if i could get athens, great. then i thought well i will do a good job in athens and media i can go to another european country or i love the middle east. i can go to the middle east countries, not thinking i'm going to end up in baghdad workable or islamabad. it never entered my mind. i thought i will take it one day at the time and see her this leads me so i applied and got the job. >> host: that's terrific. tell us a little bit about that, that first job over there. >> guest: i really didn't know what to expect. i should have at least had an opportunity because you're a was calling out as the representative of the cia counterterrorism center, so i would be working on counterterrorism issues. about which i -- >> host: would you have said we in the agency knew a lot, a little, not as much as we would like to or what? >> guest: we knew a lot on the issue is i was going to cover. i went to cover great terrorism which believe it or not before a september 11th for u.s. government spend more money on the security in a

these are live pictures from downtown athens. many of those are public sector workers. greece can receive an international bail out >> the german parliament has more to talk about. more charges for the citizen in the tally band. court documents show this as trying to miss and getting training in pakistan. >> he made his home in connecticut. he came from pakistan and made his home here last year. >> they had little picnics in the backyard. the wife looked happy. >> the suspect returned to connecticut in february after spending five months in pakistan. he's believed to have paid cash for the path finder that was found in time square on saturday. after the arrest, he admitted he had tried detonate a bomb and that he recently received bomb making training in pakistan in a region identified with the taliban. was this an ibter national plot emritz airlines failed to spot his name. authorities deny he was close to escaping. jo they had the authority if the flight had take ebb off to order to flight to turn around and come back. along with dublin and the south. the king has mad

dumping kennedy is in athens. -- duncan kennedy is in athens. >> protests ending in writing and death. for hours, the streets became battlegrounds as police fought with ordinary greeks angry at the government's austerity measures. police moved in on protesters who reached up the marble columns and concrete pavements to fight back. >> you can see is really two different countries. giving money, loans, is not helping people. >> greece is not like this. we are not people like this. do you understand me? >> police officers fired stun grenades, trying to regain control. the tear gas and the stun grenades are being thrown all over the place. this is exactly what the greek government did not want to happen. another government in europe will be in -- other governments in europe will be showing their concern over the chaos. protesters say they will suffer under the government's new measures and produces petrol bombs. many buildings were set on fire. the location of the most tragic moments of the day -- in this bank, three employees could not escape in time and died, suffocating in smoke. this

want to take you straight to athens.king workers taking to the streets in greece in protest of the government's austerity measures to deal with the fiscal crisis there. the athens international airport is completely shut down. as air traffic controllers are among those on strike. we've been watching these pictures here. police firing tear gas. according to reuters this morning to disburse a group of about 50 protesters who tried to storm the parliament during a march. about 50 people, they say, tried to get in. police used tear gas and flash bombs to disperse them. that's what a witness is telling reuters. other reports from sky news saying people are trapped in a burning building. we do not know much about that situation at all. >> again, this is from sky news. we're getting updates, but it does sound like the violence is escalating. we've been watching protesters throwing rocks back and forth as the front line of the protesters come up against the police line that's there to hold them back. >> and just underscores, eve

to if i could get athens, great. then i thought i would agree to job and maybe i could go to another european country or i loved the middle east media could go to one of the great middle eastern countries, not thinking i'm going to end up in baghdad or kabul or islam a lot in the future. it never entered my mind. and i thought well i will take it one day at a time and see where this leads me. so i applied and got the job. >> host: tell us a little bit about that first job over there. >> guest: i didn't know what to expect. i should have had an idea because here i was going out as a representative of the cia town to the eckert counterterrorism senter so about which -- >> host: would you have said we in the agency knew a lot, a little, not as much as we would have liked to? >> guest: we knew a lot on the issues i was going to cover. i went to cover great terrorism which the leader of the force of to embrey 11 the u.s. government spent more money on the security in athens than in any other capital city in the world incl

