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American Morning: Wake Up Call
Pres. Obama Walks Out of Talks; Man arrested in Phone-Hacking Case; Debt Ceiling Round Five; Restoring Chicago's Power
Aired July 14, 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 is Thursday, July the 14th. This is your A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Ali Velshi, joining you live from New York this morning.
Here's some breaking news to go with your coffee. We've just learned that British police have made an arrest in that scandalous phone- hacking case that brought down -- that is bringing down parts of Rupert Murdoch's news empire. I'll get you more on that in just a moment.
And I wish I could say there's big news about the debt ceiling talks so big that you'd spit out your coffee or fall off the treadmill I know you're on. But I can't tell you that. There's more drama than dealing going on in D.C. right now.
A fifth round of talks is set for today. But yesterday didn't go so well.
House Republicans called for a short-term extension and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says this is what the president said in response. Quote, "Don't call my bluff, Eric." And then he walked out a few minutes later.
President Obama said all along that he would veto any short-term measure. The administration says failure to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2nd could trigger a partial default on the part of the United States.
And thanks to that debt ceiling issue and the possibility of default you're on notice. I'm on notice. Everyone from Presque, Maine to San Diego is on notice. Moody's investor services, the debt rating agency plans to review the nation's AAA bond rating and might downgrade it from stable to negative. Standard & Poor's already has the U.S. bond rating under review.
Let's talk about foreclosures for a second. RealtyTrac, that's the company that tracks the foreclosures, their numbers show foreclosures are down nearly 30 percent compared to a year ago. Now, that sounds like good news but it comes with a big fat asterisk. RealtyTrac says many are just being delayed. So, foreclosures that should happen this year will happen next year instead. Nevada, Arizona and California lead the pack on foreclosures.
One of the biggest international stories in your world right now is that fatal attack in India. The city of Mumbai is on high alert right now after three separate explosions. They happened in a bustling part of the city during rush hour. At least 18 were killed. More than 100 of them were hurt. Authorities haven't figured out who's responsible yet and no terror group has claimed responsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM, INDIA'S HOME MINISTER: Intelligence is collected every day, and every hour. But there was no intelligence regarding an imminent attack in Mumbai.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, this is the first big attack on Mumbai since the terrorist siege nearly three years ago. New Delhi and Calcutta are also on alert this morning.
Rebel forces in Libya have retaken a village from Moammar Gadhafi's forces in the western part of the country. That's where Gadhafi's forces are strong. CNN's Ben Wedeman and his crew got caught in the crossfire, literally. Now, they're OK but think about this if you think you're having a bad day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how our day started, ambushed by Gadhafi loyalists.
(GUNFIRE)
WEDEMAN (on camera): There's a lot of gunfire. It's continuing to come through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. He's OK as I said. Ben and his crew are fine.
Hey, a quick note about Casey Anthony. She could make big money from her story once she's released from jail on Sunday. But Florida doesn't want jurors in future similar cases to profit. In fact, the state is planning a new law that will ban jurors from cashing in on their cases.
It seems that public outrage over the case has trumped common sense among some people. Here's some proof of this. This is Casey Anthony, by the way. This here, this Casey Anthony is getting phone calls and Facebook messages telling him what a bad person he is. The problem is he's from Philadelphia. He looks nothing like the young lady from Orlando who is charged with murder.
It's kind of like everybody calling 867-5309 back in the early '80s thinking that Jenny would answer.
All right. Let's take a look at how the world's money is doing this morning. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout. She is live in Hong Kong. Kristie, I have to tell you. I've been watching your markets overnight. I would have thought international markets would be worse off than they are right now on the news of the potential downgrade from Moody's and the difficulties with the debt talks, but not so.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, it is affecting markets here in Asia. In fact, Asian markets have had a down day today. The main concern is over Moody's warning that could downgrade its debt -- its rating on U.S. debt as a political impasse over raising the debt ceiling drags on and dealing for doing so looms.
Financial stocks and exporters in the region felt the most pressure -- Ali.
VELSHI: And the general global reaction to this, some sense of how it's going out there? I mean, here, I talk to people in the U.S. who say they're betting there will be a deal on the U.S. debt ceiling. What's the international reaction?
STOUT: Well, outside of Asia, there's more negative reaction. For example, in Europe, there was a downward start to the day. And that has been going on. Of course, debt troubles are on both sides of the Atlantic, in the U.S., the stalled talks to raise the country's debt limit and that Moody's warning, in Europe, Italy now -- Italy is planning a $7 billion bond sale on Thursday as lawmakers there are scrambling to pass an austerity package.
And this all leading to a great time for gold.
VELSHI: Yes.
