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Cross-Country Terror Investigation; More Troops or Failure; Where are the jobs?; President Obama's Media Blitz

Aired September 21, 2009 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Much more than a rainy night in Georgia. Up to a foot of rain falls in 24 hours after days of downpours. This morning, roads and schools are closed.

A tough message to the jobless from the president. Don't expect significant job growth until next year.

Plus, concert controversy. Global artists perform in Cuba and the music superstar behind the event gets death threats.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Monday, September 21st and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This morning, we are focusing on the threat of terrorism at home and abroad. In fact, our Jeanne Meserve has some new developments now on an unfolding terror investigation we've been telling you about here at CNN. She is following one end of the case in Colorado.

And then our Deborah Feyerick is working her sources on the other end of the story, and that is in New York. Today, some suspects are due in federal court. We'll have the very latest details on that. They'll be in court, both in Colorado and New York.

And also, Barbara Starr, of course, is at the Pentagon this morning. She's going to be telling us about reports that the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has offered a bleak assessment of the war there and also a dire warning.

We begin this hour, though, with the cross-country terror investigation. This morning, three men under arrest in the case will appear in federal courtrooms in Colorado and New York. Court documents say one of those men, an Afghan national, has admitted to having ties to al Qaeda.

Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has been following this story. She joins us now with the very latest from Denver.

Good morning to you, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. The three men appearing in court today are not facing charges based on terror-related evidence, but experts say this is likely just the first salvo in the government's case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MESERVE (voice-over): Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan national who's been the focal point of this terror probe, was arrested at his home outside Denver Saturday night, along with his father, Mohammed Zazi.

The owner of this Muslim burial service in Queens, New York, Ahmad Afzali, was the third taken into custody. All are charged with making false statements to the FBI during a terror investigation.

Court documents reveal no details about the timing or targeting of the alleged explosives plot, but they allege that Najibullah Zazi lied about nine pages of detailed bomb-making instructions found on his computer.

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: The FBI had taken his computer, had mirrored it, had copied it, in essence, put it back in his car. Mr. Naji did not know that that had happened, apparently. So when he was questioned about whether or not he knew anything about these written notes and they were showed to him, he denied that knowledge.

MESERVE: The court documents also allege that Najibullah Zazi admitted getting explosives and weapons training at an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan, though Zazi and his lawyer claim Saturday he had not made such an admission.

Experts say the charges were filed to pressure the man into cooperating with the ongoing investigation of Najibullah Zazi.

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: What direction is he getting from al Qaeda members and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in addition to the training that he got?

Secondly, who else has he communicated with here in the United States? Obviously, the government has some idea of who that is, based on their surveillance, both electronic and physical, but what they want to do is make sure they've identified the entire net, the whole range of conspirators.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Now, legal experts say it's possible, even probable, that there will be additional charges. Meanwhile, the investigation continues in the U.S. and Pakistan and elsewhere. Federal officials say they still don't know the specifics of any target or any timing of a planned attack. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, Jeanne Meserve, for us this morning, Denver, Colorado. Jeanne, appreciate that.

Now we want to turn to the New York end of the investigation and CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

So, Deb, who is this guy we're looking at in New York?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we can tell you that the man in court today is 37-year-old imam who leads a mosque in Queens, New York. His name is Ahmad Wais Afzali. He is charged with lying to authorities who are investigating a plot to detonate bombs in the U.S., the plot possibly targeting trains and subways.

One of the sources says the suspect was said to have video of Grand Central Terminal on his video, and of course, as you know, that's a very, very busy transportation hub here in New York City. No sense, though, of when this was supposed to take place. And the interesting thing is this imam initially had worked as an informant for law enforcement, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes.

FEYERICK: So a lot of details coming out.

COLLINS: Yes. That's what I thought the deal was with him. What potentially went wrong here?

FEYERICK: Well, that's interesting. Law enforcement sources telling us that, in fact, he's somebody who, quote/unquote, "went bad." Now Afzali, like the two men in Denver, is an Afghan national.

Authorities say that on September 11th, he placed a call to one of the Denver men, Mr. Zazi, and even though he knew that call was being monitored, he actually told him that it was a good sign that law enforcement had come to question the imam, asking him about this Denver man's character, what he was like, you know, who he knew.

