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American Morning
Heat Breaks Records, Cars; "Come Back, Congress!"; Kraft Foods To Split Into Two Companies"; President Celebrates His 50th Birthday; Tiger Woods Returns to Pro Golf; Want to Live to 100?
Aired August 04, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
Burning up, 110 degrees and higher. High school football practice starting during one of the longest heat waves in history and it's already proving deadly.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.
Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee under fire this morning for trying to sell a cartoon about 9/11. He claims it will teach children will the tragedy without the filter of political correctness. We'll play you a clip so you can decide.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
It's the president's birthday. He turns the big 5-0 today. The celebration began last night with two campaign fundraisers in Chicago and a birthday song from Jennifer Hudson. But after nearly three years in office and economy in the tank, we're asking has the president lost his magic touch on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Oh, come on. Can't the guy turn 50 and just turn 50?
VELSHI: I know.
ROMANS: But I guess if you're raising money to turn 50 then it does become --
VELSHI: By the way, a lot of guys are sitting around with that question. As I'm turning 50, have I lost my magic?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Yes, there you go.
Good morning, everybody. It's Thursday, August 4th. I'm Christine Romans.
COSTELLO: And I'm Carol Costello. That's Ali Velshi.
Up first this morning, the extreme heat is blaming for dozens of deaths across the U.S. heartland that now includes the deaths of two high school players and a coach as practice has opened this week.
This is a live look at Dallas where it could crack 100 degrees for the 34th day in a row. Temperatures expected to approach record highs from Dallas all the way to Raleigh -- 15 states under heat advisories today.
VELSHI: Texas power companies are bracing for another brutally hot day after the state broke its power usage record for the third day in a row. So far, they have been able to avoid rolling power outages. But officials say the electricity supplies are very tight.
ROMANS: Ed Lavandera is reporting live for us this morning from a solar flare in Dallas.
Good morning. I mean, it is really hot. You've been showing us some of the spots people usually like to roller blade, they like to bike. But it's kind of treacherous out there this morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is probably the most comfortable time of day. It's funny. You can be out here, and in a couple of hours, it just is really miserable very quickly.
But the fascinating part of all this is that we have been talking a lot about the high temperatures. We are even setting records for the highest low temperature --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Inside this Dallas auto repair shop, Miguel Gonzalez is hot and thirsty.
MIGUEL GONZALEZ, AUTO MECHANIC: Feel good now!
LAVANDERA: But victims of the heat wave just keep pouring into his garage.
(on camera): So, you got a mess on your hand. You got cars everywhere?
GONZALEZ: Yes. We got people coming.
LAVANDERA: So this car overheated?
GONZALEZ: Overheated.
LAVANDERA: What happened to this car?
GONZALEZ: The rail busted because, you know, they saw heat. We put a brand-new engine in that one.
LAVANDERA: This one overheated as well?
GONZALEZ: Overheated because the oil come up.
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 a hundred degrees more than a month ago that business erupted.
Now, there's little time to rest -- kind of struggle to stay cool and hydrated.
(on camera): I think you like it because business is good.
GONZALEZ: Exactly it, yeah. People got a lot of problems and we got the chance to make some money.
LAVANDERA: Miguel Gonzalez is one of the few enjoying the record heat. Most people around Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, are down right miserable.
Little Rock, Arkansas, reached an all-time high temperature of 114 degrees on Wednesday.
In Oklahoma City, ice chest 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 were all down and everyone was like sticking their arms out the windows and stuff.
LAVANDERA: For a few hours on Thursday, Cheyenne, 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.
CATHERINE CUELLAR, ONCOR SPOKESMAN: The high usage is causing people to use more electricity to stay safe and comfortable and making it harder for our equipment to cool off.
LAVANDERA: Many high school marching bands and football teams are working under the punishing sun and scorching heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you feeling?
LAVANDERA: These players had to leave the field because it got too hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We give them Gatorade and replenish them and they will be good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: -- you think about the town of Wichita Falls, Texas, right along the Texas-Oklahoma border, northeast of where we are, it broke a record yesterday. Some 43 days of straight days over a hundred degrees and had it not been for one day where they dropped down to really chilly 98 degrees, that record would now be at 63 days. How bad is that?
COSTELLO: That's just incredible.
Let's head to the weather center now and check in with Rob Marciano.
