ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. a little jet lagged and yawning. the first family arrives back at the white house early this morning from overseas. their trip included a stop in ghana and a tour of the old trading outpost of cape coast. what the president says the history of slavery can teach the world today. lightning near a space shuttle launch pad. so, nasa postponed the shuttle liftoff. is the shuttle ready anytime soon? right up side of my face. >> that guy and a bunch of other folks went cruising for a bruising, in new orleans. wait until you see how the big easy runs with the bulls. you're watching hln on this

sunday, july 12th. good to see you. i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you caught up. president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning. their whirlwind tour overseas was full of trips to russian, italy and ended in ghana. the president praised ghana for its democracy and economic progress. he also challenged people on the african continent, to end corruption and conflict. the trip to ghana marks his first trip to africa since being sworn in. a highlight of the trip to ghana, was their visit to cope coast castle. they once used the casting to hold slaves before their transport. anderson cooper asked him what lessons can be learned from it. >> do you think that what

happened here is something that should be talked about? and should be present in everyday life? >> well, i think that the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things. i think it's important that the way we think about it, and the way it's taught is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer. and that's the end of the story. i think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant, is because whether it's what's happening in darfur, or what's happening in the congo, or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists. >> to see anderson cooper's entire exclusive interview with president obama, tune in to "ac

360" airing tomorrow night on our sister network, cnn. nasa may try again tonight to launch space shuttle "endeavour." during an electrical storm that was caught here on video, lightning struck nearly 11 times during the launch pad. although technicians didn't find any damage. they still need another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of poxes that powered up that look good. there are a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to go a sample of the critical ones and turn those on and see how they look. a confidence-builder that we didn't have any damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything that was actually affected by the lightning strike. i fully expect this to be a positive story. but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked. and that's what takes time. >> a mid-june launch was granted after a leak of hydrogen gas.

when it does take off, it will install the final piece of the billion dollar rod at the international space station. the cia was holding information on a secret terrorism project, from congress, on direct orders from vice president cheney. it was in place from 2001 until last month. so far, there's no other details about this program. that's when cia director leon panetta, last month, shut it down after being informed about it. he then briefed congress about the entire program. well, dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this. a tornado slammed a town in southern ohio, hurting at least five people there. emergency officials say the twister hit some folks hard yesterday afternoon. check out the damage here. some homes completely destroyed. at least three mobile homes wiped out. utility crews are now working to fix power outages in the area. some roads are closed because of

debris and high water. the red cross had an emergency shelter in the area to help out. so, who will be hit today? and who will suffer under extreme summer heat? the national forest with karen mcginness, just moments away. some news on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in killing a couple who adopted special needs kids. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van, leaving the victims' home. those men are not under arrest. they are considered persons of interest. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and has 4 of their own children. none of the children were injured. deadly, coordinated attacks in mexico, may have been in retaliation for the arrest of this man, seen right here.

he is one of mexico's most-wanted drug suspects in a high-ranking family member of a drug cartel. yesterday, drug carried out attacks in three mexican cities. 18 federal officers were wounded. a huge crowd sang good-bye to nfl quarterback, steve mcnair. police say his girlfriend shot and killed him a week ago, before turning the gun on herself. and as larry smith reports from the memorial, some nfl stars had a hard time holding back tears. >> steve was like a hero. a hero to me. and heros are not supposed to die. >> reporter: it was an emotional farewell for steve mcnair. thousands came to pay their respects to the nfl's most valuable player. and what organizers called one of the largest services in mississippi. for the past week, the sordid

details of mcnair's murder sent shock waves across the nation. but this was about his legacy on and off the field, during a stellar career. when asked how many people have mcnair stopped and given an autograph to, nearly half raised their hands. >> i find myself in awe, when i speak about a man like steve mcnair. i find myself in autobe here to speak where it all began. >> reporter: his former teammates says his grit and determination made him better. >> i've always respected the way he played. and he played to win. every play was to win. >> reporter: just two weeks ago, mcnair hosted a football camp for kids here. and when everyone else was gone, he was the one cleaning up after a day of giving. steve mcnair was buried later in the day, at his hometown of mtmt. mt. olive, about 30 miles from here. larry smith, cnn, hattiesburg,

mississippi. a one-ti at one time, soldi cigarettes with their food supplies. now, the military the recommending tobacco. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives much-needed relief to troops in intat. top military officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor, arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they're making steady progress, inworking on the massive hole in the budget. they are coming out of the meetings hoping the budget crisis can be meet in the next couple of weeks. right now, the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks stopped taking

the ious on friday. some say they will accept them for at least another week. to arizona, now, where record heat is scorching the state. and people are being urged to stay inside as much as possible. the national weather service issued an excessive heat warning for the entire weekend. in phoenix, temperatures are expected to soar to 115 degrees, even higher. the heat may have contributed to one man's death. and yesterday, a woman collapsed with heat exhaustion. if you can imagine this, temperatures climbed as high as 138 degrees at arizona's famous kent city prison. apparently, that was enough to melt the man who calls himself the toughest sheriff in the country. sheriff joe, and his deputiedep. they handed out ice cream to inmates to keep themselves cool. as i mentioned, extreme heat in arizona. how is the rest of this country fairing on this sunday? we go to karen mcginness.

>> we have a lot of heat. it's cranked up across oklahoma and texas. oklahoma city, looking at 106. this is not a value of humidity and heat. it is actual outside air temperatures that is expected for this afternoon. wait until you see this yellow, shaded area. that's where we have heat advisories. in the red, excessive heat warnings out. it extends into arkansas. but the heat turns on, all the way into louisiana. all the way down towards houston. also expecting 104 degrees by the afternoon. we take a look at where the thunderstorms are possibly located. throughout the tennessee river valley, along a frontal system that's very stubborn. and in the next couple of days will sit towards the south. also in the midwest, thunderstorms there, as well. we'll take you through the afternoon and show you some of the high temperatures elsewhere. las vegas, 109 degrees. salt lake city, another hot, dry day, with 95 in store. and if you're headed to chicago, 81 degrees.

expected there. a slight chance of afternoon storms. i'm cnn meteorologist, for hln. oklahoma city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there's going to be movement. we'll have the boats moving in the canal. >> why one man is re-creating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city, out of legos. his name is curt zimali. he is a lego master, taking on this project to raise money for a new school. a great cause. he is working on it more than 12 hours a day. and is using more than a million lego bricks. but one of his greatest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't been built yet. >> if you can envision a

six-sided building. it goes out and has a bay window. >> he's talented. oklahoma's city scape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city, will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $60,000 in a lottery. that brings her lottery winnings since last september, to $159,000. lottery officials say she hit it big on five, different times in instant lottery tickets. and he's not the only lucky person in her family. her husband, richard, won $6,000 in january. and $10,000 in september. a check of sports. former boxing champ, arturo gotti, is easily one of the most exciting fighters of a generation. gotti was found dead in his room

in a sao paulo resort. no bullet wounds or stab wounds. he was with his wife and 9-year-old son, neither of whom were harmed. but police say it's all very strange. arturo gatti, dead at the age of 37. forget about yao ming. the most popular basketball player in china on sunday, shaquille o'neal. shaq, promoting a sportswear line, as well as helping victims of the recent earthquakes that have rocked the country. the man is larger than life. if you follow the tour de france to know that all cyclists wear a radio earpiece to keep them in communication with their team. for two stages, radios are being banned. and the riders are livid about it. say why not have two stages without helmets and brakes? don't give them ideas, right? that brings us to the play

of the day. seeing is believing. i'm not sure if pirates short stop jack wilson saw this ball until it got in his glove right there. amazing over-the-shoulder catch. and the throw to turn the double play. that's sports. 30-year mortgages have been the industry standard for white a kwil. but there's an alternative to home buyers who want to shed their debt faster. clark howard has the scoop. >> there's a trend going on that i'm hearing from my callers that i'm so excited about. and i don't have actual math to prove it yet. but i can tell by the calls coming in, that people are thinking about borrowing differently than they have in all the years i've been on the radio. people calling me about refinancing mortgages, in huge numbers, are calling and asking me about 15-year refinances

instead of 30-year refinances. anecdotally, a lot of mortgage bankers and brokers say they're seeing this trend. with a lot more people taking on 15 years of house debt instead of 30 years. why? well, people used to think the house was going to go up in value in great amount each year. and that's how you were going to get your equity. people have learned the real equity you earn in your house is as you pay down debt. this is a great idea. you don't do it in absence of saving money for retirement. if you have that act together, do the 15. i'm clark howard. for more money-saving tips go to my website, cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> great advice. tune in to clark today, at noon eastern time. he'll help you save for less opinion and avoid getting ripped off.

former cia director, general michael hayden, is denying claims that the bush administration misled congress. in an interview with the associated press, hayden said he personally kept top members of congress well-informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a five-year report by a team of u.s. inspectors general, which called the program unprecedented. the report questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by

october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes are not found for them. state lawmakers set aside money to keep the zoos open. but it was cut to $2.5 million. the cut was made to help struggling families. supreme court nominee, sonia sotomayor's historic confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. the drama may play out once the curtain rises. >> reporter: the action in the senate judiciary committee gets under way tomorrow, when senators give their opening statements for the confirmation hearings of sonia sotomayor. the nominee herself? she may not be questioned until late tomorrow or until tuesday. but expect two or three days of questioning. the whole thing should last about a week. as soon as sonia sotomayor is questioned, other witnesses will be questioned by the senators. there are -- look at this

breakdown right now. there are 12 democrats and 7 republicans. and expect some tough questions from the republicans, led by the ranking republican on the committee, jeff sessions of alabama. and also, john cornyn of texas. what they and other republicans may want to do, is portray sonia sotomayor as somebody who is biased. somebody who is out of the mainstream. they may grill her on her stands on affirmative action and gun rights. that could be the way the republicans try to go. expect a vote by the judiciary committee at the end of the week or the beginning of next week. and the president has indicated he would like the full senate to vote on sonia sotomayor by the beginning of august, before the senate goes on break. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mind being a clown. but there's one thing he won't do during the parade today. >> i'll be wearing everything but the big shoes. at 92, you don't go around

wearing big shoes. >> and why not? find out how he ended up being a staple in the milwaukee parade that's returning after a six-year break.

