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Spiking Temperatures and No Power For Many West Virginians; Taking in the Fireworks At the National Mall; More Americans Traveling over July Fourth Holiday; Gas Prices Down, Driving Up; Buns Fly At Coney Island; Picking A President In Indiana; Picking a President in Indiana; U.S. Under Cyber-Attack; What Romney Says About Health Care Mandate; eReaders Are Tracking You; First Rapid At-Home HIV Test Unveiled; Man's T-Mobile Rant Goes Viral
Aired July 04, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, filling in for Suzanne Malvueax. Happy Fourth of July! This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're focusing on politics, new technology and the economy here at home. Let's get right to it.
President Barack Obama spending part of his Independence Day with some of the country's newest citizens. The president took part in a naturalization ceremony for active members of the military. Homeland secretary Janet Napolitano delivered the oath of allegiance. This evening, the president will deliver remarks at the fourth annual Salute to the Military celebration on the South Lawn.
A Fourth of July holiday with plenty of spirit but absolutely no power. That is the extremely uncomfortable position more than 1 million people find themselves in. Severe weekend storms knocked out power from Illinois to the nation's capital. The state with the most outages five days after the storms hit, West Virginia. 314,000 homes there are still without air conditioning in the middle of a brutal heat wave. CNN's Brian Todd is there.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, temperatures are spiking here in West Virginia where it is to supposed to get up to about 95 degrees, and it's well on the way to that right now. Power is out for roughly a quarter to a third of the customers in West Virginia. Some people in the more rural areas probably won't get it until maybe the weekend. A key reason for that right behind me. This scene played out all throughout West Virginia. Downed trees are a huge problem for the power crews.
This one came down -- this oak tree pretty much snapped in half and came down on a power line here, and you can see the line, that it tripped here. And this line right here that it is still sitting on. Now, a power company official told us that because this particular line right here has not hit the ground yet, it may not have automatically tripped out. So it still could be energized and that is a real hazard for us and the power crews that may come upon the scene here.
You can see how this tree, when it came down pretty much snapped this cable clean off, and it disabled the power pole up there, and of course, that has a domino effect for power poles throughout this neighborhood. So, this is one of many neighborhoods in West Virginia that are out of power right now.
Also in West Virginia, a real food crisis. With so many grocery stores out of power, they had to throw away food. People cannot get it there, grocery stores are closing down. They're running out of nonperishable items in the so-called pantries, the state warehouses where they stash nonperishable food. Those have been pretty much bare for the last couple of days. So, they are starting a food drive here in West Virginia today to try to get nonperishable food to people who need it.
Water is also a problem. They are moving some potable water around to people who could use that. Some of the water pumps that are fueled by electricity are out or they're being booted up very slowly. That of course, takes care of the, you know, the pressure in your sink or your shower. So, that's a big problem here. Water is either out or the pressure not there.
These are some of the logistical challenges that officials are going through in trying to get people booted up and functional. But it is pretty tough going here in West Virginia right now, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Brian Todd. Appreciate that.
So, a tough Fourth of July. But despite the power outages, one holiday tradition in the nation's capital will go on. The Fourth of July fireworks show on the National Mall is planned for tonight. Preparations for the show already underway. As you can see right there, CNN's Sandra Endo is live in Arlington, Virginia, which will have a great view of the fireworks.
So, Sandra, it is extremely hot, but people figure they're hot inside without power, why not be outside and hot and at least take in a great show later on. So, how are officials preparing for the onslaught of people who are going to be in that sweltering heat?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, it is already sweltering out here, and officials are urging people if you are going to come outside to brave the soaring temperatures, come prepared. There are plenty of tents selling cool water as well as first aid stations set up around the perimeter of the festivities. And in the nation's Capitol at the National Mall they are gearing up for a big day of fun, as you were mentioning, Fredricka.
Starting the day off with an Independence Day parade, a couple of concerts at the National Mall, and also, of course tonight's big fireworks celebration.
But surrounding areas, Fredricka, are not going to be so lucky. They are canceling a lot of their Fourth of July plans. We are talking about area hard-hit by the storm that are still without power. Kensington, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Also, Sterling, Virginia, have all canceled their Fourth of July festivities.
So, clearly on this nation's birthday, it is kind of a mixed bag here. But a lot of people still coming out to celebrate. Organizers here at the nation's Capitol say they're expecting around a half a million people to show up and brave these temperatures. And they say despite it all, despite all the storms and the damages, they were never going to cancel the festivities. But there were some challenges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL JOHNSON, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: We had quite a bit of tree damage here in the park. And we have had our crews out since Saturday. They've done a terrific job of cleaning up. We still have some work to do, but the park is pretty much open and ready for visitors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENDO: A great day for visitors, because we spoke to people who have come from all over the world to celebrate America's birthday on the National Mall, and they say that they are ready for a good show.
