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American Morning
Stock Up in Europe; Some Calling for Congress to Cut Short Recess; Hollywood Making Movie on Killing of Bin Laden; Increased Police Presence Reducing Rioting in London; Verizon Sabotage?; Mini Congress, Same Problems?; Wild Market Ride; Super Committee Staffing; Cameron: Won't Put Up with Violence; Cancer's Serial Killer?; Super Committee Selections; Desperate for Drinking Water
Aired August 11, 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: Wall Street driving us up a wall. Stocks straight ahead. Stocks taking another nosedive. Families scrambling to try and manage their money. Do stocks have another comeback today?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's a critical time for the economy. The president still sticking with plans to go on vacation. Critics this morning asking where's the leadership?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And stocking the super committee. The roster is now almost set. Its members are charged with getting us out of the ditch, but is it just a smaller version of the divided Congress?
COSTELLO: And dangling 70 stories above midtown Manhattan. The dramatic rescue of a man who said he's going to jump off the top of the rock on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you. It is Thursday, August 11th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Right now, the morning stock futures are painting a more positive picture after seeing red all day yesterday. By the time the closing bell rang, the Dow had fallen hard, erasing Tuesday's sharp rebound, which you'll remember was Wall Street's best day of the year.
ROMANS: OK. So, here's your damage report. The Dow is down 520 points. That's more than 4.6 percent. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were each down more than four percent. Wild swings that are dominating your dinner conversations, front pages, and the newscasts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. Stock prices collapse again. The Dow losing another 500-plus points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High anxiety. Another terrible day for Wall Street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stocks and stress. Another plunge and the big one in the market.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Some headlines continue this morning. U.S. futures are up. Asian markets were not way down. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei closed down less than one percent, the Shanghai composite closed up. In Europe markets in the U.K., Germany, France, are all in positive territory.
But with so much uncertainty in the markets a lot of investors feel the safest place to put their money is in gold as at one point yesterday gold hit a record of $1,800 an ounce. But Ali will point out, adjusted for inflation gold prices were actually higher in the 1980s.
VELSHI: Sure. It is not a record high when you adjust that. A lot of this to digest this morning. Let's bring in Felicia Taylor, who has been watch this very carefully. Felicia, I know because we have been working similar hours, you have really been trying to find rationale and reason behind this, because the question everybody has is when does it end? And we need to find out from people who are buying and selling these stocks why they are doing it and when they think it's going to stop.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I have been talking to people literally around the world and asking that exact question. When is the buy-in point? And they are not ready yet. There's just simply too much uncertainty that remains in the marketplace. They are not confirmed as to when the United States is going to actually issue some kind of direction as to where we are going in this global crisis.
ROMANS: Is that the right cause of it, because I kept hearing yesterday it was really because of the global markets that our stock market went on a roller coaster ride yesterday?
TAYLOR: It is a global market. There is no question about it. We haven't seen this kind of a market really in near terms. So when you hear rumors about France possibly being downgraded, that, of course, is a concern. I hate to say it but three, four years ago we wouldn't have cared about a --
VELSHI: What France's credit rating was.
TAYLOR: We wouldn't have known or cared. But we do today because what that means is that there's global contagion. We have already heard the United States has been downgraded. We never heard that -- - that's totally unprecedented, completely unheard of. When you hear things like that and rumors back in the marketplace, people are concerned. They don't know what to do or where to go. So that's why you see the tick-up in gold.
But what's interesting this morning is gold has flattened out. People are sitting literally on the sidelines and waiting to hear what is going to happen. So I'm heading down to the nine next just a few minutes. We will see what's happening. It is still an open outcry situation which is interesting, which in and of itself is interesting. And we will see what happens in the gold markets and see if that's still a statement in play.
VELSHI: It is a good trading bid because like you said the open outcry, you have real people who are making trades, so you don't have to keep on guessing about the computers.
TAYLOR: Exactly. Right.
VELSHI: All right.
ROMANS: Felicia Taylor, thank you, as always.
COSTELLO: You know, 401(k) are vanishing, Congress is vacationing, something is wrong with that picture. A lot of people are saying that. And the cries are growing louder they are morning for lawmakers to get back to Washington and for the president to show a little more leadership.
Check out the op-ed page in this morning "Wall Street Journal." They write "These are difficult days for our president. Buffeted by events, he looks weak, dazed, and over his head." And this in the "Washington Post," "It's sound of confidence in Obama's leadership breaking. Events keep screaming that the president is weak, weak, weak."
Compare that to events unfolding in the U.K. right now. Prime Minister David Cameron cutting short a vacation in Italy to deal with riots in London, French president Nicholas Sarkozy interrupting a vacation to call an emergency meeting in Paris over the economic crisis.
