Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pressure Builds In Debt Standoff; Mistrial Declared in Clemens Case; Murder Suspect Appears In Court; No Bomb Suspects Yet In India; CNN Crew Caught In Crossfire; Carmageddon This Weekend; Betty Ford's Funeral; South Sudan Newest Member of United Nations; Making Entire Events Invisible

Aired July 14, 2011 - 12:59   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne. Thank you very much.

(INAUDIBLE) when you and I argue with spouses or colleagues or siblings even about money, we're not talking trillions of dollars and the prospect of global depression. That is what is at stake in the daily talks between President Obama and leaders of Congress. Talks due to resume a little over three hours from now at the White House.

By many accounts, yesterday's session was the stormiest yet with the president hotly reminding House Majority Leader Eric Cantor that he won't sign any short term increase in the debt ceiling. Mr. Obama wants a long-term agreement, encompassing spending cuts and historic reforms to the tax code and entitlements.

While they bicker, the big three credit rating agencies are warning America's triple A bond status could be at risk, ultra-safe bonds keep U.S. interest rates low.

The debt ceiling deadline, as you may know, is August 2nd, but the president has set tomorrow as the deadline for deciding whether a so-called grand bargain is possible. If not, a bare bones borrowing hike still will have to be worked out.

And if it's not, well, considering the U.S. treasury spends, oh, sends out 80 million payments a month, paychecks, payments to creditors, bill payments, you name it. There's not nearly enough income to cover all that. Every month we come roughly $125 billion short. If we cannot borrow to bridge the cap, more than 40 percent of the government's monthly obligations can't be paid, that could include 29 million social security checks due to go out August 3rd.

So, the stakes we just laid out are monumental, but the principles are pretty down to earth. Both sides have to give a little ground, maybe lose a little faith, maybe even risk their jobs for the good of the country. What's so hard about that, right?

Joining me with their insights on personal relations and conflict resolution are CNN contributor and SeriusXM radio host, Pete Dominick, and family law attorney, Janell Weinstein.

Janell, I'd like to start with you. What does it take? I mean, you've been though negotiations before, certainly, as a family law attorney, so what does it take for two entrenched parties to agree on a deal that both need?

JANELL WEINSTEIN, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY (via Skype): Well, you know, the obvious is that you take the emotion out of the room and you try to deal with the practical. What we deal with is the practical and not the legal when we're trying to negotiate this. They need to take the politics out of the room and get to the solution that can solve the short-term problem that's looming right now and get that done. Because all the politics and all the emotion, you don't get anywhere. We need to put our business caps on and get to practical solution, and we find that in the divorces that's how we get them settled.

KAYE: Pete, let me get your take, I mean is politics really that much different from ordinary life? I mean, shouldn't these politicians be able to come to some type of agreement with so much at stake?

PETE DOMINICK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (via Skype): Of course they should, Randi. But I mean, politics and elections are like love, it make -- they make you do crazy things. You can't take the emotion -- I kind of disagree.

I mean, she sounds like a great lawyer and therapist, but I -- you can't take the emotion out of politics and out of these issues. It is like a marriage in that you have a lot to lose, but it's not just them, they could lose their jobs, they could lose an election, but the whole country's -- the whole country, the whole world's economy could lose.

So, the stakes here are way higher than something personal or just a job. So, there's a lot of emotion, I'm just waiting for speaker Boehner to cry and the president to storm out, maybe they'll get something done that way.

KAYE: I knew you were going to go there. I just knew it. But Janell, let me get back to you, because if you were in the White House cabinet room today, I'm curious as to what you would advice, the president and speaker Boehner, how would you bring them together?

WEINSTEIN: Well, I disagree with what was just said in this respect that you have to get into the psychology of whatever is it, whether it's big business or politics. Yes, the stakes are so much higher, but what I would do, is you got to let everybody have a voice, but at the same time you have to say, well, that's all well and good, but now we have to come to a solution. You have good ideas and you have good ideas, we've got to get the politics and emotion out of the room, and we got to look at something practical, there's got to be a solution.

