Morning Buzz: Taking stock – two weeks later

Eliza Browning
AC360° Associate Producer

It’s been two weeks since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the already impoverished nation of Haiti. It buried much of the capital under tons of rubble and affected more than 3 million Haitians. Approximately 50 aftershocks of a magnitude 4.5 or higher have rocked the country since the January 12 quake. The most recent estimates put the death toll at this point around 150,000 and more than 1 million people have been displaced.

Anderson is live in Haiti where he is reporting on how aid is getting to the people. After the quake, many nations responded aggressively – flooding aid and medical help to the stricken nation. But a lack of infrastructure and organization means that many Haitians are still without enough food, shelter or medical help. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with world leaders in Montreal yesterday to talk about plans to help rebuild the country. The U.S. has pledged at least $10 million in aid, with more to come. How much influence do other nations have over the future of Haiti?

Gary Tuchman is also in Haiti where is he reporting on what happens to all of the displaced people who lost their homes in the quake. The U.N. estimates that as many as 1 million people — one person in nine across the entire country — need to find new shelter, but there are too few tents to put them in.

We’re continuing our coverage of the stimulus project tonight with a story about ‘signs of waste.’ Most Americans say that the economic stimulus plan has either helped the economy or prevented conditions from getting worse, but only a third see any personal benefit from the stimulus, according to a new national poll.

Tonight, we report on how federal stimulus money requested by states is being used not only to fix roads and bridges, but also to advertise. Projects all over the country are being heralded with costly signs touting America's Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The signs can cost up to $3,000. But for the price of one $2,000 sign, 40 potholes could be repaired. States aren't required to erect signs at their work sites, and some states don't use them at all, preferring to use that money to actually repair things. The state of Ohio is spending approximately 1 million dollars to put up these signs. So what’s the point? Randi Kaye is keeping them honest tonight.

Almost a year after federal stimulus dollars began making their way across the nation, unemployment remains high and the job market tight, leading many Americans to ask: Where are we in terms of economic recovery? We can expect to hear input from President Obama tomorrow night during the State of the Union address.

The President is expected to announce a three-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending. The freeze will hold discretionary spending at $447 billion – that’s about one-sixth of the federal budget. But Congress will be able to shift funding from one program to another within that amount. The freeze does not include defense, homeland security or entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Social Security. Do you think this is a step in the right direction?

Let us know and see you at 10 p.m. ET.