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Opening Ceremony Just Hours Away; Shared Custody For Jackson Children; FaceBook Stock Plunges; Man Accused Of Spreading Hepatitis
Aired July 27, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the Olympic Stadium in London, where we are three hours away from the opening ceremony, which is going to be quite spectacular. Several stories caught our attention today. And in particular several pictures.
Take a look at First Lady Michelle Obama. She got right into it, playing tug-of-war at the Windfield (ph) House in London, part of her Let's Move London event. And these guys, they get (ph) to fly through the air, divers Chris Myers, Tom Daley and Jack Lappa of Great Britain posing at Olympic Park. And finally, a cultural presentation. Mary Worry is performing what is called a hacker to welcome in the games. You don't want to mess with them. All right, I'm done for now. I'm going to go and get myself a nice ham pump (ph) pint of Harvey's best bitter and sit back and watch what will be the greatest opening ceremony in the history of Olympics. And I speak, as a proud Brit, Mitt Romney. And now, I'm going to toss to Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Good day to you all.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Suzanne Malveaux. This hour, in the CNN NEWSROOM, within 24 hours, Mitt Romney manages to make headlines with foot in mouth comments that offended the British prime minister and the mayor of London and here are some of the other stories that we're also following, let's get right to it.
People are mopping up and assessing the damage in parts of the northeast today. A series of severe storms swept through communities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. The storms left hundreds of thousands of customers without power. A Brooklyn man was killed after lightning hit a church causing a scaffold to fall on him. A falling tree crushed a Pennsylvania woman's car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER BAUMAN: I was coming home from the grocery store and the sky was pitch black and next thing you know, the back door is swinging open, my son is yelling from the front of the house, get out here, get out here. I come out there, watching the trees fall and it's just chaos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And we'll check in with the CNN severe weather center in just a little bit. All right, that long-awaited Facebook stock reached a new low today. Despite a better than expected earnings report, the stock was down to about 23 bucks, a 40 percent drop from the initial offering price back in May.
And Mitt Romney attends the opening ceremony for the Olympics in London, in just a few hours from now, and Romney is trying to recover from his remarks questioning whether the city is ready. He has since tried to smooth things over, but the British papers are showing no mercy. Jim Acosta reports now from London.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Mitt Romney would probably like to take the Olympic torch to some of the headlines coming out of London this morning, considered what was in the "Sun" newspaper, he was dubbed Mitt the twit. Over in the "Daily Mail," he was called the party pooper, all of this after what he said in an interview a couple of days ago when he questioned whether London was ready for the Olympic games after some sharp responses from the prime ministers here and the mayor of London. Mitt Romney has back pedaled somewhat, walking back some of the comments. In interviews with our own Piers Morgan, he was asked about some of the criticism. He sort of sidestepped the question but then also went on to say that London is ready for the games.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: You have been slightly criticized for knocking the British enthusiasm as if you and''t picked up on that enthusiasm. Are you -- are you feeling it now?
ROMNEY: Well, I'm delighted to see the kind of support that has been around the torch, for instance. I watched last night on BBC an entire program about the torch being run across Great Britain and the kind of crowds -- I guess millions of people have turned out to see the see the torch. That's what you hope to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOST: Now, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, did whip up a crowd of 60,000 people here in London who were at a pre-Olympics party basically taunting the GOP contender for his earlier comments about the readiness of this city for the Olympic games. But since then, his office said he has made some more positive comments about Mitt Romney after hearing that the GOP contender has walked back some of the comments. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has a very light schedule today. He met with the leader of Ireland, and during that exchange, he was asked about the fact that he had to walk to that event because of all of the traffic restrictions here in London. Romney went on to say that he didn't mind the walk. Safe to say, he is walking on eggshells in London before the Olympics begin --Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Acosta, thank you, so much.
All right, to Colorado now. Today marks one week since that horrific movie theater massacre that left 12 people dead and 58 wounded. Funerals are being held through the weekend for those killed. And we understand 12 victims are still in the hospital. Our Don Lemon is in Aurora, Colorado. So, Don, give me the condition of those survivors.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Fred, as you said, 12 are still in the hospital. We should say 45 people all together treated and released from the hospital, 12 still in there. Of that 12, five are in critical condition, six fair condition, one in serious condition. But Fred, as you and I know from covering the stories there are going to be some physical stars they are going to have to live with forever and no doubt emotional scars that they will be dealing with over the next coming weeks, days and months.
