or if he is gay. >> i know he shares my appear tut for cookies! >> cookie! >> we had great response this morning to our question. thank you so much for writing in. if you want to continue the conversation it's facebook.com/americanmorning. thanks for your comments. >> that's going to do it for us. another guy who shares my appear tut for good friends is my friend t.j. holmes. "cnn newsroom" starts right now with him. >> did christine suggest the cookie monster was gay? >> no! >> did i hear that right? >> i said he is a blue fairy monster. who cares! >> that was news. don't know if we should break out the banner. thank you, guys. it's 9:00 a.m. on the east coast and 6:00 a.m. on the west coast. wherever you may be, we are glad you're here. i'm t.j. holmes in today for kyra phillips. we are minutes away. minutes away from that bell ringing once again on wall street. the markets reopen today, what

kind of a day will it be? another wild ride? well, some won't mind if it's wild in the right direction. though, we have seen a historic week of volatility. also huge changes at the u.s. postal service. administrators there are asking congressional approval to lay off 120,000 people. you heard me right. also across in great britain and all across great britain now the riots die down a little bit now and maybe life getting back to normal in london. nearly 2,000 people have been arrested in in connection with the violence and looting there we have seen over the past week. maybe you didn't stay up and catch the republican presidential debate last night, but let me tell you what you missed. you missed a doozie. it was a heck of a night with high tensions and stakes for some, it could have been a make or break event of their

campaigns and some will even tell you today that maybe at least one person on that stage was broken last night. we will get back into that. meanwhile, the person that actually may have stolen the spotlight wasn't even there. we are talking about that guy, texas governor rick perry. he is creating a whole lot of buzz and maybe a lot of excitement among some conservatives because tomorrow, it appears, he is about to make it official that, yes, he will get into the race and formally announce his bid for the white house. the best politically team on television, in iowa for us right now, our candy crowley. paul steinhauser and our man, don lemon and check in with each of them. let's start with my weekend friend and political guru, candy crowley, host of cnn's "state of the union." hello to you. is that fair of me to say he was certainly a presence even though he wasn't on the stage last night? rick perry? >> reporter: sure. and has been for the past couple of weeks, which is not bad when you're not even in the race.

and we saw particularly the bachmann people even after the debate last night were saying, gee, where was rick perry? because when our candidate wasn't quite in the race she showed up for the cnn new hampshire debate so why didn't recognize perry come? there is already push-back starting and interesting and predictable it would come from bachmann. if you look at who is most threatened at this point by the texas governor getting in this race tomorrow, it would probably be bachmann because we have widely said for a number of months, listen, it's going to be mitt romney who, right now, is the presumed front-runner. he has got the money, he has got the name out there in the republican party. so it's going to be him versus the not mitt romney and that is the slot that is open. right now, it's being filled by michele bachmann. obviously, pawlenty and huntsman trying to take over that position but that is where rick perry is kind of aiming, at least in the short term. >> also some pretty smart

politicking to make the announcement tomorrow to make sure he's not in iowa and not in the debate. he wanted to make sure he was a part of this news cycle and this story right now. >> reporter: sure. and it's the easy part of it, because voters love politicians the most when they are not running for anything. everybody looks great when they are not running and you get in and suddenly you're like just another politician. so not only are you in the mix, you're in the mix in the sort of elevated position of, oh, gosh, i haven't dirtied my hands yet in many whole political debate thing or whole straw poll thing. a great position to be in. let me remind you of fred thompson. all summer in 2008, saying he is the guy. they were madly in love with him. he got in the race and he tanked. it can go either way. i will say rick perry is a far better campaigner than fred thompson ever was, but

nonetheless it's not predictable to go he is so popular. he is popular because he is not running and let's see what happens when he gets in. >> candy, always appreciate seeing you and we will see you again in ten minutes. thank you so much. yes, the battleground seems to be iowa but it was clear last night that minnesota was actually at the heart of a turf war last night. tensions really bulled over with two officials from that state. we are talking about the former governor, tim pawlenty, he went after congresswoman michele balk pl bachmann. she shot back. >> when you were governor in minnesota, you implemented cap and trade in our state. you said the era of small government was over. that sounds a lot more like barack obama if you ask me. >> our paul steinhauser is in iowa as well. them fighting words, paul. >> reporter: yeah, definitely fighting words. remember, our last debate was our debate and that was in new

hampshire two months ago. since then, michele bachmann done quite well in the national polls and top of the polls in iowa and tim pawlenty, not so well. i think you see the dynamic and been doing it on the campaign trail a while and did it last night on the stage and maybe more potentially to lose in that crucial straw poll tomorrow in iowa. another dynamic, mitt romney. you and candy talking about him. the perceived front-runner and did not come under that many attacks last night, but remember that big moment back in our debate in new hampshire when tim pawlenty had a chance to go after romney for romney's health care plan and the comparison to obama's plan? pawlenty didn't do it but last night he did. take a listen. >> obama care was patterned after mitt's plan in massachusetts and for mitt or anyone else to say that there aren't substantial similarities or they aren't essentially the same plan, it just is incredible that is why i called it obamay

care. >> i think i like tim's answer in the last debate better. >> not a bad comeback from romney. huh? the action is here. you have the state fair and seven presidential candidates making the rounds here and this is retail politics at its finest i guess you could say. the action moves back to ames tomorrow for the straw poll. guess who will pop into town today? sarah palin. t.j., back to you. >> but of course! paul, we will check in with you all plenty. thank you so much. let's turn to the markets now. the opening is about 23 minutes away and what will it be today? if it follows the pattern we have seen this week, then we are going to see a down day. let me explain what we have been seeing. down up, down up, down up. since last thursday, the dow has fluctuated wildly losing and gaining more than 400 points in five straight sessions. so what about tooed in christine

romans is joining me now from new york. christine, is the word calm that we are looking for and are there some signs, at least some new info coming out that could calm investors down? >> reporter: maybe. but even when you see the market going up, it's not calm when it's going up either. this is about volatility. tell you why you see days like that. it's because the market investors and sentiment of the world is trying to figure out is the world going into a rut or recession again? specifically the biggest economy in the world, the united states. every time a little bit of news that tips things one way or the other from rut or recession, you get a big swing in the market. today, it tips us toward just rut. there is a retail sales number from the census department that shows that retail sales in the most recent month were up 0.5%. what that shows you is after consumers saving a lot of money in june, they spent a little bit on gas, on electronics, on some other things in july. 390 billion dollars worth of stuff we bought in july and that

actually shows you that the american consumer is not dead, is still out there chugging along and shoppers busy holding things up. remember, this is a consumer-driven economy. so that is the reason today, at least at this moment, the feeling is maybe, maybe the u.s. avoids or has a better chance of avoiding a double dip recession and this is just a rut and we will get back on the road to recovery again and why you're seeing futures up right now. >> we still got 20 plus minutes to go. we will check in with you again. the markets opening at the bottom of the hour. christine, thank you. how is this for an idea? clamping down on social media and keeping some people from using it. an idea floated by the uk prime minister david cameron considering this after the riots that locked london and some of the other cities. let's bring in jonathan mann here. >> can you imagine a crime that involves 2,000 arrests?

