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NATO Investigating Libya Claim; Gates: U.S. Talking with Taliban; Critical Fire Risk in 7 States; Casey Anthony on the Defense; Teased Child Becomes A Rock Star; Rescue, Recycle and Rebuild; Hot Smartphone Apps for Summer; Jon Huntsman to Officially Announce Bid Tuesday; First Lady Michelle Obama Heading to Africa; The Importance of Fathers; Pandora Goes Public
Aired June 19, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, where the news unfolds live on this Father's Day, June 19th, 2011. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
We begin today in Libya, where NATO is investigating Libya's claim that a NATO strike on a Tripoli neighborhood killed at least nine people. Libyan officials took journalists on a tour of that neighborhood today.
A NATO spokesman talked with our T.J. Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CMDR. MIKE BRACKEN, NATO SPOKESMAN: And we've heard a lot of propaganda from - and accusations from the Gadhafi regime over the last few weeks, but on this occasion we - we are very carefully looking at this matter.
And, you know, we have to look carefully because NATO were operating in Tripoli last night. We were operating in Northern Tripoli. We've identified (INAUDIBLE) and we found it was being used, and therefore, you know, we have to then take that out because it was putting a huge risk on the civilians in - in the area and also threatening our forces themselves.
At the end of the day, our pilots and our air crews (ph) are - are very well trained, and we use very sophisticated, precision guided weapons to avoid civilian casualties.
But let's be clear. You know, you can reduce risks in every way possible, but you can never make them zero in a (INAUDIBLE) campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Elsewhere in Libya, hospital records indicate that at least eight people died, most of them rebels, in fighting west of Misrata.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates today confirmed that the U.S. is holding preliminary peace talks with Afghan rebels. Afghan President Hamid Karzai disclosed the talks this weekend. Appearing on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning, Gates described the discussions with Taliban rebels as being very preliminary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The real reconciliation talks are not likely to be able to make any substantive headway, until at least this winter. I think that the Taliban have to feel themselves under military pressure and begin to believe that they can't win before they're willing to have a serious conversation.
We've all said all along that a political outcome is the way most of these wars end. The question is when - when and if they're ready to talk seriously about meeting the red lines that President Karzai and that the coalition have laid down, including totally disavowing al Qaeda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Gates has been Secretary of Defense since 2006. He is scheduled to step down at the end of this month.
New York could soon become the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. The state Senate could hold a vote on the Marriage Equality Act tomorrow. Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed the measure and the State Assembly passed it last week. Senate supporters need one more Republican to back the bill before the current legislative session ends this week.
The Big Man of the music world has died. Clarence Clemons was the saxophonist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band for almost 40 years. His ability to fuse blues, jazz, rock and funk on that sax made him a favorite with other artists as well, including Aretha Franklin, Jackson Browne and Lady Gaga.
The 6'4" Clemons died from complications of a stroke. He was 69.
In the Western U.S., wildfires are spreading at an alarming rate and today firefighters are confronting some of the worst weather conditions of the season. Red flag warnings are up in parts of seven states. That means weather conditions, mainly high heat, low humidity and strong winds, pose an extreme fire risk.
The number one priority for firefighters, a massive blaze in South Eastern Arizona. It's known as the Monument Fire and weather conditions in the area are said to be as bad as they can get.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is live now from Sierra Vista, Arizona. So what are firefighters up against there?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I can tell you, it is going to be hot, and, you can tell, it's already windy. Temperatures today are expected to hit 101 degrees.
And if you take a look at the ridge just right over my shoulder, where it's all smoky, out there is where firefighters had had to fight this fire. The primary line of defense has been an air defense. The winds are gusting up there at 50 miles an hour and so all the aircraft have been grounded for today, until the winds subside, and so that means the firefighters are going to have to hold the line on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Flames raced down steep canyons into tinder- dry grasslands, igniting a ten-foot-high wall of flames that fanned across the valley near Sierra Vista, Arizona. High winds, spreading the blaze, forced the evacuation of nearly 7,000 residents, who fled with whatever they could carry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I may not come back to anything. I don't know.
