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G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh; Obama's First U.N. address; HIV Vaccine in the Works

Aired September 24, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Money, of course, the main topic. Security forces are ready. Protesters are gathered. The participants including President Obama arrived this afternoon and waiting for them, our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry.

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ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When these 20 leaders last met it was spring in London and the global recession was still catching fire. But as President Obama wrapped up his first big moment on the international stage, he declared they were putting out the flames.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We finished a very productive summit. There will be a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery.

HENRY: Five months later, there are signs the recession is coming to a close. But unemployment is still sky high. Helping to fuel protesters already waiting for the leaders in Pittsburgh.

The president acknowledged to CNN's John King that unemployment may get worse in the next few months, which is why he will be pushing his counterparts to sign on to a specific pledge to make the global economy more balanced.

OBAMA: We can't go back to the era where the Chinese or the Germans or other countries just are selling everything to us and we're taking a bunch of credit card debt or home equity loans but we're not selling anything to them.

HENRY: But getting the Chinese to sign on will be difficult especially after Mr. Obama slapped a tariff on Chinese tires, which raised questions whether leaders are reneging on free trade promises they made in London.

STEVEN SCHRAGE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: So is the United States going to be standing up and stopping the slippage or is it going to be further pushing the world downward towards trade conflicts and possibly a downward spiral of new types of protectionism.

HENRY: Another potential dispute, European leaders continue to push hard for a crackdown on bonuses paid to bankers.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: We have to reach something on areas of compensation.

HENRY: And while Mr. Obama last week reiterated his call for broader reform of Wall Street, his hand has been weakened by inaction in Washington.

SCHRAGE: The U.S. is handicapped by the fact that its own reforms haven't gotten out of Congress. So while, you know, they can talk about these broad reforms, until the United States has really acted, it's hard for them to really set the course.

HENRY (on camera): So the big question is whether these leaders will have the political will to set up a frame work to prevent future crises or will they get bogged down in domestic political battles. That's the criticism of these summits. Often more talk than action.

Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Three terror suspects are due in federal courtrooms in New York and Denver just about an hour from now. They're charged with lying to FBI investigators. But agents believe that is just the tip of the iceberg.

CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is joining us live from Denver where two of the three are being held. So Jeanne, we've been talking about the story now for several days trying to follow it along as it develops. Tell us what's happening in court today.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Najibullah Zazi, the man who has been at the center of this investigation and his father Mohammad will both be making an appearance here in Denver while the third man charges, Ahmad Afzali will be making an appearance in New York.

Here, we expect Mohammad Zazi, the father will be released if he can posts $50,000 worth of bail and if conditions for electronic monitoring can be met. But government officials are expected to argue that Najibullah Zazi should continue to be held and it's possible that in trying to persuade the judge they will put on the table some additional information about this investigation and about this alleged plot.

Earlier in the week during an appearance, government lawyers indicated that they might present some evidence collected under the FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Thus far what they've alleged so far is that Najibullah Zazi did attend a training camp in Pakistan where he got weapons and explosives training and that they found bomb making instructions on his computer.

But as you say, the only charges he and the others are facing thus far is a charge of lying to the FBI during a terrorism investigation. Now, a government official who is familiar with the case says that Zazi is going to be moved to New York perhaps today, perhaps sometime a little bit later, and meanwhile investigators continue to dig to try and figure out more about this plot, its scope, it's targets and who was involved.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: That is the big question. And we will continue to follow it very closely here. Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve. Jeanne, thank you.

Investigators also combing through neighborhoods in New York. They are looking for other people who may be involved in this alleged terror plot. An imam in custody is due in federal court in New York next hour. We just mentioned that he is also charged with lying to federal investigators. Officials say he may have tipped off Najibullah Zazi that agents were closing in.

Encouraging news now in the battle against AIDS. For the first time, an experimental HIV vaccine is showing some promise in clinical trials. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here from Washington this morning with more on this study. Good morning to you, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Heidi, for more than two decades the search for a vaccine to fight HIV has proved elusive. As a matter of fact, some people said that it would never happen. But now, finally some promising news about a vaccine for HIV. This was a study done in Thailand on 16,000 study subjects who are HIV negative. What they did was they gave them a vaccine and after three years they looked to see who was HIV positive at the end of the three years. And they didn't give other people the vaccine.

