the side show is over. he says he was causing too much of a morning we're getting one very good example of how big that distraction was. and trying to solve a financial crisis. i'm kiran chetry. we're expecting to hear the leaders of germany and france outline a rescue package for greece, but is it enough to calm the jitters weighing down markets across the globe on this "american morning"? good morning. welcome to "american morning." it is friday, let me say that again, it is friday, june 17th. >> we're happy it's friday and we're happy, as you called it aptly, a political side show is over but we have new details on how it went down.

disgraced new york congressman anthony weiner is out, three weeks after an internet sexting scandal turned his life into a capitol hill side show. here's a look. >> i had hoped to be able to continue the work that the citizens of my district elected me to do. the distraction that i have created has made that impossible. so today, i am announcing my resignation from congress. >> and this morning we're getting a look at how it all went down. new york lawmaker steve israel said weiner called him while at a congressional picnic at the white house and told him his plans to resign. >> he had already made the decision to resign and he spoke with me and he said that he wanted to deliver that news to leader pelosi and when he delivered the news to me and to leader pelosi, he did talk about the fact that it is important now to go back to the issues and the challenges that this country faces.

>> trying to resign with i some dignity but his news conference was more like a circus. mary snow joins us this morning. you were there yesterday. almost appropriate end to this entire scandal, is this press conference yesterday, that was really a little crazy at times. >> yeah. it really was very circus-like. as you just heard steve israel say there on capitol hill, it was a big distractionp. our correspondent correspondent dana bash who broke the story of weiner's resignation summed it up best when she said democrats on capitol hill are both sad to see their colleague go but they are also relieved. congressman steve israel, you saw him there, he's the democratic campaign chairman, he was one of the first democrats to come out calling on weiner to resign. he talked about the distraction, the story had become over the last three weeks. on jk usa he said in his

conversations with anthony weiner that weiner had acknowledged that. >> one of the things that congressman weiner talked about over the past week was that on wednesday the republicans introduced a bill to privatize social security after a month before they tried to end medicare. and he realized that this had become a huge distraction from some serious challenges that we confront and from some important fights we these to have, and now that he's made that decision we can go back to addressing those challenges and quite honestly, fighting those fights. >> and one of the big fights, of course, is over medicare and before the scandal broke, paul ryan, the republican, his medicare plan had been in the spotlight and democrats were very happy to have it there. and if you recall, a special election was held in new york state, it was a congressional seat and that election was held last month. a democrat won that seat. the medicare issue was the defining issue, but it was overshadowed in the past through weeks as the story unfolded. >> democrats would have been able to highlight look someone

was running on basically a republican platform of changing medicare, reforming is the republicans say medicare, and lost. a democrat won. but they didn't get to sort of do that victory lap. >> the other interesting thing, that special election, this would be the third since 2010 in new york. if there's going to be a special election held for his remaining 18 months, right. >> the way it usually happens after the governor calls a special election, it's about 700 to 80 days after that. that would be in august. and then, you know, we've been talking about this, a lot of speculation, that anthony weiner's seat in the ninth congressional district would be eliminated. new york is slated to lose two seats. >> because of the 2010 census. >> redistricting plan and once he would be an upstate republican and one seat down seat. when asking somebody to run it's for a lame duck position there. >> mary snow, you know, it's still fascinating. >> uh-huh. >> even as the whole story starts to die down.

noticeably absent from his speech his wife huma ab be dean. seen entering their queens, new york, apartment yesterday before the congressman announced he was stepping down so they could have time to heal. that's something president obama says he would like to see happen. >> i wish representative weiner and his lovely wife well. obviously it has been a tough incident for him, but i'm confident that they'll refocus and he'll refocus and they'll end up being able to bounce back. >> so what's next for anthony weiner? one well respected legal analyst you can count on a political comeback. dan abrams founder of media.com appeared on cnn's "in the arena" telling eliot spitzer the big apple can be forgiving even if weiner's wife is not. >> i do think that he will be back in new york city politics within three years. he will have a leading role, i predict, in new york city politics. i'm not saying he's necessarily going to be a married man.

i have no idea. >> well before he imploded congressman weiner was assembling a nice war chest. a check of records shows he has more than $365,000 in cash in a congressional re-election campaign and $4.5 million for a possible run for mayor of new york in 2013. if he runs for either office he can keep those accounts active. but if not he does have options. he can give cash to other candidates, he can donate it to charity, he can give it to a party committee or he can return that money back to the donors. all right. developing this morning, a rescue plan for greece. greece is facing a financial crisis unlike any it has confronted before. the leaders of germany and france are meeting right now and are expected to outline a new bailout plan. here is a live picture of german chancellor angela merkel meeting with the french president nicolas sarkozy, trying to outline what to do about greece and the euro zone as it battles what is a difficult situation there. the details may not be popular

with the thousands of greeks who have taken to the streets in athens outraged over stifling budget cuts. see pictures of what were faced over the past few days as serious greek residents in athens have protested what's going to happen to their country. our diana magna is live in athens with the latest. greece simply lived beyond its means for too many years and some painful choices have to be made. what do those choices look like now? >> very painful choices, because as far as the man on the street here feels, he's already gone through a year of very tough austerity measures, unemployment is at 16%, the country is in a very deep recession and now he's facing higher taxes, cuts in the public sector, and if these austerity cuts continue how can this country ever grow and be in a position to pay back its debts which are growing exponentially.

what's happening on the political scene here in athens is the greek prime minister, george papandreou, has reshuffled his cabinet and appointed a different finance minister, the previous defense minister, in a hope to try to achieve some kind of unity within his own government. he's basically been fighting a battle on two fronts, one with his parliament and a rebellion in his own party and hopefully this cabinet reshuffle will mean at least his party is behind him and he can get the parliamentary support he needs to post this austerity package through the government by the end of the month because it's that austerity package which is a condition for the eu and the imf to give more money to prevent greece from defaulting. >> tell us quickly why the french and german president are taking such a leading role, german chancellor and french president, taking a leading role here. it is because this is an economic and currency union of a lot of countries and a lot of fighting about who's going to have to bear responsibility for making sure greece gets back on

track. >> absolutely. and let's not forget that greek -- sorry the german and french banks hold a lot of the greek bonds, so they are risk losing a great deal if greece does default on its debts. the greeks -- the germans and french have different ideas about how to restructure, reprofile the greek debt. the germans think it might be better if bond holders do take some kind of -- do have to extend maturities on their debt, basically have to take some kind of a hit. the french want to structure it slightly differently. there's a lot of ground work that has to be hammered out before they'll accept a new bailout package and be able to persuade their electorates in these two countries that they'll come up with a plan, christine. >> diana, thank you so much. a lot of technical details to work out, seems technical and economic except it's incredibly important for greece and europe and for the united states as well. thank you so much, diana. speaking of budgets it's back to the drawing board for california.

governor jerry brown vetoed it yesterday. state lawmakers passed the measure with $3 billion in cuts to schools and a plan to delay the repayment of $744 million the state borrowed from its school districts. governor brown rejecting it saying it doesn't do enough to address the state's $26 billion deficit. >> one state. >> amazing. same-sex marriage bill in new york state is one vote away from becoming law this morning. it's passed the state assembly and a senate vote could come as early as today. right now the senate is split 31-31. the measure needs one more republican backer to pass. if it happens, governor andrew cuomo will sign it and new york will become the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. actress angelina jolie to visit some of the thousands of syrians who have escaped the violence and now camped out in turkey. >> we're told jolie is expected to arrive this morning. arwa damon is there, hoping to get a chance to speak with the

actress and activist and according to turkish officials, more than 8,900 syrians have fled to turkey, posing not only a big humanitarian crisis but a diplomatic crisis as well for that country. hopefully we will get a chance to check in with angelina jolie there. authorities in vancouver seeking the public's health in their investigation of the stanley cup riots. they've set up a facebook page to try to identify the people who instigated that violence. the city is still cleaning up from the riots triggered by the hometown canucks losing the stanley cup to the boston bruins. as you saw from the video, the overturned cars, people setting them on fire, people hitting each other, knocking each other to the ground, windows smashed, businesses looted, and the police chief has blamed the rioting on criminals and anarchists that described themselves as hockey fans. >> amid the streets the kiss. this couple lying in the streets seemingly locked in a passionate kiss. it was captured by a photograph

covering the postgame riots and has now been tweeted around the world. even the photographer who took this shot isn't entirely sure if the couple is kissing or one of them is hurt. either way, it's a memorable image and it's interesting, a lot of these images are being scoured and will be scoured for information about who might have been throwing punches, throwing rocks, that anonymity in the digital world we'll be watching that story. >> facebook page about it is very interesting because they can get input from around the world. >> right. start to tag people there in the crowds and police will be able to trace back and see who might have been behind the anarchists and what they call them, anarchists and criminals in the crowd. >> yes. robert gates less than two weeks away from retirement but the outgoing defense secretary is not going quietly. the warning he's sounding about our fractured relationship with pakistan. >> a routine speeding stop turns into a terrifying encounter. the officer dragged across a

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robert gates isn't exactly riding off into the sun set quietly. less than two weeks to go before his retirement the defense secretary is sounding a warning about the badly damaged relationship between the u.s. and pakistan. fix it. >> easier said than done. barbara starr live at the pentagon. what are his biggest concerns and options right now, really, barbara? >> kiran, as you point out, the secretary is about to step down. gates is going, leon panetta coming in as secretary of defense, but no ordinary turnover time because of pakistan. one of the u.s.'s closest allies. the u.s. has been very concerned in recent days the relationship had an all-time low. one of the big concerns right now, and one of the things they're watching very closely, is the fate of general key yanni, the pakistan army chief

of staff, the most powerful man in pakistan. the u.s.'s closest ally, now under withering criticism from inside his own officer corps about the u.s. coming into pakistan for that osama bin laden raid and if he winds up losing his job after all this, it will be a crisis. so bob gates on his way out the door, is warning that the u.s. has to stick with this ally. have a listen. >> we need each other more than just in the context of afghanistan. pakistan is an important player in terms of regional stability and in terms of central asia and my view is that this is a relationship we just need to keep working at it. >> the man coming into the job, leon panetta at his confirmation hearings just a couple days ago, sounded an even more dire warning about all of this.

