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Debt Deal Delays and Roadblocks; Al Qaeda Close to Collapse; Tracking Every Mouse Click; Polygamist Sect Leader on Trial and Update on DSK Case; Why We Love Fatty Foods; Pricing Your Gold Jewelry; Dolphins Guard Against Attacks
Aired July 27, 2011 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I am Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.
The battle over raising the country's debt limit takes another unexpected twist with just six days until the August 2nd deadline. A vote was expected today on a plan by House Speaker John Boehner, but that has been postponed until tomorrow at the earliest. Congressional number crunchers say that the Boehner plan will not cut spending as much as promised.
From Norway, new pictures of last week's bombing of a government building from a different angle. A camera inside a nearby shop shows the moment of impact. Seventy-six people were killed in the bombing, and a shooting rampage on an island near Oslo. Survivors are describing the terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHAMSHAJINY GUNARATNAM, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Something sounded like a gunshot down from the harbor. And we're like who is kidding about the explosion now? Someone is pulling our legs, right? And we took a couple of steps towards the hill, and our guys -- boy who are guards, they were running like hell, and they told -- the screamed to us that run, run, run.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The mayor of Kandahar is dead, killed by a suicide bomber in an attack this morning. The Taliban are taking responsibility. This is just the latest in a series of attacks in Afghanistan against the government. The brother of Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzi was killed earlier this month.
Well, a source tells CNN that the New York hotel maid who accuses Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault is meeting with prosecutors today. The alleged victim and her attorney arrived at the district attorney's office. That happened earlier this morning. Strauss-Kahn is the former head of the International Monetary Fund. A status hearing in the case has been moved from August 1st to the end of the month.
Well, the funding fight that threatens to keep Memphis schools shut down could soon be resolved. The school board the city owes it $55 million. But it's going to take $12 million as a partial payment. Now that payment has to be made next week, just three days before the new school year. One school board member says the decision should be a relief for teachers and parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. KENNETH WHALUM, MEMPHIS SCHOOL BOARD: I think they should breathe a deep sigh of relief. Absolutely. You know, they are going to start in service August 1st. They're going to be paid for that and they're going to put pressure on the city council to do what they need to do.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: It's been a symbol of the pain and perseverance after 9/11, but now an atheist group wants to World Trade Center cross taken down. The cross is made of intersecting steel beams found in the rubble of buildings destroyed in the September 11th attacks.
Calling themselves as the American Atheist, the group argues that the cross violates the absolute separation of church and state.
Near Seoul, South Korea, a frantic search for survivors of a massive landslide. At least 32 people killed, 400 homes now destroyed. The land gave way after parts of the region got more than a foot of rain.
Powerful storms pounding Massachusetts, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses. The high winds blew down trees and caused property damage, and some areas got hail as big as ping pong balls. The region was under a tornado watch but right now no tornados have been confirmed.
Well, we take a closer look now at the delays, the roadblocks and the search for a deal for raising the debt limit. Only two plans are in play right now. One of them has been sent back to the drawing board.
So to figure out all of this, Joe Johns, he's been following this from Capitol Hill.
Joe, great to see you. What do we suspect about this delay in voting for this plan by John Boehner? What does that mean for that plan? Does it have the votes to get passed? Is this pause a good thing for them or not?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's kind of both, Suzanne. On the one hand, he apparently wasn't getting the savings that he thought he was getting, something like $400 billion short, which is no small chunk of change. So he'd had to go back to the drawing board on that. It's a problem for him, it's an embarrassment and you know it's also a question sort of his credibility.
On the other hand, though, he could use a day or two, because there are a lot of people in the House of Representatives, Republicans, who went out to the microphones and started saying, hey, this thing is not going to pass, and I'm not going to vote for it.
They had, you know, a bunch of different problems with it. They didn't like the two-step thing. They are worried about the possibility of a downgrade occurring to the United States credit, regardless of whether they passed it. And there was some commission in there that was going to --
MALVEAUX: Right.
JOHNS: -- help figure out how much money they are going to get rid of later. They had problems with that. So there were reasons why he could use a little extra time to generate some support -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Joe, this might be confusing to folks, but there are some people who don't believe that there is going to be a financial Armageddon when you -- when this deadline comes on August 2nd. I want you to take a listen to a couple of pretty high-powered folks who are saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion that somehow the United States will go into default and we will lose the full faith and credit of the United States, that is simply not true.
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: I think he's using scare tactics.
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: I was hearing how the Asian markets are going to crash. How the world was going to crash this morning. And I just checked and the world has not crashed.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Joe, I mean obviously there's -- you know, each side has their politics to all of this. A lot of economists disagree with some of the Republicans' takes on this, but you know how are lawmakers supposed to get anything done here if they can't even really agree on whether or not there is a problem?
