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American Morning: Wake Up Call
Casey Antony Acquitted; Obama Calls for Debt Ceiling Talks; Seven Americans Missing Off Mexico Coast; Montana's Oil Emergency
Aired July 06, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Wednesday, July 6th. This is your A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Ali Velshi, joining you live this morning from New York.
By now you know, Casey Anthony found not guilty of killing her daughter Caylee, but guilty of lying to police.
Here's what an alternate juror said about the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL HUEKLER, ALTERNATE JUROR: I agreed with it wholeheartedly. It was the right decision that was made. The prosecution didn't meet the burden of proof. We had a lot of reasonable doubt there. They didn't show us the evidence that, you know, was good enough for a conviction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: That juror wasn't in the jury room, but did hear all the evidence.
So, where do thing go next?
Casey Anthony could walk out of jail a free woman tomorrow after her sentencing because of time that she's already served, and she'll be free to cash in on her story, with books, movies or both.
But will we ever know how little Caylee Anthony died? We'll talk about that and other points with senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin in just a few moments.
And just to give you an idea of how captivated America was by this trial. CNN.com has put up several stories about the verdict. One of them -- just one of them got more than 20,000 reader comments.
New details this morning about a cheating scandal in Atlanta public schools. We're not talking about cheating students writing test answers on their palms, we're talking about teachers and principals, about 175 of them are accused of tinkering with student standardize test schools, the ones that measure how the kids and in turn how the schools were doing.
Here's the governor. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. NATHAN DEAL (R), GEORGIA: We cannot allow adult behavior to compromise the very tool which is we use statewide toe gauge a child's proficiency and whether or not he or she is prepared to succeed in the next grade level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: More than 80 educators reportedly have confessed to the cheating. Some of it goes back 10 years and could bring criminal charges.
Now, let's talk about the deal with Dominique Strauss-Kahn. We've learned that his lawyers will meet with prosecutors today in New York. The maid who accused him of attacking her might have credibility problems. One red flag could be this allegation: that her lawyer wouldn't let prosecutors talk to her during a critical part of the investigation. Her lawyer now says the D.A. won't meet with him and won't let him hear a taped conversation that she had with a boyfriend the day after her encounter with the former IMF chief. That boyfriend, by the way, is in jail.
And in a separate case, a French writer has filed a criminal complaint in Paris. She claimed that Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her eight years ago. He says she's lying. His lawyers have file a suit to that effect.
Now, let's talk about the alleged gunman in the Tucson shooting rampage. Today is the day that Jared Loughner might get back on powerful meds. An appeals court stopped prison officials from forcing him to take the drugs to deal with his mental illness. The government thinks he should stay on them and until tonight to argue its case. Loughner's lawyer says forcing the stuff on him violates his rights.
The January shootings left six people dead and 13 people wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a member of her staff. Now, that staffer, Ron Barber, has gone back to work. Someone got that man a big cake.
Barber was shot in the thigh and the cheek. He's still getting physical therapy for his injuries, but he's well enough to go back to work part time as a district director.
So, Ron, how does it feel to be back to work?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON BARBER, REP. GIFFORDS' STAFFER: And I think the only thing that would be better than this day for me would be the day that the congresswoman walks through door and that we all have her back in Tucson. And I know she wants to be back and she's working hard to do that. And I've no doubt at all that she'll be back in not too long distance future. And she'll be doing the job she's always done, even with more gusto for the citizens of the eighth congressional district.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Congresswoman Giffords continues to get her physical therapy. Just last week, she made her first public appearance since the shootings.
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg says his company will, quote, "launch something awesome," end quote, today. It's a cardinal rule of business. One should launch something awesome rather than something lame. There's lots of speculation on what this awesome product is. It could be awesome applications for your tablet or maybe a Skype service that lets you video chat with your awesome Facebook friends.
We'll find out at 1:00 p.m. awesome Eastern Time today.
Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong right now. Let's see what the world's money is up to this morning.
Kristie, how are the markets doing?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hey there, Ali.
Well, it's been a mixed day so far in Asia stock markets. Banking stocks sunk in China, but the Nikkei in Tokyo rose to a four-month high. Its gains give index its longest winning streak for two years.
Out over in Europe, it's been pretty much a down beat start to the day. All the markets are currently in the red.
Ali, back to you.
VELSHI: All right. Netflix. I'm a big Netflix user, by the way. I get the little discs sent to my house and the use the streaming. Netflix going global in a big way -- they've come a long way from those days when they just mail out the DVDs.
STOUT: That's right. Even though they're not in Hong Kong yet. But Netflix is making a big move into Latin America. They'll expand into 43 companies in South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Now, Netflix made its first international move into Canada. Late last year, you can see it clearly wants to be a global company, but it's going to be pricey. The company has said it would lose up to $70 million in the second half of this year from its overseas operation. But investors in the states are cheering the move. The news in fact sent Netflix shares soaring some 8 percent on Tuesday -- Ali.
