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Dems and GOP Spar Over Debt Deal; Royals Visit Jobs Fair for Vets; Treasure Buried in India Temple; Latin Folk Star Facundo Cabral Shot Dead in Guatemala City
Aired July 10, 2011 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: 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," end quote. The Pakistani military tells CNN, it has not been officially informed that aid from Washington is being withheld.
And with the final edition of Britain's popular tabloid "News of the World" on 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.
And in India, 13 cars in a packed train jumped the tracks today. Rescue officials confirm 28 deaths already and say that number will likely rise as they search the wreckage. More than 100 people are reported hurt.
And the public will have two chances to say good-bye to former First Lady Betty Ford who died Friday. The first service will be held Tuesday in Palm Desert, California. The second, two days later in Michigan. She will be laid to rest alongside her husband on the grounds of the Ford presidential museum in Grand Rapids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Atlantis, welcome to the International Space Station for the last time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And so far, so good as the shuttle docks with the International Space Station. The four astronauts received a hearty welcome aboard from the station's current crew there. They have brought along a year's worth of supplies and it's going to take both crews about a week to unload it all.
A critical meeting at the White House in exactly one hour from now. President Obama will sit down with congressional leaders to restart stalled talks on reducing the deficit from the White House. There are live pictures. A deficit deal is tied to a proposal on raising the government's debt ceiling. 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 ten years. So no one wants that to happen. But reaching a deficit reduction deal aimed at avoiding raising the debt level in the future is proving difficult. Republicans broke off talks last night over the issue of tax hikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm tired of gimmicks. I'm tired of the budget tricks, and the accounting tricks that goes forward. This has to be an honest approach. We are at a threshold that we need to change. We are not losing jobs because our credit card didn't have a higher limit. We are losing our jobs because we are spending too much. It's not that difficult to do. We have sat in the room honestly with the Democrats. We have moved forward with them all the way. But they keep saying one thing. They want to raise more taxes.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: Let me be clear. We have never said we're going to hold the United States' full faith and credit hostage to these discussions. The president has said that's a priority. We need to move forward. If you don't lift the debt ceiling, every economist out there has said that the economy will tank. And what is really appalling is to see our republican colleagues essentially providing a form of extortion. If you don't agree to deficit reduction the way we want it, we're going to put all these jobs at risk because we're going to allow the United States to default on its debt. That's irresponsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: President Obama will try to bridge that huge bipartisan divide in less than an hour from now.
CNN's Dan Lothian is at the White House right now. So, Dan, what impact will this impasse on tax hikes have on the White House meeting and what strategy is the president expected to deliver on?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look. It certainly raises the stakes for this meeting. Puts a lot of pressure on these congressional leaders and the White House as they sit down and try to find some compromise. But this White House not planning on making any significant strategy shifts as you heard from Secretary Geithner on the Sunday morning shows. You also heard from Chief of Staff Daley, the president will stick with his strategy going for that so-called big deal. Up to $4 trillion for deficit reduction. Why does the president want to do this? Well, the White House believes that this is an opportunity for the president to essentially seize the moment to do something significant over the long haul and that now is not the time to back off, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so, does the tone of these meetings may have already been set by all of these conferences, whether it be last night or earlier in the week. Is there any wiggle room really on either side? LOTHIAN: Well, I guess, you know, the answer to that will come perhaps after this meeting. And if we get a readout of the meeting, anything significant at least. Look, there's clearly disappointment here because this is something that the White House believed was possible. They've been talking now for the last few days about significant progress being made. And so one official pointing out that they're disappointed that Mr. Boehner has decided to abandon this bigger deal. But look, the White House has tried to reach some compromise here. We have talked all day about how the president has been willing based on all of our reporting to put Social Security and Medicare on the table. Something that's not popular with the left of his party. He's been getting a lot of pressure there. But the bottom line for Republicans despite that gave is the raising of the taxes. Even though the White House says wealthier Americans need to pay more, that's something at this point that Republicans are not yet willing to embrace.
WHITFIELD: Dan Lothian at the White House, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
LOTHIAN: OK.
