>> if i'm going to get bad money news, i'd rather get it from you. kristie lu stout in hong kong. that will bring an end to wake-up call this morning. we'll be back at 5:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow. right now it's time for "american morning" starting right now. parts of the nation g from the heat. i'm kiran chetry. millions of americans under a heat advisory this morning. hundreds of thousands are without power because of the weather. we'll tell you when we can see relief. >> i'm ali velshi. urgency to the debt ceiling talks as president obama warned social security checks may not go out to million americans if there is no deal by the default deadline. and good morning. you're watching "american morning" on this wednesday, july 13th. christine romans is off this morning. it's not just the social

security checks but veterans benefits, other -- >> right. >> that's a scary process. >> starts to get mathematical. we have to figure out what gets paid and what doesn't get paid. another big story right now, a massive and dangerous heat wave is gripping much of the nation. here's how it looks and feels across the country. take a look at the red quarter. temperatures expected to reach 104 degrees in parts of texas today, in the southeast, temperatures are expected to reach the upper 90s and more than just uncomfortable, it's dangerous. heat has already claimed the life of at least one person in illinois and adding to that, the heat is causing drought conditions in the deep south to intensify. also this morning, hundreds of thousands still without power in the chicago area after strong thunderstorms rolled through. officials warn the power there might not be back on until saturday. let's go live to rob marciano outdoors this morning, silly rob, in atlanta's piedmont park. sun still not up, so it's still probably manageable there. but a lot of the south waking up

this morning to 80 degrees overnight or higher. >> yeah. that's the thing. really hasn't cooled down much overnight, ali. even if you're out before the sun comes up you're still feeling it. it hasn't been so much the record-breaking high temperatures that we've seen, because we haven't seen a ton of them, it's the amount of moisture in the air, the humidity, any time of the day you go out, middle of the day or middle of the night, you walk out and you're wearing it, you feel it. it's muggy, oppressive and that's what we're seeing now. in some cases the heat as well. many places, i mean the weather, it's cooking. >> reporter: yes, it's hot enough to fry an egg. >> oklahoma heat for you. >> reporter: it's so hot, it even buckled this road and caused this water main to burst through the sidewalk and it's been hot for a while in oklahoma city, where temperatures have broken 100 degrees 18 of the last 20 days. >> it's hot outside, it's hotter in the house. >> reporter: a brief power

outage in wichita, kansas, makes an escape from the heat whatever virtually impossible. but it's the economic impact that is hitting these texas farmers hard. the drought has dried up grass that cows eat. >> we're seeing so many people selling their entire herd and that's like selling your factory. >> reporter: cotton and other crops aren't faring well either. even the ones plentiful, may run dry in west texas. the reality is when the underground wells dry up so does business. grain elevators in this area stand empty and the economies in towns like happy, texas, are depressed. originally named for its oasis like source for water, main street now resembles a western ghost town. lake meredith is the other water source feeding 11 cities including amarillo and lubbock. it's so hot and dry the lake is slowly disappearing. >> the average loss of water from lake meredith is 100 inches. >> just from evaporation.

>> just from eprapvation. >> reporter: now hot and very hazy air is building into the east. where the heat index could soar to 116. >> reporter: all right. so there you go. the northeast getting a little bit of a break. not so much a cold front coming through yesterday, but more or less a drier front. with less humidity up there, but the southern half of the u.s. continues to sizzle. we'll see dangerous amounts of heat and humidity. as mentioned the number of heat advisories and warnings up stretch across 11 states. here's the forecast high temperatures for these areas. as measured in the shade, not including humidity, dallas, texas, may well get up and over 100 degrees. 97 in jackson, 97 expected in atlanta, georgia. we'll see some relief to this, not so much today, definitely not so much tomorrow but as we head towards the weekend. but with -- you couple the heat, the humidity, and the drought

guys, this has been just an awful, awful way to start the summer. back up to you. >> how does that conversation go for you guys, rob? you know, where it's going to be really, really hot in the south. hey, rob, why don't you go report outside in piedmont park, tomorrow. like do you say that's a great idea or how about i don't and stay inside? >> yeah. it's right up there with there's a cat 5 coming in to hit miami why don't you stand in it? >> part of what you do. i get it. >> good to see you. >> you just can't -- you can't expect to do the same exact thing you normally do when it's this hot. you have to make changes, drink more water. we kept our daughter home from camp because they're outside all day. >> yeah. we'll keep following that and tell you how that weather system is moving across the country. >> it's a nice time to live in the north -- pacific northwest. i'll tell you that. rodney king booked on dui charges in southern california. he was pulled over yesterday and arrested after police say they witnessed him commit several traffic violations. king's admitted to a

long-standing drinking problem. he made national headlines, of course, in 1991 when he was beaten by four police officers and it was caught on tape. the video of that incident and ensuing trial and the fact that they were then acquitted triggered the 1992 los angeles riots. tucson shooting suspect jared lee loughner can refuse to take his anti-psychotic medications. they say because laufer in has not been convicted of a crime he is entitled to deny treatment. he's charged with killing six and wounding 13 others including arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords during a shooting rampage in january. new pictures of the california apartment where alleged crime boss james whitey bulger lived for the last 15 years. these are pictures of weapons. fbi agents say they found 30 weapons inside of that apartment, including handguns and automatic rifle and even a hand grenade. some of the weapons were discovered hidden behind the living room and bathroom walls. some home movies released

showing how close police came to saving jaycee dugard before they did. she was kidnapped at 11 and held captive by convicted sex offender philip garrido. the eldorado district attorney's office released these tapes shows a parole officer going through the garrido home between 2000 and 2007, and talking with him and his wife and missing jaycee, who was being held prisoner, 30 feet away in the backyard. here is a clip of the officer, what he finds behind a locked door and it was where garrido's ailing mother was sleeping. take a look. >> this room here? >> we've been sleeping in there. >> why is this door locked? >> because -- >> this is -- >> we have to -- >> can you move out that out and open the door? >> convalescent. we use this bathroom. >> all right.

this door right here? >> that's where we sleep. >> turn the light on. >> imagine knowing what we now know that jaycee dugard was 30 feet away in the backyard in tents, went undiscovered for years. these are also shots over 20 years ago of garrido videotaping children in public places. one shows philip garrido singing and playing the guitar while his wife films children around him. jaycee dugard was kidnapped in 1999, found 18 years later. this is her a few days ago on abc news. the garridos were charged and convicted of kidnapping and rape. they're both in prison for life. jaycee is now out with a book about her life in captivity

called "a stolen life." new pressure this morning on media mogul rupert murdock after a phone hacking scandal that forced him to shut down the most read sunday tabloid in england. the u.k. parliament may force him to pull his bid to take over british sky broadcasting today. and they have the prime minister's support. the deal would give murdoch 40% ownership of all commercial tv in great britain. prime minister david cameron is expected to meet milly dowler's family today, the girl kidnapped and murdered back in 2002. her parents are suing murdoch's paper "news of the world" over allegations that her phone was hacked and her voice mails deleted giving her parents the false hope she was deleting the voice mails, meaning she was still alive. but the scandal getting bigger by the minute. dan rivers will join us live from london at 6:40 eastern with the update. to politics and the high stakes stalemate over increasing the nation's debt limit. the clock is ticking. we're now just 21 days from an

august 2nd deadline to avoid a disastrous government default. president obama and congressional leaders from both parties will meet again this afternoon after nearly two-hour session at the white house yesterday. the president upping the ante in the debt showdown saying without a deal, millions of seniors and veterans might not receive their benefit checks. republicans call that a scare tactic. meantime the senate's top republican floated a backup plan that would give the president unilateral power to raise the debt ceiling in order to prevent a default. that plan crashed and burned within his own party. reaction from both sides to the impasse and it suggests the divide remains deep. >> the president talks a good game, but when it comes time to actually putting these issues on the table, making decisions, it can't quite pull the trigger. >> protect millionaires and cut medicare benefits instead. this approach is not balanced. it's not fair. it's not moral.

it will not be accepted. >> cnn's dan lothian has been following the partisan warfare over the debt crisis live at the white house this morning. it seems they're not any closer, even though there is a lot of talk yesterday, a lot of rhetoric, to getting a deal done. >> no closer at all. this is the fourth day in a row these congressional leaders will be meeting here at the white house after yesterday's nearly two-hour meeting. one democratic source told us that the mood was, quote, weary as all of those in the room were getting tired of hearing each other's talking points. still, the sticking point remains, taxes on the wealthy and president obama still pushing for that big deal even as he's warning about the dire consequences they can't reach an agreement. >> can you tell the folks at home that no matter what happens the social security checks will go out on august 3rd, about $20 billion worth of social security checks that have to go out the day after the government is supposedly going to go into

default. >> this is not just a matter of social security checks. these are veteran checks, folks on disability and their checks. there are about 70 million checks that go out. >> can you guarantee as president those checks will go out on august the 3rd? >> i cannot guarantee that those checks go out on august 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it. >> reporter: some lawmakers are saying that they don't believe that a bipartisan agreement is possible, so you're hearing more talk now about this senator mcconnell, backup plan that you were talking about, which essentially would give president obama the power to raise that debt ceiling in three increments before the 2012 election. responding to that, in a statement, white house spokesman jay carney said, quote, senator mcconnell's proposal reaffirmed that leaders of both parties have stated clearly that defaulting on america's past due bills is not an option. it is time for our leaders to

find common ground and reduce our deficit in a way that will strengthen our economy. at the same time you're hearing from business leaders, also large business organizations, trying to push lawmakers to find some kind of bipartisan agreement. of course that's looking very difficult now. kiran? >> all right. dan lothian at the white house for us, thanks so much. and, of course, as dan was mentioning president obama telling congress and the nation that social security checks could be in jeopardy if the government defaults on its debts. if that debt ceiling is not raised. that brings us to our question of the day. what is the impact of social security checks not going out on august 3rd? >> we want to know what you think. how will it affect you? what do you think will get blamed. will it really happen? send us an e-mail, tweet, let us know on facebook. we'll be reading some of your comments later in the show. coming up next, world cup fever, the u.s. women one game away from a trip to the finals. our resident soccer expert richard roth will be joining us to talk about today's critical matchup with france. >> if you don't rent movies because you don't need to

because you have netflix, well you could be getting ready to pay more for your dvds and your streaming rentals. we'll tell you how much more coming up. and a controversial clinic in minneapolis offering gay clients counseling to change their sexual orientation. basically make them straight. it is owned by republican presidential candidate michele bachmann and her husband. cnn investigates. just ahead. i'm robert shapiro. over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. launch your dreams. somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens

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personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. this is an interesting -- we've been talking about the pledges that republican candidates are being called upon to sign. mitt romney is not signing a controversial marriage pledge drawn up by a conservative group in iowa. the family leadership organization created the document in defense of, quote, traditional marriage. romney won't endorse it because of controversial language it originally contained and claimed black children born into slavery had better family structures than black children today. it said black children back then had a better chance of growing up in a two-parent household. >> than they do now. >> than they do now. they removed that language

because it raised a firestorm. >> gop candidates michele bachmann, rick santorum, have signed it although they signed the pledge, they didn't feel they were signing the preamble which is where this is contained into michele bachmann is number one in a new poll of likely voters in the iowa caucus and according to the american research group, 21% of the respondents are backing the minnesota congresswoman. romney is now in second place with 18%. ron paul and the undeclared sarah palin also registering in double digits. this is a huge -- this is the first -- the first testing ground for the gop presidential candidates and she's leading. >> a lot of questions being raised about the bachmann family business. bachmann and associates, it's called, offers therapy to gay men and women in the minneapolis area. >> and the lead counselor is bachmann's husband. jim acosta has been looking into this clinic and joins us live from washington this morning. hi, jim. >> good morning, kiran and ali. michele bachmann and her husband run a christian counseling service that's come under

scrutiny in recent years. the questions are now resurfacing again as she runs for president with a record of controversial viewses on homosexuality. the clinic outside minneapolis has faced accusations it encourages gay and lesbian to change their sexual orientation. we sat down with one who said he went to bachmann and associates when he was 17 to talk about his own homosexuality and told us he was skeptical of what one of the counselors said to him. >> it was therapy that would help me change from being homosexual to straight. >> that's how he described it? >> yes. >> he basically said, if you do this, what? you wouldn't be gay any more. >> if i do this and worked his therapy program, that could perform a miracle and i could no longer be gay. >> reporter: now this week, a gay rights group called truth released its hidden camera video

recorded by one of its hidden activists who went undercover and posed as a patient. the footage shows a counselor who suggests homosexuality can be treated at the clinic but the counselor also says he's not an expert on the subject. >> reporter: we reached out to the bachmanns and they declined our requests for interviews but the campaign did release a statement to cnn saying, quote, the backmans are in no position ethically, legally or morally to discuss specific courses of treatment concerning the clinic's patients. the contender was asked about the clinic on the campaign in iowa, dodged the question only saying she is proud of her family business and by my account she has been asked this question three times, all three of those times she has not

answered the question about this clinic. >> all right. well, great job, jim. digging a little deeper on that and to read more of jim's reporting on the bachmann family clinic, logon to cnnpolitics.com. thanks. easy, convenient, how much more are you willing to pay for netflix. everybody is talking about this new rate plan. here's the spoiler, the folks are not happy. we'll have details coming up. >> our question of the day. what would be the impact of social security checks not going out on august 3rd. the president saying in an interview yesterday that's a real possibility if the debt talks don't get worked out. we'll read some of your comments a bit later in the show. it's 21 minutes past the hour. right now, go to priceline for a sneak peek at recent winning and better than ever! hotel bids to find where you n save up to 60% on hotels. *

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25 minutes after the hour. minding your business, markets ended the day lower yesterday. the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500, all dropped less than a percent toward the end of the trading day. stocks erased earlier gains after moody's slashed ireland's credit rating to junk in the afternoon. an uncertainty debt problems in europe could be spreading to italy have investors on edge this morning. top lawmakers there going head to head off budget cuts to increase financial stability and ease euro zone concerns. the extent of u.s. exposure to debt problems in european countries is still unclear. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke in for a grilling day on capitol hill. got nothing to do with the weather. the nation's debt ceiling, european debt, fears and the future of the u.s. economy are all fair game for questions from the house financial services committee. that testimony begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. investors rushing to gold on fears of a weak dollar after the feds released details from a meeting last month saying that the central bank could be open to providing further stimulus. gold futures climbed nearly 1%

to a record $1,562 an ounce. netflix hiking prices by 60% for subscribers who want to keep the mail and streaming options. the move comes as the company refocuses on its streaming business, away from dvd mailings. and connecticut employee layoffs start this week. no details yet on the number of notices sent out so far but the governor said he hopes to shed more than 6,000 employees. the cuts are part of a new $40 billion state budget that was passed in may. for the latest news about your money and the impact that it can have your pocketbook, check out the all new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" right back after the break. i don't even know anymore. [ tapping ] well, know this -- for a good deal on car insurance, progressive snapshot uses this to track my good driving habits. the better i drive, the more i save. it's crystal-clear savings and only progressive has it. nice. this has been a public savings announcement.

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congressional leaders return to the white house this afternoon to negotiate raising the debt ceiling. the divide separating democrats and republicans and the divide separating republicans from democrat

democrats -- >> we're covering that and also other top stories this morning. two explosions targeting an afghan governor as he was on his way to the funeral for president karzai's half brother. the governor survived that attack but his office says the blast killed two soldiers. an afghan official says ahmed wali karzai was shot dead by one of his most trusted guards. the taliban claims the guard, who was also killed, was working for them. >> top lawmakers going back to the white house this afternoon for another round of tense debt talks. republicans still refusing to accept a deal with any tax hikes in it and the president is warning there won't be enough money to cover social security checks if they don't raise the debt ceiling by august 2nd. ♪ ♪ rocket man ♪ rocket man

♪ i'm burning out >> good morning, "atlantis." the crew of the final shuttle mission woke up to a fitting tune this morning, elton john's "rocket man." crews will spend most of the day transferring equipment and supplies to the international space station. astronauts completed the final spacewalk of the shuttle era yesterday. the 160th spacewalk devoted to building and plain take the international space station yao back to our top story, the debt talks. president obama and lawmakers from both parties will meet to try to hammer out a deal to raising the nation's debt ceiling. republican leaders have refused to consider any tax hikes and the president says if there's no deal before the august 2nd default deadline he cannot guarantee that social security checks will go out. >> some people say the tea party's influence in the gop may be standing in the way of getting a deal done. our next guest has been called by some the godfather of the tea party, dick army, the former house majority leader, now chairman of the freedom works, also the author of "give us liberty, a tea party manifesto."

welcome sir. thank you for being here. you have been at the helm when -- for an unrelated reason the government of the united states had to shut down. we have a different situation here but it could be equally disastrous, it could be more serious. give me your take on it. >> first of all, what we have, when we talk about this movement, this grassroots movement, known as the tea party movement well, have a serious reservation about the workmanship and the dedication to public duty of everybody from both political parties. and what we're fearful is, we're just seeing a bunch of political positioning back and forth and so forth. the fact of the matter is, we understand the urgency to do something to correct the fundamental budget problems of this country so that even if, in fact, we do come to the point where we raise the debt ceiling at this level, we don't do it in

such a way that simply allows these guys to go back to business as usual and borrow and spend. >> you're officially tying approval of the debt ceiling to trying to spend less. they don't have to be -- they don't have to go together. >> it's not artificial. let's say your own family's budget and you find look, we've run up all the credit cards, we've exhausted our credit, people are now not only not willing to lend us money, but we're in serious trouble. first thing you have to do is cut back on what we spend. >> i hear. but they don't have to go together. >> let's pull this -- >> but one of the problems that we have -- >> let me take your analogy a little further. if it's my household and i can't pay my bills, i do have to deal with my spending but that doesn't give me the right to not pay the bills for things i already bought. the analogy is mixed up there. if i have to cut my spending i still have to pay the bills. if i bought a tv and spent too much got to keep paying for the tv. >> first thing we got to do is get a handle on our spending and

make sure we're not spending crazy again in the future. secondly, we got to set some priorities and fulfill our current obligations. now, let's deal with the first order bulger dash coming out of washington today, the president's contention if on august 2nd he doesn't get everything he wants, he's got to cut out social security. that is absolute nonsense. the fact of the matter, the republicans have said we'll go with a short-term extension to continue the discussions. you can set some priorities. the president, for example, on 30-day extension, cut $200 billion. i'll tell you where we can get the first $100 billion. shut down america. we shouldn't have been spending money on it in the first place. set a set of priorities. anybody that says the first thing we must do is cut off the seniors' social security and medicare is blowing hot air. >> it's mathematical.

on day one, on august 3rd, the amount that social security has to pay out, is more money than the government will take in. it's mathematical, not a matter of paying something else instead of social security. >> that's not all -- the more money they have to pay out in the entire budget, is more than it they'll take in. but the fact of the matter is, there are many places you can cut back and do the nation a service. the first problem that the president has in dealing with the population at large in america, is they understand the way the economy works, better than he does. and they understand you can't -- you're not getting growth in the private sector, the job creation from the private sector because it's being choked off by this government that is just like a great big old fat cork in the bottle, just sitting there being unproductive, counter productive, wasteful and a hindrance to the -- >> let me ask you about two sticks points and see what your take would be on solving this problem. the first one is that liberals and the democratic party said

anything that looks like cuts to medicare or cuts to social programs, we are not going to go with. whether that means raising the social security -- raising the age which people collect it, any change that has to do with possibly privatizing medicare it's a no go. that's a huge chunk of our spending as you know. what would you propose if you were there today if you were the house majority leader to bring the liberals along? >> the first two best proposals out there that show promise, the current crisis and the future of this country is paul ryan. certainly the most popular guy. the democrats simply don't want old people to be free to choose. or even for that matter -- >> they don't want them to be free to choose to get a voucher that doesn't begin to cover their medical costs? >> franklin roosevelt, 1935, when franklin roosevelt himself looking at social security said, eventually this program will have to become a program of private retirement accounts. franklin roosevelt knew the

problem. they denied it. barry goldwater tried to point out the problems we're having today. they just crucified him. the fact of the matter is, the democrats are so -- let's say, lustful for power and control over the lives of old people, they won't give up to them the right to choose. the fact of the matter is, today, you're forced to be in medicare being a burden to this system and to the taxpayers, whether you want it and need it or not. i make the point, most of our activists, be see the obvious point, this nation is not going broke taking care of the people who truly need public assistance. going broke taking care of people who don't need it. >> i'll leave you on that point. that's why some people say the rich should pay more taxes in this country. chairman of freedom works, the author of "give us liberty a tea party manifesto."

>> good to talk to you. >> 38 minutes after the hour. here's what's new this morning. casey anthony is reportedly planning to live in a secret location under a new name once released from jail. according to a source close to her legal team she turned down plans to get plastic surgery but did agree to alter her appearance in more modest ways. a man from salt lake city is in jail after authorities say he threw peanuts at a flight attendant. authorities say the man became upset after a flight attendant told him he could not spoke an electronic cigarette on board a plane. >> i've seen that happen. why can't i smoke my electronic cigarette. arnold schwarzenegger ready to resume his acting career. the former governor's on again/off again project back on. a western called "last stand." he decided to put his movie career on hold after acknowledging he fathered a child outside of his marriage. two acrobats busted after scaling brooklyn's williamsburg

bridge and swinging from a silk rope. it happened on monday and the performance lasted about half an hour. the 24-year-old and her partner were charged with criminal trespassing and reckless endangerment. >> whatever floating your boat i suppose. this has to be the best picture of the day. 18-foot, 80-year-old crocodile leaving from the water to snack on a chunk of buffalo meat. the picture taking during a jumping crocodile cruise in australia. brew tis is what this is called. >> what a perfect name. >> saltwater crock. one of the largest creatures in the world. it's believed, by the way, that brewtis lost his right front leg to a shark. see the right front leg is missing. would have been a fight between brew tis and the shark. >> wonder what happened to the shark. >> the shark got his leg. >> still ahead on michael jackson, a tabloid scandal, of course, costing rupert murdock more than just one tabloid. his media empire now taking a huge financial hit over new

allegations. >> and our question of the day, what is the impact of social security checks not going out on august 3rd. as the president has said could happen. e-mail, tweet us, talk to us on facebook. we'll read some of your comments a bit later. you're watching "american morning." it is 40 minutes after the hour. aflac! oh, i've just got major medical... major medical. ...but it helps pay the doctors. pays the doctors, boyyy! [ quack ] oh yeah? what about your family? ♪ we added aflac, so we get cash! it's like our safety net... ♪ to help with the mortgage or whatever we need! so my family doesn't feel the pain too. ha! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ pigeons ] heyyy! hooo!!! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. (telephone ring. pick up) usa prime credit. my name ...peggy. you got problem? peggy? third time i've called, it's time i speak with a supervisor. supervisor is genius...i transfer. transfer! transfer! transfer! transfer! transfer!

