and keeping americans safe, our senior justice correspondent pierre thomas with attorney general erict before 8:00 a.m., the attorney general is greeted by the security detail. he heads to the capital, and eric holder is well aware of the daily threat matrix, in the way that terrorists are planning to kill us. >> that's a way to start your day. >> you typically don't find good news in the reports or in the meeting. it is in some ways the most sobering part of the day. >> overnight, the fbi and homeland security has sent out a bulletin about those training overseas and returning home and it's a new, emerging threat. >> this whole notion of the radicalization of americans. leaving this country and going to different parts of the world and then coming back. this whole notion of radicalization, it's something that did not loom as large as it did a few months ago. that's the shifting nature of threats that i think keeps you up at night. >> vice president cheney had made some comments that he doesn't think that the obama administration is taking it as serious. we understand that keeping tha

pierre thomas is in washington tonight. pierre? >> reporter: hi, charlie. you would think that federal buildings would be among the most secure in the nation. but this new report suggests that at some locations, security is, well, laughable. this demonstration is one example of the powerful explosives congressional investigators easily snuck into federal buildings across the country. undercover video shows one investigator toting a bag full of bomb components -- liquid explosive and a detonator. he places it on the x-ray machine and then walks through a metal detector. security breached in 27 seconds. investigators said guards were simply not paying attention to the items that should have caused great concern. >> the guards were not even looking at the screens that would show the materials passing through. >> reporr: investigators went to ten federal buildings at undisclosed rotations across the country and got the same result. >> it's stunning. it's shocking. it just says that basically some people have forgotten the lessons of 9/11. >> reporter: today, at

here's pierre thomas. >> the fbi says rabbis in handcuffs sums up just how pervasive corruption has become in america. today in new jersey, the mayors of hoboken, secaucus, and ridgefield were among dozens of public officials charged with taking bribes in one of the largest crackdowns in state's history. >> mayors, deputy mayors, new jersey state assemblymen, city councilmen. >> reporter: all allegedly on the take, pocketing cash in exchange for political favors. >> the politicians willingly put themselves up for sale. hundreds of thousands in bribes were paid. >> reporter: in all, 44 public officials taken down by one cooperating witness, working undercover for the fbi. he allegedly bribed government officials in parking lots, diners, basement boiler rooms, even bathrooms. >> new jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst in the nation. >> reporter: sit citizens were disgusted. the mayor of hoboken had only been in office three weeks. >> you almost come to expect it. >> throw them in jail. throw them under the jail. put them away for like 30 years. >> reporter: poli

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: survive the encounter. get justice later. in some black homes, that's the advice when dealing with police. even in 2009. >> be polite in front of the police. your life may depend on it. >> reporter: paul butler, a harvard-trained former federal prosecutor, recalls being arrested in front of his home after a dispute with his neighbor over a parking space. no questions asked. >> when the police came out they saw a black man and as soon as they saw me it was like they wanted to arrest, they didn't even want to listen to what i had to say. >> reporter: though there's been progress in race relations, encounters between blacks and police officers remain complicated. >> the first thing that goes through a black person's mind is that they expect, they suspect they were racially profiled. that's just the reality of the situation. >> reporter: why? there's history -- especially the painful memories of the civil rights movement. and today's reality. black males are incarcerated at roughly seven times the rate of their white counterparts

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: in sleepy caswell county, north carolina, seven men, most of them in their 20s, are accused of training to become terrorists. >> i really can't believe it. not in caswell county. you don't see anything around sent tobacco and cows. terrorists? that's a little much, don't you think? >> reporter: the fbi says the men were recruited to fight overseas by 39-year-old daniel patrick boyd, who fought in afghanistan against the soviets in the late 1980s. fbi sources tell us islamic radicals are actively recruiting increasing numbers of young, troubled americans lacking direction. the government is trying to recruit an army of informants in places the young men are targeted -- prisons, places of worship, urban centers and as north carolina shows, even the countryside. >> it's a huge problem in the united states. the recruitment both into radical jihadist movements, as well as homegrown terrorists who want to attack us here in the united states. how do you figure out who they are? >> reporter: a 26-year-old long island man has been charged with attacking u.s.

