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Iran Admits Second Nuclear Site; Attack Planned in Dallas; Illinois Attack Attempt; More Troops for Afghanistan
Aired September 25, 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: We begin with news of nuclear secrets and international concerns. We now know Iran admitted to a secret nuclear facility and just minutes ago, we heard from world leaders, including President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The existence of this facility underscores Iran's continuing unwillingness to meet its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions and IAEA requirements. We expect the IAEA to immediately investigate this disturbing information and to report to the IAEA Board of Governors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Oh, boy. Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is September 25th, Friday, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A whole lot to cover this morning. That is for sure. CNN's Matthew Chance is standing by in Moscow, Russia. What does all of this mean? And what happens next, specifically? Why should you be concerned? We'll talk with Matthew about that.
Also on our radar this morning, new terror arrests to tell you about. Sean Callebs, as you see, is in Dallas this morning with an alleged plot to blow up a skyscraper. We'll get to that.
Also, Ted Rowlands, you see there, in Illinois. Investigators there say a would-be terrorist targeted a federal courthouse in a plot all too similar to the Oklahoma City bombing.
To this, first, this breaking news. We are now learning what Iran admitted days ago to the International Nuclear Agency, that it has been secretly building a second nuclear facility.
Want to get straight to our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, standing by in Moscow this morning.
So, Matthew, we are hearing, this really isn't news to U.S. and French intelligence officials, is it?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, the U.S., the French, the British intelligence officials say that they've been monitoring this site, which is apparently being used or could be used for enriching uranium in Iran for some time, perhaps for some months, perhaps for some years. But, certainly, on Monday, what the Iranian government did is right a letter to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, in Vienna, basically revealing for the first time, officially, publicly, the existence of this site.
For the longest time, the Iranians have said they only had one uranium enrichment site at Natanz. Now it seems they've got a second one and it doesn't do a great deal for their credibility, Heidi.
COLLINS: No, it doesn't. And wondering, when we use the word "admits to it," were they questioned about it? I mean did they admit it to because they were caught, so to speak?
CHANCE: It's a really good question. It's uncertain as to what the timing is all about. But it seems that the Iranians wrote this letter to the U.N. watchdog agency on Monday. According to President Obama, it was Thursday that the British, the French, and the UK intelligence services presented their evidence to the IAEA.
So it seems that's what's happened is the secret facility, the Iranians found out that the western security agencies were on to it, that they'd been basically found out, and went ahead and wrote that letter to try to preempt any disclosure by the United States, the French, and the British.
It seems to be a bit of a game they're playing here, but the effect is the same, that the credibility gap has just got a whole lot wider, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right, Matthew Chance, we sure do appreciate that. Coming to us live from Moscow, Russia.
We will be talking about the story all morning long, as you would imagine. At the half hour, we're going to be checking in with David Albright. He is a former U.N. weapons inspector, a perfect person to talk to about this, and now serves as the president of the Institute for Science and International Security. Make sure you stick around for that.
A CNN security watch now, an FBI sting operation catches a teenage terror suspect who investigators say wanted to blow up a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas. I want to point out this case is not related to the terror plot that we've been reporting on for several days now in Denver and New York City.
CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us now live from Dallas with more.
So, Sean, how close to the 19-year-old suspect actually get to carrying this attack out?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was clearly a young man who was certainly capable and did everything he could to carry out this plot, but it basically was a sting operation, set up by the feds.
Back up here just a minute. He's 19-year-old Husein Smadi. He's a Jordanian national who has been in the United States illegally and lives in a small town of Italy about 45 miles south of where we are in Dallas.
Now he first got the attention of the authorities by basically stealing venom on the Internet, saying that he wanted to unleash terrorist attacks in the United States to hit Americans in the name of a holy jihad or a holy war.
Now, basically, undercover authorities had been just talking with him about 65 times over the past year to find out just how serious he was about this. And in a sting operation unfolded, authorities actually got a car, it was allegedly loaded with ammonium nitrate, C- 4, blasting caps.
That is what Smadi thought. And he then parked the car in the garage area of something called Fountain Place here, one of the icons in downtown Dallas. Then he used the cell phone to detonate it and that is when authority arrested him under that sting operation.
And, Heidi, he's going to be here in federal court in just a matter of hours to face charges on trying to unleash a weapon of mass destruction.
