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Stocks Seesaw After Huge Sell-Off; Turmoil in Global Markets; University of Miami Football Players Speak Out; Navigating a Volatile Market; The Last Heart Attack
Aired August 19, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, thank you.
Of course we are watching the case of the "West Memphis Three." We're also watching the markets very closely. And talk about a wild roller coaster ride. At the opening bell on Wall Street this morning, the Dow was down, then it moved up, then back down again. But that's, of course, an improvement over the massive selloff yesterday. A 419 point drop triggered by the sluggish U.S. economy and fears over the European debt crisis.
So, how do you make sense of it all? A very good question. To help sort it out, Alison Kosik joins us from the New York Stock Exchange.
So, Alison, first tell us what's happening in the market today?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's much, much quieter than it was yesterday, the Dow down only 40 points. I think what you're seeing is exhausted investors kind of taking a breather at this point.
But we're still seeing some volatility. At the opening bell today, we saw the Dow drop 121 points. During this session, we saw the Dow go up 96 points. So we're still seeing those fluctuations.
You know, this has been a market that's really been headline- driven lately, but there aren't many headlines out today. It's the reason why you're seeing a little bit more calm. Also, not a lot of economic data to trade on, and that's also why you're seeing some of the volatility, because there isn't any one thing that traders are trading on.
What's interesting is you may have seen the Dow dip into positive territory, and it may have stayed there if it weren't for Hewlett Packard. Hewlett Packard is announcing some radical restructuring. The world's biggest computer maker is spinning off its personal computer business and it's killing its tablet. Its shares are tumbling 20 percent. That's really keeping the Dow in the red - Alina.
CHO: All right. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.
Of course, as we mentioned, much of this turmoil on Wall Street has been triggered by fears over the European debt crisis and the region's anemic economies. And that's, in turn, created havoc in Asian markets.
Richard Quest, of course, one of the best people to turn to when we want some perspective on the global economy. He joins us now from London.
So, Richard, first, what happened in the European markets today?
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNN INTERNATIONAL'S "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": The Europeans went down initially, and they went down further. They rallied with Wall Street. We closed down one percent in London; and Paris one percent - one and a half percent. Frankfurt, once again, the German market is absolutely being creamed by what's happening at the moment, by far and away being brutally attacked. And that's because it did see the best of the gains, and German industry has made much from exports, and those promised to be hit by the U.S. slowdown and elsewhere in the world.
Putting it altogether for you, Alina, as we look at the weekend, I cannot agree more with Alison. And basically what we are seeing this afternoon is - is market exhaustion. And people have literally just gasping their way. Yes, there'll be some - there'll be some trading because of triple witching, but, by and large, in the absence of any other news, this is what's happening today.
CHO: Richard, it seems like a lot of American investors are selling off stocks of those companies that might have global - global prominence. And, of course, we're watching what's happening in Europe very closely. I know you know that French President Sarkozy and - and German Chancellor Merkel met earlier this week to talk about the euro, how to prop it up, and the European economy. Did anything concrete come out of that meeting?
QUEST: Oh, absolutely not. I mean, other than talk. And I'm being slightly cynical and perhaps a little even unfair.
Look, they talked about corporate tax. They talked about a Tobin financial tax, which is a non-starter. They talked about more E.U. meetings. The core of what they talked about, this is a long-range project to bring euro closer together, the Euro Zone fiscal integration, trying to make it look more like the 50 United States, with the central U.S. Treasury.
It's so far off. It's a necessity. Don't misunderstand me. My cynicism in that sense shouldn't be taken as being (INAUDIBLE). It's - it is a necessity, but they are a logn way off.
One point to note, interesting today, just before we - without go our separate ways, gold. Gold raised - rallied sharply, came off the top. Gold's over 1,849 an ounce. But oil, also rallied today, very slightly. Now, when you get gold and oil both rising at the same time, that's quite an unusual concoction, and it suggests that markets, as I said, are - are somewhat trying to find that direction that they seek.
CHO: Well, good news or bad, it's always exciting to watch the markets with you. Richard Quest, live for us from London. Richard, thank you.
In other news happening this hour, President Obama is spending his first full day of a 10-day vacation on Martha's Vineyard, but given what's going on in the markets and unemployment, some of his GOP critics say, well, he should be back in Washington. The Republican National Committee has even created a website for voters to send postcards, mocking the president's coastal getaway. There's a look at them.
