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CNN Saturday Morning News
Three Days Till National Default; Jefferson County, Alabama Going Broke; Storm is a Texas-Sized Downer; Walmart Moving Into the Movie Renting Business; Congress in Session Today; Obama Calls for Compromise; A Private Royal Affair; Somalia's Fight against Famine; Will We See a Tiger-sized Comeback for Woods?
Aired July 30, 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 morning.
We are almost out of time, now less than three days away from a possible U.S. default. Democrats and Republicans were scrambling last night and they will be scrambling again today in Washington. Both Houses of Congress will be in session, trying to find a way out of this legislative standoff.
Meanwhile, governments - local governments, have problems of their own right now, facing a major crisis in Alabama where one county is getting set for what could be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Good morning to you all. Thank you for spending part of your weekend here with us. I'm T.J. Holmes.
We do need to start with a debate that was supposed to be over already. We are less than three days from a possible U.S. default. This clock is still ticking, and a deal is not done. We are expecting a lot of action on Capitol Hill today, both Houses in session, but whether there's going to be any real progress, that's anybody's guess.
This is what we've got going on today. The House starts debate at noon, with the likely vote on a Democratic proposal expected sometime after 1:00 P.M. Not expected to pass, however.
Then, over on the Senate side, they kick off debate on that Democratic proposal around 1:00 Eastern Time. They could be debating that for up to 12 hours before they even vote on whether to vote. So kind of a procedural vote would take place, possibly, around 1:00 A.M.
We did hear from President Obama this morning in his weekend White House message. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The power to solve this is in our hands. All that's need is a simple vote that Democrats and Republicans have taken for decades, including all of the leaders in Congress today. It was done 18 times under President Reagan, seven times under George W. Bush, and it must be done again now. It's not a vote that allows Congress to spend more money. Raising the debt ceiling simply gives our country the ability to pay the bills that Congress has already racked up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, let us give you the Republican response. That was delivered by Arizona Senator Jon Kyl this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: President Obama is simply too committed to the European style of big government that his policies have set in motion.
To Democrats in Washington, the answer isn't to cut spending, but to raise taxes and keep on spending. Republicans believe we must solve our debt crisis, and we believe we can solve it if Democrats will work with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. We do have our correspondents up early this morning. Athena Jones is at the White House for us this morning; also our Joe Johns, keeping an eye on Capitol Hill.
Joe, let me start with you. Forget all the symbolic votes, the one we saw yesterday, could see another one today, this early afternoon. Forget that stuff. What is a real possibility of happening right now? How are they going to get this done?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, first, you got to say, this is a poisonous environment on Capitol Hill and in Washington in general, but the way the Democrats have been able to do this before is they've reached out to a group of potentially persuadable senators in the middle. These would be people who can sort of move in, take a look at this thing, try to fashion some kind of language that you might call a compromise, and those people become the power brokers. And then, they have to sort of pass it and hope for a deal over in the House of Representatives.
Of course, the big question is, even if they're able to do all of that, what's the House of Representatives going to do, T.J.?
HOLMES: Well, Athena, let me bring you in there. He talked about brokers on Capitol Hill. Is the president still a broker today?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, T.J. I mean, of course the action is taking place on Capitol Hill, the action we can see in front of cameras. But there's a lot going on behind the scenes.
The White House isn't just sitting idly by. We know that there a lot of conversations going on between members of all levels here, staff at all levels here at the White House and people on the Hill. Democratic officials told CNN that both the president and the vice president has been - have been in touch with members of Congress these past several days, and so we can expect that to continue. We've heard also that Vice President Biden has been in touch particularly with Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who has said that the White House has got to be involved in any negotiations leading toward this final compromise.
And so we can expect that kind of - that kind of talk to continue, these conversations to continue as we go forward these next few days.
HOLMES: All right, and Joe, we - we've been hearing about this deadline for months, August 2nd. That's coming up on Tuesday. That's when the Treasury Department says we wouldn't have enough money to cover all of our bills, so we'll have to start deciding.
That's Tuesday, but there's another important deadline, if you will, coming up on Sunday night, because they do not want the markets to open after the week they just had. The markets just had their worst week in a year, and to open on Monday with no deal in place, nobody wants that. So they need to get something done this weekend, don't they?
JOHNS: Yes, they certainly do, and that means the Senate comes in at 1:00 in the morning, if necessary. Unless there's some deal worked out today or even tomorrow some time, the Senate would have to come in around 1:00 in the morning and - and just sort of go through debate with an eye toward getting a vote some time on Tuesday.
It'd be better for them to try to shift that timeline, shorten it, compress it, if you will, and send something over to the House a little bit earlier because they're obviously going to need more time in the House to try to get the - the sort of rest of (ph) conservative caucus together to decide what they can do with anything the Senate sends them.