>> this is a difficult challenge. the relationship with pakistan is at the same time one of the most critical and yet one of the most complicated and frustrating relationships that we have. >> now, all of this posing a political challenge for the white house and the pentagon because, of course, pakistan still gets billions of dollars every year in u.s. aid and military assistance and the feeling from the congress is that pakistan is still double dealing, supporting terrorism inside its own borders while it takes that u.s. aid. kiran, christine. >> it's interesting, yesterday senator patrick leahy said look, robert gates, how long do we let these countries lie to us and robert gates said frank this, this is how business gets done. he's been frank these last few days. it's been refreshing. >> it was interesting to hear that. it's probably fascinating for you as barbara, he said sometimes friends we're with send spies into other countries,

this is how it happens. it was a frank discussion on the hill. >> it was, indeed. behind the scenes one of the things they keep talking about and reminding congress of is pakistan remains a country with nuclear weapons. you now have a new leader as we reported yesterday of al qaeda, amman al zawahiri, a country with nuclear weapons, a country that is experiencing, perhaps, unprecedented unrest over the terrorism question right now. it's really a toxic soup all around. >> barbara starr, thank you, barbara, at the pentagon. dragged across a busy road in florida. this is a stunning dash cam video released. a 62-year-old officer pulled over a motocyclist victor morales in march. as he put his hand on morales' shoulder the unthinkable happened, he floored the gas, shooting across the intersection with the officer getting dragged behind the motorcycle. here's what the deputy said about the scary moments. >> during this five seconds, a million thoughts went through my

mind about how i could possibly get my gun hand loose, ready to do what i needed to do or if i could just hang on for another second, maybe i could bring limb off the bike with me, but i knew i was going. >> well morales ended up getting arrested, musto had minor injuries and he was back to work a few days later. he fell off finally after the suspect took off. >> million different possible outcomes. rob marciano is in the extreme weather center for us. good morning, rob. >> good morning. we had storms last night that rolled through parts of the mid-south, over 70-mile-an-hour winds gusting in memphis and heavy rains and another batch of storms rolling across the tennessee valley towards huntsville and nashville this morning and a couple more storms out west. we don't have any really major monster storms out there, but there's pockets of energy spawned these convective outbreaks over the past couple nights and that's what i expect to see throughout the day today. one of those pieces of energy rolling across the new york city and tri-state area, metropolitan area of i-95 towards boston,

nothing severe here but rain and thunder and lightning, maybe enough ponding on the roadways to slow your commute down this morning. we could use some of that rain out west. almost a half million acres as the wallow fire stretching into new mexico, the monument fire here and because of the winds yesterday and we'll see similar winds and low levels of humidity today, a number of spot fires were flared up again. so red flag warnings and critical fire danger in effect and, of course, the heat not helping here. unbelievable temperatures here, well up over 100 degrees. 109 in childress and 109 in midland, texas, and it's getting to a point, guys where it's been so hot for so long and so dry, that the ground is just baked dry and almost kind of self-feeds the system and keeps it hot and dry he and we don't see a lot of change to this pattern going forward. back up to you in new york. >> all right. >> they had severe thunderstorms all last night and into this morning as well around here. lightning through the -- seeing lightning through the building windows.

>> rough start for new york but you guys will quiet down over the next couple hours. >> thanks, rob. still ahead on "american morning," mitt romney discovers joking about unemployment may not be very funny in some circles. we'll show you the video and ask you to weigh in. >> saudi women encouraged to protest a driving ban. it's taboo for women to drive in saudi arabia, but you know what, they're taking cameras and doing it anyway. will they brave the road and make a difference? coming up on "american morning." [ thinking ] oh, gourmet deliciousness... i want you tonight! [ female announcer ] wish granted. lean cuisine has a fresh new bag. lean cuisine market creations steam meals.

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u.s. markets closing mixed thursday following stronger than expected reports on housing and jobs. the dow and s&p 500 made gains, the nasdaq dropped just a few points. the leaders of germany and france are announcing support

for reform and a potential second bailout for greece this morning. the greek government also appointing a new finance minister, amid increasing pressure from protests outside parliament this week. securities regulators considering civil fraud charges against some credit rating agencying for their involvement in mortgage bond deals that led to the financial crisis. "the wall street journal" reporting this morning firms included in the expanded probe include standard & poor's and moody's. cnn's calls to the s.e.c. and the credit rating firms themselves have not been returned this morning. blackberry maker research in motion slashing its financial outlook after quarterly sales badly missed wall street expectations. the company also says it will begin layoffs but has not disclosed further details. and aarp dropping its long-held opposition to cutting social security benefits. this is according to a report in "the wall street journal" today. this is the lobbying group for senior citizens that says the decision came after much debate within the organization and it

wants to move with the times and come to the negotiating table. and a new report says small business lending from banks fell $15 billion in the first quarter of this year. the drop due part to banks tightening their lending standards, harder to give loans, and small businesses frankly less willing to take on debt. "american morning" will be right back after the break with the defense making its case in the casey anthony trial. it's 27 minutes after the hour.

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distraction. his wife huma was not at his side for that announcement. the leaders of france and germany say there is, quote, no time to lose when it comes to securing a second bailout to ensure greece does not default on its debt. because if that happens kite trigger other european economies to go under. angelina jolie is in turkey this morning to meet with syrians who have escaped a deadly crackdown by their government. jolie is there as a goodwill ambassador for the united nations refugee agency. according to turkish officials more than 8,900 syrians have now fled to turkey. later this morning in the casey anthony murder trial, the defense is expected to call more of the prosecution's forensic witnesses to the stand. day one featured seven crime scene investigators and forensic scientists. their testimony coming exactly three years to the day since 2-year-old caylee anthony was last seen alive. david mattingly is covering the trial and joins us live from orlando this morning. good morning. >> good morning, christine. what we saw yesterday was the

defense going on the offensive, going after what it perceives as weaknesses in the prosecution's case, pointing out the lack of dna evidence, that there was no dna evidence from casey anthony on the car where prosecutors say she stowed her daughter's body. also pointing out there was no dna evidence on the duct tape retrieved from her daughter's body that was linking her to that body. there was a dramatic moment in court yesterday, when the defense was driving that point home to the jury and here's how it played out. >> were you given the profiles of cindy, george and lee anthony. >> may i refer? >> yes, go ahead. >> the buccal samples had been submitted to the laboratory under communication dated october 20th of 2008. >> were you asked to conduct a paternity test for lee anthony as to caylee -- being the

potential father of caylee anthony. >> you may. >> that moment was actually one that we also saw yesterday, one that angered the prosecution, where the defense was asking questions about a paternity test that was done to see if casey's father or brother had somehow fathered her child. well those results did come back negative, but the prosecution really objected to the defense bringing that up. what the defense is trying to do, they're trying to bolster that claim they made early in this case that casey was the victim of abuse and that would explain her strange behavior while she was out partying when her daughter was reported missing. christine? >> david mattingly, a strange trial that has captivated america's attention, thank you. watch gavel-to-gavel live coverage of the casey anthony murder trial today on our sister station hln. democrats taking issue with what they call an insensitive

joke made by mitt romney. the republican presidential candidate who's worth about $200 million was in florida, talking to a group of unemployed people when he weighed in with a predicament of his own as a joke. >> i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. >> are you on linkedin? >> yes, actually. and i'm networking. >> democratic national committee chair debbie wasserman-schultz saying being unemployed is not a joke. raises us to our question of the day. was it connecting with voters or out of touch. we'll read some of your comments later in the hour. new numbers, while americans all over the country are struggling to pay their bills many of the people they send to washington are doing just fine. the median household income in the u.s. as you know is about

$50,221. many in congress are making much more than that, three times that. according to new house members' financial disclosure reports, let's look at minority leader nancy pelosi's base salary as speaker in 2010, $223,500 a year. she and her husband are wealthy, worth a minimum of $42 million. this is according to the "washington post" with assets ranging from real estate to j. crew stock. john boehner, he is making $223,000, up from $193,000 he earned last year as minority leader. his net worth is $2 million. while he may be the most powerful republican in the house, he's far from the richest. that title goes to congressman darrell issa from california. he's the founder of a car security company. he made his money and then went to washington. his base salary is $174,000. he's worth a minimum of $240

million. lists assets worth over $50 million. congressman barney frank, want to check about him. he actually is -- he's served massachusetts for 30 years. so he's made his money from his job in congress. his base salary is $174,000. his worth is $1.2 million at least in 2011, reported no debts or liabilities. just a snapshot from the new disclosures about how much money we're talking about in washington. back to you. >> it is interesting. thanks, christine. fueled by a social media campaign, saudi arabian women are now being encouraged to break a driving ban by getting behind the wheel today. the movement sparked by a woman detained after posting a video on-line of herself driving back in may. although it is not technically illegal, religious eedsices limit women's activities. will they break the status quo? mohammed jamjoom joins us live from abu dhabi. here in the states you take for granted, of course you can

drive, it's unthinkable you wouldn't be able to. in saudi arabia it's a punishable offense for women? >> that's right, kiran. you said it exactly. and this campaign was started about two months ago, called the june 17th campaign, women to drive in saudi arabia, encouraging women who were tired of not having that right in saudi arabia to get behind the wheels on june 17th today, drive around the country, get behind any -- the wheel of any car they can, drive around the country, make their presence known, make their voices heard, and since then, we've seen more and more videos being posted from in saudi arabia and from outside saudi arabia, people supporting this campaign, showing women driving, showing women supporting the women in saudi arabia. if i can talk very briefly about a video posted on youtube a short while ago, this is a video purporting to show a woman in saudi arabia shortly after midnight on the 17th today in riyadh, fully veiled, fully covered, under the cloak of darkness. she's going to go to the supermarket. she says she wants to have the experience of driving, the kind

of thing women in saudi arabia don't have. they don't have the right to just get in their cars, go run errands, go to the supermarket, pick up their kids from school. saudi arabia is a very conservative country. women there have to have male permission to get a bank account, an education, to travel. so this is something that's been more and more frustrating for women's rights activists in saudi arabia the last few years. the question today is will this on-line ac ittyvism, this surge in on-line activism in saudi arabia translate to more and more women getting behind the wheel and driving around in cities across saudi arabia. we've heard from a few women since last night that said they have done so. i spoke to a woman who was so proud, drove in her car with her mother, hoping to inspire more women to do so in saudi arabia. >> what are the risks of punishment? >> well, mostly, if they do arrest somebody who's been driving, they take them to the police station, they will make their male guardian sign some kind of a form guaranteeing the woman will no longer do so.

one of the reasons women in saudi arabia don't do this more is because it's not so much the females at risk, more the men in the family at risk. the women know if they do this, it's their husbands or fathers or sons in some cases who will face the punishment. but there was one of the organizers of this campaign who was detained for about ten days last month because she drove around and posted a video of herself. it is a risk and people are afraid if they do so there will be a crackdown. >> all right. mohammed jamjoom for us this morning, thanks so much. coming up on "american morning," struggling in cash strapped federally funded youth programs aimed at saving teens need to be saved on their own. >> also, curiosity got the cat, the kitten actually. we'll show you how he was rescued from quite a tight spot and a what they've now named that kitty. it's 40 minutes past the hour.

