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American Morning: Wake Up Call
New Low for Obama's Approval Rating; Bachmann Wins; Pawlenty; Norway Suspect Returns To Scene; Judge Sentenced in "Kids For Cash"; Bart Riders Warned Of Protest
Aired August 15, 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: Good morning to you. It is Monday, August 15th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York.
Let's talk about the news today.
Gas up the bus. President Obama getting ready for a three-day road tour of the Midwest.
His approval ratings? Well, they're somewhere under the bus.
Take a look. Gallup's daily tracking poll shows his job approval below 30 percent for the first time. Fifty-four percent of respondents give him a thumbs-down. The whole debt ceiling fiasco has chipped away at the 53 percent approval rating he had after Osama bin Laden's death.
So, is it time for him to worry about 2012?
Listen to what the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: Not at all. The president is in actually remarkably good shape, given that he is still struggling to help pull our economy out of the Republican recession that he inherited. His numbers are still strong. He still has widespread support.
If anyone is in trouble, it's the Republican Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Two of the president's stops will be in Iowa. Rick Perry will be campaigning there for the next three days now that he is officially in the race.
You've got to think Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is loving Iowa right now. She finished first in the Ames straw poll. Ron Paul a close second, and then Pawlenty and Santorum.
Yes, Pawlenty trounced Jon Huntsman and Thaddeus McCotter, but it was not enough. Ames was the straw that broke his campaign's back. You'll hear from Pawlenty in 20 seconds.
Right now, a few words from the winner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been able to attract a lot of people to vote for me who are Democrats and independents. That's what we have to do. This won't be just a conservative election. This is really going to be an economics election. People want to know who can turn the country around. That will be the big question.
TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: We needed to get some lift to continue on and to have a pathway forward. That didn't happen. So, I'm announcing this morning on your show that I'm going to be ending my campaign for president.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: In other news this morning, a memorial service at the Indiana state fair. Yes, it will open again today. Indiana state fair has been closed since that deadly accident Saturday. Five people waiting for a Sugarland concert were killed when a powerful gust of wind knocked metal scaffolding over the stage. At least 40 people were hurt, including some children. Five people died.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels choked up talking about how people rushed to rescue those trapped underneath the stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MITCH DANIELS (R), INDIANA: Everybody I debriefed this morning, people rushing up, I'm a nurse, I'm a doctor, I'm a trained EMS responder, but also people who simply pitched in -- and the character that we associate with our state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So sad.
The fair will reopen, as I said, with a memorial ceremony for the victims.
The hacking group called Anonymous apparently has struck again. This time, it appears it got into BART's internal network. BART is the name of the San Francisco Bay Area's rapid transit system. The hackers are now urging people to protests this afternoon outside of the Civic Center Station. Anonymous is upset with BART's decision to cut off cell phone signals at certain subway stations.
And remember this bizarre video, coffee, tea, a bat? Well, guess what? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention thinks there is a chance the bat had rabies. That's in a Delta plane.
The animal disappeared near the lavatory. So, there's no way to test it. The CDC is trying to get in touch with all 50 on board that Delta flight. In case you're wondering, it was Delta flight 5121 from Madison, Wisconsin, to Atlanta on August 5th.
Now to see how the world's money is doing this morning. The Hang Seng and Nikkei closed in the black. Right now, the FTSE 100 and the DAX are also up.
But, let's go to London in Nina do Santos.
Nina, how are the markets doing right now?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
Well, they seem to be doing quite well, especially here in Europe, all of those markets, even (INAUDIBLE). It's really taking a battering over the last week or so on the back of concerns that France, Europe's second largest economy, could be facing some pretty tough times ahead, concerns about the E.U.'s debt crisis entering French territory now.
What we've got is the European markets rebounding on the back of Asia.
We even have the U.S. markets positive, if you take a look at the futures at the moment. They're indicating we could see a slightly higher open when Wall Street trades a little bit later on today.
But there is a note of caution here. I'm about to read it to you. It's coming from Robert Zoellick, the head of World Bank. He's been saying the events of late, politically speaking, not just in the Euro zone but also in the United States have led many market participants to lose confidence in economic leadership as some of the key countries around the world. And he says that we could be entering a new danger zone, quote, "He said he doesn't take those words lightly."
