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Stalemate in Debt Ceiling Talks; CDC: Smoking In Movies Down Sharply; Pot Plantation Bust!; Survey: Americans Plan To Retire Later; U.S. Women's Soccer Team In World Cup Finals; Casey Anthony Facing Negative Publicity; What's Next for Casey Anthony?; One Woman Whose Garden Changed Lives
Aired July 15, 2011 - 07:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Osama Bin Laden was plotting another 9/11. I'm Soledad O'Brien. New details this morning, the al Qaeda leader was choosing terrorists for a mission before he was killed.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Debt ceiling talks stalled again. There's no deal and no negotiations scheduled today, but there could be a compromise in the works with 19 days before the default deadline. We are taking you behind the scenes of the high stakes budget battle on this AMERICAN MORNING.
O'BRIEN: Good morning, everybody. It is Friday, July 15th. Christine Romans and Kiran Chetry are off today. I'm Soledad O'Brien. I'm helping out.
VELSHI: Thank you. Good to see you here today.
A busy, busy morning for you, but this one has got our attention. He was actively plotting and aiming for another 9/11 style attack. Osama Bin Laden was putting together a team of terrorists to strike the U.S. 10 years to the day of the attacks.
Now this intelligence comes from documents that Navy SEALs seized when they killed the terror leader. Some of the first reports we heard suggested that Bin Laden was looking to attack trains.
Bin Laden was reportedly also looking for militants who already had legitimate passports.
O'BRIEN: Over a thousand 9/11 survivors, some who fled the burning buildings before they collapsed will not be able to attend the ceremonies that marked 10 years since the attacks.
Report say the mayor's office told one survivor's group there is not enough room. The annual ceremony at ground zero reserved for family members and the people who died inside attacks. Of course, they're going to unveil the naming, which I've had a chance to peek at.
VELSHI: It's powerful.
O'BRIEN: But terrible for those who ran for their lives not to be a part of that too.
VELSHI: A big development overnight in the News Corp phone hacking scandal. "News International" chief Rebekah Brooks, a protege of Rupert Murdoch is leaving the company.
Brooks was the editor at the time of the "News of the World" and at the time that some of the most serious allegations were made against it. British police say there are potentially 4,000 hacking victims including celebrities, politicians and terror victims.
O'BRIEN: Only 19 days to the default deadline and talks to raise the debt ceiling are stalled this morning. After five straight days of meetings between the president and congressional leaders, negotiations are now on pause.
VELSHI: And they could pick up again tomorrow. The president ordering everyone to figure out a way to move this discussion forward.
Dan Lothian is live at the White House this morning.
Dan, the president is planning to address the nation in three hours from now. We'll be covering it live. You'll be there. Any idea what he's going to say?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And this, by the way, is the second time this week the president is holding a press conference. What we're expecting the president to talk about are a couple of things.
First of all, prod congressional leaders to get a deal done. Not just any deal, but according to White House aides, the biggest deal possible.
But, secondly, this is an opportunity for the president to explain to the American people what is happening here in Washington and to, again, lay out what we have been hearing the warnings from the Treasury Department of what -- and others -- of what will happen if the debt ceiling is not raised, how that could impact the overall economy.
As you pointed out, no formal meetings taking place here at the White House today -- the first time this week that that is happening. But, nonetheless, we are told that behind the scenes, there are informal talks taking place.
What happened after yesterday's meeting, the president, according to one Republican aide familiar with the talks, told congressional leaders to go back to their caucuses and to come back with some kind of agreement in the next 24, 36 hours on how to move forward. If that does not happen, according to the source, then the president may just call them back this weekend for meetings.
So, there's a lot of talk about possibilities, but, so far, no agreement 0--Ali.
VELSHI: All right, Dan. Thanks very much. We will be covering this with you on CNN live. We will have analysis all around the conversation and see where it's gone between now and 11:00 Eastern this morning. We are expecting there to be developments between now and then.
Tim Pawlenty is hoping and praying the debt ceiling isn't raised. Earlier this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, the former Minnesota governor and Republican presidential candidate conceded that he believes it will ultimately be hiked to head off a default, but he insists that that is not going to solve the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We didn't get into this mess because we are undertaxed and government revenues didn't keep up with the private economy. We got into this mess politicians took government spending and grew it three, four, five times or multiple of the rate of growth to the private economy. So, you can't just say, here's where we are in this moment, let's split the difference and call it. You got to look at how did we got here and we got here by out of control spending that needs to be brought under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Pawlenty also says he believes Congress should pass legislation that would put interest and debt payments ahead of all other federal spending. But Fed chief Ben Bernanke said yesterday a default is a default. It doesn't matter whether you pay your debts, your overseas and your bond debts, or you pay Social Security. The credit markets will see it exactly the same way.
O'BRIEN: Right now, the Republican caucus is meeting to discuss how to move forward with the debt ceiling talks. And Democrats plan to huddle in just about an hour from now. So, we have assembled "The Best Political Team on TV" take us inside these high stakes budget battle.
Here in New York, we are joined by Jim McLaughlin, he's a Republican strategist and president and partner at McLaughlin & Associates. John Avlon is a CNN contributor and senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast."
