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UK Hacking Scandal Widens; Debt Talks Stalled; International Debt Crisis Spooks Wall Street; Obama under Pressure from Liberals; Afghan President's Half-Brother Dead; Things Developed by Space Program; Italy Spooks the Stock Market

Aired July 12, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. Come on, he doesn't need all that stuff. Sell some of that stuff. Make some cash. There you go.

CHETRY: Well, people said he should sell the ball. He did the right thing. He gave it back to Derek Jeter. Now he could be on the hook for taxes.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he could be making some money, that's all I'm saying. All right, guys, thanks.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips. Thanks for joining us.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch facing new allegations of sleazy reporting tactics. Two more of his newspapers engulfed in scandal.

Live images now as two crew members from the International Space Station begin a lengthy list of chores.

And a CIA plot revealed in the chase of Osama bin Laden. We'll tell you about the fake vaccination drive to collect DNA samples.

We begin this morning with one of the most powerful media empires in the world rocked by a scandal that grows deeper and wider. Two more of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers in Great Britain now face their own accusations of appalling wrongdoing. Their reported targets? No less than the royal family and a former prime minister.

In fact, Gordon Brown says the papers had links to criminals in order to hack into his bank accounts and the medical records of his seriously ill son.

Meanwhile, members of parliament are demanding tough answers from police. How do they not uncover a hacking conspiracy that could mushroom to thousands of victims?

Let's get the latest now. Dan Rivers is live for us in London.

So, Dan, one new development just minutes ago apparently, British lawmakers asking Murdoch and his son to testify?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, this is a pretty incredible development, inevitable, perhaps given the huge furor here about this whole scandal. But Rupert and James Murdoch, and the chief executive of News International, Rebecca Brooks, have all been asked to appear before what's called a select committee here which is a cross-party committee of members of parliament of politicians here who can question people about a particular issue.

Now the police involved in the current inquiry and in past inquiries have been questioned by a similar committee this morning. It's a pretty ferocious grilling that they get here, fairly aggressive at times. A lot of back and forth.

It's a bit like a kind of courtroom cross-examination. It's not a court, though. It's part of the parliamentary system here. Whether they can be forced to attend, well, it's a kind of moot point. News International is saying senior executives will cooperate. They can be reported to the buildings behind me, the House of Commons, if they don't cooperate.

The problem is, of course, that both Rupert and James Murdoch are -- have U.S. citizenship. I think Rupert Murdoch has dual U.S. and Australian citizenship so it's unclear whether he really can be forced to appear. But at the moment, News International is saying they will cooperate. Whether that means Rupert Murdoch himself will turn up here for this grilling in front of these politicians, we don't know.

We don't know. But if he does, it's going to be incredible because there are so many swirling allegations about the paper that his -- papers that his organization runs, suggestions of links to the criminal underworld of illegal activities and targeting, everyone from 9/11 victims to murder victims, to the royal family. He's got a lot to answer if he does appear.

PHILLIPS: Dan Rivers live from London. We'll be talking more about this later in the hour. Could the scandals there in Great Britain impact Murdoch's empire here in the U.S.?

Back here in the states. Congressional leaders return to the White House to negotiate raising the debt ceiling. The deadline is three weeks from today, but the divide separating Democrats and Republicans may be wider than ever.

Dan Lothian is at the White House.

So, Dan, the president trying to bridge this divide. Does he have the political clout to pull it off?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's certainly trying to. I mean that's why for the third day in a row now, he will be meeting with congressional leaders hoping that a deal can get hammered out.

You saw the president holding a press conference yesterday. He sits down for an interview with CBS News today. The president is still pushing for a bill deal, a comprehensive deal. He's telling Republicans that he's willing to take the heat from his own party such as -- because he is willing to put things like entitlement programs on the table and he's urging Republicans to stand up to their base as well.

The bottom line, the president does not want any kind of temporary agreement that he believes will only push the problem down the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will not sign a 30- day or a 60-day or a 90-day extension. That is just not an acceptable approach. And if we think it's going to be hard -- if we think it's hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be thinking six months from now in the middle of election season when they are all up.