STOUT: The price for the commodity as the traditional safe haven has reached an all-time high -- Ali.
VELSHI: And a lot of people are looking to what they do in case things get worse. Gold is becoming very attractive to them.
Kristie, let's just give them a little bit of good news out here this morning. There is a lot of buzz about scientists maybe having found a new tool in the fight against malaria in a very strange place.
STOUT: Yes, I love these quirky science stories. Researchers have a new tool in the fight against malaria, smelly socks. I'm not making this up. This is according to "Popular Science" magazine. Experiments are currently under way to see if dirty socks can act as poison traps for mosquitoes that we all know are the leading carrier of malaria.
It turns out mosquitoes are highly attracted to the human order of a very (INAUDIBLE) socks. And it sounds ridiculous but if it works. Ali, it is not something to turn your nose up at. Malaria kills up to 900,000 people per year -- Ali.
VELSHI: And it's devastating to economies around the world, because of all those people that it kills. So, it's a money story, it's a health story. OK. Who knew smelly socks could be such a good thing?
Kristie, I'll catch up with you later on -- Kristie Lu Stout for us in Hong Kong.
Let's go to Rob Marciano live from Atlanta.
Rob, we're not going to talk about your smelly clothes, because you stood outside all day yesterday. But you're in today. First of all, let's talk about major delays. I see a couple on your board.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And I think most of these will be this afternoon, Ali. There's going to be some spots where thunderstorms are focused. And I think Minneapolis and Atlanta. So, two major hubs there, especially for Delta are going to see afternoon delays.
This is the time of year that if you have the choice, especially down South, to plan your travel in the morning, please do so. Miami, same deal, although to a lesser extent. And Seattle, a cool and gentle rain there, out there in Seattle.
We're seeing slightly cool air across parts of the Northeast. And some of that trying to get down to the south. The bulk of the really hot, humid stuff has shifted a little bit further to the west. We've lost a number of states in the heat advisory index here. But, still, heat indices will be up and over 100 degrees in places like Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
But a little bit cooler here. I know it's a little bit cooler up in New York. But summer not over, as you know.
VELSHI: Well, you gave some good advice. You said, if it's this hot, stay hydrated. It's going to be a problem for some people.
I want to the share this with you and our viewers. Beer drinkers in Minnesota are stocking up on Miller Lite. The beer is not going to be available in coming days because Miller Coors Brewing didn't get a grand label registration renewed before the government shutdown. You know, the government is under a shutdown for budgetary reasons.
Now, it's got to pull nearly 40 brands of beers from restaurants, bars and liquor stores in the state. That's another casualty of the shutdown that left 22 state employees sidelined from work.
So, stock up on your beer if you're in the Minnesota area, Rob.
MARCIANO: Absolutely. We've covered a lot of catastrophes this year, but that, if anything, it's a state of emergency.
VELSHI: That is a big one. All right. Rob, I'll catch up with you later on in the show -- Rob Marciano in our weather center.
An invite to a Marine Corps ball is suddenly the hottest ticket around. First, Mila Kunis lands a possible date. Now, one of her co- stars is being courted through YouTube. And we've got the clip for you after the break.
But, first, it's our quote. Can you guess which newsmaker said this about the debt ceiling talks? Quote, "Dealing with them the last couple of months has been like dealing with Jell-O. Some days it's firmer than others. Sometimes it's like they left it out overnight."
The answer after the short break. Nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. Just trying to check on what's going on right now. It's 12 minutes after the hour.
Before the break, we asked you what newsmaker said this about the debt ceiling talks. Quote, "Dealing with them the last couple of months has been like dealing with Jell-O. Some days it's firmer than others. Some days it's like they've left it out overnight," end quote.
That's from House Speaker John Boehner. He says White House negotiators have repeatedly shifted their positions.
It's not just politicians talking about the country's debt crisis. Comedians are having a field day with it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON: President Obama says that seniors may not get Social Security checks if a deal isn't reached on August 2nd or before. In response, seniors are like, did you say B4? B4, bingo! I have bingo.
STEPHEN COLBERT, THE COLBERT REPORT: I think a new show talking about federal budget negotiations are just cheap salacious viewer bait. I lean toward harder news like duck fashion shows.
Folks, the president said to the Republican leadership, "You guys, we've got to raise the debt ceiling." And the Republicans said, "No way, nerd." And the president said, "You guys, this isn't funny, cut it out. If we don't raise it, the economy will melt down and we could get in trouble."
The Republicans said, "OK, if you're that worried about it Poindexter, we might vote to raise it. But first, we have to make massive budget cuts." The president said, "OK, thanks, guys."