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we want to give you an update on breaking news we're getting from barbara starr at the pentagon about some major roads closed near the pentagon because of concerns about a suspicious vehicle. >> that's right. >> arlington county police investigating a suspicious vehicle we're told on washington boulevard. we don't know how long the closures are going to last. the park police are now taking the lead. details still coming in at this point, but our pentagon correspondent barbara starr working her sources, we're going to bring you more updates. if you are in the area you're noticing that there are roads closed around the pentagon and we still, suspicious vehicle, we don't know any more about that. >> that's right. we'll get an update and hopefully pictures soon so we can take a look at how much -- this is when the morning commute is starting. >> they're serious about these sorts of things, especially in high profile areas like this. you see an abandoned car, that's it, they close in quickly. also, there's a program aimed at educating at-risk teens

not au risk itself, called youth build. the initiative gives thousands of high school dropouts a second chance by putting them back into the classroom. >> youth build supporters are crying for help stressing the program is important when unemployment is so high and unemployment for teens at record levels. allan chernoff joins us now with the story. good morning, alan. >> good morning. this is a program for people who simply have not succeeded in traditional high schools. the program builds their self-confidence through individualized attention. for many of them it does work, but federal budget cutting now threatens youth build. >> reporter: donovan bruce dropped out of two different high schools. today he's getting paid to learn home construction while studying to finish his high school education. where traditional high school failed, the federally funded youth build program is succeeding for donovan. >> we just learned today that donovan passed his g.e.d. >> reporter: he now plans to attend college in the fall. >> you are just learning in a

good environment and everybody is helping each other out. and everybody gets a chance to succeed. >> reporter: youth build does keep kids off the streets and in school, where they can prepare for a career, especially important in today's economy. but in the past two years, congress has cut the program's funding by more than a third. among those hardest hit is brooklyn's dreams youth build where donovan is among 35 students getting second or third chances. it's one of 121 youth build programs around the nation that have lost federal funding administered through the u.s. labor department. >> the idea of cutting this program, to even fewer young people, rather than opening the doors to all of the young people who are looking for a way back into a productive role, is really bad policy. this program works and we have young people lining up outside the doors. they call it the harvard of the hood because there's such a high demand for it. >> reporter: that demand results from a nurturing environment

which unique eubanks couldn't find when they quit high school last year. >> they like a family, like the mother, the aunts and cousins and stuff you never had. >> there's always someone to listen to them, respect them, to show them that they care and you believe in them and that you want them to succeed. i think that makes the difference. >> reporter: while politicians search for a way to help troubled kids continue their education, youth build advocates say the government is already funding one. they say the answer is simply to expand, not contract, youth build to help dropouts turn their lives around. >> it's not just these kids -- not just the kids and the cost of the g.e.d., what would happen if they fall off the grid. >> that is exactly right. unfortunately the fact is for a lot of these kids, they end up getting arrested, going to prison. so this is a very important place for pull them off the streets, keep them in school. >> everyone's talking about austerity and tight budgets but when you look at an investment

on the front end that saves you money in the back end that gets lost in the budget cutting. >> that's essentially the return on the investment here. >> thank you so much, alan. cats do the darnedest things sometimes. this curious kitten in redding, california, really takes the cake. he got himself stuck inside of a pipe. firefighters had to use a special pipe cutter to rescue this little guy, gently pulling him out by the scruff of his neck. there you go. they've done a lot of animal rescue but say that cutting a kitten out of a pipe, that was a first. and guess what they want to name the kitten? piper. >> that's cute. that's very cute. i'm glad that worked out well. coming up this morning's top stories, the news you need to know to start your day coming up next. >> also, they won't have anthony weiner to kick around anymore. a play biplay of the media circus that was weiner's resignation announcement brought to us only as jeanne moos can. what is that? it's you!

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49 minutes past the hour. it's day one of anthony weiner's life as an ex-congressman. he stepped down yesterday admitting his sexting scandal was creating too much of a distraction. new york's governor will have to call a special election to fill his speat. the leaders of germany and france want a quick resolution to the dispute over a new bailout package for greece. speaking earlier this hour, they said there is, quote, no time to lose when it comes to ensuring greece does not default on its debt. the defense is expected to call more of the prosecution's

forensic witnesses to the stand today in the casey anthony murder trial. seven of them testified yesterday, telling jurors there was no conclusive dna on any of the evidence linking the suspect to the murder of her daughter. new york is on the verge of becoming the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. a senate vote could come as early as today. right now the senate needs one more republican backer for the measure to pass. if that happens governor andrew cuomo says he will sign it. actress angelina jolie is in turkey, meeting with syrian refugees at this hour. jolie is there as a goodwill ambassador to the united nations refugee agency. cnn is also there. our arwa damon is hoping to get a chance to talk to angelina jolie and we'll have video of her visit later in the morning. you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" will be back after a quick break.

democrats are upset over mitt romney's joke that he's also unemployed. he made this joke while speaking to a group of unemployed floridians yesterday. >> he said i'm unemployed. >> there were giggles. >> they laughed hard. >> somebody joked are you on linkedin. >> he said i'm networking. >> some democrats say when you have the net worth, personal wealth he does, should you be joking about that. our question of the day, mitt romney's joke, connecting with voters or out of touch. nate wrote from facebook. i love mitt romney and i believe he has what it takes to fix the economy in our country. we have to loosen up and take a joke and take it for what it is a joke. >> sarah on facebook says out of touch and extremely poor taste. people don't want to hear jokes. they want to hear how he plans to fix the economy and bring jobs to those of us who are

unemployedp. >> send us an e-mail, tweet, we'll read more of your thoughts on the program. 52 minutes past the hour. his spectacular fall from grace is complete, i guess you could say. anthony weiner's resignation announcement yesterday afternoon was pretty much in keeping with this media circus it's been since the sexting scandal broke. >> here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: there is light at the end of the scandal. lights, cameras, and maybe too much action. anthony weiner himself got bumped. >> you're pushing me. >> reporter: bumped as chased by the press to his own press conference. later a hedge gave the media a payback. after a moment of stunned silence, the chase resumed and author and prison stripes added to the circus atmosphere. >> this is my book called "flush the toilet, why men cheat." >> reporter: a book he had trouble giving away.

at weiner's washington office his plaque became a tourist attraction with people using thumbs and it tongues while they posed so they could be part of a -- >> titillating like this or disgusting. >> gross story. >> so sordid. >> reporter: if the story wasn't sordid enough, a couple of crass hecklers looking for attention crashed weiner's press conference. >> so today i am announcing my resignation from congress. >> yeah. bye-bye pervert. >> and most importantly that my wife and i can continue -- >> the people demand to know -- >> to heal -- >> reporter: even the media were enraged disowning the crashers. >> he's not with us. he's not with us. >> thank you and good afternoon. >> will you maintain your hot physique? >> reporter: weiner's resignation may finally plug the slow week of lewd news. >> drip drip drip. >> reporter: it's a splash of harsh reality for weiner's staff. >> the door was then locked and the office lights were turned

out. >> reporter: only voice mail left on. >> thank you for calling the office of congressman anthony weiner. unfortunately there's nobody available now to take your call. >> reporter: even as the word came down that the end was near, the scandal was still arousing passion. >> i would be interested to see if alan would say the same thing if john boehner had said this or any republican. >> yes, i would. >> call me skeptical. >> call me a liar, steve. >> i don't like to kick a guy when he's down. we all know -- >> i didn't put him there. >> reporter: perhaps the brutally honest reaction to the weiner scandal came from none other than gerardo rivera. >> i just remember my days and if there were twitter accounts. >> you could have done that when you were a -- >> are you kidding me? i would have blanketed the country with every part of my body. >> reporter: at least weiner's resignation may purge those puns. let's get the help out of our system. >> we've taken the liberty of putting to music. >> weiner, weiner, weiner.

>> package. >> weiner, weiner, weiner, weiner. >> packaged. >> reporter: as we leave the weiners. >> do you think your marriage will survive? >> reporter: never mind the marriage. will the press survive? jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> actually, if you had to fall backwards on to anything, a hedge is cushion the fall. >> it's almost a perfect visual metaphor for the entire drama and i'm going to have to say, america loves a redemption story, and a comeback. if he plays his cards right over the next couple years never count anybody down in american politics. top stories including new pictures of the widespread riots in columbia after the defeat for -- british columbia after their defeat for the stanley cup.

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the morning after, brand new information about the future of anthony weiner. cnn has the inside story of the phone call he made that set the wheels in motion for him to step down. on this "american morning." good morning. it's friday, june 17th. i'm christine romans. >> i'm kiran chetry. glad you're with us this morning. up first a cnn exclusive, some new information this morning on

how anthony weiner's decision to step down actually went down. >> that's right. cnn has learned the wheels were set in motion for weiner's departure on wednesday night. the disgraced congressman placing a phone call to fellow new york law maker steve israel, he was at the white house attending a congressional picnic when weiner broke the news. this is something you'll hear only on cnn. >> he had already made the decision to resign, and he spoke with me. he said that he wanted to deliver that news to leader pelosi, and when he delivered the news to me and leader pelosi, he did talk about the fact that it is important now to go back to the issues and the challenges that this country faces. he made the right decision. he reached the right decision for himself, his wife, for the congress and for the american people. >> so now that congressman weiner is out, there are several key questions to ask this morning. how much of a distraction was he in washington, does he have a future in politics, and what is his next move? >> mary snow has been following

the snow since the beginning and attending all of the bizarre news conferences that have gone with it. good morning, mary. >> bizarre they were. it gives you an indication, this happened in new york, the media capital, and this story would not go away over the past few weeks. it was a constant drumbeat of new pictures or details, keeping it in the news. democrats were eager to move away from it and advance their agenda. congressman steve israel, his job is to get democrats elected to congress. he said on "jk usa" the distractions were discussed in the conversation he had with anthony weiner the night before he reside. -- resigned. >> one of the things congressman weiner talked about over the past week, on wednesday the republicans introduced a bill to privatize social security after a month before they tried to end medicare. and he realized that this had become a huge distraction from some serious challenges that we confront and from some important fights that we need to have, and now that he's made that decision we can go back to addressing those challenges and fighting

those fights. >> one of those fights is over medicare and until a few weeks ago, democrats thought or they were touting as some success, worries over a house republican proposal on medicare, to help the democrat win a special congressional election last month in republican district in new york state. it was quickly forgotten as the weiner scandal dominated the headlines. >> we're hearing some predictions about when he will return back. this what is i love about american politics. he's -- the plaque is still on the door and people are saying, he will make a comeback. >> you know, many of the pundits as you know have written him off for his hopes of becoming mayor in 2013. he was seen as a front contender. not everyone is closing the door on a potential comeback. dan abrams, he's the founder of media[ inaudible ], not questioning whether a comeback could be in sight. >> by the way, i do think that he will be back in new york city

politics within three years. he will have a leading role, i predict, in new york city politics, not saying he's necessarily going to be a married man, i have no idea. >> the website that focuses a lot on the, i guess, ins and outs of what goes on in the media and also in politics. >> if wyou listen to what anthoy weiner said yesterday, he said he was looking for other ways to contribute his talents and talking about middle-class values and he was from a middle-class background and may wonder at least is this some seed he's dropping for a potential down the road. it would take a while, but even some of his constituents say look, you know, anything is possible, it's not looking very good, but -- >> others who say he has to complete this -- he talked about getting professional help. >> right. >> that he has to sort of complete that psychological journey, heal, you know, the personal stuff, and then maybe think about it. as you said he still has a huge war chest, $4 million for a

