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American Morning
Fighting Continues in Libya; Parliament Summons News Corp Execs; Debt Limit Talks Turn Tense; America's Credit Rating on Notice; One Pill with Potential to Prevent AIDS
Aired July 14, 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: Tempers boil in the most intense round of debt talks yet. The president squaring off with House majority leader, Eric Cantor, before shutting the entire heated negotiations down last night. Spin wars are under way. We're live with the fiery debate on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. It is Thursday, July 14th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Christine is off today. We have a lot going on, so let's get right to it.
We're still talking about Washington and whether or not the high stakes are going to change anything. The pressure is building and tempers are flaring over the raising of the debt ceiling. They still can't get that hammered out, and we're about 20 days away from the treasury's deadline. President Obama will meet again today with Congressional leaders for another round of negotiations. They abruptly ended yesterday. Republicans reporting that the president stormed out of the talks.
VELSHI: This morning, a Democratic sources telling CNN that President Obama shut down the meeting after House majority leader, Eric Cantor, continued to push for a short-term deal, not a permanent deal. That is something the president very clearly opposes. That's when sources say the president got agitated saying, quote, "this could bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this." And then he added, talking to Eric Cantor, "Eric, don't call my bluff. I'm going to the American people with this."
CHETRY: Let's go live now to Dan Lothian at the White House. Dan, differing accounts of what exactly happened. Cantor saying the president stormed out of that meeting. What's the White House saying?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, Democrats, the White House, saying that the president did not storm out of the meeting. But he was agitated because he believes Cantor and other Republicans are using these debt talks for political gains.
And, you know, what's interesting is that here we are on day five of meetings with the Congressional leaders, and everyone certainly expected that with -- what's at stake here, what the Treasury Department has been talking about, about what will happen if the debt ceiling is not raised, that there would have been more progress than we have seen so far.
But this confrontation, we are told by Democratic officials familiar with the talks, happened when Mr. Cantor suggested these series of short-term deals -- this would be the reversal of position he held for several months. And the president has been opposed to these short- term deals. He made that clear and also said he would veto it. So a frustration inside that room and the president saying that, you know, what's happening inside in a room sort confirms the worst that Americans feel about Washington.
CHETRY: So are they getting anywhere? According to Cantor last night's meeting erased any progress they've made so far, which, of course is the last thing many want to hear.
LOTHIAN: Well, look, by all accounts no significant progress here. Both sides pointing the finger at each other saying that, you know, Republicans or Democrats, unwilling to compromise. The sticking point continues to be how do you get to the revenue side of this, you know. Democrats saying you have to be able to raise the taxes on wealthy Americans in order to get the revenue. Republicans saying no, the way to get revenue is to make the economy better and do job creation.
There is some optimism that when -- at least among Democrats when they return to the table today that the tone will be much different than it was yesterday. The hope of course that they can make some progress.
VELSHI: Dan, any sense that -- that they are going to do something substantially different? Could that have been a breaking point? It's kind of the question we're asking our viewers today, but could what have happened last night be a breaking point where everybody has to come back and say, all right, clearly this is not getting anywhere?
LOTHIAN: Look, as you know, sometimes in negotiations you have to be get to that point where there is a lot of frustration, where people essentially storm out of a room, if in fact that's what happened. And then you come back to the table and say, OK, we have gotten this out of our system. Now let's get serious about this.
Because I think one thing that everyone has in common here, both Republicans and Democrats for the most part is that they do understand that there will be a whole series of things that would negatively impact the economy and Americans who are out there struggling. And so that's one thing they have in common. So there's the hope they can build from that today. Yesterday they focused on $1.5 trillion in cuts where they had some agreements. They hope to continue focusing on those cuts today.
VELSHI: All right, Dan, we will follow it closely with you today. Dan Lothian at the White House for us.
So much uncertainty over the deal. The August 2 deadline is approaching. The credit rating agency Moody's putting America's AAA rating on notice for possible downgrade. We've heard it. What does it mean? CHETRY: Well, AAA rating is like having the best credit score. And because we have it, we are able to borrow money at the lowest cost. It also means that there is almost no chance the credit agencies believe the government would default on its debt.
VELSHI: Now, double-a rating or anything lower than triple-a rate sing like having a good credit score. It's more expensive to borrow and that means there is an increased risk of default. But that actually has an impact on you whether or not you have anything to do with the government.