A White House spokesman says this is a working vacation while the president also takes time with his family to, quote, "recharge his batteries."
Texas governor Rick Perry is taking his Republican presidential campaign back to South Carolina today. He began the day with a meet and greet breakfast in Florence.
Now, you'll recall that Perry announced his presidential bid last Saturday at a Redstate.com political conference in Charleston, so he's back again today.
Following the US's lead, European nations are now considering imposing stiff economic sanctions on Syria. Meanwhile, Syrian security forces continue their offensive against protesters today. There are reports at least 17 people have been killed in today's fighting.
For months, Syria has been the scene of mass demonstrations each Friday after Muslim prayers. Yesterday, the U.S. officially called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down in the wake of his government's brutal crackdown on its citizens.
An update for you today, the head football coach of the University of Miami says his team is moving forward despite a growing scandal surrounding the team. A former booster, now in prison, says he gave away million of dollars' worth of improper gifts, travel and entertainment to athletes on the team during the past decade.
Now, the new coach - Al Golden is his name - says Miami's current team has nothing to do with the allegations and adds the scandal is quote, "going to bring us closer together." Meanwhile, players say their focus is on winning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER HORN, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: We're focused on football. That's all we can focus on. That's all we can control. So (INAUDIBLE) everyday, working hard, you know, busting our butts to be the best team we can be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: The former booster is a one-time Miami businessman who now is serving a 20-year federal prison term for fraud.
And a court has just freed three men convicted of killing three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas 18 years ago. The men, known as the West Memphis Three, have drawn national attention, with celebrities like Johnny Depp, who have rallied for their release.
While the men have maintained their innocence, prosecutors have said the men mutilated the boys, driven by Satanic ritual. DNA evidence has failed to link the men to the crime, and now they will be freed after some complicated legal maneuvering.
We're going to take you live to Arkansas and have much more for you in the next hour.
Also, be sure to watched "Presumed Guilty: Murder in West Memphis," tonight at 11:00, right here on CNN.
Of course, our top stories, we're watching what's going on in the markets very closely today, and that means a lot of you are watching your investments, your life savings, maybe even your job. In a couple of minutes, we'll give you some good tips on protecting your assets. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
Have you taken a peek at your 401(k) or your portfolio lately? Probably not. Many of you are afraid to, and with good reason. Well, of course, we have our eyes on the market, and what all this means for you and your finances.
Let's take a look at the numbers. Now, right now, the Dow is down about 28 points, but it's been up and down all morning, investors still clearly jittery over Europe's debt crisis and the future of our economy. The numbers have been up and down all day today in line with what we've seen in the past few weeks. All of this, a major punch in the gut to many of us - your 401(k)s, retirement, investments, even your job could be at stake.
So let's get down to it. What do you do and how do you ride this volatile market to safety? Let's bring in my friend and financial expert, Valerie Coleman Morris for some advice and some much-needed perspective.
Hey, Valerie. Always great to see you.
So, tell me, every time I talk to one of my friends, they say I am not even going to look at my 401(k) right now. Is this the right approach?
VALERIE COLEMAN MORRIS, FORMER CNN REPORTER AND ANCHOR: I think it's definitely the right approach. There's nothing you can do about it, so I say let's control what you can and try and just ignore that which is not within your control.
You can't control what Washington is doing. You can't control the global economies. What you can do is say this is an opportunity for me, rather than saying I'm so frightened, I'm paralyzed. Being active in a good way is what I suggest, and that does not mean go and shift your money and try and rearrange everything.
I want you to be paralyzed in the sense of not reacting to what's going on, but be positive in the sense of creating a plan. This is an opportunity now for you to renew and recalculate your relationship with your money.
CHO: So is what I'm hearing from you, don't make any major decisions at this point, maybe stay put?
COLEMAN MORRIS: I think you should stay put. Here's the reason. Whenever you make decisions about money under pressure, it's usually a wrong decision.
Let's look at the Warren Buffetts and the billionaires of the world. Warren Buffett always says you sell into a rising market, and you buy into a declining market. So is this not an opportunity?
You see, sometimes people just say here's the negative side of it. And, don't get me wrong, I know people are greatly concerned. They're wondering how this is going to trickle down to them.
But, it's an opportunity for you to say, you know what? I need to buy, if I have a little money on the side. There are some great companies that are available now.
CHO: Valerie, is that what you're doing?
COLEMAN MORRIS: There's also an opportunity -
CHO: Are you buying?
