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CNN Sunday Morning
Markets React to U.S. Downgrade; Deadliest U.S. Troops Loss in Afghan War; Rate Your Priest; S&P Lowers U.S. Credit Rating; Protesters Target London Police
Aired August 07, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: New York City's triathlon where CNN producers are competing as well as our six- pack -- six people who said that they would take the challenge. We have cameras all over the course and you are seeing them now.
First, they were in the water for a mile, and right now, in the middle of the 25-mile bike ride along the banks of the Hudson. When they're done with that, it's not over. They have six miles of running to do in Central Park.
This race generally takes people between two and four hours. We can't wait to see how our six-pack does. These are viewers like you, who in February, they were sedentary. They were couch potatoes. They have never done much of anything. And today, they are doing a triathlon.
We'll be there at the finish line waiting to see how this race has transformed their lives into triathletes.
Right now, it's back to the CNN Center for more CNN Saturday with Deb Feyerick, filling in this morning for T.J. Holmes.
Good morning, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Elizabeth. Thank you so much.
Well, from the CNN Center -- this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's August 7th.
Good morning. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for T.J. Holmes.
Well, there are they are among the nation's elite warriors, Navy SEALs. And this morning, the families and friends of 22 SEALs and eight other U.S. troops are mourning their deaths in Afghanistan. We've got new details for you.
Also, fires, looting and violence in north London. We'll tell you what led some people to torch police cars, buildings and a bus.
Up front this hour, Israel's Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is up and running after a temporarily halt to trading earlier this morning. It's the first overseas market to open since Standard & Poor's knocked the U.S. credit rating down a notch on Friday. Now, if Tel Aviv is an indicator of things to come, it's going to be a very rough and tumble evening for investors in Asia, and possibly worse tomorrow on Wall Street.
CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Kevin Flower on the phone.
Kevin, it was strategic, closing down the stock exchange. The finance minister not wanting to panic everybody, right?
KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF (via telephone): Well, essentially, that's the case. The administrators of the exchange knew before it officially opened that they were going to delay that opening based on preopening trading. And in that pre-opening trading, the exchange -- the major index registered a drop of more than 6 percent, which was -- which was sizeable and basically put into place these institutional breaks on trading.
Now, as you mentioned, Israel's exchange operates on a Sunday through Thursday schedule, so it was among one of the first to react to the Standard & Poor's rating cut of the U.S. credit rating. And analysts here are saying that the drop in the market here today, it's not only a reaction to that credit downgrading, but also a response more broadly to the losses on the global market last week, and on Friday in particularly in some areas.
So, this drop not an entirely a surprise but it certainly indicates a growing level of worry here about U.S. and European debt problems. It's also worth noting that this market action, this market downturn, takes place a day after a huge massive rally, social protest rally in Tel Aviv and other parts of the country, complaining to the government about higher prices, cost of living increases across the board.
And today, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, held a special cabinet meeting where he addressed some of these issues, but also made reference to the fact that the global market condition made it necessary that Israel cannot act too rationally in trying to satisfy some of the demands of some of these protesters for more social spending.
So, the economic worries that are sort of plaguing the rest of the world are certainly here as well, Deborah.
FEYERICK: All right. Kevin Flower for us -- thanks so much.
Well, what will happen on Monday when markets re-open? Will what happened in Tel Aviv start a domino effect in the Gulf?
Tom Ashby is the business editor of the national newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM ASHBY, BUSINESS EDITOR, NATIONAL NEWSPAPER: One has to remember that this downgrade is only from one rating agency of three, and also the AA-plus rating is still incredibly good rating, and one that sovereign wealth funds and other investors should still feel very safe and secure about. If you look at the Gulf, in fact, yesterday on Saturday, Saudi Arabia was the only market open on that day and it fell yesterday by 5 percent. But today, we've seen it stabilized and, in fact, it's even up about 0.4 (ph) percent through midday today.
So, so far at least, judging by the Middle Eastern markets, I think we can say there has been a limited fallout, but it's definitely not tragic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, not tragic, but this next story certainly is.
NATO recovery teams are now going over the wreckage of a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan. The Taliban say they shot it down. Thirty U.S. service members died, including 22 elite Navy SEALs. The chopper crashed in Wardak province, an insurgent stronghold. It is the deadliest loss for U.S. troops since the Afghan war began 10 years ago.
They were on their way to reinforce other troops in a Chinook helicopter like this one.
And the Pentagon calls it a big loss.
CNN's David Ariosto joins live from Kabul, where just under 100,000 U.S. troops are still stationed.
And, David, is there any suggestion that this interrupts the mission or what was supposed to happen once that team landed?
