up, i'm going to be an astronaut and i'm going to the moon. >> you are going to go to the moon? >> yes. >> reporter: maybe as a journalist i can come with you on board? . >> yes. >> reporter: what is so exciting about being here all of the way from colorado to see this launch? what are you so exciting about? >> well, i'm so excited because i have never seen the launch before and i only saw it on the computer, but now is the first, my last time to see it. >> reporter: it is your last time, because this is the last space shuttle. are you sad about that? >> yeah. >> reporter: maybe you can help develop the next one. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: okay. cade, thank you so much. guys, nice to meet you very much. nice to meet you. thank you very much. anderson, back over to you. >> brooke, thanks very much. it is the top of the hour, and 11:00 a.m. in the east coast of

the united states and we are 26 minutes away from planned launch of "atlantis," and the last planned shuttle mission live here at florida's kennedy space center, and we are expecting president obama to speak any moment from the rose garden in the white house. take a look at this though. >> reporter: "atlantis" and the crew of four are ready to make history minutes from now with the last liftoff of the u.s. space shuttle. >> it is at that moment when it is finally over that you will be able to exhale, and take a breath and understand the significance of the moment. >> reporter: but americans have been fascinated with space exploration for decades. >> i believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon. >> reporter: the first generation of astronauts became our national heroes. >> one giant leap for mankind. >> reporter: the mission that followed broke down barriers on earth and beyond. nasa made the unimaginable happen before our very eyes. >> four return attempts and not

reporting any ref at this time. >> reporter: and unspeakable tragedy may have marred this program, but americans still feel pride and patriotism when we hear the countdown. >> zero and liftoff. >> reporter: and hope. >> i hope to become an astronaut. >> hope for the future of a program that will not end after this, the final launch. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the program will not end. of course, it will be a different space program in the years ahead, and we will talk about that in the hour ahead with the launch anticipated to be 11:26, again, a lot depends on the weather. it all depends on the weather, and we are joined here by astronaut katy coleman, and john zarrella. katy spent six months on the international space station, and we will talk about that throughout the hour, and also over to chad myers at the

weather complex, and chad, what is going on with the weather? the sun looks like it is starting to peek out? >> well, only one fly in the ointment, and there is a thick cumulus cloud there above the palm trees, and if that cumulus deck is more than 4500-feet thick, that means there might be rain drops in the deck. the shuttle cannot fly through rain, and why? because if it is wet and then two seconds later it is high in the sky at below zero, clearly the water will freeze on the shuttle and freeze underneath the ceramic tiles. and over to the left, you will get rid of the cumulus deck and have weather like this, and it could not be better, and that is spectacular weather. if the weather is moving in like we we can see, and if in the next 26 minutes or 30, and they can catch up with the iss by launching a few minutes later, and it is getting better as we speak. everybody is waiting for the

launch. we have hundreds of thousands of people here all on their feet waiting for this to go. anderson. >> chad we will check in with you again. 11:26 is the time it is supposed to launch. let's hope it does. what a moment it will be, the last time you will see the space shuttle launching from the united states anywhere. the last time the space shuttle can launch, and the crew, the final four they call themselves, is ready to go. president obama is going to be speaking from the white house in just about a minute or so, and we will bring that to you live, and here again with katy coleman and cnn's john zarrella. at this point, with the crew so experienced, does one get nervous? >> that is up to each individual person, and i doubt it. they are focused on the mission. from watching on board of the station, we had two visiting us, and we were nervous, on the station, because you want them to launch on the window. >> do you enjoy it? are you so focused on the work or moments where you are like,

looking out the window, and like -- >> being up there on the station? >> well, on the station and the shuttle. >> well, you have to, and you are actually really busy doing your job, but the thing is to actually capture a few memories that you put in a special place that you have and reach back to feel them, but certainly, when launch, itself, happens, i think that there's a part of all of us that is just amazed that people are leaving the planet, and you are one of them. >> and in terms of where the space program goes in the future, president obama said clearly that he wants nasa to e to kus -- to focus -- well, president obama is coming to the rose garden to speak about job numbers. let's listen. >> good morning, everybody. obviously, over the last couple of days, the debate here in washington has been dominated by issues of debt limit, but what matters most to americans, and what matters most to me as president in the wake of the worst downturn in our lifetimes

is getting our economy on a sounder footing more broadly so that the american people can have the secure they deserve. that means getting back to a place where businesses consistently grow, and are hiring, and where new jobs and new opportunity are within reach. where middle-class families once again know the security and the peace of mind they felt slipping away for years now. and today's job report confirms what most americans already know. we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and the opportunity they deserve. we have added more than 2 million private sector jobs in the past 16 months, but the recession cost us more than 8 million. and that means that we still have a big hole to fill. each new job, that was created last month is good news for the people who are back at work. and for the families that they take care of.

and for the communities that they are a part of. but, our economy as a whole just isn't producing nearly enough jobs for everybody who's looking. we have always known that we'd have ups and downs on the way back from this recession. over the past few months the economy has experienced some tough headwinds from the natural disasters to spikes in gas prices to state and local budget cuts that have cost tens of thousands of cops and firefighters and teachers their jobs. the problems in greece and in europe along with uncertainty over whether the debt limit here in the united states will be raised have also made businesses hesitant to invest more aggressively. the economic challenges we face were not created overnight, and they are not going to be solved overnight. but the american people expect us to act on every single good idea that is out there.

i read letter after letter from folks hit hard from this economy, and none of them ask for much. some of them pour their guts out in the letters, and they want me to know that what they are looking for is that we have done everything we can to make sure that they are rewarded to living up to the responsibilities, and they are doing right by their communities and they are playing by the rules. that is what they are looking for, and they feel like the rules have changed. they feel that leaders on wall street and in washington and believe me no party is exempt have let them down. they wonder if their efforts will ever be reciprocated by their leaders. they also make sure to point out how much pride and faith they have in this country that is as hard as things are today, they

are positive that things can get better. and i believe that we can make things better. how we respond is up to us. there are a few things that we can and should do right now to re-double our efforts on behalf of the american people. let me give you a few examples. right now, there are millions of construction workers out of work as america needs rebuilding. we connect the two by rebuilding the railways and infrastructure and put back to work right now some of those construction workers that lost their jobs when the housing market went bust. right now, we can give our entrepreneurs the chance to let their job creating ideas move to market faster by streamlining our patent process that is

pending before congress right now. that should pass. today, congress can advance trade agreements to help businesses sell more american-made goods and services to asia and south america. supporting thousands of jobs here at home. that could be done right now. right now, there are a lot of middle-class families who sure could use the security of knowing that the tax cut that i signed in december to help boost the economy and put $1,000 in the pockets of american families, that that is still going to be around next year. that is a change that we could make right now. there are bills and trade agreements before congress right now to get all of the ideas moving. all of them have bipartisan support. all of them could pass immediately. i urge congress not the wait. not to wait because the american people need everything

we can do to help strengthen the economy and make sure we are producing new jobs. also to put the economy on a stronger and sounder footing in the future, we have to rein in the deficits and get the government to live within its means while still making the investments to put people to work right now and help make us more competitive in the future. as i have mentioned, we have had good meetings. we had a good meeting yesterday with both member s s of the parties. and the sooner we can do this even though disagreements still remain, the sooner we have a plan to deal with the deficit, and the sooner we give our businesses the certainty they will need in order to make additional investments to grow and hire and will provide more confidence to the rest of the

world as well so that they are committed to investing in america. and the american people sent us here to do the right thing and not for party, but for country. so we are going to work together to get things done on their behalf. that's the least that they should expect of us, not the most they should expect of us. i'm ready to roll up my sleeves over the next several weeks and months and members of both parties are ready to do that as well, and we will keep you updated on the progress we are making on the debt limit talks over the next several days. thank you. >> and the meeting was -- president obama speaking from the rose garden this morning about the weak job numbers that came out today, and again, 11:26, is the launch of the space shuttle "atlantis," the last launch from the space shuttle program. 30 years now, history concluding really today with this launch,