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
VELSHI: All right. Time now for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS, live from Washington.
Hey, Colbert doesn't have it all that wrong, Tim. Last night, Eric Cantor says something to the president about an extension. And from what he told us, the president looks at him and says, "Eric, don't call my bluff. I'm taking this to the American people."
Not a great way to start day five of the negotiations.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS XM POTUS: No. You talked about John Boehner and dealing with the opposition is like dealing with Jell-O. The president has us eating our peas. And this is a food fight now evidently that is taking place.
VELSHI: Yes.
FARLEY: And Democrats say that the president held his ground and was being passionate and Republicans are saying Eric Cantor forced the president to storm out of the meeting. But as you say, it's not starting well. And yet, this deadline is not going away. Ben Bernanke, another day of testimony today, second warning shots yesterday. We saw what Moody's did.
And, Ali, you watch the markets as closely and there are a lot of people watching with trepidation right now, what's taking place in the White House.
VELSHI: Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. You mentioned the three things that should be worrying our viewers this morning on their treadmills, making their coffee. You've got Moody's talking about a debt downgrade. You've got Bernanke warning about the economy and you've got the stuff on the right of your screen not happening in Washington.
All of that should be more of a fear than it seems to be on capital markets, Tim. Do we get the sense that people think they're going to work this out?
FARLEY: I think that's part of it. I think it's also partly that some people don't necessarily understand. And this is not to cast aversions on individuals. It's just when you are in weeds when you're covering this every day, it's easy to see some of the consequences. Whereas if you are dealing with trying to be either find a job or keep your job, it's probably not high in your priority. So, it's making it a little tougher for people to follow this story sometimes.
VELSHI: Yes, good point. And it has incremental moves which makes it very hard to sort of get your head around it.
FARLEY: Exactly.
VELSHI: Tim, good to see you, my friend. Have a great show this morning. Tim Farley is a host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS radio.
And a lot of opinions out there on the debt ceiling and the stakes are high. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, just across the river, he's a Democrat, he predicts what this debate could cost you if a deal isn't reached.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)| MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK: What's going to happen is it's going to send a shock wave through our economy. It's going to drive interest rates up. It's going to cripple businesses all around our country. So, my prayer is that we put principle and purpose over politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he is still flirting with a White House run. Today, he visits New Hampshire which is scheduled to host the first presidential primary next February. He's going to headline a fund-raiser and then have some lunch with GOP activists.
On the right of your screen, Republican candidate Mitt Romney, he's also scheduled to be in New Hampshire today.
Now, listen, you heard about actress Mila Kunis snagging this invite to a Marine Corps ball. Well, now, her "Friends with Benefits" co- star Justin Timberlake may have land a date, too. Marine Corporal Kelsey De Santis is trying to woe Timberlake once again through YouTube. Keep in mind, Justin told Mila earlier this week that it was her patriotic duty to accept an invitation from another Marine doing it on YouTube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CORPORAL KELSEY DE SANTIS, U.S. MARINE CORPS: So, Justin, you want to call out my girl Mila? Well, I'm going to call you out and ask you to come to the Marine Corps ball with me on November 12th in Washington, D.C. And if you can't go, all I have to say is, cry me a river.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Cry me a river. No definitive answer by the way from either star. But, come on, Justin, just say yes. Corporal De Santis is a black belt, the only woman at the Martial Arts Center for Excellence at the Marine Corps base at Quantico. If you don't say yes, she can kill you with her pinky.
But, first, as you know when you watch the show every morning, there's a day for almost everything. And today it is National Nude Day. Celebrate in private, please. I don't want to get you arrested.
Eighteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty minutes after the hour.
Here are three things that you need to put on your radar today.
First on the agenda, today, at 8:40 a.m. Eastern, primetime Emmy Award nominations will be announced live from Hollywood.
Back on the East Coast, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke picks up from where he left of yesterday, delivering his semiannual report on monetary policy. It's actually a lot more interesting than it sounds.
And then at 4:15 p.m. Eastern, President Obama gets back into the room with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for those continuing debt ceiling negotiations which ended very badly last night.
We begin right now with breaking news. British police have arrested a man in connection with that scandalous phone hacking case. They haven't named the man or divulged the charges. We do know that he's 60 years old and he was arrested in London. It will be curious to see what the connection is.
Of course, that scandal has brought down Rupert Murdoch's "News of the World" newspaper and affected the rest of his media empire.
Later today, the top cop in London will testify about Scotland Yard's investigation.
Let's go around the world right now. Zain Verjee live in London, picking up on this hacking story.
The temperature is rising in London about this and here in the United States on news that 9/11 victims' phones may have been tapped -- many of them, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. Hi, Ali.
