u.s. offensive in afghanistan. but first africa is the new focus of the u.s. military. the bush administration launched the africa command last year to foster closer cooperation and stability across the continent, switching from a traditionally rereactive approach to african crisis to a policy of engagement. but it's headquartered in germany, rather than africa, and it's a command structure with few operational units. instead it will draw people and equipment as needs arise. air power will be vital on the huge african continent and general ron ladnier is overseaing it. general, welcome to the show. i want to start out by asking how africacom is structured, and really given central function of the command is diplomatic more than military. >> i am surprised there hasn't been a lot more discussion about exactly that. u.s. africa command represents almost a departure from what we've seen with other regional commands. and what i mean is, government agencies have represents at u.s. africa command, but they're not just liaison officers. they hold key positions. one of the deput

and it has a lot of riches agricultural, mining and one of the tenets of the obama administration u.s. africa policy is to help support some of the agricultural development in africa and ghana has a lot of agricultural products there. >> you talked about good government. the president will speak about democracy and hopefully that will spread on the continent and said there are national security economic and environmental reasons why this region is important to the united states. >> yes. absolutely. with global warming and some of the things going on throughout the world, because of global warming, africa is also being affected seriously. some of the ice tap -- caps on the top of mount kilimanjaro and kenya are melting and in the next decade maybe gone and that affects crops and water and a whole range of things. so that is something they are concerned about. the other issue is development. africa needs a lot of things but one of the most important thing is trade and business. it is an important aspect of the obama's visit to ghana. economic development in gun ma and the region is critical for

u.s. foreign policy engagement with africa and beyond. and in fact, that has turned out to be true. there's several reasons for that. one is simply the logic is that we disengaged in the early 1980's. donors, u.s. and others, disengaged and walked out of this sector. it's now intensively reengaging. the obama administration announced that the g20 summit, the billion dollar 10-year initiative, as secretary clinton is expected to roll out a strategy around that, prior to or around the summit. it's going to be the central subject of discussion, food security, long-term reinvestment in agriculture as a solution for that. it's going to be a central dimension of the g8 meeting with the african leadership, which will include nigeria, senegal, egypt, south africa, libya. so there's a sense that's driving the u.s. policy calculations that there was a disengagement. there's chronic hunger. we've seen all of this exposed very dramatically last spring as food prices spiked and fuel prices spiked and you had food riots across the couldn't nent and elsewhere. and it was becoming clear that there n

africa. president obama's emotional journey was accompanied with a blunt message. the u.s. will help africa, obama said, but government across africa must shape up, too. abc's jake tapper is traveling with the president and he's in ghana tonight. jake, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, david. that's right. a day of real poignant for the president. he visited a memorial to africa's horrible past and because of his unique position, talking to africa leaders about their future. this evening as he left ghana where he was received like a king, president obama reflected on one of the most poignant moment of his brief stops here. a visit to the cape coast castle, a port where africans were once shackled, sold and sent away in the transatlantic slave trade. >> i'll never forget the image of my two young daughters, walking through those doors of no return but then walking back through those doors of return. >> reporter: it meant a lot ot he president, a source close to him told abc news, to teach what happened there to his daughters, the descendents of slaves from south caroli

africa. but the president's emotional journey was accompanied by a blunt message today. the u.s. will help africa, obama said, and governments across africa must shape up. >> reporter: this evening as he left ghana, where he was received like a king, president obama reflected on one of the most poignant moments of his brief stop here, a visit to the cape coast castle, a port where africans were once shackled, sold, and sent away in the transatlantic slave trade. >> i'll never forget the image of my two young daughters walking through those doors of no return but then walking back through those doors of return. >> reporter: it meant a lot to the president, a source close to him to teach what happened there to his daughters, the descendants of slaves through south carolina through first lady michelle obama. after the tour, the president said the visit represented tragedy and triumph. >> the courage of so many black and white to abolish slavery and ultimately win civil rights for all people, i think,a source of hope. >> reporter: there remains much to yorver come in -- overcome in af

