Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Killer Heat Wave Heads East; Mission Complete In Houston; Debt Ceiling Deadline In 12 Days; Terrorists Could Target Utilities; Tiger Woods Fires Longtime Caddie; NFL And Players Close To Deal; NFL Lockout Deal Soon?; Suing The NFL; Managing Millennials; NFL Labor Negotiations; Small Kid, Big Mission
Aired July 21, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Guess what, it is hot in July. Stop the presses, right? But if you live anywhere from Texas to Montana, the Great Planes to the Appalachians, you know it is crazy hot. Killer hot, in fact. Get this. Forty of the 50 states have topped 90 degrees this week. More than 30 states. And 140 million Americans are under excessive heat watches, advisories or warnings as we speak. If it's not 100, 105 or 110 degrees in the huge part of the country, it'll certainly feel like it.
We care, because it's not just a nuisance, the National Weather Service says 22 people have died of this heat since the current wave took hold a week ago. Missouri alone have 13 suspected heat deaths, and we're sure to hear more. The CDC reminds us that from 1979 to 2003, heat killed more than 8,000 Americans. That's more than were killed by hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, and floods combined.
CNN Meteorologist Chad Meyers is tracking all of this heat, and Chad, it's not really just the heat, right? It's the humidity as well.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's more the humidity than anything else. We went into this a little bit last night, if you weren't with us. If you set your steam room -- if you go to a gym or a sauna and you set your steam room at 105. The relative humidity is about 100 percent because it's steamy in there, that feels like 200 degrees. Even though it's 105, it feels so much hotter because your body can't perspire. When it perspires it can't evaporate, so it can't cool itself down.
People with a sauna, sauna says 160, 170, but it feels much cooler than that because the air inside is dry, it evaporates and you feel cooler. There are a the number of heat deaths per year, now this is 10-year average, 170 people die of heat-related deaths every year, compared to 117 in hurricanes, 62 in tornados, although this year considerably higher, lightning 44, and flooding 74.
So, it is a dangerous situation, and I know people are making fun of the weather men out there, because, oh, come on, it's summer, it's hot. No, this is a ridiculously hot year, because guess what happened all summer long, and even all spring long? There were thunderstorms all the way through here, there were massive amounts of flooding, we showed you pictures for weeks about the flooding. Well, now that flooding is evaporating. It was in the ground, corn is growing, that evaporation is putting humidity in the air, and the humidity is higher than it's ever been.
Minneapolis made a new record high humidity level with a dew point of 82. I want you to notice and think about the word dew point, significantly more important than relative humidity. Relative humidity is irrelevant, dew point is relevant. If it's above 70, it's very muggy. If it's above 75, and if it's above 80, and it's approaching 80 in some spots across the country, you don't even want to be outside, the pets don't want to be outside.
When you leave your house, turn the air-conditioner down today so that there's enough air-conditioning and enough electricity for everybody else to share, because we will see brownouts here pretty soon. They're not going to be able to get all this electricity every place it needs to be without some power problems -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, Chad, thank you very much.
Well, day after day of stifling heat takes a toll on most living things, and it's hard on power grids, too. Chad was just sort of talking about that. Back in May, the power grid serving most of the mid-Atlantic region predicted a peak demand of just under 149,000 megawatts. One megawatt can power 1,000 air-conditioners at full blast. Well yesterday, that grid produced more than 150,000 megawatts. I'm joined. I'm joined on the phone now Michael Kormos, Senior V.P. of Operations for PJM Interconnection. Mr. Kormos, how many customers do you serve?
MICHAEL KORMOS, SENIOR V.P. OF OPERATIONS, PJM INTERCONNECTION (via telephone): Fifty-eight million customers are in the PJM area.
KAYE: And how are you doing in terms of power? Do you have enough power?
KORMOS: Yes, at this point, we believe that there is adequate capacity to serve all the customer needs on the grid at this point.
KAYE: Give me an idea of the situation. I mean, are you at peak capacity or do you have some room here to play with?
KORMOS: When we are at peak, this is the kind of week that we literally plan years for in advance to make sure the infrastructure is in place, we train all year long to be prepared, and right now, everything is running well, and the grid is holding up, and we expect not to have any brownouts in the foreseeable future.
KAYE: You say you train. What type of training do you do to avoid a brownout?