GUTIERREZ: Fire officials say conditions couldn't be any worse. It hasn't rained since December. A drought, high desert temperatures, and strong winds have made this fire disastrous.
CHUCK POTUCEK, SIERRA VISTA CITY MANAGER: Now, looking up at the mountains, very, very difficult terrain. Very steep, a lot of canyons and elevation there. Very difficult to get fire response in there. So that's mostly an air response area.
As you come lower out of the mountains, you're talking, you know, oak trees and grassland, and once it breaks out into that grassland there's really nothing to stop it.
GUTIERREZ: More than 700 firefighters have come from all over the country to help battle the Monument fire that started near the Coronado National Park near the U.S.- Mexican border.
So far, 47 homes and 22 structures have been destroyed.
As for the cause of the fire, officials say it's still under investigation, but they do say they know where and when the fire started.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ: Now, fire investigators say they also know that this Monument Fire is cause by humans, but they say to go beyond that would be speculation at this point until their investigation is over with - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so the proximity, Thelma, to where the fire is and the downtown area of Sierra Vista?
GUTIERREZ: Fredricka, Sierra Vista is a population of about 40,000 people. Now, that fire is about four miles away.
The good news is they've established a perimeter around it and they say they've been able to hold the line. So that's the good news for right now.
WHITFIELD: All right, Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much, from Sierra Vista, Arizona.
So wildfires in the west, powerful storms in the south. We'll check in with Jacqui Jeras in a few minutes to find out about the other extreme weather conditions taking place across the country.
And now, to other news, attorneys for Amanda Knox, convicted of killing her roommate in Italy, are calling on inmates to help them try to prove her innocence. Five prisoners testified yesterday Knox was not involved in the murder.
One, a convicted child killer, said a fellow inmate told him he was there when another man killed the woman, and Knox was not there. Three others back the story, but the fifth inmate, a convicted mobster, said his own brother did it during a break in.
Back in this country, Casey Anthony's defense team is also going on the offense. Yesterday, famed forensic pathologist Werner Spitz talked about what he found when he had the chance to examine the remains of Anthony's little girl, Caylee. He said the autopsy that was performed had some serious flaws.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. WERNER SPITZ, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: If an autopsy was done in a - corresponding to what I think every forensic pathologist will tell you, where the head is not opened, that tells me about a shoddy autopsy. Excuse me the expression, but you provoked it. A shoddy autopsy because if the head is not opened, what else wasn't examined?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And in about 10 minutes from now, find out how our legal guys think the case is going.
And the popular video game company Sega is hacked. Over a million customers find their information compromised. Details when we return.
But first, this Father's Day weekend, we're asking you and our staff to share your best advice from dad. One of our associate producers is Hanna Gordola, and her dad, Cesar, had his - this fatherly advice to offer, saying, "There's no reason for you not to try. If they can do it, you can do it better."
And here's what some of you said on Twitter. Cheryl Smith, "Dad up to this day says that failure is a luxury one cannot afford." And Cecile G. tweeted, "Integrity above all! Got me to where I am and it's a great place. Thanks Papa!"
And Jeanie Stella says, "My Dad said, 'Find a man who loves you more than he loves himself." I did!" she says, "And for 43 years." And Arthur Cray tweeted, "Our dad's advice was whatever you do wrong, don't get caught."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A rough spring for parts of the south, and now more bad weather. Strong storms have flared across Georgia and other neighboring states this weekend, knocking down trees, damaging homes and businesses and even starting fires, like you see there. Lightning is believed to have struck this house in the Atlanta suburb and one of the neighbors actually caught the flames on video.
Let's check with our Jacqui Jeras. This has been an entire year, so far. The entire six months, you know, it's been wacky weather.
(CROSSTALK)
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Extreme weather. I know. It keeps - it keeps me in business.
WHITFIELD: Yes it does.
JERAS: So that's a good thing there, but we still want -
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: But it's dangerous.
JERAS: Yes. There are a lot of dangers out there, and that's going to continue to be an issue. Severe storms, like the ones that rumbled through the Atlanta area yesterday, are going be possible.