Here in America, President Obama is preparing to take a 10-day vacation next week in Martha's Vineyard after he goes on a Midwest bus tour to campaign for his reelection. I talked with David Gergen about it last night on "AC 360."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think what Americans are looking for now is some seriousness in Washington, and, frankly, that's not going to come from some bus tour on a campaign trail for the president. I think a lot of -- growing number of people think he ought to get of the campaign trail, pull people together, and see if he can't get some answer, a bipartisan answer on jobs.
VELSHI: It kind of is unacceptable Washington is not fully on this right now and that the president is out there giving speeches in the heartland as he plans to. This is a crisis. Had had a meeting with Ben Bernanke today, and all the White House did was release a statement to say he had a meeting with Ben Bernanke and that they talked about jobs and economy. Everybody is talking about jobs and the economy. We need guidance and we need a solution. We need confidence. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Just how confident are you that Washington can solve these economic woes? According to a new "Washington Post" poll out just this morning, an astounding three-quarters of Americans are not confident that Washington has the answers.
COSTELLO: But there is a bright spot to tell you about this morning. You can call it. Four conservative Democratic members of the House seem to get it. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, Michael Michaud of Maine, and Henry Cuellar of Texas sending a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, calling on them to end the August recess and bring Congress back from vacation.
ROMANS: We know at least nine law makers that will be in Washington next week. They have just been picked to serve on the new congressional super-committee. The 12-member panel began taking shape on Tuesday when Senate majority leader Harry Reid selected three Democrats. Yesterday on the GOP side House Speaker John Boehner chose Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Dave Camp and Fred Upton. Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell selected Senators Jon Kyl, Pat Toomey, and Rob Portman. All six of those GOP choices have signed a pledge not to raise taxes, leaving "Newsweek" and "Daily Beast" columnist John Avalon skeptical about the committee's chances of reaching a compromise on spending cuts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN AVALON, COLUMNIST, "NEWSWEEK": This is a profile in cynicism. It is a pathetic bid by party leaders that recycle the original problems that got us here. Instead of appointing people like the gang of six, serious people who sat down in a room trying to reach across the aisle for solutions, those gang of six members were intentionally excluded. Instead of a conservative like Tom Coburn, you get the Club for Growth like Pat Toomey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Let's bring in Joe Johns live in Washington this morning. Joe, with all of that out there, we really -- can we expect compromise in this group?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: You know, I don't think I have ever seen John Avalon that worked up.
ROMANS: Stop it.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: All right, look, the first thing that's important to say is that the people who are saying nothing is going to happen here. Actually have a good case to make. Because we are going into an election year and there's -- you know, six and six on this committee equally between Democrats and Republicans which would make it hard to get a tiebreaker. Now also, the wings are well represented on this committee, right wing, left wing. And among the names we have seen, people like Senator Pat Toomey, the Republican out of Pennsylvania. This is a guy who has been very much interested keeping taxes down and keeping government under control when he worked, you know, at a -- think tank here in the Washington, D.C., area, the Club for Growth.
Senator Patty Murray is a Democrat. And she has had a lot of people going after her because she works for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and they are all about protecting entitlements which something else that people would want to have on the table to talk about this.
So yes, I mean, these are people that come from their party's bases. On the other hand, I don't know want to paint a rosy scenario, but there may be potential for compromise. If you look at people like John Kerry, Rob Portman, Fred Upton of Michigan, even maybe Max Baucus, the Senate finance committee chairman, those are people that may be able to get a deal.
ROMANS: Those triggers built in, Joe, wow, those triggers built in, if they don't compromise, are pretty painful. I mean, people --
JOHNS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: -- the military, seniors would feel it if these guys and Patty Murray, a woman, cannot figure it out.
JOHNS: Right. And they will look like failures, too. That's all it -- something to consider. These are people that are very powerful in Washington, D.C. and would very much like to walk away from this looking good, although it is very hard to see how they will do that.
ROMANS: Joe Johns, thanks so much. We will talk to Senator Pat Toomey a little bit later and talk to -- I mean -- could he ever agree to raise taxes? I mean, he will say --
VELSHI: No.
ROMANS: No, no, no.
COSTELLO: The interesting thing is all six of those Republicans signed a no tax pledge.
VELSHI: And Pat Toomey signed -- Pat Toomey didn't vote for the agreement.
ROMANS: But can you get tax increases in exchange for real tax reform and a promise to do tax reform?
VELSHI: That's an interesting point.
COSTELLO: They're wrestling over what the definition is of raising taxes. Really -- like -- right now, the definition is anything that would raise taxes, anything, like subsidies and anything.
VELSHI: Good discussion. You should tune in for it. We will talk to Pat Toomey about it.
