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Dow Sinks 100 Plus Points at the Open; President Obama to Give Statement on Egypt; Michael Jackson's Ex-Wife Back in Court; Tim McGraw Showcases First Responders; Report: Ex-NFL Players will Test HGH

Aired August 15, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Opening Bell has just rung on Wall Street and, guess what, the Dow is already down 100 points. So we're wondering why.

Let's head to the New York Stock Exchange and Alison Kosik.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Why? Well, we've got a litany of weak economic news. Weak earnings news first.

A report, Carol, on regional manufacturing showing a big drop last month. What that's doing is raising concerns if the manufacturing sector is moving forward. How is it doing? Then we got earnings from Cisco and CEO John Chambers saying, look, the global economy is what he calls challenging and inconsistent. Cisco announcing that it's cutting thousands of jobs because of this uncertainty. Then you've got Wal-Mart. It cut its earnings, its sales outlook for the rest of the year.

This really is a familiar story. The challenging economy. So you roll it all together. It doesn't paint a good picture. The economy clearly is still in a precarious position. We see it growing but it's not growing quickly. Yes, it's adding jobs, it's just not adding enough jobs.

So news of more weakness, not just here, but abroad is causing investors to sell. Right now we see the Dow Jones 159 points, just about four minutes into the trading day. All 30 Dow components, all 30 Dow stocks are in the red. We are watching Cisco shares drop more than 6 percent.

Carol, Wal-Mart shares down 2.5 percent -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll check back with you. Alison Kosik reporting live from New York Stock Exchange.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: All right. A bit more information on our breaking news this morning. President Obama set to make a statement on the violent and bloody situation that's going on in Egypt right now.

Dan Lothian is in Martha's Vineyard where the president's vacationing.

Any more word on exactly what the president will say?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that the president will be speaking about the violence in Egypt. What's unclear at this point is whether or not he'll be announcing a policy shift.

A couple of things outstanding. First of all, the White House has been unwilling to this point to label what happened in Egypt a coup, saying that it would not be in the best interest of the United States. So will the president shift on that?

Also, the more than $1 billion in aid that the U.S. gives to Egypt each year had been under review. Will the president now come out and say that based on the review, based on the violence on the ground, that they now plan to halt that assistance to Egypt?

We don't know. We await the president's remarks that will come in about 45 minutes or so. They're being taped. It's happening at the president's residence, which is about 20 or so minutes away from here in Chilmark. And so we'll wait to hear what the president has to say on this. Will he come out and just say that the U.S. condemns the violence, calling for restraint, calling for the military interim government to respect the rights of the people there, or will he come out with a shift in policy. And that's what we'll be waiting to hear.

COSTELLO: All right, Dan Lothian.

And, again, we -- we expect we'll be able to hear the president's statement around 10:15 Eastern Time.

Still ahead in NEWSROOM a tearful Debbie Rowe tells the court how doctors took advantage of Michael Jackson. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Michael Jackson's ex-wife returns to the stand, again, today, following a dramatic day of testimony on Wednesday. Debbie Rowe wept openly in the courtroom, talking about the doctors she says took advantage of her former husband and how Jackson foolishly trusted those who hurt him.

Ted Rowlands is following it all from Los Angeles.

Tell us more, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, Debbie Rowe got to know Michael Jackson before he had any problems with drug abuse or drug addiction and then she had a front-row seat to watch him spiral out of control.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): It was a media frenzy outside this Los Angeles courthouse after Michael Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, testified in the wrongful death trial against concert promoter AEG. Rowe fought back tears giving jurors a riveting account of the pop star's fear of pain and reliance on doctors.

She described how doctors competed with each other treating Jackson for pain after his hair caught on fire during the making of this 1984 Pepsi commercial. Rowe testified, quote, "These idiots were going back and forth, prescribing Jackson with pain medications. The doctors took advantage of him," she said. They also, according to Rowe, introduced Michael Jackson to Propofol, the drug that would eventually kill him.

Rowe, who worked for one of the doctors, Dr. Arne Klein, said at first they used Propofol during cosmetic procedures, but she said things changed during this 1997 history tour stop in Munich, Germany, where she says she watched as Jackson was given Propofol in a hotel room. She said it, quote, "looked like a surgical suite as two anesthesiologist hired by Jackson's U.S. doctors put Jackson to sleep."

THOMAS MESSEREAU, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The defense is claiming that he was addicted to prescription medications because they want to show two things. They want to say he was responsible for his own demise and number two, if they're held liable, they want to keep the damages low.