The reason why these kinds of comments coming from Zoellick are some important at the moment, Carol, is because tomorrow, what we're going to have is the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, meeting with Angela Merkel, to hammer out concrete guidance and concrete measures to try and prevent contagion of this Euro zone's debt crisis. That is the underlying issue that the markets perceive as yet unresolved.
But, for the moment, we're boldly speaking, looking positive.
COSTELLO: OK. So, depending how that meeting goes, that means that this coming week may be as bumpy as last week's wild ride on Wall Street, right?
DOS SANTOS: Yes, it's amazing if you look at the kind of point swings. Obviously, you'll know better than I will, Carol, that we had the Dow Jones industrials Average swinging by 400 points from the upside and into the downside from one day to the next. It was really -- a white knuckle ride.
And we saw a similar situation here in Europe as well. For the moment, the markets were up to the tune of about 1.25 percent for the best performers. Last week, they were up and down by 4.5 percent, puts it into context.
COSTELLO: Nina los Santos, thank you very much.
Upon that news, we need to laugh, right? Comedian Jay Leno wants you to know just how bad the economy is. Here's your punch line this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: During the coin toss for last night's Cowboys-Broncos game, the teams were fighting over the coin.
(MUSIC)
LENO: The economy is so bad, Kelsey Grammar's ex-wife has talked about how small his 401(k) is.
(MUSIC)
LENO: Given how bad it is, China told us we need to be out by the end of the month. That's how bad.
(MUSIC)
LENO: The economy is so bad, my cat sold my dog to a North Korean restaurant. That's how bad.
Terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You just got to laugh.
A tropical storm barreling through the Atlantic Ocean. Meteorologist Ron Marciano is tracking the storm. He'll tell us where it's heading in just a minute.
But, first, here's the quote of the day: "Romney better strap it on and get on the field." Find out who said this about the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. That's coming your way in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is eight minutes after the hour.
This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Good morning to you.
Now back to that quote of the day. This was quote: "Romney better strap it on and get on the field." That came from Republican consultant Henry Barbour. He said that to "The Huffington Post" over the weekend in reaction to Romney's placement in the Ames straw poll. Mitt Romney came in last of the major candidates. He was beaten out by write-in candidate Rick Perry.
Now, let's head to Atlanta and the weather center and Rob Marciano.
We're tracking a tropical storm. I guess it's Gert.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is Gert. I'll tell you what, this hurricane season. Better strap it on and get on the field as well because if Gert doesn't become a hurricane, this will be the longest stretch of not having a hurricane -- basically going from A to G and not having a storm, that's a record. Not having a hurricane.
COSTELLO: That's a good thing.
MARCIANO: Yes, it is. It's also a good thing that this one is kind of sort of in the middle of the ocean. The folks in Bermuda aren't too happy about it. It's going to pass very, very close to it.
There it is -- winds at 60 miles per hour. That yellow box is another area of disturbed weather that we're watching. But we're not terribly concerned with that.
Here's the forecast. The Gert, of course, stays off the U.S. mainland but it will scoot just past Bermuda later on today. Right now, it's about 105 miles to the southeast of Bermuda, heading in that general direction, up towards the north that at about 14 miles per hour.
So, it's not forecast to become a hurricane. If it doesn't, that would be a record.
All right. Check out some of these numbers for New York and the surrounding areas of seeing a tremendous amount of rainfall yesterday. There was flooding all over the tri-state area. Jersey, New York, even Pennsylvania is seeing down across near Philly. Connecticut saw some heavy rain as well.
The rain today is going to be tapering off. Travel delays, there you go. New York, and Boston might see a few more with the extended showers.
Quick TwitPic from an astronaut. You know about the Perseid meteor showers. You've seen it over, Carol. But have you seen from the outer space? Maybe the International Space Station.
COSTELLO: Wow!
MARCIANO: Well, if I was out there, I'd snap a picture up, too, because it's a different vantage point. Isn't that cool? You actually see the meteors going into the atmosphere from above.
COSTELLO: Wow.
MARCIANO: Thank you to Ron Garan who's up in the International Space Station.
COSTELLO: That was awesome. Thank you for the treat this morning. We appreciate it.
MARCIANO: All right, Carol. You're welcome.
COSTELLO: See you later. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
COSTELLO: Now, today's edition of what is it? Is it a stadium? Is it a spaceship? Is it a vanilla fruit loop?