WHITFIELD: Let's go out to the west coast now. The duke and duchess of Cambridge are wrapping up their three-day visit to California. They have been to some of the most prestigious and humble places in southern California.
Our Max Foster has been covering the royal visit and keeping up with them throughout. You're right now in Culver City. What's happening?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we just had Prince William's speech here thanking the people of California, the great golden state as he called it for one full visit in this area. This is jobs fair. And he's been meeting some veterans here. It's all about linking up British and American armed forces. And particularly families and spouses. A top place into captains rule which is at the -- spouse now. A very, very busy weekend for them yet again. They keep going at these events. Yesterday morning they were playing the polo, for example. Prince William playing the polo match at Santa Barbara Club in aid of a foundation. As this event is very successful as well.
He won the trophy presented by his wife. And he got a kiss as a reward which kept the photographers happy. And then we headed downtown in L.A. for a red carpet event sponsoring young British Hollywood talents. And we have some a-listers (ph) turning up to that as well. They were very excited about meeting the duke and duchess. And the duchess didn't disappoint when she turned up in her Alexander McQueen dress, full evening wear, with earrings even lent to her by the queen, Fredricka. So, very, very glamorous Saturday for the couple. Less so on Sunday, wrapping up this tour of L.A.
WHITFIELD: And so, now what? They will be heading back to the U.K. at about what time this evening?
FOSTER: Well, they're going to the 3:30 local time on a scheduled flight from Los Angeles. Going back to the U.K. The prince is very much looking forward to hiding away in their cottage in North Wales. They've had a really sort of crazy time there. They've really enjoyed it. Certainly, it's been pretty relentless. I'm exhausted just following them.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: I'm exhausted and I'm not even there. Just thinking their itinerary. But very enjoyable nonetheless. Max Foster, thanks so much from Culver City.
All right. Inside a temple vault in India for century. A treasure haul estimated at more than $20 billion. Real bridal gems, gorgeous wedding dresses, and the gold there as well. Just wait until you hear of what all of these dresses not in the treasure-trove, but what these right here are made out of. That's in the chat room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In India now, inspectors unearthing billions of dollars in hidden treasures had to stop their search due to a Supreme Court order. Five vaults of precious stones and gold have already been opened. They were discovered last week in a centuries old Hindu temple.
CNN Nadia Bilchik has been following this story. She talked about, where all of these treasures came from?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In about the 1930s, there was a search and apparently some snakes underground deterred them from looking further. But how the treasure was amassed, was it royalty over the years? Was it the trade routes? Was it people paying homage to the Gods? So, there's so many unanswered question. How exactly did the treasure amass? Who ultimately does it go to? Right now it's being guarded by the Indian state, heavily guarded as you can imagine. I was thinking, imagine being somebody who had gone into the temple, been part of the temple and never thought to look.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: India's Supreme Court stopped the inspection of a final vault, citing security reasons. A lawyer also says an inventory and appraisal must be done.
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," end quote. The Pakistani military tells CNN it has not been officially informed that aid from Washington is being withheld.
Damascus, Syria. This is where high level officials are hosting a so- called national dialogue with members of the anti-government opposition movement. Syria's vice president is there. So are independent activists and academics. Critics say the government just wants to stop the protests without really changing anything.
Take a look at this. Chaos in the capital of Bangladesh. Riot police firing tear gas, protesters throwing rocks. The anger is over a proposed change in the way officials are elected there. The country is virtually shut down after opposition groups declared a two-day general strike.
A particularly shocking and reportedly well organized killing in Central America is sending shock waves through Central America and the Latin American world of music. This is Facundo Cabral, 74-years-old, from Argentina. Arguably one of Latin America's most popular folk singers. Well, he is dead today. The car he was riding in was riddled with bullets by gunmen in Guatemala City yesterday. It's a crime not only extraordinary for its violence but for the list of questions it now raises.
Ralitsa Vassileva is here with CNN international to give us an idea how in the world this could have happen. He is hugely popular. And no one can understand why or how he would be a target.
