and that's all i ever really wanted to be. >> i don't think i'd like you as much if you were perfect, george. i quite like the imperfect george lopez. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> i appreciate you very much. thank you. that was a lot of fun for me. >> oh, well, thank you. of course, george's show "lopez tonight" weeknights at midnight eastern on our sister network tbs. tbs. that's all for us tonight. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com tonight, america speaks. >> let's get out of this mess that we're in. regardless of who got us here. >> just get it done. hello, washington. are you listening? >> if the president decides to reach an agreement with us, the democrats most of them will fall in line. >> guess not. >> caving in your [ bleep ]. >> that's a cop. think that's bad? same cop, another stop.

another bleeping rant on a citizen. >> i'll kill every one of you mother [ bleep ]. >> there's more where that came from. now the citizens fight back. >> as we explore our new segment cnn anchor don lemon appears not to care for cnn. >> what is jon stewart talking about and why did stephen colbert interrupt one of my broadcasts. >> i'm in the middle of a broadcast. >> who isn't, sanjay. >> i'll explain that and more in the news right now. >> good evening, i'm don lemon. u.s. senators are on the job. the high stakes standoff over raising the nation's debt ceiling has lawmakers working this very hour. as of now, they don't agree with they're making any progress. tonight cnn has learned that mitch mcconnell is in direct contact with the white house and democratic leaders in congress met face to face with the president late this afternoon. but just a short time ago on the senate floor, senator harry reid insisted that claims a deal

could be near are simply not true. >> today the speaker republican leader held a press conference to announce they're in talks with the president and that a bargain to raise the debt ceiling is in the works and is close. mr. president, members of the senate, that's not true. >> i just spent two hours with the president and vice president and leader pelosi. and it's fair for me to say that the engagement there is not in any meaningful way. the speaker and republican leader should know merely saying you have an agreement in front of a few television cameras doesn't make it so. >> the only way we're going to get an agreement before tuesday is to have an agreement with the president of the united states. the only person in america of the 307 million of us who can sign something into law. and i'm more optimistic than my friend the majority leader. we've both talked to the president today. talked to the vice president several times. i think we've got a chance of

getting there. >> well, house members are gone for the day, but the senate is in session. and they could be there deep into the night. you're looking at live pictures now. right to our congressional correspondent kate bolduan. what is the latest there at the capital and does it look like senators will be casting votes after midnight? >> at the moment, any are heading towards that. i can tell you what we've been seeing all day long and you perfectly set it up right there. a lot of what we've seen today is mixed signals really coming from key negotiators in whatever kind of end game compromise will eventually come out. mitch mcconnell, the top republican in the senate key to any end game compromise announced today he is now in direct talks with the white house, speaking directly with the president as well the vice president today. he said he's been speaking with the white house all afternoon laying out what they can accept in terms of an eventual compromise. but almost as quickly as that happened, we heard from the top democrat in the senate, harry

reid had had just come from the meeting at the white house with the president saying that if they were not any closer to an agreement. so the we've been obviously tracking that throughout the day. they're saying that publicly. what we know is going on behind the scenes is there are negotiations going on behind the scenes as they are clearly working understandably feverishly to try to reach a compromise to beat the deadline. as it stands right now, the senate is heading towards a 1:00 a.m. vote late this evening which would be the first test vote on the proposal to raise federal debt ceiling put forth by senate majority leader harry reid. unless something changes, he would have to overcome a 60-vote fill busser threshold and it does not appear that he has that vote. it's a test vote and is he moving forward with it at this point. >> listen, as we continue on, i want to tell you senator harry reid is on the floor right now. we're going to listen in to him to see if he says anything and if he does indeed talk about

coming to a vote later on this evening. so again, you say that it doesn't appear he has the votes. what happens if he doesn't get enough votes here? >> there's a lot of confusing kind of procedural procedures you have to go through in the senate especially. if he does not overcome this vote, then the legislation doesn't go anywhere. there are a few test votes you have to overcome that would be lining us up if it would pass this vote, there would be another vote monday morning as the schedule is told to me right now, and then it would be for final pass and, if you will on tuesday. but it has to first overcome this vote to go any further. right now, it does not look like he has the votes. just yesterday, 43 of the 47 republican senators came out opposed to the bill. >> yeah. kate bolduan, stand by. it's going to be a long night for all of us and the folks working there in washington. our brianna keilar is on duty for us tonight, as well.