africa. it was a shift away from the summit, and the u.s. head for food for africa had a lot to deal with. british forces in afghanistan experienced their bloodiest week in combat in modern times. in the first 10 days of july, 16 soldiers died fighting the taliban. it brought the number of fatalities in afghanistan to 184. >> in the skies over will show this morning, at familiar sight. burying the bodies of the latest casualties and afghanistan. the government has to remind people why we are there. >> it is a chain of terror. people in britain today are safer because of the courageous sacrifices of british soldiers and afghanistan. >> operations are taking a toll on both sides. the taliban are getting pushed out of hellman did -- helmand province. hidden bonds are slowing down and can sometimes penetrate armor. but something has changed here. this summer, the americans have arrived, injecting a massive input of helicopters, that britain doesn't have an offer of. -- doesn't have enough of. the piece is still a long way off. >> the controversies of the past, it was a fitting tribute to the k

this was his first visit to sub-saharan africa as a u.s. leader. he has been to africa before. first as u.s. leader and the first by an african-american president. our white house correspondent is traveling with the president. what is the latest? >> tom, really the plaintiff getting an incredible welcome here in accra, ghana. this is one of the countries on the continent of africa, the favorite of administrations. i was here with president clinton visited he brought free trade. here during the bush visit. it is fair to say this president, president obama has really brought inspiration to the people here in this country and to the continent of africa. you talk to the people of ghana and they talk about welcoming home a son, a brother, someone who they feel is really a part of the family. we heard the president earlier today talking good governance and responsibility, coming along with that, praising the ghanan people and their government and stability here. saw a moving moment, first family gathered to take a tour of cape coast castle. 75 miles west of accra. this is where about

u.s. assistance to africa, with a couple of programs. the president's emergency program for aids relief. he extended the lives of millions of people through getting the drug companies to cut drug prices and his malaria initiative by providing bed nets attacks are the leading killer of children in africa, malaria, cutting malaria in half in some countries. >> as you can see up in the corner, a little after 9:00 at night in ghana. we see some young kids have been allowed to stay up a little bit past their bedtime to take part in the arrival ceremony that is taking place on the tarmac at the airport. do we know anything about these dignitaries, exactly who it is that has come out to greet the president and the first lady? >> i don't know, rick, exactly who is greeting the president and first lady. i will tell you, he will receive an enormous welcome in ghana. i was there in 1998 with bill clinton who was the first u.s. president to visit ghana, and he gave a speech in which he saw basically the largest crowd of his presidency, more than 500,000 people gathered in the stadium for president c

obama will have an audience with the pope before leaving for africa. >>> u.s. authorities suspect north korea may have been behind a widespread cyberattack. we've been telling you about this. it overwhelmed government web sites. in the united states as well as south korea while the treasury department and federal trade commission web sites were shut down by the software attack over the holiday weekend. others such as the pentagon and the white house, they were able to fend it off with little disruption. >>> stay with us. the search for five people who's plane went down off the florida gulf coast. that and more still ahead on "good morning maryland." >>> what is really inside that bottle of water you're slurping on? and why the companies don't give the same information as your local caught company. that story -- local water company. that story just ahead. >>> and saving energy. coming up. >>> for those of you that were rooting on a record low, we didn't get it. we're now back up off the bottom. our two-degree guarantee coming up. >>> now only the far right lane

u.s. making promises and not coming through with them. >> in the administration is committed to africa. he administration is capable of handling multiple foreign-policy issues at one time hath. i think that you will see it demonstrated not only in the presence of senior u.s. officials to visit the continent, i thank you will see it unfold in terms of support for old initiatives there remain valid but also new initiatives that the administration is committed to pushing for an. one of these initiatives which is starting to take place is in the area of food security. no faith administration has made that a high priority. the secretary has made in a high priority. she will talk about a great deal in africa, in kenya, and a member of the other stops. the president has spoken about the need to help africa deal with as agricultural prices and concerns. it was a focus of the president's main initiative and the g20 meeting approximately three weeks ago. and we all know that agriculture remains a centerpiece in africa's economic fabric. some 70% of all african households to attend either primarily

