Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Showdown Over the Deficit; Atlantis Arrives at Space Station; "News of the World" Closes; Inside "Phreaking"; Kidnap Victim Jaycee Dugard Speaks Out; Casey Anthony's Future; Royals Visit Skid Row; Sizzling Across Southern U.S.; Gadgets You Can Pack; Help for Jobless Homeowners

Aired July 10, 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 this Sunday, July 10th. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

With the final edition of Britain's popular tabloid "News of the World" on the stands, Rupert Murdoch is hoping to limit the damage to his media empire. Murdoch arrived in London today. His company's British subsidiary closed "News of the World" after reports the newspaper hacked the phone of a missing teenager who was later found dead.

We'll go live to London in about 10 minutes from now.

And a strong earthquake rocked Japan's Northeastern coast today. This is the same region devastated by a quake and tsunami earlier this year.

Today's 7.0 tremor prompted tsunami advisories that were later canceled. So far, there have been no reports of injuries or damage.

And China no longer a rising world power, instead China has arrived. Those words today from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen. He is in Beijing on a four-day visit.

Mullen told the university audience that China's growing military strength comes with an obligation to the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: With greater military power must come greater responsibility, greater cooperation and, just as important, greater transparency. Without these things, the expansion of military power in your region, rather than making it more secure and stable, could - could have the opposite effect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This China trip is one of Admiral Mullen's final acts as Joint Chiefs Chairman. He retires this fall.

And now to the White House, where in just four hours, heated deficit reduction talks could further intensify. President Obama and Congressional leaders will come face to face, attempting to bridge a bipartisan divide that has widened dramatically over the last 24 hours alone.

CNN's Dan Lothian is at the White House right now. So Dan, what caused the talks to derail last night and what impact will that have on the meetings scheduled for tonight with the president?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, two very good questions. House Speaker John Boehner threw in the towel after saying that the White House and Democrats continue to insist that the way to raise revenue was by raising taxes on the wealthy.

As you know, the president and Democrats have been looking to come up with some revenue by closing tax loopholes by getting rid of some of the breaks for wealthier Americans. And so that's the reason John Boehner says that the talks essentially have broken down on this big deal, which is up to $4 trillion, the White House pushing back, saying that Boehner had initially agreed to tax increases as part of a deal.

Where does it go from here? The White House saying that the president still at that meeting today will be pushing for that big deal because they don't believe this is the time to back down. But, no doubt, these latest developments will put a great amount of pressure on these talks this evening, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, so there has been some compromise. Why though might that not be enough to kind of put things back on track?

LOTHIAN: Well, that's right. I mean, the compromise you're talking about there is, you know, at one point the Democrats and the president in particular had - had said that social security and Medicare would not be part of this overall deal, but in recent weeks the president has been warming up to this idea and putting social security and Medicare on the table.

But there's been a lot of pressure from the left, from liberal Democrats who don't believe that some of the hardest working Americans should be paying the price while the wealthiest Americans are getting off with these tax breaks. And so it will be interesting to see where we go from here.

One thing we do know is that the White House has been very clear about saying that the president will not accept any kind of short term deal, that the Treasury Department's saying that there is no Plan B, and yes, there's been talk about whether or not the president could invoke the Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which essentially would allow him to just continue in borrowing money, the White House saying that that's not something that they're looking to.

So Republicans are saying, let's go back to these Biden talks where they had identified up to $2.5 trillion or so that they can work with. So perhaps that framework is what they're going to go back to, but right now the White House is saying that the president still wants to push for that bigger deal.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Lothian at the White House. Thanks so much.

That meeting is scheduled to take place 6:00 Eastern time at the White House.

All right, so let's explain a little bit further on this. The ceiling is a cap set by Congress on the amount of debt the federal government can borrow when it is spending more than it can afford to pay off. The Treasury Department says the U.S. needs to raise that ceiling by August 2nd or risk defaulting on its loans.

If that happens, here's how you might be affected. The dollar, the U.S. dollar may plummet, and interest rates could skyrocket. The federal government says just a one percent rise in interest rates could cost taxpayers $973 billion over the next 10 years.

The public will have two chances to say good-bye to former First Lady Betty Ford. She died late Friday in California. The first service will be held Tuesday in Palm Desert, California, the second two days later in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She'll be interred alongside her husband on the grounds of the Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.