potential mayoral run. >> over $4 million he raised for the 2013 race. he could give that to other people, you know, other candidates, and he can return the money, a couple of options. obviously he can't just go and spend it. >> he just lost a six-figure, high six-figure paying salary. he has a baby on the way. you wonder what kind of financial considerations in general are going on in his family. >> he's limited, doesn't have a law or business degree. >> the heckler, howard stern show heckler, asking him if he was going to maintain his physique and that odd questioning. >> it was. there were two hecklers i saw, but the prime one was from the howard stern show. i had seen him earlier at the news conference when anthony weiner came out to say he was lying, he was there as well. >> thanks, mary. 7:30 eastern we're going to talk about weiner's resignation, distraction and damage it caused in politics and where he goes from here, joined by a strategi strategist, keke mcclain, and presidential adviser robert

traynham. >> leaders of germany and france say there's no time to lose when it comes to securing a rescue plan for greece. that country is facing a financial crisis unlike any it's dealt with before. it could default on its debt and trigger other european economies to go under as well. in recent days, thousands of greeks have taken to the streets in athens. they are outraged over the budget cuts that the government says are needed to secure that bailout. a new york senate vote on a same-sex marriage bill could come as early as today and this morning we're hearing surprising words from one of its republican supporters. the senate is split, 31-31. the measure needs one more republican backer to pass. it already has the support of republican state senator rowe mcdonald. he said he's fed up with conservative groups, anti-gay marriage groups pressuring him to vote against the marriage equality act. you get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn't black and white, good and bad and you try

to do the right thing. you might not like that, you might be very cynical about that. well "f" word that. i don't care what you think. i'm trying to do the right thing. governor andrew cuomo supports the gay marriage bill. he met last night with supporters as well as several opponents who are asking him to re-write the measure. also new this morning in southern arizona another wildfire is burning dangerously close to some neighborhoods near mexico. authorities have evacuated 1700 additional homes. the monument fire, as it's called, is about 17% contained. a new poll shows president obama could be in for a serious challenge if he wants to win re-election. according to the gallup poll, this poll shows if the election were held today, 44% of registered voters say they would vote for an unnamed republican candidate, 39% say they would vote for president obama. new york congressman charles rangel selling his villa dominican republic the focus of a house ethics investigation.

he was found guilty of among other things failing to pay taxes on 17 years of income. he reportedly bought the home for $89,000 and sold it in december for up to $500,000. democrats are taking issue with what they call an ins sensitive joke made by mitt romney. the republican presidential candidate who's worth about $200 million was in florida talking to a group of unemployed folks when he weighed in with a predicament of his own. >> well, i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. >> are you on linkedin? >> yes, actually. and i'm networking. >> you see he was joking, holding a book about how to get a job, everyone laughing but democratic national committee chair debbie wasserman-schultz put out a statement saying that joke being unemployed is simply

not a joke. it was inappropriate. that bring us to our question of the day. mitt romney's joke, is he connecting with voters or out of touch? send us an e-mail, tweet, tell us on facebook. we will read your thoughts later in the hour. we're getting a better picture about how widespread the violence was and the riots in vancouver, british columbia. the city virtually exploding after a -- the hometown canucks lost game seven of the stanley cup final. we now know about 150 people went to the hospital for their injuries. and there were reports of a stabbing and multiple head injuries as well. police say nearly 100 people were arrested. two of their police cruisers were set on fire. and check out this amazing time lapse video. it puts this event into a thu fleek perspective. it shows the city skyline from the beginning of the riots in the early evening to later on that night. you can see the black smoke billowing out of different parts of the city. the cleanup still going on in downtown vancouver this

morning. the rioting estimated to cost the city millions of dollars in damages and signs of regret and support are visible this morning. this cnn i-report shows some of the messages posted on the plywood board covering up broken and smashed store fronts many posting messages like we love vancouver and all you need is love. there's still anger this morning, listen. >> i'm so disgusting with the way vancouver acted. i've never been so embarrassed of the city in my life. >> i live here. i'm a true fan. vancouver did an amazing job getting as far as they did and we have this. >> i'm angry to see this is my city, all british columbias. >> it's disgraceful. >> another i-reporter captured this image that speaks volumes about the image. one resident not wanting them to get the wrong idea. on behalf of my team and my city, i'm sorry. >> vancouver's police chief is

blaming criminals and anarchists not hokie fans. a -- hockey fans. a facebook page has been set up to help identify those inciting the violence. one asking readers to report the riot morons. also posting picks. then there's the kiss. this picture of a couple lying in the street in vancouver seemingly locked in a passionate kiss. the couple appears to be owe live vus what's going on around them. it kuz captured bay photographer covering the postgame riots. this picture treweeted around t world and the photographer who took this picture isn't sure if the couple is kissing or one is hurt. either way -- he got back to his newsroom and didn't even notice that part of the picture until his editor said something to him. look at that. he says it is a memorable image either way. still to come this morning, you loved him in "er" and now noah wiley is back on tv, a sigh fi series produced by steven

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we have new video to cnn right now. this is outside of the courthouse where the casey anthony murder trial is taking place. literally people fighting over public seats. today this was taken about 5:45 this morning by local channel 6 there. they say apparently according to a reporter, local reporter, two men cut in line who were approached by other members in the line and then you see this fight breaking out. apparently the men were questioned, but police did not make any arrests. this is not an unusual scene. quite a statement on exactly

what people are doing outside of this casey anthony trial. this is about the second or third time that police have been called for fights. >> and it's getting worse every day. it's getting worse. only 50 seats and it's very tense to get a spot in that courtroom. in a few hours in the casey anthony murder trial the defense is expected to call the prosecution's forensic witnesses to the stand. day one featured seven crime scene investigators and forensic scientists. their testimony exactly three years to the day since little 2-year-old caylee anthony was last seen alive and the defense was able to establish that there is no conclusive dna evidence on any piece of evidence that links casey to her daughter's murder. >> did you test the adhesive side of the duct tape? >> yes, i did. >> and was there anything that you were able to find there? >> the information that was generated was inconclusive. >> sunny hostin joins us this morning, a legal contributor for

"in session" and a former federal prosecutor. this is, of course, this is what happens on cross-examination, the defense is trying to chip away at the prosecutions witnesses. is this a big deal, the fact that they didn't find caylee's dna, given they found the duct tape on the baby's skull? >> it certainly could lead to reasonable doubt. i was really interested, kiran, by this defense strategy. it's usually one of two things. a defense attorney will say that his client is not guilty. and so it's really about poking holes in the prosecution's case. and then the other theory usually is, my client is innocent. let me tell you what really happened. that's what he sort of led to in opening statements. my client did not intentionally murder her daughter. this was an accidental drowning. i think we all thought that either casey anthony was going to get on the witness stand and say it was three years to the day that my little girl drowned in the swimming pool, but instead of doing that, he decided to go with the sort of, my client isn't guilty -- >> i don't understand -- >> and poked holes in the prosecution's case. >> the duct tape part, they literally showed photos saying

no one is doubting that is caylee anthony's skull. >> and the duct tape around her face. no dna found on the sticky side, none of caylee anthony's dna found on the sticky side. that is significant evidence and what the defense has done so far, poking holes in the prosecution case. many people are not really convinced that this is the right theory. people think something criminal happened, i tend to think something criminal happened, but did she really intentionally murder her daughter which is what they have to prove? i'm not sure they got there. >> you saw this moment for the prosecution and now it feels as though the tide has shifted a little bit. is that natural because now it is the defense's case again? >> it better be. it better happen that way, because this is the defense's case in chief, the defense's turn to really shine the light on their theory, either my client is not guilty or my client is innocent and i think he's got a long way to go but jose baez did a pretty decent job of poking those holes in. i mean not having caylee anthony's dna on the duct tape, the black trash bags, no dna

found. >> the paternity test. >> i thought was a bombshell. let's face it, the defense theory is the reason she acted this way for 31 days, not reporting, partying all this type of thing, because she was sexually abused by her father. jose baez in the opening statement, sexually abused by her brother. without casey anthony having to get on the stand we found out that the fbi conducted a paternity test to determine whether or not lee anthony was the source. >> was the father of caylee. >> what they left out, the prosecutor said -- the prosecutors after the recess said no, they did dna testing, right? they did paternity testing and it's neither the father or brother's child. >> why would the fbi conduct the test if the allegations of sexual abuse were not true. i can tell you from experience the fbi doesn't do a paternity test unless you ask them to do it. >> this is why you have hundreds lining up and figtsz to get into the courtroom. >> they want to see casey

anthony on the witness stand. >> you say social media has made people feel like they know these characters and players and people want to be close to it. >> it's unbelievable. >> the pictures of the fighting is weird and creepy. >> i'm getting facebook hits like unbelievable, people feel they know this little girl, they know this family, they are part of this trial. >> sunny hostin, thanks so much. we'll talk to you soon. >> 18 minutes after the hour. time to check in with rob for the weather. hi, rob. >> good morning. had boomers roll through the new york city area last night and early this morning, they're beginning to move away, thankfully. but some ponding on the roadways across parts of southern new england as this cluster of thunderstorms makes its way toward the boston area. associated not with any big storm. we have kind of an upper low over here and some pockets of convection will fire up again across this warm front today. last night we had rough thunderstorms across memphis, tennessee, and i think we'll see similar action today. critical fire danger out west again with winds and low levels of humidity there. that's not good news.

as those fires continue to grow almost at a half million acres is the wallow fire and the heat is not helping. 109 in childress, texas. midland seeing 109. amarillo seeing 107. dodge city 104. tough to find a place it to cool off. 95 in memphis today and 94 in atlanta. some geese out in colorado found a place to cool off. along the colorado river in glenwood springs where the river is running high and the geese are taking advantage of it. surfing the river. check that out. have you ever seen anything like that? >> that's -- >> this is actually a water park, guys. they've enhanced some of the underbelly of the river there, to create these waves for kayakers and surfers but the geese are saying hey, i want in on this action as well. so, i've never seen anything like this. >> wait, do you think -- >> they are trying to get food. >> having fun or look for a m minnow under there. >> they're cruising, having fun.

they don't get waves like that in canada. >> i didn't know canadian geese were such great suffers. bring on the wave pool. >> happy friday. coming up on "american morning," the budget act falling on youth initiatives. we'll take you inside one of the life-changing programs. we're back in just a a couple minutes. quick break. right now, go to priceline for a sneak peek at recent winning and better than ever! hotel bids to find where you n save up to 60% on hotels. * we'll even email you other people's winning bids, so you'll know what price to name. *á with new hotel bid alerts, from priceline. you're gonna have the hottest car on the block. [ airplane engine rumbles ] show me the carfax. yeah, show me the carfax.

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zi. minding your business this morning. u.s. markets closing mixed following stronger than expected reports on housing and jobs. a little better there but a tough situation for both of those markets. the dow and s&p 500 made gains, the nasdaq dropping a few points yesterday. the leaders of germany and france are announcing support for reform amid reports of a second bailout for greece this morning. the greek government also appointing a new finance minister, amid increasing pressure from protests outside parliament in athens this week. former federal reserve chairman alan greenspan weighing in saying the country is almost certain to default. in an interview with charlie rose saying the financial crisis in greece could help drive the u.s. economy into recession. and capital one bank winning the bid for ing's banking unit

in a $9 billion deal. capital one known for its credit cards and the acquisition signals an aggressive move into the on-line banking business. don't forget, for the latest news about your money check out the all new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" will be right back after this break. where do you go to find a super business? you know, the ones who do a super job? superpages.com®. for local maps, reviews and videos & it's the only local search site with the superguarantee®. so next time, let the good guys save the day. get the superguarantee®, only at superpages®. in the book, on your phone or at superpages.com®.

