from the cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning." i'm t.j. >> how are you doing, t.j.? i'm doing well. well rested as you know. >> we both got a vacation in. welcome. 6:00 a.m. here and 10:00 a.m. in ghana where president obama started his day. >> you are seeing him from the video we with got just a little bit ago in to krp krn of a welcoming ceremony there in ghana. they began their meetings this morning. this is how it started off.

they'll be meeting at the presidential palace. then president obama will speak to parliament in a couple of hours. we'll bring that to you live. then later the first family will visit cape hope. also an iranian-american scholar has been arrested in tehran. his home ransacked and computer confiscated. charges against this man are not known just yet. he was in prison for three months in 2007 accused of endangering national security. last night's arrest follows weeks of post-election protests. an iranian rally and concert is scheduled this morning in washington and we will take you there live. and a cemetery crime scene now. that's what police have done to the cemetery in illinois where hundreds of plots were allegedly dug up and resold. police say they have to investigate more than 5,000 graves. relatives not going to be able to visit now for several days.

>> while we understand the demand for information we just can't jeopardize a crime scene. it's becoming clear there are potential crime scenes littered throughout the cemetery. >> investigators say employees were dump willing the remains at the back of the cemetery, just outside of chicago, four are facing felony charges, the folks who work there. >> tough story. >> are you kidding me? >> 300-plus graves dug up, bodies dumped so you could sell the plots? that's what they're arguing. >> as we mentioned, the president is in ghana. we'll be talking about that this morning. a lot of people wondering, why ghana. the reason is administration wants to highlight a thriving democracy there. >> he has a speech to the parliament about u.s. engagement on the continent. that is just after 8:00 a.m. eastern. we will show that to you live right here. but in the meantime let's go to our saw zoon malveaux.

good morning. let's talk about the welcoming ceremony this morning first off. >> reporter: really it's kind of amazing when you think about it. when you see it, i want to show you headlines in local papers. it says akwaba, that's official for welcome. another paper, ghana's world. today's the day. you see michelle here. we think that's photoshop. a big welcome to the first family. here's another one, called the mail souvenir, the whole first family on the cover. we saw them arrive late last man. on the tarmac they had the traditional dancers. you saw president obama, michelle as well as sasha and malia being warmly reit t greeted. a lot of excitement. this morning the official ceremony began, a 21 with-gun salute as well as the playing of the national anthem, a look at the troops, that kind of thing.

then later what we expect is that president obama will sit down with president john adam mills. the two of them will talk about the things that are mutually important to their countries. talking about trade, good governance as well as democracy. he's also going to be later addressing the ga nain people as well as many people throughout africa who are going to be watching about this very special message and he's going to be talking about the importance of peaceful transitions of power, of democracy. that's one of the reasons why he chose ghana, because it is such a model, an example of just that. betty? >> the people of ghana, though, are very excited about this trip, no doubt. what about the folks in kenya and other countries there in africa? do they feel snubbed by the fact that the sprpresident is in gha? >> reporter: they were a little disappointed that he didn't choose his father's country of

kenya. he still has relatives and family there. he even talked about it yesterday, saying that he has family who know hunger firsthand because they still live in villages where people are hungry and tried to stress the importance of food aid in terms of agriculture, giving aid to farmers to help provide for food. a little bit of disappointment there in kenya as we've seen folks talk about. but then there is this overwhelm withing sense of pride here in ghana that as the first afric african-american president of of the united states coming here to africa, one of them saying that she was just so happy that this was such a special occasion. and they claim him as their own. you know, they say, welcome home, brother. this is the kind of thing you've been hearing from people here. they take a little bit of ownership in him as well. >> definitely i know t-shirts have been made, signs all over the place. quite a welcoming. >> there are billboards, songs,

everything. >> we'll be talking with you shortly. thank you, suzanne. this reminder, cnn will cover president obama's speech set at 8:00 eastern. the president will certainly be making his way back to the u.s. after his stop this ghana. he'll take a symbolic trip next thursday to new york where he'll be speaking at the nccaacp convict sensation there. there's a new leader at the helm, ben jealous, the youngest naacp president ever. he has a fresh and different perspective and different priorities. i sat down and asked him about it. take a listen. >> a lot of folks want to say the 20th century is the century of the naacp, but the reality is that our generation knows in our hearts as much as we have benefitted from the dreams of our ancestors and all their hard work for the most murdered

generation in this country, the most incarcerated generation on the planet. when with you ask yourself, who's going to fight those battles, it's hard to imagine them being won unless the naacp is in full force. that's what i intend to do. >> why do you think they wanted you? you're a young man from a different era running the oldest civil rights organization in this country. >> the person before me was 38 years old and he played an integral role getting his generation to really embrace the organization and build it up and laid the ground work that roy wilkins and ben hooks built upon. this is a moment like that. this is a pivotal point where we need a generation of people to really buy into the naacp, really buy into this association, its vision for human rights and civil rights in this country and define with ourselves as players for as long as it takes.

