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NFL Continues Labor Negotiations; Tiger Woods Fires Caddie; Gang of Six Dent Plan Fades; Tax Dollars Wasted in Afghanistan; Bachmann's Migraine Takes Issue; Dalai Lama Appears in Food Reality Show; New Terror Threat Warning; Tiger Woods Fires Caddie; Somali President Begs for Famine Aid; Dem Senate Leader Slams House; Creative Ways to Describe the Heat
Aired July 21, 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. Thanks so much. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. Here's what we're talking about this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. Its voyage at an end.
PHILLIPS: Pulls into port and lands in the history books. We'll have the latest on the predawn ending to the shuttle program.
A vicious heat wave blamed for at least 22 deaths in the central U.S. The eastern part of the country now bracing for triple-digit temps.
And another threat lurking as close as your faucet. Terror experts now say private utilities in the U.S. may be the next target.
But we begin with two breaking sports stories this morning. It's decision day for the 2011 NFL season. After a four-month labor lockout between players and owners, well, a key vote could break the stalemate.
And we're also learning this. Tiger Woods fires his longtime caddie Steve Williams and guess what? He speaks out about the abrupt move. We'll hear from the caddie in just five minutes.
Millions of pro-football fans are hoping today, well, that it will be the day the NFL's labor lockout will end. Players and owners expected to vote on a deal that will hopefully say the 2011 season.
CNN's David Mattingly is live here in Atlanta where the negotiations are actually going on.
So what's the word, David?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, everyone watching and waiting so far. The players ended yesterday without having a final vote. If they vote today, it will take at least half of the players voting yes for the collective bargaining agreement. Then all eyes will be here on Atlanta where the owners will be meeting about an hour from now. It will take 75 percent of those owners. That'll be 24 out of the 32 to ratify this. If that happens and the season goes on. But everyone is very mindful right now that the clock is running out.
The Chicago Bears are supposed to start training camp tomorrow. They are going to play the Rams August 7th. That's the first Sunday in August for the first pre-season game for the year. That's the Hall of Fame game in Ohio. So everyone wondering if they can get it done today.
They might be able to keep this schedule intact. But if it goes a few days, maybe even a week longer, then they are going to have to start having some real concerns and maybe even losing some money as they have to start adjusting this schedule down the road.
But right now all fans are watching and saying we're ready for some football. The players and owners saying the same thing. They just have to be able to vote and reach that final agreement -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we are waiting. Let us know as soon as you know something, David. Thanks.
Now the bombshell that's reverberating around the golf world. Tiger Woods fires his longtime caddie Steve Williams. This comes after 12 years of service, dozens of wins and sex scandals that Tiger has yet to fully recover from.
Now this morning, Williams says he's disappointed and shocked by the move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WILLIAMS, TIGER WOODS' FORMER CADDIE: I think, you know, when you're great friends with somebody and a situation like this occurs, I mean, you know, you obviously lose some kind of respect and that's respect is regained back through time. I mean, that's just sort of how it works, I guess.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: CNN International's Candy Reid has more now on Tiger Woods and caddie Steve Williams parting ways.
CANDY REID, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much. For 12 years, Tiger Woods and Steve Williams formed the most successful partnership in golf but that relationship came to an end on Wednesday, as Tiger announced on his Web site that it was time for a change.
Forty-seven-year-old Williams first carried Woods' bag in 1999 and helped the former world number one to 72 titles overall, including 13 Majors. But Tiger's game has been in decline since his private life unraveled and he since fallen to number 20 in the world rankings and hasn't won a tournament since the end of 2009.
Despite that, Williams has stuck by him through thick and thin. Although because of Tiger's recent injury problems, the New Zealander has actually worked with Adam Scott for the last two Majors.
Tiger who appeared in Stevie's wedding and vice-versa announced their split on his Web site, saying, "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it's time for a change. Stevie is an outstanding caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments. I wish him great success in the future."
Though Tiger seemed to implicate it was an amicable split, the quote Williams posted on his Web site seemed to suggest it was less so. This is what he said. "After 13 years of loyal service, needless to say this came as a shock. Given the circumstances of the past 18 months, working through Tiger's scandal and new coach and with it a major swing change and Tiger battling through injuries, I am very disappointed to end our very successful partnership at this time. I have had the opportunity to work of late for Australian Adam Scott and will now caddie for him on a permanent basis."
