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U.S. Debt Plan Faces Vote in Senate; Stock Market Action; Violence in Syria

Aired August 02, 2011 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong.

Over one hurdle, to the U.S. debt plan passes in the House, but now faces a vote in the Senate.

More violence in cities across Syria, as government troops crack down with artillery on protesters.

And India takes action against human trafficking, as nine underage girls are rescued from a brothel in New Delhi.

We begin in Washington, where it's crunch time for the U.S. Senate.

On Monday, the House of Representatives approved a crucial bill for raising the federal debt ceiling while reducing the U.S. deficit. And now it is up to the Senate to do the same.

Now, they are expected to begin voting in just a few hours from now. The bill needs at least 60 out of 100 votes to pass before the deadline at midnight on Tuesday. On the table are $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years and an increase to the U.S. debt ceiling of nearly the same amount.

And for more on what we can expect following the Senate's upcoming vote, Richard Quest joins us now from Washington.

So, Richard, will the Senate rubberstamp the bill?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rubberstamp, I think, is putting it too strong. The Senate will certainly pass the bill, and it will almost certainly do it by the necessary super majority needed to defeat any filibuster.

Remember, this was a bill that was negotiated by the two Senate leaders, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. So, when they put it forward, they always knew that they had the votes. And the only reason the House went first yesterday was because of the fear that if the House was allowed too much time to debate it and think about it, the thing would fray and start to fall apart.

So, today is not a formality. Nothing in a legislature is ever a formality when it can go wrong. But it will be a most exceptional case if the Senate did not pass this today, and probably by more than 60 votes -- Kristie.

STOUT: Richard, one congressman, a Democrat, called the deal a "sugarcoated Satan sandwich." And Richard, it seems that it's not just the Democrats, but both parties are not happy with the bill. Why is that?

QUEST: Well, just look at the numbers. I mean, this bill was a compromise, and it was a bad compromise at that.

It was designed and destined for a purpose, which is to get our debt ceiling raised. So the Democrats hate it because of the spending cuts and the fact that there are no tax rises. The Republicans hate it because it does actually increase government debt, and it will cut defense spending. And they just believe that there should have been more spending cuts involved. Another lawmaker described it as a child that only a mother could love.

Whichever analogy you use, you have here a law that, by any definition, is nobody's friend. It was thrown together in extremist (ph) for a particular purpose, but it will do the trick.

STOUT: Richard Quest, live in Washington.

Thank you.

Now, the U.S. debt deal is not exactly a cut and dry plan for tackling all the country's debt issues, and the devil is the details for both sides.

Brian Todd unravels the layers for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The debt ceiling deal breaks down in two basic stages. In the first stage, the debt ceiling is raised $900 billion through the end of this year. Now, that's accompanied by about the same amount of money in spending cuts, but we need to clarify, those spending cuts actually stretch out over the next 10 years.

Now, where are the cuts going to come from? Well, the specifics haven't been worked out yet, but we know they're going to come from two categories, security and non-security.

The security side includes cuts to the Department of Defense, some intelligence spending, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the State Department, among other agencies.

On the non-security side, well, we don't know exactly yet, but experts say if the pattern holds from cuts that came from the House Republicans this year, look for more cuts to the Department of Labor. That may mean fewer inspectors for workplace enforcement rules, maybe more cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services, possibly some cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. Look for Transportation and Education cuts in that first round.

Now, as for the second round, I'm going to show you how that plays out.

The second round, the debt ceiling is going to being raised between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion between January of 2012 and the end of January of 2013. In exchange for that, a bipartisan committee in Congress works on spending cuts totaling the same amount. Those cuts also take place over 10 years. That committee has until the end of this year to vote on proposals for those cuts over the 10 years.

If the committee cannot agree on that, a trigger would kick in, imposing mandatory across-the-board spending cuts over those 10 years. So, if that trigger kicks in, where would those cuts come from?

We're going to show you this on a pie chart here, bringing that in.

We've got to show you how the U.S. spends its money, first of all, to illustrate this. It spends its money on interest on its debt, on Social Security, on Medicaid and other entitlements, on Medicare, on discretionary spending, and on defense. But if the triggers kick in, this is what's going to happen.

