good morning. it is thursday, june 30th. this is your a.m. wakeup call. i'm ali velshi joining you live from new york. we have the news, weather, politics, sports, everything you need to get your day start. breaking news tops our rundown this morning, however. three american service members have been killed in southern

iraq. the military is not saying yet who they are or how they died. we're going to stay on top of this through the morning and bring you new information as we get it. tropical storm arlene making landfall along mexico's eastern coast. arlene is packing winds of 06 miles an hour and could cause dangerous flash floods and mudslides as it moves ashore. arlene is the first named storm of the atlantic hurricane season. coming up in less than five minutes, rob marciano will show us where arlene is heading and any impact it will have this morning. the casey anthony trial, we could hear from the alleged mistress of george anthony, casey anthony's father. defense tried to advance their argument that mr. anthony covered up his granddaughter's death and molested his daughter. >> i never would do anything like that to my daughter. >> my question is you would never admit to it, would you,

sir? >> federal investigators sought manager of the west virginia coal mine where 29 workers died last april had been faking safety records before the worst u.s. mine disaster in 40 years. the mine safety and health administration said this week, massey energy kept two sets of books, one of them included safety problems and hazards, the other one didn't. that was the set given to government inspectors. massey sold the upper big branch mine earlier this month. in new mexico this morning, they are keeping the los alamos laboratory closed because of fires burning nearby. about 10,000 people have been evacuated. firefighters are pleased with the progress they've made. >> you can see we're getting a lot less smoke and we now have an anchor point and we have a black line that's basically goes from the south point of the lab all the way up to this area here. around kamazon. it makes me feel really good.

>> it's the last day on the job today for u.s. defense secretary robert gates. president obama and admiral mike mullen will attend a formal farewell tribute to gates this morning outside the pentagon. he gets bipartisan praise for restoring morale at the pentagon and repairing relations with congress. time to talk about money this morning. let's cross over to hong kong. good morning, anna. >> very good morning to you, ali. a sigh of relief you'd have to say from the markets after the greek parliament passed tough austerity measures. european markets are all in positive territory. similar story here in the asia pacific with all markets up before the close. in your part of the world, wall street was up overnight. since january, all global markets have been trending downwards with investors preferring to stay on the sidelines.

>> you were a big part of our team in japan after the tsunami and earthquake. recently i was speaking to a ceo of a nuclear energy company that said for all of the concerns about how that part was handled, japan is likely to fix things up and get its economy back and running faster than any other country could. we're sort of seeing that now. >> we are. it's quite remarkable, is it not? japan suffered, you know, devastating blows since the march 11 edge quake/tsunami and nuclear disaster. well, the technology industries, the supply chain was rattled by the disaster. a new report by ihs supplier says there is an end in sight, claiming the industry will be completely back up and running by september. that is just six months after the disaster. of course, ali, companies closest to the areas that suffered the most substantial damage will have to wait a little longer. certainly that's good news for japan. >> good to see that. anna, i'll check in with you

later on. you have good video to show us. anna watching the international markets. hold on. i have the video right now. let's talk about that. you've spent some time in the philippines. look at this guy. this is say traffic cop. >> i have. >> he's dancing. >> he's impressive. >> ordinary traffic cop, right? >> that's exactly right. ordinary. i think he's certainly brightening up some people's trip to work. what do you think? i like his moves. i think he should practice in front of the mirror. >> i think he's pretty good. he's 54 years old. i don't know if -- my skill set is a little more limited. we see traffic cops all the time. this guy has something. i like the way you do it in asia. we had seen stuff from a philippine prison where they were doing michael jackson moves or something. i don't know what it is. add dance to your routine. maybe you can dance our next report.

