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American Morning: Wake Up Call
NASA Readies Atlantis; Debt Talks Sunday; Assassination Plot Claim; Housing Help For Jobless
Aired July 08, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Friday, July 8th. This is your A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Christine Romans, filling in for Ali Velshi this morning, live from New York. Where in the world is Ali Velshi? Well, I tell you where. He's waiting for the final countdown. This time it's real.
NASA tells us that right at this moment, space shuttle Atlantis is fueled up, astronauts are getting their final medical checks, the final launch for Atlantis, and the beginning of the end of the shuttle era set for 11:26 a.m. this morning. This is it, guys -- after 30 years.
But you know how these things go. Bad weather could turn today into a big tease, we're hoping not, but maybe. There's a 70 percent chance of bad weather -- so the historic moment might have to wait, and then Velshi waits for a few more days.
Let's talk about the jobs report due out in about three hours. We expect it to be a lot better this time.
CNN Money predicting 125,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. ADP, that's a private payroll company, yesterday, it said it has counted 157,000 job added in June. Both of those numbers blow away the figure for May. Only 54,000 jobs created.
Remember, it takes 150,000 new jobs just to keep up with population growth in this country.
We're also expecting the jobless rate to drop maybe a notch from 9.1 percent to 9 percent. Of course, jobs, the economy, very political these days, right?
President Obama, congressional leaders are meeting again Sunday to talk about raising the debt ceiling and cutting the deficit. The president has put Social Security and Medicare on the table for changes. And he's hoping Republicans will in turn support some tax reform -- all of this politically risky stuff. But Obama says both sides are still far apart.
Here's the proof.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I've also made clear that we are not going to raise taxes on the American people. We're not going to raise taxes on the very people that we expect to reinvest in our economy and to help grow jobs.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: We do not support cuts in benefits for Social Security and Medicare. Any discussion of Medicare or Social Security should be on its own table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. The country, of course, faces potential default on August 2nd, if Congress can't agree on a deal to raise the legal limit on government borrowing.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said this deal needs to be done by next Friday -- next Friday -- to give Congress enough time to draft and pass it before Treasury has a bunch of bills to pay the beginning of the month. Remember, 38 cents of every single dollar the government spends is money that's borrowed.
If you can't borrow more money, then the government can't pay its bills.
The U.S. military reports two American service members have been killed in central Iraq. Their names and circumstances of their deaths haven't been released. In June, 14 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq in combat situations. That was the deadliest month since 2008.
A Texas fan who tried to catch a baseball fell over the rail at the Rangers ballpark and died from his injuries. A TV camera recorded the fall. Please look away now if you don't want to see this.
An Oakland player had fouled off a ball in the second inning, a Texas player grabbed it, threw into the stands. The man who went for it fell about 20 feet on to the concrete below. His young son was with him at this game.
This happened nearly a year to the day after another fan at the very same park fell as he went for a foul ball. He survived.
Here's one quick mention -- one quick mention of Casey Anthony this morning. She's going to spend four more days in jail than originally planned. Late last night, Orange County, Florida, officials changed the date for her release to July 17th. That's a week from now. She was sentenced to four years in jail for lying to police, but she got credit for time served already. She was awaiting trial, of course.
One of the prosecutors has said he's retiring today or tomorrow. He had a parting thought on his final case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ASHTON, PROSECUTOR: I don't think there's anything I can redo, quite honestly. As I've said if the very beginning, if anybody could find a rational, reasonable explanation for why you put duct tape on a child that died by accident, then I'd love to hear it.
We didn't hear it in court. But that was the jurors' decision to make. But with all due respect to them, I do think that that was an issue that really hasn't been explained and never was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Stock futures flat in premarket trading. The Dow and NASDAQ up a few points. The S&P 500 down less than a point here.
Watch them closely today. The Dow and S&P are within a hair of their highest levels since 2008. The NASDAQ is close to its highest numbers in nearly 11 years. A good jobs report -- maybe that could give the markets a boost. Right now let's see how all the money is affecting -- how all of this is affecting money overseas.
Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
Good morning, Kristie.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning, Christine.
Now, Tokyo stocks closed at a high on Friday, riding hopes for U.S. economic recovery. And it's been a positive day in the stock markets in most of Asia with some decent gains across the board.
Now, it appears European markets are brushing off. The central bank's one quarter of 1 percent interest hike. But instead, we may be seeing lingering optimism from Thursday when the ECB said it would still use Portuguese debt as local collateral, despite its rate having been cut.
Back to you, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. You know, let me ask you about this newfangled, high-tech way for people to shop for groceries in Asia in absentia. This seems so easy and high tech, it's confounding.
