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American Morning

Midterm Battle Lines Drawn; Housing Market Hit; New WikiLeaks Papers; Check It Free; Taxing N.Y. Bagels; Bank's Post Katrina Solution; Gold Stolen from Florida Museum; Red Tape After the Flood

Aired August 25, 2010 - 07:59   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It is Wednesday, August 25th. Thank you for joining us. It's just about 8:00 here in the east coast.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: You're Kate Bolduan.

BOLDUAN: I am Kate Bolduan.

ACOSTA: I'm Jim Acosta. We're both in for John and Kiran are off this morning. We got a lot to talk about. Plenty of politics. Let's get right to it.

Insider versus outsider. Money versus the establishment. What more do you want? A major test of how much the power the tea party really has at this point. That's also in the mix. It was a huge primary night highlighted by resurgent Senator John McCain. There is a race still undecided at this hour in Alaska. One of Sarah Palin's candidates watching that race closely. We will run through all of the major contests and look for the message this morning.

BOLDUAN: Home sales plunged to their lowest level in 15 years and that's raising concerns on America's road to recovery could hit a bit of a detour. So, what's all this mean for your biggest investment? We're "Minding Your Business."

ACOSTA: And after hurricane Katrina, thousands were not only left homeless with no electricity, most of the affected areas' ATMs were not working and leaving thousands of people without access to their money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people's lives depend on being able to go buy gas, ice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you needed cash to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You needed cash to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Just ahead, we'll tell you about one Gulfport bank's small gesture that made a huge impact and the major return on their investment. BOLDUAN: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.

ACOSTA: Well, up first, battle lines being drawn for November. Voters are heading to the polls in five key states last night. And we are sleepless in Alaska -- big test of the Tea Party still undecided at this hour.

BOLDUAN: We may not know the results for a week while they are counting absentee ballots. That's how close it is between incumbent Lisa Murkowski and Tea Party favorite Joe Miller. Miller has the support of the state's former governor, Sarah Palin. Palin beat Murkowski's dad in 2006 in the governor's race.

A short time ago, we asked Mr. Miller whether he's caught in the middle of a family feud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Here she is, lining up behind a challenger to take down Lisa Murkowski, Frank Murkowski's son -- or daughter. Is there any bad blood there?

JOE MILLER (R), ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE (via telephone): You know, I think the national media has attempted to make this into some sort of a family feud. But, frankly, that has nothing to do with this at all. It's just simply a different perspective of the major role of government.

And, frankly, we've got to rein in on the federal government. And people of common sense recognized that. It's the only way out of this bankruptcy that's come upon us all. It's the only way out for Alaska to get out there and utilize its own resources and bring the state forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And former Governor Palin even cut a robocall for Miller, stressing Miller's willingness to confront Obama and his -- as she puts it -- radical agenda.

BOLDUAN: Alaska isn't the only flash (ph) point this morning. We are watching races in four other states all final this hour.

A lot going on in Florida which we want to tell you about, where one candidate's $50 million investment paid off. Rick Scott spent that much of his own fortune to win the GOP nomination for governor. Scott will face Democrat Alex Sink and independent Lawton Chiles in November. And in Florida's Senate race winners were Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek.

ACOSTA: Over in Arizona, he is back. Senator John McCain pulled out one of the toughest victories of his long career against former Congressman J.D. Hayworth.

Jessica Yellin is in Arizona this morning, breaking down all of the key races for us from the last 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In Arizona, Senator John McCain beat back a primary challenge, handily defeating former Congressman J.D. Hayworth for the Republican Senate nomination.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I promise you, I take nothing for granted and I'll fight with every ounce of strength and conviction I possess to make the case for my continued service in the Senate.

YELLIN: After a primary fought over immigration policy, the senator's victory speech included only one brief mention of the issue.

MCCAIN: We will secure our borders.

YELLIN: Perhaps a sign he will moderate his position to woo independent and Latinos in the general election.

Across the country, in Florida's Senate race, Democrat Kendrick Meek trounced billionaire Jeff Greene who had spent millions of his own fortune.