The folks who got the vaccine were 31 percent less likely to get HIV than the folks who did not get the vaccine. Now, again, this is a study done in Thailand. It was done by the U.S. military, the Thai government and other groups. Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Obviously people really looking closely at it though. What could it mean for the future?

COHEN: Well, I think it's important to say that this is not a vaccine that is going to prevent everyone from getting HIV. Plenty of people still did get HIV even when they did get the vaccine. But I spoke to one of the doctors who was involved and he said, you know, with this information we can try to tweak the vaccine and try to see if maybe we can make it more effective. Now, I should note, this vaccine was actually two different vaccines delivered in six different doses.

COLLINS: Right. And Elizabeth, we want to mention obviously you're standing in front of the White House. We did notice that today. Are you going to have some more news coming from there later today?

COHEN: We are. That's right. Just minutes from now I'm going to go into a briefing with high-level senior administration officials. We're going to talk about H1N1 and the government's efforts to make sure that the outbreak doesn't get even bigger than it already has and I'll bring you all the details of that later.

And in the meantime you can read my "Empowered Patient" column about HIV. It's a little startling talking about how researchers say hand washing does not necessarily do much to prevent the spread of H1N1. And you can find that...

COLLINS: Wow.

COHEN: I know, it is pretty shocking since we're told to wash our hands all the time, but...

COLLINS: Our children are not watching.

COHEN: That's right. I haven't told my kids yet. I know that, Heidi. But if you go to cnnhealth.com you can see the column and also, if you have any questions about H1N1, I'll be writing about it again next week. You can send me an e-mail to empoweredpatient@cnn.com.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Our Elizabeth Cohen at the White House this morning. Elizabeth, we'll check in with you later on. Thank you.

The floodwaters may be receding a bit in the Atlanta area but returning residents, of course, can still face some dangers. We're going to have that for you, plus Rob Marciano with a post-flood forecast from the weather center.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, looking pretty dry right now but there's a chance of rain today and tomorrow. I think things increase on Saturday. So hopefully by then most of the rivers will be below flood stage. Meanwhile, a high fire danger out west. That's the talk in weather when CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

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COLLINS: All right. So we're watching for more drama at the U.N. today. The U.N. Security Council holding a meeting. And of course, you saw here live on our air, President Barack Obama presiding over that for the very first time and a resolution was passed. Now, it's a resolution that is guiding the misuse of nuclear technology for military purposes. 1887 is the number of the resolution.

But the question is this. Do you think that resolution has any teeth? Do you think it will change things with regard to countries that already have nuclear power and those that do not or say they do not and are using it for only power and not military purposes? What sort of teeth do you think it has? Go ahead and go to our blog you see here. Cnn.com/heidi. Let us know what you think. Standing water remains as you see in some areas from the historic flooding in north Georgia. As people go back to their homes, health officials are warning about possible disease-causing bacteria. Residents whose properties are water-logged are being told to wear rubber wafers and surgical gloves.

This video shows a truck that was actually swept into a swollen river. We don't know what happened to the driver. But we can tell you that at least nine deaths are being blamed on the floods in Georgia. State officials estimate the damage to be at least a quarter of a billion dollars.

Rob Marciano joining us now. You were out and about in all of this. And still so much to talk about in the way of cleanup, the money it's going to cost and of course, people keeping safe afterwards.

MARCIANO: Yes, a couple of things. First of all, I was standing right by those freight trains.

COLLINS: Yes, I remember.

MARCIANO: Nobody was driving. So don't worry about that. They are one of seven that just floated downstream from a box manufacturing company. So that's the good news on that.

I read somewhere yesterday that they were estimating, at the time, $250 million in damage across northern and central Georgia from this. And just from what I have seen, I got to imagine that estimate is low. It's just a huge widespread event across obviously a very populated urban environment.

Here are buildings of mid town, some puffy clouds, kind of like yesterday. A slight chance of us seeing some rain today but I think for the most part today and tomorrow should be dry. Saturday not so much. Still pockets of flood warnings that are posted for parts of Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and even through Arkansas.

