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American Morning
The "Final Four"; Prosecutors: Not Dropping DSK Case; Audio Tapes from Plane with Hole; Landmark U.S.-Mexico Truck Deal; Bulls Unleashed in Pamplona; The Royals are Coming; Royal Fever Hits America
Aired July 07, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Sentencing day. Convicted liar, Casey Anthony, will learn her fate in just a couple of hours. Will the court decide that she's already done enough time? On this AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us on this Thursday. It's July 7th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Up first, Casey Anthony may walk free today, guys. Anthony returns to a court in just a couple of hours where she could be sentenced to time served for lying to investigators. This morning, we're getting new insight into the bombshell verdict that cleared Casey Anthony of murder charges. One of the Florida jurors is breaking her silence.
We have two special reports for you this morning. We begin with our David Mattingly live in Orlando. Good morning, David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Casey Anthony could go free today, but we're learning from one of the jurors that not guilty and innocent could mean two entirely different things.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Two days after the surprising verdict, we're now getting a better look at what transpired in the courtroom with various players speaking out, including juror number three who spoke with ABC News.
JENNIFER FORD, JUROR, CASEY ANTHONY TRIAL: I mean, there are quite a few people when we got back after the verdict was read. We were in tears.
MATTINGLY: Jennifer Ford said it was horrible decision to have to make, that not guilty doesn't mane innocent. But ultimately she says it was the prosecution's lack of evidence that led to the jury acquitting Casey Anthony.
FORD: How did she die? If you are going to charge someone with murder, don't you have no know how they killed someone or why they might have killed someone or have something where, when, why, how? Those are important questions. They were not answered.
MATTINGLY: Lead prosecutor Jeff Ashton told Beth Karas of "In Session" on CNN's sister network TruTV his team felt they did everything they could in presenting the case.
JEFF ASHTON, PROSECUTOR, CASEY ANTHONY TRIAL: The idea somebody would put duct tape on a child after they were dead to me just makes so little sense that it left only the possibility of the tape being used to kill Caylee. I just didn't think there was any other reasonable explanation.
MATTINGLY: Jose Baez, lead defense attorney, told ABC News the prosecution's mistake was charging Casey Anthony with first-degree murder.
JOSE BAEZ, CASEY ANTHONY'S LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They have the power to charge anyone for any charge that they feel they can prove. So if they are going to bring it, they better be able to prove it.
MATTINGLY: Baez also said Casey is misunderstood and that he is afraid for her safety once she is free.
BAEZ: I think Casey can -- could have been anything she wanted in this world. And I think there are still plenty of things that Casey can do in life. And I think Casey can be a productive member of society.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: The four counts of lying to investigators that Casey Anthony faces are misdemeanors, but they do carry a maximum penalty of one year each. The judge has that option, but Jose Baez says he will be asking the judge to set Casey Anthony free.
ROMANS: All right, David Mattingly, thanks, David.
CHETRY: So all had could be happening in a little over two hours from now. Casey Anthony may go free. But it appears that some of the legal wrangling over her case is actually far from over.
VELSHI: I hope we understand this, because the state of Florida wants to make Casey Anthony pay for the high-profile prosecution. We're covering --
ROMANS: How do you pay important for something you've been exonerated --
VELSHI: This is a question we all have. Martin Savidge has been looking into this. Here is his take on it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stunned by its loss in the Casey Anthony trial, the state of Florida is filing a motion to tax Anthony for what it calls "special costs of investigation and prosecution," in other words, bill her for the state's police and legal work. Any money she makes as a result of her fame could go to those costs.
In addition, there is a potential civil suit. Remember Anthony's original claim that her daughter was kidnapped by her nanny who she identified as Zenaida Gonzalez. The story was a lie, but police actually tracked down and questioned a woman by the same name. Now that woman is planning to sue Anthony for defamation.
Both suits greet Anthony as she potentially walks free. The four guilty verdicts could mean a total sentence of four years. The big question is would that time be served concurrently, all at the same time, or consecutively, meaning one after another?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's going to depend on how the judge sees these four counts. Does he see them as four lies about the same thing? Or four separate acts.
SAVIDGE: Even if the judge decided to give her the max time consecutively, she's already served three years, allowing for what in Florida is called game time and good behavior. Any additional sentence might be a wash.
There are some potential complicating factors. Casey Anthony already has a felony conviction, check fraud. And the judge might take that into account.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This prior conviction, which occurred during the 31 days, by the way, for the check fraud is going to hurt her, because on that score sheet that the judge has, that's now going to put her closer to one year than it would to probation.
SAVIDGE: So let's say Casey gets to walk. It won't be out the front door of the courthouse. A statement from the Orange County Corrections Department says that due to the high-profile nature of the case and intense emotional interest, appropriate measures will be taken to release the acquitted into the community in such a manner so as to preserve the safety of the acquitted individual and the public.