All right, Britain's royal couple wraps up the first official visit to the U.S. today. This hour, they're expected to tour a Los Angeles youth center on Skid Row.

Last night the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge rubbed shoulders with Hollywood's elite at a gala sponsored by the British Academy of Film and Television. That after an afternoon of polo.

A live report on the newlyweds in Southern California in about 20 minutes from now.

And now there are 10 aboard the International Space Station. The shuttle Atlantis with four crew members onboard arriving about just three hours ago for one final visit of ISS.

Our John Zarrella joins me now from the Kennedy Space Center. So the crew certainly seemed very excited to see each other. We saw the videotape of that reunion.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That - you know, and Fredericka, right on cue, NASA just punched out a live picture from onboard the International Space Station. We can see there some of the - the crew members there on the station now, all 10, the six crew members from the Space Station and the four shuttle astronauts, now all on board there.

And, as you mentioned, earlier today they - they actually opened the hatch between the two vehicles and it was the - the last time that this kind of an event will take place, the Space Shuttle docking with the International Space Station. They were so far ahead of the timeline that they ended up opening that hatch about 30 minutes early, allowing the astronauts to - to get on board the station that much earlier and start getting acclimated to some of the tours and things that they're going to need to do in the - in the next few days.

And, you know, I want you and the viewers to take a look at this other piece of video that we have. It's just really fascinating to - to watch. And this took place as the shuttle was approaching the International Space Station, below the Space Station.

And what the commander, Chris Ferguson, did was he actually did a back flip in space. He took the shuttle and - the shuttle Atlantis - and flipped it over in space so that you could see from the Space Station, the crew on the Space Station could look at the underside, the belly of Atlantis. And with three different cameras, 1,000 that they had cameras of all different lengths that they were using, to photo image the belly of the space shuttle, just in case there was any damage to the thermal protection system there during the ascent. And, of course, all of those pictures will now be at - will be analyzed by mission managers.

But that's just such a cool piece of video -

WHITFIELD: It is.

ZARRELLA: -- to see of - of a shuttle doing a back flip in space. So we had to bring that to everybody - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It's cool stuff, I mean, especially for us laymen, you know -

ZARRELLA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- that it has, you know, a lot of meaning for NASA and all the scientists there, inspecting the skin of that shuttle.

ZARRELLA: Absolutely. Yes.

WHITFIELD: So, real quick, what will Atlantis - the Atlantis crew be doing? I know they've taken quite a hefty pay load. What will they be doing in this last visit?

ZARRELLA: Yes. That's what they're going to be doing. At least they had about 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of food and - and supplies and backup computers, all kinds of stuff that over the course of the next few days they're going to be moving from the Space Shuttle onto the Space Station.

And they're also going to be taking some stuff, old junk off of the Space Station, and hauling it back to Earth on the Space Shuttle. That's the primary goal of this mission, stocking up the Space Station so they have a year's worth of supplies.

WHITFIELD: All right, neat stuff. Thanks so much, John Zarrella, for bringing all of that to us. Appreciate it.

ZARRELLA: Yes. Sure.

WHITFIELD: Of course there's a little bit more to talk about this Space Shuttle, a little trivia for you now. This is the last time that Atlantis will be docking at the International Space Station, but here's a little bit more that will get you thinking. How many launches have there been to the International Space Station? We will have an answer for you, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, before the break we asked a little space trivia, how many launches have there been to the International Space Station? And the answer, 103 launches.

Sixty-seven of those were Russian vehicles, 34 were American Space Shuttles, and there was one Japanese and one European vehicle as well.

All right, a major rescue operation is going on right now on Russia's biggest river. It's about 500 miles east of Moscow, a cruise ship sank in the Volga with more than 180 people on board. One person is confirmed dead and only a few dozen have been rescued so far.

In India, 13 cars of a packed train jumped the tracks today. Rescue officials confirm 27 deaths already and say that number will likely rise as they search the wreckage.

And in China, two coal miners trapped below ground for more than a week were pulled to the surface today. They are alive and reported well. At least a dozen others are still missing.

The mine collapsed July 2nd.