PHILLIPS: Now coming up in just a few minutes, we're going to hear more from Steve Williams. And also Christine Brennan with "USA Today" is going to join us to talk live with her take on Tiger's future and why he's making these decisions.
Now the nation's debt crisis. Eleven days until the government runs out of money and lawmakers are quickly running out of options. On Capitol Hill, hopes appear to be fading for the bipartisan plan proposed by the Gang of Six. Conservatives are rejecting the tax increases and liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs.
Now members of both parties are turning back to the McConnell- Reid plan. The bipartisan proposal could dodge the deadline and prevent the country from running out of money. Under the proposal, the president raises the ceiling and lawmakers would agree to the spending cuts later.
And then there's this option. Some lawmakers want to cherry-pick elements of both proposals and then form a new one. Meanwhile, the clock continues to tick.
Brianna Keilar at the White House.
Brianna, what's the president doing to keep things moving forward?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously, the conversations behind the scenes still ongoing, Kyra. And he did have discussions yesterday separately with Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress. But the headline coming out of that was that there was no breakthrough. So that's pretty significant.
Now something that has changed from the president's perspective, we learned from the White House yesterday, is an idea of putting in place a short-term stop-gap measure. Maybe something just for a few days.
You remember, Kyra, the president had said he would not sign a 30-day, 60-day, 90-day short-term measure so this is a bit of a reversal but from the White House's perspective they only want to do this if there is a framework on some sort of larger agreement on deficit reduction.
And to this point, Kyra, they're still pushing for something really big. Trillions of dollars in deficit savings over the course of 10 years. And just a reminder of all the moving parts that a deal like that would require here in the next several days major spending cuts, tax reform, entitlement reform, and if Democrats in the White House were to get their way, tax increases.
You can see that's very much a heavy lift and so you'll still have a lot of people kind of looking to a more modest deal that the top Democrat and Republican in the Senate, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, are trying to work out which would be more -- some spending cuts perhaps more modest and also giving the president the sort of unenviable position of having to increase the debt ceiling himself with a minority support from Congress -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Brianna Keilar, live from the White House. Brianna, thanks.
Well, as the federal government scrambling to pay its bills, here's something debt-strapped Americans don't want to hear. Billions of dollars in your tax money is being wasted in Afghanistan or worse.
A new federal audit says that some of that cash may be funding -- are you ready for this? The same insurgency that's killing Americans.
Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon.
Chris, give us the details.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: They are not good, Kyra. This audit by the inspector general shows that 10 years into this war, the U.S. only has limited visibility over billions of dollars once we send it to Afghanistan. What that does is it leaves the money vulnerable to fraud and even worse, quote, being diverted to insurgents.
How much money are we talking about here? The U.S. has spent about $70 billion in Afghanistan security and development projects and the audit shows that as much as $10 million every day, maybe smuggled out of Afghanistan.
How does that happen? Well, when Afghan government officials leave the country, no one is checking how much cash they're carrying with them. And the audit shows that Afghan officials have no intention at all of scanning their cash through those electronic currency counters.
The U.S. would be able to keep better oversight, but U.S. officials are not allowed access to the part of the airport where the VIPs go through and President Hamid Karzai has now banned U.S. Treasury officials from working with the Afghan central bank. Amid all this, President Obama and the Obama administration are now asking for another $17 billion in cash to send to Afghanistan reconstruction projects. And even some Democrats are wondering at this point if we're not just throwing good money after bad.
Now we spoke with Senator Claire McCaskill who has been keeping an eye on Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction projects for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Well, I know the troops are -- are doing everything they're being asked to do and in return we owe them a duty to make sure that American dollars are not in any way flowing to the enemy. If they are not willing to allow us to look over their shoulder as this money flows into the Afghanistan economy, then we ought to say to them maybe it's time we don't let that money flow.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: One of the problems is this. They use what's call these hawalas. These are sort of informal financial institutions instead of banks there in Afghanistan. They sort of operate outside the law. There was one instance in the report that said a U.S. contractor tried to transfer about $3 billion, but the hawala just kept the money and refused to distribute it to the communities that it was actually intended for -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We'll follow the investigation into this issue.
Chris, thanks.
