if that's the case, then there's going to be more pressure to intensify the sanctions, and as we know, north korea's not exactly a flowering state but closer to a failed state in terms of its economy. i think they have to take that into consideration. so i don't want to speculate that this is a break-through, but i think we should all look for every opportunity if there is some avenue that we can proceed to bring about a denuclearized north korea. that would be beneficial to mankind. >> the other interesting thing i want your take on, secretary cohen, currents secretary of state hillary clinton apparently rejecting an official report that came out from north korea's news agency that her husband, bill clinton, delivered an apology about the incident to kim jong-il. she said that is not true, that did not occur. so it is interesting that there's already a little bit of a discrepancy there in what exactly was said. do you think that we will find out more about what really happened? >> well, i think president

clinton will be in the best position to indicate exactly what he said. you have a controlled press coming out of north korea, so it may have been a statement written by the state indicating what they wanted out of this, and president bill clinton will be the one to talk to to say, did you in fact issue an apology, and if so, why. it may have been a repetition of what the young ladies have already said that they apparently have said that they were sorry. it may be some confusion over who said who was sorry. >> we just see the tug hooking itself up to the front of the aircraft there. they'll be opening the doors and pulling the plane inside, we expect, in the next few minutes or so. it's also, mr. secretary, interesting to point out this difference, too, that kim jong-il wanted president clinton to come to pyongyang to bring euna lee and laura ling back, at the very same time that north korean officials are having quite a diplomatic spat with the

secretary of state hillary clinton. >> yes, it's hard to say whether there is a good cop/bad cop being played here, whether that was part of the program. but you may recall that secretary clinton being a team player has taken a very tough position dealing with the north, consistent with president obama and vice president joe biden, saying, look, here they have backed away once again from an agreement, they're under sanction by the united nations, they are exploding bombs, they are threatening to build five or six or more bombs, they are posing a threat to the entire region, and therefore, the position of the administration has to be a very tough line. so obviously the administration taking a tough line was not going to send one of its top people, namely secretary clinton, to deal with them on this issue. this issue has to be seen as entirely separate from what the north koreans are doing with their nuclear program.

so i think it is a good division of labor that president clinton can say "i am a private citizen," a highly recognized private citizen. that gives the north koreans what they want in the sense of prestige, that signal being sent to their constituency. we are able to secure the young women safely back into the united states, and just maybe there's an opportunity by virtue of this visit to see if something was said on the side, outside the realm of what was to be discussed, that would indicate an opportunity to move forward on other issues. it may not be there, but at least it was an opportunity -- president clinton, believe me, is very, very intelligent, sophisticated, and picks up signals awfully quickly in terms of what might be an opportunity for the united states. >> he certainly is that. he's always open to an opportunity as well. we've seen that repeatedly over the years. >> if you're just joining us right now, this is the plane carrying the two journalists who's been held since march in

north korea, carrying the former president as well, bill clinton. as we've said, it looks like they'll be ready to tug this into the hangar where people are eagerly awaiting the families of the journalists as well. we're speaking with former secretary of defense william cohen. there have been critics, of course there's no doubt joy for these families and you can imagine if you were in that situation, you'd do everything possible to secure the release of your loved one. but there are others, including the former ambassador to the united nations who say this really amounts to rewarding bad behavior on the part of north korea and its leader. what do you think? >> well, the option would be to leave the young women there for -- i don't know how many years -- was it 12 years of hard labor? until such time as there is some break-through on a diplomatic basis with the north koreans. i think to the extent that you could separate this issue out from the nuclear issue, which i believe has been done here by allowing a former president to make the trip, understanding that he was going to be able to

get the young ladies back to the united states, and having no portfolio beyond that, but to observe, make an assessment of kim jong-il's health, his psychological makeup, signals that were being sent, all of these things are important for american intelligence officers and others, the president of the united states, to make an assessment where do we go from here? we have been trying to bring more an more pressure upon the chinese who really do hold the card here to bring more pressure against the north koreans. the japanese, the south koreans, the united states, we are all on board. the two major countries who have not been as eager to impose more strict sanctions have been russia and china. china is the one that's closest to them. so i think if you can separate these out, say this is a humanitarian mission, maybe we'll find something, and hopefully that will lead to a break-through on the other. i don't see that as being a negative. >> just watching pictures here live, mr. secretary, they're taking some luggage off of the

aircraft as officials probably go through and process the returning americans here as they have to do every time you come in from outside of the country. we expect the plane will be brought inside. it was a long process to get to this point that began almost immediately after laura ling and euna lee were detained by the north koreans. former vice president al gore who owns the television network -- part owner of the television network they were working for has worked tirelessly to try to win their return. we got a bit of a tick-tock on all of this from the white house last night in an off-the-record background briefing. they said that there was an initial offer made back in july to allow euna lee and laura ling to leave if president clinton, former president clinton, came and picked them up. and then they had to confirm this, of course. and there were conversations that, to the best of people's ability, confirmed that yes, in fact it would be the case that

they would be brought back, and that looks like laura ling there that's about to go on bore the aircraft. does that look like lisa to you? >> it's hard to tell from this standpoint. yeah. it may be. let me get with thelma for a second. i know you're inside the hangar. have you heard anything about whether or not lisa would be boarding that plane, thelma? >> john and kiran, have you a better vantage point from where you are right now. i can tell you i am inside so i don't know who's boarding that plane. but i can tell you that people have been out here waiting for the families to come out because we were told that they would be waiting for this reunion. that hasn't happened. so that it very intriguing. perhaps they are going to take the family on board the plane for a private reunion. we don't know yet. >> we don't know who that was but it was somebody who looked an awful lot like lisa ling. lisa will be familiar to viewers of cnn because she was involved in our "planet in peril" series

and has joined us several times here on "american morning." maybe she just wanted to see her sister before they pulled the plane inside for a little private reunion. perhaps she in fact has gone on board. i'm looking at a fairly large monitor and it actually did look like her even though we're looking at that picture from a long, long way away. you can see these pictures are being taken by a helicopter. but back to what i was saying about negotiating their release, the white house was in touch with korean officials to try to verify this offer. and when asked if there were direct talks between the white house and pyongyang, the background briefer, the official from the white house, refused to discuss the exact nature of the talks. now the white house had been talking to north koreans through the swedes, because the united states, of course, doesn't have an embassy in pyongyang, doesn't have any relations with the north korean government. so the swedes were acting as intermediaries. but the suggestion was kind of left open that perhaps there were some direct talks here in

trying to verify this offer. when they got it to the point where they saw, yeah, this is pretty much a sure thing -- >> looks like they're going to be opening those doors. >> -- we know he had a couple of face-to-face briefingbriefings,t recent occurred saturday at his home in washington. that's a little bit of a tick-tock on how this all came to pass. >> that is part of the time line. i'm sure we'll hear more details of what when we hear from the two girls and hopefully we'll hear from former president clinton as well about some of the inner workings of exactly how this all came to pass. >> looks like they're getting ready to bring the stairs up. >> we just heard from thelma as well. you said it looks like they'll be opening the the doors to the hangar as well? >> kiran, that's what it looks like from where i'm standing right now. you can see two men who are on the inside of the hangar. they appear to be unlocking some of the hinges there to perhaps open those doors. one of the pios had come right by us and said that it would be

happening any moment now. >> they were just putting the railing extensions down on that gangway from the aircraft probably to fold it up, bring it inside. then the tug will drag it inside. and then the grand reunion will take place. there they go, the stairs are being folded up now on the aircraft. you can't see that, that's not on your screen. we're watching a different monitor here in the studio. thelma, have you seen the family members yet? >> you know, john, we have been keeping an eye out for those family members. we have not seen them yet. we are -- looks like those doors are opening. yeah, there it is. >> all of our questions are going to be answered in just a moment. we're watching this. you can't imagine the anticipation probably being felt both by the family members as well as the two journalists who have been separated for so long. there you see. >> there is a scene that you would only see at the hollywood burbank airport. >> there you go. there you go. >> impressive sight. >> sun coming up on that

