Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

30 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan; Tel Aviv Market Halts Trading After Six Percent Slide; Police ID Suspects Using Eye Scanning iPhone

Aired August 07, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's August 7th. Good morning. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for T.J. Holmes. And a special good morning to our service men and women watching on the American Forces Network.

Well, they are considered among the nation's elite warriors, navy SEALs. And this morning, the families and friends of 22 SEALs and the eight other U.S. SEALs are mourning their loss in the downing of the troop helicopter in Afghanistan. We've got new details for you.

Plus, fires rooting and demonstrations in North London, we'll tell you what led to people to torch police cars, buildings and a bus.

And does the stock market have you nervous about retirement? We'll talk to an expert who says, you can retire comfortably.

Now, to that devastating chopper crash in Afghanistan the killed 30 U.S. service members. It was the single deadliest loss for you as forces in Afghanistan since the war began a decade ago. This morning, we're learning, we're beginning to learn the names of those killed, where they're from and how their families are remembering them. One of them was Navy SEAL Aaron Carson Vaughn, a Tennessee native. He was the father of a 2-year-old son and a 2-month-old girl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It was Aaron's birthday. In June, he turned 30. And I told him to be careful. And he said, granny, don't worry about me, he said I'm not afraid. Because I know where I'm going if something happens to me. Aaron was a Christian and he stood firm in his faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, the chopper went down in Wardak province, southwest of Kabul. Apparently shutdown by the Taliban, this is file video of the type of helicopter they were on, a CH-47 Chinook. Twenty two of the dead were Navy SEALs, most were members of SEAL Team Six. The elite counter terrorists -- the brought down of Osama bin Laden. Though, none of them were involved in out raid.

Well, President Obama was notified of the helicopter crash and released a statement which reads in part, "Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan."

CNN's David Ariosto joins us live from Kabul. And David, there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan right now. How are those you've talked to reacting to this tragedy?

DAVID ARIOSTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is certainly unprecedented in terms of this campaign here in this theater, ever since the start of the war back in 2001, we have not seen this kind of American casualties. Again, that helicopter traveling in Wardak province, shot down by insurgent fire, at least according to some provincial and local sources that we've spoken to. But again, you cannot emphasize the affect that this has had. Losing that many members, particularly of an elite unit, these are individuals that really take it to the front lines. They're instrumental in training Afghan Security Forces, these are people who are going to happen to take over the security of this country. But are also, you have to keep in mind how long and how much money is actually invested in providing the type of training and personnel that really take the fight to the Taliban and the insurgency along those rest of us, southern, eastern provinces. So, again, the largest loss of American life since the start of the war and one can really not emphasize enough the impact that's had here.

FEYERICK: And clearly with the beginning of the drawdown of U.S. and NATO troops, there has been a new surge in violence. Those 22 Navy SEALs, are you learning anything about the other U.S. service members who were also on that helicopter?

ARIOSTO: Well, I mean, again, the types of attacks we've seen by the Taliban have typically been after fringes, we've seen high profile attacks. They look for large targets, particularly some of the assassinations we've seen in recent days. The U.S. military is being very tight lipped about at least here, about the types of individuals who were aboard that chopper. Recovery effort is still under way. It really began immediately as soon as the chopper went down. This is a very restive area of the part of the country. Journalists have been trying to get in there and trying to bring images of the crash scene have basically stayed away from this area by virtue of it being really so dangerous.

So, again, quite a dangerous area. Difficult to say, exactly, what transpiring now in terms of the recovery efforts. We do know that is still ongoing, trying to recover all both machinery and other things that are still left over this wide spread area. This again is a mountainous, rocky terrain. So, and emblematic perhaps of some of the fights that have been taking place in other parts of Afghanistan but yes, again, never so deadly.

FEYERICK: You know, and it's very interesting because we had them, there is a Navy SEAL that was on CNN's air said, one of the things that's so difficult is taking the helicopter ride, because that's the moment when they don't have control. You think about the training that these people get, you think about where they're going. The harsh, harsh conditions. The area that they were going, it's not just incredibly dangerous, a Taliban stronghold but also it appears, it's just very, very difficult to get there.

ARIOSTO: Absolutely. The Taliban that we've seen has proven very adept in changing its tactics, depending upon the terrain. Some of the most vulnerable moments as you said are when some of these larger helicopters bring in operational forces, particularly Special Forces into some of these areas. Now because of the rocky terrain, because of the tapes of individuals that NATO Forces are looking for, it's sometimes -- I don't want to say easy but sometimes very capable for a lone RPG to make its way down from the mountain tops and strike one of these helicopters.

FEYERICK: All right. David Ariosto, thank you so much. The RPG that you mentioned, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, so, shoulder fired usually.

Well, a lot of global uncertainty after Friday's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard and Poor's. And we're getting our first indications of the potential fallout from early trading in Israel. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange stopped trading today after a six percent slide.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Kevin Flower joins us live by phone. And Kevin, tell us what happened.

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: It's known as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange delayed its opening today by 45 minutes after pre- opening trading registered drops of more than six percent. About 6.5 percent to the exact on the main benchmark index. Now, this is all significant because the Israeli Stock Exchange operates on a Sunday through Thursday schedule. And it is among the first in the world to react the Standard and Poor's rating cutting for the U.S. on Friday. Now, analysts saying that the drop in the market is not only a reaction to that credit downgrade but also a response to the broader losses on global markets last week.

So, this drop today is not entirely a surprise but it certainly illustrates the worry about U.S. and the European debt problems. And to that end, the Israeli finance minister last night held an emergency meeting with his economic advisers to discuss the Israeli response to the credit downgrade. And after that meeting, he released the statement, he said, despite our total confidence in the U.S. economic prowess and its ability to recover from the crisis and the downgrade of the credit rating, rather the downgrade of the credit rating constitutes a warning sign reminding all of us that we are still navigating the ship of Israeli finance in stormy waters. So, Deb, clearly here, the worries are very pronounced but we're not hearing any negative words about the U.S. government's handling of the crisis thus far.

