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American Morning
House Votes Today on GOP Debt Plan; Alex Trebek Hurt Chasing Hotel Burglar; Yankees Host Get Together for Kids From Haiti; Michele Bachmann Discusses Her Family; Psychic In Suburbia; Mauled By a Bear
Aired July 28, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Another day closer to default.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
After all the talk, there could finally be some action today. The House is expected to vote on Speaker Boehner's plan today, but conservative Republicans back the plan after a frustrated speaker ordered them: get in line.
Will they listen? We'll find out.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
Michele Bachmann one of the Tea Party members standing in the way of the deal. We'll have Kiran's exclusive interview with the presidential candidate, why she won't budge -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Good morning to you guys. Thanks so much for being with us. It is Thursday, it's July 28th. Christine Romans a little bit under the weather.
VELSHI: A little bit? Did you hear her yesterday? "Hello, I'm Christine Romans!" So we sent her home. I hope she's doing well.
CHETRY: There is nothing worse
VELSHI: I didn't make fun of her on TV.
CHETRY: -- than a summer cold.
VELSHI: I'm sorry, Christine. A lot of news -- and it's OK that she's not here because it's kind of the same news as yesterday.
CHETRY: Hey, there are updates this morning. Please.
VELSHI: There are actually. And here's one of them.
House Speaker John Boehner cracking the whip against members of his own party during a closed door meeting yesterday. The speaker ordered his conservative colleagues to get behind his plan -- a plan that gets put to a vote today.
CHETRY: At least two people weren't listening. We spoke earlier to Republican Congressman Phil Gingrey, as well as Michele Bachmann -- Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Both of them say they are not onboard with the plan.
Here is Congressman Gingrey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PHIL GINGREY (R), GEORGIA: This takes guts. This is a tough goat. I love my speaker and have deep respect for our leadership. But I just feel strongly about this and I think -- I'm trying to do what's right for the American people, not so much what's right for our party or the political careers of our speaker, or even yours truly.
I'm going to stand strong on this. I'm going to vote no because I truly want us to have the opportunity to take cut, cap, and balance off the table in the Senate and get it passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)\
VELSHI: Representative Gingrey there articulating passionately what the view of many conservative Republicans are.
CHETRY: Right. And so that is they want to hang any approval of raising the debt ceiling on to a balanced budget amendment.
VELSHI: Right. This is a very complicated thing. That's a constitutional amendment. But he's articulating why he believes that needs to happen.
And while House Speaker John Boehner struggled on to get the House GOP to rally behind his plan, he told NBC's Brian Williams he understands why some hard line conservatives are against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's not the Tea Party caucus. Most of the freshmen are, frankly, in pretty good shape. It would be more what I would describe as some hard line conservatives who want more. I don't blame 'em. I want more, too.
But this was an agreement between the better Senate leaders and myself. It is what's doable. And I think we can get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, even if House Speaker Boehner's bill does pass today, and it has to go to the Senate and Senate Democrats say they will oppose it. That's right. They say it will not get off the ground.
VELSHI: I mean, it's an interesting position, but that's not going to be the solution ultimately.
CHETRY: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also told NBC's Brian Williams that it is a shame because Speaker Boehner's plan is not a compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: I'm disappointed. I care about John Boehner. I think he's a good person. I've been disappointed that he has painted himself into this corner and it makes our job over here much more difficult.
But I hope that American people are going to learn pretty soon that we are able to work our way through this. We have to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And this morning, Washington has got less than five days to do it. They got to pass some kind of deal before the treasury runs out of money to pay all of its bills. It will still have money to pay some of them.
And the markets really react.
CHETRY: Yes. They have been down actually for four straight days.
Joining us from Washington is Joe Johns.
It looks -- you know, you're hearing all of these people say "I love the speaker," "I care for the speaker," "I feel sorry for the speaker."
I mean, look, John Boehner comes out. He reworks this deficit reduction proposal. He has even more cuts. There are no taxes in here, there's no touching entitlements. And yet, you know, they are saying in the Senate, it will be dead on arrival.
Where's the compromise here?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously, they are going to have to pass something in the House and try to get something in the Senate and then, real fast, in a beat the clock fashion, you know, take the best of this and the best of that.
The Democrats say the biggest problem they have is that the Boehner plan is a two-step deal. It requires a Congress to re-visit this issue and, soon, possibly around the end of the year when people are shopping for gifts maybe in December -- congressional Democrats and the White House don't like that and they say that a short-term debt limit increase would put the country back in the same position it is in right now and they see that as a risk to the economy.
VELSHI: Joe, the opposition is coming from a combination of freshmen Republicans who were elected on sort of a Tea Party wave from the Tea Party Congress, from some other conservative veteran congressman.
Where is the heart of the opposition? Who is leading it?