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Absolutely. And while they're still investigating the president of Guatemala is pointing the finger at organized crime, saying this is a very well orchestrated attack on his car. It seems though even though they're still investigating, that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The intended target appears to be, according to Guatemala's interior minister, the guy who was driving the car, who's his concert promoter, a businessman. He appears to have been the target. At the last moment, Colom (ph) decides not to take the shuttle to the airport but ride with him.
WHITFIELD: Thinking that they were leaving on the next stop.
VASSILEVA: Yes. It was between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning leaving for the airport when three cars ambushed the SUV, pumped it with more than 20 bullets and killed Cabral, the driver, and the promoter who police believe might have been the suspected target was injured, but he's in stable condition. He's managed to survive.
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's incredible. And then, eyewitnesses. Clearly this was a very busy intersection, a busy place where all this took place.
VASSILEVA: Well, it was on the road to the airport. There was a car behind them with bodyguards who tried to shoot back. But they were not able to save them.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
VASSILEVA: And, as I mentioned, the president said that it appears to be organized crime. And Guatemala has one of the highest crime rates in the world, at least in the region there, which has been exacerbated by the fact that drug gangs from Mexico, it sits on Mexico's southern border, have come in to taken over territory using it for drug trafficking.
WHITFIELD: And this folk singer hugely popular.
VASSILEVA: Hugely popular. There's so much sorrow. The president in Guatemala has declared three days of mourning for him. They are people on social networks in Guatemala expressing sorrow, expressing regret, and also saying that they're really ashamed that this happened in their country, because Cabral is an Argentinean. He was there giving a concert.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And in fact, the president of Guatemala reaching out to the president of Argentina saying, we are embarrassed, ashamed, so sorry.
VASSILEVA: Yes. There are presidents who've expressed sorrow. A huge impact on the whole region. He rose to fame as a protest singer. Then he switched more after the military dictatorship in Argentina was toppled. He started singing more about love and peace and even was declared by UNESCO as a peace messenger to the world. Rose to fame with a song that was recorded by Julio Iglesias and Neil Diamond which is called "I'm Not From Here Nor There." People might have heard that song. One of his most famous songs translated into nine languages. So, you can well imagine the impact that this killing has had.
WHITFIELD: Terribly tragic. Ralitsa Vassileva, thanks so much. CNN International. I appreciate that.
All right. No doubt, you have seen these pictures, right? People running with the bulls in Spain? And I was wondering, why in the world? But guess what. This is not really running with the bulls. It's a slip slide of that that's taking place in New Orleans. A little different twist things how one should run.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And welcome back. I'm CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. We're tracking to some really nasty thunderstorms right now across parts of the upper Midwest. You can see there are watches in effect. And we have had some reports of damage here from tornadoes in parts of South Dakota and North Dakota. Dicky, LaMoure, and Ransom counties are under warnings right now. And there was some spotty damage earlier in the town of Ashley. These storms have pushed off to the east right now and they're continuing to move due east. And just to put in perspective for you, here's Fargo. So, we'll continue to track the storms and if anything more serious develops, we'll let you know.
Let's talk about the whole threat area in general. And you can see it's going to be spreading over towards the twin cities later tonight into Des Moines, Milwaukee and Chicago may see nasty thunderstorms in the overnight hours tonight as well. Hail and damaging winds will be the primary concern, but we will see a couple of tornadoes out of this. Our second big weather headline today is the heat. It is brutal out there. I know it's summer but it's really dangerous. We've had a couple of heat related fatalities earlier in the week. For example, in Dallas. And these warnings and advisories are going to stay into effect until about Tuesday when we start to see some showers and thunderstorms pop up to provide a little bit of heat.
So, in the meantime, Kansas City, St. Louis, look at the temperature. Your body is feeling 110 in Kansas City at this time and 96 in Minneapolis. We'll talk more about the heat coming up in about a half an hour about right now. We're going to leave the weather center and we'll head to the chat room right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Take a look at this. What would you do if you saw one of these? Like things like this or more common than usual. In Yellowstone at this summer, a higher than normal amount of snow in the high countries forcing bears to spend this summer at lower elevations. The problem is, that's where Yellowstone tourists are. The problem for them, right? Bear encounters are up. One hiker who was killed by a grizzly last week. And a person just got very frightened when they saw that black bear this weekend.