aircraft as they open the doors. it's like out of a harrison ford movie, isn't it? >> there you see the door closing on the plane. we'll see the tug pulling the plane into that hangar. and then from there we'll get to witness this reunion along with the rest of the world and family members of these two journalists that have been stuck there since march. 140 days. >> john, kiran? >> go ahead, thelma. >> you know, when we walked in to this very large hangar, which is about the size of a football field, i wondered, who owned this thing and who's plane exactly is this? it turns out that the plane is owned by shangrila entertainment. steve bing owns that plane and apparently provided the plane to president clinton so that he could go and pick up laura and

euna. >> should mention here, thelma, too, we saw somebody who looked like laura ling getting on board that plane, a reliable source informs me that that was not her. we don't know who that was. likeness was striking. >> john? there is the family. you see the family right now? there is lisa. lisa ling there with her husband paul. and right in front of lisa is, of course, doug ling, the father of both of the women. >> we just caught a glimpse of the husband of laura. we got a different shot. that i believe is aian right there. he's obscured by some photographers taking pictures. you can see the elation on o his face, he has his hands clasped in front of him. you have a lot of mixed feelings, too. you're so thrilled to see your loved ones, at the same time a highly, highly public reunion taking place.

>> kiran, that's the most intriguing thing about this. we have thought that perhaps they would have some private time, that this reunion would be private, it would happen prior to those doors opening. and then the public relations person told us, no, that's not going to happen. we're going to bring them off the plane and they will be re-united right here on the floor. you can see the first person -- >> that looks like hannah. she's almost jumping out of her dad's arms. >> can't imagine what it must be like for them as well. >> hasn't seen mom since the beginning of march. my goodness. >> john? imagine not seeing mom since the beginning of march. and then seeing this huge plane pull in to this hangar and you

can just imagine what's going on in this little girl's mind as she's watching this. i mean she has this look on her face like what is going on here? >> yeah. we're all seeing it unfold. she actually looks pretty calm and composed for all that she's been through over these several months. she's clutching her dad's hand. he's showing her the plane. all we're waiting for right now is to see the two women step off that plane along with the former president and did you get anymore information, thelma, as to whether or not we'll hear from him during this? we know there has been some confirmation. we'll be hearing from laura making brief remarks. we heard that from the family spokesperson. do you think we'll hear from the president as well right now? >> i imagine we will. we were told that the entire party would be brought before the microphone on the floor and at that point -- >> there's al gore and lisa ling as well. >> former vice president al gore is part owner of current tv which is the network that the the two women were working for.

we also understand, too, that on his way to elkhart, indiana this morning, the president of the united states, barack obama, will be making a statement expected about this as well. we can imagine he'll say how happy he is that they're back on native soil again, safe and sound after being in detention for so long. what we also don't know is exactly -- the family members spoke with them on occasion, but what the exact circumstances of their detention was. they were sentenced to a prison camp, 12 years of hard labor. we don't know exactly what stage that ever got to. >> let's watch them exit the plane right now. there we see their family members an we're hearing the cheers. >> there's euna in the front there.

hannah sort of says it all, doesn't she? >> she's just holding on to him. hasn't even said a word. i think she nodded at her mom at one point. can you just imagine how heartbreaking these past few months have been. you think about all the other people. you saw three people right now in iran being held and many all over the world. there you see al gore, former vice president. we still haven't seen president clinton exit the plane yet.

>> i'm sure he's hanging back, just wanting the family to have a moment. not a dry eye in the house. here, too. wow. >> john, it was interesting to watch aian playton, laura's husband, approach the plane. it was probably hard for you to see this, but he just kept on wringing his hands and he led the group up to the plane and when his wife of 12 years got off, big hugs, kisses, he has said a while ago that they had been married for 12 years. it was the first time that they had been apart for such a long time. they just recently bought a home together and they had ordered pillows. he said the pillows came and that's when he felt very lonely and realized how much he missed his wife. and now they're re-united. >> the thing is -- we spoke with former vice president gore about their detention. he was optimistic he would be able to get them out, that it

was just a matter of time. but when you're dealing with north korea, you just never know. are they going to hold him for a few weeks just to make a point. are they going to hold him for a few years. we know the conditions in one of the camps that they might have been sent to. embassy international and other groups have detailed the videota videotape they'd smuggled out, conditions in those camps. as a family member, your heart has to break every day not knowing what your loved one's going through. >> you see her dad's face on the left-hand part of the screen. both journalists doing risky work going places all around the world to try to bring stories from very remote parts. laura ling herself was in north korea covering the situation there -- we see some clapping taking place. there we see our former president, william jefferson clinton weaking off the plane. >> followed by his former chief of staff, john podesta.

there are the two former colleagues embracing. >> this is all quite a surreal moment to watch unfold. there you see the president shaking hands with the family members. i'm sure they want to give him a big show of gratitude as well for his work in securing the release of the two journalists. >> absolutely. as the former secretary of defense william cohen was saying, president clinton wanted to go to north korea in the waning days of his presidency an the latter half of the year 2000, thought that an election year might be too much after symbol. so decided not to go on the trip. he's wanted to go back there for a long, long time, had the opportunity to here. what a tremendous premise under which to make that trip to pyongyang as well when you can bring back these two journalists. we talked about the dangers that you face as a journalist, particularly in that part of the world where you're dealing with potentially hostile borders.

euna lee is a photographer and editor. and typically she'd been working in the newsroom. this was her first assignment outside of the newsroom. and one that lasted from the beginning of march until now. >> it is remarkable, both of them look great. as we heard, they were being i guess held in a guest house. they were allowed to make periodic phone calls while there was talk of their sentencing to hard labor. they didn't actually do any time in a labor camp. both of them, given all that they've been through, look fantastic. >> yeah, they do. it was great that the swedes were able to negotiate these phone calls back and forth because you can imagine their loved ones back home in the early going of this ordeal had no idea what their circumstances were and then the swedish diplomats were able to negotiate at least in periodic phone calls so they were check in. not exactly sure what the frequency of that was, but it's

great to be able to have that line between a place like north korea, which as we know is very closed society, very secretive society, you don't really know what's going on there back here in the united states. >> if you're just joining us, this was about 15 minutes ago, this roller coaster of emotions that we all witnessed here as that plane pulled into the hangar, the loved ones who had been waiting and waiting tirelessly trying to secure the release of euna lee who you're seeing there hugging her little daughter, hannah, and laura ling, the sister of lisa ling. they arrived safe and sound after quite an ordeal being taken in march after they were reporting on the border between china an north korea. whirlwind trip for the former president, bill clinton. there you see him talking with lisa ling as well. all of this unfolding in this hangar in burbank. this was something that was arranged so that this could be very public and we are still awaiting the statements. we still haven't heard from the two women and we also haven't

heard from former president clinton about what it was like. >> we expect we'll probably hear interest them in the next few minutes. thelma gutierrez, describe -- obviously we're looking at pictures here. describe for us what the feeling is there in that hangar this morning. >> john and kiran, there was so much anticipation all morning long for this very moment and i think what really strikes me is just watching that little girl. a 4-year-old little girl who hasn't seen her mother in all of these months and all of a sudden these doors open up and this plane comes through and the look on her face. her eyes were wide open and she looked at her mother, almost to say, gee, you know? lots of people come to airports but i mean this is really something. and her grandparents were holding her and they kept on asking her so what do you think about your mother? you know, they kept on pointing at their mother and the little girl just smiled.

