japan. >> it's heartwrenching to do. >> it will feel really, really criminal. just because we're two women, that's all. >> reporter: soledad o'brien, cnn. "newsroom" continues with randi kaye. >> the water is still rising in nebraska and not one, but two nuclear power plants are still under threat. but the man in charge at fort calhoun on the left side of the screen there, now an island unto itself, is promising his neighbors quote, this is not another fukushima. the calhoun and cooper plants sit on either side of omaha on the banks of the missouri river, a river engorged by almost a year's worth of rain and a rapid snow melt. the cooper plant is online and for the moment, on dry ground. fort calhoun has been shut down for maintenance since april but is surrounded by water and

protected by berms. the fear, of course, as we all learned from japan, is knocked-out cooling systems. but operators in nebraska insist there is no possibility of a meltdown. my colleague brian todd is there. why are folks so confident that these plants are protected? >> reporter: well, they make a distinction between fukushima and this and one key distinction is that fukushima was a sudden event and catastrophic flood that came just all of a sudden on march 11th and then swept away everything in its path. this was a predicted event, it came very slowly. they had time to get ready for it. they constructed berms on the outside, small levees and sand wedges to try to protect the buildings. they say they have been successful. they let us inside, we got an inside look at some of the control rooms and the facilities, and one very crucial room where we saw video, realtime video of the reactor

core through closed circuit tv, i think we have some of that we can show you here, it did not appear that the reactor core was damaged. they say it is not. we also saw video of the room where the spent fuel rods are kept and that did not appear damaged. they said it was not. those two are very, very crucial and what they're trying to do is prevent those two from overheating. if the spent fuel rods or reactor core overheat, then you could have a meltdown similar to fukushima but officials here insist that's not going to happen, despite the fact that flood waters have basically engulfed this facility. they say they have done a good job of keeping the waters at bay in those crucial buildings and not letting flood waters seep in. >> brian, that was certainly an interesting look inside the plant there, but are people who live near the plants still worried? i understand there is a rumor control website?

>> reporter: there is, because officials here say they've gotten a lot of innuendo through social media, a lot of false reporting about a possible meltdown. they've heard reports that they have lost power here which they say they never have. they have gone to backup power in some cases, but they have never completely lost power and they say they have enough redundancy to keep the power going which of course is crucial, because the power has to operate here in order for the cooling system to operate to keep these, the reactor and spent fuel rods from overheating. people in this area by and large are pretty confident they will be able to do that, and they have done a very good job here they say of kind of community outreach, letting people know what they're doing and the steps they're taking to prevent this place from having a repeat of fukushima. >> brian todd for us, thank you. now to new mexico, where nukes of a different kind face a different kind of danger. an out of control wildfire is

burning much too close to the los alamos national laboratory, which is closed for a second straight day. officials there say no fires are burning on lab property, no facilities face immediate threat and all nuclear and hazardous materials are protected. a spot fire did break out on the lab's southern fringes but was quickly doused. more than 10,000 people who live nearby have fled their homes since sunday. in orlando today, casey anthony's family, her dad, mom and brother, all returned to the stand as the defense team began to wrap up its case. the search for little caylee anthony's body and key players involved in finding her have been the focus of today's testimony and we heard from the meter reader who first found caylee's remains. i want to bring in holly hughes, a former prosecutor and now criminal defense attorney. you have been following this case very closely, along with us. one of the things that came up early on, they had george anthony, casey's father, on the stand, and they were suggesting

that he had an affair with one of the searchers who was looking for little caylee and that he had told her, they said, that caylee's death was quote, an accident that snowballed out of control. now, he did admit sending her a text message that he needed her in his life but he still claims that he never said that. how significant was that testimony? >> that's huge for the state, because as you know, randi, from day one, from the minute that jose baez, lead counsel for casey, stood up in his opening, he has blamed everything in the world on george anthony. the accidental drowning, the cover-up of the body, the fact that casey is a big liar, okay, and admitted that casey's a big liar. they have blamed everything on george. so what they're trying to do to the jury is continue to make him the bad guy, impugn his reputation. if you're having an extramarital affair, you are deceptive by nature. you hide it. so they want him to get on the stand and deny it and they want

him to deny making that statement about an accident that snowballed out of control because now what they're going to do, they're going to bring crystal holloway to the stand, the alleged mistress, and she's going to testify to something different, but what will be interesting to see is how she explains the fact that she's got an alias of river cruz and we'll be able to see if they can impeach her because the state will be able to cross examine her. she's been convicted of fraud. typically in our legal system, you can't bring up people's prior bad acts, but if it is a felony or if it is an act of deception, a crime of deception, which fraud is, then it can be brought in. so i will be interested to see if the state goes that route, if the judge allows it and once again, you're looking at credibility of witnesses. is george anthony a monster or is this woman lying to get her 15 minutes of fame? >> i want to ask you about roy kronk. he's the meter reader. he was also brought back to court today and put on the stand. the defense has always suggested that he had intentionally taken

caylee's body and hid it. what did you make of his testimony today? >> okay. we talked about this a little bit in the break. this whole theory of the defense to me is kind of like a scooby-do moment when they say something to him and he goes rrrr? are you kidding me? does roy kronk strike you as a criminal mastermind? he's a very simple hard-working american. he's like joe the plumber from the obama campaign. >> he did say he saw a skull. he also saw a rattlesnake. >> right. he sees what he thinks is a human skull but then somebody goes but hey, look, there's a dead rattlesnake, and he gets all distracted. they picked the rattlesnake up. they take it back to their office and everybody comes out and takes pictures of it. >> we just have a few seconds left. they are also trying to make it out that he might have been the one to put the duct tape around little caylee's jaw, correct? >> yes. they're saying he found the remains, he reported it, nobody collected them, so he holds on to them, goes back and gets

them, keeps them for four months, because you know, who wants to be caught with a child's skeleton? apparently roy kronk, the meter reader. then when he gets ready to go deposit them in the woods so he can collect the reward, he somehow comes up with the knowledge to reattach that mandible in the anatomically correct position, that lower jaw's the mandible, with duct tape that's found in the anthony home and not sold in florida, so somehow he comes up with that knowledge and then deposits it so he can call in and get the money. >> you might be able to see through it and i give you that, and that's why we have you on here to help us make sense of it, but the jury listening, all they're trying to do is confuse the jury, and so this may very well be enough to do so. we will talk with you more about this in the next hour. you will get back to watching the trial and we will talk with you more on the latest. when the law caught up with james whitey bulger last week in california, the alleged irish mob boss had more than $800,000 walled up in his apartment. next hour, he will go before a federal judge in boston to claim he can't afford a lawyer. these are live pictures of

