-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com president obama reaches out to africa. >> saying good-bye to steve mcnair. how the football star's hometown is paying respect to the nfl quarter. the king of pop is not forgotten in the town where he got his start. thousands turn out in gary, indiana, to sing, dance and celebrate the life and music of michael jackson. hi there. thanks for watching hln news and views, i'm virginia chachlt. murder nfl star steve mcnair is being remembered today as a legend and sports hero. nearly 5,000 mourners turned out for his funeral in hattiesburg, mississippi. he was killed last week by his mistress who committed suicide herself.

his wife, friends and family focused on the accomplishments of his life. larry smith was there. >> reporter: this was an emotional two-hour farewell as thousands gathered to say good-bye to their local son and former nfl co-most valuable player. at times it was enjoyable. plenty of song. this is just church and was one of the largest home-going services ever in mississippi history. it was attended by brett favre, the three-time nfl most valuable player and titans' head coach jeff fisher who coached mcnair 11 seasons, including the lone super bowl a decade ago. everyone here said they didn't want to think about the circumstances that led to mcnair's death but focus on his legacy on and off the field. >> steve was like a hero to me. heroes are not supposed to die. >> mississippi has lost a tremendous legend.

i truly feel that it will be a long, long time before there will eastern player the caliber of steve mcnair. >> steve mcnair leaves behind a wife and four sons. he will be buried later today in his home town of mount olive, mississippi. larry smith, hattiesburg, mississippi. families may have to wait several days to visit loved ones buried at an illinois cemetery because the grounds have been declared a crime scene. hundreds of bodies at the cemetery were allege lid dug up and dumped in a scheme to resell burial plots. cook county sheriff tom dart says he received thousands of complaints about the scheme, half of which are about missing head stones. >> our goal is to reopen the cemetery shortly. we are hoping within five days or so we are going to be able to have our hands around this

better to where we can identify certain sections where we don't believe there is a crime scene. >> four former workers are accused in the scheme. authorities say they made about $300,000 in the scam which dates back at least four years. emmitt till's original casket was found in the cemetery on the ground. he was murdered in mississippi 1955 after he reportedly whistled at a white woman. till's original casket was replaced with a new one after his body was exhumed in 2005 during a renewed investigation into his death. the original casket was supposed to be kept for a planned memorial. police in northwest florida are trying to figure out who killed a couple with 12 adopted children. the h us band and wife were found shot to death thursday night. byrd and melanie billings were probably victims of a home invasion. one of their employees found their bodies. eight of their children were home when the shootings happened. they were not harmed.

some of the billings' children have special needs. >> i can tell you the members in our investigative section are some what stunned by this also. if you was to go throughout the county and say someone is living in the wrong area or someone is involved in an activity that would bring this upon them, that would not fit the billings' family. they do not fit that profile. >> authorities are looking for three men in a red van in connection to these killings. president obama and his family were treated to a lavish good-bye ceremony as they left the country of ghana this afternoon. it's the president's first trip to subsahara africa since he left the white house in. a speech this morning he praised africa's chief but says the conflict is a mill stone around africa's neck and said much of the promise of africa has not yet been fulfilled. >> we must start from the simple premise that africa's future is

up to africans. i say this knowing full well the tragic past that sometimes haunted this part of the world. after all, i have the blood of africa within me and my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger african story. >> the obama family toured a former prison used in the slave trades. the president called the visit moving and important for his daughters to see. president obama says the recently passed stimulus bill wasn't meant to restore the economy to full health, but to give it a boost. in his weekly address, critics calling the recovery act to failure haven't offered a plausible alternative. he said without the legislation the economy would be in much worse condition. >> in a little over 100 days, this recovery act 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 billion in tax relief to american working families and businesses. without the help, the recovery act provided the struggling states, it's estimated state deficits would be nearly twice as large as they are now, resulting in tens of thousands of additional lay-offs. lay-offs that would affect police officers, teachers and firefighters. with the president's poll numbers slipping on his handling of the economy, republicans are not passing up the opportunity to criticize the stimulus bill. in the gop weekly address, congressman eric cantor accused the president and democrats of reckless spending and borrowing. >> the president's economic decisions have not produced jobs, have not produced prosperity and simply have not worked. president obama has already asked to you borrow trillions of dollars, and so far nearly 3 million jobs have been lost