>> or maybe not. >> anna, we'll check in with you. we love having you on the show, either way. maybe rob will dance for us. rob marciano in the extreme weather center. there is extreme weather this morning. this hurricane about to make landfall in mexico if it hasn't already. hurricane arlene -- or tropical storm arlene. >> you can expect if you're traveling today, first off, we don't expect a ton of huge delays today. that's the good news. a couple weak fronts heading across the u.s. you'll see problems tampa, orlando, minneapolis, salt lake. the major airports in new york and d.c. and boston, relatively quiet today as high pressure builds into that area after the front moved through. continue to be hazy, hot and humid across the midsection. here's arlene making landfall across northeast mexico, right

between this area. rainfall, could see over a foot in some spots. the bad news, ali, the rainfall that is with this is not going to make it up into texas and new mexico and arizona where we desperately need it. feast or famine with this one. the first tropical storm of the season, making landfall this morning across northeast mexico. we'll give you updates throughout the morning. ali. >> i'll talk to you in a little bit. by the way, hold on a second. >> turtles? >> turtles. this was after my bedtime yesterday. turtles crawling across an active runway at jfk? >> i think it was a fraternity prank or some sort of hazing. >> let's take a look. >> american 1009, there's a report of a turtle on the

runway. do you want to have it removed first? >> sure. >> american 1009, cancel takeoff, hold position. >> holding the position, america 1009. i was wondering where those things were. >> these are diamondback terrapins. they were trying to find an ideal spot to lay their eggs. they have a twitter account. this is what happens when you're a famous animal doing something you're not supposed to be doing. >> little speed bumps. glad they removed them. >> nice sized turtles. >> 150 of them. and it's kind of a mating ground, i hear, for them. >> is it? i love how the control tower and the pilots were very professional in their communication. all critters off the runway before we move on about our business. >> we'll check in with you in a bit, rob. >> all right, ali. i'll read you a quote now. they want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight and i'm hot going to give it to them.

scratching your head about who said it? i'll have an answer after the break. eight minutes after the hour. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. naturals from delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives.

naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. [ kimberly ] the university gave me the knowledge to make a difference in peoples' lives. [ carrie ] you're studying how to be an effective leader. [ cherie ] you're dealing with professionals, teaching things that they were doing everyday. [ kimberly ] i manage a network of over a thousand nurses. [ carrie ] i helped turn an at-risk school into an award-winning school. [ cherie ] i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah. [ kimberly ] and university of phoenix made it possible. learn more at phoenix.edu. maybe you don't think you're at risk for heart attack or stroke but if you've been diagnosed with p.a.d., or have pain or heaviness in your legs, i want to talk to you. you may have heard of poor leg circulation, which could be peripheral artery disease, or p.a.d. with p.a.d., if you have poor circulation in your legs, you may also have poor circulation in your heart or in your brain, your risk for heart attack or stroke is more than doubled

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happy thursday. it is 12 minutes after the hour. the speaker on our quote of the day, republican presidential candidate michele bachmann downplaying tensions with sarah palin. listen to this. >> they want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight. and i'm not going to give it to them. >> all right. you've heard of mudslinging campaigns, i have to be honest, this is the first time i heard about someone talk mud wrestling in campaigns. the late night comediennes who make us laugh took jabs at the president and the country's enormous debt crisis. here's your morning punch line. >> he held a press conference we talked about how he is going to tackle the growing debt crisis. this is important.

>> the money's been spent. >> that's one of his best speeches. democrats say we have to raise america's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before august 2nd. if we don't do that -- wait, what happens again? >> armageddon. >> armageddon. >> armageddon. >> each party says the other is leading us to armageddon. are each of them being slightly hyperbolic? >> yes. >> in third option might lead to say that not happen. >> no. >> no. all right. time now for our political ticker with tim farley, live from washington. good morning. listen, normally i ask you what's the most important thing that's going to happen today is? this is an interesting one. it's the farewell ceremony for defense secretary robert gates.

this is important. he's been an important and big player. i guess this makes us wonder about what the future holds? >> you are absolutely right. the man has been for 0 years in charge of serving the country. and served two presidents, the secretary of defense. he's being replaced by leon panetta. we also expect that david petraeus will be confirmed by the senate to take over as cia director. secretary gates is one of those people who has the respect of republicans, of democrats, men, women, civilians, soldiers, yin, yang, whatever. he's about as good as it gets when it comes to being secretary of defense. we expect there will be emotion when the pros has a few remarks around 10:00 this morning. >> gates has shown emotion in the past. he's a guy that seems connected to the work that he does. we were showing late-night laughs. stephen colbert from comedy central is going before the federal election commission today. tell us why. >> the truthyness train rolls into town today in washington,