The other big story we are following is British parliament holding a rare emergency session this morning to deal with the country's worst rioting in decades. A massive, massive show of police force helping to restore calm in the streets of London and other cities after four days of violence and looting. It drew an emotional plea from a father whose son was killed in the rioting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another? What's escalating the riots? Why are we doing this? I lost my son. Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise calm down and go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Very powerful. British Prime Minister David Cameron just wrapped up an address to parliament. He said police will do whatever it takes to end the lawlessness. He repeated a zero tolerance policy to lawmakers just moments ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Keeping people safe is the first duty of government. The whole country has been shocked by the most appalling scenes of people looting, violence, vandalizing, and thieving. It is criminality, pure and simple, and there is absolutely no excuse for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: CNN's Max Foster live in London for us right now. Max, give us a sense from your perspective about, first of all, what's happening. Have things calmed down dramatically? And what we think the root cause of this rioting has been.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly things have calmed down and there's just been a whole load of emergency court appearances while all this has been going on, fast tracking all of the offenders through the court system. Certainly it calmed down on the streets.
But as you say, they are now analyzing what went wrong in Britain this week. And the prime minister making it very clear he thinks it is not about politics. He thinks it is about culture. He thinks its problem was parenting and schooling and certain areas.
But in the heart of all of this, he talked about gang culture being the main problem, young men from dysfunctional families. He referenced Los Angeles and what lessons could be learned from there. So interestingly he's talking about culture here. And a couple of interesting decisions he decided to try to make in terms of looking tough on this. He says he wants the police to have greater powers in dealing with social media, people using twitter, Facebook, criminal activity. He wants to clamp down on that and wants to police social media, which has wide ranging repercussions.
Also he's given the police powers to ask people to remove face masks if they are convicted and suspected, reasonable suspicion of criminality. A lot of the kids have these scarves over their faces. That will cause a big debate amongst human rights groups who have been debating this in relation to face masks, or face veils that a lot of women wear.
VELSHI: It is interesting that -- Cameron was very, very clear, though, that he feels that this is -- I don't know, hooliganism. He felt it was lawlessness. He's not giving an inch on the idea that some, not even a small percentage, is due to economic concerns or unemployment amongst youth. Frankly we heard from that victim's father who sort of sent out the plea to say keep your kids off the road or you could lose them.
FOSTER: Yes. We've been speaking to think tanks and youth workers who say a lot of it is purely economic. These kids don't feel they have prospects. But I think what David Cameron is saying is that all starts with schooling and parenting, letting people feel as if they have prospects and a stake in the system. He is saying it's not economic purely.
He has talked in the past about sick segments on society and he wants to crack down on them. That's causing some people on the left to suggest that actually he's not addressing the fundamental problem here. So he is in the middle ground but he's certainly trying to tackle it head on.
VELSHI: Max, thanks very much. We will continue to follow the story with you. Max Foster in London.
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question this morning, does Hollywood making a bin Laden movie warrant a Congressional investigation? The question like everything else has become a political hot potato. A sad thing, though, since bin Laden's death was so unifying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
(CHEERING)
CROWD: USA! USA!
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Remember that? Remember how people celebrated? It was a secret mission that played out like a Hollywood movie. Don't you know it, a Hollywood movie about it will be released in October of 2012 just ahead of the November elections. Republican Representative Peter King is outraged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETER KING, (R) NEW YORK: We are talking about revealing classified information that could put American lives at risk. This is what the administration has done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: King called for a Congressional investigation to find out if Hollywood is getting that special access to classified information. The White House says, please.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: First of all, the claims are ridiculous. When people, including you, in this room are working on articles, books, documentaries, movies that involve the president ask to speak to administration officials, we do our best to accommodate them to make sure the facts are correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It is no like the White House is giving Hollywood permission to use bin Laden death photos or the video of OBL being buried at sea in the film. For those of you keeping score there at home, it has only been a little over three months since bin Laden was killed. Come 2012 the story of that top secret mission will be opening at a theater near you.
So the talk back question this morning, does Hollywood making a bin Laden movie warrant a congressional investigation? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. We'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: OK, drama played out at the top of New York's Rockefeller Center yesterday. A man threatened to jump from the observation deck. You see him in light blue there. There he is. Even more astonishing, as he dangled 70 stories up, tourists actually took photos of him. When police finally reached the man there were a few tense moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one point, he stood up and he put his hands on the glass and at that point we weren't necessarily sure if he was going to push himself off or if he was going to climb over. So Sean (ph) went from the angle he was at and I jumped down and we were able to secure him at that point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very apologetic when we were helping him over the glass. He really stated over and over again that he was sorry for taking up everybody's time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. Police roped off surrounding streets. Tried to keep gawkers away from the sky-high spectacle. He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and those pictures, I'm so afraid of heights.