HOLMES: And Athena, one more to you here. Are there - I mean, I don't know how much the - the White House may be letting you and other reporters up there know about contingency plans. There was talk that the president could maybe try to use some constitutional power some think he may have to raise the debt ceiling if a deal isn't made, or some talk maybe the Treasury Secretary could stretch things out for another week or two.
So, is there a backup plan?
JONES: Well, this is really going to be unchartered territory if we get to that point. It's going to be the Treasury Department in the end that's going to have to prioritize what bill gets paid, who gets their checks. And we've been told that as we get closer to that date, we may get some idea of more of what the Treasury Department's plans are.
But, I'll tell you, the White House maintains we're not going to get to that point. We heard the president say in his weekly address today and yesterday, in the comments he made, that - that they don't believe the two parties are really all that far apart, that there's still room, many, many different ways to resolve this problem and to come together on - on compromise. And so they still maintain that we're not going to have to worry about - about what happens on August 2nd because there's going to be a deal by August 2nd.
But, I'll tell you, T.J., I wouldn't really put any bets on when exactly that - that deal will be struck.
HOLMES: We - we have learned, haven't we? Athena - Athena, John, good to see you both. Good to have you here on a CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We'll be checking in with you two plenty throughout this morning.
And also coming up our next hour, we're still looking deeper into this debate with a couple of our favorites here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, strategists Maria Cardona and Lenny McAllister. They will be along to break some of this down for us.
And also tomorrow night, a CNN Special Report on the debt crisis. Join Wolf Blitzer and Don Lemon for a breakdown on the hurdles, the options, the obstacles, "Get It Done: Countdown To Debt Crisis." That's tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
Let's get out of D.C., shall we, and go a few hundred miles south. And another government is dealing with its own debt problems. We're talking about Jefferson County, Alabama.
Officials there were ready to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy. That would allow them to restructure more than $4 billion in debt. A lot of that debt is from a court-ordered improvement to the county's sewer system.
But the bankruptcy deal is now on hold for at least a week as the county tries to work out a settlement with its creditors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE KNIGHT, JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONER: We will take a look at whatever they propose, if they propose something. They may not propose anything. Fine. Then - then, it's our move.
SANDRA LITTLE-BROWN, JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONER: It would have to be close, and it cannot involve a double digit rate increase. So we're open for - bankruptcies have always been my last option, and we're down to the end of our rope. We have to have a settlement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, let me explain to you what this means now. Jefferson County, if they end up filing Chapter 9, it's believed that this would be the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S. history.
Well, at eight minutes past the hour now, let us say good morning to our Reynolds Wolf. Reynolds, we have been looking at this storm. It was - we thought it was going to be something. People were hoping it was going to be something. Nothing.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And you know what's funny, that when we think about storms hitting Texas in the past, we've had some that have been just really very strong ones. Ones that people have - have really thought about with fear. In terms of some recent ones, we've got Ike, we've got Rita, you even have - have Dolly.
In this situation, this is one that they were really hoping would come onshore and provide a great deal of rainfall. Rob Marciano happens to be in South Padre Island - or, rather, Padre Island, and Rob, this was definitely a bit of a - of a disappointment, wouldn't you say?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Huge disappointment, not only for forecasters but obviously for the folks who - who are wanting - wanting the rain. This thing really fell apart. We've seen tropical storms that weren't very organized kind of fall apart gradually when they hit the coast, but this thing just completely died, completely faded once it came onshore.
So that was certainly disappointing for the folks who want that rain. I've never been involved in a tropical cyclone where so many people were cheerleading for this thing to come onshore and come onshore with some amount of strength and certainly moisture.
Well, just to give people an idea of what it was like to - when the storm came onshore, like - a lot of times we liked to do a tick tock in the business, do some taped pieces throughout the storm, because it came in overnight, and this is what we came up with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: It's about 8:00 local time and tropical storm Don is only about 40 miles south of here, right now making landfall on the Padre Island National Seashore. We have felt little more than a few sprinkles here, but the - the winds have picked up. Some rain has fallen down to the south, but the widespread rainfall that this state so desperately needs has so far been elusive.
Don's made landfall about 20 miles to our south. Getting a lot of wind now, sand in our face, but still no rain.
Check out the pocket radar here. This storm is dead. Radar empty. Rain nonexistent. And that's got a lot of folks disappointed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: I mean, it was unreal to watch this thing make its way here. There was some dry air out ahead of it, but maybe - I mean, the - the ground here and the resulting air has been so - so dry that that's one of the reasons. But, regardless, this storm just soiled the sheets when - when it hit the shoreline.
