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Afghan Gunman Kills 3 U.S. Troops; Victims of Temple Rampage Honored; Goldman Sachs Off the Hook; Usain Bolt's Historic Sprints; Sitting Atop the V.P. Wishlist; Drought Shrinks Mississippi River; Plane Crash Caught on Camera; Sitting Down with Spike Lee

Aired August 10, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, John. Thanks, Brooke.

Well, happening now in the NEWSROOM, a plane crash caught on camera. Video taken by people inside the plane. They share their amazing video and close brush with death.

Goldman Sachs off the hook. The company lost more than $1 billion peddling risky investments. But after months of investigating, the Justice Department says there is no crime.

Plus this. Lightning strikes again. Usain Bolt, the fastest man at the Olympic games, says he's not done yet.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

And good morning, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick in today for Carol Costello. And we begin this hour with disturbing new attacks on American forces in Afghanistan and the chilling effect they could have on bringing the troops home. The latest ambush just hours ago. A man wearing an Afghan military uniform shoots to death three Americans in the volatile Helmand Province.

According to Reuters, the Americans were killed by an Afghan police commander and several of his officers. The Afghan leader had invited the Americans to dinner to discuss security. All three Americans were members of Special Forces.

The attack follows Wednesday's suicide bombing that killed three U.S. soldiers and an American aid worker. The Taliban is claiming responsibility.

Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon.

And, Chris, these are troops that are helping in the transition. What are you learning?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Deb. Our sources are now confirming that these three troops were part of a special forces mission to stabilize that village in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, and that they were going to meet some of their Afghan counterparts.

Now the U.S. forces are not confirming that it was one of those Afghan policemen who turned and lured them there. That is what the Taliban is claiming, that they were lured there in sort of a setup to kill them. But they are confirming that this gunman is still on the loose. That the one who shot these three troops is still on the loose and is being looked for and examined right now -- Deb.

FEYERICK: But, Chris, whether they were lured there or not, it remains clear that in fact once again we see this, you know, what they call the green on blue crime, where you've got Afghan troops or military personnel targeting U.S. forces.

LAWRENCE: Exactly. And this is now the third time this has happened in just this week alone. And in fact, we now have more of these green on blue attacks already than we had all of last year. And we're only halfway through the summer. This is something that U.S. commanders tell us tremendously saps morale for the U.S. forces there, when they have to worry about whether they can seriously even trust the people that they are trying to train to take over very, very soon.

In fact, some of the Afghan intelligence agents have started going undercover at the recruit training to try to sniff out any recruits who may have extremist tendencies. Also some U.S. units are now actually putting guardian angels sort of on guard while the troops are sleeping. Just some of the precautions being taken because of this lack of trust among many Afghan and American units.

FEYERICK: Because it just seems nobody really knows who they should trust, and clearly that's going to be a very tricky dynamic when you think about the fact this country is about to be handed over to these folks.

LAWRENCE: Exactly. I mean you're talking about a very strict timeline. The Obama administration is sort of on the clock trying to get these troops out of there and stabilize the country. How difficult is that when NATO troops, you know, have all of these -- have to take all of these precautions because some of the troops that they're trying to train to take over are turning on them and actually trying to kill them.

FEYERICK: Right. All right. Well, Chris Lawrence, it's definitely one to watch. At the Pentagon. Thank you so much.

LAWRENCE: You're welcome.

FEYERICK: Well, this morning, a celebration of life at the Sikh Temple that has seen so much heartbreak in recent days. Worshipers will wrestle the spotlight away from the hate spewing gunman and focus instead on the six people he killed and the three others he critically wounded.

CNN was given exclusive access inside the temple where a lone bullet hole will be left intact as a reminder of the rampage and the acts of courage that saved lives.

Ted Rowlands is in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where services are getting underway this morning.

And, Ted, tell us about the mood there, the focus today.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Deb, as you said, this is about the victims. And as you can see, the hearses, each carrying one body, there are six hearses here. Just arrived about 10 minutes ago, and they are just about to transport the bodies from the hearses inside Oak Creek High School. And this is where they will all be out in the gymnasium, open casket.