him driving to court or being driven to court, very likely. in court papers filed ahead of that hearing, prosecutors say bulger lived a relatively comfortable lifestyle during his 16 years on the lam. they say he bragged about his frequent travels to vegas, to boston, even, and mexico. supposedly he told the feds he was armed to the teeth on the boston trips because he had to take care of unfinished business. those were his words. he hasn't said what that unfinished business was. his nest egg consisted of bundles of $100 bills, $822,000 worth. that's evidence now, of course. bulger also claims to have left money with people he trusted and whom he's declining to name. as for the poverty claim, the government argues bulger cannot be trusted to tell the truth about his finances. cameras are not allowed in federal courtrooms but we will tell you what happens in next hour's hearing, as soon as we learn that information ourselves. former illinois governor rod blagojevich says he is stunned

by his conviction yesterday on 17 of 20 corruption charges. no sentencing date is set yet. but one expert predicts he could face six to 11 years in prison. after ten days of deliberations, a chicago jury found blagojevich guilty of wire fraud, extortion and bribery. the charges included allegations that blagojevich tried to sell an appointment to president obama's old senate seat. one juror said she found the ex-governor genuinely likeable but couldn't ignore the evidence against him. police clashed with protesters in greece just one day ahead of a crucial vote on austerity measures. there were clouds of tear gas and plumes of black smoke from small fires. officials say one demonstrator and three police officers suffered minor injuries. the greek parliament is expected to vote tomorrow on a five-year program of tax increases and spending cuts so that greece can win more european union financial assistance and avoid bankruptcy. greek union leaders say a

two-day strike that began today closed government offices, schools and courts and disrupted transportation. herman cain is mixing things up on the campaign trail. the former ceo is surprising some with strong showings in places like iowa. we will ask him about it coming up. (screams) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. this past year alone there was a 93% increase in cyber attacks. in financial transactions... on devices... in social interactions... and applications in the cloud.

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personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. it is a busy day in iowa in terms of politics. president obama is there to tour a plant and speak about the economy. sarah palin is there for the premiere of a movie all about sarah palin. and all this comes on the heels of michele bachmann using the state as the background for her presidential campaign kickoff. iowa, of course, is the first caucus state in next year's election so that explains the interest.

joining me now from new york is republican presidential candidate herman cain. welcome, mr. cain, to the program. i want to ask you about this. the des moines iowa register did their first republican poll over the weekend. mitt romney and michele bachmann topped the poll and you finished a very strong third there with 10%. to what do you owe your success in the iowa poll, do you think, and other recent polls like it? >> well, i think it's because i have been to iowa now 21 times since the beginning of the year. secondly, my common sense message about common sense solutions to america's problems is resonating with people. and the second thing that i think is resonating is the fact that i have never held public office but they are -- people are being drawn to my problem-solving experience from over 42 years in business, because any successful business person will tell you that it starts with working on the right problems, surrounding yourself with good people, and also then putting together the right plans

in order to execute. and if you look at my track record, at burger king, godfather's and the national restaurant association, i have had a diversity of problem-solving experiences and i believe that that's what's resonating with a lot of the people in iowa as well as in other states. >> now to another of the early voting states, new hampshire, where your campaign is making some news today. your state campaign director just quit there, questioning your commitment in the state. what do you say to his assessment? >> well, i would say that that assessment is incorrect. i am very heavily committed to new hampshire. i have also been -- i have been to new hampshire about 14 times since the beginning of the year. it's unfortunate that matt did leave. i hated to lose him in all honesty but he left for personal reasons. we have already someone else that we will be announcing in the next couple days along with some other people to round out our staff. so there's no question we are as committed to new hampshire,

south carolina, florida, georgia, nevada, tennessee and louisiana because they are all part of that early voting primary season. >> from what i understand, he wanted more money to hire more staff. how many staffers do you plan to hire there? >> no, i don't think that was the reason. i think that is a mischaracterization. we haven't determined the exact number that we need there but it will be enough for us to be competitive and we are already working on putting those plans into place. >> let me ask you about the support that you have been receiving from tea party folks. what do you say to people who say that michele bachmann is going to cut into that support? >> well, i happen to think that the tea party has several candidates, michele bachmann and herman cain and there might even be another one that they have, because the tea party movement and the people in the tea party, they are not all necessarily behind one candidate. so there's no one tea party candidate and yes, she will attract many of the tea party people. i will attract many of the tea party people over time.

and that's because i have been involved in the tea party before it was cool. i gave my first tea party speech back in april of 2009 and i have been a tea party favorite and i have been proud to be affiliated with the tea party. so yes, we will probably split that as time goes on, but keep in mind, it's still real early to see how things shake out. >> besides jobs and the economy, what else do you think should be a priority for the next president? >> jobs, the economy, jobs, the economy and entitlement restructuring. we can't continue to try and trim around the edges if we're really going to do something about this national debt. we must restructure social security. we must restructure medicare as well as restructure how we basically use the medicaid funds. then another big one for me is energy independence. i am already working on an energy independence plan so we can take advantage of all of the energy resources we have right

here in the united states of america. i happen to believe that america has the ability and should be its own best customer for energy and not be so dependent upon foreign oil or other foreign sources. >> all right. herman cain, we wish you luck. we will continue to watch your campaign. thank you for coming on the program today. >> my pleasure. thank you. greece is about to hold one giant yard sale. jets, casinos and even roads could all be up for grabs. we tell you just what's going on and who is buying all this stuff in two minutes. e bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

protests in greece turned violent today. take a look at this video, with police firing tear gas in athens to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators who took to the streets to fight an austerity package that would secure financial aid for the struggling country. the package, a five-year deal of tax increases and spending cuts, is necessary for the debt-laden country to secure its latest bailout worth $17 billion. for more on greece's problems, the one and only richard quest joins me from athens. you can always catch him on cnn international. richard, glad you're with us. first, i want to ask you, why are thousands in athens so opposed to this austerity package? >> reporter: one very simple reason. they have already had several years of austerity, of recession, and the proposals being imposed on the country by the european union and the imf

will create even more austerity, more hardship, and more recession. what the people here are saying is there's no hope. it's time to start thinking about growth but the country is being forced to have even more cuts, more spending cuts, higher taxes, worse pensions and working longer hours. randi, what they say here is that all the proposals will just make the situation worse. unfortunately, when seen from the other european point of view, greece is a bloated, overpaid and uncommpetitive country and necessary measures have to be taken. that really is where we are tonight. with the parliament due to vote tomorrow on the next tranche of cuts. >> will this package pass, do you think? >> reporter: look, if i was a betting man, the money probably says just about but it's a very

finely tuned thing. not only because the prime minister has a slim majority. some of the opposition may vote with him. some of his own party may vote against him. it's going to be a nail-biter. to add to this confusion, what everybody says here is what's plan b. if it doesn't pass, what happens after that. here the europeans say frankly, greece, if you don't pass this measure, you're on your own. now, that's when all bets are off, randi. that's when we start talking about the lehman situation, international ramifications. yes, greece's economy is a small economy, but the ripple starts here and to use that famous phrase so familiar in the united states, what happens here could be the shot heard around the world. >> you mentioned lehman. we're already seeing comments from deutsch bank, the ceo there

