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Three Bombs Explode in Mumbai; Debt Talks Stalled Over Spending; Murdoch Drops Bid for BSkyB; Lawsuit for Casey Anthony; Women's Soccer: USA Versus France; Common Cover Letter Mistakes; Reflections From Rodney King

Aired July 13, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for Wednesday, July 13th.

Three bombs rocked India's commercial capital, Mumbai. That is a city that is still on edge after the large-scale terror attack back in 2008.

Police say the explosions have killed at least eight people and wounded at least 70. One blast targeted Mumbai's opera house area, but few other details are clear at this time. It was just three years that choreographed attacks on Mumbai hotels and other sites killed almost 170 people.

Well, CNN reporter Mallika Kapur joins us live on the phone from Mumbai.

First of all, tell us -- I understand that these bombs hit a busy commercial site, a lot of people during rush hour. What do we know about this? What are you seeing?

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The explosions took place in three areas, three very, very busy commercial areas. They took place a little over an hour ago, three of them within 15 minutes of each other.

We have heard from the home minister just a few minutes ago, and he has confirmed that there were three improvised devices used, and those are the ones that set off the blasts. Before that, they were still not sure what had caused the blasts. There was lots of speculation. But the home minister said that they were improvised devices that were used.

The method is just sticking in with Mumbai. There is a palpable sense of fear on the streets at the moment. People are still waiting to find out how many people have been injured, how many casualties.

There are various reports at the moment, because it's still early. It's just been about an hour since these explosions took place.

Some reports are saying there could be as many as 100 people injured. People have been rushed to hospitals. We know in the last few minutes that India's highest security force, the NSG, which is the National Security Guard, that they had been deployed and they will be reaching the sites of the explosions as well. We have learned recently that improvised explosive devices were used in all three locations. One of the explosions went off on a car, one of them in a motorbike, and an energy (ph) commando team is on their way at the moment.

MALVEAUX: Mallika, do we know who is responsible for these bombings?

KAPUR: We do not. We absolutely do not know that at the moment, and the government is being very careful at the moment not to say too much. They have not even declared these terrorists attacks as of now.

But some of the local news channels have jumped on it, and we are seeing flashes across all the multiple local channels here, "Terrorists strike Mumbai Once Again." We have to repeat and make clear that the government has not categorized this as a terrorist attack yet.

At the moment, nobody is saying or speculating about who might be behind these attacks. It's still too early. At the moment, they're just focusing on getting people to hospitals, getting people out of these areas, and making sure that Mumbai residents (ph) are safe.

People who are in offices have been told to remain in offices, to get off the streets. People on the streets are desperately trying to come home or trying to contact one another, and that's becoming increasingly difficult, because the communications systems are shutting down. It's very difficult to reach people on the phone. Everybody's cell phone lines appear to be jammed.

MALVEAUX: OK. Mallika Kapur, thank you so much for joining us.

Obviously, we'll get back to that breaking news as it develops.

Well, they are meeting today, but the president and Republicans are nowhere near a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Now a backup plan just in case to keep the government from defaulting on its bills.

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell wants to, in effect, turn over the authority to increase the debt ceiling to the president. We're going to explain that plan in just a minute.

For now, President Obama has an alarming warning about what could happen with Social Security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue, because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: That just isn't true, because the funds there for Social Security and these emergencies, the cash flow is good enough for that. And if they really needed to, why don't they just quit sending the interest rate payments over to the Federal Reserve? So, no, I think he's using scare tactics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Rupert Murdoch's News Corps today dropped plans to buy British Sky Broadcasting. That is the pay TV service commonly known as BSkyB.

An executive concedes that the deal couldn't get government approval in this climate. What are we talking about? Well, the company's three British newspapers are accused of illegal eavesdropping and police bribery.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced a government investigation is going to explore the phone-hacking scandal and the paper's ties to police and politicians. He also defended hiring former "News of the World" editor Andy Coulson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The decision to employ a tabloid editor meant that there were a number of people who said this was not a good idea, particularly when that tabloid editor had been at the "News of the World" when bad things had happened. I The decision I made was to accept the assurances that he gave me.

