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CNN Saturday Morning News
Atlanta Interim Superintendent Offers 178 Public School Employees Option: Quit or Be Fired; Casey Anthony to be Released Sunday; Carmageddon Fear Grips L.A.; Apps That Can Ease Your Traveling Blues; The Murdoch Scandal; No Deal on Debt Ceiling; The First Ladies of Comeback; Tiger Running Out of Money?
Aired July 16, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning.
You are looking live at one of the busiest highways in the country, but it's eerily empty this weekend. You don't see cars. You see construction vehicles. Yes, it's closed for construction and expected to cause a traffic nightmare so bad, that they're actually calling this Carmageddon.
Also, listen up, iPad2 for $69. Sears was offering that deal yesterday. Today, they're offering an apology. The big mistake that had people thinking they had gotten the bargain of the year.
But first, here are your options: resign or be fired. That is the ultimatum that was just given to nearly 200 educators tied to one of the largest school cheating scandals in U.S. history.
You may remember, it was just over a week ago, a state investigation revealed 178 teachers, including 38 principals, working at 44 schools cheated for students on standardized tests in Atlanta.
On Monday, interim Superintendent Erroll Davis replaced four superintendents and one principal in the Atlanta public school scandal. Now a letter has been sent to the 178 teachers, principals and administrators who were on the state investigative report as either confessing to or being implicated in the cheating.
Davis has ordered that educators resign by next Wednesday or they will face termination. He says the culture inside the school district has to change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERROLL B. DAVIS, INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: People failed children, they cheated. And we can't allow that to happen and we can't allow anyone who was involved with that to remain in our system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, staff replacement may be the first step taken by the Atlanta public school system to overcome an image now marred by scandal. But the culture of fear and intimidation which Davis says may have pushed educators to take such drastic measures must also change.
We talked to Keith Bromery. He's the director of media relations for the Atlanta school district about how that would happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH BROMERY, APS DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS: He's also establishing mandatory annual ethics training for all employees that you have to go through that will likely be an electronic course of which there's an assessment or a test at the end just to reinforce the fact that he has said often that yes, I expect my employees and I will set targets for them to achieve, but the repercussions will be a lot worse for people who fail to adhere to ethical standards than to beat targets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the district's new focus on tone, culture and performance also includes a commitment to parents and students, especially those indirectly involved in the cheating scandal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROMERY: The other thing we're doing is trying to identify those students who may have been adversely affected academically by this situation, and we're doing that with the results of the last two administrations and the state tests which were done under much more stringent and tight testing environment situations so that anybody who's come through that who is still deficient would be noted in the testing -- and the testing was pretty tight -- and we're putting together an academic program for those students.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the teachers and principals named in the investigation could also face criminal charges. The district attorney will determine the nature and extent of any charges filed.
We're just past the top of the hour here.
It will be tomorrow that Casey Anthony will be a free woman. As you know, she was found not guilty of murdering her daughter Caylee. Authorities being pretty tight-lipped about how this whole release will go down.
CNN's David Mattingly looking into the details for us. He's there in Orlando.
David, tell us what do we know? And part of that is we may not know until after the fact that she's released.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. We do know that we're going to see a young woman who's been incarcerated for about the last three years who was exonerated of charges of murder, becoming a free woman and facing all the scrutiny and ill will that is out there facing her. But as far as the way she's going to leave this jail, where, when and how exactly has not been released for security reasons. We do know that there have been three journalists allowed to imbed inside the jail to observe her departure, but they won't say when, where or how that is actually going to happen.
There's about a half a dozen exits from the sprawling facility behind me here and these journalists will not be allowed to communicate with anyone on the outside until after she has left and after it's been determined that she has left, a point where it will be safe for her to continue on because authorities here have made it clear that their responsibility for her safety only extends as far as the property of this jail complex here behind me.
Once she's away from the jail, she is on her own like any other private citizen and she will not be getting any special protection from police unless there is a specific threat that they have to investigate against her.
HOLMES: David, what is the extent of the threats that have been made on Casey Anthony so far?