FEYERICK: And also, one point, Kevin, as you mentioned, the market there, the stock exchange operates Sunday through Thursday. So, really the traders there, the investors didn't have a chance to react to the 512-point drop of Thursday. So, there's a rebalancing of that also going on in the market there. Other markets did respond, they ended up a little higher on Friday. But that's another factor, correct? FLOWER: No, absolutely. And that's what analysts are saying. In fact, some have gone as far to say that the credit downgrading is actually really in comparison meaningless, compared to the debt problems in Europe and you know, perceived you know, worries about the America's long-term debt problem. So, really exactly. There are a lot of factors contributing to this. It's not just the downgrading of America's credit on Friday evening U.S. time, Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Kevin Flower, Jerusalem bureau chief. Thank you so much.

And now, we're going to get more on the international markets. Tom Ashby is the business editor of the National Newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. And he joins us live from our studio in the capital of Abu Dhabi. And Tom, we just heard what happened in Tel Aviv. Should we expect the same thing later today as Asian markets begin trading?

TOM ASHBY, BUSINESS EDITOR, NATIONAL NEWSPAPER: Well, there's a very similar story playing out here in the United Arab Emirates and indeed across the gulf. Of course one has to remember that this region, the gulf, Arab economies are all very tied to the dollar, both through that oil exports and, of course, through their large holdings of sovereign wealth fund which are mostly denominated in dollars. And in fact, we have seen already today, the very similar move to the stock market in Tel Aviv, divide down five percent, Abu Dhabi nearly three percent and Qatar down six percent. So far today, and I think the markets are just about closing as we speak, we've seen very similar effects in the gulf Arab countries.

FEYERICK: Is this Tom, your thoughts on the U.S. downgrade. Will international investors look elsewhere, perhaps somewhere safer, some place that has maintained their AAA rating?

ASHBY: Well, there are only about three or four countries I think that still have a AAA rating. Germany, the UK amongst others. But really, one has to remember that this downgrade is only from one rating agency of three. And also, the AA plus rating is still incredibly good rating and one that sovereign wealth funds and other investors should still feel very safe and secure about.

FEYERICK: OK. And interesting, in Israel they did close the markets, they were protecting against any sort of panic. But right now, there's no expectation that that's going to be going on elsewhere, is there?

ASHBY: Well, so far, no. I mean, if you look at the gulf, in fact yesterday, on Saturday, Saudi Arabia was the only market that was open on that day. And it fell yesterday by five percent, but today we've seen it stabilize. And in fact it's even up about 0.4 percent through midday today. So far at least, judging by the Middle East markets, I think we can say that there's been a limited fallout. But it's definitely not tragic.

FEYERICK: OK. Tom Ashby, thank you so much. Editor of the National Newspaper in the UAE. Thank you very, very much. Well, chaos on the streets of North London overnight, after demonstrators protesting the alleged police killing of a local man began burning buildings and vehicles near the Tottenham police station. ITN's Richard Pallot tells us what happens?

RICHARD PALLOT, ITN REPORTER: Mark Duggan, the father of four was shot in North London on Thursday. And about 20 to 30 members of his family and friends marched to the police station, today in a very peaceful protest. But from there it has escalated. Now, obviously many of the people involved in these incidents have nothing stayed with the friends and family (INAUDIBLE) and there will be many questions as to just who they are. Today, it escalated from that. We have police cars torched, a very iconic London double decker red bus burning in the middle of the high street. (INAUDIBLE) in the residence, house on fire. At one stage, I believe there were some people trapped in there. It's absolute chaos, and it's not showing any signs of flowing down.

FEYERICK: In all, eight police officers were injured in that riot.

And to Syria now where we're getting reports of an early morning raid by Syrian forces in the City of Darasor. Explosions can be heard preceding plumes of smoke rising over the city. The attack follows yesterday's phone call from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.N. official is demanding an immediate end to the use of force on civilians.

A Syrian human rights group says 2,000 people have died since anti-government protests began this spring. From Iran, we're awaiting the verdict in the trial of two Americans accused of spying against the Islamic state, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested two years ago for allegedly straying past an unmarked Iranian border while hiking Iraq's Kurdish region. Their trial completed last week with a ruling expected within seven days. When we get the verdict, we'll let you know.

And in the Caribbean this morning, second light for what was once tropical storm Emily. After drenching Grand Bahama Island earlier last week, Emily was reformed into a tropical depression over the northern Bahamas. Reynolds Wolf is in the severe weather center. And hey, Reynolds, two things people are going to know about, where is Emily headed and how hot is it going to be today?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Emily, also known as the energizer bunny of tropical systems continues to poll say out there. The storm thankfully though does not look for the time being, it's going to threaten the United States. That being said, temperatures on the other hand are an entirely different matter in these central and southern plains. That come on with our committees, it's going to make things unbelievably miserable to people. We'll tell you more about that happy news coming up in a few moments. You're watching CNN on Sunday. See you in a few.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FEYERICK: And it is quarter past the hour. Reynolds Wolf has our first check at the weather. You're looking at live picture there of Atlanta, looking kind of pretty there, the sun not yet up. Too early in the morning here. Reynolds, boy, what's going on with the weather? Yesterday, huge flash storm in Atlanta. Unbelievable, people just running everywhere for cover.

WOLF: Yes. Little pop-up thunderstorms, that happens sometimes in the southeast, either really intense heat. That might happen again today. But the biggest component of the big storm we have is just the extreme heat. If you want to talk about the heat, imagine being out there walking around covered in fur. I've tried it. It's not fun.

iReporter Becky Draper of Northern Wisconsin captured these three bear cubs trying to cool off in her dog's watering tub. Check this out. Ah, what a beautiful soaring moments. We all have those. Becky says, several bears have used the plastic pool to keep cool during the summer heat. The bears actually took off for the woods, never to be seen again. They might be back at some point.

You know, the heat is also drying up a lake in West Texas leaving behind a small red pool of water. Now, this red turning comes from bacteria that's actually in the water itself. The OC Fisher Reservoir, is just North West of San Angelo, a place that is just been really devastated by the incredible drought.

Also in Texas, speaking of the drought, it's caused the shoreline at Richland Chambers Reservoir to recede, revealing a slave cemetery in Corsicana. And archaeologist tells us that two unmarked graves they discovered are from the 19th century. Forensics experts also say that one of the remains appears to belong to an African-American man about 40 years old. They believe he was probably a freed slave. Interesting stuff that you'll get with the extreme heat. And today, what discovers they might find with this extreme heat they're going to have.

