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American Morning
Senate Vote on Debt Plan Today; Global Rally Fizzles; Randy Moss Retires; U.S. Stock Futures Trading Lower; Senate to Vote on Debt Bill; Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Votes in House on Debt Bill; Rolling Stone Photographer Publishes Iconic Pictures; Safe Playgrounds, Safe Kids
Aired August 02, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.
In a matter of hours, the Senate will vote on a debt ceiling deal that could keep America from defaulting. Sixty votes needed to pass it. The clock is ticking. But, is it a done deal? We're live in Washington.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi.
There was not a dry eye in the House -- the House of Representatives. Democrats and Republicans standing by side-by-side cheering for a returning warrior last night. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords making an emotional comeback on this AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: And good Tuesday morning to you. It's August 2nd. Christine has the day off. I'm Carol Costello.
VELSHI: And welcome to D-day. The day America runs smack into that default deadline. We still haven't got a final solution. Right now, you're looking live at the Capitol.
In just a few hours, the entire world will be watching when the Senate votes, hopefully, yes to a compromise debt ceiling deal after the House passed the measure last night, 269-161.
That is not the reason why so many lawmakers stood and cheered last night -- many shedding a few tears.
COSTELLO: More than a few tears. It was because of the return of wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that made Democrats and Republicans realize they actually have something in common. They like each other really. Really! They are all Americans!
Giffords said she felt compelled to return to the House last night because her vote might be needed to keep America from defaulting. It was her first visit back since a would-be assassin shot her in February.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Throughout America, there isn't a name that stirs more love, more admiration, more respect, more wishing for our daughters to be like her than the name of Congressman Gabby Giffords. Thank you, Gabby!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: By the end of the night, the House voted, as Ali said, 269 to 161 in favor of the deal. Afterwards, CNN's Kate Bolduan got a rare interview with House Speaker John Boehner about Giffords' emotional return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I feel great.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How do you -- what do you think of the vote this evening?
BOEHNER: That was a strong vote but first step in many steps yet to go.
BOLDUAN: What do you hope -- what do you think the message is for the American people tonight?
BOEHNER: The process works. It may not be pretty, but it works.
BOLDUAN: And your thoughts on the surprise of Gabrielle Giffords coming to the floor?
BOEHNER: I was very surprised. It was nice to see her.
BOLDUAN: Did you say anything to her, sir?
BOEHNER: I met her when she got off the elevator.
BOLDUAN: And what did you say to her, sir?
BOEHNER: I said welcome back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Man of few words. He's not usually. I think it must be sheer exhaustion after this whole thing. I'm sure he is pleased that the ceiling debate is done but he didn't look it.
COSTELLO: At least on his part, right?
VELSHI: Yes. But, yes, everybody.
What a change in the tone in the House of Representatives with Gabby Giffords there because it has been anything but bipartisan and anything about compromising, although that bill was bipartisan.
COSTELLO: Although somebody, I think it was John Boehner said on CBS last night that things weren't as contentious as they seemed behind the scenes, that people actually were talking and were kind of getting along. It just seemed so bad when they went in front the television cameras.
VELSHI: Right. And also, we were looking at the extremes in many cases, the people who were not going to sign that deal.
Boy, it was a lot of heat.
Now, it is a debt deal that nobody really seems to like. Nobody has come out and said this is great. But with only hours to go before this deadline, it's a deal everybody is going to have to live with. If it makes it through the Senate today, how big is that?
Joe Johns joins us live from Washington this morning.
Joe, they need 60 votes for this to pass without a filibuster. Is it a done deal?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, nothing is a done deal until they vote in the Senate, Ali. But, you know, 60-vote margin is needed to overcome delaying tactics and there is at least a chance, you know, given the heartburn over this deal, that someone would try to filibuster this thing with 60 votes, according to rules, you can around that, pass the bill.
I mean, put the emphasis on heartburn here. Senators on the right think it doesn't go far enough. Some are concerned the defense spending could be cut too much. Others are worried that taxes could be raised or they would like more assurance a balanced budget amendment sent to the states. Democrats and people on the left worried about entitlements and social programs and don't necessarily like the idea of what's going on with this super committee of 12 who have the outside say on where the spending debate goes from here.
So, you can say the people who know are saying they think there will be enough votes to get this bill to the president's desk even though they will be holding their noses all the way.
COSTELLO: You know, I would have thought that after the House -- the House voted relatively quickly on this thing. Does the Senate would take just it up immediately and work through the night and get it done. Why will they waiting until noon and then what? Everybody goes on a five-week vacation, right?
JOHNS: Yes, everybody goes on a five-week vacation. I think they just decided that they were going to, you know, let the House do its thing and decided pretty late in the day yesterday that they would move into the Senate tomorrow, because it was very uncertain up until the last just how smoothly that House vote was going to go.