WHITFIELD: And they are going to get one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came early, and plan on spending the day and be here to celebrate.
ENDO: Regardless of the heat, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Regardless of the heat. This is what it is all about -- hot, cold, wet, dry.
ENDO: Why come here for the Fourth of July? Why not just stay home and barbecue or do something else?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the best. It's the best. You can't be lazy. It is the best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENDO: Can't be lazy on this Fourth of July. If you want to get out there, just make sure you hydrate, try to stay cool and drink plenty of water. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. I know the folks who overlook the fireworks display over the Brooklyn Bridge in New York will argue theirs is the best, but no. It is the nation's capital that has the best fireworks display any Fourth of July. So, no wonder people would go there.
So, meantime, let's talk about the White House. There will be a type of celebration taking place on the South Lawn a bit later. What else might be happening?
ENDO: Yes, the first family always celebrates Fourth of July in the traditional fashion. They are going to have a barbecue and they have invited military families. We have seen the preps underway at the White House. They are firing up the grill and going to grill out to enjoy America's birthday, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: Oh, fantastic. And happy Fourth to you! Sandra Endo, thanks so much from Arlington.
ENDO: To you too! Happy Fouth of July.
WHITFIELD: All right.
There is no Fourth of July holiday for the firefighters in five Western states. Crews are battling the fires in Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota. And in Colorado, two people were killed and almost 350 homes destroyed. Four National Guard members killed while fighting a fire over to the weekend are being honored today. Their C-130 tanker crashed in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and flags are in half-staff in their home state of North Carolina.
And it will be a Fourth of July without fireworks in at least three states across the U.S. In Colorado, the private use of fireworks is banned as well as public displays at some mountain resorts. Parts of Arizona and Idaho have also canceled firework demonstrations.
Meteorologist Karen McGuinness is in the CNN Weather Center with more of the fire dangers over the holiday week. It is just simply too dry and dangerous in so many places.
KAREN MCGUINESS, AMS METEROLOGIST: It is too dry and on top of that, it is windy in some areas, especially across the Great Plains, but those temperatures have burned everything up. There are plenty of fuels that a spark could ignite a fire that could quickly get out of danger - out of hand.
Well, essentially from the Midwest to the Ohio River Valley, this is where we have those heat advisories as well as red flag warnings. Those red flag warnings means the humidity is low, and we are seeing some wind gusts and the temperatures are dry. Low humidity, and that is going to make it ripe for perhaps some dangerous fire activity.
All right. The highs expected in Kansas City, 101. Chicago, 98. These temperatures are hot, but you may remember back about Thursday of last week in Kansas, a place called Norton Dam, they soared to 118 degrees. Now, the temperatures are faring just a little bit better. And as we go towards Monday, we will start to see the temperature temperatures come down a few more degrees.
Now, that does not mean it is going to be cool. It is still going to be exceptionally hot as you would typically expect for the month of July. But look at some of these showers we're expecting as we go about the 9:00 hour. Across the Southeast, just a few hit-or-miss showers. Even in the nation's capital. New York City, I think you've got a lesser chance to see some of the showers as we go towards the evening hours. And the monsoon moisture has started to pick up across the dessert Southwest. That's that return flow and brings the much-needed moisture and across the dessert regions, This is when we see the bulk of their moisture through the year which is only about nine inches for the entire year. All right. For St. Louis, they could tie a record high today, 102. Record is also 102 degrees. Chicago, you will come close, so a lot of areas are not going the reach record high temperatures, but certainly come within a few degrees. So, even though they are not excessively hot, they are still going to be rather oppressive.
Over the next several days, take a look at Atlanta. Temperatures that had been over 100 degrees going to back down the 92 as we go towards Sunday. Monday is going to be even better.
Chicago, Fredricka, I really want to point this out. Thursday, we are looking at 101, By Sunday, this is nice in July, right around 81 degrees. But Fredricka, for the folks without power and water and all kinds of, just the basic necessities, it has been misery for the better pat of the week.
WHITFIELD: I know, including a good number of my family members who have been without power and all of the food has gone bad in the refrigerators. And they talk about the stories of you've got to have cash in order to get gas. You've got to have cash if you can get to the stores. If the store is open, because a lot of the perishable goods in the stores have been destroyed, too, so it is a real mess. It is. So, we've got our fingers crossed for all of the folks there without power. Hopefully they get cut on sooner rather than later. Thanks so much, Karen.