DAVID ARIOSTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is impossible to emphasize enough the impact that this has on Special Forces. We're looking at really a sizeable group of individuals that required some of the most extensive training, resources, and bring some the longest amount of experience to fighting some of these Taliban insurgents along some of those restive provinces.
This again comes at a critical time of transition. Like you mentioned, Deb, NATO troops are beginning to drawdown.
Now, Ambassador Crocker who just came into the country just a few weeks ago made an indication that a military presence, a U.S. military presence in this region will most likely extend well beyond the full drawdown date, which is 2014. Those Special Forces are going to have to take the lead on that from the individuals that we talked to, not only in terms of training Afghan national security the forces who are taking control of their own country, but again combating the Taliban insurgents that really reside in some of those restive border provinces, and particularly in the east where we have seen this recent attack -- Deb.
FEYERICK: All right. David Ariosto for us there -- and, clearly, one sign that once the U.S. pulls out, insurgents are ready to step in. We appreciate your work from there -- David Ariosto reporting from Kabul. Well, a story as big as the war in Afghanistan is also very personal. Among those who died was Aaron Vaughn of Union City, Tennessee. His grandmother said Aaron wasn't afraid because he once told her, "I know where I am going if something happens to me."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENEVA CARSON VAUGHN, GRANDMOTHER OF NAVY SEAL KILLED (via telephone): As a brave warrior, Aaron was brave but yet he was a gentleman. He loved his family and country and he was willing to give his life to protect his family and protect his country. He was a great American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And his grandmother says she'll see her grandson again some day.
Now, a look at the weather week ahead. Reynolds, two people want to know, Emily, where is she headed? And are we ever, ever, going to get rid of all this heat?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, that's a good, good question. First and foremost, let's deal with Emily. Emily is going to be pulling away from the part of the Florida coastline and deeper into the Atlantic, eventually going to die and become part of history and probably in the next, say, 72 hours.
But the heat unfortunately is something that may last all the way through next week and possibly even a bit longer. We're going to tackle both of those coming up in just a few minutes. Sit tight.
FEYERICK: All right. And 3,000 athletes are pushing the limit on the water, on bikes and in their feet. We'll take you live on the New York City triathlon.
Also ahead, what if you could rate your priest? One Web site is allowing it. No clergy member is off limits -- not even the pope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And, Reynolds, we're going to be looking at weather right now to see what's going on, where we are.
WOLF: Yes, and it looks we're going to see more of the same, unfortunately, for the heat. You know something that's really amazing statistic is that in Dallas, Texas, the average morning low temperature since July 1st, has been 83 degrees, and that's basically some of the highs at some places around the country get on the afternoon, especially up north. But in Texas, that has been the morning cool temperature.
We're expecting the afternoon though, as you might imagine, would be warmer conditions, going for the triple digits. In fact, in Dallas, we expect a high of 105 today, very warm also. And then Memphis, up to 100. In Kansas City, 96 degrees; 81 in Minneapolis; 96 in Kansas City; 96 in Denver; 89 in Salt Lake City.
And as you look out along the West Coast, you get a hodgepodge of conditions, in some spots like, say, Los Angeles, 71 degrees, up by Palo Verde, up in San Francisco, 68 degrees, the expected high in Seattle and Portland, mainly into the 70s and 80s. But the big heat, is really going to be in the Southeast, parts of the south Central Plains. And what I can tell you is that when you bring in the humidity, it's going to make things even more brutal.
In fact, take a look at this. Everywhere you happen to see the map shaded in the orange or even the pinkish color, that's where you have your heat warnings, your watches, your advisories, and we expect the brutal conditions, the humidity is going to feel like anywhere from 105 to 115 degrees. Wow!
And more of the same for you in parts of the Carolinas and even into Florida, Alabama, and even into portions of southern Georgia. So, just brutal stuff.
You might get a little bit of a cool-down, though, in the Ohio Valley and across parts of the Central Plains, even into the Midwest, and maybe late in the afternoon. We've got the humidity at the surface. We have a little bit of, I guess you could say catalyst -- that would be the daytime heating, which will help make the air very unstable. Anyone taking a flight to Chicago, or may be even to St. Louis, you're going to have a bumpy ride, but the result in the afternoon might be some rain cool air which could cool things off.
But also keep in mind, you got possibly a rough component in a few places, maybe some flash flooding in low lying areas, possibly have poor drainage. At the same time, you can't roll out some lightning, maybe even some large hail and an isolated tornado. It can happen.
Pacific Northwest, nice and dry for you, very warm, of course. The Desert Southwest and back in parts of say, Upstate New York and also into New England -- you can expect scattered showers into the afternoon, maybe a touch of thunder, too.
All right. You are up to speed weather-wise. Let's send it back to you, Deb.