And as I've said, those were assurances given to the police, to a select committee, and to a court of law. But if I was lied to, if others were lied to, that would be a matter of deep regret.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The man accused of killing six people in Tucson and wounding Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords can't be forced to take powerful anti-psychotic drugs. The government hoped that medications would make Jared Lee Loughner competent to stand trial. He's diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. But a federal appeals court says that Loughner is presumed innocent and has more say over his body than a felon.

California cops say Rodney King was behind the wheel drunk again. Police have hauled King in a number of times since he became a household name. In 1991, videotape showed police beating King. Riots erupted in Los Angeles when a jury acquitted three of the officers in that beating.

The family in the reality series "Sister Wives" plans to file suit against Utah today. Now, the program follows Kody Brown and four women he considers his wives. Legally, he's only married to one. Now, the group is challenging Utah's ban on bigamy, contending that the state has no right to criminalize that lifestyle.

At this hour, advocates are urging the Senate to renew the Violence Against Women Act. TV's Dr. Phil is among those pressing the Senate Judiciary Committee to take some action. The law provides federal dollars to groups that work to prevent domestic and sexual violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MCGRAW, HOST, "THE DR. PHIL SHOW": There are two million women a year that are victimized, meaning that as we sit here today in the first hour of this hearing, if you do the math, 228 women are being victimized, they're being beaten, terrorized, and intimidated as we sit here in the first hour, all behind closed doors, all undoubtedly feeling very alone. And three of those women will be murdered today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The Atlantis crew blasts into their day with Elton John's "Rocket Man."

(MUSIC)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Atlantis. Success on your mission and a huge thank you to all the men and women --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The final spacewalk of the shuttle era is done. The astronauts will be high-paid moving men, cleanup crews for the rest of the mission. They've got a year's worth of supplies to unload for the space station, and they will pack Atlantis with space station trash to bring back to Earth.

Well, the U.S. women, yes, they're ready to rumble, ready to make a few French pastries, ready to devour those French creampuffs. That's what we're talking about, the Americans taking on France in the World Cup.

The soccer semifinal in less than an hour. The U.S. women's team has never lost to France. If they win, they play the winner of the Japan/Sweden match for the women's soccer championship on Sunday. Good luck.

Lawmakers from both parties head back to the White House today for the latest round of talks on raising the debt limit. But the talks, they have stalled over efforts to cut spending.

President Obama pushed for the so-called grand bargain, $4 trillion in savings over 10 years, plus reforms in Medicare and other entitlements, along with future tax increases. Now, Republicans oppose any tax hikes. So then there's the initial plan that was led by Vice President Biden, less ambition, more than $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. But the White House also wants tax increases.

Now, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposes a fallback option. It allows the president Obama to raise the debt ceiling in limited stages to keep the country from defaulting on its bills.

Congressional Correspondent Kate Bolduan, she's joining us from Capitol Hill.

And Kate, there's a lot to digest, but we're trying to lay it out so people can understand what's going on.

How are the Republicans reacting, first of all, to McConnell's plan, this limited plan?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, so far, I can say that conservatives, especially, they seem to be more openly skeptical and critical of the McConnell plan than we've heard from other areas on Capitol Hill, and here's why.

The McConnell plan gives the authority to President Obama to essentially raise the debt ceiling, but it does not require, in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, an equal amount of spending cuts, or even significant spending cuts. It only requires that the president kind of outline and lay out what spending cuts he would support in the equal amount of the debt ceiling raised, the increase that he's requesting. And that, of course, as you can understand, conservatives are very much against, because that's really been one of their main arguments in this whole debate, is that we're trying to get our fiscal house in order, they say, and they want big spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

I will say, though, House Republican leaders, they seem to at least publicly be more open to the idea. John Boehner, the House Speaker, even saying yesterday that he thinks that Mitch McConnell has done very good work. And we've also heard from some Democrats, Suzanne, that they seem to be open to the idea as well.