And if everybody is going to worry about their jobs and their constituents, which I know that's important, the job is never going to get done. Emotion and money, it can be a disaster. So, you really have to listen, everybody's got to listen to each other, and like you said at the outset, they have to give a little bit, it's a compromise, there's no winners at the end of the day, and there's -- everybody feels like a loser. So, for we the people --

DOMINICK: Can I say something?

WEINSTEIN: -- we have to -

DOMINICK: Can I say something? Randi, let me say something sexist here. The problem is men don't listen, we don't listen that well. As a matter of fact, my wife might not appreciate this, but I slept on the couch because of something I said that was wrong. One of the problems here is they're not listening to each other enough, they're just talking and not thinking enough about the consequences. This isn't just their job, it's not just elections, this is the whole world economy, there's going to be emotions in it, there should be emotions in it, I root for emotions, but in the end, you've got to -- you've got get it back together because it's not just you.

KAYE: I don't know, Janell, maybe the answer is to bring in a woman to resolve this.

WEINSTEIN: Well, you know, we deal with men all the time. Obviously, there is husbands and wives, you need a good mediator in the room, regardless of gender, because you're right, you men don't listen. But at the end of the day, you need somebody in there with a level head that can pull the emotion out, because until you put those emotions to the side, and I don't care if it's big business, marriage or the country, you've got to get your egos outside. And we know for you men that's tough, but it can be done.

KAYE: Yes.

WEINSTEIN: I have confidence in these people and their abilities. They've to get the politics and emotion out of the room.

KAYE: All right. Interesting discussion, and certainly a very serious topic that we hope we'll worked out soon.

DOMINICK: Nancy Pelosi is in there I should say, but we're not going to talk about me at all?

KAYE: No, we're done. Thank you both.

Checking some other "Top Stories" that we're following now. A mistrial was declared today in the perjury trial of former major league baseball player, Roger Clemens. The move by Judge Reggie Walton came after prosecutors showed to jurors a videotape of the 2008 Congressional hearings of performance enhancing drugs used in baseball. Part of the tape did include evidence that the judge had ruled as inadmissible accept on rebuttal. Walton set a September 2nd hearing on whether to retry the case.

And about-face for Rupert Murdoch. The media tycoon and his son, James, have now agreed to appear before the parliamentary committee investing Britain phone-hacking scandal. Initially, Rupert Murdoch said he wouldn't be able to attend the July 19th hearing. The probe was launched yesterday by Prime Minister David Cameron in response to allegations that journalists working for Murdoch's empire illegally eavesdropped on phone messages by thousands of people and bribed police.

And coming up in the next hour, New Jersey senator, Frank Lautenberg, he's the Democratic lawmaker who just called on the U.S. attorney general to investigate whether this phone hacking scandal has reached the U.S., we'll be speaking with him.

In less than an hour, the man accused of murdering an 8-year-old Brooklyn boy makes his first court appearance. Leiby Kletzky disappeared on Monday on his way home from summer camp in a close-knit Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. The surveillance video is the last time that he was seen alive. The video shows him talking to a stranger identified as Levi Aron. Police charged Aaron with murder. Officers say they found human remains in his freezer and a trash bin two miles from his apartment. New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says Aron told police he killed the boy in a panic after seeing the child's face on a missing person's poster.

Indian authority say they didn't see it coming. Officials say there was no warning or even any intelligence indicating a terror attack. Yesterday's three bombs rocked Mumbai killing 18 people. Investigators still don't know who is behind the explosions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM, INDIAN INTERIOR MINISTER: The fact that they took place minutes within each other, separated by perhaps about eight to 10 minutes, shows that it was a coordinated terror attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The government has been careful not to finger Pakistani militants who were blamed in the 2008 siege in Mumbai, that left 164 people dead.

A CNN crew finds itself under fire in Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait! Wait!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's gunfire all around us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi make their presence known. What happened, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Five months into Libya's civil war, government troops launch a surprise attack on a rebel-held town. The rebels were forced out of Qawalish on Wednesday, but hours later recaptured the village.

CNN's Ben Wedeman and his crew were there when the fighting erupted and had a very close call. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys! Wait! Mary!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait! Wait

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you in, Mary?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, wait, wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you in, Mary?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, just calm down, we have control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone get down!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Ben Wedeman joins us now from Zintan in western Libya.