and i think that that's one of the moments that definitely strikes you. >> we are just getting e-mail to us, a statement from president clinton. we're probably going to hear from him in the next few minutes here, although we see them, they may be making their way to the microphone. says, "i am very happy after this long ordeal laura ling and euna lee are home and re-united with their loved ones. let's listen to them. here's laura. >> 30 hours ago euna lee and i were prisoners in north korea. we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. and then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meet in. we were taken to a location and

when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us president bill clinton. we were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. and now we stand here home and free. euna and i would just like to express our deepest gratitude to president clinton and his wonderful, amazing, not to mention super cool team, including john podesta, doug ban, justin cooper, dr. roger

ban, david straub, and the united states secret service who traveled half way around the world, and then some, to secure our release. we'd also like to thank president obama, secretary clinton, vice president gore who we also call al, the swedish ambassador, max boyar, kurt tom, the people at the u.s. state department who worked so hard to win the release of their fellow americans. steve bing and his crew, and andrew liveris and the dow company and i know that i am forgetting a bunch of instrumental people right now, but forgive me if i'm a little

incoherent. to our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and to the complete strangers with the kindness of hearts who showed us so much love and sent us so many positive thoughts and energy, we thank you. we could feel your love all the way in north korea. it is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. it is what sustained our faith that we would come home. the past 140 days have been the most difficult heartwrenching time of our lives. we are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of north korea and we are so happy to be home. and we are just so anxious right now to be able to spend some

quiet, private time getting re-acquainted with our families. thank you so much. >> ladies and gentlemen, the family's asked me to say a few words and on their behalf, all of us, and on behalf of the staff and families of current tv and my co-founder, joel hyatt, we want to welcome laura and euna home. we want to thank president bill clinton for undertaking this mission and performing it so skillfully, and all the members of his team who played key roles in this. also to president obama, laura mentioned this, but president obama and countless members of

his administration have been deeply involved in this humanitarian effort. o to secretary clinton and the members of the state department, several of whom are here, they have really put their hearts into this. it speaks well of our country that when two american citizens are in harm's way, that so many people would just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending, and we are so grateful to all of them. to the thousands upon thousands of people who have held laura and euna in their prayers, who have written letters and called and sent e-mails, we're very, very grateful. to steve bing and all the folks who made the flight possible, we say a word of deep thanks as well. this has been an ordeal for

them, but i want you all to know, your families have been unbelievable. unbelievable. passionate, involved, committed, innovative. you'll hear a lot of stories, and they're looking forward to hearing a lot of stories from you. but euna, hannah's been a great girl while you were gone. laura, your mom's been making your special soup for two days now and to everybody who's played a part in this -- again, a special thanks to president bill clinton, my partner and friend, so grateful and ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out. we're going to let these families have a full and proper reunion now, but thank you for coming out.

>> well there you have it. good morning, everybody. i'm heidi collins. as we watch this very dramatic and extremely emotional picture inside the airplane hangar there in burbank, california, where we have just watched the reunion of laura ling and euna lee with their families. and there's just no doubt that the gal who stole the show, if you will, was the 4-year-old daughter of laura ling, hannah there. we saw her just dive into her mom's arms and really not be able to say much at all. she certainly didn't want to let go. as you can imagine. after 140 days. there you see her there hanging on to her mom for dear life. lots and lots of tears. really a lump in a lot of people's throat actually. we did hear from laura ling, her

quote was the last 140 days have been the most difficult and heart wrenching of our lives. she started her whole address to the media by saying 30 hours ago we were in a north korean prison and we feared we would be sent to a hard labor camp. then as they learned they were going to a meeting, and things developed from there. the next person that they saw was president bill clinton. you know the history from there. there they are departing the aircraft inside the hangar. there's that precious moment of euna lee being reunited with her husband michael and daughter hannah. also in the background there you see laura ling reuniting with her husband as well, aian clayton. we are watching another monitor. this just happened moments ago. in case you may have missed it, really emotional video there. i am also watching a monitor waiting for president barack obama to come out. we understand that he will be making some type of reactionary

comment to this as well on his way today to indiana to talk a little bit about the economy. but feeling very much like he wants to have something to say here regarding this reunion and the release of these two american journalists from a north korean prison. just to get you updated and remind you of the story, what happened in the very beginning back in march, when the two of them crossed into the border from china. it was called a hostile act. that's why they were imprisoned by the north korean government. again, as you know, lots of developments from there and a very, very long time later this is what we are seeing today. thelma gutierrez is standing by inside that airplane hangar, was there for all of this. and joins us now just a half-hour before 7:00 this morning. it's been an early and very, very busy morning, thelma. tell us the reaction firsthand there to what we just saw.

>> reporter: heidi, it was really incredible. all morning long we had wondered if the reunion would actually take place in front of the cameras. after all, this is a family that hadn't seen each other for 140 days. undoubtedly there would be a lot of personal stuff they'd want to talk about, perhaps even a private reunion for hannah, the 4-year-old little girl. but it didn't work out that way. it actually unfolded right before our cameras. heidi, it was really interesting to watch as the doors opened. what a dramatic moment to see those doors open, see that plane come in, then the family members, a line of them, all go up to the plane and then greet euna and laura. >> boy, thelma. >> it was a dramatic, dramatic reunion. >> i almost didn't think they were going to make it down the stairs. they wanted to run and hold themselves up. laura and euna, i mean.

trying to get down to their family members there. >> heidi, i was so impressed with how composed they were. i don't know if i could have done that if i hadn't seen my kids in that long. they were so composed. little hannah as she's watching this plane come in, i mean how many times do we get to an airport and kids know what an airport is. but, gee, to have a private hangar the size of a football field, then all of a sudden for this big white plane to approach, and see your mom in it. you should have seen her eyes. they were the size of saucers. it was quite interesting to see. >> i imagine all of those flashing cameras as well really kind of making everybody take a step back, especially if you're 4 years old. thelma gutierrez, we'll check back with you in a little while. keeping our eye on the other screen you see, we're waiting for president obama. we hear it is just about 30 seconds away from when he

speaks. elaine quijano is at the white house. >> i just got out of the gaggle with robert gibbs, the white house press secretary. he says obvious lit white house is quite pleased that the journalists are back safely here in the united states. he also said at some point former president clinton will in fact debrief with members of the president's national security team. we do understand that he was in fact briefed before heading to north korea. we also know, as we've been reporting, that president obama did not actually speak directly with former president clinton before this mission. but robert gibbs saying what the white house is really trying to do here is to emphasize a decoupling here, that this humanitarian mission, they insist, is to be kept separate and they are hoping the north koreans see it that way as well, separate from the nuclear issue. of course the united states wants north korea to curb its nuclear ambitions but we're told that the president shortly expected to come out here, is going to make a very brief statement before traveling on to elkhart, indiana.

heidi? >> it will be very interesting then to hear what he has to say because he'll have to be extremely careful about not mentioning a word about the other side of this story, that being the nuclear side of things and proliferation. >> well, that's right. in the gaggle this morning, robert gibbs was asked about what in fact does this mean for u.s.-north korea relations. his answer was, it remains to be seen. hopefully it is a step forward in this relationship, but again stressing that they very much want to delink these two issues as they tried to do all along and insist that what former president clinton was doing there was not in an official capacity but again a private mission, former president clinton's mission to try and free these two journalists. so we will wait to see what the president says here shortly. should also tell you that last night senior administration officials actually gave a little bit more detail on how all of this came to be. we know that about a week or so ago the national security

advisor spoke with president clinton about his willingness to take on this mission. here we see president obama walking up to the podium on the south lawn of the white house. >> all right, elaine. thanks very much for that. we'll check in with you in just a few moments. here again president barack obama approaches the podium very quickly after the reunion of euna lee an laura ling with their families in burbank, california. >> i want to just make a brief comment about the fact that the two young journalists, euna lee and laura ling, are safely back with their families. we are obviously extraordinarily relieved. i had an opportunity to speak with the families yesterday. once we knew that they were on the plane. the reunion that we've all seen on television i think is a source of happiness not only for the families, but for the entire country.