As you saw, they got pretty big numbers. Some people were surprised by the margin. They thought it would be much closer in the House of Representatives.
So, you know, watching the House and seeing what they are going to do and saying, OK, we'll do our deal today.
COSTELLO: OK. We'll be on the edge of our seats again today watching the outcome of the Senate vote.
VELSHI: This is -- this gives new meaning to the 11th hour, the 11th minute of the -- you know? The whole thing.
COSTELLO: Yes. Thank you, Joe.
If you're not already furious with your elected officials for the way they have handled this debt ceiling crisis, this might push you over the edge, because Congress couldn't stop bickering and the deal came down to the wire, instead of getting done two weeks ago, American taxpayers are on the hook for $1.7 billion. That's how much additional interest the government had to pay investors to get them to buy treasury bills.
VELSHI: Now, when word of a debt deal began spreading on Sunday, global markets rallied overnight in Asia and then in Europe. But that enthusiasm didn't last long.
Richard Quest is joining us live this morning from the National Mall in Washington -- probably because that's the only place he can find peace from this crazy debate as somebody who is not from the United States and looks into it.
Richard, give us a sense of the rest of the world, with whom we do business in the United States, and how they have seen this whole process. And now that it is about to come to an end, do we regain our place in the world as the major economy and the major trading partner?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think you remain and you continue to be the trading partner and the major player that you were, but it has got a tarnish on it -- there can be no doubt about it. The way this whole incident has taken place and been handled. If you look at the commentary in the foreign newspapers, when it starts describing U.S. lawmakers as having lost touch with reality and sanity and madness, you got to start questioning exactly the process that took place.
The underlying strength of the U.S. economy is what people are focusing on and that is, I'm afraid, is also giving cause for concern. Ali, the dent in the economy that this budget deal will create is what people are worried about. It was a slow-moving train to start with. Now, if you take some of the fuel out of the engine, what happens next? And that, I think, is where the focus is going to be.
Ali, put this -- think about it overall. President Obama had wanted a clean debt ceiling agreement. Instead, he's got a debt ceiling agreement that has strings attached which are going to slow things down. We don't know exactly how much. But those cuts, that trillion dollars or so of cuts, even over 10 years, because some will kick in now, will have an effect, Ali.
VELSHI: Richard, let me ask you a simple question. Not simply at all but you have covered Greece and Europe, and its budget and deficit and debt problems. You covered the United Kingdom and now, you're covering the United States -- each different situations and different solution in each one. Give me the one minute and 30 second -- or the 30-second primer on which one you think is going to be the most logical.
QUEST: I think none of them are terribly logical because all of them have been done in extremist and in emergency situations. Greece, the country was bankrupt. Britain, the fare was the bond market would suddenly launch and attack and would become another Greece. The United States, the debt ceiling was about to be reached and you wouldn't have been able to borrow and there was a default on the table.
In all of the cases, this is never a good time. And with the gun at the head, it's never a good time to pass a law. But the fact is tough decisions are only ever made when the crunch time arrives and that is -- it's a truism. It's a reality of democracy. People only really take nasty decisions when they have to.
COSTELLO: I just want to ask you, because I've read more than one article that said that our bond rating may drop anyway, because Congress waited so long to act. So, it doesn't really matter if we meet this deadline now, the damage has already been done. I mean, is that true or not?
QUEST: Yes, I think that is, there's a certain truth in that. We will wait for the rating agencies. I don't think -- hostage to fortune here, I don't think the rating agencies would come out immediately afterwards and say, yes, AAA gone -- certainly not after all the panic of this debt agreement. But I think over the weeks ahead, as they look at the long-term debt outlook and factor it into the U.S. economy, then I think the serious questions would be whether or not long term the U.S. does maintain its AAA.
The balance is it probably does, but there is still the question on the table.
VELSHI: After it happens is the Congressional Budget Office scored it and said $2.1 trillion in cuts and less than what the document says.
QUEST: That's point.
VELSHI: And then last night, Jessica Yellin was reporting that the Treasury was having conversations with Standard & Poor's and Moody's because they were asking can you explain everything in this debt deal so we can make a decision.
I think you're right, Richard, they'll probably wait a few days before they decide on that, but there are certainly some lobbying going on in Washington to keep the credit rating.
Richard, good to see you, my friend. Stay cool on the Mall.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING: The TSA's new screening tactic talk to passengers. They're going to talk to passengers. We'll explain more about this new security model they've come up with.
VELSHI: And a brand-new tropical storm getting strength in the Caribbean. We are tracking Emily -- coming up on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's head to the weather center now because it's still extremely hot in the middle part of the country. There's -- I'm sorry. We are not going there yet and I apologize.