KORMOS: A lot of the training is being able to react to any situation that could happen on the grid should a generator fail or should a transmission line or a transformer fail, being able to react to that, to redirect the power to insure that the remaining of the grid stays up.
KAYE: And what if you do need more power? Is there anything you can do?
KORMOS: We do have emergency procedures, as I just mentioned. We can use what is called a brownout, where we can lower the voltage that does decrease the power use. We also have the ability to ask customers to either voluntarily or through contractual obligations, get off the grid line at that point.
KAYE: I've read that as the heat wave persists, it takes more and more power, actually, to maintain cool. Is that true?
KORMOS: Yes, that's true. You normally end up with residual heat buildings -- heat build-up in the buildings, and therefore the air-conditioners are working harder to maintain the same temperature because of the residual heat.
KAYE: All right, Michael Kormos, we certainly wish you luck there and appreciate your time with us today. Thank you.
Our "Sound Effect" is the very last, last of the space shuttle era, everything connected with STS 135 has been a last of some sort, last liftoff, last hook up with the space station, last phone call from the president, and early this morning, yes, the last landing. The speech making started when wheels touched down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB NAVIAS, NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS (voice-over): Having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. It's voyage at an end.
CAPTAIN CHRIS FERGUSON, COMMANDER, STS-135: Mission complete, Houston, after serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history, and it's come to a final stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Atlantis will stay at Kennedy Space Center as a museum piece, but 3,000 contract workers are being shown the door. Their jobs will be eliminated starting tomorrow.
A reusable space craft capable of hauling enormous pay loads. From day one, the space shuttle had big eye written all over it. And later this hour, we'll look back and ahead with former shuttle astronaut, Leroy Chiao. That's at 1:45 Eastern, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Other big stories that we're following today, top congressional and administration officials are keeping up their high stakes talk on raising the debt ceiling today with a renewed focus on a possible short-term deal as a way to buy more time for negotiators. In less than two weeks, the country could default on its $14 trillion, unless lawmakers come up with a compromised plan to authorize more borrowing.
Today, senators are taking up the cut, cap and balance bill. House Republicans pushed through, but it does have little hope of passing the senate and the president has threatened to veto it.
A new warning that terrorists could use angry employees and ex-workers to target private utilities in the country. The Department of Homeland Security has sent a bulletin to local law enforcement warning about the possibility. It says there is no intelligence about a specific threat against power, water, gas or waste facilities, but according to VHS (ph), if violent extremists got hold of insider information about utilities, it could increase the likelihood of an attack that might succeed.
Big news in the sports world, Tiger Woods fired his long-time caddie and friend, Steve Williams. He was with Tiger for 13 of his 14 major championship wins. William says he was surprised because he stuck with Woods through the tough times, his very public sex scandal and the collapse of his game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WILLIAMS, CADDIE FOR TIGER WOODS: It's not disappointing to get fired. I understand the nature of the business, that's the way it is. But you know, given the fact of my loyalty and the way that I am, I mean the timing of it is pretty poor, really. As you just pointed out, I stuck by this guy through thick and thin, and yes, the timing of it is very poor from my perspective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Good news for football fans, there are strong signs the labor dispute between the NFL owners and players could end as early as today. The league's 32 owners are meeting in Atlanta and will vote on the deal now in front of them, players will vote separately. The major dispute, how to divide billions of dollars in revenue. Any agreement would put the NFL into high speed. The first pre-season game is set for August 7th, and the season is scheduled to open September 8th. Our David Mattingly is covering the dispute and we'll have a live report in 15 minutes.
Up next, one of these 75 players suing the NFL joins us live in the studio.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A lot of focus on the NFL today. First, for possibly reaching a deal in the lockout, which we'll talk about in a few minutes, but also for the lawsuit just filed by 75 former players and their spouses. The suit claims the NFL has known since the 1920s about a link between concussions and brain damage but never even acknowledged it until last year. The suit also claims Riddell, the company that makes NFL helmets, made defective helmets that didn't protect players against brain injury. We've reached out to the NFL and Riddell received these statements, first from the NFL, quote, "We have not seen the complaint but would vigorously contest any claims of this kind." And from Riddell, we have yet reviewed the complaint, but it is our policy to not comment on pending litigation.
Joining me now is one of the players suing, Joe Harris played for four different teams in the NFL, from 1977 to 1983, and he joins us here now in the studio.
Thank you so much for coming in. First, I want to ask you, how did you become involved with this lawsuit, and why was it so important to you?