we don't just fight on an issue for years. we fight for decades. battling jim crowe, 22 years, to desegregate american is 40 years, and in some ways ongoing. in the battle to level the political playing field we started that really in earnest in the mid-1950s and we're still celebrating victories. obama is the first black president. we're almost as excited that philadelphia and mississippi just got its first black mayor. >> what does the naacp expect from president barack? >> fulfill his promises and go back to work. we're looking real clear. a lot of people pushed to bail out wall street and main street. we need to make sure and we intend to make sure that he also had fixes back street. if we get back to where with we were a year ago or two years ago, black unemployment was well

above 10%. that is not acceptable. not anticipate sbl. >> how is he doing so far? >> so far he's doing pretty well, but the transition in washington has been more slow than what a lot of people expected. >> how patient is the naac going to be? >> we've been patient and they keep giving us reasons to keep the faith. >> a lot people look and say, there is a plaque president, a black man is in the white house. how in the world can you say a black person can't make it? obviously black people can make it if you can make it to the white house. >> you know, i actually grew up many one of those families where we were with told at the even of the day we didn't have any excuse. so when you look right now at the situation, yes, you have to say, you know, no excuses, young man. you have to push as hard as you can. but you also have the same breath that has to say, no excuses for not fighting the fight on behalf of all of your brothers and sisters, on behalf

of the cousins, the family not doing as well as the one you were privileged -- don't think for a second that you succeed and you did this by yourself or your success is your own or that success doesn't come with the responsibility to make the way for others. >> conversation with ben jealous not over just yet. a lot of people wondering about naacp's policy on gay rights. a lot of people see it as a civil rights issue that the naacp should be in the middle of. he has an answer on you where the naacp is. you'll hear that answer in three minutes. also, we have this and a number of topics. you may call them hot topics this morning that we want people to participate in. the naacp, what do you think their position should be? their position on gay marriage. by all means, send that to us. we also have a number of topics. >> we have spike lee in the house today. 20th anniversary of do the right thing, that was a movie that sparked a lot of debate and

conversation about race relations. can't believe it's 20 years already. he's in the studio today. we're asking you, do you have questions for spike? what else do we have on the table? >> certainly the president's trip to ghana, a long trip this week. also, the story out of the cemetery out of illinois. >> the graves dug up. >> and also steve mcnair. a lot of people still talking about that, the circumstances around his death. >> there's a memorial today. weigh into all of these topics. go to face fook, twitter. plenty of ways of getting in touch with us. also we have the weather to tell you about. reynolds wolf is keeping an eye on that. hey there, reynolds. >> hey. really keeping a sharp eye on the incredibly tough weather. we're talking in terms of heat. we'll talk about that coming p up. plus we'll talk about one of the areas in the nation most accessible to the tropical sams. we're talking about the outer

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tarmac. >> it's just so lovely to see the spirit, how people are so excited. of course, this is a historic moment for them. >> we'll be following his trip. don't go too far. we're covering live coverage of the president's trip to ghana. his speech coming up to parliament around 8:00 eastern time. we'll have it for you live. absolutely. today africa, next week new york. president barack obama to speak at the naacp national convention on thursday, which is the oldest civil rights group now in its 100th year. >> 100 years. something to celebrate. he was there as a candidate speaking at their 99th convention. he's coming back on their 100th to talk again as president of the united states. and a lot of present-day issues to talk about with the naacp. one they're tackling is gay rights. yes, gay marriage, a topic that's the oldest civil rights

group in the country, has been dealing with. we want to ask the new naacp president, still fairly new, president ben jealous, why his civil rights organization doesn't have a policy officially on gay marriage. take a listen. >> does the naacp believe that gay marriage should be legal across the land? >> we don't take a position on that nationally. we have been steadfast advocates for the basic civil rights of gay people, making sure that, for instance, hate crimes protection is extended to gay people. we understand that when four black young people were killed not far from here in newark on a playground last year that all four of them were gay. there's a lot made in the press because of black and latino tension. but we're in the community so we get the story not just from the national news but from local folks. what's at stake is that many of them were gay. that appeared to be a dynamic on

the playground. so we want to make sure that our children and our family members who are gay's basic rights are protected. >> isn't that considered a civil right? some would call it that kind of civil right, an issue of equality, a gay person being able to marry who they want to marry. >> that's a very tense debate inside our association. there have been branches and state conferences, for instance, in california and san francisco come out very clearly on the issue. there are others, some of our national board members, in the midwest, for instance, who took a entirely different position. we are democr that one is still under debate amongst the membership of the organization. >> you perceive a time that the naacp could come out on a national level and have an official position on gay

marriage. >> i think having a position on gay marriage is certainly a possibility. when it will happen, we work on issues for decades so we are quick to point out to younger organizations that something you think is a sprint may turn out to be a marathon. >> what do you think when you heard out in california plenty of times where people would compare the gay marriage debate and struggle with the civil rights struggle? what do you think when you hear that? is that a fair comparison? >> when people say, you know, this is deeply personal, young man when who i grew up, our moms best friends, we became blood brothers when we were 4. he's transgender, gay. i've seen the homophobia he's subjected to in the black community, the racism he's subjected to in the gay community. i know that one of those identities he can and has hid when he's had to, nobody should

have to hide their identity. when people say gay, straight, black, white, same struggle, same fight. not exactly. not exactly. at the same time, you know, t the -- i have been personally very supportive and encouraging of people who are fighting the battle for gay marriage. i was born in a family where my parents' marriage was illegal. they had to get married in washington, d.c. their wedding caravan back to the party in baltimore was mistaken for a funeral procession. so i'm very concerned about the children who are treated host e hostilely on school grounds because people sort of license to throw hatred at their parents becaused on lifestyle decisions they make. but the naacp is like any other