The interest, spending on the interest, spending on Social Security, on Medicaid and other entitlements, those would not be touched, those would not be cut. The spending cuts would come in defense, in other discretionary spending, and with Medicare. But with Medicare, the cuts would only be to providers, the money the government gives to doctors, nurses and hospitals which provide Medicare. Actual Medicare benefits would not be affected, and the cuts would not increase seniors' Medicare costs.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: So what do the American people think about the debt deal and the talks that led to it? Well, nothing good.

A survey by the Pew Research Center and "The Washington Post" reveals that 72 percent describe the negotiations in negative terms. And you're looking at some of the words they've used right here: "stupid," "frustrating," "childish," and the one used the most, "ridiculous."

Now, some of those negative feelings must have trickled into the stock markets because, for the large part, they reversed Monday's gains. But it's not all tied to the U.S. debt debate.

Joining us live from CNN London is John Defterios. And we have Andrew Stevens at the Hong Kong Waterfront.

And first to John.

European trading is still under way. There is weakness across the board. What are European investors concerned about?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, Kristie, I think what is happening here is there is a direct link between the debt saga that's been carrying on and the underlying impact on the U.S. economy. And this is what international investors are concerned about.

There's a very important manufacturing survey that came out yesterday, and after a jump in the month of June, it plummeted in the month of July by five percentage points. And the new orders outlook for the second half of 2011 was even worse. In fact, it was the worse in two years.

So, what does this mean? It means that the debt saga is playing very heavily on the psyche of consumers, and now that's spilling over to the manufacturing sector as well.

It's also worth noting that the unemployment rate of 9.2 percent could be actually even worse if you take out all of those who are not participating in the economy right now. We have them out of work for a period of 40 weeks at least. So that's a record since they've been keeping those books since 1948.

There's even discussion now, Kristie, that the Federal Reserve, when it means in early August, will have to introduce or reintroduce stimulus to get the economy going again -- 1.3 percent in the second quarter, 0.4 percent in the first quarter means the economy is growing less than 1 percent. Now there's concerns that this debt deal will cause a second dip into a recession.

STOUT: We have joblessness in the U.S. above 9 percent, weak manufacturing data, concerns about America's debt position.

What are the broader implications on the U.S.' global position?

DEFTERIOS: Well, to be candid, I mean, I worked in Washington for five years, and now we're almost seeing something very unique, a fishbowl mentality, where the congressmen and women are operating in a very limited sphere, not seeing how, A, the nation sees it, going back to the words here, how they're describing the debt package, or how the world is seeing this process. It's not a net gain, adding more debt to the U.S. economy. It's already over 100 percent of GDP, a huge budget deficit.

Not surprisingly, to take a shot at the U.S., Vladimir Putin, the prime minister of Russia, said that the U.S. is acting like a parasite. Very strong words coming from an economy that collapsed and went into default in the late '90s, of course. But it opened the door to criticism.

Christine Lagarde of the IMF suggesting that the U.S. dollar will suffer as a result. So think of the implications within the U.N. Security Council, the IMF World Bank, the G-20. That's the discussion now if the U.S. averages growth of 1.5 percent, not the historical average of 3 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. And this is the danger here.

STOUT: Yes. There could be a geopolitical knock-on effect.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

STOUT: Now, in spite of all the bickering surrounding the U.S. debt deal, one bright spot emerged on Monday night. It was when Representative Gabrielle Giffords made a return to the House to cast her vote in favor of the bill.

Now, just listening to the overwhelming reaction from her colleagues.

(APPLAUSE)

STOUT: It was an uplifting moment. Both Republicans and Democrats greeted Giffords with hugs and applause as she walked into Congress. It was her first time back since being shot in the head in January.

The Arizona Democrat has endured months of grueling therapy. And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Giffords the personification of courage.

Now, still ahead on NEWS STREAM, protests and bloodshed spread in Syria. Dozens of anti-government protesters are reportedly killed overnight, as regime forces move against them.

Plus, holy month in Mogadishu. But Ramadan brings renewed fighting to the Somali capital. We'll explain why in an exclusive report.

And India takes a harder line against human trafficking. Activists say some of the progress comes from a new attitude from police.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Now, the bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters in Syria continues. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 24 people were killed late Monday, into Tuesday, across the country. They include 10 deaths in Hama, six in Damascus, three in Homs province; two in Bukamal, two in Latakia, and one in Madamaiya.

Now, the group says 150 people have also been detained in various cities since Ramadan prayers ended Monday night.