And after 168 years, "News of the World," that British tabloid is no more. The tabloid, which published its last issue today, was a victim of outrage over report that it hacked the phone of a missing teenage girl.

CNN's Atika Shubert is live from London, and we understand, Atika, Rupert Murdoch is there in London. He has last been seen leaving his town house and he also had with him one of top editors, top executives, Rebekah Brooks with him, and apparently he said to the crowd there that she is his top priority. What more can you tell us about this?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Clearly, Rupert Murdoch is here, personally handling this crisis and showing very publicly his support for Rebekah Brooks, even though there have been a number of calls for her either to resign or to be sacked. So it does seem that Rupert Murdoch is taking a personal hand in this at this point.

I do have a copy of that final edition here, "Thank You and Goodbye." In this edition, the paper is clearly very proud of the 168 years of history, but it has also offered an apology, saying, quote, that "there is no justification for this appalling wrongdoing."

Now, we'll have to see in the next few days what happens, but it does seem for now that Rupert Murdoch is giving his full support to Rebekah Brooks.

WHITFIELD: And so, I wonder, Atika, you know, what about the - what? - 200 to 300 employees of the "News of the World"? Many of them worked a full day yesterday, putting out that last issue. Did they have anything to say at the end of their work day?

SHUBERT: Well, it does seem that it was really just a feeling of overwhelming sadness to see such an institution here in Britain die what is really an embarrassing death for this newspaper. It was an established newspaper here.

It covered historic events like the sinking of the Titanic, two world wars. And of course in modern - in the modern era, it was really - became known for its incredible scoops and scandals on, yes, a lot of celebrities but also busting a lot of criminals - pedophile rings, drug dealers, people smugglers. These have all been uncovered by the "News of the World." And so there was a lot - for many employees here, they were mourning the role that that newspaper played in those stories.

So a lot of anger (INAUDIBLE), a lot of bitterness, as you can imagine, and a lot of questions as to who ultimately will be held responsible.

WHITFIELD: Atika Shubert, thanks so much, in London. Appreciate that.

And of course the scandal helps beg the question, so how difficult is it to hack into a phone line or computer? Our next guest knows. He's a professional hacker. Wait until you hear what he has to say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The "News of the World" scandal in Britain has focused new attention on telecommunications hacking, or as insiders call it, "phreaking."

Michael Calce was an accomplished hacker by the time he was just 15 years old, launching attacks against major websites, including CNN.com. He is now a computer security expert and the author of "Mafia Boy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It Is Still Broken." He joins us now from Montreal.

So, Michael, how does this phone hacking or phreaking, as you call it, work?

MICHAEL CALCE, SECURITY EXPERT: Well, there's a lot of tools that, you know, basically surround this industry. The phreaking industry is a subdivision of hacking, and they have quite a few various tools that are - that will enable them to tap phones and received messages.

And as phones become more sophisticated, it's actually becoming easier because of the Bluetooth and various technologies that basically enable these phreakers to - to gain access to your phone.

WHITFIELD: Easier? OK, so the "News of the World" reportedly listened to the messages on a missing teenager's telephone. They even managed to erase some of the calls on the phone to make room for new calls that would come in.

Can you kind of explain for us how they were able to do that? I mean, you say now it is much easier, but do you have to be, I guess, professional or really proficient in being able to do this?

CALCE: Well, you need some expertise in phreaking. Me, personally, I'm well versed in phreaking. I'm actually more on the hacking side, where phreaking is a subdivision of hacking.

But they have a few various tools. All they need is the phone number and there's some tools that will basically grant them some access. A lot of them are sophisticated tools that aren't exactly very easy to obtain, but it's not as hard as - as some people might think. You just got to know which tools to use.

WHITFIELD: All right, so -

CALCE: You have, I suppose, in your arsenal.

WHITFIELD: So this wasn't exactly what you did or even what anybody has accused you of doing. You did this a little differently. You were just 15 years old and you were hacking into websites. A, why did you do that? What were - what was it that you were after?

CALCE: Well, I wasn't after monetary gain, which is what hacking is about now. It was more testing the status quo. And I was part of a hacker war that was conducted on an - on an Internet chat, and basically I wanted to make a show of strength and show how powerful I had become.