and of course, the return days from now, and i'm here with cnn's john zarrella, and astronaut katy coleman and what is going on here both here and the local control and mission control in houston. >> so as we speak, launch control here in kennedy space center is actually having a poll to see if each system is ready. and so they are doing that right now to see if they are go to come out of the the nine-minute hold. >> and the launch control here controls things until what point? >> until the shuttle clears the tower, and then it is mission control in houston controlling the mission there. >> they are polling now. yeah, the range is clear. the only issue right now that they are facing is whether the weather is go. so that is what we have got, the launch team is ready to proceed. they need a little bit more time they say to evaluate the weather. >> more time is needed. again, 11:26 still on schedule for the 11:26 time. there's a remarkable video that cnn.com has made showing all 134

launches of space shuttles, and this is of course, the 135th launch, and we will add that on to the video, the end of this program once this launch is successful, but take a minute, and it runs for like a minute and a half, and it is a quick video, and all 134 launches in case you have missed them and john zarrella has seen nearly all of them. >> just about. >> i don't want to date you, john, but let's take a look back at the remarkable moments. >> t-10 and we have engine start. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and we have liftoff. >> space lab two is on the way. >> and it has cleared the tower. >> americans return to space as "discovery" clears the tower.

>> liftoff of "columbia" and the first dedicated medical flight. >> the six-man crew on the flight. >> and "atlantis" speed is 195 miles an hour. >> and jets at 100%. >> and the vehicle's rate of speed will virtually triple. we have breaking news. john, tell us about it. >> well, we are listening and the launch director is saying, we are looking better every second, and told the commander christopher ferguson to have a good launch and godspeed and it is looking real good. >> and have a little fun he said. >> have a little fun is what he said. >> and then fergie answered to say from the screw, how th -- f crew, and i didn't catch all of it, but he said beginning of one

journey, but it is a journey that ever ends. >> and example of what great nations can do the space exploration. >> and the launch will happen in ten minutes from now, and, man, that is a remarkable moment. this thing for the last one we will ever see. they are talking about doing kind of a smaller shuttle that will be able to taxi, they are calling it, to ferry people to space station or other missions. >> well, we have gotten so much understanding of how to get people up and down, and it is time for nasa to get out of that business so we can focus our expertise on harder problems that need solving which is to go further and to be the moon, and the mars and the asteroids, and so it is going to be -- >> go for launch. i heard the director say go for launch. they cleared the last issue which is return to launch site if god forbid if they had to try to come back here, they have cleared that issue, and that weather issue, and that is the

last one they were facing. and they are now clear to pick up the clock at nine, so they will start counting it down here. >> and as soon as the countdown clock starts to move at t-9, we will tell you that just before launch we will stop talking, and just let you so you can hear the launch control, and you will hear that for many minutes before the launch, and all of the way through once they, the space shuttle has been launched and it is heading off into space. we want you to be able to hear all of the natural sound, all of the mission control, launch control, and we want you to hear history as it is happening with us without us talking over it. >> i was telling you, anderson, in 198le when the first return to flight -- 1988, when the first return to flight mission, and the clouds closed up, and i am looking up there and there is a hole about the same size that

"discovery" flew through in 1988. >> and there are four astronauts on board, and usually, it is a larger crew. >> yes, that is right. we actually have to -- i'm starting the nine-minute hold, and we are coming out of it. there we go. >> and t-8 and you can see it counting down and the applause from the crowd and no doubt that applause is going to be echoed among the million or so people estimated to watch on beaches, boat, all around, and this has attracted a huge crowd and so many people bringing their families coming from all around the world wanting to witness history as it is happening. there you see the countdown clock. is there a hold at all on that? >> shouldn't be. >> no. >> they are a go. >> they are a go. >> so, commander, all of these pilots, all of the astronauts have been to space before, and some of them, multiple times. chris ferguson, this is actually his third space flight. >> correct. >> and rex wallheim has been in space with his third space

flight. >> and doug hurley, his second, and sandy, she is probably the third. >> and sandy is the most experienced, because she spent time on the international space station. >> she is one of the most organized people you will meet, and she is exactly the person to be the load master, to control what we need to bring back. >> and ferguson plays in the band. >> it is true. >> the drummer in the astronaut band max q. >> and i have heard that he has a flip camera which he carries around to document everything behind the scenes. >> sounds like astronaut mike masammino because he brings the camera around. and hurley is a big nascar fan. >> he is a colonel in the marine corps and former fighter pilot, and he admits to being a speed demon. >> absolutely. i asked him if he ever broke any of the nasa rules by getting behind the wheel of one of those fast cars when he wasn't

supposed to be, and of course, he denied it. >> there are lots of times we are not supposed to be, and he is actually married to karen niberg who is an astronaut training for the space station as we speak, and they have a little one. >> so this is sts-135, and the 135th mission and the final mission, and the astronauts started to call themselves the final four, and the name has stuck. in terms of what the mission is, what are they going to be doing? >> bringing supplies and interesting equipment to the station's robotics, remote robotics unit to refuel satellite in space and understand more about that, and bringing an immense number of supplies to the station and bringing back things that we need to investigate further. >> we have t-6, and i don't know fe with can show to multiple images, because there are multiple cameras of things happening and i don't know whether the one image, but if we

can put multiple images on the screen there. >> and this is right on the pad, and you are looking at the main engines and those are cycled and put into pressures equalized and you will see a spark there because it is engines that launch before, and that spark is burning up the residual hydrogen that night be there. that is not the engines. >> if there were a problem, they could shutdown and stop before the solid rockets booster ignites, and one way or another, you are going. >> what is interesting if you look at the shuttle on the pad, there it is held down on the solid rocket boosters and four huge bolts on each of those, and when the main engines light, it actually pushes that space shuttle over, and you know, pushes it like this, and the nose swings six feet, and comes back and when it is in the vertical that is when the solid rocket boosters fly. >> can you feel that? >> yes, it is called the tuang. >> when they clear the tower at 11 seconds, you are traveling

11,000 miles an hour. >> 11 seconds? >> yes, 11 seconds after lift aufr. >> very fast. >> and quickly moving up the numbers very, very quickly. >> you say, when you are really going to feel that. >> no question. it is with those solid rocket boosters, it is a rough ride and you are shaking. >> and with the last two minutes to go, we will turn the audio over to the launch control so you will hear what the astronauts are hearing, and you will hear what is happening in the control room. >> and you know, george who was doing the commentary for nasa started in 1979, and he was brought on for the build-up of the shuttle program to do commentary and i asked diller and diller's very first shuttle he did commentary for was "atlantis" and he won't tell me the words he says, but they will be historic, and what he says at

liftoff before he turns it over to rob navius who is the voice of mission control out in houston who will take over commentary as soon as the shuttle clears the tower. >> you think about the people who have flown aboard this and 850 people have flown 852 times on missions going back to 1961. and 62 countries have been represented with astronauts and people on board this, and 14 people have lost their lives in the two disasters. and of course, on this day, we remember them all. >> i know that lorna onazuka is here and she is watching and has come to every shuttle launch about five years after her husband perished and she believes that he is looking down on them. >> i have no doubt. no doubt. there are only four on this shuttle, but they bring with them the hearts of so many people and it takes so many people to make this work and you talk about george back to do the

commentary, and so many people have worked on the launches and the shuttles for so long, and all of them are going today. >> let's listen in to launch control. >> we will find out right now that the main engines are in the start position. >> la-2, the pressure is there. >> and the gaseous oxygen and the vent hood. >> clear caution warning memory and verify no unexpected errors. >> fuel cells going to kernel, and the storm camera is being activated at this time. >> no unexpected errors. >> copy that.

>> flight crew otc lock and close the visors an initiate o2 flow. >> t-2 minutes. >> it is safe for l.a. pressure. >> the rocket booster camera is being activated.

