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Sell Off Continues on Wall Street; $100 Million Atlantis Exhibit to Open; Spurs Secret Weapon; Tougher Security in Immigration Bill

Aired June 20, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. markets are still dropping after the Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's comments yesterday.

Joining me now from New York is Christine Romans. Are the markets looking better?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST, YOUR MONEY: No. They aren't, really. And they're calling it the taper tantrum, Carol, because this is all about whether the fed will start tapering back stimulus in the economy. The economy has been just full every month; $85 billion a month the fed has been pumping into the economy.

And the fed chief yesterday said, "You know, eventually things will be good enough in the job market, et cetera, they'll be able to pull that back and just that consideration has really spooked global markets. I want to show you and give you a snapshot really of how everything around the world is moving.

You can see gold prices tumbling here today at a two and a half year low, down about five percent. Six percent in gold prices, oil prices are falling below $96 a barrel. The ten-year yield, interest rates are rising right now. And overseas stock markets, down one percent to three percent. All but I think 100 stocks are lower this morning in the U.S.

So it has been a widespread cross market reaction as basically the financial markets get used to the idea that the Fed is not going to be in there at this level forever. We also got initial jobless claims this morning that are a little bit higher showing maybe a little bit -- you know not as much strength in the jobs market as you would like. That spooked people a little bit, nervous investors.

Also, this Carol, is the end of the quarter. It's also the end of -- coming up here on the end of the first half of the year, so you've got some fund managers are saying, "Hey look, we're up 13 percent, we're up 14 percent for the year, let's take some money off the table. So that's one of the reasons why you're seeing kind of a bit of a pile- on.

Also there are these worries over all on Wall Street that is the -- is the U.S. economy really ready Carol to go on its own without the fed? Record unemployment in Europe, China is slowing, and this nagging concern that without the fed propping up the U.S. economy, you're just not going to get very much U.S. growth. If you look at how much the fed has done and we only have two percent growth in the U.S. that's causing -- that's causing quite a bit of worry.

So these are all of the big things that the folks are grappling with this morning and why you're seeing stocks down so much -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans. I'm sure you'll keep an eye on it for us the rest of the day.

ROMANS: I sure will.

COSTELLO: Even though you must be tired by now. She got up very early, 3:00 in the morning.

ROMANS: I know.

COSTELLO: It flew it's final flight nearly two years ago. Now the space shuttle Atlantis is on a brand new mission. John Zarrella will tell you what it is, next.

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COSTELLO: When the Atlantis exhibit opens to visitors next week at the Kennedy Space Center, you'll get a chance to get an up-close and personal look at the space shuttle that many have never seen. John Zarrella has the story.

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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Up close, nearly close enough to touch it. But still, it begs the question, is it real?

TOM JONES, SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT: You don't realize the size when you're livening in a cabin up front --

ZARRELLA: Tom Jones flew four shuttle missions, one on Atlantis. But one of the last time he saw it, it was wrapped in shrink wrap as the museum was built around it. And now even he, an astronaut, is in awe of it.

JONES: But to really see the spaceship up close was a rare event. It was always cloak and scaffolding in the hangar you saw of different pieces, like seeing the elephant as the blind man. You never got this close to the vehicle fully revealed until it was right after landing, and even then it was just for a glimpse.

ZARRELLA: When the $100 million Atlantis exhibit opens this is how everyone will see it. A flying machine like none ever built.

ALVIN DREW, SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT: Are we ever that audacious to go build spacecraft to do things like that? And I think we're going to look back and it's going to be as if it was something out of a science fiction movie.

ZARRELLA: Atlantis and other orbiters now retired are reminders of both the past and the present. For two years since Atlantis touched down at the Kennedy Space Center the U.S. has been without its own means to put astronauts in space. CHRISTOPHER FERGUSON, SHUTTLE COMMANDER: We've called it a gap, I'm not sure how long it's going to last. That's dependent upon these future commercial providers.

ZARRELLA: Commercial companies have taken over ferrying cargo to the International Space Station but not people. That was supposed to happen by 2015. Now the gap has widened. It's a very iffy 2017. Target dates are etched in sand, not stone. Not enough money from congress, NASA says, so astronauts fly on Russian rockets.

