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American Morning
Americans Off to Work; Salmonella Outbreak; Burning Up; "Come Back, Congress!"; Ground Turkey Recalled; Historic Heat in South; "When is it OK to Vacation in Washington?"; David Cassidy Says Sony Cheated Him; Obama: End FAA Funding Dispute; Japan Fires Top Nuclear Officials
Aired August 04, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: -- with knee and heel injuries. One person who won't be by his side, his longtime Caddie Steve Williams. Tiger said it's time for a change and he has no regrets about firing him. Cold. That's it for "WAKE-UP CALL." We'll be back tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. Eastern. AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of Americans off the job because Congress failed to do its job. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. We have new details on calls this morning for Congress to get back to work and reach a decision to fund the FAA.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And a major health alert this morning. I'm Christine Romans. What could be a deadly outbreak of salmonella poisoning has now spread to half of the country? It's been linked to ground turkey. What you need to know about this recall to keep your family safe.
VELSHI: I'm Ali Velshi. Burning up another day of searing heat in the south and the middle of country 100 degrees and higher. Not even a week into high school football, it's already proving deadly on this AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. Are you awake yet? You will be. Happy Thursday. It's August 4th. This is AMERICAN MORNING. There's a lot going on today. We should get right to it.
ROMANS: I know let's get right to it. I want to talk first about the heat. Heat is on Congress this morning to finish their business as we've been reporting.
They've left Washington this week without resolving a dispute over funding the federal aviation administration. That's resulted in tens of thousands of American workers not getting a paycheck today.
On last night's "IN THE ARENA" with Tom Foreman, one furloughed worker voiced his frustration with America's elected representative from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL BOLEN, FURLOUGHED FAA WORKER: Running out of credit, running ourselves into debt, selling assets. Unlike our congressmen and senators who are on vacation. Nice congressional junket. I'm sitting here watching the grass grow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Watching the grass grow and not getting paid. Yesterday, the transportation secretary practically begged Congress to come back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: That's why I'm here. I'm calling them back. Come back to Washington. Leave your vacations. Just for a couple of hours. Come back, Congress. Help your friends and neighbors get back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Our Athena Jones is live in Washington. Athena, good morning. What is the stalemate all about?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, if anyone thought the fighting on the Hill might be over or take a respite while Congress left to go on vacation after passing the debt limit, they are sorely mistaken.
Of course, what's at stake here as you guys mentioned is these 4,000 FAA workers who have been furloughed, along with tens of thousands of other workers -- construction workers, airport support workers who are going without a paycheck.
So they are costing the government also $1 billion it could be by the end of September if -- in uncollected airline taxes. And it's all over a dispute about not just airport subsidies to rural -- to service to rural airports, but also about labor disputes.
So there's still a blame game going on in Washington. Let's listen to what Senator Orrin Hatch had to say followed by Representative Steny Hoyer from Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: Yesterday, Senator Burn went on the floor and offered an amendment that would have kept everybody going, but would have deferred the issue on the labor law problem and the issue on the essential air services for just a few small airports. Would have deferred that until September 30th and we wouldn't have this problem.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (D), MINORITY WHIP: We need to get this done, and we should get it done today. Unfortunately, Republicans continue to practice the politics of confrontation and hostage taking. And it is severely damaging our economy and the livelihoods of people across our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So you heard Senator Hatch mention this issue of support -- or subsidies for airline service to rural airports. We're talking about small airports in small towns in states like Nevada, New Mexico and Montana.
These are new places that might get only 500 passengers a year and yet the government is helping subsidize airline tickets to the tune of say $3700. There's a debate over that in this temporary measure that the House passed.
But Democratic senators -- the Democrats say it's really over a larger issue. We're not really talking about this rural airport services issue where it's only a few million dollars.
What they say this whole debate is over the Republicans wanting to force Democrats to change a rule that makes it easier for airport workers to unionize. So it's really two issues caught up here.
It's unclear how it's going to work. One thing is certain. The two sides don't necessarily have to come back in town to resolve this. If they can reach an agreement they can pass these bills by unanimous consent.
And so we'll just have to see if that happens or if we continue to lose these $30 million a day in uncollected airport taxes, guys.
COSTELLO: All right, Athena, thank you so much.
Troubling news about a product that could be in your refrigerator right now. Meat giant Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey after it's been linked to salmonella. The turkey is said to have come from a plant in Springdale, Arkansas. It was processed between February 20th and August 2nd.
