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American Morning
Deadline for Raising Debt Ceiling Looms Amid Stall Negotiations; Norway Bombing and Shooting Suspect to Appear in Courtroom; Same Sex Couples Begin to Marry in New York; DSK Accuser Breaks Her Silence; A Mass Murderer's Manifesto; A Mass Murderer's Manifesto; Congressman David Wu Ethics Investigation; DSK Accuser Goes Public; Obama and Republicans Work on Debt Deals; Debt Crisis Rattles Investors; Asia Markets Down on Debt Fears; Debt Stalemate: How Did We Get Here?; Dodger Stadium Beating Suspects in Court; Heisman Winner Wrecks Car; NFL Lockout End in Sight; Ben Roethlisberger is Marriedj; New Film, Starring You
Aired July 25, 2011 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Markets around the world falling this morning after the president and both Houses of Congress go their separate ways in talks to raise the nation's credit limit. Politics in Washington, putting the global economy on the brink.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. He wants to explain why. The man who confessed to a rampage in Norway, he has his day in court this hour before the search for bodies is even over.
VELSHI: And the defense team says she lacks credibility. DSK's accuser going public for the first time this morning with her side of the story.
ROMANS: And what a drag, a man grabs on to a moving car goes for a wild ride. What was so important that he could not let go? Wow. On this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good morning. It is Monday, July 25, and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. A lot going on this morning. Kiran is off. Let's get right to it.
ROMANS: That's right. There are real worries about the price you're going to pay because President Obama and Republicans are unable to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling. This morning as the clock ticks down to that deadline, just eight days away now, investors taking notice. The markets are mostly down in Europe where trading is under way. They closed down in Asia. And this will have a direct effect on your 401(k) and your IRA. Our Dan Lothian live at the White House.
VELSHI: Dan, what's going on with the two sides? Are there negotiations going on behind the scenes?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The talks do continue. As you know there were talks over the weekend but no compromise at all. The hope was they could reach some kind of agreement in order to settle not only the global markets but the markets here domestically. But that didn't happen.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing a plan that would extend the debt limit through 2012 and have about $2.7 trillion in cuts. On the Republican side House Speaker John Boehner is looking for some sort of a two-step process that would raise the debt ceiling through 2011 and then again in 2012. And he says whatever plan they have should adhere to the principles of cut, cap, and balance, which of course the House passed last week but it was rejected in the Senate.
Nonetheless both the president and Democrats have been very clear about saying they don't want a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling. They want to make sure it goes to 2012. Take a listen to what Secretary Geithner said yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: What we cannot do, and this is very important, what we cannot do because it would be irresponsible is to leave the threat of default hanging over the American economy for a longer period of time.
Look, you know, back in January, more than seven months ago, we started this process of working with the Congress to get them to raise the debt limit. It's taken us seven months to get to the place where we are now. We are almost out of runway. We not nowhere, but were almost out of runway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: As you know this is the political season. President Obama has been raising millions of dollars out there on the campaign trail. He did have two fundraisers here in the D.C. area tonight. He has pulled out of those. Vice President Biden will be stepping in his place.
VELSHI: All right, Dan, we'll continue to cover it with you. Clear your schedule by the way if you have any fundraisers this week, Dan.
(LAUGHTER)
LOTHIAN: I've cleared them. I did clear all of them.
VELSHI: Christine and I are in the process of having our people cancel ours as well. All right, Dan Lothian.
Anders Breivik, the guy accused of --
ROMANS: In Norway.
VELSHI: -- in Norway. He's scheduled to appear in a courtroom within the hour. The 32-year-old murder suspect admits committing the terror attacks that claimed at least 93 lives on Friday, remarkable, remarkable terror attacks. He says he wants a chance to explain himself. He believes the massacre was horrible but necessary. ROMANS: On Friday Breivik allegedly set off a bomb near some government buildings. That bomb killed seven people. Then police say he traveled 20 miles to an island youth camp in Utoya, Norway, and there he slaughtered at least 86 more people in a bloody ambush, picking off young people as they were running terrified one by one.
Diana Magnay live from Utoya. We know they had a minute of silence in the last hour or so. What's happening right now, Diana?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a minute of silence an hour ago where people have been laying floral tributes in Oslo and also here. We went up to an area overlooking the island of Utoya just about an hour and a half ago where there was a steady stream of people bringing flowers to remember those children who were killed as they were running, swimming for their lives from the island.
And I tell you, reporting on this story for the last two days, listening to the survivors' stories, it has been really a horrific story to cover.