But where would Casey go? Given the way the trial seemed to bitterly divide the Anthony family, it seems unlikely she will go live with mom and dad. Instead her legal team is likely to whisk her away to points unknown.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Orlando.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: So the issue would be --
ROMANS: -- the lies,
VELSHI: The lies that Casey Anthony sent police on a wild goose chase.
ROMANS: Over and over again.
VELSHI: And that's what they want -
CHETRY: And could they recoup that money? We will see when, and whether that defamation case goes anywhere, and then also whether or not she has a source of income. Will it be a book deal? Will it be --
VELSHI: I don't think there is much question about the fact she can get a lot of money for her story. It is America, I guess.
Brings us to the question of day, what should happen to Casey Anthony now?
CHETRY: Send us a tweet, tell us on e-mail or on Facebook and we'll read some of your comments a bit later in the show.
Also coming up at 8:20 eastern, Sunny Hostin joins with us an interview with Jeff Ashton who was the lead prosecutor in the Casey Anthony trial.
ROMANS: All right, also new this morning, one of six marines injured in a military helicopter crash has died. The chopper went down yesterday at Camp Pendleton in southern California. The five other marines are recovering now at local hospitals. Military officials still investigating the cause of that chopper crash.
VELSHI: A hiker in Yellowstone National Park mauled and killed by a grizzly bear. The park says the hiker and the wife surprised a female bear who perceived a threat to her cubs and attacked. Another nearby group of hikers heard his wife screaming for help and called 911. Grizzly attacks are rare inside the park. This was the first deadly bear attack on park grounds since 1986.
CHETRY: They say though that there have been a lot more grizzlies. The population is has grown and the actually recommend if you are hiking travel in groups of three and carry bear pepper spray.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: All right, well, Montana's governor is blasting ExxonMobil after a company pipeline ruptured and spilled about 42,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River. That section of the river runs past 6,500 homes in the town of Laurel. Governor Brian Schweitzer says he was assured the company could seal the pipeline in minutes, but it took close to an hour to shut off the spill.
ROMANS: A federal appeals court has ordered the U.S. government to immediately stop enforcing its "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The Pentagon is already in the process of repealing that law, the law that bans gay service members from serving openly.
VELSHI: All right, brand-new developments this morning in the battle over cutting the nation's debt and raising the debt ceiling. On the same day the president meets with top Republicans and Democratic leaders at the White House, CNN is learning the president will agree to $3 trillion to $4 trillion in cuts over the next ten years. That means the president is putting things on the table like significant cuts to Medicare spending and adjusting the formula that determines Social Security payouts.
Let's bring in Brianna Keilar. She's live at the White House. Brianna, good morning. Tell us who is coming to the White House and how is it going to go down.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is a big group. Eight members of Congress, the top two Democrats, the top two Republicans in each the House and Senate. And right now people very much perceive that the big negotiations are going on between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner.
So House Speaker Boehner will be here along with his deputy Eric cantor. And just taking a look at their demands. They don't want tax increases, but a development that we have seen since yesterday, we saw Cantor say that they would be open to closing some of the tax loopholes like the corporate jet tax loophole that we heard about over if last week for oil and gas companies, things like that, if it's offset by tax cuts. So that's kind of a different tack that we're hearing from House Republicans.
And then House Democrats, you will be seeing Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the house as well as her deputy Steny Hoyer. And while they have said that they want tax increases, what they are calling a balanced approach, sort of spreading out the sacrifice, if you will, that's what you hear Democrats and President Obama talking about, they are looking for a bipartisan approach, because what's really seen here is that this is going to require Democratic and Republican votes to get through Congress. And certainly Democrats don't want to be pulling all of the weight, nor can Republicans, nor do they want on.
But, yes, that was the headline, Ali, that you mentioned, this sort of really big plan of cuts that the president is now pushing. What we understood is it would take about a little more than $2 trillion to push the debt ceiling issue past the next election. And the way the Republicans had set it up, they were going to require the same amount of cuts as the increase in the debt ceiling. So now we're talking instead about $2 trillion we are talking $3 trillion to $4 trillion that the president is pushing for, significant movement from yesterday, guys.
VELSHI: Brianna, thanks very much. We are going to be watching this carefully to see how it unfolds and whether there is actually a turn in the way these debates have been going between these two sides. Thanks, Brianna.
ROMANS: Both of you guys have followed this a lot. We're talking about the recession and which gender may have been hit harder by it. We talked about how men bore the brunt of the job losses during the great recession. In fact, some called it the "man-session," the "he- session."