VELSHI: Why not? I want to talk about weather.
COSTELLO: I want to talk about it, too, but --
VELSHI: Big storm, tropical storm Emily is coming in. There is lots of heat in the Midwest. Dallas, Oklahoma City like triple digits. You know what? Dallas, 32nd day of triple digit temperatures.
COSTELLO: Oh, you mean we can to go Rob Marciano now.
Hi, Rob!
VELSHI: I just told you everything Rob needs to do. So, Rob, just give just like a kicker. Tell us about a snake on a windshield or something like that because we just gave the weather report.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I appreciate that.
VELSHI: How did I do?
MARCIANIO: Very well. And as little sleep as you've gotten, I'm impressed that your listening comprehension throughout the morning.
VELSHI: I've heard it a few times this morning from you.
MARCIANO: We just pounce -- just play the hits and pound it into 'em!
All right. Guys, here is going on with tropical storm Emily. We just got reports from a hurricane hunter recon plane that shows that it really hasn't strengthened all that much. It found the center to be actually a little bit further to the south and east. And so, now, it's 260 miles away from Puerto Rico. But it's head that way and here's still the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center, approaching the island of Hispaniola later on tonight and tomorrow and then getting into the southern Bahamas.
Models vary, it could scoot off on to sea, could head to the Gulf of Mexico. It could go right into Florida. That would be some time late Friday night and into -- over the weekend. So, a lot of uncertainty there and we'll see if it develops into a hurricane. Right now, the forecast is for it to remain a tropical storm.
The heat is on. It continues to be 111 yesterday in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. My goodness. It's an old-timer. Topeka, Kansas 109, Joplin, Missouri seeing 108, and we're expecting more in the way of heat today. These are the forecast highs with the anticipated records that may very well be broken. In Oklahoma City, the record is 110. We think we may break that. The record in which that falls is 110. It might break that.
And the record in Dallas is 107 and may break that. Ali makes them 32 days and counting of 100 plus, that streak is going to continue. Hazy, hot and humid here. We're looking at thunderstorms across parts of the Western Great Lakes. Here's what it looks like now with a thunderstorm watch out for parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Here's what it looked like yesterday with thunderstorms rumbling through (INAUDIBLE) with impressive lightning strikes.
Look at that. Stern County, thanks for that shot. Storm chasers showing us this good stuff. We also had, obviously, some wind and hail with this. New York City and Long Island also had their fair share of wind and hail, cooling things down just a little bit. Thunderstorms expected today in Chicago and Detroit. So, maybe some delays in that area. You saw the thunderstorms in Minneapolis might spawn some delays in the early morning hours and some morning fog in San Francisco.
COSTELLO: It's a weird summer. Weird, weird, weird.
MARCIANO: It's August, and it will almost be over.
COSTELLO: It's only the first day.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Or the second day. Sorry.
VELSHI: Optimist. All right. Rob, thanks very much. Thanks for the good training that allowed me to --
MARCIANO: You are my junior weatherman.
VELSHI: Take time off for something. I may probably need a little bit more than I've had, but --
COSTELLO: He already gave you a junior ranger status. What more do you want?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Is there a pin that comes with that?
MARCIANO: There is, and a ceremony.
VELSHI: All right. Thank you, my friend.
He was one of the most dominant wide receivers in the game. Randy Moss says he is retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons. Moss' agent said he was weighing free agent offers from several teams, but decided to call it a career. Moss holds the single season record for the most touchdown passes caught and is tied for second all-time. I'm thinking he is sure to be a hall of famer someday.
COSTELLO: Yes. Just makes me feel old.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: It is time for question of the day. We want to go a little in-depth this morning on the section (ph) of compromise. So, our question of the day, let's get into it. Being the ultimate tough guy may work for Captain America but not necessarily for the leaders of free world. Remember when President Bush talked it in circuit (ph) in Iraq four months after shock and awe?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some who feel like that, you know, the conditions are such they can attack us there. My answer is bring them on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Some believe the president's words increased violence against American troops. Taunting the enemy isn't the best idea, and President Bush later said he regretted saying that, but acting tough is good and is quite essentially American. It's one of the reasons why the tea party resonates.
It's why Republicans are controlling the agenda, and this debt deal fiasco. Heck, in the modern political world, tough is in. Compromise is weak. Last year on "60 Minutes," House leader, John Boehner made that clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: When you say the word compromise, a lot of Americans look up and go, oh, oh, they're going to sell me out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Back in the day, powerful Democrats and Republicans were able to make mutually beneficial deals. Think of Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill in 1983 working out a deal on Social Security or President Clinton compromising with Newt Gingrich on welfare reform in 1996, but that was then.