Joining us from Miami is Maria Cardona. She's a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.
It's nice to have all of you.
You heard from the man who is running to be president, Pawlenty, talked about how he really wants to solve the problem and that reasons that was not solve the problem, 19 days to go. Isn't it sort of too late think about the big picture, solving the problem?
JIM MCLAUGHLIN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Not if we had real leadership. Unfortunately, the problem is we haven't gotten any leadership from the White House or from the Senate Democrats. And what that's done is put us in a tough spot. We're in a real tax and spending revolt in this country and they just don't seem to get it.
O'BRIEN: John is literally laughing at you.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Because with due respect, you can't just delegate the mantle of leadership Democrats in the room. I mean, the reality is Washington has had a failure of leadership.
And everyone has got to work together on this one. The president has to lead and he has. He's offered concessions and entitlement reforms that are essential for a grand bargain. But Republicans have not met him halfway.
You got a lot of folks who are running for president, who are essentially debt ceiling-deniers. They're saying we shouldn't raise the debt ceiling when everyone knows that would just compound the economic problems. It's deeply irresponsible.
We need a balanced solution here. I think grand bargain is getting away from us. We've got to raise the debt ceiling, folks, or we're going to be in deeper trouble.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about one of the solutions that's being proposed. Maria, I want you to jump in on this. They've got the plan B. Walk through plan B for all of us.
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: So, plan B apparently is the one that Mitch McConnell has offered and he is working with Harry Reid on taking parts of that, in addition to other pieces of it, so that if nothing else happens, Soledad, we are able to raise the debt ceiling, so that contrary to what Tim Pawlenty thinks and Michele Bachmann and others in the Republican Party, this country does not go into default because that will be catastrophic -- catastrophic to middle class families, to American families all over the country, and nobody wants that except for a handful of people in the Republican Party.
O'BRIEN: So, 19 days to go, Jim, how realistic that is plan B? Could it be enacted?
MCLAUGHLIN: You know, again, the only real solutions are coming from the Republicans. Mitch McConnell has put out a serious plan. Some people agree and some people disagree.
O'BRIEN: A joint plan with Harry Reid, right, a Democrat.
MCLAUGHLIN: The one plan that Barack Obama -- it's laughable to say he's shown leadership on this. He put out one plan and it was voted against 40 to nothing by his own party. All of the Democrats voted against the plan.
O'BRIEN: My question is the plan B that has been proposed, bipartisan, Harry Reid on one side, in addition to what you mentioned -- how likely is that plan B is going to be something that is going to be embraced?
MCLAUGLIN: I think it's giving us a framework. But, again, we have to -- you know, people are saying, well, we can't fix this in 19 days, we have to do something. We're on a brink of financial disaster. And what the Republicans understand is this spending and the more taxes, the president just proposed another $1 trillion in taxes. And that's going to kill our economy, it's going to hurt business, it's going to hurt especially small businesses. And it's going to cost
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Hang on, Maria.
John, how much is it hurting that all this conversation -- I mean, S&P is saying 50 percent chance that they're going to downgrade the U.S. from AAA bond rating -- John.
AVLON: Washington, D.C.'s political dysfunction is having a real impact on our economy because it looks like we cannot solve great challenges in a bipartisan way. That is a serious issue.
O'BRIEN: Looks like or we cannot?
AVLON: We cannot because it is hyper-partisanship that is hijacking the political agenda in Washington. This plan B offers a backup plan which could be very good because it would give the president power to raise the debt ceiling. Essentially, I believe it's an admission by Mitch McConnell that essentially the inmates are nearly running the asylum here. He's not sure he can get these votes.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Right.
AVLON: You give the president the power, you get some cuts, you get unemployment insurance extended and then a bipartisan deficit commission with binding results. That's the big deal -- essentially Bowles-Simpson readout. But that's what where we are right now, that's what we need.
O'BRIEN: All right. So, Maria, what is the political burden? Because, ultimately, all of this is viewed through a political lens. The winners and the losers.
CARDONA: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Who holds the bag? What's the political burden?
CARDONA: So, here's the reason I believe that Mitchell McConnell ended up offering his plan, because he understands, as well as other Republicans who are becoming very nervous about who is going to take the blame if we do go into default, they are understanding that increasingly Republicans will take the blame because what, overall, Republicans have not understood up to now when you negotiate, you have to put something that is your cow on the table. They haven't done nothing to put their sacred cows on the table.
President Obama and the Democrats have offered up changes in Medicare and Social Security, the sacred-est of cows for Democrats and for American families. And they have done that because they understand that we are at a crossroads.
Republicans do not understand that. If we go into default, they will absolutely take the blame on this.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: -- don't understand those.
MCLAUGHLIN: Not at all. Barack Obama is a Democrat president of the United States. Democrats still control the United States Senate here. And what the Republicans understand and what they are doing here is they are dealing what the voters asked them to do the last election. They asked them to get control of spending and they asked them to help lower taxes. Not --
O'BRIEN: We'll look at the actually polling, though, put of Quinnipiac. A poll shows that --
CARDONA: Yes, exactly.
O'BRIEN: -- something like 70 percent of Republicans --
CARDONA: That's exactly right.
