president obama on the number one issue facing the country today? that and much more ahead. first our top of the hour look at what you need to know right now. first that breaking news i just mentioned. cnn confirms that jonathan silver, the head of the energy department's controversial loan guarantee program is resigning tonight. dan, what do we know about the particular official and why is he leaving? >> reporter: well, that official who headed up that controversial program which committed some $38 billion to 40 clean energy projects across the country, he is leaving, cnn has learned, in order to become a fellow over at the think tank third way. but the timing of all of this certainly raising some questions, no doubt, in an effort to blunt some of those questions secretary chu put out a statement saying silver came to him in early july, pointed out he wanted to transition back to the private sector after september 30th and so the secretary explaining that that's what is behind this move, john. >> and then the move comes hours after the president defended the program generally and specifically one or two of the loans that have come under quite controversy. let's listen to a bit of what the president had had to say in his news conference. >> the overall portfolio has been successful. it has allowed us to help companies, for example, start advanced battery manufacturing here in the united states. it's helped to create jobs. >> and so, dan, the president says it's successful. then within hours the official who runs it resigns. it's going to lead a lot of fresh questions in washington, isn't it? >> reporter: well, certainly. i mean some people would certainly point to this as an example that everything did not go as this administration has been trying to make it seem, that this was a program that was very strong. that this was vetted in the right way. that there are risks when you get into these kinds of investments. 20/20 hindsight we've heard the president say but still standing behind this program despite the fact that we saw those red flags that were raised not only inside but outside the administration, all of that coming out in the congressional investigation. but the president again pointing out that it's important for the u.s. to back this kind of technology because not only will it lead to jobs, but it's the only way for the u.s. to compete with countries like china that heavily subsidize this kind of sector. john. >> dan lothian live for us at the white house on the breaking news. thank you. we'll have much, much more just ahead in tonight's truth. the president called that news conference today. he wanted to talk about jobs and the economy. he was defiant, promising he'll keep demanding congress pass his jobs bill even though at the moment, well, safe to say the prospects look bleak. >> we will just keep on going at it and hammering away until something gets done. and i would love nothing more than to see congress act so aggressively that i can't campaign against them as a do-nothing congress. >> the president said he was, quote, comfortable with senate democrats' plan to pay for their version of the jobs bill with the so-called millionaire sur tax instead of with spending cuts. throughout that news conference the president took swings at specific republicans, including the senate republican leader, mitch mcdonnell, who opposes any tax hikes. >> but i'm also dealing with a republican majority leader who said that his number one goal was to beat me. not put americans back to work. and he's been saying that now for a couple of years. so, yeah, i've got to go out and listen to the american people to see if maybe he'll listen to them if he's not listening to me. >> no direct response on that point from senator mcdonnell, but we did ask his staff about this. they referred us to this speech on the senate floor about 90 minutes before the president's news conference. >> so the real goal here for the democrats as far as i can tell is entirely political, about arguing for a permanent tax hike to pay for a temporary stimulus. they're essentially admitting they're not particularly interested in creating jobs, because proposing a partisan tax hike 13 months before an election won't create one single job. not one. >> kate has been working her sources all day. the democrats have a plan, the republicans are pushing back on taxes. does all this help or hurt prospects of a deal. >> reporter: aides to senate democratic leaders say that senate democratic leaders are happy with the president's endorsement, although not the most forceful of endorsements of the so-called millionaire surtax and they are scheduled to move forward with the first test vote possibly on this bill early next week. but it really does seem while the president continues to hammer away on congress should really move on this bill and move on it now and really is targeting republicans, in addition now to this surtax, it may help unify a majority of democrats clarifying their message going forward, but it seems like it is doing nothing to increase support on the other side of the aisle and doing nothing to increase the chances that this bill is going to move anywhere in the congress. as we always say, john, republicans remain steadfastly against tax increases and republicans as you heard mitch mcconnell today and i've heard it from other republicans are really now accusing democrats and the president of doing nothing but playing politics here with this jobs fight, john. >> and as both sides accuse the other of playing politics, is there any effort, i'll call it grown-up effort behind the scenes to say there are millions of americans who are unemployed or underemployed who would like some help. will they keep banging it out or find a back room to find some consensus. >> there has been some talk of pulling apart measures that could be more agreeable and gain more support and try to move parts of possibly the president's jobs plan or simply find jobs initiatives that democrats and republicans can agree on to move forward with. but i'll tell you right now both sides seem laser focused on fighting this one out. we've heard that it's not only republicans that are showing some -- that republicans showing opposition to this. even some centrist democrats have come out saying they also will oppose a millionaire surtax included in this bill. so there are some problems but everyone seems dead set on fighting