COLLINS: So is there any information at this point, Sean, why he targeted that specific building?
CALLEBS: Yes, this building, he actually was considering targeting a military installation or the Dallas airport, but he chose Fountain Plaza, Fountain Place because he thought that the security wasn't nearly as good there. And he was going to do this on 9/11, September 11th, but he chose to wait until after the holy month of Ramadan ended on September 20th, and that is when he went through with this sting operation, got caught in this sting operation, I should say, and now is in custody.
COLLINS: All right, Sean Callebs, staying on top for the story for us, appreciate that, Sean, out of Dallas this morning.
And in yet another unrelated FBI sting, agents arrested an Illinois man who thought he had parked a van full of explosives next to a federal courthouse. When his supposed al Qaeda contact was actually an undercover FBI agent.
CNN's Ted Rowlands joining us now live from Springfield, Illinois this morning.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, this is really an incredible scenario that took place here in downtown Springfield. On Wednesday morning, just before noon, right here in this parking spot, 29-year-old Michael Finton, drove a fan that he thought was packed with enough explosives to basically blow out a city block.
He drove the van up here, parked it, locked it, and then got into his partner's car and drove away, thinking he was going to detonate the explosives. Look how close that parking spot is to the federal courthouse here in Springfield, Illinois.
Authorities say that Finton knew he could -- wanted to blow up this building and he knew that there would be people inside here that would die because of the explosion that he wanted to be responsible for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (via telephone): What Michael Finton didn't know while trying to detonate the truck bomb with a cell phone a few blocks away was that the explosives were fake and his partner was really an undercover FBI agent.
JEFF LANG, U.S. AUTHORITY: The Joint Terrorism Task Force and the FBI have been monitoring Finton for almost two years and as a result, the public was never at risk.
ROWLANDS: According to a federal affidavit, Finton, an ex-con who converted to Islam in prison, desperately wanted to fight as a jihadist, idolizing John Walker Lynn, the American caught fighting for the Taliban after 9/11.
After an informant tipped off authorities, Finton was introduced to an FBI undercover agent posing as a low-level member of al Qaeda.
LANG: It appeared that Finton was on the verge of taking some kind of action, so it was decided that the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the other law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation provided him with an opportunity for action that we controlled.
ROWLANDS: Finton, who called himself Talib Islam, meaning student of Islam, worked as a part-time cook. Coworkers described him as a regular guy with a good sense of humor.
MARIAM RUBY FAEDL, CO-WORKER: I'm very shocked to hear this about him, because from what I know about him, this isn't in his character at all. This element of what's on the news about him, this is -- I don't really -- didn't know him to be that kind of guy, and this could be a mistake.
ROWLANDS: But authorities say there's no mistake and that Finton, if given the chance, could have been extremely dangerous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And Finton made an initial court appearance in the building that he tried to blow up yesterday. He waived his right to a detention hearing, so basically he's going to be held now for up to 30 days while they try to get an indictment through a grand jury, which is likely considering the evidence against him.
Across the street here, Heidi, is the office for Congressman Aaron Schock. And according to the FBI agent that was posing as Finton's partner, he says that Finton wanted that congressman to be in his office at the time of this supposed explosion, saying that that would just really be bonus if he could also take out this congressman along with the people inside the federal building. A very scary scenario painted here. We should note, though, he had no ties that we know of to international terrorists. He was working alone.
COLLINS: All right. Well, I guess that is the question then, Ted. Do authorities think he could have actually pulled something like this off all by himself?
ROWLANDS: Well, they think he had the mindset to do it, most definitely, and that's what they say they'll prove because of this undercover investigation. The question is whether he had the resources to actually put this together or if he had the mind, he had the mindset, but not -- maybe not the mind to actually assemble explosives.
But they say he took a trip to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and when he came back, they figured that they needed to get this guy behind bars because they were nervous that he was going to do something.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Ted Rowlands following the story in Springfield, Illinois, this morning. Ted, thank you.
New charges now against two terror suspects being held in North Carolina. Prosecutors say Daniel Patrick Boyd and one other man planned to attack the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. Boyd was the longer beard at the end of the line there.
Officials say Boyd went on at least one mission to scout out the base and the two other men, five others, already charged in connection with the plot to wage a holy war overseas. Boyd is the suspected ring leader of the group.