Ben, I know you're there to cover the story, but sometimes you do become part of the story, certainly in this case. What was that moment like for you?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we really felt exposed, Randi. You have to realize that even when you are in a car, bullets can rip through the side of a car like they would through paper, essentially.

So, you're driving up the road, you're hearing all this gunfire around you, and one of these bullets could easily just go right through the car, right through us. And so, you're getting there, you're driving as fast as you can, and you're hoping that the bullet - the gunfire is going to go further and further away.

But as you saw in that video, we're driving at a good -- basically about 80 miles an hour, and those bullets kept on coming over, just over the car and around us. So we couldn't get out of there fast enough, but fortunately, we did - Randi.

KAYE: And all are OK, which is wonderful news, certainly, considering what we just saw there in that video. But do you have any idea why you had come under fire?

WEDEMAN: What we know is that when we arrived at the outskirts of the village, there was a check point manned by two teenage boys, and they told us that Gadhafi's forces had entered the village. So, our drivers went to the top of the hill right next to the road, and when they got to the top, they saw just about 150 yards away from them, two carloads of Libyan army soldiers.

So, they got, as quickly as they could, back down to the cars, and that's when the gunfire began and went on for quite a while. And we weren't the only crews that were in that area, the BBC as well. We actually - we saw them just moments before that incident that you saw on tape, and they also came under fire.

Clearly, what had happened is the Gadhafi forces had out-flanked the very lightly defended rebel forces in the village and just started to open fire. And as you know, a long battle ensued and it was not until this time yesterday that the rebels were able to retake that village and actually move forward closer in the direction of Tripoli.

KAYE: And Ben, just briefly, why is Tripoli so significant, or is it?

WEDEMAN: It's significant because it's just about the last road before you get to this main highway that links southern Libya with the capital Tripoli. And southern Libya is a Gadhafi strong hold, that's where a lot of his military equipment is, that's where a lot of the supplies get from Sub Saharan, Africa, they go up that highway to Tripoli. So, what they are trying to do is take Qawalish, get to the highway, and cut off the capital - Randi.

KAYE: All right. Ben Wedeman there for us. Please say safe and glad to see that you are safe today, Ben. Thank you.

And we want to show you some live pictures now just into CNN of Betty Ford's hearse. We did have live pictures, but right now this is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and what we are seeing today is the peoples' service, which will be a chance for fans of the first lady, those who -- the former first lady, those who she had an impact on over the years can come and honor her. And we do have the video we can show you of the hearse, but we'll show you that right after we take a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: If you search the web right now for the terms "boycott Murdoch," you'll find a bunch of social media sites dedicated to just that, boycotting media mogul Rupert Murdoch. This all comes amid a phone hacking scandal in the U.K. leading Murdoch to shut down the popular tabloid "News of the World." In addition to the paper shutting down, British lawmakers have called on Murdoch and his son James to appear at a hearing Tuesday in connection with the case.

British lawmakers have also summonsed Rebekah Brooks, the woman you see right there, former editor of "News of the World. She has agreed to testify on the same day the Murdochs are due to appear. We're also learning that another former "News of the World" editor, Neil Wallace, has been arrested on suspicion of being directly involved with the phone hacking scandal.

So, let's take a look at the online boycott Murdoch movement. Here's one example. A Twitter page called "Boycott Murdoch." It's mainly one person's opinions on the matter and a few responses to some other tweets. To be fair, the effort hasn't gained that much traction. The Twitter page has only a few hundred followers last we checked. But that begs the question, of course, if you wanted to, could you fully boycott Murdoch's media reach? NPR looked into it from a U.S. perspective. And turns out, well, a boycott may not be so easy. For starters, you would need to stop watching your favorite TV shows on the video streaming website hulu.com. Why? Well, it's a News Corp. Murdoch joint venture with NBC Universal and Disney.

Readers of "The New York Post" and "The Wall Street Journal," they would need to find a new source of news. Both publications are owned by Murdoch.

"American Idol" fans would need to find a new music competition show. It runs on FOX, owned by, yes, you guessed it, Murdoch. And not only that, you wouldn't be able to buy any singles or albums from past or current "Idol" contestants.

For fans of the L.A. Laker's star, Kobe Bryant, we didn't forget you. Murdoch has partial ownership in the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Rangers. He also owns parts of Los Angeles' Staples Center and Madison Square Garden. So you could forget concerts or other special events at those venues as well.

