joe johns, have a great rest of the weekend and safe travels. >> you, too. on this memorial day, i want to begin on cordova, alabama. it hit on the morning of april 27th by a powerful ef-3 tornado, and then the very same day ef-4 tornado hits that same town that night. cordova, alabama, is not the town that you see here in some of the video, some of the aerial pictures here and satellite images. a lot of folks have certainly lost their homes, but as we told you on friday, the cordova mayor jack scott is invoking a ordinance that rejects any trailer which is being offered by the federal government to folks whose homes have been destroyed. and jack scott is saying emergency or not, the law is the law. and as we showed you on friday, none of the folks in cordova are none too thrilled about the 50-year-old ordinance. we will talk to some folks live in a moment, but first, listen to this. >> what i suggested is putting the fema trailers in my backyard, because of the mayor, we want do that. we can't help our neighbors, because he won't let us. >> that is something that this room full of cordova neighbors were wanteding to change, but a heated exchange between the people and the mayor reduced some to tears. >> if you don't want to listen, get out. >> you get out! >> reporter: but when asked about how much buying a home within the city costs. >> the cheapest one i found is $105,000. >> you might have your sights set too high. >> reporter: many like denis banks say that since the storm destroyed his home, he has no place to go. >> i have been here all of my life. i was born and raised here. >> reporter: he didn't want to leave cordova, so he pitched a tent in his front yard. >> it is rough down here and having to sleep on the ground. it is rough having to sleep on the ground, but aimp ni am not g my property until i have something to live in. >> reporter: and others want to stay in their hometown until they can rebuild, but if the city won't budge on the ordinance passed in 1950s, they will be forced to move out. >> we are forced to move out, and we want something to be done about it. >> this is not bestavia hills, and this is cordova. >> i felt like we were being called trailer park trash. >> reporter: the mayor says he is not trying to keep people from having a place to stay, but follow the city codes. >> why should i destroy a city ordinance for something like that. >> that is our affiliate out of alabama and i wanted to talk to denis banks in the piece, the guy with the shades and living in a tent, and he just dropped, but if you are near a phone, please call me, because you are living in a tent and wishing you could live in a trailer house, and plus, mayor scott, we would like to talk to you, and we have been calling you for the past couple of days and you have not returned the phone calls, but i invite you here on national television to pick up a phone and call me, brooke baldwin, cnn. and sarah palin, if this is not a campaign tour, what is it? >> this is not a campaign bus. it is a bus to express to america how much we appreciate our foundation and to invite more people to be interested in all that is good about america. >> we will tell you more about where she has been today and where she is headed and what exactly she is doing at all of the american historical sites. and on this day, this memorial day, i have relatives there buried at arlington national cemetery, perhaps you do as well, and thousands of americans do, because we will take you live to the hallowed ground to show you how families are remembering their loved ones on this sacred burial ground on this memorial day. stay here. just breathe. we know it's intimidating. instant torque. top speed of 100 miles an hour. that's one serious machine. but you can do this. any socket can. the volt only needs about a buck fifty worth of charge a day, and for longer trips, it can use gas. so get psyched. this is a big step up from the leafblower. chevrolet volt. the 2011 north american car of the year. but for some of us with overactive bladder, our pipes just don't work as well as they should. sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? 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[ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy. in case you haven't heard, the word from sarah palin today is that she's still kind of contemplating running for president. her words and not mine. still, kind of contemplating running. so by now you have heard all about the bus tour which is part of d.c. this morning and swung by mount vernon and hit baltimore and we will told will make a stop in gettysburg, pennsylvania, and jim acosta is waiting there. >> reporter: former alaskan governor sarah palin gave one of the clearest signals she is running for president after she was followed by a reporter at the national archives as she made a stop in the national bus tour she is taking on this week. it started yesterday in washington, d.c. she rode across the potomac river on the back of a harley-davidson as part of the rolling thunder event which is an event to honor p.o.w.s and soldiers missing in action. at that event, she didn't say much about her future intentions, but later on this morning, as she was touring the national archives, a reporter asked her, are you running for president, and here is what she had to say. >> oh, i think that any republican candidate is very, very electable, and americans are ready for true change, change to get the country back on the right track. >> reporter: does that mean that you are interested in running? are you going to run? >> well, we are still kind of con ptemplating that. >> reporter: she is keeping the details of the bus tour close to the vest. they are not revealing where they are going until the last second before they arrive, but we have heard from multiple sources that she is expected to not only take this bus to where we are right now in gettysburg, pennsylvania, but also later on this week to new hampshire which is obviously a key presidential primary state. further stoking speculation that she is serious about making a possible run for the white house. jim acosta, cnn, gettysburg, pennsylvania. >> jim, thank you. point taken, palin has reclaimed the spotlight for now, and over to mark preston our cnn political director and paul steinhauser, our cnn political director. give us some non-palin news here today. >> yes, she is grabbing the headline headlines, but other people will make headlines. mitt romney is going to be in new hampshire to announce those famous words "i am running for president." we knew he was all but declared candidate thursday, and this is the second bid for the white house, the former governor of massachusetts. and mark, winning new hampshire is important for mitt romney, because this is a state he has to win if he is going to take the nomination, but wait, this is more and it will keep the coverage manager steve rusk busy, because we have a big conference right here in washington, d.c., and a major gathering of the social conservatives friday and saturday and it is the faith and freedom conference and look at the six names there, probable candidates will be attending, and of course, social conservatives so important, and so influential in picking a nominee, martin. >> yes, you are right. there is an incredible amount of time talking about sarah palin if she will run or not run, and the fact is that mitt romney according to the polls is front-runner and also rick santorum who is the former pennsylvania senator who will officially announce he is running for president on june 6th, and he will do it in pennsylvania near the coal mines where his grandfather used to work. in addition to that, michele bachmann, who a lot of people think that sarah palin could get a run for her money if she is going after social conservatives let it slip that she will run for president in waterloo, iowa, and why is that important? because that where is she is born. not a specific date, but it will be in the month of june. and today, michele bachmann happens to be in new hampshire. >> one more date, two weeks from today, monday june 13th is a very important day, and why? the first presidential debate in new hampshire of course is the first primary and yes, who is having that debate? we are, cnn. wmur in new hampshire "union leader" which is the big newspaper up there, and something to pay attention to couple of weeks from now. and will the candidates be there? >> all of the big name candidates will be there, and brooke, it will be the first real republican presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle. >> yeah, a big night. june 13th, we have it down. you delivered and appreciate it. gentlem gentlemen, have a great rest of the holiday. all of the reunions