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American Morning
America's Credit Rating on Notice; Obama & GOP Get Tense in Talks; Getting America Working; Teen Sexting Crackdown In Rhode Island; ConocoPhillips Splitting Up; Hacking Scandal Hits American's Shores
Aired July 14, 2011 - 07:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. An ominous new warning as tensions flare during debt talks.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
The credit rating agency Moody's, putting America's top-notch credit rating on notice. We'll tell you what it means for your money.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And under fire in Libya.
I'm Ali Velshi.
The most riveting video you will see guaranteed. Our own Ben Wedeman and his crew caught in the middle of a tense fight for a town in Libya. Fear on their faces and the foot on the pedal. All of that on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: And good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us on this Thursday. It is July 14th. I'm Kiran Chetry. Ali Velshi's with me. Christine is taking a well-deserved vacation.
VELSHI: She is missing a lot of news, though. There is a lot going on and this one is going to affect you.
The federal government's credit rating is on notice. Moody's Investor Service, one of the credit rating agencies, is moving closer to a unprecedented downgrade of the U.S.' debt. And this is obviously amid the deteriorating talks in Washington. President Obama abruptly walking out of a key meeting with Republicans late yesterday.
CHETRY: Yes. Let's bring in right now our business news correspondent Felicia Taylor, about the implications of this threat.
So when we talk about the AAA credit rating, it means we can borrow money cheaper. It means that we're good for it and it's helpful, not only for the government obviously, but for businesses and individuals.
So what does this mean if they actually go through with this threat?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, if we were to downgrade, what that means is that borrowing gets more expensive not only for government, but for also small businesses. That has a trickle down effect to basically everybody. Think about it like your credit card. If you don't pay your credit card on time, fees go up, you get a penalty charge.
Exactly the same thing is going to happen to individuals and small businesses as well as the government. So this is a very serious threat. Keep in mind, nobody actually believes that the government is going to have this -- miss this deadline on August 2nd, but any time between now and August 2nd, Moody's or any of the other rating services could put this official notice as a downgrade.
VELSHI: As you were saying earlier, clearly the idea that gold is hitting new records means somebody believes or somebody is worried that it could happen. They might want, they are thinking about not having their money in stocks.
TAYLOR: They are hedging their bets.
VELSHI: Right.
TAYLOR: I mean, if this were to happen, you're going to see people raising cash in the equities market. Read that as a sellout. That means that Roth IRAs, your pension funds, any investments people have are going to see a vast selloff in the equities market.
Obviously, this is not a good thing. Nobody wants to see that. So, this trickle down effect is very serious.
People need to pay attention. This wrangling in Washington is not to be overlooked. They need to get their act together.
This is a warning sign from any ratings agency that enough is enough! There is a deal on the table. They need to agree on it and get this moving forward.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: One thing we also always talk about is that markets don't like uncertainty. And we have seen markets actually hold throughout some of this debate. Could that be changing?
TAYLOR: Absolutely. I mean, this is the big looming, you know, gorilla in the room that if this doesn't happen soon, certainly, there's going ton to be uncertainty in the marketplace.
Today, you know, look, the markets are a little fickle in the sense that they have a short-term memory.
VELSHI: Sure.
TAYLOR: They already are looking at other things. The markets are looking for an upward open but that's because we have an earnings season right now. JPMorgan Chase came in better than expected.
So, initially the reaction was down. But, right now, the markets are looking at other things. But that doesn't mean that we wouldn't pay attention to this in days to come. We've just put ourselves in the same category somewhat -- I don't want to, you know, alarm people too much -- as Italy, Spain, Portugal, other Euro Zones that are facing the same kind of pressure.
VELSHI: So, let me ask you this. You're not just a business correspondent. You work in international business a lot. We don't know -- we are talking about stocks and equities and things like that. But what happened after Lehman Brothers collapsed was a freeze of the debt market, a freeze of the ability to get credit. That's almost more serious than whether stock markets are going up or down?
TAYLOR: Well, no question about it. I mean, we're not talking about that kind of a situation here. I mean, that was a much more catastrophic idea than what's happening here.
VELSHI: Right.
TAYLOR: And again, I want to emphasize the fact that nobody really believes that the United States is going to miss this deadline. However, it puts that uncertainty back into the conversation --
VELSHI: Right.
TAYLOR: -- that people can't seem to get it together quick enough to agree on something --
VELSHI: Right.
TAYLOR: -- that is sustainable and that is a problem, because with that kind of uncertainty means that everything trickles down again.
VELSHI: Yes.
TAYLOR: So, it elongates the conversation.
CHETRY: Right. Maybe come to an agreement, the damage -- the collateral damage in the meantime may be significant?
TAYLOR: Sure. I mean, we're looking at a government that doesn't seem to have any kind of sustainable footing. I mean, we watched the president get very upset yesterday and walk out of discussions.
CHETRY: Yes.
TAYLOR: That's not a good sign for anybody.