Also, though, he said that it was a bad sign, in fact, that authorities had picked up the Denver man so quickly and this man, the imam, is accused now of tipping off the man that authorities were investigating him, were looking into his character. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Clearly a lot more questions in the middle of this investigation. We know you'll stay on top of it as well.

Deb Feyerick for us from New York this morning.

And now a warning from the U.S. general in command of forces in Afghanistan. More troops are needed within the next year or the war there will likely result in failure. That report from "The Washington Post" comes as President Obama is reviewing strategy.

CNN's Barbara Starr is joining us now live from the Pentagon with more on this.

So, Barbara, what is the bottom line here? I mean are we even at the point where General McChrystal or even Admiral Mike Mullen are asking for additional forces, officially?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Officially, no, but let's be clear, Heidi. With this report, General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, he has put his marker down on the table. This report is a very grim assessment, eight years later, of how the war is going.

General McChrystal says he needs more troops, that without it, right now, he says, the Taliban threat has grown to the point it's basically outstripped the ability of the U.S. strategy to deal with it. So it really couldn't be more serious than that.

Let me just read you one quote of what is in General McChrystal's report. He says, quote, "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term, 12 months or so, while Afghan security capacity matures risks an outcome where defeat in the insurgency is no longer possible."

General McChrystal, like many generals, by all accounts learning that lesson from the war in Iraq. If you were in command, and you believe you need more, you have to speak up. That is what he is doing here. But President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the vice president, all really saying hold off.

COLLINS: Yes.

STARR: Don't -- we're not ready to make a quick decision on all of this. We want time to think about it all. In fact, Secretary Gates saying last week that everybody needed to take a deep breath about Afghanistan. Not at all clear that General McChrystal agrees with that, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, understood. And I would just ask the question, you know, last week we talked about that and we talked about what would be the next step here and this report came out on August 30th. Now we are learning, you know, some more details, clearly.

Any chance that there could be some changes that we see happening within the next couple of days, as far as what your sources are telling you?

STARR: Not maybe the next couple of days, because the president really laid it out with -- in the interview with John King over the weekend.

COLLINS: Yes.

STARR: He wants time to think about the strategy. But what is the next step? Well, as we have talked about, General McChrystal has completed his recommendation on what he thinks is needed in terms of more combat forces for Afghanistan. It could be in the tens of thousands.

The Pentagon has said, don't call us, we'll call you when we're ready to hear that piece of information. But let's just look at these 12 months that everybody's talking about. If you're going to send 30,000 or 40,000 more troops to the war zone, it may take a year, according to one source I talked to this morning. A year to get them all there.

COLLINS: Sure.

STARR: So if they want to show progress anytime soon, by all accounts, they have to get moving. Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right, good point. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning. Thank you, Barbara.

On their guard, but not on the offensive. Today is the United Nations International Day of Peace. And the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has ordered troops to observe it, so no military offensives today.

Turning to health care reform now and what could be a make-or- break week for a key proposal. Here's what we know at this point. Senators on the Finance Committee will begin to offer amendments to the plan drawn up by Chairman Max Baucus. Concerns include cost and a new tax on high-value insurance plans.

And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi along with members of Pennsylvania's congressional will tour a Philadelphia hospital about two hours from now. They will also discuss health insurance with a small business owner and an emergency room doctor.

Job losses may have slowed in the past few months, but don't expect much more of that this year. If President Obama is right, he's telling us how long you'll have to wait to see a real difference.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A year ago, the southeast was in a severe drought. That is over. Severe flooding across much of Georgia and Alabama this morning. Weather is coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you're waiting for the jobs picture to improve, keep waiting until next year. That's from the president's own mouth right here on CNN.

Our Christine Romans is joining us now live from New York with more on this.

Yes, I don't know. People probably get a little bit nervous when they heard that directly from the president, yes?

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's pretty realistic.

COLLINS: If they weren't already.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: This is a pretty realistic assessment from the president. And he's telling people, look, you know, we're going to see things maybe get a little bit worse before they get better. And when they get better, some time in 2010 when you start to see net job creation, you still have a ways to go before you're creating enough jobs that you are offsetting new entrance into the workforce. I mean think of that. You've got new people coming into the workforce all the time, usually in a dynamic economy. You're absorbing them and growing more jobs. We're just not doing that yet. And so the president's sort of laying out what's pretty difficult labor market economics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we'll be adding jobs, but you need 150,000 additional jobs each month just to keep pace with a growing population. So if we're only adding 50,000 jobs, that's a great reversal from losing 700,000 jobs early this year. But, you know, it means that we've still got a ways to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: And so we're not there yet. We're not creating those 50,000 jobs yet each month. We're not actually net positive quite yet and we're still have to keep build on that before we'll even be able to begin to dig ourselves out of the big job losses, Heidi, over the past couple of years.