But there is one event connected to Murdoch that you could watch for the next few years. That is the Super Bowl. FOX broadcast the game this past January from Dallas and won't have it back until 2014. So you'll be able to enjoy the big game, of course, if the lockout ever ends.

Time right now, 20 minutes past the hour, and here's a look at some top stories.

Foreclosure filings fell dramatically during the first half of this year, but that doesn't mean the housing market is on the rebound. Online marketer RealtyTrac says the drop-off is due in large part to processing delays by banks. That means foreclosures that would have happened this year will probably be pushed to 2012 and beyond.

In light of the high profile Casey Anthony trial, the state of Florida may consider a new law prohibiting jurors from profiting. Florida State Representative Scott Randolph is expected to announce the proposed legislation this afternoon. The bill would prohibit jurors from making money or taking any other compensation in exchange for information about a trial.

In Minnesota, the state government shutdown has an unlikely victim. And you're looking at it. Beer sales. State employees who process alcohol license renews were let go when the government shut down. Beer giant Miller Corps did not renew its label registration before the shutdown and is currently trying to work out a deal with the state. Among the beers effected are popular brands such as Miller Light and Coors Light.

Drivers in Los Angeles are literally freaking out in anticipation of this weekend's historic traffic jam. They call it Carmageddon. And it's all because a key section of L.A.'s 405 freeway will be closing in order to demolish a bridge and make much needed repairs. People are being asked to take public transit, just stay at home or, better yet, get out of town. Some airlines are even offering Carmageddon getaway flight deals.

Chad Myers joining me now for much more on this.

Carmageddon.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Five hundred thousand cars travel this freeway on a weekend. Any given weekend, especially on a summer weekend, when you're trying to get to the beach and back and forth. So if you're anywhere from about Santa Monica over to L.A., all the way back here just to the north of the Ventura, you are going to see increased traffic flow. There's nothing you can do about that.

And I'm just going to -- that's the kind word because from the Santa Monica, the Rose Parks I-10, all the way up through and into the canyon, the 405 will be shut down. They are taking down the Mulholland Bridge. Not the bridge of the 405, but the one that goes over the 405 so that they can make the 405 wider and put in another lane. And even an HOV lane there, high occupancy vehicle lane.

But all of this will all be closed because of that bridge right there. This is obviously Google Earth. We can fly you right down to a car that took this picture. That bridge is in the way of expansion. It's also in the way of all the traffic this weekend.

So if you want to try to get around it, how do you do that? Here's where it stops on the north side. The Ventura Freeway here. You can take the Ventura Freeway over to the Hollywood, down into the Harbor Freeway and then to the Rosa Parks, Santa Monica and back. Or you could try to what I call bush whacking. The Glenn, back over Topanga Canyon, or any of these other kind of roads that slightly go through the canyon here into the Santa Monica Mountains. But it will be a slow go.

The best thing I can tell you is not how to get around it, because you can go to i_405 on Twitter and follow the I-405 Twitter feeds. The best thing you can do is just gas up because you never know when it's just all of a sudden you could have 10 or 20 miles of backup. And if you're on an empty tank, that would be painful.

KAYE: Yes, gas up and get to Vegas. That's what I would do.

MYERS: Could be. Get out of town today.

KAYE: Exactly.

All right, Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

Well, hundreds of people are saying good-bye to Betty Ford. The former first lady is to be buried next to her husband a short time from now. These are live pictures from inside where the funeral service will take place at Grand Rapids at Grace Episcopal Church. That's in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There was a public viewing, from what we understand, of the casket this morning. This is the day for the people's service, where they get to pay their respects to the former first lady. Her casket has arrived and the funeral service should get underway around 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You may recall she died Friday at the age of 93. We'll have a live report from Michigan right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Former First Lady Betty Ford is being laid to rest today in her Michigan hometown. Ford died Friday. She was 93. She'll be buried next to her husband, Gerald Ford, in Grand Rapids. Hundreds of people are gathered along the route from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, to the Grace Episcopal Church, site of Ford's funeral service.

Ted Rowlands is joining us now from outside the museum as we continue to take a look at these pictures of people that are gathering inside there waiting for the service to begin.