Those areas don't (INAUDIBLE) they've had their fair share of flooding as well. And right now, most of the rainfall has backed up into the Tennessee and more so the Mississippi River Valley. That's good news there. All part of a system that's kind of just been sitting and spinning. We've had a couple of these lows that have been cutoff. And this one as well. This one a cool pool which really actually brought some early season snows across parts of the Colorado Rockies. Slowly raining itself out and then getting off toward the north and east. But that will be slow go and that will drop a little bit of rainfall with that.

As far as what happens behind that, well, we've got hot weather across parts of southern California. Not a critical fire day but certainly high danger. And we got a red flag warning posted. We do have a cool front that is right now dropping across parts of the northwest and after they have seen record breaking temperatures they'll start to cool off. But until that thing gets far enough down to the south across southern California, we're talking about seeing more in the way of Santa Ana winds today and red flag warning because of that.

Here's some of the latest pictures coming out of southern California. This fire about 40 miles north of - actually Ventura County. This particular fire. A number of fires are breaking out. The largest one, 25 square miles. It got about 900 firefighters on it. 40 percent containment at last check. And obviously with Santa Anas expected to blow again today, they want to get a handle on these things.

They're fairly confident, Heidi, and that's good news as compared to the last go of big fires that rolled through Southern California and I think Santa Anas will continue to diminish as we go through tomorrow and the next day.

COLLINS: OK. All right. Very good. We know you're on top of that one, too. Thank you so much.

MARCIANO: You bet.

COLLINS: Rob Marciano, we'll check back later.

President Obama at the United Nations. He looks forward by distancing himself from the policies of the past.

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COLLINS: Let's get a check of our top stories, the ones that we're watching right now.

The Senate Finance Committee meeting for a third straight day. The debate a controversial health care reform bill. Certainly heard about this, the nearly $900 billion bill was authored by committee Chairman Max Baucus. Medicare cuts dominated the conversation yesterday. Senators are also going over about 550 amendments to the bill.

New this morning, sources tell CNN, a former aide to the late Ted Kennedy will temporarily take over his Senate seat. Besides being a long time aide to Kennedy, Paul Kirk also served as chairman of the Democratic Party two decades ago. The Massachusetts Governor Duvall Patrick plans to announce the interim appointment at the top of the hour. A general election to fill the seat will take place in January.

America's impact on global health care is front and center today with Bill and Melinda Gates. Their foundation is launching a new campaign. It's called the Living Proof Project. And its goal is to show how U.S. aid has improved lives in poor countries. The U.S. is the largest single donor to the developing world.

This morning President Obama makes history at the United Nations. He's chairing a security council summit on nuclear weapons. That is still going on. This is taped from just a few moments ago. In fact, he and other world leaders approved a resolution that vows to reduce the world's nuclear threat. It's U.N. resolution 1887 redefines some of the international policies and attitudes of his predecessor.

Our foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty explains.

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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From President Barack Obama to the United Nations, an admission.

OBAMA: I took office at a time when many around the world have come to view America with skepticism and distrust.

DOUGHERTY: And a challenge.

OBAMA: Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought in word and deed a new era of engagement with the world. And now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.

DOUGHERTY: One year ago when George W. Bush addressed the U.N., the fundamental challenge of our time he said was...

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Global movement of violent extremist.

OBAMA: Our efforts to promote peace however cannot be limited to defeating violent extremists.

DOUGHERTY: Barack Obama's world is filled with other threats.

OBAMA: Protracted conflicts that grind on and on, genocide, mass atrocities, more nations with nuclear weapons, melting ice caps, and ravaged populations, persistent poverty and pandemic disease.

DOUGHERTY: How do you solve them?

OBAMA: Nonproliferation and disarmament, the promotion of peace and security, the preservation of our planet, and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.

DOUGHERTY: Here's President Bush's to-do list.

BUSH: Together we confront and defeat the evil of terrorism. Together we can secure the Almighty's gift of liberty and justice to millions who have not known it, and together we can build a world that is freer, safer and better for generations who follow.

