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American Morning
Stock Markets in a Tailspin; Obama Approval Rating at 44 Percent; Perry Ready To Run; Republican Presidential Candidates Courting Evangelicals; Riots Continue in London
Aired August 09, 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: Fear knocking down markets across the world.
I'm Christine Romans.
The orders to sell overseas coming in fast after Wall Street's worst day since 2008. So, what can stop this stock slide and will it trigger another recession?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Criminality pure and simple.
Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.
British Prime Minister David Cameron condemning the riots sort of spread from London to three other cities, and vowing those rioters will be finished.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. Three solar blasts heading toward Earth to mess with your gadgets. Power companies are being warned to brace for impact -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: And good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, August 9th.
And maybe those solar flares can mess with the cell orders.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: No kidding. Well, it looks it might be happening. It looks like it might be happening. The futures in the U.S. might be breaking the cycle we have seen the last few days.
COSTELLO: Whoo! A little ray of sunshine! Woo-hoo!
This morning, the world's stock markets are clearly in something of a tailspin though. In Europe and Asia, the selling that started last week just keeps on going.
VELSHI: And it follows the worst day on Wall Street in more than two years. The Dow down more than 635 points. Steep declines as well in the NASDAQ, in the S&P 500 -- add it up and the market lost $1 trillion in value yesterday.
But this morning, like I say, we could be in for a bit of relief. Right now, stock futures are trading decidedly higher. But we all know better than to make assumptions --
COSTELLO: Stop!
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: -- with 90 minutes left to go before markets open.
ROMANS: So, let's make a bunch of assumptions right now with Richard Quest, because, Richard, we look at all of the markets and what they've been doing, oil falling below $80 signaling some say very weak economies around the world, gold above $1,700, interest rates falling in the United States, stocks falling as well.
What is that telling us? What are the markets telling us about what people think is happening in the world?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Fear, worry, and concern -- that well-known firm of bedfellows are all rising strongly and that's exactly what this is. All of those things make perfect sense when you look at the underlying economic numbers.
A weakening manufacturing numbers in the U.S., the U.K. and in Europe. You have weakening -- you have rising unemployment in many cases. You have large deficits in many countries.
All of those, that combination of factors is absolutely toxic to investments and that's what you're seeing in the numbers.
VELSHI: You know, with all that happened in the last few days, people are starting to talk about the fall of 2008 when we saw difficult numbers.
But let's just draw the distinction. You were down at the stock exchange yesterday talking to traders. Back in the fall of 2008, credit froze up around the world. Governments couldn't lend. Countries couldn't -- companies couldn't borrow, banks wouldn't lend to each other overnight. We don't have that right now.
QUEST: No, you don't have it yet and I'm not sort of forecasting it. But that credit seizing up followed on from the events of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all the other events. So, that was a consequence which then led to a much greater drop.
VELSHI: You haven't got that yet and I don't think we're going to see that. Keep your eye on the underlying numbers. The economies are weak and they're getting weaker. There's not the growth there to bring down unemployment and that is what is driving this whole --
COSTELLO: So, I keep asking the same question. So, what do our leaders need to do, need to say today, tomorrow, to stop the slide?
QUEST: Probably keep quiet would help. I mean, that would be the best thing.
COSTELLO: I agree, actually. And look, the truth of the matter is, there's nothing they can say. This is a confidence question. This is going to take time. We came out of 2008 with the patient having had the most rigorous brutal surgery, a leg cut off, an arm cut off.
I mean, this was enormous surgery. It's going to take several years to get over it. It took Japan 10 years. And Japan made some very bad decisions that created their lost decade.
And there are many people who believe, Laura Tyson, out on the West, certainly believes that the United States is in its own lost decade at the moment, three years in.
ROMANS: We're going to hear later today from the Federal Reserve, which is the nation's central bank. This is a day when they can change interest rate policy in normal times. But we don't expect them to change --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: No.
ROMANS: What can the Feds say or should the feds say or do?
VELSHI: Let's make -- let's put the blame where the blame lies. What can the fed do to not do what you guys did in Europe? I won't say you guys, because you're British. But what they did last week to trigger that first sell-off.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: Because that was a European Central Bank that started that.
QUEST: Well, refusing to -- refusing to actually engage in more monetary easing.
VELSHI: Yes. It cost a lot of panic.
QUEST: Enough of the blame game. It really does.
COSTELLO: They worked here in the United States!
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: What the Fed can and probably will do today is hint at slight and greater easing, move things around, highly technical easing on the margins. The sort of stuff that will be buried in the statement, but that will tell the markets -- that will tell the markets that the Fed stands ready to offer whatever liquidity is necessary and -- and -- and at least not do anything to make things worse.
VELSHI: Right.
QUEST: For instance, the reinvestment of investments and the longer dated maturities, all these sort of things will ease the wheels of the market. So, we look for that at 2:15 in this afternoon.