We know when the recession began, there's a statistically (INAUDIBLE) job openings. When the recession began, there were 4.4 million job openings. By the time the stimulus was passed, there were three million job openings. And now, there are 2.4 million job openings and declining. I mean, this is vanishing job opportunities.

COLLINS: Yes, so, is there any way for us to look at that now and wonder when and how much impact the stimulus was supposed to have, specifically on job openings?

ROMANS: Well, now the White House says that they have saved or created a million jobs. And it's interesting, just a couple of weeks ago, the tune from the White House was that we have saved or created a million jobs since the stimulus was passed and it was kind of an upbeat note.

Here the president is being very realistic and very frank that it's still going to feel bad. And we know we had a poll last week and there are many polls that show that when you ask people, do you feel like the recession is over? They say, no, I don't feel like the recession is over. And that's because the jobs, the job is the backbone. Your paycheck is the backbone of your own personal economy.

COLLINS: Sure.

ROMANS: And for many people, millions of people, their personal recession is not over.

COLLINS: Yes. Definitely. What about the "Romans' Numeral' today?

ROMANS: The "Romans' Numeral" is 70, Heidi. And this requires a little bit of math on a Monday morning. The "Romans' Numeral" is 70. So let's assume that next year we start -- we start growing 250,000 jobs a month, that would be great.

If we could do that, 250,000 jobs a month, it would take 70 months to recreate the jobs lost since the start of this recession, that's about six years.

COLLINS: Wow.

ROMANS: So when this economy gets firing again, and God willing it will, when it gets firing again and we start creating jobs, it could take -- it could take a period of years before we claw back the jobs that we have lost. And that is just the frank truth that is the political and economic backdrop for the next few months.

COLLINS: Shouldn't be surprising, but yet when you see the numbers, it always is.

ROMANS: Yes.

COLLINS: All right. Christine Romans of the CNN Money Team, thank you, Christine. ROMANS: Sure.

COLLINS: Expect to hear more on the economy from the president a little bit later on today. He's speaking in upstate New York around 11:50 Eastern this morning. We'll bring that to you live when it happens.

Raising their voices and hoping the people holding the purse strings will hear them.

Hundreds of protesters calling for new jobs programs in Pittsburgh. This was the first major rally ahead of the G-20 summit there this week. Expect more and expect them to grow, too, as the event gets closer.

The G-20 meeting brings together leaders from the world's top economies.

Holy cow. It is raining like crazy. Rob Marciano is joining us now, because this is -- I don't even know how many days in a row, but now we are starting to talk about some serious flooding, kind of right outside our doors. People having trouble getting into work here today and everywhere you go some of the interstates seem to be closed.

MARCIANO: Yes, I mean this is -- we're looking for ark builders, because this is flooding of biblical proportions at this point.

COLLINS: It's unbelievable, yes.

MARCIANO: Like you said, we've had rain for several days on end, and really this includes all of the southeast. And the problem with Alabama and Georgia in the last ten hours is that the heaviest rain has come since midnight last night on top of all that saturated soil. So here we go, as far as the radar is concerned, across parts of the southeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Well, obviously, a lot going on in the weather department. We'll continue to go back with you. I've just never heard of schools being closed for rain. Flooding, yes, but there's about six districts down here that are closed today because of all this rain. So we'll stay on top of that situation as well as the rest of the weather.

Rob, thank you.

He's a rapper whose lyrics describe the pleasure in killing people very slowly. Now he's charged with murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Checking "Top Stories" now. Authorities could begin digging today in a section of Phillip Garrido's backyard. Over the weekend, crews cleared debris from the yard, then they used ground- penetrating radar to scan the property.

Garrido and his wife are charged in the 1991 kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard. But authorities are also searching his California property for possible evidence linking him to the disappearances of two other girls in the 1980s.

Tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," how a mysterious black box may give investigators insight into Phillip Garrido's mind. That's coming your way 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Authorities are searching for a man after his wife and five children were found dead. The bodies of the family members were found in their Naples, Florida, home over the weekend. The Collier County Sheriff says the husband and father may have left the country for Haiti.