All right. So, now to New Orleans where we find a twist on the whole running with the bulls concept. Who needs to run the risk of getting gored by a real bull in Spain when you can do this? Pretend to be a bull? I don't know. And get back at the people who generally run?
(CROSSTALK)
It's New Orleans. They call this bull session. This is the fifth running of the Nola bull. That's funny.
OK. And now to a baseball milestone this weekend, we witnessed Derek Jeter become the first New York Yankee to hit 3,000. And guess what? That one was a homer. So, what you may not know is the fan who caught the ball returned it to Jeter saying, quote, "he earned it." Oh, my gosh. How nice. That ball may be worth thousands. That's incredible.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: What incredible I know is he doesn't have it anymore.
WHITFIELD: Yes, maybe not worth anything like that anymore. Anyway, congrats to Derek Jeter. That was quite an exciting game.
JERAS: Yes. Huge.
WHITFIELD: Yes. So, we're in the chat room now, looking at lighter side of things. Things that are not on radar and we think they should be doggone. Jacqui Jeras with this. And now, we've got some fun stuff. Some fun and a little frightening.
JERAS: That's right. Have you ever said anything in your past where you said to yourself, you just feel guilty about it? When we're young we all do stupid stuff, right, every now and then?
WHITFIELD: I guess so.
JERAS: Some guy is trying to make up for it in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I love the story. WHITFIELD: That's right. They decided to send a note and some money, five $20 bills. Saying something to the effect of, you know, minor vandalism. May have involved a street sign or something like that. I can't really remember. But there may have been some damage done. So, here's 100 bucks.
JERAS: I know.
WHITFIELD: He says, he doesn't even remember if he was the one that maybe stole the sign or just one of his buddies. But he knew it wasn't quite right.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: Yes. Imagine, an envelope just shows up at City Hall with five $20 bills. And there you go.
WHITFIELD: I know, and now that person feels like they are at peace.
JERAS: I love it. That's great.
WHITFIELD: Yes. The city says that they will actually use the money to repair or replace a street sign.
JERAS: A street sign.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Yes. That was very honest, very nice. All right. And now, cue the music that nobody wants to hear. Especially when you're going to the beach.
JERAS: I thought we were really going to cue the music.
WHITFIELD: OK. Imagine.
JERAS: We can all do it.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: The "Jaws" music. Right. The great white sharks. Well, they've been spotted again. This happens every year.
JERAS: I know.
WHITFIELD: It's not a big shocker.
JERAS: But wait a minute. People don't feel like they're spotting a great white every year.
WHITFIELD: Yes. They see great whites every year up there.
JERAS: So scary.
WHITFIELD: Only a handful, though. Last year I think there were six of them. JERAS: All it takes is one. I'm out of there.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It wasn't the last three. I'm sorry for great whites, you know, I'm out of there if I see something like that. But it is happening, apparently, with some frequency up there in Cape Cod. Apparently there are quite a few seals. And that is the yummy delicacy of many great whites. So, if you see a seal somewhere in the water, don't get in there trying to pat the seal and you know frolic -- because they're just might be a great white.
JERAS: Right, nearby seal. Sometimes they'll even close the beaches. They haven't done that yet this year. And actually believe it or not, it's kind of good for tourism. Because people want to come out to the beach and they want to come and see if they can see a great white.
WHITFIELD: Really?
JERAS: Yes. And they actually -- the scientists are doing research, too. So, they're putting tracking devices on the great whites. Last year six of them like I've mentioned. And they've been able to track them down all the way to the coast of Georgia and all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico. It's interesting. They're learning the tracking methods of great whites a little better by doing that.
WHITFIELD: OK. I'm still not trying to be in the water at the beach when there's a great white nearby.
JERAS: I know there's going to be other sharks but something about that great white, I mess around with that one. You're more likely to get hit by lightning than get eaten by a shark.
WHITFIELD: OK. I'm very comforted now. Thank you, Jacqui. All right. Let's talk about something else that's rather bizarre but a lot of fun. And in all places Boca Raton where...
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: I know. I guess folks have decided to get a little fanciest -- in the area of toilet tissue. We've seen stuff out of duct tape before. But I've never seen toilet paper. Look at how beautiful that is, though.