Ted, tell us who you've seen so far in terms of those who have come to pay their respects.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's so far the overwhelming and memorable thing that we've seen is the thousands of people that are from Grand Rapids that really did take that wild ride with the Fords from Michigan as they came the president of the United States and the first lady, and then afterwards.

This was their home. They lived in California, and they lived in Vail, Colorado, for a while, but this really was their home. And we saw it last night and this morning where she lay in repose here at the museum.

They just left a few minutes ago to the church with the body. About 5,000 people from Grand Rapids filed through, paid their respect to the former first lady. We are expecting attendees at the funeral to include former President Bill Clinton, Barbara Bush, the Cheneys, the Rumsfelds, Lynn Cheney will deliver one of the eulogies at that service.

Following that service, the family will come back with their mother and she will be laid to rest on the backside of the museum, as you mentioned, next to her husband, Gerald Ford, on what would have been his, ironically, 98th birthday today -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Ted, what is the significance exactly of this church, the Grace Episcopal Church. I mean is this where the Ford's were actually married?

ROWLANDS: Yes, this is where they were married. And this is also where people came to say good-bye to Gerald Ford after he passed in late 2006. His service was in early 2007. And it was one of the spots where people paid respects here. So this was a church that meant a lot to Betty and Gerald Ford during their life, starting, of course, with their marriage. KAYE: And can you add anything, just some insight about what life was like for the young Betty Ford growing up there? We said this was her hometown and this is where she'll be buried.

ROWLANDS: Yes. Well, this is where she grew up. Absolutely. She was a dancer. She wanted to go into dance and she was a professional model, too, for a local department store here in Grand Rapids.

She left Grand Rapids for a while, but then she came back and continued to work as a model. She had a first marriage, which didn't last very long. And then she met the love of her life, Gerald Ford. And it wasn't soon after they met that they started their love affair. Their long -- life-long love affair.

And so Grand Rapids, absolutely, was where Betty Ford started and where she lived most of her life before she met Gerald.

KAYE: All right. Ted Rowlands in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

And we will continue to wait for this service to begin, just about a half hour from now. And we will continue to bring you many more of the sights and sounds of Betty Ford's funeral as it gets under way.

A judge declares the mistrial in the perjury trial of baseball great Roger Clemens. We'll tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Time is running out for President Obama and congressional leaders to reach a long-term deficit reduction deal. According to two Democrats familiar with the discussions, if both sides fail to reach an agreement on spending cuts and tax hikes by Friday, they will have to shift their focus to solely raising the debt ceiling. The president is meeting with both parties today, marking the fifth straight day of talks.

A shocking development in the Roger Clemens perjury trial. A federal judge declare a mistrial today after jurors watched a prosecution video that the judge had ruled inadmissible. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, said prosecutors should have modified the video.

Indian authorities are still trying to figure out who was behind a series of deadly explosions that rocked Mumbai yesterday. Eighteen people were killed and 131 injured. The homegrown organization known as the Indian Mujahedeen is suspected in the attack but no one has claimed responsibility. Some security experts say a lack of intelligence about the attacks indicates a government failure. But officials insist all hostile groups in the area are, quote, "under radar and those responsible will be found."

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his son James, will attend a hearing over the phone hacking scandal next Tuesday, according to their company News International. The British House of Commons had issued the pair of summons to appear after the Murdochs told the culture, media and sports committee they could not attend the July 19 hearing.

The popular shows "Mad Men" and "Modern Family" were at the top of list when the 2011 primetime Emmy nominations were announced today. AMC's series "Mad Man" collected 19 nominations, barely edging out the new HBO program "Boardwalk Empire," which got 18. ABC's "Modern Family" received 17 total nominations and got four of the six bids for best supporting actor in a comedy. Overall, HBO led all networks and cable channels with 104 nominations in various categories. The next closest was AMC with 29 nominations.

Lawmakers will trade in their BlackBerrys for baseballs tonight as the Republicans take on the Democrats in the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Senate and House members of each party teamed up since 1909 to relieve some frustration on the diamond. Gee, what do you think they're frustrated about these days?