Not only do we here in the United States have to worry about the heat, Rob, but Haiti is pretty concerned about this tropical storm right now?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, we got two things to be concerned with the heat for one. More heat advisories out today again -- a slew of states and counties under the gun. Over 20 percent of the U.S. will see temperatures that will exceed over a hundred as far as the heat indexes go.
These are the records from yesterday. Some of these all-timers, Little Rock, Arkansas, 114 as Ed mentioned. Tulsa 113. We have 55 records that were tied yesterday, 147 broken -- unreal heat.
Are we going to see a break? Not today -- 110 expected in Dallas. How about tomorrow? Cool down to 109. How actual high temperature measure in shade, doesn't include humidity. How about Saturday? Not much better.
There are indications that next week, this hot ridge will begin to break down. But until then, three, four, maybe another five days of the heat.
All right. Here you go. Tropical storm Emily, nearly stationary as of 8:00 advisory about a hundred miles south of Port-au- Prince, Haiti. We're seeing a tremendous amount of rain, especially in the mountainous areas. They don't need this obviously. This is going to prompt some mudslides and dangerous situation and already suffering country for sure.
Here is the forecast track across the islands we go. Uncertainty arises once that happens. Florida, the east coast at least, is going to be under the gun as we go through Friday night into Saturday morning. If this track, obviously, not just to the west -- we're talking about a more serious situation. Florida could use the rain so want to keep it at a tropical storm. Forecast right now is to bring it to hurricane status, but the track hopefully will stay offshore.
Guys, back up to you.
COSTELLO: Oh, I hope so. And the poor people in Haiti -- 600,000 of them still in tents. I mean, this is left over from the earthquake that happened almost two years ago now. It's just incredible.
ROMANS: All right. Thank you, Rob.
VELSHI: All right. Some 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 linked to salmonella. The Turkey is said to come from a plant in Springdale, Arkansas. 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 proven resistant to antibiotics.
ROMANS: In the trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs' case, it's the defense's turn right now. In this case, the defense is Jeffs himself, questioning witnesses. Remember, he fired his legal team a while back. The prosecution rested yesterday, but not before it played an audio tape of a man said to be Jeffs sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What happened in this audio tape, he heard Warren Jeffs says it feels good, how do you feel? And this little girl voice said very good. It was so sad because we've seen pictures of her court. She is small for her age. She's red hair and she was described by a witness as having red hair and freckles and she looks like Pippi Longstocking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He's accused of marrying these young girls. If convicted, Jeffs faces a possible life sentence.
COSTELLO: Casey Anthony can stay in hiding for just a little while longer. An Orange County judge issued a stay of an earlier rule and ordered Anthony to return to Orlando today to begin serving probation for a check fraud conviction. An emergency hearing scheduled for tomorrow to hear arguments from Casey Anthony's attorneys. They claim she served her probation while in jail awaiting charges or awaiting trial on murder charges rather.
VELSHI: And a new report says Major League Baseball could suspend Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez for playing in an underground poker game. A high stakes in Hollywood reportedly involved several big stars. Now, A-Rod has denied that he was there. There are also allegations that it was not just a high stakes poker game, but there were drugs involved.
ROMANS: All right. Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is getting some heat this morning for selling a children's cartoon about 9/11. This video is on sale for $9.95. It's part of the series of videos about time traveling kids who go back to learn about the most important events in American history. One of them, the attacks of 9/11.
Here's the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who would something like this?
Al Qaeda is led by Osama bin Laden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The time for jihad is upon. Death to the Americans! The time is upon us!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Look at the police and firefighters. They are right in the middle of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the passengers learned about the other hijacked planes and decided to fight back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's our plan, bring down the Taliban and al Qaeda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.S. and its allies broke apart al Qaeda and cut off bin laden from his followers and his money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can hear you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, some critics this morning are blasting Huckabee, accusing him to cash in on the attacks. The company that produced this pledges the videos are free from distorted messages that dilute the significance of our nation's most important events. That's their quote.
COSTELLO: Remember the criticism against Rudy Giuliani when he was running for president? One of his supporters threw this bash and, you know, you could buy Rudy Giuliani paraphernalia for $9.11. Because remember, Rudy Giuliani was accused of basing his entire president campaign on 9/11.
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: So people really criticized him for that.
But now, we have this but it's ten years later. Is it time? I mean?
ROMANS: Well, to tell history through cartoons in the first place -- I mean, that's another part of the story altogether.