COLEMAN MORRIS: There's also an opportunity for you - yes. Absolutely. But it is from a small list of companies that I've always wanted to buy.
CHO: So what are you -
COLEMAN MORRIS: And so I'm going to keep my eye on them.
CHO: All right. So you - should you be buying blue chips right now? Is - is that a - is that smart bet, if you're going to dip back into the market?
COLEMAN MORRIS: Well, see, the thing is, I am not an analyst. I'm a financial literacy specialist, so I want to talk to your mind and heart. It's not about saying here are the sectors that you should buy, or here are the stocks that you should buy. I want to talk to people about what is their plan? What do they need?
You know, there's such a thing as the rearview mirror approach. My dad always used to say, why do you look in the rearview mirror? So you know where you've come from. What happens if you look in the rearview mirror too long? You wouldn't know what you run into. And he didn't mean an accident. He meant opportunity.
So this is the time now for every single person who's out there, nervous and wondering what's happening with their money, to say do I have a budget? If you don't have a budget, now is the time to get one. Do you have a certified financial planner? If not, now's the time to look for one, so that the next opportunity that presents itself, you'll have a plan rather than reacting, and say maybe I should move my money because something bad could happen.
Making future plans I think is a very, very important thing to do. And, remember, the market is down now, buy if you can. But the main thing is don't look at your portfolio everyday and say now what do I do? It will only make you nervous and will serve no good purpose.
CHO: All right. Always good advice. Valerie Coleman Morris, financial expert, joining us today. Why, Valerie, thank you. Great to see you.
Coming up, recent gridlock between lawmakers in Washington has some calling for a big change in the way we do business. So is it time for America to have a prime minister? That's ahead, in "YOUR MONEY."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Sixteen minutes after the hour.
Gridlock among lawmakers in Washington isn't exactly a new thing. A number of you aren't happy about it, but it's simply passed off as the way Washington works. Well, a new idea presented by Fareed Zakaria in a column on cnn.com suggests that America should maybe think about adopting the parliamentary system used in Great Britain and maybe have a prime minister. He talks about the idea with our very own Ali Velshi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Think of David Cameron. David Cameron is the head of both the legislature and the executive.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
ZAKARIA: He controls both a majority in the legislature and the executive so you can get stuff done. And whether you agree or not, he's been able to do impressive stuff on the U.S. -- on the British budget.
VELSHI: Yes.
ZAKARIA: In our case, we've got a whole bunch of solutions out there which are pretty sensible, middle of the road, a little bit of taxes, a lot of spending cuts, you know, doing it in an efficient way. But we can't get it done because our system has two centers of power. They aren't fused the way the British system is.
VELSHI: So the president and Congress, and Congress, by the way, two sides of it, all -- both claim to have the mandate. ZAKARIA: They both claim to have legitimacy, they both claim to have the mandate, and it's a complicated story, right? The Tea Party says, we won the most recent election.
VELSHI: Right.
ZAKARIA: President Obama says I'm the only guy elected by all the American people. The Democrats say, yes, but we're in control of the Senate. So, whose voice are you going to listen to, because I think actually the system has gotten worse because the ability of minorities to veto has increased. So the filibuster, which is nowhere in the Constitution, it's a rather bizarre invention that the Senate came up with, which allows one senator to hold up business and certainly allows 40 of them to completely veto anything -- that was used once a decade. 1940s, 1950s, 1960s. Once every 10 years.
In 2008, the Republicans used it -- or the threat of it to block 80 percent of major legislation. Senators now routinely put holds on all nominations to an agency because of some obscure thing which has nothing to do with the agency.
VELSHI: Right.
ZAKARIA: They want pork in their district so they --
VELSHI: So they stop this from happening so that that can get done.
ZAKARIA: Now all of that kind of stuff is -- you're putting more and more money -- you know, monkey wrenches in the works because the system allows you to do it. I don't think that's how it was meant to function.
VELSHI: Right.
ZAKARIA: So I would agree with you -- with your guy (ph) if you were to say the constitutional system could work. We don't have the constitutional system. We have the constitutional system plus lots of monkey wrenches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: We want to bring you -- updated on a case that we're following very closely today. Three men convicted in a brutal killing of three second graders in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993 have just been freed after a court hearing. The news conference is scheduled to start in just a moment. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I would just wait. I would wait. That's fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lori (ph) and -- oh, sorry, we're just waiting for the rest of the family.
