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American Morning
Increased Police Presence in London Responds to Riots; Names of Fallen SEALs Not Released; New Poll Indicates Americans Prefer Higher Taxes to Entitlement Cuts; GOP Holding On to Power; China Unveils First Aircraft Carrier; States May Now Opt Out of No Child Left Behind; Keeping It Green
Aired August 10, 2011 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Trashed stores, torched cars, burned out buildings, riots flaring across British cities again this morning. Now, Americans being warned to watch where t they go on the streets of our closest ally.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: 2012 preview, Republicans fight off a bid by Democrats to take over the Wisconsin State Senate. Their jobs put on the line over a battle to strip unions of their power. What can Washington learn from this?
COSTELLO: Shades of Natalee Holloway, another American woman missing in Aruba vanishing from the beach without a trace. A man she met online reportedly in custody.
ROMANS: Getting dizzy watching your nest egg. Global markets bouncing back after Wall Street has the best day of the year, of course, right after the worst day of the year, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Wednesday, August 10th. That means only two days until Friday.
ROMANS: Yes!
COSTELLO: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Carol Costello.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Ali has the morning off. A lot going on this morning, so let's get right to it.
First, a violent fresh round of rioting to report this morning in cities across England. This is the fourth straight night of violence there. London is calmer this morning after 16,000 police officers were deployed in London City center as looting and arson engulfed Britain's capital.
Also new this morning, Prime Minister David Cameron promising the government will restore order in England cities using whatever means necessary. The riots have now prompted the U.S. to issue a travel warning for Americans. CNNs Phil Black is following all these overnight developments. He's live in London.
Phil, the prime minister just finished up a news conference. You know, where he said that it was sick and broken pockets of society responsible for this, but we still don't know why and how they can get it under control.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The key question among all British people over the last few days has been why, why are -- have these people been behaving in this way. British Prime Minister David Cameron gave his theory. He talked about his belief that part of Britain isn't just broken but it is, in fact, sick.
He talked about parts of society having no sense of personal responsibility. The belief that they have more rights than responsibility, and they do not there will be any consequences for his actions. And he said his job as prime minister is to try to fix that thinking.
And so he believes that he started that with this surge of police officers onto the streets of London which appears to have worked. It has been a calmer night here in London so far with 16,000 police officers in all. The British prime minister says that police will continue to have whatever resources they need to keep up that work and to suppress this rioting. Here's a little bit of what he had to say earlier.
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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: 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. We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order on to our streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: Christine, the British prime minister hopes he's made some real progress in breaking the momentum here in London after the calmer night. But he still has other problems because there's still been significant rioting in other major British cities, Christine.
ROMANS: Unbelievable. In this major industrialized country, the biggest ally of the United States, some of the British papers taking an interesting approach to catching some of these rioters. What are they doing?
BLACK: Well, the British police are studying hours, many hours, worth of CCTV video to try to identify the people who took part in this, that were responsible. They started to release 134 some of those images publicly, calling on members of the public to tip of the police about their identities and where they may be. And it is an idea that certainly has some public support. This is the headline from one of the British dailies today. "The Sun" "Shop A-Moron" is the headline, surrounded by just some of the images that the police have released. And this newspaper is calling upon the British people to do what the police are asking and turn in those responsible.
ROMANS: There you go, "Shop A-Moron." Phil Black in London, thank you, sir.
Of the many images from the London riots, one in particularly seems to have grabbed the world's attention and may turn out to be the iconic photo from the major news event. The series of images shows a woman perched on the edge of a burning building in England. She's ready to jump, and then leaps off the side of the building silhouetted against the flames. Riot police were there to catch her as she fell. And we're told they did catch her. But there she had to jump out of a building, backdrop of the flames. It just shows you the desperation of people and the -- you know, again, I keep saying social cohesion, it's just unbelievable this is happening.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That's one powerful image.
ROMANS: Sure is.
COSTELLO: Back here in the states the U.S. military is investigating last weekend's deadly helicopter crash in Afghanistan. The Pentagon for the first time is considering not releasing names of the 30 U.S. troops who died because they were part of a covert unit. Many families have identified the fallen, and none quite as memorable as the story 10-year-old Braden Nichols tell us. He wanted his father who piloted the chopper to be remembered.