alone this year. remember the promises? they promised you if you pay for their stimulus, jobs will be created immediately. in fact, they said unemployment would stay under 8%, yet just months later, they are telling us now to brace for unemployment to climb over 10%. >> a lot of small business owners have been hit hard by the economy. some of them told lisa sylvester they have a simple question, where is the stimulus? >> reporter: nathan's has been a washington, d.c., landmark in georgetown since 1969, a place where power brokers and regular joes rubbed shoulders over a good beer and a burger. the family-owned restaurant is shutting its door for good sunday. a casualty of the weakened economy. what affect has the economy had on your business? >> it killed us in every possible angle. you see people eat out less. we have fewer tourists in the district and business travel has

fallen, as well. >> manager jon moss loses his job that day with the other employees. the restaurant is one of many small businesses that have been shuttered in the recession. that will make it tougher to turn the economy around. small business administration says small businesses employ half of all u.s. workers in the private sector and accounts for 60% to 80% of new job creation over the past decades. the national federation of independent businesses says many small business owners are wondering where's the stimulus that was supposed to come from the $787 billion stimulus package congress passed in february? >> what they were expecting was some immediate stimulus to the economy, so the small businesses were pretty much in support of something like a tax holiday for six months that would take a few hundred billion dollars up and put money immediately in the hand of consumers. >> customers are flocking to

nathan's in the final days before last call. >> sad, very sad. this was like my first, like, grown-up bar i ever went to. >> lots of memories. we used to come here in groups. a lot of fun. >> reporter: now they are trying to get their last fill of memories. when the stimulus package passed on february 17th, the unemployment rate was 8.1%. last month in june, the unemployment rate climbed to 9.5%. the chief economist for the national federation of small businesses says companies will only start to hire when customers go back to buying. so many people are skittish about the direction of the economy so they are saving more, not spending. lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and legislative leaders are talking again. negotiations to close the state's $26 billion budget deficit stalled earlier in the week, but the talks resumed yesterday. this time leaders from both parties say things appear to be headed in the right direction.

california's revenue is running so far behind that in september, the state may not have enough money to cover most of its main expenses. another no-go for the space shuttle "endeavour." it is to deliver the last piece to the space station. when it makes to the iss, several crew members coupled with the space station residents will make for the largest crowd in space ever. after a fun trip to orlando, a group of kids had to hit the hospital. why an entire bus load of young tourists put the brakes on heading home to mississippi.

concern over swine flu caused a group of tourists to drive themselves to a florida hospital by bus. they wanted to get checked out after several kids onboard the charter bus got sick and they complained of flu-like symptoms.

the health department confirmed at least one child onboard was diagnosed with influenza-a earlier this week. right now 80% of all influenza-a cases turn out to be swine flu. the hospital gave the kids medication and masks to wear back home on their 12-hour trip to mississippi. passengers and crew got out of this plane as fast as they could when a smoky odor began to fill the cabin. 15 people were hurt during the evacuation at phoenix airport yesterday. passengers smelled the odor while the plane was ready to take off for london. the fire department says no fire was detected. the smoke may have been caused by electrical problems. monday's custody hearing over michael jackson's kids is being delayed for another week. jackson's mother katherine and his ex-wife debbie rowe requested that delay. katherine jackson has temporary custody of the singer's three children. debbie rowe is the mother of the two oldest children. she has not indicated in court

feelings whether she expected to seek custody. this could give them time to work out their own agreement. dancing, singing and an outpouring of pride as michael jackson's boyhood home of gary, indiana, paid tribute to the late entertainer. as a music-filled celebration friday night, gary's mayor thanked michael jackson putting the city on the map. his former student remembered him is a energetic and wonderful. the principal told how as a boy jackson performed for class mates at 10 cents a piece. the father moved the family to hollywood when jackson was 11 years old. tonight, the incredible transformation of michael jackson. the untold story behind his skin change. the president of a pennsylvania swim club is denying being a kagss he doesn't

want african-american kids to come there. he was accused of racism when he canceled swimming privileges for a daycare center which has mostly black children. some of the children say they heard club members ask why black kids were there. the check was returned without explanation and the president told a tv station there, "those kids changed the atmosphere of the club." now he says the club is just too small to accept so many kids and it could have presented a safety issue. he also says he didn't mean to offend anyone. should the bush administration's domestic surveillance program was much bigger than previously acknowledged. a new report from inspectors general to law makers say the intelligence agency was collecting unprecedented amounts of data. after 9/11, president bush allowed the interception of communication into and out of the u.s. without a court warrant. the new report says the surveillance program relied on factually-flawed legal analysis

based on the advice of only one justice department lawyer. secretary of state hillary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to these two american journalists. last month you may remember they started serving 12 years of hard labor for entering that country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy. previously the u.s. asked north korea to release them on humanitarian grounds. a plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for an offense. the journalists have expressed great remorse over this incident. when it comes to buying a house, one person's eye sore can be another person's bargain. sheetrock was ripped from the first floor to the second floor. lots of mildew. lots of mold. >> habitat for humanity is snatching up damaged foreclosed homes. it's paying off in one city.