But, in general, I mean, we talk about what our leaders can do, Carol. And there are those on Wall Street who say, quite frankly, that Washington has too high hopes for how much control it has over markets. You know, they think that markets live and die --
COSTELLO: And why did the S&P blame Washington for our credit problems?
VELSHI: What you say? Isn't that what we do around here, we blame?
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: Because, normally, Washington, you know --
QUEST: Here, ladies and gentlemen, you see the blame game in full swing!
ROMANS: There you go. No, it's tough.
All right. Richard Quest, thank you so much, Richard.
QUEST: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
VELSHI: All right. Coming home. The bodies of those 30 American troops killed in a weekend helicopter crash in Afghanistan are scheduled to arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today. Military family members are gathered at the base for a private ceremony.
The chopper, as you know, was reportedly shot down by insurgents.
It is the worse single day loss of life for U.S. troops since the Afghan war began.
ROMANS: OK. And 10-year-old Braden Nichols wants America to remember his fallen hero. Braden's father was piloting the Chinook helicopter that was shot down in Afghanistan. He sent us a photo of his dad, Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols. That's Bryan all the way to the left there.
Braden says he couldn't understand why Navy SEALs who perished on the chopper were getting attention but not his own dad. Bryan Nichols was scheduled to come home on leave in just nine days.
VELSHI: Wow.
COSTELLO: The rioting that's rocked London for three straight nights has now spread to three other cities. British Prime Minister David Cameron is condemning the violence. He calls it criminality, pure and simple, and says those responsible for the looting and the vandalism and the arson will be punished.
Cameron cut short his vacation to deal with the unrest. He says 16,000 police officers will be on the streets of London by tonight.
VELSHI: Philly teens are now being warned to stay off the streets at night after a string of youth mob attacks. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter laid out a curfew. It's a curfew that's already on the books but he's saying it's now going to be enforced, saying children under 13 got o be home by 10:00 p.m. Teens between 13 and 18, by midnight.
It's even tougher on weekends. Everyone under 18 has got to be at home by 9:00. Anybody not at home by 9:00 is going to face a fine.
He warned parents to hold up their end of the bargain. He used blunt language to warn the black youth of the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER, PHILADELPHIA: You damage yourself, you damage another person, you damage your peers and, quite honestly, you damage your own race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Wow.
COSTELLO: Wow.
VELSHI: Strong words from Philly Mayor Michael Nutter. He's going to be with us at 8:40 a.m. Eastern here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right. Another person who competed in the New York City triathlon has died. The race director says the 40-year-old woman from Illinois died after having difficulty swimming. It's believed that she went into cardiac arrest twice after the swim on Sunday. This is the second death from the competition. Both triggered during the swimming leg of that race.
COSTELLO: Diana Nyad's attempt to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys is over. The 61-year-old swimmer called it quits early this morning after 29 hours in the water. She was suffering from severe shoulder pain and asthma. Nyad was trying to become the first person to make the 103-mile swim without a shark cage and she almost made it half way.
VELSHI: Which is pretty incredible --
ROMANS: Yes, I'd say.
VELSHI: -- to get that far.
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: All right. Still ahead, a mysterious orange goo washes ashore in an Alaskan village. What is it? Scientists say they cracked the case. We'll tell you on the other side.
ROMANS: Plus, a blind site hit. Legendary Penn State Coach Joe Paterno taken to the hospital after a receiver -- I'm sorry, don't mean to laugh -- ran into him during practice.
COSTELLO: You can't because he's one tough guy.
VELSHI: He really is. Yes.
COSTELLO: And Michele Bachmann is brushing off her so-called wide-eyed cover photo on "Newsweek." But did the magazine go too far? Is it sexist? Unfair? We'll ask you.
VELSHI: And power companies prepare as a series of solar blasts slam into the earth and it could disrupt your gadget.
Lots of news ahead. It is eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: This is totally my theme song for today.
COSTELLO: Totally.
VELSHI: Yes, I want the markets to just run themselves. I don't want to talk about them. I want them to be fine.
ROMANS: How many straight days have you been working? Seventeen?
VELSHI: Yes, we don't want this --
COSTELLO: Ali just wants to go home and take a nap.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's soon.
VELSHI: I'm going to sleep with this on my iPad.
COSTELLO: Awesome!
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It is official, as if you didn't know it.
The hottest summer ever in Texas and Oklahoma. NOAA says the average temperatures were near 90 degrees for May, June and July and that's for the entire day!
In the middle of this historic heat wave, one Texas town has turned off the water, leaving residents boiling mad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You tell them that this old woman is hot down here! And not just because of the heat! A hundred and seven degrees and my blood because you people and those people down there will not get off their duff and fix this stuff!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Sister.
City officials in Kemp made an emergency decision to shut off the town's supply on Sunday. The city says underground pipes haven't been updated since 1930 are rupturing in this intense heat, wasting what little water they have left. The city is giving out bottled water to residents at city hall.
