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No Debt Deal in Sight; East Coast to Feel Like 115 Degrees; Pentagon to End Gay Military Ban; White House Denies Progress on Debt Plan; Blast at Oslo Government Building; NFL Owners Approve Labor Deal; Deadly Heat Wave Moves East; Selling Your Info; One Dead, 30 Hurt in Crash; "Anonymous" Hacker Arrests; FAA Faces Partial Shutdown; Beyonce's "A Star is Born" Remake; "Beavis and Butt Head" Returns; "Potter" Series Biggest Ever; Cashing in on Comic-Con
Aired July 22, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Don Lemon. Kyra is off today. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
In Washington, lots of talk, but no action on a deal to avoid a debt crisis. Only about a week and a half before the deadline, the White House is shooting down reports that negotiations are getting close to an agreement.
For millions of Americans in the eastern U.S. the ferocious heat wave hits its peak today. In some areas, it will feel like 115 degrees.
A landmark day for the U.S. military. Today, the Pentagon is expected to start the process of lifting the ban on gays serving openly.
In Washington right now, it's time to speed up the negotiations on the deepening debt crisis. The government now has just over ten and a half days to raise the debt ceiling or risk running out of money to pay its bills.
The White House is pushing an ambitious plan that would cut $3 trillion in spending over the next decade, but negotiations are stuff over the Bush era tax cuts and whether to extend them.
Today the Senate is due to vote on the cut, cap and balance plan, which has already passed the House, but it's unlikely to pass the Senate. It's doomed should if reached the president's desk.
Let's go straight to the White House and CNN's Brianna Keilar. Brianna, the White House is shooting down reports that the president and Republicans are getting close to a deal. What's going on?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's very intriguing stuff, Don. The White House insisting, as is House Speaker John Boehner's office that there's no deal. In fact there was a Facebook message the speaker put out saying they're all of these reports there is no deal.
But let me tell you what we know. We know that President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who has been involved in these debt talks, they met with congressional Democrats, Democratic leaders last night.
This morning the speaker has been meeting with his Republican conference. This sort of potential deal is, I guess, how we're talking about it, Don. Congressional sources are telling us that actually there is a potential deal. That it would be about $3 trillion in deficit savings over the course of 10 years.
That's quite a sizable package, but yes, again the White House is saying, no, there isn't a deal, and top Republicans, the speaker saying there isn't a deal. All of this is happening at the same time there's this vote in the Senate that you mentioned. Just check this out, fireworks on the Senate floor this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: As the saying goes, indecision becomes decision with time. Our time has run out before this gridlock, this refusal by the other side to move within an inch towards compromise becomes a decision to default on our debt.
SENATOR DAN COATS (R), INDIANA: After spending last evening saying I'm hopeful that we could come together and work something out and the well gets poisoned last evening by the majority leader and gets poisoned again this morning. Those of us who have worked our tails off to try to get something done are told that this is a piece of crap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So potential deal, yes, Don. Congressional sources tell us, but you can see you still have Democrats and Republicans trading barbs there on the Senate floor, and on the issue of this deal, it appears there are a lot of certainly very important voices.
People whose opinions really matter about whether this would be a good idea or something that Democrats and Republicans could agree to and a lot of them at this point left very much out of the loop it appears while the House speaker and President Obama negotiate and keep a lot of this very close to the vest.
LEMON: Boy. All right, Brianna, it's going to be a long day for you and a long weekend for me.
KEILAR: It's hot here, too, Don.
LEMON: I know. All right, got the guns out there that's why. Thank you, Brianna.
KEILAR: Thanks, Don.
Next hour, President Obama will talk about the debt talks during a town hall forum at the University of Maryland. We'll check in on what he has to say and bring it to you.
We're following a breaking story out of Oslo, Norway. A big explosion right near government buildings and the prime minister's office. Let's go now to Monita Rajpal. She has all the details for us. What do you know, Monita?
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, details are slowly coming in to the CNN newsroom here in London this hour out of Oslo in Norway where we understand there could be as many as two explosions that have taken place in central downtown Oslo potentially affecting the prime minister's building.
It's a 17-story building. We understand according to local eyewitnesses and a local reporter and I'm watching our coverage as well in that the windows have been blown out of several buildings in downtown Oslo.
Again, as we're saying, there are -- it's unconfirmed whether or not it's the prime minister's office that has been affected, but we understand according to reports and according to the Norwegian news agency that the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe after the blast in central Oslo.
We understand that the people are on the streets bleeding, obviously, very scared about the situation. No other reports really coming in, in terms of any other casualties at this point.