JOHNS: Right. That's true. I mean there are going to be those members of Congress who are simply not persuadable on this issue. I've talked to some of them on Capitol Hill myself, and it doesn't help really that there's a little bit of fuzziness around the exact date.
You know some people have said there might be a little bit more cash reserves that the United States has to hold it over a few days past August 2nd. So all of that plays into it. But there are also some people who said that one time and now are moving in another direction, Suzanne.
Congressman Allen West, the Tea Party-backed Republican from Florida, just last week was saying, you know, he wasn't going to go for something like this unless there was a bunch of conditions. Now, you know, he looks a little bit more receptive to doing something short term because, you know, he, like a lot of others, concerned about what could happen perhaps --
MALVEAUX: Right.
JOHNS: -- if the economy sort of went into default.
MALVEAUX: Right.
JOHNS: And then got basically thrown under the bus.
MALVEAUX: Yes. I mean the bottom line is it's such a period of uncertainty. Nobody really seems to know what is going to happen. It's a fascinating -- story to actually follow and cover.
So, Joe, thank you very much. We appreciate that.
Here's a rundown of some of the other stories that we're covering the next hour.
First, is al Qaeda on the brink of collapse? Hear what terrorism officials are saying about this.
And the fight against a new form of big brother. Marketers following your every mouse click online.
Then the government's case against polygamists Warren Jeffs as a mostly female jury is now seated.
And are you an emotional eater? A new study looks at the science behind our intense attraction to saturated fats.
Also, have you raided your jewelry box for any old gold? Well, an appraiser hits the streets to find out how much people's jewelry is worth now that prices are sky high.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your necklace at melt is worth $3,010.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At melt. I was expecting more to be honest with you.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The battle against al Qaeda, it's changed the way all of us live, not to even mention the lives lost and the money spent. But now the "Washington Post" says that U.S. counterterrorism officials are convinced that killing Osama bin Laden and seven years of punishing drone strikes have pushed al Qaeda to the brink of collapse.
Our CNN national security contributor, Fran Townsend, she's a member of both the CIA and Department of Homeland Security External Advisory Committees. She's joining us from New York.
Fran, you read this, I read this, rather dramatic, but is it surprising? Do you agree? Al Qaeda close to collapsing now?
FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR (via phone): Well, no question, Suzanne, that al Qaeda is severely weakened, their capability, their operational capability has been severely degraded, not just with the killing of bin Laden, but as is mentioned in the report with the years of drone strikes, I think -- and we also, by the way, heard Leon Panetta, the former director of the CIA and now the secretary of defense, say a similar thing at his confirmation hearing.
The one -- the thing we have to be caution of is it's a little dangerous, right? The minute you say that you encourage affiliates like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to actually attempt a big attack to prove you wrong. And so I do think that they're severely weakened. I hope it's true that they're on the brink of collapse. It's a little early to say that, though, I think.
MALVEAUX: Fran, if they are weakened, does this mean that there's less of a terrorist threat against Americans now?
TOWNSEND: Well, it depends what you mean by less of a threat, Suzanne. But they're certainly no less determined. We've seen al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, for example, they were responsible for the attempted Christmas Day underwear bomber and also the attempted plane cargo attacks that the Saudi -- Mubahez (ph), their -- its security service helped to thwart.
So they're no less determined. They do seem less capable of actually being -- being able to pull off a successful attack, and that's got to do with intelligence and drone strikes, and our allies around the world. The whole sort of tool kit of things we use to defeat them.
MALVEAUX: Sure. And Fran, where are the heavy hitters, the al Qaeda leaders? Where do we have to be concerned about most?
TOWNSEND: Well, no question Yemen -- most people now have heard of Anwar al-Awlaki, the leader of that cell in Yemen. And as long as President Sales and Saudi Arabia, and there's chaos there, we said before, you know, al Qaeda benefits from chaos.
That's also true in Somali. We believe that the Somali-al Qaeda affiliates are working with those in Yemen, and so that poses a threat. As we drawdown in Afghanistan, we have to be careful that they don't sort of regenerate themselves --
MALVEAUX: Sure.
TOWNSEND: -- in the tribal areas or in Afghanistan. So there are these hotspots around the world. Typically where you look is where there are unstable or weak governments that allow al Qaeda to sort of insert themselves there and take advantage of the situation.
MALVEAUX: And Frank, real quick here. We're approaching the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden had talked about his desire for another attack. Is it possible that al Qaeda is just laying low until close to the anniversary where they might carry out something spectacular?