Jones believes a new generation of space explorers will find their inspiration right here.

JONES: A young person could come in here and say, I want to fly something like this, I want to help design something like this, and it can be part of their future. And that's a very bright future for American in the 20th century, if we capitalize on the experience we have here.

ZARRELLA: NASA is also working on a rocket for deep space missions. That, too, is years away. So for now the information gap is being filled by vehicles not on the launch pad but in museums.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That is really cool. Exhibits being built around Atlantis display will include a wall-length digital screen that will give you a simulation of the space shuttle in flight, so go see it. That looks really cool.

Still ahead on the NEWSROOM, the Spurs secret weapon that can't execute the pick and roll, but they perfected the kneel and pray.

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COSTELLO: More drama from what's been the most thrilling Stanley Cup finals in years. Brent Seabrook scored the winning goal as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in overtime last night. The series now tied at two games each. Three to four games went into overtime game five Saturday night in Chicago.

But will divine intervention play a role in tonight's winner take all NBA finals game? You know all about the weapons on the court. Miami's big three, LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh and there is San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, but the Spurs have another secret weapon. Not coming off the bench but off the pew.

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SISTER ROSALBA GARCIA, SALESIAN SISTERS OF ST. JOHN BOSCO: We're praying for them. We lost our heart to bless them for the next game. Forget about this one.

SISTER ANGELITA GUZMAN, SALESIAN SISTERS OF ST. JOHN BOSCO: I have seen St. Joseph, I had the blessed mother, and the three rosaries that they were dispersed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He'd better watch out. You don't mess with nuns. The Salesian sisters of St. John Bosco in San Antonio as you can see are huge Spurs fans and they are praying for the team. And unlike those Miami Heat fans who left the arena before the end of game six. I'll bet those nuns will watch tonight's Game 7 until the final horn.

Just ahead in the NEWSROOM the woman who taught many of us how to gallop gracefully, she's back. And she's got a message for her new legions of fans.

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COSTELLO: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the federal government in a case of free speech. Just a few minutes ago, the high court says the federal government cannot deny funds from its anti-AIDS program to organizations that will not actively oppose legalizing prostitution. The court says that would violate the First Amendment. The ruling throws out the current government policy.

New developments this morning on the immigration reform bill and a possible compromise over tougher border security measures. Dana Bash joins us now from Capitol Hill. Tell us more.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're watching the senate floor, Carol, because we expect this to play out there probably in the next half hour or so, and we should note our senate producer Ted Barrett broke this story, and here's why this is significant.

What is significant is what we're going to see is conservative Republicans explaining a deal that they struck. They've been working on it for several days, but that they struck last night which would, they say, do a lot to assuage the concerns of a lot of conservatives out there about border security.

What many people who are reluctant to sign onto this immigration bill say is they don't want to do anything that gives citizenship ultimately to illegal immigrants, which this bill would, unless they are absolutely sure that the border is secure. So what this package does is effectively double the number of border agents. It will say that the fence that had started to be built would have more mileage on it. They're going to make sure that there is more enforcement in the interior of this country.

So those are some of the kinds of things that they're going to do. And the reason why it matters is because the people who have been working on this compromise, this so-called Gang of Eight, they are hoping that this will bring along more Republican senators, beef up the ultimate number of yes votes when this gets out of the senate and force the hand of the house speaker, the Republican leaders in the House, to bring this up and to really keep the momentum going for immigration so that ultimately they can get this to the President's desk. Because it is incredibly important politically, many Republicans feel in order to start to repair the damage that they feel that they have done with Hispanic voters, who of course, needless to say are a hugely important voting block and growing voting bloc in this country.

COSTELLO: All right, Dana Bash, thanks so much.

Checking our top stories at 47 minutes past the hour, in Arizona, a wildfire in the Prescott National Forest grows to 7,500 acres in less than two days. Our affiliate KNXV reports At least 460 homes have been evacuated. No structures lost as of now, but investigators say someone did cause this fire. They're still looking for the source.

