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A Legacy of Help; Raising the Debt Ceiling; Final Shuttle Mission; South Sudan Marks Independence; Royal Couple's First L.A. Stop; Royal Fashion; Fashion of Duchess Catherine; News of the World Prepares to Close; Blistering in the South; Unlimited Data Plans Eliminated; Running of the Bulls

Aired July 09, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Susan Hendricks, sitting in on this Saturday for T.J. Holmes.

A royal reception in California, in Los Angeles. Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine begin a three-day visit to the U.S. The live report from L.A. coming up.

And hundreds of thousands of people are in Spain for the running of the bulls. Some are already hospitalized, though, after jumping into the fray. Why do they do it? We will have the story behind the ancient festival this hour.

And you better keep an eye on your cell phone bills. Many of them may be on the way up. Find out why and which way customers will be affected by it, if you will be.

Today, Americans are remembering former first lady, Betty Ford. She died late yesterday at the age of 93, her family by her side.

Ford was thrust into the limelight when her husband, Gerald Ford, became president back in 1974, after Richard Nixon resigned. She was known for her candidness on issues like abortion, equal rights, and her own battles with breast cancer and addiction to alcohol and pain medication.

Upon learning of her death, President Barack Obama released a statement, which reads in part, "Today we take comfort in the knowledge that Betty and her husband, former President Gerald Ford, are together once more. Michelle and I", he says, "send our thoughts and prayers to their children, Michael, John Steven, and Susan.

And this is in from Nancy Reagan. She said, "She was Gerry's Ford strength through some very difficult days in our country's history and I admire her courage in facing and sharing her personal struggles with all of us.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California where it's very early in the morning there. And Thelma, what are you learning? I know that the Fords retired there in that area. They were such a part of the community. THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes they really were Susan . People here remember them as people who were very kind, who were very giving toward this community.

Now, we have not heard from the Ford family since the passing of Betty Ford yesterday evening. Just a short time ago, though, they did release a statement. Betty Ford has four children; Three sons and one daughter. And they said, "It is with great sadness that we inform you that our beloved mother, Betty Ford, has passed away at 93 years of age. She died peacefully at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. Mother's love, candor, devotion, and laughter enriched our lives and the lives of millions she touched throughout this great nation. To be in her presence was to know the warmth of a truly great lady. Mother's passing leaves a deep void, but it also fills us with immeasurable appreciation for the life that we and dad shared with her." That is from the Ford children.

Now Susan, funeral details are pending, but we are told by the director of the Gerald Ford Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that she will be buried there alongside her husband. Again, those details are pending, but we understand that thousands of people have already gone to the library, to fill out condolence books that are there. The library is closed today, but the lobby is open for any member of the public who would like to go and sign the condolence book -- Susan.

HENDRICKS: I have a feeling that so many will show up. She has impacted millions of lives through everything she has done and said.

Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

I want to talk to now an insider into the lives of the Fords. James Cannon, Gerald Ford biographer and former Gerald Ford aide is nice enough to join us now on the phone.

Mr. Canon, thanks for joining us. Take us inside the Ford family. I was lucky enough to meet the Fords back in the day. I worked in Palm Springs, which is right outside of Rancho Mirage. Wow, what a family. They had such an impact in so many ways.

JAMES CANNON, GERALD FORD BIOGRAPHER: They were a family. Like her husband, like President Ford himself, Betty Ford was honest and candid and forthright and she was a model of a political wife, in my opinion. She raised four fine children, and at the same time served as host for her husband and was by and large a credit to the nation.

And Mr. Cannon, what some people may not realize, especially the younger generations, that back in the day, even the word cancer wasn't mentioned. So for Betty Ford to come out and say, I'm suffering with breast cancer, not to mention that she had an addiction, and to open up the Betty Ford Centers and really pave the way for so many other centers, her footprint is huge, is massive.

CANNON: I think it's true. And no finer tribute could have been made than the one by her husband, who said, quote, "When the final tally is taken, her contributions to our country will be bigger than mine."

HENDRICKS: James Cannon, I'm going to end right there. You can't say it any better than that. We appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

Betty Ford certainly will be missed by so many.

Here is what the beginning of a new nation looks like. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CELEBRATION IN SOUTH SUDAN)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: South Sudan celebrates its independence from Sudan today after decades of civil war. Despite the jubilation, the new nation faces major challenges, though. South Sudan will be one of the world's poorest countries.