LEMON: We have a picture, a twitter picture of the building that we're getting, and take a look at that. There are no reports, no further reports of injuries? But you said several hurt, right?
RAJPAL: Yes, several people we understand are injured according to local eyewitnesses. People are seen on the streets that are bleeding. Again, still details are sketchy right now. There are several buildings within in downtown corridor in Oslo, in central Oslo, the capital of Norway.
We understand that the government building and the prime minister's office is part of this group of buildings. There are other reports that it could be housing also a newspaper. So again, we understand that there are as many as two explosions that have taken place in central Oslo.
Other details are still sketchy at this point. We're doing our best to try to confirm as much as we can right now.
LEMON: All right, as soon as you get more information, we'll get back to you. Monita Rajpal with our breaking news this morning.
In other news now, pro football and it's not a done deal, not just yet. The NFL's 2011 season still in doubt, despite team owners ratifying a new labor agreement yesterday by a 31-0 vote. That means team facilities could open as soon as tomorrow.
Free agency and player signings could resume next Wednesday, but it's all contingent on the players reinstating their union and voting for the owners approved agreement.
HLN's sport Joe Carter live now on the story. Joe, do we know when the players are going to take some action?
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: Well, Don, we would hope sooner than later. You know, it's one of those things where it's a hurry up and wait game at this point. With the agreed proposal from the owners, they've laid out a very specific time line that basically says the players have until Tuesday to say yes to this new proposed collective bargaining agreement.
Now, last night in Atlanta, 31 of the 32 teams agreed to the new proposal, the new labor deal for the NFL, a deal that's going to last 10 years. A deal that's very lucrative, unprecedented, a deal that really is going to take the NFL into another stratosphere.
Now we spoke with Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones about how grueling this it process has been for more than four months now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY JONES, DALLAS COWBOYS OWNER: At the end of the day, you do get roughed up. I don't mean it physically, but you do get roughed up. That's what the negotiation is about. We didn't get where I might have dreamed we could get to on some of these things, but what I do know is that we did some things that will help grow this league.
JEFFREY LURIE, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES OWNER: It allows for stability the sport. The sport is already so popular. This allows us to worry about football for the next 10 years, how to grow the sport, how to make it safer, how to make it more fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARTER: All right. So the players received the finalized new proposal from the owners late last night, and there was an immediate pushback from the players.
Now the players and their player reps have said from all along that they're not going to be rushed. They're not going to be hurried into saying yes to something that they don't know all the terms to the deal.
Don, I ask you, would you buy a new home or would you buy a new car unless you knew all the terms of the deal? Probably not. So at in the point the players have until Tuesday to say yes to this new deal. If it happens, football will start on time, September 8th.
Training camp, of course, is opening up this Wednesday. So right now we're waiting to see if the players can read through the deal and agree to it like the owners have.
LEMON: All right, stand by. Stick with it, Joe. We need to know. Joe Carter from HLN Sports. Appreciate it.
In the next half hour, the NBA three-week-old lockout has some stars looking toward Europe to possibly play during the stoppage. That list reportedly includes Lakers star Kobe Bryant. We'll talk about the economics and likelihood straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We know it is hot, 55, 55 different record highs recorded yesterday. Who knows what will be set today. The heat is now causing the power authority in Detroit to start rolling blackouts in parts of the city.
The Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and the northeast may see triple- digit temperatures as the day goes on, a pretty rare occurrence. Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. As I said to you last hour, dangerous. We say it a lot, but this really is.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We all think, it's just hot. No big deal. But time after time as far as weather-related fatalities are concerned, heat is number one, more than hurricanes, more than tornados and more than floods.
So this needs to be taken seriously and you need to do what you can do to stay cool and obviously give those a break if they're working outside in the heat. Heat advisories for a good 29 or so states.
That means heat indices will be up over 110 to 120 in some of these areas. With that, we're looking at temperatures that will be dangerously hot. It's peaking across parts of the northeast.
The I-95 corridor where we're going to see the bulk of the heat and right now already we're looking at temperatures that feel like they're up and over 110 degrees. It's 111 right now is the heat index in Atlantic City, 110 right now in D.C.
So not only do we see temperatures that will feel like they're over 110 degrees today, but we'll feel them for tomorrow as well. The heat will break on Sunday, but until then it's going to be dangerously hot.
Just the actual temperatures alone as measured in the shade, Don, without humidity we could set all-time record highs in some of these larger cities. So it's going to be a historic day. Do what you can to stay cool and be safe.
LEMON: All right, we both reside here in the great city of Atlanta. I mean, 88 for Atlanta and 103 for New York.