from perspective here, the trip to africa was a huge success, not just for the symbolism of the first african-american u.sident visiting africa, but for what he said, very forceful language, castigating african leaders for their failures and urging the african people to take control of their own destiny. president obama brought his family with him on his final poignant stop in ghana. the cape coast castle where african slaves were held awaiting shipment for the americas. >> i'll never forget the image of my two young daughters, the descendants of africans and african-americans, walking through those doors of no return, but then walking back those doors of return. >> reporter: earlier, the president delivered a forceful speech in which he bluntly criticized africa for many of its own problems, including corruption economic mismanagement. and mismappings. >> colonial map that made little sense helped to bring conflict. the west has often approached africa as a patron, rather than a partner. but the west is not responsible for the destruction of the zimbabwean economy over the last decades or wars in which c

u.s. embassies in africa were bombed in 1998 on his watch. >> the ban that was put in effect under president ford only applies to heads of state. it doesn't apply to terrorists. >> reporter: but former officials say the bush plan, which was never fully implemented, went further. and on vice president cheney's orders, no one told congress. >> the very real concern by the cia that if you notify congress too soon, inevitably it will leak. and that once it leaks, any attempt to try to implement that program is gone. >> reporter: tonight one current official told nbc news, when did it become sinful to think about ways of taking out top terrorists? still the cia is now reeling under the threat of four separate investigations into past secrets. investigations that many say could virtually cripple the agency. brian? >> andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom with the latest on this, thanks. >>> president obama now back from africa begins the biggest lgsive fight of his presidency thus far. part of a huge agenda before him. our chief white house correspondent chuck todd also back from the africa t

africa. when president obama takes to the podium at this international conference on saturday many will be expecting to hear about a new direction in u.s. foreign policy towards africa, especially on issues such as aid, which many still have set back the continent. and therade policies which disadvantage african businesses and producers. the sort of issues many ordinary africans are concerned about, along with what president obama can do to end an endemmic corruption. an issue he recently addressed with an interview with the website, allafrica.com. >> for many years we made excuses about corruption or poor governance, that this was somehow the consequences of neo colonialism or the west has been oppressive or racism. i'm not a bit -- i'm not a believer in excuses. >> reporter: president obama wants to create a relationship based on greater and more equal partnership with africa in return for better governance. so the continent can realize the extraordinary potential he believes it holds. yvonne, al jazeera, ghana. >>> president obama plans to visit a hospital and if the weather holds fly by helicopter to appoint on the coast where slav

u.s. assistance to africa.became a hero there, drastically reducing malaria, the leading killer of children under 5 on the continent. he will ask for help from african immigrants to the united states. they are the highly educated and in print group in the country. rick: president barack obama has canyon ancestry, but is it possible he also -- has kenyan ancestry, but is it possible he also has links to ghana? take a look at the two side by side. it looks like a good match. felix says lots of people have started calling him obama. >> my teachers, my friends. calling the obama is good. rick: he and his dad traveled more than 100 miles, hoping to meet the president. it is one of the biggest mysteries in politics. the reason behind sarah palin's unexpected resignation. levi johnston is speaking out. . where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of ththmost powerful names in the industry. introducing m

u.s. assistance to africa. killer of children under 5 on the continent. he will ask for help from african immigrants to the united states. they are the highly educated and in print group in the country. rick: president barack obama has canyon ancestry, but is it possible he also -- has kenyan ancestry, but is it possible he also has links to ghana? take a look at the two side by side. it looks like a good match. felix says lots of people have started calling him obama. >> my teachers, my friends. calling the obama is good. rick: he and his dad traveled more than 100 miles, hoping to meet the president. it is one of the biggest mysteries in politics. the reason behind sarah palin's unexpected resignation. levio@5 rick: top stories coming up. first, he is the father of sarah palin's grandson and levi johnson says he knows why she is quitting as governor of alaska, to get rich. johnson says he lived with the family for about a month before breaking up with palin's daughter bristol earlier this year. he claims he

isn'ttaying longer or seeing more countries and not doing a big public event while here in africa, but the u.s. embassies across africa will post watching parties and are hoping to reach as wide an audience as possible. the president returns to the u.s. tonight. lester? >> nbc's savannah guthrie. here's amy. >>> and an advance look at what's expected to be an emotional visit for the first family pap tour of a castle once used to hold slaves bound for the americas. mara joins us. mara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. president obama's arrival here yesterday ended weeks of eager anticipation and more apparent than ever in the days leading up to his visit. on these streets, the party started long before the guest of honor aived. members of this fan club, friends for obama, have been celebrating all week. >> such an inspiration. he has stood as that, and yes. >> welcome home. welcome to africa. welcome to ghana. >> reporter: believing president obama's visit will inspire the entire nation. what does this represent? >> lighting this torch as president obama is coming to ghana to signi