democratic organization and we're going to debate this fully, internally, i as the head of it. i can tell you that it's a deeply held intense debate and we -- because we've seen it's tore apart other institutions. our church has been torn apart on this issue, are committed to keeping our body together because there's a whole bunch of issues including issues that are very relevant to gay people that we have to be together on if we're going to win, whether it's bullying, hate crimes, for instance. so they count on us to stay together, too. >> we also want to remind you of must-see cnn special event. our special correspondent soledad o'brien examining what it means to be black in america. it is the follow-up, "black in america 2" premieres next week right here on cnn. what do you think on some of what you've heard the naacp has said this morning? do you think they should have a

stance on gay marriage? what should their mission be now? sound off on that and other hinges with betty and i on facebook and twitter. >> absolutely. and we're talking about this this morning. electric cars touted as being environmentally friendly, right? josh levs found out it has one limitation. >> hey, guys. we're about to drive an actual electric car through the streets of atlanta. there is a pretty serious speed limit on this. >> yeah, we'll see how josh and his little yellow car did. yeah, no it's great.

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♪ little red corvette just keep the music going. >> i used to love this song. >> some songs just don't go away. they're never going to get old or out of place. not quite "little red corvette" we're about to show you. automakers are busy created electric cars hoping they're the wave of the future. >> some electric cars are already on the market, though they might not be the answer to all of your driving needs. our josh levs takes one for a

spin. >> we've got the anvil here today. tell us what we're looking at. >> it's an lsd, which means a low-speed vehicle. it is certainly a lot more creative than what you're accustomed to seeing, wide track technology, big automotive wheels. >> that means it it's a wide car, which gives you more features inside. >> where are the electric gears? underneath it? all packed into her? i didn't just break it by knocking on it, did i? >> no. it's durl. >> smart charger up front. drive traen in the back. >> what distinguishes this from a golf cart? >> the golf cart has maybe a 46-inch wheel path. this has 60 inches. we're not going to rub shoulders inside. we have heated seats, full automotive gauges, more intuitive movements. >> let's give it a shot. first you have this which is forward and reverse instead of a

gear shift. >> right. on the left side the first button there with the "t," it works as a boost or turbo button. it gives you 30 seconds of peak horsepower. ♪ go greased lightning >> it feels like an average car. it's a little bit harder to speed up. but once it does, it just carries on its own. you don't need to hit the gas or anything. ♪ now shut up and drive we're driving on the kinds of roads best for this kind of car. since it only goes up to 25 miles an hour, it's best to be on roads that only go up to 30 or 35. ♪ i can't drive 55 >> tell me, why would someone buy this car when they could

spend the same amount of money and get a car that has side windows and it's completely covered and has air conditioning some. >> certainly it's green, it's doing the right thing, it's fun to drive, and it doesn't use any fuel. >> for your family, you already have a couple of cars but want to do the right thing and save money on gas, get this as a third car. >> absolutely. that's happening every day within 6.9 miles of residential homes americans are driving about 15 billion miles a week. we can make a difference in that segment. hopefully the consumer will drive the demand. >> all right. so speed racer joins us now live. josh, i've got to tell you if i was behind you i would be on the horn, man. that thing was going kind of slow. >> it was a little bit funny how on normal rides in the neighborhood we had someone passing us no matter what. at one point someone pushing a stroller went faster than us. >> get out of here. >> it it wasn't exactly a joyride.

but who knows? maybe a step toward the future. >> if i'm rolling around in my big suv and one with of those little things gets in my way, am i just going to clean somebody out? >> it's scary, right? that's the question. as you can tell, there's no air bags on it. in fact, they still have to bpu the all-weather enclosures. it has forward wheel brakes. they are convinced it's safe muf to drive right now. i felt perfectly safe driving it. i would never put my son in that thing so obviously there's limits. more info here. >> that's interesting. you felt safe but you wouldn't put your child in it. right. you guys got it right. i felt safe but wouldn't recommend taking kids in that thing. >> thank you, josh. hello, everybody.

welcome back to "cnn saturday morning." >> good morning to you all. it's 6:30 in atlanta, georgia, where we sit, 5:30 a.m. in dallas. >> where it it's hot. sweating it out. my family sweating it out in dallas, texas, today. we'll talk about the weather many a moment. let's get to a florida couple shot in their home while eight of the their children slept? officials are looking for three men seen approaching the home of byrd and melanie billings. they've lived in a rural area near pensacola, florida. and the billings had 16 children, twel of them adopted. >> the president of a philadelphia-area with swim club says safety, not racism was the reason the club canceled swimming privileges for a day care with mostly african-american kits. some of the kids reporting hearing racial comments after arriving at the club. state officials looking into it it. pakistan's military say it's

in contact with afghanistan's taliban leader. the pakistanis are offering to bring him and others to the negotiating table with u.s. in return pakistan wants concessions from washington over issues with longtime rival india. pakistan says the u.s. cannot win in afghanistan through war alone. president obama meeting this had hour with the president of ghana. the first family arrived in the african nation last night after trips to moscow as well as italy. president obama addresses ghana's parliament later and then visit cape coast castle, the launching point for many africans when they were sold into slavery. cnn will bring you live coverage of the president's trip to ghana. also his speech in the capital coming up around 8:00 eastern time. stay with us for that live. a lot of people asking of all the african nations why pick ghana? we are many the capital.