d.c. essentially he was kidding around about starting a super pact, one of those groups that can raise as much money as it wants. he was trying to pull via cocom his parent company into it. it gets into in-kind donations. is he going to actually be in front of the federal elections commission today pleading his case, getting guidance and we expect it will be a packed room, although it's not a really big room and in addition, there will probably be more interest in this than any other meeting. >> you're not kidding. he wants to know about the val university stuff that he does. good to see you, my friend. >> i wouldn't count on it as being totally serious. >> fair enough. that's why we're talking about it so that someone may feel like watching it as it happens. tim, good to see you. >> you, too, ali, thanks so

much. a group of democratic senators are reaching out to lesbian, gay, and transsexual teenagers. >> i think back to the days in which i was in school and my early adulthood. >> being gay was not something people talked about. >> the number of my friends in middle school and high school and college had been gay but had hidden it. >> over the years our country has learned how difficult it is for our loved ones to have to hide such an important part of themselves. >> over time, that's changed. and it's been a healthy change. >> 13 democratic senators are featured in the five-minute video. they are co-sponsors of a bill that would repeal the defense of marriage act. speaking of gay marriage, rhode island hasn't gone as far as new york in legalizing same-sex marriage. they voted to allow civil unions rather than expand the

definition of marriage. the state's governor is expected to sign the bill into law that would make rhode island the fifth state to allow civil unions which gives same-sex couples added rights and benefits. she's an oscar winner, "a" list actress but there's one thing missing. >> i need to find a man. >> charlize theron dishes on men, her flaws and whether she said yes or no to ever getting married. and today we celebrate one of the most common ways we greet each other. it is national handshake day. be sure to extend a hand to shows you come across today. remember, though, don't grip too tight, don't shake too many times ♪ get up off that thing ♪ try and relieve that pressure ♪ ...or something small? ...something old? ...or something new? ...or maybe, just maybe... it's something you haven't seen yet. the 2nd generation of intel core processors.

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20 minutes after the hour. here are three things to put on your radar today. the unemployment numbers will be updated at 8:30 this morning, eastern time. that's when the weekly jobless claims came out. it will show us how many people filed for unemployment benefits last week. whitey bulger is trying to get a court-appointed attorney. he was caught last week after 16 years on the fbi's most wanted list. the last launch of "atlantis" is scheduled for july 8th. i'll be at kennedy space center for them. yemen is a country in crisis. its government has lost control over five provinces. security is deteriorate being, anti-government demonstrations

have gone from small marches to mass protests. the president was injured in an uprising and he clings desperately to office. the acting president tells nic robertson how saleh is doing as he gets medical treatment in saudi arabia. >> translator: i saw him immediately after the incident. he had burns on his face, burns on his hands, burns on his chest and a piece of wood was sticking between his ribs. >> reporter: how long before it comes back in your estimation. >> translator: no one can tell, this is accord together doctors. >> reporter: days? >> translator: days, weeks, months. >> reporter: it could be months? >> translator: it could be months. this is a decision up to the doctors. >> and the u.s. has reportedly been asked to leave an air base in pakistan, one used to launch drone attacks against taliban and al qaeda targets, along the afghanistan border. that is according to the state-run associate press of pakistan, quoting the country's defense minister, the u.s. official tells us the comments

are, quote, news to us. all right. we're going around the world. zain vergee is standing by in london. it will be a big day in london. we're expecting to see big strikes. good morning, zain. >> good morning, ali. everyone is bracing themselves. it is supposed to be some of the biggest strike action that we're going to see since the 1920s, hundreds of thousands of people are going to demonstrate and get out on the streets. we're going to have things like airport delays, schools have been shut down. courts are not operating. teachers are on strike and nurses as well. they're basically mad, ali, because the government wants to cut their pensions. it's making front-page news all over the country. this is "the independent." what people are saying, why should they have to deal with it and the politicians aren't getting any cuts to their pensions, too? so they're pretty mad about this. ever since this government has come to power, ali, it has been cut, cut, cut. they want to reduce the deficit and this is part of that. people really upset today. >> all right. and switching over to the other