MATTINGLY: Well, we do know that yesterday in court, one of her civil attorneys did say that he had received seven threats just that day against Casey Anthony. He didn't describe the nature of those threats, how credible they might be. But it is an indication of the ongoing ill will that is facing her as she gets out of jail tomorrow and that there has been a security concern all along.
Her defense attorneys have said they are worried about her safety. So at this point, once she leaves here, she will be going off to parts unknown, presumably to stay as much out of the public eye as possible.
HOLMES: Trying to stay out of the public eye, but she might end up back in a courtroom. It seems there are a few legal cases, lawsuits popping up against her.
MATTINGLY: That's right. She's got all sorts of civil cases brewing right now, not the least of which is a defamation suit by the woman who shares the same name as the fictitious nanny that Casey Anthony made up who said this fictitious nanny, Zanny the nanny was taking care of her little daughter Caylee.
The woman who shares that name, Zenaida Gonzales is seeking a defamation suit against her. They wanted to depose Casey Anthony for this case before she left jail because her attorneys were saying they were worried that she might leave the state and they'll never get a chance to pursue this case.
Well, the judge says that they will have a hearing on this now set for sometime in October here in Florida. So Casey Anthony will be leaving while that suit remains unsettled.
HOLMES: All right, David Mattingly for us. We'll be checking in with you again. David, we appreciate you. One other legal issue possibly for Casey Anthony. Listen to this. An inmate in South Carolina is now requesting a paternity test to determine if he is the father of deceased Caylee Anthony. In papers filed with the Orange County, Florida court clerk, Chris Umberger - you're seeing him there -- requested Anthony be served before she's released from jail tomorrow. It is not known at this time if Umberger and Anthony have had any previous relationship.
Let's turn to Washington, DC now and the debate over raising the debt ceiling. We don't have any debate talks that are scheduled for this weekend after we saw a round of talks throughout this week.
The U.S. actually hit its debt limit back in May, but the deadline is August 2nd. That's the deadline for raising the limit. That is when the government says they won't be able to do any more funny math and move things around and they just won't be able to pay all of the bills.
Now, the stumbling block between the two sides has been taxes. Republicans say spending cuts is the way to go. Democrats say you have to tax some of the wealthier folks in the country.
The president, we heard from him this morning in his White House address. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm willing to compromise. I'm willing to do what it takes to solve this problem even if it's not politically popular. And I expect leaders in Congress to show that same willingness to compromise.
The truth is, you can't solve our deficit without cutting spending. But you also can't solve it without asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share or without taking on loop holes that give special interests and big corporations tax breaks the middle class Americans don't get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Republicans did have a response this morning. Here it was. They had Orrin Hatch delivering it. He said quote, "We've been down this road before and Republicans will not go down it again. In 1990, Congress and the president struck a deficit reduction deal that combined spending cuts with tax increases. Unfortunately, while the tax hikes remained, the spending restraint did not and our debt has only marched higher."
We're nine minutes past the hour. Let us say good morning to our dear Reynolds Wolf.
Reynolds, it's summertime. Yes, it's hot but we've got something exceptional going on this weekend.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, exceptional. Temperatures (INAUDIBLE) in a bad way, high temperatures going up into the 90s but with the high humidity, it's going to feel like it's beyond the 100 degree mark, anywhere from 110 to 120 in many spots. We're going to show you who's going to get what and how long this heat wave is going to last. That's moments away, T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds. We appreciate you. We'll see you again here shortly. The 405 freeway in Los Angeles, shut down this weekend. What an eerie sight that is. Look at that, anytime day or night, you're talking about traffic in Los Angeles, it never looks like this. We'll tell you how folks in that car dependent city are trying to cope with their dear 405 being shut down.
That's coming up next. It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 11 minutes past the hour. Let's ahead across country for some, a look at some stories making headlines.
First, in San Francisco, where a New Jersey man pleaded not guilty to stealing a Picasso sketch that's worth about $275,000. He allegedly stole it from a gallery last week. He's facing several charges, including burglary. Police believe he robbed other galleries, as well. They found 11 paintings hanging in his apartment.
To Chicago, where a 26-foot sculpture of Marilyn Monroe was unveiled yesterday wearing the iconic white dress that was made famous in the movie "The Seven Year Itch."