FEYERICK: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.
And with that flash flood from yesterday, that flash storm that hit here, there was rivers running down the side of the road.
WOLF: Pretty dramatic.
FEYERICK: Pretty dramatic. Absolutely. Thanks so much, Reynolds.
Well, 3,000 athletes competing today in open test of endurance. The 11 annual New York City triathlon going on right now.
And senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is in New York. And, Elizabeth, you have to wonder what some of the first timers think when they dived into the Hudson River, because that's not something most people tend to do.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Deb. To be honest, I think they are probably scared to death wondering if they can do it, but you know what? They can and they do. The final round of competitors just jumped into the river for one mile of swim and there's 25 miles of biking and six miles of running.
We have a team of 10 CNN producers who are competing in this race, and we also have six viewers. And, Deb, these are viewers who six months ago had never done anything athletic. They were couch potatoes. One of them lost 70 pounds in the last six months to make this triathlon happen, and they are biking right now and will be there at the finish line when they are done -- Deb.
FEYERICK: All right. And out of curiosity, Elizabeth -- do they have safety boats in the Hudson River? Can you see? Just in case.
COHEN: Yes, they certainly do. I'm looking at some of them now. There are various boats in there. There's also lifeguards who are on kayaks ready to help anyone, you know, if there ever is a problem.
You know, every year, there is maybe one or two people who do have problems. But, you know, for the most part, no, it all goes swimmingly, no pun intended.
FEYERICK: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
Well, still to come, headed to church this morning? What if, let's say, you could rate your priest? One country has a Web site set up to do it, and no clergy member is off limits.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Nadia Bilchik is joining me again this morning on our passport.
And we're talking about a Web site that allows people to rate their clergy.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes.
FEYERICK: And is this just to sort -- is this in the interest of honesty? Is this in the interest of rating sermons? What is this about?
BILCHIK: All of the above. So, the Hirten Barometer, otherwise known as the Shepherd's Barometer, because, of course, the congregants being the sheep, and the clergy being the shepherds, do exactly that.
The idea is let's rate our clergy and a group of concerned congregants got together and said, let's take a look at this and let's see if we can rate people according to how much commitment they have to services, to projects, their credibility, how current are they? How involved are they with the youth? How involved are they with the elderly?
But as you said, no one is sacred, not even Pope John Paul of blessed memory. So, let's take a look at his site and see what rating he gets. And we look at the German and they're going to give us the English translation.
FEYERICK: OK.
BILCHIK: But he gets a really high rating. And, you know, he was beatified recently. So, his rate is over around 4.56 in his overall rating and that's out of six. But if we look at Pope Benedict XVI, he doesn't get quite as high rating. He gets around 3.68 as a rating. And I think a lot has to do with the abuse allegations, and had he deal with them in the church as well as he could have.
But you can literally go on to the site. Most interesting is the little sheep are the icons. So, the sheep are white and then they become grayer as the rating is downgraded.
FEYERICK: Interesting.
Well, with the people, do you think it helps -- obviously, we're talking about the pope, but what about smaller churches, or churches with a fewer number of congregants?
BILCHIK: Well, that was the idea. About 25,000 parishes have already joined the site and about 8,000 priests. So, the idea was that you could go to your local church and you could say, is this sermon really reaching me? Is this person communicating to their audience, are they current?
And when you sit in a service, do you think sometimes think, is this person is being relevant?
FEYERICK: Right.
BILCHIK: So, you rate them in all of these things. And the whole point behind the site is we rate everything. We rate restaurants. We rate anchors. We rate reporters. We rate food. We rate the nail salon we go to. Why not rate the clergy?
And there were two reasons. One was, if people are doing great work, don't they deserve to be publicly honored. And the other reason was, maybe it's an early warning sign if there is an issue.
FEYERICK: You know, it's kind of interesting also. You would think that rating your clearly, if the ratings aren't that high, it's sort of a form of dissent within the congregation.
BILCHIK: And that's a good sign. It's almost like getting your job review. You know how a people get a job review, and they are getting called in -- well, it's getting other people publicly to rate you. But I thought maybe the next site would be rate your imam.
But I like the idea of rate your rabbi. Somewhat that has a good ring to it. What would you rate the person who present, what would you rate them on? Personality? Charisma?
FEYERICK: Right. That's typical. I think, probably, whether what they're saying speaks to me, whether I walk out and I feel happier or lighter, or just giving me something to think about. This is about --
BILCHIK: You are exactly right.
FEYERICK: And still to come in "Faces of Faith": Muslims are observing the month of Ramadan. But a new poll says only 63 percent of Muslim Americans feel respected when practicing their faith.