TOWNSEND: Absolutely. I mean, look, I think every counterterrorism official in the United States that I've spoken to recently says the counterterrorism committee is very focused on that anniversary because of what they learned from the bin Laden raid. But you know the more -- now that they're aware of it, it makes it much more difficult for al Qaeda to pull something like that off.
MALVEAUX: All right, Fran Townsend. Thank you very much, Fran.
Here's a look today's choices for "Choose the News." You're going to vote for the story that you'd like to see.
First, a top secret Navy program to protect ships and harbors is now exposed. We go under water to see show you how marine mammals including dolphins are protecting sailors and civilians against enemy attacks.
Second, New York is using its recent heat wave to help residents keep cool, a unique partnership and program that's using the sun's rays to ease the city's energy grid burden on those hot days.
And third, let the countdown begin. Opening ceremonies for London's Olympic Games exactly one year from today. We're going to go inside the main stadium and show you why these buildings are different than any Olympic stadium ever constructed.
So you can vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Underwater Protection, 2 for "Solar Grid Program," or 3 for "Olympic Stadiums."
The winning story is going to air later this hour.
So CNN "In depth," there are companies out there that are tracking every single move that you make on the Internet.
Chad Myers here to explain why. What are they looking for, Chad? Big brother --
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You would expect that at work. Right?
MALVEAUX: Yes.
MYERS: Your employer has that right to see where you're going and what you're doing, but people are watching at home. Companies are making databases on you. They want to know what you do. They want to know what you're buying. They want to know where you're going.
It's called the digital fingerprint. And it's everything you do online. It's all those -- all those little things you click on and all of those searches you just thought you're doing by accident.
Well, tell you what, it's making up a digital fingerprint. It's your personal information and it's making up a treasure trove for people who might want to hack in to that info.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS (voice-over): Did you know that companies you've never heard of track every Web site you visit and keep a record of everything you do online? That's right. Everybody who visits the Internet has a digital fingerprint. A unique profile that's built by these specialized companies.
PETER ECKERSLEY, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: We actually don't really know who their clients are, so they may be selling this technology to banks, they may be selling it to online advertising companies. And that's the bigger concern.
MYERS: Peter Eckersley is a technologists with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. A digital civil liberties group that defends people's rights on the Internet. He said digital fingerprinting is a violation of every aspect of your privacy.
ECKERSLEY: You should have the right to read what you want in private without someone looking over your shoulder, reading along with you. Without -- you know as you pick up the magazine to read it, you don't want the magazine to be reading you.
MYERS (on camera): Last March Senator John Rockefeller introduced a bill to stop companies from tracking your online movements. Part of recommendations from the Federal Trade Commission.
What it would require is that Internet browsers would have an option up here to say do not track, do not track me. Eckersley says this is already there. The technology already exists. All we need is congressional action.
DON JACKSON, DELL SECUREWORKS: I think the scary thing is people don't understand what's out there about them personally that's linked to their online digital fingerprint.
MYERS (voice-over): Don Jackson, the director of Threat Intelligence for SecureWorks says digital fingerprints are used for personalized marketing and advertising campaigns, and customized political messages, but he says there's also a danger that they will be used with malicious intent.
JACKSON: What we're doing is trusting these companies with the security of that information. We're entrusting them to guard that information. We don't want anyone to be able to break into that system and use it, but unfortunately when companies aggregate that much information in one spot, it makes them a target for hackers.
MYERS (on camera): What if I'm at a wireless place like this and people are just everywhere. And everybody is logged in. Can that guy right there be tracked?
Absolutely.
MYERS: Really?
JACKSON: He is being tracked right now. So everything you do online -- if you're using a public Web site, or any kind of online service, they're tracking everything that you're doing.
MYERS: Can data be wrong? Can people get something incorrect and is it a big deal?
JACKSON: Yes, so your fingerprint can be manipulated by criminals. That's just one way it can be wrong. Another way it can be wrong is that it's been cross linked. There's really no mechanism to correct that. So you can't remove the information. There's no -- currently no channel, to way to file a complaint.
MYERS (voice-over): Security experts are concerned that right now there is no practical way to stop companies from using this technology, and that as scary as that is, the best defense is to be aware that everything you do online is being watched.
JACKSON: Keep your anti-virus up-to-date, your keep your computer up-to-date, but for the most part, once the information leaves your computer, at least one person, that's the Web site that you're visiting, can track it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: So here we go. How do they use this? How is this good? Because it can be good. For about the past hour and a half I have been searching for Vegas hotel online. Vegas hotel deals, just because I was putting all of that data into the computer, and all of a sudden I call up a couple of travel Web sites, and look what I find right there. Las Vegas on sale, save up to 40 percent.