All right. Here is what we are working on in this hour. It is a traffic jam out there. A record number of Fourth of July drivers on the highway today, and it is all about the prices of gas. The government says that there are no specific terrorist threats to worry about this holiday, but cyber warfare against the U.S. is going strong. Our power plants and banking systems are at risk.
And put down your hot dogs, because we have a new champ at Coney Island.
How does such skinny competitors manage to choke down dozens of dogs? We go inside of the world of competitive eating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: On this Fourth of July holiday, Americans are hitting the road like never before. AAA estimates more than 42 million motorists are gassing up to go, and that is the most in five years. Lower prices at the pump are to credit for the surge. David Mattingly has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More Americans in more cars are traveling more miles this Fourth of July holiday. Lower gas prices is one of the big reasons why. AAA estimates more than 42 million Americans are on the move during their time off, the most since 2007. Eight out of 10 are hitting the highway.
NANCY WHITE, AAA: This year, we have seen the highest volume of vehicle travel for the Fourth of July holiday period in over a decade.
MATTINGLY: Nationally prices for regular fell earlier this week to $3 a gallon in Alabama and $3.74 in California. There is a feeling of get it while you can. Prices average about 24 cents a gallon less than last year. But 60 cents more than 2010. And already, there are signs that this consumer roller coaster is already on the climb again, maybe up 10 or 15 cents more on average.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is already on the climb again, maybe up 10 or 15 cents more on average.
BETH HEINSON, OIL PRICE INFORMATION SERVICE: Sort of a range of $3.25 to $3.50 through the summer until about September.
MATTINGLY: And just yesterday the price of oil jumped more than 4 percent, the highest since May.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. David, right now, is at a gas station where it seems a little busy back there. So, you know, this surge in driving, you know, is this rather unusual even though gas prices have been, you know, relatively modest, or is it a sign that, you know, there's an overall economic big picture look at this?
MATTINGLY: Well, there hasn't been a real drastic change in gas prices lately, but what we have seen is a very slow decline and 70-something days, 78 days of straight declines of gas prices leading into this holiday. So you add that to the fact that the Fourth of July holiday happens in the middle of the week instead of on a Monday and now people are making plans that normally in other years they may not have made. So you're seeing people on the road more, traveling more miles and burning more gas.
WHITFIELD: It's still far cheaper than, you know, trying to hop on a plane, especially if you've got a big family that wants to hit the road. All right, thanks so much, David Mattingly. Appreciate that.
All right, get used to the name. Sonia "the black widow" Thomas has defended her women's title at the annual hot dog eating contest on Coney Island, and she's only 100 pounds. So slight. How in the world does she do it. We'll talk about the science of competitive eating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJOR BOB SMITH, U.S. MILITARY: Hi, this is Major Bob Smith with the 42nd MP Brigade in Caralwan (ph) Afghanistan, wishing you a happy Fourth of July. I'd like to say hello to my family back in Wily (ph), Pennsylvania. And happy birthday, America. Army strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Our Independence Day. And it is doubtful that the founding fathers had this particular tradition in mind when they signed the Declaration of Independence. Every Fourth of July at Coney Island, that is the Super Bowl in the world of competitive eating, Nathan's Famous hot dogs hosts the International Hot Dog Eating Contest. And the results are in. This lady, right here, Sonia Thomas, 100 pounds soaking wet, they call her "the black widow," she is a super star in the world of competitive eating. This picture was taken actually yesterday as she was warming up. She easily won the women's division today, and even broke the women's world record. She ate 45 hot dogs.
Let me get Kat Kinsman in here. He's our Eatocracy editor in New York.
So, Kat, you've been writing about competitive eating for almost 15 years now. What in the world is going on here? How can anyone ingest 45 hot dogs in just 10 minutes, especially when you're just 100 pounds?
KAT KINSMAN, EATOCRACY EDITOR: Well, the world of competitive eating has changed so much in the time that I've been covering it. It used to be a big man's game. You had strapping titans of the sport, like Ed "The Animal" Krachie, Ed "Cookie" Jarvis and Eric "Badlands" Booker overseeing it.
Now, the belt of fat theory came into play. The overseeing -- the body that oversees competitive eating actually submitted an article to "The New England Journal of Medicine" saying that being a large person actually disallowed your stomach from expanding as much as it possibly could have. So you're seeing a leaner bread of eater on the scene now. They've all got their patented message. Some people don't eat for a few days. Some people gorge on something really water filled, like grapes or something like that, or just chug down a bunch of water. There are some real tricks of the trade and they're all deeply disturbing.
