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Critical Talks on Debt Ceiling; Syria: Dialogue and Division; U.S. Withholding Millions in Pakistan Aid; Summer Heat Becomes Dangerous; William and Kate Head Home After U.S. Visit; Fran Tarkenton Discusses NFL Lockout
Aired July 10, 2011 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.
We begin with breaking news, and it's at the White House. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are right now trying to figure out how the United States is going to keep paying its bills. In its simplest terms, the U.S. has maxed out all of its credit cards and can't borrow any more money. The U.S. now owes a whopping $14.3 trillion.
The Treasury Department says the president and Congress have until August 2nd, just over three weeks from now, to raise the debt ceiling, or the U.S. will begin defaulting on its financial obligations. If that happens, it could have catastrophic consequences around the globe in ways that are even hard to imagine.
So, let's get right to it now.
CNN's White House correspondent Dan Lothian joins us now from the White House.
So, Dan, we know, ultimately, they need to raise the debt ceiling, but there is deep disagreement on how to get there. So, where are they? Have they arrived and are they in there talking now?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They have arrived here at the White House to begin that meeting. Hopefully, we'll get you some pictures of that very shortly. Look, there's still this wide divide between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans are saying, we know that you need to get revenue, but we don't want you to raise taxes. The Democrats and the president, in particular, is saying, we have to get revenue somehow and wealthier Americans need to pay more.
And, so, the president wants this grand deal of up to $4 trillion. And Republicans are saying, no. Let's try to deal with something much smaller.
LEMON: The ceiling has been raised and it's been raised a number of times. When Republicans are in control, Democrats vote against raising it. When Democrats are in control, Republicans vote against raising it.
So, how much of this is a game of chicken? And how much is there -- is there any real bipartisan effort to resolve this crisis?
LOTHIAN: Look, some would argue that this is really about the game of chicken. We see this in Washington all the time where people race towards a deadline and try to squeeze as much as they can out of the other side. But, listen, each side here is saying that they are working to get this resolved because they understand what the impact will be.
And you saw dueling statements yesterday from Speaker Boehner. He's saying, "Despite good faith efforts define common grounds, the White House is still sticking to raising taxes." Dan Pfeiffer, communications director, is saying that both parties have made real progress. But he said that the president will make the case today that everyone needs to, quote, "reject the politics of least resistance and really take on this challenge." We'll see.
LEMON: Yes. And that statement came into CNN last night as we were on the air live here, Dan.
What I'm wondering from the president, he has been criticized for getting in on this issue wholeheartedly at the last minute. Is that going to play, have any effect and does it help that he is holding these meetings today, or do you think that this has gone on too far?
LOTHIAN: Well, look, certainly, they hope that this will help. There was a lot more optimism a few days ago before Speaker Boehner essentially rejected this grander deal. The president has been criticized all along for not getting actively involved and then sort of jumping in at the last minute.
The White House says, listen, just because you don't see what's happening doesn't mean that the president isn't involved. There have been a lot of phone calls going back and forth and a lot happening behind the scenes that you simply don't see.
LEMON: All right. Dan Lothian, our White House correspondent, standing there in front of the White House where the president is meeting now with congressional leaders to talk about the debt ceiling and raising it and coming to some sort of consensus on the national debt. We're going to get an update from him.
So, stand by as we go inside. As you heard, we'll get pictures from that meeting coming up shortly here on CNN.
This issue is vitally important to all of us. But you may be disgusted, really, when you hear about all the politicking going on behind the scenes without your knowledge.
"The Best Political Team in Television" lets us in just about 15 minutes here on CNN.
The U.S. is withholding $800 million in military aid to Pakistan, a major indication that the rift between the two countries is only growing. White House chief of staff William Daley -- Bill Daley confirmed the move on ABC's "This Week" program. The U.S. and Pakistan are allies, but major trust issues between the two, especially after U.S. Special Forces found Osama bin Laden hiding snuggly inside Pakistan.
Gunfire ringing out in the Syrian city of Homs.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
LEMON: The government's violent crackdown on protestors continues even as it is promising to carry out dramatic reforms. The Syrian regime opened what it called national dialogue talks today, but a lot of the opposition didn't show up.
CNN's Arwa Damon is in Damascus and has this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Syrian government promoting this conference as being the initial step to create the framework to implement the president's long promised reform, which include a multi-party system, to set the country on a new path of democracy, the government says. The conference opened by the Syrian vice president who interestingly acknowledged that the conference was taking place in an atmosphere that is filled with suspicion. He also admitted that without the sacrifices, the bloodshed both on the civilian and the military side, this type of a dialogue would not be taking place.