KENDRICK MEEK (D), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: I made the case that I am the real Democrat in this race. I also made the case that I have the will and desire and energy to pull a double shift to get Florida back to work.

YELLIN: Now, Meek enters a fierce three-way contest with Republican-turned-independent Governor Charlie Crist and Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio who walked to victory in the Republican primary.

MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not interested in running just simply to be against people. I believe that there is a better way to do things.

YELLIN: But the big upset of the night came in Florida's governor's race, multimillionaire businessman and health care reform opponent, Rick Scott, narrowly defeated the establishment candidate, Attorney General Bill McCollum.

RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Tonight, we have sent a real message to the Washington's insiders --

(CHEERING)

SCOTT: -- the Tallahassee insiders.

YELLIN: McCollum responded to the loss with a statement calling Scott a multimillionaire with a questionable past, who shattered campaign spending records. This one threatens to divide the state's Republican Party. Now, Scott faces Democrat Alex Sink in November.

(on camera): We can draw one conclusion from these results. The voters are in a deeply dissatisfied mood and almost no candidate can walk to an easy victory. This year, it seems almost every campaign will be a bitter, vigorous fight -- Jim, Kate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Marco Rubio winning the nod in Florida sets up a three- way race for Florida's -- for Florida's Senate race in November against Democrat Kendrick Meek and Governor Charlie Crist who ditched the GOP to run as an independent.

ACOSTA: Rubio talked about the matchup earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I am running against two people who support the direction that Washington is taking our country. We're offering a clear agenda, and particularly on things like the national debt, on job creation. Washington's agenda is destructive for America's future and that's what we're focused on as our message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Rubio probably could not have done it without the Tea Party support, but he didn't mention the Tea Party once in last night's speech. And some conservatives are already rumbling about that.

BOLDUAN: Already talking about that.

And as the election season heats up on air or online, CNN.com/Politics. That's where you're going to get it all. We got the best political team to break down the issues, the races and the analysis. Again, CNN.com/politics.

ACOSTA: Moving to the economy, more signs that the economy is struggling. It is trying to pick itself up but it is starting to dip again. Yesterday, the Dow slipped below 10,000 for the first time in several weeks, made it back up above 10,000. But it was enough to make everybody just a little nervous about what was happening out there.

BOLDUAN: The main culprit, the real estate market. The numbers for July came out yesterday showing sales for existing home sales plunged 27 percent. And that's creating new worries about their recovery effort.

Our Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business."

Stephanie -- if I could get it out -- this is not happy news for the housing market or the economy.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all. And the reason why we care about this, you know, you hear about these numbers and you go, what does that really mean?

(CROSSTALK)

ELAM: I don't own a home. I am not buying a home. I can't even afford a home.

If you - if you are one of those people or if you do own a home, here is why it matters for you -- because the existing home sales, if you think about it, we're talking about homes that exist, that somebody's already gently worn in for you before you'd move in, that's 90 percent of the market, right? Well, on top of it, it makes up 15 percent of the gross domestic product. That's what the country is churning out. It's second only to health care.

So, it's a huge chunk of what moves this country as far as our economic growth here. So, with economists saying that a lot of home sales are expected to be weak for a few more months -- if you take that into account, that means less people are spending money on housing and they're not going out and buying more rugs, they're not buying more paint, they're not doing little fixer uppers. They're not spending.

ACOSTA: That's true.

ELAM: The consumer spending -- that's very true -- and consumer spending is two-thirds of the economy. So, think about that. We need people to spend for the economy to keep going.

ACOSTA: That is so true.

ELAM: If they're not doing, it's going to hurt.

ACOSTA: When home values were skyrocketing, people were going to Home Depot, they were getting their kitchens redone. All of that stuff has to take a hit.

ELAM: And you can -- you could see in certain places, there will be a Home Depot and a Lowe's across from each other.

ACOSTA: Yes.

ELAM: Because there was so much demand for that kind of building. All of that factors in. But, now, the value of homes -- some analysts are saying it's probably not going to continue to have this sort of big safety net sort of investment that it has been.

And we all know the drill. You retire. You sell your house. Get a smaller house and use what you made off of your house to live off of it.