saying the situation in greece could spread, causing a bigger fallout than what we saw with lehman. what does it mean for us, do you think, and the world economies? what could the impact be? >> reporter: greece on its own does not have the power to have anything like the effect of lehman brothers. we know where the debt is, we know who's got it, some banks may get a nasty haircut but frankly, it will be a bad wound, it won't be a killer. what's worrying is contagion. if greece goes, does portugal. if portugal, what about ireland, italy and spain. before long, that's what the deutsch bank chief was talking about. it's the contagion effect, the fear that one goes, then the next one. that's why they are so desperate to basically stop the rot here. but you can only stop the rot if

the people here are prepared to mix my metaphors, to take their medicine. what's happening tonight, you can hear the demonstrations, they are loud, they are noisy, they are angry, they have been violent, and the politicians are starting to say maybe enough's enough. >> in athens, the one and only richard quest. thank you, as always. just about 25 minutes past the hour. time to check in on top stories that we're following. officials say flood waters lapping at nebraska's two nuclear plants are more of an annoyance than a safety concern. even if water gets into the plants, operators say it will not set off a disaster like the one at japan's fukushima nuclear plant. >> i'm 100% confident we're not going to have an issue here. if river level continues to rise, we'll follow our procedures, we'll shut down the plant, we'll do whatever is required to maintain our safety. a 44,000 acre wildfire in new mexico has forced officials to close the los alamos national

laboratory for a second straight day. the lab is one of the nation's top national security research facilities. flames were reported within a mile of the laboratory's property but officials say all nuclear and hazardous materials are protected. at last, a little good news for homeowners. after eight months of declines, home prices rose slightly in april. according to a 20-city survey, prices were up 7/10 of 1%. despite that, home prices were still down from previous year prices. so what if your smartphone gets hacked? it's just one possible cybercrime that could put your privacy in danger. we will go in depth on how security experts are devising a defense strategy. ♪ you makes me happy ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪

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we're looking at your privacy under attack. imagine if your smartphone was hacked, not just yours, but almost everyone's. it's a fictional scenario called cybershock wave being used as a way to gauge how the government would or should react to a cyberattack on a massive scale. cnn homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve takes a look. >> over 20 million of the nation's cell phones have stopped working so far today in what officials claim is the largest communications crisis in the cell phone era. >> reporter: the reason? a cyberattack. as government officials convene, there is one overarching question. is this an act of war, not a criminal act? the infected smartphones show a video of the red army raising speculation the russians are behind the attack. meanwhile, the crisis expands. >> financial fraud has increased

dramatically. >> reporter: officials discuss the possibility of shutting down the infected smartphones, but government can't do it. >> i'm actually shocked to hear that we don't have this authority. if this was someone with smallpox wandering through the super bowl, we have would the authority to quarantine them. >> reporter: can the military assist? what powers does the president have? >> we are operating in a bit of uncharted territory, as you know. >> reporter: the attack is traced to a server in russia. if the u.s. shuts it down, will the russians see it as an act of war and is russia really behind the attack? then more grim news. the internet is infected, the power grid impacted. >> we are also now receiving alarming reports of significant and growing power outages in major metropolitan areas in the eastern half of the united states. >> reporter: there is discussion of nationalizing the power grid or mobilizing the national guard to protect it. >> keep in mind there are over 160,000 miles of transmission

lines. you cannot guard every mile of that. >> reporter: the cyberattack goes on. >> in corporate boardrooms and i.t. centers across the country, our nation's leaders are wondering if their networks are really secure and if this crisis might indeed spread into their systems. >> reporter: this game and others like it have raised a lot of questions about roles and responsibilities, legal authorities, private sector cooperation and more. government and industry are working through those issues and trying to find solutions but they are also working to improve defenses to thwart any massive cyberattack. jeanne meserve, cnn, washington. sarah palin is in iowa today for a big movie premiere. losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the chex mix boring potato chip decoy bag. now no one will want to steal the deliciousness. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting.

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32 minutes past the hour. let's check the headlines in other news that you may have missed. nebraska's fort calhoun nuclear plant is surrounded by flood waters but the manager of the plant insists there is no likelihood of a disaster like the fukushima meltdown in japan. officials say the flood waters have not breached the walls of the plant and that the necessary actions have been taken to ensure the safety of the material inside. the head of the nuclear regulatory commission toured the fort calhoun plant as well as nebraska's cooper nuclear station yesterday and says both plants are taking all the needed precautions. president obama is looking to rally support for his policies today as he visits iowa, a state he knows is crucial to his re-election campaign. these are live pictures as we wait for the president to appear there. he is visiting the alcoa davinport works plant and will

deliver a speech on manufacturing and the economy just about a half hour from now. you can see it right here on cnn. after being hammered on the economy by republican candidate newt gingrich in iowa over the weekend, president obama will point to the iowa plant that employs more than 2,000 workers as a success story. the presidential visit to bettendorf is not the only show in iowa today and may not be the headliner. president obama will have to share the spotlight with sarah palin, who is in iowa to attend the premiere of a new documentary about her political past. but it is her political future that has observers scratching their heads, like her bus tour around memorial day, her decision to attend the premiere is raising more speculation that she will jump into the republican presidential race. eventually. u.s. representative gabrielle giffords made a public appearance last night in houston, only two weeks after being released from the hospital where she was being treated for a gunshot wound to the head. she appeared alongside her astronaut husband, mark kelly,

at a nasa awards ceremony where kelly received a space flight medal. giffords was shot in january when a gunman opened fire in front of a grocery store in arizona, killing six people and wounding 13 others. in a time of violent protest, playing host to the special olympics has served as one of a few recent bright spots for the nation of greece. an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the olympic stadium over the weekend to welcome 7,000 athletes from over 180 countries. they have come to athens to realize their athletic dreams. competition kicked off on saturday with an opening ceremony that featured a performance by musician and songwriter stevie wonder, who you saw right there. the games will last until july 4th. coming up, we go inside one of america's poorest neighborhoods along the border and see why it's so important to make sure the people living here count.

