or watch suzanne malveaux starting right now. live from studio 7, want to get you up to speed for this thursday, july 28th. from the white house to capitol hill, we're watching every move in the debt debate. a white house briefing is set to begin any minute and the house votes today on speaker boehner's debt plan. the big question, whether or not boehner can sway enough republicans to push that bill through. when he arrived this morning, he seemed like he was ready for anything. >> zipadoda day. we're watching wall street after the dow fell almost 200 points yesterday. stocks have been up and down today. investors saw first time claims for unemployment drop below 400,000, but they're still anxious over the debt standoff. right now the dow jones is up 29 points. ground zero workers are furious over a decision by the government not to cover cancer

treatment for responders who got sick after 9/11. last night at a town hall in new york, from us at a tiustrated cs sounded off about what happened to them after the dust settled. >> i want to show you something. sometimes i have to eat through this tube because the muscles in my neck don't work to swallow. i breathe and talk through this tube. and i'm the lucky one. >> a public appearance today by the hotel maid who accuses dominique strauss-kahn of sexual assault. ded dialnafissatou diallo will visi christian center for thank her her supporters. prosecutors are trying to decide whether to proceed with the case. they net wimet with diallo for than seven hours yesterday.

in texas, opening statements could begin this hour in the sexual assault trial of polygamous sect leader warren jeffs. jeffs has pleaded not guilty. the jury of ten women and two men will hear the assault case. jeffs will be tried later on the bigamy charge. streets look line rivers in illinois. heavy rain sent flash floods through cities in the northwestern part of the state. up to ten inches fell in some areas and in one county, half a dozen people were rescued after they were trapped in their cars. in south korea, the heaviest rain in a century has killed at least 49 people and the rain keeps falling. some areas around seoul are getting two inches an hour. many cars and buses have been submerged across the city of seoul. here we're on the banks of the river that cuts seoul in two and

you can see that it has burst it banks. usually you would have 100 meters of park land there. just in front there should be a basketball court. but all you can see is the net. game show host alex trebek arrived on crutches. he told the audience what happened to him with the dry wit fans have come to love. >> yesterday morning chasing a burglar down the hall at my san francisco hotel until my achilles tendon ruptured and i fell in an i go nignominious ho. let's go to the white house.

we understand the briefing is underway. james carney there. the transportation secretary with him to talk about the debt crisis. let's take a listen. >> since congress failed to pass an faa bill, nearly 4,000 faa employees have been furloughed and as many as 70,000 construction workers across america are out of work. important airport modernization projects have been shut down in every state in the country and let me just say parenthetically one of the highest unemployment segments in the country is in the construction area, in the building trades. and for all of my friends on capitol hill who give speeches every day about job, the importance of jobs, putting people to work, this is not the time to be laying off 70,000 construction workers. these are friends and neighbors

to people who live in communities. these are people who work hard and we're right smack dab in the middle of the construction zone. this is not the time to be laying off 70,000 people. i have been meeting with and talking to members of congress from both sides of the aisle asking them to pass another clean extension of the faa bill which they have done on 20 occasions. so they need to come back to the negotiating table. congress needs to pass a clean bill so our 4,000 faa employees who are without a paycheck since last saturday can come back to work, these construction projects can start again, our friends and neighbors can go back to work. i think some of you have been paying attention, you know that i've said we have the safest and the best aviation system in the

world. this is not the way to run it. to have 4,000 of our people that run the system not at their desks, not doing their work. and to have these construction projects suspended. transportation has always been bipartisan. i served on the house transportation committee for three terms. it was always bipartisan. it's always been bipartisan and i ask congress in a bipartisan way to come back, pass the clean bill, finish the negotiations, and then get to a bigger faa bill. >> with that, we'll take questions. >> mr. secretary, do you havefully advice to your former house gop colleagues on dealing with the debt ceiling? >> well, as some of you know, i've been in public service and politics 35 years. 17 years as a staffer.

14 years as a member. and now 2 1/2 years in this job. during the time that i was a staffer, i was chief of staff for bob michael who served during the time that ronald reagan was president. and tip o'neill was the speaker of the house. during the time that tom foley was speaker, bob michael was also the republican leader. and during the time that president clinton was president, bob michael was republican leader. that whole period of time was a very rich history and legacy of compromise. that's how congress has always solved problems. through compromise. through people working things out. through people putting its either own agendas and own egos, deciding what's important for the american people.

this is a time that i think most of us that have watched politics have never seen before. because there are people in congress who don't like the word compromise, who don't believe in it. that's what we need today. we need for people to come together, set aside their own egos and a certain part of their own agenda for the american people to make sure we maintain the strongest economy in the world, to send a signal to the world that we can get big things done. washington can still get big things done. this is about continuing to have a strong economy and continuing to compromise and take maybe a couple chapters out of tip o'neill, bob michael, ronald reagan, president clinton, people that have served in this town with distinction and gotten big things done through

compromise. >> shall house republicans said that they've already compromised and that's what the boehner bill is r, it is a compromise. >> i'll let jay do his job. i'm not here to take his job. i'm here to try and put forth the message that in one of the highest unemployment sectors in the country, are where we have friends and neighbors all over the country that are out of work during the construction season, they ought to go back to work. they shouldn't be held hostage. these projects shouldn'ten held hostage. and we have 4,000 faa employees through no -- hard working people who come to work every day and do their jobs. >> you can explain what the bottleneck is with the faa bill from your perspective? >> yes, certainly i can. it's the idea that there's a couple of provisions that could probably be worked out if they

would pass a clean extension again as they've done on 20 other occasions that could probably be worked out i think within the next 30 days. and my discussions with people in leadership in both the senate and house, they believe the labor issue and the essential air service issue, those are probably the two big issues, probably could be worked out over the next 30 days. that's what i've been saying to members of congress. don't hold hostage common ordinary citizens who want to work, who want to do construction jobs, who make their living doing that and are faa employees. it's not really the way to run the best aviation system in the world. bill. >> mr. secretary, without the faa there, there's no be to collect the pearl tax on the airlinic kets. so what's happening to that money, is it going back to customers and the consumers? >> well, i have talked to the

largest aviation association here in washington that epts all t represents and i will the airlines and i've told them i'm not happy about the fact that they continue to add to citizens ticket price. these are people planning vacations. these are people living on a budget. they're collecting this money and it's going to hair bottom line and i think it's not right and not fair for them to do that. i think the airlines should not be collecting this amount of money under the umbrella that it's a tax. it's not. and they shouldn't be adding it on to the passenger's price of a ticket. >> it's not their money. it's theft, isn't it, if they're

taking money due the federal government and putting it in their own pocket? >> treasury is working on this and we're working with treasury on it. the important part is here passengers shouldn't have to be taking this particular amount of money. they shouldn't. dave. >> you can talk about the deal coming out tomorrow between the auto companies and administration for high fuel efficiency standards? >> if i want to keep my job, the last thing i'm going to do is talk about what the president is going to talk about tomorrow. maybe i don't look very smart, but i have survived 35 years around here. stay tuned, dave. yes, sir. >> mr. secretary, thank you. you're doing a good job. >> thank you. >> my question, mr. secretary, as part of the international partners are concerned, what are you hearing from them as far as security is concerned and also