They are expecting upwards of 2,000 people to show up here from the community to pay their respects. And it is expected to be a very solemn ceremony, as you might imagine. There will be a two-hour visitation followed by about a 45-minute program with speakers including Attorney General Eric Holder and family members, along with Governor Scott Walker here -- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

But as you just look at the six vehicles there, it brings it home. The six people who lost their lives in this tragic shooting almost a week ago. It was a week ago this Sunday.

FEYERICK: And, Ted, you've been on the ground since that Sunday. When we look at this sort of how they're going to pay their respects today, they really decided to open it up to the public. What was the thinking behind why they wanted folks to come, just to be part of this?

ROWLANDS: Well, they really do want to reach out to this community, and not just the community here in Oak Creek or the Milwaukee community, but the international, and they say that they want to make a statement. They don't want these lives, as you see one of the bodies being brought in now, these lives to be given in vain.

They really do want people to stop and see the ramifications of what happened in the shooting. And hopefully these deaths will prevent someone else who has hatred in them from acting on that. And because of that, they really have broken from tradition, and they are allowing this public ceremony to take place and inviting the people to come to the high school here and they will also have a private ceremony later this afternoon at the temple.

But as you can see, it's pretty powerful just seeing the vehicles outside of local high school. They are going to have all the bodies out, open casket, for the community to come in. And it should be a very emotional day here.

FEYERICK: All right. Ted Rowlands, thank you so much. We're going to be coming back to you later. You've got an exclusive look inside the Sikh Temple as well. Thanks so much.

Goldman Sachs off the hook this morning. The Justice Department finding no viable basis to bring charges. A congressional report had accused the big bank of misleading clients by selling mortgage related securities while at the same time betting they'd lose value. Think about the 2008 mortgage plunge.

Well, senators also said the bank misled Congress during its investigation. The decision is turning many heads. Alison Kosik is live at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, break it down for us. No charges.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No charges, Deb. You know, this comes at the end of a year-long review of this case after a two-year congressional investigation. Senators Carl Levin and Tom Coburn, both allege that Goldman made huge profits by marketing securities backed by subprime mortgages as safe investments to clients while at the same time betting against them, essentially playing both sides of the fence to make sure the firm wouldn't lose money.

We know now that those subprime mortgages were not safe, and in fact were at the core of the housing collapse that drove the U.S. economy into recession. The Justice Department, though, found that the burden of proof couldn't be met to charge Goldman with anything -- Deb.

FEYERICK: You know what's fascinating is that the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney in the southern district, they have been looking to bring charges for really what plunged the country to this sort of economic turmoil. The Securities and Exchange Commission, though, was also considering filing a case against Goldman Sachs. What's the status there?

KOSIK: Yes. And the operative word there is "was." Was. The SEC announced in February that it would take legal action, but earlier this week the SEC told Goldman they no longer plan to pursue similar claims against the bank. But there has been some action against Goldman in the past. Goldman settled a separate case with the SEC last summer, paying $550 million to put to bed charges it defrauded investors.

Again, it was about subprime mortgage securities, and this was back in 2010. It happened to be the biggest penalty a Wall Street company has ever paid to the SEC -- Deb.

FEYERICK: You know, and Alison, I think I read somewhere that a Goldman spokesperson was quoted as saying they are happy they can put this behind them. But can they face potential future charges?

KOSIK: Yes. I mean, the firm is safer now. But it's not completely out of the woods. The Justice Department does say that if any additional or new evidence comes out, it certainly doesn't prevent the department from making a different determination -- Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Alison Kosik for us at the Stock Exchange. We're going to come back to you a little later on.

KOSIK: OK.

FEYERICK: Well, Curiosity has only been on Mars a few days, and it's already getting an upgrade. NASA planning to update the rover software, which will take about four days. Meanwhile, we're getting a new look at the surface of the red planet. This 360-degree color image was created from smaller pictures taken by the mast camera on the rover. The dark gray patches that you see there in the foreground are from the sky crane's rocket engines scorching the ground as the rover landed early Monday morning.

OK. Well, Curiosity worked, but some tests don't go exactly as planned. NASA's Morpheus Lander crashed after takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center. The unmanned test model is designed to carry cargo on a future moon mission. They have to get it off the ground first.