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welcome back to "american morning." 28 minutes past the hour. it's an opportunity and also

some hope for at risk youths, talking about social programs designed to take teens off the street, to get them back into the classrooms and learning skills. >> and today those programs are crumbling under budget cuts. you will see this only on cnn, youth build, one of the initiatives in jeopardy, taking you inside the program to introduce you to some of its success stories. allan chernoff brings us the story this morning. good morning. >> good morning. this is for kids who have failed out of regular high school, not succeeding, many of them fall to the streets. but this program takes those kids, builds their self-confidence through individualized attention and it works very often. but, federal budget cutting is threatening youth build. >> reporter: donovan bruce dropped out of two different high schools. today he's getting paid to learn home construction while studying to finish his high school education. where traditional high school failed, the federally funded youth build program is succeeding for donovan. >> we just learned today that donovan passed his g.e.d.

>> reporter: he now plans to attend college in the fall. >> you are just learning in a good environment and everybody is helping each other out. and everybody gets a chance to succeed. >> reporter: youth build does keep kids off the streets and in school, where they can prepare for a career, especially important in today's economy. but in the past two years, congress has cut the program's funding by more than a third. among those hardest hit is brooklyn's dreams youth build where donovan is among 35 students getting second or third chances. it's one of 121 youth build programs around the nation that have lost federal funding administered through the u.s. labor department. >> the idea of cutting this program, to even fewer young people, rather than opening the doors to all of the young people who are looking for a way back into a productive role, is really bad policy. this program works and we have young people lining up outside the doors. they call it the harvard of the

hood because there's such a high demand for it. >> reporter: that demand results from a nurturing environment which unique eubanks couldn't find when she quit high school last year. >> they like a family, like the mother, the aunts and cousins and stuff you never had. >> there's always someone to listen to them, respect them, to show them that they care and you believe in them and that you want them to succeed. i think that makes the difference. >> polltitions have been searching for a way to help troubled kids continue their education. youth advocates say the government is already funding one. the answer, they argue, is to expand, not contract youth build, so that we can help dropouts turn their lives around. >> all right. an important story. allan chernoff, thanks. back to our top story this morning, it is over for congressman anthony weiner. this is day one of his new life as a former elected official. he resigned yesterday, just hours after calling a colleague at the white house to break the news. >> to discuss the distraction he

created, damage he did and where he goes from here, keke mcclain and former republican adviser robert traynham joining us from washington. first, keke, what was the distraction he was, debt negotiations, medicare and attacking the republicans on the medicare plan, what was he overshadowing? >> frankly it's what we're doing this morning, on the air talking about this and not talking about the fact that we need to come to a bipartisan solution for the debt ceiling. i think as of today, and maybe this last conversation this morning, we'll be past that. >> what about you, what do you think, robert? does he leave any scorched earth behind when it comes to democratic leaders or did everybody sort of do the best they could with this? >> i think everyone did the best they could with this. i keep saying this over and over again, as far as we know, congressman weiner did nothing illegal. what he did was extremely seedy and very, very immoral, but, you know, it was a huge distraction and a big national conversation, obviously, was happening at water coolers across the

country. at least here in the beltway. the real question, i think about this, what is the person outside the beltway thinking? the person who is living paycheck to paycheck, looking for employment for the past two years, when they sit down and turn on cnn, and they look at this type of stuff, they're scratching their heads and saying, why aren't the people of washington, d.c., thinking about me? why are they not working on the issues i care about, as opposed to a sex scandal quite frankly, really is between he and his wife and the people he had a quote/unquote relationship with on the web. >> it is, until he stands up in front of a bunch of people and lies to a bunch of reporters all day long and then it becomes a story that continues to have legs. you've heard the drip drip drip. everyone thought that every day of this was the last day of the story and it wasn't. ki ki, maybe you're right this is finally the last day. he has money set aside, polls in the city that show that he's still popular, his constituents think he should still have that job. is that campaign money he has, is that an issue? what does he do with that? >> it's not about the money. the kind of advocate that

anthony has been for the community he served. that's what will be there for him if he finds another way to serve over time. you know, this is a great demonstration of the concept that our elected officials are human beings and they have great strengthses and great weaknesses and come with exceptional gifts and flaws. as we know, people have the chance to remake themselves and find the multitude of ways to serve again and again. look, i'm just going to say it, because we're on cnn, you have a member of your on air talent who was a flawed politician who came back and now serves in a different way as an on air commentator. >> i think you're right. there are a lot of people who believe in the political comeback. >> it's not just the political comeback. the human comeback. what is your role in life and what will you do? it's clear that congressman has chosen to step back, give his family a chance to heal, and to move forward. he's young. this is not by any means a person for whom life is over. >> if i could just chime in

quickly, kiki is right. take a look at bill clinton, david vitter, newt gingrich, a lot of folks that have reminded us, politicians, that have reminded not only are they human, but, b, because of the human comeback, they're able to come back and frankly are a bit stronger because of it. >> let's leave that on the table and move on to another potential controversy, at least. frontrunner for the gop, for trying to get to the white house, is mitt romney. he made a remark when meeting with some unemployed folks that was meant to be as a joke. it seemed that they took it as a joke. but other pundits are saying and some democratic elected officials like debbie wasserman-schultz saying this is in poor taste. i want to get you guys to weigh in. >> well, i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. >> are you on linkedin? >> yes, actually.

and i'm networking. >> so this is tough, robert. i'm sure he was trying to joke around with these people, i'm one of you, but when he has a net worth of $200 million does it come off as insensitive? >> yes, and no. clearly in looking at that footage, everyone was laughing. it didn't seem to be uncomfortable. i guarantee you that this will be a campaign ad if, in fact, mitt romney becomes the nominee. we need to remember as i said before, 9.1 unemployment rate. mitt romney's unemployed because he chooses to be unemployed, worth several hundred millions of dollars. it is in poor taste. in fairness to him, it appears no one in the room was offended by that. we need to put that in context. >> sounds like he was reading the crowd pretty well. >> yeah. but the reality is when running for the president of the united states you have to stand by the things you've said. do i think he woke up that morning intending to be thoughtless, no. was he thoughtless? absolutely. and i think, again, this is the other end of the spectrum of

human behavior. candidates are human beings. here's the difference when running for office, you have to be prepared to live with the fallout and the multiple translations of what you've done. this is what lives on and particularly in the world of social media today, these moments don't go by with just the people in that room. you know, i guess when you're worth as much as mitt romney, which is a great thing, i would like to be worth that much some day. >> me too, kiki. >> you have room to have humor about that job. >> this is why no one runs for president, you can never get a straight answer out of anybody, because everything you do is micro analyzed and played endlessly. >> that's true. what's interesting about a presidential campaign, say that mitt romney is the republican nominee, you're looking at essentially an 18-month campaign and what voters will do by the time they get to the general, get to a major primary, they look at these things in collection. if he does it once and it doesn't happen again no big deal. if he does it again and again and again, then voters begin to

recognize wow, there's a consistent pattern here. he had a one off really bad moment but he shouldn't do it again. >> kiki mcclain, robert traynham, thanks both of you so. >> have a good weekend. here's what's new, trapped high above st. louis, crammed with little air, no way down, one of the trams in the famed st. louis arch, stalled yesterday. >> this is why i can't go on these things. i'm afraid of heights. >> it happened in new york. >> more than an hour they were stranded. hoist the tram to the top and rescue the tourists. no word on what caused that glitch. >> i do it for other people because if you're already terrified of heights and being trapped, can you imagine what a peach you are if you get stuck. >> scared of heights and claustrophob claustrophobic. >> it was smiles for 20 costco employees yesterday. they collected their powerball jackpot winnings, $202 million which they chose to take in a slump sum. the co-workers chipped in for

lottery tickets in may and remembered that exciting day. >> we started as a group when the powerball hit about $144 million and as a group we decided to put $5 a week in and said group of 20, got a month now, we've been playing, that's how we came as a group. >> the morning i checked the ticket, went through the numbers one by one, shaking my head, clearing my eyes, couldn't believe what i was seeing. >> how do they plan to spend that cash? some of them want to buy new cars, new homes and even plan a big family trip. a lot of them said they want to make it last, they want to spend it wisely. one wants to move out of her mom's house. >> keep shopping at costco for the volume discounts. >> why not. >> next on "american morning" he's not a doctor but played one on tv for 15 years, you know this face, noah wiley dr. john carter on "er" heading back to tv in a brilliant sci-fi series, here to tell us about it next. host: what, do you live under a rock?

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43 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "american morning." when aliens invade earth on tnt, actor noah wiley will be there to fight them. spent 15 seasons as one of our favorite doctors on "er" starring in a new series executive produced by steven spielberg called "falling skies." here's a clip. >> we can make it too costly and painful for them to leave. with if we can hurt them they'll leave. >> hasn't worked so far. >> it will because it has before. history is full of inferior forces creating so much trouble that the invading army leaves. the scotts against the british, sterling bridge, our revolution fought right here. red sox/yankees, '04. we can beat them. >> it's clever and exciting but no battle quite like this one. the two-hour series premier of

"falling sky" is sunday night on tnt. the star noah wiley joins us now. what drew you to this one? >> combination of things. chance to work again for mr. spielberg, one of the executive produces on "er," long-standing relationship with tnt having worked with them for a while and a chance to look heroic to my 8-year-old son. >> cool. >> fairly significant as well. >> did he get to see it? >> no. he was on the set. got to run around with my machine gun and work the anna ma tronnic alien head and everything to brag to his second grade class. >> that's important as a dad, you know that, of course. it's interesting in the clip you get a sense you're not the typical action hero. this is sort of an unlikely hero he's a history teacher and dad and working in history there. >> he's an academic by and large but given the fact that the aliens have invaded and decimated the military it's the civilians leading this ragtag army. a guy that has an academic

background being forced into a military role. >> bad guys going after the children. you're trying to protect the children in the series. >> we don't know why they want the kids but they do, and they seem to be pressing them to some kind of slave labor force. and those are some of the big overriding questions about -- that we deal with over the course of the first season, why are they here, want the kids, how do we defeat them? >> it's exciting this new series, "the falling skies" and i was wondering about personally, whenever you played a kind of character like you did on "er" for years, people ask you about that, why is this your first big project or thing after. do you love still being associated with "er" or is it -- >> oh absolutely. no, no, no. i'll be grateful to that job for the rest of my life. that job opened every door i could have ever wanted opened for me and the most defining job of my career certainly. it was great. i still keep in touch with all those people, get nostalgic for those times, but the big difference, that was 22 to 24 episodes of season which left little quality of life to be a

