at montana, to the great planes and the appellations, you know it's gray sea hot, this we than 140 million americans are under excessive heat watches, advisories or warnings. if it's not 100, 105 or 110 degrees in the huge part of the country, it will certainly feel like it. we care, because it's not just a nuisance. 22 people have died of the heat since the current wave took hold a week ago. missouri alone have 13 suspected heat hear more. from 1979 to 2003, heat killed more than 8,000 americans.

that's more than were killed by hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, and floods combined. cnn meteorologist chad meyers joins us. it's more than the heat. >> it's more than humidity. if you set your steam roam at a gym at 105. that feels like 200 degrees. even though it's 105, it feels so much hotter because your body cannot perspire, and it cannot cool itself down. a sauna is 160 or 170, but it feels cooler because the air is dry. now, this is a 10-year average, 170 people die of heat-related deaths per year, compared to 62 in tornados, and lightning, 44,

and flooding 74. i know people are making fun of the weather men outthere, oh, come on, it's summer and hot. no, this is a ridiculously hot year. guess what happened all summer long and all spring long? there were thunderstorms all the way through here. there were massive amounts of flooding. we showed you pictures for weeks about the flooding. now that flooding is evaporating. it was in the ground, and corn is growing, and the evaporation is putting humidity in the air. the humidity is higher than it ever has been. minneapolis made a new record high humidity record with a dew point of 82. notice and think about the word dew point. significantly more important than relative humidity. relative humidity is irrelevant. dew point is relevant. if it's above 70, it's muggy. it's about 80, and it's approaching 80 in some spots across the country, you don't even want to be outse, and the pets don't want to be outside. when you leave your house, turn the air-contioner down today

so there's enough air-condition gs and electricity for everybody else to share, because we will see brownouts soon, because they will not be able to get electricity everywhere it needs to be without power problems. and it's hard on power grids, too. chad was talking about that. back in may the power grid serving most of the region served 148 megawatts. yesterday that grid produced more than 150,000 megawatts. i am joined by the senior pv of operations. how many customers do you serve? >> 58 million customers are in the area. >> how are you doing in terms of power? do you have enough power? >> yes, at this point, we believe that there is adequate capacity to serve all of the customer needs on the grid at

this point. >> give me an idea of the situation. are you at peak capacity or do you have room here to play with? >> this is the kind of week that we plan years for in advance to make sure the infrastructure is in place, and we train all year long to be prepared and everything is running well, and the grid is holding up, and we expect not to have any brownouts in the foreseeable future. >> you say you train. what type of training do you do to avoid a brownout. >> should a generation fail or a transformer fail, being able to react to that, to redirect the power to insure that the remaining of the grid stays up. >> what if you do need more power? anything you can do? >> we do have emergency procedures as just mentioned. we can use what is called a brownout, where we lower the voltage that does decrease the power use. we have the ability to ask customers to either voluntarily

or through contractual obligations, get off the grid line at that point. >> it takes more and more power to maintain cool. is that true? >> yeah, that's true. you normally end up with residual heat buildup in the buildings, and therefore the air-conditioners are working harder to maintain the same temperature because of the residual heat. >> we certainly wish you luck there and appreciate your time with us today. thank you. our sound affect is the very last, last of the space shuttle era, everything connected with sts 135 has been a last of some sort, last liftoff, and last phone call with the president, and the last landing. >> having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls

into port for the last time. its voi at an end. >> it will stay at space kennedy center as a museum piece, but 3,000 workers will be shown the doors. their jobs will be eliminated starting tomorrow. and then capable of hauling enormous pay loads. later this hour, we will look back and ahead with former shuttle knot, leroy chiao. and then officials keeping up the high stakes talk on raising the debt ceiling with a renewed plan. within two weeks the country could default unless lawmakers

come up with a plan to authorize more borrowing. a new warning that terrorists could use angry employees and ex-workers to target utilities in the country. there is a bulletin warning of the possibility. there's no intelligence about a specific threat against power, water or waste facilities, but if violent extremists got hold of the information it could increase an attack that might succeed. tiger woods fired his long-time kady and friend. he was with tiger for 13 of tiger's major wins. >> it's not disappointing to get fired. i understand the nature of the

business, i understand how it is. but given the fact of my loyalty and the way that i am, and the timing of it, you know, it's pretty poor, really. as you just pointed out, i stuck through this guy through thick and thin, and the timing of it is very poor from my perspective. good news for football fans. there are strong signs the labor dispute between the nfl owners and players could end as early as today. the league's 32 owners are meeting in atlanta and will vote on the deal now in front of them. the players will vote separately. any agreement would put the nfl in high speed. the first pre-season game is set for august 7th, and the season is scheduled to open september 8th. we'll have a live report in 15 minutes. up next, one of the 75 players suing the nfl joins us live in studio. [ male announcer ] this...is the network --

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tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. a lot of focus on the nfl today. first for possibly reaching a deal in the lockout, which we'll talk about in a few minutes, and also for the lawsuit filed by 75 players and their spouses. the nfl has known since the 1920s about the link between concussions and brain damage but never acknowledged it until last year. the suit also claims the company that makes nfl helmets made defective helmets that did not protect players against brain jerry. we received these statements, first from the nfl, we have not seen the complaint but would contest any claims of this kind,

and then from rydel, we have not seen the complaint. now, one guest joins us in studio. how did you become involved with this lawsuit, and why was it so important to you? >> well, it's important for the young people, for them to know what is going on with concussions, what actually they should know about if they get a hit, or have a problem with memory, you know, we have a lot of players struggling like myself with mental and other types of problems that we have gotten from the hits that we had. we had to remember for every hit we have, it will come back to haunt us. i always want to tell the young people to be aware that there is some things that could happen down the line that you might not be aware of.

it took me a while to realize certain things that were happening to me in my life. don't feel afraid, open up and let me pull know. >> you suffered multiple concussions improperly diagnosed and treated. how so? >> i have had so many concuss n concussio concussions, and they would tell me, i'm dizzy, or whatever, and they would say i see three fingers, and what should i do? my coach would say, hit the one in the middle, and get back out there, you know? that was the type of thing that went on when we were players back in that time. >> we hear a lot about players suffering from memory loss, dementia and confusion. do you suffer from that? >> yes, i do. i suffer from that. confusion, forgetful. you know, that's one of the biggest problems, just trying to remember when i put something down, to go back and pick it up.

i wanted to say to the guys, don't be afraid to ask for help. go out there and get some help, and people would understand you a little bit better, you know, when you say mental, or you say crazy, that's not the real deal. the real deal is we can help these men that went after to pave the way for a lot of people out there in the league today. >> i want to bring in your attorney. he's on the phone with us. jason, i would like to ask you, is this lawsuit about money? from what i understand, we're talking about $25,000 for these players each. i also want to ask you, why include the players' spouses in the lawsuit as well? >> this is a civil lawsuit, and it's a civil lawsuit to get into court, and you must allege that damages occurred are at least $25,000 per individual. that's a statutory statement.