WHITFIELD: And clearly, Don, a big memorial taking place behind you, throughout the weekend, a number of funerals.
LEMON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And then, you know, when you talk about people who are trying to pick up the pieces, recover, how about the people who lived in that --
LEMON: Right.
WHITFIELD: -- same building where James Holmes once lived.
LEMON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: They were evacuated and, you know, they were not allowed to return for nearly a week. Have you had a chance to talk with them or what are their feelings?
LEMON: We did. CNN did have a chance to talk to them, and we were -- our cameras were rolling yesterday when police allowed -- started allowing people to go back in permanently. At first, they were allowed just to go back in to get some of their belongings so that they can get to where ever they were staying, a hotel or staying with a relative. Yesterday, though, they took down the police tape, they allowed them wider access.
But the interesting thing, Fred, is that some folks are choosing not to go back. They may go back to get some of their things. They are just not comfortable yet. Most of the people choosing not to stay permanently, but a few of them are saying, I'm glad to be back, to sleep in my own bed, and hopefully things will at least start to get back to normal soon. But I think it's that, you know, because of all those explosives that investigators say were in that apartment, that a lot of people just aren't comfortable going there and staying there permanently. Yes, Fred?
WHITFIELD: So, meaning, Don, some people still suspect that there may be some residual, you know, explosives still in the unit and it doesn't make them safe, or they just don't like kind of the eerie feeling, the knowledge that all of that was once in there?
LEMON: I think it is a combination of that, and I also think, to add to that, the looky lous, so to speak, the people who are coming by, saying, oh, this is the apartment where, you know, the suspected shooter lived and who had threatened to blow up. And also the media. Yesterday, when they took down the police tape, the police kindly asked the media to leave at least the immediate property. And so, still in the periphery, you can see the media there. But mostly on the property, they are asking the media not to be there. So, the looky lous, they are not comfortable being there, and also probably with the media presence as well. It's a combination of things.
WHITFIELD: Don Lemon, thanks so much, from Aurora, Colorado. We will see you there throughout the weekend. And Don has a special this weekend -- a prime time special when CNN presents "Madness at Midnight, A Search for Answers in Aurora." That's Saturday, 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
All right. Here is what else we're working on for this hour.
(voice-over): Counting down to the Olympic opening ceremonies just a few hours away. We will tell you what to expect and who to watch.
Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted in Michael Jackson's death makes an offer to the late pop star's mother. We'll tell you why he wants a conversation in prison.
And a multistate outbreak of Hepatis C. A hospital technician is suspected of infecting at least 30 patients. This morning, you'll hear from at least one of those people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, let the games begin at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics getting underway in less than three hours now. And as many as a billion people around the world will be expected to watch it. Becky Anderson is standing by with one of the big acts that we will seeing perform this evening. This is a nice treat, Becky.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. It's an absolute treat. We are here in Hyde Park for a huge concert which will coincide with the opening ceremony at the Olympic stadium. And the headlining tonight, "Duran Duran," (INAUDIBLE) is up on stage with me here, Roger Taylor and Simon Lebon. Looking forward to it, guys?
ROGER TAYLOR, "DURAN DURAN": Yes, incredible. I mean, you walk out here -- and we don't often actually come out to look at the venue or the audience before. And you look out here, I mean, it's just buzzing. It's fantastic.
ANDERSON: They are expecting as many as 60,000 or 70,000 people here tonight or something.
SIMON LEBON, "DURAN DURAN": Absolutely, yes. No, it's going to be an amazing thing. In fact, getting on stage tonight here is our equivalent of doing the four by 100 meters relay, you know.
ANDERSON: So, one of you approach (INAUDIBLE) and said this is the headman hill of the Olympic stadium if you haven't gotten tickets. That was you, was it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. ANDERSON: If you haven't got tickets, and you come to one of these live events. You weren't dissing it at all, were you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
ANDERSON: This is -- this is where it's all at.
LEBON: It is a different vibe here. I mean, you know, I want to say, it's going to be a massive great production. It's going to be absolutely amazing. Danny Boil, you've got to believe in him, he's going to do an amazing thing. But it is going to be full of suits and cameras. Here, there's -- you know, if you are in a band, I'd rather be playing to an audience than to that. So for us, this is where it is.