Still, there was harsh criticism from the few opposition voices inside, especially criticizing what they are calling the government's excessive use of force.
QADRI JAMEEL, SYRIAN OPPOSITION MEMBER (through translator): The bloodshed needs to stop. Yes, there are unauthorized protests, but is it a reason to use unjustified and excessive violence against these protests? The use of all types of excessive force is unjustified.
DAMON: Others said that for this type of dialogue to exceed, the violence against the demonstrators had to stop. It is, in fact, because of this violence that these significant and prominent opposition figures boycotted the conference, saying that if the government wants to truly prove that is genuine when it speaks about reform, the violence must end -- saying that dialogue cannot even be spoken about while people continue to die on the street.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: High overhead -- a historic moment today that we'll never see again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Atlantis arriving. Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: A NASA space shuttle is now docked with the International Space Station for the final time. The flight of the Atlantis represents the end of a long-time U.S. shuttle program. As shuttle missions go, this one is fairly routine. Atlantis s delivered supplies and spare parts, but when it returns, it will bring back a broken pump and lots of emotional memories.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
LEMON: Britain's Prince William and Catherine got cheers and some excited screams in Los Angeles today. The royal newlyweds are wrapping up their whirlwind three-day visit to California, mingling with Hollywood's biggest stars on Saturday. Today was all about meeting troops and inner city kids who are striving to make their lives better.
Now, the duke and duchess of Cambridge are about to head home.
And our royal Max Foster is at Los Angeles International Airport and he's going to join us live from there in just a few minutes on CNN.
Black children, better off during slavery than they are under President Obama? Does that sound outrageous to you? Well, two candidates for president have actually signed a document agreeing with it. We're discussing.
A student shot to death in a classroom, that's tragic enough. Adding to it, a very troubled relationship between two boys, one straight and one gay.
Plus, the NFL lockout, close to ending? We're going to ask Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkington what is going on and what's it going to take for the players to get back on the field.
And if you want to reach out to us on social media, here's how you can do it. You can get us on Twitter, on Facebook, CNN.com/Don and on Foursquare.com. And check out my new book, it's called "Transparent." Available anywhere books are sold.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want you to take a look at this. Unbelievable. That is a train car sitting on top of a wrecked train in northern India. At least 28 people were killed and 100 others were hurt when the passenger train jumped the tracks.
It's feared the toll will go up as rescue crews search through the wreckage. The video is unbelievable. Nearby residents rushed to the scene and smashed trine car windows to help get passengers out of those cars.
After U.S. forces found Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan back in May, many people started questioning why the U.S. gives Pakistan so much money. Well, now, the U.S. is withholding $800 million in military aid to Pakistan, a big sign that tensions are growing between the two countries. Our senior State Department producer Elise Labott is covering this for us.
And, Elise, this is about one-third, one-third of the military aid the U.S. gives Pakistan annually. Why this move and why now?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: That's right, Don.
It's part pressure to get Pakistan to do more, part retaliation because Pakistan threw out a lot of trainers -- army trainers -- after the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden. It's part of the fact that because they threw out these trainers, they can't have this aid because you really comes as a package deal -- U.S. personnel on the ground. You have to play, if you want us to pay, Don.
LEMON: So, Elise, how serious is this rift between Afghanistan and Islamabad?
LABOTT: Well, it's very bad because it's been gradually decreasing, that gradually bad relationship. It's been a lot for tit-for-tat. And the question is, what's going to happen next now that the U.S. reduced this aid? The question is, what are the Pakistanis going to do?
The U.S. is already very concerned that it can't trust the Pakistani military and the Pakistani intelligence with the information they're giving them about the militants. And so, there's a big concern right now and I think you're going to see a lot of the U.S. going it alone, such as these drone strikes.
LEMON: Could this backfire and limit U.S. leverage over Pakistan on counterterrorism cooperation?
LABOTT: Well, it certainly could, but things are pretty bad as they are. So, I think the calculation by U.S. officials is like they need to send the Pakistanis a message that, listen, if you want to continue having U.S. support, U.S. assistance for a threat that you've acknowledged you have on your borders, you're going to have to work with us and we're going to have to have more of a give and take and a trusting relationship, Don.
LEMON: Senior State Department producer Elise Labott -- thank you, Elise.