It's going to be back again today, just brutal stuff, especially in parts of Texas. Let's flip over to the weather wall as we do so, leaving the archaeological remains. And talking a little bit, the tropics of the time being. This is tropical depression Emily, it was a tropical storm, fairly closed to becoming maybe hurricane, then interacted with some of the land, in parts of Cuba and even into Haiti, were depart, now it's back again. Bringing some rainfall right along to Florida's southeast coast. It does appear that we're going to see this continue to march its way to the north and veer off to the northeast and deeper into the Atlantic if you happen to be going out to say Bermuda up by Elbow Beach. This nice pink sand beaches.

You might have a few showers and storms to deal with as we get into Monday around 2:00 in the afternoon. Other than, it looks like this thing is going to be moving out deep into the Atlantic and long gone back into memory. Meanwhile, the rest you forecast today, we go from Emily to possibility of the strong storms across the Ohio valley. The same usual suspects, the high humidity, the frontal boundaries, the daytime heating could give you some of those. Also the pop-up storms you had in Atlanta yesterday, might see those again and also some of those in parts of the northeast. And hopefully, we'll see some of those in parts of Texas. I'm telling you, it's not going to happen today.

More heat, 105 in Dallas, 97 in Houston, 102 in El Paso, 97 in Albuquerque. Back out to the west, you see temperatures mainly in the 70s to 80s and 60s in San Francisco, 88 in Billings. And the East Coast, 78 in Boston, 87 in New York, 93 in Atlanta. And as we wrap things up, everything you see here on the map, read them and weep. With the pink and the orange indicates your warnings, your advisories. The heat index anywhere from 105 to 115 degrees. Mercy me. It's going to be a brutal time. Expect the heat to continue at least through midweek, and possibly for places like Dallas, Texas, through the next weekend. That's the latest. Let's pitch it right back with you.

FEYERICK: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds. Of course, we'll check in with you in a little while, see if the heat breaks maybe, probably not.

WOLF: Keep your fingers crossed.

FEYERICK: Well, coming up, eye scanners to catch criminals. The latest tool for a growing numbers of law enforcement agencies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Look into the camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They can quickly identify who they have in front of them and what potential danger or risk they may pose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And I'll show you how this works. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, eye scanning, a futuristic tool used in Science fiction thrillers like "Minority Report."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Look at me. Positive for Howard Marks. I'm placing you under arrest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: But it's not Science fiction anymore. Police are now using iris scanners to identify people and instantly reveal if they have a criminal history. I visited a jail in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to see how it works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) At the Plymouth County correctional facility, the current home of reputed crime boss Whitey Bulger, you'd be surprised of the things that some incoming inmates will do.

(on camera) How many prisoners have tried to shield their identity or hide their identity coming into the system?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: There's been quite a few.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Like the felon who gave a phony name, even lied about a prominent tattoo, says records supervisor Lieutenant Doug Rideout .

(on camera): He still denied who he was?

LT. DOUGH RIDEOUT, RECORDS SUPERVISOR, PLYMOUTH COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: Yes! He still denied it, but we had him pretty much (INAUDIBLE).

FEYERICK (voice-over): The positive ID took just a few seconds because of this.

RIDEOUT: Look into the camera.

FEYERICK: An iris scan. Like a fingerprint, but with 235 specific identifying marks in each eye. Apparently quicker and more accurate.

RIDEOUT: It's a national database. If his eyes match up to anybody, it will pop up.

FEYERICK: Sean Mullen, showing us how it works, is president of B-12 Technologies, the biometric intelligence company behind the iris scan.

SEAN MULLEN, PRESIDENT, B12 TECHNOLOGIES: Hold it from about four or five inches from your eye.

FEYERICK (on camera): No danger to the eye?

MULLEN: No danger to the eye. It's just simply a digital photograph.

FEYERICK (voice-over): What makes the system unique is this handheld device, which can be used anywhere. Attached to a smart phone, it can instantly run ID checks only after an officer determines probable cause.

MULLEN: The biggest advantage, they can quickly identify who they have in front of them and what potential danger or risk they may pose.

FEYERICK: Mullen says the eye scan is uploaded and checked in the database against half a million people previously arrested. My results?

MULLEN: And what does it say?

FEYERICK (on camera): No matches. MULLEN: No match found. That's the idea.

FEYERICK: All right.

(voice-over): He says my iris scan is then erased. My record clean. According to Mullen, more than 300 sheriff's departments and correctional facilities around the country are using the new systems. Anyone charged with a crime there gets their eyes scanned.

Civil rights advocates worry the iris scan could be used without probable cause as a surveillance tool. Or in places like Arizona as a way to enforce disputed immigration policies. Mullins says that's unlikely, given how close you have to be to snap a photo.

Plymouth County sheriff Joseph McDonald sees it as an extra safeguard to ensure prisoners being released aren't wanted elsewhere. And to verify the person getting out?

JOSEPH MCDONALD, PLYMOUTH COUNTY SHERIFF: That photo was taken on the way in and then matched up on the way out.

FEYERICK: Has served their time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And it's a growing trend across of the United States, those eye scanners, Irish scanners being used. Some people think you could replace finger printing in a long run. They just have to build up the criminal database.

Well, it's something almost done heard off, a Web site that allows you to grade your local priest. It's operating out of Germany and no member of the clergy is off limits, not even the pope. That story next on our Passport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Nadia Bilchik is joining me again this morning on our Passport. And we're talking about a Web site that allows people to rate their clergy.

NADIA BILCHIK, EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes.

FEYERICK: Which is fascinating. And is this just a sort of the interest of honesty? Is this in the interest of rating sermons, what is this about?

BILCHIK: All of the above. So, the Hirtenbarometer, otherwise known as the shepherds' barometer because of course the congregants being the sheep, and the clergy being the shepherds, do exactly that. The idea is let's rate our clergy and a group of concerned congregants got together and said, let's take a look at this and let's see if we can rate people according to how much commitment they have to services, to projects, their credibility. How current are they? How involved are they with the youth? How involved are they with the elderly? But as you seek, no one's sacred, not even Pope John Paul of blessed memory.

So, let's take a look at his site and see what rating he gets. And we look first at the German and then they'll going to give us this English translation.

FEYERICK: OK.

BILCHIK: But he gets a really high rating. And you know, he was beatified recently.

FEYERICK: Exactly.

