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Terror Arrests In London; Power Outages Shrinking; Power Companies Face Growing Anger; Mortgage Rates Hit All Time Low; Obama's Bus Tour In The Rust Belt; Colorado's Most Destructive Fire Burning Out; Boat Capsizes Off Long Island, Three Dead; A Smaller, Cheaper iPad?; 18 Minutes Of Fireworks Lasts Only 15 Seconds; Fired For Life Saving Rescue; "Blade Runner" To Compete In Olympics; No Electricity Leads to Food Shortages; Most Disliked Companies; Getting out the Rust Belt Vote; Tech World Waiting for New iPad
Aired July 05, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Carol is off. Just ahead in the NEWSROOM.
Maryland couple afraid to leave their house. Stock inside for days. Power pole and lines fell on their home and property after violent storms hit and they say no one has been around to clean it up. We are talking with them live this hour. Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to put my job over helping someone again. I am going to do what I felt was right and I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: In hot water, a lifeguard credited with saving a life then getting the boot, fired. Six of his co-workers quitting in protest and this morning 21-year-old Tomas Lopez tells us his side of the story.
And tired of dealing with that certain business? Well, guess what. We have the list of the most disliked companies. See which ones made the list.
And, yes, we are following breaking news this morning. Terror arrests in London to tell you about, a city already under heightened security before the Olympic Games.
Police arrested five men and a woman in two separate areas of London. The six are suspected of being part of a possible terror plot with potential targets in the U.K..
We go now to CNN's Nic Robertson in London. Nic, what can you tell us about this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're being told that this was part of a continuing ongoing intelligence led operation. Counterterrorism police took part in the swoops this morning. Three people arrested in the east of London not so far from the Olympic Park Stadium and in the west of London another three people arrested there, their ages between 18 and 30.
Police say they've been taken to the south of London to a police station there for questioning by counterterrorism officials. Meanwhile the police are searching eight different residential properties in the east and west of London as well as one business property.
They say that they've been watching these people for some time and felt this was the right time to swoop. Clearly, everyone here in Britain, counterterrorism officials, police, intelligence authorities really on a hair trigger, if you will, for anything that could disrupt the Olympics -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you very much.
We're going to go now to the latest on the power outages across the mid-Atlantic caused by last week's storms. Right now, there are fewer than 700,000 homes and businesses without electricity.
They're scattered across 11 states. That's down from a peak of about 4 million over the weekend. So they got it back up pretty fast. For some time, though, for some this marks the beginning of a seven- day, the seventh day without electricity, air conditioning, or a way to keep food cold and safe.
In West Virginia, a desperate situation is turning into a crisis now. Beginning today, relief crews are dishing out some 25,000 meal a day. Some people have gone days without food and even water.
Lizzie O'Leary is our regulation correspondent and is looking into complaints here. So Lizzie, we want to be fair. The power companies also need to be accountable here. Are they doing enough?
LIZZIE O'LEARY, AVIATION AND REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is sort of the stage of assessment that things are moving into now. Look, if you don't have your lights on or electricity or a way to keep your food cold or if you've got water powered by electricity, then there is no such thing as enough for you.
But when you look at the overall numbers, a lot of things are getting back to normal here in the D.C. area. About 90 percent of people who have their power with Pepco are getting their power back and that should be done by the end of the day.
But now we're in the complaint stage. So now you have the regulators, and usually this is at the state level. So around here today, for example, the Maryland Public Service Commission is going to be looking into whether their companies moved fast enough.
A lot of this is the definition of what is enough. This wasn't a hurricane. It wasn't a big winter storm, and so the power companies are saying, look, we can't have a storm place in plan for a week for something that comes up very quickly.
So this is sort of the post-mortem, if you will, looking back at what happened, how quickly supplies were moved out, how well things were staged beforehand and then you get into the question of whether fines will be levied.
And in some states in the past couple of years, Don, states have passed laws saying, look, if you had big storm damage, we understand it. But you then can't raise your rates and pass that cost on to your customers.
LEMON: That process you're talking about, looking into all of this, how long does it take?
O'LEARY: Well, it's long. Pepco, I keep bringing this company up. They're one of the big power providers around D.C. They were fined last year for outages in 2010. So it takes about a year.
You look at a couple of companies in Connecticut when we had Hurricane Irene and the big nor'easter. A lot of people lost power there, some for almost as long as two weeks.
So the attorney general there is pursuing some monetary relief for customers saying, look, you can't raise your rates and pass that cost on to your rate payers. So it takes a long time.
It could take six months, a year as they look through this and figure out what is reasonable outage and what is one where the company simply didn't plan well enough.
LEMON: All right, Lizzie O'Leary, thank you very much for that. We're going to talk more about this.