so when it comes to your state and your home, you want to make sure you count, that your tax dollars are making their way through federal and state funds back to you, but that's become a problem for census workers when it comes to counting the thousands that live in makeshift neighborhoods near the u.s./mexican border. we go inside one of these neighborhoods to understand why. >> reporter: i'm going to take you on an eye-opening journey into one of the poorest neighborhoods in america. this is along the texas/mexico border. walk through here and you will feel like you're stepping into another world. this is a cluster of homes carved out of the most

undesirable property along the southern u.s. border, in texas it's estimated some 400,000 people live like 14-year-old anna belli. who do you live with? >> my mom and my little sister. >> reporter: the three of you live here? >> yeah. we had one bed. i sleep on the floor. >> reporter: you slept on the floor? >> yeah. >> reporter: she and her family are moving into a new house for $200 a month. it's not much better. this is the house they're moving into, 264 square feet. there will be five people living here, three brothers and sisters, two small children and they're still working on the house as we speak. they have been painting and this is the area that's of most concern. there's a big hole in the ceiling. it's been leaking water since we've been here. follow me inside here. you can see this is what passes as a bathroom here. the owners aren't even sure the septic tank or sewage system even works. the roads aren't paved. there's no air conditioning or heat. and finding water is a daily

quest. this is life in the colonia. we jumped into the back of the pickup truck and the man will take us to the water pump so he can fill up this tank and start driving neighborhood streets and fill up barrels of water for people. most of the people who live here make under $10,000 a year. finding work wherever they can. you would think the farthest thing from their minds would be the 2010 census count. but anna belli says the census sparks fear. >> i think they're scared going out. >> reporter: why do you think they're scared? >> i don't know. i don't know, because most people are immigrants here. >> reporter: they don't trust them? >> i don't think they do. >> reporter: the census director traveled here himself to try to build some trust. many in this group have relatives living here illegally. he tried to assure them that the census is not about deporting immigrants. >> the benefits of participating in the census are quite large.

we return as a country over $400 billion a year to local areas, neighborhoods like this, cities and states, dependent on census counts. if you get counted, you get your fair share of that money. >> ed lavandera joins us now. ed, you visited a colonia near laredo last year. what was the result? did more residents participate in the census? >> reporter: the census that, the work and the focus they had on a lot of those areas paid off. the census records show that the hispanic population in texas grew to 37% of the state's population. many people think that's directly attributable to these efforts, these outreach efforts to get more people involved and more people participating in the process so they do think that it paid off. they do still feel in many circles that there is still an

undercount of the latino population in the state for these very reasons. a lot of these people, some of them might be legal citizens here in the u.s. but they have family members that aren't, so there's always a hesitation to participate in something that has to do with a government process like the census. >> all right. ed lavandera, thank you as always. we have breaking news just in to cnn. international monetary fund bored just elected french finance minister christine lagarde. she was selected today. she will succeed mr. strauss-kahn and she is the first woman named to the top position at the imf since the inception of the institution in 1944. you may recall strauss-kahn is caught up in a sex scandal. he had to resign. he is facing charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in new york city. that is the breaking news. anger swells as the greek parliament gets closer to

passing painful austerity measures. we will show you what's going on.

today's globe trekking begins in greece, where lawmakers are getting ready to vote on a package of tough new austerity measures. unions opposed to the package of tax increases and spending cuts begin a two-day strike today, closing offices, schools and disrupting transportation services. thousands took to the streets.

police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators. authorities say three police officers and one demonstrator suffered minor injuries. the greek parliament is scheduled to vote on the austerity measures tomorrow. the european union is demanding them in return for financial aid that will help greece avoid bankruptcy. the president of the european council says the coming hours will be decisive and crucial not only for greece but for europe and for the world economy. next, to yemen, where people are waiting for the first public glimpse of their president in three and a half weeks. he was injured in a june 3rd attack on his compound and has been recovering ever since at a hospital in saudi arabia. there is still no word on exactly when he might return home but officials say he will make a television appearance from saudi arabia this week, possibly tomorrow. protesters have been demanding

saleh's ouster since january. an iranian military display today included a threat against the united states. iran says it successfully test-fired 14 missiles and boasted that iranian missiles are capable of hitting both israeli and u.s. targets. an iranian commander declared that america has made things easier for us by putting garrisons in camps in nearby countries. iran also showed off what it said were its first ballistic missile silos. a statement declared the silos will allow commanders to fire missiles more quickly and says they are capable of handling long-range weapons. 46 minutes past the hour. time to take a look at our top stories. this just in to cnn. breaking news. the international monetary fund has just chosen a new chief. french finance minister christine lagarde will start her five-year term next week. she replaces dominique strauss-kahn, who was forced to

step down after being accused of sexually assaulted a hotel maid in new york city. officials say flood waters lapping at nebraska's two nuclear plants are more of an annoyance than a safety concern, even if water gets inside operators say it will not set off a disaster like the one in japan's fukushima nuclear plant. >> i'm 100% confident we're not going to have an issue here. if river level continues to rise, we will follow our procedures. we will shut down the plant, we will do whatever is required to maintain our safety. in orlando today, the defense called casey anthony's father, george, to the stand in casey's murder trial. anthony's brother lee is also testifying. earlier, the volunteer roy kronk who found casey's remains and testified according to the defense, he actually discovered the remains months before reporting them, an accusation kronk denies. nasa ordered the six crew members of the international space station to shelter in place yesterday when space debris came tumbling toward the

station's orbit. thankfully, an all-clear announcement followed 41 minutes later. nasa says an investigation is now under way to find out how close the debris came and where it was from. i hope you are sitting down because architects have designed a $300 home. that's right. a home that costs just $300 to build. ♪ ♪ ♪ look at that car, well, it goes fast ♪ ♪ givin' my dad a heart attack ♪ [ friend ] that is so awesome. ♪ i love my car [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] that first chevy, yea, it gets under your skin. ♪

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every day on this show we do

a segment called the big i. it's about big ideas, innovations and solutions to problems. our today's big i, a $300 house challenge. a challenge to architects, students and professionals to submit designs for a home that costs $300. why is this so important? well, the united nations habitat estimate that is roughly 1 billion people or 33% of the world's urban population live in slums. a figure that will only grow over the next decade. you may be saying it's impossible to build a home this cheap, right? experts across the globe beg to differ. eric ho is one of them. the principal at architecture commons. eric, thanks for coming on the show today. tell us about your proposal and how you can create a home for just $300.