Do you think that's random? Really? Do you think that just happened because I searching Lasvegas.com and all those other places looking for deals. This Web site saw me do it or at least people that were watching me do it, brought that information all of sudden, now I've got a deal on a hotel.
MALVEAUX: Wow.
MYERS: That's a good deal. But what I'm worried about is someone that hacks into lookers, and maybe they know when I'm gone.
MALVEAUX: Right.
MYERS: It could be problem.
MALVEAUX: And they show up at your house when you're gone. And that didn't take long ago, though. Right, Chad? That was very quick.
MYERS: You know, we've been working on this for a couple of days. We were putting in different kinds of searches to see what happens, to see what is easily find, and they really like to see you travel deals. They love travel deals and they also love selling you little digital things, little iPods and iPhones and all these other things, not just on Sony or Apple.
But whatever. They like to sell you gadgets. Those things, those -- every time you see a little pop up that's -- and you look at it and you go, wow, I was just searching that, I wonder how that was just on sale in the past 15 seconds. I was only searching that an hour ago. Now you know.
MALVEAUX: Yes, now you know. You're no longer a sucker for that now.
All right, Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Well, a leader of a polygamist sect goes on trial for sexual assault.
Legal analyst Sunny Hostin weighs in on the case against Warren Jeffs in our "Law and Order" segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A new ruling in the case of Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner tops our "Law and Order" segment. An appeals court panel says that authorities can force Loughner to take anti-psychotic medication.
The decision reverses and earlier ruling since then Loughner has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and prosecutor say he screams and cries for hours. Loughner is charged with killing six people and wounding 13 others, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
Well, former Illinois governor Rob Blagojevich wants a new trial. His lawyers filed paperwork this week citing alleged errors in his most recent retrial. Now last month the jury convicted Blagojevich on public corruption charges including trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat.
Well, a jury is in place now for the trial of polygamist sect, leader Warren Jeffs. The case stems from a 2008 raid on Jeff's ranch near El Dorado, Texas. Now Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child, and one count of bigamy. Authorities removed more than 400 children from the ranch because they feared they were being sexually abused.
Joining us about the trial, Sunny Hostin. She's former federal prosecutor and legal contributor for "In Session" on our sister network truTV.
Sunny, good to see you here. Give us a little bit background this case, how has this evolved?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSIONS" ON TRUTV: Well, this case has been going on for quite sometime. And I think what has taken so long, Suzanne, is that so many people have an opinion on the FLDS because it's been such a highly publicized case.
And so it took quite sometime, I would say, to pick this jury. There were 700 potential jurors summoned for jury duty. Out of those potential jurors only 280 went forward without any sort of bias that was identified. They just picked a jury just last night at 9:00 p.m., 10 women and 2 men, they have two alternates, one women and one man.
And they are expecting this case to start not today, probably on another day, because there's a motion to suppress evidence that is pending. That just start about 2:00 p.m. today.
What is also happening is Warren Jeffs is now on his third attorney. He keeps on dismissing his attorney and his current attorney Derrick Walpole says he needs more time to prepare. The prosecution of course has objected because this case has been going on, as you mentioned, for such a long time, and so the government has objected.
The judge has ruled that they will go forward as soon as this motion to suppress is dealt with and that should be about 2:00 today.
MALVEAUX: And Sunny, you mentioned the makeup of the jury here. You're talking 10 women, two men. How could that impact this potential case?
HOSTIN: Well, you know, this is a sex assault case, and historically if you look at the statistics, women are more likely to convict on sex assault cases. And we know that we're going to hear probably from a 14-year-old girl, perhaps not from the 12-year-old that he also allegedly married.
And so I think this is probably a better jury statistically for the prosecution. The problem here, though, that I think the prosecution does have is that as I mention there are two victims here, a 14-year-old that he married, a 12-year-old that he allegedly also married, and the 14-year-old he has a child with.
Now that is a pretty easy case I would say to prove, but the 12- year-old, my understanding is does not want to testify against him. And so that case could be difficult. That charge could be difficult for this prosecution.
MALVEAUX: And Sunny, if we could turn the corner here, sources are telling us that the New York hotel maid that -- is accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault is now meeting with prosecutors today.
Do we think there is some movement in this case? Is there a possibility that charges -- that this case might be dismissed?
