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American Morning
Senate Cancels Holiday Recess; NBA Locks Out Players; Some Fast Food Chains Serving Alcohol; Leon Panetta Takes Over as Secretary of Defense; Problems Arise for the Prosecution in the Dominique Strauss- Kahn Sexual Assault Case; Pizzas 4 Patriots
Aired July 01, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The Japanese government is recommending more evacuations from the area around the crippled power plant. Officials say 113 additional households should evacuate from four districts that are now considered radiation hot spots and as far beyond the mandatory seclusion zone set up for about 20 kilometers around the Fukushima reactors.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: An admission coming from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in a television appearance yesterday. Chavez says the doctors in Cuba removed a cancerous tumor in June. No word yet on when he's going to return to Venezuela. Speculations that surrounded what was going on after he canceled a high profile summit of Latin American leaders which was slated for this month.
CHETRY: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner could soon be leaving the administration. A source familiar with the discussion tells our Jessica Yellin that Geithner is thinking about leaving his post after a deal is struck to raise the debt ceiling.
VELSHI: Candy Crowley is host of "STATE OF THE UNION." She joins now us live from Washington. Candy, Geithner, the last remaining member of the original economic team that came in with President Obama. He's been there through sort of thick and thin with this president.
First of all, do we take this very seriously? And, if so, what do you think it means?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think -- first of all, it depends on your definition of "soon." This doesn't seem to be something from what I can tell is going to happen before the fall, because now, we are also hearing sources saying he wants to make sure that the economy, you know, is at a stronger point before he leaves. So, it seems a little fungible, the deadline is to when he would go.
What does it mean? I think, politically, it becomes a bit of a problem only until the president puts someone else in place. There needs to be seamlessness there because what's the number one political issue that as far as we know is going to dominate the elections in the fall of next year? And that's going to be the economy.
So, the president needs a sturdy well-respected man at the helm, or woman. So, I think that there is a search going on for potential replacements but I don't think you're going to see this soon. It's serious.
He's clearly -- he's made clear all along that he wasn't going to be sort of a two-termer. So, this seems like a natural point for him to leave after the debt ceiling, assuming the economy looks OK or at least on track in September or October.
CHETRY: Yes. A, who would want that job right now, and, B, he may be there forever if it's after the debt ceiling issues revolved. Seriously, both sides seem to be dug in right now. Obviously, we heard the president coming out very strong.
But this August 2nd that they keep talking about looming where the bills won't get paid come August 3rd, what happens if they can't reach an agreement, Candy?
CROWLEY: Well, even that, I know this is going to surprise you, but they are even arguing what that would mean and what would happen.
There are a number of Republicans that simply don't believe that August 2nd is some magical date after which the U.S. can't pay its bills. They say, look. There is money there in the treasury. There is revenue there to pay these bills. And it's not going to be huge implosion.
Whereas, you know, Geithner and many others, outside and inside economists, say, listen, it is about -- you know, the economy -- there's a lot psychological about the economy. This is about the U.S. credit rating, it's about how Wall Street views what's going on. So, there's more to it than the actual -- is there money in the treasury to pay for this?
VELSHI: You know, Candy, Timothy Geithner was in the room here in New York a few years ago, September 14th of 2008, when a bunch of really smart minds sat around and said, the market will be able to take the collapse of Lehman Brothers in stride and he saw what happened the next day when they let that happen. So, I think he is probably on the side of people who say we don't know what is going to happen if we miss that deadline, I don't want to be around to see.
CROWLEY: Right. I mean, in fact, I think that most people will say we're not exactly sure what will happen because it's never happened before.
CHETRY: Right.
CROWLEY: And, you know, look. Let's face it. Congress -- Washington needs a deadline. That's as good as deadline as any.
VELSHI: Sure.
CHETRY: Candy, who gets blamed? I mean, who takes the brunt of this right now? Right now, you hear both sides and you hear a lot of blame being put on Republicans saying we're not going to budge about raising taxes. It's just not on the table.
CROWEY: Ask me that in September of next year and I'll have a better answer. But I think, you know, in general, if you view the polling -- I mean, you heard the president in his news conference and here is the line. The line is: everybody is going to have to take a hit. This can't just be asking people that this program is going to be cut and that's going to be cut and we have to look at Medicare and then you heard a lot about corporate jets and protecting oil companies.
So, clearly, that's how the Democrats are lining up. The Republicans are saying, it is a weak economic recovery. You raise taxes or close loopholes, whatever you want to call it and it further weakens the economy. It's going to play out for a year and a half, it really is.
So, ask me September 2012.
VELSHI: All right. Candy, thanks. Good to see you.
And don't miss "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starting at 9:00 Eastern, every Sunday here on CNN.
CHETRY: Yes. We'll be watching.
Well, if you're taking score at home, this is day 112 of the NFL lockout. It's day one of the NBA lockout.
And it's going to last until players and owners can agree -- the NBA lockout that is -- on a new collective bargaining agreement. Some say the goodwill between the two sides is about to disappear like LeBron James in the fourth quarter of an NBA championship.
