MONDAY: No storm clouds today. Just sun and lots of wind. But that wind is slowing the cleanup and recovery.

Homeowners and construction crews are battling to keep tarps from blowing off the roofs of damaged homes. And the winds are slowing utility crews in their efforts to restore electricity to tens of thousand of residents — in some cases knocking out power in neighborhoods unaffected by the Mother’s Day storm.

The National Weather Service has confirmed half a dozen tornadoes struck parts of Georgia yesterday, including the suburban Atlanta neighborhood in Clayton County from where we’ve been doing our live reports (click on the video for a look behind the scenes).

Meteorologists estimate these twisters carried winds between 120 and 130 miles per hour, which would categorize them as EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

In Clayton County alone, the storm damaged 163 homes. Local authorities have deemed 45 of those homes uninhabitable.

Clayton is just one of 19 Georgia counties, from the northern part of the state to the coast, reporting damage from Sunday’s storm.

My colleague Marianne Silber continues our coverage today.

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SUNDAY: The Atlanta bureau is en-route to Ellenwood — a suburban Atlanta community hit hard this morning by a storm system that has spawned tornadoes and heavy winds across much of the Midwest and Southeastern United States.

A Georgia Power spokeswoman tells me 87,000 residents are still without electricity statewide, 11,000  of them here in Metro-Atlanta. But the vast majority of those without power, 63-thousand residents, are concentrated in the center of the state — near Macon.

Georgia Power says one of the biggest obstacles is fallen trees. Utility crews are having to cut their way through debris to get to affected areas.

Rescue crews complain of similar problems. According to Georgia Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Lisa Janak, 19 Georgia Counties are reporting damage.

This morning’s storm system struck Georgia barely two months after the EF-2 tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta. The city still shows scars from that storm, with windows boarded up on some of the downtown skyscrapers.

Among the buildings damaged in that March tornado — the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance. SBA spokesman Richard Daigle compares it to “when the firehouse catches fire,” but insists it did not slow the agency down in processing grants and low-interest loans for businesses and individuals who sustained uninsured losses.

Good thing. His office will, no doubt, find itself busy once again as this active tornado season continues to unleash its fury.

For those new to this blog, there are a couple of days where I post a thread to let the viewers ask questions or post anything on the topic.

On Tuesdays…Tech Tuesdays. As a gadget guy I do my best to answer all questions tech and at the same time highlight a product that you might be interested in checking out.

So, on Sundays, it’s all about sports. One of the bigger stories of the week is the fact that there still will not be a college football championship game.

Some college presidents make the argument that it makes college football professional and takes away the whole student athlete opportunity. As a former college athlete, those comments need to be seriously scrutinized. With league championships with huge sponsorships and millions of dollars pouring into some programs, those concerns are a bit tardy.

So what do you think? Also, what do you think of the playoffs in the NBA or NHL, or the beginning of baseball season so far?

Atlanta field technician Jeff Burton is putting the finishing touches on our story about the One Laptop Per Child program, before we feed it to New York for tonight’s Fox Report w/ Shepard Smith.

One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization that designs low-cost computers, primarily for children in developing countries.

However, the City of Birmingham, AL has purchased 15,000 of the $200 “XO” laptops for use in public schools.

The story has multiple angles — technology, education, world poverty and business.

In fact, we will be turning separate versions of the story — one for tonight’s Fox Report, which focuses on why a “Third World” program has attracted the attention of educators and city officials in Birmingham. The other version of this story, which we are turning for Fox Business Network on Monday, focuses on One Laptop Per Child’s impact on the computer industry and the global economy.

For both stories, we interviewed Nicholas Negroponte, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer scientist who founded One Laptop Per Child. Click on the video to watch an extended version of his comments.

