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American Morning
Rioting in Britain; Koreas Exchange Fire; Markets Bounce Back; Three Democrats Picked for Super Committee; President Obama Honors Fallen Troops; Polygamist Leader's Life Sentence; GOP Holding On to Power; New Riots Overtake England; . to Tell Syria's Assad "Get Out"
Aired August 10, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol. I'm Christine Romans. Another night of unrest in London as police struggle to take back control of their streets. Now Americans are being urged to use caution when traveling around the city.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again. I'm Carol Costello.
Three members of the Congressional Super Committee have now been chosen, nine more to go. There are 12. They will have 90 days to come up with $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, the selections and reaction to them on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right. Good morning, it is Wednesday, August 10th. Ali is off today after working I think 15 or 16 straight days covering the markets and all that. We'll have more on the markets and the economy in just a moment. You seem a little short today.
COSTELLO: I know.
ROMANS: I have a really high chair.
COSTELLO: I think so. I like that.
ROMANS: You're taller than I am, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello. Actually, we have to talk about this first because London is burning a fourth night of looting and violence in the streets. Parts of London now resemble a war zone with burned out buildings and scenes of long time destruction.
Some 16,000 police officers have hit the streets triple the usual number. Nearly 800 arrests have been made. The rioting has spread now to other major cities and now the U.S. State Department is warning Americans to use caution and avoid areas of unrest.
In the meantime, British Prime Minister David Cameron will meet with his crisis response team this morning. Atika Shubert live in London for us. What do you suspect he'll say?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's going to do an assessment of how it went last night with 16,000 cops on the street. The good news is that here in London it was a lot quieter. There were just isolated pockets of looting, mostly easily dealt with by those police.
Unfortunately, it was the turn of Manchester. They did have some serious looting and even some fires over there. Police were able to finally get a handle on it in the early hours of the morning.
But still, it was a frightening experience for a lot of the residents in Central Manchester there. So the prime minister is likely to come out today, say how effective the policing was last night and is he going to keep the cops on the streets for the next few nights.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert live in London. We'll check back with you when David Cameron finally comes out and makes his statement. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: Meantime, an exchange of artillery fire between North Korea and South Korea near a disputed border island. The South says it responded after North Korean shells landed in the waters off Yongpyong Island. No casualties have been reported.
Back in November, South Korean officials accused the North of bombarding that island killing two South Korean marines and two civilians.
COSTELLO: Markets across the globe roaring back into the green this morning. It follows a wild day on Wall Street. The Dow was up and then it was down then it was way up picking up 430 points after a historic move by the Federal Reserve.
The fed's promising to keep interest rates exceptionally low for two more years. The reason for this historic move, in its statement the fed confirming what so many Americans already know, the recovery is taking longer than expected.
And on last night's "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" economist Diane Swonk explained why the fed's decision sparked a big rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE SWONK, ECONOMIST, MESIROW FINANCIAL: Ben Bernanke said, you know, we could do things with our balance sheet. We're still not done. We're not out of bullets yet. I think when all was said and done and financial markets finally digested this massive amount of news and unprecedented statement by the fed.
They said you know what, maybe that means we won't have a double dip recession now. We might not stall out. We'll sputter along. The bad news is we'll sputter along. It's also the good news. We're not going to stall out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And here's how the markets closed yesterday as we mentioned. The Dow was up 430 points or 4 percent. The NASDAQ was up 125 points and the S&P 500 was up 53 points.
ROMANS: Whiplash, that's why you're not supposed to be messing with your portfolio.
COSTELLO: I didn't touch it. I took your advice.
ROMANS: All right, good. You never know what's going to happen next.
All right, the Congressional Super Committee starting to take shape now. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointing the first three Democrats who will serve on it.
By next week, there should be 12 lawmakers appointed, six Democrats, six Republicans. They're going to have three months to agree on $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
COSTELLO: I think they can do it, don't you? Here's the line up so far. Reid choosing Senator Patty Murray of Washington to be the co-chair, selected Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner still have to make their three picks each.