None of the above. It's the proposed massive headquarters building for Apple. As long as the city of Cupertino, California goes along with it, Apple hopes to break ground next year on the 2.8 million square foot building. That's pretty darn cool.
You may think it's only to line your sidewalk, but a Denver inventor is using his solar light bulb to light the world -- specifically, the underdeveloped world. Steve Katsaros named his company Nokero, meaning no kerosene as in kerosene lamps. According to the company, the underdeveloped world spends $38 billion a year on fuel for light.
And do you think the epicenter of the economic world is Wall Street? Think again. It may just be New Jersey -- and all the high- speed computer service there and other places. In fact, the high frequency trading is up more than 50 percent and the SEC blames the 2010 flash crash at least in part on computer trading. It's not all good news.
Back to school time. The typical classroom supply list probably goes something like this -- pens, pencils, binder, human bones? A real skeleton somehow ends up as a classroom prop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Fourteen minutes past the hour. Good morning to you.
It was a big week for Republicans -- the big debate, the Iowa straw poll. Comedians took the chance to rip into them.
Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
LENO: I tuned in "America's Got Talent" last night. I said to myself, boy, the contestants -- they really sucked. Then I realized I was watching that Republican presidential debate. That's what it was. That's what it was. That's what it was.
You can tell the candidates method of transportation says a lot about how their campaign is going. Take a look, you see what I mean.
Here's Mitt Romney, that's the Mitt mobile. Fancy bus he's got there. See? That's an expensive thing.
Now, that's Michele Bachmann. She's got has a big fancy bus, too. Look at that all air conditioning, everything in there.
Newt Gingrich, not too well. Yes, just --
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: I think Jay Leno is a Democrat.
Time now for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM, live from Washington.
Good morning.
TIM FARLEY, "MORNING BRIEFING" HOST, SIRIUS XM POTUS: Good morning.
I think Jay Leno is an opportunist. He's just an equal opportunity offender. He takes whatever he can. Quite a weekend, wasn't it, in Iowa? We saw the departure of Tim Pawlenty as a result of the straw poll which is not a determinative thing -- but Rick Perry getting into the race. Things are askew, a little crazy right now.
And it looks like Rick Perry, after speaking yesterday, the same dinner where Michele Bachmann was speaking, is on a hot and heavy tour of Iowa for the next couple of days. Then he's going to spend some time in New Hampshire. It's going to be an interesting thing to watch.
Also, the fact that Ron Paul did so well in the straw poll on Saturday. He could be a factor moving forward, too.
It looks like, though, Carol, by most accounts, this is really right now at least, three people that you have to watch most closely. That would be Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney. With the exception of what is Sarah Palin going to do. We saw her running around like a rock star over the weekend also.
COSTELLO: Yes, we did. Going back to Bachmann and Rick Perry, people are trying to find a contrast between the two candidates. They're both Tea Party favorites.
There was an interesting article in "Politico" this morning that said the difference between the two really like was accentuated in Iowa. For example, Rick Perry was very much among the people -- sitting at tables and shaking hands, putting his arms around voters, et cetera et cetera. It said that Michele Bachmann was more like a celebrity, didn't get off the bus until the last minute. She didn't really mingle with the fans. She had security surrounding her.
Iowa voters really responded more to Rick Perry than Michele Bachmann, they said.
FARLEY: That's probably the true at the dinner last night, although most people who watched the campaigning leading up to the straw poll would say it's her strength with people one-on-one that helped her get that victory. So, I'm not sure that last night's dinner was the best example of whether or not she can do the retail politicking that's necessary. It seemed that she exhibited that talent pretty strongly and wound up winning that straw poll on Saturday.
COSTELLO: Got you. I couldn't hear the last part of what you said. I had a technical difficulty -- but no worries.
Of course, President Obama's on his bus tour. We're going to talk about that later this morning.
Tim Farley, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.
FARLEY: Thanks.
COSTELLO: All you coffee junkies out there, listen up -- you know who you are, the Red Bull warriors -- if you want to know how to kick the daily habit, here's a quick how-to on using caffeine strategically to help you get through in a pinch. First of all, adjust tolerance. It takes about a week to build it up and 10 days to work it off.
So, plan ahead. Learn how it works, I'll spare you the science lesson, but the bottom line, caffeine even stops your body from getting signals that it's tired. That's a bad thing you say?