JOHNS: Yes. You really have to do almost a vote count on that and this thing has been so fluid and so volatile, we haven't been able to do that. But anecdotally from our reporting -- I mean, we have talked to Tea Party-backed members of Congress who were very much opposed to raising the debt limit. Some of them like, for example, Florida Republicans Congressman Allen West, have shown signs very recently that they are more willing to vote for a debt limit increase as long as there are conditions and perhaps not a very long one.
Boehner has actually said on the record and you heard in that sound bite, Tea Party caucuses in pretty good shape -- which would suggest he has got some of those votes. But it's the hard line conservatives that we saw in those sound bites at the top. These are people who are not afraid of John Boehner, been in Congress with him for a long time, and they are saying, you know, on principle, I'm just not voting for it.
CHETRY: The other question. When many of these people were talking about digging in, talking about the Tea Party caucus Republicans, they were saying the nation wants this as well and there was a time -- we have seen the polling change. Sixty-nine percent of people back in April, according to one survey said, yes, don't raise the debt ceiling.
VELSHI: And now it's gone the other way.
CHETRY: Now, it's gone the other way in our latest CNN/ORC poll. It's about 389 percent. It seems the tide has turned and people are really fearful about what could happen.
JOHNS: Right. And they are not immune. They are just not immune to those telephone calls from people back in the congressional district who are worried about, you know, what's going to happen to my interest rate? What's going to happen to the country? We just came out of a recession.
So, these are very real fears and these folks, everybody understands they are still here in Congress representing the people who voted for them and they have to take that into account no matter what their philosophy is.
VELSHI: All right. Joe, thanks very much for that. You know, you almost have to go back to 2008 and remember that America was against the bailout.
CHETRY: The TARP.
VELSHI: The TARP. That's correct, was against TARP. And then that day that it didn't pass in the House and the Dow plummeted
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: -- all of a sudden, everybody called their congressman up and said, you got to get this done. And that was a Monday. And by Friday, the deal was done.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: Now, markets have been pretty stable right now but they are starting to lose --
CHETRY: Right. You still remember that split screen on many networks where you saw the vote and you saw the Dow going down.
Dow lost 200 yesterday. The S&P 500 down sharply. Futures are up, but, again, a lot of concerns -- a lot of questions about whether Washington can get this done.
VELSHI: So, let's talk the -- let's break down the high stakes debt debate what means for your investment, your mortgage, your loans.
Joining me now is Leigh Gallagher. She's the assistant managing editor for "Fortune."
Leigh, good to see you.
LEIGH GALLAGHER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE": Good to be here, Ali.
VELSHI: First of all, where do you think we'll likely to see the response? We talk about markets, but, in fact, it might be bond markets which many of our viewers don't follow that carefully -- might be a sudden reaction in the stock markets like the day we were talking back in 2008.
Where will we likely se the reaction? Because even though the Dow has been down a few days, not by much.
GALLAGHER: No. But I think that equities are where we 're going to see the biggest reaction, if only a panic sell, along the lines what you mentioned happened with TARP.
VELSHI: Right.
GALLAGHER: That 777-point drop, none of us will ever forget it. That was purely psychological and panic, and come on, let's get this done.
VELSHI: Right.
GALLAGHER: So, I think that that's probably the biggest likely place for an immediate situation. I mean, the bond market will be affected. I mean, if interest rates go up, if borrowing costs go up, it's going to cut across all sectors.
But I do think, immediately, we're going to see it in stock market if we go to a default - which, hopefully, we won't.
VELSHI: OK. So, let's just play out a few scenarios. There's a scenario where we get downgraded regardless of what happens and then there's a scenario where there's a default. That's a different kind of downgrade altogether.
So, we're talking about S&P and Moody's downgrading the credit rating of the United States maybe a little bit right now.
GALLAGHER: Right.
VELSHI: But if the United States were to default, worst-case scenario, that's a different -- that's a much more serious
GALLAGHER: That's sort of like, that's what people -- you hear people saying this could be like Lehman but worse. I mean, there will be immediate plunge in stocks, bonds, the dollar.
VELSHI: Yes.
GALLAGHER: There would be probably a freeze in the short-term lending market, which is what everyone was afraid was going to happen in Lehman, and, you know, didn't happen, but could happen -- which would be very bad.
VELSHI: Sure.
GALLAGHER: And then the panic selling that we talked about.
So -- and then just the sort of longer term impact of higher cost to borrow across the board for the foreseeable future.
VELSHI: OK. I want to -- the goal here is not to have folks panic but I want to give them the scenario. If there is a freeze in credit markets, like post-Lehman, that means two things. Number one is it means homes trying to get sold may not get sold, prices will go down. It also means companies may not be able to borrow easily. And we saw what happened in 2008, when that happened, they laid people off.
GALLAGHER: Right. And now, you're seeing -- I mean, since 2008, they haven't exactly been spending any money.
VELSHI: Right.
GALLAGHER: They haven't been hiring, that's the whole point. Even in the past couple of weeks, companies have been stockpiling cash even more so because of all this.