Later on this afternoon and this evening, as we take a look at the map at this hour, not a lot of action going on, but we think things are going to fire up over here as we head into the afternoon and evening. In fact the Storm Prediction Center issuing a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms across parts of Nebraska, into Kansas, Colorado and into southwestern parts of Iowa, large hail, damaging winds and some isolated tornados are going to be possible here. And then these complexes of thunderstorms expected to move through the middle Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys and eventually make their way down towards the southeast.
So our other weather concern, of course, those fires that have been continuing to burn. We heard about the Monument Fire which unfortunately continues to be raging out of control at this hour. And the winds today, this is the big deal, are those winds. They're going to be gusting as much as 50 miles per hour, so that's going allow for a lot of torching. We're going to get embers that are going to be blowing ahead of that fire, starting new, smaller fires and making it very difficult to put out.
It's a very large area today where we have these critical fire conditions, not to mention temperatures pushing towards 100 degrees. Relative humidity down there in the single digits in terms of percentage. You know, low humidity is like below 30 percent, so when we're talking, like seven to 10 percent. That is just extremely, extremely dry.
Now, the one thing that we're looking forward to, by the way, is the monsoon season. You're like, what? Monsoon? Isn't that in India? Yes.
Well, guess what? We kind of have that in Arizona too, and it usually gets going somewhere around the Fourth of July. We haven't seen it yet.
What happens is that conditions in the Southwest gets so very, very dry. We get what we call a thermal low. Basically the pressure over land becomes a little bit lower, and since the water temperatures are cooler, eventually that starts to fill into the area. So we start to get some of this moisture coming into the Pacific, across parts of the southwest. That combines with the heat and we start to get thunderstorms, and as long as we get that seasonal reversal of the winds, that's the definition of a monsoon, we'll start to see those thunderstorms beginning to pick up.
Unfortunately we're not seeing any signs that that monsoon is going to kick it in early. It doesn't look like we're going to see much moisture in this area at all for at least another week, and boy, do we need that moisture. If you take a look at the drought monitor, you know, Arizona, New Mexico, into Texas, all of this area that's so dark, like that, the very, very dark brown color that you see here, that's what we call an exceptional drought. That is the worst category, to give you a perspective just how dry it is.
We also have some drought conditions in part of the east here, Fredricka, and we've got a story coming up in the 4:00 Eastern hour that I want everybody to listen to. Florida is having problems with their drought. It's so bad, some cities are worried they're going to be running out of water.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.
JERAS: So make sure you -
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: -- later in the NEWSROOM for that.
WHITFIELD: We will be watching. We'll be tuned in for that one.
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jacqui.
All right, we've heard a lot from experts in the murder trial of Casey Anthony. Will we hear from her, actually, on the stand? Listen to what our legal guys have to say about that after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SSG. BENJAMIN CANADAY, U.S. ARMY: Hi. I'm Sergeant Benjamin Canaday, stationed in Camp Taji, Iraq.
I just want to say happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you. Mom, Dad, I miss you. Hopefully see you in a couple of weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Testimony resumes tomorrow in the murder trial of Casey Anthony. For three weeks now, we've heard from investigators who found the remains of the little girl and from experts who examined those remains, as well as Anthony's home and her car. The defense is now challenging some of that testimony with its own experts.
Yesterday, I asked our legal guys if they thought Casey Anthony should take the stand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD HERMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: She cannot, she must not take the stand in this case.
WHITFIELD: Why not?
HERMAN: If she does - if she does, she will be convicted and sentenced to death.
She is a serial compulsive liar. She has no credibility. There is no upside for the defense to put her on the stand. Forget about the claims of incest. It doesn't matter now.
The forensics are the key to this case, and they're the key to at least a hung jury to prevent the death of this woman.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The other thing, Fredricka, is this jury has been watching this woman for 21 days, and we've heard gruesome, dramatic testimony. And with very, very few examples, she is absolutely unemotional.
The fact is that she needs to take the stand to make sure the jury understands why she is, and it's going to go to issue of intent, of mental capacity. I don't think she has a choice. I think we're going to see her on the stand.
WHITFIELD: And we're showing live...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, you can catch our legal guys every Saturday, noon Eastern time, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right, what do you do with movie memorabilia that no one wants? Find out, straight ahead.
