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American Morning: Wake Up Call
U.K. Violence Spreads North; World Markets Bounce Back; Super Committee Takes Shape; Ochocinco Wants A Roommate; GOP Holds Wisconsin Senate
Aired August 10, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey. Good morning to you. It is Wednesday, August 10th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. And I'm sure you are awake at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.
I'm Carol Costello. I'm joining you this morning live from New York.
So, let's get started, shall we?
In the U.K., it's 10:00 a.m. in the morning there. The country is coming off its fourth night of violence after police shot and killed a black man nearly a week ago in an area of London. Now, the problem has spread to cities like Liverpool, and Manchester, Nottingham and Wolverhampton.
One assistant chief constable calls what's happening "gratuitous, senseless and wholly unjustified acts of wanton criminality." London's Metropolitan Police have arrested nearly 800 people arrested for violence, disorder and looting. More than 100 officers have been hurt.
The streets have been calmer for the last few hours probably because there are twice as many police on the streets as there was a night before.
And here's an interesting detail, Amazon U.K. reports sales of aluminum baseball bats are up 8,000 percent since the violence broke out.
The prime minister, David Cameron, meets with his crisis response committee again today, and he's called lawmakers from their summer holiday to address the problem. Parliament meets tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: These are sickening scenes -- scenes of people looting, vandalizing, thieving, robbing, scenes of people attacking police officers and even attacking fire crews as they're trying to put out fires. This is criminality, clear and simple. It has to be confronted and defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And if you're getting on a plane to the U.K., the State Department says stay away from the volatile areas, keep up with the news and do not get into any arguments that might turn violent. Good advice for every day living, too.
OK. Now, two days after the Dow-pocalypse, let's see how the world markets are doing. Most all the Asian markets posted gains today. European markets have opened on the plus side. U.S. stock futures have been all over the place this morning.
Of course, the Dow started out yesterday in the red. This is a time lapsed look at the board. Fasten your seatbelt and put up your tray table. You see it going to the green and stay there to the closing bell.
It finished up nearly 430 points. That is the tenth largest point gain in the Dow's history. Of course, that came a day after the sixth biggest drop in its history. If you're going to watch the Dow, it helps to have plenty of Dramamine close by.
The Fed helped make that rally happen. It did. Officials promised to keep interest rates, not just low, but exceptionally low for at least two years. One econ professor says the Fed basically has admitted that the economy is going to stay weak through the middle of 2013.
On to the world of politics, the congressional super committee, the deficit killers assigned to lop a trillion dollars and change from the deficit is now taking shape. Harry Reid has named the Senate Democrats who will serve -- Patty Murray of Washington, Max Baucus of Montana and John Kerry of Massachusetts. Murray will act as co-chair.
Here's what senior political analyst David Gergen said about what lies ahead for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: All the indications are that there will be very tough fights ahead. There could easily be a stalemate in this committee. But I must say the Democrats generally are very supportive of Senator Reid's choices.
On the Republican side, there's a view these three, particularly Senator Murray, are very political. That she -- that not only will she be out there raising money, but her number one job is to protect Democrats up for re-election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Senate Republicans, House Republicans and House Democrats still have to appoint three members each. The committee is supposed to be set up by next week.
And the results came in a little while ago in Wisconsin's recall elections. Republicans held on to four of the six state Senate seats that were up for grabs, and they held on to their majority. Democrats needed three of those seats to take control, but they got only two.
Remember, this whole battle started in the winter when pro union protesters rallied against Republican Governor Scott Walker and legislation they claimed was anti-union.
Now to see how the world's money is doing this morning. Let's go live to Hong Kong and Andrew Stevens.
Andrew, how did the Asian and European markets do overnight?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, I'm still chuckling over that Dow-pocalypse line. I like that a lot.
But you'll be pleased to know there has been a relief rally here, certainly not surprising given we saw the Dow and S&P up 3 percent, 4 percent overnight for the Asian markets at least.
But it hasn't been a convincing rally, I'd have to say. If you look at Japan, one of the big markets here -- obviously, still the world's third biggest economy, up by over 1 percent -- just a little more than 1 percent. Hong Kong up by 2.3 percent. Australia up by 2.6 percent. Not bad.
Put that in context with the fact that the Asian markets as a whole are down about 13 percent over the previous six days' trading. It shows you they got a long way to go.
And if you go across the Europe at this hour, all the markets in Asia are closed. It's still trading in Europe. They're up, Carol. But, again, it's not convincing. London up by about 2/3 of 1 percent. Obviously, there's a lot of jitters about what's going on in the streets of many of those English cities.