It's not going to get easier. It's going to get harder. So we might as well do it now. Pull off the Band-Aid. Eat our peas.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Of course, taxes remain the big sticking point. The president, though, insisting that nothing would change before 2013 so it would not happen during a difficult economic environment, but House Speaker John Boehner saying that there's no reason to raise taxes in order to control spending.

He believes the best way to get revenue is by improving the overall economy by creating jobs. He says he's willing to get a deal done with Democrats and the White House, but, in his words, it takes two to tango and they are not there yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Dan Lothian at the White House. Dan, thanks.

The debt crisis overseas is sending a chill through Wall Street this morning. Less than half hour before the opening bell, U.S. stocks may be headed for another rough day.

Ali Velshi joining us once again live from New York.

So, Ali, what does it mean?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, first of all, futures seem to be leveling out a little bit, Kyra.

There are a couple of things going on here. One, as Dan was just saying, we just heard from the Treasury secretary who's making a speech and he says he's expecting a deal on the debt done by the end of the week. So you've got that whole U.S. debt thing weighing on the markets.

But yesterday, the markets took a tumble. And what you've got is concerns about Europe. So Greece has been weighing on everybody's mind. Now Italy has come into the forefront.

It's this whole concept, Kyra, that whether it's the United States or Europe, if somebody -- some government is not able to meet its obligations, all debt becomes risky, all debt in governments, all debt in safe institutions, become risky and what that means is interest rates go up.

Interest rates going up, as you and I have discussed many, many times, has the same affect around the world. It means it cost more to borrow money which means consumers spend less money, businesses take fewer loans and they expand at a slower pace. So what we need right now in the world right now is people to invest money, perhaps borrow money to invest it, and to spend.

And interest rates have the effect of slowing economies down. So we're looking -- investors in the U.S. this morning are looking with one eye on Europe to say, is Italy going to become the next Greece? And most people say it probably isn't but it's a reason for concern.

And what is happening with the United States? Are we getting a deal or not?

So that's the stuff that's got investors worried right now, Kyra. If you're an investor, you've got a 401(k) or an IRA, I would say that it's time to make sure that you know how log in and you know what to do if things start to get rattled. But at this point, markets look like they'll probably open a little bit lower but not a major, major worry at this hour. Things are changing on an hourly basis, though, in -- between Europe and U.S. debt negotiations.

PHILLIPS: And we've got this deadline looming, August 2nd.

VELSHI: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK? If the stalemate continues, Ali, for the next, you know, couple of weeks, what do we do?

VELSHI: Yes. I think you've got a week to 10 days before you need to start worrying. I would say that if we are at 10 days from now and we don't have a deal, what you'll start to see is people taking their money out of stocks and putting them into what we consider to be more secure investments and that is cash or gold or commodities.

But at the moment, I think people are still playing it for the next week or so because most of the major players -- Treasury Secretary Geithner, President Obama and the eight congressional leaders who are in these negotiations -- are all sort of saying it's in everybody's interest to get a deal.

If you start seeing somebody breaking away or not getting one you might want to look at your investments and make sure you're not too overly exposed to a volatile stock market -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Ali, appreciate.

VELSHI: OK.

PHILLIPS: President Obama is getting pushback from members of his own party from offering spending cuts in the debt negotiations.

Our senior political editor Mark Preston with this angle.

So let's talk about who's the most angry, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, Kyra, you know, we talk a lot about the Tea Party influence and the conservative activists influence over the debt negotiations. But you know something? We're seeing liberals up in arms.

In fact, let's take a look at this pledge from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. It's an e-mail they sent out yesterday and they are threatening to withhold financial support, as well as volunteer hours.

In fact, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee says 189,000 people have agreed not to help President Obama win reelection if he touched Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in regards to this debt ceiling negotiation. The Progress Change Campaign Committee say that he said that this value of all this is equal to two million volunteer hours.

And get this, Kyra, $11 million in contributions. So we are seeing the liberals right now up in arms over what they think could be putting some of these entitlement programs in jeopardy.

You know let's talk quickly about President Clinton and what he's been doing since he has left office back in 2001. While he's been out on the speaking circuit as all of our former presidents tend to do, and it's turned out to be very lucrative.