ROMANS: All right, Joe Johns live with us from the White House. What's the reaction so far to Senator Reid's choices, Joe?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Actually I'm at the Washington Bureau. That's a nice graphic, by the way.
ROMANS: Good.
JOHNS: It's really interesting because these people are supposed to come up with some kind of conclusion by Thanksgiving and it's going to be 12 of them, so could be tough, right?
The only reaction that sticks out so far is the reaction to Senator Patty Murray. She's a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, also a member of the Budget Committee, and sounds like a good fit, right, but here's the thing.
She's also the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The SEC is supposed to help Democrats get elected to the Senate and they raise and spend a lot of money to do that.
Republicans got out of the blocks very quickly charging she should not have been chosen because of that relationship with the DSEC. And what is especially hard for Republicans to swallow right now is that the DSEC has been out in front in opposition to cuts to entitlement including Medicare.
The chairman of the Republican National Committee said the Super Committee was just no place for Patty Murray. Democrats otherwise may have a little heartburn actually internally about Max Baucus because he's seen as a guy who works hard to cut deals with Republicans, but who knows how that works out, guys?
ROMANS: That's what they have to do. They have to cut deals.
COSTELLO: I know.
JOHNS: Yes.
ROMANS: Wouldn't it be nice if they just made their picks and then dealt with it and didn't do all this bickering beforehand.
JOHNS: Well, yes. And then you're probably going to have bickering all the way down to the very last moment just like last time, and who knows what's going to happen.
I mean, that's what a lot of people are predicting. It's very hard to come up with these cuts in such a short time, quite frankly. It's going to be a challenging job for these guys.
ROMANS: Once they come up with their list of cuts then they have to vote on it, Congress has to vote on it, up or down. There's no bickering after that. Take it or leave it.
JOHNS: Yes, but think about this. They're going to come up with the cuts they want to make around Thanksgiving, which is a little bit tough, right? We're in the holidays.
And then they got to vote on it, you know, right around Christmas. So you know, people are going to be looking at their holiday stockings saying, who's the Grinch this year.
ROMANS: Thanks, Joe.
COSTELLO: Well, we can't wait for the process to really get under way.
ROMANS: Joe Johns.
COSTELLO: President Obama paying his respect to the service members who died when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. The president boarded two military planes carrying the remains after they arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
He attended a private transfer ceremony along with top U.S. military officials. Thirty Americans including 22 Navy SEALLs and eight Afghan military personnel were killed in that attack.
ROMANS: A Texas jury sentencing polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs for the sexual assault of 12 and 15-year-old girls that he took as child brides. Life in prison on one count, 20 years on the other. The judge saying Jeffs used his position to, quote, "satisfy his own appetites and desires."
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should President Obama call Congress back to deal with the budget? Call them off their vacation. Congress spent months bickering over the debt ceiling after reaching an 11th-hour agreement they got out of dodge for that five-week vacation. Yes, they did stave off an American default, but I don't know to tell you it's been a bumpy right on Wall Street.
And not many of us can afford to invest in gold. Now lawmakers from both parties are calling on the president to be bold, to call lawmakers back to work as in right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I were president today, I would call all the members of Congress back into Washington, D.C.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's no question in my mind, even if we didn't do something, the president should call us back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So one of those lawmakers wants the president's job, but why not come back early so the Super Committee, you know that bipartisan committee that will decide the next round of massive cuts, can be named and get to work before Labor Day?
Maybe if Congress came back early their stock would rise like the market did yesterday. And a new CNN/ORC poll, only 25 percent of Americans think most members of Congress deserve to be re- elected. Don't hold your breath though.
When asked about a call back, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said, it's unfortunate that, quote, "we do not control all levels of government." Still the talkback question this morning, should President Obama call Congress back to deal with the budget right now? Facebook.com/americanmorning, Facebook.com/americanmorning, we'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: A lawmaker who did come back, but not in this country, in the U.K., British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking now in London about the riots across the U.K. Let's listen to him.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Arrest the criminals not picked up last night, but were picked up on close circuit television cameras. Picture by picture, these criminals are being identified and arrested and we will not let any phony concerns about human rights get in the way of the publication of these pictures and the arrest of these individuals.