CHO: All right, it appears that we're still waiting for this to start here. Those are presumably the three men who were charged in the crime. From what our David Mattingly is telling us from Jonesboro, Arkansas, the conviction has not been thrown out, but this release is the result of some sort of deal that has been made in court today. The three men that you're looking at right now are Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin. But this case, obviously, has gotten an enormous amount of national attention with people, celebrities, including the actor Johnny Depp, calling for the men's release.
They -- this crime happened back in 1993 with the slayings of three second graders. It was a brutal, brutal crime. The boy's bodies were mutilated. They were left in a ditch and they were hogtied with their own shoe laces.
But you hear the applause there presumably from the defense team at the news today, the breaking news that just broke in the past half hour, that these three men will be released. We are still waiting for this news conference to start and we will take you there when it does start. But we are monitoring this case very, very closely from Jonesboro, Arkansas.
It is now 20 minutes past the hour. It's time to update our top stories.
Bank of America says it's cutting 3,500 jobs. That's on top of the 2,500 cut earlier in the year. A spokesman for the North Carolina based bank says cuts will be spread throughout the company and occur internationally. An outside analysts says Bank of America is selling off parts of its business, including credit card and life insurance portfolios, to comply with international banking rules.
Forty-five thousand striking Verizon workers are being told they will lose their medical benefits if they don't stop striking by the end of the month. The union calls it a scare tactic. It says it will help pay for health care if Verizon doesn't. Verizon workers have been striking for the past two weeks as the company asks union workers for concessions in pensions and health care coverage.
And here's an indication of just how desperate so many people are at finding a job. About 20 of the thousands who flocked to a jobs fair right here in Atlanta apparently were treated for heat exposure after standing in line in 90-degree heat. About 80 employers were on hand at the day long event yesterday. It was hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.
Well, you've heard that changing your diet can change your life, but can changing your diet make you heart attack proof? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join me with more on this after the break.
And "Money" magazine is out with its list of best places to live with less than 50,000 residents. If you think about it, most of America lives in these small towns and cities. We'll have a look at one of those towns that made the top 10 right after the break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): It's a place with killer views of Puget Sound and is in good economic shape. We'll visit a town that's easy on the eyes and wallet after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): What town's on the economic upswing? Mukilteo, Washington. Its economy is growing since nearby Boeing is hiring. Located on the Puget Sound, the spectacular views and affordable homes draw people to this Seattle suburb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The standard of living here is great. There are wonderful opportunities both with employment, some really great schools. It's very family friendly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new community center opened earlier this year. And the historic Lighthouse Park is a great place to get the Pacific northwest experience. Mukilteo, Washington, is number nine on "Money" magazine's list of the best place to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Oh, Washington state. My home state.
Welcome back, everybody. CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has spent more than a year looking into heart disease for his upcoming documentary, "The Last Heart Attack." Sanjay joins me now in Atlanta.
And I was -- I was fascinated to learn this. I did not know that heart disease ran in your family.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it does.
CHO: This holds special meaning for you.
GUPTA: Yes, it was a bit of a personal journey as well. And, you know, one of the things I heard early on when investigating this was, is it possible to make yourself essentially heart attack proof? To get some sort of guarantee that you're not going to have a heart attack. And a lot of it has to do with things that you might expect. But some things were very surprising to me as well.
This is the position, incidentally that former President Clinton, as you well know, Alina, found himself in back in 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: For a few months before this happened, I noticed whenever -- not every time, but often when I would do rather strenuous exercises, there are some really hilly areas I the town where I would (INAUDIBLE). We I'd climb those hills and I had to stop and take a breath. I didn't take it seriously because every time it happens, I just lowered the exercise level, got my breath back, and it was never painful, it was just tight.
CLINTON: If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is.
GUPTA: By the time he felt the first symptoms, that tightness in his chest, President Clinton's heart disease was well advanced. It had been decades in the making.
DR. ARTHUR AGATSTON, AUTHOR, "SOUTH BEACH DIET": You don't die with your first plaque. You develop arthrosclerosis blockages really your whole life for many, many years before it causes a heart attack or a stroke.
GUPTA: And what Doctor Agatston told me next should ring a bell of hope for just about anyone who has ever worried about a heart attack. It doesn't have to happen.
AGATSTON: One of the best kept secrets in the country in medicine is that doctors who are practicing aggressive prevention are really seeing heart attacks and strokes disappear from their practices. It's doable.
