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Deadly Flooding in Georgia; President Obama in New York for Climate Change Summit; Taking Up Health Care Reform; Terror Threat Foiled; Afghan Strategy before Personnel
Aired September 22, 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: It is billed as the last bipartisan hope for health care. Beginning right now, the Baucus proposal gets worked over by a Senate panel.
The nation's mass transit systems are on alert. Officials call for more patrols after a possible bombing plot is uncovered.
And huddling with world leaders. This morning, President Obama addresses both climate change and the Mideast crisis.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Tuesday, September 22nd, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, we have never before seen flooding like this in the state of Georgia. And of course, that's where we begin this morning. Look at this rain, all the way up to the tops of some of those homes. Just days of downpours have led to several deaths and also to hundreds of roads and schools being closed this morning.
Our Rob Marciano, as you can see, is in one of those flooded Atlanta suburban neighborhoods. He's going to be talking a little bit more about residents, what they'll be facing today and the days to come.
Also before homeowners can get to that clean up, the weather has to dry out, at least a little bit.
CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras will have a forecast coming up in just a couple of minutes.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN. Your severe weather headquarters.
COLLINS: Here's what we know about the flooding in Georgia now. At least six people are confirmed dead in metro Atlanta. The victims include a 2-year-old child. Georgia's governor has declared a state of emergency in 17 counties hardest hit by the flooding. Hazardous roads have forced hundreds of schools and classes to be canceled today.
At least 10 districts in and around Atlanta are, in fact, closed. Now some areas just west of Atlanta received about 2 inches of rain since last week. Making matters worse, about a foot of that rain fell in a 12-hour period from Sunday night to Monday morning. So here's a look at just how overwhelming that rain was. Believe it or not, this is a Six Flags Amusement Park just west of Atlanta. With all the pavement and parking lots, the torrential rain simply had nowhere to go. And it turned into vast lakes that seemed to swallow up those rides and all of the buildings there.
CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is in another hard-hit area, that's the city of Austell. So Rob, give us a clue. What's going on there? We can see, obviously, how high up the water is there on your waders there.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's actually not far from Six Flags, just across the county line. I-20 just passed Six Flags is shut down, or at least was when we tried to get here. Normally a 20- minute commute for these people took us over an hour without traffic. Give you an idea of the road situation.
Well, this pretty much tells the story, doesn't it? This is just a little tiny creek, really, for the most part, Sweetwater Creek, in some of its wider spots, maybe you could do a little fly fishing, but certainly nothing like this.
This entire community, about 30 to 40 homes flooded out by this storm that came through. At 8:00 yesterday morning, fire crews came through and knocked on doors, telling people to get out. That was before the water was obviously this high.
And just looking around this corner now, what I can tell you it looks like is that the water is up to the second floor of some homes, and it's come down substantially. A number of cars still flooded. People were able to get some of their cars, some of their personal belongings out and park at a higher ground.
But -- people don't know a lot about Atlanta is it's pretty hilly. And, you know, if you're in a low spot, even in you're a small creek like this, you're going to get flooded. At one point last week, it was only flowing at one foot high. The river gauge, before it stopped recording, not sure why, last night, will hit 14 feet to give you an idea just how tremendous this flooding is.
COLLINS: Wow.
MARCIANO: But as far as how far down it's come, Heidi, just really when since we've come, the water was up and over the top of this mailbox. We can see the water line right about here, probably at its highest peak late last night. It has come down substantially.
A little bit of brightening in the skies. A very strange, bright orb up there that I haven't seen in a while here in Atlanta. The sun actually peeking out. So I'm not sure that means we're totally out of the clear, still a chance for showers. Jacqui will tell you about that.
But for here, the worst is over. But the clean up is just going to be a nightmare. This is not, you know, beautiful spring water.
COLLINS: No.
MARCIANO: This is nasty, nasty stuff. So when it does dry out, these folks are going to have a lot of work on their hands.
COLLINS: Yes. Really thick and muddy. I'm sure some of that red clay that we see around is sticking to the bottom of your boots there. All right, Rob, we're going to check back with you a little bit later on in the morning.
Obviously, the big question, is more rain on the way? Want to get over to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras who has the answer to that.
Good morning to you, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Heidi. Not a great answer, unfortunately, for a lot of folks. The answer is that rain's going to stay in the forecast. Really, at least for the next five to 10 days. Now it doesn't mean you're not going to see the sun. It doesn't mean we're going to have another deluge like that, but it does mean that the chances of rain is going to be high.
And with so much moisture content still in the atmosphere, we could dump out a good inch or two in some of the isolated thunderstorms that do develop. Now we've had some light rain showers on the north side of Atlanta, but you can see some more development back here in parts of Alabama. So that's something we'll be watching in the upcoming hours.