and the parades and maybe you are out and about barbequing on this monday afternoon and enjoying the beautiful day, and look it would be pointless if it weren't for the real reason that we mark this day, this monday each and every may. our own chris lawrence is live at arlington national cemetery and paying their respects from the hallowed ground. stay right here. or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. before we go live to arlington national cemetery i want to go to the other top stories. in libya, a major blow where the leader moammar gadhafi and cnn has learned that eight army general have defected and now in italy. gadhafi's military has been battling rebel forces in the country for weeks now, and the opposition has said that there cannot be a peace agreement as long as gadhafi remains in power. and now the former serbian general is to be examined by a team of medical specialists. they say that the former command ser not healthy enough to face charges of genocide at the congressional tribunal at the hague. they deny he is in poor health saying he is lively and joking since becoming taken into custody last week. he is accused of overseeing the massacre of 8 million muslim boys and men. and jim tressel the head of the football program at ohio state has resigned. the school fined tressel some $250,000 in march, and suspended him after learning that he failed to report that some of his players may have violated ncaa rules. assistant coach luke fickle will serve as interim coach next season. and president obama is spending much of his morning, and in fact much of the memorial day at arlington national cemetery. he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns and then spoke and urged americans everywhere to honor the courage and the selflessness and duty of those killed in the line of duty. the president stopped an spoke to families who were visiting graves in the so-called section 60 which is the final resting spot of those fatalities from the wars in iraq and afghanistan. that is where my colleague chris lawrence is standing by, section 60. it takes your breath away when you are standing there in arlington national cemetery. i know you were there this morning when the president stopped by and there today, especially where you stand, it is about family and service and gratitude. >> yeah, brooke. the thing that you really have to understand after spending a day here is that a lot of the families celebrated memorial day the same way that many americans do at one time, picnics, barbeques, thing likes that. it was the death of a loved one in iraq or afghanistan that changed memorial day for them forever. and because the wars in iraq and afghanistan are recent, there is no memorial for those who have fallen like the world war ii memorial and the veterans memorial, and because this is so near the nation's capital, this area of arlington national cemetery has become a memorial where a lot of the families can talk with other families who are going through many of the same things th things that they have. i want to bring in someone if you k andcan, i want to grab th real quick. okay. well, i guess what we want to really get across is that, you know, for a lot of the families, it is a very, very tough time, because not only are they reliving what happened, but, you know, you are also just coming to the area and seeing the actual gravesite, we have with us here a gentleman who came to see his son. we are actually standing right down the row from your son's gravesite. what does this memorial day mean for you, sir? >> remembrance. sacrifice, you know. honor. you know, it is -- my dad told me he was in vietnam, and remember when we went down to see my son's graduation, sorry, and he was telling us about everybody in his platoon and the guys that died, and this was vietnam, and he is telling us what their inspiration was in life, and he still remembered that. i said, how come you remember that? and he said, because to remember is to honor them, so by coming here and talking with the families, you know, and remembering what they did and it honors their life and their sacrifice. >> and just to remind for our viewers out, there your son, you told us died in fallujah in iraq, and this is 2004, right? >> yes. >> in the height of the violence there. >> yes, sir. actually my son, brian, and david branning walked into a courtyard, and they were ambushed, and it was actually a perfect set-up, but think that because of brian and david's entry to the building, it foiled them from getting everybody in the platoon which is why it is incredible that they were the only two who got hit. they had bullets ricocheting off of them, and this is armor piercing rounds, and they don't do that, but for two guys to get it out of the whole squad is a miracle. >> i don't want to make, you know, normal everyday americans should not feel guilty about getting together for memorial day and having the family over for a picnic, but for you and other families here, does memorial day mean something different? >> wow. once you go through this, once you get that knock on that door, once you see that uniform und underneath the porch light, your outlook changes on world event and current events and whatever, and you could have had one opinion about something going on in the world, and as soon as that happens, everything in your life changes. i don't think that anybody who hasn't been through this here will ever understand that change in how you feel. i mean, it is something that you can't explain, and it is something that you can't try to tell anybody. it is just that you feel the difference. and, yeah, it is something that stays with you, definitely stays with you. you know, like when the president was here this morning and he gave me a hug after i told him that, you know, thank you for getting bin laden, our family cried and everybody cried. that was the greatest thing. i don't expect everybody to be able to feel, and i seen the jubilation on everybody dancing in front of the white house, but to actually feel it inside, you know, i think that our -- the guy is playing "taps" -- but it is totally different, and totally different than what everybody else is feeling. >> reporter: and when you saw the president today, did he say anything to you as you were able to tell him briefly about your son? >> i didn't get a chance to tell him about my son. i shook his hand and i said, sir, on behalf of my family, it is an honor to meet you and we would like to thank you for getting him, you know. we heard that and we all broke down and cried. thank you very much. and i took the armband off and gave it to him and i said, i have had this on since he has passed and i don't have the new one, but if you would accept this, and he took it and put it on and i said, great, wow. i am really happy. >> well, thank you so much, and thank you also to your son. >> thank you. >> reporter: i know there is nothing that we can say to make it better, but i am glad that people out there now have a better idea of who your son was and what this day in some small way, some sense of what it means to the families out here. >> well, being here in the cemetery versus being in the beginning over there, and the pain is the thing that, the anguish and the questions, everything, you know, i've had more time to deal with it here than they have down there, but they are starting the road, and it won't get any better. it just gets a little bit easier to deal with, but it is not any different from here to there. >> reporter: and again, what he is basically referring to if you are not out here, and as you take a look around is what he is saying that the folks here who have died in 2004, 2005, and as you go down the rows, those are the freshest graves, and system of the troops that have died in the last year or so, so again, but all in all, all of these families are facing the same thing, brooke. the wounds are very, very raw. it is a very different experience here in section 60 than any other part of arlington national cemetery. >> chris lawrence, there are no words. please, thank that father for us. we will be right back. there's another way litter 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and you are paying over a dollar more per gallon than you were actually this last memorial day. our alison kosik is tracking the pesky gas prices, and alison even though the prices are down this year, they went down the last couple of weeks though? >> yes, the average of aaa says that the average is .3.79 and the gas prices are coming down as quickly as they went up. in dollars and cents that means down 20 cents in less than three weeks. the national average never hit $4 ra galla gallon and i questi am i paying $4? because i pay top dollar in