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American Morning
Romney in 2012; Regulating Radioactive Leaks; Google Blames China for Hack Attack; Brother versus Sister; Downbeat Reports Send Stocks Tumbling; Is Economy Recovery Losing Steam?
Aired June 02, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Tornado terror. Twisters slammed Massachusetts. We're there live.
Photo development. Anthony Weiner now saying he might have been the source of that underwear pic, but this morning, he's still blame someone else.
And pack (ph), Google says China attacked its e-mail. We'll tell you who was targeted on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Thursday, June 2nd. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. A few big stories going on including really destructive markets yesterday and this continuing saga of Anthony Weiner.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. We start with some severe weather that really struck without warning. The National Guard this morning is trying to move in to help with the search and rescue after at least two tornadoes ripped through parts of Massachusetts. A lot of it caught on video.
This is from a local TV tower camera that captured the moment. The tornado started blowing through Springfield, tossing debris on live television, tearing up past the river and right into town.
ROMANS: Listen to this, caught in the middle of the twister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously, the ceiling. Look. Oh, my god!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Very close call with that twister. Shot from inside the car with an iPhone. Tree fly ace cross the road, car battered by hail and debris. The storm killed at least four people and left a path of destruction about 40 miles long. The town ever Springfield took the most severe hit.
CHETRY: Jason Carroll was live for news west Springfield this morning with more on this. We say unprecedented, but it's certainly not unprecedented, certainly quite unexpected for people there. JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. For the folks here in spring peeled. It's completely unexpected. Not something that many folks are out here saying they have seen in decades. And when I talk about what they are seeing today, just back behind me. This is the devastation that we are seeing in pockets throughout Springfield. The folks who are now coming back to their homes this morning, today is going to be a day of assessing the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god!
CARROLL: The tornado in Springfield struck during Wednesday evening's rush hour, tearing through downtown, trapping drivers in their cars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just started seeing debris. So I told my son, I brought my son in dash and the animals and headed downstairs. As soon as we hit the stairs it hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to get in the basement. We went in the basement and -- air conditioning went someplace. That tree snapped in half. I want to know where my daughter is now. They just left about 15 minutes before this hit.
CARROLL: Up to four tornadoes touched down in western Massachusetts jumping across a 40-mile stretch, destroying homes and buildings along the way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a mess. Everything was going, flying. I heard this big bang. I didn't know where it was coming from or what was falling or -- where it was going to land.
CARROLL: By early morning, four people are confirmed dead. More than a dozen communities reported severe damage. Massachusetts governor declared a state of emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are my neighbors, my friends, too, lieutenant governors as well. I think I speak for all of us, all of us here, that we are -- we are worried about our friends and neighbors, our fellow citizens in central and western Massachusetts who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. We want to get a sense of the scope of this so we can make sure our response is equal to the -- disaster.
CARROLL: Search and rescue teams worked throughout the night to find survivors, firefighters coming in from Vermont and Connecticut to help in the effort. People here, many of whom are unfamiliar with tornadoes, are just now coming to terms with what is happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am very horrified. I -- I'm a Springfield native and I have never seen nothing like this ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And we have had opportunities to speak to search and rescue folks out here this morning. They have already told us that they are in the process of going to second airy search. The secondary search is to go through buildings that the fire department already has been through but to double-check just to make sure there aren't people trapped inside who might be -- may be unable to call out for help but might be in need of help. Kiran?
CHETRY: Jason Carroll for us this morning. We will keep tabs on this story. Thank you.
ROMANS: Another story we are following this morning, a barrage of bad news ranging from hiring to manufacturing and car sales. Investors are fearing the economy is slowing down. Or at least growth is tapering off and led to a big sell-off in the stock market. By the end of the trading day yesterday, the Dow lost more than 279 points. That's more than two percent, the biggest one-day drop in about a year. The NASDAQ was down 66 points. S&P 500 was down with the worst decline since August of last year.
Among the signs the economy may be losing steam, home buyers hit a new low. Home prices now same level back in 2002. S&P's Case-Schiller index found declining the lowest level in nine years. Sales for Ford and GM were down last month. It was an auto industry's first big setback in more and year and a half. Coming in less than 30 minutes we will break down whether this may be a blip in the recovery or something more serious for your job, house, investments and your own personal economy.
VELSHI: Continuing story this morning. Anthony Weiner trying to explain away his Twitter scandal but creating more questions in the process. Weiner denies sending a lewd tweet to a 21-year-old college student in Seattle. But what he cannot say with certitude is the photo of a man in his underwear is him. Weiner tried on set the record straight with our Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: This is the picture, I'm sure have you seen it by now. Is this you?
