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American Morning
Flooding Threatens Nebraska Nuke Plants; Casey Anthony Trial; Electronic Arts Hit By Hackers; CitiGroup Hackers Took $2.7 Million; Layoffs Loom For State Workers; Not Paying the Mortgage on Purpose; Same-Sex Marriage Victory Lap
Aired June 27, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Two Nebraska nuclear power plants under threat from rising floodwaters along the Missouri River.
I'm Christine Romans.
Officials say right now, they say there's no danger to the public.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
I'm Carol Costello.
How thorough is the TSA? It asked an elderly woman with cancer to take off her Depends and the agency said they would do it again.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: A dead heat for GOP frontrunners.
I am Ali Velshi.
Today, Minnesota's Congresswoman Michele Bachman set to announce her presidential bid in Iowa. A new poll shows you better take her seriously on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Good morning, everyone. It's Monday, June 27th. Kiran Chetry has the day off. Carol gets to sit in.
Good to see you.
COSTELLO: I am. Glad I'm up here. And it's going to be a beautiful in New York.
ROMANS: It sure will be.
COSTELLO: I'm a lucky girl.
Up first this morning, the birthplace of the atom bomb, home to the world's fastest super computer, shut down this morning, a wildfire now just a mile from the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. The laboratory's emergency operation center has been activated. All hazardous material, officials say, is accounted for and protected.
VELSHI: Two nuclear power plants in Nebraska are under siege this morning from floodwaters along the Missouri River. The two plants are about 100 miles apart, a protected flood wall at Fort Calhoun collapsed yesterday.
ROMANS: Officials now are concerned that water may be getting dangerously close to both reactors.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann live for us outside the Fort Calhoun plant in Nebraska.
So the water is right up there at the gate, essentially -- right, Patrick?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. This plant uses the Missouri River to cool down some of its radioactive, spent fuel, the reactor. So, they need the river. But when the river rises, as it has done so dramatically, that really creates quite a problem.
How big of a problem is it? They're actually using diesel generators now to power this facility. They've been knocked off the grid. They only need one of these generators. They have three. So, there's redundancies.
But you know what, one of the lessons in Fukushima, the Fukushima disaster keeps coming up, is it may not be just one incident. It could be multiple incidents and they have to prepare for that domino effect.
We're seeing, you know, a little bit of that. While they say there is no danger to the public. Yesterday, there was a somewhat embarrassing accident when a worker punctured a three-quarter mile long aqua berm. This is a huge, 8-foot wall they put up around this plant to keep the plant water tight. Well, that's one less contingency they have after it was punctured.
So, you know, again, just keeping a very close eye on this. When will it end? When will these two plants be declared safe and this plant behind me here actually become active again? Because it is offline. That will happen when the water goes down. And that could be weeks more.
VELSHI: All right, Patrick. Thanks very much. We'll keep on checking in to that to see that those nuclear power plants stay safe.
Meanwhile, in Minot, North Dakota, the Souris River is receding, but very slowly, after reaching its historic peak over the weekend. The river crest shattered a record set back in 1881.
That's bad news, of course, for the thousands of people whose homes have been lost or badly damaged. A third of the Minot's residents had to be evacuated because of the flooding. It could be days or longer before they can go back and see what, if anything, is left.
ROMANS: Rob Marciano is going to have more in the extreme weather coming up at 8:15 Eastern Time.
COSTELLO: They were just doing their job. That's the response today from the TSA after airport security made an elderly woman with cancer remove her adult diaper. VELSHI: This woman was 95 years old. She was flying out of Florida, about two weeks ago. Her daughter, who was on "CNN NEWSROOM" yesterday, says security patted her mom down, felt something suspicious and made her take it off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN WEBER, HER ELDERLY MOM SEARCHED BY TSA (via telephone): And they came out and told me that it had something to do with her depends, that it was wet, and it was firm, and they couldn't check it thoroughly. She would have to remove it.
And I was -- I said I don't have an extra one with me. Normally, this isn't a problem. And she said that she couldn't complete the security check without the depends off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The TSA released a statement saying everyone must be screened before getting on a plane and that agents acted professionally and according to procedure.
ROMANS: All right. Testimony is just about to resume in the Casey Anthony trial in Florida. Saturday's abrupt recess added a new level of intrigue to an already dramatic murder case.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding about that. We could learn what that was about when court goes back in session later today.
CNN's David Mattingly live at the courthouse in Orlando.
Any clue as to what this was about?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we're expecting to watch this train get back on the tracks today. But when it does, we're not expecting to find out, actually, what that was all about.
We know everything came to a screaming halt on Saturday, when we were suppose d to have a full day of testimony. The judge comes out, after a closed-door meeting with the attorneys, only to say they've run into a legal issue and will have to call off court for that day.