parent and tnt and a lot of other cable channels do a shorter season. >> you're a different actor and person today than you were, though, when doing "er." how are you different? you have kids. you you've got different kinds of priorities, i would expect sh? >> i think that's probably true. i took time after "er" to focus on being a presence around the house and that got really annoying and i had to get out of here. >> for the kids or you? >> mutual. they wanted know go back to work and i was about ready. >> you did something unique as well. you decided to live a little bit out of the l.a. bubble. north of l.a. on a farm. you have farm animals are to the kids. why is that an important aspect for you in your life? >> i'm a product of los angeles school system and look how i turned out. >> you're an actor. >> i was lucky to have the next generation go a little farther. my grandfather is a cattle rancher. i grew up working for him on vacations. it's just a great way to grow up. sort of the only chance the kids get these days to have a huck

finn/tom sawyer existence where they go out and get dirty and fire their imaginations. something about the responsibilities and chores that go along with living on a farm that i think really puts you in good sted later down the road. >> i believe the same thing. it's just -- >> you don't trust people who haven't owned chickens. >> if you haven't had to go and get an egg from an angry hen you don't know what -- >> true enough. >> it's true. great to meet you. and one thing is, you're so known for "er" but this is a pretty incredible series so, you know, who knows, people will be saying, you know, noah wiley. >> that guy from "falling skies." >> i wouldn't mind that. >> one note about the l.a. situation, all these in california, especially, but all these states and schools and local districts are facing a lot of problems right now and it doesn't seem like there's an easy answer for that situation and all of us have young kids and know what are we -- are we educating them the right way and what's the solution when there's no more money? >> i agree. i tell my son all the time when

he's complaining about his homework, it's not so much what you're learning, how to learn. learn how to learn, then you can teach yourself the rest of your life. all you need to know is the, you know, those key things. >> yeah. truer words. >> know how to read, add, su subtract. >> best of luck with the series. "falling skies" premiers sunday night on tnt. noah wiley, "er" fam, now "falling skies." still to come our question of the day pegds off mitt romney's joke he's unemployed too. is he connecting with voters or out of touch? send us an e-mail, tweet, tell us on facebook. we will read some of your thoughts later on in the program. the gift of financial security. backed by the highest possible ratings for financial strength. new york life. the company you keep. [ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats

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the rigots. police are asking for help through twitter, as well as other blogs. day one of anthony weiner's life as an ex-congressman. he stepped down in the wake of the sexting scandal yesterday. dan abrams believe weiner will be prominent in u.s. politics again within three years. police in orlando breaking up a brawl that took place outside of the courthouse where casey anthony is being tried for murder. the line was cut where spectators were waiting for 1 of 50 public seats at that trial. in arizona, authorities have been forced to evacuate 1,700 more homes as flames burn close to neighborhoods. this is called the monument fire. only 17% contained and now scorched about 700 square miles of the state. rory mcilroy has soared to the lead in golfing.

are you laughing at me because i said his name wrong? he shot an 80 on the final day to cough it up. you're caught up on today's headlines. "american morning" back in 60 seconds.

question of the day this morning. some are upset over mitt romney's joke that he was also unemployed. he made the joke while speaking to a group of unemployed floridians yesterday. >> his joke connecting with voters are out of touch. let's be clear. people in the room were laughing and saying i'm on linkedin and trying to get a job.

is this the nit-picking we have to look forward to in 2012 said by shane stines. >> that's what people say, it's difficult, you're in a room and you have a certain exchange and then when it plays endlessly on videotape, perhaps it loses its intended purpose. well, geet writes on the blog the following. >> mary shipman said out of touch and in very poor taste. a man with millions to rely on cannot have a clue what it takes. those struggling to get by in this economy. >> karen on facebook, usually i can take a joke but speaking to a group of unemployed isn't funny. i don't think he is a bad man. i think he seems not to have a clue. keep your comments coming. send us an e-mail or tweet or tell us on facebook and we will read more comments later on in the hour. next time you're stuck in a

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before you buy a used car, get a carfax vehicle history report. see accidents and service reported to carfax and a price based on the car's history. free, at thousands of reputable dealers. just say, show me the carfax. mitt romney made a joke. now some democrats are saying it was actually insensitive to joke about unemployment. he is worth about $200 million. he is in florida talking to a group of unemployed americans. we will show the video and let you judge for yourself. >> i'm christine romans. welcome to the program. a brawl outside the courthouse in florida for the casey anthony trial. on we will tell you what started it.

♪ with him to "american morning." so glad you're with us. it's friday, june 17th. >> all right. we begin with the exclusive behind the scenes story of the final hours of congressman anthony weiner's career. today he is out. three weeks after an internet s sexting turned his life into a capitol hill sideshow. >> i hope to be able to continue the work that the citizens of my district elected me to do. the distraction that i have created has made that impossible. so, today, i am announcing my resignation from congress. >> weiner called new york's lawmaker steve israel at a congressional picnic at the white house on wednesday night and told him about his plans to resign. we hear from congressman israel himself. >> he had already made the decision to resign and he spoke with me. he said that he wanted to deliver that news to leader pelosi and when he delivered the news to me and leader pelosi, he

did talk about the fact that it is important now to go back to the issues and the challenges that this country faces. >> hey, hey! he's not with us! >> weiner tried to resign with dignity but his news conference was complete heckling and calls. mary snow with us. certainly an unusual and to a very unusual scandal. >> yeah. many democrats on capitol hill are very eager to put this side show to a rest. congressman steve israel wouldn't talk about the personal factors in weiner's decision that ultimately led him to step down after he had been defiant not to resign. israel had several conversations with him but he did talk about some of the political factors and the equation. here is what he said on jkusa. >> one of the things that congressman weiner talked about over the past week, on wednesday, the republicans introduced a bill to privatize

social security. he realized this had been a huge distraction from serious challenges that we confront and important fights that we need to have and now that he has made that decision, we can gk to addressing those challenges and quite honestly, fighting the fights. >> one of the fights is over medicare reform. until a few weeks ago democrats touting some success because worries about a house proposal helped them win a special election last month in new york. it was quickly forgotten as the weiner scandal dominated the headlines. >> that is one special election. now new york is gearing up another special election, congressman weiner's seat. what is next? >> the governor has to call the special election and usually it happens 70 to 80 days after he calls it and the party leaders will pick the nominees. but we have been talking about the fact there has been a lot of speculation that this district

could be eliminated as part of redistricting. the thought is that would be two seats that need to be eliminated. the thought is one would be a republican seat upstate and one become down state and, obviously, this one has had a target on it ever since this started evolving. the thing is who are you going to get to fill for a lame duck session? >> maybe a seat that disappears quite frankly. marry snow, thank you. >> noticeably absent from no anthony weiner's conference was his wife. that is something president obama says he would like to see happen. >> i wish representative weiner and his lovely wife well. you know, obviously, it's been a tough incident for them. but i'm confident that they will refocus and he'll refocus and they will end up being able to bounce back. >> so what is next for anthony

weiner? one legal analyst says you can count on a political comeback. dan abrams told eliot spitzer the big apple can be very forgiving, even if weiner's wife is not. >> by the way, i do think he'll be back. in in new york city ploks. >> a check of the records shows weiner has more than $350 in cash for a re-election campaign and $4.5 million for a possible run for mayor in new york in 2013. if he runs for either office he can keep those accounts active. to the casey anthony trial. hours before the first witness is called to the stand. you're looking at a video from an hour and a half ago. a brawl erupting outside of the courthouse where dozens of spectators had been lining up overnight to get good seats in the courtroom.

according to local reporters there, two men apparently cut in line and they were confronted by other women waiting in line. remember, only 50 public seats and people have been lining up vying for them since the trial started. later this morning, the defense is expected to call more of the prosecution forensic witnesses to the stand for cross-examination. >> a same-sex marriage bill in new york state, one vote away from becoming law this morning. it's passed the state assembly and a senate vote as early as today. the senate is split 31-31. the measure needs one more republican backer to pass. if it happens the governor will sign it and network the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. back to the drawing board for california's budget. jerry brown, the governor, vetoed it yesterday. they cut money to schools and delay a plan of repayment that the state borrowed from school districts. the governor says it doesn't do enough to address the $26

billion deficit. vice president joe biden says they are making progress after weeks of talks aimed at spending cuts and raising the debt ceiling by the august deadline. he says they have done some first serious scrub of the entire federal budget, but there are differences that remain over whether to increase tax revenue and make cuts to federal health programs like medicare. actress ankle le angelina je is there as a bread for the united nations agss. our arwa damon is showing you scenes what have it's like on the syrian side of the border, some of the refugee camps there. israeli police say an explosion overnight was not a terrorist act. the blast leveled the top floor of a restaurant north of tel

aviv. police say it was caused by a gas canister that detonated. some of the victims had to be removed from the rubble with cranes. students on the march in santiago, chile, 70,000 people in all took to the streets and the capital. protests throwing stones and police responded by spraying tear gas and water cannons into the crowd. organizers say the marches are necessary to force government reforms in education. women in saudi arabia are fighting for their rights there. a social media campaign encouraging women to break a driving ban by getting behind the wheel today. the movement sparked by a woman detained after post ago video online of herself driving in may, although it's not illegal. they limit women's activities and they often have to travel with a man and are not allowed to use public transportation. new addition to the traffic light. you might see a fourth signal.

flashing yellow arrow and a left turn after yielding even when the light is red for traffic when it's going straight. so far installed in busy intersections across the country. officials say it cuts down on gas usage and keeps traffic moving. >> hopefully, it cuts down on accidents. >> left-hand turn. i don't know what the insurance statistics are but i bet they show most accidents happening coming out of the left lane. coming up, mitt romney jokes he is unemployed to a group of unemployed people he was talking to in a coffee shop. was it insensitive or an attempt to get laughs. an officer is dragged across a busy intersection and the dash cam video is released.

