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CNN Sunday Morning
Debt-Limit Showdown; Docking Day in Space
Aired July 10, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is July 10th. Great to see you. I'm Susan Hendricks, in this morning for T.J. Holmes.
A live look at the White House this morning. The sun is up and a busy night in store tonight. Congressional leaders will meet with President Obama. They will try to reach a reduction plan deal later today.
It is docking day in space. This is the last time shuttle Atlantis will link up with the international space station, live to Kennedy Space Center.
We are just hours away from a White House meeting with congressional leaders, as I said, on the debt ceiling. Ambitious hopes for a large debt reduction gone yesterday when talks broke down. It was a good try.
But the apparent sticking point here is taxes and who pays how much. Democrats want to tax wealthier Americans. Republicans call that a job-killer with unemployment inching closer to double digits now.
Here is how House Speaker John Boehner sees it, as Democrat and Republican leaders prepare for tonight's meeting. He says this, quote, "Despite good faith effort to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes. I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still," he says, "meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of debt limit increase," unquote.
Now, the White House also talking about expectations at those talks. Here is what a spokesman Dan Pfeiffer had to say about it. Quote, "We cannot ask the middle class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher cost and budget cuts here. We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay for their share as well, and we believe the American people agree on this," end quote.
It is a point reinforce by President Obama yesterday in his weekly address. Take a listen to part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, there are obviously real differences in approach. I believe we need a balanced approach. That means taking on spending in our domestic programs and our defense programs. It means addressing the challenges in programs like Medicare, so we can strengthen those programs and protect them for future generations. And it means taking on spending in the tax code, spending on tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: All right. Did you get all that?
Now, why should you care -- you may be wondering. And how does this impact you at home, your bottom line?
Jonathan Allen is the senior congressional correspondent for "Politico Magazine." He joins us live from Washington this morning.
And, Jonathan, that is the question. Folks sitting at home think, how does this affect me? What does all the rumbling about here? Does it have to do with their finances and a possible recession if this does not get solved?
JONATHAN ALLEN, POLITICO MAGAZINE SR. CONG. CORRESP.: It certainly could. I think the basic thing to remember here is they have to raise the debt ceiling, which is going low (ph) because they spent too much and taxed too little to keep it under what the current law is. So, they need to get more borrowing authority. If they don't get a deal done, the Treasury Department says the United States will default on its debts, stop being able to pay its obligations.
So, the chain reaction there is you start to have lower credit worthiness, the credit agencies give U.S. debt a lower rating. Then as the result of that, it's more expensive for the U.S. to borrow money. Interest rates start to go up, you feel that more proudly than just in the treasury note area. You'll start to see that more broadly in the economy. And as the result of the rising interest rates, you could likely have a recession after that, at least that's the argument.
HENDRICKS: Jonathan, are you optimistic about tonight's meeting and coming to some sort of conclusion, some compromise? And what if it doesn't happen by the August 2nd deadline?
ALLEN: I'm not sure that the August 2nd deadline is completely set in stone. But they are at some point going to raise the debt ceiling. The question is, who pays the price literally in terms of who gets stuck with the bill for that, and who also pays the pain politically for it? And that's what you're hearing going on right now, a lot of positioning, a lot of posturing.
At the end of the day, they will get something done whether it's on August 2nd, July 22nd, August 15th, is less clear.
HENDRICKS: Maybe tonight even? We would hope. ALLEN: I think it's less likely tonight after Speaker Boehner said, forget those big $4 trillion deals that you want to -- rather, the $3 trillion and leave the tax cuts, leave tax increases on the side.
HENDRICKS: You mentioned taxes. What about medical care? Will that affect folks at home and their future medical care? And how they pay for it?
ALLEN: It really depends on what specific policy decisions they make. There's certainly a possibility that what you could see happen is some sort of an agreement where either Medicare gets scaled back, Medicaid gets scaled, even more broadly. The government subsidizes Medicare part B, you could see changes into how that works, and also something called the consumer price index, if that's used differently for cost of living adjustments for Social Security, you could end up seeing some results for seniors.
HENDRICKS: All right. Jonathan Allen, senior congressional correspondent for "Politico Magazine" -- thanks for breaking it down for us, kind of convoluted there. Appreciate it.
ALLEN: Take care. Enjoy your Sunday.
HENDRICKS: Thanks. You, too.
You know, the president is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders tonight, as we mentioned, 6:00 Eastern. August 2nd is the deadline for raising the debt limit. If a deal is not cut before then, as you just heard, the country could default on its financial obligations, that could result create a domino effect of higher interest rates and dropping value of the U.S. dollar. That is the big picture.
Stay with CNN. We will keep you posted on any developments on the debt ceiling negotiations tonight at 6:00.