Our own Robert Yoon looked at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's financial disclosure reports. These are reports required to be filed with the federal government. In those reports we got a look at what Bill Clinton is making on the campaign, or rather on the speaking circuit.

Just in the last year alone, Kyra, he made $10.7 million for 52 speeches. Since he left office back in 2001, the staggering number of $75.6 million President Clinton has made on the speaking circuit.

Now we should note that he also does quite a bit of philanthropy and other presidents also engaged in this speaking practice -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mark Preston, thanks.

We'll have your next political update in about an hour. You can also get all the latest political news on our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai half-brother has been assassinated. Ahmed Wali Karzai was the provincial chief of Kandahar. He was shot during a gathering at his home.

Zain Verjee has been following this story since early this morning.

So, Zain, first of all, any details that you can tell us about this shooting?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we understand is that his bodyguard shot him. That there was some kind of a gathering with friends, tribal leaders and politicians at his own home in Kandahar.

And according to one report, this bodyguard said hey, I just want to talk to you about something. They went into another room and then he was shot. He was shot and had bullets in his head, his chest, possibly his hand as well. They rushed him to the hospital. He did not survive.

Kyra, this is a really significant death. This is a man who was the most powerful man in all of south Afghanistan based out of Kandahar and nothing happened in that entire region without him. He controlled the area for his brother, the President Hamid Karzai. And it was really critical for the United States because they really depended on him for their ability to move forward with the anti-Taliban campaign.

They held their noses because this is guy who was also corrupt dealing in the drug trade, although he denied the allegations but it was believed that he was fueling the drug trade, as well as profiting from private security contractors as well.

So it's something that is really going to worry the U.S. about the stability of Afghanistan and of the region and it will benefit the Taliban.

PHILLIPS: All right. Zain Verjee, it was definitely a story that we will continue to keep following and see what kind of impact it does have on politics there. And of course, his brother, the president.

All right, coming up a man with a huge collection of presidential memorabilia apparently tried to add to it illegally. We'll tell you what went down.

And crew members from the International Space Station have started their spacewalk. Wait until you see and hear what they are working on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country.

Protesters shut down a San Francisco subway station angry over a police shooting. Transit officers shot and killed a drunk man after a confrontation last week. The protesters want the officers fired and charge as criminals.

In Bakersfield, California, another police shooting killed a former NFL football player David Lee Turner. Police say that Turner was buying beer for minors and he had hit an officer in the head with a bag of beer. The second officer shot and killed Turner who was a running back that played two seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals.

And Baltimore police arrested presidential historian Barry Landau and another man. They are accused of stealing $1 million worth of documents from the Maryland Historical Society. Landau already has one of the largest collections of presidential memorabilia. Among the things they tried to steal papers signed by Abraham Lincoln. Well, crew members from the International Space Station are getting ready for the latest spacewalk, the last spacewalk actually. It will last more than six hours -- and get this -- the Atlantis crew is also testing a new system to turn their urine into a sugary flavored sports drink. That got us thinking about the list of many things developed by the space program.

Let's get some perspective on that and turning to our John Zarrella who has covered NASA so many years.

And, John, we're waiting for the live pictures. I'm not sure what's going on with the NASA feed. Here they are. We've got the live pictures. This is happening right now as we speak.

You know, first of all, tell us about what they are working on right now. Actually, turning this --

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, actually, that's an exterior of the International Space Station that we're looking at. I'm not sure from which camera angle that's taken but you can see there's darkness out there.

They are waiting for the two astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan who are on in the air lock to actually open that air-lock and go out into space in their space suits. And what they are going to do this morning is there's an old ammonia pump that failed about a year ago.

And that pump that failed a year ago has been put into like just an area where it's being housed. They are going to get on the cannon of the arm. The reach going to take turns out there, they're going to grab that ammonia pump and they're going to put it into the shuttle's cargo bay so it can be brought back to earth.

It's really just space junk now they want to get rid of. And with this, the last shuttle flight, it gives them the opportunity to get rid of that old pump, along with a lot of other stuff that they're going to be bringing back that's just space junk.