STOUT: Yes, it shouldn't come as a surprise it's coming out of South Korea. It's one of the most wired countries in the world. It's just a perfect testing ground for Tesco to launch a virtual supermarket. This is virtual. It's not a physical store. There are no actual goods on the shelves.
This entire thing is called Home Plus, and it shows consumers pictures of the groceries. And then consumers can use a mobile phone app to take pictures of the products they want. They can check out, purchase them on their mobile phones. And then, later on, they'll receive the groceries at their doorstep. So far, 10,000 customers in Seoul are using the service. Pretty cool, eh?
ROMANS: Oh, it is really cool.
All right. And so quick, instant gratification. All right -- thanks.
Kristie, I want to ask you about this one. You heard about this $200,000 Picasso stolen from a gallery in San Francisco. We're happy to report that the stolen painting has been found. And the suspect put in jail. Not really a painting, it was a drawing.
But the alleged Thomas Crown wannabe --
STOUT: It was a sketch.
ROMANS: -- a sketch, right. He's some guy from Jersey. He's not even from California. He's from Jersey, gets on a plane, and goes to California.
And according to police, he walks into a gallery, walks out with a $200,000 Picasso sketch. He's being held on $5 million bail.
STOUT: I like how you call him -- yes, he's a Thomas Crown wannabe. He's absolutely not a Thomas Crown. I mean, first of all, he's caught on tape. He's caught on a video camera.
Secondly, he takes a taxi after he attempts to steals this painting. That's easy to track down.
So, this guy is no Thomas Crown. He's a bad art thief, but he does have good taste. It's a beautiful etching.
ROMANS: This is true. This is true. He does have good taste.
And, you know, I think you're right. During "The Thomas Crown Affair," I don't think that the bar next door had surveillance videos and there were cameras everywhere. You know, maybe Thomas Crown could have been foiled by that video, too.
All right. Thanks so much, Kristie Lu. We'll talk to you in just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, weather, Reynolds Wolf live from Atlanta.
Good morning. Wow, it's 5:07 in the East. And we're all watching Atlantis and whether there will be a takeoff today.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Yes. I'm trying to get my mind around that while watching the story you just did. I mean, when that guy left carrying the Picasso, he looks like a first grader carrying a brand new trapper keeper. You know, just nonchalantly walking down the sidewalk. Crazy stuff.
ROMANS: I know. Tell me about flight delays.
WOLF: Well, flight delays, it's going to be pretty interesting. It doesn't matter if you happen to be behind (INAUDIBLE), in first, in coach. You're going to have some delays in places like Miami, Tampa, Atlanta. Thunderstorms are going to be popping. Same deal in New York met rows. D.C. metros, it looks like late afternoon thunderstorms might keep you on the tarmac for about an hour. In Memphis and Cincinnati, basically with the same deal.
The problem is the same thunderstorms may keep the shuttle on the launch pad. Here's the reason why. Again, you see the area of low pressure, the tropical disturbance drifting its way up toward Tampa. As it does so, more cloud cover, with that scattered showers and storms. You could see storms across the Northern Plains, too.
More specifically though for Kennedy Space Center, shuttle Atlantis, 82 the temperature. Chance of precipitation, 60 percent, wind out of the south-southwest at 12. Again, folks, it doesn't look good.
We're going to have more on your travel here if you happen to be staying in this level atmosphere and, of course, for the guys taking off into space. That's coming up in just a few minutes.
ROMANS: All right. Reynolds, I need to stick around for this one because I need you to be honest. Do you like to cuddle? To cuddle?
WOLF: It's a family show. You know what I'm saying?
ROMANS: To cuddle, cuddle?
WOLF: Yes, we're all humans.
ROMANS: Yes. Here's a new statistic for you. Men are three times happier -- men -- three times happier in their relationships when there's a lot of kissing and cuddling going on. That's according to a survey by none other than the Kinsey Institute. Of course.
WOLF: Bring it. That's what I'm talking about.
ROMANS: Researchers talked about 1,000 couples, middle age and older, in long-term relationships. And men are happier when they cuddle. There you go.
WOLF: I admit it. Definitely. Yes, we're all cuddlers. More cuddling the better. I mean, you can't be angry and cuddle at the same time. Angry cuddling doesn't work.
ROMANS: Never go to bed mad. That's all I have to say. All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
ROMANS: Before we go, take a guess at which former president said this: "Even Albert Einstein couldn't fill a $3 trillion hole with $800 billion." The answer after this quick break.
It's about 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. It's 13 minutes after the hour.
Before the break, we asked you which former president said, "Even Albert Einstein couldn't fill a $3 trillion hole with $800 billion." According to "The Washington Post," Bill Clinton said that. He was talking to students at the Campus Progress National Conference when he made this comment, telling them what President Obama is up against in the deficit reduction fight. The group he was talking to are liberal activists.
