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Dow Drops 250 Plus at Open; Hoffa's Fiery Comments; Romney Releases Jobs Plan Today; Hundreds of Texas Homes Burn; Katia Inches Closer to East Coast; DNA Critical in American's Trial; 48 Shot in NYC on Holiday Weekend; Illegal Immigrant Licenses at Risk in New Mexico; MDA Raises $61.5M Without Lewis; Angry Hoffa Calls Tea Party SOB's; Tea Party Responds to Hoffa Comments; "Soul Train" Celebrates 40th; New Madonna Album in 2012; Youth Sports Put Teeth At Risk; Spying On Israel
Aired September 06, 2011 - 09:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's start the hour with your money, or lack of it. Just over half an hour ago, the opening bell rang on Wall Street, stocks have been in the deep red ever since. Dow Industrials down 241 points. Now Christine Romans, where do we stand?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, we stand 240 points lower than we did at the close on Friday -- 10,999, so below 11,000.
You know that the major stock averages, Kyra, are negative for the year. That's because there are concerns now about just how weak the U.S. economy is. Could that jobs report on Friday, which showed no net job creation -- could it be a signal that confidence is so weak, the U.S. could slip a renewed recession. And then overseas in Europe, big concerns about that big economy and just how hard it will be to shake off its own debt crises there.
So two big huge developed markets that have question marks on them and that is why you're seeing stocks down and the engine of growth for the world, Kyra, has been emerging markets, and by all accounts emerging markets are growing more slowly now.
They are still the driver in global growth, but they're growing more slowly than they had been in recent months and quarters and so some of the engine of global growth might be slowing down a bit, too. That's all leading to this idea that the path of least resistance is to sell stocks right now if you're concerned about a global slowdown.
You're seeing oil prices lower as well that's because if the global economy is slowing down, demand for oil will go down. So you got $84 a barrel for oil right now. You've seen a spike overnight. You saw a big spike in gold prices, as you know, when people get concerned about the direction of the world economy and jobs growth, they've been going into gold, no exception there.
Last night we've got financial stocks, I told you to watch those. Financial stocks are down again here today, 4 percent, 5 percent each. Many of these are probably in your 401(k). One of the reasons there, Kyra, is because the U.S. government on Friday kind of got lost in the jobs report news.
The U.S. government is suing 17 banks and financial companies to try to get back taxpayer money in that whole mortgage debacle of the past few years. So those stocks are getting hit this morning as well, Kyra --
PHILLIPS: All right, Christine, thanks. We'll keep watching numbers. Dow Industrial down 200 points now.
The quote that everyone is talking about this morning, Teamsters President Jim Hoffa on the Tea Party. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HOFFA, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: We've got to keep an eye on the battle that we face, a war on workers. You see it every. It is the Tea Party. You know there's only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is, we like a good fight.
You know what? They've got a war, they've got a war with us, and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan and America. We're going to win that war.
President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march, and President Obama, we want one thing -- jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs! That's what we're going to tell him.
He's going to be -- when he sees what we're doing here, he will be inspired, but he needs help. You know what? Everybody here has got to vote if we go back, keep the eye on the prize, let's take these sons of -- out and give America back to where we belong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, let's get straight to White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. So Dan, how is the White House responding this morning?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're not. In fact, as the internet continues to burn with, you know, comments about those remarks, you know, the suggestion that the president should weigh in and condemn them.
I did have an e-mail exchange with the senior administration official who again reiterated that the White House would have no comment. Instead what they're talking about is the focus of this administration, as the president is days away from delivering his jobs speech.
What we're being told it would be a combination of things we have heard before publicly and some new ideas, also a mix of things that the president can do on his own and get going right away, and others things, which of course, will face some hurdles.
Those are things that must be approved by Congress. But the things that the president has put out there already, things such as extending the unemployment benefits, the payroll tax cut, also getting those trade deals done.
And then of course what appears to be a central focus of the president's plan, something that he teed up yesterday during remarks in Detroit, infrastructure investments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've got roads and bridges across this country that need rebuilding. We've got private companies with the equipment and the manpower to do the building. We've got more than one million unemployed construction workers ready to get dirty right now. There is work to be done and there are workers ready to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: And of course, as the president gets ready to unveil his plan, Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential hopeful, laying out his plan, 59 points or so that he's laying out today.