JOE HARRIS, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Well, it's important for the young people, for them to know what's going on with concussions, what actually they should know about if they get a hit, or have a problem with memory, you know, we have a lot of players just struggling, like myself, with mental and other different types of problems that we have gotten from the hits that we had. We have to remember for every hit we have will come back to haunt us. So, I always want to tell the young people to be aware that there is some things that could happen down the line that you might not be aware of. It took me a while to realize the certain things that were happening to me in my life. Don't feel afraid, open up, let me pull know.
KAYE: Right. The law suit claims that during your time with the NFL, you suffered -- and I'm quoting here, "multiple concussions that were improperly diagnosed and improperly treated." How so?
HARRIS: Yes, I've had so many concussions, but they would tell me, you know, hey, I'm dizzy, or whatever, and they would say I see three fingers, what should I do? They would say -- and my coach would say, hey, hit the one in the middle, get back out there, you know? And that was the type of thing that went on when we were players back in that time.
KAYE: We hear a lot about players suffering from memory loss, dementia, confusion. Do you suffer from that?
HARRIS: Yes, I do. I suffer from that, confusion, forgetful. You know, that's one of the biggest problems, just trying to remember when I put something down, to go back and pick it up. But I wanted to say to the guys, don't be afraid to ask for help. Go out there and get some help, and people would understand you a little bit better, you know, when you say mental, or you say crazy, that's not the real deal. The real deal is we can help these men that went after to pave the way for a lot of young people out there in the league today.
KAYE: I want to bring in your attorney, Jason Luckaseviz, he's on the phone with us. Jason, I'd like to ask you, is this lawsuit about money? Because from what I understand, we're talking about $25,000 for these players each, and I also want to ask you, why not -- why include the players' spouses in this lawsuit as well?
JASON LUCKASEVIZ, ATTORNEY (via telephone): Yes, this is a civil lawsuit, and in a civil lawsuit to get into court, and you must allege that damages occurred are at least $25,000 per individual, that's just a statutory statement. As far as their wives, why are they included? Every one of these guys that are part of this lawsuit that are married have suffered relations, that have changed with their spouses, and because that these relations have changed, there's something in the law called loss of consortium, and therefore, there is a loss of consortium claim on those that are married. KAYE: Joe, I want to get back to you, because the lawsuit says that it has been well established. So this was going on in boxing since the 1920s, repeated blows to the head, it had been found, could cause brain damage. So is there a sense of personal responsibility here? I mean should you and the others have known what you were getting into?
HARRIS: I would rather my boss or my team owner to research the information, let us know what we were getting into. Because we were there for the love of the game. I love the game the same as I do today. Every day I would go out there to make my dream come true. This was a dream for me to be a professional athlete.
KAYE: But should you have known and the others have known that if you were going to keep hitting these guys and using your head as a weapon, really, on the field, that something was going to happen to you?
HARRIS: Yes, we should have been told that. But as a young man, I'm invincible. I don't feel that. I don't see that. I think I can go on and on and on. There's nobody that can get in my way because I have that dream that I worked for all of my life. I wake up in the morning, the first thing is thinking about how I'm going to get there. All I did was work toward that.
It built such a tunnel vision, giving us a straight line into what I wanted to be. I had not a lot of information on the medical side.
KAYE: Right.
HARRIS: We didn't know that. We were trying to get fast, trying to get strong, trying to be technical. There's so many things that goes on in football. It's not as simple as you think. It's just so many things, to have the right attitude and to go out there and do what we do.
KAYE: All right, Joe Harris, and your attorney, Jason Luckaseviz, thank you both for coming in and talking with us about this.
HARRIS: Thank you for having me.
LUCKASEVIZ: Thank you.
KAYE: We appreciate it. And we'll continue to follow it. And good luck with that.
A word to the wise for people managing those 20-something new hires. Check your ego at the door. We'll tell you why, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
Today we are taking a special look at millennials. That generation of 20 something-year-olds and how they fit into the workplace. More importantly, how best to manage them. This may be one way to do it. Give them what they want. Like this kid. You can you see him there. That young San Francisco Giants fan. Yes, he pouted, and then got his way when a foul ball fell in the row in front of him. When he didn't get the ball, yes, you got it, right there, somebody brought him one.
While this boy is a whole lot younger than the millennials you may work with, there may be a lesson here in how they were brought up and how best to manage them. Allan Chernoff reports on managing millennials.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What time of day do you think we should be open?