side of the atlantic, will and kate, the royals, headed to canada as the beginning of their north american tour. >> yes, headed across the pond, your way, your country, to canada, and then to the united states. let's show you a map, ali. they're going to be out for 11 days, they're going to be in ottawa where they'll celebrate canada day. then they will take a cooking class, ali. they'll be there. and then they'll go to quebec city, prince edward island, yellow life and the yukon. they'll be playing ball hockey and they're going ahead to calgary and l.a. they need to squeeze in a romantic getaway in the rocky mountains. i'm sure you know -- >> it's tough to talk about this at 5:00 in the morning. it's crispy french fries and you put cheese kurd and brown gravy

on top of it and it all mixes up. fantastic food. as you probably know about me, zain, i, like many men, have food prepared or buy it prepackaged. i have to say, i'm guilty of this. i buy prepackaged salads. nothing to do. there's prepackaged salads -- >> mix it in. >> they sell them at kroger's here in the united states. after eating some of it, a guy found a dead mouse in the bag. yeah. i know it's early. >> a dead mouse? >> that's the picture. you're showing me this picture, first thing in the morning? >> yes. >> yes. >> oh, god. it's guts are all over the place there. how did they miss that, ali? that's huge. >> this is a problem for me. the only choice i have now is to stop eating for a few days. kroger says they're mortified and the guy who found the mouse says he has no plans to contact a lawyer. he's not trying to sue anybody at the moment.

he just got a mouse in his salad. >> ali, if it was a cockroach, okay, i'd understand. but a mouse? >> how forgiving. you'd be fine with a cockroach in your salad but you draw the line at a mouse, zain. that's what i like about you, you have standards. >> yeah, i have standards, you know. would you like mouse with that? no, no. >> it's a little gross. >> zain, we'll come back to you in a little while. >> thanks, ali. >> zain had a great interview with jay leno last night. actress shctress charlize t down with piers morgan. she told piers about some of her flaws. >> i'm just as flawed as the woman next to me. i really am. i suffer from a bit of ocd. i inspect every closet and drawer. i need to find a man. >> this is not going to help.

>> this is not going to help. >> she inspects everything. she would have found that mouse in her salad. for the fellows watching us this morning, i thought i'd throw this one in. >> do you think you'll never get married? >> i don't. i don't. >> all right. to eastern afghanistan where a u.s. military outpost comes under attack by the taliban. >> fire. >> go, go, go, go. >> we have a cnn exclusive look at the battle unfolding with the taliban, next.

good morning. it is thursday, june 30th. this is your "wake up call."

i'm ali velshi joining you live from new york. we have breaking news, politics and sports, everything to get you started. three american service members have been killed in southern iraq. the military is not yet say whogt service members are or how they died. we'll stay on top of this through the morning and bring you any new information as we get it. the defouns could rest in the casey anthony trial. the big question is, will casey anthony herself testify in her own defense? a gut-wrenching day yesterday, her father, george anthony broke down on the stand while being questioned about the death of his 2-year-old granddaughter caylee. >> up to that moment, had you held out the hope that caylee would be founded alive? >> absolutely. every day from july 15th until the day we were told it was caylee --

>> did you need a break? >> no, sir. i need to get through this. i need to have something inside of me get through this. >> federal judge says jared lee loughner must take his meds. loughner's attorney arguing that forcing him to take the mind-altering drugs violates his rights. the judge sided with doctors who are trying to treat his mental illness. he's charged with the mass shooting in tucson. i don't know if robert gates will be carrying out the boxes of pictures and trinkets when he leaves work this afternoon but today is his last day as defense secretary, stepping down after more than four years, serving under presidents bush and obama. president obama will honor gates today. tomorrow the name on the desk will read leon panetta, former head of the cia. >> fire. >> go, go, go, go, go!

>> cnn got this exclusive look along afghanistan's eastern border. nick peyton walsh embedded with u.s. forces when a military outpost came under attack by the taliban. u.s. troops were forced to take cover until reinforcements could arrive. at least five insurgents were killed in this battle. let's talk about money. christine romans, i saw you covering it yesterday. president obama is made about reaction over the debt ceiling. >> the debt ceiling debate as it ticks closer and closer to august 2nd, very important, ali. this is say money and personal finance story. the world is watching to see if the u.s. can get its long-term fiscal issues under control and short term can pay the bills. the president said it yesterday, we already spent this money. congress already spent this money. the world is watching to make sure the u.s. isn't at some point deciding what bills it's going to pay and what bills it's not going to pay. this is incredibly important to

