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Four People in Custody in Alleged Scheme to Resell Grave Plots; School Bullying Becomes Issue in the House; Progress on Climate Change Is Mixed; Biden On The Road Drumming Up Support for President's Economic Recovery Plan; Protesters In Tehran Clashing With Militia Members; McNair's Memorial Service Planned for Tonight; Trying to Broker Peace in Honduras; Lack of Security at Federal Buildings, According to GAO
Aired July 09, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And checking other stories that are happening right now. Michael Jackson's death being described as a wake-up call to the nation about prescription drug abuse. The government's drug control policy chief discussed on CBS a short time ago, parents are key to addressing the problem of prescription drug misuse.
A vaccine for the H1N1 flu is on the way. That's news from a critical health summit going on in Washington right now. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who you see there, said some doses of a vaccine should be available by mid-October. One hundred seventy people have died from swine flu in the United States.
Some of Pakistan's 2 million displaced people may be headed home as early as next week. They were forced from their homes into camps when Pakistan's military launched an offensive against Taliban fighters. Pakistan's prime minister now says basic services are restored and people can return to their towns July 13.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom, she's been buried here since 2004 and, actually, this is kind of a surprise because I was just here a couple weeks ago to just visit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Families are now left to wonder, where in is my loved one. Police in one Chicago suburb are investigating an alleged scheme to resell grave plots. Investigators say they found bones tossed into unmarked graves in the back of a cemetery. The headstones from those graves were just thrown on the ground. At least four people are in custody right now.
Earlier on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, the sheriff talked about the crime and what they're doing to try to identify the remains both in and out of the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DART, SHERIFF, COOK COUNTY: We're bringing in some high-tech machines that are going to be able to use ultrawaves and light to make sure that nothing has been tampered with. We have thermal imaging units that are going to be on site here soon. And we're going to double-check everybody because like we told people, this is an incredibly historic cemetery for the African-American community. But as well as the notables, there are regular family members everywhere, children, and grandparents.
When you look at some of the grave stones, Joe, that we come across that have been dumped throughout the cemetery and had been hidden, you see grave stones of babies, you see grave stones of grandparents, husbands, wives, parents. This is heartbreaking stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: There's no question about that. A lot of people very upset here. It is also a tough task for investigators checking graves, but it is devastating for the families who do have loved ones there. A little bit later on we're going to be talking with Reverend Steve Jones. He's the chaplain for the Cook County Sheriff's office. He'll give us the very latest.
We are talking about this story on our blog, as well, this morning. Just go to cnn.com/heidi and you can post your thoughts there. And we, of course, we'll be sharing some of them with you just a little bit later on right here in the broadcast.
Tracking the money and the jobs. Vice president Joe Biden on the road today talking about the progress of the president's economic recovery plan, and we are going to continue to follow that story coming out of Cincinnati, Ohio, where Biden will begin talking a little bit later this hour, and then he will be off to New York.
Well, this all comes as Republican lawmakers rip into the Obama administration. They say the stimulus package is not working, and they accuse the White House of overstating the ability of the package to create jobs. More on that now from CNN's Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORREPONDENT (voice-over): Even as the Obama administration touts the jobs being created by Recovery Act spending...
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're starting to see some real progress.
BOLDUAN: Unemployment had soared to 9.5 percent and 3.4 million jobs have been lost in the past six months. Republicans say the stimulus isn't working and Wednesday they pounced.
REP. BRIAN BILBRAY (R), CALIFORNIA: I think that we need to justify how much money we're spending and where are the jobs saved and where have they been preserved, and I think that we got major credibility crisis here.
The president is quoted as saying that the stimulus has "done its job." Is that true or not true?
ROB NABORS, DEPUTY BUDGET DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: We believe that the stimulus has had the impact that we had predicted which is job creation.
BOLDUAN: In the hot seat, the president' deputy budget director, Rob Nabors, who said the stimulus plan is slowing the economic freefall. Nabors said 150,000 jobs have been created or saved.
NABORS: It's a work in progress, but it's steady progress.
BOLDUAN: The Government Accountability Office said of the $29 billion delivered to hard-hit states so far, most have gone to paid Medicaid costs, balance budgets and avoid layoffs. At the same time, Tom Evslin, Vermont's chief recovery officer, said funds for big job- producing investments like broad band and the electric smart grid are still caught in the stimulus pipeline.
TOM EVSLIN, VERMONT OFFICE OF ECONOMIC STIMULUS AND RECOVERY: The frustration has been that the money hasn't come out and we kept hearing later and later dates for the money coming out.