CHETRY: That's right. So let's bring in our business news correspondent Felicia Taylor. When we talk about that, the implication of this threat being downgraded to a rating that we've enjoyed for the beginning of time, it seems.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Since the beginning of the century.
CHETRY: Since the beginning of the century.
VELSHI: Yes, 1917.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Time flies when you are having fun. So what happens when you get downgraded?
TAYLOR: Well, what we heard Dan Lothian say there is no significant progress. And what Moody's is saying, and they warned us back in June that this was possibility that they would officially downgrade the United States' credit rating. What this means is that they are watching us, they are looking at the fact we are not making any progress. And that's a concern, because what it means is that we aren't able to clean up our own mess. And they are saying to Washington get it done. It is time. It has to be done.
If we were to see a downgrade, it makes government borrowing more expensive. It makes businesses more expensive to borrow money. And that means the 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, everything gets more hit in the sense that equity markets have a sell-off and it will be a reverberation around the world.
VELSHI: That's a good way to think about it, because two things happen. One is it could affect your earnings on your stocks. But on the other side, we talk about the government not borrowing more or making more expensive, but that trickles down. If the government's cost of borrowing goes up, that could affect people taking mortgages and car loans, business loans, student loans.
TAYLOR: It gets more expensive for everybody. If the government is spending more money, because we are riskier at that point. We as a government become a riskier investment for those around the world that buy our debt. So if the government gets more expensive we get more expensive in terms of whatever debt we have. It is the same thing as a credit card. If you don't pay your credit card on time, you get penalized. The same thing will happen to the U.S. government. It's exactly the same idea on a much grander scale.
And everybody is watching us. Why can't Washington get this done? The longer it takes, the more repercussions it's going to have. Interestingly enough in the overnight markets, there isn't that much of a reaction. But that's because nobody really believes that the U.S. government is going to actually have a default. But there is a flight to safety. Gold is flirting again with all-time highs -- all- time highs. It's about $1,594 right now, which is interesting. So people are hedging their bets just in case this continues to play out in Washington.
VELSHI: All right, Felicia, thank you for that. We will be talking a lot about this over the course of the in next two weeks. Felicia Taylor.
CHETRY: Thank you.
Now to a CNN exclusive. A CNN crew caught in the crossfire fighting in Libya ended up in a middle of the town the rebels lost and then regained in a five-hour fire fight.
VELSHI: This team was lucky to get out of there. Take a look at what Ben Wedeman and his crew went through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys, wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait! Wait!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Calm down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are leaving this area. There's gunfire all around us. And we believe that Gadhafi's forces are doing a roundabout movement. So we are rushing out of this area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: You know, we have seen Ben covering these North African unrest in various places for a long time, never seen a look like that on his face.
CHETRY: No. Terrifying moments. Everyone is OK, though, thank goodness. And Ben Wedeman joins us live now from Libya. So as we saw on tape, a very close call. What happened that we didn't see on tape? What was going on when that happened?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Essentially what we know from our drivers that went to an adjacent hill just to look down is that there were several carloads full of Libyan soldiers who had just entered the area. And, of course, they were the source of that gunfire.
The rebel forces in that area had more or less disappeared. There were just two or three young men maybe in their late teens with machine guns in the area. We don't know what happened to them after we left.
And this was, of course, the beginning of a long battle around the town of Goanish (ph) which that day, that morning had been taken by Libyan forces. And it was just later in the afternoon that many sort of hundreds of fighters from this town arrived in Goanish (ph). They had this battle involving are mortars, rockets, and a lot of small arms fire. And they managed to retake the town and they are now further on the way on the way, on the road that leads to this strategic highway that links southern Libya with Tripoli.
VELSHI: Ben, this has fallen off some people's radar. So give us a sense of how it is that the rebels are able to do that, particularly in western Libya, which tends to be a stronghold of Gadhafi forces. How is it these rebels are making these advances?
WEDEMAN: There has been an ongoing battle in this part of the country now for three or four months. What they started off was really fighting Gadhafi's forces with hunting rifles and things like that. And gradually they have been able to capture more and more weapons from the enemy. They have taken over several arms depots, so they have a handful of tanks, armored personnel carriers. And they are moving ahead.
Unlike other parts of Libya, they are gaining ground. But it is very slow, it's very painful. It comes at a high cost. Yesterday in that battle, eight rebel fighters were killed, more than 30 were wounded. But they have by dogged determination managed to gain this ground. And of course, they are defending their homes.