But there's still this feeling that it's a rally, but no one is yet convinced.
COSTELLO: Well, if I'm sitting there at home and I'm thinking, but wow, the numbers are up, and maybe the worst is over, would I be right?
STEVENS: Well, I think it's just way too early to say. I mean, what we saw in the markets was, yes, there is some relief out there. But there are still mountains to climb.
As you pointed out, low interest rates for the next two years sounds great. It also indicates that the U.S. economy is expected to stay pretty weak for quite a long time.
Now, on top of that, you're going to have a bit of a focus swing back to what's going on in Europe, carol. As we know, there's been a debt crisis there that's been smoldering away for a long time now and doesn't show any signs of being put out once and for all by the authorities over there.
So, watch what happens in Europe. While Europe is still so volatile with its debt crisis, that's got to hit the markets.
And also, look out for what happens on the U.S. economic front. Look out for the next set of economic numbers in the U.S. If they're weak, we could start seeing selling off once again.
COSTELLO: OK. We'll keep an eye on it. Thanks so much.
You know, if you concentrate too much on the economy and the stock market, it gets really depressing. So, you have to laugh about it, right? Well, here's your punch line this morning. We have help for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
CONAN O'BRIEN, "CONAN": The stock market is acting like me after three appletinis. Actually two appletinis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Just the smell of an appletini.
O'BRIEN: A mentholated cough drop. I'm gone. The Vicks VapoRub just put me over.
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": It's now time for a bit we call "Ooh, I wish I hadn't said that." Now, tonight's installment features Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talking about the debt crisis. Listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we lose our credit rating or it jumps down to the next level, what does that mean? We have to pay higher interest rates to borrow money?
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: Oh, absolutely. But there's not a chance that's going to happen, Congressman. There's not a chance that's going to happen to this country.
LENO: That's right. There's not a chance, there's not a chance. Ahh!
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: If you didn't laugh, you'd cry.
Check out the quote of the day. "Like a manure spreader in a wind storm." Find out which newsmaker said that about President Obama.
It's seven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You know, you caught me, because I have this power bar to give myself energy to make it through the show. OK. I swallowed now. Sorry about that.
It's nine minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello.
Now, back to that quote of the day. Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty compared President Obama's handling of the economy to a, quote, "manure spreader in a wind storm, throwing everything into the wind without focus."
Pawlenty was speaking to a small crowd of people in Iowa yesterday. They received that gem.
Now, let's head to Atlanta to check on with Jacqui Jeras.
This is like deja vu all over again, isn't it?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: With the yeet (ph)?
COSTELLO: What?
JERAS: With what? Deja vu with that?
COSTELO: Oh, I'm sorry. I was talking -- I was talking about "Daybreak' because years ago, back in the day
JERAS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: We used to be together on another 5:00 a.m. show.
JERAS: Sorry. It takes me a while at 5:00 a.m. I'm not doing it every day anymore.
COSTELLO: I know. And you're probably really happy about that.
JERAS: You know what? It's fun. It's fun to do it now and then. Absolutely. And the moon was gorgeous this morning. If that wasn't a reason to get up this morning, I don't know what was, Carol.
COSTELLO: I like your 'tude.
JERAS: Just saying.
And we got some airport delays expected today. Right now, we're doing OK out of the gate. But we do expect things to get a little ugly around Boston. We've got some light rain and drizzle right now, low clouds. So, expect you're going to have some issues later on this morning.
Orlando, Miami, Tampa -- thunderstorms and heavy downpours from time to time. And we'll see that fog across parts of the West again into the San Francisco Bay Area.
Overall, we're going to be focusing in on the nation's midsection where we're expected to see showers and thunderstorms possibly becoming severe. So, be aware of that. It's already been a rough start this morning across parts of Nebraska, into Kansas and Oklahoma. But it does make for some great pictures.
Take a look at this video out that we had, Carol. This is out of western Nebraska, some storm chasers -- listen. Do you hear it?
Yes. There's Ping-Pong ball-sized hail in there. Look at that, comparing it to a tennis ball. That's some ugly stuff there.
A hundred sixty-seven reports of severe hail yesterday. But it all ends in a lovely rainbow.
COSTELLO: Oh, that makes it all worth it. That damage to your car, rainbow makes everything better.
JERAS: You know what? Anything for a smile. There it is. Ah!
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jacqui.
Viagra could get a makeover. Egyptian researchers have packed nano technology into a patch instead of a little blue pill. The idea here is slap that baby on and you get faster effect with fewer side effects. No word yet if or when the new Viagra patch will be made available.
