campaign swagger. i'm ali velshi. fighting words from texas governor rick perry, challenging the president and fed chairman ben bernanke. it's an offensive getting the republican candidate a lot of notice. >> i'm christine romans. president obama firing back at the gop newcomer urging republicans to put the country's economic needs ahead of their own political interests. we have the president's exclusive cnn interview with wolf blitzer. >> i'm carol costello. out of the mouths of candidates, michele bachmann tried to lead a happy birthday tribute to the king of rock and roll but her elvis facts are all shook up, on this "american morning." good morning. it is wednesday, august 17th. welcome to "american morning." gosh, the election is just months away. >> i know. >> feels like it? it's a year and months away. but the amount that's going on right now, you would think we have an election -- we have some in november but we have a

presidential election. >> the caucuses aren't until it's winter, until snow on the ground. >> at least it's been entertaining. up first texas governor rick perry on the attack in new hampshire. hit the ground running and hitting president obama hard calling his handling of the economy a disaster. he's not backing down from his verbal assault in iowa this week on fed chairman ben bernanke. here's what governor perry said. >> if this guy prints more money, between now and the election, i don't know what you all would do to him in iowa, but we'd -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. i mean, printing more money, to play politics at this particular time in american history, is almost treasonous in my opinion. >> this morning, governor perry is headlining the politics and eggs breakfast in new hampshire.

cnn senior political editor mark preston is covering that event and joins us live from bedford. the texas governor, i'm telling you he's backing up his comments about bernanke. not going to back off from them. what do you make of it, mark? >> you know, christine, he certainly is a straight shooter. he's from texas and kind of has that swagger. you know, his campaign has only been less than a week old. this is his second trip to new hampshire. i think it shows us a couple things. one, that he's not going to back down and he'll stick by what he has to say. another thing is that this is going to play well with a certain part of the republican base. however, he has to be a little bit concerned because comments like this could, now i say could, get independents and moderate republicans to take a second look at him and not necessarily a good second look at him, christine. >> mark, i want to be clear here, the fed has just said in a very historic statement that it was going to keep interest rates very low through 2013.

that's through the election and beyond. essentially saying, we're out of it from here on out, we're going to keep interest rates low. so, i'm not sure that the fed has made any move that governor perry should be exactly focusing on, but you're right about the moderates and the independents who have been saying, what's the fed going to do? the fed is out of the game. business owners are saying we need more from the fed. governor perry is backtracking on one of the most controversial decisions he made as a texas governor, 2007 executive order that mandated the hpv vaccine, guarantee sill, made by merck, be given to sixth grade girls. listen to what he said in new hampshire over the weekend. >> the hpv, human pamplona virus -- and i signed an executive order that allowed for an opt out, but the fact of the matter is, i didn't do my research well enough to understand we needed to have a substantial conversation with our citizenry.

>> so, what do you make of that? >> well, you know, the fact of the matter is, again, only a week old, and he's finally realizing that people are going to start looking at his record with a fine-tooth comb. people are going to start going down to texas, start going through everything that he has done. but i will have to say this, any act of contrition usually is accepted by the american people, so him getting out in front of this right now is actually very smart politically. as far as what we'll hear from him on the campaign trail, i was talking to one of his top advisors last night, we're going to hear him talk about three things, jobs, jobs, jobs. it's all about the economy. that's what we're hearing from mitt romney. quite frankly that's what we're hearing from president obama, christine. >> mark preston, thanks so much. the treacherous treasonous comment. >> ron paul really doesn't like the fed and he's been talking about it for a long time. there's a line between not liking what the fed does and calling treasonous. there's no basis in any law for

what rick perry is talking about. >> treason is a crime in the constitution and punishable by death. >> yeah. he got a little far out on that. >> don't you read its fed was stepping back from the political game trying to stay out of it? >> i'm not getting that far. why would you call it treasonous. you may not like what they do but they are entitled within the law to do it. >> he would not cooperate with the fed chairman of the united states of america? >> i think ben bernanke is in for another year if -- >> they always overlap fed terms so it's not political. >> governor rick perry will succeed from the fed. >> good luck with that. on the subject of president obama, wrapping up his three day bus tour, three midwest states he will need to get re-elected in 2012. after stops in minnesota and iowa the president will be talking about jobs again today in his home state of illinois. in an exclusive interview with cnn's wolf blitzer, the president talked about the republicans who want to take his

job, specifically the last man into the race. >> rick perry, the governor of texas, republican presidential candidate now, says the men and women of the united states military wants someone whose worn the uniform, he said he served in the air force. do you see a comment like that, that he makes referring to you, as disrespectful to the commander in chief? >> you know, mr. perry just got in the presidential race and i think that everybody who runs for president probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or running for congress, and you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it a few days now. >> mitt romney says corporations are people. does he have a point? >> well, if you tell me that corporations are vital to american life, that the free enterprise system has been the

greatest wealth creator we've ever seen, that there -- corporate ceos and folks working in our large companies that are creating incredible products and services and that is all to the benefit of the united states of america, that i absolutely agree with. if, on the other hand, you tell me that every corporate tax break that's out there is somehow good for ordinary americans, that we have a tax code that's fair, that asking oil and gas companies, for example, not to get special exemptions that other folks don't get and that if we're closing those tax loopholes somehow that is going to hurt america, then that i disagree with. i think that, you know, corporations serve important benefit, but ultimately we've got to look at what's good for ordinary people, how do we create jobs, how do we create economic growth and a lot of the

special interest legislation we see in washington isn't benefiting ordinary people. >> what do you think of that republican field lining up to challenge you? >> you know, i haven't been giving it too much thought. i'll let them dwindle it down a little bit. when they decide who they want it to be, i'll be ready for them. >> coming up at 6:30 eastern, president obama talks to wolf blitzer about his new plan for job growth. the big plan and why he's waiting until september to unveil that plan. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani still deciding whether to consider a second bid for the republican nomination. giuliani was the early frontrunner during the 2008 election but his campaign fizzled when he decided to skip the early primaries in order to focus on florida. now appearing on "piers morgan" last night giuliani insisted he will make a decision on whether to run in the next six weeks. >> are you feeling more inclined to run now or less inclined?

>> i don't think i've changed my thinking about it very much. i'm interested to see governor perry's entrance into the race and what that does and what he has to say. pretty much my timeline is to decide at the end of september, but i haven't gotten any closer to a decision. >> now when asked who he would support if he doesn't run, giuliani refused to commit saying, there are, quote, a lot of good people. a victory for democrats as they hold on to two state senate seats in another wisconsin recall election. yesterday's vote was the last in the series of special elections after a really bruising battle over new laws that cracked down on unions and their right to collective bargaining. last week republicans won back four of six senate seats in a recall election. democrats picked up the other two. a victory for republicans there, but that was not enough to take back power in the state senate for the democrats. it was a terrifying afternoon for visitors and employees at orlando sea world. lightning hit the ground at the discovery cove attraction. five staff members and three

guests were reportedly hurt. they are expected to be okay because no one took a direct hit, but for many, the storm was way too close for comfort. >> they told us to clear the pool, so we came out of the pool and we were sheltering underneath and then there's a huge crack. i've never been scared by lightning until today. because it was right above us. it was really, really scary. >> kind of lucky i didn't get hit. >> i bet he does. the lightning storm passed quickly. people were back on the rides and in the water a short time later. all right. fire crackers aboard a southwest airlines flight, officials want to know how they got there. the plane was getting ready to leave las vegas for kansas city yesterday. a flight attendant found the bag of fire crackers stashed under a seat. passengers were taken off the plane. agents screened all the luggage again. after an hour the plane was declared safe and took off for kansas city. new documents released by britain's parliament casting doubt on the testimony of james

murdoch. the son of rupert murdoch claims he was not aware of an e-mail detailing 35 conversations hacked by news corp. reporters. a document from a former lawyer for the company says james murdoch did know about the e-mail. murdoch may now be asked to testify before parliament again. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning, is heckling good for our political discourse? let's face it, election 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the political flash mob. liberal hecklers scored when they challenged republican mitt romney. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes -- of course they are. >> boy, did it work. the democratic national committee turned the heckling into an ad. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes -- of course they are. everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. where do you think it goes?

>> in their pocket. >> whose pockets? people's pockets. >> not to be outdone, iowa tea party chairman ryan rhodes confronted president obama. >> when you're talking about civility how is your vice president calling us terrorists? >> look, sir -- >> i would like to understand that. >> okay. i will explain it right now. he did not call you guys terrorists. >> does it make you wonder, university of virginia politico larry sabto told me we're moving into a confrontational society. we don't want to listen to c-span, that's too boring, we make our decisions based on political flash mob s politicias are judged how well they respond to hecklers. we could end up with baseball-style brawls at campaign rallies when everybody jumps on top of one another. wouldn't that be fun. i exaggerate. you never know. the talk back question today, is heckling good for our political discourse?

facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> like a dugout-clearing brawl how to account for tax loopholes. >> nobody has thrown a punch. >> no. >> we're still just heckling which is an age-old tradition. i think maybe people are taking their cue from the fact that normal discourse doesn't work in washington. so you yell a little louder. >> and we live in a youtube world where people heckling are hoping that is going to live forever on someone's cell phone camera and be able to rile up the base. >> but the problem is, those who are heckling really don't want to hear the answer. they want to a got cha moment so it appears on youtube and just sort of like fuels this thing out there that's not really political discourse or wanting really to find out what the candidate thinks. see that person is wrong and i told you so. >> we would love to hear your comments on it. facebook.com/americanmorning. looking forward to what you all have to say. coming up ahead on "american morning," see how michele bachmann flubbed a campaign stop

tribute to elvis presley. >> and it looks good on the outside but why this new hotel in the las vegas strip may be torn down before it ever opens. >> and the "jersey shore" cast catching flack. why aber cromby and fitch want them to stop wearing their stuff. you're watching "american morning." we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. great! did i mention no hands in the bundler? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. welcome back to "american morning." a tense six-day police standoff in tulsa, oklahoma, is over. william sturdsman surrendered yesterday afternoon. he climbed a radio tower last thursday. police say he was trying to avoid being arrested for trespassing in a nearby building. he was taken to the hospital. cops say he hasn't had food or water in four days and has a history of mental illness. the city of las vegas calls this hotel a public health hazard. the 26-story harman hotel hasn't opened and already has a slew of structural problems.