He sent CNN a photo of his dad and told us "My father was one of the 30 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan yesterday with the SEALs rescue mission. My father was the pilot of the Chinook. I have seen other pictures of victims from this deadly mission and wish you would include a picture of my father. He is the man farthest to the left." Nichols was scheduled to go home on leave in just a matter of days.
The decision on releasing the military names lies with the defense secretary Leon Panetta. Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon. What's going on? Will Panetta release the names at all? What are your sources telling you?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this morning, the answer is, we do not know. We are in unchartered waters here at the Pentagon today. Leon Panetta is in the hot seat. The special forces community commander has asked him not to release the names, at least of the 22 SEALs that belong to that covert unit killed on board that helicopter when it was shot down.
Now, let's explain what normally happens. In ten years of war, the Pentagon puts out a statement every time every service member is killed with their name, their hometown, and their unit. If they belong to a covert unit, sometimes they'll say, well, they're assigned to a headquarters or this or that because they generally don't talk about them being assigned to a covert unit. But their names are always released.
You see the pictures here, so many families in the last several days coming forward, wanting their loved ones to be known and remembered by the country. So Panetta's in a tough spot. His special forces community says don't release the names because we are worried that because the SEALs were associated with the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, bad guys could now track down their families, track down members of the actual team, that did the hit on bin Laden. But on the other hand, this would be a remarkable break with 10 years of war in which the U.S. military always, always names its fallen in battle. Carol?
COSTELLO: I can understand, you know, both sides of the issue. Let's rewind for a second. In the first place, how did we learn that these guys who died in this helicopter crash were with the bin Laden unit in the first place? Because isn't that information classified?
STARR: You are absolutely right to point-point that as the key question, because normally we in the news media, the American public, we do not know the names of the members of the covert unit. Their names are not classified, but the fact that they belong to a covert unit do these covert jobs that is not publicly acknowledged. How did we come to find this out?
Within hours of the crash last Saturday, sources began confirming that they were members of the same unit, not the same guys, and now the question is, did that start this whole problem? That's -- it's really unchartered waters.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens and what decision Mr. Panetta makes. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon, many thanks.
STARR: Sure.
ROMANS: New violent reported in Syria as the government's bloody crackdown on opposition protesters continues. Dozens of people have reportedly died in the city of Deir Ezzor since security forces began a campaign in that city over the weekend.
Meantime, President Obama meets with secretary of state Hillary Clinton today as the U.S. prepares to hit Syria with new sanctions and explicitly demand that Syria's president Assad step down.
ROMANS: In exchange of artillery fire between North Korea and South Korea near a disputed border island, the south says it responded after North Korea shells landed in the waters off Yeonpyeong island. No casualties reported. Back in November, South Korean officials accused the north of bombarding the island killing two marines and two civilians.
COSTELLO: Also this morning police in Aruba investigating the disappearance of an American woman. And 35-year-old Robyn Gardener was last seen on August 2nd. She went to Aruba with a 50-year-old man she met online. That man now in custody after he tried to leave Aruba. Officials are only identifying him by his initials "GVG." He reportedly told investigators gardener vanished after going snorkeling. Yesterday "GVG's" attorney spoke about his client's relationship with the missing woman.
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MICHAEL LOPEZ, ATTORNEY: They know each other for a couple years already and -- as friends. They met each other on a dating site, and after that, they had -- they spoke with each other and saw each other couple times a month, and they had good contact with each other through telephone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And Gardener's disappearance, of course, brings back memories of Natalee Holloway mystery. She vanished without a trace six years ago vacationing on the Caribbean island.
ROMANS: It's been a wild ride to say the least for world markets. As we speak they're coming back from days of losses. In Asia Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up more than two percent. In Japan the Nikkei up, yes up, and in Europe the FTSE is trading higher. These rallies follow the Dow's biggest point gain this year. It roared United States from Monday's 635 point plunge. It closed up 430 points, 1,000 point round trip in two days. Unbelievable. The NASDAQ was up 125 points, the S&P 500 was up 53 points.
The rebound fueled by the Federal Reserve's pledge to keep interest rates near zero at least through mid-2013. That means low costs to borrow for a house or car or take out a college loan at least for the next couple years. That's what the Fed is trying to do, Carol, keep their foot on the gas because the economy is slower than we thought, and they're just trying to keep the -- keep it going, keep the --
COSTELLO: It's a bit of good news/bad news. Good news nor consumers but bad news because the economy is weak.