>> reporter: a lit. a little jet lagged and yawning, the first family arrived early this morning from their trip overseas. what the president says the history of slavery can teach the world today. and take a look at this. lightning was near a space shuttle launch pad. nasa postponed a shuttle liftoff. the question now, is the shuttle ready for another shot anytime soon? she knocked the mustache off the side of my face. >> that guy and a bunch of other folks went cruising for a bruising in new orleans. wait until you see the big easy runs with the bulls. you're wafing hln on this

sunday, july 12th. good to see you. president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning. their whirlwind trips overseas included stops in italy and russia. and was capped by a visit to ghana, where the president addressed the country's parliament. in his speech, president obama praised ghana for its democracy and economic progress. he also challenged people on the african continent to hold their leaders responsible for ending corruption and conflict. the trip to ghana marks his first visit to africa since being sworn in. a highlight of the obamas' trip to ghana, was their visit to cape coast castle. the british once used the castle's dungeon to hold people for slavery. president obama spoke to anderson cooper about his trip. >> do you think what happened here, has resonance in america? that the slave experience is

something that should be talked about, and should be remembered and should be present in everyday life? >> well, i think the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things you don't forget about. i think it's important that the way we think about it, and the way it's taught, is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer. and that's the end of the story. i think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant, is because whether it's -- what's happening in darfur, or what's happening in the congo, or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists. >> to see anderson cooper's entire exclusive interview with president obama, tune in to "ac 360," which airs tomorrow night

at 10:00 eastern, on our sister network, cnn. nasa may try again tonight to launch space shuttle "endeavour." during an electrical storm on friday, that was caught in this video, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad of the kennedy space center. although technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of boxes that were powered up that looked good. there's a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to go and do a sample of the critical countries and turn those on and see how they look. kind of a confidence-builder that we know we did not have any damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was affected by the lightning strikes. i fully expect this to be a positive story. but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked. and that's what takes time. >> a mid-june launch was granted by dangerous leex of hydrogen gas. when it does take off, the shuttle crew will spend 16 days

installing the third and final piece of japan's billion-dollar rod at the international space station. the cia withheld information about a credit counterterrorism program from congress on the direct orders of then-vice president dick cheney. a source tells cnn it was never fully operational, and was in place from 2001 to last month. so far, there's no other details about this program. that's when cia director leon panetta shut it down last month after being informed about it. panetta briefed congress about the entire program. dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this. a tornado slammed a town in southern ohio, hurting at least five people there. emergency officials say the twister hit folks hard yesterday afternoon. check out the damage here. some homes completely destroyed. at least three mobile homes wiped out. utility crews are working to fix power outages, as well, in the area. a real mess. some roads are closed because of

debris and high water. the red cross set up an emergency shelter in the area to help out. news on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen special-needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest. they're considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and have 4 of their own children. none of the children were injured. a huge crowd saying good-bye to nfl quarterback steve mcnair. police say his girlfriend shot and killed him a week ago before turning the gun on herself. as larry smith reports from the memorial, some fellow nfl stars

had a hard time holding back tears. >> steve was like a hero. a hero to me. and heroes are not supposed to die. >> reporter: it was an emotional farewell for steve mcnair. thousands came to pay their respects to the former nfl most valuable players. and what organizers one of the largest services in mississippi history. for the past week, the sordid details of mcnair's murder sent shockwaves across the nation. but this was about his legacy on and off the field. when asked how many people mcnair stopped and given an autograph to, nearly half raised their hands. >> i find myself in awe when i speak about a man like steve mcnair. i find myself in awe in honor being here to speak, where it all started from. >> reporter: opponents called mcnair a warrior for his ability to fight through pain. and his former teammates say his grit and determination made them

better. >> i always respected the way he played. and he played to win. every play was to win. >> reporter: just two weeks ago, mcnair hosted a football camp for kids here. when everyone else was gone, he was the one cleaning up after a day of giving. steve mcnair was buried in his hometown of mt. olive, about 30 miles from here. as vince young said, the world would be a better place if everybody helped others the way steve did. larry smith, cnn, hattiesburg, mississippi. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes, along with their food and supplies. now, a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military. it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be garage by phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives much-needed relief to troops in combat. top military officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold

schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now, the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks stopped taking the ious on friday. citigroup says they will keep accepting them for at least another week. oklahoma's city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there's going to be movement. we'll have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is re-creating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city, out of legos. his name is kurt zimmerle. he is a lego master, who is taking on this project to raise money for a new school. a great cause. he is working on it more than 12 hours a day. and is using more than a million lego bricks. but one of zimmerle's biggest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building. and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window. i don't know who designed that. but it's definitely a tricky building. >> he's talented. oklahoma's city scape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city, will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit.

60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in a lottery. that brings her lottery winnings since last september, to $159,000. lottery officials say she hit it big on five, different instant lottery tickets. and she's not the only lucky person in her family. her husband, richard, won $6,000 in january. and $10,000 in september. a check of sports. race car driver, mark martin, turned 50 years old earlier this year. but markey mark is proving he's not too old to win nascar races. did it again last night. chicagoland speedway. the man in the 5 car, victor martin. busy winning his fourth race of 2009, more than any other driver this year. amazing comeback for a guy who didn't win a race in the previous three years. got to love this. pga tour yesterday. this is steve stricker at the

john deere classic. who says par is a good score? not stricker. not for par, or birdie. but eagle. university of delaware star, mark duncan has been arrested for a stabbing. this, despite the fact that he is the stabbing victim. duncan has been arrested for changing his story too many times for an incident that happened back in may. first, he said he was attacked while playing basketball. then, he said four men jumped him on the street. police are really not sure what happened. and finally, forget about the crack of the bat. it was all about the crunch at the mets/reds game, friday night, new york. part of a potato chip promotion. all fans at the game were given a bag of chips and told ho munch on them at 7:35. the guy from the guinness book of records was on-hand, certifying the loud crunch was a new world record. why not? and that's your check of sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two

zoos to shut down. and sadly, some animals could lose their lives in the process. hi, there. i'm robin meade. hope you're enjoying your weekend. here's what we're working on for the week ahead. a judge could decide tomorrow where michael jackson's kids could end up. and we'll find out if his ex-wife, debbie rowe, plans to fight his mother for custody. also tomorrow, supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor beginning her confirmation hearings. the banks took the largest chunks of government bailout money release their earnings reports this week. we're watching to see if citigroup, jpmorgan chase and bank of america have turned things around. all those stories and much more starting tomorrow.

former cia director, general michael hayden, is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of its post-9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden said he

personally kept top members of congress well-informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a report by u.s. inspectors general, who called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insist that it never happened. former police officer, clyde spencer, was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no signs of abuse. on friday, his children recanted their story. he said he only admitted the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts, may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october.

some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos hope. but the governor cut that down to $2.5 million. his spokesman said the cuts were made to help out struggling families. you've heard of hybrid cars, right? how about a car powered on veggies and fruit. we take a spin on this lean, green machine. >> reporter: powered by chocolate and vegetables, this is the latest racing car that can reach a top speed of 140 miles per hour. it's been built by this team at warrick university, to see how gene they can race. >> we try to do something green. >> reporter: they're getting too

literal. i have an apple and a chocolate bar. and i'm told that that car over there uses both. how on earth does it use these? >> the guys at warrick university are very innovative how they're extracting the fuel from the chocolate. >> reporter: they certainly have. they converted the cocoa butter from the waste chocolate into bio diesel. and the apple? >> basically the same thing. you can extract fuel from anything that has oils in it. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: let's look at the car as a whole. the diesel engine can run on waste materials. some of the body work uses hemp fibers and recycled bottles. the seat uses foam made from soybeans. the steering wheel is made from carrots. and the swing mirrors contain potato storch. but what's the point of it? the car is fast at 140 miles per hour. but not fast enough. it would need to hit 160 miles per hour to have a chance of winning a race. and formula iii regulations

don't allow bio diesel engines to race anyway. the answer lies in the application. >> these are some of the early days of these to make the parts on the car but in the future setting we hope they'll spread into other forms of motor sport and road cars. >> so what do the experts think? first, the environmental academic. >> it appears nice if you think about your own little usage. oh, yes, we can make ourselves green by using all this stuff that's made from corn or from sugar beet or whatever, but then if you say well, okay, what is that replacing and what's it doing for the poor people in the world in terms of price of food? then there are very much limitations on how much one can grow that. >> reporter: and the racing experts, does it make the grade for formula 3? >> not only are you going to have to create new cars with new designers with new people and a new factory to come to a new formula, but you're suggesting that maybe a new energy power,

to bring all that together at the same time is probably quite a challenge. >> reporter: but all that doesn't put these guys off. the bottom line is -- >> it's great fun. >> reporter: sure it's fun, but. how do i get this thing off? i'm trapped. i'm stuck. >> i'll help you. >> reporter: sasha hari main' cnn, wester shire. >> to learn more about environmental news, go to our website cnn.com/ecosolutions. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mind being a clown but there's one thing. >> i'll do everything but wearing big shoes. at 92 you don't go around wearing big shoes. >> find out how he ended up being a staple in a milwaukee parade, returning after a six-year break. úúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúú

a little jet lagged and yawning. the first family arrives back at the white house early this morning from overseas. their trip included a stop in ghana and a tour of the old trading outpost of cape coast castle. what the president says the history of slavery can teach the world today. take a look at this. lightning hit near a space shuttle launch pad. so, nasa postponed the shuttle liftoff. the question now, is the shuttle ready anytime soon? she knocked the sash right off the side of my face. >> that guy and a bunch of other folks went cruising for a bruising, in new orleans. wait until you see how the big easy runs with the bulls. you're watching hln on this sunday, july 12th. it is great to have you with us.

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you caught up. president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning. their whirlwind trip overseas included stops in italy and russia, and was capped by a visit to ghana, where the president addressed the country's parliament. in his speech, president obama praised ghana for its democracy and economic progress. he also challenged people on the african continent to hold their leaders responsible for ending corruption and conflict. the trip to ghana marks his first visit to subsaharan africa since being sworn in. a highlight of the obamas' trip to ghana, was their visit to cape coast castle. the british once used the castle's dungeon to hold people bound for slavery in the americas. during his visit, president obama spoke to anderson cooper from her sister network cnn about the meaning of his trip and what lesson could be learned from it. >> do you think what happened here still has resonance in america? that the slave experience is something that should be talked

about, and should be remembered and should be present in everyday life? >> well, i think the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things you don't forget about. i think it's important that the way we think about it, and the way it's taught, is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer. and that's the end of the story. i think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant, is because whether it's what's happening in darfur, or what's happening in the congo, or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists. >> to see anderson cooper's entire exclusive interview with president obama, tune in to "ac 360," which airs tomorrow night at 10:00 eastern, on our sister network, cnn.

nasa may try again tonight to launch space shuttle "endeavour." during an electrical storm on friday, that was caught in this video, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad of the kennedy space center. although technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of boxes that were powered up that looked good. there's a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to go and do a sample of the critical ones and turn those on and see how they look. kind of a confidence-builder that we know we did not have any damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was affected by the lightning strikes. i fully expect this to be a positive story. but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked. and that's what takes time. >> a mid-june launch was granted by potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas. when it does take off, the shuttle crew will spend 16 days installing the third and final piece of japan's billion-dollar

lab at the international space station. the cia withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from congress on the direct orders of then-vice president dick cheney. a source tells cnn it was never fully operational, and was in place from 2001 to last month. so far, there's no other details about this program. that's when cia director leon panetta last month shut it down after being informed about it. panetta briefed congress about the entire program. dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this. a tornado slammed a town in southern ohio, hurting at least five people there. emergency officials say the twister hit some folks hard near buchanan yesterday afternoon. check out the damage here. some homes completely destroyed. at least three mobile homes wiped out. utility crews are working to fix power outages, as well, in the area. a real mess. some roads are closed because of debris and high water.

the red cross set up an emergency shelter in the area to help out. so who will the storms hit today and who will suffer under extreme summer heat? the national forecast with meteorologist karen maginnis, just minutes away. some new information on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen special-needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest. they're considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and have 4 of their own children. none of the children were injured. a huge crowd saying good-bye to nfl quarterback steve mcnair. police say his girlfriend shot

and killed him a week ago before turning the gun on herself. as larry smith reports from the memorial, some fellow nfl stars had a hard time holding back tears. >> steve was like a hero. a hero to me. and heroes are not supposed to die. >> reporter: it was an emotional farewell for steve mcnair. thousands came to pay their respects to the former nfl most valuable player, in what organizers called one of the largest homegoing services in mississippi history. ♪ for the past week, the sordid details of mcnair's murder sent shockwaves across the nation. but this was about his legacy on and off the field. during a stellar career. when asked how many people had mcnair stopped and given an autograph to, nearly half raised their hands. >> i find myself in awe when i speak about a man like steve mcnair. i find myself in awe in honor being here to speak, where it all started from.