BILCHIK: His rating is over around 4.56 in his overall rating. And that is out of six. But if we look at Pope Benedict XVI, he doesn't get quite as high rating. He gets around 3.68 as a rating. And I think a lot has to do with the abuse allegation and has he dealt with them in the church as well as he could have. But you can literally go on the site, much interesting is little sheep of the icons. So, the sheep are white and then they become grayer as the rating is downgraded.

FEYERICK: Oh, interesting. Well, with the people, do you think it helps -- obviously we're talking about the pope. What about smaller churches or churches with fewer numbers?

BILCHIK: Well, that was the idea. About 25,000 parishes have already joined the site. And about 8,000 priests. So the idea was that you could go to your local church and you could say, is this sermon really reaching me? Is this person communicating to their audience? Are they current? When you sit in a service, do you sometimes think, is this person being relevant?

FEYERICK: Right.

BILCHIK: So, you're raising on one of these things. And the whole point behind the site is we rate everything, we rate restaurants, we rate anchors, we rate reporters, we rate food, we rate the nail salon we go to. Why not rate the clergy? And again, there were two reasons. One was, if people are doing great work, don't they deserve to be publicly on it? And the other reason was, maybe it's an early warning sign if there is an issue.

FEYERICK: You know, it is kind of interesting also. You would think that rating your clergy, if the ratings aren't that high it is sort of a form of dissent within the congregation. Kind of interesting.

BILCHIK: And that is a good sign. It's almost like getting your job review. You know, how people get a job review and called in. Well, it is getting other people publicly to rate you. I thought maybe the next site would be rate your imam. I like the idea of rate your rabbi.

(LAUGHTER)

BILCHIK: It's got a good ring to it. What if you rate the person who presents, what would you rate them on? Personality, charisma?

FEYERICK: Right. That's difficult. Probably whether what they're saying speaks to me, whether I walk out and I feel happier or lighter or just giving me something to think about.

BILCHIK: You are inspired.

FEYERICK: This is like the Zagat of clergy.

BILCHIK: Exactly.

FEYERICK: Well, good.

BILCHIK: People who are going to church services, how would you rate your priest.

FEYERICK: Interesting. Well, that is something I'm sure they'll talk about over lunch. Thank you so much, Nadia Bilchik. We'll check in with you later on as well.

A bit of pirate history discovered off the coast of Panama. The wreck of a ship belonging to one the most feared pirates of all time, Captain Henry Morgan.

First, the current administration is the first in U.S. history to have a credit rating downgraded. You bet GOP presidential candidates have a lot to say about the matter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Welcome back. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in today for T.J. Holmes. Is it is now 35 minutes past the hour. We're keeping an eye on the New York triathlon. It just kicked off. We have a team of six, there are, CNN's Six Pack. You can see the first boy dip in the water. Fortunately it is up in the 80s in New York. Hopefully it's not that chilly. We'll see how they perform through the rest of the morning, check in later on. They've been training for this for many, many months. An interesting way to start the morning.

We move on now to the politics of Standard & Poors downgrading of America's credit rating. It didn't take Republican presidential hopefuls much time to weigh in. CNN's Joe Johns has more from the GOP campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: If Standard & Poor's sent a message to the United States, it was you need to get your political problems in order. And if that was the message they were sending, it was certainly not fully acknowledged on the campaign trail, the attacks on the president from Republicans have been pretty blistering, quite frankly, even though the polls show the public places the blame, if you will, on both parties for this embarrassing performance of the government during the debt ceiling crisis.

You can say generally, with not many exceptions, that the presidential candidates, at least for now, just don't get it. Tim Pawlenty said it was about big government and President Obama. Take a listen to him.

TIM PAWLENTY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What he doesn't understand is all this talk of the full faith and credit in the United States government, he needs to be reminded, we need to have a president who understands and we need to put our full faith and credit in the American people. His vision for America is to take things out of the private sector and put it into the government. What we need to be doing is taking things out of the government and taking it back and putting it back in the private sector and trusting the people of this country.

JOHNS: Michele Bachmann said it was the president, the president, who has destroyed the credit rating of the United States. Listen.

MICHELLE BACHMANN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not once did any president ever lose our AAA credit rating. Not once! Despite all of this adversity, have we ever lost that rating? And now for the first time since 1917 the United States, last night, lost that credit rating. Let me tell you what this means to us. This means higher interest rates for everybody, for mortgages, student loans, for government debt. You name it. This means a very difficult time going forward.

JOHNS: Rick Santorum called the downgrade another example of the president's epic failure in leadership and said it was a blow to our national image. And Mitt Romney issued a statement saying, "America's credit worthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama's failed record leadership on the economy. Standard & Poor's rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country's decline under President Obama."

Interestingly, former ambassador to China, John Huntsman who used to work for President Obama echoed some of the same sentiments as others, saying in a statement, "For far to long we let reckless government spending go unchecked and the cancerous debt afflicting our nation has spread. We need new leadership in Washington, committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job friendly policies to get America working again."

Frankly it's not all that surprising, of course, because these are people running for the Republican nomination. They don't get brownie points, you know, for basically being nice to the president of the United States. And that's a fact of life. It's been a fact of life in politics for quite a while, especially while you're running in the primaries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: All right, Joe Johns there.

Well, checking our top stories, the navy SEALS call it a big loss; 22 members of the elite commando unit died when Afghan insurgents apparently shut down a helicopter in Wardak Province yesterday. In all, 30 American servicemen died in a helicopter like this one, making it the deadliest loss for U.S. troops since the Afghan war began. They were on their way to reinforce other troops.

Police in North London are calling for a return to calm today. Rioting broke out last night over the death of a local man, a father of four killed Thursday, during a shootout with police after a traffic stop. Rioters set fire to cars and threw rocks and bottles at police officers. Eight of them were hospitalized.

And Reynolds Wolf over there at the map keeping an eye out for us on what's going on. And whether we might be able to expect rain. Though, it doesn't look too likely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

FEYERICK: Listen, I know you're a huge Captain Morgan fan?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, absolutely.

FEYERICK: We're not talking about the spiced rum. We are talking about the privateer Henry Morgan. A team of U.S. archaeologists believe they found parts of his fleet lost off the coast of Panama back in the late 1600s.

Specifically, a 50 by 20 chunk of a wooden hull, along with unopened cargo boxes and chests. They're trying to protect the site from looters. And interesting aside, "International Business Times" is reporting the rum maker Captain Morgan helped fund the dive team. Certainly good all around there.

