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Pittsburgh Meets World; New Charge, More Details; '30 Second Pitch'

Aired September 24, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Pittsburgh, P.A. getting ready for its close-up. President Obama arrives in about 90 minutes for the G- 20 summit, where they're pushing forward down the road to economic recovery. At least they hope so.

So, why Pittsburgh? Why not? It's a perfect stage. It's a city that knows what it's like to bounce back from an economic meltdown. It's a city expecting even more protesters. They go with the G-20 territory, as you know. They've been in the city all week, sounding off on climate change and other issues, hoping G-20 leaders will listen to them.

The president and other leaders from the world's most powerful economies will be talking about where the global recession stands and how to prevent another one.

CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry's in the city of bridges. Now, Ed, do you think the summit is going to be a little less urgent than the one in April?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, Kyra, I think there was a sense of urgency back in April when these 20 leaders last got together in London. They were worried about a global recession becoming a depression, and you could feel that in the air.

I think now as these ministers come in ahead of their heads of state in various countries and we're talking to them, there's almost like they're taking a big sigh of relief that the worst may be over now, that we're not completely out of the woods yet, but they're sort of taking a collective deep breath.

And I think the big question here hanging over this summit is going to be whether everyone sort of takes so long of a breath, that they sort of take their eye off the ball and forget about sort of reworking the rules of the road to make sure that they prevent another crisis, or does everyone sit back and rest on their laurels -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, what kind of results can we really expect to see? Because you and I have talked about this a lot today, about, really, when they all get together, what blockbuster decisions have ever been made?

HENRY: That's right. There's usually a lot of talk, not necessarily a lot of action here.

I think there's two bottom-line things that have to happen for President Obama to call this a success.

Number one, coming into this, what his staff has been doing behind the scenes here in Pittsburgh, ahead of the summit, is to circulate sort of a pledge that they're hoping that the other 19 leader will sign saying that they will help rebalance the economy.

What the president means by that is less borrowing by the United States, more trade coming in from other countries, so it's not just the U.S. buying goods from China, for example, China not buying a lot of our goods. It remains to be seen whether countries like China are going to sign on there.

Secondly, the other key is whether they do come up with some sort of a framework that the 20 nations can follow moving forward in terms of remaking Wall Street and remaking other financial institutions around the world. They talked a lot about that in London five months ago.

Now, it's sort of make-or-break time, where they have to sit down and decide, are they really going to lay out some rules of the road moving forward? Because, as you know, here in the United States, for example, in the U.S. Congress, efforts to reform Wall Street have really stalled right now, and there's some question about, with health care sort of sucking up all the oxygen, will that get done by the end of the year?

So, I think those are the two key things -- rules of the road and whether or not President Obama's pledge will be signed by the other leaders to try to rebalance their individual economies around the world -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Ed Henry, thanks so much.

So, who's in the G-20 and what do they do? Here's the answer in 20 seconds or less.

Finance ministers and Central Bank governors of 19 powerful countries, plus the European Union, make up the G-20. It was established in 1999 to deal with financial meltdowns like the one we're living through right now, and to give up and coming nations a voice in the global economy.

Now, the leaders aren't in Pittsburgh for those famous sandwiches piles high with meat, fries and coleslaw, by the way, although that would be a good reason to go. But the city that gives us the Ohio River also gives a lesson in how to bounce back from rock bottom.

It went from the bust of the steel industry to the boom, to a diverse and environmentally friendly economy. Technology, education, health care, financial services, all part of the mix there now.

And protesters have also been part of the mix. They have been there all week. Police think that thousands could demonstrate tomorrow. Those protesters target mostly big companies and organizations they claim are all about greed, exploitation and warfare. We're going to find out in just a little while how Pittsburgh is prepared for that.

