Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning: Wake Up Call
News Corps' Rebekah Brooks Resigns; Casey Anthony Free Sunday; TSA Testing Trusted Travel
Aired July 15, 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 Friday, July 15th. This is your A.M.: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Ali Velshi, joining you live this morning from New York.
Let's start with the bad news about the debt ceiling talks -- five straight days of meetings and House leaders are as close to a deal as they were on Sunday. So, basically, this week has been a giant air ball or gutter ball and the U.S. is getting credit warnings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's.
So, here's the good or not as bad news about it. There is a plan B in the Senate.
Here's what chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin found out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Now, despite all that, I'm told by my sources there's not a lot of optimism that this particular negotiating process here at the White House is going to actually end up leading to the real deal, and a lot of effort and attention is now turning to a different process that's happening in the U.S. Senate and another alternate deal that's being worked out between the two Senate leaders that could instead end up raising the debt ceiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: An optimistic late night view from Jessica Yellin. There are no big talk set for today. President Obama, however, will update the nation with a press conference at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. CNN will carry that live.
Let's talk about the phone hacking scandal in the United Kingdom. It might not be limited to that side of the Atlantic. The FBI is now investigating Murdoch's News Corporation. There's an accusation that his employees may have tried to hack into the phone conversations and voicemails of 9/11 victims and their families.
Rudy Giuliani, of course, was mayor of New York during that time. He and Murdoch have been friends for a long time. So, what does Giuliani make of all this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Sure, intercepting communications like that is a crime, it has to be investigated. I think what there shouldn't be and we've learned recently with a bunch of criminal cases of different kinds -- don't rush to judgment, give people a presumption of innocence. I think that just how high up it goes is a big question and it's one we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions about.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VELSHI: Hey, speaking of hacking, somebody absolutely plundered the Pentagon in the spring. It was one of the worst breaches ever of security. Listen to these details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM LYNN, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: Indeed, in a single intrusion this past March, 24,000 files were taken.
It was done, we think, by a foreign intelligence service -- in other words, a nation state was behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, those files belonged to a U.S. defense contractor, that's 24,000 good reasons why the Defense Department is looking at tightening up its cyber security.
Casey Anthony leaves jail in two more days, just in time to face a defamation lawsuit. Anthony told police that Zenaida Fernandez Gonzales was her daughter Caylee's nanny back when the search was getting underway. The woman's lawyers want Anthony to sit down for a deposition on Tuesday. They think it's the only chance they'll get before she bolts Orlando and maybe Florida.
Anthony's lawyers say, no way, that is to soon after a grueling trial and she'll plead the Fifth if's forced to answer questions.
Here's a possible first brought to you by the state of California: Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill there that requires public schools to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
State Senator Mark Leno is the one who put the bill together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LENO (D), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE: The fact is, we have been censoring a very important chapter of civil rights history about a community that has been traditionally demonized and discriminated against.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The law takes effect in January, but it takes time to update those textbooks, so that probably won't happen until 2015.
And if you're going to the airport later on, you're already dreading that TSA tango, relief might be on the way for you. The TSA will test a trusted traveler program. It's going to let certain frequent flyers at certain airports skip the shoe-removing, lat top revealing and full body imaging, and basically get them through the security faster.
The only catch is that they will have to give the TSA extra information about themselves ahead of time. This trial run begins this fall in Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas and Miami on certain Delta and American Airlines flights.
Right now, let's check on how the world's money is doing this morning. The Nikkei is up, but all others, the Hang Seng, the DAX, the FTSE 100, all slightly lower at this hour. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout live from Hong Kong this morning.
Kristie, Asian and European stocks seem to be reacting to -- boy, a combination of economic news, including what's going on here in the United States.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, let's fine out why. As you said, Asian markets are mixed. European markets are sliding. Investors are worried about debt. They are worried about how the U.S. debt talks are in deadlock, and Standard & Poor's threatening to cut its rating on American bonds.
And then, in Europe, we have scores of banks, they will soon find out if they're tough enough to take another financial shock. The results of banking stress test are due out in Europe today, 5:00 p.m. in London. That's mid-day there in New York. As many as one bank in nine is expected to fail this test. So, there is a lot to unnerve global investors on this date -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Kristie, let's talk about Google. You know, I joined Google Plus the other day. I didn't have an invitation. I said it on this show. One of our viewers sent me an invitation and I joined.
You know how many Google Plus friends I have?
STOUT: You have one, because I just added you into my circle.
VELSHI: Oh, my God, I had nobody in my circle. I had nobody in my circle. Well, thank you.