VELSHI: Kristie, how do you guys do it? I mean, are you further ahead in Hong Kong? Is it all streaming? Or is there some kind of similar service?
STOUT: ITunes. That's part of DVDs and it's all about iTunes.
VELSHI: Very good. All right. Kristie, stick around for this story. Quite frankly, I don't want to be alone in this piece of knowledge.
Some farmers in the U.K. were looking for a way to make extra money. The answer was on their farms in big piles. They're turning livestock waste into energy. The pigs, it turns out, were actually wallowing in gold.
The thousands of tons of pig, chicken and cow waste are put into a big machine that breaks it down into a delicious methane mix which help generate electricity that the farmers can sale. It's a waste-win situation you might say -- as long as the livestock stay regular. The process, by the way, kills most of the manure smell, too.
Kristie, no joke. I mean, I know you're into technology. It's kind of smart when you think about it.
STOUT: It is. I mean, there are just so much win in this story. They're turning warm pig poo into cold hard cash. And somehow they developed the technology, not only to do that, but to take the smell out. I think they need to bottle that innovation as well. This is just a big win all around.
VELSHI: No kidding. Kristie, I'll check in with you later on -- Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong for us.
Let's take a look at weather here in the United States. Jacqui Jeras is live in Atlanta.
Jacqui, what are we looking at today?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, we're looking at some problems in Phoenix this morning. This has really been going on since last night when dust storms blew through the area. So, about 30-minute departure delays out of Phoenix.
Some other cities that we're watching today, Miami, Florida. Take a look at our live picture out of Miami. You're dry right now, but look at all the clouds in the area. There are showers and thundershowers in the vicinity. And those are expected to pick up quite a bit as we head throughout the day today.
Some other airports of concern include Atlanta and Raleigh, due to those afternoon thunderstorms. Boston and D.C. could have minor delays this afternoon, as well as New York City and Denver and Phoenix, like I mentioned, looking for more thunderstorms and wind. It's that time of the year that we see those dust storms and those thunderstorms across parts of the Southwest. And, boy, Ali, when they happen, they can really mess things up for hours.
VELSHI: Yes. I think -- I always think I know a lot about stuff. And then I find out a word I never know. I never heard the word hubbub before today.
JERAS: Yes, it's one of my favorites.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: Yes, take a look. It's a huge dust storm. And these things actually go miles in the air, bring visibility down in near nothing. If you've ever been caught in one of these things, it's actually really scary. The dust hurts your face.
VELSHI: This is Phoenix?
JERAS: Yes, that's Phoenix last night.
VELSHI: It shut the airport down?
JERAS: I don't know if it shut it down, but they, you know, not allowing some flights in and out.
VELSHI: It was causing some problems.
JERAS: Yes, for several hours.
VELSHI: That is incredible.
All right. Jacqui, good to see you. Listen to this story, by the way. It's about chocolate. I know you like chocolate.
JERAS: Oh, I love chocolate.
VELSHI: I got to tell you about this new thing. You're going to like this. It's a 3D printer that lets you produce your own personalized chocolate creations.
This is for real. A bunch of scientists in England came up with it. Here's how it works: use a computer to come up with your own design, whatever you want to create in chocolate. Then you hit print. The device prints layers of chocolate.
JERAS: It prints it?
VELSHI: Layers of delicious chocolate. When one layer is done, the printer moves on to the next layer until you have your whole delicious chocolate creation. By the way, Jacqui, before you get out your credit, the printer is a prototype. But I think soon, one day soon, we're going to have print your own chocolate.
JERAS: Lt me know when it happens and let me know if I can put caramel in there, too.
VELSHI: Well, I think you do it like a weather map of chocolate.
JERAS: Oh, yes. That's a great idea. Love it.
VELSHI: I'll remember that for your next birthday. Ali, good to see you. I'll check in with you in just a little bit.
Hey, California may have to rewrite all the history books. Who's left out? What may have been added? I'm going to tell you.
But, first, before we go, I'm going to look at our quote of the day. Here it is. Quote, "They want you to think the Tea Party is made up of toothless hillbillies coming down out of the hills wearing red, white and blue. But the fact is, they should be afraid of the Tea Party," end quote. We'll reveal who said on the other side of the break.
It is 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Thirteen minutes after the hour.
The colorful comments grabbed our attention for the colorful quote of the day. Michele Bachmann, Republican candidate on the campaign trail in Iowa. Listen to what she had to say about the tea party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They want you to think that the Tea Party is made up of toothless hillbillies coming down out of the hills wearing red, white, and blue. But the fact is, they should be afraid of the Tea Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. Have you heard about this controversial new bill in Florida? It would require history textbooks to include contributions made by gay, lesbian and transgendered Americans.