But our main system is further off to the west now. And this is what we're going to be tracking in terms of getting impulses to help trigger some of these thunderstorms in the next couple of days or so.
I want to show you the big picture here. This is our upper level disturbance. This is our big weather maker now. And what this low is going to do is going to kind of trigger out these little disturbances that are going to be moving through here throughout the rest of the week.
The best chances of heavy rain is going to come into play in the weekend, we think, late Friday and into Saturday. Now, we've been dealing with this for over a week now into the southeast. So we put together an animation to give you an idea what happened.
Our low actually started out there near the gulf. Made its way on up to the north and then you pushed up to the north and east. And there you can see that pause on Sunday night and into Monday when we started getting that really heavy rain and now it's pulled out.
So we're waiting for our next weather maker to pull in and pull through to hopefully bring a little bit of a break.
Just want to show you a couple of pictures of our iReport. You heard Rob mentioning that I-20 is closed down. Well also other road closures. This is from our iReporter Jeff Taylor Watson (INAUDIBLE) at his apartment building on the I-75/85 connector. That has now opened back up. But we also still have delays over here on 20, on 75, on 575, and on 285 on the west side of town.
So, you know, as you know, Heidi, that makes a disaster for trying to travel. Not just for people who live in Atlanta, but for people who are trying to get to Florida, people who are trying to go over to Alabama.
COLLINS: Yes.
JERAS: So it covers a large portion of the southeast.
COLLINS: Yes. I know your kids are out of school today. My kids are out of school today.
JERAS: Yes, they are.
COLLINS: Just remember, both of us being from Minnesota, you know, we've seen this happen with snow, but rare, anyway, for rain. And now, of course, the flooding that follows. So we will be checking in with you throughout the morning.
Jacqui, appreciate it. Thank you.
A day, a big day, in fact, for President Obama in New York. It all starts in just a few minutes with a speech at the Climate Change Summit. We're going to bring that to you live just as soon as it begins.
Also on the agenda this morning, important meetings with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territory.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now live from New York with more on the big day.
So, Suzanne, what is the president hoping to accomplish with his meetings today on Mideast peace? So we had heard, he doesn't expect that there'll be any real breakthroughs here.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, you're absolutely right. We don't expect any major breakthroughs. White House aides, talking with them, say that this is really about showing a commitment from the Obama administration at the highest level for Middle East peace.
He's going to be sitting down separately with the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, then he's going to bring these two leaders together. They're all going to be in the same room. They're going to talk about things.
Now, clearly, we don't expect that they're going to have any breakthroughs on the major sticking points. Palestinian security, the Israeli settlements, freezing of the Israeli settlements. But what they are going to do, they're really meant to set the stage and show that at least they are talking. At least these two sides are getting together and that this is a follow-up of many months of hard work behind the scenes. You have the special envoy, George Mitchell, who's been in the region for months now, trying to work and negotiate with these sides. It's a very difficult process, but this is a demonstration, if you will, Heidi, that the president is still engaged in the process and that he considers it a priority.
COLLINS: Yes, years and years, in fact, of attempting to work on Middle East peace in the past administrations as well. We'll continue to follow that, certainly today.
Also, we're expecting to hear from the president in just a few minutes, in fact, on climate change as well. We're looking at live pictures now of the U.N. headquarter there in New York.
MALVEAUX: That's right. And what this is about is that it's really kind of setting up for something else. It's another meeting that's going to take place in December in Copenhagen when all these leaders come together.
What is happening is that Kyoto Protocol, the treaty of 1997, is going to expire essentially in 2012. This basically cut the emissions, limited emissions for industrialized countries. A lot of countries signed on.
Ironically, Heidi, the two biggest world polluters, China being the first one, the United States being the second, neither one of them signed on to that agreement. These are the two countries, U.S. and China, that are taking the lead now, and trying to come up with some sort of alternative to the Kyoto treaty.
And so what we're going to hear from the president is that, look, the United States has taken charge of its own climate control, its own emissions and working out things like that. That China is working on it as well and that everybody needs to do their part to come up with something that they can agree on in December.
That's going to be a tough deal. And the main reason why here is that people are looking for China. What is China going to do? Is it going to take responsibility in cutting its own emissions? That's why there's a meeting later today, Heidi, between President Obama and President Hu Jintao of China to see whether or not they're going to take an active role in actually cutting their own greenhouse gases.
COLLINS: Yes. Understood. And as we continue to watch these live pictures now coming in, you see U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon there. This is the beginning. We just heard the gavel come down actually of his climate change summit. So we are expecting the president to come shortly. We'll bring that to you when it happens, live.
Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.