A document making the rounds among candidates for president claims black children were better off during slavery than they are under President Obama. Controversial? Two presidential candidates have actually signed the document agreeing with it. Who are they? The answer is two minutes away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. That is President Barack Obama right there returning to the White House from Camp David earlier today. He needed to get back because, as we speak, he is meeting with congressional leaders, arguing over, discussing the prospect of raising the country's debt ceiling.
Republicans at the bargaining table don't exactly seem to be on the same page, as some of the Republicans on the campaign trail right now.
I want it bring in Will Cain on this. He is a CNN contributor. And also, there's L.Z. Granderson. He's a senior writer for ESPN.com and a contributor to CNN.com.
Before we begin, I want you both to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Nobody is not talking about not raising the debt ceiling. I haven't heard that discussed by anybody.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: Some are.
MCCONNELL: Not in Congress.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have fought against the wasteful bailout, against the stimulus. I will not vote to increase the debt ceiling.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
LEMON: OK. She just said it.
So, Will, are Republican candidates for president interfering with the message from their party's leadership on these debt negotiations?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I guess in that sense, they are. It, kind of, shows that Michele Bachmann should be considered more of a candidate now than a congresswoman. It's really easy, you know, Don, to say things from the comfortable confines of a campaign. Nobody learned that easier than President Obama on Iraq, Afghanistan and most clearly, on Guantanamo.
Governing and campaigning are a lot different. I wouldn't mind if they butted out of this.
LEMON: Hey, L.Z., listen, Bachmann goes over big with the Tea Party, but does the anti-taxes crowd really understand what would happen if the debt ceiling isn't raised?
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM: Absolutely not. Of course they don't. But, that doesn't really matter to a candidate and Will is absolutely correct. You know, when you're able to actually see the real numbers and talk to real people as a president, that's totally different than riding on a bus or meeting some people in Iowa and saying words that will make them feel good.
But, no, they don't fully understand.
LEMON: And lot of people, when they vote on these things, when they're going to talk about during these debt ceiling or national debt talks, they're thinking about the people back home in a sense not necessarily always what's good for them, not necessarily, but what's good to get them re-elected.
So, here's a question. To you, L.Z., do you think a Republican supporting the debt ceiling can be re-elections in their next term for the next term or elected as president in 2012?
GRANDERSON: I believe, yes in both cases, if the rhetoric moves away from no compromise to a compromise that seems like they won. If they are able to, say, raise the debt ceiling by also saying we're going to have an amendment in which you have to have a balanced budget, that's a win that it can bring back to the constituency. I don't think that's going to happen. I do think that if they're able to at least frame it as something that was victorious for them, then, yes, they can.
LEMON: OK. And I want to remind our viewers right now, the president is meeting with congressional leaders and they're now talking about the debt ceiling and the national debt, and we'll get some pictures from this meeting, we're told, very shortly here.
I want to change the subject a little bit. We're going not go far away from the story. We're going to continue to follow. But I want to change the subject here just for a bit.
I want to talk about the marriage pledge from the Iowa conservative group that the Family Leader, the Family Leader. I have the pledge right here in front of me. It is a vow to oppose gay marriage, so it's not really a surprise that both Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum signed off on it.
But this was a strange part of it and it's from the letter's preamble. I want to read this to you. It says that slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was African-American baby born after the election of the first of USA's first African-American president."
The Family Leader has since retracted that language and Bachmann's camp says they only signed that candidate vow part of it which didn't reference slavery at all.
But why was this bizarre passage to be included to begin with? I'm going to start with you, Will.
CAIN: I no idea, will. I have no idea why you would include something like that. You know, Jon Huntsman, who is -- he's rising in the ranks in my mind said there's too many of these pledges. There's pledges -- Grover Norquist kind of ran out these pledges first with the pledge for now new tax increases and no tax increases.
Huntsman said, "The only pledge that I'm interested in is Pledge of Allegiance. I'm following in that camp."
LEMON: Yes. And, L.Z., there are experts who are saying, you know what, this is ridiculous because during that time you were a slave, you didn't own yourself and many people were killed and died because of it and you had to work in the fields. And so, it's a ridiculous statement.
Even the person who was the author of the study that they referred to said they're wrong. They read it wrong.
What do you make of this and then them signing and then backing off saying, "Well, you know what, we changed our minds"?
GRANDERSON: Listen. These people are crazy. I'm just going to cut to the chase. They're crazy.
LEMON: Wow.
GRANDERSON: And this just illustrates just how far these candidates are willing to go to try to pander to what they consider to be their base. You know, that pledge says even more things like banning pornography and pledging to always be with your wife or your husband forever and ever. I mean, if you have to sign something like that to get votes, I don't see you as a serious candidate.