WEINER: I can tell you this. We have a firm we have hired to -- I have seen it. It is -- I have seen it. A firm we hired to try to get to the bottom of it. It certainly doesn't look familiar to me but I don't want to say with certitude.
BLITZER: We want to resolve it once and for all. You would know if this is your underpants?
WEINER: The question is -- I appreciate you continuing to flash that at me. Look -- I have said the best I can. That we are going to try to get to the bottom of what happened.
BLITZER: Have you ever taken a picture like this of yourself? tell you this. That there are -- I have photographs. I don't know what photographs are out there in the world of me. I don't know what things have been manipulated and doctored. And -- we are going to try to find out what happened.
BLITZER: You didn't send that photo to that woman in Washington state?
WEINER: I did not send it to that woman.
BLITZER: But you are not 100 percent sure whether the photo is you?
WEINER: I am going to say we are doing everything we can to try to answer that question. But we are doing an investigation. I want to caution you that, you know, photographs can be doctored. Photographs can be manipulated and be taken from one place and put in another.
And so -- you know, that's -- I want to make it clear. This is, in my view, not a federal case. In my view, this is not an international conspiracy. This is a hoax. I think that people should treat it that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Weiner gave TV interviews yesterday and tweeted last night in the tweet read "Sorry for you wanted attention. I didn't mean to make you famous, collateral damage."
CHETRY: China is denying it is behind hacking attack saying it is unacceptable to blame China important the hacking of hundreds of Gmail accounts, including those of some senior U.S. government officials. Google says the attack, originated from China, and worked by sending victims e-mails that appeared to be from their friends. Those e-mails would include a view download link that would open up a fake Gmail login page. In addition to government workers, other targets included the U.S. military and the South Korean government.
ROMANS: New violence overnight in Yemen's capital with government security forces battling opposition. Reports say that at least 15 people, most of them opposition fighters have been killed.
Japanese politicians decided to keep the status quo. The prime minister surviving an attempt to topple his government with a no- confidence vote. Opposition party members criticized his handling of the country's earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. The prime minister said he is ready to step down but only when the situation in Japan stabilizes.
VELSHI: We have lost the war on drugs. That's a conclusion of a report released today by the global commission on drug policy. This panel includes former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, even a former Nixon and Reagan cabinet member. This quote ripped right from it, quote, "Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately, that the war on drugs has not and cannot be won."
It claims the war on drugs only fueled organized crime, cost taxpayers millions of dollars and caused thousands of deaths. And it encourages countries to legalize marijuana and other drugs to undermine organized crime.
The latest CNN opinion research corporation poll on this shows that most Americans do not agree with that finding as 56 percent oppose legalizing marijuana. 41 percent say it should be legal.
CHETRY: Shaquille O'Neill calling it quits after 19 seasons in the NBA. Shaq won four championships during his hall of fame career, three of them with the L.A. Lakers and one with the Miami heat. He made the announcement yesterday and posting a video to his fans on twitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAQUILLE O'NEILL, FORMER NBA PLAYER: We did it -- 19 years baby, want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Plans to hold a formal news conference tomorrow. He has been plagued by injuries. He played 37 games important the Celtics this year. He felt like it wasn't fair to the team.
VELSHI: Later today we will hear the official word.
CHETRY: He is only 38.
VELSHI: He's a legend.
Political experts weigh in on Weinergate. Another big political things happening now -- Mitt Romney's campaign kicking off.
CHETRY: Airfare may get easier. There is a court ruling that could make it better to shop for cheaper fares.
ROMANS: And dramatic testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial, the suspect's brother takes the stand to talk about the day he found out that his little two-year-old niece was missing. It's ten minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": There are three things in this world that do I have certitude of, "Empire Strikes Back" is the best "Star Wars" movie, O.J. killed those two people, and the third one is what my wrecked penis looks like in my own underwear.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He is right. He's right. No. "Empire Strikes Back" is the best "Star Wars" movie. I'll pretend we didn't roll that. Jon Stewart having fun with the Weiner story. Even the congressman doesn't know for sure if it is him in the picture.
VELSHI: Meantime, Mitt Romney is about to jump into the Republican presidential race. That's what you call a hard left turn. He will make a formal announce today at New Hampshire. Two topics in the world of politics.
CHETRY: Joining from us Portsmouth, New Hampshire, CNN chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, and from Washington, Jim Geraghty, conservative columnist and contributor to "National Review." Thanks to both of you this morning.
Obviously there are huge issues and debates facing the country now. Unfortunately there is a lot of talk about this situation in the Congressman. Jim, let me start with you, quickly. How -- you know, how big of a scandal this s this for Weiner, and can he overcome it?