British Prime Minister David Cameron calling for two inquiries in the wake of the "News of the World" phone-hacking scandal, a full public inquiry to what happened to the paper and a second panel looking at the broader British press. This comes as the fallout reaches into Cameron's own inner circle. His former director of communications, shown here, Andy Coulson, he's expected to be questioned by investigators today. He had been an editor at "News of the World." And labor leader Ed Miliband says the prime minister made an appalling error of judgment in hiring Coulson.
The paper is printing its final edition Sunday aimed -- this is all amid claims it hacked into the voicemails of various people. People including celebrities, politicians, terror victims, even a murdered teenager.
A man accused of murdering a 75-year-old South Dakota woman says he schemed to assassinate President Obama. Forty-one-year-old James McVay is being held in Wisconsin for a mental evaluation, after telling officers and reporters that stabbing the woman was his first step in the assassination plot. He says he wanted to steal her car, kicking off a murderous multistate road trip that would eventually end in D.C. with the death of the president. The Secret Service says it's been aware of McVay since 2009.
And the "Boston Globe" is reporting that before President Obama was born, his father talked about giving him up for adoption. Now, the article says that Barack Obama, Sr. told immigration officials back in 1961 that he and his then-wife, they were planning to give the baby away. And relatives say they never heard anything about it.
A writer, Sally Jacobs, says it's possible that the elder Obama was a Kenyan native, of course, just saying this to immigration officials to appease them as they were questioning his marital status as a sophomore in college in Hawaii.
ROMANS: All right. Tim Farley's here, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM radio live from Washington.
Good morning, Tim. Look --
TIM FARLEY, "MORNING BRIEFING," SIRIUS XM RADIO: Good morning.
ROMANS: You got a lot of hard work, we hope, going on between congressional and White House staffers. They're going to be working all weekend trying to hammer out a deal that reduce the deficit, to extend the debt ceiling. This after the president met with top congressional leaders yesterday and reported some progress.
What does progress mean in this big fight? They've been pretty entrenched up until now.
FARLEY: Yes. They've agreed to meet again. That's progress, I guess.
I think one thing that's a little wild card here is we do have the minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, meeting privately with the president, although the vice president's guidance says he, too, will be in the meeting today. She has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to entitlement reform.
Although if you listen to the cut you played at the beginning of the show, Christine, there was a moment where she said, "We're not going to cut Medicare benefits," which might mean payments to doctors might be something on the table. But that said, it's entitlement versus tax increases, Democrats versus Republicans.
The question is: can you make a camel out this horse? And I'm not sure we can see the way forward on that. We'll just have to wait and see.
ROMANS: And I'm sure it happened to you, too, but yesterday I was bombarded by progressive and liberal groups who were saying, you know, Medicare and Social Security must be off the table. Those things must go separately or the president's not going to get our support.
But what's the president going to do? I mean -- what are liberals supposed to do in the end? Are they going to support a Republican candidate? I don't think so.
FARLEY: Yes, we just have to look and see where this is, because there's a lot of things on and off, but nobody can seem to find the table now.
ROMANS: Right. Let's talk quickly about the jobs report. You know, this -- if it's a good number, does it -- does it help the president today?
FARLEY: Well, it's all going to be where we are a year from now. I think what's -- everyone talks about that 7.2 percent number that no president has gotten re-elected, if that's the unemployment rate -- I don't know that that's going to hold. It's more a question of which direction we're moving, and the perception of the American public right now.
And you followed these numbers as much as anybody. And you know that 9.1 percent, 9 percent, is not that big a difference. It's a continual direction. It's not the single photograph. It's the dominoes as we move along the graphic. So, we'll see.
ROMANS: Yes. All right. Thanks so much, Tim Farley. Talk to you again soon. Thanks.
All right. Washington, you know, can't get it together on raising the debt ceiling. Apparently, Jay Leno tried to see if he could do better at least for his personal account. Listen --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": I was on the phone with Visa all day trying to get them to raise the debt ceiling on my credit card. They wouldn't do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Controversy over a new kind of lottery game. Prospective parents buy a ticket, and get the chance to win thousands of dollars toward expensive fertility treatments. Some call it win a baby. Is this even ethical? Stay here for that story.
But, first, before we go, it's Friday, July 8, which happens to be Video Game Day. To help you wrap your mind around just how massive the video game industry is, according to the Gaming Ecosystem report of 2011, the gaming industry made -- wow -- $67 billion last year -- $67 billion. Expected to hit maybe $74 billion this year. Money and video games.