VELSHI: Right. They have a few more days to get it together. They don't have all 20 days because they got to put legislation through. President seems to think we got about a week to get this done.
So, if we are having this conversation next Friday.
TAYLOR: It's a problem.
VELSHI: Yes.
TAYLOR: Well, the other big thing out there is the concern for people that they aren't going to get their government paychecks. Social Security isn't going to get paid. That's a very a major fear out there for anybody who's expecting those payments to come on August 3rd.
VESLHI: To pay their rent or their mortgage. We're hearing of some of those.
TAYLOR: And then those things will default.
VELSHI: Thanks so much for this.
CHETRY: Debt talks we have been talking about are going on now. The president has said to have gotten agitated after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor continued to push for a short term deal yesterday.
VELSHI: That's something the president repeatedly said he's not going to do.
So, according to Eric Cantor when he did this, the president said to him, "Eric, don't call my bluff. I'm going to the American people to this -- with this." Then he added, quote, "This could bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."
Dan Lothian is at the White House.
Dan, those negotiations ended with a bang. It's a little unclear as to who said what. The Democrats seem to be downplaying the seriousness of the president pushing back and walking out of the room.
Bottom line is they got to meet again this afternoon. What goes on before that meeting? Are they all going to decide to play nice and get something done?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, the hope is that they can actually get something done. Here we are now, the fifth meeting in a row and still no real progress. But, you know, the thing is that there is this talk yesterday from Mr. Cantor about these short-term deals and that's something the president has been opposed to. He said, according to Democratic officials familiar with the talks, that this is something he would veto.
The reason the president doesn't like this is because, first of all, he believes that a long-term big deal through at least 2012 -- 2012 elections will essentially be the most healthy thing for the overall U.S. economy, the best long-term deal for the U.S. economy. And, secondly, the president believes that if you have to then deal again with this in the throes of the political season, how in the world are you going to get anything done? I mean, if you have a difficult time getting it done now, how will you be able to get anything done a few months down the road?
And so, that's what it's at right now. And the president believes pointing the fingers at Republicans saying that they are using this whole debt talk rather for political gain.
CHETRY: Dan Lothian for us at the White House this morning -- thanks so much.
We want to know what you think. Will the president's tough stance help resolve the debt debate? E-mail us, give us a tweet, or tell us on Facebook and we will read some of your thoughts later in the show.
VELSHI: Now to a CNN exclusive. A CNN crew caught in a crossfire in Libya. They ended up in a middle of a battle for a town that the rebels just lost and then they retook in a five-hour firefight. They're pretty lucky they got out of there as they did.
Take a quick look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the car, Harry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys! Wait!
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait! Wait, wait, wait!
(GUN FIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait! Wait!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, just calm down. We're cool.
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(GUNFIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down!
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're leaving this area because there is gunfire all around us. And we believe that Gadhafi forces are doing a round-about movement. So we are rushing out of this area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: They are all OK. Ben says the rebels are advancing this morning but it came at a cost. Eight rebel fighters were killed and over 30 wounded in those fighting.
Well, Syrian forces reportedly storming a protest in the capital staged by some of the most well-known people in the country. Actors and actresses and famous writers and intellectuals calling for an end to the security crackdown and release of detainees. Reports say that a famous female actress and many female artists and activists were among those detained after that.
VELSHI: All enemies of India are possible suspects this morning after three bomb blasts rocked Mumbai, the country's largest city, during rush hour yesterday. Eighteen people were killed. The number, by the way, has been revised down from the 21 that were announced yesterday; 131 are wounded.
Officials say these attacks were coordinated by terrorists but there had been no arrests. India is denying that they missed any warning signs of this attack.
CHETRY: The question, how to effectively search travelers for explosives, sparking a contentious debate in an airport security hearing. Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz argued that canines are cheaper and less invasive than body scanners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: You're suggesting that the whole body imaging machine is a cheaper alternative than using the canines? I'll tell you what? Let's do this. I would love to do this! I would love to do this!
You take a thousand people and put them in a room, I'll give you 10 whole bodying machines and you give me 5,000 people in another room and give me one of his dogs and we will find that bomb before you find your bomb.
And what is infuriating to a person like me is I think the challenge is we got to increase the security. We have to become more secure. But we can't give up every civil liberty. We shouldn't be looking at every passenger naked in order to secure the airplane.
You don't see a whole body imaging machines in Kandahar but do you see dog teams because those dogs, their lives are on the line every day. That's what we should be doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, now, the TSA is saying that the dogs have their limitations. That they require frequent breaks and that they are costly. And an official saying one dog can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
VELSHI: Developing story out of London this morning -- Scotland Yard confirms the arrest of 60-year-old man in connection with the News Corp phone hacking case. His identity has not been released. This marks the seventh arrest in Britain since the scandal broke.
CHETRY: Five members of Congress are calling on the Justice Department to investigate Murdoch' reporters. They want to find if any U.S. laws were broken when News Corp newspapers allegedly hacked the phones of 9/11 victims. Murdoch's publications are also accused of bribing police for information, a possible violation of U.S. foreign corruption laws.