>> reporter: opponents called mcnair a warrior for his ability to play through pain. and his former teammates say his grit and determination made them better. >> i always respected the way he played. and he played to win. every play was to win. >> reporter: just two weeks ago, mcnair hosted a football camp for kids here. when everyone else was gone, he was the one cleaning up after a day of giving. steve mcnair was buried later in the day in his hometown of mt. olive, about 30 miles per hour. as vince young said, the world would be a better place if everybody helped others the way steve did. larry smith, cnn, hattiesburg, mississippi. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes, along with their food and supplies. now, a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military. it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says

smoking gives a much-needed relief to troops in combat. top military health officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now, the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks stopped taking the ious on friday. citigroup says they will keep accepting them for at least another week. to arizona now where record heat is scorching the state and people are being urged to stay inside as much as possible. the national weather service issued an excessive heat warning for the entire weekend. in phoenix temperatures are expected to soar to 115 degrees, even higher. the heat may have contributed to

one man's death and yesterday a woman collapsed with heat exhaustion. as i mentioned, extreme heat in arizona so how's the rest of the country faring on this sunday? we check in with meteorologist karen maginnis who has all of the details for us. >> we've got a lot, heat, susan, and it's really cranked up across oklahoma and texas. there you can see oklahoma city looking at 106. this is not a value of humidity and heat. it is just the actual outside air temperature that is expected for this afternoon. where you see this yellow shaded area, that's where we have heat advisory. in the red, excessive heat warnings out. it extends over into portions of arkansas but it turns on into louisiana and houston. also expecting 104 degrees by the afternoon. all right we look at where the thunderstorms are possibly located throughout the tennessee river valley along the frontal system that's very stubborn and over the next several day also kind of sink toward the south. also across the midwest some pretty good thunderstorms expected there as well.

we'll take you through the afternoon and show you some of the high temperatures that were looking elsewhere. las vegas, 109 degrees. salt lake city another hot, dry day with 95 in store, and if you're headed to chicago, 81 degrees expected there, a slight chance of some afternoon storms. i'm cnn meteorologist for hln. oklahoma's city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there's going to be movement. we'll have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is re-creating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city, out of legos. his name is kurt zimmerle. he is a lego master, who is taking on this huge project to help raise money for a new school, a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more

than a million lego bricks. but one of zimmerle's biggest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building, and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window. i don't know who designed that. but it's definitely a tricky building. >> he's pretty talented. zimmerle's oklahoma cityscape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city, will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in a lottery. that brings her lottery winnings since last september, to $159,000. lottery officials say she hit it big on five different instant lottery tickets. five different ones. and she's not the only lucky person in her family. her husband, richard, won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september.

this legally blind man is recovering from getting stung 1,000 times. 84-year-old john poole was going for his daily walk with his dog named shadow when he encountered a swarm of bees. >> i left the walker and run as fast as i could. >> when i ran out to the gate to see, he was just covered in bees and so i pulled his tee shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off and the dog off as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow, the dog, died, but she probably saved poole's life. poole's wife says if shadow hadn't taken hundreds of stings, it would have been much worse for her husband. firefighters found the hive with thousands of bees inside a brick wall here where pool was walking. i'm bob fiscella with a check of sports. former boxing champ, arturo gatti, is easily one of the most exciting fighters of this generation. shocking news from brazil, where

gatti was found dead in his room in a posh sao paulo resort. there were blood stains near his body but no bullet wounds or stab wounds. he was with his wife and 9-year-old son, neither of whom were harmed. police are saying "it is all very strange." arturo gatti who electrified the boxing world at an early age, dead at the age of 37. forget about yao ming. the most popular basketball player in china on this sunday, shaquille o'neal. this was the scene in a beijing shopping mall. shaq, promoting a sportswear line, as well as helping victims of the recent earthquakes that have rocked the country. the man is larger than life. if you follow the tour de france enough to know that most all cyclists wear a radio earpiece to keep them in communication with their team. well, this week the tour is going old school. for two stages, radios are being banned and the riders are livid about it. said a german rider, why not

have two stages without helmets and brakes? don't give them ideas, right? >> that brings us to the "play of the day." seeing is believing. i'm not sure if pirates short stop jack wilson saw this ball until it got in his glove right there. amazing over-the-shoulder catch. the great presence to turn the double play, and our "play of the day." that's a check of sports. if you love the outdoors, and you want to take a quick trip this summer you may want to consider heading out west to zion national park. it is a great weekend getaway with a family friendly budget. >> reporter: when you're ready to step away from the neon lights of vegas, head three hours north to zion national park in utah. >> the landscape looks like there's enormous sand castles set atop these towering desert canyons. >> entrance fees to the park are inexpensive. a full carload costs just $25 and passes are good for the

week. >> zion canyon is just a really unique canyon, we're surrounded by these red rock walls, and all summer long the sky is just this brilliant, deep blue. it's fantastic. >> reporter: camping is considered a great way to enjoy the park. look for a spot right along the virgin river. >> we get a lot of visitors here and one of the words i hear a lot is intimate. this is a little canyon. it's a kind canyon and when you're in it, you feel good about being here.

former cia director general michael hayden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of its post 9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden said he personally kept top members of congress well-informed all along the way.

the ex-cia chief was reacting to a friday report by a team of u.s. inspectors general, which called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insist that it never happened. former police officer, clyde spencer, was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. on friday, spencer's adult children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them.

state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open. but govern deval patrick cut that down to $2.5 million. his spokeswoman said the cuts were made to preserve services for struggling families. secretary of state clinton is calling on north korea to release the two journalists there. laura ling and euna lee were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. 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 the incident. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mine being a clown but there's one thing he won't do today. >> i'll be wearing everything

but the big shoes. at 92 you don't go around wearing big shoes. >> why not? find out how he ended up being a stap until a milwaukee parade that is returning after a six-year break.

president obama and his family arrived back at the white house this morning. during his trip overseas he attended the g-8 sum nit italy and met with russian leaders in moscow. he also visited ghana in his first visit to africa since taking office. at least five people are dead following the collapse of a section of a partially built bridge for new delhi's metro rail work. a beam supporting pillars gave way. another section of a bridge for the rail system collapsed back in october, killing one person.

thousands gathered yesterday to say good-bye to nfl quarterback steve mcnair. police say his girlfriend shot and killed him a week ago before turning the gun on herself. president obama had tough words for african leaders yesterday. as ed henry reports, president obama also took time to honor history. >> reporter: a day of extraordinary moments, none more powerful than the first african-american president visiting a former slave fortress with his family. >> i think it was particularly important for malia and sasha who are growing up in such a blessed way to be reminded that history can take very cruel turns. >> reporter: after touring cape coast castle which the british used as a slave dungeon, president obama compared its power to his recent stop at a german concentration camp.

>> it's reminiscent of the trip to buchenwald, because it reminds us of the capacity of human beings to commit great evil. >> reporter: the president used his personal connection to deliver some tough love in his speech to the parliament of ghana earlier in the day. >> 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 -- [ applause ] my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger african story. >> reporter: he chastised african leaders over corruption, saying they can't blame the west for their economies winding up in shambles. >> no business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20% off the top or the

head of the port authority is corrupt. no person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. this -- that is not democracy. that is tyranny. >> reporter: mr. obama's father was from kenya and he visited that country as a senator but he chose ghana as his first stop in subsaharan africa as president because he wanted to highlight its stable democracy and growing economy. he mixed the stern lectures with inspiration, mr. obama taking last year's campaign to a whole new continent, playing with babies, working rope lines, ending his parliament speech with a familiar slogan. >> the world will be what you make of it. you have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. you can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new

connections to the world. you can conquer disease, and end conflict, and make change from the bottom up. you can do that. yes, you can. >> president obama returned to washington from ghana a little after midnight. before he left, he said ghana proves that democracy can thrive in africa. nasa may try again tonight to launch space shuttle "endeavour." during an electrical storm on friday, that was caught in this video, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad of the kennedy space center. although technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of boxes that were powered up that looked good. there's a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to go and do a sample of the critical ones and turn those on and see how they look. kind of a confidence-builder that we know we did not have any damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was actually affected by the lightning

strikes. i fully expect this to be a positive story. but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked. and that's what takes time. >> a mid-june launch was granted by dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas. when it does take off, the shuttle crew will spend 16 days installing the third and final piece of japan's billion-dollar lab at the international space station. the u.s. had been holding in iraq since 2007, five iranians are back in iran now, that is what iranian's government-backed press reports. three of the men were diplomats, released thursday. the u.s. detained the men in northern iraq january 11th, 2007. they were believed to be part of a group that possibly provides insurgent training. it is not clear who the other two freed men are. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military.

it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives a much needed relief to troops in combat. top military health officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now, the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks stopped taking the ious on friday. citigroup says they will keep accepting them for at least another week. some new information now on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen special needs kids.

you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest. they're considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and have 4 of their own children. none of the children were injured. the cia withheld information about a credit counterterrorism program from congress on the direct orders of then-vice president dick cheney. a source tells cnn it was never fully operational, and was in place from 2001 until last month. so far, there's no other details about this program. that's when cia director leon panetta last month shut it down last month after being informed about it. panetta then briefed congress about the entire program. dick cheney could not be reached

for comment about this. deadly coordinated attacks in mexico may have been in retaliation for the arrest of this man seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects in a high-ranking family member of a drug cartel. yesterday drug gangs carried out attacks on eight mexican cities. three federal police officers and two soldiers were killed. another 18 federal officers were wounded. oklahoma city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there's going to be movement. we'll have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is re-creating the city's major landmarks with legos.

whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city, out of legos. his name is kurt zimmerle. he is a lego master, who is taking on this huge project to help raise money for a new school, a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more than a million lego bricks. but one of zimmerle's biggest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building, and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window. i don't know who designed that. but it's definitely a tricky building. >> he's pretty talented. zimmerle's oklahoma cityscape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in a lottery.

that brings her lottery winnings since last september, to $159,000. lottery officials say she hit it big on five different instant lottery tickets. five different ones. and she's not the only lucky person in her family. her husband, richard, won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september. this legally blind man is recovering from getting stung 1,000 times. 84-year-old john poole was going for his daily walk with his dog named shadow when he encountered a swarm of bees. >> i left the walker and run as fast as i could. >> when i ran out to the gate to see, he was just covered in bees and so i pulled his tee shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off and the dog off as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow, the dog, died, but she probably saved poole's life. poole's wife says if shadow

hadn't taken hundreds of stings, it would have been much worse for her husband. firefighters found the hive with thousands of bees inside a brick wall near where pool was walking. i'm bob fiscella with a check of sports. race car driver mark martin turned 50 years old earlier this near but marky mark proved he's not too old to win nascar racing. he did it again last night. chicagoland speedway, the man in the 5 car, mr. martin, busy winning his fourth race in 2009, more than any other driver this year, amazing comeback for a guy who didn't win a race in the previous three years. got to love this, pga tour yesterday, this is steve stricker at the john deere classic, third shot on the par 5 and who says par is a good score in not for stricker, not par, not birdie but the eagle has landed. nicely done. university of delaware star mark duncan has been arrested for a stabbing. this despite the fact that he is

the stabbing victim. is the stabbing victim. changing his story too many times for an incident that happened back in may. first, he said he was attacked while playing basketball. then, he said four men jumped him on the street. police are really not sure what happened. and finally, forget about the crack of the bat. it was all about the crunch at the mets/reds game, friday night, new york. part of a potato chip promotion. all fans attending the game were given a bag of chips and told to munch on them at exactly 7:35. the guy from the "guinness book of world records" was on hand, certifying the loud crunch was a new world record. why not? and that's your check of sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down. and sadly, some animals could lose their lives in the process. time for some "fancy

footwork." usa versus honduras, gold cup play. the goal in the 75th minute. watch the setup. usa getting five touches as a four-man usa play gets past nine honduran defenders.

former cia director, general michael hayden, is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of its post-9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden says he personally kept top members of congress well-informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a friday report by a team of u.s. inspectors general which called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insist that it never happened.

former police officer, clyde spencer, was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. on friday, spencer's adult children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open. but govern deval patrick cut that down to $2.5 million. his spokeswoman said the cuts were made to preserve services for struggling families. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor's historic confirmation hearing begins tomorrow but there could be some political fireworks.

paul steinhauser runs down the drama that may play out once the curtain rises. >> the action in the senate judiciary committee gets under way tomorrow when senators give their opening statements for the confirmation hearings of sonia sotomayor. the nominee herself, she may not be questioned until late tomorrow or maybe not until tuesday, but expect about two to three days of questioning. the whole thing should last about a week before after sonia sotomayor is questioned, other witnesses will be questioned by the senators. there are, take a look at this breakdown on the senate now on the judiciary committee, 12 democrats and seven republicans and expect some tough questions from republicans led by the ranking republican on the committee, jeff sessions of alabama, and also senator john warner of texas. they and other republicans may try to portray sonia sotomayor as somebody who is biased, somebody who may be out of the mainstream. they may grill her on her stances on affirmative action and gun rights. that could be the way republicans try to go.