the u.s. had an agreement and where do you stand. >> i'd be happy to talk to you o offline on this. i don't know there are many other people in the world that care about about india/u.s. relationships when it comes to aviation, which by the way is pretty good. anybody else on this subject? >> yes, on the aviation, to what extent do you think it has been caught up in the tone and the rough and tumble of the overall debt ceiling hassle? >> that's a good question. i don't happen to believe it has because when i've talked to members of congress and particularly those in leadership, this really is, i think, some people's way of saying that these two issues that i mentioned, the essential air service and the union provision, they want to get to those, they want to get them solved. i think it can be done with a clean bill, another extension. i think it could be done very quickly with the discussions i've had with people in leadership in the house and senate and i hope -- i really

hope that will happen. >> given the current situation, is there any hope that your issue will be hamm handled befo they deal with the debt ceiling issue? >> debt and deficit are center stage. >> one more on the aviation poll. which airlines have you talked to and do you or does the government have the power to order a refund? >> under deregulation, we can't set ticket prices. so we can't do that. we're talking with our friends and colleagues in treasury about the way forward and how we federal government out what happens with this money. >> so not a chance of a refund? >> i don't know the answer to that. we're trying to figure that out. >> which airlines did you talk to? >> well, i talked to a number of airline, but more importantly, i talked to the air transportation -- or the aviation transportation

association. which represents most of the airlines. but i've talked to some of the airlines personally about this. >> and do you have names? >> you know what their names are. >> if i could ask as a former congressman, republican congressman, and before that in the reagan era and the chief of staff to the house republican leader, could you comment on this debt limit impasse and whether you think your colleagues or successors in the house republican caucus should have accepted the deal that's on the table with the president and mr. boehner? >> i'm not going to get into that aspect of it. i've probably said pretty much what i want to say about this. i'll leave the details to jay and others that work in government affairs to do that. >> mr. secretary, at what point does the faa impasse become a

public safety issue or could it possibly? >> there is no public safety issue. flying is safe. air traffic controllers all over america went to work today. they're guiding planes in and out of airports. thousands of people will board planes all day and fly all over the world. safety not compromised. and, frankly, the flying public's travel plans will not be compromised. the people that have been furloughed, the 4,000 people, are people who are working on next generation technology research and things like that. so safety is not compromised. yes, ma'am. >> do you have an estimate on the revenue you've lost in this? >> in terms of the tax? >> right. >> yeah, it's about -- it's about $200 billion a month --

$200 million a month. all right. i'm going to restart. $200 million a week. is that right? all right. blame jill if i'm wrong. let me go back to this gentleman. >> will that money have to be made up, will that put a crimp in financing for future aviation projects? that's a fair amount of money to be losing. >> you know what it is, it's real money to the treasury. for all the talk around here about debt and -- >> you're watching the white house briefing. ray lahood essentially talking about the furloughs the faa having to furlough 4,000 employees on saturday because of a failure from congress to actually fund some of the expenses for the faa, a clearly frustrated transportation secretary trying to appeal to congress. also talking about the debt limit crisis saying that this government can and will get big things prished.

we'll be monitoring that briefing to see if there's any development that the come from the press secretary. obviously reporters will be asking questions about that, where we are in that. that is a very important story that we've been following throughout the week and we'll be following it the next two hours to see what actually takes place. a lot of people predicting that there will be a financial crisis in less than a week if that is not resolved. let's run down some of the stories we're covering. we talk to seniors worried about what's going to happen to their medicare, their social security checks if there is no deal. and a survivor's account after coming face to face with an angry bear. >> it was just shear panic. i remember running down the hill and looking behind me and seeing this huge grizzly bear. also people who got cancer after working at ground zero angrily sounding off at a town hall about the government not paying for their care.

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we go back to the white house briefing. jay carney speaking about the debt limit crisis and the need for compromise. let's take a listen. >> a mechanism by which congress would take on the tough issues of tax reform and sbiglgtme ent reform and a lifting of the debt ceiling so we that we do not have the cloud of uncertainty hanging over our economy right now and getting darker and stormier as every day passes for another three months, four months, five month, six months, ten months. we have to -- our primary objective here has to be to protect the economy and protect the american people from economic harm. so if everyone has that objective in mind as we move forward, compromise is pretty

easy. >> and could you clarify yesterday you said that treasury would detail prior to august 2nd who would get paid, who not in the envent of a default. >> i did, i think -- mark was sitting over there in the radio seat and he asked a lot of questions and i said well said and i implied things. levels of specials that i did not mean to. what i can tell you is that as we get closer to that date, treasury department will explain how it will manage a situation that is essentially an impossible situation. i refer you to treasury for how that will look, but i think they will explain that when that sometime comes. i don't have anymore specifics than that. >> just to follow-up on that, are you saying that you will prioritize the debt if you have to? >> i'm saying that two things. first, we continue to believe

and remain optimistic that congress will come to its senses, that cooler heads will prevail and a compromise will be achieved. it really isn't that complicated at this point. what we need to do is get beyond voting on dead on arrival measures that aren't going to become law when we have so few days left to reach a xho compromixr compromise. we need to get that kind of political theater out of our system and get to work on something that can actually pass both houses with bipartisan support and be signed by the president. we believe that's going to happen. it is a matter of due diligence and responsible governance that treasury will if we approach that date as we get closer to that date explain how it would manage a situation that would be created by the failure of congress to act and would create a situation where for the first time in our history we have lost our borrowing authority and resk

default. i leave to them and at that time to give further details on that process. >> you just said you think there will ultimately be a deal. you've been saying that all week. do you think that -- are you equally as confident that a downgrade of the credit rating can be avoideded? >> here's what i know. we control, we in washington, and in particular in this case congress, controls our fate as regards whether or not we will lift the debt ceiling and allow the united states to continue to pay its bills and meet its obligations. the rating agencies are obviously independent and it is up to them. what we can do is take actions that make clear that the united states is still the gold standard when it comes to investments, that it is the safest of safe harbors takes has been for 100 years or more. and because washington functions

and can compromise and can do the right thing by the economy. we do that and we think that will help enormously in terms of how international investors look at the united states and our treasuries as a potential place to put their money. >> what about staying in contact with the rating agencies, is that something you're doing on a daily basis at this point? >> i don't really have any information on that. i would refer you to treasury department for that. i think treasury is the right place to answer that question. i don't know of any contact that we have here. >> republicans in the house are saying that they're voting for a compromise. speaker boehner's bill is a compromise. >> and what is the compromise that is inside of it? >> i won't speak for them, but i can tell you they say it doesn't cut as much as they want. it raises the debt ceiling. it does a number of things that they're not in favor of. they would like deeper cuts and some members of congress obviously don't want to raise

the debt ceiling at all. so if that is their attitude, why are you confident that speaker boehner can compromise anymore? the president has spoken extensively about the difficulty pay they a boehner has with this congress. >> we're confident because we believe that the american people have made clear that they want a compromise. they are so frustrated by what they see as dysfunction here, as unnecessary fighting over issues that could be and should be easily resolved. they want to see washington work on the problems that affect them directly. they don't want to see washington because of partisan and political posturing do things that actually hurt them economically and there is no question that if congress does not compromise and does not act, that allowing the united states to default for the first time in its history would have severe economic consequences and would -- everyone, every family that owns a home and has a