VELSHI: They don't want to get caught.
GALLAGHER: They don't want to get caught. You know, having cash is really the safest thing right now. Not sure we totally advise going entirely to cash for the individual, but for companies, that's what they're doing.
And so, it's likely that companies who are already basically frozen, not hiring, would freeze up even more. And again, this is the absolute worst time in the world for this to happen.
VELSHI: OK. And let's be fair. We need to put that out there because it could happen.
GALLAGHER: It could happen. It could not happen.
VELSHI: Now, let's talk about what the likely scenario is and what our viewers should do. What should you be doing? If you have a well-balanced portfolio that -- I know you probably don't all the time -- but if you check it four times a year and you make sure it's balanced like going to the dentist, should you be doing anything?
GALLAGHER: This is a hard thing about the time like this. I mean, you do not want to let your emotions get involved in the market. You don't want to try to follow the headlines. You don't want to time the market because this is very logical, but think about it.
If you're thinking about pulling your money out, you got to be right twice. You've got to be exactly right at the moment you pull it out and you got to be exactly right when you put it back in. Otherwise, you might as well have lost everything. I mean, you just run the risk of losing everything.
So, we really tell people as long as you have a diversified portfolio, you're well-covered, just try to sit on your hands and just wait this out.
VELSHI: But diversified doesn't mean a bunch of stocks.
GALLAGHER: No.
VELSHI: It means a bunch of different asset classes. It might be stocks. It might be precious metals. It might be bonds. You need a mix of things that will react differently to the same news.
GALLAGHER: Exactly, exactly. And that's based on your age and how many years have you left to retire and all of that. But, yes, we mean stocks, bonds, other assets -- you know, even stocks in merging markets.
VELSHI: Yes.
GALLAGHER: I mean, the one thing everybody should do now is just -- with the situation or not, is just to make sure you have a lot in foreign companies and by that, we mean actually safest bet we think is U.S. companies that have huge businesses overseas. It's the easiest way to benefit from global growth, because no matter what, the U.S. is slowing.
VELSHI: And the world is still growing fast.
GALLAGHER: Yes.
VELSHI: OK. Leigh, good to see you. Thanks so much.
GALLAGHER: Good to be here.
VELSHI: Leigh Gallagher, assistant manager at "Fortune."
CHETRY: It's interesting that she said that we're slowing and growth is happening overseas.
VELSHI: Right, regardless of this.
CHETRY: Yes. And one of the big concerns actually to some Tea Party conservatives like Michele Bachmann, who is running for president in the GOP. I had to chance to talk to her about that yesterday and she said, who is going to save us when, you know, when we continue to overspend? China? Russia? I don't think so. We have to get things going at home.
She also said it may be short-term pain but she is voting no on this debt ceiling -- raising the debt ceiling.
I had a chance to sit down with her yesterday exclusively and this is why she said she's holding her ground on the debt debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP.L MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Washington has their fingers in their ears right now. They're not listening to the American people. That's why I am adamant.
I will vote no on increasing the debt ceiling. We need sanity back in Washington.
CHETRY: So, you're voting no, but you think it will go through? I think that President Obama and the leaders in Washington will come up with a deal.
What they need to do under no uncertain circumstances is do at least what my bill does and that's pay the interest on the debt. Then I say from there, after paying the military salaries, prioritize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. And, you know, a little bit later, we're going to talk more about the woman behind the -- you know the founder of the Tea Party Caucus, how she manages to do all that, why she wants to run for president, raising five kids, opening her home to a lot of foster children. So, she opens up a lot about that. She admits, you know, my marriage isn't perfect, nobody's is but you got to be kind in there for the long haul.
It was interesting to hear her perspective on that.
VELSHI: All right. Still ahead, an awkward, uncomfortable moment during a press conference at Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign headquarters. We've got that for you, next.
CHETRY: And Alex Trebek -- "Jeopardy!" host hurt while chasing a burglar who busted into his hotel room. The incredible story, coming up.
Fourteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. This is for the young folks out there. I think this is over the heads of many. Do you agree? You didn't know what it was.
VELSHI: I certainly didn't, yes. And I'm pretty young.
CHETRY: Not to say you're old.
VELSHI: Look, I'm in my mid-20s.
CHETRY: Exactly (INAUDIBLE) 17 to 18-year-old set. The White House decided to pull an internet prank on the 2.5 million people who follow the official White House twitter account. It posted a rare response to a tweet from someone who complained the latest correspondence briefing was a bore. So, the White House posted a link saying, here is something more fun. And when people clicked, this is what they got.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
CHETRY (voice-over): OK. So, if you want the young people to think that you have a handle on the inter web today, tell them, you know what rickrolls means.
VELSHI (voice-over): I did not know rickrolls mean. Apparently, this is the effect (ph).