BOLDUAN: Massachusetts governor Duvall Patrick says states are ready and waiting.
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: No funds, no projects. No projects, no jobs.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Also in the hearing, Robert Nabors seem to indirectly criticize states for making what he called unwise choices to simply use stimulus money to balance their budgets. The administration has said actual stimulus spending will peak in 2010.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: So, where is the money? In our next half hour, we're going to show you how much of the recovery package money is being used where you live. We'll break it down for you.
Saving the planet. On the agenda at the G-8 summit, President Obama is leading a forum on climate change with some non-G-8 nations invited to the table. CNN's Paula Newton is covering the summit for us from L'Aquila, Italy and is joining us now, live. So Paula, good morning to you.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Heidi. I just had a look at the draft declaration on some of those climate change issues. What's missing is an actual target to cut those emissions by 2050.
Now at one point in time, they had said that they were hoping that industrialized countries would agree to cut emissions by 50 percent. That's a lot, Heidi. Right now, it says that they're going to try to come to a consensus by the end of the year on how much they will cut. You know, Heidi, that's a lot less than the environmental groups were hoping for going into this meeting and some of them really being quite harsh about President Obama leadership on this. Listen to Phil Radford from Greenpeace for a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL RADFORD, GREENPEACE USA: Well, I don't think President Obama has gone much further than Clinton. It's easy to compare him to Bush, who denied the science. The big problem now is President Obama actually accepts the science, he accepts that this is a big problem and still he's doing very little to nothing to lead on the issue. I don't know what's worse, not believing in it and not doing anything or knowing how bad the problem is and not doing anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: They're not really mincing words on this. Now, President Obama is still hard at work at this. He thinks that they give it to the end of the year, they can come up with some hard numbers to really root for with both the industrialized countries and those emerging countries. Although not too sure that they are the ones that should be stuck with the problem that we're trying to clean up the planet with the industrialized countries, they say, caused the problems Interviewer: he first place.
And, Heidi, I said I was going to tell you about some hoops...
COLLINS: Yes.
NEWTON: Well, I did say yesterday that they had one of these makeshift basketball courts. Here, White House officials saying that, indeed, that President Obama played horse yesterday.
COLLINS: Who did he play with?
NEWTON: I remember that stuff from my school days. Yes, he played with his body man, I think, Mr. Love. The guy he usually plays with. So no celebrities or anything like that out there on the court. But it was apparently just before dinner, and he did blow off some steam. A lot of steam to blow off here for many different reasons but yes, I'm told he might take to the hoops again today.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I was hoping though for a little three on three, the different world leaders. I mean, that would have been a really cool photo op, right?
NEWTON: Well, we've now started a rumor here. George Clooney is going to be touring the earthquake ruins here with Carla Bruni in a few hours or so...
COLLINS: Holy cow.
NEWTON: ... that he will play with George Clooney, who's -- I know, who said that he always wanted to play and shoot some hoops with President Obama. So we suggested it to some White House people. I'm not sure it is going to happen. COLLINS: Actually, well, that would be breaking news. You make sure you let us know if that occurs. Paula Newton, thanks so much. We do appreciate that live from Italy this morning.
We do have more on climate change in today's "Energy Fix" segment. We're going to be looking at the two reasons why developing nations are against cutting emissions.
More now on a story that we brought you at the top of the hour. Police in one Chicago suburb are investigating an alleged scheme to resell grave plots. It's a very tough task for investigators checking the graves, but it is devastating for the families who have loved ones buried there because these bodies have been dug up, the headstones have apparently been smashed and moved to the back portion of this land.
Need to talk a little bit more about it with the sheriff of Cook County. That's Tom Dart and Reverend Steve Jones from the Cook County Sheriff's Office, as well.
They are joining me now live from Alsip, Illinois. Thanks to the both of you for being here. This is just a pretty incredible story. I know you have been answering a lot of questions about it this morning. Sheriff, I want to get to you first. What is the latest in the investigation? What have you been able to learn in all of this?
DART: We have four people that are charged right now with class- act official offenses, which are the most serious in the state for dismembering the bodies. The investigation is continuing. There's more angles that we're looking at now, and we're anticipating the FBI any moment now who are going to come in and assist us with some of the excavation and the forensic side of this as well.
COLLINS: Can you tell us how this all came about? Sheriff, did you learn about this and how did investigators learn about it? I mean, if I understand correctly, this has been going on for quite some time.
DART: Yes, it appears that this was going on in the neighborhood of about four years.
COLLINS: Four years. That's pretty incredible, isn't it?