FRIDAY UPDATE

Bonds for those arrested in the big San Diego State drug sting range from $10,000 to $150,000, many accused have already pled not guilty. This comes as a professor at San Diego State tells the Union-Tribune newspaper that she’s concerned the school’s president Stephen Weber “unilaterally authorized” the Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct the operation. According to reports, “Now it’s drugs,” says Carole Kennedy, a political science professor who heads the faculty union. “Maybe next time it’s about political dissent … What happens when you have students talking about federal income tax policy, saying they’re not going to pay their taxes? Are they going to bring in IRS agents?”

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

We are getting ready for Greta’s show and we’ll be talking beforehand with Deputy District Attorney Damon Mosler. He’s appearing right after our report as our live is slated for about 10:06pm (7:06pm Pacific). Damon tells me about the strong cooperation between the DA, DEA and campus police. He explains the DA in San Diego County was approached last September to get involved in this investigation, one he believes is the largest bust ever on any college campus. He like the DEA believes that more arrests could come as all the avenues are followed.

WEDNESDAY LATE UPDATE

Just got off the phone with a contact at the DEA. They are obviously swamped with the ongoing investigation and the background parts of the case. They say more arrests are very possible, nothing like the magnitude we just saw with this bust, but groups of a couple here, four there etc. could go down as the pieces of the drug puzzle are put together.

They are looking at the connections with the Mexican drug cartels. At this point it looks like the gang banger from LA was the connection into the states.

They can’t comment about any investigations that may or may not be ongoing at other colleges. So far this drug web has not spread to other schools.

The DEA agent I spoke with says they hope this bust reminds people about the dangers of drugs and that parents need to communicate and stay informed of what their children are doing even when they are in college. Keep Reading …

He has not yet been listed as an official ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism,’ and according to my sources, it looks like the Bush Administration will not officially designate Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez as such. This is a story we have followed now for nearly a year and we have taken three extended trips to the region in that time.

In response to the possibility, Chavez said recently that the United States “did not get the satisfaction” of including Venezuela in the list of countries sponsor of terrorism. Chávez disregarded the US State Department report on global terrorism and now according to reports, US Intelligence officials believe computer files tie Chávez to the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). This has been the claim by Colombian leaders since our trip there 6 weeks ago. According to reports, the files depict meetings between guerrilla commanders and Venezuelan government authorities, including Chávez himself. The Colombians told us that the files were taken from the guerrillas following a raid to one of their camps.

The files indicate that Venezuela apparently made concrete offers to help arm the FARC, according to the Wall Street Journal and also the use of one of its ports to receive arms shipments. In another document, a high-ranking official asked FARC to train Venezuelan military in guerrilla warfare. Chavez recently said about the claims “The United States did not get the satisfaction of including Venezuela in the list of countries sponsor of terrorism. But they will keep working on that.” Along with Venezuela, Iran, Chávez’s allied country, remains the “most active” state sponsor of terrorism, as it tries to build up regional influence and expel the United States from the Middle East, according to the report, which labeled Iran as “the most outstanding” country sponsor of terrorism.

When I heard about the Transportation Security Administration’s new system to speed up airport security lines, I was skeptical. The system is called the “Diamond Lane Self-Select Program.”

Essentially it’s modeled after the signs you see on ski slopes, like … Black Diamond (you must have prior Olympic Ski Team experience to attempt this run) or Green Circle (your Grandmother could ski this run.

Backwards. With her eyes closed). It lets passengers select which security lane they think is most appropriate. Currently, it’s up and running in several airports across the country, including Denver, Salt Lake City and Dallas Love Field.

There are three signs in Diamond Lane Self-Select. As the TSA Web site explains:

Expert, for the business traveler who flies several times a month (Or in my case, two or three times a week.) Casual, (read: pokey) for passengers who travel less frequently, but are familiar with the security process Family/Special Assistance, for passengers traveling with small children or strollers, elderly passengers and passengers who may need special assistance (Translation: Sherpas carrying 40 pound packs will climb Mt. Everest before you make it through security in this lane. But to be fair, I did hear an interview with a young mother who said she really appreciated the extra help.)