Also ahead on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, your financial health after the S&P decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating. We'll take a look at could be ahead for your bottom line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, the first overseas market to open since Standard & Poor's knocked America's credit rating down a notch could be an ominous sign. We've already seen a stoppage this morning in Israel after a near 6 percent slide before trading begun. Asian markets open later today and, of course, Wall Street opens tomorrow morning at 9:30 Eastern.
And the S&P downgrade is unchartered territory for the U.S. economy, not to mention the consumer. CNN Money's Poppy Harlow looks at the potential effect on your bottom line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Let's look at what this means for you, the consumer.
Your home loan, you can watch your interest rates on your mortgage go up, more homes are going to then sit on the market, prices of loans could fall even further to this already depressed housing market. And the only silver lining is for long-term investors to see a buying opportunity here.
When you look at the car loan, very similar story. Expect your interest rate to go up, car prices to go up. It's going to be pretty tougher for people with middle to lower credit scores to buy cars and new car sales are going to fall. The car market isn't that healthy right either.
And then, finally, when it comes to college loans, what does this mean for your college loan? When you look at interest rates, very similar story -- private student loans are going to see their interest rate increase. It's going to be tougher for students to get a loan for the spring term, so a very near term affect here. Students are going to have to work more through college to pay off that increased interest rate, and, finally, the only silver lining is most students have their financing for next year already lined up.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FEYERICK: Chaos on the streets of London overnight. At least 42 people were arrested after demonstrators protesting the alleged police killing of a local man began burning vehicles and buildings. This happened near the Tottenham police station in north London.
ITN's Richard Pallon explains how it all started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD PALLOT, JOURNALIST WITH ITN (via telephone): Mark Duggan, he was a father of four, was shot in north London on Thursday. And about 20 to 30 members of his family and friends marched to the police station. They had a very peaceful protest. But from there, it has escalated now.
Now, obviously, many of the people involved in this incident has nothing to do with the friends and family of (INAUDIBLE). And there will be many questions as to just who they are.
But, basically, it escalated from that. We have police cars torched, a very iconic London double decker red bus burning in the middle of the High Street. Shot of the some fires, residential house on fire. At one stage, I believe, there were some people trapped in there.
So, it's absolutely chaos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Police are calling for calm, but say they are pockets of unrest in the Tottenham area. In all, 26 police officers were injured in the riots.
To Syria now where we are getting reports of an early morning raid by Syrian forces in the city of Deir Ezzor. Witnesses say explosions could be heard before plumes of smoke were seen over the city.
The attack follows yesterday's phone call from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.N. official is demanding an immediate end to the use of force on civilians. A Syrian human rights group says 2,000 people have died since anti-government demonstrations there began in the spring.
From Iran, we're still waiting to hear the verdict in the trial of two Americans accused of spying against the Islamic state. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested two years ago for allegedly straying past an unmarked Iranian border while hiking Iraq's Kurdish region. Their trial concluded last week with the ruling expected within seven days.
When we get the verdict, of course, we will bring it to you right away.
Muslim Americans are observing Ramadan this month. Do you know what that means? Staying away from certain foods, drinks and even sex. We'll explain the significance of all these sacrifices after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Welcome back. I am Deborah Feyerick in today for T.J. Holmes. It is 8:30, 30 minutes past the hour.
And checking our "Top Stories", 30 U.S. service members including 22 elite Navy Seals were killed this weekend in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan's Wardak province. The Taliban claims they were shot down. This is the deadliest loss for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war began ten years ago.
Park Rangers and search and rescue teams have recover the body of one of the three hikers who plunged over Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park. All three hikers flipped and were swept over the edge on July 19th. It is a 317-foot drop to the bottom. The bodies of the other two are still missing.
And about 45,000 Verizon workers walking off the job today, making this the first strike at the company in 11 years. Negotiators failed to reach agreement on a new contract.
On Monday, Muslims began observing Ramadan, a month of fasting and reflection. According to a Gallup report released last weeks, just 63 percent of Muslim-Americans feel respected when they practice their faith in public. That compares to 81 percent of Protestants and Catholics.
To help us better understand Ramadan and what it means to be a Muslim in America I am joined by Maria Ebrahimji, she's co-editor of "I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim". She's also CNN's director of Network Booking. And Maria, this is one of the holiest months for Muslims everywhere.
MARIA EBRAHIMJI, CNN DIRECTOR OF NETWORK BOOKING: Right.
FEYERICK: Walk us through a typical day.
EBRAHIMJI: A typical day for a Muslim who is performing the fast of Ramadan really begins early in the morning before the sun rises. We perform a breakfast. We eat before the sun rises. And that's called "Sahur" (ph). And in my family, actually, this was sort of a fun time. My dad used to wake up and he used to wake all of us up, and we were dreary eyed, and -- but he would prepare a lavish feast because he believe that breakfast was the most important meal of the day anyway.