ROMANS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has selected the first three Democrats to serve on the new congressional super committee. By next week there will be 12 lawmakers appointed, six Democrats, six Republicans, and they will have 90 days to agree on a $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
Let's go to Joe Johns who is live in Washington. So, Harry Reid names his three, right, and already, Republicans are saying, we got some problems with your choices.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, funny how that, but that's Washington, D.C. Why do we care so much about another congressional committee? Because they're supposed to make basic decisions about government decisions that could reach out and touch you on Main Street. We've got Senate star power here. Like you said, these are the first three of 12, Senator Harry Reid's picks. The top party leaders in the house and Senate each get to choose three. The one senator on this list attracting a lot of attention is Patty Murray of Washington State. On a lot of committees, appropriation committee, budget committee, and head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which means she's supposed to help Democrats get elected to the Senate. She has to raise money to do that, spend a lot of money. And the DSCC has been out in front opposing cuts to Medicare, for example. So Republicans are saying that should disqualify her from serving on the super committee because she does so much politics.
The next person on the list is Senator Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate finance committee, one of the Senate's true tax experts. He's known as something of a deal maker.
And rounding out the three is John Kerry of Massachusetts, former Democratic presidential nominee. "Politico" reports say he lobbied for a spot because he wants an achievement in the domestic policy arena. Here's your shot. Tough job, not a lot of time to do it. Slash the deficit and sell it fast.
COSTELLO: Quickly clear something up. I mean, these choices are set in stone? Or can they be overturned somehow?
JOHNS: I don't think they can be overturned. I mean, I didn't see any way they could be overturned, and certainly it's not appealable. The Senate and the House make their own rules, and this is the rule they came up with.
COSTELLO: I just wondered. Americans are expecting a lot of the super committee. There's new polling out this morning, and tell us a little bit about that.
JOHNS: We asked the question, should the deficit reduction bill include taxes on businesses and higher income Americans. CNN/ORC poll, yes, 63 percent, no 36 percent. But when it comes to entitlements, people are saying not so fast. We asked should deficit reduction also include major changes to Social Security and Medicare, almost exactly the opposite, yes 35 percent, no 64 percent. So --
ROMANS: Interesting.
JOHNS: Yes.
ROMANS: Thank you, Joe Johns.
JOHNS: See you later.
ROMANS: 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 from their vacations to deal with the budget. Congress spent months bickering over the debt ceiling after reaching an 11th hour agreement. They all got out of Dodge for a five-week vacation. Yes, they did stave off an American default, but I don't need to tell you, it's been a bumpy ride on Wall Street, and not many of us can afford to invest in gold, right?
Well, now lawmakers from both parties are calling on the president to be bold, to call lawmakers back to work, as in right now.
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REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I were president today I would call all the members of Congress back into Washington, D.C.
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, (D) NEW YORK: There'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 that super committee, that bipartisan committee we were talking about, that will decide the next round of massive cuts, so that committee can be named and get to work before Labor Day? Maybe if Congress came back early their stock will rise like the market did yesterday.
And in a new CNN/ORC poll, only 25 percent of Americans think most members of Congress deserve to be reelected. Don't hold your breath, though. When asked about a callback, White House spokesman Jay Carney said it's unfortunate that, quote, "we do not control all levels of government." Still, the talk back question today, should President Obama call Congress back to deal with the budget? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. I'll read your responses later this hour.
ROMANS: Still to come this morning, round one is over, GOP four, Democrats two - why you should be watching the elections in Wisconsin and what they could mean to the presidential election of 2012.
COSTELLO: Plus homes damaged, cars destroyed -- we have incredible pictures of a dangerous hailstorm in Nebraska that caused a whole lot of mayhem.
ROMANS: Plus, are you drinking your coffee this morning? You need a caffeine boost. Find out how you can get a Starbucks coffee for free.
COSTELLO: Oh, Nirvana.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 15 minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: After months of expensive political maneuvering, Wisconsin Republicans have held on to control of the State Senate in recall elections. Democrats needed three wins to shift power and they didn't get it.
This all started, of course, as a budget battle between Governor Scott walker and state unions. Some Democrats actually fled the state and tried to stop the legislation.