WHITFIELD: We should keep tags. We've actually done, yes, some stories or some talks in the chat room about people who have made wedding dresses and prom dresses out like you said, duct tape. And then also the candy wrappers. Remember that?
JERAS: Yes, yes, yes.
WHITFIELD: Now add toilet paper into the mix.
JERAS: How do you do that? Look at those different roses. That's great. Nice. I'd take one of those. Wouldn't you?
WHITFIELD: That's right.
JERAS: Just don't throw water on the bride.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
And in the end, it's all about actually some prize money. In this case, I think it was $1,000.
JERAS: Yes. They've been doing it for a couple of years, I guess.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Fun stuff.
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. We had a nice little variety of chatty stuff in the chat room.
JERAS: Good for the environment.
WHITFIELD: Re-purposing.
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Got it.
All right, Jacqui, appreciate that. Thanks so much. The answer to the question I'm about to ask you.
JERAS: OK.
WHITFIELD: Do you feel a little overworked?
JERAS: I'm back from vacation. I feel good.
WHITFIELD: OK. You feel refreshed.
JERAS: Yes. I'm ready to go for a while.
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, for those of you who do feel a little overworked, try working less. We'll tell you how in today's reclaim your career.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Americans will have two chances to say good-bye to Betty Ford. A service for the former first lady will be held Tuesday, in Palm Desert, California. A second in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Thursday. She will then be laid to rest next to her husband at the Ford Presidential Library there.
And in just about a half an hour from now, President Obama will hold deficit talks with Republican and Democratic leaders at the White House. Live pictures now. Republicans broke off 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 federal debt cap. The issue is fueling debate on the Sunday morning talk shows. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MAJORITY WHIP: We produced a budget in four months. You know this Democrat-controlled Senate, it has been more than 100 days, you go back to 2009, they never produced a budget. We laid out a reform to Social Security and Medicare to save them. The president has not.
So from the premise that where Republicans have been in the short time they've been in the majority, we've laid out a framework to put us on a new path.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: At the end of the day what we're seeing is that the priority of our 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 listened to my friend Kevin say these are all small businesses. As you pointed out, just isn't true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A surprising development out of Washington today. The White House confirmed the U.S. is withholding $800 million in aid to Pakistan. Let's bring in our Elisa Labott, she's our senior State Department producer.
Elise, Pakistan is a major U.S. ally. But this relationship is very tense right now. What's behind this move right now to withhold aid?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN SR. STATE DEPT. PRODUCER: That's right, Fred. There's a couple of things at play here. It's part retaliation for basically not cooperating on terrorism. Part putting pressure on the Pakistani government to do more.
Also Pakistan threw out about 100 Army trainers after the U.S. raid on the Osama bin Laden's compound. And so it's retaliation for that and the fact that the U.S. can't conduct this aid while these people aren't on the ground.
And so White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley on the talk shows this morning spoke about this. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL DALEY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: They have been an important ally in the fight on terrorism. They've been victim of enormous amounts of terrorism. But right now they have taken some steps that have given us reason to pause on some of the aid which we were giving to their military. And we're trying to work through that. It's a complicated relationship in a very difficult complicated part of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LABOTT: Now, Fred, that $800 million is about one-third of all U.S. security assistance to Pakistan. Where is it going? A couple hundred million of that, about $300 million, is to reimburse the Pakistanis for some of the troops that they sent to the border to combat al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Then there's also a lot of equipment that the U.S. can't get to Pakistan if Pakistan won't allow its personnel on the ground. Because that aid and the personnel come as a package deal.
WHITFIELD: OK. So now at least you know there's less aid going to Pakistan, then you have to wonder what kind of trust or eroded trust might there be now between Pakistan and the U.S. to work together from here on out?
LABOTT: It's really bad. There has been a lot of tit for tat after that raid on bin Laden. Then the Pakistanis threw out the American trainers, and denying the visas. Now the U.S. is withholding aid. You've got to wonder, as you said, what is this going to mean, this continued tit for tat?