(CROSSTALK)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Twenty-something millennials want to work their hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to be able to see our friends.
CHERNOFF: They need to check FaceBook at the office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We work to live, and not the other way around.
CHERNOFF: And they want their bosses to listen to them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes people don't understand like that, you know, work is what you do and not necessarily who you are.
CHERNOFF (on camera): When I entered the workforce, the rule was you wore a suit to the office. And the office where you went, that could be where you'd spend your entire career.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): But for millennials, a job is often just a stop on their career path. And if they're stopping, they might as well be comfortable. At many officers, they dress as they wish, showing off tattoos and toes.
CHERNOFF (on camera): What if somebody came to work dressed as I am here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would be a little out of place.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): It's life first, work second. And what may be stunning is that baby boomer managers often are bending to the millennials' demands. Marian Salzman is CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide Public Relations. Most of her staff of about 80 are millennials. And whenever possible, the boss lets the kids have their way. Happy hours on the roof and time off for voluntary work, social networking in the office.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Why tolerate all of this? I mean our bosses years ago wouldn't have. MARIAN SALZMAN, CEO, EURO RSCG WORLDWIDE PR: Well, first of all, they're the new marketplace. They're the new brains. They come with all the social media tools and tricks embedded in them as native.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): In other words, the bosses recognizes she needs these millennial kids because they're plugged into social media. A revolution that's changing how corporate America communicates.
CHERNOFF (on camera): How do you manage these people?
SALZMAN: The first thing you may have to learn is, you can't manage them. You need to learn how to work alongside them.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Check your egos, CEOs, and build up a thick skin because not only are millennials demanding, they're also quick to voice criticism, even online for the world to see.
SALZMAN: You may be the most experienced, you may be the wisest, you're not the smartest person in the room any more.
CHERNOFF: But Salzman is smart. Her multi-tasking millennials have helped her company become a hit PR firm for some of the biggest brands in the world.
NICOLE PONTES, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, EURO RSCG WORLDWIDE: We're pretty hard workers. I think that we just have a different way of working.
CHERNOFF: A way that appears to work, if the boss is willing to throw out the old rule book.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Twenty-three minutes past the hour. Time to check in on some top stories that we're following. The National Weather Service now says at least 22 deaths may be linked to the heat wave. Temperatures could hit record highs today in parts of the Midwest and Northeast as nearly half of the country swelters. About 141 million people are under heat advisories and warnings.
Less than two weeks until the government starts defaulting on its debts and lawmakers are quickly running out of options. Conservatives are rejecting tax increases and liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs. If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit by August 2nd, the country could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar and increasingly jittery financial markets, among other problems.
The British police investigation into illegal activity by journalists appears to be expanding beyond Rupert Murdoch's disgraced "News of the World" tabloid to other newspapers and companies. A spokesman declined to confirm what exact claims of illegal eavesdropping and bribery that police are pursuing, but they have added 15 officers to the case, expanding the team to 60 and are plowing through thousands of records as far back as 2006.
Think there will be an NFL season this year or next? We are live at negotiations that could decide the fate of America's most popular sport. So don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Millions of pro football fans are hoping today will be the day the NFL's labor lockout will end. Players and owners expected to vote on a deal that will hopefully save the 2011 season. CNN's David Mattingly is live in Atlanta where the negotiations are taking place.
What's the latest word, David?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest word right now, Randi, is no word. Neither the players, the representatives who were meeting in Washington yesterday, nor the owners and their executives who were meeting behind closed doors here behind me today here in Atlanta have stepped forward to say if there's any kind of agreement or any kind of vote looming. So right now we're exactly where we seem to have been for the last four months, where the season is still in doubt with no formal agreement ready to be made public.
So we're just waiting to find out what comes out of this meeting here. They're giving more details possibly later today about what they've been doing, what they've been talking about, where there might be any sort of snags if any still exists. So again, we're just waiting to see what the owners here are doing behind closed doors, Randi.
KAYE: Yes, but, David, this pre-season or scheduled pre-season is coming up pretty fast here. So even if they reach an agreement today, I mean how soon could we really see the players and the coaches out there on the field?