ANDERSON: So, you still get that buzz, do you? Out of an audience like this -- this size?
TAYLOR: Sure. I mean, I think this is probably our biggest show in London that I can recall. I know we've played some big shows, but I don't remember anything quite as grand as this So --
ANDERSON: You have been on tour now for nearly two years. You're coming to an end, are you pleased it's coming to an end?
LEBON: Yes.
ANDERSON: In a word.
TAYLOR: Absolutely, yes.
LEBON: No, it's been -- has been a long one. And it's been a -- it's been a great project. You know, we had a new album out a year and a half ago, (INAUDIBLE.) It's now not such a new album, but we still -- you know, we still -- there's still a lot of mileage left in the songs. But it's time -- you know, you get to a point where you know it's time to give it a rest, and time to recharge the batteries and get new ideas so you can come out -- and come up with a new album.
ANDERSON: All right. All new stuff you are talking about, but we will hear some of the old -- some of the old greats tonight, aren't we?
LEBON: Of course. I mean, we know that -- you know, we owe our audience, you know, those songs. My wife came to see Madonna and she was horrified -- I'm not dissing Madonna, because she is a huge fan, but she didn't play a couple of her really big songs. And we like to -- we like to please the audience.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Chaps, thank you very much indeed. The boys from "Duran Duran" playing here in about -- just before 9:00, I believe, London time which is in about three hours' time. The gig kicking off here in about 45 minutes. And you can really begin to feel the excitement, not just here at Hyde Park tonight, but across London and around the country.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So Becky, this is all free to the public or do people have to have tickets in order to get into that area or do you stroll into that section of Hyde Park and voila, a big old concert?
ANDERSON: No. There is quite a lot of security going on here. You needed to apply for tickets earlier when you got snow patrol (ph) and sterio follies (ph) also playing here tonight and (INAUDIBLE.) I mean, these are big headlining -- big headlining guys, and a lot of people want to see them. And you can hear them shouting their names behind me here in the audience. So, you needed tickets to get in, because there is an awful lot of security, as you can imagine, across London at present. And not just here, but, you know, in every other -- in every other stadium, particularly out there at Olympic Park tonight.
WHITFIELD: Yes, let's not get carried away here. I got too overzealous there. All right, Becky Anderson, thank you so much, with "Duran Duran."
All right. Let's head on over to Olympic Park. And you got to have a special pass to get over there, too, and a ticket or two. Zain Verjee is there. All right, let's talk about what's happening in your purview.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't have a special pass and I don't got me any tickets.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, you do.
VERJEE: No.
WHITFIELD: But then you show up, and it's like, hey, I'm Verjee, of course.
VERJEE: No, I -- the tickets --
WHITFIELD: Come on in.
VERJEE: So, the tickets are going for about $2,000 or $3,000 right now, OK. So, if you are desperate to get into the Olympic ceremonies, that's what they are going for.
WHITFIELD: Ouch.
VERJEE: Now, Danny Boyle is the one that's our award winning director has put together, this amazing performance that is going to happen in less than three hours behind me. Now, he is really known for movies more about zombies and drug addicts, right? But I don't think we're going to be seeing either one though in this performance.
WHITFIELD No.
VERJEE: What he is doing is he's really focusing on the theme of "Tempest" here played by William Shakespeare, and the whole idea is one of magical wonderment, and fantastical. So ,we're going to see a lot of different and interesting things combined behind me in awful.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Well I guess some things were kind of difficult to keep under wraps because, you know, in the dress rehearsals, they have some folks outside. They had to, you know, corral everyone before going in. So, we saw sneak peeks of some animals, right? Some farm animals and women in, you know, nursing gear. And we hear a rumor that James Bond must -- 007 must make the appearance in some fashion, right?
VERJEE: Right, exactly. Kind of a weird and wonderful exciting mix, right? Let's see how all of -- all of that actually turns out. But there will be, you know, plenty of sheep. The best of Britain agriculture and livestock will be going around the Olympic stadium. We will have some geese, but actually the idea is more to show the historical parts of the country, the agricultural side, it will move to industrial era and then to modern England and talk about social media. But yes, there's going to be James Bond. There's going to be Lord Voldemort from "Harry Potter." There's also going to be kings, queens, celebrities, superstars. Anyone who's anyone. The who's who of the world is going to be behind me in just a few hours. So, yes, the show seems like it's going to be absolutely fabulous. We'll see how 007 ends up in the stadium. It's said to be quite dramatic. But we'll see.