ROWLANDS: Rowe is the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, Prince and Paris. She gave up custody of them and didn't see them for years, but says now they've reconnected and have an ongoing relationship.

The Jackson children, along with Jackson's mother, Katherine, are suing AEG Live for more than $1 billion saying the concert promoters contributed to Michael Jackson's death.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And, Carol, Debbie Rowe was called by AEG when court -- finished up last night, or yesterday afternoon. Jackson's lawyers had just started their cross-examination. She'll be back on the stand when court resumes here in Los Angeles in the next few hours.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll check back with you. Ted Rowlands reporting live from Los Angeles this morning.

Still ahead in the NEWSROOM, country music superstar Tim McGraw goes from the stage to your computer screen. We'll talk to McGraw about his new project that shows off the bravery of our first responders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking on top stories at 44 minutes past the hour.

In just about a half hour or so, we think, President Obama expected to weigh in on the latest bloodshed in Egypt. The president is on vacation at Martha's Vineyard but he wants to make a statement about the increasing violence in Cairo. Supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsy, are displaying the bodies of people they say have died in clashes over the disputed president's fate. Authorities say 525 people were killed yesterday, almost 4,000 hurt in the political violence. The interim government and Morsy supporters blame each other for the bloodshed.

Investigators in Alabama this morning expected to recover the flight data recorders from the wreckage of that UPS plane that crashed yesterday. According to the mayor of Birmingham the fire in the tail section of the cargo plane has now been put out so the boxes can now be recovered. NTSB says neither the pilot or co-pilot issued a distress call before the plane went down. Of course, both of them died.

In Kansas, heavy rain this week has turned parts of Wichita into a swamp. Some places saw up to an inch and a half of rain in just a half an hour. It's made commuting a soggy mess. Forecasters say more storms with damaging wind and hail are possible today.

Tim McGraw he is one of the biggest names in country music, on television and Hollywood. Listen.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: Well, now Tim McGraw is stepping off the trail and going in front of the camera. He's teaming up with Duracell to highlight the stories of first responders all across America including some New York firefighters on duty during Superstorm Sandy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our truck broke down right before the brunt of the storm really kicked in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were -- I was scared. Guys were scared. There are some guys have families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can honestly say the first time in 32 years that during an operation I really thought that we had a good chance of losing somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Tim McGraw joins us now along with Scott Lewis. Scott's fire department in Ohio was involved with the rescue of an infant girl. Scott gave her CPR while climbing down a ladder and he saved the baby's life.

So welcome to both of you.

TIM MCGRAW, COUNTRY SINGER: Good morning.

SCOTT LEWIS, FORMER FIRE CAPTAIN FROM FAIRBORN, OHIO: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. Tim I want to start with you. Why did you decide to get on board with this project?

MCGRAW: Well, when I was told about the project and asked to be a part of it you know Duracell Quantum Hero Series and found out that they were giving away a million batteries to first responders. It was the perfect opportunity to show case what these guys do and -- and how they put their lives on the line for us every day. I mean they're the first line of defense for anything in our community that we need help with and they are the best that we have.

COSTELLO: And you got to meet a lot of first responders. What was your impression?

MCGRAW: Well they are dedicated. They believe in what they do. They have no hesitation about putting their life on the line. They really care about their communities. They care about everybody that they work with. They care about their associates, their partners and people that put their lives on the line with them.

So they're just a bunch of great people. And you know I -- I don't know, you know, where we would be without those guys who do that. And especially the volunteers that do it on a volunteer basis that -- that you know, they dedicate their time to do that; that it's just something that, it's just something that takes a rare kind of person to do.

COSTELLO: You're not -- because you don't get rich doing it, right?

And Scott, Tim is talking about people just like you and we saw those dramatic pictures of you rescuing that baby. Tell us about that day.

LEWIS: It was a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Bob Swik and I got there and we knew by then exactly which room the baby was in -- Baby Chelsea. So Bob went in and I happened to be at the bottom of the ladder when he came back out with her and we just kind of did the handoff at the top of the ladder and we know that time and oxygen is what that baby needed. So I didn't wait for the bottom of the ladder and I just kind of did the mouth-to-mouth on the way down and that was a very successful outcome as she turned out to be a wonderful young lady.

COSTELLO: That's right. She is a young lady now. I've always wondered because your adrenalin is going during those things right? So how do you remain calm enough to climb down a ladder while giving CPR to a small child?

LEWIS: Well somebody asked me afterwards if I was worried about dropping the baby and there was just no way that was going to happen. So I think time and experience and training always comes into play whenever you're in a situation like that.

COSTELLO: Just amazing.