So, our question of the day this morning, is compromise a sign of weakness? Send us an e-mail us, a tweet, or message us on Facebook. We'll read your responses a little later this hour.
VELSHI: Some excellent responses that we're getting to this. Good question with some great, great responses from you.
Listen, for those of you drive Ford pickup trucks, more than a million of them are on the recall list this morning. Just ahead, we'll tell you which models are affected and why.
COSTELLO: And on the haunt for roadside bombs in Afghanistan, we'll get a firsthand look at this delicate and dangerous mission in our special series, "A Soldier's Story." It's 19 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-two minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading lower ahead of the opening bell. Wall Street is not feeling all that confident about the economy this morning after some very weak manufacturing numbers yesterday pushed stocks lower to start the week. Now, what Wall Street is looking for is more economic data for a fresh read on the recovery that we're in.
Economists are forecasting a slight increase for both personal income and personal spending in June compared to the month before, and those numbers come out just about seven minutes from now.
Toyota announcing a big loss last quarter from a lag-in production following the earthquake in Japan, but, it also raised its earnings forecast the rest of the year. Pfizer reported its earnings in line with expectations and Sirius XM radio says its profits jumped last quarter. The number of subscribers increased to a new record high.
Later today, the major automakers will start releasing information on new car sales for July. Wall Street will be watching. Those figures are used as indicators of consumer demand and another gauge on the country's economic recovery.
Ford is recalling more than a million pickup trucks because of fuel tank straps that can rust causing the fuel tank to drag on the ground. Several fires have been reported from this defect. The recall covers the best-selling U.S. passenger vehicles, the F-150 model from 1997 to 2003 and some F-250s, 1997 through 1999. Take a look on CNNMoney.com for the full list.
Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the costly fight in Congress over funding for the FAA. AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. We're getting a first-land look at the life of a combat engineer on the battleground in Southern Afghanistan.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about brave men and women. Jason Carroll takes us along on a mission in part two of his special series this week, "A Soldier's Story," and Jason joins us now.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Taking a bit of a departure, looking at the combat engineers. These are the guys who are out there and search for these roadside bombs. It is a dangerous job. one report shows that some 268 U.S. troops were killed by IED's, those improvised explosive devices last year. The combat engineers' job is to find those bombs before they can do any harm. We've got a first-hand look at just how they accomplish their mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. NICK CHRISTIAN, U.S. ARMY: What we do is we make sure that our route is cleared before we step off.
CARROLL (voice-over): On mission with combat engineers in a remote area of Southern Afghanistan, these soldiers hunt for IEDs, those roadside bombs insurgents use to injure or kill.
CHRISTIAN: They watch us, and they wait to see what we do and then they act.
CARROLL: But they also search for the people who plant them. On this particular day, it wasn't long before they found both.
1ST SGT. VALENTE ORTIZ, U.S. ARMY: They came out positive for some of the compounds that we think that could be involved in suspicious activity out here. All making explosives.
CARROLL: During a checkpoint set up to snare insurgents, they find five men and the car they're driving test positive for explosives.
STAFF SGT. DANNY MCCRITE, U.S. ARMY: This one is military grade plastic explosives.
CARROLL: The men say they're builders and farmers, not a credible story to these trained soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pakistani money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CARROLL: One man carrying two million Pakistani rupees, about 23,000 U.S. dollars, two others found with questionable passports.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They both say that they're going to be a tourist in Asia, Europe, and America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger (INAUDIBLE).
CARROLL: And then, off camera --
ORTIZ: They found suspicious bomb material behind us. That prevents us from going back over and getting exploded on.
CARROLL: Someone knew we were going to be turning around and coming back that direction and planted a bomb so we would hit it on our way back?
ORTIZ: Yes. We're now learning just how big it was.
CARROLL: How big was it?
CHRISTIAN: There was six jugs of homemade explosives, which is roughly 300 pounds of explosives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just so you know, like 300 pounds, like a typical SUV, like they say, a Tahoe, would break it into about two million pieces and kill everybody inside the vehicle.
CARROLL: Finding the bomb, men with lots of cash who test positive for explosives, these combat engineers say it all adds up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're putting two and two together here, and it's not -- today's events aren't equaling good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to believe that we found -- IED behind us, five guys that came up with explosive residues on their hand, and they're walking around with --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two million --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pakistani rupees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two million Pakistani rupees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're able to seemingly catch five of them. So, do you think it was luck or do you think it was just that there are a lot of them out there, so it's easier to sort of grab?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today might have been a lucky day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one got hurt. That's score one for America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Final note. Those five alleged insurgents were taken into custody and turned over to the Afghan police for processing. Last year more than 3,000 U.S. troops were injured by roadside bombs. Big number.