In the past, in previous years when the U.S. has withheld aid, it has been very bad. You've seen a lot of drone strikes against Pakistan without Pakistani cooperation. Sometimes they do cooperate. But now I think you're going to see a lot of the U.S. kind of going it alone as it sends a message to Pakistan as it did after 9/11: You're either with us or against us and you have to play if we're going to pay, basically.
WHITFIELD: Elise Labott, thanks so much, from Washington. Appreciate that.
WHITFIELD: All right. How do you work less without falling behind on the job? I'll have some tips.
Plus, I'll give you the big winners at the box office this weekend. All that right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Every weekend, our "Reclaim Your Career" segment, we focus on ways to get ahead in the work force. But what if you want to work less? Last hour I talked to Valorie Burton, she is the author of "Where Will You Go from Here?", and she gave us some tips on how you can realistically work less.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALORIE BURTON, AUTHOR, "WHERE WILL YOU GO FROM HERE?": For a lot of people they just realized there's more to life than work and they're trying to find ways to work less as opposed to working more.
WHITFIELD: So this really is for the person who has a job where there's some flexibility.
BURTON: Hopefully. And for a lot of people it's about finding that level of flexibility.
WHITFIELD: And for some...
BURTON: It's also, they've got a family that's coming along. And they want to work as much.
WHITFIELD: OK. And so how do you go about -- you know, you're working 40 hours a week or more and somehow you want to I guess feel like you have more time for your life.
BURTON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Does it mean simply restructuring your work week?
BURTON: Yes. A lot of it is restructuring. It's about -- a lot of people work hard but they don't work smart. So you want to make sure that you have to break some of those bad habits.
You know, you think about corporate America. People have so many meetings. Maybe you need to rethink a meeting for everything. Do we have a purpose for this meeting? Do we know how long it's going to be? If you find yourself overworking but you're not necessarily more productive than your co-workers, first one in, last one out. That's a problem.
WHITFIELD: That means you need to stand up and say, hey, we've got too many meetings and you have to introduce an alternative.
BURTON: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So that nobody thinks that you're just somebody who is, you know, putting a pooh-pooh on everything.
BURTON: Yes. And then also, one of the ways you can restructure your day...
WHITFIELD: Technical term.
(LAUGHTER)
BURTON: Yes. That's real technical. Is to find a way to create appointments around whatever it is that you're trying to do. So if you've got a 5:30 workout session with your personal trainer, you're more likely to leave work at 5:00. Sometimes we need to create structure that forces us out of the workplace.
WHITFIELD: To be more productive.
BURTON: That's right.
WHITFIELD: OK. And, you know, perhaps, you know, your company, you know, has kind of a mantra where, you know, the more you work, the more rewards you get. BURTON: Yes. So you have to know your company. So if you want to work less, one, know your company. Know that you might be in a company where that means no promotions or slow promotions. And if you are OK with that because, for example, you want to focus on family right now, that may be fine.
But there are a lot of companies right now, Fred, that would welcome the opportunity for an employee to work less...
WHITFIELD: Really?
BURTON: ... if they're able to pay them less and still have that impact. So if you're able to downsize a bit or if you're able to still pay your bills and you want to work less, you might be able to work something out with your employer to do that.
WHITFIELD: So that sounds like there has to be some real strategy on how you're going to talk to your boss.
BURTON: Yes, there has to be some strategy. So you want to think about it ahead. One of the questions you have to ask is, can I afford to work less? And you may make that a goal. Know your number. How much do you need to have saved? How much is it that you would need to be bringing in every single month in order to work less?
WHITFIELD: And does it also mean asking yourself a question or two about whether this is the job for me or does it mean that it's time to switch careers because I want to be able to have more of a life outside of work?
BURTON: Yes. And so that's the big question a lot of people find themselves at a crossroads. If you've had a layoff or some things are happening at your job, sometimes that's a perfect time to re-evaluate your options.
So another great thing is to say, do I want to prepare myself for a career that's going to pay me more even if I work less? So that might be a long-term solution that takes you a couple of years to get to because it requires training. But sometimes switching careers is that best option to have more work-life balance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Valorie Burton.