And so any time word comes -- goes out. And of course, cell phones don't work in this area, but they hear that Gadhafi's forces are moving in their direction. And then really by word of mouth, people go back and tell their friends, let's go to the front, grab your weapons, and we need to push them back. And that's essentially what happened in this area yesterday.
VELSHI: Sounds like stories you read about the American Civil War and how that happened, people would call up and say let's get involved in this particular push. Hey, Ben, we're glad you and your crew are safe because you brought us such good reporting on this, and plus we like you anyway. But continued good wishes to your crowd, and stay out of as much danger as possible.
CHETRY: All right, Ben, thanks so much. Still to come this morning, it's a pill that could make AIDS disappear in a few generations. Doctors talking about a major breakthrough in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
VELSHI: And Scotland Yard announcing a new arrest this morning in the News Corporation phone hacking scandal. We are going to go live to London to get the latest developments.
CHETRY: Also the debt talks rocking tempers, making ultimatums, and no deal in sight. Can lawmakers come together before this August 2 deadline? We are going to ask Republican Jim Jordan. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 11 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 14 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Did News Corp reporters in Britain break any privacy or corruption laws here in the United States? Five U.S. lawmakers want find out, and they are calling on the Justice Department to investigate reporter tactics at Rupert Murdoch publications not only for alleged phone hacking a privacy violations that may have involved 9/11 victims, but also for possible violations of foreign corruption laws.
Here are the lawmakers leading the charge. One of them is a Republican, Congressman Peter King of New York. Among the four Democrats, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: They have no right to break the law if they are an American corporation. And it wouldn't matter if they were selling tires or selling news or what have you. Those are the rules. Those are the laws that we have to obey them
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Right now, we are getting reports Scotland Yard's made an arrest in connection with the News Corp phone hacking scandal. London's top police officer will be in the hot seat today.
Dan Rivers is in London. He's following it for us.
What's the implication of the new development? There's been an arrest. Who have they arrested?
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it just builds the picture of this police investigation, sort of closing in on anyone they think knew about the phone hack, even if they were associated with the paper, you know, seven, eight years ago. As this deputy editor who we understand is being arrested was.
There's been some other important developments in the last few minutes as well. And -- the three main figures at the center of all of this, Rupert Murdoch, his son James Murdoch, and Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive, were asked to come and appear before a committee here at the House of Commons.
Now, we have been told the last few minutes that Rebekah Brooks, the chief exec, will attend. But Rupert Murdoch will not. And James Murdoch has said he can't attend on the date that they've asked him but could attend at a later point in August.
And now, as a result of that, that committee has issued a summons for Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch trying to force them to turn up on Tuesday. Now, they can't really do much about the fact that they don't want to come because both of those individuals are American. And therefore, they have no real power to compel them to turn up.
But it's a real escalation in this. The fact that they dispatched, as they say, the sergeant at arms, or deputy sergeant at arms, which is the kind of security apparatus of the House of Commons, to go and deliver this summons to the Murdochs, saying, look, you got to come and you must come and explain yourself before this committee. It's pretty sensational turn of events.
VELSHI: All right. Dan, we'll continue to watch it. There do seem to be new developments in this every few hours. It seems.
All right. Dan Rivers for us in London.
CHETRY: Well, still to come, a special treat here on AMERICAN MORNING. The U.S. women's soccer team punching its ticket to the World Cup final with a victory over France. Our resident soccer guru took in a match with some of the team USA faithful here at home. So, we are going to talk about soccer.
We haven't seen this much excitement since they won in 1999.
VELSHI: That's going to be good. And the final is on Sunday.
Dustup during debt limit negotiations, President Obama warmed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in his words, "Don't call my bluff." That brings us to our question of the day. Has this heated-up rhetoric done anything to help solve the debt debate?
We want to know what you think. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, let us know on Facebook. We are reading your comments throughout the show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Minding your business this morning.
Investors shifting their focus away from Europe and back to Washington today. That's after Moody's warned that if debt talks fail in the U.S., it could downgrade the U.S.' credit rating from perfect to less than perfect. U.S. stock futures are trading pretty flat on that news right now.
The Dow and NASDAQ and S&P 500 all snapped to three-day losing streak yesterday but gains were muted after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed could be open to providing further stimulus into the economy. That injected more uncertainty into already uncertain markets.