DART: The whole thing is amazing. When you see the site and you get the gravity of just the expanse that we're talking about and the bones that are laying everywhere, you can see where it's not -- amazing that more people didn't know about it, for starters. When you see some of the vaults that are broken open and laying around, it's difficult to understand that.
But nonetheless, someone did come forward and they called the owners, the owners have been concerned about financials. They contacted us about four, five weeks ago and then we opened up what we originally thought was a financial investigation, and then it turned into this. COLLINS: Wow, unbelievable. Reverend, I see you shaking your head there. I understand that you were brought into this investigation pretty early on, right?
REVEREND STEVE JONES, CHAPLAIN, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: Well, as soon as the sheriff realized that we're talking desecration of graves, the spiritual side of this -- I'm one of the chaplains for the Cook County sheriffs and if this is just so unbelievable because of the gravity of people's loved ones being disturbed, the final resting place being disturbed.
And he felt that it was a need for not only the clergy to be involved, but he also brought involved the funeral home owners and the directors so that they can be aware of what was going on because this -- this is devastating. This is a landmark in Chicago. This is our neighborhood cemetery and to think of your loved ones' remains being disturbed is just unconscionable.
COLLINS: Absolutely. Well, I'm glad that you are there. I do wonder what your role has been. I mean, have you had to go out and tell family members about this story?
DART: Well, you know, I'll let Steve speak to that, but Reverend Jones have actually been physically driving loved ones to the grave sites -- he's been phenomenal.
JONES: We, you know, our pastoral duty is to give pastoral care. And in this instance, all we can do is be a help. And so my role has been basically Father Malett (ph) and myself went out yesterday and we blessed the site, did a temporary committal of the body. So the body so when they go to the final resting place they can be recommitted.
COLLINS: Wow.
JONES: So those things had to happen, as well as now the families are coming out. They need assistance. They need reassurance and they need comforting and that's our job. That's pastoral care and that's what we're here for.
COLLINS: We were just actually showing some video of you doing that and blessing the area once again. What was the reaction, Reverend, from some of these families?
JONES: Well, everybody thinks when you put somebody to rest, that part of your life is kind of -- finishes that piece, but now to have somebody come and disturb that part of it, it's really, everyone's in an uproar. The families are just really hurt, and it brings fresh pain. You know, when you think it's finished, it brings that fresh pain like it just happened again. That's what I'm hearing a lot of the families say. They're saying, you know, this has brought it all back. And you know, to re-deal with bereavement, it's just not an easy task.
COLLINS: Well, it's a very sad story, obviously. Sheriff, before we let you go, remind us again. The previous owners of this cemetery, we should be clear, were apparently the ones involved in this and the current owners are the ones who noticed all of this going on and saying, wait a minute, this is not right, obviously.
DART: Yes. There's an element of it, too, when you have ownership, which is not unusual, it is not on site that the ownerships are spread throughout the country. They weren't physically here seeing this, and so, this was going on unbeknownst to them. When you really walk through the scheme that was put together, you can see where it is pretty easy to see how they could hide a lot of this from people because, frankly, there were not new graves being dug so you weren't seeing your property numbers decreasing. Because they weren't cutting into new earth at all.
So, it was a well thought out scheme by people and, Heidi, the difficult thing is talking to these folks here today. It's heartbreaking. They're crying, and they're telling us about the uncertainty of their loved ones. I talked to a woman today who came back from the gravesite and the head stone is gone and the head stone is missing and she is sitting there now and she's going to have to worry for quite some time whether or not her loved one was one of the ones who was dis-interred. And we can't give her a quick answer on that.
COLLINS: No, of course, you can't.
Very, very quickly, what will happen to those who are in custody right now?
DART: There's a bond hearing that's going to be conducted in a few hours here in Cook County, and that will determine their fate prior to the trial, and then the trial will proceed from there.
COLLINS: All right. Well, to the two of you, we certainly appreciate the story and also to the comfort that you are able to provide whatever possible to the families in all of this. Sheriff of Cook county Tom Dart and also the chaplain for the Sheriff's Department there, Reverend Steve Jones. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
DART: Thank you so much, Heidi.
COLLINS: Breaking news now. I want to get back to protesters on the streets of Tehran again today, clashing with militia members. The demonstration coming on the anniversary of a student uprising 10 years ago. We are not able to report from Iran as you know because of Iranian government restrictions but
CNN's Reza Sayah is following the very latest developments now from our Iran Desk. We should also say, Reza, reminding everybody we really haven't seen many protests, many people on the streets for the last few days.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been a couple weeks, but now it looks like they're back. Things really starting to heat up in downtown Tehran, and at times they are getting ugly. According to a few observers on the ground in Tehran, about 2,000 to 3,000 protesters are trying to gather in a main square in downtown Tehran. There to meet them, a few thousand security forces and that's usually a recipe for some violence. And that's exactly what we're seeing at this hour.