Ted Rowlands is live in Madison this morning. Ted, this has been actually a long, drawn out process ending with this recall election and it reinforced the Republican control of the - of the Senate, didn't it?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You know, the Republicans can declare victory here. Absolutely. Because they had six of their senators on the chopping block, if you will, fighting for their job last night here. The Democrats needed to win three of those races to get control of the State Senate. They didn't do it. Both sides spent upwards of $30 million on these elections that normally wouldn't get much attention at all, let alone financing.
However, Democrats say they also are victorious in this whole process. Saying, basically, that they held these people accountable, they used the democratic process. In fact, we got a statement from the Progressive Change Campaign this morning saying voters made history and proved that when Republicans declare war on working families, they will be punished. They also say they plan to use the same template that they used here in Wisconsin nationwide in 2012.
Here is one of the losing candidates from last night saying that it was all worth it.
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FRED CLARK (D), WISCONSIN SENATE 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.
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ROWLANDS: And Christine, believe it or not, there are two more recall elections in the state, two Democrats are on the hot seat. They're up for election a week from yesterday. One week away. And we'll see how it all plays out.
Right now, though, Republicans declaring victory. And, as you said, a very drawn out and expensive process dating back from last February.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Ted Rowlands. Thank you, Ted.
COSTELLO: I cannot believe Rob Marciano is not talking about the Detroit Tigers, 14 innings, they lost. The very important series for them, Rob. But, no, you're out on the golf course.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I would like to cover every sports angle we have, but, you know, one at a time. Plus, we've got to sneak a little bit of weather in there.
Good morning, again, guys. Yes, I'm on the golf course. The grounds of the Atlanta Athletic Club where they're hosting the PGA Championship this week and the final major of the year and the final practice round is today. And players are just now getting on to the driving range to warm things up.
It was a warm afternoon again across the Southern Plains in spots yesterday, it was a rough one. Notably, in Hodgkins County or Hancock County -- Hitchcock County - excuse me - Nebraska, where this hailstorm rolled across the area and just did all sorts of damage. At one point, they had over golf ball sized hail coming down in this area, but it all ended with a bit of a - a bit of rainbow.
This - this cluster of storms has moved off to the south and to the east. Here it is on the radar screen. Some of these are severe, especially moving into parts of Western Arkansas and - and driving down to the south and east. This has brought some beneficial rain and cooling things off a little bit. That's been the good news.
But, still record highs across parts of Texas yesterday, Dallas again, day 39, 100 plus. They hit 107. Austin and Shreveport, both hit 106. Heat advisories out again today. But there are less in the way of excessive heat warnings and those are up across Southeast Oklahoma, but we do expect to see Dallas again as we see temperatures well up over 100 degrees, not only today but right on through the rest of the week and potentially into the weekend.
The northeast saw their rough weather last night. You have cleared out. It's a lower levels of humidity. It's pretty comfortable. The daytime highs in New York City will be 88 degrees. It will be 94 degrees, but lower levels of humidity here in Atlanta as well.
But it has been a pretty hot summer down here in Atlanta and to get a major championship this far south in August, that takes some doing. There's a tremendous amount of stress on the golf courses this - this time of year, especially with the heat that we've had and a little bit of rain.
So, I went out with the grounds crew and the superintendent and the man who runs the show here at the Atlanta Athletic Club and we get a little behind the scenes tour of just what it takes to keep the greens green, yet firm, yet fast, get them up to championship level and it is quite an undertaking and it is extremely scientific. That full report coming up in about 20 minutes.
See, guys, that's why I couldn't cover the Tigers. We're very, very busy here in North Atlanta.
COSTELLO: I understand. You're taking care of the grass along with the groundskeepers. You could be doing that in a baseball stadium, frankly. I'm just kidding. We look forward to your report.
MARCIANO: Set that up. That will be next. All right, guys.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
ROMANS: All right. Still to come this morning, what's bigger than big oil? Is there anything bigger than big oil? For a few minutes there was. Apple, flirting with becoming the most valuable company in the world yesterday. We'll tell you about it.
COSTELLO: All those lucky people own - who can't afford to own Apple or even Exxon stock.
And are black Americans being shut out of the work force? The startling numbers that have ignited a fire in the belly of the Congressional Black Caucus and why they say the president is leaving minorities high and dry.
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ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.
It was the best day for the markets all year. Right after the worst day for the markets all year. The Dow gained about 430 points yesterday after Monday's huge sell-off. The NASDAQ rose 125 points. S&P 500 stocks gained about 53 points to close out the day.