I just experienced the Diamond system myself at Houston Hobby. As I approached the Expert line, I saw a bunch of guys in suits. For those of you who don’t fly a lot, that’s a good sign. I always try to get behind a guy in a suit. It mean’s he’s probably a business traveller and has done this once or twice before. But as I got closer, I noticed it was a LONG line of guys in suits. I glanced over at the casual line. It looked about the same. Family and Special Assistance Lane? No waiting. Maybe I could feign a limp.

I stayed put and began to get annoyed. The alleged business travellers at the head of the line looked like they were sure taking a lot of time to get their items in the bins. Slip on shoes people! They save precious seconds! And a belt buckle the size of Miami WILL in fact set off the metal screener, so why not just take off the belt in the ten minutes you’re waiting? Ditto that with your car keys, coins and watch.

To show my disgust and perhaps encourage others to follow my lead, I pulled out my laptop and ziplock baggie with 3 oz toiletries. See? I’m ready for the head of the line. And then, it was as if the gods of airport security had heard me and intervened. A TSA agent whisked me from my spot in line across to the Family/Special Assistance lane where there was no waiting. Hurrah! I glanced back at the so-called expert travelers and felt smug.

When I caught up with correspondent Kris Gutierrez at the gate, I asked, “How’d you like the new Diamond system?” He shrugged and said he hadn’t noticed.

“Well then how did you pick a lane?” I asked.

He said, “I just went to the shortest.”

Amen, brother.

I’ve met a lot of Marine Reservists over the years, guys who leave their day jobs behind to serve their country in Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever duty calls. Some were police officers or prison guards, college students or box store workers … one guy designed costumes for exotic dancers in Las Vegas.

Then there’s Josh Mandel.

I met him in Haditha last December during a whirlwind tour of bases across the Anbar Province, from al Qaim to al Asad. Josh looked about 15 but was closer to 30, bright and polite but motivated enough to come into the room where we’d gathered our equipment to introduce himself and thank us for telling the Marine’s stories.

I found out HIS story after a bit of prodding. He joined the Marines before 9/11, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who’d served during World War II. He was on his second tour of Iraq, taking a leave of absence from his post as the youngest elected Republican in the Ohio House of Representatives. He showed us the shoes he wore out during his campaign back in 2006 when he knocked on more than 19,000 doors. They’re hanging on nails on his office wall.

Josh confessed his elected position after we’d promised not to tell the others in his company. He said he didn’t want special treatment. He just wanted to be one of the guys. We took him outside to the dusty back yard and did an interview, promising to hold the tape until he returned home.

Last month we sent a crew to New Orleans where families gathered at an airstrip to welcome the 3/23 home and then we traveled to Columbus to be with Josh when he set foot inside the Capitol Dome for the first time in 9 months. He received a hero’s welcome, with lots of back slaps and hugs and a standing ovation from his fellow lawmakers. It was a moving scene and I was really glad we were there to document it.

One of my biggest questions for Josh was how his constituents felt about their elected representative being absent from his job for so long. How could the needs of the people possibly be served with him gone? He unapologetically explained his first responsibility was to his country and he didn’t join the Marines to not answer when they called. He also left his very capable assistant Michael Lord and other staffers behind to handle complaints and requests and forward them to the appropriate people. Josh insists voters did NOT suffer and could benefit now from his improved leadership skills, experience and maturity.

Josh Mandel is proud of his service but won’t be re-enlisting in June. He says he’s going to focus on his job and his fiance while still acting as an ambassador for the Corps.

This story seemed straight forward this morning when I started: How many detainees who are released or transferred from Gitmo have wound up on the battlefield again with the goal of killing Americans? But the more you report this story, the more you realize, the Pentagon doesn’t have a good handle on how many detainees are involved and some lawyers argue that their clients, the detainees, got radicalized after spending years in Gitmo without charge.