how does something that big across so many cities, so many neighborhoods of london happen spontaneously? the government says it didn't happen spontaneously. it was organized using twitter, facebook and blackberries. facebook acknowledges it took down some pages that incited the violence and blackberry says it will work with police to figure out who was using blackberry to message other people to know where to go where the police weren't and the looting was still good. all that is happening as the british government says maybe, as you mentioned, have to look into turning some of these things off when things get bad. that is really, really interesting in our freedom of the speech. british press isn't happy about it. have a look at "the independent." calling this the prime minister's draconian gimmicks and sort of thing attempted by middle eastern autocracies. it is embarrassing the newspaper says our own prime minister should be contemplating dragging

britain down that particular dead end street. mr. cameron is making a massive error if he imagines that these riots would not happened without blackberries and twitter. freedom of the press is basic. britain gave it to the world in a sense. the globe and mail in canadian says it is panicking and if adopted would undermine freedoms the country has helped contribute over centuries to the world. free flow of information is a democracy's life blood and it needs protection too. people aren't happy about this. on one side it's like crying fire in a crowded theater. clearly there has hob some control what people do in unrest but would you take away phones or mail to prevent people from committing crimes. >> he hasn't made a decision? he is mulling it over. >> he is mulling it over. >> good to see you, jonathan.

republican race for the white house and there he is. the newest entry. he is just hours away from making it all official. we will take a closer look at the guy that everybody is talking about right now, texas governor rick perry, and how exactly is he going to shake up the campaign and also maybe obama's strategy? you don't hear this from a criminal suspect every day. "i deserved to get shot." we will tell you who in the dougherty gang said they deserved what they got. that is coming up after the break. stay with us.

14 minutes past the hour. checking stories across the country. in san francisco, an unusual move by police. they stop a protest by blocking cell phone service. they had gotten word that there might be a repeat of some of the demonstrations they had seen last month at public transit stations that kind of just shut down public transit during rush hour, but with all of the cell phone service shut down in the area, police say the commute went out without a hitch this time. also the sister in the so-called dougherty gang telling the fbi, "i deserved to get shot." she was shot in the leg after a shoot-out with colorado police on wednesday. lee dougherty is her name and you saw her in the previous picture smiling. new pictures we are seeing of the three. there she is again. that is the one that was shot and facing criminal charges but a big grin on her face.

all wanted for bank robbery in georgia and attempted murder in florida. next court date is set for monday. we have no excuses for saying we can't come up with a way to help. listen to this. two springfield, oregon, kids, trying to help raise money to fight hunger in somalia. they are simply selling sno-cones at 50 cents a piece and trying to do their part. they are 9 and 6 and after seeing the news reports, they say they wanted to pitch in. how can you not help but want to pitch in? here is your chance to do so. if you'd like to help the relief efforts in east africa, don't sell sno-cones or maybe do if you want to. head to cnn.com/impact to find out how you can pitch in as w l well. turn back to iowa now. that clock is ticking towards tomorrow's all-important ames straw poll. presidential campaigns facing a pretty tough test of public opinion there. the stakes are so high, that it's not a surprise last night.

you know, you hear the saying in these debates the gloves came off? at times it seems like they didn't bother to put on gloves in the first place as the eight declared republicans came out swinging. >> people are looking for a champion. they want someone who has been fighting. >> she led the effort against obama care. we got obama care. she said she has titanium spine. it's her record of results we are worried about. if that your viewer of effective leadership with results, please stop because you're killing us. >> i wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. i'd love to see the rest of tonight's debate asking us what we would do to lead america whose president has failed to lead instead of playing mickey mouse games. >> i will not eat barack obama's dog food. what he served up is not what i would have done as president of the united states. i would have cut federal spending. >> he sees like barack obama sees it. we have to apologize we have exerted our influence to create

freedom around the world. >> in iraq? they had nuclear weapons and we had to go in. i'm sure you supported that war well. it's time we quit this and time to quit spending trillions of dollars we are spending on these wars! >> let's bring in candy crowley to bring civility back to the air waves here. gotcha questions. mickey mouse games. bn's spine and obama's dog food. have we been waiting for this to guest testy and nasty and what we saw last night is letting us know the game is on now and the stakes are high? >> it's close to prime time, believe it or not. i know the election isn't a year until november but in the primary season, august, there is a lot of commentary and a lot of discussion about whether or not this should matter as much as it seems to, but, nonetheless, every debate counts. i didn't see any fatal errors. i didn't see any knockout blows. i think the race is this morning

where it was yesterday morning. nonetheless, ratcheting up is a sign that, sooner later, some of those people on the stage have to get off the stage. sooner or later, some of those people will run out of money and you don't want to run out of money. who do you take on? in newt gingrich's case he took on the media. that is so popular to do to a republican audience in particular. who did tim pawlenty take on? michele bachmann because she is the one in his immediate way going after mitt romney directly. so people want to come away from a debate thinking that someone took command, you know? somebody was tough because you want a tough president. so i think that is what you're seeing and at this point, everybody is tough on president obama, but they need to be tough on each other because you don't want to be the one that gets shoved off the stage and where you're getting close to a time where people are going to be exiting if, for nothing else, lack of money. >> but you said there no

knockout blows. you necessarily saw. some are suggesting and some of the editorials and you read around that maybe michele bachmann delivered one to tim pawlenty last night. i know you're talking to michele bachmann getting ready for your program on sunday. what do you want to know from her and follow up with her about from what you saw from her performance all of the night? >> reporter: well, listen. i think a couple of things that concerns her. it concerns tim pawlenty. this is kind of rolling coverage, i think we would call it, at cnn, and that is that you can't look at this debate as a singular event. it's part of three days in iowa, today here at the iowa state fair, we are going to hear most of these candidates out on the soap box literally talking to whatever crowd shows up and then you've got the iowa, the ames straw poll in which most of these candidates will give major speeches to the party faithful and then there will be a straw poll and that begins to maybe

shape the race. so there are a lot of things coming and the answers are at least will be clearer a little bit, i think, depending on those ames straw poll results on sunday morning than they are right now. now, as far as michele bachmann and what do you want to ask, look. tim pawlenty has gone after her in her vulnerability and in her vul nevenlt vulnerability. her experience is limited. we elected inexperienced president and look what happened. we shouldn't do that any more. we need someone who understands business and the real world. that is a vulnerability for michele bachmann who has been framed by some of her opponents as not having the experience. she does have the passionate supporters and that is what has kept her in the headlines and jockeying for a first or second place position in a lot of the polls in iowa and nationwide.

so this is the time to be talking to her about what would you do about this? what would do you about that? you know? does chef the chops and it's a question for her and frankly a question for all of them. >> candy crowley, good to see you. we will see you again here shortly. 21 minutes past the hour now. how about this? you lose your job one day. the next day, you win the lotlilo lotte lottery. it happened. we will tell you about this next.

with jonathan mann again. you lose your job one day and

next day win the lottery. >> workers in iowa found out they were going to lose their job and one man sitting in his pickup truck look at the lottery tickets they had bought and it's his lucky day. let's listen. >> i looked at the numbers and i had to ask somebody to come and take a look at them because i wasn't sure if i was reading it right. she said, oh, you got them all. you know, started to shake, vibrating in my seat and i had to get out and tell some of the people that were in it and, of course, nobody believed me! no, you're joking! no, i'm not joking! we won! >> 18 guys shares $7 million and works out to 400,000 a guy which is 15 years salary for a bunch of of people who are going to have no salary. the name of the company is smart technologies but maybe she should call it lucky workers instead. >> we don't know what the guys are going to do next. they haven't said what they are planning to do. >> bless their hearts. one of them says his wife always wanted to visit new york and he

plans to trade in his truck for one with an automatic transmission. >> very nice. simple guys. nice to see something like that work out. >> every once in a while, good news. >> thank you so much, jonathan. minutes away from the opening bell on wall street. millions of americans wondering if their savings will take another beating. we will have the latest and have that opening bell for you. stay with us. if you don't have an iphone, you don't have airplay. which makes it easy to play music from your phone, on your stereo or see the photos you've taken on your tv. and if you want to share your favorite movie, that's easy too. airplay. just one more thing that makes an iphone and iphone.