And the Fed chief heads back to Capitol Hill today. He speaks in front of the Senate Banking Committee about 30 minutes after the opening bell. That's 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
A new report says there were about 30 percent fewer foreclosures in the first half of this year than in the first half of last year. Here's the catch. RealtyTrac study says that as many as a million foreclosures that should happen this year are being pushed back. They are being delayed until 2012. So, in reality, many more homeowners are dealing with foreclosures or might be soon.
And this just in: oil giant con company ConocoPhillips is splitting up. The company just announced that it is pursuing plans to separate into two separate companies. One is focused on oil exploration and the other on refining and marketing. Both of them will be publicly traded.
If you're thirsty for Miller Lite and you live in Minnesota, you better stock up. The state government shutdown came before Miller Coors Brewing Company could review its brand label registration in the state. So, the company is being forced to pull its 39 brands from all restaurants, bars, and liquor stores.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNMoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: What did I tell you, came out this morning --
CHETRY: You said it was downright cold.
VELSHI: I could have used a jacket. Of course, I have a jacket, and a vest.
CHETRY: You could have used a second vest. It was 66 degrees, which it is right now and sunny. A little bit later, though, you can remove at least one of your vests, Ali. I think it's going up to a high of 83 here in the city. It's actually going to feel great for a July day because there are still many parts of the South, places that are dealing with triple digit heat for what's been going on for, what, 10 days in someplace.
VELSHI: Well, I'll tell you -- when do I remove the first vest, the one underneath it, is going to say USA in honor of the U.S. women's soccer team. Big splash for them. Big win.
CHETRY: Three to one. There were concerns -- were they going to be tired after their big long game against Brazil. But nope. They scored another dramatic victory. This time over France in the World Cup semifinals. They advance to the championship match.
They are going to be playing Japan Sunday afternoon. It's in Frankfurt, Germany. The U.S. women have never lost to Japan.
So, what did you say before? They had a really good record when it came to beating France.
VELSHI: All right. Let's go over to Roth, by the way.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You haven't introduced me.
CHETRY: Richard Roth.
ROTH: I'm asleep in the studio here.
CHETRY: Richard Roth, our resident expert on all things from the United Nations to World Cup soccer.
ROTH: Anything international, except certain food delicacies.
What did I say? Look, I thought they were going to lose, even though I was forced to make a prediction on the air from one of our sister channels.
CHETRY: We didn't do that to you.
ROTH: No, I said the U.S. would win, one-nothing. But it was a struggle. They had a struggle but suffering -- that's what I said yesterday. That's the essence of soccer.
Now, I happened to be talking to some fans at the moment that the key goal, when the close tie --
VELSHI: Coincidentally.
ROTH: You never get that luck. Usually, you are lucky if the camera is on fans when the goal is scored for that moment of eruption. Let's take a look as I watched in the Australian bar in Manhattan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: What's your reaction if -- it is a goal. It is a U.S. goal.
(CHEERS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: USA! USA! USA!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: And there was also a French man in the crowd who wasn't as happy. But he was a little giddy because really France had the U.S. on the ropes and then it was Abby Wambach, the captain, a big header at the far post.
And then we also have video of the fans watching the third goal. Two goals came and with about 14 minutes left -- I mean, it could have gone either way again. That's the actual goal. We're not allowed to show the goals actually when people are watching. You can't show the monitors. That's the magic world of million-dollar of TV contracts.
But after all of these goals, I did ask the fans their reaction to the U.S. win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought in it was an incredible match. The U.S. seemed a little bit nervous. But it seems like they are here. They are ready to play. And it's time for a victory.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we've been underdog for a while. I think everyone is expecting Germany to win. And then when they kind of crumbled under the pressure, they said, oh, wow, this U.S. team really has some heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: That woman, Natalie Smith, draped by the U.S. flag, was flying to Germany already whether the U.S. won or lost. She's there.
CHETRY: Oh, wow. It's is going to be in Frankfurt on Sunday.
VELSHI: On Sunday.
ROTH: On Sunday.
CHETRY: It's just exciting.
VELSHI: Do you want to make a prediction here or you want to wait for the other --
ROTH: I'll wait. I'll wait until the morning of the match.
VELSHI: But if you were a bookmaker --
ROTH: The U.S. is favored. They beat an Asian team, China in 1999. These games could go either way. Hope Solo, the goalie, made almost a major bobble, gave the ball back. There was French shot that hit the post.