Syria maintains it is targeting what it calls armed groups and remains defiant in the face of mounting international condemnation. The U.N. Security Council will meet to discuss the crisis for a second day on Tuesday.

CNN is not allowed inside Syria at the moment, but our Arwa Damon is watching the situation from neighboring Lebanon, and she joins us now from Beirut with the latest.

And Arwa, what is the latest on the crackdown across Syria?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, as far as we can gather -- and I do apologize for the noise of the construction taking place right now in our building in Beirut -- but based on what we've been able to piece together, Hama, still very much a city under siege. The military appears to have withdrawn to positions on the outskirts of the city, but as you were mentioning there, residents saying that tanks were firing into areas targeting people's homes, targeting hospitals, targeting mosques.

The Syrian government, for its part, is saying that it is targeting these armed gangs. On state television we saw a video broadcast of what the Syrian government is claiming to be these armed gangs. We see men whose faces are covered firing. Their target is unclear. But the Syrian government says that it is justified in trying to crack down and bring the situation under control.

Activists, for their part, say that this most recent crackdown not only in Hama, but in the rest of the country, is the government's last-ditch effort to send a very violent warning to demonstrators to stay off the streets. They believe that they have managed to back the government into a corner and that now this is a desperate last-ditch attempt to stay in power no matter what sort of blood is being shed and no matter what the sensitivities are of going to battle during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

All of this, as you mentioned there, has been leading to even greater international condemnation. The U.N. Security Council meeting, trying to pass some sort of a resolution. Unclear at this stage what countries like Russia and China will be doing, whether they will continue to say that U.N. action would possibly lead to a deterioration of the situation in Syria, or if they will in fact allow this resolution to go through.

And also, Italy recalling its ambassador to Syria and urging other European nations to do the same, increasingly trying to push the Syrian government into isolation, hoping that that sort of pressure will bring about some sort of a resolution -- Kristie.

STOUT: All right.

Arwa Damon, joining us live from Beirut, watching the situation inside Syria.

Thank you, Arwa.

Now, a stark warning for Libya's rebel government from the U.S. that the investigation into the killing of the rebels' military leader is a do-or- die moment for the credibility of the organization. The U.S. State Department is concerned that Abdul Fatah Younis may have been killed by feuding groups within the rebels themselves. A spokesman is urging their Transitional National Council to carry out a thorough investigation into this killing.

While Washington prepares to hand over the Libyan Embassy in Washington to the rebels, Tripoli has fighting words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAIF AL-ISLAM GADHAFI, SON OF LIBYAN LEADER (through translator): Let me say to you that the battle will not stop. Tonight, every one of you, return to your homes and farms and villages. Return to your jobs and to your children with peace of mind.

Libya will go back to the way it was. We will not stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, NATO has been bombing Libya for more than four months under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians.

The start of Ramadan has led to an uptick in fighting in famine-stricken Somalia. Government forces, backed by African Union troops, say the militant group al-Shabaab is using the holy month to rally its supporters and go on the attack in the capital.

As Nima Elbagir reports, the AU believes it could secure Mogadishu with a little more support of its own.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Ramadan offensive has begun in earnest in Mogadishu. Every year in the Islamic holy month the African Union forces supporting the fragile Somali government come under intense attack from al Qaeda-linked Shabaab militants. The Islamic holy month has always enabled them to rally support at home and abroad.

African Union forces, under-resourced and under-supported, can only look on as the supplies roll in.

MAJ. GEN. FRED MUGISHA, AU FORCE COMMANDER: Extremists are still receiving supplies from the sea and from the air, from those who sympathize with them, who share the same ideology. Even three weeks back, two ships, two smaller boats, came from the direction of Yemen, and they afforded (ph) some weapons. We got the information in time, but we had no capacity to stop this, and I think the international community, again, should (INAUDIBLE) tomorrow to solve this problem.

ELBAGIR: But in spite of all this, the AU is making gains. The roads that lead to the front line in Mogadishu may look deserted, but you now have to travel further than in years past to reach Shabaab territory.

(on camera): This is the new front line here in Mogadishu. It's quite far to the northeast of the city. The last time we were here nearly two years ago, the government and the African Union controlled only a triangle of territory: the port, the airport, and the state house. Today, out of the 17 districts in Mogadishu, they control about eight.