The pressure is rising on News Corp and Rupert Murdoch. More powerful U.S. senators have gotten together and they are calling for an investigation under the allegations that News Corp and "News of the World" journalists may have hacked into 9/11 victims. What they're basically saying, this is illegal if it's happened, criminal, and that there could be serious consequences.
The attorney general, Eric Holder, is being asked to look into this because, Ali, this violates the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. So, the temperature is really turning up on Rupert Murdoch and they're calling for an investigation into his U.S. companies, too.
VELSHI: Zain, we're beginning to continue to watch this, and I know you are. If at some point, in the next few days, you can tear yourself away from World Cup women's soccer, U.S. coming out on top yesterday, facing Japan on Sunday now in the finals. U.S. defeating France, 3-1, in the semifinal yesterday. It was a nail biter.
Are you going to Dresden for the final match?
VERJEE: I am actually. I'll be in Germany. And I'm heading now this weekend. So, I'm going to be having a lot of fun there.
You know, the U.S. team, it's going to be amazing to see them. They have a magic, Ali. They are in top form. They have team spirit, this "never say die" attitude. They're fit and very, very talented.
So, it's going to be exciting. And the other thing, Japan, it's a big deal, too, because one of the stories that people are talking about is that the coach shows the Japanese team pictures of the tsunami and victims before they play matches and it kind of really motivates them to go play. I know you're a football fan or is it soccer? You know for U.S. team wins, the rest of the world has to call it soccer.
VELSHI: And given that there's NFL lockout, it's unclear whether we'll have anything to call football in the United States. So, it could be that soccer becomes our football very shortly.
VERJEE: Right, yes.
VELSHI: As you know, Americans claim they don't really love the sport except when a game is on, when a soccer match is on it's all everybody's watching.
VERJEE: Yes, right. And, you know, the U.S. women's team is doing really well. I mean, we could be reliving 1999 when they won the women's World Cup. You know, Ali, I learned a really cool fact right now that football actually used to be called pig's bladder. Did you know that?
VELSHI: This is real football. When I say real football, American football.
VERJEE: Soccer. Soccer. And they used to blow up a pig's bladder and tie it on two ends after blowing it up and kick it around. Now, obviously, we now have the actual football. But the nickname is now pig's bladder.
VELSHI: Good Lord. All right. Zain, always learn something. And I taught you on the show that it's National Nude Day. So, we've exchanged valuable information, both of us.
Zain, I'll talk to you in a little while.
VERJEE: All right. Enjoy skinny dipping.
VELSHI: Exactly, yes.
All right. In other news, a guy who claims he used to be an Islamic terrorist is now traveling the U.S. earning big money to speak to law enforcement officers about Islamic terror. The problem is: CNN's Special Investigations Unit is discovering his story just doesn't add up.
This is Walid Shoebat. He is speaking a forum in South Dakota. He earned $5,000 for the lecture funded by taxpayers. Shoebat says he used to be a bomb-throwing terrorist, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Now, he's a Christian convert with a blunt message. He says terrorism and Islam are inseparable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALID SHOEBAT, TERRORISM SPEAKER: Know your enemy. Know your enemy. All Islamist organizations in America should be the number one enemy. All of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Here's the problem. CNN reporters in the United States, Israel and the Palestinian territories found no evidence whatsoever that Shoebat was actually ever a terrorist. That is not stopping him from raking in the cash. His speeches, books and video sales have earned him over half a million dollars in 2009, according to tax records.
British scientists are working on a bomb-proof bag meant to protect planes from explosions. It's called a fly bag and it holds luggage in the cargo area. It's flexible, it's lightweight, and designed to absorb the force of a blast. Engineers at Sheffield (ph) University say the goal is to replace the bulky, expensive cases that some airlines are now using.
First, though, our congressman's special -- see where my mind is this week -- our businessman's special nugget of the day. P.C., we're talking about politically correct, we're talking about personal computing. I'll tell you what I have to say about it right after the break.
Twenty-six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning. It is Thursday, July 14th. This is your A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Ali Velshi, joining you this morning from New York. Thirty minutes after the hour.
We'll begin this morning with breaking news: British police have arrested a man in connection with that scandalous phone hacking case. They haven't named the man or any charges. We do know he's 60 years old and was arrested in London. It will be curious to see what the connection is. That scandal brought down Rupert Murdoch's "News of the World" paper. Later today, the top cop in London will testify about Scotland yard's investigation.
I want to be a fly on the wall during these ongoing debt talks. Just 20 days until the deadline on raising the debt ceiling and there's no deal yet, but we do hear that the players are getting testy. President Obama reportedly told lawmakers, quote, "this could bring my presidency down."