CNN can confirm at least five clashes between security forces and protesters. And let's go ahead and tell you exactly where this is happening. This is happening at Revolution Square, exactly over there which is near Tehran University. Now, Tehran University, 10 years ago, was the scene of another protests that led to deadly government crack down and protesters are using this anniversary to come out and protests these recent elections.
And here are some things coming to the Iran desk within the past couple of hours. Observers report seeing forces beating protestors. One of our observers says he saw a man in his 30s with a bloody face being encouraged to get in an ambulance but he was refusing. Also reports of what sounds like gunshots. Now there could be tear gas canisters being fired off or gunshots by security forces in an effort to get people to disperse.
We are also getting reports of people wiping their eyes. Again, another indication of tear gas. On a couple of occasions I got on the phone with two of our observers on the ground and I could clearly hear very loud chants of god is great and death to the dictator. And, again, after a two-week lull, this is the first time at least some people, a couple of thousand people have come out.
And again international media, including CNN, not allowed to be on the scene. What's interesting is some of the information we're confirming coincides with the activity on Twitter. Take a look at what we're seeing on Twitter. A few tweets coming in recently with people moving towards Tehran University. It's chanting "Down with the dictator." This one says (INAUDIBLE) Square, Revolution Square packed with people. Basijis beating on people in this one, militia dispersing protesters.
We are always monitoring Iranian TV, state-funded TV and we can show a couple of them. No sign of any coverage of the activity going on right now in downtown Tehran. But after a couple weeks, Heidi, it looks like at least some protesters are back on the streets.
COLLINS: Yes, interesting. What is that they're showing over there on the state-run television?
SAYAH: On the state run, it's black and white. So it looks like possibly a history program.
COLLINS: Yes. Exactly.
SAYAH: That is the Farsi-language state-funded TV and there you see the English-language TV, which looks like an interview with a professor. But no sign of the activity going on at this hour at Revolution Square.
COLLINS: Reza, keep us posted. We'll come back to you, should we need to do that.
SAYAH: Will do. COLLINS: Thanks so much from our Iran Desk this morning. Meanwhile, a parents' nightmare. Kids becoming a victim of school bullying or even worse than that, but it's so serious these day, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to get involved.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Every parent wants and expects schools to be safe places for their kids. Far too often children are being bullied and sometimes that leads to something worse. The mother of an 11-year-old boy whose son committed suicide told Congress bullying has to stop. CNN's Mary Snow with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With pictures of her son, Carl, nearby, Sirdeaner Walker told lawmakers about the day in April that she says will always haunt her.
SIRDEANER WALKER, SON COMMITTED SUICIDE: I found him hanging by an extension cord tied around his neck. He was 11 years old.
SNOW: Carl was a Boy Scout, liked playing sports and went to church. But his mother said he was bullied at a Springfield, Massachusetts school by kids who called him gay and even threatening to kill him. She said she spoke regularly with school officials, but it didn't help. And she said she's not alone.
WALKER: Since my son died, I met the mother of another 11-year- old boy who was also being seriously bullied and killed himself. Now I know that there are others. This has got to stop.
SNOW: Walker is calling for better training for teachers, and she supports a House bill requiring schools to have policies to deal with bullying, a problem the Department of Justice and education say affects roughly 32 percent of students.
Bullying is nothing new, so why has it gotten so severe? Steve Riach, whose organization promotes character education in schools, says one factor is that families have changed dramatically.
STEVE RIACH, HEART OF A CHAMPION FOUNDATION: Learning what integrity is, what compassion is, what self-control is -- and kids today aren't necessarily raised in a family environment where those principles are being taught or instilled in them or being modeled in them.
SNOW: And with kids afraid to stand up to bullies, Sirdeaner Walker says the problem is not going to go away on its own.
WALKER: If this happened to me, this can happen to anybody in the United States because I was a concerned, involved, caring parent, and that's why I continue to do this. So that no other parent has to go through what I'm going through right now.
SNOW (on camera): To get a sense of just how widespread this issue is, at least 41 states have legislation addressing bullying and 25 states either have or are working on bills just to address cyberbullying.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Glad to hear Congress is getting in on the act, hoping to curb school bullying. Here to talk about it is Representative Carolyn McCarthy. She chaired yesterday's hearing.