San Francisco's district attorney is calling a couple of landlords the "landlords from hell" for the way they terrorized tenants to try to get them to move out. Tactics including sawing a hole in the floor of one man's apartment while he was inside the apartment.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the things that they did, for instance, is they actually cut a large hole in the living room. We know also that there were many other things that took place. The defendants soak the victim's bed and clothes and electronics with ammonia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wow. Kip and Nicole Macey pleaded guilty to residential burglary, stalking and attempted grand theft. They will be sentenced in August to four years in prison as part of a plea deal.

Lawyers for the fashion moguls, Dolce and Gabbana say they will appeal a 20-month prison sentence for tax evasion. An Italian court says the two tried to avoid paying taxes on more than a billion dollars in royalty. For other associates, they're also facing prison time. Dolce & Gabbana denied the charges.

Comedian Stephen Colbert took some time last night to reflect on something that touched him. It's obvious. It was the first time that he was back at the helm of his Comedy Central Show in a week because his mother, Lorna, had died. Colbert opened with a tribute to her memory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, TALK SHOW HOST: She made a very loving home for us. No fights between siblings could end without hugs and kisses though hugs never needed a reason in her house. Singing and dancing were encouraged except at the dinner table. She had trained to be an actress when she was younger, and she would teach us how to do stage falls by pretending to faint on the kitchen floor.

She was fun. And I know it may sound greedy to want more days with a person who lived so long, but the fact that my mother was 92 does not diminish it, it only magnifies the enormity of the room whose door has now quietly shut. Her favorite memory of prayer was a young mother tucking in her children. We were the light of her life, and she let us know it till the end. And that's it. Thank you for listening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Any time, Stephen Colbert. Colbert added that when he left his mother's side for the last time last week, told her he was going to go back to do a show in New York, and his mom said, "I can't wait to see it. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Lorna Colbert was 92.

We're back in a moment.

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COSTELLO: She is the Internet's latest star -- a 61-year-old sensation who taught us how to Prancercise. And now Joanna Roarbach has returned, reflecting on her newfound with prancercise addict Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pop meets prancercise. When a big star named John Mayer turns the prancercise lady into the leading lady on his new single -- it's natural to wonder, hold your horses, how did that happen? Joanna Rohrback's says her understanding is that Mayer saw her original Prancercise video with the volume turned down while he was working on his song.

JOANNA ROHRBACK: He saw that my movements synchronized with the sun very well.

MOOS: Next thing you know, Mayer's crew was shooting her prancercising fantasizing to paper doll. It's been a surreal ride for Joanna. Imagine seeing yourself spoofed by a horse, by a family, by a lady walking her dog.

ROHRBACK: It's been very chaotic, to be honest with you, Jeanne. I just can't seem to get a handle on everything.

MOOS: Joanna calls the reaction to our rhythmic exercise routine inspired by horses, overwhelming but thrilling. Prancercise has even spawned Twittercise. Your tweets get pretty jumbled when you shift to a gallop.

I'm not especially proud to say that I was one of the first news people to prancercise publicly. I'm channeling my inner horse. It's exhausting. Maybe my colleagues in the news business should have known better than to follow in my Prancercise steps.

On the "Today" show, it was almost a Prancercise collision between the hosts on HLN's "NEWS NOW," anchor Mike Galanos led to what amounted to a Prancercise flash mob. And on the KTWO morning show and you cast for, a fitness trainer gave her critic. Here they come prancing onto the sea so what are you looking at right now. ROHRBACK: Just a lot of flailing around right now is what I see.

Nobody is really doing it, you know. They're imitating what they think is prancesrcise. These aren't doing -- the actual movement.

MOOS: Tell that to the unicorn.

Let's face it, we all look as graceless as donkeys compared to the princess of prancercising.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: We live in such a weird country but I love it. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a break.

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ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield -- a very busy show ahead. Today's main news and, then as always, our take on day time justice. A major move by the U.S. Senate expected any moment now to secure the United States-Mexico border as part of a bigger immigration reform bill.

CNN broke the news of the plan at the plan in the works yesterday which includes a border surge that would double the number of border patrol officers to more than $40 billion. It would also include 700 miles of fencing.