man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings at the first pitch and fouls it deep back into the stands. [ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov.

we are just about 60 seconds away from the opening of wall street. there are they are. christine, alison, good to see you all once again. we have been doing this for the past several days and i can't help you but be nervous when we get to this point. but, christine, if things stay true to form at least that we have seen this week, we are about to see another dramatic drop today. tell me why we will maybe break that course of action we have had this week. >> reporter: i would not put much weight on the last four days for any kind of a pattern. the trend has been the unexpected and the unpredictable. the markets are the sum of all

the fear and greed and hopes and expectations and profit reports and speculation in the market of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of participatantparti. we will be watching to see how this pans out. we will also be a lot of talk today about europe, a ban on short selling in europe. maybe that will calm things down a little bit there. that is in italy, france, belgium and spain. it means if you don't know an investment, you can't sell it. you don own it, you can't sell it, i know it sounds crazy but that is going on in those markets. the jury is out whether it helped but there is a lot of talk about that in the marketplace today. also talk about whether the economy might be a little bit brighter than we thought. it's day-by-day and minute-by-minute, isn't it? >> alison, you have been trying to calm me down all week. >> have i been successful? >> not really.

i see plus 37 points and i get excited. what will the futures look like coming into this day and is it possible, from whatever indicators we have been seeing with the futures and also indicators and information that's been coming out, that maybe things could calm down and we might not see a wild swing today. >> reporter: you know what? i am the optimist at least for today. anything is possible. look. we are almost up a hundred points on the dow. today what wall street are hanging its hat on are some new numbers. what wall street does, it takes its cue from the economic reports that come out. we got one on retail sales. consumers, we found out aren't going on the huge spropg sprees but the numbers show they are not totally gone either. that is why we are seeing stocks higher and retail sales rose a half percent in july. i know these numbers aren't huge

numbers but what they are doing is sort of calming, calming everything down a bit at a time when we have been getting this constant drum beat of weak economic reports but, remember, things could always change because these numbers were from last month, before the u.s. credit rating was downgraded. consumers may be worried about that and may be worried about the volatility in the stock markets. we wents see how consumers feel about that until we get next month's report. tgif takes on a whole new meaning today, don't you think? >> it absolutely does. getting off to a good start. the past few days we kind of ended up finishing how we started. so if we are starting in positive territory today, you know what? i know it's two minutes into the trading day but i will take it. i will see you both shortly. >> sure. back to politics here at the bottom of the hour. you know there was a republican presidential debate last night in iowa. certainly got testy. so you've heard from the candidates but we need to hear from the folks who are going to be choosing their candidates.

our don lemon is in des moines for us. don! how are you doing, kind sir? >> what is up? >> can you tell me? have you gotten much reaction to that debate last night? it was a little testy. >> reporter: not really. >> yeah? >> reporter: i'll tell you why. seriously, people who are watching it. but for the politicos and people in the news, it's a much bigger deal and most people aren't paying that much attention to it. i have to go back and find it in the hotel and go to a bar that actually had it on. i think most people honestly are worried about do i have a job? what is happening with the economy? my 401(k) and sha sort that sor thing. the people we caught up we state fair had other things on their minds. some of them couldn't get the names of the candidates straight. listen and then you and i will talk about it. here are the fair queens? >> yeah. all of the counties in iowa.

>> who do you have in mind? who is your favorite candidate? >> for like big time or for like here? >> perry. >> probably the best one there is michele bachmann. >> i say roxanne bachmann. >> roxanne bachmann? >> for sure. >> why? >> she understands what the girls think and want. >> she is not necessarily on my list. >> she is not? >> she is on mine. >> reporter: shea is is on you? >> yeah. >> don, roxanne bachmann? >> come on, dude! that's what she said. at first she thought i was talking about the candidates in the county fair thing and then she said locally or big time? i said big time and she said, oh, yeah, roxanne. >> honest mistake. >> reporter: let me tell you what people are talking about. a little fun here. this is iowa aims to be number one in health, do you see that? have this whole pledge they want to be number one in health. the state fair is going on. among the things can you get, this is nice little funle cake

here dripped in some healthy syrup that you can get. and then this is -- got some loaded fries for you and among the other things you can get fried butter and fried beer and deep fried candy bars and who awhole bunch of stuff. i think people are wanting to end their summer on a good note and have nice fried healthy food in iowa. >> you make a good point. i know the fairs have food and things we often talk about. a lot of people there you say are having a good time and enjoying the food and the politics comes second to them. >> reporter: it's 15 months out. it's 15 months out. as we get closer and a couple of months in, maybe six months in, more attention but certainly it deserves to be talked about and made people aware of it but it's a long way off. >> roxanne bachmann, that is pretty good. good to see you, buddy. ♪ roxanne >> 35 minutes past the hour.

he wasn't at the debate last night. he is not in the straw poll tomorrow. but rick perry is about to crash the party in iowa. we are talking about the texas governor's mix of religion and politics. that is next. stay with me. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. but not in my neighborhood. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're throwing away misperceptions about natural gas vehicles. more of the vehicles that fuel our lives use clean american natural gas today.

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39 minutes past the hour. texas governor rick perry set to announce his candidacy getting into the race and you hear he could shake things up but how much do you now about him? he is a fifth generation texan and actually a democrat and was state chair for al gore's failed '88 presidential bid. he was talked into the gop by karl rove. you know that name, don't you? he was elected lieutenant governor in '98 and moved up to the top spot there to become governor of texas after governor george w. bush went on to the white house. he did embrace the tea party on and a vowed christian

conservative and hosted a prayer rally last weekend. let's bring in our friend dan gildoff of cnn.com. he is positioned uniquely in this race because he doesn't mince words when he talks about his religion. >> that's right. even more than that. recent weeks i've seen this intense back and forth. this courtship between governor perry and evangelical christians and not him reaching out to him. a lot of these relationships were born in the last week or so since this big prayer event in houston and already you could sense the enthusiasm among evangelicals. >> he got criticism within his own state but it sounds like it might have been a net positive for him, at least nationally. >> very much so. if you talk to the christian leaders that were involved in that prayer rally last weekend, they will tell you the planning

got under way late last year. so this was before perry was seriously mulling a run for the presidency. then what happened is mike huckabee, the other big potential evangelical heavyweight in the race decided not to run. all of a sudden, all of this organizing around the big prayer event starts to take on all of this political import and people planning it get worried what did i sign up here? i was signing up up for a prayer and looks like i'm backing this guy for president. >> on that prayer rally as well people are suggesting he is positioning himself against mitt romney who is a mormon. mormons are christians but still to a lot of people not something they really understand. so without him saying a word, it was like he was firing a shot at, hey, i'm your kind of christian. i don't really understand that mitt romney guy without even actually saying it. >> i think that is true and i think that is so much of the christian enthusiasm among conservatives about perry running for president, has everything to do with mitt

romney. they are looking for somebody who is on the one hand, an evangelical darling and socially conservative and passed antiabortion legislation and perry has done all of those things. on the other hand, avoiding a scenario in 2008 where mike huckabee, a preacher himself who wasn't able to get beyond the evangelical universe and connect with mainstream voters. they think perry is so popular within the business community and texas added a lot of jobs as the rest of the nation has suffered economically he could be that guy. >> and why people are paying attention to him getting in the race tomorrow. i think he is about to shake things up. good to see you, dan. the piece is posted on? >> cnn.com/belief. >> catch it there. also you can post your thoughts and your comments. dan, good to have you, buddy. 42 minutes past the hour now. the united states has now done something it hasn't been

doing. about-face on long-standing policy about not talking about military drone strikes targeting pakistan. tell you about a new report that got the u.s. to start talking next.