>> i think we're interested in this problem because it's a tough challenge. i think $300 really -- is a very ambitious target. what we are trying to do is a couple things. one is addressing the infrastructure problem of sanitation, basically. how do you provide a house that has sewage and drainage away from the house so that the people can live in a clean and sanitary condition. and the second approach is crucial. it's the creation of two micro enterprises that are construction oriented. one is compressed industry. and the other is a micro concrete roof tile industry. so the two together basically would be an investment for families together. the families share the industry and the proffists from it, but at the same time, this industry

would create the materials, the tiles, the roof tiles for the house. those are free of charge to the communities. and so basically, the idea is sort of a positive cycle of improvements so that the people can live out of poverty. and the third. one of the most important parts of this is the creation of village cooperative, basically, the community gets together and decides, how do you take the money and improve upon the neighborhood they have lived in for years. so that's the idea. >> and when do we see this submission of yours becoming a reality. it sounds like there's a great need for it. >> we are working to see how we can work with the local community. i think that would be the next step to understand exactly what their needs are. and what their cultural

backgrounds are. that's the next crucial step to take it to the people and ask them, what do you need. >> really quickly, anyway that our viewers can help get involve ed? maybe they're moved by what they see today? >> sure, goo to 300house.com and you will see a lot of posts about how you may be able to participate or donate. go to 300house.com. >> all right. eric ho, appreciate it, pretty cool stuff. good luck with it. for more on the $300 house project, check out my facebook page at randi kaye cnn. don't forget to tune in tomorrow. get over the gas, that's the message from michele bachmann who says she's serious. [ male announcer ] do you know how you will react

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it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. time now for a krnl cnn political update. wolf blitz er joins me now from washington.

who are we hearing from today? >> tim pawlenty, randi the two-term ex-governor of minnesota. he's running for the republican presidential nomination. and he's sort of low on the polls right now. no great surprise, he went after the president on many of these national security issues, dithering on all sorts of things like iran. he also went after the president on the president's strategy in deeming with moammar gadhafi in libya. listen to this. >> in libya, once the president of the united states says gadhafi must go and he has, you can't let a third rate dictator thumb his nose at the president of the united states and the free world. leaving him there indefinitely is not an option. now, whether some would argue we have a vital interest initially,

you can't have one now. if gadhafi were to survive and re-establish any capability at all. i would guess one of his motivations is going to be retaliation. >> an ominous warning from tim pawlenty clearly making the case, not only regime change. maybe the capture or killing of gadhafi. essential for u.s. vital interests right now. it's a tough speech for pawlenty. it's one of the stops that many of these candidates are probably going to mike on the council on foreign relations, which is the premiere establishment for policy in the u.s. >> michele bachmann is getting heat for comments during her iowa stop yesterday. what's she saying about those today? >> she's acknowledging -- made some statements yesterday. over the course of these many months, and she points out, you know what, most pligoliticians e some misstatements.

she was asked the specific question about whether she was deliberately making these misstatements, false statements or whether there were just mistakes. listen to what she said. >> people can make mistakes, and i wish i could be perfect every time i say something, but i can't. one thing people know about me, i have a very strong background. >> she's going around giving interviews to all the television networks. she's not only was in iowa yesterday, new hampshire today, she's on her way to south carolina, she's a very serious candidate, the most recent polls in iowa show she's neck and neck with mitt romney. let me add one other unrelated matter, jessica yellin, i want to alert all of our viewers out there right now. she's going to be our chief white house correspondent. that's good news for all of us. more importantly, it's good news

for all of her viewers, she's a terrific reporter. she combines knowledge not only on the politics but on the policy of this substance. she's going to be terrific at the white house going into this election year and beyond. >> that is exciting news. i know she's excited and we're excited as well. we'll check you out in the situation room about 5:00 p.m. eastern? see you then. >> we begin this hour in a small state with huge importance to people who want to be president. moments from now, president obama will step on a makeshift stage at a plant in iowa, where the nation's first presidential nominating contests are only seven months away. he'll talk about the economy, jobs, manufacturing, in a place that's doing quite a bit better than the nation as a hole. but he won't have the state to himself. sarah palin has a date today in iowa about her documentary, the rise to governorship in alaska.

she still hasn't decided or hasn't revealed her plans for 2012. some people who have have made iowa their home away from home. a website that tracks candidate's travel says michele bachmann who declared her candidacy yesterday has been to iowa a half a dozen times this year. herman cain has been there 18 times, newt gingrich and ron paul 15 times each. all that travel has to be good for the state's economy, which as i mentioned is the envy of many other states. iowa's gdp grew by a healthy 3.1% this year, half a percentage point more than the national gdp. and it's jobless rate is much lower. 6% versus 9.1 for the nation. one final number to show you now. the hawkeye state will award a total of six electoral votes in the 2012 presidential race. one fewer than in 2008.

now i want to bring in jim a acasta following the only candidate who can fly to his appearances on air force one. what does the president hope to accomplish in iowa today? >> well, randy, i should note to you that the white house insists this is just an official visit, this is official presidential business happening today, not a campaign stop here in iowa. the president is now touring this alcoa factory behind me. he'll be making remarks in a few moments. he's going to be talking about manufacturing jobs and this administration's commitment to this industry. he stopped at a local burger joint which caught his attention four years ago, or almost four years ago when he was running for president. as you know, randy, the state and the white house will even admit this as near and dear to this president's heart. you'll remember back in the '08 campaign, the president pulled off a major upset over hillary clinton and john edwards winning

the iowa caucuses here. he's back in this state. it sounds like, if i'm hearing correctly. the president is getting ready to make some remarks here, and this does come at a curious time. it's purely coincidental that he's here at the same time that michele bachmann made her announcement yesterday. that sarah palin is here this evening. randy, the state is only going to get more busy, politically speaking in the months to come. >> thank you so much. and as you mentioned, the president has started to speak there at this metal plant. he was doing some thank yous, let's get to him and hear what he has to say in iowa today. >> and jeff brindle, mayor of riverdale is here. the chair woman of the national association of manufacturers is here.

the ceo of alcoa is here. vice president and general manager davenport michael murphy is here. and an old friend of mine who drove me around a couple times while i was driving around iowa. skip mcgillis is here. you know, i know you've been seeing a lot of politicians around lately. something tells me that you may see a few more before february is over. but iowa, you and i go a long way back. and those of you who are coming over from the illinois side, we go even longer back. we've got some history together.

and together we're going to make some more history for years to come. and that's why i'm so glad to be here at alcoa. all of you are showing the future we can build here in eastern iowa and all across the country. almost every airplane in the world has some kind of alcoa product in it. think about that. every airplane in the world, you guys have something to do with it. in fact it turns out that you're responsible for the wings on air force one. so i want to thank all of you for getting me here in one piece. it was a pretty smooth ride thanks to alcoa. this company was founded by a

college student named charles martin hall 125 years ago. and back then it produced about 50 pounds of alum numb a day. and it was so hard to sell, that folks kept on telling charles that it was pointless even to lock up the plant at night, because nobody wanted the stuff. but when the wright brothers -- you heard of them, right? the wright brothers -- when they needed a lightweight material for their plane, they turned to alcoa. and this company hasn't looked back ever since. when president kennedy challenged america to go to the moon, your engineers produced the alloys to help get a man on the moon. in afghanistan and iraq, you've

helped provide our troops with the armor they need to protect their vehicles from roadside bombs and ieds. when i go to walter reid or bethesda and i think about all the lives you guys have saved, it makes me proud of what you do right here. and today your new aluminum lithium alloy is making some of the world's most advanced airplanes lighter and tougher. and more cost effective than ever. so you know that times change. you see, you've seen times change. alcoa has grown as america has grown about you also know that sometimes change can be tough. sometimes the old ways of doing things just won't cut it any more. i was just talking to claus. he was talking about some sheet metal that you guys produce,