The government says the outbreak has sickened 76 people in 26 states and appears to have killed one person in California. Officials are especially worried since the bacteria is proving resistant to drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE SICILIA, CALIFORNIA PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT: What we found uncommon with these cases in Sacramento County is they share the exact same strain of salmonella, which is called "Salmonella Heidelberg." There are many strains of salmonella. This one is very dangerous because it is resistant to antibiotics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But government officials say don't freak out. Contaminated turkey is safe to eat as long as you cook it to the internal temperature of 165 degrees. So break out those meat thermometers.
ROMANS: Health officials yesterday were warning of another strain of salmonella called I think salmonella Kentucky that they are concerned about spreading around the world, also resistant to the Cipro, which is biggest, most --
VELSHI: The one most people take. ROMANS: Yes, so they are watching the salmonella story very, very carefully.
VELSHI: Well, you can either cook it or you can just take it to Dallas. Temperatures are again going to soar across the southern plains, right across the Deep South. Dallas is one of the hottest cities in the world, on the planet yesterday. I mean, these temperatures are crazy.
ROMANS: It could be their 34th straight day of 100-plus degree heat there. Ed Lavandera, crazy, is that an official meteorological term or just what Dallas reporters say about the weather?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll leave all the official weather talk to Rob and those guys. I'm here for the drama and just the therapeutic help for people.
Look at this little lake on the north edge of downtown Dallas. This patch of mud that you see behind me is supposed to be under water. Just one of those other depressing sights as you go around the southern plains here.
And you know, the really crazy part about all of this is not only are we setting high temperature records. We're also setting records for the highest low temperatures that we've seen in decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Inside this Dallas auto repair shop, Miguel Gonzalez is hot and thirsty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feel good now.
LAVANDERA: But victims of the heat wave just keep pouring in to his garage.
(on camera): So you have a mess on your hands. You have cars everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, a lot of people call me.
LAVANDERA: So this car overheated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overheated.
LAVANDERA: What happened to this car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It busted because the heat.
LAVANDERA: This one overheated as well?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overheated because all the oil come out.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Gonzalez opened David's Garage three years ago and named it after his son. But it wasn't until temperatures shot up over 100 degrees more than a month ago that business erupted. Now there's little time to rest. They struggle to stay cool and hydrated.
(on camera): I think you like it because business is good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. People have a lot of problems so we've got the chance to make more money.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Miguel Gonzalez is one of the few enjoying the record heat. Most people around Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas are downright miserable.
Little Rock, Arkansas, reached an all-time high temperature of 114 degrees on Wednesday. In Oklahoma City, ice chests with bottled water were loaded on to school buses that don't have air conditioning. It all made for a long ride home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The windows rolled down and everyone was like sticking their arms out the windows and stuff.
LAVANDERA: For a few hours on Thursday, Shawnee, Oklahoma, looked like the home of old faithful. A water main break nearly drained all of the city's drinking water. It's all been fixed now. Across Texas, so much demand on the power grid has left thousands temporarily without electricity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The high usage is causing people to use more electricity in order to stay safe and comfortable. And it's making it harder for our equipment to cool off.
LAVANDERA: Many high school marching bands and football teams are working under the punishing sun in scorching heat.
(on camera): How are you feeling?
(voice-over): These players had to leave the field because it got too hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We get Gatorade and replenish them. They're going to be good.
LAVANDERA: Ali and Christine, you know we focused a lot on Dallas- Fort Worth area and Oklahoma and Arkansas. But I think one of the towns in America that you really need to send your prayers out to, Wichita Falls.
They set a record yesterday for the most consecutive days they've ever seen of temperatures over 100 degrees. They reached the 43-day mark yesterday. Here's the crazy part.
Had it not been for one day where they dropped down to a chilly 98 degrees, they would have reached the 63-day mark yesterday. That's just downright awful.
ROMANS: You can't do anything.
VELSHI: Yesterday morning when he was -- when Ed was out there, there were people running around behind you. They say they are there for their early morning walks.
So we said that it was 99 degrees at midnight. I got to tell you. Kudos to those folks because I wouldn't be anywhere close to running in 99 degrees.
COSTELLO: Or 79.
VELSHI: As carol just pointed out, I wouldn't be out there at 79 or 59 either.
COSTELLO: Actually, you should not be outside because there have been deaths because of this. In Georgia, two high school football players --
VELSHI: That football practices in that kind of heat are an issue.