MATTINGLY: Well, that first pre-season game is supposed to take place the first Sunday of August. So they don't have a lot of time. Already there's going to be some impact on the training camps. We know that the Chicago Bears were supposed to go into camp on Friday. The St. Louis' team is supposed to go in on Saturday. So we were looking at these teams getting prepared for that game. If no agreement today, that could be pushing that back. So there might be some sort of scramble to salvage the beginning of this pre-season if some agreement isn't reached today.
KAYE: All right, David Mattingly, keep us posted on those negotiations. Appreciate it. Thank you.
All right, now we want to show you something really cool. I have it right here. We are streaming live all of our shows on CNN 24/7. So if you have to step away from the television and you don't want to miss a minute of the show or anything that you like on CNN, well, all you have to do is download the CNN iPhone or iPad app, or you can check out cnn.com/video on your computer and you'll find it all right there. It's about a minute or so behind regular programming, but it's really cool. This is about the coolest thing I've ever seen on my iPad here. You can watch on demand clips, you can stream live shows and even rewind live video if you missed something. So I think it's pretty cool. You should check it out. Again, cnn.com/video.
An Arizona website raised nearly $40,000 in donation in only 17 hours to build a fence? We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE,: It's about half past the hour. Let's check some of the headlines and other news you may have missed.
The blistering heat wave officials are say is responsible for two dozen deaths is expected to stick around today and could continue into the weekend. One hundred and forty-one million people across the United States are under heat advisories and warnings. Triple digit temperatures are expected to remain across the Eastern U.S. through Saturday before cooling slightly to the mid-90s by Sunday.
As the clock ticks toward the August 2nd deadline, top congressional and administration officials, they are focusing on a possible short-term deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling as a way to buy time for negotiators. President Obama has previously said that he would veto any short term extension, but White House Press Secretary Jay Carney signaled that may not be the case. Carney said the president may be willing to change his mind if a short term extension is tied to an agreement on a broader deficit reduction deal that includes both tax hikes and spending reforms.
The space shuttle Atlantis glided back to Earth this morning, capping a 30-year program, and saw hundred of astronauts go in space. The shuttle landed safely at 5:57 Eastern Time at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. As Atlantis sat on the tarmac, Shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson had this to say about NASA's final mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS FERGUSON, SHUTTLE COMMANDER: There's a lot of emotion of today, but one thing is in disputable: America is not going to stop exploring. Thank you, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, and our ship, Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us, and bringing this program to such a fitting end.
God bless all of you. Good bless the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Keep out. Arizona lawmakers are trying to keep that message to smugglers and undocumented immigrants with thoughts form crossing the border from Mexico. Buildtheborderfence.com is the latest Arizona immigration initiative. It's a state-sponsored fund- raising Web site that was launched yesterday geared towards closing the gaps in fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The site raised nearly $40,000 within its first 17 hours of operation.
It looks like some people are going to be getting their money back. According to the Federal Trade Commission borrowers who were overcharged by Countrywide Financial more than three years ago will be getting a check in the mail to make up some of the difference. They will be sending out nearly $108 million to more than 450,000 former Countrywide customers.
And he starred in one of the most popular Super Bowl commercials. But this child actor has a real life story that is sure to touch your heart. Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to him, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Cuts to Medicaid and other health care programs are some of the hottest issues in Washington budget talks. Behind those talks are real people suffering.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, met up with someone you might just recognize, and this young man is actually headed to D.C. to lobby for children's access to quality health care -- Sanjay.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Next week Washington is going to feel "the force," so to speak. He's a little guy with a big mission.
Take a look at who I met when I was in L.A.
MAX PAGE, 6-YEAR-OLD: Dr. Gupta?
GUPTA: Yes, sir?
M. PAGE: You're it!
GUPTA: I'm it.
M. PAGE: Yes.
GUPTA (voice-over): Max Page only knows one speed, full steam ahead.
(on camera): I don't know if I can keep up with this kid.
(voice-over): Now, you've probably seen Max before even though you may not know it. Remember this Volkswagen ad from Super Bowl XLV? Darth Vader? Nope, just Max.
Within mere seconds of meeting him, Max was asking about my daughters.
(on camera): Three girls.
M. PAGE: Let me guess, 4-year-old?
GUPTA: Yes.
M. PAGE: Two-year-old?
GUPTA: Yes.
M. PAGE: Six-year-old?
GUPTA: You got it. How did you know?
(voice-over): We are at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles with max and his brother,. Ells, to see Dr. Michael Silka.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I see your pacemaker?