WHITFIELD: Yes, 007 -- yes, always has to be spectacular. Could it be that he would be the one to light the Olympic torch?
VERJEE: Oh, if I tell you, I'd have to kill you, Fred, and don't want to do that.
WHITFIELD: So you do know. Oh, OK. No, we don't want that. No, I want to live.
VERJEE: If I knew, I wouldn't -- if I knew, I wouldn't say.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Darn. Darn.
VERJEE: I don't want to ruin everything, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Yes, the suspense is good.
VERJEE: But who actually is going to light the Olympic cauldron is a big secret. The officials are keeping it close to their chest, and I'm going to do the same.
WHITFIELD: All right. Fine.
VERJEE: I don't really know.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Well, that makes me feel better now. Good, you're not keeping any secrets.
All right, thanks, Zain. We'll check back with you throughout the day.
All right, and just when you thought -- we're going to leave the Olympics for a moment. Just when you thought perhaps here in the states the Jackson family drama couldn't get any more bizarre, well, Dr. Conrad Murray sends Michael Jackson's mom an invitation from behind bars. We'll tell you why he wants Katherine Jackson to visit him in prison.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It is kind of painful to watch and it is playing out like a reality TV show. The secrets and rivalries in the Jackson family spilling into their Twitter posts. And news of the family feud has now apparently made its way to prison. Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted in Michael Jackson's death, has invited the late pop star's mother, Katherine Jackson, to visit him in prison. I'm joined by Kareen Wynter from Los Angeles.
This story is getting a little bit more bizarre by the day. And then there is yet another turn. We had heard that Katherine Jackson's guardianship had been suspended. Well now, apparently, she will be sharing that with her grandson to help take care of the late Michael Jackson's children, right?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. The news actually just came in. Coming in from Katherine Jackson's attorney. And it just went down this morning. It outlines basically a modified custody plan between Katherine Jackson and T.J. Jackson, which is a cousin of Michael Jackson's kids, who was, you know, given this temporary guardianship. Well, now they're going to basically be sharing these duties in terms of raising Michael's kids. This co- guardianship. Sharing the job. And so this will give Katherine Jackson, who's been under tremendous stress lately, time to really focus on the kids. And T.J. will be handling day to day responsibilities, such as household personnel, taking care of security. Perhaps, you know, duties involving the children at school.
And so this was an agreement that was just reached. Also, Prince, Paris and Blanket, they had a say in this. They, you know, they wanted to make sure that these children were comfortable with this move. They've known T.J. all their life. They've been very, very close. So it seemed really logical to share these responsibilities and take some load off of Katherine Jackson.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. And then, to add on to the whole bizarre thing, now we're talking about Conrad Murray, who's extending an invitation to Mrs. Jackson. And would she take him up on that? Is it something that she invited?
WYNTER: And, you know, this gets bizarre when Conrad Murray's brought into the picture, Fred. Well, I get the feeling this is the last thing Katherine Jackson wants to deal with this week. But Conrad Murray, yes, he's inviting Katherine to meet with him in prison. He released a statement to CNN through his lawyers saying, quote, "I've been told that she has a desire to speak to me before she departs this life. Seeing that she is up in age and in questionable health, and the fact that she is the mother of the very dear departed friend, it would give me great pleasure to sit down with her one-on-one and answer any questions she might have." So essentially he thinks a meeting, Fred, between them would put Katherine at peace. Of course, after the week that Katherine has had with her family, these very public battles, this is probably not on her -- the top of her things to do list.
WHITFIELD: Yes, maybe odd timing. This seems like a very stressful time for the entire family, but especially for her.
WYNTER: Yes. Yes, absolutely. But we'll have to see. You know, this case is -- this story is so bizarre. Maybe the next report will be that she's going to be accepting his offer. But it seems really unlikely right now, Fred. (INAUDIBLE).
WHITFIELD: OK. And then -- OK, and then apparently Katherine Jackson did meet with her attorney for the first time after kind of mysteriously vanishing. But then it turned out she was with family members, et cetera. Do we know anything about that meeting? How significant or was that the prelude to this new agreement?