CHETRY: Now, you talk a lot about whether or not soccer, you know, rages on here on the United States, why it's so popular around the world and here it doesn't catch on as much. After 1999, that women's team winning, I mean, Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, all of them, they were heroes. I mean, they inspired a lot of young girls to get into soccer.
ROTH: Yet, I believe a women's professional league failed. And I don't think there's a team in the New York market here. It's western New York. It's always that four-year cycle.
But because of demographics, because of events like this, it's a slow process. I think maybe 40 years from now, they will do be doing why is baseball so popular, which is still a good sport.
VELSHI: What do you remember the most about the winning goal in 1999?
CHETRY: I remember when Brandi Chastain ripped off her jersey, spun it around, threw it and went like this. You know --
VELSHI: Yes, I just wanted you to recount the story.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: We are going to be talking to some members of the team later on.
CHETRY: I love this. Hope Solo, the -- incredible goalie. She's trending on Twitter. The hash tag Mary me hope solo was one of the trends on Twitter yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said she doesn't mind if it is her appearance, whatever it takes to gets fans on the bandwagon. What do you remember most, by the way, about the 1999 World Cup?
CHETRY: It was the part where --
VELSHI: Is this the end of the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in a struggle with the producers whether to bring it on or not.
VELSHI: I did a good vuvuzella. Tweet me if you want me more vuvuzella out of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, tweet me if you don't want it.
CHETRY: Tweet me if you want Ali to re-enact Brandi Chastain's victory moment.
VELSHI: With my vest.
CHETRY: Go back to sleep now under the desk. It was his joke. All right, 31 minutes past the hour right now.
Five U.S. lawmakers are asking the Justice Department to investigate News Corp. They want to know if Rupert Murdoch's reporters broke any American laws.
Not only for alleged phone hacking and privacy violations that may involve 9/11 victims, but also for possible violations of what's known as American Foreign Corrupt Practices Laws.
VELSHI: I kept saying you hold on about those before this discussion started. Attentions over the debt ceiling are red hot as President Obama and congressional leaders resume talks this afternoon.
Yesterday, the president abruptly ended negotiations after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor continued to call for a short-term extension on the debt ceiling. Something the president has said he would veto all along.
CHETRY: And right now, the stakes could not be higher. Moody's is putting America's AAA credit rating on review hinting at a possible downgrade.
The credit rating agency said it is worried that Congress will not raise the nation's debt ceiling before the country defaults on some interest payments.
VELSHI: With no debt deal in sight and the August 2nd deadline approaching, the only solution may be for both sides to bite the bullet and come up with a solution that no one likes. But are they prepared to do it?
Joining me now live from Capitol Hill is Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee. He also wrote an op-ed in yesterday's "USA Today" calling for a balanced budget amendment to the constitution.
Representative Jordan, good to see you. Thank you for being with us.
REPRESENTATIVE JIM JORDAN (R), OHIO, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE: Good to be with you this morning.
VELSHI: Well, handicap this for me. You have been hearing the same news we have been hearing about a hostile end to the fourth day of talks yesterday. We do have a fifth day of talks scheduled today starting this afternoon. Is it as bad as it sounded?
JORDAN: Probably. I mean, no one really knows where this is going to wind up. What I do know is if we don't do some bold dramatic things, this country is headed for a Greek style debt crisis in the next two to three years.
Virtually consensus now exists among economists that that's where we are headed. So we are advocating as we pointed out in our op-ed yesterday we're advocating that take this rare opportunity to fundamentally change things and for the first time in American history require a balanced budget amendment to the constitution and get it passed the House and Senate and get it out to the states for ratification. Fundamentally change things.
VELSHI: Let's talk about that in a minute. I do have to tell you, I am the chief business correspondent when you say things like there is consensus amongst economists that we're headed towards a Greek style situation. There really isn't, but I get your point that it is serious. Let's just talk --
JORDAN: It's very serious. David Walker says it, the former comptroller general.
VELSHI: We are actually on the same page. There are a lot of reasons why we are not in Greece. Let's talk about August 3rd for a second because there's a lot of discussion about what actually happens if we don't raise the debt ceiling. I just want to put this to you. This comes from the bipartisan policy center that this government because it runs in debt doesn't have a whole lot of extra pocket change. So on August 3rd, money comes in is about $12 billion.
The Social Security payments alone do that day are $23 billion as a total of $32 billion due that day. Are you OK with being in that position? Whether or not you completely agree with that math, are you comfortable with being in that position?