The bill passed the state assembly last night. It's now headed to Governor Jerry Brown. But it hasn't said if he'll sign or not. Supporters say it's an effort to correct oversights in history book, may even help or keep gay kids from being bullied.
Some opponents of the bill say it's an attempt to promote a homosexual agenda. We'll keep watching this one for you.
OK. It's still not the sexiest story I'm going to tell you about today -- it's still the most important. The debt ceiling decision is still out there, and it affects every single one of us. President Obama is meeting with congressional leaders about it tomorrow. He has invited House and Senate members from both parties to the White House.
Here's his message. Get out of your comfort zone. The president says progress has been made, but there are some serious differences that still need to be resolved.
House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, says he'll be at the meeting tomorrow, but he's got a message of his own for the president. Congress won't accept the tax increases the Democrats want.
If no agreement on raising the federal government's debt ceiling is reached by August 2nd, the U.S. could default on its debt obligations.
Time now for the Political Ticker with Tim Farley. He's the host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM radio. He's with us from Washington.
Good morning, Tim. Let's start with those debt ceiling talks tomorrow. Increasing criticism heaped on by Republicans -- against Republicans saying at this point, they're digging in in a way that could be dangerous for them and for the country.
TIM FARLEY, "THE MORNING BRIEFING," SIRIUS XM RADIO: Several people have been writing about this. David Brooks in "The New York Times" yesterday had an interesting op-ed, saying that this is the mother of all no-brainers, that Republicans could be squandering an opportunity.
And David Frum on CNN was writing about this. He sees it as an error by the president and perhaps giving up too much in some previous negotiations. Where it goes from here, we don't know. But we know the great eight, as we are now dubbing them, because we have to have nicknames in Washington for these people -- but the leaders from the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, are getting together with the president and the vice president.
Just to give you a sense of this, Ali -- a quick statement from Mitch McConnell, the minority leader. And I want to make sure I get it right.
"These discussions are not about rich or poor or an election, but they're about making Washington take the hit and make some tough choices for a change, not the taxpayers and job creators." Essentially, Republicans, if not intransigent, at least very firm on their position -- no new taxes. And Democrats and the president saying we need to have some new revenues. So that's where the problem is right now.
VELSHI: And Brooks' comment along with some other Republicans is that in exchange for increasing a few hundred million dollars in taxes, they could be getting trillions of dollars in cuts.
The president is going to be hearing from people today. He's holding one of those Twitter town hall meetings. I never know what to make of these things, Tim.
FARLEY: It's like the haiku of social media, you know? The five- seven-five, only it's 140 characters. And by the way, don't be thinking that this is going to be somehow truncated answers by the president. He'll still give his, shall we say, professorial responses to questions that have been prescreened. So, this is not a big surprise, but it's taking place today in the East Room at the White House. And these have been pre-screened.
By the way, there were some articles, one of them in the Washington sorry, "The Wall Street Journal," saying that maybe there'd only been about 36 questions submitted, but there was a glitch. There have been thousands of questions submitted. And, obviously, not that many will be asked today.
VELSHI: All right, Tim. We look forward to it. Good to see you. Thanks very much. Have a great show this morning -- Tim Farley of XM Sirius radio.
Check out this video from Kansas. You see someone tossing a bottle out of a car, OK? Stay classy lady. The fact is she's littering. That's bad enough. But get this -- the same woman allegedly tossed her empty iced tea bottles into the same yard nearly every day for about two years. The homeowner got sick of it. Who could blame him? Stepping over broken glass to get your mail is not cool.
So he set up a camera, documented everything, and busted lady litter bug. She says she wasn't targeting him. She claimed she just happened to be passing his place when she finished her tea.
What do you think about that?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY BUKATY, CAUGHT LITTERBUG: Personally, I don't believe that. But that's what she said. We don't seem to know 'em. I don't care to know 'em.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: I think it's kind of funny. I would guess maybe she does finish her tea in the same place every day. There you go.
The woman, by the way, pleaded guilty to four counts of littering.
It's no secret that recessions hurt. Stocks take a hit. Jobs are hard to come by, and STD rates come up. Yes, I just said STD and it's 5:17 in the morning. Talk about bad news spreading.
Hear what some health officials are saying about it.
Before we go, though, grab some legs and wings today. It's National Fried Chicken Day. Now, you know I like to bring in something that matches whatever day it is. But even at this hour in Manhattan, I had a hard time coming by fried chicken. So, we'll just use this graphic.
Happy National Fried Chicken Day to all of you.
It is 18 minutes after the hour. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It is 21 minutes after the hour.