JIM GERAGHTY, CONTRIBUTOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW" ONLINE: You know, for a guy that says he is a victim of a crime, this was done to him and one thing led to another, he acts like a man terrified of filing a false police report, isn't he? Certainly that's angled why he doesn't want to bring the FBI on this and didn't go to the police. His future may be in trouble.
The other factor I find fascinating as this goes on you don't see Pelosi and other house Democrats rushing to his aid to say I know Anthony Weiner, he wouldn't do something like this. It's like the old song "Don't stand too close to me" when it comes to Weiner and obvious circumstances. I'd like to say with certitude I'm happy to be here this morning.
VELSHI: Hey, Candy, good for Weiner that something is happening today that's going to divert a political attention at least. Mitt Romney going to declare his candidacy. Boy, you think he can get a break. Doing it in New Hampshire and now it seems that Sarah Palin may show up. And Giuliani is going to be there today. Bottom line is for fiscal conservatives, is Mitt Romney's candidacy a good thing?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He's got some problem with fiscal conservatives and it has to do with health care. And this has been his sort of Achilles' heel throughout the second cycle of his trying to become the Republican presidential nominee. And that is that he passed a Massachusetts plan that had a mandate that everyone in Massachusetts have health care. It also provided subsidies for those who couldn't quite afford it. And, as you know, mandates in health care has become absolutely a no-no in the Republican Party and a bit of a litmus test.
Now, Romney even coming into today. Everybody knew that this day would come. Has been giving speeches, several interviews saying listen, you know, this was what was right for Massachusetts. I make no apologies for it but you can't do it on a federal level. The question is whether that will stick.
At this point you look at Mitt Romney and he's inevitably called the weak front runner. So he has the money, he has the name recognition. He's got what looks like a great machine, but he does have that Achilles' heel. And as you know in the Republican Party, it's the conservatives you have to get through first before you get to the general election.
ROMANS: Candy, New Hampshire is really important for him. You talk about him being the weak front runner but, you know, among New Hampshire voters, if the primary were held today, 32 percent say they would support Mitt Romney. The next biggest, 17 percent is no opinion. He's trying to make or is he trying to make New Hampshire his sort of big blast out of the gate?
CROWLEY: Well, let me put it this way. He has to win New Hampshire. It's pretty much how his campaign looks at this at this point. Big question as to whether or not he will play very hard in Iowa. Iowa has the first contest. Its caucuses, it's a system that's a little hard to predict. Mitt Romney played hard last time around. He dumped $10 million into Iowa and he lost. So, the question is how hard will he play there in Iowa? But definitely New Hampshire, he was governor next door, this is a state he has been to. He has a summer home here. So this is the place where he has to win, it isn't the only place he has to win.
CHETRY: And, Jim, let me ask you about this, the whole situation with housing jobs, the markets, all of them slumping. This interesting fact pointed out by "The New York Times" that no American president since FDR has won a second term in office when the unemployment rate on Election Day topped 7.2 percent. Last week, it was as if the president could slide in office --
ROMANS: Do no wrong.
CHETRY: Yes, do no wrong because of the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. And now these numbers.
GERAGHTY: Yes. It's one of those things where some of us ruled it skeptical during that bump knowing that at some point, probably Americans are celebrating with good reason that Osama bin Laden is dead. At the end of the day, they still need jobs.
Another kind of interesting way of putting it is that, you know, my understanding is that barring some dramatic change in unemployment rate between now and Election Day, 2012, the unemployment rate for every month of the Obama administration will be higher than it has been for every month of the two terms of George W. Bush. And there are plenty of quotes from Democrats --
VELSHI: Jim, Jim, Jim, with all due respect, that's just a silly thing to say. The unemployment rate under Obama has been higher for all but what of George W. Bush? We didn't have the great recession under George W. Bush.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: That kind of talking point doesn't make sense, Jim.
ROMANS: You can't compare them.
GERAGHTY: I strongly disagree with that because it is one of those things where there are many quotes and Democrats talking about the Bush years as the bad old days. As you know, that was what needs to fix, that we need to get better.
VELSHI: That talking point will be very easy for Democrats to refute that one.
GERAGHTY: Then they're going to argue, the Republican case will argue are you better off now than you were four years ago.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Better come back with a more sophisticated argument than that, or they're not going to get voters. That's a very, very easy to refute weak, weak argument.
GERAGHTY: I disagree.
VELSHI: All right.
GERAGHTY: Sorry, Ali. I mean, you know, it's one of the things where are you better off.
VELSHI: You have to come better armed than that if the Republicans are going to use that, use that argument.