Plus, kids teased him as a child because of his disability, but this KISS band member had the last words (ph) from partially deaf to rock star.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Every week, we bring you stories about people who have overcome a major medical hurdle and beat the odds.
In this week's "Human Factor" chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta brings you the story of Paul Stanley, front man of one of the most famous rock bands, KISS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STANLEY, GUITARIST/SINGER, KISS: Come on and clap your hands.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To rock and roll all night and party every day - that's always been Paul Stanley's dream.
STANLEY: If somebody had told me at 58, 59 I'd be running around on stage without a shirt, you know, and in tights and high heels, I would have said, you know, what drug are you taking?
GUPTA: But the road to rock stardom as the front man for KISS was difficult. Few people know it, but Stanley was born with a condition that should have steered him away from music.
STANLEY: I had a physical deformity called a microtia.
GUPTA: One of Stanley's inner ears, the ear canal, which conveys sound to the brain, never developed. Figuring out the direction of sound was particularly challenging. And he was also born with an underdeveloped outer ear.
GUPTA (on camera): Did you get teased a lot? Were there - were there tough comments?
STANLEY: It was - it was horrible. I - you know, I have to say that childhood was not fun.
GUPTA: You decided to grow your hair out - I mean, and that's become such a signature look of - of you and the band. Was that in part because of wanting to hide your ears?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA: You grew your hair out to do that?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA (voice-over): Strength and a bit of defiance got Stanley through the taunting.
STANLEY: Something told me inside that I could do music, and, interestingly, being deaf in one ear was not something that I saw as a hardship or something that - that was a hindrance at all.
GUPTA: But eventually, offstage, hearing loss did become a hindrance. So Stanley had surgery.
STANLEY: Basically, you take a power drill and - and aim into the head.
GUPTA: The surgery was successful, but it does not equal self- acceptance. That, Stanley learned over time, and by working with kids.
GUPTA (on camera): You - you talk to kids who have microtia. So they're - they're - right now, they're like Mr. Stanley, I'm - I'm the one getting teased on the playground. I'm not the rock star.
STANLEY: And how cool it is for them to hear somebody say I was there, and look what I did. You can get through this, and you'll find out how much something means to you by how hard you're willing to work to overcome it.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, perhaps you're looking for that unique lawn ornament - pink flamingo maybe, a fiberglass King Kong. Well, then you got to go to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
CNN's Tom Foreman has the latest installment of "Building Up America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On an old farm outside Oshkosh -
MEL SCHETTL, COLLECTOR: Yes, we do have a lot of unusual items -
FOREMAN: -- a wonderland is growing.
SCHETTL: I just call it a collection of art.
FOREMAN: An open air emporium of nostalgia, whimsy and whatever else catches Mel Schettl's interest. He has rescued these items from old restaurants, theme parks, even movie sets for 30 years. Now, they are rescuing him.
SCHETTL: Well, those items are actually helping us make it through the tough times.
FOREMAN: Schettl's main business is building materials, but as construction has stumbled, he's found himself relying more on the foot traffic and trade brought by, well, this.
SCHETTL: This is a reproduction of a rodeo-type bull.
This is an eagle fabricated out of all steel.
This is a fairly popular piece.
Some people might think it's unusual. I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter wanted us to stop here, and I'm glad we stopped.
FOREMAN: Many people come just to look, but plenty end up buying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how much it is? The neon one?
SCHETTL: The neon porch sign is $650.
A lot of individuals will buy it for home use, yard art, interior art. Other businesses use it for interior and exterior artwork, to get attention, the same as we do.
FOREMAN: It is not an economic cure-all, but it makes up for some of the weakness in his other trade.
SCHETTL: Well, I don't know how much of an advantage I have. I do know some of my competitors are gone, and we're still here, so it must be helping us some.
FOREMAN: And in the building business these days, hanging on can be enough.
Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: From one artist to another, why the music world is paying tribute to Clarence Clemons today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Taking a look at our top stories.
Libya claims that a NATO air strike has killed at least nine civilians in a Tripoli neighborhood. Officials took journalists on a tour of that neighborhood today. NATO says it is investigating and takes the allegations very seriously.