Here are three things that need to be on your radar today:
Baseball legend Roger Clemens goes on trial today. He's accused of misleading members of Congress over use of performance-enhancing drugs.
President Obama's big Twitter town hall begins online at 2:00 p.m. Eastern today. And the mayor of Las Vegas is swearing in his wife, Carolyn Goodman, as his replacement today. Mayor Oscar Goodman was forced to retire for term limits after being in office for 12 years.
Mr. Goodman told "The New York Times" he loves to gamble, but he says Mrs. Goodman hasn't been near gambling table in 30 years. Let's get a check on what's on the rundown right now:
Three PTA moms are accused in a $1 million Ponzi scheme. "The L.A. Times" reports that the southern California moms took cash from about 40 people, claiming it would be invested in dairy company. And get this -- they allegedly gained the trust of the victims at school events. If convicted, the women could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Hunting for a new computer? A new report shows which companies keeps customers most satisfied through the entire process -- from picking out the computer to paying the bill. The most satisfied buyer are -- drum roll please -- Apple customers. HP and Dell, by the way, also scored high in the Timken (ph) Group report.
Rough news for smartphone owners. Another unlimited data plan bites the dust. Verizon nixing its flat fee for unlimited usage starting tomorrow. It will cap how much data new customers can get for the $30 monthly charge. Heavy users will pay a higher rate.
This makes Sprint the only major U.S. career still offering unlimited smartphone data.
The word recession makes plenty of people cringe. How about these words -- Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis? Ohio officials say STD rates are up in part because of the economic downturn. They're blaming higher poverty rates as well as a lack of knowledge tied to funding cuts for prevention programs.
All right. It's time to take it around the world. Monita Rajpal standing by live from London.
Monita, let's take it to Afghanistan first of all. Impeachment talks going on in the Afghan parliament took a turn for the worse.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, you know, it's been an interesting week for women in politics.
You remember early this week, we're talking about this mayor in the Philippines who punched a sheriff. Now, we're talking about two M.P.s in the Afghan parliament, women, who decided to, I guess, defend a vice president who they said the reputation was being tarnished within this parliamentary discussion. One threw a battle of water at the other. And the other started to punch another person.
So, it became an interesting time within the Afghan parliamentary meeting right now. Also, they're having discussions about whether or not President Karzai should be impeached. He had set -- they're questioning the legality of a court that he had set up for those who were questioning -- who wanted to argue, I guess, the fact that they had lost the elections back last year. So, there are a lot of questions surrounding now his -- whether or not he's fit enough to be president.
So, there's a lot of anger within the Afghan parliament. Of course, it's very embarrassing as a British Prime Minister David Cameron was visiting Kabul yesterday as well -- Ali.
VELSHI: Exciting, though.
Hey, listen to this. This story caught my attention and then I saw the picture, which just blew my mind. It's in Mexico. A woman tries to get her husband out of jail in a very unusual manner. Show us this.
RAJPAL: Yes. Remember the television show -- that American television show "Prison Break."? Yes, this isn't anything like that. It's kind of a lower version of that. This woman, this 19-year-old woman, visits her husband in this Mexican prison, in the Mexican Caribbean state in Quintana Roo . She decides to pack him up in this rollway suitcase, I guess, that's a wheeling suitcase, I guess. That's what you call it.
She takes him out, bangs the suitcase against a step, and there's some movement within the suitcase. Of course, that catches the police officers' eyes, and they decide to say, OK. What's going on in there? They open it up. They find her husband curled up in the fetal position. And, of course, the police are wondering, hold on, you weren't going to get through this anyway, because that suitcase was going to be searched in the first place. So, pretty interesting.
VELSHI: Creative. There he is. There he is. That's a man in the suitcase.
Monita, good to see you. I'll check in with you a little later -- Monita Rajpal for us in London.
OK. We have not yet mentioned Charlie Sheen on A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL. The streak ends right now. Listen, we went nearly two weeks without talking about him. So, give us a break.
Anyway, Sheen will be the roastee of a Comedy Central celebrity roast. And if you never seen one of those, you know they can be brutal and brutally funny. The machine probably will resemble a Kenny Rogers chicken once Jeffrey Ross and other comedians are through with him. "The Roast" airs September 19, the same day Ashton Kutcher makes his debut as Sheen's replacement on "Two and a Half Men."
All right. Before we go to break, a quick peek at your businessman's special. It's a special tidbit of business news we like to throw on your plate before you head out, especially for you travelers. Today, we're telling you about Hong Kong airlines and how classy it is.
Twenty-six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning. It's Wednesday, July 6th. This is your A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Ali Velshi, joining you this morning from New York. It is 29 minutes after the hour. We have all heard the verdict by now. Casey Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, manslaughter or child abuse. So, what happens to her now?
Well, CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin is on the phone in New York.