So then we officially open our fast after "Sahur". When the sun rises we perform our morning prayers, and then throughout the course of the day we're fasting, we're abstaining from food, drink or sex as you mentioned earlier. And then the sun sets and we perform our sunset prayer and we open our fast and that's called, "Iftar".
FEYERICK: Ok. And all of this is about sort of inner spiritual reflection, and sort of -- what is the -- just tell everyone, what is the goal? EBRAHIMJI: Yes.
FEYERICK: What are people trying to attain?
EBRAHIMJI: Absolutely. Well, the month of Ramadan actually recognizes the -- the time during which the prophet Mohammed was revealed the "Koran" by God. So that's really the significance of it. The first day of it marks that time period. And over the 30 days during Ramadan we abstain but we also spiritually reflect. We're supposed to abstain from talking about or thinking about worldly affairs and really focus on our spirituality, our purification and our oneness with God.
FEYERICK: And really there's a self-discipline --
(CROSSTALK)
EBRAHIMJI: Absolutely.
FEYERICK: -- there's the control, it's sort of --
(CROSSTALK)
EBRAHIMJI: Yes.
FEYERICK: -- kind of resetting yourself --
EBRAHIMJI: Absolutely.
FEYERICK: -- I guess one could say.
EBRAHIMJI: Its self-discipline, control and sacrifice. You know, I'm -- Islam is like -- it's very much like other religions in the sense that they also had acts of sacrifice. I mean, there's Lent and Catholicism and Jews also perform acts of sacrifice for Christ as well.
FEYERICK: Right.
EBRAHIMJI: And I think this is very similar to other monotheistic faiths.
FEYERICK: Now when we think about, we talked about the Gallup report.
EBRAHIMJI: Yes.
FEYERICK: All right, where people, where Muslims in America -- Muslims in America simply don't feel like they are being respected.
EBRAHIMJI: Right.
FEYERICK: What is your sense?
EBRAHIMJI: Well, many of the Muslims that I talked to do feel respected, actually. I was quite surprised by that statistic, I thought it might actually be greater but I think you know, due to the current events and some of the issues and the challenges that have came up in Muslim communities; very recently with the Ground Zero mosque controversy, the issues in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, very close to Atlanta.
FEYERICK: Of course.
EBRAHIMJI: I think it is -- there are still a deep-seated curiosity but also somewhat of a resistance to Islam by a lot of Muslim-Americans. And I think that can only be changed by more Muslim-Americans integrating into society, and really speaking out for themselves.
And that's really why -- you know, my co-editor and I actually wrote that book is to showcase the narratives of Muslim-American women so they could showcase their lives in an everyday setting.
FEYERICK: Well, wonderful.
EBRAHIMJI: Yes.
FEYERICK: It's a terrific book. Maria Ebrahimji, thank you so much.
EBRAHIMJI: Yes, thank you.
FEYERICK: We appreciate your insights. And giving us a sense of what --
(CROSSTALK)
EBRAHIMJI: And Ramadan we (INAUDIBLE) to everyone around the world that's celebrating.
FEYERICK: Very good. Thank you so much.
EBRAHIMJI: Thank you.
FEYERICK: All right. Well, you can read more about Ramadan and share your thoughts on our belief blog at CNN.com\belief.
And Boeing rolls out the next generation of air travel. It's the debut of the 787 Dreamliner. That story in about ten minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley is coming up at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN. And Candy is joining us live from Washington with a preview; a lot on your rundown this weekend.
Obviously, S&P downgrade and you're going to be talking about this with Steve Forbes, right?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Yes, Steve Forbes, who as you know is ahead of Forbes Inc., and also well respected as an economic prognostic. And we're also going to talk to Larry Summers who used to be the top economic adviser for President Obama, and ask them what this all means.
Over the weekend I spoke to a couple of folks at the White House, they are blazingly angry at S&P. I mean it is -- it is quite obvious. They -- they think in the administration that S&P did this to make a name for itself, to get itself in the headlines. You hear terms like getting their 15 minutes of fame. It's a vanity walk.
So we're going to bring these two guys in and say what does this really mean, and what do you think is behind it. What does it mean to you and me and what does it mean to the markets, that kind of thing.
We also talked to California Governor, Jerry Brown, simply because this -- this is a guy who has a state that's hard to wrestle to the ground, and much as the national economy has been. California in lots of trouble and his perspective on Washington is really interesting.
So we are going to talk about the debt.
But we're also going to talk about these cyber space attacks and -- and the idea that you know China, perhaps, has been hacking into U.S. government systems as well as into the systems of some big corporations. Mike McConnell who is the former DNI under Bush will be our guest and we'll talk about that.