But one important point to make. While this doesn't require an exchange of spending cuts, this McConnell is also designed with a bit of a catch. It does force -- would force three very politically tough votes ahead of the 2012 election that Republicans and anyone opposed to the debt ceiling could be on the record opposing. And it would also then -- it's designed to then put the full responsibility of raising this debt ceiling, of this new debt, right in the lap of the president. So there is some planning there.

MALVEAUX: And Kate, help our viewers understand what's going on here, because obviously you've got the president, you have got Democrats, and you have Republicans. But Republicans are even divided amongst themselves in this debate, and it seems like there is a rift now between House Speaker John Boehner and the Majority Leader, Eric Cantor. What is happening with the Republican Party in this debate?

BOLDUAN: I wouldn't say that maybe that rift was created because of this debt ceiling debate. It has kind of long been reported and speculated that there has been tension between the two offices. But here is what we know.

We know that House Speaker John Boehner had been in discussions with the president about this grand bargain, this $4 trillion deal that would have required, as we're told, some significant tax revenue, and we know very well that Eric Cantor was opposed to that and is opposed to any movement, any budget on the tax issue. But very quickly, House Speaker John Boehner and Eric Cantor have been out and repeatedly made the point to say this week that they are very much on the same page, really trying to tamp down any reports and speculation that there is a rift between their two offices.

But a little bit of this might be a difference in style, if you will, Suzanne. John Boehner is known to be a deal maker, as you can see in his talks with President Obama. And on the flip side, Eric Cantor, a big rising star in this party, he has made a point to demonstrate that he is really protecting the conservative ideals and the conservative kind of part of their party. So we'll have to see how that kind of works out.

MALVEAUX: All right. Kate -- thank you so much, Kate.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering in the next two hours.

British party leaders take a stand against Rupert Murdoch. Now he is dropping plans to buy the country's biggest satellite TV company.

Also, a blistering heat wave moves south. Eleven states are under heat advisories. Now some crops are in danger.

Plus, are men finding jobs faster in this economy than women? Well, that's what a new study suggests.

And finally, the Casey Anthony jury was split down the middle before settling on a verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So what convinced you and the five others to switch your votes and vote for not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think everyone will tell you the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Rupert Murdoch's media empire is under fire from the British government, and now the News Corps head is bowing to the pressure. We have learned that the company is not going to make a bid to buy out British satellite broadcaster BSkyB. Now, that is because of widespread public outrage over an ongoing phone-hacking and bribery scandal.

Our Dan Rivers, he's in London with the latest.

And Dan, give us a sense here. News Corps has lost billions since the scandal broke. How much of this do we think is -- this deal is soured by financial reasons, or how much of it is to keep the public happy, as well as parliament?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no, I think this is all about politics. This became untenable, really, for him to carry on with this deal when every single politician in the House of Commons behind me was voting to block it.

They were about to have a debate in which all of the major parties, or every single party in the House of Commons, was in complete agreement that that deal should not go ahead. And it was against that backdrop, just before that debate started, that it was announced that News Corps had withdrawn its bid.

I think they just realized that it was not feasible to go ahead with this when you've got the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, and numerous other kind of celebrities and luminaries here in England saying it should not go ahead. Against that backdrop, I think they realized it was way better to pull out now and maybe come back and fight another day in a few months' time.

MALVEAUX: And Dan, the lawyer for Milly Dowler's family -- Milly Dowler, she was the murder victim whose voicemail was hacked by one of News Corps newspapers while she was missing and then found dead. What is the lawyer saying today about what they are looking for?

RIVERS: Well, Milly Dowler, this was the case of the murdered 13-year-old girl, and it was revealed that her voicemail had been hacked into by journalists from one of Rupert Murdoch's papers. That's what caused this story to really kind of explode nationally here and cause such an outrage.