But, again, we're expecting to see more testimony today. Possibly no explanation from that judge because transcripts from that behind closed door meeting were sealed and out of the public eye.
So, again, more questions as we go into this new day of what we hope to see is more testimony in the Casey Anthony trial.
VELSHI: The defense was thinking that their case would go until Wednesday or Thursday. Maybe it's a day longer now because of what's happened.
The bottom line is, are we going to see Casey Anthony take the stand? That's what everybody is waiting for. MATTINGLY: That is the real cliffhanger that still needs to play out in this story. If she does take the stand, everyone agrees that she's going to be incredibly vulnerable, after having told so many apparent lies to her family and to investigators about her daughter being missing.
And now, the defense is in the position that they are having difficulty now. They may have to put her on the stand to prove that there was sexual abuse, as they claimed in their opening remarks, that Casey Anthony with his a victim of sexual abuse from her father and her brother as she was growing up, which led her to be able to act like nothing was wrong when her daughter was missing.
So, again, arguments on both sides about why or why not she should do that and we're waiting to see if that will actually happen.
VELSHI: David, thanks very much. David Mattingly on the case for us. We'll be following it.
Earlier, we talked to Sunny Hostin, she talked about how Casey Anthony's brother had testified that she was seven months pregnant and the family hadn't said anything to him about her being pregnant. So, they sort of trying to prove this family has some unusual ways about it and that she may have been --
COSTELLO: The weirdest part is the brother is testifying and he's crying about that. I mean, I know it's terrible that you're not informed your sister is pregnant, but come on.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: It's just strange. It's odd.
VELSHI: Very unusual situation, the whole case.
ROMANS: And I think that's why people are so captivated by it because it is just odd.
All right. It's become one of the most talked about moments at last night's BET Awards, only has nothing to do with performances.
COSTELLO: So strange. Check out what happened.
When a presenter noticed the information in her hand did not match the teleprompter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're here to announce the winner of the Coca Cola viewer's choice award and the winner is Chris brown, look at me now. I'm sorry. Rihanna, "What's My Name?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. This is awkward. OK. It's OK. The winner is Drizzy Drake. Come on over here, Drake. Congratulations, Drake.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Awkward. I think awkward doesn't really describe the situation, because Chris Brown was really the viewer's choice on the BET Awards and you heard Rihanna's name come up there, the reason that was bizarre and uncomfortable is because we know what happened between Rihanna and Chris Brown. So, Chris Brown had that to deal with. He is trying to repair his image. He just can't seem to do it because Rihanna wasn't even there last night and her name came up.
ROMANS: He even wins the viewer's choice award and we're still talking about, and Chris Brown and Rihanna and you all recall what happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna.
VELSHI: By the way, they say it was human error, which clearly was.
ROMANS: I feel bad for the fan who was standing up there, trying to figure what she's supposed to say. It's her big moment and she doesn't know what to do. That's who I feel bad for.
VELSHI: All right. For those of you who are sports fans, I know you take it all very, very seriously. But just ahead, we're going to show some amazing video about what happened at the end of the soccer game in Argentina. Wow!
ROMANS: Look at the looks on their faces.
All right. And everyone is talking about this one. How Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachman responded when she was asked a surprisingly blunt question. Are you a flake?
COSTELLO: Plus, why New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says he's, quote, "not a fan of same-sex marriage." We've got it on tape.
It's eight minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning, Washington, D.C. Don't worry about the weather because any of you there have a lot of work to do. But it's cloudy and 72 degrees today. It's going to be 86 with thunderstorms.
But, again, stay inside. Lots of work to do.
ROMANS: Surge in popularity in her hometown on her side. Today, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann will formally announce her presidential bid in Waterloo, Iowa. That's where she was born. She's proven to be a fierce competitor for the GOP bid.
COSTELLO: She sure is. And in a "Des Moines Register" poll, Bachmann gained 22 percent of likely caucus-goers, putting her only one point behind former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 23 percent.
In an interview with "FOX News Sunday," Bachmann was asked a pretty blunt question. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS: Are you a flake?
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think that would be insulting to say something like that because I'm a serious person.
WALLACE: But you understand when I say that, that that's what the rap on you is?
BACHMANN: Well, what I would say is that I am 55 years old. I've been married 33 years. I'm not only a lawyer. I have a post- doctorate degree in federal tax law from William and Mary. I've worked in serious scholarship and worked in the United States federal tax court.
My husband and I raised five kids. We've raised 23 foster children. We've applied ourselves to education reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now, that was a blunt question. And that was a really -- I think she answered it well.
COSTELLO: It was a good question, because many in America think she's a flake. And it was a good question.
ROMANS: But how do you think she handled the answer?