And then we're going to talk about politics. So we got a lot on the plate.
FEYERICK: Yes, I'm sure there are a lot of politics and a lot of spin going on as well there, especially with everything that's going on. It's really going to be very interesting to hear what the economic guys have to say, because I think everybody wants to know --
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: Yes.
FEYERICK: -- exactly what this means just so they can take a big breath going into Monday. We will absolutely look forward to tuning in at 9:00 Candy and see what you to ahead. Thanks so much.
CROWLEY: Thanks, Deb.
FEYERICK: Well, if you want to know just how many people out there love Lucy -- I love Lucy -- take a look at this crowd in Jamestown, New York, 915 red heads paying tribute to the woman many called the "Queen of Comedy".
And a daredevil's misstep leaves him hanging on for dear life and the crowd below holding its collective breath. You do not want to miss this one. We are back, whoa, in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And we are checking stories across the country. Moody's have lowered the bond ranking for Central Falls, Rhode Island to junk status.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED GIROUX, WEST WARWICK, R.I. CONTROLLER: If we need to borrow some money for something, for a capital expense, buying a fire truck and we want to finance it or whatever, then we're going to have to pay a premium to get people to invest in our town.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Central Falls bond ranking dropped three notches; that follows the city's decision to file for bankruptcy. And now other cities in towns in Rhode Island like West Warwick are feeling the heat.
And in Seattle, Boeing is showing off its newest long-range passenger jet, the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing says it is 20 percent more fuel-efficient and the world's first passenger jet built with light weight composite materials. Japan's All Nippon Airways has ordered 55 Dreamliners at a cost of about $200 million each.
And in Jamestown, New York, no, that's not -- well, it's not Lucile Ball, but one of 915 Lucy look-alikes. It turns out that the record for the most Lucy's in one place. The comedienne who starter the long running, "I Love Lucy" TV series would have turned 100 years old as of yesterday. And that's the real Lucile Ball there.
FEYERICK: Well, an emotion-packed day at the NFL Hall of Fame. HLN's Ray D'Alessio is joining me this morning, as is --
RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: His look-alike.
FEYERICK: His look-alike. If you're watching -- that's right.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I said a yellow tie.
FEYERICK: Which one is real?
WOLF: I said it's yellow tie.
D'ALESSIO: My evil twin, Reynolds.
FEYERICK: That's exactly right, you know.
WOLF: That's me. That's me.
D'ALESSIO: You look darn good today, man.
WOLF: I know man; we, two. Love it man. Good times.
FEYERICK: That's right. Well, so let's talk about what's going on right now -- NFL.
D'ALESSIO: Yes. Seven new members of the NFL Hall of Fame, including Deion Sanders, "Primetime" -- one of my favorite players of all time of course. He created the alter ego, "Primetime". And really he changed the position of the defensive back. He was stellar, of course, and he went to the Super Bowl and won two Super Bowl rings, both for the San Francisco 49ers and with the Dallas Cowboys. He was best known for wearing that bandana around his head.
Something he did last night was the bust. He actually put the bandana on. Look at him. He says yes, the bust is not complete --
FEYERICK: That's fabulous.
D'ALESSIO: And he sported the bust. But both Deion Sanders and Shannon Sharp paying homage to the women in their lives. Shannon Sharp fighting back tears as he spoke about his late grandmother who helped raise Sharp in less than ideal conditions. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANNON SHARP, NFL HALL OF FAME: That's all my grandmother wanted, for two boys to make millions, and all you want is a decent house and you want to go to bed and not get wet when you wake up. That's what's your old Shannon. That's what got me here.
When you told me I would never be, and I saw my mama pushing that cart. And when you told me I was too small, I wasn't educated enough, I saw my mama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
D'ALESSIO: I don't care how much of a tough guy you are, if you don't get emotional at that stuff, watching this live like and -- it's great stuff.
FEYERICK: There's a human component to it all and what motivates these athletes. Seven new members --
D'ALESSIO: Marshall Faulk also in there who really changed the way the running back position is played as well as Richard Dent who was a member of that 1985 Super Bowl team and had a solo part in the Super Bowl shuffle (ph). So, just a great Hall of Fame class this year.
FEYERICK: All right.
And another story you are following, South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier banning his players from using Twitter. So what is behind this? What's the thing?
D'ALESSIO: He's not the first coach to do this. I mean other coaches have done it before. But evidently, Spurrier is very concerned with some of the content that his players have been putting out on Twitter. There was -- reportedly many of them, many of the players tweeting -- they included -- their tweets included racial, sexual, vulgar terms.