u.s. end up in africa. endangering children there.on claiborne reports tonight from ghana. >> reporter: everyday after school, yusef nashedu comes here to scavenge. yusef is on of about a 0 ildren, some as young as fo years old, who o eke out living svaging metal from m discdeded computers an televivisions in ghana's capita city ththis?g have you been doing >> everyday. >> reporter: have you been doing this f for a long time? >> yes >> repororr: howow old are y yo? >> 12 yearars old. >>>> reporter: thehildren earn a dollar a day, about enough for a meal. sometime, theyey set fire to junked comters in order r to extract the copper wiring to sellwhwhich h unleashes a toxix sosoupf chemicals. >> we are oking atat the immense health i implications anand for kids we're talking about organ damage, lowering o of theq as a a result t the lead,,he >>>> somimeses i c can feel sic. >> reporter: like how? >> in my body, i can feel sick. >> reporter: where does all this e-waste come from? much of it, from the united states. >> washington metro are

u.s. end up in africa. endangering children there.on claiborne reports tonight from ghana. >> reporter: everyday after school, yusef nashedu comes here to scavenge. yusef is on of about a 100 children, some as young as four years old, who eke out a living salvaging metal from discarded computers and televisions in ghana's capital city. how long have you been doing this? >> everyday. >> reporter: have you been doing this for a long time? >> yes. >> reporter: how old are you? >> 12 years old. >> reporter: the children earn a dollar a day, about enough for a meal. sometime, they set fire to junked computers in order to extract the copper wiring to sell, which unleashes a toxic soup of chemicals. >> we are looking at the immense health implications and for the kids we're talking about organ damage, lowering of the iq as a result of the lead, the mercury, even the academy yum. >> sometimes i can feel sick. >> reporter: like how? >> in my body, i can feel sick. >> reporter: where does all this e-waste come from? much of it, from the united

on the ground in africa, certainly in kenya, they will say that part of the issue here is the institution's aren't working for ordinary people. >> former president bush quietly tripled u.s. assistance to africa, extending the lives of millions with aid and blanketing the continent with moss mosquito nets to cut malaria rates in half. it made him a hero to the african people. mr. obama starts with tremendous goodwill but expectations may be higher, ending the genoside in darfur, fixing the failed state of somolia and ending the piracy off its coast and loosening the grip of african dictators. experts will be listening for signs of a strategy in saturday's speech. >> he has spoken about a couple of immediate crises in zimbabwe and somolia but hasn't laid out what the administration's broad strategy will be. >> his aides say the president's broad goals are to integrate africa into the global economy more quickly and enhance stability and security on the continent and he will ask the help of african immigrants to the united states. they are the most highly educated immigrant group in this country. chris. chris: wendell goler reporting from the white house. thanks for that.

u.s. support for africa and development in africa and dealing with famine, hiv/aids and got into his personalmily history on his father's side of the whole african connection, which i'm sure was very well received throughout the continent. so all in all, it was, you know, an important trip. i'm not sure that there were so many dramatic changes that were achieved in the course of nearly a week. >> all right. wolf, before we let you go, tell us what you've got coming up at the top of the hour. >> we're going to focus in all of these issues. also the health care reform debate. the president's back in the united states right now, and this is his top priority domestically to get health care reform, the secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius is going to be here on "state of the union." four senators, two democrats, two republicans with very different perspectives. all of that coming up, and more of anderson cooper's exclusive interview with president obama. that's going to be highlighted on state of the union, as well. a lot of good stuff coming up. >> good to see you again, wolf

africa's future is up to kaf cans. speaking to ghana's parliament this morning, the president promised to make sure u.s. ica gets to the people who need it most. mr. obama, his wife and daughters arrived in ghana from italy last night. >>> a milestone for the british military as a number of its troops killed in afghanistan has surpassed the number killed in iraq. in the past week and a half, 15 british soldiers have died fighting in afghanistan, bringing the total number of dead in the conflict to 184. >>> well, it looks like nasa may have to scrub the launch of the space shuttle "endeavour" for the third time. it's scheduled to lift off tonight, this evening, but meteorologists are warning there's a 60% chance of thunderstorms. >>> this this that is a check of your saturday headlines. you're watching hln. i'm susan hendricks. we are getting new information about michael jackson's alleged addiction to prescription drugs. as randi kaye report, the claims come from someone who knew jackson for decades. >> reporter: if michael jackson had lived to begin his upcoming london shows, this man says he likely wou