Newly-appointed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta landed in Afghanistan a short time ago. Take a look, this is him here on his first day on the job. This is his first visit to the war zone as the nation's top military boss.

Panetta's trip points to the importance of Afghanistan, especially with the troop drawdown beginning this month. Panetta says the U.S. is within reach of defeating al Qaeda altogether, saying, quote, "We have them on the run."

In Washington, a call for peace from Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader is speaking at this hour, right now, at an event called "A Talk for World Peace. It is being held on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALAI LAMA, TIBETAN SPIRITUAL LEADER: Try to create calm mind, peaceful mind. And then that creates within our own fabric, within our own community. That's the way to change society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Spreading peace through change. The Dalai Lama is on an 11-day trip to Washington. He then heads to Chicago for two more speaking engagements.

"Atlantis" is in the middle of its last trip to the International Space Station. The final space shuttle mission began yesterday with a flawless launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The astronauts woke up today just before 4:00 a.m. Eastern when mission control played "Viva la Vida" by Cold Play. You know the song? "Atlantis" is scheduled to dock with the space station tomorrow.

Now to London where the scandalized "News of the World" tabloid is getting ready to close for good. The final edition of the best- selling tabloid is being prepared right now. The last edition comes out tomorrow.

Rupert Murdoch who owns the paper decided to shut it down after allegations surfaced that its journalists illegally hacked phone messages belonging to murder and terrorist victims. Rupert Murdoch is expected to arrive in London tomorrow to deal with this crisis.

Coming up, we will have a live report from London on the fallout from the scandal and what it could mean for the rest of Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire.

And the media everywhere have joined the chase after these two, the royal couple now on their whirlwind itinerary in southern California. But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also have some serious work ahead of them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back.

Hollywood royalty will rub elbows with the real thing today in L.A. Britain's Prince William and his new bride, Catherine, will mix pleasure with business as they wrap up their first official tour of North America.

Our Max Foster is traveling with the royal couple, and today, Max, the Prince will play a little polo, right? What he's used to.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's very good at polo. We saw him up in Canada taking part in a few sports he wasn't so good at; street hockey, for example. But this is where he's on particular territory. He grew up watching his dad play polo and he's now playing it himself. He's going up to the Santa Barbara Club, and it's a big VIP affair, very glamorous, but all in aid of his charity, the U.S. arm of his charity is being promoted here.

So it will be interesting to see, and interesting to see who wins, because the Duchess is going to present the trophy. And I'm sure she's hoping it will be her husband.

And then later on, Susan, a big red carpet event hosted by BAFTA. There are Hollywood a-listers going, we just don't know who. We've been given the list of the UK young talent who will be presented to the A-listers, but we don't know who the A-listers. The big rumors -- and there have been are -- Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, and Tom Hanks, but we haven't had that confirmed.

There you are, David Beckham -- he was meeting with the Prince yesterday at the consul general's residence. And that was pretty glamorous affair but tonight's the night I think.

HENDRICKS: Yes. We love seeing them. We're just wondering what they're saying, David Beckham and the Prince. We're wondering.

Also you mentioned street hockey, I can't picture that. I'm trying to. I think he's better fit for polo, right.

FOSTER: Absolutely. And they also -- they were in dragon boats at one point as well. They're both very, very competitive, you see. They're both very sporty. But it's really polo that he's good at. So you'll see him tonight.

And we did actually speak to a couple of players up at the polo club, who is going to be playing against. And they're hoping that he's been so busy and tired out by this tour that he's not going to be very good, whilst they've been practicing very hard. It's a tough gig for them, I think today.

HENDRICKS: They're being good sports, I can see. We were just showing pictures of them donning cowboy hats as well.

They have some serious events on their itinerary, you mentioned a few, right?

FOSTER: Yes. Absolutely. What they tried to do is focus on particular themes. And throughout the Canada tour, you saw a few of them so they want to relate to young people. They are the next generation of royals, but one of the cause that's very close to William's heart, as it was his mother's, is homelessness. And the Duchess is very interested in arts and using arts to unlock people's potential.

They're going to bring that together tomorrow, where they're going to be at Skid Row to an art school, where young kids who have got a lot of problems are introduced to the arts and that unlocks their potential. That's going to be something tomorrow.