And I was known for launching a denial of service attack, which was - which is basically a botnet combined, which is network of compromised computers connected together, generally all set up to be slaves connected to one primary computer known as a master or a hub. And from that master you are able to transmit a command to all the slaves, and you can shut down a website by using incredible amounts of (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: So there was something empowering about this, I mean, with this kind of competition, as you say, in this world of hackers?

CALCE: Oh, yes. It's - it's a big show of strength, and hackers are constantly battling it out. I mean, 10 years ago this is more the objective, was to show other hackers how good you were and basically what kind of power you had.

WHITFIELD: But you're trying to be elusive, and it's only within the world of hacking that people might know something about your identity. They may not know that it's you, Michael, you know, Calce, but they know that it's you, whatever your symbolic name was in this competitive world of hacking?

CALCE: That's right. I went by the nickname Mafia Boy, and basically nobody knew who - what my real name was or who I really was, but everybody goes by an alias or a nickname. And from that nickname you got to - you got to make your name for - with all the other hackers, basically make your name notorious.

WHITFIELD: OK, so now I understand your knowledge of this world of hacking. It certainly means that there are certain things that you don't do. May not be on Facebook, like most folks. You may not use an ATM, like a lot of people.

How can one protect themselves, like you are trying to protect yourself, against phreaking or hacking?

CALCE: Well, you have to basically limit yourself. I am on Facebook, but I limit myself to who I accept and basically what information I'm putting out there. The - the fact is information now has monetary value. With that in mind, I think it's important to keep the information we put online to a minimal.

You know, it's also important to be aware and stay up to date, constantly run scans and change your passwords. My motto is every time you change your toothbrush, you should be changing your passwords (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, so that's like every six months or so?

CALCE: Exactly. You got to stay one step ahead of the hackers. And another thing is a lot of people have antivirus software and firewalls, and they'll get a little box in the corner that pops up that says to update your antivirus, and for some odd reason a lot of people click no when it's very important to stay up to date because there's constant viruses being released every single day.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right, great advice. Michael Calce, thanks so much. Appreciate your time and your advice -

CALCE: My pleasure, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: -- for those of us who want to protect ourselves against being potentially hacked.

All right, up next, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge head to Skid Row. From the polo match to Skid Row. It's all for a good cause. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

In just a few hours, Republican and Democratic leaders head to the White House to hold deficit talks with President Obama. Republicans broke off the talks last night saying they will not consider tax hikes as part of any plan. The deficit deal is tied to a proposal to raise the federal debt cap.

And the U.S. is withholding $800 million in aid to Pakistan. President Obama's Chief of Staff confirmed the move today. William Daley says Pakistan has, quote, "Taken some steps that have given us reason to pause."

The Pakistani military tells CNN it has not been officially informed that aid from Washington is being withheld.

And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is in Iraq today. It's his first trip there as head of the Pentagon. Panetta is meeting with Iraqi leaders and U.S. troops who are scheduled to leave that country at the end of the year.

The trip comes as Iraqi leaders debate whether to ask the U.S. to stay beyond 2011.

All right, the shuttle Atlantis arrives at the International Space Station one last time to a big old embrace. The astronauts were welcomed aboard by the station's current crew. They have brought along a year's worth of supplies and it's going to take both crews about a week to unload all of it.

The high flying antics of the Blue Angels are bringing thousands of spectators to Pensacola Beach this weekend. The huge crowds are providing a much needed boost for the Gulf Coast economy after last year's oil spill kept so many people away.

A federal report is blasting how probation officers handled the case of Phillip Garrido. He is the California man who admits to kidnapping and sexually assaulting Jaycee Dugard over 18 years.

Garrido was a registered sex offender when Dugard was kidnapped back in 1991. The report calls the way probation officers supervised Garrido, quote, "clearly substandard."

Meanwhile, Dugard is speaking out publicly for first time. While in captivity, she gave birth to two children.

In an ABC interview, she talks about how she felt when she first saw her newborn daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAYCEE DUGARD, KIDNAP VICTIM: Very painful. But then I saw her. She was beautiful.

I - I felt like I wasn't alone anymore. I had somebody that was mine. I wasn't alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Dugard has also written a book about her ordeal. It is called "A Stolen Life."

All right, a week from today Casey Anthony will be released from jail. Some people are wondering if she will face more courtroom drama now that she has been acquitted of murdering her little girl.