VELSHI: I was going to say --
ROMANS: I'm so afraid of heights I get sick to my stomach.
VELSHI: -- I -- when I'm inside there I look down and I'm --
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh.
VELSHI: -- I'm inside walls and windows.
COSTELLO: Did you see all the people --
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: -- like inside the building looking out the window at this guy?
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: And some of them did have cameras.
VELSHI: And just some have (ph) video and camera.
ROMANS: Your first trip to the big city. Whoa, you'll never guess what I saw in New York City.
VELSHI: Wow.
Still to come this morning, the strike against Verizon Communications is getting ugly. Thousands of workers walked off the job on Sunday. Now, the company is accusing the union of sabotage.
COSTELLO: And a serial killer that scientists say may help save your life. The new research a lot of people are paying attention to. That's straight ahead.
ROMANS: Also, the final major of the season, the PGA Championship under way this morning at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The world's best players not only dealing with lightning, fast greens, they're also battling a stifling heat.
Rob Marciano drew the short straw for this assignment to go cover a golf tournament.
VELSHI: Poor guy.
ROMANS: Good morning, Rob. ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning again, guys. You're right about that. And it's the third time that this event has been held here at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Course in pristine condition, but there was some damage to a couple of the greens and I will talk about that.
I have a tournament preview and your forecast in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Verizon says striking workers are taking their demonstrations too far. Some 45,000 Verizon employees have been walking picket lines since Sunday. The company is suing to stop what they claim is harassment and picketers blocking access to facilities. Officials also accuse union workers of vandalizing equipment that's impacted customers up and down the East Coast.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): D.C. resident Bill Powers this morning had no cable, phone or internet service. He went outside and found a couple of Verizon contractors.
BILL POWERS, D.C. RESIDENT/VERIZON CUSTOMER: So the one gentleman told me that there was, you know, something inside the box had definitely been sabotaged and that's why service was lost on a great portion of this block.
SYLVESTER: In the District of Columbia nine states, more than 20 acts of vandalism in the last 48 hours. Verizon cable and telephone lines snipped, cable boxes sabotaged.
This comes on the third day of a strike involving 45,000 Verizon workers. Workers walked off the job over health care and pensions. Verizon says it's seeking to bring benefits more in line with industry standards. The unions insisting the company is demanding cuts, even as it rakes in billions in profits.
(on camera): For Verizon customers needing repairs it can take hours to get someone on the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Thanks for calling Verizon. Please be advised due to a strike you may experience significant delays in having your call answered.
SYLVESTER (voice-over): Verizon stopped short of blaming the unions for the sabotage, but said it's absurd to think there is not a connection.
MICHAEL MASON, CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER, VERIZON: When you cut cables, it's not a crime against a faceless monolithic company. It is a crime against individual people, American citizens, your neighbors, hospitals, police departments. It's simply not a faceless act. There's a consequence for cutting cables and those consequences can be fairly severe to those who have been impacted by the cuts.
SYLVESTER: The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are denying their workers had anything to do with the cut lines.
PAUL FEENEY, IBEW SPOKESMAN (via telephone): We have absolutely no information that any Verizon workers -- our members that are on strike are involved in any of these instances. So this is more of some gamesmanship on Verizon's part. It is a way to turn the public sentiment against the strikers.
SYLVESTER (on camera): So far no leads in the investigation. But Verizon says there was a police department in New Jersey and at least one hospital where phones were impacted, not to mention many small businesses that have had phone and Internet disruptions.
Verizon's Chief Security Officer says sabotaging the country's communications grid is a federal offense.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, let's go where the news is a bit brighter. Shall we?
VELSHI: That's right.
COSTELLO: Down there in Georgia. Rob Marciano, get ready for the big PGA tournament. And the weather is very much a factor.
MARCIANO: It is. You know, yesterday couldn't have been more perfect. But we're going to get back to what's par for the course down around this part of the world in August, which means increasing the levels of humidity.
Behind me, you see the players on the practice tee. The first tee-off times are going off now on one and 10. Tiger, Phil and Adam Scott will be some of the early morning pairings. And, of course, we will be updating you on those throughout the morning.
I want to talk about the heat first of all. Across Texas, across parts of Mississippi, these are the record highs, although the list is beginning to shrink and that's the good news and as are the number of advisories that are out for this part of the world. One-oh-five in Midland and 102 for a high yesterday in Vicksburg. And Dallas continues the heat 40 plus days and counting. And I think they'll do it again with a high temperature of 104.
Pleasant across the northeast. Look at surface map, that's why we have the dry conditions here as far south as Atlanta yesterday. A little cool front came through. But humidity levels will be on the rise as we go on through time.
I mentioned earlier in the broadcast that we did have -- there was some damages to greens 14 and 17. And the course superintendent has told me that's -- that is because of some -- a jump in dew points. Unusual weather yesterday. We had low levels of humidity. Dew points will rise and fall at night.