officials worry it won't be able to withstand an earthquake. the owner mgm national is considering hiring a demolition crew to knock the thing down. >> the most valuable thing to us would have been to have harmon built properly, opened as a thriving attractive part of city center right at the gateway to city center. what we have right now is 26 floors of glass, steel and concrete that has been deemed a potential threat to public safety. >> wow. >> oh, my gosh. >> that's a big, big, big mistake. officials say it would take 18 months just to assess what repairs are needed and that means it could take years to finish the project if, of course, work ever resumes. >> imagine the losses. >> that's incredible. >> i bet there are lawsuits suing the lawsuits on that. "jersey shore" star mike "the situation" may be getting paid to take his clothes off not

the way you think. carol. it's a little early in the morning to think of that. abercrombie & fitch is offering the sit and the rest of the cast a substantial amount of money to stop wearing their brand on air. they're worried the hard partying cast is ruining their brand's image. exactly how much the company has offered hasn't been revealed. certainly -- >> i find that fascinating given the way abercrombie & fitch advertises. i mean ruining the brand because you're hard partying and got rock solid bodies isn't that kind of the vibe that they give off? >> a snooty kind of comment. >> that's expensive stuff compared to what it is. i guess they feel "the sit". >> rob marciano anybody ever offered you money not to wear your preteen fashion i know you love to wear on the weekends. >> the tank top you always wear. >> listen, the guinea t is a popular item in the marciano household for sure. you may want to wear that if you

live in shreveport. record high of 107. they were wearing it. 105 in texarkantexarkana. longview 106, and houston 102. some of these spot nears them, we had lightning strikes as well and that caused some grass fires. kauffman county, texas, south and east of dallas, seeing a little bit of that action yesterday. not too big of a deal but the fire department had to get out and beat back the flames. this has been an ongoing issue across texas because of the heat and drought that's ongoing, exceptional in some spots. more in the way of heat today across the lone star state. this weak front will push to the east and finally the rains are over across the northeast. florida, though, you'll see more in the way of thunderstorms in the afternoon. miami, tampa and orlando the suspect airports this afternoon and morning fog and clouds in san francisco. watching this thing, guys, central caribbean, likely to become something here in the next couple days as it heads towards the yucatan pen nins la.

it may get in the gulf of mexico. that may be a problem. we'll keep you posted. >> i hope not. thank you, rob. just ahead on "american morning," a happy ending to a terrifying ordeal. how a neighbor was able to stop a 6-year-old girl from being kidnapped in albuquerque. >> what nba star kobe bryant is accused of doing to another man in church. we'll show it to you. 21 minutes after the hour. [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the jetta, awarded a top safety pick by the iihs. that's the power of german engineering. hurry in and lease the jetta s for just $179 a month.

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minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures are trading slightly lower ahead of today's open as most of the markets in asia closed with moderate losses. right now european markets are trading lower with germany's stock market down a little more than 1%. google's stock downgraded by

standard & poor's to a sell recommendation after the giant announced a $12.5 million purchase of motorola mobility and analysts from s&p says the acquisition poses a greater risk to the company and stock. shares in google fell more than 3% on that news tuesday. verizon reportedly putting its 45,000 striking workers on notice. return to work by the end of the month or risk losing your health insurance and medical benefits. that's according to the "wall street journal." union workers walked off the job ten days ago to protest cuts to their benefits. newly released a.c.t. scores used for college admissions shows student mace not be ready to succeed in their studies. "the washington post" says only one in four graduates who took the a.c.t. in 2011 met four key benchmarks to measure readiness. only one in four. growing cries to ditch the penny because the coin costs more to make than it's worth. last year the u.s. mint lost $42.6 million making pennies and nickels because of rising metal

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good morning. are you awake yet? it's 29 minutes past the hour. time to check your top stories. texas governor rick perry ramping up his gop presidential campaign with a relentless assault on president obama's economic policies and perry is not backing down from his comments about one of the administration's economic gurus, fed chair ben bernanke. perry said it would be treasonous for bernanke to try

to stimulate the economy by printing more money. >> two democratic state senators in wisconsin will keep their seats. they defeated their republican challengers in a special recall election yesterday. the vote was in response to the bitter fight over new laws that crack down on unions and their right to collective bargaining. a close call at orlando's sea world. lightning hit the ground at the discovery cove attraction there yesterday. five staff members and three guests were reportedly hurt. five people taken to the hospital. they are expected to be okay. president obama's three day bus tour through america's heartland makes its final stop in illinois this morning. the focus, jobs. during an exclusive interview with cnn's wolf blitzer the president said political paralysis has stunted the nation's economic growth and he blames that on his republican opponents but insists he has a plan. >> you're going to release a major new jobs program you say in september. here's the question, what's taking so long? >> well, the truth is,

everything we've done has been related to jobs starting back with the recovery act and that's the reason why we've seen over 2 million jobs created over the last 17 months in the private sector. but what's happened is that, number one, you've seen a lot of layoffs at state and local government and that has been an impediment to the kind of robust job growth we would like to see, and there have been some headwinds over the last six months. japan's tsunami, the european debt crisis, what happened in terms of the arab spring that raised gas prices for consumers. >> give us a preview of what you're going to do in september? >> look, there's some things we've been talking about on this trip we could do right away that are pending before congress. we know what we did in december by cutting the payroll tax so the average family gets an extra thousand dollars in their pockets makes a huge difference not only for their purchasing power but businesses having more customers and being able to hire. we've continued to renew tax breaks for businesses that are

willing to move up investments that they're planning into 2011 and we'd like to renew some of those for 2012. trade deals with korea, and panama and colombia we know can create tens of thousands of jobs here in the united states. there are a number of things we have pending before congress and what i've been saying to crowds all across the country and it's been getting a good reception is, what they want to see is democrats and republicans putting country before party and going ahead and taking action in order to move the economy forward as quickly as possible. >> you've got something more ambitious in mind for september. there's been reports you want to create a new department of jobs, something along those lines, is that true? >> you know, that is not true. but what is true is that i think we missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious balanced way that would have avoided these huge gyrations in the financial markets, given businesses a lot

of confidence that washington had its fiscal house in order, and included in that, because of the savings that we'd be getting over the next 10, 20 years, more efforts on the front end to spur job creation and given that congress failed to act, the grand bargain that i was trying to cut with john boehner didn't happen, we're going to take one more run at congress and we're going to say to them, look, here is a comprehensive approach that gets our debt and deficits under control and also accelerates job growth right now. >> coming up at the top of the hour, the president tells wolf blitzer he is accountable for the economy and that, quote, the buck stops with me. michele bachmann is on her own bus tour campaigning across south carolina after her win in the iowa straw poll. she had a bit of a stumble at a campaign stop yesterday leading the crowd in a birthday tribute to elvis presley. wasn't his birthday. it was the anniversary of his death. >> before we get started, let's

all say happy birthday to elvis presley today. happy birthday. we played you a little bit of promise land when we pulled up. you can't do better than elvis presley. we thought we would celebrate his birthday as we get started the celebrating take our country back tour! >> i have to tell you, the part i like about michele bachmann, she reminds me of me. even if she's going to get it wrong she's enthusiastic about us. bachmann's response to the elvis gaffe will make her spin doctors proud. as far as we're concerned he's still alive in our hearts. she plays elvis tunes a lot at her event. she's an elvis fan. >> even if he's alive in our hearts and alive somewhere, it's not his birthday. >> why do you have to be so particular? wasn't she enthusiastic? didn't you feel like it was elvis's birthday.

>> what if someone 21-year-old aide happened to mention we're playing elvis because it's his birthday. >> she was enthusiastic, give her that. i would like her to point out my birthday with enthusiasm. >> hopefully not the anniversary of your death. >> you have to have a few number one hits that change the music industry and world before we do that. this morning back to school for thousands of students in joplin, missouri. their first day comes 12 weeks after a tornado threw that -- tore through that city killing more than 130 people. because the high school was destroyed the city's ninth and tenth graders will go to an existi ining middle school and r classmen will go to school in a converted classroom at a mall. every high school student will get a new laptop. >> i was down there, one of the things that the phones around there were saying was we know long term everything will be fine, this is america and they will fix everything, it's the very short term. they need to make sure there are

schools there f not families will move away and the rebuilding takes longer. it's a big deal that school is getting started back in joplin. sugarland is planning a private memorial for the victims of the deadly stage collapse over the weekend. the band was just minutes away from performing when a sudden burst of wind knocked down the scaffolding and this morning, new audio is emerging of a warning that was given to the audience just as the band was preparing to take the stage. listen. >> new york engineering firm has been hired to investigate the stage low caps. five people were killed. state fair officials say they will make the findings of the investigation public. 9/11 first responders are

not invited to next month's ceremony commemorating the terror attacks at ground zero. new york city says there's just not enough room. only the families of 9/11 victims and some lawmakers will attend. thousands of firefighters, police officers and rescue workers risked their lives in the 9/11 search and rescue efforts, but they will have to settle for their own ceremony at a later date. which is, you know, sort of just reminds us how many people were involved in this. it's family of people killed. even survivors who weren't killed aren't getting invited. >> there will be first responders because fire fighting and the police work and port authority, such a family business, but you're right, the first responders will not -- >> not the same. the estranged husband of "real housewives of beverly hills" taylor armstrong has apparently committed suicide. they say russell armstrong's body was found in the bedroom of the home where the reality star had been crashing after his wife filed for divorce and claimed he abused her.

russell's lawyers says he client stufrds from depression. a would-be kidnapper foiled, chased down by a neighbor who saw him force a 6-year-old neighbor into his van. police say the suspect was being chased by the good samaritan when he crashed and ran off, the neighbor rescued the girl. she told police she fought back and bit the suspect's hand. >> she had injuries on her. she was bruised and banged up. her shirt was ripped. that should give people a lot of hope that there are people that are willing to do the right thing. >> that's awesome. police later captured and charged the suspect with kidnapping and child abuse, identified as 29-year-old philip garcia. nba star kobe bryant is denying allegations he attacked another man in church last sunday. according to the police the lakers star thought 21-year-old star thomas was taking pictures of him with his cell phone so he took it away. no pictures turned up and cops say bryant left. he filed a police report claiming he suffered a sprained

wrist and an attorney for bryant calls the claim baseless. may be one of the hardest things to do in baseball, turning a triple play. now we've seen two of them in back-to-back nights. the boston red sox did it last night going around the horn, third to second to first against tampa bay. the last time the sox turned three -- wow, 17 years ago. the night before, the milwaukee brewers turned a more unconventional triple play in a game against the dodgers. the dodgers that night hit into four double playsp. there have been three triple plays in the major this snooens i love seeing that. good defense is exciting. >> just ahead on "american morning," job applications that stand out for all the wrong reasons. we'll tell you what not to do when you're looking to get hired. >> looking forward to this. plus, why rocker gene simmons can kiss his chance to perform at a michael jackson tribute concert good-bye. coming up next. it's 40 minutes after the hour.