You know, investor fears were at least temporarily calmed by the Fed's decision. The Federal Reserve decision to keep interest rates low, quote, "exceptionally low," for at least the next two years. Now, the rally, though, could be short lived, of course, because it's uncertainty that is still running very high on Wall Street this morning.
And right now, a futures for all the major market indicators, they're trading a little bit lower ahead of the opening bell. But we've seen volatility moves like this. It is no way to know how stocks are going to open or going to close today.
Continuing concerns over America's economic standing and the debt crisis in Europe, all making for another volatile morning for pre- market trading.
Apple briefly unseated oil giant Exxon Mobil yesterday as the world's most valuable company. Gains in Apple stock value during the trading day let it pass Exxon Mobil for the first time ever. But by the end of the trading day, Exxon Mobil was back on top with a market cap of more than $348 billion. Apple close behind, $346 billion, is what that company is worth.
Walgreens is 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. That's according to people familiar with the matter speaking to CNNMoney.com. A Walgreen's spokesman neither confirming nor denying that report.
Macy's, Polo Ralph Lauren and Cisco Systems will report their quarterly profit today. The spotlight, though, is on News Corp., which will report its earnings after the closing bell this afternoon. Investors are going to comb through this for any details about the hacking scandal that rocked the media conglomerate over the past several weeks.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all new CNNMoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
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COSTELLO: A recession for the white community, a depression for many minorities. CNN goes in depth on America's job crisis and why many minorities feel President Obama is not doing enough on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you. I hope you're up and at 'em. Its Wednesday, August 10th. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Carol Costello.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Ali has the morning off.
Here are the morning's top stories for you. It's 30 minutes after the hour.
A fourth straight night of rioting in the U.K., 16,000 police officers were deployed to bring an end to the chaos and destruction in London. Americans are now being warned to use extra caution in and around London.
Tensions mounting on the Korean Peninsula again overnight. There are reports of an exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea near a disputed border island, the same island the North bombed last November killing four South Koreans.
And we could be in for another wild ride on Wall Street today. There have been some wild swings in futures this morning. Right now, they are down, it would suggest perhaps a lower open at the bell.
But it's simply, Carol, too volatile to be able to draw much conclusions of what -- where the market will close based on futures so far this morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Did I tell you we're sick of the volatility? Yes.
All right, the jobs market is terrible for many of us, but these numbers show a specific impact. You can see African-Americans not only have a higher unemployment rate than whites and Hispanics.
Their unemployment rate is increasing, up significantly from June to July and increasing over an entire percentage point from last February. The Congressional Black Caucus says it's had enough.
It's taking matters into its own hands, launching a five-city job fair and town hall combo involving more than 200 companies with 10,000 available jobs.
Here to discuss the staggering numbers, Rutgers University Professor Bill Rodgers, he joins me in New York and joining us from Kansas City the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Representative Emanuel Cleaver. Thanks for joining us. Thanks to you both.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to be with you.
COSTELLO: Yes, I'm excited to have this conversation. Representative Cleaver, let's start with you. You are frustrated that the president thinks the solution is to improve the overall economy.
I mean, he doesn't want to concentrate on one specific group. He says if the economy improves overall everyone will benefit. Why isn't that the right tack in your mind?
REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D-MO), CHAIR, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: Well, I'm not saying that president is wrong. I think with the kind of assault he's experienced as president, I can understand why he would take that position.
What many of us believe is that unemployment among African-Americans, Latinos and frankly many whites, there is a need to focus on this group. If we had almost 16 percent unemployment for in a group in America, I think that it would merit the attention of the entire nation.
So we think that if the White House shifted toward really dealing with this specific population, that it would be helpful. But I'm not going to throw the president under the bus and say, you know, he doesn't care or worse.
I am saying that, you know, there's a disagreement here, but we've decided to take a step on our own no matter what the White House does.
COSTELLO: Take matters into your own hands. The president is going to get on board a bus and he's going to visit, you know, the middle of America. He's going to talk to middle-class Americans. What do you wish he would do?
CLEAVER: Well, first of all, job is another word for hope. Having grown up in public housing, I know what a job can do for the psychology of an individual and a family.