." >> protests erupt into violence and three deaths as a bank is firebombed in athens. will today be gored in brown's last as prime minister? we follow the three party leaders campaigning up to the wire to win over britain's dozens of undecided voters. more details emerge on the man who has allegedly admitted trying to bomb times square. what do pakistanis think that another apparent plot is linked to their country? welcome to "bbc world news", broadcasting our viewers on pbs in america, also of around the globe. my name is mike embly. coming up later, return of the ash. hundreds of flights canceled in northern ireland, and warnings and volcanic plume could affect other parts of europe again. and a new challenge for the government in kyrgystan. look at the growing divisions between ethnic groups. hello to you. blood was shed in the greek capital today as popular anger boiled over at the cuts being demanded in return for international aid promised to help rescue the country's economy. tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets. a general strike, power lines, tra

athens down 4%, spain and portugal also down more than 3% right now. how's the spain two-year looking? give it a one-week, you can get a sense for that. and as well, ten-year. we've talked about spain. a report today that the deficit will exceed the greek gap, but they are expecting growth in spain. nonetheless, the european commission's forecast is for less growth than spain's forecast, which looks for about 1.8%. they're looking for 0.8%. spain's budget deficit will decline but still be about 9.8% of gross domestic product this year. that would be down from 11.2% in 2009, and these are the numbers that have investors concerned. you know, where does this all end, is the question that many people, when i'm talking to them, ask. how do you get out of this problem without ultimately at some point down the road saying we're just going to pound down a restructuring? that's what we've got to do. adding more debt when you've got a debt crisis is not necessarily the answer. some are calling it the keynesian end point, if you will. now, they may very well be w

and now to reporter john psarapolous in athens. john, we also talked to you yesterday. you were there today watching what has happened throughout the city. how much different from the deadly riots of yesterday? >> >> well, it was in short an anti-climax. the peaceful part of the ral that took place was only a couple thousand people strong in my estimation. this throng came around parliament at the time when the austerity measures were being voted. their banners were up and their flags were flying but there wasn't the usual drum beating and the usual amplified music and slogan shouting that attends these rallies. it was low-key, sober, chastened after the death yesterday of three people, one of hmm was four months pregnant. people here are counting it as four deaths. the violence in terms of what happens what took place later on separately in streets around the parliament square were vastly reduced in scale and in intensity from yesterday. so, again, while there is a hard core afternoonar kis group bent on wreaking destruction with every given opportunity, with every ral

a fire broke out in an athens bank during a riot. three people we already know have been confirmed dead there. earlier today police in greece fired tear gas and flash bombs to try to stop the protesters there. take a look at video we're getting into the newsroom. 100,000 people taking the streets protesting harsh new spending cuts. an "associated press" reporter joining me on the phone from athens. if you would, take us there and give us a sense of exactly what you're seeing today? >> well, i've seen the worst chaos for a long time. there have been several protests since the financial crisis broke in greece. this is probably the most violent. obviously three people have died. so that ratchets up the terrible aspect a lot. also, it's been the largest, about 100,000 people, which is one of the biggest in many years in athens, which is prone to demonstrations. there's been tear gas fired all over town. surprisingly there isn't all that much damage to stores and banks, but every single rubbish bin in the center is on fire. two buildings

in athens, investors, again, fled the banking stocks on news of today's deaths. the greek market down over 20% since the beginning of april. the risk of contagion to portugal, announcing that the rising likelihood it will ultimately downgrade the credit rating. spain's prime minister might have dismissed as complete madness rumors he asked for outside cash. but it didn't stop madrid's stock market being hammered again today. now down over 12% in a month. and as ominously, the general cost of borrowing costs rise above europe, they remain under pressure. one potential bright spot for the markets, erin, ahead of tomorrow's general election in the uk, are the 24-hour campaigning bing, david cameron appears to be gaining slightly in the polls. the pound is under pressure that no one party will have the majority in the london parliament to order sufficient cuts for britain's ballooning deficit. and outright win tomorrow could see a big positive reaction in the markets. back to you. >> thanks very much to you, simon. a fair point with the elections going on, in britain

diana magnate in athens on the phone., tell us exactly what's happening right now. >> reporter: kyra, i've been in the thick of a lot of fighting this morning. the police have been firing tear gas into crowds of protesterpro. another tear gas explosion firing into the crowd. we are also hearing from the fire brigades here that some bank employees in a bank which was bombed by these rioter, three people have been killed in there. just to give you a sense of why these people are on the streets, as you said, because of greece's huge public deficit, its debt, and the fact that the government is now going to cut these people's salaries and increase the cost of living. that is why they're on the streets and so angry today. >> i want to talk about the long-term implications for greece in a moment. but as we're looking at these pictures and hearing the live sounds there with you on the phone, we were also reading reports that there were dead bodies on the streets. is that true? >> reporter: i haven't seen dead bodies on the stree

