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American Morning
Hacking Scandal Widens; Casey Anthony Released from Jail; Dangerous Heat in the Midwest; Debt Ceiling Talks to Resume; World Cup Win Lifts Spirits in Japan; News Corp's Brooks Arrested; Home Invasion At Congressman's Farm; Woman Charged With Groping TSA Agent
Aired July 18, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good Monday morning to you. I'm Kiran Chetry.
A top News Corp executive arrested. London's top cop also quit. Both casualties of a hacking scandal that has Rupert Murdoch's media empire in trouble. We're live in London with the latest.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
Casey Anthony getting out of jail and out of Dodge. She was whisked away after her first taste of freedom. Her whereabouts are unknown -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: And welcome. It's 6:00 a.m. here in New York. Glad you're with outside this Monday. It's July 18th.
A lot going on this morning.
Nice to see you as well.
VELSHI: And nice to see you. Christine's still off, I guess.
CHETRY: Yes, she is. One more week.
VELSHI: And we'll take care of it for this week.
All right. Up first, two more casualties in the U.K. hacking scandal leaving Rupert Murdoch's media empire reeling this morning. Former "News of the World" editor Rebekah Brooks, pictured here, arrested over the weekend. We reported on Friday she had resigned. She's been arrested.
She's been released on bail now. It's not clear if she'll testify tomorrow at the House of Commons hearing. And now, London's top cop has been caught in the fallout as well.
Let's get the latest from Dan Rivers. He's live in London this morning.
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. The most senior police in Britain, Sir Paul Stephenson, has resigned last night in a shock move that has left Scotland Yard reeling. Basically, this all comes from a kind of series of revelations most damagingly. But he accepted almost $20,000 in hospitality from a private health clinic after he was -- had undergone surgery for cancer. The problem was that that health clinic was represented by a P.R. firm owned by former deputy editor of "The News of the World."
So, this kind of picture is building up of -- you know, critics have said, this cozy relationship between the police and senior executives at "News of the World" and News International. And I think that kind of made his position very difficult. He decided to step down last night -- but insisting all the while that he'd done nothing wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIR PAUL STEPHENSON, METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMISSIONER: However, the issue of my integrity. Let me state clearly: I and the people who know me know that my integrity is completely intact. I may wish we had done something differently, but I'll not lose any sleep over my personal integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: The problem was, though, this kind of web of connections just seems to be getting ever greater as more information comes to light between the police, people at the newspaper, Rupert Murdoch's newspaper, and also, of course, number 10 Downing Street, because the prime minister, David Cameron, hired a former "News of the World" editor Andy Coulson.
That story is still rumbling along here in Britain with more sort of suggestions that Cameron is under pressure today. He is out country at the moment. But his story not going away.
VELSHI: All right. Dan Rivers, we'll keep checking with you. It just seems that there are developments in this story every few hours. Dan Rivers is in London for us.
CHETRY: Thanks, Dan.
Also, there's been a major shake-up in the Egyptian government. It's not clear, though, if it will be enough to quiet opposition protesters. Egypt's prime minister appointing 14 new cabinet ministers to his cabinet while keeping 13 others in place. And they'll be sworn into office today.
Meanwhile, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reportedly slipped into a coma yesterday. The hospital's spokesman tells CNN that he has since regained consciousness.
And just hours ago, General David Petraeus performed his last act as commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. He handed off authority to the new commander, Lieutenant General John Allen. Petraeus is retiring from the Army at the end of the month. He will be taking over as director of the CIA in September.
VELSHI: That's right.
The government not able to pay its bills is looming larger this morning. The clock ticks towards the deadline. Just 16 days now and counting. The president and congressional leaders are expected to meet again this week. As you know, last week wasn't all that successful.
At the same time, the Senate will begin debating a scaled-back fallback plan. Both sides say they are optimistic they'll strike a deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: I'm confident cooler heads will prevail. At the end, we will not allow the United States to default on its debt, despite the fact that some people seem to think that that would be OK.
SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: If the president keeps insisting on raising taxes on American workers, there's not going to be a deal. I do think, however, that Republican leaders will not allow the country to go into default.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
VELSHI: President Obama insists both parties must agree on a deal by Friday in order for it to get passed by the August 2nd deadline.
CHETRY: It raises to our question of the day: would not raising the debt ceiling teach America a good lesson about spending? And there are some that say who are arguing , well, this will show us.
VELSHI: This will show us.
CHETRY: And there are others who say this is not sort of a time for this because of the devastating potential consequences.