It's 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It is 21 minutes after the hour.
Here are three things that you need to know today on your radar:
The June jobs report out at 8:30 this morning Eastern Time. We're going to find out how many jobs were gained and lost last month. Looking for a net gain of maybe 125,000.
Plus, the president meeting with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi this morning at 10:00 in the Oval Office of the White House. They're talking about the debt ceiling deficit negotiations and some controversy among Democrats about whether Social Security and Medicare are on the table.
The final space shuttle launch scheduled for 11:26 Eastern Time this morning. Hey, they have just finished fueling the shuttle. You'll be able to see it live here on CNN and online at live.CNN.com.
All right. Around the world now with Monita Rajpal live from London.
Good morning.
The U.K. phone hacking scandal, I was just listening to Prime Minister David Cameron calling for two inquiries, addressing the nation, and his former director of communications is going to be questioned today. This scandal continues to spiral.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Absolutely, Christine.
There are two major developments this morning here in the British capital.
One, as you mentioned, the British prime minister's former director of communications, or his right-hand man, at the time when he was hired, is now, we understand, at -- at central London police station where he is being questioned on whether or not what he knew about this phone hacking scandal, that centers around the "News of the World" newspaper, where he was a former editor and whether or not he had any direct involvement in this scandal and itself.
As you said, "The News of the World" announced yesterday it will no longer be published as of this Sunday. It is a British institution. It's been around for 168 years.
So, the fact that it will be shut down has come as a shock to many in this country.
The second development this morning here in London is the British prime minister who held a news conference and is speaking as we speak right now. He's continuing to answer questions from the press. He announced two inquiries. One, a full public inquiry into the scandal, the phone hacking scandal as it is. And second, an inquiry into the ethics of the British press.
Now, of course, a lot of things, a lot of questions are still being asked about the people who are in the upper echelons of News International and News Corp. News International, which is the he British arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
There's Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International and she was also an editor of "News of the World" when this phone hacking situation, scandal had happened. And along with Andy Coulson, she is a close friend of the British prime minister.
So, now, many people are asking questions about whether or not David Cameron himself knew what was going on -- Christine.
ROMANS: Unbelievable. I guess it wasn't good, old-fashioned shoe leather after all for all those amazing salacious scoops, right?
Al right. Monita, stick around and weigh in on this one -- Britain's launching a controversial lottery next month that's been dubbed "Win a Baby," Monita. The prize -- not a child but fertility treatment worth about $40,000. Critics say, you know, this is inappropriate. It is demeaning.
But the gambling commission has already green-lit the contest, Monita.
RAJPAL: Yes, this is really interesting. It was announced yesterday that this charity called To Hatch announced this lottery, this raffle, if you will, for about $35 or $40. You can buy a raffle ticket that will entitle you to some $40,000 worth of fertility treatments.
Just to give you an idea, though, people who are under this National Health Service system here may have to wait up to five years to be even screened if they're eligible.
ROMANS: Wow.
RAJPAL: So, you know, there are pros and cons to this.
ROMANS: Right. But I guess $35 for the chance at 40 grand -- I don't know. People love to buy lottery.
Monita, thank you.
A second man accused of hacking AT&T servers and stealing data at more than 100,000 iPad users now facing conspiracy and identity charges. Twenty-five-year-old Andrew Auernheimer was indicted for by a federal grand jury for his alleged role in the January hack. His co-defendant, Daniel Spitler, already pleaded guilty to similar charges.
Justice Department says they're part of a hacking group whose victims include New York Mayor Bloomberg and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
A federal judge has decided ton stand in the way of Amazon for using the term App Store. Apple thinks it owns the term and says Amazon is infringing on its trademark. But Amazon argues the words are generic and they're simply not protected.
All right. Flyers not happy with airlines. Complaints way up with more customers sounding off to federal regulators about -- oh, yes, mishandled bags, rude employees, flight delays, the usual.
The Transportation Department says it got 1,062 complaints in May, up 20 percent from the month before. The biggest offender, American Airlines followed by Delta and United. No word on how many under-the-breath curses the airline industry gets. They don't charge that.
Here's a jolt of good news for electric car enthusiasts. Two new cars to keep your eyes for. First up, the tiny -- how do you say this, guys? This is a scion, I think. The iQ is going electric, getting about 65 miles per charge. Toyota says dealers can expect it on showroom floors next year.
Then there's the 2012 Ford Focus electric. That's the company's first all-electric car for the company. You can expect it to get 100 miles on a full charge.
Hey, it's 26 minutes after the hour. Your WAKE-UP CALL comes right back in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning. It's Friday, July 8. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Christine Romans, filling in for Ali Velshi. I'm live from New York. Ali Velshi is down in Florida where he will be watching the Atlantis liftoff.