Well, a lot of people are saying that way of going about wealth building may not be the same. And that the value of our houses will be more in line with inflation.

So, these are some of the concerns on why it's so important to the economy, whether you have a house, own a house, don't own a house.

ACOSTA: Right.

ELAM: This is why it matters to all of us right now, what this means when you see a number like 27 percent drop in existing homes sales is like.

ACOSTA: And folks are clamoring for that real estate tax credit to come back.

ELAM: Yes.

ACOSTA: They would love for that to come back.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: What can we do? You know, you see this drop, but what can we do about it?

ELAM: Right. What can you do?

BOLDUAN: Buy a house even though you can't.

ELAM: Yes, right. You could if you could, but, you know, prices are continuing to drop. So, if you want to get in, they are saying, well, maybe I'll wait because prices keep sliding here. So, it's a tough one, but it's something that we have to keep our eyes on. We'll take a look at new home sales which are less of the market.

ACOSTA: Yes. Stephanie, thanks.

ELAM: Sure.

ACOSTA: All right. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: The White House and House leader -- House minority leader John Boehner going toe to toe over the economy. And in about --

ACOSTA: Yes, they are.

BOLDUAN: Yes, they are, sir. And in about 20 minutes, we'll go live to Washington where Republicans have a new message for President Obama. Simply put, they say: fire your economic team.

ACOSTA: Meanwhile, dangerous situation unfolding just 75 miles north of Los Angeles. More than 500 firefighters are battling a wildfire that's threatening about 50 structures at the moment. So far, more than 1,300 acres have been swallowed by flames. But, so far, no injuries have been reported. And not only are firefighters battling rough terrain but temperatures are expected to reach triple digits again today.

BOLDUAN: And that means we should go to Jacqui Jeras in the extreme weather center.

Jacqui, what's going on?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: More of the same, guys. The heat is really building. And I think today will be the peak of this heat across the southwest. Take a look at all the record highs that were broken yesterday. And this is just a sampling, yes, 110 in Gilroy. And there you can see Lancaster at 108, 107 in Palmdale, and Sacramento up there at 106.

So, look for similar temperatures again today and that's certainly not going to help the fire situation. Much cooler conditions can be expected in the Southwest by Friday.

In the meantime, just the opposite across parts of the east. Look at those highs, 68 in Boston, 75 degrees in New York City. We've got that lingering low pressure area that's going to continue to bring some rain showers across the Northeast. Some pop-up thunderstorms to the Southeast possible.

But look at those beautiful conditions across the nation's midsection. That's going to make your way to the east coast by the end of the week.

In the meantime, you're going have some delays as a result of it. We've got 45-minute ground delays already in New York City at La Guardia.

The tropics are certainly getting active. We've got a hurricane again. Danielle -- tropical yesterday, back to hurricane status once again, and you can see a wave behind Danielle which could be our next storm. So, Danielle may have a friend named Earl before all is said and done -- Jim and Kate.

ACOSTA: Misery loves company.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

ACOSTA: When it comes to hurricanes.

BOLDUAN: Unfortunately, we don't like when they become friends.

ACOSTA: No, we don't.

JERAS: No, we don't.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Jacqui. We'll talk to you soon.

A new controversy over whistleblower Web site WikiLeaks. The Web site says it will release CIA documents today. Details on that -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Well, developing right now, there's been a wave of bloody attacks across Iraq this morning. Officials say 48 people were killed and over 200 were wounded. There were 20 bomb attacks in a dozen different cities. Mostly targeting Iraqi security forces, a major test for them with the last U.S. combat brigade now gone in that country.

BOLDUAN: Also developing this morning, WikiLeaks is promising to put out another round of CIA papers today. The whistleblower Web site announced on Twitter that 15,000 additional documents will be released. It recently published 76,000 secret papers on the Afghan war, setting off a wave of criticism from both the Pentagon and many military officials.

The founder of WikiLeaks was arrested in absentia last week in Sweden for rape, but the charges have since been dropped.