O'BRIEN: -- say they would be OK with raising taxes.
MCLAUGHLIN: The question is skewed. The question says only taxes on the wealthy. The problem is this president considers anybody with a job nowadays wealthy.
AVLON: Oh, come on!
MCLAUGHLIN: Not a question. It's skewed!
AVLON: Listen. That Quinnipiac Poll is actually very illuminating because it says a couple of things. First of all, it says people will blame Republicans if we fail in the debt ceiling more than Democrats and the president, and independents and centrists particularly believe that. The election are won and lost in the country by moderates and the middle class. So, you got to figure out where the blame goes.
O'BRIEN: But, you know, Maria, a minute ago, I was talking about the sacred cows -- Social security, Medicare. If you are putting that on the table, that is kind of the third rail of getting elected again the minute you start talk about that.
AVLON: That's why it takes guts to do it. It is essential. We deal with our deficit and our debt problem three ways. By having spending cuts and revenue increases and entitlement reforms, and it's got to be a bipartisan plan and bipartisan commission.
O'BRIEN: Maria, let me ask a quick question. So, when do you think it's resolved? I mean, we do go into up to the 19 days, August 2nd, we're still talking about all of this?
CARDONA: I do think this will go up to the 11th hour. But I do think at the end of the day --
O'BRIEN: I thought we were at the time 11th hour!
CARDONA: Well, I do think we'll ultimately get a deal. I don't know if it will go to August 1st. But I do think we'll ultimately get a deal because the Republicans are getting nervous because they also have seen the polls that Jim really needs to look at that the American people do want to reduce the deficit but they also want to do it in a fair and balanced manner and that is something that Republicans do not understand how to do.
O'BRIEN: We're going to give Maria the final word on that. Maria, thank you very much. Jim and John as well.
CARDONA: Thank you so much.
MCLAUGHLIN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: And, again, President Obama is going to hold a news conference this morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the debt ceiling talks. You can watch it right here on CNN.
VELSHI: All right. How is this for timing? The president is having a 50th birthday bash next month. It's also a fundraiser with couples being asked to fork over 35,000 bucks to attend. The event is scheduled for August 3rd in Chicago.
Now, you're doing your math on this one. That's the day after the United States default if they don't raise that debt ceiling. That's going to be hashtag awkward if we're stuck in that.
O'BRIEN: Well, individuals are paying for it.
VELSHI: Oh, yes. It's going to be a little weird I think to have a $35,000.
O'BRIEN: Or just a party really at all.
VELSHI: Yes, the day after.
O'BRIEN: Still ahead this morning -- 300 acres of pot! What does it look like?
VELSHI: Like you don't know!
O'BRIEN: It would be the largest marijuana plantation ever. We're going to show you.
VELSHI: For those of you don't know what it looks like, we'll give you the video after that! A bunch of prunes.
O'BRIEN: What is wrong with you?
VELSHI: A totally different kind of high. A window washer slides off his seat and spends an hour dangling in the air from his harness but he's OK. We'll hear what he had to say about his ordeal.
O'BRIEN: And Hope Solo, Team USA comeback at the quarter files, not quarterfinals. That's nothing compared with her own personal and professional turnaround the path over the past four years. We'll have her amazing story when we have a chance to speak to her live next.
It is 11 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
This morning, the NTSB is investigating a fender-bender type accident that happened on the tarmac at Logan Airport in Boston. Officials say a Delta 767 was taxiing out of the runway last night when it clipped the tail of an Atlantic Southeast commuter flight, giving passengers on both planes, as you can imagine, a major scare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tip of the wing was sheared right off. I think the whole tail section or the tailfin came off of the other plane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: One person on the Delta Flight complained of neck pain. There were no other injuries, though, reported.
VELSHI: A close call for a window washer in Seattle. He fell from his seat and was clinging to a rope, some 55 feet above the ground. Look at that. I mean, it's pretty dramatic. Firefighters were finally able to rescue him using ropes and a harness to make him -- to keep him from falling. They say he was pretty shaken up as you can expect but no injuries. What did he have to say about the ordeal? His quote, "I'm happy to be down."
O'BRIEN: That would be the understatement of the day (ph), I bet.
Media day for the crew of the space shuttle "Atlantis" -- wake-up call courtesy of the Beatles singing -- "Good day, sunshine."
VELSHI: They come up with some pretty creative ways to wake them up. I think the song the selection is good.
O'BRIEN: Several astronauts are conducting a series of TV, radio, and print interview this morning, scheduled to hold a joint news conference from space in about an hour. And then late, at 12:29 eastern time, President Obama is going to be calling them. OK. We'll take the charges. VELSHI: All right. NASA's dawn spacecraft, by the way, expected to slip into orbit some time today and spent the next several weeks circling a giant asteroid called Desta (ph). NASA scientists say the asteroid is about the size of Arizona. The size of Arizona if you fold it into a ball?
O'BRIEN: Yes, that would be.
VELSHI: It's believe to be the source of numerous meteorites that are found eon earth.
O'BRIEN: Carmageddon. Carmageddon. L.A.
VELSHI: Have you lived on L.A. ever?