But there's some good news here, because a lot of farmers have - have planted cotton this year, because cotton is drought resistant. Well, the harvest is coming in now and they don't want rain when the harvest - when they're trying to harvest the cotton. It diminishes the quality, it diminishes the yield. So, ironically enough, the cotton farmers - at least the ones who have something to harvest - are happy that it didn't rain.
So, there you go. There's a - a nice end to this story.
But the drought continues, Reynolds, as you've been saying. Deficits well up and over a foot, and they didn't get much to put a dent in that at all with Don.
WOLF: Hate to see it. Hate to see it. But certainly you do bring a - a ray of sunshine perspective to it in terms of the cotton growers. There's certainly some good news there.
Rob, thanks so much for your help. We're going to be chatting with you later this morning.
And folks, we have another system - possibly another system out in the Atlantic. We're talking about the potential of Emily. More on that in your national forecast in just a few moments.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you, buddy. We'll talk to you again here in just a second.
Well, 11 minutes past the hour now. We're going to take you to a story that maybe the world is not talking enough about. We're talking about Somalia, where the U.N. says the world's worst humanitarian disaster is taking place right now. A report, coming up.
Also coming up next, the chances are that this debt crisis is going to hit your personal finances in some way, form or fashion. You need to know how to get ready for that. That is next.
But first, this whole debt ceiling debate, as it goes on, as tough as it is to come to an agreement, you would think, well maybe they don't do this often. Well, you would be wrong. They actually do this all the time, raise the debt ceiling.
Do you know how many times it's been raised since 1962? Would you think 34 times, 74 times, or 110 times? In 60 seconds, I got your answer.
Stay with me on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirteen minutes past the hour.
Before the break, we asked you, how many times do you think the debt ceiling has been raised since 1962? Well, it's actually been done, at least according to the Congressional Research Service, 74 times, including 10 increases since 2001.
So 74 times, but, boy, getting to 75 has been a doozy, has it not? I mean, this debt crisis in Washington may be beyond your control, but there are ways you can protect yourself from some of the fallout, if the U.S. - that's if - the U.S. defaults on its debt next week.
CNN's Karin Caifa explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gridlock is here, but the impact will be felt here. And in the final days before a deadline to raise the nation's debt ceiling, many Americans wonder if there's any way to prepare for a possible default.
FARNOOSH TORABI, YAHOO FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: You can't control what's going on in Washington, but you can control your own purse strings.
CAIFA: Interest rates are likely to rise if the nation can't pay its debt. That would impact everything from mortgages to car loans and credit cards.
You may not be able to pay down balances before next Tuesday, but you can help yourself by not adding to the load.
ELEANOR BLAYNEY, CFP BOARD CONSUMER ADVOCATE: We can address the credit card by simply putting less on the card. Again, using more cash. Your interest might go up, but the amount outstanding will go down.
CAIFA: Take stock of all student loans, check in with lenders to see what might happen and how they might help.
SCOTT GAMM, HELPSAVEMYDOLLARS.COM: It's certainly a wise idea to contact your lender. Always have a good relationship with your lender. Always keep the communication lines open and just see if there's anything that can be done.
CAIFA: A monthly budget is helpful in any financial climate, but especially when things are uncertain. If you're looking for more wiggle room, try making calls about recurring bills like cable and mobile phones and insurance.
TORABI: If you can prove yourself to be a - a less risky consumer in those regards, with car insurance and home insurance, you might be able to get 10 or 20 percent knocked off your bill.
CAIFA: And make sure you're ready to weather any future financial crisis. Even the smallest amount of money saved is a start.
In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, coming up next hour as well, you don't want to miss the friends of our show here on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING, our strategists, Maria Cardona, and also Lenny McAllister. They will be along, coming your way at the top of the hour. Also coming up, a lot of people might be looking for - looking for a nice car that's going to set them apart from everybody else. How about a vintage 1940 Pontiac, that's see-through? It's actually made out of Plexiglas. I am going to show it to you after the break.
Also coming up, it's unfortunate, but we are looking for someone to replace Reynolds Wolf. Our first - our first applicant, you are seeing him there. Fabio, trying to give Reynolds a run for his money. Reynolds' job is pretty safe, and you'll see why after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Eighteen minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
Give you a look at some of the stories our affiliates are keeping an eye on.
Check out this statue. This is being unveiled at the "USS Hornet" museum in Alameda, California. This is a reproduction of the 25-foot statue in New York's Times Square. The Times Square Kiss statue is based on a famous photograph taken in Times Square, August 14, 1945, when Americans were celebrating the end of World War II.
Also, this is the ride I was telling you about. You see this? This is a Plexiglas Pontiac that was built for the 1939 New York World's Fair. At the time, it was built for a cost of around $25,000. It's being auctioned off this morning in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth. It's expected to sell up to - for up to a half million dollars.
Reynolds, you have a look on your face. You're not feeling the car?