that for a while you guys -- you got your team together, redesigned it, and now you have 80% of the market back. that's a great change. when change happens, you have a choice. you can either keep on doing what you're doing and hope things work out. or you can make the decision that not only you can meet the challenges of the future, but can you help set the pace. that's true for this company, and it's true for america. for better or for worse, our generation has seen more than our fair share of economic change. revolutions in technology have changed the way we live and the way we work. a lot of jobs can now be located

anywhere there's an internet connection. and companies have become more efficient. so they get by with fewer workers. now, in some way these changes have made our lives a lot easier. it makes products cheaper. can you produce them faster. but for a lot of our friends and neighbors, these changes have also caused a whole lot of pain. today, for example, a high school diploma no longer guarantees you a good job. i met a couple guys here whose fathers had worked at the plant. now, when the previous generation came to work at this plant, it didn't matter what kind of education you had. it just mattered whether you were willing to work hard. but these days it's hard to find a job without a high school diploma, and a lot of cases it's hard to find a job without a

college diploma. over the past 13 years, about a third of our manufacturing jobs had vanished. it's not just that they have gone overseas. it's that you guys are better at producing stuff now than you used to be. so you use fewer workers. and meanwhile, a lot of workers have seen their wages not keep up with rising costs. i spent a lot of time thinking about these issues when i ran for this office in the first place. when i ran for president, before i came to iowa, when i was still a senator in illinois, i kept on thinking about all the folks i would meet in my travels who are feeling that squeeze of wages flat, costs going up. and then in the closing weeks of the campaign the bottom fell out of the economy. and the middle class got hammered some more, and i know

talking to claus alcoa got hit pretty good too. that demanded that we make some tough decisions. decisions that we now know have pulled our economy back from the brink and put us on a better path. we've created more than two million new private sector jobs over the last 15 months alone, including almost 250,000 in manufacturing. that's in the last 15 months. and here at this plant the workers that were laid off during the darkest days of the recession have all been hired back. and in fact you guys are telling me that you're thinking about hiring some more folks in the near future. that's worth applauding.

[ applause ] >> for a lot of americans those numbers don't matter much if they're still out of work, or if they have a job that doesn't pay enough to make the mortgage or pay the bills. so we've got more work to do. and that work's going to take some time. the promise -- the problems that we developed didn't happen overnight. we're not going to solve them overnight either. but we will solve them. we'll solve them because after all we've been through, we are still the united states of america. we have the largest economy, we have the best -- >> you've been listening to president obama there speaking in iowa. sort of a pep rally about jobs and the economy pointing out that the plant that he is speaking from, the alcoa plant there has already hired back some of their workers and plans to hire more workers in the future. so once again pointing out that the economy is on the mend though still much more work to

do. our sound effect today is a side effect of an economy in crisis. this is athens, greece on the eve of a parliament vote that could affect all of europe. at issue is a five-year program of tax hikes and spending cuts allowing greece to win more european financial help and avoid bankruptcy. a two-day strike that began today closed government offices, schools and courts and halted transportation. last we heard, three police officers and one demonstrator were hurt in these protests. reputed mob boss james "whitey" bulger was expected in a courtroom at this hour. he was arrested in california last week after 16 years as a fugitive. a federal judge must decide whether bulger is entitled to a court appointed lawyer. he says he can't afford to hire his own lawyer even though lawmen found more than $800,000

in cash in his apartment. george anthony's alleged affair. lee anthony's word versus his mother. a whole lot of drama in the casey anthony trial today. these are live pictures of that trial underway right now. plus the defense goes after the man who found little caylee's body. you don't not want to miss the riveting details.

back in orlando today, there was a lot of anthony family drama. casey anthony's dad, mom and brother all returned to the stand. the defense grilled george anthony about an alleged affair

and pitted mom against son. that was just some of the drama before anthony's attorneys turned their focus to this man, the meter reader that found caylee's body. you're looking at a live picked inside the courtroom. the defense is still questioning roy cronk, the meter reader who found caylee's body. to weigh-in on all the of this, holly hughes. she's here with me in studio, we'll get to the anthony family in a moment, i want to ask you about roy cronk, the meter reader, he found the body, called it in, we have the 911 calls that were just played in court. the defense is claiming that he took little caylee's body and hid it. how did he do in court today? >> i think he's holding up pretty well. it's pretty safe to say, he doesn't come across as a criminal mastermind, okay? he is thinking carefully about his answers, and i think he comes across as not having any

gile. this is not a man who's trying to trip anybody up, he's thinking carefully, he's being delibera deliberate. i may have said that, but i'm not sure. >> all the defense has to do is confuse the jury, right? >> maybe he was involved and if wasn't casey. >> exactly, and if they can do that -- if they can convince somebody on that jury that roy kronk put the duct tape on the remains, they take the murder weapon out of casey's hands. >> they are also going for a little confusion, confusion creates reasonable doubt is what we hear. they're hoping if they can throw enough mud at the wall, something will stick and it will at the very least hang up the jury on those major counts, the first degree murder charges. >> how do you think he did. >> i don't think so, he does not come across as somebody who is it going to involve themselves in this. that's just my opinion, i've seen a lot of people testify in

these high profile trials. he's doing what he's supposed to be doing. he said, i called, i report that i see this body. nobody does anything about it. i go back out there a couple months later, because it's my route, that's where i am. it's not like he went 80 miles out of his way to do thisp he goes back there and says it's still there. somebody should really do something about this. he calls again and they go out and find that it's there. >> another key witness on the stand today, george anthony, casey's father. they were really grilling him. the defense was grilling him about his alleged involvement, an affair with one of the volunteers out searching for caylee suggesting he had an affair with her. how critical was that testimony? >> well, it's important because it goes to some of the defense's main theorys which are number one, george is a liar and capable of deception. and number two, this family is so incredibly dysfunctional that any strange behavior on the part

of their client is not her fault. it's critical that they try to prove george anthony is a liar. if he's lying about covering up an affair, and lying about making this statement to that woman that it was an accident that snow bald out of control, what else is he lying about when he told the jury he didn't molest his daughter, was that a lie? when he said he didn't know anything about a swimming pool drowning, was that a lie? that's where they're going with this. they're going to bring her up to the stand, that woman, her name is crystal holloway, a/k/a river cruise, she's going to say the exact opposite of george. >> the defense is expected to rest by the end of the week? >> absolutely. if their client does not take the stand i think they're running out of steam. what's left? they challenged all the forensics, put the family members back up multiple times, they're attacking roy kronk if