O'BRIEN: No. San Francisco.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Traffic mess --
O'BRIEN: Oh, my God.
VELSHI: Most of the time.
O'BRIEN: It's so bad. So, now, it's going to be much worse.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You've been warned because crews in Southern California began closing the ramps to 405 freeway last night earlier than they actually said that they were going to do it. Ten-mile stretch of the interstate from the 10 of the south, the 10 of the north, 101, I think, of the north.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's going to be closed for most of the weekend. Construction, they are predicting literally the mother of all traffic jams, jammed -- it's jammed already. The traffic is terrible already before they're doing this.
VELSHI: I thought the weird sale by JetBlue to fly from Long Beach to Burbank is sold out.
O'BRIEN: Yes, about four bucks, right?
VELSHI: Yes, four bucks. So, for those of you who haven't got a plan, just get out --
O'BRIEN: Or stay in your house.
VELSHI: Or stay in your house. stay home and watch movies
There is something missing from most of last year's top grossing movies. You might notice this. Smoking. A CDC study says 69 percent of those 2010 films including "The Social Network" had no what's called tobacco incidents. Three major film companies, Warner Brothers, Universal, and Disney have clucked down on smoking in movies and young people. Now, previous studies shown that there's a link between on-screen smoking and teens picking up the habit, although, there has been a general decline in teen smoking.
O'BRIEN: And a general push to really stamp that out.
VELSHI: Right. Yes.
O'BRIEN: The Mexican army uncovers its largest pot plantation ever hidden among tomato plants. It was found in the state of Baja, California on Tuesday. It's about 250 miles south of the U.S. border. The plantation stretching nearly 300 acres. Dozens of men attending the plants. Unclear which drug cartel operates the specific fields, but the marijuana is said to be worth about $153 million in street value.
VELSHI: I thought you were going to say it's unclear which ones are the marijuana, which ones are the tomato plants.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: That's right, Ali. I don't know. I cannot tell.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Let's just go to Rob Marciano who's in the Extreme Weather Center. Hello, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I tell you what, you know, when you touch the stem and the leaf, you get that oil on your hand, it just smells so good coming off that tomato plant.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: I love that smell. Fantastic! Good morning again, guys. We'll move along from there. Severe thunderstorms across parts of the northern plains today with little disturbance that's brought in the jet stream (ph) which is now migrated to the north. And, also, stationary boundary down across the south will cause some thunderstorms or in between, especially to the northeast (ph). Very nice. Low levels of humidity and should be decent weather.
But if you're traveling to Atlanta or Minneapolis, delta hubs will probably see some afternoon problems and to a lesser extent down to Miami, Orlando, and Denver, which has had its few (ph) of thunderstorms in the last few days. Last couple of weeks, it's been a hundred plus in Dallas. If they get over a hundred today, that will be 14 days straight of hitting the century mark. Now, granted, slightly lower level of humidity there.
The dew points in the 60s which is nothing to sneeze at, but still, humid. But I have a in from Dallas a couple of days and he got off the plane, and he admits it's a different sort of heat here in Atlanta. That's for sure. But the heat is going to be building up all the way to the Canadian border. Heat advisories and heat watches posted for Minnesota and North Dakota through the weekend.
It will feel like it's up and over 100 degrees at times Saturday and Sunday. Watching this typhoon could be a super typhoon before it hits Southern Japan early next week. On the other side of the pacific --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO (voice-over): I want to show you this video of a humpback whale which was tangled in nets and this sight-seeing crew managed to untangle the whale. And it (INAUDIBLE) by tail slapping and breaching for another couple of hours. That's a feel good story right there. This whale should be, you know, halfway up the coast line towards Alaska, typically, but -- he or she is probably very hungry and very happy, obviously to get out. Good stuff there.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): You know, if you didn't see the pictures of it slashing around and then following, you think that that was just nuts.
VELSHI (voice-over): That whale is flipping around so much I'm just beginning to think that maybe it had nothing to do with happiness. Maybe, he had an itch. Like, he's really all over the place.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (on-camera): OK. You're wrecking the great story, Ali.
VELSHI (on-camera): You know, the whale tailed this tour for a little while.
O'BRIEN: I know. It's a sweet story of appreciation from an animal showing it through movements in the surf.
VELSHI: Beautiful. Beautiful, Rob. Thank you. That and your knowledge of tomato plants, you know, a lot to go.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: All right. How about this real estate story? They practically gave this home away. The 57,000 sq. foot spelling mansion in L.A. sold for? drum roll, please. $85 million. It was listed for $150 million. Even though the sale price was almost half the asking price, it is still one of the highest ever paid in the United States for a single family home. It has 14 bedrooms, 27 bathrooms. Wow. Fourteen bedrooms and 27 bathrooms.
VELSHI: Wow! Two per bedrooms.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. A bowling, Ali, a beauty salon, gift wrapping rooms. I have one of those. No, I'm kidding. And parking for 100 cars. It now belongs to 22-year-old Peter Ecclestone whose father is a British billionaire. VELSHI: OK.
O'BRIEN: It is not the most expensive home.