So for the dew point to jump back to normal I guess in a two or three-hour period, that can cause some of the equipment to malfunction. I've been told that the greens have been repaired. And I will go out and have a look at that firsthand here in a couple of hours.
You can have a look firsthand as well on TNT, our sister network. Coverage begins today 1:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M, tomorrow as well. And in 11:00 A.M. on Saturday and Sunday. And if you want to catch some of the marquee pairings including Tiger, Phil, and Adam Scott, you can go to PGA.com and they will be covering those on the Internet also.
Guys, back up to you.
COSTELLO: I know the weather is like kind of unbearable, but it sure is beautiful. It's really pretty. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: It's a gorgeous spot. A gorgeous spot.
VELSHI: And it's nice there (ph).
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: All right. Still to come this morning, Bernie Madoff's pants as iPad covers. Huh? "Minding Your Business" next.
It's 24 minutes after the hour.
ROMANS: Also, nine of the 12 members of the new Congressional super-committee have now been selected. Who are these people? Can they possibly agree to compromise on $1.5 trillion in spending cuts what some of the people have never agreed to compromise on some of these issues before?
It's 24 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.
It has been a roller coaster week on Wall Street. The cliche certainly holds here. Markets closed sharply lower yesterday. The Dow and the S&P 500 both dropped about 4.5 percent. The NASDAQ fell about four percent.
Stocks tanked in part over renewed concerns that Europe's debt crisis is spreading, this time to France. French President Nicholas Sarkozy came off his summer vacation at French Riviera and called an emergency meeting about the country's budget and finances yesterday. Markets took a hit sparked by concerns the country perhaps could lose its AAA credit rating due to its debt problems. France has the second largest economy in Europe. Fears over France's economy seem to have subdued this morning, though. European stock markets are up and investors still vigilant, though, sentiment is very fragile. We cannot say that enough.
Right now, U.S. stock futures is trading higher ahead of the opening bell and the U.S. investors, of course, bracing for another choppy session today.
Wall Street awaiting for the weekly jobless claims report this morning. That comes out in about an hour from now. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect about 409,000 unemployment claims are filed for the first time last week. Slightly more than the week before.
If you're in the market for a new iPad cover, what about Bernie Madoff's drawers? The Frederick James Company is selling iPad covers made from the Ponzi schemer's pants, which were sold at auction last year. One of the bargain deals, four covers from Madoff's J-Crew khakis, about $250. A certificate of authenticity is available upon request. Of course, the proceeds go to the victims.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all new CNNMoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: What's so super about it anyway? Before the roster is even complete, critics say the so-called "Super Committee" is just a smaller version of a dysfunctional congress on this AMERICAN MORNING.
With all that's happening in Washington and still a good morning. It is Thursday, August 11. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: A lot going on this morning. Top stories, another day and another market roller coaster. It's a cliche roller coaster's wild ride. It certainly holds.
Wild swings back into the red with a 520-point drop for the Dow. Right now, European markets are in positive territory. Asian markets down slightly overnight. U.S. stock futures are higher.
Nine down and three to go. Republicans have chosen their team for the bipartisan "Super Committee" to tackle the deficit. It includes Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Dave Camp of Michigan and Fred Upton of Michigan.
On the Senate side, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Rob Portman of Ohio. Still waiting three House Democrats to join.
British Prime Minister Cameron telling an emergency session of parliament that keeping people safe is his top priority and he will not put up with the violent disorder that rocked Britain for days. The streets of London and other cities were relatively quiet overnight after more than 1,300 arrests were made.
VELSHI: All right, it's a killer inside your body. One that you want, in fact, because it can seek out and destroy deadly tumors. Researchers are on to something that could change the fight against cancer in a very significant way.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain how this all works. Good morning, Elizabeth. What is this?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ali. Ali, as you said this is really potentially very exciting. Let me tell what you the researchers did. They took three people with leukemia and these were people who had chemotherapy and the cancer had come back.
The only option was a bone marrow transplant, which could actually kill them and not do anything for their cancer. So the doctor said -- can we pick a different way to do this? So they took the patient's own cells and turned them into assassins basically.
They genetically modified the cells and imagine a bunch of cells running around with little machine guns going to kill the cancer cells. It appears to have worked. They had a very big -- gave it to the patients.
Within a couple of weeks they saw that it was working against their cancer. And right now at least two of those three are in remission. So this is, you know, really exciting finding being published in the "New England Journal of Medicine."
VELSHI: What is the -- we always ask you, what's the likelihood of this going forward? If it were to be proved to work, when might somebody be able to use this?