COSTELLO: Philadelphia, the Eagles, one of the players suffered a seizure. Doctors suspect it might be heat related during practice. So really, it's not wise to be outside.
Let's head to the weather center now and check in with Rob Marciano to see when this terrible heat wave might break. I mean, is there any relief in the future, near future?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, the only the relief for sure is coming in October, but until then we're going to sweat it out just a little bit.
You know, there were some thunderstorms that broke out around Oklahoma and Kansas yesterday. That at least gives us some hope that we're trying to break down this ridge, this dome of high pressure and hot air sitting over this part of the country.
So we'll hope to break that down as we go through the really next week not the next couple of days. We're still under heat advisories. Heat warnings in this area really about 20 percent or more of the U.S. under advisories again today.
As Ed mentioned, Little Rock, 114, all-time record. Tulsa 113. McAlester 113. Lawton, 112, over 110. I've never reported that in my career without including humidity and these numbers don't include humidity today.
It's 110 expected in Dallas, 111 expected in Oklahoma City. We move the map to tomorrow. Similar numbers maybe a degree or two cooler. That's about it. How about Saturday? Any relief there? Not a whole lot.
So we're looking at some problems here going forward and obviously the drought is an issue, too. This would be a drought buster if it were to head to the U.S. There's still a chance of that happening. This is Emily, tremendous amount of rain in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They don't needed it obviously.
Once it get over the island there, it does get close to the U.S. Florida still in play here. Really don't know what's going to happen once it gets past the Dominican Republic and Cuba. So this forecast a little dicey and the folks on the east coast of Florida certainly want to pay very close attention to this. Back up to you.
COSTELLO: We'll check back, too. Thank you, Rob.
VELSHI: Casey Anthony can stay under cover for now. A judge has ruled she does not have to return to Orlando to begin serving probation for a check fraud conviction. Not yet anyway.
Instead he scheduled an emergency hearing for Friday. Her attorneys are arguing that Anthony already served her probation while she was facing -- while she was in prison facing those murder charges.
Talked to Sunny Hostin the other day and she said it's very unusual to serve probation during a prison sentence because probations meant to sort of be something where you meet certain obligations and you do certain things. Typically you can't do that while in prison so complicated issue that doesn't end.
ROMANS: Meantime, former NFL defensive great Bubba Smith has died. The L.A. Coroner's office has not determined a cause of death yet, but it's not believed to be suspicious. Smith won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore colts. A whole generation knew him as "High Tower" from the "Police Academy" movies. Bubba Smith was 66 years old.
COSTELLO: Nice guy too. There's a new report that says that Major League baseball could suspend Yankee's third baseman Alex Rodriguez for playing in an underground poker game.
The high stakes Hollywood game reportedly involved other rich stars like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Leonardo Dicaprio and Tobey Maguire and drugs on the table along with the shifts. A-Rod has denied he was actually there. ESPN says the commissioner actually warned Rodriguez not to play in those games as far back as 2005.
VELSHI: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg putting up $30 million of his own money to fund a program aimed at helping the city's minority youth. Bloomberg is going to unveil the program about an hour and a half from now. It's designed to tackle racial disparities and improve economic and educational opportunities for young black and Latino males in New York City.
COSTELLO: All right, it's the president's 50th birthday today. The party got started last night. The president is back in campaign mode in Chicago combining business with pleasure at the Aragon Ballroom raising cash for his re-election run while getting serenaded like only a president can cue Jennifer Hudson.
The president greeted in the windy city by his former chief of staff there Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. Even though the debt ceiling crisis has cooled off right now, the president didn't duck the fact that tough decisions lie ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's true that I turn 50 tomorrow, which means that by the time I wake up, I'll have an e-mail from AARP. Asking me to call President Obama and tell him to protect Medicare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: President Obama attended two fund-raisers last night including a $35,000 a plate dinner. And you're seeing him at the Aragon Ballroom.
It's interesting, because it was hot in there, I guess. And then you can kind of see people in their short sleeves, the president as well. I guess the AC struggled to keep up with all of those people shelling out $36,000 for a - for a chance to be with (ph) the president.
COSTELLO: I will be saying that at $36,000 and they don't have air conditioning?
VELSHI: Yes. Yes. I like air conditioning for $36,000.
COSTELLO: Yes, exactly.
ROMANS: The air conditioning worked, you know? I don't want to get angry calls. I'm just saying it wasn't a cool -
COSTELLO: It's just so (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: It wasn't cool at 74 degrees.