WHITFIELD: Yes, they are. I'm glad we have stills because -- well, maybe not that one -- because, you know, in general, it's kind of nasty to watch them kind of, you know, wiggle their bodies and get these, you know, hot dogs in. And so, you know, we've got the "The Black Widow," who's the female winner and champion. The male champion, Joey Chestnut, one more time. He actually says that he didn't eat for three days in order to prepare himself for this. So there are lots of methods to this madness. There are terms that we're hearing like "roman method," HDB, you know, Solomon -- Solomon something or other. "Solomon method." What do these things mean?
KINSMAN: OK. So the --
WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh. Let's turn this (INAUDIBLE).
KINSMAN: Oh, the "roman method" -- oh, you have the "roman method." You don't want to be in the splash zone for this one. I've seen this happen at a matzah ball eating competition. It is grounds for immediate disqualification under rules. To put it euphemistically, it is the coming to urges contrary to swallowing. It's really not pretty. And it used to be allowed in competition. Not so under most current guidelines.
There is HDB is a term you'll hear also. It's hot dog and buns. In order to get full credit for a hot dog, you have to down both parts of it.
So, further from that, there's the "Solomon method," which I say is sucker's (ph) game, because you'd separately down the buns and the hot dogs. Now as we -- you know, we just mentioned there, you know, you need to eat the whole thing. So say you've downed a whole bunch of dogs, you can't make it through all the buns, you don't get credit for that hot dog. So there's -- so that is -- so that's the "Solomon method."
There's also the "Kobayashi method," which actually he gets credit for now. Some of the previous Japanese eaters introduced it. So it's soaking the bun in water so it has less volume and it's a little bit easier to get down.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yuck. OK, so taste has nothing to do with any of this anyway.
KINSMAN: Not even a little.
WHITFIELD: No one's enjoying the taste of the hot dog as it goes down.
KINSMAN: Oh, dear God, no.
WHITFIELD: So you've got to have a certain fitness. You talked about usually the smaller people do better, you know, at this. So are they kind of considering themselves athletes? I mean that they have to prepare their bodies for this competition? KINSMAN: Well, the marketers of the event would surely like to consider -- they used to call them gurgitations. Fun fact. But when it became sort of a more prevalent event, people started training for it more and they do consider themselves as athletes. And the governing body of major league eating, which used to be an international federation of competitive eating, tried to get admitted as an Olympic sport.
WHITFIELD: No way.
KINSMAN: They tried over the years to get that done.
WHITFIELD: That's an insult. I'm sorry.
KINSMAN: I mean, it's lot of physical conditioning.
WHITFIELD: I'm sure.
KINSMAN: Do not try this at home. So I don't know if I'd go athlete, but it's -- they're definitely entertainers.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, God. There's something about just watching them, it really does make you suddenly not want to eat a hot dog.
KINSMAN: It's so much worse in person. And I can tell you, the matzah ball eating contest is probably the worst one.
WHITFIELD: I will take your word for it.
All right, Kat Kinsman, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
KINSMAN: Have a happy Fourth.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll do.
OK, another big holiday tradition, at least here in Atlanta, is to run in the Peach Tree Road Race. And guess who did it this year? Our own Suzanne Malveaux. That's why she's not in this seat today. She pounded the pavement in the nation's largest Fourth of July 10k race this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN: But we're running for Team CNN. Tanju (ph), Lisa, as well as Jen. They're going to try to do this in less than Howard's time. He says three hours. He's last.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am praying.
MALVEAUX: Ware are not -- we are not going out like that, right, Tanju?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm praying for two hours. I'm praying I'll survive. That's what I'm trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Not only did they survive, but Suzanne and the whole CNN team there were among 60,000 runners today. And they crossed the finish line in a speedy 70 minutes. That's all it took for them to cross the line. There they are. The very happy faces now. Everyone has a big old broad smile once they cross that finish line. Congrats to them and all the other racers.
Oh, yes, it is the Fourth of July. And according to our CNN/ORC poll released today, the two best parts of the holiday are food and fireworks. Thirty-eight percent of Americans say cookouts and picnics are the most enjoyable part of Independence Day with 28 percent choosing fireworks. Having a day off finished third, well ahead of the 5 percent who said parades were the best things about today's holiday.
And a tale of two autoworkers in Indiana. One who thanks the president for the bailout. The other who supports Romney.
And, don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So there will be a strong security presence today at the Statue of Liberty in New York, on the National Mall in D.C. and other key sites around the country, but federal law enforcement officials say there is no credible information that terrorists are planning to attack this Fourth of July holiday. Authorities say they are keeping a close watch for the possibility of an attack by a so-called lone wolf.
Former Commerce Secretary John Bryson will not be charged in that bizarre series of hit-and-run accidents that led to his resignation. Los Angeles prosecutors say a seizure caused the traffic collisions. Bryson's Lexus struck a car that had stopped for a train, and he spoke briefly to the people in the vehicle, then he hit their car again as he drove off. Minutes later, Bryson rammed another vehicle and he was found unconscious in his car. Tests showed he had no alcohol or drugs in his system.