(voice-over): For the civilians who have fled Shabaab territory, and their edicts banning foreign aid groups, the expansion of the secured zone has given them the courage to seek refuge and aid in the capital. And the AU says given their resources, it could do even more.

LT. COL. PADDY ANKUNDA, AU SPOKESMAN: The African countries need to do more. We cannot wait for anyone to come and do this job here. Somalia is part of Africa, and the world is safer with a stable Somalia.

We need more troops, first and foremost, from Africa. Of course the entire world being affected by terrorism can possibly contribute logistics. And that will be able to do the job. But if the African countries do not wake up to the call, then it's only going to remain a dream.

ELBAGIR: After we left this front line, two AU soldiers were killed in a gun battle with two would-be suicide bombers. As they wait for that much needed support, getting the job done here will come at a high price.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Mogadishu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is back in the headlines as workers detect the highest radiation levels at the facility since the earthquake and tsunami struck five months ago. We have the story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you are back watching NEWS STREAM.

And to Japan now, where officials with Tokyo Electric Power Company say they're looking into what caused a spike in radiation levels on the grounds of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

On Monday, workers there reported the most lethal level recorded since the earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant last month.

Kyung Lah has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: TEPCO says a high level of radiation was detected at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the highest in fact since the initial days of the disaster. TEPCO saying that it recorded a radiation reading of 10,000 millisieverts per hour.

So what does that mean? A single dose of radiation like this -- and it is measured as exposure per hour -- would be fatal to humans within weeks.

Now, take a look at this picture that TEPCO did release. You can see a worker in a white suit there holding a very long pole that is three meters long. The level measured at the end of that pole was the 10,000 millisieverts per hour.

Now, where the worker was standing it was quite a bit lower, at 40 millisieverts per hour. So, TEPCO saying that it does appear to be more of an isolated spot where the radiation was detected.

The spot where it was found, it was detected at the bottom of a ventilation tower between reactors 1 and 2. Those reactors, the cores, did suffer full meltdowns.

TEPCO says none of the workers involved in the cleanup were injured. They were working protective gear. And it was not found in any other areas. Now, TEPCO has cordoned off the area, and they are investigating the exact cause and how it may affect work at the plant moving forward.

This latest radiation reading does serve as a reminder that even though the initial days of the disaster appear long gone -- they were five months ago -- it is still very much a crisis at the nuclear plant. And TEPCO is still months away from achieving a cold shutdown.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now, straight ahead here on NEWS STREAM, Indian police rescue suspected underage girls from a brothel in New Delhi. Some activists say it is part of a stronger stand against sexual slavery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong.

You're watching NEWS STREAM, and these are your world headlines.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a crucial bill for reducing the U.S. deficit and raising the debt ceiling. And now it is up to the Senate to do the same. The bill needs at least 60 out of 100 votes to pass before the deadline at midnight on Tuesday. It calls for $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, and raising the debt ceiling by nearly the same amount.

A London-based rights group says security forces in Syria attacked anti- government protesters in several Syrian cities overnight, killing at least 24 people. Syria says it is targeting armed groups. Now, the U.N. Security Council is due to discuss the conflict for a second day on Tuesday.

The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear power plant says it has measured lethal levels of radiation in an isolated spot in between reactors 1 and 2. TEPCO is in the process of shutting down the Fukushima plant, which suffered a nuclear meltdown following the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Nearly 80 percent of human trafficking victims are sexually exploited. And you may have learned that horrifying fact through the yearlong CNN Freedom Project. We are using our global reach to shine a spotlight on modern day slavery. And this week we're showing you how awareness of the problem can translate into action.

Our documentary was called Nepal's Stolen Children highlighted efforts to prevent forced prostitution. Actress and activist Demi Moore traveled there to learn how one group is fighting human trafficking. And here is a bit of her journey with Anuradha Koirala, the founder Mailti Napal and our 2010 CNN hero of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANURADHA KOIRALA, MAILTI NAPAL FOUNDER: (inaudible) from the villagers. And they stick posters just like this on the wall, on every houses.

People have gathered here and we give them messages (inaudible) speaking.

DEMI MOORE, ACTRESS: (inaudible) Mailti Nepal's work is creating awareness about sex trafficking in the more remote regions of the country.