VELSHI: It was a hot party.
ROMANS: It was not 74 degrees in there.
COSTELLO: In more ways than one, as they say.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK. Now is your chance to "Talk Back" in one of the big stories of the day. Our question this morning, when is it OK for political leaders to take a break from Washington? I ask you that because some Republicans are hopping mad that President Obama is in Chicago raising money for his re-election campaign.
Reince Priebus, who chairs the Republican National Committee, told reporters, "I suppose the White House thinks he should stick to the job he really likes, raising money from fat cat donors while the rest of America struggles with trying to make ends meet."
Mitt Romney, who hopes to beat Mr. Obama in 2012, even put out a campaign add complete with apocalyptic music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA (voice-over): Yes, we can. Thank you. If I don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: And this from a candidate who Politico accuses of being in the Mitt-ness (ph) protection program because Mr. Romney didn't take a stand on the debt deal until the debt deal was done.
Not to be outdone, Democrats are hopping mad at lawmakers. Senators left Capitol Hill for a five-week paid vacation without approving funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. Doesn't sound like a big deal until you learned that 4,000 federal employees, along with thousands of construction and support workers are out of work with no paycheck. One furloughed FAA engineer, he's had it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL BOLEN, FURLOUGHED FAA ENGINEER: The debt ceiling argument ended on Monday and Tuesday. Well, where are you at on Wednesday? You don't have to go on vacation. Take another day. Get it finished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So the "Talkback" today, when is it OK for political leaders to take a break from Washington? Write to our Facebook page, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. Write out AMERICAN MORNING, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. We will read your responses later this hour.
ROMANS: Fascinating.
All right. Coming up, guys, new pictures of a mother whale who is stuck in a river with her calf. And scientists are trying all kinds of tricks to get these two out.
VELSHI: And the one airport landing in last place when it comes to on-time arrivals and take-offs is - well, you have to come back at the other side of the commercial for that, of course.
COSTELLO: I'm dying to know.
VELSHI: It's 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A whale and her calf took a wrong turn into a river in Northern California. This isn't a joke. This is serious.
iReporter Jeremy Miller sent in these pictures of the 45-foot gray whale. Scientists say she's been stuck in the river since June during her journey north from Baja, California, to Alaska. They took samples to make sure she's getting enough food in the fresh water. They've even played killer whale sounds through speakers to try to drive them back into the ocean.
COSTELLO: I hope they get out.
Well, this is from the - I knew that file, right? If you are thinking of making a quick getaway to the New York area, you may want to think twice about flying into Newark. The International Airport has earned the dubious distinction of having the most delayed flights. That's according to "The Wall Street Journal." And the Bureau of Transportation statistics that the 100 most delayed flights over the past year, 40 either began or ended at Newark.
ROMANS: Coming up, a pop icon, David Cassidy. He sang I think the "I Think I Love You" song. You know, he's suing over those Partridge Family - not suing. He's concerned about these Partridge Family lunch boxes, a mountain of merchandise from the TV show. Decades later he claims he's cheated out of merchandise profits and wants to get paid.
We've got a CNN exclusive, that's right, David Cassidy coming up.
Twenty-one minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Wow. U.S. stocks showed just meager gains yesterday after a pretty wild ride day. The Dow had been down 166 points at one point, but finally closed higher by the end of the trading day snapping an eight- day losing streak. Big concerns yesterday about the potential for the economy to continue to weaken. Maybe that could mean a slip into a new recession. But right now, futures are trading lower ahead of the opening bell. People trying to assess just what is the risk of further weakness in the economy.
New this morning, Kraft Foods just announced it's splitting into two publicly traded companies. One focus on global snacks business, the other on North American grocery business. Kraft Foods is parent company to some of the world's most iconic brands including Cadbury, Nabisco, Oreo and Maxwell House.
Investors waiting for a new report this morning on initial jobless claims filed last week. The economists surveyed by Briefing.com, they forecast that 405,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the very first time last week. That report comes out about two hours from now. Anything above 400,000 is considered a sign of weakness in the labor market.
Concerns about Italy's debt problems also on investors' minds this morning. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi finally admitted publicly for the first time that in fact country is facing a financial crisis, but he also insists the confidence is the issue. The country's economy is on solid ground he says. Italy is Europe's third largest economy.