Just about six hours to go, though, the final launch for Atlantis, and the beginning of the end of NASA's shuttle program. You see it there on the launch pad.
But you know how these things go -- bad weather could scrub the big moment or at least delay it. There's about a 70 percent of bad weather. So, the historic moment just might have to wait. As it is right now, though, all systems rare go. Once again, launch is 11:26 a.m. Eastern. They have just finished refueling. You're going to be able to see it live here on CNN.
All right. A man accused of murdering a 75-year-old South Dakota woman says this was part of a scheme to assassinate President Obama. Forty-one-year-old James McVeigh is being held in Wisconsin for mental evaluation after telling officers and reporters that stabbing the woman was his first step in an assassination plot. He says he wanted to steal her car, kicking off a murderous multistate road trip that would end in D.C. with the death of the president. The secret service says it's been aware of McVeigh since 2009.
Madison Business News looking to these, the Dow, S&P, they are within a hair of their highest level since 2008. The NASDAQ is close to its highest numbers in nearly 11 years. Now, the good jobs report that many are expecting in a couple of hours, it could give markets a boost.
And this good news on the jobs front, Ford hiring 1,800 workers at the assembly line in Louisville, Kentucky. They'll be making the new Ford Escape SUV. Because the company expects a lot of people to apply for these jobs, a lottery system will be used to select job candidates.
The Obama administration trying to help people who've lost their jobs and risk losing their homes at the same time. A new program will let them postpone some or all of their mortgage payments for a year or longer. Right now, government programs really only allow for a few months of mortgage relief. Obama has admitted his housing programs to date haven't done as well as he had hoped. This is a new try to push off the mortgage payments for people who don't have work.
A huge scandal playing out right now in London. It started with allegations that reporters at the "News of the World" tabloid, these reporters had hacked into people's phones. Now, the newspaper is shutting down altogether, and the prime minister is calling for changes in how Britain's press operates. He's also on the defensive. Dan Rivers is with me now from London to explain all this. Dan, this story gets more unbelievable and more -- ironically more salacious by the minute.
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. I mean, you've got several strands to the story. The biggest, the most shocking in the last 24 hour is the paper behind me, "The News of the World" is going to close down after 168 years in business. It is the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and it is a journalistic institution here, but one that has been at the center of this storm over phone hacking, hacking into private individuals' cell phone message systems to get stories.
And more and more revelations came on the more. There was a huge backlash against "The News of the World." The second strand to this is deeply political, because the former editor of that newspaper, Andy Coulson, was taken on as a communications guru by the current Prime Minister, David Cameron. He's just been speaking in a press conference. David Cameron repeatedly asked about the decision to take on Andy Coulson.
Andy Coulson was forced to step down not only from this paper but also from Number 10 Downing Street because of the slew of allegations. And this is now becoming an acutely embarrassing episode for David Cameron who is on the hook for this one. He's admitted it was his decision and his decision alone to take on Andy Coulson, but the questions keep on coming about why he took him on.
Surely he realized that Andy Coulson must have known about this phone hacking. Meanwhile, Andy Coulson, himself is at a police station in Central London at the moment, we understand, about to be arrested.
ROMANS: You know, I heard Lord Prescott earlier today saying that, you know, this is like closing down the factory and all the factory workers, the factory owners go away scot-free. What about managers and what about management and the people who own this company?
RIVERS: Well, this is part of the Rupert Murdoch Empire. It is a jewel in the Rupert Murdoch Empire. In fact, one of his favorite titles, "The News of the World." There are lots of questions still about what's going to happen about the executives, notably Rebecca Brooks, who used to run this paper back in the early 2000s. She's now chief executive of the parent company. She remains in post.
She's a close ally of Rupert Murdoch. He was desperate to keep her, to save her. She's been clinging on to her job amid calls from every political party here that she should stand down. She remains in post, and some headlines here saying that Murdoch has sacrificed an entire paper to save one woman.
ROMANS: Wow. All right. Dan Rivers, we'll keep watching. Thanks so much, Dan.
Now, before we go, the space shuttle "Atlantis" poised and ready for takeoff this morning. And as you get ready for work, we want you to get smart. So, what do you think the space shuttle "Atlantis" was named after? Here are your choices, folks, a ship, a mythical figure, or a star constellation. So, early to say constellation. The answer right after the break. It's 35 minutes after the hour. stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Thirty-eight minutes after the hour. Before the break, we asked you this question about the space shuttle "Atlantis." What was she named after? A ship, a mythical figure, or a star constellation? The answer, guys, is a ship. "Atlantis" was named after a (INAUDIBLE) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute from 1930 to 1996.