Well, maybe now it's a "he-covery." A new report says the number of jobs held by men has grown by 768,000 since the recession officially ended in 2009. Women lost 218,000 jobs in that time. But their unemployment rate overall is still lower. The decline for women is partly because of local government layoffs, and that also included teacher cuts.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: Still to come this morning, U.S. security officials tells CNN about a new chilling terror threat that could be in the works. How Al Qaeda could be planning to take down commercial jetliners in a very dangerous and new way. The latest intelligence ahead.
VELSHI: And incredible pictures of the great haboob. Like an avalanche of clouds, haboob is a dust -- like a wall of dust. We saw one of these in Phoenix. We have got the latest on the dust storm for the ages. It's incredible. Look at that haboob.
CHETRY: Also, royal fever is building in southern California. The duke and duchess of Cambridge expected to arrive tomorrow. And we're live with all of the details of the royal trip. You're watching "AMERICAN MORNING." It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 13 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to "AMERICAN MORNING."
There are new concerns this morning about a new Al Qaeda threat. U.S. security officials say terrorists are apparently considering a new tactic to take out commercial airliners by finding a new way to use themselves as human bombs. Our security watch report morning from Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Security officials tell CNN of a chilling tactic terrorists might try next -- Targeting commercial aircraft by surgically implanting explosives or bomb components inside the bodies of attackers.
JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATION: We see this as the latest iteration or the evolution of what terrorist groups are trying to do to circumvent our security layers and to perhaps defeat our societal norms.
TODD: Officials say there is fresh intelligence showing terrorists have a renewed interest in planting bombs in bodies but there is no specific or imminent let. One U.S. official says man suspected in involvement in this effort is Ibrahim Asiri, bomb-making mastermind for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Asiri is believed to have planned the 2009 plot to kill Saudi Arabia's interior minister by placing a bomb in the rectal cavity or underwear of his own brother. Asiri's brother was killed, but the minister escaped.
I asked Rafi Ron, Israel's former top aviation security official, about surgically implanted bombs.
(on camera): What does this tell you where the terrorists are versus where security officials are right now?
RAFI RON, NEW AGE SECURITY SOLUTIONS: Well, it tells me that we have exhausted the capabilities of technology available to us, because there's no way we can take the next step after the body scanners to figure out when a person carries out -- carries a device inside of his body.
TODD (voice-over): Ron and other experts say those full body scanners which we once tested out can see through clothing and can find possible thesis and breast implants and contours, but cannot detect bombs inside the body.
I spoke with Dr. Jack Sava, chief trauma surgeon at Washington Hospital Center about how terrorists might try to pull this off.
(on camera): Do you need a hospital to do this? Or can you do it in a terrorist field camp? What kind of training do you need?
DR. JACK SAVA, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER: Well, I think, again, the fundamental question is going to be how well do you want to do it? If you want to do it to 20 people and have 19 of them die in one success that you can send on your mission you can do that that easier. If you want to do it well and expect them all to remain sterile and not cause infection, I think then you are largely going to be talking about a hospital or at least clinic setting.
TODD (voice-over): Explosives he says could be placed in the abdomen or elsewhere.
(on camera): Dr. Sava says an explosive could be implanted in a prosthetic device like a fake hip, a breast implant. He says a non- sophisticated implanted bomb might last three to four days before complications sets in. But if it's a sophisticated surgery and implant, it could last weeks, months or even longer.
(voice-over): Experts disagree on whether a bomb inside of a body would need an external detonator to ignite it or if it could be set off with a timer. It's also not clear if the body itself could blunt the impact of an explosion.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Wow. So, there's a lot of studying here that's more than maybe I'll put a bomb in me. It's a --
ROMANS: Yes. There's a lot of disagreement about how you would detonate that bomb and what the results could be and -- how to detect it makes a new level of scrutiny now.
VELSHI: Very interesting story. ROMANS: All right. Here's what else is new this morning. Police in San Francisco searching for a man that walked into a Union Square art gallery walked out --
VELSHI: You got to see this.
ROMANS: Walked out --
VELSHI: Look at the right side of your screen.
ROMANS: Pink Panther music -- $200,000 Picasso under his arm. From the right side of your screen you're going to see the suspect walking by with the art work there. A nearby restaurant caught him on surveillance camera as he just casually walked away with it.
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE), something of, it's a restaurant.
CHETRY: I thought they were naming the guy, the suspect, and you're like, I think he's lost.
VELSHI: I think for showing this video, people should go have breakfast there, $8.95 for the special.
ROMANS: I know. That's very funny.
CHETRY: Comes with a children's, you know, coloring pad.
VELSHI: That really was a theft. This dude walking around, no disguise.