We don't know all the specifics in the president's plan, the White House keeping that secret for now until the president unveils that on Thursday, but a lot of criticism from Republicans saying this administration has had ample opportunity to turn the economy around and they have failed.
What they need to do is focus on moving some of the regulations that are keeping companies on the sidelines from investing. That's where the focus needs to be. I should point out also that the president, after he delivers his speech on Thursday, will hit the road to try and sell the plan.
Stopping first in Richmond, Virginia, and we're told by the White House that the president throughout the fall will be traveling across the country to explain his plan to the American people. Kyra --
PHILLIPS: Dan, thanks so much.
Stay with us because in about 10 minutes, we're going to have the chairwoman of Tea Party Express Amy Kremer. She's going to join me to talk about what she thought of Jim Hoffa's comments.
Now you heard Dan Lothian there talking about the president's jobs speech on Thursday, talking about his plan, well, add Mitt Romney to the list.
Paul Steinhauser here with some of the key points of what he's going to say when he releases his plan this afternoon. Paul --
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, good morning, Kyra. Yes, Mitt Romney later today at 3:30 Eastern, he's going to be the trucking company in north Las Vegas, Nevada and he's going to introduce his plan. But he gave us a sneak peek this morning in an op-ed in "USA Today." Here's some of the things he talked about. One of the proposals, lowering the corporate tax rate and tax rate for individuals, also paring back government regulations, creating a free trade zone with other countries, increase domestic energy production, push right to work legislation, and cutting the federal budget and capping spending.
Some of the things Mitt Romney will highlight today. As you had mentioned, 59 things he says he will do. Ten of them he says he can do right away if he becomes president on the first day he goes to the White House.
Kyra, as you can imagine the Democrats already criticizing this plan saying it's re-traded ideas and that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor is making a second bid for the White House. All he's trying to do is cozy up to the Tea Party.
But also some fellow Republicans who are also running for the presidential nomination, like Jon Huntsman already criticizing him and a Tea Party group as well. We'll have a lot more on this later today. Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Paul, thanks.
Once again, President Obama is going to unveil his own jobs creation plan before the joint session of Congress Thursday. CNN's live coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
All right, now the wildfires racing across two states in southern California, the crash of a single-engine plane ignited the blaze nearly 5,000 acres burned there. One home lost and hundreds more in danger.
Then in Texas, dozens of wild fires burn there, the largest place near Austin. It destroyed nearly 500 homes and 5,000 residents have fled their homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We left our house, and about 30 minutes later we couldn't get back to it. So it's moving probably 8, 10 miles an hour across the ground. So God help us. That's all we with do right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's the worst fire season in Texas history. Last hour, we heard from Governor Rick Perry. Jim Spellman is in Bastrop, Texas near one of the massive fires. What's the situation right now, Jim?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this wall of smoke that we've been seeing here since yesterday has really dissipated. This morning they're getting a break that they need to take advantage of. The winds are low and it's very cool, still probably only in the 60s here. That's what they need to do to get the aircraft up there, helicopters, airplanes dropping retardant and most importantly ground crews to get in there and create fire lines.
Breaks between the active fire and the fuel of the forest in the surrounding area. Shift change right now. The day crews are coming in to take advantage of the work they have done overnight. Crews are also out assessing exactly what needs to be done at all the fires across the state. Governor Perry just got back from his own helicopter tour of a different fire on the other side of Austin. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: The magnitude of these losses are pretty stunning. Some thousand homes that we have lost across the state were over 100,000 acres of new fire fires. Even with this tragedy, the good news is that there are no lives lost in these neighborhoods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLMAN: Kyra, as soon as they get one fire knocked down, another one seems to spring up all across the state of Texas. Ninety percent of this huge state under severe drought conditions so all it takes is a spark and a little wind and they have another fire going. Kyra --
PHILLIPS: OK, Jim, we'll keep talking throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, in our neck of the woods, Rob Marciano, remnants of Tropical Storm Lee?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We had some rough weather from last night - across flooding in Mississippi, Alabama, Atlanta and Chattanooga saw some tremendous amount of flooding as well. We had severe weather across north Georgia, including a couple tornadoes.
Now this entire thing is beginning to fan out across the eastern seaboard and threat for severe weather does exist across parts of the Carolinas, especially. We've got a couple of tornado watches that are in effect for this area.