Talking about his promise to veto a short-term extension, but he says he will not yield. They'll meet again today, the fifth session in as many days. The White House warns that failing to raise the debt ceiling by August 2nd could trigger a partial default.
The power is slowly being restored in the Chicago area after one of the worst storms on record. The storm, earlier this week, packed wind gusts of nearly 80 miles an hour, knocking down trees and power lines. Nearly a million customers were affected. This morning, the power company there says more than 75 percent of its customers have had their power restored. It hopes to have all power restored by Friday.
Now, to this morning's WAKE-UP CALL for the shuttle "Atlantis" crew.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING) if you believed they put a man on the moon. Man on the moon. If you believed.
VELSHI (voice-over): Good song. They probably couldn't have gotten into the chorus a little bit more. Song was "Man on the Moon" by Michael Stipe of the group R.E.M. Day seven of the mission, the "Atlantis," and expedition. Twenty-eight crews will transfer more equipment, supplies of the shuttle to the International Space Station and a bit of a break today. A little downtime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (on-camera): In between doing lack of interviews with reporter, check your local channel, they might be interviewing the astronauts.
Now, these ones are not shuttle astronauts, but four Afghanistan women are making history, nonetheless. They're among the first female pilots in the Afghan air force. That's quite an accomplishments considering they grew up in male-dominated culture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOURYA SALEH, AFGHAN PILOT: You're going to open the door for our ladies in Afghanistan. It's a big deal for us to open the door for others. The other ladies that have the dream that they can't do it, we want to show them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Their journey began about two years ago when the Afghan army began looking for women to join. They'll spend the next several months training in the United States before returning home to Afghanistan.
And Congress says the major phone companies -- we'll call them big phone -- aren't keeping those mystery third party fees off your phone bill, and now, it's time for a law. A recent government study found that about $2 billion in mystery fees showed up on American's phone bills in one year. We're talking about land lines, by the way, not cell phones. Big phone says it's taken steps but admits it's still a big problem.
For money news this morning, let's go to Joya Dass live here in New York. She's at the NASDAQ market site. Joya, I have to tell you, I'm expecting a rough morning for stocks. How's it looking?
JOYA DASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's actually looking pretty good. The futures markets this morning are pointing to a higher open, which is a bit of a fresh start from what we've seen earlier in the week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF IMMELT, GE CEO: I want to ask people, don't think about GE so much, think about a small business person who really do create a lot of jobs in this country. They're petrified right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are they scared of?
IMMELT: Well, look, I mean, you know, what happens if the government doesn't roll over its debt, you know? Why would you invest into that? And, you know, if the budget deficit means super high tax rates for them, again, that to me is the piece that is missing. There has been bad new business generation, small businesses have gotten hurt coming out of this recession.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DASS: All right. So, Ali, what's happening here is that the clock is ticking. During one of the most tenses meetings in Washington last night between the president and lawmakers, Moody's, in the meantime, has warned that it's putting the U.S. credit rating on watch for a possible downgrade which could really set off a various (ph) firestorm as far as Wall Street's concerned. So, that's something to keep on the back burner today.
VELSHI: All right. Joya Dass at the NASDAQ market site for us. Joya, thanks very much. See you tomorrow.
Now, back to today's businessman special on personal computing. If you bought a PC in the second quarter, you're one of only a few compared to people who bought tablets. Check out these four largest PC manufacturer, an Acer, the owner of Gateway computer shipped 20 percent computers last quarter compared to a year ago. Surprise. Lenovo were actually up more than 22 percent. That's the computers that used to be IBMs. Dell dropped almost 10 percent and HP dropped one percent.
Before we want to go, we want to help you get as smart as you can while you dazzle your copy. Let's talk about iPads. Where do you think most people use their iPads, living room, at work, or in the bedroom? I'll have an answer for you after the break. It's 35 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Thirty-eight minutes after the hour. Before the break, we asked you where you think most people use their iPads? Living room, work, or the bedroom? The answer is the living room. According to the University of Missouri, just over half of the 500 people they surveyed said they like to play (ph) with their iPad on the couch in their living room.
Time for our "Political Ticker." Let's bring in our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, live by phone from Washington. Paul, all eyes are on President Obama and Congressional leaders headed into their fifth straight day of talks about increasing the debt ceiling. PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You've got it, Ali. And you know what, day four ended on a very, very tense note between the president and Eric Cantor, the House majority leader. Listen, they were discussing Cantor's proposal for a short-term agreement to raise the debt ceiling. That's something the president is definitely against. They said (ph) against.