u.s. policy towards africa. probably the emotional high point of the trip is when he's going to come here to the cape coast, where there's a series of fortresses, several hundred years old, each soof them, that were used as holding cells and shipment points for millions of slaves that were sent to the new world, sent to europe and all around the world here for hundreds of years. the president is going to tour one of those fortresses with his family, with his kids. there are dungons in these fortresses where hundreds of slaves were crammed in before they were loaded out on ships and sent to america, sent to elsewhere in the new world and in europe. i can tell you, i was at the fortress today and in those d g dungdun dungeons, it is a haunting place to be, an emotional trip for anyone who goes there. the president will be there with his family and we'll be there with him as well talking with him about his feelings on the trip. >> as anderson said, he has an exclusive sit-down with the president while he is in afri

u.s. he's wrapped up his overseas trip with a stop in ghana where he gave a major speech that was aimed at all of africa. a u.s. based scholar who just returned from north korea says two jailed american journalists are being held in a guest house in the capitol and the regime may be willing to release them if the u.s. acknowledges what leaders call their hostile acts. nasa delaying the launch of the space shuttle endeavor for 24 hours. mission managers need to make sure there was no damage when lightning struck the launch pad. >>> pretty dramatic video here. a deadly shootout between rival drug gangs and the police in mexico. this happened earlier today in the western state of might have would he cannes. it went on for more than three hours. two people were dead when it was over. police investigating the discovery of three bodies along the nearby highway. the victims are believed to have been kidnapped, tortured and killed, all by drug traffickers and this comes only one day after a botched highway robbery in mexico state led to a bloody shootout. four people were killed, including a federal agent. >> t

that africa's future is up to africans saying that the u.s.vide support, but at the same time, you are in control of your destiny. something he said earlier i found quite interesting. he went on, as suzanne called it, this tough love speech, in which he specifically talked about paying greater attention to the corruption in africa. and saying specifically that he has directed his administration to pay closer attention to the human rights reports, and noting that people everywhere should have the right to start a business, to get an education without paying a bribe. and as we talked to many of these experts, many of the people who live in africa, many will tell you that it is very difficult, because of the political systems that are in place. now, ghana, in fact, is being highlighted because of its commitment to democracy, but president obama definitely not mincing words when he's saying that he is going to be paying greater attention to corruption and definitely within those human rights reports, and looking at them with a closer eye so that t

u.s. can do for africa until africa puts its own house in order. if africa doesn't do that, there's nothing that president obama can do. i mean the solutions to africa's problems lie in africa themselves, they don't lie here in washington or anywhere else. and africa is a continent which desperately needs change but change is not going to come from the government or the leaders. and we call them autocratic leaders and to implement change it has to come from the outside government and within civil society so i believe that it's civil society that needs to be empowered. how do you empower civil society? the way to empower civil society is to have free and independent media, for example. right now as we sit here the independent and free media exists in only eight african countries and you can't fight corruption if you can't expose it. and you need to also have the rule of law. the rule of law doesn't exist in many african countries and to do that you have to have an independent judiciary. for far too long american presidents have talked about diagrade

he talked a lot about democracy and the fact africa is responsible for africa but the u.s. is ready to support and lend a hand. >> reporter: you know, betty, you're absolutely right. this is one of those countries that has a stable democracy, and something that is really attracted presidents from the united states. both trips when we saw president clinton back in 1998 offering a trade and opening up trade to this country. president bush just a couple of years ago when he offered aid to help combat malaria and aids, and it is arguably that the thing that president obama is bringing here, what he talked a lot of today, is inspiration. that people feel that schae part of the family that they call him their son, they say, welcome home. you see the signs throughout the country. what the president's message today was that africans, they're future, they're responsible for their own future, for their own government. that this is a model of democracy here in ghana, but the message going much farther than this country, but really to much of the rest of the continent. particularly to