new york. >> and goldman sachs predicts $4 a gallon when. >> goldman is predicting by july and midsummer and the analysts say that the crude oil prices are expected to rise because a global demand for oil is expected to grow. what has happened is several new forecasts came out last week and goldman sachs saying that it will hit $120 by years end for a barrel of oil, and some saying $130. right now we are at $100 a barrel still. if we see the european benchmark go up, it means that the u.s. consumerers are going to see higher prices at the pump, because the oil prices track the benchmark there, and keep in mind, if we see a change in oil, we will see the change in gas. it is usually about a two-week lag. brooke. >> okay. alison kosik in new york. thank you. coming up, i have a story that more than a few of you will have an opinion about. a state bill to require some teachers to be trained of detecting hidden pregnancies of their students and require students to learn more about infant abandonment program in this one particular state. stick around for that. specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. i would bet that you have heard of safe haven laws and all 50 states have them, and what they do is to allow someone, maybe a mother, to drop off an unwanted newborn baby at designated places like police stations or hospitals and totally anonymous and no one is in trouble, and babies are transferred to foster care and put up for adoption. so the idea of the law is to save unwanted babies to be left to die in trash cans or dumpsters or worse if you can imagine. but some lawmakers in new york say that some high schoolers don't know about the law, and so now they want to propose a change in the education law to teach all students about it. state senator eric adams is here to talk about it. senator adams, thank you for coming on. i appreciate it. if i may, i was reading all of the articles and the headlines say state senator wants to educate teens on how to abandon unwanted babies and obviously that turned some heads, and senator, set the record straight and explain what you are hoping to do. >> well, after the recent incident that we had last week on sunday to be exact where a young mother put her child inside of a garbage chute eight stories high, and thank god the baby survived, because it fell on a pile of garbage. i started to speak to young students, and in high school and college, and i asked them, did they know about the safe child abandonment act, and none of them knew about it. a great bill and a great law in all of the states just about, and yet, it is not hitting the target audience. so what needs to be done, is that we need to ensure that the target audience is receiving this information, and by allowing it to be taught at a health seminar or health classes in schools like illinois is already doing, we can get the target audience that we need. >> senator, you mentioned the incident in brooklyn in which the little baby lived. the baby died in a similar incident in queens several weeks ago, and have you seen an increase in moms abandoning their babies, and why is it that you think that some of the young folks don't know about the safe haven laws? >> because i think that we should use this as a teaching moment. you and i and other adults utilize the various traditional mediums to communicate and may dabble in the social network medium available, but our young people don't sit down the watch the news at 5:00 or 10:00, because they use other methods to communicate. we have to catch up to deal with not only this incident but any time we want to communicate with young people. one of the things i want to do is that i have a team of new people in the music industry to help me to make a youtube video and send it out to young people and speak to them directly. if we have a message to hit the audience, we have to reach them through their methods. >> and that goes to another requirement or suggestion within this bill, but what about the folks sitting there and saying, hang on a second, this is not such a great message to teach kids how to abandon a child. you should teach a child to care for a child, to carry a child. and what do you say to those folks? >> you don't have to do one without the other. first thing you should do is to teach abstinence, and teach what to do if you are engaging in sexual behavior and teach what to do with the children and responsibility of having children, but you also needs to have a complete holistic approach to young people that are participating in sex and they may become pregnant. you should teach young men the responsibilities of giving them the support, so i am not saying abandon the traditional important lessons that you must teach young people, but they should know the laws in place to protect those children that are unwanted. >> okay. senator, i do want to read another part of the bill here, and this is sb-5480 and it says in addition it requires all health teachers to receive training to increase awareness of pregnancy concealment, and to identify students that may be concealing a pregnancy. why do you want to teach teachers to look out for pregnant kids, and how do you even do that? >> well, there are some great courses that are already in place that teach early pregnancy detection, and it shows in many ways the young girl who puts the child inside of the garbage chute, the parents were not aware she was pregnant and neither was the teachers. it is important for the prenatal care reasons for why early detection is important, but to give the young person support. far too often we put all of the pressure on the young girl when she is pregnant. we ignore the fact the role of the young man and ignore the role of the family and the role of the some of the other support systems that are in place. the early detection will identify the help that this young person needs so they don't have to go through a long difficult period sometimes alone. >> senator eric adams thank you so much, and we will follow it through and see if this bill becomes a law there in the state of new york. thank you so much, sir. appreciate it. when we come back on this memorial day, air force lieutenant tony tillman and the family will join me. there they are, all four of them in washington, d.c., and they are here to talk about a program that will make summer fun for thousands of active duty families. stick around for that. as we go to break for memorial day, i want to say thank you to my own memorial family and this is my brother charlie and his wife clarissa and he served 25 long months in iraq, and they were both awarded the bronze star for achievement, and i love you guys. we will be right back. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 absolutely, i mean, these financial services companies tdd# 1-800-345-2550 are still talking about retirement tdd# 1-800-345-2550 like it's some kind of dream. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's either this magic number i'm supposed to reach, or... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's beach homes or it's starting a vineyard. tdd# 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from progressive. memorial day for the second straight year means a special marriage between the nation's military communities and museums. take a look at this. in all 50 states also d.c. and puerto rico and the american territories more than 1,300 museums are now opening up their doors to service members and their families free of charge. look at that guy. now, that does begin today and lasts all summer long, and it is a program designed just for families like the tillmans. there they are, and joining me live from washington, you have tony and eileen and their two beautiful daughters, sophie and zoe, and thank you all for being with me on this memorial day. now, my first kquestion kis for you leah, because you are in charge of gold star families and why museums? >> well, it is a partnership between blue star families and the national endowment of the arts. it is a fantastic opportunity for military families to have exposure both to the fine arts, to science and technology, to bow tannic garden bowtanic gardens and over 51,30 museums have agreed to participate in this around the country. >> and so colonel tillman, the families receiving support from the families, but it is also an opportunity for the military families to meet other military families. >> exactly. i can't think of a better opportunity for you to get together with your family, and have some fun and it is educational. so, we really appreciate it the nea and the blue star families for supporting us. >> and to you, zoe, do you have any museums on the list this summer that you want to go to? >> yes. i would like to visit the national -- the national air and space museum. >> ooh, that is a good one. >> and i would also like to visit to getty in california. >> oh, okay. listen to you. sophia, where do you want do go? >> i want to go to to getgetty, also. >> like big sis. and mom, plans for a road trip this summer? and also, how much has this program grown this year versus last? >> oh, my gosh, it has grown exponential and it was unbelieverable the response that we had last year. it was kind of put together on a wing and a prayer. and it just took off, kicked off in san diego last year. this year we have a great underwriter in the met life foupdation that helped us to really make sure that it was well organized and because of the partners at the nea, we were able to blast it out and got so much response back. so, we ourselves are going to take advantage of it. we are going to be doing a road trip up the california coast and marked off on our itinerary all of the different museums that we are going to have an opportunity to visit. >> and guys, put up the maps so we can show folks at home if you are curious how you can figure out what cities, and i have been to the website today and reading the blog and you click on a state and it will open up the participating museums? >> absolutely. once you -- so you click on the state, and you can see all of the museums that are participating which really is just about all of the museums in a particular state. and then just click on the link. it gives you hours, and directions, and takes you right to that particular museum's website. >> i noticed that d.c. had 27 museums in the district of columbia alone, and what was great that i read on the blog, if you have a husband or wife that is deployed right now, that does not mean that you can't go. you as a family member can go this summer and again through labor day. so, the tillman family, enjoy your road trip up and down the california coast. i'm a little bit jealous. happy memorial day. >> happy, memorial day to you, too, brooke. take care. >> and joe wilson is an iraqi war veteran who spends his day at the glendale central library and not to study up on a new career, but to keep a roof over his head. but unfortunately, when the library closes, he is out on the street. he is one of the estimated 200,000 homeless veterans living on the streets each and every year. here is cnn's kara finstrom. >> reporter: how long were you living here in your van? >> four or five months. this is pretty much it. >> reporter: i see the kid gear back there. >> yes, this is my baby's bike. >> reporter: sid was a soldier in desert storm and desert shield. he says that years after his service, he was overwhelmed by post-traumatic stress disorder. >> it is flashbacks and hypervej lens and dreams. >> reporter: haunted by the lives he could not save, williams says he fell apart and struggled to keep jobs. now, he has full time administrative work, but it is not earning enough to pay child support for four children and rent. the national coalition for the homeless estimates that 1 in every 5 of america's homeless has worn a uniform and it is an embarrassment that the v.a. has made a priority to end in five years. they have a more ambitious goal to house williams and all of the veterans within five months. they say it is do-able, because they only have 40 homeless vets in glendale. >> it is absolutely do-able. >> some nights i slept on the buses and the trains. >> reporter: jesse hargrove seen here as an army sergeant spent years on skid row. when he landed in glendale, he says he got all of the help he needed. counselors helped him to get into his own subsidized home. >> nobody has done anything like that for me before, not even family. >> reporter: and williams who was in temporary v.a. housing, receiving medical help right now hopes he is as fortunate not only for himself, but for his children. >> it would create a family situation for me to be able to -- for me to be able to manage. and so, i would be grateful, you know, for that. i would be very grateful for that. >> kara finstrom, glendale, california. hundreds of flights cancelled today because of nasty storms. ahead, we will see who is in danger of more bad weather and who is in the clear for the remainder of the holiday weekend. also, news in for joplin, and they have adjusted the missing list, and we will have that for you on the other side of the break. stay with me. mary: does this dress make my backside look big? abe: perhaps... host: could switching to geico reon car insurance? e host: do dogs chase cats? ♪ 70's music sfx: squealing tires. quick update before i talk to chad about the weather. quick update from joplin, missouri, and officials there, and remember, they got hit by the ef-5 tornado a week ago sunday and the number of folks unaccounted forfor, it's dwindl down to 29 persons unaccounted for in joplin, missouri. and now to chad myers who is obviously watching the skies and watching people traveling. it is is hot, friend. >> it is hot. i remember standing here about three days ago saying, what is up with that 1500 missing number and then finally they got it all together. >> and then it went down to 32 and now to 29. >> so there's not 1400 people -- they found a lot of them. and then they went somewhere else. i hope they didn't go to laredo, texas, because it's 107. >> hello. >> if you're traveling anywhere across texas, make sure your car is ready for it. mid-land, 107. the wind is blowing. it feels like a blast furnace out there this should be a fourth of july map, not memorial day map. everywhere we go it's hot and it's going to continue to be that way. it only got down to 80 degrees in dallas. you can't even cool your house down. here are the winds. back out towards pueblo, las vegas, new mexico, 283, 1 miles per hour. and that's the wind that could fuel a fire, if you smell smoke, you need to get out of the house and see what is going on. that smoke is blowing in your direction. we had a lot of fires yesterday. we had to evacuate towns yesterday. won't see that tomorrow i don't think, but it's possible. a couple tornado watch boxes, one from sioux falls, west of minneapolis, grand island towards north plat could see weather through here. but so far, brooke, no big things to talk about in weather. a couple of airport delays, 15 to 20 minutes. fleet week in new york, laguardia flights are slow because of the planes going up and doin tdown the hudson for te display. >> fourth of july hot. >> yes. >> that is like mercury hot z yikes. i don't look forward to it. thank you very much. i do have video i want to show you. we were all watching this earlier. it's incredible. it shows what a teacher does when she hears gunfire ring out near her kindergarten classroom. that is next. also, candy crowley joins me live for the political ticker. she's going to show a bit of reagan legacy at the indy 500. stay there. we know it's intimidating. instant torque. top speed of 100 miles an hour. that's one serious machine. but you can do this. any socket can. the volt only needs about a buck fifty worth of charge a day, and for longer trips, it can use gas. so get psyched. this is a big step up from the leafblower. chevrolet volt. the 2011 north american car of the year. all right. let me take you to washington, d.c. now with candy crowley off the cnn political ticker. it was a poignant morning in arlington cemetery in which the president took part in. >> on any day, arlington national cemetery is an amazing place to be. hard to walk in there without choking up. on memorial day, especially poignant. the president was there, as you note. he was at the tomb of the unknowns, giving his speech and basically said what most americans at this point feel, which is that most of us can't understand what this must be like. he used his daughters as an example. i thought that was really interesting, saying, i love my daughters so much, i can't imagine what parents go through when they lose a child. and he said, we can never really fully repay this debt. he also this morning had breakfast with some gold star families, families of those who have died in wars. and then also went over to section 60. memorial day brings out a lot of parades and commemorations. and tim paul len tea is in iowa at this point doing the rounds, which he will do many, many times between now and the iowa caucus next year. we have seen michele bachmann, she's not in the race officially, but she sheer is sure is acting like a candidate. and a blast from the past the indy 500, the winner, the car had the insignia from the reagan presidential foundation which is celebrating ronald reagan's birthday this year. reagan was a nascar fan. at one point this was the indy 500 but at one point he started the nascar race from air force