An apparent long day at the office led to a major mistake for a North Carolina lawmaker. State Representative Becky Carney says she was tired when she accidentally pushed the wrong button yesterday, overriding the governor's veto of a bill to legalize natural gas drilling. Instead of pushing the red button for no, Carney pressed the green one. Well, that provided enough votes to lift the fracking ban and the measure is now law.
All right, you might not consider the town of Kokomo, Indiana, one of the car capitals of the country, but for folks there, the auto industry is king. And having a job in the industry is crucial. CNN's Poppy Harlow continues her tour of America's rust belt and introduces us to best friends. They are autoworkers who agree on just about everything except the man who should be president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): When we rolled into Kokomo, Indiana, it was 93 degrees, few clouds in the sky, reflecting the revival of this rust belt town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our three largest employers are all automotive companies -- Chrysler, General Motors and Delphi.
HARLOW: We came to meet Cliff Pitcher and Dwayne Bates (ph) at their neighborhood bar. Two friends whose blue collar auto careers have followed a similar path, but whose politics have not.
HARLOW (on camera): Do you agree on who the next president should be?
CLIFF PITCHER, CHRYSLER ELECTRICIAN AT KOKOMO PLANT: No. I'm all over Obama.
DWAYNE BATES: And I'm leaning toward Mitt Romney.
HARLOW: Why Obama?
PITCHER: Because I have a job today.
HARLOW (voice-over): He credits the auto bailout, which Romney opposed. You see, folks here called Kokomo
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We came to meet Cliff Pitcher and DeWayne Bates in their neighborhood bar, two friends whose friends blue collar auto careers followed a similar path, but whose politics have not.
(on camera): Do you agree on the same politics?
CLIFF PITCHER, CHRYSLER ELECTRONICIAN AT KOKOMO PLANT: No, I am all for Obama.
DEWAYNE BATES, RETIRED CHRYSLER WORKER: And I lean towards Mitt Romney.
HARLOW: Why Obama?
PITCHER: Because I have a job today.
HARLOW: He credits the auto bailout, which Romney opposed. Folks here call Kokomo, Little Detroit.
BATES: If it weren't for Obama, I would not have a pension check. I would not have insurance.
HARLOW (voice-over): Despite that, DeWayne does not think that President Obama deserves another four years.
BATES: We are not much better off than we were three and a half years ago.
PITCHER: Well, you cashed a check last night.
BATES: Well, I'm thankful for that.
(LAUGHTER)
PITCHER: I'm better off.
HARLOW: Kokomo's unemployment topped 20 percent in 2009 when G.M. and Chrysler went bankrupt. It is down to 9.7 percent when we visit.
(on camera): Why do you think that Romney would be better for the U.S. economy right now?
BATES: Well, I think that he would be good to get after the jobs and get the jobs back to America.
PITCHER: Romney might be able to create jobs, but they are going to pay $7 or $8 an hour. And honestly and truly, I can't support my family on $7 or $8 with no benefits.
HARLOW (voice-over): We asked the two to make their best argument to each other.
PITCHER: Dewayne, I have a job, and you have a pension. We both have insurance, and we can still raise our families. And no one in this town is gone. BATES: We still have a rough road ahead of us, but I feel Romney, and his background and experience in business can help turn this economy around.
HARLOW (voice-over): The debate is going on all over Indiana.
(on camera): This is a really fascinating state politically. It voted for Obama in 2008, and electing a Democrat as president for the first time since LBJ, but right now, the state is leaning towards Romney.
(voice-over): In Kokomo, you can really see the politics play out in the stories of the auto body shops on opposite sides of town.
Allen Wilson (ph) is on the south side. He credits Obama.
ALLEN WILSON (ph), OBAMA SUPPORTER: We have more employees than we used to have, and so we credit Obama.
HARLOW (on camera): How is business?
RICK MCCLAIN, OWNER, ALLEN'S BODY SHOP: Slow, very slow.
HARLOW (voice-over): And then Rick McClain.
MCCLAIN: I'm the guy in the middle who pays the taxes. It's actually crippled me.
HARLOW (on camera): You are ready for a change?
MCCLAIN: Yes.
HARLOW: You are confident?
MCCLAIN: Yes, there are so many things, and the east coast and the west coast are probably pro Obama, and that is fine, but the people in the Midwest have had enough. We have been stepped on and paid enough bills.
HARLOW (voice-over): As for Cliff and DeWayne, they will be voting.
BATES: I have never missed an election.