As I speak sentences are also being passed. Courts sat through the night last night and will do again tonight. It is for the courts to sentence, but I would expect anyone convicted of violent disorder will be sent to prison.
We need a fight back and a fight back is under way. We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we've seen some of the best of Britain. The million people who signed up on Facebook to support the police, communities coming together in the cleanup operations, but there is absolutely no room for complacency and there is much more to be done.
Overnight, we saw the same appalling violence and thuggery that we've seen in London in new cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham. In the west midlands three men were killed in a hit and run, in Birmingham and the police are working around the clock to get to the bottom of what happened and bring the perpetrator to justice.
In Birmingham, over 160 arrests were made. In Sulford up to 1,000 youths were attacking police at the height of the disturbance. Across Greater Manchester, more than 100 arrests were made. In Nottingham shire, the police station was fire bombed and over 80 arrests were made.
This continued violence is simply not acceptable and it will be stopped. We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets. Let me be clear, at Cobra this morning we agreed full contingency planning is going ahead.
Whatever resources the police need, they will get. Whatever tactics the police feel they need to employ, they will have legal backing to do so. What we will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order on to our streets.
Every contingency is being looked at. Nothing is off the table. The police are already authorized to use baton rounds and we agreed at Cobra, while they're not currently needed, we now have in place contingency plans for water cannons to be available at 24 hours notice. It is all too clear that we have a big problem with gangs in our country.
For too long, there's been a lack of focus on the complete lack of respect shown by these groups of thugs. I am clear that they are in no way representative of the vast majority of young people in our country who despise them frankly as the much of the rest of us do.
There are pockets of our society that are not just broken, but frankly sick. When we see children as young as 12 and 13 looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of an injured young man with people pretending to help him while they are robbing him, it is clear there are things that are badly wrong in our society.
For me, the root cause of this mindless selfishness is the same thing that I have spoken about for years. It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society. People allowed to feel that the world owes them something, that their rights outweigh their responsibilities, and that they -- their actions do not have consequences.
Well they do have consequences. We need to have a clearer code of values and standards that we expect people to live by and stronger penalties if they cross the line. Restoring a stronger sense of responsibility across our society in every town, in every street, in every estate, is something I'm determined to do.
Tomorrow, Cobra will meet again. Cabinet will meet. I'll make a statement to Parliament and set out in full the measures we'll take to help businesses that have been affected, to help rebuild communities, to help rebuild the shops and buildings that have been damaged, to make sure the homeless are rehoused, to help local authorities in all the ways that are necessary.
But today, right now, the priority is still clear. We will take every action necessary to bring order back to our streets, very happy to take some questions. Joey James from Sky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Prime Minister. Prime minister, do you think that Boris Johnson is right --
COSTELLO: OK, we're going to jump back. That was the prime minister of Great Britain, David Cameron, talking about these riots. It's interesting social media is helping police arrest so many of these hooligans as the prime minister called them.
ROMANS: He mentioned something that's actually gone viral on YouTube, more than a million have watched it, a young man who's bleeding, obviously been attacked and another group of young men who come around and pretend to help him and then steal his stuff out of his backpack. It's just -- it's just heartbreaking and all of the young people watching that happen and helping it happen, in broad daylight, it just tells you what he's calling a broken and sick pocket of society.
There's that video we're telling you about. Look at that. Yes, he's been -- he's bleeding. He's hurt. These people are coming up to him. They're pretending --
COSTELLO: And he's 11, right? This is an 11-year-old.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE). But look at the guys trying to help him. They help him up and then they, you know, open up the backpack. You can watch it for yourself and see what happens. And he's a little bit older than 11.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: But he's bleeding. He's -- he's clearly sick. He's been hurt. You can see the blood on the pavement and then you can see them looking through his bag.
You know, the prime minister talking -- calling about mindless selfishness. And I guess you could interpret it as entitlement in society.