And an update now on the terror plot out of Denver and New York that we first broke here on CNN. Najibullah Zazi is due in federal court in Denver this morning. A new indictment against Zazi says he was conspiring to build weapons of mass destruction.
Investigators say he was loading up on chemicals from beauty supply companies in Colorado. This exclusive video you're looking at obtained by CNN shows Zazi at one of those stores. He was allegedly going to use those chemicals to build bombs. Attorney General Eric Holder says Zazi's arrest disrupted an imminent threat.
We'll be having a live report coming up from Denver in our next hour.
We are talking about the terror plots on our blog this morning. Does knowing about them make you feel safer or less safe? Does it make you feel more vigilant, or would you rather not hear about them at all?
Just go to CNN.com/heidi and post your comments there. We'll bring some to you a little bit later in the show.
The second and final day of the G-20 Economic Summit getting under way in Pittsburgh. The so-called G-20 is made up of 19 countries plus the European Union. Together they account for 85 percent of the world's economic output. They're focusing on the worldwide financial crises and working on ways to prevent a repeat of it.
They are meeting in Pittsburgh to showcase a city that reinvented itself after a catastrophic loss of the steel industry.
This morning in Pittsburgh, President Obama and 19 other world leaders getting down to business, the business of your money, in fact. And they're hoping for a quiet day outside the G-20 Economic Summit, too. Last night, though, riot police turned back hundreds of protesters as they tried to march downtown. Nearly 70 people were arrested.
Today, police are bracing for smaller, more scattered protests.
Iran admits to building a second nuclear facility. We're following that breaking news this morning. Next we'll be talking to a former U.N. weapons inspector. Who knew what, went?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Breaking news, revealing developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: This is not the first time that Iran has concealed information about its nuclear program. Iran has a right to peaceful nuclear power that meets the energy needs of its people. But the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program.
Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow, endangering the global nonproliferation regime, denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve, and threatening the stability and security of the region and the world.
It is time for Iran to act immediately to restore the confidence of the international community by fulfilling its international obligations.
GORDON BROWN, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: And I say, on behalf of the United Kingdom today, we will not let this matter rest and we are prepared to implement further and more stringent sanctions.
Let the message that goes out to the world be absolutely clear. That Iran must abandon any military ambitions for its nuclear program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Barack Obama and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown there making comments about what we are learning this morning. And that is that nuclear secrets and international concerns are up. We now know that Iran admitted to a secret nuclear facility, a second one, in fact. And minutes ago, we did hear from world leaders, as you just heard there.
Let's take a moment now to bring in David Albright. He is a former U.N. weapons inspector and now serves as the president of the Institute for Science and International Security.
David, so glad to have you with us this morning. Boy, there's so much to ask you. There was this letter that was sent from Iran to the IAEA just a few days ago but we are learning more now this morning about really what had been going on.
I guess I wonder who knew what when?
DAVID ALBRIGHT, PRESIDENT, INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: Well, we -- at ISIS we've been hearing rumors for months that intelligence communities had discovered a second gas centrifuge enrichment plant. I think that we also know that the IAEA for a while has been looking at what it considered a suspicious site, that may be this same place, but they didn't know what it was.
So I think -- and there's been an expectation that Iran would do something like this, that it would have a backup capability that it would put in place. And again, from Iran's point of view, they worry about violating the nonproliferation treaty and the verification conditions under the nonproliferation treaty, and they've probably been building this plant consistent with how it defines and has -- defines those obligations.
It knows it's in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, which is what the three leaders emphasized, but it doesn't -- Iran doesn't recognize the legitimacy of those resolutions. So from its point of view, it's been trying to build something that abides by what it sees as its fundamental commitment, of not violating the nonproliferation treaty.
COLLINS: Is that OK?
ALBRIGHT: No, it's not. And in fact, three years ago -- four years ago, Iran had agreed that it would have revealed such places...
COLLINS: Right.
ALBRIGHT: ... and allowed the inspectors all kinds of access. So it's not OK. But, again, we have to be clear what's being violated and what's not being violated.
COLLINS: And interesting, as well, of course in the framework of all of this, the timing of all of this was the resolution that was just passed yesterday, 1887, unanimously at the U.N. Security Council Summit that was hosted by President Barack Obama of the United States.