republican leaders say they are in contact with the white house. what can you tell us about that? >> well, what we do know is very vague, don, i have to tell you that. the white house at this late hour isn't silent. i can tell you that, but it's sort of unclear exactly what this means. we know back and forth is going on between the white house and capitol hill. while we heard harry reid being kind of pessimistic on the outcome perhaps of some sort of deal here imminently, we've also heard from the senate minority leaderer mitch mcconnell some more optimism. the word from the white house is they have been very, very silent today. but again these discussions continuing to go on. and we're certainly waiting just because we know that there are these discussions to see if perhaps something could happen tonight, don. we know that it could be possible, and i hate to be so darn vague about it, but it's also true that it might not be possible this evening although

there is a whole flurry of activity that we haven't seen recently going on following these flurry of votes on the hill today and last night. >> brianna, listen, did you say the white house has not been silent about this or what are they saying? >> what i mean is, people have not gone to bed here. people here are working. there's discussions going on behind the scenes. but in terms of details of what it all means, you know, it's very vague, don. we're still kind of waiting to see exactly what the indication -- >> thank you. we're going to go to senator harry reid now. >> mr. president, there are negotiations going on at the white house now on a solution that will avert a default on thefation's debt. there are many elements to be finalized. and there is still a distance to go before any arrangement can be completed. but i believe we should give

everyone at much room as possible to do their work. i've spoken to the white house quite a few times this evening. they've asked me to give everyone as much time as possible to reach an agreement if one can be reached. for that reason, we'll holdover the vote till tomorrow at noon to give them more time to talk. in fact, we'll come in at noon and have the vote at 1:00. i'm glad to see this move toward cooperation and compromise. i'm confident that a final agreement that will adopt the senate's long-term approach rather than the short-term band-aid proposed by the house of representatives will move forward. there can be no short-term agreement and i'm optimistic that there would be no short-term arrangement whatsoever. i'm also confident that reasonable people from both parties should be able to reach an agreement and i believe we should give them time to do so. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion on the reid motion with amendment number 589 occur tomorrow. sunday, july 31st, at 1:00 p.m.

further that the rule 22 be waived. >> is there objection? hearing none, it is so ordered. >>. >> clerk will call the roll. >> mr. akaka. >> that is senator harry reid asking that the vote be put off until tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. he said the senate should come in tomorrow at -- convene at noon, at noon tomorrow so that they can vote at 1:00 p.m. our brianna keilar is standing by. right now, i want to bring in senator kay bailey hutchison, republican from texas. thank you for joining us. you heard what senator harry reid had to say. earlier today the majority leader mitch mcconnell read a letter signed by 43 republicans including you pledging to oppose reid's bill. has anything changed your mind in the hours leading up to the vote on it and listening to him moments ago?

>> not at all. think the reason he pulled that down is that there are 43 committed against his proposal. however, i think what he's saying is that he hopes that we can start having a vote on something that is an agreement between both the white house and congress, both sides of the rotunda, and he wants to not have a repudiation of his proposal and instead go on to one that might have a chance to pass. >> okay. okay. let's talk about this. today "the new york times," senator, put you on a list of republicans most likely to approve a compromise bill. you have been vocal about the need to compromise. here's what you said on the senate floor on thursday. >> the senate majority leader and the house speaker have put forward plans. i believe that we must find a