In other political news, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain is opening his campaign headquarters in Iowa tomorrow. That is the state that kicks off the caucus and primary calendar. Cain is seen here at a campaign event in Indianola last week.
Two funeral services are being held this week for former First Lady Betty Ford. She passed away Friday night at the age of 93. The first will be held Tuesday in Palm Desert, California. The second is scheduled Thursday afternoon in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mrs. Ford will be laid to rest next to her husband, former President Gerald Ford on the grounds of his presidential museum Grand Rapids.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says the U.S. is, quote, "within reach of strategically defeating al Qaeda" -- within reach. Panetta is taking on the challenge of battling militants in Afghanistan now and Pakistan as the U.S. prepares to drawdown troops in the region. Yesterday, the newly appointed Pentagon landed in Kabul where he met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and assured him of American support for the nation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I assured him that the U.S. is committed to the long-term security of the Afghan people and that our goal here is to insure that Afghanistan is stable in the future, and can secure, defend and govern itself so that it can never again become a safe haven for al Qaeda or its militant allies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: About 33,000 U.S. troops surge are expected to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by next summer. That is the goal.
You know, the word added a new nation this weekend. South Sudan was recognized as the newest African country. You see the flag there being raised. Independence comes after years of fighting between the Islamic Sudanese government and predominantly Christian south. It's forced the American Christian right to maintain its long presence across the region. The Reverend Franklin Graham has spent time in the country and he tells us the fighting is far from over there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: There's is a lot of work that needs to be done. You've got (INAUDIBLE) -- you've got the right Nuba Mountains where Bashir's air force is attacking the Nuba Mountains, bombing civilian areas in the Nuba Mountains, right now as we sit here today. When we were celebrating peace yesterday, his air force was bombing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Reverend Graham also says he attended the inauguration ceremony to show support for a new leader in a country where he has been working since 1993.
We're taking a look at the temperatures outside for you. And it is a hot one in a lot of the country, parts of the country, Texas, Georgia even, and storms -- a chance for storms, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, an odd combination wherein parts of the nation will, as you mentioned, have the chance of those storms developing later on in the afternoon, I would say between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 is when most will develop and really reach their full intensity.
But the heat? It's going to be pretty intense, too. In fact, a good part of the nation, I'd say at least one-third, is going to have temperatures above normal. Some places with the heat index will above 100 is how it's going to feel for the next couple of days.
We're going to show you who's going to get what coming up in just a few moments, Susan.
HENDRICKS: All right. It makes you want to go to space, right?
WOLF: Oh, yes, every day.
HENDRICKS: It is docking there, as shuttle Atlantis hooks up with the International Space Station, docking day for the very first time. We will take you to Florida for the very latest on this historic flight.
And a fan makes an amazing catch with her ice cream cup. It is video you have to see coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Welcome back.
Another steamy day ahead for many, and it's not limited to the Southeast.
Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has today's forecast from the CNN severe weather center.
Hey, Reynolds.
WOLF: Yes, it's going to be ridiculous says. Some of the heat is going to be intense, you're going to be hoping for rainfall, and when it comes, you're going to be dancing through the rain drops. That's right. Yes, we're dancing during the break. It's a long story, guys.
All right. And speaking of rainfall, we have had some in places like Minneapolis this morning. And, in fact, in the Minneapolis, you didn't need the alarm clock this morning. You had the thunderstorms and the rattling of the windows. It looks like most of that rainfall is not going to be pushing off a little bit more to the east.
If you happen to be tuning in to Green Bay, maybe you're, say, tuning in from Sparta, you got the rain on the way. It's going to be there in Sparta very soon. In fact, if you look out towards the west, you're going to see the dark clouds and with it, the rain will soon follow.
More rain expected in parts through the Upper Plains and then through the Midwest. There's the reason why -- you got the front. You have the -- again, a lot of that moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. But it's going to be a late afternoon event for many people, because as the temperatures warm up between the hours 3:00 and 6:00, that's when the air is going to become very unstable. And with it, a chance of some large hail, possibly some small hail, some damaging winds, maybe an isolated tornado. So, keep that in mind.
Scattered thunderstorms possible in parts of the Southeast, especially in Florida. And back out towards places like Texas and into the four corners, you're going to see dry conditions and then dry conditioning transforming over to chance of rain into parts of the four corners.
California, no rain at all in the forecast for you, very dry conditions. But enjoy along the coast, you might have a touch of fog early.
Starting out to the West and working our way back towards the East, San Francisco, your high 69, 71 in Los Angeles, 88 in Salt Lake City. A beautiful day in Denver, but it's been on the warm side, 89 degrees. Ninety-three in Albuquerque, 100 in El Paso, 101 in Dallas, my goodness. Summer is definitely there.