Anyway, if you combine naps and caffeine, you'll get the biggest boost. And when it's not go time, drink decaf coffee. There you have it.
I never want to kick the caffeine habit because I love it.
A typical elementary school anatomy class probably goes something like this. A quick verse of head and shoulders, knees and toes, show and tell, prop skeleton and call it a day.
But a New Zealand teacher just realized that the classroom skeleton is not a plastic model. It was the real thing. Historians examined the bones. They say they were a medical specimen at some point. But how they became classroom supplies, nobody knows. It remains a mystery.
Home sweet home for $160 million. London's luxury home market is red hot. Hear what's behind the buying spree.
But first, we have two national days off for you. For optimists, that's the National Day of Relaxation. And for pessimists, it's the National Day of Failures.
It's 19 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 21 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Here are three things to put on your radar today. President Obama kicks off his three-day bus tour in the Midwest today. He's planning to meet with small business owners to talk about the economy and creating jobs.
Tropical storm Gert is expected to skirt Bermuda this afternoon. The Hurricane Center predicts large swells that are likely to cause life-threatening surf on the island.
We're also watching for developments in the case of an American woman missing in Aruba. We expect to find out what's next for the man being detained in her disappearance.
Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is back in court today, accused of giving the order to kill hundreds of protestors. He pleaded not guilty -- the same plea as his sons and a former interior minister.
Let's go around the world now with Mohammed Jamjoom. He's live in Cairo.
Mohammed, Mubarak is back in the cage, right, along with his sons? What's happening now?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. We're seeing the deposed Egyptian president and his sons in that iron and mesh cage in the courtroom. They are there as defendants today.
This is the second hearing in their trial. The first one was on August 3rd.
Now, inside the courtroom today, so far has mainly been taken up with procedural matters. There are a lot of civil claimants, a lot of people representing families of the victims of revolution, people that were killed during Egypt's uprising, that are trying to get involved in this case, trying to link up their cases with the criminal proceedings. There's been presentation of evidence. A little bit of confusion in the courtroom as to how exactly this will play out at this point.
Outside the courtroom, though, there has been violence, clashes throughout the morning between anti-Mubarak protestors and pro-Mubarak demonstrators. This happened on August 3rd as well when the trial started.
Today, at different times throughout the morning, they've been throwing rocks at one another, riot police had been deployed. A lot of emotions are really running throughout the streets of Cairo and especially outside of the courtroom. Some people think it's undignified for a former president to be treated that way. Others there are saying this is great for the country, this is the only way the country will heal, and that he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Hosni Mubarak's health isn't any better? He's still suffering from whatever malady he was suffering from before?
JAMJOOM: Well, Carol, there's been a lot of speculation and rumor about his health. Many people here in Cairo simply don't believe the claims of the Mubarak team, his defense attorney. They believe that this is a ploy for sympathy. That the former president was trying to get sympathy, trying to get some kind of amnesty or clemency granted so that he wouldn't have to appear in the courtroom at any time.
Nonetheless, he did appear on August 3rd, he's appearing today. They wheeled him in on a stretcher. But I can say that a lot of people here are very dubious, very skeptical here in Egypt as to the claims of his poor health. They believe, again, that he's really just trying to get sympathy from the public.
And by most accounts, the people that we're speaking with, that doesn't seem to be working. A lot of people we talked with in Egypt, even though there are supporters, believe this is a good thing for the country, that he should be prosecuted and it's good that he's actually being made to appear in the courtroom as a defendant in this case -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mohammed Jamjoom, live in Cairo -- thanks so much.
If you want to buy a luxury home in London, be ready to dig deep. Prices are skyrocketing in the central part of the city as buyers look for a safe place to park their money. This is heath hall -- cue the music to lifestyles of the rich and famous and brace yourself for the price tag.
This home is on the market for $160 million. That includes sweeping staircases and indoor pool, tennis court, two kitchens. Just one example -- London's luxury home prices are up 10 percent in the last year. So see? Somebody has money somewhere.
IPhone mania is gripping the world. According to "Digit Times," Apple says it expects to sell some 56 million iPhones in the second half of the year. Half of those phones will be the new iPhone 5 which by the way isn't even out yet. It should hit the shelves this fall.