this one out right now, john. another testy topic at the news conference today, a program called operation fast and furious. the president defending his attorney general who's under fire for that program. some republicans in congress think the attorney general lied about when he became aware of a program that ended up putting guns into the hands of mexican drug cartels. the program was designed to help the government keep track of weapons smuggling, but some of those guns ended up being used to murder people on both sides of the border, including a u.s. border patrol agent. the operation was run by the department of alcohol, tobacco and firearms whi. >> i have complete confidence in attorney general holder. he's indicated that he was not aware of what was happening in fast and furious. certainly i was not. and i think both he and i would have been very unhappy if somebody had suggested that guns were allowed to pass through that could have been prevented by the united states of america. >> around the world today, an outpouring of grief over the death of the apple computer co-founder, steve jobs. two images caught our attention and sum up the changes he helped bring about. first a simple note on a piece of paper, ithank you taped outside an apple store in new york city. on the other side of the world the image of a small candle on an iphone. look at that, during a vigil outside hong kong's apple store. sandra endo outside apple headquarters in cupertino, california. obviously a sad day but apples officials want to pay tribute to steve jobs' life. what's the scene today? >> reporter: absolutely, john, a very somber day for employees here at apple headquarters. on campus here many heavy hearts. through those trees you can see the crowd gathering. so many people have been coming by, laying flowers down, cards, and real apples themselves, all in tribute to the late tech icon who many people here say have changed the way the world functions forever. so clearly a very sad day and a day of remembrance for steve jobs. john. >> is it a work day or was -- did the word come down essentially to use as a day of reflection and remembrance? >> reporter: that's a good question, because we did see a lot of hustle and bustle. this is a very sprawling campus. and apple spokesman says it is business as usual. everyone here is here working. but clearly a sense of sadness throughout this entire area. and, as you mentioned, apple will be holding an internal private memorial for its employees as ceo tim cook put it, it will be a celebration, a celebration of his life. john. >> sandra endo for us at the apple headquarters. thank you so much. another occupy wall street protest gathering steam right now in new york city. this is the 20th day of demonstrations there, although tonight's is expected to be smaller than yesterday's, which attracted thousands. last night's demonstration ended with scuffles between new york police and some of those protesters. in the end, 28 people arrested last night. susan candiotti is out in the crowd tonight, we've seep these protests for weeks. what will it take to satisfy them? >> reporter: that's hard to say and i think they're trying to work that out themselves now. we're still trying to hear some goals, and that's what they're trying to formulate. as we speak now, we can tell you if yesterday was meant to be a tipping point in terms of attracting more people, well, we haven't seen additional numbers today. they're back to the normal number of people that show up at this park, which is very busy at this hour. and they have a daily walk over to wall street. it was uneventful today. what's happening right now is that they're making some speeches. and because they don't use microphones, you need a permit for that, someone stands way off in the distance, says a few words and people sake turns shouting it out to people back here on the sidelines. john. >> an old-fashioned way of spreading the word. where do they plan to go next? >> reporter: well, that's the question. we have seen, of course the same amount of interest here in new york. we are seeing other protests in other cities today. for example in san francisco, in los angeles, in portland, oregon as well as a couple of cities in texas. they are going to establish some political goals, which we haven't scene yet. they keep insisting they're not going to align themselves with any political party. if that does happen, it might be some splinter groups. >> susan candiotti in the middle of it all braving a form of democracy herself. susan, thanks for your coverage and your courage. hundreds of protesters marched in washington this afternoon marking the tenth anniversary of the war in afghanistan. on the campaign trail today, more evidence the presidential candidates are among those watching the occupy wall street protesters. in texas, republican her mman cn doubled down on his criticism of those protesters. >> if you are envious of somebody that happens to be rich that you call a fat cat, go and get rich instead of expecting them to walk outside of their office and write you a check. that's not the way america works. work for it. >> mitt romney was in south carolina today. his focus, the military. we'll try to fix that and bring it to you later. in the house today, democratic congressman jesse jackson jr. tried to get a vote condemning governor perry of texas for his association with a hunting camp that has a racist name. we wander warn -- >> it calls upon governor perry to condemn the use of this word as being totally offensive and inappropriate at any time and at any place in the united states history. lastly it calls upon governor rick perry to list the names of all lawmakers, friends and financial supporters he took with him on his hunting trips to nigger head. >> jackson's resolution was deemed out of order but was entered into the house record. the 2012 primary season keeps creeping closer to 2011. republicans are scheduling their presidential caucuses to stay ahead of south carolina and florida. that doesn't leave much room on the calendar for iowa and new hampshire, which worries, among others, newt gingrich. >> it will be a problem if we have to start the elections prior to january 2nd or january 3rd. but i think as long as we can figure out some pattern that enables us to start in the first week of january, the candidates will adjust to the states. the states don't need to adjust to the candidates. >> arizona congressman gabrielle giffords came to washington to attend a ceremony marking the retirement from the navy of her husband. she had a brace on her right hand today. during a short speech kelly said, gabby, you remind me every day to deny the acceptance of failure. amazing pictures there. still to come, the palin factor. how does her no-go affect the republican race and was it shamed by the fact she had no chance of winning sgnchts and from the ipod to ipad and it tunes and more. steve jobs didn't just change our technology, he changed global culture. that's next. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. and all we need to do is change the way we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea, and that's where the discovery comes from. ford fusion hybrid emerges as the it just takes somebody having the idea, clear fuel economy leader over camry hybrid. kimberly? the fusion hybrid holds a 10 mile per gallon advantage in the city over the toyota camry hybrid. uh... that's not good. i would like 10 more miles. he's going to have a a lot to think about, kimberly. and there you have it....fusion hybrid. with best in class city fuel economy. steve jobs changed the world and today people around the globe said thanks. jobs died from complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. here's just a small part of hi legacy. the itunes store, the largest music retailer. it sold 15 million songs. there are 54 million mac users worldwide. over the years jobs has introduced some of the most iconic tech innovations. take a look at how they and he changed. >> god, look at that. look, i'm on television. >> hey! >> we think a lot of them will get into the home but we like to say they'll get there through the garage door. >> the coolest thing about the ipod is that your entire music library fits in your pocket. >> this is the new ipod nano. an ipod, a phone, and an internet communicator. is there room for a third category of device in the middle? we're not perfect. we know that, you know that. and phones aren't perfect. i'd also like to thank everyone's families, because they support us and let us do what we love to do. >> let's discuss the man and his legacy. with us now, a technology journalist who covers silicon valley and daniel kotke who was apple's 12th employee. let me begin with you, one of the apple originals. at the beginning, we saw some of the pictures of steve jobs back in the day, did any of you, including steve, have any idea that apple would become such a transformational force not only in technology but in how we listen to music, how we communicate? >> oh, i don't think so. i don't think anybody could have predicted. i'm getting an echo. anyway, you know, i was the first employee as well as the 12th employee. there's an echo. you know, the apple 1 was a hobby kit and it was hard to predict what use it would be. the apple 2 was clearly going to be a much more accessible product and in my memory, it was the day i first saw the rainbow logo that i thought apple could really be going somewhere. it's funny to just associate that with the logo, but there were so many competitors in those days, it was really hard to say. >> hopefully we can help you work on your echo with the technology. on a day like this when you try to assess the impact and legacy of the man and all the innovations, is there a way to sum it up in a sentence or two or is it too diverse? >> no, i think there are ways to sum it up in a sentence or two. here's a guy who came from humble beginnings and went on to revolutionize four industries, information technology, mobile phones, the music industry and the movie industry. and i'm hard put to name any businessperson or technologist in the history of america who did it four times. >> that's an awesome way to put it. mr. kottke, let's see if we figured out this connection with you. you knew the man out of work as well as in work, taking hikes with him in india and the like. the question i have, as somebody who carries all my technology with me almost all the time, emphasis on almost, when you're hiking in india, does steve jobs bring along technology or is that his escape zone? >> oh, no, it was very much an escape zone. i actually regret that i didn't even bring an instamatic camera on that trip. there were no photos. we were making our expedition into the wilderness, so to speak. we had some good adventures. it did not -- did not find the holy man stories that we were wondering if we would find, but it was a very interesting trip. >> we're showing a picture of you and steve jobs, we're showing this picture of you and steve jobs back in the day. it's a little different how folks wore their hair and the like. >> that photo was at -- that was at the -- that photo was at the personal computing festival in atlanta in 1976, and i was just trying hard to look like i had a clue about how these computers worked, because i really didn't. i was helping staff the booth. >> and, bob, when you think about the transformations, we all think about how these things happen through our own lives. i used to be a pc person, now i'm mostly a mac person. my kids are mac kids. in our offices most of the creative editing is done on macs. i went to french and so i downloaded an app so i could learn to speak french maybe a little bit better. i was covering a hurricane just a few weeks back, hurricane irene. on the way up from washington to the beaches off new york city i brought this, my iphone. had no satellite truck, no electricity, but look, we were able to show people that time on live television, it's not perfect but you're in the middle of the beginning of a hurricane and you're showing live pictures on stream box, one of the apps you can download and you see it playing out. in terms of how steve jobs changed lives, you can learn the piano on an ipad. our children now don't know what a record album is or an 8 track is. how transformational is this one man? >> oh, well, completely. if you look at the -- he didn't invent the personal computer, he didn't invent most of these devices, but they were perfected. and his -- his dedication to good design, to the user experience and to the evolutionary growth of getting closer and closer to the silicon, to the point where you can have a tv studio in your hand on the beach, that was a 30-plus year process that someone had to see from a long distance off. in this case, steve is our