Villagers are entertained with songs, dances and speeches all designed to educate them of the very real danger that's all around them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: In addition to the education efforts you saw just then, members of Mailti Nepal also actively patrol the country's border with India. Now they intercept an average of 20 girls every day who are at risk of being trafficked. Nevertheless, each year, thousands of girls from Nepal end up in Indian brothels.

Now a few days after that documentary aired, police raided one brothel in New Delhi's red light district. Mallika Kapur picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New Delhi's GB Road (ph) is the city's largest red light district. Police estimate 2,000 prostitutes live and work here. They come from all parts of India and neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. Many, especially minors, are sold into the sex trade by human traffickers.

The area falls under the jurisdiction of Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan. Put in charge of this area three months ago, anti-trafficking organizations say she's already made a difference.

ASLAM KHAN, NEW DELHI DEP. POLICE COMMISSIONER: We concentrate on minor girls, because the trafficking issue is about the minor girls only. They are being brought from Nepal, they are being brought from the other parts of India in the name of giving them a job here or any other pretense. But they are illegally trafficked here.

KAPUR: Just a few weeks ago police got a tip from a charity group that minor girls were working at this brothel. So Khan picked a team and set out.

KHAN: We went there to the raid. We, first of all, we blocked all the entry (inaudible). Then we went in a search. We found that there were nine minors there.

SURENDRA KAUR, NEW DELHI POLICE OFFICER: If there's any minor girls...

KAPUR: Surendra Kaur was also on the raid. She shows us the entrance to the brothel. She tells us six of the nine girls rescued were from Nepal and looked to be between 12 and 16 years old.

All of them minors?

KAUR: Suspected to be minors. They are saying that because we are Nepalese and we are by reason we are looking small. But willfully, we are living here. And no one has suffered us over here. But because...

KAPUR: But you had your doubts.

KAUR: Yeah, because we have doubts. So we'd escort them and sent to them Nivochia (ph).

KAPUR: Nivochia (ph) is a government shelter where suspected victims are taken for medical tests to determine their age. Police say once they confirm a girl is underage, they file charges against the brothel owner and the trafficker. Tracking them down is tricky, but the police say they're encouraged by successes.

26 brothel owners in this area have been arrested in the last two years.

KHAN: Police is becoming more and more corrective that is that main reason behind this, and yes we cannot deny the fact that being more (inaudible) they also bring about the change.

KAPUR: Triveni Acharya has been working with the police for 18 years. Her NGO Rescue Foundation regularly tips off the police and goes on raids with them like the raid on the brothel where the nine girls were found.

TRIVENI ACHARYA, RESCUE FOUNDATION: Previously when we called police they say no we have a no stop. Now, police become very sensitive.

KAPUR: Is this a change?

ACHARYA: Yes. It's a big change.

KAPUR: Big change?

ACHARYA: Yeah. I think historical change.

KAPUR: A change that extends to the police's attitude towards the girls too.

ACHARYA (through translator): Earlier they talked to the girls rudely, used foul language. Now when they rescue the girls they talk to them with respect. They say, come on child, dress properly and come out with us.

KAPUR: Recognizing the girls as victims instead of criminals, that's the biggest change, a change the women in charge, the women on the ground, and perhaps some of the girls behind these windows hope will last.

Mallika Kapur, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And we have an update to Mallika's story to bring to you now, the police tell CNN that they have now arrested the owner of the brothel seen in that story.

Now rescue efforts are becoming more common in India as police make them a priority. And tomorrow we go on patrol with one officer who has rescued 89 girls from the brothels of New Delhi. That story right here on NEWS STREAM.

Now we have a troubling forecast in the tropics. Let's give you the very latest now with Jennifer Delgado. She joins us live from the world weather center. Good to see you, Jen.

JENNIFER DELGADO, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you too, Kristie.

We are starting off right now talking about Tropical Storm Emily. It formed yesterday. And it's a big storm. Right now it's a tropical storm. You can still see a lot of convection with it. It's located just to the west of areas including the Lesser Antilles right now Dominica.

Now it's going to continue to move in that westward direction bringing with it some very heavy rainfall, but we're also talking about winds. The winds right now at 64 kilometers per hour. As we go through the next 24 hours, by late tonight early tomorrow, it's going to be approaching the Isle of Hispaniola. Then it's going to be moving potentially over towards the west.