Let's talk movies now. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is still number one at the box office. Now it is the highest grossing movie of the year. So far it has brought in an estimated $261 million. The R- rated comedy "Horrible Bosses" opened this weekend in second place taking in more than $28 million.
Yesterday I talked to movie critic Grae Drake of movies.com. She told us why she likes "Horrible Bosses."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, FANDANGO & MOVIES.COM: To me this movie was about a bunch of people who were punished for excelling in the workplace and had to manage a group of ungrateful workers who even plot to kill them. No, oh, I'm sorry. I got all tea party there for a second. Hot in the studio.
No. The three main stars of the movie have such great chemistry that they're a lot of fun to watch. But Colin Ferrell looks hot with a comb-over and pot belly, go figure. And Jennifer Aniston is putting the sexy back in sexual harassment.
WHITFIELD: And as a brunette.
DRAKE: She's like Anthony Wiener DBS. Like wow.
WHITFIELD: You're scaring me.
DRAKE: Really funny movie.
WHITFIELD: Grae, you're making me nervous. OK, give me your grade.
DRAKE: Oh no, don't be nervous, welcome this movie into your life because it's really delightful. Jamie Foxx plays a character whose name I can't even say without the FCC getting all up in my business.
WHITFIELD: OK. We don't want them to call on us.
DRAKE: Very funny.
WHITFIELD: And so what was your grade on this one?
DRAKE: I give this one a hearty "A" because it is really fun to watch these guys make terrible decisions.
WHITFIELD: What?
DRAKE: Yes, "A."
WHITFIELD: You do not give "A's" easily. So this is a big endorsement.
DRAKE: Very funny movie, and it's a great way to escape the heat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Grae Drake, she is bold all the time. Love her.
Voters now in two states are headed to the ballot box this week. We'll tell you why.
Also ahead, a final rendezvous in space. The Shuttle Atlantis is at the International Space Station. Today is the last day space Shuttle Atlantis will dock at the International Space Station. So here's a little space station trivia for you. How many launches have there been to the International Space Station? We'll have an answer for you after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK. So before the break we asked you a little trivia, space trivia. How many launches have there been to the International Space Station? The answer, 103 launches, 67 of those were Russian vehicles, 34 were American space shuttles. And there was one Japanese and one European vehicle.
The final rendezvous in space. The Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station. For the crew, a big welcome aboard. Here now is CNN's John Zarrella.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sunday was another historic day in space. The Space Shuttle Atlantis docking with the International Space Station early Sunday afternoon. And the astronauts were so far ahead of the time line in this docking maneuver that they were actually able to open the hatch about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
Of course, another historic moment there. The last time that the space shuttle visiting the space station. The hatch opening, the six members of the International Space Station greeting the four astronauts as they got onboard the space station.
So 10 in all now onboard the space station and for the next several days, a lot of work to do. They will be transferring more than 7,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to stock up literally the pantry and the refrigerator on the space station so there will be enough supplies to last the crews up there for a good year.
Now, what also happened earlier on Sunday as the Space Shuttle Atlantis was approaching and rendezvousing with the International Space Station, Commander Ferguson pitched over, literally pitched his Space Shuttle Atlantis over, flipped it over on its back so that the crew members onboard the station could use their cameras and image the belly of the space shuttle.
The reason they wanted to do this was to make sure that there was no damage to any of the sensitive thermal tiles on the belly of the space shuttle as it was lifting off a couple of days ago from the Kennedy Space Center.
So, again, the Space Shuttle Atlantis now firmly docked to the space station. The last time a shuttle will ever dock at the space station.
John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And now to the race for the White House. Presidential candidates are on the move this week. Here's CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Fred, a bunch of the presidential candidates will campaign this week in some of those crucial early voting states on the road to the White House.
Among them, Herman Cain, who tomorrow opens his headquarters in Iowa, the state that kicks off the caucus and primary calendar.
Tuesday there is a special congressional election in the Los Angeles area to fill the seat of former Representative Jane Harman, who stepped down earlier this year. Democrats, they are likely to hold on to that seat.
The spotlight is also in Wisconsin on Tuesday. It was just a few months ago the protests over a controversial plan to strip public sector workers of their labor rights, it rocked the state's capital.