i want to thank president bill clinton. i had a chance to talk to him for the extraordinary humanitarian effort that resulted in the release of the two journalists. i want to thank vice president al gore who worked tirelessly in order to achieve a positive outcome. i think that not only is this white house obviously extraordinarily happy, but all americans should be grateful to both former president clinton and vice president gore for their extraordinary work. and my hope is that the families that have been reunited can enjoy the next several days and weeks understanding that, because of the efforts of president clinton and gore, they

are able to be with each other once again. so we are very pleased with the outcome and i'm hopeful that the families are going to be able to get some good time together in the next few days. thank you very much. >> there you have president barack obama thanking former president bill clinton for all he had to do in this, which was you remember, was labeled a solely private mission going in and helping to secure the release of euna lee and laura ling. so president barack obama making those comments before heading off to indiana. our elaine quijano standing by to talk a little bit more about this. yeah, we did expect to hear something from him. but as we were mentioning before hearing from the president, he needed to be very careful about how he chose his words here. >> that's right. i don't know if you could tell at the very end, a reporter shouted a question to the effect, what does this mean now going forward. a lot of people are asking that question, does this in any way mean there will be better relations between north korea and the u.s., relations which as you know, heidi, have been

particularly strained. we heard recently in fact some of the rhetoric really bizarre in some respects, rhetoric between the current secretary of state, hillary clinton, and some of the north korean leadership. but what we heard from president obama there again, obviously a desire to emphasize that this is a humanitarian mission that was carried out successfully, staying away from answering any kind of questions or perhaps sending any clues or signals about what this might in fact mean for the north korea-u.s. relationship going forward. just to reiterate some things that robert gibbs mentioned in the gaggle just a short time ago in his office, president clinton, former president clinton, will in fact be debriefed by members of president obama's national security team. when, we don't really know. we know that he was briefed before heading over to north korea and we'll wait to see exactly how things play out here. one question that i thought was interesting, senior

administration officials saying president clinton, it was only after the obama administration carried out "due diligence" that it was in fact believed, okay, let's go ahead an we would advise the president, former president clinton, to go and carry out this mission. one question is what does that mean, how does one carry out due diligence with a regime like the north korean regime which many analysts will tell you is extremely difficult to get any kind of good intelligence on what the situation is over there. but it's interesting because all day yesterday, as you know, we were trying to get information, even basic information about how the white house was getting updates throughout president clinton's mission. we couldn't even get that. they were very concerned obviously about making any kind of statement. they didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize the success of the mission. so a lot of back story still to be told. but again, looking forward here, the next step for this is for former president clinton to come back and talk with the obama security people.

>> absolutely. i think everybody was talking for quite some time about how clearly a lot of groundwork had been done before sending over someone like a former president who probably isn't going to want to go on this mission without knowing that there was going to be a successful outcome. clearly. all right, elaine quijano, we know you're on top of it from the white house angle. appreciate that. also want to get you back to the moment that laura ling and euna lee came off that airplane and went out there hugging their parents and euna lee's daughter, 4-year-old hannah there. here's that video once again. very, very emotional to watch. after those hugs and kisses, laura ling made her way over to the microphones and really wanted to offer a lot of thanks to a lot of different people who she aid allsaid all across the did many things to secure their release and get them back home. let's listen in. >> it is what kept us going in the darkest of hours.

it is what sustained our faith that we would come home. the past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives. we are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of north korea and we are so happy to be home. >> getting the deal done. how did it all go down? former president clinton said all the right things to north korean's kim jong-il but did he actually apologize? still a lot of questions about how all this came to be. state media in north korea says yes. but secretary of state hillary clinton speaking a short time ago in kenya says that it absolutely not true. cnn's foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty joins us now live from washington. boy, it's a he said/she said already. >> i want to see the original korean. i'm serious.

because you know, heidi, in some of these things when you get a translation in a word like "apologize" and "regret," they're very close. but they're very different in connotation. i think it is a good idea that some of our korean speakers at cnn -- and we have a number of them -- should check out what they said in korean. but you do have at least in the translation the north koreans saying that he did apologize and secretary of state hillary clinton saying, he did not. >> then there's also the question of apologiapologize, f? did the journalists cross the border or that they committed hostile acts. all of those are very important in context, too. >> absolutely. but the united states government is not going to apologize for the actions of its citizens if it had nothing to do with it. that's the basic point. one would doubt that the president apologized in that

sense. he could, and this is all speculation, but he could express regret that this unfortunate situation occurred, et cetera, et cetera, and that could save face. the bigger question is where this all goes. really it was an extraordinary moment when you think that the diplomacy, the relations between two countries that have been in a terrible state recently now are hinging and being shifted by the state of two individual americans. >> that's the big question, are they, and what will happen next? all of this effort to try and make sure according to the white house and even according to a lot of sound from lisa ling, the sister of laura ling obviously that we've heard on our wear spe -- air on how important it was to keep those two issues very separate, the nuclear arms issue and also the release of these

two journalists. >> right. listen very carefully to what president obama just said when he came out. it was very informal, it felt almost off the cuff but you can bet it was not off the cuff at all. it was a very important moment. he mentioned nothing about the overall relationship. he mentioned nothing about nuclear issues. nothing. it was all extraordinarily happy, we're glad that the families are back, it is very personal and it was all in that humanitarian vein that the administration had been pressing. >> jill, it is going to be fascinating from here on out. i know you are right in the middle of it and keeping tabs asking all the right questions. jill, we'll keep in touch with you. appreciate that, our foreign affairs correspondent. meanwhile, former president bill clinton released a statement saying, "i am very happy that after this long ordeal, laura ling and euna lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones." he went on to say, "when their families, vice president gore and the white house asked that i

undertake this humanitarian mission, i agreed. i share a deep sense of relief with laura and euna and their families that they are safely home." want to take a minute now to bring in former secretary of defense, william cohen. he is standing by. shortly we'll talk with him more about some of what went on, some important insight from him. also, a barrage of bullets. sparks terrorize a fitness center in pennsylvania. a gunman opened fire killing and wounding women in an aerobics class. we'll get a live report in just a moment.

he was going to be successful in bringing the young ladies back home. in order to be successful in that he had to have information that was swedish friends and also through the chinese, in other words, you talked earlier about due diligence who are friends in the region that will give us the assurance that if we make this trip with the former president of the united states that he be successful. if he had not been successful, that would hard on the relationship even further.

a lot went into making sure that they would do what they said they had to do. secondly, what was said during the course of that, he was greeted at the airport by a high-ranking north korean official that deals with the nuke ler program in north korea. were there opportunities to talk on the sides of the actual meeting dealing with the young ladies to have a broader discussion about the u.s. and north korea having to get back to the six-party talks either way. >> yes. >> i assume there was some discussion even though president clinton did not have the authority to make any proposals or to explore any avenues, i think it's quite restricted but nonetheless during the course of those conversations you have a broader opportunity to discuss a variety of issues, even a superficial level. third point to keep in mind is bill clinton is there assessing the mood of the people in the room, the body language coming

from kim jong-il, the language that he was using and was there signals be sent either by word or by action that the north koreans are prepared to come back to the table and that they want to have a productive outcome of the negotiations. maybe not. it may, it may never occur but that would be very valuable information for president bill clinton to bring back to president obama. >> you would have to imagine whether or not we in the media learn of this. that there would be some sort of major debriefing from former president bill clinton on to facets of the current administration now. so, to have all of those questions answered. i'm just fascinated by what could have happened in those meetings and, as you say, whether or not it was just body language and on a superficial level, was he not also trying to assess personally and first hand a bit about the physical health

of this leader? >> exactly. there had been rumors, we have seen photographs from year's past and how kim jong-il looked then and looked now and it's not as clear as it was. we don't know at this point what the longevity of his life is going to be. there are rumors about him looking for a successor and debates taking place in this country as to whether or not we could do any business with kim jong-il or whether we could wait for whichever son takes over as his successor and then try to negotiate with that individual. i take a different view point on that. i think any time ask you a young man who comes in or woman, but in this case, young man that comes into a position like a state like north korea as its president, it will be years before he will be in a position to make any kind of deal with the u.s. and the other five

parties involved here, four parties involved and so i would prefer to see some movement made by kim jong-il laying a foundation for a son to then build upon in the coming years should he not be part of this planet any longer. >> yes, what's the first step of that foundation? going back to six-party talks? >> that would be a very good start and i think if he were to indicate that he is prepared to give up his nuclear ambitions and we had very intrusive varfkdz mechanisms put in place, this could lead to a good result for the north korean people. they would be welcomed into the international community. i think that people would prosper a great deal and we would see peace brought to the korean peninsula and i think all would benefit from that. >> sure. >> that's the opportunity and the question is, is he prepared to start laying that foundation and then pass the baton over to one of his sons?