ACOSTA: Other security problems for the Pentagon -- the Pentagon is declassifying the worst ever breach of our military's computer system. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn told "The Washington Post" a silent rogue program was inserted on to laptop with a small flash drive on a military post in the Middle East back in 2008. Lynn says a foreign intelligence agency was behind the attack and have allowed them to access classified and unclassified files, transferring them to computer servers outside of the Pentagon system. Sounds like something out of a movie.

BOLDUAN: I know absolutely.

ACOSTA: Unbelievable.

BOLDUAN: And Shirley Sherrod she is not coming back to the Agriculture Department any time soon. You will remember Sherrod was forced out last month after video of the speech she gave was edited to make her appear racist and Sherrod still insists the White House did push her -- push for her resignation and joined us in our last hour when I asked why she said no and what she is planning next. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY SHERROD, EX-AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE: I'm not sure I would have been free to do the job the way it should have been done. And, you know, when you have been bitten once, it is hard to go back and put yourself back out there for more punishment. Did anything change? I don't think so.

BOLDUAN: What job opportunities? What are you looking for coming up?

SHERROD: Well, I don't have any job opportunities at this point. I have to look at what's possible. I do need to take a little time to think and look at the future. I do plan to be busy. I would like to explore locating others who think like I do, who are working on issues in their community on race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Sherrod says she hopes her experience will help further race relations in America because, quote, she says, "We are not where we need to be."

ACOSTA: Well get this. Some hotels are offering to pay for those nasty baggage fees at the airlines are charging these days. What's that all about? We are "Minding Your Business" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOLDUAN: I really wish they could have seen that dance you were just doing. Very nice.

ACOSTA: It was that bad.

BOLDUAN: It was that good. So does the smile.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Everybody time for a little "Minding Your Business." Go ahead. Hack away. A number of hotels are now offering to pay --

ACOSTA: Listen, I get the hint. OK, I will leave.

BOLDUAN: Exactly pack your bags, Jim. A number of hotels offering to pay the checked baggage fees most airlines are charging. But there is a bit of a catch. The deal only applies to weekend stays and some hotels will only reimburse you up to $50. But still.

ACOSTA: Yes, yes. And get this. Paying a premium for pork? What? Bacon prices have skyrocketed more than 200 percent from a year ago blame high demand. And a small supply from farmers. Retail prices jumped about $3.64 a pound in April to over $4.00 in July in grocery stores and restaurants. They will have to pass that on to the consumer. So first eggs and now the bacon. What's next, bagels?

BOLDUAN: Well funny you mentioned that.

ACOSTA: Oh.

BOLDUAN: It seems they have done it. The tax man literally coming after the bread and butter of New York. Do you have the newspaper?

ACOSTA: Do you still have it - we won't show that one.

BOLDUAN: Anyway, since the state is so gosh darn broke, it is now enforcing a baseball tax. That's apparently on the books. It doesn't apply to all bagels. Take part only if very have been sliced or prepared like a bagel and cream cheese. Or if you get an unsliced bagel and decide to eat it in the store. That's actually true they say. That's good because it kind of gives the people - you have a choice. If you are fed up, take your bagel and pack your place tuck knife a work.

ACOSTA: There you go, once they go after the oatmeal, that's it. I'm starting a revolution. If they take away all that stuff --

BOLDUAN: We are hitting a lot of breakfast items.

ACOSTA: Exactly -- hey we have to eat on this show, listen. People around the globe are channeling their inner Jimmy Hendrix these days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a good one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: No that's not a producer, though that's a contestant trying to secure a spot in the 15th annual Air Guitar World Championships. The U.K. held this contest to see who would move on to the big gig. These rock star wannabes definitely dress the part. The contestants who perform at the world championships in Finland are given a one-minute solo to show off their shredding and statements.

BOLDUAN: Truly fabulous.

ACOSTA: Truly fabulous.

BOLDUAN: Truly fabulous, I would like to take part, I wish.

ACOSTA: I think you should.

BOLDUAN: The company should send me over there.

ACOSTA: I think they should.

BOLDUAN: Assignment. Anyone?

ACOSTA: I will chip in for that.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, sir.