JORDAN: Look, is there going to be political -- some uncomfort politically speaking? Certainly, there's going to be that, but is it a default? No. There will be enough money there to in fact meet bond obligations and meet the debt holders. There have to be priorities and decisions made.
We understand that, but again, keep your eye on the ball. The ball is the big problem that's coming. Again, everyone knows we are headed for real problems. You cannot sustain the model we're on, the spending model we're on.
So while I don't want a problem to come here on August 3rd, ideally we get the right things put in place to -- so we don't have a problem August 3rd and we make sure we don't have a big problem coming in two, three years. I would rather have a problem now rather than risk not putting --
VELSHI: So what do you think about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's suggestion that would essentially allow the president to raise the debt ceiling kind in installments without actually attaching it to the spending cuts that you and your fellow conservative Republicans want?
JORDAN: Look, I think in many ways that punts the ball and we -- we have given -- give all the authority to the president. I just don't like the senate minority leader's plan. I think most Americans don't like it.
What's wrong with saying we need to cut spending, we need to cap it as the percentage of GDP going forward and let's use this opportunity to -- leverage we have here to get a balanced budget amendment.
You know, it's interesting. The one entity that doesn't have a balanced budget requirement is the one -- the one that has the $14 trillion debt. Everyone else has to do that. Why not do that?
VELSHI: I want the viewers to understand what we are talking about here. Most all states have a balanced budget amendment. The federal government has one difference and that is it can issue bonds and it can borrow money.
What do you want -- when you say up want a balanced budget amendment, this is a constitutional amendment. So this is not just a deal you can get out of the president. What sit you are looking for?
JORDAN: We want a balanced budget amendment passed through the House and the Senate. Obviously, it will take 38 states to ratify and we think that will happen. We think the fact there's conservatives all over this country that sent us here to do these things.
They are going to go out and work the state legislatures and get it passed in the state. It will take time, but it's never happened in American history where it passed both the Houses. It is always interesting and requires a supermajority vote in both bodies.
There always seems to be 66 votes in the Senate. They never quite get the 67th vote. So let's use this opportunity to say no, now we need to pass this and send it to the states and fundamentally change things.
VELSHI: Representative Jordan, I have 30 seconds and I want to show you a poll, a Gallup poll, that says most Republicans are OK with some tax - 68 percent said they are OK with some tax increases. Only 26 percent of Republicans say they only want spending cuts. What do you think?
JORDAN: Well, I mean, look, we want our economy to grow. You don't tax the job creators and small business owners out there. We are not going to raise taxes. That's just a nonstarter with Republicans. We think -- we think it hurts economic growth.
VELSHI: Even this poll showing a lot of Republicans would be OK with some, some --
JORDAN: Yes.
VELSHI: That might mean some tax increases, closing loopholes, eliminating credit.
JORDAN: We are not going to raise taxes. We think that hurts the economy.
VELSHI: OK, Jim Jordan, thanks very much for coming out and talking to us. We appreciate it. Jim Jordan is the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, which is a group of Republicans, conservative Republicans, in the House.
We want to know what you think the House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, part of that group of -- discussing these things at the White House says that President Obama yesterday afternoon warned him to, quote, "not to call his bluff."
The president then said, there was too much posturing and positioning and he then stood up and abruptly left the meeting saying enough is enough.
CHETRY: We want to know, will it help solve the debt debate? The president getting tough. E-mail us. Give us a tweet and tell us Facebook. We will be reading through some of your comments in just a couple of minutes. Also later today, lawmakers on --
VELSHI: I don't think congressmen would have bats around each other today. CHETRY: Well, they are going to come out swinging. Today is the 50th annual Congressional Baseball Game at the Nationals Park. Now Republicans lead the all-time series, 38-34.
Democrats have won the past two games. All of the money raised today goes to charity. Bat out some of their frustrations and not take them out on each other.
VELSHI: All right, first, Mila now Justine, a female Marine is firing off her own shot in the dark inviting superstar Justin Timberlake to the Marine Corps ball. Do the right thing, Justin. Jeanne moos is all over this story. Coming up next. You can't miss this.
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VELSHI: You should be working this story.
CHETRY: Why?
VELSHI: Because you are so negative about it.
CHETRY: I'm negative about it because I don't believe and I didn't believe that Mila Kunis would actually take up this Marine on his offer.
VELSHI: You don't believe in love?
CHETRY: Well, I do believe in love. I just don't know if this was love. One marine has started a trend on the web when he asked Mila Kunis on a YouTube posting if she would go to the Marine Ball with him. First, she said yes and then she said actually I have other plans.