common ground between the house and the senate with the proposals that have been put out. >> so have you actively been pushing for compromise in these proceedings today? >> oh, i certainly have been actively pushing for us to come to an agreement that will lift the debt ceiling with real tax cuts -- not tax cuts hopefully, there would be some cuts in the tax provisions through reform. but spending cuts as well as bringing the debt ceiling, lifting it dollar for dollar at least. >> let me ask you this, senator. you're not running for re-election in 2012. so the political pressure is essentially off. does that is free you up to compromise in a way that many of your colleagues won't or can't? >> no, i don't think so. i'm not going to compromise, for instance, would not vote for lifting the debt ceiling without real cuts in spending that would

assure that we're not going to have to just lift the debt ceiling and get further into debt without a way forward to cut back on spending. i would not do that whether i'm running again for re-election or not because i do think it's wrong for our country and would send a terrible signal to the markets. >> okay. if we're talking about compromise here, which most of the polls show americans want, they want compromise, is there in your summation any way that the tea party or republicans can further compromise? >> absolutely. i do think that if we can come together on real cuts, which i believe there has been a groundwork laid to do, that everyone or not everyone but certainly 90% of the senate and the house would support lifting the debt ceiling as long as there are cuts commensurate with that. i do think that is an area where we can come together, and it is the fallback position i would hope that we would go forward then in the next six months,

which is in both the house and senate plans, and come up with further cuts in entitlements and reform in taxes that would produce revenue the old-fashioned way which is by spurring the economy and putting people back to work. >> senator, i thank you for coming on and not giving talking points. i appreciate that. i have to go because we need to get to developing news with kate boldu bolduan. if you can answer quickly, revenues as you call them or taxes off the table? >> new taxes are off the table. tax reform is not off the table if we lower the rates and put people back to work and get more revenue because there are fairer and simpler tax codes that people can understand and will encourage employers to hire people back. >> senator kay bailey hutchinson, i appreciate it. i want to go to kate bolduan. you have been working your sources and getting information.

you heard harry reid there right after i spoke with you earlier. what have you learned. >> for viewers, we can note that the at this late stage in the game anytime one of these key players talks, we listen very carefully to their words. i'll say at this point, especially as we heard some pessimism in the voice of harry reid earlier today, this does appear to be a positive step. i don't want to go as far as to say you know, very, very si significant. why don't we listen to that one more time, don. >> i've spoken to the white house. quite a few times this evening. they've asked to give everyone as much time as possible to reach an agreement if one can be reached. for that reason, we'd holdover the vote till tomorrow at noon. >> he also said i think right after that, don, we should give everyone as much room as possible to do something along the lines to do the work that they need to do. so clearly, to me, this appears

to be a positive step. he's holding the vote which he could have had it this evening at 1:00 in the morning as you and i discussed. he thinks he wants to give people more time, more room if you will to do the work they're doing, possibly obviously continue these negotiations and continue these talks. the senate is now adjourned, going to be back in at noon with a vote scheduled at 1:00 p.m. it will be very interesting to see how things develop in the morning before they come back in for this vote. but this appears like it could be a positive step. especially coming from the man who earlier today seemed very clear that he did not think they were any closer to an agreement. it seems at least, if i could be so bold to say he is leaving the door open, that they are negotiating. >> he is a bit more optimistic, was pessimistic earlier. thank you very much. earlier i discussed the debt stalemate with the senator ben cardin of maryland. he had strong warnings for his republican colleagues as he has strong concerns about the

consequences of a potential default. >> also bringing us dangerously close to a national default. they've already hurt our country as far as our reputation is concerned. so look, i think what they're asking for is unrealistic. a constitutional amendment that won't work the way that they would like to see it done. additional cuts in spending programs that affect our most vulnerable. look, we need a compromise. and what we're seeing so far come out of the house of representatives from the republicans is that they're not interested in compromise. so let's sit down and work this out. quite frankly, i think that's going to happen in the senate. i've talked to enough republican colleagues to know that we are talking about a true compromise so that we can move forward and not threaten the debt of this nation. >> all right. that was senator ben cardin, democratic senator ben cardin. i want to the go to brianna keilar. have you new information on why