The videogame company Sega says it has suffered a cyber attack. Someone has stolen information, about 1.3 million customers, including logins, password, dates of birth and e-mail information, but the company says credit card data was untouched. The company has shut down the Sega Pass Network.
And firefighters in the Western U.S. are up against some of the worst weather conditions this wildfire season. Strong winds and high heat are fanning the flames of several major wildfires.
There's extreme fire risk in parts of seven states, and right now the top priority is the so-called Monument Fire in Arizona. It has burned at least 40 homes to the ground.
And he towered on stage and he was a powerhouse on the sax. Today, the music world is mourning the loss of Clarence Clemons. The 69- year-old died from complications of a stroke.
Clemons played sax for the Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band for nearly four decades. The 6'4" performer also worked with Jackson Browne, Aretha Franklin, and most recently with Lady Gaga.
The trial of Casey Anthony resumes tomorrow. The defense called its own forensic expert to the stand yesterday, famed pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz. He said the autopsy on the remains of Anthony's daughter was shoddy, in part because the inside of her skull was not examined.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is now confirming that the United States is holding preliminary peace talks with the Afghan Taliban. CNN's Sandra Endo joins us now from Washington with details on this - Sandra.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, yes, this could be the first step towards peace with the Taliban because, as you mentioned, Defense Secretary Robert Gates did confirm the U.S. and other countries are now in preliminary talks with the group.
But in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, the retiring secretary says a resolution with the Taliban will likely take some time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GATES: The real reconciliation talks are not likely to be able to make any substantive headway, until at least this winter. I think that the Taliban have to feel themselves under military pressure and begin to believe that they can't win before they're willing to have a serious conversation.
We've all said all along that the political outcome is the way most of these wars end. The question is when and if they are ready to talk seriously about meeting the red lines and that President Karzai and that the coalition have laid down, including totally disavowing al Qaeda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENDO: As the Capitol Hill season kicks into the full swing, the debate is heating up over troop down in Afghanistan. Secretary Gates says the bottom line when it comes to success in the region is for the U.S. to play a key role there for some time to ensure all the military efforts we have seen for the past few years have not been in vain. Fred --
WHITFIELD: So, Sandra, there is a lot of discussion about defense spending, did the secretary say anything about that?
ENDO: That is a big issue of debate here on Capitol Hill here in Washington and Defense Secretary Robert Gates says, look, the most important thing is to remember the families involved with these military families.
So he does not want to cut any family assistance or training. So he said those two things should not on the table when it comes to defense spending cuts.
WHITFIELD: OK, and then Congress, of course, upset over - some members of Congress are upset about the president's handling of the U.S. involvement in Libya. Is the secretary refraining from any opinion on that effort or is he articulating anything?
ENDO: That is the other big debate here on Capitol Hill as well, Fred as you know and the president feeling some pressure. Congress wanting answers from the president as to U.S. involvement in Libya, how is it going to last?
Why hasn't there been more discussion with Congress about the involvement and Secretary Gates says, look, we are making headway. He thinks that we are going to win and he wants to just wait it out. He says, look, in the end, Gadhafi will come down. So he just wants to see that victory.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sandra Endo, thanks so much, in Washington. Appreciate that.
ENDO: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, a major gathering of GOP presidential candidates has wrapped up in New Orleans, but the straw poll taken at that Republican Leadership Conference is still generating a lot of buzz.
Ron Paul won by a large margin, which was largely expected there, but the runner up, Jon Huntsman, surprise to many. The former Utah governor was a no-show to that meeting and he has broken with conservatives on issues like same-sex civil unions and climate change.
Another event at the Republican conference is also making headlines much to the organizers' dismay. To entertain party delegates, conference leaders hired a President Obama impersonator.
While the comedian's jokes generated a few laughs, some were considered over the line, even offensive, including this one referring to the president's bi-racial background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REGGIE BROWN, COMEDIAN/OBAMA IMPERSONATOR: My favorite month is February, Black History month. You see, Michelle, she celebrates the full month and you know, I celebrate half.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Organizers grew increasing uncomfortable with the impersonator's jokes and escorted him off that stage.