hello to you. a lot of people might have thought maybe he would go visit his home country of kenya, but he wanted to highlight democracy. actually, kenya is not the best place to do it right now. >> reporter: exactly. and kenyans are very, very disappointed. they thought that president obama would go there first on his trip to africa, but ghanans are extremely excited that michelle obama has chosen their country. people have crowded the capital city, lined up alongside the roads that president obama is expected to use on his way to the international conference center where he will deliver a crucial speech not only to ghanans but to the rest of africa, t.j. from welcome posters, paintings, t-shirts, trinkets, flags, ghana

is spell canbound by the president's visit. his pictures are posted almost everywhere you turn in the capital. the trip has been front-page news for days, but while people here celebrate, others on the continent are asking, why ghana for president obama's first trip to sub-saharan africa. >> he wants to use ghana as a base to address all of africa, pointing at good governance, pointing at i presume economic development, pointing at absence of conflicts. ♪ president obama >> reporter: the top musicians have even written a song about the visit. ♪ welcome to ghana >> reporter: the song is full of

praise for the president. >> come to everybody. if it's not real, we put all of those things in the song to question them about what is exactly going to happen. we don't wish that he gives us money. we wish with he comes here to share with our leaders the way forward for africa. >> reporter: when it comes to africa, mr. obama may have a tough act to follow. his predecessor, george w. bush who visited ghana in february of last year poured billions of dollars into the continent and his aid relief fund has won praise. and the clinton administration sought to boost trade with some african countries. by choosing ghana for the country from which he's expected to outline his africa policy, it's believed mr. obama is trying to send a message that under his leadership investment and aid will be linked to good governance. besides its history of peaceful transfers of power, gaub na also

has strong and vibrant pillars of democracy like a free press. and it is the importance of such democratic institutions in ensuring accountability on the continent that president obama is planning to highlight during his visit. >> so at the end of the day, then what? we're going to have barack in town. he will deliver a nice policy statement. after all, it's good for opportunities. then what? >> i think it's a great opportunity for tourism. >> reporter: the debate in ghana at the moment is not about what mr. obama can do for them but how they can use his visit to do for themselves. this man is already cashing in on the euphoria. ♪ president obama >> reporter: president obama's motorcade is expected to drive past here on the road behind me in just less than an hour and a half's time, and people are waiting here in anticipation. but many are disappointed that they are not going to see the

president in person because he's not holding any public events. disappointed that they'll be watching president obama in their own country on television. t.j.? >> still happy he's there nonetheless. thank you so much for that report. of course, we will continue to follow the president's trip. >> absolutely. later today, president obama will visit the slave fort of cape coast. what will he see there? next, i'm going to speak with a woman who has been there and she will join us live from gaun ma. (announcer) imagination soars with crayola at an unbeatable price. save money. live better. walmart. - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would you guys like? hamburger helper. what?! one pound... one pan... one tasty meal!

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good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. here we happen to be in hurricane season. hard to believe. we've seen some activity out in parts of the pacific, but in the atlantic -- >> it starts in june? >> goes all the way until, say, november. you know, there's plenty of time for things to get really active. one of the places really vulnerable for these storms happens to be on the outer banks of the north carolina, the barrier islands.

during the peak of hurricane season you've got thousands of people who go out there, but you only have two peen means of getting off the island. check out the story. the outer banks of north carolina, the crown jewel of the tar hill state with 180 miles of white sandy beaches, gentle surf and warm days attracts hundreds of thousands to the shores each summer. >> it's the most beautiful place. i've been coming here since i was about 9 so it has a lot of memories. >> reporter: but the things that draw people to the stunning ribbon of isolated sandbars also makes it the place you'd want to be during a hurricane event. >> hurricanes and the barrier islands don't get along at all. >> this is the director of the emergency management office and he's seen his share of storms. >> the difficulty is convincing people that evacuation is your only safe decision when a hurricane threatens. >> reporter: he says at the height of the summer population the outer banks could be evacuated in 18 hours if

everyone leaves when ordered. but the problem? just one two-lane highway running the length of the ieltd and only two bridges connecting the mainland. not many options for those fleeing to safety. >> any kind of high surf is a potential for overwashing the highway and certainly cutting that only access that we have for evacuation. >> and unlike the florida keys that are made primarily the coral, the outer banks, just sand which erodes quickly. to slow down the process, they've been putting out giant sandbags like these to protect homes like the one you see behind me, vulnerable to the next storm. stanley riggs, a geologist that spends time studying the change. he says change is inevitable and storms are a natural part of the evolution. it doesn't matter how many sandbags, roads, bridges you put in here, the erosion is going to

occur. >> the shoreline is receding because of rising sea level and the whole front side is moving westward as it's been doing for 18,000 years. and it's still doing it. >> riggs believes that the harder we try to lock the islands in their current position, building homes on the beach, creating artificial dunes and levees, the more catastrophic a storm's impact will be. >> it won't take much of a storm surge, once that thing's overtop, to blow this thing off. it will be like the cork out of a champagne bottle. >> reporter: wow. it's that vulnerability that keeps people here vigilant. as a geologist and knowing what you know about these islands, if you were living out here and you got the order to evacuate would you heed that? >> i'd get the hell out of here. >> pretty strong words. the guy does not mince words. we were watching the story. we actually comment on things we see that thankfully at times you can't hear. we were talking about some of the houses. you were saying, how much longer