COSTELLO: Yes. And whether, you know, he wanted to set the historical record straight because children weren't learning it correctly in school and does this do that? You saw it. You can decide.
VELSHI: Still ahead, Congress flies away, leaving some badly needed FAA projects grounded. Now, the transport secretary is begging Congress to come back.
(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, help your friends and neighbors get back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: He should know. He was a member of Congress for a long time.
Transport Secretary Ray LaHood joins us live coming up next.
COSTELLO: And the worst airport in the country is? We'll have the drum roll.
It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: You know, I got to tell you. Beautiful New York City. I don't care there are clouds there. They're at 70 degrees right now. That is beautiful! It's only going to get up to 80 a little later on but it's going to have those --
COSTELLO: Well, compared to the middle part of the country, that's fantastic. That's like fall!
VELSHI: Unbelievable. That's right. It is so hot in some parts of the country.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) in Dallas, aren't you?
VELSHI: I feel bad. Poor Ed Lavandera, we let him go inside somewhere cool. And never mind Ed Lavandera. It's everybody else. Those kids are playing football, football practice.
ROMANS: I would like to be on the record saying I think they should not have football practice.
VELSHI: Very hot.
ROMANS: I don't think they should. I think they should go in the gym where it's cool and they should just do drills and they should not have football practice. If every school does it, then everybody is going to left the playing field.
VELSHI: Nobody at an advantage, right?
ROMANS: All right. If you're thinking of making a quick getaway to the New York area, you may want to think twice about flying into Newark.
Newark International Airport has earned the dubious distinction of having the most delayed flights. That's according to the Wall Street and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
COSTELLO: Of the 100 most delayed flights over the past year, 40 either began or ended at Newark, probably no surprise to you, and the most chronically delayed flight Delta's 5:00 p.m. flight from Newark to Atlanta which on average is delayed by 83 minutes.
VELSHI: What is the whole flight? It's under two hours.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I know average is 83 minutes.
COSTELLO: But, you know, my rule in New York area or Chicago area or even Atlanta is if you get book a flight at 5:00 p.m. from any of those places, you're not getting there on time.
VELSHI: You're a sucker.
COSTELLO: The whole day has piled up to work against you.
VELSHI: I think you could drive from Atlanta to New York quicker than that.
ROMANS: I think you're probably late.
VELSHI: Listen, the heat is on this morning for Congress to finish its business. We've been reporting that, you know, you know Congress left Washington this week. They didn't resolve a dispute over the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration. That has resulted in thousands of American workers not getting a paycheck. Last hour, I spoke to Mark Deplasco, a furloughed FAA worker about how difficult it's been for him to be without a job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK DEPLASCO, FURLOUGHED FAA WORKER: Personally, this is devastating. I've spent -- I spend most of my day trying to figure out what can I not pay, what can I pay, where can I get extra cash? We're pretty much going to burn through all of our savings within a month, and then, now, we're working on -- there are programs out there to give us low interest loans, no interest loans, and so, we're looking into that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. Mark went on to say he is worried that the stalemate could continue even after Congress returns to Washington next month, but transportation secretary, Ray Lahood, is urging Congress to come back to Washington even for a day to get this done. Come back now. Joining me now, live from Washington, is transportation secretary, Ray Lahood.
Secretary, thanks for joining us. A lot of questions here. A lot of puzzled heads around America about this one. You were a congressman for a long time. These are your colleagues that you're talking to. You're asking them to come back. Can you just explain for Americans out there what this is and why it happened?
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What it is, it's an extension of the FAA money that can be available to pay for the work that employees do. We have 4,000 employees furloughed because Congress didn't pass the 21st extension the way they had done on 20 other occasions. They left town on their vacations. They're receiving their paychecks.
Over 70,000 Americans are not receiving paychecks, because Congress left town without taking care of providing the money to the FAA, so construction projects could continue and so FAA employees could continue to do their jobs.
VELSHI: Secretary, explain to me the difference between the 4,000 FAA employees who are not getting paid and the 70,000 number you just used.
LAHOOD: Yes, good question. Four thousand FAA employees work directly for the FAA. They work on research. They work on development. They work on next generation technology. Some of them are people who do very, very important work. They're FAA employees. The congress didn't pass the money to continue them receiving paychecks while they went on vacation.
And, on the 70 plus thousand construction workers and other people that are involved in construction, this money comes from a pot of money that was also suspended because Congress didn't extend the FAA bill.