overall they don't have the votes, only seven of them on the committee. expect a vote by the beginning of next week and the president the president has indicated he would like the full senate to vote on sonia sotomayor by the beginning of august before the senate goes on break. paul steinhauser, cnn, washington. a california jail is quarantined about 400 inmates after one of them tested positive for the swine flu virus. sheriff's officials in san diego county say the inmates are being isolated in various housing units and have been given antiviral drugs. this brings the total number of confirmed cases in san diego county alone to 572. secretary of state hillary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to the two american journalists there. last month, you may remember, euna lee and laura lipg started serving 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy here. previously, the u.s. asked north

korea to release them on humanitarian grounds. a plea for amnesty imply forgiveness for an offense. clinton says the journalists have expressed great remorse over the incident. tomorrow's scheduled custody hearing over michael jackson's kids is being delayed for another week. jackson's mother, katherine, and his ex-wife, debbie rowe, requested this. right now, katherine jackson has temporary custody of the singer's three children. debbie rowe, as you may know, is the mother of the two oldest. well, she has not indicated in court filings that she intends to seek custody. this extra week could give them time to work out their own agreement. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mine being a clown, but there is one thing that he won't do during a parade today. >> i'll be wearing everything but the big shoes. at 92, you don't go around wearing big shoes. >> why not? find out how he ended up being a stap million the milwaukee parade that is returning after a

six-year break. 

a little jet-lagged and yawning, the first family arrives back at the white house early this morning from overseas. their trip included a stop in ghana and a tour of the old slave trading outpost of cape coast castle. what the president says the history of slavery can teach the world today. and take a look at this. lightning hit near a space shuttle launch pad. so, nasa postponed a shuttle liftoff. the question now -- is the shuttle ready for another shot anytime soon? knocked me right off the side of my face. >> all righty. that guy and a bunch of other folks went cruising for a bruising in new orleans. wait till you see how the big easy runs with the bulls. you're watching hln on this sunday, july 12th. it is great to have you with us.

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get you caught up now. president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning. their whirlwind trip overseas included stops in italy and russia and was capped by the president addressing the country's parliament. in his speech, president obama praised ghana for its democracy and economic progress. he also challenged people on the african continent to hold their leaders responsible for ending corruption and conflict. the trip to ghana marked his first visit to sub-saharan africa since he was sworn in. a highlight of the obama's trip to ghana was their visit to cape coast castle. the british once used the castle's dungeons to hold people bound for slavery in the americas. during his visit, president obama spoke with anderson cooper from our sister network, cnn, about the meaning of his trip and what lesson could be learned from it. >> do you think what happens here still has resonance in america? does the slave experience feel

it's something that should be talked about and should be remembered and should be present in everyday life? >> well, you know, i think that the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things you don't forget about. i think it's important that the way we think about it and the way it's taught is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer and that's the end of the story. i think the way it has to be thought about, the reasons it's relevant is because whether it's -- what's happening in darfur or what's happening in the congo or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists. >> to see anderson cooper's entire exclusive interview with president obama, tune in to "ac 360" which airs tomorrow night at 10:00 eastern on our sister

network, cnn. joona is a may try again tonight to launch space shuttle "endeavour." during an electrical storm on friday that was caught here on this video, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad of the kennedy space center. all though technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of boxes that were powered up that look good. there's a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to do a sample of the critical ones and see how they look, again, kind of a confidence build they're we know we did not have any kind of damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was actually affected by the lightning strikes. so, i fully expect this to be a positive story, but we have a lot of equipment to be checked and that's what takes time. >> a mid-june launch was grounded because of potential leaks of gas. when it does take off, the crew

will take 16 days installing the third and final piece of the billion-dollar lab at the international space station. the cia withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from congress on the direct orders of then vice president dick cheney. but a source tells cnn it was never fully operational and was in place from 2001 until last month. so far, there are no other details about this program. now, that is when cia director leon panetta last month shut it down after being nfred about it. panetta then briefed congress about the entire program. well, dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this. a tornado slams a town in southern ohio, hurting at least five people there. emergency officials say the twister hit hard yesterday near cannon yesterday afternoon. check out the damage here. some homes completely destroyed. at least three mobile homes wiped out. utility crews are now working to fix power outages, as well, in the area, a real mess. some roads are closed because of debris and high water.

the red cross set up an emergency shelter in the area to help out. so, who will the storms hit today and who will suffer under extreme summer heat? the national forecast with meteorologist karen maginnis minutes away. some new information on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen special-needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest. they are considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and has four of their own children. none of the children were injured. deadly coordinated attacks in mexico may have been in retaliation for the arrest of

this man seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects in a high-ranking family member of a drug cartel. yesterday, drug gangs carried out attacks in at least eight mexican cities. three federal police officers and two soldiers were killed. another 18 federal officers were wounded. a huge crowd saying good-bye to nfl quarterback steve mcnair. police say his girlfriend shot and killed him a week ago before turning the gun on herself. as larry smith reports from the memorial, some former nfl stars had a hold time holding back tears. >> steve was, like, you know, a hero, a hero to me. and heroes are not supposed to die. >> it was an emotional farewell for steve mcnair. thousands came to pay their respects to the former nfl most valuable player in what organizers called one of the largest services in mississippi history.

for the past week, the sordid details of mcnair's murder sent shock waves across the nation, but this was about his legacy on and off the field during a stellar career. when asked how many people had mcnair stopped and given an autograph to, nearly half raised their hands. >> i find myself in awe when i speak about a man like steve mcnair. i find myself in awe in honor of being here to speak where it all started from. >> opponents called mcnair a warrior for his ability to play through pain, and his former teammates say his grit and determination made them better. >> i've always respected the way he played, and he played to win. every play was to win. >> reporter: just two weeks ago, mcnair hosted a football camp for kids here, and when everyone else was gone, he was the one cleaning up after a day of giving. steve mcnair was buried later in the day in his hometown about 30 miles from here, but his good work will live on. as vince young said, the world would be a better place if everybody helped others the way steve did. larry smith, cnn, hattiesburg,

mississippi. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military. it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives a much-needed release to troops in combat. top military officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now, the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing i.o.u.s. most major banks, though, stopped taking the i.o.u.s on

friday. citigroup says it will keep accepting them for at least another week. to arizona now where record heat is scorching the state and people are being urged to stay inside as much as possible. the national weather service issued an excessive heat warning for the entire weekend. in phoenix, temperatures are expected to soar to 115 degrees, even higher. the heat may have contributed to one man's death, and yesterday a woman collapsed with heat exhaustion. if you can imagine this, temperatures climbed as high as 138 degrees at arizona's famous tent city prison. apparently, that was enough to melt the man who calls himself the toughest sheriff in the country. sheriff joe and his deputies, they handled out ice cream to inmates to help them stay cool. as i mentioned, extreme heat in arizona, so how's the rest of the country faring on this sunday? we check in with meteorologist karen maginnis, who has all the details for us.

hey, karen. we have a lot of heat, susan, cranked up across oklahoma and texas, oklahoma city looking at 106. this is not a value of humidity and heat. it is just the actual outside air temperature that is expected for this afternoon. where you see this yellow shaded area, that's where we have heat advisories. in the red, excessive heat warnings out. it extend into portions of arkansas, but the heat turns on all the way into louisiana, all the way down towards houston, also expecting 104 degrees by the afternoon. all right. we take a look at where the thunderstorms are possibly located throughout the tennessee river valley along a frontal system that's very stubborn. over the next several days, it will kind of sink toward the south. also across the midwest, some pretty good thunderstorms expected there, as well. we'll take you through the afternoon and show you some of the high temperatures that we're looking elsewhere. las vegas, 109 degrees. salt lake city, another hot, dry day with 95 in store. and if you're headed to chicago, 81 degrees expected there, a

slight chance of some slight storms. i'm cnn's meteorologist for hln. oklahoma city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there's going to be movement. we're going to have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is rhee re creating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city in legos. he's a leger master who is taking on this huge project to help raise money for a school, a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more than a million lego bricks. but one of his biggest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't even been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window, i don't

know who designed that but it's definitely a tricky building. >> well, he's pretty talented. zimmerle's oklahoma city cityscape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city will have their entries added to the project. about 100 people have special greetings for passing amtrak trains in california. they mooned passing commuter trains in orange county. it's an annual tradition called moon over amtrak started way back in 1979. more than 8,000 people showed up for it last year, but they cause sod many problems with traffic and public nudity, deputies had to shut that event down. but we're happy to report things were a bit more mellow this year, so officials didn't sbruptd t interrupt the mooning. this legally blind man is recovering from getting stung 1,000 times. 84-year-old was going for a daily walk with his dog named shadow when he encountered a swarm of bees.

>> i left the walker and run as fast as i could. >> when i ran out to the gate to see, he was just covered in bees, and so i pulled his t-shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off. and the dog off, as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow, the dog, died, but she probably saved pool's life. pool's wife says if shadow hadn't taken hundreds of stings, it would have been much worse for her husband. firefighters found the hive with thousands of bees inside a brick wall near where pool was walking. i'm bob fiscella with a check of sports. former boxing champ arturo gatti was one of the best fighters of this nation. shocking news from brazil where gotti was found dead in his hotel room with bloodstains near his body but no bullet wounds or stab wounds. he was with his wife and his 1-year-old son, neither of whom were harmed. police are saying, quote, it is

all very strange. arturo gatti, who electrified the boxing world for over a decade, dead at the age of 37. well, forget about yao ming. the most popular basketball player in china on this sunday shaquille o'neal. this was the scene at a beijing shopping mall, shaq in china promoting a sportswear line as well to help victims of the recent earthquakes that have rocked the country. the man is larger than life. if you follow the tour de france enough to know that most all cyclists wear a radio earpiece to keep them in communication with their team, well, this week the team is going old school. for two stages, radios are being banned and the riders are livid about it. said the chairman, why not have two stages without helmets and brakes? don't give them any ideas. the "play of the day" and seeing is believing, although i'm not sure pirates shortstop jack wilson saw this ball until it got in his glove right there. amazing over-the-shoulder catch

and a great presence to turn the double play in our "play of the day." that's a check of sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down and, sadly, some animals could lose their lives in the process.

former cia director general michael haden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of its post-9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden says he personally kept top members of congress well informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a friday report by a team of u.s. inspectors general which called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insist that it never happened. former police officer clyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed the prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. well, on friday, spencer's adult

children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoos' 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open, but governor deval patrick cut that down to $2.5 million. his spokeswoman said the cut was made to preserve services for struggling families. secretary of state hillary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to the two american journalists there. last month, you may remember, euna lee and laura ling started serving 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy here. 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 the incident. tomorrow's scheduled custody hearing over michael jackson's kids is being delayed for another week. jackson's mother, katherine, and his ex-wife, debbie rowe, requested this. right now, katherine jackson has temporary custody of the singer's three children. debbie rowe, as you may know, is the mother of the two oldest. well, she has not indicated in court filings that she intends to seek custody. this extra week could give them time to work out their own agreement. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mind being a clown, but there is one thing that he won't do during a parade today. >> i'll be wearing everything but the big shoes. at 92, you don't go around wearing big shoes. >> why not? find out how he ended up being a staple in the milwaukee parade that is returning after a six-year break.