Is it a boy? Is it a girl? You could find out at home. A new blood test now can tell the sex of your baby after just seven weeks. Critics say early tests like this could lead to abortions if mothers aren't happy with their baby's gender.
It's for sale in Europe. But does not have FDA approval yet. So, we won't see it here in the United States for a couple decades, right?
Incredible video of an accident in Houston. This one left investigators baffled. One good thing, no one was hurt. Details on exactly what happened.
It's 12 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Fourteen minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello. Good morning to you.
Michele Bachmann -- I'm sure you heard about this -- she graces this week's cover of "Newsweek." And as comedians put it, not so great release. So, what are they saying?
Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JIMMY FALLON, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": This is what Michele Bachmann looks like when she's relaxing. Come on. That's an unfair cover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me take the picture in three, two, one and not yet, wait. And take it.
FALLON: All right. Come on, pose. And three, two, one -- and almost -- not yet -- and -- no -- not happening. Hold on. I got it. I got it. No problem. It's going to be on the magazine cover.
LENO: Have you heard about the controversy with "Newsweek" magazine and Michele Bachmann? She's on the cover of "Newsweek." And her people are complaining and they say it makes her look crazy.
Here's the cover. That's what they say. I don't know.
Well, Nancy Pelosi saw it and Nancy Pelosi said, no, it doesn't look crazy to me. It looks fine.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh. That was funny.
And what a better way to set up our Political Ticker, Tim Farley.
You're not even laughing, Tim. What's with you? That was funny.
TIM FARLEY, "MORNING BRIEFING," SIRIUS XM POTUS: I feel like I look good now. I've seen so much of those pictures over the last couple of days. It's not a flattering picture.
But you know what? There's tons of them around. And we all have them in our closet somewhere. Luckily, you don't have to worry about that, do you, Carol?
COSTELLO: Oh, no, not me.
Oddly enough, I was talking to one political analyst who said this whole thing surrounding that "Newsweek" magazine cover will actually help Michele Bachmann because she hasn't really come out and said anything about it. She's just letting it slide and letting like, you know, people like reporters at "The New York Times" stand up for her.
FARLEY: Exactly. It may be the case. May be. We'll have to see.
How about this new committee? This is one-fourth of the way there. This is the new super committee that is making its way through. And Senator Harry Reid has finally named three members of that committee -- Senator Max Baucus, and Senator Patty Murray and Senator John Kerry.
We've got a couple of numbers people. Senator Murray knows about banking. She's on that committee. Senator Baucus, chair of the finance committee. Senator Kerry, of course, long-time veteran and someone who's dealt with numbers on defense with foreign relations.
But there's a complaint from Republicans saying that Patty Murray is a little bit too much --
COSTELLO: Already? No, come on? There's a complaint? Really? Oh, my gosh!
FARLEY: Yes.
What I think, though, Carol, is going to be the deciding factor is who are the Republicans going to name from the House of Representatives because they have to go after districts. That's really going to tell exactly how much ideology is at work here and whether there's any room for compromise whatsoever. We'll have to wait and see.
COSTELLO: Well, the rumor floating around is Eric Cantor is the leading contender. He's the guy that walked out of the negotiations. So, if the Republicans, you know, appoint somebody like Eric Cantor who is pretty steadfast in his beliefs, I don't know, that might throw a wrench into things before it even starts, right?
FARLEY: Yes. A lot of Republicans, Paul Ryan is another name thrown around. Dave Camp, who is in charge of appropriations.
As I say, it depends -- whoever they name to that committee might give you a sense of whether or not there's an opportunity to get seven votes out of 12 that would be necessary to keep it from triggering the so-called draconian cuts that would be called for if this committee can't come to some sort of a consensus.
COSTELLO: Well, they have until August 16th. We'll see what happens.
Let's talk about Jon Huntsman. He is making what his campaign is calling a major announcement in Florida today.
FARLEY: Yes. He's trying to get noticed, I guess, because tomorrow is the debate. And Saturday is this Ames straw poll. And Huntsman's campaign hasn't picked up traction.
Some people are wondering, well, could this be the end of the campaign? I kind of think not only because he has really been focusing on New Hampshire and a little on South Carolina and pretty much ignoring Iowa. I also don't think it's a Jeb Bush endorsement -- although that's part of the speculation. I guess we're just going to have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, he is getting at least a headline in this very tough month of August for him to get noticed.
COSTELLO: I know. He's been like virtually invisible. It's been an interesting phenomenon.