Why is this happening? I mean, it's something a lot of people are trying to grapple with. How can you -- hundreds of people are being arrested for this in so many different cities. Just a complete social cohesion coming apart.
COSTELLO: And, you know, the prime minister said it was entitlement and selfishness. You know, other people have said it has to do with the austerity measures by the government and the loss -- you know, the massive unemployment right now in Great Britain.
I guess they -- I mean, when all is said and done, they don't really know why exactly this is happening.
ROMANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But riots just don't crop up. They begin with something.
ROMANS: And then the mob mentality is just so painful and horrible.
All right. So we'll continue to check in on that story this morning.
Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the recall election showdown in Wisconsin. Six State Senate seats in jeopardy for the GOP. The results and the race that was down to the wire and whether it tells us anything about the rest of the country, oh, yes, in 2012.
COSTELLO: Yes, we'll see.
The White House poised to take the next step in an effort to end Syria's bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Sixteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: After months of expensive political maneuvering, Wisconsin Republicans have held on the control of the State Senate in recall elections. Democrats needed three wins to shift power and to repudiate what they say are the policies of the Republican governor. They did not get it.
COSTELLO: No.
ROMANS: They did not get those three seats. They got two.
COSTELLO: They got two. The Democrats take a loss on this one.
This all started, by the way, as a budget battle between Governor Scott Walker and the state unions. Some Democrats actually fled the state to try to stop the legislation.
Ted Rowlands live in Madison this morning. So how are the Democrats spinning it, Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're spinning it in a positive manner. As you might imagine, saying that this was all worth it in the end.
While they didn't take control of the Senate, the State Senate here, they said they definitely sent a clear message that other states shouldn't think about messing with labor basically, because this could happen to you. Your job could be on the line. They did win two of these recall elections, so two Republican senators lost their jobs because Democrats would argue they -- they went along with Republican Scott Walker.
One of the people that wasn't on the chopping block here was the Republican Scott Walker, the governor here, because Wisconsin guidelines and laws basically say that you have to serve for an entire year before you could be subjected to a recall.
One of the questions now will be, will Democrats go ahead with planned recalls against Walker and other Republicans next year? That was their grand plan. But this was a clear loss here, that something that we haven't -- it will be interesting to see what their plans will be.
The bottom line here, as you mentioned it, this drama played out in Wisconsin, but it was funded from sources around the country, $30 million was spent on these recall elections. One of the Democrats that lost last night said he thinks it was all worth it even though he lost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED CLARK (D), WISCONSIN SENATE RECALL CANDIDATE: We have been on the -- in the thick of a historic controversy in this state. And we should all be proud that in the midst of that controversy, when this state could have gone in any number of directions, the people who cared about this state engaged in a civil, legal, lawful, constitutionally provided process to resolve that controversy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Bottom line, Christine and Carol, is that a lot of people look at what transpired here in Wisconsin as a great example of democracy at work. Others look at it as a disgusting example of wasted money over partisan bickering. I guess people make their own choices on what happened here. Bottom line, a lot of money spent, no change at all. Guys?
COSTELLO: That's a shame (ph). Ted Rowlands, thanks so much.
ROMANS: OK. Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the Island of Aruba, once again the focus of a high profile missing person's case. This time another American woman vanishing without a trace.
It's 23 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.
A rough week for U.S. stock markets and investors so far. Stocks bounced back yesterday, but what a wild ride. The Dow gained back about 430 points after Monday's huge 600 and some point sell-off. The NASDAQ yesterday rose 125 points. S&P 500 gained about 53 points to close out the day. You know, Investors fears were at least temporarily calmed by the Federal Reserve's decisions to keep interest rates, quote, "exceptionally low for at least the next two years." Saying that they weren't going to do anything until 2013 really -- really lit a fire under the market yesterday, but the rally might be short lived, of course, because uncertainty still running pretty high on Wall Street this morning.
Those continuing concerns over America's economic standing and the debt crisis in Europe making for another volatile morning in pre- market trade. Right now, you've got futures for all three major market indicators trading lower before the opening bell.