habitat for humanity is known for building homes for low income families. now, it's actually buying them, too because of the huge number of foreclosed properties up for sale. habitat in charlotte, north carolina, is finding it's cheaper to repair a foreclosed house than to build one up from the ground up. >> a more efficient and effective use of our donor's money. >> we have done roofing, like ceiling and painting. >> the foreclosed homes are usually badly damaged. someone ripped the sheetrock and stole the furnace from this home. it's still a good deal.

habitat buys foreclosures from $30,000 to $50 thou, compared to $60,000 it takes to build a habitat home. now that it's out of bankruptcy, general motors has to get back in the business of selling once. gm is trying to hammer out a deal with ebay for a pilot program that would initially be limited to california, but could go national if it proves to be successful. at a news conference yesterday, gm ceo fritz henderson said the company needs to embrace new business methods. >> we deeply appreciate the support we've received during this historic transformation and we'll work hard to repay the trust and the money that so many have invested in gm. the last hundred days has shown everyone, including ourselves, that a company not known for quick action can move very fast. starting today, we want to take that intensity, the decisiveness

and speed of these last several weeks and then transfer it from the battlefield triage of the bankruptcy process to the day-to-day operation of the new company. this will be the new norm at general motors. chrysler decided to keep make the vipir sports car. the company previously said it would sell off the vipir business and production would end this year, but yesterday chrysler said it would keep making the v-10 car through 2010 and beyond. base models of the vipir begin at around $90,000. get this, a woman in west virginia is on the kind of lucky streak everybody hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey won $7,000 in a lottery. that brings her lottery winnings since last september to $159,000. lottery officials say she's hit it big five different times in instant lottery tickets. she is not the only lucky member of her family though. her husband richard won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september.

are these tough economic times putting a squeeze on your finances? well money expert clark howard is on hln each week just to help you out. log on to cnn.com/clark and submit your i-report. you could be selected to be profiled on our network and get valuable advice from america's money coach. don't forget to watch the "clark howard show" tomorrow at noon eastern here on hln. doesn't everyone love ladybugs? they're cute. they are supposed to bring good luck. for one colorado neighborhood, a bumper crop has folks bugging out. >> i guess they all got together for a big party. >> i can feel them crawling up my leg inside my pants right now. >> heavy rain incurs an invas n invasion. their gathering is classic mating neighborhood and the bugs will likely disperse soon. it is all about the sand,

the surf and softball the at a san diego beach this weekend. why it couldn't come too soon for a service member back from the tough challenge in iraq. @@@@

president obama is wrapping up a week long diplomatic push. he reaches out to africa at a speech in ghana. what he told the parliament. saying good-bye to steve mcnair. how the football star's hometown is paying respects to the former nfl quarter. >> and the king of pop is not forgotten in the town where he got his start. thousands turned out in gary, indiana, to sing, dance and celebrate the life and music of michael jackson. thanks for watching hln. i'm virginia cha. murdered nfl star steve mcnair is being remembered today as a legend and a sports hero. nearly 5,000 mourners turned out for his funeral in hattiesburg, mississippi. mcnair was killed last week by his mistress who then committed suicide herself.

his wife, children, friends and fans turned out to celebrate the accomplishments of his life. larry smith was there. >> reporter: this was an emotional two-hour farewell to steve mcnair as thousands turn out to say good-bye to their local son and the nfl's co-most valuable player. this is just church and was one of the largest home-going services ever in mississippi. it was attended by brett favre and also titans' head coach jeff fisher who coached mcnair for 11 seasons. everyone here say they don't want to think about the circumstances that led to his death, but focus on his legacy on and off the field. >> he was like a hero to me. heroes are not supposed to die. >> mississippi has lost a tremendous legend.