But we want to know what you think. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, let us know on Facebook and we'll be reading some of your comments a bit later in the show.
VELSHI: All right. The FBI is investigating an armed home invasion at the farmhouse of Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell. The intruder reported Boswell's home Saturday night and pointed a gun at his daughter demanding money. Now, we are told that 77-year-old Boswell, pictured here, struggled with the gunman before his grandson grabbed the shotgun and pointed it at the intruder. He fled and no one was hurt.
Police are calling the break-in a random act.
CHETRY: Now to Casey Anthony's newfound freedom. After three years behind bars and 12 days after being cleared in her daughter's murder, Casey Anthony walked out of the Orange County jail in Florida Sunday.
This morning, though, her whereabouts are unknown and there are many asking where Casey goes from here.
CNN's David Mattingly is live in Orlando.
Obviously, a ton of interest in where she is, where she plans to be. What are her representatives saying at this point?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, her departure from jail took all of 30 seconds. She walked out of the jail right out the front door. Got into an SUV with her attorney and sped off into the night. Police were there to make sure that no one followed. Helicopters followed the car to a parking deck that belonged to the office building where one of her attorneys has an office. And, really, that was the last anyone saw of her here in the Orlando area.
We heard from the attorney who represents her parents. It turns out that Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, actually approached them with the idea of using her parents to help establish a decoy as she was trying to leave the jail. But they turned down that idea.
After it was all over, they got a text message from Jose Baez to say that Casey Anthony was safe. They say that brought them a great deal of relief, but he did not tell them where she is. They do, however, believe she's no longer in central Florida.
Now, when she left the jail, you saw the big crowds there. There were people yelling "killer" in that crowd as she got into the SUV and left. There's a great deal of emotion still unresolved around this case.
We saw a lot of people getting together who were doing something peaceful with those emotions over the weekend. They went to the site where Caylee Anthony's body was discovered and held a march from that site to the Anthony home -- all to remember the child whose death started all of this. It was a very solemn occasion, a lot of people walking in the street.
At one point, it was reported there were cars lined up on the road about a half mile long of people just parking on the roadside going into those woods where her body was discovered just to go to that spot and remember that little girl.
So, again, a great deal of emotions. People are trying to process all of this on their own. But Casey Anthony at the moment is still staying out of the public eye even though she has a lot of legal entanglements that she will still have to address in the months and probably in a next year as these keep coming up -- Kiran.
CHETRY: So, this is interesting thing. A couple of questions people are wondering: is she going to change her appearance, relocate, almost as if she was part after witness protection program? There are some former marshals who are recommending that for her own safety. And then, is she going to attempt to earn money? And if so, that would require public appearances and telling her side of the story.
MATTINGLY: It's widely believed that she will have to tell her story someday. And that story is going to be worth a lot of money to somebody, whoever she chooses. It's also been advised to her that she find a way where she can control her message and not leave herself vulnerable to so many questions that are out there.
But again, there's -- at the moment, all she's doing is staying out of the public eye, perhaps looking at a cooling off period before she makes her next move.
CHETRY: All right. David Mattingly for us this morning -- thanks so much.
VELSHI: Two court hearings today for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He is expected to attend on where he is facing corruption charges. In the other, he's accused for paying for sex with a 17- year-old girl. The judge threw out all defense motions in that case this morning and ordered Berlusconi to attend a hearing in October.
CHETRY: Well, some scary moments for the members of classic rock band Cheap Trick when the -- went on stage and at the Ottawa bluesfest. The stage collapsed while they were performing.
It happened last night during a severe thunderstorm. The group's manager says that everyone was shaken up. But the band and the crew were not injured. Thousands of fans attended the Canadian music festival. Amazingly, only one person was injured in all of that with the collapse of the severe weather.
VELSHI: And a nail biter until the very end -- the U.S. versus Japan, World Cup women's final.
CHETRY: It's a little depressing to watch. The U.S. women, they dominated in the beginning. And we were all saying, oh, remember -- never beat the U.S. in a women's soccer match. Well, that ended yesterday. By the time they were tied, then it came down to penalty kicks and a stunning rally.
Japan defeated the U.S., taking home their first ever World Cup title.
VELSHI: The U.S. fans gathered around the world to watch yesterday's game. Despite the upset, Americans were inspired by Japan's win. It was a soothing victory for nation still reeling from that January devastating earthquake and tsunami.
CHETRY: Yes. President Obama and his family watched the game at the White House. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the U.S. team before the match telling the women that America is proud of what they have accomplished.
So, congrats. It was a tough game to lose but they had a great season.
