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Stanley Cup Dented; Obama's Plan to Create Jobs; Weaker Jobs Gains in August; Homes Cut in Half in Connecticut; Flood Waters Rising in New Jersey; Passaic River Hits Record Levels; 14 Structures, 600 Acres Burn in Oklahoma City; Wildfires Destroy 25 Homes; Choppers to Dump Water on Marsh Fire; New Wildfire in Possum Kingdom; Two Injured in Crane Collapse; Daryl Hannah Arrested Outside White House; Tiger: "I Haven't Played Too Well"; Kardashian Sex Tape Offer; Bravo Airing Special "Housewives"; Artist's Rendition of Beyonce's Baby; American Woman Missing In Aruba; Baby Turtles Survive Hurricane; Students With Saggy Pants Given Belts

Aired August 31, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with news on the economy and jobs, President Barack Obama finalizing a plan to put more Americans to work and we have some early details now.

The package is expected to be unveiled next week. It is likely to include tax breaks for employers making new hires and for the employees, an extension of the payroll tax.

Right now it's due to expire at the end of the year. The jobs plan could also provide new training for Americans who have dealt with long-term unemployment.

Let's go right now to the White House for more on this, Brianna Keilar, the whole focus in Washington is not spending new money. So how realistic is the president's plan?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's really that sentiment, Fred, that makes this so tough, especially one of the ideas that we're hearing about would be extending a payroll tax cut that's currently in effect.

It would expire at the end of the year and also the idea of extending it to employers because right now it's employees who are getting that tax cut so also extending it to employers so they could save money and the idea maybe put that money towards jobs.

It's a very tough environment certainly when that could add to the deficit and you have Republicans already voicing early opposition because of that, and on the flipside you have Democrats saying Republicans are trying to stymie the president at every turn.

On the other side, you have this idea of infrastructure spending. The White House has been pushing for some time. You would expect this to be part of the president's job proposal when he unveils it next week.

That's something certainly that at this point Republicans are very opposed to, that infusion of federal dollars for infrastructure spending. Fred --

WHITFIELD: OK, meantime the president's going to be in the Rose Garden just about 30 or so minutes from now. What's that going to be all about?

KEILAR: So you talk to the White House, they'll say this is him pushing for what's called a clean extension of the FAA bill and the transportation bill. What does that mean?

Well, these are bills that are set to expire here in September, and the president is trying to head off sort of a legislative gridlock that we see so many times over so many different issues.

And I have to tell you the White House is very much making this about jobs, as I walked into the White House I ran into some of the construction workers who are going to be taking part in this construction jobs. The White House will argue are certainly at risk if these bills are not extended.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brianna Keilar thanks so much from the White House. And of course, you want to stay with us, live coverage of the president's Rose Garden event. That's scheduled for the bottom of the hour, 10:35 Eastern Time.

And this morning, there are some new job numbers to crunch for both economists and investors, and they may set the stage for even bigger news later on in the week. Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange to explain all of this. Felicia, you know, what are today's numbers, what do they mean?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the numbers came in a little bit less than expected, but nevertheless, I mean, it was a positive because 91,000 private sector jobs were added in August.

It's not enough to bring down the unemployment rate so that's the bad news. We did learn from the fed minutes yesterday that unemployment is, the unemployment rate is likely to stay high through the end of next year.

ADP does say that the economy has been adding jobs for 20 consecutive months, but the problem is that it's just not at a quick enough pace. Earlier, we had monthly job gains of about 200,000 in the year.

Now we're seeing numbers that are half that so it's going in the wrong direction and importantly when you take a look at some of these numbers you want to look at different sectors and in particular the manufacturing sector is slowing down.

Moving lost about 4,000 jobs in August. So it's just the numbers aren't gaining enough pace to really make a difference in that unemployment rate.

And unfortunately, it's going to pretty much, expectations are it's going to stay that way. But we've got a big number coming on Friday, and that's the more important one as opposed to the ADP report that we've got today. Fredricka --

WHITFIELD: We'll look for that. Thanks so much, Felicia Taylor.

All right, now let's turn to the aftermath of Irene, the floodwaters are receding, but the storm's misery surely is not. Four days after the hurricane first churned up the east coast, more than two and a half million homes and businesses are still without power.