u.s. embassies in east africa and the attack in pakistan this year. if it turns out that saad is also dead, that area is not safe for these operative spirit shepard: saad was not considered a leader. another one of the sons is thought to be the successor. a team fox continues now. jonathan hunt downstairs. what do we know about the other son? >> he is the youngest of the sons who have actually followed their father's path towards holy war. he is believed to be around 18 years old and he is generally thought to be the most ardent follower of his father alongside mohammad bin laden. he is another one of the sons. he is also believed to be following in his father's footsteps, another one that could be a successor. hamza is believed to be the most dangerous of the sons. shepard: is it fair to assume saad would have been near his father at the time? >> no way to know for sure. i spoke to the author of "the bin ladens." he said it is highly doubtful that saad would have been in close proximity to his father simply because just because of the name, he is con

africa. questions of the u.s. have follow him every step of the way. >> they promised you if you paid for your siment the pressure is facing pressure to explain result that's so far have been modest at best. >> the recovery act was not designed to work in four months mplet we also knew it would take some time for the money to get out the ever >> this one in arkansas is a sign that the stimulus plan is getting americans back to work. for the stimulus, washington borrowed nearly $10,000 from each american household. >> it says a couple of critical weeks ahead. dradpu. brian moore, nbc news, washington. >> elijah cummings is trying to et >> he sponsored the third annual path way to suck. we are trying to make sure we connect these folks to get into the programs to get the skills necessary to do the kind of thing that's will allow them to make a decent wage and take care of their families. jo still ahead on 11 news. summer trips, just one tank full of gas is jo a new airline catering to the pet pop ue lation. we are t

in a sense, he wants an africa policy. a u.s. as really when it comes to africa, has not been continental in scope but directed at individual countries. >> all right. once again here, chatting with charles cobb, diplomatic correspondent for allafrica.com. thank you and stand byp we're going to try to listen back in again, happening in accra, ghana, the president of the united states sitting with the president of ghana. expected to speak shortly. let's listen to the speaker of the parliament in ghana. >> pleasure, privilege to invite the president of the united states of america to deliver his message. mr. president. ♪ >> i like this. ♪ >> thank you! thank you! i think congress needs one of those horns. that sounds pretty good. sounds like louis armstrong back there. good afternoon, everybody. it is a great honor for me to be in accra and to speaks to the representatives of the people of ghana. i am deeply grateful for the welcome that i've received as are michelle and malia and sasha obama. ghana's history is rich, the ties betwee

u.s. foreign policy engagement with africa and beyond. and in fact that has turned out to be true. and there's several reasons for that. one is simply the logic that we disengaged in the early 1980's and donors, u.s. and others, disengaged and walked out of this sector and is now intensively reengaging. the obama administration announced at the g-20 summit that the billion-dollar, so-year initiative, secretary clinton is expected to roll out an implementing strategy around that prior to or around the summit. it's going to be the central subject of discussion, food security, long-term reinvestment in agriculture as a solution for that. it's going to be the central dimension of the g-8 meeting with the african leadership, which will include nigeria, senegal, egypt, south africa, libya and -- so there's a sense that's driving the u.s. policy calculation, that there was a disengagement, there's chronic hunger, we've seen all of this exposed very dramatically last spring, as food prices spiked and food and fuel prices spiked, and you had food riots across the continent and elsewhere and

u.s. embassy bombings in africa a decade ago n many cases, the intelligence appears exact. sometimes a scweep or a specific floor in a safe house. >> i don't want to discuss how we get it but they think it is coming from within their own ranks, and it means that the villages are turning against the taliban and al qaeda. >> it is this fear, analysts say, which spurs the al qaeda leaders to white "so many brave commanders have been snatched away by the hands of the enemy. so many hidden homes have been leveled with their people inside them, by planes that are unheard, unseen, and unknown. the al qaeda leaders make the case that drastic times call for drastic measures, a sign analysts say of the network's desperation. >> they are talking about a purge. >> the book suggests spies carry infrared homing devices which can be placed on a target that drones can lock on to before a kill. asked if this is the meth otdz used by the u.s. -- >> i am very surprised to see them, and that's all i want to say. i'm very surprised to see them. >> analysts say al qaeda and the taliban take what