And Apple -- Apple Computer, the company briefly unseated oil giant Exxon Mobil yesterday as the world's most valuable company. Gains in Apple's stock value during the trading day let it surpass Exxon Mobil for the first time ever. But by the end of the trading day, Exxon Mobil back on top with a market cap of a little more than $348 billion, Apple close behind with $346 billion.
Walgreens, America's largest drug store chain, is getting into the health insurance business. Starting this fall, it will offer customers several different plans through a private health insurance exchange. This is according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to CNNMoney.com. A Walgreens spokesman would need to confirm nor deny that report.
More quarterly earnings out today, particular focus on News Corp, this one due out after the closing bell this afternoon. James Murdoch is expected to respond to another inquiry from the U.K. Parliament this week related to the hacking scandal that took down the "News of the World" tabloid last month.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-one minutes past the hour. Good morning to you.
Here are the top stories:
British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking a short time ago saying those responsible for despicable violence in England cities will be held accountable. Sixteen thousand police officers tripled the usual number were deployed to bring an end to the rioting in London last night. Now, Americans are being warned to watch where they go in that country.
A major rebound under way for the world's markets. It follows yesterday's rally on Wall Street. The Dow closed above 11,000 yesterday, adding 430 points or 4 percent. The NASDAQ and S&P were also up sharply. The gains came after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates exceptionally low until at least 2013.
And the first three members of the congressional super committee have been appointed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid selecting Democratic Senators Patty Murray of Washington, Max Baucus of Montana and John Kerry of Massachusetts. The GOP is already slamming the choice of Murray since she's also in charge of raising money for Senate Democratic candidates.
ROMANS: All right. The Obama administration may be ready to deliver a direct message to Syrian President Bashar al Assad: get out. Government sources say the move is expected in the coming days, once U.S. officials consult with the U.N. Security Council, concerning Assad's bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters.
CNN's Arwa Damon is monitoring development for us this morning from Beirut.
Good morning, Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
And this has been something that the U.S. has been debating for several weeks now, as both America and the international community try to (AUDIO BREAK) what sort of pressure they could put on the Syrian regime to try to bring about some sort of end to the bloodshed. But at this stage, even if the U.S. does explicitly ask the president to step down, it is not very likely to have any sort of impact to try to derail the government off of this current military track that it seems intent on sticking to.
What we have been seeing over the last few days especially is an increase in diplomatic pressure, not just from the U.S. and Europe, but from regional players as well. We have Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, are recalling their ambassadors, harsh rhetoric by the king of Saudi Arabia, saying that there's no justification for the bloodshed. This high-profile visit by the Turkish foreign minister, again trying to convince this government to stop the violence.
But coming out of all of this, we are only seeing the Syrian regime appearing to be even more defiant, saying that it will not relent when it comes to targeting these armed gangs that it is blaming for the violence. And so, while the Turkish foreign minister made it seem as if there would be a window of opportunity, a period of a few days that would be especially critical, at this point -- especially from America's perspective -- it seems that if they choose to directly call for the president to step down, the U.S. would have taken the decision that all diplomatic channels have been exhausted and at that point we're going to have to wait and see what the international community can do to really stop the violence in that country, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Arwa Damon live this morning in Beirut -- thanks, Arwa.
COSTELLO: Also new this morning, a 35-year-old woman from Maryland has gone missing in Aruba. And this morning, her traveling companion is in custody. He's suspected of murder after trying to leave the island. Authorities in Aruba say Robyn Gardner disappeared last week.
The 50-year-old suspect who's also from the United States reportedly told police she vanished while snorkeling along the western tip of the island. Authorities say they have stopped actively searching for Gardner.
ROMANS: All right. Check out this bizarre accident. The rear end of a tractor trailer gets stuck on a freeway sign. I'm not sure how -- I'm not sure how that can happen. It happened yesterday evening in Houston.
The accident backing up traffic for miles. Police say the truck's hydraulic arm, for some reason, , lifted the trailer up while the truck was moving. Now, in order to free the trailer, crews are having to remove the sign. That means the road is closed there.
Officials hope to reopen that freeway this morning.