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welcome back to "american morning." rupert murdock's media empire is taking a huge financial hit this morning as a phone hacking scandal spreads beyond one tabloid and gets more shocking by the day. news corporation's market value has dropped by more than $6 billion in five days. the company includes the fox television network and "the wall street journal" here in the united states. developing this morning, british lawmakers now calling on murdoch and his son to answer questions about the phone hacking scandal. u.s. senator is warning of, quote, serious consequences if this happened in our country. dan rivers is live in london with the very latest. how big of a deal is it, the calling of rupert murdock as well as, perhaps, his son james to answer these questions in front of the government? >> oh. it's a massive deal here. i mean, whether they turn up or not we don't know because they

cannot be forced to appear before this committee because they're not british citizens. but their chief executive, rebekah brooks, can be forced to come and answer questions. it's going to be fascinating next tuesday to see who turns up and what they say, and i would imagine this story will just keep rumbling all summer. now as you say, with senator jay rockefeller also getting interested in this in the states as well, this is now not only a u.k. story, it's an international story. it's a u.s. story as well because, of course, rupert murdock has interests all around the place, not just here, he's got "the wall street journal," fox news, "new york post" to name but a few. >> i want to ask you this. you mentioned rupert murdock and his son not being british citizens can't be forced to testify before parliament. what is the outcome if they do? in the united states we have a lot of people called to testify before congress, subpoenaed, they have to go. but it's unclear unless you lie to congress, what the

consequences are of that. are there really consequences to this editor in chief being called before parliament? >> well, it's tricky. i mean for a british citizen, if you are sort of caught kind of lying to one of these committees you can be held in sort of contempt of parliament. it's kind of murky. it's not a court. they can't imprison you. i don't think there has been any modern example of that happening. in the old days, of course, you would be executed 400 years ago for lying to parliament. now that's not the case. this is running in tandem with a police investigation, so i think they will be careful not to try to step on the toes of the police investigation. as to what they can do to a nonbritish citizen, i think that's a lot less clear. but he is, james murdoch, the chairman of a u.k. company, so, therefore, potentially, you know, he is responsible here. talk even of him having

[ inaudible ] the foreign corrupt business practices act in the u.s. which, you know, means that you can be charged pretty much regardless of where you are and what nationality you are. this is getting very serious for all concerned. of course, news international, news corp are saying they didn't know what was going on in their papers at the time and, you know, initially saying it was one rogue reporter. now it's clearly bigger than that. >> all right. dan, thanks very much. we'll continue to follow this. i wouldn't have thought we would be following this for as long as we are. >> time for the question of the day. what is the impact of social security checks not going on on august 3rd. we don't know if they're going out or not. president obama did say to cbs if we don't get a deal on the debt ceiling, he can't guarantee. >> or checks to veterans, et cetera. ty writes on facebook --

>> and on twitter, it says -- by the way, that refers to this morning news in the second three months of this year, both the obama campaign and the democratic national committee jointly raised $86 million. i don't think they're giving it to social security. >> some good comments. send us an e-mail, tweet, tell us on facebook, read more later in the show. coming up next, american women, just one game away from the world cup final. can they keep their focus today after an epic win over brazil? >> we're going to be talking about it with richard roth. huge soccer fan. why is the federal government telling people what kind of light bulbs to use in their homes? that's what house republicans are asking. why they're trying to repeal a bill requiring new efficiency standards when it comes to light bulbs. it's 48 minutes past the hour.

somewhere in america, a city comes to life.

it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. here's a look at your headlines this morning. there will be little relief from the heat wave that has blanketed much of the country. extreme heat advisories are up still in 12 states. parts of oklahoma had triple-digit temperatures for 14 days straight now. another round of debt ceiling talks on tap at the white house this afternoon. president obama says without a deal to prevent a government

default, he cannot guarantee that seniors and veterans will get benefit checks come august 3rd. new legal trouble for rodney king. he was booked for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol in southern california yesterday. officers say they saw king commit, quote, several traffic violations. king made national headlines back in 1991 when he was beaten by four police officers. the beating was caught on video. the officers were arrested but their acquittal in 1992 triggered a riot in los angeles that lasted for days and left 55 people dead. house republicans failing to repeal a bill that calls for old-style incandescent bulbs to be phased out in favor of more efficient lighting. light bulb standards are a symbol of big government interfering in people's lives. a delta plane with more than 260 passengers on board clipped a light post as it was taxiing for takeoff from an airport in south carolina last night. no injuries were reported.

the air bus a-330 sustained minor damage to its wing. you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" is back right after a quick break.

52 minutes after the hour. welcome back to "american morning." looks like jonah duval's 15 minutes of fame might last a lifetime. the 12-year-old from washington state is an internet hit since he busted a move at a seattle mariners game two weeks ago. someone used a cell phone to tape jonah dancing and the video wound up on the safeco field scoreboard. >> as soon as they saw the big screen on me, i just was like, oh, i'm on the big screen.

sweet. >> it's a little overwhelming for a mom, but i'm excited for him. and it's exactly his passion. >> want to keep you guessing so we're going to show you the video later on. >> he's re-enacting it on the street. >> there's a little bit of the video. we'll show it more, i promise, right, kiran? >> you can't necessarily guarantee these things. it got 2 million hits by the way in just two weeks. rock on. he should be on "dancing with the stars" or one of those "america's got talent." jonah's dance, two weeks, 2 million hits. the u.s. women one game away from soccer's world cup final, haven't done that since winning the title in 1999. they have to beat france today to do it. >> that matchup on the heels of an epic victory, the shoot-out powerhouse victory over brazil, american amy wambach's header knotting the score in the second half and says in today's game, losing is not an option. >> not an option to discuss world cup here without our

resident soccer guru richard roth. >> can i ask you a question? >> good morning. >> 1999 when they won, is that when the girl took her shirt off and spun it around and she just had her sports bra and a huge sensation? >> somebody remembers that. yes, definitely. yes. >> i remember thinking -- >> i remember thinking two things. that girl brandy, i thought she's incredible and two, how the heck do you get abs like that. >> losing is not an option is something i tell management around here all the time, by the way. >> why don't we talk about soccer. >> i mean i was still recovering from derek jeter's 3,000 hit on sunday and i was aware of the women's team was playing and i stumbled into the second half and you could tell immediately this was going to be some game. american squad overseas, controversial referee calls, then they go one woman down and they go into extra time. there are brazilian players flopping, stalling for time. >> we're now 123 minutes into the game before the goal. >> the latest goal ever scored

in a world cup. the americans had always made it to the semifinals. you had a former heavy favorite all the time, ranked one, now the world has caught up, the great historic epic match which i think is really going to provide a lot of viewers for this high noon new york time match today against france. >> they're playing france. this is also, this is interesting on many levels, playing france today. >> yes. but there's no really unbelievable rivalry between the two. the u.s. has 11 wins out of 12 matches against them. but there could be a let down for the u.s. team. the u.s. men's team scored against algeria late, a year ago we were talking a about it. >> and they went out in the next round to ghana. could be the trap game. >> are you going to do the typical richard roth, bar at noon watching this game. >> i'm always at a bar at noon. >> might as well watch a game. >> might as well be watching the game. we prefer to call them restaurants here in new york. >> pubs. >> because a lot of people don't

like to let me in at noon in their home. still in their pajamas. we have to go with there's a lot of people. >> do you still bring the view view zell las or is that done? >> i was asked to bring that. i'm not bringing it to the bar. not something you walk around. >> that's a little gosh. we look forward to checking in with you and watching the game. >> thanks. >> ahead on "american morning" top stories at the top of the hour. how close did police come to possibly saving jaycee dugard. about 30 feet. old home movies released showing an officer searching philip garrido's home. you almost want to scream, check the backyard. it is difficult to see. 56 minutes past the hour. [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistles ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about

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a controversial clinic offering counseling to gay clients offering to make them straight. a promising miracles it can change someone's sexual orientation. the clinic owned and operated by presidential candidate michele bachmann and her husband. we're about to take you inside bachmann and associates on this "american morning."

good morning. wednesday, july 13th. you are watching "american morning." i'm ali velshi. >> i'm kiran chetry. christine is off today. we have a lot going on, especially as it relates to the debt talks. >> new urgency, president obama warning of dire consequences for social security checks if the government defaults on its debts. we're now just 21 days away from the august 2nd deadline to avoid a default. president obama and congressional leaders from both parties will meet once again at the white house thissing afternoon. the president says without a deal he cannot guarantee the 27 million social security benefit checks will go out next month. >> republicans say that's a scare tactic and meantime the senate's top republican mitch mcconnell announced a backup plan of sorts would give the president unilateral power to raise the debt ceiling to prevent a default but would come with conditions to cut spending. the plan crashed and burned

within his own party. reaction from both sides to the impasse suggests the debt talks still have a long way to go. >> the president talks a good game, but when it comes time to actually putting these issues on the table, making decisions, it can't quite pull the trigger. >> protect millionaires and cut medicare benefits instead. this approach is not balanced, it's not fair, it's not moral, and it will not be accepted. >> cnn's dan lothian watching the partisan warfare over the debt crisis. he's live at the white house this morning. dan, i mean, it's a slow-moving discussion. i am assuming there's a lot going on behind the scenes because these guys are not meeting again, did not meet until yesterday afternoon, now meeting at 4:00 this afternoon. obviously there's more going on? >> there is more going on. you know during the press briefing yesterday i was asking jay carney whether or not the rhetoric we're hearing from

republicans is matching the tone inside the room and he seemed to indicate that the tope was much more different than the rhetoric. nonetheless, the day is feeling like yesterday and the day before, the fourth time these congressional leaders are meeting and after yesterday's nearly two-hour meeting one democratic source said that the mood was weary as those in the room grew tired of people presenting their talking points. the sticking point still remains tax hikes. democrats say you need the tax hikes on the wealthy in order to get revenue, republicans saying it's a nonstarter. the president is pushing for the biggest deal possible even as he's painting a grim picture of the consequences if a deal isn't done. >> can you tell the folks at home that no matter what happens the social security checks will go out on august 3rd, about $20 billion worth of social security checks that have to go out the day after the government is supposedly going to go into default. >> this is not just a matter of social security checks.