i truly feel that it will be a long, long time before there will be another player the caliber of steve mcnair. >> reporter: steve mcnair leaves behind a wife and four sons. he will be buried later today in mount olive, mississippi. steve smith, hateiesburg, mississippi. families may have to wait several days to visit loved ones at an illinois cemetery. hundreds of bodies were allegedly dug up and dumped in a scheme to resell burial plots. cook county sheriff tom dart says he received thousands of complaints about the scheme, half of which are about missing head stones. >> our goal is to reopen the cemetery shortly. we are hoping within five days or so we're going to be able to

have our hands around this better to identify certain sections where we don't believe there is a crime scene and we'll be allowing people in. >> four former workers are accused in this scheme. authorities say they made about $300,000 in the scam which dates back at least four years. emmitt till's original casket was found in a garage on the cemetery grounds. the 14-year-old was murdered in mississippi in 1955 after he reportedly whistled at a white woman. till's original casket was replaced with a new one after his body was exhumed in 2005 during a renewed investigation into his death. the original casket was supposed to be kept for a planned memorial. police in northwest florida are still trying to figure out who killed a couple with 12 adopted children. the husband and wife were found shot to death thursday night. police say byrd and melanie billings were probably victims of a home invasion. one of their employees found their bodies. eight of their children were home when the shootings happened. they were not harmed.

some of the billings' children have special needs. >> i can tell you that the members in our investigative section are somewhat stunned by this also. if you was to go throughout the county and say, well, someone is living in the wrong area or someone is involved in an activity that would bring this upon them that, would not fit the billings' family. they do not fit that profile. >> authorities are looking for three men in a red van. president obama and his family were treated to a lavish good-bye ceremony as they left the country of ghana this afternoon. it's the president's first trip to subsahara africa since he entered the white house. in a speech this morning he praised africa's achievements, but said the continent's ongoing conflicts are a millstone around africa's neck and said much of the promises for africa have not yet been fulfilled. >> we must start from the simple premise that africa's future is

up to africans. i say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. after all, i have the blood of africa within me and my family's -- my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger african story. >> the obama family also toured a former prison used in the save trade. president called the visit moving and important for his daughters to see. president obama says the recently passed stimulus bill wasn't meant to restore the economy to full health but to give it a boost. in his weekly address he said the critics calling the recovery act a failure haven't offered a plausible alternative. he said without the legislation, the economy would be in much worse condition. >> in a little over 100 days this recovery act worked as intended. it's already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who

lost their jobs in this recession. it's delivered $43 billion in tax relief to american working families and businesses. without the help, the recovery act provided the struggling states, it's estimated states' deficits would be nearly twice as large as they are now, resulting in tens of thousands of additional lay-offs. lay-offs that would affect police officers, teachers and firefighters. >> with the president's poll numbers slipping on his handling on the economy, republicans are not passion up the opportunity to criticize the stimulus bill. in the gop weekly address, congressman eric cantor accused the president and democrats are reckless spending and careless borrowing. >> the plain truth is president obama's economic decisions have not produced jobs. have not produced prosperity and simply have not worked. president obama has already asked you to borrow trillions of dollars, and so far nearly 3 million jobs have been lost alone this year.

remember the promises? they promised you if you pay for their stimulus, jobs would be created immediately. in fact, they said that unemployment would stay under 8%, yet just months later, they are telling us now to brace for unemployment to climb over 10%. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and legislative leaders are talking again. negotiations to close the state's $26 billion budget deficit stalled earlier in the week. the talks resumed yesterday and this time leaders from both parties say things appear to be headed in the right direction. california's revenue is running so far behind that in september, the state may not have enough money to cover most of its main expenses. another no-go for the space shuttle "endeavor." nasa put off the launch due to bad weather. "endeavour" is to deliver the

last key component to the international space station. this will make for the largest crowd in space ever. after a fun trip to orlando, a group of kids had to hit the hospital, why an entire bus load of young tourists put the brakes on head home to mississippi.

concern over swine flu caused a group of tourists to drive themselves to a florida hospital by bus. they wanted to get checked out

after several kids got sick and complained of flu-like symptoms. the health department confirmed at least one child onboard was diagnosed with influenza-a earlier this week. now 80% of all influenza-a cases turn out to be swine flu. the hospital gave the kids medication and masks to wear back home on their 12-hour trip to mississippi. passengers and crew got out of this plane as fast as they could when a smokey odor filled the cabin. 15 people were hurt during the evacuation. passengers smelled the odor while the plane was preparing to take off for london. a fire department spokesman says no fire was detected. the smoke may have been caused by electrical problems. monday's custody hearing for michael jackson's kids is delayed for another week. jackson's mother katherine and his ex-wife debbie rowe requested that delay.