Well, it is bound to happen. Some are calling eight reverse grouping.
I didn't know it was bound to happen. But something very odd happened at the airport. A female air traveler reportedly turned the tables on a TSA agent in Phoenix. That got her arrested.
VELSHI: Yes, apparently she got very frustrated. She's been charged, by the way.
CHETRY: By the pat-downs.
VELSHI: Yes.
Carmageddon is over, by the way. Drivers in California scared yesterday, the shutdown of the freeway, the 405 Freeway -- it would cause a traffic crisis of epic proportions. What really happened? We'll tell you, coming up.
CHETRY: Also, a brutal heat wave baking the Midwest. The East is next. Forty states expected to swelter.
Eleven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: What carmageddon?
After all that hype, the closing of the 405 Freeway did not cause the end of the car-driving world. California drivers were scared of what the shutdown of one of the busiest freeways in the world would do to traffic. They thought there would be a traffic apocalypse.
Ten-mile segment of the 405, which as you know if you have ever been on it, is always crowded -- it was closed this weekend so workers could make way for a new car pool lane. Now, the project wrapped up quickly without almost no excitement. The 405 actually ended up reopening early.
CHETRY: Right. It reopened early and a lot of people had contingency plans. I mean, they talked about it so much in Los Angeles -- I mean, in California, that workers were allowed to do commute -- telecommuting.
VELSHI: Right. A lot of people just decided not to go.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: The thing is a lot of people were saying why don't they have alternate routes? It's - it's a mountain pass. There aren't a lot of those options.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: So there's a reason why it's as busy as it is, but -
CHETRY: How did the JetBlue flights work out? They were doing $4 - the $4 flights, right?
VELSHI: It - apparently a lot of people took it (ph).
CHETRY: Just to take you over top of the 405 and that's it.
VELSHI: Yes, yes. CHETRY: Well, things keep getting stranger at America's airports. Sixty-one-year-old Yukari Mihamae of Colorado has been arrested and charged with groping a female TSA agent in Phoenix last week after showing her frustration with getting pulled out for the additional enhanced pat-downs. She allegedly grabbed the agent's breast with both hands and twisted. Fellow air travelers didn't seem to be fazed by all the fuzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did it surprise you that somebody did that to the TSA?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. I mean, nothing really surprises me, I guess, so -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: OK. Mihamae is charged with sexual assault. There's already a Facebook page defending her. One follower suggesting that they name an airport after her.
VELSHI: Wow. The worst heat wave in years is rolling across the U.S. this week. Forty states now gripped by sizzling temperatures and extreme humidity.
CHETRY: Yes. The scorching summer heat is dangerous. It's already caused hundreds of health emergencies and it doesn't look like it's letting up.
Ted Rowlands joins us live from Minneapolis where they've been dealing with their fair share of heat. Hey, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. Yes. It is going to be a tough week ahead in several cities around the Midwest, Chicago and here in Minneapolis, temperatures not only uncomfortable but also potentially dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Water, water, water!
ROWLAND (voice-over): With the heat index over 100 degrees, fans at Sunday's Minnesota Twins game did whatever they could to keep cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brutal. I'd probably lost 10 pounds today. It's crazy.
ROWLAND: Several fans ended up needing medical attention. This man was suffering from severe dehydration.
Across the country, it's been a brutal summer with this dangerous heat wave sizzling in as many as 40 states. In Oklahoma, 27 days have been over 100. Heat is blamed for this water main break and for this section of buckled freeway that sent a motorcyclist to the hospital. It was so hot last week in Norman, Oklahoma, that this guy says he fried an egg on his dashboard.
In Texas, a lack of rain is forcing farmers to sell their cows because the grass to feed them wouldn't grow. This woman in Houston summed it up in a CNN iReport.
SUZANNE NEWKIRK (ph), IREPORTER, HOUSTON: We are sweltering and we're just asking for some relief here. Houston is hot as blazes. Stay put. Stay cool.
ROWLAND: Or as experts say take it easy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the body's active, it develops heat and it need to generate that heat and get rid of that heat. Unfortunately when it's hot outside, it's harder to do that and so you can overheat. And that leads to heat exhaustion and sometimes heat stroke.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLAND: And several cities have cooling centers open this week. Chicago, one of them here in Minneapolis, the heat index is expected to top 110 degrees today here at the Minnesota Twins Ball Diamond. They're going to have a double-header. They have many cooling stations around the ballpark. Yesterday, the lines were as long as you can imagine here. It's going to be another hot one today and it's going to be hot most of the week, guys.