Also a veterans' event, war veterans will be given a chance to get some jobs at a jobs fair and they're going to turn up and meet those veterans there.

HENDRICKS: Good deed, style, and class to the U.S., to L.A. Max Foster, thanks, appreciate it.

How about this, a showdown over the debt ceiling? President Obama and congressional leaders get ready to return to the bargaining table. We'll tell you what could possibly derail a deal, that's next.

And the final shuttle has been launched into space. So a question to you -- think about this. How many shuttle missions have taken place over the last 30 years? I'll have the answer right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Before the break, I asked you how many shuttle missions have taken place over the last 30 years. Here's the answer. There have been 134 missions covering a half billion miles of flight. The current and last mission is the 135th.

President Obama and congressional leaders meet at the White House tomorrow with one mission in mind: hammering out an agreement on raising the debt ceiling. The Treasury Department says the government's borrowing limit must be raised by August 2nd or the U.S. will begin defaulting on its loans.

We turn to CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, who is live in Washington. Paul, this is a huge political issue. Tell us why.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, it sure is. Not only here in Washington, but across the country. And here's why. We're talking about the President calling for $4 trillion in cuts for this -- as part of this agreement that they're trying to hammer out.

And where are that going to find some of that money, some those savings? Well, Social Security and Medicare, entitlement programs and those affect all Americans. That's why this is such a touchy issue with so many people.

Check out this number from Pew, the Pew Research Center. This is a recent poll just a couple weeks ago, and it was asked what's more important, balancing the budget, getting rid of -- reducing the budget or keeping Medicare and Social Security just as they are? And you can see right there, the majority of Americans say, you know what; keeping Social Security and Medicare just as they are is the most important thing. A lot more, about a 2 to 1 margin over reducing the budget deficit.

And Susan, you're seeing a lot of pushback to the President from Democrats saying, keep it off the table. Do not touch Social Security, do not touch Medicare; you're seeing that from congressional Democrats, and Republicans also pushing back saying, you know what, this is not a good program either because we don't want to raise taxes here.

So there's a lot of pushback from both sides.

Take a look at this next. When it comes to Medicare and Social Security, you can see it's a really touchy issue with Democrats. Look at this: 71 percent say keeping Social Security and Medicare as they are is much more important than reducing the deficit for Democrats. Republicans are split. That's why you're seeing so much pushback to the President from his own party. That's what's making this even more complicated and even more difficult for the President -- Susan.

HENDRICKS: Yes, well 71 percent really says a lot. Is there a short-term agreement possible here, Paul?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, you know, that's one of the things under consideration. Maybe just we'll do a six-month deal here, just get us down the road maybe to the end of the year beginning next year. The President is saying no, he's looking for a longer range deal, a deal that get us through the 2012 election in November of next year.

And politics may be one of the reasons why I think the President wants this done and solved and he would like to have a bipartisan agreement. So this is not a major sticking point in the presidential campaign, which is, as you know, heating up right now -- Susan.

HENDRICKS: Yes. It's coming up. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much, appreciate it -- in Washington. Thanks.

A U.S. spacecraft is about to reach something you can see in the night sky. Josh Levs is going to tell us about it. It's the only one of its kind, Josh, that is visible to the naked eye.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The only one. It's pretty amazing and they're about to get there, probably one week from today. A U.S. space craft will actually reach this. Will it help the United States maintain its dominance in space?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Today is the first full day in space for this last shuttle mission. It started with a perfect launch yesterday, the final four shuttle astronauts are now headed for the International Space Station. There were some tie-ups with the weather but it did take off. This mission may mark the end of the shuttle program, but not the end of NASA.

Josh Levs is here again. And Josh, NASA has something new within its reach. So when you hear, the final launch, you think, this is the end. Not so?

LEVS: No, and NASA's trying to argue, no it's not. This is really just the beginning. By the way, a beautiful launch yesterday. We talked about this once earlier. It was just so spectacular to see that.

But there's something that's coming up. When the head of NASA talks about what's coming up and tries to argue that the U.S. will stay at the forefront of space exploration, just the other day, this was the first thing he pointed to. Take a look at this. This is actual video, this is not animation, this is an asteroid called Vesta and in just a matter of days, July 16th, a U.S. spacecraft the dawn, will be arriving at its orbit around this asteroid.

What's so cool about this, it's the only asteroid you can see in the night sky, because it emits so much light, reflects so much light. And especially like now, but a little bit more in August, you'll be able to see a great deal of it.