that would be my hope, but i think if we wait for the son to take over, i think we're looking at several years for that son to then finally get grounded and have the right advisors and then be strong enough to say i can make concessions in order to achieve a result, a good result for my people. >> got it. boy, we sure do appreciate talking to you about this. as you say, a lot of moving parts for some time and may not understand the full impact of all of this for a while. william cohen, always nice to see you and appreciate your insight. want to let everybody know what is being shown on our screen right now. our affiliate there in california, burbank to be exact. the family cars that are parked outside that very, very large hanger where i'm sure everyone is still gathered and pinching themselves to realize that their loved ones are home and the girls pinching themselves that they are back on american soil after being in a north korean

prison. 140 days, as we heard. laura ling said just a few days ago, 30 hours ago we were in a north korean prison and feared that we were sent to a hard labor camp. again, you see some of the family vehicles pulling away from that airplane hanger and we'll follow the story. we want to know this from you, we want to get your opinion. how will the return impact u.s. and north korea relations? very interesting discussion with former secretary of defense william cohen on that and might take some time to realize what the implications are and would love to hear from you on our blog cnn.com/heidi. just go ahead and send us in your blogs here and pull them up and let you know what everybody is saying about it. also give us a call at the hotline number. that is 1-877-742-5760. looking forward to hearing from everybody on this. (announcer) this is nine generations

of the world's most revered luxury sedan. this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars... this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is the 9th generation e-class. this is mercedes-benz.

went to an aerobics class,

open fire killing three women and wounding three others. just outside of pittsburgh with the very latest this morning. so, susan, boy, it's just an unbelievable story. we are actually learning about the suspect, though, this morning. >> right, we're finding out a lot about him and it's hard to think about how stunning this must have been for the people who went here for their nightly workout in a crowded gym for an aerobics class never imagining encountering a hail of gunfire and, in fact, at least three people losing their lives. so, this gym member was among them. he is identified as george. >> what happened was they were

in a pilates class. >> by the time i was realized what was going on, i looked over in the aerobic room and i could see flashes in the dark and that's when i realized someone was using a firearm inside of there. >> i didn't get a chance to think about it because it happened so fast. you saw the people running around and there were people that were shot and bleeding. it was a lot to take in. >> and we are learning more about a blog that this alleged gunman left behind, george sodini. by the way, he worked as a system's analyst at a local office here in the pittsburgh area. it says this blog, there was an entry written monday of this week, i'll read it in part "i need to work out every detail. there is only one shot. last time i tried this in january i chickened out, let's see how this new approach works. maybe soon i will see god and

jesus. and he goes on to say, "also any of the practice papers left on my coffee table i used or the notes in my gym bag can be published freely. i will not be embarrassed because, well, i will be dead." in fact, this man did leave behind a note in his gym bag, according to police, a source tells me in it he expresses his hatred for women and the police chief said it's pretty clear that nothing was going to stop this man, nothing at all. heidi? >> boy, oh, boy. susan candiotti staying on top of the story there. just outside of pittsburgh this morning. susan, let us know if we need to come back to you. meanwhile, so very happy to be home. that's what freed american journalists laura ling said shortly after getting off a plane from north korea. there is a moment. it was an emotional homecoming for ling and, of course, euna lee reuniting right there with her husband and 4-year-old

daughter. you saw it live right here. the women spent five months in a north korean prison. their pardoned came after a face-to-face meeting between former president bill clinton and kim jong-il. thelma gutierrez is there at the airplane hanger when all of this took place and the reunion. a lot of us choking back the tears on that. thelma gutierrez this morning, hi, thelma. >> hi, heidi. yes, it was absolutely emotional and it was so perfectly produced. i think john had said that only in burbank, california, could you have something like this. the hanger doors open and you have the sunrise in the background and the plane pulling in this and this marvelous reunion between these children and their mothers and just a very touching scene and right now i can tell you that it looks

as though the families will be leaving the airport. they've been here for a short amount of time and they made their public statements and we were told by the organizers that they would meet off site with former president clinton and also al gore. after that then they would give the families time alone so that they could go off and have some private time after spending 140 days separated. laura ling spoke, she went to the mike and she spoke. she really had some emotional things to say. >> and then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. we were taken to a location and when we walked through the

doors, we saw standing before us president bill clinton. now euna lee, her colleague who is her editor actually did not come to the mike and speak, but it was very emotional to watch the reunion between euna and her 4-year-old daughter, hannah. hannah was standing there as the plane pulled up and then she saw her mother get off of that plane and she went to her and they held each other and she looked very surprised and her in-laws came up. the grandparents of hannah and they were all hugging. really, some very emotional moments. something that many of the people, members of the media, there were lots of sniffles behind me.

>> oh, i understand that one. you can't take your eyes off of it. i think if euna lee went to the microphone, she might not have been able to say anything because it is just so darn tough. continue to look at her with her 4-year-old daughter there. thelma gutierrez inside the airplane hanger there, still keeping our eyes on the family cars. former president bill clinton did not speak, instead, he released this statement. want to put it on the screen for you. i am very happy that after this long ordeal laura ling and euna lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones. when their families vice preside president. we want to know what you think their return actually means, if anything now, to the official relations between the united

states and north korea. logon to cnn.com/heidi and tell us what you think. what this could really mean in a bigger picture or you can give us a call at the hotline to heidi 1-877-742-5760. diplomacy with north korea a success in this case, but will it have an effect on those nuclear talks? that is the question we'll pose a little later on this hour with two experts in the field. make sure you stick around for that. meanwhile, president obama stumping for the stimulus package and taking his message to the heartland. this morning he arrived in elkhart county, indiana. an area especially hard hit by the recession and ed henry shows us now why any optimism will be welcomed. >> the recession has absolutely rocked the rv capital of the world. elkhart, indiana, unemployment rate peaked at twice the

national average as dealers of recreational vehicles struggle to stay afloat. >> the most difficult thing i have done in my 42 years of life. it was a struggle and nobody saw it coming. >> reporter: rob reid said he's using less electricity each day to pinch pennies at this location after closing his other dealership, forcing him to lay off a dozen employees. >> being a smaller or medium-sized company, they become your friend, you know, because we're with them even more so than we are with our families a lot of times. >> reporter: at city hall dick moore says traffic at local food banks has never been so intense and donated backpacks are pouring in for kids going back to school. still, the mayor believes elkhart is getting back on its feet, thanks to $14 million in stimulus money, so he cautions the president can't get too optimistic. >> that's what i would say to him, thank you, mr. president. this program is working here in

elkhart, indiana. now, the problem is the guy standing here in your place, he doesn't buy that at all. >> reporter: stimulus money spent around the country is trickling down to his city as people start to buy rvs again. >> it isn't a state of indiana stimulus program, a stimulus program for the united states of america. when you talk about how the money flows, somebody gets money in california and one of our factors here supplies some parts to that company in california, we benefit from it. >> reporter: back at the rv lot, rob reid agrees sales have picked up, and so has his outlook. >> i always feel optimistic because if you start to feel it, your customers will feel it. we're optimistic no matter what happens because we don't want the economy or the dulldrums of elkhart to set the tone for our business. >> just a quick reminder, we will have live coverage of president obama's speech in