DOUGHERTY (on camera): These two presidents seem miles apart on so many issues but ironically the challenges haven't changed that much in a year. Afghanistan, the Mideast, Iran, North Korea, same problems and no solution yet.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Turning now to more controversial ideas and happenings at the U.N. Iran's president speaks. Is anybody listening though? When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage last night at the U.N., delegates from the U.S. and Israel walked out. Other delegations didn't even bother to show up. We also have an update on the outrage that Libya's leader stirred up in suburban New York.

Workers in Bedford, New York has taken down the tent that was erected for Moammar Gadhafi. Town officials say the tent violated zoning and land use laws. Many neighbors living near the state leased from Donald Trump objected to the very presence of Gadhafi in their community. They said he had a disgraceful history of supporting terrorism.

Later today at the U.N. a speech from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's due to take the podium at 1:00 Eastern, and we will carry his remarks live.

So we're talking about some of the drama that has happened at the U.N., of course, and also been asking your opinions on this new U.N. resolution that was just signed a few moments ago regarding nuclear weapons and the use of them. So we want to get to our blog and find a little bit about what you said.

We got the synopsis of the story, at least a little bit about what happened yesterday with Ahmadinejad and Gadhafi speaking as well as President Obama. Was his message lost in all of that?

Let's hear what Mike says: "This General Assembly is more like something an anger management counselor dreamed of, to let leaders vent their anger, but the real question is, does it help or hurt relations?"

And that is a good question. We'll continue to bring your responses just as soon as we get them here on CNN.

Iran's president speaks. Iranian Americans are speaking out, too. We'll have more on a protest about to get under way.

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COLLINS: Iran's president is the target of a protest just now getting underway this hour in New York. Iranian-Americans are sending a clear message. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not their president. CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff joining us now to explain.

Alan, good morning to you.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. As you know, yesterday before the United Nations, the Iranian president celebrated what he called a "glorious and democratic election."

A few thousand protesters have a thing or two to say about that. They'll begin marching in just a few minutes down the Brooklyn Bridge, carrying a giant green banner signed by thousands and thousands of people. Many of these folks were protesting today before the United Nations, and what they want is not just a change in the presidency, they want to see a change in the entire Iranian society.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Saharnaz Samaenejad is filled with heartache checking her Facebook account and reading messages from home in Iran. Here are her friends Medi, Ali and Fatima (ph). Saharnaz fears they were all arrested last week in Tehran amid the protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

SAHARNAZ SAMAENEJAD, IRANIAN STUDENT: My friends are upset in torturing and I am thinking of them every day and night. In a sentence I just feel very sad for them. And I think that we have to do whatever we can to help us get out of the prison.

CHERNOFF: Now Saharnaz says it is her time to speak out. Her time to stand against President Ahmadinejad, who she suspects stole this summer's presidential election from challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

SAMAENEJAD: I am the voice of my friends. And I got a lot of messages, e-mails and Facebook and everywhere and they just ask us that go there. And I want to just go out and tell Ahmadinejad that be afraid, be afraid. We are all united.

CHERNOFF: Twenty-four-year-old Saharnaz wears her political allegiance on her wrist, the bright green of Iran's opposition. She has lived in the U.S. for just a year. She's a visiting student at New York University studying Middle Eastern affairs. But American history now is providing inspiration for her.

Rosie the Riveter watches over her Brooklyn apartment.

SAMAENEJAD: We're the children of reform in Iran and we want the reform from within and we're asking for our civil liberty and not anything else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Protesters like Saharnaz believe that the world is watching them now, and that this is their opportunity. As I said, many were protesting yesterday before the U.N. They'll march down the Brooklyn Bridge, and there will be yet another protest opposite the United Nations this afternoon. And that one involving a very broad coalition: Jewish, black, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Korean, you name it. It's going to be a very broad coalition speaking out in opposition against President Ahmadinejad and his policies.

Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. We'll be watching. Thanks so much. Allan Chernoff, appreciate that.

