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Firestorm, Forced Resignation, Backpedaling; TARP Cop Criticizing Treasury; Black Farmers Still Waiting; 19 Arrested At School Meeting; How Financial Reform Impacts You; Rebuilding For the Kids; Islamic Center Developer Speaks Out

Aired July 21, 2010 - 11:59   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, I'm Fredericka Whitfield in for Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.

The woman who lost her job at the USDA speaks about unfair treatment, and her future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER USDA EMPLOYEE: People are beginning to see just what happened, how they were manipulated into thinking one thing when it was really something else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Scare in the sky. Turbulence so rough that it sends more than 20 people to the hospital. We're digging deeper on that story.

And you're online right now, and we are too. That turbulence report is one of the top stories that you're actually tracking online.

Let's get started with our lead story now.

All right. First the firestorm, then the forced resignation, now the backpedaling. The U.S. Agriculture Department is reconsidering the case of an African-American employee pressured to resign over comments about a white farmer. Shirley Sherrod says her comments were taken out of context and she was speaking against racial discrimination.

Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement saying, "I am of course willing and will conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts to ensure to the American people we are providing services in a fair and equitable manner."

The farmer in question and his wife came to Sherrod's defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELOISE SPOONER, GEORGIA FARMER: She put us in touch with the lawyer that knew what to do, and he helped us save our farm. ROGER SPOONER, GEORGIA FARMER: She went with us. She went with us, in our car.

She asked us, did we want her to go, and we definitely wanted her to go. And I don't know what brought up the racist mess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, earlier today, CNN's Kyra Phillips asked Sherrod if she would return to the USDA if she were offered her job back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY SHERROD, FMR. GEORGIA DIRECTOR, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, USDA: You know, my first reaction was I'm just not so sure. I don't know.

I've been receiving calls. I received a call this morning from the president of the NAACP in Douglas, Georgia, where I made that speech. And he said, "I just called you to say I wish you would consider, if they offer, going back." He said, "I think you can do even more for us at this point."

I hadn't looked at it in that light.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, the NAACP was quick to condemn Shirley Sherrod, but after viewing the entire video, the civil rights organization reversed its position and says it was snookered.

President and CEO Benjamin Jealous says he personally apologized to Sherrod, and he explained the group's initial reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT & CEO, NAACP: We saw a statement that we believed was a condensed version of the truth, that was shorter than the actual statement, but true. We responded quickly, as we do in this line of work, where we're called to respond to video evidence all the time, make very quick judgments.

We made a quick set of calls, it was late at night. As you may recall, our statement came out at 1:00 a.m. that we were dealing with this.

We woke up some people in Georgia. We tried to figure out what was going on. We looked at it, and we said, you know what? There is just no way to condone this.

What we didn't realize is it had been spliced and diced six ways from Sunday, so as to completely hide this beautiful story of transformation that you see if you go to our Web site and you look at the full video.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: The White House agrees with the decision to take another look at Shirley Sherrod's case.

White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now with more on that part of the story.

So, what is the White House saying now, and what might it be saying a little bit later?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we have a White House briefing in about an hour or so. Robert Gibbs is going to come out.

It's really going to be the first opportunity to ask a lot of these questions that we have about this story. But I can tell you, I've been talking to White House insiders this morning, and they say do not necessarily expect for this president to pick up the phone and call Ms. Sherrod. Don't expect him to come out in a surprise appearance at the briefing here. As one person put it, "No more beer summits here."

This is a story that they feel belongs with the Department of Agriculture. They are emphasizing here that this is not a decision that was made by the White House, this is not a review that will be conducted by the White House. This is a USDA matter, and that the president, they are trying to emphasize, really does not belong in this story.

So what we're going to hear, what we expect to hear from the briefing, is Robert Gibbs acknowledge that all Americans, many Americans, at least, have seen this videotape, that the tape speaks for itself. There is a consensus here at the White House among aides that it was grossly taken out of context, that initial clip of Sherrod, when she had to resign, and that, therefore, that is the reason why the White House went to the Department of Agriculture late last night, and said, look, we think you need to open this review.