VELSHI: In 20 minutes, we'll be joined by Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley. He just wrote a letter to the Congress, to the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asking him to launch an investigation into News Corp reporting practices and whether they broke any U.S. laws.
CHETRY: A final memorial service is being held this morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for former First Lady Betty Ford. She died Friday at the age of 93. A plane carrying her casket from California landed yesterday in an airport named after her husband, Gerald R. Ford International.
You're looking at a live picture this morning of the morning service. Mrs. Ford's funeral is scheduled for 2:00 Eastern this afternoon. She'll be buried alongside of her husband, America's 38th president, Gerald Ford.
VELSHI: Still ahead, call it Carmageddon, or the Carpocalypse. Why Los Angeles could come to a standstill this weekend and who's cashing in on it.
CHETRY: Also, teen sexting, it's not illegal in Rhode Island. What is the penalty and which part of the sexting can you get in trouble for? Sending, or receiving , or forwarding on.
VELSHI: And karma wins. Handing over the home run ball that Derek Jeter hit for his 3,000th is starting to pay off for that unselfish Yankees fan after all. It's not just in cash. His other big rewards, coming up next.
It is 11 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Five o'clock in the morning, 5:14 actually in LAX. KCAL, this picture coming to us this morning.
It's cloudy right now there. It is 64 degrees. And a little bit later, sunshine and 76.
VELSHI: Which is why is so perfect to live in L.A., right?
CHETRY: Well, actually, my buddy out there said it was triple digits last week, but things are back to normal and actually downright nice and beautiful.
VELSHI: Yes. Well, it won't really matter this weekend.
CHETRY: Yes, it won't matter because it doesn't matter how nice the weather is, the traffic is going to be a mess -- on edge this morning in southern California because of carmageddon. That's what they're calling it.
For 53 hours this weekend, a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 405 will be shut down because of a bridge demolition project and everybody is predicting unprecedented gridlock because of this. The L.A. County supervisor is telling motorist, quote, "Stay the heck out." It means thousands of Californians will be forced to endure two entire days without their precious cars.
VELSHI: Not without my car!
CHETRY: You know how much they love their cars.
VELSHI: The airline is getting a lot of valuable PR for offering a special deal on flights from Burbank to Long Beach this Saturday or vice versa.
CHETRY: I wish we had a map to show just how close it is.
VELSHI: They're on either side of L.A. I mean, it's $4 each way, not including taxes and fees, but you know, it comes up, still, not a lot of money. For an extra buck, you get a seat with extra leg room except that, as can you see on the screen, they are all sold out. Now JetBlue flies 737s. These are big planes that fly several hundred miles an hour.
So, this has got to be a very, very short flight. I mean, it's going to take you a lot longer to check in, get in there and taxi out, but the bottom line is it's such gridlock even when the 405 isn't --
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: That if you need to get from the south side to the north side.
CHETRY: Right. You have to have (ph) car on both sides. You got to pay for parking and go through the whole rigmarole.
VELSHI: Stay home, Angelinos.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: Or go somewhere else.
CHETRY: Exactly. Fifty-three hours. You, guys, can make it.
Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center right now has more on this. Would you take one of those flights?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Four bucks, why not? You have to have a friend on the other side.
VELSHI: That's exactly right. But you do, Rob. That's kind of your motto. I've got a friend on the other side.
MARCIANO: Exactly. Leave it at that. Hopefully, more than one.
All right. Guys, we have heat that continues to wane. That's the good news across the southeast and the northeast, which has some fairly comfortable weather, but places like Mississippi, Northern Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Dallas, and Oklahoma City, boy, a string of a hundred plus days like, you know, we're working on records here. And now, we're starting to extend this up towards the north.
The central northern plains are going to be under heat watches now for the next couple of days and places as far north as the Canadian border could seat heat indices up and over 100 degrees by the time we get closer to the weekend. Today, though, actual high temperatures as measure in the shade without humidity, a hundred plus in Dallas and Austin, 95 in Jackson, and 89 degrees in Atlanta.
So, think a little bit of a backdoor front that cooling this down area. Eighty-five expected in D.C. and 83 degrees, low humidity in New York. So, that's pretty nice. Here's that front, and along that front, we'll see triggers of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Atlanta as far north as Minneapolis as well, but north of that, it's fairly pleasant stuff. If you are traveling today, Atlanta and Minneapolis are the problem spots in the afternoon, Miami and Orland,o as well, and plain old rain in Seattle.
Speaking of the west coast where it doesn't really rain that much this time of the year. We take you to San Diego where they have that world class zoo, and they've got some polar bears. And, you know, listen, it doesn't snow very much in San Diego, especially this time of the year. That's Kaluk rubbing himself all over that snow. They brought in 18 tons of it, guys, for the polar bear exhibit day yesterday. Some donors got together and raised five grand and brought in the snow, I assume, from the Sierra Nevadas somewhere.