In Chicago, 92 out by Wrigley Field -- a pop-up thunderstorm may cool you down late afternoon. Ninety-two in Washington, D.C., 91 in Atlanta, 91 in Miami. And as we wrap it up, Boston and New York into the mid-80s.
Mr. Jeter getting his 3,000th hit yesterday, what an amazing accomplishment.
HENDRICKS: Yes. That was a big day for him and the Yankees as a whole, Reynolds. Thanks.
Say hello to the newest member of the 3,000 hit club. Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter, reached that historic milestone on Saturday.
HLN's sports anchor Ray D'Alessio is joining me this morning to break down the weekend in sports.
It's a huge day for Derek Jeter. Good for him.
RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Well, how fitting, too, Susan. I mean, Yankee's fans, they love this guy. Mr. Clutch. What does he do? He goes out and gets his 3,000th hit by hitting a home run -- only the second time that's ever happened. I mean, just all kinds of fun fare at Yankee stadium yesterday.
And Jeter, you know, probably one of the nicest guys that as a member of the media that you can interview. Now, and here's the thing -- even bigger than, you know, him getting his 3,000th hit, Susan, is the fact -- I mean, you are from Jersey.
HENDRICKS: Yes.
D'ALESSIO: You know how rich the Yankees tradition is. All the World Series rings, you know, all the players that go through there. But players -- Joe DiMaggio, you know, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, none of them -- none of them never reached the 3,000 hits. Derek Jeter did it, the first Yankee to do so.
HENDRICKS: It makes it all the more great that you said he is a nice guy, because that does matter.
D'ALESSIO: He is a nice guy. And then, of course, you have the young fan, speaking of Jeter, hits the home run, the fan who catches the ball --
HENDRICKS: I saw that. He didn't have to give it back, did he?
D'ALESSIO: He did not have to give it back, Susan. He could have sold this ball. There was talk that this ball could have gone in upwards for $250,000, maybe $300,000. Christian Lopez, though, 23- years-old, life-long Yankee fan. He's not selfish.
What does he say? He goes, you know what? Derek Jeter worked his tail off to get this milestone. The ball needs to go back to him. So, all he has in return was that Jeter, that he wanted to meet Jeter.
So, he gave the ball back to Jeter, he got to meet Jeter. And the Yankees, they took it a step further. They went ahead. They gave him tickets to the championship suite for the remainder home games this season. Also gave him front row tickets to today's game signed bat, signed baseballs.
So, this guy is like a hero on his own right, given the ball back to Jeter.
HENDRICKS: That's what you get for doing a nice thing. Good for him.
D'ALESSIO: You do something nice. Others will do something good for you.
HENDRICKS: What's up about an ice cream flavor, Dodgers Stadium, how does that tie?
D'ALESSIO: Yes. You know, you got Dodgers, you got (INAUDIBLE) cream. I don't know.
No, actually, guys, here's something you want to do. If you go to a game with your girlfriend, you want to be a hero, maybe catch a foul ball, don't knock it into her ice cream, like this guy did yesterday.
But it proves the point that you don't need a glove. That's one of those souvenirs like ball caps, ice cream bowls or whatever. The ball landed right in the ice cream, and here's my question -- where's Reynolds, because I'm sure Reynolds is going to answer this -- does the five-second rule apply here? You know, if something falls on the ground, you have five seconds to pick it up --
HENDRICKS: Or I think you just frame it. You keep it in the ice cream. You don't touch it.
D'ALESSIO: I don't know if I would want to eat that. I don't think there's any five-second rule there.
(LAUGHTER)
HENDRICKS: If it were for Jeter's, you'd take it out and give it back.
D'ALESSIO: Yes, absolutely.
HENDRICKS: All right. Ray, thanks. Good to see you.
D'ALESSIO: Good to see you.
HENDRICKS: Lying inside temple vault in India for centuries, an incredible $20 billion treasure hall. I'll tell you why it's suddenly being opened right now.
And sometimes, everyone needs a hug, right? Well, now, there's a saint dedicated to hugging. She opened her arms to New York last Sunday. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Nadia Bilchik joining me again this morning on our passport.
And this story could have easily been scripted for a Spielberg movie.
More than $20 billion worth of treasures and ancient artifacts found stash inside the vault in an Indian temple.
Nadia, the question is, who does it belong to? And how do they found it?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: And that's going to be so interesting. Who does it belong to?
Well, they found vaults under the Kerala temple. It was all triggered by one worshipper at the temple who complained about the way the temple was being managed.
But it's absolutely fascinating. I want to show you some of the replicas. You are seeing the temple now and you're seeing the surrounding area. What you can see is not very affluent. So, in the middle (INAUDIBLE).