u.s. newspaper man back from the battles in africa. >> i'm just back from the biggest assignment that any american reporter could have so far in in war. covering the occupation of north africa by american troops. >> though not well known at that point, he was clearly a young man on the move who loved newspapering. but television was just starting to take off then, all across america. the earliest days of what would ultimately become american's major source of news for the next half century. cbs, trying to build on its excellent news reputation in radio recruited cronkite who took on a variety of assignments. >> we have word that the senate is about to convene. we take you now to rome. >> but it was who are his coverage of the nominating convention that cbs first coined the term anchor. >> here we are, in studio a. >> the roving newspaper man now had a desk job in television, but it was the right kind and it suited him. and shortly afterwards in first world changing story television had ever covered live -- here is a bulletin from cbs news. >> here is cronkite, whose relationship with his

u.s. senators weigh in on the health care debate and whether there's a need for another economic stimulus package. plus, the president in africa, anderson cooper brings us an exclusive interview with the president from a castle that was the center of the african slave trade. it's a remarkable interview with america's first african-american president. that's all ahead in this hour of state of the union.

it's a dollop of tough love for >> do you get a sense, jake, that only the son of an africa, can this u.s. president deliver that stern message? >> i think there's a nixon can go to china, is who he is, he the be tougher with these leaders publicly and privately, than somebody with a different heritage, absolutely. >> the measure of and thuz yachl for this visit. on the state evening news last night, the anchor was wearing a barack obama dress. >> of course. jake, ron, thanks for reporting from there. >>> now, for a look at the other top headlines, normally i would turn to ron. he's there. but david wright is here. >> thanks. a dramatic scene on the tarmac at phoenix last night, as hundreds of passengers were evacuated from a british airways 747 just before takeoff. nearly 300 passengers and crew members used the emergency slides to evacuate the plane that had already pulled away from the gate for the brief flight to london, when the cabin filled with smoke. >> oh, yeah. it was very smoky. and very hot. and within a few minute, we had to evacuate. >> about 15 people suffered minor injurie

u.s. foreign policy engagement with africa and beyond. and in fact that has turned out to be true. and there's several reasons for that. one is simply the logic that we disengaged in the early 1980's and donors, u.s. and others, disengaged and walked out of this sector and is now intensively reengaging. the obama administration announced at the g-20 summit that the billion-dollar, so-year initiative, secretary clinton is expected to roll out an implementing strategy around that prior to or around the summit. it's going to be the central subject of discussion, food security, long-term reinvestment in agriculture as a solution for that. it's going to be the central dimension of the g-8 meeting with the african leadership, which will include nigeria, senegal, egypt, south africa, libya and -- so there's a sense that's driving the u.s. policy calculation, that there was a disengagement, there's chronic hunger, we've seen all of this exposed very dramatically last spring, as food prices spiked and food and fuel prices spiked, and you had food riots across the continent and elsewhere and

president obama was treated like royalty. >> i have the blood of africa within me. >> this first visit by the first african-american u.s. president celebrated with flags, bill boards and even souvenir clothing. >> it's a very genuine outpouring of affection toward the president. we can't do away with the idea that we feel he's one of us. >> and the castle where africans were once shackaled, sold and sold away as slafse. >> i'll never forget the image of my daughters walking through those doors of no return and then walking back through those doors of no return. >> mr. obama said he ce to ghana as a symbol of democracy. >> we know this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many. >> gentle handholding babies but a strong message to all after cans. >> one of the things we need in africa is for our leaders to be told where they are going wrong. >> the president told gonna they can hold leaders accountable and conquer disease and corruption. >> he said from inner to blame. i think that was a powerful message. >> there was some disappointment the president spent less than a day in ghana. the state depa

in south africa, services are crippled as a local government workers strike for higher pay. the u.s. defense secretary goes to israel to revive the peace process. there are talks about the nuclear ambitions of iran. a change in the approach to afghanistan. secretary gates says it is time to negotiate with moderate members of the taliban. our bbc correspondent has more now from brussels. >> operation panther's claw, to clear the area for next month's election. stage one is over. stage two will be to hold the ground. >> what we have actually done is make the land secure for about 100,000 people. what we have done is push back the taliban, and what we have done also is start to break that chain of terror that leads in the mountains of one area it to britain -- that leads from the mountains to elsewhere. >> jeunesse, at a bigger cost. the most deadliest months so far -- it has come at a big cost. dafvivid miligbanband had a message that military might will not be enough. >> not the force of arms and overwhelming might. normally convert them to our point of view through force of argument