They have been in to meet the prime minister, David Cameron, today. He's promised a full inquiry into this whole issue. And their lawyer, Mark Lewis, came out and made a statement today. Here's what he said about that inquiry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LEWIS, DOWLERS' ATTORNEY: The Dowlers are delighted that the prime minister has announced a full judge-led inquiry, and they are particularly pleased that politicians for all three parties have liaised and reacted so quickly in response to the outrage of the public in respect not only of Milly, but all the victims of such unlawful practices by the press.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RIVERS: There is now a suggestion that this has gone sort of state side as well, with Senator Jay Rockefeller saying that if there is any evidence that News International papers or Murdoch-owned newspapers hacked into the voicemails of 9/11 victims, it would be taken extremely seriously. And that has been one allegation here, not proven yet, but it shows how this crisis and scandal just keeps growing.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Rivers, thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Well, the recession hit hard for men in the workplace, but now they're regaining jobs a lot faster than women. The so-called "mancession" may be ending, but the so-called "she-covery" seems to be stalled.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: CNNMoney.com's lead story, "News Corps Drops Bid." Murdoch's company says it's going to end its pursuit of BSkyB after the British phone-hacking scandal. Following that latest story.

Also, a check on the Dow Jones. It is now up is 158 points or so. Following that very closely.

And the economy in general. Some of the media call the latest economic downturn the "mancession" because men lost jobs at a much higher rate than women. Well, now, according to a recent study, men are regaining jobs faster, while women are still losing ground.

So that's causing many to question why the "she-covery" is off to such a slow start.

Alison Kosik joins us from the New York Stock Exchange to talk about all of this.

Alison, all of these words, "she-covery," "mancession," it gets a little confusing here. But we kind of get it. We get what's going on here. There's disparity between men and women.

Tell us what this is about.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus." Sure. There's a huge disparity. Take a look at this.

Just looking at the past two years, Suzanne, since we've been out of the recession, you know what? Men have gained 768,000 jobs. Guess what? Women lost 200,000 jobs.

So, men are finding jobs where women aren't. They're finding it in manufacturing, retail, finance, even in education and health care. Those are traditionally places where women work, and men are gaining jobs at a faster pace than us as well. Now, the only area where women are actually doing better than men is in government jobs. We've added jobs there, while men have lost, but then you have to remember, we've got a lot of government jobs being cut as well -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So, men still don't have a higher unemployment rate than us. Explain the disconnect here.

KOSIK: Actually, men do have the higher unemployment rate.

MALVEAUX: Oh, they do. OK.

KOSIK: So they do. That's OK.

So, unemployment rate for adult men is 9.1 percent. The rate for adult women is at 8 percent, and here's why, because during the recession, men were hit much harder.

We saw the construction, manufacturing areas, those jobs were just obliterated during the recession. And those are traditionally men-oriented sectors. So the fact is, you know, men are making greater strides in the recovery, but they have a bigger hole to dig out of because they lost more jobs during the recession than women did -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So the idea of women struggling in a recovery, does that normally happen? Has that happened in the past?

KOSIK: And that's a good question, but the fact is, what we're going through is just not normal. Historically, women fare better than men in economic recoveries. We saw this in the recoveries during the '70s, the '80s, and the '90s. But the funny thing is, this recession was the biggest since World War II.

So, you know what? All bets are off. We're in new territory. You can't compare it to the past, so we're sort of building new historic trends with this recovery from the recession -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK. Alison, thanks for breaking that down and explaining it to us. Thanks, Alison.

Well, here are your choice for today's "Choose the News."

First, a one-man protest is drawing attention to a building boom in China. He is not willing to give up his home even though all of his neighbors have left.

Second, a study over nine years found a hedge fund managed by women out-produced those run by men, yet women run only three percent of all hedge funds in the United States. Poppy Harlow follows one woman who may be one of the best at picking stocks.

And third, the final "Harry Potter" film is in theaters. And there are no more books coming out, but still a lot planned for "Harry Potter" fans.

So, you can vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "China's Building Boom"; 2 for "Money Pro"; or 3, "Harry Potter's Future."

The winning story will air in the next break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on.

Next, a juror in the Casey Anthony trial tells us what she was thinking when she weighed the evidence.