MARCIANO: And during all of this, we had some of our coolest weather this summer this past weekend. So I guess those that get it on a day-to-day basis, week after week in the summer, they're getting relatively a break. But these folks that aren't used to it are getting it right now.
LEMON: We actually went for a swim last night and got a little cool, chilly.
MARCIANO: Stop it. You'll upset some people right now. LEMON: Upset some people. Thank you, Rob Marciano. The FAA faces a partial shutdown tonight over a funding fight in Congress. We'll find out if our skies are still safe. The government sells its stake in Chrysler. How did you, the taxpayer, fare in the deal?
That plus a check on the markets coming up and we'll tell you what got Chicago's new Mayor Rahm Emanuel to storm out of an interview with one of my former colleagues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're taking cross country right now. In Florida, if you thought your private, personal information with the DMV was just that, private, well, it isn't. You better think again. The DMV is selling personal information to companies willing to pay the price. It made more than $63 million last year doing it.
In upstate New York, a crash between a bus and tractor trailer overnight has left one person dead and 30 others injured. Authorities say it looks like the tractor trailer hit the bus as it tried to move from the side of the road back onto the highway.
In San Jose, California, a woman caught up in an internet hacking raid says she's not part of any hacker group including the infamous "Anonymous" group. Tracy Venezuela is one of 14 people arrested this week charged with conspiracy and damage to a protected computer. The group allegedly launched cyber attacks in sympathy with whistle blower web site, Wikileaks.
The fight over the debt ceiling isn't the only showdown going on in Washington right now. A bill that gives funding to the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA could be held up by the Senate, and that could lead to a partial shutdown of the agency at midnight tonight.
The main source of the fight is over cutting subsidies to rural airports to the tune of about $8 million. What it means to the rest of us is that air traffic controllers will still be on the job, but thousands of mostly administrative workers could be furloughed.
Last hour I spoke with the Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, and here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANPORTATION SECRETARY: Congress has passed 20 extensions. They need to pass this extension. They could do it today. I'm urging them to do it today for the benefit of construction workers, for the benefit of the jobs that they hold, for the benefit of the 4,000 employees. This is easily done. They could do it very quickly, and I hope they will do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. That was the secretary. Now to Mary Schiavo, she's the former inspector general for the Department of Transportation and Aviation attorney as well. Mary, what do you make of what the secretary had to say before we continue?
MARY SCHIAVO, AVIATION ATTORNEY: Well, the secretary is correct, but we need to put it in perspective. This has happened 21 times before. They've been fighting over the FAA re-authorization bill since 2007, so the Congress has been passing stop-gap measures.
There are 47,000 employees in the FA, and 35,000 of them are air traffic control employees. They will stay on the job. They're deemed essential personnel. So of the budget what we're talking about here is there's a $16 billion budget, and 12 billion of that comes from ticket taxes or user fees.
So what we're talking about here is the smallest agreement over just a tiny program, essential air service. So I think they will work out the disagreements as they have 20 times in the past over this bill, but air traffic control stays on the job. They're deemed essential.
LEMON: OK, it's interesting because you're talking about $8 million to $12 million a year, but then $200 million a week you're going to cut that off. Isn't that like cutting off your nose despite your face?
SCHIAVO: It is exactly that because remember as I mentioned $12 billion of the $16 billion budget comes from the ticket taxes and user fees. So it's really important. If this bill lapses, they can't legally collect them. So we will have days, possibly a even week or so because this has happened before.
LEMON: It happened with you, correct?
SCHIAVO: Pardon?
LEMON: It happened with you for a couple of days?
SCHIAVO: Yes, yes. I was in the government when we actually had to shut the whole government down here a few years ago because of an issue very much like we're having now.
No re-authorization. All the air traffic controllers stayed on the job. It was largely persons who worked in administrative, research. They're very important, but they were not deemed essential. So yes, I had to shut the government down once before.
LEMON: All right. Mary Schiavo, we really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
We've been talking about the looming deadline for the debt ceiling. We'll go to Capitol Hill. There you see Representative Eric Cantor speaking. Let's listen. REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CANTOR, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: You heard from the speaker and the leader, and you might hear the same thing from all of us because this conference is very, very united. It's not just a Republican conference.
We've had a short opportunity for the American public to see what cut, cap and balance is all about. If you look at the CNN poll, when they look at the debt limit, they want a balanced budget amendment. There's a fundamental difference here.
Not only did we say what we're for, we voted for what we're for. That's a responsibility. Some people can vote on what they're against, but you have to say what you're for. This is too big an issue for America to face. It's not just America watching. It's also the world.