will that house last? possibly they could be gone this summer. >> because they're so close to the water's edge. i'm really surprised they're even allowed to be that close. >> well, you know, the thing is you have to remember the outer banks basically just a pile of sand sitting out there in the atlantic ocean. every time a wave comes onshore you have a little bit of erosion. it's continuing processes going on for millions of years. >> maybe when it was built there was -- >> many of the houses you happen to see along the sand there was a time ten years ago there was a road along the other stretch of the houses. now all you need is one big storm and it heightens the erosion, speeds up the process. we'll see fewer homes. the biggest thing about that story is the idea of evacuating people off that strip of sand at a quick rate. if everything goes as plans, 18 hours. >> if there's no problems. >> if there are no problems. it it's a big mess, big problem. serious stuff. >> appreciate you as always. >> thank you, recommendeds. president obama, his supreme

court nominee could become the first la tina to join the group. >> it's not as simple as the president saying he wants her. he's got hurdles he has to get past. we'll look at the confirmation hearings ahead for sonia sotomayor.

well, the president is speaking live from ghana today in our 8:00 a.m. hour. we'll bring that to you. there's something else about ghana we want to tell you about, its history as a slave fort. that chapter cannot be overlooked. christa edwards is the associate director of nyu's first study abroad program on the continent. she's been living in ghana helping students learn about africa. this morning she is our guide. i'll tell you she is actually stuck at traffic at a government roadblock. you're laughing there christa. were you on your way to hopefully, possibly see the president speak today? >> yes. we're trying to do that as well as do some different interviews and talk to different people. but literally the traffic is unbelievable. it's out of this world. anywhere you turn there's a road block that's been put up by the police. we are sitting in traffic. people are starting to get out

of their vehicles, public transport, to start to walk outrageous distances just to see if they'll get a view of obama. and just sort of find out what's going on around town. it's a difficult situation. >> no doubt. >> though the enthusiasm is there. >> yeah. you mow, actually, i have been to ghana. i mow the traffic on a normal day is pretty hectic as it is. let me ask you about cape coast and the castles there. the president is going to be traveling there later today. this is quite an emotional trip. that is of course a slave fort. you have been there. talk to us a little bit about what the president will see once he gets there. >> well, he will witness a very tragic period of history in our world. he will enter the castle -- i believe he'll go to cape coast cast elle, there are two, the oldest and then the other one. he's scheduled to go to the kit coast castle. when he enters he's going to

experience the dunn junes. in these dungeons hundreds and hundreds of men and will were kept for months at a time in unbelievable conditions. i believe when he sees that he will be shocked and just struck by what, well, some of those of us who are of african descent, our ancestors had to go through before going to the middle passage and on to the americas. so while we read about it in history, going there and facing it, a hands-on experience, is just unbelievable. so i think he'll be very touched as well as the first lady, especially as she is a direct descendant from the slave trade. i'm sure that she will also feel the pain. >> well, in your personal experience, explain to us what was the most moving, perhaps the most chilling moment during your tour of cape coast? >> well, i think going into the

female dungeon. i am an african-american woman. i think being there and realizing that so many women had to live in what i described earlier as horrific conditions and be raped in these castles and see other women in fact raped before them by the colonial masters or just the pure stench of being in a dungeon with hundreds and hundreds of other women in unbelievably hot conditions. it really, really affects you when you're there. in fact, i know in both castles the stench of perhaps the past is still there. so the first time that i entered those castles and those particular dungeons, especially the door of no return, it was a very chilling experience for me, very painful. i had tears rolling down my eyes, as many people who go there experience. and i even heard voices, voices,

chains. i thought that would never really be the experience. i had heard that people had experienced it in the past, but i myself also heard the voices. it was very scary. it really, really changed me in many, many, many ways. but at the same time it made me realize that we must never -- we must all vow never to allow that experience to take place again. and i think you go through those dungeons, go through the castle and then come out just sort of hoping and sort renewed passion that this would never happen again. in fact, that's what they have you do when you leave the castle is say, never again. the groups that i've taken there before, we always say that. >> i know there's -- once people have toured the castles they even have a prayer not only to say never again but just to renew your spirit and know that this is something in the past and hopefully will never happen

in the future. christa edwards, thanks for spending time with us. i know you're trying to get to the president's speech today. best of luck to you. we can hear the horns blowing. it might be quite a ride before you get there. we appreciate you spending time with us today. cnn of course will bring you live coverage of president obama's speech to the parliament in ac caccra the capital. it it's been moved back to 8:40 eastern this morning. when it happens, we'll bring it it to you live. in the meantime, anderson cooper is with president obama on his historic trip to ghana. monday night 10:00 eastern, don't miss "ac 360," a special report as anderson sits down for an exclusive interview with the president. monday night 10:00 eastern right here. big week next week for the president's supreme court nominee, sonia sotomayor. her first steps to possibly becoming the first latina on the supreme court. we'll see what kind of hurdles she has to get past, coming up.