We've got a very slow-moving Lee, also a very slow-moving front that's interacting so some twist in the atmosphere here especially across the low counties. So just be aware of that, and we'll let you know when warnings pop up so far so good as far as any tornadoes touching down.
The rainfall is going to be the other big issue. Bigger cities will see anywhere from one to two maybe three inches of rain fall over the next two to three days. This will be a multi-day event.
Notice the brighter colors a little farther to the west and some of the areas have flooded in places like Pennsylvania and New Jersey and upstate New York and Vermont. These are going to be susceptible to flooding over the next couple days as well.
So we're concerned very much so about that. That's the leftover of Lee. Katia is now a Category 3. Storm at one point last night, it was a 4. Winds over 125 miles an hour, and its movement is off towards the northwest at 10 miles an hour. We anticipate that to continue until it interacts with this front that's off the east coast right now.
We like that, and that will keep things calm at least on the wind and the rain front, but they'll be big waves rolling in and dangerous tides and then hot on the heels is this disturbance out there.
Way out there. We don't have to worry about that for a week or two, but that one may take a better shot at us than Katia. If you're heading to the beach today or the next couple of days, big-time surf, dangerous rip tides. Stay out of the water if you should choose to do so.
PHILLIPS: OK, thanks, Rob.
American student on trial for murder in Italy is pinning her future on DNA evidence, evidence that Amanda Knox's attorney calls flawed. The prosecutors are fighting back. Zain Verjee is following the story for us from London. Zain --
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi there, Kyra. They are coming out punching. They put forward the police forensic experts who initially gathered the critical pieces of DNA evidence. The expert says that they handled all the evidence properly. They used the right methodology and the equipment that they used at the time back in 2009 was OK.
That's what they used to prosecute Amanda Knox that got her the conviction. Now this is the appeal trial. We're in final arguments. So this is really the pivotal final stretch of what we're going to see happen.
The two pieces of key evidence, basically a knife that the prosecution says was used in killing Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox's roommate at the time, and they said that Knox's genetic material was on the handle.
Also prosecutors had said too that the clasp, the bra clasp of Meredith Kercher also had DNA evidence of Raffaele Solecito who's Amanda Knox's boyfriend at the time. Now independent forensic experts came in and said that's not the case.
These two pieces cannot be admissible because they were handled incredibly. Kurt Knox, Amanda's dad said this, Kyra, "his daughter is anxious and looking forward to a decision." He also said that it's been good for Amanda to have these pieces of evidence basically debunked.
So they're keeping their fingers crossed. Anything could happen. This is a really dramatic moment because everything is hinging around these two things. Kyra --
PHILLIPS: All right, Zain Verjee at London for us. Zain, thanks.
And the new Mexico legislature is in special session. On the agenda, whether to roll back a law that allows undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses. We'll have that story.
And Teamsters boss Jim Hoffa calls the Tea Party a bunch of SOBs. Coming up, the Tea Party fires back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Stories cross country now. A violent Labor Day weekend in New York City. At least 48 people were shot, 33 on Sunday alone, possibly because a lot of people were partying over the weekend.
The latest incident, last night in Brooklyn. Three people killed there. Two police officers injured. It happened in a gunfight in the Crown Heights neighborhood.
A special session of the New Mexico legislature convenes today. Among the issues, deciding whether to roll back a law that allows undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses.
This was definitely a highlight of the MDA telethon, Darius Rucker singing with 12-year-old Abby Umal at the Muscular Dystrophy telethon. Even without long time host Jerry Lewis, the telethon took in $61.5 million. Lewis retired this year at the age of 85, but he was remembered with a two-minute montage at the end of the show.
Things got hot at a huge pro-labor, pro-Obama Labor Day rally in Detroit. It all started with a fiery speech from Teamster's president, Jim Hoffa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HOFFA, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: We've got to keep an eye on the battle we face, a war on workers. You see it everywhere. It is the Tea Party. You know there's only one way to beat and end that war.
The one thing about working people is, we like a good fight. You know what? They've got a war, they've got a war with us, and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan and America. We're going to win that war.
