them about their health, their weight, their diet, exercise, their cholesterol levels. >> i got to say, if i feel i'm having a problem with my heart and i have a history of heart disease in my family and goy to my doctor and he says i think you need an angioplasty i'm going to say okay, when do i sign up? >> and that's the problem there, because many people feel so at risk when we're talking about the heart. it's such an important organ and we've been told about heart attack warning signs. the best thing always to do is to take a moment, to do some research, to learn about your own risk factors, to weigh the benefits of medication. >> go to more than one doctor. >> get a second opinion if you feel a surgery or procedure is being recommended and alternatives aren't being discussed. >> the big picture here, if doctors are performing all these unnecessary surgeries that's driving up the health care costs in this nation.

>> exactly. we are so worried about health care costs these days. it's not just the individual that's at risk, it's really affecting what's happening in health care today. >> dr. avitzuru thank you for enlightening us this morning. we appreciate it. >> 49 minutes past the hour. we'll check on this morning's top stories straight ahead. stories after the break. what is that? it's you! it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? let's go back to drawing.

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a lot going on this morning. here is what you need to know to start your day. a senate vote on the debt deal is expected within hours. the measure passed the house last night with 60 votes and in the senate america will be able to stave off default. gabby giffords bringing the house to its feet with a surprise appearance last night. the wounded congresswoman said she had to return last night to vote yes on the debt deal. people of somalia in the grips of a deadly doubt and familiar in. the united nations calling conditions in the african nation the worst humanitarian crisis the worst on the planet. it requireses officers to the immigration status of a person they suspect is in this country littillegally. kings of leon canceling u.s. tour after the front man walked

off the stage during a show in dallas. the statement in the group known for "you somebody" said the singer is suffering from vocal issues and exhaustion. you're caught up on today's headlines. "american morning" is back in 60 seconds.

we want to get to our question of the day now. house approving a compromise deal to raise the debt ceiling yesterday but only after walking away from the table, missed deadlines. our question of the day is compromise a sign of weakness? this from debra from facebook. only those idiots think it is a

sign of weakness. people of goodwill understand they don't hold all of the truth. this from lee. i have always thought compromise showed a certain strength and intelligence. in this case i think it's a result of political posturing. thank you for responses this morning. most people don't think compromise is a sign of weakness but lawmakers aren't into compromising much these days. you people are voting them in, remember that! e-mail us, give us a tweet, tell us on facebook and we will read through some of them later in the show. astute question. so many members of congress have gone there saying we have a mandate to stick to -- >> stand on principle. >> stand on principle. that kind of goes in the face of compromise. >> it's not how you govern. >> great question and great responses from all of you. a quiz what is 11 feet long and enjoys having pets and livestock for dinner? this. a humongous bernese python.

it took several of miami's bravest to spot it. it poked up from a trailer after he noticed some of his animals had disappeared. >> that gives me goosebumps! >> what would you do if you saw that? >> i would run like hell! are you kidding me? >> rob marciano and i were talking about it earlier. i got the impression the farmer grabbed the tail. i thought if you're grabbing any part of a snake, i don't know, maybe i'd grab the head because you grab the tail, you just annoy the snake. >> you would grab that snake's head? >> rob said you're clearly sleep-deprived. >> i would be on the money to animal control. >> i grab that thing by the head and show them who is who and what is what. >> i believe you. >> then you would be reading my obit! still to come, tieears and cheers in the house of

representatives. not because of the debt deal because of the return of wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords. the mercedes-benz summer event ends august 31st. but i did. they said i couldn't fight above my weight class. but i did. they said i couldn't get elected to congress. but i did.

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we take it on ours. this summer put your family in an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz now for an exceptional price during the summer event. but hurry, this offer ends august 31st. good morning to you. i'm carol costello. in a matter of hours, the senate will vote on a debt ceiling deal that could keep america from defaulting. 60 votes needed to pass it. the clock is ticking. is it a done deal? we're live in washington. i'm ali velshi. not a dry eye in the house of representatives. democrats and republicans standing by side-by-side

cheering for a returning warrior last night. congresswoman gabrielle giffords making an emotional comeback on this "american morning." ♪ good tuesday morning to you! it's august 2nd. christine has the day off. i'm carol costello. >> welcome to d-day. the day america runs smack into that default deadline. we still haven't got a final solution. right now, you're looking at live at the capital. the entire world will be watching hours from now when the senate votes hopefully to a debt compromise. that is not the reason why so many lawmakers stood and cheered last night. many shedding a few tears. >> more than a few tears. it was because of the return of wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords that made democrats and republicans realize they actually have something in common. they like each other really. they are all americans!

