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Explosions Rock Oslo Government Buildings; President Obama Town Hall at University of Maryland; At Least One Blast Rocks Oslo; Young Comic's Brain Injury

Aired July 22, 2011 - 11:01   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news that we continue to follow here live from Studio 7. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get you up to speed on this Friday, July 22nd.

Two explosions have rocked central Oslo in the last hour, wounding at least eight people. Reports from Norway say government buildings were targeted. One houses the prime minister's office and most of the windows were blown out. Reuters reports a mangled car sits outside one building, suggesting a possible car bomb. Reuters also reports the prime minister is safe.

CNN's Monita Rajpal is following the developments for you from London. Monita, what more do we know about how this happened and why?

MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the information is still trickling in from Oslo at this point. What we understand is that the police have issued a statement saying that there are deaths and injuries. That's all they're saying right now. They're not saying what may have caused this explosion or explosions at this time.

But according to the state television, the Norwegian state television, one person is confirmed dead. That is unconfirmed by CNN independently, but according to Norwegian state television, one person has been confirmed dead. According to a Reuters reporter who's on the scene, they're saying some eight people are injured, including two or three with serious wounds.

Looking at the footage that's coming out from central Oslo, downtown of the capital, some are describing it as an urban war zone. The windows of several buildings have been shattered, powerful enough-- whatever caused this explosion or explosions was powerful enough to shatter the windows of several buildings, including the office of the prime minister. And you were saying the prime minister, as we understand, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe right now.

Many are just saying that-- you know, Oslo is a relatively safe city. It's a relatively safe capital city. Scenes like this don't happen there very often. Norway, as a country, is relatively calm and quiet. So many residents in that area are just shocked. Some are saying that they felt the explosion about a mile, a kilometer away, and that's how powerful it was-- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: And you know, Monita, this is a global city, one that's considered one of great harmony. This city is the largest city there in Norway.

Do people-- or are people there saying in any way there have been any troubles? Have there been any complaints about anything that might have preceded this?

RAJPAL: At this point, you know what? I was just looking through some of the feeds that are coming in, even some of the discussions that are happening on line through the social media, as well. No one's really saying that they're-- I guess they're worried if this could have been a terrorist attack. But the question is, Why would it be?

Norway is a relatively-- I guess it's kind of like Switzerland, a relatively neutral country. But again, they're looking at-- you know, many questions are being asked. What links do they have to countries like Afghanistan or Iraq or if any soldiers or troops that they have there.

But again, that's all speculation right now. We don't know if it was an intentional explosion, or if it was something that was a complete accident, such as just a gas explosion. Police are not releasing any information right now. But again, whatever it was, was powerful enough.

Interesting to note, though, I heard on one of the other reports that this is a time when many people actually take vacations in Oslo, so they're away from the city center and in the-- along the coastal areas. So perhaps that was a good thing in that this could have been much worse had it been at the height of rush hour or at the height of the time when people are actually in the city.

WHITFIELD: All right, Monita Rajpal, thanks so much. We're going to continue to allow you to do some more reporting on that and touch base with you momentarily. So a lot of those images that you are just now seeing were shot by this next person that I'm about to talk to, Christian Aglen.

Christian, describe for me the scene. You were rolling as it seems that you were kind of walking around, trying to get a handle about what happened. What was your first experience with this explosion? About where were you?

CHRISTIAN AGLEN, WITNESS (via telephone): Sure. Sure. Well, at the time of the explosion, I was working at a nearby building. In fact, it's right next door, almost, maybe-- maybe 100 yards or so. I felt an incredible force, an incredible explosion, and the entire building was shaking.

At first, my immediate response was earthquake, but earthquakes rarely happen in Norway, at least in Oslo. And then after three or four seconds, the shaking stopped and I realized this was an explosion, a major explosion. I looked outside a window, and I saw that several windows in the nearby buildings were shattered. The alarm went off in my building and we evacuated the building. And when I walked outside, was quite a shocking sight, glass everywhere. Glass was still falling down from the buildings. So one lady injured on the ground was being attended to. People were shocked and confused.