CHETRY: They should always have snow there for them. They're polar bears.
MARCIANO: I know. I know, but it's, you know, it's a difficult thing. I can imagine a lot of folks on the eastern half of the country making that exact face.
VELSHI: Yes, totally.
MARCIANO: If there was some snow around here right now.
CHETRY: And you know, Rob, if you were here yesterday. You watched the show. You know that they're used to this type of nice weather, the cold and the arctic temperatures in Ireland.
VELSHI: Oh, you're not going to say that. Don't do this again.
CHETRY: They all descended from one polar bear in Ireland.
VELSHI: First of all, there's no way that all polar bear descended from one polar bear anywhere, right, Rob? CHETRY: It takes two to tango, Ali.
MARCIANO: It does take two to. Although, you know, Ireland, couple of Guinness, who knows, maybe want to make --
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: OK. Rob, thank you for that. Thank you for making that a two-day long ridiculous conversation.
There is a new law cracking down on teen sexting in Rhode Island. It makes it a crime for a minor to create or send a sexually explicit photo of themselves, and there are tougher penalties for anyone who receives a photo of a minor and send it on to someone else.
CHETRY: And if it's cloudy (ph) with a chance of meatball, he'll be ready. An Austrian man has won the right to wear a spaghetti strainer on his head --
VELSHI: What?!
CHETRY: On his driver's license photo for, quote, "religious purposes." He is an atheist who claims that he belongs to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. I guess, they don't do any mental health -- to get your driver's license. According to the church website, they have one, yes. They call themselves Pastafarians, and they say that their only dogma is the rejection of dogma.
VELSHI: Wow. I have to say, I'd heard the story. I hadn't seen it. It doesn't look as bad on him as I expected the pasta strainer to look on someone's head.
CHETRY: No, right. It looks nice.
VELSHI: I expected to have like --
CHETRY: He got a sleek one. He got a sleek. He didn't get a clunky pasta strainer.
VELSHI: No, definitely. I would have gotten a bigger one because they're cheaper.
OK. You get the meat and the sweet. Grundhofer's Old-Fashioned Meats in Hugo, Minnesota has 40 different kinds of bratwurst, and we are sure you won't see them anywhere else. Check this one out! Gummy bear brats!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPENCER GRUNDHOFER, BUTCHER, GRUNDHOFER'S OLD-FASHION MEATS: So, you can see the gummy bears. It's still weird to put them in the stuffer, and you see all these gummy bears in it. Everybody is so intrigued. They have to try it. Kind of sweet and sour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: Looks fantastic. First of all, I don't know how many people want to see sausage getting made, first of all.
VELSHI: At all.
CHETRY: But then to see it getting made with gummy bears?
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: I don't know. That doesn't really get my stomach grumbling, but, you know, hey, it all started as a joke, a friend played on the owner. He kept his customers -- he get sending his customers, you know, kept -- sending them.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Yes. There's not much you can say about that.
CHETRY: Well, you know, he kept sending the customers over demanding gummy brats, and the place finally called his bluff, and they cooked them up. Now, what I want to know, which is not in the script is, do people eat these? I mean, are they popular?
VELSHI: Or is this just kind of a joke?
CHETRY: Yes. A joke.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: All right. Well, why Minnesota government shut down may affect your beer drinking habits.
VELSHI: Yes. This was worth it if you're in Minnesota or near Minnesota. You want to know about this.
Plus, it hasn't even opened yet. The new "Harry Potter" movie is already making magic at the box office. Twenty-one minutes after the hour.
CHETRY: Look at all this mogul.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
The credit rating agency, Moody's, raising a red flag. It's putting America's AAA rating on review, and it's hinting at a possible downgrade if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling in time.
Check in now on the markets. Right now, U.S. stock futures trading a little higher. That's on better than expected earnings from JPMorgan Chase, and in just a few minutes, several economic reports are coming out, including the number of new jobless claims filed last week.
And this just in. Oil giant, ConocoPhillips, is splitting up. The company just announced that it's pursuing plans to separate into two separate companies. One focused on oil exploration, the other one, for refining and marketing. Both of them are going to be publicly traded.
Are you thirsty for a Miller Lite? If you live in Minnesota, you better stock up. The state's government was shutdown before MillerCoors Brewing Company could renew its brand label registration in the state. So, the company is being forced to pull its 39 beer brands from all restaurants, bars, and liquor stores as a result.
A new "Harry Potter" movie isn't even out yet, and it's already raking in big bucks. How much? $25 million. That is in advance ticket sales. The movie opens in the U.S. on Friday.
And it's good to be Christian Lopez. Two of the New York Yankees chief sponsors are donating $50,000 to Lopez, the fan who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000 hit, a home run and returned the ball to him. The money is to help Lopez pay student loans and taxes that he may owe on gifts from the Yankees. And that's not all. He now has a 2009 World Series ring, and he's getting his very own baseball card.