According to Cantor -- and this is how we learned about because Cantor came out right after the meeting and talk to the press. He said the president got very agitated, and he told Cantor, I've sat here long enough, and he said to Eric Cantor, don't call my bluff. I'll go to the American people with this. Well, then, Cantor says Obama shell back from the table and said, I'll see you tomorrow.
Hey, Ali, as you can imagine, Democratic sources, they have a very different take on this exchange saying that Obama was basically getting extremely frustrated with the Congressional Republicans' refusal to compromise on any tax increases. Here we are going into day five, both sides seem pretty far apart, Ali.
VELSHI: What's the guessing? What's the betting in Washington, regardless, of the day-to-day imaginations that you and I follow? Is there some sense that sometime in the next 20 days they'll get a deal?
STEINHAUSER: Everybody keeps saying that we got to get a deal sooner or later, because everybody realizes the dire consequences if nothing is done by early August on the debt ceiling. But, Ali, if you look at every day's meetings here, it doesn't seem like they're making a lot of progress here. Both sides still pretty strong, especially the Republicans when it comes to any revenue increases, pretty strong against -- if I'm a betting man right now, I don't know how they come to an agreement.
VELSHI: No kidding. All right. Paul, I'll bet one thing, you and I are going to be covering this until the end. Paul Steinhauser, deputy political editor.
Forty minutes after the hour. Here are three things to put on your radar today.
First on the agenda at 8:40 a.m. eastern, the primetime Emmy Award nominations will be announced live from Hollywood.
Then back on the east coast, at 10:00 a.m., Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, picks up from where he left off yesterday delivering the semi-annual report on monetary policy. Trust me. It's more interesting than it's out.
Then, at 4:15 p.m. eastern, President Obama, as Paul just said, gets back into the room with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for continuing debt ceiling negotiations.
All right. You may remember Eric LeGrand. He's the Rutgers football star who was paralyzed in a game last fall. Well, yesterday, he tweeted two photos of himself standing up during therapy. That's right, standing. He also tweeted the words, "standing tall, we can't fall."
Tour de France now. Brit, Mark Cavendish, took yesterday's 11th stage. It was his third stage win of this year's tour. Today, the first of three days in the Pyrenees and all eyes are on defending champ, Alberto Contador, of Spain. He's been dealing with a swelling in his right knee.
And the Americans are in the finals. The U.S. women soccer team beat France, 3-1 in yesterday's rainy, rainy World Cup semi-finals. Check that out. Now, they'll face Japan on Sunday. It will be America's first World Cup final. Since 1999 when they won it all. By the way, three members of the U.S. team will join us in about an hour on "American Morning."
Right now, we're going to bring in Pablo Torre, reporter for "Sports Illustrated" live from New York. Pablo, the team heading into the World Cup finals. Tell us how tough an opponent Japan is likely to be.
PABLO TORRE, REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Well, there's no question the U.S. could beat any team in the world right now, Ali, but Japan, they haven't lost to -- in 25 games. And the U.S. has star scorer now in Abby Wambach. They have a star goalkeeper in Hope Solo. And to anything short of winning this final on Sunday will be a disappointment. That's how good the U.S. team is going no matter how good your team (ph) is.
VELSHI: Now, Pablo, I want to talk to you about something else that's happening back here, because while we're all watching soccer, we might as well call it football because we don't have football here in the United States right now.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Steelers linebacker, James Harrison, has a mouthful to say about NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, calling him a crook and a devil in "Men's Journal." What's that about? He also, by the way, said -- this is the part that's very interesting. He said, if that man was on fire and I had to something on him to put it out -- urinate is not the word he use -- I wouldn't do it. I hate him and will never respect him. What is going on here?
TORRE: Yes. Only James Harrison, Ali, can turn a pledge to not urinate on his boss into an act of hatred, but this is par for the course for this guy. I mean, he's a great linebacker, but when it comes to discretion, he is all of the discretion of a machine gun. And he's really the NFL's uncontrollable embarrassing id (ph) at this point. Last year, he got fined $100,000, the most in the NFL for illegal hits by the commissioner. Obviously, that hasn't helped James Harrison during his lesson on or off the field.
VELSHI: All right. Pablo, that -- we're going to have to see if that settles itself at some point before football season supposed to turn. Pablo Torre of "Sports Illustrated" joining us from New York.
Before we go to a break, on this day in history, bottled beer was born, July 13th, 1568, the dean of St. Paul's Cathedral perfects a way to bottled beer and all of human history was changed. Forty-three minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning. It is Thursday, July 14th, not July 13th. It is July 14th. This is your A.M. WAKEUP CALL. Right before the break, I put this up and I told you how on July 13th, 1568 bottled beer was perfected. It was perfected on July 13th, but as you can see, the 13th is now gone because today is July 14th. That's what happens when you work at this hour of the morning. I'm Ali Velshi joining you live from New York this morning for your WAKE-UP CALL. Forty-six minutes after the hour.