giffords said she felt compelled to return to the house last night because her vote might be needed to keep america from defaulting. it was her first visit back since a would-be assassin shot her in february. >> throughout america, there wasn't a name that stirs more love, more admiration, more respect, more wishing for our daughters to be like her than the name of qm gabby giffords. thank you, gabby! >> by the end of the night the house voted 269-161 in favor of the deal. afterwards, kate bolduan got a rare interview with house speaker john boehner about giffords emotional return. >> i feel great. >> reporter: what do you think of the vote thonk? this evening? >> a strong vote but many steps

yet to go. >> reporter: what do you hope -- what do you think the message is for the american people tonight? >> the process works. may not be pretty, but it works. >> reporter: and your thoughts on the spriurprise of gabrielle giffords coming to the floor? >> it was very nice. >> reporter: did you say anything to her? >> i met her when she got off the elevator. >> reporter: what did you say to her, sir? >> i said welcome back. >> man of few words. he is not usually. i think it must be sheer exhaustion after this whole thing. i'm sure he is pleased that ceiling debate is done but he didn't look it. >> at least on his part, right? >> yeah. but everybody. what a change in the tone in the house of representatives with gabby giffords there. it has been anything but bipartisan and anything about compromising, although that bill was bipartisan. >> although somebody, i think it was john boehner said on cbs last night, that things weren't as contentious as they seemed behind the scenes that people were talking and kind of getting along.

it seemed so bad when they went in front the television cameras. >> we were looking at the extremes the people not signing that deal. a lot of heat. it is a debt deal that nobody really seems to like. nobody has come out and said this is great. but with only hours to go before this deadline, it's a deal everybody has to live with, if it makes it through the senate today. how big is that? joe johns joins us live from washington this morning. joe, they need 60 votes for this to pass without a filibuster. is it a done deal? >> reporter: well, nothing is a done deal until they vote in the senate, ali. but, you know, 60-vote margin is needed to overcome delaying tactics and there is at least a chance, you know, given the heartburn over this deal that someone would try to filibuster this thing with 60 votes, according to rules, you can around that, pass the bill. i mean, put the emphasis on heartburn here. senators on the right think it doesn't go far enough. some are concerned the defense

spending could be cut too much. others worried that taxes could be raised or they would like more assurance a balanced budget amendment sent to the states. democrats and people on the left worried about entitlements and social programs and don't like the idea of going on with the super committee of 12 have the outside say on where the spending debate goes from here. you can say the people who know think there will be enough votes to get this bill to the president's desk even though they will be holding their noses all the way. >> i would have thought that after the house voted relatively quickly on this thing, that the senate would take it up immediately and work through the night and get it done. why will they waiting until noon and then what? everybody goes on a five-week vacation, right? >> reporter: yeah, everybody goes on a five-week vacation. i think they just decided they were going to, you know, let the house do its thing and decided pretty late in the day yesterday that they would move into the

senate tomorrow, because it was very uncertain up until the last just how smoothly that house vote was going to go. as you saw, they got pretty big numbers. some people were surprised by the margin. they thought it would be much closer in the house of representatives. so watching the house and seeing what they are going to do and saying, we will do our deal today. >> we will be on the edge of our seats again today watching the outcome of the senate vote. >> this gives new meaning to the 11th hour. you know? the whole thing. >> yeah. thank you, joe. if you're not already furious with your elected officials for the way they have handled this debt ceiling crisis, this might push you over the edge. because congress couldn't stop bickering and the deal came down to the wire, instead of getting done two weeks ago, american taxpayers are on the hook for $1.7 billion. that's how much additional interest the government had to pay investors to get them to buy treasury bills. when word of a debt deal were spreading on sunday global

markets rallied overnight in asia and then in europe. richard quest is joining us live this morning from the national mall in washington. probably because that's the only place he can find peace from this crazy debate as somebody who is not from the united states and looks into it. richard, give us a sense of the rest of the world, with whom we do business in the united states, and how they have seen this whole process and now that it is about to come to an end, do we regain our place in the world as the major economy and the major trading partner? >> reporter: i think you remain and you continue to be the trading partner and the major player that you were, but it has got a tarnish on it, there can be no doubt about it. the way this whole incident has taken place and been handled. the commentary in the foreign newspapers when they describe u.s. lawmakers as having lost touch with reality and sanity and madness you have to start

questioning exactly the process that took place. the underlying strength of the u.s. economy is what people are focusing on and that is, i'm afraid, is also giving cause for concern. ali, the dent in the economy that this budget deal will create is what people are worried about. it was a slow moving train to start with. now if you take some of the fuel out of the engine, what happens next? that, i think, is where the focus is going to be. ali, put this -- think about it overall. president obama had wanted a clean debt ceiling agreement. instead he has a debt ceiling agreement that has strings attached which are going to slow things down. we don't know exactly how much, but those cuts, that trillion dollars or so of cuts, even over ten years, because some will kick in now, will have an effect. >> richard, let me ask you a simple question. not simply at all but you have covered greece and europe and its budget and deficit and debt