CHETRY: Oh, that's a cheap shot!
All right. Joining us is Mark McKay from Atlanta this morning.
Tell us just the basics what is behind the NBA lockout.
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quite a shot there, Ali, by the way.
Well, the basics, Kiran, is that after 18 months of negotiation, the players and owners could not come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement and here's where we stand: just after midnight East Coast time, the lockout went into effect. And now, fans are left to wonder if there will be a season this fall.
And the hours before the contract expired, both sides met in New York reporting little progress on the main sticking point, that being revenue-sharing -- really any progress on any of the issues facing them.
After Thursday's session broke, representatives from both sides went before lights and cameras to ponder where we go from here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: We had a great year, in terms of the appreciation of the fans for our game. It just wasn't a profitable one for the owners. And it wasn't one that the -- many of the smaller market teams, particularly enjoyed or felt included in. And so, the goal here has been to make the league profitable and to have a league where all 30 teams can compete. And since neither of those goals stated earlier have been achieved, the owners really don't have any choice.
DEREK FISHER, PRES., NBA PLAYERS UNION: A lot of our fans and people that follow our game, although we're not going to miss any games at this point, still just don't like the prospect of a lockout. We don't like it either. Something that our owners feel like is the best way, I guess, to maybe get what they want. We don't agree.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
MCKAY: All right. Lockout, what does this mean? Give you a thumbnail sketch as to what goes on and what happens from here on out.
During the lockout, of course, there can be no communication between the teams and the players. Paychecks will be on hold as will health care. If you get injured on a neighborhood court, it's on you to get your own insurance as a player. Trades and signings put on hold. Negotiations toward a new deal can continue, although both sides haven't indicated when they will go back to the table.
What do the owners want? Well, they want a radical change in the way the system has been held -- a hard salary cap as opposed to a soft one. They want to reduce the players' share of revenues and rollback existing contracts.
And the players? Well, they want to call into question David Sterns' assessment. The terms, indeed, lose over $300 million overall and the players adamantly oppose the hard salary cap, and they would also like to see increased revenue-sharing between the teams.
So, Kiran and Ali, this is where we stand, the lockout -- unprecedented really in U.S. sports as both the NFL and the NBA have gone this route.
VELSHI: You better let me know early if you want a piece of my Yankees tickets. They will be worth a lot more come fall.
MCKAY: No doubt.
CHETRY: Yes. You can still catch a baseball game and you can catch hockey game for now.
VELSHI: All right. Mark, good to see you. Thanks.
Still ahead, a shocking story. Nadia Suleiman, you remember her, she's known as the Octomom. She's maybe gone over the edge. Her stunning comments in a recent interview.
CHETRY: And we know that Casey Anthony will not be testifying in her own defense. Did both sides do enough to try to prove their case?
VESLHI: And coming up, amazing video. A piece of it. Divers encounter a 25-foot long whale shark. CHETRY: Pretty amazing.
Also, ever wonder what it would look like when a mold of a jell-o explodes? Personally, no. But we're going to show it to you. The most unique Fourth of July fireworks you'll ever see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It's kind of a sad story. Seems everybody is not set up for motherhood. Some shocking confessions from the Octomom. Now, remember, she had eight children at once but she had other children as well.
In an interview with "In Touch" magazine, Nadia Suleiman says -- she made tough comments about her 14 children. She reportedly said, quote, "I hate babies, they disgust me." And, apparently, she copes with all her problem by sitting n the bathroom and says she "sometimes, I sit there for hours, eating my lunch and sitting on the toilet floor, anything to get peace and quiet."
The saddest confession Octomom says is "I thought about killing myself. I cannot cope. Obviously, I love them -- but I absolutely wish I had not had them."
CHETRY: Now, she gave this interview to "In Touch" magazine. There are some who say that she was -- while it is sad she was doing it for shock value because she needed to get paid, you know, so they splash that on the cover, confessions of the Octomom, she to make it sound -- but there are questions about her financial problems as well because she is a single mom of 14 children. All right. It is sad, though, either way.
Expected testimony to wrap up in the Casey Anthony murder trial. The case could be in hands of the jury by this weekend. The defense rested yesterday. They did not call Casey to testify in her own defense and this is a procedure that has take place. The judge has to ask the defendant are they sure they don't want to take the stand. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE BELVIN PERRY, ORANGE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: You understand that your decision to testify or not testify is solely your decision and your decision alone?
CASEY ANTHONY, DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Earlier, her father, George Anthony's, alleged mistress testified, saying that he told her that Caylee's death was an accident. Closing arguments will likely be held tomorrow.
VELSHI: It's going to be a challenging day for thousands of San Francisco Bay Area commuters. Golden Gate ferry service is canceled today. Good news, though, it's just temporary. It's a one day strike. The ticket sellers union, in an effort to save jobs, are walking off the jobs. We're told ferry service will be back to normal tomorrow.
CHETRY: So, they have the Great Wall and now, they have one really long bridge as well -- the world's longest sea bridge is open for business in China. And don't try walking it. It's a little over the distance of a marathon, 26.4 miles long. It cost close to $1 billion to build and it's almost three miles longer than the previous record holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana.