Later today, President Obama heads to Pittsburgh for the Group of 20 economic summit. The so-called G-20 made up of 19 countries plus the European Union. Together, they account for 85 percent of the world's economic output. For two days, they'll focus on the worldwide financial crisis and work on how to avoid a repeat in the future. They are meeting in Pittsburgh to showcase a city that reinvented itself after the catastrophic loss of the steel industry.

The economies of the G-20 nations took a big hit during the global recession. Signs are pointing to a recovery, though the pace of that recovery defers around the world. Of course, CNNmoney.com Poppy Harlow has the breakdown from New York. Hi there, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi, Heidi. Let's talk about other economies and not just the U.S. economy right now that we focused on so much. CNNmoney is taking a snapshot of how economies around the world are recovery. China is getting a big focus because this is a country that weathered the downturn so much better than any other G-20 nation.

Look at some of the stats here. It will really surprise you, I think. Even at the depths of the global recession --take a look there -- China's GDP was still growing at an annual rate of more 6 percent. That was a ten-year low. In last quarter, GDP increased nearly 8 percent.

Now, China had a huge economic stimulus package like we did. It was different, though, Heidi. It was aimed right at the consumer to boost spending directly. Big tax breaks also to Chinese exporters. Huge business there. Also, lending from the banks to both businesses and consumers rose by more than a trillion dollars, Heidi, so far this year compared to a year ago. Heidi, China faring it better than us.

COLLINS; What about Japan? We've heard a lot about Japan's economic struggles over the last few years.

HARLOW: Yes, and they're doing better. Japan has finally emerged from this recession, if you look at the numbers. The economy is growing again as of the latest report. Stimulus a big player there as well. A $275 billion stimulus package. It included -- I didn't know this before today -- Cash for Clunkers program and also checks sent out to citizens in Japan, just like in the United States. That helped direclty boosted spending.

Economists questioning if this is a true recovery. Growing worries about deflation there, and they're unemployment rate, Heidi, is at a record 5.7 percent. That was the reading last month. Still, though, lower than the 9.7 percent unemployment rate in the United States.

COLLINS: Yes. What about European Union nations?

HARLOW: That's a good question. Differs, obviously, country by country. But when you look at Germany, that's the biggest economy in Europe. It's rebounded sooner than expected. Same story in France. Both of them had stimulus packages, by the way.

But the U.K., you see manufacturing and services sector rebounding. The latest consumer confidence survey showed slight improvement. Again, a $290 billion stimulus package there. Still no challenges in the U.K. Their GDP has been negative for five quarters in a row. Unemployment rate near 8 percent. That's the highest they've seen since 1995. More "Snapshots" of global economies. It's a special today following the G-20 world and recovery right there on CNNmoney, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Poppy Harlow, thank you.

And new jobless numbers out this morning are better than analysts expected. 530,000 new people filed for unemployment benefits last week. That's down 21,000 over the week before, marking the third straight drop. The largest numbers of new claims came in Wisconsin, Oregon and Kansas.

The Senate Banking committee taking a closer look at the $700 billion federal bailout. They're considering whether to extend the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, as you know it, until late next year. The program's top inspector general is among the people called to testify today.

The new GI Bill. Is the government breaking its promise to veterans? New claims raise questions about your money.

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COLLINS: Checking our top stories now. A Georgia man has been indicted on felony charges in the alleged beating of a woman at a Cracker Barrel restaurant near Atlanta. Witnesses say the man kicked and punched the victim and yelled racial slurs at her. Police say he became enraged after the woman told him to be careful after he nearly hit her seven-year-old daughter while opening a door.

The community group ACORN suing two activists filmmakers who secretly recorded videos at ACORN's Baltimore office. The tapes seem to show ACORN employees giving advice on how to set up a brothel with underage girls to a man posing as a pimp and a woman posing as a prostitute. ACORN claims that the couple violated the law because Maryland requires consent from both parties to create audio recordings. As you know, the sting was done in many different cities across the country.

The new G.I. Bill. It promised greater educational benefits to returning combat veterans, but one group says the government has left veterans holding the bag. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of America say the Veterans Administration only paid out 11 percent of all tuition claims. That has created hardships for veterans trying to build new lives.

Paul Rieckoff is the executive director and foundation of the IAV.A.. He is joining us now from New York this morning.