GUPTA (on camera): And you're saying we, with what we know right now, we don't have to have any more heart attacks in this country?
AGATSTON: I'll not say not any, but the great majority, yes, absolutely.
GUPTA: It's the biggest killer of men and women, heart disease, in this country?
AGATSTON: And it's completely preventable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Those are obviously some pretty, you know, bold claims by Doctor Agatston. But there's a lot of people who agree with him as well, sort of believing, Alina, that this essentially a food-borne illness.
CHO: Well, what's interesting is when I asked you in the break beforehand, you know, does this have any teeth? You said, yes, I believe it does. It's extraordinary if it's true, right?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, in medical school we always learned that you develop plaque in your blood vessels and it's there to say. The best bet is you can keep it from progressing and getting worse. But the idea of reversing it, that wasn't going to happen.
What I've seen now from these doctors and their studies is that, in fact, it can be reversed. And again, not added meds, not adding procedures, not doing surgery, just lifestyle changes.
CHO: Unbelievable. But what does that say for the hundreds of thousands of people who die of sudden heart attack each year, because that happens. So what does it say about risk factors? GUPTA: Yes, that's a great question. And I think, you know, what we think about conventional risk factors, that guy is at high risk for a heart attack because of the way he looks, because of his, you know, his cholesterol numbers, all that, that's -- some of that just may be incomplete information. There is so much more that we know nowadays.
For example, not just your cholesterol, but the -- the size of the particles of your cholesterol can make a huge difference. Who asks about that? Very few doctors.
CHO: Right.
GUPTA: So there's messages in here for patients and doctors alike. I think this is going to change a lot of things.
CHO: So this also means you've got to watch your patients a lot more closely too, right?
GUPTA: I definitely have to watch my patients. But, you know, the essentially told me that at least for the next several years, I'm heart attack proof, which is exactly what I wanted to hear and get out of this. But it takes a little bit of work but, you know, what a great exchange.
CHO: That's music to your ears.
GUPTA: Absolutely. I get to be around a lot longer with you.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: It's that vegan lifestyle.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Sanjay Gupta, as always, great to see you.
And be sure and tune in to CNN this weekend, "DR. SANJAY GUPTA REPORTS: The Last Heart Attack," this Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Sanjay talks to doctors on the cutting edge of heart disease prevention, including a former surgeon who came up with that radical diet. He says anyone can make anyone heart-attack-proof in just a month. Don't miss it.
Stick around for this. A goodwill basketball game in China goes bad in a big way. We have got the unbelievable video next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: It's about half past the hour.
Here is a look at the headlines and other news you may have missed today.
A look at the Big Board right now at the New York Stock Exchange shows that the Dow is down about 37.5 points, still below that key benchmark of 11000, but not seeing the market gyrations that we have seen in the past week or so, certainly. Up and down today, though, after yesterday's big sell-off, the Dow up and down, as I mentioned, as investors focus on Europe's debt crisis, another concern.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is taking his presidential campaign back to South Carolina today. He began the day with a meet-and-greet breakfast in Florence, before heading to Columbia. You will recall that Perry announced his presidential bid last Saturday at a RedState.com political conference in Charleston.
A breaking story we're following this hour: three men convicted of murdering three boys brutally in Arkansas back in 1993 have just been freed and are talking to the media right now. You're looking live from Jonesboro, Arkansas. After some complicated legal maneuvering, the group known as the West Memphis Three pleaded guilty and they were sentenced to 18 years with credit for time served.
Critics of the prosecution argued that no direct evidence tied the men to the murders.
Let's listen in right now to this news conference from Arkansas.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Either you say you didn't or you (OFF-MIKE) You take the regular plea.
But this deal, they took, and they took it because they wanted finality. I think they wanted it as much as we wanted Damien off death row. There is no doubt on this side of the courtrooms that these guys are innocent, none, none whatsoever.
And as strongly as they may think their convictions are valid, we think they are invalid. And history will judge that. And you made some of the history, Joe (ph), so thank you.
QUESTION: Do all of you have to stay in Arkansas?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No travel restrictions.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) what is the first thing that you are going to do now that you're free after 18 years?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rest. Every since we found out about this, I have not slept. I have not slept for about four days now, and I am just completely and absolutely exhausted.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) you have been fighting, and you single- handedly helped get (OFF-MIKE) accomplished. Tell me how your reaction today. How do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I would not say single-handedly.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But -- well, I am just thrilled with the results, that we have these three men out, and I have this man that I love very much. So, I'm thrilled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, Jason is not used to this. He is ready to go. So Jason and I are going to excuse ourselves.