Well, a sink hole swallows up hundred-foot trees in Louisiana. And the mammoth hole, yes, it is still growing. Now officials may have an idea what's causing it.

And if your neighbors threatened, sued, and protested against you, well, you might consider moving, but not this mosque in Tennessee. It's opening today. When will members say their first prayers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, checking our top stories.

The Syrian opposition says more than 80 people have been killed across Syria today. And shelling by regime forces in some areas has been intense. Meanwhile, the UK says it will send more nonlethal aid, including medical and communication supplies, to Syrian opposition groups.

A public health emergency is in effect for Dallas County, Texas, due to the West Nile virus. A hundred and 75 people have gotten sick there with nine people dying. KXAS TV reports the county will reconsider aerial spraying for mosquitoes to attack the virus.

And in money news, you're paying more at the pump. AAA reports the nationwide average for a gallon of gas is now $3.67. That's a penny more than yesterday. Gas prices have risen almost 19 cents in the last couple of weeks.

And Louisiana officials are looking into whether an underground salt cavern caused a massive sink hole. The sink hole has swallowed 100 foot tall cypress trees, and it's still growing. The sink hole appeared a couple of months after residents noticed there water bubbling in a bayou.

Well, opening a new church probably might not take too long. But opening a new mosque -- that took more than two years in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Later today, after lawsuits, bomb threats, protests, and vandalism saying not welcome, the Islamic center in Murfreesboro holds its first prayers.

County officials have granted a temporary occupancy permit that anti-Muslim sentiment has a national Islamic group warning people to be very careful. On Monday, a mosque in Joplin, Missouri, suspiciously caught fire and burned down. And to paint a picture of anti-Muslim sentiment, listen to what people said about the Murfreesboro mosque during a protest in 2010.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people are coming here to take over the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Start their own country overseas somewhere. This is a Christian country. It was based on Christianity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, joining me now from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Saleh Sbenaty, a board member and spokesman for the Islamic Center.

And, Mr. Saleh, the prayer is at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. How does it feel to come to this point after so many years and so many obstacles?

SALEH SBENATY, SPOKESMAN, ISLAMIC CENTER FOR MURFREESBORO: It is really gratifying. It is very exciting. We are so happy. The children, the women, the elders, everybody is extremely excited about this day. Yes, we have been for the last few years, you know, under the microscope, if you want to call it that way.

But, you know, we have been in this community for over three decades. We have families who have been in this community for over 50 years. This community is a welcoming community. We know that the past two years were exceptional, and we know that our neighbors and friends and supporters are going to welcome us again.

From now on, we are going to look for a brighter future. We are going to look for a united community, a prosperous community, and the negativity of the last few years will go away in no time.

FEYERICK: You know, it's amazing to look at this facility. It's 52,000 square feet. It took a lot of time, a lot of planning.

Critics of the mosque, however, are fearful of what they perceive as an extremist agenda. Will the congregation, will the Muslim community, try to reach out and invite others in?

SBENATY: Let me clarify one thing. The facility behind us is only 12,000 square foot. The 52,000 square foot is the long-term vision of our community. We are going to hopefully have like a gym, swimming pool, classroom for the weekend school. So, it is not right now 52,000.

And, yes, we have been in the past involved in so many outreach activities, interfaith dinners. We have open houses. We have done that for many, many years.

As I say, the last two years were exceptional, as the sentiment of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim in this country was growing, and outside organizations basically pushing this issue on this community -- small, loving, and peaceful community.

So it is kind of unusual for us. We were totally surprised and shocked actually by this anti-Muslim community sentiment over here, because we know this is not a reflective of the whole community.

FEYERICK: Well, let's talk about in part the anti-Muslim sentiment. We saw images just before of the mosque in Joplin, Missouri, that was recently targeted. Are you concerned about the safety of your new mosque?

SBENATY: Yes, we are very concerned because we have been also the subject of vandalism, arson, bomb threats, intimidation, bullying. I mean, you call it. Every single act of intimidation, you know, was actually inflicted upon us.

We are concerned. The Rutherford County Sheriff's Department really are trying their best to protect everybody, every citizen, in this community, including the Muslim community. We have extra security measures as well.