Now a Maryland couple has their power back on, but they're still not out of danger here. There's a live wire right in their driveway brought down by a toppled branch.
They keep calling their utility to get the branch removed and fix that line, but so far no one has come out. Jaared and Coni Arosemena join us now via Skype from their home in Silver Spring. First of all, how are you guys doing?
JAARED AROSEMENA, PEPCO POWER CUSTOMER: Well, we're trying to hang in here. We're still pretty nervous because of the situation that we're in. It's obviously a pretty dangerous situation.
But at least, you know, we do have power and, you know, we will give a dog its due. Pepco did get the power on within 48 hours of it going off.
However, you know, most of the complaints that I'm sure Pepco are used to getting, 97 percent from my figures that I found online are due to the power not being on.
Our power's on, but what about the people that -- like us that have live wires that are hanging on our house and on our gutter that could possibly catch our house on fire or possibly even electrocute someone.
LEMON: I'm looking at pictures that you took there. And of course, that leads to my next question. What are you doing there? Are you putting cones around it? Are you just staying away from it? Are you warning people? What's going on with the live line in your driveway?
CONI AROSEMENA, PEPCO POWER CUSTOMER: We called the fire department and they came out and put up caution tape around the area as our neighbors have small children, which frightens us greatly.
We also put up signs in the driveway saying live electric wires, please stand clear. I put it in Spanish and English as well as I could taping them to the caution wire.
But if someone -- it's hard to tell that the lines are down because there's so much foliage over them and it just -- it scares us badly that someone's going to be hurt, terrified.
LEMON: And, again, you touched on it a bit. But what did -- this is Pepco, correct? Is this Pepco?
CONI AROSEMENA: This is Pepco and we've been calling them --
LEMON: What have they said to you? I know you've been calling, but what is their response. We have one from them, but what have they said to you personally? We're working as fast as we can? What?
CONI AROSEMENA: They have told me three times that a crew was on the way and no one has shown up. They lost my ticket that I -- that we reported this.
They keep saying, well, your electric isn't on. I'm like, no, that's not the issue. It's live power lines. They say, we'll open another ticket, there's no ticket.
And it's frustrating. I mean, I had one of their people laugh at me. I had one of them hang up on me and then yesterday I had someone call me and say, well they were going to come out and cut the power lines and then we could find a tree crew.
And this is at 7:00 on the Fourth of July. And I'm thinking, where am I going to find a tree crew at 7:00 on the Fourth of July?
JAARED AROSEMENA: It's even more than that. It's the whole thing with the service to the people. You know, the problem is if this situation would have happened, if there would have been a downed line or limbs in the driveway of, say, for instance, a McDonald's up the street here.
I'm sure that within 24 hours that they would have made sure those lines were up to where that business that pays them, you know, thousands and thousands, in the upwards of millions of dollar as year.
You know, I'm sure they would have that cleared off within 24 hours. And they did have that cleared off within 24 hours from this past storm. But my question is to Pepco, when does a McDonald's cheeseburger take precedence over human lives?
LEMON: Well, that's a good question and we thank you. And we know they're being stretched. But, still, when you have live power lines, you know, running through neighborhoods where you say there are children and pets and what have you and workers as well, that's a pretty difficult situation and pretty dangerous situation.
Thank you, guys. Best of luck and also let us know what happens, OK, because I'm sure after this, someone will be contacting you. Thank you very much.
JAARED AROSEMENA: I certainly hope so. Thank you so much.
CONI AROSEMENA: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: I misspoke. No statement from Pepco. We reached out for a statement from Pepco about the family's predicament and they have not -- we have not heard back from them yet. As soon as we do, we will let you know here on CNN.
We want to show you some really interesting images of the power outages. This one is from space. OK, so here is NASA's before peak of the eastern corridor from Richmond, Virginia, north up to Philadelphia.
Take note of the areas of light that surround the connect -- and connect the cities here so now the after image two days later. You can see the size and the density of the lights where they shrink around Washington and Baltimore. Pretty amazing when you consider what happened.
On to other news now, just in to CNN, a key gauge of the housing market hits a new low now, but for once it could actually be a good thing, especially if you're looking to buy or refinance.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, what is it? What are the numbers here?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All right, the rates on the third year fix mortgage, Don, at a record low, 3.62 percent. This is actually a hit new lows in 10 of the past 11 weeks.
But you mentioned that it's a good sign and what's interesting is that it's actually a double-edged sword. You know, mortgage rates, they often fall when the economy isn't doing well.
You know, consumer spending is weak. The manufacturing sector is contracting. So those are kind of the one side of it. Then you flip the coin over and it's actually a great time for people to buy a home when you see mortgage rates falling like this.