COHEN: Right. This is just three patients. So that's the really -- very small and we don't know if it is going to work important more patients. We don't know if it will work for people with other kinds of cancer.
And they have been -- you know, they have seen that they have gotten better and it has been about a year. But it is possible that the cancer could come back because of the way it did before.
There's lots of caution here, but this seems to be at least in some ways proof of principle that this technique could work possibly for other people.
VELSHI: It is fascinating. If it turns out to be successful, that would be quite a breakthrough. Elizabeth, thanks very much. Great to see you.
COHEN: OK, thanks.
COSTELLO: Nine of the 12 members of the new Congressional Super Committee have now been selected. But a lot of people are already skeptical about the committee's chances of reaching a compromise deal on those spending cuts.
So let's bring in our CNN contributor and resident independent John Avlon. He's a columnist with "Newsweek" and the "Daily Beast." Joining us live from Washington, Ron Brownstein, CNN's senior political analyst and editorial director for the "National Journal." Welcome to you both.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: OK, John, I have to start with you because you've been so hot over this issue. The Super Committee is coming together. We have all the Republicans named now. Every single one of them signed Governor -- Grover Norquist's tax pledge, no new taxes under any circumstances so when you look at the makeup of this committee -- I'm not just singling out Republicans here.
Because there are Democrats on the extremes that want no cuts to entitlements so as you look at this committee, the Super Committee, I know Nancy Pelosi still has yet to name her selections, look, he is ready to explode already. I can tell by your face. Go ahead and explode.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, look, insanity, definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That's why what we see from these committee selections.
Some incredibly cynical group, selection process by the party leaders because, you know, the S&P did our downgrade. They specifically cited political brinkmanship. The only way you get past the local brinkmanship is through bipartisan compromise in a principled way.
We've had two independent groups got together to propose long- term debt deficit and debt reform over the past year, the Bowles- Simpson Commission and Gang of Six. The Gang of Six members were all systematically excluded from this commission.
The only members of the Bowles-Simpson Commission that were appointed all voted against the plan. That's an incredibly cynical move by the party leadership and in my opinion, sets up a committee to fail that we really all need to succeed.
COSTELLO: OK, Ron, do you have a -- at least a bit of a brighter outlook on this? There are some lawmakers appointed to the "Super Committee," Rob Portman, a Republican. He is known to compromise a bit. John Kerry, a Democrat, also known to compromise.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that's the thing. I mean, I think everything John said is correct. I think the omission of the Gang of Six is a conspicuous kind of signal here that they did not pick anyone -- either senate leader picked anyone who is affirmatively known for challenging their party on these issues.
On the other hand and without disagreeing with anything that John said about the initial signal here. You do have members who in various ways have shown willingness to work with the other party. Fred Upton, the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Republican, has been moderate.
You can see moderate in the past. Rob Portman has been seen as someone who had worked with Republicans. Max Baucus, although he did vote against the Simpson-Bowles proposal did engage in extensive negotiations on health care. John Kerry has worked with Republicans on environmental issues. And even Jon Kyl who is, of course, close to the leadership needs some effort with Democrats on immigration in 2007.
He was in the central position there. So you do have people who have some history there. I would say, Carol, that this is -- dynamic today is exactly as John said where you would not point to this committee and say they are being positioned towards success.
On the other hand, the political dynamics may change between now and November. You have people who have shown some flexibility and ability to change -- move with those changing values.
COSTELLO: Wait a minute. Nancy Pelosi has yet to announce her picks. So I don't even know what I want to ask. John, I will ask you. I mean, is there hope that her appointments will be sort of a compromise? I mean, will they be willing to compromise? Will she appoint those kinds of people?
AVLON: You know, you always hope for the best. Prepare for the worst and science point to know at this point. Nancy Pelosi has already said that she wants to appoint people who will oppose entitlement reforms because that will get in the way of her election strategy.
And that's the larger problem here is that you have a special committee that's been formed essentially because Congress couldn't come to an agreement. A grand bargain on the real issues that matter, tax reform and entitlement reform.
And yet, both parties are already positioning for 2012 and they want to run against those things. This is what we need to put our nation back into sound fiscal footing.
Is a large plan that can reduce long-term deficit and debt and this committee -- - 78 percent of Americans in a new "Washington Post" poll said they were frustrated with the way our political system is working.
This committee selection process is now exhibit "A" for the dysfunction in Washington, D.C.
COSTELLO: OK, something else, of course, people are really frustrated about. Ron, I will ask you this. They really want Congress to come back from its break and get to work and try to do something about this economic mess we are in. I mean, aren't lawmakers hearing their pleas? Don't they care?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I don't know. I mean, I think, look, specifically on this "Super Committee," which is a great opportunity to deal with the long-term issue because of the special rules that have been set up around it to give its proposals, expedited consideration. This is going to take a while.