one. he liked the car races. it was a blast from the past. >> he was starting a race car from -- >> yes. he was on air force one. >> i had no idea. i learn something new every time i talk to you. >> little trivia for you. >> thank you so much. and you can always jump online, go to cnnpolitics.com. as we approach the top of the hour, we couldn't hold on to this piece of video. i want to show you something incredibly compelling. it's from inside a kindergarten classroom. this is monterey, mexico, outside of the window you can hear a deadly shooting happening. we bring in nick valencia. let's watch the video together and then we'll talk. roll it. [ speaking in spanish ] >> you don't have to speak spanish to understand that there are gunshots, this teacher is saying get down, let's sing a song. what did we miss? >> she's remarkably cool throughout this whole process. she's coaching her kids to duck down so they avoid gunfire. it's hard to make out from the video but one peaks out the window to see what is going on after hearing that gunfire erupt and she begins to sing that song "barney" to try to distract the children while the shootout is occurring outside. >> do we know who is inside the schoolroom? >> in is shot on the blackberry of the school teacher. she's part of a security commission for teachers. so she's doing exactly what the state government wants to you do in a situation like this. record it, upload video, and it's gone viral. more than a million hits already. >> not only is the teacher thinking about keeping her kids calm and sing a song but she's thinking, let me pull out my blackberry and shoot a video? >> right. one of the most important things that we need to realize, this is a financial hub -- this the financial hub of mexico and was voted to be the safest city, not just in mexico but all in latin america and it's now prey to two drug cartels taking advantage of the deteriorating security situation. >> what have you read, if anything, reactionary from this piece of video that's gone viral? >> people are scared. we get tweets from people saying, you need to pay attention to this situation. it's been escalating and has been for a year and a half. the gulf cartel and setas which is the most violent, using this as their battlefield and sometimes innocent victims are caught in the cross fire. you saw right there, just outside five people were executed in this incident right outside of a kindergarten class. >> oh, my goodness. impressed by that teacher and thank you so much for flagging that video down. >> thank you. and now we have a lot more coming at you. if it's interesting, it's happening right now. it's rapid fire. i want to begin with some damage. but, first, take a look at this. america's housing box. he's now the best time to be putting up the for sale sign. >> the buyers are going to set the price. >> when to hold, when to sell, and when to check your feelings at the door. what is happening to the nation's small town post offices? >> it is in a potential closing phase. >> who really suffers if they do shut their doors for good? >> the duke and duchess are coming to the united states. we have all of the details. would you keep the gender of your baby a secret? it's one family's choice and it's trending. the news starts now. welcome back. hour two of cnn "newsroom." i'm brooke baldwin. i want to begin in michigan. take a look at the damage. this is battle creek, michigan. this is between the lakeshore and ann arbor areas as a path of destruction goes across the midwest last night killing power to more than 100,000 people in this one state alone. trees, you see them, they are down. power crews have a busy, busy day ahead of them cleaning up and checking out the damage there. president obama pledging to stand with the people of joplin, missouri. he says "every step of the way as the town rebuilds." yesterday the president toured the shredded city and spoke at a service honoring the 142 people who lost their lives when the tornado hit joplin last sunday. 29 people still unaccounted for. to texas now where wildfires are burning across the pan handle there. hundreds of people who had to evacuate their homes in amarillo are being allowed back in. the u.s. forest service says 12 homes have been destroyed thus far. evacuees have been getting help from the red cross. and now to southern tennessee where crews are trying to rescue a man trapped in a cave. this is happening right now in franklin county, near the alabama state line. here's what we know. the man is an experienced caver who fell some 20 feet during an expedition yesterday and an expert at the site tells us the man is injured and getting him out will be tough because he will have to pass through a crawl space about eight inches high and 14 inches wide. we'll stay on that for you. in atlanta, a woman celebrating her 30th birthday died after falling out of a tenth floor window at this hotel number midtown. a second woman fell out of the window and she's critically injured. two women were play fighting at the time when they came out of that window. finally to space, where space shuttle "endeavor" begins its final trip home. it spent 11 days in space and left the space station for the very last time and the crew took a couple pieces of video. look at this. here is video of the shuttle pulling away from the space station. it is scheduled to land on wednesday at the kennedy space center. and now this. water canons firing in a town in yemen trying to disburse angry protesters. but this scene, that is not enough to stop the clashes with protesters and security forces. plus, jacob zuma is in libya. his aim is top hostilities. why hasn't he called for gadhafi to step down? we're on it. stay with us. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. that's not how successful investing is done. at e-trade it's harnessing some of the most powerful yet easy to use trading tools on the planet to help diversify, identify opportunities, take action. it's using professional grade research and your brain to seek maximum returns to reach your goals. it's investing with intelligence and cold hard conviction. you made the money. you should have everything you need to invest it. e-trade. investing unleashed. like every single american airlines flight. orbitz doesn't have them. but you'll find all 3,400 of them at aa.com. every day. now to globe trekking. in yemen, witnesses tell us 20 people were killed, ten times that number were injured last night in clashes with security forces. we pulled some video. watch this. riot police used tear gas and witnesses describe a similar scene today, troops disbursing crowds with water canons. demonstrator camps were with fires and bulldozers. we're told that moammar gadhafi is hosting the president of south africa. that is the two of them. take a look at this picture. two of them in tripoli today. these pictures just into the cnn "newsroom." a lot of speculation swirling about the visit to tripoli. is he helping gadhafi negotiate a cease fire with rebel forces? are they talking exit strategy? let me go straight to tripoli, live to nema. before you tell us about these general officers, what about this jacob zuma appearance in tripoli? what can we read into this? >> reporter: well, jacob zuma and colonel gadhafi go back many years. for many here, this was pitched as old friends, somebody that could say the unsayable. perhaps we would get an announcement today that colonel gadhafi would be stepping down. what we see is president zuma holding off on a south african statement on the talks until tomorrow morning and all we're getting from the libyans is that zuma is very happy and we have a communion road map which he agreed to a month ago. so not really good size coming out of libya. possible stand down and anything beyond a cease fire which the rebels say they will not accept. >> so no announcement, zuma saying hold off on any kind of statement until the morning. anything else really would be speculation. we don't know if zuma is offering gadhafi a safe landing. it's impossible to answer. >> there is one road map and that automatically removes any possibility that gadhafi will step down. these helicopters, because they are quite precision, they are used to lessen collateral damage. the consent is that they will be able to clear the way for a rapid opposition advance in a way that the nato jets haven't been able to and when you add that to what you had mentioned, of these eight libyan generals defecting, then it doesn't really feel like time is on gadhafi's side. so for zuma to leave without any joint statement, it must be very worrying for the administration here, brooke. >> what kind of message? you mentioned the defaction. what kind of message is that sending to the rest of