WYNTER: Yes, it was the prelude, absolutely, of meeting with him, trying to iron things out because Katherine, that was what prompted her move back here to L.A. when she found out that her guardianship had been temporarily stripped. So she wanted to get to the bottom of this and the consensus was, let's help you. Let's help you share these responsibilities, take care of the kids and not be so stressed out.
So we're hoping that this is the start of something positive. There's been a lot of negative news all week involving this family. So it seems like at least this part has been ironed out.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, Kareen Wynter, thanks so much.
WYNTER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, FaceBook investors are dumping their stocks in droves, forcing the price to a new low. I'll explain why.
And, don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer, while you're at work, anywhere you go. Head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: That long awaited FaceBook stock reached a new low today. Despite a better than expected earnings report, the stock was down to about $23. A 40 percent drop from the initial offering price from back in May. Maribel Aber joins me now from the New York Stock Exchange.
So what is going on here? The company earnings beat all the estimates, but it still tanked.
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.
You know what, you can call it good, but not quite good enough here. Revenues rose 32 percent, beating expectations. But that was not enough to impress Wall Street. FaceBook says its attempt to make money from mobile phone advertising, it's starting to pay off. But analysts wanted more details about how it's going to boost revenue. And there are a lot of other concerns, including whether FaceBook is spending too much money. FaceBook's expenses nearly quadrupled from a year ago because of some of its major acquisitions.
Fredricka, on top of all that, we often talk about how forward guidance is almost just as important as the earnings themselves. Well, the fact that FaceBook didn't give any is a huge disappointment. I mean shares of FaceBook are down today about 10 percent. Still trading around $23 a share.
Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK, so how are stocks reacting to this slightly, you know, better than expected report on the economy overall today?
ABER: Well, it's big gains, actually, for stocks today. The rally has picked up some steam throughout the session. The Dow industrials topped that 13,000 mark for the first time since the beginning of May. And the GDP report was, you know, it came in better than expected. It shows the economy is growing. But growth is slowing and that's leaving some investors hopeful that the Fed will decide to pump some stimulus in when they meet next week.
WHITFIELD: All right, Maribel, thanks so much. Good to see you.
A multistate outbreak of Hepatitis C. A hospital technician is suspected of infecting at least 30 patients. And this morning you'll hear from one of those people.
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WHITFIELD: It's a disturbing and pretty unbelievable story that Elizabeth Cohen told us about at the beginning of the week. Police say this man, David Kwiatkwoski, may have spread Hepatitis C to hundreds, maybe even thousands of hospital patients. They say he has the disease and used patient's syringes to inject himself with painkillers. The needles were then reused on patients. So far, 30 cases alone in New Hampshire are linked to the former medical technician.
Excuse me. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in Boston now.
Tell us more.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, what we are learning is pretty incredible. What we are learning -- and I talked to someone yesterday, one of the patients who now needs to be tested in New Hampshire. And he said that he knew Kwaitkowski not only from the hospital, but he also knew him socially outside of the hospital. He said that the minute he heard about the drug diversion, where health care workers used drugs meant for patients, and the minute he heard about drug diversion, he thought of David Kwaitkowski.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON CROSS, POSSIBLY INFECTED WITH HEPATITIS C: I suspected, but I never thought I would be right.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN (on camera): So when you heard of drug diversion, you thought of David?
CROSS: Almost immediately.
COHEN: Why?
CROSS: His oddness. I mean, I don't have anything else to say. It is that I thought he was an odd guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now Ron Cross, the man we just met, he has tested negative for the hepatitis so far, but he won't know until next month whether he is negative for sure. Because it can take about six months for these tests to work the way they are supposed to.
WHITFIELD: My goodness. How do you actually track down all of these, you know, patients who may have been potentially exposed to the hep C?
COHEN: I mean, it is going to be a real incredible task in all eight of the states. I mean, New Hampshire alone, they have to track down -- it is around 4,000 people -- phone calls, letters. And, Fredricka, it is so important that people get contacted, because hepatitis c, if you don't treat it, over time, it can make your liver fail. It can kill you. It is so important that the patients get tested.
WHITFIELD: My goodness. And where is David Kwaitkowski now, the suspect?