If we're going to continue to lead, you have to step up to the plate. So the responsibility from the House once again has proven the course that not only will we say what we do, we back it up with votes and put it on the floor and send it to the Senate.
The Senate has an action to take. They do not like our action. They have to say what they're for.
LEMON: All right. That was Kevin McCarthy of California speaking before him. Eric Cantor is speaking and you know this has been a contentious fight.
They only have 10-1/2 days to get this debt ceiling raised, or the U.S. may start to defaulting on its loans. We're going to continue to follow that story out of Washington as the deadline looms here.
Also, a report on our breaking news from Oslo of an explosion at a government building. We'll have it for you coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now for your showbiz headlines. Beyonce Knowles says it's her biggest opportunity of her life. Clint Eastwood picks the pop star for his remake of "A Star is Born" after seeing the Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland. She tells Reuters she never imagined getting the iconic role. There are reports that Eastwood wants Leonardo de Caprio to play her co-star.
And after 14 years, "Beavis and Butthead" returns to MTV. Creator Mike Judge tells Comic-con fans that it was time for the show to return because, quote, "I thought like TV was getting too smart."
With a huge box office take of the latest Harry Potter movie, "Entertainment Weekly" says that franchise is now the top grossing in U.S. history.
Now "Star Wars" has sold twice as many tickets as Potter, but when we're talking about cash here, Potter just slid past that sci-fi franchise raking in over $2.2 billion so far. That is a whole economy bigger than some countries, wow.
Superheroes and superfans converge in San Diego this weekend. Comic-con shines a spotlight on what's new and what's next in our pop culture. More than 100,000 ticket holders rubbing elbows with celebrities and getting a sneak peak at what's in the works in Hollywood.
And right there in the middle of all of it, he's the Kato to my Green Hornet, the Robin to my Batman, the Dino girl to my Electro Woman, I have no idea who any of these people are except for Batman.
J.D. Cargill is here to help me give you a feel for this amazing event. I thought that Superman, Batman maybe a little bit about the Green Hornet, but that's where it ends.
J.D. CARGILL, CNN ENTERTAINMENT VIDEO EDITOR: Yes. Good morning, Don. My goodness, why do you get to be Batman? I want to be Batman. You can be my Robin. You're definitely Batman and I'll be Robin.
Like you said, over 100,000 tickets were sold. Actually they expect 130,000 people to walk through the doors of this convention center behind me over the course of this four-day period. I spoke with the mayor of San Diego yesterday, Jerry Sanders, and he said this event is expected to generate revenues to the tune of $200 million for the city of San Diego.
That's the overall economic boost with about $60 million in transactions happening inside the convention center itself. In fact, it's such a big deal to the city of San Diego, they fought hard to keep this convention here for the next five years.
What they're going to do to make sure it works is add to the size of the convention center. So anybody listening right now out there thinking maybe I want a job in California, Jerry Sanders, the mayor of San Diego, said that this new convention center, once it's finished, it's supposed to add 8,000 new jobs to the city of San Diego.
Let me tell you, the weather is pretty nice out here so why not head on over? So the whole thing, Don, is about comic books, comic entertainment and comic movies. I caught up with one of the biggest stars of the comic movie that's out today, "Captain America," Chris Evans. He was at a special fan event, the very first fans to see the movie a day early.
He announced the movie. We came out afterwards. We talked, but I'm more curious about the next movie he's working on, right? "The Avengers," that's along with Thor and Ironman and him, Captain America, all the Marvel superheroes coming together.
I wanted to know out of this big cast, who is he most excited to work with? Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARGILL: What's your favorite part of filming "Avengers" so far?
CHRIS EVANS, ACTOR, "CAPTAIN AMERICA": Coming to work every day with Rodney Downey Jr. He's fantastic. Nicest man in the world so talented. Filled with wisdom. It's an honor just being around the guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARGILL: Because I have the hardest job in the world, right after that moment I headed on over to another event with another international superstar, Hugh Jackman from Australia who's promoting the new Disney film "Real Steel" here.
It's about some rocking robots. It's like Rocky 2.0 where the robots do the boxing instead of the people. I was curious. I talked about movies already. There's another big Australian in the headlines these days, Rupert Murdoch and that whole scandal of "News of the World" and phone tapping.