Hey, Tim Farley - -
FARLEY: Except when he plays the piano.
COSTELLO: He was good playing that Peanut song, wasn't he?
Thanks a lot, Tim. Tim Farley, host of "The Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS.
FARLEY: Thanks.
COSTELLO: If you're not looking at your TV screen at this very moment, this is something you must see. This gravel truck accident in Houston is being called bizarre and unexplainable.
The driver says he did not notice the trailer was rising until it slammed into the overhead sign. It also separated from the cab. Amazingly enough, no one was hurt in the accident but, as you might expect, it did cause big traffic headaches.
It can go from zero to 60 miles an hour in just seconds. But the U.S. is putting brakes on an Italian super car that cost $1 million. You heard me right. This 700 horsepower Huayra was supposed to go on sale this year. But federal safety regulators blocked the request over issues related to child safe advanced airbags. The automaker Pagani is now hoping to launch the car by 2013.
Every day on this show, we let you know what national day it is. Today it's National Day of Lazy. So crawl right back into bed even if it's for an extra five minutes before work.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Twenty-two minutes past the hour. I'm Carol Costello.
A tense calm at mid-morning in London after 16,000 police officers flood the streets trying to end the riots. Nearly 800 people arrested. Stores are ransacked. Cars are blackened.
And now, the rioting has spread to other cities.
Now, let's go around the world with Phil Black. He is live in London.
Phil, are things calm right now or still experiencing problems there?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it certainly has been a much calmer night on the streets of London so far.
I'm standing outside 10 Downing Street, the British prime minister's residence, where he's been holding a crisis meeting this morning with his senior ministers and senior police commanders, essentially to discuss the success, if you like, of the surge of police officers that we saw last night -- the increased police officer numbers to around 16,000. That's more than double what there was the previous night.
And on the face of it, it would seem to have been a success because there was no large-scale rioting on the streets of London. So, good news there.
But the prime minister still has other problems. We've seen the disturbances spread to other U.K. cities with significant disturbances there. So, there is still some work yet for the prime minister, for British police to do, to determine and end, or find a resolution to this on going problem, Carol.
COSTELLO: State Department is now telling Americans in London to be on alert. I mean, you don't -- I mean, you never expect to hear that about London.
BLACK: No, indeed. And it's essentially good advice. But to put it in proper context, only in certain areas. Much of London is largely problem-free. You'd had no idea that a lot of this activity is taking place in certain neighborhood.
Certainly, the major shopping areas, business centers and so forth are operating absolutely normally.
But it is essentially good advice to simply be aware of what may be happening in certain districts because the nature of these riots is that they have been very fast-moving. They described them as flash riots, group of people coming together very, very quickly and causing these disturbances -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Phil Black live in London -- thanks so much.
Now, let's head to Syria. The United States is inching ever closer to calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Sources telling CNN the announcement should be made in the coming days.
CNN's Fareed Zakaria discussed that development on "JOHN KING, USA."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: It puts the screws even further on Assad. But I think it doesn't -- it is not the beginning of the end. John, what we've realized about many of these regimes is that they are real police states, really brutal, really tough and they're tough to crack.
Sanctions didn't get rid of Saddam Hussein. Sanctions and a no- fly zone haven't gotten rid of Moammar Gadhafi. And I doubt the sanctions will get rid of President Assad in Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: One human rights group says more than 2,300 people have been killed in the Syrian crack down.
An American woman missing in Aruba. Her name is Robyn Gardner. She's 35 years old. She's from Maryland. Search crews have been scouring an area of the western tip of the island. Gardner was last seen there August 2nd.
Her travelling companion says they've been snorkeling. He's now considered a suspect in the case.
The riots of Britain, they've been a boom for sales of some sporting goods. We'll tell you about that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Wednesday, August 10th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello, joining you live this morning from New York. It's 29 minutes past the hour.
Let's take a quick look at how the world markets are doing. Most all the Asian markets posted gains today. Most European markets have opened on the plus side. U.S. stock futures have been all over the place.
Of course, the Dow finished up nearly 430 points Tuesday. That's the tenth largest point gain in history. The Fed helped make that rally happen.
Officials promised to keep interest rates exceptionally low for at least two more years. That's how the Fed made that happen. The interest rates couldn't go lower, so they went longer.
One economist tells CNN's Piers Morgan why that's not normal Fed behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE SWONK, ECONOMIST, MESIROW FINANCIAL: I think there was a bit of a shock at how much the Fed acknowledged the economy was weak by saying in an unprecedented statement that they could keep it at the zero target until mid-2013. They actually put a date on it. That's just not done by the Federal Reserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Another economist says the Fed basically has admitted the economy is going to stay weak through the middle of 2013.