VELSHI: They said they're going to turn it back, they think on the weekend.
But, you know, a lot of Texas and parts of Oklahoma are suffering from this long drought.
ROMANS: Those will remind you about aging infrastructure in this country.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: You talk about ways to like get things moving, could you have some sort of infrastructure program to get stuff like that fixed. I don't know. No one --
VELSHI: And it reminds us when we are seeing the jobs being done and, you know, we are being diverted for it, that these things have to be done.
And, by the way, just going to put it in there for all of that stimulus that everybody says didn't work, it did do a lot of that kind of stuff.
ROMANS: Not in Kemp, apparently.
VELSHI: Apparently, it didn't get to Kemp. That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Hey, scientists are warning that a solar storm is going to mess with your gadgets. NOAA is alerting power and telecom companies that a magnetic storm is coming after three large explosions from the sun over the past few days.
The storms could affect communications and GPS satellites and that's all I know about that.
ROMANS: Yes. Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center where he knows everything about solar flares.
Hey there.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We saw some northern lights in the lower 48 from the flare over the weekend.
VELSHI: Oh, wow.
MARCIANO: So, that's the bonus of that kind of stuff. But, yes, I can mess with satellites. And I think the danger from that particular solar storm is over, but as we get toward the solar maximum over the next couple of years, we're going to see those more frequently.
And if we get a big, that's when you can knock out some satellites and power grids and we've seen that in the past. So, be prepared and we'll let you know when it's coming.
Hey, we told you about the drought. This is a footprint in the drought monitor. The deep, deep red is the largest footprint we have seen for exceptional drought since we have been keeping track of this stuff for 12 years now. And it looks like, yes, what, big foot footprint's big footprint for sure. It's ridiculous.
And we're looking at heat that continues to evaporate water out of that soil, more heat advisories and heat warnings out for the southern plains. Notably, Dallas -- 108 expected again today. And really, we don't expect much of a cool off over the next several days. I thought it would break down a little bit, but it is folks on the East Coast as a couple of fronts pushes off to the East, but it kind of hangs tough, especially in west Texas and the Desert Southwest.
So, hazy, hot and humid there today. And we're looking for thunderstorms that are already beginning to pop up across parts of the Allegheny, will get over the Adirondack, across the Delaware and into Philadelphia and New York City here over the next couple of hours, and they will intensify as we get some heat of the day ahead of these storms and that will cause some travel delays.
Atlanta will see some thunderstorms that will cause you some delays to the ATL and to the New York metros, especially this afternoon, some heavy rain with those thunderstorms. We'll probably see delays up and over an hour or two.
We'll let you know when the next batch of northern lights is coming. It's always a sight to see, especially up there in New York and further north -- guys.
VELSHI: Love the northern lights. Excellent, by the way, if we are getting heavy rains in New York because we heard from the song when we came in here, I just -- today, I don't feel like doing anything. So, I'm happy to sit there and watch the rain.
MARCIANO: You deserve it.
VELSHI: Rob, you said something that I didn't understand. You said
ROMANS: Solar maximum?
VELSHI: What is a solar maximum?
MARCIANO: It's a cycle of -- 11-year cycle. So, we were at the low end a couple of years ago, and now, we're coming out of that. As we get towards the higher end, the sun becomes more active. We'll see more sun spots that throws out more energy and more solar flare. So, we will see those increasingly over the next few years.
ROMANS: You lay that over the economic cycle of United States and then you got your buy and sell signals on Wall Street.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Rob, thank you, my friend.
COSTELLO: My friend --
VELSHI: We can make everything about business. Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes, exactly.
VELSHI: We could have this business story about orange goop.
COSTELLO: We do. Well, maybe it is, in the long run. Yes. Who knows? They have to clean it up, right, and use money from the economy. Anyway, let's talk about the mystery of the orange goop because it has now been solved. A mysterious orange substance began washing up on the shores of an Eskimo Alaskan village last week, and boy, did it freak some people out. No one knew what it was. Well, NOAA says it's millions and millions of microscopic invertebrate eggs, possibly those of a small (INAUDIBLE). Did you get all with that?
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: They're now trying to find out if the species of the eggs is toxic. So, there you have it. The mystery of the orange goop is solved.
VELSHI: It seems to be a lot of mystery still left in there. Are there going to hatch and then, there going to be millions and millions of little --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Running around?
COSTELLO: Sounds (ph) horrible.
ROMANS: That's true.
VELSHI: All right. Hey, lady, your motor is chirping. Florida firefighters had a strange challenge yesterday. Take a look. They had to free a parrot stuck inside the grille of a car. A woman came to the fire station saying she hit a bird. She assumed it was still in the road, and then, she heard chirping. The firefighters took apart of the front of her car to rescue the bird. It was taken to a nature center for a physical and turns out it's OK. So, it must not have been hit. It must have sort of just landed and got itself stuck in the grille. That's a weird story.