GUPTA: That's right. Max has a pacemaker, and actually, it's his third, and he's only 6-year-old.
For parents Jennifer and Buck, the first sign of trouble came before Max was even born.
JENNIFER PAGE, MAX'S MOTHER: In my 30th week appointment, we found out that Max had structural damage to his heart. They didn't know -- they couldn't get a good heartbeat. They took him emergency C-section, born in a whirlwind.
BUCK PAGE, MAX'S FATHER: The last thing I remember is almost hopelessness, because it's out of my hands as a dad. And as a dad, that's not something you are used to.
J. PAGE: I said, please, just save my son. That's all we're here for. I don't know anything you just said or understand anything you're going to do, I need you to save my son and I need to have a chance to know this kid.
GUPTA: It's hard to imagine, but for mom and dad, it was al a blur.
Max was born with a heart condition known as tetralogy of Fallot. It's rare. It includes four separate problems in the heart, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the blood. Without a pacemaker, and eight major operations so far, Max probably wouldn't be here.
(on camera): Can you feel it, Max? Can you feel a pacemaker?
M. PAGE: If you like touch it or like if something hits it, it's kind of whenever I feel it.
DR. MICHAEL SILKA, CARDIOLOGIST, CHILDREN' HOSPITAL AT LOS ANGELES: It's like the movie "Cars," they show pistons and engines going around, you want them working together, right? You don't one going like this and the other one going at different rate. You have to have them working together.
GUPTA: Could something like this for Max or for any child like Max should be cared for in a children hospital, or any hospital?
SILKA: No, no, this is a fairly sophisticated, fairly sub- specialized area of medicine. I'm with, I'm a pediatric electro- physiologist. There are probably slightly over 100 of us in the country. So, there aren't many people who really do what we do.
GUPTA: And it's that kind of skill that Max needs.
Randi, there are 56 of the specialized children's hospitals in the country, and as Washington talks about budget cuts, the programs that train these types of doctors are on the chopping block. So, little Max is headed to Capitol Hill to lobby for that program and also to argue against cuts to Medicaid, which helps tens of millions of other kids. We'll see how it goes -- Randi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Thank you, Sanjay. What a great story.
And you can see the rest of Sanjay's report on mini-Darth Vader, Max page, on this weekend's "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D.: Washington Feels the Force," this Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
Meanwhile, a 14-year-old says he is an assassin. And according to one child's rights advocate, there may be thousands more. Details right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We begin our globe trek in Somalia, where the president issued an urgent appeal for international aid. President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed talked about the famine plaguing his country in an exclusive interview with CNN. As he put it, quote, "The situation is severe."
The U.N. warns that suffering could spread rapidly without massive and immediate international assistance.
It is a disturbing story. A 14-year-old alleged assassin hired by Mexico's drug war loads. He says he kills his victims by cutting their throats. And now, a child advocate says as many as 30,000 minors may be involved in organized crime.
CNN's Rafael Romo has more on the 14-year-old American now on trial in Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The trial is being held under strict security measures because the defendant is a minor. The public is not allowed inside the courtroom at this judicial compound in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Only defense and prosecution attorneys, family members and this human rights commissioner are allowed inside.
PAUL DIAZ GARCIA, MORELOS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (through translator): He seems coherent and looks clean. He spoke without any trouble and was smiling. We told him that we were there in case he had any questions about his rights.
ROMO: The defendant known as El Ponchis or "The Cloak" is an American citizen who's only 14 years old. This video shows the San Diego native after he was captured near Mexico City back in December as he allegedly was trying to flee. He admitted to brutally killing people in a on-camera interrogation by Mexican military authorities. The victims were all beheaded.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
ROMO: "This teenager is accused by the state attorney's anti drug unit of crimes related to drug trafficking, specifically cocaine and marijuana, illegal possession of military weapons, and violations against federal organized crime wall with the objective of committing kidnappings and aggravated murder."
El Ponchis is not the only minor in Mexico involved with drug car tells. Social media pictures have surfaced in the last year showing teenager and young men holding high caliber assault weapons and wearing masks. Six youths were captured last October in a town about 30 miles south of Mexico City. Graffiti in the house where they were hiding linked to the South Pacific Cartel.
VERONICA MORALES, MEXICAN NETWORK FOR THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN (through translator): According to academic studies, around 30,000 children and adolescence are currently involved or may be involved in organized crime.