All right, perhaps you are traveling this summer. We will show you must have smart phone apps to help you navigate through your vacation. Our gaming and gadgets expert, Marc Saltzman joins us next.
But first, this Father's Day weekend we're asking you and our staff to share your best advice from dad. Our editorial assistant, Sharon Cage's Black dad, L.C. had this fatherly advice to offer, "You have to work for what you want. Nobody's going to give you anything." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, this Father's Day weekend, we are asking you and our staff to share the best advice from dad.
One of our producers and my executive producer today, Pam Westman's dad, Leif has this fatherly advice to offer. "Get a higher education and you should be able to support yourself without a man."
All right, whether you are traveling or just grilling out, we have the newest and hottest apps to help you save time and money this summer. Joining us now, our own gaming and gadgets expert, Marc Saltzman. Happy Father's Day to you.
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Thank you, Fredricka. Thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right, so let's begin with what's app messenger? That's a mouthful, what is it?
SALTZMAN: Yes, so a lot of people are familiar with Blackberry messenger of BBM. It's a quick, fast and reliable way to keep in touch between Blackberry users.
But What's App Messenger and there are others too like Live Profile. They let you chat between different phones, so iPhone to Android, Android to Blackberry, Blackberry to Android so it's a fast and cheap way of keeping in touch with friends.
It's very cheap and you get a little delivery message that, you know, when a message has been received and read there is a confirmation you get. You can have group chats. You can broadcast a message out to your friends.
So What's App Messenger is $1 and it's available on multiple platforms so it's a great way to keep in touch on the cheap.
WHITFIELD: All right, and then Nav Free GPS Live USA, another mouthful. How does that deliver?
SALTZMAN: Well, speaking of Father's Day, we all know guys don't like to ask for directions, right? But you can spend up to $50 or $60 on a GPS app for your Smart phone, but this one's completely free.
So it is called Nav Free GPS Live USA. It's a hefty download. It's more than a gigabyte, but if you have the memory for it then what you do is you simply load it up on your iPhone like this and it gives you free maps.
With not just visual directions, but audio based turn by turn directions therefore it's useful behind the wheel. And you can search for points of interest, you know, like local restaurants and hotels and gas stations and share your location with friends.
Like your directions via Facebook or e-mail. So that is a great one if you are an iPhone user.
WHITFIELD: That is cool and also if you're iPhone user, what about that iMovie?
SALTZMAN: Right. So you are probably spending time with family and friends this summer capturing your time at the beach, at a cottage or a summer home.
And you can do that now in high definition on the iPhone 4 like this new white one that I've got here. But not only can you record it like a camcorder, but you can edit it on the Smart phone itself.
So iMovie, it's a $5 app. It's very powerful and it lets you cut out all the unwanted video. Piece together your movie, add captions and narration and music, transition effects so it doesn't just jump abruptly for one scene to another. So it's a great app 5 bucks for iMovie.
WHITFIELD: Gosh, that is amazing. OK, 1,000 Heroes, am I saying that right?
SALTZMAN: Yes, I had to add one game in here. And for those who are maybe getting a little bored of angry birds, what is unique about 1,000 Heroes. It's a $1 game that gives you a new level and a new character to play every day for 1,000 straight days.
It's a great idea. So you've got nearly three years worth of content for less than a buck. And, you know, the idea is that it's half racing and half platforming. You are running down through an obstacle course if you will, jumping over chasms and avoiding obstacles to make it to the finish line.
And you can try to beat your score. You can compare with others, but it's a great idea called 1,000 Heroes. It's something fresh everyday to look forward to.
WHITFIELD: And then Tune In Radio Pro, what's that all about?
SALTZMAN: Yes, so this is one of my favorite smart phone apps. It's available for all the major players like Blackberry, Android and iPhone.
So this is called Tune In Radio Pro and it gives you more than 50,000 radio stations to listen to from around the world and you can record the ones you like. So you simply have to record band.
It's kind of like a DVR, you can press pause, rewind, fast forward so you are not limbed to listening to your local radio stations when you're, you know, on a road trip or you're barbecuing or hanging with friends by the beach.