america's birth rate has fallen fast. according to the national center for health the number of births across the country dropped to 4 million last year. that's a 10% drop since 2007. many experts feel the economic

downturn is to blame. what's that mean? does that mean people are having fewer babies because -- >> can't afford it. >> they don't think they can afford it. >> i think people are having less children in general. i think it's been a trend over many, many years. >> when you look at the demographics as a country gets richer and gets more education, people spend more years working and spend -- >> smart, rich people don't like kids? >> i think they like kids -- >> people are getting married when they're older and -- >> many, many people are not getting married at all. >> all right. >> that's true. i think this is the highest percentage of unmarried people that we've ever seen in this country, which is interesting. >> there you have it. >> next you'll tell me they're all living in sin. >> no! >> on to other matters. let's talk about kiss because boy, did it get the big kiss off. the rock band has been dropped from the michael jackson tribute concert in wales this october. only one day after the rockers were signed on, that's because jackson fans were absolutely outraged, some even planned to boycott the show because they

say frontman gene simmons criticized michael jackson after his 2009 death accusing him of being a child predator. his other song "ymca" at the center of a copyright battle. the original singer of the village people has filed a claim, the whole crew doing the ymca dance at the moment. he wants to take back control of his share of that song next year. the two companies who own the song's publishing rights claim he was only a writer for hire. he doesn't own it. >> interesting. rob marciano, one of his favorite songs, in the extreme weather center. hello, rob. >> i always -- >> everybody likes it, everybody tells you they don't put it down on their list of favorite songs but it's like neil diamond and "abba," everybody's favorite. >> i never knew who the lead singer was. i thought maybe it was the indian chief, construction worker. >> i think that's what ali's favorite was, was the construction worker, right? >> i loved them all. i was equal opportunity. >> for halloween if you would be

one of the four, which would it be? >> i'm not going to -- >> best you move on to weather. this conversation is going somewhere bad. >> what's going on in the caribbean south of key west, we've got a tropical wave that is moving quickly to the west. that's the good news, because the faster it moves and gets into the central america, the less time it has to develop. it's got some obstacles to get over before it develops. we're watching it closely and it may get into something more interesting over the next couple days. the guidance from our computer models shows it moving off to towards the west and staying on a fairly southern track. that would be, you know, ideal for the gulf of mexico residents but we would take some of that rain in texas certainly and that rain when it gets into places like honduras and nicaragua, is not typically a good thing with all the mountainous terrain. a number of reasons to watch that carefully. another wave behind it that may

take a shot at the u.s. next week. we'll track that as well. the heat meanwhile, across texas, the drought continues there. record-setting heat yesterday in places like shreveport, louisiana, and texarkana, over 100 degrees. seems like the heat broke there for maybe a day and then now we're back at it. there you go. good luck to the village people and all their copyright battles there. i think they're going to have to go after the yankee stadium grounds crew. >> that's right. >> they rake the grounds to "ymca." >> a lot of angles to go after there. >> rob marciano. >> see you guys. time -- what is it, 47 minutes after the hour almost. time for this morning's top stories. we'll bring that to you right after the break, including the defense contractor accused of cheating the government and you. >> and it's your chance to talk back this morning. hecklers targeting everybody from president obama to mitt romney. is heckling good for our political discourse? jur answers straight ahead on "american morning."

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by his harsh comments about fed chairman ben bernanke. perry said that printing more money to stimulate the economy would be almost, quote, treasonous and that bernanke would get an ugly reception in texas. two democratic state senators in wisconsin defeated republican challengers in a recall election yesterday. the vote in response to the bitter fight over wisconsin's new laws that cracked down on unions and their right to collective bargaining. >> five employees and three guests hurt at sea world in orlando when lightning hit the ground at the discovery cove attraction yesterday. five people were taken to the hospital but they're expected to be okay. a company that supplies food to u.s. soldiers in kuwait has pleaded not guilty $4.6 billion. the company's bill to the government, $8.6 billion. nevada. a blaze shut down a highy near the town of gardenerville. residents being evacuated. officials say the fire wa

manmade but not calling it arson. a baseball rarity and a thing of beauty for the team thatulls it off. take a look at this, the boston red sox turned a triple play last night against the tampa bay rays. the team's first triple play in 17 years. the red sox, however, did lose the game 6-2. that's all the news you need to start your day. "american morning" back right after this break.

welcome back to "american rning." we asked you to talk back this morning and boy, did you. we're asking the question, is heckling good for the political discourse? this from heather, she says yes, i think it shows how angry so many people are in this country

with politicians and how they legislate. we're the ones being held hostage by their actions or lack of action and they need to hear this. this from luvio. and this from bradley -- >> very interesting. >> isn't it? >> like should we? >> what you mean by the media. cnn may not air it, but these things get on youtube and they get on people's sites and made into commercials. >> that's right. >> but i think that idea of if you're going to heckle for the purpose of discourse, then it should be discourse. >> right. exactly. >> i mean, in anyone -- both of these cases we've cited mitt romney and president obama they both did engage their heckingers. >> they did. >> in times gone by sometimes they've ignored them. >> i think it's the best

practice to ignore them. you don't get anywhere. usually the heckler doesn't want it hear your response. >> they witneant you to hear th. >> i was surprised on how long the presidt stayed on the rope line with the tea partier in iowa. he said i will explain it to you and same with mitt romney. he kept going at his point corporations are people, money goes to people. >> deeper and deeper. keep your comments coming, facebook.com/americanmorning. >> you need a thick skin if running for office, good sense of humor doesn't hurt. with the late night talk show hosts taking their best shots. >> recently, texas governor rick perry distanced himself from george w. bush, by saying, i went to texas a&m he went to yale. that's what he said. in other words, rick perry's idea of instilling confidence to say don't worry, i'm not as smart as george w. bush. the white house is up to a lot of good. the white house sent vice president joe biden to china today. now, so now we owe them a

trillion dollars and an apology. >> the president of the united states has the privilege and the benefit of being able to stay above the fray. months away from having to get his hands dirty with swing state bus travel. >> president obama goes to minnesota today, starting a three-day, three-state bus tour. >> oh, for [ bleep ] sakes. seriously? obama's back in campaign mode already? >> the white house officials insist this is an official event, not a campaign event. >> right, no, it's not a campaign. i'm sure the president just had some frequent greyhound miles he had to burn. >> all right. coming up ahead, presidential hopeful rick perry not backing down after making controversial statements about the federal reserve chairman. what he said and why they're so controversial. and six states allow gay couples to marry but some of the newlyweded said they're getting short-changed. you're watching "american morning."

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with me. i'm going to be accountable. >> talk about something -- >> president obama bucking up on the nation's economic slump but still blaming republicans for rejecting compromise. his exclusive cnn interview just ahead. claims of poor coordination and lack of oversight, this morning, new accusations against the u.s. government for delays in training afghan security forces. we'll have a live report from kabul coming up. what's going on at yosemite. unusually dangerous and deadly summer at the popular national park. sxwloo. it's a problem for 30 million american men but most don't like to talk about it. trouble is silence could mean death. dr. sanjay gupta's special report on this "american morning." good morning. it's wednesday, august 17th. welcome to "american morning." >> up first, president obama talking jobs again in the nation's heartland. he wraps up his three-day bus tour today in illinois. in an exclusive interview with

cnn's wolfe blitzer the president acknowledged he's responsible for cleaning up the economic mess but blames republicans for standing in his way. >> when you took office, you said this, i'm sure you remember, if i don't have this done in three years, there's going to be a one-term proposition. meaning you're going to be a one-term president. do you remember that? >> here's what i remember, is that when i came into office, i knew i was going to have a big mess to clean up. and frankly, the mess has been bigger than i think a lot of people anticipated at the time. we have made steady progress on these fronts but we're not making progress fast enough. what i continue to believe is that ultimately the buck stops with me. i'm going to be accountable. i think people understand that a lot of these problems were decades in the making. people understand that this financial crisis was the worst since the great depression. but ultimately, he's the president, we think he has good intention but we're impatient and want to see things move

faster, i understand that and sympathetic to that and keep on putting forward ideas good for the country. we're going to need a partner from congress and we're going to need folks to move off some of these rigid positions they've been taking to solve these problems. >> the president wraps up his visit to the politically pivotal midwest with a pair of town hall meetings in illinois. the focus once again, jobs. cnn's brianna keilar joins us from atkinson, illinois. brianna, in addition to jobs, the president has also been hammering republicans on this trip. any indication he'll continue to do that today? i bet he does. >> carol, i bet he does too. i think you can wholeheartedly expect that. as he sort of waits to unveil his jobs proposals when congress comes back in september and anticipating that he's definitely going to get some pushback as he already has for some of his general jobs ideas, he's painting and really hitting on republicans, house republicans not calling them out by name, for being

obstructionists. the line we've heard a lot, some in congress are more interested in their opponents' losing than americans winning. it's interesting because he's also taking aim at the entire republican presidential field. listen to what he told wolf yesterday. >> when i saw our republican presidential primary candidates suggesting that they would not be willing to close a single loophole or close a single special interest tax break, even if they were going to get $10 of savings for every $1 of revenue that raised, that is no longer thinking in a common sense way. at that point what you're saying is, ideological rigidity preventing us from solving problems. >> reporter: and expect president obama to reiterate that. here we are in atkinson, illinois, the site he will be doing this town hall meeting at a hybrid seed factory for hybrid corn seed. the supporters here, they're definitely are some in the area

in the quad cities area, there's also people that disagree very much with president obama. it's interesting, when you look at the economy of this area like the other places the president has visited over the last few days, the unemployment is significantly lower than the national average. here, in illinois, as a whole, it's at 9.2, just a tick above the national average of 9.1%. here in atkinson and also alpha, illinois, where he'll hold his second town hall, it's in the upper 6s. you have industries like agricultu agriculture, like manufacturing, where things are going pretty well. >> brianna, i'm wondering about something. the president told wolf he's going to unveil his huge jobs plan in september. is one of the reasons because he it's august? i mean we think everybody's paying attention to the election right now, but they're probably not. a lot of people are on vacation. is that one of the reasons he might be waiting? >> yeah. we're paying a lot of attention especially with all of what has gone on in the last week

considering the republican presidential field, but the white house advisers to the president, carol, they do not think that people are really paying attention. they're not really going to pay attention for a few months. that's how they see things. you see the president saying, he doesn't want to call congress back into session. he's going to wait until they come back. he said he wanted them to go back to their home districts like the places he's visiting, getting an earful as he put it and come back with an attitude adjustment. it will be interesting to see, of course, if they actually do, but he's planning to unveil his jobs proposal and also his deficit reduction proposals to that super committee when congress returns in september. >> brianna keilar, reporting live for us, thanks so much. it's interesting, i think one of the reasons, they have to decide what that plan is going to be. is it going to be a bunch of small initiatives we've tried that haven't worked in the stimulus, for example, what can they come up with that the republicans will allow to come through and what can they come up with that will be big enough to create jobs and people say,