WOLF: Pretty neat stuff. It only stands to reason that the Captain Morgan Company - is going to-come on, it's a no brainer. Isn't it interesting also that we found Captain Morgan's ship, we also found Black Beard's ship, India's Revenge, just off the Carolinas. It seems like a lot of these are starting to be found all over the place, all over the oceans.

FEYERICK: I once went scuba diving under some wreckage, or in and around it. It's really fascinating. You think of all the history that went on before the ship ended where it is.

WOLF: Absolutely.

FEYERICK: It's very cool to watch. And we'll see what they bring up.

WOLF: Amazing stuff.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. Reynolds Wolf, thank you so much.

WOLF: You bet.

FEYERICK: Appreciate it.

Moody's has lowered the bond ranking for the city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, to junk status. The crisis there is serving as a warning to other towns. We'll examine the problem after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A little music to get you going there and a cool shot of Atlanta.

Well the debt crisis plaguing the country is playing out in microcosm in a small city in Rhode Island, only much, much worse. Moody's dropped Central Falls' bond ranking three notches after the city declared bankruptcy. This could serve as a warning to other cash-strapped cities. Here's CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN GARVEY, BATTALION CHIEF, CENTRAL FALLS FIRE DEPT.: There used to be two stations in Central Falls.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Central Falls Fire Chief John Garvey heard the warnings about pension problems, but he says they were down the road and he expected that road to be a long one.

GARVEY: There was always idle talk about pensions. We never thought it would come to this. We always thought there would be enough there.

SNOW: Now there isn't. It follows years of fiscal mismanagement and declining revenues for Rhode Island's smallest city. Troubles with its schools were so severe, all its teachers were fired at one point. Central Falls' schools are run by the state and volunteers operate the library. It was the city's pension obligations that put it over the edge and into bankruptcy court. Central Falls pension fund is underfunded by an estimated $80 million. Retirees now face the possibility their pensions being cut in half. And they will be required to pay more for health benefits. They don't collect Social Security. Chief Garvey feels cheated. He's been on the force for 25 years, long enough his son has joined him, and his retirement plans are now shelved.

GARVEY: I don't really feel as though it was my fault. My contributions came out of my paycheck ever since day one. Why shouldn't it be there unless somebody else did something wrong.

SNOW: There's anger, but long-time residents like Paul Landry say it's hard to point blame. Landry has worked at his family's hardware store for 50 years and says everyone paid for promises the city couldn't keep.

PAUL LANDRY, BUSINESS OWNER: One mayor after another mayor, another mayor and they just pushed aside, and no one's accountable for what they have.

SNOW: State officials say Central Falls, population 18,000, should serve as a cautionary tale. Other cities in Rhode Island may also be vulnerable and the small state has one of the most expensive retirement systems in the country. Something the state treasurer is tasked to fix.

GINA RAIMONDO, RHODE ISLAND GENERAL TREASURER: Nobody wants to make the tough choices. Central Falls proves that. These choices will be made for you. If you don't act quickly enough, consequences will be devastating. And so as hard as this is now for me, for the governor, for union leaders to come to the table to fix it, it is much easier to fix it now, than when you're at the brink of bankruptcy.

SNOW (on camera): The official motto here at Central Falls is a "City with a Bright Future", but now lawyers for various interested parties are fighting over its dwindling assets. Mary Snow, CNN, Central Falls, Rhode Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: America's credit downgrade is send some folks into full panic mode. Should you sell? Should you hang tight? The managing director of investments at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is joining me next to address all your concerns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, many people may be sitting around the kitchen table this morning trying to figure out bills and retirement investments.

After Thursday's dramatic stock market plunge of 512 points, a lot of people are asking if they should reassess their investments. Thursday's plunge was the worst one-day point drop since December 2008. As you can imagine investment firms have been fielding questions by the thousands. We stopped by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to hear what they're telling their clients. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A little better news on jobs, a little better than people thought, not great, 9.1. Yep, oil is up 40 cents. And it was down 5 percent yesterday. Your portfolio was down 3.1. Your equities did relatively well. The bonds are going to be OK for the most part. The debt deal is very disappointing to many. It really wasn't a deal. It just kicked the can down the road as they say. No real cuts in the immediate time, but it looks like down the road they will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: That was broker Ron Hart talking to his clients. He joins me live this morning.

And Ron, at your firm, what are the biggest questions that are coming up?

RON HART, MANAGING DIR. MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY: What's the next shoe to drop? Is this it? Is it already in the news? Should I take money out of the market now?

Traditionally that's not a good idea. Most investors panic at the wrong time. The stock market, the S&P 500 gets you 9.1 percent over time. The average retail investor, the average person gets 3.8 percent. The reason they do that, is they panic. They get out. The market is a very fickle thing. And mostly it discounts future activity. For example, a 500-point day Thursday was in anticipation of the S&P downgrade probably. Once it's in the market, usually when the bad news is out, it tends to get its footing and go higher.

FEYERICK: What does it mean in today's climate to be rich compared to middle class. We hear a millionaire tax on people making $250,000, not a million. What does it mean to be rich compared to middle class?

HART: They're saying $250,000 a year in income is rich. That's a surprise to many people making $250,000. They have private tuition bills. They have expenses, etc cetera. You are rich based on what you spend. And what you needs are. You know, there is Henry David Thoreau , said one time, the richest persons are the people who have the simplest pleasures. And if you have simple needs and simple wants, you are pretty happy. And here is a guy, of course, that lived by Walden Pond in a cabin, so he was pretty simple.

FEYERICK: Exactly.

HART: And happy.

FEYERICK: And happy for that matter.

Many people don't think that they're going to be able to retire at the same standard of living. That they are going to have to change their lifestyle.

HART: Sure. There's a way to look at that. You sit down with a financial adviser. There are models you have based on Social Security you have coming in, pension money you have coming in, how much 401(k) you have. And you back into the lifestyle that you are comfortable with, that you think you can live with. In retirement a lot of people will sell one car. Instead of having two they'll have one. They'll move to a smaller town where it costs less to live. So there's a lot of ways to live a reasonably robust life on less money. But you have to address it early. You address it by sitting down with your financial adviser, human resources people at your company, and your 401(k). And be very disciplined about your investing. You cannot stop one year and hope you will start back. You have to stick with it. Because over time you'll do well.

FEYERICK: Sure, it has to be disciplined about investing, also disciplined about your lifestyle, too.