life-saving transplant operation that sums up this. in california marine sergeant jake chadwick is getting used to a new transplanted kidney ma used to belong to his fellow marine lieutenant patrick waylon

who died during a survival exercise training in florida. turn now to chicago. that is the home of the misdemeanor wiener? it is celebrating its first amendment legal victory today. a place is called felony franks and it has been embroiled in a two-year-old lawsuit. a city alderman was fighting a permit application for the business sign saying it sent a bad message to kids. well, the alderman lost in court. the sign now up and, today, you can get a misdemeanor wiener for $1.50. turn to the u.s. postal service now. you are not going to believe how many people they are trying to lay off and they say it's necessary. postal service looking to cut as many as 120,000 jobs and they are asking for congress to help by removing the collective bargaining rights of unionized postal workers. they have billions of dollars in

the red the past several years. turn to the u.s. pushing back on a report that claims u.s. drone strikes inside pakistan have killed nearly 2,300 people. many of them civilians and that includes 160 children. at least according to this report. let's bring in cnn a's reza. what is the response the us is getting to this report? >> they say the report is inaccurate and fault. >> reporter: one of the most controversial issues when it comes to u.s./pakistani relations an issue undermines the relation between washington. in spark the debate whether drone strikes are the fight. let's tell you about the report done by a uk-based group of pakistani and british journalists. the report essentially says these u.s.-drone strikes on pakistani soil are killing hundreds of civilians, including

lots of innocent children. the report says ever since 2004, there has been roughly 290 u.s. drone strikes and those strikes have killed more than 2,000 people. among those people, 380 civilians have been killed according to those reports, and included in those 160 children. this is, obviously, a report that doesn't bode well for what washington is trying to do in pakistan and that is to win hearts and minds in pakistan, to repair their image. no surprise a u.s. official has told cnn this report is inaccurate. according to washington, these drone strikes have killed more than 2,000 people since 2001 and only 50, only 50 of those victims, according to a u.s. official, have been civilians. the problem, t.j., is verifying who is telling the facts, because access to the tribal region where these u.s. drone strikes are taking place is off limits. so we're lift with two sides that are giving us two different

versions. certainly a controversial issue between these partners in the fight against militantsy. some are saying the united states has been tap dancing around the syrian regime's crackdown on protesters. u.s. policy may now be changing. that is coming up next hour. . man on tv: two outs with a runner on first base. now the big guy comes up to bat, hitting .342 with 92 rbis and 36 homers.

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about 9 minutes to the top the hour, president obama later today welcomes the super bowl champion green bay packers to the white house. 5:00 eastern time, michele

bachmann speaks at the iowa state fair soapbox and texas governor is the keynote speaker at the alabama republican party's summer dinner that happens later this evening. we are also following a number of other developments next hour here in the "cc newsroom." let's start with paul steinhauser in des moines, iowa. >> reporter: t.j., a contentious, contentious republican presidential debate last night. we'll break it down, talk about who said what and why it matters. plus, the crucial straw poll tonight and as you mengtioned, the iowa state fair, sarah palin coming this way also. i'm christine romans in new york. we're making had history this week. what does it mean for your house, for your job, your retirement. there will be no wall street jargon here. we'll explain exactly what it means at the top of the hour. i'm cnn meteorologist reynolds wolf here in atlanta. we've got a story for you that's out of the world.

we're talking about the meteor shower, exactly where it is, best places to view it. we'll let you know in a few minutes. >> i think i like your story best, reynolds. guys, paul, christine, renney, see you all here shortly. we're getting closer and closer to the top of the hour. yes, the economy may be down, but you have not stopped drinking that wine, have you? america's wine industry still has something to celebrate. that's ahead in the next hour off the "cnn newsroom."

bringing in our friend eand talking sports. there was hope for tiger yesterday. >> everyone thought maybe he would be finally ready coming off the injury. it it was not pretty. really a tale of two golfers, one has won 14 majors, tiger, the other guy zero. but this one didn't go by the book. steve stricker, your opening round leader. what a way for the top-ranked american to start, a 63, seven under, ties the record for the lowest round in a major, had only 24 putts, stricker is great. really a guy you can say deserves to win a major by this point. then there's tiger. 14 strokes back after day one, he's 7 over. it's his worst opening round

ever at any tournament. he went to drink there. man, was he spending a lot of time at the beach, 13 bunkers. tiger is in real danger of not making the cut. u.s. open winner rory mcilroy injured himself when he hit a tree root with his 7 iron. he had to tape it up. we'll go live to the atlanta athletic club for a check on today's play, second round. everyone wondering if tiger can turn it around even just to make the cut. might be a little victory, boy how the mighty have fallen talking about tiger making the cut. >> looking forward to next hour, happening right here in atlanta. thank you so much, jeff. talk to you again soon. they've been roommates for more than four decades now. some say two of the sesame street's puppets may be gay. just weeks after new york has legalized same-sex marriages, some say time for a sesame

street puppet marriage. >> reporter: do bert and ernie have a secret? are the sesame street muppets coming out of the closet? >> what if they are gay? what if they're neck deep in each other's fuzz every night. >> reporter: the gay buzz has been around for years but now there's an online petition asking sesame street to let bert and ernie get married. the petition was dreamed up by gay activist lair scott. >> when i was $9 year old i wondered if they were a gay couple. >> reporter: there's been a lot of purely circumstantial evidence. >> they sleep in the same room. >> reporter: they take baths together. look at the photo on the wall. >> that's our picture. >> reporter: sure there are counterindications. >> let's talk about bert's eyebrow. no self-respecting homosexual would leave a union i brow like that unplucked. if there's one thing gays do, it's pluck. >> reporter: they've been together more than 41 years and just as folks speculated that the purple telly tubby with the

purse was gay, rumors have swirled around the roommate muppets. >> bert, not gay, ernie very he gay. no matter how you've tried, ernie, and i've tried, you can't switch them. >> reporter: but the petition to let bert and ernie marry has spawned petitions to stop them. "new york daily news" wrote an editorial on the subject enti e entitled they're just muppet t. sar tas cass tickally asked, why not march yogi bear and boo boo down the aisle, too? funny but not applicable. the creators of sesame street are not budging. they say bert and ernie are best friends. they remain puppets and do not have a sexual orientation. the denial it's don't stop suggestive songs like the one from avenue cue. ♪ if you were gay that would be okay ♪ rfrnlts the petition organizer knew when he was $5 years old.