this is your best effort? i mean, i don't know where they are in this process yet, but a lot of economists are wondering, what is it going to be that we haven't tried already and you can actually get to happen? >> i guess we're going to have to wait until september, i guess. >> they'll probably leak something out. texas governor and republican presidential nominee rick perry tells cnn he's standing by his recent criticism of fed chairman ben bernanke. here's what perry said monday about the fed policy to stimulate the economy before the 2012 election. >> if this guy prints more money, between now and the election, i don't know what you all would do to him in iowa, but we'd -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. printing more money to play politics at this particular time in american history, is almost treasonous in my opinion. >> now those comments did not

sit well with karl rove, the former adviser to former president george w. bush, rove who is not perry's biggest fan, says the remarks were not presidential. >> don't accuse the chairman of the federal reserve of being a traitor to his country, being guilty of treason and suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in texas. >> all right. another leading candidate michele bachmann stumping in south carolina and we're learning how much bachmann is worth. the tea party darling and her husband have assets of $2.8 million and as much as $750,000 in outstanding loans. meantime bachmann's birthday shout out to elvis presley yesterday, didn't quite go as planned. not on the anniversary of his death. >> before we get started, let's all say happy birthday to elvis presley today. happy birthday. we played you a little bit of promise land when we pulled up. you can't do better than elvis

presley. we'd thought we would celebrate his birthday as we get started, the celebrating take our country back tour! >> bachmann's response to the elvis gaffe, here's what she said, as far as we're concerned he's still alive in our hearts. >> now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning, is heckling good for our political discourse. let's face it, election 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the political flash mob. liberal hecklers scored when they challenged republican mitt romney. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes on -- of course they are. >> it certainly worked. the democratic national committee turned it into an ad. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes on -- of course they are. everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. where do you think it goes? >> in their pockets! >> whose pockets, people's

pockets. >> not to be outdone, iowa tea party chairman ryan rhodes confronted president obama. >> when you're talking about civility, how is your vice president calling us terrorists? >> sir, look -- >> i would like to understand that. >> okay. i will explain it right now. what he did not call you guys terrorists. >> they didn't exactly come to a meeting of the minds and certainly makes you wonder, as university of virginia politico larry sabto told me, we're moving into a confrontational society. we don't want to listen to c-span, that's too boring. we make our decisions based on political flash mobs. maybe he added politicians are judged on how well they respond to hecklers not how well they explain their policies. he says we could end up with baseball-style brawls at campaign rallies. how would that end, in a political dogpile with everyone jumping on top of one another. the talk back question today, is heckling good for our political discourse? facebook.com/americanmorning.

i'll read your comments later this hour. >> good ones so far. keep them coming. school bells will once again ring in joplin, missouri. 12 beex after a tornado tore through that city killing more than 130 people. because the high school was destroyed, joplin's ninth and tenth graders will go to an existing middle school. upper classmen will attend class in a converted department store at the local mall. it's good to hear they're getting back to school. a terrifying afternoon for visitors and employees at orlando's sea world. lightning hit the ground at the discovery cove attraction yesterday. five staff members, three guests reportedly hurt. five people in all taken to the hospital. they're expected to be okay. no one took a direct hit, but it was pretty scary moments there. >> you bet you. sugarland is planning a private memorial for the victims of the deadly stage collapse over the weekend at the indiana state fair. the band was just minutes away from performing when a sudden burst of wind knocked down the scaffolding. this morning, new audio is emerging of a warning that was

given to the audience just as the band was preparing to take the stage. >> you know what happened next. a new york engineering firm has been hired to investigate the stage collapse. five people were killed. state fair officials say they will make the findings of that investigation public. still to come this morning, accusations against the u.s. government, a new report says afghan police aren't getting the training they need and the u.s. is to blame. a live report on that from kabul ahead. >> and a troubling report about the cost of a college education and the burden that it is placing on our kids. >> and abercrombie & fitch has a problem with the "jersey shore's" mike "the situation."

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good morning to you. it's 14 minutes past the hour. new accusations that u.s. may hold some of the blame for the delay in the training of afghan police. >> new report cites poor coordination and lack of resources. >> of course afghan forces are preparing to take over the country's security once nato troops return home. here's cnn's david ariosto. >> driving through the streets of kabul on a police convoy in what is called the ring of steel. these are municipal police forces that parole in and around these streets and they're heavily armed. it's individuals like these that are going to be taking increasing responsibility for the security of their country. key to america's strategy, these forces are part of a transition process ork traited by nato. >> we're doing that by building the afghan national security forces up as quickly and as strongly as we can. >> reporter: and yet, despite scathing reviews that spotlight afghan corruption and at times

incompetence, a new u.s. audit report suggests the u.s. government may share some of the blame for delays in their training. the report point to a plan to switch training from the state department to defense. a project they say is rife with poor coordination and a lack of oversight. it says the u.s. contractor involved in the process failed to have 428 of the 728 required personnel in place within the 120-day transition period. that shortage has, quote, placed the overall mission at risk. and time is running out. >> porngs of afghanistan after three years will sink. within these three years, we are the focus of global attention and we need to make use of this unique opportunity.

>> reporter: but out on the streets some police say their lacking needed resources. >> one of the problems is many of our ammunition pouchs are old and broken, this man says. others say what these forces really need is more training. still, as american invests heavily in the region the new report comes amid growing scrutiny over how u.s. taxpayer dollars are spent. and how ready this country will be once nato soldiers leave to return home. >> reporter: now this is the second report in a three-part series and a report back in april really raised some serious questions about the way u.s. taxpayer dollars were being spent here in afghanistan. there's an issue about accountability now on both sides of the line. you have to think training these forces must be priority number one for u.s. forces looking for a way out of afghanistan. >> david, what kinds of data and security challenges are these police facing?

>> well, you talk with the security officers and be it military or be it police, one of the number one concerns they have seems to be the new taliban tactic, suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. you saw in the package there, basically looking through different vehicles, trying to find out if certain bombs have been hidden in different areas, but because of the nature of this war and since there are really no front lines, the nature of attacks can really exist anywhere. just earlier we saw the attack on the intercontinental hotel, last week a number of suicide bombers arrested just outside the afghan capital. so again, you know, primary concern right now is that which they cannot see, at least by the normal eye. searching these areas, a primary concern for afghan security forces. >> it's not the normal training of police you would expect. david, thanks very much for that. we look forward to the other reports in the series. let's take it back home and send it to atlanta and check in with rob marciano. it's hot again in the middle

part of the country. >> we had record-breaking temperatures yesterday. we'll do them again today. texas, louisiana, same spots, maybe shrunk farther to the south, getting toward that time of the year where the cold fronts will start to progress further to the south. we had one move to the east of new york and that's good because you'll see less in the way of rain today. miami, tampa, orlando, florida, see afternoon thunderstorms, early thunderstorms in chicago, and some morning fog in san francisco. west coast, nothing but dry weather today. these are your records for shreveport, texarkana, even iberia. cajun country getting into the action, 98 degrees, doesn't include the humidity in south central louisiana. not yet a storm, just a tropical wave, slow to organize but moving quickly. the faster it moves the faster we get it into central america and that would limit its development. but, our computer models vary. some bring it into the gulf of mexico. so this certainly bears watching and there's another one behind it, we're getting into the time of year, middle to late august

where these things develop out there in the atlantic and they make their way toward the u.s. so, it's been active so far, but not a whole lot to speak of as far as hurricanes for sure. even tropical storms have been minimal at best. guys, back up to you. >> best news ever. thanks, rob. still to come this morning, there's a situation brewing between the "jersey shore" cast and abercrombie & fitch. why the clothing company is taking the high road and wants them to stop wearing their clothes. and gay marriage on the books in six states. why are same-sex couples say they're getting short changed. it's 19 minutes after the hour. ♪

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morning. u.s. stock futures trading slightly higher ahead of today's open. markets in asia closed with moderate losses and germany's stock market is down 1.5%. student loan debt is climbing. according to a new study the federal reserve bank of new york says outstanding debts on student loans shot up 25% in the last three years. the social security administration wrongly declares 14,000 people dead every year. the inspector general says the mistakes cause severe financial hardship and distress to those affected. mortgage rates are going down. the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen to 4.32%, according to the mortgage bankers association and as rates fall home loan applications shot up more than 4% last week. there are growing cries to ditch the penny. because the coin costs more to make than it's worth. last year the u.s. mint lost $42.6 million making pennies and nickels because of rising metals costs. abercrombie & fitch is offering the "jersey shore" cast a substantial amount of money to the to wear their brand on tv. store executives say they're

worried about ruining their image. the company hasn't said how much it's offered to pay. for the latest news about your money, check out the all new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" back right after the break. ananananananann] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪

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welcome back to "american morning." gay couples can legally marry in six states. but state is the key word here. >> keep in mind, same-sex marriages aren't recognized by uncle sam. the federal reserve. a lot of perks enjoyed by heterosexual married couples don't apply to gay married couples. poppy joins us with more on that. people are finding out as they're getting married in new york, for example, and then realizing that there's a little bit of a hurdle there. >> all this excitement, right, they finally have the right to say "i do" and realizing what about our finances we never thought about this before because we thought we couldn't bring our money together, didn't have financial rights. what i was surprised to find out in reporting this, even though

gay couples are allowed to get married in the six states, their financial rights are not equivalent on the federal level to same sex married couples. take a look. >> i pronounce you both married. >> we've been waiting for this day. >> my husband and her wife. >> reporter: not so fast. for many gay couples in new york, the last few weeks have been filled with celebration. >> marriage equality is very good for morale in new york state, however it doesn't change a lot of the laws that affect us. >> reporter: openly gay financial planner ellen desarno says the biggest road block for gay couples is the 1996 defense of marriage act which defiance marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. as a result, many of the federal tax breaks that straight married couples get, same sex married couples don't. gay couples still can't file

joint federal tax returns, share retirement benefits or combine their money freely. >> heterosexuals that marry, recognized at a federal level, they have the ability to give each other unlimited gifts and inherit unlimited amounts from each other. i can't give my partner more than $13,000 a year without it being a taxable gift. >> my sister coming on friday. >> reporter: ralph and bill have been together nearly 30 years and plan to marry in november. they own their apartment together, but have questions about their financial rights. >> the estate tax question is an issue. >> we have to go back and maybe mismantle or rethink or reallocate. we're not sure what these things are going to do. >> reporter: we've arranged for our financial pro to sit down with the couple. >> there are things we can look at that will save us money or make things easier that we can maybe change now. >> if you're not married and you're partners there's a $1 million exemption of assets you

can pass on to your heirs without any new york state tax. when you're legally married in new york, that's unlimited. >> reporter: and there are other state benefits. rights may include health insurance and some pension benefits for spouses. ralph and bill say the right to finally say "i do" outweighs the financial headaches that may lie ahead. >> i think it's an important baby step, but are we there yet? absolutely not. a lot more that we need to continue working on. >> now gay couples have to also keep in mind once they marry, they're going to assume the debt of their partner and no one wants to think about divorce, but if there is a divorce, it's just like a met heterosexual couple they will have to pay alimony. those things remain. i was shocked to find out that because marriage isn't recognized on a federal level they do miss out on a lot of these financial benefits of getting married. there are some activist groups out there fighting for these rights, but at the same time,

even that couple tells me one step at a time. we're just glad we can get married after 30 years together. >> specifically the defense of marriage act on a federal level. >> the 1996 act signed in by president clinton, not likely that's going to get overturned any time soon. >> poppy, thank you for that. 30 minutes past the hour. time to check this morning's top stories. president obama wrapping up his three-day midwest bus tour on his home turf in illinois. yesterday the president sat down for an exclusive interview with cnn's wolf blitzer. wolf asked him about the approaching 9/11 anniversary and threats to national security. >> the biggest concern we have right now is not the launching of a major terrorist operation, although that risk is always there, the risk that we're especially concerned over right now is the loan wolf terrorist, somebody with a single weapon being able to carry out wide-scale massacres of the sort that we saw in norway recently.