Then, we take you live to a New York bar as soccer fans get super pumped over today's World Cup semifinals. Team USA versus France.

In about 15 minutes, the president's 2012 fundraising, how that's stacking up against his Republican challengers.

Well Casey Anthony's legal troubles, they're not over. She's being sued by a search and rescue company. Texas Equusearch says it wants to recover its costs from trying to find Anthony's daughter Caylee during the summer and fall of 2008. And the firm wants $115,000 in damages, along with interest and attorney fees. The lawsuit contends that Casey Anthony knew her little girl was dead and intentionally misled the search teams.

Well, we are hearing from a juror in Casey Anthony's murder trial. Juror number 3 talked to CNN's Gary Tuchman about why they did not convict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You told, though, that the original vote for aggravated manslaughter was six to six.

JENNIFER FORD, JUROR, CASEY ANTHONY TRIAL: Correct.

TUCHMAN: And which side of the six were you on?

FORD: The manslaughter.

TUCHMAN: So originally you thought she was guilty of manslaughter or could be.

FORD: Could be, and I wanted to investigate it further to see if it fit based on the evidence that we were given.

TUCHMAN: So what convinced you and the five others to switch your votes and vote for not guilty?

FORD: I think everybody will tell you the same thing, it's just lack of clear evidence. It's just -- like I said, the duct tape and the chloroform, things like that, you could -- if you took a good, hard look at it, you could kind of -- there was a lot of doubt surrounding all of those certain things so there's not enough to make anything stick.

TUCHMAN: So you don't necessarily think she's innocent, but you didn't have enough proof to find her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

FORD: Right. I don't know either way. Like, I mean -- obviously it has not been proven that she's innocent, but it certainly hasn't been proven that she's guilty.

TUCHMAN: The defense in their opening statement said that Casey Anthony's father repeatedly molested her repeatedly when she was young and that's the reason why she kept the drowning of her child a secret.

Do you believe she was molested? Was there evidence that she could have been molested by her father?

FORD: There was no evidence. None at all. And that had no bearing on any verdict that was made. I mean, that was relevant. It was thrown out there but never substantiated so --

TUCHMAN: Did it bother you that it wasn't substantiated later in the trial? What happened was the judge said you cannot bring this up in your closing arguments, defense, because you didn't present any evidence about it.

FORD: I really wish he wouldn't have brought it up. It's a disturbing image to have in your mouth. I mean, he painted a very graphic and disgusting picture. And if you're going to do that, at least back it up. And if you can't back it up, don't put that picture in people's minds. Nobody one wants to see that.

TUCHMAN: And regarding the drowning, I mean, the only evidence that was presented were pictures of Caylee climbing in the pool with her grandmother standing near a screen door -- a door which her grandmother testified she couldn't open. It's pretty flimsy evidence at best, and I'm wondering if you think there was a possibility that she could have drowned.

Was there any evidence that convinced you of that?

FORD: There's no evidence that convinced me of that, no.

TUCHMAN: So you don't think she drowned, you don't think she was molested. So what a casual viewer of this trial might say is, OK, well how could they not find she was guilty of murder?

FORD: Because it has nothing to do with what the defense presents. It's on the prosecution to prove what -- they brought charges. They have to prove with their evidence that those charges, they can validate bringing those charges and that the crime was committed.

TUCHMAN: So you didn't believe the central points that the defense told you --

FORD: No.

TUCHMAN: -- but you just felt that the prosecution didn't have enough evidence to convict? FORD: Like I said, they had good, strong circumstantial evidence. But at the end of the day, it was circumstantial and there was not just one strong piece of evidence that said something definitively. Every piece of evidence could kind of said this or that, this way, that way. I mean, there were many different ways you could have gone with each piece of evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Freedom is right around the corner for Casey Anthony. She is set to get out of jail on Sunday, that after a not guilty verdict that shocked a lot of folks.

Defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes, she joins us here in Atlanta. You were one of them, we know.