they put up crystal holloway, i think that's it, unless they're crazy enough to put their client on the zbland which i know how you feel about that. we can't get into that now. thank you. your computer is under constant attack, putting your privacy at risk. we are going in depth to see how you can protect your identity. ♪ my only sunshine ♪ you makes me happy ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ [ male announcer ] as long as there are babies, they'll be chevy's to bring them home. ♪

cnn indepth today, we're looking at your privacy under attack. hackers are launching attacks all the time using sophisticated software. their tricks of the trade make it easy to steal your personal information, including your passwords. how can you protect your identity? dan rivers takes a look at the

growing problem and has tips on how to protect yourself. >> reporter: virtual attacks on computers are increasing dramatically each year. computer security specialist says the first quarter of 2011 was their busiest ever. alex shows me a map with the distribution of just one of those malicious programs. >> the infection is spread across pc's from west coast to east coast. even fairly remote parts of africa, and large clusters, or larger dots indicated on a map are either going to be more densely populated cities or they're going to be more widespread than other countries. >> and this is just one piece of malware and you're finding how many a day zm. >> around 50,000 to 60,000 a day. >> it's a massive problem. >> yes. >> we've seen a steady growth in

the password stealing type of malware. being able to install software on your computer capture your password for sites you are using and using that for identity theft. >> this man knows plenty on the dark side. >> there may be hacktivist people, they may be criminals or out to make money or just showing off for their friends. >> just to give you an idea of how vulnerable most computers are, let's pretend i'm sitting here typing an e-mail to my bank, and pete is over there trying to grab the information. tell me what you've managed to do. >> i've infected your computer with what's called remote access trojan. you may have got that through clicking on an e-mail link or going to a website. now i have complete control of your computer, i can watch what

you type, see what's on your screen and steal your passwords. >> the solution, be very skeptical about unsolicited e-mails. >> always think to yourself, before i enter my details on the website, before i click on this link, did i actually apply for this? >> be cautious about which websites you browse. mcafee says it monitors 8,000 new malicious websites being set up each day. people in the flooded city of minoted ed inorth dakota ar being forced to conserve water. (screams) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell.

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raging wildfires have forced a mandatory evacuation for the town of los alamos, new mexico. a few miles away, fires continue to burn near the los alamos national lab. the research facility is closed for the second day in a row, as firefighters battle brisk winds and warm temperatures. all hazardous materials at the lab are protected and the lab faces no immediate threat. right now in minot, north dakota residents are under orders to conserve water. utility crews are working to repair the broken water main. already 36,000 residents have been evacuated and homes and businesses still remain under water due to record flooding. a city spokesman says it will be a week or two before many residents can return to their homes to take a look at the damage. meanwhile in nebraska, nebraska's ft. calhoun nuclear plant is surrounded by

floodwaters. the manager insists there is no likelihood of the situation like at the fukushima plant in japan. the necessary actions have been taken to ensure the safety of the material inside. sarah palin is in iowa today for a big movie premiere. we'll tell you all about it right after this.

let's check the headlines and some other news you may have missed. president obama is in iowa today, where he visited the alcoa plant.

his visit follows that of newt gingrich who hammered the president on the economy saturday. the president is looking to rally support on his policies and pointed to the alcoa plant as a success story. the plant employs nearly 2,000 workers the same amount as it did prior to the recession. the president isn't the only high profile political figure in iowa today. he's sharing the spotlight with sarah palin. she's at the premiere of a new documentary about her political past. it's her political future that has people scratching their heads. her premiere is raising more speculation that she will jump into the republican presidential race. lorenzo charles often remembered as the basketball player for scored the winning dunk for north carolina state in the 1983 national championship game, died in a bus wreck in raliegh, north dakota yesterday.

tire tracks showed the bus drove off the interstate. charles was 47 years old, went on to play for the atlanta hawks in the nba after his time at north carolina state. in a time of violent protests, playing host to the special olympics has served as a rare bright spot for greece. an enthusiastic crowd gathers at the olympic stadium over the weekend to gather 7,000 athletes from over 180 countries. they've come to athens to realize their athletic dreams. the competition kicked off saturday with an opening ceremony that featured performance by stevie wonder. the games will last until july 4th. what's behind the angry protests s is in greece?

today's globe trekking segment begins in greece where there were more demonstrations and a general strike today. we've seen so many pictures of the protests there. remind us if you will what this is all about? >> it's about a package of austerity measures that the greek parliament must pass tomorrow or the day after, in order for the country to be saved from default. it's creditors are the european union, european central bank and the imf. unless greece passes though painful austerity measures they're not getting this aide. that's what it's all about. they've been out on the streets

in front of parliament saying we are not leaving, we don't want you to do this. this is a second round of austerity measures for greece. they say, enough, we've done enough, we can't handle this any more. >> they have this two day strike now underway in protest. and it's certainly getting more violent. what are the chances that this package will pass, do you think, and they will get this bailout money they need? >> parliament has no choice but to pass it, they think they have enough votes. the prime minister reshuffled his government a few weeks ago because he had to have all the party on board for this and they think it will pass. however, there are some wavering saying, we're not sure, we're still thinking about it, but -- they expect it will pass. >> they certainly need it, it could have a worldwide effect. >> absolutely.

if the greek banks -- if greece defaults, that creates a perception for sovereign debt in euro europe. particularly the french banks are exposed to greek debt and the u.s. is also interconnected and exposed to the european banks. some are even using the word lehman brothers, that this could have a contagion. it's perception, and that's what they're worried about. how will the markets perceive this? >> i want to ask you now about what's happening in afghanistan. this story, i found so disturbing. that's why i have to ask you about it. this 8-year-old girl was used as a suicide bomber in afghanistan unknowingly. she had no idea what she was carrying? >> yeah, that's what the afghan authorities say, they gave this little girl a bag and said, why don't you go and give this bag to those nice police officers over there. and as she approached their vehicle, the insurgents detonated the explosives in that bag by remote control. it killed the little girl, did not kill anybody else.

nobody else was injured. and this is a very disturbing development, because it's relatively new. they have not really used children in that way. >> probably because they're so unsuspecting, you see a young child approach you, you're not going to think that something like that would happen? >> yes. >> on a lighter note, one of my favorite stories of the day, is kate middleton and the dress. >> yes. >> first of all, i love wimbledon, love to see them there. she's wearing this gorgeous offwhite dress. that's the tradition at wimbledon to wear white. the next thing you know it sells like crazy. >> in 30 minutes all their dresses were soldout. she paid full price, $1,200 or half price. >> even at wimbledon, every designer is going to be

clamoring to dress her. whatever she wears seems to get scooped up. >> she has the golden touch. >> apparently. she made quite a showing there, i know she met with andy murray as well. one of the players. >> and he one. >> he was all sweaty, and concerned about hugging her. it was interesting. >> thank you. >> pleasure to have you on the show today. next, we are talking to the director of a preschool that's trying to shatter all gender roles. the school actually avoids using words like him or her. encouraging students to address each other as friends. ♪ ♪ introducing purina one beyond a new food for your cat or dog.