Anyway, I spoke to one person coming there to lay down flowers about why he thought and the possibility of Anders Breivik to have an open trial was a bad idea. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROLF LIE, LOCAL RESIDENT: His message should not be spread too much. It's not good thoughts. He wants the whole world to see and imagine his thoughts. I don't think that's the best way.
MAGNAY: What did you think when you read about his manifesto?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was scared. I think this is Hitler number two.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNAY: You know, this manifesto is a huge document that appeared on-line allegedly by the killer on the day that he committed these attacks, and it really details some very far right extremist, anti-immigration thinking and his belief that it's really European politicians who are to blame for allowing Muslim immigrants into Europe and so polluting the ethnic purity of, for example, the Norwegian race. So some insight there into the mind of the killer. But the court has decided that this will be a closed hearing possibly because of the public outcry about Breivik being given a platform to air his views.
VELSHI: It's very interesting. It's an interesting combination of forces there, the idea it's open so the press and media can see what's going on versus closed because of that gentleman you entire interviewed who I think expresses the view of some Norwegians that why give this guy more of a microphone than he already has. For him it might be a good thing for him to say what he wants to say.
Diana, thanks for that. We'll stay in touch with you on this throughout the course of the day.
ROMANS: All right, four teenagers have been badly mauled by a brown bear and her cub deep in the Alaskan wilderness. It happened Saturday in Talkeetna (ph), about two hours north of Anchorage. The teams were in the 24th day of a month-long backpacking survival course. That's when they were attacked. Two of them are facing life- threatening injuries. One teen who managed to fight the bear off called home and told his sister what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARNISHA MARTIN, BROTHER SURVIVED BEAR ATTACK: He said it was the size of my grandma's Lexus. He said that when he saw the bear he ran and then he looked back and he fell, that he saw the bear, and then the bear got on him, and then he started kicking the bear. He kicked it in the nose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. Carnisha Martin says her brother suffered bites to his legs and ankles, but he is expected to recover.
VELSHI: An autopsy to determine what killed singer Amy Winehouse will take place this afternoon. The 27-year-old's publicist and friend tells Britain's "The Sun" Winehouse died alone in her bed. Many are speculating her death is connected to her well-chronicled substance abuse.
In the meantime mementos from mourners continue to pile up outside her London apartment. In fact her 2006 album is now starting to make it on to charts, downloaded a great deal. A very, very creative artist and singer. It's very sad.
ROMANS: A woman in control of her voice that was her art but clearly not in control of her life.
VELSHI: But she sang about it. The thing is this was such a public destruction. It was sad to hear. The world is missing her.
ROMANS: The wedding bells have been ringing nonstop since same- sex couples could legally marry in New York state. The law took effect yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the laws of the state of New York, I now pronounce you married. You may seal your vows with a kiss.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And that's what you're looking at the first couple to marry in New York City, Phyllis and Connie SIEGAL. They tied the knot at the city clerk's office as a crowd of onlookers cheered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHYLLIS SIEGAL, FIRST COUPLE TO MARRY IN NEW YORK CITY: It was just so amazing. It's the only way I can describe it. I lost my breath and a few tears. And it's indescribable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A handful of protesters gathered across the state claiming Governor Cuomo redefined marriage without giving voters input.
VELSHI: Taking their voice in Cooperstown, second baseman Roberto Alomar, pitcher Bert Blyleven were inducted into the hall of fame yesterday. Alomar, a Blue Jay, one of the greatest to play his position ever, went in as a blue jay, Blyleven, a Minnesota twin, who I believe born in the Netherlands, waited 14 years to get in. He's fifth in major league history with over 3,700 strikeouts.
ROMANS: Wow.
All right, some are calling it Australia greatest sporting feat ever. Cadel Evans riding into Paris with the yellow jersey, he became the first man from his country to win the tour de France. At 34 years old he is the oldest winner --
VELSHI: Really?
ROMANS: -- in 63 years. There you go.
VELSHI: All right.
Still to come, the hotel maid who claims former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her is speaking out. We'll tell you what she is saying about what happened in the hotel room that infamous day.
ROMANS: And from a sweltering week to the wettest day ever, Chicago drying out after a record downpour. It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A Democratic congressman from Oregon at the center of an ethics investigation. David Wu is accused of aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior toward the teenage daughter of a long-time campaign donor. One of Wu's advisers telling "Politico" the congressman will not resign but won't run for reelection in 2012.
ROMANS: All right, it was Chicago's wettest day ever.
VELSHI: Were you there?
ROMANS: I was. I think Rob called it a stalled front but it just felt like this thunderstorm never went away. It just dumped. Firefighters on boats pulling people interest stranded cars. Close to seven inches of rain fell in just a matter of hours on Saturday. It came down so fast that sewers backed up, highways shut down, some train service was suspended, and every single person I know said they had water in their basement.