And they're not part of the G-20, but Israel and Iran are part of a conflict that's playing out in stark terms on another world stage -- the U.N. General Assembly. As you heard hear live last hour, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed a searing attack on the Iranian president's repeated denial of the Holocaust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refuse to come, and to those who left in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere, have you no shame, have you no decency?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the U.S., Israeli and Canadian delegations did boycott Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address. Others heard the Iranian leader charge Israel with brutalizing Palestinians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Oppression and military aggression must be stopped. Regrettably, official reports concerning the brutalities of the Zionist regime in Gaza have not all been published. The secretary-general and the United Nations have crucial responsibilities in this respect, and the international community is impatiently waiting for the punishment of the aggressors and the murderers of the defenseless people of Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Both leaders, by the way, told the world body that they are committed to peace.

An historic moment in the U.N. Security Council. President Obama, now the first U.S. president to chair one of those meetings, focused on nuclear weapons, clearly with Iran and North Korea in mind, but he said that he isn't singling out any one country, but standing up to all countries that live up to their nuclear responsibilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It reflects the agenda I outlined in Prague and builds on a consensus that all nations have a right to peaceful nuclear energy, that nations with nuclear weapons have the responsibility to move toward disarmament, and those without them have the response to forsake them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Before flying to Pittsburgh, the president was co- chairing a meeting with the friends of Pakistan.

Some are calling it America's most serious terror plot since 9/11, and a lot's been happening. It centers, as you may know, on the Afghan national in the Denver suburbs who's now been charged in New York with plotting to set off bombs. We're learning many more details of the federal case against him, and we have live reports from CNN's Deb Feyerick in New York and Jeanne Meserve in Denver.

Deb, let's go ahead and start with you.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what we can tell you is that Ahmad Afzali, the imam, will be released this afternoon. His family was able to post a $1.5 million bond. The mom, dad and brother putting up a home in order to secure his release and guarantee that he would show up in court to face those charges of making false statements to investigators.

Investigators have said that he may have tipped off one of the key suspects, the key suspect who was in Flushing, Queens, but then went to Pakistan and then moved to Denver. And that's where he gained notice, the attention of investigators, with that key suspect.

Najibullah Zazi was in court, indicted on conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. And boy, Kyra, Jeanne's got a lot more to this story, but prosecutors are painting a picture of a guy was basically was buying bomb components, going to a hotel, trying to mix them together, even calling someone to get information as to how to do it correctly.

So, we're now learning more of this investigation, but we can tell you that the imam likely to be released this afternoon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Deb. You bring up a good point.

Let's get right to Denver and CNN's homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, to add to this -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The previous charge of lying to investigators is being dismissed. Now Najibullah Zazi is facing this much more serious charge of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, specifically explosives. The maximum penalty here, life in prison.

Now, as Deb mentioned, there are some new specifics of the court papers that were made public today. Specifically, the government alleges that on his computer, Zazi had instructions for making TATP. That's triacetone triperoxide, a very powerful explosive that was used in the London train bombings.

The government alleges that he and others in the Denver area bought some of the precursor chemicals, and also says that in early September, Zazi checked into a hotel here. When he left and investigators went in and did forensics, it alleges that residue of acetone, one of those precursor chemicals, was found in the vent over the stove. Now, it also says that he searched the Internet for places in Queens to buy muriatic acid. This, another precursor chemical. And shortly after that, he got in his car, headed for New York. That's of course when he became aware of the investigation against him. Subsequently, he was arrested.

Now, in these court papers, it does mention that other people went with him to Pakistan in August of 2008, where it's alleged that he got al Qaeda training and explosives. In addition, it mentions that others also bought precursor chemicals here in the Denver area. But counterterrorism officials here in Denver say they do not expect any further arrests here, and Najibullah Zazi is expected to be transferred to New York to face this charge, but not until after a court appearance here in Denver tomorrow.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jeanne Meserve and Deb Feyerick, thank you so much.

And this hour, fighting terror by fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. America's strategy could be changing again.

And check out this billboard. One of these two job seekers has actually gotten work. The other one is today's "30 Second Pitch." Guess who?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: For the third consecutive week, the number of first- time filers for jobless claims has dropped. Going by the numbers, there were 530,000 people who applied for new benefits last week. That's down about 21,000 from the week before.

There's also a drop in the number of people continuing to get jobless benefits. That number now stands at more than 6.1 million.