ROMANS: Art galleries have a lot of things on the wall. You know, they have someone behind a desk at the front. If you walk in and you're perusing.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: We have seen Picassos walk away from museum.
CHETRY: But, usually, they have to rappel from the ceiling and have night vision goggles. It's a little harder.
VELSHI: This is not the "Thomas Crown Affair."
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: All right. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he's on trial for having sex with an underage prostitute and at the same time his doctor gave an interview bragging about his sex drive. Berlusconi's doctor said the 74-year-old can, and I'm quoting now, "have sex six times a week, without overdoing it. And on the seventh day, he should rest," end quote.
CHETRY: Thanks, doc.
VELSHI: This happened on the same day a court heard stories of raunchy scenes at Berlusconi's villa. I would imagine if you were Berlusconi, you wouldn't really want your doctor to have said that about you.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: All these political scandals, we have to have a banner that says if your children are eating breakfast with you now, another politician run amuck story --
VELSHI: Things you don't want to hear.
CHETRY: Sometimes you forget. Satellite TV on in the car, you forget and realize your 5-year-old is back there. Quickly shut it off.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: I skipped the bordereau (ph) part, I didn't say that. His home had been described as a bordereau.
CHETRY: All right. Well, hot air conditions. Homeowners and some Chicago neighborhoods are being warned to keep an eye on central A.C. units. Thieves are crawling unto roofs and taking off with the 125- pound unit to sell the copper and aluminum coil inside.
VELSHI: Empty pad. I thought we were talking about window units which, you know, somebody could haul off. These are the big units.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, they said that these robbers are pros. That they don't leave behind a single crew. And she also said she didn't hear anything.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: Do you think if somebody was removing your entire air conditioning --
VELSHI: Caged it in.
ROMANS: Wow. Where is this, Chicago?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. We said it was like a scene from "The Mummy." We'll check out this new report. Time lapse report of the great haboob or dust cloud that turned the Phoenix area black. People that live in Phoenix for years said never have seen one quite like this.
The guy says he was trying to tape the sunset when he got this avalanche of clouds.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: It's pretty nasty. But this is much, much different. The dust storm stretched thousands of feet high, grounded flights, knocked out power for thousands of people.
VELSHI: And gave us a new word. I never heard the word haboob before.
ROMANS: Arabic for wind, right?
VELSHI: I think, maybe dust storm, I don't know. Big, big dust storm.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Reynolds Wolf is following all of this.
VELSHI: Reynolds was here yesterday. He never got to say the word haboob.
CHETRY: Go for it, buddy.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. There are so many opportunities with this. I'm going to hold off. But I'm telling you, it is a spooky thing to see.
I think Ali was absolutely right. I mean, it is beyond creepy seeing the giant wall of dust and all this stuff moving towards you.
Common actually in parts of North Africa. But parts of the desert southwest, they have happen every so often and when they do, it is certainly dramatic thing to see. It's basically just caused by the collapsing winds generated by thunderstorms that gust front picks up and the rest is history.
Hey, speaking of weird and rough weather, we certainly had a share of tonight parts of Colorado. Adams County, Colorado. In fact, we got some video for you there. It's going to show you, again, damage, we had yesterday. Some strong winds with that. With that, a few funnel clouds, possible tornado in the area, too. You see the storm chasing video. Rained very heavy.
We might see this plane, this kind of an -- play action part of central and southern plains. Even in portions of the Midwest as we go back to the weather maps and show you the reason why. We've got tons of moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. This is your boundary right here. Just lingering across parts of the Midwest. That with your daytime heat is going to provide for a very unstable air mass.
What this is going to mean, good chance of rain, maybe isolated thunderstorm. Perhaps even a tornado. But if you happen to be flying into this area, St. Louis, even Little Rock, it is going to be bumpy. As we take a look at your temperature force the day, warm day in Texas once again -- 103 in Dallas; 88 in Memphis; 83 in Chicago; 88 in New York; mid-90s in Washington; 88 for Tampa, back towards Salt lake City, 87; 101 in El Paso; and 69 degrees in San Francisco; Los Angeles, 78 by the staples center.
That's your forecast. Let's pitch it back to you guys in New York.
ROMANS: All right. Reynolds Wolf -- thanks, Reynolds.
CHETRY: Still ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: an intense conversation between a pilot and air traffic controller after a giant hole is discovered in the plane's fuselage.
VELSHI: We hear a lot of those conversations.
CHETRY: I know, they usually sound very calm.
VELSHI: My wing is on fire. This one sounds serious.
ROMANS: My question of the day. What should happen to Casey Anthony now? Send us an e-mail, tweet, tell us what you think on Facebook.
We'll be reading more of your comments later on the program.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Minding your business this morning.