as far as their wives, why are they included? every one of these guys that are part of this lawsuit that are married have suffered relations, it changed with their spouses, and there's something in the law called loss of consortium, and there are there's a loss of consortium on those that irmarried. >> the law said it was well established, this has been going on in boxing, in the 1920s, repeated blows to the head could cause brain damage. should you and the others have known what you were getting into? >> i would rather my team boss or owner to research the information and let us know what we were getting into. we were there for the love of the game. i love the game the same as i do today. every day i would go out there to make my dream come true.

this is a dream for me to be a professional athlete. >> but shoe have known and the others have known if you were going to keep hitting these guys and using your head as a weapon on the field that something was going to happen to you? >> yeah, we should have been told that. as a young man, i am invincible, i don't see that or feel that or see that. i think i can go on and on and on. there's nobody that can get in my way because i have that dream that i worked for all of my life. i wake up in the morning, and the first thing is how i am going to get there. all i did is work towards that. it built such a tunnel vision, giving us a straight line into what i wanted to be. i had not a lot of information on the medical side. we didn't know that. we were trying to get fast. we were trying to get strong. trying to be technical. there are so many things that go on in football. it's not as simple as you think. so many things to have the right attitude and to go out there and do what we do. >> all right. joe harris, and your attorney,

thank you both for coming in and talking with us about this. >> thank you for having me. >> we will continue to follow it and good luck with that. a word to the wise. for the 20 new hires. check your ego at the door. we'll tell you why next. my doctor told me calcium is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

> welcome back. today we're taking a special day at millennials, the generation of 20 something-year-olds, and how they fit into the workplace and how best to manage them.

this may be one way to do it. give them what they want. like this kid. can you see that young san francisco giants fan. yes, he pouted, and then got his way when a foul ball fell in front of him. when he did not get the ball, somebody brought him one. while this boy is younger than the millennials work here, this may be a lesson on how they were brought up and how to manage them. a lesson on managing millennials. >> what time of day do you think we should be open? >> 10:00. >> they want to work their hours. they need to check facebook at the office. >> we work to live, and not the other way around. >> they want their bosses to listen to them. >> sometimes people don't understand, you know, that work is what you do and not necessarily who you are. >> when i entered the workforce, the rule was you wore a suit to the office, and the office where you went that could be where you spents your entire career.

but for millennials, the job is often a stop on their career path, and if they are stopping they might as well be comfortable. at many officers they dress as they wish, showing off tattoos and toes. >> what if somebody came to work dressed as i am here? >> it would be a little out of place. >> it's life first, and work second. what may be stunning is that baby boomer managers often are bending to the millennials' demands. the ceo of the public relations, and most of her staff of about 80 are millennials. whenever possible, the boss let's the kids have their way, happy hours on the roof, and time off for voluntary work, and social networking in the office. why tolerate all of this? our bosses years ago would not have? >> first of all, they are the new marketplace, and they are the new brains, and they come with all the social media tools

and tricks, embedded in them as natives. >> in other words, the bosses recognizes she needs the kids because they are plugged into social media, the revolution of how corporate america communicates. >> how do you manage these people? >> the first thing you have to learn is you can't manage them. need to learn how to work alongside them. >> check your egos ceos and build-up a thick skin, because not only are millennials demanding, they are quick to voice criticism, even online for the world to see. >> you may be the wisest, but you are not the smartest person in the room any more. >> but she is smart. the >> we're pretty hard workers, we just have a different way of working. >> a way of working, if the boss

is willing to throw out the old rule book. 23 minutes past the hour. time to check in on top stories we're following. the national weather service says at least 22 deaths may be linked to the heat wave. temperatures could hit record highs today in parts of the midwest and northeast as nearly half of the country swelters. about 141 million people are under heat advisories and warnings. less than two weeks until the government starts defaulting on its debts and lawmakers are quickly running out of options. conservatives are rejecting tax increases, and liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs. if congress fails to raise the debt limit by august 2nd, they could face many problems. the british police investigation into illegal activity by journalists say the

illegal eavesdropping could spread, and they have added 15 officers to the case. they are going back as far as 2006. and next we're live at negotiations that could decide the fate of america's most popular sport, so don't go anywhere.

millions of profootball fans are hoping today will be the day the nfl's labor lockout will end. players and voters expected to vote on a deal that will save the 2012 season. david, what is the latest word? >> reporter: well the latest word right now, randi s. no word. neither the players or representatives meeting in washington yesterday nor the owners and their executives who were meeting behind closed doors here today behind me in atlanta have stepped forward to say if there's any kind of agreement or any kind of vote looming. right now we're exactly where we seem to have been for the last four months, and where the season is still in doubt with no formal agreement ready to be

made public. so we're just waiting to find out what comes out of this meeting here, and they're giving more details possibly later today about where there might be snags if any still exists, so again, we're waiting to see what the owners here are doing behind closed doors, randi. >> david, the scheduled pre-season is coming up fast here. even if they reach an agreement today, how soon can we see the players and coaches out there on the field? >> reporter: it's supposed to take place the first sunday in august is the first game that is scheduled. st. louis' team is supposed to go in on saturday. we're looking at these teams getting prepared for that game. if no agreement today that could push that back. there could be a scramble to salvage the beginning of the

pre-seas pre-season, if some agreement is not reached today. >> david, keep us posted on the negotiations. appreciate it. thank you. now we want to show you something really cool. i have it right here. we're streaming live all of our shows on cnn 24/7. if you have to step away from the television and don't want to miss a minute of the show or anything you like on cnn, download the iphone or ipad app, or check it out on your computer and you will find it there, cnn.com. it's about a minute behind regular programming, but it's cool. it's the coolest thing i have seen on my ipad here. you can rewind live video if you missed something. i think it's pretty cool. check it out. again, cnn.com/video. an arizona website raised nearly $40,000 in donation in 17 hours to build a fence? we'll explain next. it's the vegetables. deliciously rich. flavorful!

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it's about half past the hour. let's check some of the headlines and other news you may have missed. the blistering heat wave officials are say is responsible

for 2 deat2 deaths. triple digit temperatures are expected to remain until saturday before cooling off to the 90s on sunday. top congressional and administration officials are talking about a short-term deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling as a way to buy time for negotiators. and president obama previously said he would veto any delay, but it's said that may not be the case. the space shuttle "atlantis" glided back to earth this morning, capping decades of operation. the shuttle landed safely at florida's kennedy space center.

as "atlantis" sat on the tarmac, this was said about nasa's final mission. >> one thing is in disputable. america will not stop exploring. 6 thank you for protecting us, and bringing this program to such a successful end. god bless the united states of america. keep out. arizona lawmakers are trying to keep that message to smugglers and undocumented immigrants from crossing the border. buildthefence.com is a state sponsored fund-raising website launched yesterday geared towards closing the gaps in fencing. the site raised nearly $40,000 within it's first 17 hours of operation. looks like some people will be getting their money back. according to the federal trade commission barrowers over charged by country wide financial three years ago will

get a check in the mail to make up some of the difference. they will send out $108 million to 450,000 former country wide customers. and then starred once in one of the most popular commercials.

cuts to medicaid and other health care programs are some of the hottest issues in washington

budget talks, and behind those talks are real people suffering. dr. sanjay gupta met up with somebody you might recognize, and this young man is headed to d.c. to lobby for children's access to quality health care. sanjay? >> next week washington is going to feel the force, so to speak. he's a little guy with a big mission. take a look at who i met when i was in l.a. >> dr. gupta? >> yes, sir? >> you're it! >> i'm it? >> max page only knows one speed, full steam ahead. you have probably seen max before even though you may not know it. remember this ad from super bowl xlv? darth vader? nope, just max. within mere seconds of meeting him, max was asking about my daughters. >> three girls. >> let me guess. 4-year-old? >> yep.