COSTELLO: It was protected by the grille. So, maybe, that was a good thing in the end.
ROMANS: I'm glad it turned out all right.
We're going to need some more bubble bath. Take a look at this. She's called the bather, and she's getting cleaned in a Hamburg, Germany lake. Sculpture is really -- look how big she is.
VELSHI: Oh, my God!
ROMANS: It's so true she's really a huge advertisement for the brand Soap and Glory. She's 13 feet high.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's just strong.
ROMANS: Soap and Glory says (INAUDIBLE) crane when she's done with her bath.
VELSHI: OK. Moving right along. Let's talk about soccer now.
COSTELLO: Right. Real Madrid lead (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: One of the greatest soccer clubs in the entire world, Ali, has gone to a grade school to look for a young, new talent.
VELSHI: We like we're in grade school right now.
COSTELLO: Exactly, we are. The team actually signed a seven- year-old prodigy out of Argentina. How good is this kid? He already goes by one name. Leo. ESPN says the kid will begin training with real Madrid in September. If all goes well, he should be ready to see action between seven and ten years from now.
VELSHI: I mean, the kid is very talented, but there's got to be something wrong with that.
COSTELLO: No word yet on how good he is at his multiplication tables.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: It's a little weird, don't you think?
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: I assume he's getting an education for all of these years instead of kicking the ball around to ten years.
(CROSSTALK) COSTELLO: Although, he'll make much more money playing soccer.
VELSHI: That is absolutely true. Who needs an education?
Legendary Penn State football coach, 84-year-old, Joe Paterno hospitalized after he was accidentally blindsided during practice. Paterno says he's doing fine. He expects to be back at work soon. He even reportedly conducted his morning coaching meeting from his hospital bed. Paterno has been the head coach at Penn State since 1966.
COSTELLO: All right. Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. Are Republican women unfairly criticized because they're women? We hear it a lot. There's a double standard when it comes to criticizing politicians who are women.
Republican and Tea Party favorite, Michele Bachmann, who has had a few missteps with historical facts says yes, she makes mistake, but, unlike liberal politicians, she does not get a pass from the media. Bachmann told CBN's David Brody that something she, Sarah Palin, and other conservative women, just have to deal with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) MINNESOTA: She has been unfairly criticized and I think that we've seen that with other conservative women as well, across the country, whether they're political commentators or whether they're in public service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This morning, conservatives are fuming over the latest "Newsweek" cover that shows a startled looking Bachmann with the title "Queen of Rage." One blogger saying, can anyone really say with the straight face that the mainstream media is not totally biased against conservatives? Bachmann critics haven't exactly been measured. Commentators like MSNBC's Ed Schultz called Bachmann a psycho talker. And remember this from Jay Leno? He holds nothing back when it comes to the so-called mama grizzlies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO: Republican congresswoman, Michele Bachmann, now under fire for claiming the founding fathers eliminated slavery. Sarah Palin, well, she is upset. Another female Republican out there trying to steal the dumb ass vote?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Politics is tough for both women and men just how rough may depend on your gender. So, the talkback question today, are Republican women unfairly criticized because they're women? Facebook.com/Americanmorning. Facebook.com/Americanmorning. You're your comments later this hour. VELSHI: We're getting some big responses.
Coming up next, wild swings as U.S. futures, stock futures seesaw this morning. We're "Minding Your Business." We'll tell you how it looks like markets are going to be opening in about an hour. It is 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
U.S. stocks took a beating yesterday. All that uncertainty on Wall Street continues today and plenty of volatility in premarket trading for U.S. stock futures this morning. Right now, though, Dow, NASDAQ, S&P 500 futures are trading higher ahead of the opening bell. But as you know, they are down sharply over the past few weeks.
Gold prices hit another record high in overnight trading, overseas trading this morning. Investors rushing to the security of that precious metal amid all the economic uncertainty. Right now, gold is up $40 to $1,754 an ounce. That is almost a three percent spike.
Those economic concerns worldwide have pushed oil prices down more than $10 a barrel in the past week. Just two weeks ago, it was up near $100 a barrel. (INAUDIBLE) crude settle at about $83 a barrel yesterday. That could mean lower gas prices for you ahead, but it signals concern about the global economy.
Investors waiting for a decision on interest rates today from the Federal Reserve in Washington. After its meeting, they will make a statement at 2:15 p.m. eastern time. Economists surveyed by briefing.com expect rates remain unchanged. No surprise that at about zero percent is what fed chief, Ben Bernanke says in a statement that is important.
All right. Up next, President Obama's numbers continue to tumble, and should politics and religion mix on the campaign trail? AMERICAN MORNING back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Don't you know? It's going to be stormy in Washington this morning. Actually, later today. Right now, it's 81 degrees, but thunderstorms later. I'm not kidding.
VELSHI: And that is something view with the weather forecast.