So, Representative McCarthy, we just heard in the piece there by our correspondent that there's going to be some better training for teachers, and there will be policies developed to help the schools deal with bullying. How will all of that look? What exactly is the better training? What exactly are the policies?
REP. CAROLYN MCCARTHY (D), NEW YORK: Well, I think that better training is, obviously, winning over the respect of the students because the students know, believe me, who's getting bullied and who's actually going over that line.
COLLINS: Yes.
MCCARTHY: The students also know who's doing the bullying over the Internet. So, we need to work and make sure that the teachers are actually trained and the superintendent and the principals so that they can deal with this. One of the things, you know, we all grew up with knowing some of the kids who were being bullied.
COLLINS: Right.
MCCARTHY: And, unfortunately, it has gotten worse today. No one is standing up for it. You know, it used to be a little bit -- like I remember bullying certainly in my younger years, but, you know, it stopped at a certain age. Now, we're seeing it, unfortunately, number one, starting at a much younger age and going all the way through high school and into adulthood.
So, it's not good. So, what we need to do is to concentrate on it and I have to tell you, talking to either children in grade schools, junior high and high schools, they know a lot more on what's going on and they also believe that the data that we're actually collecting to see how this bullying is, more violence in the schools. We haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg on what we're going to find out.
COLLINS: Well, yes. I would imagine a lot of the kids are actually afraid to talk about it...
MCCARTHY: Yes.
COLLINS: ... for fear of repercussions. I imagine schools don't want to talk about it very much, and it doesn't make them look very good. But look, you're a nurse for 30 years, I imagine you've seen some of the bumps and bruises that this bullying can cause. You say it is getting worse.
Talk to us a little bit more about the whole realm of the Internet, because it seems to me that the bullying that a lot of us put up with or the teasing, if you will, whatever you want to call it when we were in school is one thing and now we got the Internet, the Twitters, the Facebooks, all of that. These conversations have happened after the kids leave school. How do we deal with that?
MCCARTHY: Well, again, as you mentioned earlier in the piece, you know, a lot of the states looking at the cyber Internet, the bullying that's going on. But I think this is also where parents need to get involved on what they need to know and what their child is doing on the computer. We keep saying that over and over and over again the parents need to know what's going on with the Facebook.
But, as you know, one person could start a rumor, unfortunately, about another person, and let's say it's a young lady, and before you know it, it's all over the school or it could be all over the county where she lives. That's a lot of pressure for a kid. I don't even know if we as politicians can take that kind of pressure, and here you are dealing with a young child. And, to be very honest with you, a lot of them going through those years anyhow have thoughts of suicide because it is tough being through the 13 to the early teens. They don't have enough self-confidence.
COLLINS: Yes. Let the kids do the research on the computers for the school report. Other than that, keep them off. No, I am not in charge, obviously, but there's a lot to handle out there and a lot of responsibility has got to be put on the parents, as well as the schools.
I imagine it will be an issue that we continue to talk about, and I know we could talk more here, but, unfortunately, we have run out of time. Representative Carolyn McCarthy out of New York this morning talking about bullying today. Sure do appreciate your time.
MCCARTHY: Thank you for the interest in the subject.
COLLINS: All right. You bet.
We keep hearing about all the stimulus money now, as well, that is going from Washington to the states. But how much is your area getting? We're going to show you how you can find out, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Word this morning of a vaccine for the H1N1 flu, otherwise known as the swine flu. That news coming out of the flu summit going on in Washington right now. Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who announced a new vaccine will be ready by mid-October. Top government health officials are involved in that summit in an effort to get ready for flu season this fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HHS SECRETARY: We want to be ready for the fall. So, we're bringing together governors and their top health and emergency planning managers to use these summer months to plan for a fall vaccine campaign and to look at hospital capacity to be prepared for a more serious flu that may return in the fall months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: One hundred seventy people in the United States have died from the H1N1 flu.
With all that stimulus money, there is bound to be a recovery project near you. To help you find out just exactly where.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Obama is at the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy today. Here is what we know. Right now, the president is co-chairing a session on economy and climate change, and it includes five nations that are not a part of the G-8. Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa account for 80 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Today's session follows a pledge by G-8 leaders to seek huge cuts in emissions, but emerging nations are not exactly onboard with the targets.
Progress on climate change is mixed. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" this morning. Morning, Poppy. What can you tell us about this?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, Heidi, climate change a top issue right now in Italy at the G-8 summit. The G-8 nations agreeing to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the board by 80 percent, but the goal is pretty far out. 2050. So we're a ways away.