COSTELLO: I thought she handled it great. But her from past comments, that's why a lot of people think she's a flake because, remember, during the 2008 campaign, she said that she wanted the press to investigate members of Congress for being un-American. And she says a lot of extreme things, and it brings us up questions exactly how Chris Wallace posed them.
VELSHI: He answered it. There is, it does speak to whether it's Michele Bachmann or the other candidates. There is a remarkable and very obvious lack of specificity in their positions and in questions that they're getting asked.
So, while that was a good question, there are a lot of questions that we really like to get answers to.
ROMANS: There are all these pledges. So, there are all these conservative pledges. I pledge -- the abortion pledge.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: There's the cap balance and cut spending pledge. There's three or four different pledges going around.
VELSHI: But it has to be forced on the candidates.
ROMANS: Right. They'll sign pledges, but then you say out this lack of specificity elsewhere. It's interesting. It's very interesting.
Jon Huntsman was saying we've hit records. That's what you have records for. You don't look at pledges, but you look at records.
COSTELLO: Well, what he said to me, and I asked him the question, would you sign this Jim DeMint's pledge -- you know, from South Carolina. Jim DeMint has this pledge that certain things have to be met before we vote to raise the debt ceiling.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: And Jon Huntsman says, you know, when you sign a pledge, it leaves little room for compromise. You can't change your mind because it's written down there. If you change your mind, you look like a liar, right?
VELSHI: And then everybody will come back and tell you, you can't do that.
COSTELLO: That's right.
ROMANS: Is it usual to have so many pledges? I don't ever remember so many pledges. Permission slips, special interests.
VELSHI: Well, one of these things that is causing, these people's pledges about what they're going to do about the debt ceiling and raising it.
So, President Obama is getting directly involved in these talks, which as you know have stalled to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. And today, he's going to meet with Senate leaders from both parties.
There's a little more than five weeks left before the government hits their spending limits. And that could be a problem if it happens. One of the main sticking points, of course, is over whether or not to raise taxes.
ROMANS: That's the big one.
All right. New York's historic vote legalizing same-sex marriage, it may set off a ripple effect. Advocates say they'll now focus their attention on Maryland, Rhode Island, and Maine.
Meanwhile, in New York City, tens of thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to celebrate the new law during the gay pride parade.
VELSHI: Which coincidentally timed. Yes.
ROMANS: And it was really energized by this political news, quite frankly. The New York is the sixth and, by far, the largest state now to legalize same-sex marriages. The law takes effect July 24th.
VELSHI: The government here is all getting ready for all the people they figure are going to want to get married very quickly. COSTELLO: Yes, it could be a huge. Meantime, right next story (ph) in New Jersey, the state's governor Chris Christie making it very clear on NBC's "Meet The Press" that his state will stick with its civil union policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) NEW JERSEY: My view on it is, in our state, we're going to continue to pursue civil unions. I am not a fan of same-sex marriage. It's not something that I support. I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. That's my view, and that will be the view of our state because I wouldn't sign a bill like the one that was in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President Obama is officially opposed to same-sex marriage, but he says his views are evolving.
VELSHI: We want to know what you think. With New York state legalizing same-sex marriage, do you believe other states should follow suit? E-mail us, give us a tweet, or tell us on Facebook. We're going to read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
ROMANS: Police turning the fire hosts on soccer fans in Argentina after a very ugly riot broke out in Buenos Aires. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS (voice-over): Fans were sobbing. Throwing things at the players. Players were also in tears. It happened after the River Plate soccer team played to a 1-1 tie, and then was demoted to the second division for the first time in its 110-year history. The violence then spread outside the stadium. Police say at least 55 people were injured.
COSTELLO (voice-over): That's insane.
VELSHI (voice-over): Very unhappy.
COSTELLO: People were crying over this?
VELSHI: Yes. I've seen some of final games of the World Series kind of thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS (on-camera): Isn't it like Yankees getting demoted to the minors? Is that what you said earlier?
VELSHI (on-camera): Yes, I think it's just -- it's a different -- there's a passion that's involved in soccer fans, as we know, that sometimes manifests itself in different ways that isn't the same as baseball or basketball or football.
COSTELLO (on-camera): And thank goodness for that, actually. OK. Let's talk about something good in sports. It could be the play of the year.
VELSHI: Oh, you are going to love this.
COSTELLO: I know. It's really cool. It didn't happen on a baseball field, though. It was actually in the stands. It happened at the Yankees/Rockies game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): A pop-up into the crowd.
VELSHI (voice-over): Watch this.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: And before being snagged, there's been a bounce.
VELSHI: Watch the guy who catch it.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Look at that. He's got one arm.
COSTELLO: One-arm veteran. Yes, that was a great crowd. The crowd went absolutely wild.
ROMANS (voice-over): It was awesome.
COSTELLO: Isn't that awesome? The 28-year-old veteran lost his arm during a rocket attack in Afghanistan a few years ago, and now, he's famous for this.