these are veteran checks, these are folks on disability, and their checks. there are about 70 million checks that go out. >> can you guarantee as president those checks will go out on august 3rd? >> i cannot guarantee that those checks go out on august 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue. because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it. >> ali, as you know, this backup plan now from senator mitch mcconnell is emerging giving the president the power to raise the debt ceiling in three increments before the 2012 elections but that's controversial within his own party and it's uncertain if that could actually work. but reacting here at the white house, white house spokesman jay carney saying, quote, senator mcconnell's proposal reaffirmed what leaders of both parties have stated clearly, that defaulting on america's past due bills is not an option. it is time for our leaders to find common ground and reduce our deficit in a way that will

strengthen our economy. there's pressure coming as well from the business community. they sent a letter to not only the president but lawmakers asking them to find some kind of bipartisan agreement to put aside their differences in order to do what's right for the country, ali. >> interesting. the chamber of commerce typically takes sides with the republicans on most things. one of the signatories to that letter. also, is that just dead, that mcconnell idea? is that dead in the water or is this a possibility? is there a way around this, you know, stalemate? >> look, i don't think anyone here at this point is saying that it's dead in the water. no doubt that will be part of the conversations today. but as i pointed out, i mean, even republicans, some republicans are saying that this is just senator mcconnell giving in to pressure from the white house. so there's a lot of heat within his own party. it's uncertain whether this can move forward but it will be part of the discussions. >> dan lothian, for us, thank you. >> for more information about the debt ceiling debate and all things political logon to

cnnpolitics.com. rodney king busted on dui charges in southern california. pulled over and arrested after police say they witnessed him committing several traffic violations. king has admitted to a long-standing drinking problem. he made headlines in 1991 when beaten by four police officers. that beating caught on videotape. the officers arrested but they were acquitted in 1992. that triggered a riot in los angeles that lasted for four days and left 55 people dead. tucson shooting suspect jared lee loughner can refuse to take his anti-psychotic medications. that's the ruling because they say loughner has not been convicted of a crime he's entitled to deny treatment. he's charged with killing six people and injuring arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords in tucson in january. new pictures of dozens of weapons seized from a california apartment where alleged crime boss james whitey bulger lived for the last 15 years. fbi agents say they found several handguns as well as an automatic rifle, even a hand grenade. some of the weapons were

reportedly recovered hidden behind the living room and bathroom walls. some chilling home movies released showing just how close police came to saving jaycee dugard. before they actually did. she was kidnapped and held kidnapped by philip ga briedo. what these show is a parole officer, the guy in the striped shirt, going through the garrido home some time between 2000 and 2007, all the while talking with garrido and his wife and missing jaycee, who was being held prisoner 30 feet away in the backyard. here's a clip where the officer finds a locked door. it was where garrido's ailing mother was sleeping.

there are also videos shot over 20 years ago of the garr o garridos video taping children in public places. one shows philip garrido singing and playing the guitar while nancy films children around him. jaycee dugard was kidnapped in 1999, she was found -- there she is -- found 18 years later. this is her a few days ago on abc news. the garridos were charged and convicted of kidnapping and rape and both in prison for life. jaycee is out with a book talking about her life in captivity called "a stolen life." right now a massive and

dangerous heat wave gripping much of the nation. here's how it looks and feels. 12 states right now under heat advisories. there you see it. temperatures expected to reach 104 degrees in parts of texas today. in the southeast the mercury expected to reach the upper 90s. >> more than just uncomfortable out there. the heat is causing drought conditions in the deep south which have been going on for some time to intensify. this morning hundreds of thousands still without power in the chicago area. strong thunderstorms rolled through earlier this week. officials warned the power might not be back until saturday. >> areas like the northeast, parts of the mid-atlantic states we've seen it cool a little this morning but in a lot of areas including piedmont park in atlanta where rob is, they're bracing to wake up to another day of oppressive heat. hey, rob. >> hey, guys. the south isn't really going to see much of a relief. we're not going to get that cold front or the cool front, drier air that moved through the northeast in places like chicago the past couple days. this time of year it's tough to

have that happen. the deal with this heat wave has been the amount of humidity. we have had a few record highs, just a handful. a lot of them stretch to the northeast. take a look at some of the numbers here from islip back to arkansas. these are where temperatures were yesterday at their high point. ft. smith, again, well up and over the century mark. this doesn't include humidity. remember these are measured in the shade. 108 there at kennedy at the airport. 98 degrees, newark had a similar number as well. we have shrunk the number of states under heat warnings and advisories. the bad news the same states enduring this heat for not just one, not just two, but many cases three weeks, still have it. oklahoma. oklahoma city has seen 100 or better the past 18 of 20 days. that is no release. memphis as well. and the carolinas too. here are the actual high temperatures. those are -- that couples humidity, what it will feel like over 110 spots. the actual high temperature will be 102 in dallas, 97 degrees expected in atlanta, 97 in

jacksonville. a quick check on the national forecast map. the cooler air, you want cool go to the northwest where it will be and that cool front sliding across the northeast will give you some levels of comfort but that's about it. the other issue with this heat wave in places like dallas and here in atlanta, when you get that sort of heat, this time of year, you get the build up of ozone and pollutants to the city, air quality is bad. here at piedmont park there have been a few folks exercising, the time of day where the boot camps get out here. we haven't seen as many as you normally see. folks certainly taking their exercise indoors if they can. back to you. >> can't keep up your normal routine in this weather. you have to think a little bit so you don't get sick. thanks, rob. still to come, provocative question, should parents of obese children lose custody of their kids? find out why a commentary in one of the nation's most distinguished medical journals says yes. and it's going to cost you more to watch a movie at home. netflix, changing some pricing. we'll have more on that.

>> and cnn investigates a clinic in minnesota, that councils gay patients about becoming straight. owned by republican presidential candidate michele bachmann. inside balkman and associates next. you're watching "american morning." it is 11 minutes after the hour. (screams) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing.

welcome back to "american morning." a former client says a clinic outside of minneapolis promised him a miracle that would change him from gay to straight. >> that clinic, balkman and associates, owned by republican presidential candidate michele bachmann and her husband. >> jim acosta has been taking a

closer look at the bachmann family business and joins us live from washington. she's been asked about this a few times of late and has not responded to what was going on there. >> that's right, kiran. michele bachmann and her husband marcus run a christian counseling service that appears to believe gays and lesbians can change their sexual orientation through a religious based therapy. it's just one of the couple's controversial beliefs on the issue of homosexuality. >> hi, everybody. >> reporter: in her campaign for president, michele bachmann touts her background as a small business owner. >> as a mom of five, a foster parent, and a former tax lawyer, and now a small business job creator. >> reporter: that business is bachmann and associates, a christian counseling service outside minneapolis, run by her husband marcus. they're both pictured on the clinic's website. in recent years the clinic has faced accusations that it encourages gay and lesbian patients to change their sexual orientation, a practice that is frounds upon by mental health

experts. back in 2004, andrew ramirez at the urging of his mother, turned to bachmann and associates to talk about his own homosexual y homosexuality. the 17-year-old said he was skeptical of what one of the counselor's told him. >> it was therapy that would help me change from being homosexual to straight. >> that's how he described it? >> yes. >> he basically said if you do this, what? you wouldn't be gay anymore? >> if i did this and worked his therapy program, that could perform a miracle and i could no longer be gay. >> reporter: ramirez says he was assigned a therapy program consisting of prayer and reading bible passages. he also says he was told he would be mentored by an ex-le ex-lesbian minister and if none of that worked the counselor had another idea. >> he suggested to you what? >> not acting out on my same-sex attractions and living a life of

celibacy. >> that was an alternative to being gay. >> right. >> reporter: after the second session ramirez told his mother he wanted to stop. >> and i could just hear his voice quivering. i just said, you know, if you're good with being gay i am too. >> reporter: the american psychological association is sharply critical of what's known in the mental health community as repairtive therapy saying in a recent report there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to su change sexual orientation. marcus bachmann compared gay teenagers who barbarians who must be disciplined. >> what do you say when the teenager says she's gay, what do you say to christian parents who come up with this? >> well, i think you clearly say, what is the understanding of god's word on homosexuality and i think that -- this is no mystery that a child or

preadolescent, particularly adolescent, will question and wonder. certainly, there is that curiosity, but again, we, like, you know -- it is as if we have to understand barbarians need to be educated. they need to be disciplined. and just because someone feels it or thinks it, doesn't mean that we're supposed to go down that road. >> reporter: back in 2006, bachmann denied his practice engaged in repairtive therapy telling a minneapolis newspaper that's a false statement and went on to say, if someone's interested in talking to us about their homosexuality we are open to talking about that. but if someone comes in a homosexual and they want to stay homosexual i don't have a problem with that. >> what would you suggest to me like a treatment plan type of thing? >> definitely pray. >> reporter: this week a gay rights group truth wins out

released a video record by one of its activists who posed as a patient at bachmann and associates. >> >> reporter: in the full five sessions of footage captured by truth wins out, while the counselor at times suggested homosexuality can be treated at the clinic he concedes he's not an expert on the subject. michele bachmann has a long history of controversial views on homo six ulgty. he signed a pledge to defend marriage that compared same-sex couples to polygamist a comparison bachmann made as a state lawmaker in 2004 when she called for an amendment to block gay marriages in other states from being recognized in minnesota. >> if we aa lillow this to happ group marriage, polygamy may not be far behind. >> reporter: both declined our

requests for interviews her campaign released a statement to cnn that says -- the bachmanns are in no position ethically, legally or morally to discuss specific courses of treatment concerning the clinic's patients. local tv station in iowa tried to ask bachmann whether her family clinic engaging in repairtive therapy she dodged the question. >> is it something that is conducted at that center? >> well, i'm running for the presidency of the united states and i'm here today to talk about job creation and also the fact that we do have a business that deals with job creation. we're proud of the business we've created. >> reporter: the latest polls show bachmann has a serious shot at winning the iowa caucuses where social conservatives will be a decisive factor and just might consider the bachmann christian counseling center a political asset. >> interesting. interesting point to close on. because it -- she clearly hasn't answered that question and hasn't answered it a couple times. to some people that might be perfect.

great reporting. thank you. >> thank you. ahead on "american morning," secret cia terror interrogations going on overseas. barbara starr is at the pentagon with details about the covert war against al qaeda going on right now. >> 20 minutes after the hour. hey, dad, you think i could drive? i'll tell you what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪ ♪ [ son ] you realize, it's gotta run out sometime. [ male announcer ] jetta tdi clean diesel. the turbo that gets 42 miles per gallon. ♪ the authentic, the rare, the hard to define.

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23 minutes after the hour. minding your business this morning, markets ended the day lower. the dow dropped 59 points, the nasdaq closed down 6. the s&p 500 fell 21. stocks erased earlier gains after moody's slashed ireland's credit rating to junk in the afternoon. uncertainty over debt problems in europe has investors on edge this morning. all eyes on italy as top lawmakers there go head to head over budget cuts to ease euro

zone concerns. the extent of u.s. exposure to debt problems in european countries remains unclear. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is in for a grilling on capitol hill. the nation's debt ceiling, european debt fears and the future of the u.s. economy al fair game from questions from house financial services committee members. that testimony begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. investors rushing to gold on fears of a weak dollar, after the fed released details from a meeting last month saying that central bank could be open to providing further stimulus. gold futures climbed nearly 1.1% to a record $1,562 an ounce. netflix hiking prices by 60% for subscribers who want to keel the mail and streaming options. don't forget for the latest news about your money check out the all new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" back right after this break. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse.