Stocks recovered from early losses yesterday. The Dow, NASDAQ, S&P 500, all closing higher. Right now, U.S. stock futures are up slightly so par. Investors waiting for economic reports on jobs and payrolls coming out before the opening bell.
Your bank could be making million, selling information about your shopping habits. So, how much you spend, where you shop, what you buy. This allows retailers to target you by e-mail and text with discount information every time it works, you buy something, the bank gets paid.
A law allowing companies to automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans -- well, it might not be so helpful. This is analysis by "The Wall Street Journal" that shows 40 percent of new hires say they would have taken more than the customary 3 percent designated by companies from their paychecks for retirement.
Morgan Stanley's Smith Barney reportedly lost two CDs with personal information for 34,000 investors clients. At risk, Social Security number, personal income, as well as account and tax ID numbers. CNN calls to Morgan Stanley have not yet been returned.
Music streaming site Spotify back by Napster cofounder Shawn Parker coming to the U.S. soon. The site's wildly popular in Europe, racking up 10 million users there. Music is free in your desk top. But to talk it with you and listen on mobile devices, you have to pay.
Now, talk about incentive, if you buy any new G.M. vehicle by September 6th, the company will pay you your car insurance for the whole year. Just one catch: you have to live in Washington state or Oregon. But G.M. says if the program boosts sales in those two states, hey, it may expand the deal to others.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNmoney.com. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back right after his break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. In 28 hours we will witness history, the final launch of the U.S. space shuttle, weather permitting. On board "Atlantis," a crew that everyone now is calling "The Final Four."
CHETRY: This is it. I mean, this is really bittersweet.
John Zarrella live from Kennedy Space Center this morning.
A lot of Nostalgia wrapped up in it. A lot of excitement obviously for them, but all we need now is the weather to cooperate.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's not looking real good. They were supposed to launch today, they wouldn't be going anywhere and tomorrow, the forecast is not any better.
So there is certainly a good possibility that they will be on the ground tomorrow. Weather does look better Saturday and Sunday, but as you can see there's cloud cover all around me.
You know about a month ago, I had an opportunity to sit down in Houston and to talk with each of the crew members who, as you said have now become known as "The Final Four."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful shuttle, beautiful day.
ZARRELLA: You guys are going to be the last shuttle flight. What's going through your mind? Going, man, you know, why me?
REX WALHEIM, SHUTTLE MISSION SPECIALIST: Kind of like being at Disneyland late at night and thinking, OK, am I going to get to the front of the line before the ride closes?
Am I going to get to -- get cut off at the very end so we finally got assigned -- wow, you know, you squeaked by. Then to realize that this, you know, will be the last space shuttle mission ever is -- really felt like an honor to be a part of it.
CAPTAIN CHRIS FERGUSON, SHUTTLE COMMANDER: We want to make sure we get the job done. And when the job is done, we can look back and reflect and think about where the place in history lies for this final shuttle plight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crew getting their last looks at the space station complex.
SANDRA MAGNUS, SHUTTLE MISSION SPECIALIST: We have more transfer and logistic supplies to send the station than we ever had on any other mission. We are very, very busy in training and it is very -- very challenging mission. ZARRELLA: You represent thousands of workers for 30 years who poured their heart and soul into these vehicles.
WALHEIM: That's exactly right.
ZARRELLA: And you guys are representing them on the final plight.
WALHEIM: It is and I think that's where I feel the most pressure to be able to represent them the way they deserve to be represented and -- finish out the program on a high note with a successful mission and then be able to thank them all afterwards ideally.
ZARRELLA: Would you say that the shuttle program then has been a success?
WALHEIM: I think that at times it is the -- hate to use the cliche but sometimes it has been Rodney Dangerfield of the space program over the years.
And it is just -- amount of payload it take to orbit, the amount of payload it can bring back. Seven people on top of that, you know, where else have we seen that in a space program?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now when I sat down with the crew out in Houston a month ago, Ferguson told me he said he was bound and determined to be the last person out of the vehicle when they finally land back here at the Kennedy Space Center.
Now you mentioned last hour that we would have chicken wings when we got down here if there was a delay. Guess what, I have the Louisiana space shuttle hot sauce for us.
VELSHI: Nice.
ZARRELLA: When you get here.
VELSHI: All right, john. I will be there in a matter of hours. Once the show is finished I'm getting to the airport and get on a flight. You will see me this afternoon. We will be seeing you through the course of the day.
It's 30 years after this shuttle program began and many more years, by the way, since it was first initiated. "Atlantis" flight International Space Station is NASA's -- hold on what's going on next to you, Christine?
A little rocket. Love it. This is going to be the 135th and final mission. Special live coverage begins tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. I love that rocket. Kelly, our director, if you would like to do that. We are totally good with that. Right here.