Another big day of earnings reports today. General Motors, Fortune Brands, Cigna, Southwest Airlines all expected to report profits from the last quarter before the opening bell this morning. Lots of talk on Wall Street also about the Japanese government's decision today to intervene to lower the value of its currency to help the country's exporters. That's the third intervention on the Japanese yen this year as the country continues to struggle through economic losses from the tsunami and earthquake back in March. All of the safe haven rush into Japanese yen actually hurting its own recovery. Next time you head to the supermarket, brace yourself for more price hikes. Clorox announced this week it's raising prices for several of its products - Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing, Formula 409, Glad Wraps, several Clorox cleaning products all going to be a little more expensive for you.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Just crossing the half hour. Time for this morning's top stories.
The White House is right now considering what options it has to get thousands of federal aviation employees back to work. They've been off the job for days now after Congress left town without approving a funding extension for the agency. And because of the dispute, the government is losing up to $30 million a day in tax revenue.
Cargill, a major meat processor here in the U.S., is recalling nearly 36 million pounds of ground turkey because it may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. Seventy-six people in 26 states have gotten sick. It's also believed one death in California may be linked to this outbreak.
And the extreme heat is now being blamed for dozens of deaths across the U.S. heartland, including the deaths of two high school football players and a coach as practices opened this week. Temperatures are expected to approach record highs for Dallas to Raleigh today.
ROMANS: All right. He may have been your teen idol, Ali.
VELSHI: As we heard earlier, the Justin Bieber of a different generation. "Partridge Family" star David Cassidy. He was famous around the world playing Keith Partridge in that 1970s TV show.
COSTELLO: I loved him! I loved him!
ROMANS: His brother Shaun Cassidy, who was a lesser known star I think.
COSTELLO: He was the chubby, nerdy one -- and you loved him?
ROMANS: I loved the nerdy one.
VELSHI: What's wrong with the chubby, nerdy guy?
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Just asking.
COSTELLO: Nothing. I love Shaun Cassidy.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: The reason we're talking about David Cassidy, though, is because we -- a very interesting. You would think his name was on, gosh, I can't even talk.
COSTELLO: Lunch boxes.
ROMANS: Satin jackets. Lunch boxes.
VELSHI: Satin jackets?
ROMANS: Yes. Key chains, the whole bit.
COSTELLO: The real cute jogging shorts we used to wear in the '70s.
ROMANS: Ali still wears those, though.
VELSHI: I'm wearing it right now. I'm sorry.
ROMANS: Anyway, though, 40 years after the "Partridge Family" went off the air, Cassidy is vowing a battle to get paid for all that merchandise with his image on it.
VELSHI: Poppy Harlow, who has no idea what we're talking about, has an exclusive story on this.
COSTELLO: She was not alive when "Partridge Family" --
VELSHI: I was wondering what we're all carried on about.
Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): It's 1970 and a 20-year-old named David Cassidy is starring in "The Partridge Family."
Not only did the show and sold out concert goes on to make him a star, but the teen idol's success spawns an avalanche of merchandise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a dress-up set. Remember these? Oh, gosh. Nice outfit, David.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you please put your hands together for the one and only David Cassidy!
(CHEERS)
HARLOW: Thirty-seven years after "The Partridge Family" went off the air, Cassidy still performing and producing.
And now, he's on a personal mission -- to get paid for that merchandise from Sony which owns the show.
(on camera): You say you've been robbed for the last few decades.
DAVID CASSIDY, ACTOR/SINGER: How would you call it? If somebody does not pay you and you are entitled to a percentage of the profits and you know they are making profits, is that stealing? HARLOW (voice-over): Cassidy says according to his contract, while the program was on the air, he was entitled to 15 percent of net merchandising profits when his image was used. Half that if he appeared with other cast members.
(on camera): Were you paid for that?
CASSIDY: I was told by my manager I received a check for $5,000. And I never heard another word.
HARLOW (voice-over): Cassidy's lawyer sent this letter to Sony, requesting a prompt and full accounting and payments of proceeds for merchandise using his name, likeness or voice, or other exercise of such merchandising rights.
Sony responded that it could not locate any merchandising statements but found letters showing that Mr. Cassidy's representatives audited such statements. Therefore, they must have been rendered to him.
The company went on to say it was not aware of any new merchandising licenses with his name, voice and likeness after "The Partridge Family" went off the air, and said the statutes of limitations had run out on any claims.
Sony had no other comment to CNN.