I am one of the 10 million-plus people on Google Plus. Boy, what an all-star second quarter that company has had.
STOUT: You said it. I mean, Google beat the street, with Q2 income of $2.5 billion.
VELSHI: Wow.
STOUT: That's up 36 percent from a year ago. A profit rose as more people are clicking on Google's ads. I never click on them, but people do.
And it's been a busy quarter for Google as well. It spent $900 million on infrastructure. It launches Chrome-book laptop and a lot of different offers, including something called Google offers. That's Google's answer to Groupon.
Now, as for its answer to Facebook, Google Plus, you said it. It's gone to 10 million users in two weeks. Now, that's remarkable since it's not even open to the masses yet.
And, Ali, you need more active on Google Plus. It's kind of fun.
VELSHI: I'm going to. Now that I have one friend, I probably have a circle. So I bless you for that. Kristie, great to see you. I will talk to you later on TV and on Google Plus.
Let's go to Rob Marciano live in Atlanta. He's not in my circle of trusted friends or whatever they call it, but the day is early yet.
Good morning, Rob. What have we got?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, for one thing, you'll always be in my inner circle, regardless of whether it's Google or Facebook or what have you.
Good morning, Ali.
Listen, we got a couple of storms that are going to pop out across stationary boundary, down across the Southeast, in through and building also across parts of the Northern Plains. If you're traveling to those areas, there will be some issues.
But another gorgeous day across the Northeast, including New York, Boston, Philly, just beautiful stuff. Atlanta, Minneapolis, will probably see some thunderstorms this afternoon.
And high temperatures will be decent, 85 in New York City and 93 degrees expected in Memphis. But the heat's going to be building, and we'll see a heat wave, you know, of pretty decent proportions over the weekend as far north as the Canadian border.
All right. Let's go to Ukraine zoo where a two-headed snake, Ali, seems to be the highlight of this thing. If you can imagine, two heads on one snake body.
VELSHI: Oh!
MARCIANO: Now, when one of the heads gets hungry, they sometimes fight over food. But when one head gets the food, the food goes into the same stomach.
VELSHI: That's a good point.
MARCIANO: The other head says, OK, no, I'm full, I'm OK. But apparently they have quite an interesting.
VELSHI: I don't know if I like that. I like the experience of eating. I like it to go through my mouth. That's interesting.
MARCIANO: Exactly.
VELSHI: It's kind of gross for the morning, I have to tell you, Rob. That's kind of --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: At least we haven't shown them eating other things like rats.
VELSHI: Yes. Thank you. We'll save that for the next time we talk.
Good to see you, Rob Marciano. We'll check in with him in just a moment.
Big breaking news right now and this is big breaking news. The chief executive of the "News of the World, of the News Corporation newspapers in -- News International is the name of the company. Rebekah Brooks, you've seen her on TV. She has resigned.
This is a message from Rebekah Brooks, which we're working to confirm. The CEO of News International has said she has resigned because she feels a deep sense of responsibility "for the people we have hurt," that's her quote. That's Rebekah Brooks. She wants to reiterate -- she says, "How sorry I am for what we know to have taken place."
She is resigning as the CEO of News International, which is the parent company of the News Corporation newspapers. She's been there for 22 years. She's been under a great deal of pressure.
She was one of the three people who has been subpoenaed to British parliament to testify. She is the one -- she's a British citizen, so she is compelled to go, although we do have news this morning that both Rupert Murdoch and his son, while Rupert Murdoch is not a British citizen, will in fact testify before parliament.
So, the breaking news right now -- there she is, Rebekah Brooks, being supported by Rupert Murdoch, she has offered her resignation and has left the company.
OK. Before we take a break, can you guess which newsmaker made this statement about media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the "News of the World's" alleged hacking of 9/11 victims here in the United States? Quote, "He is a very honorable, honest man. This can't be something that he would have had anything to do with."
We'll tell you who said it right after this quick break.
Nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twelve minutes after the hour.
Before the break, we asked you if you could guess who called Rupert Murdoch an honorable and honest man. Here is former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN'S "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: Are you confident enough in him?
GIULIANI: Oh, gosh, yes. He's a very honorable, honest man. This can't be something he would have anything to do with. The fact is that they're doing it is a bad thing, it shouldn't be done. I don't know what it is in England, but in the United States it's a felony. And I've prosecuted people for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSH: Murdoch and Giuliani are long-time friends, by the way. Murdoch attended Giuliani's wedding in 2003. He endorsed him in the 1993 mayoral race. And according to congressional disclosure filings, a law and lobbying firm in which Giuliani is a partner received $100,000 in lobbying fees from News Corporation in 2005.