It really is interesting to me now to look back on that, understanding that many of the leaders, the permanent members, knew that this was going on before that vote. ALBRIGHT: That's right. It's so -- and it is interesting. And it shows why that resolution is important, that it's really time that the international communities start to step up and create the framework to deal with noncompliance of its own resolutions.
And it's very important that the international community start demanding that states accept much greater transparency of their nuclear programs, because, frankly, it's getting tiresome that they can't be detected.
COLLINS: Well...
ALBRIGHT: And it's, in a sense, it's left to the intelligence community, using what are essentially pretty weak methods to find these places.
COLLINS: Right. And when we talk about all of that, it really puts the world, if you will, in a tough position, because this is a country that's already under three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions. That didn't seem to work.
There's a second facility now. We passed another resolution yesterday. Does any of it matter? I mean, Iran is going to do what Iran wants to do?
ALBRIGHT: Well, Iran is already suffering economically from the existing sanctions. And the sanctions can get a lot tougher. And there's going to be two routes that can be followed if Iran does not start making compromises on its nuclear program.
One is through the Security Council, to get everyone among in -- among the P5 to agree for international sanctions. That's the best way.
COLLINS: What would those look like, David?
ALBRIGHT: Well, one is, you could say no more gasoline is sent to Iran. That would be one example. They need gasoline, they can't make enough.
Another is, and this could be imposed by the west, is OK, no more insurance for ships going to Iran. I mean just make it that the insurers cannot insure ships. Who's going to send anything to Iran? And is China going to step into the breach and say, well, we'll insure all ships that go to Iran.
So there's a lot of things that can be done on the financial side that can make Iran suffer. And in a sense, that's what -- these kinds of things are what Hillary Clinton is alluding to, Barack Obama's alluding to, and other leaders are alluding to. That there are things that can be done to worsen Iran's economic situation.
Finally, if things really get -- go bad, we could simply stop buying Iranian oil. I mean that has consequences for us, but it's devastating to Iran.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.
ALBRIGHT: So there is many ways that this can escalate. And it doesn't always require a U.N. Security Council resolution to ramp up these sanctions.
COLLINS: Yes, I guess I'm just wondering how far away we are from seeing those types of sanctions, when we talk specifically about Russia and China and we're hearing a little bit about a possible Russian agreement to some of these tougher sanctions.
We haven't heard official word on that yet, but I guess I wonder, is that because they too have learned about this second facility?
ALBRIGHT: I'm sure they knew about it. I mean, if ISIS knew about it, I mean, I'm sure the government's involved or -- heard rumors. We didn't know about it. We heard rumors of it. The governments that have a direct stake in it would know. And it -- but I think a lot of this depends on how Iran reacts.
I mean in 2003 when they were backed into a corner, largely over the discovery of their secret enrichment sites, they made major concessions. And so we just have to wait and see what they do over the next couple of days and weeks to see if they're willing to make concessions to stop the sanctions from being imposed.
COLLINS: Very, very quickly, before we let you go, where's China now?
ALBRIGHT: I'm sure China's just pondering what to do.
COLLINS: Yes.
ALBRIGHT: I mean it doesn't -- and also, China has a history, it's not going to be the only one opposing sanctions. And so they have a lot to lose. And so they do not want sanctions. But at the same time, if Russia goes along, I don't think they're going to stand in the way.
COLLINS: All right. Well, that's exactly my question. All right.
David Albright, certainly a pleasure having you this morning. Always appreciate your insight. Thanks so much.
ALBRIGHT: Thank you.
COLLINS: Assessing the mission in Afghanistan now, and the need more troops and equipment. A top general's report is due today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Five U.S. troops are dead in fighting in southern Afghanistan. The U.S. military says they were involved in three separate incidents yesterday. Three died in a roadside bomb attack in Zabul Province. The deaths bring the total number of U.S. service members killed this month in Afghanistan to 35. Today is the deadline for a critical assessment on Afghanistan, but the report from the top U.S. commander there, General Stanley McChrystal, may not be headed to the president's desk anytime soon.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us with more on this now.
So, Barbara, any request for more troops, which we've been talking about for several days now, needs to be on Secretary Gates' desk today, but what does that really mean? We understand Gates really isn't in a hurry to share the information.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. Some people might call it a deadline, other people might just call it sending an e-mail to the Pentagon?