The death toll has risen to at least 43. Thousands of people have evacuated from flooded neighborhoods and communities yet flood advisories are still in place for portions of seven states.

All right, so now let's go to Connecticut shoreline, where waterfront dream homes are now reduced to rubble. Alina Cho is in the Cozy Beach section of East Haven.

So Alina, just looking at the portions of the houses behind you, really do kind of indicate how extensive and bad this was.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, good morning to you. You're absolutely right. This home behind me is sitting at about a 45-degree angle if that's any indication.

You know, really all you have to do is take a walk along this stretch of beach here in East Haven, Connecticut, and you'll find nearly every home has either been damaged or destroyed.

It's just an awful situation. Three days after Hurricane Irene, many of the residents are just getting a first look at the damage and it's not pretty. So many homes simply wiped out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DINO BRAINERD, COSEY BEACH RESIDENT: The whole first floor is gone. This was the second floor actually.

CHO: This is the second floor?

BRAINERD: This is the second floor.

CHO (voice-over): The living room, kitchen, rooms that were once one floor up in Dino Brainerd's home are now hugging the beach at ground level. Homes sheered in half by what many here call the perfect storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's eerie. You come back and it's almost like it's so surreal.

CHO: Like this scene, people enjoying their summer, just feet away from total devastation. (on camera): These are the pillars on which the homes were built to protect them. This is what's left after Irene. One resident told me it's as if someone picked up their home, threw it and stomped on it. All of the homes here flattened and reduced to rubble.

MAYOR APRIL CAPONE, EAST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT: We believe that we have 25 homes that are a total loss and maybe another 20 that are uninhabitable.

CHO (voice-over): Adding to the heartbreak, Cosey Beach is tight it and many families have owned their homes for generations like Jim Delucia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did get a little water in here. That's very unusual.

CHO: Sixty five of his 70 summers have been spent here. Delucia says with all the beach erosion over the years, owning a home on this stretch of beach is like playing Russian roulette.

JIM DELUCIA, COSEY BEACH RESIDENT: It wasn't a question of if. It was a question of when.

CHO: Life-long Resident Roberta Sabo ignored the mandatory evacuation order.

(on camera): What did you see?

ROBERTA SABO, COSEY BEACH RESIDENT: I saw the house coming down. I saw this, this coming down and at me.

CHO (voice-over): Her home was spared. But for Dino Brainerd and his family, there's little to salvage. Yet, for him, leaving the area is not an option.

BRAINERD: I would not let this stop me from coming back.

CHO (on camera): When you hear the name Irene now?

BRAINERD: I won't be naming any of my daughters or pets Irene.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: That's for sure. Some of the homes like this one you see here being described as toppled dollhouses, others were quite simply sliced in half.

The good news, if there is any here, is that the mayor says there were no fatalities and no injuries, and that's largely because most, not all, but most of the residents did heed the warnings, they did get out prior to the storm.

Now as for the power situation, not so good right now. Nearly a half million people in Connecticut are still without power. Fredricka, 15,000 right here in East Haven and when I asked the mayor when do you think they're going to turn the power back on? She said that's a very good question. I have no idea.

WHITFIELD: Boy, and so do most of the people there have the right kind of insurance or will most be relying on federal assistance?

CHO: Well, a little of both, Fred, to be perfectly honest with you. Most of the residents I spoke to do have insurance. Listen, there's been 40 to 50 feet of beach erosion over the past couple of decades and so some of the residents do say it was a matter of when, not if in terms of something like this happening.

What is most interesting to me, however, is that many of the residents I spoke to say that they do plan to rebuild, and they do plan to go back. That's just how much they love this beautiful area.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alina Cho thanks so much, East Haven, Connecticut.

So one of the other towns hard hit is Little Falls, New Jersey, along the Passaic River. Chris Knowles is there with the latest. So, Chris, this is the worst flooding they've seen there in a century. Any signs of improvement?

CHRIS KNOWLES, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not quite yet, Fredricka. I want to take a look if we will the river behind us. This is the Passaic. The worst they've seen as you've said in a century, 1903 the last time a hurricane made landfall in New Jersey.

The inland waterways, the inland like the Passaic, all nine in this area of New Jersey have shattered records in terms of flood stages. This particular one is about double what the major flood stage is, and it will not recede entirely into this weekend.