Also a big story we are talking about. House minority leader John Boehner calling for the mass firing of the Obama administration's economic team. Brianna Keilar will have that coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. "Top Stories" are only minutes away. But first an "A.M. Original." Something you will only see right here on AMERICAN MORNING. When hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf region, it didn't just wipe out homes and businesses, it literally left people penniless.

BOLDUAN: After the storm, most ATMs were down because there was no power. Something a lot of people you don't think about. But it was true. It quickly became a cash economy. But how to get it.

ACOSTA: Right.

BOLDUAN: Our Jeanne Meserve is in New Orleans this morning to give us one bank's solution and the ultimate payback they received. Hey Jean.

MESERVE: Hey Jim and Kate. There's an old saying that the good you do comes back to you. In Gulfport, Mississippi, that came true.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Katrina chewed up and spit out much of Gulfport, Mississippi, including the headquarters of Hancock.

GEORGE HAIRSTON, CURRENT CO-CHAIR, HANCOCK BANK: See this floor was completely trashed, it was 100 percent lost.

GAY TODD, HANCOCK BANK EMPLOYEE: I'm just glad to be here.

MESERVE: Bank employee Gay Todd still tears up remembering not what was lost but what her bank gave.

TODD: They looked after the community. Sorry.

MESERVE: Without electricity, records or even all its buildings, Hancock started opening the day after the storm improvising with trailers folding tables and faith.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just made human judgments. And those people that needed help, we gave help

MESERVE (on camera): What kind of help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cash.

MESERVE (voice-over): Waterlogged money salvaged from ATMs and vaults was literally laundered, washed, dried, ironed, and loaned to customers and noncustomers alike.

HAIRSTON: And we would write a little I.O.U. on whatever piece of paper you had that you could put your hands on, little yellow sticky pads, piece of a napkin.

MESERVE (on camera): Marvin Koury got a few hundred dollars.

MARVIN KOURY, GULFPORT RESIDENT: A lot of people's lives were depending on being able to go buy gas, ice.

MESERVE: And you needed cash to do it.

KOURY: You needed cash to do it.

MESERVE (voice-over): Hancock bank says millions of dollars of salvaged money was used to make its unconventional Katrina loans. All but 300,000 was paid back. There were other unexpected dividends. In the four months after the storm Hancock's deposits grew 40 percent. And in 2009, George Slogul, the bank chairman during Katrina, was elected mayor of gull port with almost 90 percent of the vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically people are honest and want to do the right thing. And they will stand by you if you do the right thing by them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Now the bank wasn't the only business on the Gulf Coast to do something like this. The pharmacist told me how her stores gave medicines to people that needed them without I.D., without licenses, for a simple I.O.U., they too got about 90 percent of their money back and won a lot of new customers. So from the bad came some good. Kate, Jim, back to you.

BOLDUAN: The simple - well big acts of kindness of those people.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: That was a great story. Thanks so much Jeanne.

ACOSTA: Thanks Jeanne.

BOLDUAN: Crossing the half hour. Time for this morning's "Top Stories." A big setback for the economy, existing home sales plunged 27 percent last month to their lowest level in 15 years. The economist space much of the drop can be attributed to the expiration of the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. The bad news fueled a Wall Street sell-off with the DOW dropping 134 points yesterday.

ACOSTA: And some key battles in five states, late results to tell you about. In Arizona, four-term incumbent Senator John McCain defeating challenger J.D. Hayworth. In Florida, Marco Rubio easily wins the Republican nomination setting up a wild three way race in November with Democrat Kendrick Meek and Governor Charlie Crist who ditched the GOP to rise as an independent. And the Florida governor's race, Rick Scotts' $50 million investment paid off. The political insider or outsider, I should say, he won the Republican nod.

BOLDUAN: And one big race still undecided in this hour we are closely watching the race in Alaska. Sarah Palin back. Joe Miller is trying to pull out a win against sitting Senator Lisa Murkowski. It is a major test of how much power the tea party really has this election season. A short time ago Miller told us why he thinks he will pull off the upset.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE MILLER: I think it boils down to common sense. We see just a complete breakdown of common sense right now. We consider a crisis of leadership. And absolutely common sense Americans, common sense Alaskans, they recognize we got to change out the people in D.C. to change D.C.