OK. As always, we want to show you the faces and bring you the voices behind those numbers. And every Thursday we do it in our "30 Second Pitch."

David Daves and his fiancee Tiffany Goldsmith (ph) had a tough time when they both got laid off in the same week. She was marketing boats, he was a sales and finance manager in the car industry.

Well, after months of searching for a job, they decided to really put themselves out there. They pitched in and bought a billboard just outside of Sacramento hoping someone driving by might hire them.

Now, since the billboard went up, Tiffany (ph) has found a job, but David is still looking for one to support his family, which includes two daughters with autism. That's why he's today's "30 Second Pitch." He joins me live from Sacramento.

David, good to see you.

DAVID DAVES, JOB SEEKER: Good to see you, too. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: All right. Any jealousy right now with Tiffany (ph) getting a job and you haven't landed one yet? Is everything OK? I want to double-check.

DAVID DAVES, JOB SEEKER: Everything's great.

PHILLIPS: OK, good.

All right. So, tell me what happened with work. Did you know this was going to happen, or did the boss come in and say, David, we have got some bad news, rough economy, we've got to lay people off?

DAVES: Pretty much, we had seen the writing on the Wall. We were the last department that they were going to do cuts for, and they basically just brought us into a meeting one day, a special meeting, and just laid out what the plan was going to be. And that was pretty much it, and we actually both lost our jobs in the same week.

PHILLIPS: Well, you didn't waste any time. I mean, you started taking some college courses, you revamped your resume, you started signing up for networking groups.

What made it so difficult. I mean, with someone as aggressive as you are, I would have thought, wow, you would have something immediately.

DAVES: I think that it's just that now everything is so non- personalized with the Internet. When you're reaching out to a business, it's not like you can dress up in a suit and just stop by the doorstep and meet the decision-maker. Now you have to deal with the Internet and sending your resumes in. And they have a unique way that they actually pick you, which I wasn't aware of originally, so it's not that easy anymore.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. They all have their different methods, huh, of selecting folks?

DAVES: Yes, they have programs that actually pick out key words in your resume for their position.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow.

DAVES: And if you don't have enough of the key words that are in your resume, they basically just send you an e-mail telling you that they found other applicants.

PHILLIPS: Oh wow. I need to check more into that. We'll have to investigate and find out the keywords for various jobs. I'm seeing a part two to the segment here.

DAVES: Correct.

PHILLIPS: That's a good idea.

All right, so you and Tiffany (ph) decided, OK, we're going to pitch in and do a billboard. Tell me why you decided to take that approach.

DAVES: Well, actually, just a little backdrop. Basically, we were driving around the Sacramento area, and we were driving by all these billboards on the highway, and I was just thinking to myself, man, that's a great way to advertise yourself as a business.

And I thought, well, why can't we do that for ourselves individually? So we started calling, and we called into a billboard company, dug in a little bit more. And actually, the billboard that we have, there's 100,000 people that drive by every day. And it only takes one, so we thought that it made sense.

PHILLIPS: What kind of job did Tiffany (ph) get?

DAVES: She has a job -- a sales engineering job. It's still in the automotive industry. And basically they do kits on Audis. So she's the person that would go out to the various dealerships and work contracts with them, supply them with the information that they need, as well as the kit, and make sure that the process goes smoothly. So, it's kind of right up her alley, really.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, it worked out great for her. We want you guys to get married, we want you both to be working . We want everything to work out.

So, are you ready for your "30 Second Pitch"? Because we want you to get a job, too.

DAVES: I'm ready for the pitch.

PHILLIPS: All right. Here we go. Let's start the clock.

David, go ahead.

DAVES: My name is David Daves. I'm a Sacramento native. I have a family of six.

I'm open to any position in the local area or in the same time zone. I'm hope to a public or private position in any sector, any industry.

Some of my areas of interest are sales, management, finance, real estate, something maybe in the hospital administrative area, even something working for the state. I have two degrees, a business degree, a four-year degree, and also a two-year public fire administrative degree. And again, I'm just looking for somebody to give me that interview, give me a shot, and put out their hand and hopefully hire me one day.