ROMANS: But the question, Republicans and Democrats, a lot of people who don't have a job feel both parties have left him behind right now. You know, on the campaign trail, the Republicans are going to say we want to cut your taxes and we want to cut services. We want to cut budgets. Is that really going to create jobs? Can they prove it creates jobs? On the other hand, you know, can the Democrats prove that they do have the elixir for creating jobs? I mean, is jobs going to be a big focus, Jim, or are they going to try to ignore it because neither of them can fix it?
GERAGHTY: I think they have to. I think whoever is spending more time talking about jobs in 2012 will end up winning.
I think one of the arguments that you've also seen, perhaps Ali would like this one better, comes from Daniel Henninger of the "Wall Street Journal" who observes that Barack Obama right out of the gate got the stimulus and he got health care passed. Two very major, you know, economic reforms that he argued were going to make Americans' daily lives better.
Well, he's got them. I think a lot of Americans aren't feeling particularly better and you hear him talk about a double dip recession. I think to a lot of Americans out there, not just the unemployed, but the folks who are underemployed, the folks who are working part time and can't find full time work, for these folks, you're wondering with double dip recession when was the good times? When was the lump in the middle there?
So I think for a lot of Americans this feels like year three of a recession. Perhaps, you're right, you know, by 2012, it will like year four. And at that point, you know, the option will be, look, we've tried that approach. We haven't liked the results we're getting. You know, whatever the alternative option is, let's give it a shot because how much worse can it be?
VELSHI: Yes. GERAGHTY: Perhaps an ominous question.
VELSHI: That's going to be make you feel better. That may have little more legs to it. Jim, thank you.
CHETRY: Jim Geraghty for us, contributor of "National Review." Candy Crowley, who is in New Hampshire where Mitt Romney is set to announce today, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.
ROMANS: All right. Florida Governor Rick Scott says it's unfair for taxpayers to subsidize addiction. Those are his words. He signed a bill that will force people applying for welfare to submit to a drug test. Democrats slamming the law saying the tests are an invasion of privacy and the ACLU is filing suit against Scott's drug testing order.
VELSHI: So what do you think? It's our question of the day. Drug testing welfare recipients, good idea or not?
Let us know what you think. Send us an e-mail or tweet us or send us a message on Facebook. That's how you get hold of us. We're going to read some more of your thoughts a little later in the hour. We're back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 23 minutes past the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
The Dow, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures are up slightly this morning after a triple dose of bad news sent stocks sharply lower yesterday. The Dow was down more than 279 points. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 were also down sharply.
An Illinois court ordering American Airlines to put its fares back on Orbitz. The airline pulled its information from that Web site last year after Orbitz refused to adopt American's new technology that would let you price your trips based on other factors besides just fares.
Apple starting to crack down on companies that are giving away its products for free. According to company guidelines, the iPad and the iPhone may not be used in third party promotions. IPod touches are OK under certain circumstances but only if you buy at least 250 of them.
The auto industry posting its first significant setback now in more than 18 months. GM and Ford reporting U.S. sales fell in May. Chrysler was one of the few automakers though to post an increase.
Taxpayer identity theft is reportedly becoming a bigger problem for the IRS. There were nearly 250,000 incidents last year alone. Most cases involved scammers using social security numbers to file fraudulent returns in the hopes of getting a refund check.
Don't forget for the very latest about your money, check out the all- new CNNmoney.com. Coming up, a dramatic day in court as Casey Anthony's brother, Lee, takes the stand. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour. The nuclear crisis unfolding in northern Japan is still a nightmare scenario. But there are also potential dangers when companies fail to properly maintain nuclear power plants which causes contaminated water to leak in the environment.
VELSHI: It happens more often than you think. As Allan Chernoff reports, some are questioning why the Nuclear Regulatory Committee isn't doing more to stop it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the shadow of New Jersey's Oyster Creek nuclear plant, Alfonse Esposito (ph) loves fishing and eating his catch.
ALFONSE ESPOSITO, RETIREE: I fished here for 37 years. It's not anything wrong.
CHERNOFF: But Waretown New Jersey Mayor Joe Lachawiec disagrees. He worries about a radioactive leak the plant's owner, Exelon Corporation, revealed two years ago.
MAYOR JOE LACHAWIEC, WARETOWN, NEW JERSEY: I know that tritium is a dangerous radioactive material.
CHERNOFF: Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which occurs naturally. It's also a byproduct of nuclear power generation.
(on camera): The leak in 2009 at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant caused radioactive tritium to enter the groundwater under the plant. One monitoring well last year found the tritium level to be 200 times what the EPA deemed safe.
(voice-over): Test showed tritium seeped into an underground aquifer that feeds drinking water wells. Such radioactive spills are a problem nationwide. More than half of the country's 635 nuclear power plants have suffered significant tritium leaks or spills according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Many coming from corroding underground pipes.