VELSHI: No, it is not. It is not. Two questions I have, a gift wrapping room and 27 bathrooms or 14 rooms. One of the bedrooms only has one bathroom.
O'BRIEN: Those people -- they've been ripped off.
VELSHI: You don't want to be that person. You're really getting the -- yes, you're getting health (ph) quarters.
All right. Coming up next, the cold heart truth. How many more years will you have to work to make up for the hit that your accounts took during the recession?
O'BRIEN: A lot.
VELSHI: Yes. It's a good story to be paying attention to, and I want to hear what you think about it. We're watching your money coming up next.
O'BRIEN: And it is also the best week ever for U.S. women soccer goalie, Hope Solo. We got her live coming up. It is 22 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Watching your money this morning.
U.S. stock futures trading higher ahead of the opening bell this morning, getting a boost from stronger than expected earnings from Google. Second quarter profits skyrocketed at that company up 36 percent, and that is well above estimates.
A new survey by Harris Research says more Americans are planning to retire later because of the recession and the financial crisis. Most older Americans expect to work five more years on average saying they plan to retire at 69 instead of 64.
Coming up next, U.S. women's soccer goaltender, Hope Solo, joins us live. AMERICAN MORNING coming back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. Win or lose on Saturday, but we hope win. Members of the U.S. women's soccer team are the new darlings of the sports world.
O'BRIEN: On Sunday, right? The game is on Sunday.
VELSHI: On Sunday. Did I say Saturday? I'm sorry. I meant Sunday.
O'BRIEN: Alakazam. I'm ready for Sunday.
VELSHI: Well, Saturday is going to be the warm-up part.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Goalkeeper, Hope Solo, is one of the team's breakout stars.
O'BRIEN: She's led them to dramatic victories against Brazil which was awesome game to watch.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: France, which was kind of a challenge for the team, but they still won. Her biggest challenge comes on Sunday when Team U.S. plays Japan for the World Cup title.
Hope Solo joins us this morning. She is in Frankfurt, Germany. Nice to see you. Congratulations on all the success so far. And we are crossing our fingers for much more, of course. What is the plan as you go into Sunday's game against Japan?
HOPE SOLO, GOALKEEPER, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: You know, we're not surprised where we stand right now. We came into this tournament with one goal. It wasn't to beat Brazil in the quarterfinal. It wasn't to make it to the final. Our only goal is this tournament was to win the whole thing. And I think when you get this close, you know, you would have a lot of regrets if you walked away and didn't win it all.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: A lot has been made in the media, Hope, about this team and its spirit and its refusal to give up. And frankly, while a lot of people were following you after Brazil and after France, I mean, I think you got the whole world following you right now. What is it about this team? You played soccer for a long time. What makes this team so special?
SOLO: This team is truly a team. And as cliche as that is in sports these days, this team will fight till the bitter end to find a way to win. And it's not always pretty, but everybody on the field is trying to find a way to win.
And I think it's the American way. It's the American spirit. I think America is so behind us because you can feel that spirit and you can feel the fight in our team. And people kind of grab on to that. They gravitate towards it. And truly, this team is a winning team and I can hope -- I can only hope we prove that and go all the way and bring the trophy back home.
You were 17 years old back in 1999 when the dream team was in the same position that you are in now, Mia Hamm, Julie Fowdy. Do you look at those team members as an inspiration what you're going through now?
SOLO: Yes. The '99 team, they truly, truly paved the way for all of us. We wouldn't be where we are today as a federation. We wouldn't be where we are today as, you know, female U.S. soccer players in particular. But they set the standard. They set the bar high.
And you know, with that said, of course, they inspired me. Michelle Akers being the true inspiration to not only many members of this team. She was a true, true winner. And we hope that she is back there watching because you don't see her face around here too much, but she really was the spirit of that team.
So, of course, they inspired me. I was 17 years old when the '99 team won. But with that said, you know, 12 years later, this team wants to write their own story book ending. We want to end with our legacy. And we are very different team from the '99 team. So, you know, we do hope that looking forward that people remember the 2011 U.S. women's soccer team.
VELSHI: I tell you one more similarity, that team had rock star status. And I don't think anybody plays professional soccer for that reason, certainly as an American soccer player. You guys work hard and you have your matches. And now you've got to this place where you're international celebrities. In fact, the hash tag "Marry Me Hope Solo" is trending on twitter. What do you make of all of that kind of popularity?
O'BRIEN: And what is the answer?
(LAUGHTER)
SOLO: Well, let's just say that I'm happy I'm in Frankfurt because I don't feel the effects of all of that. So I know that we have our fans and we have gained hopefully what is long-term fans. We have, of course, some bandwagon fans, and we are OK with that as well because we're bringing attention to the sport. And people are finally seeing it's such a beautiful game and women can play a tough, tough, intense soccer game.
So we're happy with all of the attention we get on the field, off the field. We know it's bringing attention back to the game.
VELSHI: I think she just dodged the answer to that one.
O'BRIEN: It's let me see what happens when I get back to the states.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a quick question about impact. I have four kids at this very moment are getting ready to go off to soccer camp for the summer. Do you think about the impact that you're making on the next generation, the 10, 11, 12-year-old kids who are out there?