president obama and his family arrived back at the white house early this morning. during his trip overseas, he attended the g-8 summit in italy and met with russian leaders in moscow. he also visited ghana in his first visit to africa since taking office. at least five people are dead following the collapse of a section of a partially built bridge for new delhi's metro rail network. authorities say the bridge collapsed when a beam supporting pilars gave way. another section of the bridge for the rail system collapsed back in october, killing one person. thousands turned out for the funeral of former nfl star steve mcnair in mississippi yesterday. police say mcnair was shot and killed by his gifford, who then turned the gun on herself. and that is a check of your headlines on this sunday

morning. so glad you're with us. you're watching hln. i'm susan hendricks. well, president obama had some tough words for african leaders. during a stop in ghana yesterday, he said africans should stop blaming and start solving problems. as ed henry reports, president obama also took time to honor history. >> reporter: a day of extraordinary moments, none more powerful than the first african-american president visiting a former slave fortress with his family. >> i think it was particularly important for malia and sasha, who were growing up in such a blessed way, to be reminded that history can take very cruel turns. >> reporter: after touring cape coast castle, which the british used as a slave dungeon, president obama compared its power to his recent stop at a german concentration camp. >> it is reminiscent of the trip i took to buchenwald because it

reminds us of the capacity of human beings to commit great evil. >> reporter: the president used his personal connection to deliver some tough love in a speech to the parliament of ghana earlier in the day. >> 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 fami family -- my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger african story. >> reporter: he chastised african leaders over corruption, saying they can't blame the west for their economies winding up in shambles. >> no business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20% off the top or the head of the port authority is

corrupt. no person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. that is not democracy. that is tyranny. >> reporter: mr. obama's father was from kenya, and he visited that country as a senator. but he chose ghana has his first stop in sub-saharan africa as president because he wanted to highlight its stable democracy and growing economy. so, he mixed the stern lectures with some inspiration, the day having the feel of mr. obama taking last year's campaign ta to a whole new continent, playing with babies, working rope lines, even ending his parliament speech with a familiar slogan. >> the world will be what you make of it. you have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. you can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world.

you can conquer disease and end conflict and make change from the bottom up. you can do that. yes, you can. >> president obama returned to washington from ghana a little after midnight. before he left, he said ghana proves that democracy can thrive in africa. joona is a may try again to launch space shuttle "endeavour." during an electrical storm on friday that was caught here on this video, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad of the kennedy space center. all though technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of boxes that were powered up that look good. there's a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to do a sample of the critical ones and see how they look, again, kind of a confidence-builder that we know we did not have any kind of damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was actually affected by the lightning strikes. so, i fully expect this to be a

positive story, but we have a lot to of equipment that has to be checked and that takes time. >> a mid-june launch was grounded because of potential leak of hydrogen gas. when it does finally take off, the crew will take 16 days installing the third and final piece of japan's billion-dollar lab at the international space station. five iranians the u.s. has been holding are back in iran now. three of the men claimed they are diplomats. they were released on thursday. the u.s. detained the men in northern iraq on january 11th, 2007. they were believed to be part of a group that possibly provides insurgent training. it is not clear who the other two freed men are. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military.

it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives a much-needed release to troops in combat. top military health officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now, the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing i.o.u.s. most major banks, though, stopped taking the i.o.u.s on friday. citigroup says it will keep accepting them for at least another week. some new information now on a story we brought to you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a cup who will adopted a dozen

special-needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest. they are considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and has four of their own children. none of the children were injured. the cia withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from congress on the direct orders of then vice president dick cheney. but a source tells cnn it was never fully operational and was in place from 2001 until last month. so far, there are no other details about this program. now, that is when cia director leon panetta last month shut it down after being informed about it. panetta then briefed congress about the entire program. well, dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this.

deadly coordinated attacks in mexico may have been in retaliation for the arrest of this man seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects in a high-ranking family member of a drug cartel. yesterday, drug gangs carried out attacks in at least eight mexican cities. three federal police officers and two soldiers were killed. another 18 federal officers were wounded. oklahoma city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there's going to be movement. we're going to have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is recreating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city in legos. his name is kirk zimmerle. he's a lego master who is taking on this huge project to help raise money for a new school, a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more than a million lego bricks. but one of zimmerle's biggest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't even been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window, i don't know who designed that but it's definitely a tricky building. >> well, he's pretty talented. zimmerle's oklahoma city cityscape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in a

lottery. well, that brings her lottery winnings since last september to $159,000. lottery officials say she hit it big on five different instant lottery tickets, five different ones, and she's not the only lucky member of her family. her husband, richard, won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september. this legally blind man is recovering from getting stung 1,000 times. 84-year-old john pool was going for his daily walk with his dog named shadow when he encountered a swarm of bees. >> i left the walker and run as fast as i could. >> when i ran out to the gate to see, he was just covered in bees, and so i pulled his t-shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off and the dog off, as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow, the dog, died, but she probably saved pool's life. pool's wife says if shadow hadn't taken hundreds of stings, it would have been much worse

for her husband. firefighters found the hive with thousands of bees inside a brick wall near where pool was walking. about 100 people had a special greeting for passing amtrak trains in california. they mooned passing commuter trains in orange county. it's an annual tradition called moon over amtrak started way back in 1979. more than 8,000 people showed up for it last year, but they caused so many problems with traffic and public nudity, deputies had to shut that event down. but we're happy to report things were a bit more mellow this year, so officials didn't interrupt the mooning. i'm bob fiscella with a check of sports. race car driver mark martin turned 58 years old earlier this year, but he's proving he's not too old to win that car race. he did it again last night. chicagoland speedway, the man in the 5 car, mark martin, busy

winning his fourth race of 2009, more than any other driver this year. amazing comeback for a guy who didn't win a race the previous three years. got to love this. pga tour yesterday. steve stricker at the john deere classic, third shot of the par 5, and who says par is a good score? not for stricker. not par, not birdie, but the eagle has landed. nicely done. university of delaware star marc dunn can has been arrested for a stabbing, this despite the fact that he is the stabbing victim. duncan has been arrested for changing his story too many times for an incident that happened back in may. first he said he was attacked while playing basketball, then he said four men jumped him on the street. police are really not sure what happened. and finally, forget about the crack of the bat, it was all about the clutch. the mets/reds game friday night, new york, part of a potato chip promotion. all fans attending the game were given a bag of chips and were

told to munch on them at exactly 7:35. the guy from the "guinness book of world records" was on hand certifying the loud crunch as a new world record. why not? that's a check of sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down, and sadly, some animals would could lose their lives in the process. time for some fancy footwork. usa versus honduras in gold cup group playing. drills home a goal in the 75th minute but watch the setup. usa getting five touches as they get past nine honduran defenders. 2-1, usa gets the win.

former cia director general michael hayden is denying claims that the bush administration misled congress about the details of its post-9/11

surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden said he personally kept top members of congress well informed all along the way. he was reacting to a report by a team of inspects general which called the program unprecede unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insist that it never happened. former police officer clyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed the prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. well, on friday, spencer's adult children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park

zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoos' 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open, but governor deval patrick cut that down to $2.5 million. his spokeswoman said the cut was made to preserve services for struggling families. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor's historic confirmation hearings begin tomorrow, but there could be some political fireworks. paul steinhauser runs down the drama that may play out once the curtain rises. >> the action in the senate judiciary committee gets under way tomorrow when senators give their opening statements for the confirmation hearings of sonia sotomayor. the nominee herself, she may not be questioned until late tomorrow or maybe not until tuesday. but expect about two to three days of questioning. the whole thing should last about a week because after sonia sotomayor's questions, other witnesses will be questioned by the senators. there are -- take a look at this

breakdown on the senate right now on the judiciary committee. there are 12 democrats and seven republicans. and expect some tough questions republicans on the judiciary committee, and expect some tough questions by the republicans led by snef sessiojeff sessions of . what they or other republicans may try to portray sotomayor as someone who is biased, out of the mainstream. they may grill her on gun rights. that could be the way the republicans try to go, but overall, they don't have the votes. there's only seven of them on the committee. expect the votes by the judiciary committee by the end of the week or beginning of next week, and the president said he would like a vote on sotomayor by the beginning of august before the senate goes on break. a california jail has quarantined about 400 inmates after one of them tested positive for the swine flu virus.

sheriff's officials say the inmates are being isolated in various housing units and have been given anti-viral drugs. this confirms the cases in san diego county alone to 572. secretary of state hilary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to the two american journalists there. last month you may remember euna lee and laura ling started serving 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy here. previously the u.s. asked them to release them on humanitarian grounds. a plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for an offense. the journalists have expressed great remorse over the incident. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mind being a clown, but there is one thing he won't be doing during a parade today. >> i'll be wearing everything but the big shoes. at 92, you don't go around wearing big shoes.

>> hey, why not? find out how he ended up being a staple in a milwaukee parade that is returning after a six-year break. . 

a little jet lagged and yaung, the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning from overseas. their trip included a stop in ghana and a tour of a castle. what his trip can teach the world today. nasa postponed a shuttle lift-off. the question now, is the shuttle ready for another shot any time soon? >> that guy and a bunch of other folks went cruising for a bruising in new orleans. learn how the big easy runs with the bulls. you're watching hln on this sunday, july 12. it is great to have you with us.

i'm susan hendricks. we want to get caught up now. president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house this morning. their whirlwind trip overseas included india and russia. he praised ghana for its economic progress, and he also challenged people on the african continent for holding conflict. it capped off the first visit in africa since being sworn in. the highlight on the obamas' trip included a done john of the old slave castle. he spoke with anderson cooper from our sister network cnn about the meaning of his trip and what lessons could be learned from it. >> do you think what happens here still has resonance in america, that the slave

experience is still something that should be talked about and should be remembered and should be present in everyday life? >> i think the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. i think it's one of those things you don't forget about. i think it's important that the way we think about it and the way it's taught is not one in which they're simply a victim and a victimizer and that's the end of the story. i think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant is because whether it's what's happening in darfur or what's happening in the congo or too many other places in the world, the possibility of cruelty still exists. >> to see the interview with

president obama, tune in at 1 10:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow on cnn. during an electrical storm on friday that was caught on this video, lightning struck at least 11 times during the launch pad at the kennedy space center. although technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there is a lot of boxes that were powered up that look good, there's a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to do a sample of the critical ones and turn those on and see how they look. again, kind of a confidence builder that we know we did not have any kind of damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was actually affected by the lightning strikes. so i fully expect this to be a positive story, but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked and that's what takes time. a mid-june loss was grounded by a potential leak of hydrogen

gas. when it does take off, they will connect the final piece of the space station. a secret program on congress from direct orders of then vice president dick cheney. but it was never fully operational and was in place from 2001 until last month. so far there are no other details about this program. that is when cia director leon panetta shut it down last month after being informed about it. panetta then briefed congress about the entire program. dick cheney couldn't be reached for comment about this. a tornado slammed a town in southern ohio, hurting at least five people there. emergency officials say the twister hit some folks hard near buchanan yesterday afternoon. some homes completely destroyed, at least three mobile homes wiped out. electric crews working to fix

power outages. what a mess. some roads closed because of debris and high water. they set up an emergency shelter in the area to help out. some new information on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen special needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in bul a, florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. those men are not under arrest but considered people of interest. investigators still want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and have four of their own children. none of the children were injured. deadly coordinated attacks in mexico may have been a retaliation for the arrest of this man seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects and a highly rankly family member of a

drug cartel. they carried out attacks in at least eight mexican cities. two soldiers were killed. another 18 federal officers were wounded. a huge crowd saying goodbye to nfl quarterback steve mcnair. his girlfriend shot and killed him a week ago before turning the gun on herself. as larry smith reports from met moral, some fellow nfl stars had a hard time holding back tears. >> steve was like a hero to me, and heros are not supposed to die. >> it was an emotional farewell for steve mcnair. thousands came to pay their respects to the former nfl most valuable player and what organizers called the largest home-going services in american history. for the past week, the sordid details of mcnair's murder sent shock waves across the nation. but this was about his legacy on

and off the field during a stellar career. when asked who mcnair stopped and gave an autograph to, nearly half raised their hands. >> i find myself in awe in honor of being here to give a speech from where it all started from. >> opponents called mcnair a warrior for his ability to play through paint, and teammates said his grit and determination made them better. >> he played to win. every play was to win. >> just two weeks ago, mcnair hosted a football camp for kids here. and when everyone else was gone, he was the one cleaning up after a day of giving. steve mcnair was buried later in the day in his home town of mt. olive, about 30 miles from here. his good work will live on. as he said, the world would be a better place if everyone helped as steve did. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says

smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military. it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe five or ten years. however, one general says smoking gives him much needed relief to troops in combat. top officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress to close the hole in the state's budget. they are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming week. right now the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks, though, stopped taking the ious on friday. citigroup says it will keep accepting them for at least another week. to arizona now where record heat is scorching the state and

people are being urged to stay inside as much as possible. the national weather service issued an excessive heat warning for the entire weekend. in phoenix, temperatures are expected to soar to 150 degrees, even higher. and yesterday a woman collapsed with heat exhaustion. if you can imagine this, temperatures climbed as high as 138 degrees at arizona's state prison. apparently that was enough to melt the man who called himself the toughest sheriff in the country. sheriff piro, of course, and his deputies. they handed out ice cream to inmates to help them stay cool. as i mentioned, extreme heat in arizona. how is the rest of the country faring? we turn to carol for the forecast. >> oklahoma and texas, oklahoma city looking at 106. this is not a value of humidity

and heat. it is just the actual outside air temperature that is expected for this afternoon. wait until you see this yellow shaded area. that's where we have heat advisories, and the red, excessive heat warnings out. it extends into portions of arkansas, but the heat turns on all the way into louisiana, all the way down towards houston and expecting 104 degrees by the afternoon. we take a look where the thunderstorms are possibly located. throughout the tennessee river valley along a frontal system that's very stubborn, and over the next several days, we'll just kind of sink towards the south. also across the midwest, some pretty good thunderstorms expected there as well. we'll take you through the afternoon and show you some of the high temperatures that we're looking at elsewhere. las vegas, 109 degrees. salt lake city, another hot, dry day with 95 in store. and if you're headed to chicago, 81 degrees expected there. a slight chance of some afternoon storms. i'm cnn meteorologist for hln. oklahoma city's never seen

itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there is going to be movement, we're going to have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is recreating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city out of legos. his name is kurt zimmerle. he is a lego master taking on this huge project raising money for a new school. a great cause. he is working on it 12 hours a day and using over 1 million lego bricks. one of his challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't even been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window. i don't know who designed that, but it's definitely a tricky building. >> zimmerle's city will be on

display in november. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in an instant lottery. that brings her total winnings to $159,000. she's not the only lucky member of her family. her husband richard won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september. 1989, ronald reagan was leaving office, and mark martin was entering the nascar scene. 20 years later, the old man is still winning races. chicagoland speedway last night. this is what they mean when they say swap and pay.

mark martin was winning his fourth race in '09, more than any other driver this year. not bad for a guy who had to be talked out of semi-retirement. jave mcguire knew he was in trouble for basically sticking out his leg and tripping a panama player. mcguire has now been suspended for three matches. said the coach, i think the punishment is just. he has to pay for his mistakes. last night mets outfielder jay bruce broke his wrist. he is sidelined for the next six weeks. it was all about the crunch of the chip. as part of a potato chip

promotion, all fans were given a bag and told to crunch away at 7:35. they certified the new world record, most chips crunched at once. got to love history. that's the check in sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down, and sadly, some animals could lose their lives in the process.

former cia director general michael hayden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress on details of the post-9/11 program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden said he personally kept top members of congress informed all along the way. the u.s. inspect or general called the program unprecedented. they also questioned the legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if

homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open, but the governor cut that down to 2.5 million. the cut was made to promote services for struggling families. secretary of state hilary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to the two american journalists there. last month you may remember euna lee and laura ling started serving 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy here. 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 the incident. tomorrow's scheduled custody hearing over michael jackson's kids is being delayed for another week. jackson's mother katherine and his ex-wife debbie rowe requested this. right now katherine has temporary custody of the

couple's three children. debbie rowe, as you know, is the mother of the two oldest. she has not indicated in court filings that she intends to seek custody. this extra week could give them time to work out their own agreement. 30-year mortgages have been the industry standard for quite a while. but there is an alternative for homeowners who want to shed their debt faster, and it's gaining popularity. hln money expert clark howard has the scoop. there is a trend going on right now that i'm hearing from my callers that i am so excited about, and i don't have actual math to prove it yet, but i can tell by the calls coming in that people are thinking about borrowing differently than they have in all the years i've been on the radio. people calling me about refinancing mortgages in huge numbers are calling me and asking me about 15-year refinances instead of 30-year refinances.

anecdotally a lot of mortgage brokers are saying they see this trend, taking on 15-year debt instead of 30-year mortgages. why? people used to think houses would go up in value and that was how you would get your equity. people have learned the real equity you get in your house is as you pay down debt. this is a great idea. you don't do it in absence of saving money for your retirement. but if you got your act together, do the 15. go to my web site, cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> tune in to clark today at noon eastern time. he will help you save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. actor ernest borgnine doesn't mind being a clown, but there is one thing he won't do during a parade today. >> i'll be wearing everything but the big shoes. at 92, you don't go around wearing big shoes.

>> hey, why not? find out how he ended up being a staple in a milwaukee parade that is returning after a six-year break.

[ music ] >> welcome to comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson, and my guest this hour is christine bergmark who is the executive director of the southern maryland agricultural development commission. welcome, christine, it's good to have you here. >> thank you for having me. >> that's a big mouthful, and i know that you're working on an extremely exciting program, bi-local challenge. >> it is an initial that we launched two years ago, and essentially what it is is the last full week of july we ask everyone across the state of maryland and beyond to take a pledge, and the pledge is eat something or drink from a farm every day during that week.

>> oh. so where do we get the information about where to find the farms or how do we sign up for this pledge? >> well, there's a website. it's www.by-local-challenge.com that website will give you all sorts of information why to buy local and where to buy local and it connects you to other statewide initiatives that are going on at the same time. if you go to the website, we've added a count. people used to say, where do i sign up? normally you have to go buy, eat something from a local farm. this year we decided to add a counter to the website. when you are' counted, you can receive a certificate with your name on it that you can put up in your office or your home or wherever. >> which is very, very important. it's reduces your carbon foot print because you're driving hopefully a shorter distance,

you have access to local products that are available, and also it helps the farmers. >> well, and in fact, our theme this year is healthy plate, healthy planet. all kinds of benefits to buying local, benefits for you, healthy, nutrition, it's fresh, and preserving our farms survive, we keep clean water, we keep clean air, we reduce the carbon footprints from things traveling 1500 miles, and it tastes good. >> exactly. now for those people who may not cook, how can they be a part of this? >> yeah, sometimes people say, well, i hate to cook. that's okay. you can go to a store or to a restaurant that features local farm products, and there are more and more restaurants every year, some of them are on our website, and you can click throughout to find out who they are,. >> what kind of items can we acquire localfully. >> during the last week of july,

there is so much product available. there's sweet corn, blackberries, all kinds of tomatoes and melons are in season, and of course, there's always wine, cheese, eggs, meatss. >> so we do have a wide variety of things we can get. say that i go and i go to a local farmer's market and purchase something, what is a vegetable that i'm not quite familiar with, how did i find a recipe. >> excellent question. there are recipes on our website. people can post their own recipes of their own events and own blogs by why they buy local. some of the things i wanted to mention is the economic benefits. we talked about the planet, we talked about the fact that it tastes good, and it's fun, but there's also the benefit of

supporting our farms, and if every household in the state mucofmaryland were to buy just 2 worth of products for 8 weeks, basically the summer season that, would put $200 million straight back into the pockets of our farmers. that would do a lot to keep our farmers thriving. >> which is so important. i know we have less than 30 seconds, but you have some partners that you wouldn't typically think of who have now joined in. >> yes. hospitals are joining in this year. fact, they're looking to do a competition to see how many people they can get involved. >> have you exciting. christine, thank you very much for coming in today. >> thank you. >> my guest today has been christine bergmark with the southern agricultural commission. if you're interested in what comcast is doing in your area, go to on demand and click get local. for comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson. [ music ]

president obama and his family arrived back at the white house early this morning. during a trip overseas, he attended the g8 summit in italy and met with russian leaders in moscow. he also visited donna in his first visit to africa since taking office. at least five people are dead in the collapse of a section of a bridge for a network. the bridge collapsed when a beam support gave way. another section of the bridge collapsed back in october, killing one person. thousands turned out for the funeral of former nfl star steve mcnair in mississippi yesterday. police said mcnair was shot and killed by his girlfriend, who then turned the gun on herself.

that is a review of your headlines this sunday morning. so glad you're with us. you're watching cnn susan hendricks. he said afterry cans should stop blaming and start solving problems. and as ed henry reports, president obama also took time to honor history. >> a day of extraordinary moments, none more powerful than the first african-american president visiting a former slave fortress with his family. >> i think it was particularly important for malia and sasha, who are growing up in such a blessed way, to be reminded that a history can take very cruel turns. >> after touring cape coast castle, which the british used as a slave dungeon, president obama compared its power to a recent visit to a german

concentration camp. >> it was reminiscent of a trip i took to buchenwald, because it reminds us of the power of human beings to create great evil. >> the president used his personal experience to deliver a speech of tough love in ghana earlier in the day. >> we must start with the simple promise that africa's future is up to afterry ca africans. i say this full well knowing the tragic past in this part of the world. after all, i have the blood of africa in me, and my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of a larger african story. >> he chastised african leaders over corruption, saying they can't blame the west for their economy ending up in sham bells. >> nobody wants to be in a place where the government skims 20%

off the top, or the authority is corrupt. nobody wants to live where the way of the law gives way to brutality. that is not democracy, that is t tyranny. >> mr. obama chose ghana as his first stop as president because he wanted to highlight its stable democracy and growing economy. so he mixed the stern lectures with some inspiration, the day having the feel of mr. obama taking last year's campaign to a whole new continent. working babies, working rope lines and ending his parliament speech with a familiar slogan. >> the world will be what you make of it. you have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. you can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create

new wealth and build new connections to the world. you can conquer disease and end conflict and make change from the bottom up. you can do that. yes, you can! >> president obama returned to washington from ghana a little after midnight. before he left, he said ghana proves that democracy can thrive in africa. nasa may try again tonight to launch space shuttle endeavour. on friday, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad at the kennedy space center. although technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there is a lot of boxes that were powered up that look good, there were a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to do a sample of the critical ones, turn those on and see how they look. again, a kind of confidence builder to know we did not have any damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that

indicates anything was actually affected by the lightning strikes. i fully expect this to be a positive story, but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked and that's what takes time. >> a mid-june loss was grounded because of potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas. when it does take off, though, the crews will take six days installing the final piece of the lab at the space station. the iranians are back in iraq now. three of the men claim they are diploma diplomats. they were released on thursday. the u.s. detained the men in northern iraq january 11, 2007. they were believed to be part of a group that possibly provides insurgent training. it is not clear who the other two freed men are. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military.