LEMON: Will, you are laughing. I don't see that you were taking any offense to anything he said. He basically said that those people are crazy.
CAIN: No, I mean -- I'm not far away from L.Z. on this. You know, I mean, the truth is, if we forced Congress, all members of Congress to sign that pledge, we'd be booting a lot of these guys. We learned a lot about that in the last month, haven't we?
LEMON: Will Cain, that will be the last word. L.Z. Granderson, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.
Gunfire inside a high school -- a student shot point blank in the head and killed. Attorneys for the shooters admit he did it, but why and was it a hate crime?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to go now to California and the story that will challenge your thinking about exactly what constitutes a hate crime. It involves two middle school students, one gay, the other straight.
In February of 2008, the straight kid allegedly pulled out a gun in class and killed the gay student. It's not alleged, he did it. Everyone saw him. Now 17, he's on trial as an adult for murder. His life now in a balanced.
A reporter Vince Gonzales reports on the crime and its consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHANTING)
VINCE GONZALES, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Students marched in Oxnard, California, in memory of Larry Lawrence King, the 15-year-old student police say was gunned down by a classmate because he was openly gay.
King's murder shocked the southern California community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's inconceivable that anybody could be that angry at a kid that was that nice.
GONZALES: He's remembered as friendly and outgoing. But fellow students say he became the subject of taunts and bullying in school after speaking out about his sexual orientation and wearing makeup, lipstick and jewelry to school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, that was a very small part of Larry and just one facet of his life.
GONZALES: But the situation apparently escalated. And on February 12th, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney allegedly shot King in the head in the school's computer lab.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was Larry? It was?
GONZALES: McInerney was arrested a few blocks away from campus a short time later.
King was pronounced brain dead at a local hospital. His body was kept alive so his organs could be donated.
At the school where McInerney allegedly shot King, some parents say it's time to teach more tolerance in California classrooms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's sad, but it's not just this district, it's every district. Something really has to be implemented.
GONZALES: For CNN, Vince Gonzales in Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You know, at first, it looked like a simple hate crime. But as students and teachers testified that trial last week, a much more complicated picture has began to emerge. We talked about this tragic case with clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere and reporter Zeke Barlow with the "Ventura County Star."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZEKE BARLOW, VENTURA COUNTY STAR: The biggest thing that came out so far the day before when things came to a head. I mean, other students have said that Larry would cast these sort of gazes, and make of it what you will, but that he'd cast these gazes of Brandon, and Brandon was uncomfortable with it. And many students would say that Larry would push his sexuality on people who were uncomfortable with it. It was his way of giving back to the boys who are taunting him, he'd give a little back to them.
There rumors flying around school the day before the shooting was that Larry sat in a crowded classroom to Brandon, he said, "I love you, baby." There's another rumor that he asked him to be his valentine. The shooting happened two days before Valentine's Day. And another shooting -- excuse me -- another rumor that he was blowing kisses to Brandon, as well.
DR. JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It's very sad that we look at Larry's behavior and say that he was the one being antagonistic. Of course, I wasn't there, but I can only imagine that being gay, he described himself as gay, that he was probably harassed so many times and this was his way of fighting back the best way that he can.
What we know about Brandon, who is the alleged killer, is that he came from a very difficult background. There was alcohol. There was domestic violence, as he was growing up. So, this was already a young man who was at risk.
There are some rumors, and this may come out in court, that there may have been some sort of influence by white supremacy person or group and some of the things that this young man read. So, he was a very angry, angry young man.
This shouldn't have happened. More attention should have been given to him and what his psychological issues were.
LEMON: OK. Do you know -- do you know, Zeke, where he might have gotten a gun and also we're hearing that he may have told other students that he was going to do this? If so, is that premeditated?
BARLOW: He got the gun from either his home or his grandfather's home. He'd said that -- the defense has said all along that Brandon did this and he came from a home where drugs and violence and guns were a common and commonplace and student testified earlier in the week that -- student testified that he had said to them, I could shoot anybody any time I want to because it's easy for me to get guns. And the day before he told his friend, he told him that -- he told him he that he was going to bring a gun to school the next day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Brandon McInerney, who is now 17, could spend the rest of his life in prison, if convicted.
Your headlines are coming up next.
Also, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, pay a visit to a place in Los Angeles that most Americans don't want to see. We're going to have a live report coming up.