You got -- you can listen to radio stations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and every genre imaginable and then records the ones you like. It's a great $1 app on the iPhone, but it's free for Blackberry and Android users. WHITFIELD: Wow. That's cool stuff on this Father's Day. And, I know for you, Marc, it's got to be impossible for your family to come up with anything inventive for you gaming, gadget or otherwise, because, you know, you are bringing us all the good stuff every weekend.
SALTZMAN: Thank you. Yes, nobody buys me tech gifts. They know I get this stuff already, but it's all great.
WHITFIELD: Great. Well, happy Father's Day. Thanks, Marc.
SALTZMAN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And for more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for the gaming and gadgets tab.
President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner on the same side of one issue. Why the two teamed up on the greens?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CATHERINE BIONDINI, ARMY, IRAQ: Hi, I'm Chief Cathy Biondini stationed at Joint Base in Iraq. I'd like to wish a happy Father's Day to my dad, Alfred Kelly in California. And happy birthday, Dad, 79. You're awesome. You're my hero and my example. I just love you. I wish all my friends there hello. Thanks for supporting me and God bless you all.
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WHITFIELD: Time for a CNN Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the CNNPolitics.com desk and here is what's crossing right now.
President Barack Obama's senior re-election campaign strategist, David Axelrod says he is surprised Republican Jon Huntsman is entering the presidential race. Huntsman served in the Obama administration as an ambassador to China.
And Axelrod says at that time, Huntsman was a big fan of the president's job performance and also expressed concerns about what was going on in his own party.
Huntsman will officially announce his candidacy Tuesday near the Statue of Liberty. Immediately afterward, the former Utah governor hits the campaign trail heading to politically key state of New Hampshire.
And President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are celebrating their big victory on the golf course. The political rivals teamed up yesterday taking on the vice president and Ohio Governor John Kasich. The four also managed to squeeze in a little bipartisan socializing in between rounds.
And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go CNNPolitics.com.
First lady Michelle Obama is going on an African safari. It's part of her trip to Africa this week. Her first stop however is South Africa where she will meet with President Jacob Zuma and speak at a forum for young women leaders.
Later she visits Botswana where she'll be part of a community service project and then she will be going on a safari with her daughters, her mother, a niece, and nephew.
In 36 days, Americans have something else to celebrate on this Father's Day. It's Juneteenth symbolizing the end of slavery in the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issue the emancipation proclamation on September 22nd, 1862, it wasn't until June 19th, 1865, two and a half years later that word finally reached all former slaves.
A pleasant surprise for a homeless man in Utah after he finds out he is the beneficiary of a substantial inheritance.
And time now for more fatherly advice. This Father's Day weekend, we are asking you and our staff to share the best advice from dad.
One of the copy editors, Tara Jones' dad, Eddie right there had this advice to offer, "Don't take a wooden nickel because you can't spend it."
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WHITFIELD: All weekend, we have been sharing advice from fathers, our fathers like so many of you. My dad, Mal Whitfield, always had great advice to share. One of his favorite sayings, make the impossible possible. Thanks, dad.
A lot of news stories didn't have happy endings, but this next one is a welcomed exception. Max Meliter, a homeless man in Utah, inherited a significant amount of money.
But his family in New York lost contact of him months ago and they couldn't find him to tell him the news. So they hired a private investigator who searched high and low for Melitzer. Well, they finally found him in a park and reconnected him with his family and new fortune.
As we celebrate dads today, we are finding out more about how important his role is. It doesn't matter if your father is a world leader or a Little League coach, the important thing is the impact that he has in the lives of kids.
Yesterday, I spoke with Dr. Bill Lloyd, a father of three about how fathers influence us.
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DR. BILL LLOYD, HEALTHY LIVING EXPERT: People thought that fathers were becoming irrelevant. But the science shows that the influence, the favorable influence of fathers impacts both the physical health and the emotional health of children in every stage of their lives.
Even at delivery, at the moment of delivery, Fredricka, the presence of the father means less pain for the mother and a safer delivery and fewer complications for the baby.
As toddlers develop, we know that the presence of a father in the family improves the language skills. As children grow, there is more play time with dad and that means stronger children. Fredricka, I can do a hand stand and I thank my father for that.