violent demonstrations in greece today left three people dead in athens. susie, thousands of workers took to the streets, protesting tough cost-cutting measures that the greek government says are needed to pull the country out of a severe debt crisis. >> susie: tom, those demonstrators are angry about cutbacks including wage freezes, higher taxes, and cuts in pension benefits. those austerity measures are conditions set by the european union and the international monetary fund in exchange for giving greece $145 billion in bailout money. >> tom: the situation is so serious that greece's prime minister said the country is, quote, "on the edge of the abyss" and there are worries about contagion. moody's today said it might cut portugal's debt rating. >> tom: the clashes and concern about european i.o.u.s have pushed the euro to its lowest level in 14 months against the dollar. rebecca patterson is the global head of currencies and commodities at j.p. morgan private bank. welcome to "nightly business report". >> thank you. >> tom: we saw that significant drop

lot of those fires were put out and one of them put out at a bank branch in athens.irefighters got inside, they realized there were three bodies there, two women, and a man. apparently staff at the bank who believed are trapped inside after the building was firebombed. the anger is, of course, backlash against the government's austerity measures and the greek economy is in freefall. international monetary fund and european countries are bailing out greece with $150 billion in loans. but there are strings attached to that greece has to cut spending and has proposed about $39 billion worth of cuts. none of that is going over well with the greek people. >> everybody knows the response of the eu has been hesitant. and now positively dangerous. not just to greece but to europe as a whole. >> reporter: the german chancellor says today the rescue plan must succeed or other european countries may suffer the same fate. she saider with at a fork in the road and this is about nothing less than the future of europe and the fate of germany in europe. greek parliament is set to vo

. >> coming up on "news4 at 5:00," deadly riots rage on the streets of athens. we will tell you how it is impacting the cash flow here in the u.s. plus, who would murder a family's dog in their own backyard? find out what happened to this labrador mix. >> i'm liz crenshaw. bugging out over dust mites? what's the best way to get them out of your home? my story is coming up. here's to the believers. the risk-takers. the visionaries. the entrepreneurs... who put it all on the line to build and run their own businesses. at at&t, we know something about that. our company started out in a small lab, with not much more than a dream. and today, we know it's small businesses that can create the jobs america needs. that's why at&t is investing billions to upgrade and build out our wired and wireless networks. making them faster, smarter, and more secure. connecting small businesses to markets across the country, and around the world. we invest now, because we know it will pay off... with new jobs, new growth, from a new generation, putting their belief in the future on th

he is in athens and blogs for thenewathenian.com.g history or tradition, as we know, of streetÑi demonstrations, but i tdon't think it happens very often that someone is killed. what's been the reaction to that? are people shocked? >> yes, i think people have been quite incredulous. the fact that you had immediate statements from all of the political parties on the day of the event is quite rare and reflects the public outrage. we'll know more tomorrow. but i think what we saw from the communist party was a very defensive ztement, saying this wasan accin to frame us. it is extremely defensive and unkind statement, and i think it reflects the unsees that is being felt at the grassroots level. all three of the victims were young people, in their 30s, and they were simply either bank employees or people doing business in the bank. they were clearly not the target of any of the popular rage against the austerity measures. judging from the reactions of people on the street. the reactions of people on the street at the time of the demonstr

investors, again, fled banking stocks in athens on news of the debts. moody's announcing the likelihood it will downgrade lisbon's credit rating or at least the risk of that for the moment is rising. cannot prevent madrid's market from being hit again. deutch in germany still sue under pressure the selling of the euro becomes really for days now a one-way bet for foreign exchange players and normally see the cost of borrowing beginning to rise, an indication the crisis is slowly eating away at confidence for the moment in europe. >> absolutely, simon, thank you very much. >>> let's talk more about this now with our power lunch market insiders. joining us on the set david c cotot and author of "invest in europe now" also in our studio jim silver just came back from asia because china is also a part of what is going on in this picture. welcome, gentlemen. nice to have you here. david, let me start with you. moody's saying that they may, indeed, move on portugal's debt two notches. the risk of contagion spreading at this point with violence on the street i