Sixty thousand pounds of beef recalled over E. coli concerns. New information from the government on what you should be checking for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Monday, August 15th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello, joining you from New York. It's 29 minutes past the hour.
As last week's Wall Street roller coaster had you feeling queasy, brace yourself for more motion sickness. This week could be just as bumpy -- fallout from the S&P downgrade, problems in Europe, and worry about slipping into another recession --- none of that is soothing to jittery investors.
But the global markets are starting the week of strong. The Nikkei and Hang Seng both finished up. In Europe, the FTSE and the DAX are in positive territory.
It is a new week and a new landscape in the GOP presidential race after the Ames Straw Poll. Here's your 15-second speed read. Michele Bachmann takes a victory lap, Tim Pawlenty drops out, and Rick Perry invests some time in Iowa fresh up announcing his candidacy. His name wasn't on the ballot, but write-in still earned him four percent.
The man accused of mass murder in Norway retraces his foot steps while chained to police. A video clip appears to show the suspect standing on a shoreline, moving his arms as if he's holding a gun, taking aim at the water. Officers say he didn't show one ounce of regret during a weekend tour of the political youth retreat where he's accused of killing dozens of people in a July rampage.
Thousands of people arrested during the UK riots, and two of them are facing murder charges. They're due in court today accused in the hit and run deaths of three men. Residents say those victims were trying to protect their businesses from looters when they were mowed down.
A former Pennsylvania judge has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for taking nearly a million dollars in bribes. He was sending kids away for minor offenses to a for-profit detention center. Here's the mother of one of those kids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am.
SANDY FONZO, VICTIM'S MOTHER: My kid is not here. He's dead because of him. He ruined my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) life. I'd like him to go to hell and rot there forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, come on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That was Sandy Fonzo in February when former judge, Mark Ciavarella, was convicted of a so-called kids for cash scheme. Her teenage son killed himself after he was jailed for a first-time drug offense. Here's Sandy Fonzo now talking to our Don Lemon about the sentencing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FONZO: True justice, I don't think there could ever be. I mean, he'll never live the sentence that I live, that I'll live with for the rest of my life. You know, I can't bring my son back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned thousands of juvenile convictions issued by that judge saying he violated the kids' constitutional rights.
60,000 pounds of ground beef are being recalled on E.coli concerns. No one has reported getting sick, so far, but the USDA says it is worried after inspecting a national beef plant in Ohio. The meat was shift to distributors across the country. So, check your fridge. And if you want more details, check out recalls.gov.
Time now for a little laughter. Comedian, Jay Leno, takes a stab at explaining the U.S. economy in 30 seconds. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO: We're going to show you a video metaphor of what's happening with the U.S. economy. Here, take a look.
Now, this model represents U.S. economy. So, look, she's moving forward. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. She's moving forward. Now, the economy starts to turn. You'll see the economy start to turn, OK? Now, as she heads back, it's getting a little shaky. It's getting a little shaky. OK, now, here.
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: OK, now here it comes. Here comes government assistance. OK? No, no. Now, the government comes in. Has the government helped? Has the government made it better? let's see. No! It goes down again.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I love that line. Time to get serious again.
Nearly 40 economists are now predicting the same thing for the economy, and the diagnosis is worse than just three months ago. I'll have more details still ahead, but first today's businessman's special is about the super addictive and incredibly successful Angry Birds. Find out how much they're worth. That's coming up in 60 second. It's 33 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-five minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKEUP CALL.
Now back to today's businessman's special. Angry birds. Bloomberg is reporting that the company behind the insanely successful cell phone game is reportedly in discussions to get funding that would value the company at $1.2 billion. According to the company, the game has been downloaded 300 million times. Let me say that again.
Angry Birds has been downloaded 300 million times. For those of you who don't know Angry Birds, where have you been? But any who, it's a game where players slingshot birds to wipe out pigs who stole their eggs.
Now, let's go to Patricia Wu for a look at your money this morning. She joins us live from the NASDAQ market site in New York. Good morning. How are futures shaping up?
PATRICIA WU, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, the good news is that, right now, they are pointing to a higher open. So, we can hope that we will extend those gains that we saw to the end of last week with the Dow closing on Friday up about one percent at 11,269. The Nasdaq was up about three quarters of a percent, closing at 2,507, and the S&P was up about half a percent closing at 1,178.