u.s. after his historic trip to africa.fter giving a speech earlier today, he assured africa it matters on the world stage. also, a possible bailout for small businesses. two senior administration officials are telling fox news the white house is working on a plan that could give some of the $700 billion in bailout bucks to small companies. it would reportedly increase their lines of credit. and thousands turning out for the funeral of steve mcnair. this is video taken in southern mississippi. he was shot by his girlfriendstr who then shot herself. now back to glenn beck, i'm jamie colt. >>> hoomt sense, common sense solutions where the main stream media really are not doing theio job. another case where there may ber a little bit of corruption going on.tion at the very least, something doesn't feel right.n't i am a little rumbley in my tumbley.in hawaii's central banks is in such bad shape it has lost 80% of its value in the last two years. the fdic already decided we're not going to give you any money. they didn't meet th

africa. during his busy trip questions about the u.s. economic, economy have followed him every step of the way. brian moore reports. >> in ghana, president obama was greeted like royalty before the people before giving a major speech to the parliament. >> this is a new moment of great promise. >> here at home though, the president's approval numbers are slipping. as republicans hammer him and his party on their stimulus efforts. >> they promised you that if you pay for their stimulus, jobs will be created immediately. >> with unemployment now at 9 1/2%, the president is facing pressure to explain results that so far have been modest at best. >> the recovery act was not designed to work in four months. it was designed to work over two years. we also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door. >> the administration points to highway projects likehis one in arkansas as a sign the $787 billion stimulus plan is getting americans back to work. >> for the stimulus alone, washington borrowed nearly $10,000 from every am

that the united states will be worth -- will be withghana and other countries in africa to move forward, because the u.s. has started down a very significant road towards trying to help out places like ghana where democracy works, even they had a lot of difficulties over the years. suzanne malveaux is traveling with the president in ghana. suzanne, is there a sense, as you travel with the president, of being aware of this steady march of recent presidents to help africa more, that he needs to follow-up on that? >> well, sure. and one of the things that's interesting here, as i had the opportunity to actually travel with president clinton and bush when they came to accra, ghana, and the one thing that president clinton brought was really the opportunity for trade, greater trade, for ghana and other african nations. when he was here, his trip unfortunately was marred very much by what was the news at the time, which was the monica lewinsky scandal back in '98, so much of the discussion around his trip to these african nations tended to -- tended to focus more on what was happening domestically with that p

u.s. engagement in africa over the last eight years, agriculture and sustainable food security has been missing from u.s. policy, really since the late 1970's when we did do much more on that front. the food crisis last year woke a lot of people up to this issue. i think we're going to see a shift in food security and -- from kind of emergency measures to hopefully longer term, sustained engagement in building african capacities in agricultural growth. surely there will be a strong emphasis on health, education and social services generally. building on the strong focus on h.i.v. within the bush administration, this administration has agreed to $63 million now, more than a doubling of the commitments under the bush administration, to health and broadening the scope in that to malaria, t.b., and importantly, maternal child health and family planning services. again, areas which in the expansion under the bush years got kind of pushed aside and shunted aside. so i think a broader conceptualization of health issues and challenges and how do you build health capacity overall to lift all votes and n

u.s. experience was very different, but here we were in africa and had to get rid of the colonial masters and here we have our own government and it was our own people who are violating our rights, hoover denying us the very rights that have made us fight colonialism to begin with. if that's for me i was very encouraged by what i saw in america and i knew really that there was no excuse whatsoever and so i joined the pro-democracy movement that was coming from many different angles. was coming from the teachers. it was coming from the civil-rights movement, from human rights organizations at that time that were being formed, it was coming from people in the environmental movement and what we are calling environmental rights being violated. but from a the most important thing is that there was absolutely no excuse and that has continued to be my friendship that there is no reason why the african leadership had failed in providing the civil rights to their own people, denying their own people the basic rights that the colonial government had denied them. now, in the beginning maybe you don'