CHETRY: Doesn't necessarily have to be on the space shuttle story.
VELSHI: Look, look, look. ROMANS: There it is.
VELSHI: We will start at 6:00 a.m. and Anderson Cooper is going to have a special starting at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.
ROMANS: All right, the prosecutor of Dominique Strauss-Kahn case says he is not going anywhere. This after the lawyer for that - the maid in the case demanded that the district attorney step aside.
Our Susan Candiotti joins us now. Susan, good morning. This case has had some major twists and still trying to figure out the status. They're not going to drop the charges, but the office is under a little bit of heat here.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sure is and the heat is not going away. I mean, the maid's attorney wants a special prosecutor at this point, but it is not going to happen.
The Manhattan district attorney is leading the investigation and that won't change. In a four-page letter, the maid's attorney who stands by her accusations that she was assaulted, allegedly, by Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
He excoriates the D.A., says he hasn't been fair and impartial and charges him with leaking damaging and false information about his client to the media. Attorney Ken Thompson admits his client made mistakes and admitted lies, but wants the D.A. to prosecute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wants to get on the stand at trial. Despite everything that people have been saying about her. She wants to get on the stand at the criminal trial and testify about what happened in that hotel room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: The D.A.'s office issued a statement defending its investigation and adding, quote, "any suggestion this office should be recused is wholly without merit."
Now yesterday the D.A. and defense attorneys huddled over what may happen with the case. Many experts say it is falling apart. Thanks to serious credibility issues with the maid and she admitted lies about her past.
DSK's attorneys call the meeting constructive and say that their client will not plead guilty to anything, even if a plea bargain is offered and there's also an issue over what she may have said in a jailhouse phone call to a friend a day after the attack.
Her attorney says she's paraphrased to say that DSK has a lot of money and she knows what she is doing. Her attorney challenges whether that call was correctly translated from her native language.
Regardless, prosecutors say that they are pressing on for now and insist their investigation is not over. Strauss-Kahn's attorneys say their client isn't guilty of anything.
ROMANS: Susan, what's the latest of a lawsuit by the maid's attorney against "The New York Post"? Accusing the post of libel, I think.
CANDIOTTI: That's right. Well, the paper is charged with defaming her by quoting unnamed sources calling her a prostitute. Her lawyer says that's an outright lie that she is not a prostitute and the -- they are going to go after the paper. Now "The New York Post" is defending its story saying that it stands by what its reporters have said.
CHETRY: All right, a lot of twists and turns.
VELSHI: You know, this translation issue is interesting because it took them a long time to get the translation from her native language to start with.
CANDIOTTI: That part is not over yet. The defense attorney says I still haven't had a chance nor has my client to hear the call played back. It is a dialect she was speaking in and not sure if it was correctly translated by the prosecutor.
VELSHI: More twists and turns in this case. All right, thanks, Susan.
CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.
VELSHI: Susan has been covering this since the beginning. Also this morning, dramatic audio recordings have been released - these were between the air traffic controllers and pilots.
You remember that Southwest Airplane that -- hole blown in the fuselage. You remember it happened back in April. The plane was cruising at 34,000 feet when the roof ripped open near the Arizona/California border. Pilots knew immediately that there was trouble. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: We need the nearest airport.
UNIDENTIFIED CONTROLLER: Southwest 812, are you able to land at Blythe or would you want to go to Palm Springs?
UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Let's make a turn and go -- how far away is Yuma from us right now?
UNIDENTIFIED CONTROLLER: Yuma is at your 3:00 o'clock position and 50 miles.
UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: We'll take Yuma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right, the plane did land safely without major injuries. Then grounded a few planes, inspected them and everything is flying again.
ROMANS: Unbelievable. OK, after nearly two decades of bickering, the U.S. and Mexico finally completed a deal allowing each country's long haul trucks to travel on the other's highways.
Now it implements a key provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement and I'm telling you they have been fighting about this forever.
American truck drivers and unions concerned that this means they will lose jobs here quite frankly and it has been a real sticking point.
VELSHI: The way it is made -- was for warehousing on either side of the Mexican border. The trucks from one country would come in and have to warehouse everything and get picked up on the other side or get picked up by trucks from the other side.
CHETRY: We are looking at injuries at the running of the bulls. The annual festival began just a few hours ago in Pamplona, Spain and the Red Cross is saying that one runner was already hospitalized and several others took hard falls and were trampled. There is an iPhone app that tells runners apparently the best places to start the run to avoid getting gorge.
VELSHI: I bet I cannot get gored without an iPhone app.
CHETRY: Stay at the hotel bar the whole time.
ROMANS: All right, still to come. The royal countdown in Dwayne, California, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles tomorrow.