CHETRY: If you don't know what rickrolling, it is when you unknowingly click on a link that then takes you to this. 1980s one hit wonder, Rick Astley singing "Never Going to Give You Up" on YouTube.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: OK. What's his other song? What's the other song?
VELSHI: I'm just saying.
CHETRY: You're saying what? What's the other song?
VELSHI: I think he had more in one big song.
CHETRY: Anyone? Come on. We have a lot of music fans here. Anyone? Everyone is looking down at their papers.
VELSHI: One-hit wonder. I like Rick Astley.
CHETRY: Rickrolls.
VELSHI: Rickrolls. That's funny. I didn't know that.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI (on-camera): There's a headlight moments for Newt Gingrich and his presidential campaign staff, so he's having a press conference. He's meeting with reporters in Atlanta yesterday. He'd been sounding that whole made in America battle cry (ph) insisting we have got to beef up manufacturing this country, buy more American-made products. So then, he has this exchange with a reporter who first asks him to hold up his campaign T-shirt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of what you're talking about is about taking America back to America. We asked for T-shirts to be sent to us, and they were made out of America. Just picked up that one, and it's made in El Salvador. It's printed here in Atlanta. And it was a big thing when we talked to your campaign about how you wanted things to be made in America. Do you have plans to change things?
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to ask the folks who ordered this. I didn't order it, and I didn't do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a rush order that some of your --
GINGRICH: You know, we want to challenge with the volunteer campaign, lots of volunteer do lots of different things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: So, I imagine they're going to get some campaign T- shirts made in America.
CHETRY: They're not made in El Salvador. All right. Well, "Jeopardy" host --
VELSHI: But they're more expensive in America.
CHETRY: That's right. And I mean, hello. There you go. It's economics. Now that I have to tell you about.
"Jeopardy" host, Alex Trebek is set to undergo surgery today for a ruptured Achilles heel.
VELSHI: He's got it snapped.
CHETRY: OK. Thank you.
VELSHI: He said it. It's his word.
CHETRY: All right. He's going around on crutches. He and suffered this injury because he was chasing a burglar out of his hotel room in San Francisco. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST OF "JEOPARDY": The snap and the sound. I've played sports all my life. I called security immediately and gave them a good description of the woman, and they got her. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: He said his Achilles heel gave out, and he just collapsed. Police arrested the suspect. Fifty-six-year-old Lucinda Moyers on suspicion of felony, burglary and receiving stolen property. Trebek says most of the stolen items were recovered, but he's still missing an heirloom his mother gave him.
CHETRY: By the way, we did determine another Rick Astley song. Whether it was a hit, I'm not sure, but you remember, "Together Forever?"
VELSHI: Oh, I totally remember "Together Forever."
CHETRY: OK. There's the other one. So, it's two-hit wonder. Rob Marciano --
VELSHI: You knew it, Rob? You knew that, right?
CHETRY: You've been rock (ph) rolled lately?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I tell you what, watching that video just brings back some serious flashbacks of high school and not being able to dance to 1980s music.
CHETRY: Well, Rick Astley couldn't dance to his music either, and he had a hit!
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Guys like him were our role models back then, you know? Who were we going to learn from, you know? M.C. Hammer didn't come out until the early 1990s.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Hey, let's talk about what's going on with tropical storm, Don. This thing flared up yesterday, and now, it's gaining some strength as it heads into the Gulf of Mexico. We have hurricane aircraft that en route, hurricane hunter aircraft that's en route right now and likely will discover winds that are greater than the 40 miles an hour that are pegged at right now.
About 500 miles from the Texas coastline and the forecast is it for to make landfall sometime tomorrow night, early Saturday morning between Brownsville, maybe and Corpus Christi, maybe Galveston Island as well as a strong tropical storm, potentially, a minimal hurricane. I mean, that's the idea; scenario because we need the rain. Bring it, they're saying.
Give me some of that rain, and it could see anywhere from two to four inches in a swath here across parts of Central Texas. They will take it. Ongoing drought there like they've never seen, and obviously, the heat continues to build. In the meantime, a lot of rain across parts of Northern Iowa and Illinois. This is what we saw overnight in places like Davies County where they had a number of swift water rescues happened.
No injuries reported, but nonetheless, the flooding continues in this area. Flash floods going to be a threat throughout the day today as the rainfall along the stationary boundary continues to come down.
Meanwhile, a prettier note and a drier note. We take you to France. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) is a town across the eastern part of France. A world record was set for the number of hot air balloons that were launched at any given time at this international air balloon meeting. So, pretty pictures for you there. Nice day across parts of the northeast today, but the heat is going to be building across the I-95 corridor, and we'll probably get back to temperatures that we saw.
Well, not quite as hot as they were last week, but 88 degrees in New York City, 95 degrees in D.C. and 90 expected in Atlanta. It is the middle of summer. Certainly, it feels like that. And we are getting into the middle of hurricane season, so we're watching carefully. Tropical storm, Don, as it heads towards the Texas Coast. Guys, back over to you.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob
VELSHI: (SINGING) together forever
CHETRY: And what's the next line?