This spacewalk, Kyra, should last about six hours -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: As we know, you know, many things have come from our time in space.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Many inventions. But before, you know, quickly, a look at that list -- tell me about the sugary flavored sports drink they are working on.

ZARRELLA: Well, there's a lot of different drinks out there, a lot of stuff that they have been working on for years. And, you know, sports drinks are one -- you've got the list of some of the other items up there.

But, you know, there's also an interesting item, you know, that the United States Army is using some robots now that search for IEDs. So, our U.S. servicemen, many of them, their lives are saved from the robots and the technology from those robots comes from NASA's mars and lunar rovers that they are developing for future missions.

And, also, Kyra, you got two little children. Well, guess what? Something nutritional that has been developed by NASA is in some of the milk that's sold for babies. Take a listen to this sound bite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL LOCKNEY, NASA OFFICE OF THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST: The nutritional supplements that were discovered during algae experiments for long duration space flights believe to be important in development of the brain and the eyes, the fatty tissue, had previously only been found in human breast milk. That's now available in 95 percent of the infant formula sold around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That's pretty interesting. And, Zarrella, I mean, that, in addition, to bar coding, memory foam, LED technology, sunglasses -- I mean, it's pretty incredible over the years. And now, this latest thing that they are working on.

ZARRELLA: Amazing. Yes, and, you know, we always think, oh, NASA has cost the taxpayers so much money. Half of 1 percent, that's right. Half of 1 percent of the federal budget goes to the space program.

And, you know, Apollo gave us 80 direct spin-offs of the shuttle program, which, of course, lasted a lot longer than Apollo has given us 120 direct spin-offs. And you can see there, Kyra, that's the astronauts opening that lock about to go about into space on this walk -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. And when they do that, we'll take it live. John, we'll check in on you. Thanks so much.

All right. Women around the world were asked about their stress levels. And a lot of their stress was tied to their financial situations. OK, we can understand that. So we are going to talk about where exactly, what part of the country the most stressed women are.

And later, a food fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was an ignorant decision. You know? Who says that at 6 you're magically mature enough to eat in a restaurant?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's up to him. If he thinks there is a problem under 6, then I think the patrons should abide by that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's not that kids eat free if they are under 6. They don't eat at all! We'll tell you about one restaurant, an owner's decision is making that has parents talking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Your showbiz headlines now.

Beyonce's dad says he didn't do it. TMZ reports that he was fired after she suspected he may be stealing from her. Matthew Knowles says that after Beyonce's tour company made the accusation, her law firm audited him and he was shown the door. According to TMZ, Knowles is trying to prove his innocence.

The Black Eyed Peas take an indefinite break. But they insist it's a break, it's not a break-up. At a show in England, they told fans it would be similar to the one taken after their 2005 CD "Monkey Business." They perform again in 2009. They performed rather in 2009.

"Pawn Stars'" Big Hoss is trading fat for fit. Corey Harrison says last year, he got a lap band. His weight back then 365 pounds. History Channel star tells people after a year of workouts, new diet, he lost 115 pounds.

All right, guys, how stressed out is your wife, your daughter, your mother? Well, a new study asks women around the world how stressed they were. They actually asked women in 21 countries.

And Zain Verjee who never stresses at all brings us the details of this study. Oh, we can relate, can't we?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, we can. After all of those massages you and I get, the manis and pedis, we are so relaxed after our aromatherapy, right, before we come into work.

Well, let me tell you, Nielsen did a survey of, as you say, 21 countries. And the number three the most stressed out country in the world is Russia. Number two was Mexico. And the number one most stressed out country in the world was India.

Kyra, 82 percent of women said they just did not have any time to relax. United Kingdom came in at number 11, and the United States number 12. Now, in this survey, they made a distinction, Kyra, between emerging countries and developing countries.

And what they found out with something like India, for example, as well as the other developing countries, is that women had to juggle work, right? Their careers, as well as busy home lives.

But they also had to conform to very traditional expectations and traditional standards. So, they found in developing countries, women had the social infrastructure to allow them to do -- you know, juggling, you know, the social support for them to be able to do that. Whereas, in developing countries, that was not the case.