Thank you all very much. Jason wants to send his greatest regards to my co-counsel, John Philipsborn in San Francisco.
CHO: We're watching this story very closely from Jonesboro, Arkansas, the West Memphis Three. Three men accused of brutally murdering three second graders back in 1993 have been freed. We are monitoring the story very closely, and we will have much more throughout the hour.
Also, be sure to watch "Presumed Guilty: Murder in West Memphis." That's tonight at 11:00 right here on CNN.
Want to take a look at this building right here, if we could show it. There it is. It looks like any other building in Brooklyn, New York, right? Well, it's the 81st Precinct. And history is being made right here as we speak. We will fill you in next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. Before we went to break, I showed you a picture of a building.
And we want to take a look at it again now. There it is. Now, that's the 81st Precinct building in Brooklyn, New York. And for the first time in the 166-year history in the New York Police Department, two African-American women are the top cops of this precinct.
And joining me now to talk about this from New York, my hometown, is Deputy Inspector Vanessa -- Juanita, rather, Holmes, promoted about a year ago, and Captain Vanessa Kight, who got her promotion in just the past month.
Ladies, thank you so much for joining me today. It's great to see you.
Deputy Inspector Holmes, I want to begin with you since you are officially the top cop in the precinct. So, what is the first thing that came to your mind when you found out that your colleague Vanessa Kight would be your second in command? Did you even know that you were making history?
DEPUTY INSPECTOR JUANITA HOLMES, NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: No. I had idea that I was making history.
I had inquired about Captain Kight because of her experience and also because of her ability to command and to assist me in running the precinct. And it was not until I received a call from DCPI that they informed us that we were actually making history. And especially 166 years, it just never crossed my mind. I just wanted someone that was capable of doing the job with me, had the same goals and aspirations as far as commanding the command. And I thought Vanessa was that person.
CHO: I have to say that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has said "The fact that they are both African-American women is coincidental, to the extent that the NYPD has a deep bench when it comes to diversity and talent."
And there you go. So, you got the job on your merits.
So, Captain Kight, tell me, when you got the job, what was your first reaction?
CAPTAIN VANESSA KIGHT, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: I was happy to go over to the 81st Precinct, but at the time I did not really think too much about it. They just gave me the assignment and said you will go over to the 81st Precinct and work for Inspector Holmes, so I was delighted about that. And I'm looking forward to working with her.
CHO: So, Juanita Holmes, tell me, how has your precinct responded to the news? I am sure you have gotten a lot of kudos from people there on the streets?
HOLMES: Oh, absolutely. The community was ecstatic.
When the article first broke in "The Daily News," I received several calls, in addition to people just coming by in the lobby congratulating us. I think they thought it was a promotion, more so than the fact that we were making history. But the community was very, very happy, very welcoming.
CHO: And, Juanita, I know that you grew up around the corner from the 81st Precinct. You come from a family of police officers. Four sisters and a brother are on the force. So, was there ever a doubt that you would follow in their footsteps?
HOLMES: Actually, I have one sister that actually came on the job before me, so they are probably going to follow in my footsteps.
CHO: Ah, I got it.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: But, yes, I do have a huge amount of family members that are on the job.
CHO: And, Captain Kight, tell me, how did you get interested in being on the police force? because when you look at the numbers, it says Here women comprise Just 17 percent of uniformed officers in the NYPD. That's less than one in five.
So what made you get interested in pursuing this as a career? KIGHT: My original intentions, my life's aspirations when I was younger was to be a teacher. When I was graduating from college, at that time, there was -- the city was laying off teachers. There were not teachers' jobs.
So I decided I needed to do something else. I saw it advertised. I said, oh, sounds interesting. So, I said, OK, I will give it a shot, and no complaints at all. It has been fantastic and a wonderful career for me.
CHO: And look at you now.
Officers Juanita Holmes and Vanessa Kight making history at the NYPD and in New York City and in the nation, thank you so much for joining us live today.
HOLMES: Thank you.
KIGHT: Thank you.
CHO: We want you to look closely. Take a look at this. A goodwill basketball game in China goes bad in a very big way. Ouch. We will have that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Forty-three minutes after the hour.