mortgage would be affected. every american who has a car and a car payment would be affected. a student loan, a credit card. and that's just the beginning of the terrible consequences. >> all these facts have been true for months. >> and congress has a way of waiting until the last minute to do the right thing. we remain confident that it will. now, look, they've said a lot of other things. if they think this is a compromise, they said as we've heard today let's stick to him. or let's, you know -- speaker of the house said yesterday that his alleged bipartisan compromise bill is hated by the president, hated by the minority leader in the house and hated by the majority leader in the senate. i think that demonstrates their view on whether it's a skro m compromise. the truth of the matter is it's not and they've been clear about it. politics is part of this town. we understand that and we participate in it and some of these things happen because they

have to happen. part of the political process. but woor ne're now at a moment those americans elected to represent people in their home districts and states need to decide about what is the greater good here. is it holding out to get exactly what you want, holding out for a bill, by the way, that creates a mechanism that would force the adoption of draconian cuts more severe than in the ryan budget that was rejected already by congress and overwhelming opposed by the american people, or is it a compromise where nobody gets everything they want but the cloud of uncertainty on our economy is lifted and we make some significant cuts in our deficit and set up a mechanism to do even more? i think that's the compromise people are looking for and the president believes that in the end that's the compromise we will get. >> isn't the boehner bill better than nothing? >> we don't believe that nothing

is -- that's a false choice. nothing is not what will be the alternative here. compromise is the alternative. everyone in this town, rather, everyone elected in this town, is on the hook for the economy. everyone will have to answer to his or her constituents about what they did, where were they when decisions were made about whether or not to allow the united states to default, whether or not to allow everybody's interest rates to go up, whether or not to allow a situation that would severely impact the ability of the economy to create jobs. and i think in the end, enough members of congress of both part of both parties will say we have to do the right thing here even if it's not the ideal thing and that we'll get it done. >> is there any negotiation going on specifically between vice president biden and the senate republican leader about what happens when and if the senate rejects the boehner bill, what happens then? >> well, the senate will reject

the boehner bill, but as has been made clear by not just democrats, but a number of republicans who reject the boehner bill in the senate. so there is no question that this bill is a political act that has no life beyond its current existence in the house. we are having conversations at every level. i'm not going to detail the individuals who are talking to members, but you can be sure that members of the president's team are continuing the conversations that we have been having for weeks. and months even. and that goes on every day. >> there is a plan? >> look, there are a variety of ways to achieve a compromise here and we are obviously as are members and leaders of congress engaged in discussions about what those plans look like and

what the best way forward will be as the clock ticks down here. >> there were tweets talking about the boehner bill and how it would mean dealing with the debt ceiling over the christmas holiday season which is an important time for the economy. is this new narrative then suggesting that the administration would embrace some sort of two stage plan if it's passed during the holiday season? >> no. we have always said that we need extend this into the 2013. now, there are mechanisms -- mitch mcconnell, speaking of the republican senate lead, had a proposal that would have created cycles of lifting the debt ceiling, but it would have made clear the whole idea was to ensure that the debt ceiling would continue to be raised in order for the united states to pay its bills into 2013. so there are different ways to

do this. our objection is to -- any proposal that puts us through this three ring circus again in any short period of time. because it's already had significant negative impact on the economy. it would only have even more and more severe negative impact on the economy. the reason why we talk about the holiday season is because as constructed now, the measure that speaker of the house has put forward would almost certainly require all of us to go through this again before the end of the year. and the most important economic season of the country, at a time when people don't want to worry about whether or not their interest rates are going to go up, mortgage payments and student loan bills and credit card payments. if we care about the economy, how could that possibly be the answer? it's not. so we are opposed to that for economic reasons. not political reasons. for economic reasons.

because one thing that's clear, dan, on the suggestion that this is about politics, i don't think anybody in this room who has looked at a poll could argue with the idea that we're winning this argument on the merits. as a political matter. but you know what, the president's in the here to win political arguments. he's here to make sure that the economy and the american people are protected. this is too serious a matter. we have to get this done and do it in a way that does not further harm the economy. >> so you admitted that you're losing the argument? >> didn't i just say that we're winning it? >> sorry. i wondered. okay. >> i'm tired, but not that tired. >> when you talk about these conversations that are ongoing, are we talking about negotiations here or just talks just back and forth phone calls, anything serious being negotiated? >> every conversation we have about this issue with every member of congress and every key

staffer in congress is serious. and it's about -- when it's about this issue, it is obviously part of negotiations. but i don't have anymore to tell you about specific ideas being traded or plans or proposals. just that you can be sure that we continue to have conversations even as the house goes through this exercise that will not bring us any closer to compromise because time is so tight. we're obviously continuing to have conversations with folks on the hill. >> will we hear from the president after the vote is taken in the house? >> i don't have any scheduling announcements to make about the president. as you know in this process, we have -- the president has come before you many times and both taken questions and made statements. and on occasion -- monday night,

to speak to the nation directly during prime time. so anything is possible, but i don't have any announcements to make. >> does the president still want to be part of the debate or as he said, no, it's a congress -- >> first of all, he has been very visible in this, calling meetings, coming out and talking to you. the fact that he's not standing here in front of you, i can assure you does not mean he's pot inten not intense sly engaged in the debate. because of his responsibilities and what he thinks is most important, which is that we ensure that we don't do anything that hurts the economy and affects growth and job creation, so he is absolutely engaged. >> what does the president and officials here believe that they've achieved in this debt ceiling negotiations? the current bill that's being considered in the house and may

become a vehicle in the senate does not include tax revenues. does not include the size of the cuts that you would like, conditi does not include agreement on the entitlement changes. so what does the administration feel they've chiefed? >> we certainly haven't gotten an end result, but the president's primary goal is at the very least, and he said this several weeks ago, we make sure that we lift the cloud that's hanging over our economy and ensure that the united states does not default. there was a real and serious opportunity to do something far more significant. and as most of you here know, there was an immense amount of detail attached to the proposals that the president and the speaker were passing back and forth. there really is an opportunity here if there is political will, there is a real opportunity here to do something significant.

preliminarily hard, but significant. and politically hard for democrats and republicans. and i know that's what the american people want and expect. so however this short term process ends, if you will, before august 2nd, whatever compromise we reach to lift that cloud, make sure that we're locking in significant deficit reduction, this conversation will continue. because what -- in spite of the fact that the speaker walked away from the negotiations twice, they did outline together real areas of potential compromise for doing something significant, for tackling our deficits and debt in a way that would strengthen our economy, put our fiscal house in order, strengthen our sbilentitlement programs. and the president will keep fighting to do that. >> the only train heading into

the station is the boehner bill. >> that's false because the senate majority leader has a bill that significantly cuts deficit more, reduces spending more. you're right, it doesn't include tax increases, any revenues up front. and if you were a republican, you might say that looks like a into kro mxho compromise to me. the democrats have moved towards us on this. and the fact that it allows for this dollar for dollar requirement that is completely convective but creates a hostage situation, it even does that. as a republican, you might say i didn't get everything i wanted, but i got a lot and it's the right thing to do for the economy. what i know about the speaker's proposal in the house right now is that they're already i believe 55, 56, 57, 58 senators, democrats and republicans, who oppose it.