Well, a looming debt ceiling deadline is a very serious matter, so serious that comedians can't get enough of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JAY LENO, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO: The good news for President Obama, in the last three months, his re-election campaign raised $86 million. The bad news, if he gets re-elected, he's got to come up with $14 trillion more.
The economy is so bad the TSA is now charging extra for happy endings. That's how bad it is.
Today, Warren Buffett was turned down for a discover card. That's how bad.
They're bringing in unlicensed contractors to raise the debt ceiling. That's how bad.
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: America will be plunged into despair, (INAUDIBLE) governed by roaming bands of outlaw vigilantes.
Our political leaders are smart, dedicated professionals. They've been in nonstop meetings, trying to prevent this from happening. How are those going?
REPORTER: Temperatures began rising after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor suggested the two sides were too far apart to come to a deal. That's when the president got very agitated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, "Don't call my bluff, Eric."
STEWART: Boy, the name Eric really takes the urgency and steam out of an argument, doesn't it? Don't call my bluff, Eric.
Really, it's a name only rivaled by Craig and Susan. I will destroy you, Craig. You can't handle the truth, Susan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Time now for your political ticker with Tim, the host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS, live from Washington.
Good morning, Tim Farley.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUM XM POTUS: Good morning. Sheldon! I'm sorry, that's an old Billy Crystal line, I just couldn't avoid it.
Ali, the name game, is that what they're calling names now? Actually, it seems like there may be some idea of what they're going to be doing -- I know the president is speaking today. There is no meeting of the octomob, and Speaker Pelosi -- well, former Speaker Pelosi, the Minority Nancy Pelosi yesterday said let's not go beyond the pale. We don't want to go to Camp David.
But t may be a way out of this and we'll be seeing this at some point out during the day. You mentioned what Jessica Yellin was saying. I think we're looking at this back up option which may be the Senator Mitch McConnell option. It's something they're looking at very closely. We'll just have to see how it turns out.
I don't think anyone really knows at this point.
VESLHI: It's right there, by the way, in the middle of the octomob shot. I will always remember that you started that, the octomob. Those are the eight congressional leaders who go to the White House and meet with the president.
They're not doing that today. Instead, the president is holding a press conference at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, which we'll cover.
Hey, Tim Farley, you went to that game last night, the baseball game, which I didn't think was -- I wouldn't have advised anybody being involved in a competition between Democrats and Republicans that involved bats and balls -- but how did it go?
FARLEY: It was actually a nonviolent event. It was especially for the Republicans, by the way, because Cedric Richmond, the freshman Congress, highly touted, coming out of the New Orleans district, pitched an amazing game. It was a no-hitter until the very end. And he struck out 13 Republicans and just a fantastic night on the mound for him, 8-2, the final score.
And it was a chance to sort of escape the hurly-burly of what's happening, a couple Babe Ruth shots away from the building itself, seem (INAUDIBLE) last night. But no humidity, kind of strange for July. And really a fun game, and lot of people raising money for the Boys and Girls Club and Literacy Council of Washington, which was really the purpose of the game.
VELSHI: Good. I'm glad some good activity is going on in Washington, and take the no humidity when you can get it. It's going to be a hot summer for you guys.
Tim, good to see you as always. Tim Farley --
FARLEY: You, too, Ali.
VELSHI: -- host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS.
All right. Baseball, apple pie, "Playboy" -- love it or hate it, the bunny in a bowtie is a slice of Americana recognized worldwide. So, who better to sound off to the future of American business than Mr. Playboy, himself, Hugh Hefner? He told our Piers Morgan that we've got to stay global to stay competitive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGH HEFNER, FOUNDER, PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES: I think it's the wrong attitude. And I think the reality is we live in a very small world and I think that we need to deal with reality. I think that there's a certain amount of delusion going on here in terms of the notion we're no longer in first place, and we're falling further behind if we don't start taking care of real business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: By the way, "Playboy" publishes 23 international editions.
Speaking about international stuff, we've got some big breaking news this morning. We have news that Rebekah Brooks, who is the CEO of News International, the parent company of "News of the World" and the other British publications of News Corporations, has resigned.
She has quit News International under the cloud of accusation that she's been under. She is one of three senior executives who have been called to testify before the British parliament. She is a British citizen and had agreed to testify. But she has now resigned from the company. We're going to have more on that with Zain Verjee who's standing by in London right after this break.