We have 1,300 people who have been evacuated from their homes in the area. Now, we have some video of some water rescues that took place. This is a town pretty near here, Patterson, New Jersey, for the past 24 hours they've sent out boats to get these people from their homes.

The mayor there and the fire chief telling us that it's been an around the clock situation, every time they get a phone call they're back out with the boats. So with this river not receding any time soon and none of the others until perhaps Friday, we may see more of these water rescues.

Now, when power is restored, they can get back into their homes. They have to pump those homes out and they're kind of afraid of what they're going to see once they return there.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Chris Knowles, appreciate that.

So we're also keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Katia. Just as we were getting used to the name Irene, now it's a new name we've got to get used to. Rob Marciano in the weather center.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we pretty much skipped right over Jose, which was a very short lived storm. We might have one other besides Katia before the week is out, but let's start with Katia first.

About 1,000 miles east of the Leeward Islands, but it's gathering strength. Right now, the winds are 65 miles an hour so it's almost a hurricane moving rapidly off towards the west-northwest at 20 miles an hour.

Here is the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center. There you see the Caribbean here. It's going to go north of the Caribbean, hopefully it pops a little bit further to the north, but Category 1 by tomorrow, Category 2 by Saturday and Category 3 by Sunday heading in the general direction of the United States.

But even by the time Monday rolls around, we're still a good 800 miles or so from the U.S., and many of our models right now are wanting to recurve this thing and keep it a fish storm, it would be great.

Of course, Bermuda not thrilled about that prospect. We can't give the U.S. the all clear just yet. Give us a couple for that, Katia still a threat, but more immediate threat the next few days and over the weekend is this system, very close to home, in the Caribbean.

This is just a tropical wave that will drift off into the Gulf of Mexico and as it does so, gets in here, some of our models take it into Texas, we would take that. It could use the rain in Texas and if it does that, it will be a weak one.

But some of our models let it sit out there and kind of crank up and the longer it sits and spins the better chance it has to intensify into something else and then our models kind of take it in the general direction towards the Florida coastline.

But still way too early to tell what's going to happen with this thing, Fredricka, but it looks like it will be a threat to the U.S. maybe over the weekend or the beginning part of next week. How strong it is, we'll just have to wait and see. We'll keep you posted.

WHITFIELD: All right, we know you'll be watching. Thanks so much, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, a trio of wildfires is keeping the firefighters in three states very busy. Oklahoma City yesterday, this wildfire ignited and burned more than a dozen homes and 600 acres in a matter of hours. Firefighters say drought conditions and strong winds are helping fuel the flames there. Several hundred homes had to be evacuated, in fact.

In Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, more evacuations after a fast moving wildfire burned at least two dozen homes there yesterday and threatens another 125.

And a state of emergency is declared in New Orleans as well because of a nearby marsh fire. Today, National Guard helicopters will dump water on the fire. The smoky haze the real issue for people suffering with asthma and other respiratory conditions.

So for more on the fire fight going on in Possum Kingdom Lake Texas, April Saginor from the state's forestry service joins us on the phone. So give me an idea how you're able to tackle this blaze. What are the challenges?

APRIL SAGINOR, TEXAS FOREST SERVICES (via telephone): Well, good morning, we have a lot of resources on the fire this morning. We've got single engine air tankers, heavy helicopters, and six winged aircraft. We've got some heavy tankers on order and then we've got National Guard dozers that are trying to draw a line around the fire to keep it from spreading.

And we've got a few task forces and of course, local fire department apparatus are out there. So we're putting a lot of manpower on this fire and really trying to take advantage of this time in the morning when the relative humidity is about 40 percent, and we've got lighter winds and really trying to make some progress and protect some of the homes.

WHITFIELD: And lots of people, lots of properties being threatened, how are you making sure that people are making the right decisions and not trying to stay with their homes but evacuate?

SAGINOR: We're just really encouraging everyone to stay tuned to the news, stay tuned to our social media sites and information we're putting out because a little wind shift can carry this fire pretty rapidly.

You mentioned yesterday it went from a couple hundred acres to 3,500 in a matter of a few hours so certainly anyone living close to that area ought to be paying attention to this.

WHITFIELD: All right, April Saginor, thanks so much with the Texas Forest Service, all the best in your efforts.