And again that is just part of the president's day. Late in the afternoon, President Obama makes an appearance and speaks at the opening of the Clinton Global Initiative meetings. Former president Bill Clinton sat down with our Larry King last night. They talked about the tough tasks facing President Obama right now, including prospects for Middle East peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Are we ever going to get something concrete in the Middle East?
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I -- first, it's more up to them than it is up to President Obama. They need a partner in the Middle East. The Israelis do. And they need a world committed to their security. So that -- for those reasons, you know, I think there's a fair chance we'll get a peace agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Be sure to check out "LARRY KING LIVE" nightly for interviews of top newsmakers and celebrities. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Larry will be talking with Tyra Banks.
Well, after months of arguing, the Senate Finance Committee is finally taking up a health care reform bill. But there's a lot of work to do before an actual vote. And even the man who proposed it, that's him, Senator Max Baucus there, may throw some curve balls.
Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill this morning.
So, Brianna, there are obviously some significant changes coming today. What exactly are we talking about? We knew some of these changes, some of this reshaping, if you will, was coming, but people want to hear specifics.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and what you're really looking at, Heidi, what's going on now, is this process where this Senate Finance Committee, they're going to have opening statements as they move on throughout the week, they're going to be taking up amendments and make changes.
But even before making those changes where these individual senators, 23 of them on this committee, really get to kind of put in their two cents, Senator Max Baucus, the head of the Senate Finance Committee, has announced some changes, trying to assuage the concerns of some Democrats and a key Republican, Olympia Snowe of Maine, a moderate Republican, trying to assuage their concerns that this health care plan, essentially, requires Americans to purchase insurance, but maybe doesn't make that insurance affordable enough for them.
COLLINS: Right.
KEILAR: So Senator Baucus, we're expecting later today, Heidi, that he's going to announce that they will be increasing the subsidies to low-income and middle class Americans to make this more affordable and also decreasing the penalty for those Americans who choose not to buy insurance.
Remember, it was $3,800 for a family of four. We are expecting that to go down dramatically, Heidi. COLLINS: Yes. Anything else that we can point to here, Brianna? Because as you know, and as everyone has seen over the course of the week, it seems like senators from both sides are really trying to get this bill to be more to their liking.
What else are they going to be asking for?
KEILAR: Certainly, and Democrats as well as Republicans, they're going to be trying to make substantial changes to this, Heidi. Just to take a look at a few of the yes, 564 amendments, and I won't go through all of them.
COLLINS: Is that all?
KEILAR: Five hundred sixty-four, but let's take a look at a few of them. One, this is proposed by Senator Jay Rockefeller, Democrat from West Virginia. Strong proponent of that government-run insurance plan, which is not in this bill. He is proposing to add that public option, that government-run insurance plan.
And then Senator Ron Wyden is proposing that employers have to help cover employees. Right now, this plan encourages them to do so, but it doesn't require it. So those are just a couple of changes from Democrats.
But take a look at one from Republicans. And Republicans, obviously here, trying to force some tough votes for Democrats. John Ensign of Nevada, Republican, is proposing that every time the word "fee" appears in this bill, it should be changed to "tax."
So that just gives you a sense, even though this is the committee, Heidi, where we've been looking to see if there's some bipartisan come together, this is still taking on some partisan tones even as you...
COLLINS: Yes.
KEILAR: ... look at the amendments that are being proposed here.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Lots of questions from everybody on all of it. Again, watching Senator Max Baucus right there live. And we'll continue to follow this one throughout the day.
Thank you, Brianna.
In fact, do you have questions on health care reform? Or what about swine flu, H1N1? In just about 30 minutes, I'll be talking with Health and Human Service secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. We will ask her some of your questions. Just go to my blog, CNN.com/heidi, and go ahead and start putting your questions there.
As we said, we are awaiting the president's speech at the Climate Change Summit in New York. Looking at some live pictures now. We're going to bring that to you live just as soon as the president gets ready to speak.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly, we want to let you know, we are keeping our eye on the United Nations headquarters in New York today because President Barack Obama is going to be speaking at U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon's Climate Change Summit. That will be happening very shortly.
So we continue to follow these live pictures and we'll, of course, take the president as soon as he comes to the microphone. We also know that former Vice President Al Gore will also be speaking at the climate change meeting today. Obviously, this is a full-day summit to discuss energy, security, and finance as well.
More serious charges could be coming against three men who are part of a federal investigation into a possible terror plot. They were all in court for the first time yesterday.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more now on the suspects and their roles in the alleged plan of attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he entered a federal courtroom in Brooklyn, 37-year-old Iman Ahmad Afzali smiled at his wife, father and brother sitting in the front row, later blowing them kisses. Federal agents say the imam told Denver suspect, Najibullah Zazi, authorities were monitoring him.