CHETRY: All right. Ted Rowlands for us. Thanks so much.
Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center with more on how long it's going to last and how many states this heat wave is going to hit. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. Eleven states right now under excessive heat warnings. Sixteen by my count that have advisories and watches that are out. And these go from North Texas all the way up to the border of Canada, of course, going into Canada, they got heat. Just as - just as warm as some of these states, they're going to see the record breaking stuff.
How long is this heat wave going the last? Well, it will feel like it will be up and over 100 degrees in Minneapolis today again. And tomorrow could possibly feel like heat index of over 110, continues into Wednesday. Maybe by Thursday, we start to see things moderate. But, really, just yet a little farther down to the south and east. So this is a long-term event. Certainly in the spot that's not used to seeing this sort of heat continuously.
All right. Let's talk about Tropical Storm Brett. This is the second tropical storm of the season. It developed yesterday afternoon. It is about - oh, about 150 miles or so east of West Palm Beach. And it's just kind of drifting here east - easterly moving (ph) about three miles an hour. Winds at 50 miles an hour. And the forecast track keeps it away from the U.S. and keeps it just below hurricane strength out to sea. Not necessarily the best of news because the southeast, including Florida, really could use the rain. So typically tropical storm, a moderate to a weak tropical storm will bring in a decent amount of rain. So those are the kind that we like. We like to have that one a little bit closer to home.
Meanwhile, the humidity continues to pump up across the central and eastern part of the country. This front not making much progress in the south, but it will be close enough to the northeast to bring in some thunderstorms and that will cause travel delays today.
New York City metro this afternoon, especially Chicago will see some thunderstorms, Detroit and Cleveland and Boston as well because of this front that will eventually push off to the east. But not before temperatures get up to about 92 degrees, New York City; 95 degrees in D.C; and there's your 97 degrees in Minneapolis. That number doesn't include humidity and it's measured in the shade. So we continue to sizzle through the middle and latter part of July.
Kiran, Ali, back up to you.
VELSHI: All right. Rob, we will check in with you in just a little bit. I have a solution, by - by the way, to all this heat.
CHETRY: Tell me.
VELSHI: All right. It's a cool technology coming out of Japan that looks like silly string, but it's a spray foam and apparently can seriously help you.
Check this out. This guy is just going to spray it on his arm. All right. The foam is basically ice cold. Once you spray it on your skin, it hardens and then you can mold it into a wristband or a neckband or something like that. He's making it to a wristband. And it keeps cool. Here's the sad part. It only stays cool for about five minutes.
CHETRY: OK. So this is not that different than having a cooling pack, an ice pack or anything (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: No. But you can't - you can't put an ice pack around your wrist like that.
CHETRY: Oh, I have one in my bag.
VELSHI: You have like a carry-around -
CHETRY: Yes. I really actually do.
VELSHI: Yes. This one is -
CHETRY: I'm serious. Look at this.
VELSHI: Oh, wow. Look at that.
CHETRY: And look, you wrap it around. VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Any area.
VELSHI: You can put it around my watch. I can just like put it around my -
CHETRY: Yes. It can keep your watch cool. See.
VELSHI: That is very cool.
CHETRY: You don't know how much stuff is in that bag.
VELSHI: This is because you - you put this in your freezer? You freeze it -
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Nice, huh? It's really for your knee.
VELSHI: Now it tells me, it's 92 degrees outside and I find out because I bring it up on TV. That would be good on my head. I like that.
CHETRY: All right.
Still to come in AMERICAN MORNING, a powerful typhoon is now racing towards Japan. And that's raising some serious questions about the nuclear facility. It hasn't recovered yet from the last natural disaster. We're going to talk about how they're trying to prepare for this one.
VELSHI: And now to the hottest thing in Hollywood. Take us to the Marine Corps Balls. We'll tell you how Justin Timberlake got hooked up.
It is 22 minutes after the hour. Give me that cooling thing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
U.S. stocks futures currently trading lower ahead of the opening bell. Stocks made modest gains in Friday session, but ended the week lower overall as uncertainty remains high over the nation's debt ceiling talks.
And issues sure to keep investors on edge this week. The clock is ticking on lawmakers to come to an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Sixteen days left before the Treasury Department says it will not be able to pay all its bills, pushing the U.S. closer to default. Some of the world's largest companies will report second-quarter earnings this week including McDonald's, General Electric and Apple. Others on tap today, IBM after the closing bell this afternoon, and Halliburton, Wind Resorts and toymaker Hasbro earlier in the day.