We begin with breaking news out of Great Britain. British police have arrested a seventh person in connection with that scandalous phone hacking case. They haven't named the man or any charges. We do know he's 60 years old and was arrested in London. That scandal has brought down Rupert Murdoch's "News of the World" paper and has torpedoed the value of his company. Later today, the top cop in London will testify about Scotland Yard's ongoing investigation.
Zain Verjee joins us live from London right now. Calls are growing in the U.S. for hacking investigation. Lawmakers here, Zain, are worried that 9/11 victims' phones may have been tapped.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ali. They're really turning up the heat, a bunch of powerful senators want an investigation. They say that Rupert Murdoch's U.S. companies should now be closely looked at. They want the attorney general, Eric Holder, to look into it and see whether it's a violation of the foreign corrupt practices act.
At the heart of all of this, the question is, was there any criminal acts that happened here? And were U.S. citizens and victims of 9/11's phones hacked into? It could get ugly. Every single day, Ali, is bringing a new dimension to this story.
VELSHI: I know you're following it closely. I think you're following another story very closely, Zain, and it is this new phenomenon of marines here in the United States using YouTube to ask celebrities to attend a ball. A marine did this with Mila Kunis. It was unclear whether she's going. And now, Justin Timberlake, who encouraged her, is being invited.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: You know, it's just the romantic in me, what can I say, Ali? I love this story, OK? Yes. A female U.S. marine has now uploaded a video request on YouTube asking Justin Timberlake to be her date at a ball that she's going to in Washington, D.C. Listen to her proposal, Ali.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, Justin, you want to call out my girl, Mila? Well, I'm going to call you out and ask you to come to the marine corps ball with me on November 12th in Washington, D.C. And if you can't go, all I have to say is cry me a river.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Isn't that cute, Ali? I think he should say yes. Justin, you need to do it for your country.
VELSHI: Which is what he told Mila Kunis.
VERJEE: And by the way, in case you don't know it, today is National Nude Day, and there's something else that more people can do for their country. The question I want to ask, any other U.S. female marines, do they want to take this man to any of the balls out there? What do you think, Ali?
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: That's quite a watch I'm wearing.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: I don't know if it counts as completely nude if you have a watch on.
VERJEE: Yes, you may get --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I just hope nobody spill their coffee during that. Zain Verjee, I'll catch up with you later this morning. Zain Verjee in London. There are just no words for that.
So, you know what, just to change gears, I'm going to bring you up to speed on the debt ceiling talks. That will get that picture out of your mind. The fifth round of talks is set for today. Don't hold your breath for a breakthrough, though. The fourth round was a bust. House Republicans called for a short-term extension.
House majority leader, Eric Cantor, says this was the president's response, quote, "Eric, don't call my bluff." And then he walked out a few minutes later. President Obama said all along that he'd veto any short-term measure. The administration says failure to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2nd could trigger a partial default.
And thanks to the debt ceiling issue and the possibility of default, you're on notice, I'm on notice, and everyone from Caribou, Maine to San Diego is on notice. Moody's Investors Services plans to review the nation's AAA bond rating and might downgrade it from stable to negative. Standard & Poor's revised it back in April.
And let's talk about foreclosures for a second. Realty tracks numbers -- realty tracks foreclosures show they're down nearly 30 percent in the first half of this year compared to the first half of last year. Now, that sounds like good news, but it comes with a big fat asterisk. Realty track says many of these foreclosures are just being delayed. So, foreclosures that would have happened this year are going to happen next year, instead. Nevada, Arizona and California are the top foreclosure states.
One of the biggest international stories in your world right now is that fatal attack in India. The city of Mumbai is on high alert after three separate explosions. It happened in a bustling part of the city during rush hour. At least 18 people were killed, more than 100 hurt. Authorities haven't figured out who's responsible yet and no terror group has come forward to claim responsibility. This is the first big attack on Mumbai since the terrorist siege nearly three years ago. New Delhi and Calcutta are also on alert this morning.
And rebel forces in Libya have retaken a village from Moammar Gadhafi's forces in the western part of the country which has been controlled by Gadhafi's forces. CNN s Ben Wedeman and his crew got caught in the cross fire. Now, they're OK, but before you're complaining about the day you're having today, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, wait, wait. Wait!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, just calm down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're cool.
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down!