VELSHI: And ever.
CHETRY: To what?
VELSHI: I don't know.
CHETRY: I don't know either. I only know the together forever part.
VELSHI: I'm trying to redeem myself, and you're embarrassing me further.
CHETRY: Sorry.
VELSHI: All right. How awesome is your car to drive? Coming up next, which ride is crowned the number one most appealing car?
CHETRY: I feel like that would be very subjective. The number one most appealing car? A million cars out there.
VELSHI: So, there isn't a number one most crowned car. Good point.
CHETRY: I'm interested in seeing what it is.
VELSHI: Excellent that you're going to make this the day to correct everybody.
CHETRY: I'm sorry. I'm not. What's your favorite car? VELSHI: I have to think about it.
CHETRY: Now, I'm in trouble again putting you on the spot.
All right. Still ahead, my exclusive sit-down with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. She talks about what she learned from being a mother and what she learned from her own mother and how she actually got out of poverty.
VELSHI: Yes. You had great discussion.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: We're going to learn more about that.
A little later, inspirationally -- internationally known psychic and medium, Maureen Hancock -- you've heard of her -- she joins us live and look at how she delivers news from beyond the grave. Twnety- four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-seven minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading pretty flat. That's following a big sell-off on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow dropped about 200 points. The debt ceiling earnings report new economic data, including weekly jobless claims are all on investors minds today.
Just a few minutes ago, the world's most profitable oil company, Exxon -- actually, the world's most profitable company of all, oil giant, ExxonMobil reported that it $10.7 billion in profits for the second quarter and that is up 41 percent from the same time last year. Earlier this morning, Europe's biggest oil company, Royal Dutch Shell said its earnings almost doubled last quarter.
We're keeping a close eye on Continental Airline flights this morning. Twenty-four of them were canceled yesterday morning because of pilot sickouts, and there could be more problems today. Continental merged with United Airlines last year. Contract talks with the pilots have not been going well.
And Porsche ranking number one for the seventh year in a row for most appealing car models. That's according to latest consumer survey from J.D. Power & Associates.
Still ahead, Republican presidential hopeful, Michele Bachmann, sits down with Kiran Chetry in an exclusive interview, how she got out of poverty. AMERICAN MORNING back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: How pretty. I was sitting at Yankee game yesterday afternoon.
CHETRY: This is the official song, at least it has been for a years.
It is 78 degrees right now, guys. It is a beautiful shot this morning of the buildings here at Columbus Circle. Partly cloudy later and going up to 88 but, boy, we have the good weather.
VELSHI: I will call it partly sunny.
CHETRY: Either way, we are lucky compared to many parts of the country right now.
VELSHI: Yankees stadium was a field of dreams for a group of young Haitian earthquake survivors. The team opened up their hearts and ballpark to them yesterday. Everywhere you looked, it was fantastic.
CHETRY: This is part of Hope Week, 2011. It's something the team does every year. Some of the players actually spent the whole day with the kids and they even hopped on their bus, got to take a ride around the city. Richard Roth joins us now with more on all of this. It's always nice to see smiles on the faces of people who have gone through such unspeakable tragedy.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The day always begins with a surprise. The children, there were about 10 of them, thought they were going to the library. Wouldn't you like to end up at Yankees stadium? But they have been through so much.
VELSHI: Talk about managing expectations.
ROTH: I know. Many of them have lost friends and a couple of family members, and they -- you're just getting really into baseball here. Soccer is the real sport there in Haiti. Let's watch as one of the youngsters encountered Yankees star Derek Jeter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEREK JETER, NEW YORK YANKEES: How are you doing, buddy? How are you doing? Nice to meet you. Hello. How are you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Then the youngsters took the field to watch the batters take batting practice. One of them, I think Charles threw out the ceremonial first pitch to the cheers of the arriving crowd there. I asked some of the youngsters what were their impressions being at famed Yankees stadium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was impressive because I didn't know I was coming to Yankees stadium. And I want to thank Yankees for doing what they have done for us.
ROTH: What do you think about coming to Yankees stadium?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing. It's so big. And to see all of the players.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: That young man Franz is a future star. He captivated everyone. The students got on the field with the Yankee stars after the game, which was a Yankee loss, unfortunately, a big one, but at least Seattle broke its epic losing streak there.
The students were accompanied by five Yankees including Jorge Posada and C.C. Sabathia. They got on a double-decker boat and we had a minor police escort only as far as the Bronx and then got stuck in traffic. But they lit the lighting of the Empire State Building in case you wondered about the lights last night.
There's the view. Some of them really took in the enthralling sight, and their mouths were opening look at looking at the Statue of Liberty. And then racing through Manhattan. And there's a man coming out with pizza from pizza place delivering a lot of pizzas to the youngsters there. I talked to the Yankee managers and players about what the day means for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE GIRARDI, MANAGER, NEW YORK YANKEES: Well, I think we all look forward to it, because it's an opportunity for us to give back. But in the long run, we're the ones that are truly blessed by these people.