BOLDUAN: Sarah Palin went all out to support Joe Miller. She beat also, it's good to note, beat his opponent's father to become governor of Alaska back in 2006. Some say there's a bit of a personal battle going on.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, and a great debate is unfolding in Washington over who is best at handling the economic recovery. GOP leader John Boehner offered up his ideas yesterday, among them urging the president to fire his economic team.

BOLDUAN: But the White House was quick to hit back. Our Brianna Keilar is live in Washington. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, guys. Well, this is a battle that is all about jobs and the sputtering economy. John Boehner, top Republican in the House who would likely be the speaker of Republicans are able to gain control of the House, really put up his dukes, saying that Democrats have failed to create jobs and grow the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: In the Republican corner, hailing from Ohio, John Boehner.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) MINORITY LEADER: President Obama should ask for and accept resignations of the remaining members of his economic team, starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council.

KEILAR: Fighting for the president, Delaware's own Joe Biden.

JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: First, a little bit of history here. For eight years before we arrived in the west wing, Mr. Boehner and his party ran the economy and middle class literally into the ground. They took a $237 billion operating surplus inherited from the Clinton administration and left us with a $1.3 trillion dollar deficit.

KEILAR: Boehner jabbed at the president's plan let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year for Americans earning more than $250,000.

BOEHNER: Let me be clear. Raising tax owes families and small businesses during a recession is a recipe for disaster for both our economy and for our deficit, period. End of story.

KEILAR: The counterpunch for Democrats, Republicans are protecting big corporations and overstating the number of small businesses affected by the tax hike.

BIDEN: Let's have a little truth in advertising here. There aren't three percent of the small businesses in America that would qualify for that tax cut at the top two percent. It's a Wall Street tax cut, not a main street tax cut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Biden and other Democrats also hit Boehner for criticizing them without putting out a Republican proposal on the economy. But Boehner promised Republicans do have a plan based on what they heard from Americans and what's been an online listening tour, and he said that they will release that next month. Jim and Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right, thanks so much, Brianna.

ACOSTA: And a modern day pirate story down in Key West, perfect location for that. It has been nearly a week since two modern day pirates stole a $550,000 gold bar from a Key West museum. Who done it? John Zarrella tries to solve this unsolved mystery, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: It almost sounds like the beginning of a pretty bad joke. Two thieves walk into maritime museum. They walk out with a piece of history, a gold bar from the 17th century found decades ago on the bottom of the sea. Get this -- it is worth over a half million dollars.

How did these modern day pit rates do it? Our John Zarrella is on the case in Key West Florida taking a look in this "A.M." original.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Jim, Kate, a week ago, two thieves walked into the Mel Fisher museum here behind me and walked out with a gold bar worth half a million dollars. The question is where are they? What did they do with the bar? Or what do they intend to do with it?

ZARRELLA (voice-over): The bulletproof glass case sits empty. For more than two decades, until last Wednesday, it housed this gold bar. Visitors to the museum in Key West could touch it, lift it, but you couldn't remove it. At least that's what everyone thought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After your first five, next ten, 25 years, you start to get to the point where you think this is never going to happen.

ZARRELLA: It did. The surveillance video is remarkably clear. One of two thieves approached the case, does something, then walks away. While the security guard is out of the room he comes back, removes the bar, sticks it in his pocket, and walks out.

ZARRELLA (on camera): Authorities think that the thieves may have been targeting this gold chain but couldn't get the case off. So they came over here. Now, this is bulletproof glass, but somehow the thief was able to snap the glass here at the weak points.

In 1980 while searching for the wreck of a Spanish galley, Mel Fisher and his team of treasure hunters found the Santa Margarita. Both ships had gone down in a hurricane off Key West, 1622. The bar is one of dozens the divers found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty frustrating. You haven't had the kind of --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I thought by now we would have this one solved.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Even with the video and fingerprints, Key West police chief Donnie Lee says they have very little concrete.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will end up in somebody's house probably used as paperweight, other than melting it down, which is the worst case scenario for everyone. ZARRELLA: Experts in the recovery of art and artifacts say the thieves likely made a huge mistake. The market is small for high- profile items with distinguishing markings. Robert Wittman, head of the FBI's art crime time wrote the book "Priceless."