SOLO: Of course we think about that. You can't not think about it when you see the kids come to our games, and you see all of the inspirational signs that are, you know, at the training fields, at the playing fields. Of course you think about it.
And I do my best to be a good role model and do my best to inspire people, especially the youth -- especially the youth of America. But, you know, I'm out there every game giving back because they give me so much just joy and confidence when I play. I really, really do thrive of the fans and the energy that the fans give our team and me particularly. I thrive off that. I like to give it back, of course.
O'BRIEN: Great. We wish you the best of bad luck. Big dramatic victories are a big catalyst for bringing more people in for support and watch the sport, so we're wishing you the very best for that on Sunday. Thanks for being with us, Hope Solo. Amazing goaltender. Amazing.
SOLO: Thanks for having me.
VELSHI: I just want to make sure because I misinformed everybody and said the game is on Saturday. It is on Sunday.
O'BRIEN: You just wanted them to start watching earlier.
VELSHI: We will all start watching. It's a pregame.
Top stories now. The debt ceilings talks on hold. There is no deal after five days of meetings in Washington. The president wants congressional leaders from both sides to get back to him with a way forward, and negotiations could pick up again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a second major ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, is threatening to downgrade America's credit rating. The president will address the nation on the state of negotiations at 11:00 a.m. eastern this morning. CNN will carry it live.
O'BRIEN: And also on Sunday Casey Anthony is going to walk free, going to be released from jail after nearly three years behind bars. No word on what she is going to do or where exactly she is going to go. She has received, though, a number of death threats.
VELSHI: And he was planning another 9/11. Osama bin Laden was putting together a team of terrorists to strike the United States 10 years to the day of the attacks. The intelligence comes from documents come Navy SEALs seized when they killed the terror leader.
O'BRIEN: New International chief Rebekah Brooks, a protege of Rupert Murdoch -- he has said to consider her almost like a daughter - she is leaving the company over the growing phone hacking scandal. She was the editor at the time of the most serious allegations against the "News of the World" newspaper.
VELSHI: Susan Candiotti is here with that news and other news that the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI looking into News Corporation here in the United States.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So a lot of people are watching what is happening now. And with this news of the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, of course another casualty. A lot of heads have been rolling. Will more heads roll? That's what we're waiting to find out. And she in her resignation letter saying that she takes -- has a sense of responsibility for what has happened here and then adds that -- she says, quote, "I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place." Does this mean that she didn't know about it before or at least -- the very least she certainly is acknowledging there were problems.
O'BRIEN: And it sounds like she is saying "and I didn't know about any of them at all." One has to imagine stepping down is not going to be the end for her.
CANDIOTTI: Well, we will have to wait and see, of course. Will there be any fallout permanently on her career? You're right, we'll have to wait and see.
VELSHI: Will she have to testify before British parliament?
CANDIOTTI: Yes, and she says that is what she is going to do now, concentrate on defending her actions and presumable the paper's actions, the News Corporation's actions as well. So we'll wait and see.
And of course, what about the impact on the paper itself? We know that Rupert Murdoch has been saying that he thinks that they are faring extremely well throughout this crisis with only minor mistakes. But then he was asked, and of course the only newspaper he responded to was his own newspaper, this interview done in "The Wall Street Journal." He also said he thinks that the damage has been very minimal and that they will be able to recover from it.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the phone hacking here in the United States because I think people here really started to feel almost enraged about this story when there was an allegation that, in fact, maybe the newspaper was also hacking the phones of victims and family members of people in 9/11, who died in 9/11 and who survived 9/11.
CANDIOTTI: And of course the families are particularly horrified by this. Congress has been, you know, pounding on the wall of the Justice Department practically to get them to take a look at this allegation, specifically whether a private eye -- it started with a newspaper story about a private eye who says he was contacted by News Corporation to hack into phone records and look into voicemails of 9/11 victims. So that is how that investigation is going to be directing itself in that way. We'll see where it leads -- and see where it leads.
O'BRIEN: Susan Candiotti for us, thanks.
VELSHI: All right, coming up next, PR executives weigh in with advice for Casey Anthony just before she gets out of jail.
Plus, a Florida lawmaker wants to stop jurors from cashing in on high profile trials like the Casey Anthony trial by writing books and giving interviews. So we want to know what you think. Should jurors be able to cash in on their cases? E-mail us, give us a tweet, or tell us on Facebook and we will read through some of them next. It's 38 minutes after the hour.
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O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Nearly three years after being behind bars, Casey Anthony is set to be released on Sunday. Unclear at this point what she is going to do or what her plans are. She has received a number of death threats, though.
VELSHI: And it's curious because the law enforcement is not at this point their responsibility. So what is she going to do because of that?
Now, jurors in high profile cases like the Casey Anthony trial can hope for a big payday. But a Florida lawmaker is looking to ban future jurors from cashing in. A proposed bill would make it illegal for a juror to accept compensation for information immediately following a case.
O'BRIEN: They have this nine-month cooling off period, as they call it, and violators could face a fine and jail time. This way, lawmakers say, jurors wouldn't be biased during the deliberations or make the case go one way or the other and make their story better and get more money. The bill came about after a juror in the Casey Anthony case sought a publicist after the trial.