President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march, and President Obama we want one thing -- jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs! That's what we're going to tell him. When he sees what we're doing here. He will be inspired, but he needs help. You know what? Everybody here's got a vote. If we keep the eye on the prize, let's take these sons of bitches out and give America back to America where we belong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, not surprisingly, the Tea Party isn't really happy with Hoffa this morning. Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer joining me from Manchester, New Hampshire. So, Amy, your reaction to Hoffa's comments?
AMY KREMER, CHAIRWOMAN, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: Well, I think it's disgraceful, Kyra. I'm shocked that he would say those things, but what's even more disturbing is, you know, this was not a private event where he made these remarks.
This was an introduction for the president of the United States speaking, and the fact that the president or the Democratic Party -- no one has denounced this is just absurd.
This is essentially calling for violence on the members of the Tea Party Movement, which are everyday average Americans that are just concerned about the direction of the country.
So when is the president or Debbie Wasserman-Schultz going to step up and say this is not acceptable?
PHILLIPS: Now Amy, Obama wasn't even on stage when Hoffa spoke. So does that make a difference?
KREMER: I mean, of course, it makes a difference. You know, I introduced Sarah Palin yesterday. If I had said something like that and Sarah Palin was coming up to speak, do you think she would have gone right along with it?
No, it is absolutely outrageous. What happened to the call for civil discourse after the attempt on Gabby Giffords's life? This is unacceptable. It's been going on for months now actually and no one is doing anything about it.
But yet when somebody gets out of the line in the Tea Party Movement, the media and everybody runs to us and says aren't you going to denounce their behavior, their rhetoric? We do it time and time again. When will somebody go and call them out for what they're doing?
PHILLIPS: Now, Amy, there's been tough language on both sides as you know. How do you defend Tea Party Caucus member Joe Wilson when he screamed "you lie" at the president on the United States House floor?
KREMER: Well, I mean, you know, it wasn't appropriate and shouldn't have been said. Many people have said that, but the fact is that's not inciting violence. This is inciting violence. It's calling to take us out. What exactly does he mean by take us out?
This is a problem, Kyra. We are a threat to their agenda. We are a threat to the liberal left agenda, and they are going to do anything and everything that they can to stop us.
We don't want to have a war with anybody. What we want is to rein in this excessive spending government regulation and get our economy back on track. That's what we care about.
PHILLIPS: I'm looking back at the exact sound bite. I want to make the point that Hoffa was talking about the vote when he was saying we've got to take them out. He was not advocating violence as you're asserting.
KREMER: Kyra, Kyra, anybody that that he let's take out these sobs, I mean, that is absurd. That is not the language we should be using when having these conversations. I wouldn't say it. I wouldn't expect any Tea Party leader to say it.
I wouldn't expect any member of the Republican Party to go say that. It is absurd. Just like the things that have been said with Maxine Waters, you know, they can all go straight to hell and I'm going to help them get there.
There are no excuses for this. You cannot excuse this behavior. It's unacceptable. It needs to change and President Obama and the Democratic Party needs to denounce this immediately.
PHILLIPS: Amy Kremer, appreciate you weighing in this morning.
KREMER: Thank you for having me.
PHILLIPS: Now last June, she made the jump from CBS to ABC, and tonight, Katy Couric makes her debut on "Nightline" with a star powered interview. Details next in the showbiz headlines.
And there's a new round of questioning in Britain's phone hacking scandal. Four new execs face investigators.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's get to your showbiz headlines. Yes, bringing back the soul train memories. Guess what? Monday was the show's 40th anniversary, celebrated in Chicago. Fifteen thousand people cheered on, as Don Cornelius got an honorary street sign.
It's going to go up by the old TV studio where he first launched the show in '71. Even at 74 years old, yes, the "Soul Train" host pulled out a few moves.
Madonna is going to have a new album for 2012, her first in 2008. She tells Swedish TV that she expects a single in February or March.
After leaving CBS for ABC last June, tonight Katie Couric makes her network debut on "Nightline." She talks to actress Sara Jessica Parker about movies, kids and what Parker calls the, quote, "snarky media." Couric is also developing a daytime talk show for ABC.
Well, Ed Rollins says he's no longer running the Bachmann campaign and he tells CNN it's a Romney/Perry race, but is it too early to say we're in a two-person race for the GOP nomination? Your "Political Buzz" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, "Political Buzz," your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock and playing today, Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman, Sirius XM political talk show host and comedian Pete Dominic, and CNN contributor, Will Cain.