NICK SWISHER, NEW YORK YANKEES: As a professional athlete, my opinion, man, the way I was raised, it is your duty to give back.
JETER: They haven't seen it and we haven't seen it. I always wanted to go on a bus tour of New York City. I was quick to sign up for this one. The kids enjoyed themselves and hopefully it gave them another view of New York City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: The goal is to inspire others and to reward those who are giving back. And somewhere in the New York City area I think the next 20 minutes or so someone will get you a very big surprise. I can't tell you more. It was at their door when the bell rings who is outside which is really the ignition of a hope day for the Yankees project here.
VELSHI: Wow. Are you going to come back and tell us? That is kind of information to leave us hanging with.
ROTH: Well, if I'm invited back.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: We will call you back. Do you know two Rick Ashley songs?
ROTH: I probably know them, but I don't know the lyrics that well, because of wearing IFB ear pieces, my hearing is gone.
CHETRY: A good excuse.
VELSHI: That's a good way out of it. I should have thought about that. Richard, that was fun. It was fun at Yankees stadium yesterday to see them. They were having a good time.
ROTH: It was very emotional there. Some people say news people don't have a heart, but let me tell you when you see these children -- and the other years. Last year we profiled this Sierra Leone youngster.
VELSHI: It is a nice time. Good on Jeter and Swisher and the Yankees for doing that.
CHETRY: Thanks, Richard. Come back tomorrow.
Michele Bachmann, she is the Congresswoman who founded the Tea Party in Congress and she is also running for president. We had a chance to see a little bit of her lighter side. She sat down to open up about what her family upbringing was like and how she juggles it all. She talked in an exclusive interview. Here is a little bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BACHMANN: We took a big gulp and we said should we take this challenge and should we open out heart and should we open our home and should we do this? And so we thought, well, OK, we will take one. Then we got a phone call and we were asked, would you take another, and we did. Then we got a phone call, would you take another, and we did.
CHETRY: In terms of the foster kids it's a gamble, right, to welcome somebody in your home. You don't know the struggles they have been through. Clearly they have been through struggles or they wouldn't be living without their biological parents. Did you ever worry am I doing the right thing by my family by welcoming in somebody who may need a little extra help?
BACHMANN: Every decision comes with its challenges. You think about the pluses and minuses every way. And there are challenges with the biological children and challenges with the foster children. But that's what's stretched my husband and I in every possible way. My husband and I didn't have a lot of discretionary time because the children consumed most of the time. But again, it was worth it. It expanded us beyond what we thought we could do, but it was a big family is a blessing. It really is. There is a tremendous blessing to be said with a big family.
CHETRY: Do you think mom still carry the -- at the end of the day does it fall back on the moms more than dads when it comes to raising kids?
BACHMANN: I think it traditionally does, but it depends on the marriage. In our situation, we tag-teamed with our children. Our rule is whoever is home deals with the laundry and the food and chasing with the kids and the discipline. So if one of us was absent, the other picked up. We didn't wait for the other one to come home. We assumed the responsibility.
That went miles in our marriage. We made a decision that no matter what, we were going to stick it out. We were going to make it for the long haul. That has given both of us, I think, a great freedom in this relationship because we realized neither one is going to walk. We might be mad at each other, but we're not going to walk.
CHETRY: And there are a lot of people that sadly don't feel that way about the situation for whatever reason. Sometimes, you know, it seems as though people feel really helpless and think, you know what, maybe it will be better if I try it with someone else.
BACHMANN: And I know why they feel that way. My own parents divorced when I was 13, 14 years of age. My parents made that lifelong pledge to each other and it didn't happen. After about 17 years or so, their marriage ended. It's a tragedy for single mothers. I get it. I lived in a single parent home.
After my parents divorced, our family went into below poverty. We had been a middle class, lower middle class family. But after the divorce, we went below poverty. And my mother made about $4,800 a year. I had to get a job, my brothers got jobs. They delivered papers. I got a babysitting job. I made 50 cents an hour. That was big money back then. But we wanted to help out. That's what we needed to do.
My mother also said that, you know, it won't always be this way. It will get better. She told us to buckle down and do well in school. And we all did. And we all made it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: That's great to get to know a little bit more about her. I mean, she has shot onto the political scene. Obviously, when you knew her, when we covered her a few years ago, you had some sense she had some staying power and that she was going to be somewhere. But she has really, really shot into the public scene and people haven't gotten a chance to know her all that well.
CHETRY: She has raised a ton of money. She is leading or at least right up there with Mitt Romney in a lot of the polls in Iowa. And so we will see what happens. But, yes, she is actually going to be speaking at the National Press Club a little bit later today. She has answered a lot of questions about the debt ceiling. Obviously she is saying it's a no vote for her regardless of what happens.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: She also thinks it's false to say that we will default if we don't raise the debt ceiling. Obviously that is a minority opinion but there are many in the Tea Party caucus --
VELSHI: Who hold that opinion very dearly. All right, good interview. There will be more of it available later on in the show and online.