But, first, if you're putting cream in your coffee or on your cheese or your putting cheese on your egg sandwich this morning, or you're doing any of that kind of stuff, you have a cow to thank. So, pony up. It is Cow Appreciation Day around America.
Nineteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Look at beautiful New York City this morning on July 15th, 2011. That's the view right outside our window. That's Central Park, by the way. It's hard to see, but it's Central Park and the Upper East Side just in the distance.
It is 21 minutes after the hour.
Here are three things for your radar today:
What exactly would happen if there is no debt deal? At 10:15 this morning, some members of Congress are going to try to push forward on the so-called "prioritized spending act." It would prevent defaults, pay our troops and keep promises to seniors receiving Social Security.
Then at 11:00 Eastern, the president holds a news conference to discuss the latest on efforts to reach deal on the debt ceiling.
And you've been hearing about it all week, carmageddon is set to happen at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. More importantly, though, 7:00 p.m. Pacific. I-405, a major L.A. freeway, at least part of it, is being shut down for a weekend reconstruction. Stay home if you're in L.A. or get out of town.
Let's go around the world with Zain Verjee, live from London.
Breaking news right now in the hacking scandal, a high profile resignation at News Corporation. Zain, what do we know?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International, Ali, has decided to resign. She is stepping down. She has been over the past few days under so much pressure to step down. And finally, it's happening.
Take a look at the statement that she said. She said, "As chief executive, I feel a sense of responsibility for people that have been hurt." And then, Ali, she also went on to say that "I'm becoming the focal point of debate, and it's detracting from trying to fix the problems of the past."
Rupert Murdoch had really been resisting calls for her to resign. Rebekah Brooks was the former editor in -- of "News of the World" at the center of the phone hacking scandal that is not only rocking Rupert Murdoch's media empire and outraging this country, but in the United States, too. There are questions and now criminal investigation that the FBI is going to launch into the phone hacking scandal to see whether victims of 9/11 and their phones were hacked into, and those of their families.
So, this is a very significant, very dramatic development, Ali.
VELSHI: Now, Zain, what this doesn't do is get her out from under the investigation. And just because you understand how it, would works here in the United States when there's a congressional inquiry, when they subpoena people, it's very similar in Great Britain. Parliament has issued the equivalent of subpoena to her, and to Rupert Murdoch and his son. They've all agreed they're going to testify.
What's the implication of that?
VERJEE: Well, she's a British citizen. So, she has to get there -- go there, and she has to testify. She's said she would appear in front of that parliamentary committee. She's going to answer tough questions, what did she know, when did she know it, and does she personally bear any responsibility for what happened?
She was editor at the time when Milly Dowler, a teenager, was murdered and "News of the World," that hacking that we know now into that teenagers and was deleting voicemail messages that for a brief moment allowed her parents to think that she was alive. And that's really what set this whole thing off. This woman, Rebekah Brooks, was editor at the time.
So, she's got tough questions to answer, but this whole scandal is by no means over, both in this country and in the United States, because it has rocked the relationship between the police, the media, the politicians -- and it's uncovering some pretty dirty, uncomfortable messy stuff that's hanging out to dry.
VELSHI: And as you said, it is spreading here to the United States, into an FBI investigation into News Corporation, and whether or not it hacked the e-mails of 9/11 victims and their families.
Zain, you'll stay on top of this. We'll come right back to you.
Also some breaking news in this, News Corporation has now announced Rebekah Brooks' replacement as the head of News International, Tom Mockridge is now going to join -- he's going to take over the role of chief executive officer. He was the chief executive of Sky Italia, which is also part of the News Corporation empire. He was also the chief executive of European Television, of News Corporation.
So, he's part of the company. He's now being elevated to the CEO role as Rebekah Brooks resigns.
We'll continue to follow the implication. News Corporation stock has lost over 10 percent in the last five trading days. I should tell you now the stock is trading lower in futures trading now. We'll keep an eye on it.
First today in today's businessman special, we're going to get you small business owners out there and want to be owners paid. We'll get you the top 10 microfinance companies coming up after this quick break.
It's 25 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning. It is Friday, July 15th. This is your A.M: WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Ali Velshi, joining you live from New York this morning. Thirty minutes after the hour.
President Obama is giving congressional leaders until Saturday to come to a debt agreement saying it's decision time. But he's taking a break from formal negotiations today to give us an update on where things stand. The president has scheduled a news conference for 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
Time is running out, 19 days until we hit the debt ceiling, or we run out of the ability to pay our debt.
So, if there's no deal soon and the country goes into default and Armageddon ensues, who gets the blame? This poll shows that most voters would blame Republicans. It also shows that most voters believe Obama's proposals will affect the middle class, not just the wealthy.