WOLF: I thought it would be more. You know -
HOLMES: It's more than a half million?
WOLF: Yes, yes. Pretty much. I mean, my gosh, we got cars that are less impressive than that sell for a lot more.
HOLMES: Very good point you make.
WOLF: It's (INAUDIBLE). That's right.
HOLMES: Also, one other to show you, and this does have to do with Reynolds. And I've been saying we're having tryouts for Reynolds' job. Well, he does not have to worry about this guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FABIO LANZONI, MODEL/ACTOR: This is a live look at Portland, Oregon. It's very sunny today and it feels so nice on Fabio's skin. Thank you, sun.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: That's funny. I thought it was funny.
WOLF: I think it's great.
HOLMES: I think he's a good sport.
WOLF: Well, you know, it's not only just - just giving the five- day forecast, the 10-day forecast -
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: -- showing you rate (ph). You need to - you need to express how the sun feels on your skin.
HOLMES: You don't do that enough.
WOLF: Not enough. Maybe more of that. And - and fewer clothes I think is probably the route to go. More hair, fewer clothes.
HOLMES: This was Fabio out at - the station in - is this Oregon? Portland, yes, KOIN, Fabio out there doing the weather, having some fun. He's trying to make a comeback with some of these commercials you might have seen. But -
WOLF: Pastel is nice on him. This guy is ravishing, I think. Good-looking guy. Unbelievable.
I'm just going - I'm going to head on back.
HOLMES: All right.
WOLF: I'm not going to tell you how the - how the sun feels on my exposed skin. We're going to talk about something entirely different. We're going to go from Fabio to Don. Don, what a disappointment.
This was a storm that we had a lot of hope for and thought was going to bring some really great rainfall to parts of South Texas. Wanted it to be a great rain, because much of Texas is mired in a horrible drought. They're desperate for any rainfall they could possibly get. So it did look really promising over the last couple days.
But as the storm began to get closer to the shoreline, it interacted with a lot of dry air aloft and with that that basically just pulled the air right out of the balloon, so to speak, and now it's just moving into parts of the Big Bend area. Maybe some stray showers, but certainly not the rain producer that we had originally anticipated.
What we will be seeing, though, is possibly some development farther back into the Atlantic. We're watching this one area where there's about a 70 percent chance from the National Hurricane Center that this might become a named storm, possibly Emily in days to come. We'll tell you more about that coming up.
T.J., sending it back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, kind sir, I do appreciate you.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Talk to you again here shortly.
Congress in session on this Saturday. Probably goes into Sunday as well because they are running out of time. We will hear from leaders of both Houses coming up in this whole debt debate.
Also, when I say to you Walmart is trying to expand, you might be thinking what else could they possibly take over and expand to? Well, they could be about to change the way you watch movies at home.
It's 21 minutes past the hour. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-four minutes past the hour now on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
Walmart is now getting into another business - the movie business, and that could change the way you watch movies at home. You can now rent or buy movies on Walmart's website.
Our Digital Lifestyle expert and friend of our show here on CNN Saturday Morning Mario Armstrong joining me from Baltimore.
OK. Mario, when I first heard this, we need to be clear here -
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Sure.
HOLMES: -- people go on the website, they buy a DVD and it's delivered to their house. But that's not what we're talking about here?
ARMSTRONG: Right. That's not what we're talking about and that's why this is such a big change to how we would be consuming entertainment in our homes and on our computers and on other devices. So you're absolutely right.
Now, what you're talking about is going on to Walmart's site to be able to actually download the movie right then and there so that you could watch it, you could stream that movie and watch it from your computer, from your laptop, you know, right in your own house.
HOLMES: OK. Do you need anything special here, special equipment? Do you need a certain type of - you know, I'll let you get into the technical stuff about how much speed you need on your computer and all that to be able to download these, but other than that you don't need much, do you?
ARMSTRONG: No. You don't need much of anything. No, absolutely not. I mean, all you need is, really, is just a laptop. You need a computer. You need Internet connectivity. Obviously, the higher the bandwidth on that connectivity, obviously the better to be able to really stream those movies and be able not to have what's called buffering and all that hiccupping that sometimes you experience on the Web.
But, no, other than that, man, you really don't need anything else. They're not charging a subscription fee for their service. They are saying you can do this per rental. You could just pay (ph) $3.99 for a standard definition. If you want the high definition one it's going to be about $5 - $5 to $6.
HOLMES: OK. Yes. Bandwidth, I was going to say that. I just want you to have -
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
HOLMES: -- your moment there. Bandwidth, I knew that.
ARMSTRONG: You do know a few technical terms.
HOLMES: Well, tell us here, Walmart, when you hear Walmart is getting into the game, you better pay attention.