Notice, we're not expecting a lot of strengthening. It'll start to weaken as it interacts with the land, but models have it potentially taking it up towards the area including Bahamas. The problem is , that's just one track, that's one model. Some of the models are taking it more in a westerly direction. Of course we're going to be watching it, because say it moves right back into the Caribbean Sea, doesn't interact with land, potentially we could see further strengthening out of the system.

So certainly we are going to be watching Tropical Storm Emily. I can tell you this, though, we're going to be dealing with some very heavy rainfall, that means the potential for mudslides and landslides, we're talking rainfall totals anywhere between 10 to 15 centimeters. And of course as it moves more westerly, potentially that could mean more rain for area including Haiti. Of course we don't want to see that rain work into that region.

And we're not -- we're talking about Typhoon Muifa. The winds at 204 kilometers. We're really watching this one, because this has the potential to be (inaudible) strong. We're talking very strong winds and also some very heavy rainfall with it.

As we go through looks like Friday morning it's going to be approaching the Island of Okinawa. And with that, we're going to be dealing with the storm surge and you can see for yourself winds still more than 213 kilometers per hour.

The potential for some uncertainty as well. Some of the models taking it to Shanghai, the area right along that coastline of China while others are taking it towards Japan. Of course, we don't want to see anything going towards Japan. Of course, they're still recovering from the earthquake.

But this model right here gives you a better idea to kind of visualize the track of the storm. It's going to stay offshore, but the weather is going to start to deteriorate as we go through the next several days through parts of Japan.

Now right now we're going to take a look at your city by city forecast. We'll talk a little bit more about weather.

And welcome back.

Well, Kristie I know you've been kind of spoiled by the nice weather across China over the last several days, but through parts of New York big time hail coming down. Look at this, Kristie. I always say this, this is what you don't want to hear and what you don't want to see when you're coming outside golf ball sized hail came down as storm system through parts of New York. You hear it popping off the cars and people actually dodging it. Some people lucky enough to have an umbrella.

Unfortunately, it didn't cool off temperatures too much. Once again today is going to be a hot one. Temperatures have been in the upper 30s. And guess what, Kristie, that heat wave is going to continue to move over towards northeast. So it's not over just.

Kristie, let's get it back over to you. It's been a long time since I've seen my friend Kristie. I guess I'll see you again at this rate in about another year.

STOUT: That's right. It's good to see you again, but I'm feeling bad for the people there dealing with the heat wave and the hail storms.

DELGADO: You've had your own problems over there.

STOUT: I know. That's right. Jen Delgado, we're always feeling the pain. Jen, take care, good to see you.

Now we have got some breaking news just coming into us here at CNN. Now London Metropolitan Police have made what could be a key arrest in the ongoing phone hacking probe. Our Dan Rivers joins us now from London with some key details.

And Dan, any more details on this arrest?

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is a 71 year old man that we understand, and it's being widely reported here, is Stuart Kuttner. Now he was the former managing editor of that controversial tabloid The News of the World, the tabloid that was closed down by Rupert Murdoch amid this hacking scandal.

This is the 11th suspect arrested as part of this police inquiry into phone hacking, sort of intercepting people's voicemail messages and listening to them in order to get news stories.

This is significant as well, because he was very much the public face of The News of the World during many previous crises. Whenever there was a problem it was Stuart Kuttner who was put up to defend the newspaper. And he offered the sort of immortal lines after the initial phone hacking scandal broke saying it happened once at The News of the World, the reporter was fired, he went to prison, and the editor resigned.

Well, now we know that was completely wrong. It was much wider than that. The former editor and Andy Coulson has been arrested as has Rebekah Brooks and now Stuart Kuttner we understand has been added to that ever growing list of people arrested by the police in connection with his phone hacking inquiry.

STOUT: Now Dan, at the hearing of Rupert and James Murdoch, the elder Murdoch, he put the blame squarely on the, quote, "managers he trusted." So is what we're seeing here, the UK police investigation is focusing away from Murdoch and more on those who worked more closely with the newspaper?

RIVERS: Well, I mean, I think -- they have a massive amount of evidence to go through, Kristie. There's 11,000 pages of notes from one private investigator alone. So you can imagine they've got 60 detectives working on this. They are going through piece by piece and basically looking through a raft of e-mails and notes to try and see how high up this went. Did it go all the way up to James Murdoch? Did he know about it?

He, so far, has maintained he knew nothing about this as has Rupert Murdoch, blaming people further down the chain.