Deadly attacks in Afghanistan today, the latest target, the British Council in the capital of Kabul. At least eight people were killed, 16 more wounded.
David Ariosto is live in Kabul now with the latest.
So, David, what happened?
DAVID ARIOSTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in what has really become sort of the hallmark of Taliban-style attacks, at least five militants basically drove towards this British Council.
One of them driving in a vehicle detonated -- detonated a truck. Basically, it was a truck laden with explosives, allowing the other four in a separate vehicle to enter the compound.
Now, these four individuals, according to police and other sources that we have spoken to, also were wearing suicide vests and were very heavy armed. They engaged in gun battles with security forces and police, held up in sort of a strong room within -- inside one of the compound's buildings.
Now, we headed down there during this time. And you could hear gunshots and explosions throughout the day, billowing smoke that basically just presided sort of over the compound itself. But toward the end of the day, eight people lay dead, including one special forces service member from New Zealand. CHO: David, you have been in the area for quite some time now. Have you have noticed THAT things have gotten worse in the past few weeks? Because it seems like we're hearing more and more about attacks.
ARIOSTO: You know, that spring offensive that the Taliban announced back in May seems to have turned into a summer one as we're seeing a ratcheting-up of some of these high-profile attacks across the region. Now, typically, those strong holds or those heartlands have been the southeast. These were the areas predominantly where that 33,000 U.S. surge was supposed to take care of, and they largely have to some extent.
But individuals that we have spoken to, be it U.S. military officials or simply strategists here say the Taliban are simply playing to their strengths. They can't really contend with U.S. forces on the front line battlefields, but there really is not much of a front line here in Afghanistan. So we've been seeing some targeting of high-profile officers. Karzai allies and even Western targets.
Back in June, in an area very near where the attack happened today, we saw a similar insurgent-style attack on the Intercontinental Hotel. So, all of this taking place, of course, taking place amid this NATO drawdown, a transition underway. So, a critical moment here in recent Afghan history.
CHO: David Ariosto live for us in Kabul. David, thank you for that update.
Checking our top stories now. Following the U.S.'s lead, European nations are considering imposing stiff economic sanctions on Syria. Syrian security forces continue their offensive against protesters today. Reports at least 22 people have been killed in today's fighting alone. For months, Syria has been the scene of mass demonstrations each Friday after Muslim prayers. Yesterday, the U.S. officially called on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Indian activist Anaz Hazare is free from jail and on an anti- corruption hunger strike. Crowds cheered as Hazare left a prison in New Zeli - New Delhi, rather. The 74-year-old is seeking stronger anti-corruption measures in India. Supporters say he will continue a fast he began in jail to carry out what he calls, quote, "India's second fight for independence." Indian leaders say Hazare's demands undermine democracy.
A scene eerily similar to what happened at the Indiana state fair just last weekend when a sudden wind gust collapsed a concert stage. Now this time, it happened in Belgium. A stage collapsed there last night during a violent storm at one of Europe's largest music festivals. Apparently five people were killed and 50 more were injured. The storm struck just hours after the concert began. Belgium authorities are now investigating.
And here is something you don't see every day. A melee on the basketball court in China. With about ten minutes left, a would-be goodwill game between a Chinese military team and Georgetown University went really, really bad. Here is some amateur video that shows you what happened. A Chinese player pushing a Georgetown player, then the teams get involved and chairs are flying, as you can see. Reports say the exhibition game between the Chinese and the Americans had been pretty physical from the start. I'll say.
Up next, why one of the world's largest tech companies have decided to get out of the PC business. Does the iPad have anything to do with it? Don't go anywhere. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest tech company by annual revenues says it's seeking to sell off its PC division. This is big news. HP is also taking the hatchet to the latest product that was launched just last month. That would be the Touch Pad tablet. Wasn't going well at all.
CNN's Dan Simon joining me live from San Francisco to tell us all about this. So, Dan, does this have anything to do with something called the iPad?
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the iPad has really, you know, destroyed all the competitors and HP is just the latest victim. This is a situation -- I was trying to compare it to something that you make the most expensive Hollywood movie in history and then it completely flops. No one comes to the theaters.
Well, that's what happened with HP and its Touch Pad. It bought Palm a couple of years ago for $1.2 billion. It took its operating system from the Palm called Web OS. It made a smartphone and a tablet. We were there when they unveiled this thing a few months ago. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON RUBENSTEIN, HEWLETT-PACKARD: This is the HP Touch Pad.