And California's governor has signed a bill requiring public schools to teach students about contributions from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. The bill is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. It also requires teachers to instruct students on how to deal properly with people with disabilities. This bill actually goes into effect in January, but it will take until maybe 2015 to fully update all of the textbooks.
Well, highway 405, the 405, the infamous 405 in Los Angele -- you never want to be on this thing, quite frankly. Well, nobody's really on it this weekend. It is always a traffic mess, but this weekend, there is no traffic on it because of something they call Carmageddon. They had to shut down the infamous 405 this weekend for a construction project.
Our Sandra Endo reports for us from L.A.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 53 hours --
MIKE MILES, CALIFORNIA: Stay home if you can. Don't drive if you can.
ENDO: -- a major shutdown --
MILES: This is the one weekend we want to tell you, you really need to avoid the 405. ENDO: -- of one of the most congested arteries in Los Angeles, the 405.
MILES: Do anything you can to avoid driving through this area.
ENDO: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is pushing the use of mass transit, but admits to the city's addiction.
MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), LOS ANGELES: We are the car capital of the United States United States of America and the single passenger car capital.
ENDO (on camera): Why are the warnings so dire?
VILLARAIGOSA: Well, you heard the hype about Carmageddon. If people don't heed the call to plan ahead, stay at home, get out of their car, there is going to be gridlock like we haven't seen, maybe the mother of all gridlocks.
ENDO (voice-over): The shutdown is part of a billion dollar project to expand the 405 by adding an HOV lane over a 10-mile stretch. Engineers are demolishing this bridge to make it happen. Transportation critics say expanding freeways won't solve L.A.'s traffic nightmares.
MICHAEL MANVILLE, UCLA INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION STUDIES: People in Los Angeles are much less likely to use our public transportation system.
ENDO (on camera): Why is that?
MANVILLE: It's much less expensive in Los Angeles to own a car. No amount of public transportation and no amount of freeway building is going to get rid of traffic congestion because there's just too many people and as long as the roads are unpriced, you're going to having congestion.
ENDO: What do you say to critics who say look, L.A. is always going to be congested. People aren't going to take mass transit unless you do something about discouraging people from driving. How about tolls? How about make it more expensive to drive? What do you say about that?
VILLARAIGOSA: Actually, they're right. They're absolutely right.
ENDO (voice-over): There is free bus and train service during the shutdown for affected areas. And despite the pending doom, after three months of warning the public, a good dose of optimism from the mayor.
VILLARAIGOSA: I fully believe it's going to be a successful effort.
ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We're about 14 minutes past the hour here now.
Yes, it's summer. We know it gets hot but it's dangerously hot in some places. You see those highs, 97, 97, 95, 94? That's Minneapolis and that's hot for Minneapolis. But the heat index is going to be around 110. That ain't good in some parts of the country. Reynolds has all of that for us this morning. We'll talk to him in just a second.
Also, have you seen the Harry Potter movie just yet, the final one? If you haven't, you're one of the few it seems. "Deathly Hallows Part 2" just opened and yes, it's already broken records.
And that is the reaction to Rupert Murdoch right now in London. Anger over that tabloid hacking scandal, but Murdoch is trying to make amends. We'll tell you how.
Stay with us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: I didn't realize we were back up that quickly.
HOLMES: Yes, man.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Reynolds, appreciate you as always buddy. We will see you again here shortly.
A lot of people taking trips this summer. You are probably one of them. Well Mario Armstrong is coming up next and you do not need to take a trip without packing what he says you need to pack. He's coming up next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 22 minutes past the hour.
A lot of you going to be traveling and information, of course, is key to choosing the best options. Now you can find a lot of that information on your phone.
Digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong here to show us what we need to pack if we're taking a trip.
And what we're talking about packing here, you have to take with you these particular apps that can help you out there. So first let's start with this Mario. There's nothing worse than being out there, you're trying to get online. You can't find a Wi-Fi, you can't get a signal. Help us out.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Right, because you need that Internet connectivity. But the thing is, you don't want to always have to pay exorbitant rates for it.