COSTELLO: That's why it's amazing that these guys actually want to do this job.
VELSHI: Do they pick this job?
CARROLL: They do, Ali. They pick these jobs, any particular job they want to go into the U.S. military. And when I asked them, why do this? There are other jobs you can do are definitely a lot safer. It's because they have a love for it. They have a long for getting in there and finding these types of bombs and looking at what types they are. So it's really incredible job that these men do.
COSTELLO: And thank goodness.
VELSHI: I have to ask you, with the guys they pick up, these insurgents -- we have heard of examples of soldiers roughing up these insurgents, but how do they deal with the fact these guys were trying to kill them?
CARROLL: Right. That was a heavy thing for my first-time experience to be out there and realize, because you know what they do? As I said in the piece, they watch you come in and they know only one road in and out. And so what they do is they plant the bomb so you hit it on the way back. And it's frustrating for them.
You know what is even more frustrating is that there are times, because of the afghan system, that sometimes when they put these Afghan insurgents into custody, they find that a month later, they find the same guys right back out on the street.
VELSHI: Wow. All right, Jason, thanks very much. Installment three is coming tomorrow. Very good.
COSTELLO: A Senate vote on the debt deal is expected within hours. The measure passed the house last night. With 60 votes in the Senate today, America will finally be able to stave off default while facing more than $2 trillion in spending cuts the next 10 years.
VELSHI: That's supposed to happen early in the afternoon, but lots of things have been supposed to happen that haven't, so we will stay on top of it here on CNN.
Gabrielle Giffords literally brought down the house last night, the House of Representatives. Seven months after shot in the head the Congresswoman made a surprise return to Capitol Hill to cast her vote in favor of the debt deal. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING one of her closest friends, Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz, says it was good to feel warmth in the House chamber again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: As gabby came in and people realized a wave of recognition and the house erupted. It was electrifying. Really, I think it did a lot of good to melt even the most hardened of hearts. We've had a tough road to get to this compromise. But knowing that Gabby put aside everything and came to the house to cast her vote, even in spite of everything she's been through, I think it made, you know, all of us realize just how important what we do is every day in that chamber and how important it is that we work together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Wasserman Schultz was one of the only members of Congress who knew Giffords was coming. She got a call from Gabby's husband astronaut Mark Kelly on Sunday night saying Giffords was refusing to miss this vote.
COSTELLO: And she did -- VELSHI: I have to tell you, we see a lot in this business. Not everything moves us all that much. But I was very definitely moved.
COSTELLO: Yes. We got a lot of e-mails saying in one word, wow. It was something.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because of the debt ceiling crisis that came down to the wire, American taxpayers are on the hook for $1.7 billion dollars. That's the extra interest the feds will have to pay in order to get investors to buy Treasury bills in the last two weeks. The sale of those T-bills helps fund the government.
VELSHI: And the interest rate had gone up on those. It wouldn't have cost us if this was settled even two weeks ago.
The fight over the debt ceiling isn't the only showdown in Washington. The House, which adjourned for summer recess last night failed to approve a bill that would fund the Federal Aviation Administration. The only possible resolution is if the Senate approves the bill, and that is apparently unlikely.
Now for what this all means to you -- first, the federal government is expected to lose estimated $1.2 billion in taxes on air travel and 4,000 workers will remain furloughed. These are mostly administrative positions and not affecting your safety in the air. But that means air traffic personnel are still on the job. Passengers won't be affected from a safety perspective, but construction projects are on hold.
This just -- by the way, that $1.2 billion and add it to the $1.7 billion we told the government has to pay in extra interest, so now we're up to $3 billion almost just because of delays.
And because the government has stop collecting certain taxes on ticket sales, Delta now says it will give refunds to passengers who paid those taxes but then flew during the partial FAA shutdown. The refunds apply to people who bought tickets before July 23rd.
And this morning at 11:30 on CNN Newsroom, don't miss FAA administrator Randy Babbitt. He will talk about the fight under way right now to fund the agency.
COSTELLO: The TSA is adding another layer of security at our nation's airports. The agency's chief announced it may soon have officers talk to passengers much like they do at airports in Israel. The conversations might include questions like, where are you visiting from? What are your plans during your trip? And based on those responses, officers will be trained to look for potential signs of trouble. Some critics call the plan too time-consuming and warn it could lead to racial profiling.
VELSHI: And some of the most iconic images from late '60s and '70s coming up next. "Rolling Stone's" first chief photographer on what it was like to capture some of the greatest rock icons. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: You may not know the name Baron Waldman, but he is a big part of rock 'n roll history. He was "Rolling Stone's" first chief photographer from its start up in 1967 to 1970, covering some of the greatest rock icons of that time.
COSTELLO: I want his life in my next life!
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: That's right.