CASSIDY: I don't want to sue you. Just be fair. Be real. Be genuine. Don't be greedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Now, you are probably wondering about the other cast members of "The Partridge Family," especially if you were a big fan, like Ali, Christine and Carol.
We were able to reach Brian Forster. He played Chris Partridge. He told me he got about $1,100 for merchandising back in '70s only after his mother demanded it from the studio. But all of the other cast members that I spoke with said they either didn't have a merchandising deal or don't remember getting paid for any of the items.
Of course, Cassidy's battle follows a story we reported on a few months ago, the cast members of "Happy Days" suing CBS over merchandising money. So, interesting that we may be seeing this trend happening from the stars in the '70s, guys.
COSTELLO: They seemed so far apart, CBS and David. Is there any resolution besides David Cassidy suing CBS?
HARLOW: Well, for David Cassidy, it's a suit against Sony and he hasn't filed suit yet. His lawyer has sent a letter to Sony. Sony has responded and, as David told me, he doesn't want to sue if he doesn't have to. But at the same time, he also told me he's not backing down.
We tried many times to get a comment from Sony on the record and they wouldn't tell us anything on the record. So, it's going to be interesting to see how far this plays out.
The cast of "Happy Days" has sued CBS for $10 million.
For David Cassidy, at this point it's a request to Sony for full accounting of the merchandise.
ROMANS: Thirty years old now. The interesting thing for these stars, these former child stars, is they've had multiple managers in many cases. You know, they have to go back to these old contracts and see what kind of language is in there that says, you know, we own your likeness, because a lot of people in that kind of business, you know, the lawyers for the studios really had a lot of power.
But that will be interesting to see what -- how this one plays out.
HARLOW: Yes. And, you know, I read the 1971 long contract and, you know, it's not like you have an e-mail form. They had to fax it over. He found it in a box that he hasn't opened since the 1970s.
And that's the real question, why is he going after the money now? Because he said, look. I didn't know. I moved across the country. I had different managers. I didn't see my contract.
So, we'll see how it plays. Again, the issue is the statute of limitations. How is that going to play out in a court of law if it goes that far?
ROMANS: All right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Poppy.
ROMANS: What a great story.
VELSHI: You can see the full story on David Cassidy's battle with Sony, as part of an all-new "CNN Presents" Saturday night, at 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. You can read more of the story right now on CNNMoney.com.
ROMANS: I think you meant to say Sunday.
VELSHI: Did I say Saturday?
COSTELLO: You did. But it's Sunday. But that's OK because we have the information out there --
ROMANS: He's so flummoxed by the
VELSHI: All this talk about "The Partridge Family." Yes, Sunday, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING: Jon Huntsman, one time governor, ambassador, and now presidential candidate and --
(CROSSTALK) VELSHI: And imagine running into the president on your lunch break and he picks up your check. It happened to a woman at a Capitol Hill burger joint yesterday. Wait until you hear her reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: She voted against the debt ceiling deal and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann wants everybody to know about it. She just launched this presidential campaign ad in Iowa where the critical Ames straw poll happens nine days from now. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Back in Washington, politicians are looting the treasury and bankrupting our nation. And Barack Obama has driven our economy into a ditch. Someone needs to say no. I voted against raising the debt limit because it's time to balance the budget, pay down the debt. I mean it. And you can believe it.
I am Michele Bachmann, candidate for president, and I approve this message. Won't you join me here in Ames for the straw poll and let's send a message to Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) and many consider her the front-runner in the state, based on her strong showing in recent polls there.
VELSHI: Jon Huntsman is hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire. The former Utah governor is trying hard to gain traction in this presidential race. And he got noticed in this Manchester music store.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
VELSHI: Peanuts theme song. He's doing a nice job of it, too.
Huntsman supported the debt ceiling deal, by the way. He's not a congressman so he wasn't voting on it. He says because Democrats and Republicans are so upset, the deal probably struck the right balance.
ROMANS: Is it candidates and their musical abilities that we love so much?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I don't know why, but I guess we think of them as policy intense kind of people. So, when see that side of them --
COSTELLO: It makes them more human.
ROMANS: It does. You're right.
COSTELLO: Voters will be more likely to vote for them.
VELSHI: You're right. President Obama celebrating the end of the debt ceiling crisis by taking five members of his staff out for burgers and fries. The commander-in-chief got in line at the Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill yesterday and then placed his order and proceeded to, hey, pick up a few checks.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm a very simple guy. (INAUDIBLE) cheddar cheese burger, well done. Just mustard. Dijon mustard.