And there's also an animation I can show you in this next video. We'll be getting images, and this will help scientists understand better the evolution of planets throughout the solar system, which is pretty amazing. Something else that NASA says it's committed to is going to mars, which is the next video here. They're working on the next Mars rover, the Curiosity, that is going to be taking off in November and is supposed to land in august 2012. So they're saying, look, we have all these missions that are planned there. Even saying they're going to do more manned space flights.

Here's the administrator just the other day. CHARLES BOLDEN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: So when I hear people say or listen to the media reports, that the final shuttle flight marks the end of U.S. human space flight, I have to tell you, you all must be living on another planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Nice. He says U.S. astronauts will hopefully travel on private space vehicles and also they're working on new types of vehicles to eventually bring people into space. I showed you some of that earlier. So that's the idea here, is that they're saying, look, we're not giving up and we still have a long way to go and we're going to get there.

HENDRICKS: And part of the problem, I would imagine, is funding. Because with the issues here on earth, financially, when you're thinking, wait, we're sending people to Mars? We have issues here.

LEVS: We have serious issues here. And that's part of the problem. NASA's budget was $19 billion this year. We don't know how it's going to shake out in the next budget. You know how it works in Congress, they wrangle for months over the coming budget. But every legitimate proposal that exists slashes the funding to NASA by maybe $1 billion or more.

So a lot of people out there are questioning, can we really maintain dominance in space when the money's disappearing, when we're ending our own U.S. shuttle missions when other countries aren't making the same decisions. On the flip side, as you and I have talked about, we have to make serious decisions in this country about what we're going to do and what those values are.

HENDRICKS: Very true. Back to the asteroid, so we can see it coming up?

LEVS: Yes, you can see it coming up and I'm going to show everyone exactly where you can see it. Here's what we've done because I don't want especially to memorize this.

Show my screen at my Facebook and Twitter pages, I have posted a link about this, and it will show you exactly where to look in the night sky. It's a little bit in July, you can see it, but it's going to be especially bright throughout august, and it's a very, very rare phenomenon here that you can stand on the ground, look up to the night sky with your bare eye and see something that the United States is arriving at, at that moment.

HENDRICKS: So show off to your friends and say, that's an asteroid. See if they believe you.

LEVS: Not a star.

Josh, thank you.

LEVS: Thank you. HENDRICKS: Speaking of stars, the royals kick off a hectic three-day visit to southern California, to Los Angeles, with a polo match today and a Hollywood party night tonight. We're on the watch for William and Kate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: We start this half hour with the death of former first lady, Betty Ford. She was 93 years old. Ford was surrounded by family when she passed away last night.

She became first lady in 1974, when her husband, Gerald Ford, took over following the resignation of Richard Nixon, you may recall, but her greatest legacy may be the contribution she made to the battle against addiction. Really bringing it to the forefront.

Here's what President Obama had to say about her passing. He says, "Today we take comfort in the knowledge that Betty and her husband, former president Gerald Ford, are together once more. Michelle and I send our thought and prayers to their children, Michael, John, Steven, and Susan."

And this from Nancy Reagan saying, " was deeply saddened this afternoon when I heard of Betty Ford's death. She has been an inspiration to so many through her efforts to educate women about breast cancer and her wonderful work at the Betty Ford Center."

"She was Jerry Ford's strength," she goes on to say, "through some very difficult days in our country's history and I admire her courage in facing sharing her personal struggles with all of us."

One of Betty Ford's greatest attributes was her candor. She spoke out, wasn't afraid of it. It is something that set her apart from other first ladies.

CNN's special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien has more on her life and her legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rarely was there a first lady whose human qualities stood out more than Betty Ford.

By her husband at all times, here for a visit by President Bush, she was strong, active, and, most of all, candid.

BETTY FORD, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: It has been the outgrowth of my own health that has made it possible for me to go ahead and, in my way, share what I learned with others.

O'BRIEN: Before 1974, it was almost unheard of for a first lady to publicly mention personal problems. In the first year of her husband's presidency, she announced she had breast cancer and would undergo a mastectomy.

But it is this that will be her greatest legacy, the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse.

SHERRY BEBITCH JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST: I think she educated a generation that needed education, that needed support in how to deal with these problems.

