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Arthur Threatens East Coast; White House Payroll; Voters Rank Presidents; World Cup Heartbreak; T-Mobile Bogus Fees; Dow Nearing 17,000; Viral Illness Ends Williams' Wimbledon

Aired July 02, 2014 - 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: In California, hundreds of firefighters are facing extremely dry conditions as they battle a fast-moving blaze. The massive wildfire in Napa County scorched nearly 3,000 acres and it's only about 30 percent contained. Roughly, 150 homes have been evacuated but so far, there are no reports of injury.

For the first time ever, NASA has launched a satellite with the sole purpose of measuring carbon dioxide. The satellite will examine the so-called greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The mission is expected to last at least two years and cost about $465 million.

Tropical Storm Arthur churning up waves along the Florida coast. The storm on a path up the eastern seaboard and it's expected to become the season's first hurricane as soon as tomorrow. Parts of North Carolina are already under a tornado watch, and sustained winds could reach as high as 85 miles per hour.

Joining me now to discuss all of this is Rick Knabb. He's the director of the National Hurricane Center.

Good morning, Rick.

RICK KNABB, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Hey, good morning. Thanks for having us on.

COSTELLO: Oh, thanks for being here. We really appreciate it, because we're heading into the Fourth of July and we have the threat of this hurricane. How likely is this tropical storm to turn into a hurricane?

KNABB: We think the chances are pretty high. I mean, the waters are very warm near the Gulf Stream and the wind shear in the atmosphere is not strong enough we don't think to tear this apart and limit it strengthening. So we're forecasting it to become a hurricane. That's not 100 percent certain. But the thing we want people to focus on, though, is where they live, what winds and what water could they experience. And that's why we already have hurricane and tropical storm watches in effect, and we have to deal with not just wind, but the potential for water being an impact. Even a tropical storm or a category one hurricane can produce storm surge flooding.

COSTELLO: Right. And, you know, it's going to cause a mess on the roadways too with the torrential downpours that we're expecting, right? KNABB: Right. And this is really going to be focused in coastal

regions, because this is going to be paralleling the coastline. We're not certain if the center of Arthur is going to pass right over or near the outer banks of North Carolina. But as it does, depending on exactly how far east or west it is when it goes near over the outer banks, that will determine how strong the winds are, how much rain occurs, how much storm surge occurs. But the potential is there for both wind and water. And it's not going to be something that has a chance to turn way inland. This is mostly going to be a coastal region event, and North Carolina is the area we're most concerned about right now. That's where the hurricane watch is in effect. We urge folks to do whatever their local officials tell them to do to prepare today.

COSTELLO: Is this supposed to be a bad hurricane season?

KNABB: Well, we always say that there's a very big difference between how busy the season might be overall and how bad it might be locally. And so preparing today for what could happen here on the East Coast, particularly in North Carolina, that's to prepare for how bad this could be locally in that area, both for residents and visitors. And how the rest of the season unfolds remains to be seen, but we would still want people to be preparing for the rest of the season because it's really early yet and the peak of the season could bring something bad somewhere else where you live. So this is a good reminder that even in a year when we're saying there might be below average activity, we can still have impacts like this.

COSTELLO: Great advice. Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, thanks so much.

For some White House workers, the past year has been a very lucrative one. The Obama administration is opening up the books and revealing a reported $1.3 million in raises. The biggest, Chase Cushman. He's the director of scheduling and deputy assistant to the president. His salary skyrocketed from $68,000 a year to $130,000 a year. Now that's a raise, Christine Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It sure is, especially when the average American family has like, what, $51,000 is the income for the typical household in this country. Look, we took a look at these numbers. They had to be made public so you can see exactly who makes what in the White House. Interesting, $172,000 is the top salary there, $172,200, the maximum salary. You've got 22 employees who make that, Carol, 11 men and 11 women. When you go all the way through all of the spread sheets, a lot of the middle paying jobs held mostly by men, the jobs at the bottom end of the income spectrum seem to be held more by women, so there seems to be a little bit of disparity there. But when you look at those overall numbers, the top 22 positions evenly matched by men and women, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, well let's talk about some of the people within the administration that got these big raises. The president's speechwriter also one.

ROMANS: Yes, he was promoted to head speechwriter and that meant a big raise for Cody Keenan. He started in 2009 at $45,000 a year, and now you can see there he was promoted last year, making just about $180,000.