Jeff, welcome this morning. Casey Anthony has been convicted only of lying to law enforcement officers. Her sentencing is tomorrow morning. What is likely to happen?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Well, I think it is a virtual certainty that she will be released. She has already served three years in prison awaiting trial. The (INAUDIBLE) here she was convicted of carries a maximum sentence of one year each. Virtually, no one gets prison time for those kinds of convictions. So, she will, virtually, certainly be sentenced to time served. So, she will be released on Thursday, and she'll be a free woman.
VELSHI: And because she was not found guilty of more serious charges, is she free to make money off of this? Can she write a book? Can she writes (ph) to a movie? Can she profit from it?
TOOBIN: She can do whatever she wants. She can write a book. She can be in a movie. She can open a day care business. I think that's -- she'll unlikely to find many customers, but she will have complete freedom to do what she want.
VELSHI: All right. Jeff Toobin, one last question for you. No one has now been convicted of the murder of the little girl, Caylee. What happens next? Does somebody else get tried for this or does that go down as an unsolved murder?
TOOBIN: Well, the one legal certainty is that Casey Anthony can never be charged again. She could confess on the steps of the courthouse tomorrow, and because of the double jeopardy clause in the constitution, she cannot be tried again in connection with this crime. Someone else could definitely be charged. Double jeopardy only applies to the person who's been tried and acquitted. So, if the police can identify another suspect, they can charge her.
VELSHI: Jeff, thanks for joining us this morning. Jeff Toobin is our senior legal analyst.
A California teenager is now on trial accused in the classroom killing of an openly gay student. Jurors heard opening statements in the case yesterday. Lawyers on both sides agree that Brandon McInerney pulled the trigger killing Larry King in a middle school computer lab three years ago. The big question is motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT WIPPERT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's not in dispute that Larry King was shot by Brandon McInerney. The real issue is why did he do it? And that's what the evidence is going to be presented, and it's up to the jury to decide. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, prosecutors say the victim, Larry King, was just a shy gay kid starting to come out of his shell. The defense lawyers say King was aggressive, flirting, and taunting the gunman.
All right. To the waters off the coast of Baja, California now where U.S. and Mexican team are searching for seven Americans still missing after a boat capsized on Sunday. Officials say one American tourist was killed. Nineteen other American passengers survived along with the entire crew. And as for the missing, the coast guard says it's optimistic search conditions are good with warm water and clear skies.
Let's head over to Washington, D.C. where President Obama will talk long-term debt answers with Republican and Democratic leaders. He says he wants to leave political rhetoric at the door. Good luck with that. Setting a goal to make the deal within two weeks, that would leave enough time to raise the federal debt ceiling before the August 2nd deadline. They need some time to get the legislation actually done.
Christine Romans now with a look at what your money could be doing today. Christine, really, I guess this is one of the biggest issues that investors are worried about right now.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The debt ceiling. I hope they have a very big door in Washington to leave all that political rhetoric next to.
VELSHI: Yes, no kidding. A big check room.
ROMANS: That seems to be taking all the oxygen out of the room, no question. But also watching Greece and watching European debt default concerns. You know, we told you yesterday that a poll of 27 economists. So, that was the number one concern. This morning, we have insurance, the CDS, the credit default swaps, how to ensure against defaults in Europe. Those have skyrocketed. Costing much more than it has in a very long time to ensure Portugal, even Belgium, Greece, and many other countries. So, we're watching that today and futures right now.
VELSHI: Another way to say that is that more people are betting that there could be serious problems with those European economies.
ROMANS: That's absolutely right. It costs more to ensure against a bankruptcy of some of these economies, and that's what a lot of people in the know watch the CDSs before they watch the stock markets, the bond markets, anything else.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: And those this morning are catching everyone's attention in the markets. They're watching that happen in Europe, and we'll see what that means in terms of taking a little bit of the mojo out of U.S. market today. VELSHI: Christine, you and I have already apparently supported the economy this morning just by tweeting out about this show. Somebody has put a value on Twitter.
ROMANS: That's right. "Wall Street Journal" is reporting that there was a new round of private financing for Twitter, and that values the company at some $7 billion. There was a previous round of financing just maybe six months ago, I think, that valued the company under $4 billion. So, you can see a lot of investors, private investors trying to get their piece on this web mania, and Twitter, in particular.
Now, the journal, an interesting comment in the journal story shows one economist or one analyst rather saying, Ali, that this is better for this company to find itself privately. It still has only about 500 employees. Still unclear how these companies are going to make money. So, you know, by tapping private financing, companies sort of finding itself with $7 billion. That gets the attention of a lot of people who want to make money off of all of these the new web social media enterprises.
VELSHI: OK. Christine, I'll see you in about 25 minutes on "American Morning."