And right after that, I was just surveying the area, and I had noticed a building right next to the government building was on fire. There was thick smoke coming from that building. I did not see the government building itself, but I'm-- from what I hear, obviously, it has been affected, as well.

WHITFIELD: So Christian, describe for me the streets and the buildings there. Just looking at your images there, this is downtown. It's very congested. The buildings are very, you know, close-- very much close together.

At about this time of day when this explosion happened, even given this is vacation time and a lot of people typically may be out of the city, would there typically be a lot of traffic on the street, a lot of foot traffic on the street?

AGLEN: Well, there certainly is traffic on the street. Like you say, you know, summer vacation is here now. A lot people are not working. But there's a lot of tourists here and there were certainly people in the street. So I can't really say much more than that about that.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, Christian Aglen, thanks so much, and thanks for your perspective. Keep us posted on what you may learn there on the ground there in downtown Oslo, Norway.

It was his pictures that's helping you to get a better view about the chaos that ensued following those what appear to be two explosions taking place right downtown and right near government buildings. Still unclear what may have caused these explosions, but already, reportedly many injuries and possibly at least one death. We'll keep you posted on that.

All right, meantime, back in this country, big concern is the nation's deficit reduction effort. President Barack Obama is at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, right now. Let's listen in as he speaks to the student body there.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- two and a half years, the worst financial crisis and the worst recession we've seen since the Great Depression. And although some progress has been made, there's no doubt that this economy has not recovered as fast as it needs to.

And the truth is, it's going to take more time because a lot of the problems that we're facing right now -- slow job growth, stagnant wages -- those were there even before the recession hit. For a decade the average wage, the average income of the American worker had flat-lined. Those at the very top saw their incomes going up 50 percent, 100 percent, but those in the middle, the vast majority of Americans, they had been struggling to keep up before the recession hit.

And so these challenges weren't caused overnight, they're not going to be solved overnight. But as John F. Kennedy once said, our problems are manmade, therefore they can be solved by man.

In the United States we control our own destiny. The question we have to answer, though, is where do we want to go? What's our vision for the future, and how do we get there?

Now, in the short term I've been urging Congress to pass some proposals that would give the economy an immediate boost, and these are proposals, by the way, that traditionally have had support in both parties.

I want to extend the tax relief that we put in place back in December for middle-class families so that you have more money in your paychecks next year.

If you've got more money in your paychecks next year, you're more likely to spend it. And that means small businesses and medium-sized business, large businesses will have more customers. And they'll be in a position to hire.

I want to give more opportunities to all those construction workers out there who lost their jobs when the housing bubble went bust. We could put them to work, giving loans to private companies that want to repair our -- our roads and our bridges and our airports, rebuilding our infrastructure, putting Americans to work doing the work that needs to be done.

We have workers in need of a job and country -- a country that's in need of rebuilding. And if we put those two things together, we can make real progress.

I want to cut red tape that stops too many inventors and entrepreneurs from turning new ideas into thriving businesses.

I want to -- I want Congress to send me a set of trade deals that would allow our businesses to sell more products in countries in Asia and South America that are stamped with the words, "made in America."

So these are some things that we could be doing right now. They're proposals in Congress, as we speak, and Congress needs to act now.

But I also believe that over the long term the strength of our economy is going to depend on how we deal with the accumulated debt and deficits that have built up over the last decade. And that's what the discussion in Washington's about right now.

Now, I know it's hard to keep up with the different plans and the press conferences and, you know, the back and forth between the parties. But here's what it all boils down to. It's not that complicated.

For a decade we have been spending more money than we take in. The last time the budget was balanced was under a Democratic president, Bill Clinton.

And --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And a series of decisions were made. Whether it was cutting taxes or engaging in two wars or a prescription drug benefit for seniors that weren't paid for and then a financial crisis on top of that, Recovery Act to try to pull us out of a great depression, all those things contributed to this accumulated debt.