COSTELLO: OK, but I think there was one employee who actually saw a steep decline in pay. Who was that?

ROMANS: I know, who takes a pay cut to go work for the president? This is a deputy economic adviser. Someone who was working over at the Fed, where, believe it or not, the Fed is not -- is its own institution, it has a higher salary. So he was making $225,000, Seth Wheeler, over at the Fed. When he came to the White House then, they matched his salary and then now, look, he's taken a pay cut to do that job at the White House. A pay cut to work for the president.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about the gender gap in pay for just a second, because this is a big thing with the Obama administration, right?

ROMANS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And you already said that, what, 22 of the top jobs are held by men, which could mean that women just have lesser jobs and they make less money, but parse it out for us

ROMANS: So - let me -- so the top 22 jobs are half men, half women and it's pretty clear what the pay is there. It's pretty equal at the very top of the stratum. In the middle, the middle paying jobs, men seem to hold more of those jobs. In the lower tier, it's women. So when you took -- look at average male and female salaries, for men, 88,500, for women 78,000.

You're right, this is something the president has talked about in the broader economy saying that this is a women's issue, this is a family issue that women should be paid the same as men for the same job. The White House says, when you look at job for job, women are paid for the same job, the same as men are there, but you have men, more men in higher paid jobs at the White House.

COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans reporting live for us this morning, thanks so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: The president has a message for Republicans who want to sue him for instituting executive actions, but who he says are, "doing nothing," in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Middle class families can't wait for Republicans in Congress to do stuff. So sue me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This month, the House speaker, John Boehner, plans to introduce legislation that could bring a lawsuit against President Obama, saying his use of executive actions are a breach of constitutional power. A new poll shows Republicans are not the only people unhappy with

Obama's job in the White House. The survey, released this morning by Quinnipiac University, shows that 33 percent of Americans think President Obama is the worst president since World War II. His predecessor, George W. Bush, came in second, followed by Richard Nixon.

And when it comes to Americans' opinions on the best presidents since World War II, Ronald Reagan is the clear winner with 35 percent, Bill Clinton comes in second place with 18 percent, and John F. Kennedy comes in third with 15 percent. Mark Preston is the executive editor for CNN Politics. He joins me dow - he joins me - man, I'm having trouble talking this morning, Mark, so I'll just let you take it away. What do you make of these numbers?

MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Well, Carol, we shouldn't be too surprised right now. Look, the economy is still very sluggish. We're living in the state of terror. We have President Obama, who has enacted some very controversial policies, namely health care, which we all know hasn't gone very well in the roll-out stage, and we are living in the moment at this point, so people are very upset. And I think you can say the same about George W. Bush's presidency as well. It is too close right now for us to really make an analytical, clear, concise assessment of both of their presidencies. That's why we leave it to the historians and we also leave it to the academics, years down the road, to make that decision. But I have to tell you, I'm sure President Barack Obama could have used a little extra sugar in his coffee this morning when you see those numbers, Carol.

COSTELLO: Of course, a good, stiff drink, right?

PRESTON: Right.

COSTELLO: OK, so, Mark, I heard you. While we should look at these numbers in the context of the U.S. economy, Obamacare and other things, there is a number within these polls you can look for -- that you can look at for immediacy. What is that number?

PRESTON: So let's look at this number right now. The election was just two years ago. It faced -- had Mitt Romney facing off against President Barack Obama. President Barack Obama easily won. But let's look at these numbers right now in the Quinnipiac poll.

Forty-five percent of Americans say they would be better off if Mitt Romney had been elected president, which, in many ways, this poll number does mean something because this is at a time right now where Mitt Romney was running on the whole idea that he would be able to turn the economy around. We know the housing market is still in shambles at this point, and people are looking now saying, gosh, should we have chosen Mitt Romney over Barack Obama? But again, the fact is, Barack Obama was chosen.

But, Carol, here's the interesting point. 2016 is right around the corner and we have a lot of Republicans right now that are at least chattering that Mitt Romney should run for president again. And I do have to tell you though, an adviser told me recently that that is not going to happen, but Mitt Romney again on the ticket.

COSTELLO: They always say that, though, right? They always deny it.

PRESTON: They -- they certainly do, but I have to say, I don't think Mitt Romney has the stomach to run again. Look, he's already run a couple times. There's a full field out there. There's certainly a place in American politics for Mitt Romney. I don't think it's going to be on the top of the Republican ticket in 2016.