A 20-year-old California rapper has been charged with murdering a pastor. The body of the pastor was found in the Farmville, Virginia home of his estranged wife. Three other bodies were found inside the house and authorities say Richard McCroskey may also be charged in those killings.

McCroskey, who calls himself "Psycho Sam," has rapped about the best feeling coming from killing people slowly.

It was hard to change the channel without seeing the president this weekend. Why he was all over the tube and whether he accomplished what he set out to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Five talk shows in a single day. President Obama hitting the press circuit like he's got a movie coming out. So why all the exposure?

Our Suzanne Malveaux is live in New York for us this morning to take a closer look at all of this. So it's about health care reform and approval numbers? Is that the deal, Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's about so many things, Heidi. And you're absolutely right. We just couldn't -- we couldn't miss the president yesterday in all the channels, the five networks. And I guess the question is, really, did he accomplish what he set out to do?

Even he acknowledged in one of his interviews that he had yet to break through in the health care debate. And so what we heard the president talk about, he basically repeated, reiterated what his broad goals were for health care reform.

He said he wanted more insurance for folks to make it more affordable, a rather modest goal compared to some of the things that he has said previously. He said there was no silver bullet in any one particular plan.

And Heidi, another thing that he was pressed on was Afghanistan, and whether or not the administration had an exit strategy, what was -- if he was going to be sending more U.S. troops. And he tried to explain why the delay. There's been a lot of talk about possibly sending more U.S. troops.

COLLINS: Right.

MALVEAUX: Tried to give a sense of the process that his administration is going through. I want you to take a listen to what he said to our John King on "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When we came in, I think everybody understood that our Afghanistan strategy was somewhat adrift, despite the extraordinary valor of our -- the young men and women who are fighting there. So what we said was, let's do a soup-to-nuts re-evaluation, focusing on what our original goal was, which was to get al Qaeda. The people who killed 3,000 Americans.

To the extent that our strategy in Afghanistan is serving that goal, then we're on the right track. If it starts drifting away from that goal, then we may have a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Heidi, he's going to be talking about Afghanistan, but he's also focusing again on the economy. He's heading to Hudson Valley Community College this afternoon in upstate New York. Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes, quickly, Suzanne, the soup-to-nuts is done. I mean we've seen these reports coming in from General McChrystal, in particular, August 30th that report was done. Any indication as to how much longer before the president makes a decision about troops?

MALVEAUX: Well, the president has said weeks and weeks, as well as his spokesman saying that this was -- they were going to take their time, that there was no rush, that they have the resources in place in Afghanistan right now to do the mission that they have set out to do.

COLLINS: Wow.

MALVEAUX: Whether or not that mission changes really is the question and then that's the process that the president said he's going through trying to figure out, has the mission changed, and then let's take a look at resources to see if we've changed that mission and do need additional troops.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we'll be watching that end of the story very closely. Sure do appreciate it. Suzanne Malveaux in New York this morning.

A terror investigation that spans the country and may be even the world. We'll look at this unfolding investigation through the eyes of a former White House insider.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Take a look at this, we have secretary of state Hillary Clinton ringing the bell today. The bell has rung for this Monday, September 21st. And of course, it's a frequent stop for many dignitaries, as you probably know. Hollywood celebrities, sports stars, CEOs as well. So, there you have it.

Also, our Susan Lisovicz is there. She's a celebrity in her own right. Joining us now with details of how the trading day is likely to shape up. Hey, there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Heidi. That's right. The 67th secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, ringing the opening bell before she heads up town to attend the 64th session of the U.N. general assembly. But, actually, before she heads up town, she's scheduled to hit the trading floor, not to execute a trade, of course, but she will be mingling with the traders. It will be an exciting moment. It will be a historic moment, and it certainly will be a photo op. In the meantime, we are seeing a lower open. The Dow, well, less than 200 points at the close Friday, Heidi, from 10,000. News today, Dell agreeing to buy Perot Systems, an I.T. services company that was founded by another former presidential candidate, Ross Perot.

COLLINS: Yes, I remember him.