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i do believe it's part of a locust. make sure your alignments good. your brakes are good. you've got all sorts different things that you check off. your fluid levels. pretty much everything you could need. it gets done. it gets done quickly. and it gets done correctly. the works fuel saver package, just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. you're a doctor. you're a car doctor. maybe a car doctor. 27 minutes past the hour. finding out more about the secret war on terror overseas this morning. a u.s. official telling cnn cia operatives are secretly working in somalia. >> barbara starr found out why. what are your sources telling you? >> good morning to both of you. a u.s. official confirming to cnn this morning that cia personnel, indeed, have traveled to somalia, recently, to help with the interrogation of terror suspects in that

country, people being held by somalis. this situation is described to us as being very rare, perhaps just a couple of cases where cia personnel have gone to somalia, but confirming that they are operating out of the airport there when personnel and u.s. aircraft go in and out of mogadishu, the capital of that troubled, very dangerous country, in east africa. so why is this happening? why this increase secret u.s. war in somalia with using both the cia and u.s. military commandos? well you just really have to look at that map. somalia is home to al shabaab, the al qaeda affiliate which is said by the united states to be increasing its ties to al qaeda. next door in yemen, the al shabaab, a very violent insurgent group in somalia. the u.s. is doing this because they want to support the somali government forces who are fighting the al shabaab.

they want to tampp down this insurgent movement, this al qaeda-related movement inside somali. they want to support the very shaky government there. but you know, there is a humanitarian element to all of this right now. a massive drought and famine emerging in somalia and across east africa. 11 million people, perhaps, impacted by the drought and al shabaab has been keeping aid groups out of southern somalia. the aid groups want very much to get back in there. so this is a country that needs help in both fighting terrorism and basically in keeping its own people alive right now. ali, kiran? >> good point. barbara, thanks very much. thanks for reporting on that. top stories this morning, a search and rescue group has filed a civil lawsuit against casey anthony. officials with texas's equusearch claim their organization spent $112,000 attempting to find casey's daughter caylee during the summer and fall of 2008. the suit claims that anthony

knew her daughter was dead, but intentionally misled the company and its volunteers. they're seeking $115,000 in damages, plus interest and attorney fees. >> of course the defense's argument was her daughter had drowned so if she knew her daughter had drowned why was she letting the search continues. tucson shooting suspect loughner can refuse to take his anti-psychotic medications. they say because he hasn't been convicted of a crime he's entitled to deny treatment. he's charged with killing six and wounding 13 others including arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords during a shooting rampage in january. we're counting down to the august 2nd deadline for a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling and allow the government to continue paying its bills. frustrated by the slow pace of talks with congressional leaders, president obama says that social security checks, veterans benefits, all may not go out august 3rd if they can't reach an agreement. the two sides will meet again this afternoon at the white house. this would be the fourth

straight day of meetings. meantime the nation's small business leaders are delivering a strong message to congress and the president. they're warning both sides not to risk a potentially disastrous default. joining us now from atlanta is david martin, the president of home style foods and from austin, texas, clint greenleaf, chairman and ceo of greenlife book group. good to see you both. thank you for being with us. i guess the question we've got is, how all of this is affecting the ability to deal with really what is a bigger problem in this country and that is the number of people who are unemployed. we're counting on guys like you to do some hiring to bring people back into the working fold. david, i'm going to ask you, president of homestyle foods, you make sausages. >> correct. >> i don't know how the sausages are selling, business is doing right now, but what would help you to hire new people? >> one of the things is transportation. the other concern we have regarding this debt ceiling is what will the impact of the government be on our business. as you know, we're regulated by

usda and one of the concerns is if there's a disruption in government services, then we will not have our usda inspector on-site and we cannot produce the sausages unless we have those. so in addition to having a concern about not being able to hire, we're concerned about whether we'll be able to maintain our present work force. >> right. you are concerned about something slowing down or shutting down. >> very much. >> let me ask you clint, last time we spoke to you in october, be you had 38 people on your staff. you now have 47 and you're -- you have the ability to add more, you've got business that justifies you adding more. is that true? >> that's right. yeah. i could easily add 15 more people. we're launching a new division. i could easily go out and do that. my big risk is the uncertainty out there in the market. the debt ceiling discussion is part of it for me. the bigger question is the health care, the taxes, and i don't want to bring on a whole burden of new people and then have the government change the game on me. >> let me ask you what that means.

i hear that a lot. and i hear it from people who know nothing about business. that's why i wanted to talk to you. this is your decision to make. what do you mean by that, the uncertainty about regulation and taxes and health care? how does that affect your decision to add 15 more people or five more people? >> sure. well, as soon as health care bill was passed my health care costs went up about 20%. that's an annual cost for me. that kind of big jump, we pay a lot of our employee benefits do a great job for our employees. that kind of a huge bump will chop my legs out. as soon as there's talk of talks and all the punishing the super rich out there. that kind of a punishment is really going to hurt me. i wouldn't call myself super rich by any stretch of the imagination. going to inhibit my ability to hire new people. >> let me ask you the same question, david martin. you have issues about regulation. you know, if the government stops for any particular reason. but ultimately are your decisions to hire new people based on demand or do you have some of clint's fears about government regulation taxes and health care? >> one of the big concerns we

have right now is the credit crunch. as i discussed once before, we're in the process of trying to export some product to another country. brazil. however, if the debt ceiling is not raised, there's a concern about some of the programs. one in particular would be a program that will assist small businesses to borrow money for working capital which will allow us to expedite and get this deal completed that would allow us to hire new people. thereby, we would have the inventory to create more product, creating more demand, and thereby giving us a stronger cash flow. >> you like government involvement in your business? >> well, it's not whether i like it. it's just a matter that is there and we've learned to adapt to this. we have control like for us as i talked to a number of my colleagues, jayanteny brown, who's working on a product, he's got to go through and get his labels approved. that's the nature of our business is that there is a lot of government involvement,

whether we want it or not, it's just there. >> clipts, let me ask you this, you're a cpa, know a lot about taxes. ultimately, you've expressed the fact that government meddling or whatever it is, is slowing you down or holding you back or causing you to hesitate on hiring decisions. what action by government would cause you to go ahead? >> to go ahead and hire? >> yes. >> that's a great question. i don't know that any action. i think it's a lack of action. the fact that government is always trying to medal and pull the levers is changing the game for me. every time they try to touch or fix something they usually screw two or three extra things up. that's really the biggest concern i have is that in trying fix the debt ceiling, they're going to mess two or three more things up for me and i'm not going to be able to pay my staff and have more unemployment. >> you support the idea some are bringing up we should do an overhaul of the tax system in this country, absolutely full comprehensive tax reform? >> yes. absolutely. it is such a broken system we need to fix it. >> guys, thanks very much. thanks for coming and giving us

your actual perspective as business people who have to face these decisions every day. david martin the president of home style foods based out of atlanta. they make good sausage. clint greenleaf, chairman and ceo of the greenleaf book. up next the astonishing sale of the phone hacking surrounding "news of the world.." >> thousands targeted according to scotland yard and thousands of victims haven't been informed yet. much more on this coming up. we're going to be talking to john burns, "new york times" london bureau chief about what is next in this investigation. mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve.

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39 minutes past the hour. live pictures right now from inside parliament, the u.k. prime minister david cameron. he is speaking right now and some of the issues being addressed include the growing hacking scandal. right now he says that the initial part of the phone hacking public inquiry will have to report back within 12 months. he also went on to say that a judge led inquiry into the allegations will call witnesses under oath. so just another way that the

enormty of this scandal continues to grow. british government getting involved with the inquiry. meantime there are many that are blasting news corp over it saying it should stop thinking about mergers and try to sort out the mess that's been created. also defending his decision to hire "news of the world's" former editor and his spokesman, rupert murdock. right now joining us from cambridge, england, john burns, london bureau chief for "the new york times." thanks for being with us this morning. our reporting was that rupert murdock, as well as his son, james murdoch, may not have to testify at all before parliament because they are not u.k. citizens. what are you hearing about that? >> well, it's actual true that subpoena powers of parliament does not affect non-u.k. citizens. but i think that would be a ruse

which would simply dig the murdochs into a much deeper hole. i think there's been some discussion about how healthy it is to have such a large portion of your media owned by people who are not nationals of the country. and i think to exsen wait that at this critical moment in all of this would not be helpful to mr. murdoch's cause. >> for people who are just sort of learning more about this and saying okay, there was some reporters from "news of the world" that hacked into some phones, we've seen that issue grow, allegations far reaching from that paper into other papers, perhaps "the sun," perhaps "the sunday times," but is what the significance of this inquiry, this judge-led inquiry taking place in british government into what was going on with murdoch's newspapers? >> well, it's very significant, indeed. we now know that this will continue to royal tbroil the

british political landscape but probably two, three, four years, certainly throughout the life of the present government, which is only in its second year and is set to govern until 2015. mr. cameron and the house of commons remarks that you mentioned as you opened your report here, described this as a firestorm for the press. what he didn't say, it was a firestorm for him personally as well. there is a potential in all of this for this to drive a further wedge between the two governing parties here and ultimately to cause an election that may be some way off. but there has been no turmoil in british politics to compare with this. i would say almost in my lifetime. but certainly in the last 30 years. >> the financial impact could also be significant as proving to be significant already, but one of the big things is that there are now apparently calls

on -- along both party lines for rupert murdock to drop his bid to acquire this big company, this british sky broadcasting, saying that it might not be in the interest, national interest, as these investigations continue. how big of a hit is that for rupert murdock's media empire? >> it's a very big hit indeed. in british constitution, if i can call it that, and political practice, what is going to unfold this afternoon and this evening, in the parliament here, is a fundamental significance. all three major parties accounting for more than 600 of the 650 seats in the house of commons will be voting for a resolution move by the opposition labor party that calls for mr. murdoch to abandon that takeover bid which would be one of the biggest, if not the single biggest, i believe, media takeover bids in the history of this country. it will fundamentally affect the future of news corporation because in my view, at least, a

vote in the house of commons by all three parties asking to get out of that bid, is probably going to end be the bid for all practical purposes and cause news corp to go back to the drawing board and refashion its future. >> if there is an investigation here in the united states, because apparently senator rockefeller here is calling for an investigation into whether news corp broke any laws in the u.s., how does that then affect news corp? >> well, it's very serious. i mean, as you know, the foreign corrupt practices act in the united states makes criminal practices in foreign countries by american-based corporations, american-owned corporations, to be criminal in american law as well. i think we may be getting ahead of ourselves yet because there is no evidence yet, certainly none that could sustain a criminal action, that there were any criminal acts by news

corporation executives or executives with the british subsidia subsidiary, news international. that has been widely alleged, but i think we need to wait and see as the dust clears in all of this, to learn as we will do with a judge-led inquiry, which has powers to force people to testify, and the now revived and much more vigorous police inquiry, we're going to learn a lot more as to who did what and when. all of that is some way down the road. it needs to be said for the time being, news corporation executives led by rupert murdock and his son james and two executives of the operations rebekah brooks, have all denied knowledge of or criminal involvement in any of these activities. >> right. that is absolutely worth noting. john burns, "new york times" london bureau chief, thanks for your insight on this story. we appreciate it. still ahead, city versus country. who's healthy, city dwellers or

country folk? should parents of children considered extremely obese lose custody if they don't control their child's weight. provocative commentary in one of the distinguished medical journals argues yes. it's 46 minutes past the hour.

here are your top headlines this morning. casey anthony has been sued by a search and rescue group that tried to find her daughter caylee in 2008. texas equusearch is seeking $115,000 claiming that anthony knew her daughter was dead, but intentionally misled the firm and its volunteers. suspected tucson gunman

jared lee loughner cannot be forced to take anti-psychotic medications. a three-judge federal appeals panel ruling that because he wasn't convicted of a crime yet and is presumed innocent has the right to refuse treatment. president obama warns of dire consequences if tdeal can' be reached on the debt ceiling. he says if the government defaults he cannot guarantee that social security checks will go out next month. the president and congressional leaders will meet for a fourth straight day at the white house this afternoon. let's check in on the markets right now. u.s. stock futures trading higher ahead of the opening bell. strong numbers on china's economy helping calm investors and push world markets higher. and millions of americans in 12 states are under heat advisories again this morning. the dangerous temperatures are expected across parts of texas, missouri, tennessee and other southeastern states. farmers say that triple-digit temperatures and drought conditions are now threatening crops. the crew of the shuttle "atlantis" starting day six

waking up to elton john's "rocket man." sir elton also sent along a special message to the crew. they'll spend most of the day transferring equipment and supplies to the international space station. they are ready to raise the roof in minneapolis. seven months after this happened. remember when the metrodome collapsed during that winter storm? crews will begin inflating the new roof using giant fans. officials hope to have the metrodome renovations complete by next month in time for the minnesota vikings first preseason game. little early for football. doesn't it? you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" is back after the break. [ engine idling ] [ male announcer ] talking a big game about your engine is one thing. having the proven history that can back it up is a whole nother story. unsurpassed torque... best in class towing... legendary cummins engines. which engine do you want powering your truck?