And from twisters to tsunamis, earthquakes to river flooding, this year, the world has seen why Mother Nature is always in control. It makes us ask, what kind of severe weather kills the most people. Is it lightning, tornadoes, floods or heat? The answer when meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins us after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: In the headlines right now -- take a look at that. Live pictures of the White House where high-stakes negotiations are under way over raising the amount of money the federal government is allowed to borrow. Republican congressional leaders want deep spending cuts before they will agree to raise the debt ceiling. The president, Democrats say some tax increases are necessary as part of any plan to cut the deficit but, so far, both sides are still so far apart. They have until August 2nd to work out an agreement. We'll follow that story throughout the evening here on CNN.
Further proof of the deteriorate relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. The U.S. is withholding $800 million in military aid to that country. White House chief of staff, Bill Daley, confirmed the move on ABC's "This Week." The U.S. and Pakistan are allies, but major trust issues between the two, especially after the U.S. Special Forces found Osama bin Laden hiding inside Pakistan.
Syria's embattled government is promising a transition to a multi- party democracy. President Bashir Al Assad's regime opened what it called national dialogue talks in Damascus today. Anti-government protesters and the opposition are skeptical after months of violent clashes. Meanwhile, Syria's foreign ministry summoned the U.S. and French ambassadors and accused them of interference.
A NASA space shuttle is now docked with the international space station for the final time. "Atlantis" is delivering supplies and spare parts. It will return to earth in two weeks, marking the end of NASA's shuttle program.
It is summertime and it is supposed to be hot, but this sizzling weather is getting to dangerous levels right now.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins us now to show us just how intense this heat is.
And it is. A lot of people are talking about it online. It's being tweeted about.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: It's amazing.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really is. It's affecting so many people. The worst of it focused into the nation's midsection and it really is dangerous. People are getting sick and a few heat- related fatalities in the last week.
A number of records broken today. Wichita, Kansas, 111. Joplin, Missouri, imagine, they're still cleaning up from the tornadoes and it's been 106 there today. Oklahoma City 105; Springfield, 102; and 101 in Harrison.
Let's show you a couple tower cams. Two of the cities -- I guess we have all three of them. Three cities dealing with the worst of the heat. Oklahoma City on your top left, 105. This is the 12th consecutive day with triple-digit temperatures. Heat advisories in effect through Saturday. Can I say, I've never seen that. I have seen heat advisories in effect for like two or three days, never for an entire week. Memphis, 105 right now. You can see the view of Beale Street and St. Louis, Missouri. A beautiful shot of the arch. But the heat, the temperature that your body is feeling there, 111.
All right, let's look at how much of the country this is including. From Des Moines, Iowa, stretching down towards Shreveport. The pink areas that you see are excessive heat warnings, and that's when we're approaching that 110, 115 degree range. This will stick with us for a couple of days and really peak out by tomorrow.
Look at Minneapolis. Even Minneapolis feeling like 97 right now. The west coast the only place that you're having much of a respite. These are the temperatures we're expecting on your thermometer tomorrow. But when you add in the humidity, this is what it is going to feel like. 107 in Kansas City and 100 in Chicago. And check out Memphis at 111 degrees.
We had that quiz for you before the break, if you saw it. What's the number one weather-related phenomenon that causes deaths? Well, guess what. Last year, 2010, it was heat. 138 people died in the U.S. last year due to heat-related illnesses. The 10-year average, if you look at the yellow bars, you can see they're just behind hurricanes. That's because in the last 10 years, we had very active hurricane seasons. So it is something that you need to take seriously. You need to check on your neighbors and check on your pets and make sure everybody is doing OK. Don't exert yourself. Take breaks if you're working outside. And don't go for a run at 4:00 in the afternoon.
Don Lemon, yes, I'm talking to you.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Can I stop you real quick? You would think the way that we cover natural disasters, hurricanes, tornadoes, that more deaths would happen, but it's heat.
JERAS: Yes.
LEMON: So your advice is important when you say be careful, don't exert yourself. More people die from heat than anything else.
JERAS: You really have to hydrate yourself and take those breaks. A lot of cooling centers have been opened. Eight of them in the Kansas City area. There was a big run in Milwaukee this morning and, unfortunately, people there were collapsing in the heat there.
We also have thunderstorms. And, you know, sometimes thunderstorms provide some relief from this heat. But, unfortunately, they bring downpours which releases more humidity and can kind of add more insult to injury.
I also want to mention some severe thunderstorms that have been rumbling across parts of the Dakotas. We have reports of a funnel cloud, and this is in Sergeant County, North Dakota. Nasty weather across parts of the Midwest.