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over here with reynolds in the weather center, we're talking about some hot weather. i didn't think we were talking about any storms, but we might have some in the wrong place in the wrong time. >> that's right. namely cape canaveral. we have the space shuttle. the possibility of high-octane fuel going p up, you don't want that with lightning strikes. that combination is not something you want to mix with. >> when you put it that way. >> yeah. that's the reason they try to

have, say, a 30-mile-wide open window of clear weather for the shuttle launch. looks like it won't happen today. better luck another point. let me show you the reason why it might be the case. the reason why is we've got a stationary front right along parts of central florida. that combined with the daytime heating will give you a chance of showers, maybe some thunderstorms. of course, with that lightning, that's the reason why it might put the kibosh on the shuttle launch. in the great lakes, midwest, chance of severe storms. if you're trying to launch your day with a drive to toledo, columbus, ohio, scattered showers and storms a possibility. already this morning we've seen a few of those storms, some in michigan, nothing severe but beneficial rainfall. cool day all things considered in detroit and chicago. temperatures mainly in the 80s, don't seem so cool. but when you've been in texas when the high is 101 today, 95 in houston, austin usually in the triple digits and mcallen,

texas, the seventh day in a row that they've had highs going up to the triple digits. 113 expected for phoenix, 106 in vegas, 59 in san francisco, back in salt lake city up to 90. when you get to new york and boston, high temperatures mainly into the upper to mid 70s. overall a fairly nice day for parts of the northeast if you don't mind the scattered showers. that is a look at your forecast. we'll have more throughout the day so sit tight. back to you. >> thank you. president obama addresses ghana's parliament at 84040 eastern this morning. we'll take you there live. >> we'll talk about how people are receiving him there. they are receiving him well. all of those details, live coverage, stay with us this morning.

hello, everybody, from the cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning" on this july 11th. >> good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. president obama is in ghana this morning. he's got a warm welcome. he's been there actually to speak not only at 8:00 this morning in our eastern hour, but he's also going to be touring some of the dungeons as we spoke about earlier at cape coast, a slave fort. but a lot of people there so excited that he is in country. in fact, they're playing tunes on the radio that they sang in his honor. ♪ obama come to ghana >> you can make out the parts you need to make out. it says welcome obama.

some of the most popular artists there in west africa put together a video. this is being played out on the radio, blaring it in cars on the street, everybody excited that president obama is in country. again, like betty mentioned, his speech coming up many our 8:00 hour. we'll have it for you live. police are now declaring a crime scene at an illinois cemetery where hundreds of plots were allegedly dug up and resold. police say they have to investigate more than 5,000 graves. relatives are not going to be able to visit for several days because of the investigation. investigators say employees were dumping the remains at the back of the cemetery, which is just outside of chicago. four people face felony charges. funeral services for former nfl quarterback steve mcnair are scheduled for today near his hometown in mississippi. police say his mistress shot and killed him last week before killing herself. live reports from mississippi coming later this morning.

a heavy paramilitary presence today in china after last weekend's violent protests. officials are reporting a big jump in the death toll. they say at least 184 people were killed. the violence was a result of ethnic tensions between the ewingers predominantly muslim and the majority. back to president obama. he is touring a hospital in the ghanian capital. >> let's head to suzanne malveaux who is traveling with the president on this trip. hello once again to you. there she is. good morning, once again to you. though the president -- what is going on with the president? two presidents meeting this morning. what do they have to chat about? >> reporter: well, t.j., i want to show you a lot of souvenirs we've found on the campaign trail. this here in ghana, this

traditional wrap, the official welcome to president obama. one of the local papers very excited about the first family. you'll see there the picture on the front. we saw late last night the first family arriving on the tarm tarmacment they were greeted by traditional dancers as you had heard that song that was playing, that is playing throughout the country as you had mentioned. there was some more formal official ceremonies this morning, the 21-gut salute, the playing of the national anthems as well as the changing of the color guard. all of this as the two leaders sit down, president obama meeting with the president. what emerged from that meeting is president obama saying that africa is not separate from world affairs, that that is why he is here. it it's why he's here dierg this trip to really demonstrate this is a country where previous presidents, bush and clinton, have been before, where there is a peaceful transition of democracy, where things run very

smoothly. he's going to talk about good gfrnance, the important of that not only here in ghana but throughout africa. t.j.? >> suzanne malveaux traveling, again, with the president there in ghana. we'll be talking to you again this morning. thank you so much. cnn's anderson cooper is with president obama on his historic trip to africa. the president is due to tour one of the fortresses on ghana's coast. as i mentioned earlier, they were used as transit points for shipping slaves all over the world. anderson went to one last night, in fact, and then talked about it with campbell brown. >> the emotional high point of the trip is when with he's going to come here to the cape coast where there's a series of fortresses, several hundred years old each of them, that were used basically as holding cells and transshipment points for millions of slaves then sent to the new world, sent to europe and all around the world here for hundreds of years. the president is going to tour one of those fortresses with his family, with his kids.