confidence overall. stocks have been up for three days. stocks and bonds and the markets have been pro session the fact that the u.s. economy is a little bit slower, processing greece, processing all of these other international issues. and have managed to find some footing here. so, you know, how we go from here will be really important. but we're looking for futures. futures are up, ali, looks like it could be an up day for stocks at least if things hold over the next four hours. >> if you're watching us on tv, you're hard driving, probably wired, probably use some kind of device by apple. >> big changes in apples app stores which could spell trouble for the e-books and digital readers. any apps that include links to external websites for purchases will be banned unless apple gets a 30% cut. that means big name apps like amazon's kindle could be booted

from the apps store. a lot of merchants are considering this a deal breaker and opted out. online music service rhapsody is one of them. they said they couldn't survive a hit like paying apple 30% of everything they sell. you might see changes to the apple apps store and the relationship with other vendors there. >> i know you're active on facebook, on twitter as i am. i don't know if you have a myspace page. >> i don't. >> i set one up years ago. i haven't logged in for years. myspace got sold for $35 million. >> 35 million. that's chump change. >> news group, fox news corporation paid more than $500 million for the site several years ago. justin timberlake taking a piece of this? the owners, a company called specific media says timberlake will play a major role in

myspace's future. what do you know about this? except myspace is for musicians. that makes sense. >> somebody like his name could be a re-invention for myspace. newscorp had high hopes for this company. 35 million -- that's crazy. considering how much they paid for it, $500 million a few years ago. >> less than 10% of what they paid for it. >> unbelievable. it shows you how quickly technology and the world's taste for how they use technology are changing. >> i'll see you in 25 minutes on "american morning," christine. >> see you soon. roger federer out at wom wimbledon. now it's time to get smart. today's question, how much sleep does an average american get? here's your options, 5 hours, 58 minutes, 6 hours and 45 minutes, 8 hours and 23 minutes or are we lazy buggers that get 10 hours

and 3 minutes? think about it. the answer's coming up, right after this. ? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia.

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39 minutes after the hour. happy thursday. before the break i asked how much sleep you think the average american gets. survey says, 8 hours and 23 minutes a night. i can't believe it. that is sa cord together labor department. i don't know why the labor department has this information. all i can say i'm very jealous. i don't remember the last time i get 8 hours and 23 minutes of sleep in a night. all right. let's talk about tropical storm arlene. first named storm of the atlantic hurricane season, making landfall. rob, tell us what we can expect in the u.s. >> we're not going to get a lot of rainfall from this. we could stand to get some across the border through texas, new mexico. it's not going to happen that much. most of the rain, a lot of it, will be across northeastern mexico. there are hurricane warnings posted for the american coastline up to la cruz.

the center of this thing is between tampico and it's about 20 miles offshore. as it moves onshore it will weaken. it's getting to be most organized as it approaches the coastline. there will be wind damage, a mild storm surge. the biggest threat will be the amount of rainfall with this. here's the rainfall protection over the next 36 hours. that white means over 10 inches. as you know, the further inland you get, the more mountains you hit. we'll see flash flooding and mudslides with this for our friends down south of the border. as mentioned, i don't think a lot of this will get up north of the border which is where we need it. excessive, in some cases record-breaking drought across much of the state of texas and those fires burning in new mexico and arizona aren't going to see a lot of this moisture. >> rain in the wrong place. i don't know if you saw the survey i pulled in with about how much sleep americans get. according to the labor department, 8 hours and 23 minutes on average. >> that is the average of what

they get or should get. >> what they get. >> obviously we're not included in that. >> i was going to say. we didn't skew the survey enough. rob, i'm talk to you in a little bit. >> all right. >> 41 after the hour. here are three things you need on your radar. republican presidential candidate mitt romney is holding a news conference outside a closed factory in pennsylvania today around 4:00 p.m. president obama, 5:35 eastern, in philadelphia. and coming up in less than an hour, "consumer reports" will release their fast food survey. let's talk about the thing that goes best with fast food, that is sports with pablo torres, live from new york. what is going on at wimbledon? players looking forward to the finals this weekend, roger federer, tennis legend is out after the williams sisters out, what does this mean for federer?