Medical breakthroughs help heal wounded soldiers that defend our country and it turns out that's good news for you, too. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Battlefield breakthroughs. After 10 years of war wounded soldiers need them. We're talking about medical firsts and cutting edge techniques not only healing the men and women in war, but healing patients like you and me as well.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr got a look at the technology and techniques firsthand.

Barbara, this is certainly very interesting. How does this help military doctors in the war zone?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, as part of a special report we were looking for Sanjay Gupta's weekend show, we traveled to Baltimore shock trauma hospital, just a short distance from Washington, to have a look at a very unique program where military doctors who are headed for the war zone are actually training at this civilian hospital.

We hope nobody needs this kind of care, but they are learning to deal with the kinds of battlefield injuries, accidents, traumas, that they may see once they get to Afghanistan.

I want you to listen and watch some of the things that we saw when we went there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Every day, dozens of trauma patients are wheeled into these bays. Some are accident victims. This young man came with multiple stab wounds. But right alongside the civilian trauma doctors, nurses and techs, military personnel.

Colonel David Powers, a surgeon, runs the military training program here.

COL DAVID POWERS (RET.), FORMER DIRECTOR, C-STARS BALTIMORE: The injuries that I've treated here and see here at this hospital are the closest thing to the injuries that I saw in Iraq that I've experienced in the continental United States.

STARR: Listen to what Powers encountered in recent weeks here.

POWERS: I've had a gentleman whose entire scalp was torn off in an industrial accident. I've had an individual who was now involved in a motor vehicle accident that has intracranial injuries where I have to recreate the cranial vault and the frontal sinus exactly like I have to do with an IED blast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: So again, we hope nobody suffers these types of traumas but if you do, the chances are in your local emergency hospital these days, there's going to be medical personnel who were in the war zone, either as a reservists who them came home and went back to work or who served on active duty and then retired and went into some kind of private practice in communities across the country.

Doctors tell us that what they learned from the war zone are new techniques in blood transfusions, in managing fluids in trauma cases, in how to deal with brain injuries, the kinds of things, you know, that tragically you see across America in car accidents and motorcycle mishaps and industrial accidents.

So now after 10 years of war, a lot of this expertise coming home, Randi.

KAYE: And a lot of this expertise, it sounds like, may actually be used to help the rest of us, not only those in the war zone.

How will that work?

STARR: Well, you know, again, what medical personnel are telling us, it's the sheer volume, sadly, of the injuries they've seen over the last decade of war that have given them the lessons learned about how to deal with the things.

Traumatic brain injuries, perhaps is the biggest example, and you see that in sports injuries with young people in high school playing football, perhaps, or in college, they suffer brain injuries if they get hit really hard, fighters, motorcycle accidents. All the things that they're learning about, how to deal with those types of injuries from the tens of thousands that they've seen in the war zone. Coming home, applying those same lessons here.

KAYE: All right. Barbara Starr. Fascinating story, Barbara. Thank you.

And this weekend we should let you know that Barbara will be joining Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a special series on military medicine. See how innovations from 10 years at war are changing your health care right here at home. "Battlefield Breakthrough" on "SANJAY GUPTA MD." That's this Saturday and Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. Eastern on CNN.

It's the world's newest nation and now the newest member of the United Nations. Can you name it? The answer coming up in "Globe Trekking," right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque today killing at least six people. The attack occurred in the southern city of Kandahar, where just yesterday Afghan President Hamid Karzai buried his assassinated half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai. Wali Karzai was the powerful Kandahar provincial council chief. He was killed by his long-time bodyguard. The Taliban claim the shooter was working for them.

In a related development, the U.S. is reporting that the number of Afghan civilians killed in the war soared 15 percent in the first half of the year. The report says that more than 1,400 civilians were killed in fighting between American and NATO forces and the Taliban and other militants.

Now, in India, more details today in the deadly bombings in the financial capital of Mumbai. Government officials say they had detected no other warning prior to the three bombings which killed 18 people yesterday and wounded over 130.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The government has been careful not to point the finger at the Pakistani militants who were blamed for the 2008 attacks that killed more than 160 people. The home minister said those who carried it out, the latest attacks, had worked in a very clandestine manner.