Bet you didn't know that, Sam Feist. He's the Washington bureau chief and political director for CNN. Let's talk about jobs report today. You could have a nine percent unemployment rate, maybe it stays steady at 9.1 percent. Look, that's a pretty uncomfortable number for the White House. How are they going to -- I mean, how is that going to play out over the next year and a half if those numbers don't come down?
VOICE OF SAM FEIST, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Christine. You know, the jobs report is important. It's the most important thing they're going to be looking at at the White House today. The number-one indicator to watch in the 2012 general election is just that, the unemployment rate. You know, there are plenty of political strategists who say it doesn't really matter who's the Republican is nominated if unemployment is stuck at 8.5 percent or 9 percent next November.
If you have a high unemployment rate, Barack Obama could be in an awful lot of trouble. And so, that's what they're paying attention to. And -- you got to believe that this afternoon, or actually this morning, Republican candidates are going to trip all over themselves to put out --
ROMANS: Oh, yes.
FEIST: At 8:31 this morning to tell the American people about how they're going to solve the problem and fix the economy. So, it's --
ROMANS: Oh, yes. I've no doubt these releases are already written, and there's two versions of them, and both of them have basically the same. Yes. It's -- it's interesting, too, because I think that Romney came out this week, candidate Romney came out this week as really hitting the president on jobs, jobs, jobs. And the White House really needs to position itself to say, hey, guys, look, it's not the president's fault that the jobs -- the number is 9.1 percent.
They haven't really -- I mean, that's the view from the GOP is let's tell America that the reason this 9.1 percent is because of the president, not that the president has done a good job mitigating it.
FEIST: That's right. I mean, for two years, the president has tried to make the case that this is really not his fault. This is the George W. Bush economy. And two years in, he's still able to get away with that to some extent, polls show, but I'm not sure that six months from now, a year from now, he'll still be able to make the case that after three years, the economic problems in the country, the unemployment rate are really still the fault of President Bush rather than Barack Obama who's been at the helm for three -- will have been at the helm for 3 1/2 years.
ROMANS: I know. Sam, so much bipartisan love to bring to the debt negotiations, isn't it? I mean, you just know that they --
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Sam Feist, thanks so much. Talk to you soon, Sam.
FEIST: All right.
ROMANS: All right. It's 40 minutes after the hour, almost 41 minutes after the hour.
Here are three things that need to be on your radar today. The final space shuttle launch is scheduled for 11:26 eastern time this morning. You'll see it here live on cnn and online @live.cnn.com.
Plus, the president is meeting with House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, this morning, 10:00 in the oval office. They're talking about the debt ceiling and deficit negotiations.
And Prince William and his new bride, Catherine, scheduled to land in California around 6:00 p.m. tonight. It's Kate's first time in the United States.
All right here. A Texas fan who tried to catch a baseball fell over the rail at the Rangers ballpark and died from his injuries. A TV camera recorded this fall. This is tough to watch so please -- this is your chance to look away if you need to. A Texas player had grabbed a foul ball, threw it into the stands. The man who went for it fell -- tragically, about 20 feet on to the concrete below. Another fan next to him tried to grab him but couldn't hang on. The man's young son was next to him when he fell.
Two North Korean women players have been provisionally suspended from the World Cup after they failed doping test. The world of football's governing body says the two were prevented from playing in North Korea's match against Colombia. A Colombian player was also suspended for failing an out-of-competition test. Both teams failed to advance to the quarterfinals.
You've heard the phrase, "age ain't nothing but a number," but a perfect setup for this next story. Meet Charles Ross of Conyers, Georgia. He's a U.S. track and field champion, celebrated decathlete. And did I say he's 88 years old? Get this. Ross took up running when he was 70. He's also a high jumper and a pole vaulter. He runs a mile in a little over ten minutes, about what Velshi does. This year's national competition, he won eight gold and five silver medals. Ross says he hopes to be competing when he's 90. Wow.
It's crunch time for the NFL labor deal. Negotiators for players and owners met for 12 hours yesterday trying to put an end to the four-month lockout within reach. Not a lot of down time. They're supposed to be back at it this morning. Pablo Torre is reporter for "Sports Illustrated" live with us from New York. Wow. Welcome to the program. Good morning. And how much closer are we to finally ending this thing?
PABLO TORRE, REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Good morning, Christine. And we are closer than we have ever been, which is a terrifying thought. A lot of pressure on the negotiators, a lot of pressure in a Manhattan law firm right now. Roger Goodell and union chief, DeMaurice Smith, have finally sat down after a week of negotiating by the lawyers, tinkering with language of a new potential collective bargaining agreement, and now, the big boys are finally talking about the $9 billion question which is how do you divide a $9 billion revenue stream which is the NFL's profit margin, between owners and players.