O'BRIEN: Mrs. Ford disclosed publicly that she had for years abused alcohol and had become dependent on prescription drugs -- the first major political figure to openly address a problem that plagued millions.

JOHN SCHWARZLOSE, DIRECTOR, BETTY FORD CENTER: It has been, from the very first day, a place to any man or woman who wanted help.

JEFFE: It made it unnecessary to hide the reality of substance abuse. And I think that was a contribution that Betty Ford made.

O'BRIEN: She wrote in considerable detail about her battles. She authorized a made-for-TV movie, "The Betty Ford Story."

GERALD FORD, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: She felt and I felt and the children felt that if the story was told well and we had faith in David Rupert (ph), that it could be I immeasurably beneficial.

O'BRIEN: She married Gerald Ford just after World War II and just before he ran for Congress for the first time, and she was by his side from then on. She was her own woman, speaking out for abortion rights and women in the workplace.

Mrs. Ford kept largely out of the public eye in her later years. Most Americans saw her for the first time in more than a decade when she was given the place of honor at both the funeral and burial of her husband. It was a four-day period of national mourning and although she looked fragile, she never wavered.

And the treatment center that she helped create will be a memorial for generations to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: There is one more country on the map today. South Sudan, the new African nation celebrated its independence from Sudan after decades of civil war. South Sudan will face many challenges, though, including continued conflict with the north.

Keeping up with the royal couple on their whirlwind three-day visit to California will not be easy. Prince William and Catherine went straight from the airport to a technology conference in Beverly Hills.

And today, the prince will play polo in Santa Barbara. Tonight, the couple will rub elbows with Hollywood elite. We're hearing Jennifer Lopez, maybe Nicole Kidman, and a dinner honoring British TV and films.

The Duchess of Cambridge is already impacting fashion, as you know, and Vivien Sheriff, the woman who began designing for Catherine, long before she became the Duchess, is seeing an increase in business.

Our own Nadia Bilchik talked to Catherine's designer and joined me earlier with the inside scoop on her fashion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Everything she wears is documented. From her hats to her dresses to even what she wore getting off the plane, that gray dress, beautifully done, very slim like, very simple.

She's got very simple, clean kind of tastes, but it was fascinating, because if you think they're in L.A. to promote British business and also their foundation, and they have done so well for British business already.

So, yesterday, I spoke to Vivien Sheriff, and she is one of the hat designers, the milliners, a hat designer for women, to Kate Middleton, and here's what she had to say about what Kate Middleton has already done for her hat business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIEN SHERIFF, HAT DESIGNER: We are in the middle of the rolling Wilshire countryside. We're on converted farm buildings in the middle of nowhere.

And our business has just turned itself around. I mean, we were incredibly busy before, but we are so busy now, it's hilarious. We have people coming to us from, I have to say, from all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BILCHIK: She had this tiny little business and it's suddenly flourishing because of the hats that the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton is wearing.

HENDRICKS: Remember that blue dress she wore in her engagement picture, it sold out. You can't find it anywhere. So I could imagine if she wears something, people want to copy Kate.

BILCHIK: They want to copy Kate. That can be very interesting. This afternoon at the polo match, Susan and I will be watching to see if she wears a hat.

I want to show you some of the designs that Vivien Sheriff has had that she thinks that Kate maybe wearing to the event. You see her there, the little red hat, but she wears them so well and that's one of the things Vivien Sheriff said.

HENDRICKS: I was thinking that she definitely wears that well. I don't think I could pull it off, or many of us couldn't. You could.

BILCHIK: I don't know, how good hats are if it's windy. They keep the hair very, very much in place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: And the secret to keeping those hats in place, in case you're wondering, fine hair bands and tiny combs.

A British tabloid that ease dropped on the royal family is getting ready to shut down after getting caught up in a much wider hacking scandal. The last edition of "News of the World" is being prepared right now. It will come out tomorrow.

Owner Rupert Murdoch is headed to London to deal with this crisis. He's closing the paper after reports that journalists were hacking voice mails of murder and terror victims.

CNN's Dan Rivers has been following this story from London now. And Dan, I guess we're wondering, we have a lot of questions, but will this have an impact on the rest of Murdoch's empire?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the sort of, you know, billion dollar question for Rupert Murdoch. That's probably why he's flying over here tomorrow to have a series of meetings.