The request for more troops is in the Pentagon as promised several days ago by the defense secretary, but by all accounts, he is going to hold on to it. He's not ready to act on this and there's so far very little real movement on the question of the next steps in Afghanistan.
They are reassessing the strategy. But, look, this all just day by day becomes a more difficult problem for the White House, for the U.S. military. General McChrystal's report is basically a single option document. Here's how you win against the insurgency, here's what it takes to do it.
They really gave the president no wiggle room, no options, that's why they're going back and reviewing it again. They're trying to come up with more options for the president and why is this so critical? It's the backdrop that you just talked about a minute ago.
U.S. troop deaths are rising, public support is dropping, and time is really running out, day by day, officials say, to make some decisions. They need to get moving, they need to move ahead and find out what it is they want to do next, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Makes you wonder how much time there really is to assess all of this. Could McChrystal actually come to D.C. to talk about it?
STARR: Well, you know, I think that is the next question on the table. Up until a few days ago, it was absolutely not. He has a war to run.
COLLINS: Right.
STARR: He is not coming to Washington. I have to tell you, behind the scenes, there's growing chatter that it is only a matter of time, that, eventually, he and General Petraeus will be here. They will talk to top leaders, possibly, including the president, top leaders in Congress.
Congressional Republicans are making it very clear. They want to hear from General McChrystal directly about what the next steps really are, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very good, Barbara. We know you're on top of this one. We'd like to stay of it with you. Thanks so much, Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent this morning.
And we want to let you know about this as well. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is John King's guest on this weekend's "STATE OF THE UNION." You can see that 9:00 a.m. Eastern on Sunday.
Stocks are coming off a two-day losing streak and today could be a three-peat because of a report that came out just an hour ago. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a check of the action on Wall Street.
Susan, we were hoping that Friday would be the final day of the week and we'd end on a good note.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's early yet, Heidi, and we have seen some very nice Fridays for the last six months. Stock futures, however, turned lower after the latest read on durable goods orders was released. Orders for big-ticket items like cars, computers, and refrigerators unexpectedly fell nearly 2.5 percent last month.
The auto sector got a boost from Cash for Clunkers, but it wasn't enough to overshadow weakness in other areas. One big ticket item people are buying a lot of these days, mattresses. Simmons, the maker of the family beauty rest brand, has filed for bankruptcy. The company, buried under nearly $1 billion of debt, plans to restructure.
The housing sector still under pressure. KB Homes lost $66 million last quarter. Its sales on average selling price tumbled by double digits. The home builder's loss is smaller than the year before, because KB managed its inventories better and its building smaller homes. Wall Street is focusing on the negative. KB shares right now were down nearly six percent.
Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion right now down 15.5 percent due to disappointing sales and an even worse forecast. And we're seeing some selling for the Dow and the Nasdaq as well, each down at least about a fifth of a percent.
Ringing the opening bell today, the president of the Republic of Panama, Heidi. The week started with the secretary of state. We've also seen the prime ministers of New Zealand and Hungary, the president of Poland, all for U.N. week. I will be happy when the elevators resume their normal schedule here.
I've been climbing a lot of stairs.
COLLINS: Yes, security, obviously.
LISOVICZ: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: All right. Susan Lisovicz, we'll set you up with our own CNN bodyguards. Thanks so much. We'll check back later on.
LISOVICZ: OK.
COLLINS: Iran's latest nuclear information. How is it playing in Israel of all places?
We'll go there live, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Accusations today Iran has cheated and lied about its nuclear actions. Moments ago, President Obama and other world leaders attending the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh accused Iran of building a secret plant to make nuclear fuel. President Obama says it's been under construction for several years.
Now, Iran has come clean, admitting it is building that plant. It acknowledged in a letter sent Monday to the U.N. nuclear watchdog group, the IAEA. But Iran told the agency there are no nuclear materials at the facility.
President Obama and leaders of Britain and France are demanding Iran open the facility to international inspectors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounces Iran has a terrorist regime that needs to be stopped from getting nuclear weapons. He made the comments yesterday at the U.N. General Assembly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: The most urgent challenge facing this body today is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Are the members of the United Nations up to that challenge? Will the international community confront the despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom? Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight, and then gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the sidewalks on the street, choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world's most pernicious sponsor and practioner of terrorism? Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Let's go to Israel now for more reaction to Iran's surprise nuclear disclosure.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is there live in Jerusalem this morning.