But Stuart Kuttner was pretty high up in the kind of ecosystem if you like. And this is -- the general big picture here is that this, you know, these arrest just keep going further and further up the chain.

Also, what's been interesting here is that politicians have been told that News International apparently ordered the deletion of hundreds of thousands of e-mails in the last 18 months, ordering a technology firm that they work with, HCL, to delete up to 200,000 e-mails at a time. That all happening while on the other hand News of the World were -- News International were insisting they were working closely with the police and doing everything they could to help with the inquiry. So there's two contradictory pictures that are being built up here.

But this is not over yet. I'd imagine there will be more arrests to come.

STOUT: Yeah, hard to imagine 11 arrests so far. Still counting. Dan Rivers on the story live in London. Thank you, Dan.

Now still to come here on NEWS STREAM, the U.S. National Soccer Team unveiled their new coach. And our Don Riddell speaks to the German legend next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now sport is most often about who is the best. And after England's win over India that is the question on the lips of cricket fans. So which is the best test team on the planet? Maybe Alex Thomas can tell us -- Alex.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Kristie it's India. But England are on course to replace them as world number ones with captain Andrew Strauss saying his team can get even better. England will take top spot in the rankings if they win their current series against India by two clear matches.

And Stuart Broad was named man of the match as England one the second test at Trent Bridge by a massive 319 runs. The home team now lead the four match series 2-nil with the third test due to take place at Edgebaston next week.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 56. India were bowled out with just 158 runs in their second innings up in Nottingham.

But the Indian batting lineup will be bolstered by the return of Virender Sehwag for that third test.

Now Jurgen Klinsmann says coaching the United States will be an exciting challenge, but the German football legend isn't making any promises about winning the World Cup. Simply qualifying for the tournament will be the 47 year old's main task.

Klinsmann unveiled as the new U.S. coach at a news conference in New York on Monday. It's his first coaching role since he was sacked after a single season at Bayern Munich. That was a rare failure for Klinsmann who's racked up goals wherever he has played. He's featured at top clubs like Inter Milan, Bayern, Tottenham Hospur.

He also won the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championship with his home nation of Germany ending his international career with 47 goals from 108 appearances. After retiring as a player he coached Germany to a third place finish in the 2006 World Cup, that was on home soil before that ill- fated spell back at Munich.

Well, Klinsmann has lived in the states with his American wife since 1998. So he's no stranger to the soccer setup in that country. After his official unveiling, he sat down to speak to our own Don Riddell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Jurgen, great to see you again.

Many congratulations on your birthday and your appointment. As birthday presents go, how was the U.S. soccer coach job?

JURDEN KLINSMANN, COACH, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: Nice birthday present no?

No, it's exciting. It's really exciting.

I'm also a bit proud that, you know, I get that opportunity to develop, you know, the program, the international team (inaudible) to what was accomplished already over the last 10, 15 years. I think living here since 13 years a lot happened. We have football. We have soccer in this country. And now being part of the next couple of years, you know, towards the World Cup 2014 in Brazil is exciting. And I'm looking forward to it.

RIDDELL: You have lived here a long time now. Do you still consider yourself a full German? Or are you now part American?

KLINSMANN: Well, I don't know what I consider myself, to be honest. Because I lived all over the places, you know -- in England, and Italy, France and then obviously most of the time in America. I mean, my family is based, you know, in California and we feel like, you know, we really kind of big part of the American culture and American way of life. And I'm enjoying that.

RIDDELL: They've asked you twice before, this is the third time. Why did you go for it now? What changed?

KLINSMANN: Well, because twice before just the timing wasn't right. You know, I didn't feel right. And now it kind of came all together and I felt now you know what the comfort level is there, you know, the understanding of each other is there. I mean, it needed maybe to grow in a relationship point of view a couple of years until I say you know this is -- this is OK, this is now kind of the mature moment for it.

RIDDELL: What kind of playing style, do you think would suit the U.S. National Team? And might that be influenced by the Latin Americans that are moving into this country?

KLINSMANN: Oh, definitely, it's influenced by the Latin Americans. I mean, because they're such a huge part of the population here. And they love the game. I mean, they all soccer freaks. And they will have an influence on that. And I think with the appointment of Claudio Reyna as the technical director of youth development, this is the first signal, hey, we want to dip into the Latin community and we want to get those kids -- we want to help them as well.