Yesterday I spoke to civil rights attorney Avery Freedman and criminal defense attorney Richard Herman about the next legal case Anthony could face.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The amazing thing about that, Fredricka, is everybody was assuming, including us, that there was going - going to be a conviction. So when Zenaida Gonzalez, "Zanny the Nanny", brought her defamation action, it struck me as principled but futile.

Now, Casey Anthony is going to be making a lot of money and, indeed, she has already been noticed for a deposition by the lawyer of Gonzalez, and so that case actually has merit because Casey published a falsity, said that Gonzalez engaged in a felony, you know, criminal kidnapping.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: So it's going to be one of a number of things that we're going to be looking at.

WHITFIELD: But does it matter?

FRIEDMAN: Casey Anthony is far from out of the woods.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Fred -

WHITFIELD: But wasn't it - does it matter whether they knew each other or not, that apparently, Richard -

HERMAN: That's the whole point.

WHITFIELD: -- if there's no relationship, they didn't know each other, they were strangers, there really is no case? It was just an arbitrary name?

HERMAN: There is no case.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: This case is - this case is going to be dismissed.

FRIEDMAN: What?

HERMAN: Casey - Casey couldn't talk while the criminal case was pending for fear of waiving her Fifth Amendment rights. Now she's going to give an affidavit and say, I don't know this woman. This is not the woman I was referring to. I never had any intent to defame her -

FRIEDMAN: Oh, no.

HERMAN: -- because I never knew her, I never met her, and, you know what? The case is going to be dismissed. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, my goodness.

WHITFIELD: OK. Richard, you see differently. Real quick, you think there is a case -

HERMAN: Yes. I mean -

WHITFIELD: Avery? HERMAN: There is no case. She doesn't know the woman. This is not -

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Of course there's a case.

HERMAN: It was an imaginary Zenaida, not her.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, my goodness, not at all.

WHITFIELD: But it's such an unusual name to just imagine, too.

FRIEDMAN: She knew exactly what she was doing.

WHITFIELD: Yes?

FRIEDMAN: Well, I mean, this is all going to come out in discovery, many other things, including some of the things that didn't come out in the criminal trial. It wouldn't matter because she's not going to be charged again, Fredricka, but there are going to be a multitude of issues I mean, she couldn't have made the name up. That's ridiculous. Of course, it will come out. I believe there is a case there, absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, strong thoughts from Avery and Richard. You can catch our legal guys every Saturday noon Eastern Time.

All right, it's not often that a British royalty goes to skid row in Los Angeles, but today is a special occasion. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are wrapping up the first official visit to the U.S. and they're raising awareness about an arts program that helps inner city kids.

Our Casey Wian is in Los Angeles at the Art Center. Have they arrived?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They haven't arrived yet, Frederick. We're expecting them to arrive in the next several minutes. Of course, over the last day or so, the Duke and Duchess have been treated to some of the most glamorous that Los Angeles has to offer.

A polo match yesterday in Santa Barbara and a meeting, a reception with Hollywood stars last night and also members of the British film industry.

Today a much, much different parts of their visit it. They are at Inner City Arts, which is where we are. They are going to arrive right behind us. This is a place that is described as an oasis for up to 10,000 homeless and underprivileged youth every year.

This is a very, very important cause for both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They are supporting the idea that the arts can really help better the standard of living for children like these. They will also be leaving something behind after their visit. I don't know if you did in kindergarten, but I did. You put your hands in clay, that's what the Duke and Duchess will be doing later today as well as painting.

After they're wrapped up here, they're going to go to a job fair it's only studios across town. And that's going to be an area where they'll be able to meet with veterans that have recently returned from deployment. They are there looking for jobs, very big issue for Prince William, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What an incredible itinerary they've over the last three days. They're going to be exhausted and very glad, I guess, to get on that plane just to get rest. I know they've had a good time because they looked like they've enjoyed themselves, but just got to be exhausted.

WIAN: It's amazing what that they have seen over the last 48 hours. They must be exhausted and I'm sure they've had a great time, but I'm sure they're going to be happy to be wheels up back on that plane to the U.K. this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, thanks so much, Casey Wian, we appreciate that. We'll check back with you throughout the afternoon appreciate it.