First of all, Holly, Casey Anthony, can she be held responsible legally or in any way to reimburse the search and rescue team that went out to look for her dead daughter?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Actually, she can, because basically what she did was committed fraud against them, Suzanne. She knew the baby was dead based on the defense, her attorney, Jose Baez, put forth during that trial. He stood up and said on June 16th of 2008, the baby drowned in the pool. She was never missing.

Well, then when you contacted Texas Equusearch and you let them spend all that money that could have been spent on other missing children. And that's the big thing here. It's not about the money, Suzanne. It's about the 40 other families that were calling Texas Equusearch at the time and saying, can you look for our missing child, and they said no, because we're working on the Anthony case.

MALVEAUX: And what about the sheriff's statement? The sheriff said when she is released, there is not going to be any kind of preferential treatment and they're not going to provide security for her once she leaves. But a lot of people have said, including herself, that she's in danger, that she could be a target of threats.

How do they handle that?

HUGHES: Well, what they're going to do is honestly try and keep her safe while she is in their custody. And once she's released, they have no duty to her anymore unless, of course, they get a 911 call from her or there's a valid threat, and then they'll go and make sure she's fine.

But they are a public police force. They are the taxpayer's people and so they're not a private security force. They don't have any contract with her, they have no duty beyond the duty they owe to all citizens to protect her. So honestly, they can't wait to get her out of the custody because she is receiving threats. Her parents have received death threats. And folks need to just calm down at this point. I don't agree with the verdict, but I'm certainly not going to go out and take pot shots at a juror or the defendant, because the system worked like the system is supposed to work and people need to channel that energy into positive reform.

MALVEAUX: OK. That's good advice there.

Do we still think she's going to be released on Sunday as they've announced, or do you think they're going to try to sneak around in some way before then?

HUGHES: I think they're going to try to sneak her out. It may be 3:00 in the morning.

MALVEAUX: Really? How come?

HUGHES: Because they don't want that mad rush, they don't want the press up in there because what that does is create more of a dangerous situation for them.

They don't know who all is press. If you've got 50 people running at you with cameras, what's to say that there's not a vigilante hiding in that crowd who's going to try and take things into his own hands? What they are trying to do honestly is keep her safe, which is their duty to her as a citizen.

She's been acquitted on the most serious charges. When she walks out of there, she will have completed her sentence on the underlying, you know, the conviction of the lying, and they don't want an incident. So the less people surrounding it, the better.

Look at the Princess Diana thing. She was being chased by paparazzi and she ends up dead. So they are thinking, we don't want this on our watch. Let us just get her out quietly, out of our custody and then she's on her own.

MALVEAUX: All right. Holly, Thank you very much. We'll be watching very closely.

HUGHES: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, again.

Well, a new survey of women in 21 countries compared the level of the stress they're under and they got some interesting results. What country do you think had the most stressed out women? So, these are the choices: United States, India, Sweden or China.

The answer straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So where in the world do the most stressed-out women live? What did you guess? United States, India, Sweden or China? The answer is India. I'm surprised. I thought it was going to be the United States. We're so stressed. A Nielsen study ranked 21 countries, found that women in fast- growing economies like India, are the most stressed because they're joining the work force in greater numbers, they're contributing more to the household income, but at home, they are still playing a traditional role doing most of the household chores. The U.S., by the way, ranks halfway down the list, coming in at number 12. Sweden has the least stressed-out women surveyed.

I really thought it was going to be us. OK, I was wrong. We're not so stressed out after all. It's a good thing.

Women's soccer suddenly grabbing the attention of sports fans all over the country. Team USA is now the heavy favorite to win and win it all in women's World Cup.

Well, Richard Roth in New York with more.

Richard, I see you got some fans there. Last time we saw anything in women's sports, what, it was 1999, the U.S. women won the Cup, Mia Hamm, she became a household name. People are excited.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Talk about stressed women. We've got a big match coming up. Stressed men, also. It's a big match between the U.S. and France, thus I'm in a bar called the Australian.

With me are a couple women who are very interested in this match.

Natalie Smith, what are your thoughts looking forward to the French contest?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's going to be a really exciting game. France plays a really good game but in at the end of the day, we're going to win.