And regardless of what you feel about the particular policies -- some of you may have supported the wars or opposed the wars, some of you may have agreed with the Recovery Act, some of you may be opposed. Regardless of your views on these various actions that we're taking, the fact is that they all cost money. And the result is that there's simply too much debt on America's credit card.

Neither party is blameless for the decisions that led to this problem. But both parties have a responsibility to solve it.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: If we don't solve it, every American will suffer. Businesses will be less likely to invest and hire in America. Interest rates will rise for people who need money to buy a home or -- or a car, or go to college.

We won't have enough money to invest in things like education and clean energy or protect important programs like Medicare because we'll be paying more and more interest on this national debt. And -- and that money just flows overseas instead of being spent here on the things that we need.

Now, the one thing we can't do -- cannot do is decide that we are not going to pay the bills that previous Congresses have already racked up.

So that's what this whole issue of raising the debt ceiling is all about. Basically there's some people out there who argue we're not going to raise the debt ceiling anymore, and the problem is effectively what that's saying is we're not going to pay some of our bills.

Well, the United States of America doesn't run out without paying the tab. We pay our bills. We meet our obligations.

(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: We have never defaulted on our debt. We're not going to do it now.

But even if we raise the debt ceiling, this debate shouldn't just be about avoiding some kind of crisis, particularly a crisis manufactured in Washington. This is a rare opportunity for both parties to come together and choose a path where we stop putting so much debt on our credit card, we start paying it down a little bit. And that's what we've been trying to do.

So for my part I've already said that I'm willing to cut a historic amount of government spending in order to reduce the deficit. I'm willing to cut spending on domestic programs, taking them to the lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower. I'm willing to cut defense spending at the Pentagon by hundreds of billions of dollars. I'm willing to take on --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I'm willing to take on the rising costs of health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid so -- so that these programs will be there for the next generation, for folks -- for a population generally that's getting older and living longer. We've got to make sure that these programs, which are the crown jewels of our social safety net, that -- sort of mixed metaphors there --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: -- that those are there for the future.

And some of these cuts will just eliminate wasteful spending, weapons we don't need, fraud and abuse in our health care system.

But I want to be honest: I've agreed to also target some programs that I actually think are worthwhile. They're cuts that some people in my own party aren't too happy about. And, frankly, I wouldn't make them if money wasn't so tight.

But it's just like a family. Now, if you've got to tighten your belts you make some choices.

Now, here's the thing, though, and this is what the argument's about: We can't just close our deficit with spending cuts alone. Because if we take that route it means that seniors would have to pay a lot more for Medicare or students would have to pay a lot more for student loans. It means that laid-off workers might not be able to count on temporary assistance or training to help them get a new job. It means we'd have to make devastating cuts in education and medical research and clean energy research just at a time when gas prices are killing people at the pump.

So if we only did it with cuts, if we did not get any revenue to help close this gap between how much money's coming in and how much money's going out, then a lot of ordinary people would be hurt and the country as a whole would be hurt.

And that doesn't make any sense. It's not fair. And that's why I've said, if we're going to reduce our deficit, then the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations should do their part, as well.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Before we stop funding clean energy research, let's ask oil companies and corporate jet owners to give up the tax breaks that other companies don't get. I mean, these are special tax breaks.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Before we ask college students to pay more for their education, let's ask hedge fund manager to stop paying taxes that are lower on their rates than their secretaries (sic).

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Before we ask seniors to pay more for Medicare, let's ask people like me to give back tax breaks that we don't need and we weren't even asking for.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Look, I want everybody in America to do well. I want everybody to have a chance to become a millionaire. I think the free market system is the greatest wealth generator we've ever known.

This isn't about punishing wealth. This is about asking people who have benefited the most over the last decade to share in the sacrifice. And I think --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I think these patriotic Americans are willing to pitch in, if they're asked. Because they know that middle-class families shouldn't have to pick up the whole tab for closing the deficit.