>> sounds like the water pressure system is being armed. >> t-1 minute. >> oxygen and liquid hydrogen drain valves are closed. t-40 seconds handing off to "atlantis's" computer at t-31, 35, 33. >> kernel hold at 31 seconds due to failure. >> go ahead. >> yes, sir. we need to have the guys go to

do the verification per lcd, please. >> yes. we need to verify using a camera, and we are positioning camera 62 right now. >> okay. let us now as soon as 62 has swung over and verify lcc for retract, please. >> and the hold here is one second while we get a verification that it has fully retracted. per the pre-plan. >> we verify. retracted. >> okay. and you can verify it is fully retracted per the instrk shuns that we have been verified, correct? >> yes. >> and sts confirms. it is a go. >> i copy. >> yes, sir. i heard all of that and concur. press on. >> all right. very good.

>> yes, sir. >> i need concurrence of the mast to clear the hold. >> and do you have confirms? >> copy. it is a go. >> let us know when that is complete. >> we have it work. >> all right. guidance. >> the hold time is 3:16. >> all right. 212, we are ready to go. >> all right. very good. and with that cleanup, we will go ahead to proceed. >> yes, sir. please do. >> all personnel we will pick up the clock momentarily, and we can resume the clock on your mark. >> the clock will resume on my mark. three, two, one, mark.

>> t- -- >> the sequence will start. >> and the handoff to "atlantis's" computers has occurred and the rocket booster steering nozzle check has occurred. firing chain is armed. >> 15. >> go for main engine start. t-10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 -- all three engines up and burning -- 2, 1, zero, and liftoff! the final liftoff of "atlantis" on the shoulders of the space shuttle america will continue the dream. >> we have you, houston. >> roger, roll, "atlantis." >> houston is controlling the space flight of "atlantis," and they spread their wings one final time for the sentimental journey into history.

the rolldown is complete, and "atlantis" heads down for the proper alignment for the ride to orbit, and 400 million pounds of equipment and humans on board. 40 seconds into the flight, the three liquid fuel main engines throttling back to 72% of rate of performance in the bucket reducing stress on the shuttle as it goes transsonic for the final time. engines now revving up, and standing by for the throttle-up call. >> "atlantis" go with throttle up, and no action dpt. >> throttle up, and no action on the dpt. >> that call from the captain with the transducer and

instrumental only, and no action is required. "atlantis" now 15 miles in altitude and already 16 miles down range from the kennedy space center and 1:40 already into the flight. "atlantis" flexing its muscles one final time. "atlantis" traveling almost 2600 miles an hour at 21 miles in altitude, and 24 miles down range and standing by for solid rocket booster separation. booster officer confirms staging, and a good solid rocket booster separation, and guidance is converging and the main engine steering the shuttle on a pinpoint path to the preliminary orbit. 2:20 into the flight, "atlantis" already traveling 3200 miles an hour, and 50 miles down range.

the propulsion officer reports the orbital maneuvering system has ignited and they are kicking on the afterburners for one minute for the phase of afterflight. >> "atlantis," tower. >> go ahead. >> plus to ato and 10.8, and 14.7. >> 10.8 and 14.7. >> that is a good readback, "atlantis." >> because of the slightly launch time, they are reading up to doug hurley, the pilot, the boundaries of "atlantis" which is flying on the singular power of the three main engines from

the shuttle's main fuel tank. 3:30 into the flight, atlanta is is traveling 4500 miles an hour, and already 120 miles down range from the kennedy space center and 57 miles altitude. three good auxiliary fuels and three good main engines for "atlantis." >> "atlantis," negative return. >> negative return. >> that call from captain barry willheim saying that we are too far down range to return to launch site in event of engine failure, but however, the engines are performing perfectly. 4:20 into the flight. >> astronaut katy coleman is with us, and in termses of what is happening now, what is going on? >> well, they have gotten rid of

the solid rocket boosters and we use them up and toss them down and they fall down 150,000 feet, because they are on the way. and those things will land in the ocean, vertically, and get picked up and cleaned out and could be used again, but in this case, not necessary. i am sure they will pick them up to clean them out now, and now we are waiting for the main engine kick off which means they have achieved orbit and on the way to space. >> you have seen it a lot, and the first time i have actually been here for it and it is completely different, and a cool experience and the power of it. and we are how many miles away are we? >> five miles. >> and the sound is deafening. you feel it like go through you, and the light is so bright from the boosters that you can barely look at it. i mean, it is such a searing heat. >> television has never done it jus ti. th >> we tried. but i try to tell people it is like nothing you have ever seen and it is a big deal for the people to leave the planet, even

though it is everyday, that is what the space shuttle has given us, people go to space. >> and you feel they are leaving the planet, and you feel like they are ripping a hole in the sky. >> exactly. and it is extraordinary. >> yes, they are traveling now over 7,000 miles an hour already, and 5:30 into the flight. >> incredible. just incredible. and i mean, to see that column of, it is incredible. and really rather remarkable and different every time, you say. >> yes, it depends upon where the wind is going, and the light and the time of the tday, and hw long you can see it and every launch is different, and you will look at each one differently now. >> the closest sound, and i can't think of, but it is a pale comparison to it when you hear a jet breaking the sound barrier and you hear the boom of the jet overhead, but it is nothing compared to this. there is, i don't know how the describe it. >> you can feel it through your whole body. >> yes. carol costello is with the spectators on the beach. carol, from your perspective, i

mean, that sound which doesn't hit, and it takes a while for the sound to actually reach -- sorry, katy. what are we looking at? >> well, you can see the main engine tank, and we are about to separate in a couple of minutes, but you will see the edge of the earth there. you can see how high they are. you don't see the whole earth, but the edge of the earth. >> to go that high that quickly is extraordinary. we are sitting here and it happened seconds ago. and they are already -- >> look, you can make out the things on the earth. >> yes, that is within a minute and a half. >> are you looking out the window, and are these astronauts at this point looking out the window or so much going on they are not paying attention? >> they have something going on, but we haven't seen anything going wrong, and so they can use the mirrors on the kneeboards to look out the window, and you can see the blue sky change to the black of space, and any clouds get shrunk like cartoon things

really small. >> one minute from now they will have main engine cutoff and separate the external tank and at that point, you are in space. >> yes, 50 miles, you are in space, but that is the end of the powered flight, and that means we will get rid of the big fuel tank and we don't need it anymore, and that is why you will see the fuel tanks on the bottom will separate. and the shuttle will fly away and do a pitch maneuver so we can take photographs of that tank and diagnose whether any pieces of the foam on the tank might have come off and cause damage. >> it does not look like it, and i have heard that they are traveling 15,000 miles per hour, and when you hit engine cutoff, you are over 17,000 miles per hour and looks like you are standing still. >> and the view is that the earth is getting smaller. and they were right on the earth and now it is smaller and smaller. >> and how long will it take to get to the international space station? >> you could get there quickly, but the fuel efficient way will take two days to catch up. >> sunday morning is the sked

c skeduled docking. >> yes. >> and the main engine cutoff confirm. >> and watch the separation. >> this is loud on board. it is really loud. and explosive, and this is the explosive separation. >> and what is happening? >> standing by for the external tank separation. >> the shuttle will fly away from the tank, and the tank stays in one place, and the shuttle goes. and the camera is on the shuttle so we see it arcing away. >> commander chris ferguson is maneuvering "atlantis" into an orientation to have sandy magness to capture the image. >> and at this point how does the shuttle maneuver? it has two jets of fuel when they combine the fuel, it will give them propulsion like a jet pack, but they are all over the shuttle to maneuver it. so now it is a view from the tank. >> they can move from all directions. >> yes, they are maneuvering the

shuttle to turn around and look at the tank, and sandy is snapping picture after picture in detail by the tank, and that one way to determine the ascent, and when the shuttle approaches the space station, they will do a belly flip in front of the station, and the station will photograph it. >> this is incredible. let's check in with carol costello on the beach, and carol, from this vantage point it was extraordinary and i imagine it was similar reaction there. >> a lot of reaction. as the space shuttle took off there were chants of "usa, usa" and a giant cheer went up. and these folks have stuck around to talk to us. you tried eight times to see the shuttle and you finally did, and what went through the mind? >> i was happy that i could finally get it off of the bucket list and the last couple of seconds where they stopped for a

camera. a camera of all things to keep me from not seeing it. so i am glad that i don't have to come for a ninth try. i am happy. >> as you saw the shuttle lifting off, pride in country that went off or what was it? >> it was a little bit of everything and i am glad i got to see the part of history and the beginning and the end, because there is something new coming after this, and i got to be here with all of these people here and wonderful americans to experience that. >> reporter: i know. a lot of cheers for that. thank you very much. kind of counted license plates from 26 states and australia and new zealand and another one from scotland, right? yes, amazing. matthew, you were sleeping, because you got here very early this morning and you were awake for the launch thank goodness, and when you saw it what adjective described it best? >> awesome. >> reporter: i knew that word was coming to mind. are you glad to be part of history? >> yes. >> reporter: and did you ever have dreams of becoming an astronaut?