News Corporation stock down to about $16 a share at the close on Friday in the U.S. The stock has dropped more than seven percent this month, a two-year low. Right now, the stock is trading lower on world markets as the U.K. phone hacking scandal continues to spread over the weekend.
President Obama expected to nominate Richard Cordray, a former attorney from Ohio, to head up the New Consumer Protection Bureau today. Many Senate Republicans say they will try to block the nomination, not just for Cordray but for anyone, saying the new agency lacks transparency and accountability.
HSBC reportedly warning clients about an offshore tax evasion probe. "USA Today" says the bank is sending out alerts about an IRS investigation. CNN's calls to HSBC about the report have not been returned.
Volkswagen on pace for a record year. VW says it sold four million cars worldwide in the first half of the year. That includes not just VW cars, but the company's other cars like Audi, Skoda, a popular line in Europe and Asia.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty minutes past the hour right now.
A look at our top stories this morning:
Rupert Murdoch's top newspaper executive Rebekah Brooks is now out on bail. She was arrested over the weekend in connection with a growing phone hacking scandal and alleged bribes to police. London's top cop, Paul Stephenson, also resigned yesterday. A hearing into the scandal will be held in London's House of Commons tomorrow.
General David Petraeus handing off command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan this morning. Lieutenant General John Allen now takes the reigns. Petraeus is retiring from the Army at the end of next month to become director of the CIA in September.
And just 16 days until the U.S. government cannot cover all of its bills. The president and congressional leaders are expected to meet again this week with no significant progress on any major deal. Lawmakers are now working on a number of alternative approaches to raising the debt limit.
VELSHI: And over the weekend, both sides are trying -- were trying to make a deal to raise the debt ceiling by the treasury's August 2nd deadline.
Brianna Keilar live at the White House.
Brianna, good morning. Anything get done over the weekend?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali and Kiran, there weren't any of those public meetings between the principal negotiators, the president, and House Speaker John Boehner. But there was a lot going on behind the scenes. We were told from the speaker's office that the lines of communication were open.
We know that top aides were in discussions, and especially work that was done over the week has to do with a fallback plan. One, that the Senate Democrats and Republicans, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, are working on.
It's a plan based on something put out last week by Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader. And it would allow the president essentially practically speaking to increase the debt ceiling himself without a majority of support from Congress that would allow him to do this in increments, in three increments over the next year and a half. And it would allow Congress to go on record as disapproving of that increase in the debt ceiling.
So, some of the details are being worked out there. Republicans want to have some votes for things they are demanding, things like a balanced budget amendment and also spending cuts, and caps on future spending -- we are likely to see that this week, guys. None of those are expected to pass. None of those votes on Republican demands, but it really would allow them to kind of go on the record saying that they oppose what Democrats and the White House want to do, and also I should tell you, a fallback option could include trillions of dollars in savings, possibly $1.5 trillion in savings. Not totally set yet, but it's not really the big plan for sure that President Obama had been pushing.
VELSHI: Now, Brianna, you talked about the plan that the Senate is trying to formulate. What about a contingency plan if nobody has a plan? The administration decided who sees their government benefits or their payments affected if we get to August 3rd without a deal?
KEILAR: Ali, the president's budget director, Jack Lew, was asked this very question over the weekend. And he wouldn't go there. He basically stepped away from it and said you know, that's not even something we should be talking about.
So, you have both sides here, Democrats and Republicans, saying that they are confident that the debt ceiling is going to be increased to avoid economic calamity and they're not really even trying to send that message of exactly who would be losing out although as you know, Ali, the president did warn, as he was really trying to make a point of how serious this could be, that perhaps Social Security checks could be affected. But in terms of concretely, who would see their benefits affected first, would it be Social Security recipients, those on disability, maybe veterans, the White House isn't going there.
VELSHI: OK, Brianna, there's going to be a lot of work going on there and you'll be following it. And we'll be following it with you -- Brianna Keilar at the White House this morning.
CHETRY: Meantime in Japan, workers are scrambling to build a roof-like structure over reactor number three at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It's because right now, a powerful typhoon is churning towards the area. It's expected to make landfall tomorrow south of the crippled plant. Officials are trying to prevent rain from entering holes in one of the buildings.
VELSHI: More than 5,000 people have now fled the area where a volcano in central Indonesia erupted for the fourth time in less a week. Officials are worried that the towering plume of volcanic ash could affect flights at nearby airports.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, concerns about the health of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who returned to Cuba this weekend for more cancer treatments. He'll begin chemotherapy as part of an aggressive treatment plan. Chavez has not revealed what kind of cancer he has. But in a tweet from Cuba, the Venezuelan leader says he is fighting for his life.