I think we've got to be bold now and have an infrastructure, jobs bill. Republicans agree that we need an infrastructure jobs bill, and I think if we are able to do that and it's got to be bold and different, I think that we can get the majority of Americans behind it.
While at the same time, I think we ought to do an emergency program, temporary assistance for needy families. I think we can deal with people who would qualify, whether they're black, white, brown, poor, rich, whatever, if they qualify, they pass the means test -- COSTELLO: What you're talking about, Congressman, is spending, and something many in Washington don't have the appetite for. Yet, I'm wondering --
BILL RODGERS, PROFESSOR, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: If I can jump in.
COSTELLO: Yes, pop in here, Bill.
RODGERS: My sense is -- I worked on the president's transition team at the Labor Department and precipitated all before the recession started.
And much of the work we were talking about was we were going to take back the challenges that had been thrown upon American families during the previous eight years.
And those would have been targeted investments in job training and education, reauthorizing the Work Force Investment Act, but --
COSTELLO: So how did that go? You're talking about all these great programs to help Americans --
RODGERS: What ended up happening was the economy went into its worst recession since World War II and so I do believe we have to solve the overall macro economy first.
Get job creation back above the 150,000, in 250,000 range to where, you know, African-Americans at the lower part and middle parts of the job ladder, that they will also benefit.
There's -- that's the economics. The political part of this is, before we can really do some of these targeted programs, which I like say they're investments, not only in the future --
COSTELLO: It's not spending, it's investments.
RODGERS: Raising productivity not only today, but in the future and then if we can grow the economy and move us in the future. Now it's political because we have many more whites, Latinos, Asians who have felt the sting of joblessness.
COSTELLO: Now it's become an overreaching problem. Representative Cleaver, you said you're taking matters into your own hands. The Congressional Black Caucus is traveling throughout America and you are going to create 10,000 jobs for black America. How the heck are you going to do that?
CLEAVER: Well, we started out successfully in Cleveland on Monday. We had about 7,000, 7,000 people who many of whom came out at 4:00 a.m. to get in line. We had 200 employers there. We ended the day with 7,000 people and about 2,200 jobs.
Next week, next Monday, we will be in Detroit. We have a much more of a stubborn problem in Detroit because unemployment for African-Americans in Detroit is about 25 percent. That's -- those are depression level numbers. RODGERS: And if you --
CLEAVER: So --
RODGERS: If you include those who have been out of work and want a job, and if you include those working part-time and want full time, the real unemployment rate is 25 percent or 30 percent.
But the one thing I would ask the Congressman is it when you all come back from recess, would you please reauthorize the work Force Investment Act.
I think that is one item of legislation you all can do that can also help to improve some of these numbers and the experiences Americans are facing.
COSTELLO: So Representative Cleaver, you heard it here on AMERICAN MORNING. We have to wrap this up. Thank you so much for being here this morning. Thanks to Representative Emanuel Cleaver and also to you, Bill Rodgers. Christine.
ROMANS: Fascinating conversation with so much work to be done. OK. Need your Starbucks fix, but don't -- short on cash? No problem. Just use Jonathan Starks Starbucks card. Here it is.
Stark who is an app developer posted all the information about his card online so that anyone can download it to their own Smartphone and enjoy a free cup of coffee. Only problem this morning, the card has no money left.
Starks Twitter page keeps a running tally of just how much money is on his card. This morning he writes bummer it's empty. You see after you use the card, he asks you to throw a couple bucks back on to it for the next guy or gal. Starks says for the most part the social experiment has been uplifting. Interesting.
COSTELLO: I feel better about the world right now.
ROMANS: The card is empty.
COSTELLO: Well, people just used it and didn't put money back on it.
Still to come this morning, they were named in a cheating scandal. The public school educators in Atlanta reportedly were still paid some hefty bonuses.
ROMANS: Then at 8:00, the first three senators have been chosen to serve on the 12-member spending Super Committee. A live report from Washington where bickering over the picks has already begun.
COSTELLO: With drinking water growing scarce in parts of Texas, officials are turning to sewage for a solution. Will officials be able to stop that? You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 38 minutes past the hour.
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ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. A desperate race under way this morning to keep starving children alive taking place in Eastern Kenya where hundreds of thousands of Somalis have fled.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live in Dadaab, Kenya. Sanjay, good morning. Walk us through what you're seeing and the struggles and progress we hope at least on the margins there.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are 600,000 people at risk of dying from starvation. That's where you start. Thirty thousand people have already died over the last three months.