Coming up next, the U.S. women soccer team wins its crucial semi- final match in the Women's World Cup along with the heart of a new generation of adolescent girls. Richard Roth is live next. AMERICAN MORNING back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Well, they are America's new dream team. No matter how cynical you are and no matter how much you tell me you've never watched soccer, everybody is watching this. More late heroics propelled the U.S. women's soccer team who had victory over France and a berth in the World's Cup final for the first time since 1999.
CHETRY: And who could forget 1999. Those were our heroes, Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: All right. Well, the American women will play Japan on Sunday afternoon for the title, and our resident soccer guru, the great vuvuzela of CNN, Richard Roth. Now, it's a good intro this time, right?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I don't want to toot my own horn, but I actually forgot it downstairs. The U.S. team was fortunate to win. They had a tough time with France. Experience won the day and two late goals. I happen to be with fans in a bar in New York City when the second key goal was scored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Paulette, what's your reaction as this ball comes in close. It's a goal! It is a U.S. goal!
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Woo! America!
(CHANTING) USA! USA!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And they didn't look particularly rowdy. It seemed like they were drinking ice water.
ROTH: No. I mean, the focus was the game. I don't know where you go after the show, but basically, the third goal, by the way, was scored by Taylor, youngest player on the team, that was, of course, what made them go into really high spirits at the bar, but looked good. They are now the favorite. It's a strange team.
They were unnoticed, even though, they have been winners and got to every semi-final. Yet the U.S. wasn't following it. Now, because of the stirring nature of the wins, that's what's really doing it. I also asked some fans afterwards about their impressions of the match.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was an incredible match. The U.S. seemed a little bit nervous, but seems like they're here. They're ready to play, and it's time for a victory.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we've been underdog for awhile. I think everyone was expecting Germany to win, and then, when they kind of crumbled under the pressure, everyone said, oh, wow. This U.S. team really has some heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So, what are their chances against Japan?
ROTH: They're pretty to get an extra day of rest. I think Hope Solo, which I love that name, the goalie, will be, I think, a big star when she gets back. Maybe, she'll be here on the couch (ph).
VELSHI: They would be favorite over Japan. The French victory was a little dodgier in terms of whether it's clear that they were going to win.
ROTH: I think they'll be favorite, but Japan knocked out the host, Germany.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Wow.
ROTH: And pretty convincing win over Sweden, the other semi- final.
CHETRY: Well, we will be watching.
VELSHI: And you will be, too?
CHETRY: I will be watching with the fans.
ROTH: I will be watching.
CHETRY: Thanks, Richard.
VELSHI: You didn't bring the horn? You didn't bring the vuvuzela?
ROTH: I forget it downstairs.
VELSHI: Well, in that case, this conversation is over.
ROTH: I didn't want to wear you out after you blew it yesterday.
VELSHI: I did a good job yesterday.
ROTH: Did you get any tweets wanting more?
VELSHI: No.
CHETRY: That's why he was asking for it.
VELSHI: I've had no request further of vuvuzela blowing. Richard, we'll talk to you later. Hey, that game is on Sunday.
The crises are growing a lot around Capitol Hill this morning. Several lawmakers now calling for an investigation to find out if any U.S. laws were broken in the News Corp phone hacking scandal. Democratic congressman, Bruce Braley, of Iowa is one of them. He's asked the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to get involved in this case. Representative Braley joins us live from Capitol Hill this morning. Thank you for being with us, sir.
REP. BRUCE BRALEY, (D) IOWA: Great to be on the show, Ali.
VELSHI: Tell me what you would like done. What are you asking for?
BRALEY: Well, I've served on the oversight committee in some capacity since I was elected to Congress. And our committee has a jurisdiction to look into these very troubling allegations against News Corp and find out whether any federal laws were violated such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials or other typed of criminal violations.
And one of the reason this is so important is because Congress has important oversight responsibilities to make sure that these laws are being followed. VELSHI: Let's say you found something wrong, and I certainly don't want to presuppose the work of the committee. What would that mean? What's the implication?
BRALEY: Well, when we do any type of oversight, the whole purpose is to get to the bottom of an issue and make findings that can be followed up by law enforcement officials or if Congressional action is needed in response to those problems to propose some type of legislative solution. But right now, the big issue is getting to the bottom of this evolving scandal and make sure that there's accountability.
VELSHI: Congressman, how do we know -- how is this going to go down on political lines? The chairman of the committee, Darrell Issa, he's definitely an activist as a member of Congress. Have you heard back from him? And what's the response from conservative and Republican members of Congress?
BRALEY: Well, we'll have hearings today in the Oversight Committee, and I will certainly be talking to the chairman and other members of the committee. But, Ali, when I was a journalism student shortly after Watergate, we were taught that the bedrock of journalism is accuracy, objectivity, and ethics.
And one of the things we've seen as a blurring of the distinction between reporting the news, opinion, and political advocacy. Now, it appears that News Corp is getting into the field of political espionage or personal espionage, and that's one thing that we need to be very concerned about.