PITCHER: You check any record.
HARLOW: Again, this year, one of them this year is going to lose.
Poppy Harlow, CNN, Kokomo, Indiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Mitt Romney is on the campaign trail today in New Hampshire. Minutes ago, he told CNN something you will want to hear what he says regarding health care and the Supreme Court's decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. ALEJANDRO SANDOVAL (ph), U.S. ARMY: I'm Specialist Alejandro Sandoval (ph), stationed in Bagram, Afghanistan. I wanted to wish you a happy Fourth of July. And thank everybody in Fairfield, California, for supporting me and the fellow troops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The United States is under attack almost every day. Homeland Security officials say that someone targets the country's power grid, water treatment plants or the telecom services. These are not the attacks that you and I would see. They are cyber attacks.
Our intelligence correspondent, Suzanne Kelly, is live in Washington.
Suzanne, how bad is this and what are we talking about exactly?
SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty bad, Fred. Those numbers have gone up sharply over the years. And remember, this is the number of reported attacks against companies that control things like the power grid, and the water filtration plants and even nuclear facilities. The Department of Homeland Security Cyber Division reports that reported attacks against all of them are up significantly since 2009.
And take a look at the numbers. In 2009, there were nine attacks reported to DHS. And in 2010, 41 reported attacks. And just last year, the number soared to 198 reports.
Now, that does not mean that every attack was reported or that even was successful. in some case, it was determined that there was no threat, but there were at least 17 cases last year where these specifically trained teams within DHS -- and I want to say the name here and you'll understand why I use the acronym. There's called the Industrial Control System Cyber Emergency Response Teams. They call them ICSCERT. They basically head out to the places to give them on- site assistance when they find out that something is wrong with the systems.
WHITFIELD: So once they make these discoveries or kind of pinpoint, then what to know how dangerous or potentially serious this is?
KELLY: Well, once they do that, they can figure out the kind of attack it is. Some of the most common ones are called the spear- fishing attack, which is where some malware can be loaded up on the computers and can report back information about what you are doing.
In one of these cases -- and we just saw the target list there a second ago. In one of the cases again a nuclear facility, it is interesting, because an employee had taken information and put it on a USB drive, and that is what exposed the network and went on to infect 100 other people because of it, at a nuclear plant. And that kind of thing makes me nervous. I don't know about you.
WHITFIELD: Yes. How can these attacks or potential attacks be prevented?
KELLY: Well, DHS is hoping more companies will come forward to report the attacks. Not all of them do, because as you can understand, it means opening up the computer systems to governments. And not everybody is comfortable doing that. But they are hoping more can be reported so they can educate people better. They can sense the trends. They can see if a lot of these same attacks are targeted toward different companies. And they feel like they want to take on more responsibility in terms of being the interlocutory there.
WHITFIELD: Suzanne Kelly, thank you so much for bringing that to us from Washington. Appreciate it. Happy Fourth.
When your eReader reads you. How retailers are tracking your moves while you are reading your book.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Fourth of July, which means that people are at parades, even presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
Our Dana Bash is on the campaign trail with Mitt Romney in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Dana, health care a number-one issue among many Americans. So what is Mitt Romney saying about the mandate, the tax, the penalty, all of this that took place after that U.S. Supreme Court decision?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have a little bit of news out of him today. And you remember some controversy when one of Mitt Romney's top advisers said that he believes that the mandate is a penalty and not a tax, that it flies in the face of the Republican message saying that this is just the biggest tax in American history. well, Mitt Romney, we heard, had done an interview with "CBS News," an exclusive interview, they thought, earlier today, saying that he actually thought it was a tax. So just a short while ago, he was here shaking hands with supporters. And we, Shawna Sheppard, our intrepid producer, and I went up and he said, a couple of times, go back to read the CBS transcript. He wouldn't answer it. He was typically disciplined, Mitt Romney. But he finally answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Supreme Court has the final word, right? The highest court in the land, right?
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: They said it was a tax. So it's a tax, of course. That is what they say it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So he said it is a tax. Why is this important? For a couple of reasons. One is, big picture, he now seems to be on the same page of a larger Republican party, who think that this is a very good political message, to say, you see, this health care law, which Republicans opposed and Independents aren't sure about, you see, it is a tax.
Also, this obviously has been a dicey issue for Mitt Romney all along, all through the primary season, since, of course, he was governor of Massachusetts when Massachusetts put in place a mandate for that state. And so it has been hard for him to answer. He gave what we think is now the definitive answer. And Democrats are already putting out the press releases saying he flip-flopped on this.
WHITFIELD: Dana, tell us about the Wolfeboro parade, the town known as the oldest summer resort in America. And why did Mitt Romney feel it was important to be there if -- at the very least for symbolic reasons, but perhaps more to it?