So Spurrier saying, you know, enough already. I am tired of this. You know, you guys are here to play football. You're not here to tweet. And he basically also told them -- and this was a quote from a direct player that he told them -- you know what; if you want to a tweet, your girlfriends can tweet for you. Enough of the tweeting. So yes.
So he's banned it from using it.
FEYERICK: And interesting. Were they tweeting actually during the game? Or they were tweeting --
(CROSSTALK)
D'ALESSIO: Actually no, they're tweeting in their own personal lives, but they were putting stuff out there that he just felt was --
FEYERICK: That shouldn't be out there.
D'ALESSIO: -- that shouldn't be out there, inappropriate. And it's like, if you want to represent the University of South Carolina football program, it ends now.
FEYERICK: You know. I think that kind of makes a lot of sense because when you think about everything that can go out there --
WOLF: Sure.
FEYERICK: -- and if your thinking in a split second and you put it out there. And a lot of people look up to the athletes, obviously.
D'ALESSIO: Now, some of these players do that but we should mention that some of these players were also tweeting, hey go out support the South Carolina football team this year.
FEYERICK: That's that.
D'ALESSIO: -- others were using it for religious avenues and talking about their faith. So it was not all bad but a lot of them were putting bad stuff out there and Spurrier just said, you know what; we're banning it all together.
FEYERICK: All right. Ray D'Alessio and Reynolds Wolf, we had on just because he's wearing the same suit.
D'ALESSIO: Got to love it.
FEYERICK: But before you go, you can't go, because first of all, both of you are just too good looking in that suit.
WOLF: Thank you.
FEYERICK: The second thing is we do have some video that is really going to take your breath away. Take a look. Oh, my gosh.
This is yesterday in China's Hunan Province, where a high-wire tightrope walker failed in his daredevil attempt.
D'ALESSIO: Oh, oh, wow. FEYERICK: And look at that. Now he's holding on. What do you do? Like where do you go? Who do you call for help? That's what I want to know. He was trying to make it across a long-steel wire suspended between two hot air balloons, a couple of hundred feet up in the air when -- look at that. Oh my gosh.
D'ALESSIO: And he pulls himself up.
FEYERICK: But he gets back up. He gets back up. I guess he didn't really have any other option as to what he was going to do. He took one wrong step almost his last step. Let's look at it from that perspective there. It has to be gutsy. It's got to be something he practiced again and again.
WOLF: He actually made one attempt earlier in the day from only feet up and was successful then. But then when he got up, he got a little bit shaky and certainly a scary attempt. I can tell you, and Ray can definitely concur with our many years of tightrope experiences, you really have to be careful.
D'ALESSIO: Absolutely. And look at the form. What happened was he tilted the pole a little bit too much. Had he kept the pole level --
WOLF: That's true.
D'ALESSIO: -- adjusted with the wind, he would have stayed on track.
WOLF: I think also, not wearing the earthy tone suit is one of the big issues. If he had worn the earthy tone suit which we're both wearing today, success would have been had.
D'ALESSIO: What was the first lesson we always learned in tightrope walking? If you fall the rope, you must get back up.
WOLF: That's so true. Amen.
FEYERICK: But he lived to see another day.
D'ALESSIO: That's true. Very true. I mean we can joke about it because the guy is ok and he successfully walked across.
FEYERICK: Right. No one got hurt. Besides, really one should not throw stones unless one is willing to walk the rope.
WOLF: Very true. There you go.
FEYERICK: Ok. Well, thanks gentlemen.
And coming up eye scanners to catch criminals; the latest tool for a growing number of law enforcement agencies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can quickly identify who they have in front of them. And what potential danger or risk they may pose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Could this replace fingerprints. I'm going to show you how it works just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley is coming up at the top of the hour, but first a quick check of this morning's headlines.
Checking top stories: computer hackers say they are retaliating against the recent arrests of fellow hacktivists by attacking more than 70 Web sites belonging to U.S. law enforcement agencies. The most recent data breaches happened during the Def Con Computer Hacker Conference going on this weekend in Las Vegas.
Still no word out of Iran on a verdict on the two U.S. hikers accused of espionage. Last Sunday when the trial concluded, we were told that a verdict would come down within a week, but nothing yet. When we get it, of course we will pass it directly to you.
And eye scanning -- a futuristic tool used in science fiction thrillers like "The Minority Report".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Look at me. Positive for Howard Marks.
I'm placing you under arrest --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, it's not just science fiction anymore. Police using these iris scanners to identify people and instantly tell if they have a criminal history. I visited a jail in Plymouth, Massachusetts to see how it works.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: At the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, the current home of reputed crime boss, Whitey Bulger, you would be surprised at the things some incoming inmates will do.