VELSHI: I couldn't catch one of those fly balls with two hands and a glove. I mean, that was unbelievable. He caught it in his hat. He said it hit the brim of his hat, and then, it went into the hat, and his 11-year-old son, I think, who's next to him, takes it out of the hat. We might be able to see that.
ROMANS: Awesome. At least his 11-year-old didn't throw it back because that seems to be a trend among children lately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (on-camera): That little girl -- pirates game, right? She threw it back.
VELSHI (on-camera): Yes.
COSTELLO: It's Philadelphia game.
ROMANS (on-camera): Right, right, because -- that was so cute.
COSTELLO: And then, one happened recently, but I can't remember where -- it was a little boy who threw it back, but that was a great catch. VELSHI: Sometimes, I feel this way. You just need to dance. Like this guy. He's groundskeeper at Petco Park, the home of the padres. Known for his smooth moves. Tribute to Michael Jackson. Check him out.
ROMANS: Rob Marciano is going to now do that himself.
COSTELLO: Come on, do it, Rob.
VELSHI: Do the rain dance, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Look at that. You can do that all day long in San Diego, it's not going to rain. It's not this time of year.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: That guy has got some moves. How about that? And the one- handed -- and by the way, there's no crying in baseball, but apparently, there's lots of crying in soccer, isn't there?
VELSHI: No kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Please. Come on, guys. Hey, check out this video from St. Louis last night. Unbelievable amounts of lightning over the arch. It's not a picturesque scene during a day. At night, and that sky is lit up. That will get your heart beating. Some hail as well. We have some winds that caused some damage at times last night, not only across parts of the Midwest, but across the southeast as well.
And this morning, we have a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect, and it does include parts of St. Louis here for the next hour or two. This cluster of thunderstorms rolling down I-70 could produce some heavy rain and also some gusty winds. A little cluster of thunderstorms moving off the Del Marva, and the eastern seaboard again is going to be kind of in the soup today as far as the steaminess is concerned.
A little bit drier, but look at the heat across Texas. 117 in Childress. That is an all-time record high. An all-time record in Amarillo of 111 degrees. Again, these temperatures are maybe in the straight (ph), and they do not include humidity. So, that is baking, baking hot. Traveling today, Chicago to St. Louis, you saw those storms. We expect delays there.
Detroit and Atlanta, we'll see storms fire up in the afternoon, and some early morning fog in San Francisco may slow things down as well. 101 in Dallas, 96 degrees, it's kind of hot in Memphis, 78 degrees in Boston. Just up the road there, beaches of New Hampshire. This is what they were doing over the weekend. Sand sculpting. Yes.
You want to cool off, head to a down east beach, and that will get you going. They're out there in their hoodies, and their jeans on their hands and knees. That's probably a tributes to the bruins, I'm guessing.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Just up there, though.
VELSHI: That is actually -- wow, look at that.
COSTELLO: That is amazing.
MARCIANO: Cool to the inner core, just spiritually and your inner temperature as well.
VELSHI: It's excellent.
COSTELLO: It cools your inner core. That was poetic.
ROMANS: You have to have the exact perfect mixture of water in that sand to make it stick like that.
COSTELLO: Oh, like you know what you're talking about.
VELSHI: For a decade, I've never heard you talk about that.
ROMANS: I'd made sand castles with the kids, but if you don't have -- if it's not wet enough and do the block.
VELSHI: So never mind the artistic and the creativity in the soul, it's the water stand me (ph), the moisture and the water mixture.
MARCIANO: It's always going to pack into that pale. A turnover in the top to make it stick.
VELSHI: Let me tell you, Rob, Christine would not be one of those people at that soccer game in Buenos Aires crying.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: She'd be talking about something about the trajectory and the force --
ROMANS: The viscosity of the sand/water mix is not exactly --
MARCIANO: Very nice.
COSTELLO: All right. Thanks, Rob Marciano.
ROMANS: OK. Who's likely to feel more financially overwhelmed? Men or women? OK. Think about it for a second. We're "Minding Your Business" next. It's 21 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 25 minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Electronic Arts hit by hackers. The video game maker saying information like user names, passwords, and phone numbers may have been stolen, but the company adds no credit card numbers or Social Security numbers were compromised.
CitiGroup reports its customers lost $2.7 million when their credit card information was stolen by hackers last month. The customers will be reimbursed. Earlier this month, CitiGroup reveals that more than 360,000 accounts were hacked.
Major lay-offs for state workers in Connecticut. Governor Dan Malloy plants to cut 7,500 employees come after the state largest union turned down a concession deal that would avoid these lay-offs. It would have frozen wages for two years and required workers to pay more in benefits. The state must close a $700 million budget gap.