So a great app that you can check out is called free Wi-Fi Finder. This will help you find free, paid or as well as free Wi-Fi hot spots near you.
So if you're traveling and you're in an area where you don't know and you want to be able to connect to the Internet, if you had this free app, it would say oh, if you go around the corner here, there's a free Wi-Fi hot spot you could use to download data or connect to the Internet, very, very helpful. I use that one personally a lot.
HOLMES: That one's very helpful. The other, a lot of people might be traveling internationally. You need to know about money exchange, the currency exchange.
ARMSTRONG: Big one for currency exchange. This one gives you - it's called XE Currency. This one will give you live real time currency exchanges. It also features a calculator on the phone itself in the app itself so you can actually do calculations for different currency.
And one of the other cool things is about this app. I love the fact that not only is it available, T.J., on all the smart phones, your Androids, your Apple, your Windows phones, but also they have a mobile site. So even if you just have a regular cell phone, you can access this currency converter just by going to their mobile site.
HOLMES: Here's another important one. You go through a new city, you don't know the area, don't know neighborhood, maybe you're not talking to the locals about the spots to go. You can find your spot to Relax.
ARMSTRONG: Are you talking about, for relaxation for happy hour relaxation?
HOLMES: Whatever you want to call it.
ARMSTRONG: There's one called Happy Hours, and so you can find all the good deals and the discounts that are happening in an area that you may be visiting.
So you're absolutely right. You go to a place. You don't know all the hangouts, all the local spots but you're looking for the deals and the discounts. So you can do searches like, you can say hey, I want to find a place that has live entertainment or I'm looking for a rooftop bar or I'm looking for outdoor seating. All of that can be done from the power of your phone, really cool.
HOLMES: It's not all technically happy hour?
ARMSTRONG: No, but it's a lot of specials on there. If you are looking for those two for one drinks, I know you like your Mai-Tais.
HOLMES: I already know the places already. I don't need that app. But last thing here, you need some help in catching your flight. That's a big deal. ARMSTRONG: Yes, absolutely a big deal, a lot of apps out there. Two of my quick favorites is one is caused Flight View (ph). I like this one a lot. It helps you track flight changes, anticipate any emergencies or issues that you might be dealing with.
And then also, Tripping. Tripping is great, T.J. It's free and it really helps you bring all those itineraries. When we book flights these days, we're doing rental cars, hotels, things to do and attractions. This can build one easy to read itinerary so that when you travel, all the information is there for you at your fingertips.
HOLMES: Mario, always good stuff. Do me a favor as always because people are curious. What is that one he said, what did he say, send those to me. Shoot me a quick e-mail so I can pass those along to everybody.
ARMSTRONG: Give you a list of them.
HOLMES: Yes please. That would be awesome. Mario, good to see you as always buddy. Thanks so much. And for our viewers, join us here every Saturday for digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong has the latest scoop on all the latest technology.
Also, take a look and listen right now to the reception that Rupert Murdoch is getting these days in some places.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, this is some of the reaction in London over that tabloid hacking scandal. He is now offering a private but also a very public apology.
Plus, tomorrow a big day for the U.S. women's soccer team. We here in the U.S. are cheering for them and cheering for them hard, but we may be the only ones in the world really cheering for this team. We'll explain why.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, we are at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, I'm glad you can spend part of your weekend here with us.
I'll give you a look at some of the stories you need to know about.
First in Atlanta, teachers and principals implicated in that widespread cheating scandal have been given a choice. Option one, quit your job. Option two, get fired. The letter went out to them this week with that ultimatum. They have until Wednesday to decide. Nearly 200 educators are suspected of helping falsify answers on standardized tests.
Also today is Casey Anthony's last full day in the Orange County Jail. She's expected to be released sometime tomorrow. But an inmate in the South Carolina wants Florida authorities to serve Anthony a paternity motion before she leaves. The guy apparently wants to know if he fathered her deceased daughter, Caylee. No word on what contact or relationship the two may have ever had.
Also in Los Angeles, they've been talking about it for quite some time. And never has the lack of traffic been so news worthy. You're seeing construction workers there. And what they're doing here is shutting down the 405, the infamous Los Angeles highway. There it is, this freeway there being shut down, a live picture from one of the traffic cams out there.