>> 2-year-old? >> yep. >> 6-year-old? >> you got it. how did you know? we are at the children's hospital with max and his brother. >> can i see your pacemaker? >> that's right. max has a pacemaker, and it's his third, and he's only 6-year-old. the first sign of trouble came before he was born. >> we found out max had structural damage to his heart. they could not get a good heartbeat. they took him emergency c-section, born in a whirlwind. >> the last thing i remember is almost hopelessness, because it's out of my hands as a dad, and as a dad, that's not something you are used to. >> i said, please, just save my son. that's all we're here for. i don't know anything you just said or understand anything you're going to do, i need you to save my son and i need to have a chance to know this kid. >> for mom and dad, it was all a

blur. max was born with a heart condition. it's rare, and it includes four separate problems in the heart, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the blood. without a pacemaker, and eight major operations so far, max probably wouldn't be here. >> can you feel it, max? can you feel a pacemaker? >> if you touch it or if something hits it, it's kind of whenever i feel it. >> it's like the movie "cars," they show pistons and engines going around, you need to have them work together. >> could any hospital do this noo no, this is a fairly sophisticated subspecialized area. there are lightly over 100 of us in the country. there are not that many people that do what we do. >> it's that kind of skill that

max needs. randi, there are 56 of the specialized children's hospitals in the country, and as washington talks about budget cuts, the programs that train these types of doctors are on the chopping block. little max is headed to capitol hill to lobby. we'll see how it goes. >> you can see the rest of sanjay's report this saturday and sunday at 7:30 a.m. eastern on cnn. meanwhile a 14-year-old says he's an assassin. according to one child's rights advocate, there may be thousands more. details after the break. gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

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we begin our globe trek in somalia, where the president issued a urgent appeal for international aid. there is famine plaguing the country. the situation is severe. the urn warns suffering two spread quickly without international assistance. a 14-year-old alleged assassin hired by mexico's drug war loads. he says he kills his victims by cutting their votes, and now a child advocate says as many as 30 minors may be involved in organized crime. we have more on the 14-year-old american now on trial in mexico. >> the trial is being held under strict security measures because the defendant is a minor, the

public is not allowed inside the courtroom at this judicial compound in mexico, and only defense and prosecution attorneys, family members and this human rights commissioner are allowed inside. >> translator: he seems coherent and looks clean. he spoke without any trouble and was smiling. we told him we were there in case he had questions about his rights. >> reporter: the defendant is an american citizen who's only 14 years old. he was captured near mexico city back in december as he allegedly was trying to free. he admitted to brutally killing people in an online interrogation. the victims were all beheaded. >> translator: this teenager is

accused by the drug unit of crimes related to drug traffic, specifically cocaine and marijuana, illegal possession of military weapons, and violations against federal organized crime wall with the objective of committing kidnappings and aggravated murder. >> he is not the only minor in mexico involved with drug car tells. social media pictures surfaced in the last year showing teenager and young men holding high caliber assault weapons and wearing masks. six youths were captured in a town 30 miles south of mexico city. they were linked to the cartel. >> according to academic studies, around 30,000 children and adolescence are currently involved or may be involved in organized crime. >> if found gilly, he faces three years in incarceration.

there will be 60 witnesses testifying in the trial which is expected to last three weeks. checking top stories now, a record heat wave still sifling much of the u.s. it's deadly. the hot weather is blamed in as many as 33 deaths, including 13 in missouri. and it's putting a strain on the nation's power grid. less than two weeks until the u.s. starts to default on its obligations. liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs. if congress fails to raise that $14.3 trillion debt limit by august 2nd, the country could face rising interest rates, and an increasingly jittery financial market. a new warning terrorists could use angry employees and ex-workers to target private utilities in the country. the department of homeland security has warned about that possibility, but sesz there's no

intelligence about a specific threat against any power, water, gas or waste facility. the end of an era for nasa's space shuttle program. we'll take a look back in two minutes. [ bell rings ] it's time for recess... and more pills. afternoon art starts and so does her knee pain, that's two more pills. almost done, but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve because it can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is lisa... who switched to aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go.

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i have just come from seeing the president, and over in his quarters, and he asked me to convey his warm regards and we're proud not just of you all, but of all the people that are supporting your fantastic mission. >> that was then vice president,

george h.w. bush, congratulating of the first manned space mission. it birthed to a program that spanned over 30 years, five orbiters and 513 million miles. aside from carrying thousands of astronauts in space, shuttle crews carried materials and people to the space station. one of the shuttles happened in 1990 with the deployment of the hubble space telescope. the shuttle program has not been without problems, of course. on tuesday, january 28th, 1986, space shuttle "challenger" broke apart just over a minute during its flight leading to the deaths of all crew members.

less than ten years later in 2003, space shuttlgtttle "colum disintegrated when coming back into the atmosphere, damaging the heat protection system. the announcement of the space shuttle program came in 2010, 30 years after it began. that brings us to today, the final shuttle, "atlantis," has returned home ending a long run for american human space flight. in today's "big i" we'll take a look back at the space program and where it goes from here. joining me now is leroy chow. thanks for joining me on this very historic day. you knew you wanted to go to space as a little boy. how do you feel about seeing the end of this program? >> well, it's very bittersweet. i mean, i dreamt about becoming an astronaut as an 8-year-old

kid watching the apollo 11 moon landing and many years later in 1990 i actually fulfilled that dream as being selected as an astronaut and finally flying for the first time aboard "columbia" in '94. subsequently i've had a chance to fly a total of four times in space, three times on space shuttles, so i came in right as the shuttle was kind of hitting its stride and operational phase and really starting to get going. we were flying a lot of missions back then. about eight missions a year and there's talk of going up to ten missions a year, you know, and without the space shuttle we couldn't have built the international space station, so it was really with, you know, sadness that i watched "atlantis" touch down for the last time today marking the end of the program, and i have to admit i got up early to watch it happen, and -- and shed a tear when the wheels were stopped. >> you and so many others. when president bush announced a new direction for the spouse program, what did you think? i mean, did you ever think it would ever really end? >> well, in 2004 in fact i was in the audience when president bush made that announcement, and it was an exciting time.