Gas price is down with for the 24th straight day. According to AAA, the national average is now $3.57 a gallon. That's down about 41 cents from the peak back in May. Those declines, thanks to a drop in demand in lower oil prices.
A check in on the market this morning. All three major indicators poised to start the week higher as investors await (INAUDIBLE). Those will be out in just a few minutes.
A new survey says women are three times more likely to feel overwhelmed by their finances than men. The survey by Financial Finesse also says people with children average substantially higher financial stress level than those without kids. Surprise, surprise.
A new survey on shacking up. Pew research says couple living together that do not have a college degree are the least likely to get any economic benefit from the living arrangement. The pew says non- college grads are also the most likely to move in together before they get married.
"Cars 2" taking the checker's flag at the weekend box office. The Pixar movie raking in $68 million. That's better than expectations. That means all 12 of Pixar's feature films have opened in first place.
Up next, we're following breaking news, an arrest warrant for Moammar Gadhafi. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Top stories now. Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi now officially wanted for crimes against humanity. The international criminal court just issued an arrest warrant for Gadhafi for his attacks on the Libyan people and also named Gadhafi's son and intelligence chief. It is the first time the court has taken action during an ongoing conflict.
A raging wildfire threatening one of the top laboratories in New Mexico. Los Alamos national lab shut down today. The wildfire is less than a mile from the government facility, but officials say all hazardous material is accounted for and protected.
VELSHI: High water and heartbreak in Minot, North Dakota. The Souris River is finally starting to recede. But the damage is done. ROMANS: Everywhere you look, you see homes and streets completely submerged. CNN's Jim Spellman is seeing it firsthand. He's live for us in Minot. When we look at those pictures, Jim, of the street sign, you can't even read the street sign because the water is so high. It's so compelling, the video coming out of there.
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. This is what these people are waking up to. They come back to the river's edge -- to the river, the edge of the floodwater to take a look. And it's just horrible to imagine that your house is there, underneath that much water. And as fast as this water came up, it's going to take a long time for it to go back down. They'll be fighting this flood for a long time to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLMAN: The river has gotten as high as it will get, but the battle to save Minot goes on. The water came too fast and too high to save the majority of homes along the Souris River, so the focus has been on erecting and maintaining massive dykes around vital infrastructure like this bridge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just the second house past the stop sign.
SPELLMAN: For residents showing up at the water's edge hoping to catch a glimpse of their home, it's been mostly bad news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Devastating, heartbreaking, heart wrenching, saddened.
SPELLMAN: But glad to be safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we had to evac ASAP, I mean, both sides of the neighbors and friends and family, they got us out.
SPELLMAN: And when those neighbors meet again and see their flooded homes, first it's tears, then laughs, and then a smile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't even realize I was smiling. What else? We don't have any choice. Don't have any choice. Got to do what you've got to do. You just got to move on.
SPELLMAN: Knowing that whatever the future holds, they won't be going through it alone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SPELLMAN: I think it's really just starting to set in for the folks here in Minot how big of a disaster this is and how long it's going to take for them to get their city back on its feet. Back to you.
VELSHI: Jim, thank you very much. Jim Spellman in Minot, North Dakota.
COSTELLO: Disturbing new detail regarding the deadly Amtrak accident in Reno, Nevada. The NTSB investigating the trucking company and the driver. Officials say the company has been flagged for 19 past safety violations. The truck slammed into an Amtrak passenger train, hit a railroad crossing, sparking a fire. Six passengers died, 20 still unaccounted for the. The NTSB says the investigation could take up to one year.
VELSHI: And 15 children are covering this morning after a school bus full of kids heading to camp flipped on a Pennsylvania highway. A car attempted to pass this bus yesterday, lost control. Police say the bus smashed into the car, clipped a guardrail, rolled on to its roof. Police emergency crews had to extricate three children. Amazingly, no serious injuries.
ROMANS: The TSA is playing defense today, refusing to apologize for airport security who forced a 95-year-old to remove her adult diaper. The woman, who has cancer, was first patted down, then taken to a private room to undress after security thought her diaper felt suspicious. The TSA says its agents were doing its job and followed all the right search methods.
COSTELLO: Still ahead, who isn't going to college? Not just young men of color either. What's behind this educational crisis?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A dismal future with what seems to be two options, unemployed or incarcerated. That's what nearly half of all young men of color with high school diplomas face. This according to a new report by the college board advocacy and policy center. Steve Perry, CNN education contributor, is here to weigh in on these disturbing statistics in today's "Perry's principles."
Steve, sadly, I don't think anyone will be surprised by these numbers. You are particularly saddened by them. Why?
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I'm saddened because they persist. No matter how many times we hear it, we act as if it's just part of the way it's supposed to be. It's not. We can save our kids.