And more celebrations for the world's newest nation. In New York, South Sudan today officially became the newest member of the United Nations. The move makes the country the 193rd member of the U.N. The former southern half of Africa's largest nation -- South Sudan -- celebrated independence on Saturday in a ceremony attended by world leaders and U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.

But a lot of hard work does remain. South Sudan is one of the world's poorest countries and the least developed, and it still must reach agreement with its northern neighbor on their common border, oil fields and the status of their respective citizens.

All right. Check this out. New video just released from NASA showing the view from the space shuttle Atlantis as it took off last week. This is from the cameras on the shuttle's twin solid rocket booster.

As you know, this is the very last space shuttle mission. Atlantis, with its four crew members is now docked at the International Space Station, scheduled to return to earth a week from today.

I could just look at those pictures all day long. Well, imagine if you could make not only yourself, but entire events just disappear with a cloak. Scientists, believe it or not, they have found a way. And that's coming up in two minutes. You do not want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Every day on this show we do a segment called the "Big I," it's about big ideas, innovations and solutions to problems.

Now imagine if you could do this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE")

RUPERT GRINT, "RON WEASLEY": Let's see then, put it on.

Whoa.

DANIEL RADCLIFF, "HARRY POTTER": My body's gone.

GRINT: I know what that is. That's an invisibility cloak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Well, what I'm about to tell you makes Harry Potter's invisibility cloak seem old school. Scientists have found a way to not only hide objects, but make entire events invisible. Imagine what this could mean.

I want to bring in scientist Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," to explain this to us. He joins us from now from Los Angeles.

Bill, this is really cool. I mean, a lot of us are talking about it.

But when we talk about the invisibility cloaks, like what we saw in the "Harry Potter" clip, this is how it basically works, right? You are basically fooling the eye by bending light around an object, much like water that flows, really, around a pebble. But what we're talking about now is a space-time cloak that goes beyond that, as far as I understand it.

So how do you make entire events invisible?

BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": OK. First of all, it's great. This is great. This is fabulous. Thank you for having me.

But let me point out that the "Harry Potter" cloak is not real.

KAYE: It's not?

(LAUGHTER)

NYE: Are you with me? Yes, that's not really a thing.

So, anyway, here's the idea, and you might have seen this on a James Bond movie and I can tell you they've experimented with it on fighter planes, where you have an object, let's say a New York City taxicab, and you have fiber optic materials -- this is the old way, OK. You have a piece of fiber, and then you have a bright light, and you would shine it on the wall. It would hit the fiber, and then coming out the ends of the fiber would be the very same color, it would be -- there, the bright white would come out the end of the fiber.

OK, that's the old way. If you have many fibers, running around the thing you want to hide, your taxicab, then, OK, then you can pull it off. But here's the idea, these physicists have come up with a material that would not be just fiber-optic. Instead, it would have so-called meta-material, this would be meta-molecules, the next level of molecule. And they would control not only the speed -- rather, not only the light going through the material, they would control the speed of it.

Now, when we control the speed of light all the time. When you have a pair of eyeglasses or magnifying glass, you slowing the light down in the glass. And because the glass in this case is curved, the light comes out at different times on the other side of the glass.

Well, suppose you could do that without curving the glass and without having an enormous magnifier or whatever you call it in front of your taxi cab. Instead, you would make the cab out of the very material, and then you would not only control when -- the direction of the light, but when it came out.

KAYE: So if I'm understanding this correctly, I mean, you're "The Science Guy" so bear with me here for just a minute, but this creates some type of what, a gap in the light and then -- and then this creates the sort of a blind spot in time, is that how it works?

NYE: Yes, in time. You would control when it came out of fiber, when it came out of the other side of the fighter plane or the taxi cab or whatever it is you're trying to hide or cloak.

KAYE: How long would something like this last? How long does the cloak last that you could have this gap in time?

NYE: Well, right now in the articles that I read about this they are talking about things theoretically on a nanosecond, a billionth of a second. But wait, there's a little bit more, or if you will, a little bit less, they are talking about 1/10 of that, 1/10 or 1/100 of a nanosecond.

So it sounds like an insignificant thing. Like, who cares, you can't even see it. Considerably less than the blink of an eye. But the application of this may not be hiding taxicabs or young magicians or "Star Trek" opposing starships. Instead, it would be controlling the speed of information in a computer.