CHETRY: Our next guest is an internationally known psychic medium. Maureen Hancock is on a mission and wanting to help as many people as she can by communicating with the dead. And we are going to be talking to her about it and her new show coming up. It's 41 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 44 minutes past of the hour.
So if you have you a hectic life, wait until you meet our next guest. Her name is Maureen Hancock. She's from Massachusetts, and she has to balance being a mom with her second job, which is talking to the dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAUREEN HANCOCK, STYLE NETWORK, "PSYCHIC IN SUBURBIA": I had a guy who started to sort of come in loud and clear to me, and he pointed over here. It was like, look at that sign. Grab the "E" and the "D." Do you know anybody named Ed or Eddie that could be associated with this place?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we do. Actually, we had a firefighter that passed away.
HANCOCK: So he was in this building when he passed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HANCOCK: He had a heart attack?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HANCOCK: OK, because he is holding his chest. He is like "This is my house," like this is where he likes to be and he likes to watch over you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wow. You see the shocked look on the firefighters' faces. Maureen Hancock is the star of the Style Network's new show "Psychic in Suburbia." Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
HANCOCK: Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: So when you look at the clip, did they -- they didn't believe you right? At first?
HANCOCK: No, they didn't believe me. And I walked into the room full of 20 skeptical firefighters.
CHETRY: And what was the end result? What did they say at the end of it? HANCOCK: Oh the end result, they were all in tears and just disbelief. And one of the firefighters said, you know, I was an atheist I didn't even believe in God. And you just turned my whole world upside down.
CHETRY: That's unbelievable.
HANCOCK: Yes.
CHETRY: And you actually, speaking of God. You -- you jokingly with me in the break said you're the Catholic medium because you're still a practicing Catholic.
HANCOCK: Yes.
CHETRY: But you also -- and you found a parish where they respect the fact that -- that they believe this is a gift from God and not something sacrilegious.
HANCOCK: Well, I have a friend who is a priest who helped me and -- and he said you know this is the gift of the Holy Spirit. So that's -- that's where I --
CHETRY: And it's fascinating. I think people have a fascination with psychics. And people also are skeptical. But first let me just ask you, how do you know you're a psychic? I mean, what -- what do you feel and what did you feel as a young girl?
HANCOCK: Nothing. Well, I believe that everyone is psychic or has intuition. For me, it was definitely a little bit stronger. As a young child, I was in a coma with lead paint poisoning. And when I came out and home from the hospital I saw all of these people walking around my -- my home and I'm one of eight. I mean, I'm sorry, yes, I'm one of nine.
Wait I'm no math whiz, and so one of my sisters said you know, you need to stop talking about all these people or they'll take you back to the hospital. And then cut to 1992, I was in a car accident, broke several bones in my face. And then I started to hear the voices. But I do believe that everybody has this ability --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: So you shut it down? I mean, you heard it when you were younger and you thought this -- I don't want to get in trouble, I don't know want to -- you know, I don't know what to do with this so you -- it went dormant?
HANCOCK: Right.
And a lot of kids see spirits and they get afraid and so they shut it off and that's what I did.
CHETRY: So you cut to after the car accident. You said it was in 1992 that that happened to you?
HANCOCK: Uh-huh.
CHETRY: What did -- what did you then start seeing? I mean, how did -- how did you manage it at that point when you were older?
HANCOCK: Well, I started to hear voices. And I was litigation manager at Logan Airport so I had this big job and I was -- I knew that I wanted to help people somehow and I also was working on the side with hospice doing hands-on healing. And I started to really hear like, hey, I'm her mother Angelina, tell her I'm here. I would be like go away. It was scary.
And then I was a stand-up comedian in Boston. So I became Doug the comedian medium to make death not be so ooga-booga (ph) and scary.
CHETRY: Right.
HANCOCK: Yes.
CHETRY: And so what -- what about people who doubt you and say oh, you know, you're doing a reality show. You claim that you can be -- you could probably Google me. You could probably Google me and find something else, to find out somebody in my past and then ask me about it.
HANCOCK: Right. And then I say to them Google yourself, you're not that interesting. But -- but really, I -- I give facts that are not Googleable, if that is a word. So, you know, I come up with things that just are not out there. And I -- I see comfort.
And the work that I do during the day is all volunteer. You know? I work with cancer patients and children and I work with detectives to help find missing children.
So I spend my time giving back. All of my private readings are free so that sets me apart. And as far as the show goes, I hope to spread this message and I can do it in a light-hearted way.
CHETRY: So do you, right now, I mean, would you be able to get -- or I mean, is this on demand or is it more hit or miss?