VELSHI: Wow.
(WEATHER BREAK)
VELSHI: The New York City hotel maid who claims Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her says the former IMF chief was, in her words, "acting like a crazy man" during the incident.
ROMANS: For the first time since their May encounter the 32- year-old accuser coming forward with her side of the story in her own words. This is video you're looking at right now from an interview she gave to ABC News. She also told her story to "Newsweek" magazine, claiming she never wanted to go public, but now she feels she simply has no choice. Susan Candiotti joining us with the new development. So we're hearing from the accuser.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a gripping, compelling account as we read it. Not necessarily anything that is surprising or new, but you can't -- it's hard to put it down.
VELSHI: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: It's hard not to listen to what she has to say. And so in short, she talks about coming into the hotel room, thinking that there was no one in there and then discovering a naked man she says coming out of the bathroom at which time she says to him, "Oh, my God, I'm sorry," she tells "Newsweek" magazine. He says, "You don't have to be sorry." He says, "You're beautiful." She says, "Sir, stop this, I don't want to lose my job." He says, "You're not going to lose your job."
And remember that authorities have said they found forensic evidence of a sexual encounter. She also had said she had no idea who Dominique Strauss was before this allegedly happened and he has pleaded not guilty. She goes on to tell ABC News, I want him to know there is some places where you cannot use your money, you cannot use your power, when you do something like this.
VELSHI: The question here is what -- his lawyers are sort of striking back saying this is highly unusual for someone to be using the press to pressure a prosecutor to prosecute, and the prosecutors haven't made a decision yet apparently.
CANDIOTTI: That's correct. And the prosecutors aren't saying anything about the fact that she's given an interview but the fact that she is coming forward and doing this is remarkable. You also remember when her own attorney came out in vivid detail and explained what happened but they're very concerned that prosecutors might drop this case.
Now, yes, war of words between the lawyers for both sides. DSK lawyers are saying, quote, "The number of rallies, press conferences and media events that the defense have orchestrated," the lawyer for the maid, "is exceeded only by the number of lies and misstatements she has made to law enforcement, friends, medical professionals and reporters." Of course, the lawyer for the maid takes issue with that and says they're all wet. In his words, "They are defense attorneys and clearly believe that these types of false personal attacks are part of their job description." He says but that excuse isn't sufficient when we are dealing with a brutal sexual attack, a mountain of physical evidence, a victim who spoke out immediately and numerous corroborating witnesses."
So, it is a remarkable turn of events here and we still have no decision from prosecutors about what they're going to do next. He is scheduled to appear in court one week from today and at that point we're expected to get some kind of status report on where the case stands.
VELSHI: That's when the prosecution is likely to say whether they've got enough to go forward with or --
CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, they might, but they might also ask for more time. We know they've been meeting with other accusers of Dominique Strauss-Kahn before they make a final decision.
VELSHI: Well, OK. Susan, thanks so much for that.
ROMANS: In the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING, Christopher Dickey will join us. He's the Paris bureau chief, the Mideast editor of "Newsweek" magazine. He interviewed Diallo for the "Newsweek" cover story. We're going to get his impressions of the accuser and her story.
VELSHI: All right. Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the man behind the massacre, new information about Norway terror suspect Anders Breivik and why he decided to kill 93 people on Friday.
It is 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-one minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Lots to talk about this week on Wall Street. Lots. U.S. markets poised to open sharply lower this morning. Right now, Dow futures down about 100 points. Nasdaq, S&P 500 futures also trading lower ahead of the opening bell. You're going to feel it in your 401(k) today. The debt clock is ticking. Lawmakers in Washington haven't reached an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling. You know that already. And we're beginning to see the effects of that uncertainty in world markets.
Stocks in China and Japan closed lower. European markets trading lower this morning.
Moody's is dealing another blow to Greece, downgrading its debt yet again. That's also pushing European markets and U.S. stock futures lower today. The ratings agency is forecasting that Greece will have to default on some of its debt, despite the European Union approving another bailout for the country last week. Investors also have to sort through more corporate earnings report this week.
Today, Texas Instruments and Netflix report their earnings for the last quarter after the closing bell. Later on this week, big oil Exxon Mobil and Chevron, expected to report big profits for the second quarter.
Investors also waiting for the first official reading on the nation's economic growth for the last quarter. That's the GDP estimate. Right now, economists forecast that growth actually slowed down to 1.6 percent as the economic recovery lost some steam. Those GDP numbers come out on Friday.
And gas prices are trending up again. The latest Lundberg survey says even though demand for gas is lower due to a weaker economy, recent high oil prices are pushing gas prices up nationwide.