As a celebrity how did he feel about that? What if his phone was tapped, and what were his feelings on how it was handled? Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGH JACKMAN, ACTOR: Yes, I would not be happy to have my phone tapped. I don't think anyone would be. I think Mr. Murdoch handled it well, and that he was appalled and shocked and immediately took measures to denounce it, you know. We all deserve our privacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARGILL: So as you can see, he's a little sympathetic to his fellow Australian there. Said he's handled it well, and maybe a lot of people feel that way. I don't know. I think there's mixed feelings about that.
But as you can see, a lot is being talked about here at San Diego at the world's largest comic convention all the way from politics to movies and more. Don, are you buying a ticket and heading on out here next year?
LEMON: Maybe. It seems like it's a comic book thing for adults. I don't get it. It's awesome. That's what I hear, but I don't know. Thank you. I appreciate it.
Coming up next, Rahm Emanuel gets up in bolts from a Chicago TV interview. He says his kids aren't topics up for public debate.
The government sells its stake in Chrysler Motors. How did you, the taxpayer, fare in the deal? That plus a check on the markets straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: All right. So stand by. This is my first time as a host of the "Political Buzz." It is your rapid-fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. Three questions. Twenty seconds on the clock. Playing today, Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman, Sirius XM political talk show host and comedian Pete Dominick and CNN contributor and talk radio host Dana Loesch.
OK, first question. A Chicago reporter asked the new mayor where his kids will go to school. Listen to what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR OF CHICAGO: Oh, Maryann, let me break the news to you. My children are not in a public position. The mayor is.
And I look forward to our future interviews.
(CROSSTALK)
EMANUEL: I'm done. Especially after that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So I actually used to work at that station. That's Maryann Ahearn (ph) conducting that interview. Give her a buzz later on today to see what happened.
So, should elected officials be expected to send their kids to public schools? Dana, you first.
DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, I think that he can send his kids whenever he wants to send them. But I think it's important to realize this is repudiation of his own policies. As someone in the Obama administration, he set forward policies that would deny vouchers to make schools competitive. He (INAUDIBLE) also in the pocket of the NEA, and we see how that works out with the Atlanta public schools and the big O cheating scandal. So, I think if anything, it's just a huge repudiation of his own policies that he can send his kids -
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
LOESCH: -- to school wherever he wants to.
LEMON: You're done. Robert?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, MEMBER, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, don, that was a lot of misinformed partisan talking pointing in 20 seconds. Very simply, I expect public officials to be good parents, first. That's the bottom line. I give Rahm Emanuel a lot of credit for making it clear that his children's educational agenda comes before a political agenda. I'm glad he shut down that interview. I think it's a good lesson for other public officials.
LEMON: You beat the buzzer! Does he win anything? Is there, like, a prize? No? All right.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Mr. Dominick!
ZIMMERMAN: -- (INAUDIBLE) have washer-dryer.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hello. Go ahead, Pete.
PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: Hello, Don Lemon. First of all, some people think that public officials should have to send their kids to the schools that they're in charge of, but of course, elitists like myself don't think public officials, kids should have to hang out with the losers who they represent, Don. Mm.
(SNIFFS)
LEMON: And that's it? Oh, Pete, that is just rude.
All right, let's move on now. Keep the format here. John Huntsman's campaign manager resigns. Newt Gingrich had a staff shake- up last month. Which GOP campaign is in the most trouble at this point? Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: John Huntsman's problem is not that he lost his campaign manager. It's that he appeals to independent voters, and that automatically disqualifying him from the Republican nomination.
But I think realistically Tim Pawlenty is in the most trouble. When you've got to attack Michele Bachmann not over her policies but over migraines, that's an Excedrin-headache making moment.
LEMON: Dana?
LOESCH: I don't think Pawlenty is doing incredibly well. I think Huntsman is just not -- doesn't register well with anyone. I don't think he has a pulse. I don't think Gary Johnson is doing very well, either. Gingrich, Johnson, Huntsman - they're all at the bottom of the polling. Pawlenty is probably going to be next, unfortunately. I think he's a good guy.
LEMON: I'm not getting to hear the buzzer here! Can I just hear it just because?
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
LEMON: Thank you!
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Go ahead, Peter.
DOMINICK: Don, I think you should be in charge of the buzzer.
(BELL RINGS) DOMINICK: Well, I think Gingrich -- Gingrich never really got his campaign off the ground because he told the truth about Paul Ryan's Medicare deal. I'm most worried now for Michele Bachmann, because Rick Perry's going to get in this. He's going to take all of her heat away right away.
And I'm going to keep talking so you can feel better -
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
DOMINICK: -- about having the buzzer.
LEMON: Hey, shut up there, man! You're talking too long.
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
LEMON: You're not winning that avocado green -
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
LEMON: -- drop-in range that we have for you! So, relax! Relax!