Next, we are headed north of the border to catch up with Prince William and his bride, Katherine, as they wrap up their Tour of Canada in cowboy country.
VELSHI: In Calgary during the stampede. You're going to love it. Casey Anthony could go free today. She will learn her fate in about an hour and a half. She'll be sentenced then for lying to police. We are cover thing completely. We're going to tell you what could happen to her.
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VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Could there be another royal wedding in the offing? The London tabloids are buzzing this morning about Prince Harry's new girlfriend.
ROMANS: That was fast.
VELSHI: She is a lingerie model.
CHETRY: Of course she is.
VELSHI: Florence Brudenell-Bruce better known as Flee. I see how that makes sense. They were spotted together at a concert in London on Saturday. One report claims Flee told friends that I think I'm in love.
CHETRY: What happened to Pippa and Harry? They were together, his old girlfriend, Chelsea Davy. This one is too fast.
VELSHI: Well, her name is Flee. I don't know -- I'm out of my league on this one. Go ahead.
CHETRY: All right, well, Harry's brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were scheduled to arrive in California tomorrow. They are on a three-day visit to America.
First, they're going to be wrapping up their Tour of Canada today. They are in Calgary. World biographer Andrew Morton joins us live from Los Angeles. He wrote a book -- new book on the royal couple and of course, the famous book on Princess Diana as well.
Thanks for joining us this morning. So this will be Catherine's first trip to the states and it's also royal couple's first trip as husband and wife here to America. Tell us what you know about the timing and what the visit means?
ANDREW MORTON, AUTHOR, "WILLIAM & CATHERINE: THEIR STORY": Well, I broke the story a few weeks ago, my website. Basically, they are going to fly the flag for Britain and pass around the hat for their various charities.
So Prince William is going to play the polo match, they're going to a New Media conference, they're going to visit the homeless, and they're hosting a black tie dinner for BAFTAs, for the film industry.
CHETRY: Right, for British film industry, so it should be exciting. Now they're coming all this way, I guess you could say all this way, across the pond and they're only going to be in California.
Why is that?
MORTON: Well, California traditionally where the royal family goes. I was on the queen's visit and Prince Andrew's visit a few years ago. And it's a place where they like to raise money for their charities. Also because it's effectively a very affluent, very influential state. They can get hold of movers and shakers there.
CHETRY: I got you. And, you're right. They're going to be actually meeting Saturday with a bunch of celebs at the gala you mentioned. They're going to be meeting with Tom Hanks. Nicole Kidman will be there, as well. Compared to Charles and Diana --
MORTON: And Tom Hanks has got a new film that he's desperate to sell, as well. Sorry?
CHETRY: Right. I mean, a lot's been made of the fact that they're very down to earth, that they really mingle well with people and that they just sort of are a sensation wherever they go. So now they're going to be rubbing elbows with Hollywood's royalty, I guess you could say.
How do you expect that interaction to go?
MORTON: Well, it's very interesting, isn't it, that both William and Catherine have said that they didn't want to be celebrities and -- but I'm afraid they're being forced into it. In Canada they're being tremendously successful and I think that even in Hollywood, even these big stars in the Hollywood (INAUDIBLE) will be overall by meeting them.
CHETRY: You also wrote in your book, which is very interesting, a lot of the comparisons made between Diana and Catherine. You say she's a very different girl, that Catherine is somebody who is a lot more savvy and also had a very different relationship, an eight-year courtship, as opposed to the very short courtship with Prince Charles and Diana.
How else is Catherine different despite these comparisons?
MORTON: Well, I mean, when Diana did her first tour, just like this one, she was overwhelmed. She sat in the car and said -- she was crying her eyes out, she wanted to go back home and she -- this was in Australia. She arrived there a very ingenue, a young woman, very naive and she went back a very seasoned professional.
Well, it seems to me that Catherine already seems like a woman to the manor (INAUDIBLE), to the palace (INAUDIBLE), really. She's taken it all in her stride, seems to be loving it. And she's always given the impression of something like a swan. However nervous she may be feeling underneath, however fast she's paddling, she always seems very poised and very in control.
CHETRY: Yes. She certainly held it together on her wedding day. A lot of people marveled at how she looked calmer than William even.
Why do they refer Catherine and Pippa as the Wisteria Sisters?
MORTON: Well that's a phrase coined by sort of a snobs bible in Britain, basically saying that they were fragrant social climbing and very delicate, they were ambitious for their future, hence the conversations and the speculation about Pippa and Prince Harry. But it seems, as you mentioned earlier, with flea around, that's a flea in Pippa's ear because there's going to be no Hollywood ending between the best man and the maid of honor.
CHETRY: Well, is there anything to that Harry romance? Or is it any time they show up publicly with anybody they're a couple?