But this is a better angle, pretty much just a lot of construction vehicles navigating the road right now. But shut down this weekend, supposed to cause a traffic nightmare in some other parts as people try to find other routes around the 405.
Also this morning, an apology from Rupert Murdoch; he's responding to the "News of the World" tabloid's hacking scandal in the U.K. And there's something, a piece of tape here I want you to look at and listen to pretty carefully. Now, it shows Murdoch as he was going in to meet the family of a murdered British teenager. It was her hacked voice mails that really sparked the outrage in this scandal.
Listen to the crowd and also listen to Rupert Murdoch's response to them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Murdoch, will you tell us what you said to Millie Dowler's family?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, stop pushing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep silent.
RUPERT MURDOCH, OWNER, NEWS INTERNATIONAL: If you'll just keep silent for a minute. It was a totally private meeting.
(CROSSTALK)
MURDOCH: I'm the founder of the company. I was appalled to find out what happened. I apologize. I have nothing more to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Murdoch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. He said he doesn't have more to say but actually he did. Murdoch posted an ad. This one you're seeing in seven British newspapers this morning. And in it, he says "We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected. The "News of the World" was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself."
Now, Rebekah Brooks, she was in charge of News International, Murdoch's company that oversaw the "News of the World." She has resigned. Also resigning is Les Hinton, he's head of Dow Jones Company, that's another of Murdoch's companies. And he was actually the chief at News International when all this hacking first took place. We will be heading live to London for more on this at the top of the hour.
So we are running out of time. The federal government is anyway. If there is no deal on raising the debt ceiling by August 2nd, we are told that the U.S. government will not be able to pay all of its bills. President Obama again tried to put pressure on Republicans during a speech yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The clear majority of Republican voters think that any deficit reduction package should have a balanced approach and should include some revenues. That's not just Democrats. That's the majority of Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, according to administration officials, here's the poll the President was referring to here, with a total of 67 percent saying spending cuts are the biggest part. The administration says it shows that Republicans would support the President's bigger deal.
The President also said 80 percent of Americans support tax increases as part of the solution. Now the math on that is 20 percent say spending cuts are the only option, so the administration concludes that the rest are on board with the deal that includes both options.
Another poll though to show you shows a closer Republican divide. Quinnipiac poll shows that 48 percent of Republicans say that the only thing that should be included in the debt ceiling deal are some of these cuts.
Forgive us for all of those numbers. I know it's a bit confusing but again, the President there is trying to make his point that the American people are on his side.
Well, on politics this weekend, the GOP presidential candidates are out on the campaign trail today, probably talking about debt ceiling. Here's where some of them are. Jon Huntsman you're seeing there. He's in Salt Lake City attending the National Governor's Association annual meeting. Michele Bachmann campaigning in Iowa, making two stops there. And Herman Cain will be in Birmingham, Alabama tonight; he's giving the keynote address at the Shelby County GOP Reagan/Lincoln dinner. Well, a lot of people here in this country, all eyes on the World Cup final tomorrow. And cheering hard for those women, the USA team, but the rest of the world may be cheering for USA's opponent. We'll explain.
Its 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. This is one of my favorite topics of the morning because I am so into the World Cup. The only time I get to be a soccer fan with Nadia Bilchik here for our "Morning Passport".
The U.S. team, we're going to be cheering for them in a major way but the rest of the world --
(CROSSTALK)
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes.
HOLMES: -- really kind of -- has another sentimental favorite, our opponent.
BILCHIK: Of course, Japan.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: I mean look what the Japanese team have been through. And we're going to get to them in a moment.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: But let's look at what took the U.S.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: First of all, the U.S. starts off and they beat Brazil. Now, did you watch the Brazil/U.S. game? Was that not amazing?
HOLMES: Start to finish. Oh my God.
BILCHIK: I mean at that moment, there they are, Brazil is winning and then all of a sudden, Abby Wambach does this header, she scores a goal and then it's tied and it's equal. And then of course the U.S. wins the penalty shoot-out. You were screaming at that point, were you not?
HOLMES: We were minutes away of being out of the World Cup.