Don't forget for the very latest news about your money check out the all-new CNNmoney.com. We'll be right back.
AMERICAN MORNING coming back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. A court hearing is under way right now in Oslo, Norway, for the terror suspect accused of killing 93 people in those bloody attacks on Friday.
VELSHI: Anders Breivik is -- he left behind a 1,500 page manifesto. Police are examining it right now. In it, the suspect reportedly lays out his plan for the attack as well as some radical right wing views that may give us some insight into his motives. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This is how the man accused of being Norway's most notorious mass killer apparently wants the world to know him. A smiling, Norwegian nationalist, a serious military-style marksman. Not just a cold-blooded killer police say stalked and gunned down innocent young victims on a remote rocky island.
Anders Behring Breivik is believed to have posted these images to YouTube in a 12-minute video embedded in a 1,500 page manifesto just hours before he began his deadly killing spree with a massive car bombing outside government offices. CNN cannot independently verify their authenticity. Together, the video and manifesto appear to answer how and why the 32-year-old became a mass murder.
The video reveals an intense fear that Muslims will dominate Europe and anger at what the author calls Marxist European governments he blames for doing nothing and a belief that a Christian crusade is the solution. A belief he hid when he met this mainstream right wing politician eight years ago. JORAN KALLMYR, PROGRESS PARTY. I am actually sorry because I didn't -- because if I had said something like that, maybe we could have discovered it.
ROBERTSON: Kallmyr suspects Breivik was attracted to his party's anti-immigration reputation but found them too moderate.
KALLMYR: I probably thought that he would find the people inside our Progress Party that will agree with him or something like that and he wrote in his -- in his manifesto he was disappointed.
ROBERTSON: The manifesto titled "2083, the European Declaration of Independence" rails against such political inaction. "My government and our media capitulated to Islam several years ago. Thousands of Muslims pouring in annually through our asylum institution, or by family reunification. The situation is just chaotic. These suicidal traitors must be stopped."
The author turns his temper on his family, on friends, cruelly discussing sexual diseases he claims they've had, cataloging their failings. He also reveals why he rented a farm outside Oslo, to plot undetected, a mission he describes in graphic detail. "I have just completed the explosives research phase and have summarized several new chapters for the compendium. My rifle application came through and I have now ordered an 800 euro silencer, specifically created for automatic and semiautomatic rifles. Needless to say, this is an extremely vulnerable phase. In fact, it is the most vulnerable phase of them all. If I get through this phase without trouble, I will be very close to finalizing my operation."
ROBERTS (on camera): The whole ugly episode is so devastating Norwegians are only just beginning to grasp the enormity of it. Breivik's manifesto is like a second hammer blow, too soon to fathom the implications of it. But already the question is being asked, how did he get away with it?
Nic Robertson, CNN, Oslo, Norway.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: What a remarkable turn of events. One that just you -- in some places you can say, you know, this kind of undercurrent was there, this is not something we knew about or the world knew about.
ROMANS: It's just known as a peaceful and accepting country and it's a very hurtful turn of events and country still shocked and reeling from the Friday event clearly.
VELSHI: All right, your top stories now.
Democratic Congressman David Wu is at the center of an ethics investigation. The Oregon representative is accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward the teenage daughter of a long-time campaign donor. Wu has resisted calls for his resignation.
ROMANS: The New York City Hotel maid who claims the former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her is speaking out for the first time. The 32-year-old Nafissatou Diallo in an interview with "Newsweek" magazine and ABC News saying, quote, "I want justice, I want him to go to jail, I want him to know you cannot use your money, your power when you do something like this."
VELSHI: Still no deal as President Obama and Republicans work on separate plans to raise the debt ceiling. The president has canceled a couple fundraisers today to deal with the issue. One week from tomorrow the government could run out of money to pay its bills.
ROMANS: And that's why the markets are little bit spooked. As Ali just mentioned, if you got a 401(k) or an IRA, you're going to be paying the price for Washington's inability to reach a deal on raising that debt ceiling. Right now, markets overseas are mostly lower. No surprises. Gold is actually spiking.
VELSHI: That's where people go when they don't know what's going to happen. Stock futures in the United States are also pointing toward a negative open. Manisha Tank is live in Hongkong, Nina Dos Santos is live in London. Manisha, let's start with you in market reaction around the world?
MANISHA TANK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we woke up Monday morning here in Asia expecting to see a deal. We didn't see one as we all know and that was a bit of a disappointment.
I say bit of a disappointment because the market reaction seems to have been pretty muted. This has been like a drip, drip news feed over the U.S. debt crisis over the last few weeks as we get closer and closer to that deadline.