HART: True, yes.

FEYERICK: It is so interesting, this is why everybody goes to Florida. There's no tax down there? But I do want to take a look at age groups, OK? We have two scenarios. The first is if somebody is 49-years old. Give us some tips on how they plan, what they do for their retirement. HART: The younger you are, the more time you have. You can make more mistakes. You want to have more equities, stocks, because over time stocks do better than bonds and you have time to make it up at that age.

In this example they are doing pretty well. They have $500,000 net worth, which is the average net worth of someone who retires in America. Sounds pretty high, but my folks, my dad worked for the railroad, he had about that. Very middle class, but he was a diligent saver. They had that and they are living a very comfortable retirement. Look at your Social Security benefits. You go online to get that, or your human resources people at your firm, will tell you what it is. Get your 401(k) and then to have enough money to live the lifestyle you want, and sit down with an adviser and they're tell you how to do it. It's not algebraic equation. Set out for what you want and then-

FEYERICK: Figure it out with algorithm.

HART: And put the amount in necessary where you want to be.

FEYERICK: OK, and let's examine somebody who is making closer to the average American salary. Somebody who is 55 years old, provide some pointers there.

HART: You know, the average person really-the average savings rate in America right now is 5.4 percent. That's what the average person is able to save. They save less in a recession because there's more demand for money at home and kids, et cetera.

You need to be disciplined about that. That person needs to really explore what the firm will do for them. Some firms match 80 percent of what you put in your 401(k). Don't let that go to waste. That's a freebie. A lot of people don't do it.

The other thing is, there's a tendency to withdraw from your IRA when you need money. Very expensive money. Please fight the temptation to do that. Because it is the most expensive money you can borrow.

FEYERICK: OK, Ron Hart, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Next time you come back, I'll ask you a question as to how you plan with what you've got. That's kind of an interesting thing. Ron Hart, thank you so much.

HART: Thanks.

FEYERICK: Appreciate it.

Well, what would bring 915 red heads to Jamestown, New York? They came to remember the woman known as the queen of comedy. We'll tell you what they accomplished, coming up in just about three minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, let's go "X Country" now. First up, Augusta, Georgia.

We never get tired of telling this story. Jonathan Herring (ph), surprises his daughter on her 5th birthday. This says it all. Look at that. Herring has been deployed overseas for the last six months.

And in Jamestown, New York, well, taking a look. That's not Lucille Ball but one of 915 Lucy look-alikes. Turns out, that's a record for the most Lucys one place. The comedienne who starred in the long-running "I Love Lucy" TV series would have turned 100 years old yesterday. The festival draws die-hard Lucy fans from around the world.

Meet Tillman, the newest animal star. Since debuting on YouTube, Portland, Oregon's skateboarding bulldog has become famous. He's doing better than I do. Well, he's done commercials. And now there's even talk he might get his own reality show. Why not? Everybody else seems to have them.

We're getting reaction this morning from overseas markets on the S&P downgrading of America's credit rating Friday. First indications, not good. The latest ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is August 7th.

Good morning. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for T.J. Holmes.

Well, they are among the nation's elite warriors, Navy SEALs. And this morning, the families and friends of 22 SEALs and eight other U.S. troops are mourning their deaths in Afghanistan. We've got new details for you.

Plus, fires, looting and violence in north London. We'll tell you what led some people to torch police cars, buildings and a bus.

And we didn't have to wait very long for the reaction on the overseas markets of the S&P downgrading of America's credit rating. Trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was temporarily halted after stocks began plunging.

CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Kevin Flower joins us live by phone.

And, Kevin, tell us what happened.

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF (via telephone): Well, Deborah, early this morning, pre-opening trading on Israel's main Bursa, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, registered a drop of more than 6 percent on the main benchmark index. Now, that led to a delay of the opening of the market of 45 minutes. And it's worth noting here that Israel's exchange operates on a Sunday through Thursday schedule. And it is among the first in the world to react to the Standard & Poor's rating cut of the U.S. credit rating.

Now, what analysts here are telling us is that this is not only a market reaction to the credit downgrade in the United States, but also a response to broader losses posted last week and on Friday on global markets.

So, it's not entirely a surprise that the markets are continuing to be down today. Right now, they stand about the same percentage down, about 5 percent to 6 percent. But it is an illustration of the worry -- the growing worry about U.S. and European debt levels. And, in fact, late last night, the finance minister here had an emergency meeting of his economic advisers to discuss what Israel should do, what steps it should take in response to the credit downgrade. He said it was a warning sign, reminding all of us that we are still navigating the ship of Israeli's financing, quote, "stormy waters."

So, Deb, the fears remain here about the global credit environment and what's it affect will be on Israel.

FEYERICK: All right. Kevin Flower for us in Jerusalem -- thank you so much. Clearly, that a strategic move in order to try and stabilize the market.

OK. Well, now to that chopper crash in Afghanistan that killed 30 U.S. service members. It was the single deadliest loss for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the war began a decade ago.

This morning, we're beginning to learn the names of those killed, where they're from and how their families are remembering them.

One was Navy SEAL Aaron Carson Vaughn, a Tennessee native. He was the father of a 2-year-old son and a 2-month-old girl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENEVA CARSON VAUGHN, GRANDMOTHER OF NAVY SEAL (via telephone): It was Aaron's birthday. In June, he turned 30. And I told him to be careful. And he said, "Granny, don't worry about me," he said, "I'm not afraid because I know where I'm going if something happens to me." Aaron was a Christian. And he stood firm in his faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, the chopper went down in Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, apparently shot down by the Taliban.

This is filed video of the type of helicopter that they were on, a CH-47 Chinook.

Twenty-two of the dead were Navy SEALs, most were members SEAL Team Six, the elite counterterrorism unit that brought down Osama bin Laden, though none of these killed were involved in that raid.

And the deaths come as the Pentagon begins to drawdown U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Joining us from Washington, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis.

And, Bob, the loss of this team, these men, is particularly devastating.

ROBERT MAGINNIS, RETIRED U.S. AMRY COLONEL: Well, it really is, Deborah. You know, keep in mind, we only have a few thousand SEALs and only one out of 10 or more pass the SEAL's program. So, this is devastating. And keep, the president changed our strategy over the next year and move on to a counterterrorism strategy, which means we have to depend upon these Special Forces, these excellently trained, very highly skilled people.