COSTELLO: Yes, exactly. It's going to be 95 later.
VELSHI: All right. With the markets taking a beating, the debt crisis lingering, the president is trying to reassure Americans that he's on the case. He's sounding a theme we probably are going to hear through November 2012 insisting that he inherited these economic problems and that they're being made worse by the debt crisis in Europe. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. And that committee will have this administration's full cooperation. And I assure you, we will stay on it until we get the job done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Right now, a lot of Americans don't approve of that job, how the president is getting that job done. In the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, President Obama's approval rating stands now at 44 percent. Fifty-four percent of Americans disapprove of the job he's doing, and when it comes to he's handling of the economy, two-thirds of the country disapproves.
VELSHI: Now, Rick Perry made it clear that he's running for president this weekend. On Saturday, the governor of Texas made stops in South Carolina and New Hampshire, neither of which are in Texas. Hmm. They're both early primary states.
ROMANS: That's right. And his supporters, they're hoping to hear an official announcement or, at least, they want a strong hint if he's running for the White House. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Erick Ericsson, the editor-in-chief of RedState.com said a Perry candidacy could spell trouble for frontrunner, Mitt Romney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERICK ERICKSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF REDSTATE.COM: If Perry comes in, the field probably begins to consolidate behind a guy like Rick Perry, and he will probably be able to get in a position that make it a one-on-one race with Mitt Romney. In which case, Mitt Romney probably doesn't stay as competitive as he has been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Perry may be trying to upstage the rest of the Republican presidential field because, of course, on Saturday, he will be in New Hampshire and South Carolina at the same time other GOP candidates are battling it out in the Ames straw poll in Iowa.
COSTELLO: And Politicians like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have been taking a lot of heat, accused of blurring the line between religion and politics. Are they going too far, or do they have the right to use their religious convictions to lure voters? Joining us live from Baton Rouge, Louisiana this morning is Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and the organizer of last weekend's prayer vigil that was hosted by Rick Perry, and from the CNN center in Atlanta Jonathan Merritt. He's a Christian commentator, author, and teacher at Cross Point Church in Georgia. Welcome to you both.
TONY PERKINS, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Thank you. Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
Tony, let's start with you. Your organization is supporting a values voter bus tour. On board Republican candidates Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty and maybe Michele Bachmann. With the state that our economy is in how much should religion play into politics at this particular time?
PERKINS: Well, I think it guys a lot of what especially social conservatives and evangelicals do with their vote. Nearly 45 percent of Republican primary voters are evangelicals. And a recent survey showed that over the last 20 years their value set has changed very little. While they are concerned about the economy, they view it through the lens of the family and the teaching of the church.
And they understand that when marriage fails, families fracture, government grows and taxpayers pick up the tab. So they are concerned about the economy, but they know that the family is important when you talk about the economy.
COSTELLO: Jonathan, you're uncomfortable with this values voter bus tour. Why?
JONATHAN MERRITT, AUTHOR, "A FAITH OF OUR OWN -- FOLLOWING JESUS BEYOND THE CULTURE WAR": You know, I'm uncomfortable because of exactly what you heard right there. We have a long list of Christian organizations who have around election year time, they have been gathering up Christian voters and they give candidates access to them. And then the candidates begin to sort of use religious language to reassure us that they are one of us, that we can trust them. And what's unfortunate is it allows the Christian community to be reduced to nothing more than a voting block. You heard the statistics he was quoting, that sort of speak to that sentiment. And I think, as Christians, we should be treated with more respect than that. We are not just a voting block.
COSTELLO: Tony, I don't think you and Jonathan are going to agree, but let me ask you this.
PERKINS: Well, no, I actually do agree.
COSTELLO: Then go ahead.
PERKINS: I do agree with him. We are actually more than a voting block. We are a group of people, a very large group of people that do vote that view government from a much broader perspective than election time.
When you go back to the debate over health care and back over many of the debates, even the debate issue that was just debated, social conservatives were very much involved in that because they understand the impact it has not only on their family but on the future of this country. So that conversation begins at election time but it continues. I mean, Michele Bachmann is a great example. MERRITT: Tony, what we have to recognize is there is a rich history here. This is a history that goes back especially prominent in the last few decades of politicians, presidents, and senators using carefully crafted religious language in a way that doesn't always resonate.
I remember when I was a college student and I picked up a copy of George W. Bush "A Charge to Keep." And all of my non-Christian friends thought, what a great title. But I knew it was more than that, because it was a line borrowed from an old Wesley hymn. As a Christian, before I even opened the first page, George Bush was telling me I could trust him. He was one of us. I think Christians, especially in my generation, we just want to be respected a little bit more than that.
COSTELLO: Let's move on to a different topic. Tony, I don't think Jonathan is going to change your mind and vice versa. Let me ask you this. Evangelicals have not been entirely successful in attaining their agenda. They feel like they are losing influence. And it's easy to see why. Abortion is still legal. The Defense of Marriage Act is being slowly dismantled. "Don't ask, don't tell" is almost history. As you size up this presidential field, who do you think will not just talk the talk, but walk the walk?