PHILLIPS: And of course I've got to show you a picture of the two girls, Stacy (ph) 11, Jessica (ph) 10. Absolutely adorable.

DAVES: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Good kids. And I know they were diagnosed with autism as well. You are dealing with a lot. And David Daves, keep in touch with us. Let us know what happens.

DAVES: I will.

PHILLIPS: We want to continue to support you.

DAVES: I will. Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: You bet, David.

Once again, you can get in touch with David at his Web site, DavidForHire.net. We're also going to have a link posted on our blog. That's at CNN.com/Kyra. And if you want to be part of the pitch, get in touch with us there or on Twitter, at KyraCNN. We'll bring you pitches every Thursday.

OK. You get laid off, you're out of work a week, a month, a year. How much longer can you go on? Too many of you out there are asking that question day after day after day.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow takes us to the real Main Street now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice over): Rachel Gold and Anthony Barberio don't have much in common. Rachel is 28 and worked in recruiting after graduating from college. Anthony is 46. He worked on Wall Street for 20 years, but he never went to college.

The thing they do have in common? A long job search after being laid off. Rachel lost her job back in November.

RACHEL GOLD, RECEIVING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: I definitely didn't think that I would be sitting here, you know, nine months later, you know, without employment.

ANTHONY BARBERIO, RECEIVING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: When I first was let go, I figured maybe a month, two months, you know. And I didn't think it would last this long.

HARLOW: For Anthony, it's been more than a year since he was laid off, and each day brings more work to find work.

GOLD: This afternoon at 2:30, I have a recruiting meeting with somebody that I was networking with. Tomorrow morning at 10:00 I have another meeting with a recruiter. I'm not sure if they have positions but, you know, just to do some networking.

HARLOW: Rachel spends a lot of her time making business connections, using social networking sites, and she also applies for jobs online every day.

(on camera): So, you have applied for more than 650 jobs?

GOLD: Correct. HARLOW: How many interviews have you had out of that?

GOLD: Maybe 10.

HARLOW (voice-over): Anthony has applied for hundreds of jobs, too. And he's using employment agencies in his search. But when his unemployment benefits run out, he'll be forced to stop looking on Wall Street and take any job he can find.

BARBERIO: If I'm going to put, like, a deadline as to when I'm going to have to really seriously look for something, whether it be a department store or something like that...

GOLD: These are people that I've e-mailed.

HARLOW: Until a job comes along, Rachel has started a blog, KickedForward.com, based on the quote, "When life kicks you, let it kick you forward."

GOLD: It's difficult, but I think I'm just trying to be as optimistic as possible that I'll find a position soon.

HARLOW: Rachel says she started to get more interviews since we first talked with her in August, and despite the tough job market, Anthony says he's hearing about more openings and hoping that one of them is for him.

BARBERIO: I'm anxious to get back to work. You know, I'm almost a year in the house. You know, it could drive somebody crazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: It certainly does.

You know, Kyra, some good news there for those folks. I just talked to Anthony on the phone today. Still no luck, but some help may be on the way for millions of struggling Americans looking for work.

Earlier this week, Kyra, the House approved a bill that would grant more than a million unemployed folks in this country an additional 13 weeks of jobless benefits in those states where you've got over 8.5 percent unemployment.

And Kyra, unfortunately, that's about 27 states in this country. The Senate now has to take up that measure -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we'll follow it. Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And for more stories of people surviving in a tough economy, watch for more "Money & Main Street" reports. That's tonight, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

We have heard of one or two animals being seized from a home. We've even heard of dozens being seized, but we have never heard of anything like this before. You won't believe what the SPCA found crawling, slithering and slinking around in a Texas home.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Steamy sex with a prostitute or a slimy smear campaign? The U.S. ambassador to Moscow has filed a formal protest with Russia over a tape showing a married allegedly showing a married American diplomat with a Russian hooker. So, what's the real tale of the tape?