VELSHI: Which isn't considered a sea bridge.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: But I read this morning that 10 or 11 of the 15 longest bridges in the world are in China. Do you have anything you want with that piece of information?
CHETRY: That's good to know. I'm going to put that in my closet for later.
VELSHI: Good trivial pursuit thing.
OK. It's a chance that only comes around once in a lifetime, they say. And up close encounter with a whale shark. Why is it that it only comes across once in a lifetime?
CHETRY: Well, I'm also not exactly sure. I think that if you wanted to, you could probably swim around with these guys more often than you think. But it's still pretty rare and amazing experience for these divers. WPEC is the affiliate for CNN that gave us this video. It's off of Florida's coast.
He's actually the largest fish in the world.
VELSHI: Or of the largest fish. The breed is the largest, right?
CHETRY: Yes. He is actually the largest fish in the world.
VELSHI: This one?
CHETRY: Yes. Because they have only seem him and like two others. It's one of the rarest.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: Three dozen divers, by the way, were able to swim next to this whale shark for about a half an hour. And he may look intimidating but they are gentle giants. They apparently like getting visited by scuba divers.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I don't understand because they say they like them, why would you know that they like them? Because this one was apparently wagging his tail. And as you clearly pointed out the last time we looked at this video, you think --
CHETRY: He needs to wag his tail so that he can move through the water.
VELSHI: I think it's a marketing ploy by the whale sharks.
CHETRY: There's a lot about that story that doesn't add up.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, it is the countdown to the chow down. Today is the day they hold the weigh-in for the Annual Nathan's famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. This whole way, I think, is kind of a joke. I mean, you have to weigh in, right, if you're boxing or you're wrestling. You don't have to weigh in if you're chowing down on hot dogs.
VELSHI: It's always particularly slim people, though, who win these things.
CHETRY: Weigh yourself afterwards. Yes, that's true. The Super Bowl of competitive eating, four-time hot dog eating world champion, Joey Chestnut -- there he is. He's not that --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: He looks like a normal-sized guy.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Anyway, that's --
VELSHI: We have a guy here who is something of a championship hot dog eater. This is last year.
CHETRY: That's right. He's still recovering, so he didn't do it this year. Our writer, Rick. You still don't understand the whole concept, by the way, of why they wet the buns.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I think that a wet bun hot dog is disgusting.
CHETRY: It is disgusting but so is mowing down about, what 24,000 milligrams of sodium in one sitting, but they do it.
VELSHI: Yes, but how many did he eat here?
CHETRY: I think Rick only eight, six. I wasn't that impressed with this showing, but I know that he has been known to eat many other things.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: All these crazy sandwiches all around New York. He's gone to Chicago. He's done a ton of stuff. VELSHI: He's an all-around good guy.
CHETRY: He sure is. Good appetite.
VELSHI: Fourth of July is the day that we celebrate as the birth of the United States, and the way you celebrate it is by exploding fireworks a little bit. I bet you've never seen a fireworks display like this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INSTRUMENTS PLAYING)
VELSHI (voice-over): Popular science posted this montage of fireworks going off in some strange, really cool places. Very slow motion, by the way. All these different things it was -- I don't know what the technical term is, but it's a lot slower than, you know, they were able to slow it down substantially. They blew it up in water, a bag of flour, a jar of mayonnaise, a bottle of beer, and jell-o.
CHETRY (voice-over): That's right. And you know, this year, I was surprised. Usually, you know, they have the annual where they blow up the watermelon so show you just how dangerous fireworks can be and why you should watch displays and you shouldn't try to set these off yourself.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano in the Weather Center. You know, I mean, just let the experts from popular science do that, you know? You leave your matches at home, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's true. And especially if you live out in the drought areas, but you know, you can't really resist, you know, lighting off a bottle rocket or two.
CHETRY: You boys love to blow things up.
MARCIANO: We do! And seeing that stuff in super slow motion, that's pretty cool, too. So, you know, Fourth of July just keeps getting better and better as does Canada Day which we're celebrating today. Chicago. I want to show you this video last night. Rough weather coming through the Chicago land area. We had hail. We had thunder and lightning, and we don't have the video to show you, but trust me, it was a rough night. Here comes the heat and humidity pumping up into the mid section because if you hear this story, you finally to feel like, well, the dog days of summer where just about everybody will get into heat and humidity as we go through time.
Oklahoma City 102 yesterday. So, that's a record-setter. We will see more records fall, I think, as we go through the next couple of days. We've got heat advisories and some excessive heat warnings that have been posted for Northeast Oklahoma through parts of the Western Great Lakes. So, you'll be begging for some of these thunderstorms later on today. You'll get them in Tampa, Orlando, Miami. So, be aware of that if you're traveling through those cities. Chicago, some low clouds. Most of the thunderstorms are south and east of you this morning. And then, Indianapolis, you'll see some morning rain. 101 in Dallas. You want the cool spots? Go out to the west coast. Seventy-nine degrees expected in Portland, 95 degrees in Chicago. There is your heat. Eighty-three in New York right now. That's nice. But the big dome of high pressure will build towards the north and east.