he was announcing a new exploration program, but, you know -- but he also announced the end of the shuttle and back then in 2004 there was, you know, the thinking was, well, there's a lot that can happen between 2004 and 2010, and, you know, who knows what's going to happen so i don't think people really accepted it at first, that it was going to end, but as we got closer to 2010 and 2011 there are proposals and ideas on how to extend the shuttle. in fact, when i was serving on the augustine committee two years ago, the white house-appointed committee to review nasa plans and suggest options for the future, we did lay out one option that allowed the shuttle to continue flying until at least 2015. unfortunately, that was not chosen as part of the new space policy rolled out last year, but, you know, we were concerned about this gap because now the united states no longer has the independent ability to send our astronauts to the space station, and we won't have that capability for probably in my estimation probably for at least five years. >> yeah. what do we do in that case?

i'm curious where manned space flight goes in that case, but in that case if we need to get there we'll have to hitch a ride with somebody else, won't we? >> that's right. from new on until we develop a commercial capability or the new multi-pups crew vehicle is flying, the united states is going to be dependant on russian assets to fly our astronauts to the space station. in my last mission in 2004 it was in the wake of the "columbia" accident, so i actually did train and fly on a russian soyuz flying as a co-pilot on soyuz tma-5, so it's a reliable transportation system. i went to the space station and back but, you know, i hate to see us with one source or one way, and i really hate to see us not having the united states, that is, not having our own way of getting our astronauts up there. >> do you think this will deter future generations from getting vfd in space flight is this. >> i hope not. the space program inspired me as a young person to really get excited not just about scienpact

science and engineering and life. one of the greatest things that come out of a human space flight program, i mean, we can talk about the technical spinoffs and talk about being a technology driver and all that is true, but it's really an issue of national prestige and inspiring the next generation. you know, it makes people feel good about the country and the young people get excited and excited about their lives and what the possibilities are. so i'm hoping that, you know, this is temporary. i'm hoping it's shorter rather than longer, this gap, and, you know, i have confidence that we will continue to explore in space, and i'm hopeful that this is just a minor blip, if you will. >> well, we certainly hope you're right. leroy chiao, thank you for being on the show. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. great to be with you. >> former vice presidential nominee john edwards needs to repay the federal election commission. paul steinhauser will bring you the details right after the break. [ male announcer ] do you know how you will react when someone changes lanes without warning?

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john edwards must pay back a couple million dollars. joining me now to break this down for us is cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser. hey there, paul. edwards has to pay back money, but this has nothing to do with the criminal conspiracy case against him, is that right? >> reporter: you are absolutely right. we're talking about $2.3 million. this was a ruling today by the federal election commission, and edwards' campaign from the 2008

presidential election needs to pay that back to the u.s. treasury. why? because of what's called matching funds, matching funds the government gives to candidates when they are running for office. they give money from the government, raise own money and there's certain limits. they have about $2.9 million left so i guess they have the money to pay it back. randi, as you said, this has nothing to do with the criminal conspiracy case against the former u.s. senator from north carolina. you know, he's accused of issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws. a lot of this has to do with the money that was given to his mistress at the time rielle hunter by benefactors of the campaign. edwards disputes those are campaign donations. that's totally separate from this and nothing to do with this. >> i'll take your word on that. doing a whole lot of talking about the debt ceiling. i'm curious what the latest numbers are on this. what do the polls look like? >> got a new pal from cnn and orc, and the headline is

americans want compromise. we asked do you prefer a budget plan to raise the debt ceiling that would include only spending cuts? you can see only 34% say that, or a mixture of spending cuts and tax increases, kind of like what the president is suggesting, what the gang of six is suggesting. look at that. 64% say they want that. this is the sixth national poll, randi, in the last week that indicates that, but go to the next number. there is a partisan divide here, no doubt about it and you can see that. democrats overwhelmingly like that combination of spending cuts and tax increases, two-thirds of independents, but a minority of republicans and tea party supporters like that idea. what do they want? they want spending cuts only. let's say there's no deal by august 2nd. who gets the blame? well, can you see right there, only three in ten will blame the president and democrats if there's nothing but a lot more people are going to blame congressional republicans, randi, so the blame game is definitely a factor in the political negotiations going on right now behind the scenes. >> everybody is looking at 2012. >> exactly. >> all right, paul.

thank you very much. your next update from the best political team on television is just one hour away. our top story is a clear and present danger to 140 million americans in more than 30 states. yet most of us take it for granted, especially in july. i'm talking heat. miserable deadly heat. if it's not 100, 105 or 110 in this huge part of the country that you see right here behind me, well, it certainly feels like it is. the national weather service says as many as 22 people have died of the heat since the current wave took hold about a week ago. missouri alone has 13 suspected heat deaths, and we're sure to hear much more. kansas city has set up cooling centers. >> we welcome people to come in and cool off, get a drink of water, use the rest rooms, take some time out of being outside. >> we really want to see folks start looking out for their neighbors, start looking for places where they can get a little relief from the heat. >> the cdc reminds us that from

1979 to 2003 heat killed more than 8,000 americans. more than were killed by hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes and floods combined. and heat takes a major toll on power grids. back in may the grid serving most of the mid-atlantic predicted a peak demand of just under 149,000 megawatts. one megawatt, by the way, can power 1,000 air conditioners at full blast. yesterday that grid produced more than 150,000 megawatts. i spoke on the phone last hour with michael cormeau who said the power is still flowing for now. >> well, we're at peak. this is a week we plan literally for years for in advance to make sure the infrastructure is in place. we train all year long to be prepared, and right now everything is running well and the grid is holding up, and we expect not to have any brownouts in the foreseeable future. >> well, the same can't be said in parts of the midwest. at least one utility is asking

customers to scale back power use to crank up thermostats or risk service interruption. i'm thinking that maybe an arctic cold front might be really good for everybody right now. anything on the horizon like that, chad myers? >> did you go on to i-report and take a look at the chilean snow storm. >> i love it. let's bring it here. >> can't even get out of their houses in chile because of the snow event. even in some of the parts of the deserts in chile, they have had feet of snow in the past couple of days. now the issue with this heat problem, especially in the northeast, is that it will build for the next couple of days. so today is the first -- really the first big day of heat over 100, 110 in some spots. it doesn't cool down much tonight, and it gets warmer tomorrow, and it doesn't cool much down tomorrow night and then gets warmer by the weekend, and that's -- it's that step up, step up. your house never gets a chance to cool off. it's been that way in the midwest for the past couple of weeks, but now that heat has really shifted to where people live. millions more people live here from new york to philadelphia all the way down to d.c. the best thing you can do to

protect your grid and to help even your power bill, when you leave the house, turn up the temperature. 80, 82, whatever -- just doesn't even have to turn on when you're there, turn it back down when you're home, and let the house cool down and everybody will be fine. if you let that thing buzz at 74 degrees when you're at work for eight hours, that's not helping the grid whatsoever. for today and tomorrow, 100 and something, 107, 109, depends on where you are in new york city. i just saw a heat index in annapolis right down in the water, 117 degrees out there in annapolis, so that is going to be the case. the closer you get to water, the more it's going to be muggy, and you know what? we get temperatures 92, 95 every year, but this heat wave is a record breakner heat index because we have never seen humidities this high before. it's been muggy. it's been raining and flooding in the midwest. that flooding water is now evaporated. it's in the atmosphere, and it makes it feel oppressively hot.