The Congressional super committee assigned to lop a trillion dollars in change from the deficit is now taking shape. Harry Reid has named the Democrats who will serve. They are Patty Murray of Washington, Max Baucus of Montana, and John Kerry of Massachusetts. So, we're a quarter of the way there. Senate Republican, House Republicans, and House Democrat still have to appoint three members each. The committee is supposed to be set up by next week.
We've seen what's been going on in Britain the past few days, fires, looting, marauding, gangs. One byproduct of the violence, the sale of aluminum baseball bats has skyrocketed. Amazon reports its orders on Tuesday were up more than 8,000 percent. The Amazon Discussion Board, there were commons like, we'll suit any UK shop owner looking to protect their property. If you find yourself not able to update your status on Facebook, anonymous might be to blame. A YouTube message purported to be from the hacker group is vowing to kill Facebook come November 5th. The reason, your privacy. The video message says even if you delete your account, all your information stays on Facebook. Facebook is not commenting on the alleged plot.
Just days before President Obama and his family are supposed to go on vacation, there's been a small fire at his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard. The fire chief of Chill Mark, Massachusetts says an outdoor gas grill caught fire at the main house at Blue Heron Farm. The damage was minor.
The London riots no doubt a serious situation, but count on comedians to find the funny side. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JON STEWART, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART: How bad has the situation gotten?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been called the battle for London. It's been called mindless violence.
STEWART: It's been called the hoodie bitch (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: The regrettable hullabalou.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Beef Yellington.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Here's what you got to love about anarchy in the UK, even the looters queue up.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Tough times in Britain for, well, nearly all businesses. It's not all, some businesses. Seeing an emergency glass repair van driving through a riot torn neighborhood rife with flying rocks, not the same without musical accompaniment.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Benny Hill. In today's businessman's special, Apple beats out gasoline if only for a brief moment. We'll have details for you in 60 seconds. Got to pay the bills. It's 32 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: It is 33 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello. Now, back to our businessman's special. Apple computer became the most valuable company in America yesterday. It beat out ExxonMobil, but just for a moment. Exxon ended the day at the top of the heap. Well, it should know how it goes today.
For your morning money news, let's turn to Christine Romans. She is live in New York. Hi, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
COSTELLO: So -- and looking at markets, the stock market had a great day yesterday. The futures are looking great, and now, I'm thinking that somebody on Wall Street is making a lot of money because of all this up and down of the stock market.
ROMANS: Oh, yes. You know, people always make money when there's a lot of volatility. People also lose money as well. And Carol, this is when I usually give you my morning market call, but I'm not going to, because it's completely volatile and no one knows how the day is going to end up. Futures actually are down right now. Dow futures are down about, I don't, 20 points or so. So, that's indicating a little bit of skittishness this morning.
But, it's, you know, all about sort of day two, parsing the Fed and what the fed's statement, as you heard from Diane Swonk earlier, that it's going to keep rates exceptionally low at least through 2013. I mean, for those of us covering the Fed and covering markets for a long time, it's unheard of for the Fed to give you just such a clear assessment of how long it's going to do something.
So, also saying that it has an array of policy tools that it can, you know, been talking about that they can use. So, we'll see how that plays out today. But, still, carol, volatile, volatile, volatile. Any little piece of news can move this fragile market one way or the other. So, buckle up.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, we've been buckled for a few days now, so it's no big thing for us. It's a big day for News Corp. I guess, earnings are coming out today. The company had its first board meeting in Los Angeles, and according to Bloomberg Magazine, News Corp's James Murdoch is setting a deadline this week to defend the accuracy of his testimony.
ROMANS: That's right. A lot of news in that UK hacking scandal today. We'll be looking forward. We'll see whether News Corp says anything about it in its earnings which come out later today. There was a board meeting yesterday. So, they may very well have discussed it there. We can be hearing more about it in the earnings and the earnings call today. And you're right.
James Murdoch has a deadline this week to appear or to at least respond to questions from parliament about just what he knew when, about how many reporters at the News Corp empire had been involved in this phone hacking. He had said he only knew about one. He had testified he only knew about one. Some of the former "News of the World" editors told parliament, otherwise. Today is the deadline there. So, look for some drama in the News Corp story in the phone hacking scandal again today, Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll be ready. Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: Sure.