VELSHI: It's unclear what she said, but now a fellow Marine, another Marine has followed in that one's footsteps and is hoping for an act of patriotism from Justin Timberlake. Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This female Marine is asking Justin Timberlake out on a date hoping to take his own advice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it for your country.
MOOS: That's what Timberlake told his co-star, Mila Kunis, after a male Marine stationed in Afghanistan tilted his shades and asked Mila out via YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to take a moment out of my day to invite to you the Marine Corps Ball on November 18 in Greenville, North Carolina with yours truly. Take a second and get back to me.
MOOS: Now chances are the last time Mila Kunis was asked out on a semi blind date is when CNN's own Wolf Blitzer invited her to the White House Correspondents Dinner. Wolf is more famous than Sergeant Scott Moore. The sergeant had Justin Timberlake on his side during a Fox News interview.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This needs to go down. This needs to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it for your country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will do it for you.
MOOS: Yes, well, you do it for your country, Justin Timberlake because now this Marine wants you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justin, you want to call out my girl, Mila? I'm going to call you out and ask you to come to the Marine Corps Ball with me on November 12 in Washington, D.C.
MOOS: Corporal Kelsey Desantis (ph) is the only female Marine in the Martial Arts for Excellence in Quantico. She is an instructor with a black belt and sometimes does cage fights.
Kelsey is a fan of Timberlake. She got the idea to invite him to the Marine Corps Ball after seeing him so enthusiastically tell Mila Kunis to go, her friends set up a Facebook page called let's get Justin Timberlake to the Marine Corps Ball with Kelsey complete with an array of photos so impressive, well, how could Timberlake tell her to go jump in a lake or even a river?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can't go, all I have to say is cry me a river.
MOOS: The corporal has a tattoo, too. It's just the one we can see. When we asked the friend who helped set up the Facebook page, whether Kelsey could kick Justin Timberlake's butt is he turned her down. She said yes, for sure, this Marine isn't looking for a few good men, just one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it for your country.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Upping the ante. So what is your prediction? Is he going to go?
VELSHI: I believe in love.
CHETRY: This isn't love. They want to go to dance together. Is he going to say yes?
VELSHI: I don't know. No expert on these things. Just report them.
CHETRY: All right. Well, switching gears now. Scientists reporting a breakthrough in HIV prevention. They say if you take a bill daily, it may keep an uninfected person from catching HIV. This could be huge in places where the spread of HIV is rampant. We are talking to one of the study's doctors just ahead. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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VELSHI: Forty-seven minutes after the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
Several U.S. lawmakers are asking the Justice Department to investigate News Corp. Rupert Murdoch's reporters allegedly hacked the phones of 9/11 victims and bribed law enforcement officials, and congressional leaders want to find out if American laws broken.
Today President Obama and congressional leaders will sit down for a fifth straight day of debt talks. Yesterday's negotiations ended on a tense note with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor saying the president shut down discussions after he proposed a short-term deal.
And because of the lack of progress when it comes to raising the debt ceiling the credit rating agency Moody put American's AAA rating on a review for a downgrade.
How are markets reacting to that? Right now, U.S. futures are trading pretty flat but many of the world's major stock markets closing lower on that news.
R&B singer R. Kelly is having some trouble paying his bills. Records show that a foreclosure filing has been issued for his $2.9 million home Outside Chicago.
And we're counting down to this morning's primetime Emmy nomination hosted by Joshua Jackson and Melissa McCarthy. They take place an hour from now and you can see them live, right here on AMERICAN MORNING
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
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CHETRY: Fifty minutes past the hour now.
One pill that has the potential to prevent AIDS. Health officials say that two studies in Africa show that it can reduce the transmission of HIV by as much as three-quarters, 75 percent, among heterosexual couples.
Joining us with more on the breakthrough is Dr. Jonathan Mermin. He's the director of the CDC's division of HIV/AIDS and Prevention.
Thanks so much for being with us this morning.
DR. JONATHAN MERMIN, DIRECTOR, CDC'S DIVISION OF HIV/AIDS PREVENTION: Great to be here on here on the show.
CHETRY: So just tell us in a nutshell exactly how this treatment is used, because you're talking about medication that's already given to people who have a diagnosis of HIV, correct?