>> all right. 9/11 first responders are not invited to next month's ceremony commemorating the ten year anniversary of the attacks. new york officials say there's not enough room. only families of 9/11 victims will attend. first responders will have their own ceremony at later date. two democratic state senators in wisconsin will keep their seats. they defeated their republican challengers in a special recall election yesterday. the voes was in response to a bitter fight over new laws that crack down on unions and their right to collectively bargain. bottom line, status quo, things haven't changed there. back to the world of politics, rick perry refusing to back down this morning, even after members of his own party criticized him for harsh comments he made about the federal reserve chairman ben bernanke. listen. >> we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. i mean, printing more money, to play politics at this particular time in american history, is

almost treasonous. >> joining us to talk about this, jerry side, washington bureau chief of the "wall street journal" and cnn's senior political editor mark preston, on the road with perry in new hampshire. welcome to you both. >> thank you. >> so, mark, let's start with you, rick perry used that word treason a crime against your country, it's in the constitution, punishable by as much as death. but rick perry isn't backing down, is he? >> no, he's not backing down, and it's the kind of phrase that is going to play very well with a certain segment of the republican base. rick perry, when he was making that statement, i believe, knew what he was doing. however, what he could run up against is moderate, middle of the road republicans and independents turned off by that remark. we've seen some former bush administration officials, including karl rove, who we know is not close to rick perry, criticize him for that. >> i wanted to ask you about that. karl rove did come out, as mark said he's not the best friend of rick perry, but he said this is

not presidential. why isn't perry stepping back from the remark? >> well, i think for starters, you got to remember there's a lot of an it ti fed sentiment in the republican party, particularly in the primary voters, ron paul tapped into that, ron paul came in second in last week's iowa straw poll. he's showing there's a lot of populist anger about the fed. whether he did so intentionally or not that's the effect of it. there's a rick perry style of political discourse here that you're seeing and the great question whether it plays as well in the center of the country as you get beyond a primary as it does with republican primary voters. i wrote a column this week and talked about that being the question about rick perry, the kind of approach, the rhetorical attack that works in a republican primary setting work in a general election setting or offputting to swing voters in the middle of the electorate. that's the question about the perry candidacy. >> talking about confrontation, president obama is on this bus tour through the midwest, and he

talked with wolf blitzer, not many people are paying attention because it's august, and a lot of people are on vacation, but i think that an image people will remember, is the president being confronted by that tea party leader in iowa and, of course, democrats did the same thing to mitt romney in iowa. i mean is this the kind of thing we're going to see all the way through the campaigning? >> the campaign is now under way. i think what we've seen in the last week really is the real beginning of a campaign that was slow to get off the ground. it's an unhappy and an angry electorate that shows through in all the polls. you've got a lot of anxiety and a lot of anger at washington, at the economy, and at washington's inability to get a grip on the economic problems that really date back to 2008. so you're going to see that play out i think in a lot of the campaign. it's a bad backdrop if you're the incumbent president running for re-election and see president obama have to confront that over and over again over the next year or so. >> mark, i'll ask you this.

how are campaigns combatting that? you don't want to get into an argument. a lot of analysts say president obama should not have engaged as long as he did with that tea party leader. >> well, no. and look, it's always the peril of being on the campaign trail and being willing to put yourself out there and actually have to take questions from people in events such as the one i'm in right now. there's business leaders from the top business leaders in new hampshire will be be here this morning. rick perry will make remarks. not sure if he'll answer questions. the question is, when do you engage when you have a heckler, we saw mitt romney do that last week. some thought he handled it poorly. the romney campaign thought he handled it correctly and trying to raise money off the whole idea he made the comment that corporations are people and by doing so, they think that they can tap into a very conservative fis call base as well. so it is the peril of being on the campaign trail. if you're running in politics and want to run for office that's something you have to deal with, carol. >> the dnc is using it too.

how bizarre. i want to touch briefly on ron paul, put out an ad quite interesting. in that ad, if we can show a little bit of it, it lumps together mitt romney, harry reid, nancy pelosi, and president obama. i think michele bachmann is in there too. so there's both republicans and democrats in that ad. what is ron paul trying to demonstrate, gerald? >> look, ron paul is the ultimate anti-establishment candidate in a lot of ways, almost a libertarian and show regular politicians and his campaign is based on saying i'm not a regular politician even though i've been in congress a loening time, don't understand what the populist anger is about. that's the point of the ad, to put all the other guys together as the politicians and me ron paul not politician. there's a lot of appeal to that. one of the things that frustrates the ron paul supporters he's not getting more attention, more press coverage than he does, and that he's not being considered a serious mainstream candidate but a

marginal candidate, he's trying to fight back against that. >> he came in second in the iowa straw poll and really no pundits were really talking about him, but honestly, he probably doesn't have a -- he doesn't have a really great chance of being president, but who knows. i guess stranger things have happened. >> exactly. >> gerald, mark, thanks for talking with us this morning. we appreciate it. wow. still to come, danger at yosemite national park. what's behind a deadly summer there this year. >> plus, heart disease affects 30 million men in the u.s. and one of the early indicators may shock you. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has your morning house call. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless too?

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it's been a deadly summer at yosemite national park. >> the number of deaths there, a lot higher than usual this year. what many tourists don't realize is the biggest danger they face is themselves. here's casey wian. >> reporter: a record number of people came to yosemite national park last month. unfortunately, too many of those visitors are unaware of the hidden dangers amongst all that beauty.

yosemite national park is known for its spectacular beauty, waterfalls, el capitan and half dome, the mighty mersed river. a place you can get as close to a bear as you dare, but the real problem is elsewhere, arriving daily by car and bus load. >> those people who are living in those cities don't necessarily experience nature on a daily basis and don't quite understand the power of what nature can bring. >> reporter: so far this year, 16 people have died in yosemite, about twice as many as normal. >> this is the most popular trail in yosemite national park. we have up to 2,000 people a day going on this trail. >> reporter: this is what's known as the miss trail, leads to the top of vernal fall. ten days ago, a 17-year-old hiker slipped and fell on these steps and died four days later at a hospital. further up the trail behind me is vernal fall. last month three people were swept over that massive waterfall to their death. >> we're literally 20 feet from the precipes.

the group was up here, one of the males in the group basically lost his footing in the river, started to go down, one of the females in the group went to grab him, she lost her footing too. the third one went in after them, all three of them went over here and went right over vernal fall. >> reporter: imagine the terror that the hikers felt and the people who were standing here watching them, slide down this river and drop 317 feet straight down vernal fall. a month later, search and rescue teams are still looking for two of the bodies. while five visitors have died this year from natural causes the others were accidental and often entirely preventable. rangers say visitors who hike slippery steep trails in flip flops, climb over safety rails to get better pictures or swim in water above a waterfall are a constant problem. >> we saw a number of people just wading there and they're probably just steps away from going into the faster water and

it's crazy. >> we aren't worried because we think if you stay where you're supposed to stay, you're safe. it will be exciting for them, a little scary, but because it's steep, but it's not dangerous. if you do what you're supposed to do. >> reporter: too many people don't and ignore safety briefings from rangers and warning signs all over the park. >> we can't and we don't station a ranger at every possible dangerous location that's out there. people just have to come here and realize what they're getting into and realize that yosemite is nature and it is a very wild place. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest surprise then is that 4 million people visit here every year, and all but a very few of them go home very much alive. casey wian, cnn, yosemite national park, california. >> i'm glad he made that final point, that most people get out just fine. that's kind of troubling to see some of the -- >> 4 million people. and you think, the point from that ranger about all the people coming from the city in flip flops to come to some place that is raw, natural beauty. >> i think at the grand canyon i went there a couple years ago,

people hike down, they forget they have to go back up, a lot of them suffer heat exhaustion and past past out which means a helicopter has to rescue. they're going to start charging people for the helicopter ride. >> wow. >> do what you're supposed to. >> that's right. speaking of mother nature, a nevada wildfire threatening dozens of home in gardenerville. flames forced part of a highway to shut down. residents are being evacuated, mother nature yes, but officials say the fire was manmade, though they aren't calling it arson. six days after he climbed a communications tower in oklahoma 24-year-old william sturdsvent surrendered to police yesterday afternoon. officials say he was trying to avoid being arrested for trespassing in a nearby building. a baseball rarity, but we have seen a triple play. two nights in a row. the boston red sox pulled it off last night. bam. isn't that cool? first triple play in 17 years. just the night before, the milwaukee brewers turned three in game against the l.a. dodgers. take a look. >> hit hard, that's going to be

backhanded by the second baseman, wilson over to first, here comes kemp, the slide. >> nice. >> so cool. all right. still to come this morning, forget the night cap. a study that says drinking and sleeping do not mix. >> and heart disease affects 30 million men in the u.s. one of the early symptoms, it might shock you. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has your morning "house call" when we come back.

a lot going on this morning. here's what you need to know to start your day. president obama wrapping up a three-day bus tour across the heartland with a stop in rural illinois. the president will hold a pair of town hall meetings today and the focus once again will be

jobs. vice president joe biden touching down in china this morning. he was invited by china's vice president kx ginping. the goal is to get to know the next generation of chinese leadership. government security forces firing on opposition protesters as they chanted the word "freedom." loud explosions could be heard overnight in the syrian city of hams. new documents released by britain's parliament casting doubt on the testimony of james murdoch. he claimed he was not aware of an e-mail detailing 35 conversations that were hacked by news corp. reporters. but a document from a former lawyer for the company says james murdoch did know about it. and a night cap may help you relax but apparently won't help you sleep. according to a flu study people who drink alcohol in the evenings get less rem sleep and less restful nights. you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" is back in 60 seconds. whether it can be done safely and responsibly.