abc's pierre thomas shows us how it was done. >> reporter: in this exclusive video, watch closely as a congressional investigator walks live bomb components right by security in a federal building. compromised in 27 seconds. >> it's stunning. it's shocking it just says that basically some people have forgotten the lessons of 9/11. >> reporter: in fact, investigators went to ten federal buildings in undisclosed locations across the country and got the same results. and here is the result of what could have happened, potentially deadly explosions. >> this federal protective service to me has got trouble from top to bottom. >> reporter: investigators found this guard sleeping at his post, learned that a guard accidentally fired his weapon while pulling it out in the bathroom. discovered that one guard was so distracted, he actually ran a baby in a carrier through an x-ray machine. >> the central issue i see in this whole really major problem is lack of training. >> reporter: homeland security officials say they take the results of the investigation very seriously, and have taken short-t

for "good morning america," pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> for more on this, we're joined by lieutenant charles wilson chairman of the national association of black law enforcement officers. good morning, lieutenant. >> good morning. >> president obama has said that both professor gates and sergeant crowley in his view overreacted, do you agree? >> yes, i do. i believe that both parties could have deescalated the situation much earlier in the incident. >> do you thunk that sergeant crowley would have behaved the same way had professor gates been white? >> i can't say that specifically. i wasn't there. obviously. don't know the officer. have never met him. i understand he's a very capable, very competent police officer. so i can't tell you that, as an absolute stat, that, yes, that would have occurred. >> president obama in his book, the "audacity of hopes" book, about what he called the usual litany of petty slights as he as an african-american has experienced. those include security guards tailing me as i shop in department stores. white couples who toss me their car keys as

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> certainly a very difficult job.he mentioned, he praises president obama and also has had a long history with him. he was a senior legal adviser for the obama campaign and one of just three people who were responsible for the vp selection committee. >> you talk about his resumÉ, he's got an interesting one pregovernment. he was a lawyer private practice, represented the nfl during their dog fighting investigation of michael vick. he'sot an interesting outside the government. >> we've been reporting for months now about foreclosed home and how the real estate market has been a mess. >> one of the worst hit areas has been south florida but things appear to be stabilizing making this very much a buyers market. jeffrey kofman reports from miami. >> reporter: talk about prime real estate. when the regent bal hash our hotel went on the market in 2005, it fetched some of the highest prices seen in miami. this 500 square foot room sold for $550,000. last week that same unit sold for $32,000 as part of a bulk sale. >> wow, wh

pierre thomas, abc news, shington. >>> as alaska governor sarah palin leaves office this weekend, the latest abc news poll offers mixed messages about her future. it shows 40% of americans view her favorable. while more than half, 53%, view her unfavorably. that's a reversal since last fall. but the poll shows palin is a clear favorite with republican voters. and one of their top three choices for the next presidential election. >>> california lawmakers are pulling an all-nighter, attempting to plug the state's huge $26 billion budget gap. it is a painful attempt to cut spending across the board, in the midst of a recession. included are cuts in education, health care, services for children and the poor. among the more contentious issues, allowing new offshore oil drilling to raise cash. >>> meanwhile, more than $1 billion worth of marijuana was seized or destroyed in raids in california's sierra nevada mountains. 83 suspected marijuana farmers, some of them mexican citizens, we arrested. and dozens of weapons were found. last year, more than 5 million pot plants were seized in a simi

pierre thomas spent the day with the attorney general. >> just before 8:00 a.m., the attorney general leaves his home and is met by an armed detail. laying out how terrorists are actively targeting america. >> that's a heck of a way to start your day. they sent out a memo about americans traveling overseas and training. he's troubled by the emerging threat. >> it's something that didn't loom as large a few months ago as it does now. that's the shifting nature of the threats. >> reporter: terrorism, espionage, corruption. the hard-ball politics, all on the plate for the nation's top cop. he faces a series of critical decisions, whether to investigate the bush administration's interrogation of suspects. >> i have said that waterboarding is torture. i think the department, at least some of the people who worked here, simply lost their way. we will follow the facts and the law, wherever that takes us. >> reporter: do you think you have the independence to do that if you need to make that call? >> yes. >> reporter: on the issue of race and policing and the arrest of henry louis gates, he s

for "good morning america," pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> and >> and we have another story about gove about government security incerns. investigators in south korea say north korean hackers could be responsible for a barrage of crippling attacks on u.s. websites, websites, including infiltrating the secret service and the secret service and treasury. hey began july 4th and appear similar similar to attacks on south korean computers. >>> presid korean computers. >>> president obama is now in italy, where the global financial summit is taking will. they will focus on food, ges.rity, and climate changes. the he summit is being held in la keeb eeb ba, the italian town ravaged three mvaged three months ago. >>> ruth madoff may be off the hook. wife of ponzi the wife of ponzi schemer burn any madoff, just got her passport back. cleport back. prosecutors say this is a clear sign she will not be charged with a crime. >>> google has dropped a bombshell on microsoft. the company is developing its own operating system, in hopes of replacing windows, which runs ost computers worldwide