elkhart county, indiana. it will be coming your way 8:55 pacific and 11:55 eastern. remember the government's mortgage rescue plan? well, it's off to a bit of a slow start. in the past six months, the treasury department reports only 9% of homeowners facing foreclosure have had their loans modified. financial institutions say they have offered to modify about 15% of delinquent loans, that's more than 400,000 across the united states. take a moment now to check out the big board for you because we have been kind of liking what we see and nobody likes to see a negative sign right there. dow jones industrial average is just about 40 minutes into the trading day. we'll keep our eye on it for you. seven suspected home-grown terrorists back in federal court today in raleigh, north carolina. daniel patrick boyd and six other men are charged with plotting to kidnap, maim and kill people in a foreign

country. authorities played an audiotape in court yesterday. they say boyd discussed the virtus of a violent jihad. now, according to reports, the courtroom was packed with vocal supporters of the alleged terror suspect, an eighth suspect is still being looked for. a disputed president, a bitterly divided country, an inauguration rekindled the anger in iran. ht reflecting metallics and a hiúl of tint that brightens eye color while defining lashes. turn up the light in your eyes. [ female announcer ] with exact eyelights from easy breezy beautiful covergirl. insuring your family's ifs can be confusing,

so metlife removed the guesswork. cop,ining two essential insurances, term life and disability in one surprisingly affordable package. strengthen your safety net and find out how affordable it can be at metlife.com. - 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!

90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt yourody 'cause pu'pride ♪ng a ride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage.

in iran mahmoud ahmadinejad takes the oath of office and begins his second term. his inauguration came as hundreds of protesters gathered under the watchful eyes of riot police. reza sayah joining us from our international desk in the newsroom. the iran desk, we should be more specific. >> heidi, whether the supporters or protesters like it or not, it's official mahmoud ahmadinejad starting his second term with a swearing in ceremony in tehran this morning. let's look at some of those pictures. the ceremony broadcast live on television beginning at 9:00 a.m. local time. missing from the ceremony was a number of big names, opposition leaders who still insist this vote was rigged. there you see president mahmoud ahmadinejad standing next to the head of the judiciary ayatollah,

there you see embraced president ahmadinejad taking an oath and taking name at nations that have yet to congratulate him. >> translator: nobody in iran is waiting for anyone's congratulation. the people of iran do not care about their frowning and neither do they care about their smiles and congratulations. >> there you heard president mahmoud ahmadinejad rejecting all those countries that have yet to congratulate him. among those countries, france, great britain, the uk and the u.s., although yesterday white house spokesperson robert gibbs did acknowledge that president ahmadinejad is the elected president, but the opposition leaders among them mousavi,

former presidents they have yet to acknowledge him as the legitimate president. so, a lot of challenges this president's facing in his second term, heidi. >> a lot going on. we'll continue to follow this story. thanks, reza. secretary of state hillary clinton is in kenya on the first leg of a seven-nation african tour she talked about aiming increasing imports of kenyan imports. it cannot happen unless governments improve democracy. secretary clinton is also meeting with kenya's leadership from kenya she will then travel on to south aphrokeep. over to the severe weather center now where, hey, rob marciano is standing by, ready to tell us about storms in the chicago area. >> remember this time yesterday we were getting the folks in louisville, kentucky, and parts of southern indiana getting

hammered with thunderstorms and record-breaking rain through parts of louisville and show you some of this video coming out of it. six inches of rain like in a two-hour period and aerials for you. interstate 65 shut down at one point and a number of roads and couple feet of water and folks getting stranded, as well. even at churchill downs, they had to evacuate over 30 thur obreads because the water was rising in the stables and a lot of the race track under water. a lot of this has receded since these pictures were taken but it came and went in a hurry and folks there cleaning up from the record muddy rainfall. right now the rain is occurring across parts of eastern kentucky and a lot of the rain right now south of memphis heading across southern parts of arkansas and this has been fairly active today, as well, as far as seeing damaging winds and heavy rain there. it is moving faster, we don't expect they will see as much flooding. excessive heat warning for

phoenix westward towards the california border. temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above average. this is the time of year where they typically get the thunderstorms in the afternoon and that doesn't want to set up as far as the monsoon is concerned. a lot of thunderstorms popping across the west has been sparking wildfires because so hot and dry there. red flag warnings up there and fire watches also posted for this part of the country. 107 expected in phoenix and 102 meanwhile in dallas and 92 degrees is expected in memphis. one other point i want to make, hurricane strengthened to a cat 2 and that will be headed in the general vicinity of hawaii over the next couple days. heidi, back over to you. >> okay, all right, we'll keep our eye on it. all right, rob, check back later on. it has spread around the world in only a few short months and it's not even flu season yet. how washington is preparing now to protect you against the swine flu.

when you think about all you can do in an all-wheel-drive subaru... you'll find there is a lot to love. that's why we created the subaru a lot to love event. where you can get a great deal on any new 2009 subaru. and see theee really is a lot to love. hurry in and lease a 2009 impreza for $179 ppr month. now through august 31st.

a grim milestone this week. the number of people who have died from the h1n1 virus has

topped 1,000. the total number as of yesterday at 1,154. the virus first came out in april in mexico and has since spread to every continent. in the u.s., health officials are worried about the upcoming flu season and our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here to talk more about this. you were at the white house yesterday, what did you learn? i keep thinking about school, too. on monday school starts. >> people are going to be nervous are their kids walking into a swine flu fest with all these kids together? what i learned at this meeting is that federal official os are concerned that people are going to freak out this flu season. freak out is my term, not theirs. but they're concerned because swine flus kills young people and pregnant women. this is very different from seasonal flu where usually the victims are the elderly. so, when swine flu season starts in full swing in the fall and

the winter and reports of young people dying, young students, college women, pregnant women, they're worried people are going to panic. >> hopefully that won't be the case and everybody will get the right information they need, but we also want to know, what are the plans to protect everybody? >> the number one plan is vaccinations. they're testing the vaccine right now and the people who are supposed to get the vaccine are different than the regular seasonal flu shot. let's look at the list of people who should be first in line to get a swine flu shot. pregnant women, anyone who takes care of a child, i skipped there. everyone 6 months to 24 years old is supposed to get a swine flu shot and anyone who takes care of a baby under 6 months is supposed to get a swine flu shot because babies that young can't get the shot on their own. emergency and health care workers should get a swine flu shot and seniors with health conditions. not all seniors, but seniors with health conditions. these five groups are supposed

to be first in line to get the swine flu shot. >> we have the swine flu shot? the vaccine? >> don't have it yet. that's part of the issue. things are going it be a little bit slower than what some officials would like. the shot will come out in mid-october at the earliest. you have to get two shots, spaced three weeks apart and you're not fully immune until two weeks after the second shot. if you do the math, the senior administration officials. >> are we really certain this is going to be, as you say, fully immune to -- >> we're going based on the experiences had with seasonal flu. they have been giving flus for many decades now. >> that's all the strains of it, right? >> they targeted the swine flu shot to swine flu. if the virus doesn'tmitate, they

definitely nailed it and so far it hasn't mutated. it killed 1,000 people and been in many countries around the world and they're definitely hoping it stays that way. >> i remember in the beginning we talk about the possibility of that happening and not knowing what we're dealing with. swine flu is different from seasonal flu how? >> it's really different in who it attacks. seasonal flu you worry about older people and in swine flu you don't worry about older peeping, you worry more about younger people. this is kind of interesting, old people have an advantage here, it appears at some point in their lives they were exposed to swine-flu like virus that is protecting them now. but for younger people, their bodies are completely vulnerable and their immune system has never seen this before and that's why they're dying in higher numbers. >> thanks so much, elizabeth cohen, thank you. two american journalists finally back home, but will their release change the dynamic now between the u.s. and north korea?

