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Debt Crisis Blame Game; NOLA Airport Shooting; 3,600 Post Offices On Chopping Block; Norway Mourns; Debt Ceiling Negotiations Stalled; Woman Accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of Sexual Assault Interviewed; DNA Evidence in Amanda Knox Murder Case Undermined; Back on the Bike After Paralyzing Crash
Aired July 26, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
We are just one week now from the deadline that could wreck America's economy and reputation. President Obama makes his case for a deal and House Speaker John Boehner answers. We are live at the White House with the latest.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
So, what, if anything, did the back-and-forth accomplish? And are the two sides any closer to a promise? We're going to be speaking with senior political analyst David Gergen.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
The recession hit everyone where it hurts. And a new study shows the racial wealth gap is growing even wider -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: It is Tuesday, July 26th. And the headlines is the same as Monday, July 25th -- no deal.
VELSHI: And the 24th.
ROMANS: Impasse and the clock ticks toward the debt ceiling.
CHETRY: Right. But as it gets closer and closer, a lot more frayed nerves and some questions about our future economic health. The debt crisis is looming. The president and House Speaker John Boehner try to take their cases directly to the nation last night.
First, it was the president. He gave a primetime speech as the nation is now a week away from this August 2nd deadline. And the president again made it clear he will refuse to accept a short-term solution because he argues that Republicans will use it to keep playing games.
In the meantime, Speaker Boehner responded saying that he's giving it his all. It's the president, though, who wants to keep on spending.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know what we have to do to reduce our deficits. There's no point in putting the economy at risk by kicking the can further down the road.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: So, the sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago and he wants a blank check today. This is just not going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
VELSHI: Last hour, I spoke to Gene Sperling. He is the director of the National Economic Council. He's an assistant to the president for economic policy. And he made news right here on AMERICAN MORNING. He said he is confident that a common sense compromise is not out of the question, despite the differences that we saw between Democrats and Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE SPERLING, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: There is a lot of goodwill that I still believe exists in this -- in this country in Washington. And we just need a basic, a minimum amount of compromise, a minimum amount of not "my way or the highway" and we can get this easily this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: A minimum amount of compromise and we can get there easily this week. Optimistic? Right.
CHETRY: Very optimistic.
VELSH: Gene went to bed early last night. He didn't watch the president and John Boehner.
ROMANS: And he had a good breakfast apparently to be that optimistic.
Look, let's cut through the process and tell you what the bottom line is about this, this morning. Congress is threatening to damage America's standing in the world because, right now, there's no sign of a deal.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: That's the bottom line.
Dan Lothian is live at the White House.
Dan, what are we learning more about this morning?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I think as you pointed out, we are pretty much the same spot, at least publicly, where we were yesterday, where both sides are still far apart. You have Republicans not willing to embrace what the Democrats are pushing, which is extending the debt ceiling through the end of 2012. Democrats not willing to embrace what Republicans are pushing, which is essentially breaking it into two tiers, extending the debt ceiling through the rest of this year, and then extending it again if 2012.
I think, you know, what you saw last night is what's happening here at the White House today, is there was a certain level of frustration. You heard from the president the American people did elect this divided government but not a dysfunctional one.
And so, the hope is that they can, you know, ratchet back, move beyond the dysfunction and find some kind of agreement. But so far, there is no agreement.
VELSHI: Dan, what is the incoming message at the White House or Congress that you're sensing because we do know that these leaders and the White House have all been briefed by the same people who brief us and tell us what the consequences are. We know, we keep hearing, let's put it this way, that we need a deal with enough time to get legislation in place to raise the debt ceiling.
What's the sense of plan B that you're hearing?
LOTHIAN: Well, you know, they are preparing here, as you pointed out in that interview with Gene Sperling, they are preparing for the emergency, you know, deciding who would get paid and who would not get paid. So that is ongoing.
But behind the scenes, we are told by sources, that Democrats and Republicans are still engaged in discussions. Again, they are not embracing those plans that have been put out there publicly, but they are hoping that they can find some kind of proposal that is in the middle somewhere, that's more moderate, that perhaps they can get something done.
But, you know, you're bumping up against that August 2nd deadline, and it's unclear if there is anything that they can get done in time before August 2nd.
ROMANS: You know, so interesting. Dan, thanks so much.
We have these debt commissions every few years.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Talk about how -- we know we have a debt problem. We had it for years. But it's never given any power.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: And then people can kind of argue back-and-forth about what they'd take, what they wouldn't take and it kind of goes away.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: And here we are again.
VELSHI: They put a bunch of elder statesmen and women in a room and try to figure out an answer. You get a nice report, put it away and then this is what happens.
CHETRY: Right, because the problem is what makes sense and what's politically expedient are not the same thing and we are in an election year.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
VELSHI: So, we take it to the people.