LEMON: Oh, boy, a lot there. Mothball, so to speak.
Thank you, Jacqui. Appreciate it. Britain's Prince William and his wife, Katherine, took Canada and California by storm. Now the newlyweds are heading home. But the trip made them more of a global sensation, I should say.
CNN's royal correspondent, Max Foster, has been a busy man traveling along with them. He has been following every move the duke and duchess. So, he joins us now from Los Angeles.
All right, give us the latest now.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, I'm exhausted, I have to say.
(LAUGHTER)
I need a rest after all of this. The duke and duchess on their way to the airport and they're going to travel by scheduled flights back to London. People surprised that they traveled by scheduled flight but that's what they do normally.
When they were here earlier on, they arrived effectively at a jobs fair for war veterans. And there was a great reaction to them from the war veterans. And the organizer pointed out to me that, actually, this is the most famous military officer in the world. So a lot of the officers, former officers here really related to him. And William played to that, actually, in his speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE WILLIAMS: This is the last event on our tour of North America but, to my mind, one of the seriously most important. This is because it is about men and women, who of their own free will, choose to put their life on the line for their country. They are the front line of a remarkable relationship between the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, which has safeguarded our freedoms for a century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, there you go. Then they went back around the back of that enormous flag you see behind me, especially made for the occasion. Some suggested it's going back to the U.K. after this, but I'll find out more about that. They went around the back and packed some boxes. These are kids whose parents are going away to war, and it's to help them understand the fact that they are going away. So, a Teddy Bear that has been patched up, so they can understand wounds and injuries, and some DVDs to help them understand the absence of their parents. That was very successful.
A bit earlier on today they went down to Skid Row, which you know, Don, a very deprived area here. They got involved in an art class with some young homeless kids. You saw the duchess' artistic side. She does like to paint. Saw her painting some ceramics down there. Today was a different tone than yesterday, which was all that glamour. Glamour, Don, we were talking about yesterday.
LEMON: Very nice. You know, this has really been a whirlwind tour. We were watching the feeds last night and we saw them arriving in their formal wear. They were on the red carpet. Tell us about that.
FOSTER: Yes. It was a big event in the end. You had some A-listers there, Barbra Streisand and the like. But when the duchess arrived, everyone was desperate to see what she was going to wear. This was the big evening wear occasion of the whole tour. I don't think she disappointed. A few of the stars said she looked fantastic to me. She was wearing the queen's earrings and she went inside and hobnobbed with a few of the stars. A very successful evening there, we're told, raising awareness of British talent. You had some quite star-struck young British talent meeting the likes of Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and studio bosses, so a great evening for them and a very glamorous evening for the photographers.
LEMON: All right, Max Foster, our royal correspondent. One of the better gigs in the business.
Thank you, sir. We appreciate all of your hard work.
Hey, listen, we have breaking news that we have been telling you about. This is how we began our newscast, saying the president was meeting with congressional leaders to talk about the federal deficit and the debt ceiling.
Let's take a look inside now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All right, guys. WE have work to do.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- 10 days or --
OBAMA: We need to.
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Thank you very much, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks for coming, you guys. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: See the president sitting there next to the House speaker, John Boehner. And when he was asked, can you work it out in 10 days, he said, we need to, we need to. And you also see Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sitting there. But, again, meeting with congressional leaders, hoping to craft a deficit reduction deal. And it appeared last night to stall. Those talks hit a wall last night when the House speaker and the president released opposing statements. The president saying we need to work on this. The House speaker saying, hey, listen, the president won't budge and that is not going to work for us. So, perhaps we should pair this down, all of it, what the president wants and what we think we're going to get here.
Developing story that we'll continue to follow here on CNN. When they get out of those talks, you know they'll come to the microphones and we'll have that for you.
When we decided to talk about the NFL lockout today, we debated who should join us. How about an NFL star himself? Maybe a Hall of Famer? Maybe both. Guest what? We got one. Legendary quarterback, Fran Tarkenton is here. We're seeing if he has any inside information about when, not if, but when the NFL could be back on the field. We're back after a quick time-out.
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ANNOUNCER: Well, this is it. That's why there was time taken.
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LEMON: Wow. That was Thursday night at Ranger Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 39-yeawr-old firefighter, Shannon Stone, trying to catch a baseball thrown into the stands by a player. Stone plunged to his death, 20 feet below. His 6-year-old son, Cooper, witnessing the entire thing.
Joining us now is NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, founder of the web site onemorecustomer.com. He's here to talk about that and the NFL lockout.