(INAUDIBLE)
OBAMA: Lettuce, tomato and if you guys have -- and some fries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.
OBAMA: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?
OBAMA: I'm doing fine. So I've got (INAUDIBLE) as these next five and I'm also going to buy hers because she held my space in line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Couldn't make out anything he was saying but that woman got her burger bought. I heard the "oh, my God" really clearly.
ROMANS: The president bought me lunch.
COSTELLO: That's really sweet.
VELSHI: You run into some conservatives. You know, the president buys us lunch all the time with our money.
ROMANS: Oh, jeez.
COSTELLO: The president was buying a hamburger with cheese and bacon and isn't that going against everything that Michelle was talking about?
VELSHI: Yes, she wasn't there, clearly.
COSTELLO: She wasn't.
ROMANS: He has a funny joke about the Easter egg roll where he says that he hands out the candy and Michelle runs around taking it all out of the hands of the children.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: It's 44 minutes past the hour. We'll check the top stories straight ahead.
VELSHI: And, by the way, they spent the last year on the front lines in Afghanistan. Now, these Army soldiers tell us about the challenge of returning home.
Forty-four minutes after the hour.
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COSTELLO: Forty-six minutes past the hour. Here's a look at your headlines this morning.
President Obama and transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, are urging Congress to resolve the FAA funding dispute. It's left tens of thousands of federal and construction workers without a paycheck. It's also costing the government $30 million a day in tax revenues.
Meat processor, Cargill, is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey. It's been linked to dozens salmonella illnesses in 26 states. And authorities believe it may also be related to one death in California.
Three of Japan's top nuclear officials have been fired for their handling of the crisis at the crippled Daiichi power plant. Workers just recorded the highest radiation levels at the facility since it was hit by a tsunami back in March.
Polygamous sect leader, Warren Jeffs, will continue presenting his own defense today, his sexual assault trial. The prosecution rested yesterday after playing an audiotape of Jeffs' allegedly with a 12- year-old girl.
Tropical storm, Emily, could bring more misery to Haiti with 600,000 people still living in tents. It's unleashing heavy downpours on the nation. U.N. peacekeepers on alert for floods and mudslides.
(SINGING)
COSTELLO: And the president turns 50 years old today. He attended an early birthday bash last night in Chicago, attending two campaign fundraisers. Chicago native, Jennifer Hudson, sang "Happy Birthday" to the president.
You are now caught up with the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this.
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VELSHI: OK. They were part of the troop surge in Afghanistan. Now, a group of army soldiers is talking to Jason Carroll about what they do when they're not out there. We often see them when they're out there fighting their battles. What do they do when they've got some down time on the base? Jason Carroll joins us now.
COSTELLO: Yes. What is there to do in Afghanistan, anyway?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole heck of a lot.
ROMANS: Play cards.
CARROLL: Play cards. Very good. That's one of the things that they actually do.
COSTELLO: They don't play camel spiders?
CARROLL: We talked about those camel spiders, right? We talked about that yesterday. You know, it's interesting, because this is a side of soldiers that we rarely get to see, and I really pushed for the guys to give me, you know, just sort of a peek at what they do when they're not out on these missions, when they have time to themselves. It's a very interesting look. Again, a very rare look at what soldiers get an opportunity to do when they're not out fighting the war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): We see them on missions, raiding Taliban strongholds, apprehending insurgents. Everything one would expect to see of soldiers fighting a war in Afghanistan, but there's a part of their life rarely seen by civilians. It's when soldiers have time to themselves. A moment for 1st Sergeant Randy Shorter to thank his men.
SGT. 1ST CLASS RANDY SHORTER, U.S. ARMY: I love you guys like brothers. I'm pretty sure you all feel the same about each other. It's not over until it's over until we're on that plane. The next couple of days, Fourth of July. Let's go and have some fun.
CARROLL: The reality of what lies just outside the base's protective perimeter here in Sharana almost seems far away.
STAFF SGT. ANTHONY COOK, U.S. ARMY: This is my family right here. This is Dallas, Texas. That's my dad, Adrian Cook, my mom, Minerva Cook.
CARROLL: Staff Sgt. Anthony Cook waits his turn for a cut.
COOK: I've been cutting hair since about seventh grade.
CARROLL: Specialist Robert Blackburn does the honors.