>> yes. >> reporter: do you think that it will still be possible even though this is the last shuttle launch? >> yep. >> reporter: you do. and i will ask your mom that very question, because it was exciting for you, too. >> oh, yeah, it was awesome. >> reporter: and some people think it is the end of the space program, even though other programs on tap, it will be quite some time and maybe not within his lifetime that we will see someone on board something like a space shuttle. what do you think? >> i just hope they continue to go farther ininto space, and keep going, and maybe one day he will be part of it or maybe his kids. >> reporter: do you think that it was correct of the president to tell nasa to go into a different direction? >> yes, he was. i think that because of that we should go to the moon and mars and visit other planets and see stuff. >> reporter: so although it is a sad day because it is a last shuttle that has gone up, that is okay by you? >> it wasn't sad. it was a good ending to a great

vacation here in florida. >> that is awesome. you see, there are still hopeful americans out, there anderson, but i have to tell you that when we saw the bright lights of the shuttle going up, and the chants of "usa, usa" began, it was hard not to cry, frankly. >> wow. just so many extraordinary emotions, and to witness it in person, and so much different than seeing it on tv. we are glad that the launch happened and that folks around the world were able to watch it on the coverage. i'm here with katy coleman and cnn's john zarrella. i sound like an idiot, because while carol was talking to people, all i kept saying to you was like, wow. i mean, i can't get over the power of that machine and the technology required to make this happen. >> it is an emotional thing and i cry at almost every one i see in person, because it is so clear how much power there is, and there are people in there, and in my case, i know them, and they are doing something that is really important. >> you brought your son with you

here today and why did you want him to see it? >> i wanted him to see a launch when i was not on the rocket. i wanted to do that together so that we'd get to kind of talk about what launch feels like, to watch it, because for me to watch a launch is pretty nervous watching and i wonder what it was like for him. >> it has to be amazing to hear the kids as we heard earlier carol interviewing or brooke interviewing a little boy wanting to say he wants to be a astronaut. >> and it is one more, and this or that and they want to been a astronaut and that is normal and that means we have achieved a lot of the goals. they think that going to space is normal. >> and the shuttle has done, that and it is a workhorse and it has, you know, been the site of so many firsts, the first woman in space, and african-american in space, and african-american woman. >> we call it iconic, and it is. it is right up there with the coca-cola symbol and the cnn symbol, and really, the shuttle is the shuttle around the world.

everybody knows what the shuttle is. it is not mistaken for anything else. >> and people believed it is possible for us to leave the planet and live in space, and go to other places. i think that means we have achieved a huge goal, and the fact that the shuttle has built the space station, and not all of it, but a large piece of it. and huge pieces come up, and that big robotic arm comes out to get it, and it is amazing that it has powerer and data and things that we can't do down here. >> there are no more shuttle missions like this, but other missions, and we will talk about what is ahead, but as we go to break. we want to show you the launch once again, because frankly, there is nothing like it. let's take a look.

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t-10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 -- all three engines up and burning -- 2, 1, zero and liftoff! the final liftoff of "atlantis" on the shoulders of the space shuttle america will continue the dream. >> over to you, houston. >> roger, roll, "atlantis." >> houston is now controlling the flight of "atlantis," and the space shuttle spreads its wings for one final time for the sentimental journey into history. 24 seconds into the flight, roll program is complete and "atlantis" heads down on the wings level on the proper into space. hardware and humans taking flight to the international space station. >> sentimental journey into

history. and we will talk about that. brooke baldwin is at the kennedy space center complex, and estimates of over 1 million people watching in area, and brooke, what did you see from there? it is pretty amazing. >> it was spectacular. it is emotional. i grew up wanting to be an astronaut, and this is a dream assignment to cover this launch here. and linda johnston i met just after it launched, and i know that the tears are dry, and i see you welling up now, but why is it emotional for you? >> well, it is something that i have always wanted to do. i have always been interested in the space program, and i think that it is a shame that it is not going to be around anymore, but i understand why. it is just amazing to me the number of people who were here today, from all over the world, and they were, i heard every dialect in the world. >> reporter: every dialect and language. >> yes. >> reporter: and linda with her entire family over here, and let

me quickly add that this is a beginning and end moment for you in a kayak watching sts-1, and compare it to this? >> back then it was exciting and first time it launched was the first time i saw it, and this time i think it is a little more exciting for me, because i got to here. >> reporter: thousands of people, anderson, thousands are here. i wanted to be an astronaut, too, until i took physics. talked to cady coleman about her physics experience, she wasn't great at physics earlier. perhaps my future would have been different had i talked to katie years ago. back over to you. >> she recouped she was at first m.i. t. getting into m.i.t. must be a sign of knowledge and science, no way i could have done that. >> chemistry i love, it doesn't mean it's not for you. about means you've got to work harder at it. >> too hard for me to contemplate working. the final launch of the space

shuttle, not end of space travel. we'll talk about the future of space exploration. john elden, vice president of boeing and john zarrella joins me and cady coleman, astronaut. what was it like for you? >> an emotional thing. i was with a group of engineers who had been working on the shuttle through its life and we all had tears in our eyes as the shuttle went up. punched through the clouds. >> incredible. >> and it was just a really emotional setting. >> we focus on four astronauts on board. but they are there because of thousands of other people who had been working tirelessly for years on-to-make this reality. >> absolutely. that's their career. we have invested our lives in that. and -- the shuttle's an icon of the space program to have it come to an end, of course, is a sad thing. it's important that we treat that as a transition point and look forward to what's ahead. >> what do you see as what's ahead? what is the future? >> i think there's two clear path as head.

the space station is still up there in low earth orbit. still astronauts on that space station. >> that's going to continue. >> that will continue. currently through 2020, hopefully beyond that. so we need to have systems that can resupply, take crew, keep that system healthy. >> takes what "atlantis" brings supplies, taking used supplies off the international space station. for now, until there's another kind of vehicle that can bring astronauts to a space station, the u.s. is going to be working with russia, paying the russia space program to use the soyuz to bring people up. >> true for the near term. we're working on a capsule part of the crew program along with other crews and on the path 2015 to carry u.s. astronauts on a u.s. vehicle to the space station. >> that's for low earth orbit. farther beyond, the obama administration talked about trying to get nasa to think bigger, beyond low earth, to use commercial flights, commercial

spaceflights for low earth orbit. is more of the trip possible? how far in the future? >> human exploration beyond low earth orbits the real prize. we need to continue to use the station but focus beyond low earth orbit. the system we're work on transportation to station is going to make that part of the transportation more affordable so nasa has funds available to invest in capabilities for exploration back to the moon, asteroids and beyond mars. >> what the president was saying, he was saying we need new technology, the technology now isn't there necessarily for -- to deal with the radiation that astronauts would get trying to get to an asteroid. >> there's lots of technology that needs to be developed. dealing with radiation is one. it's a long flight to mars, having systems capable of that long spaceflight are important. mars has an atmosphere we have to enter through. when we landed on the moon there wasn't an atmosphere.

those technologies have to be developed to do those great missions. >> unmanned spaceflight, there's a lot ahead with robot exploration, of jupiter and mars rove somewhere other things. >> a lot to be learned in the solar system, using robots exploring other places. but people going there is just kind of what it's about. >> yeah. we saw a great example of that today. john, appreciate your time. thanks for being with us. we'll talk more with cady coleman, john zarrella and others straight ahead. [ male announcer ] megared omega-3 krill oil from schiff.