Let's go ahead and bring in senior international correspondent Matthew Chance. He's live from Moscow. So, Matt you, what did you find out?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's still very uncertain, but just when you thought relations between the United States and Russia were getting a little better over missile defenses, things like that, this really throws a spanner (ph) in the works. It's a classic, Cold-War style sex scandal involving blackmail and all sorts of dark deeds under the table by the various security authorities.

The State Department has said that a video that was released onto a Russian Web site -- police have close links with the Russian security services showing a U.S. diplomat based in Moscow, 35-year-old Brendan Carl Hatcher, allegedly having sex with a prostitute in a hotel room here, is merely a smear campaign. The tape has been very heavily edited. It's not clear from any of the images who exactly is being shown. Certainly not possible to identify anybody any it.

But apparently it was used to attempt to blackmail Hatcher in exchange for information that the security services wanted to get from him. He refused to do that. Represented the tape -- presented the tape to higher authorities in the embassy, and it's resulted in this official, you know, kind of complaint from the State Department, that this is a smear campaign in an attempt to discredit this State Department employee, who's based in Moscow, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, Matthew, why was he targeted?

CHANCE: It's a great question and nobody really knows, except to say that perhaps the Russian security services do monitor U.S. diplomats very carefully here. And in the past, they have used this kind of material to attempt to, you know, put pressure on them.

But also, it's interesting that Mr. Hatcher was responsible for liaison for the U.S. embassy between U.S. governments and religious groups in Russia. Human rights groups as well. Very sensitive areas for the Kremlin, who believe that often these religious groups and human rights groups are opposition groups that are funded by the West and are seeking to overthrow the authorities here.

So, it may be that he was targeted perhaps for that reason, maybe he was gaining some ground in liaison as closely as possible with these potentially dissident groups.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow up as this continues to unfold. Matthew Chance, thank you so much.

Right now, we're just getting these live pictures in from the G- 20 summit that actually kicks off today in Pittsburgh. These are the protests that we have been telling you about. So far, it looks like they have remained peaceful.

Our Brian Todd bringing them to us now as they have begun. Apparently, the protesters are chanting. Police are nearby. Brian Todd joins us on the phone. What more can you tell us about the security and the status of these live pictures coming in, Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Kyra, I'm sending these pictures to you on a Comet phone that we're taking live, streaming over the Web here. This is the scene from Barstow Park in Pittsburgh, where the protest march against the (INAUDIBLE) is just getting started. There's a huge police presence here, a lot of riot police kind of reining this plot.

The protesters went in one direction now. I'm kind of following them in another direction. They are heading more toward the downtown area, and the police have shifted with them. You can see a lot of these people kind of on the move now. Looks like this march is beginning in earnest.

Some of these people, especially the ones who are wearing black with black flags -- here's one of them one right here. They're calling themselves anarchists. These are the people police and the city authorities were keeping a close eye on. They think these people might try to cause some destruction. We're going to see. This protest is just beginning in earnest right about now.

PHILLIPS: And Brian, as we watch these protests unfold as the summit begin, many times there's -- it looks like a circus act with people dressed up in costumes and masks and really aren't out there with a true purpose. But then there are those that are there with certain organizations and groups concerned about climate change, et cetera. What have you been able to observe thus far with those that are there with legitimate concerns?

TODD: Those are probably the majority of people with legitimate concerns. They're against globalization, they're against some of the environmental uses that have taken place. And those make up the vast majority. It's the select few who can really cause havoc that the Pittsburgh police and the mayor's office are concerned about.

We're going to see just what kind of influence they have. There were more of those people here than, I confess, I thought there would be (ph). There are quite a few people who call themselves anarchists. So, there's certainly enough of them to do some damage here, but there is a very, very strong police presence on the ground right now. This march has just shifted in a different direction, and the police are trying to shift with it. PHILLIPS: Well, it's pretty amazing what we can do via technology. Our Brian Todd there, live streaming through a cell phone via broadband, actually, of those protests starting up as the G-20 kicks off in Pittsburgh.

Brian, thanks so much.

TODD: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

The feds are upping the ante after they go after the suspect in an alleged terrorist bomb plot. A 24-year-old airport shuttle driver now charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. Najibullah Zazi was indicted today in New York, accused of planning to make and use explosives.