SPEC. ROBERT BLACKBURN, U.S. ARMY: And it gets old sometimes because everybody needs haircuts, and you're just like, I want to go to sleep. You know, they're like, no, we need haircuts.
CARROLL: There's time for poker. To show off a few moves. And to show us their version of a homemade Justin Bieber music video.
(SINGING)
SPEC. ADAM BOYETTE, U.S. ARMY: Everyone has two or three people that they're really close to. They all have something they like to do together, whether it's playing video games, playing cards, and that's the thing. You got to find to get help you get through the hard times. CARROLL: Their deployment almost over. Time to reflect on the past year.
How do you think being at war has changed you as a person?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look at everything different now. I look at the whole entire picture instead of just a moment at a time.
PFC. JAMIE CARLISLE, U.S. ARMY: You know how they say, don't go to bed mad at somebody. Seriously have to take that to heart over here, because tomorrow morning, you can wake up and you can lose that, you know, friend if you're mad at him. You know, you always regret that.
SHORTER: It's affected me in so many ways because I realize how much I give to the army.
CARROLL: How would you say it has affected you?
SHORTER: You know, I take my job very seriously. I enjoy training the men, but on the other hand, I have a family. You know, you sacrifice so much. And then, when you're out here, you realize that. The little things you miss, birthdays, anniversaries, the graduation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad you're OK, man.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on-camera): So, again, just a brief little look at how they get through some of the hard times. It's cards, it's video games, it's hanging out with each other, but it also shows you the bond, the very strong bond that these soldiers have. And once again, a very rare look. You know, sometimes, you see these soldiers as this one dimensional kinds of people that you see in the media who are just always out there.
VELSHI: It doesn't hurt that they dress the same. They do the same stuff, but it's hard to distinguish. Do they get to go off base much? I mean, can you go for a drive?
CARROLL: No.
COSTELLO: In Afghanistan?
CARROLL: That's the things Ali, but also realize that these bases are big. But when you're there for a year, you are away from your family, you're away from your loved ones, and when you do finally get a chance to sort of have some of that down time, you know, your mind can go to a dark place very easily. And so, you really got to find ways to entertain yourself, find ways to keep your spirits up.
COSTELLO: Is there a lot of down time? I mean, how much down time do they actually have? Is it a lot?
CARROLL: I think they would say not as much as they would like. But it really depends upon the amount of missions that you're going on. You can find yourself suddenly with 12 hours of doing nothing, and then, what do you do? You know, maybe, there's a place for you to work out on the base, maybe not. So, that's why it's very important for them to have these strong bonds and find ways to entertain themselves.
ROMANS: Thanks for bringing us all the dimensions of these soldiers this week, and I know there's more coming up. I can't wait to see that.
CARROLL: Final one tomorrow.
ROMANS: All right, Jason. Thanks, Jason.
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day with President Obama in campaign mode and Congress leaving town when it could have saved thousands of FAA jobs. We asked you this question. When is it OK for political leaders to take a break from Washington?
This from Gail, "When the people's business is completed. In private industry, vacations are not allowed when there is work to be done. Why should it be allowed in government? If they know this is hanging over their heads, they're a lot more likely to curtail posturing."
This from Molly, "On holidays like the rest of working Americans. Until the day that the law guarantees paid vacation that is comparable to Europe, they should do the daily drudge just like the rest of us." She's saying that why do they get five weeks all in a row. Why can't they get a week here and a week there like everybody else?
This from Brad, "I really couldn't care less. It's not like they'd be getting anything done in Washington, anyway."
Keep your comments coming, facebook.com/americanmorning. Spell out AMERICAN MORNING. Facebook./americanmorning, and we'll share your thoughts.
VELSHI: It makes me curious when they said, in the rest of the world, you don't get to go until the work's done. I'm not sure that's true at all. I think people book off their vacation when they book off their vacation.
COSTELLO: If there's a huge project, though, that your boss wants you to get done, that it is important to the company, you're not going to be taking your vacation.
ROMANS: If you're a good employee, you're right.
COSTELLO: Have you ever been in the middle of something where suddenly everyone is on vacation. Like, we didn't finish this.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: What about the earthquake in Haiti. If they said go there right now. My vacation is scheduled.
ROMANS: You're not going to do that. VELSHI: Yes, you're right.
ROMANS: All right. Ahead next hour, former presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, under fire for trying to sell a cartoon about 9/11. He claims it will teach kids about the tragedy without the filter of political correctness. We're going to play you a clip so you can decide.
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