We've just been speaking to some staffers who are working on that last edition. They came out and had a few words with us. Let's just have a quick listen to what they were saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all extremely emotional. But every single one of us working up there stays very proud that we're working for the "News of the World." We're very proud of our colleagues, we're very proud of our editor, and we go out with our heads held up high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: They were stressing, really, that many of the people working there had nothing to do with this scandal. They've joined in subsequent years and I think a lot of them felt pretty sort of angry, pretty emotional.

Clearly, you could see there that they were all losing their jobs, that the paper was closing down for something that they were not involved with in any way. And in addition to that, though, this story is not over yet.

One of the former editors, Andy Coulson, who went on to be a government media adviser, was arrested yesterday. He's been released on bail. He's sort of paid tribute to his former colleagues. He has not been formally charged yet, but that may well follow.

And there may well be other arrests as well. One newspaper here, "The Guardian," which has been sort of leading the coverage on this all the way through is reporting that one "News International" executive deleted millions or attempted to delete millions of e-mails in an attempt to apparently cover up what was going on here. Now, "News International" is denying that. But, certainly, this story is not over, by any means, and there are real political ramifications for the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, because this former editor, Andy Colson, has been hired by him as a media adviser.

HENDRICKS: Dan, is it true that the top executive, Rebecca Brooks, spoke to staff yesterday? If so, what did she say to them?

RIVERS: It is true, yes. I mean, she was sort of in a recording that was smuggled out of the building, sort of rallying the troops, really. But she has refused to step down herself, even though there have been calls from almost every conceivable angle for her to go.

She is chief executive of the parent company, "News International," but she was editor of the paper at the time that some of the worst examples of this hacking went on, for example, hacking into murdered 13-year-old schoolgirls' cell phone to get stories.

Now, she has maintained all the way through that she knew nothing about this. She put out statements saying, you know, that it's despicable and so on. She knew nothing about what was going on.

But many find that a little bit, to put it mildly, unbelievable, that she could have story after story on her front page without at some point asking where those stories were coming from.

HENDRICKS: All right, Rupert Murdoch on his way there. I'm sure we'll find out more information. Dan Rivers, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Well, another company is eliminating unlimited data plans. I'll show you if your cell phone bill is about to go up, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back.

I know you're appreciating that it's summer out there, but in some places, it's a little much. We're wondering, is there any relief, especially in the south, that can be hot. Reynolds, when you talk about the humidity mixed in with this, right?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No relief, none whatsoever. We're all done for.

HENDRICKS: Jump in the pool.

WOLF: It's going to be insane. It really is. It's one of those days, if you happen to be in a place like Dallas, you may step outside and just vaporize. It really could happen. I'm just teasing, of course.

But it's going to be one of those very muggy days. You've got a lot of heat, especially in places like Texas. El Paso, a very dry heat, but in other spots, it's going to be the combination of the heat and humidity and it's going to make things relentless.

A few places you might cool off with a few scattered showers. First, let's go to where the rain is falling, parts of Georgia into Florida. That's where we have had some heavy storms this morning. Also into parts of Minneapolis, where now you happen to be in the clear, but in the afternoon, off few more storms develop.

So just keep that in mind. OK, we've talked about that. One of the reasons you might see those showers, could be heat generated. Speaking of the heat, we've got plenty of it. As we were talking about Texas, 101 in Dallas, the expected high for the day, 103 in El Paso, 96 in Albuquerque, 89 degrees in Kansas City, 87 in Chicago and 93 in Memphis.

Now, if you think that's warm, that's what's going to happen today. We fast forward through today and into tomorrow, we're going to see the heat really begin to build up. These numbers reflect not only your high temperatures, but the combination of the temperature and the humidity. It's your heat index.

Sunday looks pretty rough, St. Louis going to 109, 106 in Wichita, 111 degrees in Little Rock, and 104 over in Montgomery. Now, as we go to start the workweek, we're going to see the temperatures warm up a bit more.

And not only that, we're going to see it spread farther to the north. Chicago, check it out, 93 degrees, 102 in Detroit. Des Moines, it's going to feel like you're walking on the surface of Mercury, 102 out there, 106 in Jackson, 102 in Montgomery and 93 in Atlanta.

All right, guys, that is a quick snapshot of your forecast. And now, Susan, we're going to pitch it right back over to you.

HENDRICKS: All right, makes you wish for fall again, I think.

WOLF: Yes, yes.