VELSHI: OK.
LAHOOD: This is the money that actually pays the contractor to do the work so he can pay the workers.
VELSHI: Got it.
LAHOOD: Look, there's a lot of talk about Washington over the last several months about jobs and politicians talking about jobs and putting people to work. Laying off 70 plus thousand people is not my idea of putting people to work. Congress ought to come back and do their work, come back from their vacations, do their work, and put hard-working Americans to work so they can get a paycheck just like Congress is receiving on their vacations.
VELSHI: Let me ask you this, secretary. You have said repeatedly that, at the moment, there is no safety concern. Yesterday, we spoke to Michael Goldfarb, former chief of staff at the FAA. He agrees that, at the moment, there is no safety concern, but he says that on the margins, if this goes on for a long time, it's not a good idea. Is there any point at which this starts to affect safety?
LAHOOD: This is the reason that I am on the airwaves, doing everything I can today to persuade Congress come back, do their job, put these people to work. Safety is not compromised. It never will be compromised. Thousands of people are boarding planes. They'll arrive safely today because our people are on their jobs doing the jobs that they know how to do, which is making sure that flying is safe.
Now, Congress ought to do their job. Come back from their vacations. They're receiving their paychecks. If they really want to create American jobs for the friends and neighbors, come back, pass this bill so people can start going back to work on construction project, and FAA can come back and do their jobs.
VELSHI: I want to let people know that we're talking about $25 million to $30 million a day in lost revenues, could add up to billions dollars if this thing does, you know, wait for Congress to come back. But let just -- help me understand what this is about, because some people say it's the Congress left and didn't get anything done.
Others say that it is about funding for certain smaller airports, and then, Harry Reid came out yesterday and said that it's about unionization rules. Can you give me some sense of what's behind why this didn't get done?
LAHOOD: Well, look, there are these controversial items that have been put in bills, but that didn't stop Congress on 20 other occasions from passing the extension, and that's what we want them to do now, pass the 21st extension. If you've got issues with labor, for instance, if you've got issues with money going to small airports to help airlines fly in and out, work that out.
Don't hold American jobs and American people hostage over controversial issues that were not a problem on 20 other times when Congress passed an extension. Come back from your vacation. Come back and put Americans to work the way that you would do for your friends and neighbors so they can receive a paycheck like Congress is receiving.
VELSHI: You know this people. You got a good relationship with them. You served with a lot of them. Are you gaining any traction in asking them to come back?
LAHOOD: Well, we're going to find out. The idea that they've left town on their vacations, and they're receiving a paycheck and they talk a lot about jobs. They give good speeches about it. I want them to walk the walk. Come back to D.C. Walk up, cast their votes, put Americans back to work. If they want to talk the talk, then walk the walk, and let's put our friends and neighbors back to work.
This is not fair to American workers. In a very, very hard economy, a tough economy, people trying to figure out how they're going to make their house payment, how they're going to make their car payment, how they're going to take care of buying school supplies for their kids as they head back to school. This is not fair to American workers. Come back, Congress. Pass this extension, and then, you can go on your vacations.
VELSHI: Secretary Ray Lahood, thanks for joining us. Thanks for coming on and giving this message. Transportation secretary --
LAHOOD: Thanks for your interest.
ROMANS: What a great interview.
Futures are down big right now. The Dow futures down more than a hundred points. We're "Minding Your Business" next. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
A stock futures trading much lower ahead of the opening bell this morning. Right now, Dow futures are down more than a hundred points in premarket trading. S&P 500 futures are down big as well.
You know, the debt ceiling fears may have pass on Wall Street, but, still, a lot of concern over a weak recovery, and there are big moves in the currency markets which may be driving a lot of this interconnected activity this morning. Investors are waiting on a new report also about the number of unemployment claims filed for the first time last week. That number comes out in just a couple of minutes.
Some big news out of Detroit this morning. General Motors just announced its second quarter earnings nearly doubled to $2.5 billion. Getting a big boost from sales here in the U.S. but also overseas, and those earnings are well above Wall Street's expectations.
Just about an hour ago, Kraft Foods announced it's splitting in two publicly trading companies, one focused on the global snacks business and the other on North America's grocery business. Kraft Foods is one of the country's largest corporations. This is the parent to some of the world's most iconic brands including Cadbury, Nabisco, Oreo, and Maxwell House. It's a wildly held stock you probably have it in your 401(k).