So this idea of balance, this idea of shared sacrifice, of a deficit plan that includes tough spending cuts but also includes tax reform that raises more revenue, this isn't just my position. This isn't just a Democratic position. This isn't some wild-eyed socialist position.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: And this is a position that's being taken by people of both parties, and no party. It's a position taken by Warren Buffett, somebody who knows about business and knows a little something about being wealthy. (LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: It's a position that's been taken by every Democratic and Republican president who've signed major deficit deals in the past, from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton. And I was pleased to see this week that it's a position taken by Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.

So we can pass a balanced plan like this.

It's not going to make everybody happy. In fact, it'll make everybody somewhat unhappy.

The easiest thing for a politician to do is to give you more stuff and ask less in return. It's a lot harder to say, "We got to cut back on what you're getting and you got to pay a little more." That's -- that's never fun.

But we can do it in a -- in a balanced way that doesn't hurt anybody badly, that doesn't put the burden just on one group.

So we can solve our deficit problem. And I'm willing to sign a plan that includes tough choices I would not normally make, and there are a lot of Democrats and Republicans in Congress who I believe are willing to do the same thing.

The only people we have left to convince are some folks in the House of Representatives. We're going to keep on working on that --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: -- because I still believe we can do what you sent us here to do.

In 2010 Americans chose a divided government. But they didn't choose a dysfunctional government. And --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So there will be time for political campaigning, but right now this debate shouldn't be about putting on -- you know, scoring political points. Should be about doing what's right for the country, for everybody.

You expect us to work together. You expect us to compromise. You've all been working hard. You've been doing whatever you have to do in order to get by and raise your families. You're meeting your responsibilities. So it's time for those of us in Washington to do the same thing, and I intend to make that happen in the coming days.

So, thank you, everybody.

I'm going to take some questions.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: All right. So the way this works is you put up your hand and I call on you.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But I am going to go girl, boy, girl, boy to make sure that it's even --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: -- and fair, all right?

So I'm going to start with you right there. Yes.

Hold on. We got a mike here so -- and introduce yourself if you don't mind.

QUESTION: Hello, Mr. President. My name is Amanda Knief. And I'm a big fan. I'm from Iowa originally.

OBAMA: Nice.

QUESTION: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: I'm an atheist. And in Zanesville, Ohio, in 2008 you asserted that no organization receiving taxpayer funds would be able to discriminate in hiring or firing based on a person's religion. However, you have not rescinded the executive order that permits this type of discrimination.

In a time of economic hardship, when it's difficult for a person to get a job based on her skills, what would you say to a woman who has been denied employment because of her religion or a lack of religious beliefs by a taxpayer-funded organization?

OBAMA: Well, this is a -- a very difficult issue, but a more narrow one than I think might be implied.

It's very straightforward that people shouldn't be discriminated against for race, gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. What has happened is is that there has been a carve-out, dating back to President Clinton's presidency, for religious organizations in their hiring for particular purposes.

And this is always a tricky part of the First Amendment. On the one hand, the First Amendment ensures that there's freedom of religion.

On the other hand, we want to make sure that religious bodies are abiding by general laws. And so where this issue has come up is in fairly narrow circumstances where, for example, you've got a faith-based organization that's providing certain services. They consider part of their mission to be promoting their religious views, but they may have a day care center associated with the organization or they may be running a food pantry. And so then the question is, does a Jewish organization have to hire a non-Jewish person as part of that organization?

Now, I think that the balance we've tried to strike is to say that if you are offering -- if you've set up a nonprofit that is disassociated from your core religious functions and is out there in the public doing all kinds of work, then you have to abide generally with the nondiscrimination hiring practices.

If, on the other hand, it is closer to your core functions as a synagogue or a mosque or a church, then there may be more leeway for you to hire somebody who is a believer of that particular religious faith.

It doesn't satisfy everybody. I will tell you that a lot of faith-based organizations think that we are too restrictive in how we define those issues. There are others, like you, obviously, who think that we're not restrictive enough.