>> that i had an attraction to tarzan. >> reporter: so he wants role models for other young gay kids watching tv. though chances for a wedding for bert and ernie seem nil, still someone joked, will the reception being in oscar's can? ♪ i love trash >> reporter: ernie may proclaim who he's true to. ♪ rubber ducky you're the one >> reporter: but the gay spoofs keep bubbling up. ♪ it's fun to stay at the ymca >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. hey there, folks. it is 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. wherever you may be, we are certainly glad you're right here. i'm t.j. holmes in today for keira phillips. we're watching wall street. it's been open about a half hour now and looky looky, in positive territory. we'll take it, even though it's

early. we have been watching a historical week of volatility. will it end up that way? the republican candidates don't even bother to put on gloves so they it don't have to take them off last night. they he came out swinging. but a new challenger is about to enter the ring. we'll talk about it. in great britain, police are in control and now on the hunt. they're arresting nearly 2,000 people in connection with the riots and looting there. we are talking about iowa being the battleground this weekend, but minnesota seem to be the heart of a turf war right now. tensions really boiled over last night between two officials from that state. the former governor tim lenty and congresswoman michele bachmann, pawlenty accusing her of being a failure in congress. you didn't think that was going to let that slide, did you? >> her record of accomplishment

and results is nonexistent. >> you said the era of small government was over. that sounds a lot more like barack obama if you ask me. >> it's not her spine we're worried about. it it's her record of results. please stop because you're killing us. >> ooh, the clock ticking toward tomorrow's all-important straw poll in iowa. presidential campaigns going to be facing a really first big test of public opinion. so maybe it's not surprising that they kind of went at each other last night. one person, though, who stole the spotlight wasn't even on stage. let me bring in my friend candy crowley. she is in iowa for us right now. who is this person that everybody is talking about and they were talking about last night even though he was not there? >> reporter: texas governor rick perry who is going to get into the race tomorrow, we are told, sources tell cnn. look, he's been on the outskirts of this race and looking like he was ready to get in for several weeks now, if not months.

so it's not so much a surprise as it is kind of that long, slow tease which gets you lots of headlines without a lot of criticism simply because you're not in the fray yet. so he's been in the cat bird seat, which generally is being outside where they're all arguing, and he's getting sort of ready to step in. you know, is it going to make any difference in the race? it either will or it won't, which is actually the most honest answer here because we've seen candidates get in late and make a difference, but we've also seen candidates get in late and it's too late. too late because donors have signed up, people have already sworn allegiance to certain campaigns or feel a connection with them. so rick perry likely will have a lot of money. he certainly has a record that he can run on and people will run against. so he is likely to be at least initially a force that has the potential to shake up up the race, particularly to shake up that non-romney spot, which

right now michele bachmann and tim pawlenty as you saw are kiing for. that slot is open and really where at this point there is a place for rick perry to come in and change things. >> candy, you know the day after people try to pick winners and losers s is in these debates. but did we learn anything that we he didn't already know about his candidates? >> reporter: i wouldn't say we learned anything policywise redidn't already know. i think even when it wasn't michele bachmann and tim pawlenty going at each other, the others were certainly interested in showing they can throw a punch. people want their president to be able to stand up and stare down his critics because, as we all know, they have to stare down congress and others. you will see the kind of ratcheting up of the rhetoric and that will be i think the story more than policy changes.

these policies are pretty well out there. the fact of the matter is that the rhetoric follows the same line as the calendar and the closer we get to those iowa caulks uses and start of the primary season, the higher the interparty rhetoric will go simply because something's got to give at some point. not all of these folks are going to survive for very much longer and you want to still be standing on that stage for debate four, five and six. so the 0 way to do it is to shove somebody else off of it. that's why you see this sort of heated rhetoric. >> candy crowley, appreciate you as always. we'll check in again. we're at five minutes past the hour again. for the presidential candidates, you've got to be in iowa, at the state fair right now. at least seven republican candidates will be there. guess who else will be there? sarah palin. she is rolling in on her bus tour. let me bring in our paul steinhauser who is there at the fair. certainly a lot of excitement around her arrival, but do you

imagine that the kacandidates appreciate her stealing some of the spotlight after rick perry stole so much of the spotlight yesterday as well? >> reporter: i guess the answer to that will be too bad. they really don't have a choice. all the action last niem was in ames, iowa, 30 miles from here. it's right here at the state fair. this is retail politics at its best i guess where the candidates come, shake hands, meet and greet. seven of the presidential candidates are here. in fact, ron paul was just walking around. i saw don lemon just a few moments ago trying to talk to congressman paul. but as you said, stealing the spotlight, crashing the party if you will, sarah palin. we remember that one nation bus tour from earlier this summer, a lot of headlines, started in d.c. it, went to new hampshire, another crucial state. we learned earlier this week sarah would be in iowa right here at the state fair. will she or won't she? we don't know. maybe sme doesn't even know. she says she'll decide on whether she'll run for the

presidential nomination or not by september. you look at any national poll and she's still doing okay, kind of in the middle of the pack. >> the tea party, would they like to see her get into this race? or are they happy with the candidate already in the game right now? >> reporter: well, you know, there is one no tea party, there's tea party activists, groups across the country. i think michele bachmann who's already in the race of course is a favorite of any tea party activist, rick perry who's about to jump in, the texas governor, also a favorite of some. ron paul they say he was a tea party before there was a tea party. of course there's palin. i don't think there's just one tea party candidate. there are a lot who curry favor with the tea party activists. we're seven minutes past the hour. let's turn to wall street. the markets have been open close to 40 minutes now. how are things looking? we'll check in with our christine romans now. christine, i'll take it, 34

points up. i know y'all are trying to tell me, t.j., just calm down. it's a long day. but anything in positive territory this week i appreciate. >> i know. but it's so early, t.j. it's only been open for 37 minutes and it's off its highs. >> i know. >> a lot of people trying to figure out how to make sense of what's p happening day to day in this market. i can tell you one thing. interest rates this week, mortgage rates are very, very low. i mean, below 5% for a 30-yefix fixed mortgage. that's something you have control over. if you're thinking about refinancing, that's something you can do today. you can look at your portfolio to make sure your 401(k), retirement, ira, that you're balanced the right way. that's an important thing to do. but you can't control the interday swings. it's been historic. we've never had four days 400 points up our down at the close. we're down 1500 points since july 1st.

three brutal weeks of selling. 1500 points in the dow. it's been a swift and ferocious move. now everyone is trying to figure out where it goes from here. one thing they're doing in europe that i wanted to mention to you is the banking regulators in four different countries in europe have actually instituted a very short-term ban on short sales of financial insurance and banking stocks. and the point of that is that they're so concerned about the debt problems in europe and what that will mean for the financial settingor in europe they want to make sure speculators aren't selling stock they don't own or borrowing bank stocks, which you can do. you borrow the bank stocks and then sell them because you think they'll go down. a lot of people thinks that can exacerbate a move and they're trying to calm the markets. we tried something like that in the u.s. in 2008. i'll tell you the results -- the feedback is pretty mixed on whether it helped or not. but that's what they're doing in europe, trying to catch some stability in the meantime here i don't know how you find stanlt

stability in such a crazy market. but i would just tell people, try to make sure your own finances are aaa rated and try to see if you can control what you can, which is basically your mortgage. >> christine, thank you as always. but again, like she said, just 40 minutes into the trading day in positive territory. but just only ever so slightly. we'll turn to syria now where the dead crackdown against antigovernment protest intensifies by the day as the u.s. mulls possible sanctions against the al assad regime. jonath jonathan mann, what other options does the u.s. have? >> it has all kinds of options. it called on hosni mubarak to leave the presidency of egypt. he he did. backed a nato war against moammar gadhafi in libya. neither has worked out the way the u.s. wants so this is very different. there have been sanctions against the al assad regime for

years, when his father was in power. now more sanctions, sanctions against the state-owned bank and the largest mobile phone network in the country. once more upping the ante a little more pressure but really gentle pressure, more of a signal that the united states is really serious about what's going on there. >> and has been stopping short of saying he needs to go. there was some criticism about that for the u.s. as well. >> really p stopping short. in part because the united states doesn't really know what it wants in syria but also in part, if the united states calls for assad to step down, what then? what if he doesn't go? washington looks weak and people will say, what are you going to do now? not wanting to face that question, the u.s. is proceeding very slowly, asking other nations that matter more, trading partners like russia, india, china, to come up with sanctions. so far not much love from them. >> jonathan, thank you so much. we're 11 minutes past the hour now. still ahead, michele bachmann, presidential candidate, member of congress, and submissive

wife. her self-description raised eyebrows and more than a few questions. can a submissive wife also be a good president? we are taking a look at that. also -- you don't hear this every day from a criminal suspect. "i deserved to get shot." did you see that picture of the person smiling? that's the one who was shot. we'll tell you how much she has to be smiling about right now. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. [ martin luther king jr. ] i still have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners

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that's not going to satisfy you. come on. it's time for a better snack. try this. it's yoplait greek. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt. you'll feel satisfied. [ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. oh, and there's a smile. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. about 14 minutes past the hour. give you a look at stories

making news cross country. in san francisco, police shut down cell phone service. they did this for a reason, though. they were trying to stop a protest. they got word there would be a repeat of demonstrations at a public transit station just like last month. those protests kind of shut down the public transit system there for a while. but with all the cell service shut down in that area, police say the commute went off without a hitch. also, the sister in the so-called dougherty gang, you see her smiling there, she's it telling the fbi that she deserved to get shot. she was shot in the leg during a shootout with police in colorado. that was on wednesday. lee dougherty, she was smiling in that picture. these are new pictures. she and her brothers are warranted for armed bank robbery in georgia and attempted murder in florida. they're set to be in court again monday. also, this is a great story. let's you know you can help out as well. kids in oregon, two springville

oregon, kids are help hadding to raise money to fight hunger in somalia. you know what they're doing? what they can. they're selling snow cones and selling them for 50 cents apiece. amia and jonathan, after seeing the news reports they just wanted to do something to pitch in. you can, too. sell snow cones if you want to, but you've got other options as well. you can head over to cnn.com/impact to find out how you can pitch in as well. 16 minutes past the hour now. there was a question last night that really kind of disturbed the audience at the presidential debate. it was a question that went to congresswoman michele bachmann. she was asked whether or not she would be a submissive wife to her husband if she was elected president. listen to her answer. >> in 2006 when you were running for congress, you described a

moment in your life when your husband said you should study for a degree in tax law. you said you hated the idea and then you explained, quote, but the lord said be submissive. wives who are to be submissive to your husbands. as president, would you be submissive to your husband? >> what submission means to us, if that's what your question is, it means respect. i respect my husband. he's a wonderful, godly man and a great father. and he respects me as his wife. that's how we operate our marriage. >> let me bring in dr. tar, a relationship expertment he's joining me from houston. to hear question, what is your reaction to hear a presidential candidate on stage getting that question? >> i mean, it it's a question

that all women have to answer. they have the balance between being a career woman and also being a wife. if we talk about from at biblical standpoint they kind of have to wear two hats, which makes it extremely difficult because they're two different skill sets. >> doctor, help us all understand, what is meant -- i guess it means different things to different people. but in your estimation, what does it mean to submit to your husband? >> see, that's the thing. we're talking about one side of submission, but in ephesians in the bible it talks about two sides of submission. that means husbands submit to your wives and wives submit to your had husbands. how the question was posed, it sounded like oppression and they started talking about control versus allowing your partner to influence you. that's why it's such a hot button issue. when we start talking about marriages, we forget some marriages involve control and domestic violence. so it seems like it's a mixed message in telling women to submit to husbands that don't

love their wives. but in reality it's supposed to be a mutual influence. >> now, i'm reading hear, i have it pulled up, submit to one another out of reverence for christ and it also says, wives submit yourselves to your own had husbands, it says husbands love your wives just as christ loved the church. now, is there another place, or is that just interpreted to mean the same thing as submit to your wife? >> well, you know, it it talks about there being conditions under which women should submit to men. a man that does not love you the way christ loved the church, you should not submit to him. that's where a lot of people get confused. sometimes people will be taught or they'll be coerced and say, stay with your husband even though he's beating on you or even though he's being controlling. no, that's nowhere in the bible or nowhere within healthy relationships. what we have to do is just make sure that we love one another and we allow each partner to influence the other. you have to yield to win sometimes. >> well, maybe that's the word

because my next question was, you say people kind of misconstrue this and maybe confuse this. so besides submission, what would you say is a better word that people could get their heads around a little better? what would you replace "submit" with? >> i think we have to have compassion for one another or something called binocular vision where we're able to see it the way we do and the way our partner sees it at the same time. marriage is about a couple. when bachmann was talking about going back to school, i think what she was referencing was allowing her husband to influence her decision making. at the end of the day, she decided to do that for herself, and i think it came off wrong because of the question. but it's something that women have to balance and it's an amazing thing to be a woman and that they have to go to work but then they come home and have a completely different skill set. and people don't like the word "submit" because it makes us think about oppression, abuse and slavery. >> well, dr. tartt -- >> think compassion.

>> i am so glad we were able to get you on today because this is certainly a hot topic and it can be an offensive one as you know to a lot of people as well. but thank you for taking the time out. you enjoy the rest of your weekend. >> thank you. a happy wife is a happy life. >> don't i know it. 20 minutes past the hour. coming up, is it farrah fawcett as barbie? or barbie as farrah? either way, we've got a hit to show you. also, we've got a meteor shower expected to hit its peak tonight. reynolds wolf, my weekend buddy, joins me in a minute to tell you exactly the time you need to be looking it at the skies to check it out. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system.

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23 minutes past the hour now. i'll give you some showbiz headlines. teen star miranda cosgrove taking it easy a day after her tour bus crashed in illinois. the singer and actress broke her ankle in that wreck. her concert tour has been postponed until further notice. and a new farrah fawcett barbie is a hit with fans and collectors. mattel's doll inspired by the actress' famous poster selling out all over the fawcett died after a long battle with cancer. part of the proceeds will go toward cancer research. and viral video star rebecca black, you remember her? she dropped out of school now because she says she's been bullied constantly. the 14-year-old says other students mocked her song "friday" and lashed out at her instant fame. she's now being home-schooled by her mom.

all right. let me say good morning to our reynolds wolf, my weekend buddy here now. you've got to get me straight. there's a meteor shower. i got them mixed up. this is not the one i was thinking of. there are two, right? no. >> hold on. whoa, whoa. what exactly were you thinking of? >> the other one that starts with -- >> i have no idea what you're talking about. see how this happens? you're talking about the meteor shower. this is the other one. >> what's the difference? >> odifferent names. we'll work on that later on. dude, check it out. here's what we have, the earth passes through the dust of the comet swift tuttle. i know, t.j., you're very concerned about the name of the comet, the swift-tuttle. what's interesting about it is you're going to have this great event that takes place every year. if you miss it, you can see it next year, it it happens every july and august. what's truly amazing is the comet orbits the sun every 133

years. we're talking about a century and a third or so. the question is, you know it's coming. where are the best places to see it? it depends on where you are around the country. your odds are going to be much better toward the west into the rockies, but then when you get into the midwest, the great lakes and certainly in the southeast it really is going to be hit or miss. there are times you'll see a little bit of sporadic shower. here is a look at some of the video of how these things look. this is an ireport sent in by steve gifford who was lucky enough to get these shots. amazing to see. they go by quickly. they are, after all, meteors, meet teorit meteorites, meteor shower. good times. t.j., you're up to speed. more answers than you ever wanted to know about this incredible meteor shower. >> am i really up to speed? or am i just as confused as ever? >> i don't know. if it's up to me to get you up to speed, me doing the job, it's impossible. >> reynolds, thank you. that big gop debate last

night in iowa, couple of people were not there but still made some headlines. we're talking good governor rick perry as well as sarah palin. now, was it a good move to not be there? the political buzz coming up. stay with me. and blur my vision. my eye doctor said there's great news for people with astigmatism. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink and created with hydraclear® plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism.