HANCOCK: Yes. It's kind of like, you know, right now, I'm talking to you so I'm not like -- up in the heaven, the light switch isn't on. If somebody wants to barge in from beyond, they might just do that. So you're right. There is no on-demand button.
So, sometimes, if they want to just come through, they will come through. On occasion, I'll be at the supermarket and, hey, you know, that is my sister over there in produce. I'm like, leave me alone, I'm shopping.
CHETRY: So do you -- do you sometimes ignore the voices? I mean you don't always -- you're not -- because otherwise it would seem that you would never have anytime to yourself. You would always be sort of seeking out people and trying to tell them about things they may not want to hear? HANCOCK: Right. I have control over it and I flip the switch when I want to or need to. But thankfully it's not all the time. You know, I have two children and I'm trying to -- to balance raising kids and raising the dead.
CHETRY: Are they scared of this, the kids? How old are they?
HANCOCK: Not anymore. They are 10 and 12. At first my younger one was a little bit afraid and they're like is somebody in the closet? You know, but I just talked to them about calling them their angels and that they are protected and watched over by their loved ones. And they have a nephew in heaven, my sister's son Sean and he watches over them and they say that he visits them in their dreams.
And I think it's great that they know that they are watched over and protected.
CHETRY: That is amazing. Well, a unique gift for sure.
Maureen Hancock, Style Network "Psychic in Suburbia" thanks so much for being with us this morning. I appreciate it.
HANCOCK: Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: Well, Maureen has also written a book by the way about communicating with spirits. It is called "The Medium Next Door." If you'd like to check it out as well.
We're going to take a quick. Its 50 minutes past the hour. Your headlines is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Breaking news for you just in to CNN.
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time last week dropped by 24,000 compared to the week before. That's good news for investors. And economists had expected the jobless claim to rise, to increase.
This is the first time in more than three months that the number of weekly unemployment claims has dropped below 400,000. Now, that is still a high number; 398,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week.
That part is bad news but the number was lower than it was expected.
Right now, U.S. stock futures have moved higher on that good news; that's following a big sell-off on Wall Street yesterday when the DOW dropped about 200 points. The debt ceiling and earnings reports are also on investor's minds today.
A vote on House Speaker John Boehner's debt plan is scheduled for today. It comes after Boehner ordered his conservative colleagues to get in line behind the bill that would cut $915 billion in spending over ten years.
And take a look at this exclusive video obtained by CNN. It was shot in the seconds after Friday's bombing outside Oslo's government plaza taped by a man who had been driving through a tunnel beneath the plaza when the bomb exploded. He was able to get on top and take pictures inside the main government building where the damage was most severe.
A tropical storm watch in place right now for much of the Texas Coast as tropical storm Don forms in the Gulf of Mexico. It could make landfall somewhere near Corpus Christi late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
You're now caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Do you remember the story about the bear attack --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: -- the 17-year-old who was attacked by a bear? Well, there's new video that just came in to the CNN moments ago. The Denver teenager re-living now that moment when he was mauled by a bear last weekend in the Alaska wilderness.
VELSHI: His name is Sam Gottsegen, he was 24 days into a month- long backpacking survival camp when he and six other teens run into trouble while hiking along a river on Saturday night, they never intended to startle a mother bear and her cubs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL GOTTSEGEN, BEAR ATTACK SURVIVOR: It was just sheer panic. I remember (EXPLETIVE DELETED) running down the hill and looking behind me and seeing this huge snarling grizzly bear. Then it tackled me.
I can remember it attacked me twice. I don't remember, you know, which time it actually bit me or which time it scratched me or what, but I can remember the moment when it bit down on my head and I was just thinking, you know, I'm going to die. I kept saying I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So Gottsegen suffered a serious head wound. He actually had a punctured lung, a broken rib but there he is right now in the hospital, you see him. He is expected to make a full recovery.
VELSHI: That is incredible.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. VELSHI: All right. It's 56 minutes after the hour. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: What's going on there?
CHETRY: You're no stranger to love, are you?
VELSHI: No. You know what? I know the words.
CHETRY: Yes. Because you're finding them on your phone.
VELSHI: No, "Together Forever", you asked me about "Together Forever."
CHETRY: Wait. This one? This is "Never Going to Give You Up."
VELSHI: No, I know. But you asked me about "Together Forever," right?
Together, forever and never to part. Together forever we two notes. And don't you know I would move heaven and earth to together forever with you.
CHETRY: OK. For all of the mirrors and glass that just broke, we apologize.
Miss Kyra Phillips now takes it over at "CNN NEWSROOM." This is why they say never quit your day job, Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Oh, my gosh. Oh, my dear God.
I'm sitting here going over the script, and I hear the two of you singing. I really don't know what to say, except "Have a beautiful day."
CHETRY: You just got rickrolled.
PHILLIPS: I just did. I'm sweating. All right guys, not bad. Just don't go on tour. I don't know how it's going to do.