But you have to remember, just because mortgage rates and home prices are low, Don, it doesn't necessarily mean you can qualify for a loan.
You know, banks are still very tight, very tight-fisted with giving out money, even to people who seem pretty well qualified. So it's still tough out there despite the falling mortgage rates -- Don.
LEMON: All right, 3.62 percent. My goodness, that's really low. Alison Kosik, thank you for the news just in to CNN.
Right now, we should tell you President Barack Obama is on his way to the rust belt states. That's Ohio and Pennsylvania. He boarded Air Force One just a few minutes ago.
His two-day bus tour on ground force one begins in Northern Ohio with three scheduled campaign stops later today, and he's going focus on his handling of the economy, policies, and his financial rescue of U.S. automakers their major employer in those swing states.
Dan Lothian at his stop in Maumee, is that right? Maumee?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Maumee.
LEMON: OK, so this is a really -- this is a new phase, Dan.
LOTHIAN: It is a new phase. They're calling this bus tour "Betting on America," and what we have seen up to this point, the president has been mostly having some scattering of rallies, but mostly focused on fund-raising in big cities with the rich and famous.
So this is a chance for the president as the campaign sees it to go out to smaller towns and meet with those working-class Americans, those blue collar Americans, which, of course, are critical to both campaigns.
As you pointed out, the president will be focusing on this message of the economy and what he has done to stabilize the economy, tried to turn it around obviously in this region, which is huge when it comes to the auto industry.
He'll be talking about his efforts in rescuing the auto industry, and in particular what the president has been saying now for quite some time this notion that more jobs that have been sent overseas need to come back so he wants to push this tax incentive for these companies.
He calls it insourcing. You've heard so much about outsourcing. But what will happen if you can get some of those jobs back to this country. So that will be the message that we'll hear from the president here today.
But he'll also be hitting his opponent Mitt Romney very hard. Expect to hear talk about Bain Capital, the private equity firm tying Romney's narrative of a job creator, someone who has worked in business.
With this other side that they see, which are jobs that have been taken away, stripped away from Americans here and sent overseas. Speaking about Romney, though, he will be watching very closely what the president is doing here.
He has some surrogates trailing the president through the two- day bus tour. Tim Pawlenty, a former presidential candidate and also Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, also acting as a surrogate to get out Romney's message.
And as we were landing here a short time ago, there was an airplane, a small plane pulling a large banner that said "Romney 2012."
LEMON: Very interesting. We'll all be watching. Dan Lothian, thank you very much.
Other news now, after a grueling two-week battle, finally some good news from the Colorado fire lines. The Waldo Canyon fire, which blazed across nearly 18,000 acres at a tight is now 90 percent contained, but not before incinerating 346 homes.
Fifty more were damaged and the cost of all that destruction, $110 million. That's an estimate. Fire crews worked 16-hour shifts to get the fire under control.
In South Florida, a lifeguard saves a drowning man. Does he get a medal? Nope, he gets fired. Wait until you hear his story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Checking your headlines right now on CNN, it's his first campaign bus tour of the 2012 campaign. And on a two-day trip through Ohio and Pennsylvania, President Obama will talk about his efforts to revive the economy in states critical to his re-election. This will be the seventh time the president has visited Ohio this year.
A Fourth of July celebration turns tragic on Long Island after a boat capsized with 27 people aboard. Local officials say three people were killed and investigation is now under way.
It is a matter of when, not if. That's what some tech experts are saying about the arrival of a smaller and cheaper iPad. Sources say the new tablet will have a screen measuring seven or eight inches compared to the current iPad 10-inch display.
The updated iPad could be out by the end of the year. CNN.com producer, Doug Gross will give us more details in about 30 minutes on CNN.
Looks like a pretty good grand finale for a Fourth of July fireworks celebration, right? Well, it was actually the whole show for many people in San Diego. It lasted only a whopping 15 seconds. Technical glitch caused all the fireworks to explode at once.
Now we want to turn to a story that you may not believe. A South Florida lifeguard is out of a job today because he saved the life of a drowning man.
His bosses say he went beyond his zone and that put the rest of the beach goers at risk. We get the details now from reporter Jacey Birch of CNN affiliate WPLG. She is in Hallandale Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The person was drowning outside our bowie lines like it's an unguarded zone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I started running. I didn't see the person at first. We carried him as fast as possible.
JACEY BIRCH, WLPG REPORTER (voice-over): And for that rescue, lifeguard, Tomas Lopez was fired on the spot. The reason? He left his zone.
SZILARD JANKO, FIRED LIFEGUARD: While he was off, we had two other guards watching the zone so the beach was secured.
BIRCH: To save somebody outside the buoys in an unprotected part of Hallandale Beach.