Fran, you're a dad. This poor man in Texas. He went and bought a glove. He drove hours with his son. He wanted to spend some quality time for America's pastime with his son. He was going for that ball because he wanted it for his boy, which every dad and every son can relate to that. And so many people go to parks. You spent more than half your life in stadiums. Is there anything that we can do about this?
FRAN TARKENTON, FORMER PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER & FOUNDER, ONEMORECUSTOMER.COM: Really not.
LEMON: No changes.
TARKENTON: I don't think so. But the whole tragedy, we all saw it. And we feel it, because we've been to games with our fathers. We've been to games with our sons. And this is a fireman, a working guy, who does physical work and he's comfortable and, all of a sudden, it's gone. It's -- life is so fragile. And here we see this wasn't supposed to happen.
LEMON: But, let me tell you, I went out last night with a couple buddies and had a couple beers and everybody was talking about it. Every single person has a story about tripping at a stadium or almost falling. And you know what people do at stadiums? They drink beer and they serve alcohol.
TARKENTON: Yes.
LEMON: So you don't think any changes, especially there is not going to be a lawsuit or something. You don't think that baseball's going to have to look at -- or stadium officials look at this?
TARKENTON: I think we could put up warning signs and maybe put the rails a little higher, but what's going to happen, everybody that goes to a game now are going to think about this, aren't they?
LEMON: Yes.
TARKENTON: And that, itself, will be a deterrent, and hopefully it will never happen again because it is the worst kind of tragedy.
LEMON: And I see you tearing up thinking about it. And everybody, and it's awful. Fran, thank you for talking about that.
Now, the NFL lockout --
TARKENTON: Yes.
LEMON: -- where the players are doing some interesting moonlighting. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR: A whole league looking for a place to play.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Any time, you know you're always welcomed here.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Ray Lewis? Are you a ghost?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I walked two miles through a cornfield. Let's play some football.
(CHEERING)
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Wait. (INAUDIBLE)
This corn is my house now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Some players had fun with this, but there may be a need for a "Field of Dreams" this NFL season, if they don't get their acts together. Listen, are they close to a deal and an agreement soon?
TARKENTON: Yes. Yes.
LEMON: Say that again. TARKENTON: Yes, they are. It's going to happen this week. And, you know, it's great drama. It's great theater. The NFL is all theater now. They wait to the last half of the ninth inning with two outs and now it's time they get something done. They'll get it done this week. We'll have an exhibition season and they'll have the Hall of Fame game in the first week of August and it will be all good.
LEMON: Yes, but if they don't get out there soon, those guys are going to be out of shape and --
(LAUGHTER)
TARKENTON: Well --
LEMON: They need practicing, right?
TARKENTON: These guys work out pretty hard year round. So, they will be --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Not as hard as they do when they're training, don't you think?
TARKENTON: No, no, no.
LEMON: All right. When we talked last March, I remember you sitting there. I think you were in your office and you released a video urging both sides to settle here. What do you think the holdup has been? Both sides to blame here?
TARKENTON: What we talked about, get the lawyers out of the room. They got the lawyers out of the room. For the last three weeks is players talking to owners and owners talking to players and the two leaders of the NFL, the labor association, they have been talking. They're all talking without lawyers in the room and that's what it took to get this thing settled. It will get settled. And I hope they give is the veterans a little bit of money, because the veterans need the money. You know, I played -- my first salary was $12,500. I'm OK.
LEMON: That's what I was going to ask you.
TARKENTON: I'm OK. But the veterans are not OK.
LEMON: The old timers like you, are your voices being heard at that bargaining table?
TARKENTON: I think so. They are trying to include something for the veteran players who, really, most of them, are broke. We have people with dementia and Alzheimer's all coming from brain trauma, which now has been proven is caused -- during playing football. And I hope we get some help for the guys that are my peers and the old timers that need the help desperately bad $9.3 billion. Just throw us a few coins.
LEMON: Thank you, sir. TARKENTON: Thanks, Don.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I want to tell the audience -- not that they don't know -- what a great guy you are. We spent an hour on the phone one day and you lifted my spirits and you're an amazing guy.
TARKENTON: My pleasure.
LEMON: I appreciate people like you.
TARKENTON: Don, thank you.
LEMON: We're following a developing story for you. A cruise ship sinks and the death toll is still climbing.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
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LEMON: If there could be an obituary of the "News of the World," this would be the profile picture of the staff of the 168-year-old paper walked out of the London office together after preparing the final edition. Today is the last time anyone can hold a current edition in hand. It's closing because of allegations of phone hacking by reporters and editors.