They're also pledging to prevent world temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. U.S. scientists say if it rises more than that, it will be disastrous for the planet. And we should note, this is the first time the G-8 has ever set a temperature ceiling before. So it's very significant.
Still, though, Heidi, there are environmentalists who are up in arms and they are disappointed. Yesterday, Greenpeace showed us how disappointed they were, putting that big, big banner up on Mount Rushmore. It said "America honors leaders, not politicians. Stop global warming." They're arguing 2050 is way too far away. We need more aggressive short-term goals when it comes to curbing climate change. They say these goals are just meaningless, Heidi.
Also, if you don't get developing countries on board like China, like India, big industrial companies, and that does not look like it will happen today at the major economy forum, where 17 countries are coming together, including China and India. No agreement on carbon emission cuts is expected today, Heidi.
COLLINS: What banner? I could hardly see that tiny banner, Poppy. Talk to us about the key sticking points here.
HARLOW: Right. They can't agree who should do more and when. These developing nations saying they're not responsible throughout history for the bulk of emissions, and they don't need to do as much as nations like the U.S., the developed nations. They say we have to cut more aggressively in the short term.
The case in point here, that climate bill that just passed the House. That aims to reduce emissions 17 percent by 2020. But countries like China and India, they want to see those emissions cut by 25 percent to 45 percent, not just 17 percent.
There's another issue, and it all comes down to money. Developing nations like China make a ton of money off their exports from the factories that spout out greenhouse gases. And they want the richer nations, like the U.S. to do more.
So, it comes down to those sticking points, tough to battle through them, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet. That will be quite a sticking point, I would imagine. Poppy Harlow with our "Energy Fix" today. Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: You're welcome.
COLLINS: While the president is in Italy, vice president Joe Biden is on the road drumming up support for the president's economic recovery plan. In fact, you are looking at some live pictures from Cincinnati. Biden will visit a site where federal stimulus money could be used to convert an abandoned building into apartments and commercial space. After Cincinnati, he heads on to New York.
Curious about how much stimulus money your area is getting and how it's being spent? Our Josh Levs has it all right at his fingertips. Pretty convenient there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, literally today, Heidi. I like that, Heidi. Now here's the thing. There's two major Web sites to tell you about. A lot of people get them confused. Even people inside the White House have gotten these confused. They will get you the information you need going on in your area with all the trillions of dollars in the stimulus.
So, check this out. Let's zoom right in. I want you to see the basic idea right here. This is recovery.gov. You've heard a lot about this. The White House continuously updates this with more information. They have here investments by state. What you're able to do is highlight any state and see the amount of money that's been going to your state.
So, here we are. South Dakota you can see there, $950 million. Good big picture, but check out this, which in a lot of ways it is better, recovery.org. This is from a private group which is Envia (ph), which is a group that tries to work to provide businesses with better access to pending stimulus projects, and what you can do here is click on any state at all. Let's go to Texas here. And it gives you every single county in the entire state and how much money every county is getting from the stimulus. It's amazing. So, here's what I did today. I reached out to people on Twitter and Facebook. I said, okay, the first people to send me the counties you live in, we'll use yours as examples. So, check this out. One of the first people we heard from lives right here. You can see it's pink now in Jefferson County, Alabama. You can see right there. Thirty projects valued at $65 million total.
Let's get to a couple more here. You have this one here from South Carolina. Lexington, nine projects valued add $34 million. I think we have time for more one more here. This shows you from over in Texas again. Dallas County, $104 million, and I'll toss in one more because on Facebook, we heard from someone asking about New York. And you can see New York right there, just over $1 billion.
All of this, every single county in the entire country, no exceptions, is listed at recovery.org. And, Heidi, really good way to find out what's going on right near you.
COLLINS: Yes. Wow. Quite a breakdown there. Josh, appreciate that.
A heartbreaking story out of Illinois. Investigators there are sifting through the remains of people dumped at the back of a cemetery in a Chicago suburb. They say the bodies were dug up out of graves so those graves could be resold to unsuspecting families. FBI forensic investigators are expected to begin working there today.
All right, so, we are talking about this very disturbing story on our blog this morning, getting a lot of responses. We want to go ahead and read some of your comments right now here for you. Go to CNN.com/heidi, and you can find us on the blog.
First of all, this one from Ashley. "Having just buried my grandmother yesterday, hearing word of this atrocity is beyond upsetting. These grave robbers obviously have never lost someone dear to them or they would recognize a significance of having a place that is peaceful and solemn to visit their loved ones. I think these people should spend at least one year in jail for each body that is found."