But the suspect was thousands of miles away in Denver, where he faced a judge on charges of lying to investigators. Meanwhile, Zazi's two alleged co-con conspirators, his father in the middle, and a Muslim cleric on the right, were allowed out on bond.

(INAUDIBLE) suspected terrorists on the home front and on the war front is no easy task, so U.S. and NATO generals in Afghanistan say they need more muscle. This week, they could ask for as many as 40,000 extra troops, but the White House is second guessing that strategy. Here's CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. commander's assessment of what's really happening on the ground in Afghanistan and the need for up to 40,000 more American troops has sent the Obama administration scrambling to come up with more options. The current strategy was a counter insurgency against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

To do it right, General Stan McChrystal says he'll need more troops. And to protect Afghan civilians, those troops will have to assume more risk and spend as little time as possible in armored vehicles or behind the walls of forward operating bases.

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: There is a discussion taking place about whether to continue to be the strategy or whether adjustments should be made.

LAWRENCE: Several sources tell CNN the administration was taken aback by the assessment. That its troop requirements put the president in a box. Some key officials would rather narrow the mission.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The objective is Al Qaeda. That is the objective.

LAWRENCE: Another alternative, put a large military intelligence force into Afghanistan to stop militants from planning attacks on the U.S. and give money and weapons to tribal war lords, who can fight the Taliban with their own militias.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has to be dealt with through not only outright bribery, but also trying to co-op certain militias and war lords.

LAWRENCE: How can the administration change strategy at this point? Well, the Afghan election is still being disputed with allegations of voter fraud. Officials have started to drop hints that counterinsurgency won't work if Afghans don't believe in their government.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Obviously, we have to have a strong partner.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So, Chris, what about these tens of thousands of American troops? Is the general still going to make a formal request?

LAWRENCE: Yes, Kyra, we're told that that formal request will be in the hands of the joint chiefs by tomorrow. But at the same time, President Obama's defense -- national security team is still actively searching for other options.

You hear all this talk about the president's strategy, the general's assessment. Think about it like this. If I tell you, "I want to buy that house in a year, what's it going to take for me to get it?" When you tell me I've got to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, I've got to put $50,000 down, I may say, "Well, maybe I want to look at some other homes." Think of it sort of that way, the relationship between what was asked and what's being looked at.

PHILLIPS: Chris Lawrence following Afghanistan for us.

Well, time for your top stories. Leaders meet protesters, protesters are gearing up to greet the world's top economic powers today in Pittsburg as the G-20 summit is set to get underway. At the top of the G-20's list of things to do, prevent another meltdown like last year's global swoon.

New hope in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Researchers says they may be one step closer to a vaccine that could reduce the risk of contracting the virus. In what's described as the largest test trial of its type, two booster shots reportedly cut the risk of HIV infection by 31 percent for some of those who were inoculated.

Here's the next member of the U.S. Senate -- for now. Former DNC chair and longtime aide to the late Ted Kennedy. Paul Kirk was appointed to the senator's seat until a special election is held in January. Kirk is widely believed to be the choice of the Kennedy family and could be the crucial vote in helping to pass Democrat- backed health care legislation.

They're the new faces of justice. No capes, no special powers, no cool cars with flashing lights, but you know what? Who needs that when you have a trash truck and the element of surprise? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Volusia County, Florida. If you're up to no good there and the garbage man looks at you funny, you better watch out. Yep, the long arm of the law now wearing those heavy industrial looking gloves and dumping trash into the truck.

Sheriff's office is training garbage collectors how to spot crime and the crooks who commit them. Teaching them how to recognize break ins, how to recognize facial features, driver's license numbers, things like that. Think of it as a neighborhood watch with a bit of sanitation engineering thrown in. And yes, you better call them sanitation engineers from now on.