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. We're leaving this area because there's gunfire all around us. And we believe that Gadhafi's forces are doing a roundabout movement. We are rushing out of this area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Ben's seen a lot of stuff. You can see that there's real concern on his face. As I said, Ben and his crew are all OK.
Let's get to Rob Marciano live in Atlanta. Rob, how's it looking for travelers today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the traveling will be less intense, I think, today, regardless of the weather as compared to what's going on overseas.
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: A couple of spots that are going to be the focal points or afternoon thunderstorms across the southeast along a little front there, including Atlanta, late-day thunderstorms and up through parts of Minneapolis. The northeast looks just great. Fairly low levels of humidity, pretty comfortable. The heat is shifting down to the southwest. So, Atlanta, Minneapolis, those are your spots for problems. Big delta hubs. Miami, Orlando and Seattle will see some delays as well. And the heat is shifting a little bit farther the south and west and abating just a little bit, but Oklahoma will be sizzling again. Ali, back up to you.
VELSHI: Walked out of my apartment about 3 1/2 hours ago, and it was actually a little bit cool here in New York. I thought --
MARCIANO: That is good, huh.
VELSHI: I felt good with my layers of clothing.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: As you know, I always have a vest, and a shirt and a tie and jacket. Rob, I'll see you on AMERICAN MORNING in just a little bit. Rob Marciano.
Hey, -- hold on, don't go away. Don't go away, Rob. You reported on wildfires before, but has this ever happened to you? A reporter gets drenched by one of those water dropping choppers as they report on a fire. You never been under one --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's mild brush that's burning.
MARCIANO (voice-over): I've been very close, but they haven't dropped on me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say --
VELSHI (voice-over): Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Water dropping helicopters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (on-camera): Oh.
MARCIANO (on-camera): No harm, no foul there. At least, it wasn't the fire retardant. That's awful stuff.
VELSHI: She's good and wet now. All right, Rob. Good to see you, my friend. I'll see you on AMERICAN MORNING in just a little bit. She's got a good sense of humor about it.
Before we go, today's word of the day is cramming. It's not cramming our foot into a tiny shoe or cramming too many groceries into a recycling bag or working too late to get your homework done. The definition of this word is why it's costing you money -- and why is costing you money. It's coming up after the break. It is 54 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Fifty-seven minutes after the hour. Now, back to our word of the day. It's cramming. You'll need to know this word today because it could be costing you money. Here's the definition from Google. The fraudulent practice of adding unauthorized charges to a customer's phone bill. According to a study by the Senate Commerce Committee, Americans are shelling out about $2 billion in fees on their phone bill.
Now, to protect yourself, the FCC says you should carefully review your bill every month and report any fees that you don't recognize to your cell phone company. We're not talking about large amounts. Check for $2 or $3 charges. You can also file a complaint with the FCC if you feel that you're being crammed.
All right. Here are three things to put on your radar today.
First on the agenda, today at 8:40 a.m. eastern time, the primetime Emmy Award nominations will be announced live from Hollywood. AMERICAN MORNING will cover that live.
Back on the east coast, at 10:00 a.m., Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, picks up from where he left off yesterday, delivering the semi-annual report on monetary policy. I'm telling you. They've got to rename this thing. It's actually more fun than you think.
And then, at 4:15 p.m. eastern, President Obama gets back into the room with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for debt ceiling negotiations.
All right. Time now to see how the world's money is doing this morning. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout live from Hong Kong. Kristie, reactions right now to Moody's threatened downgrade to debt talks ending badly yesterday in the United States and the Ben Bernanke's testimony yesterday. How are world markets doing?
STOUT: Well, let's focus first on Asia. Here in Hong Kong, shares in flat, but it's pretty much been a down day for most Asian markets. The buzz kill, you said it just that, Moody's warning that could downgrade its rating on U.S. debt as the political impasse over raising the debt ceiling drags on. That, and of course, worries about the European debt crisis. We saw financial stocks. exporters here in Asia feeling the most pressure today -- Ali.
VELSHI: Kristie, and then global investors, what are they sort of -- what's your sense of what people are thinking about the U.S. solving its debt problem here in the United States?
STOUT: Well, let's just look at how the markets are trading in Europe. Looking at the stock prices here on my iPad, the downward trend goes on. It's all red arrows. And my last check, all the main indices are on the red. And of course, debt troubles, they're on both sides of the Atlantic. So, people are fixated with what's happening in the U.S. and also in Europe.
For example, Italy, later today, it's making way for a $7 billion bond sale. The lawmakers are scrambling to pass an austerity package there -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Kristie Lu Stout, we'll stay on top of that with you in Hong Kong. Thanks so much for joining us.
AMERICAN MORNING continues right now.