PERKINS: Well, first, let me go back, because I don't agree completely, because we have made great progress over the last 20 years on moving America toward a more pro-life nation, and the educational process on the value of marriage and the importance of the family is ongoing. So you don't see any white flags going up here.
But I think what you actually see in the election process, and, you know, I agree with Jonathan, you got to be careful, because some simply use the language, but increasingly, you're seeing candidates not just using the language, but people who share that world view.
And I think you see Rick Santorum, I think Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, they have that world view and they govern from that worldview and they do care about the broader society.
COSTELLO: Who would be your candidate?
PERKINS: Well, you know, I'm going to have them all on the bus so I'm not going to pick anybody just yet. We do have a straw poll at our summit in October and I'm not making any moves until after that.
But I will tell you I'm pleased with the number of candidates that are out there that are speaking to a broad range of issues, including the economy, including the family, including the value of human life. And so I think we are making great progress. And I'm very optimistic about this election cycle. And I think you're going to see more people coming out of the churches to vote because of the concern they have over the direction of this country.
COSTELLO: And Jonathan, I just want you to have the last word here. As a Christian, in your mind, who is the most sincere candidate when it comes to religion? MERRITT: You know, that, for me, I think, everybody can make up their mind. This is not really a question that I'd like to answer, but I would like to go back to something he said earlier, because we disagree on this -- the Christian community, right now, is in something of a crisis.
And if you do look at the opinion polls, it all points in one direction. People do feel that Christians are too political, when we continue to conflate religion and politics it hurts us. It's one of the things that's contributing to a sharp decline in church attendance in America.
And we are losing influence. Any way that you look at it, any measurement you use, the goals that were set out by the religious rite three decades ago have not been accomplished. And I think that is clarion call to those of us who bear the name of Jesus Christ to say maybe we should reconsider our tack tickets and our tone.
COSTELLO: Interesting conversation. Thank you for both of you being with us.
MERRITT: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Tony Perkins and Jonathan Merritt.
VELSHI: Riveting conversation. That was a very, very interesting conversation. I'd love to hear more from these guys.
All right, coming up next, a very interesting story. Police officers are scrambling to deal with flash mobs of rampaging teenagers in Philadelphia. Now a teen curfew that is on the books is going into effect. We will speak to the mayor of Philadelphia about why and what he has got to say about it after this break.
COSTELLO: And from Philly to London riots. It's the police versus gangs in Great Britain. Hundreds of arrests, the jail cells are full, but the violence intensifies and spreads. It's 37 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: New video just in to CNN showing some of the burned out buildings in London after a third straight night of street violence and looting. It's getting serious. Police say last night's unrest was the worst in recent memory. Riots are now spreading beyond London to three other major cities. This is really --
ROMANS: These are major cities -- major cities.
VELSHI: It's a whole housing block there.
ROMANS: British Prime Minister David Cameron promising to crack down on the people who are rioting, calling it criminality pure and simple.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Let me first of all, completely condemn the scenes we have seen on our television screens and people have witnessed in their communities. These are sickening scenes, scenes of people looting, vandalizing, thieving, robbing, scenes of people attacking police officers, and even attacking fire crews as they are trying to put out fires. This is criminality pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Cameron says 16,000 police officers will be patrolling the streets of London tonight.
COSTELLO: As the streets of London erupted and violence for a third straight night, journalists and photographers came under attack too. CNN's Dan Rivers was one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL: We are going to hold our line behind us here. We are going to have to move, Thrown out. If you can still hear me, a few bottles thrown at us there. We're OK, though, we're OK. Yes, that's the danger. You know, as soon as people stray down this road, it erupts in violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He was outfitted in a helmet, body armor as he was covering that rioting. That's one of the scariest things to cover is hurricanes and rioting.
VELSHI: Right, because they both have an uncontrolled element to them.
ROMANS: Exactly. It is unpredictable and incredibly dangerous.
COSTELLO: I am just amazed that Prime Minister Cameron was on vacation when all of this was happening and it took him three days to come back and confront this mess. This is serious stuff.
VELSHI: I saw it the first night. It seemed isolated. The second night it's like, whoa, what is going on? That is when he made the decision to come back.
COSTELLO: I think he also called parliament back too, right? So they are working on the problem.
VELSHI: Are you hinting that legislators should come back from their recesses to deal with issues that might be --
ROMANS: Carol thinks --
VELSHI: Carol thinks there is a message in there.
COSTELLO: It's 43 minutes past the hour. We will be right back.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 44 minutes past the hour. Here are your morning's headlines.
Uncertainty running rampant on Wall Street after the plunge in markets yesterday, lots of volatility in pre-market trading this morning. Right now, futures for the DOW, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all trading much higher ahead of the opening bell.