In the meantime, let's check in with our Jacqui Jeras. Of course, you saw the backdrop there for Casey, beautiful sunny skies in California. They have great weather.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It hasn't been terrible. Not the case in so many other parts of the country. You think it's summer. It's and hot. You know, get used to it, but this really is seriously dangerous heat that we're talking about.

We've had a number of records yesterday. More may be broken today and just kind of a reminder that as we take a look at statistics, heat is the number one or close to the number one weather related fatality.

We see more due to heat than almost anything else. The red bars you see here on the graphics. That was 2010 with 138 heat related deaths last year.

The 10-year average is a little bit shy of that. Overall, we're talking heat and floods. Those are the two big weather related killers. So keep that in mind in the upcoming days to play it safe.

Don't exert yourself outdoors because this will build. We're talking about the heat index rising tomorrow compared to where we are today. Look at the pink starting to show up. These are no longer heat advisories. These are expected heat warnings meaning it won't take long for your body to get overheated to a situation where you could become ill or possibly die.

So check on your neighbors. Don't forget those pets. Look at the temperature your body feels right now 107 in Memphis. Dallas, you a couple of heat related the deaths last week. You're up to 99 right now and we're looking at triple digits into next week.

These are the high temperatures on the thermometer for tomorrow, for your Monday as you head back to work or maybe kids are going to summer camp. Take a look at the temperatures your body will feel so approaching 100 to maybe even as much as 115.

Give them lots of water. Last weather story, want to mention real quick, threat of severe thunderstorms across the upper Midwest. This will be breaking out late today and into tonight, possibly carrying into the overnight hours, be aware in Minneapolis and Des Moines and Chicago towards tomorrow morning.

WHITFIELD: Key word with all that heat. You mentioned it, hydrate.

JERAS: You've got to drink a lot of water.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jacqui. We appreciate that.

OK, when you travel the summer, you can also take your favorite gadget with you and guess what, for less than $50, details are next in our gaming and gadget.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps you're heading out on a vacation soon, well, don't forget the gadgets. Joining me right now, our own gaming and gadgets expect, Marc Saltzman.

So, Marc, you have three interesting gadgets or gizmos that you say are ideal for travel because people when they vacation, they're still going to bring their, their electronic stuff. So what do you think for us? All of this will be under $50, right?

MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Yes, that's right. We'll start off with one that's $39, it's from Voltaic. It's a pocket sized USB charger called the V-11. So it's smaller and lighter than a deck of cards.

Yet it can charge up your digital cameras or smart phone or iPod, portable game system and so on. It comes with multiple tips. You can fit the right one for your device like this Blackberry for example, take something called a micro-USB.

So you put on the tip after you charged this up overnight and then press the button and it charges it up. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you use that USB cable that came with your gadget, and plug it into the top of the V-11 and it will charge up an iPhone, 1.5 times on a single charge.

So you can see here. It snaps in and you don't have to get that anxiety when you're running out of juice on the gadget and there's no plug in sight so $39 from Voltaic.

WHITFIELD: That's really remarkable. OK, and then, of course, we know people do want to take with them their tablets and all of that good stuff. You've got an attachment for that too. SALTZMAN: Right, a wireless attachment if that's not an oxymoron, it's from Verbatim and it's a foldable Bluetooth keyboard. So look at this. Pretty cool. It's a small little key board that works with Smartphone and tablets and it doesn't matter what the make it or model as long as it's Bluetooth enabled.

Chances are it is. So it will use that wireless technology so if you want to do like travel blogging or you want to write in a diary, digital diary or you want to write lengthy e-mails a touch screen doesn't cut it.

You want a full sized key board like a real computer without having to lug around a heavy laptop. This is a great compromise, it's $49 and it's foldable, plus it has little buttons on the side here for your media keys.

So if you want to play your music and multitask while you're writing, you have that one touch away. The only catch is it doesn't support or recharge your gadgets, you need to put your iPhone or Blackberry or android device on the table then you're good to go. I like this one, $49.

WHITFIELD: OK, the accessory business is just phenomenal. OK, so let's talk about -- you get on the plane and maybe you don't want to be so chatty or you don't want to hear others be chatty. You say there's a way to fly in peace.