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get dual-action listerine® whitening rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth. later on and 87. which is normally hotter than i like it but i'll take it compared to what much of the country is going through. >> and compared to yesterday. boy. what comes to mind when you think of life in the country? you think fresh air? nice food? a healthier lifestyle and more relaxed and way from the usualin' jungle? >> could be better. >> but a new study suggests that it may not be what it's cracked up to be. according to a research group,

city dwellers tend to live longer. why? better access to health care. crackdown on pollution and crime and overcrowding and people living in the country likely to get in a car accident and die of a gunshot wound and diabetes. >> that is weird stuff in there. >> yeah. sometimes a study can be what you make of it, right? >> right. >> a lot of risky things about living in the city, too. >> i wouldn't think living in the country gives you a higher chance of gig of a gunshot wound. >> i do think one thing they talk about is the lack of access to health care. >> right. the other thing a lot more people live in cities. higher crime and gun violence, a lot more of us to divide it over. a leading medical journal suggests the parents of obese children should lose custody of their kids because they are dangerously overweight. >> senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us now.

people talk about this a lot. what is the chance of removing a child of loving parents who aren't doing enough to control their wait? >> you can imagine this article in the ama is causing quite a bit of controversy. bloggers going crazy over there. the argument of the harvard researchers is there. look. nearly a third of the kids in this country are overweight and obese and some of them, the heavier ones are really in danger of having terrible health problems later on. and if parents can't manage it, if they are given a chance to get get their kids lose weight, we should consider having the states put the kid away and put them in some form of foster care with more of a chance to lose weight. that is their argument. >> a host of other problems taking kids away from their parents so a kid might eat less and get a little slimmer. you're taking a lot of other support services. what are people who have studied

this having to say in response to this report? >> this is not a very popular idea. the experts we talked to said. look. first of all, how do you know the child will do better in any other household? a child's weight is not completely in control of the parents. that is one argument out there. another argument out there is the whole culture is making these children fat. it's not just the parents. and to take a child away from something that the parents didn't necessarily cause and that the parents can't necessarily solve seems pretty extreme. >> talking about budget cuts up and down the block on a national level and local levels. where would they get the amount of money involved in removing a child and putting them to someone else and giving them the money and the funding and oversight that requires, you know, trying to at least change the eating habits? i don't see how that could really happen. >> right, right. there are not enough foster homes in this country for every child who is dangerously obese.

and there is not enough money to take care of them. from a legal standpoint, this would also be a little iffy. let's say a state decided one day i read that article that the harvard researchers wrote. let's start doing that. legally speaking, they probably would be on pretty shaky ground. the standard is you take a child away from parents only when there is eminent danger. let's say a child has juvenile diabetes and would die without insulin and the parents refuse to give insulin. that's a good reason to take a child away from parents. if the child is heavy, they are not in eminent danger of dying. maybe long term but not in eminent danger of dying. >> there are a lot of people who say things like i just wish i had somebody to explain to me how i can go about doing many. a lot of parents give us baugh they don't want to fight with the kids 24/7 with the kids what to eat. >> what elizabeth knows from our regular conversations when i'm in atlanta i'm a smart guy and don't make good eating choices

so maybe we have to look at the support systems around parents to better equip them for better conversations with their kids. >> parents need the support to help their kids lose weight. i think the problem researchers are getting at is real. when almost a third of the kids are overweight and obese and makes them nor likely to get heart disease and diabetes later you think what can we do? if parents are a part of the problem, i can sort of see why they went down that road. >> i definitely see the point of it, but it's an extreme measure. elizabeth, good to see you and thanks so much. >> top stories coming up after the break. from new york life. we've been protecting families for over 166 years. new york life. the company you keep.

i'm kiran chetry. good morning. juror number 3 telling cnn she voted to convict casey anthony of manslaughter and so did five fellow jurors. so how did a 6-6 split turn into a stunning acquittal? you'll hear from her ahead. i'm ali velshi. president obama with a dire warning with the fate of social security if the debt talks fail to produce an agreement on this

"american morning." good morning. thanks for being with us on this wednesday, july 13th p.m. i'm kiran chetry along with ali velshi. christine romans is off. >> casey anthony sued five days before she gets out of jail. a company called texas equusearch is looking for $12,000 in damages along with damages and attorney fees claiming they spent that much money searching for casey' daughter caylee. the suit says casey knew her child was dead and said so in her trial. >> prosecutors have decided not to file perjury charges against kinedy anthony. many people believe she lied on the witness stand to protect her daughter when she told the jury she was the one who conducted all of those computer searches for chloroform even though records show she was at work while shos searches were being done on a home computer. new information about how close casey anthony came to being convicted of manslaughter. gary tuchman had a chance to go

one-on-one with juror number 3 jennifer ford. >> she told that she initially voted to convict anthony and claims she wasn't alone. take a look. >> reporter: now that you look back at it, do you wish you did not serve on this jury? >> i would have been okay if i was not a part of that. i would have been okay with that. >> reporter: why do you say that? >> just because, you know, for six weeks, we had minimal freedoms and then the welcoming committee, i'm being sarcastic but you come home and everyone is mad at you. the media outside is hounding awe and making clear they are not leaving. it's just very stressful and, you know, get anonymous letters from people, they are hateful and nasty. >> reporter: what have people said in these letters? >> honestly i read probably the first sentence and if it starts with shame on you in all capital letters i usually rip it up and throw it away. i've seen things on facebook

probably from the. you're ignorant and should be ashamed of yourself, you let a murderer go free, et cetera, et cetera. you know? things like that. i just -- i don't want to read it. >> reporter: are you scared, jennifer? >> not really. i'm kind of a scrappy girl, so i'm not going to back away from anything and run scared and crying, that's for sure. >> reporter: have there been times where you felt a little bit like crying? >> i've been stressed out. yeah, i mean, i have cried, but -- >> reporter: how did it make you feel you were doing your civic due toy? how does it make you feel you get anonymous hate-filled letters threatening your welfare? >> it makes me feel like -- i don't know. i feel like people are missing something and -- i don't know. to me, i would think that it would be a good thing to know that people are trying to do what they are supposed to do and uphold the letter of the law and not be emotional, but,

apparently, that's not something that is rewarded by the public sometimes. i mean, a lot of people have been supportive and even if they didn't agree with our verdict, they are like, still respectful. i think it might be a small population who is loud and angry and unkind and, you know, i guess it comes with the territory. >> it's very upsetting? >> it's very upsetting. >> reporter: you told me the original vote for the aggravated manslaughter was 6-6. >> correct. >> reporter: which side of the six were you on? >> the manslaughter. >> reporter: originally, you thought that she was guilty of manslaughter or could be guilty? >> could be and i wanted to investigate it further to see if it fit based on the evidence that we were given. >> reporter: what convince you and the five others to switch your votes and vote for not guilty? >> i think everyone will tell you the same thing, it's just lack of hard evidence. it's, like i said the duct tape and the chloroform and things like that you could -- if you took a hard -- a good, hard look at it, you could find of -- there was a lot of doubt surrounding all of those certain things, so there's not enough to

make anything stick. >> reporter: so you don't necessarily think she is innocent but you feel he didn't have enough proof to find her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? >> right. i don't know either way. like -- i mean, obviously, it has not been proven she is innocent but not proven she is guilty. >> reporter: the opening statements say case anthony's father molested her when she was young and why she kept the dr n drowning of her child secret do you believe she could have been mow leflested by her father? >> there was no evidence and that was irrelevant and it was thrown out there but never substantiated. >> reporter: doesn't it bother you it wasn't substantiated in the trial? >> i wish the judge wouldn't have brought it up. it's a disturbing image to have in your mouth. he painted a very graphic and disgusting picture and if you're going to do that, at least back it up and if you can't back it up, don't put that picture in people's minds.

nobody wants to see that. >> reporter: regarding the drowning, the only evidence that was presented were pictures of caylee climbing in the pool with her grandmother, standing near a screen door which -- a door which her grandmother testified she couldn't open. it's pretty flimsy evidence at best. i'm wondering if you think there was a possibility she could have drowned. was there any evidence that convinced you of that. >> there was no evidence that convinced me of, that. >> reporter: you don't think she was drowned or molested how did you find a not guilty verdict? >> because the prosecution brought charges and have to prove what their evidence that those charges are, you know, they can validate and bring those charges and the crime was committed. >> reporter: you didn't believe the central points the defense told but you felt the prosecution didn't have enough evidence to convict? >> they had strong circumstantial evidence but at the end of the day there was circumstantial evidence and nothing that said something definitively.

every piece of evidence said this, that way, that way. many different ways you could have gone with each piece of evidence. >> that's interesting because it's still not clear totally. she is very interesting. how the 6-6 turned into an acquittal. if six thought manslaughter and six thought let her go free. >> interesting to see they took in and discounted those things that the defense introduced that they never -- >> right. tucson shoot iing jared loughner is not convicted of a crime and entitled to turn down treatment. she is accused of gilg 13 people, including congresswoman gabrielle giffords in a shooting rampage in tucson, arizona. rodney king has been

arrested. he has admitted to a longstanding drinking problem. in 1991, police officers were found beating him. it triggered los angeles riots that claimed 55 lives. live pictures of the white house where talks on raising the nation's debt ceiling continue this afternoon. fourth straight day of negotiations between president obama and top lawmakers from both sides. the august 2nd deadline to avoid a sdast russ governmedisastrous days away. >> if no agreement is reached in time there could be dire consequences for millions of people receiving benefit checks from the government. >> can you tell the folks at home that no matter what happens, the social security checks are going out on august 3rd? $21 billion checks in social security that have to go the day after the government may go into default.