record highs -- record high, relative humidities, record high dew points all across the country for this heat index. >> yeah. we need some snow, don't we? >> yeah. just waiting for football season. one thing at a time. >> snow and football. we want them both. thank you, chad. >> our sound effect is the very last, last of the space shuttle era. everything connected with sts of 135 has been a last of some sort, last liftoff, last hookup of the space station and last phone call from the president and early this morning the last landing. the speech-making started when the wheels touched down. >> having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time, its voyage at an end. >> houston, after having served over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history and has come to a final stop. >> "atlantis" will stay at

kennedy space center as a museum piece, but 3,000 contract workers are being shown the door. their jobs will be eliminated starting tomorrow. other stories that we're following, as top congressional and administration leaders zero in on efforts to raise the debt ceiling today, there's renewed focus on a possible short-term deal as a way to buy more time for negotiators. in less than two weeks the country could default on its $14 trillion debt unless lawmakers come up with a compromise plan to authorize more borrowing. today the senate takes up the cut, cap and balance bill house republicans pushed through, but has little hope of passing the senate, and the president has threatened to veto it. a new warning that terrorists could use angry employees and ex-workers to target private utilities in this country. the department of homeland security sent a bulletin to local law enforcement warning about the possibility. it says there is no intelligence about a specific threat against any power, water, gas or wastewater facilities but according to dhs if violent extremists got ahold of insider information about utilities, it

could increase the likelihood of an attack that might succeed. good news for football fans. strong signs that the labor dispute between the nfl owners and players could end as early as today. the league's 32 owners are meeting in atlanta and will vote on the deal now in front of them. players will be voting separately. the major dispute, how to divide billions of dollars in revenue? any agreement would put the nfl into high gear. the first preseason game is set for august 7th, and the season is scheduled to open september 8th. tiger woods has fired his longtime caddy and friend steve williams who was with tiger for 13 of his 14 major championship wins. williams says that he was surprised because he stuck with woods through the tough times, his very public sex scandal and the collapse of tiger woods' game. >> it's not disappointing to get fired. i understand the nature of this business. that's the way it is, but, you know, given the fact of my loyalty and the way that i am, the timing of it is, you know,

pretty poor really. as you pointed out, i stood by this guy through thick and thin, and, you know, the timing of it is very poor from my perspective. >> williams says tiger used to intimidate the other players. he says he doesn't anymore. and take a look at this. al qaeda sympathizers claim they are making a cartoon to inspire children to take up armed violence against the west. details and more pictures right after the break. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people

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may remember walt disney cartoon characters like donald duck fighting the japanese and the germans in world war ii. well, late they are month paramount pickitures releases captain america, a film based on one of marvel comics' super soldiers from world war ii, but what happens when a terrorist organization makes a propaganda film, when they are the hero and the west is the enemy. righters is reporting al qaeda sympathizers are planning on doing exactly that. they are producing, quote, a children's cartoon film to inspire young muslim viewers to take up armed violence against the west. joining us now via skype from new york is cnn national security contributor fran townsend. she's a member of both the cia and dhs external advisory committees. fran, glad you're here with us to talk about this. this is really pretty frightening. i mean, first of all, i want to ask you who are the sympathizers that might be working on this? >> well, you know, there are a number of what we call password-protected websites where jihadi sympathizers and

terrorist sympathizers often communicate. they put propaganda up there, and -- and we think from what we're hearing so far that this comes from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula or an affiliated group in yemen. here's the concern about that. anwar al awlaki, head of the group, an american-born islamic cleric, who is a terrorist and inspired the ft. hood shooter, he's got audio tapes there sold around the world and videotapes, so this is kind of a new low in a continuing activity of his, you know. this is now targeting children. >> yeah, i mean, have they ever targeted children before? have they ever released a cartoon like this, and what would they use children for? we've seen in one of the recent cases in afghanistan, there was a little girl, right, who had been tricked sort of to walk towards a building with a -- as a suicide bomber? she didn't even know she was a suicide bomber. >> right, and we've seen this where they will put children in cars and have them drive it up and children don't realize the

cars are, you know, improvised explosive devices, going to explode and kill the children as well, but let's be clear. this is an organization with no more or less, no scruples, and so they are willing to murder their own children for the furtherance of the cause. when you look at the graphics that we've seen so far, they glorify jihad. they glorify war. they show these young children, teenagers with weapons, regrenade launchers, assisting other hurt children. what they don't show is the consequences of that activity. drone strikes, children being killed, children being abused and children being taken away from their families. this is meant to be a recru recruitment tool and that's exactly the way they do it, they glorify the war. >> in 20 seconds, the main concern is how successful this might be, so what is the answer to that? >> well, what you hope, randi, is moderate muslim parents, you know, just like american parents, they don't want to see their children exposed to this

sort of thing and led astray because for most muslims this does not represent islam, and so what -- what you have to hope is parents will exercise control in terms of what their children are viewing. >> fran townsend, appreciate your insight. thank you very much. student bullying and a culture war over what teachers can or can't say about homosexuality in the classroom. it's kicked off a federal investigation in one state's largest school district. that story is next. that create a layer of protection with every close stroke. leaving your skin beautifully smooth. new venus proskin moisture rich.

when is talk about homosexuality okay in the classroom? just outside minneapolis, one school district's policy on the matter isig vite agriculture war. cnn has learned the departments of justice and education are investigating incidents of

bullying and harassment in minnesota's largest school district. here's cnn's poppy harlow. >> this is samantha's swimsuit hanging here, and i just can't put it away. >> reporter: a swimsuit hanging lifeless since november 2009 when michelle johnson's only daughter took her own life. >> we believe that she was just hiding from everybody because she was feeling hopeless. samantha was kind of a tomboy, and she -- she was perceived as gay. >> reporter: was she gay? >> no. we don't think she was gay. she was 13. >> reporter: samantha was the first of seven students to commit suicide in a single minnesota school district in less than two years. parents and friends tell us four of those teens were either gay, perceived to be gay or questioning their sexuality, and