ROMANS: What -- we want you to tell us -- since politicians have not sorted this out yet, we want to know if you had the budget ax, what would you cut first, and what would you keep?
Here are some of your answers.
VELSHI: All right. Pat on Facebook says, "I would repeal the Bush tax cuts. Cut ethanol subsidies, farm subsidies, subsidies to gas and oil companies and farm subsidies to Brazil."
ROMANS: Wayne on Facebook said, "Of course, I would stop the tax cuts for the rich. If they really create, then where is the proof? Those tax cuts aren't creating jobs now. And the first thing I would keep is our servicemen and women's pay. It's ridiculous to even consider punishing our brave ones."
I hear that sometimes when people are talking about that, you know, taxes or stimulus when Republicans say the stimulus didn't work, didn't create jobs. And I hear liberal say, yes, the tax cuts didn't create jobs either.
CHETRY: In the meantime, I don't think anybody is talking about cutting benefits to the veterans or active service members. I think that's something that, you know, is one of those high priorities that will absolutely happen. But it's still scary to think about.
VELSHI: Sure.
CHETRY: Also, we have another person on Twitter who writes, this DVaNtheDUDE, "Cut the budget on both wars. Keep Social Security."
VELSHI: And we should take this a moment to remind people. Social Security is an insurance fund. It's an insurance fund. It runs separately. It's underfunded, but it's actually not part of this debate. You'll notice when the president talks about this, he talked about Medicare and Medicaid.
They want to deal with Social Security because it's a problem. But it's actually not part of the budget. It's like an insurance policy -- .
CHETRY: But we dip into as a nation.
VELSHI: Well, that's exactly right.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Social Security to pay for other things, first of all. We know it's not going to be solvent.
VELSHI: That's why it's a problem.
CHETRY: And then you start hearing, oh, my goodness, am I not going to get my check? People's ears perk up.
VELSHI: And that's a reality that people might not get their checks. Or at least that's one of the possibilities we are hearing on August 3rd, the day after this, there are $22 billion in Social Security payments due that day.
CHETRY: Exactly.
VELSHI: So, something is not going to get paid that day if we have not raised the limit.
CHETRY: All right. Well, keep your responses coming. Thanks so much for writing in.
Email us, give us a tweet, tell us on Facebook and we'll read some more of your responses a little bit later in the show.
I want to bring in now our David Gergen. He's our senior political analyst. He joins us this morning from Washington.
Thanks so much for being with us.
It's funny. Ali was saying he thought perhaps when he saw the president and John Boehner announced that they are going to be speaking to the nation at 9:00 p.m., that there was a solution in the works.
I mean, what are your impressions last night about how close they are to any type of deal being worked out?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we are certainly a ways away. And I think for a lot Americans, last night's speeches would have been terrific had they been given three or four weeks ago.
But on the eve of a potential disaster to give two partisan speeches which told the nation in effect we're a long away way from each other must leave a lot of Americans today sort of really worried that they may not make it and they may not. I actually think behind the scenes things are a little more encouraging. Among other things, they've now got the conversation focused on both the Senate and the House on spending cuts and not on the contentious issue of whether we should raise taxes.
CHETRY: Right.
GERGEN: Democrats are seemingly taken that off the table in Congress. That makes it a little easier to reach a compromise. I think that the chances are growing that the president will give them another couple of weeks if that's what they need to hammer out something. The Reid and Boehner plan will likely to go down and then we're all going to be looking for a plan B, or maybe C, or D, or E, or F, but a backup plan.
CHETRY: So, you are saying you think that we're going to get to that August 2nd and beyond and it's not going to happen. In the meantime, they would have to do just a temporary, a short-term deal to allow us to raise the debt limit?
GERGEN: Well, I think it's pretty clear we're going to get to the end of this week with these two current plans going down and scramble to find the alternative. And they are already talking behind the scenes about what the alternative might be. But take time to get the alternative hammered together, you know, putting to legislative language, passing the two chambers. I think if they got to that point, the White House would give them an extension of the debt ceiling.
The White House would ask for a temporary extension of the debt ceiling in effect for a couple of weeks --
CHETRY: Right.
GERGEN: -- and let them finish the job and then go forward.
CHETRY: A couple of things.
GERGEN: We would all have to hang together on this, but, you know, it would be a lot better than those two speeches last night. I think for a lot of us, the speeches we were looking for, people were reaching across and trying to get it pulled together.
Instead, we got people who wanted to make their partisan point.
CHETRY: I mean, here's my read. It looks -- John Boehner looks like he's in a no-end situation. I mean, the speaker of the House, he has had his own 100-plus Tea Party caucus members in that House say absolutely not to what he was proposing, even though they were not talking about any type of tax increases.