You heard those numbers, just about any other place in the world, it would be international headlines. Hardly anyone seems to be knowing about what's happening here. I will tell you there are some people, doctors, institutions, places, that are trying to change those awful numbers and we took a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): In the middle of a famine, the sickest of the sick come here like Ahmed. He's 6 years old and he's just spent 10 days walking under the East African sun.
His tiny prone body robbed of nutrition for too long. His doctor can only hope he arrived in time.
(on camera): What happens to a child like this if you weren't here, if he wasn't at this facility?
DR. HUMPHREY MUSYOKA, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: This child probably in a few weeks or so will have lost his time.
GUPTA: You would lose this child?
MUSYOKA: Lose this child.
GUPTA: When the doctor talks about death by starvation, I can tell you it's neither quick nor it's painless. When you come to a place like this, you see it, just about everywhere.
You can hear it sometimes as well. You can also smell it. It's in the air. It's this sweetness that is a reflection of the body literally starting to digest itself.
(voice-over): Little kids like Ahmed simply stop growing, they become stunted in time and the tools to save him are basic. It's not like they have much choice, but they do work.
(on camera): Want to show you something else that I think is very important here. This is what doctors use, a simple measuring device to try to determine if a kid needs acute medical care.
You can tell if a kid is malnourished by using this. This is Ion, 8 months old, simply take this, put it around her arm, about 10 centimeters down from her shoulder and you measure. Just measure this.
If the number comes back below 11, that means a kid is in real trouble and Ion's case you can see here, the number is actually about 9.5. That's part of the reason she's getting these feedings through a tube into her nose.
(voice-over): Ahmed's was 10.5. One in five kids will not survive with the reading that low. It's grim duty for Dr. Musyoka, the only doctor caring for all these children.
(on camera): I have three kids. You have a 5-year-old. How do you do it? How do you see these kids here who are suffering so much?
MUSYOKA: It's difficult the kind of suffering they're going through and transcends to your own kids. But what keeps you going is that you have to come back and do something great for them for them to survive.
GUPTA (voice-over): Ahmed was one of the estimated 600,000 kids on the brink of death by starvation. But today, that may have changed. Ahmed may have been saved. He made it here, just in time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: What we know now, Christine, we talked about before, 2,000 people -- many of them women and children -- still coming to the camps. So, the problem is far from over. The aid is slow to get here, although it is getting here.
A real concern, though, this week, some news the World Food Programme says that within the next three weeks, it may run out of food and may run out of funding. They're one of the major providers in this area. That's going to be an issue that needs to be addressed as well, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Sanjay Gupta, doing very, very important work there for us in Kenya with all of those Somali refugees.
As you can -- catch a special edition of "SANJYA GUPTA, M.D." this weekend, "The Frontlines of Famine." It airs Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
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COSTELLO: Forty-seven minutes past the hour. Good morning to you.
And there's a lot going on. So, here's what you need to know to start your day:
Wisconsin Republicans holding on to control of the state senate. Democrats fell short in recall elections, winning only two contested seats. Wisconsin lawmakers have battled over union rights for months. Some Democrats even fled the state to avoid a vote.
British Prime Minister David Cameron says the fight back is under way and his government is prepared to do whatever it takes to end the rioting that's broken out in cities across England.
Will the market rally continue? World markets bounced back after big gains on Wall Street. Right now, Dow futures are lower ahead of the opening bell.
Despite being named in a cheating scandal, educators from more than a dozen Atlanta public schools will reportedly pay some $500,000 in bonuses tied to student test scores. That bonus program is now said to be under review.
And that's what you need to know to start your day.
Coming up, Rob Marciano live from the PGA Championship in Atlanta.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
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ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
The 93rd PGA Championship gets under way tomorrow at the Atlanta Athletic Club. It's golf's final major of the season.
COSTELLO: Oh, boy. It's been brutally hot there, too, because you know how Atlanta summers are. It's making it tough to keep the course in top condition.
Rob Marciano is live in Johns Creek, Georgia, this morning. I guess 98 of the top 100 golfers in the world will be teeing off including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Is the course ready?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, oh, yes, it is. I'll tell you -- as a matter of fact, Adam Scott who is fresh off his win at Firestone last week with his new caddie Stevie Williams, Tiger Woods' old caddie, by the way. He said yesterday this course is in magnificent condition. Players over my shoulder here on the driving range for the last day of practice rounds.