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10 minutes past the hour right now. you're looking at live pictures today in the washington, d.c. area. we are learning right now that u.s. park police are investigating a suspicious person and this is in connection with a suspicious vehicle seen outside the pentagon that led to several major road closures. >> police are talking to this person now who may have led them actually to that car, but now an investigation under way. there is a suspicious person there investigating the situation. we have a lot of roads closed near the pentagon so keep you up-to-date on that. barbara starr bringing this to us and we will check in and see how that is developing. we are told there is press conference and we will monitor that and see what is the latest. democrats taking issue at a insensitive joke made by mitt romney. the presidential candidate was in florida talking to a group of unemployed people when he weighed in with a joke of his own about his employment status. >> well, i should also tell my

story. i'm also unemployed. >> are you on linkedin? >> yes, actually. and i'm networking. >> he actually said he knows the job he is going for. but it's not unattainable, but he is going for a job. >> he seemed to be playing off the fact he is running for president and that is why he is saying he is unemployed. beby wasserman schultz put out a statement being unemployed not a joke. >> that comes to our question of the day. mckenzie said out of touch. he can't joke about what is affecting so many people and ruining so many lives and expect us to vote for him. don't joke about it. tell us what you plan to do and then we will decide whether to vote for you. >> we will read more of your thoughts later on in the hour. armed with a nail gun.

a nail gun. a man fender off a southern michigan police in a six-hour standoff yesterday. witnesses say this 50-year-old man chased his girlfriend down a street with a knife before barricading himself in his home and he began firing nails at officers who set off tear gas and police were finally able to tase him and arrest. a routine traffic stop takes a dangerous turn. the dash cam video has been released. this happened in march. a 62-year-old police officer was writing a ticket. he was pulling over a motorcyclist for speeding when the suspect floored the gas, dragging the officer across a busy intersection. the deputy recalls the scary moments. >> during this five seconds, a million thoughts went through my mind about how i could possibly get my gun hand loose and ready to do what i needed to do, or if i could just hang on for another second, maybe i could bring him off the bike with me. but i knew i was going. >> well, the motorcyclist was

arrested and amazingly the officer only suffered minor injuries. he was actually back to work a few days later. >> wow. almost 14 minutes after the hour. that means rob marciano in the extreme weather center. good morning! >> hello. start off what is going on with the southwestern fires. here is video for you. a couple of fires. we have been talking so much about the wallow fire which is up to 500,000 acres and 30% containment on that. the monument wire in southern arizona is forcing evacuations and 17% contained but much smaller. you can see how ferocious the flames are burning yesterday. we will see winds again today. red flag warnings from eastern arizona and southern parts of utah and colorado in through most of new mexico because of the winds and low levels of humidity for a second day in a row. the heat not helping either. childress, texas, 109 degrees and baking across new mexico and texas the past week with temps well over a hundred and dodge

city, kansas, in the act as well with 104 there. northeast seeing a little bit of rainfall this morning with thunder and lightning that is rapidly moving off towards the north and east. philadelphia and d.c. are in the clear and the heat is going to continue across parts of the south and east as well with temperatures well into the 90s for it seems like two or three weeks now. try to stay cool and enjoy your weekend. >> you too. and hang out with the kittens. we have this video to show you about what happened when a curious kitten in reading, california, found himself stuck inside of a pipe. firefighters used a special pipe cutter and able to rescue the little guy gently pulling him out by the scruff of his neck. they have done a lot of animal rescues. look. there he is! stuck! they say that was a first. they want to name the kitten piper. i always heard the length of their whiskers whether they determine their body can fit inside something. if their whiskers touch each side, they don't go near it.

>> this is a little kitty. apparently his mommy hadn't taught him that one yet. social media is tracked down after hometown canucks lost the stanley cup final this week. a warning by european leaders. no time to use when it comes out to a bailout for greece. update on that and how it could affect world markets. twenty-five thousand mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. we spend them on treadmills. we spend them in traffic. and if we get lucky, really lucky, it dawns on us to go spend them in a world where a simple sunrise can still be magic. twenty-five thousand mornings. make sure some of them are pure michigan.

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it's 19 minutes after the hour. "minding your business." laerds leaders of germany and france say no time to lose. they are having continuing talks on a second bailout this

morning. oil prices falling to a four-month low this morning as that debt crisis in greece weighs on investors. oil for july falling nearly 3% to 92 dollars a barrel. with the august deadline for the national deadline fast approaching vice president joe biden saying lawmakers have done a serious scrub of the entire federal budget and negotiators hunker down next week of deficit cutting talks. the "wall street journal" is reporting it includes standard & poors and moodies. checking on the markets this morning. futures for the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 up slightly above the morning bell this morning. coming up next, punches are thrown outside the courthouse where casey anthony is on trial

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let him go! let her go! >> a big brawl outside the courtroom where casey anthony is on trial for murder. police had to break up a fight that started a few headquarters ago and started when reportedly two men cut in line. spectators line up in the middle of the night to get their hands on 1 in 50 public seats. >> it certainly is a crowd event. it's just odd to see those pictures of the brawls. later this morning, the defense is expected to call more of the prosecution's forensic witnesses to the stand. day one featured seven crime scene investigators and forensic scientists. their testimony three years to the day since 2-year-old caylee anthony was last seen alive. the defense able to establish there is no conclusive dna on any piece of evidence that links

cassy to her daughters murder. >> did you test the adhesive side of the duct tape? >> yes, i did. >> and was there anything that you were able to find there? >> the information that was generated was inconclusive. >> sunny hostin is with us this morning. a leader contributor for "in session." and a former federal prosecutor. how damaging is this given the prosecution did point out to the jury that there was a ton of weather damage, that this was six months later and that it had rained and there had been flooding so it wouldn't be unlikely not to find fingerprints? >> i think it's pretty relevant. it's in the reasonable doubt realm. if the prosecution's theory is the murder weapon was a duct tape and it was wrapped not once, not twice, but three times around her face, and for her remains there certainly was hair also attached to the duct tape,

to find no dna whatsoever on the sticky side of the duct tape. >> caylee's or casey. >> but actually caylee. that could lead one or two jurors to think maybe the tape wasn't around her mouth. maybe it was around the bag. maybe around something else. >> wasn't it found on the skull? no dispute it was the skull of caylee anthony? >> that's right. but a theory perhaps because of the water damage and because of all the vegetation that it moved up from someplace else. perhaps her arms, perhaps the bag. it's interesting because on my facebook page, there are all of these theorys the duct tape not being the murder weapon, being somewhere else. the trash area where hir remains were found and a lot of people saying that duct tape was not the murder weapon and that is the huge hole that i think the defense is trying to -- >> the prosecution did show there was duct tape like this in the anthony home? >> yes, that's right and unusual duct tape and not found everywhere. apparently that duct tape was

used by george anthony on some gas cans and also to put up some of those posters to finding caylee. >> that's sad and so many things in this story are so sad again and again. they are are trying to play up the notion that casey was the victim of sexual abuse in either her father or brother. >> that is significant in this defense. remember the explosive statement made for 31 days she was behaving as if a mother wouldn't act but because she was sexually abused by george anthony and lee anthony. the defense was able -- >> the brother. >> the brother. the defense was able to back door it which was really interesting to me. we all think casey anthony has to get on the witness stand to talk about this abuse. the fbi apparently took this paternity test to determine whether or not lee anthony, her brother, was the father of caylee anthony. the prosecution went crazy. i think the most vocal we have seen this prosecutor. he was very upset and objecting

to it but it got in front of the jury and unrung that bell. >> but it the paternity test determine he was not the father. >> but why would somebody take a paternity test. >> unless the woman is such a liar, the fbi is like we are going to call on your bluff and do a paternity test. unless they were calling her on her bluff. >> that's right. i think the defense has to do something with that because the prosecution will. they have to call someone from the fbi or law enforcement to explain why the paternity test was done. >> is casey going to get on the stand? the thing to remember if she does get on the stand and she can put forth her version and be questioned by her lawyers, the prosecution gets a crack at her. how devastating potentially could that be for her case? >> i mean, it's going to be so risky to put her on the witness stand because she has lied so many times and her lies are not only memorialized in video and audio and memorialized everywhere and i think it's going to be painful if she gets

on the witness stand because it's a prosecutor's dream to cross-examine a liar. if this child actually died accidentally by drowning and not being murdered by her mother, what other way do they prove it? i think they have to put casey anthony on the witness stand. i also think that is why we are seeing the brawls for tickets because people think it's going to happen today, perhaps tomorrow. >> have you seen anything like this? >> i have never seen anything like this. >> it's like the people are lining up for the $50 wedding dresses in filene's basement. >> we're in orlando. it's like going to disney world. >> i'm sorry. >> it's so disturbing. i have never seen anything like this and you both know i have covered so many cases and tried so many cases. it's really remarkable. >> i want to ask you about her facial expressions. casey. she looks to be laughing at some point and calling her defense

attorney over. >> she engaged. >> but seems whimsical or flippant at time. do the jury see all of her actions and reacts and her grinning and seeming to make some faces there? >> they watch everything. we know studies have been done and jurors consistently say we watch everything that a defendant will do. sometimes defendants crying equals the defendant's guilt so they are watching every single thing. i will say she acts a little bit dissociated and it's very interesting because that is part of the defense's strategy. they are saying, she acts this way because she was the victim of sexual abuse. what is the most compelling evidence of that? casey anthony getting on the witness stand and talking about it. >> defense experts keep trying to use the victim of alleged victim of sexual abuse to explain the 31 days. i have only heard from regular people who are jurors or regular people, someone who is abused, mothers don't kill their children. plenty of people who are abused don't kill their children. >> i think that's right. i don't know how they -- >> the jury, how it plays with the jury will be interesting.

>> if they believe she is sexually abused i think they may believe that casey drowned accidentally. >> we will have to wait and see if she gets on the stand. sunny hostin, thanks. great to get your view. the casey anthony murder trial is on our sister station. anthony weiner may be an ex-congressman but leaving behind a war chest worth millions. >> people wondering what will become of all of that cash. here is our brian todd. >> reporter: the outgoing congressman references his humble financial background. >> the middle class story of new york is my story and i'm very proud of that. >> reporter: as for his current finances, anthony weiner has a few hundred thousand dollars in assets to fall back on if he needs it. according to disclosure forms, that includes a stock portfolio worth between 190,000 and $285,000. he has got more in campaign money. election records show he's got more than $365,000 cash on hand in his war chest for a

congressional re-election campaign and $4.5 million in his respective campaign for new york city mayor in 2013 what can they do with all of this money? >> well, he can't take it with him and go to disneyland. he's not able to convert it to personal use. >> reporter: campaign finance expert ken gross was once chief of enforcement for the federal election committee. gross says weiner could keep the accounts intact if he decides to run for either of those offices in the future. if he doesn't he has four options for those accounts. give the money to other candidates, give it to charity, give it to a party committee or give it back to donors. ken gross says donors to disgraced politicians often demand their money back. as for other candidates? if he wants to give it to other candidates, would they take it or is he just too radioactive? >> i don't know. that's a tough one in his case, because, yes, he is leaving under a cloud but he's not going to prison.

he didn't violate the law. i think some, for the time being, may think the money is a little radioactive but, over time, i would not be surprised if other would accept contributions from him. >> reporter: but since the scandal broke, democratic candidates have been under increasing pressure from republicans to return the money weiner gave them. according to the national republican congressional committee, the republicans have targeted 20 of the democratic candidates who weiner gave money to during his time in congress and demanded that they give it back. the nrcc says, so far, only seven of the candidates have given the money back. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> we are getting a better picket now of how widespread the violence in vancouver was after the stanley cup and the rioting that took place in the city. the city exploding after the hometown canucks lost game seven in the stanley cup final. 150 people went to the hospital we're learning for injuries. even reports of a stabbing, as well as multiple head injuries from fighting. police say nearly a hundred people were arrested. two police cruisers were set on

fire. in the meantime, they have time lapse video that puts this event into a very unique perspective that shows the city skyline from the beginning of the riots in the early part of the evening and then later into the night. there you see smoke billowing up on the center right part of your screen. you see it come up on the other side as well. again, this is all time lapse of what was going on in vancouver the night of the rioting. >> the big cleanup is going on still in downtown vancouver this morning. rioting estimated to cost the city millions of dollars in damages. the signs of regret and support are visible this morning everywhere in the city. this cnn i report shows some of the messages posted on the plywood boards covering up broken up and smashed store fronts. many people posting messages like we love vancouver and all you need is love, but there is still anger this morning. listen. >> i'm so disgusted with the way vancouver acted. i've never been so embarrassed of a city in my life. >> i'm really upset.

i'm embarrassed. i live here. i'm a true fan. vancouver did an amazing job getting as far as they did and we have this. >> i'm really angry to see this is my city. it belongs to all of us. >> it's shameful and absolutely disgraceful. >> reporter: >> i reporter captured this video. on behalf i my team and my city, i am sorry. >> it is the kiss tweeted around the world. a picture of a couple lying in the street in vancouver seemingly locked in a passionate kiss. they appear to be oblivious what is going on around them. it was captured by a photographer who was covering the postgame riots but even he is is not sure if couple is kissing or is this staged? quite a memorable i am app. >> if you thought you could just disappear into the mob mentality, the police are going

through lots and lots of videos. >> facebook pictures. >> to try to identify people throwing punches and rocks. still to come, the u.s. open is being played in the suburbs of washington this weekend. another golf match nearby may get even more attention. president obama and house speaker boehner squaring off on the greens. so will we. >> that's right. we have our putters ready and we will be talking about the significance of this deficit open, i guess you could call it. 36 minutes past the hour. ry car. and with its virtualinstrument, sensuous leather interior and modern design, jaguar has once again raised the bar. learn more at jaguarperforms.com. oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the hotels.com summer sale, you can find awesome deals for places nearby. interesting...