COSTELLO: Chad Ochocinco wants to get acquainted with his new fans in a much different way, because, you know, he's gone to the New England Patriots now. The Patriots wide receiver hopes someone will open their home and let him move in. His only two requests? We'll tell you just ahead.
But first, as you're drinking your coffee this morning, check out our "Get Smart" question. Which country produces the most coffee? Brazil, Colombia or Honduras? We'll tell you the answer after the break. It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 39 minutes past the hour. This is you're A.M WAKE-UP CALL. Now, back to our "Get Smart" question of the day. You should have gone this. If you didn't get the right answer to this question, you need to go back to bed. Which country produces the most coffee? That would be Brazil. So, the answer is A.
Now, for our "Political Ticker," let's bring in comedian and host of "Standup With Pete Dominick" on Sirius XM POTUS channel. Pete, it's so nice seeing you so early in the morning.
PETE DOMINICK, HOST OF STANDUP WITH PETE DOMINICK: Good morning, Carol. I would have said Colombia. So, does that mean I need to go back to bed? That'd be great.
COSTELLO: Absolutely. Get out of here.
(LAUGHTER)
DOMINICK: All right. I'm out of here.
COSTELLO: No, no. Pete, stay for a while because we have to talk politics, because, you know, you can put a comedic spin on this, and because that's what it really needs these days, frankly. Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, he's already picked his three Democratic senators to serve on that super committee, but as you might expect, Republicans are already condemning one of his picks, that would be Patty Murray. Why?
DOMINICK: Well, Reince Priebus who is head of the RNC put out a complaint. And, you know, listen, he could have just filled in the blanks with who he is going to complain about because that's his job. That's what they do. You'll hear something similar from this DNC, just filling in the blanks. But, the reason Senator Patty Murray is in charge of fundraising for Senate campaigns, and so, he doesn't think that she should be on that, but they're going to criticize whatever choices they make for these 12 senators, the super committee, or Carol, as I'm now referring to them, "the dirty dozen."
But it's not only Republicans that complain. There's plenty of campaign advocates that want to take the money out of campaigns from other organizations that are also complaining that Patty Murray is on here, because they think her big concern will be fundraising. But there's a lot to complain about. Whoever they choose, they're all going to be put under a microscope, whatever they -- this committee of 12 people, they're going to be lobbied harder than any other 12 or any one person on any committee ever by the lobbyists. Take the money out. That's what people are saying.
COSTELLO: Well, I don't think that's possible, sadly, but I understand where they're coming from.
DOMINICK: Yes.
COSTELLO: Speaking of money, did you hear about this Missouri mom. She's also a broker. She sort of sent this message to S&P for downgrading the U.S. credit status. She hired a plane to fly a banner over the S&P headquarters in New York saying thanks for the downgrade, you should all be fired. You've got to admire her (INAUDIBLE).
DOMINICK: Thanks for the downgrade, you should all be fired, and apparently, originally, this anonymous broker from St. Louis wanted to fly this over Washington, D.C. That was the initial intention, but, of course, Carol, you can't fly planes over Washington, D.C., especially when they're carrying a message, because if you could, there would constantly be planes flying over Washington, D.C., carrying messages about why they should be fired.
So, they ended up flying it over Wall Street, near standard & Poor's, actually. But, I love this. You know, with all this new technology we've forgotten about some of the older ways to protest which is some of the great ways, dragging a banner behind a plane. I love it!
COSTELLO: So Americana. Thank you, Pete Dominick. It was nice seeing you so early.
DOMINICK: You, too, Carol. Thank you.
COSTELLO: NFL star, Chad Ochocinco, is looking for a roommate, but not just anyone. He's hoping to crash with a New England Patriots fan for a few weeks until he can learn his way around Boston after leaving the Cincinnati Bengals. His top two requests, they must have Internet access and an Xbox. No word yet on any fan takers.
Just so you now, this day back in history, back in 1776, London learned that Americans had drafted the Declaration of Independence. It's 43 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It's Wednesday, August 10th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live this morning from New York. It's 45 minutes past the hour. A tense calm at mid morning in London after 16,000 police officers flood the streets trying to end the riots. Nearly 800 people have now been arrested. Stores are ransacked, cars are blackened, and now, the rioting has spread to other cities. Let's check in with Phil Black. He is live in London where, I guess, you're awaiting another comment from the prime minister.
BLACK: Yes, indeed, Carol. That's right. He's been in 10 Downing Street this morning, meeting with his senior ministers and senior police commanders. We're expecting him to come out at any moment to make a statement. They've been reviewing the success of last night's police operation which, as you mentioned, involved the surge of 16,000 police officers onto the streets of London. And on the face of it, it seems to have worked.