Take a look at this. These people made a mad dash to be the first in line to apply for section 8 housing vouchers, subsidized housing. Applicants rushed the line when the doors opened yesterday morning in Dallas. At least eight people were hurt. This is the first time in five years that the waiting list has been reopened. There were about 5,000 applicants for 3,800 vouchers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (on-camera): It's day eight in space for shuttle "Atlantis" and the crew this morning. A wake-up song and message from Paul McCartney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VELSHI (voice-over): The crew got some extra sleep this morning after dealing with a computer glitch overnight. "Atlantis" and expedition 28 crews continue to transfer equipment and supplies from the shuttle to the International Space Station. They'll also be doing a series of interviews and holding a news conference from space. And later this afternoon, the crew gets a phone call from President Obama. Maybe, he's going to ask them how to end this logjam or how debt debate looks from space.
We showed this to you a week or so ago, a guy who allegedly stole a $200,000 Picasso. You'll see him walking from the right of your screen. There he is. There was something under his arm. Well, where are you going with that expensive drawing, Thomas Crown? Police arrested this man last week, and they've learned a lot more about him. Investors say he had about a half million dollars worth of art in his New Jersey apartment, including, wait for it, another Picasso.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And listen to this, if you're workaholic and you know who you are, you're probably up now watching me while you're on your treadmill or getting ready for your flight. Overtime might be bad for your heart. British researchers studied about 6,000 white collar workers in London for several years. The ones who worked three to four hours of overtime were 60 percent more likely to have a heart problem. Now, then, we are talking about London, which is a stressful place. Just saying.
For morning money news this morning, let's go to Joya Dass. She's live at the NASDAQ market site in New York. Joya, good morning. How are U.S. markets shaping up this morning?
JOYA DASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Just London only? What about New York? My goodness. Well, the futures market this morning are pointing to a higher open, which is, like I said yesterday, a nice breath of change from what we've been seeing earlier.
VELSHI: Later in the day, after Ben Bernanke said that things aren't looking as good. Listen, Joya, we know many Americans are working way past retirement age, but there's a new survey that proves this trend might be here to stay.
DASS: Yes. So, it used to be about a decade ago that folks who retire at 64. And a new survey by Harrison Rock (ph) suggests that now, people are retiring at 69, and it's pretty simple. Since the onset of the recession and the decline of the stock market, people are worried about whether or not they're going to have enough money to fund their golden years.
Now, the most interesting stat that I saw in the study is that 28 percent of those that were surveyed said that they would probably continue to work even after they retired. They're equally split on whether or not they would do it for satisfaction and stimulation or they do it for money.
VELSHI: Joya, good to see you. Have a great day. Joya Dass at the NASDAQ market site in New York.
Now back to today's businessman special. CNNMoney.com is out, very interesting list they've got, a top ten list of microfinance companies. These are companies that offer small amounts of money for people trying to get into businesses that don't need a lot to start off. Let's take a look at what they came up with.
ACCION USA serves all types of businesses, especially home-based businesses. Next, ACCION Texas who -- which serves not only the lone star state but Louisiana. Justine Petersen Housing focuses on credit building. ACCION New Mexico-Arizona-Colorado does loans as big as $300,000, wants to do even bigger loans, and rounding out the top five, we've got ACCION San Diego, Opprtunity Fund, ACCION Chicago, Women's Initiative for Self-Employment Business Center for new Americans and Ace are also on CNNMoney.com top ten microfinance sites.
Back to our breaking news, Rebekah Brooks is the outgoing CEO now of News International. She has just resigned as the head of that company. As you recall, she is one of three people including Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, who were subpoenaed or asked to testify before a British Parliamentary Committee.
Rebekah Brooks has resigned. Her CEO -- her replacement as CEO has been named. He was the former head of Sky Italia, which is an Italian subsidiary of the News Corporation, but she has resigned this morning. We're continuing to cover that news for you and bring you the implications. News Corporation stock once again is trading down ahead of the opening.
Before we go, check this out. Do you think the American video game industry sold more games in June than they did this time last year? The answer to our get smart question coming up after this break. It is 35 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It is 38 minutes after the hour. Now back to our get smart question of the day. This one stumped me. Do you think the American video game industry sold more games in June than they did this time last year or fewer games?
The answer is B, fewer games. According to CNET, the gaming industry saw a 10 percent drop in sales compared to June of 2010. That's slightly better than May, by the way, when sales dropped 14 percent compared to the year earlier. The worst month in nearly five years.