HENDRICKS: All right, thanks. Verizon wireless is joining AT&T and T-Mobile in eliminating unlimited data plans. Sorry to break the news to you.

If you surf the mobile web, tweet, send texts, Facebook and pictures, you name it, your bill could be going up. Earlier, I spoke to financial analyst Clyde Anderson, and he told me it's very simple why we're seeing these changes -- money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: We've been using so much data lately, it's becoming the trend. Everyone communicates this way. Text to voice mails, e-mails, all the things that we're doing. You know, we're doing a lot of and a lot of data.

And so they want to capitalize on it. Also I think it's an infrastructure thing. You know, they've got to pay for all these things and all these packets of information that are being transmitted.

HENDRICKS: I think the biggest question to viewers at home right now, they're thinking, will this affect me, or is it people who are signing up for new deals or will it affect people at home?

ANDERSON: If you're already on a plan and you're under contract, you'll be grandfathered in. That's the great news. The other part is that if you change something, it could be affected by it because new customers will have to pay for the data they're using.

They'll have to decide, which package works best for them. They'll give you several options to choose from. As you can see, $30 all that way up to $80 for some packages. The thing you've got to be careful is going over some of those things.

You know, you talk about teenagers and people that they call power users. These are some of the people that may go over some of these plans, especially business professionals. If you use your phone for a lot of things you're doing related to your business, you could potentially go over.

HENDRICKS: Did you see this coming for a while? Did you think, wait a minute?

ANDERSON: I wondered how long it would take for it to happen. I did kind of see it coming. I'm glad some of the companies -- not everyone, you know. Sprint is still holding out. They haven't followed suit with everyone else.

Not to say they won't, but right now they're saying they're not going to do it right now. So we'll see, but, I mean, it's big business. I think we have a quote there from someone from Sprint.

HENDRICKS: They're saying, "we are continuing to advertise our unlimited plans and feel that they offer a great value to new and existing customers.

They have been very successful. We will continue to offer them to customers. They may have a niche now because if they're not raising their prices, you know, people are obsessive. They may have to look at each other and talk.

ANDERSON: Exactly. I think you should go to the web site. Each one has a calculator on their web site that you can go into and look at it and can see how it's going to affect you personally.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: And it probably will affect you so with unlimited data plans going away, you may have to pick out a new one. I will show you how to choose a plan based on your lifestyle next, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Just before the break, we told you that Verizon is joining AT&T and T-Mobile by canceling its unlimited data plans, which means that you could see your costs going up.

Earlier, I spoke to digital lifestyle expert, Mario Armstrong, and he gave us tips on picking out the best plan according to you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: They charge by these things called the gigabyte. So to help people understand that a little bit, you know, a gigabyte is really a thousand megabytes.

And so this kind of mathematics is almost like a foreign language. I don't know about you, but I didn't do that great in math class, but this is how we measure data today, though.

HENDRICKS: So I guess the bottom line, the question is, what is the best way to keep my bills low, especially if I use my smart phone a lot, if I'm texting, if I'm uploading pictures?

You don't want to be charged, and parents out there of teenagers are thinking, no, there goes the unlimited plan. What do they do?

ARMSTRONG: Absolutely. Because you're, you know, today, our consumption on these devices is heavy on all types of things from photos to videos to streaming music and things online. So you're absolutely right.

We need to be aware of those wireless data point. There are a few things that you need to be aware of. Number one, e-mails look like about 200 or 20, I'm sorry, kilobytes per e-mail. So e-mail very low on data.

The things that will charge you the heaviest on your usage are going to be things like really video streaming, music streaming, things like photos and doing a lot of those types of interactivity with your phone is really going to tax your data usage.

HENDRICKS: So I guess depending on what you use your phone for, it may be smart to buy the more expensive monthly plan, to save some money in the long run, right?

ARMSTRONG: That's right. I mean, when you're talking about a minute of video, when you watch a minute of video on your of video on your Smartphone, you're talking about almost 2 megs of actual data being placed onto your phone.

It's not going to take a lot of time before you start reaching the caps depending on what kind of plan you actually have. A lot of people use the cellular networks to access data. We should use Wi-Fi on our phones.

That way, it reduces the chances of you getting taxed for that data. So at all costs, whenever you can, use Wi-Fi on your phone. That will save you a lot of money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with our very own Fredricka Whitfield. Good to see you.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You, too. We've got a very, long, busy afternoon as well. Of course, our favorites, Richard and Avery will be along to talk about some interesting legal cases.