LOESCH: Whoo!
LEMON: All right, so listen, your Buzzer Beater. Ten seconds each. Texas governor Rick Perry not officially in the race but already in second place in our latest poll. Is the country ready for another Texas governor as president? Dana, you first.
LOESCH: I don't see why not. Texas has been doing pretty good despite the economic disaster. So, who knows? If he can do a good job, he can do a good job.
LEMON: Oh!
LOESCH: I had time to spare.
LEMON: Come on. Let's hear it!
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I know. I just like hearing the buzzer. Go ahead, Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: In short, is the country ready for another Texas governor? Yes, like CBS is ready for a new series by Charlie Sheen. The country is not ready for another budget-busting governor who produces -
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
ZIMMERMAN: -- a $27 billion deficit --
LEMON: You're done, dude. Sorry! ZIMMERMAN: The Democrats are ready for it.
LEMON: Sorry! Sorry, go ahead, Pete.
DOMINICK: Well, if you care about education, you don't want to look to Texas for that. But he's done well with jobs. I don't know how good of jobs they are. But you know, more of this - more of this kind of Texas governor thing. I mean, they're not exactly the same guy. But, hey, he's the president of Texas!
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
LEMON: You're done, dude.
DOMINICK: He's the president of Texas!
LEMON: You're done. Zip it. Zip it! Or you're going to have to send me money.
I like this. This guy makes --
ZIMMERMAN: Don, you're a tough host.
LEMON: I know! I know. Alex Trebek has nothing on me, huh? OK, guys! Thank you Robert, thank you Pete and thank you, Dana. Have a great weekend, okay?
LOESCH: Thank you.
ZIMMERMAN: You too, Don.
LEMON: Hey, we've got to go on to breaking news now. It is out of Oslo, Norway. We told you about an explosion at a government building. Our Monita Rajpal following the latest developments for us from London. Monita, what do you have?
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, Don, we understand that as many as potentially two explosions took place in central Oslo, downtown Oslo. We understand according to some of the pictures we're receiving here in CNN London and according to local eyewitnesses, many of the government building windows have been blown out. That gives you an indication of just how powerful these explosions were.
We understand there have been reports that the explosion took place also near or within the vicinity of the government building that houses the prime minister's office. That is yet unconfirmed, but we understand that the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, is actually fine. He's safe right now.
We, again, according to a local -- according to a reporter for Reuters, and I'm quoting here, this is information coming in. Eight people are injured, including two or three with serious wounds. There are people apparently, you see on the street there bleeding. And again, obviously very shaken and scared. This happened in downtown Oslo. Oslo is a relatively safe place as you can imagine right now. This is really something that's unusual for a city like Oslo in Norway. So very -- again, no other information in terms of who claimed responsibility, and police aren't saying anything more right now in terms of clues they may have to what caused these explosions, Don.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Monita Rajpal. Following our breaking news out of London. We'll talk to an eyewitness to the explosion right after the break.
All right, let's get you -- before we go to break, let's get a check on the markets. The markets are down 54 points right now. We'll have a full report coming up here on CNN. And again, breaking news. An eyewitness to that explosion in Oslo, Norway coming up.
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LEMON: Back now to our breaking news out of Oslo, Norway. Two explosions going off there near government buildings, shattering windows and injuring people, injuring several people. We want to go now to someone who is in the area, an eyewitness whose name is Nick Soubiea. What did you see and hear?
NICK SOUBIEA, EYEWITNESS TO OSLO EXPLOSIONS (via telephone): I just heard really loud explosion. I was sitting there having a drink with a friend, and we were just totally surprised. We actually went near to see what was going on, and we just realized that all the windows were knocked out. It was very frightening.
LEMON: We hear that building is a 17-story building, government building. You said all the windows were knocked out. Can you describe that building to us? What did you see? Did you see smoke or any of the injured being carried out? Did you see rescuers on the scene?
SOUBIEA: The rescuers got there within a minute or two. I just saw windows here and there that were knocked out. I don't know exactly where the explosion went off. It was just so loud. I don't know where the central point was. But windows even like 300 yards away when I was running away, they were knocked out as well. So, this was a very strong explosion.
LEMON: How close were you to it, Nick?
SOUBIEA: About 50 meters away, just around the corner.
LEMON: Yes. Did you feel it?
SOUBIEA: Oh, yes. I felt it. It was -- I felt it.
LEMON: Describe it. What kind of a rumble?
SOUBIEA: I'm shaking from it, actually.