it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out, maybe over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives a much-needed relief to troops in combat. top military officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meeting, they're raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now the state cannot meet its financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks, though, stopped taking the ious on friday. citigroup says it will keep accepting them for at least another week. some new information on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen

special needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in beulah, florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest. they are considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and had four of their own children. none of the children were injured. the cia withheld information about a secret program in congress from direct orders from then-vice president dick cheney. but it was never fully operational and was in place from 2001 until last month. so far there are no other details about this program. that is when director leon panetta shut it down after being informed about it. panetta then briefed congress

about the entire program. dick cheney couldn't be reached for comment about this. deadly foreign attacks in mexico may be retaliation for the arrest of this man seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects and leader of a drug cartel. attacks were carried out in eight mexican cities. five federal police officers and two soldiers were killed. at least 18 officers were wounded. oklahoma city has never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit. there is going to be movement. we're going to have the boats hopefully moofg moving in the canal. >> why one man is recreating the city's landmark with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city out of legos. his name is kurt zimmerle. he is a lego master who is taking on this huge project to help raise money for a new school, a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more than 1 million lego bricks. but one of his challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building going out to a bay window. i don't know who designed that, but it's a tricky building. >> his city will be on display in november. winners of the lego contest in oklahoma city will have their entries added to the project. they mooned passing commuter

trains in orange county. it's an annual tradition called "moon over amtrak." it started way back in 1979. more than 8,000 people showed up for it last year, but they caused so many problems with traffic and public nudity, deputies had to shut that event down. but we're happy to report, things were more mellow this year, so authorities didn't interrupt the mooning. this man is recovering from getting stung a thousand times. john pool was going for his daily walk with his dog shadow, when he encountered a swarm of bees. >> i left the walker and ran as fast as i could. >> when i went out to the gate to see, he was just covered in bees. so i pulled his t-shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off and the dog off as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow, the dog, died, but she probably saved pool's life. pool's wife says if shadow hadn't taken hundreds of stings,

it would have been much worse for her husband. firefighters found a hive with thousands of bees inside a brick wall near where pool was walking. a check on sports. the year was 1989. ronald reagan was leaving office, and mark martin was arriving on the nascar scene. he won his first race that year, and 20 years later, the man is still winning races. at chicagoland speedway last night, this is what they mean by swap and pay. try doing this 100 times or so. he was winning his fourth race in '09, more than any man this year. not bad for a guy who had to be talked out of semi-retirement. jave mcguire knew he was in trouble for sticking out his leg and tripping a panama player. well, now mcguire has been suspended for three matches.

said the coach, i think the punishment is just. i have to pay for my mistakes. what a stand-up guy. if you're skweemish, better look away. he not only did not make the catch but broke his wrist on the play. that is nasty. bruce is sidelined for the next four to six weeks. and finally, forget about the crack of the bat in friday night's mets game. it was all about the crunch of the chip. as part of a potato chip promotion, all fans were given chips and told to munch away at exactly 7:35. the folks from the guinness book of world records were there and certified the new world record, most chips crunched at once. got to love history. that's a check of sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down, and sadly, some animals could lose their lives in the process.

julie townsend is surrounded by naked bodies every day. it's not what you think. she rents and repairs mannequins. >> the company started in 2001 quite by chance. i was looking to buy a mannequin for an art project. >> she found one in a san francisco shop that was going out of business. >> she was the beginning of the whole new venture. >> julie bought the store's entire inventory of 100 mannequins. >> i thought i was crazy for doing this. hence the name, mannequin madness. >> she kept her day job and tinkered with her business after hours. when the dot-com company judy worked for, she went into it full-time.

>> i figured, this was a time to take my leap of faith. >> she has warehouses on both koe coasts filled with hundreds of mannequins. >> sometimes you just have to go for it. opportunities are presented in front of you, and you can either take the risk or not. i don't want to always regret, like what if.

former cia director general michael hayden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of its post-9/11 vasurveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden said he personally kept top congress members well informed all along the way. he was reacting to a report by the u.s. inspect or general who called the program unprecedented. it also questioned the legal rationale and the security that

surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insist it never happened. former police officer collilyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. he was pardon oned when it revealed that medical exams showed no signs of abuse. the son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoos' 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. they had put aside $6.5 million to keep them open, but the governor cut it down to 2.5

million. he put the extra money to struggling families. there could be some politic fireworks. paul steinhauser runs down the drama that may play out once the curtain rises. >> the action in the senate judiciary committee gets underway tomorrow when senators give their opening statements for the confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor. the nominee herself may not be questioned until late tomorrow or maybe not until tuesday. but expect about two to three days of questioning. the whole thing should last about a week. because after sonia sotomayor's questioning, other witnesses will be questioned by the senators. there are, take a look at this break down on the senate right now on the judiciary committee. 12 democrats and 7 republicans. and expect some tough questions from republicans led by their ranking republican on the committee jeff sessions of alabama and also senator of texas. they will try to portray her as somebody who is biassed, somebody out of the mainstream.

they may grill her on her stances on affirmative action and gun rights. that could be, could be the way the republicans try to go. but overall, they don't have the votes, there are only seven of them on the committee. expect a vote by the judiciary committee at the end of the week or the beginning of next week and the president has indicated he would like the full senate to vote on sonia sotomayor by the beginning of august before the senate goes on break. paul steinhauser, cnn, washington. a california jail is quarantined about 400 inmates after one of them tested positive for the swine through virus. sheriffs officials in san diego county say the inmates are being isolated in various housing units and have been given antiviral drugs. this brings the total number of confirmed cases in san diego county alone to 572. actor earnest doesn't mind being a clown, but there's one thing he won't do during a parade today. >> i'd be wearing everything but the big shoes.

at 92, you don't go around wearing big shoes. >> why not? find out how he ended up being a staple in a milwaukee parade that's returning after a six-year break.

forget modesty, folks across the country stripped down to nothing yesterday to set a record. why else? they tossed out bathing suits and splashed into the guinness book of world records, all part of the larger number of people skinny-dipping at the same time. 228 people jumped naked into this pool at a california resort all together. we will hear from guinness in two days, but since this is a new category, it automatically set a record. here's a question. what would you do if a prowling hungry bear got into your house? well, an 86-year-old man had that problem and had to do some quick thinking. and for affiliate ktxl reports it may have saved his own life.

here it is. >> reporter: 86-year-old gust hetland isn't sure what got him out of bed at 2:00 in the morning, but knew something wasn't quite right. >> i didn't know what it was. i thought, well, is that a burglar? you know, god, i don't want to -- i can't face any burglar. >> to his surprise, it wasn't what he initially thought. >> i walk a little farther, and i get to about right here when it stands up. i said, my god, it's a bear. and i just on impulse, i went, and that was it. man, he took turns and run. jumped right through this window right here. >> my goodness. >> reporter: it all happened so quickly that his wife slept through the whole thing. >> when he woke me up later and told me that it was a bear in the house. you know, wake me up this time of morning to tell me that.

because he's quite a jokester. >> he would've tore it to shreds. anything he could smell food. probably was a she come to think of it. >> reporter: this former mustang pilot from the war never even got scared. >> i would be. >> well, you're a girl. girls are supposed to be that way. that's why you've got men to protect you. right? >> you're right. >> that's why god made men stronger and everything else. >> some quick thinking by gust prote gus, protecting his wife, of course. thanks to ktxl for that report. bear sightings in gus' neighborhood are not unusual, but breaking into a house definitely is. 92-year-old actor earnest boardnine makes a big return as the clown to milwaukee's great circus parade today. the event is back after a lack of funds forced it to take a six-year hiatus. hundreds of thousands of people show up every year for that

parade when it is on. many of them camp along the route for days to get a good view. he's been a clown in past parades, believe it or not, and has been attending since the early 1970s. >> you see all of these people, you know, just oh, look. and then there's some people asleep. you know. because they're audiotape all night long. >> well, he got involved with the parade after telling johnny carson he'd done almost everything in show business, except be a circus clown. many attended the funeral for steve mcnair. it was a service so emotional it moved some nfl stars to tears. this is hln.

emergency shelter in the area to help out. who will the storms hit today? the national forecast with meteorologist just minutes away. new information now on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen special needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in beulah, florida, on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest, they are considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and had four of their own children. none of the children were injured. deadly coordinated attacks in mexico may have been in retaliation for the arrest of

this man. seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects in a high-ranking family member of a drug cartel. yesterday drug gangs carried out attacks on at least eight mexican cities, three federal police officers, and two soldiers were killed. another 18 federal officers were wounded. a huge crowd saying good-bye to nfl quarterback steve mcnair. police say his girlfriend shot and killed him a week ago before turning the gun on herself. and as larry smith reports from the memorial, some nfl stars had trouble holding back tears. >> steve was like a hero to me and heroes are not supposed to die. >> reporter: it was an emotional farewell for steve mcnair. thousands came to pay their respects to the former nfl most valuable player and what organizers called one of the largest home going services in mississippi history. for the past week, the sorted

details of mcnair's murder sent shock waves across the nation. but this was about his legacy on and off the field during a stellar career. when asked how many people have mcnair stopped and given an autograph to, nearly half raised their hands. >> i find myself in awe when i speak about a man like steve mcnair. i find myself in awe of being here where it started from. >> reporter: opponents called mcnair a warrior for his ability to play through pain, and teammates say his grit and determination made them better. >> he played to win. every play was to win. >> reporter: just two weeks ago, mcnair hosted a football camp for kids here, and when everyone else was gone, he was the one cleaning up after a day of giving. steve mcnair was buried later in the day about 30 miles from here, but his good work will live on. the world would be a better place if everybody helped others the way steve did. larry smith, cnn, hattiesburg,

mississippi. at one time, soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military. it is recommending a complete ban on that ba tobacco in the u armed forces. studies show it should be gradually phased out. however one senior general says smoking gives a much needed relief to troops in combat. top military health officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the massive $26 billion hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the budget crisis could be solved in the coming week. right now the state cannot meet the financial obligations and is issuing ious. most major banks stopped taking

them on friday. citigroup says it will keep accepting them for at least another week. to arizona now where record heat is scorching the state and people are being urged to stay inside as much as possible. the national weather service issued an excessive heat warning for the entire weekend. in phoenix, temperatures are expected to soar to 115 degrees even higher. the heat may have contributed to one man's death and yesterday, a woman collapsed with heat exhaustion. oklahoma city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit, there's going to be movement, have the boats hopefully moving in the canal. >> why one man is recreating the city's major landmarks with legos. hi, i'm jennifer westhoven, and i'm looking out for you. just ahead, why somebody might have figured out your social security number.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica

of oklahoma city out of legos. his name is kurt. he's a lego master who is taking on this huge project to help raise money for a new school. a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more than 1 million lego bricks. but one of the biggest challengers is adding a building to the layout that hasn't been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window, i don't know who designed it, but it's a tricky building. >> he's talented. his oklahoma city scape will be on display in november. winners of a lego building competition in oklahoma city will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that everyone hopes to hit. she recently won $7,000 in the lottery. well, that brings her lottery winnings since last september to $159,000.

lottery officials say she hit it big on five different instant lottery tickets, five different ones, and she's not the only lucky member of her family. her husband richard won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september. this legally blind man is recovering from getting stung 1,000 times. 84-year-old john pool was going for his daily walk his dog named shadow when he encountered a swarm of bees. >> i left the walker. and run as fast as i could. >> when i ran out to the gate to see he was just covered in bees. and so i pulled his t-shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off and the dog off, as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow, the dog, died, but she probably saved pool's life. pool's wife said if shadow hadn't taken hundreds of stings it would have been much worse for her husband. firefighters found a hive with

thousands of bees inside a brick wall near where he was walking. a check of sports. former boxing champ was easily one of the most exciting fighters of this generation. well, shocking news from brazil where he was found dead in his hotel room in a posh resort. he was with his wife and 1-year-old son, neither of whom were harmed. it is all very strange. arturo gatti, dead at the age of 37. well, forget about the most popular basketball player in china on this sunday. shaquille o'neal. this was a scene at a beijing shopping mall promoting a sportswear line as well as to help victims of the recent earthquakes that have rocked the country. the man is larger than life. do you follow the tour de france enough to know that most

all cyclists wear a radio ear piece to keep them in communication with their team? well, this week the tour is going old school. for two stages radios are being banned and the riders are livid about it. why not have two stages without helmets and brakes? and that brings us to the play of the day and seeing is believing, although i'm not sure jack wilson saw this ball until it got in his glove right there. amazing over the shoulder catch and the great presence to turn the double play into our play of the day. that's a check of sports. we're talking about your identity. and if you think your social security number is as secure as maybe your atm pin code, you may want to think again on this. this morning our money expert is looking out for you and your wallet. >> hi, i hope you're enjoying your summer weekend, i'm jennifer westhoven, this is a

scary story. some researchers say they've cracked the social security code. they claim they can guess your social security number. they say all they need is a little bit of simple information like the same kind you might put on websites like facebook and from that, they could figure out the first five digits of your number and they say one time out of ten they can even get all nine numbers. look, they say if they can figure it out, criminals can too and they could hijack your identity. the social security administration spokesman says they think the researchers are exaggerating, but they have come up with a new system for assigning numbers in the future. you keep seeing headlines about americans getting sick from outbreaks associated with your food. be now something's being done about it. the white house wants to completely overhaul the nation's food safety system. so to make your eggs safer, the agricultural department will have new standards to cut salmonella by year end.