How about the case of one woman in Texas who apparently has allegedly stolen inserts of a newspaper, coupons, usually if you buy the newspaper, it's got the coupons in it. You get a nice little bonus. But what if you take the inserts of the newspapers you don't buy? You can face jail time.

HENDRICKS: No?

WHITFIELD: Yes. They're going to talk about that. And then the case of a Michigan woman who is alleging that her husband's ex was intentionally trying to bring her harm. She is fatally allergic to peanuts, peanut butter, all peanut products and apparently, in the mail comes an envelope slathered with peanut butter from this ex.

She is alleging that this was intentional and there should be a court case. Legal guys say this is a sticky, nutty situation. They're going to chew on that one. I couldn't resist.

And we're going to have Karen Lee along with us. She's a great financial planner. She's going to help people who are out of work or who are on fixed incomes who are saying, I still have to pay my bills, still have to get the groceries.

I don't have the cash in order to do that until that next paycheck. What do you do? How do you use your credit card responsibly?

And then of course, it's the weekends, we love to go to the movies. A couple of great ones are out. We're going to talk about "Zookeeper" and "Horrible Bosses." That looks very funny. Both of them.

We all need to laugh so we got a couple of funny movies to go to. What are her grades on them? Should you spend your money and use your time?

HENDRICKS: Thanks, Fred.

A dangerous tradition we're talking about today under way in Spain. There it is. It is the running of the bulls next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Live pictures from the nation's capital. You're looking at the Dalai Lama. Live pictures. We just saw the Dalai Lama. He's there, of course, promoting peace as you see in the back ground there, Whoopi Goldberg.

Year after year, we see people risk their life literally, their life, to run with the bulls in Spain. Earlier, I spoke to Nadia Bilchik and she talked about why people do it. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILCHIK: It dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. The history is that during that time there was no transportation for bulls. How were they going to get them from the markets to the arenas? They had o literally goad them through.

What people realized is that through fear and excitement, the bulls would run faster. It became a sport for people. Originally it was only men and it was very macho. Can we outrun the bulls? You asked me earlier, do women do it?

Well, more and more women are starting to do it to get that very thing you spoke about that absolute adrenaline and you noticed that their wearing white and red.

And there are a couple of reasons. The festival is this in tribute to the saint and also the red was supposed to be his martyrdom and others say it's simply dressed like the butchers, but I do want to tell you bulls are color blind.

HENDRICKS: So no need to wear the white and red, but it's part of the tradition there?

BILCHIK: Exactly. You're watching not only the bulls. What happens is 8:00 every single morning of this festival, the gun goes off and the people start running and a few seconds later, they let six bulls out and then six steers.

And the steers are the castrated bulls who are going to be less aggressive than the real bulls, but you don't want to say you went bull running next to a steer. You want to say you outran the bull.

HENDRICKS: But there is a risk because every year it seems that someone gets hurt or worse.

BILCHIK: Right. And on Thursday, an Australian tourist was gored in the right thigh and literally pierced. But what he had was he's gone through the running of the streets into the arena and then he was head-butted by the bull.

But since they started documenting this in the 1900s, about 15 people have been killed. Every single year, so in this week of the festival, about 20 or 300 people will be injured. What we're seeing now is once they're in the arena.

And this is where the Australian was injured, in the actual arena. But, again, it's better that be trampled than to be gored. But I spoke to a lot of people who have run with the bulls many times.

And they say there is nothing like that moment where you literally start running and you outrun the bull and you say you survived this near-death experience.

HENDRICKS: I think it's a specific type of person, male or female both, but I'd rather watch it at home. Wouldn't you? BILCHIK: Susan, I think you and I would rather be watching than running, but it's certainly interesting to see. And many questions surrounding in terms of animal rights, how safe is it.

But the actual running of the bulls doesn't seem to harm the bulls as much as once they get into the arena and then you know that the chances they are going to die.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: It's tough to even watch it. Fredricka and I were looking. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Fredricka Whitfield right now.

WHITFIELD: That is crazy.

HENDRICKS: I know. It's hard to watch.

WHITFIELD: It is hard to watch and yet we watch. Just why people go out there and run. You have a great day, Susan. Thanks so much.