at least two of them were bullied over it. erica hoops was samantha's best friend. >> yeah. she didn't feel safe anywhere. during volleyball they would call her names like fag and be like go over to the boys' locker room. you shouldn't be in here. >> reporter: was the bullying part of the reason, erica, do you think she killed herself? >> most definitely. there's no question about it. >> reporter: allegations of bullying have brought unwanted media attention, and cnn has learned a federal investigation to this quiet suburban community. we're about 30 minutes outside of minneapolis in anoka. this is the biggest school district in the entire state, but the reason we're here is because it has become a battleground over homosexuality in the classroom. this is the only minnesota school district we could find with a curriculum policy that bars teachers from taking a

position on homosexuality and says such matters are best addressed outside of school. it's become known as the neutrality policy, and some teachers say it's part of the problem. >> there's so much we can't do and say to help create a more accepting and affirming and welcoming environment that would eliminate some of that bullying in the first place. >> reporter: in a school newsletter and in a voice mail to staff, superintendent dennis carlson denies any connection between bullying and the suicides. >> based on all. information we've been able to gather, none of the suicides were connected to incidents of bullying or harassment. >> reporter: carlson says the district has a comprehensive bullying policy and that is piloted a bullying tip line. he says the neutrality policy is a reasonable response to a divided community. >> it's a diverse community, and what i try to do as superintendent is walk down the middle of the road. >> reporter: but one teacher is

ready to take on the district. are you afraid that you could lose your job just being here talking about this? >> realistically, yeah. >> reporter: randi, just today two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against that school district challenging the neutrality policy. this comes after the anoka school district announced it's keeping the policy in place but also asked the advocacy groups to assist them in training school staff to support their gay students, but that apparently is not going far enough for the advocacy groups. that's what they told us. the splc was present for cnn interviews involving its clients, and as cnn first reported, the departments of justice and education are investigating incidents of bullying involving and also harassment in that school district after receiving a complaint. now while the school district says they have had collaborative discussions with federal authorities, the doj confirms

their investigation at this point is ongoing. we've got a lot more on this story. a full investigation, randi, coming up sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> and poppy, you mentioned this lawsuit just filed today against the district. >> right. >> any more details about that that we should know? >> absolutely. it's a 68-page complaint filed in the state of minnesota, coming from the southern law center and the law firm fagry and benson. it's against the school district and also the school board. they are representing five current and former students of the district. what they allege is that those students suffered severe and pervasive gender-based harassment in front of school officials. the suit claims that school staff did not take sufficient action to stop the bullying. it goes on to claim that the district violated students' rights under the constitution, title 9, and also under the minnesota human rights act. now we've reached out to the school district for a response. the district spokesperson told us they are reviewing the

complaint and just yesterday the district said they had retained outside counsel to investigate previous bullying allegations brought to light by those two advocacy groups, and they say that investigation found that the district was, quote, prompt, reasonable and appropriate in each case, randi, so we'll follow this very closely. we'll see what happens in this case and let you know if there is any further response. obviously we're following it continually on cnn.com. >> yes. poppy, be sure to keep us up to date on that. thank you. see more of poppy's store they weekend. cnn sunday night at 8:00 p.m. it's three amazing stories. one hour of razor sharp journalism. don't miss an all new "cnn presents" sunday night at 8:00. amid all the scandal and sensation sensationalism, ali velshi and richard quest take on the tabloids in today's "q&a." definitely want to stick around for that one next. ah, why not? shall we check on the status of your knighthood?

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that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? quest means business and so do i. we're here together in the cnn newsroom around the world. hello, richard. >> hello, ali.

we are coming to talk business, travel innovation and since it's "q&a" nothing is off limits. really off limits today. we're talking about the tabloids, the good, the bad and, ali, the ugly. >> well, there it is, the rags, the scandal sheets, whatever you want to call them. we've been talking a lot about them with the "news of the world" scandal unfolding on your side of the pond, but really what is the value of tabloids, richard? i'll let you go first. you've got 60 seconds. >> 60 seconds on the value of the tab loimptds it is easy to say that the scandal sheets and the tabloids are worthless. after all, we can all agree that a free press is essential to the nature of any country, but how can these sort of stories actually make for a viable democracy? well, the truth is, of course,

that this is the backbone of our democracy, and the scandal sheets and the broad sheet small versions are essential for what is going to happen in the way we live our lives. the little tabloids do more than just show us bare-breasted ladies and scream obscenities about randy vickers, name and shame pedophiles and run campaign for consumers. they are in many ways the form that we look forward to when we want to know the way society is going, because it is these papers that have the circulations that we need to make it so important. >> richard, richard, richard. i risk your ire and the ire of our british viewers when i say that i honestly don't see that the tabloids bring us much news value on either side of the atlantic, and you're right. they can be entertaining. they even break the occasional story. over on our side the "national

enquirer" did with the john edwards affair. here's the downdownside to all of this muckraking, richard. for instance, it's hard enough to attract people into politics, good people into politics. the fact that there's a culture of so-called journalism that's out to dig up every piece of lack of judgment you've ever had contributes to the dearth of talent available for public office. hey, richard, it's entirely possible that the best person for a given job or political office is someone who might not have conducted themselves perfectly in every aspect of their lives. tabloid journalism, what you're doing there, it discourages that sort from stepping into the public life because, richard, it's not worth it. the trade-off in privacy is not worth it. those tabloids, they hunt for dirt. the news corp. example shows what happens when the search for sleaze and gossip goes too far, richard. >> swat this fly, please. >> i think it's time to separate the men from the business on this one.

you probably know more about this than i do but time to bring the voice in to quiz us on what we know about these things. good day, voice. >> good day, gentlemen. never seen you two so excited so let's dive right in. millions of people read the tabloids every day. according to "the economist," which single tabloid has the highest circulation. is it a, b, c, od. richard, go ahead. >> it's "bild" from germany. >> reaches 2.9 million readers just ahead of "the sun," and on to question number two. in which question was the first tabloid published? is it a, the united states, b, britain, c, germany, or, d, italy? ali? >> britain. >> incorrect.

>> richard? >> it's a choice between germany or italy. let's go with germany. >> wait, make the choice. >> you are both incorrect. the correct answer is the united states. it was a submission on new year's day of "the new york world" newspaper published by james pulitzer, but the issue was designed by a british journalist who at the time ran "the daily mail" in london. on to question number three -- >> who knew we started this problem, richard. >> which of these is the oldest newspaper still in print? is it a, "the times of london," b, the "new york times," c, "le figaro" out of france or, d, "the montreal gazette." >> got to be a trick question, richard. >> absolutely a trick question. >> okay. i'm going to go all out for "le fagaro." >> i didn't really believe

either but i figured were you trying to trick us. >> is it "the times of london" or "new york times." i'm just going to go for it. "the london times." >> incorrect. you both failed. "the montreal gazette." it was started in 1778. ten years ahead of "the times of london." >> you should have known. >> i'll never live this one down. >> all right. >> richard, you won. >> yeah, whatever. >> that will do it for this week. remember, we're here each week thursdays on "quest means business." and in the cnn newsroom, ali, we're also with you. >> that's right. 2:00 p.m. eastern on thursdays. keep the topics coming on our blogs at cnn.com/qmb. tell us each week what you want to talk about. see you next week, richard. >> see you next week. have a good one. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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32 minutes past the hour. here's a look at the stories you may have missed. it's no secret that it is extremely hot in many parts of the country.