♪ [ female announcer ] arthritis targets your body where it's weak. where it's vulnerable. ♪ tylenol arthritis works with your body to block the pain, without interfering with certain high blood pressure medicines like aleve sometimes can. ♪ so you don't just feel better, you feel better knowing doctors recommend tylenol more than any other brand of pain reliever. ♪

my name is chef michael. and when i come home from my restaurant, i love showing bailey how special she is. yes, you are. i know exactly what you love, don't i? - [ barks ] - mmm. aromas like rotisserie chicken. and filet mignon. yeah, that's what inspired a very special dry dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. so tasty and nutritious it's hard to believe it's dry dog food.

chef-inspired. dog-desired.@i chef michael's canine creations. i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice.

only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. an emotional homecoming for two american journalists freed from a north korean prison. in fact, you saw it live right here last hour. laura ling and euna lee arriving at the airport after spending five months in a north korean prison. greeted there by their families and former vice president al gore and former president bill clinton and secured their release after a meeting with north korean dictator kim jong-il. let's talk about how this all plays out moving forward. there are so many moving pieces, if you will. mike ch irx noy wrote "the

meltdown" he is joining me live from beijing and from washington, john park with the u.s. institute of peace. thanks so much, guys, for being with us. we all keep going over these pictures every time we see them get weepy and really incredible reunion with these journalists and their families. the other side of the story, the nuclear situation and the situation between north korea. what do you think will happen next, if anything, on these lines? mike, i want to start with you. >> well, my own sense is that the ball is now in the court of the obama administration. the north koreans have made this gesture, they've freed the two women. i think the reception that they gave to president clinton, the fact that he spent a long time talking with north korean leader kim jong-il who seems healthy enough to be in charge at the moment sends a signal that the north is now eager to engage the

united states but on a bilateral basis. so, the challenge for the obama administration is to figure out from what bill clinton reports about his meetings whether there's anything to work with there that will see the obama administration talking directly with the north or whether they're going to stick to their guns and say if you don't come back to these six-party talks, nothing is going to happen. if that is the case, we'll have more trouble. if they can find a creative way to explore further with the north koreans, this may be an important opening. >> very, very interesting. john y want to bring you in. what do you think, if, in fact, they have to go to some sort of creative way to move the itch isuation further. what do you think can be done? >> heidi, i think that's the word. we need creativity right now. the administration very consistent in saying what president clinton did was this separate. the connecting point is momentum. we have a positive momentum coming out of the relief of the

two u.s. journalists and right now the north koreans have consistently stated that they are interested in bilateral talks and not six-party talks and the united states is saying that six-party talks is the only way to go. the way we bridge that gap is the opportunity right now. >> the former administration said that and this administration is sticking with that, correct? >> that's correct. the six-party talk approach is not just a talking point, but a mechanism now. if we look at it from the other angle of financial sanctions and financial sanctions are being used and implemented in a multi-lateral way and the six-party talks from previous months will also be implemented in a multi-lateral way. >> i want to put something on the screen for the both of you. it is interesting when we talk about diplomacy here as to what could happen next. these are just some of the actions, just some of the actions that north korea has engaged in recently. april 18th, north korea says this, applied against it following its recent rocket

launch would be "considered a declaration of war." in may, late may, north korea conducted nuclear tests and koubs council members condemn the nuclear tests. fast forward to mid-june, june 13th, north korea vows to strengthen its nuclear capabilities in defiant of the u.n. security council move to tighten sanctions against it. mike, did america give up anything in securing the release of these two journalists? >> i don't think in substantive terms it did. i think it gained something. the the way the north korean system works, one guy at the top that calls all the main, makes all the main decisions, that's kim jong-il throughout the bush administration that at no point did any senior official meet the man who makes the decisions in north korea. what you have now is a savvy

political american figure, former president clinton sitting down for several hours with the man who is really in charge in north korea and clinton will be able to tell the obama administration the way no one else has done, not only what his sense is of his health, his mental capabilities, but what he's talking about and what his concerns are, whether there are some openings here. one other point i want to make about sanctions. the track record of the last eight or nine years the coercion version in sanctions don't work. it promps the north koreans to do the opposite of what the u.s. wants. there is no evidence, how much pain you inflict on north korea that it leads to a change in their behavior and some evidence that negotiations can produce a change. that's why i'm convinced that finding a way forward to talk offers at least a better chance, no guarantees, of making some headway where sanctions are almost certain to just produce more tension in a crisis atmosphere. >> john, i will bring your attention to something that was

written in the "washington post "by john bolton he wrote this, despite decades of bipartisan u.s. rhetoric about not negotiating with terrorists for the release of hostages it seems that the obama administration not only chose to negotiate, but to send a remember foer president to do so." what do you think this kind of message is sending to the rest of the world? >> well, first off, in anything related to north korea, there will always be a group that supports that action and a group that is against that action. but with respect to the way that the way this trip was framed. the administration went to great lengths to clarify that point. so, from that perspective, certainly there were connections with the administration, but an official capacity he went as a private citizen. >> do you think the americans, the journalists, i shed say, were too much of a liability for the north korean government at this point? >> it depends at which stage. early on you can imagine the

north koreans detaining these two journalists and finding out they're u.s. citizens and trying to figure out what they're trying to do with them. over the course of months of negotiations, careful negotiations the opportunity came about to eventually do something that looked very smooth and require a great deal of coordination not only in the united states, but internationally. >> obviously, the two of you will be watching what happens next here very, very closely and love hearing your insight on all of it. mike chinoy author of quae"melt" thanks so much, guys. also we have been asking you on our blog to weigh in on whether the release of laura ling and euna lee will mean anything for the u.s. and north korea relations. what some people were saying out there today. head over to the heidi mac and check out our blog. janet says this, all i can say is the republican party had it

all wrong when they said you can't talk to your enemies. this administration prove use get further with friendly diplomacy rather than fear, hate and threats. the next one says this, as long as the enemies of the u.s. know that they're going to keep holding tourists journalists and whoever they can get expecting this type of response, they will keep doing this. all right, so, just a couple of our blog comments that have come through today. of course, we always appreciate your comments and you can go to cnn.com/heidi to tell us what you think. meanwhile now, i want to get to detroit. can battery research jump start the economy? what? later today vice president joe biden expected to name the first winners of federal research grants. the government will hand out about $2 billion to develop the next generation of batteries for electric cars. michigan is competing for a big chunk of that.

the future of the u.s. auto industry could hinge on advance battery technology, but catching up won't be easy. poppy harlow has our energy fix from new york. yeah, poppy a lot of catching up to do, as you say. >> a lot of catching up. but this could be the big break that detroit needs. vice president biden just a few hours away from speaking in detroit. michigan really setting its sights on becoming the world leader in building and developing electric cars and the battery for them. help on the way, it's actually expected that 11 michigan companies, heidi, will get these government grants. that will be more than any other state. the goal here, create jobs, create permanent jobs, create well-paying jobs. that's the big focus but huge obstacle is the fact that right now it's asia that dominates the car battery sector. clearly, they have a clear lead and earlier this year jennifer granholm of michigan sat down

and told us it's time for that to change. take a listen to what she says. >> you hate to substitute reliance on batteries from asia or anywhere outside the u.s. if you want it be energy independent as a nation, you have to have a solution in the united states. >> well, on top of those billions of dollars in federal grants being awarded today, heidi, michigan also set aside about $700 million in the form of tax credits for any company that will set up shop to make those batteries in this state. this is the push to be that green energy corridor we hear so much about. >> hang on a minute, but betting on batteries means the electric car itself will catch on o. are we even there yet? >> that's a great question because the price tag, it's going to be high, especially at first. it's rumored to be 40 grand for the new chevy volt that is going to come out in not too long and also you have the issue, where do you charge it? if you live here in manhattan, you don't have a garage.