SALTZMAN: That's right. So usually noise canceling headphones are in the hundreds of dollars, like a high end pair of Bose for example, but Sony has this pair, called NC-7s for $49.99. It uses what's called active noise cancellation.

So that means that there is electronics in here that listens to ambient noise with a little microphone and it cancels out that wavelength so you hear nothing. It cancels up to 87.5 percent of all noise around you such as engine roar or a crying child.

You can listen to music or not. I mean, it does have a plug and an extender for some airline plugs, but you can just turn it on and just relax and you won't hear anything. But you can connect it to your favorite Smartphone or laptop or MP3 player for nice peace and quiet and you know some nice isolated noise. So this is a good pair for $49.

WHITFIELD: Wow, OK and so that folds up and that makes it great and portable?

SALTZMAN: Yes and again, some of these are hundreds of dollars. The pair that I've been using for a couple of years are from Bose. The downside is that when that battery goes, you can't even use them as a regular set of headphones at all, done.

You have to wait until you charge up the battery. This takes one AAA battery and you don't even need it to listen to music. You won't have that noise cancelling, but it's still -- it will still work as a regular pair of headphones. WHITFIELD: Neat, nice stuff. All right, thanks so much. Marc Saltzman, appreciate that. I know you were watching the royals because they were in your lovely backyard there in Canada. Guess what, we continue to watch them.

I know you can't see what I'm seeing right now, but I'll describe it for you. They are in southern California right now. They've just arrived at the youth center there in the Los Angeles area. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge there and they are shaking hands and spend a little face time with the young ones there.

This is also an art center, a really great escape for a number of children there who's families have fallen on hard times. They have had an incredible last three days in California. You saw the pictures of them yesterday arriving at a fundraiser polo match, which the prince's and his team helped win.

Then they were also at the star-studded event last night with Hollywood royalty if you will, with a lot of Hollywood celebrities and now they are meeting up with some of the younger celebrities of Los Angeles, the young artists there at this youth center.

We'll continue to watch the visit of the Duke and Duchess there in Cambridge there in California throughout the afternoon.

All right, a South Sudan, it's a new country this weekend and now some refugees who are living in the United States will decide whether or not they will return to their home country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, time for a CNN Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the cnnpolitics.com desk. Here's what's crossing right now.

The debate over a deficit reduction plan is intensifying in Washington after Republicans broke off talks over the issue of tax hikes.

President Obama will meet with Republican and Democratic leaders tonight at the White House to get negotiations back on track. It's all tied to a proposal to raise the federal debt limit before the government starts defaulting on loans. The issue fueled heated debate on the Sunday morning talk shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE NATION": Where would you compromise with Democrats?

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, my sense is I would be willing to do less spending cuts now in exchange for a balanced budget amendment in the future. I think that's really what we need is as back stop.

That's what I hope Republicans will stand firm on. You know, Candy, you've been around long enough to know, nothing gets done in Washington unless there is a crisis or their backs are to the wall.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: At the end of the day, what we're seeing the priority of the Republican colleagues is not to get a deficit reduction deal. It's to protect special interest tax breaks for big corporations.

We had the corporate jet loophole. We have big oil and gas companies and then we have folks at the very top of the income ladder. Now I listen to my friend Kevin say these are all small businesses. As you pointed out it just isn't true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This is the celebration before the hard work begins. People of South Sudan this weekend welcome their independence and world recognition as Africa's 54th country. The largely Christian South and the mostly Muslim north have fought a civil war for 50 years.

Embassy for the Republic of South Sudan also opened yesterday in Washington D.C. The man in the cowboy hat, take a look right there s the new and first president of South Sudan.

He hosted Franklin Graham today, the son of Reverend Billy Graham. Graham runs a charity that is active in Sudan and now South Sudan. He tells CNN the people of the world's newest country are embarking on a long road to stability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: There's a lot of work that needs to be done. You've got the right now the mountains where Bashir's Air Force is attacking, bombing civilian areas in the mountains right now as we sit here today. When we were celebrating peace yesterday, his air force was bombing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Tens of thousands of people born in Sudan and now living in this country are cheering their homeland's independence day. In the CNN exclusive interview, I spoke to a man and woman who fled Sudan for their lives and are now eager to return.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: This must be a very exciting time, especially to hear that Southern Sudan becomes the United Nation's 193rd member and Africa's 54th country. What does it mean to hear that?