This is not something that you can bake overnight. I don't think there is much to be served by bringing them back here in August to kind of bang heads against each other. I mean, the real issue to me on all of these questions.
Both deficit and the -- whether we have some further efforts to stimulate the economy is whether outside forces ultimately change the internal calculations that as we see are somewhat cynical in the appointments to this committee.
I mean, you are looking at abysmal poll numbers for the Congress and for the Washington institutions in general and for the president. You have the risk that not -- other rating agencies will follow S&P and downgrade U.S. debt if this committee goes off the rails.
You have the verdict of the stock markets rendering every day on the status of the American economy. All of those things may conspire to put more pressure on this committee to do more than seems possible today by the time they get ready --
COSTELLO: I mean, you see the stock market like -- acted like a roller coaster and freaking everybody out.
AVLON: This is the larger issue because it used to be -- we could depend on at least a crisis to unite our politicians to do the right thing. But now we have a political crisis, which has created a real fiscal crisis.
And still we can't get them on the same page to say let's put forward our members that have shown a record of being able to reason together. Instead we get disproportionate (inaudible) the party that is a rescue for failure and we need this to succeed.
COSTELLO: That was quite a speech. I'm just going to end with this from Howard Kurtz. He sent a tweet last night and I kind of enjoyed it. He says now that the "Super Committee" has been picked, shouldn't the rest of Congress go home for the year? What do they have to do anyway? Ron, you wonder what are they going to do? It is up to the "Super Committee."
BROWNSTEIN: You do feel that look, given where the president is, it is hard to imagine he's not going to come back this fall with some more ambitious ideas on a spurring the economy than he put forward so far.
I think the Republicans probably will want to match him. So it is funny. You may see the "Super Committee" going down one track of long-term deficit reduction. Yet, the administration and the Congress moving towards a stimulus plan that would have a short-term deficit impact in the other direction, which most of Congress would actually say it may be that it is quiet the rest of the way.
But when you look at the numbers both sides are facing at this point, that would be a strong political bet that hold your hand where you are now given the enormous anxiety. Historic anxiety we are seeing among the public.
COSTELLO: OK, we have to end it there, but it has been quite entertaining, quite passionate. I love that. Thank you so much, Ron Brownstein, John Avlon.
At 8:10 Eastern, we will be joined by one of the new "Super Committee" members, Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. We will see if he agrees with you two. That comes your way in the 8:00 hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Great, great conversation. I have to say, you know, I think these two guys are some of the smartest around. I do think there's something to be said about Congress to come back.
We proved with this debt debate, Carol, that they won't do anything ahead of time. They can't get things done in a timely manner.
I know you and I have not been on the same side of this issue. I have come entirely over to your side on this. That I think they need to get back and get work done.
COSTELLO: I mean, I think Congress should come back as -- as a symbol if nothing else. The president, on the other hand, everybody is saying where is the president? T he president can't really do anything without Congress.
VELSHI: Yes, and for the time being he has actually been there. Whether he should be campaigning next week is another story or going on vacation after that. But, all right, Carol, great conversation. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, still to come, drinking water growing scarce in parts of Texas. There is a solution though, a lot of locals finding the solution hard to swallow. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 42 minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Here's what's making headlines this Thursday:
A jerry-rigged bomb tied to a gas line in rural Oklahoma. The FBI, the bomb squad actually used a water cannon to take the device out before it explodes. The device had a windup clock with propane and black powder. The whole thing now is in FBI lab.
COSTELLO: London's top police spokesman now on extended leave as the News Corp phone-hacking scandal grows. Investigators are looking into possible misconduct by Dick Fedorcio and his ties to the former "News of the World" executives. Staffs at the newspaper are accused of hacking into thousands of people's voice mails, including politicians, celebrities, and terror victims.
VELSHI: And right now, parts of Texas are running dry. Reservoirs are vanishing and drinking water is growing scarce. And the situation is desperate. But there may be a solution -- one that many Texans are finding hard to stomach.
Here's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this withering west Texas patch, oil still flows. Problem is you can't drink water. Finding water is getting tougher. It brings us to the town of Big Spring.
(on camera): This is the spring in Big Spring. More than 100 years ago, it was a popular watering hole for settlers heading west. Those days are long gone. And you won't believe what people around here are having to do now to find drinking water.
(voice-over): Crews are now building a $13 million water treatment plant that will turn sewage waste water into drinking water by the end of next year -- treated raw sewage water will be mixed with lake water and treated again, three times in all.
BENITO LARA, BIG SPRING RESIDENT: I will never drink it.
LAVANDERA: But the idea still doesn't taste right to a lot of people, like Benito Lara.
LARA: That's not a good idea at all.
LAVANDERA (on camera): You don't like it?