And through the weekend, we're looking at temperatures that will easily be in the 90s. Some folks will see temperatures up and over 100, and with the humidity, it will feel a lot warmer than that. So, do what do you to stay cool on this Fourth of July holiday weekend and be careful with those fireworks. And if you live out where there hasn't been a whole lot of rain, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico don't light any of them off because we don't need anymore forest fires. That's for sure. Guys, enjoy the weekend.
VELSHI: Thank you.
CHETRY: You, too.
Well, she's being called a monster in-law.
VELSHI: Not by everybody.
CHETRY: Well, no, but to the people who --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes, to the bride who sent the e-mail to her friends, and now, it's gone viral. We'll explain. What happened is, this woman sent a letter to her future daughter-in-law tearing her to shreds about her manners, and she says, here are a few example of your lack of manners. When you're a guest in another's house, you do not declare what you will eat and not eat unless you're positively allergic to something.
Also goes on to say, you don't start before anyone else. When a guest in another's house, you do not lie in bed until late morning in households that rise early. You fall in line with household norms.
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE) meet the parents.
CHETRY: A little bit.
VELSHI: You know, I guess, (ph) couldn't get it right. You regularly draw attention to yourself. Perhaps, you should ask yourself why. No one gets married in a castle, unless, they own it. It's brash, celebrity-style behavior. And now ends with I pity Freddie. Freddie, being this woman's step-son.
CHETRY: I say Freddie actually, too, because that's not a fun dynamic. Clearly, his future wife is not in the circle of trust. We want to know what you think. If you receive that before your wedding day, would you go through with it? It's our question of the day. E- mail us, give us a tweet, tell us on Facebook. We're going to read some of your comments.
VELSHI: There's more sympathy for this mother-in-law to be than I thought there would be.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead, pizza delivery via express mail. We're talking to the man behind the July fourth holiday effort to deliver Chicago-style deep dish pizzas to our fighting men and women overseas.
VELSHI: So good.
Up next, talk about putting a buzz into sales. Some fast food chains are now selling alcohol. Who and where? We'll tell you after the break. Twenty-one minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Check in on the markets. Stock futures are up slightly ahead of the opening bell. Investors are waiting for a manufacturing and spending data coming out later this morning.
Minnesota's government shutdown has shutdown after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on the state's budget. That means the Minnesota zoo, state parks, state lottery, highway rest stops, driving test (ph) things like that are all closed until the government reopens again.
And the Senate canceling its recess next week to buckle down on deficit legislation. That's after President Obama urged lawmakers to forget their vacations until they reach an agreement. Congress has until August to raise the nation's debt ceiling, or the treasury will not be able to pay all of its bills.
Well, next time you go to a fast food joint, you may want to bring your I.D. Some fast food chains are looking to alcohol to help boost sales. Select Burger King locations already selling boost. Sonic is going to start by the end of the summer and a few locations in Florida. Starbucks has started selling wine at some stores in the Seattle area.
Coming up next, last minute deals for the Fourth of July getaway if you haven't made one yet. AMERICAN MORNING coming back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: We're heading into a busy travel weekend. Tens of millions of folks expected to head out of town for the July 4th weekend. If you're itching to get away but you haven't made plans yet, you're a procrastinator, maybe. Well, it's not too late. We're watching your money this morning with Sarah Spagnolo. She's the digital project editor for "Travel & Leisure" magazine, a great place to find out about travel. Sarah, good to see you here.
SARAH SPAGNOLO, DIGITAL PROJECTS EDITOR, TRAVEL & LEISURE: Thank you. VELSHI: Let's talk about some of the sites that you can go to. First of all, makes sense on social media? What do you do with Facebook and Twitter to help?
SPAGNOLO: You follow some of your favorite airlines or where you have loyalty points, your favorite hotels, and you can see sometimes they offer last minute deals right on their Facebook pages or on their twitter feeds. So you'll be alerted to all sorts of great and affordable escapes on very last minute.
VELSHI: Good thing you mentioned that because sometimes I see everybody offering, follow us on Twitter, follow us on Facebook, and I think why, but there might be some web only deals. What's the lastminute.com about?
SPAGNOLO: Lastminute.com is a great resource if you're looking for last minute deals that are packages, hotels and airlines. Plus, if you're looking to search for deals based on a type of trip.
VELSHI: OK.
SPAGNOLO: Such as beach or arts. Lastminute.com is a great resource.
VELSHI: And packages tend to be a better deal. Anyway, let's talk about kayak? It's an aggregator (ph).
SPAGNOLO: Yes, exactly. If you want to compare different airlines, different routes, kayak.com is a perfect resource.
VELSHI: All right. perfect. So, that's an easy way to do it. Airfarewatch dog.com, that's about timing when fares are likely to go up and down?
SPAGNOLO: It deals from your home city, and actually, they'll send you an e-mail, once a week or twice a week as often as you'd like right to your inbox and right at your desk. A little bit of wonder less right there in your inbox.