in athens alone there are nearly17,000 swimming pools. it is nice to know we are footing their chlorine bills. lose the toga. government employment makes up 50 par of the total. in 2007, state employees made 32% more than private sector workers. since the start of the recession, the state added 13,000 employees during a hiring freeze. you know they report going anywhere. it is easy to get canned. trust me, i know. but a public servant is rosy. if you disagree with me, you are a homophobic racist who erases homo fobs. >> allison, summer bonuses, we are bailing out a country that were giving out bonuses because it is summertime. >> first i want to commend you on the math in your greg-alogue. >> i didn't cut and paste that from other blogs. >> you would never. you typed it one finger at a time. >> i did the primary research myself. >> people need bonuses in the summer. there is more waxing involved. i wasn't aware pools were so expensive. i keep reading there are 17,000 pools where people in athens only declared 364 pools. i didn't know pool

a huge tragedy on the streets of athens. protest was really a demonstration of anger. no one here expected it to turn deadly as it has, josh. >> diane narandiana, help our v understand how things got this bad. we have massive debt in this country. what's happened in greece is the credit rating has been dropped so incredibly low. it's almost impossible for them to borrow money. can you trace us through how things got this bad in greece? >> reporter: it's quite complicated and one of those things when you talk to people on the streets of greece they don't know how the problem has gotten this bad. years and yaes of fiscal mismanagement and a culture of tax evasion here which is across all of sectors of society. and speculation on the money markets, all of these things contributed to a massive public debt. running at 13.6% of the country's gdp. that is a big percentage of the country that -- of the debt that's running. of course now when the government tries to borrow money off the money market it's helping to borrow it at a high interest rate that sun of fobdable. just on

. >>> it is the people versus the police in athens greece. more than 25,000 workers are on the streets protesting new government spending cut. officers responding with tear gas and all the arrest surprised greece is paying for a bailout loan from the international monetary fund. no cut backs no loans. >> we have not got any choice. it is a mark of what other european workers will be facing. >> right now there are no flights in or out of the country. bus routes have also been suspended. hospitals running with minimum after. teachers, dangers and lawyers have all walked off the job. >> people are not dressing to impress like they used to. consumers bought less clothing and footware last month than a year-ago. however they opened their wall hes for electronics and appliances. >>> a harmless dare turns into a daring rescue. how these college students literally ended up the creek without a paddle. >>> another person sent home with abc's dancing with the stars. [ male announcer ] it's a price that starts low and stays low. now pay just $99.99 a mon

a live report from inside athens, just ahead. [ male announcer ] when you plug in a febreze noticeablespeople notice. i didn't even think that was possible. [ woman ] i know, but there it is. [ sniffing ] febreze you plug in to the wall. [ male announcer ] when you plug in a febreze noticeables, it's all that people notice. [ man ] wow. that is amazing. i know. imagine. [ sniffing ] febreze you plug in to the wall. [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] from febreze comes noticeables. freshness you'll notice or your money back. and you have a heart attack. that's what happened to me. they said the quick thinking of chewing an aspirin probably kept me alive while i was on the plane. i'm on an aspirin regimen now. my doctor told me it's the easiest preventative thing you can do. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. to take care of yourself, to take care of your heart, see your doctor. simple. [ male announcer ] learn more about protecting your heart at iamproheart.com. >>> good wednesday, everyone. i'm

now i have to say, it's quite calm in athens. i think a lot of people right now are really shocked. >> thank you very much for giving us the scoop from inside athens right now. we'll keep your eye on that today. of course, the people in greece are not the only ones who are concerned about what's happening financially with their country. the greek debt crisis is having an impact on the markets here in the united states. we'll take a look at the mid-day boards here. the dow jones essentially flat now. the s&p flat as well. the nasdaq is down. we saw a big rocky day yesterday on the -- in the markets as well. we're keeping our eye on the dow jones industrials. now both the s&p and dow jones turning into positive territory. >>> minnesota supreme court just dealt the state's governor a big role. the court ruled republican governor tim pawlenty exceeded his authority when he slashed the state's budget by $2.7 billion. the ruling matches a lower court oes decision as well. the governor's appeal concerned his cuts to a nutrition program