the numbers are staggering, the cdc says 76 million people get sick every year from their food and 5,000 people die. in addition to making your eggs safer, they also want to make your meat safer. the usda says they'll test mure at meat packing plants. make sure that your food is safer. looking out for you, i'm jennifer westhoven. >> thanks. you can get more great money advice from jennifer westhoven each weekday on morning express from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. eastern. money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down and sadly some animals could lose their lives in the process.

former cia director michael hayden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of his post 9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden says he personally kept top members of congress well informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a report which called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insists that it never happened. former police officer clyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for

the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. well, on friday, spencer's adult children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open. governor patrick cut that down to $1.5 million. secretary of state hillary clinton is calling on north korea to grant amnesty to the two american journalists there. last month, you may remember euna lee and laura ling started serving 12 years of hard labor

for entering the country illegally. the request for amnesty is a shift in strategy here. 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 the incident. tomorrow's scheduled custody hearing over michael jackson's kids is being delayed for another week. jackson's mother katherine and his ex-wife debbie rowe requested this. right now katherine jackson has temporary custody of the three children. debbie rowe, as you may know, is the mother of the two oldest. she has not indicated she intends to seek custody. this extra week could give them time to work out their own agreement. actor earnest borgnine doesn't mind being a clown. but there's one thing he won't do during a parade today. >> everything but the big shoes.

at 92 you don't go around wearing big shoes. >> why not? find out how he ended up a staple in the milwaukee parade returning after a six-year break. ddddddddddddd

president obama and his family arrived back at the white house early this morning. during his trip overseas, he attended the g8 summit in italy and met with russian leaders in moscow. he also visited ghana in his first visit to africa since taking office. at least five people are dead following the collapse of a section of a partially built bridge for the metro rail network. authorities say the bridge collapsed when a beam supporting pillars gave way. another section of a bridge for the rail system collapsed back in october, killing one person. thousands turned out for the funeral of former nfl star steve mcnair in mississippi yesterday. police say mcnair was shot and killed by his girlfriend who then turned the gun on herself. and that is a check of your

headlines on this sunday morning. so glad you're with us, you're watching hln, i'm susan hendricks. well, president obama had some tough words for african leaders during a stop in ghana yesterday. he said africans should stop blaming and start solving problems. as ed henry reports, president obama also took time to honor history. >> reporter: a day of extraordinary moments, none more powerful than the first african-american president visiting a former slave fortress with his family. >> i think it was particularly important for malia and sasha who are growing up in such a blessed way to be reminded that history can take very cruel turns. >> after touring cape coast castle, which the british used as a slave dungeon, he compared it to his recent stop at a german concentration camp. >> it is reminiscent of the trip

to buchenwald, it reminds us the capacity of human beings to commit great evil. >> reporter: the president used his personal connection to deliver some tough love in his speech to the parliament of ghana earlier in the day. >> 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 own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger african story. >> reporter: he chastised african leaders over corruption saying they can't blame the west for their economies winding up in shambles. >> no business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20% off the top. or the head of the port

authority is corrupt. no person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. that is not democracy, that is tyranny. >> reporter: mr. obama's father was from kenya and he visited that country as a senator. but he chose ghana as his first stop in africa as president because he wanted to highlight its stable democracy and growing economy. so he mixed the stern lectures with some inspiration, the day having the feel of mr. obama taking last year's campaign to a whole new continent. in shirt sleeves playing with babies, even ending his parliament speech with a familiar line. >> the world will be what you make of it. you have the power to hold your leaders accountable and build institutions that serve the people. you can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world.

you can concur disease and end conflicts and make change from the bottom up. you can do that. yes, you can. >> president obama returned to washington from ghana a little after midnight before he left, he said ghana proves that democracy can thrive in africa. nasa may try again tonight to launch space shuttle endeavor. during an electrical storm on friday that was caught here on this video, lightning struck at least 11 times near the launch pad at the kennedy space center, although technicians didn't find any damage, they still need at least another day to check critical systems. >> there's a lot of boxes that were powered up that look good, a lot of boxes that weren't powered up. we're going to go kind of do a sample of the critical ones and turn those on and see how they look. and again, a confidence builder that we know that we did not have any kind of damage to the vehicle. we've seen nothing so far that indicates anything was actually affected by the lightning strike.

so i fully expect this to be a positive story, but we have a lot of equipment that has to be checked and that's what takes time. >> a mid june launch was grounded by potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas. when it does finally take off, though, endeavor's shuttle and crew will spend 16 days installing the third and final piece of japan's billion dollar at the international space station. five iranians the u.s. had been holding in iraq since 2007 are back in iran now. that is what iran's government-backed press tv is reporting. three of the men claimed they are diplomats, they were released on thursday. the u.s. detained the men in northern iraq on january 11th, 2007. they were believed to be part of a group that possibly provides insurgent training. it is not clear who the other two freed men are. at one time soldiers got a pack of cigarettes along with their food and supplies. now a new military study says smoking shouldn't even be allowed in the military.

it is recommending a complete ban on tobacco in the u.s. armed forces. the study recommends it should be gradually phased out over five or ten years. however, one senior general says smoking gives a much-needed relief to troops in combat. top military health officials are looking into the study and will make recommendations. california governor arnold schwarzenegger and state lawmakers will meet again today behind closed doors. they say they are making steady progress in closing the hole in the state's budget. reports coming out of the meetings are raising hopes the crisis could be solved in the coming weeks. right now the state cannot meet the financial obligations and issuing ious. most major banks, though, stopped taking the ious on friday. citigroup says it will keep accepting them for at least another week. some new information now on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in connection with killing a couple who adopted a dozen

special needs kids. you may remember this one. this is an update for you. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in beulah, florida, on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van leaving the victims' home. however, those men are not under arrest, they are considered persons of interest, though. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet. the couple adopted 12 kids and had four of their own children. none of the children were injured. the cia withheld information about a secret counter terrorism program from congress on the direct orders of then vice president dick cheney. but a source tells cnn it was never fully operational and was in place from 2001 until last month. so far there are no other details about this program. now, that is when cia director leon panetta last month shut it down after being informed about it. he then briefed congress about the entire program. well, dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this.

deadly coordinated attacks in mexico may have been in retaliation for the arrest of this man seen right here. he is one of mexico's most wanted drug suspects in a high-ranking family member of a drug cartel. yesterday drug gangs carried out attacks in at least eight mexican cities, another 18 federal officers were wounded. oklahoma city's never seen itself quite like this before. >> the buildings will be lit, there's going to be movement. we're going to have the boats moving in the canal. >> why one man is recreating the city's major landmarks with legos.

a grown man is spending his whole summer building a replica of oklahoma city out of legos. his name is kurt, he's a lego master who was taking on this huge project to help raise money for a new school, a great cause. he works on it more than 12 hours a day and is using more than 1 million lego bricks. but one of his biggest challenges is adding a building to the layout that hasn't even been built yet. >> if you can picture a six-sided building and three of those points indent and go back out as a bay window, i don't know who designed that, but it's a tricky building. >> he's talented. his oklahoma city scape will be on display in november. winners of the building competition in oklahoma city will have their entries added to the project. a west virginia woman is on the kind of lucky streak that

everyone hopes to hit. 60-year-old brenda bailey recently won $7,000 in the lottery, that brings her lottery winnings since last september to $159,000. lottery officials say she hit it big on five different instant lottery tickets. five different ones and she's not the only lucky member of her family. her husband richard won $6,000 in january and $10,000 in september. this legally blind man is recovering from getting stung 1,000 times. 84-year-old john pool was going for a daily walk with his dog named shadow when he encountered a swarm of bees. >> i left the walker. and run as fast as i could. >> when i ran out to the gate to see he was just covered in bees and so i pulled his t-shirt off and got the garden hose and started hosing him off. and the dog off, as well. >> unfortunately, 14-year-old shadow the dog died, but she

probably saved his life. if shadow hadn't taken hundreds of stings it would have been much worse for her husband. firefighters found a hive with thousands of peas inside. a brick wall near where pool was walking. a check of sports. you just never knew what former boxing champ arturo gatti would do in the ring. a whole lot of personality. shocking news where gatti was found dead in his hotel room in an upscale resort. there were bloodstains near his body. no bullet wounds or stab wounds. he was with his wife and 1-year-old son, neither of whom were harmed. police are saying "it is all very strange." arturo gatti dead at the age of 37. where are these folks headed? to green bay, home of the packers, but they're not there to watch a football game, but instead buy a television set. see the packers are upgrading

their suites to flat panels so they sold all 450 of their old 20-inch tube tvs for $30 apiece, which is about half the price of the average ticket to a packers game. just what would you do to compete in the olympics? well, logan campbell has generated revenue for the 2012 games by opening a brothel, you heard me right, campbell said he hopes to raise $200,000, he says it cost him about $90,000 to compete in the beijing olympics last year. and that brings us to the play of the day. and seeing is believing, although i'm not sure pirates' shortstop jack wilson saw this ball until it was in his glove. over the shoulder grab, double play, our play of the day, and that's check of sports. money problems in massachusetts could force two

zoos to shut down. and sadly, some animals could lose their lives in the process.

former cia director general michael hayden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of his post 9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden says he personally kept top members of congress well informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a friday report by a team of u.s. inspectors general which called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insists it never happened. former police officer clyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commuted his sentence when it was revealed that prosecutors

withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. well, on friday, spencer's adult children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open. but governor duvall patrick cut that down to $2.5 million. the cut was made to preserve services for struggling families. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor's historic confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. but, there could be some political fireworks. paul steinhauser runs down the drama that may play out once the curtain rises. >> the action in the senate

judiciary committee gets underway tomorrow when they begin the confirmation hearings. the nominee herself may not be questioned until late tomorrow or maybe not until tuesday. but expect about two to three days of questioning. the whole thing should last a week because after sonia sotomayor is questioned, others will be questioned by the senators. there are -- take a look at this breakdown on the judiciary committee. there are 12 democrats and 7 republicans. and expect tough questions from republicans led by the ranking republican on the committee jeff sessions of alabama and also senator john of texas. what they and others might do is portray sonia sotomayor as somebody who is biassed, out of the mainstream. they may grill her on her stances of affirmative action and gun rights. that could be, could be the way the republicans try to go. but overall, they don't have the votes, there are only 7 of them on the committee. expect a vote by the judiciary committee at the end of the week or the beginning of next week and the president has indicated he would like a full senate to vote on sonia sotomayor by the

beginning of august before the senate goes on break. paul steinhauser, cnn, washington. secretar

about the details of its post 9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the "associated press," haden said he personal kept members of congress well informed all along way. the ex cia chief was reacting to a report by a team of u.s. inspectors general which called the report unprecedented and also questioned its legal rationale and security around it. . in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually month less ted them as kids now said it never happened. former police officer clyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, the governor commute his sentence when it was revealed that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse. on friday, spencer's adult children recanted their story. his son said he only made up the story after persistent questioning by a detective. budget cuts in massachusetts may force boston's franklin park zoo and stone zoo to close by october. some of the zoo's 1,000 animals may have to be euthanized if homes aren't found for them. state lawmakers set aside $6.5 million to keep the zoos open.

but governor due value patrick caught that down to 2.5 million. his spokesman says it was to preserve services for struggling families. supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor's historic confirmation hearings begin jf sss ndenoroh release on humanitarian grounds. and now it's for regret over the incident. a california jail has quarantined 400 inmates after one tested positive for the swine flu virus. officials say the inmates are being isolated in various housing units and have been given antiviral drugs. this brings the total number of confirmed cases in san diego county alone to 572. tomorrow's scheduled custody hearing over michael jackson's kids is being delayed for another week. jackson's mother kathryn and his ex-wife deb re. . . . . returning after a six-year break. ñ;?;?;?;?;?;?;?;?;?;?;?;?