I think we've struck the right balance so far. But this is something that we continue to be in dialogue with faith-based organizations about, to try to make sure that their hiring practices are as open and as inclusive as possible.

OK? Thank you.

Yes, sir. Back here. Hold on a second, we got a mike.

QUESTION: Yes. Most of the American people are on your side about a balanced approach.

OBAMA: Right.

QUESTION: What we also know is most of the budget cuts are going to be in the out-years. So the question is, why push so hard for a big settlement now when, if you push hard and let the American people vote in 2012 and get rid of these hooligans in the House, we might actually have a reasonable settlement --

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: -- maybe more like a one-to-one relationship, instead of three- to-one or worse?

OBAMA: You know, the -- the challenge I have in these negotiations is, whether I like it or not, I've got to get the debt ceiling limit raised.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

OBAMA: Well, I'll -- I'll -- I'll answer that question later.

But I just want to make sure that everybody understands, defaulting is not an option. There are some on either side that have suggested that somehow we could manage our way through.

But I just want everybody to be clear: The United States government sends out about 70 million checks every month. We have to refinance bonds that we've issued. Essentially, IOUs to investors. We do that every week.

If suddenly investors -- and by the way, a lot of those investors are Americans who have treasury bills, pension funds, et cetera -- if suddenly they started thinking that we might not pay them back on time, at the very least, at the bare minimum, they would charge a much higher interest rate to allow the United States to borrow money.

And if interest rate costs go up for the United States, they're probably going to go up for everybody. So it would be a indirect tax on every single one of you. Your credit card interest rates would go up, your mortgage interest would go up, your student loan interest would potentially go up.

And, ironically, the costs of servicing our deficit would go up, which means it would actually potentially be worse for our deficit if we had default.

It could also plunge us back into the kind of recession that we had back in 2008 and '09.

So it is not an option for us to default.

My challenge, then, is -- I've got to get something passed, I've got to get 218 votes in the House of Representatives.

Now, the gentleman asked about the 14th Amendment. There is -- there's a provision in our Constitution that speaks to making sure that the United States meets its obligations, and there have been some suggestions that a president could use that language to basically ignore this debt ceiling rule, which is a statutory rule; it's not a constitutional rule.

I have talked to my lawyers. They don't -- they do not -- they're not persuaded that that is a winning argument.

So the challenge for me is to make sure that we do not default, but to do so in a way that is as balanced as possible and gets us at least a -- a down payment on solving this problem.

Now, we're not going to solve the entire debt and deficit in the next 10 days. So there's still going to be more work to do after this. And what we're doing is to try to make sure that any deal that we strike protects our core commitments to Medicare and Medicaid recipients, to senior citizens, to veterans.

We want to make sure that student loans remain affordable. We want to make sure that poor kids can still get a checkup, that food stamps are still available for folks who are desperately in need.

We want to make sure that unemployment insurance continues for those who are out there looking for work.

So there're going to be a certain set of equities that we're not willing to sacrifice. And I've said we have to have revenue as part of the package.

But I -- I'm sympathetic to your view that this would be easier if I could do this entirely on my own.

It would --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: It would mean all these conversations I've had over the last three weeks, I could have been spending time with Malia and Sasha instead.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But that's not how our democracy works.

And, as I said, Americans made a decision about divided government. I'm going to be making the case as to why I think we've got a better vision for the country. In the meantime, we've got a responsibility to do our job.

But it was an excellent question. Thank you.

All right.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: The young lady right here, right in the front.

Hold on -- hold on. Let's -- let's get you a mike so we can hear you. Stand up. What's your name?

QUESTION: My name's Kasa (ph).

I have two questions.

One is, is there anything -- like, obviously you've had a successful presidency. But is there anything --

OBAMA: Well, that's not obvious to everyone --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: -- but I appreciate --

(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: I appreciate you thinking that that is.

QUESTION: That's all that matters. But is there anything you regret or would have done differently?