COSTELLO: Many of the photographs that Baron took are included in a new book. Every picture tells a story, "The Rolling Stone" years. Baron Waldman joins us now. Man, what a life you must have led and are still leading!
BARON WOLMAN, FIRST CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER FOR "ROLLING STONE": I'm still leading. Had I known how much fun I was having then, I would have tried twice as much at the time. Like what did I miss?
VELSHI: So you came in. I'm wondering what this was. I didn't know this was what --
WOLMAN: That's the way "Rolling Stone" used to look like. I tell you --
VELSHI: That was from 1968?
WOLMAN: Yes. It started out actually looking like this and it looked like a newspaper. It was folded like this and then we realized we couldn't sell enough newspapers like that. We wanted a magazine and folded it and gave it a cover.
VELSHI: And that's how it became a magazine.
WOLMAN: And there's Frank Zappa.
COSTELLO: We have another cool picture in your book. I'm looking through this book and there's so many great things to read about and so many great pictures. But let's start with you very favorite from the book, Jimi Hendrix.
WOLMAN: The reason that's my favorite is that, you know, there are two ways to photograph. You can good into somebody's home and you get intimate photographs and then you go onstage and try to get a really exciting photograph. The problem you have to remember, we didn't have MTV, we didn't have video or YouTube. We had to in one photograph we had to capture the whole feeling of a particular concert.
That picture does it, you know? That is a perfect picture. I don't know how I could improve on it. I had access to the stage. I could be on the stage. I could be back stage, and I was on stage with Jimi Hendrix that night. And I felt like I was playing with the band. I felt like -- I really did feel like I was part of the band, that I was playing icons and these guys were playing. Seriously.
VELSHI: Nice.
COSTELLO: How many pictures did you have to take to get that photo?
WOLMAN: Interestingly enough, you know, in the old days when there was film there were 35 pictures on each roll. So if you got two or three, man, I nailed it. Looking at the contact sheets, 20, 25 off each one 37. I was so in tune with these guys, you know, it was unbelievable.
VELSHI: So Zappa, he had a reputation for being eccentric. And you were knew this, and you were worried about that.
WOLMAN: I was a little concerned about that because his music is not accessible like Steve Miller or the Beatles are really accessible. So I couldn't talk music to Zappa. So I saw I'm going to go out there. He lived at the top of Laurel Canyon, the movie, the old silent movie stars own this log cabin. I went up there, and I thought how am I going to get any pictures of this guy?
It turns out behind his house there was all this road grading equipment. They had started a development and then they left it there. It was all just resting. So he says, come on, let's go out. I thought I'm going to have to direct him. He said, come on, let's go out. The first thing he did is he climbed up on the tractor, like he is driving the tractor.
VELSHI: So he was just setting up the pictures for you?
WOLMAN: He was doing in. I just said, Frank, thank you.
COSTELLO: We wouldn't expect anything less from Frank Zappa.
WOLMAN: This thing, there is a cave. He goes into the cave. He comes out of the cave. Goes into the cave, comes out of the cave. Frank, what are you doing?
VELSHI: But you're getting good pictures.
COSTELLO: I had one interview with Frank Zappa and it didn't go well. He is a tough guy. It was awful. I admire his work but he is a tough guy or was a tough guy to talk to.
Let's talk about Mick Jagger now, because can you take a bad picture of him?
WOLMAN: Probably not. I figure you can't take a bad picture of Jimi Hendrix, you cannot take a bad picket of Mick Jagger. What happened I was in London to record -- you remember The Who had this rock opera "Tommy"? So I was there to record them recording the rock opera "Tommy."
The end of the day's recording Pete Townsend was saying let's go have something to eat. Afterwards he said my friend Mick is over there making a film at this house in Kensington. He said let's go and stir it up a little bit and see what is going on. So I walked in with my camera and there they are shooting the film "Performance." And he had these great, big lips. Man, that was very fun.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Let's talk about Jerry Garcia for a second.
WOLMAN: OK.
VELSHI: You got a picket of him and he didn't really know what was going on there.
WOLMAN: This is true. What happened, they came over to the studio because we finally were going to do a cover story about the Grateful Dead. I was going to shoot like and one by one by one. He comes in the studio, puts his hand up like he is waving at me. And I didn't think anything of it. Then I put the picture in the soup. I looked at it and up comes his picture and his hand. How did he do this? How did he do this? This long story short, I found out a couple years later --
COSTELLO: He is missing part of his finger.
WOLMAN: I didn't know that at the time. I thought he was just doing -- flipping me the bird.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: How come I can't see the interesting trick he has with one of his fingers?
WOLMAN: That's it. I found out he was chopping wood with his brother one day. The brother said hold it here and he held it there and then it happened. The thing about that was the first time he showed publicly and openly and happily that he was missing a finger.