We are going to be vigilant. We are not going to let terrorists or radicals deter U.S. citizens to practice their constitutional right.

FEYERICK: OK.

SBENATY: Nobody is --

FEYERICK: All right. Well, we end on that note. Thank you very much, and congratulations on the opening there. I know the community has been waiting a very long time for that.

SBENATY: Thank you so much.

FEYERICK: Well, Usain Bolt says I'm now a legend, right? Who could argue? His 200 meter win puts him in the history books. We've got the highlights from London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, the fastest man in the world adds to his titles. Usain Bolt won the 200 meters last night, and with that achieved something no Olympic sprinter has ever done. Zain Verjee is in London with the latest from the track and field events.

Zain, what's going on there?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi there, Deb. I think we can safely say that Usain Bolt got a double-double. Pretty incredible, 80,000 people in the stadium behind me went completely nuts for him.

He came onto the track and was just as cool as a cucumber. He was wearing a track suit, he wore a hat backwards, and even did a little wave like the queen does to the crowd. He just loved it. And then he took off. And you can see, you know, he was a little bit worried about Yohan Blake. A couple of times he stole a look to see where he was.

And then as he was crossing the tape at the finish line, he probably even slowed down just a little bit. He said he looked at the world record time and knew he didn't beat it, but he was still number one. And he raised his fingers to his lips like this, basically meaning, be quiet, if you ever criticized me, shut up now. I am number one, right?

FEYERICK: Exactly.

VERJEE: And he said I am the greatest athlete to live. And then, you know, just because he is so charismatic and fun and just wanted to rub it in everyone's faces, he gave a little pushups.

FEYERICK: He is royalty. And, Zain, you must be so exciting because a Kenyan breaking his own world record, right?

VERJEE: That was amazing. Yes, he is Kenyan royalty. David Rudisha. And Rudisha by the way is the Swahili for "to return".

So, we're all saying he returned the gold to us. But he was amazing. He smashed his own world record. He was incredible running. I mean, he's just pretty much sprinted around two laps there. And a lot of people were talking about him and saying that he is going to be able to clinch this title. And he did. It was amazing.

And he actually even said that he talked to Usain Bolt a little bit before, that they both ran in the stadium, and he was pitching the idea, why don't we run a 400 meters against each other. I do 800. You do 100 and 200. Why don't we do the 400, you know?

But he is phenomenal, and all of Kenya is celebrating. They are all saying Kenya ju, which means in Swahili "Kenya up".

FEYERICK: You know, as if that weren't interesting enough, an American breaks a bone in his leg and he keeps running. That to me is remarkable.

VERJEE: I know. I think you can say USA ju to that too. That's amazing. Manteo Mitchell was running the 4x400 relay. And he said that he just felt that his leg snapped, and he just continued running. So he run on a broken leg. He gave the baton to the next person who then run, and the U.S. ended up being in the final.

It was pretty amazing. And he ended up being the fifth fastest in the field with a broken leg. Wow.

FEYERICK: That's remarkable. I couldn't even run -- really, I -- anyway, I don't even know where to go with that. I'm thinking about a broken leg. I can barely get up some morning.

All right. Zain Verjee, thank you so much.

We'll be back next hour with a look at the game's gold rush by none other than the U.S. women.

Well, when it comes to who Mitt Romney is going to pick for his running mate, you're probably thinking the same thing we all are. Tell us already. Our political panel breaks down the latest names competing in the veepstakes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM:

A man in an Afghan uniform today shot and killed three U.S. troops in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. That's according to an International Coalition official. This follows Wednesday's suicide bombing in another province that called four Americans.

A Sikh temple in Wisconsin that was the scene of a deadly shooting Sunday reopens following repairs and cleaning. And a public memorial service at a school begins in about 30 minutes for the six temple members who were killed.

Well, to politics now. And while Mitt Romney may be keeping us all guessing about who he will pick to be his running mate, the same cannot be said for Republican voters. A new CNN/ORC poll shows they are very clear about who they want on the ticket. Florida Senator Marco Rubio tops the V.P. wish list, followed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.

Joining me now are CNN political analyst Roland Martin, and Republican political consultant and former senior strategist for the Rick Santorum campaign, John Brabender.