Still ahead, it's the president's 50th birthday today. After nearly three years in office, has he lost his magic? AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Washington. It's cloudy and 77 right now, partly cloudy and 90 later on today.
President Obama turns the big 50 today. There will be a party in the rose garden at the White House. We're told public money will not be used to pay for it. Last night the president flew to Chicago to celebrate the milestone at two campaign fundraisers there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
JENNIFER HUDSON, SINGER: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday --
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That is the president, but that voice is Jennifer Hudson doing the honors at one of the fundraisers the president attended. And the other donors that paid out, oh, something like $35,000 each to have dinner with the president. Let's bring in presidential hi historian Nick Ragone. Nick, this president created excitement, especially among young people, when he was elected nearly three years ago. Is there something about 50 that is an important milestone for a president? Are you suddenly a baby boomer at 50? I don't know.
NICK RAGONE, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: As I explained to my four- year-old, 50 years old is not that old. You know, it is pretty rare for a president to turn 50 in office. We have only had it a few times. Teddy Roosevelt and Bill Clinton was the most recent in 1996.
The point I like to make is 50 is a milestone as we all know. And it's rare that presidents turn 50 in office. I think we can allow the president this indulgence, particularly during an election year to use it as a moment in time to raise some money. It seems appropriate.
COSTELLO: His predecessors, his democrat predecessor, Bill Clinton, you mentioned it. He turned 50 in office well with a big bash, I think in 1996. He did it up even bigger, didn't he?
RAGONE: That was an extravaganza. If I remember it was at radio music hall. He raised, I think, $10 million was the largest single day fund-raiser. He had all sorts of celebrities. So this is not that unusual for a president to take advantage of the big 50 in a meaningful way during an election year.
COSTELLO: Ali and I were scouring the record books this morning, and there are seven presidents overall who have turned 50 in office. But only since 1900 there are three. You mentioned them -- Teddy Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and President Obama. And we have sort of pictures of President Obama at 50 compared with Bill Clinton at 50.
There is something about looking at the pictures of our presidents as they have turned 50 and then also looking at pictures of our presidents as they have aged in office. They certainly all do, don't they? Is it the job or is it just happens to be --
RAGONE: I think it's the stress. There is a recent study that showed that for every one year the presidents in office, he actually ages two years, which is a pretty sad thing. I think it's a combination of the stress of the job and the aging process. But certainly if you look at Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945 he was in office quite a while, but he was only 62 when he passed away, and he looked dramatically older. Lyndon Johnson as well, the stress of Vietnam. Even Richard Nixon was in really poor health. He nearly died after resigning in 1974. So the stress of the job certainly exacerbates the aging process.
COSTELLO: And he had at least four births in office when you think about that. That was a totally different time and I think we even have a picture of him from his first year in office and in his last year.
RAGONE: In 1934 just to show this is not unusual, he had 6,000 house parties to celebrate his birthday. He turned 52.
COSTELLO: Wow!
RAGONE: He used that money to -- he raised money for his Warm Springs, Georgia, for the facility to help people with polio. That was the predecessor to the March of Dimes. So some good came out of that.
COSTELLO: It's interesting, because you will hear criticism. I know you don't like to weigh into the politics of it, though you are a historian, criticism about using your birthday to raise money. But it is common to raise money on your birthday when you're president of the United States, especially when it's a milestone.
RAGONE: It's absolutely common. It's no different than us blowing out candles. This is what politicians do. This is what presidents do. Like I said, the big 50 only happens once and not that often for a president. I think it seems par for the course.
COSTELLO: Sadly, the most famous birthday is probably John F. Kennedy and the famous Marilyn Monroe singing to him. He didn't get to get to that milestone, did he?
RAGONE: Yes. It is sad. I was thinking about that this morning. The 1962 fund-raiser at Madison Square Garden when Marilyn Monroe serenaded him in that famous dress and song and song, and his life was, obviously, cut short. But I'm sure his 50th would have been an interesting bash as well.
RAGONE: All right. So happy birthday. Carol and I, by the way, believe that 50 is the new 30, and 50 today isn't what it was. And 50 before the year 1900 was more like 80. And that 50 is pretty young and still pretty cool.
RAGONE: Well, Ali is creeping up to that line, so tell him to let me know how it is.
VELSHI: I'm actually selling tickets to the events. It's poorly subscribed.