Now, of course, as you know, investors are still worried about that European debt crisis. All eyes will be on that meeting between German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president, Sarkozy tomorrow. And the other question is, will the U.S. slip into another recession, Carol?
COSTELLO: Oh, I was just going to ask you about that, because there's a new survey out done by a group of economists. What are they predicting?
WU: Well, they are predicting that there is a 30 percent chance that the U.S. will slip into another recession, and that's twice as high as just three months ago. And the main thing is that there's a lot of uncertainty right now. You know, we had the downgrade. We have the European debt crisis spreading. So, that is why these economists are predicting that the U.S. could slip into another recession, a 30 percent chance.
But even if we do manage to avoid that "R" word, economic growth is looking like it's just going to muddle along at about 2.5 percent, and you know that the economy has to grow well over three percent for it to make any kind of a dent on unemployment, which is stubbornly high at 9.1 percent. And it's really a stunning reversal, because just weeks ago, economists were calling for a strong rebound for the second half of the year partly due to those falling gas prices.
They give consumers more money to spend. They were also looking at July retail sales, which was posted the biggest gains in about four months, but then, all of a sudden, we got that downgrade and the European debt crisis spreading. So, a very different picture right now.
COSTELLO: So, I'm going with the 70 percent of economists who don't think we're going to see a recession.
WU: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Patricia.
Check out our "Get Smart" question this morning. The world's largest restaurant chain is, A. McDonald's, B. Wendy's, or C. Subway? The answer coming up in two minutes. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. This is your WAKE- UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Get Smart" question this morning. The world's largest restaurant chain is McDonald's, Wendy's, or Subway? The answer is Subway. The sandwich giant stomped pack (ph) Mickey D's at the end of 2010. McDonald's says it's focusing on, quote, "being better, not just bigger."
Now, for our "Political Ticker," let's bring in our senior political editor, Mark Preston. He joins us on the phone from D.C. So, Mark, you spent the weekend in New Hampshire covering Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Perry's first visit to the state. You also got to know, of course, what happened in the straw poll. So, who do you think were the winners and losers?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR (via telephone): Well, no question, big, big weekend for Michele Bachmann, Carol. Look, she showed that in a short period of time, she could build an organization. The bottom line is she won. Now, the big question from Michele Bachmann is, can she build on that momentum and carry it to some other states. Let's don't forget Rick Perry who came out of nowhere and really stole the show. He didn't even participate in the Iowa straw poll.
However, he made a big splash in South Carolina. I saw him up in New Hampshire, as you said, and then, of course, last night in Iowa for his first visit. So, two big winners, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. Losers, Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, Carol, didn't do well enough. Spent a lot of money in Iowa, put a lot of effort in there, only came in third. He dropped out of the race on Sunday morning.
And then, get this, Sarah Palin, she's another one of my losers, because the fact that Rick Perry is now in the race, you know, she might give a second thought about actually running for president, because not only will she have to compete with Rick Perry for the social conservative voters, but also Michele Bachmann. So, even though we hear a lot from Sarah Palin about her consideration about getting into the race and maybe she will, maybe she won't, perhaps, she won't now.
COSTELLO: Perhaps, she'll just continue to have fun like making all of us guess. Who knows? Mark Preston, many thanks.
Here are three things that need to be on your radar this week.
We're watching Wall Street, especially after last week's roller coaster ride. Several economic reports they're coming out this week, including July's industrial production figures and inflation numbers.
This Wednesday, schools are set to reopen in Joplin, Missouri. The tornado destroyed or damaged ten schools back in May. Also on Wednesday, actor, Justin Timberlake and the new managers of MySpace are set to announce their plans for the social networking site. As you know, MySpace is web traffic -- lost traffic to Facebook and LinkedIn.
Let's take a quick look at sports now, shall we? First up, the U.S. PGA Championship. Look at it. Twenty-five-year-old Keegan Bradley wakes up this morning a champion. He beat fellow American, Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff yesterday. Bradley is the seventh first time major winner in a row. That would be a record.
You might remember Dennis Rodman for his skills on the basketball court or maybe his flamboyant off the court. Didn't he wear a wedding dress out in public once? Any who, listen to his speech from the NBA Hall of Fame. He was inducted over the weekend. And this is a side of him that you have not seen.