Parents, for instance, one of the things that you can do is spend more on education and less on sports. One season of AAU basketball and one pair of Jordans could have been enough money to spend on some program to help your child move forward academically.
COSTELLO: Are you saying this is more of a cultural problem?
PERRY: No. I'm saying that it's the fact that our children, especially students of color, males in particular, attend some of the worst schools in America. I believe that there's an over feminization, which means we often punish boys for acting like boys in the earliest grades and begin turning them off to education. By the time they're in fourth or fifth grade, they say things like "I'm not good at school." They go from a kindergartner who is excited and stoked about school to a kid in the sixth and seventh grade who doesn't seem to think this should be good in school.
COSTELLO: Other people say there's a lack of role models in the black community and the Latino community. When President Obama was elected president, everyone thought that would be a turning point for young African-American boys to see what was possible.
PERRY: One man does not a role model for the entire country make. And I don't believe all role models need to be black males in order to move black males forward. Young people don't particularly care what your color or your gender, just that you love them and you're focused on them.
We need policy makers pushing accountability, meaning if the school cannot meet the children's needs, we need to shut those schools down. No Child Left Behind is often maligned as unfunded in its mandates, but all it simply said is if the school doesn't education every subset of the population, meaning boys, girls, and then students of color within them, then the school is not meeting its charge, which is to educate every single child. We need to hold school's feet to the fire. If they're not educating every single child, they're not doing their job.
COSTELLO: We know how difficult that is. Many states across the country are cutting their education budgets, laying off teachers. What is the answer? It seems like we all know there's a problem with the education of all children in our country, not just children of color. Yet we don't really focus on the problem and deal with the problem.
PERRY: Yes, we're focusing on the problem. That's what you and I are talking about.
COSTELLO: Who is?
PERRY: You and I.
COSTELLO: We can't do anything about it.
PERRY: There are quite a few people who are focusing on it. People are working every day to make sure they can create better schools. The problem is that children don't have access to those schools. They're forced to attend the failed schools in their neighborhood. And when you don't have the economic resources to pay for a better education, you have to take the paltry offerings that are there.
We need a fundamental shift in the way we operate our schools, meaning we need to run our primary and secondary schools much like we do our post post-secondary schools.
COSTELLO: How can we change that, meaning the American public? The government isn't moving fast enough, obviously.
PERRY: That's what I'm talking about. We need to provide our children. The government in this case is us. We need to change the policies in the way in which we govern our schools.
When a parent or two parents work very hard and have a less than stellar academic option, it's like pouring clean water in a dirty cup. Inevitably it doesn't matter because they're sending their child to a failed school. I'm saying we can change the way the schools operate. There are many examples throughout the country in some of the worst school systems of amazingly functioning schools. We know how to run good schools. We really do. The issue is just one of courage. We know our children are not born inherently less intelligent, so something's happening. They're being sent to schools that simply are not working. We put them in good schools and we see great things happening.
COSTELLO: I know it's possible because it's happening in the city of Baltimore. Test scores are way up this. Same schools, pretty much the same teachers, better superintendent. Thank you very much, Steve Perry. Thanks for being with us.
PERRY: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: Morning headlines are coming your way next. It's 42 minutes past the hour.
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VELSHI: It is 45 minutes after the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
Take a look at this brand new picture just in, a fire caving in a motel room in central Florida, flames gutting a wing of the Vacation Lodge main gate in Kissimmee, Florida. Firefighters say guests at the motel were evacuated last night. No injuries have been reported.
But take a look at these -- these live pictures coming in. They're apparently still trying to get that fire under control.
A wildfire burning less than a mile away from the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, the facility is closed down today as a precaution. Officials say however that all radioactive and hazardous material is protected.
Missouri river floodwaters threatening two nuclear plants in Nebraska; a flood barrier at the Ft. Calhoun Plant gave way yesterday. But it's not thought to be in danger. The plant has been shut down since April for refueling.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has just issued an arrest warrant for Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. He is charged with crimes against humanity for the months of attacks on Libyan civilians. The ruling makes a diplomatic end to the Libyan conflict unlikely.
A Florida woman wants the TSA to change its screening methods after her 95-year-old mother was forced to remove her adult diaper. Security agents say, it felt suspicious; the TSA agrees saying security followed proper procedures.
President Obama is set to meet with Senate leaders from both parties today. It's an effort to end the impasse over the raising -- over raising the debt ceiling. Washington has until August 2nd to reach an agreement or risk defaulting on its debt. Check in on the markets now. All three major indicators poised to slight -- start the week slightly higher. Earlier gains in futures trading being pared down after personal income data was just released and it was slightly lower than expected.
Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann is in Iowa today, she's set to formally announce her GOP bid for president in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa.