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we told about you this right before the break. there's a preschool in sweden fighting gender related stereotypes in an interesting way. they encourage the staff and students to avoid using terms like him or her and addressing each other as friends. they put building blocks near the kitchen to show there's no difference between construction and cooking. no predetermined expectations for kids. for more on this, ladia rogerson joins me from stockholm. this program really caught our eye. tell us what inspireded you to make this school the way it is?

>> of course, it's a lot of things. but the most important thing, i want to give all the children e spectrum of life. the whole world not just half. >> and do you feel that other schools are not doing it right, and how they teach the students and how they teach the students, or was this just something you felt strongly about trying? >> i have been working in primary schools and ordinary schools for 30 years. and i can see that we treat boys and girls in different ways. and, of course, that is not good for them. they should have the whole world of opportunities. >> and how do you explain it to the students? how do you explain to them what your program is all about, and

what you're trying to do? and do they understand it? >> we don't have to explain for small children what we do and why we do, we just do it. and that is what is so important of the school, that the teacher there's, they use methods that doesn't make difference between boys and girls. we treat them in the same way. >> i would imagine that -- i understand that, you don't call them boys and girls, you call them friends or him and her. i'm curious what the reaction has been in the community. has it all been positive? are there any detractors there? >> no it -- most is very positive. we have people who misunderstood and think that we want to make -- turn boys to be girls

and girls to be boys. and that's not what we are working for. absolutely not. we are working with a social gender not the biological gender. that's the difference. >> why do you want to do this? what is the ultimate goal that you think these children will take away from this type of teaching? >> i think that all our children, they get self-confidence and they get a democratic view on themselves and other people. and this is the human way of learning. all people can get what they need, what they want. they get the same responsibilities, the same opportunities and the same rights. >> it is certainly an interesting program. lotta rajlin thank you for

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time now for a cnn political update. cnn political producer shannon travis joining me from washington. what's burning up the ticker at this hour? >> well, we know that presidential candidate congresswoman michele bachmann

is popular with a lot of tea party activists. there's a man named ron kerry her former chief of staff who says she's not ready to be president. he wrote an op ed in the des moines register. he says he knows tim pawlenty very well and bachman and bachman isn't ready. here's one quote from this op ed. our party is too important to entrust its nomination to a candidate not seasoned and ready to lead. our current president appears unprepared and inexperienced when facing difficult challenges. let's not make the same mistake again. >> cnn has reached out to bachman's campaign for a response. she hasn't responded directly to this. they haven't responded directly to this. earlier this morning on the "today" show, she did say you can expect a lot of negative attacks now that she's in the race. one other thing we're watching, a surprise to us, sarah palin has decided whether she'll run

for president or not. but apparently they're keeping it all in the family. bristol palin has told fox news if she will run, but they're keeping it in the family for now. a lot of us anxious what the news is. >> how long are they going to string that out? >> yeah. before the break we told about you a school in stockholm, sweden that has done away with all gender related stereotypes. it's up to them to make up their own minds, but is it really a good idea? that's the question we're going to put to our team today. on the team is jennifer coupleman hutt. and clinical psychologist jeff gardier. jennifer is this a good idea? >> i think it's ridiculous.

we would use it when calling our children, it, can you go get this? can you go do that? are you having a good time? this is taking too far. my mom, who i loved very much used to say that sometimes people become overcorrected. this is an example of overcorrecting. i get that gender stereotyping is not a good idea, but to go this far in the other direction? please. >> jeff, i have to ask you to respond to that. what's your take on this. is this a major over correction? >> i don't think it is. i think the school is being a little rigid in the way that they are trying to destroy as they should, gender stereotypes, i think it's an interesting experiment. we've been seeing it here in the united states. if you remember the story of the couple that refused to identify the sexuality of their child. this isn't the first time it's happened.

it's happening more and more. we need to understand, this is not just about getting rid of gender stereotype. it's about opening the minds of our children to be more progressive, to look at equality more, which is what the name of the school stands for, by the way, equality. and to make sure that they are ready for the brave new world where the old family structure is now rapidly changing. >> jennifer, can you have a quick response there. >> here's my quick response. i agree with you, the family structure is changing, and that's terrific, there's so many different people. we should embrace all kinds of people. to have any sort of experiment like you said in a preschool, i think can be damaging in general. preschool is there for the kids to learn, play with blocks, toys, whatever that may be. an experiment at any sort in preschool, not great. our kids are there to thrive not be an experiment that we look at later. >> do you think it could confuse

the kids for later on in life? >> well, i think if that was the only exposure they had, of course, there may be some confusion, because the world doesn't work in that way. we wish it would. but i think part of what's going on here is there isn't a balance in what these kids are getting. of course, they're getting this kind of curriculum in their school. but at the same time when it cops to the outside world, when it comes to home, when it comes to television, they'll get more of that structured approach. i think it's a very good balance. and as far as exposing kids at a very young age to experimentation, i think this is more than just an experiment. so let me use a different term here, it's really about exposing them to new ideas. and the younger they are, the more that kids learn and are able to make choices later in life. >> jennifer wants in bad here. go for it. >> i just want to say, i think it is confusion, i have to disagree with you. if at school you're referred to

as an it and not a he or she, you leave and someone calls you he or she, it's like, wait, i thought i was an it. >> jennifer, i absolutely hear how you feel about, and i'm actually open to it, and i think that is what this school is about. and what it should be about, opening up our kids' minds to different ways of thinking, different points of view. i think it becomes dangerous when we only program them in one particular way and they don't see opposing points of view. >> let me just say one more thing. it's not about programming at all. it's about the fact that typically, let's say men have more testosterone than women, and typically women have larger breasts than men. frankly, there are some gender differences, which is why we are given pronouns like he and she. everyone should be able to play with whatever toy he or she wants to play with and be with

whoever he or she wants to s t with, but to deny there are any differences is ridiculous. >> i hope they're not trying to deny what a person is as far as sexuality, certainly you should be who you were born to be and that's something that you should keep in mind and randi is correct about that. >> jennifer, jeff, we could talk about this for a long time. but we can't, unfortunately. so thank you both for coming on. great discussion. appreciate it. some people will do anything. and i mean anything to get a free upgrade to first class. but what one guy did, i find outrageous. i'll tell you all about it in my xyz next.

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time now for my xyz. i've done a lot of stories about guys pretending to be military for attention or raise donations that they then spend on themselves. today's fake soldier story is no less outrageous than those reported on before. the new york post has a story about a guy from long eye land new york who posed as a u.s. soldier so he could get a first class upgrade. the 22-year-old was arrested for dressing up as a gi joe want to be with fatigues complete with the buzz cut so he would get a bump up to first class on a flight from jfk to