this happened? >> well, don, i just think it's important to lend some contempt to really what this allows. we now throughout today a lot of the discussion following the votes on capitol hill about really the negotiations of a potential deal have been between the white house in the form of vice president joe biden and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who spent years together in the senate very familiar with each other and biden, of course, led those biden talks that went on for months and sketched out a framework between democrats and republicans. i think it's important to note just in how things could play out or really what this means with the delay in the vote. but delaying this vote in the senate from what would have been 1:00 a.m. sunday morning to 1:00 p.m. sunday by 12 hours, would allow time should there be some discussions, some movement toward some agreement between the white house and senate republicans, it would allow time for the bill to be amended. this is something that's very

important and i'm hearing this from democratic and republican sources that it would allow time for that bill to be amended if some sort of framework would be worked out. i think it's also important to take note that one of the big issues that the white house has had with the house republican plan and what's really been seen as an area that needed to be negotiated and really could be the thing that could lead to a break-through on a deal is this idea of if you're going to have a two-part increase in the debt ceiling that would take the debt ceiling through the next election, november 2012, it was really how you tied that second increase in the debt ceiling after several months. the whouts senate democrats didn't like the way house republicans were doing it. they felt like it would have led to some sort of chaotic situation like we've seen with all of this back and forth over increasing the debt ceiling. they would have seen that again somewhere around the new year and didn't want to do that. they're looking at really that sort of seam, if you will, in the contempt of of this

framework to maybe work it out in a way that is more amenable to the white house and to democrats. >> brianna keilar at the white house live for us tonight. cnn is dedicated to providing you with up to the minute coverage of the crisis, and tomorrow night, we're bringing you a special report. wolf blitzer and i will break down all the hurdles and options as we near the deadline for reaching a deal. get it done. countdown to debt crisis, tomorrow night right here on cnn. we're not going far away from the story. we're watching capitol hill and the white house where it is going to be a very long night at least, and we know now that they're going to convene tomorrow. at noon and they're going to vote at 1:00 p.m. eastern. they're packing up now and getting ready to go home. also ahead this hour, my conversation with rand paul, republican senator, about the debt stalemate. plus, i want you to listen this. >> some two steps back, pulled my glock 40 and just ten bullets

in your [ bleep ]. >> al ohio police officer is caught on tape threatening a motorist. we'll show you the video that's gone viral and talk about the case with legal contributor holly hughes. many of you are asking for information through social media. we're back in a moment. over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one.

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before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. in canton, ohio, some residents are demanding a suspended police officer be fired. dashcam video you're about to see appears to show the officer threatening to shoot people during traffic stops. here's eric mansfield of wkyc. >> some two steps back, pulled my glock 40 and just put ten bullets in your [ bleep ]. >> it was posted one week ago.

already it's an online must see. canton police officer daniel har lis berating a driver who appears to be trying to show him his concealed carry license so har lis would know he was armed. >> i'm so close to caving in your [ bleep ] head. >> now comes a second video. >> i'll kill every one of you [ bleep ]. >> this one from a year ago. >> i'm telling you what [ bleep ], i will shoot you in the face and go to sleep tonight. >> as har lis's temper again flairs while instructing two people in the back seat of a car during a traffic stop for suspected drunk driving. >> it looks like we're seeing repeat behavior. it's a disturbing pattern. >> phillip mulivor is with a group calling for har lis's job. >> in both cases, this officer's behavior is egregrious. he needs to be removed at once. >> in both cases, the officer is encountering a gun during a traffic stop which is always a perceived threat for police.