LARA: No. If they do, we're going to have to leave town.
LAVANDERA: Really?
LARA: Yes, yes. You know, that's too much.
LAVANDERA: Are you kind of the salesman for this plan?
JOHN GRANT, COLORADO RIVER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT: Somebody has to.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): John Grant directs the Colorado River Municipal Water District. It's his job to find drinking water for half a million people in the area around Midland Odessa. He's got to get people past one big hurdle.
(on camera): When you hear people say, oh, my God, these people are going to be drinking their own urine.
GRANT: There was a fellow in Midland I heard make a comment that said at least he gets to drink his beer twice now.
(LAUGHTER)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This part of west Texas had a only seen about three inches of rain in the last year. The drought is drying out the areas in the three reservoirs.
(on camera): This is what's left of the E.V. Spence reservoir. It's the only source of drinking water for the nearby town of Robert Lee. Problem is: there's less than 1 percent of the water left.
(voice-over): Robert Lee Mayor John Jacobs says that the water situation is so dire that his town could run out of water in six months. Emergency pipeline is in the works. But he thinks turning waste water into drinking water is the future.
(on camera): On the surface of it, that doesn't sound appealing, does it?
MAYOR JOHN JACOBS, ROBERT LEE, TEXAS: Not appealing. Then again, going thirsty isn't either.
GRANT: This is the water we are going to be picking up and -- taking it back through the new water treatment plant that we are building.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This new water treatment plant will provide 2 million gallons of water every day. And actually John Grant predicts people will really like it.
(on camera): And you are saying this process is -- could make it taste better?
GRANT: It could. And it will be -- it's good quality water with less salt as you can find anywhere.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): John Grant says he'll be the first in line to pour himself a glass.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Big Spring, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, Sarah Palin taking her bus tour to Iowa. But some Republicans aren't too thrilled. We'll explain why.
COSTELLO: Plus, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden goes to Hollywood. But not everybody is thrilled about the movie. What do you think? We'll have your responses.
It's 48 minutes past the hour.
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VELSHI: Almost 52 minutes after the hour. A lot going on this morning.
Here's what you need to know to start your day:
U.S. stock futures are turning slightly lower this morning. They had been up all morning. Markets in Europe are also down. Of course, this all coming one day after the Dow sank more than 4.5 percent.
In Lebanon, an explosion ripped through a predominantly Christian suburb in Beirut. At least one person is killed. According to officials there, the explosive device was placed outside a car belonging to judge's son.
Sarah Palin is heading back to Iowa. The former Alaskan governor announced she is taking her bus tour -- there it is -- to the state fair this week. That's just 30 miles south of where the presidential debate will be held tonight.
More than half of Americans say they aren't prepared for a minor financial emergency. According to a new study, 64 percent say they would not have enough money to come up with $1,000 in a pinch.
In October, the U.S. government will shut down the Statue of Liberty's crown, pedestal and museum for at least a year.
During that time, more than $27 million will be spent to make the monument safer and more accessible.
Ashton Kutcher now the highest paid sitcom actor on TV. "TV Guide" says Kutcher earns about $700,000 per episode for "Two and a Half Men." That's far less than the $1.2 million per episode that Charlie Sheen made while he was on the show.
That's what you need to know to start your day.
AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back. Now, your turn to talk back on one of the big stories of the day.
The question were asking you this morning. You know, Hollywood is working on that movie about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. And Congressman Peter King, a Republican, he wants a congressional investigation into whether the White House gave filmmakers access to confidential information.
So, we ask you this question: Does Hollywood making a Bin Laden movie warrant a congressional investigation?
Here are some of your responses. This from David: "No! There is reason to waste the money. If Congress wants to cut the debt, they should start with politically motivated investigations."
This from Jay: "It depends on whether or not Hollywood is using classified information that can put Americans lives in danger. Those SEALs protected us. It's now our responsibility to protect them."
And this from Debbie: "Do we need a bin Laden movie? Probably not, but we don't need an investigation of it either. If Representative King wants to investigate something, maybe he can find out where all of the jobs went." Oh, that's a good one
Most people responding this morning saying, come on, a congressional investigation? Get real!
VELSHI: And why is Washington in the business of deciding what people see as entertainment? That is a little more worrying to me. Peter King minds a lot of people's business.
ROMANS: I think this is a lot about quality control. I mean, think about how the White House was involved in those Elvis movies about the Army in Hawaii and stuff. I mean, they had to make sure there was no classified information coming out of those movies!
Remember those old military Elvis movies?
COSTELLO: I was trying to forget them actually.
Anyway, keep your comments coming. Facebook.com/AmericanMorning.
ROMANS: And our producer just informed us that has told us that stock futures turned sharply lower. We've told her not to come until she has better news.
We'll have top stories for you right after the break.
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