COHEN: He is in federal jail, in a county jail in New Hampshire. He waved his right to a federal detention hearing.
WHITFIELD: All right. Elizabeth, thank you so much for bring this, from Boston.
There's new equipment designed to find improved explosive devises, the number-one killer of troops overseas. Now Congress wants to know why some Army units are not getting it.
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WHITFIELD: Roadside bombs killing and taking the limbs of American troops. In 11 years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 1,500 arms and legs have been lost in IED explosions. It is also the number-one killer. And now the U.S. Congress investigating that IED detection software has been denied to some Army units.
Barbara Starr joins us with more on this.
Barbara, what exactly does this software do? And if it is so important, why wouldn't we see that the troops wouldn't get it?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly, Fredricka, what the Pentagon is investigating, Fredricka. And now some members of Congress are calling for the additional investigation into all of this, wondering if the Pentagon can investigate itself or the U.S. Army. But let's go back to something that you said. Number-one killer of U.S. troops. That is why it is so important. 891 U.S. lives lost in Afghanistan to IEDs. And more than 10,000 wounded since the war began there. This, of course, just Afghanistan. It does not even count Iraq.
What are we talking about? The Army has a commercially developed -- developed by a contractor -- a software system that collects historic data on the IEDs and the cell phone data, and in a high-tech way, predicts, with all of that data, where IED attacks might come from, the pattern of attacks. The Army has a similar system it developed itself. The allegation is that the Army might have destroyed the test data of the private system, which apparently, apparently works better than what the Army developed in-house. And it is denying that system to troops in the field. Even the 82nd Airborne Division asked for this privately developed better system, and was denied it.
All of this now leading to an investigation. How is it that the troops could really, after all of this time, be denied what some people say is the best technology the do to do the job and save lives?
WHITFIELD: Is the investigation revealing anything in terms of how that may have happened or a real timetable of the investigation?
STARR: Well, I have to tell you that no one is speaking about it very much publicly. The Pentagon will only say that Secretary of Defense Panetta has confidence in the Army to investigate itself in this matter, and to get to the bottom of all of this. Why is the system being denied? Were test reports actually destroyed? What is going on here?
But some members of Congress that are on the House Armed Services Committee and other committees are saying, wait a minute, you know, there needs to be an outside look at all of this. And they are calling for their own investigation into what is going on.
WHITFIELD: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you very much.
STARR: Sure.
WHITFIELD: There are growing concerns about the safety of Syria's chemical weapons. We take look at what is going on there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Fighting today across Syria has left at least 70 people dead, according to the opposition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: This is a protest march in the city of Aleppo which has been besieged by government forces. The opposition has posted video of an alleged government massacre in a neighborhood there. Witnesses say that the military forces indiscriminately shelled homes. They used mortars, tanks and helicopter gunships in the bombardment.
I want to bring in Suzanne Kelly, CNN intelligence correspondent in Aspen, who is there for a security conference under way there.
Suzanne, there is a growing concern about Syria using chemical weapons in the conflict. What do you know about the possibility?
SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that the Syrian government has come out to say they will only be used against foreign sources, but the question among U.S. officials is whether the Assad regime has control of the biological and chemical weapons within the country. It is still a concern that they may fall into the wrong hands.
I pulled aside the director of the National Counterterrorism Center here yesterday, and we spoke about that, and he made an interesting comparison to Libya and how challenging it was for the international community to secure weapons in Libya. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW OLSEN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER: Yes. It is similar to situation that we faced in other countries, such as Libya, where we had a similar concerned about the status of the weapons that the regime had and making sure that we understood where the weapons were and that it didn't fall into the wrong hands.
KELLY (on camera): It did not go so well.
MATTHEW OLSEN: Well, we are looking in Libya where the weapons may be and there are concerns that weapons in Libya have fallen into the hands of groups like al Qaeda and Islamic (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Well, you can see that how serious they are taking this threat and what their highest concerns are.
I also want to point to the cnn.com security clearance. We're not only co-sponsoring an event here in Aspen, the National Security Forum, but there is an excellent article posted today by General Mike Hayden that talks more broadly about the concerns in Syria and what could happen down the road. I point you in that direction, Fred. It's a great article.
WHITFIELD: Why are they so unsure of the status of the chemical and/or biological weapons?