FEYERICK: You know, it's interesting, because the Special Forces -- usually, they're also the first ones in. They're the ones who are getting a lay of the land, looking at terrain, things like that, especially in Afghanistan. And now, they're likely to be the last one out.

The circumstances that led to this crash, it's going to be important. First of all, why such a loud helicopter in that region carrying so many men? Is that usual?

MAGINNIS: Well, it's not necessarily usual. It depends upon really what comes out of the investigation. It looks as if perhaps they were a quick reaction force that was going to a firefight already in progress in a very remote area. The Tangi Valley, quite frankly, is a Taliban strongpoint and has become here recently as we've withdrawn our forces back to areas that are more secure.

At the same time, when they went in there, they went in to steep mountains, you know, well-concealed areas. It was dark. They were using night vision goggles, very complex flying with a large helicopter like a CH-47 down to a very small area. So, a lot of complexities.

The investigations will tell us exactly what happened. But, you know, these are the types of operations we'll probably find more of in the future.

FEYERICK: You know, any night operation, especially in the mountains, is very, very difficult. The pilots would be using NVGs and there would be multiple ships on a big mission. The target for the operation is obviously very important.

These guys, is it likely they were going after senior Taliban leaders or members of the Haqqani Network?

MAGINNIS: Yes, high value target, Haqqani perhaps, he's one of the main adversary leaders in the area. Keep in mind, we had an option here. And I think it's sacrificial l to a certain degree.

You know, we could have put bombs on there and innocent people might have died. No, we chose to go in by raid, just like the decision we went after Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. We could have put bombs on that target. Once again, you know, we saved innocent lives so that we could just take out who we needed to take out. So, these are tough decisions, our commanders, General Allen, and his folks over in Afghanistan are making, but probably right decisions for the goodwill of America in that war-torn country. FEYERICK: You know, one Navy SEAL who spoke to us here at CNN said the one part of the mission they always hate is that helicopter ride because it's the one element that they cannot have control over. You think of these guys, they're individuals, they are complete -- they are so independent and they operate as part of a very tight-knit team. But each know exactly what their mission is.

And this is just -- you know, to be in that kind of situation, I mean, I hate to say, a sitting duck or a target, but you kind of get that sense for so many to be on that helicopter. Do you think they were warned, the people on the ground?

MAGINNIS: Well, of course, you can hear a CH-47 miles away. But in the mountains and the valleys it's echoed, it's hard to know exactly where it is. Clearly, we would have mapped out that chart or that pathway in there. There would have been some cover from both ground and air.

But, you know, keep in mind, this is complex stuff. It is dark out there. There aren't any cities for -- other types of light sources. You're depending upon, you know, kind of the seat of your pants, in some cases, when you go into tough places like that.

And, of course, it's easy to sit on the ground and fire at something in the air that you can see in moonlight.

It's just a very tough situation.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis -- obviously, a clear loss for everyone involved. Thank you so much. We appreciate you being here.

MAGINNIS: Thank you, Deborah.

FEYERICK: Well, chaos on the streets of London overnight after demonstrators protesting the alleged police killing of a local man began burning vehicles and buildings near the Tottenham police station.

ITN's Richard Pallot tells us what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD PALLOT, JOURNALIST WITH ITN (via telephone): Mark Duggan, he was a father of four, was shot in north London on Thursday. And about 20 to 30 members of his family and friends marched to the police station. They had a very peaceful protest. But from there, it has escalated now.

Now, obviously, many of the people involved in this incident has nothing to do with the friends and family of (INAUDIBLE). And there will be many questions as to just who they are.

But, basically, it escalated from that. We have police cars torched, a very iconic London double decker red bus burning in the middle of the High Street. Shot of the some fires, residential house on fire. At one stage, I believe, there were some people trapped in there.

So, it's absolutely chaos. And it's not showing any signs of slowing down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Eight police officers were injured in the violence.

Three thousand athletes going to head to head in an ultimate test of endurance. The 11th annual New York City triathlon going on right now.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is in New York.

And, Elizabeth, they have to swim, bike and then run. We saw them going into the water. Bring us up to date.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I just watched the CNN team get right into the water, Deb. It was so exciting. They're part of 3,000 competitors.

They go in the water and they swim for a mile in the Hudson River. And then get out of the Hudson and they bike for 25 miles and then in Central Park, they run for 6 miles.

It's an incredible test of endurance. They have about half the competitors in and half the competitors will be going in soon -- Deb.

FEYERICK: And what's -- you know, walking around there, the energy has to be really high. Our guys, the CNN six-pack, as they're called, they trained for a long time. They got their bodies ready and they clearly had to get their minds around it, too. They were really jazzed. They were really psyched for this.

COHEN: Right. The six-pack is what we call six folks who competed to see if they could run in this race under sort of our hospices. And, you know, these weren't elite athletes. These are six people, many of whom weren't in good shape, many of whom needed to lose weight, and they trained for a triathlon.

And, Deb, if I walk along here, as I did most morning, what I see is, of course, many elite athletes but many people who are clearly not elite athletes. And they just decided to do this -- people of all shapes and sizes. And they decided that this is important to them, they made it their goal.

And it really was surprising to me that you can be a triathlete and not be in top shape.

FEYERICK: There's a lot of weekend warriors there. I'm certainly not one of them.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. We'll check in with you later on. I know you got a show coming up. Thanks so much.

Well, second life for what was once tropical storm Emily. Reconstituted off the Florida coast.

Reynolds has the lowdown on the storm, not to mention the blistering heat back on the Southern Plains -- Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. There's a one-two punch in weather this morning. Of course, Emily is the storm that just will not fade away. It is say tropical depression right now. We'll let you know how it will affect the U.S., if it will affect it at all.

And we're going to talk about the relentless heat that has been going on over a month in Dallas. We'll show you if there's any sign of relief in sight. See you in a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: It looks like the south Central Plains and Gulf Coast are looking at more triple digit heat this week.

Reynolds Wolf in the weather center.

Triple digits, it's a tough one.

WOLF: It's brutal. It's ridiculous. I mean, this has been a seemingly never-ending heat wave. And it looks like we're in store for more of it for this week.

I hate to say it for Texas, but again, that's basically -- that's what we got to have. This is what we're going to deal with.