it ain't going anywhere in the senate. so we need to start doing things that actually canand be signed . >> so one of the trains headed into the station, the grand bargain is back on the table? >> the's never been off the table. >> you haven't spoken to the detail in several days. >> how do you know that? i'm not going to detail conversations or name individuals. all i'm saying is the president was at the table, the potential agreement was on the table, the grand bargain, and the speaker walked away from the table over an issue that can be resolved quite easily. if the political will is there, we can move back to those negotiations. if that isn't possible in the next five days, then there are ways that we can resolve this issue in a fair compromise that does the key things which is

lock in significant cuts and lift the cloud over our economy and ensure that we're not playing in this three ring circus if the next six months. >> are you just raising that as a hail mary pass or could you give us any indication that there's really any life at all in. >> i think i've indicated and i will say it explicitly that the chances aren't great that we end up between now and august 2nd with a sweeping grand compromise between the republicans and democrats that reduces the deficit $3 trillion to $4 trillion over ten year, includes balance -- that's not likely, but it's available if the political will is there. in the short it term there are other options to do what we need to do. the bare minimum. and then we can return in a serious way to tax reform and

sbil entitlement reform. >> they asked is the boehner bill better than nothing. you seemed to indicate it is not. so what is the president willing to put in these final hours if we're really in a desperate situation? >> i appreciate the question. the absent a willingness to do something big and historic on the part of the speaker and other republicans, our bill is -- we have indicated pretty strongly our support for senator reid's bill. he's willing to take the cuts put forward in senator boehner's bill and increase them dramatically. he's willing to allow for a mechanism which he thinks is very important if we can't get the grand bargain now but will

make it a time specific period where the committee would consider these options, he will hand oefver the reams of paper that committee that could form the basis of serious entitlement reform and tax reform in a bipartisan way and certainly is willing to consider measures that are enforcement mechanisms to move that process forward. what he is not willing to do is allow this obviously damaging situation, damaging to our economy, continue. people have asked about a previous vote, the fact that under previous presidents there have been numerous debts to raise the debt ceiling and while these votes were often unpleasant for congress, they were routine and we never had a situation like this where there was sometimes confrontations over this and i read the letter from president reagan, but the overwhelming number of times congress acted because this was

not a question, there wasn't this one for one thing, i'm going to blow up the economy if you will if you don't do what i want. it's just crazy. >> what i hear you saying is you want the rebill, but if the rebill is not able to get through the house and all you have to sign is some version of the boehner bill, are you now saying that he's still willing to veto it and basically all these awful consequences laid out, he's willing to let all that happen? >> i understand one of the thing that's come out is this desire to stand firm and then stick the president with default. that's one quote that came out of there. which is really incredibly juvenile, right? is this the game that the idea here is who can be blamed for doing serious harm for our economy? shouldn't the idea be what can we do to compromise to make sure that doesn't happen? the bill being considered in the house request not be an option because it will not pass the senate. so it's dead on arrival.

you don't know that until the votes happen that it won't emerge as a viable option. >> is boehner's may be the last thing standing. so you'll go default? >> we made clear how we feel about the boehner bill, the speaker boehner bill. because it is incredibly bad for the economy to have some kind of scircus go on in washington wit folks saying that we're going to force the default unless you come what we want, unless you enact spending cuts that were rejected already that are more draconian than are in the ryan bill, that would do significant damage to social security and medicare. force incredible cuts in clean energy and education and all the things that nothing close to a

majority assumsupported and cery not in the country, oi otherwis we'll just default. that's not a mechanism that's good for us, the economy, good for the american people. so that's what we oppose. beyond that, there are a lot of ways to get to compromise and that is what the american people i think really want us to to is to compromise. not stick to anybody, no score political victories and see who can be blamed for the economic damage that would be done by the fight here. people want these fights to resolve and they're happy to have hf have -- they vote every two year, every for years. they send representatives to congress with points of view and they want those points of view to be expressed. but in the end, they want the fights to resolve in good things, not bad things. >> at a candidate, president said if he's elected he'd put the health care negotiations on c-span. didn't happen, but he got health

care reform through. he later said there was a price to that, people felt like what's going on behind closed doors isn't so good for us, i think it hurt us politically. last couple days you seem to be arguing that it's better to do these thing behind closed doors because if it's all public, interest groups will blow it up. so do you have any regrets now that we're at this precipice that the president's put shall details on the table but if you had put more of the details on the table earlier, you might be further along in the process because it would have been more transparent? >> i appreciate the question and the answer is no because if the president had gone into a room and said here's my bipartisan compromise, guess who would not have been in the room with him. the republican leader. okay? and his interests in the end was to sit down with the speaker of the house and other republican leaders, majority leader cantor, as well. and try to work out a deal. and understanding that it this was politically hard and that

the only kind of compromise you could achieve would be one that was reached between the leaders and then presented to members of congress both parties to evaluate. and then those who were the architects of the deal could say here why we think it is not perfect but on balance the right thing to do. you're a vet veran reporter. we all understand how that work. if you layout a proposal that's extremely politically hard for your party whether a republican or democrat, it's like putting a clay pigeon in there. it's ensuring its defeat. it's incredibly realistic statement about how washington works. the fact of the matter now, and we've talked about this and others, there is no plan that has been offered, certainly in the last several months, about which more detail is known or

has been specified in the obama/boehner plan. okay? in terms of the cuts in domestic spending, both defense and nondefense discretionary, the savings coming out of entitlements programs including medicare, medicaid and social security, the kind of tax reform that was envisioned and the mechanisms by which tax revenue would be a hard thing for republicans to accept but was part of the deal that would be $800 billion that would be part of this proposal. everybody knows these details. it's not that people are hiding the details of the boehner plan or the reid plan. it's just there's a lot less to them than the plan that was worked on by the president and speaker of the house and now in the of a he math the details which have are well-known by so many people. >> you say everybody is on the hook for how they behavior on this plan. does default inevitably a rise

if the debt creeling kree ceili lifted? >> what happens if the debt ceiling is not lifted is that we lose our borrowing -- >> that's different from default. >> correct. i will at some point refer you to the rans crypt from credit. but what happens then is that we no longer have the ability to borrow money, but we have bills coming due and a limited amount of cash in our pockets. even as money flows in, there's no question because revenue flows in, it will not even come close to being enough to pay our bills. and that leads to a process of default. how quick that is depends on a lot of different factors and i refer to you treasury. but this is not -- the moment that we send a signal that the united states government has ceased -- no longer has the ability to borrow money but has bills that for every dollar we have in the bill we only have 60 cents to pay, you've created