And for adolescence, life lessons regarding important choices that they're going to make that will affect their life for the rest of their lives.
WHITFIELD: We live in a country with nearly a 50 percent divorce rate. Many dads no longer living in the same household with their children. So, you know, these pew research study results show that in 1963, 89 percent of dads lived with kids. And in 2010, that number dropped to 73 percent. Does that make a difference?
LLOYD: That makes an enormous difference. But remember that data related to birth fathers and of course, now things have changed and fathers come from everywhere. And any committed male can become a good father.
And fathers are more than just a second pair of hands. That's because with the economy as it is right now so many moms are professionals and entering the work force. Dads have to stay at home often times.
The changing appreciation in the organization of families, traditional families, nuclear families, we've got adopted families. We've got families with stepparents and we've got cohabitation as well and as well as the cultural expectations of fathers.
Nowadays, dad is expected to be around and to be an active member of the family. Dads provide unique experiences for the children they can on the get from their father and of course, children benefit from that powerful connection between father and child.
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WHITFIELD: Thanks, Dr. Bill Lloyd.
All right, playing the stock market, paying for college, in a couple of minutes, we will see what is in the financial forecast.
All weekend long, we've asked you and our staff to share the best advice from dad. One of our writes, Meryl Page, her dad, George had this fatherly advice to offer. "Don't be afraid to explore your backyard and remember, the whole worlds is your backyard."
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WHITFIELD: Stocks tumble, college costs soar and the Federal Reserve gets set to meet. Our money team is watching it all from Wall Street to Main Street. First to Alison Kosik in New York. ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. It was a roller coaster week for stocks as investors wrestled with economic concerns at home and aboard.
Pandora became the latest big internet name to begin trading at the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of the personalized radio company surge after their Wednesday IPO, but the enthusiasm wore off quickly and shares ended the week well below the initial offering price.
Pandora has never turned a profit and relies heavily on advertising revenue to offset high royalty fees. Felicia --
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Thanks, Alison. New numbers confirm what most people already know, college is too expensive.
According to the College Board, tuition and fees at public universities have more than doubled since 1988 while middle class incomes have been stagnant.
The Department of Education says a growing number of middle class students are opting for two-year programs instead of the traditional four-year degree.
Now that may be a good short-term financial plan, but it could hurt their earnings potential over the long term. Poppy --
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Felicia. Well, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet this week. No major policy changes are expected.
But investors will want to know how the fed will tackle the challenges of the slowing U.S. economic recovery since the Central Bank's last meeting.
Job growth has slowed, stocks have stumbled and prices have risen. So far the fed has no major plan for more stimulus to try to reverse those trends once its current program ends in less than two weeks.
We know the market will be watching this and it decision very closely. We will keep an eye on it all for you on CNN Money. Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, ladies. And remember, you can get your financial fix every day on cnnmoney.com.
Recapping our top stories now. Libya claims that a NATO airstrike has killed at least nine civilians in a Tripoli neighborhood. Officials took journalists on a tour of that neighborhood today. NATO says it is investigating and takes the allegations seriously.
And firefighters in the western U.S. are up against some of the worst weather conditions this wild fire season. Strong winds and high heat are fanning the flames of several major wild fires, including this one in Texas. There is an extreme fire risk in parts of seven states. And who doesn't dream about being a race car driver? Well, I headed to the Charlotte Motor Speedway with a couple of NASCAR's best who showed me the ropes face to face. This is what happens after 170 miles an hour.
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WHITFIELD: OK, I am hooked. I want to be a race car driver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was just a warm up.
WHITFIELD: That's awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was just a warm up.
WHITFIELD: That is so awesome. Wow. I thought maybe I was going to close my eyes, but then I didn't want to miss anything. That is so wonderful.
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WHITFIELD: In the passenger seat with Jason Leffler there. Next week's face to face with NASCAR's Leffler and Joey Logano.
That is going to do it for now. Join me in hour from now when I talk to an elderly couple who have been together for 61 years and hope to still get married. But it all depends on New York's legalizing same- sex marriage
Plus, this couple raised 71 kids and they want more. We'll see what kind of advice the dad has for fathers this Father's Day. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Stay tuned right now for "YOUR MONEY."