VELSHI: Very good. Gives you ideas. Travelzoo?
SPAGNOLO: Travelzoo/julyfourth is actually offering all sorts of great July fourth escapes, but what I love about it is that they're also offering deals on attraction such as in Washington Nationals Baseball game, July 2nd, a double-header plus fireworks. 50 percent off. That's tickets from $9!
VELSHI: So, if you're a procrastinator and you're looking at this point, that could be good because the whole thing, you get the whole thing. Look at some of the deals. I really like this hotel. The Fairfax Embassy Row in Washington. This is one of the deals you're able to find.
SPAGNOLO: Yes. A $199 per night. You'll be located right in Dupont Circle.
VELSHI: Yes. SPAGNOLO: This is a very upscale hotel and luxurious. They're doing a red, white, and blue package. They'll be serving red and white wine and blue cheese in the afternoons, so much fun. And you'll be four miles from the Washington Nationals park so pair that with a baseball game you got a weekend.
VELSHI: It used to be a Westin and before that it was a Ritz. They did a nice refurbishment at that hotel. A Waldorf Astoria, a brand that some people only think of as a New York hotel, has a great property in Orlando.
It's a wonderful escape if you want to bring your family. If you want to go to Epcot, the characters will be dressed in patriotic wear. Can you sleep in a place around the park in Bonnet Creek. It's luxurious, a golf course, a spa. It's $209 a night so a great escape if allow to bring the kids and go to Disney.
VELSHI: Some people like to be in the park and some away from the park. Look at that picture, Colonial Williamsburg lodge.
SPAGNOLO: This is where history comes to life. You can see revolutionary times. You can meet Thomas Jefferson and blacksmiths and whole history comes to life here. It's $99 for two nights and three days. Bring your kids and teach them a little bit of history, teach them about July Fourth this holiday weekend.
VELSHI: A hundred dollar activity card you get. Sarah, thanks so much.
SPAGNOLO: Thank you!
VELSHI: She is with "Travel & Leisure." For more great tips, pick up the latest "Travel & Leisure" magazine.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Ali.
Time for us to check our top stories this morning. A court hearing is scheduled for ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. A source is telling CNN there are serious issues with the credibility of the housekeeper who claims he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite.
A source telling CNN that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is thinking about leaving his post after a deal is struck to rate the debt ceiling. Geithner is the last remaining member of President Obama's original economical team.
They agreed to disagree on a new collective bargaining agreement. The NBA has now instituted a player lockout for the second time in league history. The two sides are said to be far apart on most issues and that could potentially wipe out the upcoming NBA season.
VELSHI: It could be a tough few months for sports fans. Happening right now, it's like Leon Panetta's first day of school and taking over as the nation's new defense secretary, succeeding Robert Gates.
CHETRY: He is about to be formally sworn in at the Pentagon. Our Barbara Starr is there and joins us live. What should we be watching for today, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: He will be sworn in about 15 or 20 minutes and we expect him walking up the stairs of the Pentagon this morning, to become defense secretary. There will be lots of handshakes and smiles in public but we want to tell you what will be happening in the shadows around the Pentagon. Think of it as the war on terror 2.0.
Leon Panetta and David Petraeus, who will be taking over for him at CIA as we continue to watch the picture and wait for him to arrive, both of those men are very big into the new war on terror. These secret covert operations in places like Somalia and Yemen where Al Qaeda is on the rise and making a lot of effort to try and strike in Europe or in the United States.
So these new secret operations, the war on terror 2.0, front and center, for both of these men. But for Panetta, also, he has to find a way to cut $400 billion from the defense budget' get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan and out of Iraq. And speaking of Iraq, June has been the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq in two years, a fact not lost on the new secretary of defense.
VELSHI: A few minutes away from this. Barbara, Leon Panetta will do things his own way and a little bit different. I love this. He is going to bring his golden retriever to work.
STARR: There is Bravo, the wonder dog, who we will introduce everyone to I'm sure the coming weeks and months. Bravo is an absolutely gorgeous golden retriever! You see him there with Panetta and Mrs. Panetta at a ceremony. This is just the world's most gorgeous dog. Bravo went to staff meetings at the CIA, around the secret hallways with the director when Panetta was there. He is described by CIA operatives as the only dog in Washington with a top secret clearance.
CHETRY: He is a bomb sniffing dog?
VELSHI: Can he do anything cool because he's a CIA dog?
(LAUGHTER)
STARR: Not that we know of. Other than sit around and wag his tail and look at you with these incredible big brown eyes.
CHETRY: This is all fun and games until everybody else wants to bring their dog to work.
STARR: It may be a bit after problem. You hit the nail on the head. There are working dogs at the Pentagon and soldiers love their dogs. I think at least once or twice, we will see Bravo around these hallways and I suspect he will be a big --
VELSHI: It is clear, however, if bravo were a CIA dog, he wouldn't tell you.
STARR: Oh, never. He has got that top secret clearance.
VELSHI: He is undercover.
CHETRY: You don't know what he is up to, Barbara.