>> these are not just social security checks. these are veteran checks and folks on disability, their checks. there are about 70 million checks that go out. >> can you guarantee as president those checks will go out on august 3rd? >> i cannot guarantee that those theks go out on august 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it. >> both sides insist that they will not raise the nation's borrowing limit without a deal, without a big deal to cut the federal deficit. >> we want to know what the impact will be if the government doesn't have the money to send out benefit checks on august 3rd. our question of the day. e-mail us, give us a tweet, tell us onbook and we will read through some of them later in the show. >> howard wrote no checks for them, no checks for us. if this happens they should boot everybody out of office. >> there is a whole lot less that goes to congress than social security.

>> roads buckling and intense weather has gripped much of the country continues another day. rob has the steamy details. fighting malaria. they are giving it a try in africa and explain how it works coming up next. a new discovery about the origins of polar bears. ha! did you know that polar bears can be traced back to just one bear? >> i'm guessing two. >> just one bear! >> i don't know. >> just one. >> i think another one with whom that one bear got amarous. >> you'll find out. [ female announcer ] now you can apply sunblock to your kids' wet skin. new neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. [ male announcer ] if you're looking for a pickup truck, check out the miles per gallon.

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announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. ♪ i'm going to soak up the sun >> a little sheryl crow and a nice shot of atlanta, olympic park. take ago look at downtown. thunderstorms expected later on today. isn't that great? you have a thunderstorm and you cool it down in the summer? >> not the case.

you're creating more steam on the sidewalks. >> it will be 95 in atlanta later on this afternoon. >> rob marciano is back in the extreme weather center or are you in piedmont park? let's find out. he is still outside! hi, rob. >> reporter: yeah, we're outside. where else do we go? the extreme weather center. i lobbied for that but it didn't quite happen. the picture you showed on the towercam looks steamier than it is here in piedmont park. now the sun it is coming up we are getting the humidity to begin to bubble up from the surface. we had a quick thunderstorm yesterday. that technical cooled things off but it adds humidity to the air and that is the key with this heat wave. it's been so humid across a wide range of states that has been the oppressive part of this heat wave. it has sunk a little bit farther to the south. check out the high temperatures from yesterday as far as record highs across a slew of states, including the northeast. parts of jersey and even kennedy airport. 99 in newark and ft. smith 108 once again. a little bit cooler across

chicago to new york and drier and a cool front coming through there but not to the south. here is where the advisories and heat warnings are posted today. 11 states and counting. oklahoma in it again. oklahoma city, by the way, 18 of 20 the past days hitting at least 100 degrees. that's relentless! memphis in it and north carolina as well. those are the heat indexes. humidity plus temperatures. here are the high temperatures forecast for places like dallas which should get up and over 100 degrees again today. 97 degrees expected in atlanta. 97 expected in savannah. northeast a little bit cooler. that is not going to get down to the southeast. we will see some temperatures moderate towards the weekend and northwest is cool with temperatures in the lower 70s. in vermont, i tell you what, it was so warm the past couple of days. people are getting a little bit batty. a big traffic jam in danville because a road construction sign

that was computerized was hacked! and it says raging zombies in one mile! if that is not a reason to take a detour, i don't know! they said they are sick of the traffic, the hackers, so that is the reason they hacked into it. if you went a mile ahead of that area, there were raging zombies. we don't have confirmation of that, it's all speculative but it was hot enough to make a lot of people feel like zombies, i'm sure. back to you in new york. how does it feel up there in new york? >> that is kind of funny. >> if you're going to hack, at least make it comical. >> funny hackers, i like that. all right, rob. i want to see how how long you stay out there for. it's hot and steamy and there is going to be a thunderstorm. >> you know what else? it takes some guts to wear light-colored shirt, gray shirt. he doesn't look like he is sweating. >> you will see all of rob at some point today. >> what time is that? >> it's going to happen. check this out. 18 feet, 80 years old and one

arm missing. this crocodile leaping from the water to snack on a chunk of buffalo meat. this picture was taken during a jumping crocodile cruise. i guess the cruise delivered in australia. brutus is the croc's name. i thought it was from a movie set. >> he apparently got into a fight with a shark, according to the -- he lost his front leg. >> how do you know he is 80 years old? >> he's -- >> a good way to lose friends. apparently they are a good way to lose mosquitoes, too. >> story in "the washington post" says smelly socks are being used to prevent malaria in tanzania. they attract mosquitoes, not repel them. you're right.

mosquitoes go towards the smelly socks which could along other ways to prevent malaria. malaria is a serious disease and kills 900,000 people around the world. >> that's why you see hollywood stars, 99 cents for a mosquito net can end up saving the life of a family. >> where do polar bears come from? >> the north. >> where? >> you thought alaska? >> i did. >> they are irish! >> they are not! >> a team of scientists traced the ancestry of modern polar bears to a single brown bear who lived in ireland a hundred thousand years ago when they say polar bears and brown bears interbred on a regular basis. they are not saying they created a magical bear by itself. we understand a male bear involved but they traced it back to her dna. >> i thought you misrepresented there. one bear. >> one bear created a bunch of other bears? >> do we know where the study

came from? it wasn't ireland, by any chance? >> out of belfast. >> that is kind of crazy. why you don't believe everything you hear on the news. i'm just not going to believe that one. polar bears are from the north pole. >> you also don't believe brutus is 80. >> i'm a doubter today. netflix is raising prices by as much as 60% by some services. i'll run that down for you when we come come back. >> two weeks since a budget gridlock forced 9 minnesota state government to shut down. is this what the entire country is headed for days before a financial deadline of its own? states in crisis going without paychecks coming up. what it's like there coming up. 18 minutes past the hour. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families

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22 minutes after the hour. "minding your business." this morning uncertainty over debt problems in europe has investors on edge this morning all eyes on italy as lawmakers this go head-to-head over budget cuts meant to ease euro zone concerns. it continues to remain unclear. check in on the markets. right now u.s. stock future trading higher ahead of the held in an hour. strong numbers on china pushing world markets higher. rupert murdoch's media empire take ago hit after the phone hacking scandal at "news of the world." the company include the fox television network and the "the wall street journal" here at home. netflix is hiking prices by 60% who want to keep the mail and the streaming options. the company focuses on its streaming business and way from

its dvd mailings. coming up next, reports that the cia may be operating on a secret base in somalia. our question of the day. e-mail us, give us a tweet, tell

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we are finding out more now about the secret war on terror overseas this morning. a u.s. official telling cnn that cia operatives are secretly working in somalia. >> barbara starr found out why and let's bring her in live from the pentagon. what are your sources telling us. >> reporter: good morning, ali and kiran. u.s. officials are now confirming that cia personnel have traveled to mogadishu, somal somalia, one of the most dangerous areas on earth, to help talk to terror suspects. it is described to us as very rare instances that they have gone there. perhaps one or two times

assisting by either being in the room during the interrogations, offering questions that need to be asked. what they are after is information about al shabaab, the dangerous group that the u.s. says is growing increasingly tied to next door al qaeda in yemen. of course, this part of the horn of africa, the map tells the whole story. both of those countries next door to each other, very violent, extremist groups in both places. the cia operating out of the airport in mogadishu and only place they can go with minimal security to protect them but shows how far the u.s. government is willing to go, the risk its people are being placed in. this is part of the resolving vet war we have been talking about, both the cia and military personnel going to somalia very quietly and very secretly in recent months to help there with

interrogations, with training, with helping even supply some material so somali forces. >> barbara starr, we will stay on top of that story. five days before her release, casey anthony is being sued. a search and rescue group filed the civil suit. texas equusearach claims their organization spent $115,000 to help find caylee. the company says that anthony knew her daughter was led and misled the company and its volunteers. they are seeking $115,000 in damages plus interest and attorney fees. texas equusearach is a company that gets volunteers and searches for people in many other places. >> that's right. they looked for natalie holloway and other missing people. jared lee lauf ner can refurefu

loughner can refuse to take medication. he is charged with killing six people including 13 others who were injured in a tucson shooting rampage. frustrated by the slow pace of talks with congressional leaders, president obama said in an interview that social security checks may not g out on august 3rd if they cannot reach an agreement. the two sides will meet this afternoon at a white house for a fourth straight day. federal government approaches a deadline on the debt ceiling, in minnesota, that deadline passed. 13 days ago, they had no agreement on a budget so only essential state employees and services are still working. some 22,000 people have been laid off and it appears that no new deal is in sight. joining us now from minneapolis, as part of our states in crisis series, is lori sturdivant, a columnist and editorial writer

for the minneapolis star tribune. thank you for being with us. >> good to be with you. >> reporter: you're talking about 22,000 state workers who are staying at home. state parks have been closed. you have highways that are actually shut down. road projects are stalled. but the legislators, they took off on the july fourth holiday. what is going on? >> we aren't seeing much sense of urgency here, i must say, because of court orders, things that have to do with life safety are still functional and money is scheduled to go out to schools because of their special statutory status in minnesota. otherwise, things are really quiet, like drought quiet. >> who do people blame? obviously, there is anger going on in minnesota right now. i mean, this is considered really a failure of leadership, obviously, no matter what side you're on but who is taking the brunt of the blame? >> oh, i think that both sides are taking heavy political blame right now. the republicans have been the least willing to move and that parallels the national situation. the least willing to move up to

a higher revenue amount that the governor seeks but the governor has made significant moves in ways that we haven't always been convincing to a lot of people. >> so is this spending cut? they want more spending cuts, or the governor wants to raise taxes? >> minnesota faces a $5 billion gap between revenues and scheduled extend purees in the coming two years. the two years i guess that started on july 1st. the governor wants to close that gap with at least a billion dollars in new tax increases and the republicans have said no new taxes as they are saying in washington. >> it is interesting how much it parallels. where does this go from here? i mean, are there talks of any behind the scenes deals or does minnesota just -- i mean, could this just be the way it is? i mean, no budget gets resolved and these people still stay out of work and services are just gone? >> one of the difficulties of this situation is that there is no obvious deadline.

nothing on the calendar you can point to that sort of compels action. july 1st was that and they blew past that deadline. so we are at sea here in minnesota and we're worried. >> you know what also is really interesting? you have two presidential candidates right now, gop candidates that are running from minnesota, tim pawlenty and michele bachmann. tim paw leapty encouraged republicans not to budge and ultimately he said it could be a good thing. how much is he changing the debate? >> oh, i don't think he is changing the debate but he certainly led the debate. it was his governorship that steered minnesota's republican party toward this hard line on no new taxes. he is speaking for how he govened. >> walter mondale, the former vp candidate, is basically saying it was tim pawlenty's legacy that shut this down. he is trying to work on this committee moving toward a solution and he is blaming tim

pawlenty. do you think that will affect his political chances? >> well, it might. i know a lot of national commentators have them looking at minnesota's budget and this last week, we lost a peg on our credit rating with the wall street bond houses because we have been using too many fixes and patches on our budget and what tim pawlenty advised them to do the last several years without raising taxes. >> it's now more expensive for your state to borrow money and you're in quite a pickle here. lori, thanks for joining us to discuss this. we will keep tabs and we have been following the crisis in minnesota having a tough time now. we appreciate your insight. >> thank you. the layoffs have started in connecticut. pink slips to public employees and two weeks after union members rejected agreement on concessions. the governor said he would need to fire 6,500 workers to deal with the budget deficit. the cost of college in california is going way up and blame that on budget cuts as

well. yesterday's, the state's university system approved a tuition hike for students and adds nearly $300 to the cost of a semester. up next, we go inside the bachmann family business. critics claim the counseling center run by the aspiring first couple use a therapy that supposedly cures homosexuals. 34 minutes after the hour.