So that muted reaction markets did pull back. The Nikkei was a good example of stocks there actually being affected because of their exposure to the U.S. economy. There is a word that's being punched around here in Asia by some of the analysts, downgrade.
In any case, what if there's a downgrade. We're now talking about the credibility of the U.S. economy in view of the rest of the world. So with that going around, you have stocks like Honda, Toyota, these are the big carmakers everyone's heard of, coming off by the close of the session.
In fact, Honda one company that has 44 percent of its revenue coming from North America, definitely something to worry about. Otherwise, there's been some domestic news around that has pulled markets back.
But I would like to say that so far this reaction has been muted to the U.S. debt crisis, but we are very much in a wait and see mode over here and we do need to see some movement. Don't forget in terms of who holds U.S. debt, well, Asian investors are some of the biggest holders of that U.S. debt.
And they are going to want to know what's going to be happening with that debt in the coming few weeks so reassurances coming from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that's been pretty good, perhaps another reason why these Asian stock markets actually closed in pretty good form, given the lack of news that we're getting from Washington.
But let's get the pulse of what's happening in European markets in response to this debt crisis. Nina Dos Santos is standing by in London. Nina.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Manisha, everybody's wondering on this side of the Atlantic where they should be putting their money, not just for returns, but effectively for safety in light of the ongoing U.S. debt debacle. We have the European markets broadly speaking lower, off the inter-day lows.
But still a broadly speaking low at yields on the bonds in this region rising, which means the sovereign debt here is perceived as being just a bit riskier than it was a couple months ago and also the euro rising against the U.S. dollar.
One bright spot though, gold, as Christine was telling us just two minutes ago, gold has been spiking higher. I cannot tell you that it surpassed yet another record of $1,624 an ounce. No surprise to see that's the case, Ali, because, of course, this is the ultimate safe haven especially now that the U.S. Treasuries that were the ultimate safe havens before are the ones very much in the line of fire.
VELSHI: You know, you and Christine share a view that while we talk a lot about stocks and that's where we often see instant reaction to things. In this particular issue, when looking at U.S. debt, watching bonds and the yields, the interest that's paid on those bonds, is going to be more important.
SANTOS: It is, absolutely. We should also point out to our viewers that the world stock market is worth $40 trillion, that's quite a significant figure, but the world's bond markets are actually worth $80 trillion and counting so that very, very significant.
A lot of that money is held in sovereign, as we were saying before, for the United States and Germany, but once perceived to be extremely safe bets.
And now that we've been having talk about a default potentially for the United States, the world's largest economy, also a restricted default for euro zone nation like Greece, well, suddenly they seem just a little bit less safe, Ali.
VELSHI: No kidding, all right. Nina and Manisha, thanks very much for this. We'll continue to watch the world's money with the two of you. Christine.
ROMANS: All right, how did we get here? The deadline to raise the debt ceiling only eight days away, we want to show you how we got to this point.
On May 16th the U.S. government defaulted basically or sorry hit the debt ceiling -- this is a big number, $14.294 trillion. That's when the debt ceiling was hit. The treasury secretary then had to tap other sources for the government to cover its bills.
Treasure Secretary Geithner telling Congress it has until August 2nd now to raise the debt ceiling again or then face default. In May, Vice President Biden started bipartisan talks with congressional lawmakers, but by June those talks broke down after Republicans insisted that the deal include revenue increases along with spending cuts.
Now July, saw the president get involved here, directly getting involved in talks with congressional leaders holding secret meetings and working directly with the Speaker of the House John Boehner to reach a deal.
On July 22nd, Speaker Boehner's office, though, broke down these talks amid disagreements on taxes and entitlement programs over the weekend the president continued talks with congressional leaders.
But, you know what, little progress has been made. The bottom line, Ali, Washington has had months to figure this out, but hasn't been able to reach a deal.
VELSHI: Mark Preston told me this morning, don't be surprised that's how Washington does it. I hope he's right. I hope this is just one of those everybody in Washington knows there got to be a deal very, very fast and it's all just politics.
Because this is going to hurt people in their 401(k)s and that's not fair to have politics actually take a piece out of the savings and the retirement of working Americans, Christine.
ROMANS: Ali, last hour you asked me if I thought it was ridiculous. I think a better word, dangerous I think is the word.
VELSHI: It was ridiculous a month ago. Now it's dangerous. All right, Christine. This brings us to our question of the day. Who is to blame for the debt gridlock in Washington?
We want -- actually, in Washington, is not part of the sentence. Who is to blame for the debt gridlock alone? Might be somebody outside of Washington. Let us know what you think, e-mail us, give us a tweet or tell us on Facebook. We'll read through some of your answers later in the show.