ROBERT WITTMAN, AUTHOR, "PRICELESS": We recovered paintings and artifacts that have been missing for many years, 10, 12, 15, sometimes 20 years. And it's because the thieves never could get rid of it. They basically kept tonight their closets. They were white elephants. They made no money out of the deals. They just -- they were stuck.

ZARRELLA: Experts say if these thieves had any brains, the smart thing to do, return the gold they fingered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: Police say that with the surveillance video and fingerprints, they believe that they will catch these guys. Experts say that eventually 90 percent to 95 percent of artifacts are recovered. It just may take years. Kate, Jim?

ACOSTA: And it's a perfect setting for that type of crime. Look at that at the lovely weather in Key West. Not so much everywhere else. We've got double trouble in the tropics. Plus the northeast is drying out or at least they stay it is drying out -- rain right outside our window right now. It will be gorgeous in the Midwest. Jacqui Jeras is coming up next to break it all down for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Good morning, Miami. It looks very pretty right now, cloudy, 85 later. Keep your eyes out for isolated thunderstorms, 90 degrees. That's' typical Florida weather with isolated showers.

(WEATHER BREAK)

ACOSTA: And speaking of video that has nothing to do with the weather, check this out. Have you ever solved the Rubik's Cube without pulling off the stickers? Well, how about trying to pulling it off as you're jumping out of an airplane.

This guy is pulling down 14,000 feet. He's in a freefall, solving the Rubik's Cube at the same time. It took 20 moves for this German sky diver to solve this puzzle. And I know this is not the video of my commute up to New York.

BOLDUAN: I was just thinking, I mean, you could very easily just let, I mean that could just very easily slip out of his hands.

ACOSTA: Right.

BOLDUAN: That in and of itself holding on to something while you're freefalling out of a plane.

ACOSTA: Right he is falling 6,000 feet in 30 seconds. And by then he didn't even deploy the chute until he solved Rubik's Cube. So -- our hats off to him.

BOLDUAN: My hat is off -- that was my line. Don't steal it again.

ACOSTA: Chute's off.

BOLDUAN: Chute's off and we won't be trying that.

ACOSTA: No.

BOLDUAN: All right, also this.

Tiger Woods now ex-wife Elin Nordegren is finally talking. She gave her first and what she says will be her only interview to "People" magazine. You're seeing that look -- taking a look at the cover right there. She says she was blindsided by her husband's betrayal. That the anguish caused insomnia, weight loss; she said, she even lost her hair and that she has not watched a single hole of golf since the scandal broke.

Nordegren also said she never took a golf club to Tiger on the night that started it all rolling down this hill we've been following last summer.

ACOSTA: Wow, wow. And of course, she broke her silence which is what a lot of people have been waiting for.

BOLDUAN: Yes and that's probably the only time she's going to.

ACOSTA: Yes absolutely, well, we'll see about that.

BOLDUAN: Yes exactly.

ACOSTA: But -- and meanwhile, we've got new details coming up in just a few moments on that egg recall that just keeps on expanding. My goodness, tainted eggs -- not what you want on your breakfast table in the morning. And does paying organic, does that make any kind of difference? We'll have some details on that coming up next.

It's 48 minutes after the hour.

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ACOSTA: Well, what's on your breakfast table this morning? A developing story right now, the already massive egg recall across the nation is getting even bigger. The 17 states with salmonella cases, linked to the tainted eggs now turns to 18 with Michigan becoming the latest added to the list. That's almost the whole map there with the yolk-colored graphics on it. So far close to 1,300 people have become sick from eating the eggs; the FDA has traced the outbreak to two farms in Iowa.

BOLDUAN: And turning to the oil disaster in the Gulf. A major study finds that a newly-discovered type of microbe could have helped break down some of the oil in the Gulf faster than expected. Government researchers from the Berkeley lab in California studied an underwater oil plume to reach their findings.