OK. It's 38 minutes after the hour. Do you hear our three things to put on your radar today?
What exactly would happen if there's no debt deal? Well, at 10:15 this morning, some members of Congress are trying to push forward on the so-called prioritized spending act. It would prevent default, pay our troops, and keep our promises to senior citizens receiving Social Security.
Then, at 11:00 a.m. eastern, the president holds a news conference to discuss the latest on efforts to deal with the debt ceiling.
And you've been hearing about it all week. Carmageddon is set to happen at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, more importantly 7:00 p.m. pacific time. I-405 parts of it which is a major L.A. freeway, is being shut down for construction this weekend.
All right. We got breaking news out of the United Kingdom. Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of News International, has resigned. She has announced that she has resigned. She's one of the top three executives there who have been subpoenaed to testify before British parliament. The others are Rupert and James Murdoch, but at this point, she is saying that this has become too much of a distraction for the company.
A new CEO has been named, but the stock is trading lower. Zain Verjee joins me in just a few minutes with the update on this and the implications as well as the growing scandal here in the United States being investigated now by the FBI.
OK. I want a big old slab of butter. I want you to do that this morning, because this day in history, margarine was patented in France. That was back in 1869. I remember growing up, my mom telling me the best thing for sliced bread. It is 40 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good Friday morning, July 15th. That is the sun rising over New York. A shot across from time Warner Center where I am, across Central Park, to the east side, and that beautiful, beautiful sunrise. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Ali Velshi joining you live this morning from New York. It is 43 minutes after the hour.
On the rundown right now, the debt ceiling debate, after five straight days of meeting, eating peas, drama, where do things stand? Well, how does square one grab you?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): Our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, says Congressional leaders and the White House are no further along than they were on Sunday. That's not very encouraging when you consider that the U.S. is getting credit warnings from Standard and Poor's and Moody's. Hold on a minute. Jessica also says there's a plan B in the works.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Now, despite all that, I am told by my sources that there's not a lot of optimism, that this particular negotiating process here at the White House is going to actually end up leading to the real deal, and a lot of effort and attention is now turning to a different process that's happening in the U.S. Senate and other alternate deal that's being worked out between the two Senate leaders that could instead end up raising the debt ceiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, there are no big talks set for today, no formal negotiations, but President Obama is holding a press conference at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. CNN will cover that live.
Let's talk about cyber security. Someone absolutely plundered the Pentagon back in the spring. We reported that to you. It was one of the worst security breaches ever, cyber security breaches. Listen to the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM LYNN, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Indeed, in a single intrusion this past March, 24,000 files were taken.
It was done, we think, by a foreign intelligence service. A nation state was behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The files belonged to a U.S. defense contractor, 24,000 good reasons why the defense department is now looking at tightening up its cyber security. Casey Anthony leaves jail in two days just in time to face a defamation lawsuit. Antony had told police that Zenaida Fernandez Gonzales was her daughter, Caylee's nanny back when the search was getting underway. The woman's lawyers want Anthony to sit down for a deposition on Tuesday, because they believe it's the only chance they'll get before she bolts Orlando and maybe Florida. Anthony's lawyers say no way. That is too soon after a grueling trial, and that she'll plead the fifth if she's forced to answer questions.
And if you're going to the airport later and you're already dreading the TSA tango, relief might be on the way. The TSA will test what's called a trusted traveler program. It's going to let certain frequent flyers at certain airports skip the shoe removing, laptop revealing, full body imaging, get basically through security faster. The only catch is they've got to give the TSA extra information about themselves ahead of time. This trial run begins this fall in Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, and Miami on Delta and American Airlines Flights.
Let's go around the world with Zain Verjee live from London. She's following the breaking news right now about the hacking scandal and a new casualty at the top of News Corporation. Zain, what have you got?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ali. Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International, has resigned. This is very significant and very dramatic. She had been under huge pressure, Ali, both political and financial over recent days to just step down. She issued a statement. Here's what she said. "I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt. I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place."
She went on to say, "I'm the focal point of the debate here. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavors to fix the problems of the past." And by that, she means the phone hacking scandal that has gripped this country, Ali, and has also affected the United States raising outrage and questions about possible phone hacking of 9/11 victims and their families, which is illegal under U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the FBI is now looking into this.
A lot of people are saying, this should have happened sooner, but, you know, is this too little too late now? She's going to be grilled by a parliamentary committee still about what she knew, when she knew it, and how much responsibility she had in the phone hacking when she was editor of "News of the World," which is now shutdown.