SAGINOR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still stuck on a losing streak, Tiger Woods talks about his keys to victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PGA GOLFER: It's just a matter of me getting the reps in now, just hitting thousands of balls and obviously playing competitive rounds and building the confidence and eventually winning golf tournaments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: One on one with Tiger Woods next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Checking stories cross country now, authorities in Sacramento, California say two maintenance workers were injured when a crane collapsed at the a local amusement park Tuesday. One of the workers suffered a broken arm and leg.

And actress Daryl Hannah was one of the protesters arrested yesterday outside the White House. Hannah was participating in a sit-in against an oil pipeline expansion project.

The Tiger Woods that we have seen this year has not been the Tiger Woods we all know. First of all, we haven't seen Tiger play as much because of injuries and when he has played, he hasn't played like the Tiger we know.

Such as failing to make the cut at this month's PGA championship, but Tiger is not hiding. I talked to him this morning about his plans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I know you just committed to playing in California coming up in October and also you're committed to playing in Asia and Australia. You know, Fred Couples just recently still said you are the best in the world and you'll be on the president's cup team.

But you weren't for a bit and you weren't a shoo-in like in times past. So, you know, has that been kind of nerve-racking and unfamiliar territory for you to be in that position that you were needed to be picked to be put on that team?

WOODS: Yes, well, unfortunately, I haven't played too much and when I did play I haven't played too well. I think the best finish I've had is at the masters this year, but other than that, I really haven't played a lot.

I've played eight tournaments this year so it's been a little frustrating dealing with injuries and try to battle back and battle through and I'm very thankful for Fred in his pick. I'm doing everything I can to be ready and contribute to the team.

But you know, I can't do that unless I'm healthy and I'm finally healthy to be able to that and start back playing again and that's one of the reason why I've committed to the Balsey Open and to the president's cup.

WHITFIELD: Is that part of your kind of coming back or trying to, you know, feel comfortable again. You know, kind of reaching back into your roots, being back in familiar territory, geographically or reconnecting with old friends. How important is that in kind of your physical rehab as well as just feeling the groove again in golf?

WOODS: Well, one of the things that I told our commissioner Tim Fincham I wanted to play in different events. I committed to him that I wasn't going to play in events I haven't played historically in the past. And obviously, this is what I hadn't played in the past. So for me this is exciting. It's good to get out there and play in again. Good to be healthy again. I'm looking to find the prize.

WHITFIELD: So you are healthy again. You feel like your Achilles, your knee injury is behind you now?

WOODS: Yes, it is. But it's a matter of me getting the reps in now. Just hitting thousands of balls, and obviously playing competitive rounds and building the confidence and you know, eventually winning golf tournaments.

WHITFIELD: And what do you look forward to coming up, what are the tournaments you've got your eyes on the prize? I mentioned some of those coming up in the next couple of months.

WOODS: Right.

WHITFIELD: But, you know, long-term what do you focus on?

WOODS: Well, as of right now I'm playing the Fryes, Ozzie Open and I'm playing the president's cup and the obviously, Chevrolet World Challenge. But as far as next year, obviously, it's major championships. It's being ready to play that, play those four events, and peaking and being ready for those events.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Tiger Woods about to play in Verona, New York. Making himself available this morning before he tees off.

All right, Beyonce, she just made the announcement a few days ago and already a forensic artist has envisioned what her baby with Jay-Z just may look like. We'll show you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, someone wants to erase Kim Kardashian's videotaped past, reports about a "Real Housewives" special and the first Beyonce baby picture, kind of, sort of.

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer has your entertainment headlines. So someone's trying to buy all of the copies of Kim Kardashian's infamous home video, why?

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes, it's a big mystery at the moment, Fred. All we've learned so far is an anonymous bidder is trying to buy the rights to Kim Kardashian's sex tape apparently take it off the market.

A national attorney has confirmed to CNN that he sent a letter to Vivid Entertainment on Monday asking to start negotiations for the sex tape sale, but he won't reveal exactly who his client is.

Now this is the sex tape with Kardashian and RNB singer Ray Jay that somehow wound up in the hands of Vivid Entertainment, which released it to the public four years ago. The tape is really what turned Kardashian into a celebrity. It's really what led to her reality show career.