The study also says the controversial dispersants BP used could have also helped speed up the process. That's something a lot of people were talking about.

Something else we're talking about, "Building up America"; rebuilding New Orleans one home at a time. Now one group is bringing the working class neighborhood back -- building them back up; in today's "Building up America" report.

We'll be back right after this.

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Bolduan: Today in "Building up America", rebuilding one of America's great cities. By some estimates more than a quarter million homes on the Gulf were destroyed by Katrina.

ACOSTA: And before many could break ground, they needed the government, agency after agency to get out of the way and now they have help.

Tom foreman is live for us in New Orleans this morning. And Tom, we could use some good news down there.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jim. Hi, Kate. Look, that number you mentioned a minute ago Kate, a quarter million homes lost. It's just staggering. All along the Gulf here.

But it's important to note what kind of homes were lost, too. In many cases, we are talking about the homes of working people. The people who made the French Quarter work, who made the Gulf work, who made the port work, who made the oil business work. Who did all these things that this town relied on; they had no place to live.

We caught up with one group that even now five years after the storm is aggressively saying they have got to help those people build up again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (voice-over): When Katrina hit New Orleans working class neighborhoods took the worst of it; more fatalities, more flooding and less hope for navigating the bewildering tide of expenses and red tape to rebuild.

In the Ninth Ward, Florine Jenkins felt it.

(on camera): Did you have any clue what to do?

FLORINE JENKINS, NINTH WARD RESIDENT: No.

FOREMAN (voice-over): In the Gentilly (ph) neighborhood, Nikki Najiola (ph) saw it, too.

NIKKI NAJIOLA, BUILD NOW: You can tear down your house, you put it back together. If put it back together, do you have to elevate it? If you do, if you are going to elevate it, how high are you going to elevate it? Where is that money going to come from? Do you take it from this pool of money or from that? It was just so overwhelming.

FOREMAN: That's why now Nikki manages a unique non-profit project called Build Now. Simply put, it is a construction company that offers an array of modestly praised home designs, an endless supply of free advice to anyone trying to build and a commitment to bring the working class neighborhoods back.

BEN SEYMOUR, BUILD NOW: We are actually currently in the living room.

FOREMAN: Ben Seymour is in charge of construction and says not only are the homes designed to stand far above floodwaters and resist gales with eve-less roofs and anchored porches, but the designs can also be easily adjusted; larger or smaller to fit the needs of families minding their money.

SEYMOUR: You can size it down, still gives you a big open feel. It is built to what you are going to use.

FOREMAN (on camera): In every way these really are working class family homes.

SEYMOUR: Absolutely. Absolutely.

FOREMAN (voice-over): This is not a giveaway. The clients pay fair value on average around $150,000. But just having a guide to the baffling process of permits, insurance and financing in the wake of Katrina, was a godsend for Miss Jenkins.

(on camera): Which house do you like better, your old house or this one?

JENKINS: This one. This one.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And one at a time, that is how they hope to keep turning empty lots into homes again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Build Now, Rebuilding Together, Brad Pitt's organization; there are all sorts of different groups here that are trying to do similar missions and that they recognize, this is the key. You must have workable homes for working class people for any city to work and they are putting tremendous effort into it.

Five years after the storm. I will tell you, there is still a tremendous need for it because although the tourist areas all look fine and they have the convention business back or coming back strong, they have got to keep having those people feel that they can make progress.

And really it's a very impressive effort by all the folks out there working in the neighborhoods to make them whole neighborhoods again -- Jim, Kate.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. We are all rooting for them. Thanks, Tom. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Thanks Tom.

ACOSTA: And AMERICAN MORNING will be live in New Orleans this Friday starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. Our John Roberts will be there with a special look at how the city has recovered in the past five years and what work still needs to be done.

BOLDUAN: And continue the conversation on today's stories go to our blog at CNN.com/amfix. Unfortunately that's all for us today.

ACOSTA: Hey, it has been great being with you this week.

BOLDUAN: It's been great. Thank you. Thank everybody here. Thank you.

Acosta: And "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now.