Now, one White House official put it this morning to me, Fred, saying, "We're not sure what the ultimate result will be, but it's clear that with new information through the full speech, a longer look needed to be taken. The White House contacted the department last night about the case and agreed, based on new evidence, that it should be reviewed." But it is clear to say, Fred, that they are trying to emphasize here that it is not a White House matter.

Now, one major caveat here, Fred, that I have to tell you, is you remember last July, when you had Sergeant Crowley and Professor Skip Gates head-to-head over a racial matter. I was in that briefing with Robert Gibbs at the gaggle at 9:00 morning in his office when he said the president is not going to talk about this, no more on this racial matter.

Then it was just a few hours later we saw the president come in and surprise, visit to the briefing room, to declare this beer summit. So we will see how this plays out, how this unfolds in the next 60 minutes or so. So we -- but we are getting indications from the White House that they do not want the president to be close to this controversy or close to this story. They believe it is really a matter of the USDA.

WHITFIELD: Well, it seems like it might be difficult for the White House to separate itself from this, because we are talking about a cabinet member who helped make this decision, or at least the Department of Agriculture, which helped make that decision. And now the Agriculture Department is acknowledging it wants to further review the encouraging of this resignation.

MALVEAUX: That's absolutely right, Fred. And I think we are going to have to see how this plays out in the next 12 hours or so, whether or not people are satisfied, whether or not they are convinced here, and whether or not the president, quite frankly, can be shielded from this. Because a lot of people have looked at the president for guidance when it comes to racial discussions, racial matters.

It is something that he himself made a part of the campaign, saying that he would like to bridge that racial divide, and to help the country do that in a very reasonable way. We'll see if he takes this as a teachable moment, or if he feels that it is important for this to be a teachable moment for someone else, like Secretary Vilsack, and those who were directly involved.

WHITFIELD: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much, from the White House. Appreciate that.

And, of course, we will bring you live coverage of today's White House briefing with spokesman Robert Gibbs and whomever else might show up for that. It is scheduled for 1:00 Eastern Time.

African-American lawmakers are calling for Shirley Sherrod to get her job back. We just received this statement a short time ago.

"The Congressional Black Caucus continues to believe" -- I'm reading a quote now -- "that Mrs. Sherrod was unfairly asked to resign without due process, and should be reinstated immediately. There are many individuals still serving in the Department of Agriculture who were responsible for years of discrimination against African-American farmers. The basis for Mrs. Sherrod's resignation is another example of why we must not sweep race under the rug. Rather, we must come together as a nation and recognize that we do not live in a post- racial era, and that while difficult, we must confront these issues head on with clarity and without fear."

The statement coming from the Congressional Black Caucus as it pertains to Shirley Sherrod.

So, Sherrod's story has a lot of people talking about race, power, politics. And we're hearing from you as well on our blog.

Keep sending your comments to CNN.com/Tony. We'll read more of them this hour.

All right. Now to your money. With a stroke of his pen, President Obama has changed the way the financial industry does business. You saw it here, live, just moments ago, the president signing the most sweeping set of changes to this country's financial regulatory system since the 1930s. The aim is to protect consumers and increase oversight of risky bets to prevent another financial crisis in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, it doesn't mean our work is over. For these new rules to be effective, regulators will have to be vigilant.

We may need to make adjustments along the way as our financial system adapts to these new changes and changes around the globe. No law can force anybody to be responsible. It's still incumbent on those on Wall Street to heed the lessons of this crisis in terms of how they conduct their business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll explain what's in this law for you in a live report later on this hour.

In other money matters, the Treasury Department is being harshly criticized for its handling of the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Neil Barofsky, the man policing that money, testified earlier at a Senate finance oversight hearing. He says even though the bailout program may be winding down, government support for big banks and the economy is not.

CNN Business Correspondent Carter Evans joins me right now from the New York Stock Exchange.

So, Carter, Barofsky is particularly critical of the Treasury's handling of the government housing program. But what does he say specifically the problem is?

CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, he's saying that it's hard to tell if this thing is paying off, if it's really working at all.

I mean, Barofsky does not mince words. And, by the way, this is the second time in basically a week that he is going after the government.

The first time, on Sunday, he was criticizing how the government handled the closure of GM and Chrysler dealerships. Today, he is criticizing this housing program.