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with no fishy smell or aftertaste. try megared today. well, we're going to be showing you in a moment all of the shuttle missions all of the launches all 135 of them, which is just an extraordinary video that will take two minutes or so. that's at the end of our program. we want to tell you about the retirement homes for our long-serving shuttles. 21 museums put in bids to house the shuttle, once all decommissioned. only three sites received the honor, shuttle "atlantis" will stay at the kennedy space center complex. dl "endeavour" to california and "discovery" the smithsonian national air and space museum. here's 134 launches in 134 seconds, plus the one that just

made history today. take a look and enjoy. >> t minus ten, nine, eight. >> six. >> we have engine -- >> five, four, three -- >> two. >> one. >> we have liftoff! >> on its way. >> space lab two. >> the shuttle has cleared the tower. >> initiated and in control. >> rock 'n' roll. >> americans return to space as "discovery" clears the tower. >> lift-off of "columbia" and the first dedicated medical research flight. six-man crew on the department of defense flight. >> launch, "atlantis" now 500 miles an hour. >> dynamic pressure on the vehicle in the lower atmosphere. >> 100%.

vehicles rate of speed will virtually triple. >> standing by for burnout and jettison of the twin solid rockets. >> three main engines, second stage. >> "columbia" houston performance fphenomenal. >> heads down position on course. >> space shuttle "columbia" with the microgravity science laboratory. >> one z vertical acceleration. >> all systems on board are continuing to perform well. >> good solid rocket booster separation. >> houston now controlling the flight of "columbia" the international research mission finally under way. >> and lift-off of space shuttle

"discovery" beginning america's new journey! >> "atlantis" begins its penultimate journey to shore up the space station. >> final lift-off of "discovery." >> houston "endeavour." >> roger roll, "endeavour." >> go for main engine start. >> t mine shus u.s. in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five. all three engines up and burning. two, one, zero. and lift-off! the final lift-off of "atlantis" on the shoulders of the space shuttle america will continue the dream. >> program houstonen. roger roll, "atlantis." >> houston now controlling flight of "atlantis." space shuttle spreads its wings one final time for the start of a sentimental journey into history. 24 seconds into the flight -- >> a sentimental journey into

history. cady, for you what has this meant? >> watching the space shuttle fleet bringing four more people to space. now we live there. a big accomplishment for the fleet. i like what they said, america and the world riding on the shoulders of the space shuttle the program will continue? >> the space shuttle is one of the ways up and down. we've got a space station up in space that we're using, it's amazing, enormous. guys are ready for the shuttle visit and i think it's a bright future. >> an honor to have spent the day with you. john zarrella will continue on cnn throughout the day. thanks for sharing this moment in history with us. "cnn newsroom" begins with fredricka whitfield. >> another look at that history. hello, i'm fredricka whitfield. let's get you up to speed now. >> 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. >> all three engines up and burning. 2, 1, 0, lift-off. the final lift-off of "atlantis"

on the shoulders of the space shuttle america will continue the dream. >> nasa launches its 135th and final space shuttle mission. just a half hour ago. "atlantis" soared into orbit one last spine-tingling time. bad weather had threatened the launch. the shuttle program ending after 30 year, due to costs and the age of the orbiters. today's report on unemployment is much worse than anyone expected. the u.s. labor department says the economy added just 18,000 jobs in june. it takes 300,000 new jobs a month to put a significant dent in unemployment. june's meager showing pushed the jobless rate up a notch to 9.2%. >> today's job report confirms what most americans already flow know, we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do give people security and opportunity that they deserve. we've added more than 2 million

new private sector jobs over the past 16 months. but the recession cost us more than 8 million, and that means that we still have a big hole to fill. >> britain's phone hacking scandal reached prime minister cameron's office today. police arrested his one-time communications director, former "news of the world" editor, andy colson. allegations that the paper hacked the phones of celebrities and politicians cost colson his job at the "news of the world" back in 2007. he quit cameron's government in january as the scandal grew. the prime minister took responsibility for hiring colson, and called for government investigation into the paper's conduct. >> this is a wake-up call. over the decades, on the watch of both labor leaders and conservative leaders, politicians and the press have spent time courting support, not confront the problems. it's on my watch that the music

has stopped. >> "news of the world" will fold after sunday's edition. the tabloid part of rupert murdoch's media empire which includes the waun"wall street journal," "new york post" and fox news. >> seven people and the gunman dead, grand rapids police say roderic dantzler opened fire at two different homes. dantzler's daughter and former girlfriend are among the victims. in the en, police say he turned the gun on himself while negotiating to surrender. >> a reminder, u.s. combat operations in iraq may be over, but danger is not. the military says two american troops are been killed in central iraq. 14 americans fell in june. the highest number since 2008, all u.s. forces scheduled to leave iraq by the end of this year. casey anthony will get out of a florida jail sunday july 17th, not days earlier, when it was to be july 13th.

correction officers say they have refigured the release date which is based on time serve and time off for good behavior. public anger over the not guilty verdicts in death of anthony's daughter still simmers. >> concern for her safety? >> sure. yeah. everybody around her knows you have to be concerned for her safety. there's a lot of nuts out there that don't believe in the constitution of the united states, don't believe the jury system, all you have to do is go downstairs of the sidewalk and you'll see. >> the duke and duchess of cambridge arriving in los angeles this evening. you know who they are, will and kate. britain's future king and queen landed al.a.x. after nine days on the road in canada. the royal couple addressing the part for the rodeo in calgary thursday. san francisco police say the picasso thief is behind bars today. investigators say mark lugo boxed up the sketch, ready to

ship it when tracked down. surveillance video shows a man boldly walking out of an art gallery with the pencil drawing tuesday. the picasso is worth $200,000. let's get back to jobs or lack therefore. hiring slowed and the unemployment rate has risen unexpectedly. the june jobs report shows the economy gained just 18,000 jobs last month. that prompted immediate reaction on wall street. cnn's christine romans joins us, live from new york. what are we to make of all of this. >> one economist described it, a big bucket of very cold water frankly. it shows that the government is still shedding jobs, because of state and local budget cuts. losing government jobs and the private sector is not robustly creating jobs. so overall disappointing report altogether. i asked austan goolsbee, i asked him, you know, what this means what we can do to start creating jobs in this country.

>> i view this number as a call to action, that we should, in washington, be doing everything we can on a bipartisan basis to get the growth rate back and to help facilitate the private sector standing up and leading the recovery. that's what has to happen. and there are a number of things that we can do right now that are teed up on the table in a bipartisan way but i view it as that call to action. >> so in the meantime, while we wait for that bipartisan action, a 9.2% unemployment rate. austan goolsbee and the president today pointing out that we have created some 2 million private secotor jobs ovr 15 months and it's a big hole the economy's trying to climb out of. there's no real disagreement about that. the issue here is this point in the recovery should we be doing better? for those at home who have been saying it doesn't feel like a recovery to me, these numbers simply reinforce that. >> yeah, and especially

back-to-back poor jobs reports, june and may. how do people look for signs of recovery that indeed the economy might be moving forward? >> i tell you a couple of places where the jobs market is creating positions. that's in health care, you saw 14,000 more jobs there, mining also 8,000 jobs i think created there. temporary services is mostly flat. where you're seeing also leisure and hospitality, hotels and restaurants added 34,000 jobs. here's a bigger sort of political question and a question about direction of the middle class in the country. business and professional services saw jobs growth there. in that category there are jobs that are good paying jobs but the top three categories overall for jobs growth over the next couple of years are cashier, waitress, and retail sales clerk, like at a big box store, those are the places where we are forecast to create the most