KAYE: OK.

NYE: So you would be able to have the computer do two things at once. You would you have a clock running that was doing something, and then you'd send the information off on another path, slow it down, control it, mess around with it and then have it rejoin the original signal at the appropriate to time. And you would do this on the scale of atoms. So instead of having transistors like in my watch, you'd have zillions of switches.

KAYE: Right. Does it matter what the light source is? I mean, if it was sunlight versus a flashlight?

NYE: Yes, yes.

So, traditionally, you can send any color light through a fiber- optic, through a fiber, so this is white light coming through the fiber. That's all big fun, but if you take an individual frequency like in this case red and send red through, it then it might be easier to control.

And then furthermore, you could have the red light doing one thing, the purple light doing something else and the green light doing something else, and then you would be able to compute at another scale, at another level, and this would change the world. It would like comparing two radios to a modern computer.

So it's very theoretical, but it's a great story, and I'm really glad you guys covered it. It's a cool thing. It could be the beginning of a whole new era in information.

KAYE: It sounds like it can change the world, and with all that information, I've got to tell you, you pretty much rocked my world. I'm going to need a whole another session with you on the side off camera so I can better understand this.

NYE: Hit me with it all, it's big fun.

KAYE: You were concerned about getting to our interview today because there was some traffic in Los Angeles. Are you concerned, on a different topic here, about the Carmageddon that begin tomorrow with the big 405 construction?

NYE: Yes, I'm concerned. Everybody, it's three days. For crying out loud. Can't you find something at home? And sure, there are people that must get to work and we depend on those. There are service people that have to get to places. And if you go to a restaurant and you want to get waited on -- I got all that. But it's three days, everybody. We can do it.

KAYE: There you go.

NYE: Furthermore, having our infrastructure, this big bridge that's in the way, having that look good reflects on all of us. Like let's make it look good. It's something we use all the time. Millions and millions of people see it every week. Let's take the time, show some pride. It will be fun, everybody. Come on.

So that's my opinion.

KAYE: Have a little staycation at home. NYE: That's right, yes.

KAYE: Bill Nye, always fun to have you on, thank you so much. And I'll call you later to get the full briefing on that cloak.

NYE: It is exciting.

KAYE: I know.

NYE: I'm really glad you guys covered it. Thanks.

KAYE: Thank you.

And for much more on this, you can check out my Facebook page, facebook.com/RandiKayeCNN.

So should tax increases be in any agreement to raise the debt ceiling? Paul Steinhauser joins us next with a Political Ticker.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Time now for a CNN Political Update.

Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining me from Washington.

Paul, what do Americans think? Should tax increases be included in any agreement to raise the debt ceiling? I'm just curious, maybe Americans have the answer here.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, they might, they might, right? Because it seems like Democrats and Republicans sure can't agree on this one. Republicans in Congress are basically saying no way, Mr. President, no tax increases whatsoever in any kind of deal to raise the debt ceiling.

Take a look at this, this is from Quinnipiac University, it's a national survey just came out this morning, and they asked just that. Should the agreement, if there is an agreement, be only spending cuts? About a quarter say yes on that, but look at, that two-thirds say taxes on the wealthy and corporations should be included in a deal.

Randi, as you can imagine, Democrats and Republicans question this poll, differ on the results, no doubt about it.

KAYE: I want to ask you about GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. We had him on the show yesterday talking about the debt ceiling, and he clearly is very against raising the debt ceiling.

STEINHAUSER: Oh. Yes.

KAYE: But he's going a little bit further now, isn't he, with that?

STEINHAUSER: He sure is. He's going on TV, coming soon to a television in New Hampshire or Iowa. Take a listen to this, his new ad. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCER: In the '80s, they did it to Reagan, a debt ceiling compromise. Democrats promising spending cuts, but delivering only tax hikes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Sounds like a movie trailer here, doesn't it? Well, this is his new ad, it's going up tomorrow in, of course, the first two states to kick off the presidential primary caucus calendar, Iowa and New Hampshire. His campaign tells us it's a six-figure buy so should be a pretty big buy for those two states, Randi.

KAYE: Certainly sounds like it.

Paul Steinhauser, thank you, Paul.

And your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" is just an hour away.