. >>> and look at these clashes in the streets of athens today. tens of thousands of greeks are protesting harsh new spending cuts aimed at saving that country from bankruptcy. some protesters threw rocks at police, who then responded with tear gas. meantime, a massive strike has paralyzed that country, stopping all flights, trains, and even ferries. the imf and others are giving billions to keep grease from toppling into financial ruin. >>> set to come here on abc 7 news at noon, a disturbing new details on the massive tylenol recall. and some new questions about the teenager taser that the phillies game this week. later today on "oprah," the make over my man crew is back in action. that is [ woman ] with my diabetes... i make my efforts count... so i switched to the freestyle promise® program... a unique program that gives me... the support i need, free. free access to a certified diabetes educator... so i can ask about diet and the insulin i use. i got a free meter. and test strip discounts. so i can spend more on what i really want. i count on

. >> shockwave from athens are being felt in berlin and in the capital of the european union. the vote today by german politicians authorizing $185 billion of loan guarantees to any member struggling to raise money in international markets as part of a bigger $550 billion facility designed to support the ailing currency bloc. >> it was a very important day for the german parliament today. i am happy we managed to get a package to stabilize the euro. >> the vote in berlin as a positive signal -- is a positive signal that germany is committed to help. finance ministers are trying to work out so that it never gets to that stage again. >> the idea was to have a brainstorming session on how to monitor the economies of individual states and punish those that rack up too much debt. >> one of the conclusions of the debate is that it was very clear that there is a broad consensus on the principles of having sanctions, financial sanctions. >> one of the proposals by the commission is to organize a scoreboard. i suggest that it also be a tool box so that member states to have access to w

ggwgwgwÑagcçbç >>> there's anarchy in athens as thousands clash over the government's plan to balancee country's budget. it calls for budget cuts in greece and a big increase in taxes. rioters set a bank on fire and so far three people have died during the unrest. flights have been grounded. shops are closed and public transportation has been shut down. >>> the president insisted yesterday that wall street has no reason to be afraid of reform. the republicans argued that the measures are a government power grab. >>> nissan plans to recall close to 135,000 infinity g-35 sedans and coups. it needs to fix the cars ' air bags. an electronic glitch may prevent them from working. it involves coups from the five to weather model years and sedans from 2005 to and 2006. >>> a new coffee house in new york is selling cups of coffee for $12. cafe grumpy has three locations in manhattan. it roasts its own beans, which it claims is the reason for the price, and they also have tea, but we're not sure how much the tea costs. >>> coming up next, lynnette charles is here with the forecast. >>> well, th

. >>> three people are dead in athens, greece, after angry residents took to the streets in protest. those people died after the bank they were in was set on fire by those protesters. the rioters are upset with the cutbacks the government is taking to save the country from financial ruin. >>> now all that stands in the way of the district having their own medical marijuana law is the congress and the white house. today, bruce johnson talks to some of the people who say they will be among the first to line up to light up legally. >> those who smoke it for pleasure -- >> i think it's a good law, because everybody smokes. >> and those who smoke it for pain were giving the bill a thumb's up today. > i get migraine headaches and it takes them away. you don't have to worry about getting nauseous. >> the dc measure would not make marijuana legal as this man would advocate. >> i have a lot of people, friends, and family that smoke weed. >> the bill is signed by the mayor and approved by capitol hill and the white house would bring long sought relief for pain suffers. if they can get a recomm

cbs news correspondent richard roth reports. >> reporter: in athens, it was worst outside parliament to rush a cordon of riot police, who responded with tear gas. thousands of greeks in athens, and also in the northern cities have taken to the streets in a day of strikes and protests over tough new austerity measures aimed at holding off the country's economic collapse. parliament's been the focus today, as lawmakers are to vote on the austerity package tomorrow. there's genuine outrage and frustration over salary and pension cuts, and tax hikes being implemented. and in the midst of the widespread middle-class demonstrations, there's been an opening for violent protests by more radical groups, including anarchists. the greek government says it has no choice but to impose the spending cuts. a condition for getting the loans it needs to avoid defaulting on the country's debt. but europe and world financial markets won't be reassured by the popular reaction today. betty? >> cbs' richard roth in london. thank you, richard. >>> ingredients used to manufacture the recalled children's cold