VELSHI: And Nelson Mandela turns 93 years old today. The former South African president was surrounded by family. People around the world have been asked to mark today's occasion by devoting 67 minutes of their time to work in their community. That's one minute for every for year of Mandela's public service.
We can bring ourselves to do 67 minutes of community work in honor of Nelson Mandela.
CHETRY: Absolutely. And there are little ideas -- paint the schools in your neighborhood, get tested for HIV. It's very interesting some of the ideas.
VELSHI: They are largely simple things with big impact.
CHETRY: Exactly. Done collectively, it's going to make a big difference.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: It's that old Potter movie magic. I mean, this isn't much of a shock. But, wow, breaking record.
VELSHI: These numbers, I got to say, they kind of even shock me, they are big.
CHETRY: Well, "Harry Potter," well, it was last time the fans are going get to see it, right? Well, you never know.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" broke all kinds of box office records in its debut weekend, taking in $169 million. That's in the U.S. alone -- beating a previous opening weekend record of "The Dark Night." The Potter finale also set records for a one day opening take on Friday and the best ever gross for midnight shows.
VELSHI: The biggest take for presales of tickets and numbers overseas were bigger than these. I think we're going to see more of these movies.
This is a story we have been following closely for you. Remember last week when Justin Timberlake received a YouTube invitation to the Marine Corps ball. This is after Mila Kunis got hers. This is for Justin's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CORPORAL KELSEY DESANTIS, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Justin, you want to call my girl Mila. Well, I'm going to call you out and ask you to come to the Marine Corps ball with me on November 12 in Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And he's accepted. While promoting his new film, "Friends with Benefits," Timberlake said he's looking forward to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, MUSICIAN/ACTOR: I don't get asked out ever. So I was very flattered by that. I hear that she's like trained in martial arts so -- I'm hoping we can tussle at some point. That last part was a joke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
VELSHI: The whole thing started when Marine Sergeant Scott Moore, this guy here, posted a YouTube video inviting Timberlake's co- star Mila Kunis to the North Carolina Marine Corps ball. With a little push from Justin, Mila agreed to the date and then sort of waffled about it and then confirmed that she's going.
CHETRY: All right. There's also somebody -- one of the Marines asked out Betty White as well. So, we'll see if it's a new trend in Hollywood.
VELSHI: Are you coming around to this? Because you were a real big doubter last week.
CHETRY: No, I think it's great. I just -- if you say you're going to do it, do it. That's all. But
VELSHI: You don't think they're going to go all to these balls?
CHETRY: Yes, I do now. Come around.
A Dallas man gets a deal of a lifetime. Most of the homes on his block go for around $300,000. But one man snagged his house for $16. We'll tell you how he got so lucky.
VELSHI: All right. People on the edge of their bar stools across the U.S. and Japan, riveting World Cup final. Women's World Cup final, the U.S. coming up with one thrill short. However, Zain Verjee was there to witness it. She will join us live after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A Dallas man is literally living on easy street. Kenneth Robinson move in this $330,000 home for just 16 bucks. He did it thanks to a little known Texas law.
And here's how it works. The house was in foreclosure more than a year. The owner moved out. And the mortgage company went out of business.
Robinson just brought his stuff in and submitted a $16 form under a, quote, "adverse possession law." That gives him the right to own it since he has been living there. His neighbors are not happy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wants the house, buy the house like everyone else had to. Get the money and buy the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Robinson says he's no squatter. He has to live in the house for three years and once those three years are up, he gets a deed.
CHETRY: The only thing is why would the previous owners who put money down and paid -- made payments for it --
VELSHI: They got foreclosed on it, so they have no claims to that.
CHETRY: If the bank then went out of business, could they have used that law for themselves?
VELSHI: I have never heard of this law. It seems very weird. If this really the law, it sounds like law that needs to be changed, somebody --
CHETRY: Or other people --
VELSHI: So, somebody needs to -- you know, previous owners, the bank. Very strange.
CHETRY: Wow.
All right. Well, we are number two.
VELSHI: Yeheey!
CHETRY: Unfortunately.
VELSHI: It's a good two, though.
CHETRY: Well, they played really well. It's just that they lost. The U.S. suffered a stunning loss to Japan in the women's World Cup final yesterday.
VELSHI: With a soothing victory, though, for a nation that's still healing from the tsunami and earthquake.
Zain Verjee joins us live from Frankfurt, Germany, where she had a front row seat to all the World Cup action.