And my second question is, can I shake your hand?

OBAMA: Yes, I'll come and shake your hand, I promise --

QUESTION: OK. OK.

OBAMA: -- I will.

Do I have any -- any major regrets?

You know, when I think -- and I think about this all the time. I mean, you know, I'm constantly rerunning in my head, you know, "Did we make the right move here? Could we have done more there?"

I think overall, in an extremely difficult situation, we've made good choices. We've made good decisions.

Now --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: But we've been constrained, even when we had a Democratic Congress, because the way the Senate works these days is you've got to get essentially 60 votes in order to get anything through the Senate.

Frank remembers this because we got a lot of good stuff out of the House that never survived in the Senate.

So because of what's -- the rules of the filibuster in the Senate, it meant that, you know, on economic policy, I might have done some things more aggressively if I could have convinced more Republicans in the Senate to go along.

I do think that in the first year, right after we found out that, you know, 4 million people had lost their jobs before I was sworn in, I think that I could have told the American people more clearly how tough this was going to be, how deep and long-lasting this -- this recession was going to be.

That's always a balance for a president. On the one hand, you want to project confidence and optimism. And remember in that first year, people weren't sure whether the banking system was going to melt down and whether, you know, we were going to go into a great depression. And so it was important for me to let the American people know we're going to be all right, we're going to be able to get through this.

On the other hand, I think maybe people's expectations were that somehow we were going to be able to solve this in a year, and we knew pretty soon after I took office that this was going to last for a while, because historically when you have recessions that arise out of financial crises, they last a lot longer than the usual business cycle recessions.

Beyond that, I also think that, you know, over the first two years I was so focused on policy and, you know, getting the policy right that sometimes I forgot part of my job is explaining to the American people why we're doing this policy and where we're going.

And so, you know, I think a lot of people started trying to figure out, well, how do all these pieces fit together? You know, the auto industry has been saved, and that was a good thing. Well, that saved a million jobs, but people weren't sure how did that relate to our housing strategy, or how did that relate to health care. And so I think that was something that I could've done better.

That's just two items on what I'm sure are a very long list --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: -- of -- of -- of things that I could do better.

But, having said that, the -- the basic thrust of my first two and a half years have been entirely consistent with what I said I was going to do during the campaign. Because what I promised was that not only were we going to deal with the immediate crisis, I said, "We are going to start laying the foundation for us to solve some of these long-term problems."

So when we changed, for example, the student loan program to take billions of dollars that were going to the banks as middlemen in the student loan program and redirected them so that students -- millions more students would benefit from things like Pell Grants, you know, that was in pursuit of this larger goal that we have to once again be the nation that has the highest percentage of college graduates and that we have the best skilled workforce because that's what it's going to take to win the future.

When we initiated health care reform it was based a long-term assessment that if we don't get control of our health care costs and stop sending people to the emergency room for very expensive care, but instead make sure they've got adequate coverage so that they are getting regular checkups and they are avoiding preventable diseases like diabetes, that unless we do that we're going to go broke just on health care spending.

When we made the biggest investment in clean energy in our history over the last two and a half years, it's because of my belief that we have to free ourselves from the lock grip that oil has on our economic well-being and our security.

And so I'm going to keep on pushing for those things that position us to be the most competitive, the most productive nation on Earth in the 21st century. And I think on that front we have been very successful.

(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: All right.

Let me see. This gentleman right here in the blue shirt.

(END LIVE COVERAGE)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama there in College Park, Maryland, at the University of Maryland, answering questions there from the student body and perhaps an instructor or two, a professor or two.

His last question being asked to him about regrets over the last two years of his presidency -- he brought it right back to the budget deficit and talked about being able to better explain policy. And he's underscoring and taking this opportunity to underscore that he says we can pass a balanced plan. It won't make everyone happy, but he said, quote, "neither party is blameless. Both parties have the responsibility to solve it."

We're going to continue to monitor that development there at the University of Maryland. The president there speaking to the student body and faculty.