however, there seems to be a dip in booking trips to athens because of rioting concerns. jaunted.com reports 20,000 hotel cancellations during the past few weeks. in the coming days lawmakers will work on combining both the house and senate versions of the financial reform package into one final law. adolfo laurenti, deputy chief economist at mesirow financial is here to talk about the bigger picture. comeback adolfo. let's talk about the issue of dealing with failing firms. and there's a big question still on how to wind down firms that fail in the financial sector. do you liquidate them first and then charge the rest of the banks for the cleanup costs? or do you do the $150 billion fund that the house is proposing, but it's not the senate version? well, we'll see what the solution will be out of washington d.c.. i don't think that that fund will be that damaging. to some extent it might actually help the financial markets because it will price exactly what will be the contribution from each company. otherwise it will be a big surprise. like tax that comes when instituti

. >> the shock waves from athens are being felt in berlin and also in the capital of the european union, brussels. the vote today by german politicians authorizes $185 billion worth of loan guarantees to any euro zone member which is struggling to raise money on the international markets. it forms part of a bigger $550 billion facility designed to support the ailing currency bloc. >> it is a very important day for the german parliament today as well, and i'm happy that we managed to get a package for stabilizing the euro. it was approved. it is very important that the factions of the government show a very clear sign what to do with regard to stabilization. >> the votes in berlin is a positive signal that germany is committed to helping europe get out of this debt crisis. here in brussels, finance ministers are trying to work out how to make sure it never gets to that stage again. the idea was to have a brainstorming session on how the they can punish those that rack up too much debt. >> in the past corrective measures were taken too late. the available legal instruments were not used s

an athens bank was firebombed. three workers were found dead inside.f greeks were protesting in the streets aimed at saving the nation from bankruptcy. we're back in a moment. [ female announcer ] for extra-dry skin... [ roars ] ...there's lubriderm advanced therapy. and now there's lubriderm advanced therapy spf 30. the only body moisturizer with an spf this high. its nutrients match the same nutrients naturally found in healthy skin... for a great clean feel with the best uva/uvb protection. see you later alligator. advanced therapy spf 30 is here... lubriderm. your moisture, matched. go to lubriderm.com for $2 savings. ♪ [ male announcer ] over the past 50 years, toyota has been proud to be a model of quality car making. but recently, the safety of our cars and trucks has come under question. and at toyota, this is something we don't take lightly. that's why we're making fundamental changes inside our company, to communicate with customers better, and respond to their needs faster. in addition, we're currently spending over a million dollars an hour

greece is nearly broke, and today, protests in athens turned violent. tens of thousands took to the streets during a 24-hour nationwide strike. some attacked the police and tried to stormt parliament where lawmakers are considering severe spending cuts and tax hikes. one group set fire to a bank, killing three people. who were trapped inside. and still ahead here on the cbs evening news, american catholics are criticizing the pope over the sex abuse scandal. but are they losing their faith? our new poll next. a few years ago i got a wake up call. a heart attack at 57. that was a rough time. my doctor told me i should've been doing more for my high cholesterol. ♪ you should've listened. you're right. now i'm eating healthier and i trust my heart to lipitor. [ male announcer ] when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. lipitor is backed by over 18 years of research. lipitor is not for everyone...

tensions in greece boiling over on the streets of athens.ere angry about the government's redecision to reduce salaries and impose higher taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. >>> of course the a.m. fix blog is up and running this morning. join the live conversation going on right now. we'd like to hear from you. go to cnn.com/amfix. >>> first, though, the times square terror suspect is talking to authorities this morning, and among the many fast-moving developments, authorities now say that faisal shahzad has confessed, that he admitted that he received bomb-making training in pakistan. raids there have netted as many as two other suspects in connection with the attempted bombing. our nick rock erberts telling u pakistani authorities took into custody the father-in-law of shahzad as well as a friend. how the arrest of shahzad went down, authorities followed him and lost track of him going to kennedy airport on monday. the events that followed exposed a gap in our nation's air security. shahzad paid cash for a one-way ticket to pakistan through d