KELLY: Well, that is a great question. They have had challenges with getting the intelligence on the ground in Syria for a number of reasons. And they've been relying very much on their international partners. So you know, I can tell you that -- it is my opinion in speaking to the people I have spoken to --that they don't have 100 percent certainty, that there is concern there about how secure they are. But it is going to be difficult to get anyone from the administration to say that on the record.
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Kelly, thank you so much, in Aspen.
All right. At least two people are dead and hundreds of thousands without power after severe storms pound the northeast. The cleanup and where the storms might hit today.
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POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everyone, here on "Help Desk" today, we are talking about how the pay for college.
With me, Donna Rosato and Greg Olsen, our two money experts.
Donna, this question came in for you.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How bad for my children when they go the college --in eight years he is going off. What is the college debt going to be like, and how are we going the pay it down?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: It is a question that I hear over and over.
DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, MONEY: Oh, yes, these are scary times. Today, someone who at the ends a public school pays $30,000 a year of private school, $60,000 a year. Those are daunting numbers. The Department of Education says that if the numbers continue on the same rate, within 15 -- by 2016, the payment for a college education, the tab is doubled in the past 15 years. But, you know, that is the sticker price. You are not going to -- you apply for the financial aid and you won't have the pay the whole tab. The key is this woman has a lot of time. And put the money in a 529 plan and get tax breaks. Choose the college wisely. We talked about this earlier. You don't have to pay for the most expensive school. State schools often give in-state students tax breaks. And look for other sources of funding, need-based funding and grants and scholarships. Those can cut your tab.
HARLOW: What do you think, Greg?
GREG OLSEN, PARTNER, LENOX ADVISORS: I remember being in high school and reading "Money" magazine's guide to the best values in education. I still think you can -- there's great research you can do to pick a best college that's the best value out there, so that your child is not encumbered with debt when they get out.
HARLOW: And for what that child or young adult wants to specifically do.
OLSEN: Absolutely. ROSATO: Yes. There's a rule of thumb that you should base the amount of debt that you take on to what you would expect to earn in the first year after graduating. so is a teacher will take on less debt than a pharmacist or engineer.
OLSEN: 100 percent.
HARLOW: Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.
If you want a question that you want our experts to tackle, upload a 30-second video with your "Help Desk" question to ireport.com.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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WHITFIELD: These numbers just in as we continue to watch your money. Looking at the Dow, it is up 190 points and counting, despite the United States' economy slowing in the second quarter amid weak consumer spending, government cuts and a rise from imports from foreign countries. Now up 190 points. We will continue to watch the Dow for you.
In the meantime, people are mopping up and assessing the damage in parts of the northeast today. A series of severe storms swept through communities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York yesterday. The storms left hundreds of thousands of people without power. A Brooklyn man was killed after lightning hit a church, causing a scaffold to fall on him. And a falling tree crushed a Pennsylvania woman in her car.
Meteorologist Alexandra Steele tracking this from the CNN Severe Weather Center.
Alexandra, this storm just seemed to sweep in, but a very threatening dangerous one.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. At least two reported tornadoes. The biggest threat I'll show you were the wind and hail reports. It was a widespread wind event that kind of barrels through. Here is the radar. You can see yesterday at 2:00 in the afternoon. You can see Detroit through Pittsburgh. This line moving from Ohio. You can see how coalesced it was as it moved eastward, New York, Philadelphia, down. You can see northwest of Washington.
Now I want to show you the reports that we saw. This kind of line held its way together for about 400 miles. Over 300 severe weather reports. Most of it hail and strong winds. And two reported tornadoes, one in Elmira, New York. You may have seen incredible pictures from that.
Current radar, much more benign. We are watching two lines. Here is one you can see south of Elmira. East and south of Erie moving through. This next line, that's why Washington, D.C., is under the gun. Biggest threat, hail, damaging winds. Maybe an isolated tornado tonight, Fred, but nowhere near as severe as yesterday. WHITFIELD: All right. Of course, we're keeping a close watch on the weather in London. That's where the Olympics are under way. It's been raining, and then beautiful sunshine and now what?
STEELE: It was the wettest, Fred, June on record. I'm sure organizers were frightful of what they could see. It's been warm the last couple of days, in the 80s. Average high is 75 degrees. Today, 73. London time, 9:00. That's 4:00 local time, eastern. What we're going to see is 68 degrees. And the rain, there's a small chance for rain. There's this cold front moving through. Probably bring off a few showers but by the time 9:00 local time comes, it probably most definitely will be over, if they see anything before that.