OK. John, so let's start with you. The drum beat for Paul Ryan is growing.

And here's what one of our fellow strategists, one of your fellow strategists, I should say, Ari Fleischer, told our Anderson Cooper. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO LCIP)

ARI FLEISCHER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I have always been a Paul Ryan guy. I would have supported either Mitch Daniels or Paul Ryan for the presidency if they had been in it earlier because I believe this nation needs so badly a jolt of economic adrenalin. We are heading towards Greece with the debt we have, and we need somebody who can take that seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, John, Paul Ryan's budget plan was widely praised by Republicans. The "Wall Street Journal" says he is a gutsy choice who could, quote, "electrify the base".

Would you advise Romney to pick Ryan in order to shore up conservative support?

JOHN BRABENDER, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL CONSULTANT: I probably would be against it for this reason. I think a presidential race is very much about a narrative. And the narrative that Mitt Romney has to drive is that we have a president who we all blinked and tried to change this country with big government, and has failed economically.

If he picks Paul Ryan, who I think is a great congressman, should play a major role in the administration, if he picks him, however, we might be changing the narrative for entire fall to nothing more than entitlement reform, and I think that actually gets us off our message.

I think that the pick should be somebody who does not become the main issue in the campaign. This has to be Mitt Romney versus Barack Obama, mano-a-mano in my opinion.

FEYERICK: Which ultimately will likely happen after they pick the V.P. candidate and everybody can focus on the presidential candidates. But, Roland, Ari Fleischer also said that the problem with Paul Ryan is that Democrats are salivating at the prospect that he'll be vice president. They think his tough stance on the budget entitlements might reshape the debate.

Would Paul Ryan be a gift to the Obama team?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, there's always pros and cons. Always keep in mind that if you choose Congressman Ryan, then all of a sudden, Mitt Romney has to defend his past proposals as opposed to vice versa.

The last thing that you want is for the V.P. choice to be getting far more attention and focus than the presidential candidate. And so I think that's what they'll actually use.

Also, we're all excited about saying let's hurry up and pick somebody. Keep in mind, the Republicans and the Democrats in '08 picked their V.P. choice a week before the convention. So I don't think Romney has to pick somebody this weekend. He has a lot more time.

But the key is you don't want your V.P. choice having more scrutiny than the top of the ticket. That's the most important thing in the pick.

FEYERICK: So playing off that point, John, let me ask you. We've heard Republicans urging Romney to go bold with his V.P. choice. Could he go too bold and potentially alienate voters? Who do you think should be the pick?

BRABENDER: Well, I do think there are still some good picks. I think Chris Christie is a possible good pick. I am fine with Pawlenty or Portman.

End of the day, what I look at are two things. First of all, do no harm. No one is going to vote for a vice presidential pick. They'll only vote against one.

Second of all, I do think that you want to do something where this is not where you're trying to say how bold you are by a V.P. pick. Romney needs to be bold by what he is saying. And what he is out there fighting for.

MARTIN: Right.

BRABENDER: So I think you have to be very, very careful. I also think you have to understand who the target audience here is. It's not Republican voters who are going to vote overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney. It's for independent voters and some conservative Democrat voters sprinkled in the Midwest and the South and the West.

FEYERICK: Go ahead, Roland. Final point.

MARTIN: And we saw what happened when Congressman Ryan put his budget proposal out. The Republicans were running as fast as possible away from it.

And so you're right. If you have an entitlement conversation, the last thing you want is to have those seniors out there, you know, protesting and saying, we don't like this. You don't want that conversation if you're Mitt Romney.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. You need a unifier or potentially somebody who can get more candidates to vote -- more voters to vote for you.

All right. CNN political analyst Roland Martin, Republican political consultant John Brabender -- thanks, gentlemen.

MARTIN: Thanks a lot.

BRABENDER: Glad to be here.

FEYERICK: Well, they earned the big bucks on the screen and even on TV. We'll tell you who "Forbes" and "TV Guide" rank as the richest celebrities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, it's good to be on top, whether you're one-half of a high profile celebrity couple or the person who tells the world about each and every move that those celebrity couples make.

Entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner joins me now from Los Angeles.