And finally, the clock is ticking. Today looks to be the most important day of this whole four-month saga. They're all sitting down now to hopefully hash out a provisional plan before the weekend. And NFL fans are basically praying over their schedules right now, hoping something can get done before the weekend.
ROMANS: Right. Isn't that much longer, and usually, we're starting to talk about, you know, the -- the camps. What about the emotional toll on the fans? What kind of damage could a lockout do and has it already done?
TORRE: Yes. Around this time, NFL fans are packing their cars. Training camps starting in about two weeks. And you have preseason games coming up, too. But here's the important thing about the NFL, Christine, that people need to realize. The NFL is so far and away America's number-one most favorite sport. That demand for this game is pretty inelastic even through a battle between millionaires and billionaires
And so, at this point, a lot of fans are disgusted with how this has gone. They want to see the games. They want their favorite sport back, but the thing is these owners and players also know that they have fans in their pocket. And so, while everybody wants to see something done, fans are going to be back to the game as soon as we have the games on television again, as soon as they have their lives back in order when it comes to sports.
And so, they don't want to test that much longer, but fans, they're going to be back when the NFL comes back.
ROMANS: All right. Thank so much. Really nice to see you. Drop by again soon. Hopefully, they'll get thing this resolved. Maybe we should switch the debt ceiling negotiation people in Washington with the NFL lockout people. Maybe, they can each do a job and get it done, right? All right. Thank so much.
TORRE: That might be a good idea.
ROMANS: Before we go, a quick glimpse at this day in history, July 8th, 1947. Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico. The debate over whether an alien spacecraft actually landed. You know, it still continues to this day, even though, there's actually quite a bit of evidence suggesting that there might have been some activity at Area 51, you know, from the U.S. government. But anyway, many believe it was a government cover-up. It's still fun to talk about. Roswell. Forty-five minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Good morning. It's Friday, July 8th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Christine Romans in for Ali Velshi joining you live from New York this morning.
Around the world now with Monita Rajpal live from London. Monita, this U.K. phone hacking scandal, wow. Prime Minister David Cameron calling for two inquiries now and his former director of communications being questioned, as we speak.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Those are the two main developments that are taking place in the British capital this morning, Christine. There are so many threads to the story, but let's focus on this two development this morning.
The first one is the former editor of "News of the World," Andy Coulson, who's also British Prime Minister David Cameron's former director of communications, is currently at a Central London Police Station right now where we believe he is answering questions right now about what he knew about this phone hacking situation that took place while he was editor at "News of the World," and if he had any direct involvement in the scandal.
So, he will be asking questions of that, as well. There are -- there are expectations that there may be other arrests of senior journalists at "News of the World," but we will wait to hear what happens there. The second development is that the British prime minister also held a news conference this morning, and he called for two inquiries, one a full inquiry about into the -- a public inquiry into the scandal, and the second one, an inquiry into the ethic of the British press. And this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a wake-up call. Over the decades, on the watch of both labor leaders and conservative leaders, politicians and the press have spent time courting support, not confronting the problems. Well, it's on my watch that the music has stopped. And I'm saying loud and clear that things have got to change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJPAL: Well, there are still many questions that he did not answer which he was asked about whether or not his support for Rebecca Brooks, the other former editor of "News of the World," and now, the current chief executive of news international, he did say that when she -- if she'd offer her resignation to him, he would have accepted it. But now, many are wonder in terms of also his judgment and whether or not what kind of political fallout there will be when it comes to his prime ministerialship here in Britain -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Interesting. We'll keep watching that unfold. Monita, thank you so much.
Now, let's talk about a historic moment set to happen in less than six hours. The final launch of space shuttle "Atlantis" and the final launch of the shuttle program. After 30 years, everyone, this is it. Astronauts are eating breakfast now. You can't make history, of course, on an empty stomach. Their trip into space is set for 11:26 a.m., but you know how these things go, bad weather, could turn today into a very big tease. There's about a 70 percent chance of bad weather. So, the historic moment might just have to wait. We're all on pins and needles.
Let's talk about the jobs report due out in less than three hours now. We expected to be better this time around. CNNMoney predicts 125,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. ADP, that's a private payroll company, it counts about 157,000 new jobs added in June. Both of them blow away the 54,000 job figure that we had in May. We're also expecting the unemployment rate to drop a notch from 9.1 percent to 9 percent.