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely. Because, you know, I don't want to call them, you know, mass consumerization, but we all know that once a product hits their shelves, it does reach mass consumers.
So, with that being said, I think this could be a game changer in that for a long time, we've seen other companies in this space. We've seen Netflix, Apple TV. We've seen gaming consoles, Hulu, and all these other ways that you can get content over the web. But, now, for it to go into Walmart that's going to raise the attention for a lot of people that are going to say, wait, I can do this? It's not that hard for me to do it. Can I stream these movies on my television instead of just watching it on my computer? Because that's what I would really like to do.
And so I think it's going to bring a lot more attention and many more consumers to realize, hey, I could be experiencing entertainment in a different way.
HOLMES: All right. You just told us about Walmart a second ago. We know their logo - or their motto, always low prices always.
ARMSTRONG: Right, right.
HOLMES: So in this sense, you told us how much it would cost for the standard definition and the full - the high definition, $3.99 and $5.99.
ARMSTRONG: Right, $5.99.
HOLMES: How does that compare, I guess - I guess Redbox is popular, also Netflix. Let's start with Netflix. ARMSTRONG: OK.
HOLMES: How do - how do they compare price-wise?
ARMSTRONG: Yes. Well, Netflix is a little bit more - it's more expensive, but it all depends on what your usage is like. For example, Netflix also just announced that they were going to have some price hikes. Now, right now, we're showing $7.99, but that may be changing. That may be going up to about $16. So we already know that there's a price hike that's happening. But it's unlimited rentals.
So if you know that you're going to rent, you know, three or four or five movies in a month, then maybe that really is a good plan for you. It is a subscription-based plan, however. So you have to be aware of that.
Now, Redbox, on the other hand, these are kiosks where you can actually go and pick up your DVD and you pay a buck for that. Now, that's different. That's not streaming, that's actually picking it up. But I do worry about that business and how they may be impacted by the convenience of someone like Walmart stepping into this space saying, hey, everybody, you can use, you know, your computer to watch movies right at home without leaving home.
HOLMES: All right.
Good stuff, as always. Mario Armstrong, good to see you as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
ARMSTRONG: You too, my friend.
HOLMES: Enjoy the (ph) rest of your weekend. And to our viewers, you know -
ARMSTRONG: You do the same.
HOLMES: -- you can catch Mario right here every weekend. He has the very latest for you on all things technology related.
We're getting close to the bottom of the hour. And up next, we're still talking about - yes, I know, we're still talking about this debate over raising the debt ceiling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Stuck his neck out a mile. Well, time is running out. What's the White House doing this weekend and what are both Houses of Congress doing this weekend? They certainly are in session.
Also, a little later, a human tragedy unfolding in Somalia. It is what the U.N. is calling the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. We will take you there for an important story you need to be paying attention to.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
****30 (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. Thank you so much for spending part of your day here with us.
I'll give you a look at some of the stories that are making headlines this morning.
Amanda Knox is back in court in Italy continuing her appeal on a murder conviction. Forensic experts testifying this weekend argue crime scene errors should have made two key pieces of evidence inadmissible. Knox, her Italian boyfriend and another man were convicted of murdering Knox's British roommate in 2007.
Also in Norway a tribute to those killed in those terror attacks a week ago. The memorial in Oslo was organized by the youth movement of Norway's ruling labor party, that's the same party that organized the youth camp that was attacked, 77 people died that day.
Meanwhile, the man suspected in the attacks, may have been eyeing other targets as well. Anders Behring Breivik told police he had several places in mind, but police wouldn't say whether or not Norway's royal palace and the headquarters of the ruling Labor Party were included.
We are keeping a very close eye on that debt ceiling debate and on Washington, D.C. this morning. Democrats and Republicans are locked in that stalemate over what to do, but they got to do something. Both houses of Congress are in session today. The House starts debate around noon with a likely vote on a Democratic proposal expected sometime after 1:00 p.m. It's also expected it's not going to pass.
Also on the Senate side, they all kick off debate on that same Democratic proposal around 1:00 Eastern Time. That debate could last some 12 hours before they even get to a vote. All this while that clock ticks and ticks closer to Tuesday. That is when the Treasury Department says the federal government will run out of money to pay all of its bills and default would be a possibility.
Here's a little of the back and forth from the leaders of the House and Senate. Both have floated plans they believe will solve the problem but neither is passing through the other's House of Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the President of the United States. I stuck my neck out a mile. And I put revenues on the table in order to try to come to an agreement to avert us being where we are.