there are dungeons in these fortresses where hundreds of slaves were crammed in before they were loaded out onto ships and sent to america, elsewhere in the new world and in europe. i can tell you i was at the fortress today, in the dungeons. it is a haunting place to be. it is an emotional trip for anyone who goes there. and the president will be there with his family and we'll be there with him as well talking with him about his feelings on the trip. >> you don't want to miss a special "ac 360" monday night as anderson cooper shares his interview with the president. >> later, we'll bring you live coverage of president obama's speech to ghana's parliament, 8:40 eastern time. right here for you on cnn. judge sonia sotomayor is about to face the biggest challenge in her bid to become the country's first hispanic supreme court justice. paul steinhauser joins us with a

preview of the show. how are you doing? >> good. >> i need you to lay it out for us. what do you expect from the hearings? and who will lead the questioning? >> it will start monday, a full week's worth of confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor's nomination to the fresupreme co. 12 democrats, 7 republicans, the republicans led by senator jeff sessions of alabama, the ranking republican on the committee. you'll see him questioning sonia sotomayor quite often and maybe he'll be leading some of the attacks if there are attacks on her. also senator john cornyn from texas is another republican pretty outspoken about sotomayor. you can see him lead some of the serious questioning as the supreme court nominee. >> you know, as we watch this play out monday, are there any particular stumbling blocks we should kind of be looking out for possibly? >> monday will be a day where you'll hear mostly from the senatorsment the questioning of

sonia sotomayor will start late monday or tuesday and wednesday and could go into thursday as well. we'll see other people testify later in the week. as you asked, what are some of the stumbling blocks? i think you could see questions about her stances on aaffirmative action, also the question comments she made about her latina heritage, how it may or may not affect her decisions on the high court. you'll have republicans ask her about those kind of things, things we heard about soon after her mom nation by president obama. >> but, you know, once this is all said and done, how quickly do you think we'll know if she's approved or denied? >> we'll know about the confirmation vote in the senate on the judiciary committee immediately once they make that vote at the end of next week or the following week. after that is over and under the assumption she gets confirmed by the committee, it goes to the full senate and president obama has said he would like the full senate to vote on sonia sotomayor before they break for their summer recess at the beginning of august, betty. >> if approved, how soon will she be meeting with justices and

reviewing cases an all that? >> if approved by the senate, before they break at the end of august, she could join the high court almost immediately. remember, they're not in session until early october, but they will be hearing -- this is interesting -- one case in the middle of september. this was a case that was held over from this past session, a case involving a campaign film against hillary clinton so she could be part of those discussions as well in midseptember. then of course the full high court next session begins the beginning of october. >> it all gets under way monday morning. looking forward to that. thanks for the insight, paul. >> thank you. >> want to fif you this programming note. cnn will provide live coverage of the sonia sotomayor hearings monday morning starting 10:00 a.m. eastern. you've made payments to your landlord, made them on time. but there's a loophole you could have missed that could force you to lose your home. also, there's a lot of government money going around these days it seems.

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♪ thriller you'll recognize certainly the song and this routine. but this is from gary, indiana, last night paying tribute to

michael jackson, their home boy. that's where jackson got his start. his childhood home. instead of saying good-bye to the king of pop with their own tribute which featured a lot of local talent hoping they could be the next big thing that come out of gary, indiana. >> that's pretty good. >> let's talk about your money for just a second. you made all of your condo payments, maybe even your house payments, yet you're facing foreclosure. is that a mistake? not if you have failed to pay your homeowners association or neighborhood fees. it's a little-known loophole that costs thousands of homeowners offguard and housing expert collide anderson is here to sort it out for us. clyde, when we think about something like this, you don't think it will send you into foreclosure. how many times will an hoa actually foreclose on a home? >> this used to be rare. now it's increased, sometimes as much as 30%. you're starting to see hoas get

fed up that they don't have the money to keep up the communities. closing a lot more now. >> so you made your payments, though, yet the hoa can still come in and foreclose because you haven't paid your dues some. >> exactly. because when you sign that contract, when you agree to p purchase this home, you're agreeing to make the payments on the hoa. you've got to do it. that's their right to foreclose. >> but at the same time i've got to ask you, does this defeat the purpose? because if an hoa, homeowners association, forecloses on your property, that's going to bring the value down in the neighborhood. doesn't it just defeat itself? >> you know what? it's lesser of two because you think about it. if you're not paying the hoa, the community can't really keep up the community. they can't maintain the grounds, keep it looking beautiful as they would use the money or make some good decisions for the community. so it's either, do we foreclose on the property and let somebody who will take care of the property come in or do we let you continue to pull the community down by not making the payments. >> you say make the property beautiful, whatnot. i know a lot of people who say, i pay those duesment i have no

idea what the hoa is doing in my neighborhood. let's get to the pros first of buying a home in an hoa neighborhood. >> well, it's like the good, the bad and the ugly of the hoas. you've got good ones, bad ones. some of the pros is they maintain the common ground, planting plants, maintaining the pool, keeping the grass looking good. those are pros. another pro would be actually enforcing the neighborhood cleanup. making sure there's not trash around the community, make sure everything is picked up when people come into the community. also streamline community decisions. what do we do next? do we pave this road? do we hire a lifeguard at the pool? do we want that townhouse community or the commercial development? >> the cons? we've both heard several of them. >> there are a lot of cons. i think one of the first cons is they can place a lien on the property. it can be foreclosed. that as's a big con. not a lot of people are aware of that.

another one is fees can be expensive. >> yes, they can. don't you have a friend that has a $900 fee? >> $900 a month. that's not his mortgage payment. that's actually the hoas he has to pay. >> you'll see them range from $30, as low as that with good hoas, to adds high as that. it really depends on where you're buying. also, the fees can increase. you may start off at one point and they can increase every year. you want to make sure you understand the covenant to know what it can and can't do. >> my hoa fees have increased three times in five years. you've got to be aware of that. who knew that you could actually go into foreclosure because you've been delinquent on the hoa payments. >> exactly. it's big. read the cocovenants. >> read the fine print always. >> the details are there. >> that's right. clyde, thank you you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. betty, did he just say he has a friend paying $900 a month? >> $900 a month. that is not his mortgage payment. that is his hoa. >> where does this friend live?

i mean, what kind of friends does he have? >> we need some visitors. is he having a barbecue anytime soon? >> that's a nice neighborhood. we, of course, keep hearing about the trillions of dollars spent to rescue our economy. a lot of people are asking is how much is making it to my area, my street. josh levs showing us this. >> some people have $900 to spend on those fees, other people trying to find out if the road ash the corner of their house is going to get by stimulus money. we have a way of finding out. what i'm going to show you is not from the government. (announcer) imagination soars with crayola at an unbeatable price. save money. live better. walmart. ♪ is to get as far away from it all as possible.