The imam allegedly asking Zazi whether any, quote, "evidence" unquote, was in the rental car Zazi drove from Denver to New York which was impounded and searched by FBI agents near a Queens mosque.
The iman told Zazi it was, quote, "a good sign," unquote, that the authorities had come to iman asking what he knew.
RON KUBY, AFZALI'S ATTORNEY: The authorities generally requested that the imam find out any way he can where Zazi is, where he's been, where he's going and what he is up to. That's what they wanted to know. And that makes sense. Because they thought he was coming to New York for the purpose of carrying out a terrorist attack.
FEYERICK: Defense lawyer Ron Kuby, known for taking on controversial terrorism cases, says FBI agents specifically asked the imam to reach out to Zazi to help gather information.
KUBY: The government asks to search his home and he consents to a search of his home. They ask to take a DNA sample. He consents to a DNA sample. They ask him for more oral statements. He waives his Miranda rights. He gives an oral statement.
FEYERICK: Afzali and his family fled Afghanistan in 1991, following the Soviet-led invasion. He grew up in Flushing, Queens and worked for several years at the Masjid Hazrat Abu Bakr Islamic Center, New York's largest Afghan mosque.
Several years ago, he left the mosque to open a funeral business that caters to Muslims. A longtime friend who spoke to Afzali in the days leading up to the raids on several Queens apartments says it would be completely out of character for Afzali to have any connection to terrorism.
AHMAD WEISH, MASJID-AL-SAALIHEEN MOSQUE: As far as I know, how much I know him, it does not match his character.
FEYERICK (on camera): Both Zazi and the imam are being held pending detention hearings Thursday. The big question now -- was the imam part of a larger terror plot, as authorities believe, or was he simply trying to help federal investigators, as his lawyer maintains?
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Give our generals what they need. An Iraq war veteran spearheads a drive to help U.S. forces turn the Afghan war around. We're going to be talking about that very shortly.
First, though, want to get to some of our "Top Stories" today. New allegations against John Edwards. A former top aide now says he was told to lie by the former presidential candidate about an affair with Edwards' mistress.
Andrew Young says he admitted to being the father of Rielle Hunter's daughter at the urging of John Edwards. Young has since admitted to lying. The new allegations are all part of a book proposal by Young. A North Carolina grand jury is looking into whether Edwards broke any laws during the cover-up of the affair.
Rielle Hunter brought her daughter with her when she testified last month.
And more serious charges, potential charges, I should say, counterterrorism officials are calling for mass transit patrols to be stepped up now after a possible plot to blow up trains was uncovered. Three people have been charged in what authorities believe may have been a plan to detonate a backpack bomb.
So those in custody include a New York imam and a father and son arrested in Denver Saturday. The three are accused of making false statements to the government.
The Justice Department opening an investigation of ACORN. The community group has faced conservative critics, especially after the release of this hidden camera video. It shows a couple posing as a prostitute and pimp receiving advice from ACORN employees on how to skirt the law. An internal watchdog for the Justice Department wants to know if the agency ever gave money to ACORN.
And the SEC plans to go to trial against Bank of America. The agency has accused the firm of failing to disclose to shareholders. It had authorized Merrill Lynch to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses to its employees last year. Those bonuses were paid out, even though the investment bank lost more than $27 billion. Bank of America says it will vigorously defend itself.
Tell you a little bit more about this story in a moment. Giving our generals what they need. An Iraq war veteran spearheads a drive to help U.S. forces turn the Afghan war around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The swine flu vaccine and also health care reform. We have an opportunity today to take some of your questions to Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius. We're going to be talking with her live in just a few minutes here.
So make sure you go ahead and go to the blog, CNN.com/heidi. Put your questions there. If they are about H1N1, swine flu, or also about health care reform. We're going to be talking to her and she'll answer those questions in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: There you have the opening bell for Tuesday, September 22nd, ringing away there.
Investors may be back in a bit of a buying mood, which would be great. We are gearing up for a little bit of a higher open as a growing number of reports show the economy is healing.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange now with details on this; I always say that very tentatively, very cautiously. That maybe things are looking better.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, yes, I think that we've gotten signs that things are getting better, but we don't want to jinx it, right, Heidi?
COLLINS: No.
LISOVICZ: And we certainly don't want to jinx the rally that we saw that started in March that have brought the three major averages, each about 50 percent higher. Investors here, taking their cue from European investors who were sending markets -- who were sending markets higher.
Federal Reserve policy makers gathered today to take up the issue of the economic recovery, even though recent reports on housing and manufacturing have shown the economy is recovering. The Feds expected to hold interest rates steady. One reason why, the growing unemployment numbers.