Now, that you are seeing right now is a replica of the kind of statue, and that's the Vishnu, the Hindu god laying in the snakes. There's a huge statue like that in the temple. Remember, you can't take cameras into a Hindu temple.
So, look at the actual gold. And can you imagine how much it's worth?
Now, many of the temples in India, one is the Terapaki (ph) temple, and they had other stashes and other antiquities discovered over the years. So, let's take a look at some of those. And it will give you an idea of the kind of treasure that is lying underneath the Kerala temple in southern India.
Look at all of those gold, diamond incrusted trinkets worth that they're saying between $20 billion, to $23 billion.
HENDRICKS: So, no one thought to look before. And now, who gets it?
BILCHIK: Exactly. It's going to be very controversial. Does it go to the state? Does it go to Kerala itself?
But you are looking at very fascinating, and under the ground is all the gold because Indians have been intrigued by gold for many, many years. It's the commodity of choice, something like 600 tons of gold is imported in India right there, and ironic that right there in this ancient Indian temple is all this treasure. And who knows what other treasure lies under Indian temples.
HENDRICKS: Exactly. I think they'll be looking now. So, it's one man who was complaining?
BILCHIK: One man complained about the authorities, and that triggered the search.
In about the 1930s, there was a search and apparently snakes underground detoured them from looking further. But how the treasure was amassed? What it royalty over the years? Was it the trade routes? Was it people paying homage to the gods?
So, there are so many unanswered questions. How exactly did the treasure amassed? Who it ultimately does it go to? Right now, it's being guarded by the Indian state, heavily guarded as you can imagine.
I was thinking, imagine being somebody who had gone in the temple and being part of the temple and never thought to look.
HENDRICKS: Never thought to look and it's right there in front of you.
I have a feeling Hollywood directors, producers, writers are listening to this, thinking, this is a movie, you cannot make this up.
BILCHIK: You cannot make this up.
HENDRICKS: Now, they found billions of dollars, you said, not millions, billions of dollars in treasure.
Nadia, thank you. Appreciate it. Fascinating. Thanks.
You know, the crew of space shuttle Atlantis is awake and preparing to rendezvous with the International Space Station. The last flight out docking is set for about an hour from now, the last launch. We'll go live to the Kennedy Space Center after the break.
And how many space shuttles have taken place over the last 30 years? You know the answer to this. I'll have the answer right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: All right. Before the break, I asked you how many shuttle missions have taken place over the last 30 years. Here's the answer: 134 missions, covering a half billion miles of flight. The current and last mission is the 135th.
Speaking of -- today is docking day in space. It is. Crew members aboard space shuttle Atlantis has begun maneuvers to link up with the International Space Station, as we speak.
Our John Zarrella live at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. And, John, how long until docking? What's going on right now?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we got a couple hours, about 11:06 Eastern Time when they will actually dock. Right now, the space shuttle is moving about 17,000 miles an hour. They had passed over Venezuela a few minutes ago, and then the island of Trinidad and the island of Barbados. They're over the Atlantic Ocean right now, less than 10 miles from the International Space Station.
Just a little while ago, there were pictures sent down from the space shuttle of mission specialists Rex Walheim there on the flight deck, working with one of the computer systems that they will use for the rendezvous and docking at 11:06.
Now, before they actually dock with the International Space Station, there's one very important thing that they're going to have to do. As the shuttle approaches, what it will do is, it will actually flip over on its back, exposing its belly to the International Space Station, and then the crew of astronauts, three of them onboard the space station, will begin to take pictures, and image the bottom, the under belly of the space shuttle.
The reason they do that is they want to look at the thermal protection system, they'll send all those images down to mission control in Houston, they'll examine those pictures to make sure there was no damage done to the space shuttle's thermal protection system on liftoff during ascent into orbit.
Yesterday, they actually used the shuttle's boom, robotic boom, and they were able to image the leading edge of the wings on the space shuttle to make sure there was no damage to the wings during ascent.
So, a big day today. There's going to be -- in about three minutes from now, Susan, will be the final burn of the space shuttle's rocket jets that they have on there that will put them in the final configuration for that docking, again, at 11:06 Eastern Time, and a couple hours later, there will be a welcome aboard ceremony on the International Space Station, as the last crew of a space shuttle visits the space station -- Susan.
HENDRICKS: It is also fascinating, the final four up there in space station.
So, once they dock, John, then what happens? What tasks are at hand?