The most relax country in the world, the least stressed out country, Kyra, is -- can you guess?

PHILLIPS: No. Tell me where! Bora Bora? Tahiti?

(LAUGHTER)

VERJEE: Yes. I wish we could go there. But, no, it's actually Sweden. Are you moving there any time soon?

PHILLIPS: I may be doing that now. You and I will be packing our bags. It's a beautiful place, that's for sure.

VERJEE: I know, it sure is.

PHILLIPS: Zain, who never stresses us out. All right. Thank you.

Well, Pennsylvania restaurant owner says that there's nothing wrong with babies, except that you just can't control the volume and he wants them out. He instituted a ban for children under age 6. Bad idea or good business decision?

Alison Kosik is watching your money. She's watching the baby patrol as well.

There's lot of controversy over this, Alison. A lot of people are talking about this decision.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is. You know, kind of remind me of the "Soup Nazi." You remember the "Soup Nazi," right? This is kind of a -- yes, exactly. No restaurants for 6-year-olds.

So, this is happening at McDain's restaurant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. That's near Pittsburgh. Its owner, Mike Vuick. Yes, his name rhymes with Buick. He says he and his customers have had it -- they absolutely had it -- with these noisy kids and he wants them out. He doesn't want them in the restaurant. It sounds like discrimination, right?

But you know what? Hey, it could be good for business. The restaurant happens to be attached to a golf course, so this kid ban could please those older customers who come in. Vuick says, "You know what, I'm giving customers what they want."

Here's what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE VUICK, OWNER, MCDAINS RESTAURANT: We've had the place here for 22 years and the restaurant 9. I've noticed, just in those 9 years, that there are certain parents who can't leave their child at home. You know, their child, maybe as it should be, is the center of their universe, but they don't realize it's not the center of "the" universe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Well, well, well. You know what? I'm sure plenty of local restaurants, Kyra, that are ready to jump on this and welcome kids into their restaurants with open arms. And, hey, parents, you know what? You can always cook for the under 6 crowd, too.

All right. Serious side, real fast. Quick check on the market. We are coming off on a pair of losing sessions that we've had here on Wall Street and we're on track for another week open.

It's Italy that's grabbing the European debt crisis spotlight away from Greece and it's making investors really nervous that Europe's problems are spiraling out of control -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Alison Kosik, thank you.

He put his life on the line for his fellow soldiers and lost a hand in the process. An American hero headed to the White House today to accept the nation's highest military honor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now. The scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch's media empire is growing. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says one of Murdoch's papers illegally obtained his bank details and now British lawmakers have asked Murdoch and his son to testify before them.

The last space shuttle -- or the last spacewalk of this shuttle era is underway right now. Live pictures as NASA says space debris is no danger to the space station or the Atlantis at this hour.

And the half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is assassinated at his home. The Taliban is claiming responsibility.

A vaccination program in a Pakistani city seems simple enough but it wasn't what it appeared to be. The two Pakistani nurses told by a doctor to vaccinate residents in Abbottabad were allegedly part of a CIA plot to identify the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.

Our Reza Sayah joins me now live from Islamabad.

So Reza, give us the details on this alleged plot.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this was just a fascinating plot, Kyra, and it really drives home how far the CIA went to, to locate Osama bin Laden.

Here's what we know. A Pakistani intelligence source tells us that a Pakistani doctor has been arrested and he's suspected of helping out the CIA set up this plot. According to this source, he allegedly set up a vaccination campaign, offering free shots, free vaccinations to children and residents of Abbottabad where the bin Laden compound was.

According to the British newspaper, "The Guardian," he hired two nurses. These nurses went around from house-to-house. The plan was to get to the bin Laden kids, extract their bloods or use the syringes from the vaccination to eventually match their DNA to with the DNA of bin Laden's sister who passed way in Boston, Massachusetts last year.

Now, we haven't been able to independently verify if these two nurses got into the bin Laden compound. We did track down one of the nurses who was allegedly involved in this plot, over the phone, and she kept telling us repeatedly that she can't comment on this matter.