One more for you here now from Todd. "It's horrible, obviously, but what I can't understand is, they didn't stop to think that sooner or later, one of the family would visit the cemetery to see their loved ones and not find their gravestone. Very strange. I know I visit my mother's gravesite to put flowers on birthdays, etc., and others do the same."
I should tell you, we did learn from some of the investigators that they were going to these gravesites that were not visited very often. They were saying they were pretty calculated in what they were doing. We'll continue to follow the blog and that story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Back to this breaking news now out of Iran. Protesters are in the streets of Tehran at this moment clashing with militia members. The demonstration coming on the tenth anniversary of a student uprising. CNN'S Reza Sayah is following the latest developments from our Iran Desk now because you could not be in the country, obviously. So, Reza, what do you have?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we can confirm at least five clashes between security forces and protesters. And we've been monitoring the situation all morning long.
And this is the focus of the protesters and Revolution Square. They gathered here -- they tried to gather here, a few thousand of them a couple hours ago there to meet them a few thousand security forces. Based on what we're hearing from our observers over the past 30 minutes, the security forces have been successful through some violence and brutal force in dispersing the gathering here.
Now what we're hearing the is protesters going to the side streets, and based on what our observers say, there have been some clashes. I spoke to one person who said they're seeing at least four or five instances where security forces and members of the pro- government militia have attacked people with batons.
Also, we're getting a lot of activity on Twitter that coincides with the information we're getting from our observers. One tweet saying, "Scattered people reorganizing." This is after they have been dispersed from the square and scattered people reorganized and continue walking and shouting, "Don't be afraid. We are together." This is a chant that we've heard over and over again over the past few weeks.
Here's another tweet. This is another main square in Iran and people gathered and security forces attacked violently with everything people scattered. What we're seeing on Twitter coinciding with what our observers have been telling us.
It's been a couple weeks where we haven't seen these types of clashes between security forces and protesters because of that crackdown. Today, government officials had warned people if they would come out, there would be a crackdown and that's what we're seeing. Security forces clashing with protesters.
COLLINS: All right, Reza, as we've been saying, let us know if we need to come back to you as you get more information into the Iran desk.
Reza Sayah for us. We'll be right back in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Over to the Severe Weather Center, where meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is standing by to talk to us about more storms in the plains.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We certainly had our share yesterday, especially in parts of Kansas. We have some video that shows the rough stuff that we had in parts of Kansas. Let's go right to it. Here is the video showing you widespread damage caused by either straight-line winds or tornadoes in Ottawa, Kansas. Nothing confirmed just yet, but enough to do damage on roofs and knock over these trunks you see right along the interstate. People waking up this morning and, wow, what a mess they have to clean up.
There's a chance they could see more of this activity today, but looks like it will be farther north. Let me show you. Go back to the weather wall, or the magic wall, and you can see right up in the northern part of the Great Plains and then back into the western half of the Great Lakes. We have this boundary that is sweeping from west to east and as it does so, it will interact with some moisture feeding up way from the Gulf of Mexico. And that, combined with the daytime heating that will cause the atmosphere to really destabilize.
Into the afternoon hours, you'll see again the cloud cover really begin to pick up and chance of showers, storms, maybe even tornadoes and damaging hail. But at the same time, expect a lot of delays in that part of the world, also.
In the Southeast, scattered showers a possibility right along that stationary front with that area of low pressure. And I'll tell you, the proof is in the pudding. If you look outside in Atlanta, cloud cover all due from that frontal boundary. Could see some scattered showers and you know, we could really use that in the parts of the Southeast, and not only that chance of rain. We're also going to get some cooler temperatures because 83 is our expected high today.
Trust me, you happen to be in the Southeast, you get the highs in the low 80s in a place like Atlanta, that's always a good thing. Back in Texas, 100 degrees the high. In Dallas, 98 degrees. In Houston, got some record highs there yesterday. In Austin, up to 106. One-oh- six also in Lubbock, and 103 in midland. Same story for Odessa, and be prepared because it could happen again today. Let's send it back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: I used to live in Lubbock. A hundred and six. Ugh.
WOLF: Good day for ice cream.
COLLINS: No kidding. Reynolds, thank you.
And as Reynolds mentioned, it's going to be another scorcher all the way around in Texas today. People in Houston being asked to conserve electricity, it will be so hot. That means setting thermostats to 80 degrees or higher. Close your blinds, drapes, keep the sun out. Let's turn off those lights, appliances and electronic equipment when they are not needed. That's what officials there are telling residents.