All right, guys, first question. Ed Rollins announces he's no longer running the Bachmann campaign and in an interview with CNN, he says this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN ADVISOR: I think legitimately it's a Romney/Perry race, with leaders in the polls. I think she's the third candidate at this point in time, which is way different and better than we thought when we started this thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, guys, so is it too early to say we're in a two-person race for the GOP nomination? Robert?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBER: Well, Ed is certainly correct, in terms of fund-raising, it is a Perry versus Romney race. But in terms of a race for the nomination at this stage, it's a one-person race.
It's Rick Perry versus Rick Perry. Let's see in these very critical debates coming up, how well he holds up to his comments calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme or for that matter saying that U.S. senators should be chosen not by we, the people, but by politicians in our state legislatures, or defending his economy in Texas that was built upon federal stimulus money or federal jobs.
PHILLIPS: Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It is too early, Kyra, but only by a little bit. If you're already in the race, if your name is Jon Huntsman or Newt Gingrich, you're kind of in mile 24, 25 of the marathon.
You need to make your move very soon. The reason for that was illustrated yesterday when Huntsman wasn't invited to that Palmetto Forum. So you're going to risk not being in the conversation. If you have big name recognition, big media attention, you can drop in on this race late and there are only a couple of those, Palin, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush.
PHILLIPS: Pete?
PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS XM POLITICAL TALK SHOW HOST: I think it's probably too early, Kyra. I think we're still going to see a Santorum/Herman Cain ticket. Let's all just be patient. The truth is I think Robert's right. Rick Perry who doesn't believe in climate change had to run back to Texas, because 500 homes are burning in the worst fires in that state's history. So, we'll see what happens. The fact of the matter is the field is still very, very weak versus this president. Even in his terrible poll numbers and terrible economic data coming out, there's still no one that probably can beat at him at this point.
PHILLIPS: All right, guys. Bachmann just lost Rollins and a top deputy. So, as a member of Congress, she has a reputation for high staff turnover. So, do voters care about staff shake-ups, especially this time like this, Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No. They don't care. They won't even know about it, but, I'll tell you. Voters do begin to get an impression. And there was a moment yesterday in that Palmetto forum debate yesterday when Michele Bachmann said Mitt Romney's health care mandate was unconstitutional at the federal level, and she was pushed as to why. And she said, well, I don't know, but she was no less certain.
Maybe you didn't hear that. So, maybe you heard when she said, she'd promise $2 gas. The point is, these things begin to accumulate, and this staff turn will add to that and voters getting impression, and I think this is adding to it.
PHILLIPS: Robert.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATL COMMITTEE MEMBER: Sure it matters, Kyra. What's particularly significant here is that normally there are staff shake-ups when the campaign is in disarray. Under Rollins' leadership, his team has brought great discipline to Bachmann's campaign. She was doing well in the debate. And in fact, she won the Iowa straw ballot contest. So, they were doing quite well. The question is going to be, what replaces the Rollins' team, and can she regain the confidence of fundraisers in particular?
PHILLIPS: Pete.
DOMINICK: Handsome Will Cain is exactly correct. Voters could care less about -- with all due respect to Ed Rollins what he does. The fact -- I mean, that the head campaign adviser has stepped down should be some concern if you pay attention, but most people hear you say this today, Kyra. Ed Rollins, Michele Bachmann's campaign adviser has stepped down, blah, blah, blah. They don't care. It's too early. And these staffers don't matter to voters right now.
PHILLIPS: Pete, are you saying Robert is not handsome?
DOMINICK: Robert is handsome, but I'm willing to say that Will Cain is even better-looking than Robert Zimmerman.
CAIN: This is going to happen. One of the these days, this is going to happen. We're going to do this.
ZIMMERMAN: My mother agrees with you, Pete, but I like you better when you're talking about Rick Santorum and Herman Cain as the Republican ticket. You're doing a lot better with that.
PHILLIPS: We'll save that from tomorrow. All right. Your buzzer beater, guys, 20 seconds each on this one. Jimmy Hoffa, as you have heard, let's re-rack it, said this at a presidential event yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HOFFA, PRESIDENT, TEAMSTERS UNION: President Obama, we want one thing -- jobs, jobs, jobs! Everybody here's got to vote. If we go back and we keep the eye on the prize, let's take these sons of bitches out and give America back to America where it belongs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the president was not on stage yet, but should the Teamsters president still apologize for the rough language --Will.