the blistering heat wave that officials say is responsible for nearly two dozen deaths is expected to stick around today and could continue into the weekend. 141 million people across the u.s. are under heat advisories and warnings. triple-digit temperatures are expected to remain across the eastern u.s. through saturday before cooling off slightly to the mid-90s by sunday. as the clock ticks towards the august 2nd deadline, top congressional and administration officials are focusing on a possible short-term deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling as a way to buy more time for more negotiations. president obama has previously said he'd veto any short-term extension, but white house press secretary jay carney signalled to reporters yesterday that may no longer be the case. carney said the president may be willing to change his mind if a short-term extension is tied to an agreement on a broader deficit reduction deal that includes both tax hikes and spending reforms. well, it's official. nasa's shuttle program has come to an end. shuttle "atlantis'" return to

kennedy space center this morning is the final chapter of the 30-year program. during its 13-day mission "atlantis" delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and other supplies to the international space station. the end of the shuttle program is sitting well with many americans. according to the latest cnn/orc research poll, half of all americans feel the end of the shuttle program is bad for the country. one-third say it has no effect, and 16% believe the money can be better used elsewhere. the state of arizona's effort to raise $50 million to build a fence along the u.s.-mexico border is about $40,000 richer today. fencing already covers about a third of the 2,000-mile border with the u.s. government paying about $3 million per mile to construct it. arizona state senator steve smith says the final cost of the project in his state would depend on whether the state can get private companies to donate some of those construction supplies. some state lawmakers say they could save money by using inmate

labor to help build the fence. it looks like some people are going to be getting their money back. according to the federal trade commission borrowers who were overcharged by countrywide financial more than three years ago will be getting a check in the mail to make up some of the difference. it will be sending out nearly $108 million to more than 450,000 fmer countrywide customers. a nation in misery from drought and famine and a desperate plea for help. details next in "globe trekking."

the african nation of somalia is in dire straits, and the president is pleading for international aid to help his country cope with a devastating drought and famine. cnn's john voss is here with the details. seems as though things are going frommed about to worse here. >> reporter: heard directly from the president and spoken to cnn saying half of his country is virtually starving. looking at 3.7 million people in dire need of food, emergency assistance. most of those people are in the south of the country. now this region itself is suffering from the worst drought in 60 years, but the situation in somalia has been made particularly worse because of the presence of this islamic militant group al shabaab. >> and they are blocking some of the aid from getting in or trying to. >> a couple years ago they kick out all the foreign aid workers, and they put all these conditions on like women weren't allowed to go in. there were taxes which foreign aid groups had to pay to al shabab which they refused to do

and they left. what they have done is they brokered this deal now with the u.n. to allow emergency aid drops to go into this southern part of somalia and that happened last weekend and still very much a work in progress. not known how this will work out. al shabab has made it known they would like islamic charities to do the work but if you look at the map, ethiopia, djibouti and maybe even eritrea, all of these countries are suffering the drought but only in somalia where al shabab is in control where the u.n. has declared famine, a very loaded term. aid groups don't like using it. the last time they used it back in somalia was in 1992, and that's a direct link to al shabab, took a drout and turned it into a famine, a disaster turned into an absolute catastrophe. >> many of the people affected are fleeing into kenya. >> going into this massive refugee camp which cannot hold them all, and the problem for the refugees now crossing over

the border into kenya is that the government in kenya says because of al shabab and because of security reasons we don't want you in our country. >> it's a risk. >> want the refugee camp set up inside somalia, so it's an absolute desperate situation for millions of people. >> you know, breaks my heart is the children, and when we saw that story yesterday with that 4-year-old little girl who was so sick and still couldn't get, you know, living on grain and no water, and it was just -- she didn't survive. >> and it's not just in the refugee camps. what we're seeing in somalia now with the children who are essentially skeletons because they are making the trek across this dangerous piece of territory in the southern part of somalia, and they are trying to get to mogadishu, which is the capital of somalia, which the government barely controls as it is, you know, the rebels and the insurgents and the islamic militants and the tribal groups hold a lot of the country. the government doesn't have much security there. these people are packing up their kids and trying to get to whatever safety they can for whatever food they can find along the way and we've heard stories, you know, of kids dying

on the way, the weakened members of the family just being left behind. >> what's the answer. what are they going to do? >> need $1.6 billion and somalia needs $300 million within the next two months to sort of avoid absolute disaster. the united states has stepped up. they have chipped in around $400 million for the region. that's according to the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton. the brits have made a substantial contribution. everyone is pointing the fingers at the other european countries, france, italy, the netherlands, all these other places yet to step up and contribute in any significant way. >> before i let you go. >> sure. >> i want to ask you about egypt. >> yeah. >> new cabinet was sworn in today. how significant is that? >> it's fairly significant. meant to happen on tuesday, but the prime minister apparently was suffering from exhaustion and had to check himself into hospital so there's been a lot of wrangling about this. 12 new faces in this cabinet. some talk that the military rulers who are still essentially in charge of egypt didn't like the new cabinet so there's been shuffling. finally announced and sworn in

today. 12 new faces, all about trying to apiece the protesters who have once again gathered at tahrir square because they are unhappy with the pace of change, say it's too slow and won't be happy because the interior minister kept his job. want him out because he hasn't reformed the police and other security services and the good news for the protesters at least that this cabinet will probably only be in place for about four months. that's when they are set to hold elections. the problem though is according to an interview that one of the military leaders did the other day, they are not going to allow independent election observers in for this post-revolution election, so a lot of people are complaining about that and complaining about the cabinet and complaining about a lot of things. >> progress, sort of. >> sort of, kind of, maybe. >> all right, john. john voss, thank you. nice to see you. >> good to see you. if you had to take a geography quiz right now, how do you think you'd do? the pretty shocking results of a new report on how much u.s. students know or don't know when it comes to geography, and we've got some sample questions so you can see how you would do. that's next.