AYEK REEC, BORN IN SUDAN: Very, very exciting. Half of me is empty and half of me is excited. The emptiness is the people that I have lost you know, for this war. I have lost a lot of relatives, lost a lot of friends.

And so the emptiness is there, but the excitement to be able to see that we are free and to be able to see that our people work so hard, you know, to get our generation of freedom is very good.

WHITFIELD: It seems like it is very difficult to look forward without looking back. Two million people killed over 50-year span of civil wars. You and I spoke a few months ago, how meaningful it was to be able to cast that vote.

NGOR KUR MAYOL, BORN IN SUDAN: That is the outcome. We were fighting for 21 years and we lost life and we have made a lot of challenges, not a stoppable moment until we come -- the same period we took to referendum, the same period we are going to take tonight to show the whole world what our brothers and sisters have offered themselves has come to an end.

WHITFIELD: I wonder, Southern Sudan, rich in natural resources and rich in oil and rich in farmland. Do you worry that this separation two nations of Sudan, northern and southern Sudan will create new reasons for more war or does it promote new peace?

REEC: I feel it is a blessing that because infrastructure is so great. If you look at our country right now, there's hardly anything. And so this oil should be able to help us, you know, to build whatever we don't have. We need to catch up with civilization. We need to catch up with the rest of the world.

WHITFIELD: Will either one of you find yourself going to your new country any time soon?

MAYOL: Of course, I have been planning to go --

REEC: Fredericka, I am going to this year. I am planning to go this year. Also, I'm planning to move to my native country for good because I know America has given me a lot. I mean education, jobs, I was able to support my family because by being here and I know even though I am in a health care system here, they need me more back home.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much to both of you. Have safe travels when you make it back so Sudan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The June jobless number was as good as some experts expected and now some economists are saying the outlook overall is also bleak.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A bleak economic forecast combined with a benefit for struggling homeowners, our money team is watching from Main Street to Wall Street. First to Alison Kosik in New York.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredericka, last week was a tough one for the economy. An exclusive CNN Money survey showed that most economists are pessimistic about the future.

They expect slow growth and only modest hiring. The forecast is for the economy to grow at 2.6 percent pace this year that's worse than last year.

Meantime, economists see the unemployment rate falling to 8.7 percent by the end of the year that's not much of a decline. We're at 9.2 right now.

Economists are worried about lingering effects from the earthquake in Japan and high oil prices and lack of confidence in the economy. Poppy --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Alison. Also last week, the government expanded a program aimed at helping homeowners who don't have a job. The program aims to delay foreclosure proceedings.

Now how it's done, well, it depends on the situation, but in the most extreme cases, struggling borrowers may be allowed to delay mortgage payments for up to 12 months. That's up from the previous four months delay period.

It's only for FHA loans and for lenders who participate in the government's mortgage modification program. Now the idea is to give unemployed homeowners some breathing room while they search for a job then of course in the end they will have to pay back what they owe on their mortgage. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, ladies and remember you can get your financial fix every day on CNNMoney.com.

Let's look at our top story right now, we already know they are very athletic and know they are very social. Let's see how artistic the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are.

They are at the Inner City Arts Festival right now live pictures actually of Princess Katherine already put a smock on before she sat down and now at an easy at the direction of one of the children there.

And then on the other side of her just to her back is actually Prince William. He too apparently is at an easel and doing art work. They are kind of capping off their three-day visit to California. We've seen them in just about every kind of venue you can imagine.

We saw them at the polo match and star-studded Hollywood star-studded event Hollywood star studded event last night instead of they trying to meet up with all of Hollywood royalty. Hollywood royalty was trying to get face time with them.

We'll keep you posted on the last of their California visit. I'll be back an hour from now. Days after the fatal grizzly bear attack in Yellowstone, we have the pictures of another bear encounter that is simply to close for comfort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the hiker know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: My goodness. Those are the last words any Yellowstone hiker wants to hear, the warning that a bear is closing in?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was pretty afraid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Scared, wouldn't be? Join me at 4:00 Eastern time with the story of how this hiker went from being scared to being safe. You also meet the rescuers who put their own safety on the line. Stay with CNN. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.