Where does he get any -- where does he -- how does he bring any of these people onboard so that he can even get it out of his party?
GERGEN: Well, he's got a plan that the president really, really does not like, because it would require a second round of this kind of fight within about six months. And the thinking was he would get his plan through the House pretty easily because the House leadership united behind him. But there are a number of renegades who have now broken of and there are questions this morning is the Boehner plan could die in the House.
But whatever happens, the Boehner plan is not going to get through the Senate. The Reid plan can't possibly get through the House. So, at that sense, we are stalemated.
But, if you look at it from John Boehner's point of view -- hey, look, he started this conversation with the president wanting a clean debt ceiling. Boehner has now gotten to the point where we're going to get probably $1 trillion to $2 trillion worth of cuts and not tax increases as a result of all of this fisticuffs.
But I think that for -- I want to come back to the main thing. For a lot of Americans who are tired of this talk, they're tired of the partisanship, they're tired o the paralysis and the positioning (ph) and the rest -- Ali and I have talked about this forever. And they want to see solutions.
And what we didn't hear last night were real solutions. We heard, you know, people talking past each other and not to each other.
CHETRY: And so, in terms of the president -- I mean, how much pressure is he under right now?
GERGEN: He's under enormous pressure. But there is a fair amount of feeling up on Capitol Hill -- they'd like to have him be on the sidelines for the negotiations. They would like to do the negotiations among congressional leaders.
And the two people to watch probably are McConnell -- Senator McConnell, the Republican, and Senator Reid -- either they will cut the deal or Boehner and Reid will cut the deal. We're not sure whom.
And the White House will bless it. I think the plan is much more likely to come now out of the final alternative out of Congress and congressional talks and those talks are under way. They are talking quietly. They are talking frequently. They are talking with urgency.
And there is more trust among the congressional leaders in some ways than there is towards the White House.
CHETRY: And then what's your take, David, looking to 2012? Because, clearly, all of the -- many of these politicians are looking toward their chances come 2012. Who, if any of this is passed and you said with no tax increases, we are clearly talking about a lot of cuts to benefits here, questions about whether or not we're going to see an increase in revenue, we talk about the Great Recession -- who suffers then at the polls in 2012?
GERGEN: Yes. I'm not sure we are going to see a lot of cuts in entitlements. You know, the Reid plan does not do that, nor does it raise taxes. Look, I think fundamentally, the agreement they come up with is going to be modest. It's possible a miracle could happen and get a brand bargain -- that would be great, but it's more likely to be a more modest plan and that leaves a slam bang election over these very kinds of issues that we are talking about last night.
Let me make one final point. The -- I think the odds are moving slightly toward a resolution of the debt ceiling. But there is a second issue and that is the credit rating for the United States. We have a AAA credit rating and even if we get the debt ceiling revolved, as I think we ultimately will, this contentious period, plus the modesty of a final result, is increasing the odds -- in fact, making it a probability that Standard & Poor's will downgrade America's credit rating. That will be a blow to us, not only will it raise interest rates modestly but a blow to our prestige and unsettle banks and have a lot of repercussions that Ali can go into.
But there is a sense in Washington that that probably is going up. And, you know, frankly, that's not a happy outcome, that's not good and it's going to play into the elections and it's going to be repercussions that are going to last for a long time.
We have had the AAA credit rating since 1917. It's never downgraded. U.S. paper is almost as good as currency in gold. And to have it moved into a AA category, you know, frankly, that is an unhappy outcome and should not have happened. This is a self- inflicted wound. We have emergency speeches usually coming because somebody else is doing terrible to us.
In this case, we had emergency speeches last night because we are doing it to ourselves with the self-inflected wounds and ought to be heavy blame if we get downgraded.
CHETRY: We'll see if that type of common sense, I guess you could say, will prevail in the walls of Congress as we continue to watch the fight come down to the wire.
David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst -- thanks so much.
GERGEN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Could you just explain for me, one second, you guys, because you're the experts in this -- if we are talking about cutting spending and we're talking about trying to get our fiscal house in order, why we'd be downgraded in terms of a credit rating -- when we'd be better creditors?
ROMANS: No, they want to see that. The world wants to see that. But what they see is political disarray in Washington that we are not doing that. We're not getting it together and using the debt ceiling as --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: David Gergen said even if the debt ceiling -- even if they come to an agreement on it the credit rating will still get downgraded. Why?
VELSHI: The ratings agencies actually -- what they need to see is the ability not only get this done, because this is not optional -- raising the debt ceiling.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: So, the fact that we are discussing it as optional is already affecting our credit worthiness. But, yes, they also have to see some sense of responsibility.
And David is exactly right. This is self-inflicted and there should be -- there should be a lot of blame to go around and I really truly hope Americans blame everybody involved in this, including themselves, if this doesn't go right, because this will hurt us for decades to come if it happens.