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where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. million men in the united states and most of them don't like to talk about it so that is why we are here. >> cnn's chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta joins us live from havana, cuba. sanjay, why are you in cuba, any way? >> i think sanjay can't hear us!

darn. he is clearly is assignment. >> yes, he is. he will tell us about heart disease and how you can protect yourself against it when we get the tech snafus worked out. let me tell you about something else we are dealing with right now. let's do the talkback. >> a great idea. that's do the talkback. now is your turn to talkback. we asked you this question. is heckling good for our political discourse? here are some of your responses. from tim, one person's heckle is another person's ingenious retort. it is an exchange that illustrates america's ability to respond to the ending talking points that have shoved into our brains. kelly says i think a difference between heck'ing will during a scheduled speech and heck'ing will during campaign events which allows us to see how the candidate handles negative feedback and uncomfortable

situation. another one heckling serves no constructive purpose. abraham lincoln once said a how divided against itself cannot stand. if politics is to be a team sport it should not be liberal or conserve pif, republican or democrat. the only team should be american. anything less is treasonus. william aired it out, didn't he? keep your comments coming. >> sanjay, do we have you? if we do, let's talk about the first sign a lot of men get they might have heart disease and something they may not associate with it. >> reporter: that's right, ali. it's interesting. because a lot of people are uncomfortable talking about this but erectile dysfunction can be

one of the earliest indicators of heart disease. there was a long history there. dr. terry mason is a urologist at cook county hospital. listen to how he puts it. >> i would say that erectile dysfunction is the canary in the gold mine. when men begin to have erectile dysfunction, it's a sign there is more widespread disease and not just for the heart but throughout all of the blood vessels in the body. >> reporter: when you talked about vascular disease in the body, you got to look at the body as a whole. again, this can be a early design someone is going to develop heart disease later on or has a component of heart disease. heart disease is typically caused by atherosclerosis. ardening of the arteries. the arteries have a more difficult time transmitting blood flow. doctors look for clues, some

sort of warning that this problem is starting to develop. now with regard to erectile dysfunction, that can be a particularly early clue. i would say especially in men under the age of 50, if they are having this particular issue, seeing the doctor not only to have this addressed but if the doctor is taking care of the patient as a whole can ask about early signs of heart disease. as men get older, over 70 it doesn't serve as a purpose. but men under the age of 50, this is again a lot of men have a hard time to talk about but could be a good reason to see the doctor for more reasons than you can imagine. >> we hope they are probing what the underlying issue is or what it could be signaling. is there anything else men can do aside from getting a prescription for the erectile dysfunction? >> reporter: i hope that

listening to a segment like this. to your point, christine, not just no patients but doctors alike. you're right. i think too many people will end up getting a medication that does not address their entire body as a whole. so i think there is a message in there for hospitals and doctors as well. but, you know, if you think about all of the things that can actually help combat heart disease in terms of your lifestyle changes and in terms of your diet and exercise and things we talk about all the time on this show and actually work, these are things that can help with combating erectile dysfunction as well. keep in mind when you talk about the blood vessels in your body, keeping them healthy all of them, a lot of the things we know can be a benefit will help all of those different problems. >> sanjay, before we lost our connection with you a minute ago, carol had asked you what you were doing in cuba and now she feels you didn't answer because she asked the wrong question so i'm asking on her behalf. why are you in cuba? >> reporter: i would answer, carol, any time. i'm down here -- first of all, i will say i've never been here

before when is which is an unusual thing to say these days given how much i've been traveling. we are working on a dumtry. diane nyad, one of the most inspiring women i've met. a long distance swimmer and started her swim not too far from here. we are working on a documentary what with treally takes to be a person who does something that no other human being can do, how you break a world record or try to break a world record, as she did. 61 years old and incredible person and working on a story with area and looking at the cuban health care system. you got to get ready for a fight or argument in a lot of circles when you talk about the cuban health care system. we wanted to see what is it really like? is this health care available to everybody? they have some of the highest life expect and they don't spend very much money and how do they do it? is it real? that is what we are trying to find out as well. >> thanks very much, and while you're doing that, we will watch

your special this weekend. i think a lot of people are interested in. a special called "the last heart attack." sanjay sits down with the former president bill clinton and they will talk about the signs. that title and that idea is something i think i'm going to be watching. it's this sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. top stories coming up next, including back to class for the students in joplin, missouri. just months after the deadliest tornado in american history. >> you my think it's impossible, completely unplugging. no cell phone, no e-mail, no tv. senator joe lieberman joins us live in a few minutes, if you just try it, you all will love it. you're watching "american morning." ♪

[ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. setting that goal to become a principal. but, i have to support my family, so how do i go back to school? university of phoenix made it doable. a lot of my instructors were principals in my district. i wouldn't be where i am without that degree. my name is dr. carrie buck. i helped turn an at-risk school into an award winning school, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. you know, the ones who do such a super job, and i am a phoenix. they're backed by the superguarantee®? only superpages®. wherever you are, wherever you're going, you'll find the super business you need.

so next time, let the good guys save the day. get the superguarantee®, only at superpages®. in the book ... on your phone or online. rick perry shooting from the lip. i'm christine romans. the texas governor not backing down from his verbal assault on the president, and some heated comments about fed chairman ben bernanke. it is back to school this morning and tornado ravaged joplin, missouri. good morning. i'm carol costello. for some students heading back to class, it means heading to

the mall. >> i'm ali velshi. ready for that big job interview? could be something on your resume that could get you shot down. how to increase your odds of getting hired on this "american morning." ♪ good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, august 17th. a lot of job talk, a lot of politics. >> i'm looking forward to hearing about the jobs. because things have changed. >> oh, yeah. >> your grandparents or parents advice about resumes isn't the same any more. we are talking to senator joe lieberman in a few minutes, we have politics in there but he has written a book with the sabbath and why everybody should try it and unplug everything and chill out. meanwhile, texas governor rick perry is stumping in new hampshire this weekend. these are live pictures from the event which got under way. since perry launched his campaign less than a weeking, there has been no let up in his attacks on president obama.

perry isn't backing down either from his controversial remarks about fed chairman ben bernanke. here is what he said the other day in iowa. >> if this guy prints more money between now and the election, i don't know what y'all would do to him in iowa, but we'd -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. i mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in america is almost treasonist in my opinion. >> it sounded like he was starting to say treacherous which is different. there is really no grounding in the idea that printing more money is treasonist. i haven't heard that before. the white house fired back saying threatening the fed chairman is not a good idea.

car rove is criticizing perry saying the remarks were not presidential. >> president obama says right now he is focused on fixing the economy, not on the republican candidates who want his job. he addressed the criticism he is getting from rick perry in an exclusive interview with cnn's wolf blitzer. mr. obama says he'll give the gop newcomer a pass for now. >> mr. perry just got in the presidential race and i think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or running for congress and you have to be a little more careful about what you say but i'll cut him some slack. he has only been at it for a few days now. >> new this morning. the president will deliver what the white house is calling a major job speech next month. a senior official says the president will separately present a plan to the congressional budget super committee. president obama acknowledged he

is ultimately responsible for the nation's economy but blasted republicans for gamesmanship he says is preventing an economic fix. >> we have made steady progress on these fronts but we are not making progress fast enough. what i continue to believe is that ultimately the book stops with me. i'm going to be accountable. i think people understand that a lot of these problems were decades in the making. people understand that this financial crisis was the worst since the great depression but, ultimately, they say, look. he is the president. we think he has good intentions. but we are impatient and we want to see things move faster. i understand that and i'm sympathetic to it and we will keep on putting forward ideas that will be good for the country. we need a partner from congress and need folks to move off the rigid positions they have been taking in order to solve these problems. >> we approach a land mark 9/11 anniversary, wolf asked the president what concerns him the most regarding potential threats

towards our national security. >> i've covered the middle east for a long time. covered terrorism for a long time. i have toll tu i'm worried on the tenth anniversary or approaching the tenth anniversary of 9/11, al qaeda or what is left of al qaeda or their supporters will try to do something to seek revenge for your killing bin laden. how worrieded are you about that? >> we are vigilant and constantly monitoring the potential risks of terrorist attacks. and i think that the men and women in our intelligence agencies as well as the fbi, have done a terrific job and department of homeland security department. but the risk is always there. and, obviously, on a seminal event like the tenth anniversary of 9/11 that makes us more concerned' means we have heightened awareness. the biggest concern we have right now is not the law firming of a major terrorist operation, although that risk is always

there. the risk that we are especially concerned of right now is the lone wolf terrorist, somebody with a single weapon, being able to carry out wide scale massacres of the sort we saw in nor way recently. >> this was a wide ranging interview with wolf blitzer and there some lighter moments in that interview. the president also talked about one of the side benefits of a presidential parent of getting four more years in the white house. >> reporter: the last time you were elected you got sasha and malia a cute little puppy. what are you going to get them the next time if you are reelected? >> if i am reelect i will get them a continuous service of secret service so when boys try to date them, they will be surrounded by men with guns. that is their gift. >> wow! i love that, dad! >> wow. yeah. >> gee. another four years in the white house, thanks, dad. >> do you think his daughters will campaign against him with

that comment? >> today, michele bachmann takes a break. this morning she is in neighboring north south carolina for a fund-raising breakfast in charlot charlotte. former new york mayor rudy giuliani offering up his ability about bachmann to maintain this momentum. >> is it conceivable you think a tea party candidate like michele bach man could end up being the nominee? >> huh? sure is conceivable. it's hard to tell what the impact of the worsening economy is on the american people. and the reality is, i think, the president doesn't realize how bad the economy really is, otherwise, he wouldn't be playing this political game with it, he would be stepping up more and acting like a leader and taking a risk on whatever plan he believes in, but this economy is devastating to many, many people and that can have a very big impact. it can be a real benefit to a

populous candidate. if you look at michele bachmann that is what she is, a populous candidate. >> backman has rallies tomorrow in columbia and florence. a conflict that sounds impossible to many of us. a day with no phone, no e-mail, most blackberry. a simple day of rest reflecting with family and thinking about life. our next guest has a pretty important job and he says you can't afford not to. senator joe lieberman is an observant jew and writes about his sabbath in his new book. senator, good to see you. >> good to be with you, ali. >> we have to talk a little bit of politics. >> of course. >> i was reading this book in restaurant and a woman came up to me and said what is it about? i told her. she said was he able to fill an entire book on observations about the sabbath? i said he really was. give us the gist of the book,

what the sabbath has meant to you. >> sometimes people say to me, how could you be a united states senator and take one of every seven days off? and i say, i don't know how i could be a united states senator and not observe the sabbath, because it gives -- i work harder the other six days. it gives me a break, time, space, to be with my family, be with friends, be with my spirituality with god. and when i come back to the six days of the week, i think i'm charged up, not only physically with some rest, but really with a better perspective. my religion tells me that i got responsibilities that are -- occur on the sabbath through which i can help people, i have to do that and break the sabbath. for instance, i have to go and vote. >> you've done that at least three times, i know that you had to come back. the stimulus bill, health care reform. >> right. >> president clinton's impeachment broke.