now it's up to police brass to determine what's acceptable. >> you mother [ bleep ]. get the [ bleep ] before i shoot you. >> eric fans mansfield reporting. the canton police department release this had statement "the officer was relieved of duty and has not worked since the incident. it is being fully investigated." criminal defense attorney and form are prosecutor holly hughes had a lot to say about this case when i spoke with her about it just a short time ago. >> i don't mind an officer using profanity, don. i don't mind his temper is flaring. but when he starts threatening to kill citizens to shoot them in the face, to put them in their grave, calling them morons and idiots and liars he's gone over the edge. now we will see an officer who cannot control his temper. that's a crime, don. if a citizen said to another citizen, i will shoot you in the face and is holding a weapon, has access to a weapon, that is a felony charge. so this officer has gone beyond

the pale when he starts threatening. >> if you were defending this officer. >> yes. >> what would you do? >> if i were defending him, the first thing i would say is, they lied to him right up front. there was a gun in the back of that car. the driver admits hey, i just got out of jail or prison three weeks ago. and the officer says what for? guns and drugs. so naturally, the officer is on high alert. his adrenaline is pumping. it's a rush. they say to him, no weapons in the vehicle? and suddenly there is one, i would defend him by saying this man was in fear for his life and felt like something terrible was going to happen and this is duress. he did not intend to levy a threat against these people. his temper got away from lim but he didn't unharness his gun. >> if you were prosecuting him you would say? >> he has gone too far. he can't handle his temper. he can't control it. what is next, don, after you call these people stupid, threaten to put a bullet in their head, what is going to stop that anger?

what is going to rein that back in and keep him from pulling the gun and from pulling the trigger? if i was prosecuting him, i would say this is an officer out of control. he does not need to be on the street with a weapon in his hand. >> officer daniel harliss has not been charged with a crime but is on paid leave from his job while these are investigated. in the midst of the debt crisis, millions of americans are also facing poverty. when we come back, we'll profile the work of two students to you touring the country to show us what that looks like. with your mortgage, worried about foreclosure. we can help you keep your house. all we ask for in return is that you submit to our plans for galactic domination. [laughing] [laughing hesitantly] [laughing evilly]

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time now for what matters you're partnership with "essence" magazine. more than 43 americans live in poverty according to the latest

figures from the census bureau. as of june, more than 14 million were unemployed. some college students armed with cameras are traveling across america to document the faces of poverty. i spoke with amanda james and shelby bryant who shared compelling stories and images. >> what have you learned? shelby? >> honestly the thing that i've learned, the thing that i'm taking away prosecute this most is that the story is that of struggle. actually have a light lining around them. everything has a fire basically. everyone that we're meeting has a positive outlook. >> the stories we found of struggle have so much strength. that's been one of the things that's been eye opening for both of us. >> absolutely. >> when we were in baltimore, it was the first day of our trip. and we met women who were single moms living one of the more rough areas of baltimore in the neighborhood of druid heights. one of the women we're

interviewing invited us back to her neighborhood. >> when is the last time you heard about like someone you know getting shot or robbed or -- >> murdered? last week. >> we got to see what it's like for her living a daily life in an area where she doesn't feel safe to walk around with her children. yet, she has decided to overcome the external environment and believe that it's her internal environment, not where you live or what you look like on the outside that matter. it's the inside. >> just overcoming the ob obstacles. people your age you would think that they were -- if you watch the reality shows that are on now especially, you would think most people your age are wealthy and driving around in these fancy cars and their parents have a lot of money. you know what i'm talking about. >> right. >> that's not the reality of what's happening all across america, right? >> this is definitely a step away from the private universities that we both went to. >> and that also hasn't been

another surprising part. we come from very different backgrounds than everyone that we've been spending time with but we have been welcomed with open arms. that has been inspiring to see sort of this strength and humanity and this openness and acceptance of people who are just wanting to share their stories with us. >> a man who lost his job due to the economy is now in a homeless shelter. >> i've never been in this position. i'm used to having my own place. >> that was mark. >> yeah. mark's story, he has this very deep voice that almost sounds like it has an echo. >> used to working, paying my own bills. >> all of his years have had so much struggle. there's something so defining about his voice. when we were spending time with him at that shelter, we met him in pittsburgh. he said he has a close relationship with his children. he had a job. he's 47 years old. he's never had to depend on anyone else. but he was working for a subcontractor, the subcontractor couldn't afford to pay him anymore. he lost his job and got behind

in his rent. you know, that could really happen to anyone. >> what do you have advice for peopleho