BASH: Yes, there is more to it. That is one of the homes is here. In fact, you can see why. Check this out, Fredricka. Could this be a worse place to be on July 4th? It is absolutely stunning. Absolutely beautiful. He has been here all week long with the 30 Romneys in the immediate family, the kids and the grandkids. They came out -- and really the one and only time this week they came out in public, was to walk this parade.
It was important for him to do for a number of reasons, but primarily, if you look at the state of New Hampshire -- and this is a state that polls show is neck and neck. It only four electoral votes. But looking at every map that the Obama campaign has to get to those critical 270 electoral votes, they need the four electoral votes -- pretty much any map -- to win the presidency again. so that is interestingly important that Mitt Romney is campaigning so hard here and that he is doing so well against President Obama, who beat John McCain handily in this state four years ago.
WHITFIELD: Dana Bash, thanks so much for bringing that to us from the picturesque Wolfeboro, and very political city in New Hampshire. Thank you so much.
If you have settled in with your eReader this holiday weekend, someone may be reading what you are reading or looking at. Digital retailers are tracking with what you are reading, how quickly you read it or glance at it or play with, even what you underline.
HLN's digital lifestyle expert, Mario Armstrong, is joining us live from Baltimore.
Mario, good to see you.
So, Mario --
(CROSSTALK)
MARIO ARMSTRONG, HLN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Good to see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. It is like Big Brother watching every move --
(LAUGHTER)
-- even our reading and playing Cut the Rope or whatever else is on.
(LAUGHTER)
And you know, your book there --
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: "Shades of Grey." Come on. What are you talking about? "Shades of Grey."
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: OK. Sure. That, too.
What is going on? How is this, and who is benefiting from this?
ARMSTRONG: Well, a good question. There are a couple of people who could potentially benefit from it. There needs to be some caution about this. but at the end of the day, you are right, what they can actually track now the eBook readers, the people who make the actual devices, the Nook, the Amazon Kindle, and if you are using your iPad or tablet, and you're using other Kindle apps or other apps to read the books, they can track, like, what page did you leave the book on, and how many times did you open up the app, what do you highlight when you read the book and how fast do you start and finish a book. This is giving the publishers an eye into the world that they never knew before because was in their hand as a printed book. You never knew how well a book was doing or what people were doing with that book, other than what the reviews would say and what the sales would say.
WHITFIELD: So can we, the consumers, do anything to stop the retailers from actually doing this, the makers of the product, the eReaders?
ARMSTRONG: Not right now. Not right now. That is a big issue with the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. A lot of people are not happy about that. When you sign your Kindle agreement with Amazon, it says, in the legalese, you are giving them access to record in the aggregate. We should be very careful with that. This isn't -- they are not telling me that they are pinpointing Fredericka's specific use. They can tell in the aggregate what people are doing with certain books and what they are doing with their devices. That is what they are saying to kind of keep that caution, the buffer. But everyone is not happy about this. In fact, in California, they have launched a Reader Privacy Act, which states this same thing -- if you want to know the reading habits of people on the electronic devices, you have to get a court order for that. And we will see if that happens throughout the country.
WHITFIELD: Just when you thought you were alone with your Nook or the Kindle --
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: I know --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: -- on the patio and the swing chair, et cetera, you are not by yourself. You are being watched.
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: What if you are reading "Shades of Gray" and you're making an annotation about what you want to do to spark up your loved life at home, that could be stored. Oh.
WHITFIELD: I guess, the advice, don't do that.
(LAUGHTER)
All right. Don't do that.
Mario Armstrong, thank you so much. Happy Fourth in Baltimore.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Big plans there in Baltimore? Checking out the fireworks over the harbor.
ARMSTRONG: Well, in Maryland it is all about the crab.
WHITFIELD: Yes, the crabs.
ARMSTRONG: So we do the crabs and the fireworks. That is what we do here.
WHITFIELD: Yum, yum. Well, have a serving for me, too.
ARMSTRONG: Will do.
WHITFIELD: Whatever a serving is.
(LAUGHTER)
All, Mario, Appreciate it.
ARMSTRONG: OK. Half a dozen.
WHITFIELD: All right.
All right, the first ever at home rapid HIV test will soon hit the market. We will show you how it works and why health advocates say it is a good thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. LATRENDA VINCENT (ph), U.S. ARMY: Hi, I'm Sergeant Latrenda Vincent, stationed in Afghanistan. I would like to wish my husband, Elvin (ph), and children, Desiree (ph) and Darious (ph), a happy and safe Fourth of July. I love you guys and miss you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The FDA has given its seal of approval to first at- home HIV test. The hope is that people who are afraid to go to the doctor will test themselves at home.