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: So it's obvious to the world in the United States Senate, that there is now another filibuster. That's what this is. It's a filibuster to stop us from moving forward on legislation. This is a filibuster in any name that you want, it's a filibuster. So I'm disappointed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. Let me bring back in Athena Jones at the White House for us. Athena, that's the back and forth on Capitol Hill. Where is the President's voice on all of this?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the White House is paying close attention to that minute by minute drama unfolding up there on the Hill. And so there are no meetings on the President's public schedule right now but you can bet that there are ongoing conversations, these are conversations that are continuing among all levels here at the White House and with members of Congress and their staffs on Capitol Hill.
One Democratic official told CNN that both the President and Vice President have been in touch with members of Congress these last several days and so that's going to continue. Of course, there are already meetings that need to happen if members of Congress believe that a meeting at the White House is going to be necessary for a real breakthrough as Senator McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader has suggested. The White House is going to make those meetings happen.
But for the President's part, he doesn't believe the two parties are really all that far apart. He says that there are many ways to resolve this crisis but with time running out he used his weekly address to try to keep the pressure on Congress. Let's listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That would be inexcusable, and entirely self-inflicted by Washington. The power to solve this is in our hands. All that's needed is a simple vote that Democrats and Republicans have taken for decades, including all of the leaders in Congress today. It was done 18 times under President Reagan, seven times under George W. Bush and it must be done again now.
It's not a vote that allows Congress to spend more money. Raising the debt ceiling simply gives our country the ability to pay the bills that Congress has already racked up. It gives the United States of America the ability to keep its word. And it lets businesses and our economy breathe a sigh of relief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so you heard the President trying to keep the pressure on saying that it would be inexcusable for Congress not to take this vote that it's taken so many times over the last several years. And he said also, that what's at stake here is that if the government were to lose its AAA credit rating, that would end up amounting to a tax increase on everyone.
And so you have the Republican side saying we don't want to see tax increases but if people see their interest rates go up on things like car loans and home loans that would be like a tax increase -- T.J.
HOLMES: Athena, do we have a contingency plan in place just in case they can't get their act together by Tuesday?
JONES: Well, the Treasure Department has been looking at this and as we get closer to Tuesday we can expect that we can get some sense, they'll give us some sense of what the plans would be going forward, who would get paid, what bills would get paid first.
But I can tell you the White House maintains that that's not going to happen. We're not going to reach that point. There is basic agreement on many parts of this -- of this issue and that there's room for compromise. And so as far as they're concerned we're not going to get there -- T.J.
HOLMES: As far as they're concerned. Well, everybody else is concerned. Athena Jones, for us at the White House. Athena, good to see you, thank you. And once again, welcome to one of our newest members of CNN. Thank you so much.
And then tomorrow night, a CNN special, a special report on the debt crisis, join Wolf Blitzer and Don Lemon for a breakdown of the hurdles, the options, the obstacles. Join them for "Get it Done: Countdown to Debt Crisis" that's tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Well, are you royal wedding out just yet? You know, it was William and Catherine, they were in the spotlight, continue to be in the spotlight, but there is another royal wedding happening this weekend. Oh, goodie, goodie.
Also, Tiger, Tiger Woods, has had a knee issue or a leg issue I should say. He has not been on tour for a little bit now, but now we know when he is going to return to the links. That's coming up.
Its 38 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
Stay with me.
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HOLMES: All right. 40 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Nadia Bilchik joins me for our "Morning Passport". And I thought we were done. How many royal weddings can they be?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, this is a lovely royal wedding because it is between a world-renowned equestrian.
HOLMES: OK, that's always good. BILCHIK: And a rugby player.
HOLMES: OK that's a good match.
BILCHIK: Don't you think that's quite a good match. This is Zara Phillips --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: -- who is Princess Anne, the Princess Royal's daughter, that's Queen Elizabeth II's daughter. So it is William's first cousin gets married today.
HOLMES: OK, there we go. All right.
BILCHIK: Zara Phillips. And by the way Zara means bright as dawn in Greek, being we're talking about names. And here is Zara, I mean she is loved in England because she really is a very, very accomplished show jumper. She's an accomplished equestrian and apparently quite a remarkable woman and philanthropist and the daughter of Princess Anne.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: How old is she?
BILCHIK: But I like to say, daughter -- 30.
HOLMES: OK, she's 30. OK.
BILCHIK: She is 30.
But being the daughter of a daughter, doesn't give you much leverage when it comes to becoming the king or queen.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: So interestingly enough, when Zara was born, Zara and Peter to Princess Anne, the Queen said what title would you like to bestow upon your children? She said none. I don't want my children to have a title. So she is Miss Zara Phillips and her brother is Mr. Peter Phillips, because her mother's daughter is Princess Anne --
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: -- known as the Princess Royal. She said why give them a title when they're so far down the line in ever becoming king or queen? Why should they have the burden of a title?
HOLMES: The burden. What could -- what would a possible title have been?