COSTELLO: The driver wasn't hurt. That's the good part of the story. But he's probably really embarrassed.
ROMANS: Oh, man.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
China rolls out the nation's first aircraft carrier, the refurbish Soviet ship tested its sea legs returned to port for more refits. For years, China has been developing a naval carrier along with aircraft to back it up.
ROMANS: And trying to build up a blue water navy. And quite, how does China have to do that? The money we borrow to buy China's stuff -- the money goes back and they use it to develop their military.
COSTELLO: That really hurts.
ROMANS: There you go, America. You just bought China an aircraft carrier.
All right. It sounds like Diana Nyad may never realize her dream. The 61-year-old marathon swimmer has spent 30 years, hoping to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Her second attempt failed this week when she was overcome by an asthma attack and shoulder pain. Afterward, Nyad was asked if she had one last try in her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA NYAD, ENDURANCE SWIMMER: I really think this was my time. This was the fairy tail this year. All these people around the world, virtually, who dived into this with me and to train again, try to bring the people in all again, I think I'm going to have to go to my grave without swimming from Cuba to Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Nyad says the lesson she wants everyone to take from her journey is to be your best self and live your life with passion. CNN crews were with Nyad for every stroke during her ill-fated journey. You can get an exclusive look, behind the scenes when Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts, rather, "Diana Nyad: Extreme Dream," Saturday, September 17th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
Sixty-one years old.
COSTELLO: I know. And since she is not going to try again, there needs to be someone else who can swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys. And I think that person is Rob Marciano.
You can do it, Rob.
ROMANS: He's going to the golf course instead.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. Good morning, guys.
We are live this morning from the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in the backyard of CNN's worldwide headquarters.
So, why not come here? It's on the cheap, right? And they've got some new high-tech grasses that they're using to battle the heat and lack of water that the U.S. has been enduring, especially across the south. And we'll talk more about that in the next hour.
Meanwhile, it was a rough night and afternoon across parts of the plains yesterday, especially in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. Hail coming down. It was severe weather. A bonanza that slid down across parts of Oklahoma as well. Some of the hail stones in spots up to golf ball size hail.
So, certainly, dangerous stuff and compare that to a tennis ball approaching that as well.
Winds were dangerous, but at the end of it, a little bit of rainbow. So, that's always nice to know.
Also, knocked down some of the heat in spots. But we have records fall again yesterday. Check out some of the high temperatures. In Dallas, Texas, 107. Today will be day 40 of seeing 100-degree-plus days in Dallas. Shreveport also seeing a record high of 106, and Austin 106 as well.
There are only a couple counties this morning that are under -- excessive heat warnings out. There's a slew of advisories out in the usual spot. So, Dallas will get hot again today. But just a couple counties in southeast Oklahoma that are under excessive heat warnings.
All right. Let's take a look at the -- what we can expect later on today for the areas in suspect -- 106 for the high temperature in Dallas. A little bit cooler today after the rough night yesterday in New York City, 88 degrees, 94 degrees. But drier here in Atlanta -- lower levels of humidity. And that's good news for the players that will be on the course this afternoon and morning for their last practice round before round one begins tomorrow.
And, by the way, our sister network TNT will have early round coverage beginning tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Six hours for Thursday and Friday and then a few hours in the early days, in the early morning hours of Saturday and Sunday. So you can tune in then to catch the last major of the year.
Guys, back up to you.
COSTELLO: We will do that, Rob. We can't wait to catch up with you in the next hour.
ROMANS: That's right.
COSTELLO: For more on golf.
ROMANS: We'll be back. That's right.
All right. Up next also, Arizona Senator John McCain running into a very tough crowd at a town hall meeting in his own home state. We'll show you what touched off the tensions.
COSTELLO: Plus, one town is doing the unimaginable -- giving money back to its residents. We'll explain.
It's 39 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Remember when John McCain called Tea Party activists "hobbits" during the debt ceiling crisis? That moment has come back to haunt the Arizona senator. He was hosting a town hall meeting in his home state yesterday -- and didn't take long for things to heat up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see you guys working together. I want to see the ideology out of it because that's all this is, is ideology. I want to see you working together. That means, Democrats, Republicans, that means Tea Parties -- hobbits as you may call them -- and all these other people.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Does that mean that you think we should agree to raise taxes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.