Basically, the goal is to cut homeowners' mortgage payments to make them more affordable so they can stay in their homes. And what it does is gives mortgage servicers $1,000. The government pays them $1,000 each time they modify a mortgage.

But here's what he said in this report. And essentially, it amounts to a lack of transparency and accountability.

He says, "The Treasury's refusal to provide meaningful goals for this program is a fundamental failure of transparency and accountability that makes it far more difficult for the American people and their representatives in Congress to assess whether the program's benefits are worth its very substantial cost."

It sounds like a lot of government mumbo-jumbo, right? The translation? It's hard to tell if we're getting our money's worth with this program because the government is not providing realistic goals.

Now, originally, the government said this program would help three to four million people. But the latest statistics -- we've got them for you here -- as far as long-term mortgage modifications, nearly 300,000 people, 390,000 people, have been approved for that. And the trial mortgage modifications has about 364,000 people.

So it's really hard to tell if this is worth the money, but it is not cheap -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Barofsky is suggesting what could be done to help fix the housing program?

EVANS: Well, he is saying for each and every housing program, the government needs to publish the expected cost and the expected participation, and then report every month on the program's performance.

I said this isn't cheap. It's not. This is a $50 billion program.

He doesn't mince words. He says people are losing faith in it. He says people are beginning to think that this is a waste of money. And there's really no way to prove to them that it's not.

WHITFIELD: All right. Carter Evans, thanks so much from the New York Stock Exchange with that.

EVANS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Black farmers still waiting for the government to pay up on a discrimination settlement. We'll talk with a farmer and activist about the delayed payments.

First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Men hurling balls of fire with their sons. For us, it's a "Random Moment."

Even though El Salvador is Central America's smallest nation, it has 27 volcanoes. Its people have great respect for them.

And this amazing tradition unfolding right here, dads bringing their sons to this fireball-throwing event when you're very young. Ooh, very dangerous.

Wool balls are soaked in gasoline and kerosene and tossed down the street just like that. It's a male bonding experience showing respect for volcanoes.

Our reporter Percy von Lipinski shot this for us in the small town of Nejapa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERCY VON LIPINSKI, CNN IREPORTER: The thing about this is you've got to get rid of the ball fast. Oh!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. That is crazy. Singing the hair off their legs, I bet.

Every year, thousands come from all over the world to actually toss these fireballs. And you don't want to try this at home, even though we gave you the ingredients. Don't do it, not unless you are there with the experts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Black farmers reached a $1.25 billion settlement with the Department of Agriculture over past discrimination. But months later, the money is mired in congressional politics, and the farmers are still waiting.

John Boyd is a fourth generation farmer and founder of the National Black Farmers Association. He is joining us now from Richmond, Virginia.

Good to see you.

JOHN BOYD, FOUNDER, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: It's always good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So what's happening? Why is this taking so long? What's the holdup?

BOYD: Well, it looks like we've been caught up in politics. The House passed it twice, and the extension bill, and also in the war bill. And we are hopeful that we will get some justice in the Senate coming up soon, in the war bill.

So we are hopeful that Harry Reid and other House Democrats and Republicans will do the right thing and pass this measure for our nation's black farmers.

WHITFIELD: Because the government already --

BOYD: I lost my mike.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. I think he may have lost his earpiece, because we can actually hear him off that mic. Hopefully somebody is going to help him out there so he is able to hear my question.

All right. John Boyd, can you hear me now?

OK. How about now, John?

All right. We're almost there. We're almost there.

All right. John Boyd back with us from Richmond, Virginia.

Right? You can hear me now?

BOYD: Yes. I'm here. Yes. Yes, I can.

WHITFIELD: OK. Good.

So the government already agreed that black farmers should be receiving this settlement. The problem is actually allocating the money, and that's what so many farmers are waiting for right now.

Last you and I spoke, which was a little over a month ago, you were going to be -- you were hoping to meet with the president of the United States, and hoping to meet with leaders in Congress.

Did any of those meetings ever happen?

BOYD: Yes, the meetings in Congress did happen with Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid, who was very helpful in trying to put this measure together. But I still would like to sit down and talk to the president about this very, very important issue for our nation's black farmers, and I think this would be a great time to begin to start to have the discussion about race relations in this country, and I think this will be a perfect issue to begin to have that discussion on.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And what would that discussion be like? Why do you feel it's necessary to have this discussion with the president?