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getting closes to the bottom of the hour. here are the stories making headlines. the stock market has been making headlines all week for some of the wrong reasons. but you see it right now, about an hour into the trading day, the dow up 100 points. we'll keep a close eye. also, eight gop presidential candidates took to the stage for a debate. tim pawlenty and michele bachmann likely did not go have a beer together after the debate. they exchanged jabs a number of times yesterday over white house qualifications. also, the obama administration may be closer to calling for syrian president bashar al assad to step down due to his government's crackdown. we are monitoring secretary of state hillary clinton's news conference this hour. to the "political buzz," your rapid fire look at the hottest topics of the day.

who do we have playing today? once again, democratic national committee member robert zimmerman, good to see you, sir. also comcast network d.c. bureau chief robert trainemin iowa and will cain. all first question. last night the gop contenders really went at it. let's take a listen and the question comes next. >> people are looking for a champion. they want someone who's been fighting. >> she led the effort against obama care. we got obamacare. she says she's got a titanium spine. it's not her spine we're worried about. it's her records of results. if that's your view, please stop because you're killing us. >> i wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. i'd love to see the rest of tonight's debate asking us about what we would do to lead an america whose president has failed to lead instead of playing mickey mouse games. >> i'm not going to eat barack obama's dog food. what he served up is not what i

would have done as president of the united states. i would have cut federal spending. >> he sees it the same way as barack obama sees it. we have to go around and apologize for the fact we've exerted our influence to create freedom around the world. >> in iraq, they have nuclear weapons and we had to go in. i'm sure he supported that war as well. it's time question quit this! it's trillions of dollars we're spending on these wars! >> all right. so obama's dog food. mickey mouse questions. gotcha questions. titanium spines. mr. zimmerman, let me start with you. who won and why? >> it t. j., the only winners last night were grover norquist and rush limbaugh if you cut right to it. here you have a panel of, in fairness, people who have accomplished personal lives, they're all fairly literate people, let they still stood with the extreme fringe and were captivated by them. supporting a position only 10%

to 15% support. not even supporting raising revenues by -- cuts 10-1 over raising revenues a position out of the mainstream. >> will, let me bring you in. i'm sure you caught "fairly litera literate" there. who do you think won and why? >> always good to have robert's fair analysis on the republican field. mitt romney hands down. i'll tell you why, t.j. because nobody touched him. of all the fights we saw, bachmann versus pawlenty, santorin versus paul, nut gingrich versus the fox news panel. romney is front-runner and he's the architect of romney care. there was plenty of stuff to go after romney for and nobody did. so he wins. >> let me bring in robert now. would you agree with that? as long as he comes away unscathed, he's dog all right? he doesn't have to score points, just doesn't need to lose them. who won and why? >> i agree a thousand percent.

it was mitt romney's night last night, no question about it. not only did he look presidential but sounded presidential. interesting enough, i criticize the republican folks during the last debate. no one laid a glove on mitt romney. it was all about a mitt romney lovefest. a couple of month ago. it appeared to happen last night again. he walked away with no bruises on his chin, which i thought was interesting because going into this i thought everyone was going to go after rom ne and bachmann because they're the perceived front-runners in the race. mitt romney the winner. >> robert, i will stay with you there in iowa. rick perry, texas governor expected to get into the race officially tomorrow and sarah palin rolling into iowa on her bus tour, they were not in the debate last night. so, robert, is that a good move? does it hurt them at all not being there? >> i don't think it hurts them. look, excuse the metaphor, but they're the two elephants in the room. sarah palin will come rolling in

on her bus, steal all the thunder as she typically does. she he has a very big footprint. rick perry didn't have to be at the debate because he's obviously going to announce sniem tomorrow so he'll steal a bit of the thunder already. going into this, it seems like they're being almost crazy like a fox by not coming to the state fair in iowa, except obviously for sarah palin coming in in a couple of hours. my point is, they still have a lot, a lot of time ahead of them and they he very well will be the fronts runners when they come. >> turn to the other robert. same question. good, bad move to skip the deba debate? >> it was probably a wise move for both of them because ultimately they have to look pragmatically about the fact that iowa is not a defining contest for the republican nominee in the same way iowa has been a defining competition for democrats. i would have one caveat here. iowa caucuses are all about organization. both of them are profoundly behind the curve in that regard in terms of building a team and building an organization.

and note to will and robert -- take it from me and my party, winning the primary is not tantamount to swerving to the middle and then winning the general. >> will, let me bring you in on this question as well. it seemed like even though governor perry was not there he still played a role in the debate. so did it really make a difference for him or sarah palin to not participate? >> yeah, i wouldn't group them together actually. i think perry's strategy is playing out to be very smart. most polls suggest that this race is going to come down to mitt romney versus rick perry.

i think after last night that's the way it still stands. sarah pail i can't quantify what's going on there. i i don't know she'll be in the race. i don't know if she knows that. i don't know if it deserves a conversation about whether she has a strategy and it's working out. rick perry for now, i think his strategy is working. >> well, last question. this is the buzzer beater round. will, starting with you on this one. we need to start by listening to what was one of the most interesting questions of the night that got crowd reaction. let's take a listen. >> in 2006 when you were running for congress, you described a moment in your life when your husband said you should study for a degree in tax law. you said you hated the idea, and then you explained, quote, but the lord said be submissive. wives who are to be submissive to your husbands. as president, would you be submissive to your husband? >> what submission means to us, if that's what your question is, it means respect. i respect my husband. he's a wonderful, godly man and a great father. and he respects me as his wife. that's how we operate our marriage. >> all right, to the three men

on this panel, tread lightly, will, when i ask you, can you submit to your husband and still be a good and effective president of the united states? >> i'm going to dodge that question away there, t.j. let me say this. i was live-blogging the debate last night for a conservative web site the blaze.com and nine out of ten commenters when that question came up were highly offended and felt it was out of bounds. i've also spoken to some women, which you just alluded to, who were offended as well. one out of ten found it very interesting. i'm in that group. i find this a very interesting question. whether or not we're electing marcus bachmann ought to be ask. >> robert trainem, can you do both, be a submissive wife and be president of the united states? >> go for it, robert. >> i take issue with the question. it's ridiculous. the question you should ask, since franklin roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down,

would he be ineffective as president? this is ridiculous. we're talking about millions of people that are unemployed. we're talking about people that are living paycheck to paycheck. we need to focus on the issues at hand and regardless of whether or not is submissive to their mate or not, that's their business, not the american people's business. >> to my other robert, wrap it it up. >> t.j., i don't believe issues about spousal relationships should be a focus of a presidential campaign. michele bachmann does, however because sle's made a big issue about spousal relationships and same-sex marriages. i think she should take a tip from my friends in the gay community, maybe they could give her good viladvice about spousa relationships. robert, robert, will, good to talk to you all. enjoy your weekend. >> thank you. i'll bring some fried butter back to you. >> keep it to yourself, robert. 39 minutes past the hour now. this is really some unchartered

territory for tiger woods. when you thought things couldn't really get much worse, well, it did. he is now facing the possibility of not making the cut after his worst opening round ever. we are live at the pga championshitraynham.