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DENNIS RODMAN, NBA HALL OF FAMER: It wasn't me that -- I didn't play the game for the money. I didn't play the game for -- to be famous. What you see here is more just an illusion that I love to just be an individual that's very colorful.
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COSTELLO: Oh. Hockey shot was supposed to be impossible.
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COSTELLO (voice-over): Oh, he nailed it. No one told 11-year- old Nate Smith of Minnesota it was impossible. He shot a three-inch puck through a 3 1/2 inch slot during a halftime charity event, and he won 50 grand. Nate's twin brother, Nick, paid the 10 bucks for a chance to take the shot, but he was nowhere to be found when the time came, so Nate stepped up, took the shot for him, and as you saw, that little boy nailed it.
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COSTELLO (on-camera): This date back in history, in 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival began. Half a million people braved the elements to see dozens of acts perform over three days. (INAUDIBLE) want a revival, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimie Hendrix. It was a few that played the festival held on a dairy farm in New York State. It's 44 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Monday, August 15th. This is your A.M. WAKE UP CALL. I'm Ccarol Costello joining you from New York. It's 47 minutes past the hour.
Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, trying to rally his supporters with an audio message, calling on Libyans to be ready to fight. So, let's head around the world with Monita Rajpal live in London. What exactly did he say?
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was basically telling the -- his people to get up, get ready to fight, fight against the NATO forces, and, to hat he says, liberate his country. As he was addressing these -- as he made this live audio address in the early hours of the morning in Libya, NATO rebel -- I'm sorry -- I should say Libyan rebel commanders were saying that they had secured three key cities in the country, specifically, one which is very important to the west part of the country, and it's just 30 miles to Tripoli is the town of the city of Al-Zawiya which is a critical supply line to the country's, specifically, to the capital of the country.
But all of this is happening while NATO forces also continue their bombardment of the country. They were bombarding key strategic sites as well as Gadhafi's military hardware. So, while all this is happening, this continues the back and forth in terms of who is saying what and who's saying that they achieved what in this particular stalemate in Libya at this point -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Monita Rajpal, thanks so much.
Let's talk about the news you're going to hear about today here in the U.S. of A. Gas up the bus. President Obama is getting ready for a three-day road tour of the Midwest. His approval ratings, well, they're somewhere under the bus. Take a look. Gallup's Daily Tracking Poll shows his job approval rating below 40 percent for the first time. fifty-four percent of respondents give him a thumbs down.
The whole debt ceiling fiasco has chipped away at the 53 percent approval rating he had after Osama Bin Laden's death. So, you might ask, is it time for him to worry about 2012? Listen to chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. What she had to say about that.
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REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, DNC CHAIRWOMAN: Not at all. The president is in actually remarkably good shape given that he is still struggling to help pull our economy out of the Republican recession that he inherited. His numbers are still strong. He still has widespread support. If anyone is in trouble, it's the Republican Party.
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COSTELLO: Two of the president's stops will be in Iowa. Rick Perry will be campaigning there for the next three days as well now that he is officially in the race. And you've got to think Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is loving Iowa right now. She finished first in the Ames Straw Poll. Ron Paul was a close second. Then, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.
Yes, Pawlenty trounced Jon Huntsman and Thaddeus McCotter, but it was not enough. Ames was the straw that broke his campaign's back. You'll hear from Pawlenty in 20 seconds. Right now, a few words from the winner. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been able to attract a lot of people to vote for me who are Democrats and independents. That's what we have to do. This won't be just a conservative election. This is really going to be an economics election. People want to know who can turn the country around. That will be the big question.
TIM PAWLENTY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We needed to get some lift to continue on and to have a pathway forward. That didn't happen. So, I'm announcing this morning on your show that I'm going to be ending my campaign for president.
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COSTELLO: In other news, a memorial service will be held at the Indiana State Fair. It will reopen today. Of course, it's been closed down since that deadly accident on Saturday. Five people waiting for a Sugarland concert were killed when a powerful gust of wind knocked the stage over. At least 40 people were hurt, including some children. Indiana governor, Mitch Daniels, choked up while talking about how people rushed to the rescue.
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GOV. MITCH DANIELS, INDIANA: Everybody I debriefed this morning. People rushing up, I'm a nurse, I'm a doctor, I'm a trained EMS responder, but also, people who simply pitched in. The character that we associate with our state --
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COSTELLO: So sad. As I said, the fair will open with a memorial service for the victims.