>> first let's give credit to the guy who shocked the world and shocked roger federer, jo-wilfried tsonga, a guy more famous for physically resembling muhammad ali than anything else. too often we measure sports years like dog years. we think these guys are aging faster than the eye can see. the bottom line is that roger federer had a bad day. the guy is 29 years old. he's not done yet. he'll have another grand slam under his belt pretty soon. let's give a hold on the legacy being over talk and wait for him to bounce back. he's one of the best ever. >> let's talk about a story you did on a 7-footer and retired basketball star, mark eaton. >> yes. as basketball fans, as sports fans we don't often think about these guys that are 7 feet tall. endocrinologists will tell you, extremely tall for the growth spectrum and how basketball seems to be this medieval sort

of trait they're brought into. we sort of wonder what happens when the sport they've been trained to do for their entire life goes away? i spent time serving as a physical measuring stick for people to see how tall mark eaton was? >> how tall are you? because you look like his kid. >> exactly. i look like his child. i'm 5'10 1/2". >> wow. >> look at that video. it's ridiculous. the stares, the comments he gets walking through an airport in las vegas are unlike any celebrity in the world i maintain. the stories about what it's like for him to go about his day and being photographed, literally, against his will, involuntarily, all the time. it's something a lot of sports fans may get a better taste of after the story. >> i always thought you were a regular sized guy until i saw that video. >> i swear i am. >> pablo torres, "sports illustrated.." jay leno heads across the pond to london to talk about

american politics. >> bill clinton was the golden age of comedy. george bush, pretty good there. fantastic. >> so the question zain was talking to him that has us all waiting for an answer. what did he have to say about president obama? hear what he told zain vergee right after this. first, on think day in history in 1953, the first corvette rolled off the assembly line in flint, michigan. sold for $3,250. to this day, the american classic continues to rank more than the world's most elite sports cars. 44 after the hour. we're coming right back with "wake up call." ...or something small? ...something old? ...or something new? ...or maybe, just maybe... it's something you haven't seen yet. the 2nd generation of intel core processors. stunning visuals, intelligent performance. this is visibly smart.

with two children and no way to support them. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu.

all right. 47 minutes after the hour. good morning. thursday, june 30th. this is your a.m. "wake up call." i'm ali velshi joining you live from new york this morning. let's go around the world. zain vergee joins us from london where we are expecting -- there's a whole lot of news coming out of europe. one you're falling in particular is a runaway bride, perhaps? >> yes. you know, ali, this is like a hollywood movie script, okay in the bride to be bolted. now here's what happened. this is in monaco. prince albert is supposed to marry the former olympic swimmer, charlene whitstock. this marriage is supposed to happen on saturday. what had according to a french magazine is that she bolted.

she did a runner, she went to the airport in nies. according to this report, the officials at the airport said wait a minute, isn't there a wedding going on? and they called up prince albert who came to the airport and persuaded her to just not leave and to come back. the palace is denying there's a rift. they've launched this big manhunt as to who was the mole in the palace that leaked this to the media, the wedding is supposed to happen saturday. a lot of people are wondering whether she's going to leave him at the altar or what's going on. >> for now the wedding is still scheduled. >> $100 million, loads of guest, they're flying in the eagles. it's supposed to be a big deal. charlene is saying there are rumors about prince albert and his behavior is not as exemplary as she may have imagined. the buzz is, what's going on and

will there be a wedding and is there a cover-up? >> zain, you didn't like my topic about the rat in the salad. >> the dead mouse first thing in the morning? no. >> you were talking to jay leno. what was that about? >> jay was here in london, by invitation of jaguar. he's a big car fan. he told me he drove princess diana's old car. we talked politics in the u.s. here's what he had to say. listen. >> bill clinton was the golden age of comedy, george bush, pretty good there. oh, boy. fantastic. and, of course, obama, not so much. >> why? >> he's well spoken and he's serious and he does not seem to have those sort of usual flaws. he reads the teleprompter a bit too much but that's okay. we have sarah palin and some of these other people. i think it's going to be okay. >> and then ali, i asked him which candidate is going to give

you the most material on your show snez said definitely sarah palin and he said this, it's not the fire in her belly, it's the air in her head. >> oh! >> ali. ouch! >> it's been a bit of a drought for some of the comedy guys for a while. some of the front-runners in the republican race don't offer a lot of material either. they're sort of lower key. >> right. >> let's see what happens. zain, good to see you. see you in "american morning" in a little while. >> all right. the defense in the casey anthony trial may rest as early as today. but is she herself going to take the stand and could we hear from the alleged mistress of george anthony, casey's father. yesterday, the defense tried to advance their argument that mr. anthony covered up his granddaughter's death and molested his daughter. >> i never would do anything like that to my daughter. >> my question is, you would never admit to it, would you, sir?