The Federal Reserve meets this afternoon and investors will be paying close attention to see if it has anything to say about the economy and whether the nation needs to adopt a new stimulus program right now.
A somber day at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Military families will welcome home the flagged draped coffins of 30 U.S. troops. They were killed when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan over the weekend. The ceremony will be for the families, it will be private.
Texas Governor Rick Perry could officially announce he is running for president this weekend. He will be making appearances Saturday in New Hampshire and in South Carolina, two critical early primary states.
And the hottest summer ever in the southeastern plains. Forecasters say May, June, and July were the warmest months in history in Texas and Oklahoma. Dallas could set a nationwide record on Saturday with 43 straight days of triple digit heat.
There have been signs this morning that a solar storm is heading our way. The flares could disrupt powers and GPS and cell phone signals.
And Diana Nyad attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida Keys is over. The 61-year-old swimmer called it quits earlier this morning after 29 hours in the water. She was trying to become the first person to make the 103-mile swim without a shark cage.
You are now caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, that's New York City. It's sunny, its 77 right now; thunderstorms later and 85.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I don't mind. I'm betting that I don't have to work.
All right, it's a no surprise kids are spending more time on Facebook but it may not be a healthy habit. This sounds like an old people story. ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: They tell their kids, "Hey kids, stay off the Facebook."
A new study finds teens and young adults who check the site at least once in a 15-minute period are more likely to get lower grades and tend to be more narcissistic.
ROMANS: Oh.
COSTELLO: Oh.
VELSHI: The study's author says it's important to point out technologies does not directly cause health disorders but it could make certain psychological tendencies work. These kids, now they go, they get --
COSTELLO: So if your kids are narcissist -- get them off Facebook because they could become more of a narcissist.
ROMANS: There you go.
VELSHI: It does make stuff about you central to you more so than it could have been without Facebook.
ROMANS: Yes but I've seen these other analysis that show that all these kids on Facebook, they have poor self-esteem because they are seeing all these wonder things other people are doing because people only say good things about themselves on Facebook so --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: -- a study is a study is a study, right?
COSTELLO: And I've heard people our age are more on Facebook now than ever, maybe more than kids even. So what does that say about us?
ROMANS: I don't know.
COSTELLO: And our behavior.
VELSHI: All right, Carol, you know what I want today, right?
COSTELLO: You want to fall asleep.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: And I'm going to -- I'm going to give you --
VELSHI: You going give me some advice?
COSTELLO: I'm giving you -- because forget about counting sheep, Ali.
VELSHI: Ok.
COSTELLO: The trick may be the soothing sounds of monkeys.
VELSHI: What?
COSTELLO: Monkeys. Monkeys, you heard me right. A British poll found about one in five people prefer listening to the sounds of a rain forest when trying to fall asleep. One reason officials say is the sounds of birds and monkeys tend to stop intrusive thoughts that can keep you awake.
So tonight, today, when you go home and try to go to sleep --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Wait, where do you download that?
COSTELLO: I know, the sound of monkeys is not those like the sounds of the ocean machine that you can get.
VELSHI: Right. Right.
Although, they are saying that rain forest which tends to be one of those things that they include on those little machines.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Maybe I didn't realize it was monkeys I was listening to.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Those little screeching sounds.
ROMANS: All right. We like the monkey story.
We want to introduce you know to one man who got a serious wake- up call after a much-needed physical. He walked out of his doctor's office with medications for both high cholesterol and high blood pressure and it was at that moment he decided to become part of the CNN's "Fit Nation" triathlon challenge.
Here is the story in this morning's "Human Factor".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You're a doctor and -- and you're on the front line of a childhood obesity epidemic something that people talk about quite a bit. You decided that you wanted to actually, not only preach about this but to actually practice it as well, is that right?
DR. SCOTT ZAHN, CNN FITNATION TRIATHLON: Yes, yes.
GUPTA: So tell me -- tell me what inspired that? How did you decide to -- to do a triathlon? ZAHN: I just decided to do something. It just happened to be a triathlon. But you know, as I was talking to my patients who are overweight, I realized that, you know, I needed to listen to what I was telling them. And, you know, I needed to set a goal for myself. Something in the future to inspire me to do that.
GUPTA: A year ago, could you have imagined yourself doing this?
ZAHN: No way.
GUPTA: What -- what changed? And what is the lesson for other people out there who say no way, I'm not -- I'm never going to do that?
ZAHN: For me, it was just to start, to just make that first drive to the club and get on a treadmill and start walking and then do it the next day, the next day and just build on that. But the key really for me was to just start.
GUPTA: So your body changed significantly. How much -- how much weight did you lose? When is the last time you weighed that much?
ZAHN: I've lost about 60 pounds. I'm under 200 pounds for the first time in 20, 30 years. I'm not even sure the last time I weighed under 200 pounds. So physically, I've changed.