The recession has led to some big changes in households across the country. Many people are cutting back on restaurants and vacations. Others are going a big step further, reducing the size of their family.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Susan, that's a pretty dramatic coping mechanism, wouldn't you say?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would say so, and it's traumatic, too, I think, for a lot of people who have very definite goals when it comes to the size of their family. This is believed to be the first survey aimed at documenting the recession's effects on child bearing. It's from the Goodmacher Institute, which many of us in the news business know its studies on sexual reproductive health (ph). It talked to 1,000 women of child bearing age with incomes less than $75,000.

And Kyra, get this. The survey found that nearly half of the women said they either wanted to delay pregnancy, have fewer kids or not have anymore kids at all. And the reason why is pretty compelling. They say that they're financially worse off than they were last year. A full quarter of them said that either they or their spouse have lost their jobs and/or their health insurance and in some cases, they're cutting costs so much that they're putting off visits to the gynecologist and sometimes skipping birth control as a way of cutting costs, which of course is quite ironic.

PHILLIPS: I was going to say, what happens if -- yes, it's going to be very expensive to have a baby...

LISOVICZ: We actually have a number. I'm supposed to quiz you as to how much the average cost to raise a child. It's put out by the government last year. Have any idea, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy. Monthly, weekly, yearly?

LISOVICZ: Per year.

PHILLIPS: Per year? Oh, gosh, it's got to be a lot.

LISOVICZ: $11,000 to $13,000 a year. Up to the age of 17. After that, well, colleges just kicks into a whole other atmosphere. PHILLIPS: That's where you want to encourage scholarships, doing well in school, picking up a sport...

LISOVICZ: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: And this is a perfect reason not to spoil your kids. OK? There you go.

Well, postponing kids is a pretty big way to reduce expenses. A lot of us doing it in smaller ways. Coupon clipping is back in style.

LISOVICZ: Everything comes full circle, doesn't it? Kyra, I remember when my mother had something like green stamps, S&H green stamps. I mean, that's really ancient, but coupons...

PHILLIPS: That's old school.

LISOVICZ: Yes. That's way old school. It's certainly not something that exists anymore.

Coupon redemption peaked in 1992. But guess what? Late last year, coupon clipping and redemptions rose for the first time since the 1990s, continued into this year. Not just low income, by the way. Biggest coupon user groups: affluent, 50 and 60-year-olds, also young singles. Well, they've got to cut costs for so many reasons.

There's a big boom in coupon clipping not only because of the recession. Internet coupons have made they them easier to access, and also there's more food coupons, right? There's a big increase in them, and last time I looked, everyone eats, Kyra. Everyone.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we do. Two for one, baby, that's what we like. All right, Susan, thanks so much.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

PHILLIPS: His day job was substitute teaching, and he loved it because it got him helping kids. His second job was census work, and it might have gotten him killed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's looking like a pretty bizarre murder mystery in Kentucky. A census worker turns up dead, and the FBI is investigating if his government job might have led to foul play. A law enforcement source tells the AP that Bill Sparkman's body was found near a cemetery hanging from a tree in a really remote spot in Clay County, part of Daniel Boon National Forest.

Well, Sparkman worked as a substitute teacher and with an after- school program. But he had been with the Census Bureau part-time since 2003. According to that AP source, the word "fed" was scrawled or scratched on his body. The Census Bureau temporarily suspending door-to-door visits in that area.

Bill Sparkman was 51, a cancer survivor and a single parent. Our condolences to his son, Josh, and the rest of the family.

As always, Team Sanchez working on the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Whatcha got?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Very interesting show today. We're going to talk to two presidents at the very same time, and they're both the presidents of the same country, if you can figure that out.

This is that situation that's been going on in Honduras. You guys have been following it, I'm sure. Zelaya, they came in one day and just literally threw him out. It was a constitutional issue. Too long to explain.

Micheletti is the president there now. But Zelaya, the guy in Honduras who was thrown out? Well, he snuck back into the country and he's hiding now in the Bolivian (sic) embassy. That's bizarre because the country doesn't want him there. They're trying to make sure he gets thrown out one way or another.

Meanwhile, he is still there, so I have reached out to Micheletti, the guy who's the president now -- or the de facto president, and it turns out he wants to sit down and talk to me.