VELSHI: Barbara, thanks so much.
STARR: Sure.
VELSHI: Up next, bombshell news. Why the case against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be on the verge of collapsing.
CHETRY: It's 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 38 minutes past the hour.
VELSHI: A source tells CNN there are serious issues with the credibility of the housekeeper who claims that he attacked her in is Manhattan hotel suite. Joining us now to talk about this major twist, major twist, nobody who is covering this who doesn't think so, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Paul Callen. We spoke to a lot of people including our Sunny Hostin and Jeff Toobin. No one thinks this is highly unusual. What is going on?
PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is a really astonishing development. This is the no serious sex crime now being prosecuted by the Manhattan's D.A.'s office and suddenly advanced the case to today. They want to make a special appearance in front of a Supreme Court judge in New York to discuss bail conditions and, of course, the rumors are that their case is falling apart and may be they are going to have to walk away from this case. It's a really, really stunning development.
CHETRY: The scary part about it the Manhattan D.A. came out extremely strong about this case when it first happened, said it was the credibility of the witness that justified taking him off the plane, the perp walk which outraged many because of his status. Did he mess up or did this woman, what may have happened?
CALLAN: It's very interesting, because they have taken someone who was the French presidential candidate potentially in the future, the head of the IMF. As you say, they pulled him off an international flight, threw him into Riker's Island. That says it must be a really strong case.
The defense all along has been saying this is a case of consensual sex, not a case of forced sex. There is no case here. Now, it appears major problems in the case.
Here are some of the problems. First, there apparently is a tape recorded call, her talking to a drug dealer, one or two days after she files the charges, talking about how to make money on the case. And there are reports that maybe as much as $100,000 put in her bank account not by Strauss-Kahn but drug dealers around the country in money laundering schemes. There are also allegedly that she made a false claim and listed in connection with an application for asylum in the United States. So we are seeing a lot of flaws in this case and people are going to wonder was this the case -- kind of case you want to take the potential presidential candidate from France' put him in Riker's Island? Maybe not.
VELSHI: Why would the prosecution be compelled to be calling this emergency hearing today?
CALLAN: There's a rule called the Brady rule in New York and applies to all cases in the United States. When a prosecutor becomes aware of evidence indicating innocence of a defendant, they have an obligation to call it to the court's attention immediately.
And I think that is probably what is going to happen today. They are going to appear in front of this judge and say, judge, there have been important developments that may have a bearing on the bail that's been set in this case, the extraordinarily high bail in the case.
CHETRY: It's high bail, but what about the charges in general? May this judge today throw them out completely?
CALLAN: No. You will not see that happen today, unless the prosecutor agreed to that. What usually happens when a case starts to fall apart, the prosecutor will continue to reinvestigate the case and somewhere down the line, it could be a couple of weeks or a couple of months, they will quietly seek a dismissal of the case. I'm betting that will happen if these reports are true.
We are, of course, relying on reports we have received from a variety of sources that appear to be reliable. We won't know until the prosecutors appear in court this morning so what the true facts are.
VELSHI: Two or two and a half hours away?
CALLAN: That is correct.
CHETRY: Even if this all turns out, how does he get his reputation back, how does he do that?
VELSHI: People from the streets of Paris are saying he is done there.
CALLAN: What bothers me more than anything else is across the world a lot of people were saying, you know, Americans, they had the perp walk, him in handcuffs. They felt other people that we treat our criminals -- accuse people too harshly.
In defense, we said we are a public system and we are open. Even a maid can bring a case against the president or a presidential candidate, a great thing for the American justice system. Now if it falls apart, how bad will we look worldwide?
CHETRY: For all of those people truly attacked and trying to goat justice, what does this do for them? CALLAN: For women trying to bring these cases now, they won't be believed. So this is a really, really important case and the implications extend worldwide.
VELSHI: Paul, good to talk to you and thanks very much.
CALLAN: Nice talking with you.
VELSHI: If you ever sent a pizza in the mail you know that doesn't always work out too well. But we have one that is going to work. How about 6,000 pizzas being sent? Coming up, the man behind the July Fourth holiday effort to driver Chicago style deep dish pizzas to soldiers serving overseas. It's 43 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Its 45 minutes past the hour here; a look at your morning's headlines.
Just in the CNN, Leon Panetta arriving at the Pentagon just moments ago for his first day on the job as Defense Secretary. The former CIA chief who is taking over for Robert Gates is about to be formally sworn in. No sign of his golden retriever Bravo, though. There was a lot of talk that Bravo was expected to join Panetta at his new post.
A bail modification hearing today for ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss- Kahn: a court hearing scheduled to talk about the credibility of the hotel maid accusing him of sexual assault.
Former mob boss Whitey Bulger in shackles in an orange jumpsuit. There you see him coming out of a Coast Guard chopper dropping him off for court. Yesterday, a judge dropped old racketeering charges against him so that prosecutors could focus on his alleged role in 19 mob hits.
The defense resting in the Casey Anthony case and Casey did not testify in her own defense. But George Anthony's alleged mistress did testify saying he told her that Caylee's death was an accident. Closing arguments are expected to begin tomorrow.