GUPTA: You're also off all of your medications. As a doctor, this is important because, you know, a lot of people get the cholesterol medication and blood pressure medications. You don't always need them if you diet and exercise.
ZAHN: Right, if you diet and exercise, you can -- you can get off them and I was able to do that. You know, we can't -- I talked in my video that you know, I -- my family history was kind of against me and I kind of realized that the genetics were against me but not my family history. So you can change your family history, you know, by diet and exercise.
GUPTA: That's a -- that's a very remarkable thing. Dr. Scott Zahn, I appreciate it very much. Thanks -- thanks so much for joining us.
ZAHN: Thank you.
GUPTA: And back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Inspirational story. Thanks, Sanjay.
All right, teens in Philadelphia are now being warned to stay off the streets at night. Mayor Michael Nutter says he's enforcing a curfew after a string of violent and random attacks by flash mobs. Here to talk about the curfew is Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
Mayor Nutter, good to see you. Thank you for being with us. (CROSSTALK)
MICHAEL NUTTER (D), MAYOR, PHILADELPHIA: Ali, thank you.
VELSHI: Hey, I want to talk to you about -- I want to talk to you not about this -- not just about the curfew, you're --
(CROSSTALK)
NUTTER: Yes.
VELSHI: -- you're doing it from two ways. You're getting tough. You're saying that you're going to get tough on -- on kids who are out there rampaging. But you also have another message for parents and for these kids that you delivered at your church this Saturday.
NUTTER: Yes.
VELSHI: I just want to play that for our viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NUTTER: You damage yourself, you damage another person, you damage your peers and, quite honestly, you damage your own race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: I've heard you talk tough before. That was pretty tough. How did that go over?
NUTTER: Well, actually it went over very, very well. That was at my church at Mt. Caramel Baptist Church in west Philadelphia. I've been a member there for 25 years and I was married there. I have long history with the pastor, Reverend Campbell.
But Ali, it was also a very balanced message and I think the folks at church and since then have really gotten it. That teens need to make better decisions, parents need to step up and take care of their children.
We, as a government, cannot raise people's children. You want to have children? You have to take care of them. We can help you. We provide services, support, all kinds of stuff, but we are not going to tolerate this kind of senseless, stupid, ignorant, violent acts, even episodically as they may occur on the streets of our city.
We are a great city. We're a great international city and a growing city. And we've also offered some very positive things to young people as well. We've extended the hours of operation for about 20 recreation centers all across the city. We have community members who are stepping up and participating with us in our "I pledge" campaign and volunteering their time especially on the weekends to be out to make sure that young people are safe, our Philadelphia Youth Commission.
(CROSSTALK) VELSHI: How do you deal with -- look, on July 29th, this is probably one of the most serious one, a flash mob or -- I don't know who they were but they beat some strangers up.
NUTTER: This is a random group of young people.
VELSHI: Right. An 11-year-old boy was arrested. How do you combat that? You got the policing to do that? Have you got the technology, the methodology to know where these kids are going and how to intervene?
NUTTER: Well, certainly, I mean I won't say on TV here, but we are certainly trying to be more anticipatory, I guess if you will, about things and not just reactive. So we engage in the social media, Facebook, Twitter and other ways that young people are communicating and we're getting much more information.
But this is really about personal responsibility. Again, young people making better decisions, being more engaged in positive activities which we are trying to provide as a city, but, ultimately, this is about what is going on at home.
What are parents doing with their children? Do you know where your child is? I mean, we have a thing, you know, when I was a kid that was on TV, I brought that back. You know, it's 10:00 at night. Do you know where your children are?
That is really something that people need to think about and deal with and if you, again, need help, our Department of Human Services, our Community Behavioral Health Services and other social service providers, we can provide help and support for parents.
Look. It's tough raising kids. I have two kids. One is a teenager right now. So, I mean I have an understanding of what some of our parents are facing but others are in some very challenging situations and I appreciate that and understand that. But there is no excuse for young people being out so late at night by themselves and then making bad decisions and literally assaulting other citizens.
I will not tolerate that and that is what we are doing. It's some tough love. There's some stick, but there is a whole lot of carrots that go with this. If young people get themselves together we're going to have a positive summer, a safe summer and in less than a month they'll all be back in school and things will certainly be better for them but we are not tolerating any nonsense. That's over.
VELSHI: All right. Mayor Nutter, as you know, I'm one of those people who like walking around city center, Philadelphia.
NUTTER: I know you do. We want it to be safe for you and for everybody else, Ali. I haven't seen you in Philly lately. You need to get back here.
VELSHI: I'm on my way back, Mayor. Good to see you. Mayor Michael Nutter, of Philadelphia. Thank you.
NUTTER: Thank you.
VELSHI: It is 57 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We can't get to our "Talk Back" responses but thank you for responding on Facebook.
Let's throw it over to Kyra Phillips in Atlanta. Good morning, Kyra.