COSTELLO: All right, Mark Preston, many thanks. I appreciate it.

PRESTON: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, World Cup heartbreak. The U.S. scores late but falls short. CNN's Lara Baldesarra is in Brazil.

Hi, Lara.

LARA BALDESARRA, CNN SPORTS: Hi, Carol.

Yes, it certainly was heartbreak, but a real victory for soccer in America. I'm going to have all the details live from Salvador in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Heartbreak in Brazil. Despite a valiant effort, the U.S. falls to Belgium. Its World Cup run is over. The USA team heads home with heads held high and more fans than ever before. CNN's Lara Baldesarra is in Salvador, Brazil, this morning to tell us more.

Good morning.

LARA BALDESARRA, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, you know, this was absolute heartbreak. Everybody was hoping and thinking and truly believing that the USA would be able to get past Belgium. But, unfortunately, no. But it wasn't all a sad performance.

This isn't truly a sad day for the USA. This is a great day because we just witnessed an American squad that got everybody in the country so excited, and got them to fall in love with soccer. Now, the face of the American side last night, undeniably Tim Howard, 16 saves he made in this game. He was just having to stop actually everything and he was unbelievable. I would personally call him a beast, Carol. That is a highly technical term, but that is exactly what he was. Those 16 saves, those were actually the most amount of saves by any one goalkeeper in a World Cup match in history. Unbelievable.

But, at the same time, is he going to be the guy that will be in goal for the USA as we move ahead? We don't know that for sure. He's 35 years old now. And in four years he'll be 39. So it will be interesting to see if he's still around. But we do have a lot of new, young faces to get really excited about. One of those guys is Yedlin, who I spoke to after the match, and he truly is the future of American soccer. Listen to what he told me. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANDRE YEDLIN, U.S. SOCCER: If that's the title, then that would be great. But, you know, there's obviously some amazing players coming through, you know, in John Brooks and Julian and Aaron and Mix. So I'm excited for what the future holds for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDESARRA: DeAndre Yedlin, Julian Brooks (ph), these two players, they really said hello America last night in the match. Julian Green, of course, he put the USA on the score sheet. Both of these guys were truly highlights. Now they're both very young, 19 years old, 20 years old. This is a bright future that this USA team has, Carol. So this is a very happy yet sad moment for U.S. soccer.

COSTELLO: Yes. I was just thinking of Tim Howard, when he comes home, he will be surrounded by fans and he will become a very, very wealthy man. That's my prediction.

BALDESARRA: Absolutely. I think that his beard might become a new trend as well. I think that you might see a lot of Tim Howard beards out there.

COSTELLO: I think you're probably right. Lara Baldesarra, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, capital "t" for trouble. Wireless giant T-Mobile accused of bilking customers of millions of dollars in bogus charges. CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik is following that story.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Does your cell phone bill seem higher than it should be? If you're a T-Mobile customer, the government says it might be crammed with bogus charges. I'm going to have details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 48 minutes past the hour.

Admiral Michelle Howard has become history. She's become the Navy's first female four-star officer. She's also the first African-American ever to reach that rank and is now the second highest ranking officer in the Navy. Howard is perhaps best known for commanding the strike force that helped rescue Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates.

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is now taking trips off his Texas Army base, escorted by members of his reintegration team. He's made stops at restaurants, stores, and the library to interact with people and ease his transition into everyday life. "The New York Times" reports Bergdahl has written a letter to his parents, but still hasn't spoken to them, but he has spoken to the friend he made, the beneficiary of his Army life insurance policy.

T-Mobile in some big t-rouble. The wireless company is accused of bilking customers out of millions of dollars in bogus charges and services they never asked for. Things like flirting tips and horoscopes and other spam all tied to their bill. Let's bring in CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Flirting tips? Really? Yes. I mean, you know, this is the kind of thing that we list as a reason why we hate our cell phone carriers. So this is actually a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission suing T- Mobile saying that consumers were charged these bogus text message subscriptions, you know, from celebrity gossip sites and flirting tips, as you said. And this happened between 2009 until December of last year. So this lasted at least four years according to the FTC.

Now regulators say what happened here is that these charges actually came from a third party, but what the government's also saying is that T-Mobile knew this was going on, especially since people really complained about it, plus T-Mobile got a 35 percent to 40 percent cut of those charges, Carol, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in T-Mobile's pocket.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh. So will customers be compensated?