Very, very close for the U.S., Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It was so close, guys. We thought they almost had it. And then it just slipped away. The Japanese came back in stunning form in the last few minutes of extra time that led to the penalty shoot-out and the U.S. lost that crucial final.
The atmosphere, guys, in the stadium was absolutely electric. I have never been in a match like that and just been on the edge of the seat. I had no nails left. I was biting them throughout the match.
The U.S., though, kept possession for most of the match. They were really aggressive at the beginning, coming out of the gate really hard. They have so many opportunities to score. But they missed.
Now, crucially, if we had to pinpoint where they made the biggest mistake, it was really on the defense line. Many people are saying that the first ball was kind of a gift to Japan where the defender actually cost on to U.S. and she just knocked in the goal. And everybody thought the U.S. because they're so tall would score from a corner. And it turned out that the Japanese who don't advantage (INAUDIBLE), they're a little bit short, they capitalized on it and it knocked it back in. That was a real blow to the U.S.
CHETRY: And, Zain, let's see it, Zain, because I know that you're -- you talked about having no nails left. You got into it big time. I see an S. What else is on that shirt?
VERJEE: You know what? You know, people in that stadium were torn. They were rooting for Japan because Japan were the sentimental favorites, but they also wanted the U.S. to win. So many people did, just because they haven't won since 1999.
So if you want me to flash you, again --
CHETRY: Yes, we do.
VERJEE: This is what the rest of my t-shirt says.
VELSHI: Speaking about flashing and taking t-shirts off and things like that, this always reminds Kiran of the 1999 U.S. victory when --
CHETRY: Brandi Chastain, upon winning, ripped of her shirt, flung it on the air, and had on, you know, a sports bra.
VELSHI: So, Zain, how did this -- not your flashing -- but how did the game compare to the 1991 win?
VERJEE: You know, it's so tough for this team because it has been -- 1999 has kind of been a blessing and a curse. You know, so many of the team members are an icon to this team. But it's also been a source of frustration for many of them because they are constantly being compared. What they really wanted with this game was to get out from under the shadow of 1999 and redefine themselves because all of these years, it's been the game could be more magical than 1999 in L.A., what team could be better, than Mia, Joy, Brandi and Julie.
CHETRY: A lot of class, though. Midfielder, Carli Lloyd, said, you know, if any other country had to win it, I'm glad it was Japan because of everything that nation has been through as well. And they're an extraordinary team. So -- VELSHI: Zain, I just want to ask you. Hillary Clinton, I know that she called this team before the game, but she had some bet going on about this game?
VERJEE: Yes, she did. She did. She and the Japanese foreign minister had a wager, and the deal was either New York apples for Japanese pears. It could have been a little riskier, I thought, but anyway, I think the secretary is going to be picking apples pretty soon.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: All right. Zain Verjee for us this morning. Thanks so much.
VELSHI: All right. Still ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Cut, cap, and balance, the new conservative buzz words when it comes to the debate over raising the debt ceiling, but what could it mean for and you your money? We're going to break it down when we come back.
CHETRY: Also, a 10-year-old boy makes his parents proud by saving his little brother's life. We'll tell you exactly how he did it. Pretty remarkable story still ahead. It's 46 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty-eight minutes past the hour right now. Here's a look at your headlines this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Rupert Murdoch's former top newspaper executive, Rebekah Brook, is out on bail this morning. She was arrested over the weekend in the UK phone hacking scandal. London's police commissioner has also resigned.
General David Petraeus is coming home. He'll head up the CIA this fall after handing off command of the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan to Lieutenant General John Allen.
Congressman Leonard Boswell is OK after an armed invasion of his Iowa farmhouse. The 77-year-old Boswell reportedly struggled with the gunman before his grandson grabbed a shotgun, pointed it at the intruder, who then fled. Concert chaos in Canada. The stage at the Ottawa Blues Fest giving way last night during a severe storm sending people running for their lives. It happened while Cheap Trick was performing. No one in the band was injured.
And a 61-year-old Colorado woman is facing sexual abuse charges for allegedly groping a female TSA agent in a Phoenix airport. Sixty-one- year-old Yukari Mihamae reportedly refused to be screened and grabbed the agent's breasts with both hands and twisted.
And playing for a battered country, Japan beating the U.S. in a thrilling Women's World Cup final. It all came down to penalty kicks. It is Japan's ever, first ever, World Cup title.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (on-camera): You're caught up on the day headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: The catchy slogan when it comes to the debt ceiling debate, it's something called cut, cap, and balance.