Kardashian did sue Vivid when the tape went public, but according to the head of Vivid that legal battle ended with a monetary settlement with Kardashian sharing in the profits of her own sex tape.

There were the reports that on the weekend of Kim's big wedding, just a week and a half ago, Fred, there was a huge spike in traffic on the sex tape's web site. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if Kim or someone close to her just wants that thing gone.

And reportedly that's going to take about 30 million bucks. But you know what? She has it somewhere and friends of hers had it somewhere.

WHITFIELD: She made almost that from the wedding. That's awkward.

All right, so now, after Russell Armstrong's suicide, we're hearing the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" actually may do a separate special show incorporating that experience?

HAMMER: Well, we're finding out more about it. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" reached out to Bravo. We wanted to find out what was going on with "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Just a little while ago, we got an answer from them.

They're shooting down reports of a special episode that had been rumored. Let me read to you what they told us, "Bravo will proceed with the September 5 premiere date of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" given that the episodes were filmed months ago.

The producers taped a brief interview this week with several of the cast members to introduce the premiere. Reediting of the episodes is still underway. So, Fred, I am sure they are proceeding over there Bravo with a great deal of caution obviously. They have a lot at stake here.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. We move on to this now. So you think an FBI forensic artist would be busy with bad guys or something, but it seems one's got a Beyonce/Jay-Z kind of obsession. Explain.

HAMMER: Yes, this is unbelievable. There's amazing interest right now in Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby to be and will be for the next many months. This artist has an idea of what this baby will look like.

Dr. D. Lynn Waldron thinks if it's a boy, it's going to have Jay-Z's features with his mother's eyes looking something like this. Now, Waldron has done work showing how people age for the FBI, for "People" magazine. In fact, even for CNN.

I don't think, Fred, we need this to tell us that this will probably be a very good looking kid and I am certain this is just the beginning of the Beyonce pregnancy baby madness. This baby to be, Fred, already has several Twitter and Facebook pages.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, this kid is going to be so famous well before it sees the world. All right, thanks so much, A.J. Appreciate it.

HAMMER: You got it.

WHITFIELD: Lots of fun. All right, so perhaps you want all of the information you can possibly handle on everything breaking in the entertainment world. Well, A.J. has got it this evening on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. on HLN.

All right, John McCain a Washington hunk? Well, "Jersey Shore's" Snooki said she thinks he is a cutie. Our political panel is ready to weigh in with her idea of Washington hunks.

And this reminder, we're just minutes away from President Obama's news briefing from the Rose Garden. You're looking at live pictures right now. The president will be talking about jobs. We'll carry his comments live. The event scheduled for 10:35 Eastern Time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Political Buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing today, CNN contributor and independent, John Avlon, CNN political analyst, Roland Martin, CNN contributor and talk radio host, Dana Loesch. Good to see all three of you. All right. So, let's jump right in.

All right. With the first question. The president is speaking in the next few minutes or so, and we're expecting him to talk about some of his job plan that will be revealed later on. What do you think needs to be in that plan and will Americans buy it? John, you first.

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Look, he's got to do something different. He's got to go big. He can't simply trot at a bumper sticker. Two ideas which I think could help reshuffle the game is the public/private infrastructure bank which has bipartisan support in the Congress, and also maybe something like a national energy grid, something big, but he can't simply trot out the sound bite, and he can't rehash old ideas. He's got to go big and go new.

WHITFIELD: All right. Roland --

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely has to deal with infrastructure, and I say for both Republicans who continue to criticize him, go to one of their Congressional where they have falling bridges and schools houses and say, if you're unwilling to fix the infrastructure in your own district, then shame on you. That has to be at the top of the agenda.

WHITFIELD: And Dana --

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I would have to say that I hope that the president would stipulate that he doesn't want to borrow any more money from China for infrastructure spending, but I would like two things that would have immediate impact. Number one, cut spending massively. Number two, say that you're going to make the current tax extension rate permanent and then you're going to see a massive increase in government revenue like you have in the past six decades in a row that it's been implemented. It worked then. It would work now.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, Rick Perry -- yes, go ahead.

MARTIN: The CBO, those Bush tax cuts increased the deficit. It's amazing how --

LOESCH: Actually, no, they didn't. And the CBO --

(CROSSTALK)

LOESCH: The numbers that are in front of you so you can very easily --

(CROSSTALK)

AVLON: From a cut not maintaining the current rate as well. That's worth keeping in mind.