KOSIK: That's a really good question. So, interestingly enough, T- Mobile actually, over this time span, has made some refunds to consumers who have complained, but it hasn't refunded the entire amount. As far as this lawsuit goes, this is just a lawsuit. I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of refund amount did come out of it for consumers who say they were affected. Of course, I must say that T-Mobile says that this complaint is unfounded and without merit.

Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, let's talk about the Dow, because I know that you're really into this. We're all waiting to see if it hits 17,000 at some point today. It almost did yesterday. What do you think?

KOSIK: Right. It came two points away from 17,000 today. It backed off, though, during the day yesterday. It looks like it's about, what, I would say 40, 50 points away from it now. Really not one thing driving it forward, although we are seeing lots of investors jump into the market. They're seeing these high numbers and saying, wait a minute, I want to get on this train before it leaves the station. We are seeing a little bit of caution at the moment, though. Still stocks in the green.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Alison Kosik reporting live for us this morning. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a strange scene at Wimbledon. Actually, it was sad and really scary. Serena Williams having trouble on the court. How it caused her to walk off tennis's biggest stage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Wimbledon now over for Venus and Serena Williams. And it ended in a bizarre and somewhat - actually, it was a disturbing scene. The sisters had to retire just three games into their second round doubles match when Serena, she stumbled around the court and she looked absolutely disoriented. She had trouble handling the tennis ball. She could not serve. It was later announced Serena was suffering from some kind of viral illness so she quit. She couldn't compete further. Christina MacFarlane is in London to explain.

And do we know what this virus was?

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, there's been no more confirmation other than the fact that she's just been suffering from this viral illness as the Williams' camp call it. But as you mentioned, it really was a quite upsetting scene watching a five-time Wimbledon champion, a seven-time grand slam champion fumbling all over the court yesterday, not able even to collect the balls that were being thrown to her by the ball boys. And late last night there was a statement released from Serena Williams where she said that she was heartbroken to not be able to continue in the tournament but that this bug, this viral bug that we keep hearing about, got the better of her, but that she does look forward to returning to Wimbledon next year.

And in the past hour, she's just posted a picture on her Twitter account, a very sad picture indeed, of her lying on the sofa with a blanket tucked up against her looking very forlorn indeed. And well she might, Carol, because it's really not been Serena Williams' year. She's gone out early in all three grand slam tournaments this year, which is a stark contrast to last year when you remember she won the U.S. Open and the French Open. She turns 33 in September and many are saying that she's running out of time now to win a grand slam, win more grand slams. And, of course, she wants to win just one more grand slam so that she can tie the record of USA's Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova of being a record breaker at 18 grand slams. So now at least she's got time to go away and regroup and return as the defending champion at the U.S. Open just a little later this year, but very sad news indeed.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, it - no, it was a shame that no one could convince her not to go out to the court, but she -- she must have insisted. But clearly she was upset just sitting there.

MACFARLANE: Absolutely. And there were questions asked, because a trainer came on to the court during the warm-ups to see how she was at that time and she was clearly disoriented even before the game started. So why would she then go on and play the first set. Well, we believe that what she really wanted was to do this for her sister, Venus Williams, who also went out in the competition just last week. So she was really insistent on wanting to be there for Venus Williams and so therefore played in that first set. But thankfully, mercifully, after pulling up short after four double faults, she just had to call time and Venus helped her off the court where she was attended to by medical staff. So very sad to see the world's number one in such a state.

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, we hope she gets better soon. We do. Christina MacFarlane, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

A man bent an SUV's door frame in half with his bare hands to rescue a driver from a burning car. The driver could not get out on his own because the locks and windows jammed. As smoke filled the SUV near Minneapolis on Monday, another driver stopped and ran to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE JOHANNES, RESCUED FROM VEHICLE: He bent the door with his bare hands. That was him. That was no tool. He went -- and it shattered the glass and they were able to pull me out.

You risked your life to save me, Bob, and I really appreciate it. Thank you. They could be planning my funeral today if it wasn't for you.

BOB RENNING, RESCUER: I don't think I did anything different than anybody else would do had they gotten to the car ahead of me. That's just my take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So the man who was pulled out of the SUV suffered smoke inhalation and some minor cuts from the broken glass, but that's it. But you saw his rescuer. He was not hurt at all. That guy's Superman.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.