. >> reporter: they came in their tens of thousands, flooding the streets of central athens. >> only the people pay, and the politicians do nothing. >> reporter: they tried to storm the greek parliament. teargas forced them back as riot police fought running battles, smoke drifted over the acropolis from fire-bombed buildings and vehicles. inside this bank, 17 employees managed to escape, but three, including a pregnant woman, were overcome by smoke. the deaths have sparked shock and outrage. a demonstration is one thing, said the greek prime minister. murder is quite another. all this chaos is because greeks are furious at austerity measures imposed on them as part of a $141 million bailout package. the international monetary fund and european countries will hand over the cash, but only if greece makes massive cuts to public salaries and pensions and increases taxes. for a generation known for its lavish spending and tax avoidance, it's all a step too far. the fear is that if greece can't get its financial act together then other countries with huge debts like spain, portugal and ir

early this morning the athens airport virtually shut down as the strike had an immediate impact on civil servants working there. some travelers are stranded while others made it just in time. >> i think the pilot was getting a little hairy thinking are we going to strike before we land? we got there with 12 minutes, 12 minutes before midnight, which is when the strike was going to kick off, very lucky. >> the greek government is in a pretty tight situation. they had to dramatically slash public spending in order to secure $110 billion loan payout from its european partners and the imf. they're saying there's no alternative, a measure of just how bad their deficit problem is. if they don't go through with these cuts the country will default on its loans which could have a huge ripple effect. >> transportation cancelations will certainly affect a lot of people. >>> cleanup crews in the gulf of mexico are working frantically to break up that enormous oil slick before it hits the beaches. on the southern tip of the mississippi delta, it's clear oil is already coming ashore. and more casualti

we have a call from mike on the line from athens, go ahead. line from athens, go ahead. caller: [unintelligible] we will leave portion of "washington journal" 22 york city where officials have gathered to review the conference of the international treaty that aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is among those speaking this morning. his first remarks since president obama began advancing his nonproliferation agenda. other speakers today include u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton. you are watching live coverage now, here on c-span. >> distinguished delegates, could i ask you to take your seat? we are about to start. >> his excellency ban ki moon, secretary-general of the united nations, his excellency mahmoud ahmadinejad, president of the republic of iran, distinguished delegates. ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor for me to declare open the 2010 review conference of the treaty of the in non- proliferation weapons. the onus of this has been from the chairman of the third committee, and the official from zimbabwe,

several people were killed after protests in athens turned violent.onstrators are so upset. which makes it pretty clear whose standing out front. a consumers digest "best buy" two years running. chevy malibu. compare it to anyone and may the best car win. during the spring event, qualified lessees, now get a 27-month, low mileage lease on this malibu ls for around $199 a month. call for details. see your local chevy dealer. [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time. time for new zyrtec® liquid gels. they work fast. so i can get relief from the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. >>> this is the ancient city of athens, greece today. street scenes. protests turned deadly. three people were killed after a bank was fire bom

after they set fire to the bank in theter of athens three people burntd to death. police beating off attempts to stall parliament as inside the ruling socialist party and hiking the sales tax to 23% in return for that eu and imf cash. angela murkler telling them it was a fault in the road and this was nothing less than the future of europe at stake. that other countries across the euro zone will be hit unless the rescue succeeds on the streets of greece. the risk of contagion hammered home this morning by moody's announcing the likelihood it will downgrade portugal's credit market is raising. rapidly becoming a one-way bet for many and the cost of borrowing across the euro zone is beginning to rise, an indication of the growing crisis that slowly seems to be throughout europe. >> these are militant union. they're not just workers. they're militant unions. the question i have, and i know the answer. where is margaret thatcher and ronald reagan. you know, margaret thatcher said the problem with socialism, you run out of aother people's cash. you need a strong leader

violence broke out in athens when demonstrators tried to storm parliament. three people were killed in a fire at a bank. the prime minister is vowing to track down those responsible. greece, by the way, is facing a nearly $300 billion debt. >>> back here in the states, crews down south are still busy trying to clean up that massive spill and cap the leak at the bottom of the gulf. meanwhile, state leaders in louisiana are taking matters into their own hands. craig boswell is following the latest in this story. >> bobbyendle says coastal parish leaders are not waiting for the calvary. they have come together with the fishermen to make plan for how to protect their state. >> we are using and taking advantage of a lot of the local emergency of fishermen through several programs we have now. >> the spill has the potential to jeb dies louisiana's way of life. >> it'sp stop the leak and cleaning you will the oil. it's about restoring our fisheries and way to earn a living down here. >> some progress has been made. bp has capped one of the three leaks and has finis