Do you feel at some point that he is unsympathetic to the cause and what it would mean for these farmers to get a settlement?

All right. It looks like we're having a problem with his earpiece in order for John to hear my question there.

How about now? Have they worked it out for you there?

BOYD: Yes. Go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Why do you feel it's necessary in order to talk with the president? Why do you feel that you need to persuade him or allow him to hear your point of view on this? BOYD: Well, I think it's because we have been stuck in Congress for so very long on this very important issue. We've been back and forth in the House, and I want to reach out and thank the Congressional Black Caucus for making that measure pass in the House of Representatives. But we are still stuck in Senate politics, and it looks like it's very bipartisan politics with the Democrats on one side of the fence, trying to get something done, and the Republicans focusing on midterm elections. And we just need the president to focus in on this thing just a little while longer and ask that the black formers get a vote on this very, very important issue before the recess.

WHITFIELD: So it's not that you necessarily -- sorry to interrupt you, John. It's not necessarily that you think the president is unsympathetic to what the settlement might mean.

BOYD: Oh, absolutely not.

WHITFIELD: But it's that -- but it's that you feel that this measure, the settlement, is being buried into other bills, other measures that are having a difficult time getting passed.

Is that right?

BOYD: Absolutely. And this is a very difficult time in Congress.

And I want to go on record making sure that everybody understands that we support the president 110 percent. We just feel that we need a little push in the Senate to help get this done.

And I think if he reaches out to both Republicans and Democrats to make sure that the black farmers receive justice before the recess -- and I think that's very important here -- that we don't let the Senate go home without taking a very, very important vote for our nation's black farmers who have been waiting very, very patiently. And we look at what has happened with the Department of Agriculture, where we have 80,000 black farmers who are waiting to get their cases heard based on its merit, and very few people who have been penalized for the act of discrimination at the Department of Agriculture. But we seem to have rushed to judgment on this recent issue.

So I'm hopeful that the Senate will take a very, very positive look at this issue and say now is the time to act to bring justice to 80,000 black farmers who have been waiting patiently.

WHITFIELD: John Boyd, founder of the National Black Farmers Association.

I know this has to be very frustrating, because I think you and I have spoken maybe three times over the past four to five months, and at least the first time I think the feeling was from your organization and many other black farmers that you were only weeks away from actually getting that settlement. And now we're --

(CROSSTALK) BOYD: I'm hopeful that the next time we speak, that I will have good news, that the Senate has voted, and to pass this measure. And we will be on to the races as to bringing justice for our black farmers who have been waiting patiently.

WHITFIELD: All right. We hope to follow up with you. Thanks so much, John Boyd.

BOYD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it, from Richmond, Virginia. Thanks for our patience on our audio problems there, too. Appreciate it.

BOYD: Thank you for having me. That's OK. But we got through it.

WHITFIELD: All right.

A traveler's nightmare. The skies are clear, no reason to worry, and then the plane falls a few hundred feet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. On day 93 of the Gulf oil disaster, BP's critical pressure test on the capped well is in its sixth day. And right now, the company says there is still no leaking.

But there is a new threat to worry about. Forecasters are keeping a close watch on a tropical wave in the Caribbean that is tracking toward Florida.

And in the Gulf, there is a new weapon in the cleanup arsenal.

CNN's Rob Marciano is joining us live now from -- well, it's still a little windy -- Gulf Shores, Alabama.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello again, Fredricka. Yes, that weapon you speak of is a fairly gentle one, but we'll take it, certainly, when it comes to trying to battle back this oil spill.

There are over 700 vessels that are being used to skim here in the Gulf of Mexico. In recent weeks, it's just swarming here.

We tried to get that big tanker to work to skim oil, but it's just too big. There's too many patches of oil. You need smaller, more agile skimmers.

Well, coordinating all those skimmers is a difficult job. So the Navy has let the Coast Guard borrow one of their blimps, or airships, as they like to call it. And we got to work in tandem with that yesterday.