And today, it's Pratt & Whitney cutting jobs. The jet engine maker is closing two of its plants, leading to 1,000 job cuts in Connecticut because of decreased demand in the aerospace market.
Oil is rebounding, now up nearly two bucks, trading above $71 a barrel. This follows a $2 drop yesterday, that followed a report showing oil demand in China fell in August for the first time since March. China is the world's second largest oil consumer.
And checking the numbers, yes, we're seeing a nice rebound from the sell-off we saw on Monday. The Dow right now up half a percent as is the Nasdaq.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: All right, very good, Susan. We'll check back a little bit later on. Thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.
COLLINS: Severe weather, that's for sure.
A 2-year-old boy dies after being torn from his father's arms. Drivers swept away by floodwaters. They are among the six people killed in dangerous flooding in Georgia. 17 counties around Atlanta are now under a state of emergency.
Streets are closed, entire neighborhoods, under water. In the middle of one, a home on fire and the fire truck trying to get to it, stuck in the water.
As much as 20 inches of rain have fallen since Friday. The ground is so saturated one climatologist said any rain that fell has no place to go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the highest water that I've seen and I've been living here all my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's really set in that this is real, this is -- we're flooded out. We don't have a home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Yes, very real for a lot of people. Is more rain on the way though? That's the big question that everybody has. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has been watching all of this morning to give us a bit of an answer that unfortunately I don't think everybody is going to love.
JERAS: I know, it's the day where you hate to be the messenger, you know, Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes.
JERAS: Because it's so sad. And the last thing you want to hear is that we're going to have more wet weather. And unfortunately, we're going to. But the best thing I can tell you is that we're not expecting the big heavy rains like the foot of rain that we got in less than 24 hours. So the rainfall totals, with isolated thunderstorms, could reach an inch or two. But that's about it.
I want to show you some video. This is just coming in from about an hour ago now. There you can see, this is Six Flags over Georgia. That is a roller coaster.
COLLINS: Holy cow.
JERAS: You know can you believe it -- you know this area, Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.
JERAS: Yes, so I-20 is shut down in both directions in these are, this is from our affiliate WDCL.
Now, if we could go over to our Google Earth and we will show you what it's supposed to look like in this area. There you can see the interstate and we'll zoom in a little bit closer, you can actually see it. There is the roller coaster. Yes, it's dry.
It's close to the Chattahoochee River, so that's been spilling out of its banks. The good news is that most of the rivers and creeks have crested and are now starting to fall, but it's going to take a while for that water to get back within its banks.
So let's go ahead and go back to the radar pictures here. And I want to show you our next weather maker, what's going to be bringing in that rain to the southeast in the upcoming days. Now, we're not looking at solid rain, but we are looking at a solid five to seven days, at least, with rain chances in the forecast. Which means there's going to be anywhere between maybe a 30 percent and 50 percent chance that a shower or thunderstorm is going to hit you at your house.
It's an upper-level system. It's way back over here and it's bringing in some heavy rain across the Mississippi Valley today. And what's going to happen is that we're going to get these little impulses or these little disturbances or waves in the atmosphere that are going to come out of that main low and shoot across the southeast.
And so it only takes a little hiccup, basically, at this point, because it's so much moisture just lingering in our area, it's like one little hiccup is going to kind of wring out that wet wash cloth, if you know what I mean by that.
Let's go ahead and show you some of these iReports. Thank you, by the way, to our iReporters, because you've been sending in more than I think I've ever seen before.
This is from Anita Amarfio; this is the Peachtree Park apartments. And there you can see somebody's car that got blooded and some water also getting into the buildings there.
I invite you to go to CNN -- I'm sorry, iReport.com...
COLLINS: Yes.
JERAS: ... because there's just a plethora of these and it will really help capture what's been going on in the Atlanta metro area.
COLLINS: Yes, really. Thank goodness for people going out there and taking pictures, as long as obviously, everybody stays safe.
JERAS: Stay safe yes.
COLLINS: Because the big thing, Jacqui and maybe it's time to remind everybody, if you can't see the bottom of the road, where the water is...
JERAS: Don't go through it.
COLLINS: ... don't go through it.
JERAS: Yes.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
JERAS: Six inches of water will knock you off your feet, a foot of water will take your car away, depending how fast that water is moving. So that's not a lot.
COLLINS: No. I didn't even know that.
All right, Jacqui, thanks so much. We'll check back with you a little later on.
Public support for the war in Afghanistan is declining just as the top U.S. commander there says a troop hike is critical to victory.
CNN's Barbara Starr with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: As violence increases daily in Afghanistan -- some are calling for a major troop build-up. The president signalling when he ordered a review of the Afghan war he wasn't anxious to quickly send tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban insurgency.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.