MCCAIN: OK. You want your taxes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not on us, but on --
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You called us hobbits. I'm asking you for a simple apology. So, do apologize for --
MCCAIN: I said that if anyone misunderstood --
(CROSSTALK)
MCCAIN: I'm very sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that your apology?
MCCAIN: I'm sorry if it was misunderstood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
MCCAIN: I am not sorry for what I said. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ohhh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now the first part of that, you saw the lady stand up and said we want you to work together. She was not a Tea Party member. She was there to talk to Senator John McCain.
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: The second confrontation was from a Tea Party member and John McCain got defensive, right, for his troll comment --
ROMANS: Hobbit.
COSTELLO: I'm sorry. Not troll, hobbit. I got troll and hobbit mixed up.
McCain later tweeted he thought it was a spirited meeting and he looks forward to others. I'll bet you he does.
ROMANS: I bet too.
COSTELLO: For people in a tiny town of Haymarket, Virginia, the check is literally in the mail. The town council recently discovered a $700,000 surplus so it voted to give some of the money back to the taxpayers. The checks range from $150.
Isn't that nice?
ROMANS: It is.
COSTELLO: Some people got several thousand dollars. It's a small gesture, but I'll tell you, it was greatly appreciated by the residents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was hard to believe. It's like, are you sure?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an indication that the town is doing their job. They're spending the money wisely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that this is just a good indicator if a town like this can do it, who knows what the big towns can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The big towns just spend your money and spend more money than they have and what gets you in the trouble.
COSTELLO: Well, the little towns are forced to be creative with their money, right, because they don't have that much. The town has been advising people to keep an eye out for any letter from the town so they don't accidentally toss their refund check in the trash.
ROMANS: All right. It's 45 minutes after the hour. Your morning headlines are next, including, we'll how world markets are reacting to yesterday's Wall Street comeback and if that comeback can continue today.
COSTELLO: I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Also, bunnies are bad news, so say the critics of NBC's new fall series, "The Playboy Club." Something you want (ph) your daughter to watch.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: We'll look at both sides of the TV controversy. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine shopping online, seeing something you like, and then, just printing it out. It might sound crazy, but a new invention called the makerbot could change the way you think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally, when you need something, you think, OK, where am I going to shop for that? When you have a makerbot, you just think, maybe I'll just make it myself.
TUCHMAN: It's a personal 3D printer that makes actual three dimensional objects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have a makerbot, you just make anything. Your imagination can go on (ph).
TUCHMAN: Objects are made by melting plastic into thin spaghetti-like strings. Then, layer-by-layer, it's built into the desired object like this comb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People who like to cook, they're going to make spatulas. People who like to fix things around the house, they're going to make coat hooks and replacement parts. It's really limitless what you can do with this.
TUCHMAN: You can create your designs or download others created by users around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the closest thing you can get to teleportation. Things like physical objects over the internet.
TUCHMAN: Turning visions into reality.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Forty-eight minutes past the hour. Here's your look at this morning's headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): British Prime Minister, David Cameron, says he is prepared to fight back against the rioting that's broken out in cities across England. That includes using water cannons against looters and vandals, if necessary.
World markets bouncing back this morning after big gains on Wall Street. The Dow closed up more than 430 points after the fed promised to keep interest rates low for at least two more years.
Democratic senators, Patty Murray of Washington, Max Baucus of Montana, and John Kerry of Massachusetts have been chosen to serve on a 12 member super committee. Once its form, the committee will have to agree on $1.5 trillion in spending cuts in just 90 days.
New tensions on the Korean peninsula. A reported exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea near a disputed border island. It's the very same island that North Korea bombed last November killing four South Koreans including two marines.