Paul, thanks for being here. Last time we spoke to your organization, we were talking about the new G.I.. Bill and what it would do for vets and their families in particular. I want to give this information and put it up on the screen before we go to you.

You guys are saying -- and you issued a statement with these numbers. The G.I. Bill check delays, something like has 277,403 have applied for the post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits. Less than 11 percent issued checks from the V.A. What happens to those vets when they don't get the money in time? Are they actually being kicked out of school?

PAUL RIECKOFF, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IAV.A.: We're getting reports that they are on the verge. We haven't heard of anyone yet who's been kicked out of school, but if folks have be been kicked off we encourage them to contact our organization. We do know for fact that veterans are putting bills on credit cards and taking out additional loans and borrowing money from their parents.

And it's because they're stuck right now waiting for checks. The average wait time is 35 days. That's up ten days from last month. For some folks, that could mean 90 days, and they have absolutely no visibility on when the checks are coming through. So, the V.A. is clearly overwhelmed here.

COLLINS: They are paying out of their own pocket.

We should be very clear here. We have called the Veterans Ddministration several times and asked for some sort of representation on our show several different times, and we have gotten statements from them but no one has been able to appear on the program.

Here then is what the Veterans Administration is telling us. They were giving us these statistics. They say the G.I. Bill check delays -- 277,403 applied. That's the same number that you have, correct? But that the V.A. has actually completed action on nearly 205,074 of those claims. What's the discrepancy here?

RIECKOFF: Completed action is not the same as cutting checks to veterans. The number they told us that they cut checks is 33,000 payments. Now, some veterans received more than one payment for a book and for tuition. Even if you accept their high number, which is 67,000 payments made, that's still less than half.

Our office is averaging about 1,000 e-mails a week from veterans who are confused, who are concerned, who are stressed out. There's a tremendous amount of confusion in the veterans community right now, and there are a lot of folks just stuck waiting. Even people even trying to get through the V.A.'s hotline that's been set up to field these requests are often stuck waiting for hours.

So, we need more people on staff. We need to cut through this bureaucracy and get the president involved. He stood up in August and celebrated the G.I. Bill, and he should have. He was a big proponent for that, and we're grateful for that.

But now we need him involved to cut through this backlog. Our veterans have fought enough in the last couple years. They shouldn't have to fight for G.I. Bill payments, too.

COLLINS: Well, and it's really a bummer, because it seems to puts everyone in a bad position. You have vets, obviously, paying out of their own pockets, if this is all happening as your organization says it is and telling us you're hearing from vets complaining about it. It also puts, as you say, the president and administration trying to pass this much-needed revision to the G.I. Bill, which hadn't been done in years. And then also the schools. No one wants to kick a vet out of school, but someone has to be paid in order to get reimbursement for that education.

RIECKOFF: Right. The responsibility is squarely on the V.A. They have a responsibility to execute this effectively and a responsibility to communicate it effectively. Schools are left on the hook. Some schools have hundreds of veterans enrolled at their school. They can't be left holding the bag.

And for veterans who are trying to process their claims, they have to go back and forth with school administrators, they have to wait on hold, they're contacting us -- it's just too much bureaucracy. The V.A. has to cut through it. They could set that hotline up 24 hours if they have to, but our kids are in school right now. They have served honorably, and they deserve a better level of performance. The V.A. has to step up here.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. As we know, the new G.I. Bill took effect September 1. Tell us exactly what veterans can do if they are not getting their checks? We know they should contact you or another organization that is a proponent of veteran affairs, yes?

RIECKOFF: Yes. That' right. Go to newgibill.org. We have set up an easy step-by-step process. You have to ensure your electronic DD2-14 (ph), your discharge paper, has been submitted. You need to make sure your school has certified.

Go to that Web site. We'll walk you through it. We can't make the V.A. move faster on their side, but we can help make sure you've covered all your bases so you're in the best position possible. And at the same time, we're going to hold them accountable and try to get that backlog down.

COLLIINS: All right. Newgibill.org. And Paul, do me a favor. Keep us updated on this story. We want to stay on top of this one.

RIECKOFF: You got it, Heidi. Thank you very much.