Two new suspects arranged for the alleged beating of a fan outside Dodger Stadium. They're expected in court today. They were charged with assault and mayhem on Friday for the attack on Bryan Stowe.
At the same time police cleared a man who was the prime suspect. Stowe, a Giants fan and a father of two, was nearly beaten to death in the Dodger Stadium parking lot back in March. He suffered a skull fracture and brain damage. He remains in the hospital in San Francisco.
Heisman trophy winner and former running back Mark Ingram said to be OK this morning after his car collided with an 18-wheeler over the weekend. Here's a look at the aftermath. It's quite something.
In front of his Infinity smashed in, both air bags deployed. Police say everyone involved was OK including the truck driver. Police also reportedly say drugs or alcohol were not involved. The New Orleans Saints picked Ingram in the first round of the NFL draft this year.
ROMANS: It could finally happen today. The NFL players' executive committee meeting today in Washington.
VELSHI: You know, we've been saying this, by the way, for a week. It's almost over. It's going to happen.
ROMANS: They're going to -- they could vote on a new 10-year labor deal that the owners approved on Friday. Now, if they sign off on it today, or tomorrow, or yesterday, free agency and training camps could begin then on Saturday.
VELSHI: Which means we may not lose any of the real season. Not that I bet on football games anyway.
ROMANS: Wedding bells for Big Ben. Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger married Ashley Harlin in a small ceremony on Saturday. Details kept secret until the very end.
Roethlisberger surprised a lot of Steeler fans by announcing his engagement after the Super Bowl loss to the Packers earlier this year. He was twice accused of sexual assault in the past, but never charged.
ROMANS: All right, up next, Academy-Award winning director Kevin McDonald, he's known for major Hollywood movies like "The Last King of Scotland."
His new project to capture 24 hours of everyday life around the entire world. So he asked you to upload video to YouTube. Took that footage, made it into a 90-minute documentary called "Life in a Day." Are you ready for your close-up? Kevin joins us live in our studios next.
VELSHI: It's 40 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning, New York City. It's partly cloudy, 76, feels like it's 76, thunderstorms about 80 degrees.
VELSHI: Last week, Michele our producer was putting these pictures up of New York and I thought she was lying. You couldn't see anything. It was just soupy, gross, disgusting, that looks nice.
All right, get ready for your close-up. A new film debuts over the weekend and you are the star. It's called "Life in a Day." It's a user-generated feature film that was basically shot in a single day. It's the brainchild of Oscar winners Kevin MacDonald and Ridley Scott. ROMANS: They used YouTube users to film and upload videos of what happened to them on the day of July 24th, 2010. They got 81,000 submissions from all over the world. That's about 4,500 hours worth of footage.
VELSHI: Very creative way to make a film.
ROMANS: Joining us is the director Kevin MacDonald. This is amazing because this is -- you're experiencing the story through their eyes and figuring out how to tell it. How to tell that story of that day? What made you decide to do this?
KEVIN MACDONALD, DIRECTOR "LIFE IN A DAY": Well, just because YouTube is an extraordinary tool and it felt like, you know, you could do something with this that had never been done before, make a movie that had never been done before.
And you could actually get inside the intimate parts of people's lives that news shows like yours, as great as they are, don't because, of course, you're interested in the big stories, not interested in the little, fundamentals, the little tiny things that actually make us tick.
ROMANS: These stories are a real big story. I mean, one story is a woman who had a double mastectomy and her husband filming her and her son, saying daddy, stop the filming. That is to them the biggest thing that will happen in their lives.
MACDONALD: Absolutely. That's why they filmed. They filmed because they thought this is a huge thing, great importance to us, and we want other people who might go through the same situation we're going through now in the future, to know what it's like.
Incredibly brave because their son is acting up quite a lot, very frightened about what's going on, his mom has come out of hospital and they're just totally open and honest about showing and sharing that with us.
That's the thing I took away from this more than anything else, how generous people are in sharing their lives and wanting other people to know what they know.
ROMANS: From the moving to the mundane.
VELSHI: Let's show some video from the movie, but I asked you when you started this project. You picked a day. It had no particular importance, July 24th, 2010. There was no big event scheduled for that day.
Were you looking for the extraordinary? Were you looking for the ordinary? And what did you end up getting?
MACDONALD: I guess I would say, you know, trick answer would be that I was looking for the extraordinary through the ordinary.
VELSHI: Right.
MACDONALD: I was looking to find out about the things that make us all tick. What connects people around the world? And to do that, you asked people to film their ordinary lives, what is going on in your --
VELSHI: So, your call to action was film the ordinary life.
MACDONALD: Film the ordinary life and answer three questions. What do you love? What do you fear? And what's in your pockets or handbag?