Cully Stimson, a former senior policy adviser on detainees to the president, told me that these detainees are trained to lie. It is part of their terror training – that is why Stimson says - it can be so hard to make the case they are enemy combatants. Stimson put it this way:

“You find a guy, who says he’s a sheep herder in the mountains of Afghanistan, he has 25k cash on him and a GPS recorder and he’s found with 200 rpgs. Is he a sheep herder? No. And so this is a typical type of cover story.”

According to the Pentagon’s statistics, and I mention the source because it’s always important to know the source and their agenda, of the 500 detainees released from Guantanamo Bay, about 36 are confirmed or suspected of returning to the battlefield. That is roughly 7 percent.

Among the group, Mohammed Nayim Farouq (top left) who according to military officials, quickly renewed his relationship with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after his release in July 2003.

Also, a Russian, Ruslan Odizhev, (bottom) who was killed in June 2007 after being transferred along with 7 other detainees to Moscow in 2004.

And Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi, (top right) who the military now links to a suicide bombing in mosul last month that killed 7. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that some countries don’t even want the detainees back - period.

“I think we do as careful a vetting job as we possibly can before releasing these people. There are a lot, um, there are a lot of, prisoners down there frankly, that we would be prepared to turn over to their home government , but the home government isn’t prepared to receive them.”

I learned today that the conditions of each detainee’s transfer can vary dramatically. They could be transferred back to their home country and the only condition is that their passport is handed over. Each case is negotiated separately between the us and the host country.

A source familiar with a number of detainee cases told me the real problem is that there is no process at Gitmo. There is no way for a court to decide who should be held and who should be freed. And that in some cases, these guys become so angry and so frustrated, that if they didn’t hate the us before they got to Gitmo, they do now.

What should we do? Because the problem of possible radicalization is more pronounced in Iraq where, one contact claims, more than 20,000 are being held.

No lawmaker has ever been successfully Impeached in Ohio’s 205 year history, but that could change if Attorney General Marc Dann sticks to his guns and refuses to resign.

He’s accused of running his office like a frat house, where cursing and harassing young female staffers was the norm. He hired a bunch of his buddies from Youngstown when he won the election in ‘06 and the consensus seems to be he and his crew were in over their heads.

Dann roomed with two of his top guys and there were apparently some booze-fueled slumber parties that got a bit out of control. One girl alleges she woke up with her pants down and one of Dann’s aides in his underwear next to her.

This charge led to the discovery Dann (a married father of three) was having an affair with another girl in his office, which he subsequently lied about before admitting some details (not including her name).

I spent the past couple of days in the State House in Columbus, where lawmakers in both parties seem unified in their distaste for Dann’s alleged misdeeds (although the Speaker told me “if we impeached everyone for lying and cheating on their spouses it’d be a long summer”).

Dann, a Democrat, has lost the support of his party. They say they’re stripping him of his affiliation and support and have basically thrown him under the bus. If he won’t quit they say they’ll move to impeach. The only question is whether what he’s accused of is enough to forcefully remove him from the job.

There are rumors the story could get more interesting, but so far Dann hasn’t budged, saying he can still effectively do his job. Lawmakers say otherwise, and the showdown looms.

In two Black Hawk helicopters we hopscotched across the forward operating bases of eastern Afghanistan.

They are manned by American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in Country for only a month, but our host Brig. General Mark Milley has studied this country preparing for the mission and brings experience from Iraq to counter insurgency ops here.

Here’s a few of his observations we shared over the intercom of the Black Hawk as we flew together:

1. To win the people away from the insurgency people have to see immediate improvements in their lives in terms of roads and schools and security.

“It’s happening rapidly,” says Milley. “We offer the promise of a better life, all the insurgents offer is death and destruction.”

2. Big Country, Afghans have to feel connected to the Central Govt.

“It’s happening everywhere in the East,” Milley said … but he acknowledges the south of Afghanistan is a problem

3. The Afghan Army now at 70,000 is getting strong and getting good, says Milley.

“They can conduct operations, they lead and we shadow them, their excellent,” he claims.

Keep Reading …