HOSTIN: You know, I think there is certainly that possibility, but we all know now that she did come out publicly both to "Newsweek" and ABC, and gave her version of events. I think it's pretty clear that it was her attempt to push the prosecution's hand at letting her have her day in court against DSK, against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
So my understating is today she is meeting again with the prosecutors to again go over her story. We know there have been many inconsistencies. My understanding after speaking with some people is that the prosecution was leaning towards dismissing the charges in this case, so perhaps it's her last ditch effort to get the prosecution to let her have her day in court. MALVEAUX: All right. Sunny Hostin, thank you very much, Sunny, I appreciate it.
Well, a lot of people are angry about the debate over the debt. Some people, they are writing their congressmen and congresswomen about.
But this guy is rapping about it. I'm going to talk to the rapper who's behind this video. That's up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on next.
After years of not getting a raise, this could be one year that you get one actually.
And we take you live to an NFL training camp with the lockout almost stalled practice.
And in 15 minutes, to eat a pint of ice cream or order a pizza when you are kind of feeling blue or depressed. Well, a new study explains emotional eating.
Well, the debt debate countdown begins now. Just six days until the government is forced to default. Some people are writing their lawmakers demanding a compromise. But one comedian is making his frustrations heard through music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REMY MUNASIFI, RAPPER/COMEDIAN (singing): Raise the debt ceiling, raise the debt ceiling, raise the debt ceiling, (INAUDIBLE) dropping hundred-dollar bills and pay your dollar bonds. Spending money we don't have, that's the name of the game, they call me cumulative (INAUDIBLE) because we're going to make it rain!
Got all kinds of -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEUAX: The guy behind the video, Remy, he is joining us from Washington. Remi, OK, so you are the one person we all wanted to talk to today. Everybody is talking about your rap, and you are a comedian but you are pretty good with the lyrics, too.
Tell us why. Why did you decided to rap about raising the debt ceiling?
MUNASIFI: Well, a good friend of mine, Meredith Bragg, over at Reason TV is a video producer and director. And we teamed up before - actually, last month, I rewrote the Hokey Pokey and made it about the TSA and called it the Pokey Pokey, and we had a lot of fun making that video. And so we though maybe we should try the debt ceiling.
MALVEAUX: Are you a political kind of guy? Are you following this debate?
MUNASIFI: I mean, we are following it. It has certainly saturated the airwaves. I think many with an NFL I guess that just ended, and now we start paying attention to things that maybe matter a little more. But yes, we were certainly paying attention to it.
MALVEAUX: And what do you think about it? Do you believe that we should raise the debt ceiling or is it just kind of an easy hook? Do you have a real opinion about it? Are you serious about it?
MUNASIFI: Well, we certainly did not set out to make the video too preachy. When you watch the coverage, it's Republicans calling the Democrats crazy and the Democrats calling the Republicans crazy. I was looking at the debate thinking, look, you're all crazy.
And this would - all this spending kind of fits in well with a bad rap. I just happened to be a bad rapper, and we just sort took it from there -- got a jumpsuit and took it from there.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: I was wondering if you owned that jumpsuit or not? You kind of cleaned up everything. You look pretty good here without the hat and all that stuff.
But this thing is viral, really. It's going viral. Do you hope to influence the debate, or do you think lawmakers might be paying attention to this now?
MUNASIFI: I hope it does encourages debate. I was reading the comments and somebody said, "I want to punch this guy in the face," and somebody said, "I want to punch this guy in the neck." And I thought, you know, that kind of counts. That's almost a debate.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, Remy, we enjoyed your rap. We really did. And we enjoyed having you on. Of course, a lot of people are talking about this. They are writing about it and you are rapping about it. And any way that people can participate we think is a good thing.
So, Remy, thanks for being with us on CNN.
MUNASIFI: Any - any excuse to wear makeup. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: OK, thanks Remy.
Well, employers are not doing a lot of hiring right now, but they are trying to hold on to the best folks that they hired. So, they are willing to pay them to keep them.
Our Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details on that story. Alison, what are we talking about? People are actually giving raises here?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They actually are. And in this environment, it's really great news. This is actually a Mercer study that was done exclusively for CNNmoney.com. And it said that most employers said, you know what? We're going to go ahead and raise salaries next year.
But there's a caveat here. Only top performers will get more than that token raise. Take a look. I want to show you what the breakdown is of what's expected.
So, if you are considered a top performer, the average salary increase is about five percent. If you are a so-so worker, average worker, that increase would be about three percent. But if you are a weak performer, nope. Almost no increase for you at all. So, if you are a slacker, it's an incentive to work harder because you know what? You'll make a couple of extra bucks there, Suzanne.
MALVEUAX: And do we know if companies -- are they basically worried that their top performers are going to jump ship and look for a better job? Is that what's behind this?