(APPLAUSE)
RUBENSTEIN: The Touch Pad is all about you. How you want to work, how you want to play and how you want to connect to the things you value the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Well, no one wanted to connect. Everyone liked this product except the public really got lackluster reviews as well. And one of the big problems, you know, for HP is when they made this thing, there were only 300 apps available for the HP TouchPad. And then you compare that to the iPad. They have 90,000 apps. So, they just really couldn't compete. And HP saw the writing on the wall and pulled the plug on this project just two months after its launch, Alina.
CHO: Dan, it's really incredible. They spent millions and millions of dollars on this product. It looks exactly like the iPad from far away. You know, HP is really taking a hit. It's the biggest drag on the Dow today. Stock is down about 20 percent.
And this is on the news that it's thinking about selling off its PC division. What are you hearing about that?
SIMON: You know, that's really stunning. Because HP is the largest computer maker in the world. I mean, they beat Dell when it comes to making computers. And suddenly, they're saying they don't want to be in the computer business anymore.
The reason is the margins when it comes to computers are so razor-thin. HP not making a ton of money on its PC line. So, the thinking is that they'll spin off their computer division entirely and then try to get more into the enterprise business. Try to compete with IBM for some of that enterprise software where the margins are better and they can make more money, frankly.
CHO: The world is changing in that world, all because of Apple. Dan Simon live for us from San Francisco. Dan, thank you very much.
Coming up, Governor Rick Perry hasn't been in the race for president very long, but his opponents, well, they're not wasting time going after him. I'm going to tell you about a new feud he's involved in after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Just four minutes before the top of the hour. It's time now for a CNN political update. And for that, we go to Paul Steinhauser, who joins me from the political desk in Washington. So, Paul, John Huntsman and Rick Perry are in a feud over global warming. Say it isn't so.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I guess you could say the story is definitely heating up. And it started earlier this week when Rick Perry, the Texas governor, jumped into the race for the White House over the weekend. He was in New Hampshire and asked a question about global warming at a political forum. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think from my perspective that I want America to be engaged in spending that much money on still a scientific theory that has not been proven. And from my perspective, is more and more being put into question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Well, about 24 hours ago, that elicited a response from John Huntsman. Remember him, the former Utah governor, former U.S. ambassador to China. He's also running for the White House. Not getting nearly as much attention lately, I think it's fair to say, as Rick Perry. Here's what he tweeted. "To be clear, I believe in evolution and trusts scientists on global warming," Period. New sentence. "Call me crazy." Interesting.
You normally don't hear that from a candidate going after another candidate. That's something more the campaigns would do. But we'll see what happens next on this one.
CHO: Hey, we're all on Twitter these days. What are you going to do?
You know, Paul, I have to ask you, though, with all this talk about global warming, do any of us really care? I mean, a lot of people are worried, frankly, about the economy and their jobs.
STEINAHAUER: A fair point. The economy, by far the number one issue with Americans. And global warming, climate change much, much, much further down the list.
But take a look at this. Our most recent poll, we asked back in December what Americans think about global warming. Do they believe it's real or not? And you can see by a more than two-to-one margin, yes they do.
But if you go to the next number, you can Democrats a lot more than Republicans believe in global warming. And that it's man made or generated by mankind. So maybe in a Republican primary, this issue could be - I'm not going to say it's going to work to Perry's advantage or Huntsman's. Let's stay tuned and see how this one plays out, Randi (sic).
CHO: I want to talk very quickly about the president beginning a 10-day vacation on Martha's Vineyard. Of course, he's taking some heat from that from his critics, the Republicans. Tell us what he's up to today.
STEINHAUSER: The president, of course, in Martha's Vineyard. Doing a little work, definitely working on that jobs program that he's going to come out with after Labor Day. Dan Lothian did some really good reporting up there.
And as you mentioned, yes, a lot of the Republican presidential candidates are criticizing him for taking a vacation. But I guess they're supposed to, right, because they're running to try to oust him from office. They won't say anything good about him. You heard Mitt Romney twice this week speak out about that vacation that the president is taking to Martha's Vineyard, Randi (sic).
CHO: Of course, the White House spokesman is calling it a working vacation and said he's going to spend time with his family to quote, "recharge his batteries." So, there you go.
All right. Paul Steinhauser with that political update from Washington. Paul, as always, thank you very much. Great to see you.