At Oyster Creek, the NRC did not order Exelon to clean up the spill. A perfect example, some scientists claim, of the agency's failure to fully protect the public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NRC is always acting like they're waiting until somebody dies before they enforce the regulations, tombstone regulation.
CHERNOFF: If it lock bound, the nuclear scientist who's worked for the NRC says in some cases, the commission has sanctioned the plant owner. But in other instances, like Oyster Creek, the commission has done little. He calls it regulatory roulette.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he can't have a wheel of misfortune that decides when it acts and does not.
CHERNOFF: Last year, the commission task force concluded NRC responds to incidents could be enhanced to be more reliable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is fair to say that we are inconsistent in our response.
CHERNOFF: But in the case of Oyster Creek and other similar plant leaks, the NRC believes it did the right thing. In not sanctioning the plant operator since the leak remained on plant property.
MARTY VIRGILIO, NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION: If you think about the radiological effects of these leaks, none have been -- exceeded regulatory requirements or have caused any problems from a health perspective to anybody.
CHERNOFF: New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection disagreed and demanded Exelon clean up the contaminated ground water.
BOB MARTIN, COMMISSIONER, NJ DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Our number one job is to protect the health and safety of the people of New Jersey. We felt it was our responsibility to go after to protect the water supply.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Exelon cooperated. They drilled wells to pump out the contaminated groundwater. In a statement to CNN the owner said Exelon continues to meet with the state on a periodic basis to discuss progress of groundwater remediation for the plant.
In fact, measurements under the plant are dropping. The water is diluted through the plant's cooling system and poured out into the Oyster Creek where (inaudible) likes to fish.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Is this a factor of just old our nuclear infrastructure is at this point.
CHERNOFF: In part it is because old pipes corrode and that is how you get these leaks. Now, why aren't the plants checking those pipes?
Well, a lot of the pipes are underground. That's the way these plants were constructed. So they had not been checking those underground pipes, now some are being checked out. Some are being encased in cement, but it is an ongoing problem.
ROMANS: All right, Allan Chernoff. Thanks, Allan.
VELSHI: All right top stories now. Google is blaming China for trying to hack into hundreds of Gmail accounts, some of can which belong to senior U.S. officials. Now this sparked an angry response from Beijing, which said blaming China is unacceptable.
Stocks are diving last night over new concerns that the economy is stalling. The Dow and Nasdaq posting their steepest losses in nearly a year. The Dow was off more than 279 points or 2 percent yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): Buildings down, search and rescue operations under way right now after tornados tore through parts of southern Massachusetts, killing at least four people. The governor calling in 1,000 National Guard troops to assist in the search and rescue cleanup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center for us right now. Rob, anything like that looking to happen today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, thankfully, certainly not this in this area. We do some have other areas that are going to see some severe weather. This is what the radar looked like yesterday afternoon around 3:00.
Here is Springfield. There is storm number one blowing through around 4:30, but look at this. Just an hour and a half later another storm moved through so two distinct cells with two distinct tornados going through not Tornado Alley but Western Massachusetts, certainly remarkable and you've seen some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: As a matter of fact, here is a live camera from where our crews are there in West Springfield. That's on the other side of the river. Look at that damage. This is a strong tornado, folks. And -- not only do you see the damage there, but take a look at the dramatic video as this thing crossed the river.
This is on the west side of the river, but watch as this tornado crosses the Connecticut River itself to the eastern side or main side of Springfield. Look how it sucks up the water and sucks up the debris and tosses it hundreds of feet in the air, remarkable stuff there.
No telling just how strong this one -- this storm was certainly at least in the F1 or likely two or possibly a three. We will survey the damage out there, but unbelievable pictures. Then this with a number of -- the guys that got caught in this tornado were in their car while the twister actually rolled through the area. Listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously. The ceiling, look, my God!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Terrifying stuff, no doubt about that. Where we expect to see severe weather today will be across the southeast potentially and across the upper Midwest. Where you don't see thunderstorms we will see record-breaking heat in some cases.
Again, temperatures dangerously hot, mid to upper 90s. Tornado watch went up for us yesterday afternoon, guys, but at this time yesterday, we didn't think we would be seeing not one, but two tornados touching down across western Mass, unbelievable. Back to you.
ROMANS: Wow. All right, Rob Marciano, thank you so much.
CHETRY: Some explosive testimony yesterday in the Casey Anthony murder trial from the suspect's own brother, Lee Anthony took stand yesterday in an Orlando courtroom.