So Tim, where can people see these videos and what can they do if they want to donate or help?

MCGRAW: Well, you can go to Duracell's Web site and you can see all these things in YouTube, you can find these stories. They're incredible stories. I mean that's just an example of some of the stories that that we're presenting. And they are heart wrenching, they -- they will make you cry, they will make you smile, they will make you proud.

I mean just -- you know I'm proud to be a part of a company that's doing something like this and highlighting our first responders and giving away these batteries to -- to really -- to really help.

And you know it's just stories that really touch your heart. And anytime that I can be involved in something like that and -- and sort of showcase people who really put their lives on the line like this, it's a great opportunity for me --

COSTELLO: So before I let --

MCGRAW: -- to be able to do that.

COSTELLO: And it's awesome. So before I let you go Tim, we have to know, is there anything on the horizon, anything else on the horizon we should be watching out for that involves the great Tim McGraw?

MCGRAW: Well, I'm pretty busy right now doing a lot of things. The busiest thing at my house right now is school is starting back and I have three daughters. So that's probably the busiest thing that's going on.

COSTELLO: I -- I imagine that would be tough. Thank you so much to both of you for being with us this morning. Tim McGraw, Scott Lewis, we appreciate it.

MCGRAW: Thank you.

LEWIS: Have a great day.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Here's something that's unheard of in professional sports, the NFL is planning on giving -- giving performance enhancing drugs to former players in order to help the NFL better test their current players. Sounds like -- sounds like the players are going to become guinea pigs -- Andy Scholes.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: That's pretty much how it's going to be Carol. You know, according to "USA Today," the NFL is planning on having about 100 former players take part in a human growth hormone study. Now the part of the study the league would administer HGH to two thirds of the sample group and give the other third a placebo. They would test the former players' blood levels before and after the study. And the results would then be used to determine what a positive test for HGH should be.

Now the reason the NFL is going this route with the testing is because HGH does occur naturally in the body and in the past the league and the player's union had disagreed on what should be considered a normal level for a player. The NFL hopes to begin testing for HGH this season.

Well Patriots nation went into complete freak outmode yesterday when Tom Brady went down holding his knee during the team scrimmage with the Bucs. Brady left the scrimmage early but it looks like Patriots fans can let out a big sigh of relief. An MRI on Brady's knee came back negative and he may even play in the team's preseason game tomorrow night.

Well the USA men's national team pushed their record winning streak to 12 yesterday with a thrilling comeback win over Bosnia. The U.S. was down 2-0 at the half, but they scored four straight goals, three coming off the leg of Jozy Altidore. He now has scored in five straights games. The 4-3 victory was the first ever come back win for the U.S. in Europe.

Braves/Phillies last night in Atlanta, an injured bat finds its way on to the infield during the second inning. Carol -- who better to handle this situation than a bat boy? That's right. He comes, scoops up the bat. Even scares some of the players in the dugout. That's Dan Uggla right there --

COSTELLO: Well, they carry disease.

SCHOLES: They do. It's a little dangerous, I think, you know. Manu Ginobili swatted a bat out of the air a couple of years ago during a Spurs game. He had to get a couple of shots.

By all accounts, this bat boy is perfectly fine. The bat actually flew away into the outfield during the game.

COSTELLO: Did it?

SCHOLES: Yes. I don't know. Who knows what was actually wrong with that bat? Maybe it just wanted to take a little nap in the dugout.

COSTELLO: Maybe he just wanted to meet Dan Uggla.

But I wish we could have shown the whole thing because the bat boy -- somebody picks the bat up with their glove and tries to hand it off to someone, but the bat escapes.

SCHOLES: Great video.

COSTELLO: It is. And I admire that bat boy. Good for him. Yes -- bat boy.

SCHOLES: Right. Brave bat boy.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Andy.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning. Thanks so much to joining me. I'm Carol Costello. I'd like to welcome our viewers from around the world.

The United States now at a cross roads in its policy with a key Mid East ally -- talking about Egypt, of course. We're waiting to hear President Obama's very first statement on that country since yesterday's mass carnage. At least 525 people were killed in nationwide clashes between security forces and supporters of the deposed President Mohamed Morsy.

It was Egypt's worst day of violence since its 2011 revolution. President Obama has yet to call Morsy's removal last month a coup. Such a designation would force the United States to cut the $1.3 billion it sends every year to Egypt in military aid. That would change the U.S. relationship with its strongest Arab ally in the region.

While we wait for President Obama's statement, let's bring in Wolf Blitzer. He's in Washington. Hi Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Carol, hi.