It was a much quieter night on the streets of London. There were no large-scale incidents of rioting, still dozens of arrests, but that's very much the image or the presence that the prime minister is trying to convey. The fact the police are on the streets in big numbers, and they are now very much in charge, and he's a leader very much in charge of the situation. So, while London seems to have been calm, he still has some other problems.
There have been some large-scale disturbances in other UK cities. And you can expect him to come under increasing political pressure, too, about just what the cause of this rioting was, and also, the government's plans to slash some public spending budgets as part of its overall debt reduction plan.
The government was planning on cutting the police budget, cutting police numbers. And in the face of recent events, the prime minister now has political opponents and allies suggesting that, perhaps, that is not such a good idea -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Perhaps not since you need extra police officers now to bring calm back to the streets of London and beyond. Let's talk about the reason that these riots are spreading to other towns, because we have heard it's grown beyond the initial reason of, you know, that terrible police shooting, and people are protesting because they don't have jobs, and it's because of these big cuts in spending by the government.
BLACK: Well, there's a lot of speculation about this. And to be honest, there's still no clear answer. I think it is certainly fair to say that initial motivation that we saw on Saturday night in that one isolated part of London which was frustration, anger over a police shooting earlier in the week, I don't think that is, in any way, linked to what we have seen grow and spread across London, and now, even beyond London as well.
From the point of view of the officials, the authorities here, they believe it is only criminality. It is looting. It is causing damage and destruction, and there's no clear political or genuine grievance involved here in any way.
COSTELLO: Which, of course, makes it tougher to control. Phil Black, many thanks, live from London this morning.
Now, two days after the Dow-pocalypse and three business days after the U.S. credit rating was taken down a notch, let's see how the world markets are doing. Most all of the Asian markets posted gains today. European markets have been in the green. U.S. stock futures have been, well, they've been all over the place, so far.
Of course, the Dow spent part of yesterday in deep in the red, but it finished up nearly 430 points, and that would be the tenth largest point gain in the Dow's history. Of course, that came a day after the sixth biggest drop in its history.
On to Syria now, the United States is coming closer to calling on Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad to step down. Sources telling CNN the announcement should be made in the coming days. CNN's Fareed Zakaria discussed the development on "John King USA."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: It puts the screws even further on Assad, but I think it doesn't -- it is not the beginning of the end. John, what we've realized about many of these regimes is they are real police states, really brutal, really tough, and they're tough to crack. Sanctions didn't get rid of Saddam Hussein. Sanctions and a no-fly zone, so far, have not gotten rid of Moammar Gadhafi. And I doubt that sanctions will get rid of President Assad in Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: One human rights group says more than 2,300 people have been killed in that Syrian crackdown.
The results from Wisconsin's recall elections are in, and Republicans held on to four of the six Senate seats that were up for grabs, and they held on to their majority. That's what that means. Democrats needed three of the seats to take control, but got only two. Remember, this battle started in the winter when pro-union protesters rallied against Republican governor, Scott Walker, and legislation they claimed was anti-union.
Let's head to the weather center now and Jacqui Jeras. And I'm sure you're going to have a beautiful forecast for everyone across the country.
JERAS: You're so funny, but you know, it's never the case, right?
COSTELLO: I know.
JERAS: You know, like my bright spot today is that Oklahoma City is probably only going to get to 99 today.
COSTELLO: Oh, wow!
JERAS: So, this is the first time in weeks that they haven't had an excessive heat advisory in effect. So yeah!
COSTELLO: I know. It's crazy when 99 is cool.
JERAS: I know, right? It is close to their average high for this time of year. All right. Travelers want to know, though, what's going on out there at the airports and in terms of, you know, thunderstorms, and we've had a lot of action across the plain states overnight and early this morning. So, no flight delays right now, but say, Kansas City towards St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Denver, you might have to do a little flying around these thunderstorms. So, be aware of that.
And we are expecting delays later today. Boston, New York City, we're going to have some low clouds in Boston. New York looking for some winds to potentially hold you up. Orlando, Tampa, Miami, showers and thunderstorms especially this afternoon. That fog is going to be with you all week in San Francisco, unfortunately. So, arrival delays especially if you're flying from elsewhere in the country heading into San Francisco.