CNN correspondent Amber Lyon and I did a report where she was up in the blimp, I was down on the command vessel that was in charge of 10 skimmers that were around us. And the blimp would tell us where the oil was, and then we would tell those skimmers where to go. We were pretty close to shore for transmission purposes, so there wasn't a ton of oil to scoop up. But they did skim some oil, and then the winds kicked up like they're doing right now. The seas got a little bit more rough, and when the seas are rough, they go four or five or six feet. Skimming is pretty much ineffective, because the waves wash over the boom, and it just doesn't work quite as well.

So that blimp or airship that the Navy has, let the Coast Guard borrow, is now being put to use on almost a daily basis. It is quite a sight to see, both from the shore and out there in the Gulf. And they'll no doubt be using it in the weeks to come as this cleanup process continues -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Rob Marciano, thanks so much in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Appreciate that.

Meantime, not far away, Louisiana, there is a lot of anger over President Obama's moratorium on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Take a look right now. Live pictures at a rally in Lafayette.

Thousands of opponents of the ban were expected to turn out. Among them, as you see right there, Governor Bobby Jindal.

The event organizers claim the moratorium is directly impacting more than 75,000 jobs. Louisiana is one of the nation's biggest oil and gas producers.

A proposed change to a decade-old school busing policy sends 19 people to jail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you refuse to leave the building, then you're going to be arrested for trespassing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We'll hear from opponents and supporters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Dropping down an elevator shaft, for example, well, that's how one passenger described what it felt like last night on United Flight 967. The plane hit severe turbulence, injuring more than 20 people.

The plane made an emergency landing in Denver, and one person was critically injured. The others suffered whiplash, sore backs, cuts, bruises, you name it. That was some scary stuff.

Chad Myers now with us.

You know, I think everybody has experienced a little turbulence when they have been on a plane. But when it drops like that and people get injured, what in the world could have happened? CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's the unexpected, what we call clear air turbulence.

Pilots know when they see a thunderstorm, you know, it's up and down. They can see the towering cumulus ahead of them.

They fly around those. You will see them off your wing. And you're lucky that you didn't fly through them. They know those.

But when it's clear air, and it's sunny outside, and you can't see anything, and there is nothing on the radar showing you up or down, the pilot has no way to know that there is something out there. And if you would like to know whether your flight is going to be turbulent or not, you can go to a NOAA forecast. This is the maximum turbulence intensity from 10,000 feet all the way -- from mean sea level all the way up to about 45,000 feet.

So, if you're not one that likes to be bumped around, you might want to take a look.

Now, I love to go on this, and I like to go in here. This is called 16:00 or 18:00 or 20:00 Zulu Time. You have to kind of figure out -- this is the time that pilots use. It's all made by the time that it is basically in Greenwich, England.

You think, well, why do I care? Well, everybody that flies, the pilots, they all go by this same time. It's called Zulu Time.

Zulu Time tells you if you're going to land somewhere, you're going to land at this time, not Central Daylight Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Pacific Time, you're going to land at this certain time.

So you go up here and you look at this. You take that number and you subtract five if you're on the East Coast. That will tell you what time it is.

So, for 13:00 hours, or 1:00 p.m., this is what it looks like. You can go on hour by hour by hour and figure out where the turbulence is.

And daily, it gets rough in the afternoon, it gets mild in the morning. So fly in the morning if you don't like bumps. And this afternoon flight was in the middle of a hot summer day. It hit a pothole in the air and it fell out of the sky, almost.

And then it caught itself. But people were injured -- 20 people.

WHITFIELD: Oh my God. Yes. That's the biggest takeaway for me then. Now we know those morning flights.

MYERS: If the pilot knew it was going to happen, we wouldn't have had 20 hurt, because they would have said buckle up because it's coming.

WHITFIELD: Right. Oh, of course. MYERS: But they never saw it, so there were people walking around.

WHITFIELD: They wouldn't want that to happen. Gosh, that's scary stuff.

I'm glad I haven't experienced it quite like that before, and hope I never do.

MYERS: I know.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chad. Appreciate that.

MYERS: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you, too.

All right, police arrest 19 protesters at a school board meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, including the head of the state's NAACP chapter. They were protesting the board's proposal to scrap its diversity policy. It was put in place a decade ago to desegregate schools through busing. The board voted to create new districts, instead, closer to where students live. Reporter Adam Owens with CNN affiliate WRAL has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know what we want?