ZARRELLA: Boy, there's a lot of work there to do. Almost immediately, tomorrow they're going to start to unload that more than 7,000 pounds of goods to stock up the shuttles pantry -- or the space station's pantry and refrigerator for the next year. They're going to do that. Then on Tuesday, there's actually space walk that's going to be performed by two of the six space station astronauts, and they're going to be taking off an old piece -- an old pump that failed, and that pump is going to be taken and put into the space station's cargo bay, to be brought back to earth, you know, a piece of space junk they don't need up there anymore, along with a bunch of other stuff that the space shuttle is going to carrying back.
So, a busy 10 more days to this flight before they actually return to earth. A lot they got to get done in 10 days.
HENDRICKS: Yes. They certainly do. John Zarrella, thank you so much, live at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Appreciate it. Thanks.
ZARRELLA: Sure.
HENDRICKS: How about this? A saint is dedicated to hugging, opening her arms to New York last week. I'll tell you how she touched millions around the world.
And a woman in Yellowstone National Park had a close encounter with a bear just days after a man was mauled to death.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Thirty minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I am Susan Hendricks in on this Sunday for T.J. Holmes.
Checking now the top stories, President Obama and key congressional leaders have a busy night tonight. They gather at the White House to try to work out a deal on raising the nation's debt limit. Republicans say the White House will not agree to more spending cuts without raising taxes. Lawmakers are trying to hammer out a deal on raising the debt ceiling by August 2nd.
Prince William and his wife Katherine and their visit to Canada and the U.S. today; The couple will spend their last day in Los Angeles visiting Skid Row to see an arts program for inner city children.
And two funeral services are being held this week for former First Lady Betty Ford. She passed away Friday night at the age of 93. The first will be held on Tuesday in Palm Desert, California; the second is scheduled Thursday afternoon in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The power of unconditional love can be experienced through something as simple as a hug. A spiritual leader known as the hugging saint recently shared her message of love with thousands of followers in New York.
Tatiana Anderson of CNN affiliate New York One has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TATIANA ANDERSON, NEW YORK ONE: With open arms, she's literally touched more than 30 million people around the world. Her followers call her Amma (ph) she's been dubbed the hugging saint and for the past months she crisscrossed North America offering words of encouragement and prayer to anyone who comes forward. And followers say something as simple as her embrace can be a life-changing experience.
ERICA HAYWARD, AMMA DEVOTEE: When you see her and she hugs you, you just get rewards beyond belief.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a little bit skeptic, I don't know if it was just love, but it was a beautiful experience.
ANDERSON: An experience shared by thousands at the Hammerstone (ph) Ballroom where people meditated in her presence, and waited in line to soak in her simple message that the world needs more unconditional love.
JERRY ADLER, AMMA DEVOTEE: It's an uplifting feeling, it's connecting of the heart, energies --
ANDERSON: She's considered a mystic by most, and has been known to sit for more than 20 hours at a time until all her devotees have had a chance to get what they came for, a good old-fashioned hug.
AMMA, THE HUGGING SAINT (through translator): I have offered myself to society. So I don't really expect anything back. And also in true love, there is only giving, there is no taking.
ANDERSON: Her spokesman says Amma's charity, Embracing the World, has given more than $60 million to disaster relief around the world. In her native country, India, she's taken in 50,000 orphans and provided some $60 million in medical services. And in the United States, she feeds some 75,000 people each day through her soup kitchen.
DAN MARSHALL, AMMA'S SPOKESMAN: She sees all beings as part of one' self -- so in that way she feels very connected and she feels a deep sense of empathy.
ANDERSON: And it's been said that she demonstrated heightened spirituality at a very early age.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amma was born enlightened.
ANDERSON: Whether it's because of her deep mysticism or something much less rare, for those that do allow themselves to be swallowed by her embrace, her mission to spread love and compassion is easy to be part of.
In midtown Tatiana Anderson, New York One.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENDRICKS: She certainly is helping so many people. If you would like to read more stories about religion and spirituality, just go to CNN.com\belief.
The government's latest jobs numbers fell well short of expectations and the African-American community has been hit the hardest. Coming up in just about 20 minutes, we'll dig deeper into the numbers to find out the reasons behind the high unemployment rate among African-Americans. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HENDRICKS: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley coming up at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Candy Crowley joining us live with a preview from Washington.
Candy, the big question today: debt ceiling negotiations and the big meeting tonight at the White House at 6:00 p.m.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Right, and what's happening. Because we got buried in the sort of blizzard of e-mail statements last night starting with Speaker Boehner and how Speaker Boehner, who seems to be on track with the President to get a big deal, maybe $4.5 trillion in savings over ten years.
Then suddenly this e-mail appears a statement from Boehner saying -- you know, what the big deal is not going to work because the President is insisting on tax hikes, and we're not going to do this. So let's look at a smaller deal with just a smaller package of cuts around $2 trillion or so.
The White House sort of fired back in their own e-mails saying this is about them trying to protect the wealthy, and it dawned on me that we are back to the same arguments that we've been arguing for the past, what, two or three months.