The NBA is following the NFL's lead and locking out its players. The labor deal expired at midnight after owners and players were unable to agree on a new collective bargaining deal. Only once before in 1992 -- 1994 rather, have two pro-leagues have been shut down at the same time. At that time, it was baseball and hockey.
Checking on the markets: stock futures up slightly ahead of the opening bell. Investors waiting on manufacturing and spending numbers that come out later this morning.
And a source familiar with discussions tell CNN that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is thinking about leaving his post but he will wait until after a deal is struck to raise the debt ceiling. They add that Geithner has not yet announced any final decision.
And you're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Beautiful New York City; 69 degrees and sunny; going up to 83 and mostly sunny the rest of the day. It seems like a perfect afternoon to have some pizza on July Fourth.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: That's right, it's a perfect kickoff to the Fourth of July weekend where a lot of people are going to be enjoying themselves but there are others who are going to be serving our country. And we wanted to highlight something special giving the troops a taste of home for the Fourth of July weekend.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: A group of pizza -- the group called "Pizzas 4 Patriots" is raising money to make a very special delivery to our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
VELSHI: Right they may -- they may get a day or two off but they are still there in the war zone and they're not getting things that they can get at home.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: This time around, Canadian troops are actually getting a few slices through. And joining us now the founder of "Pizzas 4 Patriots" Mark Evans, a retired Master Sergeant.
(CROSSTALK)
MARK EVANS, FOUNDER, "PIZZA'S 4 PATRIOTS": Good morning.
VELSHI: Good to see you Mark.
EVANS: Thank you so much for having me. We really appreciate it.
VELSHI: I've got to imagine -- this for soldiers receiving this, this has to be fantastic. Tell us how this all works out. I know we got a -- an Uno's pizza here and yellow, DHS plane. Uno's is --
EVANS: Deep Dish Chicago, sir, the real McCoy.
VELSHI: Yes.
EVANS: It's very good pizza.
CHETRY: That's how -- first of all, tell me why you wanted to -- why you wanted to do this? This is clearly a morale-boosting thing.
EVANS: Yes.
CHETRY: Why did you want to do it?
EVANS: Yes, it is, it is one of the most critical things for the soldiers, you know the morale. General Petraeus, I went and met him and -- and I e-mail him pretty often. And he says, "You know what, Mark? Make sure the country and the world knows we take care of our guys. They really need to be taken care of." Just the thought that we could send pizza half way around the world and give them a slice of home.
VELSHI: And how does it work? What -- what happens?
EVANS: You -- people can go to Pizzas4Patriots.com and they can donate. And all the money goes to them, I work for AT&T. They help us out. The CEO is fantastic. The CEO -- ex-veteran Frank Guidara from Uno's says Mark, whatever you need, let's get these guys some pizza.
CHETRY: So logistically speaking how the heck does it go from where it's baked in Chicago on to the planes and off to Iraq and Afghanistan?
(CROSSTALK)
EVANS: Yes, it goes on an airplane. We put it on dry ice. It's good for 48 hours, it lands in country, in Afghanistan, and it goes out to the furthest forward operating bases. And further than that to the camps.
General Petraeus and his staff say the guys all the way out get it. And I -- I had a soldier tell me he was in the desert and the mail helicopter pulled up with their supplies and things and got out and handed him and his guys Chicago pizza. And he is from Chicago and he said, he stood there for about two minutes and he's like --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: He's staring at it.
EVANS: Am I home?
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: Or what's going on.
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: You know.
CHETRY: So obviously, this isn't cheap? Doing this --
EVANS: Well, you know, DHL gave us free delivery. It's fantastic, three years. They are an incredible company. And they are the first ones -- they're the first ones in the war zone and they are the only ones that go in.
And so we purchase the pizza. The reason I want to do that is so everybody can have a hand in it.
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: You can go online and you can say the morning of the Fourth of July, Afghanistan is ten hours ahead of us in Iraq.
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: You'll be drinking your coffee and you'll say to yourself the guys are eating pizza and it's because of me. You can say I bought some guys some pizza, I wonder what's he's doing now.
VELSHI: Right, easy way to -- easy way to make them -- make them feel like they are being remembered.
EVANS: Totally magical. We're -- we're dedicating this to the greatest generation. My parents are the greatest generation, they dated at high school and my father went to Asia and fought.
CHETRY: Wow.
EVANS: And my mother was a rosy the riveter.
VELSHI: Yes.
EVANS: And you know, they're getting old -- and my -- my parents are in their 80s and still with that generation. And on our Web site you can go on there. A guy's father died and he went in the basement and found videos of what his dad took the day after the war in Hawaii.
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: Remember Pearl Harbor?
CHETRY: Yes.
EVANS: And it's on my Web site. And you watch that and you cry. All of those people they look so young and what they have done for this world.
VELSHI: That's right, that's right.
CHETRY: Yes and we're losing all of those soldiers every day.
EVANS: Yes, we are.
CHETRY: I mean this is -- it's very important to also get their stories on tape if you can.