ROMANS: If we lower -- if our credit rating is lowered, we have to pay more interest on al of our loans, but also the companies who operate here also face higher costs for doing business.
VELSHI: And that's what causes them to lay people off.
ROMANS: Yes.
All right. Still ahead, gunfire inside New Orleans International Airport after a passenger's gun actually discharges. I hate it when that happens. And an United Airlines agent actually hit by the bullet.
VELSHI: Oh! Hate that even more.
ROMANS: An amazing story of a gun going off at New Orleans International Airport. That's next.
CHETRY: And it's been a little heavy around here, but luckily, Mariah Carey is back cutting through the darkness. The singing superstar appeared on the Home Shopping Network. She was in rare form complaining (ph) about her pregnancy, directing the crew, ordering around the models. We got Mariah on center, and worth a look when we come back. It is 15 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Wow, that voice. Just haunting. Family, friends, fans, paying their final respects to Amy Winehouse. A small private funeral service held at a cemetery of North London today. Kelly Osbourne who among the friends have attended --
CHETRY: That's her mom and dad.
ROMANS: Yes. It's so sad to see how painful this must be for them. You know, just how she decide is still a mystery. An autopsy proved inconclusive. It's going to be another a couple of weeks now, at least, for the results of toxicology test.
CHETRY: Proof (ph) of Winehouse's worldwide impact, here it is. There's been a 37-fold increase in her album sales since Saturday when she was found dead. Now, fans and music experts are clamoring for the release of a reportedly unfinished third album. Winehouse, although, she had been touring, and we had seen some video of her really seeming to have trouble even standing up on stage, she had not released an album, an actual album in four years.
VELSHI: She'd been booed off the stage at a number of recent performances. ROMANS: Yes. That's right.
VELSHI: Even her die-hard fans were frustrated by it.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: A dangerously close call at the airport in New Orleans. Police say a passenger was checking in his haunting rifle at the united counter when it accidentally discharged hitting a ticket agent. The agent was taken to the hospital with a leg injury. The passenger was issued with a summons for negligent injury. I mean, it's pretty specific in airports, you show up with your gun with no ammunition in it.
The ammunition and the gun are supposed to be separate, and it's not typical for hunters to make that sort of mistake. They tend to be safe gun users and know that, you know, always check your guns. Even the most advanced gun users always say, you don't do anything before you check your gun.
CHETRY: To make sure --
VELSHI: To make sure it's safe. Yes.
ROMANS: All right. Forgive her if she's a little rusty, but Mariah Carey -- she took up a whole two hours on the home shopping network Sunday night. It was her first major appearance on television since giving birth to twins. Let's take a listen to part of her appearance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: I don't know where to look at you because there is about 20 zillion cameras here. I'm looking at four. There is five. It's like, I didn't know there was math involved.
If you guys can go up and can we see? Not to dictate shots, but we're giving you (INAUDIBLE). We're giving you moments. Please, you guys, go to a close-up of the side where the gold is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you see that right there?
CAREY: Because these details were really super important to me. If you can go down. Cut away from me so I can put this over.
(CROSSTALK)
CAREY: Don't show that. You know that my microphone just fell off my body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: See, guys? You should be glad that it's us.
VELSHI: She's a performer.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: It's not like she's gone around life with one camera in front of her. She knows the deal. It was all in good fun.
CHETRY: Yes, and in the end, she wanted to sell her wares (ph). So, that's all that matters.
Up next, it's a first five stars for safety. Which car just got the best overall rating from the government?
VELSHI: And how does the internet -- how does internet crime cost you? We'll show you the staggering numbers next. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading a little higher this morning. Investors waiting on several economic reports on housing and consumer confidence that are coming out later this morning.
Wall Street also watching Capitol Hill closely today for updates on the debt ceiling debate.
Thousands of small town post offices may not be around much longer. Today, the U.S. Postal Service will release a list of over 3,600 post offices that could be shut down, and some areas the postal service says, it's going to partner with local businesses where you can drop of your mail in their absence.
In this year alone, U.S. companies will spend more than $130 billions fighting cybercrime. That's according to Ponemon Institute, a cyber security organization, and that's a problem that's been escalating. Companies will spend triple this year what they did in 2006 to fight data breaches.
The Nissan Leaf winning the highest score in the government's crash safety test. The new electric power plugged ins scored five stars in the new tougher rating system, too.