VELSHI: Yes, but you can see how this could start to go down political lines, right? With Fox having certain conservative commentators and analysts, it might start to go down the lines of Democrats, more Democrats already calling for investigations into Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation and fewer conservatives, right?
BRALEY: Well, but chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and the House, Peter King, a Republican, is very concerned about this. He mentioned the fact that 150 of his constituents died during the attacks on 9/11 and the possibility of them having their voicemails hacked is a serious concerns to all Americans without regard to political party.
VELSHI: Now, he's called for the FBI to look into this as well. Who do you think is best equipped to handle this? If everybody gets on board and says somebody's got to look into News Corporation and what it's done in the United States, should be it the committee? Would you rather it be the Department of Justice or the FBI?
BRALEY: Well, I don't think that those investigations are mutually exclusive, because Congress has a responsibility. It's based on the constitution to conduct oversight of these types of violations. At the same time, these law enforcement agencies are set up to pursue criminal investigations. I don't think that our moving forward on an investigation will jeopardize that investigation in any way. VELSHI: Have we got a record in the United States of actually following up on investigations that possibly are breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act? Because as I was saying to Kiran earlier, it's not something we hear much about.
BRALEY: Well, in my first term on the Oversight Committee, we did hold hearings into a variety of different things that were happening in Iraq as part of our rebuilding effort. And we held hearings to look into those types of violations. So, when we find evidence of wrongdoing, we refer it out to law enforcement officials for follow-up, and I would expect that to happen in this case if wrongdoing was found.
VELSHI: And in the last few years, the justice department has looked into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against companies like Siemens, Alcatel, Lucent, Johnson & Johnson. So, it isn't that heard of. We just don't hear about it a lot. Congressman, thanks for joining me. Good to talk to you.
BRALEY: Good to be on the show. Thank you.
VELSHI: Congressman Bruce Braley of Iowa.
CHETRY: All right. Coming up in just three minutes now, the Emmy nominations live. We're going to bring them to you in just a moment. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It is an exciting day.
CHETRY: Are you excited? Are you really excited?
VELSHI: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Yes. First thing (ph) by this morning for the primetime Emmy nominations may or about to begin -- I'm not (ph) to be processed guy.
CHETRY: All right. So, you just want to see the awards ceremony. You just want to be handed the Emmys. You don't want to go to the whole process.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: Well, unfortunately, the nominees get announced, and the lucky ones will be announced by "Fringe's" Joshua Jackson and "Mike & Molly" star, Melissa McCarthy.
VELSHI: She's right.
CHETRY: And our Kareen Wynter is live in North Hollywood, California this morning. Forty-five seconds to go, and it's going to be starting. What should we be watching out for, Kareen? KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, one big category we're all keeping our eyes on, the drama category. You know, last year, AMC's "Mad Men" took home the big prize. So, we'll have to see what happens this year. You know, there are so many exciting new shows being thrown in the mix. HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" Steve Buscemi, another big HBO hit, "Games of Thrones." They're telling us behind the set they're about 20 seconds away.
So, we'll be listening to see who the big contenders are this year. Also in the comedy category, you know, this is Steve Carell's last year. So, the big buzz is that maybe, you know, they will be honoring him. He has been nominated five times, and we'll have to see if he gets that big nomination. And if he wins this year -- but take the stage. They're about to announce the nomination this year --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
JOHN SCHAFFNER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF THE ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES: Good morning. I'm John Schaffner, chairman and CEO of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Welcome to the 63rd primetime Emmy Awards nomination announcements. Television has always been at the forefront of innovation and creativity, and this past year has been no exception.
Our members have worked extra hard in selecting this year's Emmy nominees. Joining me now for the presentations this morning are Melissa McCarthy who stars in the CBS series "Mike and Molly" and Joshua Jackson who stars in the Fox Broadcasting series, "Fringe." Melissa, Joshua, thank you. Thank you so much for being here so early in the morning.
MELISSA MCCARTHY, ACTRESS: Well, it's our pleasure. Our pleasure.
JOSHUA JACKSON, ACTOR: Melissa, ladies first.
MCCARTHY: Oh, OK. Quite a gentleman. The nominations in the drama series category are: "Boardwalk Empire," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights," "Game Of Thrones," "The Good Wife," and "Mad Men."
(APPLAUSE)
JACKSON: The nominees for lead actress in a drama series are: Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law, "Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights," Mireille Enos, "The Killing," Mariska Hargitay, "Law and Order Special Victims Unit," Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife," and Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men."
(APPLAUSE)
MCCARTHY: For lead actor in a drama series, the nominees are: Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire," Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights," Michael C. Hall, "Dexter," Jon Hamm, "Mad Men," Hugh Laurie, "House," and Timothy Olyphant, "Justified." (APPLAUSE)
JACKSON: For outstanding mini-series or movie, the nominees are: "Cinema Verite," "Downton Abbey" masterpiece, "The Kennedys," "Mildred Pierce," and "The Pillars of the Earth," and "Too Big To Fail."