For the latest on all of this and other international stories, we go "Globe Trekking" with CNN's international editor, Azadeh Ansari.
We heard cheers, but the final paper, the days have not been peaceful. The days at the paper have not been peaceful.
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: That's true. This is an ongoing scandal, Don. We'll see this play out in the weeks to come. Five million copies printed. And across London, a lot of the newsstands were sold out of the paper. The question is, right now, what's going to happen to Rupert Murdoch? He made an appearance at News International, the parent company of "News of the World." Briefly, cameras caught him driving in with his SUV there. But the question is, is this going to have is a trickle-down effect on his other media companies. and the big thing I want to point out here is that, you know, the main point of contention, it's one thing if you go after celebrities, political figures, public persona --
LEMON: But not dead soldiers.
ANSARI: But the thing is -- right. But if you're going after your viewers, your readers, that's a whole other ball game. You know? That was the tipping point for a lot of this. LEMON: Yes. And the prime minister is really upset it and it outraged by it. And we'll see. Because I was told by someone who has legal knowledge that this is going to be a huge deal playing out.
ANSARI: Absolutely. It's not over yet.
LEMON: Let's move on and talking about another story. A cruise ship in Russia sinks. One person is dead, 88 missing? I should -- 88 missing or 84 dead? How many are dead here?
ANSARI: This is the thing. You have this double-decker cruise ship. OK? Literally sinks in the middle of the river. A huge cruise ship that sinks. 182 passengers. 88 people are still missing, Don. Rescue personnel were saying that some of these guys were swimming, swimming to nearby islands. Swimming to get to nearby islands, two miles to get to nearby islands. Divers were sent to the scene. Helicopters on the scene. This is an ongoing search and rescue effort. And still the clues are unfolding as the days go by, the hours go by, I should say, and we go into next week as well. Here's some images you can see of rescue personnel on the scene of the accident. And this is about 450 miles east of Moscow --
LEMON: Yes.
ANSARI: -- where this happened.
LEMON: Wish them luck. Quickly, let's move on because there's a new development, a treasure found in a temple in India. Can you update us, quick?
ANSARI: With this treasure, it unfolded this week, and they weren't allowed to open the vault. The India supreme court said, we're not going to open this vault. We're not going to allow this to -- it created a big stir and a big controversy. Whether or not they change their mind and move forward with it, who knows? As of right now, it's closed.
LEMON: It's closed.
(LAUGHTER)
OK, closed case.
Thank you very much, Azadeh Ansari
Do you know DIY, build your own deck or make your own clothes, what about cut your own album?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Musicians trying to make it big and they're doing it themselves by going straight to the backers who matter most, their fans. We'll explain, just after a break.
(SINGING)
COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So last year we introduced you to YouTube star, Julia Nunes, and, right now, she's in the final hours of a pledge drive, and not for public television, but for her personal label. She is recording an album. And instead of going into debt to make it, she's gone to her fans for the money.
CNN's Tina Kim shows us how.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TINA KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Through music she borrowed or songs all her own --
(SINGING)
KIM: Julia Nunes' voice and homemade videos attracted more than 200,000 followers on YouTube.
(SINGING)
KIM: Now some are not just enjoying their music, they're investing in it.
JULIA NUNES, SINGER & SONGWRITER: Yes, yes. It kind of flabbergasted me. The first day, within, like, 24 hours I made $14,000.
Hello. I'm Julia Nunes --
KIM: She's using the web site Kickstarter to raise the $15,000 she said she needs to cut her fourth album. The alternative --
NUNES: Borrowing money from my mom.
(LAUGHTER)
KIM: Through Kickstarter, fans make pledges. $10 gets her new album. More than that will net the new album plus past CDs or a T-shirt, a doodled ukulele, all the way up to a house concert for $2,500. Nunes is bringing herself music DTC, direct to consumer, riding the 21st century wave of DIY.
NUNES: I think there is a whole do-it-yourself nation that's uprising right now. Most of my friends are musicians, and all of them are doing it themselves.
(MUSIC)
KIM: So far, she's raised more than $50,000, more than $30,000 above her goal. Which means the YouTube star is singing an extra happy song these days.
(SINGING)
KIM: Tina Kim, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, here's the latest on Julia's Kickstarter page. With about 18 hours left, she raised more than $65,000. And the people at Kickstarter say, since its launch in 2009, more than $70 million have been pledged to various projects, from films to inventions.