Up next, breaking news, the defense lawyer for Norwegian terrorist suspect, Anders Breivik, says his client may be insane. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
CHETRY: New developments this morning in connection with that brutal massacre in Norway. The suspect, Anders Breivik, is now claiming that he worked with terror cells both in Norway and abroad to pull off Friday's deadly attacks. Now, police are not commenting on that. They're continuing their investigation looking into any possible links, but his attorney now says that Breivik used some kind of drug before the bombing and mass shooting to keep him strong and awake. Here is his lawyer speaking just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEIR LIPPESTAD, LAWYER FOR ANDERS BREIVIK: He talks about two cells in Norway, but several cells abroad. He says that he is sorry that he had to do this, but it was necessary to start a revolution in the western world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Meanwhile, the death toll from the slaughter has been lowered to 76, although, officials warn it could rise again. Nearly 200,000 people attended a memorial service yesterday in downtown Oslo. That city's mayor is vowing to punish the suspect with, quote, "democracy and love.
ROMANS: The father of that terror suspect says he's ashamed and disgusted by his son's admitted killing spree. Jenz Breivik is a former diplomat who now lives in retirement in the south of France. Here is what he said about Friday's massacre.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENZ BREIVIK, SUSPECT'S FATHER (through translator): No, I'll never have more contact with him, in my darkest moments. I think that rather than killing all those people, he should have taken his own life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those are strong words from a father.
BREIVIK: They are, but thinking about what has happened, I get so upset. And I still don't understand that something like this could happen. No normal human being would do something like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He says his son is mentally ill and he also says the two have not spoken to each other for about ten years.
VELSHI: The deadline to raise the debt limit is one week from today. In back to back speeches last night President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner made their cases to the nation. First the president argued the current stalemate is no way to run the greatest country on earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Defaulting on our obligations is a reckless and irresponsible outcome to this debate. And Republican leaders say that they agree we must avoid default. But the new approach that Speaker Boehner unveiled today, which would temporarily extend the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts, would force us to once again face the threat of default just six months from now. In other words, it doesn't solve the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Speaker Boehner insisted Republicans won't allow the government to default on its obligation, but he maintained the only real solution to the problem is to cut spending.
CHETRY: AND While politicians have their eye and a lot of people on Main Street and businesses have their eye on the August 2nd deadline to raise the debt limit, politicians are also keeping another big date in in mind, Election Day 2012.
ROMANS: Jim Acosta is live in Washington with a look at the possible political fallout for both sides. Jim, from my read of how angry people are with Washington, they are blaming all of them at this point.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They really are, Christine. You know, there's enough blame to go around on this one. And with six days and counting on the debt ceiling clock, the pressure is on. There is little progress from these negotiations after what was more of a state of the disunion last night. The president and House Speaker John Boehner brought more talking points than proposals in their competing addresses to the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We know what we have to do to reduce our deficits. There is no point in putting the economy at risk by kicking the can further down the road.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago and he wants a blank check today. This is just not going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: You know, what's interesting about those speeches last night you didn't hear the word "veto." You didn't hear the speaker saying he was walking away from the negotiating table. So what's really going on up on Capitol Hill right now is both sides are really still talking behind closed doors.
Later this morning, Speaker Boehner will meet with some of his very conservative Republicans in his caucus and his conference. Some of them are very weary of his plan on the debt ceiling. A spokesman in Boehner's office tells CNN, we got a quick quote from his office earlier this morning, and here is what he had to say - "We are moving forward Wednesday with the bill we think the Senate can pass and the president should sign."
So there is some optimism up on the Hill. These votes could come Wednesday on both of the Boehner plan and a dueling proposal from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that has the backing of the president. But it's not clear whether there is time for both of these proposals to reach its way through the Congress before August 2nd. And just looking at some the polling this morning, it's pretty clear that both sides are being blamed for this. You know, there's a "Washington Post" poll out this morning that shows this. Check out the CNN/ORC poll that we had out just a few days ago. Is president Obama cooperating enough with Republicans and Congress? Yes 42 percent, no, 57 percent. That sounds pretty bad. But what about when you ask the reverse? Are Republicans cooperating enough with the president? And 68 percent say no, only 30 percent say yes. So that is a recipe for a bad election cycle for both of these sides come election time if this really goes to the brink and beyond.
VELSHI: It's great for people with their base.
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
VELSHI: To say, we stood our ground and didn't compromise. We pushed to the brink and got what we needed. But most Americans are not in one of those bases. That is the problem.
ACOSTA: That is the problem. And I think that is why you hear both sides leave the door open a crack. You know, there was some pretty heated rhetoric last night. The president saying the American people might be collateral damage. And the speaker saying we are not giving the president a blank check.
These are basically talking points that are being recycled in primetime television. But what wasn't said is we are closing the door. As that old saying goes, if we don't hang together, we will hang separately. Both sides know that if they don't get this done, it's bad news for all of them.
CHETRY: All right, Jim Acosta for us this morning, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
ROMANS: There was a deal made.