ROMO: If found guilty, El Ponchis faces three years in a correctional facility, the maximum allowed under Mexican law because of his age. There will be 60 witnesses testifying at a trial which is expected to last about three weeks.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Checking top stories now. A record heat wave still stifling much of the U.S. And it is deadly. The hot weather is blamed in as many as 22 deaths, including 13 in Missouri. The high temps are also putting a strain on the nation's power grid.
Less than two weeks until the government starts to default on its debts, and lawmakers are quickly running out of options. Conservatives are rejecting tax increases; liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs. If Congress fails to raise that $14.3 trillion debt limit by August 2nd, the country could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar, and an increasingly jittery financial market.
A new warning that terrorists could use angry employees and ex- workers to target private utilities in the country. The Department of Homeland Security has sent a bulletin to local law enforcement, warning about that possibility. But it says there's no intelligence about a specific threat against any power, water, gas or waste facility.
The end of an era for NASA's shuttle program. We'll take a look back and a look ahead to what might be next in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have just come from seeing the president, and over in his quarters, and he asked me to convey his warm regards and we're proud not just of you all, but of al the people that are supporting your fantastic mission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That was then-vice president, George H.W. Bush, congratulating members of STS-1, NASA's first manned space mission. In 1981, space shuttle Columbia was NASA's first shuttle launch, giving birth to a program that spanned over 30 years, five orbiters and 513 million miles.
Aside from carrying thousands of astronauts in space, shuttle crews have fixed satellites, performed scientific studies and ferried materials and people to the international space station. One of the shuttle's more notable missions happened in 1990 with the deployment of the Hubble space telescope. The Hubble changed the way scientists and students alike viewed space, providing deeper and clearer views of our own solar system in extremely remote galaxies.
The shuttle program has not been without problems, of course. On Tuesday, January 28th, 1986, space shuttle Challenger broke apart just over a minute during its flight, leading to the deaths of all seven crew members. NASA blamed the explosion on an O-ring seal failure in one of the rocket boosters.
Less than ten years later in 2003, space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, killing all crew members. In that instance, a piece of foam broke off from the shuttle's external tank, damaging Columbia's heat protection system.
In 2004, President George W. Bush announced a new plan to explore space and extend human presence across the solar system. With it, the announcement of the end space shuttle program came in 2010, 30 years after it began.
That brings us to today, the final shuttle, Atlantis, has returned home, ending a long run for American human space flight. In today's "Big I," we'll take a look back at the program and also where it goes from here.
Joining me now is former astronaut Leroy Chiao. Leroy, great to have you on the show on this very historic day. You knew you wanted to go to space as a little boy. How do you feel about seeing the end of this program?
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER ASTRONAUT: Well, it's very bittersweet. I mean, I dreamt about becoming an astronaut as an eight-year-old kid watching the Apollo 11 moon landing, and then many years later in 1990 I actually fulfilled that dream as being selected as an astronaut and finally flying for the first time aboard Columbia in '94. Subsequently I've had a chance to fly a total of four times in space, three times on space shuttles, and so I came in right as the shuttle was kind of hitting its stride and its operational phase and really starting to get going. We were flying a lot of missions back then. About eight missions a year, and there was talk of going up to ten missions a year. And you know, and without the space shuttle, we couldn't have built the international space station.
So, it was really with, you know, sadness that I watched Atlantis touch down for the last time today, marking the end of the program. And I have to admit, I got up early to watch it happen, and -- and shed a tear when the wheels were stopped.
KAYE: Yes, you and so many others. When President Bush announced a new direction for the spouse program, what did you think? I mean, did you ever think it would ever really end?
CHIAO: Well, in 2004, in fact, I was in the audience when President Bush made that announcement, and it was an exciting time. He was announcing a new exploration program. But, you know -- but he also announced the end of the shuttle and back then in 2004 there was, you know, the thinking was, well, there's a lot that can happen between 2004 and 2010, and, you know, who knows what's going to happen? So, I don't think people really accepted it at first, that it was going to end, but as we got closer to 2010 and 2011, there were some proposals and ideas on how to extend the shuttle.
In fact, when I was serving on the Augustine Committee two years ago, the White House-appointed committee to review NASA plans and suggest options for the future, we did lay out one option that allowed the shuttle to continue flying until at least 2015. Unfortunately, that was not chosen as part of the new space policy rolled out last year. But, you know, we were concerned about this gap because now the United States no longer has the independent ability to send our astronauts to the space station, and we won't have that capability for probably, in my estimation, probably for at least five years.