MORTON: Well, that's exactly it. I mean, Harry is now the world's most eligible bachelor. The number of people I've spoken to said we want him to stay eligible because he's so -- such great fun. And he's playing the field. He's enjoying himself.
CHETRY: All right.
MORTON: Wouldn't you?
CHETRY: He's a young lad, he deserves that. Sure. Andrew Morton, thanks so much. He's out and about with a new book, by the way, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The book is called "William and Catherine: Their Story."
Thanks so much for joining us this morning. Great to get your take, Andrew.
Also be sure to follow the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their tour of Los Angeles. Special live coverage of the royals in American all this weekend on CNN.
VELSHI: I don't know why you didn't ask him why she's called flea? That's all I was waiting for. What is she called flea?
ROMANS: It has to do with her name. Florence something or something. Florence la, la, la, la, la something.
VELSHI: I thought that was excellent. He has a lot of information about a lot of things but I couldn't even concentrate.
CHETRY: We're going to find that out for you because that's going to bug you all day.
VELSHI: It is going to bug me.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to find out why she's called flea, but that's not our question of the day. The question of the day has to do with the story that just keeps on developing. Casey Anthony. We want to know what you think should happen to her now. The context of this is in about an hour and 10 minutes, she's going to have her sentencing hearing.
CHETRY: That's right, 9:00 this morning.
ROMANS: No one's going to watch it.
CHETRY: And many say -- a lot of seasoned prosecutors and defense attorneys say it's going to be time served. She's already been in prison for more than three years.
VELSHI: She may walk out of prison?
ROMANS: But she does have -- some kind of a check conviction, right, for the 31 days so the judge can look at that when he makes this decision.
CHETRY: That's right. But we'll see because again, they would say that would be maybe about 18 months for the check cashing, for the fraudulent checks.
But we'll also wait and see because it is in an hour and we could be surprised like many were with the verdict in the first place.
So send us an e-mail, a tweet, tell us what you think on Facebook and we will read some of your e-mails a little bit later on the show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Fifty-one minutes after the hour. A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Casey Anthony could be an hour away from freedom. She returns to court in Florida this morning. Many expect the judge to sentence Anthony to time already served behind bars.
President Obama meets with leaders from both parties today to discuss raising the debt ceiling. CNN learning he's seeking $3 to $4 trillion in deficit cuts over the next decade with changes to Social Security and Medicare on the table.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, not off the hook yet. Prosecutors in New York say they're not ready to drop the sex assault case against the former IMF chief. Last week, the case began falling apart because of the accuser's credibility issues.
Jury selection underway in the Roger Clemens perjury trial. He's accused to lying to Congress about never using performance-enhancing drugs. Lawyers say other baseball greats like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa may be called to testify.
And a hearing is scheduled on the Atlanta schools cheating scandal. The superintendent will release his cheating review report at 11:00 this morning. State investigation found 178 teachers and principals charged -- changed wrong answers to boost school performance.
And, entertainment news. Beyonce's debut at number one with number four. Her latest album, Four, tops the Billboard chart even though it was leaked a few days early.
You're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Fifty-four minutes past of the hour. This morning, in a little less than an hour, we're going to hear a little bit more about what Casey Anthony's fate is. At 9:00 she is due to be sentenced with the only part she was found guilty on in the trial which was four counts of misdemeanor counts of false information.
VELSHI: Yes. A juror in the trial, one who was actually in on the deliberation has broken her silence about the verdict. Jennifer Ford says not guilty does not mean innocent.
ROMANS: That's right. Brings us to our question of the day.
What should happen to Casey Anthony now?
VELSHI: Jordan says on Facebook, "I'm concerned that a morbidly curious public will allow Casey to capitalize off the death of her daughter. Allowing her to make even a single cent from a book or movie deal is, in my opinion, deplorable. I know that personally I will boycott any publishers or advertisers that attempt to make money off Casey's infamy."
ROMANS: Paul on Facebook says, "I think she should be set free. She has already served three years for some very minor offenses. Forget all about her. Ask yourself this question: if this was me, what would I want to happen to me?"
CHETRY: Joseph on our blog says "They should pursue any other legal actions against her for lying. And we, the people, should boycott any books, interviews or any other money-making endeavor she embarks in."
VELSHI: Keep your comments coming. Tell us an e-mail, a Tweet, tell us on Facebook. We'll read more of your thoughts a little bit later.
ROMANS: OK. Ahead next hour, the man with the GOP budget plan, Congressman Paul Ryan. Tax hikes, changes to Medicare, maybe Social Security? What could be in the grand bargain when all sides meet today?
Back after a quick break. He'll be on this program. Five minutes until the top of the hour.
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