And so, we used those three questions and the answers to those to structure the film.
ROMANS: What did you find that connected -- the connective tissue that pulls us all together, so many different people, you know, 4,500 hours of video. Is there a connection or everyone so different and that's the story?
MACDONALD: The story really is about connections because when you ask ordinary people, people who aren't kind of film professionals, they aren't journalists, to film what's important to them, they come down talking about things like, you know, children, about food, about things that they do that are exhilarating -- things like going base jumping or skydiving and people doing that.
VELSHI: Right.
MACDONALD: Or they talk about illness.
VELSHI: Interesting.
MACDONALD: Or death.
And it's kind of like those are the things, the building blocks, that we all have in common, and you look around these clips from Afghanistan to Iraq to California to Copenhagen, wherever it is, and you see that actually everybody is frightened of death, everybody loves their children, everyone -- you know, so that sense of unity is very reassuring I find, many optimistic.
I'm a pessimistic European. Normally, I think life is pretty miserable. But this actually made me think life is pretty great actually.
VELSHI: You know, I hate movie critics because nobody ever writes about a movie why I would want to see it.
MACDONALD: Yes.
VELSHI: So, if I'm telling my buddies why they should go and see this movie, what's the pitch?
MACDONALD: The pitch is that it is a time capsule of a moment on earth and it's made into a movie, almost 4,500 hours, made into a movie that really feels like a movie. There are a lot of things that people don't get. They think it's a series of YouTube clips.
Well, it's actually made to feel like it's 95 minutes long and you go on a journey, you start at midnight on one day and you end at midnight on the next, and you experience the world in that day, and you laugh and you relate to characters and I think you cry a bit. I had a screen last night at the Museum of Modern Art here in New York, people were in floods of tears, but they also feel uplifted by it.
In these times particularly, you need an uplifting movie.
ROMANS: Everyone fears death and loves their children. That's really what it boils down to. That boils down to human experience, doesn't it?
VELSHI: I look forward to it. I -- we enjoyed sort of watching how you developed this and it will be fun to watch it. And I'm going to see it.
Kevin Macdonald is the director of "Life in a Day." Released this weekend?
MACDONALD: Yes, this weekend.
VELSHI: All right. Very good.
ROMANS: Thank you, Kevin.
VELSHI: Still ahead, what makes time travel possible? Is it the flux capacitor? No, apparently, it's not.
ROMANS: What? You can't go back in time to your parent's high school dance.
VELSHI: Yes, right -- in a DeLorean.
A team of physicists in Hong Kong conduct an experiment to see if time travel was, in fact, possible. Sadly, the results are not encouraging. But we will tell you about them for those of you who --
ROMANS: Still believe.
VELSHI: Yes, exactly.
ROMANS: Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger's 13-year-old son is seriously injured in a surfing accident. Morning headlines next.
It is 49 minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: It's 50 minutes after the hour.
Here are your morning headlines:
The suspect in two deadly terror attacks in Norway is making his first court appearance in Oslo this morning. You're looking at live pictures right now. Police say 32-year-old Andres Breivik left behind a 1,500 page manifesto, expressing right wing anti-Muslim views detailing plans for the attacks that left 93 people dead.
An autopsy for singer Amy Winehouse will take place this afternoon. The 27-year-old singer was found dead in her London apartment Saturday.
The hotel maid who claims former IMF chief Dominique Strauss- Kahn sexually assaulted here, she is speaking out for the first time. Thirty-two-year-old Nafissatou Diallo, see here in an interview with ABC News, saying, quote, "I want justice. I want him to go to jail."
A Democratic congressman from Oregon is now facing ethics investigation. David Wu is accused of making unwanted sexual advances for a teenage daughter of a long-time campaign donor. Wu is resisting calls to resign.
Markets across the globe are reacting to the stalled debt talks in Washington. Right now, they're mostly down in Europe. They also closed down in Asia.
Gold up sharply is a safe haven against all this uncertainty.
Today, President Obama has canceled two fund-raising appearances to work on a compromise.
Uncertainty over those debt talks pushing U.S. stocks and futures lower this morning. Right now, Dow futures down about 100 points, NASDAQ and S&P 500 futures are also lower ahead of the opening bell.
You're caught up now on the day's headlines.
AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break
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VELSHI: Atlanta, Georgia, 78 degrees -- which is not atypical for this time of yea year. But here's the good news, it actually feels like 78. That's happening a lot across the country today. Some of that extra humidity is gone. By the way, later on, also a typical summer thing for Atlanta, it's going to be 86 and thunderstorms.
Actually, that's fine. That's manageable.
ROMANS: That's good. Eighty-six and thunderstorms, better than 101.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: And just hot.