CHETRY: Yes. At least you can watch football. Players and owners finally agreeing to end the lockout. They have a new feel after four and a half months back and forth. Patriots owner Bob Kraft is wondering why it's taking lawmakers so long to do the same.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT KRAFT, OWNER, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: I hope we gave a little lesson to the people in Washington, because the debt crisis is a lot easier to fix than this deal was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, teams do have a lot of work coming up in the next week. They will be able to sign free agents. They'll get their salary cap issues worked out as well. That is coming up this week.
ROMANS: And a lot of you are talking about new profits for BP. One year after the worst oil spill in U.S. history a $22 billion turnaround for BP. The oil giant reporting earnings $5.3 billion in second quarter earnings. Last year, BP lost more than $17 billion in the second quarter because of that oil spill. The company, however, managing to turn that big leaking ship full of oil around.
CHETRY: So if you bought --
ROMANS: A lot of people did.
CHETRY: Well, is convicted murdered Amanda Knox moving a step closer to freedom? Forensic scientists may have had some glaring errors. Up next former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin and criminal defense attorney Paul Callan join us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. It's 39 minutes past the hour.
The New York hotel maid who claims that Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her is now planning on filing a civil case this weekend against the former IMF chief.
ROMANS: At the same time there's new developments in the Amanda Knox murder case. Mistakes by Italian police could help attorneys get her conviction overturned, perhaps.
Joining us this morning to discuss both of these cases is Sunny Hostin, former federal prosecutor and legal contributor for "In Session" on TruTV, and criminal defense attorney Paul Callan. Thank you to both of you.
Let's start with the DSK maid, as he is now known. She now has a name, Nafissatou Diallo. What does her coming out and talking in her own words about what happened mean for her case?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION": I think it shows, at least to me, that there's a problem here with the prosecution. I have prosecuted these kinds of cases, and there is no way you want your star witness, your victim to be giving public press releases.
And so I think certainly it could be a move by this woman, by her team, to try to force the prosecution's hand. That is not a good thing to do for the Manhattan D.A.'s office, because they act autonomously all the time. They are not pressured by the media. They don't do trial by television. And so I think it shows a huge disconnect.
(CROSSTALK)
HOSTIN: I don't think so, I don't think so.
CHETRY: This woman was being trashed in the media and hadn't spoken out in all of the reports. Boy, one of the tabloids ran with the front page story blaring she is a hooker, and in fact she is suing because of that. Did she actually help her case, because when you watched her she came across as a credible, believable witness? PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I'm kind of kidding with Sunny, because, no, I think she has actually ruined her case.
CHETRY: Really?
CALLAN: What she is forgetting the prosecutor has discretion. He can proceed or he can discontinue the case. She has done this astonishing public relations campaign, I mean, giving interviews on the press. The one thing you don't want with a crime victim is multiple stories she can be cross-examined with. And she is trying to put public pressure on Cyrus Vance to force him to bring the case, unprecedented.
Finally she's outed herself. One of the sacred tenets of journalism is you never reveal the name of a rape victim, and here she has gone out and revealed her own name. So this is really an astonishing development.
HOSTIN: It is unusual.
CALLAN: I think in the end Cyrus Vance, the D.A., walks away from the case and moves to dismiss.
ROMANS: I think some rape victims have come forward before because they say they want to stand up and say I have nothing to hide from. I was a victim.
HOSTIN: I think that's a great point, Christine. I do want to say this. Just because she's found to be not credible does not mean that this didn't happen. I've watched her. I have read her reports. I don't know what happened. I wasn't in that room. But it doesn't mean she wasn't attacked. It doesn't mean she wasn't raped if this prosecution doesn't go forward.
CALLAN: I don't know what went on. But Kiran, you were saying you saw her statement. I was watching people watch her as I often do because you wonder how a jury is going to react. A lot of women were watching her saying she is obviously lying. She just looks so --
ROMANS: I had the exact opposite reaction. See, the thing is maybe a jury should decide.
CHETRY: That apparently is what -- I mean -- it seems the prosecutor back is against the wall. What do you do? She is coming out with this tearful explaining this happened to her, and if they back away from it does it look like they are ignoring --
CALLAN: The prosecutor can say let's give it to a jury of 12 and let them decide.
HOSTIN: It is easier to prove, but a prosecutor's job is to seek justice, to seek the truth, but also not to bring cases that a prosecutor can't prove. And in this case, she's had so many inconsistent statements I'm not certain a prosecutor could prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the criminal standard. Civil case, preponderance of the evidence is the standard. So it's possible.
CHETRY: So she may end up taking money out of this.
CALLAN: I don't know.
HOSTIN: It's possible.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: If I'm Amanda Knox's lawyers, this is amazing. They put a completely individual expert out there, not brought by the defense or prosecutor, and they said that the supposed DNA of Amanda Knox on this knife was not her DNA, that it was actually vegetables from a cutting board. How is she still in prison?