As you mentioned it's unbearably hot. The fourth warmest July on record here in Atlanta. Temperatures have been up over 90 degrees. It seems like every day this summer. So, getting this course in good condition it's no easy task.
As you would imagine, in this day and age, it's high tech and pretty scientific.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice-over): As the country rises over the Atlanta Athletic Club, an armada of finally-tuned machines trim the grass to a precise height.
KEN MAGNUM, ATLANTA ATHLETIC CLUB: Yes. See, that's perfect. That's all we need right there.
MARCIANO: Ken Magnum supervises the operations.
(on camera): Throwing balls in the air. What are you working on?
MAGNUM: While you want to se how the ball lands, what we'd like to go is how the ball go down about halfway, which means just enough grass between the club and the ball that you can't spin it. That it won't stop on the green.
MARCIANO (voice-over): The greens are fast and firm.
(on camera): How do you get these greens to the perfect firmness?
KASEY KAUFF, ATLANTA ATHLETIC: Basically, I just test it every day and a moisture meter, which I can check take the moisture in the green, and slowly take that moisture down with hand water.
MARCIANO: This has gotten scientific.
KAUFF: It's very scientific now. We are not Carl Spackler from "Caddyshack" any more. They were scientific grass.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a hybrid. This is a cross of blue grass, Kentucky blue grass, fender bench and northern California Sesamia.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Definitely not "Caddyshack."
MAGNUM: You have got Diamond Zoysia, and you got tiff and thin common Bermuda.
MARCIANO: In the rough, on the fairways, in the greens, it's a grass combo never before used in a major championship.
KERRY HAIGH, PGA MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CHAMPIONSHIPS: Ultra dwarf Bermuda that we now have on the greens thrives in this heat even though it can be as hard as it wants to be, we can get the greens to a good championship speed.
MARCIANO (on camera): So, how do you get a green to championship speed?
MAGNUM: It takes a lot of work. There's top dressing. There's grooming. There's brushing. There's fertility. There's growth regulation, mowing. A lot of different things.
MARCIANO: And you got to keep it green.
MAGNUM: Yes. It's got to be green, too.
MARCIANO (voice-over): And getting that perfect shade of green is helped with instruments like these, measuring the water that evaporates out of the grass.
MAGNUM: So every irrigation cycle is affected by the data that comes in from the weather station.
MARCIANO: Water out, water in, game on.
(on camera): Oh, that's true, baby!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Oh, those greens are gorgeous! You don't have to put a lot of water in. That's the great thing about these new grasses. They require less water. They don't grow as fast and so they require less mowing. And the mowers that they have are actually hybrid.
So, amazingly in this heat and, in some cases, lack of water, keeping these greens green has taken -- well, it's green! You know? How about that?
So, today, last round of practice rounds and they tee it off tomorrow here in the 93rd running of the PGA Championship. And we'll be here all week long to tell you about it.
ROMANS: Rob, your enthusiasm is infectious! Let's talk to Rob instead of Wall Street for the rest of the day.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
COSTELLO: Well, we like that other kind of green, too!
Now is your chance to talk back on what are the big stories of the day. With so much uncertainty in the markets and our economy, a number of people, lawmakers, are calling on Congress to end their month-long recess and get back to work now.
So, we ask you: should the president call Congress back to deal with the budget as in right now?
Mark says, "Yes. World economies will not recover until America has confidence in its leadership and its long-term economic plan. Lock the doors, no press conferences, and don't come out until you have a fix. Get on board or get out!"
This from Jim, "It would simply be viewed as another political move by the president against the Republicans. If they did come back, they would just continue to bicker and would accomplish nothing. Let them cool down and get back in touch with their constituents and come back to Washington with some productive goals in mind."
That's so thought out and logical and it won't work.
ROMANS: Maybe their constituents will give them an earful and they may want to come back early.
COSTELLO: Well, we're going to get to John McCain in just a moment.
This from Wayne, "Bring 'em back. Obama need to show them he is running the show and he needs to show the American people that he still has a backbone, especially to those who put him in office."
Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. Thank you for your responses. Keep 'em coming.
MARCIANO: All right. We're going to read more of those later on.
Fifty-six minutes after the hour. We're going to give you top stories coming right after the break.
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