So it is unclear and we're going to try to get some clarity in the show today as to where -- the status of these talks, because also we have both sides going not to get some sort of deal by August 2nd is a nonstarter. Most people believe they have to do something by August 2nd but they -- they seem as far away as they've ever been.
HENDRICKS: Do you think this is political positioning going on here? Because you say just when you think you're getting somewhere that conversation, the discussion, the solution breaks down.
CROWLEY: There are two -- there are two things going on here, I think. First of all, I think there's just your normal negotiation. That you want to kind of put it out there and say hey, we're not going to really give, because you want to say you're not going to give until you actually do. So I think there could be some normal deal negotiations going on.
But of course, listen, Speaker Boehner has a very conservative flank to his party who has said, and signed pledges, "we're not going to agree to any sort of tax hike". And the Speaker needs to be able, if he's going to do it, to come back to them and say I held out until the very last moment.
The President at the same time has to be able to say to his left, I -- you know, I had to put Medicare on the table or I had to put Social security, and I held out to the very last moment. Because the basis are the people who come out for elections and guess what? We're in the election cycle.
HENDRICKS: So you're going to have some guests on your show coming up at 9:00 a.m. Eastern to discuss just this? CROWLEY: Kevin McCarthy, who is a Congressman from California, more importantly he's the Republican Whip, the guy who counts votes. How many votes do we have for this package if we put it on the floor?
Also Chris van Hollen, a Democrat to talk about how the Democrats view this. And they have been -- a number of Democrats have been very upset with the President for suggesting that perhaps Medicare benefits or perhaps Social Security benefits were on the table.
But we're also going to talk to Rick Santorum, who as you know is a 2012 presidential candidate on the Republican side, who said he just doesn't -- he thinks the President just doesn't get it.
HENDRICKS: Looking forward to all of those views. Candy Crowley thanks so much. Keep it right here for "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy. It start's in about 15 minutes, 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific right here on CNN.
Remember that showdown in Wisconsin over union rights for public employees? Well, some Wisconsin legislators are now facing recall elections this week. Here is CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser with that, plus the week ahead in politics -- Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning Susan. A bunch of the presidential candidates will campaign this week in some of those crucial early voting states on the road to the White House. Among them Herman Cain, who tomorrow opens his headquarters in Iowa; that's the state that kicks offs the caucus in primary calendar.
Tuesday there's a special congressional election in the Los Angeles area to fill the seat of former Representative Jane Harmon who stepped down earlier this year. Democrats are likely to hold on to the seat.
The spotlight is also on Wisconsin Tuesday, it was just a few months ago the protest over a controversial plan to strip public sector workers of some of their labor rights rocked the state's capital. Tuesday voters cast ballots in the first round of elections to recall some of those Wisconsin lawmakers who had a part in the controversy.
And we'll learn this week how much money President Obama's re- election campaign has brought in since it started up in early April. Sources say that number could be $60 million. Friday is the deadline for all of the presidential campaigns to report their fund-raising figures -- Susan.
HENDRICKS: Paul thanks.
Sexual assault victims are closely following the case of former International Monetary Fund chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. No matter what happens they fear the case will send the wrong message to sexual assault victims about coming forward. The fallout from the DSK case, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HENDRICKS: In New York. the former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is still waiting to learn his fate on that sexual assault charge, several. No matter happens, rape victims fear the case will make it harder for victims of sexual assault to be heard, to come forward.
Here now is Susan Candiotti.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Natasha Alexenko is a rape victim, a survivor who overcame fear and humiliation, reported her attacker and testified against him at trial. He's sentenced to a maximum of 50 years.
(on camera): Do you think about the rapist?
NATASHA ALEXENKO, NATASHA'S JUSTICE PROJECT: Absolutely I think about him. I'm really not afraid of him anymore. He's just another mug shot.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Alexenko is closely watching the legal debate over whether prosecutors will drop the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. There is forensic evidence investigators say of a sexual encounter involving a hotel maid, but was a crime committed? She says yes, DSK says no. And his attorneys say he will never plead guilty to anything.
Prosecutors are weighing whether questions over his accusers' admitted lies about her past may be too hard for a jury to overcome.
(on camera): How important is the credibility in your view of both an alleged victim and an alleged attacker?
ALEXENKO: Of course, in this country you're innocent until proven guilty and that certainly is the case for the alleged attacker. And I think that that should be the case for the complaining witness as well.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Alexenko she knows some of the prosecutors on the Strauss-Kahn case. They tried her attacker in 2008 and won. She's featured in a new HBO documentary about a Manhattan DA's Sex Crimes Unit, directed by award-winning film maker Lisa Jackson.