debbie rowe is the mother of the two older children. it's not indicated whether she intends to seek custody. this extra week could give them time to work out their own agreement. dancing, singing and outpouring of pride as michael jackson's boyhood home of gary, indiana, paid tribute to the late entertainer. gary's mayor thanked jackson for putting the city on the map. his former music teacher remembered her former most famous student as very energetic and wonderful. and the principal told the crowd how as a boy jackson performed for a crowd at 10 cents a piece. his father moved the jacksons to hollywood when he was just 11 years old. the singer self-injected dangerous drugs into his system. other documents show at one point he took up to 40 xanax a day.

the coroners findings will determine if it's a homicide or accidental overdose. nancy grace has all the latest breaking developments at 8:00 p.m. eastern and 10:00 p.m. a swim club is denying accusations he doesn't want african-americans to come there. he was accused of racism when he canceled swimming privileges for a daycare center which has mostly black children. some of the children say they heard club members ask why black kids were there. their check was returned without explanation and the president told tv stations there that those kids changed the atmosphere of the club there. now, he says the club is just too small to accept so many kids and could have presented a safety issue. he also says he didn't mean to offend anyone. the bush administrations domestic surveillance program was bigger than thought. intelligence agencies were collecting unprecedented amounts

of data. after 9/11, president bush allowed information into and out of the u.s. without a court warrant. the new report says the surveillance program relied on factually flawed legal analysis based on the advice of only one justice department lawyer. secretary of state, hillary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to these two american journalists. last month euna lee and laura ling started serving 12 years of hard labor for entering that country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy. previously the u.s. asked north korea to release them on humanitarian grounds. a plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for an offense. clinton says the journalists have expressed great remorse over this incident. steroids, inhalers, nebulizers, familiar treatments for people with asthma. how can they be more effective? some therapists say add a pinch

of salt. we look at today's vital signs. >> reporter: until a few years ago, tish would have found the daily tasks of walking outside or working at her job almost impossible. >> i would be sneezing, wheezing. >> where would you like to sit today? >> reporter: after years of allergy pills, tisch looked into alternatives known as salt therapy in a clinic in southwest london. >> there was an immediate difference. my breathing capacity was much better. charging the negative ions into the treatment with the patients. they can taste the salt on their lips. >> reporter: therapists say their salt has no additives and concentration is specific to the patient's condition.

if you want to learn more and get other advances go to cnn.com/vitalsigns.

habitat for humanity is known for building homes.

now it's buying them, too because of the huge number of foreclosed properties up for sale. habitat in charlotte, north carolina, is finding it's cheaper to repair a foreclosed house than rebuild one from the ground up. >> more efficient and effective use of our donor's money. >> we have done roofing like ceiling and today we are doing painting. >> the foreclosed homes are usually pretty badly damaged. someone ripped the sheetrock and stole a furnace from this house, but it's still a good deal. habitat buys foreclosures for $30,000 to $50,000 in foreclosure compared to $60,000 it takes to build homes. general motors is looking to sell its entire line of cars on the internet. gm is trying to hammer out a deal on ebay for a pilot program that would initially be limited to california but could go national if it proves to be successful.

gm's ceo fritz henderson said the company needs to embrace new business methods. >> we enjoy the support we've received and we will work hard to repay the trust and the money so many invested in gm. the last hundred days has shown everyone, including ourselves, that a company not known for quick action can, in fact and indeed, move very fast. starting today we want to take that intensity, the decisiveness and speed of these last several weeks and then tans forit from the battlefield triag of the process to the day-to-day operations. this will be the new norm of general motors. chrysler decided to keep making the vipir sports car. the company previously said it would sell off the viper business. yesterday it said it would keep

making the v-10 car through 2010 and beyond. base models begin at around $90,000. a woman in west virginia is on the kind of lucky street everybody hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in a lottery. that brings her winnings since last september to $159,000. lottery officials say she's hit it big five different times in instant lottery tickets. she is not the only lucky member of her family. her husband richard won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september. are these tough economic times putting a squeeze on your finances? money expert clark howard is on hln each week just to help you out. log on to cnn.com/clark and submit your i-report. you could be selected to be profiled on our network and get valuable advice from america's money coach. don't forget to watch "the clark howard show" tomorrow at noon eastern here on hln.

doesn't everyone love lady bugs? they are cute, supposed to bring good luck. for one colorado neighborhood, a bumper crop has folks bugging out. >> i guess they got together for a big party. >> i can feel them crawling inside my pants now. >> heavy rains incur an aphid invasion brought on the ladybug swarm. the gathering is classic mating behavior and they will likely to disperse soon. >> this is all about the sand and softball.