With his sister, Casey, looking on, he recalled the day he confronted her and demanded to know where her 2-year-old daughter, his niece, Caylee, was.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You asked your sister why won't you allow us to see Caylee. What do you recall her saying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said, paraphrasing, because maybe I'm a spiteful --
CHETRY (voice-over): That conversation between Lee Anthony and his sister, Casey, took place July 15, 2008. It contained a shocking admission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told me that she had not seen Caylee in 31 days, that she had been kidnapped and that the nanny took her.
CHETRY: Lee Anthony testified he had no idea his sister had even hired a nanny. He told the court when he walked into Casey's garage that day, a horrible odor was coming from her car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very potent, very strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it an offensive smell?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you approach the car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had to walk by to get to the door but -- otherwise not by choice.
CHETRY: It was the same day that Casey's mother called police to report her granddaughter missing. Also taking the stand yesterday, the lead investigator in the case, Yuri Melich.
He says Anthony told him that her daughter was kidnapped by her nanny. That nanny has never been found. And when he asked Casey why she never reported her daughter missing after 31 days, she replied she thought she could handle the problem by herself.
NANCY GRACE: It is almost as if the mind is tricking the eye. CHETRY: HLN's Nancy Grace says despite the defense's best efforts, she can't see how anyone can believe Casey's claims.
GRACE: She's a sweet looking petite. She looks pale and frail with her hair back in a ponytail like a cheerleader. It is hard to take in and assimilate what you are seeing not what the evidence is telling you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Of course, the challenge for the defense is to get the jury to believe the claim that Casey Anthony says that Caylee was never reported missing by her mother because she drowned in the family's backyard pool.
She calls it a tragic accident that was covered up by her mother and grandfather. They will be back in court again this morning at 9:00 Eastern. You can watch live gavel-to-gavel coverage on our sister station, HLN. Ali --
VELSHI: Stocks starting a month off on a sour note. The Dow posted the steepest losses in nearly a year yesterday. What happened to the Dow? It was a reaction to bad news in three key areas making people worry that maybe this economy is slowing down.
First of all, on Tuesday, the S&P Case-Schiller Housing Index showed home prices hit a new low in the first quarter, the first three months of this year down more than 5 percent over the previous quarter, but more ominous.
Take a look at the chart. This is the increase and decrease in home prices, right. This is the zero line. If home prices never went anywhere, you just see a straight line. Take a look at this, you saw this in -- this was in 1990.
You see a general increase. Take a look at this. That was the big drop. This was the - recession, the drop in home prices in 2009. But then we have seen increases in home prices and this is what we are looking at right here. Another sharp decrease making something people think that there is a double dip in housing prices.
Number two, the second issue that has got people worried. This is the S&P 500. You may have a 401(k) or an IRA investment that looks like this over the last five years. This, of course, was the big recession. This is about March of 2009.
But since then, but for a couple of little blips things have been upward. This is what happened in the month of May and yesterday. Again in the grand scheme of things not a big deal, but it's got people worried that this might be another decline. Now May was, in fact, the worst month for the S&P 500 since August of last year. Two things have got people worried. This is the main one, though. There's housing, there's investments, but this is the one that's really important.
Job growth has been strong so far this year. Let's look back a year. We had growth last April and May then we had some bad times in the summer. This is when the stimulus ended, the census workers stop getting hired. But look at that, since last October, we've had job growth.
Last three months in particular have been very strong. Now all eyes are on the government report, which comes out tomorrow morning to see whether or not we will have created enough jobs to keep this economy growing.
There are some people saying that based on the data that we've had this week, they are a little worried about what that jobs report is going to show. That's why we are starting to get concerned about the health of this economic recovery.
ROMANS: That's exactly what we saw in Wall Street yesterday the Dow losing some 280 points as you said after reports ranging from hiring to manufacturing and investors fearing a renewed economic slowdown.
CHETRY: The next key barometer of how the economy is doing comes out tomorrow that's the government's jobs reports.
Joining us now to talk about all of these, Ryan Mack, President of Optimum Capital Management and Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder and COO of Economic Cycle Research Institute which specializes in forecasting recessions and recoveries. Thanks to both of you.
So Lakshman, let me start with you. There's talk of a double dip being back because everything is looking grim. What's your take?
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, CO-AUTHOR, BEATING THE BUSINESS CYCLE: Well, the talk will be back. I would be prepared to see that during the course of this summer because we are in a slowdown. It is starting --
CHETRY: To see the talk or double dip?
ACHUTHAN: No. You are not going to see a new recession any time soon. That's not imminent. That's not in the cards. That's not bake to the cake. We will let you know if that will happen. It is not. But you are going to have a slowdown in -- first and foremost, in global manufacturing activity.
CHETRY: Sure.
ACHUTHAN: That's what's happening first. That's the backdrop. No country around the world will escape including the U.S. and you are seeing the manufacturing numbers disappoint rather to the downside.