Alexenko she talks about her rape.
ALEXENKO: Physically I was there, but I almost felt like I was looking down at myself.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): In what way does this case bring you back to what happened to you?
ALEXENKO: My life wasn't opened for everybody to poke holes into. Certainly I am thinking about that and thinking about other victims.
CANDIOTTI: What are people to walk away from after this is all over?
ALEXENKO: I certainly hope that we can open up a dialogue. What are some of the laws that are working in this country? What are some of the laws that aren't?
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Dr. Shalamishah Tillet says she is a rape survivor who founded an organization to help other female victims (AUDIO GAP) -- what will happen if the DSK Case is dropped.
SHALAMISHAH TILLET, CO-FOUNDER, "A LONG WALK HOME": I think they are sending a really terrible message to potential rape victims or current rape victims, to say that if you are not the perfect victim, then you really can't find relief in the law, you can't find justice in the law.
CANDIOTTI: The DA says the case isn't about winning or losing but balancing the rights of those who come before the criminal justice system. Until prosecutors decide their next step, Strauss-Kahn remains in limbo as does his accuser and the truth somewhere in between.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENDRICKS: Our thanks to Susan Candiotti for that.
Coming up, we all know that unemployment is high right now, but in the African-American community, it is shockingly higher than the national average. We'll show you the numbers.
And bear attacks seem to be too common in one national park. Hear how one woman avoided the claws of a curious bear, just days after a fatal mauling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley is coming up at the top of the hour. But first a quick check of the morning's headlines for you.
Checking top stories: "Thank you and good-bye", it says -- that is the final headline for the United Kingdom's popular tabloid newspaper, "News of the World". It was shut down after 168 years in publication following allegations that staffers were found to be hacking telephones and bribing officials in order to get news scoops.
The space shuttle "Atlantis" docks with the International Space Station later this morning. This is an animation to show what it would look like. The shuttle is delivering supplies and spare parts. It has been a good morning for crew members of the "Atlantis". They crew woke up to sounds of "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra.
Live pictures from the White House this morning, 8:51 Eastern time where President Obama -- that is out of Washington, sorry about that -- and key congressional leaders of Congress will gather at the White House later today to try to work out a deal -- there is the White House -- on raising the nation's debt limit. Republicans say the White House will not agree to more spending cuts without raising taxes. Lawmakers are trying to hammer out a deal on raising the debt ceiling by August 2nd.
Everyone agrees the June unemployment report is a major letdown. The employment report only 18,000 new jobs were created; unemployment rate actually went up from 9.1 to 9.2.
Here is how the numbers break down by gender. Men are right about average; unemployment for women though is at about 8 percent right now.
Here is how the unemployment rate breaks down by race. The rate for whites went up 8.1 percent. But check out African-American unemployment levels. It didn't budge last month.
CNN's Elise Labott has more now -- Elise
ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Susan, when you look at the latest job numbers, African-Americans have been particularly hard hit, but this is a problem that didn't begin with the recession.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LABOTT (voice-over): The job market has not been friendly to Mark Summers. Summers lost his job three months ago and has come to this D.C. career center for help.
MARK SUMMERS UNEMPLOYED: Apparently, one place is looking at me; waiting for a contract to come down from the government.
LABOTT: It's a similar story for African-Americans across the country. The latest jobs report found the unemployment rate for African-Americans is just over 16 percent, double that of white Americans.
WILMER LEON, HOWARD UNIVERSITY: In 1964 or '64 the unemployment rate was 4 percent and the unemployment rate for African-Americans was 8 percent.
LABOTT (on camera): So it's always been that way?
LEON: Give or take, yes.
LABOTT (voice-over): Howard University's Wilmer Leon says that's because many African-Americans lack access to education and training which could help them get a job. He says racism is often at play despite laws against discrimination.
LEON: Unless America makes the significant investment in equality, then African-Americans and other people of color, and particularly now Hispanics, are going to find themselves in a constant struggle.
LABOTT: The Congressional Black Caucus wants the government to do more.
REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER II (D), MISSOURI: This is an urgent appeal to the White House, to the Congress, and to the people in municipalities all around the country that we must attack this issue of unemployment and that black unemployment --
LABOTT: Highly educated African-Americans aren't immune. Reginald Booker teaches computer classes in Maryland's Montgomery College. Even with a PhD in chemistry, it has been years since he had a job in his field. The recession has only made it worst.
REGINALD BOOKER, D.C. RESIDENT: I have applied to a number of different places. And it has just been an uphill battle.
LABOTT (on camera): They tell you that your qualifications were impressive, but you did not get the job. Do you think that being African-American has anything to do with it?
BOOKER: No one actually says you're African-American so we can't give you the job. I look at the statistics, and I see the opposite.