Well, Michele Bachmann, migraine headaches and her campaign for the White House. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser, live in Washington this morning.
So why is this still a story, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Still a story for a couple of reasons. Well, the congresswoman from Minnesota and presidential candidate yesterday released a letter from her doctor to better explain her migraines.
You know, Kyra, this all started Tuesday in a report that highlighted those migraines and that sparked questions about whether she would be fit to serve as president physically if she were elected. So they puts out a letter from her doctor yesterday.
The attending physician for the U.S. Congress. And he said overall she's in good general health and she said -- he said the migraines occur infrequently of known trigger factors which you're aware of and now how to avoid.
OK, so here's what happened last night. Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, also running for the White House. You know him and Bachmann really battling it out in Iowa for those crucial caucus voters. This is what he said last night about Michele Bachmann and those migraines. It's mostly a sideshow. But earlier in the day he said candidates are going to have to be able to demonstration that they can do all of the job all of the time.
So it looks like maybe he was walking back those comments a little bit. He said about those earlier comments, well, I was talking about all the candidates, not just Michele Bachmann.
So I guess stay tuned on that story -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, now let's talk about the "Spenditol" ad. I feel like I was watching an "SNL" skit. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chronic pain. And my family struggling to make end's meet, food and gas prices going up. Even keeping my job was iffy. Then I learned about a new miracle drug made in Washington, D.C. Spenditol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spenditol is Washington's answer --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, Paul, what is the deal?
(LAUGHTER)
STEINHAUSER: Yes, this is from a group called Concerned Women for America. They say they're spending $1.15 million on this spoof. You're right, it looks like a pharmaceutical ad. They are conservative group. They're very much in favor of cut, cap and balance, and they're putting this out on national cable and on some -- in some TV stations in some crucial states.
So it is an interesting and a fun way, I guess, to get your message out in this political battle over the debt ceiling and those kind of matters -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Paul, thanks.
We're going to have your next political update in an hour. And a reminder, all the latest political news you can just go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
All right. If you watch shows like "Top Chef" you're probably familiar with the surprise celebrity judge. And usually it's an amateur foodie with fame, fortune and possibly a project to plug. Well, they went a totally different route on Australia's "MasterChef" program. And you're never going to believe who agreed to do it.
Monita Rajpal has all the details. This is a talker, Monita.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Oh my god, Kyra. I love this story. You know I was -- I was at a cooking class this past weekend. And I imagine all the pressure you can be in when you are in that hot kitchen.
Now imagine if you are serving your dish to the Dalai Lama. Well, that's exactly what happened to the contestants at "MasterChef Australia." They found out that the Dalai Lama was going to be tasting their food and judging but of course being a Buddhist monk he doesn't judge anything or anyone.
He was served up dishes like Sri Lankan curry and gnocchi. He said he liked the Sri Lankan curry, but the gnocchi, not so much. He did say however that they tried their best, really interesting but of course he's saying, you know, judging anyone goes against all his beliefs. But he said everyone was having a good time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Did they meditate before the meal?
(LAUGHTER)
RAJPAL: You know what? I think they would have to because imagine the pressure. Not dealing with like the uber chef in the kitchen, but the Dalai Lama sitting out there saying, OK, yes, your food, not so much, not so great. But he did say his favorite food was cheese and bread so I like him already.
PHILLIPS: The simple man. He represents exactly what he eats.
Monita, thanks.
Well, Kim Kardashian, rather, is taking on Old Navy. She says that the ads has encroached on her image and now lawyers are involved.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's check stories cross country.
Kansas City, Missouri -- the sweltering heat may have contributed to 13 deaths already. Cooling centers open around the city. Those brutal temps, well, they're expected to continue through the end of the month.
In Fall River, Mass -- maybe you recall this grim story from last month. The woman who drowned in a busy public pool, her body sat at the bottom of that pool for more than two days and then she was discovered. A report says that cloudy water may be partly to blame for not finding her. Three people resigned over this, including a regional director.
And up in Rochester, New York -- take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Abby Wambach!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. You wouldn't expect anything less than a warm homecoming for the women's World Cup scoring machine. She was one of the stars of the U.S. team that came in second to Japan at the World Cup.