VELSHI: Drivers behind this.
ACHUTHAN: People were thinking it was going to up and all of a sudden it slipped underneath you and the people are reacting to that. The odds are that that will spread to the broader economy giving us a slowdown in overall growth like we had last summer.
On Ali's chart you saw the stock market took a little -- pause last summer. There was a lot of double dip recessions here. That's why I suspect, you know, because of the muscle memory of the great recession, we're going to be talking about it again.
ROMANS: Ryan, let's talk about jobs, though. We can talk about a global slowdown and manufacturing and the like. But most people, the personal economy is their job and there are concerns that this week we are not going to get good news on the jobs -- jobs market. Is that the most important key for most of us sitting there worried about the economy?
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: They are concerned about their jobs and keeping their jobs, one. And lot of the employees right now essentially what they're saying is that we are going to pay you, maybe another 5 percent, give you a bonus.
You see in the 401(k) company match come back into play again. They would rather do that as opposed to actually hiring somebody else. If I'm paying you $75,000 I will pay you $80,000 as opposed to hiring another person for $75,000.
ROMANS: You will work harder, too.
MACK: More productivity. But again, what we have to understand, one statistic I thought resonates for me in terms of how we had in this economy, $51 billion was taken to charge for fast food in 2006, up additional $21 billion in 2005.
Taking out a loan to buy a big Mac I think that may indicate you are living above your means. These are simple common sense things we have to start doing if you are concerned about your job, community colleges, additional training.
What can we do to make ourselves sustainable? Work longer hours on your job. Get there early and leave a little bit later. Simple things like this may help you keep your job.
VELSHI: Lakshman, three years ago we were talking about the economy. There are all sorts of indicators that were entirely wrong all the time. There's no way to put lipstick on that. This pig could use a little lipstick. What's working in this economy? Where are there still bright spots that don't worry?
ACHUTHAN: Well, you know, look, back to your jobs chart, the last three months we have had 760,000 private sector new jobs created.
VELSHI: We have 20,000 a month. That's not bad.
ACHUTHAN: That's really strong. In the last decade that has only happened for two months, in the spring of '04 and spring of '06. Otherwise, we've never been that strong so it would be really odd for us to maintain the strength.
I think you should be prepared it will throttle back. May have just been as good as it gets for the jobs market and they will still grow. No recession. That's a good thing. But it is -- slow and steady wins the race here.
CHETRY: Here is the other problem. Christine mentioned your personal economy, job and also your investment, your home, largest investment. We take a look at the numbers, home prices down 5 percent in the first quarter versus a year ago, down more than 30 percent they say from five years ago.
There's some back and forth over whether this is the biggest drop we have seen including the great depression. What do you do about the home prices situation? Is this the bottom?
MACK: Well, I would think as far as investments are concerned, I would equate it to the great depression. Because in the great depression they didn't have the -- all the different homeownerships, the home buyers, different type of takes, all these different types of creative mortgage programs, it's just the artificially inflate the real estate.
CHETRY: Yes, but it is not an artificial drop if you are a person sitting there with no equity.
MACK: Exactly. I mean, but again, just moving forward, we have to understand what do this market go up on. This market went up on what we hope would happen. We hope the home prices will turn around. We hope that the credit prices are going to turn around.
But all these things hadn't happened yes so actually we have been going up a little bit too far off of hopes alone. So I think a little correction is in the cards. What we should do moving forward, (inaudible) investment strategy, looking at your age and making sure your asset allocation matches where you are.
If you have 90 percent of your portfolio in stocks and over 50, you might be a little highly allocated in stocks. Dial back down and talk to a financial adviser, certified financial planner, to assist you in making sure that we are doing a consistent strategy to make sure no matter what sort of environment you are in, you can move forward.
CHETRY: Those are the only things you can control.
VELSHI: All right, guys. Good to see you, Lakshman and Ryan excellent conversation.
All right, we are going to be back in just a minute. It's 45 minutes after the hour. Stay with us. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
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CHETRY: Forty-seven minutes past the hour now.
You know, we've been programmed to think in many ways that if you see the word "natural" hey, it's got to be good for you. Herbs, vitamins, and other supplements. But that may not always be the case.
VELSHI: Oh, come on!
ROMANS: If it says it on the packaging it must be true.
VELSHI: CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen who keeps telling me I got to eat more natural stuff is now telling me that I have to go home and get rid of all that natural stuff that I have in my cabinet after you told me I have to go more natural.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ali, that is not what I told you. You are misrepresenting my advice to you.
VELSHI: I might be.
COHEN: I think what I told you was that really, you should try to get as many nutrients we can through food. And so you tried that. And then, you know what, supplements are not bad thing. Supplements can be wonderful. They actually have been shown to help a lot of people with a lot of different diseases.