COSTELLO: Nick Ragone, thank you.
RAGONE: Thank you.
COSTELLO: If only 30-year-olds thought 50 was the new 30 then we would have something there.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Now it's your chance to talk back at 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 asked you that because some Republicans are hopping mad that President Obama is in Chicago raising money for his reelection 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 ad complete with apocalyptic music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we can. Thank you.
If I don't have this done in three years, then there is going to be a one-term proposition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This from a candidate who "Politico" accuses of being in the "Mittness 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. It doesn't sound like a big deal until you learn that 4,000 federal employees along with thousands of construction and support workers are out of work with no paycheck. One furloughed FAA engineer is hot.
(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 talk-back question today -- when is it OK for political leaders to take a break from Washington? Please write your comments on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. We will read your comments a little later.
VELSHI: For all the people unemployed today and all these people on jobless lines, it's very hard sometimes to point fingers as to why they are not getting paid. This isn't. This is entirely avoidable. That's the frustrating part. I mean, to ad anybody to not getting a check right now because somebody didn't do their job, very frustrating.
COSTELLO: Ray LaHood is so mad about this. This is their job. It's Congress' job to fix this. Whatever the underlying policy reasons they can't agree on --
VELSHI: Why take this out on these people.
ROMANS: Exactly Why use them? They are like pawns on this thing.
COSTELLO: It shows a new low in the decision-making, don't you think? ROMANS: I think we've had many new lows.
VELSHI: All right, still ahead, the knee and ankle healed, Tiger Woods back on the PGA tour today. Golf's new favorite son Rory McIlroy is not afraid, however. In fact he is talking some smack. We're going to tell but that when we come back. It's 38 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I need a little Steven Tyler in the morning. I like the way he says it because he is back. Tiger woods set to return to the PGA tour after a three-month absence and tee off in Akron, Ohio, without his long time caddie Steve Williams.
VELSHI: Ted Rowlands is live for us in Akron. Some acrimony in Akron about this, Ted?
(LAUGHTER)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, first of all, there's so much anticipation about this. The golf world will be watching very closely. They have been waiting for tiger to come back. The big question what will tiger come back as -- the dominant player of the past or someone struggling on the course? He says he feels better than he has in years. He says he is healed and ready to go.
You mentioned the other drama that has unfolded, and that is the parting of ways between he and his long time caddie Steve Williams. They were together for 12 years. They have split. Tiger said it was time to move on. We're not sure of the exact details of what happened there. However there are definitely some hard feelings, and that is adding a layer of drama today.
Tiger last played in May and he walked off the course at the TPC. He had a knee and Achilles heel injury that was bothering him since the Masters of this year. He says that unlike other times in his career when he came back too quickly, he took his doctor's advice. And right now he is ready to go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: The great thing is I don't feel a thing. It feels solid. It feels stable. No pain. So, as I said, that is only reason I took as long as I did to come back is I wanted to get to this point where I can go ahead and start playing golf again like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Now, of course, in his absence, they did go ahead and play tournaments, and there are some fantastic young golfers out there that have been dominating the field as well. Not all of them are just ready to hand over the dominant factor to tiger on his way back. Take a listen to Rory McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion, talking about tiger's return. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RORY MCILROY, PRO GOLFER: No one expects him to come out and play, you know, well. I mean, I'm sure he expects himself to come out and play and compete, but, you know, given the length of layoff and considering he only has been able to hit full shots for the last two weeks or whatever, it would be, you know, it would be an unbelievable effort if he was to come back and compete. But I think just get through 72 holes and, you know, maybe finish in the top 20 I think would be a really good effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And Tiger doesn't think that that would be a good effort. That's not his goal. He says he is here to win. And we will find out what he is bringing to the table in a few hours. He tees off at 1:40 eastern time. He has won this tournament, guys, seven times. So we'll see coming up today in what condition he's in.
COSTELLO: I wonder who will have the bigger crowds around them? Will it be McIlroy or Tiger Woods?
ROMANS: McIlroy has the moment now, Ted. McIlroy has the momentum.
ROWLANDS: Yes. I got my money on Tiger Woods, though. A lot of more drama there. Obviously both players are huge draw and people will be watching them both, but I think Tiger will still outdraw everybody here.
ROMANS: Obviously, Ted Rowlands is there because of tiger woods and not because of Rory McIlroy.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I was impressed at his golf knowledge. You usually don't cover golf, but you are fabulous.
