is emerging as a tortured loner. george sodini left behind a trail of warnings, including this video tour of his home, and blogs talking about his failure to emotionally connect with others. particularly women. there was even a hidden message on his website, saying he would put off the shooting if he could get a certain type of woman. >>> in other news, despite strong republican opposition, supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor, is expected to win senate confirmation in a vote today. that would make her the high court's first hispanic justice. >>> around this time of year, most parents are swarming the stores, snapping up back-to-school bargains. but not so far this year. retailers say their sales are down. especially at those mall chain stores. analysts say concerns about job security have shoppers sticking with just the necessities. >>> new crash tests showed that even the most popular m

. >>> good morning, alongside chris cuomo, i'm robin roberts diane sawyer is off on this wednesday, august 12th. president obama becoming a sort of fact-checker in chief. >> he hasn't seen the ugly scenes we've seen elsewhere, he's the president after all. but look at los angeles this morn, people lining up for free health care. >> so let's begin with our senior white house correspondent jake tapper with the latest on the owing battle over reform. good morning, jake. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the debate over health care reform dominated by the president's opponents but he's seeking to regain moment ul and in doing so, has raised the stakes in this furious fight. >> you and your cronies in the government -- >> reporter: summer recess no day at the beach for many members of congress. democrats continue to encounter angry crowds at health care town halls. a second volatile town hall meeting for pennsylvania democratic senator arlen specter. >> you have awakened the sleeping giant. we're tired of this. this is why everybody in this room is so ticked off. >> reporter: extra police were

diane sawyer with robin roberts, back this morning. and investigators say they may be closing in on annie le's killer. >> it's a fluid situation at this hour. they've identified lab technician, raymond clark as a person of interest. police took him into custody late last night. spent all night searching his apartment. they're hoping dna taken from clark will link to evidence collected from the crime scene. >> we have two reports this morning. sharyn alfonsi, live in new haven, with the latest. sharyn? >> reporter: diane, it's believed that raymond clark is still in police custody this morning. the 24-year-old is not a yale student. but he's a vet tech who worked in the same lab building where annie le was seen. this morning, police are calling him a person of interest. police worked through the night, searching raymond clark iii's apartment. just hours earlier, clark, in a white t-shirt, his hands cufd behind his back, was loaded into a silver police car. driven off to the jeers of his ighbors. one week after yale grad student, annie l

robert phillips, thanks so much. >> i appreciate the time. take care. >> kate? >>> let's switch gears now. the beatles, you know the song they sang, "money can't buy you love." it may be true. but 40 years later, they're finding ways to make a lot of money. here's abc's miguel marquez. >> reporter: if you liked beatle mania one, you're going to love beatle mania two. the entire beatles catalog, 12 albums released between 1963 and 1970, digitally remastered to sound better than ever. but wait. there's more. on the same day as the albums' release, the beatles do the previously unthinkable, when they lend their music and likeness to a video game. the beatles rockband. when you were growing up, you heard this music? >> yes. >> of course. >> reporter: and so, you love the music? >> yes. >> i like it. >> reporter: but you like video games more? >> a little bit more. >> reporter: rockband, like its competition, guitar hero, is huge in the gaming world. this version will actually let you be the walrus. ♪ lucy in the sky with diamonds ♪ >> reporter: but the beatles h

deborah roberts is following that for us this morning. good morning, deborah. >> good morning, chris and diane. good morning, everyone. police investigating the murder of the yale university grad student said they have nailed their investigation down to one, prime suspect. a that news, after an emotion-filled night on campus last night. sharyn alfonsi is in new haven, connecticut, with the latest. sharyn? >> reporter: it was a week ago today that annie le disappeared. now, we're learning more about a possible suspect in the case. police sources say that suspect may have worked with le in the lab where she was last seen. >> those of you who knew annie le are grieving. >> reporter: they come together to honor annie le, a third-year medical student, whose murder has shaken the yale campus. natalie powers was le's roommate for the last two years. >> she was as good a human being as you'd ever hope to meet. >> reporter: one day after le's body was found in a wall in the basement of the lab where she worked, abc news has learned that the unthin