♪ i'm coming out. i'm coming. ♪ ♪ should say no money, more problems since that is the big problem. >> washington, d.c. partly cloudy and 87 getting up to 94 degrees later on today which means a good day to stay indoors and work out this debt crisis thing. >> exactly. during the second quarter of 2011, president obama raised more than $86 million for his re-election bid. the goal was $60 million so he clearly surpassed that. the cash was raised by the obama campaign itself as well as the democratic national committee. they say the money was collected from 552,000 individual donors.

>> i may have misread this. i think i saw the previous record was 51 or $52 million. >> in a quarter? >> in a quarter. this is is remarkable. strong showing in the polls for michele bachman who finished first in a sfi of likely voters in the iowa caucus. according to the american research group 21% are backing her. mitt romney 18% and ron paul and sarah palin double digit support. important poll for an important state, for michele bachman. a former patient says a cling outside of minneapolis promised him a miracle that they could work to change him from gay to straight and that clinic bachmann and associates is owned by republican presidential candidate michele bachmann and her husband. >> we are joined live from washington with jim acosta.

>> michele bach man and her husband were on a christian service that believe they can change sexual orientation but a religious. it is one of their beliefs on the issue of homosexuality. >> hi, everybody! >> reporter: in her campaign for president, michele bachmann touts her background as a small business owner. >> as a mom of five, a foster parent, and former tax lawyer, and now a small business job creator -- >> reporter: that business is bachmann and associates, a christian counseling service outside minneapolis run by her husband marcus. they are both pictured on the clinic's website. in recent years, the clinic has faced accusations and encouraging gays and lesbian patients to change their sxol orientation a practice frowneded upon by mental health experts. in 2004, andrew ramirez at the urging of his mother turned to bachmann and associates.

then 17 he said he was skeptic of what one of the counselors told him. >> it was therapy that would help me change from being homosexual to straight. >> reporter: that's how he described it? >> yes. >> reporter: he basically said if you do this, what? you wouldn't be gay any more? >> if i did this and worked his therapy program, that could perform a miracle and could no longer be gay. >> reporter: ramirez said tefs assigned a therapy program consisting of prayer and reading bible passages and told he would be mentor by an ex-lesbian minister and if none of that, ramirez said the counselor had another idea. he suggested to you what? >> not acting out on my same sex attractions and living a life in celiba celibacy. >> reporter: was that an alternative to being gay? >> right. >> reporter: after the second session, ramirez told his mother he wanted to stop. >> and i could just hear his voice quiver. i just said, you know, andy, if

you're good with being gay, then i am too. >> reporter: the american psychological association has sharply critical what is known in the mental health community as reparative therapy saying in a repeat report there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological intervene she interventions. >> what do you say when your teenager says she's gay? what do you say to christian parents who come up with this? >> well, i think you clearly say what is the understanding of god's word on homosexuality. and i think that a -- this is no mystery that a child or preadolescent, particularly adolescent, will question and wonder -- certainly, there is that -- there is that curiosity, but, again, we -- like, you

know, it is as if we have to understand barbarians need to be educated. they need to be disciplineded and just because someone feels it or thinks it, doesn't mean that we're supposed to go down that road. >> reporter: back in 2006, bachmann denied this practice engaged in retearive therapy and telling a minneapolis newspaper that's a false statement and said if someone is independence in talking to us about their homosexuality we are open to talking about that but if someone comes in a homosexual and want to stay homosexual, i don't have a problem with that. >> what would you suggest to me like a treatment? >> you definitely pray. >> reporter: this week a gay right group truth wins out released a hidden video camera from bachmann and associates. >> you can actually leave

homosexuality completely and become heterosexual? >> it has happened. it really has. >> reporter: in the full five minutes of footage while the counselor at time suggests homosexuality can be treated at the clinic he concedes he is not an expert on the sub. >> reporter: michele bachmann has a long history of views on homosexuality and recently signed a pledge. a comparison bachmann made as a state lawmaker in 2004 when she called for amendment to block gay marriages in other states from being recognized in minnesota. >> if we allow this to happen, group marriage, polygamy and things much worse, may not be far behind. >> reporter: both bachmanns declined a request for interviews. her campaign released a statement to cnn that says the bachmanns are in no position ethical

ethically, legally or morally to discuss specific courses of treatment. when asked about that, she dodged the question. >> it is something that is conducted at that center. >> well, i'm running for the presidency of the united states and i'm here today to talk about job creation and also the fact that we do have a business that deals with job creation. we're very proud of the business that we have created. >> reporter: the latest poll shows bachmann has a series eye at winning the caucuses and just might consider the bachmann christian counseling center a political asset. >> good reporter on that, jim. thanks very much. at some point, let us know if she does answer the question that is asked of her repeatedly, directly. thanks. morning headlines coming up next. plus what tired legs? the u.s. women's soccer team is ready for france today. therapy electrified.

can they win it off? our richard roth joins us all. >> next.

can they win it off? 46 minutes past of the hour. a look at the headlines. casey anthony sued by a search and rescue group that tried to find her daughter caylee back in 2008. texas based equusearach is seeking $115,000 in damages claiming anthony knew her

daughter was dead but intentionally misled the firm and its volunteers. suspected tucson gunman loughner cannot be forced to take psychotic medications. because he hasn't been convicted of a crime he is presumed innocent and has a right to refuse treatment. president obama says if the government defaults, social security checks for some 27 million americans could be at risk come august 3rd. the president and congressional leaders will meet this afternoon for a fourth straight day of talks on raising the debt ceiling. checking in on the markets. right now, u.s. futures trading higher ahead of the opening bell. strong numbers on china's economy helping calm investors and push world markets higher. millions of americans in 12 states are under heat advisories again this morning. the dangerous temperatures are expected across parts of texas, missouri, tennessee, and the southeast. farmers say triple digit temperatures and drought conditions are threatening

crops. they are raising the roof this morning at the metrodome in minneapolis seven months after the roof was ripped apart during a heavy snowstorm. crews are i flating a new roof using giant fans. officials hope to have metrodome renovations complete by next month n time for football. if you sat in front of the tv in the '60s and '70s, you owe him a thank you. hollywood more thanning the death of sherwood schwartz behind shows like "the brady bunch" and "gilligan's island." you're caught up on today's headlines. "american morning" is back after a quick break.

♪ music suddenly stopped so quickly! we were liking that song. >> yeah. black-eyed peas. >> they are taking a break. a recent black-eyed pea show in england. fergie told the crowd the group is taking a break for a while. that got the rumor mill going. did she just break up? she did say this isn't the last time you'll see us, though. the u.s. women are one win away from a trip to soccer's world cup final. they haven't done that since winning the title in 1ku999 and they have to beat france in a few hours to get that. >> that is coming off the heels of a epic victory. amy incredible header. you'll see it in a second. there is the kick. never mind. there you go. >> celebration of the kick. >> a thrilling win. she says in today's match, lo

losing is not an option. >> goal! it's not an option to discuss world cup as you know without our resident soccer guru richard roth. what is this all about? one of those things people haven't been following you've been seeing the last few days what they have been doing. >> this is the most important soccer football tournament in the world and for the women every four years. the u.s. team is on the verge of getting into the finals match should they beat france today. the latest goal ever scold in a world cup that rallied public support to this underdog. no contract lockouts like you have in two other sports currently. no big salaries. these are not highly paid players. these are american women athletes in a team effort overseas overcoming a controversial referee call and they were one woman down and now they play a france team which is no pushover here. >> there it is. >> were you shocked that is how

it went in? that is very rare to happen, right? >> i didn't think they were going to win because -- >> they were worn down to start down. >> worn down and one woman short and hard to play that way and looked like they were going to get a controversial call go against them. they got a goal scored by the other team brazil in the first minute so a long way between goals for them. >> what are the book makers saying about today's game? >> the u.s., i believe, are favored. germany and brazil two strong teams knocked out. some soworry about a mental falloff over the recent win. watching soccer, you're waiting for the one precious goal. this is not nba 15-121 or home run festival. the buildup, the team work needed to go into the goal. the pass by the teammate, a beautiful header.

vertebra shil and the world are catching up. another international sport where the u.s. is not going to maintain really superiority. i was asked to bring, by the way, this on. i don't know how much time we have. >> there is always time to blow that. >> i'm not blowing it. >> come on, blow it! >> go for it. >> here it is. >> very good, ali! >> you've been practicing. >> not bad. >> i think you used to blow that at the stock market? >> that is how you signal the start of trading! >> before they came up with the opening bell. >> we gained viewers or lost a whole bunch of them. ooo whatcha got there?

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♪ smile like you mean it ♪ >> 56 minutes past the hour. new york city where it is sunny and it's going to be going up 8 degrees. it's 80 right now. 87 for a high. >> what did i say? >> 8. you meant metric. >> it is 80 and going up to 87. it could ab degree hotter

somewhere. >> you're probably right about that. you probably heard these phrases when you were a child. "parent" magazine saying you should stop saying leave me alone to your kids because experts say they will be less likely to tell you things when you get older. >> and also you're so, dot, dot, dot. says kids will believe that about themselves and internalize it. >> maybe she should toughen up. >> the magazine says don't tell your kid don't cry because it will make the child feel their feelings don't matter. >> why can't you be more like your sister? they say comparisons all backfire. >> you know better than that. maybe they should. >> stop or i'll give you something to cry about. >> that's the best one! >> my parents would never have talked to me growing up if they never said that phrase. they say if you do that, you're showing your frustration. >> wait until daddy gets home.

you shouldn't say that because it's a threat. >> hurry up. >> it will make shem move faster. >> that is silly. >> great job, or good girl, you shouldn't say that either. what is wrong with positive reinforcement? it is negative. >> what would you say to your kids if you take the nine things out? you nod and smile at your child. >> exactly. that will get them to behave. our question of the day is beg pegged to the debt talks. you're looking at a live picture from the white house and capitol hill. president obama and lawmakers from both parties will meet again today to hammer out a deal. republicans refuse to consider tax hikes and the president says no deal before august 2nd, he can't guarantee that social security checks will go out. >> veterans benefits, anybody getting those type of government checks. we want to know what is the impact if the government doesn't have the money to send out the benefit checks come august 3rd.

here is some of your responses. >> donna says i'm disabled and i need that mortgage to pay my utilities and mortgage and et cetera. i wish congress had to live like i do and then they would understand. >> rob writes this is the tipping point that will trigger mild chaos in america. it will be when the impact of the current circumstances will truly hit the wallets of americans. perhaps it's time to set aside partisan politics and solve this problem to benefit everyone. >> on our blog, ken says if my social security don't show up i default on my rent and ultimately get evicted. washington, wake up! do what you are being paid to do. >> on twitter, why aren't we hearing about our representatives giving up a paycheck for a month instead of threatening seniors? great comments. we love to hear from you. thanks for weighing in today. >> cnn will stay closely on this issue all the way through every angle about what the failure to raise that debt limit is