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Christine Romans with your money this morning. And now back to the businessman special. It's a tidbit of business news we like to throw your way before you head out, because a lot of you are travelers.
Hong Kong Airlines said it's going to launch its first all business class fights from Hong Kong to London. The price is going to be about $3,200. That service should begin next year. The airline expects most passengers will actually be tourists from mainland China going to Europe to buy expensive things.
All right. Before we go, today's word of the day that you must know is haboob. Find out what it means and why you need to know haboob right after the short break. Thirty-five minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Thirty-nine minutes after the hour. Time now to reveal what today's word of the day means. Haboob is an Arabic word used to describe a thick dust storm that blows in the desert. Take a look at this haboob near Phoenix, Arizona.
All right. This dust wall delayed flights, forced dozens of drivers to pull over. Unbelievable. It happens a lot in the Middle East, and that's why it's named out there. It is a dust storm, a dust wall, really, or a haboob.
It's time now to go to our senior political editor, Mark Preston, with our "Political Ticker." Mark, good morning to you. You didn't know what a haboob was, did you?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR (via telephone): I absolutely did not.
VELSHI: Yes, I didn't either. Let's talk about some not so good news for Republican presidential hopefuls. A new poll that you've got out. Tell me what it's about.
PRESTON: Sure. I'm going to start about some of the good news, actually, because someone such as Mitt Romney in this new grand of state poll that was conducted for the CNN affiliate, WMUR TV in New Hampshire, shows that Mitt Romney is at the top of the poll. Look at those numbers right there. Mitt Romney at 35 percent. Coming in second is Michele Bachmann at 12 percent. She came off a very strong debate performance in the CNN debate last month.
Bad news, though, for the likes of Jon Huntsman who's not even in the top five. He's at two percent. Jon Huntsman is the former U.S. ambassador to China in the Obama administration. You would think that he needs to New Hampshire, needs to win New Hampshire, do really well in New Hampshire if his campaign is to kick off.
And Newt Gingrich, Ali, his campaign slowly early next month is now at one percent. What's also interesting about this poll is that two people in the top five of Republican picks --
VELSHI: They're not even declared candidates.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes, Giuliani and Perry.
PRESTON: And Rick Perry at four percent. You know, two guys who haven't even said they're going to run for president. So, they're doing pretty well, even though, they're not in the race, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Mark, tell us about this Twitter -- this tweet up the president is having. He's taking -- I guess, he's taking questions from people. There are selected questions via Twitter but giving real answers.
PRESTON: Yes, given real answers, you know, which just shows you that the old town hall that you and I are used to has gone by the way of maybe the 1950s. So, the Obama administration is going to hold this first Twitter town hall to take place at two o'clock. Questions are going to come in on Twitter, and the topic is just going to be focused on two things, Ali, something you and I talk a lot about, jobs and the economy.
However, the president will not be responding via Twitter. He's going to be responding on a video feed that's going to be shown on the White House website. No, this isn't the first time, though, he's used social media, Ali, to try to talk to voters. He did a Facebook town hall earlier this spring when he was out in California, and then, back in February in the White House, he did one with YouTube. So here we are. We're entering into the 21st century in the White House, Ali.
VELSHI: Mark Preston, good to see you, my friend. Mark Preston is our senior political editor joining us this morning from Washington. Forty-two minutes after the hour. Here are three things that you need to have on your radar today. Captured crime boss Whitey Bulger will be in court today around two o'clock eastern. The 81-year-old accused mobster is facing murder charges.
Plus, all you Facebook fanatics, the big, quote, "awesome" announcement is coming this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. We'll let you know what that is.
And the decision about the 2018 Winter Olympics location being made today. France, South Korea, and Germany are all bidding for the games. The announcement is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. eastern this morning.
Don't look for Tiger Woods at the British Open next week. He is skipping it, saying that a ligament sprained to his left knee and a sprained left Achilles tendon will keep him up the lengths. The 35- year-old golfer has not competed since early May.
And now, the top sports with "Sports Illustrated," Pablo Torre. Pablo, what's the story behind Roger Clemens? Trial starts today. I guess, jury gets selected. Bring us back in time a little bit. How did this whole thing get started?
PABLO TORRE, REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Well, yes, today is rubber finally meeting the road in what may be the most explosive legal dispute for major league baseball steroid era, but it starts back when Roger Clemens voluntarily decided to go before Congress in attempt to clear his name in a February of 2000 date.
And he very famously, very emphatically denied having never, never using performance enhancing drugs, and of course, that contradicted the testimony of his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who told investigators that Clemens had used PEDs about 20 times in the late 1990s and early 2000. (INAUDIBLE) forensic evidence to give to the government, and Clemens, of course, fought this from the very start, going under oath, as I said, voluntarily, something many players don't have the balls to do.