CAIN: Honestly, Kyra, this stuff doesn't bother me. It bothers me to use poor grammar. It's sons of bitches, not son of bitches.
(LAUGHTER)
CAIN: But, you know, him saying that doesn't bother me. It did bother me when Palin put targets on a map. They're not really calling for violence, but it does matter to President Obama, because he has asked for civility. So by that standard, there should be an apology.
PHILLIPS: Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: Of course not. Jimmy Hoffa was speaking at a rally on Labor Day at a time when the right to organize -- for labor to organize is under national attack. Under the worst assault we've seen since the creation of organized labor. He did the right thing by speaking up for his people, and I've called out my party when I thought they've crossed the line and members of Congress from my party. This is not the same situation.
PHILLIPS: Pete, you've used worst language in your stand-ups.
DOMINICK: Oh, yes. Every time I perform. I've used worse language here. That's the truth. I mean, this guy, Jimmy Hoffa. Listen, he's Jimmy Hoffa Jr., do you think he's going to talk to GM autoworkers a different way? Do you think any GM autoworkers have been on the assembly line and hurts their fingers, oh, "son of a B"? No. We're making a big deal of this. The big deal is that President Obama again loses the message, because we're not talking at all about what he said in that speech -- (BUZZER)
DOMINICK: And I give credit --
PHILLIPS: Did you want to finish that thought?
DOMINICK: No. I play by the rules. I like working.
CAIN: Very responsive, Pete. That was good. PHILLIPS: Thank you, gentlemen.
(LAUGHTER)
ZIMMERMAN: Very impressive, Pete.
PHILLIPS: Yes. And it was all clean. Thanks, guys.
The remnants of Lee causing problems across the southeast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIRENS)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Tornado warnings echo through the metro Atlanta area. We're going to show you the damage left behind.
And a quick look at the big board now. Dow industrials down at 295 points. We're keep going deeper in the red. We're following all your money on Wall Street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS (on-camera): Starting making new cross country now. Texas still burning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Several large wildfires across the state now. One near Austin, it's already destroyed close to 500 homes. 3.5 millions acres have burned. That's an area, by the way, roughly the size of Connecticut.
(SIRENS)
Those were tornado warnings sounding again and again in suburban Atlanta, the last remnants of Lee. It caused tornadoes to touch down in several metro counties yesterday. High winds knocked down trees and power lines throughout the area. In just a five-mile stretch, more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed.
And in Chattanooga to the north, the problem was flooding. More than eight inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period, breaking an all- time record. Several creeks flooded. They're not expected to crest until later today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (on-camera): OK. And we continue to keep a close eye on Wall Street where stocks have been tumbling since the opening bell just over an hour ago. Let's check in with Karina Huber at the New York Stock Exchange. Where are the numbers now?
KARINA HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we see that the Dow is near session lows. We're down 303 points. That's a drop to 2.7 percent, and it's really the banking stocks that are getting hammered now. Bank of America down six percent. JPMorgan Chase down by five. Some of the investment banks are also selling off pretty sharply today. The sell-off here on Wall Street follows a drop in the overseas market.
We've got the same problems here as we saw in Asia and Europe, concerns about the global economy and fears that Greece's debt problems are out of control and maybe spreading to Italy, Spain, and some of the other nations (ph). Investors are looking past an unexpected rise in the U.S. services sector. Really, essentially, we've got negative sentiment hanging over everything right now -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Karina, well, there's another story that caught our eye this morning. Retailers fighting for federal permission to accept food stamps. Tell us about that.
HUBER: Right. We're seeing a huge surge in the number of places accepting food stamps right now. Let's take a look at this chart. The number of retailers taking stand surged 34 percent over the past five years. According to the U.S. Department of agriculture, that is unprecedented growth, and that includes everything from grocery stores to bakeries. Nearly 300 percent increase we've seen in the number of farmers' markets taking food stamps.
And why is all of this? That's because a record number of Americans are on food stamps right now, 40 million of them. That is over a tenth of the population. So, basically, retailers want to cash in on this huge and underserved market -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Karina, we'll keep following those numbers today. Hoping it will get somewhat better. Appreciate it.