So, Paula, one day after the speech, this comes out. Does it vindicate Netanyahu in what he was saying yesterday?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, this has been the number one issue for Israel and certainly for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for months, ever since he took power for the second time in this country. He has said that Iran is the number one threat, not only to the Middle East, but to the world.
So we haven't actually had a reaction, an official reaction yet. They're still deciding if there's one that needs to be made. Because really, Mr. Netanyahu said everything he could possibly say on Thursday at the general assembly.
A very scathing attack against Iran, against the leaders of Iran, which he calls the tyrants of Tehran. He certainly made his point over and over again. It is a threat. He's certainly going to be heartened looking back and listening to President Obama's very strong words and the fact that even President Obama said there is now a sense of urgency - Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. What about Israel itself? I mean, obviously, everyone assumes it has nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad is likely to claim it's just not a level playing field. I mean, we've heard him say that before.
HANCOCKS: Absolutely. And this is likely what he's likely to say once again later on today. I mean, he, what can you say? Israel is widely expected to have nuclear weapons. It has never actually admitted to having nuclear weapons. And certainly when anyone asks, all that the Israeli officials can say is we will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction into the Middle East. It's the bulk standard answer.
Now just recently, the IAEA actually passed a resolution which is nonbinding, but still a resolution asking Israel to open up whatever it has to IAEA inspection. It's also signed the non-proliferation treaty. So certainly this is an argument that Mr. Ahmadinejad is likely to make again, Heidi?
COLLINS: Paula Hancocks, live from Jerusalem this morning.
Paula, thanks.
And we are also keeping a close eye on the G-20 economic summit, now entering its second day in Pittsburgh. Leaders of the world's major economies are there, including President Barack Obama. Also there, protesters who have been kept at bay by thousands of law enforcement personnel.
So why should you care about the G-20 summit, and the issues that are being discussed there?
Pretty simply, those complex equations can impact every dollar you earn and spend.
CNN's Christine Romans is live in Pittsburgh this morning to explain more of that.
Yes, I think a lot of people may be thinking, OK, G-20, they're going to talk about the economy, move on.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And you know, they have been -- they have been negotiating this for weeks. International bureaucrats, Heidi. What they're going to say; what kind of image they're going to project for the rest of the world; what they're going to say about jobs. Clearly, that's very key here. But outside of that very famous photo op, what's at stake? Who has the most to win and the most to lose? And who cares?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): Meetings, meetings, meetings -- London, New York, now Pittsburgh. Twenty world leaders representing two-thirds of the world's people and 90 percent of its money. It's the world's most powerful photo-op. Here they are in London in April -- the new guy, the banker, the lady's man, Putin's boss, on paper, the guy who threatens to walk out. And the reckless and obsessing over first lady fashion and perceived faux pas.
At that meeting, leaders pledged $1 trillion in stimulus for the global economy, a crisis was averted, the stock market jumped almost 30 percent since then. Next challenge: prevent another financial disaster. They differ on how to do that.
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: We are not going to walk away from the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and leave unchanged and leave in place the tragic vulnerabilities that caused this crisis.
ROMANS: The Americans want banks to hold more money aside to cover the risks they take. Europeans want tougher restrictions on banker pay. And you might hear talk about so-called global imbalances. It means the Americans need to save more and borrow less. The Europeans need investment, and the Chinese -- they need to consume more.
There are 20 leaders, but two standouts -- the new American president, an international star on the campaign trail hosting his first summit, and China, already out of recession and on track to overtake Germany in exports.
Economist Ken Rogoff says China is doing very well for itself.
KEN ROGOFF, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Countries are looking at China and saying, wait a second, you've got to pull back your exports a little bit. You're making it tough. You're benefiting at the expense of everybody else.
ROMANS: All are watching a trade spat between China and the U.S. over tires and chickens.
The two countries are also the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters. Climb change on the agenda, but that won't be solved here.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: And, Heidi, the meetings won't end here in Pittsburgh. There are more meetings ahead, of course, in December in Copenhagen, where international players are going to try to hammer out some kind of new international treaty on climate change. The Kyoto protocols, of course, expire in 2012. So there will be more meetings around that.