TOMAS LOPEZ, FIRED LIFEGUARD: I'm not going to put my job over going to help someone again. I am going to do what I felt was right and I did.
BIRCH: And Lopez wasn't the only one. Szilard Janko was also let go this week for going against corporate code.
JANKO: If I see anyone drowning regardless of where they are I'm going to save them because I'm a lifeguard. Even as a human, I'm going to save them if I see they need help and they told me I was fired.
BIRCH: An Orlando-based company is contracted by the city and paid to man the beaches, but only certain spots.
JANKO: I think we should be able to rescue anybody like anywhere.
BIRCH: Szilard Janko quit his job as a lifeguard in solidarity with his three colleagues, all terminated for not following policy.
(on camera): Does your job actually expect you to let somebody die?
JANKO: They want to call EMS or 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This young man is a hero. He should not be fired.
BIRCH (voice-over): Former Vice Mayor Bill Julian is outraged at what's happening in his city.
BILL JULIAN, FORMER HALLANDALE BEACH VICE MAYOR: Looking back at the contract that we approved as a former vice mayor, as a cost-saving measure, I think now is the time not to renew and get our guys back under control.
BIRCH: That contract expires this year, but these lifeguards tell us Hallandale Beach has lost seven lifeguards. Three fired, four quit, all because a man's life was saved.
JANKO: I understand it's wrong not to leave someone there and they're grown-ups and they don't understand it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: WPLG's Jacey Birch reporting. The company says in light of the firestorm, it is reviewing the case. Owner Jeff Ellis told the "Sun Sentinel" newspaper, quote, "If we find our actions on the part of the leadership team were inappropriate we will rectify it based upon the information that comes forward."
We'll keep following this story and make sure you tune in tonight to hear more from the lifeguard who was fired for his heroics. Tomas Lopez will be a guest tonight on CNN's Erin Burnett "OUTFRONT" 7:00 Eastern, of course.
A double amputee will face off against able-bodied athletes on the world stage. Oscar Pistorius gets the green light to compete in the Olympics, and we'll hear from the blade runner-up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know what they call him, "Blade Runner." Oscar Pistorius is a double amputee with carbon fiber legs. He won five medals at the Paralympic games, and now, well, for the first time he will be competing against Olympic athletes in London.
CNN's Robyn Curnow sat down with Pistorius.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's a self-confessed speed freak who's loved motorbikes and action sports since he was a child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I've got these ones that we use for sports.
CURNOW: But South African sprint champion Oscar Pistorius is also a double amputee. Because of a birth defect, he's been wearing prosthetic legs since he was just 1 year old.
Before practice he doesn't just change his shoes. Pistorius changes his legs, taking off his everyday walking prosthetics and putting on his running blades.
A man who refuses to see himself as someone who needs a helping hand. Pistorius is now looking ahead to London 2012.
(on camera): Obviously the longer-term plan is the Olympics.
OSCAR PISTORIUS, SOUTH AFRICAN SPRINTER: I've said I ran the qualification time. My goal is just to be consistent where I am, and if you look at what I'm going to have to do to be consistent, there's a lot of hard work in the next year ahead of us.
CURNOW (voice-over): But the sprinter's journey, his coach believes, is not yet over. AMPIE LOUW, COACH: He is especially is a champion, and champions are born, and I know it. I've almost got him for 40 years in training, and I can see it. He's got all the abilities as a champion, and we did it gradually.
CURNOW: He's become a bit of a hero, fans and sponsors lining up to meet the man known as the "Blade Runner. Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter, who defines the Olympic spirit. Robyn Curnow, CNN, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN's Piers Morgan hosted some U.S. Olympic team member on his special pride of America show last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an honor, you know. It's such an honor. When I put on that jersey, there's nothing like it. I want to make everyone back home proud and hopefully I can do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took it to the masters because it's one of the most challenging sports in the world. That's what I love about it. It's such great challenge. I remember watching the 2000 Olympic games and seeing the gymnastics teams compete and remembering I want to do that one day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Man, these kids get younger every year. Maybe I'm just getting older. Piers also talked to Coach K, the legendary Duke basketball coach, Mike Justy.
He's coaching the U.S. team and although he's got NBA stars on his roster, he told Piers there's no room for error in the single elimination tourney.
Not only are a lot of storm survivors still without electricity, for some of them, they're running out of food. The race to feed the hungry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did you go without food and water?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About four days, four nights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very hard, very hot. You felt like you were going to pass out, trembling, shaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Stories we are watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
A scary moment for many in London, police arrested six people in raids today. They're suspected of possibly planting some kind of terrorist attack. Scotland Yard says it has been picking up increased chatter among extremist groups and describes the threat level as substantial.