BILCHIK: Absolutely.
HOLMES: I mean we almost turned the TV off because it was almost hopeless.
(CROSSTALK) BILCHIK: And it would have been the third win for the U.S., because the U.S. won in 1991, they won in 1999. They will make history if they win tomorrow. And of course, watching Hope Solo (ph), do you know that there was a German fan who has actually proposed to her? Because let's face it, there's something very sexy about those female soccer stars.
HOLMES: Ok, you can say that. You can say that, I can't say that.
BILCHIK: I can but just watching them, these very athletic women playing soccer, I mean they are very, some of them are very beautiful.
HOLMES: Yes, you know, my favorite is the one who actually set up Amy Wambach -- Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe (ph) with the -- the short blond hair she is just adorable to me. I love her.
BILCHIK: But they all are -- I mean, they're definitely going to be a calendar. Then let's look at Japan.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Ok? So Japan beats Germany. Germany has won the last two World Cups.
HOLMES: And they are essentially the home team.
BILCHIK: Exactly. And then they go on to beat Sweden. Now the Japanese are these diminutive women.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: And the Swedes are these tall statuesque women and look what the Japanese as you said earlier have been through.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: They are -- having to practice with no electricity at night. So they're not being able to practice at night.
HOLMES: Wow.
BILCHIK: Some of the fields aren't being able to be watered. There's also this incredible heat wave in Japan right now. So against all odds, post-tsunami, heat wave the Japanese really are the team of destiny --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: -- and people are rooting for these valiant women, are they not?
HOLMES: You can't help but. And I mean we don't want the U.S. to lose but if they did, it would still be a satisfactory outcome almost.
BILCHIK: There's a feeling there but the Japanese are really fighting for their country but I'll be in my red, white, and blue.
HOLMES: I will tomorrow, 2:00, 2:30 is when it actually happens. But --
(CROSSTALK)
BILCHIK: We'll be watching these women. And I mean this is a situation only gone on since 1991.
HOLMES: This is wonderful, yes. But again and I hate it, it's the only time I get to be a soccer fan but I love this stuff, World Cup love it. Nadia -- good stuff this morning as always, thank you so much.
We're going to have more on the teams. Actually the states, actually we're going to be talking to Zain Verjee, she is live for us or will be, in Germany as the team is preparing for tomorrow's final. We'll talk to her at 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour right here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
And I got a moment here to share with you. It was a special moment for Hillary Clinton, if you can call it that. This is during a live television program in Turkey.
Now, look at your TV screens. She was answering questions from university students when -- take a look at what the happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have two new guests.
HILLARY CLINTON, STATE SECRETARY: Oh, hi. So we have the -- we have the kitty question coming up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you like cats?
CLINTON: I do. I do. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Live television. This happens sometimes you. You should see some of the animals that wander on to our set during the show. This is an event that was televised by CNN Turk, the students there in the crowd had a lot of questions for Secretary Clinton. The event was called coffee break with Hillary Clinton and cats. I added the "cats" part.
Now 41 minutes past the hour.
An iPad2 for $69, yes, get ready. I know you're going to jump on this deal. Well, Sears was actually offering that deal yesterday. Today, they're offering an apology. It was a big mistake that had people thinking they had gotten the bargain of the year.
Well, Jay-Z was not the only one to wake up to Beyonce this morning. This happened today with the shuttle "Atlantis" astronauts. We'll tell you more about the song and the message she had for them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE KNOWLES, SINGER: Good morning, "Atlantis." This is Beyonce. Sandy, Chris, Doug and Rex, you inspire all of us to dare to live our dreams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, these astronauts are telling the story of their lives and some of the biggest moments. Well, they say I was a shuttle astronaut or will they say Beyonce woke me up one morning? What would you go with?
Well, this is what they got. The astronauts aboard "Atlantis" they got a wake-up call from yes, Beyonce. It was relatively early because they had a lot of stuff to do today.
NASA e-mailed us saying the shuttle crew members have already repaired a broken latch. It was kind of a productive morning and also a productive day. It's kind of moving day, if you will; lots of equipment and supplies being transferred from the shuttle to the space station. As you know, "Atlantis" is the last shuttle mission; it's expected to be back next Thursday, I think I have that right.