KOSIK: It really is because you know what? The higher pay, Suzanne, may wind up being the best incentive to get their employees to stay put. And analysts say the job market is really weak, but if you happen to be that top performer, you are always in demand. So, it shows just how competitive the job market is. And if you are not sure that you are a top performer, you probably aren't. Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: That's probably true.
The markets, how are they doing today? The debt talks, how are they affecting what is happening on the Wall Street?
KOSIK: Yes, we are in the negative column. The Dow down 112, the NASDAQ off 53. Yes, the focus really is on these debt talks. Wall Street is still hoping for a deal, but you know what? As the deadline gets closer, some investors are really starting to hedge their bets. They are worried about a credit downgrade.
Stocks have fallen every day this week, and gold has actually hit a record high each day. That's another sign of fear here for stocks. And we are watching the Vicks. That's an indicator about fear in the marketplace, and that's spiking seven percent, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Alison Kosik, thank you.
Armchair quarterbacks across the country now are celebrating with the NFL lockout over now, and they will see their favorite teams in action this season. Today the players have started practicing. We go live to the Baltimore Ravens training camp.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEUAX: A reminder to vote for today's "Choose The News" story. You can vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Underwater Protection," a look at a top-secret Navy program that uses dolphins to keep sailors and civilians safe. Text 2 for "Solar Grid Program," how New York is using a recent heat wave to cool the city's residents. And text 3 for "Olympic stadiums." You're going to get to go inside London's main Olympic stadiums and see why the buildings are so different than any other Olympic stadium ever built. Winning story will air later this hour.
Well, with the NFL lockout over now, ten teams are starting training camp for the first pre-season games next month. Carol Costello is in Ownings Mills, Maryland where the Baltimore Ravens are training.
Carol, you are a big NFL fan, I know. You get the good assignments! Tell us what is the mood like?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, I am pretty lucky today, Suzanne. It seems very quiet here, I know, but there is a lot of action going on inside that building. That's the Ravens training facility. Administrators are busy at work, expected to sign up to 30 players. They are deciding who to cut and who to keep. They are dealing with free agencies.
The players likely will not report here until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time. They will likely have a meeting tomorrow they will take to the practice field. Most players say they are overjoyed to be back and don't have a bit of apprehension. But a few were feeling pangs of anxiety, especially the cornerback, Dominique Foxworth, who is also Baltimore's union rep. He spent a lot of time in negotiations and is worried about retaliation. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIQUE FOXWORTH, RAVENS PLAYER: It's not a secret that the guys over the years in the history in the relationship with the players association in the NFL, guys who were in the forefront become really expendable and they become blackballed around the league really soon. And so I am sure my day is coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We will just have to wait and see what happens. The real bummer for fans here in Baltimore, Suzanne, is that the training is going to take place here in Owings Mill instead of Westminster, Maryland. In Westminister, they would have gotten to watch the practices. They cannot here because the facility simply cannot handle all the people, but the Ravens said maybe they will put on two practices at the stadium in Baltimore, and fans can see those practices for free. Everybody's waiting to see (INAUDIBLE).
MALVEUAX: All right. Is that your team, Carol? I don't know. Baltimore? It is Baltimore.
COSTELLO: No, it's the Detroit Lions!
MALVEAUX: Oh, okay!
COSTELLO I root for the most painful team to root for in America, the Detroit Lions, but I love them all the same.
MALVEAUX: I know you'll be keeping up with all that stuff. Thanks, Carol. We appreciate it.
Well, the science of emotional eating. Our Elizabeth Cohen looks at what may be behind those ice cream and cookie cravings.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: You have heard of the phrase "fat and happy," and it sounds simple enough to anyone who has ever drowned their sorrows. All of us, of course, Rocky Road ice cream, deep-dish pizza, but now scientists are putting that through the test.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain the science behind eating. What did they do in this study?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: They tried to put science behind the question I am about to ask you. Which is, OK, it's end of a long day, maybe not a very good day. You come home and you can either cry into a thing of ice cream or a salad. Just instinctively, which one --
MALVEAUX: You know I'm going to pick this ice cream. I love that ice cream! It's melting a little bit, but I'm going to eat that before the end of the show.
COHEN: Well, which one do you want, chocolate chip cookie or mint chip?
MALVEAUX: Chocolate chip cookie. Thank you very much.
COHEN: OK, you take that one. I'll have the other one.
MALVEAUX: OK.
COHEN: A spoon for each of us.