And we'll have much more in THE NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to THE NEWSROOM.

We continue to watch this breaking story out of Oslo, Norway. An explosion, perhaps even two, reportedly is taking place right in downtown Oslo. We understand at least eight are reported injured and possibly one death. This taking place right next to and close to the prime minister's office where we also understand the prime minister is OK. However, it's still unclear exactly what may have sparked this explosion or explosions.

Joining us right now is Jon Larsen with the Norwegian Red Cross.

So, Jon, give me an idea of how the Red Cross is able to help.

JOHN LARSEN, NORWEGIAN RED CROSS (via telephone): Well, this has made a huge impact on the city center. So, we have immediately set down a crisis team from the Norwegian Red Cross branch in Oslo. We are now in dialogue with the Oslo city council and Oslo police offering first aiders, more rescue teams, ambulance, and possible caretakers because it's many, many people wandering around in the streets right now.

WHITFIELD: OK. Have you been to the scene of this explosion?

LARSEN: No, I have not been able to do so because we immediately sat down with our crisis team.

WHITFIELD: OK. What are first responders informing you about in terms of how people are able to get some mea need and what people are doing?

LARSEN: So far, it seems like the national rescue teams have done a very good job. We saw immediately caretakers involved, ambulances that were quickly on the spot. And reports from hospitals -- we do not have any requests from hospitals, but we are offering our services both at the hospitals and in the streets of Oslo right now.

WHITFIELD: So, some of the members we heard earlier that possibly eight people injured, maybe even one death. Are those numbers corresponding with what you know?

LARSEN: Well, I can only tell you what's reported in the Norwegian national media. Unfortunately, it's not up to me confirm any deaths or injuries.

WHITFIELD: OK. Jon Larsen, thanks so much -- for the Norwegian Red Cross. Seeing a map right there -- downtown Oslo, a very concentrated area, the biggest city in all of Norway. And now, this tragedy taking place with possibly two explosions -- at least one, but possibly two explosions taking place causing many injuries there. Still unclear exactly what may have caused this.

All right. Other stories we continue to follow here.

The Pentagon is set to certify the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" today. That means military leaders have concluded open service by gays and lesbians will not harm military readiness. President Obama, as commander-in-chief, must also certify the repeal roll back of the law when it becomes final 60 days after that.

News Corp executive James Murdoch says he did not lie to Parliament, but two former "News of the World" editors said he did. Murdoch told Parliament Tuesday that he did not know the tabloid routinely used phone hacking to get scoops. Rather, he thought it was the work of a rouge reporter. But the editors say they told Murdoch about an e-mail indicating the practice had deep roots at the "News of the World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Well, clearly, James Murdoch has got questions to answer in Parliament, and I'm sure he will do that. And clearly, News International has got some big issues to deal with and a mess to clear up. That has to be done by the management of that company.

In the end, the management of a company must be an issue for the shareholders of that company, but the government wants to see this sorted out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Fall River, Massachusetts, two public pool workers and their supervisor have been forced out of their jobs. A woman drown in the pool at the end of June. Her body stayed in the water for four days before anyone realized that it was actually there. Investigators say that's because the water was so murky. Officials plan to enact new water clarity requirements nationwide.

A 14-year-old San Diego native is on trial in Mexico. Police say he worked as a hit man for a Mexican drug cartel. In a videoed confession to the Mexican military, the boy admits beheading four people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MEXICAN MILITARY VIDEO, DECEMBER 2, 2010)

QUESTION (translated text): How many have you killed?

ANSWER (translated text): Four.

QUESTION (translated text): How did you execute them?

ANSWER: Eh?

QUESTION (translated text): How did you execute them?

ANSWER (translated text): I cut their throats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Because he's only 14 the maximum sentence the boy can get under Mexican law is three years.