Mexico begins individually recounting more than half the ballot boxes from last weekend's presidential election. Enrique Pena Nieto got more votes and claimed a victory.
But his challenger says there were irregularities at many polling stations and he is refusing to concede. A final vote count is expected on Sunday.
A judge will announce his decision today on a second bond request for George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is charge with second degree murder in Trayvon Martin's Death.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Good morning everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Stories we are watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
A scary moment for many in London, police arrested six people in raids today. They're suspected of possibly planning some kind of terrorist attack. Scotland Yard says it has been picking up increased chatter among extremist groups and describes the threat level as substantial.
Mexico begins individually recounting -- recounting more than half the ballot boxes from last weekend's presidential election. Enrique Pena Nieto got more votes and claimed the victory but his challengers say there were irregularities at many polling stations and he is refusing to concede. A final vote count is expected on Sunday.
A judge will announce his decision today on a second bond request for George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in Trayvon Martin's death. Judge Kenneth Lester revoked Zimmerman's bail a month ago after learning Zimmerman misled the court about his finances. The Judge released phone calls in which it appears Zimmerman was talking in code to his wife. We're going to bring you the judge's ruling as soon as it happens right here on CNN.
First they had to deal with intense storms and then oppressive heat. Now, days later nearly 500,000 people across 11 states still have no electricity. Granted that's way down from a peak of four million without power over the weekend.
In West Virginia alone, 109,000 are still in the dark. Those power outages are leading to another major problem in West Virginia, a huge food shortage.
CNN's Brian Todd explains now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Roberts is in a hurry. He's got to get a truckload full of food and water to a shelter soon. Roberts runs a faith-based charity called "Mountain Mission". We follow his team as they pull into the Cano City community center, a temporary center in Charleston, dozens who've been without power and food for days. Many of them, low income, are visibly relieved at his arrival.
YOLANDA WILCOX, RESIDENT: Thank you so much.
TODD: People like Yolanda Wilcox, legally blind and on food stamps. She says her family of eight struggled to find food since a tree fell on her house and knocked out the power.
WILCOX: We went to churches and you know stuff like that to get some food, you know, but it's been very hard. It's very hard indeed because we had to go from place to place and it's hot.
TODD: 23-year-old Bleu Pack tells an even more desperate story.
(on camera): How long did you go without food and water?
BLEU PACK, RESIDENT: About four days, four nights.
TODD: What was that like?
PACK: Very hard, very hot. You felt like you're going to pass out you've got trembling and shaking.
TODD: State officials, charity leaders tell us nearly every county in West Virginia is dealing with food shortages. Stores without power have tossed out spoiled food. State food banks are depleted of non-perishables.
JOHN ROBERTS, MOUNTAIN MISSION CHARITY: This has really surprised us, I mean. And I've been doing this job for 12 years and we've helped with a lot of fires, a lot of floods, things like that. But this storm snuck up on us.
TODD: Now aid groups and state officials are working furiously to head off a worst-case scenario.
(on camera): John Robert's group has distributed 50,000 bottles of water this size, it's 4,000 pounds of non-perishable food to the residents here Americans in need. But as far as the federal response goes a FEMA official tells us this is not another Katrina.
(voice-over): That official says FEMA has learned from Hurricane Katrina, has coordinated with state officials from day one, bringing 100,000 meals into West Virginia, more than 50 tractor-trailers full of water, nearly 100 large generators. Some of it clearly has arrived without much time to spare.
WILCOX: It's hard, but yet still we thank God that it is a place that we can come and get food. TODD: One of the biggest challenges here is communication. So many people in the hard-hit areas of West Virginia live in remote areas and it's been difficult for state officials to get word to them on where they can go to get help.
Brian Todd, CNN, Charleston, West Virginia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The Red Cross is scrambling to help. They are working long hours in the oppressive heat to feed several West Virginia communities. And just a short time ago I asked the regional development officer Becky Howard what she and her team have been doing and what they've seen on the ground there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY HOWARD, RED CROSS REGIONAL CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER: People are hot, they're tired. We know that it could be a number of days before their power is restored. And we're closely working with the power companies, and we're working with them closely to understand where the needs are, and we'll continue to serve those meals and offer the assistance that is needed to help these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We'll tell you that starting today relief crews will begin mass feedings, providing up to 25,000 daily meals.
Our meteorologist Rob Marciano joins us now with a look at when we can expect to see some cooler temperatures. Rob how are you doing?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's warm and we're going to -- it's still going to be warm for the next several days. Interesting satellite pictures showing you city lights at night from a NASA satellite. This is before the blackouts or the power outages. This is after. You can notice -- it's notably darker. And you this -- what make this event so extraordinary is that typically before an ice storm or a windstorm or a hurricane, utility companies can preposition crews and then borrow crews from other states.