And we don't want them to go back to maybe their home countries. And we want them to become real American players.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS: Yeah, be interesting to see how he gets on. You can hear the full version of that interview in World Sports in just over two-and-a-half hours' time, Kristie.

STOUT: All right. One to look forward to. Alex Thomas, thank you.

Now think of any recent major news story. Now think about the images, the sounds, the full context you associate with that story. Now social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have changed the way traditional media operate and at the advent of it all CNN launched a user generated feature that has helped to shape five years of history.

Now this is iReport.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As we get some very frightening images coming in from an iReport -- Jamal al-Rebuti (ph) who was able to capture those pictures of Virginia Tech students.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Iranian government has decided to ban all members of the foreign media of covering protests and demonstrations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That didn't stop Iranians from spreading the word about what's happening in their country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every two step I saw like a house collapse, every two step I saw people bleeding.

STOUT: Well, here's a way you can find out at least one if you're loved one is alive, or two put the information out there so if maybe someone has seen them we can figure out if that person did, indeed, survive the earthquake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a CNN iReport, right, you used the Red Cross web site.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Well, I don't want to delay the great news. So Shazar (ph) tell me, you got a phone call and it was the good news. What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. I received a call from my father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heading to work. Right after lunch, (inaudible) palace Baghdad, Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is (inaudible) City in Peru in South America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is (inaudible) coming to you live.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Belgium, Wisconsin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Kogucai (ph), Japan.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank goodness you were near enough to kind of respond as quickly as you could. What did you see when you first arrived at the scene?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Anderson, we arrived on location around 2:30 that morning. At that time there was (inaudible), but you can pretty much see the blaze. I mean, it sort of resembled, I guess, the sun coming over the horizon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so excited. I'm so proud to be an Arab today. For the people of Egypt who wanted freedom, who wanted to be better, who wanted to better lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is still going. Oh my god, the building is going to fall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole ground was shaking so much. It was unreal. I can't describe it. It's just -- it felt like someone was just pulling you back and forth like side to side as hard as they could.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: A look back at five years in history through the eyes of iReporters. And don't forget, you can see much more on iReport.com.

Now coming up next on NEWS STREAM, talk about driver distraction. How would you cope with a situation like this?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

And fortunately, it is not every day that a snake shows up on your car's windshield. But if a reptile does happen to crawl out the next time you rev up your engine, be careful. Jeanne Moos has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A huge!

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When suddenly there's a snake on your windshield sort of makes bugs and bird droppings pale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a snake like out of the engine coming at us and I'm like what in the world.

MOOS: A Memphis couple, Tony and Rachel Fischer and their three kids were going about 65 miles an hour when the snake apparently slithered out of the engine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like snakes. I'm more scared of snakes probably than my wife is.

I want that thing to fall off.

MOOS: Which eventually it did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god! Oh my god. Oh my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. It's all over. It just fell.

MOOS: Snake experts identified the stowaway as a rat snake. Not harmful to humans.

But the Fishers were treated like rats by animal lovers after they posted their video to YouTube.

"Are you stupid? Pull over and let the snake go."

"What an ass."

"Isn't it fun to torture animals stupid people?"

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't think about pulling over, yeah. And we don't know -- you know, we didn't know what kind of snake it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want the thing off the car. I don't want to have to try to get out of the car and deal with it.

MOOS: But what the couple in Tennessee did was tender loving care compared to the way some Bulgarian motorists handled the same situation.

After lots of swearing in Bulgarian, the driver turned on the wipers, which led to accusations of reptile abuse. The snake eventually flew off.

But some creatures sit tight. When this driver tried to gently dislodge a bird from his wiper, the bird couldn't be bothered. Meanwhile, the owner of this parrot got fined by Australian authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just giving him some wind in the feathers, mate.

MOOS: Maybe a little too much wind. Though Angus the parrot seems to enjoy hanging out on the wipers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, go Angus!

MOOS: His owner was charged with animal cruelty for this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...on the bloody freeway going nearly 100 kilometers per hour.

MOOS: Of course there are worse things that can end up on your windshield than birds or snakes. As for our fake snake.

No don't, don't touch it.

Only in New York would a panhandler offer to clean the snake off the windshield, a windshield viper.

No, sorry. No.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And that is NEWS STREAM, but the news continues at CNN. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next.

END