SUMMERS: I think it's more of a social-economic problem. People who are low income have a harder time to find stable jobs or jobs that give them long-term financial stability.
LABOTT (voice-over): Two faces of the same problem, one they both hope their government and society will fix.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LABOTT: Now, experts say the 16 percent figure is the official rate. It doesn't count the thousands of African-Americans who have given up hope of finding a job and stopped looking. If we include those numbers, we could actually be looking at a 25 percent rate of unemployment for African-American which is why you see some in Congress raising the alarm bells to get at the root causes -- Susan.
HENDRICK: Elise, thank you.
We are now checking stories across country. It is not every day a truck crashing into a grocery store halts interstate traffic but look at this. This is what happened in Detroit yesterday. Police say a car crashed into that tractor trailer, causing the driver to lose control and roll his big rig up the embankment into this Kroger store. Imagine that. Authorities had to shut down the I-94 to clean it all up.
Things may have looked more comical than usual yesterday in Portland Oregon for the first annual superhero pub crawl. Who would have among this crowd was a former presidential candidate. We're talking about Broccoli Man; he was a write-in candidate back in 2008. It is true.
In New Orleans, who needs Pamplona, Spain for running of the bulls when you can get all sorts of folks doing the same thing without running the risk of getting injured? But instead of a sharp horn you get a swat on the backside with this. Yesterday's bull session was in the (INAUDIBLE) city's fifth year after the event.
Hitting people with bats, why not?
Campers in Yellowstone National Park better be on alert after the deadly mauling of a hiker earlier this week by a bear. As our Patrick Oppmann found out, bear sightings are becoming much more common there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days after a fatal bear attack here, another too close for comfort brush with a grizzly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the hiker know?
OPPMANN: As the bear approaches her, hiker Erin Prophet runs out of ground to retreat to. The bear doesn't charge her but isn't backing down either. Erin gets ready to make a swim for it. But then kayakers paddling nearby dragged her across the lake to safety before the bear also goes for a dip.
ERIN PROPHET, HIKER: When the guys in the kayak offered to pull me across, I thought that seemed like a better swim because the bear seemed like it wanted to be down there by the edge.
OPPMANN (on camera): I have to ask you, how afraid were you?
PROPHET: I was pretty afraid. I really was.
OPPMANN: So were her rescue workers.
DAVE BEECHAM, RESCUED HIKER: When the bear was getting closer to her and she dropped her pack -- apparently she had an apple in the pack -- and we just thought it was a good idea to go and get her at that point.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Kerry Gunther, the park's bear expert takes me back across the lake to retrieve Erin's backpack and look for the bear. He keeps a can of super-powered maze called Bear Spray at the ready.
(on camera): We just recovered Erin's shoes and her backpack she left behind when the bear started coming towards her. We're going to return them to her right now. She'll probably be happy to get those back, and luckily we did not see the bear.
(voice-over): Rangers say injuries from bear attacks at the park are rare, about one per year and can be prevented.
(on camera): Now, if we were walking at a path like this one and we're approached by a bear, what would you do?
KERRY GUNTHER, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: If we encountered a bear, I would first try backing away. If the bear has followed us then I would stand my ground. If it continued towards us then I would pull out the bear spray, pull the safety tab off and fire. OPPMANN (voice-over): Sometimes it's not just the animals that get too close.
(on camera): As you can see, Yellowstone animal's often venture into public places, and that could attract crowds of tourists. The challenge for park rangers is keeping both humans and animals safe.
(voice-over): Because somehow even in thousands of open wilderness, it can get a little crowded.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, at the Yellowstone National Park.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENDRICKS: And previous to this incident, the last time there was a fatal bear attack in the Yellowstone National, 1986 25 years ago.
Want to talk more about this with resident and former Boy Scout, Reynolds Wolf.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I was barely a Boy Scout. I was one of the absolute worst. In fact, I don't remember a single merit badge that I actually earned. But I don't think they have a merit badge for bear avoidance. If they do, it's something very new that they have --
HENDRICKS: It would be a picture of bear spray.
WOLF: Probably so. Probably so which is scary stuff.
But you know, I think what is happening is you have so many people that are going into the park, you get people that are feeding the bears. They're not supposed to and the bears become desensitized. They have a natural fear of humans, that fear is erased once food becomes part of the equation.
You see this guy here. Although he is brownish in color, that is still a black bear -- called a black bear. And then, of course, what's even more confusing is that the attack, the recent attack was actually a grizzly bear that had the attack. But the grizzly bear is technically called a brown bear.
HENDRICKS: All right.
WOLF: So go figure. The more you know.
HENDRICKS: Reynolds, thank you. Appreciate it.
"STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.