"Forbes" covers everything from top colleges to the best cities for singles. Now they are ranking the world's highest paid celebrity couples. The first two as the hit song goes are crazy in love and apparently rolling in the dough -- Nischelle.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Deb. Yes. You know, I don't know about you, but I love these listings. I kind of look forward to seeing who's on the lists and who makes what.

But you said, you know, it's good to be on top. It is good to be Beyonce and Jay-z, because they are on top.

Now, according to "Forbes" and their newest list of celebrity money makers, they are the world's highest paid celebrity couple earning $78 million last year. Even with Beyonce taking time off to have a baby, "Forbes" says she made $40 million between her endorsements and her new album. Jay-Z took in $38 million between his business endeavors and his "Watch the Throne" collaboration with Kanye West.

Now, the second couple on the list was number one last year, and they are Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady. Now, "Forbes" says just like the first couple, female is the primary breadwinner here. To quote Beyonce, who runs the world? Girls.

Now with Gisele's endorsements, they brought in around $45 million. When you add that to the $27 million that Tom Brady brought in, that gives them $72 million. Hopefully that eases the sting of losing the Super Bowl just a little bit.

Rounding out the list, though, in third place, Posh Spice and David Beckham, $54 million. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie took in $45 million. And Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith earned $40 million. Not too bad.

Deb, not too shabby.

FEYERICK: Yes, not bad, not bad.

And "Forbes" isn't the only publication checking out big name bank accounts. "TV Guide" has unveiled its list of the highest paid news anchors, including one person who is a familiar face to CNN viewers.

What do you got?

TURNER: Well, I'm about to ask Anderson for a loan, first of all.

But second of all, we'll run down who's on the list. And by the way, Deb, you and I are not on the list.

FEYERICK: No, not quite.

TURNER: But at the top of the list is Matt Lauer, who's earning a reported $21.5 million. He's followed by Bill O'Reilly at $15 million. Brian Williams, $13 million. Diane Sawyer, $12 million. And then our very own Anderson Cooper at $11 million. Good lord. That's a lot of money.

And right down at the bottom, I saw Deb Feyerick and Nischelle Turner at $3 and a box of paper clips.

FEYERICK: Pretty much. Yes.

Nischelle, thank you. You will be back with us next hour with a lot more showbiz headlines, including how Olympic champs like Sanya Richards-Ross success in London will turn into reality TV golds. Thanks, Nischelle.

And you can see a man standing in what looks like a desert. But actually, it is the Mississippi river shrinking in the historic drought. Some people are saying the river has more beaches than Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, checking our top stories:

The Justice Department says it will not prosecute Goldman Sachs on fraud allegations from a congressional report. Investigators say the big bank bet against mortgage securities it was selling to clients and misled Congress. Prosecutors say they don't have a strong enough case to go to court.

In money news, Google death benefits are getting a lot of attention. They include paying dead employee's families 50 percent of their salary for 10 years, and each child gets $1,000 a month up to age 23. Google says the benefit improves retention and performance.

Now to New Mexico, where a bear was seen sniffing around a hotel lobby. It was caught on the Angel Fire Resort surveillance camera Monday night, probably looking for room service. It wandered in an open door and stayed for about 10 minutes. Police were called but the bear did leave before they arrived.

And much of the country is experiencing the worst drought since the 1950s. And it's dramatically changing what our country looks like. We've seen what it's going to the nation's farmland. But we wanted to know what it was doing to one of this country's most important waterways, the Mississippi River.

CNN's Martin Savidge travelled to Memphis, Tennessee, to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are on the bridge of the Joseph Eric Jones (ph) as Captain Gene Waller threads a string of barges nearly four football fields long up the shrunken Mississippi River.

CAPTAIN GENE WALLER, CANAL BARGE COMPANY: Yes I think it's a little shallow above that, so I'm not going to go my normal.

SAVIDGE: In his 28 years of piloting tow boats for the Canal Barge Company he's never seen the Mississippi drop so far, so fast.

(on camera): What's the biggest thing that worries you?

WALLER: Unexpectedly hitting a shallow spot.

SAVIDGE: Running into the bottom?