let's go out to our patrick snell, he's covering the pga championship. patrick, hello. are people keeping track of the guys at the top of the leaderboard or one guy at the bottom. >> reporter: i think both to be fair. steve stricker leading now after a sizzling 63 on thursday. he's the highest american in the world rankings right now at number five, but you're quite right. many of the thousands of eyes already on the course waiting, expectantly for tiger woods, the former world number one. he tees off in about three hours

from now. he had a really bad first round. there's no other way to put it, t.j. he shot 77, and this after starting so memorably. he had three birdies within the first five holes. then he just suffered a big meltdown of garr gant union proportions. he's in real danger of missing the cut. no doubt about it. just to give you an idea of how he ended the front 9, a double bogey, bogey, a par and another double as well. really poor showing from tiger woods. a quick word on rory mcilroy, the reigning u.s. open champion. he injured his forearm during thursday's first round trying to play a tricky shot on hole 3. he got an mri. he has a strained tendon on the right forearm. he's out on the coast and soldiering on. rory milk mcilroy is not a quitter for sure. >> patrick, thank you so much.

we're about a quarter to the top of the hour now. save jobs or save the environment? you've got to choose sometimes. we'll tell you about the battle for blair mountain. soledad o'brien joining me next. it's time for a better snack. here, try this. it's yoplait greek. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt. you'll feel satisfied. [ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. it's pretty good! with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens,

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target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] nourish plus. only from aveeno. about half of the power this country uses still comes from burning coal. and one of the ways we get it is by mountain top removal mining. it's effective and it's pretty destructive as well. that's pitting jobs, folks, against environment folks across the state west virginia. here a sneak preview of soled soledad's special report "the

battle for blair mountain." >> reporter: most mountaintop removal sites are hidden from roads. to get a clear view of the aftermath, you need to go up. this is mountaintop removal in process. >> right. they'll be taking all of that rock material, take it all. >> reporter: another concern for those opposed to mountaintop removal projects, the blasting. >> it shook the house s real ba. it it cracked our porches, ceilings in our houses. but you couldn't prove it was done by blasting. this was just a bad place to live. >> reporter: charles bella lives in blair. when blasting began near his home in 1997, he was working in the mines. >> every time i'd complain about the blasting, the superintendent

said to me one day, he said, do you realize that you're biting the hand that feeds you? and i said, yeah, but i also realize it 's the hand that's killing me. >> reporter: do you worry that the streams are damaged, that the dust is in the air? >> it's not healthy. >> reporter: you can't tell dust by sniffing and you know it. another neighbor is diane kish. >> let me tell you that this fed our families. >> reporter: so you don't think it's unsafe. >> i would take a drink of this water. >> reporter: you would not! >> yes, i would. >> reporter: come on. are lo look at the color. i wouldn't let you. >> better than black. >> reporter: when you look at this mountain, the trees are stripped away, is that progress to you? >> it it's a job in the making. >> soledad, what are you supposed to do? the hand that feeds you is the same one that's killing you. >> yeah. this is really the conundrum of this region and i think for many

people, the question is why does it have to be positioned as jobs versus the environment? is there any position where both can win? the epa as you know a while back pulled the spruce one mine permit, which is going to be this massive project. when that happened, many people in the community felt hundreds potentially jobs were lost and so this is really teed up this battle for blair mountain where you have coal miners and people bho support coal mining really going against the environmentals who come into town to do a march to blair mountain, recreating a historic march from 1921 but also bringing up some pretty angry feelings as they march through the center of town. >> and some of those people and the woman you talked to there would some suggest they're in denial or they're on their own pr campaign as well? because they know that hand that feeds them and for her to suggest, it's perfectly safe, i'll dive right in and drink that water, is that really reasonable? >> you know, we've heard that a lot. people would say, listen, if the deer is drinking out of the stream, i don't care what -- cnn asked someone to test the water

in a stream. if a deer is drinking out of it, unless that deer kills over and dies, i feel good about drinking from the stream, even if there is particulate matter in there and it could be dangerous. i think some of that is denial, i think some of it is really the issue under all of this, which is yjobs. coal miners make $65,000 a year, the family we follow. what job is going to replace that soon, not in 10, 15 year snz what job tomorrow replaces that? there's not a job there that replace that's at $65,000 a year. so people understand that's really at issue here. how do you replace those good jobs? do you have to given up your safety, your health, in order to keep those kind of jobs? >> soledad, good to see you. thanks. it's working in america "the battle for blair mountain," airs sunday night 8:00 eastern right here on cnn.

here are some of the stories making news a little later today. president obama welcoming the super bowl champion green bay packers to the white house, happens a little after 2:30 eastern time. at 5:00 eastern time, gop presidential candidate michele bachmann speaks at the iowa state fair soapbox. also, texas governor rick perry is the keynote speaker at the alabama republican party's summer dinner later this evening. you don't have to wait long for suzanne malveaux. she'll be here in a second continuing in the "cnn newsroom" and this wild ride for stocks. it means a wild ride for traders at the new york stock exchange. we'll take you to the floor for a hind the saeps look as one trader tries to make some last-minute deals. stay here. a real person will be there to help you.

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♪ when you're resonsible for this much of the team, you need a car you can count on. ♪ just a few minutes to the top of the hour. we want to head back out to iowa. don lemon is there with the election express bus. we know a lot of candidates will be running around there today, and it sounds like you have just chased one down. is that right? >> reporter: ron paul, the first one who's going to be speaking at the soapbox, right behind the bus here. the whole reason we're here is for the straw poll that's going to happen tomorrow, really is going to decide how much of a ground swell, how organized they

are, how many people they can get from iowa to come out and vote for them in the straw poll. i caught up with ron paul, asked him how he thought he did last night. he said, i think i did okay. he was a little frustrated he said with the time. he didn't get enough time to talk about what he wanted to do. i also asked him about the straw poll. i said, who do you think is going to win the straw poll? usually candidates say, i will. he said, i don't know. i said, what about the debate in the downgrade in our credit and about the debt ceiling and all of that? who's responsible for that, democrats, republicans, the tea party, the president? he had a very interesting answer. he put the onus on the american people. listen. >> reporter: people are asking, who is responsible for the downgrade, the tea party, republicans, democrats, the president? >> the people and the congress because the people have demanded big government and supported all these wars and they need to quit doing it. so it's an appetite for big government that is at fault and the congress goes along with that because they appease them and get reelected. >> reporter: the people, you mean the voters, america?

>> i mean, did they complain about all the spending up until the time we hit the crisis? but now the tea party people, the ones rebebling and saying enough is enough, we have to quit the spending. >> reporter: so there you go. the downgrade, who's responsible? according to ron paul, direct question there, he said the american people and also the congress. just a little bit earlier t.j. i was telling you about, you asked me what were people saying. i said, you know what? they're interested but it's 15 months out. the front of the des moines register says it all. despite world's trouble, the fair lets us celebrate all things iowa. you see there two young gentlemen enjoying themselves with food here from the state fair. so that's where we are at this juncture, again the big straw poll tomorrow we're looking forward to. the first up to speak is ron paul, then we're looking for sarah palin as well, michele bachmann and all the other candidates will come out today. we'll bring it to you right here on cnn. >> good stuff, con. good perspective as well