jobs. can the united states middle class live on those earnings in a way that we have been accustomed to over the past 10, 20, 30 years. i think what you're seeing here is a reexamination of what -- what we can afford in the country. look at the debt debate happening now and where we're headed. it's a difficult report that underscores that. >> christine romans. so we heard from president obama reacting to the weak jobs report. he admits that having a long way to go is before him and the rest the administration to get people and jobs and the security that they are looking for. congressional leaders are reacting as well. cnn's jim acosta, part of the best political team in washington, is at the desk. what are lawmakers saying? >> reporter: the reactions from republicans here in washington shot up faster than the space shuttle "atlantis." you could see the responses coming from the gop presidential

candidates coming in almost as soon as the jobs report came in from mitt romney, tim pawlenty, jon huntsman. on capitol hill, john boehner was asking a familiar question, a question he's been asking for years -- >> after hearing this morning's jobs report, i'm sure the american people are still asking the question, where are the jobs? the stimulus spending binge, excessive government regulations and overwhelming debt continue to hold back job creators around our country. tax hikes on families and job creators only make things worse. >> reporter: and, of course, democrats will say to john boehner, and they are saying to john boehner this morning, there are job creation proposals that democrats say they have pending up on capitol hill that they would like to see passed. of course republicans say the same thing, they have job creation proposal pending if

only the democrats would come to the table. and at the white house press briefing the press secretary jay carney said one way to get jobs going is pass some sort of agreement to raise the debt ceiling and bring the debt under control. of course we're all waiting in washington for both sides to do just that. >> because aren't they all to meet one more time at least within more time this weekend? >> reporter: that's right. >> you wonder whether the jobs report and the tone of what's coming -- the tone from white house versus the tone from capitol hill is going to kind of reset the tone of these bipartisan talks. >> reporter: that's right. all of this is -- this jobs report raises the stakes in this debt ceiling debate, because going into these talks this weekend before the jobs report, you might have thought that perhaps the democrats might have felt like they had the upper hand in some of these talks and perhaps republicans are going to go into talks over the weekend feeling more emboldened. but both sides have paints themselves into a corner when it

comes to job creation in this country, fredricka, because you have the democrats who would like to spend more government money in order to create jobs, but of course, there are debt talks under way, so both sides will say, we can't afford to do that. and republicans would like to cut taxes and democrats will charge right back, well, we can't do that. both sides are really in a fix here because they've been advocating from both of these entrenched positions for so long and the debt ceiling debate is hanging over all of them. so the question is, can you bring the debt under control and create jobs at the same time? both sides are going to have to answer that question. >> jim acosta, thanks so much. let's take a look at rundown now, some of the stories we're covering over the next hour. first, the final mission of the space shuttle program is now under way. suzanne malveaux at the kennedy space center with reaction to the final blastoff. the first african-american woman in space reflects on the end of this shuttle program. plus, after 168 years,

britain's "news of the world" comes to an end. hear what the tabloid has meant to its british readers. a baseball fan falls to his death trying to catch a ball. later, the shocking pictures of yemen's president badly burned after an attack on his palace. c ices whole family ll love. five flavors of chex are gluten-free, including the honey nut flavor. and it's nice for me to be able to say "yes" to something that they want to eat. [ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. gluten free.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 -- all three engines up and burning -- 2, 1, 0, and lift-off! the final lift-off of "atlantis" on the shoulders of the space shuttle america will --

>> the space shuttle "atlantis" is on its way to the international space station after a spectacular launch less than an hour ago. suzanne malveaux and john zarrella joining me now from the kennedy space center. still breaking up over it, a lot of giggles there. it's one thing to watch this launch on television, but quite another to see it in person. i remember covering that second john glenn launch and the excitement there is palpable whether at the launchpad or whether at the beach. i understand you've been tweeting about it all morning long. and giggling. >> i've been tweeting all morning. i was so thrilled with this. it was really an awesome experience. for john, he's covered many of these, this is old hat for him. this is my first time, and it's the last one. a guess charlie had a group not far from here, five miles from the launch site. he was absolutely right. he says at first you see it, right? you can see the launch and then you hear it all of the

thunderous noise around and it then feel it. i realized it's absolutely true. it is so different when you're here. you feel it, your whole body shakes, vibrates, that sense of excitement and exhilaration and the people i was with, some of them, john, these are like veteran astronauts, and they were still nervous, still very tense when they watched that, specially that moment when there was that technical glitch that delay, and we were fortunate enough to sit beside them and say, what's going on? is this going to happen or not? they're on their phones. just as nervous as we were. >> 31 seconds they had some arm they weren't sure retracted and had to get a visual confirmation before they could say, we're cool, it's fine, we can go. we're sitting here going, oh, no, i had seen that so many times over the years because it's a complicated vehicle, so many things that could go wrong. and as you know, that's one of the reasons why the shuttle

perhaps's being phased out, too complicated, too costly, et cetera, et cetera. what a shame. >> you talked to some folks this morn. >> yeah, absolutely. we had lots of folks. we had astronaut cady coleman with us up here and, you know, i think what's fascinating is that right before the launch, we were sitting here, it's not going to go, the weather, we're all of the naysayers and nasa gives the go ahead and the launch director says we're looking really good. commander christopher gusson had really interesting words i want everybody to here before they lifted off the shuttle is always a reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commits to follow through. we're not ending the journey today we're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end, you and the thousand of men and women who gave hearts, seouls and lives of exploration in history. one more time, mike, witness this great nation at best. the crew of "atlantis" is ready

to launch. >> ready for launch. and, of course, they did, 12-day mission. sunday morning they'll dock with the international space station. it's going to be emotional, i think. >> a lot of people emotional with charlie olden. teddy kennedy jr. and list daughter, kylie, she was there. they both wanted to avoid the cameras today but he did make it clear, he said, look, i'm representing the kennedy family, this is a proud moment for us. and i kept asking, bitter-sweet? nobody wants to use that word because there is a sense of loss. it's an emotional experience. >> the one other major event that's going to take place, when the shuttle comes back down, on the 20th, if they just do the 12-day mission, and they land over here at the kennedy space center and chris ferguson, he said he's bound and determined to be the last person off the shuttle. but beyond that, all of the

workers who have made this possible -- >> absolutely. >> -- thousands of them, whoever is herer, they're going to be allowed to walk out on the runway -- that's the plan. >> really? >> to touch the vehicle, be there, after everything is done, that's the plan right now. one time that everybody who has been so much a part of it can say good-bye. >> it's emotional and people want to touch it. they want to be a part of it. it's been a part of their lives, their livelihood. i want to go to brooke baldwin there with visitors at the visitor center. brooke, the gift shop closed down where we were and people were in a scramble, a panic, to get something to commemorate this special moment. i imagine people are trying to snatch things up as quickly as possible, taking pictures. what's it like from where you are? >> reporter: yes. i have maybe gotten an e-mail or two from producers saying can you get me nasa t-shirts while you're done there? it's been an amazing experience.

i'm right there with you. what a launch to be here. i met a woman earlier, tears streaming down the face, she was here with her kids and grandkids. speaking of three generations, to my right a family from warren, michigan. this is wynn, grandma, mom's off to the side. why now? >> because it's something i can never see again. you're going to make me cry. >> reporter: i'm sorry. but it's emotional for you why? >> because it was something that's never going to happen again, so they say. i don't know. but i've never seen it and i wanted to. >> reporter: to be here and watch these little ones? >> seeing that this is something that they may never see again. >> reporter: hey, little park. >> hi. >> reporter: can you just talk to me, tell me what you saw a couple minutes ago. >> yeah. >> reporter: what did you just see. >> a space shuttle launch. >> reporter: what was the coolest part? >> one where the fire came out there, even the big one came.