We've managed to talk to about six residents in Abbottabad, and they tell us that, indeed, in late April, just days before the raid on the bin Laden compound, two nurses were going around in Abbottabad administering these vaccinations.

So, some fascinating details to this plot. A lot of information to be gathered yet, but, Kyra, it comes straight out of a spy novel, seemingly.

PHILLIPS: Yes. No doubt. And then talking -- just to ask you more about this doctor and the fact that the doctor is in detention. You know, what does that tell us about U.S./Pakistani relations and the trust factor here?

SAYAH: It tells us that the relationship is not good sensing we've know about -- it's not clear why he's in custody or if he's going to be charged with a crime.

But, look, Pakistan has not been happy with this unilateral raid on this compound. It could be sending a message on this arrest to the U.S. And certainly, they've made every effort -- Pakistani officials have -- to establish how the U.S. and the CIA was able to establish their own intelligence network behind the Pakistani government's back.

But certainly it indicates that when it comes to some intelligence and this raid on this bin Laden compound, that U.S. and Pakistan were not on the same page and certainly they have some difference that they have yet to work out.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow the story. Intriguing, indeed.

Reza, thanks.

Well, during a raid in Afghanistan in 2008, U.S. Army Ranger Leroy Arthur Petry watched as a grenade landed near him and two other rangers. Petry grabbed the grenade and was throwing it back when it went off and it severed his right hand. Well, this afternoon Petry is being awarded the Medal of Honor for his life-saving action.

Barbara Starr joining us live from the Pentagon.

Barbara, tell us more about this pretty awesome young man.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Really, truly awesome, Kyra. This young man will receive the Medal of Honor later today from President Obama in the White House what they call, conspicuous gallantry and acting above and beyond the call of duty.

It was a very daring daylight raid that they were on. Usually, these types of compound raids, of course take place under the cover of darkness. They went in during the day after some insurgents. When they got in the compound, fire, heavy fire opened up. The only place they could find to take cover was a chicken coop and that's where they tried to fire back from.

Petry, getting wounded once -- and then that grenade rolling in from the insurgents who tossed it to his chicken coop cover area in the compound. He picked it up at that point, already wounded, threw it back at the insurgents. It went off in his hand and he lost his right hand.

But according to other troops who were there with him under fire, they very much credit him with saving their lives. And if you just want to understand something about this 32-year-old soldier, consider this. He's now been in the war zone on eight different tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is still with his beloved 75th Ranger regiment out of Ft. Benning, Georgia. Today he will be at the White House stepping into history next to the president of the United States -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And I understand his wife and four kids also will be there. Barbara, what an incredibly proud family and --

STARR: It really is, because I think it's worth just taking a minute to remember he is the only the second American service member living to be receiving the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There have been several others. They have been -- their families have received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest combat award posthumously, because, of course, sadly, in so many of these cases, it is heavy combat, it is brutal, it is deadly and they do pass away, they die trying to save their buddies on the battlefield.

So this is now, of course, only the second young man. It was about several months ago, of course, Sal Jenta, another Army soldier, received the Medal of Honor for his actions in eastern Afghanistan. Now we have a second young man, as we say, stepping into history alongside so many others -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: They humble us all for sure.

Barbara, thanks so much.

STARR: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Republican Michele Bachmann making a strong run for the White House, but is she fit to be president? Coming up we'll talk to our CNN contributor LZ Granderson who has some provocative thoughts on the matter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: She is the darling of the Tea Party movement, but is Michele Bachmann fit to be president? She's accused of numerous gaffed which remind us of Howard Dean. Remember this moment that may have been the reason he got knocked out of the 2004 presidential race? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), 2004 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Going to South Dakota, and Oregon and Washington, and Michigan and then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House! Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, weekly contributor LZ Granderson says Bachmann is the new Howard Dean with far more gaffes and she's still a contender.

Now, LZ, you say that she's not fit for the White House but she's dominated the headlines, increased her popularity and is legitimately running for president. She's got a following.

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I know. I know. Can you believe it? I mean, I'm really confused by this, I really am.

It reminds me of what happened here in Michigan back in 1998, when we Jeffrey Figer who's famous for defending Jack Kevorkian. He ran for governor and like Bachmann, he made a series of erroneous statements and just craziness. But before we knew it, he was the Democratic nominee going against the incumbent. And so I'm looking at Michele Bachmann and I'm going, what is going on?