STARR: Attacking al Qaeda is fundamentally a counterterrorism strategy, requiring a limited number of new troops. It's the Plan B advocated by some in the White House, according to a senior Pentagon official.
But general Stanley McChrystal, the top commander, is still calling for a counterinsurgency strategy to strengthen Afghanistan to the point the Taliban have no safe haven there. That could take tens of thousands of more troops beyond the 68,000 new planned. Retired General Montgomery Meigs says it's a must.
GEN. MONTGOMERY MEIGS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: If you're going to get the tribes over on your side and the side of government, you have to have enough people there to make things happen for them, economically, socially and in terms of security.
STARR: Could the Pentagon put U.S. firepower, such as fighter jets and drones, in neighboring countries to reduce the U.S. presence inside Afghanistan?
MEIGS: My point is, if you don't have the kind of intelligence you need to make those systems effective, you are going to swing and miss a lot.
STARR: The powerful Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee says more U.S. troops right away are not the answer for another reason.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I've been recommending to the president that, first of all, before any consideration is made of additional combat forces that we get the Afghan army bigger, better equipped.
STARR: The new bottom line? Support for the war in Afghanistan is declining and the president and his commanders will have to make the case for whatever comes next.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: As Barbara said in her report, President Obama says he wants a strategy review completed for Afghanistan before he addresses troop strength.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We are in the process of working through that strategy. The only thing I've said to my folks is, A, I want an unvarnished assessment, but, B, I don't want to put the resource question before the strategy question. You know, because there's a natural inclination to say, if I get more, then I can do more.
But right now the question is -- the first question is, are we doing the right thing? Are we pursuing the right strategy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The largest Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans group has started an online petition now in support of a troop increase.
Pete Hegseth, an Iraq war veteran, is chairman of Vets for Freedom and is joining us now from Boston. Thanks so much for being with us. Initially, I would like to say thanks for your service as well. PETE HEGSETH, CHAIRMAN, VETS FOR FREEDOM: Thank you.
COLLINS: I do want to begin by reading part of your group's petition for everybody at home, so they can see a little bit about what exactly you are doing.
It says this: "By accepting the troop recommendations of General McChrystal and his boss, General David Petraeus, we have a chance to turn the war in Afghanistan around. This is a moment in history we must not miss."
Why do you think President Obama's plan to re-evaluate the strategy before sending more troops to Afghanistan is actually going to hurt the U.S. effort there?
HEGSETH: No, I think it's important that we re-evaluate strategy in Afghanistan, much like we did in Iraq in 2006. So in Iraq, we were pursuing the wrong strategies, changed it through the surge and counterinsurgency with General Petraeus.
And in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal who is an understudy of General Petraeus has done the same thing in Afghanistan. And it's important to remember there's a distinction between counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. Counterterrorism is what we tried before 9/11 with missile strikes and drone strikes in distant lands.
Counterinsurgency requires boots on the ground, what gives you the intelligence you need. And most military commanders today believed that's a more effective way to beat back havens for al Qaeda than long distance strikes.
COLLINS: Understood, but maybe, I guess, the confusion comes -- hasn't General Stanley McChrystal already done that. He evaluated, he assessed, released a big report. And ultimately, there are ideas of 30,000 to 40,000 more troops needed.
Now we need to re-evaluate again. Is that what the White House is saying?
HEGSETH: The White House is now saying -- in my opinion, they're buying time. The assessment has already been done. We know we want to pursue a counterinsurgency.
The question is, are we going to resource it properly? That's what we're doing with our petition. We're calling on Senator Obama (SIC) to give the officials on the ground what they need. The assessment has been provided, but the exact troop request has not been given to the president yet. It's arguably between 15,000 and 40,000 additional troops.
If President Obama believes this is a war we must win, which we do as well, and he has said that repeatedly, then we have responsibility to the boots on the ground to resource it sufficiently.
And General McChrystal is going to ask for a substantial troop increase. He has the right strategy to do it and as warriors who have been on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, we believe we have a moral imperative to support these commanders and give them an opportunity to defeat our enemies.
COLLINS: In fact, we've been reporting for several days here through our Pentagon correspondent that the White House is saying, we're aware that you want more troops, but we don't want you to make that formal request just yet.
HEGSETH: That's right. The request of additional forces was going to be included in this assessment. And then the White House specifically asked that they be separated. That it first be an assessment of what's going on, on the ground and then a specific troop increase. We'd also like to see General McChrystal testify before Congress much like Gen. Petraeus did in 2007 to make sure there is no upward pressure against how many troops he asks for.
COLLINS: So is there time for all of this? Is there time to go through all of these steps, as far as the needs of the troops on the ground?
HEGSETH: Hey, I agree with you. The sooner the better. In fact, the assessment's been made. McChrystal knows what he wants and I think we should resource it now.