essentially a crisis situation and what we've described as an impossible situation. that leads to horrendous choices about how we question about paying our bills and making choices wi choices about which bills to pay. >> i'll follow up on your question to eric, i thought it was interesting in the way you phrased it. >> if it was interesting, it was probably unintentional. >> reporter: last week or the week before you indicated if it was close to compromise, the president would go along with a short-term extension, and then you said that the basis of a compromise is already there, are we at a point where the president would agree to a short-term extension beyond august 2nd? >> we are not at that point. the fact is what a compromise would look like if you are lowering your sights and

accepting that you cannot get a grand bargain, it's clear, and it requires us to get through our system, and the votes on bills that can't pass, and then look at what can pass, and in the bipartisan way through the house and senate, on the simple measures out there, that involve basically targets for real numbers, and undskregs airy cut. we remain confident as these hours churn on, and the days go by that we will get to that point and a compromise will be reached. but we are not the only actor in this play, and we need to make sure that others understand the stakes and are willing to reach

that compromise, and we are confident they will. >> reporter: you say it's a matter of economics and not politics and you want to avoid another vote of raising the debt limit around christmas or whatever is it that the boehner plan would necessitate, but one of the agreements that has been on the table, and every compromise or plan out there is for this super committee to come out with the way it handles entitlements, and that's no garden party right there. that would be -- that would be an intensity bait around the same time, and that would speak to the government's ability in the way we handle debt -- >> no question. and we hope a bipartisan consensus and majority would be created out of that process. >> reporter: but it negates

everything -- >> not, default. we cannot link the successful passage of further spending reductions through that process for raising the debt limit for the reasons you just enumerated. we cannot hold the american economy hostage to that process. members of congress were sent here to make hard decisions and get things done, right? they should be able to do that. we are open to and have always been open to, and this was also part of some of the discussions the president had to mechanisms and enforcement mechanisms to force congress, whether it's through a committee or other means, to act on measures that would create more deficit reduction, and entitlement reform and tax reform being the toughest ones. we are very much in favor of that because we want the sword hanging over congress to make a decision and act. what that enforcement mechanism

should not and cannot be if you don't do think, we will not extend the borrowing of united states, and we go through this again, and the uncertainty it creates, and we have been told is the number one thing that affects -- that dampens economic growth or affects private businesses about decisions in how they are will hire. let's get rid of it and move on. >> reporter: two quick ones. >> yes? >> reporter: isn't it too late to wait for monday for people to understand -- people get their -- >> i have exhausted my ability to talk about that.

i just refer you to treasury. >> reporter: isn't it just the fact that we may not know until monday -- >> again, i just refer you to the treasury department for that. >> reporter: on the bargaining agreement, you said today and last week that this is easily solvable. can you talk about what you mean by easily solvable? >> the differences that remain on the table could be resolved. and what the president, i believe, said to you from here on friday is that he never all . and that's $400 billion we're talking about, and that is true with the last-minute insertion, where they say let's go back to triggers, and the hypocrisy of

that, besides being obviously political is that that actually increases the deficit, right? as cbo scored, the individual mandate reduces spending and the deficit. but these were not -- these were things we can talk about. you can't live with this and we can't live with this, and we have done so much negotiating here and we're so close, let's get to the end here, and we can do that, and what happened was there was not a willingness to do that. i think i made clear that we are willing to talk about that. >> i have about two more minutes because i have to go and see the boss. >> reporter: speaking of the boss, has he consulted with other presidents who have faced this same thing? >> i apologize, and i did not get an answer to that question. >> reporter: the president said the other night the whole world is watching and there are many concerns abroad. why is the president not taking

this as a security issue and taking it into his hands and take care of the issue. >> because congress has the power to raise the debt ceiling. it is congress that has to act to insure that congress pays its bills, or the bills that congress ran up are paid. that's the process and the country we live in. the last one. >> reporter: why doesn't the president call everybody back to the table and get them back here? >> i don't have any meeting announcements to make. >> he has been answering questions for 35 to 40 minutes. jake carney warning that this is not resolved in the next six days it could mean the u.s. could no longer pay its bills and would eventually go into default. he said everybody is on the

hook, and politics is part of there and generally congress will wait until the last minute to get something done, but he is confident they will get something done. i will bring in congressional and political correspondent joe johns, and you and i, we have covered washington for years here. i don't think that i have ever seen something, even when you talk about the economic stimulus package and health care that has come to this point where the stakes are so high and this town is so divided. clearly carney was trying in some ways to put the spin, the white house spin on this, saying, look, don't waste your time, republicans, to throw out these proposals that are dead on arrival. what is he talking about? speaker boehner's plan. what is taking place? is carney right? is it actually doomed to fail? should they move on and try something else at this point? >> suzanne, a lot of people have actually said that, including the majority leader, harry reid, and now the truth is there is a

lot of similarity of sort of items and ideas in what the senate is talking about and what the house is talking about, but the thing that is different in the boehner plan is this two-step deal, where you work something out for now and then come back a little bit before the election, or sometime down in december, and go through this process again. the democrats say that's unacceptable and risky for the economy, and generally just causes problems. so that's the kind of thing that they really have to fine tune and figure out what they can do to change it or whatever. but there are similarities, there. a couple other notes, too. we have been trying to get a feel for what the vote counters are saying on the hill, and we have gotten an earlier indication from republicans that they were feeling pretty strong, and there's a lot of confidence that they are going to get a lot

of republican votes, and there is a report out there from the hill newspaper now that speaker boehner himself has weighed in and said in fact that he does not have the votes yet but is trying to get there. so it sounds like a work in progress on the hill. meanwhile, as you know, over in the senate side, they have said that it's dead on arrival. there are some things that they need to fix and not a lot of time to do it, suzanne. >> is anything happening? is there any progress being made? that's all the american people want to know. are these guys working to get something done on the hill? >> i listened to members of congress coming out in the basement of the u.s. capitol, and they send us a closed-circuit tv of what people were saying, and it was clear from reading between the lines from the comments of a couple members of, who, you know, could have been hard lined or staunch

a couple weeks ago about not raising the debt ceiling, that they are willing to try and get some arrangement with the white house. they are not saying, you know, it's my way or the highway anymore, and once this thing hits the senate, i don't want to talk about it. clearly there is much more of a bargaining mood than there has been over the last several days. >> all right, joe, that's good, and i want to bring in john avalon, and we're running out of time here, john, and you have been very good about really expressing what so many people have been saying, which is eventually the outrage and the frustration about what is taking place on capitol hill here. are they at the point where it's too late? >> well, it's not too late, but we continue to pedal closer towards the cliff. the overwhelming atmosphere of uncertainty that exists in washington right now and the chaos that exists within the

republican conference. speaker boehner is still trying to get the votes that he needs for his plan, and harry reid is saying it's doa in the senate. the competing partisan plans is where you begin in negotiation and not where you end. and there is no sign of a clear path where you seriously deal with the deficit and the debt and the american people are getting more frustrated and the markets are getting spooked, too. they are seeing maybe there's nothing you would assume. >> alison, how are the markets reacting to this? is it true what jay carney said where if they do not agree on the agreement the u.s. will no longer be able to pay its bills. >> first, about the market, we have a decent home sales report and a decent jobs report, so we're in the plus column, but don't let the numbers fool you.