VELSHI: And feels like 115.
ROMANS: All right. This is an AMERICAN MORNING nerd alert, everyone.
VELSHI: I'm paying attention.
ROMANS: There you go. I knew you would.
A team of physicists in Hong Kong has determined that we'll never, ever be able to travel through time. They did it by proving that Einstein was correct when he said that the universe has a speed limit. That nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.
Scientists in the past have claimed that they found pulses that can go faster than light speed. But now, this group says it's impossible. Therefore, so is time travel.
Put the DeLorean back in the garage.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: You can't go back to your parents' high school dance.
VELSHI: That's kind of sad. The movie was still good, though.
ROMANS: It was.
VELSHI: A warning for the American family this morning, we're raising a generation of people who think that smartphones are their friends. A new study shows that people who try to disconnect from the digital world found it as difficult as quitting drinking or smoking. Forty percent of the people surveyed felt, quote, "lonely" when they weren't able to go online.
ROMANS: My husband lost his BlackBerry over the weekend. He is so efficient around house right now. You can't believe it.
VELSHI: Now, he's getting stuff done.
ROMANS: He really is.
When you walk down the supermarket aisle, are you a cart or basket person? I'm a cart person.
VELSHI: You would think that if you're a cart person, your shopping is better. You're more efficient, right?
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: You don't have space for extra stuff, wasteful stuff.
ROMANS: But it makes a big difference. A study in "TIME" magazine says people who choose a basket make more unhealthy decisions.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: Researchers say it all has to do with the mind/body relationship, and the motion of flexing your arm to hold the basket leaves you to choose vices as a reward, things like candy or soda.
VELSHI: But that wouldn't be a reward. If I'm already having trouble carrying something and I put candy and soda into it, it's not a reward. I guess the reward is when I get it.
That's a strange outcome. I wouldn't guess it.
ROMANS: I think it is, too.
VELSHI: Hey, back to our question of the day. Eight days and counting until Washington can no longer pay its bills if there's no deal in the debt ceiling debate. So, we want to know what you think. We're getting a lot of response to this. It's a fairly question.
Who is to blame for the debt gridlock? Not the debt. We're getting a lot of responses from you. Maybe that's a good question of the day that we should --
ROMANS: We'll have that one tomorrow. VELSHI: Tomorrow?
ROMANS: I'd like to hear what they say about this. This is the gridlock.
VELSHI: We're talking about what the mess, the gridlock we're in.
On Facebook, Alessandro says, "Both sides carry equal fault in this matter. They've taken turns leading us to the precipice and now neither will deviate from their radical extremes that lead them."
ROMANS: OK. Daniela on Facebook says, "Both sides are to blame. They're acting like spoiled children who don't get their way. The difference is, if they just take their ball and go home, it means disaster for all of us."
VELSHI: Absolutely.
And on Facebook, Guy says, "The American people are allowing the Republican/Tea Party to hold this administration hostage."
So, he's blaming the American people.
ROMANS: And the Tea Party at the same time.
VELSHI: Right, at the same time.
ROMANS: John Chitty, he says, well, "The president is to blame. Raising the debt ceiling in order to borrow more money after all that's been borrowed since he took office is absurd. His policies have prolonged the recession and haven't delivered on his pie-in-the- sky promises that they would have created jobs to bring us out of the recession. Letting him borrow more is like giving an alcoholic the key to the liquor cabinet."
VELSHI: John, you need to out of your shell, and tell us what you really think.
ROMANS: What you really think about the president, John.
No, but one issue here is this is about borrowing more money. This is about paying the bills the Congress has already paid for. And one of the ways that economists like to look at it, it's like buying the car from the car dealership.
VELSHI: Deciding, by the way, two years in that you shouldn't have bought that car.
ROMANS: I'm not going to pay for that car, because you know --
VELSHI: You couldn't afford. You should never have bought a car that expensive.
ROMANS: It doesn't fit into my budget, so I'm not going to pay for the car that I've already been driving.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: This isn't -- the debt ceiling is about futures spending, but the debt ceiling itself is paying what we've already spent.
VELSHI: Yes, ceiling past spending, budget future spending -- apples and shampoo. Two different very important things. You can't go through life without apples or shampoo, but they are two different thing. They are not a tradeoff.
And you go to the grocery store. And you go to the grocery, you cant's say, well, because I bought apples I'm not buying shampoo. I actually do that.
ROMANS: I like the apple shampoo analogy from the guy who doesn't have any hair. I mean, you used that analogy and I love that.
VELSHI: That's true. I don't actually pie shampoo, so that's not a good analogy.
ROMANS: All right. Top stories right after the break.
It is about two minutes to the top of the hour.
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