WALLER: Right.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Just ahead, he's heard the river is only nine feet deep. He sits nine feet, three inches in the water.

(on camera): You're deeper in the water than that water is deep.

WALLER: Right.

SAVIDGE: How often do you find yourself looking at that depth gauge?

WALLER: All the time.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): He's got reason to be nervous. Over the last two weeks, boats and barges have been running aground nearly every day.

COMDR. DAVID BURNS, U.S. COAST GUARD: We've probably had on the order of 15 to 20 different small incidents or groundings, some of them in the channel and some on the outside of the channel.

SAVIDGE (on camera): How does that compare to a normal tide?

BURNS: I would say that's a -- that's probably -- certainly an increase from what we normally see.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): And there are other problems. The Giant American Queen has to let passengers off on a levee because the water is too shallow where it normally docks. Huge areas of river beds had exposed looking like deserts, causing one lawmaker to quip the Mississippi has got more beaches than Florida, which would be funny if it wasn't about to cost us all.

You see, the Mississippi moves all sorts of things we use a lot of, like grain, oil, coal, and steel.

DARYL WHEELER, ASST. PORT CAPTAIN, CANAL BARGE COMPANY: Everybody's having to lighten the loads up, and knock the barge the size of the tows down.

SAVIDGE: So here is the map. You want to raise the average barge one inch in the water you've got to take off 17 tons of cargo. To raise it a foot, you're talking 200 tons.

And since according to the American Waterways Operators, moving cargo by river is $11 a ton cheaper than by train or truck, the more that now has to be moved on land, well, the more the costs go up.

STEVEN BARRY, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: And eventually the consumer is going to pay that price somewhere along the line.

SAVIDGE: That's Steven Barry with the Army Corps of Engineers. I asked him the question that's on many people's minds.

They're worried the river could close. What would you say?

BARRY: Well, I don't -- I think with the pro active stance the Corps is taking, I don't see the river actually closing.

SAVIDGE: That proactive stance includes building thousands of rock dikes like these that jut into the water all along the river.

(on camera): And this is what they do. The water comes downstream and during the drought, it's redirected, deflected, into the center of the river. It makes the channel deeper, and it scours out the silt.

(voice-over): But engineering can only do so much. The rest is up to nature. Just how much rain would it take to make the river right? 20 inches.

BARRY: Right. And that would be on a regular and recurring basis.

SAVIDGE: That's not in the forecast. Long-range predictions actually show the river dropping another two to three feet. Which is why Captain Waller and others on the Mississippi fear life could be about to hit bottom.

WALLER: Well, we just keep going until she quits moving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And Martin Savidge joins us live from Memphis. And so Marty, with the river expected to drop two to three more feet, what is the outlook for getting it better?

SAVIDGE: Yes. It's -- it's not good. It's not good at all. In fact, a record low which was set back in 1988, maybe not that long ago in the minds of many people, that's in danger of falling at least here in Memphis. They anticipate that could do that well maybe in a month or so. Because we are heading into the fall and fall is traditionally the dry season.

So it's not going to get any better. It's only going to get worse, Deb.

FEYERICK: You know and when -- when we hear about the river flowing more slowly, the problems obviously -- are they going to have to run more barges but with lighter cargo basically?

SAVIDGE: Well, here is the problem with the river running slower. We call it the mighty Mississippi. It's also known as the muddy Mississippi. It carries a lot of silt, it carries a lot of dirt all the way -- all the way from up north. And the problem is, when that river slows, which it's down to about maybe one to two miles per hour right now down from five, all that mud and stuff drops out of the water, literally falls to the bottom like snow. That silt builds up, which means the center channel here is just constantly filling up. Every time a barge goes by it is less deep than when it went by, say, a week before.

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: Just amazing.

SAVIDGE: They are trying to keep up with the dredging, but it's just not easy.

FEYERICK: Wow just amazing. All right, Martin Savidge thanks so much.

SAVIDGE: You bet.

FEYERICK: Well, it started off as a wonderful plane ride. Father and son and two friends onboard. Then the plane crashes, and the whole thing is caught on camera. You'll never believe who recorded it.

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FEYERICK: Well, it's not every day we see video of a plane crashing as it happens. But what makes this next story so incredible is that the video was shot by the people onboard as it went down.