WHITFIELD: And so, this is kind of the prelude of what likely is to happen again with the White House and Congress kind of seeing things differently, and so, this is going to be a very difficult one in which to tackle, isn't it?

LOESCH: Yes. Very much.

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's move on. You know, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, they're going after Obama on national security as well. Other than the economy, is this, you know, really the best place to try to score points in the race for the White House? Ladies first, Dana?

LOESCH: I thought it was very interesting that Romney kind of took this route, because as far as I'm concerned, Romney doesn't have a lot of leg to stand on when it comes to business or when it comes to foreign policy.

Perry, though, governor of a border state, he's been in the Air Force for five years. I think he has a lot more room to talk on this, but it's just kind of interesting that Romney seemed to follow suit. I'm very much interested in seeing a Perry/Obama match-up on this particular issue.

WHITFIELD: John --

AVLON: Look, I mean, I think Republicans are replaying a narrative and script that's worked well for them in the past, accusing Democrats of being weak on defense. It's really replaying a late 1960s there and the promised that it doesn't really square with the record here. President Obama can claim credit for killing (INAUDIBLE), successfully concluding Libya by with the multilateral action, and he doubled down in Afghanistan with a surge. So, the reality is, the objective reality, is he's got a pretty strong record on foreign policy, and that's one of the areas he does best on in polling among centrists and independents, in particular.

WHITFIELD: All right. Roland --

MARTIN: They will be idiotic to try to have a national security conversation with this president. This is not Dukakis. This is not Kerry. This is not the other presidents. You look at Iran -- excuse me. You look at Iraq a little bit, Afghanistan. You look at Libya. You look at them taking out more al Qaeda terrorist, the number one and the number two. If you're Romney, stick to the economy, that's your best shot, not national security.

WHITFIELD: But this is something that Republicans have already said they are going to try and, you know, take their best shot on, John.

AVLON: Yes and the fascinating thing is --

LOESCH: It's the Bush doctrine.

AVLON: There's an incoherence right now in the Republican Party about where they stand on foreign policy. You say candidates are running away from the Bush doctrine because, in part, it's been adopted by the Obama administration. You see the party right now spends neo-isolationist to neo-conservatives. So, there's a real debate going on within the GOP.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's go for the "Buzzer Beater" right now. Only 20 seconds each again this time. Now, we're really taking it back to another place. Snooki wishes that John McCain, he has a happy birthday this week, and she actually called him a cutie by tweeting. So, all right, tell me, who do you want to put on the cutie pie list? Roland, you first.

MARTIN: Neither one of these two.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: I'm sorry. My vote goes to Selma Hayek and Halle Berry. I do not care about --

WHITFIELD: They're not in Washington.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: Trust me, they can fly to Washington.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Dana, who gets a cutie pie label?

LOESCH: Oh my gosh. You know, I've never really looked at politicians in that manner. I see some that have better hair than others, but I definitely wouldn't call McCain a cutie pie. I don't know. It makes me feel weird.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: OK. John, anybody?

AVLON: Somehow Snooki -- Washington is Hollywood for ugly people. I don't understand why we're even talking about it. Put a gun to my head, I'll say Kristi Noem, but please.

WHITFIELD: I know. It brings a tear to my eye. I'm very (INAUDIBLE) you guys. All right. Well, thanks so much. Thanks for playing along.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I think all three of you are cutie pies. How's that? Whether you're in Washington or not.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks.

MARTIN: Thank God, somebody's got to be here.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, guys.

All right. We're still waiting for the president for that news briefing coming out of the Rose Garden. You're looking at live pictures right now from the White House. The President will be talking about jobs, and we'll be carrying his comments live as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Live pictures of the White House momentarily from the Rose Garden. The president will be addressing reporters there and also talking about his plan on jobs for America.

Meantime, we're also following developments in the disappearance of a Maryland woman vacationing in Aruba. Robyn Gardner vanished on August 2nd and is presumed dead. Her traveling companion is a suspect in the case and has been detained for weeks now. Well, today, he could actually be set free. CNNs Martin Savidge is covering the trial in Aruba, actually, the case we should say, the investigation in Aruba. So, Martin, an important hearing today, what's at stake?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's at stake is as you just pointed out, potential freedom for Gary Giordano who's been held here now for nearly a month. We're standing outside the prison, it's the only prison that exists on the only island of Aruba here. They call it the CIA, Correctional Institute of Aruba. It has a beautiful view of the ocean, every room of their place.