VELSHI: OK. When you say too little too late, that could apply to the fact that investors continue to be troubled with News Corporation stock and the future of what's going on. It's certainly not going to pull the FBI back from an investigation here in the United States, but in fact, it doesn't get her out of any of the obligations she's got, particularly, this very serious one, of being called to testify before parliament. That's the equivalent in Britain of being called to testify before Congress, maybe even more serious.
VERJEE: Yes. I mean, she has a lot more questions to answer. It ain't over.
VELSHI: Yes.
VERJEE: She said she's going to be out there defending her reputation, but what she's got to do is explain herself and explain what she knew and how much she knew. Did she know, as editor, this was going on? Because when she there, there was this 13-year-old teenage girl, Ali, who was murdered, and "News of the World" hacked into her -- her name is Milly Dowler, and they deleted her voicemail messages, and that for a brief period gave hope to her parents that she was alive.
And this is the story that has triggered this massive furor that has forced Rupert Murdoch to drop his complete take over BskyB here, shut down "News of the World," and raising all sorts of criminal questions as well as about the relationship here between the media, the police, and the politicians, and how corrupt it is.
VELSHI: All right. We'll continue to follow this along with you this morning. Zain Verjee in London on this breaking news.
Let's take you to Atlanta now. Rob Marciano in the weather center. Rob, for our travelers, any delays out there this morning?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There will be across parts of the northern plains and down across the southeast. I want to touch on this one tornado warning that's pretty rare to have one this time of the day. It's across parts of North Dakota. Ransom and Richland Counties, they're in southeast North Dakota. We got a tornado warning there, just south of Fargo. It's heading off to the east fairly rapidly right now and fairly rural areas, but just be aware of that if you are in that area.
These are the spots if you're traveling this afternoon where we'll see airport delays, and there'll be some afternoon thunderstorms in Atlanta. We didn't see a huge amount yesterday, but there were enough to cause some issues. Minneapolis, same deal. And Miami, Orlando and Denver, to a lesser extent, you'll see some afternoon thunderstorms. We're starting to see humidity build again across into the Gulf of Mexico, but dry and comfortable temperatures across the northeast.
Another gorgeous day along the i-95 corridor from D.C. up through Boston, maybe a little bit warmer, but still low humidity. And not bad in Atlanta, 85, but 104 in Dallas. It continues to be hot there, and the heat continues to build across the northern part of the plains where it will be a heat wave going into the beginning part of next week.
Hey, an article in the "Journal Science," Ali, I don't think we have baboon video to show you, but they studied baboons, and apparently, it's not so great to be the alpha male anymore.
VELSHI: Really?
MARCIANO: They found that there are lower stress levels if you are maybe the beta male, which, you know, second in line. But the alpha has got a lot of stress. He's got to, you know, fight off a lot all the other guys. He's got a lot of women chasing him around. So, maybe, we should take that into our --
VELSHI: The beta male gets to sort of hang out and watch it all happen --
MARCIANO: As one scientist said, who's going to take the girl home when the alpha male baboon gets into the bar fight? The beta man.
VELSHI: Very good way to look at life, Rob Marciano. Good to see you, my friend. We'll be talking throughout the course of the morning. Rob Marciano in the weather center, explaining why it's OK to be the beta male.
The NBA has laid off more than 100 workers. That's about 11 percent of its workforce, but the league is quick to point out the layoffs aren't related to the lockout that started two weeks ago. League officials say they're trying to find ways to make up for $300 million in annual losses.
And, the NCAA has hit Georgia Tech with a $100,000 fine and four years of probation. Tech has also been stripped of its ACC championship win over Clemson during the 2009 football season. Those penalties stem from violations in Tech's football and men's basketball programs.
And here's your play of the day in major league baseball, that being yesterday, of course. Jack Hannahan of the Cleveland Indians right back at you to Baltimore Orioles pitcher, Mike Gonzales, gets him right in the leg. Gonzales plays through the pain, get the out, give that man some Bengay or icy hot or something.
Federal judge in Washington declaring a mistrial in the Roger Clemens perjury case. The former all-star is accused of lying under oath about steroid use, but there he is signing autographs outside the courthouse yesterday. Prosecutors messed up big time showing jurors some banned video evidence. It's a big goof.
The judge said a first-year law student would have known better. We find out by early September whether the case is going to be retried. Let's go right to Pablo Torre, reporter for "Sports Illustrated" live from New York. Pablo, this was amazing. The legal wrangling has been going on in this case for years. It's cost taxpayers a lot of money.