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♪ welcome back to "american morning." nick charles means a lot to us here at cnn. >> now he is battling bladder

cancer but he hasn't lost his positive outlook on life and shares what he has learned about family, love, and faith. cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is in atlanta. he spent some time with nick and his family and this is a story, what is beautiful about this story, this is a story about living, isn't it, sanjay? >> very much so. no question about it. sometimes, really, reprioritizing your life when smacked in your face with your mortality as nick puts it. it's tough to do a story like this, especially when it's someone we all know. nick has been the original sports anchor at cnn and diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer two years ago and told at that time he had two years to live. he talks about these things that are called lessons from the fight. he was a big boxing guy and now these lessons from the fight are about his own fight and some of the things he wanted to tell me when i went to go visit him. but also to share with friends and family around the world. there's some, you know, more

general things and some specific things. one of the things he talked about was the fact that he keeps a journal now or he writes letter to his family, to his friends. he just writes in it every single day, just thoughts of the day. i asked him to tell me a little bit more about that. >> i know it's going to take all of god's grace, which is never in short supply to make me live longer. i want to for you and mommy so we can be a family here? santa fe. sorry about this. if god takes me home, it will be forever. meanwhile, i'm not going anywhere today. >> reporter: it's so tough for nick to write. and it's tough to hear. but nick knows he at least had the chance to leave something behind. >> how do you feel when you read those? >> oh, they are just so reinforcing to me. i know she is going to read them. i talk to people that they would long to hear their parents' voice or read something from them. >> reporter: you know, it's

interesting. he's sort of trying to leave some legacy behind which is something that i've seen, you know, very common in people who are, again, confronted with their mortality. nick sort of raises this question, i think. he asked me and a lot of people what you would do if you suddenly were healthy your entire life and you have a 5-year-old doubt and you're told you have a couple of years to live? nick breaks every day down into compartments. short-term goals he calls it and doesn't worry about the medium or long-term goals and he lives in the present, he dreams really big. he and his wife corey decided to build their dream house after his diagnosis. he picked out the color palettes. he wanted to throw himself into a project and plan where his daughter's closet is and where her prom dress will be someday, those things make him happy. >> it's an amazing story and a sad one. for more on what sanjay learned from nick charles, turn in

saturday and sunday at 7:30 a.m. a suspicious vehicle has been alerted to police near the pentagon. >> we are learning new information on perhaps what authorities are dealing with mere. barbara starr is live with more on the investigation. >> reporter: good morning. this situation has been unfolding for about the last three hours. a press conference by the park police just concluded. they are confirming they have one man in custody that they took into custody overnight nearby at arlington national cemetery. the cemetery is closed at night. this man was found in there and deemed to be a suspicious person when he could not provide answers about what he was doing there in the overnight hours. by all accounts, he directed them to a vehicle parked in the bushes near the pentagon on park police property that they have jurisdiction over. at this hour now, local law

enforcement is looking at that vehicle, trying to determine if there are any suspicious devices or explosives associated with that vehicle. e.o.d the ordinance folks are looking at that. at the same time, this could be potentially serious right now and they are taking precautions. many areas around the pentagon closed off while they do security sweeps, looking for any other potential explosive devices. kiran some christine? >> they take these things so seriously, barbara, because of just the high value of importance after all of these places in washington, d.c. and new york city of course. barbara starr, thank you very much. >> reporter: sure. hundreds of families force fred their homes as winds fuel another wildfire in arizona. we will have the details of that for you. two big golf events this weekend in the nation's capital. one is the u.s. open. the other is the president and the speaker of the house in the deficit open? we will explain. golf and politics. 45 minutes past the hour.

eugena . . . ms. nelson what do you think ford is doing right? they've really done it with sync. cuz i'll say, "call my husband", and it calls him. and i never have to pick up my phone. if you could thank ford for one thing, what would it be? i don't feel like a mom in a minivan. i actually feel like a woman and then a mom. so i would say, "thank you". how do your kids feel about the edge? my fifteen year old loves it, 'cuz he thinks he's gonna' drive it in a year. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003.

u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. here is a look at your morning haems. anthony weiner may have stepped down but don't count him out. one legal analyst told cnn he predicts weiner will be back in new york politics within three years. vancouver police blaming criminals and anarchists after the city's riot. they plan to arrest any people who started the violence and what caused to be millions of

dollars in damages. in arizona, another wildfire burning dangerously close to neighborhoods right near the mexico border. more than 3,200 homes have been evacuated in the area. fountain presidential election were held today, president obama would lose. that's according to a new gallup poll which found that 44% of registered voters say that they would vote for an unnamed republican candidate. 39% say they would vote for president obama. the markets open in 45 minutes. right now the dow, nasdaq and s&p futures all pointing up as investors wait for a new consumer index survey that is due out in the next hour. "american morning" will be back after a quick break. a war can be caught between a kid and a rock caught between a hard place. it's finding all of your places and trying to put them back together. i do have something in common

with these kids. you wake up every morning thinking hundreds survive. sanitation isn't a priority. we have about 2 million kids that die of sanitation issues mainly because they don't wash their hands. i am from a refugee and i help people fight disease with sanitation. do you have some soap for me? this is great. the issue is not -- the issue is cost. can they afford it? >> house keeping. >> 800 million pounds thrown away in hotels in a year alone in hotels. we can get the soap and reprocess and make a useful part of it. we clean it, melt it and cut it into bars. box it and ship it. >> welcome! welcome! welcome! >> big here in kenya at this

orphanage is coming with good news. it's great to have the bars and use it to fight off diseases. those are clean. that's very good. one of the things i have learned from the kids is a sense of resilience. to know they have the sense of hope and joy is remarkable. do i feel like i'm having an impact on them? yeah! i think so. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta.

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hands. more than 200 million -- >> 20 million! >> you're right! it's 20 million. >> maybe 200 million. >> you never know if you count putt-putt. more business deals get done on the golf course than you can imagine. tomorrow, will they solve our nation's deficit crisis right now? president obama and speaker john boehner put aside their differences and play 18 holes and some are jokingly called it the deficit open. >> everything will be fine, right? here to talk about golf and how it builds relationships and the historical role golf has played is two gentlemen. >> what could go wrong? >> let's talk, first, about this deficit summit. john avalon, how important is this in these two foes and friends on the golf course. >> good to know each other as

people, not just political opponents. you play 18 holes together. you're together four hours and you get to know each other a little bit. that is a good thing for the country as it begins a conversation. but it's the game of presidents. 14 off the last 17 presidented have played golf and some a lot. >> president obama maybe started playing only three or four years ago. his experience is similar to a lot of people. he was a basketball player and an athlete and getting older, turning 50. if you want to stay competitive play golf and have fun with his friends and try to compete and i think that is why he likes it. >> it's a whole lot easier to discuss policy between holes than it is to try to make three-point shots on the basketball court. you know? defend your shots. so why is golf sort of -- does it lend itself to conversation and problem solving? >> i think that people get together over golf because it's a hard game. they face adversity together. you get a sense who you're playing with when you hit bat

shoeds. there's a lot of down time and waiting. i think if they talk about the deficit, it's at the 19th hole. on the golf course i think it's talking about the bears and bengals and having a good time. >> washington, is that how you lay the groundwork for the hard negotiating and fighting that comes after? >> you know, just beginning a conversation getting between people on the opposite side of the aisle always helps. in the past, i think folks did a beer summit or some version of that. go back to sam rayburn's office and talk things over. now it's more golf but good and it's a mental thing. i think character is revealed in golf. apparently obama is very good at getting out of sand traps. >> it's also funny because you have to -- i mean, they are political rivals and, obviously, they have some mutual respect for each other to stand up for 18 holes. it's not just grabbing quick lunch. it's a long time. >> oh, you are spending the day together. that's four hours on the golf course. you're spending quality time together. >> boehner is a good golfer.

>> he is a really good golfer. >> are you? >> you tell us about boehner while we watch you. >> show us how to do it. this is cool. it spits it back to you. you go first. >> is this from tiger's childhood bedroom? how he learned how to play? >> for father's day this isn't a bat sed here. >> the right foot is slightly behind his right foot. >> oh, wow! who is going to follow that? john avalon? >> are you following that? >> i'd like to say he writes about golf. i write about politics. keep my -- my grandfather who taught me to play in youngstown, ohio, would be proud of me or not. we will see. no! >> at least you stayed on the green. i thought for a minute you might get a gutter ball. >> your turn. >> i'm not quite a golfer. bowling is more my game. >> bowling? we can bowl it, if you want. >> did you say my left a little bit behind? >> what mike did. >> power shot! >> nice! >> try it again.

>> christine, go for it. >> i'll go. >> i don't see a lot of conversation getting done here! >> i know. >> we're not solving any crisis. >> woe, christine! >> i did it just like you did! >> as we can tell here, there is one golf expert. >> one guy impressed us with golf here. >> that's the thing. after you putt, then you talk. you say nice shot. >> i just did a little windmill there and that is the only problem. >> much easier. >> think about a window. >> that's bad. >> there you go. >> boehner is a good golfer. the president is more of a new comer. four house out to talk about deficit. >> apparently boehner is a better golfer than the president so there is some competitive angle. >> oh! >> i still didn't make it! >> joe biden in ohio. >> hey, there! give you a mulligan on one.

it's a foursome. just the idea of them getting out on the course and having a friendly competition is healthy sign for our politics but a time honored thing. eisenhower played over a hundred rounds a year. jfk was a great golfer. apparently the bushes did what they call speed call. daddy bush played round one in 85 minutes. >> are you kidding me? >> bill clinton would take around six hours so he is taking his time here. >> i would get tired. >> i hear you. great to talk to you, mike. there is a real golf game taking place. >> there is. >> u.s. open. people are paying more attention to this one right now. thanks for joining us. mike walker from "golf" magazine and john avalon, to you as well. >> president obama and john boehner is first round matches and includes golf rounds and cast your vote at golf.com. >> we will be right back. 58 minutes after the hour!