(APPLAUSE)
MCCARTHY: The nominees for lead actress in a mini-series or a movie are: Taraji P. Henson, "Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story," Diane Lane, "Cinema Verite," Jean Marsh, "Upstairs, Downstairs" masterpiece, Elizabeth McGovern, "Downton Abbey" masterpiece, and Kate Winslett, "Mildred Pierce."
(APPLAUSE)
JACKSON: The nominees for lead actor in a mini-series or movie are: Idris Elba, "Luther," Laurence Fishburne, "Thurgood," William Hurt, "Too Big To Fail," Barry Pepper, The Kennedys, and Edgar Ramirez, Carlos.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCARTHY: The nominees for outstanding host for a reality or reality competition program are: Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With The Stars," Cat Deeley,"So You Think You Can Dance," Phil Keoghan,"The Amazing Race," Jeff Probst, "Survivor," and Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol."
(APPLAUSE)
JACKSON: Here are this year's nominees for reality competition program, "The Amazing Race," "American Idol, "Dancing With The Stars," "Project Runway," "So You Think You Can Dance," and "Top Chef."
(APPLAUSE)
MCCARTHY: The nominees for variety music or comedy series are: "The Colbert Report," "Conan," "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," ",Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," "Real Time With Bill Maher," and "Saturday Night Live."
(APPLAUSE)
JACKSON: The nominees for lead actress in a comedy series are. Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie," Tina Fey, "30 Rock," Laura Linney, "The Big C," Melissa McCarthy, "Mike & Molly," Martha Plimpton, "Raising Hope," and Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation."
(APPLAUSE)
MCCARTHY: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
MCCARTHY: Keep it together. Wow. The nominees for lead actor in a comedy series are: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock," Louis C.K., "Louie," Stave Carell, "The Office," Johnny Galecki, "The Big Bang Theory," Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes," and Jim Parsons, "Big Bang Theory."
(APPLAUSE)
JACKSON: Melissa, let's complete the Emmy announcement, pardon me, by bringing back John Schaffner to announce the final category.
MCCARTHY: Wow!
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Hello again.
The nominations in the comedy series category are: "The Big Bang Theory", "Glee", "Modern Family", "The Office", "Parks and Recreation" and "30 Rock".
Melissa, the academy congratulates you on your nomination and Joshua, thank you so much again for helping us with this.
JACKSON: My pleasure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a complete list of all the Emmy nominees on our Web site at Emmy's.com. Please tune in to the Fox Network on Sunday, September 18th for the live telecast of the 63rd Primetime Emmys and finding out who is going to take home the Emmys. Have a great day, everybody.
WYNTER: And so there you have it, Ali and Kiran. I'm sure a gazillion of your favorite shows were called, right?
It was so cute. You heard it a few minutes ago where the presenter on stage, Melissa McCarthy, she actually got a nomination. Her first for "Mike and Molly, you know she was the standout star in "Bridesmaid". So she'll be going up in that comedy category.
A little bit of competition there for her, but, again, she was elated but she got through it, she got through it. Let me run down a couple of other big categories in drama series, "Mad Men" as we've mentioned at the top, they won last year. They'll be going up against "Dexter", CBS's "The Good Wife" And "Boardwalk Empire" and "Friday Night Lights" as well as "Game of Thrones".
In the drama actress category: Connie Britain, "Friday Night Lights" a very, very popular show; Mariska Hargitay from "Law and Order"'; Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"; Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law". So many -- so many contenders in that category.
So I'm not sure how much -- I'm not sure how much time we have to blog this morning. But any surprises on your end. We are just blown away by the new shows that are in the mix this year and some of the long-time favorites coming back. And they are going to be really, really tough to beat when the show airs in September, September 18th, guys. VELSHI: Well, good showing on "The Good Wife". I thought that showed a few extra time -- and I was surprised that Kyra Sedgwick didn't show up in --
CHETRY,: For "The Closer."
VELSHI: For "The Closer".
WYNTER: That's true. And that's -- you know many people were saying that she would be duking it out this year with Julianna. So perhaps a big surprise on that end and one of my favorite categories is reality TV. We can't get enough of it.
VELSHI: Yes.
WYNTER: And the big buzz going into this was whether or not NBC's huge ratings juggernaut, "The Voice" they did amazing this season would make it in the mix but they didn't. But in terms of reality competition we are seeing "Project Runway", "Top Chef", "Dancing with the Stars", the "Amazing Race" and "American -- American Idol." Fantastic morning here in Hollywood guys.
CHETRY: "The Amazing Race" won last year. They always get -- they always a lot of accolades. But we'll see if it goes to a --
(CROSSTALK)
WYNTER: They do. It's so popular.
CHETRY: -- fashion show or a cooking show that would be interesting.
VELSHI: Kareen great to see you. Thank you for getting us through that.
WYNTER: Thanks guys.