This morning, we are digging deeper into a new terror warning issued by the Department of Homeland Security. The possible targets could be the private utilities that provide such basics for all of us, as clean water and electricity. And nuclear power plants could be at risk as well.
Barbara Starr is at the pentagon.
So, Barbara, what are the Feds looking at specifically?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, ever since the killing of Osama bin Laden -- certainly a lot of concern and worry about what al Qaeda might be up to next, and a lot of concern about their focus on targeting U.S. interests abroad.
But this is actually the latest report from the Department of Homeland Security -- a bulletin warning that public utilities here at home may be at risk. And you're right. We are talking about everything from water, sewer, to power plant, including nuclear power plant utilities.
The Department of Homeland Security is warning power plant operators to be on the lookout.
Let me tell you what DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, is saying about all of this. I want to quote very specifically a department official telling CNN, quote, "While DHS has no specific, credible intelligence of an imminent threat posed to private-sector utilities, several recent incidents highlight the ongoing threat to the infrastructure in the utilities sectors from insiders and outsiders seeking facility-specific information that might be exploited in an attack."
What they are saying, of course, is that you have to be on the lookout for employees who may try and pose a threat inside, attacking computer systems, people from the outside trying to gain access -- nothing specific, but a continuous warning to keep this on everybody's radar.
And, you know, the report highlighted a really interesting case where an American citizen was arrested in Yemen, suspected of being an al Qaeda operative and they learned had he worked in several U.S. utility sites as a low level maintenance worker doing no sensitive work, but an al Qaeda suspect, still working in the American utility system -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon -- Barbara, thanks.
Well, coming up, fans of the show "Entourage," take heart. Sure, the HBO's show final season but the cast says the show will live on. We'll explain.
And someone called the tax man. Never before seen photos of the Beatles from 1964 sell at an auction for $350,000!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Showbiz headlines now.
It looks like "Entourage" will live on. At HBO's red carpet premiere of show's final season, cast member Kevin Connolly was talking movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN CONNOLLY, ENTOURAGE'S "ERIC MURPHY": You are going to get a movie. It's just a matter of when and we just want to do it the right way, you know? You can just go hammer one out, but we don't want to end a successful eight-year run on a show with a crappy movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And the normally cheeky actress Mila Kunis was a little less so in "Friends with Benefits." She tells Ryan Seacrest that's not her backside exposed in the movie which opens Friday. They actually used a body double. Kunis said she will not let it hang out on the film just yet.
And take a look these -- never before seen photos of the Beatles in 1964. From their very first performance in the U.S. at the Washington Coliseum. The pictures went for more than $350,000 at a New York auction.
First, the cheating scandal. Then the multimillion dollar divorce. Now, Tiger Woods fires his long time caddie Steve Williams -- a friendship that spanned 12 years.
Woods announced the move yesterday. And this morning, Williams spoke out.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
STEVE WILLIAMS, TIGER WOODS' FORMER CADDIE: I was caddying for Adam Scott at the AT&T national about three weeks ago in Philadelphia. Tiger wasn't playing in that tournament, but he came up to meet with me after the tournament was completed on Sunday and that is when the news was made to me.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: "USA Today's" sports columnist Christine Brennan is joining us on the phone.
Christine, you got so many sources within the sports world. You know, take us on the inside. Why do you think Tiger let him go?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, USA TODAY SPORTS (via telephone): Kyra, it's really hard to know with Tiger many things are these days, you know, whether he's wiping the slate clean, starting over, or he just wants to continue to blame others for his trouble.
Consider this: in the last year, he split with his wife. His management company, his coach and now his caddie who also, as you said, was a very close friend.
And I think it just shows once again that Tiger is in complete disarray. But I also think we have to say there is so much about what we don't know what is going on inside of team Tiger or inside of Tiger's head and I think this only adds to those questions.
PHILLIPS: And, you know, this is a caddie that had his back throughout the entire scandal, never said a scathing thing about him. And he addresses the issue of respect in the interview.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: I think when, you know, you're great friends with somebody and a situation like this occurs -- I mean, you know, you obviously lose some kind of respect and that sort of respect must be gained back through time. I mean, that's just sort of how it works, I guess.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But, Christine, now that Tiger it has let him go, do you think that could change? Could we be seeing possibly coming forward a tell-all book?