BILCHIK: It would mean that there were certain obligations.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: So like this. She's just Miss Zara Phillips, she's going to remain Miss Zara Phillips and this afternoon she's marrying one of Britain's most popular rugby players.
HOLMES: Oh OK.
BILCHIK: Mike Tindall and if you take a look at Mike. Take a good look; there he is brawling, beefy rugby player. And hopefully we have a close-up somewhere, because one of his regrets is that he never managed to have orthodontics.
HOLMES: That's one of his biggest regrets.
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: OK, let's get a -- I don't know if we have a close-up. But you don't hear that often. He regrets that.
BILCHIK: He regrets. So there they're getting married this afternoon. And although it's a private ceremony because remember they're Miss and Mister.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Not, her royal highness, there are going to be many public figures there. William and Kate will be at the wedding. Prince Harry, all the cousins will be there. Beatrice, Eugenie, the Queen. Now, that's the Royal Britannia where the dinner last night was held.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: And there was a grand party, you can see them all there. And you know I heard an excellent commentary on this that William and Kate, although such a focus, are going to be very demure and they're going to let this royal couple have their moment.
HOLMES: They are still are considered a royal couple here. It's a private affair, but has she lived much of a public life, if you will?
BILCHIK: Well she's still Princess Anne, the Princess Royal's daughter.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: So she's very known in England and she -- as I say is known as an equestrian but they are choosing to live a more private life and cameras will not be in the ceremony. You're seeing them there yesterday after their rehearsal, their wedding rehearsal. And this is -- there he is.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness gracious.
BILCHIK: He is a rather rough-looking fellow. Don't you want to be a fly on the wall at the party this afternoon? There is the Queen and the royals and there's all Mike Tindall and all of his rugby friends. And by the way his parents have never met the Queen. Tonight is the first time this afternoon.
HOLMES: The first time -- look at that, oh, my goodness.
BILCHIK: He's in action.
HOLMES: That's what rugby does to you.
BILCHIK: But two sportsmen or sports woman and a sports man, getting together.
HOLMES: It's a good --
BILCHIK: It's romantic.
HOLMES: All right.
Another royal wedding. You love these things, don't you? You find a different every week if you could. Nadia Bilchik with the "Morning Passport"; thank you as always.
Well, we're about a quarter to the top of the hour. When will Tiger Woods be back on a golf course? He has told us when -- the answer next.
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HOLMES: Well, a quarter off the top of the hour.
A very important story happening and a humanitarian crisis, maybe the worst happening in the world according to the U.N. This is happening in a lawless state right now that's under assault from Islamic -- Islamist militants and also trying to deal with famine.
CNN's Nima Elbagir is live in the capital city of Mogadishu. Nima, you tell us, it seems to be just a litany of problems there.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in addition to the natural disaster that people are living through, T.J., what's exacerbating this issue is that in the areas held by the Shabaab militants, Islamist militants, they're not allowing aid agencies in.
So you can imagine these people who desperately fled the violence that's been ratcheting through the capital Mogadishu for two decades now, have actually now been so desperate that they're coming back into the capital in their there are tens of thousands because this is the only place, really, that they are getting aid.
We went along to one of those camps here in the center of Mogadishu and managed to speak to some of those people, T.J.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Badbado district in the center of Mogadishu town, many here haven't eaten for days. Barely surviving the trek up through the territory held by militants, they're desperate not to be left out. Across Mogadishu camps like this are springing up; the new arrivals pitching their tents wherever they can.
(on camera): The World Food Program says that it's currently feeding 1.5 million people here in Somalia. Many of those here in this camp have made that desperate trek up through south and central Somalia, through the areas held by the al-Shabaab militant groups into Mogadishu where aid can actually reach them. But for those 1.5 mill than aid is reaching, the World Food Program estimates there are a further 2 million that agencies are unable to get to.
(voice-over): The African Union forces are fighting to secure the capital. They're trying to ensure that the militants these people fled cannot follow them into these safe havens. A job the deputy chairman of the AU says his people are succeeding at. Now he says it's time for the international community to do more.
ERASTUS MWENCHA, AFRICAN UNION: This camp alone is helping 1,000 people and there are 150 such camps in the Mogadishu. You can see that the people helping them is the armed forces. Armed Forces are not trained to give humanitarian assistance. The aid agencies need to move in here with medicine, with water, with the food to help these children.
ELBAGIR: (INAUDIBLE) told CNN they are scaling up their humanitarian assistance to Somalia and the African Union says it will hold a pledging conference in August to drum up more international support. But as more and more Somalis fled the capital, desperate for help, every day they wait is another day of suffering and uncertainty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELBAGIR: And that violence, it T.J., has now followed those refugees here into Mogadishu; we're into the third day of intense clashes between the African Union forces and the al-Shabaab militants. Fortunately, so far that is not affecting the distribution of aid, but it is only adding to the burden that people are bearing here in the capital of Somalia -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Nima Elbagir, thank you so much. An important story -- the world's eyes need to be on Somalia right now. Thank you so much.