Now, let's head cross-country now for a look at stories our affiliates are looking at.
First in Denver, wildfire officials thereabouts killed a bear believed to have been behind an unprovoked attack on a teenage camper. They say the boy woke up as the bear bit into his leg. This whole thing happened about 3:30 in the morning yesterday.
Also, thousands of these so-called muggles coming out in full force to see Harry Potter, the boy wizard. I love this shot here -- this kid here. We've been watching this all morning. What is he doing? The latest and the last Harry Potter movie is already setting some box office records. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2" made $43.5 million after opening at midnight on Thursday.
All right. An Apple iPad2 for $69; if I told you, you could get that deal right now, would you log on right now and buy one? Probably so. Well, a lot of people did that yesterday. It was a great deal if it happened to be true.
But it was actually a mistake on the Sears Web site. It did say $69, but these things start at $699. A lot of people started getting the word out. Jumped on the Web site, started buying them up. But Sears not exactly telling us how many were sold at $69 before they noticed the mistake was made. Sears actually says it was a third party that made the mistake when they posted the price online and Sears is not going to honor the price. Instead, going to give people their $69 back.
Well, we are at about a quarter to the top of the hour.
Tiger Woods broke? We'll get to that next. That's coming up in sports.
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MILA KUNIS, ACTORESS: I am attending. I'm going November 18th. I will be there.
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HOLMES: Superstar Mila Kunis is going to keep a promise she made to a Marine; this Hollywood princess going to the ball.
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HOLMES: All right. We're about ten minutes to the top of the hour here.
Always good to see our friend Joe Carter of HLN sports -- good to have you here. We'll get to the USA women's soccer team in a second and their singing coach.
Let's start first with one -- people have to scratch their heads when they hear -- Tiger Woods possibly running out of money? Is that just a headline and we need to read the details. Or is this really possible?
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: I know I look like a banker today but --
HOLMES: You do, man -- you're talking money.
CARTER: I'm talking money. But I'll tell you what? You have to get an F in math, basic adding and subtracting to think that he's going broke. To say things are getting a little tight, sure. Now, this report just came out by "Fortune" and basically they calculated that Tiger earned $20 million in endorsement deals in 2010. That's a huge drop from normal.
HOLMES: That's pretty good.
CARTER: Pretty good. But his take home pay is not even coming close to covering his overall expenses. He got the divorce, of course, that cost him more than $100 million. Nike, which I didn't know this, one of only two companies to stick with him after the scandal actually slashed their contract with him by half last year. So, he's only getting half of that take home pay that he normally is used to.
His house -- his main house because he has several -- in Jupiter, Florida, it costs him $10 million in mortgage and property taxes. You're going to compound his troubles with his off the course troubles with his on the course troubles. He hasn't won a golf tournament in almost two years. He's only earned about $1.8 million on tour the past two years. In 2009, he made over $10 million on the course that year. When you think about all that going out, and very little coming in, you know, it doesn't add up.
But then again, it was two years ago he was one of the first athletes to reach the $1 billion club.
HOLMES: In earnings, yes.
CARTER: His agent, of course, denied the reports saying that Tiger is financially sound.
HOLMES: But it's amazing. It's all relative. $20 million a year in endorsements won't cut it, that's amazing to hear. He used to bring in almost $100 million in endorsements.
CARTER: Just more zeros -- that's all it is.
HOLMES: More zeros.
All right.
One other story -- let's take a turn here. I love the USA women's soccer team right now, anything related to them. The coach is kind of a cool character.
CARTER: You know, it's a feel good sports story of the summer. The head coach is not your typical head coach, very relaxed; likes to keep her players relaxed. She actually sings during team meetings, during practices, on road trips. Pia Sundhage (ph) is her name and gave the media yesterday a taste of her musical talent busting out a rendition of the classic by Simon and Garfunkel "Feeling is Groovy".