Well, we're going to talk about a study now by the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation that says, watch out for your kids' teeth. Apparently, young people who play sports, they're going to lose three million teeth this year. That's because of basketball and baseball. Mouth guards and helmets with face protectors are going to help, but it can't stop the problem.
So, if a child suffers a broken or cracked tooth, the advice is to get to a dentist right away. And if it's knocked out completely, well, try to preserve it and get it put back within 30 minutes to save the tooth.
Cause (ph) by the information about the U.S. spying on Israel has leaked to a blogger, and the blogger, winds up behind bars. We're going to talk to the reporter who interviewed that man, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We continue to watch your Monday. We had a bad day on Friday, not looking so good after the Labor Day weekend. Right now, still on the red, Dow industrials down 282 points. We continue to watch your money. Plus, our next guest puts it, it's a rare glimpse of America spying on a very close ally. An FBI translator is serving time for leaking secret transcripts of wiretaps on the Israelis embassy. The transcripts were passed on to a blogger by the name of Richard Silverstein. Well, "New York Times" reporter Scott Shane got an exclusive interview with that blogger. Scott joins me now to talk about the case.
So, Scott, what's your take? What does this tell us about the trust between the U.S. and one of its closest allies?
SCOTT SHANE, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, the people who follow intelligence matters, it's really not a big surprise. Israel has a fairly aggressive spying operation in the United States. The U.S. spies on Israel, but it's all particularly between allies. It's kept so secret that most people aren't aware of it. So, this case, one of the five leak prosecutions under the Obama administration has offered a small window on this. It's just FBI eavesdropping on the Israeli embassy in Washington.
PHILLIPS: Well, after seeing the transcripts, we're talking about these transcripts. I mean, is there a belief that Israel is a threat to American security?
SHANE: Well, I think -- I think that's a matter of debate. I quoted a guy as saying he thought it was a waste of taxpayer money because Israel doesn't pose any kind of security threat. But of course, because Israel is a close ally, is involved in many important American foreign policy issues.
And also, you know, we like to keep an eye on people who are watching us. The FBI has responsibility for counterintelligence. And that means sort of watching the spies operating out of foreign embassies. And Israel is said, by people who have worked with the FBI and CIA over the years, to be a fairly aggressive intelligence service in the United States, keeping an eye on American industry and American government. And the FBI's job is to essentially spy on their spies.
PHILLIPS: So final question. You know, Silverstein says he sees himself as a martyr, a whistle-blower, not a deceitful person. So, explain his motivations here? What's your take?
SHANE: Well, what Richard Silverstein, who is a left-wing American blogger who covers Israel, told me was Shamia Leibowitz, this FBI translator, gave him these transcripts because partly he was afraid Israel was going to launch air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and that there would be bad consequences, both for Israel and the U.S. And also because he felt that Israeli diplomats were being a little too aggressive in their operations to influence Congress and the American public.
PHILLIPS: "New York Times" Scott Shane. It was an interesting read. Thanks for joining us this morning.
SHANE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Well, tonight it's the debut of CNN's footnotes of 9/11. Stories you've never heard until now. I've got more on that coming on next.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, on Sunday, CNN will have live coverage of 9/11 remembrance events throughout the today. But tonight, we begin with stories you haven't heard before.
Drew Griffin brings us "THE FOOTNOTES OF 9/11." Here's a peek.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came to work expecting just another ordinary day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy doesn't look like and Arab terrorist.
GRIFFIN: People living ordinary lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I know there was trouble and I wanted to warn everybody.
GRIFFIN: Suddenly thrust into one of the more horrific days in American history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said we have some planes. We clearly had a hijack in progress.
GRIFFIN: There are 1,742 footnotes in the official 9/11 commission reported.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just said be prepared to shoot down the next hijack track.
GRIFFIN: These are the stories buried in those footnotes, many never before never told --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They kept coming. And then at one point, we got under a minute and I think terry said it's about 30 seconds out.
GRIFFIN: -- about their experiences that day and the days and years that followed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do I see Mohamed Atta driving by me looking from a car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should I have said something else? What is more to the point than beware of cockpit intrusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I go out on a beautiful day, I look up and I go, that sky is September 11th blue. That is what was taken away from me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Tell you what, Drew, of all the ways to tell the 9/11 story, it's a pretty unique approach.