CROWD: Justice!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do we want it?

CROWD: Now!

ADAM OWENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People who could not get into the board meeting were not standing for it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And not have to do this to be hard (ph).

OWENS: Protesters who would not back down risked being carried away by police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you refuse to leave the building, then you're going to be arrested for trespassing.

OWENS: Inside the board meeting, the scene was even more chaotic. Protesters chanting and singing, locking arms so police could not carry them away. In the confusion, officers started to arrest school board member Keith Sutton.

KEITH SUTTON, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: Grabbed my arm and proceed to put my arm behind my back, as if to arrest me.

OWENS: Sutton was released when police realized who he was. But 16 others at the meeting were arrested and hauled away. Sutton believes the large police presence did not help to calm the situation.

SUTTON: In what I felt like was a little bit forceful or to forceful for what was happening at the time.

RON MARGIOTTA, SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN: I think it's terrible. It's shameful that anyone chooses to be arrested.

OWENS: This is the second time school board chairman Ron Margiotta has had a school board meeting disrupted like this.

OWENS (on camera): What if these protests continue to happen?

MARGIOTTA: Can't stop them. I don't appreciate them. I don't think any of us do.

OWENS (voice-over): Sutton also thinks the dialogue needs to change.

SUTTON: It is beginning to create some -- something of a spectacle, I think, in terms of our meetings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And newspaper reports quote the board's chairman saying he does not intend to create high poverty or low-performing schools with these new assignments.

All right, new rules for the nation's financial system. President Obama signs a sweeping reform bill into law. It will directly impact your wallet. Find out how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back to the NEWSROOM. We're watching your money, and so is cnnmoney.com. Just check out the top stories right here. Of course, just a few homes ago, President Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of the financial system into law. Wall Street reform. And we're also watching the numbers on Wall Street coming to you. We see the Dow is up 13 points at 10,243 and the Nasdaq is down roughly about three points.

All right, let's check in with our Patricia Wu as well. Landmark financial reform now law. A lot has been said and written about what it will mean for banks, but it will also have a huge impact on consumers as well. Patricia Wu now from New York.

Hi there, Patricia.

PATRICIA WU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.

Yes, there are some key changes coming that will have an impact on our everyday lives. First, access to your credit score for the first time. If you get turned down for a loan or get offered a crazy interest rate, there's no more mystery, you'll be able to see the credit score your lender is working with for free. There are also changes on the way for debit and credit cards. On the debit side, the Federal Reserve is charged with making sure the swipe fees that banks charge retailers are fair and proportional. That could bring down costs for stores and maybe for you. On the credit card side, store owners can now set minimums on transactions up to $10, so you may not be able to charge that morning cup of coffee.

But there is good news with that, Fred. Stores don't have to be shy about offering discounts for cash instead of credit. So that means you may be able to negotiate a better price if you pay with cash, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ooh, some folks like to negotiate. OK, so what about changes to mortgage rules that has led to this economic meltdown in the first place?

WU: Exactly. This legislation clearly crafted with that in mind. Lenders are not allowed to make loans that borrowers can't repay. They've got to verify and document a barrower's income and savings. They also can't steer people into high rate loans when they qualify for lower rates. And it limits penalties for paying off your mortgage early.

But of all the changes, experts tell us that the most significant one for you and me is the Consumer Protection Agency. It will be making rules for years to come. And the agency's goal is to make sure that financial products are easier to understand. And a personal finance expert summed it up this way, for the first time in a long time, someone's got a full-time job looking out for us.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. That could be good news. Let's hope it is, right?

WU: Yes, it could be.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patricia Wu, thanks so much, from New York. Appreciate that.

WU: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mississippi kids help rebuild their communities after Hurricane Katrina. Tom Foreman takes us to a town coming back from catastrophe.

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WHITFIELD: So, no place, maybe not even New Orleans, had a longer road back from Hurricane Katrina than Waveland, Mississippi. The coastal community was virtually wiped off the map by a 30-foot high wall of water. And now folks there helping young people reorganize so that the kids can gather and discuss local issues and actually get more involved in their community. Tom Foreman is in that beach town.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Everybody knows this part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast was hit just unbelievably hard. They lost all of their businesses, almost all of their homes. Now the oil is out there threatening even greater losses. But through this all, this town has focused on one group of citizens that owns almost nothing of value except the key to the future.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, mom!