Delays in D.C due to the wind as well. And thunderstorms in Memphis, those could be strong, possibly severe. Look at that whole area where we're expecting severe weather today. So, the heat stays shoved a little farther down to the south of there. So, yea Oklahoma City, yea, Kansas City. I think they're looking a lot better there. So, we'll show you the sunny and the good stuff across the west -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yea! What about Texas, though? I mean, is it still in the grips of the terrible heat wave?
JERAS: Yes, they really are. And, you know, still looking at probably 106 today in Dallas and that streak of days hundred-plus will continue. They're probably going to break that record right next week.
COSTELLO: Well, at least, they have the comfort of knowing they're going to break a record. Seriously get something out of it.
JERAS: Yes. Well, hottest July ever in Dallas.
COSTELLO: Yea. Thank you, Jacqui.
Before we go, let's take a look at the word of the day. The word of the day would be rage. The word was used in a "Newsweek" headline and describes GOP presidential candidate, Michele Bachmann, as the queen of rage. So, do you think the word fits the woman? We're spelling out the definition. It's 52 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Fifty-six minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. The word of the day, rage. There are four definitions according to the Merriam Webster dictionary. The first definition is violent and uncontrolled anger, the second, violent action, and the third, intense feeling, and the fourth, a fad pursued with intense enthusiasm. You know, it's all the rage.
"Newsweek's" cover story describes Republican presidential candidate, Michele Bachmann, as the queen of rage. Some say the definition does not fit. Some say the headline is sexist. One person not weighing in, Michele Bachmann, herself. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Here are three things to put on your radar today.
Keep your eye out for some important housing numbers this morning. The MBA Mortgage Index is out at seven o'clock eastern.
Plus, at 9:00 this morning, the Pentagon will hold a briefing on Afghanistan. We're expecting to take questions about that helicopter crash that killed 30 American troops.
And the president is hosting an iftar dinner to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan tonight at the White House. It's a tradition started by President Bill Clinton and continued by President George W. Bush.
Now, let's go to Carter Evans for a look at your money this morning. He joins us live from the NASDAQ market site here in New York. I guess, overnight oil prices dropped which I always think is a good thing for the people at home, but is it really?
CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, oil prices went down, then they went up again. They're actually up three percent this morning, kind of like futures, all over the place. But, Carol, I wanted to show you something kind of interesting. OK. So, this is the intraday chart for the Dow yesterday. This is when the Fed released its statement, these big drops here in negative territory, and then, all of a sudden, it rocketed up 400 points.
This period was why investors were trying to figure out exactly what the Fed meant with the statement. They were trying to interpret it. First, it seemed like bad news, and then, clearly, they thought it was good news. It's not necessarily showing today in the futures, though. Currently, Dow futures are flat. NASDAQ futures are down 7.5. S&P futures are down about four points. I agree with Christine. Anything can happen today. Futures are going to be changing a lot.
But one thing is for sure and this is on CNNMoney.com today, stocks are selling at fire sale prices on Wall Street. Stocks have fallen 15 percent during the last month. They're down 20 percent since April's high, but companies are still delivering very, very strong results. There are lots of really good bargains out there. This is a good story.
Also, Carol, do you have an iPhone?
COSTELLO: No, I'm one of the few people in America that does not have an iPhone. I have a good old-fashioned Blackberry.
EVANS: You still got one of those CrackBerrys. OK. To everybody who has an iPhone, this is a very interesting thing story you should read on CNNMoney.com, your password can be hacked in 18 minutes if you have an iPhone. Something very interesting. A password made of four numeric Characterers takes 18 minutes to hack, alphanumeric characters four then takes 51 minutes. If you have eight alphanumeric characters, it takes 13,000 years to crack that password.
COSTELLO: You know, my husband read that article, and he made me change all of my passwords and now, I don't remember what they are.
EVANS: I know. I have that problem, too.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much, Carter.
Oh! We got a hot summer, but comedian, Stephen Colbert, wants you to know it's just heatsteria. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE COLBERT REPORT: The media is trying to convince us that this summer has been extra hot by throwing around fake temperatures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Feels like 116 in Little Rock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 104 degrees officially, a 115 with the heat index.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 121 degrees is what it felt like.
COLBERT: Big deal.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: Pundits and part time weather balloon, Rush Limbaug --
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: Is not buying the heatsteria.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The heat index manufactured by the government to tell you what it feels like.
COLBERT: The heat index is just more big government numbers telling you how hot to feel.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: Just like their time index tells you how sleepy to feel. Oh, it's midnight here, but it's 9:00 in L.A. Which is it, President Obama?
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: I don't have to go to bed.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Really needed that. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
That does it for WAKE-UP CALL. "AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