investors are still anxious but not panicking today, and they are buying the beaten down stocks. the dow dropped almost 200 points yesterday. you have to remember that it would not happen the second after midnight, let's say on august 2nd after this time passes, and it shows as of august 15th, the u.s. would be on the hook for a $29 billion coupon payment, and it's when the u.s. would miss this kind of payment where there would be a default. >> a bit of breaking news. new jersey governor, chris christie is having trouble breathing. we are getting a statement. governor christie is having

trouble breathing, and the governor is extremely grateful for the quality of care he is receiving this morning and has nothing but praise for the world class doctors and nurses and staff. that is news we're getting here, chris christie taken to the hospital after having difficulty with breathing, and that is in line with somebody dealing with asthma. and then want to bring in our own barbara starr, who has a story of a texas soldier of having bomb-making materials near ft. hood, texas. what do we know about that? >> a matter of concern to the u.s. military and local law enforcement. 21-year-old army private 1st class abdo was arrested outside

ft. hood texas. it all came because of a local tip-off from a gun shop owner, and he was acting suspicious, and they stopped him and when they searched his hotel room, they found weapons, and 18 pounds of sugar, and a pressure cooker, and ammunition magazines, and officials tell us it could be construed as bomb-making material. they know of no direct threat of ft. hood, texas, but ft. hood, texas is always of concern and sensitivity because in 2009 there was a mass shooting there, and 12 killed and 31 wounded by a psychiatrist. we're told they may face federal charges an soon as today. they are looking into any

evidence they can find any threats he might have made against ft. hood. at this time officials are not revealing any public threat, and the army officials are saying ft. hood is safe at this hour. other stories we're following now. in new york, a public appearance this hour by the hotel made that accused dominic strauss-kahn of sexual assault. she is visiting a christian center to thank her supporters. and prosecutors are deciding whether or not to proceed with the case against strauss-kahn. they met for more than seven hours yesterday. and warren jeffs has dismissed hi defense attorneys and wants to represent himself in his sexual assault trial. he said if he does not represent himself, true justice cannot be served. he has pleaded not guilty to

bigamy and sexual assault of a child. in norway, an end for the search. police have now confirmed 68 deaths and they say there are no more victims. ahead of the shootings, a bombing in oslo killed eight people. dramatic scene just moments after last week's bombing in oslo. all of it captured on camera by a norwegian man. he was driving in a tunnel when the bomb went off, and he got out of his car and turned on his camera, and the scene eerily quiet for the first few minutes. >> people started screaming, and they lost their hearing because of the bomb, and so they could not hear, and some of them were

not able to walk. in south korea, the heaviest rain in a century. you can hear the water rushing and the panic from people there as they are swept away. at least 49 people killed, and the rain, it keeps falling. some areas around seoul are getting two inches an hour. most of the deaths have been in landslides. ground zero workers are furious over the decision by the government to not cover cancer treatment for responders that got sick after 9/11. last night frustrated cancer payments sounded off about what happened to them after the dust had settled. >> i want to show you something.

sometimes i have to eat through this tube. because the muscles in my neck don't work to swallow. i breathe and talk through this tube. and i am the lucky one. here is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. today's question, is the tea party helping or hurting the country? carol costello joins us from washington. carol, great question here. a lot of people are looking at what is taking place in d.c., and just wondering, are we at the pres miss? >> ask speaker john boehner who is calling the shots in the debt ceiling debate, and it would be the tea party. its members told boehner they don't like to raise the debt

ceiling, and some don't want to raise the debt limit under any circumstances period. michele bachmann leads the tea party caucus. >> washington has their fingers in their ears right now. they are not listening to the american people. that's why i am adamant. i will vote no on increasing the debt ceiling. we need sanity back in washington. >> but wait a minute, a cnn orc poll shows 1% of voters show they are active members of the tea party, and only 27% say they support the tea party,et minority rules, and they need to pass a debt ceiling, and they need those votes to pass it, and everybody is fighting among themselves. >> that is not fair to the american people, to hold out and say we won't agree to raising

the debt limit until we pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. it's unfair, and it's bizarro. >> consider this, though. tea party support yushz say there would be no debt limit negotiation going on if not for the tea party, and didn't voters yearn for lawmakers to stand up. so the "talk back" question of the day, is the tea party helping or hurting the country? i will read some of your comments later this hour. here is a rundown for some of the stories we're covering in the next hour. does the hotel maid's decision to speak out help or hurt her allegations of rape? and then a teen that came face-to-face with a bear tells his story from the hospital bed.

>> i can remember the moment when it bit down on my head, and i was thinking, i'm going to die. i kept saying, i'm going to die. i'm going to die. then a survivor of last week's deadly bombing in oslo releases eerie video of the moments after the bomb hit. also, the owner of a solar panel company tells me why he is angry that congress can't come to a compromise on the debt deal. why this former hacker has been hired by the federal government. >> good hackers think on both sides. how would you attack and how would you defend. the debate is how can you become a good defender if you don't now how to attack. how can you become a good police officers if you don't know how criminals think?

the hotel made that accused strauss-kahn of sexual assault is speaking out publicly this hour. i believe we're looking at live pictures here out of brooklyn. prosecutors are trying to decide whether to pursue the case against strauss-kahn. he is the former head of the international monetary fund. sun sunny hostin is with us from new york. you are a legal contributor to "in session," our sister station on trutv. do you think this helps or hurts to make her case public and to take it to the public, essentially? >> you know, i think the conventional wisdom on that was no it did not help her case at all. you never want to have somebody

that you are going to put on the witness stand to give a lot of statements to the public, because those statements can be used against them in court and you can be impeached with those statements if anything you say in court is different from all the different versions you have given to people before. but in this case it's a strategy that perhaps that has helped her, because there has been so much coverage of what she allegedly said at various times that was pretty negative, actually, and my understanding is that yesterday she met with prosecutors, almost a marathon meeting, almost eight hours, and during that meeting, she went over the tape-recorded statements, a tape-recorded conversation with a friend of her that is being held in arizona immigration detention center, and what has been reported that she said, don't

worry, this guy has a lot of money and i know what i am doing, and the language i believe that the conversation took place in was a west african language. her attorney is now saying that that statement that she allegedly made was really taken out of context, and while she made those statements at various times during the conversation, she didn't make them all at once, and so perhaps now her, i guess, plan to try and push the prosecution's hand to let her have her day in court may have been successful. >> sunny, in most sexual assault cases the accuser's identity is protected and hidden, and this is really completely the opposite that is going on. could her strategy pave the way for a totally different approach on how sexual assault victims treat their cases? >> yeah, i used to prosecute the

victims feel a tremendous shame and reluctant to go forward and be identified as a victim of sexual assault, and so i think this could pave for victims to come forward. they are the victims. i know there is a feeling of shame, but they don't need to be shamed, because it's the defendant's and perpetrators that need to be shamed. your point is a good one that perhaps that will be the out come of this very brave woman, if in fact she was attacked, and came forward. >> if i could turn the page, warren jeffs dismissed his defense attorneys and wants to represent himself in the sexual assault child, and says if not true justice could not be served. is that a good move by this guy, do you think? >> there's an old adage, and he who represents himself has a

fool for a client. i have tried cases against defendant's who have represented themselves and there's a reason why people go to law school and become trial attorneys. they are trained to do that. this is not a good move by any stretch of the imagination. i don't know that it's unexpected, because he has fired several attorneys and made the complaint that nobody can serve him well. not unexpected, but pretty foolish, i think. >> we are glad you went to law school and we have you to explain all of this. thank you and we appreciate it. >> thank you. just ahead, a teenager who survived being mauled by a bear says he's lucky to be alive. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

gridlock in congress. skiddish markets and dark warnings about what could happen if the debt krael something not raised. the united states has been here before and while it has never failed to raise it's borrowing limits, some folks are asking why do we have one in the first plac pla place? carl azuz is here to explain it. >> in practice, it has not limited anything. when they got to the debt limit, they just went ahead and raised it. >> how long have we had the debt limit in place? has the spending because of the debt limit changed at all? >> you would have to go back to 1917. we're looking at world war i.