abc justice department pierre thomas has this report. >> reporter: even in 2009, some blacks have sobering advice for their children about dealing with police. >> be polite in front of the police. your life may depend on it. >> reporter: carl butler, a harvard-educated former educate being arrested in front of his home after a dispute with his neighbor over a parking space. >> police came out, they saw a black man. as soon as they saw me, they wanted to arrest. they didn't want to listen to what i had to say. >> reporter: though there's been progress in race relations, the progress between blacks and police remain complicated. >> the first thing that goes herough a black person's minds is they expect they were racially profiled. that's just the reality of the situation. >> reporter: why? history, painful memories of the civil rights movement. and today's reality, blackmails incarcerated at roughly seven times the rate of white males. 76% of blacks say african-americans do not receive equal eatment from police as whites. hotel manager scott newman remembers an unpleasant stop by the police.

. >> >> reporter: pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> certainly does seem like something out of the sopranos. here's a look at your friday forecast: scattered showers and thunderstorms in the north either, soutasheant d gulf he ascot. strong storms later in the day from des moines to madson, wisconn.sico south texas gets some much needed rain. >>1 ewin nch orleans, 97 in dallas. a high of 83 in chicago and indianapolis. 84 in the twin cities. 90s from albuquerque to boise. a mild 75 in boston, 83 in new york and 93 in miami. >> feels like we've gone from giving you a pet story at the end of every half hour to now a wedding story. here's another one. when they vowed to take the plunge, they meant it. >> apparently. a soon to be couple were drenched from head to toe after hitting a water park. the photographer snapped pictures for their wedding album. >> i've heard of this trend. it's part of certainly called trash the dress that is a br owed dress, not the one shale wear when she says i do next month. a lot of brides will jump in their real dress so that you havehotographs of them so

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> in nashville fans are remembering football great steve mcnairrial services. police now confirm that mcnair was murdered by his girl friend, who then turned the gun on herself. investigators say 20-year-old sahel kazemi was out of control in the days before she shot mcnair four times as he dozed on the couch. friends say kazemi was worried about money and was convinced mcnair was seeing someone else. >> just hours after michael jackson's memorial service, rumors have hit warped speed, when and where will he be buried and most pressing of all what killed him? t.j. winicreports. >> reporter: against their mother's wishes, some of michael jackson's brothers will ask the state of california if they can bury his body at neverland ranch but the process of establishing a cemetery in a residential area could take weeks. >> they have to register with the secretary of state for a corporation. they have to have a cemetery manager. >> reporter: the body's temporary location after being moved from forest lawn cemetery to the staples center on tuesday is a clo

our pierre thomas explains. >> reporter: when "time" magazine reporter, shawn gregory, got an e-mailiend, saying she had posted photos on the site tagged.com, he logged onr on to see them. but there were no pictures. it was a ruse, gregory says, designed to steal his online address book. >> as soon as i clked it, i got e-mails from my wife and best friend saying, what the heck is this? should i touch this? it made me so angry, tt i wrote about it for time.com. >> reporter: the new york attorney general says that gregory was 1 of 60 million duped by tagged. the practice is called contact scraping. and officials say it's a growing, invasive form of identity theft. the website uses a person's e-mail address, into luring associates to giving up their personal contacts. >> it's like sending letters to all of their friends and pretending to be them. >> reporter: last night, tagged issued a statement to "gma," apologizing for my problems. it says it is corporating with the investigation. >>> democrats in congress says the head of the cia as admitted the spy agency misled them in the years o

our pierre thomas joins us from washington. >> reporter: hi, chris. fbi sources say the latest charges are more evidence that young americans are being actively recruited by islamic radicals. last night, the fbi raided the home of one of seven suspects from north carolina, accusing them of planning to fight in violent jihad overseas, includining in israel. accordining to a just unsealale indictment, the men had engaged in terrororist trainininorth carolinaor nearly three years. and d were prepad toto becec hue ha dean and die as part marters. the fbi alllles that they were led by daniel patrick k boyd, w trained t 10s. >> a prime target aree gng to be people in the late teenage and early 20 years because people are trying to figure out who they're going to be in life at that point. >> reporter: last week, it was revealed a 26-year-old long island man has been charged with joining al qaeda, attacking u.s. soldiers in afghanistan, and providing al qaeda with details about the new york transit system. and the fbi is conducting a massive investigation, ex