OK. So these scientists were wondering why this was true. Maybe it's the taste. Maybe it's the texture. So what they did -- it was really kind of ingenious, actually -- is, they took a group of people and they showed them all these sad movies and sad pictures and sad music. And then for half of them, they pipe some fat down to their stomachs. They put it in a tube and put the fat right in their stomachs.
MALVEAUX: OK.
COHEN: They didn't taste it. It just went right into their stomachs through a tube. And then the other half just got saline, which is, you know, basically water.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
COHEN: And what they found was that the folks who were getting fat piped into their stomachs were actually happier than the ones who were just getting the saline solution.
MALVEAUX: You're kidding. Really? COHEN: And then, to top it all off, they did MRIs and they found that the ones who were getting the fat, the happiness center of their brains were much more lit up than the folks who were getting saline.
MALVEAUX: Wow. So why is that the case? Why does the fatty foods make you happier?
COHEN: You know, no one knows for sure, but there's some thinking that sort of as human beings we're biologically wired to like fat. I mean when we come out of the womb, what do we want? What do we need? Milk. Breast milk. And breast milk is fat basically, right, with some sugar in it and other things.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Right.
COHEN: And if we had a famine, it would make sense for our bodies to crave fat because that would keep us alive longer. So -- but the problem is, of course, is that we're not babies and we're not in a famine. So --
MALVEAUX: And we're eating way too much (INAUDIBLE).
COHEN: We're eating way too much. So that biological mechanism has sort of done us wrong at this point.
MALVEAUX: So, what do you do? I mean you -- the biology is working against us? I mean is there anything that we can do or this is just a part of us?
COHEN: You know, it's very difficult to deal with. I mean I'll just say that flat out, it's very difficult to deal with. To sort of stop that kind of craving of fat because it is biologically driven. So one thing is just to be conscious about it. Like think about it. Think, oh, I'm only wanting this because I am feeling sad. Is there something else that I can do? I mean that's really all you can do is sort of think your way through it. I'm turning to this ice cream because I'm sort of depressed. You know, is there something else that I can turn to instead?
MALVEAUX: That takes discipline.
COHEN: It does take discipline. But I think once you realize that that's what's going on, I think that can help. Just knowing can help.
MALVEAUX: All right. I'm going to try to be disciplined not to eat this during our show but, you know, this -- I'm taking --
COHEN: Sure at the end of your show.
MALVEAUX: It's OK. Can I take this with me?
COHEN: Right. Absolutely, sure. You'll feel really happy walking around with it.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Elizabeth. Appreciate it.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: Well, gold is seen as a safe investment in times of economic crisis. But do you know how much your gold jewelry is worth?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: So how much do you think your gold is worth?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not a clue.
HARLOW: Not a clue, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I'm leaving it to one of my daughters and she thinks it's worth a lot.
HARLOW: Let's ask Scott (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I take a look at it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You bet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: With debt negotiations stalled now in Washington and the nation's AAA credit rating in jeopardy, the price of gold has skyrocketed. A lot of folks may be wondering what their gold jewelry is worth. Well, our CNN's Poppy Harlow hit the streets of New York to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: All right. So gold is at record highs. And we wanted to head out to the streets here in New York City to see just how much folks think their gold is actually worth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were going to give me $500 for each.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. I have no idea.
HARLOW: Do you remember what you paid for it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't even want to tell you. It was a lot.
HARLOW: So how was do you think your gold is worth?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not a clue.
HARLOW: Not a clue, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I'm leaving it to one of my daughter and she thinks it's worth a lot.
HARLOW: Let's ask Scott (ph). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I take a look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You bet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the gold weight is worth $364.
HARLOW: Anyone got gold!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) what we got here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your necklace at melt is worth $3,010.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At melt, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was expecting more, to be honest with you.
HARLOW: When people buy gold jewelry in a store, what kind of markup are we talking about here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, if you go into any of the big stores like Macy's, JC Penny, you're talking about sometimes 500 percent markup. Huge.
HARLOW: $700.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not that bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sure it's real?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It's no big deal. (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I just scratch the edge of it right there? Now you see when I put the acid on here how that line disappears?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which means that --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not real.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not real. Your gold is worth $1,868.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). I found it on the edge of the river next to our house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Poppy Harlow joins us from New York.
Poppy, a lot of people thought that their gold was worth more it seems.
HARLOW: Right. MALVEAUX: A lot of people were disappointed. That last person, it wasn't even real. What do you have to know if you're going to try to sell some of your jewelry here?
HARLOW: It's a great question, right, because some of those pieces we found were worth $3,000 and higher. So you could have a really valuable possession. You've got to be careful. You have to know what you've got. So take a look at what we're going to pull up on the screen. This gives you a sense of how pure your gold is. You should know this before you sell.