CNN's Sandra Endo picks up the story from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started out all smiles during takeoff. Four men onboard a 1947 Stinson single engine plane taking a short flight across the picturesque Idaho mountains and capturing nature's beauty with their video cameras.

But just minutes after takeoff things went terribly wrong. The plane is struggling to climb. Then it drops, flying so low it started skimming tree tops. Yet no panic from those onboard. Then the footage goes black. The cameras keep rolling, capturing the aftermath of the crash.

All four men survived. Tol Gropp was one of the passengers, his father Leslie was piloting. As they were getting into trouble Tol had confidence in his father who flew helicopters in Vietnam.

TOL GROPP, PASSENGER: I still felt even as I saw us coming closer to the trees that my dad would pull us out of it and that it would be ok. I remember hitting the trees and the sound of like rapid fire, gun fire it sounded like. But then we were all upside down, seat belted in. And you can hear in the video my dad asking if everyone is all right.

ENDO: We showed the remarkable video to some local Washington, D.C. pilots for their take on what went wrong.

JOSH MILAM, CERTIFIED PILOT: The fuel elevation was very high, the -- the temperature that day was very high. The air just wasn't dense enough for the engine to produce the power that it's rated to produce.

ENDO: Despite the mangled mess the pilot was the only one seriously injured, his jaw broken in three places. But in the end nobody's spirits were broken that day. All of them just thankful to be alive. GROPP: I honestly believe my dad saved our lives by the way he continued to fly the plane through the trees and making sure that he didn't give up.

ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Just incredible.

Well, one of the big surprises from the games, the controversy over U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas's hair. He's one of the biggest names in movie making, Spike Lee, not shying away from this fight.

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FEYERICK: Well, some might say there might not be a more prominent, outspoken, and direct film maker than Spike Lee. The man behind the movies like "Malcolm X", Do the Right Thing", and now his new release, "Red Hook Summer", which opens today in New York. And of course, he's got an opinion on everything. And Don Lemon recently sat down with him and he joins me now. He is a fascinating interview.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Fascinating. Listen, when you sit down to talk movies with Spike Lee, you never know what you're going to get. And my interview with him yesterday was a testament to that.

We're supposed to be talking about his new film "Red Hook Summer". We did. We talked about it. As you said it opens in New York today and then wide the 24th. So I said, "You've been very critical recently of stereotypes and the state of cinema and especially black figures in media. But you have a character that some might think is stereotypical in this movie."

He starts to talk about that and then he goes off on this latest controversy about gymnast Gabby Douglas. And listen to what happened.

FEYERICK: Ok.

SPIKE LEE, FILM DIRECTOR: Why are people slamming Gabby today? The first African-American woman to ever win a gold medal in gymnastics. And what are people focusing on?

LEMON: In the overall yes.

LEE: I'm asking you a question.

LEMON: Her hair.

LEE: When does school days come out? '88. What year is this?

LEMON: Yes.

LEE: What year is this?

LEMON: 2012.

LEE: We're still talking about this stuff? Come on.

LEMON: There were people who --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, he says there are things that need to be talked about. He said, in his film making especially in "Do the Right Thing" and other films he is being accused of airing dirty laundry. And he says this is an important story that we should be talking about because it says a lot about us culturally.

FEYERICK: Right.

LEMON: He doesn't understand it, but it's something that should be talked about. Then he goes on and talks about the election and many other things and whether President Barack Obama has lived up to his promises and on and on.

FEYERICK: That is going to be fascinating too.

LEMON: Fascinating interview.

FEYERICK: Well, we don't have time, but it looks like a fascinating movie. Not only that but I'll tell you, Gabby Douglas, I look at her and I see just an incredible American, incredible gymnast.

That's where the conversation ends for me. You know, I respect her talent. It is unfortunate that it is happening but, anyway. We look forward to your whole interview. Don Lemon, thanks so much.

LEMON: See him on Saturday. I agree with you with Gabby Douglas. Thank you, Deb.

FEYERICK: All right, Don, well, be sure to catch Don's full interview with Spike Lee tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern. Spike talks about movies, politics, religion, even the Olympics. That is tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern.

And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

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