COLLINS: As always. Paul Rieckoff, again, thanks so much.

We are going to take a quick break in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to get this information out to you. Just in to the CNN NEWSROOM now. Terror suspect Najibullah Zazi has just been indicted. He was indicted for conspiracy to detonate bombs. Investigators say they found bomb making instructions on his computer. He's one of three men who are charged with lying to investigators. The other two are also due in court today.

Residents of a suburban Atlanta neighborhood recovering from the area's historic flooding and never expecting what would happen next. Reporter Tom Regan of our affiliate WSB has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM REGAN, WSB-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With their homes flooded and much of their belongings unsalvagable, the last thing the folks in this community need is something like this.

VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No sign of the cat.

VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, too bad.

VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's some footprints.

VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! He's right here.

REGAN: The blast behind my back blew the door off the maintenance building and rattled homes nearby.

JACKIE KASS, RESIDENT: The explosion shook the ground. Shook the trailer so much we thought one of those huge oak trees had fallen on the house.

GEORGE COMBS, WITNESS: All of a sudden, the building just exploded. The garage door flew up and landed five or six feet from my front porch.

REGAN: With our truck mast still in the air (ph), myself and the photographer Aaron Frederickton (ph) scrambled to get our equipment together while still covering what was going on.

We called 911. Within a couple of minutes, crews arrived on the scene. A maintenance worker told me fumes built up inside after the building was flooded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gasoline, propane tanks, paint cans, diesel fuel. What was exploding was paint cans. All I can say is maybe there was a gas leak inside of it since the building was underwater. There may have been a short circuit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was scared. It blew off real hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty hectic. People were running everywhere. It was chaos for a few minutes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: All right. We should let you know, no one was hurt, and firefighters kept that fire from spreading. So, good job for them.

Listen, we want to get back to our breaking news we've been telling you about. Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is on the line, getting ready to go into court regarding this terror suspect, Najibullah Zazi. He's been indicted.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's right. Just minutes before he was due to appear here in court in Denver at a detention hearing, the Justice Department announced that a one-count indictment charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in the U.S.

A few new details in this materioal, which we're still going through. It alleges here that Zazi purchased components to make explosives, like TATP (ph) and other devices. It also said that he conducted extensive research on the Internet regarding bomb making. Those are new things we haven't heard before.

In a press release from the Justice Department, the attorney general does say that he believes any imminent threat has been disrupted, but that the investigation into this matter is still ongoing. We are expecting to see Mr. Zazi in court here in just a few minutes. We'll see what happens then. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. The story continues to develop, obviously. Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent, following this story out of Denver. Just getting ready now to go into court. We'll follow up on what happens inside that courtroom later on today.

Another quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All right. Our "Hot Shots" today. Check this out. So, an uninvited visitor caught one Colorado family by surprise. A 1,000-pound elk fell into their swimming pool, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How did he fall?

COLLINS: Went right through the pool cover.

MARCIANO: Maybe he thought it was a trampoline.

COLLINS: Maybe, maybe.

MARCIANO: Just wanted to have some fun.

COLLINS: ... falls out of the tree. That'll be next week.

They used a broom to push the elk to the shallow end of the pool so it could jump out on its own, but it caused a whole lot of damage to the diving board and the pool cover. Needless to say, that will be an interesting insurance claim.

MARCIANO: Aren't we getting a -- you're more of an elk expert than I am, aren't we getting into the ruts of the mating season? Maybe he just wanted a spa day to get cleaned up for the ladies.

COLLINS: Yes, get attractive for the gals. Rocky Mountain Park, you can go there to see them. We saw other pictures there of other -- they look like deer to me. I mean, maybe I'm crazy. There we go.

MARCIANO: That's a big deer. Aww, is that a little cow? Got her head stuck in a plastic chair, and that little one got her stuck in a little bicycle. And that big ol' one back in the spa. (LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Oh, Lord, we have about 20 seconds to wrap this up professionally.

Our "Hot Shots" today. Thanks so much, everybody. We'll stay on top of the elk situation. Elks in peril. Rob, thank you.

MARCIANO: Nice to be back.

COLLINS: Lovely seeing you. I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.