If you have 24 carat gold, that is indeed pure gold. Eighteen carat, 75 percent gold. Fourteen carat, which is the most common, that's about 58.3 percent gold. So, know this, then weigh it on your food scale in your kitchen. Whatever it takes. Do the math. Gold is about $1,620 an ounce right now. And see how much it should be worth. Then you want to shop it around, Suzanne. Take it to at least three different stores and see what they're going to give you.
And I can tell you from personal experience, I did this with a gold necklace. I took it to six different stores here in New York. I got offers everywhere from $200 to $800. So you can get ripped off in a major way if you don't know what your gold is worth before you try to sell it. That said, you can make a pretty penny these days.
MALVEAUX: Why are the gold prices so much higher now?
HARLOW: So it's exactly what we're talking about in Washington, right. We've seen this run up sort of throughout the recession, gold prices have been rising. But why we've seen this big jump in the past month or so is because of this debt ceiling debate, right. People are looking for a hard asset. Something that they can physically hold and they think they know the value of.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
HARLOW: The U.S. dollar has declined so much. There's such a question about even what U.S. Treasuries will be worth, what our debt will be worth, how much it will costs to borrow. So people look at it and they say, OK, that's a safe investment.
And people often ask me, how can you invest? You can invest through an exchange-traded fund or you can, indeed, buy gold jewelry, wear it every day, just don't lose it, and that's going to be a similar investment, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Poppy, thank you so much.
HARLOW: You got it.
MALVEAUX: You told us what you wanted to see. Your "Choose The News" story just moments away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Time to go cross-country for stories CNN affiliates are covering.
First stop, North Carolina. Six-year-old Lucy Mangum is showing off her colorful cast, telling reporters what it feels like to be bitten by a shark. It happened Tuesday in just a foot and a half of water off of Ocracoke Island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCY MANGUM, FORGIVES SHARK THAT BIT HER: It felt like it like bit my leg and it -- it felt like it almost stayed there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And in South Dakota, about 50 miles east of Rapid City, the historic town of Scenic, well, that's for sale. Not quite a ghost town, but pretty close. Fewer than 10 people live there. For a little less than $800,000 you get 46 acres with a saloon, dance hall, train depot, two jails and a museum with knotty pine interiors.
Well, you voted. We listened. Here's your "Choose The News" winner. Top secret Navy program to protect ships and harbors now is exposed. CNN's Kaj Larson goes under water to show you how marine mammals, including dolphins, are protecting sailors and civilians against enemy attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAJ LARSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Playing the role of a terrorist in San Diego Bay, I'm trying to evade a dolphin who was trained to find hostile swimmers.
CHRIS HARRIS, U.S. NAVY MARINE MAMMAL PROGRAM: He's not going to make it! He's going to get him!
LARSON: Out of nowhere --
HARRIS: There, she's got him.
LARSON (on camera): I got about, say, 50 meters from the ship behind me, and then, boom, came and hit me right here.
LARSON (voice-over): The dolphin hits me with a marker that alerts armed security to my presence.
LARSON (on camera): There was a brief second where I thought I was going to make it through. The next thing you know, I was staring a porpoise right in the face.
Oh, just got me again! Oh!
LARSON (voice-over): In a minute, she's back on her boat and getting some TLC.
LARSON (on camera): I guess my combat ship attack, foiled again.
LARSON (voice-over): Undaunted, I try under water with my scuba gear on. Here's what the camera on the dolphin saw. Under water or on the surface, the dolphin finds me every time.
LARSON (on camera): So how does she compare to, say, suppose you had a side scanned sonar on the bottom of this boat. What's the difference?
HARRIS: She's able to pick out details about an object that we would only dream to have on side scan sonar. And she can do it at great ranges with 100 percent reliability.
LARSON (voice-over): The dolphin is looking for a swimmer like me.
LARSON (on camera): So she's going to hit this ball right here?
HARRIS: Yes. Once she's sure that that's a swimmer, there she goes. So she just touched that ball right there. Now at this point, Kaj, we're going to have to get out of the way of the handler. He's going to go back in there and let her know, hey, good girl. Thanks for keeping your eye out for us. He's going to let her know she did a good job. And he's giving her the marker. And there goes the marker. So now she's on her way. It's like a shot, as you know. You know it's a pretty good little bump.
LARSON: Yes. Yes.
HARRIS: Let's watch and see --
LARSON: That's one way to put it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: If your choice didn't win or you just want to check out the runners up, I'll have links to them on my page at facebook.com/suzannecnn.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.
Hey, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne. Thanks very much.