So this afternoon, I also called Zelaya and said, "Would you be willing to talk to me? I know you're in hiding, nobody's supposed to know where you are. I just want to have a conversation with you." But he's going to join us too.

PHILLIPS: All right. You can't say where he is. But how did you track him down?

SANCHEZ: I've got a great booker. I mean, she's just -- Janell is good.

PHILLIPS: Wow. You are going to have them both on together. Have they met, have they talked? Have they had any kind of discussions?

SANCHEZ: No. They hate each other like poison.

PHILLIPS: No back deals, no negotiations, nothing behind the scenes going on?

SANCHEZ: I think they have both spoken to Oscar Arias, Nobel Prize-winning president of Costa Rica. They have both tried to speak to Jimmy Carter, who's trying to make a deal with them as well. But obviously, they won't speak to each other.

PHILLIPS: Maybe you can broker something.

SANCHEZ: Wouldn't that be something? That's why everybody's excited about this exclusive, especially the nerdy guys over there at the international desk.

PHILLIPS: Yes. They're a little jealous.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I know. They've been talking about this -- all right, Rick. We're watching.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right. They have sniffed out countless criminals and at least one innocent man. A big stink, though, brewing over police dogs doing evidence lineups.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, imagine you have just been accused of murder by a dog, a police dog famous for his keen sense of smell. He didn't do it. But the canine disagrees. CNN's Ed Lavendera meets the former deputy nearly done in by a dog.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how an innocent man became a prime suspect in a murder investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will begin by putting the scent on one of these cans. The deputy or the dogs do not know which can I'm going to put this one in.

LAVANDERA: Michael Buchanek's scent is placed in can number four. Investigators think he strangled and murdered a friend three years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get the scent from the rope that was taken by Deputy Pikett back on the day that the victim's body was found.

LAVANDERA: Sheriff Deputy Keith Pikett will use these blood hounds to see if the Buchanek's scent matches the scent left at the crime scene. Two blood hounds repeat the test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also alerted on can four.

LAVANDERA: That means the blood hounds have just made Michael Buchanek the suspect in the murder of his neighbor Sally Blackwell in Victoria, Texas. For five months Buchanek would live under a cloud of suspicion.

MICHAEL BUCHANEK, WRONGLY ACCUSED: I've cried myself to sleep enough times and had enough nightmares about it to finally be able to stand here and talk to you about it. But it's hard.

LAVANDERA: Dogs scent lineups have become a popular forensic tool for prosecutors and investigators across the country. Investigators wipe the scent of a possible suspect on a gauze pad and put the scents in cans.

Dog handlers then walk the dogs past the cans, and with the right whiff and signal to their master, investigators say these blood hounds can put them on a suspect's trial.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Civil rights groups are ripping apart these lineups and they want the practice abolished. The Innocence Project says an unknown number of people have been wrongly accused or convicted by the bloodhound evidence.

But both sides admit these dog handlers aren't certified or regulated and that there are no standards to check the dog's accuracy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anything has ever been junk science, it's this dog scent lineup.

LAVANDERA: In Texas, Fort Bend County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett has become a celebrity in law enforcement circles, helping convict hundreds of criminals using this technique.

His attorney says if the dog scent lineups are shut down investigators would lose an important crime fighting tool. Pikett and his attorney refused on-camera interview requests, but in January Pikett told a Houston TV station saying the lineups are accurate.

KEITH PIKETT, FORT BEND CO. SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: So wherever you go you leave their skin cells. They're microscopic. We can't see them or smell them, but the dog can.

LAVANDERA: But the dogs were wrong in Buchanek's case. Five months after his friend's murder, DNA evidence implicated another man who confessed to the crime.

What makes this case even more shocking is that he Buchanek spent 25 years as a sheriff's deputy with the very agency that suspected him of murder. He's suing, claiming civil rights violations.

BUCHANEK: They even told me they knew I did it and I would spend the rest of my life on death row.

LAVANDERA: His so-called friends believed the dogs more than they believed him.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Victoria, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That does it for us, but the news doesn't stop. Rick Sanchez picks it up from here.