problems. you covered the united kingdom and now the united states. each different situations and different solution in each one. give me the 30-second primer which one you think is going to be the most logical. >> i think none of them are terribly logical because all of them have been done in extremist and in emergency situations. greece, the country was bankrupt. britain, the fare was the bond market would suddenly launch and attack and would become another greece. the united states, the debt ceiling was about to be reached and you wouldn't have been able to borrow and there was a default on the table. in all of the cases, this is never a good time. with the gun at the head, it's never a good time to pass a law, but the fact is tough decisions are only ever made when the crunch time arrives and that

is -- it's a reality of democracy. people only really take nasty decisions when they have to. >> i just want to ask you, because i've read more than one article that said that our bond rating may drop anyway, because congress waited so long to act. so it doesn't really matter if we meet this deadline now, the damage has already been done. is that true or not? >> reporter: yeah, i think is there a certain truth in that. we will wait for the rating agencies. i don't think -- i don't think the rating agencies would come out immediately afterwards and say, yep, aaa gone. certainly not after all the panic of this debt agreement. i think over the weeks ahead, as they look at the long-term debt outlook and factor it into the u.s. economy, then i think the serious questions would be whether or not long term the u.s. does maintain its aaa. the balance is it probably does,

but there is still the question on the table. >> after it happens is the congressional budget office scored it and said $2.1 trillion in cuts and less than what the document says and then last night, jessica yellin was reporting that the treasury was having conversations with standard & poors and moody's because they were asking can you explain everything in this debt deal so we can make a decision. i think you're right, they will probably wait a few days but certainly lobbying going on in washington to keep the credit rating. richard, thanks and stay cool on the mall. coming up, the tsa new screening tactic talk to passengers. we will explain more about this new security model they have come up with. a brand-new tropical storm getting strength in the caribbean. we are tracking emily coming up on this "american morning." every day, all around the world,

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let's head to the weather center. still extremely hot in the middle part of the country. i'm sorry. we are not going there yet and i apologize. >> why not? i want to talk about weather. tropical storm emily is coming in. there is lots of heat in the midwest. dallas, oklahoma city like triple digits. you know what? dallas, 32nd day of triple digit temperatures. >> we're going to rob marciano now. >> rob, tell us about a snake on a windshield because we just gave the weather report. how did i do? >> very well. as little sleep as you've gotten, i'm impressed to your listening comprehension throughout the morning. just play the hits and pound it into them! here is going on with tropical storm emily. we got reports from a hurricane

hunter reconplane it hasn't strengthened that much. now 260 miles away from puerto rico. it's heading that way and still is the forecast track from the national hurricane center. getting into the southern bahamas. could scoot off on to sea or head to the gulf of mexico or head to florida and late friday night and over the weekend. a lot of uncertainty there. we will see if it develops into a hurricane. right now forecasts for it to remain a tropical storm. 111 in ft. smith, arkansas. we are expecting more in the way of heat today. these are the forecast highs with the anticipated records that may very well be broken. oklahoma city the record is 110 and record in dallas is 107. may break that.

32 days and counting 100 plus, that streak is going to continue. hazy, hot and humid here. thunderstorms across parts of the western great lakes. here is what it looks like now with a thunderstorm watch out for parts of minnesota and wisconsin. here is what it looked like yesterday with thunderstorms rumbling through with a lot of impressive lightning strikes. stern county, thanks for that shot. storm chasers showing us this good stuff. we had, obviously, wind and hail with this. new york city and long island had their fair share of wind and hail, cooling things down a little bit. thunderstorms expected today in chicago and detroit. maybe some delays in that area. you saw the thunderstorms in minneapolis might spawn delays in the early morning hours and morning fog in san francisco. >> it's a weird summer. weird, weird, weird. >> it's august and it will almost be over. >> only the first day! or the second day.

sorry. >> optimist. rob, thanks very much. thanks for the good training that allowed me to -- >> you are my junior weatherman. >> take time off for something. i probably need a little bit more than i've had, but -- >> he already gave you a junior ranger status. what more do you want? >> is there a pin that comes with that? >> there is, and a ceremony. he was one of the most dominant wide receivers in the game. randy moss says he is retiring from the nfl after 13 years. moss agent said he was weighing free agent considerations from several teams. he holds the single season record for the most touchdown passes caught and is tied for second all-time. i'm thinking he is sure to be a hall of famer someday. >> just makes me feel old! it is time for question of the day. we want to go into more in-depth on compromise. being the ultimate tough guy may work for captain america but not

necessarily for the leaders of free world. remember president bush after shock and awe? >> some feel like the conditions are such they can attack us there. my answer is bring them on. >> some think the president's words prompted violence. president bush said later he regretted saying that. acting tough is one of the reasons the tea party resonates and republicans are controlling the agenda and in the modern political world, tough is in. compromise is weak. last year on "60 minutes" house leader john boehner made that clear. >> when you say the word compromise, a lot of americans look up and go, oh, oh, they are going to sell me out. >> back in the day, powerful democrats and republicans were able to make mutually beneficial