and before that, congress had to approve any instance the government had for borrowing. world war i came around and congress said you can spend what you need to spend without us approving everything, and we will put a limit on it and don't go over that limit. >> has charging changed at all because of the limit? >> no. it has gone from $395 billion to the $14.3 trillion we have now. it's not specific to anyone administration or one party, but it's how we roll. what is interesting to see in the debt is if somebody can reduce it pm

a bear mauled him in the alaskan wilderness. six other teens ran into trouble while hiking, as they startled a mother bear and her cubs. it was shear panic. i remember running down the hill and seeing a huge grizzly bear, and it tackled me. i could remember that it attacked me twice. i don't remember which time it actually bit me or scratched me or what, but i can remember this moment when it bit down on my head, and i am thinking, i'm going to die. i kept saying, i'm going to die, i'm going to die, i'm going to die. >> texans are getting ready for tropical storm don. preparations are under way on galveston island. don is expected to make landfall

on saturday or late friday. it's possibly a weak hurricane. fallout from the debt crisis reaches far beyond washington. we will talk about a small business owner that is worried about how it could affect his own company. and then cover stories around the world, we also get to see great tips and get tips on restaurants and hotels and travel spots. this week's travel insider, we go to a mexican restaurant in seattle that rents kayaks. >> reporter: i am patrick oppmann in seattle. you don't have to go far to find amazing views of the water, whether it's puget sound. you have incredible water views just about everywhere you look. i am at a mexican restaurant, and you eat upstairs and then downstairs they rent out kayaks. it's a unique way to get a

different view of the city. as you paddle along you see the history of seattle and go under the old bridges, and then it dawns on you that to get from that side of seattle, to this side of seattle, you had to paddle. now, people are a little bit more remote. they see the water from afar and you think everything is great on the water, and that it looks good to have it there but they are not experiencing being on the water. >> reporter: for $15 an hour you can rent a kayak. and they also have tours that can you go through, and on nights there is a full moon, they have paddles. you have amazing deals of the space needle, and can you go and see some of the house boats that were made famous by the movie "sleepless in seattle."

you get views from the water that you can not get any other way. don't miss the experience of going out on a kayak if you are here in seattle. [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... 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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just a reminder, we're watching for any sign of movement in the debt ceiling standoff. the house votes today on speaker boehner's debt plan. he is trying to shore up enough support from fellow republicans for his plan to pass. but senate democrats say they will vote against it if it makes it through the house. we are following the anxiety on wall street over the debt stand off. stocks are higher after the dow plunged almost 200 points yesterday. it's not just mortgage or car loan rates that could be affected, but the debt lock

could hurt a struggling job market. poppy harlow joins us to explain that side. some of the ceos of major banks have reached out to the white house and congress this morning. what did they say about the affects of a default or downgrade of the u.s. credit rating. what is going to happen? >> the words are pretty stern. i will read them to you in a moment. it's interesting that you are seeing this 11th hour ahead of th that, you are seeing people reaching out and saying this is no joke and you have to act and act now. a letter was issued from the ceos of major banks including goldman sachs and citigroup, and i want to read some of the letter to president obama. the consequences of inaction for our economy, the already struggling job market, and the financial circumstances of american businesses and families, and for america's

global economic leadership would be very grave. they say grave consequences if we do not see a deal reached quickly on the debt ceiling. the business environment, read through the lines, that means jobs, and good-paying american jobs. i spoke to the ceo of one of the world's -- one of the world's biggest software company, and here is his take on the lack of a deal in washington. take a listen. >> congress should come together and resolve this, raise the debt ceiling, do something on the core side of the equation so the country can get back on with its business and settle down the markets all around the world. so goes the u.s. in this regard and so goes a lot of other economies as well. we have a delicate economic balance and so the u.s. has to play a role.

>> every american watching this right now that cares about the job market or is looking for a job should care what the business leaders say. they are the heads of the companies that do the hiring. they are calling on the congress and president to reach some deal before the deadline. >> it's not just the ceos of debt companies worried about the debt crisis, but there are small businesses concerned about what it could be for them. bill snap joins us. this will impact small businesses. your job is to provide solar panels to military bases so they can be greener. >> that's right. >> what does it mean to you? >> it's important, because in the short term, the budgets for my business have been allocated, but in the long term, and the long term is defined as six

months or longer, and that could be put in jeopardy. what is happening right now in small business is there is fewer opportunities, and there's a spike in people who are going after those opportunities, and so it's tough out there. it's -- it's difficult right now. >> is it tough to get a loan? is it tough to actually make sure that you are meeting your needs, your clients' needs? >> you got it. i think what we're seeing nationwide with small businesses and they're banking counterparts is that there is a withdrawal in the liquidity of the system. what that means for the guy on the streets for small businesses like mine is it's not tougher to get a loan, but banks are often calling loans quicker, and for private investment, and small businesses they use private sources of capital, and that's also different. they are putting their money on the sideline. >> you could take another hit because you deal with military bases, and we will see

significant cuts on the side of defense? >> that's right. there's a mandate right now that has been in place for a couple years that the military, by 2025, the four branches of the military will have 25% renewable energy, and for my business, where we put large-scale solar panels up on military bases, that's very difficult, because if they have those cuts, then we will see our incremental business shrink, and that's hard for me because i am trying to plan a budget for hiring personnel. >> bill, explain this to us. a lot of people have been talking about if the u.s. credit rating is downgraded and more expensive to take out money, what does that mean for you? >> well, i think what happens, if the credit rating is downgraded, when i go out and get a piece of business, i have to buy inventory, and inventory is expensive, and i have to go

to a bank or lending institution or somebody that will loan that gap money for me in order to do what i need to do. what happens is, if that -- if the u.s. credit rating gets downgraded, you know, the u.s. commercial banks are sitting on $1 trillion of treasuries. the government will tell those p banks they need to put more cash aside and that means they cannot loan that money out and that has a direct impact on small business on main street and i take a hit. >> we hope that doesn't happen. please come back with us next week when we hit the deadline and find out what is going to happen. there's a whole bunch of uncertainty, and nobody knows, and it could be a difficulty for you and a lot of other folks. so next week we expect you back here. >> thank you. dramatic scenes in oslo, norway, after last friday's