>> reporter: i just love how children explain what this was like. it's so simple and it's almost poignant as well, just the fire and the smoke and we all felt it sort of in our chest. take a look at these two guys. they came all wait from. >> england. >> reporter: england. >> new york. >> yorkshire. >> reporter: yorkshire. that's a bit of a plane ride over here to come see this. why take the effort? >> well, personally i came here 13 years ago and "endeavour" was on the pad ready to go. it took off three days after we left so i didn't see that. i wanted to see one before it was the last one basicallbasica. it's been absolutely incredible. speechless. >> reporter: speechless, you as well. >> yes. fantastic experience. we had a great view. well, just seeing the noise afterwards unbelievable. >> reporter: seeing the noise, feeling the noise. >> one more time.

>> reporter: one more time would be nice. suzanne, john, john has seen several of theses. suzanne, i'll find you shortly. we'll share and swap stories. amazing. >> absolutely. there was an interesting story, kylie kennedy told us there was guy from new deland that she met to see this final lawnch and then even we have no idea what the weather would be like. i want to let viewers know, john zarrella, this guy has covered 75, 80 launches. >> that dates me. >> reporter: do you have a job? what are you going to do tomorrow, john? what's your backup plan? >> i've been telling people i'm glad the space shuttle is retiring before i'm retiring. i don't know what the plan is, but the shuttle's retiring before i zblam we'll get you another assignment. it's an amazing, amazing time, historic. you've done an incredible job. >> tonight at 8:00 and 10:00, beyond "atlantis," i'm putting in a shameless plug for the special that we did, one-hour special on the end of the space

shuttle program, 8:00 and 10:00. >> fred? >> well, john's backup plan, he's so versatile, he can do anything, and we've seen that over the years. john, suzanne, thanks so much. appreciate it. meantime, the investigation intensifies, an arrest made in britain's phone hacking scandal that targeted murder victims, terrorism victims and the grieving families of troops killed at war. a live report from london. naturals from purina cat chow. delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life.

some of the stories that our affiliates are cover around the country. a man attending a texas ranges are game with his son tried to catch a ball thrown into the

stands and then fell head-first over the railing. he dies at hospital. another fan tried to grab his shirt but simply couldn't hold on. a similar incident happened last year at i rangers game but the man survived. yellowstone park officials say, they have no plans to kill a grizzly that attacked and killed a man. his wife survived by playing dead. park officials say the bear was never involved in other incidents and probably trying to protect its cubs when it was surprised by the hikers. in seattle, this woman says she believes she was racially targeted after being pulled out an airport security line for a pat-down of her hair. she was wearing it up at the time. >> there were many other females around me who were not black who were not having their hair searched -- i distinctly remember looking at a woman with her hair in a ponytail, curly, big hair thinking, why isn't she being accosted as well? >> a spectacular career inspired

by the tv series "star trek." we'll find out what it's like to fly on a space shuttle from the first african-american woman in space.

heads are starting to roll in britain's phone hacking scandal. police today arrested a former editor of "news of the world," that's the tabloid newspaper accused of breaking into

people's voice mail accounts and bribing police. the newspaper is owned by rupert murdoch, who also owns fox news and the "wall street journal." cnn's senior international correspondent dan rivers joins me from london. the former editor, now under arrest, happens to be former press secretary for the british prime minister david cameron. so is this scandal expected to be politically damaging for the prime minister? >> reporter: well, it certainly acutely embarrassing for david cameron, and he kind of admitted in a press conference today that it was his decision and his decision alone to employ andy colson, a decision which has come back to haunt him with a vengeance. >> this is a wake-up call. over the decades, on the watch of both labor leaders and conservative leaders, politicians and the press have spent time courting support, not confronting the problems. well, it's on my watch that the

music has stopped. and i'm saying, loud and clear, that things have got to change. >> reporter: so talking there about the cozy relationship that hasekisted between both parties really, all the parties, and sort of major news groups here, notably news international, which has four major titles in the uk. he didn't quite go as far as saying that rebecca brooks, the chief executive of news international should step down immediately. what he said was if he had been offered her resignation he would have accepted it, almost the same thing, but at the moment she remains in her post. she's in the building behind me now having a meeting of staff, which she has been this afternoon. she appears to be continuing in her role as chief executive of

the parent. the staff are preparing the final edition of after 168 years which will go out sunday with no advertising in. also a significant development this afternoon and last hour. the big motor company renault pulled out of any advertising in any international paper, not just "news of the world" but any papers. that may be the beginning of a further set of damaging sort of boycotts by advertisers for all of the titles in the news international stable. >> extraordinary. dan rivers, thanks so much. we'll talk more about this. the "news of the world" has broken legitimate stories in its 168 years in operation, but often the paper headlined sensational dribble as well. let's bring in howard kurtz on skype he hosts "reliable sources" and washington bour bureau chief for the daily beast. from the "new york post" to the

"wall street journal" here in the states, just may at some point be accused of doing the same thing? >> well, i don't think it's fair to take the obvious, outrageous tactic that "news of the world" used and remember that, you know, lying and having people and being impersonated, the famous sheikh sting carried out against fergie, standard procedure at the london tabloid. since fox news, "wall street journal," "the times of london," murdoch properties with different cultures operate independently. i don't think it's fair to tarnish them, though the murdoch brand certainly tarnished by the scandal. >> why would murdoch be so quick to let this newspaper fold? >> well, my reporting suggests that he had become such a liability that he may be trying to protect some of his top executives, for example, rebecca brooks, chief executive of murdoch's news international based in london.

she had been editor of "news of the world" during some of the crucial years when the phone hacking took place. and i think this was a form of damage control, a desperate move, to be sure by murdoch to say the paper's so tarnished and the focus of so much outrage in britain over the targeting of people who are terror victims, and not just celebrities why, not get rid of it? the last point, and that is murdoch is trying very hard to salvage a major media deal he wants to do in britain, taking over british sky broadcasting a $12 million deal and wants to this to go away. >> he feels like he stands a good chance of that $12 billion acquisition of sky broadcasting by letting this controversial paper go? >> yeah, which unfortunately will cost the jobs of 200 employees at "news of the world." some of whom engaged in some of these questionable tactics, shall i say, some of them are just hard-working tabloid journalists.

but you know the only way the british government can stop that acquisition of british sky broadcasting is by showing that murdoch has too much media power, too much influence to be concentrated in the hands of news corp, it's not supposed to get into ethical and moral questions of journalism. the feel on murdoch's part, the sooner "news of the world" becomes history, and it will disappear after sunday, the easier it will be for him and his company to put the scandal behind him. i'm not sure. i think it will resonate strongly, with all of the investigations prime minister cameron calling for a probe between relationship between politicians and "news of the world" and other news organizations. i don't think the story's going to go away. murdoch trying to minimize the fallout. >> you'll be talking about it on "reliable sources." howard kurtz. a spectacular career inspired bit tv series "star trek." we'll find out what it's like to fly in a space shuttle from the

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so have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on board a space shuttle at moment of liftoff? suzanne malveaux has someone who knows exactly what that's like and is going to explain.

suzanne? >> fred, we have an amazing guest here. dr. mae jemison on "endeavour's" shuttle back in 1992 and she's joining us here live to witness -- you witnessed "atlantis" in the last shuttle take-off. most of us we don't know, we have no clue what it's like, what year experiencing when you're in that shuttle and is about to take off. what goes through your head, your heart at that moment when you're about to lift-off? >> a number of different things. one thing, wow, i'm really excited, it's going to today right? you have a bit of butterflies, excitement, anxiety of how the acid will go. the other piece is, that you're focused on your job. so there's, you know, all of these other parts, little bit of anxiety, i want it to go, i have butterflies but you're focused on your job. it's a mixture of feelings. >> what was it like today to watch "atlantis"? did you have feelings, mixed emotions about this being the last launch?