VELSHI: I would have made as much sense about -- without Kareen's interpretation. Kareen Wynter in north Hollywood for us. I hope she gets back to where she has to go because this weekend that 405 is going to be closed.
CHETRY: Yes, maybe she'll have to take a Jet Blue flight.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: It's a five minute flight.
All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we comeback our morning headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Its 50 minutes past the hour, here are your top stories this morning. A final service this morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan for former First Lady Betty Ford. She died Friday at 93. You're looking now at live pictures from the public viewing. Mrs. Ford's funeral is scheduled for 2:00 Eastern this afternoon. She'll be buried alongside of her husband, America's 38th president, Gerald Ford.
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 U.S. laws were broken.
Today, President Obama and congressional leaders will sit down for a fifth straight day of debt talks. Yesterday's negotiations ended in a tense note with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor saying that 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's put America's AAA rating on review for a downgrade. World markets took a hit from that news. U.S. stock futures is trading up right now, getting a boost from a better than expected jobless claims report that was just released; 22,000 fewer people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week compared to the week before.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Just in to CNN: 22,000 fewer people filed for jobless claims last week for the first time than they did the week before. That is better than economists had expected.
CHETRY: Yes. A lot of people though are still out of work; 405,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits for the first time last week. U.S. stock futures ticking up ahead of the opening bell though on the news that again it was fewer than expected.
VELSHI: Well, yes. And you know, this morning, they turned and they were down and then this news out of JP Morgan Chase that they had good earnings sort of turned things upwards; still more than expected and more than they -- that we'd like, fewer than expected.
All right, he's the President's sort of advisor on jobs. General Electric's CEO, Jeff Immelt heads the White House Counsel on Jobs and Competitiveness.
CHETRY: CNN's Poppy Harlow had a chance to sit down with Immelt this week getting his take on how to brighten the bleak unemployment future. And Poppy joins us now.
So still, we're not in the right territory with people filing for unemployment claims.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Not at all. What Ali just said about JP Morgan having good earnings there's a very interesting point here. Companies like JP Morgan, General Electric have so much money cash sitting on the sidelines. So if you put it trillions of dollars actually and -- and the government and all -- all Americans are asking on them to spend that money, to start hiring in a major way to turn around this unemployment crisis.
So Jeff Immelt has two roles: runs one of the biggest corporations in the world and he also is the head of the President's council on advising how to get jobs. We sat down at that factory, you saw us taking a tour of yesterday in South Carolina where they employ about 3,200 folks.
And I asked him especially given this failure to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling, what does that mean for jobs and hiring in this country. He had an interesting answer when it comes especially to small businesses. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF IMMELT, CEO, GENERAL ELECTRIC: I would ask people, don't think about GE so much. Think about a small business person who really do create a lot of jobs in this country. They are petrified right now.
HARLOW: What do they fear.
IMMELT: Well, look, I mean you know -- what happens if the government doesn't roll over its debt, why would you invest into that? And if the budget deficit means super high tax rates for them and things like that -- again, that to me is the piece that is missing.
There has been bad new business generation and small businesses have gotten hurt coming out of this recession and guys like us have a global footprint and global demand, we're going to power through this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: What's interesting he also said the overarching issue and concern here guys is confidence, a lack of confidence in hiring but he said -- I said do you push back at the President ever on certain points and, you know, he's a Republican as are a lot of business leaders. The Obama administration is a Democrat.
He said, yes, on all of the red tape. The only way that we're going to create jobs, he said is to get rid of the unnecessary regulation. And you hear this and you might think rhetoric from another business.
But he said if we can get some of this red tape, some of this regulation, you are going to push through. What I think is interesting is this is a guy whose first role is to run a company. What if he sees lack to demand he has to cut jobs in the U.S. at the same he's head of this job council.
Anyway, there's a lot more from Jeff Immelt and our interview; you can find it on CNNMoney. VELSHI: Great Poppy. Great job.
CHETRY: Great job that you got to talk to him.
HARLOW: Yes. Interesting focus.
CHETRY: Nice. Thanks Poppy.
HARLOW: Sure.
VELSHI: Fifty-seven minutes after the hour. We will be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Washington, D.C.
VELSHI: I love Jimi playing on the show.
CHETRY: A lot of Hendrix I guess. We have Hendrix fans back there. It's so sunny on the outside, it's too bad it couldn't be sunnier inside. But unfortunately of course, as we know, the (INAUDIBLE) made on the debt ceiling continues but --
VELSHI: That was interesting. That was a weather analogy to the difficulties going on.
CHETRY: Yes. Because it's sunny and 75 on the outside.
VELSHI: Right. Got it.
CHETRY: A little later though, partly cloudy and 85 degrees. Go Hendrix.
VELSHI: On the outside.
CHETRY: I mean on the inside, it's still cloudy.
VELSHI: That will do it for us.
But Kyra Phillips with "CNN NEWSROOM" is taking over right now. Good morning Kyra.
CHETRY: Hey, Kyra.