libya? >> reporter: they were down to 20% of what it was prior to the rebellion starting in the east. if i was the rebel, that would be very good news for me. the generals are saying that there are only ten generals remaining, that are still loyal to gadhafi, and yet we still don't really feel like there is a sense of impetus, that there is any kind of sense of time running out here for gadhafi. the administration always say to us, the only person that can answer these questions about when gadhafi will go, is go gave fee himself and he's not talking right now, brooke. >> no, it isn't. one more question about jacob zuma. he said that he would bring up the missing south african photographer missing in libya. did he do that? >> reporter: this is something that the south african stress press has been calling for. it has been an unfortunate situation. his family released a statement saying that those journalists with him when he was killed, what we were hearing here on the ground is that they were saying to us that we have never seen him, he was never in any kind of libyan detention but his family had been told that he had been taken away safely until they spoke to those journalists. so from the south african side, there was a lot of upset that zuma was coming here to even negotiate with colonel gadhafi any way. there was a real cooling of relations between the two countries which i'm sure hampered the ability to offer gadhafi a soft landing, brooke. >> i see. perhaps that's one of the reasons that there is not quite an announcement yet. we don't know. but perhaps. live in tripoli, nima, thank you. here, hundreds of post offices are on a list to be possibly closed. find out if yours could be one of them and why. even making parts for solar panels that harness the sun's energy... working on social activities like clean up programs on beaches in many locations... and regional replanting activities that will help make a better world for all of us. ♪ one team. one planet bridgestone. rain, sleet, and snow, you can't stop the mail but local budget problems could close the post offices. >> reporter: you can find them anywhere, small town post offices around and long before competition from other delivery companies and things like electronic bill paying. are enough customers using these locations to justify the costs of keeping them open? looking at ways to cut red ink, the u.s. post office by the end of june will have a list of potential shutdowns. >> this post office is small and for me working here for the past two years, i was pretty sure that this post office would be on the list. >> reporter: her customers found out that the laneview post office called a community meeting notification. the introductory level says nothing about a shutdown but a change in how laneview will get their mail. >> what will happen? it's in a potential closing phase. i will say that much. >> reporter: the elderly in her community are the most vocal about now closing their post office. they don't drive, they don't do the internet, and having to go up the road another dozen miles or so doesn't make any sense to them. this post office has already consolidated with two others. >> actually, the last post office around here for a while. one burnt down and another closed down. >> reporter: he knows it would be tough for some people to go farther for the mail. >> come here every day. >> reporter: this post office was built a year before pearl harbor and has been closed since 2008, yet people were still putting mail in the lobby slot where it dropped to the floor on the other side. >> reporter: community leaders are worried if their post office closed, they would lose a sense of community unless the post office can be combined with other goods and services. the post master general has said it would save them money. >> you have a post office, gas station, and a store, we think we can provide services through contracts and give the customers great access, more hours, and more affordable price for us. >> reporter: officials say the public's input will be vital in determining which post offices close and which will close. cnn, washington. well, forget the old food pyramid. everything you need to know will nicely fit on your plate. also, jim acosta on the road. that is next. ♪ [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. all right. jim acosta is joining me on our political ticker. you were having flashbacks to college, my friend? >> reporter: yes. i was just saying that it's possible that it is playing in my head involuntarily. >> we won't go there. >> that was humorous, though, nonetheless. >> reporter: we're following this politician. you may have heard of her. her name is sarah palin. >> i think i have. >> reporter: she's been sort of on an unconventional bus tour. yesterday she went to mt. vernon, the national archives. she just made a pit stop in baltimore and is on her way right now to gettysburg. however, i have to tell you, we're not really sure she's going to come to this spot where we are standing right now. we are hopeful that she will. there are about another 100 people that are hopeful that she will swing through this spot in gettysburg. we are following sarah palin for all of those reasons. a lot of people are expecting her to indeed run for president after speculation that she wasn't going to run. we are following sarah palin this afternoon. also, on twitter today, mitt romney, the former massachusetts governor, he is expected to run for president. he has said everything but the fact that he expects to run for president. he tweeted that he's looking forward to the event in new hampshire on thursday. not to be outdone, tim pawlenty and michele bachmann are also out on the campaign trail today. michele bachmann is up in new hampshire. tim pawlenty out in iowa, both are being overshadowed a great deal by sarah palin who, if our estimates are correct, will be arriving here at gettysburg within the hour, brooke. >> in the meantime, i'm sure you have good tunes on the cnn express bus. enjoy yourselves until you see miss palin. all right? >> reporter: we're trying to stay cool. did you hear that the dutch and duchess are coming to the united states? we will get much more from the palace. that is next. also, chad will tell us where we can expect more bad weather. we'll be right back. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. [ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy. there is plenty going on this holiday monday starting with when a pyramid -- it's actually a circle, when the royal will be coming to the united states and a heatwave. i want to start with you, chris lawrence, or pentagon correspondence at arlington cemetery. chris, the president is nominating a new chairman of the joints chief. who exactly is martin dempsey? >> reporter: well, he's a career man and known as an extrovert. the thing that makes him difference is his combat experience. he's spent the better part of the last nine or ten years involved in a very low-tech war in iraq. he commanded some of the troops during the height of the insurgency and he's also seen as someone looking at how they fight the war of today and not only what it's going to be doing in 10 to 20 years from now. >> this potential change, the change at the top of the defense department, might -- how might these changes affect troops in iraq or afghanistan? >> reporter: well, brooke, if you look at very recently defense secretary gates said that he hoped that the iraqi government would ask the u.s. to keep troops there beyond the end of the year and he said, if they did ask, i would hope that we would say yes. you know, will leon panetta feel the same way? when you look at afghanistan, there is going to be a very, very intense argument over whether to go with the counter insurgency strategy that david petraeus was running out of afghanistan versus a counterterrorism strategy that joe biden advocates with fewer troops and special ops going after specific targets. whenever you come to these decisions, you're going to have different voices in the room all trying to weigh in for the president. >> chris lawrence in arlington, thank you. next, on reporter roulette, the food pyramid is no longer a pyramid. it will become round. elizabeth cohen explains what this change is all about. elizabeth? >> brooke, it's time to say r.i.p. to the food pyramid. it's been around for 20 years. and hello to the dinner plate. the new usda dinner plate will not look exactly like this but the plate will show that you're supposed to fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables and have much smaller portions of a protein and a grain and dairy off to the side. this is a far cry from how americans eat and they are hoping that putting it everywhere they