Yes. So after 30 years of the worst pandemic of our time, we now have encouraging news where taking drugs that are normally used for treating people with HIV can now help people avoid getting HIV. And that's good reason for people to wake up this morning with a bit more hope than they did yesterday.
I should say that it's not time for people to throw away their condoms and good judgment. A 60 percent to 70 percent reduction in acquisition, which is what was found in these studies is important. But no single intervention is going to stop the HIV epidemic.
CHETRY: And just to talk about a couple of aspects of this. First of all, you have to get people to be willing to take medication when they don't have a diagnosis.
How does that work? How would this program be implemented?
MERMIN: Well, it's important for us to determine when, how, and among whom these drugs would be most effective. We have to look at the data that's currently available and develop guidance for practitioners and for people about when they know they're at high risk for HIV infection.
There are tens of thousands of heterosexual couples in the United States where one person has HIV and the other doesn't. And not transmitting HIV to the negative spouse is a daily concern for these people.
CHETRY: Right. You also say this is particularly good news for women.
Why is that?
MERMIN: Well, most of the current methods for reducing the chance that one would get HIV, like condoms, require male involvement and taking a pill doesn't. So this is one of the few methods that we have that are women-centered.
CHETRY: You're saying you don't have to rely on your partner to use a condo condom, that you are able to sort of control that by yourself by what you're taking?
MERMIN: Yes.
CHETRY: A couple of questions. Is it costly? I mean, these HIV/AIDS medications are not cheap. And also, what about side effects?
MERMIN: HIV drugs are expensive. In the United States this pill costs about $6,000 per year. And determining ways to reduce the cost will increase access to this potentially life-saving intervention. However, the lifetime treatment cost for a person with HIV is almost $400,000. So most effective prevention is either cost effective or cost saving.
CHETRY: Just to give people a perspective, around 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV right now. The majority of the cases in Africa and in Asian countries. A lot of people are wondering, does this breakthrough in prevention put us on the path, perhaps, to a vaccine? Something that perhaps could be easier to distribute to people around the world?
MERMIN: Well it's certainly a helpful addition to the pipeline of interventions we have. In addition to condoms and avoiding sex that has a chance of transmitting HIV and HIV testing, we now have treatment both for people with HIV and now for people who don't have HIV to help them avoid getting the virus.
Currently there's no vaccine available that is highly effective and safe and there's no cure for HIV available to people in the United States or the rest of the world. But it's -- this is a step in right direction for turning the tide on the HIV epidemic.
CHETRY: One other question I have for you. The CDC study and the University of Washington study both focused on heterosexual couples. Now, for gay or bisexual companies, you have men having sex with men, accounting for 53 percent of all new HIV infections here in the United States.
Would this treatment work for them as well?
MERMIN: Yes, it would. In fact, there was a study presented earlier this year among gay and bisexual man that showed a 44 percent reduction in risk of acquisition. And the CDC developed some helped interim guidance to help make decisions for guy and bisexual men who, as you said, make up a little over half of the people with HIV in the nation and many of whom continue at high risk.
So this is a potential intervention for them and for heterosexual couples. And CDC's purpose is to help all Americans live longer, healthier lives and this is one step in that direction, a new HIV prevention tool.
CHETRY: Certainly promising news.
Thanks so much for joining us to explain it a little bit more.
Dr. Jonathan Mermin, the director of the CDC's division of AIDS -- HIV and AIDS Prevention. Appreciate it.
MERMIN: It was my pleasure to be on the show.
VELSHI: All right. Now, to our question of the day about the showdown that's going on at the White House, the budget debate President Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt limit meeting with congressional leaders yesterday, warning House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, quote, this is what he said he told him, "Eric, don't call my bluff."
We want to know, is this tough stance by the president saying that he's going to be uncompromising at this point, are they going to help solve the debt debate?
Here are some of your responses.
Jeff on Facebook says, "I think we should fire all of them. I think they forget sometimes they work for us."
CHETRY: Shelley (ph) writes, "No, shame on him. For those of us who voted for him, the last few days have been surreal. What is wrong with him? Scaring seniors and now this. Just when time is of the essence and coming to an agreement is paramount. Shame."
So there's a lot of frustration. Most of our e-mailers actually blaming Republicans. There were a couple blaming both sides and the president, as well.
But people are pretty angry about the fact that this is continuing to drag on and that there doesn't seem to be any room for compromise.
VELSHI: And there's still 20 days to go of people getting angrier. remember.
All right. Your top stories after the break. Stay with us. It's 55 minutes after the hour.
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