CALLAN: Two independent witnesses, not one, have looked -- court-appointed looked at the DNA, and it's the only evidence physically linking her to the crime -- vegetable material, not the victim's blood. But a second thing, a bra clasp that supposedly linked her boyfriend. That was found in a pile of garbage at the crime scene. Maybe nine or ten other people had access to it. So that has been totally discredited. This case is shattering. It's amazing she is still in prison.
ROMANS: Wow. We will continue to watch that. Thanks to both of you.
HOSTIN: Good to see you.
ROMANS: Pleasure.
CHETRY: All right, we're going to take a quick break. Morning headlines coming up. It is not 45 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ROMANS: Breaking news this morning.
CNN confirms 78 people are dead and three more severely wounded after a military plane slammed into a mountain in the southern part of Morocco. Again, now 78 people are dead in that plane crash.
Massacre suspect Anders Breivik in Norway is now claiming he had help from several terror cells there and abroad to launch Friday's attacks that killed 76 people and his lawyer claims Breivik was on some kind of drug to stay awake and to remain alert during that killing spree.
New video just in to CNN: a small private funeral today for singer Amy Winehouse in west London. Family and close friends attended the service. It could take another month for the results of toxicology tests to determine how she died. An early autopsy was inconclusive. President Obama calling on the nation to pressure their elected officials to work out a debt ceiling compromise. The challenge came during the President's prime time speech last night. He also argued the current stalemate is, quote, "No way to run the greatest country on earth".
In his response, House Speaker John Boehner said the President just wants a blank check and that's not going to happen. He also insisted the solution is simple -- stop spending and don't raise taxes.
And a number of congressional Web sites crashed after the President's speech last night. They apparently couldn't handle the high volume of responses after the President urged Americans to contact their members of Congress.
Right now, U.S. stock futures trading a little bit higher this morning. Investors waiting on several economic reports. Housing and consumer confidence among them coming out this morning. Wall Street also watching Capitol Hill, of course, very closely for updates on the debt ceiling debate.
Eight states facing heat warnings and advisories today: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina and Texas with the heat index expected to reach 110 degrees in some places. A heat wave in the last week has claimed more than 20 lives across the country.
Last weekend, temperature records were set or tied in 41 cities all the way from Maine to North Carolina.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Substantially clearer for Atlanta than it was the last time we looked.
CHETRY: You took the shirt off the camera.
VELSHI: Are you sure. Do you think that's Atlanta or do you think there is something on the camera?
ROMANS: Yes, it's really Atlanta.
VELSHI: Wow. It's 76 degrees and clearly very cloudy. It feels like 74. I didn't understand that. How do you get it to feel -- I guess it's backwards?
CHETRY: I don't know, well, the haze -- the haze is burning off. Right it will be burning off.
VELSHI: It's getting up to 91 later on today.
CHETRY: Well, a healthier, Happy Meal for the American family now. McDonald's says that it is adding some vegetables and fruits to its Happy Meals, also cutting the amount of fries.
Hey, there is like only seven fries in that box anyway, right Christine, because we are always trying to sneak one from the kids.
ROMANS: It's true. It's true.
CHETRY: Last year, San Francisco banned toys with kid's meal at fast food restaurants if the meals didn't meet certain nutritional standard. New York also considering doing the same. So there get your baby carrots and then you can get your toys back in there.
ROMANS: I'm so mean, I get the apple because the kids don't even know the French fries come with the Happy Meals. Mean.
CHETRY: All right time --
VELSHI: Hey I just got to say, I love you so much but I -- I -- I'm so glad I don't come back as your kids.
CHETRY: I know.
ROMANS: You got it like your mom.
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE) would be a slimmer fellow if I came out with Christine's kids.
ROMANS: And your cholesterol might be in check.
VELSHI: My cholesterol a little lower, yes.
ROMANS: All right, time for your "A.M. House Call". When you think salmonella you usually think what, raw chicken and eggs. But you might want to take a closer look at your papaya.
VELSHI: What?
ROMANS: Yes, right. Papaya my friend, the FDA says contaminated papayas imported from Mexico probably the source of the salmonella outbreak in 23 states now. The outbreak hospitalized 10 people. There have been no deaths. All the tainted papaya was distributed by Agramode -- it's Agramode Produce and sold before July 20th --
CHETRY: The thing is I mean, the salmonella even on eggs is on the outside.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: So really thoroughly wash you fruit. You know wash it.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: If you wash it and peel it for the most part I mean, you know?
VELSHI: Right. It just never occurred to me, I got really violently sick and the doctor was saying what have you eaten? What have you eaten? And I had papaya like it wouldn't even register that it might be the papaya. A papaya is like a -- like a super food. Isn't it, like amazing for you?