BRENNAN: I think that's a very good question and it's likely. I mean, Steve Williams has been very, very loyal. He's even thrown -- taken cameras out of photographers' hands and thrown them in lakes during golf tournaments to protect Tiger.
So, it would be unlikely on one level to see that he would do something like that. You know, there have been stories of reports of payoffs to some of the women, allegedly involved in Tiger's other scandals and, you know, would Tiger pay off Stevie? I don't know.
But I think there has to be a question here of what we are going to hear and because the tabloids especially are so interested in Tiger's life. Stevie knows where the bodies are buried. Steve Williams knows almost everything about Tiger's life.
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what? It would be a kiss and tell-all book that would be pretty salacious to say the least.
Christine, it will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. Christine Brennan, thanks so much for calling in.
BRENNAN: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
It's Kim Kardashian against Old Navy. The reality star says that the retailer has just gone too far in its ads.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with a few of the details and I guess the pictures that talk about this dispute.
I guess they say it all, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They do. We'll pull them up in just a second, let me give you the background, Kyra.
Old Navy used a model in a commercial that, hmm, looks like Kim Kardashian. In fact, Kardashian says, you know what? She looks too much like her. So, what she's doing is she's suing Old Navy for unspecified damages. Translation? A lot of money.
She wants the company to stop using the ad with this look-alike model.
Now, Kardashian -- she'd already endorsed several companies. Dazzle, that's a shoe line, Skechers, and a skin line as well. And she says consumers may be confused by the Old Navy ads and what she actually endorses.
What do you think? What do you think? So, the woman in the Old Navy ads has her hair pulled back to the side there. Kim is to the other side.
What do you think, Kyra? Striking resemblance?
PHILLIPS: Yes. They look pretty much alike.
KOSIK: Yes, well, OK. So, they look alike, right? Kardashian is suing Old Navy for this, saying, you know what? Old Navy, you styled the model to look like her and what's she's really upset about.
But I don't know. Do you think this is fair? You know, it's not the model's fault that she looks like Kardashian. This model has every right to go ahead and work and endorse whatever she wants. But just because she looks like Kim Kardashian, I don't know, is that fair?
PHILLIPS: A discussion to be taken to a much deeper level. It's hard for me to get excited about this. I got to say, I don't follow this kind of stuff, Alison. That's why I'm leaving it to you!
KOSIK: OK. We'll leave the question open. How about that?
PHILLIPS: There you go. All right. Alison, thanks.
Well, in this economy, it be can tough to find a job. But now is your chance to be seen and heard. You can actually give your 30- second pitch right here on our air. Tell us why someone should hire you. Send us an e-mail, 30seconpitch@CNN.com. You may get a chance to make that pitch right here on the CNN NEWSROOM at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
All right. The media scandal that has engulfed the Murdoch empire. Today, the investigation is spreading and new concerns ripple cross the industry. We'll have the latest.
And don't forget if you're walking away from the TV, it doesn't mean you have to stop watching. You can keep streaming on CNN. You can actually grab your iPad and check out CNN.com/video.
Just download the free app and there you go. You can live stream, take us with you anywhere you go. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories.
Temps could hit record high today in parts of the Midwest and the Northeast. The heat waves begin in the middle of the country and it just keeps hanging on. The National Weather Service says that at least 22 deaths may be linked to the heat now.
And as the debt ceiling decline approaches. Hopes seem to be fading for that bipartisan plan from the Senate's Gang of Six. Same old story: conservatives reject the tax increases and the liberals -- the cuts to the entitlement programs.
More now on the widening media scandal in Great Britain: police have uncovered enough information to expand the investigation to other companies. Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch is back in the U.S. after facing tough questions from members of the British parliament.
Two days after his testimony, analysts believe that Murdoch and his son James managed to contain the damage to their company News Corp.
But that damage nonetheless is jaw-dropping as an outraged public learns just how sleazy some of those tactics were.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick shows us how some of the -- how they use some of those tricks of the trade.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For British tabloids like the recently deceased "News of the World," it appears every one everywhere was fair game. Actors, business tycoons, royals, prime ministers, politicians -- all potential front page fodder caught up in a type of scandal-driven journalism that bordered arguably on the reporter blood sport, allegedly involving hacking, tracking and outright bribes.