LEMON: What kind of rumble? What did you feel? SOUBIEA: It was like getting hit by a truck or something. It was like -- wind. It almost knocks you off your chair. It was unreal. And then we just saw black smoke coming up. We knew something was wrong, obviously. No idea what was going on.
LEMON: People screaming and running away from this explosion?
SOUBIEA: I didn't hear any screaming. It was just confusion. People were just standing there, and after a minute or two, some people were running down the street just to get away, I think. And I think some people were hit by flying glass.
LEMON: So, Nick, real quickly, we're hearing two explosions. You only felt one, you said?
SOUBIEA: I think they went off at the same time because it was extremely strong.
LEMON: All right. Nick Soubiea is on vacation -
SOUBIEA: I only heard - I only heard one.
LEMON: Nick Soubia is on vacation, witnessing he says he was just around the corner having a drink with a friend and heard a big rumble and felt it. He said it was like a big wind was blowing, and then it started blowing black smoke in his direction. Several people injured there. Government buildings in Oslo, Norway.
More on our breaking news right after the break.
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LEMON: Breaking news out of Norway. Here's what we're being today. This went off, an explosion or two explosions at a government building. The Norweigian prime minister seemed to be the epicenter of the building. He is okay right now - of the explosion, I should say. He is okay.
The epicenter of that explosion seemed to be between his office and the oil and energy ministry, right we're told in the downtown area of Oslo, Norway.
Joining me now on the phone is Linda Reinholdsen. And she's a reporter for NRK. Can you update our viewers, please?
LINDA REINHOLDSEN, NRK CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): A very, very powerful explosion in the government building, the prime minister's building. It appeared to have happened -- the bomb appears to have exploded on the prime minister's helicopter landing platform in the first - in the first stage of this building. But the windows of the prime minister's office were blasted out, and you can actually see the curtains coming out of the window. So far, one person is verified dead, and a number of people are hurt.
LEMON: OK. So, according to your reporting, the reporting of NRK, one person is dead. That's what Linda Reinholdsen is telling us; she's on the line now. Do you have any idea of -- is anyone taking responsibility for this blast?
REINHOLDSEN: We have no idea. What's happened, it's all kind of chaotic. We've never had an explosion like this in Norway since the Second World War, and all we know is that there's been a powerful -- very, very powerful explosion. We don't know if it's a bomb, if it's a gas explosion, what it could be. We're all -- I'm working in the National Broadcasting Company right now, and we're all desperately trying to figure out what's happened.
But I can tell you it's really, really scary. Like everyone is really upset, and nobody knows what's happened yet. I get calls from all over Norway asking me what's happening.
LEMON: Yes, we don't know. It could be a disaster, it could be gas or something else. Unusual, though, for this to happen.
Linda, the prime minister is okay. Tell us what you hear about his condition and where he was.
REINHOLDSEN: Yes. We've received reports that he -- well, it's been confirmed that he's okay. So he probably wasn't in the building, because I think anyone who was in that building must have -- well, it's a very powerful explosion. I don't think -- I think people in that building would have been hurt by this blast.
LEMON: Linda Reinholdsen, she is a reporter for NRK. Thank you so much for joining us now.
Back to London and CNN's reporter there who is following the story. Monita Rajpal, do you have an update for us?
RAJPAL: We are getting unconfirmed reports, according to Oslo's state radio. They're reporting there's at least one fatality. Again, this is unconfirmed by CNN, but according to the Norwegian Radio there has been one fatality.
Another reporter there at the scene, a Reuters reporter, says there's at least eight injured people, including two or three with serious wounds. So, it's a very fluid situation right now in Oslo, downtown Oslo where as many as two explosions took place.
Again, listening to the person you had on right now that was saying, again, we don't know if it was a -- if this was intentional or if it was a gas explosion. But we do know that it was powerful enough to shatter the windows of several buildings within this downtown core housing the prime minister's office.
We understand that the prime minister is safe. That's according to Norwegian television, state television. But again, no other confirmation on whether or not this explosion was terrorist-related or otherwise, Don.
LEMON: All right. Monita Rajpal, thank you very much. Stand by. I'm sure we're going to update this story.
Again, unconfirmed reports of one death in that explosion or explosions at a government building in downtown Norway. Oslo, Norway. We're back with our breaking news in just moments. So, don't go anywhere.
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LEMON: The breaking news is out of Oslo, Norway. An explosion or possibly two explosions going off at a government building right near the prime minister's office. There are unconfirmed reports from radio there that one person is dead, up to eight, possibly more, injured.
Want to go now to an eyewitness. His name is Eric Lokke. He was there, he saw it and felt it. Eric, tell us about it.