The issue is, is that Americans don't always know how to take them right. Sometimes we think that more is better and that can lead to problems. Also, sometimes supplements interact with each other or with prescription drugs that we take. So those are the issues.
ROMANS: You're telling us, Elizabeth, that people are making mistakes when they're using them. That if a little does a little bit, a lot doesn't necessarily do a lot of good.
COHEN: That's right. That's right. Exactly. So those -- so let's look at some the big mistakes that people make.
First of all, some people think that if a little is good, a lot is better so they take too high a dose. Another problem is that sometimes these supplements will interact with surgery, will make your blood be too thin or all sorts of things so you really have to tell your surgeon what you are taking before surgery.
And the third thing that happens is that people in general often fail to inform their doctor. There have actually been studies that show that most people do not tell their doctor what supplements they're taking. They tell them about their drugs but not necessarily supplements.
Supplements can interact with prescription drugs so make sure you tell your doctor everything.
VELSHI: I was just at the doctor yesterday. The first time I'd been there and I had to fill out the form. Didn't ask me about supplements, just about prescription drugs that I was taking.
COHEN: Well in that case, just volunteer it.
CHETRY: What are some examples, as well, some specific examples about -- of some of these natural substances that people might be taking that they should look out for?
COHEN: Right. OK. So, for example, I have some here. Take a look at garlic. Garlic can be a problem, believe it or not. I know you think it's just garlic but this is a relatively high dose of garlic. It can be great. But taken before surgery, it can cause problems. Also back here, we have St. John's Wort. St. John's Wort can be an issue for people who are taking antioxidants.
And what you want to do is go to CNN.com/empoweredpatient. We have a long list of supplements and what they interact with and how to find a doctor who knows about supplements. A lot of great information there.
ROMANS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen. Thank you, Elizabeth.
COHEN: OK, thanks.
CHETRY: We'll check it out. Thanks, Elizabeth.
OK, so ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Lady Gaga's new album, putting up some numbers that we rarely see anymore. All the hype and buzz and the promotion apparently paying off.
VELSHI: And in our 8:00 hour, Congressman Anthony Wiener still won't answer one question. Is that a picture of him? Not the one you're looking at, a different picture. We're going to talk to a former FBI body language expert about what his body language was saying when he sat down and talked to our Wolf Blitzer.
It is 50 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Twisters tear cross southern Massachusetts killing at least four people. One thousand National Guard troops called in to help with search and rescue operations this morning.
Google is blaming China for trying to hack into hundreds of Gmail accounts, some that belong to senior U.S. officials. China is angrily denying it.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney making it official today. He's expected to announce that he's running for president during an appearance in the all-important state of New Hampshire.
What's the most photographed attraction in New York City? not Central Park but or the Empire State Building according to one researcher. It's the apple store on Fifth Avenue. Go figure. Next three runners up in order, Rockefeller Center and Columbus Circle and Times Square.
And he lied and said his six-year-old son was carried off in a balloon back in 2009. Well, Richard Heene is back in the news. He's auctioning off the balloon he used in the hoax to raise money for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
Lady Gaga's marketing machine delivers. Her album "Born this Way" sold over 1.1 million copies in its first week. It's the fastest selling item since 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in 2005. Nearly half of the items were purchased for just 99 cents on Amazon.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Six minutes until the top of the hour right now.
You know, in Florida, people who apply for welfare will now have to submit to a drug test. Republican Governor Rick Scott signed that into law, saying that it's quote, "unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction." Democrats say the tests are an invasion of privacy and now the ACLU has filed a lawsuit.
So, what do you think? It's our question of the day. There it is. Florida's governor wants to drug test welfare recipients. Good idea or not?
We got a lot of responses.
Liza Volger from Facebook wrote, "Absolutely, absolutely. I don't agree with Governor Rick Scott on practically anything he's doing for the state of Florida, but this one I'm all for it. Everyone receiving help from the government should be tested for drugs.
ROMANS: From Linda on Facebook, "Great idea. It should be a national law. However, the children on the drug users could be hurt by this. Is there a compromise for the sake of the children of drug users?"
And actually, there is. If a parent drug user were denied benefits, they could designate another person to receive those benefits for the child if they were child-related, the welfare benefits.
VELSHI: And this one from Twitter. "This is the most hateful policy. Welfare is for the poor. Why subject them to tests as if they were all criminals?"
Keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail, a Tweet. Tell us on Facebook. We'll read more of them later on in the show.
Just ahead. In interview after interview Congressman Anthony Wiener will not answer one key question. Is that him in the picture? We will ask a former FBI body language expert whether he's acting like someone who's telling the truth or not.
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