you fully broke it for that. >> yeah. this gets a little arcane. the rabbis over the centuries have put up fenceses around the sabbath to protect it. going on not to turning on the car. but to protect the sabbath as a day of rest. a few times, i've called to service was just urgent and unexpected, and so i get in a car and do what i have to do. >> a number of times, i think, in the book you said 40 times you've had to stay late on a friday night and, hence, you had to walk home. >> yeah. >> the capitol police escorts you. sometimes it's crazy rain and you wondered to god whether this was intended. >> i don't want to break into, you know, the song tradition from "fiddler on the roof." but is this a part of tradition has protected the sabbath on a day of rest and meant so much to me. in this book, i bring the reader

through a typically sabbath but making a larger appeal to people of all faiths, come back to whatever your faiths observations are or if you don't have a particular faith, think about the importance one day a week -- this is the hard part -- turning off your electronics. when god gave the fourth commandment about the sabbath, i don't think he had an ipad or a blackberry in his mind, in his divine mind. i will tell you as we approach sundown on friday, hardest thing for me? turn the blackberry off, put it away, but once the sun sets, oh, i feel liberated and i got a lot of time and space to do other things that are really important to me. >> including thinking about who you're going to support for the president of the united states. >> every sabbath, i think about that! >> i know you caucus with democrats. >> yes. >> will you be supporting president obama? >> i'm an independent now. i got reelected as an independent. i do caucus with the democrats. so i'm going to approach this as

an independent and i think most independents haven't made up their mind yet. they may be tilting one way or the other. one of the reasons i haven't made up my mind is that i don't know who the republican candidate will be. so i'm going to watch it. it's a very important election and i hope to be involved. >> a lot of conservative jews are observing what they think president obama's views on israel not like what they would want it to be. is that troubling to you? >> i've gotten to know the president pretty well and no doubt in my mind that he is supportive of israel security and safety and the u.s./israel relationship. he has done some things that i disagree with. i think he's made some public demands on israel that really don't help because they don't give the israelis the confidence to go into the peace process feeling that the united states is behind them. >> although, strangely,

netanyahu is talking about pre196 borders. >> i think they are talking about different things of that. the hope is to get the israelis and palestinians talking again. we have common enemies in the world so it's important we stick together. >> it's the issue on everybody's minds. how do get this economy going again and the creation of jobs and that will fall back into your laps as a u.s. senator the next few months. what is your best idea right now? >> well, my best idea is that if we adopt a strong, tough, reduce the debt and deficit plan by the end of this year, we will give businesses and the markets the confidence and sense of predictability to go out and invest and create jobs. in other words, we did a stimulus. i think it helped, but, still, we got 9.1% unemployment. the federal reserve lowered interest rates.

it helped, but still we have the problems. there is only -- we can't spend a lot more money on stimulating jobs. to me, these two issues come together. deal with the debt, do it in a courageous way, take on some tax reform and entitlement reform. if we do that i i think the private sector the jobs will respond. >> senator, good to see you and thanks for writing your book. >> may all of your sabbaths be peaceful. >> can you hear more from the senator on cnn's believe blog at cnn.com/belief. >> sort of a fitting way to lead into today's talkback. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question is heckling good for our political discourse? election 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the political flash mob. liberty rap hecklers scored when they challenged republican mitt

romney. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes -- of course, they are! >> boy, did it work. the democratic national committee turned it into an ad. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes on -- of course, they are. everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. where do you think it goes? >> in your pocket! >> whose pockets? people's pockets! >> not to be out done. ryan rhodes confronted president obama. >> we are talking about civility. how is your vice president calling us terrorists? >> sir, sir, look. >> i would like to understand that. >> okay, okay, i will explain it right now. he did not call you guys terrorists. >> they didn't come to a meeting of the minds and makes you wonder as politico larry sabato told me we are moving into a confrontational society. we don't want to listen to c-span. it's too boring!

maybe politicians are now judged on how well they respond to hecklers not how well they explain their policies. he says we could end up with baseball style brawls at campaign rallies. a political dog pile with everyone jumping on top of one another it would end? something to think about. here is the talkback question today. facebook.com/americanmorning. read your comments later this hour. >> if you assume that people with heckle and not -- that it doesn't escalate into violence, a different assumption. if the worst it gets is heckling the issue are we escalate nothing a world people are frustrating and not conveying it effectively? >> it's sort of you heckle for a purpose and it's not really to get a straight answer from a politician, it's to get a gotcha moment that turns up on youtube to prove your point further out there in the world of the political discourse. is that the best way we have to

get what we want from politicians? >> interesting. a great question. still ahead, looking for a job? no matter how qualified or how talented you may be chances you have a big red flag on your resume. we check through the common mistakes, the biggest red flags so you can polish the resume today. new video of the moment before that deadly weekend stage collapse at the indiana state fair. what was said on stage and did the weather really look like it was going to take that stage down? we will let you see it and listen to it next. it's back to school time this morning for tornado-strikin joplin, missouri. mixed emotions, how students are helping teachers cope with the tornado trauma. 17 minutes past the hour. [ male announcer ] for sore muscles use new bengay cold therapy.

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when a stage collapsed at the indiana state fair over the weekend. the duo was just about to take the stage when this happened. the scaffolding fell during a storm on saturday. investigators say the accident happened just minutes after authorities warned the crowd to seek shelter. >> speaking about that warning. there is new sound of what they said before that weather moved in. listen. >> to the west there are some clouds. we hope the weather will bypass us but a very good chance it won't. once the storm passes we will try our best to resume the show and have every belief that is going to happen. >> a new york firm has been hired to investigate the stage collapse. five people were killed. state fair officials say they will make the findings public of the investigation as soon as they have them. also this morning, back to school for thousands of students in joplin, missouri. first day 12 weeks after a tornado tore through that city

killing more 130 people. our shannon travis is in joplin and has more on what officials are doing to help students learn in what is still a disaster zone. >> every time i drive by, it's still really sad. all of the memories and all of the friends i made in he's hallways. >> reporter: sad knowing you won't be able to spend your last year of high school here. >> reporter: the tornado reducing two schools to virtually nothing in minutes. ten school buildings were damaged or destroyed, including joplin's only high school. >> that next morning, we came to the realization we had 54% of our kids who had no place to go, about 4,200 out of 7,747. >> reporter: this new school year, high school students will split up, ninth and ten graders go to an existing middle school. the upper includesmen will attend classes at this mall. yes, it's a mall. 95,000 square feet, a cost of 5.5 million dollars to convert an old retail store.

officials say it was the only place big enough. rising seniors janer and lydia accompanied me to their new 21st century school. it has open spaces, walls that move. >> entire space can be opened up. >> reporter: a fitness center and a coffee shop run by the students. every one of these kids will get laptops. but how will students focus on learning? dr. hussein is a professor at the university of missouri. a child psychologist, he has been to over 80 disaster zones. he helps children learn even when death and disaster surround them. >> when that kid or person is saying i don't want to hear about it any more, what is going on there? >> that would be avoidance. >> avoidance. and we are training teachers as therapists. >> reporter: husain says any children learning in disaster zone can suffer declining grades and depression and flashbacks and nightmares. >> i don't know how someone my age goes through this.

i'm having problems. >> reporter: yet, this entire community wants the children to be children again. so this is it. this is the moment right here that a lot of these children have been waiting for. this is the freshmen kickoff. a lot of these kids are here. you will hear them rallying right now. they are excited. >> i'm kind of impited that. it will be a little comfort, i guess, to go back to school. >> welcome, class of 2015! >> reporter: for education overtime, i'm shaun jon travis. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. experience the summer of audi by september 6th and get over 130 channels of siriusxm satellite radio for 3 months at no charge.

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this is cnn, breaking news. >> new information about president obama's plan to grow the economy and create jobs.

according to our white house correspondent brianna keilar, the white house has been actively consulting with experts including corporate ceos. the president will speak more about his plan in an address to the nation just after labor day. u.s. stock futures are trading only slightly higher ahead of today's open with a little more than an hour to go. in the meantime, markets in asia closed with moderate losses overall and european markets lower right now. more corporate earnings coming out this week. staple saw its earnings climb 36% in the second quarter while john deere saw its profits rise 15% in the same period. verizon is putting 45,000 striking workers on notice. get back to work by the end of the week, or risk losing your health insurance or medical benefits. still ahead, how to get rid of the red flags our resume and 16 people have died at yosemite national park this year.

what is going on there? we take you inside the park after the practically. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