COSTELLO: Good for him.
Janis Joplin very quickly, because I love Janis Joplin. But what a strange and shy person.
WOLMAN: A wonderful, wonderful moment with Janis Joplin. "Rolling Stone," as you can see, could only publish black and white with one color. So the magazine called me and they needed a color shot, a full color shot of Janis in performance. They said, do you have anything? No, I don't have any. I called Janis. Look we need you in performance, because she lived only a couple of blocks away.
COSTELLO: I am sorry. That's so awful. It's such a compelling story.
VELSHI: It's a warning that there's 15 minutes left in the show.
WOLMAN: Anyway, sorry about that.
COSTELLO: No but go on.
WOLMAN: Now, I'll go fast. I'll go fast. We need a -- I need a color picture of you in performance. Do you have anything coming up? And she said no. I said I'll tell you what. We're going to set the lights up in the studio as if we -- you were on stage, you come over, you can lip-sync, right?
VELSHI: Wow.
WOLMAN: And she said, she's going to let -- all right I'm going to lip-synch so she comes over with a little tape deck and a mike and I turn the lights on and she starts lip synching and then she starts singing a little louder, a little louder, a little louder. Pretty soon, she is singing full tilt, 150 percent.
COSTELLO: Wow.
WOLMAN: If you've ever seen Janis.
VELSHI: Yes.
WOLMAN: That's what she is singing. For an hour, she gave me a concert.
VELSHI: That is great.
WOLMAN: In my place.
COSTELLO: So your own personal concert.
WOLMAN: My own personal concert.
VELSHI: That is -- Baron what -- I think, I'm with -- I'm with you, Carol. I want his life when I come back. Baron, great to -- great to see you.
The book is "Every Picture Tells a Story." Baron Wolman, the "Rolling Stone Years" fantastic.
We're going to take a break since Carol's alarm went up to tell us we have to do that.
COSTELLO: It's time to get up now.
VELSHI: We'll check the morning's top -- it's really not a very nice way of telling a guest that they have to --
WOLMAN: No, you have to get that out. Now, hurry up.
VELSHI: Well, you've been tricked.
WOLMAN: I know it's very deep, it's really fast.
VELSHI: We're taking a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: It's 47 minutes past the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
The Senate vote on the debt deal is expected within hours. The measure passed the House last night. With 60 votes in the Senate today, America will be able to stave off default while facing more than $2 trillion in spending cuts.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick walked out of a Michigan prison this morning. Kilpatrick was granted parole last month. He served 14 months of a five-year sentence for violating probation in an obstruction of justice case that forced him to leave office in 2008.
Get back to Orlando ASAP; that order from a Florida judge to Casey Anthony. He wants her to serve one year supervised probation in Orlando for a check fraud conviction. Anthony's lawyers say they'll fight the judge's orders.
Consumer spending decreased in June, surprising economist who had expected a slight increase from the month before and in fact adding to feelings of uncertainty surrounding this economy this morning. Right now U.S. stock futures dropping further on news ahead of the opening bell.
You're now caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Beautiful -- beautiful, beautiful New York City. A little hazy though, it's not so hot right now, it's 78 right now but it's going up to 92. I think, I don't know if there's going to be rain later on tonight. I can't keep track of it these days. But it's -- it's warm.
COSTELLO: It certainly is.
VELSHI: And it's warmer when you wear a three-piece suit everywhere.
COSTELLO: That's true. Why do you? Never mind, I don't even want to know.
Anyway, on to the news now. His own difficult childhood has been an inspiration to make growing up a little more fun for needy kids.
VELSHI: So this morning we're going to introduce you Darell Hammond, Kaboom's king of playgrounds. Our -- the story is from our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Darell Hammond's dream is to build a safe playground within walking distance of every child in America. DARELL HAMMOND, KABOOM: The real spark came when I was reading the paper one morning about two kids who had died and suffocated in a car. They had no place to play. The pure sense of what their life was like versus what my life was like really struck a justice nerve with me.
GUPTA: That's probably because his childhood wasn't so easy either.
HAMMOND: When I was 4 years old and my father left my mother and all eight of us children, and after several years of trying to raise us, she had a nervous breakdown. And we had an option of either becoming wards of the court or going to this group home outside of Chicago.
GUPTA: They moved to the home, separated from his brothers and sisters into age group dorms, Darell kept everything he owned in a small trunk waiting to move to the next dorm.
In college, Darell took another hit.
HAMMOND: I learned that I had a severe learning disability and was dyslexic. And it was crashing to me.
GUPTA: Darell says it was overcoming those obstacles that instilled in him the desire to give back.