Michael Jackson's iconic red and black "Thriller" jacket sold for a cool $1.8 million at a music memorabilia auction over the weekend. One of his famous sequined gloves went for $330,000.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
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ROMANS: I love it when that happens. There's a -- good morning to that little bug in Atlanta right on that camera lens. It is cloudy and 71 right now, thunderstorms and 92. It looks like a ladybug.
All right, "Minding Your Business" this morning, nearly one in every six homes in this country is in foreclosure. So many homes that state governments are up to their eyeballs in repossessions. At the current pace it would take New York State lenders 62 years to repossess all the homes in serious defaults or foreclosure in that state. New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois. Look at Illinois, ten years. That's how many the delays they're seeing in those states.
So who is defaulting on their mortgages? And -- and what are these so-called strategic defaulters? Those are people who are not paying their bills on purpose. Not because they can't afford to, but they choose not to. A strategic default, these are folks whose homes are now worth much less than their mortgage. 90 percent of these strategic defaulters are people who are paying all their other bills on time but they are not paying the mortgage.
And this is what's surprising, Ali and Carol. They're more likely to have high income, high credit scores; they're financially savvy individuals. This is all according to Expirion, one of the credit bureaus. Many of them own multiple homes.
In fact, the more money you make, the more likely you are to strategically default. And what about people's credit scores? Expirion says their data shows, if people are willing to default on purpose on their mortgage they know they're going to hurt their credit score but they do it anyway.
And one of the reasons, Ali, it might be because they're more likely to have multiple homes. That means, even though they're going to get a big hit to their credit score they're already living in a place. They already have a mortgage on the house they're living in. They are defaulting on something else that was an investment a few years back -- Ali. VELSHI: It's very hurtful to everybody else though, who is trying to get a mortgage. It just -- it's -- it goes beyond your own self- interest on this.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: It really --
VELSHI: I -- look, I've been on the record of saying it. I've done it before, I -- I believe this is a -- a poor personal judgment to make. If you --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: It surprised me though, the profile of the strategic defaulter.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: I thought it might be somebody in real financial panic. But it really is a strategic default.
VELSHI: Yes it is a different story.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: If you have -- if you have no other choice, I think that's one thing. But to -- to ethically make the choice that you do so when you have other options, I think it's just -- it's a poor ethical decision.
COSTELLO: I know, on so many fronts. I mean I was raised to pay my bills; that's what you do.
VELSHI: Well, that's -- that's right.
COSTELLO: I mean, I agreed to take out the loan, right?
VELSHI: That's exactly -- exactly the case.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: I'm old-fashioned, though.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi now officially wanted for crimes against humanity. A little over an hour ago, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Gadhafi and they didn't even wait for the end of the war.
VELSHI: Which normally they do to gather evidence.
CNN's Zain Verjee is following that and other international headlines. She's live in London for us now.
From a practical standpoint, Zain, nobody can get their hands on Gadhafi at the moment. So what does this mean?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: What it means is essentially two things. First of all, that there is this move to get an arrest warrant for Moammar Gadhafi. The problem is the International Criminal Court does not have its own police force so it relies on member countries to arrest whoever they put these warrants out for. So practically it's going to be very difficult unless the rebels get in there and arrest him.
The other point that's important to understand here, Ali, is that this means that it's a little bit harder to present Gadhafi with an exit strategy, meaning just leave, you can have immunity from prosecution. Because this really turns up the heat and it closes the door on him pretty hard.
So the chances are, many experts say, he'll dig in harder and there will be a worst standoff with the international community.
ROMANS: It's a fascinating development and that's usually have been on ongoing conflict, so you start to see something like that.
VELSHI: Right.
VERJEE: Right.
ROMANS: An indictment or --
VERJEE: It's very rare.
ROMANS: Now Zain 7,600 miles away -- don't worry about it. Except 7,600 miles away, it's very, very close. An asteroid about to buzz earth.
VERJEE: It is. And it's really cool. It happens once every six years. NASA is saying don't worry about it. It's not going to hit us. But it is going to be pretty close to us. So scientists are going to be able to study it.
The thing that I found the most interesting was that it's going to be so close that earth's gravity is actually going to change the path or the trajectory that the asteroid itself will take.
They don't know exactly what size it is. It's anywhere, they're saying, between 29 and 98 feet. And this is going to start happening around 1:00 pm, your time.
COSTELLO: That is pretty amazing.
VELSHI: 1:00 p.m., all right. We won't be able to see it, though, right, Zain?
VERJEE: Sorry?
VELSHI: We can't see it.
VERJEE: No, sorry. Yes, you can't see it. What scientists are saying is that if you have an amateur telescope, you're going to have a tough time seeing it. But they have the more powerful ones so they can study it.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: I'll take you to the planetarium later.
VELSHI: Thanks, girls.
VELSHI: I love it. We love the planetarium.
COSTELLO: We do.
