What's On Tap – Wednesday March 11, 2009

Today on American Morning:

Bernard Madoff will plead guilty later this week to 11 counts including money laundering, perjury and securities, mail and wire fraud.
The stock market yo-yo, a mammoth budget, a bold agenda all have some Democrats worried about whether President Obama is taking on too much too soon. Jim Acosta reports on how some nervous Democrats may not be backing all their commander-in-chief’s policies.
Ed Lavandera looks at a new breed of would-be refugees - business owners, law enforcement officers, journalists and other professionals - on the run from Mexico's vicious drug wars. Increasingly, they are seeking safe haven in the U.S. by filing for asylum.
Another wrinkle in the Chris Brown story – he is up for two kids’ choice awards – would Nickleodeon pull him out of the running?
Mexico, murders, weapons, drugs. What's the U.S. government doing to work with Mexican authorities so a solution is found? The violence is spreading out of Mexico to the U.S.

North Korea is accusing the US and South Korea of planning to invade – after the two countries participated in military drills.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's…. Hillary Clinton? A new line of comic books hopes to spotlight powerful women in politics with four new biographical titles devoted to Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and Caroline Kennedy. CNN's Jason Carroll reports.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly joins us live to talk about his testimony before a House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation and infrastructure security in light of the Mubai attacks
President Barack Obama laid out his "cradle to career" agenda for education Tuesday, including a controversial plan to boost pay for teachers who excel. Mr. Obama said he backs the idea of merit pay for the best school teachers - a position that his union supporters have fought. "It is time to start rewarding good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones," he said. Teacher unions have strongly opposed bringing such a system to public education. Ted Rowlands looks at the pros/cons.
It looks like cigarette, ‘puffs’ like a cigarette, even tastes like a cigarette…but a new product on the market is anything but a typical smoke. E-cigs are the latest attempt to help America quit smoking. They run on batteries and are free of harmful chemicals & tar. They emit a nicotine vapor with the help of a computer chip to which the creators say, is an ideal way to kick the habit. But e-cigs don’t come without controversy, the FDA may soon pull e-cigs from the market. So how exactly does an e-cigarette works? Why is the FDA is concerned? What are the dangers of ‘puffing’ on an electronic device all day long?
Tim and Elani Purkis are an unemployed family struggling to support their families – what's life like living without a paycheck? How are they getting by and what is their advice for other families who may be facing a similar situation?
In a strange turn of events, American Express is trying to run off some of the customers it went out of its way to attract earlier this decade. AmEx is reducing credit lines and closing unused accounts – but they aren’t alone – other credit card companies are doing the same
When Dr. Jim Matthews tried to find health insurance he was told he was uninsurable. Why? Matthews had pre-existing conditions: he'd had open heart surgery and was later diagnosed with an aneurysm that could require additional surgery. While on the campaign trail Barack Obama released a health care plan that would prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against patients like Matthews...And as president, his health care reform package requires insurers to cover pre-existing conditions no matter what the condition. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at this issue that comes up in almost every major health care discussion.