ROWLANDS: Thank you. Yes, I play golf. Not very well, but yes.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Ted, good to see you, my friend.
ROMANS: All right, our morning headlines are next. It's about 45 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is now 46 minutes past the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
Stock futures trading much lower ahead of the opening bell this morning. Debt ceiling fears may have passed but Wall Street is still on edge over the weak recovery. And the Labor Department just announced that 400,000 jobless claims were filed for the first time last week. And stock futures are pushing lower on that news right now.
Meat processor Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey that's been linked to dozens of salmonella illnesses in 26 states and authorities believe it may also be related to one death in California.
Fifteen states under heat advisories today. Highs approaching 110 degrees and higher in the heartland. The heat now being blamed for the deaths of two high school football players and a coach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who would do something like this?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And critics accusing Mike Huckabee of trying to cash in on 9/11 by selling a children's cartoon about the attacks. He is one of the people behind the "Learn our History" video series. Huckabee says it's a positive way to show how America responded.
And President Obama turns 50 today. There will be a party in the Rose Garden at the White House. We are told no public money will be used to pay for it. Last night the President flew to Chicago to celebrate the milestone at two campaign fund-raisers.
You are now caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning, Indianapolis. Partly cloudy there, a beautiful morning there, 70 degrees, mostly sunny later today about 87. Just a typical awesome early --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: We're totally working around the margins here, all the places in America that are -- that are beautiful, 70 and 80 today. There's a big section in it that's really happening.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Look at -- the cameras -- the cameras are melting in all of the other places.
VELSHI: All right, the star on the Gridiron and the big screen, former NFL defensive great Bubba Smith has died. The L.A. coroner's office has not determined the cause of death. It's not believed to be suspicious. Smith won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts. A whole new generation of fans however knew him as Moses Hightower from the "Police Academy" movies. He was 66 years old.
COSTELLO: Oh.
He has helped raise more than a billion dollars in the battle against muscular dystrophy. And now Jerry Lewis is out. He's the national chairman and host of MDA's Labor Day telethon. The organization gave no reason for the move; an MDA spokesman says they'll be forever grateful to Lewis for his contributions. The 85- year-old Lewis has hosted the Labor Day telethon since 1966.
VELSHI: What a fixture.
ROMANS: Yes absolutely.
VELSHI: What a lot of work he's done for --
ROMANS: And more people without a documented mental health conditions are taking antidepressants. That's according to a new study which also found nearly three out of four of those prescriptions for antidepressants are being written by people who aren't psychiatrists.
Researchers call this trend worries, adding many of the patients who take these medications are dealing with stress or physical illnesses and there's no evidence that antidepressants can actually help these patients.
VELSHI: If you're in the mood to reward yourself before a workout, do what I do, try a little chocolate. Researchers say mice that were given a small amount of chocolate were not as tired on a treadmill as those that were given water. A small treadmill by the way for mice. According to a study there's an ingredient in chocolate that allowed the mice's body to create a healthier and more fatigue- resistant muscle. I am hanging a lot on this survey.
COSTELLO: I knew you'd like that study.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: And get this. According to the British government a girl born today has a one in three chance of living to 100 years old. She's also eight times more likely to reach 100 than her grandmother.
ROMANS: And if you hope to live a long, healthy life, you may be surprised to learn that you can do so even if you don't exercise or eat very well.
VELSHI: Once again, for falling right into my lap. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. Elizabeth, this is my lucky day. Chocolate helps mice run longer. It's possible to live long with a few bad habits. Pile on.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Isn't it amazing? I wish I could say more. I'm trying to make this the Ali Velshi morning.
Ali, what I really ought to do is get you a DNA test. Because what I learned doing this story, is you don't have to be perfect to live to be a hundred, but you do have to be genetically lucky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEOPLE: Happy birthday dear Dorrie, happy birthday to you.
COHEN (voice-over): Guess how old this woman is? 80? 90? 100? No. Think higher. Dorrie Abre-Noyek is turning 104 today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations. I hope I make it to 104.
COHEN: Dorrie is what scientists call a super ager.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she has all of her marbles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love to have a little of your -- of your strength.
COHEN: She lives on her own independently in Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dorrie has to go to work.
COHEN: And once a week, she even delivers mail at Memorial Regional Hospital.
DORRIE ABER-NOYEK, 104 YEARS OLD: I'll slow down, if you want me to.