For some reason, the Obama administration is buying time. Maybe it's to buffer up support on their left. Those that are saying they don't want more troops. But it should happen as soon as possible. Senator McCain and others have called for that and hopefully we can get these commanders what they need immediately so we can start taking the fight back to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
COLLINS: I'm sure as a vet, you hear a lot from men and women who are on the front lines right now in Afghanistan and Iraq for that matter. How -- quickly, before we let you go -- is troop morale?
HEGSETH: Troop morale is high, but they definitely feel undermanned. It has been under-resourced -- that fight has been and undermanned and under-resourced for a long time. They need more guys to really do what it is they need to accomplish. But they know the rightness of their fight.
Al Qaeda and the Taliban are trying to take back that country. We can't allow them to do that for our own national security.
COLLINS: The chairman of Vets for Freedom, working on this petition right now. Pete Hegseth, we sure do appreciate your time today. Thank you.
HEGSETH: Thanks a lot, Heidi.
COLLINS: In our top stories now. A sign of banking health, Bank of America says it will pay the government $425 million to end a bailout deal. The government had agreed to guarantee funds to Bank of America back in January. The backstop was part of a plan to help the firm absorb Merrill Lynch, which was close to collapse. Time for this check of our top story as well: the House expected to pass a bill today extending jobless benefits for some of the millions of Americans out of work and that means an additional 13 weeks of benefits for people who live in states where the unemployment rate is over 8.5 percent. In fact, 27 states are in that category now.
A former CEO thinks she can solve California's budget problem. Meg Whitman is expected to jump into the California governor's race today. She's the former CEO of eBay. Whitman would become the early Republican favorite to replace Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Government asked for your ideas to help in the fight against the H1N1 virus and you responded.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm recommending washing hands real thorough.
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COLLINS: More of this award-winning video, coming up.
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COLLINS: We want to get to this breaking news that we are learning here in the CNN NEWSROOM. In fact, our correspondent Deborah Feyerick has been following this story of this terror investigation. There were two arms of it. Not quite sure how far it's spreading, but we do know about New York and about Denver.
So Deb Feyerick, I understand there's more information now regarding investigators and where they're going in their investigation.
FEYERICK: That's right. Heidi, we're told that members of the joint terrorism task force have been working to determine just how many people were involved in this alleged terror plot, the starting point, of course, being the guy in Denver.
Now a source familiar with the ongoing investigation tells CNN that investigators are looking for about a dozen people. The source says that the focus of the investigation still remains in Denver and New York. Information that -- signs are pointing to New York city's transportation system as being a likely target.
Law enforcement officials are stressing that really it could be any train or subway station in the country. We can also tell you that it's a bus terminal here in New York City, in Manhattan. The Port Authority, apparently, there's some activity, a suspicious package that is right now being investigated.
Law enforcement officials don't know exactly what it is. They're taking every precaution, obviously, because things are at such a heightened state right now because of the United Nations being in town and because of this investigation ongoing, they are taking no chance. So, a lot of activity there as they're clearing the area to see exactly what this package is -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Deb, obviously, this is a story that we sort of were thinking was going to be developing for quite some time. I know you've been following it closely.
Once again, that is the latest information: looking for about a dozen more people or so in connection with this wide-ranging terror investigation. Deb Feyerick is on the story and following it closely for us. We'll go back to her if need be.
For now, we want to take you to the United Nations headquarters in New York where President Barack Obama is now participating in the day on climate change. Let's go ahead and listen in.
OBAMA: It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well. We recognize that.
But this is a new day. It is a new era. And I am proud to say that the United States has done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history.
We are making our government's largest ever investment in renewable energy; an investment aimed at doubling the generating capacity from wind and other renewable resources in three years.
Across America, entrepreneurs are constructing wind turbines and solar panels and batteries for hybrid cars with the help of loan guarantees and tax credits; projects that are creating new jobs and new industries.
We're investing billions to cut energy waste in our homes, our buildings, and appliances, helping American families save money on energy bills in the process. We've proposed the very first national policy aimed at both increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks; a standard that will also save consumers money and our nation oil.
We're moving forward with our first offshore wind energy projects. We're investing billions to capture carbon pollutions so that we can clean up our coal plants.
And just this week we announced for the first time ever we'll begin tracking how much greenhouse gas pollution is being emitted throughout the country.
Later this week, I'll work with my colleagues at the g-20 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies so that we can better address our challenge and already we know that the recent drop in overall U.S. emissions is due in part to steps that promote greater efficiency and greater use of renewable energy.
Most importantly, the House of Representatives passed an energy bill in June that would make clean energy the profitable kind of energy for American businesses and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One committee has already acted on this bill in the senate and I look forward to engaging with others as we move forward.