Here is the forecast. Next 10 days, in the last few days, in the 80s, average in the 70s. They'll be in the upper 60s. Much more comfortable for being out there. But a little unsettled. A chance for a few showers. That could be impactful for outdoor events.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll see how much it does impact the events.
Thanks so much, Alexandra Steele.
STEELE: Sure.
WHITFIELD: More talk about the Olympics. He brought home eight gold medals in Beijing. Could this year be Michael Phelps' last run for the gold? Plus, a talk with the mother of his biggest rival.
(MUSIC)
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WHITFIELD: As we countdown to the Olympics we want to bring you the sights and sounds as Britain welcomes the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BELL TOLLS)
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WHITFIELD: Big Ben rang in the day. The famous clock chimed more than 40 times.
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(SHOUTING)
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WHITFIELD: Then people across the country joined in by ringing bells for three minutes. The Olympic torch set off on the final leg of its journal towards the Olympic stadium. It was carried down the Themes on the royal barge, Gloriana, to Tower Bridge. The flame is now out of public view until the opening ceremony when the caldron is lit.
The most decorated U.S. athlete, Michael Phelps, competes tomorrow. He'll be swimming in the 400 meter individual medley.
Piers Morgan sat down with the 27-year-old swimming legend. Let's hear what he has to say about the athlete he admires most.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PIERS MORGAN, HOST, PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT: Who are your sporting idols?
MICHAEL PHELPS, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: Michael Jordan.
MORGAN: Why him?
PHELPS: He changed basketball. On and off the court, the guy, in my eyes, made basketball what it is. And -- and -- you know --
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: Have you met him?
PHELPS: Never met him.
MORGAN: What would you ask him if you were able to meet Michael Jordan?
PHELPS: I've had that thought a lot.
MORGAN: What's the thing you're most curious about with him?
PHELPS: I think part of me would ask him about what made him come back to the sport. What made him go to baseball and then come back to basketball? I think one of the coolest things I love about him is it didn't matter what he had going on off the court or if he was sick or this or that, he never used it as an excuse. He came out every single night on the court and did what he had to do to get the job done. That's what champions do. It doesn't matter what else is going on, when you walk into your arena or whatever, you excel it, you're there to take care of the job that you have to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: You can see Michael Phelps entire interview Monday, 9:00 p.m. eastern time.
Piers Morgan also spoke to the mother Michael Phelps's biggest competitor, Ryan Lochte. The two are not just rivals, they are actually friends. Let's listen to Lochte's mom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IRENAE LOCHTE, MOTHER OF RYAN LOCHTE: I got to see Ryan as a surprise two days ago.
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: Great. How is he feeling? LOCHTE: Wonderful. He's like fooling around.
MORGAN: Is this pressure slightly off run? Do you think the pressure is on Michael Phelps? He won eight medals in Beijing. If he doesn't win them all, people will say he's not as good as he has to be. Ryan is the hot new guy on the block, if you like. Probably a little less pressure than Michael does.
LOCHTE: I don't think Ryan feels there's pressure on him. I think he's done everything he needs to do and the outcome will come at the end of the race.
MORGAN: I know they are good friends --
LOCHTE: Yes.
MORGAN: -- Ryan and Michael. And they have great respect for each other. Let's be honest, you're rooting for your boy to take the Phelps down, aren't you?
LOCHTE: Not to take him down but to win.
(LAUGHTER)
There's a difference. I don't want him to lose but I don't want my son -- I want my son to win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Diplomatically said.
Lochte himself was blowing off steam with the rest of the U.S. Olympic swim team. Check out what they posted. It's they're own kind of "Call Me Maybe" video.
(SINGING)
WHITFIELD: Having a little fun. For those of you don't know, that song is by Canadian Carly Rae Jepsen. "Call Me Maybe" videos and parodies are really all over the Internet. This one, too.
(LAUGHTER)
Much more of the CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Brooke Baldwin.
And I know that song's going to continue to play in your head, as it has for me.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for that, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BALDWIN: Now it's stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Fred, thank you so much. Safe travels to London, by the way.
WHITFIELD: Thank you.