So, not too bad, apparently, for Gary Giordano, although, he is being detained and detained against his wishes, because authorities just aren't quite certain of the story that he has told them about how his traveling companion, Robyn Gardner, disappeared. And so, to that end, they continue to hold him. The prosecution is now asking that he be held for an additional 60 days. His defense attorney is arguing that, look, you may have your suspicions, but you don't have any proof. Her body has not been recovered.

He is only a witness to a horrible accident that was a snorkeling accident, according to Gary Giordano. So, both sides are arguing this as if it were a courtroom. They've made their statements, but it's a closed proceeding. We are not allowed inside. We don't know exactly what's being said to the judge, but we do know that those are the basic premises here. Gary Giordano, if he were to be set free, would probably be released by the end of business today here at the prison.

I think it closes around 4:30 or five o'clock. However, the prosecution feels very confident that they've got enough evidence to, at least, get the judge to hold him for some time longer, maybe not 60 days, but longer. We'll have to wait and see. We'll be notified by release and tell you as soon as we get it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Martin Savidge, thanks so much. We know you'll keep us posted.

Meantime, In Washington D.C., we are still waiting for the president's during a news briefing that is scheduled right there from the Rose Garden any moment now. When that happens, we'll take that live. He is expected to talk about jobs. The president of the United States from the Rose Garden right after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right. We continue to monitor the White House. Momentarily, the president will be emerging from the Rose Garden, and we'll go to that as soon as possible.

Meantime, welcome news for chocolate lovers. Oh, we're going to get back to that health story in a moment. Let's go to the Rose Garden now with President Barack Obama.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to say a few words about an issue that affects thousands of American workers as well as millions of Americans who drive on our nation's roads and bridges every single day. At the end of September, if Congress doesn't act, the Transportation Bill will expire. This bill provides funding for highway construction, bridge repair, mass transit systems, and other essential projects that keep our people and our commerce moving quickly and safely.

And for construction workers and their families across the country, it represents the difference between making ends meet or not making ends meet. If we allow the Transportation Bill to expire, over 4,000 workers will be immediately furloughed without pay. If it's delayed for just ten days, it will lose nearly $1 billion in highway funding. That's money we can never get back. And if it's delayed even longer, almost one million workers could lose their jobs over the course of the next year.

That includes some of the folks behind me today. You've got Adam Vencil (ph) and Chris Negle (ph) who are with the Federal Highway Administration. We've got Hector Seely (ph) and Andrew -- Austin Anderson who work for the Ft. Myers construction company. If we don't extend this bill by the end of September, all of them will be out of a job just because of politics in Washington, and that's just not acceptable.

That's inexcusable. It's inexcusable to put more jobs at risk in an industry that's already been one of the hardest hit over the last decade. It's inexcusable to cut of necessary investments at a time when so many of our highways are choked with congestion, when so many of our bridges are in need of repair, when so many commuters depend on reliable public transit, and when travel and shipping delays cost businesses billions of dollars every single year.

Now, if this story sounds familiar, that's because we've heard it before. Just a few weeks ago, Congress refused to act on another bill, typically a routine bill that would have ended pulling thousands of aviation workers off the job and delaying necessary airport improvement projects across the country. And when Congress finally got their act together, they only funded the FAA until September 16th.

That's why when they come back next month, not only do they need to pass the Transportation Bill, but they've also got to pass a clean extension of that FAA bill, for longer this time and address back pay for the workers who were laid off during the last shutdown. At a time when a lot of people in Washington are talking about creating jobs, it's time to stop the political gamesmanship that can actually cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs.

This should not be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. This Transportation Bill has been renewed seven times in the last two years alone. That's why my secretary of transportation, Ray Lahood, a Republican, is with me today, along with David Shebra (ph) from the Chamber of Commerce, and Rich Trumka of AFL-CIO. Two organizations who don't always see eye-to-eye on things, because they agree on how important it is for our economy that Congress act now.