PHILLIPS: And you say she's been given a pass. Why do you say that and what do you mean?

GRANDERSON: I don't know if it's a pass as much as she has an -- a group that doesn't really care that she makes these mistakes because they just seem to like her. And while, you know, that's definitely admirable to like someone, you have to really look at their political stances before you can decide to make a decision who you're going to vote for, at least I would think.

PHILLIPS: You say her conversations don't matter. Why?

GRANDERSON: I'm baffled. I mean, I wrote this piece because I'm hoping that the readers actually will have some suggestions to help me wade through there murky water. I really don't understand how she can get away with saying the things that she says, like banning porn which is including the marriage vow she recently signed, and no one's really taking her to task, or better yet, just start to ignore her.

PHILLIPS: But people believe in what she's saying, LZ, you know? They're supporting her. They're showing up at the rallies.

GRANDERSON: Aren't you scared? Aren't you scared by that?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You're not supposed to put me on the spot like that. I'm remaining neutral. This is your op-ed, LZ. This is your op-ed.

(LAUGHTER) GRANDERSON: Well, then I'll put it this way. Yes, that scares me. That scares me that someone can say things line African-Americans were better off in slavery than they are under President Obama and no one in her supporter base is taking that seriously enough to say, you know what, maybe she's not the person I should be supporting.

PHILLIPS: Well, here you go. Here's your opportunity to write into LZ, get involved in on the conversation. He wants you to give him a reason to support Michele Bachamann so read his piece on CNN.com/opinion. Weigh in and you can get into it with LZ.

LZ, thanks.

GRANDERSON: Hey, thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Always a pleasure.

All right. We talked about the stifling heat that's gripping a lot of the country right now. We're going to actually show you an example of what exactly it can do. There you go.

And we've been telling you about the phone hacking scandal in Britain. Well, we're learning that phone hacking is easier than you might think.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, let's check stories across the country.

Chicago has some cleaning up to do, downed trees and an overturned plane. More than 800,000 people losing power all because of a storm that grew out of the intense heat that's sending the heat index into triple digits in 15 states.

Take a look at this. In Pawnee County, Oklahoma, engineers blame the heat for the buckling in the highway. This is the Cimarron Turnpike. A man on a motorcycle actually went airborne trying to cross the section of the roadway and wound up in the hospital.

The British government is calling Rupert Murdoch to testify about how his newspapers allegedly spied on people for years mining for stories for his British newspapers. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says that he was one of those victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think what happened pretty early on in government is that the "Sunday Times" appear to have got access to my building society account, they got access to my legal files, there are some question mark about what happened to other files, documentation, tax and everything else.

But I'm shocked. I'm genuinely shocked to find that this happened because of their links with criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: So we are hearing a lot about phone hacking these days. But how exactly do you do that?

CNN's Brian Todd talked to the experts and it's a lot easier than you might think.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For "News of the World" reporters to have allegedly hacked into the voice mails of murder victim Milli Dowler, of celebrities or terror victims, experts say they wouldn't have to be experts.

KEVIN MAHAFFEY, LOOKOUT MOBILE SECURITY: There are a lot of easy to use techniques and freely available tools that can help hackers get access to your phone.

TODD: In speaking with telecom and cyber-security experts, we picked up three techniques hackers can use to get into that your voice mail.

First they can dial into your voice mail network, keep trying default pass codes like 1111.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Enter password and pound sign, log is incorrect. Try again.

TODD: Many cell phone providers give users default pass codes to retrieve voice mails and many users either never bothered to change them or changed them to bad pass codes like their birthdays, information that can be obtained from places like Facebook.

We spoke with a Anup Ghosh, founder of Invincea, a cyber-security company.

(on camera): A second method for hacking into someone's voicemail is to spoof your phone number to make someone's voice mail think that it's their own phone accessing the voicemail. To do that you sometimes can go to a Web site that lets you get a spoof phone number. And Anup Ghosh and I are going to do that.