Wisconsin republicans hold on to control the state Senate there. Democrats fell short in a recall election winning only two contested seats. Wisconsin lawmakers have battled over union rights for months. Some democrats even fled the state to avoid the vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And that's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: NBC's throwback series, "The Playboy Club," stirring controversy even before its fall season debut next month. One NBC affiliate has refused to air it, but Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, is defending his primetime bunny. CNNs Kareen Wynter has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This fall, television's turning back the clock to a time of rabbit ears. Not this kind, but this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening.
WYNTER: NBC's new drama "The Playboy Club" takes place in the early 1960s in Hugh Hefner's very first club, where men dropped cash and bunnies showed skin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know I want to be on stage?
WYNTER: Hefner's company coproduces the show, and he narrates the pilot episode, but, he, otherwise, plays a limited creative role.
HUGH HEFNER, PLAYBOY FOUNDER: You kept hearing some sense of retromatic (ph) connection from the early 1960s is wonderful.
WYNTER: Not everyone thinks it's so wonderful. NBC's Salt Lake City affiliate which is owned by the Mormon church is refusing to air the show. The station run a guest commentary linking the program to pornography.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our coalition sees it as an issue of public health.
WYNTER: And the Parents Television Council, a conservative media watchdog group, calls NBC's decision to green light the show disgraceful. It says bunnies are bad news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're promoting an industry that really exploits women.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the playboy club. It's not a knitting club.
WYNTER: The Parents Television Council, boy, have they sounded off about this.
HEFNER: Sure, but who are they? You know? Who do they really represent? These right wing groups that feel that they have a right to redefine, you know, what is appropriate for other people to watch.
WYNTER: Some feminists also are blasting it as nostalgia for sexisteria.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of your shoes is in his ear, Cinderella (ph).
WYNTER: NBC executives describe the "Playboy Club" as a, quote, fun soap with a crime element and promise it will carry a, quote, "appropriate rating." At a presentation last week, cast members told journalists the show is really about female empowerment. The "Detroit News's" Mekeisha Madden Toby who covered the event says that claim met with skepticism. MEKEISHA MADDEN TOBY, TV CRITIC, THE DETROIT NEWS: The slogan of the show is something like the men have the keys, but the women run the show. At least the press, nobody was going for that.
WYNTER: Hefner says critics have it wrong.
HEFNER: Why don't you talk to the original bunnies who worked at the "Playboy Club" and see whether they felt exploited or whether they felt empowered, because I know the answer to that.
WYNTER: The controversy almost guarantees that when the "Playboy Club" debuts in September, all eyes and ears will be on it.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I'm just trying to think if I'd feel empowered wearing a bunny suit.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: These ears that empower you, Carol. It's not fuzzy ears.
COSTELLO: Not the tail?
ROMANS: No.
COSTELLO: I mean, I believe they should air the show. I mean, big deal, like, people will decide whether it's good or bad, but come on.
ROMANS: They're saying it's like "Mad Men." People love "Mad Men," you know? And that was also a sexist era except "Mad Men" is different. There's an irony or sarcasm when you watch it.
COSTELLO: Well, "Mad Men" is more about the evolution of feminism.
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: I mean, there's a change taking place. The show is just glorifying those days in the 1960s where women wore bunny suits in restaurants. I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Anyway, we have to get to our "Talk Back" question, because we got a lot of good responses this morning. The talk back question this morning was, should President Obama call Congress back to work to deal with the budget right now?
Norman says, "Yes, he should. We must put a handle on this right away and not in the future. The whole country is at risk if nothing is done. I voted for him, but I'm very disappointed with the way he has handled the situation and put the blame on everyone else. Many senator and representatives will be out of office come next November."
This from Laura, "I'm not sure which is worse, Congressional action or Congressional inaction. Seems like a no-win to me either way."
And this from Ray, "No. I have enjoyed not hearing about Congress' bickering on the news. Anyways, they just need to show up on the last day before their next break. That's when they'll pass all the legislation anyway."
ROMANS: If they do their job when they're there, then they can have their vacation.
COSTELLO: That's right. Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/americanmorning.
ROMANS: All right. Up next hour, another night of rioting in the UK. The violence really escalating. We're live in London with the latest. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
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