COHEN (on camera):: You're all over this place. You're walking here, you're walking there.
ABER-NOYEK: Yes.
COHEN: Where do you get the energy at 104?
ABER-NOYEK: I don't know. I often wonder, you know? I feel good.
COHEN (voice-over): At 104, most people are -- well, dead. So what's kept Dorrie not just alive but alive and thriving? It hasn't been exercise.
(on camera): No running, no working out at the gym?
ABER-NOYEK: No, no.
COHEN (voice-over): It hasn't been diet.
ABER-NOYEK: Every day I cook, every single day.
COHEN: A new study reported at the Journal of the American Geriatric Society says that what keeps super agers like Dorrie alive so long seems to be their genes. The study looked at nearly 500 people ages 95 to 112 and find their lifestyles were really no different than anybody else's. Similar diets, similar exercise patterns, they were just as likely to be overweight and to drink alcohol. All of that makes sense to Dorrie. Her mother lived to be 99 and her daughter is 76 but looks way younger.
(on camera): You got some pretty good genes, huh?
ABER-NOYEK: I have some very good genes, yes.
COHEN (voice-over): A genetic blessing that may be the most important secret to an exceptionally long life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many more, Dorrie, many, many, more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, I had the pleasure of spending Dorrie's birthday with her. And I will tell you she is so with it, she is so strong. As a matter of fact our photographer had a hard time keeping up with her as she traipsed through the halls of that hospital.
COSTELLO: Elizabeth, unlike Ali, this is sort of a depressing story for me. Because I work really hard at living a healthy life. I exercise, I eat right in the hopes of living longer. But it turns out that if it's not in my genes, I'm going to die anyway, so why bother?
COHEN: Well, no and actually, the guy who wrote this study said very clearly to me. Look, clearly, you can live to be a 100 even if you don't have the genes it's just that having the genes is a huge boost. I mean, they really are seeing clearly that genetics plays a big role but that doesn't mean that you can't live to be 100 without the genes.
ROMANS: All right, well, happy birthday Dorrie. We all love here. And --
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Isn't she great?
ROMANS: God bless her. All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth Cohen.
VELSHI: Yes it's 55 minutes after the hour, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It's a nice -- nice day in Washington. It's 79 right now. It's going up to 90, a little hot for my taste but for Washington, that's like a spring day. It's cloudy over there.
Don't go too much further south, though. It starts to get a little hot if you go west or south of there, yes.
COSTELLO: It's muggy in Washington because Washington is built on a swamp, as we all know. Speaking of Washington. With President Obama in campaign mode and Congress leaving town when it could have saved thousands of FAA jobs we asked you this question this morning. When is it ok for political leaders to take a break from Washington? Steve writes in, "If a student procrastinates on a project for months and then pulls an all-nighter to complete it at the last moment, you're not excused from other assignments because he has been working so hard. The debt and deficit issues should have been put to bed months, if not years ago. The irresponsible way Congress handled this does not relieve them of other responsibilities."
VELSHI: Well said.
COSTELLO: And this from Brian. "These people get a six-figure income and take weeks and weeks off to promote their books and fund- raisers. When do they actually have time to do the people's business? It's more like they treat it like their business and they are looking to make money for themselves." Thank you for your comments this morning.
Facebook.com/AmericanMorning if you'd like to continue the conversation.
ROMANS: Really insightful comments from people. And you know, Ray LaHood, the Transportation Secretary, he said I get that there are things that they are arguing about, policy. He didn't weigh in on the policies whether to finance, you know, the taxpayers to finance some of these remote rural air strips and the like.
VELSHI: Or deal with concerns about unionization but that's what Congress is supposed to do right? Their job is to compromise, not to hold things up.
COSTELLO: But it's such a partisan body right now. We are seeing what that really means in America and that is really at the crux of this, because, you know, everybody says for the last 20 times, they -- they granted the extension. But this is the year like no other year.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: There is already a name for what is going to happen when the super committee has to decide in the next $1.5 trillion in cuts, "The Christmas Crisis". Because December 23rd is the deadline.
VELSHI: I'm putting in for me vacation right now.
COSTELLO: There you go.
Velshi: I'm going to -- it's better to have it in there already.
COSTELLO: That's right. That's the true story. Yes, stay out of that --
VELSHI: That's it for us.
COSTELLO: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Hi Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi guys. Good morning.