EVANS: On tape, you're not kidding. When you see this -- General Petraeus he does a speech for us, he's on my -- he's on the Web site and he said, this is the next greatest generation.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
EVANS: I wrote him and I said, "Sir, you know what? At the top it's hard to see everything". And I said, "You are highly regarded and you are doing the right thing. Somebody has to take control of what's going on in the world and just try to make it a better place." You know? Whatever you think about the war, we have to take care of the guys.
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: They are all trying to do right. Everybody. All the countries --
VELSHI: Right.
EVANS: And here is Canada. Canada Day.
VELSHI: It's almost due, very good. Very good.
EVANS: Yes sir and the fourth, two countries.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Mark Evans, it's so wonderful to meet you.
EVANS: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: And you guys are bringing a little taste of home.
VELSHI: Mark Evans, the founder of Pizzas 4 Patriots, a retired Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force.
CHETRY: Well, we told you earlier about an e-mail that went viral from a really mean -- some say --
VELSHI: You keep saying she is a mean mother-in-law. Not everybody agrees with this.
CHETRY: She wrote me an e-mail but perhaps she has a bride- zilla on her hands too. How about that? You've got a better way to put it.
VELSHI: It could be. Yes.
CHETRY: Here is how it starts. Here are a few examples of your lack of manners.
VELSHI: This is the mother-in-law to be's e-mail to the daughter-in-law to be.
CHETRY: That's right.
"When you are a guest in another's house, you do not declare what you will and will not eat unless you are positively allergic to something.
VELSHI: She says, "You do not start before everyone else. When a guest in another's house, you do not lie in bed until late morning in households that rise early; you fall in line with house norms."
CHETRY: She says, "You regularly draw attention to yourself. Perhaps you should ask yourself why. No one gets married in a castle unless they own it. It is brash, celebrity style behavior."
It all ends with, "I pity Freddie."
VELSHI: Freddie is her stepson.
Our question of the day: would you go through with the wedding if you received that kind of an e-mail from your future mother-in-law?
CHETRY: Here are some of your responses today.
Texas Karen: "Bad manners and behavior are too often accepted and even applauded in today's society. Most of us could all benefit by some etiquette lessons. If the bride's parents can afford an expensive wedding, the suggestion that she plan a less extravagant wedding seems plausible to me. I applaud the future mother-in-law.
VELSHI: And Pete says on Facebook, "The future mother-in-law may have some valid points. The wedding, the manners -- overall, though, the theme of the e-mail you're not welcome in this family. However, one shouldn't judge whether someone should or shouldn't get married based on one e-mail."
However I suspect there's more context to this than just one e- mail. There seems to be some bad blood that worked its way into one e-mail.
CHETRY: Yes. Wow. All right. Well, good luck to everyone in that family. Sorry, Freddie. I do pity you, too.
It's 55 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DIANE LATIKER, CNN HERO OF THE WEEK: Guns, guns and more guns. These are our young people. These stones represent them. We're losing a generation to violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they start shooting you got to grab the kids and run into the house.
LATIKER: People run in the house and close their doors. They don't want to talk about it. But there's some people who are not scared to go outside and I'm one of them.
My name is Diane Latiker. We opened the community center called Kids off the Block. It is known as KOB.
They're kids in gangs, they're homeless, some of them drug dealers. So they got a lot of issues going on.
Who signed up and (INAUDIBLE) the way to Chicago?
I tell kids this is a peace place. This is a safe place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really want to be a veterinarian.
LATIKER: We have leadership workshops, media (ph) preparations; music. It's a range of things that goes on in here.
We started out with 10 young people. The next thing I knew I had 15, then I had 25. At one point I had 75 young people in three rooms at my house. And that's why Kids off the Block started in my living room.
We open the doors to the new KOB center in July. Last year we served 301 young people. If they knock on that door, they can come in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was 12 when I got in here; robbing people, stealing. Diane, she changed my life. I love her for that.
LATIKER: I'm no different from nobody else. I just opened up my door. Why can't they all come outside and see what's going on in our neighborhoods?
There are people here who care. And I'm one of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. These are really some fantastic people. I just want to remind people; we are not just showing this to you for the sake of it. Who do you know who's making a big difference in your world, your community? You can tell us about them; head to our AMERICAN MORNING blog at cnn.com/am. You can nominate these heroes and these are the people who end up winning.
CHETRY: Making a huge difference in their communities. It really is a good thing to see.
We want to wish everybody a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. Hope you're safe, healthy, happy and you have a little bit of fun.
VELSHI: And you're off?
CHETRY: Yes. I'm going to be off watching the fireworks.
VELSHI: Christine and I will be here on Monday. But you have a fantastic weekend.
Kyra Phillips takes it over now with the "CNN NEWSROOM". Good morning Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": A little bit of fun -- how about a lot of fun? Come on, Kiran, Ali.
VELSHI: Ok. We'll have a lot of fun.
PHILLIPS: OK.
CHETRY: Well, some people have to work so I didn't -- I felt bad. (LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: OK. Happy Fourth of July, guys. We'll all be celebrating.