Well, Tuesday, voters cast ballots in the first round of elections to recall some of those lawmakers who had a part in the controversy.
And we'll learn this week how much money President Barack Obama's re- election campaign has brought him since it started up in early April. Sources say that number could be $60 million. Friday is the deadline for all of the presidential campaigns to report their fundraising figures -- Fred.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Paul. Appreciate that.
For the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, cnnpolitics.com. Just in case you need a little reminder there.
Another little reminder, just a few minutes from now more of the NEWSROOM with my colleague Don Lemon.
What's ahead?
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. On CNN. Don't forget, you can watch it here on CNN.
And you know, Fred, a lot coming up. We are really getting down to the wire and all eyes are going to be on the White House where President Obama is going to be meeting with congressional leaders at 6:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. Coming up at the top of the hour, just about 10 minutes.
Republicans say no tax hikes. Democrats, well, they say leave Social Security and Medicare alone. We're talking about an August 2nd deadline here, Fred, which is looming. Coming up quickly.
The best political team on television is going to weigh in on that, including Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson.
Also, Fred, more on this tragic story that we have been reporting. It's out of Arlington, Texas. A baseball fan, look at this...
WHITFIELD: It's heartbreaking.
LEMON: ... falls to his death. And I talked to the man -- the man, you see that white baseball cap?
WHITFIELD: Trying to grab him?
LEMON: The man who was right there sitting next to him who tried to grab him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first instinct is reach out and grab him. I tried to grab him. I couldn't catch him. He went down. As he went by me I tried to grab him again. And I missed. And it looked like in slow motion as he was going to the ground. I mean, there was nothing I could do except watch him fall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Isn't that eerie?
WHITFIELD: Heartbreaking.
LEMON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: It's hard to see. And then his son was right there, too.
LEMON: His son, 6-year-old son. And I talked to him about that, what was happening as well. And he's going to explain it to you. We're also going to be talking to a sports anchor from WFAA who lives in the area. His name is Joe Trahan, he's going to discuss the safety implications of this, what, if anything, are the Rangers doing or planning to do or Major League Baseball, or people who are in charge of stadiums. So we'll get to the bottom of that.
Also, artist Thornton Dial, you have to see my interview with this really cute gentleman. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What did you call it before art?
THORNTON DIAL, ARTIST: I didn't call it nothing.
LEMON: Because you didn't go to school for art.
DIAL: Right, right.
LEMON: Right?
DIAL: Right.
LEMON: Do you understand that some people say things about that, they may be jealous.
DIAL: Well, I feel that way, too. I feel the same way you speak in that way because some people are jealous of that kind of stuff. But, you can't be jealous of what God got for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A legend in the art world, wasn't discovered until he was 60 years old. You'll see the interview at 7:00.
WHITFIELD: Fantastic, look forward to that, thanks so much, Don Lemon.
A British tabloid folds after charges that it hacked the phones of politicians, celebrities, and even a missing teenage girl. It is easier than you may think. We'll talk with an expert on hacking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Today's final edition of News of the World sold out quickly at many London newsstands. The popular tabloid has ended publication after 168 years amid public outrage over a phone-hacking scandal.
The owner, international media baron Rupert Murdoch arrived in London today to deal with the fallout. Police are investigating charges that the News of the World hacked the phone of a missing teenager who later died.
Michael Calce is a former computer hacker and a security expert. Earlier today I asked him about phone hacking, a process known to insiders as "phreaking."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL CALCE, SECURITY EXPERT: Well, there's a lot of tools that basically surround this industry. The phreaking industry is a subdivision of hacking and they have quite a few various tools that will enable them to tap phones and receive messages.
And as phones become more sophisticated, it is actually becoming easier because of the Bluetooth and various technologies that basically enable these phreakers 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? You say now it is much easier, but do you have to be, I guess, professional or really proficient at being able to do this?
CALCE: Well, you need some expertise in phreaking. Me personally, I am not well-versed in phreaking. I am 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 is 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 some people might think. You just have got to know which tools to use. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield here in the NEWSROOM. Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead with Don Lemon. Have a great week.