smoke poured out of this bank in athens after demonstrators set it on fire. three people were trapped inside and killed. demonstrations are one thing. murder is another, said the greek prime minister in his plea to end the violence. the riots, along with the nationwide strike that shut down schools and airports are response to greek government plans to slash salaries, pengs and -- pensions and raise taxes. those painful measures are intended to save greece from financial ruin. the rest of the country is offering a $141 billion bailout package. but only if greek lawmakers agree to the cuts. the turbulence on the streets of greece put the world's financial markets into a tailspin. stocks plunged on wall street on tuesday and were down again wednesday morning. because investors worry that greece's debt trouble could spread. if more european countries go broke, they won't pay back american banks. and they could stop buying u.s., at a time when the u.s. is trying to recover from its own economic crisis. joel brown, cbs news. >> today marks the first death during a

three workers were killed when this bank in athens was set on fire. the riots are a response to the government's decision to slash salaries and raise taxes in order to stave off financial ruin. those measures are being put in place as a condition to receive a bailout condition. >>> a brush fire continues to scorch the island of maui. the fire has burned about 1,000 acres of land. and forced some residents out of their homes. fire crews are monitoring the wind pattern. so far, there are no reports of injuries or property damage. >>> cbs president, les moonbee and his wife julie chen are honored for their work with foster children. the organization has been helping, foster children prepare for adulthood are for 30 years. they say having their own children, or own child, that is, helps them become even more compassionate toward children without a loving home. >>> sesame street is celebrating its 40th anniversary with elmo looking back at his favorite moments. the television show is releasing a best of elmo's director's dvd. cell braiting the show -- cele

smoke poured out of this bank in athens after demonstrators set it on fire. three people were trapped inside and killed. demonstrations are one thing. murder is another said the greek prime minister in his plea to end the violence. the riots, along with a nationwide strike that shut down schools and airports are a response to greek government plans to slash salaries, pepgdzs, and raise -- pensions and raise taxes. those are intended to save greece from financial ruin. the rest of the country is offering a $141 million bailout package. but only if lawmakers agree to the cut. the turbulence on the street put the world on the financial market into a tailspin. stocks were down again wednesday morning. because investors worried. if more go broke, they won't pay back u.s. banks. and they could stop paying products at a time when the u.s. could recover from its own economic crisis. joel brown, cbs news. >>> today, marks the first deaths during a protest in greece since 1991. at least 12 people have been hurt so far. >>> an alleged carjacker tries to outrun police bu

>>> and rioters hurling rocks at firebombs on the streets of athens.'s painful belt tightening have now turned deadly. >>> i'm wolf blitzer. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. the world. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> there's breaking news this hour about the times square bomb suspect. a senior pakistani official tells cnn that in july, 2009, the suspect, faisal shahzad, met with one or more senior taliban leaders. the source says the contact occurred in pakistan's rugged border region. let's go straight to our homeland security correspondent, jeanne me soy. jeanne, what do we know? >> wolf, a photograph from don news of faisal shahzad, as he went through immigration in karachi, pakistan, on july 3rd of 2009, that trip, it turns out, is significant. a senior pakistani official tells cnn that a few days later, on july 7th, shahzad was diven to pe shar war by mohammed rehan, at some point this official says they headed to the war zeer stan region where shahzad is believed t

massive protests in athens going on.t seems not even a $144 billion bailout guarantee could calm investors yesterday. that's not surprising. think of how many times i sat in this seat, reporting on huge market selloffs, after the u.s. government promised the force of the financial market. we don't have to worry about an economic crisis in illinois, bringing down the value of the dollar or the national economy. nor do we have to have a referendum between texas and new york, as if to bail illinois out. that's not the case for europe. we have a number of countries with entirely different governments and political systems, all living under one currency, the euro. bigger companies could feel the ripple effect. such as spain and portugal. there's no way that europe taking a hit would not affect us. george? >> that's the biggest concern, bianna. how much of it -- there's a lot of bad news out there. the times square bombing. the oil spill. there's been a runup on the market. maybe people playing it safe. >> reporter: that didn'