ROTH: What about the last match? Did you have a heart attack?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did. I was by myself in my apartment streaming the game and I think the police were almost called on me, I was yelling so loud.

ROTH: And you're going to Germany?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight. I'm going to go to the third place game and still hoping for tickets to the final.

ROTH: So even if they lose today, you're still flying?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely.

ROTH: All right.

Ms. McMann (ph), with me here.

You play with a Magic sports team (INAUDIBLE). What should the viewers know about this match? What should they look for? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think that I think there's so much pressure on the United States to win, because after all that excitement against Brazil, if they don't go on to win the World Cup, it will be almost forgotten.

ROTH: All right. Eileen and Natalie, thank you very much.

The match is starting soon, USA against France.

Suzanne, back to you.

MALVEAUX: Richard, the last game was awesome. People were shouting and cheering, it was fantastic to watch. What do they have to do to beat France today, do you think?

ROTH: Well, I think they've got to keep up the enthusiasm level and hopefully for the U.S. Team, be able to stay focused enough. Look, they've beaten France a lot. Six shutouts in 12 matches, but the world has caught up with the USA team, I think.

MALVEAUX: What about those capes? I notice she's wearing a flag for a cape there. Are you going to wear something special yourself?

ROTH: No, no. We stay neutral. I don't know, we're a global network at times, but I'm just hoping not to get a beer spilled on my head if they score.

MALVEAUX: OK, Richard. Well, I'm not neutral. I'm rooting for USA, Team USA. Sounds great. Looks like a lot of great fans there. Thanks again, Richard.

Here's a reminder about your "Choose the News" stories today. You can vote for the one that you'd like to see by texting "22360."

Text "1" for China's building boom, one man refusing to move out of his house to protest what he calls out of control construction.

Text "2" for the money pro, one of the most successful hedge fund managers in the country also happens to be a woman.

Or "3" for Harry Potter's future, a look at what's ahead for fans now that the final film in theaters.

Winner story is going to air in the next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A Republican presidential candidate refuses to sign a controversial pledge.

Shannon Travis, part of "The Best Political Team on Television" live from the Political Desk in Washington.

Hey, Shannon. Which candidate are we talking about?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Hey there, Suzanne. We're talking about Mitt Romney. The Republican presidential candidate says, his campaign, says, that he will not sign this controversial pledge from a conservative Iowa group called the Family Leader.

Now I want to read a quote from Mitt Romney's campaign. Quote, "Mitt Romney strongly supports traditional marriage, but he felt this pledge contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign."

Now, you'll probably remember that in this pledge, the pledge is about basically that a marriage is between a man and a woman, but there was a preamble in this pledge that said black children born into slavery in family structures were probably more better off then black children in family structures now. That preamble has been removed from this pledge.

Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum, his fellow presidential candidates, signed the pledge but they distanced themselves from this preamble -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And, Shannon, there's this new poll with some encouraging numbers, I understand, for Michelle Bachmann as well as the president?

TRAVIS: That's right. The rise continues for Michelle Bachmann. She's been topping a lot of polls and in this one she does the same thing.

There's a new one from Quinnipiac University. She doesn't top in this one, but she's rising. The poll shows that Mitt Romney is holding steady at 25 percent, Michelle Bachmann is at 14 percent, but that's up 8 points from her from a similar survey in June.

Sarah Palin is at 12 percent, and Rick Perry is at 10 percent, although we know that the two of those -- the last two are not officially running, they're considering it.

But take a look at this, President Obama in head-to-head matchups in this same poll, he tops them all, Suzanne. Obama/Romney 47/41; Obama/Bachmann 50/38; and Obama/Palin 53/34. So good news for Bachmann rising, but also good news for the president, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK, thank you, Shannon. Good to see you.

For the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.

Well, with unemployment more than 9 percent, we talk a lot about how to make your resume stand out. That's really important, but that's not the only thing that employers are actually reviewing.

Our Alison Kosik, she's here today with today's top tips on how to perfect your cover letter.