VELSHI: And as you mention, we don't know whether they sought the publicist other to fend off media requests.
O'BRIEN: Right.
VELSHI: We wanted to know what you think. Should jurors be able to cash in on their cases? It's our question of the day. And here are some of your responses. On our blog, Mike says "Why not take a page out of other nation's approach? In Canada it's illegal for the media to contact jurors and jurors are enjoined not to discuss what went on in the jury room. Way less sexy, but the integrity of the trial is maintained by removing the incentive to seek 15 minutes of fame. Jurors enter the trial essentially anonymous and do their job and return to anonymity."
O'BRIEN: I don't know. I think it's interesting to walk through what was going through the jurors' minds. I like hearing from the jurors at the end of the trial, even not the over the top --
VELSHI: That's why they can make lots of money on it, because we want to hear from them.
O'BRIEN: Right.
How about this one? This is from Todd. "No. Just another example of why a jury of your peers should be abandoned. The courtroom has become a stage and attorneys are actors, witnesses are coached. The jurors can allow personal feelings or religion to sway their vote. This clearly favors a guilty defendant trying to get acquitted. It should be a panel of seven judges. Majority decision is the verdict." He has it all worked out. VELSHI: Wow!
O'BRIEN: Yes, just like throw it all out.
VELSHI: The jury of your peers has been a piece of Americana and American legal history, jurisprudence.
O'BRIEN: Not anymore according to Todd.
VELSHI: You know what, we have had some remarkable, remarkable responses to this. Thanks to them.
Casey Anthony might be out of jail on Sunday, but her troubles are far from over. Her face is recognized across the country, quite possibly around the globe.
O'BRIEN: It's definitely infamy and which really in a large way is a public relations nightmare. So how could even someone like Casey Anthony begin to rebuild her life and rebuild her image? David Mattingly weighs in for us this morning. He is live from Orlando. Hey, David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Well, the scrutiny that Casey Anthony is going to face once she gets out of jail here is a given. And public relations experts will also be watching to see how she plans to manage this attention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: As one of the most watched and talked about people in the country, public relations executives weigh in with a word of caution to Casey Anthony -- do not confuse infamy with fame.
GENE GRABOWSKI, LEVICK STRATEGIST COMMUNICATIONS: It's not fame. There's interest in you. A lot of it's negative interest. Don't confuse that situation with celebrity. Don't think that you have to go out and do a whole lot of things right now. As a matter of fact it's best probably to lay low.
CROWD: Caylee! Caylee!
MATTINGLY (voice-over): If that's even possible. Angry words we heard outside the Orange County courthouse are tiny in comparison to the Casey Anthony hatred expressed online. More than 770,000 people are signed on to just one of many anti-Casey pages on Facebook.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
MATTINGLY: Acquitted in a court of law, Casey Anthony may need to begin fighting for her freedom in the court of public opinion the minute she walks out of jail.
BRIAN PIA, LUCKIE (ph) STRATEGIC PR: Most people are going to be looking at her expression. I think people need to see remorse. I think people need to see that she understands the fact that she lost her daughter.
She doesn't need to walk out of jail smiling. She doesn't need to walk out of jail with a smirk on her face. She needs to walk out of jail looking like a mother who lost her child.
MATTINGLY: And from there, experts believe it would be time, at least temporarily, to disappear. Consider the offers that come her way and decide how best to tell her story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to have to hear from Casey Anthony. We're going to have to hear a first-person account. People will be interested in what she has to say. Whether or not they accept it or not is a different story.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: Of course, credibility just one of the many long-term issues that Casey Anthony is going to have to be struggling with as she tries to put her own life back together and find some path out there outside of jail, Soledad. We're all still waiting and watching to see when, where, and how she is actually released from the jail on Sunday.
O'BRIEN: And she's a very young woman.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: She has a long life ahead of her.
Right, David Mattingly for us. David thanks.
VELSHI: It's 47 minutes after the hour; your morning headlines are next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: And welcome back everybody it is 48 minutes after the hour. Here's a look at your morning's headlines.
A top Rupert Murdoch executive is now quitting over the phone- hacking scandal. News International chief Rebekah Brooks has resigned. She was editor at the time of some of the most serious allegations against "The News of the World.
The FBI is now investigating claims that "The News of the World" paper tried to hack 9/11 victim's phones. Murdoch told the "Wall Street Journal", also one of his papers, that his company has handled the crisis both extremely well.
The "Wall Street Journal" says Osama bin Laden was putting together a team of terrorists to attack the U.S. ten years to the day that the Twin Towers came down. That intel comes from documents that Navy Seals seized when they killed him.
Casey Anthony walks out of jail on Sunday. Some experts warn that her release could be dangerous. No word on what she's going to do, where she's going to go. Anthony was acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
And still no deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling after five straight days' talks. The President has called a break. He wants congressional leaders to figure out a way to move the negotiations before they could meet again tomorrow.
U.S. stocks futures are trading higher ahead of the opening bell this morning. Some new economics numbers are in. The government says falling prices at the pump pushed inflation lower last month. Consumer prices fell 0.2 percent, consumers are paying 3.6 percent more for goods compared to just a year ago.