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we're following a developing story. the motel maid who accused the former head of the i'm mf, dominique strauss-kahn of sexual assault is speaking before a church group in brooklyn, and she addressed them. i want to play a little sound, a speech that she gave to the group of supporters. >> we crying every day. can't sleep. me and my family, we are going

to relax. >> that is the hotel made who charged dominic strauss-kahn about her sexual assault, and she is trying to talk about her ordeal to drum up support to those that listen to her case. and it's unclear whether that case will go forward against dominique strauss-kahn, but she is making her case in public. we have another developing story we're following here. this is out of egypt. we are getting news now that the former president of egypt, mubarak, his trial will start next week on charges of corruption and ordering police to kill anti-government protesters. that trial is going to open wednesday at the cairo convention hall, and that is according to egypt's justice

minister. the sentence is a possible death sentence if convicted of unleashing the police on the demonstrations that drove them out of office back in february. and the human rights group, amnesty international estimated at least 843 people were killed and more than 6,000 wounded during the up rising that lasted three weeks and toppled the mubarak regime. they depend on social security and medicaid, and now seniors are worried about cuts to those programs because of the debt crisis. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the cc. and every volkswagen includes scheduled carefree maintenance. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the volkswagen cc sport for just $289 a month. ♪ visit vwdealer.com today.

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debt limit and the standoff has a lot of us worried about what is going to happen to mortgage rates, and car loans and our 401(k)s, but many seniors are worried about cuts to programs they depend on every day. sandra, i can only imagine what people are saying about this standoff that is taking place in washington. >> reporter: yes, suzanne, seniors here say they are scared and worried if they cut medicaid or social security, that will affect them. we have young seniors here. you say you are watching the political debate play out, and

you say you are angry. how angry does it make you? >> makes me want to hit the streets, because what they tell us is not the way it always is. i am tired of the political games and tired of them treating the american people like they don't have brains at all. >> how would it impact you if the cuts are enacted? >> we won't be paying our rent and you will have more homeless people. we will become almost a third-world nation. it's by the corporations and by the corporations and for the corporations, and people don't seem to matter anymore. washington is going to take care of washington and the heck with the rest of us. >> mildred, how would these proposed cuts or if you don't get the social security, what does it mean for you? >> i would be suffering with the

h, and h. homeless and hungry. play with the parks, not social security. i worked years and years to save money to live off of when i become a senior. what do i have to look forward to now. >> reporter: ernie, you have been campaigning for these seniors and what are you doing to fight? >> we have a national campaign called to protect seniors, and our message is don't cut social security or medicare as part of any deal. aarp members worked their entire lives to earn these benefits. we are asking our members, and all the public, to let their congressman know to not make deals that cut social security and medicare. >> thank you so much. they have a petition, and a lot of signatures, and people are signing to make sure the representatives in washington

are listening, but that's the big question, suzanne. >> it's excellent when you hear, you know, how this is going to impact folks and the kinds of feelings and emotions that they have about this, and clearly it's beyond washington. as you say, the ugliness of the sausage is being made, but people outside of washington is wondering what is going to happen next. we want to take our viewers to washington. we just heard from the democratic leadership, harry reid, who was essentially telling us that after the house takes up the boehner plan, which is expected if it passes in the house to move on to the senate, that the senate -- it will not pass in the senate. that's the conventional wisdom out of washington, and that leads us back to square one unless there is another deal that everybody can agree on that is on the table. it's a lot of back and forth. we're looking at democrat shuck schumer there speaking as well, and it's all part of the process here that eventually to get some sort of resolution or solution

to this, and it's far from certain whether or not that will happen by the deadline of august 2nd. we are getting a lot of reaction to today's "talk back" question, and we asked is the tea party helping or hurting the country? jerry young says the tea party is ruining our country. it's good to have ylz but not when it's hurts the rest of us. democrats should learn to stick to their guns. we want to give you freemany advice from the cnn help desk. >> time for the help desk where we get answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, jack oughter, and ryan mac, the president of optimum capital management. first question comes from eric in california. he writes i have a cash rewards credit card which i use to pay for everything. i always pay it off within a week or so and never leave a balance when my statement comes around. can this hurt my credit score?

>> no, eric, you rock. if we all followed eric's example the country would be in better shape. keep on doing it. the credit card companies don't like him. he is not giving them any interest rate love. stick with it and keep paying it off. at some point could you have a blank credit score because you never borrowed any money? yes. but that is so small next to the dangers of carrying too much debt, so keep doing what you are doing. >> julie writes i am newly married my taxable income is $50,000, and my husband's is $275,000, can i contribute to a roth ira under my name if we filing separately? >> no. you are eligible for $166, and $179 plus you are not eligible

for contributions. if she is filing by herself, she is eligible. a they need to make sure and sit down and talk about their finances. how much is he going to contribute to the bills, and they are newly married and a lot of conversations have to be had. >> before you walk down the aisle? >> right. >> and if you want a question answered by our experts, send us an e-mail here. can i have some ice cream, please ? no, it's just for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah, but i'm new, too. umm... he's new... er... than you.

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you have been sounding off on our "talk back" question. carol costello has the responses. >> my facebook page is on fire. the democrats and neocons are caught with their pants down and the tea party is the only thing stopping them from having the ability to agreeing in the congress. and this from karen. hurting? those people are idiots starting with michele bachmann. and this from tim. they are held bent to take this country down just to make obama fail and prevent his re-elect n re-election. the tea bagger par key is just a bunch of racists and bagets with no clue. be careful what you wish for. gone in 2012. this from fran. the tea party is doing nothing to help anything. they think they know what is good for the american people, but what they want is their own way and the rest of american be

dammed. wait, that sounds like congress, too. thank you for your comments. continue the conversation. facebook.com/car facebook.com/carolcnn. we will have more after this. i'm here in the downtown area where the crowd is growing. [ female announcer ] watching calories at breakfast never tasted this sweet... i'll go get my bowl. [ female announcer ] ...or this huge. new fiber one 80 calories. yes, you can actually love breakfast. 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.

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when you hear the words computer hacker, they are usually connected with something negative.

but we talk with a hacker with a different story. >> reporter: he has been a self proclaimed hacker for more than 20 years. when he was 13 he acquired a device like this and figured out how to make free long distance phone calls from any line. it was called phone freaking. >> back then the phone network was the biggest network, the biggest computer network, and you could issue commands to the phone network and it would do things. >> reporter: as he came of age in the '90s, he realized people like himself could earn a real living helping countries protect networks as they started storing valuable information on the internet. as the company started to put real assets on there -- >> that's when it changed. people were so stroked and excited they could do it for a living, they went that direction. >> reporter: that represents the mass ma voer tea of hackers,

people with valuable school sets doing work for the greater good. >> the debate is how can you become a good defender if you don't know how to attack. >> reporter: his evolution is not like other hackers. sean parker, the cofounder of napster, he is now better known as the first president of facebook, helping mark zuckerberg launch a global phenomenon. >> he figured out how to unlock an iphone and allow it to be used with other phone carriers. the young prodigy himself is now working at facebook. >> i think hacker is a adjective that describes a skill