This thing happened with just one or two hours warning and then it happened across a multi-state area. So there are just -- there's just not a lot of manpower and trucks out there to get the repairs done and then you have the heat. 105 yesterday in St. Louis; 103 in Evansville. Chicago saw 100-plus for the second day this year. They haven't seen 100-plus since 2005. They've already done it twice for this year.
And the list goes on. Paducah, 101; and in Lexington, Kentucky seeing 99 degrees, even Toledo, Ohio, near the water 100 degrees there. We're off and running in Chicago, 88 is the current temperature and 90 as measured in shade without humidity.
In St. Louis, you'll easily get over 100 again today potentially a record-setter. And a number of states about 20 or so under heat advisories, heat warnings in places like Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. And that's going to remain this way for a good couple of days.
When is the relief coming? Not today, not tomorrow. One or two expected tomorrow in Chicago here is the cool front from Canada Don and that's what's going to come through Sunday into Monday and we'll start to get temperatures back to normal by then but the next two, three days still going to be toasty.
LEMON: Stick it out. Stay inside.
MARCIANO: Yes.
LEMON: And if you have power, you know. Stay cool. Turn your air conditioning on. Thank you, Rob Marciano. I appreciate it.
MARCIANO: All right, Don, you got it.
LEMON: Tired of dealing with that certain business? Guess what. We have the rankings of the most disliked companies. See which ones made the list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to tell you that in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll have an interview with former presidential candidate Herman Cain. He'll talk about the race to the White House, the Supreme Court's ruling on health care and his new Web TV show CainTV.com, coming up in about 20 minutes right here on CNN.
Yes the economy is issue number one with the storm that have been sweeping the country, a lot of people are no strangers to frustration with the utility companies. In fact they top the list of the most disliked companies in America.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Change. As a matter of fact, PEPCO that we've been hearing about was on the list last year.
ALISON KOSIC, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
LEMON: Who topped the list, they topped the list last year. Who tops it this year?
KOSIK: Yes let me just point out, PEPCO they did top the list last year. Did not top the list that we're talking about here is a look like that they've -- sort of made some inroads with their consumers. Maybe they're sort of backing up a little bit these days with the latest issues there.
But yes as you said, you know what? Consumers are most ticked off with the companies that provide their electricity. There's this American consumer satisfaction index and it shows the Long Island Power Authority actually tops their list, their most disliked list. The biggest gripes here include rate hikes and overbilling mistakes.
Northeast Utilities yes that takes the number two spot that's followed by cable provider Charter Communications, Consumer's point to poor customer service there and unfair billing. Another cable company Comcast is next and United Airlines follows that. And then you look at the rest of the list; it's essentially a mix of these cable companies and air carriers.
Interestingly enough, Don, Facebook is also on the list; comes in at number 12. People are worried about user privacy and child safety -- Don.
LEMON: Interesting. Ok. Let's move on to the markets now. A few big jobs reports out today. What do they say about the labor market, Alison?
KOSIK: Well, you know what; these reports show that the job market may be picking and perking up a little bit but you wouldn't see that the way stocks are reacting today. The Dow is down 57 points but these job reports nonetheless are pretty positive considering.
Weekly jobless claims fell by 14,000 last week -- it's the biggest drop since April. And payroll processor ADP says private employers added 176,000 jobs last month. It came in much stronger than May figure. Now, what ADP is meant to be, of course, is as appetizer to the main course of the government jobs report, that comes out tomorrow -- Don.
LEMON: Alison Kosik, thank you very much.
KOSIK: Sure.
LEMON: The auto bailout is credited with saving thousands of jobs. So why are some auto workers near Detroit, Michigan less than enthusiastic about a second term for President Obama. We're going to talk with them at our latest stop on the "CNN Rustbelt Road Trip".
We don't want you to forget that if you're heading outdoors or going somewhere, you can still watch us any time on your mobile phone, or your computer -- your mobile as they say, overseas. Just head to cnn.com/TV.
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LEMON: Checking your headlines right now.
The Red Cross is teaming up with the federal government to feed thousands of hungry West Virginians. Powerful storms knocked out power, forcing grocery stores to close, and residents had to watch helplessly as their food spoiled. More than 108,000 people are still without power after storms tore through the state last week.
After a grueling two-week battle, finally some good news for the Colorado fire lines -- from the fire lines. The Waldo Canyon fire which blazed across nearly 18,000 acres at its height is now 90 percent contained but not before incinerating 346 homes. The cost of all that destruction? $110 million.