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other stories we're following right now. about 44 minutes past the hour. as top congressional and administration leaders zero in on efforts to raise the debt ceiling today, there is renewed focusing on a possible short-term deal as a way to buy more time for negotiators. in less than two weeks the country could default on its $14 trillion debt unless lawmakers come up with a compromise plan to authorize more borrowing. today the senate takes up the cut, cap and balance bill. house republicans pushed that through, but it does have little hope of passing the senate, and

the president has threatened to veto it. a new warning that terrorists could use angry employees and ex-workers to target private utilities in this country. the department of homeland security has sent a bulletin to local law enforcement warning about the possibility. it says there is no intelligence about a specific threat against any power, water or gas or wastewater facilities but according to dhs if violent extremists got ahold of inside information about utilities, it could increase the likelihood of an attack that might succeed. and some good news for football fans. there are strong signs that the labor dispute between the nfl owners and players could end as early as today. the league's 32 owners are meeting in atlanta, and they will vote on the deal now in front of them. players will vote separately. the major dispute, how to divide billions of dollars in revenue. any agreement would put the nfl into high gear. the first preseason game is actually set for august 7th, and the season is scheduled to open september 8th. i want to show you some live pictures right now from d.c.

where the nfl players are expected to speak any moment now. tiger woods has fired his longtime caddy and friend, steve williams. he was with tiger for 13 of his 14 major championship wins. williams says he was surprised because he stuck with woods through the tough times. his very public sex scandal and the collapse of his game. >> it's disappointing to get fired and i understand the nature of this business, that's the way that it is, but, you know, given the fact of my loyalty and the way that i'm in, the timing of it is, you know, pretty poor really. as you just pointed out, i've stood by this guy through thick and thin, and, you know, the timing of it is very poor from my perspective. >> will grams says tiger used to intimidate the other players, and he says he doesn't anymore. bryant gumbel says he wants everyone to stop coddling losing

female athletes. do we coddle female athletes? our stream team will tackle that subject next.

and welcome back. once again we want to take you live to washington, d.c. that is demaurice smith, the executive director of the nfl players association speaking to reporters. we'll continue to monitor this and the news coming out of this is that no deal on the nfl lockout has been reached yet. they are working on negotiating a deal, but once again no deal yet for the nfl lockout. we'll continue to watch it and let you know if anything happens right here on cnn. last night on hbo's "real sports" bryant gumbel said he wanted everyone to stop coddling losing female athletes.

does he have a point? on sunday the u.s. soccer team lost to japan, a team they had beaten 25 straight times in the world cup finals, and instead of universally taking a critical look at why they failed to brick home the cup, some in the media seemed to have broken out their pom-poms. thousands of people packed a mall in victor, new york, to greet abby wambach. this coming a day after abby and goalie hope solo appeared on "late night with david letterman" where they kicked soccer balls into taxis. >> nice going. >> oh, my gosh, tremendous. >> and today millions of readers of "sports illustrated" will be greeted by a cover photo, you see it right there, of goalie hope solo. she is just the third female soccer player to have this honor. you may remember the first woman to have that honor, brandi chastain and her sports bra. the difference is that chastain was celebrating her world

cup-winning kick, not a second place finish so the question for today's stream team is this. do we coddle female athletes? dot richardson is a two-time softball olympic gold medalist and the medical director of the usa triathlon national training center and christine brennan is a sports columnist from "usa today" and joins us by phone from washington. i would like to start with you. was bryant gumbel correct when he said that we coddle losing female athletes? >> randi, i'm not sure who he was reading, but anyone i read and all my colleagues who we were fortunate enough to be there to cover the u.s. women's soccer team over the past week or so all reported very accurately and very fairly on the loss. my column in monday's stay"usa today." talked about losing, ugly way, all frittered away at the end so i certainly haven't coddled them. i don't think any of the good strong journalists who are covering the team did that, and i'm not sure what he was reading

because the journalism that i saw was right on, and, in fact, i was probably softer on rory mcilroy shooting an 80 at the masters than i was -- i was harder i think on the women's soccer team. >> dot, what do you think? mean, what's your response to that? do you think that we're too easy on women and give the guys a harder time? >> i don't think we're too easy on the women. i think we give the guys, you know, we're pretty tough on the guys. if you lose a game, you might lose your job kind of drastic, but i'm really proud of the efforts of all athletes and being one myself, when you get to that elite level, the brazil game by men and women, one of the greatest soccer games of all time, and when you come down from that high to come back late in the next game that they did in the semifinals to get to the finals, there's nobody more disappointed than they are, but it's always tough to lose, but to call them losers or say you're coddling them i think is -- is a mistake. >> yeah. christine, i know you've actually written that the loss

is still a victory actually for women's sports. do you think that that might be taken as coddling by some? >> that's a great question, randi, and i think if you read the column, no, and i think what -- there are two things going on here. title 9 is only 39 years old, and women sports are really in their infangsy. 100 years from now people will look back and talk about dot richardson and what she did on the softball field in atlanta in 1996, the women's soccer in '96 and '99 and now 2011 and how these stories are part of our history, so frankly as a journalist and as a columnist i don't think, randi, i would be doing my job if i also didn't put that perspective at the very end of the column, but coddling female athletes, those of us who covered the olympics and those of us who cover women sports as well as men's sports on a worldwide basis, i think we take women athletes too seriously now and give them the respect they deserve and i think we cover them exactly as we cover men, at

least i do. >> thank you both for coming on the show. very interesting topic to discuss with the two of you. well, if you had to guess, how much do you think u.s. students know about geography? here's a different way of asking. what percent do you think would be considered would be proficient in geography, 75%, 50% of all students, maybe even less? all right. i'm going to tell you. according to a report from the u.s. government, only about a quarter of u.s. students are proficient in geography. just one-quarter, one in every four students who know their geography. the study released from the national education statistics focused on fourth, eighth and 12th graders and here's how it broke down. among 8th graders, there actually wasn't a significant change in scores from the last assessment in 2001. 27% were declared proficient. among 12th graders, not a whole will the of change either with just 20% proficient. however, they did score worse than back in 1994, but here's a little bit of good news. performance amongst 4th graders improved slightly even though

21% were deemed proficient. 4th graders scored five points higher on average than within 2001. black and hispanic students have narrowed the score gap between their white classmates and if you're wondering the geography quizzes are much more than find this place on the map type of question. here's an example of one of them for 8th graders. play along with us. along with the visual, early settlers on the north american great plains used sod to build houses such as the one shown above because a, they did not have experience building with wood, zod offered greater protection from cold weather, c, there was little wood available for housing and, d, wood houses were vulnerable to prairie fires. the answer is c, and according to the report, the point of the question was to measure 8th graders knowledge of how societies adapt to or modify the environment to suit their needs. how many got that question right. 40%. along with a visual it says how

were the great lakes formed, a, glashation, b, volcanic activity, c, soil deposition and d erosion. the answer, glaciation and 56% of students got it right. the report says this kind of question helps measure a 12th graders ability to measure a process that shapes land forms. how do you think you would have done? well, you let us know. if good fences make good neighbors, it's a wonder the u.s. and mexico aren't at war. it's my xyz next.

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time now for my xyz. whether you support building a border fence along our southern border or not, you probably don't support your tax dollars going to wave, and that's exactly what seems to be going on along our border with mexico. for years now the federal government has been, quote, building a border fence. it has spent millions per mile of taxpayer money on walls and fencing that is not complete and not working. in 2009, according to the government accountability office, the federal government has spent about $3 million per mile on the fence, and it is still not right. so an arizona state senator came up with this brilliant idea, create a website and ask for public and private donations. now i'm not advocating for or against the fence. i'm simply saying the federal government started a job and never finished it. so this is what arizona plans to do. the website, buildtheborder