CHETRY: Yes of course and it's still amazing for you even though there's a salmonella outbreak right now. It's still good for you. It's just --
VELSHI: I find in my life if I go around and tell people what super foods are? People think that maybe I know something about something.
ROMANS: You're just looking for another reason to have at those French fries.
VELSHI: That's right, yes exactly.
ROMANS: That's one of the super foods.
VELSHI: No salmonella there.
Prescription drugs by the way that many of you use every day are about to go generic and could get drastically cheaper. Six of the top ten selling drugs are losing their patents in the next couple of years. Blockbuster drugs like Lipitor, blood thinner Plavix and asthma drug Singulair; it could save people a quarter of a trillion dollars globally.
CHETRY: Wow.
CHETRY: Well, Motocross is a sport that's known for its spectacular wipe outs but even a crash that almost killed one racer isn't keeping him off his bike or keeping him away from his dream.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story in today's "Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-time National Motocross Champion Doug Henry's racing career has taken him to incredible heights and devastating lows. He's been inducted into the American Motorcycle Association's Hall of Fame and won dozens of medals and trophies over the years.
And look closely. You'll see this bike is modified with a bar and strap that help him stay on. Because four years ago, the unthinkable happened and he was paralyzed.
DOUG HENRY, MOTOCROSS CHAMPION: When I hit the wall between the bike, you know, I was stuck between the bike. You know, it was the end. It was the end for me. It was -- it was all over.
GUPTA: Henry's love affair with racing began when he was four. At 15, he entered his first race, had a mid-air collision and broke his arm. After turning pro at the age of 20, Henry had another bad accident and broke his back for the first time. But he recovered. Two years later, he was back on the track. There were more injuries. Over 200 serious crashes, but he always walked away, until March 4th, 2007. He lost control on a corner during practice.
HENRY: I knew it was over. I just -- everything. Just -- dancing. I wasn't much of a dancer. Oh but I knew I wasn't going to be. I thought about all of the things that we couldn't do or wouldn't be able to do together.
HENRY: It got worse. Two weeks later, his wife Stacy was diagnosed with breast cancer but, together, they got through it. Henry is partially paralyzed from the waist down but it hasn't stopped him from competing. He's modified a snowmobile and a dirt bike to race in X-game competitions designed for disabled athletes and he's winning races in his new sport.
Henry hopes he can motivate others whose lives have suddenly taken a detour and help them get back to doing what they love.
HENRY: I try to do as much as I can now and enjoy the day, just try to get the most out of my life.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: No time for a workout today in Washington. The only thing they are trying to do is hammer out -- hammer out some agreement. It's fair as we look at a shot of the White House this morning, 82 degrees. A little bit later, it's going to be 94 and mostly sunny. As we said they'll be inside in the AC.
ROMANS: All right. Back to our question of the day. Since politicians have not yet sorted out America's mammoth debt problem, we want to know, if you had the budget axe, what would you cut first? What would you keep?
Here are some of your responses.
Bob on the blog says, "Cut back Medicare. Stop the damage to our elderly as hospitals warehouse them, draining their Medicare benefits. Fix or end Medicare". Bob, those are called death panels and we lost that all over health care reform, right.
VELSHI: No kidding.
Robert on Facebook says, "We need to have term limits in both Houses just like the White House. Have publicly funded campaigns and make it a federal crime to give money to politicians." Ouch. "Corporate influence in government is killing this country." Excellent opinion. He didn't quite answer the question that we had.
(CROSSTALK) CHETRY: He didn't answer our question. But he did have an opinion.
Well, JamaicaArsenal1 on Twitter writes, "Corporation tax loopholes" saying that's what should be cut. "BP made $5 billion last quarter. Yes, that BP."
VELSHI: That BP.
ROMANS: Yes it did.
All right. As the debt ceiling soap opera continues, late night comedian Jay Leno found one thing some politicians agreed on. We loved this from last night in case you were sleeping, check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: There's Harry Reid. There's Mitch McConnell. Freeze it right there. Freeze is right there. Ok. Harry Reid mentioned how he can't agree on a budget? They obviously agree on everything else. Look at them. Same hair, same glasses, same sport coat, same shirt. Why can't you agree on this?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Thank you, Jay Leno. Something to laugh about, about the debt debate.
VELSHI: I have to tell you. Even with those late night writers this has to be tough. We who do this for a living in news find it tough to have to continue to have this conversation every day with incremental or no developments. So I give credit to those guys for keeping --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Especially if they pass some short-term agreement and then continue to hammer away for a couple more weeks on the actual spending cuts.
VELSHI: We're going to start AMERICAN MORNING early. I want to be able to tell you something different is going on. Unfortunately, we didn't do it today. Tomorrow, we're going to try again.
Over to you, Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
ROMANS: Hey, Kyra.