But Clemens certainly, in keeping with his pitching and athletic repertoire and image, seems to have.
VELSHI: Let's talk about the image and the legacy. What does this do to Clemens' legacy?
TORRE: Well, yes, it's something -- Roger Clemens was considered by many baseball observers the best pitcher of all time. And now, all of that is in jeopardy including his first valid hall of fame status. And with sports fans now, Ali, there's almost an element of me thinks the pitcher does (ph) protest too much.
You know, this guy has been fighting so vociferously against this. That people are turning a bit suspicious, you know? Unfortunately, with the steroid era, where there's smoke there's tended to be fire. And so, if Roger Clemens, in fact, if this is his last desperate move to save his name, it could be a bit transparent if the government wins this case and prosecutes him successfully.
And as we report on si.com, if Clemens is convicted of all six charges involved mostly related to perjury, he could spend up to 21 months in a recommended sentence in prison, which would obviously be an even bigger stain on how we remember the guy we once called the greatest pitcher of all time.
VELSHI: So, often the lie that gets you more than what you actually did.
TORRE: Exactly.
VELSHI: Pablo, good to see you this morning.
TORRE: Always.
VELSHI: Thank you so much. "Sports Illustrated" Pablo Torre.
Checking the calendar right now. This day in history back in 1997, the Mars rover sojourner made its way onto the surface of the planet Mars. Happy anniversary. Forty-five minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Forty-eight minutes after the hour. Good morning. It is Wednesday, July 6th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Ali Velshi joining you this morning live from New York.
Let's go around the world. Monita Rajpal standing by in London. Monita, big development overnight. Somali man tied to militants were finding that was held on a U.S. navy ship for months. What's this story about?
RAJPAL: Yes, we understand that a Somali national by the name of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was held by U.S. forces. He was captured by U.S. forces a couple of months ago, and he was detained for intelligence purposes, interrogated for intelligence purposes somewhere in the gulf region. That's all the U.S. is saying. There was a sealed indictment against him.
Now, that indictment has been unsealed, and I have it here. He has been charged with providing support for the extremist group, al- Shabaab, whose attacks have caused a lot of grief, a lot of worry for intelligence as well as the government within -- back thereof government there in Somalia as well as the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
He is also charged with teaching and demonstrating the use of explosives after being detained overseas. Again, he appeared in a federal court in New York on Tuesday. He has been charged with those offenses. Of course, we wait to hear what more he has to say about that. And, he has pleaded not guilty to those charges -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right. And Monita, a story closer to where you are right now. A British tabloid is accused of hacking into a missing teen's phone messages years ago, but the really troubling part is that in doing so, they gave her parents hope that she might be alive. Tell us the story.
RAJPAL: Yes. This is being described here in the British press as a watershed moment for British journalism. It all surrounds the accusations that private investigators were hired by the "News of the World" newspaper. It's a tabloid newspaper here in the UK. They hired this private investigator to hack into the mobile phone of the families of grieving murder victims. It's not just this one teenager who was -- who went missing in 2002.
And then, they hacked into her mobile phone. And what is troubling is that they were listening in on these conversations or the messages that were left by the families and friends of Milly Dowler, this young teenager who went missing. And, they were then deleting messages because the voice mailbox was getting full, and they're in line (ph) interfering with the police investigation.
The police thought that, perhaps, maybe, she was alive when they had started investigating what may have been a murder case at the time. So, now, the British parliament is about to start an emergency debate on the conduct of journalists working for "News of the World, which is owned by news international, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corps. And of course, many now are facing -- within the company executives are facing intense scrutiny and calls for the chief executive, all this (ph) international, to step down, Ali.
VELSHI: Monita, thanks very much for that. Monita Rajpal joining us this morning from London.
Now, by now, you know about this. Casey Anthony found not guilty of killing her daughter, Caylee, but guilty of lying to law enforcement. Here's what an alternate juror said about the verdict.
RUSSELL HUEKLER, ALTERNATE JUROR: I agreed with it whole heartedly. It was the right decision that was made. The prosecution didn't meet the burden of proof. We had a lot of reasonable doubt there. They didn't show us the evidence. Good enough for a conviction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Where do things go next? Casey Anthony could walk out of jail a free woman tomorrow after her sentencing because of time that she's already served. And she will be free to cash in on her story with books, movies or both.
Just to give you an idea of how captivated America was by the trial, CNN.com has put up several stories about the verdict. One of them, just one of them, got more than 20,000 reader comments, not views, comments.