(voice-over): We buy a spoof account on SpoofCard.com, a legitimate Web site for pranksters. It allows us to call any number we want, make it seem like it's coming from any number we want. Then from another phone we call Anup's cell phone disguised as his own number.

ANUP GHOSH, FOUNDER/CEO, INVINCEA: I'm going to ignore this phone call.

TODD (on camera): You're going to ignore the call, ok.

ANUP: I'm Anup Ghosh, please leave a message.

TODD: Now, you hit star.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have one unheard message.

TODD: So we were able to hear your voicemails just now, a very simple process if you just dial a series of numbers.

GHOSH: That's absolutely right. I have a pin set up on my voicemail account but if I'm dialing my voicemail account from my phone I get straight into it.

TODD (voice-over): Some carriers require you to give a pass code to access you're voicemail from your own phone. Some don't making it easier for hackers. A third method to hack into a voicemail --

MAHAFFEY: They can call your network operator and pretend to be you and say that they lost your password and that they need to get access to your accounts, supply information such as your Social Security number, your date of birth and you mother's maiden name and they would be able to get access to your full account.

TODD: So how do you protect yourself? Experts say you can call your carrier and set a pass code for your account itself. So that even if a hacker knows a lot of that personal information about you, they don't know that pass code.

(on camera): Experts say you should also keep changing the passwords on your different accounts, maybe as often as you change your toothbrush, like every few months and limit the amount of personal information about yourself on Facebook and other social media. That's a gold mine for hackers.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you won't see this card at any Hallmark store. Instead, just head to Grand Central Station and sign it. Baseball fans congratulate Derek Jeter on joining the 3,000-hit club.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, stories making news later today, President Obama presents the Medal of Honor to Army Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petri (ph) at the White House at 2:00 Eastern.

Congressional leaders are at the Chief Executives Mansion or the Chief Executive Mansion rather for a meeting with the President on reducing the nation's debt. That will be set for 3:45 Eastern.

And a memorial for former First Lady Betty Ford is being held at 5:00 Eastern in Palm Desert, California.

Ok, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Dan Lothian on those critical debt reduction talks -- Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Congressional leaders return to the White House for the third straight day. President Obama, asking them to come with specifics as they try to reach that goal of raising the debt ceiling. There are still big differences and Republicans are still saying, no tax to hikes. I'll have more on that at the top of the hour.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Zain Verjee in London. And Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's half-brother has been assassinated in Kandahar. I'll tell you why it even matters to the United States.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Demand for streaming movies online is red hot and studios are positioning themselves to cash in on the craze. I'll tell you who loses when the studios win in the next hour -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Alison.

Thanks guys.

Also coming up next hour -- forget about the cash bonus. How about blowing it up the boss's car instead? We're going to talk to the explosive sales team, next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. I can't believe it nearly happened again. Another fan almost fell over from the railing at a ballpark.

Jeff Fischel, luckily he had some friends there, to catch him right as he was over the railing.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Postal coast, it happened last night during the home run derby before the night's all-star games. It's really frightening. And this is just days after a fan fell at a Texas Rangers game and died.

So here it is last night. Prince Fielder during the home run derby, the deep shot to right center. Watch the spot shadow. Keith Carmichael falls over the rail but his brother, a friend and another fans grab and held on. What a frightening moment for Carmichael. He was ok. He is, of course, the big winner from last night.

But the big winner on the field, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, he beat the Red Sox Adrian Gonzalez 12-11 in the home run derby final. What made it even more special for Cano, his dad was the one pitching to him. The great moment, there's the hug.

Well, fans have their chance to congratulate another Yankee. Derek Jeter, on reaching 3,000 hits. A 15-foot card is in New York's Grand Central Station. If you can't get there to sign it, online wishes are being pasted to it. Gillette will present the card to Jeter along with $50,000 for his charity. That's nice to see for Jeter, the 28th Major-leaguer ever to reach 3,000 hits and the first Yankee actually.

PHILLIPS: You're not going to go sign the card? I thought you'd be the first one over there to write your little message, "Give me live interview."

FISCHEL: There you go. PHILLIPS: Hey, we'll just say it on the air. There we go.

Thanks, Jeff.