ERIC LOKKE, EYEWITNESS TO OSLO EXPLOSION (on the phone): Yes, I was walking down Kardum (ph), which is the main street in Oslo, and suddenly got this big explosion. And I saw some people throwing themselves down on the street, and people were yelling. Yes, it was a real chaotic event. And at the time I was not sure what happened. Actually, I'm still not sure what happened, but it was a big explosion, and then people started yelling. And yes, it was real chaotic here.
LEMON: Eric stand by quickly. I want to look at this video, and I'll talk to you a bit more. Stand by.
LOKKE: Yes, sir.
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LEMON: All right. OK. I will replay that for you. We're just getting that video into CNN, and Eric Lokke, who is an eyewitness on the phone.
Eric, in some of the pictures I see -- I don't know how close you got to the government building, but it appears that parts of the street - does it look like parts of the street buckled?
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Eric?
LOKKE: Yes. Can you hear me?
LEMON: Yes. In some of the pictures it looks like one the street buckled. I don't know if I'm seeing it properly. But in this picture right here. Is that indeed what happened?
LOKKE: Well, there are some unconfirmed messages that it was some kind of car bomb, but it's not been confirmed. What I experienced was that when I went down Kalum (ph) to the big street, it was like a huge blow, a big explosion. And you could like, smell something that I think smelled like gunpowder afterwards. But I didn't think at the time that it was a bomb. It's not -- these things don't happen in Oslo, but it seems that it, indeed, may be the case. And I also heard that some people heard another explosion, but that has not been confirmed. Some people saw the windows breaking, which could have been misunderstood as a second bomb. But yes, I'm not sure. It's a chaotic situation here now.
LEMON: Yes. Eric Lokke, thank you, as an eyewitness. Again, this is all confirmed and is just coming in. And until we get official confirmation, we don't know if it was one explosion actually or two. Again, there are unconfirmed reports of one person dead.
This new video just into CNN. You can see it was a horrific explosion, whatever the cause -- cause of it, and whether it was gas, whether it was someone who set it off with a bomb. We don't know exactly what it is.
So, again, this is just coming in to CNN, these new pictures. An explosion downtown Oslo, Norway near government buildings there. The prime minister, though, was not there and is OK. Reports now at least eight people injured, and again, an unconfirmed report of at least one person dead.
More on our breaking news in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.
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LEMON: Let's talk politics. And topping the Political Ticker this hour, Chicago local media finding out what D.C. newsies have known for a while. They probably knew it for a while, too, because that's where he's from. Current Windy City mayor and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel can get feisty!
Our senior political editor, Mark Preston, live with some proof of that. I think people in Chicago, the reporters there were well aware how feisty Rahm Emanuel is.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: No question, Don. And you spent time in Chicago as well, and God, the reporters out there are very good. They're not afraid to ask a tough question, and when they asked the question to Rahm Emanuel about where he was going to send his kids, was he going to send them to public school or private school, he did get a little testy.
In fact, let's take a look at his exchange with one of the local reporters out there.
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RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR OF CHICAGO: Oh, Maryann, let me break the news to you. My children are not in a public position. The mayor is.
And I look forward to our future interviews.
(CROSSTALK)
EMANUEL: I'm done. Especially after that.
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PRESTON: And there you have Rahm Emanuel who is answering a question there, Don, about his children and what schools they're going to. And he decided he had enough of the interview and walked away.
So, really, what it's come down to is that every politician faces this, including President Obama. Rahm Emanuel has decided to send his children to a private school even though he's the mayor of Chicago. His kids are going to go to the University of Chicago Lab Schools. Rahm Emanuel says his children are not a policy tool, and he's just acting as a father.
So, from what we see from local reports out there, some mixed reviews about what he's decided to do, but we see this all the time, Don, when politicians decide to send their kids to private school.
So Don, let's talk a little bit about 2012. We have new CNN ORC national poll numbers out right now for the horse race. Let's take quick look at these numbers very quick. Mitt Romney is on top. Coming in second, though, the big surprise, Rick Perry. He is coming in at number two, Don. So the GOP horse race big, big news right now-- Don.
LEMON: All right. Mr. Preston, we really appreciate it.
Now for more CNN NEWSROOM, I'm joined by CNN's Fredricka Whitfield. And you know (INAUDIBLE) Maryanne (ph), when you say, Fred--
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: This is not going to be good! Fred, we have breaking news I'm sure you'll be following, and other stuff.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks so much.
LEMON: Have a great show.
WHITFIELD: And see you over the weekend, as well.
LEMON: See you. Absolutely.