Montana's governor declared a state of emergency because of that ruptured pipeline that sent tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River. Exxon Mobil says the oil has traveled 25 miles from the leak, but the governor says it's been found 90 miles away. There are fears that the oil could harm wildlife and make its way into the Missouri River, which, of course, is one of the biggest in the United States. Let's talk about the alleged gunman in the Tucson shooting rampage. Today the day Jared Loughner might get back on his powerful meds. An appeals court stopped prison officials from forcing him to take the drugs to deal with his mental illness. The government thinks he should stay on them and has until tonight to argue its case. Loughner's lawyer says forcing the stuff on him violates his rights. The January shootings left six people dead and 13 wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
New details this morning about a cheating scandal in Atlanta public schools, and we're not talking about students and their cheat sheets. We're talking about teachers and principals. About 175 of them are accused of tinkering with students' standardized test scores, the ones that measure how the kids, and in turn, how the schools are doing. Here's what the governor had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. NATHAN DEAL, (R) GEORGIA: We cannot allow adult behavior to compromise the very tools which we use statewide to gauge a child's proficiency and whether or not he or she is prepared to succeed in the next grade level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: More than 80 educators have reportedly confessed to cheating. Some of it goes back ten years and could bring criminal charges.
Hey, Facebook chief, Mark Zuckerberg, says his company will, quote, "launch something awesome," unquote today. You didn't think he'd launch something lame, did you? There's lots of speculation on what this awesome thing is. It could be awesome applications for your tablet. It might be a Skype service that let you video chat with your awesome Facebook friends. We're going to find out 1:00 p.m. awesome eastern time today, and we'll tell you what it is.
Now to our weather center with the awesome Jacqui Jeras. Any flight delays this morning, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, which is so awesome, right?
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: It's awesome.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: We do expect some, unfortunately, later. We've got a foggy start this morning in Raleigh, North Carolina. Take a look at that picture, Ali. You can hardly see the buildings there. Visibility about five miles. You may have some delays getting into Raleigh this morning and then in or out of Raleigh this afternoon because the showers and thundershowers.
Atlanta and Miami will have trouble as well as Boston, D.C. and New York, and a few problems out west. That haboob which you like to say in Phoenix yesterday, we may have more of them today -- Ali.
VELSHI: More of them? I mean, that was massive. You showed me pictures of that sandstorm rolling in. That wall of sand. I thought that was amazing. All right. Jacqui, we'll keep checking in with you through the course of the morning.
Hey, the space shuttle "Atlantis" is ready to take off this Friday morning if the weather cooperates. If so, this will be the last -- either way, when this thing takes off, it's going to be the last and final launch of "Atlantis."
Right now, we want to get you smart when it comes to the shovel (ph). Take a look at this graphic. How many miles has "Atlantis" flown so far in its career? 120 million miles, 150 million miles, or 200 million miles? The answer after this short break. It is 54 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Fifty-eight minutes after the hour. Before the break, we asked how many miles had the space shuttle "Atlantis" flown so far in its career? 120 million, 150 million, or 200 million? The answer is a little more than 120 million miles. Its last trip to the International Space Station begins this Friday morning weather permitting.
All right. Here are three things that need to be on your radar today. Facebook has a, quote, "awesome" announcement coming out this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. eastern. We'll let you know how that goes.
Plus, President Obama's big Twitter town hall begins online at 2:00 p.m. eastern today.
And the mayor of Las Vegas is swearing in his wife, Carolyn Goodman, as his replacement. Mayor Oscar Goodman was forced to retire due to term limits after being in office for 12 years. He likes to gamble, he told "The New York Times." He says his wife hasn't been near gambling table in 30 years.
Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong to see what the world's money is up to this morning. How are markets doing, Kristie?
STOUT: Ali, it was a mixed day for stock markets here in Asia. Banking stocks weighed on markets in China, but the Nikkei, it rose to a four-month high over in Tokyo. Now, meanwhile, in Europe, it's been a gloomy start to the session. All the main markets are currently in the negative. And over your part of the world, Ali, it is not looking any more optimistic. Futures are putting to a lower open on Wall Street this Wednesday -- Ali.
VELSHI: Kristie, we know Dominique Strauss-Kahn is out of the IMF. We're learning a lot about it, though. How much is his replacement Christine Lagarde, the former French finance minister, making in her new job as the head of the IMF?
STOUT: We know the numbers. We know the terms and conditions of Christine Lagarde's employment at the IMF. As its new managing director, she will receive over a $550,000 a year in total compensation, and, this is the interesting part, she's been told to observe the highest standards of ethical conduct. That requirement did not appear in the contract of her predecessor, Dominique Strauss- Kahn, who, as we all know, stepped down in May after being charged with sexual assault.
VELSHI: Also said that she's entitled to a reasonable amount of vacation. I wonder what that means. All right. Kristie, great to see you. Have a fantastic day over in Hong Kong. Kristie Lu Stout for us in Hong Kong.
That's it for WAKE-UP CALL. AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