How many prisoners have tried to shield their identity or hide their identity coming into the system?
LT. DOUG RIDEOUT, PLYMOUTH COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: There has been quite a few.
FEYERICK: Like the felon who gave a phony name, even lied about a prominent tattoo says records supervisor, Lt. Doug Rideout.
He still denied who he was.
RIDEOUT: Yes. Still denied but we had it pretty much right.
FEYERICK: The positive ID took just a few seconds because of this.
RIDEOUT: Look into the camera.
FEYERICK: An iris scan, like a fingerprint but with 235 specific identifying marks in each eye, apparently quicker and more accurate.
RIDEOUT: Went into the national database. If his eyes match up to anybody, it will pop up.
Sean Mullin showing us how it works is president of B-12 Technologies, the biometric intelligence company behind the iris scan.
SEAN MULLIN, PRESIDENT, B-12 TECHNOLOGIES: Hold it from about four or five inches from your eye.
FEYERICK: There's no danger to the eye?
MULLIN: No danger to the eye. It's just simply a digital photograph.
FEYERICK: What makes the system unique is this handheld device which can be used anywhere. Attached to a Smartphone it can instantly run ID checks only after an officer determines probable cause.
MULLIN: The biggest advantage: they can quickly identify who they have in front of them and what potential danger or risks they may pose.
FEYERICK: Mullin says the eye scan is uploaded and checked in the database against half a million people previously arrested.
My results?
MULLIN: And what does it say.
FEYERICK: No match.
MULLIN: No match found. That's the idea.
FEYERICK: All right.
He says my iris scan is then erased; my record clean.
According to Mullin more than 300 sheriff's departments and correctional facilities around the country using the new system. Anyone charged with a crime there gets their eye scanned.
Civil right advocates worry the iris scan could be used without probable cause as a surveillance tool or in places like Arizona as a way to enforce disputed immigration policies.
Mullin says that unlikely given how close you have to be to snap a photo. Plymouth County sheriff, Joseph McDonald, sees it as an extra safeguard to insure prisoners being released are not wanted elsewhere, and to verify the person getting out?
SHERIFF JOSEPH MCDONALD, WARDEN, PLYMOUTH COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: That photo was taken on the way in and then matched up on the way out.
FEYERICK: Has served their time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: The database has about 5,000 names in it. It's expected to grow and perhaps if it's as accurate as it proves, then it could be used to potentially one day replace fingerprinting.
Well, it is now 57 past the hour. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has today's forecast. What are we looking at?
WOLF: Well, we're looking at a variety of things. One thing -- a bit of good news, first; the tropical system that we have been dealing with across parts of the southeast I guess you could say, Emily. Emily now a tropical depression expected to move further into sea; not expected to cause any issues along the East Coast. That's the good news.
Bad news, we still have the heat in place, but we also have a chance the storms across parts of the Central Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and into the Midwest and even into the Central Plains. The best chance for severe weather will take by late afternoon into the early evening as the atmosphere becomes increasing unstable. So just keep that in mind.
But the heat is going to be really the biggest story of all. It's still going to be relentless in Texas. We're going on well over a month now with temperatures in the triple digits: 105 expected in Dallas; 96 in Kansas City; 90 in Chicago; 84 -- or rather 94 in Washington, D.C.; 68 in San Francisco; 78 in Seattle; and 89 in Salt Lake City.
But again the trouble spot is going to be the Central and Southern Plains. Every place you see in here shaded with pinks or the orange colors, that's where you have your advisories, your warnings, your watches.
The heat index -- this is really mind-numbing. Take a look at this: anywhere from 105 to 115 is what it's going to feel like outside. You have to be careful out there.
What I can tell you, though, is that there is the possibility we might be seeing a few changes take place in the coming week where the jet stream is going to drop a little bit. As it does, we're going to have some cooler air to move into at least the northern half of the country, through the Great Lakes and into parts of the southeast. It's a little bit of a cool-down.
However, Texas still, that does appears they will be in the triple-digit heat all the way into say Saturday evening to Sunday of next week. And if it happens that they get to Sunday, the triple- digit heat, that's going to break the all-time record. So, amazing stuff; a very dubious, dubious record, Deb, no question about it.
FEYERICK: Very dubious. And one man very interesting had the best description ever. He said it's too hot to fish. When it's too hot to fish, you know that it is hot out there.
WOLF: Absolutely because you know, fishing, no offense to the professional fishermen out there but for the layman like me, it doesn't take a whole lot of energy. You basically cast the line out there and you sit there and wait. But in a situation like this, it's certainly kind of brutal.
(CROSSTALK)
FEYERICK: Absolutely. Well, thanks so much.
That does it for us. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.