California's governor signed a bill that requires schools to teach gay history. The bill is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.
And in L.A., Carmageddon starts this weekend, part of the 405 being closed for bridge demolition, it's one of L.A.s busiest highways. You can expect massive delays on a highway has massive delays already.
You're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: We are cooler than you are, at least many parts of the country today temperature wise, it's 72 in New York City. Beautiful view of Central Park, it is sunny. It's going to be mostly sunny later on and 85 is what you get. We'll still be cooler than many, many parts of the country. That's not like a -- it's not like a judgment.
O'BRIEN: No, it is a judgment. We are -- just kidding. I'm a native New Yorker.
For "Harry Potter" fans, it's sad news. Young and old, it's over. End is here. The final installment of the film franchise opens with midnight showings across the country. As usual, long lines.
VELSHI: All these people.
O'BRIEN: People in costume. I always find that a little weird watching the movie in costume.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: But hey, whatever floats your boat. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2" box office smash. Even before the opening credits, they had $25 million in advanced sales.
VELSHI: It's more than some movies make in actual sales.
O'BRIEN: Yes, forever.
VELSHI: That's incredible. All right, there's help for all of you muggles in mourning over the end of the "Harry Potter" films. A California culture professor says just look at the Trekkies and the "Star Wars" fans. And see how those franchises have lived on and on and on with conventions and other special events.
So he expects the "Potterverse" to live long and prosper. I guess anything that involves people wearing costumes would have another life.
O'BRIEN: There's a whole other life of opportunity.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Some good news. Mila Kunis is not going to let her country down after all. In fact, she apparently is going to keep her date to the Marine Corps ball. Reports have swirled that she was trying to get out of it.
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: But her rep says that her shooting schedule is clear. Marine Sergeant Scott Moore asked her through a YouTube video. He is stationed in Afghanistan and I guess she is now searching for a dress.
VELSHI: And -- and no word now on whether Justin Timberlake who encouraged her to accept the invitation is going to say yes to Marine Kelsey De Santos (ph). The Virginia-based Marine posted a similar YouTube video. There she is inviting JT to her Marine Corps ball. He has not responded. But yes to two good-looking Marines serving their country and can cause a lot of damage if you say no to them, it will make them mad.
O'BRIEN: Yes they could kill you. Absolutely.
It's 53 minutes past the hour. We're back right after this.
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O'BRIEN: For this week's CNN Hero gardening started as a way to bond with her children. But when the recession, hit her backyard hobby became a necessity. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLLY HIRSHBERG, CNN HERO OF THE WEEK: I love the United States. I think it's a wonderful place to live. It's scary to me that with so much land and so much abundance that people are hungry.
In 2008, my husband lost his job. It was a very, very difficult time. And the first thing we did was plant a garden. If you grow your own food, you never have to worry about how you're going to feed your family.
We thought if we can help others garden, then we can help them pull themselves up out of poverty. I'm Holly Hirschberg. And we fight hunger in the United States by giving away seeds and teaching people to grow their own food.
We pack enough seeds to grow for a family of four. We want to help people provide for themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an eggplant and I've already harvested from it. My garden is in front of my apartment. I can grow tomatoes and bell pepper in just a flower pot. If it wasn't for my garden, then I wouldn't be able to afford fresh produce at all.
HIRSHBERG: Here we have a tomatito plant. These were all from seeds from the dinner garden. We have provided over 65,000 seed packs to individuals and families all over the country. We also have provided seeds for over 180 community gardens.
Who wants to grow vegetables? We see a lot of families whose children only eat when they get a free meal at school. When they are at home, we really want them to have the best nutrition possible and certainly you can't do better than garden veggies.
I'm not a master gardener. I wouldn't even say I'm a good gardener. I am an enthusiastic gardener. The seeds do all the work. We provide the seeds. We help you grow them. You eat the food to fight hunger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: That really is. I'm inspired. I've never gardened for anything in my life.
O'BRIEN: And she says, "I'm not a great gardener."
VELSHI: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I'm enthusiastic.
VELSHI: Yes. That's good. That's all you need.
O'BRIEN: If you know anybody who's making a big difference in your world, you can tell us about them. Go to AMERICAN MORNING blog at cnn.com/am to nominate them to be a cnn hero.
VELSHI: And don't forget, by the way, later on today, in fact in just a few hours, President Obama will hold a news conference to keep us up to speed on what is happening in those debt ceiling talks. While a little hard to make it interesting, it is really, really crucially important.
They have now had five days of meetings with no deal. You can watch President Obama live right here on CNN.
It's been great to have you here today.
O'BRIEN: My pleasure. Thanks.
VELSHI: Thanks for being here, Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: You bet.
VELSHI: We'll be back on Monday morning bright and early. And of course, we will continue our coverage of all of the important stories for you in the morning including, I suspect, the debt deal.
But on Monday, we will have the soccer game to talk about. We will have the World Cup finals.
O'BRIEN: We have a big victory to talk about.
VELSHI: -- which is happening on Sunday.
That's it for us.
"CNN NEWSROOM" begins right now with Kyra Phillips. You have a busy morning ahead of you Kyra.