possibly can think of will remind people that this is the goal. half a plate of fruits and vegetables. now, you might wonder what was wrong with the food pyramid other than the fact that it was two decades old. the fruits and sweets were at the top and too much emphasis on starches and grains. they are hoping that this new icon will take care of that. brooke? >> i see no sweets on the plate. thanks, elizabeth cohen. right? the duke and duchess of cambridge will be visiting the united states and canada. now we know their itinerary. max, you have the details. what do you know? >> reporter: prince william has been to canada before and he was a huge hit but the duchess has not been to canada nor the united states. at the end of june they will be picked up by the canadian air force and flown to otto wa wau, quebec and a series of engagements is being arranged which allows them to reflect on canada's history but also to look at the future of next generation of royal. expect to see them meeting lots of young people. the final leg of the journey is being organized with the british government and takes them to los angeles where they will promote british interest to the united states. a source at st. james palace is seen as a working visit, not an opportunity to meet celebrities, although not quite sure they are going to avoid them. more details will be released in june. max foster, cnn, st. james palace, london. chad myers now with a look at the weather. i don't know how wonderful those silk outfits will be when they wear that come july. it might be mighty hot but it's all right mighty hot in may. >> maybe they are just going to go to santa monica. you get the breeze and it depends on where you are in the valley. >> california is nice. >> maybe a little hot by then. >> perhaps for us now on this holiday, it's hot. >> it is hot. it's fourth of july hot. it's 90s all the way from virgin virginia up to new york and texas and now tornado warnings throughout eastern colorado. there are more cows than people but we will keep watching. if it gets near greeley or brighton, it's the northeast part. i-76, i know it well. we used to live in nebraska. >> you've lived everywhere. >> everywhere. >> okay. >> i was like an army brat but my father was retired. as you drive from nebraska, you see the colorado rockies and say, wow, we're almost to denver and 100 miles you're still not there. you can see it from there but the tornadoes are not that series. >> is it an old wives tail that if it's hot now it's going to be really hot in the summer? >> not necessarily. it's the humidity in the air, it's all evaporating. so the stickys, this could be the summer of the stickies. >> can i quote you? >> sure. >> chad myers, thanks. now, should you put out your for sale sign or just sit tight? allan chernoff has that special next. the foreclosure crisis far from over. just ask anyone who can't pay their mortgage. number five, you have miami, number four, los angeles, chicago, number three. what are those top two that break out? the only hint that i'm going to give you is this. they are both cities in the west. you have a guess, mr. myers? >> i have a guess. >> we'll be right back. netwo. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. the count on chevy event is here. your ticket to a cruze eco. 42 mpg and over 500 highway miles a tank. one of our 9 models over 30 mpg highway. fuel up, rock on. very well qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a chevy cruze eco for around $159 a month. or qualified buyers can get no monthly payments for 3 months. fuel economy based on epa estimates. deferred payments offer ends may 31st. so before the break i went through the top cities for foreclosures. you thought about this, i gave you the hint. the top two cities were out west. did you think about it? number two is phoenix. and the city with the dubious honor of having the most foreclosures is las vegas. a whopping 53% of all home sales in vegas are from foreclosures. you heard that right. more than half of everything sold is from a foreclosure. by the way, the national average is only 28%. the old saying, the real estate saying, location, location, location, may not have as much bearings these days. now the price that you set is more important than ever. here is cnn's allan chernoff. >> reporter: linda's charming maplewood, new jersey home has a beautiful kitchen and renovated bedrooms and bathrooms. but when she put it on the market at 549,000, she had no buyers. they showed the home 16 times. what to do? linda divorced mother of two grown children looking to downsize didn't hesitate. she lowered her asking price by $20,000. >> are you confident that it's going to go at this price? >> no, not really, because of what the market is now. >> reporter: the market in much of the country remains sluggish. linda, a former realtor herself understands that she needs to be flexible. she followed carol's advice to respond to the market's message. the original price was too high. >> the buyers are the ones who are going to set the price. you know, we could do as much as we can and when we have 16 showings in two weeks and no offers, what does that say? that says the buyers have rejected this price. >> reporter: most people have an attachment to their home and their neighborhood. but when it comes to selling, realtors say you have to take the emotion out of the sales equation. by minimizing their emotions, sellers can realistically assess what they need to do to make a sale at the best possible price. >> if i want to sell my house and move on, i have to put it where the market says it should be. i don't have a choice. >> reporter: another key to selling in this market is recognizing that buyers hope to get a deal by negotiating the seller down. so sellers have to allow for wriggle room. she says she's willing to negotiate but only a bit, considering all the money she's spent on renovations. >> i'm not going to give that away just because the economy has turned. >> reporter: and let me follow up here with allan chernoff. you mentioned that linda decreased her price by 20 grand. has she had any luck since then? >> no, she has not, and she has lowered the price yet again. now down to 550. that's originally 599 down to 550. a big decline. that tells you a lot about the market. sheets being aggressive and trying to get this home sold. >> not a lot of people can be like her. at least it sounds like she can afford to be patient but will that improve the price that she gets if it just sits there? >> that's right. she doesn't have to sell. she's not in a situation where she must do it right away. she could sit. but realtors say if you wait and wait and wait, generally it does not help you. you want to try to move that property so she's being aggressive, lowering that price. >> what is her downsizing plan, alan? >> very interesting, brooke. she's looking to sell the house in new jersey, move down to florida, by a condo there for a fraction of the price and then she wants to be a gambler full time. she wants to play at the casinos down in florida. brooke, i'm not sure i would recommend that as a retirement plan for most of our viewers. >> a little risky. >> that's what linda wants to do. absolutely. usually you don't take on risk in your retirement but linda must be a pretty good card player. >> she must be. our best to her that she can sell her house and live out that dream. bin laden's infamous neighbors. and the family with the genderless baby. they do not want to force society tal norms on this child named storm. you're going to hear her explanation ahead. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 and talk to chuck about ttd# 1-800-345-2550 rolling over that old 401k. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance. if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? thanks for tuning in here to cnn on your memorial day. in libya, an apparent major blow to leader moammar gadhafi. cnn has learned that eight major generals have defected. the opposition has said that there cannot be any sort of peace agreement as long as gadhafi is still in power. in serbia, the former general to be reexamined from specialists. he says the former commander is not healthy enough to face all of these charges of genocide as the tribunal at the hague. the chief prosecutor denies that mladic is in poor health. he's been lively and joking since being brought into custody last week. he's accused of the massacre of 8,000 muslim men and boys back in 1995. big news for buckeye fans. ohio state university said that the head football coach has resigned. the school fined him $50,000 in march and suspended after he failed to report that some of his players may have violated some of the ncaa rules. so now the assistant coach will serve as interim coach come football season. and very few people in the west have heard of the small town in pakistan where al qaeda leader osama bin laden is hiding out. a month after his death, new details about the place are still hard, if not impossible to come by. stan grant has found that out for himself. watch this. >> reporter: owe some man bin laden did not meet many friends here. he has more sympathy for the slain al qaeda leaders than foreigners, swearing at us, calling us pigs. are muslim terrorists everywhere? actually, he said america is the biggest terrorist. others though, are friendlier. this boy approaches us with a story to tell. and he and his sister befriended the 7, 4, and 3-year-old boys and girls. he relives the crooked games that he played with them. that's the bin laden house that you can see behind us. contradicting reports that no outsiders breached the security, he says he actually played inside the compound itself, getting a close look at a second secret world. the brothers and sisters did not know the bin laden's childrens name. their father was the family courier they called nadeen. only now do they know who the playmates really were. i my grandmother asked, who is your father and they said nadeen. they always said nadeen. through this brother and sister we get to piece together daily life in the bin laden compound. rather than speaking the local language, they preferred the language of the afghanistan-pakistan border. they were a normal family, friendly, they say. they never saw osama bin laden. reremained hidden. they did meet the bin laden wives. they asked me, how was i, where did i live? what did my mother do? i told them my mother was a housewife. they wore all pakistani clothes. he noticed the women were different from other mothers in the neighborhood. they spoke in a strange language, he says, very poor, and then i thought probably they were arab bic and the children were different, too. even in this muslim community, they were especially devout. they were very religious. they asked me to wait until afternoon prayer and then they would stop playing later for evening prayer. he shows me pet rabbits, a gift from the bin laden family. she says she misses their friends. they were young, they were beautiful. i really miss them. they were the only children we played with. their father is a government official in the justice department yet osama bin laden lived right next door and no one knew. the bin ladens lived this way for years, in a military city in the mountains two hours drive north from pakistan's capital islamabad. now the area is in lockdown. in recent days it's been opened for the cia to collect information but no such access for us as we try to get close. this is what happens. the police say they are under instruction to smash our cameras. we are not going to get any closer to the bin laden compound. here life continues as normal. beyond here, though, 200 meters away is the bin laden house, still holding in so many of his secrets here in abbottabad. okay. we're finished. thank you. stan grant, cnn, abbottabad, pakistan. >> stan, thank you. on this memorial day, it's a fitting day to remind all of you that more than 6,000 u.s. and coalition troops have died in both afghanistan and iraq, from all over the world, spanning all ages and on this memorial day you can honor them by learning who they were. go to cnn.com/casualties. now time for our best video of the day. you've got to see this. i want to you look at these cars racing in the indy 500. seconds away from the finish line, watch this with me. crashes into the wall. who was driving? j.r.hildebrand, just 23 years old, was in line to win that thing. instead, the number twool driver dan weldon ended up coming in first place for the indy 500. growing up here in atlanta, one of my favorite things to do was to go to the braves' game dad with my dad. i want to you listen. you see this little boy, none too pleased with dad for leaping over him for the foul ball. look at that face. at least dad brings home the baseball and maybe buys him a little cotton candy. now something else you have to see. a genderless baby. look at this bundle of joy. this baby is named storm. but here's the story here. his-her parents -- and i say his-her, because they are not releasing the baby's gender for at least now. the mom started with her 5-year-old son jazz. so she says she has seen the pressure he gets to act "more like a boy." so when jazz asked if people would respond differently if they didn't know the baby's sex, she decided to keep the gender private for at least a little while. i want to read you what she wrote. she said storm has a sex which those closest to him/her know and acknowledge. we don't know yet about color preferences or dress inclinations but the idea that the whole world must know our baby's sex strikes me as unhealthy and unsafe. he has the gender neutral name of keo. we've reached out to the parents but they don't want to talk. the memorial day holiday traditionally kicks off the summer vacation season. are you among the millions of americans that don't use all of your vacation days? take a look at this. france mandates the workers to get 30 days off a year. germans get more than four weeks. in the state, as you know, there is no mandate to take vacations. americans get two, maybe three weeks off a year, yet barely half of us take all of them. while nearly 90% of frempbl workers take every single day. kind of makes you a little jealous. we have reports here on two of them. this is from paula hancock in seoul and here is tokyo. >> reporter: this is the image that the world has of the japanese worker, serious and buttoned up and hard worker. guess what, that stereotype is true. according to japan's government, the average japan worker gets 18 paid holidays a year but half, 50% of those take only eight of the 18 days. that's less than half of their paid vacation. the reason why? there's this long standing notion incorporate japan that if you take all of your vacation days that you are lazy or considered a better employee if you leave those vacation days on the table. little wonder that there is a legal term here in japan called karochi, which means death by overwork. >> reporter: i'm paula hancocks in seoul. according to recent figures from the oecd, in 2009, south koreans worked an average of 52-hour work week. that's compared to a 34-hour work week in the united states. so you would assume that vacations would be very precious. but not so. according to government figures last year, almost half of all vacation days were simply not taken. 48% of days off were worked through. now, one of the reasons for this could be that it's quite a higher society, frowned upon to actually arrive at work after your boss or leave work before your boss and even if your work is done, it's considered a good idea to stay and be seen to stay so that you can get ahead. >> and we have this reminder for all of you that need to know about planning vacations, where to go, what to pack, the dos and don'ts of vacation, head to our website at cnn.com/travel. and when we come back, one final tribute for you on this memorial day. stay with me. &t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. in an effort to give you the best network possible. [ man ] ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. let's look ahead and get tomorrow's news today. let's fast forward beginning with cindy anthony. she will take the stand tomorrow in the trial of her daughter casey anthony. casey was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter caylee. casey started balling in court when her mother testified about the explanation she's received from casey in the month after her granddaughter went missing. also tomorrow, right here in this cnn "newsroom," we go indepth on medication at nation. dr. sanjay gupta will talk about why testing new medication is often done outside of the u.s. as we wrap up on this special day of remembrance, i want to take you to the nation's capital now and a look at the services our president and military leaders took part in today. >> it's a frightening thing for human beings to think that they could die and that no one would know to mark their graves. ♪ >> i want to realize that these are not just graves, they are real people and have real families and lives and husbands and children and friends. >> the best of the life lies here. but that the best of who we are in americans lies in our own hearts and in our own actions. >> our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay. but we can honor their sacrifice and we must. we must honor it in our own lives and heeding the example that they set. and we must honor it as a nation by keeping our sacred trust with