FOREMAN (voice-over): The children are riding the waves again around the battered shores of Waveland. No community was hit harder by Katrina and none has been more mindful of the fact children suffered just as much as adults. Caroline Collins can attest to that. She remembers her father staying through the storm and returning to find him amid the wreckage.

CAROLINE COLLINS, YOUTH LEADER: Coming home and, like, seeing him when I walked in the door. I remember him kissing all of us on the head. Still get choked up about it.

FOREMAN: So, from the start, this town has focused on the recovery of children as much as the return of adults, because as Mayor Tommy Longo puts it, more than business, more than government --

MAYOR TOMMY LONGO, WAVELAND, MISSISSIPPI: The families are the heart and soul of the community.

FOREMAN: As a result, some of the earliest recovery projects here were family-oriented. Baseball field and parks, a community center, a new library, new schools, and safe places for children and their parents to retreat from the devastation and debris. It's an ongoing process. At St. Clair's Church, still in a temporary building, a new youth group has just been started. Beth Gruzinskas is an organizer, and she's never had any doubts about staying.

BETH GRUZINSKAS, PARENT LEADER: I've lived here my whole life. I, you know, this is where I belong, and this is where my children belong and my family. And there was no question that we were going to rebuild.

FOREMAN: And plenty of young people are fully committed to helping.

COLLINS: We want the best for the community, because we love it just as much as all the adults do.

FOREMAN (on camera): Still, it's an ongoing process. Convincing adults to deal with terrible things like a great storm or a catastrophic oil spill is one thing. Persuading them to expose their children to it is something else.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But this town made that a priority, and it still is.

FOREMAN (on camera): As a parent, what do you want other parents to know about your town?

LONGO: That it's safe. It is a safe environment. I want them to know that they need to come home.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And he should know. He has seven children, all still growing up, right here in their hometown.

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FOREMAN: And many teenagers here speak of that same sense of commitment. That idea that they're going to stick with it so that over time sights like this, which are already becoming rare, will cease to be and their town will be fully restored. They're committed to it.

Fred

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Tom.

Meantime, let's take a look at our top stories.

The man in charge of compensating victims in the Gulf oil disaster is now testifying before a committee. Kenneth Feinberg credits BP for already paying $200 million in claims. Meanwhile, the "Times of London" reports BP's CEO, Tony Hayward, will soon resign. BP denies that.

And more than 2.5 million people without jobs are getting closer to getting unemployment again after a six-week lapse. The Senate is expected to vote on extending benefits today.

And the United States plans to freeze some of North Korea's assets to keep the country from buying and selling weapons. The tougher sanctions come as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visit South Korea this week.

All right, building an Islamic center near 9/11's Ground Zero. The question that has some New Yorkers so angry.

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For those who are so still sensitive and so raw to this, their question, their overriding question is, why here? Why so close? It's two blocks. But it was close enough that landing gear ended up on the roof. Why?

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WHITFIELD: CNN's Deborah Feyerick gets answers from the project's developer.

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WHITFIELD: Some say plans to build an Islamic center and mosque near 9/11's Ground Zero disrespects the victims of the attack. Others say that attitude is bigoted and intolerant. CNN's Deborah Feyerick spoke with the developer of the project to get his thoughts. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is where you sort of conceived of the idea?

SHARIF EL-GAMEL, SOHO PROPERTIES: Yes, it is.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Meet New York real estate developer Sharif el-Gamel, the man at the center of a controversial plan a stone's throw from the World Trade Center site.

EL-GAMEL: This is an Muslim-led project. This is an Islamic community center that will cater to all of New York. There's gym and basketball courts.

FEYERICK: Plans include a performing arts center, swimming pool, child care facilities, and, yes, a Muslim prayer space two blocks from the worst terror attack in U.S. history.

FEYERICK (on camera): Why not have a prayer space for Buddhists or Jews or Christians or why must it be Muslim? It can't just be a business decision.

EL-GAMEL: There are Jewish community centers all over the country. There are YM --

FEYERICK: But the Jews didn't take down two towers.

EL-GAMEL: There are YMCAs all over the country.