Alison, I did not know people still had cover letters. I thought it was all e-mail. Tell us about it.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I hear you. But you know what? You still can write a letter, and cover letters actually, Suzanne, are just as important as the resume if you want to land an interview or job.

Now we've spoken to Brad Karsh, he's the CEO and founder of JobBound, and he told us that cover letters are the single most misunderstood part of the job search. He says everyone winds up writing the same cover letter with the four paragraphs. The first paragraph, how you heard about the job; the second, why you're interested in the job; the third, why you'd be great for the position; and the fourth, saying that you're going to follow up. Boring -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Well, I guess boring, but it sounds pretty standard. What is wrong with outlining those four things?

KOSIK: Well, Brad Karsh says most hiring managers most likely spend about 10 seconds looking at your resume and maybe even less time looking at your cover letter, so you really want to try to make it more interesting. Kind of make it like a movie trailer, it should grab someone's interests and leave them wanting to see, you know, the whole movie or get you in the door for a meeting.

So you really want to make it interesting, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So what should it looks like? A good one.

KOSIK: So a good cover letter should have an interesting hook, it should tell a story, and that story should tie into why you would be great for the job. It should be personal. You want hiring managers, you know to feel like they're getting to know you a bit

And you want to make it short and concise, too. Don't rambling off on to tangents in your cover letter, Suzanne

MALVEAUX: OK, no rambling in your cover letter, no rambling in person. All right, Alison, good things you should know.

And next, Alison is going to take a look at summer cover letter mistakes that you should avoid after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're back with Alison Kosik talking about landing a good job with a good cover letter.

Alison, didn't even realize it was that important, but it is important and I guess a lot of people make mistakes when they write cover letters. What can they do to avoid that?

KOSIK: Yes, you don't want to be one of those job seekers making the same mistakes over and over. So just remember what a bad cover letter is. A bad cover letter is painfully long. Hiring managers, they're not going to spend time on one person or endless amounts of time, especially when they are shifting through so many applications. So you want to put in your letter personal and interesting information without going on and on.

Also, make a bad cover letter, it reads to much like a formula. Go ahead, don't be afraid, make yours original and make it standout.

Another common mistake is to simply regurgitate the info from your resume right onto your cover letter. Just a hint here, it doesn't help the employer learn anything new about you.

And finally, Suzanne, make sure the letter has substance and it's not just empty buzzwords and boring wallpaper -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Great advice. If you know somebody, should you drop your name in the cover letter, is that a good idea or no?

KOSIK: It is always good to say who suggested that you contact that hiring manager. Sure, may as well pull all the punches you can.

MALVEAUX: All right, Alison, thanks again. Appreciate it.

Rodney King busted again for allegedly drunk driving 20 years after the infamous police beating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Rodney King has been busted again on DUI charges. He was pulled over yesterday in Southern California after police say they saw him commit several traffic violations. King has admitted to a long-standing drinking problem.

He made national headlines back in 1991 when he was beaten by four police officers. That beating was caught on video. The officers were the officers were arrested but their acquittal their acquittal triggered a riot in Los Angeles that lasted four days and left 55 people dead.

King spoke recently to CNN's Don Lemon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: If you could do it all over again what would you do? Would you go out that night? Would you -- ?

RODNEY KING, POLICE BEATING VICTIM: I would have stayed home. I think I would have stayed home.

LEMON (voice-over): For years after the beating, Rodney King continued to have run-ins with the law. In 1996, he was sentenced to 90 days for a hit and run involving his wife. He was also arrested several times on charges related to domestic abuse, drug intoxication and indecent exposure. (on camera): Why after all that? That's what people would say, especially black people, why after all that, Rodney, are you still getting in trouble?

KING: I guess the trouble that they see me in is a part of my life that I'm working on.

LEMON (voice-over): And 20 years later, Rodney King still lives in fear.

(on camera): Years after the beating, you wore a vest?

KING: Oh, yes.

LEMON: Do you still wear a vest?

KING Yes, I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)