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(COACH OF USA WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM SINGING)
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CARTER: Very good. I mean that keeps me relaxed. I feel ready to play. I'm motivated. But really, I mean there's been so much media attention put on this team so quickly that she's actually had to be singing a little bit more often lately the past few days. Keep them grounded, you know, because that final game against Japan tomorrow 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: That's very cool. It takes a lot to get in front of the crowd -- in front of the media and do that, as well. That's pretty cool.
CARTER: It is.
HOLMES: Joe, you always got some good stuff for us. Joe Carter, HLN sports.
Good to see you as always, buddy.
CARTER: You too.
HOLMES: Thank you so much.
We'll turn to the singing talents of Mr. Reynolds Wolf now. Reynolds, hit it.
WOLF: No, no, no, and no. I'm not a singer. I'm a rapper. That isn't going to happen either. We're not going to go in that direction.
What we're going to do is we've been talking all morning about the heat wave. One thing we have to also mention though is some of the heavy rainfall that we're getting in parts of the world, especially into south Georgia, we're getting some heavy rain that's popping up, let's see, just from Jacksonville south of Montgomery right along the I-10 corridor.
Some thunderstorms have been popping. That's some good news; that cool air has been dropping temperatures across parts of the southeast that has just been sweltering for the last couple of weeks. Things are going to be much cooler than they should.
Now, we're also seeing up in parts of the upper Midwest some rainfall that is now pushing just to the east of Minneapolis back over towards Marshville, Wisconsin, south to (INAUDIBLE) right through Bloomer also. That's actually some good news because later on today, what we're going to be seeing is just the opposite, not that rain- cooled air but briefly a warm-up that's going to really have just almost a stranglehold on parts of the upper Midwest.
Very hazy, very high humid conditions can be anticipated with highs that are going to rise up into the 90s in many places. For Minneapolis, check this out. Your high is going to 93 but with the high humidity, it's going to feels like it's over 100 degrees; 88 in Chicago, 88 in New York, back to Kansas City 94 degrees, 101 in Dallas and 101 in El Paso.
Now we can expect the temperatures to stay fairly warm for possibly the next couple days. It's going to feels like 111 degrees tomorrow in Minneapolis as we fast forward into Monday, basically the same story. It's going to feel like 116 in Minneapolis and into the 100s in Kansas City, Oklahoma City and even into Dallas.
That's a quick snapshot of your forecast. We've got more coming up throughout the morning. T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, appreciate you as always, buddy. We'll talk to you again here shortly.
People in Britain as you know angry over this whole phone- hacking, this tabloid scandal and now they are focusing their anger on Rupert Murdoch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.
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HOLMES: Shame on you. That's just some of the reaction right now in London over this whole hacking scandal. But Murdoch has a new message for some of those upset with him and also some of the victims of the scandal.
Also, the debt ceiling debate; President Obama is now issuing a challenge to Republicans. Compromise, would you? We've got the Republican response. That is next.
We're getting close to the top of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
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HOLMES: The government's new Consumer Financial Protection Agency opens next week. Our Poppy Harlow has more on that. But first, Alison Kosik has the latest home foreclosure numbers.
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ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J.
The number of homes headed into foreclosure plunged during the first six months of this year. RealtyTrac says filings dropped a whopping 30 percent from last year. But the report comes with a warning. The decline is actually because many banks are delaying many foreclosures pushing them into next year or the year after.
RealtyTrac estimates there are 1 million homes in this situation and the housing market likely won't recover and until the current glut of foreclosures is brought to a manageable level -- Felicia.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Alison.
A growing number of retailers are now offering shoppers the option of getting an electronic receipt sent to their e-mail account. They say receipts are more convenient for consumers who tend to lose their paper receipts and more environmentally friendly to boot.
But not all shoppers agree. Some see it as a ploy by retailers to invade their privacy or spam their inboxes with sale announcements and discount coupons -- Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Felicia.
Well, a long-awaited watchdog agency in Washington opens its doors this week. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will inspect books at the country's biggest banks, ensure they're abiding by current credit card laws and respond to consumer complaints.
But the new sheriff in Washington is actually without a sheriff. The White House has yet to appoint the CFPV's director due to opposition in Congress. Elizabeth Warren has been a frontrunner for that position, but the White House has yet to make an appointment -- T.J.
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HOLMES: Felicia, Poppy and Alison.