And money, finally shorter simpler rules about your checking account fees, major banks and credit unions, among them, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase who are coming out with easy to understand one-page summaries of the fees they charge. Consumers have complained that banks bury charges in complex documents with hard-to-read -- hard-to-understand, excuse me, legal terms.
And talk about your huge catch that did not get away, fishermen off Marina Del Rey, California, caught this 800-pound Mako shark. It was too big to get into the boat. So they dragged it to the dock where it was too heavy for the scale. Locals say they haven't seen a shark this big in a couple of years.
Well, this week the CNN NEWSROOM is doing a special series and taking you on a road trip. Our Poppy Harlow traveled to the region known as the Rust Belt, touring several states that President Obama won in 2008, but where he now faces a tougher race against Republican Mitt Romney.
His third stop just outside Detroit, an area which might seem like a lot for the President given the auto bailout, but as Poppy found out, not all of the workers in the Motor City are backing his bid for re-election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the outskirts of Detroit --
BRIAN PANNEBECKER, AUTO WORKER: I don't see the economy turning around.
HARLOW: -- two auto workers.
STACEY STEWARD, AUTO WORKER: And Michigan is on its way back.
HARLOW: With similar 9-to-5s but dramatically different views on the economy here where unemployment is about 8.5 percent.
(on camera): Who do you credit for having a job today?
STEWARD: I credit President Obama totally, 110 percent.
HARLOW: Why?
STEWARD: Because when everybody else turned their backs on the auto industry, he said there's no way he's going to let us fail.
HARLOW (voice-over): Mitt Romney's criticism of the auto bailout doesn't sell well here in Michigan. It's home of the big three and also Romney's home state. Michigan is leaning towards Obama this election, but not all of the auto workers we met here are.
PANNEBECKER: I think Mitt Romney will do a much better job managing the economy. The government needs to be out of the economy as much as possible.
HARLOW: You see, even though Brian is an auto worker, he doesn't think President Obama should have bailed out the industry.
PANNEBECKER: I think markets need to be allowed to work, and there were some fundamental problems that GM and Chrysler had that really were of their own making.
HARLOW: He works for Ford, which didn't take a bailout.
STEWARD: Life is a whole lot different today than it used to be.
HARLOW: But Stacy Steward's company took one. She was laid off from her job as an electrician at Chrysler in 2008, out of work for nearly a year and a half.
STEWARD: The auto loans were granted, they started doing the restructuring, came back to work one month later and I've been back to work ever since.
HARLOW: That has meant being able to send her daughter to college and a new house.
STEWARD: I really believe that without the bailout that we would not be here today.
HARLOW: Pannebecker is doing fine, too, but does not credit government spending.
PANNEBECKER: Obama just wants to take us deeper and deeper and deeper into the social democrat mess that the Europeans are going through right now.
HARLOW: He's committed enough to work part time for a Republican state representative.
PANNEBECKER: We need some austerity and some fiscal responsibility, I think and that's Mitt Romney.
STEWARD: Why should we keep bailing out this industry? I think that's the feeling that some of the people on the I've talked to have.
The big three supports the entire state of Michigan. The auto loans didn't just help Chrysler and GM. The auto loans helped all of our suppliers, they helped all the small businesses in the areas, they helped the citizens.
HARLOW: Despite the bailout, Michigan has actually lost about 50,000 auto manufacturing jobs since 2007.
OBAMA: Some even said we should let Detroit go bankrupt. You remember that.
ROMNEY: I believe the market works better than a president stepping in to take care of his friends.
HARLOW: Mitt Romney's 2008 op-ed let Detroit go bankrupt is notorious here.
Obama took 53 percent of the vote here in Macomb County in 2008. Romney supporters know the uphill battle they face here.
(on camera): What do you think Mitt Romney's biggest challenge is here in Michigan?
When Chrysler and GM were grabbing for a life line it came off as if he didn't care about the auto industry. He talked about the bailout, the auto crisis like a financial guy, a bean counter rather than like somebody whose heart was really there.
HARLOW (voice-over) : a candid reflection from an auto worker who knows the importance of detail both on the production line and in politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Interesting stuff from Poppy Harlow. And there she is now in New York. So, Poppy, are people in Michigan still focusing on Mitt Romney's "Let Detroit Go" bankrupt op-ed for years. Later you heard the President talking about it in your story. Are they still focusing on that?
HARLOW: No question about it. I was surprised at how much they're focusing on it because again, that was a 2008 op-ed. . Everyone I asked t was a 2008 op ad. Even supporters of Romney also said that that really stays with him as he campaigns and fund razes in Michigan.
Don, you saw in the piece, we showed a little bit of a protest against Romney. We happened upon that outside of a Romney fundraiser outside of Detroit when we were there that day. There were a lot of folks there.