So, I'm calling on Congress, as soon as they come back, to pass a clean extension of the surface transportation bill, along with a clean extension of the FAA bill, to give workers and communities across America the confidence that vital construction projects won't come to a halt. After that's done, I'm also proposing that we reform the way transportation money is invested, to eliminate waste, to give states more control over the projects that are right for them, and to make sure that we're getting better results for the money that we spend.

We need to stop funding projects based on whose districts they're in and start funding them based on how much good they're going to be doing for the American people. No more bridges to nowhere. No more projects that are simply funded because of somebody pulling strings. We need to do this all in a way that gets the private sector more involved.

That's how we're going to put construction workers back to work right now, doing the work that America needs done, not just to boost our economy this year, but for the next 20 years. Finally, in keeping with the recommendation from my jobs council, today, I'm directing certain federal agencies to identify high priority infrastructure projects that can put people back to work. And these projects -- these are projects that are already funded, and with some focus detention, we could expedite the permitting decisions and reviews necessary to get construction under way more quickly while still protecting safety, public health and the environment.

Tomorrow, in Dallas, my jobs council will meet with local jobs, local business owners, and other folks about what we've done so far to rebuild our infrastructure and what we can do to make sure that America is moving even faster in getting people back to work. That's what we're going to need to do in the short term. Keep people on the job, keep vital projects moving forward, fund projects that are already under way in a smarter way.

Of course if we're honest, we also know that when it comes to our nation's infrastructure, our roads, our railways, mass transit, airports, we shouldn't just be playing patch-up or catch-up. We should be leading the world. Ten years ago, our nation's infrastructure was ranked sixth globally. Today, it's 23rd. We invest half as much in our infrastructure as we did 50 years ago, with more than one and a half the number of people.

Everybody can see the consequences, and that's unacceptable for a nation that's always dreamed big and built big from transcontinental railroads to the interstate highway system. And it's unacceptable when countries like China are building high speed rail networks and gleaming new airports while more than a million construction workers who could be doing the same thing are unemployed right here in America.

And so, when Congress is back next week, in addition to passing these clean extensions to prevent any halt on existing work, we're going to have to have a serious conversation in this country about making real, lasting investments in our infrastructure, from better ports to a smarter electric grid, from high speed internet, to high speed rail.

And at a time when interest rates are low and workers are unemployed, the best time to make those investments is right now. Not once another levee fails or another bridge falls. Right now is when we need to be making these decisions. Now is the time for Congress to extend the Transportation Bill. Keep our workers on the job. Now is the time to put our country before party and to give certainty to the people who are just trying to get by.

There is work to be done. There are workers ready to do it. And that's why I expect Congress to act immediately. And to all the folks who are here on the stage, thank you for the outstanding work you're doing in helping maintain our nation's infrastructure. Thank you very much, everybody. (APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. President, thank you very much.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): All right. President Barack Obama there from the Rose Garden with an assignment for Congress when they come back to work next week, he says, do not let the Transportation Bill expire. It expires later on in the month. And he says, if that happens, some 4,000 workers would be furloughed without pay, and he calls it, quote/unquote "inexcusable" to allow this to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (on-camera): This, perhaps, just a prelude to later on in the month the president to reveal a more comprehensive jobs outlook for America. So, that message coming from the White House, the Rose Garden today. And we'll have much more from the NEWSROOM after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Checking stories across-country now.

Biologists in Juno Beach, Florida say they hope to return some 600 baby loggerhead turtles that were displaced by Hurricane Irene. The Loggerhead Marine Life Center estimates 60 percent of turtles' nests were actually washed out by last week's storms.

And a state of emergency is declared in New Orleans because of a nearby marsh fire. Today, national guard helicopters will dump water on the fire. The haze is a real issue for people with respiratory problems.

And on to Orlando now, a Florida State senator has a back to school gift for kids with saggy pants. He's handing out dozens of belts at three area high schools. Florida State senator, Gary Siplin, reminding students a state law is now on the books allowing kids to be suspended from school if they don't pull up their pants.

And stories making news later on today, include U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaving for Paris tonight at 10 o'clock eastern time. Clinton will take part in a meeting Thursday that focuses on Libya's transitional government.

And coming up in the next hour of the NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux, a lot of people are still reeling after Irene, but could a new storm already be barreling toward the east coast? We're keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Katia when the CNN NEWSROOM conditions after this.

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