>> forensic specialist told an italian court that dna findings used to convict american amanda knox of murder in 2009 were unreliable. the independent team said police did not follow international inspection procedures and the evidence may have been contaminated. this may be a boost for knox as her appeal is heard this week. federal investigators say the manager of the west virginia coal mine where 29 workers died last april had been faking safety records before the worst u.s. mine disaster in 40 years. the mine safety and health administration said this week that massey energy kept two sets of books, one included safety problems or hazards, the other one didn't and that was the set that was given to government inspectors. massey sold the upper big branch

are safe. today's word of the day is maximumalist.

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55 moinsz after the hour. today's word of the day is maximalist. the actual definition is a person who holds extreme views and is not prepared to compromise. president obama used the word in his news conference about the debt ceiling yesterday. he blasted congressional republicans for refusing to consider raising taxes on the wealthiest americans as part of any deal. he said congress needs to be, quote, willing to take on their

sacred cows and do tough things while moving away from maximalist positions. there you go. all right. here are three things to to put on your radar. the urn employment numbers will be updated at 8:30 eastern time. jobless claims for last week have come out. plus, crime boss james "whitey" buller is is scheduled to be in court around 11:30 this morning. he was caught last week after 15 years on the fbi's most wanted list. and the last crew of the space shuttle "atlantis" will talk to the media at 1:00 this afternoon. the last launch of "atlantis" is scheduled for july 8th. i'll be down at kennedy space center for that. let's go across to hong kong for a check of the markets. >> ali, markets are quite relieved that the greek parliament passed the tough austerity measures. european markets have been open for several hours, all in positive territory. in the asia pacific, all markets up before the close.

wall street was up overnight. there's still a lot of uncertainty out there which reflects in the fact that global markets have been trending downwards since january. ali? >> let's talk about japan. you spent time there after the earthquake and tsunami. as devastating as that was, we're seeing that japan is getting back on track, getting their economy and production and manufacturing back on track. >> it's great news, is it not? japan as you say, suffered that devastating earthquake/tsunami and the nuclear disaster on march 11th. the technology industry was hit particularly hard as we know, japan is known for its technology. a new report has come out that says the end is in sight, claiming the industry will be completely back up and running by september. that's just six months after the disaster. of course, companies closest to the areas that suffered the most substantial damage will have to wait just a little longer. good news, ali, which is great. >> other good news, maybe it's bad news. you and i have something in kman, you are australian, i'm

canadian. beer may make mosquitos like you more. french researchers gave men three cans of beer or water, then exposed them to blood suckers. the men who drank beer were 30% more likely to attract mosquitos than men who drank water. what do you think about that, anna? >> it makes sense. complete sense. that's why i'm attacked by mosquitos on a regular ace baba >> thanks for joining us. we'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning on "wake up call." >> talk to you later. as the president and congress haggle over the debt crisis,i comedians will have something to talk about. >> he talked about how he will tacking the growing debt crisis. this is important. >> the money's been spent. >> one of his best speeches. >> democrats say we've got to raise america's $14.3 trillion

debt ceiling before august 2nd. because if we don't do that -- wait, what happened again? >> armageddon. >> armageddon. >> each party says the other party is leading us to armageddon. for more we go to the future. you're both saying no matter which party gains to the upper hand in 2011 it leads to an america governed by apes? >> yes. >> no third option might not lead this to not happen? >> no. >> okay, remember you'll hear a lot of the jokes. the deadline for figuring out how to extend that budget creeling is august 2nd here in the united states. seattle cops are red faced for doing something with an assault rifle that we've done a time or two with a purse or wallet or cup of coffee. driving off with it on your car. you left your rifle where? the seattle cop left an apparently loaded assault rifle on the trunk of a police cruiser.