BONNIE FULLER, EDITOR, HOLLYWOODLIFE.COM: They very much crossed the line. And they didn't just do it once or twice. We're not talking about a single rogue reporter. Apparently, it happened at least 4,000 times.
FEYERICK: Media executive Bonnie Fuller has been the driving force behind magazines like "Star," "U.S. Weekly," and now the Web site, Hollywood Life.
FULLER: You have a much stronger takedown culture in the British tabloids. They are much nastier than anything you would find there and they really do look to tear down people.
FEYERICK (on camera): The journalists who were able to do this -- it's not that complicated. It's not that hard.
(voice-over): John Abell of Wired.com walked us through the most common techniques, like phone hacking, shockingly easy.
JOHN ABELL, BUREAU CHIEF, WIRED.COM: Most people don't change their pin or their passwords. Once they were able to correlate a specific phone number with a specific carrier, all they had to do was dial into that voice mailbox and enter the default pin.
FEYERICK: Another technique? Something called pinging, using cell phones and cell towers like GPS to track someone's movements and locations.
ABELL: The carriers know pretty much exactly where you are within a few square meters based on the cell phone towers that your phone is connected to.
FEYERICK: That information is usually hacked or accessed through bribes. After all, bribing anyone with any access to famous people is allegedly a long used tabloid technique -- as is something the British called blagging, impersonating someone to gain confidential data.
ABELL: Their best tool is the phone and guile because people will say all kinds of things and give up all kinds of information. If your tone is correct, if your demeanor is proper, if you sound like you deserve the information you want.
FEYERICK: The reality? Once information exists in digital form on the Internet or phones, experts say it's game over. Anyone who knows what they are doing, can figure out how to get it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And, Kyra, in some cases, reporters allegedly hacked information themselves but they also relied heavily it seems on private investigators who were able to get confidential information, able to get it from both phone companies, but also government databases.
Again, once it's out there, it's out there. You know, the interesting is, the public buys it up. So, they have a role in this, too. If they don't buy it, people don't report it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Deb Feyerick in New York -- Deb, thanks.
Well, tactics like that sure don't help tabloid's shady image. But a new op-ed says, hold on. It performs a valuable service and we're going to talk to the guy who wrote it, next.
Well, a young man with cerebral palsy -- he can't walk, he can't talk but he has found his voice in a very special place. His incredible story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, this is one of those stories that will not only make your day, but it will inspire you.
Lucas McCarthy has cerebral palsy. He can't walk, he can't talk, but he has found his voice in a much different way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had no problem. No problem fitting in with black people. They don't give him no extra, you know, special treatment. No, no. I mean, if he wants to go in the choir stand, they don't get his hand and lead him up there.
And guess what? He gets up on his knee, he walks in the choir stand. To him, he don't feel like he is handicapped around here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: OK. You want to know more about this young man when you see that part. Tommy Andres, you actually did a six-minute piece that you actually can see on CNN.com, but we want to talk about how you found the story and why.
Here's historically the Mississippi delta, right? It was one of the most segregated area and still is in many ways. Here's this young white boy with cerebral palsy. He knows what it's like to be discriminated against. These two, I guess, groups of people come together where his arms in the air the way he is, it just doesn't matter.
TOMMY ANDRES, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Right. This is one of the churches in Mississippi. So, this is one of the churches where shouting and falling out, they say, is encouraged. So he fits right in at this church, definitely.
PHILLIPS: Why this church? Why this pastor? There's interesting history here.
ANDRES: His grandfather -- yes -- his grandfather owned a catfish farm which is very prevalent down South. It's one of the few industries that's actually still doing pretty well down there.
And the pastor worked for his grandfather. So, one day, actually he's -- the pastor's son died in a car accident and asked -- Lucas came to the funeral and asked if he could take Lucas to church and it went from there.
PHILLIPS: And the rest is history.
ANDRES: Right.
PHILLIPS: And his speech pathologist Julie, she's fantastic. I love how she describes what this church has done for Lucas. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm convinced he is singing the words and even though they are not articulated in a manner that you can understand them, he knows every word that he is singing and he is singing them from his heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: She even asked him, you know, Tommy, are you angry about your condition? He said, well, it's why I cry sometimes, but when I sing, when I'm a part of this music -- music with music, I feel right. But he still says he doesn't feel right with God. That's what's interesting.