Meanwhile, a memorial service planned for tonight for former NFL quarterback Steve McNair. McNair was killed in what police now say was a murder/suicide. A friend of McNair's called police early Saturday after the bodies were found.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Tell me what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea, sir.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I received a phone call that there was injured parties inside this apartment, and...
911 OPERATOR: Male or female?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, there's two people.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COLLINS: Police say McNair was shot by his 20-year-old girlfriend. They said she told friends her life was a mess, and that she planned to end it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONAL SERPAS, CHIEF, NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Based upon the appearance of the crime scene, evidence collected, autopsy findings, laboratory results and an incredible amount of work by our investigative team, there's no doubt we believe now at this time that McNair was seated on the sofa and likely was asleep. And we believe that Kazemi shot him in the right temple and then shot him twice in the chest, and then shot him a final time in the left temple.
Kazemi then positioned herself next to him on the sofa and shot herself once in the right temple and then expired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Tennessee Titans, one of McNair's former teams, held a memorial in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a chance for his friends to say goodbye.
A vow not to negotiate. The exiled president of Honduras is standing firm ahead of a critical meeting today with his rivals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Mexican officials right now searching for the killers of two Americans. The men were beaten and shot to death after armed men stormed their home in Chihuahua state. Prosecutors say they have no suspects. They say the case seems to be connected to local druglords. A brother of one of themes have is a nationally known anti-crime activist.
Trying to broker peace in Honduras. Representatives from both sides are sitting down in Costa Rica today, but deposed president Manuel Zelaya says there will be no negotiations with the new government. CNN's Karl Penhaul has more on those meetings and the protests by Zelaya's supporters. KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT (on camera): There's been a change in tactics by supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya. On Wednesday, thousands of protesters blocked one of the main highways leading in and out of the capital, Tegucigalpa. They were pushing their calls for Mr. Zelaya to be returned to power.
Protests are continuing even though there is some sign of a breakthrough on the political and diplomatic front. On Thursday, representatives of the interim government, led by Roberto Micheletti, who was installed by the military coup, is due to meet with representatives from Mr. Zelaya's government. Those talks are going to be mediated by the Costa Rican president. Now, he's a veteran negotiator, but he'll have his work cut out for him. Mr. Micheletti has said he's ready to talk, but he is not prepared to negotiate the return Mr. Zelaya to power. Mr. Zelaya has also said he is prepared to talk, but not prepared to give up his aspirations to reclaim his presidency.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Tegucigalpa.
COLLINS: A serious lack of security. Congress hears about bombs being built in the bathroom at ten federal buildings. Now they're looking at what could be done to avoid a repeat performance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Updating you on a story we first told you about yesterday here in the CNN NEWSROOM. An investigation found a serious lack of security at some federal buildings across the country. In ten of them, undercover investigators were able to get bomb components past the guards and put them together in a bathroom. CNN's Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A jolting blast in the trunk of a sedan. The detonator for this was smuggled into U.S. government buildings that were supposed to have security levels just below the White House.
This video shows an undercover agent from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, sneaking bomb components past security at a federal building. The investigators were able to take the components into bathrooms and other areas, assemble the bombs and walk freely around government buildings with the bombs in briefcases.
We spoke to the GAO official who oversaw the investigation.
(on camera): But some of these components -- could they be considered normal items like a screwdriver, a bottle of water, things like that a guard might not necessarily be attuned to saying, "Wait, stop that"?
MARK GOLDSTEIN, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE: There are a number of items that might have been normal kind of things, but a number of things were not normal, were not things the public had any business bringing into a federal building.
TODD (voice-over): Mark Goldstein couldn't say what those components were or which buildings they snuck into. But he says investigators were able to pull off these stings at ten government buildings in four cities.
(on camera): They including lawmakers' office, facilities connected to the Justice Department and even the Department of Homeland Security, the agency responsible for overseeing security at the very same buildings.
(voice-over): The problem, according to the GAO's report, poor management by the Federal Protective Service of privately contracted security guards, like this one caught sleeping, the GAO says, after taking the sedative Percocet. The head of the Protective Service, called to account by Congress, says this.
GARY SCHENKEL, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICES: We are coming up with some fairly, I think aggressive -- I don't think fairly, I think very aggressive means to address these problems and, in particular, training of our contract security guards. Literally going back out to retrain them.
TODD: Gary Schenkel says they also increased the number of inspections at guard posts, but he also says they have only 600 inspectors responsible for checking 9,000 government buildings.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.