And, also, Heidi, some of the news here that the focus is going to shift from the G-8 as the place. Those eight countries. And the G-8 as the place where you're going to do international financial diplomacy to the G-20. That brings in more of the developing nations, the fast-growing countries like India and Brazil and China. And so broadening it out to include more voices.
COLLINS: Yes. That was kind of the whole point, I guess, of the G-20.
Hey, listen, Christine, I know that we've already had a pretty big announcement this morning coming from the scene, if you will, of the G-20 regarding Iran and the second nuclear facility that has been uncovered.
ROMANS: That's right.
COLLINS: Any other big announcements, maybe pertaining more to the economy, the world economy itself?
ROMANS: I think what you're going to hear, and they're still working out the final language, but I think what you're going to hear is you're going to hear talk about executive pay compensation in the banking industry, about how to try to Taipei to performance. You're going to hear more about financial regulatory reform, to try to make sure that what happened to the world over the past year doesn't happen again. And you're going to hear about those global imbalances. Americans saving more, the Chinese spending more, and investment for Europe.
COLLINS: All right. Very good.
Christine Romans, sure do appreciate it, from Pittsburgh this morning. Thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: This weekend, tune in to a special edition on "YOUR MONEY" from the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. We're going to be talking to people who make decisions affecting your money and look at your bottom line in the global economy.
Reforming the health care system. A key Senate committee is back at it today, going over hundreds of amendments to a proposed bill. Democrats still hoping a government-run health plan gets some traction.
We want to go live now to our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar. Brianna, as we've been seeing you sit there for days on end with these -- what is it -- 564 amendments in your lap. Lots of paperwork. How are things going to play out today, you think?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they were getting heavy, so I finally took them off of my lap, Heidi. But today we're going to be starting with this amendment.
I just want to show you so you have a sense of the details we're dealing with here. Amendment number 108. This is proposed by Senator Chuck Grassley. He's the top Republican on the committee. And this deals with Medicare physician payment equity.
Why does that matter? Well, this is something that matters a lot not just to Republicans. This is really something that falls along regional lines, for someone like Senator Chuck Grassley, who is from Iowa, in a rural place. It matters to him because the way doctors are reimburse for treating Medicare patients in cities they get more money than they get in rural areas. And so this is a big concern among senators from rural states that essentially doctors are being driven out of the market because of this. So those are the details.
But big picture here, what we can tell you about what's happened over these hours and hours and hours these committee has been putting in over the last three days, now going into the fourth day, expecting them to start any moment now, is that the general framework of Senator Max Baucus, the Democratic chairman of this committee. The general framework of his plan, which does not include that public option, it's the health cooperative system, and which pays for health care reform, a big part of it, through taxing those high-end Cadillac plans. That framework has been preserved.
But what's interesting, Heidi, is, it's been preserved because there haven't been any challenges to those specific elements. Democrats were expecting in a few different ways, are going to try to add a public option in, and we now understand that's going to have to wait until next week. So really the substantive fireworks we're expecting to see next week is this really a long, hard slog that this committee is going through is going to be pushed off here.
COLLINS: Yes.
Very, very quickly. Pre-existing conditions still in there as well, right?
KEILAR: Yes. And...
COLLINS: OK.
KEILAR: Yes, it is.
COLLINS: OK, very good.
KEILAR: Insurance companies will not be able to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions.
COLLINS: Exactly. All right, well, as soon as we know what we're actually looking at for a bill, that will be a good thing.
Brianna Keilar has been following this story for us for quite some time now.
Thanks, Brianna.
A pilot accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend by buzzing her neighborhood in that.
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COLLINS: Here's something we don't hear about very often.
A suspected stalker taking to the skies. Police in Concord, California, have arrested a pilot who they say stalked his girlfriend by repeatedly flying his small plane low over her house. The pilot has been booked on suspicion of stalking and for violating a restraining order.
Vice President Joe Biden in Georgia right now to tour the flood damage. Some neighborhoods in and around the Atlanta area were underwater earlier this week, as you know, after several days of rain. The vice president will visit some of the families affected by the floods.
Great time to bring in Reynolds Wolf, our meteorologist in the severe weather center.