Well, it's still not clear when or if NFL players will vote on a new 10-year labor contract. NFL owners have overwhelmingly approved the agreement, but tweets from players point to trouble. One says owners tried to slip things into the contract that weren't part of the deal. Another tweet says, quote, "It's not over, people."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: Hopefully, we can all work quickly, expeditiously and get this agreement done. It is time to get back to football. That is what everybody here wants to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The labor dispute will cost at least one game. The preseason Hall of Fame game on August 7th has now been canceled.

They came up short against Japan, but three of the women from the U.S. World Cup soccer team are thinking long-term goals. Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan have signed a marketing deal with Bank of America. They'll promote a charity involved with the Chicago marathon. The race is sponsored by Bank of America.

And we'll be right back with more of the NEWSROOM right after this.

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WHITFIELD: We continue to watch developments involving that explosion in downtown Oslo, Norway. Still unclear exactly what may have triggered an explosion, possible two explosions that has led to injuries and possible one death.

A U.S. official is saying that it is too soon to tell what caused the explosion in Oslo or whether it is a terrorist attack. The possibility of terrorism is always a concern because of the ongoing threat from al Qaeda to launch attacks in Europe.

That statement coming from a U.S. official. We'll continue to watch those developments.

All right, meantime, here in the U.S., the East Coast is now sweating it out in this heat wave that has smothered much of the U.S. It could feel like 120 degrees today in New York. The heat is so dangerous, the Statue of Liberty's crown area is closed to tourists. Across the country, at least two dozen deaths are linked to the hot weather.

Rob Marciano is tracking this deadly heat wave.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, young comic's devastating car crash took away his independence on many levels, but our Dr. Sanjay Gupta found Will Carter (ph) is back in the driver's seat. Another ordinary person accomplishing an extraordinary things in this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Will Carter always loved making people laugh, and when he was a child he dreamed of becoming a comedian. If you would of asked him at 17, he would have said his biggest obstacle was fear of failure, but that changed with a horrific car accident and when his family feared the worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had to remove part of his skull flap cause the brain had swollen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a collapsed lung. He lost his spleen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he was in a coma for about three weeks.

I'm driving home one night and I just thought, oh my goodness, my son's got a brain injury. Does he have a future?

Will, do you need -- do you need somebody to pick you up tonight or are you -- ?

WILL CARTER, COMEDIAN: No, Robert can give me a ride home.

GUPTA: After years of physical therapy, Will did recover, but he lost a lot of his independence. He couldn't drive, meaning he had to depend on his parents to give him rides. He had to rely on his friends, he had to put his dreams on hold.

CARTER: I love, love doing comedy. There's nothing, there's no energy in this world like being on stage.

GUPTA: Will didn't give up. He was determined to overcome his brain injury, with the help of this, a device called the Electronic Driving Coach. It helps to cue Will so he doesn't get distracted. Add a driving instructor, and Will has learned to drive again.

CARTER: I tend to be a day dreamer, just get distracted by my own thoughts. So that's why it's great to have Michelle in the car cueing me, or when she's not cuing me, having the device to cue me.

GUPTA: It has taken over a year of practice, but today he is driving alone with just the device at his side.

CARTER: It's really awesome that, you know, just to have that independence. For me to be able to have control of my life, to feel like an adult.

GUPTA: And he is back on stage performing standup comedy and applying to graduate school to share with others the joy of making people laugh.

CARTER: I think I know where all these forest fires are coming from.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A look now at some other stories we're covering cross country.

A giant sinkhole in Leesburg, Florida, getting bigger by the day, and now there's concern it could swallow an entire neighborhood. The hole has already destroyed one business. It opened up last month as a 60-foot hole. Folks in the neighborhood say it started growing again this week.

The Avengers and Captain America, werewolves and vampires -- well, you can find them all under one roof in San Diego. The annual Comic-Con is underway. It showcases comic books, science fiction, television shows and movies, among other things.

And America's first lady is pitching in and helping some of the country's neediest veterans. Michelle Obama was in Fayetteville, North Carolina to help renovate a community center for homeless women veteran. The project is part of an upcoming episode, by the way, of the TV show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

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