A Maryland man being held in Aruba in connection with a missing American woman faces a judge today. Fifty-year-old Gary Giordano will find out whether he will be held for another week. His lawyer says he's been cooperating all along and should be let go. He's been held since August 5th in connection with Robyn Gardner's disappearance. She vanished earlier this month.
The hacking group called Anonymous, apparently, has struck again. This time, it appears the group got into Bart's internal network. Bart is the name of the San Francisco Bay area's rapid transit system. The hackers are now urging people to protest this afternoon outside the Civic Center Station. Anonymous is upset with Bart's decision to cut off cell phone signals at certain subway stations.
Now, let's head to Atlanta and check in with Rob Marciano. You're tracking tropical storm, Gert. What's the latest?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The latest is this thing has strengthened to 60 miles an hour overnight, and it's getting closer to Bermuda. Not going to affect the U.S., but it will affect Bermuda with at least some heavy surf and maybe some winds if it moves a little bit farther to the west. That yellow box, by the way, is another area that we're watching closely. That shouldn't affect the U.S. either.
Here's the forecast track. It almost gets to hurricane strength. If it does get to hurricane strength -- well, I should say, if it doesn't, that will break a record, because we normally, if we're to the G's in storms, we normally have a hurricane by now, but we haven't had one this season. It has been active but just nothing that's really come terribly close to land as far as with any strength. All right. Rainfall across the northeast will continue today, although, not quite as heavy as it was yesterday. So, that will cause some travel delays.
Here's the radar right now. Slow moving system just continues to spin moisture up across the northeast, especially through New England. And, the rainfall tallies are certainly impressive across this area from yesterday. Record shattering numbers in places like JFK, 7.8 inches. Lido Beach, over ten inches, in Philadelphia, 4.8, Newark seeing 6.4, and Bridge Port seeing almost three inches there.
There were some workers, Carol, that were stuck in an elevator, working at what was the former Staten Island Hotel. And the elevator was going down and down and down, and it hit water that was flooding the basement, and they were stuck there as the water was rising. So, the fire department had to come and rescue them out.
Thankfully, they had a cell phone that wasn't wet, and they were able to call the fire department. Certainly, that'd be a scary thing, be stuck in an elevator as water comes up to their next.
COSTELLO: It's bad enough to be stuck in an elevator, let alone stuck in an elevator with water in it.
MARCIANO: Exactly.
COSTELLO: And filling up.
MARCIANO: Good end to the story, though.
COSTELLO: Yes. Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: All right. You bet.
COSTELLO: Let's take a work -- let's take a look at the word of the day. It's daggumit. We're fixing to tell you all what it means right after the short break. It's 54 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. This is your WAKE- UP CALL.
Now, back to the word of the day. It would be daggummit, also known as dadgummit. It's actually southern slang for an exclamation of frustration. It's also one of Governor Rick Perry's favorite words along with y'all. The Republican presidential candidate strummed at the heartstrings of the good 'ol boys and girls in Iowa over the weekend by reminiscing about growing up in a small Texas town. Expect more southern slang over the coming months.
Now, let's go to a Patricia Wu for a look at your money this morning. She joins us live from the NASDAQ market site here in New York. Things are looking up?
WU: Yes, they are, Carol. Happy to report that. Right now, our futures are pointing to a higher open with the S&P up about 9, the NASDAQ up about 14, and the Dow up about 65. Now, we have some stories on CNNMoney.com that we want to draw your attention to. The first one is protecting your parents, keeping those sharks at bay.
Believe it or not, Carol, one in five older Americans have been a victim of fraud or sold an inappropriate investment or paid excessive fees for a financial product or investment, totaling about nearly three billion in losses. And why? Because older Americans, after a lifetime of saving have a big nest egg. The average net worth for a household lead by someone over 75, about $600,000.
So, how can you protect your parents? You'll get all of the tips on our website at CNNMoney.com in that story, but one quick one is beware of the free lunch. As we all know, there is no free lunch. So, often, there are invitations to a free meal, then they give a seminar on estate planning or tax classes and that's where the parents will be, you know, susceptible to that sales pitch.
And if you can't get your parents to say no to that free lunch, go with them so that you can ask the tough questions. All right. And that's the latest from here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Patricia Wu, many thanks. "AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