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. Dell is paying nearly $4 billion for the company in official to help the computer giant expand beyond the PC business. Dell shares right now are down 5%. But guess what, Perot shares are up 65%. Overall, investors showing some caution ahead of this week's fed decision on interest rates. The two-day policy- setting meeting starts tomorrow. Last week Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, as you recall, said the recession is likely over. So, now investors are looking to see if the fed thinks that those very historic low interest rates will be over as well. The consensus on Wall Street is that interest rates will remain unchanged, because of economic pressure. Over the weekend, this year's bank failures list hit 94 and President Obama told CNN that job growth will occur toward the end of the recovery, not the beginning. Checking the early numbers, we're not seeing growth there. The DOW, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 each down about three quarters of a percent. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. We are going to check out with you a little bit later on. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: If you've been hiding money from the IRS outside the country, you've got some more time to come clean without the penalties. The deadline was this Wednesday, but the associated press is reporting the IRS is giving an extension now to October 15th. The amnesty means no jail time and reduced penalties.

COLLINS: The United Nations today preparing to welcome world leaders for a climate summit, just talking about this with Susan Lisovicz. And the Associated Press says former President Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair, you see him there, has a plan to end the deadlock in these talks. He has a new report based on information from Cambridge University, which shows changing bad habits can mean money for the economy. Among the report's claims, 10 million jobs could be created by 20 if developing nations cut greenhouse gases. The summit begins tomorrow.

We have some new developments in a cross-country terror investigation that has led to the arrest of three men now. All three are Afghan nationals and are due in federal court today. One man will appear in Denver along with his father. A Muslim Imman is due in court in New York. All three are charged with lying to federal investigators. More charges could be coming to. Sources close to the investigation also tell CNN the men may have been plotting to blow up a large transportation center in New York. Court documents have revealed some details of the government's case, but the bigger question still remains, how seriously should we take this kind of news?

Francis Townsend is former Homeland security adviser for the Bush administration. She now serves as a CNN national security adviser, joining us from Washington. All right. Fran, we've been hearing an awful lot about this story. Began covering it last week, but we really don't have a great grasp at this point of what it is we're covering.

FRANCES TOWNSEND, FORMER BUSH HOMELAND SECRETARY ADVISER: Well, Heidi, that's because, of course, the government is trying to keep its hand close hold. What they don't want is to really understand is all the evidence they currently have. What they revealed is the bare minimum that they need to charge the three individuals, two in Colorado, one in New York, with a false statement charge. But when you look at what they're accused of lying about, you realize the seriousness of the ongoing investigation. This relates to documents on Zazi's computer, that's the younger Colorado guy, who was in New York, and that's related to bomb-making plans. And when you realize that this is -- these guys, Zazi traveled to Pakistan, to the tribal areas, has met with al Qaeda, clearly, al Qaeda individuals to get this training, comes back to the U.S. there are backpacks. This is also what we don't see publicly. There are leads all over the country. This case is not limited to Colorado and New York. We understand from sources that there are other leads in other U.S. cities. So officials now are trying to understand all the connections overseas, as well as to try and identify other individuals here in the United States that may not have been revealed publicly, but could be related to this investigation.

COLLINS: All right. So, you're a former director of Homeland Security. And I know that this question comes up all the time, because it's such a fine line between what the public should know and what the government should know and should be continuing to investigate. Your best sense here with the information that we have at this point. And I know you have an inside track to some of it at this point as well. How worried should we be about this? I mean, was this just the tip of the iceberg as far as what we're learning right now?

TOWNSEND: I do think it's the tip of the iceberg. Although, as you know, Director Muller testified last week and said he's not worried about an imminent threat, that's likely because this particular plot has been disrupted. But what you want to make sure is that you don't leave other individuals out there who haven't been identified. And I think that's the ongoing focus right now. I expect that we'll see additional charges filed against all three of the individuals who are only charged with false statements right now. The government probably has got more, but wants a cooperator. And so this is a vehicle by which they can try and get some of the individuals they have identified to cooperate with the government's investigation.

COLLINS: And how do they decide, again, the fine line that I know these agencies really have to walk every time that they get intelligence like this, of when to go in and when to make some of these arrests. If it's too early, then maybe you don't get to the heart of the matter, and then other times, if it's too late, people can die.

TOWNSEND: Heidi, you're exactly right. And that's one of the issues that's come up in this case. There was a real tug-of-war between the feds and the locals about when to have this case go. And arguably, they did go too soon. But part of the difficulty is, in fairness to the NYPD, they're the once that have got to prevent something from blowing up. And all they care about is stopping the attack. They'll worry about the rest -- broader investigation later. And that's what we're seeing now.