HAMMOND: I was not neglected. I was not abused. I was given clothes, I was given a great education. I just wanted to be a contributing member to society and not to be a nuisance.
GUPTA: And contribute he has. Hammond founded a non-profit group called "Kaboom" which brings together corporate sponsors and residents of needy communities to build playgrounds in a single day. To date, they have built more than 2,000.
HAMMOND: What it showed me was the power that play actually had for kids in bringing back (AUDIO GAP) --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right, we had a bit of technical problem there but we got most of that story out there. Sanjay, wrap up what we didn't hear.
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's -- it's a lot about this idea that he goes in these areas around the country that have been nowadays particularly hard hit.
For example, I actually helped him build a playground in Metairie in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina. People are familiar with that area may know that Pontiff Park, it's this big park. It was under five feet of water; pretty similar to a lot of the places in that area.
And they decided to come build a playground and a lot of community members come together. It's quite a -- it's a quite a scene, you know, 500 people on that day came together to build. Imagine that happening in your community, especially after something devastating has happened. And they put that playground up. It's a very durable playground.
VELSHI: Yes.
GUPTA: I will say this, Ali. Sometimes he takes flak saying, look, there are so many things that need to happen to rebuild a busted community after a hurricane or something. And he says, watch the kids play.
VELSHI: Yes.
GUPTA: And see what it -- how it transforms a community and it's one of the first signs that things are starting to get better.
VELSHI: I -- I have to -- I have to agree with that. I mean, because you know, you do think, look. Why isn't it schools and libraries? Well, first of all, we need all of those things.
But it has to be -- it's -- it's the center of a child's life and the idea that they will think of that community as the place that they grew up and loved and continued to invest in it and not just think about getting out of it.
GUPTA: That's absolutely right. And it is -- it is all, you know, mainly donations, money-wise. It's not taking away from some of the other public buildings and things like that.
VELSHI: Yes.
GUPTA: And again, remember that goal at the very beginning? A safe playground within walking distance for every child in America. That -- that's his goal.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Wow.
VELSHI: It's a good one. Sanjay, thanks.
COSTELLO: I'm just impressed Sanjay built a playground.
VELSHI: You're impressed by the fact that he built a playground.
COSTELLO: I know, it takes brains getting those built.
VELSHI: Did you hear about the whole brain surgery thing?
GUPTA: Not that much different.
VELSHI: He's a multitalented fellow.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Sanjay. If you want to know more about Darell's story and (INAUDIBLE) Kaboom, go to the chart on CNN.com/health.
VELSHI: Well, PBS reviving Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. Still to come, how that classic kids' show will have a new start and whole new look.
COSTELLO: Eddie Murphy is going to star?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Ok. The Senate. I'm sure they are already getting ready for their big vote today, huh? It's 84 degrees right now in Washington; I believe 97 later. 97 when senators go into the chamber and vote on that debt ceiling deal and hopefully pass it. It won't be completely done but we'll be close.
VELSHI: Then somebody has to walk in that heat over to the President.
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: Well, revival is in the works for "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". The classic kids' show had quite a run until Fred Rogers passed away in 2004. And the star of a new animated version of the show is named "Daniel Tiger". The program's new name is "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood". It's set to debut this fall.
COSTELLO: It's clever.
VELSHI: Yes. It's geared to pre-schoolers and features the original Mr. Rogers characters as grown-ups. Only they now have young kids of their own in the neighborhood of make believe.
COSTELLO: I'll have to watch that.
VELSHI: Yes. I wonder how that's going to play in this new world where -- you know that was a simpler time.
COSTELLO: It was a simpler time way back when, back in the day.
VELSHI: I suppose to preschoolers it is still a simple time and then it gets really crazy.
COSTELLO: Stop it.
VELSHI: Sorry.
COSTELLO: Let's get to our question of the day now, shall we? The House approving a compromise deal the Senate is soon to vote on it. We are asking this morning is compromise a good thing? Has it become --
VELSHI: Is it a sign of weakness?
COSTELLO: Is it a sign of weakness? Is compromise a sign of weakness.
This from Jeff. "In a two-party system, it's actually the opposite. It's a sign of strength. We will always have two significantly different and opposing viewpoints of how we should run our country and write policies and programs.
This from Willy, "Compromise to save a nation is a sign of strength. Like an orchestra coming together to play a symphony. If all the instruments dominate it just sounds like noise."
Thanks for all of the responses this morning. We appreciate it and continue the conversation.
VELSHI: Really, really good. Absolutely. Keep on e- mailing us and tweeting. These conversations don't end because the show is over. We will have another good question for you tomorrow morning.
That will bring it to a close for us here on AMERICAN MORNING. We will be back bright and early tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. For us, that's it.
Let's send it over to Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM." Good morning Kyra.