CHETRY: So, is the conservative plan just political jargon or an actual way to cut the nation's spending? Here's our chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Buzz word alert --
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: Cut, cap, and balance gets us out of debt over a long period of time.
CROWLEY: Cut, a substantial amount of spend thing to bring down the roughly $1.5 trillion deficit expected this year. Cap, federal spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product is at 24 percent of GDP now. Pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution that includes spending caps and makes it difficult to raise federal taxes. Cut, cap, and balance. CCB is all the rage in some Republican quarters.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The answer for the country is for the president to agree to cut federal spending, to cap federal spending, and to put in place a balanced budget amendment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House will be in order.
CROWLEY: This week, the Republican controlled House will likely pass a cut, cap, and balance bill as a prerequisite to raising the debt ceiling. There are mighty objections from Democrats on the hill and in the White House.
JACOB LEW, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: What these amendments do is not just say you have to balance the budget, but it puts in place spending limitations that would force us to cut Social Security and Medicare more deeply than even the House budget resolution.
CROWLEY (on-camera): What the House will almost surely approve the Senate almost surely will not, leaving the debt ceiling issue precisely where it has been for months, unresolved.
If can you not get the Senate to pass what the House surely will this week, you will allow the U.S. to go in default or you will go to a plan B?
GRAHAM: I'm going to focus on plan A. That, to me, is the only plan that will work. It's the real deal, not a big deal.
CROWLEY (voice-over): The most probable deal still in the works would cut spending by $1.5 trillion over 10 years and let the president raise the debt ceiling through the 2012 election. Congress could stop him but only in the unlikely event of a veto-proof majority vote in both Houses. Everybody gets off the hook, and it avoids economic chaos.
SEN. JON KYL, (R) ARIZONA: At the end of the day, Republican leaders have made it clear that we will not be the ones who put the government into default.
CROWLEY: It's uncertain whether Republican rank and file will follow their leaders. The idea comes from SENATE GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, who has been trashed by conservatives ever since.
REP. JIM JORDAN, (R) OHIO: We're in big trouble, so let's have that national debate --
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: Sources say the last-ditch McConnell plan could be on the Senate floor this week.
CROWLEY (on-camera): But a Republican source believes before the McConnell bill, the Senate will take up cut, cap, and balance because even if CCB doesn't pass, it has endless possibilities as a CBS (ph) campaign bubbler (ph) sticker.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Brings us to our question of the day. Would not raising the debt ceiling, like some say we should not do, teach America a good lesson about spending?
VELSHI: We had quite a bit of response from you on our blog, on Facebook, on Twitter. Here's what some of you think.
CHETRY: Yes. David Flanagan writing, "No, the American public should not be penalized by an inability on the part of those whom we elect and entrust to make solid choices to do the job they were elected to do. The public did not get us into this mess and should not be punished for something created by our elected leaders. In my opinion, the only thing we can be blamed for is, perhaps, voting for the wrong individuals."
VELSHI: On Facebook, Allen says, "Not raising the debt ceiling would be too high a price to pay for irresponsible spending. A proper compromise of reduced spending and tax reform could raise hopes that America can properly address its debt problems"
CHETRY: Jack on Facebook writes, "It will or should teach Americans that politics is more important than what's good for the nation again. The Republicans are still hoping for Obama's waterloo. Smart Americans will see through this nonsense."
VELSHI: And on Twitter, "Not raising the debt ceiling would show that the lesson on spending had been learned."
So, some mixed views on that. Keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, or tell us on Facebook. We'll read some more of your thoughts later on in the show
All right. We promised you this before the break. This is a 10-year- old New Hampshire boy that's a hero after coming to rescue his little brother and saving his life.
CHETRY: Yes. The six-year-old Clayton was choking on a marble. His lips were turning blue with. And with their mom in the shower and dad at work, older brother, 10-year-old Dylan performed the Heimlich maneuver. Something he said he'd seen done on television.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DYLAN SOULE-LAMBERT, SAVED BROTHER FROM CHOKING: I'm like, OK, I've seen this before. I've never done it. I'm not sure if it will work, but let's try this. I didn't want my brother to die because I would be really sad. And my family would be also sad. And, my life wouldn't be the same without him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: That's how it worked.
VELSHI: Incredible.
CHETRY: Dylan's father and three uncles are fire fighters, and he says that helping is in their blood.
VELSHI: That's incredible. Good for you, kid.
CHETRY: Up ahead next hour, where is Casey Anthony? She walked out of jail on Sunday, a free woman, and then disappeared. We're live in Florida with a look at what could be her next move.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