FEYERICK: But the Christians didn't take down two towers.

EL-GAMEL: And this is -- and this is a need that exists.

FEYERICK: For those who are so still sensitive and so raw to this, their question, their overriding question is, why here? Why so close? It's two blocks. But it was close enough that landing gear ended up on the roof. Why?

EL-GAMEL: There is a need. It's supply and demand. The community wants it. The politicians are supporting it.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Maybe, but many who attended a town hall meeting recently were dead set against it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have we forgotten what happened at 9/11?

EL-GAMEL: What happened that day is not Islam. What happened that day is terrorism.

FEYERICK (on camera): Coming out of that hearing, somebody said, "the Japanese would never have dared to build on Pearl Harbor." What makes this different?

EL-GAMEL: If you were at that hearing the way that I was at that hearing, you come out understanding that there is a great need for dialogue now.

FEYERICK (voice-over): El-Gamel says many people don't understand Islam. But does that make it Islama-phobia?

EL-GAMEL: One hundred percent.

FEYERICK (on camera): Why?

EL-GAMEL: Because the moderate voice of Islam is not coming out.

FEYERICK: Can you guarantee that this center will root out extremism or completely reject any extremists that try to get into it?

EL-GAMEL: One hundred percent. We will not tolerate extremism. We will not tolerate extremism.

FEYERICK (voice-over): And yet critics say the religious leader, Iman Faisal Abdul Ral (ph) has links to groups that support terror.

EL-GAMEL: Imam Faisal is one of the most moderate Muslims that exists in this country today.

FEYERICK (on camera): Will you reject any money that comes either directly or indirectly from any person, any country, any organization, any corporation, that has any links to terrorism? Will you be doing due diligence?

EL-GAMEL: We are going to be doing extreme due diligence, and we are going to hire the best security experts in the country to help us walk through the process. And we plan on being very transparent throughout the whole process.

FEYERICK: For those who would say, this is not an olive branch to greater understanding, this is more an act of defiance, how would you answer those people?

EL-GAMEL: This is an olive branch.

FEYERICK: El-Gamel points out there are more than a million Muslims in the tri-state area, and that the American Muslim consumer spends nearly $200 billion a year. So when he talks about this center as a business, it certainly is that. He also says he wants his two young daughters to have a place where they can feel a sense of cultural and religious pride and belonging, where everyone can learn and share in the mainstream Muslim experience.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

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WHITFIELD: All right, you're talking about the government worker at the center of a racial controversy. Some of your comments on the Shirley Sherrod story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, the White House says it supports revisiting the case of Shirley Sherrod, the Agriculture Department official forced to resign over comments about a white farmer. Spokesman Robert Gibbs is expected to get peppered with questions about the case at today's White House briefing. That gets under way in about an hour and we'll bring that to you live as it happens.

And a lot of you have been sharing your thoughts about the Shirley Sherrod case on our blog and through your i-Reports as well. Here is what some of you are saying.

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OMEKONGO DIBINGA, I-REPORTER: If people did a fact-based approach to this story, we wouldn't have this drama. We should be ashamed in this country that we're using our video editing skills to destroy people's careers, drum up racist chants, and do nothing to try to rectify the wrong that we did. What's the NAACP going to do now that it realizes it's wrong? Is it going to protest in front of the White House for Sherrod to get her job back? I can't really see something like that happening.

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WHITFIELD: All right, and this from Dean on our blog. "This lovely woman was not given any opportunity to clarify her statements, much less prove that her history of personal and professional life demonstrate concern and care for all under her jurisdiction." As a white man, I am appalled at the way she has been treated."

And Brandon says this. "So she put her initial hate behind her and helped and you're going to fire her? Seems to me like this is what we need more of."

And from Len. "Kudos to the farmer's wife for calling in to giving the other side of the story and shame on you, America, for rushing to judgment."

And Dennis saying this. "I am a conservative and a ready critic of the media. Thank you for being diligent in your job and getting the whole truth about Shirley Sherrod."

And as we mentioned, in about an hour, we're expecting a White House briefing, and we're anticipating a lot of questions about Sherrod's situation. And we'll, of course, bring that to you as it happens.

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WHITFIELD: All right, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Ali Velshi.

Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, thanks very much.