Our senior medical producer, Ben Tinker, is here with some details on this.
How does it work? We have seen the pictures, and it looks like a familiar product, but it works differently.
BEN TINKER, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL PRODUCER: Yes. It's the first at-home HIV product. They had it back when you could take it at home and send it to the lab. This is one you can do at home from start to finish and get the results. You put the swab in the vile. On the left you have the negative and on the right you have the preliminary positive. If you get that test result, the next thing you should do is go to the doctor and get the test done in a medical center.
WHITFIELD: It's not like you should do it again to be sure? You need to go to the doctor.
TINKER: Yes. There's 1.2 million people living with HIV. One in five of them don't know their status. The hope is that people who don't want to go to doctor, afraid of the stigma or running into someone will do this at home.
WHITFIELD: How long does it take?
TINKER: 20 to 40 minutes. Really fast. The FDA does stress the results are not 100 percent accurate. It's 99.98 percent accurate if you are not infected. 92 percent accurate if you are infected. One in 5,000 people will receive a false positive. One in 92, a much different number will get a false negative. They will test negative if they carry the virus.
WHITFIELD: Now there's approval? It will be available how and when?
TINKER: Hopefully, by October, in 30,000 stores and online. The test in a doctor's office is about under $20. They have not set the price for this test you can do at home. The company it will cost more than $20. They will set up a toll-free hot line that when you get the test results you can call, get the counseling. Have someone to talk to when you get that test result. You can be put in touch with a doctor or a clinic. Get that next step.
WHITFIELD: I wonder if there would be a push to try to lower the cost to make it much accessible. There's a few deterrents why people don't want to find out. Even $20 may be too much for some people. Might there be wiggle room?
TINKER: I think the price will come down overtime. Right now the point is to get this out and get people at the timed. A lot of people don't know they have it. A reason you would get that preliminary positive test result, the test will not always pick up the virus in the first three months. You have to go back and do the test again and make sure it's not there. The earlier you know your status, the earlier you can be put on drugs which will increase your odds.
WHITFIELD: Do we know whether other countries have imposed a test like this?
TINKER: No, we're not sure where this is going. There are at- home tests here in the U.S. that you have to send the test out, the sample out to get the result. This is first one you can do at home and get the results in 20 to 40 minutes, know your status.
WHITFIELD: Great. Incredible medical breakthrough.
Thanks so much, Ben Tinker.
TINKER: A pleasure.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you and Happy Fourth.
TINKER: You, too.
WHITFIELD: All right. A T-Mobile customer wants his money back but didn't get it. His emotional reaction goes viral. And you're going to see why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A fed up T-Mobile customer throws a tantrum inside a store in Great Britain and he makes a whole lot of friends in the process.
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How badly did this guy want his money back? Badly enough to tear everything he could off the walls in this store in Manchester, England.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.
MOOS: Badly enough to attack the store with not one, but two fire extinguishers. Badly enough to do all of this, with people watching through the windows.
(CHEERING)
MOOS: His name is Jason Coden (ph). One of the Facebook fan page admirers made, he's just called Angry T-Mobile Guy, everyone's favorite vigilante.
When police arrived to arrest him for criminal damage, his look said, no need to get rough. After they put on the cuffs, he was nodding and smiling pleasantly.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get out of the way.
MOOS: As police broke up the crowd, his amazing rampage had attracted, and is still attracting online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I can do is cheer him on. Yes!
MOOS: Considering how much we all love our phones, there is a lot of pent-up anger at phone companies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel sorry for T-Mobile. Them jokers stay ripping somebody off.
MOOS: For every "I feel your pain, man," someone posted, "This behavior is inexcusable."
(on camera): T-Mobile said the customer wanted a refund, "a refund that we were not able to give as it was outside the stated terms and conditions."
But some of the angry guy's fans said they sometimes felt like doing what he did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what is that going to prove? Nothing. I would just feel better.
MOOS: One cleaver YouTuber played the Angry Guy video backwards and entitled it "Happy Man Attempt to Repair Damaged Phone Shop."
This tantrum now joins other memorable rampages -- the Russian doctor who rammed his car into showroom vehicle after vehicle after he got fed up with waiting for his car to be fixed, and the woman who stiff-armed bottles at a liquor store after she said the clerk used the phrase, "you people," refusing to let her use the restroom.
(on camera): In this case, the "T" in T-Mobile --
(RINGING)
MOOS: -- stood for trash.
(voice-over): And their slogan, "Life is for sharing," - well this cell phone video is sure getting shared. Along with comments like can you hear me now?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I don't recommend it. But what that guy did?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York.