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well, listen to this little bit of news. an offer from pakistan to help the u.s. negotiate with taliban. >> the top military office says pakistan can set up direct talks with the top taliban leader in afghanistan. michael ware has more. >> reporter: t.j., betty, the obama administration has expressed its first response to the pakistan military's offer to help broker talks between washington and the taliban fighters of afghanistan. president obama's special envoy

for afghanistan and pakistan described the admission from the pakistani military that it has ongoing communications with the afghan taliban as not surprising. however, ambassador holbrook did say that he sees that admission publicly as a positive development. >> there have been long allegations that there are continued contacts, and i think it's a step forward for the pakistanis to say publicly what everyone has always assumed. >> reporter: but under what some pakistani military officers called intense pressure following the revelations of the ongoing communication with the taliban, pakistan military headquarters issued a denial of the remarks of its official spokesman, describing them as fabricated, faceless and taken out of context, even those remarks were with made on camera. nonetheless, ambassador richard

hol brooke says he will privately take up this issue with the pakistani government when he visits islamabad in coming weeks. t.j., betty? >> president obama set to speak to the ghanian parliament next hour. >> the president brushes aside talk of a second stim mris bill and asks for patience saying the package signed in february is showing progress. >> in a little over 100 days, this recovery act has worked as intended. it's already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession. it's delivered $43 billions in tax relief to american working families and businesses. without the help the recovery act has provided to struggling states, it's estimated the state deficit would be nearly twice as large as they are now, resulting in tens of thousands of additional lay ofoffs. layoffs that would affect police

officers, teachers, and firefighters. >> well, as he has done in the past, the president tied the economic crisis to the last administration. >> however, the president now dealing with this economy. a lot of people are calling it his economy. that is how at least republicans are putting it in their own weekly address. >> house republican whip eric cantor calls the stimulus bill nothing but pork, waste and massive borrowing. he says there's another way to go. >> since january, we have offered alternatives to the out of control big government democrat agenda that unfortunately became law and has completely failed to create jobs. our plan is simple and smart, and its strength is that it doesn't invest in washington. it invests in the american people. we believe washington should stop its war on the middle class and reduce taxes so every hard working, tax paying family in america will see an immediate increase in their income.

a prosperous middle class is critical for our entire nation's well-being. >> the gop version of the stimulus bill would have cost $478 billion and not a single house republican voted for the one the president eventually signed into law. >> there is a lot of talk about spending all of this money to rescue the economy, but some people feel it it's just that. a lot of talk. >> josh levs has an eye on all the money and where it's actually going. good morning. >> good morning to you guys. this is interesting. let's zoom in. what i'm going to show you is called recovery.org. what's important here is you hear from the white house a lot. but what they're actually talking about is recover.gov. you'll get more information here, ran by a private company. let me show you how this works. it works well with the cursor. you can go to any state at all and it gives you a complete breakdown. i reached out to people and said, send me your county and i will show yours. check this out.

this says hope county, this breaks it down every single county. polk county in florida getting $31 millions there. couple more here, san antonio, texas, this one bex ar county. one more, is getting exactly zero dollars according to recovery.org. amazing breakdowns at this website. if you want to find your county, just go to the main page. recovery.org. check it out. back to you. we've been talking this morning, betty. we can't believe it's been 20 years, do the right thing. that movie has been out 20 years, do the right thing. spike lee. do you remember this?

>> i thought maybe we would hear radio or something. >> little something. spike is going to be stopping by our studio this morning. we'll be talking to him about the relevance of the movie and the relevance of that haircut that he had back in the day. >> that was nice. and we are awaiting president obama's speech in africa. we are going to bring that to you live.

gm, as we know, went into bankruptcy. big deal. a lot of people losing jobs, dealerships shutting down. they are already emerging from bankruptcy. a lot of people saying, how is this company going to be different? it's not going to look different at all. >> not in the way of logo. >> we're talking about the logo. they are keeping it. there was debate about whether they needed to change the way it looks. >> they were thinking of changing it it it to the blue gm it has to green, i guess because it is our money these days. but they decided against that. so the logo will not be changing. in fact, the ceo said, just not going to happen. the government bailout of gm was about $50 billion. yeah, a lot of green went around for that one. still seeing blue that gm logo. stay with us. much more news to come. with more calcium and vitamin d... to support bone and breast health... while helping you hydrate.

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♪ beat it beat it check it out. a tribute in michael jackson's hometown, gary, indiana. putting on their own memorial show for their favorite son. >> of course. he is the homeboy there. he lived there for 11 years before the family packed up and moved to california. his father joe jackson was at the tribute in gary. so was michael's first music teacher as well. the extreme heat, how