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♪ the day i die i am going to touch the sky ♪ >> good morning, new york city. sunny, 72 degrees. later today, mostly sunny and 88. okay. speaking of sun. how about red flags? politicians fighting who has a credible jobs plan but still 14 million of you are looking for a job at 9.1% unemployment. you need to know the red flags that turn off a potential employer. we have compiled some for you. careercast.com has new ones coming out tooting. we put them altogether. don't have a stupid e-mail address. you'll be surprised how many do. do not have a stupid e-mail address. best advice from career coaches is grab a free e-mail account for your e-mail has your real name and use that on all of your resumes and in your

interviewing. be professional. use formalities and mr. and mrs. when address ago potential employer. the courtesy will help you stand out. keep a professional everywhere including the e-mail address, phone calls and your voice mail. also on social media. guess what? you will get googled the minute a hiring manager is interested in you. what will they see if they tweeted you. remember on this, on the internet, you know, they are going to find it so be careful about posting pictures and blog posting. employers are worried about how long you're going to stay in a position. the best thing to do is be clear on why you want a job, let the employer know where ythis particular job fits into your career goals and let them know you're going to stick around. also gaps on the resume. something we hear a lot about because many of you have been out of work for six months or

longer. you might need to write a brief explanation in your cover letter to keep it positive and fill the gap with consulting work, volunteer work and professional organizations. you might have had a lot of job hopping. maybe you've only had short-term stints. explain it. employers want to know you're reliable and that you're committed. clarify why you've switched jobs so many times. careercast.com pulled this altogether. a lot of this is also conventional wisdom. career counselors, you would be surprised, ali and carol, career counselors tell me they cannot believe the crazy e-mail addresses, a simple google search when it finds out about somebody. you have to show you're serious and fill the gap on the resume. >> a great piece of advice. people are always asking for that detail. thanks so you and career cast. >> awesome, christine. joe biden is arriving earlier this morning in china. the first stop on his week-long trip to asia pun one of his main priorities during this trip is reassure the largest foreign

holder of american debt that america is still a good investment. new developments to tell you about in libya. rebel fighters taking control in the northwest and working their way toward the capital tripoli. nato is calling it the most significant territory gain in months. firecrackers discovered on a southwest airlines flight and now officials want to know how they got there. the plane was ready to leave las vegas for kansas city, missouri. a flight attendant found the bag of fire cracker stashed under the seat. the plane was declared safe after a search. i don't know how it got there but at least somebody was following the rules and putting it under the seat! >> because if you get turbulence, it would be a problem. >> right. fire cracker flying over the plane. lightning hit the ground at

discovery coffee yesterday in sea world. five taken to the hospital but expected to be okay. yosemite national park, the number of fatalities is higher than normal and what tourists don't realize the biggest danger they face is themselves. more from casey wian. >> reporter: a record number of people came to yosemite park last month. unfortunately, too many of those visitors are unaware of the hidden dangers amongst all that beauty. yosemite national park is known for its spectacular beauty, waterfalls and el capitan and it's a place you can get as close to a bear as you dare but the real problem is elsewhere. arriving daily by car and busload. >> those people who are living in those cities don't necessarily experience nature on a daily basis and don't quite understand the power of what nature can bring. >> reporter: so far this year, 16 people have died in yosemite, about twice as many as normal. >> this is the most popular

trail in yosemite national park. up to 2,000 a day going on this trial. >> reporter: this is known as the mistrail. ten days ago, a 17-year-old hiker slipped and fell on these granite steps and died four four days later at a hospital. up the trail is the vernal fall. three people were swept over that massive waterfall to their death weeks ago. >> >> the group was up here, one of them males in the group basically lost his footing in the river and started to go down. one of the females in the group went to grab him. she lost her footing too. the third one went in after them. all three of them went over here and went right over vernal fall. >> reporter: imagine the terror that the hikers felt and the people who were standing here watching them slide down this river and drop 317 feet straight down vernal fall. a month later, search and rescue

teams are still looking for two of the bodies. while five visitors have died this year from natural causes, the others were accidental and often entirely preventable. rangers say visitors who hike slippery steep trails in flip-flops, climb over safety rails to get better pictures, or swim in water above a waterfall are a constant problem. >> we saw a number of people just waiting there and probably steps away from going into the faster water and it's crazy! >> we aren't worried because we think if you stay where you're supposed to stay, you're safe. it's exciting. it will be exciting for them and a little scary for them but because it's steep, but it's not dangerous if you do it what you're supposed to do. >> reporter: too many people don't and ignore safety briefing from rangers and warning signs all over the park. >> we can't and we don't station a ranger at every possible dangerous location that's out there. people just have to come here and realize what they are getting into and realize that yosemite is nature and it is a

very wild place. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest surprise then is that 4 million people visit here every year, and all but a very few of them go home very much alive. casey wian, cnn, yosemite national park, california. >> wow. what an interesting piece and so beautiful, that place. just amazing. >> yeah. up next, school time. we want to know are today's high school grads ready for college? students themselves say no. what are we going to do about? we are going into the fight to fix america's schools next. one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you.

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♪ ♪ a moment alone a dream a laugh a kiss ♪ snee. >> kids across the country packing up and heading to college. many aren't ready to class based on this year' s.a.t. results. according to the "the washington post" only 20% met the benchmark. they are struggling in math and reading and only 45% showed they were prepared for college level math. discouraging news makes you wonder what is happening in our schools and are we making any progress in fixing it? steven brill looked at that in

his knew book "inside the fight to fix america's schools. >> welcome to the program. you make a good point it's the larriest single profession in the country, teaching. >> 3.2 million. >> american teachers. yet we are still trying to struggling to figure out how to figure out the effectiveness of those teachers and what they are teaching to make sure that college readiness is there. >> that is right. >> how do you fix it? >> the numbers gave there is the crisis i'm writing about and it formed, you know, a political crisis within the democratic party because there is now a president who thinks the 3.2 million teachers ought to be measured on their performance, not on simply how long they have been holding their jobs. this is the only occupation in america and the largest occupation in america where nobody is paid or promoted or trained based on how they are

performing. and as those numbers you indicate suggest, it's not working. this is a national security crisis and a national economic crisis and we have to start to do something about it and the book is really the tale over the last two years of the fight, both within the democratic party and in local school districts all over the country, to try to do something about this. >> because reform movement has sort of been maturing and it's been moving forward, and we still have scores like we were just talking about from s.a.t. what is going to work? do you work with the union? s you say don't dismantle the unions but work with them, raise teacher pay in some cases, and but have accountability? >> right. you have to substitute the concept of performance for protection. you can't have a civil service mentality. >> and that is the last -- >> last in, first out, yeah. it's the whole basis of the union contract is we have to protect everybody.

the only people that are they are not protecting are the children in those classrooms and those are the numbers you just recited. >> yet, you have people like matt damon recently who got rallied by teachers saying this is a horrible ten years for teachers. teachers under assault, the teaching profession under assault. is that true? >> sure, but don't mix teachers with teachers unions. most teachers and especially the high-performing teachers want to be recognized for their performance. they want to be promoted based on their performance, not simply based on how long they have been on the job. again, you know, unlike this newsroom, this is the only workplace in america where if you're young and you're ambitious and you really want to do something, you're told, over the next 15 or 20 or 25 years you're just going to be paid based on how long you've been breathing. you can't be promoted if you're really good. you can't be retrained if you're not performing. and, unfortunately, for the children, you can't be ushered out if you're really doing a bad job. >> we know that an incredible

decider of a child's education, a child's fate, a child's trajectory in life is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. >> exactly. >> there are a lot of other variables. teachers sometimes get angry at me and say why not talk about what is happening at home? do you have any idea what the teacher in the classroom is facing? the fact there are more kids in the classroom and the fact there are budget cuts and we feel the profession is under assault. how do you fix it, all that being said. >> everything is right. they have a tremendous responsibility. a really hard job and especially hard job if the children are before broken homes or, you know, from disadvantaged neighborhoods. but that means that you have to figure out a way to train them, to reward them, to promote them and get new and baelts people to come into the profession, which means you have to pay them more but you could pay them more if

you took some of the current features of the union contract and changed them. why pay teachers for doing nothing while they are going through two or three years after disciplinary jury? why do that? >> we have seen the cheating scandals among teachers, not students. and administrators frankly spreading around the country. is that a direct response to the idea we have to measure a performance in a classroom so we can find out how effective our teachers are? isn't that the unintended consequence that have? >> it is an unintended consequence but any sane occasion reformer, the ones i interviewed and the major characters in this book will tell you testing the progress a student makes from september to june is only one element. the best element is classroom observation. >> right. >> in new york city, for example, the teachers union contract says that there can only be one classroom observation by a principal that counts during a school year. that's insane. >> wow. steven brill, it's a great read.

>> thank you. >> you have thousands of pages and top applications and standardized test scores and more than 200 interviews, so it's a very thorough book. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> headlines after the break. 48 minutes after the hour. [ woman ] jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®.

here are your morning headlines. new information about president obama's plan to grow the economy and create jobs.

sources telling cnn the white house has been actively consulting with experts, including corporate ceos, and while the package has not been finalized, it's likely to include some tax cuts, infrastructure ideas, and measures to help the long-term unemployed. the president will speak more about his plan in an address to the nation after labor day. the number of children living in poverty is becoming a problem in michigan. a new study finds 36% of children in that state do not have a working parent. up five percentage points from last year. markets open in 45 minutes. stock futures are mixed after the labor department reported that companies paid slightly more for raw materials and wholesale goods last month. texas governor rick perry on the stump in new hampshire. live pictures now from the traditional politics and eggs breakfast in the granite state this morning. perry refuses to back down from his comments on ben bernanke saying it would be treasonist

for the fed chair to printed more money. a recall election. the vote in response to the bitter fight over new wisconsin laws that crack down on unions and their right to collectively bargain. that is your news you need to start your day. "american morning" will be back after the break.

now considering hiring a demolition crew to knock the whole thing down. >> the most valuable thing to us would have been to have harmon built properly, opened as a thriving, attractive part of city center right at the gate way to city center. what we have right now is 26 floors of glass, steel, and concrete that has been deemed a potential threat to public safety. >> officials say it would take 18 months just to assess the repairs and if construction resumes it could take years to finish it. abercrombie is offering to pay the "jersey shore" to stop wearing their clothes. they don't want people to associate the clothing line to

the tv show and say it could add damage to the abercrombie finish. >> i don't know how that could happen. they have a lot of people with few clothes on. >> i think they advertise, for lack of a better word, to the elite teen, you know? the beautiful teen. they play the loud music and perfume to keep the old people out. >> at the stores, you mean? >> they do, so the situation doesn't fit into their thing. >> it's too dark in there! maybe i'm an old lady but it's too dark in there! >> their strategy is working. is heckling good for our political discourse? we will read some of your responses after the break. [ male announcer ] members of the american postal workers union

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♪ good morning, washington. ♪ simmer down >> a little bob marley. i like it. >> the question this morning is heckling good for the political

discourse. from bob if politicians don't have a backbone they need to find another line of work. they have to represent all of the people in their districts and justify unpopular positions. it's a good sign that people are getting involved. iris says hecklers perpetuate this generation's attitude of entitlement and lack of personal responsibility. demanding without lping or understanding does nothing. power is in voting not bullying. michelle, i find heckling to be one of the lowest forms of discussion and discourse. it puts republicans in the right corner and democrats in the left and bunch of black eyes and bruises in the middle. >> i don't know why i continue to come out on the side thinking this is not as bad. one of the things we enjoy is when we watched british parliament recently. is that heckling when the opposition is calling out?

>> maybe. i guess my only point is hecklers these days want to hear their own opinion back. they really don't want an answer, do they? >> some of them are trying to make their position on the right and the left and organized people. >> but it's not random. >> i feel we are seeing more of it in the last maybe four or five years than we had before. >> it started in the summer of rage, remember? back before 2008. >> that's right. >> but you could argue that it worked because the tea party became popular and they have pushed their agenda successful, so who knows. >> but a lot of people who weren't hecklers. they would go out to meetings and write and support candidates. that is different than just yelling in crowd. >> i'm talking about getting in your face, yelling and yelling and not allowing the person to answer you but continuing to say, you know, say whatever your line of thought may be. >> i would say the heckling to president this past week,