Because no one nation can meet this challenge alone, the United States has also engaged more allies and partners in finding a solution than ever before. In April we convened the first of what have now been six meetings of the major economies forum on energy and climate here in the United States.
In Trinidad, I proposed an energy and climate partnership for the Americas. We worked through the World Bank to promote renewable energy projects and technologies in the developing world.
We have put climate at the top of our diplomatic agenda when it comes to our relationships with countries as varied as China and Brazil, India and Mexico, from continent of Africa to continent of Europe.
Taken together, these steps represent a historic recognition on behalf of the American people and their government. We understand the gravity of the climate threat. We are determined to act. We will meet our responsibilities to future generations.
But though many nations have taken bold action and share in this determination we did not come here to celebrate progress today. We came because there's so much more progress to be made. We came because there's so much more work to be done. It is work that will not be easy.
As we head toward Copenhagen, there should be no illusion that the hardest part of our journey is in front of us. We seek sweeping but necessary change in the midst of a global recession where every nation's most immediate priority is reviving their economy and putting their people back to work.
And so, all of us will face doubts and difficulties in our own capitals as we try to reach a lasting solution to the climate challenge. But I'm here today to say that difficulty is no excuse for complacency. Unease is no excuse for inaction. We must not allow the perfect to become the enemy of progress.
Each of us must do what we can, when we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet and we must all do it together. We must seize the opportunity to make Copenhagen a significant step forward in the global fight against climate change.
We also cannot allow the old divisions that had characterized the climate debate for so many years to block our progress. Yes, the developed nations that caused much of the nation to our climate over the last century still have a responsibility to lead and that includes the United States. We will continue to do so by investing in renewable energy and promoting greater efficiency and slashing our emissions to reach the targets we set for 2020 and our long-term goal for 2050.
But those rapidly growing nations that will produce nearly all the growth in global carbon emissions in the decades ahead must do their part as well. Some of these nations have already made great strides with the development and deployment of clean energy. Still, they need to commit to strong measures at home and agree to stand behind those commitments just as the developed nations must stand behind their own.
We cannot meet this challenge unless all the largest emitters of greenhouse gas pollution act together. There's no other way. We must also energize our efforts to put other developing nations, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, on a path to sustained growth. These nations do not have the same resources to combat climate change as countries like the United States or China do.
They have the most immediate stake in a solution for these are the nations that are already living with the unfolding effects of a warming planet: famine, drought, disappearing coastal villages and the conflicts that arise from scarce resources. Their future is no longer a choice between a growing economy and a cleaner planet because their survival depends on both. It will do little good to alleviate poverty if you can no longer harvest your crops or find drinkable water.
That is why we have a responsibility to provide the financial and technical assistance needed to help these nations adapt debt to the impacts of climate change and pursue low carbon development.
What we are seeking after all is not simply an agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions, we seek an agreement that will allow all nations to grow and raise living standards without endangering the planet. By developing and disseminating clean technology and sharing our know-how, we can help developing nations leap-frog dirty energy technologies and reduce dangerous emissions.
Mr. Secretary, as we meet here today, the good news is that after too many years of inaction and denial, there's finally widespread recognition of the urgency of the challenge before us. We know what needs to be done.
We know that our planet's future depends on a global commitment to permanently reduce greenhouse gas pollution. We know that if we put the right rules and incentives in place, we will unleash the creative power of our best scientists and engineers and entrepreneurs to build a better world.
And so many nations have already taken the first step on the journey toward that goal. But the journey is long. And the journey is hard. We don't have much time left to make that journey. It's a journey that will require each of us to persevere through setbacks and fight for every inch of progress even when it comes in fits and starts.
Let us begin. If we are flexible and pragmatic, if we can resolve to work tirelessly in common effort, then we will achieve our common purpose. A world that is safer, cleaner and healthier than the one we found and a future that is worthy of our children.
Thank you very much.
COLLINS: There you have President Barack Obama, as we have been telling you today, addressing the United Nations through this Climate Change Summit talking about several different issues and many of them regarding energy, security, trade and finance.
There will be several other world leaders that will be discussing the same issues today after the president there. This is all leading up to the summit that's going to take place in Denmark this year, of course, where a global climate change pact is actually expected to be signed. That's the beginning of his day.
Later on today he'll be holding some Middle East peace talks as well. He's going to be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu and also Mahmoud Abbas. It will happen a little bit later on today also in New York.
I want to remind you -- unfortunately because of the president's speech we are now not able to get Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on. We had asked you for your questions regarding H1N1 swine flu or also health care reform. Unfortunately we are not going to be able to do that.
Our apologies for that, but she had to move on with her day. We will try and reschedule with her. We'll let you know about that just as soon as we make it happen.
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