KAYE: Yes. What do we do in that case from here on in? I'm curious where manned space flight goes in that case, but in that case, if we wanted to get there, we'll have to hitch a ride with somebody else, won't we?
CHIAO: That's right. From now on until the time we develop a commercial capability or the new multipurpose crew vehicle was flying, the United States is going to be dependant on Russian assets to fly our astronauts to the space station.
Now in my last mission in 2004, it was in the wake of the Columbia accident, so I actually did train and fly on a Russian Soyuz, flying as a co-pilot on Soyuz TMA-5, so it's a reliable transportation system. I went to the space station and back. But, you know, I hate to see us with one source or one way, and I really hate to see us not having -- the United States, that is -- not having our own way of getting our astronauts up there.
KAYE: Do you think this will deter future generations from getting involved with space flight?
CHIAO: Well, I hope not. The space program inspired me as a young person to really get excited not just about space, but about science and engineering and life. I think one of the greatest things that come out of a human space flight program -- I mean, we can talk about the technical spinoffs. We can talk about being a technology driver and all that is true, but it's really an issue of national prestige and inspiring the next generation.
You know, I think it makes people feel good about the country and the young people get excited and they get excited about their lives and what the possibilities are.
So, I'm hoping that, you know, this is temporary. I'm hoping it's shorter rather than longer, this gap, and, you know, I have confidence that we will continue to explore in space, and I'm hopeful that this is just a minor blip, if you will.
KAYE: Well, we certainly hope you're right. Leroy Chiao, great to have you on the show. Thank you so much.
CHIAO: My pleasure. Great to be with you.
KAYE: Former vice presidential nominee John Edwards needs to repay the Federal Election Commission. Paul Steinhauser will bring you the details right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: John Edwards must pay back a couple of million dollars. Joining me now to break this down for us is CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
Hey there, Paul. So, Edwards has to pay back money, but this has nothing to do with the criminal conspiracy case against him, is that right?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You are absolutely right. And we're talking about $2.3 million. This was a ruling today by the Federal Election Commission, and Edwards' campaign from the 2008 presidential election needs to pay that money back to the U.S. Treasury. That's taxpayer money from Edwards.
And why? Because of what's called matching funds, matching funds that the government gives to candidates when they are running for office. They get money from the government, raise own money and there's certain limits. His campaign owes this money back. Guess what? They have about $2.9 million left, so I guess they have the money to pay it back.
Randi, as you said, this has nothing to do with the criminal conspiracy case against the former U.S. senator from North Carolina. You know, he's accused of issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws. A lot of this has to do with the money that was given to his mistress at the time, Rielle Hunter, by benefactors of the campaign. They dispute, Edwards disputes, that those are campaign donations.
But again, that is totally separate from this and nothing to do with this. There you go!
KAYE: OK, I'll take your word on that.
Hey, Paul, as you know, we've been doing a whole lot of talking about the debt ceiling. I'm curious what the latest numbers are on this. What do the polls look like?
STEINHAUSER: Got a brand-new poll from CNN and ORC. This is a national survey. We put it out just about an hour or two ago. And the headline here is Americans want compromise.
Check out these numbers. We asked do you prefer a budget plan to raise the debt ceiling that would include only spending cuts? You can see only 34 percent say that, or a mixture of spending cuts and tax increases, kind of like what the president is suggesting, what the Gang of Six is suggesting. Look at that. 64 percent say they want that.
This is the sixth national poll, Randi, in the last week that indicates that, but go to the next number. There is a partisan divide here, no doubt about it and you can see that. Look at that. Democrats overwhelmingly like that combination of spending cuts and tax increases, two-thirds of independents.
But a minority of Republicans and Tea Party supporters like that idea. What do they want? They want spending cuts only.
OK, so let's say there's no deal by August 2nd. Who gets the blame? Well, can you see right there, only three in ten will blame the president and there Democrats if there's nothing. But look at that. Yes, a lot more people are going to blame congressional Republicans, Randi.
So that blame game is definitely a factor in the political negotiations going on right now behind the scenes.
KAYE: And everybody is looking at 2012.
STEINHAUSER: Exactly.
KAYE: All right, Paul. Thank you very much. Your next update from The Best Political Team on television is just one hour away.