GRIFFIN: Finding the footnotes in the 9/11 Commission report; we had the help of the three investigators who kind of led that commission report. We said, look, who are the most interesting people we haven't heard from? They come up with these names. They are fascinating. Some of them really had some -- we had to negotiate with them to get their stories told, because they still feel they could have done so much more that day.
PHILLIPS: What stood out to you? Anything surprise you?
GRIFFIN: I think what will stand out to a lot of people is the guys who checked in the terrorists. Both of them, whether they were at Dulles or in Portland, Maine, have both said, man, these guys are terrorists. They knew in their brain they were terrorists, but they let them go.
The other thing that stood out to me was how all of these individuals just acted and reacted to what was happening. Once it was apparent what was happening in the United States, they didn't wait for any kind of justification or orders from above. They all acted and tried to stop the damage. And they live with regrets of how they did that, but they did do something that day.
PHILLIPS: That was my next question, regrets. Ten years later, how are they doing?
GRIFFIN: Some not so good. Ed Ballinger, the United Airlines dispatcher literally, Kyra, has been sailing on a sailboat for years, trying to sail away from his emotional problems from that day. He still regrets not sending a stronger message to his pilots in the air, one of them on 175, who was literally hijacked minutes after he sent that message.
GRIFFIN: Wow. Drew, thanks.
Well, you can remember this Sunday, CNN once again will have live coverage on 9/11. But don't forget tonight, Draw's unique look at 9/11, footnotes of that day, stories you have never heard until now. Tonight 11:00 Eastern.
All right. Let's check stories making news later today.
1:00 Eastern, the California supreme court will hear arguments on Prop 8, the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.
Then the U.S. Senate is back in session today after a summer recess. That's at 2:00 Eastern.
And Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney reveals his plan for creating jobs at 3:30 Eastern.
Coming up in the NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux, the investigations into the U.K. hacking scandal continues today. British rime minister David Cameron goes in front of Parliament in just about ten minutes. We'll have a live report from London.
Plus, it may not be uncommon to accidentally leave behind a purse, coat, even a credit card. But what about the prototype for Apple's latest iPhone. We're looking into new reports that an employee forgot the gadget at a San Francisco bar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, things didn't look so good with regard to the markets on Friday, and once again today, after a Labor Day weekend, the numbers still not looking so good. Deep in the red, minus 271. We're talking about the Dow Industrials. We are watching your money.
It's a big week for job growth plans. We've got the president's on Thursday, and today it's Mitt Romney's turn.
Dan Lothian at the White House with more about the week. Hey, Dan.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Well, indeed, the president putting the finishes touches on his jobs plan he'll unveil on Thursday. White House aides saying it will be a mix of things that the president can do on his own, but also some things that will require congressional approval.
Still being tight-lipped here about some of the details of that plan, but we do know that it will involve some things like infrastructure investment jobs in rebuilding roads, bridges, airports and also schools.
Now, as you pointed out, Republicans also rolling out -- or Republican candidates rolling out their own economic proposals as well, include former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has a 59- point plan. Everything from overhauling the tax system to the easing of regulations. Of course, these Republican presidential hopefuls seizing on those dismal jobs number that showed last month no news jobs were created, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Also Dan, something else we've been talking today in politics. The big shake-up in Michele Bachmann's campaign.
LOTHIAN: That's right. Her campaign manager, Ed Rollins, who has also been a contributor in the past to CNN, stepping down saying that now at this age, it is difficult for him to put in those long, hard hours. He will still remain an outside adviser to the campaign, also the number two person stepping down as well.
It's unclear exactly what this means in terms of her campaign moving forward, but certainly it's significant when you have someone of that level stepping down from the campaign.
PHILLIPS: All right. Dan Lothian at the White House. Dan, thanks. And we'll have your next political update in about an hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com, 24/7.
That does it for us. We'll be back here bright and early in the morning. Drew Griffin in for our Suzanne Malveaux and working on that special piece for tonight on 9/11, a different approach to looking at this anniversary.
GRIFFIN: Should be interesting as we work our way towards this tenth anniversary. Hard to believe, isn't it?
PHILLIPS: Yes. You always find the unique stories, that's for sure.
GRIFFIN: Kyra, thanks.