COLLINS: So how well do you think their coordinated?

TOWNSEND: Well I actually think the relationship is better than it's ever been. You're never going to stop, altogether, these pushes back and forth between them. But they are coordinating better now than has ever been the case and I think we're seeing the results of it in this investigation. COLLINS: All right. We sure do appreciate your time in all this. I think we'll be talking again about it. We are going to cover real closely right here at CNN. We really appreciate it. Fran Townsend, thank you.

TOWNSEND: Thank you.

COLLINS: Severe weather in the South, but that's for sure. Right now schools and roads are closed in Atlanta and nearby suburbs. Rob Marciano is watching that story for us. We are going to check in with him in just a few minutes. Stick around everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

First courtroom appearances today for three men arrested in a terror investigation. Two will be in a Denver courtroom, the other is in New York.

COLLINS: Mohammed Wali Zazi and his son Najibullah Zazi are the two there in the Denver courthouses. Court documents actually say the younger Zazi admits having ties to Al Qaeda. The third man, Ahmad Afzali, the justice department says all three are under investigation now for a plot to set off bombs in the United States. So far, they are only charged with making false statements.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he's proud about the outrage over his denial of the holocaust. Iran's state news agency quotes the President as saying that angering the world's professional man slayers, an apparent reference to Israel and the West, is a source of, "pride for us. "

New York Governor David Paterson plans to run to keep his job, despite word that president Obama doesn't want him to. "The New York Times" says the White House asked Paterson to withdraw from the 2010 race due to low approval ratings. There's fear that his unpopularity could snowball and affect other democrats. Paterson took office last year after Eliot Spitzer resigned in scandal.

At least five people are dead as a strong earthquake rocked the Asian Kingdom of Bhutan. The quake registered a 6.1 magnitude. The force damaged monasteries, homes, and other buildings that could also be felt in Northeastern Eastern India, which borders the kingdom.

Rob Marciano standing by in the severe weather center. A lot to talk about today, Rob. I guess you'll start off here, in the Southeast, yeah?

MARCIANO: Let's do that. We'll highlight a couple counties, a couple of them. Widespread counties that are under flash flood watches, and the bright greens are warnings and that includes a good chunk of Atlanta. Now they stretch back all the way to parts of Dallas. Show you this shot. It just kind of tells a story. This, really, we've seen the sun, maybe intermittently, a couple minutes a day for the past week.

Other than that, this is what you've seen and we are under a flood warning until about noontime today because of rainfall that just doesn't want to stop. And most of it has come since midnight last night and a lot of it's going right along the I-20 corridor and not really shifting North or South, and then redeveloping on the backside of this. We call that training, kind of like a train going over the same tracks. Multiple freight trains just dumping a lot of water across, not only to Atlanta, but parts of Alabama as well. Sumter, Alabama, which is right around here. They saw six inches of rain overnight in just three hours and then they just had another cell roll across and it's going towards the Tuscaloosa. That gives you an idea just how intense the rain is there And that's heading towards Birmingham also with rainfall tallies outside of Atlanta in the range of 6, 7, and in some cases, 9 inches since midnight last night.

All right, we do have some flood watches or warnings that have been posted and some of the locals will know this. Peachtree creek, which is right through here, and then crosses Peachtree road itself. By the way, there's a lot of Peachtree roads in Atlanta, but that's the big one. This has now gone into major flooding. Nancy Creek, sounds pretty tame, but that's near populated areas as well. That's gone into major flooding. And also the Chattahoochee river, which is -- that's the big old daddy that runs northwest of Atlanta, that also into seeing some major flooding at this hour. And that doesn't include what's been going on in parts of North Carolina. They have seen their fair share of flooding also.

So, from Alabama to Georgia to -- this, by the way, there was a subdivision of homes that got flooded out here. This is just some of the aftermath after they had to do some serious amounts of rescues. All right, Atlanta, Charlotte, Atlanta, you've got half-hour delays right now. That's definitely going to increase. Detroit and Denver will see some rains. By the way, the higher elevations of the Rockies will see some snow...

COLLINS: Wow!