PABLO TORRE, REPORTER SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Yes. This is incredibly humiliating for federal prosecutors, Ali. The government, including the FBI, has spent millions of dollars hunting Roger Clemens, and now, after day two of his trial for perjury, they need what amounts to a redo, which is obviously far more acceptable in a round of golf than it is in a perjury trial.
And Judge Reggie Walton, as you said, goes off on the federal prosecutors, and for any fans out there who argued and maintained from the start it was a waste of money to prosecute and try baseball players with tax dollars, this is really proof that they were right in the beginning.
VELSHI: The prosecutor walked out without any comment, really dressed down by the judge. By the way, this wasn't even asked for by the defense. This is the judge saying, you didn't do your job. What does this mean for Clemens? There's going to be discussion about whether he gets retried. We'll find out in September, as I said, but what does it mean for him? Is this vindicating it all or was this a technicality?
TORRE: You know, it's a bit of both. I mean, the grand irony is that the government had a pretty strong case based on the evidence against Clemens. Clemens, of course, was the one who got himself into this mess, in the first place, by voluntarily going before Congress, and now, on September 2nd, he may not have a retrial. I mean, the judge has hinted that, because of double jeopardy.
They may not be able to try Roger Clemens again. And in either case, Ali, whether there's a retrial or not, the public focus is now officially switched from Roger Clemens' incompetence to the government's, and that's a win in any situation, and certainly, a win for his legal team which had a slim chance, it looked like at the beginning of this thing, in the first place.
VELSHI: Pablo, what an interesting story. Good to see you, my friend. Pablo Torre of "Sports Illustrated" joining me from New York.
Before we go, today's word of the day is what Reynolds -- Reynolds -- what Rob Marciano was just talking about, glucocorticoid. Find out what it means and why it matters after this quick break. It is 53 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It is 57 minutes after the hour. Now back to the word that you need to know today, it is glucocorticoid. It's a class of steroid hormones that are synthesized by the adrenal cortex of vertebrates and have inflammatory activity.
I have no idea what that means, but the word goes back to a new study from the Journal of Science that Rob Marciano was telling us about, that tell says top ranking male baboons had higher level of stress. Scientists call those stress levels glucocorticoids. That's why he said, it's better to be the beta male than the alpha male.
All right. Here are the three things that you need to put on your radar today.
What exactly would happen if there's no debt deal? Well, at 10:15 this morning, some of the members of Congress are trying to push forward the so-called prioritized spending act. That would prevent default, pay the troops, and keep promises to seniors.
Then, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the president holds a news conference to discuss the latest on efforts to reach a deal on the debt ceiling.
You've been hearing about it all week. Carmageddon is set to happen at 10:00 p.m. eastern time, 7:00 p.m. pacific, more importantly. The parts of the I-405, a major L.A. freeway, are being shut down for weekend reconstruction. It's going to snarl traffic in L.A.
Let's take look at how the world's money is doing this morning. The Nikkei is up, but the other major indices, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong, the DAX in Germany, and the FTSE-100 are slightly lower this hour. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout live from Hong Kong. Kristie, Asian and European stocks, mixed this morning, reacting to a mixed of economic news and debt issues.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Here in Asia, commodity stocks fell over concerns that America's debt issues will hurt global recovery. And in Europe, stocks there continue to slide, given the debt worries on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, a number of European banks will soon find out if they can handle another financial shock.
The results of banking stress tests are due out today, 5:00 p.m. in London, that's mid-day in New York. As many as one bank in nine is expected to fail. So, Ali, that's not a good statistic.
VELSHI: The stress tests are designed to say what will happen to a bank in the event of another credit crisis, Something we thought was way behind us, Kristie, but two years or three years later, we're still talking about these issues. Here's another thing we're talking about. I know you've talked about a lot, the clean tech industry. Green industry has been all the rage, but there are some saying this could be about to change. There's talk of a crash in green tech. What are we talking about?
STOUT: Yes, this is a really interesting survey. Now, the clean tech sector saw a lot of growth during the recession, but can that growth continue? Well, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution, clean tech or green tech could be facing, quote, "a funding cliff." And that could happen by the end of this year as U.S. federal stimulus spending dries up.
Now, the clean tech sector, it includes makers of solar panels, fuel cells, biofuels, et cetera, and there in the U.S., it's been one of the few sectors that have been generating jobs. So, Ali, this is a very worrying report.
VELSHI: All right. As you mentioned, a lot of that has benefited from stimulus spending. Kristie, good to see you. I know your coverage of the world's news continues now on CNN international. We'll talk to you on Monday morning.
"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