Before you go, Zain, please give us an update on the penguin that was caught in New Zealand. Because we all thought the penguin was going to -- but he's not.
VERJEE: I know, the loneliest penguin in the world. We've been following and tracking this story very closely over here in London. Basically the penguin took a wrong turn from Antarctica and ended up on this beach in New Zealand. And it was really hungry so he was eating the sand and sticks and things like that.
Anyway, it's clogged up its stomach. And so the big news was -- was that emergency surgery was performed on the penguin. He's being called "Happy Feet" and the penguin is said to be recovering well. They've put it in an air conditioned room and they've carpeted it with crushed ice to keep it cool.
So they don't know whether to fly back or just release it in the water. Well, that's the latest for you guys on poor Happy Feet.
COSTELLO: We don't want to see that operation anymore.
VELSHI: Yes I think it was little more detailed -- look at Christine. Christine is covering her eyes.
VERJEE: Guys.
ROMANS: I'm a little squeamish.
VELSHI: I don't think it's typical practice to show a penguin getting an enema.
VERJEE: No.
VELSHI: Zain, thank you very much.
COSTELLO: We appreciated that.
VERJEE: Normally on a human it takes about ten minutes and the guy doing the operation said it took a lot longer and a big team because it was a penguin and they haven't done it before. VELSHI: Oh, my goodness me. That was the first time we ever asked a question about an enema and the first time a reporter insisted on having a second response. No more questions about an enema on morning television.
Zain, we may or may not see you tomorrow. Wow.
ROMANS: It was cute.
COSTELLO: Please, stop it.
VELSHI: All right. I'll give you something else to think about. We'll just get that image out of your mind for a second.
ROMANS: From a pretty penguin to a --
VELSHI: Look at this dog.
ROMANS: Ugly dog.
VELSHI: They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is one fierce-looking dog. This is the world's ugliest dog, that's an award that Yoda has won. Yoda is a 14-year-old Chinese-crested Chihuahua mix and newcomer to the California contest. It beat out 28 other pooches, including last year's champ, which is also a Chihuahua -- apparently it is an ugly breed -- named Princess Abby. Yoda's owner says she's often mistaken for a rat.
COSTELLO: I can believe that.
ROMANS: What's up with the leg thing?
COSTELLO: I know. I thought she was going to have an accident. But she didn't.
VELSHI: I would just as soon, given what's been going on this morning and this video aired later before we find somebody expecting this dog.
COSTELLO: I'm just glad that you didn't say the dog was so ugly she was cute because I'm sorry. She's ugly. That's why she won the award.
VELSHI: Yes, it looks like a rat.
ROMANS: Ok.
VELSHI: All right. Well, it is 56 minutes after the hour. We're coming right back.
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VELSHI: The island of Manhattan, ladies and gentlemen. It's 74 degrees and sunny. It's going to be mostly sunny and 83 degrees a little later on.
COSTELLO: That's gorgeous. Are you kidding? That's awesome. I think I'll go outside.
New York's historic vote -- let's talk about that. It legalizes same- sex marriage and it may set off a ripple effect. Advocates now say they'll focus their attention on Maryland, Rhode Island, and Maine.
ROMANS: New York is the sixth and by far the biggest state to legalize same-sex marriages. The law, by the way, takes effect July 24th.
VELSHI: All right. So our question of the day to you: With New York state legalizing same-sex marriage, do you believe other states should follow suit?
Here are some of your responses. Artie on Facebook says "If there's a separation of church and state there's no justifiable reason not to grant equal rights to same-sex couples. Good for you, New York. Moments like this make me proud to be an American."
ROMANS: Innadancehall on Twitter says, "It seems like there are no more rules and morals in the country. Everyone gets their way," says Innadancehall. That's a Twitter handle.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: And this is from Rusty via Facebook, "Most definitely. As a nation that trumpets the freedom and rights of its citizens, we must ensure that a basic human right such as marriage is available to all and not just those in particular states."
VELSHI: One of the things that happened here in New York, the governor was very, very specifically involved in trying to get a coalition. They got Republicans on the side to do this. But the groups who are petitioning for -- in favor of same-sex marriage really organized. One of the issues was every time they tried this before there were different groups with different interests and the governor pulled them together and said you guys all have to get it together.
ROMANS: It does become a model for Rhode Island, and Maine and other states that are now considering such a move. We'll have to see if this is some sort of an impetus or if it just emboldens the opposition.
VELSHI: Right. That's a good question.
COSTELLO: That's going to do it for us.
VELSHI: Good to see you here.
COSTELLO: I'm back in Washington tomorrow but who knows? I mean --
VELSHI: Who knows? The fun of this business right? Good to have you Carol.
ROMANS: That's right. Nice to see you Carol.
CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Hi Kyra. KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi guys. Good morning.