And to our viewers, here are some facts about Somalia. It's a country of about 10 million people. Just about all of them are Muslim. The life expectancy of a child born in Somalia right now is 49.6 years. The literacy rate: just under 38 percent; that rate is much higher for men than it is for women. 60 percent of the people are nomadic, 25 percent are farmers. The main export: bananas and livestock, camels, cattle, sheep and goats.
The transitional federal government and the parliament rule the country, but much of the country is controlled by local warlords. Somalia also serves as a base for many of the pirates operating off Africa's east coast. So the United States closed its embassy there in 1991 and has no formal diplomatic presence. The State Department warns all Americans against travel to Somalia.
Well, ten minutes to the top of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We will turn our attention back to Washington, D.C. A lot of attention has been paid there lately but it still seems a deal not getting done. Both Houses of Congress are in session on this Saturday. A lot of activity expected there today.
Stay with me.
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HOLMES: All right.
About seven minutes to the top of the hour. Joined by a friend from HLN Sports, Joe Carter good to see you as always.
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: You as well.
HOLMES: Tiger Woods, how long has he been out?
CARTER: Eleven weeks.
HOLMES: Eleven weeks. Tiger's coming back.
CARTER: Coming back. Says he's going to play at the Bridgestone next week. Bridgestone is, of course, a tournament that he has won seven times before, I believe.
He's been out with the knee injury, been out with the Achilles injury, but he's back. He says he's also going to play in the final major of the year which is the PGA Championship here in Atlanta which is big because that gives him one major in this calendar season.
Of course, he's four behind Jack. So it gives him an opportunity to at least win one this year when so many have already written him off.
Tiger is going to have a new caddie because, of course, he recently fired Steve Williams. The caddie is going to be Byron Bell; this is a childhood friend of his. Bell has actually caddied for him before, before Steve Williams, and he also has some ties to some of Tiger's alleged mistresses.
Apparently he's covered up some relationship encounters between Rachel Uchitel as well as Joslyn James. So clearly Tiger trusts this guy. We'll see if he trusts him to pull out the right clubs.
HOLMES: Yes. And that's -- again, that's a good way to put it. But you bring the scandal back up, that's probably why people would recognize the name and who this guy is because he was the one allegedly making calls and booking this and booking that the whole time.
But man, a lot has happened with Tiger. CARTER: You know, he's going to get back on the course and just start winning. Because we talked so much about it a couple weeks ago but the money factor -- a lot of money going out, not much money coming in. He's got to get the endorsement deals back going. He's got to get everything back in play again so to speak, both on the course and off.
HOLMES: We don't know how his game is right now.
CARTER: Well, you have to think his short game is going to be pretty decent because he can at least practice putting with his hurt knee, but you have to think off the tee box, he's probably going to need some work.
Let's talk baseball.
HOLMES: All right.
CARTER: Milky Cabrera had a great game last night. He hit a grand slam, but his show boating rubbed the Indians the wrong way.
Fourth inning, Cabrera hits this grand slam. Watch the plate, he sort of admires his home run. It's a slight pause but it's long enough to make the Indians mad. There you go. There you see it there.
Cleveland sends a message and they throw the next pitch at Billy Butler's head. Ump tosses the pitcher. Both benches clear. Nothing really happened. Order was restored. No one ejected after that. And Butler though gets the last laugh, hits a second home run and of course, the Royals easily win.
HOLMES: Come on. Why not? If you just hit a grand slam, stand there and admire, that was a half second. Some of these rules in baseball, those unwritten rules, and then they toss it at the guy's head because of that half second pause. Are you kidding me?
CARTER: Ticky tacky.
HOLMES: It is ticky tacky.
CARTER: Well, I'm from Colorado, big rodeo guy --
HOLMES: Oh, yes.
CARTER: -- no bulls at this rodeo which is a backhoe rodeo. It's an equipment operator rodeo in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I know the video is less than thrilling. But come on, they're backhoes. They go like ten miles-an-hour, top speed.
HOLMES: Awesome. Please tell us more about this one, Joe.
CARTER: They've got all kinds of events. They've got backhoes, tire stacking, they navigate through obstacle courses for the top prize, a 2011 Ford F-250.
HOLMES: I'm so sorry we're out of time. I would love to see more of this compelling video of a backhoe.
CARTER: Mr. Facetious this morning. All right.
HOLMES: Good to have you. Good to see you as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
We're getting close to the top of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
You know it's all going down in Washington, D.C. right now. We'll head back up there where Congress is in session on this Saturday and the President may be working the phones.
Stay with us.
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