MARCIANO: ... and then the West Coast, just a kind of complete the smorgasbord of weather, Heidi. The west coast is going to see maybe some record-breaking heat from San Francisco to San Diego beginning today and likely lasting through the middle part of the week.

COLLINS: Yes. It's a mixed bag. But did you say smorgasbord?

MARCIANO: I'm hungry.

COLLINS: It's smorgasbord.

MARCIANO: It's time for my mid (INAUDIBLE). What did I say?

COLLINS: ... borg. It's a Scandinavian kind of thing. We make up words in the Weather Center. We'll check back later. I know you have a lot going on. Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: See you.

COLLINS: Delivering a message through music and facing an divided by both distance and beliefs. We'll tell you about a peace concert that made a lot of people mad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The sounds of music echo across the Florida Straits, but is it enough o bridge the big gap between Cuba and the United States? Cuban authorities say more than a million people gathered in Havana yesterday for an historic concert. But for many Cubans now living abroad, a call to unite isn't exactly welcome. As you can see, it stirred anger and protests in South Florida. Why? We get the answer now from CNN Special Correspondent, Soledad O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The concert was called "Peace without Borders" and came to a place that never sees concerts of this magnitude -- Havana, Cuba. With a line-up of 15 international rock stars. Superstars of Latin music like Olga Tanon and Miguel Bose, and of course Juanes.

The concert is the brainchild of Juanes, a 37-year-old Colombian rock star whose fans stretched across the world. He's won 17 Latin Grammys and stay won the affection of the Cuban people. His aim as Juanes has said over two and a half months of planning this concert is peace. That in spite of numerous logistical obstacles and even death threats.

JUANES, LATIN ROCK STAR: (INAUDIBLE) It's amazing!

O'BRIEN: They said...

JUANES: ... more than a million.

O'BRIEN: 1.2 million, so I've heard.

JUANES: You know, amazing!

O'BRIEN: Is that success to you?

JUANES: Oh, it's more than that, more than that.

When I saw all this beautiful faces of all people smiling and singing and -- that's it, you know. That's the only thing that matters.

O'BRIEN: To help thaw the U. S.-Cuban relations. What does that say to you about opportunities down the road?

JUANES: You know, I mean at least the culture and music is changing. I mean, something's happening and this is a message for them, you know. Like, "Hey, guys, we are here!" I mean, we want to be together, please do something.

O'BRIEN: Juanez sang with Cuban performers barred from the U.S., like Silvio Rodriguez. But missing from this concert, well-known Cuban-American performers like Gloria Estefan and Willy Chirino -- fierce critics of the Cuban government. WILLY CHIRINO, CUBAN-AMERICAN PERFORMER: Who's going to win in a system that is dying already, you know? And they're going to give oxygen.

JUANES: I hope that in years to come Willy or Gloria or -- I mean, all of them can come to Cuba, their country. They are Cubans. They have to come here sooner or later

O'BRIEN: The concert was supposed to last four hours and it went much longer than that. Temperatures hit more than 90 degrees but as you can see from the crowd around me, it didn't faze most of the people. Occasionally an ambulance would come through and take out someone who fainted from overheating. Juanes says, just the sheer number of people makes this concert a huge success. His next concert will be on the U. S.-Mexico Border. Reporting from Havana, Cuba, I'm Soledad O'Brien for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And next month only on CNN, "LATINO IN AMERICA." A comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing America, reshaping politics, business, schools, churches and neighborhood. Latino in America, see it right here on CNN.

There's a lot of news we are following this morning. Our crews, of course, in place to bring you all of the details. Want to go checking now with our correspondents beginning with Barbara Starr at the Pentagon today. Hi there, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Heidi. A grim, new assessment from the top commander in the war in Afghanistan. We'll have that coming up next.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And, Heidi, I'm Poppy Harlow in Detroit, coming to you live in a city where unemployment is 29 percent. This is ground zero for this recession. We've been here for months asking people one simple question: how on earth do you make it in Detroit? More on that coming up in the next hour.

MARCIANO: And the weather headline is flooding across the Southeast. Weather headline for the West coast, is you'll be heating up Santa Ana winds blowing and critical fire danger. One extreme to the other. Weather details in the next hour, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, thanks so much, guys, appreciate it. We are also looking at a lawsuit in Florida. Did bill collectors hound a man to death? We'll look at what your rights are if you owe money.