ANDRES: That's right. It's tough. I think a lot of people can relate to that struggle, you know, finding their faith throughout their lives and given, you know, a condition like he was born with, I think the struggle is particularly hard for him and he is still sort of grappling that. But he has found a place where he does fit in and I -- you know, I think he has found a little faith in that congregation.
PHILLIPS: CNN.com, you can see the entire piece. So well done, Tommy. Thanks so much.
ANDRES: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, still ahead, what's happening to this bridge in Connecticut? Well, the guys are actually shaving it. I'll tell you why in just a minute when we go cross country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country now.
Near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, it was a pretty terrifying moment for a mom and her daughter. Playing in less than two feet of water, the 6-year-old girl got bitten by a shark right there in front of her mother. The girl is in critical condition but apparently was well enough to tell her parents she hated sharks and liked dolphins better.
And this Denver's Bill Burnham, he is doing what he does best, giving blood. Burnham was honored for donating 65 gallons of blood since 1984. That was enough to help about 1,500 people through the years. And enough blood to fill about two bathtubs, by the way.
And it's so hot in New Haven, Connecticut, that this bridge has been swollen shut. Grand Avenue Bridge is a swing bridge that opens to let boats go through the Quinnipiac River (ph) below. The problem is the heat has caused the bridge to expand and is now stuck. The crews are out there trying to shave about an inch off of it -- an inch off of it to get it open again before the weekend.
Well, the President of Somalia is begging for the world's help in dealing with the disastrous famine. Now more than three and a half million people in crisis according to the U.N. and the State Department has just announced $28 million in aid. That big picture, that's a drop in the bucket.
CNN's David McKenzie joins us now from Kenya. Where Somalis are fleeing by the thousands despite -- or desperate rather for help. David, can any amount -- I mean, how much money do they need to even make a fraction of a difference there?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, now the $20 something millions the U.S. is giving is a drop in the bucket because there is a shortfall of about $800 million in this fight to help the people here in Kenya, to help the people in Somalia.
Basically, what's happening is Somalis are streaming across the border from 52 regions where the U.N. has declared a famine. They are coming into this part which is the Dadab (ph) refugee camp in northern Kenya. Behind me you see an extension of those camps. These are people who have come here recently.
I've been speaking to some of them this afternoon here. And they say that they haven't got the help they need. They have to trek a long way for water and even there, they have to beg for it effectively. They are getting food, but the food isn't enough. And really their situation is very desperate. A real humanitarian tragedy here in this part of Kenya that is flowing from Somalia -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. David McKenzie there live for us just outside the refugee camp. And of course, if you want to help the famine victims in Somalia, check out Impact Your World at CNN.com/impact.
Record breaking heat sweeping the country, weather anchors and reporters even sweating over how to describe it. So how hot is it? We will ask Jeanne Moos.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about some of the stories that will be making headlines later today.
11:00 Eastern former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf gives a speech on U.S.-Pakistan relations in Washington. The ties between the two countries have taken a turn for the worst since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Then at noon the crew of space shuttle "Atlantis" will hold a news conference to talk about their final mission. "Atlantis" landed at Kennedy Space Center around 6:00 this morning ending the 135-year shuttle program.
And House Republicans are calling on the Senate to pass the "Cut, Cap, Balance Spending Bill". We're going to hear from them this afternoon. They've scheduled a news conference at 12:45 Eastern.
All right. We're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go and check first with Kate Bolduan in Washington -- Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra.
Lawmakers in the White House are all watching the clock, still looking for a way out of this debt ceiling crisis we find ourselves in still today. How will they break the log jam? We'll have more at the top of the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Also coming up in the next hour, a Minnesota community divided by a school district's curriculum policy on sexual orientation. Now a federal investigation and also the threat of a lawsuit that is pending by two civil rights groups. We're going to have that full story coming up in the next hour.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm David Mattingly in Atlanta. Will the NFL sign a labor agreement? There is a lot of hope going around that today could be the day and the season goes off without a hitch. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, guys. Thanks a lot.
And also ahead, tactics like those uncovered at "News of the World" don't help tabloids' shady image. But a new op-ed says, hold on. The tabs actually perform a valuable service. We're going to talk to the professor who wrote it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: There's still no decision with regard to the debt ceiling, as you can imagine. Just like the debate continues to get fiery, so does all the language out of the mouths of the politicians, going back and forth.