What we also dealing is what's left of tropical depression Emily. It's still -- I mean, it's got winds get up to 35 miles an hour. If the wind gets to, say, 39, it would no longer be tropical depression. It would be tropical storm Emily. And if wind were to intensify a bit more, it's going up all the way to, say, 74 miles per hour, then we're not talking about a tropical storm, we're talking about a hurricane.

Well, what we forecast with this, at least the last forecast path we have from the National Hurricane Center does a couple of things. It shows that the forecast has it retaining a tropical depression to form as we get into Monday and we get into Monday afternoon, should pull just the north of Bermuda.

So, it looks like it's going to be pulling away from the U.S., not bringing much in terms of, well, at least some heavy wave action along the coast. But also, a little bit of beneficial rainfall from much of Florida, too.

Unfortunately, rain is not going to be big in the picture for Texas. Hot, very, very humid and with that, the high heat is going to be brutal. And parts of the Ohio valley and into the Midwest, storms may pop up into the afternoon.

And for those of you who may be heading up to watch the big race in New York, well, what you can expect for the triathlon, the chance of thunderstorms, maybe even some heavier storms into the afternoon with temperatures mainly into the 70s and 80s by mid-afternoon, but with about a 60 percent chance of that precipitation.

Let's talk a bit more about that heat, though --105 is the expected high in Dallas, Texas; 100 in Memphis; 96 in Kansas City; back over to Denver and Salt Lake City, mainly some 80s and 90s; 97 in Albuquerque; 83 in Portland; 70 in Los Angeles; and back into New York, your high into the mid to upper 80s, 88 degrees in downtown New York.

All right. You're up to speed. That's the latest in the forecast. Let's pitch it back to you, Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

Well, it's been nearly four decades since "The Partridge Family" sang its last tune. But start David Cassidy says he's owed royalty fees and he's not happy. He's talking exclusively with CNN, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Remember the old "Partridge Family" song, "Come On Get Happy"? I'd sing it but -- actually I would but I'm not going to.

Former cast member David Cassidy, he's not singing that tune, saying he's been gypped out of thousands of dollars for nearly four decades.

CNN's Poppy Harlow has more.

Good morning, Poppy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Deb.

Well, Cassidy says he's owed a fortune for those "Partridge Family" family lunchboxes, board games and all the merchandise from the hit show and now, he's waging a battle to get paid for it.

HARLOW (voice-over): It's 1970 and a 20-year-old named David Cassidy is starring in "The Partridge Family." Not only did the show and sold-out concerts go on to make him a star, but the teen idol's success spawns an avalanche of merchandise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a dress-up set. Remember these? Oh, gosh. Nice outfit, David.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please put your hands together for the one and only David Cassidy!

HARLOW: Thirty seven years after the "Partridge Family" went off the air, Cassidy still performing and producing. And now, he's on a personal mission to get paid for that merchandise from Sony, which owns the show.

(on camera): You say you've been robbed for the last few decades.

DAVID CASSIDY, ACTOR: How would you call it? If somebody does not pay you and you are entitled to a percentage of the profits and you know they are making profits, is that stealing?

HARLOW (voice-over): Cassidy says according to his contract, while the program was on the air, he was entitled to 15 percent of net merchandising profits when his image was used. Half that if he appeared with other cast members.

(on camera): Were you paid for that?

CASSIDY: I was told by my manager I received a check for $5,000 and I never heard another word.

HARLOW (voice-over): Cassidy's lawyer sent this letter to Sony requesting a prompt and full accounting and payment of proceeds for any merchandise sold using his name, likeness, voice or other exercise of such merchandising rights.

Sony responded that it could not locate any merchandising statements, but found letters showing that Mr. Cassidy's representatives audited such statements. Therefore, they must have been rendered to him.

The company went on to say it was not aware of any new merchandising licenses with his name, voice and likeness after "The Partridge Family" went off the air, and said the statutes of limitations had run out on any claims.

Sony had no other comment to CNN.

CASSIDY: I don't want to sue you. Just be fair. Be real. Be genuine. Don't be greedy.

HARLOW: As for the other cast members, Brian Forster, who played Chris Partridge, says he did get about $1,100 for merchandising back in the '70s. But the others we spoke with said they either didn't have a merchandising deal or don't remember getting paid for any items.

And, of course, Cassidy's battle follows the ongoing fight between cast members of "Happy Days" and CBS over merchandising money. You can see our full story on David Cassidy. It's tonight on "CNN PRESENTS" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. And you can see a lot more on CNNMoney.com -- Deb.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: All right. Thanks, Poppy.

Well, it's a test of physical strength and stamina, the New York City triathlon. It's going on now. Take a look. We're going to take you there, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FEYERICK: Well, checking our top stories:

Thirty U.S. service members have been killed in the downing of a troop helicopter in Afghanistan. The chopper crashed in an area believed to be a Taliban stronghold. Among those killed, 22 Navy SEALs. It involved a Chinook helicopter, like this one. It's the deadliest loss for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war began 10 years ago.

Police in north London are calling for a return to calm today. Rioting broke out last night over the death of a local man. A father of four killed Thursday during a shootout with police after a traffic stop. Rioters set fire to cars and threw rocks and bottles at police. Eight officers were injured.

And 45,000 union workers are on strike at Verizon. They walked off the job this morning after contract negotiations broke down. The Communications Workers of America, the CWA, represents most union members from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. At issue: health care and pensions.

And the 11th annual New York City triathlon is going on right now in New York. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is standing by.

Elizabeth, you're going to take over with a special edition of "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." and we're looking forward to seeing how our athletes are doing.

COHEN: Yes. They're applauding you here, if you can hear that, Deb, here on the banks of the Hudson. We're going to have a great show in a couple of minutes. We've got a mile of swimming, 25 miles of biking, six miles of running. Just in a few minutes.

All right. We're starting now. You see some of the athletes starting now -- 3,000 athletes, about half have started already and half are still going.

We've got several CNN producers competing in this race, plus we have the six-pack. These are six people who in February, Deb, they had never done anything athletic in their life. They were couch potatoes. We gave them six months of training and they are competing today.

And that's the first part there. Then once they're done with this one-mile swim, they will go on for 25-mile bike ride, which is along the banks of the Hudson and then they'll have the six-mile run in Central Park. And we'll be there every step of the way.

And you're going to meet some of these really incredible people who, six months ago, had never done anything like this and now they're doing a triathlon -- Deb.

FEYERICK: There's too much going on there in New York. So take it away, Elizabeth Cohen.