COLLINS: The EMMY show in a rerun. It was live last night but a lot of the winners looked pretty familiar. CNN's Kara Finnstrom has the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIEL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR: (SINGING) Don't flip that switch. Aren't you curious which stars got Emmy's votes? KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Neil Patrick Harris got the show off to a fun, musical start. Then it was on to the comedy awards. Supporting actor and actress went to first-time winners.

KRISTIN CHENOWETH, WON EMMY FOR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: I'm unemployed now, I'd like to be on "Mad Men"...

FINNSTROM: Kristin Chenoweth won for the cancelled ABC comedy "Pushing Daisies." "Two and a Half Men's" Jon Cryer beat out the competition including the Emmy host.

JON CRYER, WON BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY: It felt awesome.

HARRIS: I bet it did.

CRYER: Awesome!

FINNSTROM: Lead comedy actress Toni Collette nabbed her first Emmy for her title role in "United States of Tara." "30 Rock's" Alec Baldwin became the first repeat winner of the night, taking lead comedy actor for the second year in a row.

ALEC BALDWIN, WON LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY: I'm shocked, literally shocked I won again.

FINNSTROM: Michael Emerson won his second supporting actor drama Emmy for playing the creepy Benjamin Linus on "Lost." And it was hail to the chief first time Cherry Jones who took the supporting drama actress prize for playing the president on "24."

CHERRY JONES, WON BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA: It's just now dawning at me that there were probably millions of people around the world watching. I'm sorry, I'm a little speechless right now just thinking about that.

FINNSTROM: From then on, every big winner from last year won again. Glenn Close earned her second lead drama actress Emmy in a row for "Damages." Bryan Cranston repeated for "Breaking Bad."

BRYAN CRANSTON, WON BEST LEAD IN A DRAMA: Lee Trevino was struck by lightning twice and now I know how he feels.

FINNSTROM: "30 Rock" earned Comedy Series the third year running, and Emmy voters were enthralled once more with "Mad Men." The 60's era show repeated as Best Drama Series, proving everything old is indeed new again.

MATTHEW WEINER, CREATOR, MAD MEN: We worked very hard to not have it stink the second ear.

FINNSTROM: And speaking of old favorites, the biggest winner this year was based on something really old. A 150-year-old Charles Dickens novel. The PBS miniseries "Little Dorrit" took home a total of seven Emmys.

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Checking stories happening right now -- storms in Georgia shutting down roads and schools this morning. As much as 20 inches of rain has fallen in the Atlanta area over the last three days. Emergency workers in at least two counties were forced to rescue people from high water.

In Massachusetts, a debate among law makers are could have big consequences for national issues like health care reform. Today the state senate could take up the issue of temporarily filling the U. S. senate seat left have a vacant by the death of Ted Kennedy. Republicans don't want the Democratic governor to fill the spot; Democrats argue Massachusetts needs to be fully represented in Washington.

Also, the Chairman of the Federal Communications commission, the FCC, is to propose so-called open internet rules today. According to the Associated Press the chairman is expected to say wireless carriers should be subject to the same open internet rules that apply to broadband providers. In other words, wireless carriers shouldn't be allowed to block certain types of internet traffic flowing over their networks.

We begin this hour with the terror investigation that spans the country and possibly the world. Three Afghan nationals due in federal court today, in Colorado and New York. Court documents say one of the men has acknowledged ties to Al Qaeda. Our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve is in Denver this morning, following the latest developments. So, Jeanne what can you tell us about this guy in New York? Who is he? How does he think you are in this investigation as well as the Denver side of things?

JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: His name is Ahmad Afzali, he is an imam. He's also the operator of a small Muslim burial service in Queens, New York. We also know that his name came in this investigation last week. Former counter terrorism official, who is familiar with this investigation, says that federal authorities were canvassing and went to a U-haul outlet in Queens, New York, where they were told that a group of Afghan men had tried to rent a truck.

From FBI photographs, people at the U-haul dealership were able to identify a couple of men and one of them was this individual, Ahmad Afzali. He, however, is not the focus of this investigation. He was in communication apparently with Najibullah Zazi, who is the focus, and according to federal documents, he's the one who tipped off Najibullah Zazi to the fact that he was under investigation. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Understood. That is a complicated one so far, there's a lot of more detail coming out as we continue to follow it here. Jeanne Meserve, our Homeland Security correspondent from Denver this morning. Thank you, Jeanne.