i do want to note here that we're seeing a paradigm shift in how people buy their cars. what cars they're looking for because of the cash for clunkers program. new data that's out is showing us that hybrid sales and compact car sales have been at the top of what people have been trading their clunkers for. 83% of the vehicles traded in have been trucks and suvs. 60% of those purchased as result, heidi, have been the smaller, mere fuel-efficient cars. that suggests even though gas prices are down 37% from last year, you have that fuel efficiency as a top concern. that is really good news for people betting on the electric car. we want you to weigh in quickly, facebook.com/poppyharlow. >> how come your picture back there isn't as creepy as mine? >> they e-mailed me and said we don't like your old picture and put the new one up. >> poppy, thanks so much. staying on the idea of hybrids here.

it worked for some cars, it worked for some suvs and could it work for the giant semi trucks you see on the highway? yep, it will. the company wants to build a whole entire fleet, in fact, but the ceo says it needs money from washington to do it. president obama's energy advisors seem oepen to the idea. >> it's very exciting. i mean, the idea that we're going to be able to give the drivers the fleet owners more efficient cars and we'll have less pollution, it's very, very exciting. >> if we can get more, it will develop these new technologies quicker to the marketplace and create the incentive for the consumer to want to be able to try these new technologies. >> a bill to fund more auto research will hit the house floor next month. 40 years after the notorious manson murders the family still behind bars, but for how long? each making their appeals to finally get out. %%%%%%%%

this week we are looking back 40 years to a crime spree that shocked the nation because of its brutality. carried out by charles manson and his followers known as the family. cnn's ted rowlands has more now on their role and their efforts to get paroled. >> reporter: they shocked the world, young, good-looking american kids in their 20s laughing about butchering their innocent victims. the manson killers are now in their 60s.

all disciples of a mad man who turned them into monsteres. watson and krenwinkle took part in all seven murders. then the next day, they came to this house with vanhowten about ten miles away. >> i stood in the hallway and i look under to a blank room that was like a den and i stood there until tex turned me around and handed me a knife and said, do something. i went back in the bedroom and she was laying on the floor on her stomach and i stabbed her numerous times in the back. >> reporter: atkins was with watson during the taped murders holding down 8 1/2 month pregnant actress sharonita tate she pleaded for she and her

child's life. how manson convinced his flock to kill and torture without remorse baffled the world. manson family members say it was a combination of charisma, drugs and manson's knack of creating of the right group of followers. >> feed us and be saying the things that we had been thinking. we thought that he had an in to our very thoughts and our very hearts. >> reporter: atkins, kremwinkle and van houten said they left broken homes and watson would be manson's right-hand man. the faces of the manson killers have gotten older. the courthouse smiles and giggles replaced with pleas for forgiveness. >> i'm appalled that i could

have even been involved with something like that. >> i feel terrible about it, but i cannot change it. no matter what i do, i cannot change one minute of my life. >> granted, i have committed one of the heinous crimes in the history of mankind and i realize that and i'm very remorseful for that and would give anything if i could pay for it. >> first sentenced to death, the manson killers were given life sentences when the death penalty was abolished by the state supreme court. charles manson remains in prison and has, over the years, attended his parole hearings. susan atkins has terminal brain cancer. last year her request for compassionate release was denied, but she's scheduled for a parole hearing next month. krenwinkal and watson have parole hearings before the end of the year and not expected to have a hearing before 2010.

all claim they're remorseful but the family of sharon tate do not believe they deserve the mercy that sharen and her unborn child never saw. >> be sure to tune in to "anderson cooper 360" tonight for part two on the manson murders 40 years later. introducing olay professional pro-x wrinkle protocol. as effective as the leading prescription wrinkle brand. challenge pro-x yourself, we guarantee the results. when i was told i had diabetes,

i felt amazingly boxed in. (announcer) joe uses the contour meter from bayer. (joe) my meter absolutely adapts to me and my lifestyle. i'm joe james, and being outside of the box is my simple win. (announcer) now available in five vibrant colors.

take you back over to the severe weather center where rob marciano is standing by. more storms out there today. >> they just got hammered across the ohio river valley yesterday. most of the action right along this front which has slowed down, the back half of it has, but the front half will continue to produce at least a slight risk for seeing severe weather today. across the carolinas and in through the south. flash flooding and damaging winds the most serious threat with this and, of course, some lightning. we don't expect to see a whole lot in the way of twisters with this. down across memphis, you've seen your fair share of thunderstorms now sinking down into the greenville and heading into northern parts of louisiana and, again, this will probably fill in as you go towards the east as the afternoon wears along. all right, we're looking at the threat for fires across the west and continues to be very dry and not quite as hot as it has been

or it was last week. further towards the coast and put up the red flag warning and fire watches out for this part of the country. this is the fire that we showed you yesterday across british columbia. the little wet fire there. 800 fires the past few days sparked mostly by dry lightning and dry tinder. 5,000 people evacuated in these two particular fires and battling it from the ground and the air, as well. unbelievable shot there. that is an area that is hosting the winter olympics in about five or six months' time. 107 in vegas, a cooler 79 degrees in seattle. boy, you're thankful for that and start to heat up in new york with a high of about 90 degrees. >> all right, we're watching close, thank you, rob. when the economic crisis hits home and breaks the mother's heart. we look at the youngest victims of the global recession and the toughest decisions some families will ever face. business.

my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. robert shapiro: we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. and make your business dream a reality. geico's been saving people money and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it? umm fancy a crisp? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

hot! hot! hot! time to check your air conditioning? come to meineke now and get a free ac system check. at meineke, you're always the driver.

the banking crisis, the housing crisis and now the baby crisis. in one country, the recession has hit so hard and so deep that an ever-growing number of mothers are being forced to give up their newborns. >> reporter: the oldest of these babies is just 6 weeks old. they've been given up for adoption by their mothers who say they just can't afford to look after them. now, of course, they weren't

even born when the full extent of the global financial crisis hit late last year. but they, too, are victims. they are more than double the number of babies in this adoption home say the staff. a bottle neck of children waiting for homes. they say it's because les people are adopting and more mothers are giving up their babies. >> it's the economic situation in south africa at the moment. we noticed an increase in the number of children being in various places in johannesburg and possibly mothers who are struggling financially are just very desperate in abandoning their children. >> reporter: caring for children has become more expensive. the prices of formula milk and diapers have increased and jobs remain scarce, which is why these two young pregnant women, who did not want to be identified say they're giving up their unborn babies.

>> i couldn't financially manage, so that's why. >> you wouldn't be able to afford to keep this baby? >> yes. >> reporter: could you afford to keep your baby? >> no. i couldn't because if i could i wouldn't be giving him to the best place. >> reporter: you wouldn't give him away if you could pay for him? >> no, no. because i love and i want the best for him. >> reporter: soon after giving birth, many more mothers than usual are journeying to this church on a nondescript road in johannesburg inner city where every three days a baby is abandoned. due to the incrose of desperate mothers who want to abandon their babies, this church has come up with this. door of hope. you open it and put your baby inside and close it and you walk away. on the other side of the wall,

in the church property, the babies are rescued by kate allen or one of her staff. >> we call this hole in the wall, wall of hope or baby bin. inside, simple bedding. layers of thin foam, old cardboard and a sensor system that sounds off a loud alarm when the baby is placed on it. >> the baby is not in here for very long. maybe one minute. they would otherwise have been thrown away in dumps and maybe flushed down toilets and left in shop windows or plastic bags all of which we have had babies come to us in those conditions. this is really just a safer way to abandon your baby. absolutely. absolutely. >> reporter: when was the last time a little parcel was departed here? >> just last week. >> reporter: in hard times it is the