do you have anxiety where the space program goes now? >> i think it's a bitter sweet feeling and i've been looking at in the way of you had a friend or a good car or something that did a really good job but now it's time to move on. so i think some of the anxiety that's around the space program may be a little bit misplaced in the sense that we still have humans in space. we, as a u.s., no longer have the vehicle that's taking them up in space but we're still very much part of the major part of the equation in space exploration. but we're actually working on other vehicles. we're working on vehicles that can take us outside of low earth orbit. so it's bitter sweet, sort of like watching a friend saying good-bye to the friend but then having new horizons to meet and that's where i look at it. >> now it's a fun story to tell that you were inspired by "star trek" when you found that you wanted to get into space and space work and become an astronaut yourself. you made history as the first african-american in space.

what do young people hold on to now if they say i want to do that, too, but don't have the opportunities, they don't have the vision? >> to clean the story up i always wanted to go up in space. "star trek" was a confirmation that it could happen. michelle nickels did a great job of helping people get involved in space exploration. young people are always interested in doing better and reaching further. the issue surrounds us as adults being able to give them that opportunity. >> tell us about that program. you are working with kids now to help them get involved in science. >> students, we do programs called the earth we share, it's not my day job, it's my for love of job, nonprofit called the dorothy jemison foundation. we put together programs to help students bill critical thinking and problem solving skills to get comfortable with science. we work with middle school students. we are interested in girls and

underrepresented minorities. in fact, we're going to be starting a program just next week in los angeles with the unified school district in compton that looks that the kind of issue. but the problem, in terms of space exploration, how do we go further? we go further bias adults making a commitment to continue exploration, not to say well, we're done to move further. >> you've been a role model to so many. i'm sure a lot of people will follow in your path as well. fred? >> thanks so much. she's an inspiration on so many levels. appreciate that. if you started a job recently, you're one of the lucky few. new unemployment numbers are out today and they don't look good. i'll talk to a georgia tech economics professor. afood feas. start with soup then have salad and biscuits followed by 1 of 7 delicious entrees and finish with something sweet all for just $15. right now at red lobster.

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it's worse than anyone expected. talking about jobs. the u.s. labor department says the economy added only 18,000 jobs in june, and that's pushed the unemployment rate up to 9.2%. danny boston, professor of economics at georgia tech join me here in atlanta now. interesting, professor, the white house, the president, said all the morn reason to tackle the debt ceiling now. republicans quick to come out and say all the more reason we shouldn't raise taxes. who's right? >> you know, neither side has really gotten to the heart of the problem because in order to tackle the problem that we're in now you have to walk on three legs, right? you have to address issues that will stimulate growth because that brings in new revenue, you have to cut the deficit, and do it in a strategic way, and you also have to raise taxes. so all of those things are

required. >> the core of the argument, how you raise revenue. one might say raising taxes as another. cutting spending, you know, that is at the core here. >> right. have to do all three of them. we cannot get out of the problem by thinking that we can put all of our eggs in one basket. that it has to be a strategy that is multifaceted and in a reasoned strategy it has to be strategic because we have to grow. if we cut too much, then we'll ultimately end up bringing in less revenue. so we can do it alone just by cutting. >> are you seeing on the horizon, without some compromise, quickly a double-dip recession? >> i don't see a double dip but i see a roller coaster economy. but if you think of recov i, it's having two stages. the first stage reallies a fast growth stage where we typically recover all of the jobs that we lost during the recession. and then secondly, it settles down, grows normally, kind of meanders along. that's where we're now, we are

meandering but we didn't recover jobs when growing. >> private sector job, public sector jobs, government saw a hit. private sector people seen a bump. people go into government jobs thinking this is stability. many more jobs are being cut. >> absolutely. >> where can you count on the growth from here on out? >> it has to -- there are three important sectors that we have to look at. the corporate sector. that sector right now is having record earnings and they're sitting on record piles of cash. we have to get them to spend the cash. they're not doing that, uncertain about the future. small businesses have to be a part of the mix because that's where the jobs come from. businesses from zero to 50 employees and new start-ups. and we have to do something about the housing sector. trying to recover jobs without healthy housing sector's like running a train down the track with the caboose with its brakes

done, we can't do that. >> feel for people in construction and housing market, they're getting hit very hard. professor danny boston, thank you very much, of georgia tech. protesters are flooding cairo's tahrir square again, having forced president mubarak from power, still demanding reforms promised by the new government.ti expedia.ake 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.

time for the help desk where we get answers to financial

questions. joining me, jack otter, and ryan mack, president of on number capital management. thanks for being here. good questions. let me read the first one. sandra in virginia, i am a widow and have been taking money out of my husband's i.r.a.s. i have enough to last about four years and the taxes are hurting me. what can i do? jack, what would you say? >> she's in a tough situation. a lot of people are in this situation. only good news she's got four years of runway to figure things out. i don't want to see her keep on exhausting them knowing the money's going to rub out at that time period. number one, she should sit down with a financial adviser and just figure out a plan. so she taking her late husband's social security benefits, she has access to that, whichever is higher, hers or his, she also needs to make sure her tax planning is right. if she's got income plus social security, other taxes will be higher. if her only income what she's taking out of the i.r.a. in

terms of social security they shouldn't be too high but maybe taking withdrawals from the i.r.a. >> it's important to know the rules. tax rules can save you or cost you so much money. >> if she hasek quit in a home, maybe reverse mortgage, maybe she needs to annuitize the i.r.a. while doing a reverse mortgage but plan now not wait four years and suddenly be out of money. >> planning is always better. interesting question for you. terry in nevada. i bought a house in 2006, height of the market, for $535,000. it is now worth around $340,000. i have around $200,000 in the bank. should i wait until the housing market improves or should i take the money out of the bank to refinance my loan? this is a good question, because rates are so low right now. >> first of all, congratulations for having that much liquidity. two programs that the government has in order to assist individuals in order to individual whose have underwater programs one harp, home

affordability and refinance program and she's not eligible for that because the mortgage is over 125 pshgs % of the appraisl value, and then the moment modification and refinance program. so but she's not eligible for that because she's been on time for payments and she's not in foreclosure. she's got $200,000, take that -- allocate 9, 12 month of living expenses and take and diversify your portfolio. >> don't refi. >> if she's got an astronomical rate in 2006, i imagine the rate's not too much lower than what it united states now. if she can get one or two points, but biggest thing diversify your portfolio, put money to assets that might be able to appreciate at a faster rate. >> good advice. send ussen an e-mail to cnn.com.

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his appearance shocked everyone. yemen's president went on

television in saudi arabia to try to raise the morale of his supporters back home. well, he was badly burned in a bombing last month by those who were trying to force him from power. president saleh bandaged hands and wore makeup to cover up the burns on his face. you see him before. take a look. and then right now. those are the images right now that you're looking at. he fled to saudi arabia for medical care. we don't have those images of the before. however, he did reach out to his opponents. he said that he will not surrender power, despite his appearances. recent history is repeating itself in egypt, five months after protesters drove mubarak from power they're back in the streets and demanding promised reforms. fred pleitgen in cairo, tahrir square. what are protesters saying now?

>> reporter: well, there are tens of thousands out here, and of course this is a very important key, strategic ally for the u.s. in this region. basically they're saying they don't believe that enough has changed since hosni mubarak seeded power five months ago. government corruption continues. government officials part of mubarak's regime are not being put on trial, the economy's not doing well, there's high unemployment. there's a whole array of issues that's driving these 10,000s of people on the streets. listen in to what some younger egyptian had to say to me earlier today when i talked to them. >> i don't think change, nothing. just the face. >> yes, if we are saying there's good intentions, they are slowing. they are not going to do anything or they're just -- we are wasting time.

>> he protects himself, old guys, plus mubarak. old ministries. >> reporter: keep in mind that right now this country is being governed by a military council and a lot of the people on that council were very, very close to hosni mubarak and his regime, so many people here say that this -- the reforms that are being instigated are not deep enough and don't go far enough after mubarak was in power. keep in mind one of the things that president obama said in his latest speech to the muslim world, he said people in countries like egypt specifically have to start feeling the dividend of democracy, the benefits of democracy, and many people here say they're not feeling that at all at this point. >> fred fligpleitgen, thank so . "cnn newsroom" continues with t.j. holmes in for randi kaye. >> hey there, fredricka. >> a weekend again.