Harry Reid on the floor right now, pretty much lashing out at House Republicans. Let's go ahead and listen in for a minute.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. HARRY REID (R-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: -- positions. Sometimes are radical positions forsaking the good of the nation. The American people expect us to find common ground no matter how difficult it may seem. Every reasonable voice in America has warned us that defaulting on this nation's financial obligations would not only be a blight on our reputation, but precipitate a global economic crisis that we have never, ever seen.
These are warnings that come from the banking industry and the business community. They come from our finest economists and shrewdest investors.
(END COVERAGE) PHILLIPS: The August 2nd deadline looming, we are still waiting to see if, indeed, we'll get a decision.
Today's "Big Play." Well, first it was his wife, Elin. Now it's Tiger Woods that's divorcing from his long-time caddie, Steve Williams. And Williams is speaking out. He said he's disappointed and shocked that he was fired by Woods after 12 years of service and on top of that, being so loyal to Tiger throughout the whole sex scandal. Williams says the scandal made him lose respect for Woods, and so far Tiger has not announced a replacement caddie.
Baseball's highlight of the night comes from the stands in Arizona. This young Diamondbacks fan gets a souvenir ball from the team's dugout. Pretty cool, huh? He celebrates. He's showing it to everybody.
Then he realizes there's a younger fan right there, a little upset, because he didn't get the ball. But check it out. Mr. Generosity goes to the kid in tears, gives him the ball and the random act of kindness, well, it pays off with an autographed bat from the team.
Then there's the coolest penalty kick you may ever see. It went quickly, didn't it? Hold on. We got the slow-mo. Sunday's match between the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon is drawing a lot of controversy. When up 6-2, well, went 6-2 rather, the kicker, watch this. He back-heels for the score. Well, his coach was not pleased with the, quote, "disrespectful show of sportsmanship".
As you can imagine, this video clip is collecting Web hits like you wouldn't believe.
All right. With nearly half the country broiling in triple digit temperatures, weather anchors and reporters are sweating over how to describe the horrendous heat. So how hot is it? Just ask Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You know it's really, really hot when the weather forecast reads like a romance novel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What a scorcher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweltering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flirting with 100.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You love the hot weather.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it. I love it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you are hot.
MOOS: But sometimes the word "hot" just doesn't generate enough heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pressure cooker.
MOOS: Especially if you're a weather man looking for new ways to say the same old thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really got some blow torching heat coming for tomorrow. And tomorrow we are back on the burner. Not the back burner -- we're back on the burner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, do the wheels come off the wagon.
MOOS: And while we're all gasping for air like fish out of water, reporters are taking the temperature on the grass --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 155 degrees.
MOOS: In a New York subway --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The temperature reads 100 degrees.
MOOS: On a swing --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 131 degrees.
MOOS (on camera): We're talking heat so oppressive that sometimes it's hard to spit out the word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means the heat indices -- the heat -- heat and humidity combined --
MOOS (voice-over): The current heat wave has been christened with a four-letter word, meaning an area of high pressure that's compressing hot, moist air beneath it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll return now to that heat dome.
And when we say heat dome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This whole hot dome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This big dome.
MOOS: All this talk of domes conjures up visions of heat- radiating UFOs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A giant heat dome surrounded by a ring of fire.
MOOS: Put some water on it. The heat wave is alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shows the heat gobbling up most of the country like a virus.
MOOS (on camera): But if you want to see the newscasters most appropriately dressed for the heat wave. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Naked News in brief.
MOOS (voice-over): And in brief, even they are covering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What officials call a heat dome.
MOOS: But at least the heat dome left Al Roker feeling hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When will it end? Al has some answers.
MOOS: It's not every day Al gets labeled too hot to handle. The heat wave brings out a wave of weather chefs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put this egg in this pan out under the sun for about an hour. This is the result. It's fried right to the pan.
MOOS: But the Julia Child of weather reporting is ABC's Matt Gotman cooking steaks.
MATT GOTMAN, ABC NEWS: We're going to see if we can cook it on the dash board of this car. Dashboard reads 151 degrees. We came back about two hours later. It's probably about medium well.
MOOS: Well done, Matt. Now let's see you eat it.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