So to them, it's very personal. Stacy Steward did "Christ the Worker" that you heard from in the piece. Told me -- you know, I take that personally. So interesting stuff there.
We're going to head to Ohio tomorrow, to a big GM facility -- big GM plant in Ohio for our final stop on the road trip. A town that we found that's very divided again in this election.
LEMON: Fascinating stuff. Thank you, Poppy Harlow.
HARLOW: Sure.
LEMON: IPad users may soon find a brand-new version. Again, smaller and cheaper, but if it happens, will the late Steve Jobs who founded the company have approved and what would be the impact for competing tablet makers?
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LEMON: Ok. Apple may soon come out with a new mini-iPad and some of them predicting this. A smaller less expensive version of the current model would have a seven- to eight-inch screen but that's not what Apple's co-founder, the late Steve Jobs ever wanted. He said anything smaller would not be able to deliver the full tablet experience.
We want to bring in CNN's Doug Gross to talk about this now. How soon would this mini-iPad -- it's kind of like this.
(CROSSTALK)
DOUG GROSS, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Yes, you kind of do. It sort of did that; that would be your seven inches. Yes. If you've seen the Kindle Fire, it's not the same size as that. And let's be clear to start out with this.
This is data where still this is not confirmed. But more and more reports are coming out over the course of the past year from more and more reliable sources suggesting that Apple could be doing what -- everybody is sort of calling it an iPad mini right now. Smaller, 7 inch (inaudible) ten inches with the current iPad.
LEMON: I wonder what the response is from Google's Nexus 7. Because they're already smaller and mini kind of tablets that are up. They're pretty close to the side.
GROSS: Absolutely. Amazon's Kindle Fire is the best example. That's really been the first tablet they've had any luck almost competing with the iPad. It was smaller, it was cheaper, and at $199, they had a lot of success. Nexus 7 from Google is going to be the same size. It's going to be the same price, $199.
So the theory is that Apple is looking over here at these guys saying, wait a minute, let's free these guys out. We're the iPad, we're number one. Don't give them anything.
LEMON: Doug, do you remember when the iPad first came. I remember because I was like one of the first people in the store to get it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely I thought it would be smaller and many people did. But according to Steve Jobs who did so well with this has now passed, he didn't want it. He said it was too small and it wouldn't -- it wasn't user-friendly?
GROSS: That's the great thing about all this speculation. Steve Jobs came out. It was on the record. It was during an earnings report call. He said absolutely anything smaller than a ten-inch tablet would not be enough to do a good tablet apps. Hid best quote, if you're going to try to do that, you would have to use -- sandpaper -- sand people's finger's down to make them more narrow so you can do it. So he was very up front saying you couldn't do it.
Of course, Steve Jobs was known for little gamesmanship. This is the same guy who said, He said "Apple is not working on a phone. Maybe it was a bluff. But he certainly sounded sincere. So this won't work.
LEMON: Yes. Maybe just to get than one out and then get a small. You know the fat finger thing and then you do the auto correct. LEMON: It's the issue all the time.
GROSS: Absolutely.
LEMON: I'm like, oh I my gosh I didn't mean to post that on twitter. It's completely wrong.
GROSS: And you can't delete it. Once it's own the Internet it's on the Internet.
LEMON: Yes.
I was trying to say "statue" the other day and I said I said statue and they're like -- I know, I know, I know.
Thank you.
Gross: absolutely. We'll see what happens all right. We'll see.
The latest on the TomKat divorce drama. Is Katie Holmes asking for an emergency hearing over Suri?
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LEMON: Finally this hour, checking "Showbiz Headlines" this Thursday morning. It looks as if the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorce may be getting ugly or uglier, if you want to say that. Holmes' attorney tells people.com she did not file for an emergency custody and child hearing.
Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise last week and she is seeking sole legal custody of their 6-year-old daughter Suri. Cruise hasn't filed any legal papers, he just spent his 50th birthday with his older children, Isabella and Connor in Los Angeles.
Now this, we're getting our first pictures of actress Naomi Watts as Princess Di. Look at that. Watt is playing the late iconic royal in an upcoming move about the last two years of Diana's life. It's likely to generate some controversy. The film reportedly explores some of her relationships leading up to the 1997 crash that ultimately took her life.
And Matthew McConaughey is going to be dad again. He and his new wife Camilla Alves are expecting baby number three. The "Magic Mike" star made the announcement official on Twitter official with this message, "Happy Birthday, America. More good news, Camilla and I are expecting our third child and God bless. Just keep living."
And some good words of advice. How's that for English (ph) for a journalist.
I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues with my pal Kyra Phillips. Take it away Kyra