Reynolds, I hate to say it, but I'm hearing over the weekend, we are expecting more rain.
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COLLINS: Yes, no kidding.
Hey, Reynolds, before we let you go real quick. You were so great to be out in the field when all of this flooding was going on in your area. In fact, in your backyard.
Very quickly, how are things for you, your family?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Things are fine. The waters have receded considerably. But, I mean, we're in great shape compared to some of our neighbors and of course some of the people around the area who have lost everything. So we turned out just fine. But obviously hearts are heavy for those that lost so much more.
COLLINS: Yes, definitely. Nine deaths unfortunately throughout all of this. Just an unbelievable scene. Still cleaning up obviously.
Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much. We'll check back with you a little bit later on.
Space researchers are over the moon after a new discovery. In fact, they say it could even lead to future outposts in another world. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: An early outpost on the moon? That tantalizing prospect of science fiction could be taking a step closer to science fact. Researchers say there's more water in more places than they first thought.
CNN's Jason Carroll is on the moon now -- no, just kidding -- in New York.
I love that you're on this story, Jason, with a closer look.
Pretty cool stuff.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because you know I'm a geek when it comes to this kind of stuff.
Heidi, you remember when people thought that the moon was a boring...
COLLINS: Hey, Jason.
CARROLL: ... what?
COLLINS: ... we can't hear you. Your microphone is like not on?
CARROLL: How's this? Sound better?
COLLINS: Thank goodness we don't have you on the moon. That would be way too high-tech for us.
OK, carry on.
CARROLL: That sounded a little better? How's that?
COLLINS: Yes, so much better.
CARROLL: Well, you know, as I was saying you remember when people thought the moon was basically like a boring place, but it turns out that's definitely not the case.
You know, this is the type of news that really gives NASA a boost and reignites this whole idea of putting an outpost on the moon. NASA says its moon mineralogy mapper or M3 found water molecules all over the lunar surface. The scientists are not talking about lakes, Heidi. They're not talking about puddles. They're really talking about trace amounts, likely frozen that were found.
In fact, if you took one ton of the moon's surface which contains this water, it would only yield about one quart of water. But the discovery is still significant because theoretically scientists could convert those trace amounts into higher amounts. One scientist saying that locating water ice on the moon was like finding the lunar Holy Grail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CARLE PIETERS, NASA: The moon continues to surprise us. And that's the message that I hope you will take home with you today. Widespread water has been detected on the surface of the moon.
ROGER CLARK, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: This was thought to be impossible to have water on the surface of the moon in hot sunlight, you know, especially at the equator let alone the higher latitudes. So it's a really profound discovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Well, infrared imaging on the lunar surface shows up in blue, where some of the water was found. Water molecules were found at the poles, in craters, trace amounts even found at the equator what surprise many scientists. You know, when the astronauts from Apollo Mission came back, Heidi, they described the moon as drier than dust. In fact, when some on the moon's rock samples were examined decades ago, trace amounts of water were found actually in those rocks, but scientists dismissed those findings saying the samples must have been contaminate but it looks they weren't after all, right?
COLLINS: Maybe not.
All right. Well, very good.
Jason Carroll, we sure do appreciate the reporting. And I just love that sound of the moon there every time we do it.
CARROLL: Very lunar.
COLLINS: It is. All right, Jason, thanks.
CARROLL: All right.
COLLINS: There is an awful lot going on this morning. Our CNN crews are in place to bring it all to you. Let's begin with Sean Callebs, I believe in Dallas.
Sean, good morning.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, I am here in Dallas. And a 19-year-old Jordanian is in federal custody today charged with planning a terrorist attack here in the United States. What was behind all this, and how did the arrest go down? I'll have that story coming up at the top of the hour - Heidi.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen here in Atlanta. Here's my story. Swine flu vaccines will be out in less than two weeks, but the big question is, will parents want to get them for their children? I'll have that at the top of the hour.
CHANCE: And I'm Matthew Chance. President Obama calls on Iran to restore the confidence of the international community. That as the Islamic Republic reveals the existence of yet another secret nuclear facility. We'll have that at the top of the hour as well.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, certainly, the big news of the day. We'll be watching all of those stories.
Thanks so much, guys.
We are also going to look at a new option for your mobile phone. Listen to this now. It can check out your date better than family or friends can.
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