President Obama and Congressional leaders will meet again Sunday to talk about raising the debt ceiling and cutting the deficit in return. The president has put Social Security and Medicare on the table for now, and he wants Republicans to support some tax reform, but Obama says both sides are still far apart. Here's how -- here's the proof.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) HOUSE SPEAKER: I've also made clear that we are not going to raise taxes on the American people. We're not going to raise taxes on the very people that we expect to reinvest in our economy and to help grow jobs.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) MINORITY LEADER: We do not support cuts in benefits for Social Security and Medicare. Any discussion of Medicare or Social Security should be on its own table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The country faces a potential default on August 2nd if Congress can't agree on a deal to raise the legal limit on government borrowing. Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, has said the deal needs to be done by next Friday to give Congress enough time to draft it and to pass it.
Here's one quick note about Casey Anthony. She'll spend four more days in jail than originally planned. Last night, Orange County, Florida officials changed the date for their -- for her release to July 17th. She was sentenced to four years in jail for lying to police, but she got credit for time served. One of the prosecutors has said he's retiring today or tomorrow. He had a parting thought on his final case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ASHTON, PROSECUTOR: I don't think there's anything I can redo, quite honestly. And as I've said from the very beginning, if anybody could find a rational, reasonable explanation for why you put duct tape on a child that died by accident, then I'd love to hear it. We didn't hear it in court, but that was the jurors' decision to make. But with all due respect to them, I do think that that was a -- an issue that really hasn't been explained and never was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Good morning, Reynolds Wolf, because if anybody's listening to you and heading to the airports, they're going to want to hear what you have to say about flight delays this morning.
WOLF: That's right. If you happen to be going somewhere in the south, or at least departing from the spot like Miami, maybe Tampa, maybe Atlanta, you get a couple of list in common. You may be going nowhere for a while. The reason why is because there got some major delays due to a growing tropical system well south of Florida that is making its way up toward central Florida into the space coast.
So, if you happen to be there, simply look for a flat screen, watch little CNN, get a beverage of your choice, whatever that beverage might be, and just enjoy the show this afternoon and through the morning also. Also, look for delays in New York, D.C. metros, also in Memphis and Cincinnati, the same reason those thunderstorms popping up. Also, we could see some storms across parts of the upper Midwest.
So, for any of your regional airports, especially in places like Lincoln, Nebraska, anywhere in the Dakotas, you're going to have some backups there. Also a chance of those thunderstorms in places like Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and also possibly some from D.C. clear down through Memphis, Tennessee and into places like Nashville. That is the latest. Let's pitch it right back to you in New York.
ROMANS: It's funny, Reynolds, you mentioned beverage of your choice.
WOLF: Oh, yes.
ROMANS: There's a pet shop here in New York that's taking a stand. A store is in the west village within walking distance of a bunch of bars. Booze hounds were buying real hounds on drunken impulse. Then sobering up and realizing that they didn't want or couldn't handle a dog. Imagine that, being drunk and then buying a pet.
WOLF: Insane. You got it keep the puppies away from the margarita machines. It gets crazy. The morning and afternoon hours, nuts.
ROMANS: Keep the puppy owners away from the margarita machines. The store has now banned drunk puppy buying. Wow. That's kind of waking up the next day with quite a surprise. All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Fifty-eight minutes after the hour. Here are two things that need to be on your radar today. The June jobs report comes out at 8:30 this morning eastern time. We're going to find out how many jobs were created in the economy last month.
The final space shuttle launch is scheduled for 11:26 eastern time this morning. You're going to be able to see it live here on CNN and online @live.cnn.com.
As stock futures are pretty flat in premarket trading, the Dow and NASDAQ are up a few points. The S&P 500 down less than a point. Watch them closely today. The Dow and the S&P are within a hair of their highest levels since 2008. And the NASDAQ is close to its highest numbers in nearly 11 years. Right now, let's see what's happening with money overseas. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Good morning.
STOUT: Good morning, Christine. Now, Tokyo stocks had closed at a four-month high on Friday riding hopes for a U.S. economic recovery. It's been a positive in the stock markets in most of Asia with some decent gains across the board. European markets right now appear to be mixed. It appears it may be brushing off the central bank's 1.25 or 1 percent interest rate hike. Back to you, Christine.
ROMANS: Now, tell me, what is it that JPMorgan did that cost it $228 million?
STOUT: It is settling a bid-rigging case, and it did not get of easy. JPMorgan will pay, as you said, $228 million to settle claims that its securities unit which has since been closed rigged the market for municipal bond derivatives. Now, the charges covered at least 93 transactions in 23 U.S. states from 1997 to 2005. And this is JPMorgan's second fraud payment in a month.
ROMANS: And again, futures are now pretty much flat this morning, but all is going to depend on that jobs report that comes out in the U.S. at 8:30 Eastern time. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Thank you, Kristie.
All right. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
